Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

"You... want to learn from me?" Fuuka-san blinks at you. "What do you mean by that?"

You can't really explain it that well, mainly because you didn't actually think you'd make it this far. "I can see how strong things are by looking at them, but that's not... always helpful." It's more reliable than it used to be, because the power you have available to you is actually, for the most part, usable. So you can judge things without needing another person to compare it with. "I want to do something useful." You hadn't really cared beyond getting the most basic grasp of power, and that's not enough.

If you had even a little more, maybe you'd be better at helping people. If you follow up on it now, maybe you can stop more bad things from happening. That thought's been tumbling through your head since the weekend, and now that you're doing something, it might actually stop.

It certainly can't make things any worse.

Fuuka-san lightly spins her Evoker on the table. "I don't know how much I can do for you, but... I think I might have some time this weekend. Would that work for you, Ken-kun?"

You can't think of anything else you have to do those days. "That'd work great."

It's not much, but it's a first step. It doesn't have to be.

You feel better already.

---

Makoto-san looks at you.

You look at Makoto-san.

The map in your hand is slightly crumpled. You don't care that much, since you can make a new copy later.

It's not that different from your previous maps. Just one new hallway, and one entrance.

An entrance that apparently leads directly to Gekkoukan High. "Um... Hi, Makoto-san?" You don't know how to explain this.

You aren't sure anyone could explain this.

He blinks. "Have you... been experimenting with Traesto Gems?"

...No, but maybe you should. It'd help you avoid awkward situations. You'll keep that in mind for later. "No, I..."

...What are you going to tell him?


[ ] Attempt to explain the library.

[ ] Try saying something else.
-[ ] What will you say?

[ ] ...Maybe if you back away and vanish, he won't follow up on it?

"...I got here through the library." ...Okay, maybe that's a bit too honest. Except you can't think of anything to say but the truth. It's so weird, any excuse would just feel unsatisfactory.

It's not like this is an important secret to hide.

Makoto-san looks at you, and then at the books around you. No new answers are forthcoming. "...We're in the library."

"Not this library. A bigger library." You gesture with your arms in the direction of the ceiling. It still doesn't properly convey your experience of the height. Maybe if you were taller... "I was at my school just a bit ago. If you walk at the shelves just right..." You'd try to display it, except you know from experience it doesn't look that impressive to someone who regularly uses teleportation devices.

The chair creaks as Makoto-san stands up. He approaches one of the shelves, peering at it. "...I don't see anything special."

"You have to look at the floor." That's the easiest way to do it, anyway. "It might be easier if you use a Persona related to Bless or Curse?"
It could also just be that no one wants him in there.
He shakes his head. "Have you checked it's safe?"

"I haven't seen Shadows yet!" You wouldn't let your friends in if you had. None of them have Personas, they wouldn't be able to defend themselves unless you snuck weapons in.

Which you're not doing. It feels like one of the worse things you could try to do.

Makoto-san doesn't dispute your claims of safety, which is good, because otherwise you might have to admit to being worried about what would happen to those shelves during an earthquake.

With any luck, you'll never have to find out.

He sits down again. "So it's a library. Are there any good books?"

You don't really know how to answer that question.

But then, that's Makoto-san for you.

---

Fuuka-san's agreed to help you learn a bit more about sensing things with your Persona, though she's not sure how well she'll do at it.

What do you want to focus on?


[ ] Finding the enemy's weakness.

[ ] Communicating with others.

There's not really much that can be done in terms of getting examples to train with. You already know the weaknesses of all your friends, so you'd never be able to tell if what you sense from them is actually something you're sensing versus just what you already know.

This isn't going to stop you from trying, though. There's a full moon coming up, and you want to give that fight your very best effort.

"I don't... know if I can really explain how I do it," Fuuka-san admits. "I just ask my Persona to show me things, and... then she does."

...Maybe you should have asked Mitsuru-nee. Except you remember all that equipment she used to bring everywhere with her, and you'd rather have no extra powers at all than have to deal with that.

You think you might understand just a little, though. "Does she know what it is already?"

"I don't think so... but there's really no way to tell, is there?"
I'm not sure what she's getting at... but I think we might be able to fake it.
You suppose there's always the option of hoping Nemi remembers enough about how the Shadows work, and then remembers to tell you about it, but you haven't exactly been getting a lot of advance warning so far.

Still, you probably shouldn't be giving Fuuka-san an existential crisis about her own Persona. "I think I might be able to test it on the Shadow Monday." No one's told you to stay home yet, so it's a pretty decent chance you'll be able to get there. "If it doesn't work, I can always just rely on you."

This doesn't seem to reassure her. If anything, it does the opposite. "But- but you want this, don't you, Amada-kun?"

"Yeah. But it doesn't have to work out right away. It took me a while before I could even use my spear properly." Mostly because the spear Ikutsuki gave you was terrible. It's better now. But it was terrible. "I think this'll still be faster, since you actually know what you're doing."

This also is not as reassuring as you'd hoped. "But... after the full moon, what will there be to use it on?"


[ ] Whatever's at the top of Tartarus, probably.

[ ] Why should you need something to want to have it?

[ ] You'd be incredibly surprised if the full moon actually turned out to be the end of this.

[ ] ...Let's talk about the time you were told to save the world.