Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

Taking Morgana to see Lavenza is something that should be done as soon as possible, but there are things preventing you from just going home and picking up the cat, or yelling at a wall in the mall until a girl of questionable sanity comes out.

For one, it would make you look crazy. You're not all that certain of your sanity yourself, but there's no reason to let other people start to question it. Especially if they don't even know you.

Not that you're certain having a Persona doesn't say something about your mental health, but you'll leave that to people who actually know things about Personas.
In our case, I'm not even sure that would help.
For the second reason, Lavenza doesn't always have the time. You have the schedule, you've got the date marked out on your calendar, and it's not today.

You aren't really upset about this, it's just inconvenient. But Lavenza's colder side keeps telling you she doesn't exist for your convenience, so maybe you should have expected something like this to happen eventually.

It would be embarrassing to be seen yelling at a door that not even you can see. It would be even more so if it didn't work.

And, finally... "Um... Ken-senpai, are you sure that's right?" Akira asks, glancing over at your homework sheet. Blinking, you notice the mistake and hastily fumble for an eraser.

"R-right... thank you." You're keeping up with your classmates well enough, but it's still sort of mortifying to be corrected by someone a year younger than you. Still, you suppose that means he won't have much trouble with his own work... "Maiko-chan? Are you doing okay?"

Maiko is currently chewing on the end of her pencil, looking for all the world like she has no idea how she even got here. Or maybe it's just nerves from being back in the library. It's not like you really wanted to be here either, though. It's just that none of you have any better ideas of where to study, if only because you don't want to end up losing Akira.

And you know you would, if you went anyplace filled with books. It's just the natural conclusion.

"I-I'm fine." Is there nobody who can say that honestly?
I think they can, sometimes, it's just that nobody thinks to ask, then.
Still, it's her grades that will be at stake if she's wrong, which is a lot less serious than the other times you've heard someone say it, so you suppose you'll let it be. For now.

Suffice to say, you'll probably take action if this sort of thing continues. If you think to. Maybe.

...Okay, probably not. She's already got that cram school she goes to. If that can't help her with this, you don't think anything will.

---

The question of where to have the meeting was not difficult. Taking Morgana to see Lavenza would involve bringing a cat into a busy mall. Your odd friend has led you into a number of embarrassing public situations before, but there's no need to make them a more common occurrence than they already were.

On the other hand, taking Lavenza to see Morgana would just require you to take a girl with oddly-colored hair and variable fashion sense through the streets of the town. She's gotten better at blending in since you've met her, so you don't think you'll leave that much of an impression on anyone.

...Well, aside from the people who might see you talking to a wall, but so far, nothing of the sort has happened, so you think it will be fine.

"I don't know how much he remembers of last time," You admit to her. She's actually dressed pretty reasonably today... aside from the fact that it's summer clothing. She's like a smaller, scarier Mitsuru-san.
Don't tell Mitsuru-san that. She could take it as a challenge.
"Really? Was his Shadow's influence that severe?" She sounds genuinely concerned, which makes sense. Lavenza's a nice person. It's just that the question itself is... offbeat.

And that's still normal for her.

And you're bringing her to the place where your older friends live.

It comes to mind that maybe you could have thought this through a little better.

"There's... a lot of things he doesn't remember." Like how to cast most of his spells, but with everything you've been told, you might have actually gotten of easy. "But nothing's happened since he came back with us, so things should be fine." If you didn't think that, you would never have suggested this meeting, after all.

"But there is still a risk." You aren't entirely sure how she can sound so certain about this, but you're not going to question the person who's most knowledgeable about this kind of thing. "So if there's anything you can tell me about the feline that will help me moderate my own behaviour..."



[ ] The Velvet Room is the thing he's forgotten the most about.

[ ] You think he might be a bit scared of her.

[ ] You're both time travelers.(Requires Courage 6)

[ ] He likes being able to do things.

[ ] He's a bit... touchy... about not having as much power anymore.

"Well..." You aren't entirely sure how to put this. You're sure she wouldn't be too upset by you telling her the truth, but it's still something that hurts a little to admit. You're friends, right?

Of course, she realizes that there's something you have in mind from the very start. "There is something, isn't there? Go on, speak. We cannot waste any time."

You guess there's no getting out of this one. Not that there ever was. "I'm not sure, but the things his Shadow said... he seemed a bit scared of you?" Well, his Shadow's words and his own reaction to her showing up at the shrine, but you'd rather not go into that.

Somehow, Lavenza seems more concerned by this than the fact that a talking cat exists to begin with. "Scared? Of me? However could that happen?"

"I don't know." You don't know that much about what he was doing in the future, possibly even less than you know about yourself. You're fully aware of how someone could come to hold fear of the Velvet Room's inhabitants, if they're anything like her, but you still don't know Morgana's specific reasoning, and that's what Lavenza is asking. "It might be connected to one of the things he can't remember."

Then again, given that what he doesn't remember apparently includes the names of everyone he's ever worked with, you guess that means everything at least sort of qualifies.

Lavenza's brow furrows, as though she's trying too hard to think about something. You should probably stop that. "I think it will be fine, though," You hastily move to reassure her. "All you'd have to do is tone it down a bit, that's not too hard, right?"

Honestly, in hindsight, taking her to the place where you live was clearly a bad idea. Even if you've tried your hardest to make sure nobody else will be there today, this could still theoretically end with everything on fire.
Koromaru's a good dog. It's not going to come to that.
Still, you've warned her as best you can. Hopefully, that will make up for not properly warning everyone else.

---

The dormitory is more or less deserted when you arrive. There's only Morgana and Koromaru there, although the latter is sure to greet you as soon as you open the door.

You're pretty sure that's just because nobody has fed him yet, and because he hasn't noticed Lavenza. The second one more than the first, even if he isn't that much more subdued after she manages to grab his attention.

Still, as cute as he is, Koromaru isn't the reason you're here right now. "Morgana?" You call out. He hasn't decided to run off before you can get here, has he?
We are not going through that mess again.
For a moment, silence. And then a nearby book falls to the ground, followed by a dark shape scrambling up to the spot it left behind, looking more than a little startled by that.

You should probably pick that up before Mitsuru-san comes back, but it's not like having a cat on the coffee table is the worst thing that has ever happened to you. "I'm back."

"I noticed." Twin specks of blue eye you warily from across the room, brighter than anything else.

That won't do. You turn on the light. There, that's much less menacing. "I told you I was bringing Lavenza-san today," You remind him. You aren't sure if you want him to take it as a warning or not. "You didn't forget, right?"

"Of course not!" He sounds offended by the very notion, even if you both understand that this is a question that will need to be asked for a while. Just until Takeba-san stops having nightmares of giant Shadow panthers. It might take a while.

Lavenza doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong. You aren't sure what that says about her. "Amada-san says that you aren't fully aware of your origins," She states, getting right to business. "Is there anything about them that you do remember?"

"Not really." He hops from the coffee table to a couch, scrambling his way up the back to look at you. You know he knows better than to leave claw marks everywhere, so you probably don't have too much to worry about. If only because he wouldn't want Takeba-san to follow up on her threat of getting him declawed.
Looking back, I'm amazed so many of us managed to get through the year last time.
"Really? Nothing at all?"

He shakes his head. "I just... woke up one day, with a name and a Persona. And I knew a few things about where I was, but it... isn't there anymore, so I guess it doesn't matter all that much."

"Not... there?" Lavenza sounds like she is considering something. "What do you mean by that?"

"It just isn't." You're sure there's more to it than that, no matter how little Morgana has ever told you. But if he won't say anything, you don't think it's your place to ask about it. Not yet.

Maybe after a few weeks, once this has all died down a little. Until then, you'll keep quiet on the subject. "Do you know something, Lavenza-san?" You already know what the answer is, but it's important to ask, all the same. If someone came up to you and just randomly demanded future knowledge, you think you'd zap them. Maybe a bit more, if they were particularly pushy about it.

She nods. "I believe that Morgana may be some sort of artificial being. Whether or not he originates directly from the Velvet Room, there is a connection there. It is not as if the creation of life falls entirely outside of our purview."

Whatever Morgana expected to hear, you're almost certain it wasn't that. "A- then I'm not...?"

"You are as real as you believe yourself to be." An immediate response, that you hadn't expected at all, coming from her. "And, in the end, our origins are less important than our duties, or what we choose to do with our lives. Or... that is what my sister tells me."
Definitely Margaret-san.
You hurry to wrap up the conversation soon after that, because you really don't want one of the others to come home and see this, but you can't help but wonder what would have happened if you allowed things to take their course.

You might have even not regretted it.

---

Morgana has been oddly quiet recently. Something tells you that what Lavenza had to tell him wasn't exactly what he was after. You've considered pointing out that she might not fully understand everything herself, but you have no idea how you'd even put that kind of thing into words, so you'll have to hold off on that for now.

None of the others seem to recognize any change. They're all just excited for the end of the school year. Everyone is, as far as you can tell.

You'd join them, if you weren't fairly wary of whatever is going to happen in the coming year. Still, if you pretend nothing is wrong, maybe you can go about life as usual... (Pick up to three.)


[ ] Spend time with friends.
-[ ] Maiko.
-[ ] Akira and Lavenza.
-[ ] Kyouma. (+Expression)(Must be taken to remain friends.)
-[ ] Shinjiro-san and Koromaru.
-[ ] Akihiko-san and Takeba-san.
-[ ] Mitsuru-san.
-[ ] Morgana. (+Diligence)

[ ] Practice Channeling
-[ ] Hama
-[ ] Media
-[ ] Kouha

[ ] Focus on studying. (+Knowledge)

[ ] Read more about mythology. (+Empathy)

[ ] Explore the hidden library. (+Courage)

[ ] You want more custom outfits.