NOVEMBER 21. 2024. THU. MORNING
PREFACE
The event of this story will take place in 2019 and will contain spoilers for P4G and P5R endings. This is mainly a P3 story, and character crossover will only be done when needed, otherwise it would be very limited. The story is based on the completionist true ending of P3 FES (max compendium with all SL maxed), with new content from Reloaded added when appropriate.
This story is written to feel like playing the game, as much as possible, including its RPG element later, including interaction/discovery of other Arcana and Persona. Social Links are new OCs that follow the same theme as the game, used to explore certain self-contained stories around the town, unless they are used to connect to the previous member of SEES. Some returning character's Arcana will be different to the protagonist due to his way of looking at things - and due to growth or merely the passage of time.
# Bold text in a normal line indicates the protagonist's thoughts/actions, which is usually a single dialog box in the game. Similarly, # before a line indicates dialog box content for a character.
This story will contain violence and grievous injury, not including just death.
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MARCH 06. 2019. SAT. MIDNIGHT
Thud. The sound of a crumpled body hitting the cold hard floor.
# Pain, then a dull ringing invaded my senses.
You open your eyes. Something hot runs down your brown. You see the night above you.
# That pale moonlight offered no answers.
# Only an emerald silence.
A butterfly flew overhead, into the cherry blossom carrying an ocean breeze.
# Blue. Like the sea.
# It's strangely peaceful. Wistful, almost.
And yet you must rise. Arm over the sharp corner of the stone bench, you shift. Bloody hand-prints held your shaky legs to their feet.
# I must have overslept on the school bench.
You exhale sharply.
# The cold breeze burns my lungs.
Somewhere, a bell rang once more. School bells at midnight.
You look around.
# There is no one else here.
…in what looks like the rooftop to a school. Rows of layered solar panels to your right, and a beautiful view to the city below. From far out here, the ocean waves that softly caressed the sand look blood-red in the dark, a rare night when the city is devoid of streetlight.
And then, you see it. Right under you, crushed by your fall.
# Flowers, trampled by my weight.
So many of them.
# They smell… lovely.
You picked one of them up.
The bundle of flowers whose petals are as white as snow.
You pulled out a message from within them. It simply read:
"We hope you are well, man. Still keeping our promise. Everyone is.
I wished you could be here with me. with us. Some of us still hold out hope that you could, You know.
just one more year and it'll be our tenth year anniversary of graduation.
I will pour one out for you.
Hope you still aging up there, right?
cus it would be mighty weird sharing beer with a minor you know?
I mean, i gotta.
Had it not been for you, me and Ch-"
# ...
# The rest is intelligible.
A voice rings out within your mind. It echoes with a hollow, robotic static, like from a place so impossibly far away.
Iwatodai Station. Iwatodai Station. We've arrived at Iwatodai Station.
You shake your head, shoving the thought away like a bad dream.
Have I been here before?
The night breeze gives you no answer. But, the moon. That pale green moon…
That's right.
# Iwatodai…
You steadied yourself.
# Sorry, everyone.
# I am late.
Sound of your footsteps echoes through the empty stairway, to the dark hallway below. Stumbling, you walk into the abyss outside Gekkoukan High, into a street full of coffins.
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APRIL 07. 2019. SUN. NOON
Somewhere outside the office windows, a TV station report is rolling…
And in other news, a proposition of child welfare program have been met with significant push back from homeowner over fear of increase in propert-
*click*
…and the failure of our politician to recognize the wartime atrocities that is erroding the trust of our trade partners-
*click*
OFFICER
# God, the news is depressing lately.
The TV abruptly cut, there was only the sound of cicadas left out in the sun.
OFFICER
# Haven't they always? I thought the Diet party will finally manage to wrangle this country back to shape, but that Shido guy just has to lose his balls and do an apology tour.
He turned to the other officer, who is currently flailing over on his deck, holding a phone that is scrolling on endlessly.
Only the sound of argument inside his boss room makes him sometimes perk up in attention.
OFFICER
# …How long have they been in there? You know, that one… what do they call it… female fair tail? Do you think the chief is… you know. With her? What a score.
OFFICER
# Idiots and their Engrish... Beside, there is just no way he is her boy toy, man… ages and all. But then again, chicks digs his type. Stoic and all business like. Cool as a cucumber.
OFFICER
# Huuuuh? Is that so… Say, did I tell you about that time when-
They both look into the officer, where that fiery ice queen is back again. Standing in front of the chief, she even makes the other policemen shrink away from her overbearing presence when she steps into the room, where they can only gossip about what is going inside from behind the closed door.
Chief Kurosawa remained composed, however, even as their back and forth kept on for the entire afternoon.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
#Yes. Another three this week.
He cast a glance of concern over her.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
#A recurring problem, now. I would not call them Apathy Syndrome again, however, as there seem to be a bit of…
She shakes her head.
MITSURU KIRIJO
#My people are looking into it. It has been almost ten years, after all...
MITSURU KIRIJO
# -even though I might never be able to forget those two years, to leave it to flawed human memory to properly diagnose something like this is too careless. It is against my work ethos.
He nodded.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# Understood. Ever the perfectionist, Ms. Kirijo... As for that man that you're looking for-
Her face sours.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# No doomsday cult. Yet. I was not really privy to you and your friends' …memories of the event, but I could vaguely remember that, at least.
She nodded, yet her face still grim as she listened to the officer explain the details.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Mhmm. It was a traumatic time. One that revealed too many to the existence of the Dark Hour that it seems the collective consciousness could not keep up with the lie - though that is only a theory that I would not like to test again. You even have knowledge of it before that, too. Maybe that is why you could recall it.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# No need to worry about the details with me. I've accepted long ago that what you kids do, only you alone could understand, and not us boring adults.
She smiles.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Kurosawa-san, it has been almost ten years. When will you stop referring to us like that?
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# Heh. Last I checked, kid, you are still half my age. And, I guess, until you have a kid of your own. Then you will know what it means to be an adult.
They shared a quiet moment of levity, before, regrettably, returning to business again.
Ms. Kirijo is a seasoned player in the game of politics.
It make sense then, that whatever expression she might have toward that light jab the chief made at her solitude... is well hidden indeed.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# He has been wandering around the area of your old dorm, actually. People report him as a vagrant, so we didn't look much into it, until it was reported that the vagrant was armed with a revolver. The description matched - shirtless, gun strapped to his belt, tattooed male in his 30s or so. There are some mismatches, though.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# You did not get a first-hand look at him?
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# Negative. Always managed to slip away before my boys could be radioed. Like a ghost. Can't really pull force to capture one homeless man either. Especially if it is for a personal favor like yours. Not my ethos, as you said.
She bit her lips. Thinking.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Thank you, Kurosawa-san. Of course, SEEN will pay you back later.
He arches a brow.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# It's SEEN, now?
She gives a quick, polite chuckle. A bit proud.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# It is short for Specialized Erebus Extermination Network now, Kurosawa-san. We are no longer just a bunch of high-schoolers who are too much over our heads. Hopefully… hopefully, this time, we could make a difference.
CHIEF KUROSAWA
# For him?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# For him.
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APRIL 07. 2019. SUN. EVENING
The rumbling of your stomach makes you restless.
# I still remember nothing.
The building's hard concrete entry steps make for a bumpy pillow. Despite that, you tried to sleep. Until you heard it.
# In the midst of a busy street, only her footsteps are familiar to me.
You raised your head. Your throat is dry, your eyes - bloodshot. Meeting hers.
Ta…ke…ba…
# Yukari…?
She looks back at you. No, right through you. As if you didn't exist.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Oh!? So you do remember me, you son of a - Did the Tartarus not finish you off!?
…
I don't know.
# I guess?
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Seriously? That's all you have to say?
Furious, she inches ever closer to you. You could almost hear her teeth grinding together with every word.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# I should gut you like a fish for calling my name like that, you creepy asshole! You and your… sickened cult! Have you not been satisfied with what you have taken away from us! And now you are back!?
At this, all you could offer her is a blank stare.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# He is not here. He is not here with me… and yet you get to be back. YOU! OF ALL PEOPLE!?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Yukari!
At the call of her name, she merely wiped the growing stream of tears that ran down the corner of her eyes, before they could be formed.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Don't raise your voice with me, Mitsuru! You know full well what he did!
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Yukari… I know how you feel, but-
YUKARI TAKEBA
# I know! I know. The Fall is unavoidable. I know that…
She hid her face away from your stare, trying to gain the little composure she had left.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# But this bastard took more than just that from us! And now… now Apathy Syndrome is back. He is back!
She seems like she could spat at your face any second now.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Lying on our front porch like that. He has no right to be here. At our very dorm… mocking us in the face like this! Everything we did, for nothing!?
A finger pressed at your chest. Her.
A spear through your heart. Figuratively, of course.
It hurt.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# I should've killed you at that tower. Instead of letting fate do its thing. Our mercy is wasted on you.
…
# Do it, then.
Whatever.
You rise to meet her. No, looming over her.
A thought passed your mind.
# I don't remember ever being this tall.
# …but this is unimportant now.
She does not shy away from your shadow, instead only raise her eyes to meet yours, once again.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Yukari! Stand down. That's an order!
None of us give an inch.
…
# Go ahead, if it makes you feel better.
Whatever. I felt dead already
MITSURU KIRIJO
# YUKAR-
Your vision snapped back, then abruptly, there's the night sky in front of you.
Your nose is stuffy. Heat radiating from your cheekbones.
Stars dancing at the edge of these eyes.
…
# Still breathing.
That's… one mean right hook.
She already turned her back to you.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# He's all yours, Mitsuru. I'm done with him.
but then, almost a whisper:
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Keep him away from Chidori. But-
She shakes her head. Kirijo only nodded.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# I will trust your intuition… as always. Now go. Rest. We will deal with him in the morning.
Then, she turned back to you. The disgust in her eyes is palpable.
Something about that struck you… in a different way than Takeba's raw hatred.
# It hurt for them to even look at me.
# Deep, deep down.
# That is when I knew.
# Whoever I am.
# I must be a terrible person.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Some nerves, to come to our dorm like that. You are lucky that I was here. And luckier that I needed answers.
I've got no answers for you.
# And what if you no longer needed me?
It only hardened Kirijo tone.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Regardless, I could tell you are in no shape for further questioning.
She dragged you up, before you heard a click on your wrist.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# As much as I dislike this, we can't risk you running off. I could contact some… acquaintances, but the police station is an ill-place to hold a Persona user like you. The Kirijo group will collect you later.
She unlocked the door to the dorm. As it creaks open, a cool breeze runs through your spine.
Like hearing the promise to all the answers you ever had.
# The same doors that I've been sleeping in front of for a week now.
Unconsciously, you wandered over the empty sofa, before sitting down on it.
# Strange…
# Why does it feel so... heartbreakingly empty?
She doesn't even attempt to hold you back, despite your wrist still dangling with a cuff.
You run hand along the edge of the table in the middle of the room, then turn to look at the dust that had collected there.
# Something is welling up in my chest…
You sure it is just your mind, but is there a smell of coffee across the room?
# I could hear it.
# The busy footsteps of dorm students on a busy weekday.
# The sound of the kitchen sizzling up with pancake towers.
# Long night... and longer study session.
Mitsuru just crosses her arm, looking at you. Perplexed.
# Before I break the silence.
Cleaner than I thought.
# Nice sofa. Use it often?
You still use this place?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# …
Mitsuru wraps her arm together, tighter. Watching you go through the room. An inscrutable expression ran through her features.
Nails digging deeper into her elbows.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# …Not as much as I would have liked.
For some reason then, you, too, shared the same look at her, even if just for a moment.
An uncomfortable silence passed between you.
Until Mitsuru just shakes her head.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# I do not know why you are so… pacified. But do not think that means we will be any less cautious to you.
You sit down on the sofa.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# And if you are lying to us… trust me, it will matter not if you are afraid of Death or not. I will give you much, much worse.
…
Could you?
# I'd believe it.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Tch. Upstair.
Her voice breaks.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Tomorrow is a Monday. We can't have passing students see you - even if no one uses this dorm anymore.
The door closes, leaving behind the silence of the sleeping city.
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APRIL 08. 2019. MON. AFTERNOON
You heard it.
# Knockings.
# Someone is knocking at the door.
Mitsuru, still in her pajamas, leans against the door frame, before lazily slides the hatched open to greet Yukari.
Her scruffy bedhead is not a sight that anyone gets to see.
It makes Yukari stunned - but only for a single heartbeat - before she passes Mitsuru the plastic bag.
Shoved inside is their breakfast: a lot of fast food - burgers, a few boxes of tea, cup noodles - and a few meds to help with tension headaches off the counter.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Something on my face?
Yukari just shakes the feeling off. Clearing away this heaviness in her breast with just a short sigh.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# ...
As you get older, there is less time for these kinds of things. Too late, one might say.
So swallow it.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# No. Ah - well. You look tired.
Mitsuru stayed up all night. This is not a strange occurrence, but nowadays it's more frequent.
So, to this, she just nodded.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Make the two of us. I'm… worried about you too, you know.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# ...
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Did- Did you manage to visit her? Is she well?
Yukari only offers a sad smile.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# She... sleeping. She didn't remember me, with the new meds and all. I already got some assurances from the nurses... It will be fine.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Oh. T-That's good... then.
She casts a glance at Yukari, who is looking more exhausted than ever, and moves away to put the food on the table of the command room.
There her prisoner sat, slumped, in a corner of the sofa, his wrist chained to the steel bar of the window behind him.
The signature Smith & Wesson Model 500 has already been confiscated from his belt.
You… almost look dead.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# He looked unresponsive. I did not punch him that hard… did I?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# No. He seemed to ignore me ever since he woke up.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Did Apathy Syndrome get him?
She sneered as she spoke these cursed words. They leave a bitter aftertaste, after all she has went through.
Wiggle my head in response.
# Yep. Sure did.
No. Just hungry.
Yukari just let out a deep sigh, before throwing a bag of chips into your lap.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Eat. We will speak later.
You didn't bother to wait for the invitation.
# Big Bang. I don't remember this brand.
# A bite quickly revealed the taste. Not great... but good enough.
# Chicken. I'd prefer a normal hamburger.
Mitsuru gives you a curious glance as you feast yourself on some fries.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Why didn't you respond when I called you?
# I shrug.
I responded better to hostility.
Must have thought you were calling someone else.
# Meh.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# …
She trades glances with Yukari.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# …
YUKARI TAKEBA
# You know? You are so similar to him, it's frightening.
She seems wistful.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# You are just so stupid. Didn't realize you got your friends with you. Didn't realize what you got to live for.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Convince yourself that you are all alone... to run off to die in a ditch. While they chase after you.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Yukari…
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Thought you are sacrificing yourself for some greater... cosmic truth bullshit. Did not even occur to you to look back at them, even once.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# So selfish, that you are not content to just off it on your own.
…
# I'm sorry.
# I hold her eyes.
Until she breaks it.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
You don't really respond.
# I couldn't really respond.
# I only have this blank look.
# What more do you want from me?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Yukari. Calm yourself.
Yukari just rubs her temple, nursing the coming headache.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# I'm sorry... I thought the night patrol cleared my head, but-
MITSURU KIRIJO
# What!? You're supposed to rest!
Yukari just shakes her head again.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Compared to you… to Ken, to Akihiko. To Junpei, even, my grudge with him is nothing. And yet I get bothered this much about this. I thought I'd moved on. Funny, that. I heard those two words.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Dark. Hour. And I just... just like as if I've not even learned a thing. Aigis would be disappointed if she knew.
She is looking at me.
As if searching for something.
But I have no answer to give.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# No one would blame you. It is only natural to-
YUKARI TAKEBA
# No. No excuses. Looking at this… I think my hunch was true.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Yes. I think so as well. At least the second part.
They give you a knowing look.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# You didn't regain your memory, did you? Unlike us, after the elimination of the Dark Hour.
…
I don't know.
# There only blanks.
She just sigh, before-
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Ta. Hear me. Closely.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# TA. KA. YA.
She watched your expression like a hawk.
# But I could not recall anything.
…
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Usually, amnesia doesn't make people forget their names. Only your memory of the Dark Hour should be altered - there should still be a small reaction at least.
She holds your chin for a better examination.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Dilated pupils, for example. And yet you have no response, none at all, to it each time I mentioned it during our questioning this morning.
That's supposed to be my name?
Never meet him.
# Which means?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Which means you might be falling into one of the most common trap in faking memory loss. You could still be deceiving us. Given that the second most common trap, however, is…
Yukari circles around you.
# A shark circling its prey?
YUKARI TAKEBA
# The second most common is selective memory gap. You. You called my name.
I did.
# Everything is hazy. Not your name, though.
I... remember little more than that.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# And why is that? Why not your name, but mine?
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Well?
You open your mouth… but no word could escape it.
Hesitation shown in your eyes.
# I was worried about you.
I just... had to.
It felt right.
# AAAARGH.
You clutches your head.
# WHAT. IS. THIS!?
Echoes. RINGING.
"If I see her, I might get angry and say something cruel."
"She couldn't handle it… losing someone so important to her."
"It feels like someday, my heart is going to shrink… and I'm afraid I won't feel anything anymore."
# It hurt. Of course it would.
Fingernail clawing away from the pain.
Nursing this forlorn heartache.
# That's right.
# A promise that was not kept.
# That I... did not kept.
Did you… patch things up with her?
# Were you able to forgive her?
You found it, right? She did love you, after all?
YUKARI TAKEBA
# What are you… huh?
She stumbles back away from you.
Her face a grimace of hurt.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# …
Why did I say that?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# You.
Her glance alone could murder you.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# That's enough.
…
# I didn't mean to.
Why did I?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# SHUT UP! YOU WILL NOT... You will not-
A hand placed on Mitsuru's shoulder.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Mitsuru. It's alright.
She wiped something from the corner of her eyes. Laughing hollowly.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# What are we doing, jumping at every shadow? I mean… I've been through this twice now.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# …I should know better now, right?
YUKARI TAKEBA
# What is one more, right?
You looked back at her. Nothing is said, which she merely shakes her head in disappointment… of herself.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# You look lost. I just couldn't shout at you like that any longer. Enough is enough already... Yukari. You a better woman than that, aren't you?
YUKARI TAKEBA
# Perhaps you are just merely toying with me. I've got a weak heart, after all. He will always be my weakness.
She moves closer to you.
There was a moment where it seemed like she might lash out, but instead she just used her hand to part her bang, so that she could look at you better.
# I am not the person she was hoping for.
# In a game where there is no correct choice, I am the worst answer among them all.
So she turned away.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# I've moved on. I have to, ####. Holding on to that longing. Your longing, it just…
She said something. A name?
But the words… are just blurs to me.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# It's just breaking me. Keeping my promise to you. I'm almost 30 now, you know? Why do I still have heartbreak over a teenage fling?
Her eyes are downcast, but a sudden, cheerful mood overtake her soon after.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# But well, if this is just another elaborate ruse to break me… Congrat, Tayaka. Got me fooled again!
She lean against the wall behind her.
Sliding down.
Huddling up.
YUKARI TAKEBA
# J-Just go to show I must be stronger, right?
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Yukari. It is natural that you would - even I…
Mitsuru looks at you…
# Looking at me…
# Like I am, suddenly, the cruelest creature in the world.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Does the name Takuto Maruki… sound familiar to you?
# I shake my head.
Mitsuru just slump in her chair. Like the question itself exhausts her.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# At least - at least this time, my sin did not come back to haunt me. That's great. Truly.
Her throat dry. She need a drink
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Whatever illusion of the past you are...
She grabs a hamburger from the table, chasing her food down with a handful of painkillers.
Yukari hang her head to look at nowhere close. Thousand miles away. Ten years past... from now.
# I could sense that this tense discussion is… over.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Early tomorrow, there will be a squad of Shadow Operatives to transfer you to a different place. I hope that you will be as cooperative as you are now.
She said, haphazardly, between bites.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Regardless of who you are, Takaya Sakaki or not… you are in no state to help us with the Dark Hour. You will be transferred to one of the nearest Kirijo group research facilities, where we could perhaps figure out what you are.
Thrown into your lap is a business card. A very old one.
# It said "Takuto Maruki" and "Counsellor".
MITSURU KIRIJO
# He will be your evaluator. Whether or not you are…whatever you are, or our enemy. Or if you should forget all about this and live a normal, civilian life.
A long pause of silence between us.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# We can't exactly convict you of your action in the Dark Hour… nor do I want petty revenge now. Especially now that your mind is what it is. We did spare you back then, after all… even if you didn't accept it.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# Besides… it is the Kirijo name's fault that you are even…
She shakes her head.
MITSURU KIRIJO
# No - let's just sleep.