"Let there be light

In the dark night

Gotta get it back it's time I get it back

I wanna bring it back to the good old days" Lotus Juice, Unbreakable Ties

Growing up, you mostly had friends who you were friendly with. You knew them through business or school or clubs. For Confidants, you had Yamaoka, and you never really thought you would want people for other things.

It was a lonely life in retrospect, but you didn't really have anything else to compare it to. You went through your life, caring about what you were taught to care about, and Yamaoka, even as you grew into an awkward teenager who wanted distance to find himself.

It's not until your hometown becomes infested with Demons instead of just the Mafia that you start discovering what you stand for, and what you should stand for, who you want to become.

It starts with losing your father in all but blood, and peaks when Mark punches you in the face. You spend a lot of time in thought after that, in between the fighting.

You gain friends from that. Confidants. After all, people you faced down Demons alongside is a strong base for a bond. After Highschool you all go along your own paths. Yuka invites you all to her wedding to a man you can barely remember anything about. Then Mark goes off to chase his artistic dreams, and soon enough you are going off to University.

You all have a reunion planned, and call each other occasionally, but long distance phone calls are not kind on everyone's budget, and time differences, and the busy realities of life all catch up to make communication rare.

You realize abruptly on an otherwise dull Tuesday morning that you haven't called any of them in months.

Are you still friends if you have nothing current connecting you? No talks, no activities, no presents, just a shared experience in the past?

They shaped you as a person, but that's just it. Shaped. Past tense. They are not here now, and you can't see them in the future you are trying to build. And maybe you will see them at Peace Diner for reunions, but not much beyond that. It makes you feel kind of sad, in the way you felt when you came across a glasses case left by Yamaoka. Sometimes it makes you cry to look at it, but it stays with you in your travels, a small memento that you wouldn't want to part with. He's your Persona, but the little everyday things still have meaning.

Once you would have scoffed at how you were acting, but your path to become number one has taught you a lot in that respect. It's ok to cry. It's normal to miss things.

You spend time mourning your close friendships, and tenitavely trying to make new ones. It's hard, and you have never been someone who easily connects with people.

And that could have been the end of it if not for Sumaru City. A lot of your friends are there, and help the investigation you set off on. You face down the New World Order together, and after that the reunion in Peace Diner is less awakard then you feared.

The world is saved, but a month later you are still dealing with the aftermath when the water turns into blood. Your try to call Eriko, but the phone doesn't work, and the light from the sky is green when you venture outside. You fight something that is definitely NOT a Demon, and there are coffins inside of the cars.

You come across Reiji fighting the shadows, and it's a relief to find someone else. You have some experience blocking zombies with your hands, and have no wish to discover what it is like to block a shadow. You have stuck to fighting with your Persona, and have no desire to discover what it feels like to block one that is immune to lightning. Reiji has punched through Devils, God's, and Men alike. It feels weirdly fitting to find him here, but-

"What are you doing here?"

"I stayed up late to negotiate a sale."

It's weirdly normal in an abnormal situation.

You step in line beside him, and fight the night alongside him.

"I'm going to call Amano, and Suou, and Eriko, and anyone you think might have a clue about what is going on, when this is over."

"Let's focus on getting through it first!"

You wonder what will happen if it doesn't end, but you don't have a lot of time to think it through between all the fighting. He's lucky you have a good spell for healing.

But eventually it does end, and they disappear as the lights turn on, and the cars begin to drive again. You take Reiji to the bar for dinner, and ask to use the phone.

And you call Eriko to ask her "What was that!"

You are expecting her to be excited, and regale you with legends and theories, but she doesn't say anything for a moment."

"I don't know. I haven't heard anything about it" She admits. She goes on to talk about it anyways, but there's a nervous edge to her voice.

She hasn't heard about it. In Sumaru city, city of rumors. What does that mean?

It's like nothing you have dealt with before. But Eriko is throwing theories over the phone and Reiji is eating across from and you relax. You are not going to face this without friends.

And maybe the friendships are not going to be the same, but you are not the same person either. It's a good thing. And this can be too.