Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)
- Thread starter SeekerofDreams
- Start date
Erithemaeus
GWS Recipient
- Location
- Around Dover Street
[x] ...Fuuka-san's probably right that you should stay away from this.
- Location
- Edmonton
[X] ...Honestly, you think you could take it on
SeekerofDreams
Aspiring Farmer
- Location
- Selphia
SeekerofDreams
Aspiring Farmer
- Location
- Selphia
Okay, yeah, let's not poke at the FOE.
This is a very important question to be asking, if only because there's always going to be someone who thinks it's a good idea.
-Vote Closed-
This is a very important question to be asking, if only because there's always going to be someone who thinks it's a good idea.
Chapter 1, Part 4
SeekerofDreams
Aspiring Farmer
- Location
- Selphia
For a moment, you wonder just what a battle with a giant card soldier would be like. Fuuka-san says that it should technically be possible for you to win, but... thinking about it, it really doesn't seem like a great idea.
"It doesn't seem very interested in us," Zen comments. "If we follow behind it, we should be able to make our way to the door over there." You suppose it's either that or trying to brute-force your way through in inactive clock. Which you have no reason to believe would even work.
That doesn't make the prospect of trying to sneak behind a card like this any less frightening, but you approach it either way.
The Card Soldier moves at about the same rate that you do, twirling a staff it its hands that you don't want to get on the wrong end of. It's dressed sort of like a jester, so much as Shadows can dress in anything, and that honestly does nothing to make its existence and demeanor less unnerving.
"I think this will work," Makoto-san says, quietly. "We'll just have to be fast enough."
"Are you sure there aren't too many of us?" Chidori-san asks.
Morgana eyes the FOE. "...Maybe if we go in groups at a time? It'll take longer, but then it won't come back around on us 'cause we're tripping over each other. And that's good. It's definitely not a normal Shadow."
You'd sort of figured that from the lack of a mask. The Shadows you've seen without them, such as they are, have been the personal Shadows of Persona Users.
I mean, the Reaper doesn't have an Arcana mask, either... but then again, I'm pretty sure it's also technically an FOE, so...
...Admittedly, your sample size is Nemi and Zorro, but that's not the point here. The point is, you have plenty of reason to be wary of this thing.
...You're going to stick to the middle of the group, just to be safe.
After you get past the FOE, with just enough time to spare, you stand in yet another hallway, which splits in two directions.
"All right, who has the map?" Yukari-san asks, prompting Junpei-san to wave a piece of paper in the air.
"Right here!"
"Well, first off, don't wave it around like that. You could attract birds." You aren't sure why that's her first thought, even if you can see why that could potentially be a concern. "Also, it needs updating, and I don't think you have a pen."
The fact that anyone here has a pen is sort of news to you. Sure, they could probably have picked one up from the classrooms, but when would they have had the time?
Still, you guess the map is handled for the time being, and the Shadows around here don't really pose a threat to any of you... you guess you can relax, for now.
[ ] ...But you could also see how many Shadows you can casually obliterate. That's always fun.
[ ] Or you could see if someone else has something to say to you.
-[ ] Zen
-[ ] Rei
-[ ] Shinjiro-san
-[ ] Mitsuru-san
-[ ] Makoto-san
"It doesn't seem very interested in us," Zen comments. "If we follow behind it, we should be able to make our way to the door over there." You suppose it's either that or trying to brute-force your way through in inactive clock. Which you have no reason to believe would even work.
That doesn't make the prospect of trying to sneak behind a card like this any less frightening, but you approach it either way.
The Card Soldier moves at about the same rate that you do, twirling a staff it its hands that you don't want to get on the wrong end of. It's dressed sort of like a jester, so much as Shadows can dress in anything, and that honestly does nothing to make its existence and demeanor less unnerving.
"I think this will work," Makoto-san says, quietly. "We'll just have to be fast enough."
"Are you sure there aren't too many of us?" Chidori-san asks.
Morgana eyes the FOE. "...Maybe if we go in groups at a time? It'll take longer, but then it won't come back around on us 'cause we're tripping over each other. And that's good. It's definitely not a normal Shadow."
You'd sort of figured that from the lack of a mask. The Shadows you've seen without them, such as they are, have been the personal Shadows of Persona Users.
I mean, the Reaper doesn't have an Arcana mask, either... but then again, I'm pretty sure it's also technically an FOE, so...
...Admittedly, your sample size is Nemi and Zorro, but that's not the point here. The point is, you have plenty of reason to be wary of this thing.
...You're going to stick to the middle of the group, just to be safe.
After you get past the FOE, with just enough time to spare, you stand in yet another hallway, which splits in two directions.
"All right, who has the map?" Yukari-san asks, prompting Junpei-san to wave a piece of paper in the air.
"Right here!"
"Well, first off, don't wave it around like that. You could attract birds." You aren't sure why that's her first thought, even if you can see why that could potentially be a concern. "Also, it needs updating, and I don't think you have a pen."
The fact that anyone here has a pen is sort of news to you. Sure, they could probably have picked one up from the classrooms, but when would they have had the time?
Still, you guess the map is handled for the time being, and the Shadows around here don't really pose a threat to any of you... you guess you can relax, for now.
[ ] ...But you could also see how many Shadows you can casually obliterate. That's always fun.
[ ] Or you could see if someone else has something to say to you.
-[ ] Zen
-[ ] Rei
-[ ] Shinjiro-san
-[ ] Mitsuru-san
-[ ] Makoto-san
- Location
- Head in the clouds
[X] Or you could see if someone else has something to say to you.
-[X] Mitsuru-san
Because it's been a while
-[X] Mitsuru-san
Because it's been a while
- Location
- Califoirna
[X] Or you could see if someone else has something to say to you.
-[X] Mitsuru-san
-[X] Mitsuru-san
- Location
- Edmonton
[X] Or you could see if someone else has something to say to you.
-[X] Mitsuru-san
-[X] Mitsuru-san
[X] Or you could see if someone else has something to say to you.
-[X] Mitsuru-san
-[X] Mitsuru-san
Balancing the Scales
SeekerofDreams
Aspiring Farmer
- Location
- Selphia
It probably says something that, no matter how many bad things happen, things always eventually return to normal.
It takes time, and you can't really contribute to it, but it still happens, and sometimes it ends up better than it was before. Such as now, when your other self is actively looking into maybe getting some therapy eventually. At least, you hope that ends up being a good thing that comes from this.
Somehow, you doubt it's going to be the explanation that's currently being given.
"That's why I don't fight anymore." Shinjiro-san says, clearly and with less self-hatred than is usual for him. You suppose that bit's probably a good thing. "And why Ikutsuki would think he could get Ken to hurt me. Honestly, I don't get why he hasn't either..."
"Well, you clearly didn't need the help with it."
Your other self's voice is perfectly clear, and you can't help but join in. "And it's pretty hard to hate someone who lets his guilt push him to the point of suicide." Not that anyone ever stated such outright, but you think it was pretty heavily implied.
Yukari-san just blinks at you, as if she simply can't compute the things she's hearing. "I-I'm sorry, I think I misheard that?"
"He gave me his Evoker before running into Tartarus on his own. I'm not sure how else I was supposed to interpret that." You let yourself step back, once again, hiding away within the depths of your own mind, where you don't have to think about the things that disturb you because they're all worlds away. It's easiest to remember that everyone is probably safe, when you don't have to see them in a time that you remember being in constant danger.
You just wish you could be a bit more certain about it.
While not the entirety of Ikutsuki's ambitions are left in the open, apparently what Mitsuru-san found was more than enough to convince her to act against him, with the help of others.
"Sort of strange, isn't it?" Your imagined Shinjiro-san asks. "Seeing them all get along that way."
"You never saw us later," You point out. "Things worked out eventually." Also, it helps that there's only one person currently involved with SEES who is plotting murder, but figment of your imagination or not, this really isn't something you want to point out. "I'm... not sure why it's this much better so much sooner, though." You can't have changed that much, Morgana doesn't interact with the others as much as you do, and as for Elizabeth...
...You're not even going to touch on the subject of Elizabeth.
"You're not sure... why a group that almost knows how to properly communicate... is more functional than one that absolutely could not." Right. You guess there's some actual communication going on there, even if it's still far from perfect. That does probably help them to get somewhere.
You only hope they can reach what they're aiming for before things all go downhill yet again.
It probably says something about the situation SEES is currently in, that things going downhill has been worked into their plans. By which you mean that apparently their plan was to bait Ikutsuki into hiring Strega.
You're not sure in what world it would be ideal to be targeted by assassins, but apparently, to Mitsuru-san, this is it.
The fact that there is, supposedly, a plan doesn't make this any easier to deal with. Particularly when your other self is only part of said plan because Yukari-san didn't feel comfortable taking him to Shirakawa Boulevard.
Given the sort of places that are on Shirakawa Boulevard, it's hard to blame her, but also it's putting you right at the scene of... something. You're not sure what, exactly, it is yet.
Whatever it is, you know it can't be good.
"He does know none of them would get that bit, right?" You ask yourself, still too quietly for anyone short of Mitsuru-san to hear. You actually aren't sure what the answer would be.
"I suppose that's a fair point." This is the first time, this timeline, that you're properly hearing Takaya's voice, and it's no different from any of your nightmares. The location is different, and so are the circumstances, and you're not even alone with him, but that ice-cold voice still remains the same. Familiarity is not always a comforting thing. "Still, if you know why we're here... let's get on with it, shall we?"
"No!" You can't just sit here and watch history repeat itself. You won't. You push yourself to the surface, instead, drawing up every last bit of power you can muster. "Psiodyne!" You take control and tear at the space containing Takaya's gun, refusing to stop untilthe weapon that, in another world, had robbed Shinjiro-san of his life it has been reduced to a mere pile of scrap metal. "Not. Happening."
You couldn't do anything about this last time. You can now. You aren't about to back down.
Your other self tugs at you, but you're not sure what he's trying to do, and you're sure it isn't safe to move.You can't look away. Whether the next threat comes from bullets, or grenades, or even something else, they all kill things just the same. Takaya can use fire, ice, lightning, and wind. It's not safe.
"Kid... what did you just do?"Like that's somehow important, in the face of a threat like this.
"It doesn't matter," You tell him, hoping that he listens. "I'm not letting him kill you again."
It shouldn't have even happened the first time.
"...Again?" ...Oh, right, you said that out loud. Oh, well. That's something to worry about if you all survive this.
You can't let him near Junpei-san, either. Even without a gun, he's still dangerous. Even without an Evoker, he's still dangerous. Nobody is safe.
"...Well. So much for doing this cleanly." Takaya barely sounds bothered by the loss of his weapon, but you're well aware that his pleasant demeanor covers up the most merciless killer to walk the Dark Hour. "Still, it shouldn't be that much more difficult to deal with. A child, a feline of some description, a man without his Evoker... There's only one real threat here."
"Can't let him touch Junpei-san. Can't let him touch Shinjiro-san. He can't hurt them. I won't let him." You silently repeat to yourself, pushing the images of your previous confrontations with him out of your head. You can't even use your other self's mouth to say it. That would mean showing weakness. You can't afford to be weak here. You were last time, and it just ended in tragedy.
"...Yeah, about that." Shinjiro-san, meanwhile, doesn't have to worry about being weak at all. He just snaps his fingers, and in an instant, Castor is there beside him. "Turns out there's a lot of stuff Ikutsuki doesn't know about."
There is. And that's probably the one thing that's going to save you.
Chidori-san ends up surrendering, and things get just a little bit clearer. This is both a good thing- you can keep yourself a bit more firmly in the present- and a bad one- you are still acutely aware of your current situation.
At the very least, your other self seems to agree with you on how to handle danger- Psi it out of existence.
"Not this time," You breathe out, in your own little corner of a child's soul. "Never again. I won't let you."
"You should leave." Shinjiro-san sounds confident in his words, which is good, because you really aren't. "You're outnumbered, your Navigator's not helping you anymore, Ikutsuki's probably not going to be around long enough to pay you even if you win... Why stick around?"
"Nonono. Don't give him another chance. He'll just come back later. Do you know how hard he is to kill? Because it's harder than it should be!" You know he can't hear you, but you feel compelled to yell at him about this decision either way.
"Why let me leave?" The fact that you are apparently on a similar wavelength to Takaya Sakaki disturbs you for a large number of reasons. "I know what your abilities are. I could just come back."
"I can summon Castor in a fifteenth of the time it takes you to call out Hypnos. I'll take my chances." He doesn't appear to have any second thoughts about this at all. "Go away."
"...All right, then. Jin, we're leaving." Of course they're ditching Chidori-san. You're not sure why you ever expected otherwise. "Still, it would make things easier for you. It wouldn't even be the first time." Because of course he somehow knew about that. Of course he's the type of person who'd bring it up without a second thought.
You'd blink at him, if you had control of your eyelids. You aren't sure why you're even surprised. "...The next time we see him, I'm throwing one of Jin's grenades at him. I don't care what I have to do to get it." Your other self doesn't seem entirely pleased by this suggestion.
Shinjiro-san watches the two of them leave. "...Yeah. That's sort of the point." You aren't sure this response was entirely for Takaya's benefit.
"...He always was better than the rest of us." Maybe you do have some sort of anger issues. Or maybe you're just too scared of what'll happen when those two come back.
Maybe you haven't changed all that much, after all.
You wouldn't say that what happens on Yakushima is exactly a secret coming out, but... it sort of feels like it, in the sense that, if someone you didn't know were to ask about it, you would deny it as quickly as you possibly could.
As it is, well... you have less say in what happens than usual, because your other self has been completely tired out. "You know, it's been a while since you were dragged here from anything important," You remark. Not since shortly after the first time he picked up an Evoker, you're pretty sure. "Don't worry- if I wasn't sure they'd stay by Shinjiro-san, I wouldn't have let you fall asleep."
He looks at you in surprise. "Really? Even Elizabeth-san?" As if anyone could ever predict Elizabeth.
"Honestly, I don't think we have anything to worry about with them- well, maybe Morgana, but Shinjiro-san feeds him, so I'm sure he can at least be civil." Magicians can be thoughtless, and cats can be judgemental. Morgana is both. But he also likes food.
Your other self looks at the ground, and then back up at you, and you can sort of get what he's going to say before he says it. "...How did he die, anyway? I've... heard a few things, but... I'm not really sure how it all goes together."
"I... guess I should have expected you to ask this, eventually." When your hand brushes the photograph, memories of both of your selves flash through you, the only reason you aren't dragged under being your strong desire to not succumb to bad memories. "If you were to hold this, you might remember. But it's something I don't think you should ever have to see." You wish you'd never seen it.
"I won't have to look, if you tell me about it." ...There are downsides, it seems, to there being a version of you that managed to make peace with Shinjiro-san.
You return the picture to its regular place, allowing the echoes of memory to fade for now. "I don't think I should have to tell you that, the first time around, things weren't anything like this. I didn't even know SEES existed until I was eleven, beyond..." Well. Beyond how they'd been there, back when you lost everything. "And even when Ikutsuki decided to bring me in, he didn't tell me anything. Not really. I had to figure it all out myself."
"I guess a lot can change, in a year and a half."
"Yes. And it wasn't just us. Things didn't go well there- or maybe they just went really well here- but even past the point I showed up, nobody in SEES had any idea Resolution was a thing. And I don't think Shinjiro-san ever knew about it, in the sense of being able to remember that kind of thing." Amaterasu, Susano-o, and Suzuka Gongen aside... You know from experience just how little this sort of thing matters, when it's bound to be forgotten. "So. No Caesar. No Artemisia. Shinjiro-san never grew past having to use an Evoker, and he still preferred to go around headbutting tanks than to actually use it."
"...Headbutting tanks?" Okay, yeah, that does sound pretty unbelievable. Tziah was weird.
"You had to have been there. And it wasn't just him- Mitsuru-san ended up kicking one." As much as you enjoy being off-topic, you get the feeling you won't get away with changing the subject here. "Anyway, I went around having decided that I'd try and hate Shinjiro-san no matter what, while he spent close to two years living on the streets, until Akihiko-san used my presence to convince him to come back. During that time- I'm not really sure what happened, the only people who did, in my time, ended the year either dead or amnesiac- he fell in with another group of Persona Users. I'll give you three guesses who they were, and the first two don't count."
"The assassins?"
"Takaya Sakaki, Chidori Yoshino, and Jin... honestly, I forgot what his last name was. It's been awhile." It's not like he was ever relevant to anything. "Chidori-san eventually defected, lost her memories, and lived happily ever after with Junpei-san. The other two would go on to die messily completely independent of a barrage of Ziodyne from two different sources. ...Honestly, I'm not sure if Takaya was dead before or after he rolled off of Tartarus..."
...Actually, you should probably stop there. Really, you shouldn't have let it get that far to begin with. So what if you and Akihiko-san hadn't been taking any particular caution to keep those two alive? While they died after the fight, there was a good enough chance that it hadn't been due to lightning.
Fortunately, your other self seems to decide that this isn't a topic worth pursuing. "...So, Shinjiro-san?"
Sadly, that just brings you right back to this. "...Right. So, anyway, I didn't like him. And I wasn't afraid to confront him on it. Actually, that was the whole reason I joined SEES- the possibility of vengeance. For the most part. At one point, I was actually planning on having a nice, civil discussion, but then the things that led me to decide that were erased from history... So, anyway, do you know when the full moon is during October this year?"
"...I didn't. It's the fourth, isn't it?"
"No one else was going to be around that night. I figured it'd be poetic. Or something. I was eleven. I managed to get as far as getting Shinjiro-san alone, but... then the second thoughts started coming back, a few hours too late to be any help. And then Takaya showed up." If only those second thoughts had come back a few hours sooner... maybe then there would have been a happier ending.
"And he killed Shinjiro-san." If only it had been that simple.
"He wanted to kill me. But Shinjiro-san got in the way. From what the doctors said, he should have been dead long before he stopped moving. And Takaya was just glad that he got to kill somebody that night. Afterwards... I ran away from home, Akihiko-san had Caesar when he came looking for me, and then I-" That's when you figured something out about yourself. When you managed to move past things. Or, at least, when you thought you did. "...It doesn't matter."
How can it matter, when it's probably never going to be relevant again?
Naturally, it still ends up coming up again. Strega shows up at the mall, presumably itching for another fight, and your other self's best idea for how to deal with them involves asking Lavenza for help.
It works, of course. Lavenza is from the Velvet Room, and as a result, there's probably very little she can't do, magically speaking. "I believe the issue has been dealt with, for the time being," She says, and leads your other self to where Jin and Takaya are perfectly ensconced in blocks of ice.
"Yeah, I... don't think they're much of a threat right now," Your other self agrees, not looking away from the wreckage and slowly pooling blood.
Lavenza seems to agree. "What would you like to do with them now? As it is, I have a few ideas..." You sort of like the ominous tone in her voice. It's the sort of tone you wouldn't mind handing someone like Takaya over to.
It could also be something you could resolve yourself. Your other self's hand rests on the block of ice containing one of your worst nightmares, and you can feel the slight imperfections in the ice. Things you could use, if you wanted to end Takaya's threat for good.
"It would be so easy..." You whisper, feeling the cold seeping into your shared bones.
"It would," He agrees, out loud, his voice shaking just a little, but himself entirely confident in what he's about to say. "But I won't. I'm not that kind of person anymore."
And with that declaration, something changes. Power rushes through you, more than you've felt in such a long time, as the path this child is taking veers, yet again, abruptly away from the path you'd walked before, if still along the same lines.
He steps confidently onto this new path, and you watch, and wait, and the next time he appears in the depths of your mind, you have a question to ask.
"I told you, a while back, to figure out what my name is. Do you know it now?"
"I do. It's Kala-Nemi."
This new future is still uncertain. There's still so much that could get in the way- you aren't sure if Zen and Rei are going to turn up again, or if you'd even want them to, but Hikari's almost definitely someone who still needs help, even if your other self could probably get away with tagging along with the Thieves instead, if they still end up forming- but for the first time, you're sort of excited to see how it turns out.
You just have to hope that this trust won't be misplaced.
It takes time, and you can't really contribute to it, but it still happens, and sometimes it ends up better than it was before. Such as now, when your other self is actively looking into maybe getting some therapy eventually. At least, you hope that ends up being a good thing that comes from this.
Somehow, you doubt it's going to be the explanation that's currently being given.
"That's why I don't fight anymore." Shinjiro-san says, clearly and with less self-hatred than is usual for him. You suppose that bit's probably a good thing. "And why Ikutsuki would think he could get Ken to hurt me. Honestly, I don't get why he hasn't either..."
"Well, you clearly didn't need the help with it."
Your other self's voice is perfectly clear, and you can't help but join in. "And it's pretty hard to hate someone who lets his guilt push him to the point of suicide." Not that anyone ever stated such outright, but you think it was pretty heavily implied.
Yukari-san just blinks at you, as if she simply can't compute the things she's hearing. "I-I'm sorry, I think I misheard that?"
"He gave me his Evoker before running into Tartarus on his own. I'm not sure how else I was supposed to interpret that." You let yourself step back, once again, hiding away within the depths of your own mind, where you don't have to think about the things that disturb you because they're all worlds away. It's easiest to remember that everyone is probably safe, when you don't have to see them in a time that you remember being in constant danger.
You just wish you could be a bit more certain about it.
While not the entirety of Ikutsuki's ambitions are left in the open, apparently what Mitsuru-san found was more than enough to convince her to act against him, with the help of others.
"Sort of strange, isn't it?" Your imagined Shinjiro-san asks. "Seeing them all get along that way."
"You never saw us later," You point out. "Things worked out eventually." Also, it helps that there's only one person currently involved with SEES who is plotting murder, but figment of your imagination or not, this really isn't something you want to point out. "I'm... not sure why it's this much better so much sooner, though." You can't have changed that much, Morgana doesn't interact with the others as much as you do, and as for Elizabeth...
...You're not even going to touch on the subject of Elizabeth.
"You're not sure... why a group that almost knows how to properly communicate... is more functional than one that absolutely could not." Right. You guess there's some actual communication going on there, even if it's still far from perfect. That does probably help them to get somewhere.
You only hope they can reach what they're aiming for before things all go downhill yet again.
It probably says something about the situation SEES is currently in, that things going downhill has been worked into their plans. By which you mean that apparently their plan was to bait Ikutsuki into hiring Strega.
You're not sure in what world it would be ideal to be targeted by assassins, but apparently, to Mitsuru-san, this is it.
The fact that there is, supposedly, a plan doesn't make this any easier to deal with. Particularly when your other self is only part of said plan because Yukari-san didn't feel comfortable taking him to Shirakawa Boulevard.
Given the sort of places that are on Shirakawa Boulevard, it's hard to blame her, but also it's putting you right at the scene of... something. You're not sure what, exactly, it is yet.
Whatever it is, you know it can't be good.
"He does know none of them would get that bit, right?" You ask yourself, still too quietly for anyone short of Mitsuru-san to hear. You actually aren't sure what the answer would be.
"I suppose that's a fair point." This is the first time, this timeline, that you're properly hearing Takaya's voice, and it's no different from any of your nightmares. The location is different, and so are the circumstances, and you're not even alone with him, but that ice-cold voice still remains the same. Familiarity is not always a comforting thing. "Still, if you know why we're here... let's get on with it, shall we?"
"No!" You can't just sit here and watch history repeat itself. You won't. You push yourself to the surface, instead, drawing up every last bit of power you can muster. "Psiodyne!" You take control and tear at the space containing Takaya's gun, refusing to stop until
You couldn't do anything about this last time. You can now. You aren't about to back down.
Your other self tugs at you, but you're not sure what he's trying to do, and you're sure it isn't safe to move.
"Kid... what did you just do?"
"It doesn't matter," You tell him, hoping that he listens. "I'm not letting him kill you again."
It shouldn't have even happened the first time.
"...Again?" ...Oh, right, you said that out loud. Oh, well. That's something to worry about if you all survive this.
"...Well. So much for doing this cleanly." Takaya barely sounds bothered by the loss of his weapon, but you're well aware that his pleasant demeanor covers up the most merciless killer to walk the Dark Hour. "Still, it shouldn't be that much more difficult to deal with. A child, a feline of some description, a man without his Evoker... There's only one real threat here."
"Can't let him touch Junpei-san. Can't let him touch Shinjiro-san. He can't hurt them. I won't let him." You silently repeat to yourself
"...Yeah, about that." Shinjiro-san, meanwhile, doesn't have to worry about being weak at all. He just snaps his fingers, and in an instant, Castor is there beside him. "Turns out there's a lot of stuff Ikutsuki doesn't know about."
There is. And that's probably the one thing that's going to save you.
Chidori-san ends up surrendering, and things get just a little bit clearer. This is both a good thing- you can keep yourself a bit more firmly in the present- and a bad one- you are still acutely aware of your current situation.
At the very least, your other self seems to agree with you on how to handle danger- Psi it out of existence.
"Not this time," You breathe out, in your own little corner of a child's soul. "Never again. I won't let you."
"You should leave." Shinjiro-san sounds confident in his words, which is good, because you really aren't. "You're outnumbered, your Navigator's not helping you anymore, Ikutsuki's probably not going to be around long enough to pay you even if you win... Why stick around?"
"Nonono. Don't give him another chance. He'll just come back later. Do you know how hard he is to kill? Because it's harder than it should be!" You know he can't hear you, but you feel compelled to yell at him about this decision either way.
"Why let me leave?" The fact that you are apparently on a similar wavelength to Takaya Sakaki disturbs you for a large number of reasons. "I know what your abilities are. I could just come back."
"I can summon Castor in a fifteenth of the time it takes you to call out Hypnos. I'll take my chances." He doesn't appear to have any second thoughts about this at all. "Go away."
"...All right, then. Jin, we're leaving." Of course they're ditching Chidori-san. You're not sure why you ever expected otherwise. "Still, it would make things easier for you. It wouldn't even be the first time." Because of course he somehow knew about that. Of course he's the type of person who'd bring it up without a second thought.
You'd blink at him, if you had control of your eyelids. You aren't sure why you're even surprised. "...The next time we see him, I'm throwing one of Jin's grenades at him. I don't care what I have to do to get it." Your other self doesn't seem entirely pleased by this suggestion.
Shinjiro-san watches the two of them leave. "...Yeah. That's sort of the point." You aren't sure this response was entirely for Takaya's benefit.
"...He always was better than the rest of us." Maybe you do have some sort of anger issues. Or maybe you're just too scared of what'll happen when those two come back.
Maybe you haven't changed all that much, after all.
You wouldn't say that what happens on Yakushima is exactly a secret coming out, but... it sort of feels like it, in the sense that, if someone you didn't know were to ask about it, you would deny it as quickly as you possibly could.
As it is, well... you have less say in what happens than usual, because your other self has been completely tired out. "You know, it's been a while since you were dragged here from anything important," You remark. Not since shortly after the first time he picked up an Evoker, you're pretty sure. "Don't worry- if I wasn't sure they'd stay by Shinjiro-san, I wouldn't have let you fall asleep."
He looks at you in surprise. "Really? Even Elizabeth-san?" As if anyone could ever predict Elizabeth.
"Honestly, I don't think we have anything to worry about with them- well, maybe Morgana, but Shinjiro-san feeds him, so I'm sure he can at least be civil." Magicians can be thoughtless, and cats can be judgemental. Morgana is both. But he also likes food.
Your other self looks at the ground, and then back up at you, and you can sort of get what he's going to say before he says it. "...How did he die, anyway? I've... heard a few things, but... I'm not really sure how it all goes together."
"I... guess I should have expected you to ask this, eventually." When your hand brushes the photograph, memories of both of your selves flash through you, the only reason you aren't dragged under being your strong desire to not succumb to bad memories. "If you were to hold this, you might remember. But it's something I don't think you should ever have to see." You wish you'd never seen it.
"I won't have to look, if you tell me about it." ...There are downsides, it seems, to there being a version of you that managed to make peace with Shinjiro-san.
You return the picture to its regular place, allowing the echoes of memory to fade for now. "I don't think I should have to tell you that, the first time around, things weren't anything like this. I didn't even know SEES existed until I was eleven, beyond..." Well. Beyond how they'd been there, back when you lost everything. "And even when Ikutsuki decided to bring me in, he didn't tell me anything. Not really. I had to figure it all out myself."
"I guess a lot can change, in a year and a half."
"Yes. And it wasn't just us. Things didn't go well there- or maybe they just went really well here- but even past the point I showed up, nobody in SEES had any idea Resolution was a thing. And I don't think Shinjiro-san ever knew about it, in the sense of being able to remember that kind of thing." Amaterasu, Susano-o, and Suzuka Gongen aside... You know from experience just how little this sort of thing matters, when it's bound to be forgotten. "So. No Caesar. No Artemisia. Shinjiro-san never grew past having to use an Evoker, and he still preferred to go around headbutting tanks than to actually use it."
"...Headbutting tanks?" Okay, yeah, that does sound pretty unbelievable. Tziah was weird.
"You had to have been there. And it wasn't just him- Mitsuru-san ended up kicking one." As much as you enjoy being off-topic, you get the feeling you won't get away with changing the subject here. "Anyway, I went around having decided that I'd try and hate Shinjiro-san no matter what, while he spent close to two years living on the streets, until Akihiko-san used my presence to convince him to come back. During that time- I'm not really sure what happened, the only people who did, in my time, ended the year either dead or amnesiac- he fell in with another group of Persona Users. I'll give you three guesses who they were, and the first two don't count."
"The assassins?"
"Takaya Sakaki, Chidori Yoshino, and Jin... honestly, I forgot what his last name was. It's been awhile." It's not like he was ever relevant to anything. "Chidori-san eventually defected, lost her memories, and lived happily ever after with Junpei-san. The other two would go on to die messily completely independent of a barrage of Ziodyne from two different sources. ...Honestly, I'm not sure if Takaya was dead before or after he rolled off of Tartarus..."
...Actually, you should probably stop there. Really, you shouldn't have let it get that far to begin with. So what if you and Akihiko-san hadn't been taking any particular caution to keep those two alive? While they died after the fight, there was a good enough chance that it hadn't been due to lightning.
Fortunately, your other self seems to decide that this isn't a topic worth pursuing. "...So, Shinjiro-san?"
Sadly, that just brings you right back to this. "...Right. So, anyway, I didn't like him. And I wasn't afraid to confront him on it. Actually, that was the whole reason I joined SEES- the possibility of vengeance. For the most part. At one point, I was actually planning on having a nice, civil discussion, but then the things that led me to decide that were erased from history... So, anyway, do you know when the full moon is during October this year?"
"...I didn't. It's the fourth, isn't it?"
"No one else was going to be around that night. I figured it'd be poetic. Or something. I was eleven. I managed to get as far as getting Shinjiro-san alone, but... then the second thoughts started coming back, a few hours too late to be any help. And then Takaya showed up." If only those second thoughts had come back a few hours sooner... maybe then there would have been a happier ending.
"And he killed Shinjiro-san." If only it had been that simple.
"He wanted to kill me. But Shinjiro-san got in the way. From what the doctors said, he should have been dead long before he stopped moving. And Takaya was just glad that he got to kill somebody that night. Afterwards... I ran away from home, Akihiko-san had Caesar when he came looking for me, and then I-" That's when you figured something out about yourself. When you managed to move past things. Or, at least, when you thought you did. "...It doesn't matter."
How can it matter, when it's probably never going to be relevant again?
Naturally, it still ends up coming up again. Strega shows up at the mall, presumably itching for another fight, and your other self's best idea for how to deal with them involves asking Lavenza for help.
It works, of course. Lavenza is from the Velvet Room, and as a result, there's probably very little she can't do, magically speaking. "I believe the issue has been dealt with, for the time being," She says, and leads your other self to where Jin and Takaya are perfectly ensconced in blocks of ice.
"Yeah, I... don't think they're much of a threat right now," Your other self agrees, not looking away from the wreckage and slowly pooling blood.
Lavenza seems to agree. "What would you like to do with them now? As it is, I have a few ideas..." You sort of like the ominous tone in her voice. It's the sort of tone you wouldn't mind handing someone like Takaya over to.
It could also be something you could resolve yourself. Your other self's hand rests on the block of ice containing one of your worst nightmares, and you can feel the slight imperfections in the ice. Things you could use, if you wanted to end Takaya's threat for good.
"It would be so easy..." You whisper, feeling the cold seeping into your shared bones.
"It would," He agrees, out loud, his voice shaking just a little, but himself entirely confident in what he's about to say. "But I won't. I'm not that kind of person anymore."
And with that declaration, something changes. Power rushes through you, more than you've felt in such a long time, as the path this child is taking veers, yet again, abruptly away from the path you'd walked before, if still along the same lines.
He steps confidently onto this new path, and you watch, and wait, and the next time he appears in the depths of your mind, you have a question to ask.
"I told you, a while back, to figure out what my name is. Do you know it now?"
"I do. It's Kala-Nemi."
This new future is still uncertain. There's still so much that could get in the way- you aren't sure if Zen and Rei are going to turn up again, or if you'd even want them to, but Hikari's almost definitely someone who still needs help, even if your other self could probably get away with tagging along with the Thieves instead, if they still end up forming- but for the first time, you're sort of excited to see how it turns out.
You just have to hope that this trust won't be misplaced.
SeekerofDreams
Aspiring Farmer
- Location
- Selphia
SeekerofDreams
Aspiring Farmer
- Location
- Selphia
All right, on we go.
This is probably the point where it becomes more obvious that the last time I ran through a Labyrinth that wasn't the Group Date Cafe was a long time ago.
-Vote Closed!-
This is probably the point where it becomes more obvious that the last time I ran through a Labyrinth that wasn't the Group Date Cafe was a long time ago.
Chapter 1, Part 5
SeekerofDreams
Aspiring Farmer
- Location
- Selphia
You trust that the others can sort out everything to do with the map, since they're just as invested in Not Getting Lost as you are. Or, at least, you hope they are. While you can't hear chains yet, you can't help but wonder if that's just because there don't need to be.
Trust me, it'll make up for it later. A bit too much, really...
Mitsuru-san doesn't seem particularly interested in the whole debate, either. "Do you... think the map's actually going to work?" You ask her.
"It should in theory. In practice..." She trails off as a pen goes soaring through the air, for some reason. "...This is the sort of thing that really should be the responsibility of one person, rather than the whole group." You somehow doubt that the others would listen to her if she said that.
"But we're sure they won't accidentally tear it apart, right?" If the reason you all die is because of something as silly as that, you'd argue that you deserve it.
She looks at you. "They're not that bad... most of the time." You aren't sure she's even convincing herself.
Still, as far as you can tell, the map is currently intact, so you're sure everything is going to be fine. You decide to change the subject. "The Shadows here aren't very strong, are they?"
"I think I've seen some of them before," She comments. "Or, not seen, exactly... they lurk in the lowest levels of Tartarus." You can't recall much about the Shadows you encountered in the first block of Tartarus, so you suppose you'll have to take her word for it.
That is, after all, what you normally do, when making comparisons in terms of power, particularly in regards to yourself.
Actually, I'm... not sure you should have to worry about that anymore. At least, not all that much.
"I thought so. But I wasn't really sure, since... Well, I thought my getting so much stronger might have made it harder to tell." It still feels a bit strange, being able to do so much with your power. You're aware of what you can do, and you make sure to use proper caution when wielding it, but... It's amazing, how much power a person can gather in such a short amount of time.
She nods along. "It's true that you're not exactly a specialist in these matters... but as long as you're aware of the limits to your power, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. You certainly seem to have more common sense than several of our less powerful team members."
You don't have to ask to know that she's probably talking about Junpei-san and Morgana. You aren't sure if it's a Magician Arcana thing, or if it's just a thing about those two in particular.
I'd give you the answer, but it's not that long until you see it for yourself. So, for now, it is a secret.
"I'm... not sure how much that's saying," You admit. "They are... really lively, though. Since more people started joining..." You sort of miss the days when it was just the four of you, but it could get lonely at times. That was just the natural result of a group where one of the members was busy, another had a guilt complex, the third was mostly worried about the second one's wellbeing, and you didn't go to the same school as any of them.
Sure, there are downsides to the dorm being filled to capacity, but potential boredom is not one of them.
Mitsuru-san is quiet, for a bit, and you wonder if she's thinking about the same things as you. "We have... all changed a lot since then, haven't we?" It's not hard to see what she means.
You nod. "I like it better, this way. Sure, it's a lot busier, but... before could be a bit..." You have absolutely no idea what word is supposed to go here, but you're hoping she can at least get the sentiment. "But this is nice, too."
[ ] "I'm glad that we can all just... talk to each other." (+Expression)
[ ] "It's like having a big family." (+Empathy)
[ ] You don't actually think you need to add anything to this.
Trust me, it'll make up for it later. A bit too much, really...
Mitsuru-san doesn't seem particularly interested in the whole debate, either. "Do you... think the map's actually going to work?" You ask her.
"It should in theory. In practice..." She trails off as a pen goes soaring through the air, for some reason. "...This is the sort of thing that really should be the responsibility of one person, rather than the whole group." You somehow doubt that the others would listen to her if she said that.
"But we're sure they won't accidentally tear it apart, right?" If the reason you all die is because of something as silly as that, you'd argue that you deserve it.
She looks at you. "They're not that bad... most of the time." You aren't sure she's even convincing herself.
Still, as far as you can tell, the map is currently intact, so you're sure everything is going to be fine. You decide to change the subject. "The Shadows here aren't very strong, are they?"
"I think I've seen some of them before," She comments. "Or, not seen, exactly... they lurk in the lowest levels of Tartarus." You can't recall much about the Shadows you encountered in the first block of Tartarus, so you suppose you'll have to take her word for it.
That is, after all, what you normally do, when making comparisons in terms of power, particularly in regards to yourself.
Actually, I'm... not sure you should have to worry about that anymore. At least, not all that much.
"I thought so. But I wasn't really sure, since... Well, I thought my getting so much stronger might have made it harder to tell." It still feels a bit strange, being able to do so much with your power. You're aware of what you can do, and you make sure to use proper caution when wielding it, but... It's amazing, how much power a person can gather in such a short amount of time.
She nods along. "It's true that you're not exactly a specialist in these matters... but as long as you're aware of the limits to your power, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. You certainly seem to have more common sense than several of our less powerful team members."
You don't have to ask to know that she's probably talking about Junpei-san and Morgana. You aren't sure if it's a Magician Arcana thing, or if it's just a thing about those two in particular.
I'd give you the answer, but it's not that long until you see it for yourself. So, for now, it is a secret.
"I'm... not sure how much that's saying," You admit. "They are... really lively, though. Since more people started joining..." You sort of miss the days when it was just the four of you, but it could get lonely at times. That was just the natural result of a group where one of the members was busy, another had a guilt complex, the third was mostly worried about the second one's wellbeing, and you didn't go to the same school as any of them.
Sure, there are downsides to the dorm being filled to capacity, but potential boredom is not one of them.
Mitsuru-san is quiet, for a bit, and you wonder if she's thinking about the same things as you. "We have... all changed a lot since then, haven't we?" It's not hard to see what she means.
You nod. "I like it better, this way. Sure, it's a lot busier, but... before could be a bit..." You have absolutely no idea what word is supposed to go here, but you're hoping she can at least get the sentiment. "But this is nice, too."
[ ] "I'm glad that we can all just... talk to each other." (+Expression)
[ ] "It's like having a big family." (+Empathy)
[ ] You don't actually think you need to add anything to this.
burningclaw2
The Power of the Tomato!
[X] "It's like having a big family." (+Empathy)
- Location
- Head in the clouds
[X] "It's like having a big family." (+Empathy)
Look I very much like the sibling dynamic these two have.
Look I very much like the sibling dynamic these two have.
- Location
- world
[X] "It's like having a big family." (+Empathy)
- Location
- Califoirna
[X] "It's like having a big family." (+Empathy)