Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

Now that you have a... well, a thing... you can start practicing to use it in combat. You'll wait until the Dark Hour, of course. You don't want to get in trouble, and you know you will if anyone sees you waving such a pointy stick around.

Until then... well, you've checked out another book on Greek myth. Or maybe it's the same one. You never really bothered to check. Whatever. It's a book.

You aren't in a situation where you need to tail anyone or anything now, so you can actually read the various stories in detail. There's not a lot about Nemesis in there, but she was never one of the majorly talked about deities anyway, so you sort of expected that.

On the other hand, you actually know where Kirijo-san's Persona comes from, now. Penthesilea... it still doesn't feel right, but you can't help but think that it suits her, in some small way.
I mean, if it didn't, that wouldn't be her Persona.
There's another character that catches your eye, as well. Cassandra, who was cursed with the ability to see the future, though nobody would ever believe her predictions.

Something about her plight resonates with you- you see things not many people can, either, and of course hardly anyone would believe you. It's a situation that you actually think most kids would be able to identify with.

---

You spend multiple nights in the Dark Hour, practicing with your stick. It's a bit more awkward to hold than a regular spear would be, and you're sure you're including mistakes that wouldn't be there with a proper weapon, but it's still better than nothing.

Right now, it basically serves as a reminder to either find a way to obtain a spear without people asking questions, or get better at making weapons. You think it'll be the first one, because there's no way they'd let a kid fight without a proper method of non-magical attack, right? Right.

You don't really know any proper drills to go through, you just follow your instincts. You also don't really have a target- they said you'd be getting a new chair next week, but even if you had it, you don't think you'd want to break it again so quickly. Or the stick.

You think it'd be the stick that breaks first.

Partway through your second practice, you trip over a pile of books you left on the floor. Okay, so maybe you let yourself get carried away with stunts that wouldn't look out of place in an action movie. But you're sure that, if it were recorded and someone were to play it back, it would look really cool!

Still, you decide to stop practicing for now. The Dark Hour is tiring, and you think it'd be easiest to avoid trouble if you don't do things like fall asleep in front of everyone because you're too tired to focus.

Not that you've really been doing anything outside of reading and spear practice. You should really do something to fix that...

---

Today, you decide to visit the SEES dorm. It is, after all, the place where you feel most at home, though you still can't really explain why to anyone else. Kirijo-san takes note of your presence, though she doesn't comment on it right away.

You don't mind that. It's sort of odd, how you've gotten to this point, where you being here in't really anything special. But Sanada-san shows up, and he actually greets you, and that emboldens you to join in on his conversation with Kirijo-san. Sort of.

...Honestly, you don't really get the kind of big words they're using when you barely know anything about this whole business, but you think part of it is Sanada-san wondering about a group of girls that keep following him around.
...Right, I remember this. He's... sort of hopeless, isn't he?
"I'm afraid I can't help you with that," Kirijo-san sighs. "I am more than capable of admitting that I do not really understand people our age." You aren't actually sure that any of you at this table understand people in general, but you don't think you should say that unless you want to be a block of ice.

"People always tell me that if I ignore my problems, they'll go away," You pitch in. "...Though, on second thought, I'm pretty sure they were lying to me." Really, how is pretending something's not there supposed to solve anything? Acting like something isn't falling apart isn't going to stop the pieces of it from hitting the ground.

"That is a possible way to handle social situations," Kirijo-san nods. "Though, I can't imagine it would make anyone very popular."

"Yeah, but that's how Shinji does it, and he's..."
Not in the best state of mind. We know.
"Recalcitrant?" You aren't sure what that word even means.

Sanada-san takes a few moments to agree with Kirijo-san. "Yeah. That."

"Shinjiro-san's really nice when he wants to be," You state. "He just... doesn't show it to a lot of people, does he?"

"He doesn't even show it to me all the time, and we've known each other since we were four." Yeah, that doesn't surprise you one bit. "We just... end up fighting. A lot. And I guess we always have been, but..."

"Akihiko?" Kirijo-san turns to him, that look in her eye that you rarely ever see, but that seems to be associated with her wanting to know something. "Is something the matter?"

"I'm fine." He waves it off, and it would be convincing, if not for the fact that Shinjiro-san does the exact same thing.

At the same time, though, you don't think Sanada-san would have a breakdown whether you press him on this or not. But you'd really rather he not think his friend is someone to emulate in this, because you've already seen how unhealthy it is. "...Are you worried about Shinjiro-san?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Okay, that's a very good point. "Not that it can be helped- I tell him not to lie to me, and he stops talking to me at all."

"You've also been avoiding him for the past week," Kirijo-san points out. "I can't imagine that would fix things."

"Yeah, but... he'll come around eventually. He always does." He sounds more like he's trying to convince himself at this point.


[ ] Try to encourage Sanada-san. Help him convince himself that Shinjiro-san will eventually start talking to him again. (+Diligence)
-[ ] How?

[ ] Try to convince Sanada-san to try and fix things himself. Somehow.
-[ ] How?

[ ] Go to Shinjiro-san, and try to convince him to patch things up with Sanada-san. (+Expression)

You really don't know just what the deal with Sanada-san and Shinjiro-san is, but you don't think things can stay this way for long without... problems. You also don' really know how to fix it, but that you can figure out as you go.

...Well, the best way to figure it out is to get both sides of the story. And if Shinjiro-san really does always come around like Sanada-san says, no reason you can't nudge it into happening earlier.

So, your first step is to talk to Shinjiro-san. That should be simple enough, he's not exactly hard to find when he doesn't leave the building unless Sanada-san drags him out... and if they're fighting, then that won't happen.

You think Shinjiro-san should get out more, but for now, it's a good thing. Still, you make sure to wait for a time when nobody else will be there. A little bit of privacy goes a long way, you think. Even if it means you might not know for sure how things go until after the fact.

Shinjiro-san is surprised when he answers the door to see you. "Aki and Mitsuru aren't home yet," He tells you.

"I know," You reply. "I wanted to come talk to you."

"Why?" He still doesn't seem like he really believes your words. You suppose you'll just have to get through to him with stubbornness. Given how long he's been friends with Sanada-san, he's probably used to that.

"Well... I guess there's two reasons," You admit. "First off... I want to apologize. I'm always causing you trouble, and asking for things, but I can't do anything to pay you back for it. And I know that something about having me around hurts you, but I don't know why, or how to fix it. So I guess I'll just keep giving you more problems."
And... and me, too. For the other thing.
"You're not the problem here," He says, and this is probably the sort of thing you're supposed to be stopping, if you really think about it.

"It's not you, either. I'm not sure why anyone would say you were." Genuinely nice people shouldn't be allowed to hurt like that, you don't think.

"You'll figure it out," The way he says that... you almost don't want to figure out whatever it is. "And the second thing?"

"Why aren't you talking to Sanada-san?" He doesn't answer you right away.

"...Did he put you up to this?"

"No. I came here on my own. I don't think Sanada-san would ever think of asking me for help with this."

"Probably not," Shinjiro-san agrees. "But... look, it's better for everyone this way. Aki doesn't need me, he'll be fine."
...Shinjiro-san, I don't know what your definition of 'fine' is, but you clearly need to rethink it.
"I think Sanada-san would say something different," You point out. "He's... not happy with the way things are." From the look on Shinjiro-san's face, he already knows this.

"Yeah, well, he's just going to have to get over it. He'll get used to it eventually."

"...He's still trying to convince himself that things will get better. And he's worried about you. I'd say he doesn't know how to handle people, but I think you'll have already noticed that."

"He's hopeless."

"Exactly. And you can help him with that stuff." There, something you can talk about that isn't inherently uncomfortable! Perfect! "Who else will? Kirijo-san?"

"...Don't even joke about that. They'd crash and burn within the month."

"...So, you'll talk to him? If just to prevent that?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." You'll take that as a victory. Every step counts, right?
(Ken's Expression has increased to 3!)

---

You think that went well! Sure, it could probably have gone better, but it could also have gone far worse. And, okay, maybe you shouldn't have threatened him with Sanada-san's lack of social skills, but you actually managed to have a conversation with him without any major issues, so, progress!
The fact that we can actually say that is really sad...
As it is, you think you'll avoid the SEES dorm for now. You don't want to push your luck, after all. Still, you're pretty glad for your success, so you should enjoy it as best you can. You think you'll celebrate by taking a walk to... somewhere. You don't really know yet.

Where should you go?


[ ] To the shrine. You can tell Saito-san that you've made progress.

[ ] To Paulownia Mall. You'll take a nice, long walk.

[ ] Just head straight back to the dorms where you live, you think there's a good show on at this time.

[ ] Wander around. Maybe you'll find something new!