Normal was a very subjective term.
For most people, normal would mean going about life in the way that society had laid out, with no idea of the things that lurked just out of human sight.
For people in Mikage-Cho, it was mostly the same, except that they knew the world was bigger than most could ever imagine.
For Persona Users, normal was the world turning green at midnight, being able to use some small amount of magic, and generally not talking about the sort of things that made them different.
Understandably, this meant that for most Persona Users, getting therapy was hard. There were more Persona Users in Iwatodai than Maki could count on her hands, she was the only one at all qualified to be a therapist, and a number of them probably didn't even know she existed. Mental health was hard, even for people who didn't have to worry about their repressed issues coming to life and trying to cause as much destruction as possible.
All of this added up to her only having one patient with a Persona, though she was sure the full team he lived with needed therapy by now. Still, the less filled with SEES members her caseload was, the less chance of her having to figure out just how far patient confidentiality would stretch.
We may still have to figure it out. Maya has her own job, and Yuuya isn't exactly master spy material.
Still, the way things were had slowly become Maki's new normal. So what if the world was out to get her every midnight? How was that different from the times demons had been wandering about under broad daylight, aside from the fact that it meant people could get away with not knowing?
Normal was subjective. A Persona User's normal especially.
But from the very start, nobody would ever be able to attach a title of 'normal' to the year to come.
Shinjiro didn't talk about Persona-related things very often. From what Maki could tell, he'd more or less extricated himself from that entire situation, at least in the sense that he wouldn't be expected to actually use his powers. He seemed happier this way, even if it did leave him open to worrying about the others.
He'd been doing very well recently, especially in comparison to how he was when they first met. Admittedly, it wasn't very difficult to be better than he was when they first met, or even several months ago, but it was still progress.
Mostly, she was just glad they seemed to be more-or-less past the point where he'd spent entire sessions questioning just how Ken Amada could not hate him. Despite having yet to meet the kid, Maki was pretty sure they didn't have to worry too much about him somehow ending the world.
Today, however... From the start, she could tell that today was not going to be a good day. It wasn't something she could explain- it just was.
Still, if there's no reasoning behind it, that means it's not a guarantee.
Sadly, the world did not seem intent on proving her wrong today.
"Aki led a couple Shadows back to the dorm a few days ago." The last time they'd spoken, they'd been talking about a transfer student, and likelihood that said student would be staying in the dorm full-time. This was not the expected change of subject. "Of course, he got a broken arm for his trouble, so... I guess I can't really be mad at him."
"The dorm? Really? How was that handled?" Maki wasn't sure if Shinjiro would have been involved in the fighting or not, but if he did end up returning to that life, she couldn't see him being very enthusiastic about it. But it was important to make sure SEES had contingencies for this kind of situation.
It's not like Shadows showing up are that unusual in this town.
He shrugged. "Well, we were supposed to evacuate, but one of the Shadows was smart enough to go around the back. And it could climb, too. So getting away... wasn't really going to happen."
She could imagine. Birds were easily the most annoying Shadow type there was, purely because there wasn't any getting away from them. She'd never seen a Shadow climbing things before, but then, she'd never given them the opportunity.
Still, Shinjiro was there, so she supposed things hadn't gone as badly as they could have. However they went. She wasn't sure if now was the time to ask or not.
"Do you think it's a bad sign if I can't use an Evoker even when there's a Shadow right in front of me?"
"Given the design choices..." Sure, she'd never officially laid eyes on an Evoker, but Maki didn't think Shinjiro would remember that at the moment. "I'm not sure I would be able to use one, either. Your life being in danger isn't the only thing that can draw out your full power."
She knew he knew this already. After all, his was the only group to decide that desperation was the best way to bring out their inner strength. Most people could just call for their Personas, and they'd be there.
Honestly, the fact that these people can't is probably the most worrying thing about them.
But maybe he needed the reminder, and in that case, she was more than willing to give it to him. Even if his attitude towards his powers tended to be mixed at best.
"...How do you do it?" She supposed that she should have expected this question eventually.
"...I know who I am, and I know what I'm trying to do. As long as you don't let yourself doubt, that's all anyone really needs."
Maki's second patient with a Persona was someone who she'd never imagined would step into her office, no matter how much his entire team clearly needed therapy. Ken Amada was small, cute, and incredibly polite, once again leaving her to wonder why people hadn't stopped being nervous about him existing yet.
He was also, apparently, aware that the dorm advisor was trying to manipulate him into committing murder.
...Oh. That's why.
...Maki needed to look through the wording of their patient confidentiality agreement.
Despite the fact that someone who was supposed to be looking after him apparently wanted him dead, Shinjiro never brought this up in any of their meetings, apparently preferring to talk about literally anything else.
Maki couldn't blame him. She wouldn't want to talk about it, either. But this really wasn't something she'd wanted to learn from a ten-year-old.
She hadn't wanted to learn about it at all, really, but it was better to be prepared for... well, whatever ended up happening. She still hadn't figured out what it would be safe to tell Kei.
We could start by pointing out that these kids have no good adult supervision. Assuming he doesn't already know that.
She did, however, realize that eventually she'd need to tell something to Kei, if only so he could try to help fix this mess. Or to make him stop worrying that a kid who wasn't yet eleven would be the cause of the apocalypse. But that would be something to worry about another day.
Today, Shinjiro seemed... not quite happy, but oddly relaxed, as if the tension that defined his life had suddenly vanished without a trace.
"I think I figured something out," He said. "Or... maybe remembered it? But I couldn't do this before, so..." For a moment, his Persona appeared behind him, before leaving as quickly as he came. "...At least, I never tried." Because he hadn't realized it to be possible, most likely. Belief could often get in the way of that kind of thing.
Maki nodded along. This was the first time a Persona other than Verdandi had appeared in her office, and it maybe should have felt a bit more monumental than that, but this seemed about right. "And... if you'd be all right with telling me, what is it you realized?" It could have been something deeply personal, or incredibly simple. Personas didn't discriminate about that sort of thing.
"It's... about why I joined up with SEES to begin with. I was worried Aki would do something to get himself killed, and I wanted to help people. Even when people told me it wouldn't be enough."
"...And who told you this?"
Sender: Maki Narumi
Recipient: Kei Nanjo
Subject: SEES
After having made contact with the Persona Users of the group known as SEES, I would like to be the first to inform you that your suspicions of Ken Amada are, thankfully, most likely misplaced. He's a genuinely sweet kid who, as far as anyone can tell, has no plans to be kickstarting the next apocalypse.
However, I would like to direct your attention to the man in charge of SEES, one Shuji Ikutsuki...
