7/8 Wed - Gekkoukan high - Rooftop - Lunch - Shizuka
The noisy halls and classrooms of the school make for a poor place to collect my thoughts. I came up here to the school's roof, where I am able to find peace. Some come up here, but they either stay without uttering a word or leave because of the stifling silence. Personally, I'm fond of such stillness, it allows me to soak in the contents of a book without distractions. And it helps that the wind is calm…
Footsteps are emanating from the stairwell to the rooftop. Here I thought I could have a moment of reprieve to myself. The door swings open. Kazuki is the one to appear before me. He seems rather lively despite last night. Maybe he doesn't remember what occurred.
"What book are you reading?" he opens the conversation with.
"Do you need something Kazuki?"
"Can't I just ask what you're reading?"
"I do not indulge in chit-chat. Tell me what you need."
"Okay, okay… The other night, during the operation, did you see what happened?"
"Yes." On a whim, I decided to watch his team operate. That night was rather fruitful in what I wanted to see., particularly, at the end. "Are you going to ask me why I did not stop Masaru?"
"I was, but after thinking about it, it doesn't matter."
"That's a surprise."
"It's just…there's something else I want to ask."
"That being?"
"I… Last night, I–"
The door flies open yet again. This time, it is Yamagishi.
"Kazuki-kun," she calls.
"Yo. How did you know I was here?"
"I asked around."
"What do you have in your hands Yamagishi?" I point out.
"Well..."
She unwraps the bag that is in her hands. A medium-sized bento box, and it doesn't look to be the type you'd buy from a convenience store… Odd, why are my fight-or-flight instincts arising?
"Bento!?" Kazuki scurries over to her. "Aw, man, Fuu-chan you rule!"
"Thank you."
"Hmm..."
"Is something wrong, Shizuka-san?"
"Nothing, it's just..."
"...I can just smell the goodness from here!"
There's something afoot here, that bento is emitting an odd aroma. Am I just imagining things?
"M.G. you look tense," Kazuki points out.
"I was thinking about something."
"Must've been something important."
"Y-Yes..."
Yamagishi opens the bento boxes, showing what one would regularly pack inside a bento. But that's it, it gives the appearance of an ordinary bento, yet not the feeling.
"Oh my god, this looks really good," Kazuki expresses utter joy at the sight of food.
"I hope you all enjoy it."
"You know I will."
Yamagishi hands him one and me one as well.
"Wow, this is so cool!"
I gaze over to Kazuki's bento. Everything is in order. The meats she packed into the bento form a heart shape. She must have put a lot of time and effort into it.
"What do you think, is the heart shape a bit too much?"
"It's great..." Yamagishi turned around and began blushing intensely, mumbling to herself as well. "Well, time to eat!"
Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I don't sense anything dangerous about Yamagishi. Perhaps I am just not used to such a thing, eating a bento from someone else. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to let my guard down a bit. Still… I slightly open mine to take in the smell. Foul! It smells…foul!
"This is gonna taste good!"
My eyes dart to Kazuki, who's putting the food in his mouth.
"Kazuki, wait a moment!"
It is already too late, he swallowed it…
"What's the matter M.G.?"
"Nothing, it's nothing."
That's odd, I'm sure that I smell something foul within the food. Maybe it is my imagination?
"Kazuki-kun, are you okay?"
He fails to respond to Yamagishi's call.
"Kazuki, do feel like your organs are shutting down?"
In a silent reply, Kazuki puts down the bento and unwraps the hoodie around his waist.
"Kazuki-kun, why are you going towards the door?"
"Because I need the bathroom..."
Kazuki places his hoodie on the bench I'm sitting on, nice and neatly.
"Hey, if I don't come back for my hoodie before lunch ends, can one of you take it with you back to class. Thanks."
Kazuki races off for the door. Ah, so that's it… Oh, I get it.
"The food is not poisonous, it just tasted terrible," I conclude.
"What!?"
Tatsumi hospital - Afterschool
Fuu-chan and I arrive at the hospital after school so we can talk to Kirijo-senpai about Fuu-chan's room placement. We found her room, now, we're just standing in front of it, waiting for one of us to open the door. I gotta be honest, I don't see this going well, at all. My heart is doing somersaults, and sweat rolls down my face.
"S-So, which of us should ask her?" Fuu-chan nervously asks, quivering in place.
"Calm down Fuu-chan. I thought of our reason...it should be good enough."
"You don't sound so confident."
"Because I'm not."
Gathering all the manly energy inside my body, I slide open the door. Kirijo-senpai is staring out the window, taking in the view of the city. She seems fine, with no noticeable injuries. Her attention snaps to us, making my body jolt up in place; not that I'm naturally scared of her, but what we want to discuss with her is…not as comfortable.
"Yamagishi, Kazuki...is something the matter?"
"No, nothing's wrong." My voice cracked at the end of my sentence. "...It's just..we..."
"Is there a problem with the dorm?"
"Not at all. Though, we do have a request for you," Fuuka's voice squeaks.
"That would be?"
It quickly grows quiet in the small room. Gah, we can't be standing here all day, I'm gonna go for it!
"Screw it, I might as well say it."
"Be careful, Kazuki-kun."
Why is she telling me that n- Oh, I get it… She wanted me to be the one to say it.
"Kirijo-senpai, this is going to sound...wild, but may Fuu-chan…room with me?"
"Excuse me!?"
Senpai jolts up from her bed, hissing in pain the moment she did.
"Senpai, take it easy. You're still hurt!"
She lays back down on her back, keeping a stern eye on us. "Why would you ask me if that, you both know that it contradicts the dorm rules?"
"I know, but..."
"...He's trying to protect me!" Fuu-chan suddenly finishes for me.
"Yamagishi?"
"Kazuki-kun is just trying to protect me from whoever tried to attack us the other night. We think they were targeting me because of my support abilities."
"Th–that's right! We promise nothing inappropriate will happen if you allow this. So please."
We both bow our heads. What we're asking for is unreasonable, and it puts senpai in a strange spot, I get that. So if she says no, and gives us a verbal lashing, she'd be well in her right to do so. However, with Minako at the dorm with us, and that man in the suit still out there in the wind, I'm not comfortable with her being by herself at night. So regardless, I have to do everything I can to keep her safe.
"This is quite a troublesome request you two are making..." Yep, here it comes. "...However, given the circumstances…I'll allow it." Wha–what– Did she– Am I hearing things? "...But before you leave Kazuki, a word, alone..."
Fuu-chan nods her head. "I'll wait outside for you Kazuki-kun."
She walks outside of the room, closing the door behind herself.
"Kazuki, I heard you two were attacked last night, during the operation, is that true?"
"Yeah, it is."
Kirijo-senpai looks back out the window.
"It seems our enemies do not care who they hurt. If left to their own, who knows the damage they would unleash." I stay quiet, unable to respond."Despite the damage being limited to the hotel, a few of the guests died inside the building last night." My heart skips a beat hearing that. People...died? "The one responsible for all of that destruction is nothing short of a monster!"
I felt a pain in my chest when she said that. Monster...
"How humorous."
"Shut it!"
"Hmm, did you say something Kazuki?"
"No."
That voice is louder than it was last time. What the hell is going on with me?
"Kazuki, I also want to ask something else: what is your relationship with Yamagishi?"
"Our relationship...well I guess you can say we have a...intimate relationship."
"Is that so?"
"Is that a violation of the rules as well?"
"No, it's not...it's just..." Senpai gives me a serious look, it's sending shivers down my spine. "Our enemies want us dead, that much is clear now. Albeit, they seem strong, we have a few cards up our sleeves."
"That would be?"
"You and Arisato."
I hate to admit that she's right, but she's right. Minako is a lot stronger than she was a month ago. As for me, I can't say that I'm anything impressive, but it makes me happy to hear her say that about me.
"But why me? You and Senpai are pros?"
"You have a certain strength about you that most people don't have."
"Really?"
"Your Persona powers are nothing but a mystery to me. Even when it was half-awakened, you still managed to put up a fight. And you even don't need to use an evoker."
"When you put it like that, it makes sense."
"So I have no fears for the unforeseeable future. However, until the rest of us recover, I like for you, Yamagishi. and Arisato to not go to Tartarus."
"Got it. Anything else?"
"No, I believe that's all I have to say."
"Then I'll be on my way."
"Oh, before you two leave, I do have something to say about your room placement for you and Yamagishi."
"That is?"
"One: You two are not to partake in any type of inappropriate actions that go beyond a kiss."
An expected request, and one that I am obligated to follow.
"A-alright."
"Two: You two are not allowed to tell anyone about this arrangement outside the dorm."
"Of course, we won't, Kirijo-senpai."
Senpai sticks up a third finger. "Third: If I find out that the both of you disregard these conditions, an execution will be the proper punishment for the both of you, is that understood...?"
Execution? Is she gonna kill us or something? As if, but I don't doubt it'll be even worse than that.
"Finally, condition four: Protect our support no matter what. Is that clear?"
A fourth condition I didn't expect for her to say. It isn't that I thought she didn't care but for how obvious it is. From day one, I always planned on protecting Fuu-chan, and that hasn't changed at all. Still, it's more than encouraging to hear her tell me that, like she's saying she has faith in my abilities…
"Yes, senpai!"
I profusely bow my head to her. Opening the door, I leave giving her a thumbs up. Fuu-chan and I head down the hall, passing nurses, doctors, and a bunch of other patients. These halls have grown somewhat familiar to me, which makes sense, seeing how I keep landing here one way or the other.
"Did you hear everything?" I ask Fuu-chan.
"No, what did she say?"
"I'll tell you later. Do you wanna go see the others?"
"Of course."
Iwatodai dormitory - Kazuki/Fuuka's room - Evening
I open the door to mine/Fuuka's room. I left the room so I could change into something more comfortable. Although the room is only meant for one person, we somehow found a way to decorate the room to our liking. She got whatever was left in her room. Her laptop survived and a couple of other decorative items like some flowers. Setting up a table for them wasn't an issue, not to mention, they spruce up the room a bit. However, Fuu-chan was practically staring me down from all the idol posters As much as it hurt me to do it, I…I took them down!
My closet had to be rearranged to accommodate the both of us. Coats and jackets are hung on hangers, and other clothes are stacked in the only drawer that survived in her room. Fuu-chan gave me strict orders not to open it, and as the gentleman that I am, I will certainly not do that.
As for the bed. It can fit two people just fine, I have no idea if Kirijo-senpai will be okay with that. I bought a futon just in case. Comfortable, for the most part, but I'm more of a mattress guy myself.
All in all, things are coming together. There's still a bit more to do before we can say it's done, but for now, it's good enough.
"Sup, Fuu-chan."
"Welcome back!"
"Was I gone that long?"
"Sorry, I just wanted to say that."
Looks like she's in a blissful mood, and I can't say I'm not feeling joyful. Who'd guess I'd be sharing a living space with a girl, or anyone who isn't Naoya? This rocks!
"I'm going to turn on the TV," I tell her.
"Okay."
I grab the remote off my desk and turn it on. It's on a news channel dedicated to Port Island.
"...A hotel located on Shirakawa Boulevard, as well as several other buildings near the area were damaged. The cause of these damages is still being investigated at this time. Casualties range from 8 severely injured residents of the hotel, and 5 deceased. No evidence of an assailant, so until proven otherwise, this will be considered an unfortunate accident."
5 dead…
"Kazuki-kun, um, maybe we should go to bed."
"Yeah…"
…It wasn't me, it was that thing… I would never do something like that.
Iwatodai dormitory - Kazuki/Fuuka's room - Dark Hour - Fuuka
I woke up in the middle of the Dark Hour. It's easy for me to tell when it descends on the world, as if something clicks in my brain, telling me that the mysterious hour is here. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have a problem sleeping through it, but not tonight. I keep thinking back to the night of the operation.
Kazuki-kun was fine at the beginning of the operation, but out of nowhere, something took control of his body. His power was nothing short of fantastic, and the level of destruction he caused was beyond anything the Shadows had done based on the reports I read. Actually, the energy coming from him felt similar to a Shadow. It's ludicrous, however, no matter how many times I debate this in my head, I can't outright say it's wrong.
Even without my Evoker, my ability to sense still functions. Kazuki-kun's readings are the same as they always are… Maybe whatever it was was lying dormant inside him. If I can read deeper into his being I can find that entity…
I place a hand on his chest, concentrating on having my consciousness to on Kazuki-kun's body. Although limited, as long as I narrow my focus on an individual being, I can scan it, and it helps to be close like this; luckily, I can also sense when enemies approach, but the range on that is also limited. My senses fall into his consciousness, analyzing everything about the presence he gives off. Darkness is all I can see and feel, ominous, foreboding, and mysterious, I go deeper in, wanting to sus out what lies in here.
"How dare you invade my space?"
His voice carries power in it. His tone is cold and empty. He raises his hand slightly. My body instinctually reacts, breaking the connection between me and him. I'm drenched in sweat and I'm short of breath. Its presence in there was stronger than it was yesterday. If I go back in there, I'll be killed.
That thing killed people without a second thought, was willing to kill our friends, and took over his own body. The face he made when he heard that news report, all the guilt swelling inside him…
I hug him tightly. He shouldn't blame himself, that entity was at fault. Who knows when it'll strike again, so before that happens we'll get rid of it. Tomorrow I should go see Shizuka-san about this.