雨宮 蓮
Ren's parents were not happy when he returned home hours past curfew.
He sat meekly on the floor, knees folded under him in seiza as they grilled him on hot coals. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Morgana skulking away nervously into his bedroom.
"Care to explain what you've been up to, mister?"
In front of him sat his parents, disapprovingly glaring down at him from their leathery sofa-his mother on his left, father on his right. Ren fiddled with his hair, mind scrambling for explanations.
"Well, I—I promise I wasn't up to anything bad," he said feebly.
"That kind of excuse isn't going to work," his father said sternly. "Tell us exactly what you did, and be specific."
To tell you the truth, I was teleported to an alternate dimension where me, my cat, and a poor, random stranger were violently attacked by these monsters born from peoples' hearts—we call them Shadows. I almost died, but don't worry! I'm actually able to use a special power called Persona—on that note, remember those infamous criminals that became an international sensation last year? You know, the Phantom Thieves? I'm actually their leader. Cool, right?
Ren hung his head, swallowing a deep a sigh. Yeah, there's no way I can say that.
"On the way back, I ran into a stranger new to town," he said, repeating the story that he and Morgana hashed out on their slow walk back to his house, careful to keep the details consistent. "He was lost and needed our help finding directions. Apparently he'd been mugged on the way to town and had lost his coat and phone…so I took him to the station. That's all that happened."
He felt like an ant under a magnifying glass, subjected to the burn of their unconvinced glares. Ren tried not to squirm as his feet went numb under his weight.
His mother finally spoke, lips curved down heavily with disapproval. "Even if that's true…how many times have we told you to stay in line and keep your nose out of other people's businesses? The world isn't safe anymore. You shouldn't be interacting with strangers that you encounter on the streets!" Her voice rose, hysterical. The worry lines under her eyes had deepened significantly in the past year-no thanks to him. She held her head in her hands, eyes trembling. "What if something went wrong again? What if that man was trying to exploit you for money? Or, worse-"
His father interrupted her with a loud cough, shooting her a look.
"The point we're trying to get across is that you have a curfew, and we expect you to abide by the rules. No 'but's or 'if's about it. If you can't even follow something that simple, how can we trust you with anything else?"
Ren bit his lip, trying not to sound petulant. "Dad, I-"
His father raised his voice, cutting him off. "We're not laying these rules just to give you a hard time. This is for your sake. You can't afford to get into any more funny business this year, mister-unless you want to ruin your future. You've been working hard over the past year to rebuild people's trust, and you wouldn't want to throw that all away over something trivial."
"I swear…just look at how much trouble you've caused for others," his mother added, rubbing her temples. "You're lucky that Mister Sakura was so gracious as to take you in, considering everything that happened. Who knows where you would be if not for him?"
The highschooler clammed up, protests dying in his throat.
Heavy silence filled the room. Ren stared down at his knees, distracted by the way the fabric of his pants bunched up and folded with the lines of his legs.
"Well? Have you anything to say?"
The high schooler drew himself up, forcing words like cement out of his throat.
"I understand. I'll be careful from now on."
His parents exchanged tired looks.
His father shook his head, wordless disapproval in his eyes. Ren was dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Just go back to your room. You still have school tomorrow."
Ren stood, legs wobbly from falling asleep, scooped up his school bag, and quietly made his way towards the hallway. His mother called out from behind him, voice tinged with something similar to concern.
"Dear…you haven't eaten dinner yet, have you? Aren't you hungry?"
Ren paused at the edge of the room, trying to remember the last thing he'd eaten that day. He shook his head and turned to give his mother a slight smile.
"I'm fine," he said. "I'm not so hungry."
Morgana was waiting for Ren at the side of his bed when he finally retired to his bedroom. He pranced out of the way as Ren dropped his bag onto the floor and tiredly collapsed face-first into his pillow. He felt like dust: mere particles about to dissolve away. Every bone in his body throbbed-all of his muscles ached with the ferocity of someone who'd deadlifted a truck. It took all of his strength to keep from passing out right then and there.
"You alright?" Morgana jumped lightly onto the mattress, prodding his side with a wet, pink nose. Ren responded with a watery groan. "I guess that's a no. Sounded like the alibi that we made up wasn't good enough for them today. They really gave you a talking-to back there."
Morgana stared down at the back of Ren's mop of dark hair. He was unresponsive. "Hey…," he said despondently, ears wilting. "I'm sorry too. For being your partner-in-crime, I'm doing a pretty poor job of supporting you when you need it."
Ren stirred, heaving himself up into a half sitting position, and gazed down softly at his saddened feline companion. He reached out and lightly stroked the top of Morgana's head. Gentle palms rubbed at soft, fluffy ears, and then around to soft cheeks and a furry chin. The cat leaned into his touch, purring contentedly despite himself.
"I'm fine, Morgana," he said reassuringly, moving his hand further down to the cat's gently arching back. His fingers traced the outline of their spine, running down to their tail as it curled into his knuckles. "They're my parents, so I'll have to work things out with them eventually. And I get where they're coming from. I haven't exactly been the best son to them."
Morgana opened his partially lidded eyes, lips turning downwards. "Don't say that, Ren. If they knew the truth-if they knew what you had been fighting for all this time-"
Ren cut him off with another soothing pet and shook his head, turning to look out the window. "I can't tell them."
Morgana pouted, tail flicking out behind him. "I know…I just…I don't like to see you like this."
Ren smiled.
He gave Morgana a final affectionate tousle and raised his arms over his head to stretch out. His entire body tingled with pain and his joints popped dramatically under his aching muscles. Even just yawning sent sparks of electricity shooting through his still tender rib cage. With another groan, Ren flopped back over and tried to distract himself from the pain with his cell phone.
ImpulseVR stared back at him, reminding him of exactly what had gotten him in trouble with his parents that evening. Ren glared threateningly at his phone screen, prompting a sigh from Morgana.
"Don't look at your phone while lying down," he scolded, even as he too settled down by Ren's shoulder to peer at the phone screen. "Has anything changed? Or is it still there?"
Ren shook his head, finger hovering around the icon for the strange application. "Still there." He glanced back over at Morgana, who's whiskers were gently tickling his cheek. "You think we'll have to go back in there at some point again?"
Morgana shrugged with his little cat shoulders. "Who knows? Considering the way things usually go, I would say that it's a pretty good possibility." He paused to think. "Are you planning on telling the others?"
Ren hummed sleepily, words slurring slightly. "No, not yet. I don't think the situation calls for it." He closed his eyes, bringing his phone close to his chest. "Besides, they're all probably busy. I wouldn't want to bother them unless I knew for certain."
"If that's what you think is best," Morgana said, tail lashing. "On a positive note, though, I wasn't expecting to run into another Persona user of all things. His name was…Yu Narukami, right? What did you think of him?"
"Hm…he was strong." Ren reached up to remove his glasses, remembered that they were no longer there, and settled for rubbing his bloodshot eyes. "Pretty cool guy. Seems reliable too."
"That's it?"
Ren titled his head, confused. Morgana continued, "You seemed to know him from somewhere. I don't recognize him, though. Did you meet before you came to Tokyo?"
"Oh…" he trailed off, trying to remember why he'd stopped Narukami before they parted. He'd seemed so familiar at first, but at Narukami's certainty that they weren't acquainted, Ren wasn't so sure anymore. "It was just a feeling I got. I could have been mistaken," Ren said, a bit hesitantly.
"Really?" Morgana seemed unconvinced, but he moved on. "Well, to think we'd only just bumped into each other on the street-quite the fortuitous coincidence there, huh?"
Ren fought back a frown, brooding. If there was anything he'd learned over the last few years, it was that things like these were almost never the result of coincidence.
Their quiet conversation was interrupted by rustling sounds coming from their living room: the crack of a tin can popping open, followed by the soft clang of a metal bowl. Morgana perked up with interest. His ears swiveled around, mouth hung open slightly to reveal small but sharp teeth. Ren tried not to laugh.
"You should go eat," Ren suggested. At Morgana's conflicted expression, he chuckled and added, "It's fine. Wouldn't want to waste food, would we?"
"Then…I guess I'll have a bite," Morgana said eagerly, hopping off of his bed. "You should get some rest. I'll be back soon."
Ren watched as he slipped out through his bedroom door, left slightly ajar, before turning back to his phone. As he flipped though his phone library beneath eyes lidded from fatigue, he saw that he had an unread notification from a couple hours back.
Confused, he tapped on the message icon.
Sumire Yoshizawa:
I'm arriving on the weekend!
My gymnastics meet will be early next week, so we can hang out when I have free time between practice.
Does Sunday noon work for you?
Ren shot up into a sitting position, ignoring the way his body ached in protest. Did he miss her message when they disappeared into the other world?
Mind scrambling, he thumbed out a hurried response:
Sorry for the late reply. Something happened and I was distracted until now.
His fingers hovered over his keyboard as Ren chewed on his lip in thought.
Sunday noon sounds great.
Let's meet in front of the station. We can grab lunch and look around the shops in the area if you have the time.
Barely a few moments later, a tag appeared below his text message, indicating that it had been read.
No worries, Senpai. I know you're busy yourself!
That sounds good to me. I'm looking forward to seeing you again!
Ren lay back down on his bed, breathing out in relief. It had been some time since he'd seen Sumire-almost half a year now?-and he was already looking forward to catching up with her. No doubt they'd have a lot to talk about.
His mind drifted off as he stared at his blank ceiling. What face did he usually make when he talked to Sumire? It had been a while since he'd had a conversation with someone his age.
Ren's eyes drooped.
More thoughts floated into his consciousness even as he lost his grip on it. His body felt weightless, as if he were floating on water.
He imagined the rush of air on his face and the tug of gravity in his gut as he leapt through the sky. Strength coursed through his veins and laughter bubbled on his lips. He could still feel the cold sting of rain on his skin and the howl of wind in his ears.
It felt good to fight again. It felt right.
The events of the day caught up with him, and Ren felt his heavy body slowly sinking into the quiet abyss.
"…wake up..."
Ren wondered if he was hearing things.
"Please…wake up."
The voice calling to him sounded urgent. Ren's face scrunched up as the plea conflicted with the desires of his mind to roll over and go back to sleep. He reluctantly peeled his eyelids back and sat up groggily.
A part of him was expecting to find himself locked in the Velvet Room's prison again, faced with yet another trial that would have him fighting to break fate's shackles and prove his mettle as the chosen Trickster.
But this time he was met with complete darkness. Ren stood up slowly, feeling a dreadful uneasiness creep into his stomach. As his shoes tapped against the floor, he heard the ripple of water underfoot. He looked down, barely able to make out the outline of inky black waves below him-all around him-traced by faint blue light.
He opened his mouth hesitantly, speaking out into the pitch void.
"Lavenza?"
There was a moment of deafening silence that had Ren questioning if he'd been only imagining her presence, before a soft voice called back from the darkness.
"Yes, it is I," she said. He heard faint footsteps parting the surface of water and the familiar chime of bells, but no matter how hard he squinted, Ren couldn't see her. "Thank you for heeding my summons, Trickster."
What's going on? Why am I here? Ren tried to ask, but found with a startled grunt of muted air that he was unable to form words. He brought a confused hand to his throat as Lavenza began to talk.
"I'm sorry, but I must be brief. We don't have much time," she said. Her voice held an air of gravity that hadn't been there the last few times he had spoken with her, and it put him on edge. "I came to tell you thus: be on your guard, Trickster. Another trial awaits you-perhaps one greater than anything you've faced until this point. This time, however…" Lavenza trailed off, and he could imagine her grimace as she looked down to her side. She took in a breath and continued, voice hardening. "For this ordeal, you will not receive the aid of the Velvet Room. Whatever it is that you face, you must face alone."
Ren did a double take. But why? Did something happen? He tried to ask questions, but his voice was still sealed. He grit his teeth in frustration. Lavenza!
"We shall meet again at journey's end. Though I wish I could tell you more, I'm already…" Her sentence trailed off. "Circumstances prevent it."
A flickering blue light manifested in the empty space before him, dancing faintly in the dark. It was a blue butterfly. Ren tried to get closer, tried to lift his arms to catch it, but he was rendered immobile. His mind screamed at his body to move—do anything—but, here, he was nothing more than a doll in the place of a human.
"I wish you good luck, Trickster. This will be the last we speak for some time," Lavenza murmured, her voice beginning to fade as the butterfly drifted away into the sky. Ren felt his heart wring out in his chest. She…sounded so sad.
The spell finally broke loose. Ren stumbled forward, reaching out in desperation.
"Lavenza, wait! I don't understand!"
But it was too late. The light vanished, and he was left alone once more. Her parting words whispered in his ears, long after her warm presence had faded.
"I'm sorry, Ren."
鳴上 悠
Yu woke up hungry.
He sat up in his futon and dazedly stared out at his new surroundings through a curtain of silver bangs.
A large, gray carry-on bag, yet to be unpacked, sat on the wooden floor by a worn desk, speckled with old post-it notes. On the adjacent walls were simple shelves lined with old figurines, books, and odd knick-knacks collected from over the years. Untouched, it seemed, and waiting for their owner's return. At the room's center was a short coffee table, accompanied by an old, plush navy sofa.
Oh, right, Yu thought, rubbing his eyes. I came back home to Dojima's last night.
The window panes, partially covered by thick, dark curtains, were frosted over with ice. Dawn had only just begun to break. Pink and orange rays of light tinted the steel gray clouds hovering over the mountain tops, cresting the outline of flat buildings and telephone poles. It was undoubtedly going to be a cold day.
Yu shivered in his thin woolen sweater.
As he'd hoped, the throbbing headache from yesterday had mostly cleared up after a good night's rest, but in its place were sore muscles and body aches all over—probably from all the running and persona summoning that he'd done the night before. He rose from the warm confines of his futon and stretched out with a muffled groan.
His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him of why he woke.
After making himself presentable, Yu plodded down the stairs towards the enticing smell of hot oil frying on the stove.
The father-daughter pair were already up and about in the living room, preparing breakfast to the soft drone of the TV in the background.
"...expect cloudy skies every day until the weekend, with temperatures set to reach a low of minus-one degree celsius. A cold front will be passing over Inaba on the weekend, bringing with it rain and chances of hail…"
The older of the two noticed Yu first, seated on the dining table cluttered with unopened letters and newspapers.
"Oh, Yu. You're awake?" Ryotaro Dojima greeted, pausing to take a sip from his mug of coffee. The slightly-older-than-middle-aged man was already fully dressed and ready for the day, donning his usual ash gray shirt, maroon tie, and dark slacks. He clawed lazily at the stubble on his jaw and raised an eyebrow at him. "Why not sleep in a bit more? You seemed pretty worn out last night—you knocked out as soon as you went to bed."
"I'm fine now. Sorry to have worried you," Yu said tiredly as another head poked out from inside the kitchenette.
"You really did worry us, geez!" Nanako Dojima huffed, waltzing into the living room with plates of fried eggs and toast balanced on her arms. She had her now long, brown hair tied back into a ponytail, and was wearing her new school clothes: a dark sailor uniform held together by a pearl-white ribbon around the collar. The middle-schooler set the dishes down onto the table and turned towards Yu with a pout. "When you called earlier yesterday, you said you would be in Inaba before dinner! What were you thinking, showing up so late and without warning too? You could have at least let us know you were safe…"
Yu blinked, taken aback by the stern frown on his cousin's face. "S-sorry."
Dojima laughed at Yu's flustered expression. "C'mon, Nanako, give him a break. He did mention that he'd lost his phone on the way here. Speaking of," Dojima said after a pause of deliberation. "You didn't run into any trouble, did you? The trip from the big city to a backwater place like Inaba is long, but not that long."
"Don't worry, everything was normal. Though I did meet someone who needed a bit of help, it was nothing of note," Yu said, hoping that nothing incriminating showed on his face. Normal certainly was a word for the mess he'd gotten into yesterday-but they didn't need to know the details. Trying to change the subject, Yu smiled at Nanako and sat down across from his uncle. "By the way, Nanako, have you gotten better at cooking since I last saw you? This food looks delicious."
It really did look good, though, and the smell of freshly prepared food reminded Yu of how hungry he actually was. Perhaps it was a result of his foray into the other world, or because he'd skipped dinner last night, but he could hardly wait to dig in.
Thankfully, his uncle decided to let the matter slide, and the subject was successfully changed. Nanako's eyes lit up.
"You think so? I've been practicing a lot since Dad started letting me use the stove to cook," she gushed, plopping herself down in the chair next to Yu's. The girl shot her father a dirty look and added, "Whenever I ask Dad for his opinion, though, he always says the same thing. That it's just 'good'. He won't ever give me a clear answer."
This time, it was his uncle's turn to look henpecked. "Wha—last I checked, 'good' was supposed to be a compliment!"
The family laughed around the dining table, offered quiet thanks, and dug in. The toast was perfect—a shell of crispy golden-brown crust atop a bed of fluffy, slightly sweet milk bread, with an added touch of savoriness from the thin layer of salted butter—and the eggs were marvelously runny and rich as the yolk all but melted on his tongue. Simple, but that was how he liked it.
"Hungry, were you?"
Yu froze at Dojima's off-handed comment, turning a bit pink. In the blink of an eye, he'd managed to scarf down half of his plate, and quite cleanly too. Nanako peered up at him, expectantly. He sheepishly cleared his throat.
"It's very tasty, Nanako," he said earnestly. "How did you manage to cook everything so perfectly? The eggs are just the way I like them."
The girl giggled at his high praise. "I did a lot of research online."
Suddenly, Dojima's phone buzzed loudly on the dining table. Yu instinctively tensed up. The man glanced at the screen, the smile fading from his lips. He stood up and muttered, "Gotta take this call," before shuffling off to the hallway.
"Probably from work," Nanako commented after her father walked out of earshot. She turned to Yu, who had busied himself with cleaning up the rest of his breakfast, and said, "It must be hard, being a detective. Dad's always running around from early in the morning to late at night. I'm worried about him."
Sounds like Uncle's the same as ever, Yu mused. "It's busy, no doubt, but fulfilling work. And, if I remember correctly, Uncle's quite good at his job too."
Nanako stuck out her lip, discontent. "Then…that means you'll be busy from now on too. Since you're going to be working together with Dad, right?"
"Oh, he told you already?" Yu stopped eating to take drink of water. He held his breath as she continued.
"He said you were transferring from a station in another city to here-that you were probably overworked in a big city, so you decided to move to a smaller town like Inaba."
Yu let out a short laugh, trying to imagine Dojima navigating through the awkward conversation with his daughter. "Well, he's partially right," he admitted, setting his utensils down on the table. "I also just missed being here in Inaba. I've got a lot of good memories and precious friends here. Most importantly…" Yu paused, reaching over to tenderly pat down the top of his younger cousin's bed of hair. "I wanted to spend more time with you."
Nanako fidgeted in her seat, doing a poor job of hiding a pleased smile. "But you're gonna be busy like Dad is," she mumbled, peering up at him with cautious eyes. "Will you even be able to make the time…?"
"I'm thinking that with my help, both of us will be able to get off work early. Will you be lonely by yourself?"
"No. I'm used to taking care of myself, after all," Nanako retorted. She stuffed her mouth with bread, huffing, before asking, "By the way, have you contacted any of your friends since coming to Inaba? Big bro Yosuke and the others were talking about throwing you a surprise welcome-back party again, but since you lost your cell phone…"
The corners of his lips turned upwards in amusement. "Is it okay to tell me about the party if it's supposed to be a 'surprise'?"
"I didn't think it mattered to keep it a secret anymore," Nanako shrugged, prompting a laugh from Yu.
"I guess not," he agreed with a fond smile. Considering the fact that those parties were thrown every time he came back to Inaba, it could hardly even be called a 'surprise' anymore. "I suppose I should go visit them in person, for a change." Yu mentally went through his list of friends he wanted to visit first thing after arriving in town, eyes wandering in thought. He had all of their souvenirs in his bag that he needed to hand off too, some of them perishable goods that would go bad within the week.
"Maybe go see Big bro Yosuke first?" Nanako suggested. "He told me that he would be at Junes today because he was helping the town prepare for some sort of event."
"Good idea," Yu nodded, hand to his chin. Memories of the night previous, though they now felt like barely more than an impossible dream in such peaceful surrounds, returned fresh to the forefront of his mind. Perhaps Yosuke would know something about it…or at the very least prove a reliable soundboard to share ideas with. Realizing that he had been unresponsive for a bit longer than an awkward moment of silence, he looked up and smiled at Nanako. "I'm sure I can haggle extra discounts from Yosuke when I go to buy a phone from his store too."
Dojima, having finished his call, returned to the living room. "Sorry to interrupt," his uncle interjected, a sigh already on his lips. "But I gotta head out now. Duty calls. By the way, Yu, are you planning on heading into the station today?"
"Of course," Yu replied, tilting his head in confusion. "I can accompany you there."
Gathering his now empty dishes, Yu stood up to clean and get ready, but Dojima stopped him with a raised hand. "Hold on. I'm thinking that you should probably take it easy today. You're no doubt still tired from traveling yesterday. Come in later—I'll make sure nobody gets on your case for it." His uncle winked. "Perks of working with me, eh? Don't get used to it, though."
"But I'm perfectly fine," Yu said in protest.
Nanako tugged on his sleeve, frowning. "Dad's right! You looked really pale last night. You should rest a little longer just to be safe."
Between their imploring looks, Yu found that he didn't really have much of a choice. "Alright," he conceded with a sigh. Dojima seemed pleased as he made for the doorway.
"Well, with that—I'm headed off. And, I didn't get the chance to say it last night, but-"
He paused as he kicked on his shoes, standing with his hand rested on the door handle. Dojima looked over his shoulder and rubbed the back of his neck, almost embarrassed. "Welcome back home, Yu. It'll be nice having you around again."
By the time he made it to Junes, Yu's stomach had emptied itself out again, and the smell of fried takoyaki and grilled steak was making his mouth water.
The shopping center was as cluttered and busy as always. People milled about in the food court, lining the numerous colorful food stalls and chattering around tables with family and friends. The whole storefront itself was inundated with flashy signs and banners that advertised cheap prices and quality goods in bold, eye-catching text.
As he strolled to the entrance, he noticed a small group of workmen gathered around the front of the department store, stringing large signs atop the building walls and front entrance. Each of them was dressed in navy uniforms: a button-up, collared jacket and loose navy slacks. Stitched on the breast pocket in pale thread was the letter 'J' in cursive-Junes.
Standing some ways off from the group of uniformed men was a familiar copper-haired individual, dressed in the orange Junes apron, stood in the front and center, barking out instructions for the others as they positioned the banners.
"A little more to the right. No, no, that's too far. Move it back."
A pair of men balanced precariously atop ladders, supported by yet more that grounded the feet onto the concrete floor. Following the man's directions, they shifted the large sign over slightly to the right-a barely perceptible change to Yu's apparently undiscerning eyes.
"Yup, right there. Hold on one second." The man took several good steps back and put his hands on his hips, tilting his head back to admire the view. Written in bold, black lettering, the sign read:
Community Self-Defense and Crisis Management Workshop
And in smaller text below it:
November 12th, 2PM in Junes Food Court
The apron-wearing employee nodded, satisfied. "Perfect. Guess all that effort hiring those calligraphers paid off." He waved off the rest of his employees with a flick of his wrist and said, "Alright, you all are free to go on break. We still have to set up the venue later…so please don't go and ditch."
As the other men scattered to other parts of the department store, the now lone employee pulled out his phone and glanced down at the screen with a frown.
"Still no reply, huh," he muttered, reaching back to smooth down his hair. "Wonder if something's happened."
Yu watched, bemused, and on light feet approached the unsuspecting employee from behind. But, at the moment he stepped within arms-length, the familiar man spun around in alarm.
"Who's there?" He demanded, arms up in a defensive stance.
Yu blinked and retreated a step in surprise. In a gesture of goodwill, he raised his palms up in the air and smiled guiltily.
"Hi, Yosuke," Yu said, waving slightly. He held up a bag of candied souvenirs in his hand as an offering of peace. "I brought you some snacks. Sorry I didn't reply to your messages. Some stuff happened and-"
Yosuke Hanamura's face brightened as recognition and joy flit across his brown eyes. Breaking out into a wide, toothy grin, he drew up his arms and rushed forward, clasping Yu's shoulders in friendly, gloved hands.
"Yu! You're back!" his best friend exclaimed, looking him up and down appraisingly. "It's been too long, partner! When did you arrive? I sent you a message earlier, but you didn't respond! Oh, don't tell me…I'm the first one you came to see, aren't I? Were you trying to surprise me? No need for words, partner-I already know what you're thinking."
Yu laughed, already feeling weight lifting off of his shoulders. It had certainly been too long.
"You seem well, Yosuke. I arrived in Inaba last night, and I was meaning to contact you, but I…erm, broke my phone," he began. At Yosuke's baffled look, he added, "It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it, but I actually came to get a new one. You guys sell phones here, right?"
Yosuke tapped his puffed out chest, eyes glimmering with excitement. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to ask, partner. I've been begging you to upgrade that old little thing for how many years now?"
"I mean, it got the job done…"
Yosuke tut-tutted and steered Yu through the pair of glass doors leading into Junes. "With that kind of attitude, you'll only be settling for the bare minimum—and we can't have that, now can we?" The seasoned Junes employee peppered him with questions as they walked. "Have a brand in mind? We've got them all. Do you want something with a good camera, or are you impartial? What's your budget? Actually, scrap that. I'll pull some strings and get you a discount for whatever you can't afford."
"Slow down there, Prince of Junes," Yu said, overwhelmed. Yosuke let out a gag at the title.
"Oh, c'mon…by the way, it's the general manager of Junes to you, now. That 'prince' thing was way too lame."
Inside was more crowded than out in the front and around the food court. Housewives and elderly folk browsed through the market, peering through fruit bins and discount shelves. Even the interior was cluttered with all sorts of fliers, most the subject of sale prices, others echoing the words printed on the large banner he'd seen out front.
"What were you working on outside?" Yu asked, curious. "Nanako told me you'd be here preparing for an event?"
His question prompted a proud smirk from the other. Yosuke spun around on his heel to face him as he spoke, walking confidently backwards through the aisles that he was no doubt knew as well as the back of his own hand.
"Indeed I am. You've probably heard already, but there's been a lot of shady business going on around town. Robberies, break-ins, thefts-the works. It's been a big problem, especially for the people who do their business in the shopping district." Yu nodded along, attentive, as Yosuke slowed his pace to gesture at one of the many signs they'd plastered around the store walls. They echoed the banner out front: Self-Defense and Crisis Management. "The name isn't terribly eye-catching, but the community elders thought it would be a good way to bring up morale. Most of the places that have been getting targeted are small, mom-n-pop type places run by elderly folks. As hilarious as it would be to equip old lady Shiroku with a katana from Daidara's and teach her how to fend off burglars, the actual point is to 'foster community bonds.'"
Yu hummed, impressed. "That not a bad idea. Though, I am a bit surprised to see you take initiative like this, Yosuke."
"All I did was agree with the plan-I wasn't expecting them to elect me as one of the main event organizers," Yosuke sighed, shoulders slumping. "Between that and working as Junes' general manager, I've barely got time to focus on college classes. You're lucky you graduated so early, Yu. I still have no idea how you managed to the workload."
Yu offered his friend an empathetic pat on the shoulder. "You've been working hard, Yosuke," he encouraged. "It just goes to show that people think you're reliable. That goes for me too, of course. Try not to overdo it though, okay?"
"Can't be helped at this season. Thankfully, we're almost done with preparations so I'll be sure to have some free time soon. Then we can really sit down with the rest of the gang to catch up," Yosuke chuckled.
"So, I was wondering…is it really that bad around here?" Yu asked, concerned. "It sounds like there's been a lot of trouble popping up recently."
The light-hearted smile faded from Yosuke's face. He looked tired again as he replied, "It's nothing compared to what you'd normally see in a big city like Tokyo, but…yeah. To the point where all the news anchors are talking about it, and it's all that's ever brought up in conversation these days. Almost every week there's some new report about a break-in or a criminal getting caught red-handed. Nothing's happened to our store yet, but it's starting to feel like only a matter of time."
Yu pursed his lips in thought. "Why, all of a sudden…?" Yosuke just shrugged.
"Beats me. Well, you've got the older folk chalking it up to the bad influence of technology that the kids are using these days, while the young ones are blaming it on the current state of the economy," he laughed humorlessly. "It's all a mess. Makes you wonder what society is coming to these days."
The two men pushed through the crowded aisles and up through a set of elevators to the next floor. Rows and rows of all sorts of electronics greeted them as they stepped off; from flat-screen televisions, PC monitors, digital cameras, and even gaming consoles, Junes really did seem to have it all.
Yu found his eyes distracted by everything new, yet lingering over the familiar landmarks. When he closed his eyes, he could almost hear the incessant bickering and lively chatter of an unruly gang of high school kids pushing their way through the back aisles.
Stop being reckless and remember to stick with the group, idiot!
Did anyone remember to bring food?
How far in are we going today, Narukami?
They continued through the stacks of electronics, Yu now lost in thought as memories of their forays into the TVs resurfaced in his mind. Though that world had long since been closed off, a new dimension had appeared-this time through a smartphone.
He glanced up at Yosuke's back, hesitating.
"Hey, Yosuke-"
"Voila," Yosuke said loudly, turning with his arms extended to his side. Next to him were rows of the latest phone models, their appearances as lavish as the price tags they lay next to. "Feel free to look around. If you want recommendations, then I'd have to suggest the Galaxy models-they're quite popular. We have Apple phones too, if you prefer that brand…"
Yosuke trailed off at the conflicted look on Yu's face.
"Something the matter, partner? Are none of these doing it for you?" He looked around, scanning the phones they had on display. "Okay, fine! If you really want to go back to your shoddy old flip phones, then we have a few in the back."
"Actually," Yu began slowly, gingerly picking up one of the display phones on the counter beside him. The glassy surface reflected his uneasy expression back at him, and a part of him worried that he would be sucked in through the screen at any moment. "There's…another reason why I came to see you," he said seriously, lowering his voice so that any people who happened to pass by wouldn't hear him.
"Hm?" Yosuke hummed, head tilted as he, too, distractedly browsed through the selection of phones. "Oh, this is the one I have, by the way. If you don't have any real preference, I would just-"
"Would you believe me if I said there was another 'TV world' out there?"
Yosuke blinked at him, the words dying in his mouth. It took a second for the man to process what Yu had said, the cogs visibly turning in his head.
"Say what now?"
Yu grabbed the phone from Yosuke's slack grip, turning it over in his hands. Playing with the touch screen, he murmured, "It might be hard to believe, but last night some things happened and-"
Rrrumbbllle.
There was a moment of awkward silence. Yu felt his face heat up as Yosuke sleuthed the source of the quiet sound: his stomach-empty, and apparently fed up with it.
"That's one way to ruin the moment," Yosuke groaned, much to Yu's mortification, but he quickly cracked a small grin. "Let's get your phone thing sorted and we can continue this conversation over lunch. How's that sound?"
Thirty minutes later and in the possession of a brand new smartphone, Yu was seated before a hot stone plate piled high with grilled steak and vegetables.
It had been his intent to afford their coming discussion the proper gravity it deserved, but before he could stop himself, he was already reaching for his fork and knife. The cheap plastic utensils found the steak with the precision of a hunter descending upon its prey, and was, in the next instant, shoveling well-done beef down his throat.
It was just the way he remembered. Chewy, a bit dry, but well seasoned enough that he could overlook the first two problems.
Yosuke sat himself down across from Yu, carrying his own tray of steak. "It's rare to see you hungry like that. I guess you haven't had the luxury of time to eat properly since coming here."
Yu swallowed a thick bite of food, deciding not to bring up the fact that he did, in fact, have a proper breakfast just that morning.
"So, about what we were talking about earlier," Yosuke said, sliding his knife through his own cut of meat. "Something did happen yesterday, didn't it? That's why you weren't answering any of our messages…and why you lost your cell. Considering that you're fine now, albeit hungry as a horse, I'd assume the issue is resolved?"
"Well, not quite resolved, per se," Yu started, setting his utensils down to prepare for a long story.
As they ate, Yu recounted all that had happened the day prior: from his chance encounter with Ren Amamiya and Morgana, to getting sucked into the techno-world on the other side of the high schooler's smartphone, then to the Shadow he'd encountered, and how he'd discovered that the two he'd encountered by pure chance were persona users. He was careful not to exclude any details, observing how the other reacted to the tale he presented. Yosuke's eyes widened at the mention of more persona users, then narrowed at the retelling of his intense fight with the Shadow, and, finally, at the mention of the blue ooze and Yu's adverse reaction to the smoke it produced, his brows knit tightly. Still, he remained quiet until Yu had finished his piece.
"And are you sure that you're fine?" Yosuke asked first thing with a concerned frown. He leaned over the table, studying Yu's face for any signs of illness. "Like the other two said, it could have been toxic. Hm…you do look a bit pale. Maybe you should go get a check up just to be sure."
Yu shook his head, waving off his friend's concern.
"Rest assured, I'm fine now." He paused to take a sip of water to help his throat clear from all the talking. "But I guess it wouldn't hurt to be careful. I'll go next time I'm free."
"Well, good then." Yosuke pushed himself back from his now empty dish and crossed his arms in thought. "But, man, I wasn't expecting another version of the TV world to appear so suddenly. Why again, after all this time? What's it mean? Who created it? We're not going to have another end-of-the-world crisis, are we?"
The two laughed uneasily. Yu picked at his food despondently, for lack of answers. "Honestly, I don't know. We're not even sure if it's something to worry about right now, since there's been no noticeable effect on the real world as far as we can tell."
"When it comes to Shadows, we can never be too careful," Yosuke pointed out, waving his fork in Yu's direction. "There's no harm in being vigilant. Have you been able to contact that highschooler again? You said he's the only one with access to that Impulse app you mentioned."
Yu shook his head. "I'll look out for him later. I think I recognized the uniform...his school is relatively close by."
"They did say they would reach out to you first though. Maybe you can just take it easy until then."
"Yeah…" Yu trailed off, spearing a stem of broccoli absentmindedly. As he popped the steamed vegetable into his mouth, he continued, "It might be a good idea to let the others know, just in case something happens to them too."
"Sounds like a start," Yosuke agreed, taking to his cellphone.
Yu followed suit, clumsily navigating through the touch screen menu for the group chat. It was amazing how far technology had come, and Yu was still baffled by how the cellphone company had managed to restore his backup data online and transfer information from his previous phone to his current one. Yosuke had explained it briefly during the process, but the intricacies eluded him still.
As his fingers glided across the phone, he noticed something was off. The bottom corner of his apps library where there was free space to fill with a widget was glitched out. He stared at the twitching pixels, wondering if he was just seeing things, but the buzzing static remained.
With a confused frown, Yu extended his finger and tapped on the glitched area, wondering if it would go away with a bit of prodding.
Out of nowhere, a loud ringing suddenly pierced through Yu's ears. It was the same sound from last night, but judging from Yosuke's lack of reaction, he was the only one who could hear it.
Yu dropped his phone, grimacing as intense pain flashed through his temple. Trying not to shout, his hands flew to his forehead and he squeezed his eyes shut against the powerful hammering beneath his skull. The familiar throb of nausea and dizziness returned in rising tides and he felt like he would vomit.
"...u…Yu! What's wrong?" Yosuke's voice sounded distant, and he could vaguely feel the other's hand shaking his shoulder to get his attention. "Are you okay? What's happening?"
A quiet whisper brushed against his ears. Relax.
As quickly as it came, the tide receded and the pain faded. His vision wobbled back into focus and his ears stopped buzzing. Yu's skin had become clammy with sweat and his hands were shaking despite his best efforts to keep them still.
"Yu? Yu!" Yosuke glanced around, anxious. "Hospital-I gotta call an ambulance!"
Yu reached out and squeezed Yosuke's arm to stop him, even as he was thumbing in the emergency number. He shook his head slowly. "I…I'm fine now," he croaked out through a mouth as dry as cotton. "I think it was just a dizzy spell." The words sounded hollow even to him, and Yosuke seemed even less convinced.
"Something's definitely not right with you," Yosuke said, uncharacteristically stern. "You have to-"
They were interrupted again by Yu's phone buzzing loudly against the metal tabletop. He turned the screen over to look at who was calling him:
It was his uncle, Dojima.
Yosuke crossed his arms, still clearly upset, as Yu answered the call. "Hello?"
"Yu, this is your uncle," Dojima said, sounding harried. He could hear the clatter of keyboards, ringing landlines, and shouting officers in the background. "Sorry to interrupt. I know I said you could take your time coming in today, but do you think you can come into the station right now? There's a bunch of work to catch up on, and all of us have our hands full already."
Yu nodded, despite knowing Dojima couldn't see him over the phone. "Sure. I'll be there right away."
He hung up, meeting Yosuke's disapproving look with a sheepish one. "Sorry, I have to go now," he said, standing slowly in case he got light-headed. To his relief, the headache had gone away—for now—and he felt not a trace of the sickness from moments before. Sure, he was still a bit hungry, but he would be able to manage. "Can we continue this conversation later?"
Yosuke sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. But you had better watch out for your health. If you collapse on the job again-"
"I won't," Yu smiled, turning to leave. "I promise."
"Yeah, very convincing, coming from you," Yosuke said dryly. "I'll message you later. Good luck out there."
Yu arrived at Inaba Police Department Headquarters not half an hour later, hurrying through the station doors a bit short of breath.
The officer stationed at the front desk looked up from his papers as he arrived. "Can I help you…?" The officer trailed off, eyeing Yu up and down. "Wait, you're Senior Detective Dojima's nephew, aren't you? What're you doing here? Need me to call him out?"
Yu shook his head, assuming a friendly smile. "No, I'm actually-"
"Yu! You're finally here," a booming voice called out from the hallway to his left. They turned to see Dojima stalking down the room, carrying an armful of clipped documents and manilla files as thick as novels. He waved Yu over, greeting the attending officer with a nod. "Good timing. I needed your help."
The officer looked between them, confused. "What's going on here?"
"Didn't I tell you earlier?" Dojima placed a firm hand on Yu's shoulder, shaking him proudly. "This is Yu Narukami, criminal investigator. He transferred here from a location in the big city, and he'll be working with us for the foreseeable future."
Turning to Yu, he said, "I meant to properly introduce you to my team on your first day, but that'll have to be reserved for later. Come with me." Dojima hurried away, motioning for Yu to follow.
Yu offered a polite nod to the officer before following after his uncle.
"So, I'm sure you get the drill already," Dojima began, leading him through the corridors into a cluttered office space behind the main lobby. Half of the room was divided by felt cubicles, occupied by desks piled high with documents and binders, while the other half was open for consultation. "But I'll still be overseeing your progress since you're new here. Your first assignment is this."
He passed Yu one of the manilla folders he was carrying. As Yu flipped it open, entered the reception area, where an officer was busy consoling an elderly woman.
"Please, take your time, ma'am," the officer said calmly, offering a pack of tissues to the sobbing lady. "Your husband is fine. The hospital called and said that he was recovering well."
"Yes…yes, I'm sorry," she said, tearfully. "It was just so sudden…"
Yu frowned, wondering what had happened. As if reading his mind, Dojima tapped the folder Yu was holding and said, "Don't worry. You'll find out soon. I'll be having you help out on that case, in fact."
Turning through the pale pages, his eyes skimmed over the report and victim's testimony. There were no recorded witnesses.
"The old woman and her husband were on an evening stroll around their neighborhood, when they were assaulted and robbed by a masked fellow with a knife," Dojima muttered, disdain clear in his voice. He took a drag from his cigarette before continuing, "The bastard made off with all their valuables and fled on foot not too long after. The wife is fine, but the old man suffered from numerous knife injuries and a concussion from falling over. We have a few suspects pinned down already, based on the description she provided as well as CCTV footage, but it'll be your job to parse through the details and submit a report."
Even as he read through the case details, Yu was distracted as vivid memories flashed through his mind.
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!
It's the same as the newsflash I saw in the other world last night. He chewed on his lips, fingers drumming against the paper in thought. Surely it was just a coincidence…?
He flipped through the next page as he heard the officer ask, "Could you try and tell me again what the attacker looked like? Can you remember anything more about what they wore?"
The elderly woman sniffled into her tissue.
"I couldn't see all that clearly because of the darkness, but I remember that they were dressed in dark clothes and had a face mask on. They were tall and thin, but very strong. He came out of nowhere and snatched my purse, threatening us with a big knife. My husband tried to fight back, and I think he might have gotten a good hit in, but it was…useless against someone much younger and stronger."
The next page listed potential suspects. A good portion of them already had criminal records or misdemeanors listed under their profile. The officer scribbled onto their notepad.
"Did you notice anything else about them?"
"Let me think…they had short black hair," she continued slowly, wiping dried tears from her eyes. "And…I couldn't see their eyes…oh, yes, I believe they were wearing glasses of some sort."
Yu flipped the page-and froze, feeling his blood run cold. His eyes darted over the printed paper, mind scrambling to make sense of what he saw-the familiar face clipped to the corner of the file.
"Did you happen to recognize the person?"
The woman hesitated, thinking deeply. "No, not personally. But…you know, the more I think of it…."
This…can't be right.
Yu must have been wearing a strange expression on his face because Dojima glanced over at him, frowning.
"Yu? Something the matter?"
The old woman continued, heedless of Yu's internal distress.
"...the person who attacked us was a student. Yes, I'm sure of it. They were a high school student."
雨宮 蓮
"...Excuse me?"
Ren stared, incredulous, at the group of adults standing before him. The school's principal, vice principal, counselor, and men in navy uniforms surrounded the guidance counselor's office, cornering him.
Ren's skin prickled with unease. Police officers?
That morning, the high schooler attended school as per his routine while Morgana had gone off on their own to investigate something, leaving him with parting words of advice and concern:
"Try to keep a low profile today," Morgana had said, before stalking off down the street in the opposite direction. "They aren't too noticeable around your face, but you're definitely bruising all over. We don't want people noticing and getting the wrong idea."
Low profile, Ren had thought as he walked to school that morning sporting fresh bruises and cuts all over his face and body. He was lucky that he had long bangs and a set of spare glasses to cover up the angry red bruise over his eye. Easy-peasy.
Things were going smoothly-that was, until the end of the school day, when he heard the crackling voice of the principal over the school's loudspeaker system.
"Class 3-B's Amamiya Ren," the voice droned, "Come to the front office right away. I repeat-"
The sinking feeling in his gut was confirmed when the police slid a photo over to him. It was a low resolution image from what seemed to be security footage recorded late at night. Depicted in it was an elderly couple, collapsed onto the sidewalk, as a man disguised by the shadows fled the scene.
"I'll say it again, as many times as you need," the first officer began, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "Last night, in the evening, an elderly couple was attacked in the streets of the residential district. The person they described was a young man with black hair, glasses, and most likely a student."
His throat dried. Ren felt as if he was staring down the barrel of a loaded pistol. Fraught with nerves, his palms were covered in a sheen of sweat, but felt like blocks of ice curled into his pants.
"Our sources also tell us that you were seen out wandering the streets late last night. And-would you look at that…"
Inside of his head, he could hear the click of the imaginary gun's safety lock being disengaged. The officer looked down at their record-more for show than anything-and then back up at Ren with a raised brow. "You also match the description provided."
The accompanying policeman turned to the principal, asking under his breath, "This is the one, right? The kid with a criminal record?"
His principal nodded meekly, dabbing at the sweat beading on his forehead. "Y-yes. Undoubtedly so."
With renewed conviction and a smirk that all but screamed, got you now, the officer drawled, "Have anything to say for yourself, kid?"
Ren opened his mouth, hoping that a clever retort would come valiantly forth from his racing mind. He'd dealt with slimy cops more times in the past than he could count, and most of them were far more threatening than the man who stood before him now. Nothing should have fazed him at this point.
But, when he spoke, all he could squeak out was:
"That's…that-it wasn't me."