鳴上 悠
"Hello? Yes, it's me."
The man adjusted the phone on his shoulder and distractedly pressed random buttons on the ticket booth screen. The station was loud and crowded during the height of the afternoon. He had to strain his ears to hear.
"No, I couldn't bother you with that. I'm quite used to traveling by train, anyways."
He pulled out a simple brown wallet and pressed his tap card against the screen. Trains whistled into the station platform, bringing with them strong winds that tousled his short hair and loosened his scarf.
The machine hummed and spat out a thin ticket. He tugged it out and scanned the receipt.
"Yeah…don't worry. If anything, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble. No, I understand." He switched the phone onto his other shoulder, feet shuffling on the smooth stone floor. "Um…how is…?"
A faint smile lit the man's tired face, and he closed his eyes as he listened to the voice across the line. "That's good."
He turned on his heel and made for the escalators. His eyes wandered A voice crackled over the speaker.
"...departing soon. Yaso-Inaba Line, departing soon. Please head to the station platform."
"...I've got to go soon, so I'll hang up. Thank you for everything up until now." Lights blinked all around him, dazzling even in the daylight. Advertisement boards, television broadcasts, loudspeaker music…it would be much quieter out in the countryside. He humored the person over the telephone with a soft chuckle.
"Haha…well, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again, at least."
Yu Narukami expected his long-awaited return to Inaba to be quiet and unremarkable, yet filled with joy all the same. But, considering how things generally worked when he was involved, he shouldn't have been surprised when things turned out the way they did.
Yu awoke to the stinging cold sensation of rain on his cheeks.
The last thing he remembered was the sound of the dark-haired high-schooler's cell phone ringing, before blacking out. Maybe once upon a time, Yu would have been in more of a panic to find himself transported somewhere entirely otherworldly, surrounded by unfamiliar, impossibly tall skyscrapers and strange, futuristic technology. A thick curtain of clouds and mist hung over the building tops, trapping urban lights within a saturated bubble of metal and wires.
He plucked his handy-dandy flip-phone from the deep well of his pants pocket and popped the loose hinges open.
"Not working," Yu mused aloud. "No surprise there. It's 5:03 PM." With a lazy flick of his wrist, he closed his phone and dropped it back in the folds of his trousers. "Gotta get home before dinner…"
Yu brushed the droplets of rain off his coat and readjusted his scarf. Fascinating scenery aside, he needed to find that high-schooler and get out of here-
MREOW!
Startled, Yu stepped back.
Flopped over on the street was a cartoonishly disproportionate, cat-like creature dressed in a black bandit's bandana. A yellow scarf curled around his(possibly a male?) neck and a pair of fluffy ears drooped over either side of his round head. His tail had somehow snaked its way under Yu's shoes, crushed like a paper straw under his weight.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he exclaimed. Yu got down to his knees and peered at the creature, making out a pair of lidded eyes that were about the size of dishes, a feline mouth, and a set of four noodly paws, dyed while in stark contrast to the rest of his black-furred body. "A shadow? Or, rather, a cat? Does it live here…?"
With a ragged groan, the small animal peeled himself off the concrete and shook out his head, scattering raindrops that had clung to his fur while he was unconscious. Head bobbing back and forth, their deep blue eyes narrowed into focus on Yu's face. Emotions flashed across the feline's big, expressive eyes: confusion, recognition, then-
The cat shot to his feet, fur bristling with alarm. "What in the world…" he trailed off, head whipping about to analyze their surroundings. Barely making sense of what was happening, the feline demanded in a startlingly boyish voice, "Where's Ren?"
"'Ren'," Yu echoed inquisitively, making the creature jump back in surprise. "Is that the highschooler from earlier? Wait a second…are you, by chance, the black cat I saw in his bag? I'm assuming this isn't how you normally look."
"H-huh? You can understand me?" The feline looked down at his paws, stunned, before doubling back again, in amazement. "What the-did we slip into the Metaverse?"
Metaverse?
Yu rubbed his chin in thought as the cat breathed in deeply to calm himself. "You know where this is? The 'metaverse,' you called it," he prodded, trying to sound gentle so as not to further startle the poor thing.
"No, that's not it. The metaverse should have collapsed long ago, plus this place gives of different vibes-" the cat cut himself off with a cough. Private information, it seemed. The creature turned to Yu, crossing his small arms warily. "You know, despite the…situation we've found ourselves in, you're oddly calm about all of this. And people usually react a lot more, I don't know, dramatically when they see me."
"Oh," Yu said, embarrassed. "I'm quite used to things like this, actually-it's a long story. More importantly, we need to find your friend," he added quickly at the sharp glare he received from the other. "I'm Yu Narukami, by the way." In a gesture of peace, Yu stuck out his hand.
After a moment's hesitation, the cat accepted the offered hand and shook it as best as he could with his paw. "You can call me Mona. And you're right. It would be best if we regrouped and got out of here as soon as possible. Being caught off guard like this in uncharted territory is a recipe for disaster."
The two took stock of their surroundings once more. Mona shivered.
"Tokyo? No, it's way too quiet," the cat muttered, ears twitching with unease. He turned to look up at Yu. "I'm getting a bad feeling from this place. We'd better get moving."
He was in full agreement at that. All that could be heard was the sound of rain pattering against solid surfaces, and the mechanical buzz of technology. Yu had never been one to shy from a moment of silence, but this was just plain eerie.
"All the roads look the same though," Yu pointed out, gesturing at the branching roads circling around them. "Think you can sniff your friend out, Mona?"
Mona's tail twitched in something like annoyance, but he just let out a sigh. "I'm not a…whatever. Even if I could track Ren down by scent, this rain would have washed any traces of him away." He slumped his shoulders. "I hope he's okay by himself. Well, this is him we're talking about…"
Before Yu could ask what Mona meant, his attention caught on one of the scrolling text LEDs plastered on the window of a nearby shop. Mona, curious that Yu had stopped walking all of a sudden, followed his gaze.
"...seeing a sudden spike in violent assaults, theft, and criminal activity all over the nation. Reports of such incidents has increased by over three-hundred percent since the same time last year, and is increasing every month. Just last week saw a spontaneous knife attack in Kyoto, where five were injured…"
"That's recent," Yu murmured, frowning. He recalled seeing the same broadcast on the TV earlier that week.
The broadcast was interrupted by more breaking news.
"Rising pop icon _ was, late last night, assaulted in her own home by a fan who had followed her back after stalking her all day. Police were called to the scene after neighbors reported sound of an altercation-"
"-want to lose weight but have no time to diet? Try Calorie Magic! Drink this and you'll have your perfect beach bod in no time-"
He held his breath as the display clicked, changing channels again.
"-up in flames on the evening of Monday, November 5th. Investigators found lighter fuel and matches on the site, leading police to the conclusion that this spree of arsons is part of a coordinated, targeted attack against the company-"
"-body spray! Feel good and smell fresh even after a hot day-"
"Narukami?"
Mona's voice shook Yu out of his thoughts. The cat tilted his head. "Something the matter?"
The man dragged himself from the glowing screens and gave the cat an apologetic smile.
"Sorry," he began. "I got distracted for a moment-"
Yu was interrupted by a sudden, violent earthquake that jolted through the city.
Mona yelped and Yu stumbled on his feet.
A deep, almost mechanical roar followed not seconds later, so loud even from a distance that Yu winced and reached up to shield his ears.
The two exchanged looks before breaking out in a run in the direction of the sound.
The closer they got, the louder the rumbling became. More bellows, interrupted by the sound of something heavy smashing into something else-Mona growled under his breath, growing impatient.
The two followed along the path of a long, stretching highway surrounded by endless rows of massive glass and steel skyscrapers. Strung across the skies like telephone wires from utility poles were hundreds of thin tubes that pulsed with blue light. They interlocked like a network of webs and ran from building to building.
Do those transfer electrical energy to the city? They must be power lines of some sort.
He turned his eyes down in front of him to the highway. The roads were wide and separated by a holographic divider that read in all caps: WARNING, STEEP FALL. Yu spared a look over the dividing line and peered into an endless, foggy void. Glowing from the darkness were even more lines of those mystery tubes, crossing over each other yet illuminating nothing of the darkness below.
He swallowed thickly. It seemed that they were quite a bit higher up than he'd thought.
"Over there!" Mona shouted, bringing his attention back up front.
Up ahead was a wide, four-way intersection where similar highways met at the center. Dozens of tall traffic lights and directional signs lit up the sky, connected by yet more tubes, while vehicles of all sorts hovered, empty, around the road.
What concerned him the most, however, was the massive, bulbous black creature wriggling up the side of an apartment building. It vaguely resembled a giant salamander or some kind of toad, except that it had about a half dozen pairs of legs and several large flickering monitors and devices burrowed into its side. A red mask protruded from its front, and Yu set his face grimly.
"A Shadow," Yu said, breathless. As it slithered over the rooftop, he caught the dark silhouette of a person fleeing in the opposite direction.
Morgana seemed to have noticed them too, if his cursing was any indication. "God dammit-Narukami! You seem to know a thing or two about shadows and the like. Can I count on you to back me up?"
The cat drew a weapon seemingly from thin air-a saber. How had he not noticed it before? Yu nodded.
"Of course."
Thwack!
They heard the sickening crunch of something snapping, and then something was hurled from the building.
Mona gasped in horror.
"Ren!"
The teenager hit the concrete hard and rolled several meters before slamming into a metal pole at the intersection's center. He didn't get back up.
The Shadow leapt from the roof and crawled to the boy faster than they could blink, opening its mouth wide to reveal an endless abyss.
"No!" Mona started forward, but it was too late.
The boy disappeared into the dark amalgamation. The creature's lips closed around his limp, dangling arms, sealing him off from the outside world. It leaned its head back and they could visibly see its thick neck clench and tighten as a person-sized bulge passed through its throat. The rest of the high schooler's body disappeared, and the Shadow settled onto its feet with a satisfied groan.
Hot anger flared within Yu's chest. Frustration clawed at his abdomen, making it burn and twist with loathing. If only he'd been faster on his feet-if he hadn't been distracted by those TV screens then maybe…!
Mona cried out, voice raw with desperation.
"We have to save him!" He looked up at Yu, blue eyes blazing with fear and determination. "You said I could count on you, right?"
His blood cooled in his veins, and his brain felt like it had been dunked into a bucket of ice.
Count on…me? His fist tightened to hide the tremors in his fingers. I did say that, didn't I?
A wave of mixed emotions suddenly rushed into his head, uncontrollable.
Fear. Anxiety. Doubt. Loneliness. He was assaulted with visions, and the world seemed to slow down until even the rain had come to a standstill. They were memories too fast to see with his eyes, but lingered agonizingly long in his brain.
A child, alone in a house too big and too dark; a boy alone in a crowd, unable to bear his heart to others; a young man, afraid of being abandoned by those he'd formed bonds with.
Voices-his own-swirled on his mind.
Without others, you are nothing more than a pitiful child, it hissed, mockingly. You are empty. A shell of a man. Always relying on the borrowed strength of those you call 'friends'.
I know, he said, opening his mouth to wordless affirmation. I know it too well. But, all the same, will you lend me your strength, old friend?
Yu stopped running, looking up to the sky. His hands reached out towards the falling rain.
…fine.
Blue light shone like a falling star, descending from the heavens. A tarot card materialized in his palm, radiating energy.
Mona watched, transfixed. "So you really are one," he murmured, looking up at Yu in something like awe. He could barely hear the other's voice over the howling gale in his ears. "A persona user."
Yu crushed the card in his fist and it dissipated into fragments of strength. A rush of energy as powerful as a storm swelled within his body, wind whipping around them like a protective hurricane. The air crackled around them, smelling of sharp ozone, and the raindrops themselves trembled as they fell from the sky.
He shouted out, a familiar name on his lips, "Izanagi!"
In a flash of lightning and a boom of thunder, Yu's persona blazed to life, brandishing its silver naginata. Through the slits in its armet, Izanagi met Yu's eyes and gave him a faint, almost reassuring nod.
It's been a while, but we've got this.
In a clean, sweeping diagonal arc, Izanagi dashed forward and fell upon the shadow, naginata slicing a deep gash in the Shadow's flank. Caught by surprise, the monster reared back in pain and anger as sections of its body were torn from its side. Its insides spilled over like a waterfall of jet black ink. He could make out the outline of a figure jutting out through the darkness.
Taking their chance, the two ran forward and reached out towards the boy. Yu grabbed his shoulder and pried the boy from the Shadow's grasp, holding him as gently as he could in his arms.
In retaliation, the Shadow howled and kicked back the latter half of its appendages in a flurry of dangerous strikes. Yu leapt back and let Izanagi take the vanguard. His persona blocked the incoming hits with skillful maneuvering of its spear, storing its energy for a single, powerful parry that sent the creature staggering back.
While Izanagi had the shadow distracted, Yu retreated to the edge of the clearing and laid the highschooler to rest against the side of a wall. He looked to be in bad shape. Blood streamed from a deep cut in the side of his head, staining his uniform red. His breathing was ragged and uneven, probably from damage to his ribs-fractured at best, shattered at worst. The boy was pale, drenched with rain and shivering from the cold.
Still, Yu was surprised at how remarkably…unharmed he was. A normal human wouldn't have been able to survive the impact of such a hit, nonetheless a fall from the top of a building like that.
"Ren!" Mona knelt by the boy's side, worry making his voice crack. The cat held out his paws and closed his eyes in concentration. Yu watched, fascinated, as a persona manifested behind Mona's shoulders and began casting a healing spell. "Come on…wake up!"
After a few moments, the boy let out a weak groan and stirred.
"Ren!"
His dark eyes fluttered open, pupils hazy and dilated. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but was only strong enough to let out a raspy wheeze.
"Hey there," Yu said, trying to sound reassuring. As he met the boy's eyes, he was hit by a sudden and strange sense of nostalgia. As if he were meeting an estranged friend-someone he knew he should know, but perhaps the memories were too old and buried too deep in the recesses of his mind to recall. Still, Yu was certain that he'd never met the teenager before in his life. He would have remembered if that had been the case.
He broke himself out of his train of thought and offered the boy a smile. "Are you alright?"
The boy's eyes flickered to Yu, then to Izanagi, and then back to Mona. Confusion was writ on his face plainly. "Who…?" he began, voice faint. He made eye contact with Mona, who nodded subtly.
"We can trust him. For now."
The boy relaxed a slight bit.
Their attention was once more stolen by a loud boom.
Sudden, body-numbing pain rushed through Yu's body like a wave. He bit back a hiss of pain and looked over his shoulder as he felt Izanagi retreat back into his soul.
The heavy, amphibian-like Shadow was impervious to his persona's chain of strikes and slashes. It's thick, rubbery skin, coated further in a layer of slime, repelled most of the flurry of attacks launched against it. The one wound they had managed to inflict on it had already begun to mend itself, the dark flesh weaving itself together like strings of thread come to life.
With startling strength and an overwhelming number of appendages to fight back with, the Shadow knocked Yu's persona back and slammed its entire weight onto it. They were both crushed into the floor, hard enough to leave an impact crater.
His persona struggled in vain. Yu released the summoning through grit teeth, and Izanagi dissolved into pale mist. The Shadow, suddenly lacking an enemy to vent its frustrations on, roared into the night.
Yu grimaced. "So it's stronger than it seems."
Mona glanced between the two. "So what's the plan?" With one member down for the count, one preoccupied with support, and just a single attacker, things weren't looking so good. "It would be a good idea to retreat for now and regain our bearings."
"That…won't work," The teenager-Ren, Morgana had called him-gasped out between labored breaths. The teen struggled to sit up, despite Mona's protests, and held his head between his hands. With all the blood loss, he was no doubt feeling dizzy and out of sorts. "The screens…this city-it works with the Shadows. Even if we run, it'll only guide it to us."
Yu wasn't quite sure what the boy meant, but if that was true then-
"Then we just have to fend it off here," he decided, crossing his arms.
Mona looked torn between disbelief and unease. "Are you kidding? It's going to be rough fight, even with my support."
"Don't worry," Yu reassured, already reaching out for his persona again. "I'm a fair bit tougher than I look."
There was the sound of rustling clothes and pained breaths. Ren staggered to his feet and said, "I'll be pitching in too."
Yu raised his brow and Mona jumped up, grabbing him by the hems of his shirt. "Hey! You're in no condition to fight! And you…" he trailed off, voice hesitant. His blue eyes scanned Ren up and down, as if searching for something but not finding it. "I-I knew something was wrong. Your will of rebellion isn't…"
"I'm fine, Mona. That hit really did wonders to clear my head," he said, wiping the blood from his temple. There was a spark of color in his onyx eyes that wasn't there before. When he stood this time, his back was straight and his head high. "Besides, we're gonna need all the hands we can get to take this thing down."
Yu conceded. Not that anything he said would convince the boy otherwise. "Alright. I'll be counting on you."
The high schooler nodded his thanks. "I'll try not to embarrass myself this time," he said, tone laced with a bit of self-depreciating humor. Ren then closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath of air.
It started from his heels, a spark of cerulean flame that curled up his legs and towards his neck. Yu almost shouted out in alarm, but then he realized-even as close as he was, the fire wasn't hot at all. The boy exhaled sharply, and the flames surged into an inferno that completely enveloped his body. His once black eyes glowed yellow for a split second-and then with a flourish of his arms, the fire faded into embers that shook off of his new clothes.
Where once stood an ordinary high schooler now was a figure costumed in darkness. A pale mask covered his brow, and clutched in his now scarlet-gloved hand was a wicked sharp dagger about the size of his forearm. Strapped to his side was the oiled gleam of silver-a pistol.
Yu raised a brow at the transformation. Similar to Mona's, it seemed that whatever power the two called upon resulted in direct physical changes as well. The sight brought to mind a certain group of vigilantes who had taken the world by storm not more than a year ago. News that he'd regarded with interest, but hadn't had the time to properly investigate with all that had been happening.
Yu shook his head to clear his digressing thoughts. Now wasn't the time.
Mona bounded by his heels, huffing with displeasure. "Fine! But you'd better take it easy. If you get hit again-"
"I know, Mona," he interrupted. "I'll be careful. Promise." The masked figure turned to Yu. There was a moment of silence between them, as each seized the other up. It was hard to tell what the boy was thinking, what with that mask on his face. Finally, he broke the silence:
"Joker."
Yu blinked. "What?"
"My name," he said, head inclining slightly. "You can call me Joker."
By then, the Shadow had regained its bearings. It turned around, snorting loudly and coiling its body to pounce.
"Incoming," Mona shouted, and the three split as the Shadow barreled towards them. Its many limbs pounded against the floor like the stomping hooves of a herd of buffalo, shooting past where they once stood. Its feet-or, at a closer look, hands-skid against concrete, slowing it to a rough stop, before it could turn around to face them again.
Yu took his chance. "Izanagi!" The tarot card materialized again, shattering in Yu's palm.
Izanagi shimmered to life.
Across the street, he saw Joker do the same. The mask perched atop the boy's nose erupted into a cloud of blue fire, and he ripped it off with a valiant shout.
"Arsene, come!"
By his side, a demonic creature clothed in the classy red suit of a gentleman roared to life. A pair of feathered wings dyed the color of the night sky unfurled from its back and stretched out as it took to the air.
Yu tore his eyes from the sight, readying to strike. Moving in sync with his host, Izanagi reared back and raised its naginata to the rain-pelted sky. There was a loud crackle of static electricity, and all of the hair on Yu's body stood on end.
Faster than the eye could blink, a spear of lightning flooded the city with light, and not seconds later came a deafening Boom! that had his ears ringing. A shockwave blasted through the crossing, buffeting the group with droplets of scattered rainwater and ruptured atmosphere.
At the same instant, the street under the Shadow bubbled and warped as if the very asphalt was melting. In a scream of pure dark energy, out burst a geyser of pitch black fire and shadow. Ripples of ominous energy shook the air, flickering with crimson red light.
Assaulted on both sides, the Shadow let out a cry and staggered back as streams of smoke curled off of its body. The numerous screens and TVs on sprouting from its body flashed with electrical energy and light, pulsing white noise and static. It shook ashes off of its slick skin and opened its mouth to unleash a metallic scream-unhurt, but apparently annoyed.
"You're kidding me," Mona cried out from across the street, faltering. "A hit that powerful and it's perfectly fine?"
Yu managed a short laugh. "Looks like that tickled a bit."
Beating its feet against the street, the Shadow charged again-Yu ducked and rolled away as Izanagi disappeared into the mist of rain.
"Zorro!"
Wind gathered into a swirling vortex under the Shadow's feet, whipping up a powerful vortex of rain. It did little to stop the monster's momentum-the Shadow was too heavy, and its center of gravity too low to be knocked off balance by the attack.
A sharp pop! echoed through the air, and what followed was the sharp crack of glass breaking. Yu glanced around, realizing that one of the monitors that had been humming with electricity had been fractured in a radial pattern from a small hole at its center. The display fizzled as rain seeped in through the cracks.
"Guys!" Yu and Mona turned to see Joker, barely a shadow in the darkness, perched atop a street lamp. The barrel of his silver pistol, gleaming with rainwater, was smoking from heat and friction. "The screens-break them all! Mona, over here," he yelled, motioning for his partner to follow his lead.
Mona paused, the gears visibly turning in their mind, before they nodded resolutely. "Got it!" The cat nimbly leapt up onto the ledge of a nearby shop and scurried up the side of the building, disappearing over the rafters.
Guess I'm on TV smashing duty.
Yu turned back to the shadow, who was now focused on the source of the loud gunshot.
Yu reached for his side-grasping only at empty air. Right. He had none of his usual equipment on him. Then he would just have to make do with…
He scanned around, eyes landing on a pipeline running down the side of a nearby storefront. It leaked with steam and water, a bit skewed from the earlier scuffle. The iron was scalding from the heat, but it was loose and would certainly give with a little bit of coercion. Yu knocked it loose with a firm kick and caught it as it tumbled to the floor.
He twisted the silver pipe in his hands, loosening out his wrists. The metal rod was about as long as he was tall-hollow, so not nearly as heavy as he would have liked it.
The shadow rushed at Joker, who vaulted along the street tops with startling ease. He flipped through the air like an acrobat, landing lightly atop street signs, poles, and wires. Pop! Pop! His pistol rang out, accompanied by the snap of breaking glass and the screens along the Shadow's body fizzing out.
Stretched across Joker's face was a wide, devilish sneer. His irises seemed to glow red, even though he knew for certain that the boy had black eyes. Joker let out a short, gleeful laugh as he twisted out of the Shadow's path, somersaulting over to another ledge of safety.
The Shadow was relentless, crawling along the floors like a snake. It mowed down all in its path, from cars to poles.
Joker's finger closed around his trigger, but it left a hole of gaping silence. He grimaced and leapt away, sheathing the pistol in its holster. He was out of bullets.
Yu raised his metal pipe high up over his shoulder. It came swinging down upon the nearby metal pole with a loud clang! The whole traffic light shook, as did the bones in Yu's arms. He winced slightly, but it would get the job done. The sound reverberated though the wide open street, hopefully loud enough to divert the Shadow's attention.
"Hey!" Yu brandished his makeshift weapon and shouted as loud as he could manage. The Shadow snarled and whipped around. "Over here!"
The taunt proved effective. It screeched at him, before lumbering over in his direction. Yu turned tail and began sprinting the opposite way, hollering as loud as he could to keep its attention on him.
His flat-bottomed shoes slid over the slick street. Out of the corner of Yu's eye, he could see a blurry dark figure darting over the lampposts to keep up with him. As he reached the end of the other crossing, Yu planted one foot down, pivoting on his heel, and spun around in time to see the Shadow descend upon him.
Yu all but snarled. "Izanagi!" The tarot card burst into confetti between his fingers.
The persona roared to life, naginata pointing outward. The Shadow fell upon the steel tip, sinking lower and lower onto it from the force of its own weight. It shrieked so loud that Yu thought his eardrums would burst.
All of its limbs flailed to life, fighting with the naginata to pull itself free. Yu ducked to avoid the arms. Some of them fisted into Izanagi's clothes, pulling the persona into a death grapple. Both sides refused to budge, grabbing and pushing back in equal strength. Yu saw his chance.
He jumped up onto his persona's hunched back and leapt up, soaring onto the Shadow's exposed back. As he did so, he raised his weapon up high over his head, muscles along his back and shoulders tensing.
With all of his strength, combined with Izanagi's, Yu swung down. He slammed the tip of the rod down onto its spine-or at least where he assumed its spine would be, if it had the physiology of an average creature-and felt it sink into flesh with a satisfying crunch.
Glass shattered, and flesh and muscle rippled around him like waves. Izanagi dissipated as the creature was smeared against concrete. Several of the screens around him were fractured from the indirect impact of the heavy strike, and the skin around where Yu had stabbed his pole into was torn to shreds.
Yu yanked the weapon from the monster's flesh, rearing back to deliver another blow, but found that he was stuck. Looking closer, he realized with a cold start that something had tangled around his weapon-a mangled fist.
"Shoot," he cursed, letting go of the pipe. He dodged back just in time as another arm shot out from the Shadow's shoulder and rushed up to grab at Yu. New appendages sprouted from the Shadow's spine under Yu's feet as he made a hasty retreat. He had to get away-fast.
Suddenly, he was unbalanced by a strong tug. Yu looked over his shoulder to see that a hand had managed to grab onto the waist pocket of his coat, and was pulling on it hard.
In a flash of silver, the grip slackened enough for Yu to hurriedly rip off his coat and leap from the back of the beast. He dropped down on the street, and Joker softly landed by his side, silver dagger coated with shadow flesh.
"You alright?"
Yu nodded this thanks. "Wasn't expecting it to grow more arms. I just lost a perfectly good steel pipe there."
They watched as his former weapon sank into the shadowy mass. The Shadow turned around to face them, looking furious. The gaping hole in its chest slowly mended itself before their very eyes, stitched together by the shadows itself. Yu already figured that physical hits wouldn't work well, but it was still a bit disheartening to see.
"A shame," Joker said, shooting Yu a sideways look. "You're pretty handy with a pipe. Do you…normally have the strength of a hulk?"
Yu let out a short laugh.
The two broke into a mad dash as the Shadow hounded after them once more. Yu felt like he hadn't run this much in ages.
"And you?" Yu shouted at Joker, voice almost drowned by all the noise. "You're a good shot-are you all out of ammo?"
"For…now," he gasped out in reply. Joker visibly flinched with pain and stumbled forward, tripping over his own feet.
"Hey!"
Yu reached out and pulled him closer, dragging them both out of the way of a tackle that sent the Shadow careening into the nearest electrical pole. They ducked for cover behind a nearby overturned vehicle and Yu sat Joker down.
The teenager was having trouble breathing, and his face was pale and clammy, visible even with his mask on. He had his arms cradled around his chest.
"I knew it," Yu frowned. "You're hurt-badly. Try to calm your breathing."
Joker managed a weak grin. "Nothing that I can't handle." His eyes drifted over Yu's shoulder and the grin grew wider. "Looks like Mona's all good to go."
Yu followed Joker's gaze. Oh, he thought. So that's his plan.
He stood up, brushing the water off of his pants, and set his jaw determinedly. "You should stay here and try to recover. I'll deal with the rest."
Before Joker could protest, Yu leapt out of their cover and dashed towards the center of the crossing. He caught Mona's eyes, shining brightly in the dark, and nodded.
"Over here," Yu hollered, bending over to pick up a shard of broken glass. He hurled it at the Shadow.
As expected, it was lured in by the bait. With a vicious growl, the Shadow turned directions and began its pursuit. Yu stood his ground even as it drew closer.
10 meters.
6 meters.
Yu reached up for the sky. A blue tarot card appeared, twirling in the air.
3 meters.
He could hear the creature's panting breaths and rumbling grunts getting louder.
1 meter.
The fool's tarot disappeared into fragments of light.
Izanagi emerged from the mist, but rather than using his spear, the persona met the Shadow head on. The two beasts grappled like sumo wrestlers at the center of the arena, neither willing to budge. Wind and rain clashed between them, flesh pulling and tearing.
Phantom pain assaulted Yu's body and he struggled to stand tall. He turned to Mona, shouting, "Now!"
He were already on it.
"Zorro!"
Wind curled and howled around the cat's small body, and his persona appeared, rapier pointed at the ready. Concentrated bursts of air, sharp as knives, shot forward, and the thick wires holding the billboard overhead snapped free. The tendrils whipped out wildly and hissed with friction.
The glowing LED sign tilted forward slowly.
New album, hot off the press-preorder Official Hig-
It flipped over itself, but, by a stroke of pure misfortune, snagged along the side of one of the thick, translucent tubes they'd seen all over the city. Despite the weight of the signboard, the tube held firm, propping the LED up in place.
The Shadow snarled, gripping Izanagi with it's many fists. It was slowly gaining the advantage. Yu grit his teeth, willing his persona to stand strong.
He could see Mona panicking, rushing over to try and get the board loose-
Pop!
The tube burst in a violent spray of blue fluid, glowing with ethereal light. It spewed out uncontrollably like blood from a severed artery.
Joker leaned against the side of the vehicle he'd been taking cover behind, the tip of his gun smoking. So he'd had one last bullet in the barrel after all.
Yu watched as the now broken line gave way, and down came tumbling the billboard. Realizing that he was still in its path, he turned tail and dove for cover.
Down and down it fell, until-
Smash!
The sound of several thousands of square feet of glass and metal shattering filled his ears, followed by the agonized screeching of the Shadow. It sounded like the rusty breaks of a train grinding against steel tracks, the awfulness of it multiplied twenty times over.
With its body now pinned against the asphalt, the monitor screens protruding from all over its body reduced to broken portals of glass, Yu yelled out a final command.
"Go, Izanagi!"
The sky darkened and static crackled all around them. He felt the air pressure drop rapidly and his ears popped. He raised his hands to cover his ears and eyes at the last second.
In a howling arc descended a viscous bolt of lightning. It was so bright and hot that Yu felt the hair on his body singe from the heat.
Then followed the boom-so loud that it sounded like a bomb detonating in front of him. The noise filled his mind and raided all of his senses.
And then the light faded, and the streets were flooded with quiet.
Yu lowered his arm and beheld the aftermath.
The shadow lay in a smoking, scorched heap on the floor, unmoving. The LED as well as the dozens of displays melded into the Shadow's form had caught fire, spraying loose electrical sparks and faint embers that were quickly extinguished by the rain.
"Is it dead?" Mona jumped from their perch, landing quietly on the damp concrete beside him.
Suddenly, the black mass began to wriggle and writhe violently. Mona shouted out in alarm, and Yu braced himself for another tough bout-but then he realized that it wasn't getting up. The Shadow oozed into dark, inky puddles all over the street top. They sloshed around like waves, and Yu realized with a start that they were all moving-separating from each other.
The small pools of darkness wriggled away, dispersing into the night city. Some crawled hurriedly into nearby TV screens, others hid away in the alleys, while yet more slipped into the sewers and storm drains.
Yu and Mona watched as the massive shadow evaporated into nothing, leaving charred asphalt, smoldering electronics, and the ruined, flickering billboard in its wake.
"So," Mona said, disbelief etched in his voice as he beheld the graveyard of TVs and mechanical parts. "You're telling me that what we fought was just a bunch of shadows all…smashed together?"
"Not too dissimilar from the Shadows we saw in palaces or in Mementos." Joker hobbled over, still clutching his side. "They took a different form to suit their environment, but when their true forms were revealed, most of the time they were small groupings of weaker Shadows."
Yu stepped forward, gently kicking a nearby screen over with the tip of his loafers. It fell over and all but dissolved into ashes. Wires and cords tangled all over the floor like a system of interlocking roots, though they were all just as burnt to a crisp as the machines they were tethered to. "Seems like it," he said, kneeling down to observe the scorched wires. Though his initial hit of lightning hadn't been as effective due to the Shadow's thick skin, it seemed that by damaging the electrical casing, their attacks could reach the center of the Shadow's body-its weakness. "I guess those screens on its back were all just pieces of tech that it swallowed on the way." Yu raised a brow and turned to Joker, impressed. "How did you know that would work?"
The masked man offered a flippant grin. "When it swallowed me whole earlier, I got a feel for its insides. Its organs were all exposed wires, so I figured that if we tried enough, we could find a means to get the devices to short-circuit. Your lighting skills were more than enough to do the job, though. I thought it would need a bit more to finish it off." He let out a weak laugh. "It kind of sucked at first, but I'd say it was a pretty good thing I got eaten by that Shadow."
Mona shook his head in exasperation. "Seriously? That's your take-away?"
Joker took another step forward, but this time his knee crumpled under his weight. Blue flames flickered around him, and suddenly the boy was back in his normal clothes. Yu and Mona rushed to his side to offer support, one taking his shoulder and the other offering a burst of healing.
"Just…trying to look on the bright side," he managed with a short cough. Mona sighed.
"Now that the threat is gone, we should look for a way back home," Mona said, brow furrowing as he mended the teenager's wounds. "Ideally before something else appears to finish us off."
Yu nodded in agreement. "Any ideas on how to get back though?"
Silence.
He took that as a no.
"What is this place, anyways? If we knew where we were, exactly, then maybe we could figure out a way back," Mona offered in ways of discussion. "It's definitely reminiscent of the worlds we traveled to in our time, but the effects of distortion feel…different here, somehow."
Joker flopped onto the sidewalk to rest, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. "We can't assume that every situation we encounter is the same as the last. But I kind of get what you mean. The atmosphere feels different, and other than that big guy we just fought, this place is deserted."
"You can say that again," Yu murmured. He scanned the glinting monitors around them, a part of him hoping that a familiar costumed friend of his would pop out of one of the screens and magically conjure the group a portal out of there. He reached out tentatively, pressing his palm against the glass.
Nope.
Advertisements flickered across the screen, unaffected by his touch. He could feel the two's watchful eyes analyzing his every step, burning with curiosity. "Wherever this place is, it's definitely not safe for us here. Shadows could be watching our every movement."
Mona made a noise of agreement, turning to look at Joker. "Have you checked your smartphone yet? No MetaNav or anything similar?"
Joker pulled his cell out of his pocket. "When we got here, I swear I saw something…it kept making sounds, though, so I had it turned off." He looked up, a strange expression on his face. "Speaking of odd things, I saw this weird tower…"
While the two discussed, Yu took out his own cellphone to see if anything had appeared on it.
"Huh," he frowned. The screen had glitched out, flashing pale and grey with static. Had it been damaged in the fight?
Something hissing and spitting caught Yu's attention, and he glanced over to see that the translucent blue tube that Joker had shot up was still leaking its contents all over the floor. The tube itself seemed to pulse in steady time, even when severed. Curiously but cautiously, he knelt down to inspect the mysterious fluid.
It didn't appear like water, and didn't smell much like anything either. He pulled a glove from his pocket and pulled it on, before gingerly reaching out to touch it with his fingers. Immediately, the fabric on the glove began to sizzle and foam, and the skin underneath began to burn.
Yu winced, quickly tugging the glove off and watching as the fibers began to melt before his very eyes as if burned by acid.
Well, there goes a perfectly good glove, he thought. Definitely not water.
It was slightly viscous though, almost the consistency of maple syrup. The tips of his fingers were still tingling, even after removing the article of clothing. He hoped it wasn't too badly burned.
"Narukami," Mona called, beckoning for him to come over. "We may have found a lead of sorts-"
Suddenly, a puff of smoke rose from the floor, enveloping Yu in thick smog.
"What the-"
Curling out from the slowly largening pool of blue liquid was a cloud of fog, and it was rapidly condensing into the air around him. An indescribable scent filled Yu's nose, sharp and powerful, that reminded him of sulfur but slightly sweeter. It seemed to worm into every orifice of his body and choke out the air from his lungs.
Yu coughed, stumbling back as quickly as he could, and fanned out the cloud of gas to try and clear his throat.
"Narukami!" He heard Mona shout his name in concern, before he too broke out into choking wheezes. "What the heck is this?"
Starting to feel light-headed, he covered his face with his arm and grabbed Mona, urging them with his eyes that they had to get away. Something cold brushed softly against his ear, and he could have sword that he felt someone breathing against his neck.
Faint whispers trailed on the wind. They were so quiet that even when straining his ear, he couldn't make sense of what the voices were saying.
Yu's body seized up. His headache bore down on his skull stronger. The whispering grew more pervasive-parasites wriggling into his brain.
He grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut as his vision grew blurry. His heart beat strongly in his chest, and alien emotions clouded his thoughts.
How could they, a voice cried out in his head. It was loud, sudden. He couldn't be sure if it was really him thinking this, or if this was just a voice in the fog. How could they do this to me?
It was so, so loud. Voices of protest continued to rise up inside of his skull-angry, vengeful.
After everything I've done for them…
Yu shook his head, trying to block out the voices.
…discarded. Cast aside, a tool that's outlived its use.
He felt a hand grab his arm, tugging him away. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a voice calling out to him.
That's all you ever are to them. You know this all too well, don't you?
"...kami! Get a hold of yourself!"
He winced, opening his eyes to meet the concerned faces of his new companions. Before he could respond, they pulled him away from the center of the road and down the path, away from the sizzling puddle of blue ooze.
The fog grew thinner as they gained distance from it, and fresh air returned to his lungs. Their feet slowed as they turned into an unfamiliar side alley. The lights here were dimmer than they were on the main roads, but still lit with neon shop signs, holographic commercials, and road directions. It did wonders for his headache.
"I-I'm fine," Yu managed, rubbing his eyes out until they felt red and raw. His stomach felt unsettled and nausea pushed up from his throat. He swallowed it down, forcing an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I got dizzy all of a sudden."
Joker frowned, clearly unconvinced. "You inhaled a lot of that weird gas," he pointed out. "It could have been toxic. You should let us know if you're feeling unwell."
Mona chimed in, "Yeah, we had better be extra careful while we can. As I said, this is uncharted territory for all of us. What might seem harmless could come back and bite us in the rear later." The cat sighed, seeming stressed. "If only we had Oracle here, we could try to better assess our situation. Frankly, those Shadows might be the least of our worries."
"I'm sorry," Yu said again, straightening up as much as he could without his vision blurring. "I got careless."
Mona shook their head. "Listen, I wasn't asking for an apology-"
They were interrupted by the sound of Yu's phone buzzing against the inside of his palm. He had forgotten that he'd still been holding onto it.
"What in the world?" All three exchanged uneasy looks. There shouldn't have been any cellular service here, so his phone ringing could only be…
Yu flipped the screen back, seeing that the display, once broken up with static, had gone completely blue. Another error?
White text appeared on screen that he had to squint to read.
Connection reached. Download in progress. Do not shut off your device.
Progress at 15%...20%...
"Um," Yu said, baffled. He had never been one to be all that tech savvy, but this didn't seem quite right. He pointed at his phone and looked over at the two, lost. "Something's happening to my phone."
Progress at 40%...45%...
"Should I be concerned about this?" Just as he posed the question, Yu felt his phone grow hotter in his hands. He watched in a mixture of fascination and dread as the keypad began to warp and smoke before his very eyes.
Progress at 70%...80%...90%
"D-don't just stand around!" Mona yelped, the fur on his tail bushing out. "Do something!"
Progress at 95%...
Yu jerked back as Joker suddenly reached out and snatched Yu's flip phone out of his hands.
"Sorry about this," Joker said, sounding not the least bit apologetic. He whipped around, arm pulled back over his head, and hurled his phone out into the mist with all the skill of a professional pitcher on the field. Yu watched, dumbfounded as his phone began to glow, tremble, and buzz wildly, before it completely exploded into a ball of flames and ash midair.
Despite being nothing more than a pile of burning metal and wires, a mechanical, prerecorded voice played from the speakers of the now destroyed flip phone:
Progress 100%.
Dow_oad comple_e.
T_nk _o_.
Joker looked at the burning pile of ashes. The falling rain quickly dampened the smoldering embers, but the smell of burnt plastic and metal was fresh in the air. "Damn," he said, looking back towards Yu with wide eyes. "Sorry about your phone, though."
Yu rubbed the splitting headache between his eyes, trying to stay focused. He shook his head. "No…you're fine. T-thanks for that."
"Like I said, we don't know what kind of strange things we're dealing with here," Mona reminded them, looking pointedly at the remains of Yu's phone. "Case in point. Let's get moving. The sooner we're out of here, the better."
Yu blinked, confused. "Where are we going?"
"The tower I mentioned before," Joker explained. He took the front, leading the way with a motion of his arm. "Where I woke up first when we arrived here. I think that place could be our ticket out."
Not in much of a position to question further, Yu nodded and followed along. His ears had begun buzzing quietly, and the headache, while the pain had faded for the most part, still lingered faintly in the back of his skull.
The trio stepped through quiet alleys and side streets, hardly pausing for a break as Joker retraced his steps confidently. The scenery reminded him of the backstreets of Tokyo-narrow walls, twisting roads, oddly placed buildings and stairs. Everywhere they turned, their sights were assaulted with twitching monitors and humming displays that never seemed to stop changing.
A particular newsflash briefly caught his eye as they passed by:
Old couple in Inaba robbed while on an evening walk-will police be able to pin down the culprit in time? Stay tuned to find out!
He couldn't help but frown and turn away. That sounded more like the opening headline on a television drama rather than legitimate news. And a shameless robber in Inaba? What were things coming to…?
"Here it is," Joker said finally, slowing to a stop as the streets opened up into a major crossing, where dozens of small roads intersected. Pale road markings created jagged lines across the dark floor, and crosswalk signs blinked between green and red intermittently, despite the lack of actual foot traffic.
What caught his eye immediately, though, was the gigantic tower spearing out into the clouds overhead. It spiraled upwards, glowing with neon lights and dazzling LEDs that spanned across its entire surface. Hundreds of blue tubes gathered around the structure, wrapping it like vines around a tree. At its center was a large, electronic display board, projecting the image of a thumping blue heart. Pictured below it was a long, cylindrical bar, its length marked up with seven evenly spaced hatches. The digital gauge was filled up to its first tick with gently undulating black liquid.
"Back to normal, I see," Joker muttered under his breath. "That's new, though." He pointed at the tower, frowning. "That…gauge. It wasn't there before."
"A hint of some kind?" Yu suggested.
"Well, the only difference between then and now is…" Joker trailed off, face darkening as he was lost in thought.
"Guys, we can think about that later," Mona urged, sounding impatient. "Let's get out of here first, and then we can discuss theories. Joker? You brought us here to try something out, right?"
Joker nodded, pulling his smartphone out and showing the two his screen. "Here it is," he said, unsurprised to see that there was an unfamiliar application newly downloaded onto his phone. "This is the same icon."
It indeed was: a white-bordered, anatomical blue digital heart bearing a strong resemblance to the one projected onto the tower's LED display. Joker tapped on the heart icon and his screen brightened with white light. A feminine voice rang out from his speakers.
"Warning: a significant portion of data has yet to be initialized. Would you still like to disconnect from the server?"
Without hesitation, all three answered at the same time:
"Yes, please."
Joker's phone made a beep of confirmation.
"Disconnecting from server…please wait."
Yu was suddenly hit by a strong blast of vertigo. As he staggered blindly, their surroundings swirled around them as if pulled into a vortex. The blinding city lights faded into grey, blending into each other like beads of dark ink smudged by rain.
Yu closed his eyes as all sensation was stripped away.
"Successfully disconnected from servers. Thank you for using 'ImpulseVR'."
When he opened his eyes again, Yu found himself doubled over on icy pavement, bare hands burning in the cold winter chill. A quick glance around confirmed that they were back in reality: the skies were dark and unobscured by the metropolis lights. Gone were mechanical and futuristic contraptions, replaced by mossy brick walls and wooden street signs. Normal residential buildings carved flat outlines into the rapidly darkening twilight sky, dotted with faintly twinkling stars. A single, rusted street lamp lit the quiet neighborhood street with faded orange light.
Yu straightened up, bringing his arms in close as a shiver wracked his body. His coat had been claimed by the Shadow, and he was now realizing that a single thin sweater wasn't quite cutting it anymore. Though it wasn't raining in Inaba, it certainly was several degrees colder.
He heard a muffled thud to his right, and turned to see the boy, Ren, and his small cat, Mona, flopped over on the sidewalk.
"Ack," the cat groaned, rubbing at their eyes. Despite having returned to being a normal, albeit cute, black feline, Yu could still understand what he was saying. He blinked owlishly, pupils widening to the size of coins. "Everything's so dark here. Are…are we back?"
"Seems like it," Yu said with a relieved nod. "Is everyone okay?"
The highschooler leaned back onto his arms and let out a breathy sigh. "I've been better," he admitted, before struggling to his feet. His hands reached up to push up at phantom glasses, fingers making a pass at empty air. They must have been lost somewhere during their struggle, but he appeared to have no trouble seeing.
Despite his bravado, Yu noticed that he was visibly shaking and that his breaths still came out fairly uneven. "I'm just glad that worked."
Mona shook his head in exasperation, sitting on the floor to smooth down his still bristled strands of fur. "Another one," he grumbled. "This one called itself ImpulseVR, was it? You really need to get your phone checked or something, Ren. This is-what-the third time this has happened?"
Third?
The boy just shrugged at Yu's quizzical look. "That ringing we heard when we first were transported to the other world-I remembered seeing this icon appear on my phone right before we blacked out." He minimized the window and pocketed the device. "Lo and behold, when I checked through my phone again, it had reappeared-"
The boy suddenly broke out into dry coughs, arms wrapping around himself protectively as his body shook with effort.
"Hey, are you okay?" Mona gently brushed the highschooler's hand away with his nose, peering into his face with concern. "I know I healed you up a bit earlier, but don't push yourself. Those wounds won't mend themselves overnight."
"You should go visit the hospital," Yu frowned. He reached for the phone in his pocket, but his fingers grasped only at the fabric of his pants, and he was dully reminded of the unfortunate fact that it had just combusted into flames mere moments ago. "I'll take you there. We shouldn't leave your injuries untended to."
The boy's eyes widened, and he shook his head vigorously. "Uh, I'm fine," he said hurriedly, lifting his arms and legs in a show of health. "I'm just a little sore. Besides, you weren't feeling too hot yourself after inhaling that weird gas. If anything, you should be the one getting a check up."
Fair enough point. He'd forgotten about it momentarily at the relief of being returned back home, but the throbbing in his brain persisted quietly in the back of his head. It was a lot less painful than it had been before, though, and so Yu figured that it would pass with a good night's rest.
Before either could continue insisting that the other ascertain the state of their wellbeing, Ren's phone chimed loudly in his hands.
All three jumped back, bodies tensing.
When nothing happened, Mona cleared his throat. "That's…just a normal phone call." He looked at his charge pointedly and said, "You should pick up. It's your mother."
The boy blanched. He turned around to answer, shoulders hunching, and brought the device close to his ear.
"H-hello?"
Even from a distance, Yu could hear the angry voice from over the other end.
"Oh…it's that late? Sorry, I was distracted-huh? No, I'm not doing anything bad. I'm on my way back right now-"
While the highschooler placated his upset mother, Mona turned to Yu.
"You were a big help today, Narukami," the cat said, sounding genuinely grateful. "Trouble has a tendency to follow that guy around, and it looks like you ended up getting caught up in it. As much as I'm sorry for that, I'm also thankful that you were there. I'm not sure if we would have been able to manage without you."
Yu smiled faintly, warming his hands inside of his pants pockets. "Strange being on the other end for once," he said lightly. "Usually that's my line. But, it was a team effort that got us all out of there safely, so thanks to you too."
The cat's ears twitched with curiosity. "Sounds like you've got quite the past yourself. As much as I'd like to learn more…and as much as you probably have questions for us, I think it'd be best to call it a day for now. We're all exhausted and not exactly in the right mind to process everything that's happened."
"Good thinking," Yu agreed with a short nod. Now that they were back in safety, he felt the weight of all that had happened crash down on him. A bit light-headed, he glanced down at his watch to read the time. His stomach sank. Nearly eight o'clock in the evening-way beyond when he was expected to show up for dinner. And with his phone gone, he was sure that the pair waiting for him were besides themselves with worry for his safety. His shoulders sagged. "And Joker's probably not the only one with angry family members waiting for him to get back home."
"Angry is one way to put it," the teenager sighed, trudging towards the two after hanging up. Somehow, he looked even more drained of energy than he had before. He looked up at Yu, pausing before saying, "Mona already said it, but…thanks. You were a big help. And I'm sorry about your phone. I'll pay you back for it as soon as I can." The teenager inclined his head in a bow, making Yu raise his arms, flustered.
"Oh, there's no need for that," he began, feeling his cheeks warm. "None of that was your fault, and-besides-it's about time I got an upgrade. My friends have been nagging me about it for a while."
"On that note, let's stay in touch," Mona said, leaping up the boy's arm and curling onto his shoulders. "It's not every day that you meet another persona user in the wild. Plus, I get this sinking feeling that today won't be the end of all this. Just in case."
"We should exchange contacts then," Yu said, reaching for his phone. He stopped again, feeling sheepish. "…Right. Uh…do you have a piece of paper?"
The high schooler and his cat exchanged looks, before Mona shook his head and said, "It's fine. We'll come and find you, so long as you're still in Inaba."
Yu was curious, but he figured that he could save the questions for next time. He gave them both curt nods, starting off in the opposite direction. "Then, I'll be seeing you two-Joker, Mona."
"Morgana," he corrected. At Yu's confused look, the boy continued. "We go by aliases…on the other side. You can call the cat Morgana."
Morgana huffed, turning his head. "Not a cat, but it's not like anyone cares to remember," he grumbled under his breath. Yu raised his brow.
"Morgana, huh? Then you are…?"
The boy fiddled with the long, dark bangs curtaining his sharp, onyx eyes. "My name is Ren Amamiya. And…one more thing." Yu watched as Amamiya pursed his lips, hesitant. Following a moment of silence, he finally asked, "I don't mean this in a weird way, but…have we…met before?"
Again came that sensation. In the storm of conflict and confusion, Yu had pushed it to the back of his mind, but it returned again in full force. That feeling of deja vu-some satisfactory answer poised on the edge of his lips, but as quickly as the sensation came, it melted away like snow on his tongue.
Yu shook his head, slowly, but the more he thought about it, the more he was sure:
"No," he said. "We haven't. I'm certain I would have remembered if we had."