Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

It started, oddly enough, with Chidori deciding to take a walk and tripping over a cat.

This was not a regular occurrence. Most of the local cats knew better than to let someone trip over them, unless they were begging for food. And even those cats tended to avoid her, most likely because she always smelled like paint, and occasionally like smoke if she'd encountered a Shadow recently.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" And, of course, most cats couldn't talk. Never mind that nobody else seemed to notice anything off.

Maybe she'd just finally gone insane. It would have explained a few things.

Or maybe this was karma for not stopping Jin from testing out his grenades where the local clowder made their home. Given everything else that had gone on in her life, it would not have surprised her. Never mind that if karma existed, she could think of far more fitting recipients.

"I'm... sorry?" No, seriously, what was going on? "You can't have been paying much attention, either." Because seriously, the cats she'd seen knew better than that!

The cat blinked, before turning and running off into the crowd. Suddenly wondering about something, Chidori closed her eyes and pinged. It didn't take long for her to get her answer.
ZorroMercuriusZorMercuZo-
...Okay, that didn't have to be the cat. Even if that was the strangest response she'd ever gotten by doing that, and he was easily the strangest feline she'd ever seen.

Not that she'd had the chance to interact with a large number of cats. But still.

---

The second time Chidori encountered the cat, it was in the same place as before, where she was trying to draw Hypnos from memory. She did that sort of thing sometimes, just to see if she could.

The regular people around her, who would most likely know nothing about the Dark Hour unless they did something to offend Takaya, said that her sketches were odd, on the rare occasion that they got the chance to see them. Whatever. She wasn't drawing for them, anyway.

"Oh, there you are!" She recognized the voice, of course. Encountering an animal that talked when it wasn't supposed to was a fairly memorable experience. The cat jumped up onto the lid of a nearby trashcan, wincing as it wobbled a bit under his weight.

...If it tipped over, or the lid flipped, she wasn't going to help him.

Still, he managed to steady himself eventually, before turning to fix his bright blue gaze on her. "So, um, well... You can understand me, right?" She could hear his words, if that was what he meant, so she nodded, using Medea's powers to take another look at him.
ZorroMercuriusZorroMercuriusZo-
Okay, so that was still there. Nice to know she hadn't been imagining things.

Of course, Chidori instantly realized that responding to the feline had been a terrible mistake. Mainly because the cat straightened up, suddenly completely unafraid of falling, and just kept talking.

"Y-you can!? Really!?" She was starting to get odd looks now. Normally she didn't care about them, but this wasn't even something to do about her. "I thought so. My name's Morgana. What's yours?"

Thinking about it, things like this were probably why Jin and Takaya carried Traesto Gems at all times, even if that would only raise more questions than it answered and they didn't need more scientists poking around at their doorstep. Which, if the manga Jin had stolen to resell later served as any indication, was bound to happen eventually.

Still. She'd try and ignore the cat, and see how far that got her.

---

Morgana managed to get the girl's name out of her the third time he tracked her down... for a given definition, anyway. No matter how much he cast out his senses, he could never seem to tell her apart from her surroundings. It was as if she didn't exist.

"If I tell you my name, will you stop bothering me about it?" She asked, carefully filling in the feathers on what seemed to be the wings of one of those bird Shadows. Morgana couldn't quite see from where he was, but it looked like it was attacking somebody.

"Of course I will!" He'd bother her about other stuff.
That is not what she meant, and we both know it.
"...Chidori Yoshino." And then she was ignoring him again, going back to work on her drawing.

"Okay, then." And then something came to mind. "Aren't you wondering how I can talk?"

"I'm still not really sure I didn't just go insane years ago." That was... actually probably worth worrying about, maybe. Or maybe she was a Persona User who just hadn't adjusted all that well.

It wasn't like he was able to tell for sure. With how she was impossible to detect, she could be the most powerful Persona User in the world and he'd never notice a thing.

---

She'd never meant for him to find out about Medea.

Admittedly, if she didn't want people to know about the existence of her Persona, it might have been a better idea to stop drawing her, but hardly anyone knew what a Persona was to begin with, and a most of those that did were people who Chidori would rather set on fire than allow to handle her sketchbook.

That sentiment wasn't just limited to people who knew about Personas, actually, but most people kept their distance from her anyway, so it didn't really matter.

But it had only been a matter of time before Morgana decided to start talking about what he was and why he could talk, hadn't it? "You know, I'm not actually supposed to be a cat."

"Really?" She'd humor him for now. At least until she found somewhere else she could go to draw in relative peace and quiet. "What are you, then?"

"That... I'm not really sure about that. I just know that this isn't what I'm supposed to look like. And that's why I can talk, even if there's only a few people that can hear me." So more than just her, then.

Thinking about it, the cat had a collar, so odds are that one of the people who understood him would be his owner. But it ultimately didn't matter, because Chidori had never met any of those people, and likely never would. Even if this meant there was a slight chance that the Kirijo Group wasn't experimenting on random cats.
Which is unfortunate. That would have been an improvement.
Not that it would have surprised her if they had. "And that's why you keep bothering me?" Maybe one day, he'd get the hint.

Sadly, it seemed that day was not today.

He didn't directly answer her question. Of course not. That would have been too easy. "Really, I'm not sure anyone can understand me if they don't- hey, have you ever woken up at night and seen everything go weird?"

"That is dependent on interpretation." She knew that, in theory, the Dark Hour wasn't meant to be there, but she couldn't really remember a time when the world hadn't gone green at midnight.

"...Does the world turn green?" Chidori wasn't actually sure if she was meant to tell him the truth or not. Morgana was probably more trustworthy than a human would be, but that wasn't really saying a lot. "I mean, it probably does, since you're drawing Shadows and stuff, but I can't really tell."

She didn't give him an answer that day, or the next time they came across each other, or the time he brought a young boy with him who had the Persona Nemesis and an apparent caretaker whose name sounded vaguely familiar, though she wasn't sure from where.

But the cat was persistent, and she never got around to finding anywhere else to draw, and eventually something had to give.

She wasn't sure if swearing him to secrecy was actually going to do anything, but at the moment, it was the best chance she had.

If only because she didn't want to spend another month even deeper in hiding because she'd lost her temper and set a cat on fire.

---

Morgana was losing time.

It hadn't been much, at first. Just a few minutes here or there, a bit of a conversation. There never seemed to be much of importance in there, so he didn't think too much of it.

It happened most often when Akira was around. It was generally less serious those times, as well, just him losing his train of thought and suddenly it'd be a minute later with no idea what he'd just been thinking about. But that wasn't too strange, so Morgana didn't think it was worth thinking about.

It also happened somewhat frequently with Ken, and that was generally a bit more serious, whole minutes and bits of conversations gone in the blink of an eye. Ken was always good at filling in what he'd missed, though, so Morgana didn't think it was worth bringing up to him.

Just about every time Kirijo was around involved losing something or another, but she seemed to notice the problem quickly and set him back on track whenever it happened, so Morgana didn't really have anything to say there, either.

He never lost time around Yoshino, though, so he spent more time around her, eventually inviting her to visit the shrine if she'd like.

He didn't actually think she'd show up, because Yoshino seemed to mostly be tolerating him more than anything else, but she still did. Often, she'd just sit down and sketch somewhere, but it seemed like she enjoyed it there.

"Do you ever feel like you're forgetting something important?" He asked her.

"...Define important."

In hindsight, he should probably have been worried about that.

---

Takaya was starting to wonder where Chidori was going, during the day.

She wasn't sure why it mattered to him. She was always back by Dark Hour, when people could summon their Personas and actually scan for them, and she was fifty-percent certain that was the main reason he kept her around, but there also really wasn't a reason not to answer him when he was more or less the most trustworthy person she knew. If only because, unlike Jin, he wouldn't completely change his tune whenever a certain person said something contradictory.

"I found someplace new to draw," Was what she said. "The local shrine is... very peaceful."

Of course, for her, peaceful meant that there weren't a lot of people, and she was sure Takaya knew this, too, but the exact definition didn't matter, really.

He didn't say anything more, and she didn't see any need to elaborate, and then Jin came in saying something about having discovered a great new design for grenades and how he just needed the materials, but at least this wasn't likely to be as disastrous as the time Takaya discovered a certain model of gun and decided that he wanted one at all cost.

Was that saying much? Probably not. But it would be fine so long as nothing ended up being set on fire.

---

Everything ended up being set on fire. Chidori wasn't entirely sure what she'd been expecting.

---

When Ken brought a new friend to the shrine, Morgana ended up losing two hours of time and found himself sitting on a lumpy old mattress while he heard voices behind a nearby doorway. He had no idea where he was, or how he'd gotten there, and maybe the best thing he could do was jump out the window, but he didn't know how high up it was.

Even when he could always land on his feet, it was still the kind of mistake he would only make once.

Eventually, though, the door opened, and Yoshino walked in. She seemed unsettled about something, which was probably why the heat was so stifling at the moment despite how late in the year it was.

"You should leave," She informed him, handing him an odd clear gem. "It turns out that Takaya is allergic to cats." He had no idea who she was talking about, but the gem was slipped under his paws, where it shattered and left him standing in the middle of the street in a bad part of town.

Like a Goho-M, then. But he had no idea which of those many buildings he'd come from, and he couldn't even check because of Medea.

But he also didn't want to go back to the shrine yet. Ken could still be there, and that girl, the one who gave him both good and bad feelings, and who had more power than any being he'd ever met.

Akira could be there, and that would be better, but... he needed some time on his own.

The next time he fully regained consciousness would be over a week later.

---

She would have expected him to return to the shrine. But there was no sign of Morgana, and Chidori couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad thing.

She also wasn't sure what good posters would do, when there were at least three black and white cats in the city, possibly more. The eyes were a bit better, but they had a habit of turning gold now, had been gold when he showed up looking for her, and anyone who saw that would dismiss it as just a different cat.

And, soon enough, it probably wouldn't matter, anyway. Because when a place didn't get a lot of visitors... that probably also meant there wouldn't be a lot of witnesses.

Not that she could say anything about that, because even if they believed her, that could just mean ending up right back where she'd started, and that was something she swore would never happen.
It doesn't matter who has to burn. Not if the alternative is going back.
Takaya was sure these people couldn't be trusted. Jin would go along with whatever he said. Chidori was less certain, but it probably was better to be safe.

The most she'd be able to do was give a warning, and see if anyone listened.

---

He didn't listen.

---

Morgana only knew of one Persona User in Iwatodai who used fire.

Technically, what burned down the shrine didn't have to be fire from a Persona. It could have been anything, really. But if no one knew how it happened...

Well, he could name a possible cause pretty easily. Stealth and fire would only ever really mean one person to him. Especially when she could hide so thoroughly. So he had some idea as to how it could have happened.

Which left only one real question. "But if it's been gone for this long, why are you here!?" Some of his words came out more quickly than others, more easily. Sometimes, it was as if he wasn't speaking at all, but something else was using his body.

The dog wasn't helping, either. "Hey! What are you- Why are you doing this!?" And then everything blurred, until the person Ken was with said something, and it began to clear up again.

"Well, you don't exactly have a lot of options," He'd said. "Unless you want to just be another stray cat."

"I'm not. A cat." Why did he have to keep saying that? Could nobody ever figure it out the first time?

"Really? You sure look like one."

"I'm not! I'm- I'm-" And then the words stopped coming to him so easily, but he was also so much more aware. There was Ken, and his Persona. The person he was with had a Persona as well. And, of course, there was Koromaru and Cerberus. And a complete lack of answers. "I... don't know, I... don't remember. W-what's happening?"

"I... think it's something to do with your Persona," Ken suggested. Never mind that was impossible. Shadows didn't lie, and neither did Personas. So why would Zorro hide anything from him?

"My Persona? But he wouldn't..."

"You sure about that?"

"Of course I am! He's me, he wouldn't-" Ken cut him off.

"Hey, Morgana? What's your Persona's name?" Hadn't he already told him this?

"It's-" And then he realized that he couldn't tell. As if there was no Persona there to understand.

Things just went further downhill from there.

There's a lot of places you could have as the cut-off point, when you think about it. It all depends on how much drama you want there to be, though drama has always been second to making sure that this sort of thing is actually written down somewhere. It might not really be your life- not even close, in some places- but the characters are similar enough that you think some people might be able to see what it's like.

And if you're doing a comparison to your life... There's only a few things, in the past year or so, that count as particularly major changes which would fit the story. And a lot of them, in some way, involve your other self.

Nemi's caused some changes, hidden the cause of others, but has always been involved, in some way. And that's something you'd never be able to deny.

Your main character, of course, will not have the same sort of relationship with her Persona as you do with yours, because you're well aware that the sort of things that happen to you probably aren't normal, even for the specific subset of the population with magical powers. And you're trying to write a story about someone who could be a relatively normal Persona User.

...Well, that actually bothers fighting Shadows. You're not sure, but you don't think that kind of unofficial profession is all that common in Mikage-Cho.

It's a pretty safe bet, given that Tartarus is where all the Shadows are. Unless there's some other nests you missed out there, but... If there are, they probably aren't in Mikage-Cho. You're sure you would have noticed them if they were. Or Mitsuru-san would. Same basic thing.

So, your decision made, you get to work on making your cutoff point- the moment when your main character first meets her Shadow.

---

Nami sigheded, careful not to lose her balance as the worlds mixed together. "This has been happening more often, hasn't it?"

"I don't know," Mei shrugged, adjusting her bracelet. "I mean, should this even be happening at all?"

Probably not, but the only one who'd know for sure was Merlin, and he was currently taking a cozy nap under the windowsill, so Nami didn't want to wake him up. She twisted the ring on her finger, wondering if she had time to go out and fight something.

"The others aren't back yet, are they?" She asked, instead. "Do you remember if they were going into the Reaper's territory?"

Ren shook his head. "They probably weren't, though. I mean, even if everything seems stable, why take the risk?"

"...Because that's where all our food comes from?" Mei pointed out, which was true. And, of course, Akari had refused to change the route for her morning runs no matter what, which brought up the question of how it had taken so long to encounter that Shadow. Maybe it was because she wasn't always throwing bolts of lightning around. Just very frequently. "...Also, I think Shinri-senpai has some friends living there."

That was probably also true. Though Nami wouldn't know for sure- Shinri didn't tell her much about herself. And she could definitely see why. After all, nobody wanted to admit to being the one whose inexperience with, and inability to dismiss their Persona ended up leading to disaster.

Just thinking about it was enough to make her want to get outside. "I'll go see if there's anything to fight," She decided, moving towards the door.

Ren blinked. "You're not going to look for our senpai in the Reaper's territory, right?"

"Do I look like Akari-senpai to you?" Admittedly, this was being a bit mean. Akari hadn't even known the Reaper existed at the time, and probably would have gone somewhere else if she did. "I'll just check around this street. I promise, I won't go far."

She'd fully intended on keeping that promise. Even if she avoided the section of the city that the Reaper was known to prowl in, there was still a chance of similarly powerful Shadows. But she needed to fight something, and she knew the street would be safe.

And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a hand made out of solid gold. If even part of that came back to regular reality... she wouldn't have to worry about money again, for a while. Assuming she could find a place to sell it.

The first blast of light missed. The Shadow ran off down an alley. Nami followed after, but the Shadow vanished inside of a few minutes.

So. No defeated Shadow, no money, and Nami was far too close to the Reaper's territory for her comfort, so she decided to turn and head back. "Why did I even think this was a good idea...?" She muttered.

'Because,' A voice spoke up, mostly in her head but not entirely, 'You just want to not think about Shinri-senpai. You know you'll have to talk to her eventually, right?'

The ring around her finger felt tighter than ever now, and seemed to be heating up a little. Which was ridiculous, if only because if anyone's summoning device were to overheat, it would be Mei's. She was the only one of the group with a fire spell, after all.

...Or Yukinari's, but Yukinari hadn't touched his badge since Ulysses became Ophion, so it was kind of a moot point, anyway.

The bright gold glow of the runes etched on it, however... that was probably real. And concerning.

'Then again, you also haven't decided whether you hate her or not, either. Just pick one or the other! It's not difficult!' Easy for a voice in her head to say. Well. Mostly in her head. Whatever.

If she focused entirely on what disembodied voices that sounded eerily like her said, she'd end up walking right past the dormitory. "It... why should it matter?" It was just a voice. What did she care what it thought?

As soon as she said that, the glow from her ring got even brighter, and she winced, taking it off her finger in order to hold it further away. 'Why shouldn't it!? It's been more than a month, that's more than enough time to decide these things! If you don't know enough to decide right now, you won't learn more without actually talking to someone! You can't just pretend that nothing's changed!'

"Watch me." Probably not her best decision, all things considered. The ring in Nami's hand heated up even more. Suddenly uncomfortable, she threw it as far as she could in order to not burn or blind herself.

'I have been.' The ring exploded. Mnemosyne burst into existence, floating there with as disapproving an expression as a faceless being could have. "And I refuse to stand back and watch this anymore."

---

You think this should work nicely, for the time being. It could use a bit more polish, but the same holds true for just about everything, at this point, even if most of the work of this part is done in terms of making sure every important scene exists. The rest can come later.

As it is, your hand's started to cramp from all the writing, so you suppose this means it's time to take a break. Or, at least, not focus on it so heavily anymore. There's a large number of things you could do instead, and you've been... sort of ignoring them. (Pick up to three.)


[ ] Spend time with friends.
-[ ] Maiko.
-[ ] Akira.
-[ ] Mitsuru-san and Shinjiro-san.
-[ ] Takeba-san and Morgana.
-[ ] Akihiko-san and Koromaru. (+Empathy)
-[ ] Lavenza and Narumi-san.

[ ] Try meeting new friends at school.

[ ] Practice Channeling
-[ ] Hama
-[ ] Kouha
-[ ] Zio
--[ ] By yourself
--[ ] With Akihiko-san

[ ] You'd like to read some books.
-[ ] Manga. (+Expression)
-[ ] How are there so many medical texts!? (+Diligence)
-[ ] Mythology. (+Knowledge)

[ ] Explore the library. (+Courage)

[ ] You want more custom outfits.