Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

You don't know these people, really. You don't know how they met, you don't know why they're so uncomfortable around you, and you certainly don't know what their problem is. But you can make a pretty good guess, and you don't think this is something worth fighting over, no matter how much you almost expect it from these two, somehow.

"You know, given that you told me to go home..." Actually, it feels sort of like they've forgotten you're here, which is weird because it's been, at most, five minutes. Probably less. Your sense of time isn't that great.

"I don't see what that has to do with this," Sanada-san's friend says. "I don't have a home."

"Why not? It's pretty clear that Sanada-san cares about you."

"Well, Aki's an idiot."

"I'm right here, you know..."
I mean, he's not wrong.
"That's still more than I've got." You didn't mean to say that. But around these people, that apparently means absolutely nothing. "I- I don't really have anyone anymore. You're lucky."

"Doesn't feel like it..." Why is he staring at you like that when he says that? You sort of like him, and Sanada-san, but it's weird. And you're saying that with full knowledge that most people don't experience the green time or blow up monsters with cards.

"Come on, Shinji, even the kid says you should come home. Just... until I'm sure you won't freeze to death. Please."

"Not freezing to death seems like a pretty good idea to me," You pitch in. "I mean, unless you like being an ice cube for some reason. And I can't help but think there are better ways to do that."

"Yeah, like-" Sanada-san, again, cuts himself off, causing you to wonder just what he was muttering.

"Like you're still dealing with?" His friend finishes. "Look, I get you and ice don't really get along, but-"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that you're avoiding me."

"I'm not!"

"You didn't answer your phone. For three days."

"I'm not a living cell phone charger. I don't need you to worry about me."

"He's going to do it anyway," You point out. "Especially if he can't find you again. So, if you don't want him to worry, shouldn't you be someplace he'll always know where you are?"

"Shinji. Listen to the kid. I'll talk to Mitsuru, we'll figure something out, but it's just not safe out here."

"You think I care about that?" Sanada-san seems to actually be hurt by that. You don't blame him. If you had a friend, and they told you that... you wouldn't be happy, either.

"Shinji..."
Shinjiro-san...
"But you care about Sanada-san, right?" You ask.

"Why do you ask?"

"...If you really care about him, you should go home. He'll just keep doing this if you don't." You're not sure why he's listening to you, of all people, or why your opinion matters to him at all, but you don't really mind that, if it keeps him from throwing away something you can only wish you still had. Nobody should be willing to give up their home like that.

You decide to leave before you can see his reaction, because you don't really have a reason to be here anymore. And you sort of feel like you were intruding in something personal. But you'd like to think that you helped, just a bit.

You hope they can work out their problems. You like them.

---

By evening, you've come to the conclusion that there really is nothing good on TV, aside from maybe Phoenix Ranger Featherman R, and that's a kid's show. The other kids like it, anyway, but you haven't really spoken to them yet, and you're pretty sure they just think of you as 'that weird kid from the third room on the left'.

Besides, the couch is a bit too crowded as it is, they don't need you trying to squeeze in there somehow. So, with the television no longer a possibility, what will you do with your evening?


[ ] Study. You have to learn something eventually, right?

[ ] Try to repeat whatever you did to that monster last night.

[ ] Stay up late and see if the green time comes around- maybe it's a nightly thing? You'll be pretty tired tomorrow, though...

[ ] Start a journal of all the weird things that have happened in your life so far.

The past nineteen hours have been weird. You're not going to deny that, no matter who ends up asking, because most people don't see and do the same things as you, and that's probably a good thing.

Still, sometimes you like to just sit back and pretend that you're normal, up until the next time that you wake up and see that the world is green. And, with things like time travel now added to the mix, a little imagined normalcy is just what you need.

Of course, you'd prefer the part about your normalcy being imagination to be just a bit more clear on this front. Or maybe just the math sheet. You're supposedly eighteen years old, how do you not know this!?

Sighing, you erase yet another mistake and wonder why, when you have so much familiarity involving people, you don't have a bit more of it dedicated to schoolwork.

You decide to blame the girl. She probably doesn't understand how difficult studying is when you have something else worth focusing on.

It gets easier, of course. You just need to find the patterns, to remember the rules, to keep several extra sheets of paper nearby in case you mess up... and prayer might help, too.

Funnily enough, it's the more complicated things that end up coming to you more easily. For that, you blame high school. Or maybe just the time travel in general, you haven't given it much thought yet.

It doesn't really matter, in the end. You know enough to keep up with your class, and that'll do for now. It's not like whatever you need to save the world from can be defeated with long division, right?

---

You don't wake up in the green time that night, which you're glad for. Just because you've accepted the fact that your life will always be weird doesn't mean you have to like it. And, given what happens to everyone else, you probably get more sleep than they do, on average.

Of course, the green time is also the only time when you know for sure that nobody's going to be looking for you or wondering what you're doing, because they physically can't. So you've possibly missed out on some time for yourself, as little as you care about that.

You're particularly annoyed with the constant adult supervision during the school week, wherein very little tends to happen. You're used to it, though, and they do still tend to ignore you, which annoys you on some days more than others. Of course, that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do.


[ ] Study in the library. You could probably get others to help you if you get stuck.

[ ] Actually try and make some friends. Kids your age are supposed to have them, right?

[ ] See if anyone else in the school knows about the green time. Preferably phrased in a way that'll make those who don't think you're just being a kid.