Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

Friday, more or less, goes mostly the same as every day before. Yes, you're escorted back to the dorm, and go to your room near immediately after, but after this morning, a bit of simplicity goes a long way. Saturday is a bit more complicated, what with getting a book of study tips out of the library just before class starts, but you think that's going to help you pretty well. After class ends for the day, you're taken back to the dorm again, and now you finally get the chance to read.

It's not simple. Some of the things it says go a bit over your head, and maybe they were meant for someone in one of the higher grades, but you can at least grasp the basic concept- do this, and it might make studying a bit easier. You don't spend your afternoon doing anything in particular, just reading for the sake of saying you've flipped through all the pages.

Sunday, though... that's when you decide to start actually figuring things out. Laying out on the bed- you still don't have a new chair or pillow, for some reason- you take your pencils and notebooks and decide to, well, take notes.

Looking back over it, some of this is stuff you already knew before. A bit more of it, you don't really understand. But there's enough to work with, and even if not all of the tips work, enough of them should that writing them down as reminders is a good way to keep the possibilities open.

Which is good, because you don't want to keep this book any longer than necessary. Someone else might need it, after all, for the sake of their own grades, and it'd be wrong to make them wait just so you can check over literally every possibility.

You don't particularly feel like putting these methods to the test right now, though. Among other things, you keep dozing off on top of your book, and you don't want to have to explain drool marks to the librarian. That sounds like a really good way to lose your book-borrowing privileges.

Still, if one good thing has come out of your weekend, it is this lesson- it is never a good idea to explode a chair. Particularly when it is commonly in use.

---

Monday, your first day of freedom, is a good day. You actually encounter Maiko just a couple blocks away from school, and end up talking.

"Are you going to go see the lights today?" She asks. You pause.

"Lights?"

"Yeah, the ones at the mall! They have them every year, remember?" You think back for a moment before remembering.

"Oh, the Christmas display!" You'd almost forgotten about that- or, rather, it takes a few moments for you to realize that yes, it actually has been a year since the last one. "I haven't really thought about it yet." Particularly since the adults are still less than thrilled about the chair. Being surrounded by people you don't know doesn't really bother you- it's practically your default state of being now- but it's also a consideration. Nor do you have anything really worth doing at the mall.

At the same time, those lights are rather pretty...

"Well, you should go! Daddy said he'd take me to see them tonight, and it'd be more fun if you were there, Amada-senpai." Maiko says it as if it really is that simple- and to her, it very well might be.

"What if we don't see each other in the crowd?" You point out. She doesn't answer, though, because that's when you get to school and have to split apart, her to her room and you to return the book, and you don't think she even has one.

Before the incident with the chair, nobody really noticed when you were gone. Now that they don't have to specifically keep an eye on you, they might not notice now. But you aren't sure about that, and you don't want to get in even more trouble... the lights will be there all day, though, and you could probably go this afternoon without any problems, even if it means you won't see Maiko there, and they won't be as impressive.

...You never expected something like this to need so much consideration.

Will you go to see the lights?


[ ] Yes
-[ ] In the evening
-[ ] In the afternoon


[ ] No, instead you'll...
-[ ] Try and make another friend.
-[ ] Study in your room.
-[ ] See if there's a less destructive way to use your powers.
-[ ] Prepare for the green time. You're going to explore.

Today, you are going to see the Christmas lights. Well, tonight might be a more accurate word for it, since Maiko's not going to be there at least until it's dark and you want the chance to meet with her, but it's the same basic thing. This, however, means you will have to be very careful to avoid the notice of the adults, who will more than likely want you to go back to the dorm.

Sure, you can understand why they would. People who are less nice come out at night, even in the better neighborhoods, and there's always the risk of being caught outside in the green time, though not many people would know of that bit. You're sort of glad they don't. It's not a time you enjoy being in.

But from what you can tell, the green time only occurs very late at night, and not dealing with unwanted people is as simple as keeping your head down and staying out of the way. And being on a busier street, that helps too.

Either way, what matters to you is that you get to see the lights. And so, after school, you slip away from the rest of the age group and spend your afternoon window shopping in various stores on the way to Paulownia Mall. You'll get there around nightfall, if your timing's good.

Even if it's not, there's really nothing stopping you from hanging around there for a little while besides your own conscience. And you want to talk to Maiko. It's not like the adults' worries of it being dangerous really applies to you when you can use magic... right?

---

"I can't believe you convinced me this was a good idea."
"Come on, after what they showed us, someone needs to look after the kid. Especially if he makes a habit of doing this. And it's not like you have anything better to do."
"Aki, I swear to God..."
Paulownia Mall isn't a place you normally go, what with your general lack of available money. It's not a place you'd be excited about now, if not for the fact that you're possibly meeting a friend outside of school for the first time ever, and new experiences are always good, right? Besides, those lights are rather pretty.

"Amada-senpai, you're here!"

You nod, still not really sure on the whole 'human interactions' bit. "Y-yeah. Hi, Oohashi-chan. Is that your dad over there?"

"Mm-hm! Daddy, Daddy, over here! I found Amada-senpai!" Maiko's father is... well, he's not the most intimidating person you've ever met, but that doesn't mean as much as you think it should, and with the monsters that appear in the green time, even that doesn't mean too much.
"So he has a friend... that's good, right?"
"I mean, I don't talk to people, and I turned out just fine."
"Shinji, we just discussed this..."
"So, you're Maiko-chan's new friend, huh?" He gives a big show of inspecting you, which kind of makes you nervous despite the fact that you don't... okay, you have a few things to hide. Nothing that should matter to Maiko, though, unless she outright asks you if you can use magic one day. You're not entirely sure how you'd answer that, given how you keep dodging the subject.

"Th-that's right. Ken Amada." Does it help that this is the closest thing to positive adult attention you've gotten in months? No, not really. If anything, that just makes it worse.

"Amada-senpai's really smart!" Maiko speaks up. You aren't sure if she's trying to help or oblivious to how nervous you are. Probably both. That sounds like her. "He's sort of like an adult already!" Okay, now this is starting to get embarrassing.

"Oohashi-chan, I can speak for myself!" You complain, though she just grins in a way that's sort of off-putting because it means she has an idea. And from what you've seen from other children, you know very well to beware ideas. Italics entirely necessary.

Maiko's father seems to be amused by all this, and you think tonight's on the way to going rather well, possible trouble when you get back to the dorm besides. Until, of course, he asks the obvious question.

"It's good to meet you, Amada-kun. Though I have to wonder where your parents are. Surely, they wouldn't let you wander on your own."
"Shinji, if you run away again, I will zap you."
"I... don't have any." You fix your gaze to the floor, not wanting to see the inevitable expression of pity on Oohashi-san's face.

Your friend, meanwhile, is a bit harder to ignore. "Really? Why not?"

"Maiko!"

"It-it's okay," You say, still looking at the ground and wishing you were anywhere else, or that the green time would happen and you could run away while everyone else was a coffin... or at least use the time to get yourself back together. "Thing is, I never really knew my dad, and Mom..." You trail off for a moment, to figure out how to put it. There's the official version, there's what you saw, there's what your mind jumped on as the first real idea... and a thought that's been bugging you a little, just recently.



[ ] "...A car crashed into our house."

[ ] "...A monster killed her."

[ ] "...She was murdered."

[ ] "...It was an accident."