Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

There's only one real possibility here, isn't there? You need to do something. You need to learn about Makoto-san because you won't have a chance of being able to help him otherwise. Even if your last attempt was confusing and you doubt this one will be much better, that's no reason not to try, right?

Quickly, before you can talk yourself out of it, you reach out and pick up the picture of Makoto-san. You'd never really noticed before, but there's no background to it- or to most of the other pictures, even. But with this one... it's just black. As if nothing else matters but the person in the frame. You don't think there's anything in these pictures that seem more empty, aside from maybe his expression.

You like that thought, but before it can continue, that familiar sensation that comes with picking up a photo overwhelms you, taking you away from that room once again.

---

It's not quite a memory this time. Just... bits and pieces, fragments that might go together, but you aren't sure where.

You hear music, and you think it comes from a harp, except you can't be sure, because you've never actually heard harp music before, and it flows a lot faster than you would have expected.

You think there's a fire, somewhere, hiding in the darkness, except then it goes out, or the darkness goes stronger, and whatever flickering flame was there vanishes. The darkness is then chased away by light, but there's still no sign of any flame.

At some point, the music stopped. You aren't sure when. You just know that it happened, same as how you know there used to be a fire, and now there's not.

And then you blink awake. You wonder if the light might have just come from the sun- it's late enough that it wouldn't surprise you- but that wasn't anything like your prior experiences with those photographs.

You wonder if things would make more sense if you could remember the song that was playing... probably not. The things you see in your dreams never made any sort of sense before, why should that change now?

...You should go get breakfast. There isn't really much point in stressing over things you can't change.

---

Today, Mitsuru-san wants you and Akira to actually spend some amount of time outside. You suspect this is so she can brief the other teens about what to do about the transfer student, if only because you're pretty sure she'd invite you if they were plotting against Ikutsuki-san, and if it involves sensitive information, something has to be done with Akira either way.

You're not actually being forced to leave the building, it's just... strongly recommended. And while the room isn't any colder than it was before she asked, it might be a good idea to follow her advice. If only because you haven't gotten any real sun in over a week.

Still, this leaves the problem that Akira doesn't seem to actually know how to play outside... and you were barely ever in practice to begin with, even before the shrine got torched.

You may need help.


[ ] You know Kyouma spends time in the area... He must have some idea of how you're supposed to enjoy yourselves.

[ ] There's an unfamiliar girl wandering the neighborhood... she seems even younger than Maiko.

[ ] It's not quite being outside... but you could go see if Maiko's home. You haven't seen her in a while.

[ ] ...What is one of your classmates doing here?

You've been seeing a black-haired girl around recently. You think she might go to your school, actually, but you never paid that much attention to people outside of your group of friends, so you can't be sure. You think she might live nearby, she's around often enough, but when you and Akira see her after exiting the building, your first thought is that she looks as confused as to what she's supposed to do outside as you are.

Currently, she appears to be counting the bricks on a nearby wall. You're sure there are worse things she could be doing with her time, but you can't help but wonder what she's thinking.

You also have no real idea how to approach her, because how do you start a conversation with someone intent on counting all the bricks on a nearby wall? You don't think she'd like being interrupted, either.

"Fifty-three... fifty-four..." She seems intent on tapping each brick as she counts it, though she's small enough you know she won't manage to get very high. Not that you know anyone tall enough to count by hand how many bricks go into a building, but this girl is apparently giving it her best shot.
I mean, she's busier than we are. That probably counts for something.
Not sure what to do, you glance at Akira. Akira glances back, still just as clueless as you are. It's pretty sad that you actually have to find someone to ask what you're supposed to do outside, but it's even worse that neither of you knows how to approach someone to ask.

"...We're not very good at this, are we?" Your friend asks quietly, as the girl walks back to count another row of bricks.

"I mean, we haven't really tried anything yet..." You point out. "...Mostly because we don't know where to start..." It was easier when your friendships were started by things like random cats appearing in people's classrooms.

You never thought you'd end up missing those days, but apparently that's just what's happening now.
At least she'll probably be less dangerous to approach than the Velvet Room girls... not that that's saying much.
"Well, go try, then!" You? Why not him? He was the one to suggest it, after all.

...Then again, he'd probably be even worse at dealing with new people than you are, so maybe it's for the best that way. The girl is still staring intently at the wall. You don't think she actually notices you're there.

"Sixty-seven... sixty-eight..." Yeah, she probably hasn't noticed you yet. You guess the first thing to do is get her attention... and hope she's not too mad at you for distracting her.

"Um... hello?" You remind yourself that this isn't the strangest experience you've ever had. The world turns green every midnight. What you drink depends a lot on how likely it is that water will turn into blood in the next fifteen minutes. You are a living flashlight and you have regular conversations with an alternate timeline version of yourself who seems to have psychic powers. This is nothing in comparison.

The girl spins around. You can't tell if her eyes are purple or brown in this light, but you suppose it doesn't matter. "Wh-who are you!? What are you doing here!?"

That's... not the reaction you were expecting. "I'm Ken Amada, I live just down the street... See, it's that building over there." The girl peers in the direction that you point, and... no, you still can't decide what color her eyes are.

"...Isn't that a high school dormitory?" She asks. "I know I've seen a high-schooler go past here on a motorbike..." Of course the person she picked up on was Mitsuru-san. Why wouldn't it be?

Akira blinks in surprise. "A... motorbike? Who has one of those?"

You sigh. "That would be Mitsuru-san. She's had it for almost a year now. I think one of us breaking it would be the one thing that would get her to actually kill somebody..." Not that you'll know for sure unless someone actually ends up being that stupid, and you think most people have at least basic self-preservation instinct.
So the question is if we can get Ikutsuki-san to be that stupid...
And now, once again, it's the girl who's the most confused. "Why do you live in a high school dorm?"

"I didn't have anywhere else." And you're starting to get really tired of having to explain this to everyone you come across. "They're all really nice, though, so I don't really mind."

The girl doesn't seem to know how to respond to that. Akira isn't really helping. "They can be kind of scary, though... especially Kirijo-san."

"Yeah, but she's being scary on our side, so it's a good thing, right?" You don't actually think it's a good thing. But it's nice to know that Mitsuru-san's terrifyingness can be redirected to a deserving target.

The girl blinks. "I... should probably go. Mom said she'd stop being busy 'in a minute', it has to have been longer than that..." And then she runs off.

This might be the first time you've scared someone away just talking about yourself. In all honesty, you're amazed it didn't happen sooner.

---

That was... weird. It's been a few days since then, but Mitsuru-san's beginning to be annoyed with you just watching television again, and you don't think she'd be okay with you sitting on that couch the rest of the week until school starts up again.

On the bright side, there's now a slight chance Akira will understand various things that you and Maiko reference. Even if you have to find something else to do now.


[ ] Try and find that girl from the other day. Just without scaring her off this time.

[ ] You haven't seen Maiko in a while. You should go see Maiko.

[ ] You wonder what would happen if you introduced Akira to Kyouma...

[ ] You should show off your magic to Akira. It's not like he hasn't been exposed to a lot of it this past month already...