Sokila quietly drew caricatures of the Aida and Horaki families.
"Mister Aida and Miss Horaki..."
Alongside the caricatures were two voids, bearing rough outlines evoking the imagery of women.
"...they both don't have Mamas...but their Papas acted differently..."
Sighing, she looked down at her hands.
"I wonder...what it would be like...to grow up without a Mama...?"
Glancing back at her pictures, she began doodling tiny Jack Frosts all over the canvas.
"...at least they still have a Papa..."
The faint haze of blue began to brighten-
xxxx
/Sunday: August 30, 2015/
/The Aida Apartment, Tokyo-3/
Shinji Ikari quietly trudged out of Kensuke's Room, wincing at the sound of Toji Suzuhara's snoring. The acoustics in Kensuke's room made him sound even louder than back at the Izanagi Dorms...
As he entered the main living room, two particular oddities caught his eyes: one was a cardboard shoebox on the kitchen table, filled with knickknacks and photos; the second was of Kensuke Aida, sleeping on a couch. In his right hand, hanging limply off the edge, was an old photograph of a woman with shoulder-length hair the color of Kensuke's, holding a much younger version of Kensuke in her arms. That must be...his mother. Walking back over to the shoebox, filled with so many mementos of Naomi Aida, Shinji couldn't help but think about how Gendo Ikari had treated old pictures of Yui Ikari. Kensuke's father kept this...but you threw everything away...
What was the difference, between the two? What had allowed one man to hold onto remnants of the past? What had driven the other to utterly abandon every physical trace?
Was it a matter of subjective pain? Or was there an objective difference?
I wonder. If nothing else, Shinji was glad that Kensuke had gotten some closure. I wonder...if I'll ever get the same regarding my mother...
xxxx
Meanwhile: as the sun rose over Japan to greet the 30th of August...it was setting upon the American West, bidding a fond farewell to August the 29th...
xxxx
In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, an abandoned ski resort was rife with Ghosts; four Acolytes were among their number...had been, originally. Now, only two remained.
To what some might consider a surprise, neither the Second Child nor her assistant had had anything to do with it.
Sister Mary Makinami, spinning a set of enlarged rosary beads in her right hand, slung it like a whip; ensnaring a muscular Ghost around the neck, the blessed beads burned with holy light. "Ready, Miss Sohryu!"
Asuka Langley-Sohryu nodded, willing Unit-02 forward; her crimson Evangelion clutched the religious by the back, launching her towards a cluster of Ghosts.
With a triumphant roar, Mari swung her weaponized rosary, the beads and chainlinks going taut from the motion; the Ghost at the end the rosary crashed into the group of specters, causing bursts of ectoplasmic essence and sacred energy to erupt. With her rosary free, Mari withdrew the beads with sharp and jerky motions, even as her free hand manifested a fist forged from her soul. "You all should have remained amongst the dead!"
"I hope we can wrap this up soon," murmured Asuka, gazing at homey mountain cottages that bore signs of deferred maintenance; much like the tiny downtown that had once served countless tourists, only the dead claimed this place, now. With the sun beginning to set below some of the taller mountain peaks, a chill was quickly setting in. "It's summer; it shouldn't get this verdammt chilly..."
Sister Mary smiled cherubically. "We're over two miles above sea level, Miss Sohryu; it's only natural that it'll get cold, once the sun's light fades!" The nun took measured steps backward, holding up her hands to manifest a durable A.T. Field; wincing at the impacts, she snarled, "At least it's nothing compared to the cold of Hell's Ninth Circle, where these lost souls belong!"
Asuka huffed, ignoring a Ghost as it passed through her; her soul, encased within the protective shell of Nigoki, retaliated by crushing the rogue specter. "No salvation for them, eh?"
"Alas...the dead are beyond our help." Smiling with a vicious grin, Sister Mary hopped back, letting Unit-02 take the place she had just been standing in. "Given their demeanor and hostility, these have always seemed like those let loose from Hell, to ravage the living..." Glowing fists crashed into the specters, pushing them back with supernatural force. "...it's almost like being in one of those American zombie movies!"
"Like you've seen those," snarked Asuka.
"You'd be surprised what some of the more daring sisters were able to sneak into the Abbey," Sister Mary remarked with a nostalgic smirk; turning towards the distant Acolytes, she added, "how much longer do you think our...'allies', will take?"
Asuka shifted her gaze towards the nearest berserker, stumbling haphazardly over a hundred yards away. Despite the rictus snarl on his face, the Acolyte seemed...bewildered, as one drunk. "Not much longer, I think."
xx
Within the Metaverse, amidst a cognitive ski town that had lost much of its definition over years of inactivity, a trio of Prometheans moved about like a well-oiled machine, bearing differing mixtures of Angelic material over their bodies. Between the spidery features of Matarael and the crystalline properties of Ramiel, they seemed like monstrous human chimeras, almost as monstrous as the corrupted Shadows they fought...perhaps, even more so.
CHYOOOM!
Two men unleashed crimson energy beams against the hardened flesh of the Acolyte's Shadow, blasting away at the ground beneath its feet. Stumbling forward, the hulking beast tried to catch itself-
"An opening," murmured the lone woman amidst the trio, soundlessly dashing forward. With terrifying force, she slammed into the Shadow, aiming for the neck...and then, with a strange peculiarity, sunk crystalline teeth into the Shadow's flesh.
Cognition was disrupted; Angelic power nullified its like, disrupting the influence that had driven the Shadow into a frenzy. Bereft of the energies empowering it, the Acolyte's Shadow was nothing before the Promethean's own unnatural power.
The Shadow dissolved into stray aspects of thought, greedily sucked up by the Promethean that had destroyed it; the colorful eyes dotting her back — bearing the image and likeness of Matarael's — glistened with newfound energy.
(In reality: the bewildered Acolyte that Asuka had been observing suddenly collapsed, courtesy of a mental shutdown.)
"...three down...one to go..." whispered the woman, gazing at her compatriots. "...one to go...?" she asked, as if to make sure.
"One to go," agreed the two men, their crystalline skin glistening under the red-and-black sky of the cognitive world.
(Had anyone been observing, they would have found it unnerving that all nearby Archetypes stayed away from the Prometheans as if their lives depended on it...)
xx
Before the hour was up, the old town had been wiped clean of supernatural threats.
Asuka quietly walked through the abandoned resort, seeing kitschy shops without a soul inside, and brick-and-mortar storefronts lost to the elements. The remnants of durable caution tape and warning signs could still be seen regarding a cognitive void that had apparently occurred here long ago; it had likely been the death knell for this place, given its relative isolation and nature as a tourist trap. When the inflow of vacationers had ceased, the town had given up the proverbial ghost.
What made it darkly ironic was the fact that a small herd of elk was traversing through the warded off area, lazily observing her from afar before meandering onward towards the wooded mountains. "It's funny."
"What is, Miss Sohryu?"
Asuka turned towards Sister Mary, who was carefully inspecting her rosary weapon and making mental notes as to which beads needed to be blessed again. "That even if there are places where human cognition can't exist, that doesn't stop other creatures from living their own life. Wonder if they have their own Metaverse that we can't access or even see..."
Sister Mary hummed thoughtfully, staring at the darkening sky as colors faded and stars began to emerge. "It's certainly possible; there was a theologian who visited the Abbey some years back who had a fascinating lecture as to how those with differing levels of rationality would seem from a cognitive perspective...but I suppose that's neither here nor there." Smiling knowingly, the religious asked, "imagine what the Metaverse of ants would look like?"
"Or migratory birds."
"Or dolphins!"
"Or dogs."
"Or cats, nya~" added Mari with a cheeky grin.
Asuka's eyes flitted towards the sky; an unmanned drone was flying in circles, observing their position from overhead as it had been ever since they had arrived. "I think we should head back to the Second Branch, now. Our military minders are probably bored of watching us."
"Then let us be off." Sister Mary looked with a wary yet compassionate gaze towards the three Prometheans; their fellow travelers had been utterly silent when not in the midst of battle. They did not initiate conversations of their own volition, but only responded in limited ways that spoke of forgotten lives. "Are you three ready to return?" When they wordlessly nodded, Mari placed her hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Then let's be off."
As Asuka prepared to synchronize the facets of her being — making space for Mari's presence, lest she be left behind — she tried to ignore the unsettling presence of the Prometheans. In her mind's eye, they had the 'shape' of humans...but were patched together by 'Angelic duct tape', given power that animated biological trainwrecks which merely pretended to be Homo sapiens. "Übernatürliche Alpträume," she whispered under her breath, focusing on aiming her spiritual and cognitive vectors towards Area 51.
xx
When Asuka and Mari faded into static, the three Prometheans looked quietly in the direction that the two had gone. As was their nature, their means of fast travel differed: they skipped along the dimensional boundaries, appearing in one place and then another in proverbial blinks of an eye.
What little they possessed in terms of minds were almost anathema to the Metaverse itself; only through the brute power afforded by their Angelic 'enhancements' could they even stay within the cognitive world for an extended period of time regardless.
One could say that the very violence of that rejection propelled them forward in reality, which they repeated over and over.
(Their feeble 'minds' should have broken from the strain of such maneuvers...which, more than anything else, solidified how abominable they truly were...)
xx
/Metaverse Experimentation Facility, NERV-02, Nevada/
Shuji Ikutsuki smiled quietly at the report of Asuka's return. "And the Prometheans that accompanied her?"
"Their time delay this time was less than sixty seconds, which has been consistent with results over the past few days," explained one of NERV's many technicians.
"I suppose that's as much consistency as we can expect at this juncture. It'll have to do." We're out of time as it is; how unfortunate. Adjusting his turtleneck sweater collar, Ikutsuki added, "Please send word that I would like the Second Child and her assistant to meet me at my office."
xx
Asuka couldn't say that she liked the aesthetic of Shuji Ikutsuki's office. It all seemed...too normal. Too corporate. Too bland. Even the coffee machine sitting in the corner of the room looked generic! It lacked the sheer personality of Mitsuru Kirijo's office, for one thing; the casual decor of Takuto Maruki's office had felt homey, and even Futaba Maruki's carefully controlled chaos had come across as natural.
But Director Ikutsuki's sense of style had clearly remained stuck in the 1980s, and not even the fun kind of 1980s.
Her Other rolled her eyes.
"Like you were even alive for the '80s..."
Still, the news he had for her and Mari was a much nicer change of pace. "So the Yankees have had enough of us, I take it?"
Ikutsuki nodded gravely. "Unfortunately. A shame; your assistance with the Prometheans' training regimen and their assignments has been truly appreciated. But the extent of Pattern Blue signals since your arrival in this country was finally enough for them to put their foot down."
"And what took them so long?" she asked.
The Director of NERV-02 quietly looked at his computer monitor. "Project Prometheus has been a subject of heavy rumor, so I imagine our hosts judged any observational intelligence to be worth the risk of Ghost and Acolyte activity." Sister Mary curdled her nose with distaste. "However, there are now more and more sightings of criminals' Shadows from the fall of the Great Northern Tower...and on top of that, Strega is increasing their attacks on MAGI facilities. Our host's military would rather focus their cognitive and metaphysical countermeasures on those, instead of on Ghosts or Acolytes."
"Which is ridiculous, given that that's literally what they were all focused on for years," griped Asuka.
Ikutsuki smiled wearily. "After a few weeks of not being on constant alert status, I suppose it is only natural that the Americans would want a chance to catch their breath. The rest of the world was much the same...because otherwise, you would still be stationed out of the Third Branch in Germany."
Asuka snorted. "Don't remind me. So when am I getting kicked out?"
"Your flight from Nevada has already been scheduled for tomorrow morning. You'll have a brief layover in California before flying straight to Japan. Your estimated time of arrival will be on the evening of August 31st."
"And the reason I can't just warp there is because...?"
Ikutsuki shrugged off Asuka's skeptical snark with aplomb. "They want to accurately measure the Pattern Blue threshold centered around your person, as a means of measuring whether or not your presence here has changed that phenomenon."
As Asuka grumbled under her breath in unflattering German, Mari asked, "And what will come of the Prometheans?"
"Now that their operational veracity and control methods have been sufficiently tested, we will start offering their services to numerous clients throughout the world. Given growing distrust in the Anti-Terror Task Force as an institution, I'm sure our Prometheans will provide an excellent service."
Asuka huffed, wondering where Ikutsuki's sense of optimism came from. "Word of advice: make sure any jobs they take don't require any 'customer' interaction. They're not the best at that sort of thing."
"We're quite aware," dryly replied Ikutsuki. "On behalf of the Second Branch, I'm very grateful for your great work, putting our Prometheans through the grater."
Asuka scowled. "It's grinder, and you should feel bad about your horrible puns. They suck!"
"And with that," interrupted Sister Mary, wrapping her in a headlock, "I think we'll make our leave. Thank you, Director Ikutsuki." Mari's polite words were undone by Asuka's frantic flailing within the nun's ironclad headlock.
"...quite," mumbled Ikutsuki.
The moment the two were out of his office, Asuka managed to wriggle out of her grip. "Seriously, you could've let me breathe," she harshly gasped.
"The crack about his puns was unnecessary," lightly chided Sister Mary. "I'm sure he's well aware of everyone's opinion about his sense of humor."
"And he keeps doing it."
"Puns aren't objectively sinful in and of themselves."
"Well they should be!"
Amidst their banter, Asuka felt only one overarching sensation: relief, that they were finally leaving this place. Next stop: Japan...
Her Other and the Beast were of one accord.
"Finally..."
xxxx
Hours later, Shuji Ikutsuki quietly descended to the lowest part of the Metaverse Experimentation Facility. As the most secure location of the Second Branch, it was where their supply of Angel materials — procured from the corpses of Matarael, Ramiel, and, most recently, Gaghiel — were kept. (In the back of his mind, he wondered what the Prometheans would look like once Gaghiel's seafaring essence was fully implanted.)
It was also where something much more...important, was kept, behind a secret passage that only he knew how to access.
Ikutsuki's face was as stone as he quietly walked through several doors, each one locked by differing levels of security: biometrics, passwords, metaphysical scans, checks for cognitive tampering, the works. After several minutes, he entered a sealed room where a single computer terminal was installed, complete with a headset for audio calls over a secured channel.
All of it: the secret passage, the secure doors keyed to his person, and the computer terminal...all of it had been covertly installed as a gift from certain parties in America's Department of Defense, who wanted a proverbial backdoor in NERV-02's network so that illicit communication would escape security monitoring; such was the price that had been paid for him to be the Director of the Second Branch, instead of someone else.
He hadn't minded; he provided illicit information to the best of his ability, whilst receiving the same from various informants throughout the world.
One of those informants had been Shiro Tokita, whose research into binding human souls to inorganic tools had been key to properly fusing Angelic material to the human form.
(It was June the 18th in Japan; he quietly chatted into the headset, responding to Tokita's words. After relaying the revelation regarding the Cognitive Protection Center's vulnerability to Angelic subterfuge, Tokita had made his concerns known. "A revelation like that would make anyone antsy. It only solidifies our need to have alternative means of combating Angel Syndrome." Discussion continued regarding the reputation of NERV and Project E, the prominence of the newly-arrived Third Child, and how exactly Mana Kirishima would be utilized. It was very unpleasant, overall. "If children must be devoured to ensure our survival...then devour we shall," gravely said Tokita.)
Another had been Shuzo Ubukata, who had been an employee within NERV HQ's Technical Branch...one that Ikutsuki had personally arranged the transfer for, some years ago. The price had been a promise for any 'interesting' information.
(It was the 31st of July in Japan when he received a single covert message: THE THIRD AND THE JET ALONE ARE OUTSIDE OF TOKYO-3. He quietly mused over the ramifications, because it implied that Shinji Ikari and Mana Kirishima would be outside of Hakone for an extended period...but why? For what purpose would Commander Ikari allow such a thing? Regardless, there were certain parties who would pay through the proverbial nose for information like this...and he had some old contacts within the Japanese government who would happily do just that.)
The fact that Tokita and Ubukata had both gone missing had not escaped Ikutsuki...yet, he had heard no rumors or murmurings over the usual channels, indicating his secrets were still safe. It also likely indicated that their disappearances had been due to some strange supernatural phenomena...but his ability to care had been rather minimal, as the Second Branch's work with Project Prometheus had made too many strides over the past weeks.
"Humankind...and Angelkind," he mused, stepping past the computer terminal, towards the true reason he had wanted this safe room from the beginning. The secret communications channel with the Americans and others...had been a mere ruse, done for the sake of a false appearance. Most knew him as the vaguely off-putting yet inoffensive Director of NERV's Second Branch; those with high enough security clearance in various intelligence communities throughout the world perceived him as yet another greedy spy, eagerly serving as a vector for industrial and corporate espionage. Mere illusions, the both of them; he had something much more important in mind. "Two opposing factions...two sides of the coin...but must they?" He stood in front of a small table, upon which rested a single sphere. It was made of some kind of metal, eerily reflective...yet, at the same time, its innards surged with wild streams of what appeared to be dust. "You've given me much insight into the future, Oracle of Iruel...what awaits us next?" He placed his hand upon the metallic orb, and let the voice of the legion whisper into his mind. "...I see...I see..."
He remained there for another hour.
xxxx
As night claimed the rest of the Americas, the sun was lazily rolling along over Japan...
xxxx
After departing the Aida Residence, Shinji Ikari had ended up working on some missions in the Metaverse.
Mana, interestingly enough, had elected to come along of her own volition.
("Katsuragi's helping Yamagishi put up all of her books," Mana had set with a rather disgruntled expression. "I'm...booked out. Is that a word? Is that how you use it?" Before he could reply, she answered for him. "Forget it, it's how I feel. I'm booked out.")
As they fought scattered Acolytes throughout Ibaraki and Fukushima Prefectures within the Metaverse, Shinji took his time with Archetype negotiations as well. Two had been successful, as he had given up Titan in exchange for Akabeko...
(A giant crimson cow formed from stone with the texture of paper mache looked quizzically at him. "Mmm," it grumbled, tilting its head with curiosity. "Y'seem sickly." He looked at himself with confusion, wondering what exactly the red cow was seeing. "Mmm. Yes. A moosively hot mess. Y'need help. Like, lots." Some might have felt insulted, but he had honestly been flattered at the Archetype's concern. "I am thou, and thou art I...")
...and Fuu-Ki for Shachihoko.
(The tiger-headed carp stared intently at him from the cognitive waters of Lake Kasumigaura, with its red-and-gold scaled compatriots chattering amongst themselves. Then, without warning, they acted as one and caused a giant wave to rush towards him! A quick switch to Sobek rebuffed the chilly waters, causing them to fall on either side. At this, the feline eyes of the fish narrowed with acknowledgment. "Hmm. You'll do. I am thou, and thou art I...")
One particular Archetype, however...
(On a mountain shrine located near the town of Iwama, a humanoid mass of energy wore what looked like an Aikido gi of sorts. Merely stepping foot near the shrine had been enough for it toss them on their proverbial butts. Mana, now distracted from the Acolyte's Shadow they had been heading towards, proceeded to try cutting it down...only to fail each and every time. Strangely enough, no physical damage was imparted by the Archetype out of retaliation. "You fight without peace of mind," it sagely said, looking at them with an eyeless face. "I'll have nothing to do with you. Please leave...")
...the less said about the Ōsensei Archetype, the better.
As a corrupted Shadow faded away from its wounds, Mana placed the head of LABRYS onto the ground; leaning on it for support, her eyes gazed at the haunting sky of the Metaverse, which evoked a harsh and violent image despite how slowly and peacefully the red and black waves moved. "...it's strange."
"What is?" asked Shinji as he calmly unwrapped a granola bar.
"Just thinking about the concept of family. About bonds. How they form, how they get broken."
Shinji waited for her to continue; when she said nothing, he asked, "Kirishima-san?"
"...nah, forget about it."
"If you want to talk, I'm here."
His offer, contrary to expectations, only seemed to irritate her. "Don't wanna talk about it. Just leave it."
Frowning, Shinji briefly considered trying to push the issue...
His Other quietly read through an old book.
"Alas, you lack the needed Empathy to breach that shell. If only you were more Noble..."
...only to relent. "Okay."
"...but it does bring to mind something I wanted to get back to." Mana turned around, sitting down on the ground, ignoring the curious Pixie Archetypes that seemed intrigued by their presence in general. "The bug Katsuragi had about looking into this disc that Kaji left her...reminded me about something I wanted to look into, before the whole thing with the road trip." Brushing a hand along the surface of AIGIS and LABRYS, she added, "namely...how in the blazes that blue-haired guy could use my weapons."
Shinji blinked, trying to recall the vague fragments of memory those words evoked...
(July the 26th: after inquiring with Mana as to why she was tailing Minato Arisato throughout Tokyo-3, they had transitioned to the Metaverse so she could explain. "...he did something that's supposed to be impossible for normal people." Gesturing to AIGIS and LABRYS, she added, "he synchronized with them...and used them to cut down an Acolyte. During the last new moon.")
...and remembered, at last. "You want to speak with Arisato-san?"
"Yeah. And I have a feeling he's more involved with stuff than he let on."
"...what do you mean?" he asked, with slight trepidation.
"It was...something that that Elizabeth lady said to me. You know, when were in that blue Room."
That event was far more recent, and far more easily recalled...
(August the 16th: right as Team Statherós prepared to leave the Velvet Room, the Attendants all bid their farewells. Elizabeth's had been more focused. "Little girl with the axe and shield!" When Mana turned back towards her with an irritated expression, the Attendant singsonged "The soul within AIGIS has a bond with this place. Empowered though that bond was by their association with my Guest, it was enough to utilize that Potential...perhaps you'd be wise to delve deeper in your spare time?" Elizabeth suddenly frowned. "Spare...stare...scare? A scary movie? Something along those lines." Mana blinked, looking briefly at her shield with befuddlement.)
...which made him wonder just what sort of bond the soul of Mana's 'Little Sis' had with the Velvet Room. "...you think there's a connection?"
"...from what I can remember, when that guy was holding onto AIGIS...the soul of my Little Sis felt happier than I can ever remember her being," admitted Mana, with an expression akin to curdled milk (as if the very thought pained her). "I don't know what it could be tied to...but he also told me that bonds are a two-way street. I think I need to learn more about what he meant, if I'm going to save my brothers from Strega."
That certainly added another layer of poignancy to the topic. If nothing else, it would be an opportunity for him as well. (He had spent the most amount of time with Ren Amamiya, and a more limited amount of time with Yu Narukami; beyond the first tutoring session, had he even met Minato Arisato again in person?) "...I'll see if Amamiya-senpai can arrange something."
Mana nodded, a pleased grin coming to her face.
xxxx
It had only taken a brief text to Ren Amamiya, once Shinji and Mana had gotten back from the Metaverse.
S. Ikari: is it possible to meet Arisato-senpai later?
R. Amamiya: what for?
S. Ikari: Kirishima-san wants to talk to him about something
R. Amamiya: about what?
S. Ikari: stuff involving LABRYS and AIGIS
R. Amamiya: hol' up
After a few minutes, a response came back.
R. Amamiya: senpai looks vaguely annoyed with me C.C
S. Ikari: sorry
R. Amamiya: eh, it's more of an expression than his normal apathy
R. Amamiya: I count that as a
R. Amamiya: FLAWLESS VICTORY :D
Shinji stared flatly at his phone, wondering what exactly Amamiya was referring to.
R. Amamiya: anyhow, he's going to grab some take-out
R. Amamiya: go to this spot near Lake Ashi [MAP ATTACHMENT LINK]
R. Amamiya: he'll have food for you and Mana-san
S. Ikari: that's kind of him
R. Amamiya: You've been a working man! It's only natural that you have dinner waiting for you. :P
S. Ikari: why does that sound like it has connotations?
R. Amamiya: only if you intend on poking fun at him :3
And that was how Amamiya left off the chat log. "...I guess we go here," he said aloud, looking at a scenic location along the northwestern edge of Lake Ashi. "And apparently Arisato-senpai will have dinner for us?"
"That's fine by me," remarked Mana, preparing to fast-travel through the Metaverse; a hand on the shoulder stopped her motions flat. "Hm?"
"Maybe we should...go by foot?" he remarked, stepping out of the alleyway they had manifested in. Using NERV HQ's looming tower to the east as a landmark, he added, "I think it's around thirty minutes away by foot...it'd be rude to get there before Arisato-senpai, wouldn't it?"
"...not sure how it would be 'rude', but whatever."
Thus did the duo make their way on foot, departing the busy Sunday evening streets of Tokyo-3 proper and walking along the trails bordering Lake Ashi's shores. Though much of the forestry surrounding the lake had been cleared away to make room for numerous residential developments, the immediate boundary of the lake still bore many trees; one such trail took them onto a somewhat rocky protrusion overlooking Lake Ashi, where a Shinto shrine was located; despite the oaks surrounding the shrine, there were enough gaps to see the rest of the lake.
Sitting near the edge of the lakeside knoll was Minato Arisato; adjacent to him was a large plastic bag, containing bowls of rice, meat, and vegetables. "Only been here for five minutes. Not a long wait, all things considered." Before Shinji and Mana could ask a question, he handed them chopsticks. "It'll be easier to think if you're full."
"...I usually feel sleepy when I'm full," admitted Shinji.
"Better to feel sleepy than to feel fatigued." The emphasis he placed on the last word spoke of old pain, born of frustration he could barely fathom.
Eating in relative silence, the three teenagers quickly finished their meals; the last light of the sun was about to vanish, leaving only the cool shades of twilight. It was still enough for them to see each other. "So. Amamiya said you had something to talk to me about."
Before Shinji could even open his mouth, Mana surged forward without delay. "You know about the Velvet Room, don't you?"
Shinji balked at her audacity. MANA-SAN?!
Minato, to his credit, only responded with a raised eyebrow. "Mind elaborating?"
Mana bluntly said, "The stuff you pulled off with AIGIS and LABRYS during the July New Moon wasn't normal. Then, a couple weeks ago, a woman by the name of Elizabeth said something strange about AIGIS and LABRYS; about a bond that she had...and I'm thinking there's a connection, somehow. Just the way you talked about bonds being a 'two-way street'...it has that same sort of vibe." Placing both her axe and shield flat on the ground, Mana continued, "and though you don't feel quite like Ikari does...there's something different about you, now that I can focus."
Minato stared quietly at her before glancing towards Shinji. His expression must not have hid much, because the older teen merely sighed. "Pretty bold move, all things considered...Amamiya told us about your decision, to show them that place."
...well, not like I can deny it. "...yes," admitted Shinji.
"So Amamiya knows about it too, huh?" murmured Mana. "Figured as much...Aida was thinkin' that Amamiya was pretty suspicious, with the way he acted during the road trip."
Shinji grimaced at the quiet revelation that Aida had probably deduced Ren Amamiya's connection to the Velvet Room.
(August the 17th: after winding down from an exhausting yet enlightening day with the members of the Emporium, he had been cornered by Ren Amamiya in the hall of Sakura-sensei's home. When confessing that Team Statherós knew that there had been other Guests before him, Amamiya had only smirked. "Probably won't take them long to connect the dots. I figure at least one of them already knows or suspects, and is just being quiet out of courtesy to you.")
Turning towards Minato with no small amount of trepidation, he asked, "You're...not mad, are you?"
His Wild Card senior calmly shrugged. "From my understanding, we have a window of opportunity to talk about matters more directly. No point in beating around the bush...even though there aren't any bushes around here," he added, looking around the trees and the shrine with a detached ease. "Why waste time when every moment counts?"
"Now you're speaking my language," said Mana with an enthusiastic grin. "So, how'd you do that thing with Big Sis and Little Sis? How do you know 'em?"
"First things first," Minato said as he placed their empty rice bowls into the plastic bag and sealed it tight. "Why did you seek me out?"
Shinji remained silent, letting the girl mull over Arisato's question with a severity that was quite solemn. "...I have people I need to save. But as I am now, I can't reach them. I...I need to know more about myself, before I can do that. And with how you established a connection with AIGIS and LABRYS...at least, enough of one to kill an Acolyte in one swing...I have a feeling you might have some insight."
"A fair enough answer," remarked Minato. "What I did was sort of like cheating, though."
"...eh?" chorused both Shinji and Mana.
Minato quietly ran a hand along the rim of the shield; Shinji didn't know if it was a trick of the fading twilight, but he swore the red gemstone in AIGIS flickered with...joy? "Without going into too much detail...I was able to forge a partial connection with her soul, which provided the channel I needed to use the power of the axe and the shield like I did."
"And what's this 'partial connection' all about?" asked Mana.
"Just a term to describe a bond-that's-not-quite-a-bond...but it's a useful one, because it helps with keeping a sense of perspective about one's self." Turning towards Shinji, he added, "you should pay attention too, Ikari-san."
Shinji blinked, pointing dumbly at himself. "Uh...me? Why?"
"Because the principles behind how I use 'partial connections' are also how, once upon a time, I used Fusion Spells to summon more than one Persona at a time."
"...Fusion Spells?" repeated Shinji. "What do you mean?"
"And what do you mean by 'partial connection'?" asked Mana.
"Well, in a certain time and place, it involved the owner of an antique shop and gems found in another dimension...but that's besides the point." Resting his hands on his knees, Minato gazed up at the canopy about them, his face set into a small frown. "The idea of using more than one Persona at the same time...is to understand the facets of yourself: the contradictions, the complementations, and everything in-between...to think and ponder about who you are at a given moment of time..." Despite his outward apathy, his eye seemed to shine with emotion of every type and kind. "They're the sort of questions that sound weird, if you say them out loud: how does my temper battle my patience; would my sense of humor get along with my stoicism; can love bloom from apathy; and things like that. To truly understand your bond with other people...you have to understand yourself...and the more you understand yourself, the more you're able to call forth every aspect of yourself to face the world..." Looking back down at them, he added, "it's been a while since I've done anything like teaching. Does it make sense?"
Shinji pondered the words, trying to apply them to everything he had learned since awakening his Persona, and establishing bonds with other people. "...I'm not sure if this'll make sense to you...but would it be like trying to establish two Social Links at once?"
"The hell is a Social Link?" bluntly wondered Mana.
Minato, ignoring Mana's confusion, nodded. "It's...a similar concept. Working on two Social Links at once...hmm. It would be like being yourself, but in two different senses, simultaneously. For example..." Glancing towards Mana, he pointed a lazy finger at her. "She perceives you in a different way than I perceive you...but that's normal, because the things you've experienced with her are different than the things I've experienced with you...which isn't saying a lot, since we haven't interacted that much. Using her and Amamiya as examples would be more meaningful...but you get my drift."
"I...I think I do." What would it require, to actually try and utilize different parts of himself at the same time? (What would it feel like to summon, say, Hamlet and Kuchisake-onna at the same time?) How would he even practice that? "...does it require a lot of meditation?"
Minato shrugged. "There was a lot of winging it, to be honest. I remember feeling very tired whenever I used a Fusion Spell, because it's not something we're able to naturally do. But to have the self-awareness to do that...it pays off. But start small: trying to make yourself use 'opposites' is begging for failure, because forcing 'A' and 'not A' together is...really difficult."
"Wouldn't it be impossible?" Shinji asked.
"Only if you're dealing with strict logic," he calmly replied. "But people aren't so discrete and separable. We're kind of messy...so maybe start with something simple. Think about bringing together 'a little less than A' with 'a little more than A'...like different kinds of hot sauces. Or maybe mixing 'A' with 'B who really wants to go out with A'...like a duck burger. Because would think of duck making for a good burger?"
"...what the hell are you talking about?" asked a befuddled Mana. (Shinji was privately grateful that she had asked first.)
Minato calmly remarked, "Sometimes, I'm not really sure. But you would apply the same ideas with the bonds you have with your weapons. You called them AIGIS and LABRYS, right?" When Mana nodded, he sighed with a strange sort of melancholy. "What are the odds," he whispered under his breath. "Think of the relationships you had with them...and how they differed, in the ways you interacted with them, in the ways you felt about them. What would they say about you? And if you were someone else, looking at you interacting with AIGIS and LABRYS...what would they think?"
Mana's face scrunched together, as though irritated and confused by his request in equal measure. "...not sure I follow..."
"And that's part of the point," he bluntly said, rising to his feet. Holding the plastic bag full of take-out trash in one hand, he stuck his other hand into his pocket. "I could explain everything to you about all the stuff I learned the hard way...but some lessons have to be experienced to be learned. That's especially true, when it comes to figuring out more about yourself...and maybe at the end of it all, you'll know enough about yourself to reach out to other people." Looking towards Tokyo-3, the downtown area was already serving as a beacon amidst the approaching night. "It's getting dark. Think about what I said: it'll provide a good start for you both."
Shinji watched as Minato walked away, wondering what sort of lessons Minato Arisato had learned. "Thank you, Arisato-senpai-"
"Hold up," demanded Mana, rising to her feet. "The bond you had with Little Sis...what was it? How did you get it?" When Minato didn't immediately answer, Mana stubbornly continued onward. "It's just...the connection I have with the souls in my weapons...it's taught me so much about them...but the way Little Sis reacted when you struck down the Acolyte...it was unlike anything I had ever seen. So how?!"
"...not the time or the place," casually remarked Minato, not even turning around to answer.
Naturally, this didn't sit well with Mana. "We know about the truth of the world, from that Room...if you have a connection, then I bet you know as well, right?!"
Grimacing, Shinji finally decided to intervene, reaching out towards her shoulder. "Kirishima-san-"
Mana stepped beyond his grasp, striding towards Minato. "Look, we're all in the know." Grabbing at his arm-
With sudden violence, Minato rebuffed her motion, parrying her arm with his own. Though his expression didn't change, the intensity in his eye actually frightened her. "Don't. Tempt. Me." With a snappy motion, he shoved his hand back into his pocket. "Not now. Maybe not for a while...but eventually. Right now? I can't. So just...leave it." Turning his back towards them, Minato made one final remark. "We all have our own struggles...attend to your own, and you'll be able to more readily help others. But if someone is unwilling to open up...don't be so stubborn as to think that cracking them open will make them receptive to your feelings. It may only result in stubborn bitterness...and then you'll probably find yourself have to start over again in a worse position than before." With those words said, Minato walked away, leaving them by the shrine in silence.
"...what was that about?" wondered Mana with honest bewilderment, looking almost...confused, yet hurt, by the visceral response from their senpai.
...whatever burden he's carrying...is a heavy one. His eye revealed a glimpse of the man behind the teenager: beneath the apathetic shell was someone who felt all too strongly. "Maybe he'll tell us, one day...but Arisato-senpai told us enough."
Mana gazed back at her prone weapons, their gemstones glimmering amidst the night. Finally, after several moments of indecision, she settled for a frustrated sigh. "I guess..."
And thus did Shinji return toward Tokyo-3 proper alongside Mana, feeling as though he understood Minato Arisato just a bit more...
xxxx
In a move that Shinji Ikari would have empathized with, Minato Arisato slipped his headphones on. A quick trip to a convenience store to throw away the garbage from dinner — a privilege proverbially obtained with the purchase of some chocolate Pocky — allowed Minato to walk around with both hands in his pockets. It was the status quo, of sorts...even if he disliked the ramifications.
It was strange, at some of the parallels between times; what were the odds, that a similar version of a song he had once listened to would exist? "Burn my dread," he whispered to himself. Time never waits; it delivers all equally to the same end...except that's not true, is it? In a world where death was not final (save for the poor unfortunate soul chosen to be the proverbial fuel for a reset), what dread could truly exist in the long run? (But oh, there were plenty of things to dread; he knew that more than most.)
(Temptation is never far away from you.)
Practiced apathy and forced detachment had kept it all at bay, for the most part.
At times, he couldn't help but envy Ren Amamiya for his relative youth, and Yu Narukami for his capacity to seek out new experiences during his long pursuit of the truth. Such novelties...had long worn thin, to him.
Yukari Takeba. Mitsuru Kirijo. Fuuka Yamagishi. Isako Toriumi. Chihiro Fushimi. Yuko Nishiwaki. Maiko Oohashi, during the times she was of age; he couldn't quite recall when romance with them had lost its luster. There had even been a few other women whose names he had long forgotten, as horrible as it felt to admit; those who hadn't been bound to him by a Social Link had been all but cast aside in the abyss of memory, lacking the tangible connection that had been anchored to his very soul. (The fact that he had the capacity to remember from one life to the next...had made such relationships hazardous to pursue.)
(You can vaguely remember the sheer novelty of actually trying to have a relationship with true strangers...and that's no foundation for building a bond.)
After long enough, such relationships had soured and become like ash in his mouth; the mere fact of getting with them had made him feel like a liar. (It was good that staying away had become so easy, because otherwise...saying 'no' to such precious people was too difficult.)
Perhaps it was because he still couldn't get over his 'first' life, as pathetic as that sounded. No matter how much time had passed...he couldn't forget. The thought of forgetting was an impossibility. (You remember just how bizarre it felt, for Narukami to describe having to write things down to try and remember details of his 'first' life.) "Tear up your fear, the end is coming near," he absentmindedly muttered, speaking the lyrics aloud. "Spit it out like a spear, I'll burn your dread..."
Despite it all, he was unsure as to why his bond with Aigis persisted with such strength. Was it because of her brief connection with the Velvet Room, when she had borrowed his power as the Wild Card? Was it something fanciful, like being star-crossed lovers? Or maybe...it was something simpler.
(July the 16th: As he tried to deliver a lesson to Mana Kirishima, the sensation from her shield was...all too stark. Limited though it was, the yearning from the soul bound within had nearly sent him over the edge. Had it not been for Kirishima's presence, long practice at detachment, and the focus required to get on LABRYS's good side...would he have given in, to such honest devotion?)
Maybe you both still love each other, after all this time...trying to make sense of it is a fool's errand. He would endure for just a bit longer...and then, in the world to come, he would once more live without regrets, and without holding anything back. "I will burn my dread..." he whispered, gazing up at the pale light of the full moon. "...I will..." he resolved, turning to make his way back to Hakone Academy.
The sounds of city life echoed in his wake: a lively cacophony that couldn't match the song in his ears, and the steady beat of his heart...
xx
As Minato Arisato crossed the road, a somewhat younger student — walking on the sidewalk perpendicular to Arisato's vector — watched him go from behind. "Hmm," murmured Kaworu Nagisa, gazing at the retreating form of the blue-haired human. "You still walk as one burdened..." he mused. "So have we all..." What would Minato Arisato do, at the culmination of all their destinies? What would the others do, in the end?
Would they struggle? Would they be swept away by the tide? Would they persevere?
"Well...I suppose that's for fate to decide. I can only focus...on what I can do, at this point..." Humming to himself, Kaworu continued onward, basking in the heat of the summer night and the full moon's radiance...
xxxx
END OF 8/30/2015
xxxx
Author's Note: Ikutsuki being a sussy baka, as usual. You can thank him for covertly leaking Shinji and Company's summer vacation plans to the old Japanese government.
Anyhow, Shinji got two new Personas (Akabeko and Shachihoko, which are both mythological figures that haven't appeared in SMT/Persona yet AFAIK), and his Judgement Social Link with the Wild Cards increased to Rank 4! TIME TO BEGIN TRAINING THOSE PERSONA COMBO ATTACKS, BOI. (Too bad he's blocked with advancing on Mana until he gets Rank 4 on Empathy.)
Bit of trivia: Ōsensei is a common title for the actual founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. That would probably make for a pretty tough Sidequest boss.
In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm fully onboard with Minato x Aigis as my preferred P3 ship (at least as far as the Male Protagonist goes). I will not budge on this.
Anyhow, here's Shinji's list of Active and Registered Personas as of August the 30th!
ACTIVE PERSONAS AS OF 8/30 (can hold 10 at once)
HAMLET: Mudo, Tentarafoo (causes Panic), Psi, Cleave, Mapsi, Giant Slice, Psio, Final Thrust (Unique: Light Physical. When enemy is below 15% HP, random chance of instant-kill. Probability increases based on Luck stat. Ignores affinities.) (Fool) *Resist Psy, Weak Dark*
KUCHISAKE-ONNA: Maeiga, Tentarafoo, Bloody Blade (Unique: Medium Dark+Physical attack, x2), Fatal End, Hell Smile (Unique: Heavy Dark, high chance of Fear or Despair), Decapitation (Unique: Heavy Physical damage, low chance of instant-kill) (Tower) *Absorb Dark, Null Psy, Resist Phys/Ice, Weak Bless/Fire*
SOBEK: Feral Bite (Unique: 2-3 Medium Phys+Critical Chance), Diarama, Recarm, Mabufula, Agi, Dormina (Emperor) *Reflect Dark/Ice, Resist Fire/Nuke/Gun/Bless, Weak Wind/Elec/Psy* (Formed from Silky and Kinnara)
NEKO SHOGUN: Psio, Diarama, Masukukaja, Null Dizzy, Mafrei, Rakukaja (Star) *Null Bless, Resist Phys/Elec/Dark, Weak Wind* (Formed from Kodama, Sudama, and Anzu)
ISIS: Makouga, Mahama, Diarama, Resist Despair, Hamaon (Priestess) *Null Bless, Weak Psy*
LAMIA: Mudo, Rakukaja, Rising Slash, Ominous Words, Foul Breath (Empress) *Null Dark, Resist Elec, Weak Ice/Nuke*
CLOTHO: Mahama, Me Patra, Makajam, Tetraja (Fortune) *Null Wind, Weak Ice/Nuke*
HIGH PIXIE: Garu, Media, Dormina, Diarama (Fool) *Resist Elec/Wind, Weak Gun/Nuke*
AKABEKO: Headbutt, Makouha, Me Patra, Energy Shower, Ailment Drain (Unique: A Passive Skill, where any Ailment Skills inflicted are instead absorbed, resulting in a slight boost to HP and SP) (Strength) *Resist Ice/Wind/Bless, Weak Fire/Dark*
SHACHIHOKO: Mabufula, Magarula, Marakukaja, Null Despair (Hierophant) *Null Ice/Fire, Resist Light/Dark, Weak Elec/Nuke*
REGISTERED PERSONAS AS OF 8/30
PIXIE: Zio, Dia, Patra, Tarukaja (Lovers) *Resist Elec/Bless, Weak Gun/Ice/Dark*
AGATHION: Dia, Baisudi, Lunge, Rakukaja, Zio, Dodge Elec (Chariot) *Resist Gun/Elec, Weak Wind*
MANDRAKE: Pulinpa, Energy Drop, Lunge (Death) *Resist Elec, Weak Wind*
BICORN: Lunge, Tarunda, Garu, Ice Wall, Apt Pupil (Hermit) *Resist Dark, Weak Elec*
CAIT SITH: Agi, Cleave, Tarukaja (Magician) *Resist Elec, Weak Wind*
SILKY: Dormina, Bufu (Priestess) *Resist Ice, Weak Fire/Elec*
BERITH: Cleave, Rakukaja, Double Fangs (Hierophant) *Null Gun, Resist Fire, Weak Ice*
KOROPOKKURU: Makajama, Bufu, Dodge Ice, Sukunda, Fire Wall (Hermit) *Resist Ice/Wind, Weak Fire*
MOKOI: Tarukaja, Dazzler, Skull Cracker, Marin Karin (Death) *Resist Elec, Weak Wind*
KINNARA: Agi, Media (Star) *Null Fire, Resist Bless/Dark/Psy, Weak Ice*
JACK FROST: Bufu, Dormina, Energy Drop, Agi (Magician) *Null Ice, Weak Fire*
KOPPA TENGU: Garu, Sukukaja, Growth 1, Taunt, Rage Boost (Temperance) *Resist Wind, Weak Ice/Bless*
ONMORAKI: Eiha, Ice Wall, Agi, Evil Touch (Moon) *Null Dark, Resist Fire, Weak Ice/Bless*
MATADOR: Psi, Null Dizzy, Sukukaja, Double Fangs, Garula, Dormin Rush (Death) *Null Dizzy/Wind, Weak Elec* (Formed from Berith and Sandman)
YAKSINI: Hysterical Slap, Wage War, Counter, (Empress) *Resist Ice, Weak Nuclear*
SANDMAN: Dormina, Garula, Dormin Rush (Magician) *Resist Wind, Weak Elec/Fire*
ANDRAS: Foul Breath, Terror Claw, Zio, Bufu, Energy Drop, Counter (Devil) *Resist Ice/Psy, Weak Fire/Bless* (Formed from Pixie and Jack Frost)
ARA MITAMA: Miracle Punch, Freila, Taunt (Chariot) *Resist Phys, Weak Ice*
APSARAS: Rebellion, Ice Wall, Bufu, Tarunda, Eiha, Agi (Priestess) *Resist Ice, Weak Fire/Elec* (Formed from Bicorn and Onmoraki)
IPPON-DATARA: Sledgehammer, Tarukaja, Resist Dizzy, Agi, Garula (Hermit) *Reflect Wind, Resist Fire/Bless/Dark, Weak Ice* (Formed from Cait Sith and Matador)
KODAMA: Garu, Rakunda, Psi, Dia, Baisudi, Rakukaja (Star) *Resist Ice, Weak Fire* (Formed from Berith and Agathion)
SUDAMA: Mapsi, Lucky Punch, Tarukaja, Null Dizzy, Garula, Dormina (Hermit) *Reflect Wind, Weak Ice/Nuke* (Formed from Matador and Jack Frost)
MAKAMI: Double Fangs, Frei, Energy Drop, Mafrei, Tarunda, Tarukaja, Garula, Resist Dizzy (Temperance) *Null Gun/Bless, Resist Wind/Nuke, Weak Elec* (Formed from Apsaras and Ippon-Datara)
SHIKI-OUJI: Tarukaja, Taunt, Double Shot, Double Fangs, Null Dizzy, Dormin Rush (Chariot) *Null Phys/Gun/Bless/Dark* (Formed from Berith and Matador)
ONI: Rampage, Counter, Snap, Double Shot, Dormin Rush, Mafrei (Strength) *Resist Phys/Gun* (Formed from Shiki-Ouji and Makami)
ANZU: Garula, Masukukaja, Wind Break, Mafrei, Psi, Double Fangs (Formed from Oni and Matador)
INUGAMI: Pulinpa, Tarukaja, Giant Slice, Dream Needle (Hanged Man) *Null Gun/Fire/Dark, Weak Wind*
NEKOMATA: Magaru, Terror Claw, Evil Touch, Hysterical Slap (Magician) *Resist Psy, Weak Elec*
ORTHRUS: Agilao, Double Fangs, Maragi, Sukukaja, Garula, Growth 1 (Hanged Man) *Absorb Fire, Resist Nuclear, Weak Ice* (Formed from Matador and Koppa Tengu)
TITAN: Mazio, Skull Cracker, Dekunda, Media, Terror Claw, Foul Breath (Strength) *Resist Elec, Weak Ice* (Formed from Kinnara and Andras)
FUU-KI: Tetra Break, Tarukaja, Garula, Dia, Zio, Hysterical Slap (Star) *Absorb Wind, Resist Gun, Weak Elec* (Formed from Yaksini and Agathion)