Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

It doesn't take you too long to realize that the air has more static in it than usual. Mostly because you can see Koromaru's fur start to stand up on end. As SEES only has two lightning users, and you know you're not doing this, that leaves one person as the cause.

"Akihiko-san, are you all right?" You're pretty sure causing this won't burn through too much of his magic, given just how easily the Shadows have been defeated so far, and he's more than capable of fighting without it, but you aren't sure you should be taking chances here.

Not when you still aren't sure of everything you'll be facing.

Akihiko-san nods, not paying anything any particular attention. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, everything's kind of..." You try to think of a good word, but can't find any. "...I don't think I'd need Zio to shock somebody right now." It wouldn't be a very strong shock, compared to the kind of thing you can do when you dedicate your magic to it, but you could still deliver an electric shock without aid of your powers, and given that you've just been walking down the city streets, it's almost certainly Akihiko-san's fault.
And here you discover the downside of being immune to the main element you use.
"Oh, I... hadn't noticed that." You think that's a bad thing, if he doesn't even notice when his powers are in use, but you don't really think there's a good way to bring that up. Still, the air starts clearing up almost immediately, and you can see Takeba-san start to breathe easier now.

It comes to mind that someone who's weak to lightning maybe shouldn't be leading a team where half of the active combat roster shoots lightning, but it's not like anyone ever asked for your opinion.

At the very least, she's probably not going to underestimate the amount of damage that your powers can do. Given that confidence doesn't seem to be her strong suit, that just might help.

Still, she's not the priority right now. It's Akihiko-san. "Is there any reason it was like that?"

Really, though, if you end up having to remove a charge from the air using your own power later, you'd at least like to know the reason. If there is one.

If not, there's a problem, and you'd probably like to know that, too.

He shrugs, which might not be a good thing, but there's no way to tell until he opens his mouth. "It... could be a few things. I mean, we haven't really gone to Tartarus all that much. And even when we were there, we just... never did anything. It'll be nice to be able to cut loose properly."

You make a mental note that, if something seems to pose a challenge, you should probably be on the lookout for errant lightning bolts. Just in case.

"What about those beetles?" Really, they're sort of hard to forget, even if Mitsuru-san had the most impressive part in all of it.

"They weren't strong enough to stand a real chance, they were just annoying." You think that might just be how he describes most things that he can't punch away, even if he is generally making the effort to actually deal with them. "And Mitsuru got most of them, anyway." You aren't sure, but you think that last part might be the one he's most annoyed by.

"She handled it really well, though," You point out. "Even if it was..." You don't want to say it was absolutely terrifying where she can hear you, but it kind of was.
I'm not sure how, but she managed to Charm a tank once. It was amazing.
Not that you absolutely have to finish that sentence or anything, because Gekkoukan High soon appears in front of you, and almost as soon as you reach the gates, the world shifts into the Dark Hour.

You have no idea how that was so well timed, but something tells you it probably won't be happening again.

Then again, you live in a world where someone can just drive a motorcycle right through the front entrance of a tower, so maybe things will line up that way again. Possibly.
I mean, if there's one way to get teenagers to be consistent, you just have to set up something suitably dramatic.
You aren't betting on it, though.

When Takeba-san first sees the inside of Tartarus, she actually stops to look around. You don't blame her- you have no idea what this room alone would cost to recreate, but somehow you think even Mitsuru-san would have second thoughts about it just from looking at the price tag.
And then when you realize there are floors made with actual gold...
"So... we're supposed to climb up this thing? How many floors are there?"

"I'm not sure," Mitsuru-san admits. "There appears to be something preventing my powers from reaching beyond the sixteenth floor. Though... let's focus on the Shadows on the fifth floor for now."

"A- all right, then." Takeba-san walks up to the stairs, bow in hand. "Are you guys ready?"

You and Akihiko-san nod. Koromaru barks. And then you all start to climb the tower.

Your formation isn't quite in a straight line, but it sort of exists, with Takeba-san leading the way and you're...


[ ] Close to Takeba-san.

[ ] More or less in the middle.

[ ] Bringing up the rear.