"Misato-san, please keep an eye on us," said Shinji, his hand gripping tightly onto his characteristic shovel (
I still can't believe that's the weapon he conceives of in his self-image); he quickly sought the nearest fire escape, clambering down with measured steps to join the battle with the Shadow.
Toji's Shadow, apparently.
I should've seen the signs, thought Misato with a grimace; this Shadow had been rather monstrous (and inherently destructive in its distortive effects on the immediate Metaverse) in appearance for a cognitive self which had merely gone wild. No...
("Accepting your other self will be...difficult." Those had been the words of her trainer. Alas, for most trainees, they were unable to do so seamlessly or without issue; they ended up denying their Shadow's incisive words, and succumbing to it. Thus, it fell to the experienced Agents on hand to subdue their berserk selves. It had happened to her...and she had seen it happen to many other prospective Agents in her time.)
...this was someone who had actually been
consumed by their Shadow; the resultant beings always tended to be deranged and manic in a way that was unique.
What did Aida-san say? 'Toji'? That was one of the boys' roommates at the Academy; if that was true, how had he ended up in the Metaverse?
Come to think of it...last month...hadn't Aida-san somehow ended up in the Metaverse through unknown means? Shinji-kun, Ayanami, and the mysterious 'Mister P' had helped bail the boy out when he had encountered his Shadow...but this was now the second of Shinji-kun's peers that had ended up within the cognitive world via unknown means.
Once is chance, twice is coincidence...a third time...? This would merit further investigation. But for now, there was a battle to finish. "Mana-chan, use your shield to protect Shinji-kun and Aida-san; we're gonna be running support for those two."
Mana almost looked
offended. "Seriously!?"
"If that Shadow
is who I think it is...then those two are going to be our best bet at stopping him." Still, no need to take chances.
Tokoyo, use Heat Riser on them. Keep your Wind skills at the ready.
xxxx
Shinji Ikari kept his shovel at the ready, even as Kensuke kept talking to Toji's Shadow. "Come on Toji, it doesn't have to be like this!"
"
Bullcrap!" snarled the hulk; the golden coffin on his back flickered with a celadon glow. "
Diarama!" The Shadow stood tall, reinvigorated by the curative skill.
...that doesn't seem fair, thought Shinji with a grimace, trying to avoid the Shadow's gaze; with a thought, Kinnara was replaced by Pixie, while Ozymandias kept unleashing ailment skills with regularity. Tokoyo's calm voice - "
Heat Riser." - sounded out as both Personas were empowered.
Slow and steady...slow and steady.
"
All of you...nothing but trouble to me...gonna get me killed...I WON'T LET YOU!"
The Shadow spoke with such rage and anger.
Suzuhara-san...is this how you truly felt...?
"
Speed Buster!" The aura of
Sukunda covered the Shadow as he burst towards Aida's position-!
Kirishima was suddenly there, shield at the ready. The momentum of the charging hulk transferred into AIGIS, lashing back against him with equal ferocity.
"
You're gonna kill me...have to kill you first...HAVE TO LIVE...DIA-"
"
Makajama!" cried Ozymandias, his shepherd's crook unleashing a spectral aura in the form of a giant question mark; it latched onto Toji's Shadow-
"
-RA-!" he tried to finish, only for the word to vanish from his mouth. "
What...what just happened-?"
"
Zio!" squeaked Pixie, flinging a bolt of lightning that arced across the Shadow's skin. Grimacing, the frenzied hulk tried to move-
"TOKOYO, NOW!" cried Misato.
"
Garudyne!" The swordswoman unleashed a torrential gale that ripped into the Shadow, further disorienting him. The hulk stumbled, dazedly stumbling in his direction.
Sorry Suzuhara-san, grimly thought Shinji as he winded back with his shovel.
This isn't personal.
THWACK!
The sound of flat metal smashing into a human face sounded like a thunderclap; Toji's Shadow gurgled as his head lurched backward, stumbling woozily. Like a boxer hit with a knockout blow, the Shadow fell backwards, crashing laboriously into the street.
"...nice swing, Shinji-kun!" called Misato from the rooftop.
Shinji tried not to flush with embarrassment. "Misato-san, that's not appropriate...!"
Kensuke rushed toward the Shadow's side; it dissipated in a rush of blue fire, coagulating into a smaller Shadow adjacent to the original Toji Suzuhara. "Toji...how you holding up...?"
"...like crap," muttered the track jock, slowly rising. Although looking relatively fine, he still had a churlish yet thoughtful expression on his face. "...
man, you guys hit hard...how much was I spouting off about?"
"...a bit." The bespectacled boy sat down, a complicated grimace on his face. "I...gotta confess. Ikari and I...we encountered your Shadow. Last Sunday, I mean. It...said some stuff."
"...huh. You two
seemed a little weird this past week..." Rather than being offended by this, Toji simply sighed. "...it sucks, you know?"
"What sucks?"
"Having your Shadow throw stuff in your face that you know is true but don't want to admit."
Kensuke grinned knowingly. "I've been in your shoes. It
really sucks."
Toji glanced over at his Shadow, which was slowly sitting up; the burly doppelganger's yellow eyes were no longer narrow with anger or fury, but were simply...open. Accepting. "I felt like a heel, trying to move on from when Tomochika died...from when my folks died...I felt like I didn't deserve it. Even when I
tried to move on...it didn't get to the root of it."
"That being?" asked Kensuke.
"That...I was
glad that I had survived. And I felt like an ass for that."
"...huh, kind of explains the bones, a little..."
"Yeah, that place where my Shadow was...it was kind of screwed up."
"We all have our own issues, Toji."
"...yeah Ken, I guess we do."
Shinji resisted the urge to squirm, feeling like he was witnessing something private.
They've known each other a lot longer...I shouldn't be here. Still, he felt like even trying to back away would draw their attention, so he just stood at attention while things resolved themselves.
Slowly rising to his feet, Toji walked over towards his Shadow. "...I admit that I'm not an expert on Metaverse stuff, or on Shadows...but you were pretty upfront, you know? You're right: I
was glad that I lived; can't do nothing for Sakura if I'm dead...but I was ashamed for feeling that way. It felt like dishonoring their memory...but our folks told me to run. So did Tomochika...and I can't change that. Wish I could...but I can't. Dwelling on it won't change anything for me." He held his hand out. "Have to keep moving forward...ain't that right,
me?"
For the first time, Toji's Shadow bore an expression other than surly anger or deep-seated irritation: with a satisfied smirk, his Shadow swelled with blue fire, taking on a new form that was no longer corrupted by wrath or rage, but perfectly congruent to his power. Standing at a towering height similar to Hamlet's, the Shadow took on the image of a muscular man with a well-groomed beard that went down to his chest, clad in fine blue robes - fit for a king - that left his right arm exposed; the golden coffin had morphed into a gauntlet that covered the entire forearm, bearing the face of Sakura Suzuhara on the back of the hand. Stylized tattoos of Toji's parents and Kenji Tomochika covered the left arm, while his feet were wrapped in sandals of fine leather. Atop a head of dark, long, and curly hair rested a small crown of gold, which extended down to form a thin mask over his piercing yellow eyes. With skin the color of polished bronze, his Shadow - nay,
his Persona - looked like a figure of heroic myth. "
I am thou, and thou art I...thou hast finally acknowledged the fetters which bound thee...and thus has finally resolved to move forward with head held high. Remember this lesson; for I, Gilgamesh, shall ensure its wisdom will endure to the end of time..." With those words, Gilgamesh faded away into wisps of azure flame, converging on Toji's form.
"Whoa, WHOA-!" yelped the befuddled boy.
"It's normal," assured Kensuke. "Call it the Metaverse responding to your self-image."
"...if you say so," muttered Toji looking warily at himself as the fire faded; instead of his sea green track uniform, only the pants remained, and his normal running shoes had been replaced by
really sporty athletic sneakers. Everything above the waist was much more elaborate; wearing a loose and short kimono colored golden yellow with green trimming, the fabric - bound to his waist with a black cord - bore designs of black deer all over it; with the gnarled wooden staff in his right hand, Toji might have come across as a mythical
sennin were it not for the white headband bearing the kanji for
aku ( 惡 ) in black, mirroring a similar character plastered on his back. "...huh."
"Ooh,
symbolism," said Kensuke with a joking grin. "Not bad, not bad..."
Toji huffed, ignoring Aida by looking over his shoulder. "Ikari."
Shinji blinked (
oh no he's spotted me), sputtering, "um, yes...?"
"...you probably should have joined the Baseball Club." He rubbed his chin, smirking wryly in spite of himself. "Not a bad swing with the shovel."
"Suzuhara-san, I'm
sorry, it was a battle, and I was just-"
"Damn man, calm down! I was trying to compliment you!"
It seemed at least some things were constant.
xxxx
/coming in from the future
//but here's Toji and his new Persona, courtesy of the SV forumer Renu
///
