Chapter Text
April 6th, 2009
Arisato Minako slowly blinked awake as a jostling of the passenger car shook her sleeping form. She could feel that the train was slowing down, as it came into the next station. Looking around, she saw that the car had mostly emptied out as she had slept; the only people left on board were a baseball cap wearing teenager standing near the door to the next car, a middle-aged salary worker who had also dozed off, her brother Minato, and herself.
Pulling her phone out and flipping it open, she quickly saw why; it was only five minutes until midnight.
Darn that rail switch delay, she thought. We’re going to get to the dorm so late. Not to mention, we’ll never get there without having to go through… THAT.
Minako sighed, her shoulders drooping. Neither she nor Minato had any idea what it was or why it was happening, so they simply referred to it as THAT. THAT had happened every night, at midnight, for nearly a decade now. Everything electronic, even their MP3 players and flashlights, stopped working. The moon, and its light, turned a sickly green. Bright red liquid which she was absolutely certain was blood pooled over the ground, poured off of rooftops, dripped from the streetlights. Every other person except herself and her brother transformed into a coffin, and afterward had no recollection of any of it after it ended.
It had started after the night their parents had been… after the accident on the Moonlight Bridge. They had been taken to a hospital on Tatsumi Port Island to heal from their injuries, and it was there they first experienced THAT. She and her brother had hid in a closet, desperately clinging to each other and wailing their hearts and lungs out. Afterwards, they tried telling their nurses about it. They were told it was a nightmare, and that they needed to get back to sleep.
After a week went by, and THAT kept happening, the nurses had told them to stop speaking about it.
After they were released to the custody of their various “guardians”, they learned to not speak about it.
When the only responses they received were to be laughed at, ignored, or punished, why would they speak of it?
A tap on the shoulder brought Minako out of her thoughts. Looking up, she realized that the train had come to a halt, and Minato had gotten to his feet.
“This is our stop,” he said, his voice flat, monotone, and lifeless, as it had been for years now. He raised up one hand, holding one of his circular headphones from his MP3. “Also, Burn just started playing.”
Minako immediately hopped up, smiling as she took the headphone, and trying to ignore the stap in her heart from her brother’s tone. “Thanks, Minato!”
The twins loved their music, their MP3 players never seeming to leave their persons. Indeed, after the accident and being shuffled from one at best uncaring guardian to another, music was one of the few things that either of them could summon up any passion for. Although, sometimes that passion led to anger rather than joy; while they both thought that music itself was the best, they hardly ever agreed over what songs were the best, and the two siblings would argue, and occasionally quarrel, at length over whose playlist had better tunes. Once, they had really gotten into it when Minako had tried saying how Wiping All Out was better than Mass Destruction. Minato, who by that point had almost completely withdrawn into himself, had shocked her by going into a furious tirade, practically screaming in her face about all of the former’s deficiencies and the latter's virtues.
She had been so happy to see him get so angry, then. It made her brother look like he was still alive, and he hardly ever looked like that anymore.
Much like how she felt, actually.
Giving herself a mental shake, Minako came back to reality, placing her brother’s headphone in her ear. While they might not approve of most of each other’s libraries, they each had one song that the other absolutely loved. Whenever they were walking together, and one of those songs started playing, they would share a headphone with the other, and they would listen to it together. Tonight, it was Minato’s turn to share with her.
Dreamless dorm.
Ticking clock.
I walk away
from the soundless room.
Windless night.
Moonlight melts.
My ghostly shadow
to the lukewarm gloom.
Nightly dance
of bleeding swords.
Reminds me that
I still live.
A sharp *beeb* brought Minako’s attention; they had kept walking along the station towards the exit, and Minato had just stepped through the ticket gate. Moving carefully so that the headphone didn’t get pulled off of her ear, she maneuvered herself behind him, walked through the ticket gate herself, and hurried back to her brother’s side.
I WILL B-
Just as the chorus began, Minato’s MP3 went dead, and Minako didn’t need to check her own to know it wouldn’t work either. Every other electric powered device all around them went dead as well; the ticket gates, the ticket dispensers, the lights, everything. Looking up at the nearby clock, the twins saw what they already knew to be true; midnight had struck, and THAT had come again. They would be without light, music, or the company of other human beings for approximately one hour.
Minako took her half of the headphone off with a wistful sigh. “Looks like we have to worry about THAT here, too.”
“THAT started happening here first, ‘Ko,” Minato replied. His voice remained flat, his gaze unblinking, his face blank as he turned to look at her. “Why wouldn’t it still be here?”
Still wanting to get some kind of reaction out of her poor, depressed little brother, she put up what she imagined was a happy-go-lucky smile, and answered, “Well, THAT might have stopped happening at a certain place after enough time has passed. Or, we could always hope that it might. Right, ‘To?”
Minato held her gaze for what felt like an age, but really could only have been a few moments. His eyes were unblinking, his expression inscrutable. Finally, he muttered a simple “Whatever”, and turned his head forward, walking to the stairs and the now non-functional escalator.
Minako wanted to scream.
To cry.
To curse.
To do anything that could possibly get her little brother out of his rut. To be like he had been before. To be her little brother again, who, while quiet and soft-spoken, was deeply passionate and loving, happy to be alive, and laughed at terrible puns. Not the depressed, apathetic, uncaring, soulless corpse that had replaced him.
Closing her eyes, Minako took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Nothing good would come from acting up like that. She needed to be cool, calm, and keep herself together. She needed to not make a fuss.
She needed, as she had been very carefully taught by one attentive cousin of their mother’s, their second to last guardian, to act happy.
So, she did.
She put her smile back on and hurried to catch up with Minato. Everything would be fine, if she just acted like she was happy.
If she acted happy, then the people around her would be happy.
If she acted happy, then her brother would be happy.
If she acted happy, then she would be happy.
If she acted happy, maybe she wouldn’t wish she had died with her parents.
***
Minato shuffled along the Iwatodai Station, Minako catching up with him as he walked down the stairs. Stepping out of the main building, he looked over the courtyard. A handful of coffins were spread out over the area, particularly to his left, near a construction site. Off to his right, there was a bicycle rental station, with the bikes neatly lined up in rows, and a coffin of one late night cyclist standing near one that was just unchained. Next to it were two payphone stations, both unoccupied; he was fairly certain that those would not be long for the world. Across the street, he saw a three-story strip mall, which had a good deal more coffins in and around the stores.
Feeling Minako tap on his shoulder, he turned to face her. “After we cross the street,” she asked, “which way do we go to the dorms, left or right?”
Minato stared at her blankly. “I thought that you had the directions.”
“No. I thought you did.”
“No.”
Slowly, the two turned their heads to face forward as the reality of their situation set in. They were in an unfamiliar city, by themselves, with no way of knowing where they needed to go, in the middle of a supernatural phenomena that turned people to coffins and left blood everywhere.
Most people would be afraid of this. Minato had been himself, after THAT had first started happening to himself and his sister.
Now, he simply didn’t care.
He didn’t care about anything much, anymore.
Not the world. Not the future. Not the past. Not his own life.
He didn’t even care about his parents.
It still confused him why he kept having nightmares of their deaths, eviscerated and burned in front of his eyes. Why would he still dream about them? He didn’t care about them anymore.
He didn’t care about anyone.
Well, maybe his sister.
Maybe.
He wasn’t sure.
…
Something blue flashed in his peripheral vision.
Looking up, at their side of the crosswalk, hovering in place, he saw a blue butterfly.
Looking back over to his sister, he saw her looking at the exact same spot. “Do you see it, too?”
Minako turned to look at him. “If by ‘it’, you mean the weird blue butterfly, then yes, I see it.”
Minato held her gaze for a moment, then asked “Do you think we should follow it?”
“I don’t have any better ideas, ‘To.”
He nodded, then began walking toward the strange insect, Minako coming alongside him. As they reached the crosswalk, the blue butterfly suddenly turned around and flew to the other side of the street. Again, they followed it, and again it flew away, this time to their left, leading them away from the strip mall.
Not having any better ideas, the two silently agreed to keep following their unnatural flying guide. It took the better part of the hour to get to their destination, passing groups of glowing red coffins and pools of blood the whole way.
Out of the corner of his eye, Minato saw Minako make a pretense of looking around at the macabre changes that this strange time brought about. He himself made no such effort; he simply did not care about any of it.
Eventually, the butterfly came to a stop outside what looked like an old hotel that had been heavily renovated. The sign next to the door read “Iwatodai Student Dorms”.
“I guess that this is it, then,” Minako chirped. Turning toward the mysterious insect, she bowed and said, “Thank you very much, butterfly-san!”
Deciding his sister would appreciate him not being rude, Minato also turned to their guide. “Thanks,” he murmured.
And the butterfly, to their astonishment, answered, with words that were more felt than heard.
“Arisato Minato. Arisato Minako. You, who would together protect the glimmer of the finite future.”
Minako made a show of surprise at the fact that the insect could speak. Minato remained unmoved, as usual.
“You both have been given a single year to accomplish what you must… go forth and live in the time given to you. Let your hearts guide you both, and never stray from their path…”
With that final piece of wisdom, the blue butterfly turned, and flew off into the distance, far faster than any bug of its type should have been able to, before turning a corner, and disappearing from their sight.
“Well,” Minako said. “That was… odd.”
Minato just shrugged and turned to enter the dorm. He heard his sister sigh, then her footsteps as she followed. Holding one of the double doors open for his sister, they both went inside. Looking around, they saw that the front lounge and desk were deserted; not even a coffin was there to greet the twins.
“How much longer do you think we have before things go back to normal?” he asked.
Minako’s face scrunched up as she thought back on how much time had passed. “I think it should only be a few minutes.”
Minato nodded, then moved to sit in one of the nearby chairs, until THAT was over, and they could find someone to help them figure out where their rooms were.
“Welcome.”
He stopped, and turned to look at the front desk. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sister do the same.
There was a child there. A boy, who looked to be about ten years old, with black hair, a beauty mark just below his left eye, and shockingly, unnaturally blue eyes; even the whites were just lighter shade from the irises. He was wearing a shirt that was covered in horizontal black and white stripes, like an old prison uniform.
He had also absolutely not been there when they had first come inside, and neither of them had seen or heard him afterward. He had simply appeared there, with no explanation.
“You’re late,” the boy continued. “I’ve been waiting a long time.”
“We’re very sorry,” Minako said, bowing her head. “Our train was delayed, and we had to walk to the dorm because the taxis don’t work in… whatever this is.”
“Rail switch didn’t work right,” Minato added. “Shikata ga nai.”
The boy nodded, then snapped his fingers. The sign-in booklet on the desk in front of them opened up by itself , revealing a single piece of paper.
“If you wish to proceed, sign your names here,” the strange, apparently super-powered boy said. “It’s a contract.”
“A contract for what?” Minako asked.
Minato remained silent. He hadn’t cared when signing the paperwork to be assigned to the dorm before, and he didn’t care about the paperwork he had to sign now that he had arrived.
The boy smiled. “There’s no need to be scared. All it says is that you accept full responsibility for your actions.”
“But we already are responsible for our actions,” Minato deadpanned. “Everyone is always responsible for their own actions. Why would we need to sign a contract over it?”
At this, the boy chuckled. “That is true. However, this contract specifically refers to your actions on your Journey.”
Minako tilted her head, clearly confused. “Journey? What are you talking about?”
The boy’s smile fell away, replaced with a frown. He was quiet for a moment, before saying “I can’t remember exactly what it is. But I do know that if you don’t sign this contract, and you don’t go on your Journey, something horrible will happen.”
“Well, I guess we’d better sign the contract. Right, ‘To?”
“Whatever,” Minato answered, then began to walk up to the desk. Picking up the fancy quill pen, he looked down, and read the contract for the first time.
Contract
Time never waits.
It delivers all equally to the same end.
We hereby agree to the statement above,
And we chooseth these fates of our own free will.
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
Minato noted the simplicity; usually, the word ‘contract’ implied a good deal of complexity, accounting for contingencies, legal details, and whatnot. Leaning forward slightly, he guided the pen toward the first signatory line-
“Minato, wait!”
Brought up short by his sister’s voice, and the vehemence in it, Minato stopped just before the pen hit the paper. Looking up, he saw his sister, one arm partly outstretched, her face filled with… fear?
Why would she be afraid of him signing this contract? Especially for something they would be doing anyway?
“‘Ko?”
After a moment, his sister began composing herself, though her eyes still shone with emotion. “I… I think that I should be the one to sign first, ‘To.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“I… I don’t know… it’s… just a feeling I have.” Regaining her composure, Minako brought her arm back down to her side, and closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths. Her eyes opened again, and this time there was mischief in them. “Besides. I really should sign first, given that I am your big sis. ”
For the first time in a while, Minato felt a genuine, strong, visceral emotion pierce his apathetic shell.
Irritation.
Practically since they had been able to both speak and comprehend time, Minako had been going on about how she was “older”, even though she had only been born a few minutes before him. One could argue only a few seconds ; by all accounts, Minato had started coming out as soon as Minako’s feet were free! He was right on her heels! And yet here she was, still insisting that she was his ‘big sis’! It was insufferable!
Still… he couldn’t summon up the energy to be angry about it. If ‘Ko still wanted to play this silly game, let her play it.
Feeling his mouth twitch into a small grin and his eyes sparkle a bit in spite of himself, Minato handed over the quill. “Whatever, ‘Ko.”
His sister’s face lit up as she took the pen, and hurried to sign her name on the contract. That finished, she returned it to him, and he signed his name as well.
Contract
Time never waits.
It delivers all equally to the same end.
We hereby agree to the statement above,
And we chooseth these fates of our own free will.
Arisato Minako
Arisato Minato
Satisfied, Minato placed the pen back into its holder, and turned to step back from the desk. At the same time, the mysterious boy vanished in a puff of black smoke, to reappear in front of Minato and Minako.
And in this tiny moment, when no eyes were on the contract, a small, semi-translucent, golden hand appeared and, with its index finger, marked the contract with its own signature, and disappeared before it was seen.
The boy, now standing across from the twins, picked up the contract, and looked it over.
Contract
Time never waits.
It delivers all equally to the same end.
We hereby agree to the statement above,
And we chooseth these fates of our own free will.
Arisato Minako Μ θ ς 5:
Arisato Minato ά ο 16 -1
“...Good,” the boy said, closing the contract’s booklet, and holding it to his chest. Then, he looked up at both of the siblings, holding the contract up in his right hand.
“Time is something no one can escape,” he said, the contract disappearing in another puff of the pitch black smoke. “It delivers us all to the same end. You can’t plug your ears, or cover your eyes.” He paused for a moment, then looked Minato in the eye and added “Wishing won’t make it go away.”
He looked back and forth between the twins, before settling on Minako. “And so it begins…” Another cloud of the strange black smoke engulfed the boy, as he reached out one arm to the pair, his hand seeming to grasp at them. Then the smoke cleared, and the boy was gone.
The brother and sister each blinked, then slowly turned to look at each other. “That was really weird,” Minako whispered.
Minato shrugged. “I guess so. It’s not like THAT lacks for weird-”
“Who’s there!?”
The two started, then looked toward where the shout had come from. Standing before them was a girl, about their age. She was panting heavily, probably having run down the nearby stairs, and staring at the pair, eyes wide. Minato blinked; how had they not heard her coming? Looking her over, she looked to be a few inches shorter than himself, with light brown hair and eyes. She was wearing the standard local high school’s uniform, barring the pink cardigan sweater she wore over the blouse and the red armband on her upper left arm, a black skirt that reached down to her mid-thigh, and brown loafers with knee-high black socks, with white hearts running down the sides. There were also some white leather straps on her right thigh, which-
GUN.
The girl had a GUN.
And her hand was only a few inches away from the grip.
Immediately, Minato jumped in front his sister, arms spread wide to shield her-
The girl grabbed the grip of the pistol, pulled it free of the holster, and began bringing it up-
“TAKEBA, WAIT!”
A new voice cut through the room, bringing all three teenagers up short, and spinning their heads toward its source. In the dim, green light of THAT, and the darkness of the night, Minato made out the silhouette of another girl. In the darkness, it was difficult to make out any details about her, but Minato could see she had a holstered pistol at her waist, as well.
For a few seconds, the four teenagers stood almost motionless.
Then, in an instant, THAT came to an end. The lights came back on, the moon returned to its normal color, the clocks began working-
-UUURRRNNN MYYYYYYY DREAAAAAAAAD!
And Minato’s MP3 started blasting its song again. Hurriedly, he fumbled for the music player, hitting the pause button.
As he looked down to the music player, he heard the second girl walk up to stand next to the first. “I didn’t think you’d arrive so late,” she said.
Minato looked up to address her. “We are sorry, our train was delayed-”
He stopped.
The girl, he saw now that he was properly looking at her, was notably tall, probably as tall as himself, and carried herself in a way that made her seem like she was taller still. She was wearing another school uniform, with, he noted, the same kind of red armband on her upper left arm, and the skirt going down to her knees, and black knee-high high-heeled boots. A white leather belt was wrapped around her waist, with white leather holster holding her own pistol. She had long, thick, wavy red hair that reached past her shoulder blades, and reddish-brown eyes that, in the right light and at the right angle, looked scarlet.
Immediately, Minato stood up straight, and went totally still.
Lub dub. 1.
“My name is Kirijo Mitsuru,” the red-haired girl continued; if she had noticed Minato’s reaction, she did not show it. “I’m one of the students who live in this dorm.”
Slowly, he heard his sister walk out from behind him, and stand on his left side. “It is good to meet you, Kirijo-senpai. I am Arisato Minako, and this is my brother, Minato.”
Having already been introduced, Minato managed to shake himself out of his dumb stupor. “Pleased to meet you both.”
The brown-haired girl, after placing her pistol back into its holster, walked up to her partner, still looking worryingly at the newcomers. “...Who are they?”
“They are transfer students,” Kirijo explained. “It was a last-minute decision to assign them here. They’ll eventually be moved to the boys and girls dormitories.”
“Is it okay for them to be here?”
The redhead froze, then closed her eyes and adopted a small, cold, business-like smile, and turned to her friend. “I guess we’ll see…”
Minato got the impression that Kirijo-senpai’s friend had given away something she wasn’t supposed to. He didn’t care; he was too busy noticing how well her uniform’s red ribbon complemented her eyes.
Huh? Where did that come from?
Kirijo turned back to the siblings. “This is Takeba Yukari,” she said, indicating to the brown-haired girl. “She’ll be a second year this spring, like the two of you.”
The siblings and their soon to be fellow second year finally turned to address each other in proper, non-life-threatening terms. “...Call me Takeba.”
“It’s… nice to meet you, Takeba-san,” Minako answered, noticeably hesitant.
Minato, as usual, was more blunt. “Why do you have a gun?”
“Well…it’s sort of like a hobby.”
The twins were silent for a moment, slowly turned to look at each other, then slowly turned back to their new, if temporary, dormmate. “Takeba-san,” Minako began, “have you recently immigrated back from the United States?”
“I mean, not a hobby, but…”
“You know how it is these days,” Kirijo cut in, deciding to come to her kohai’s rescue. “It’s for self-defense. They aren’t real guns, of course.”
“That’s a relief,” Minato mumbled.
“It’s getting late,” their senpai continued. “You two should get up to your rooms. Boys rooms are on the second floor, and girls on the third. Your rooms are on the ends of the halls of your respective floors.”
Minato flinched, as he felt an ice-cold hand seize his heart. Turning to his sister, he could see that Minako felt the same way. For a decade now, since their parents had been… had passed, the two had only ever had each other. Tossed from one foster home to another, at best ignored and at worst hated, they clung to each other like shipwreck survivors clung to floating debris. Being separated from each other, even something like living on separate floors of the same building, which he knew would ultimately mean very little overall, felt like he was about to be torn in half.
Still, he supposed he would just have to shake the feeling off. It really shouldn’t be a surprise; what idiot would mix boys and girls in the same dorm? Of course they would be separated. He could handle it.
…
He could handle it.
“Your things should already be there,” Kirijo continued, unaware of the twins' silent worry. “Why don’t you both get some rest?”
“Oh, I’ll show you both the way,” Takeba chimed in. “Follow me.”
Minato nodded, and walked behind the other second year, Minako close by his side; she was clearly as anxious over them staying on separate floors as he was. He was also trying to fight off a sudden feeling of disappointment; he had hoped that Kirijo would be the one showing them where their rooms were.
Wait, what? Why do I keep thinking things like that? I’ve only just met her.
As Minato wrestled with his intrusive thoughts, the three second years made their way up the second floor, and down the hallway, until they arrived at the last door on the right.
“Here’s your room, Arisato-kun,” Takeba said. “Pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it’s all the way at the end here.” She paused for a moment, then asked “Um, do you have any questions?”
Minato thought for a moment, then asked “What was that contract for?”
“Yeah,” Minako added. “And who was that kid? Does he live in the dorm, too?”
Takeba looked at them with a blank stare. “Contract? And a kid? What are you talking about?” Her eyes began darting between them nervously. “C’mon, that’s not funny.”
It was clear that the girl had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
Whatever, he thought.
“Uh…” Takeba began, clearly mulling over what she was about to say. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure!” Minako chirped, all smiles, as usual. “What do you want to know?”
“On your way here from the station, was everything okay?”
The twins froze.
Takeba was talking about THAT.
It made sense. She was clearly able to function during THAT; she would have turned into a coffin otherwise. Kirijo, too for that matter.
There was no reason for them to hide what they knew. All of them had seen the others, awake and aware, in the green light.
Logically, they had no reason to hide what they knew, and several to speak of it.
Turning to look at each other, Minato and Minako could each see what the other felt shining clearly in their blue and red eyes.
Tell her nothing. Keep quiet.
Turning back to Takeba, Minato muttered, “Nothing out of the ordinary.”
Technically, it wasn’t a lie.
Takeba did a double take. “Huh…? Well, okay, don’t worry about it then.” The last part was said with a forced smile. “I’d better get going,” she continued. “I can show you to your room too, Arisato-chan.”
“Oh, okay,” Minako answered. “Goodnight, ‘To.” Smiling, she lifted her right hand, keeping her arm at her waist, and gave a little goodbye wave.
Minato felt the slightest of smiles form on his lips, and gave an identical wave goodbye back. It was their little ritual, whenever they had to go their separate ways. They tried to avoid it whenever possible, but there were times, like now, when they were unavoidable. “Goodnight, ‘Ko.”
With one last smile, his sister turned to follow Takeba up to the next floor, the latter saying something about saving any questions for later, and he turned to enter his new room. Stepping inside and closing the door behind him, Minato felt himself suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion; it was now past midnight, and he had already kept himself awake for the entire train ride here to make sure ‘Ko could sleep undisturbed after she had dozed off. Eyes already half-closed, he placed the bag he had been carrying into the closet, his MP3 player and headphones on the desk, then made a beeline for the bed. Kicking off his shoes, and removing his uniform’s jacket, he crawled into bed with the rest of his clothes still on.
In the brief moment before he fell asleep, he idly wondered what life in a school dorm would be like.
The same as everywhere else, his mind replied. You and ‘Ko will be ignored, or mocked. It doesn’t matter where you both go, or what you both do; that will be the answer.
It is always the answer.
And with that thought in his mind, Arisato Minato fell asleep.
Notes:
1. Or doki-doki, whichever you prefer.
Chapter Text
April 7th, 2009
Annnnnnnnnd… perfect! Minako thought as she slid her last hair pin into place.
Looking in the mirror, she saw that the bed head she had woken up with had finally been combed smooth and put back in her usual style, her auburn hair in a high ponytail with some silver-colored bobby pins at her left temple, forming a XXII. Hopefully, that decoration wouldn’t cause her to stand out too much; she and her brother had gained attention at other schools because of their status as orphans, and the bullies had been merciless each time.
Still, she couldn’t help but keep putting the pins in place. It really didn’t make any sense, but it felt like a symbol of who she was.
Her musings were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Hi, Arisato-san,” a voice called from the other side of the door, which Minako quickly realized belonged to Takeba Yukari. “Are you awake?”
“Yes. You can come in, if you’d like.”
Turning the knob, Takeba opened the door, and stepped inside, still wearing her pink cardigan over her school uniform. Though, the red armband was missing this time. It must have been for some kind of extracurricular club, or something.
“Good morning!” the brunette said, a smile on her face and her voice peppy. “Did you sleep okay?”
Minako smiled back. “Better than usual, actually.” No nightmares. I must have really been tired.
“Good!” Takeba paused, then added, “Kirijo-senpai asked me to take you and your brother to school, to get you used to the area. Are you ready to go?”
“Totally!” Turning to her desk, Minako picked up and shouldered her school bag. “Let’s go wake my sleepyhead brother up. Assuming we can; he can sleep through earthquakes. And not small ones, either!”
“Well, let’s hope he isn’t that deep asleep,” Takeba said with a giggle. “Let’s get going. We don’t want to be late on the first day.”
“Ok!” Minako chirped, and followed her new classmate out the door and down the hallway. Takeba seemed like a nice girl; she hoped that they could have a nice time together for at least a few days before the news that she and her brother were cursed orphans hit the rumor mill, and she would never speak to them again. That was always what had happened; even the handful of times some of their classmates in the endless list of other schools that she and Minato had attended had tried to stay friends with them after learning about their past, their parents would quickly learn who their children were spending their time with, and force them to stop. Their classmates always obeyed.
Neither she nor Minato had blamed the last ones. They knew what it was like to not be able to be with their mother and father anymore, and they would never begrudge anyone for choosing their parents over them.
As these thoughts ran through Minako’s head, the two girls made their way down the stairs to the boy’s floor, and down the hall to her brother’s room. Fortunately, the two did not need to do anything to wake Minato up; just as they made it halfway down the hall, her brother’s door opened, and he walked out, carrying his own school bag over his shoulder. Seeing the pair approaching, his usual dour look perked up just the tiniest little bit.
“Morning, ‘Ko,” he said, his voice not really a whisper, but still very quiet, and they gave each other their usual waist-high wave. “Good morning to you too, Takeba-san,” he said, turning to their roommate.
“Good morning, Arisato-san,” she responded. Cocking her head slightly, she asked, “Actually, would it be alright if I call you two by your first names? It will be pretty confusing, referring to you both by ‘Arisato-san’ all the time.”
Minako thought for a moment, then hesitantly asked “In that case, can Minato and I call you by your first name, Takeba-san?”
“Sure. It’s only fair.”
Minako felt a thrill run through her heart. It had been so long since either she or brother had been allowed to call someone by their first name. Even if it was just for convenience's sake, it felt wonderful to finally be able to do so.
It’s going to make the inevitable break and our moving again worse, she thought. But it will be nice while it lasts.
“Thanks, Yukari-san!” Minako chirped, smiling wide and much more genuinely than usual. “I guess we’d better get going, then.” Realizing that the two girls hadn’t told her brother what their plan was, she turned to her brother and said “She said that she would show us the way to school, since it’s our first day.”
Minato listened quietly, then bowed his head to Yukari. “Please take care of us, Yukari-san.”
The brunette giggled. “My my, so formal.” Turning back to the stairs, she continued. “We’d better get going. We don’t want to be late for school on the first day of the new semester.”
The twins nodded, and followed after their new classmate down to the stairway and out the lobby door. As they followed along beside Yukari, they both did their best to memorize the route. Eventually, they found themselves boarding the monorail at the same station that they had arrived at the previous night. As the train rushed along the track, Yukari gushed to the two of them at the sight, and the feeling that they were gliding over the open ocean.
Minako had agreed enthusiastically, hoping it would make Yukari happy.
Minato had just shrugged, and muttered a tired ‘Whatever’.
After arriving at the station on the island itself, it was another short walk to the school’s front gate. Looking up, Minako felt a little impressed; the main building was three stories high, built in modern architecture, except for the four massive Greco-Roman columns at the entrance. Minako cocked her head; now that she thought about it, there was a lot of Greco-Roman style architecture on the man-made island.
“Well, here we are.”
Yukari’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. Now that she was looking ahead, she saw that her new classmate had jogged ahead of them by a few paces before turning to look back at them, a smile on her lips.
“Welcome to Gekkoukan High School. I hope you like it!”
“Thank you very much, Yukari-san!” Minako answered. “I’m sure we will. Right, ‘To?”
Her brother looked at her, his figure and bearing still his depressed, droopy self, before he looked at Yukari. “Thanks,” he murmured.
Closing her eyes, Minako gave a small, sad sigh in her mind. I’ll bring you back, little brother. I promise. I’ll bring you back. You’ll smile again. You will have a happy life. I swear, I’ll do that for you. After all…
What else do I have to live for, now?
The three continued walking through the front courtyard up to the entrance, Yukari opening the doors and bringing them inside. The shoe lockers looked much like the ones they were used to, though the green turf at the base was new. The Kirijo Group clearly spared no expense.
“You guys should go see your homeroom teacher first,” Yukari said. Pointing to the bulletin boards on the wall to their right, she explained, “The homerooms should be listed over there. Once you find out which one you are both in, you should go to the faculty office. That’s down the hallway to our left, first and second doors on the left hand side of the hallway. Any questions?”
Minato shrugged. “Not really.”
“Ok, then. I’m headed to the auditorium; we have the opening ceremony to attend. See you both there.” She turned to leave, but then stopped and turned back to look at them, looking nervous. “Hey… about last night… don’t tell anyone what you saw, oka-?”
“We won’t!”
Minako blinked. She and her brother had both answered at the same time, with the same desperate tone. Even Minato’s usual drooping slouch was gone, as he now stood ramrod straight, eyes wide. After a moment, she realized that her stature was the same as her brother’s.
“O-oh”, Yukari stammered, clearly taken aback. “Okay. You both clearly know how to keep a secret.” She paused for a moment, then, with a half-way sincere smile, said “See you there!” and headed off to the auditorium.
Once she was out of sight, Minato moved up to his sister, and whispered, “Should we tell her?”
Minako thought for a moment, then gave a small, almost unnoticeable, shake of her head. “No.”
“She clearly knows about THAT, ‘Ko,” Minato pressed, albeit hesitantly. “Kirijo, too. They… probably won’t react like everyone else…” Even as he said the words, he looked doubtful.
Again, Minako shook her head. “Maybe, but let’s not risk it. If they know about THAT, and they really want to talk about it, they’ll come to us. For now, let’s let it lie.”
Her brother paused for a moment, then nodded. “Alright.” Turning towards the hall in front of them, he said “Let’s go see which room we’re in, and find our homeroom teacher.”
Minako nodded, and the pair made their way to the bulletin board with the homeroom assignments. They both had a brief moment of panic when she couldn’t find their names on any of the lists, but Minato quickly spotted them on a post-it note that had been placed on the board; apparently, their transfer was so sudden, the staff hadn’t had time to update the roster.
“Looks like we’re in classroom 2-F,” Minato murmured, then cocked his head. “And so is Yukari.”
“Oh, really?” Minako asked. “That’s nice.” She turned back to look at the roster, looking for the teacher’s name, and quickly spotted it. “It looks like our homeroom teacher is Ms. Toriumi.”
Her brother nodded. “Then to the faculty room we go.”
Following Yukari’s instructions, the pair made their way over to the faculty room, entering it by the far door. Looking around, Minako saw that most of the teachers had not noticed that the two had come in. Not sure about what they should do, the siblings exchanged an awkward glance with each other. Then, one of the teachers, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties with bobbed hair and wearing a light brown suit, noticed them.
“Oh, are you the new students?” the teacher asked.
“Yes, sensei,” Minako answered.
“I see…” the teacher responded, pulling up a clipboard with what looked like their transfer forms attached. “Arisato Minako, and Arisato Minato.” She looked back up, glancing back and forth between the two. “You’re both second-years, correct?”
“Yes,” Minato said.
“Wow. I knew twins don’t always look identical, but you both look like polar opposites.” The teacher said, then looked back down at the forms, quickly reading them over. Her eyes widened at one particular section, and she said, “Wow, you’ve lived in a lot of different places.”
Minako nodded, keeping up her happy-go-lucky smile, and fighting down the memories that the mention of all those different places threatened to bring up.
The teacher continued. “Let’s see… ten years ago, your parents-”
The teacher’s eyes went wide, and she gasped in shock, while Minako felt her brother stiffen at the reminder of the accident. Quickly, she grabbed his left hand with her right, while she rubbed his lower arm with her left, trying to reassure him. She gave a quiet sigh; Minato always reacted worse to the reminder of their parents’ deaths.
It made sense. Minako had been knocked unconscious in the traffic accident, but Minato had been fully awake and aware, and had apparently pulled her from the wreckage. After that, he had seen that their parents were still trapped, and went back to try to help them.
He had never told her, or anyone else, what exactly had happened next, but whatever it was, it still haunted him even now.
“I’m so sorry,” the teacher said, clearly mortified by her faux pas. “I’ve been so busy lately, I didn’t have time to read this beforehand.”
Minato closed his eyes, taking in multiple deep breaths until he had calmed down. “It’s alright, sensei. You couldn’t have known.” Opening his eyes again, he asked “If I may ask, what is your name, ma’am?”
“Oh, of course! My name is Ms. Toriumi,” she said, clearly relieved at being offered a way out. She smiled, and continued, “I teach composition. Welcome to our school.”
“Thank you for having us, Toriumi-sensei,” Minako said, her smile now more genuine. “We’re pleased to meet you.”
“My, aren’t you polite,” Ms. Toriumi said. “Girls like you should be an example for others.” Pausing for a moment, she then asked, “Have you seen the classroom assignments?”
“Yes,” Minato answered, voice still quiet but at the very least more certain than it had been a moment ago. “We’re in 2-F.”
“Oh, that’s my class. I promise, I will do my best to be a good teacher to you both.”
“And we promise to do our best to be good students. Right, Minato?”
Her brother gave her a languid glance her way, then turned back to Ms. Toriumi, and said, “Of course.”
“Wonderful,” the teacher said happily. “But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon. Come on, I’ll show you the way.”
“Thank you, Toriumi-sensei,” Minako replied. With that, their new homeroom teacher led them out of the faculty office, and down the hallway to wherever the auditorium actually was.
Well, Ms. Toriumi was much nicer than I thought she would be, Minako thought, a small spark of hope that Gekkoukan would be better than their past school experiences.
Hopefully, the Welcoming Ceremony would be just as hopeful for her and brother as their homeroom teacher was.
As the last bell of the first day rang, Minato felt himself slump in his chair. Well, the opening ceremony was a slog, he thought. Our new principal really likes to hear himself talk, even when he’s talking about nothing! Not to mention that joker behind me…
His thoughts trailed off, recalling the Ceremony to Cure Insomnia. As the principal, an old, fat, bespectacled man, rattled off an endless stream of cliches, he had felt a tap on his shoulder, and heard another student, apparently just a bored as he was himself, say that he had noticed that he had come to school with Yukari, and started grilling him on whether Yukari-san had or didn’t have a boyfriend, whether Minato was said non-existent boyfriend, or, and this had especially galled him, whether he was going out with Minako. At that point, he had finally turned to face the lecherous idiot, who just wiggled his eyebrows, and asked if Minato was seeing both at the same time.
Although, he had to admit, telling the fool that the auburn-haired girl he had assumed was his girlfriend was actually his twin sister, and seeing the look on his face afterward, had been pretty satisfying.
After that, the students had been dismissed to their classes, and the usual drudgery of schoolwork began. Minato had always been a mediocre student; the general apathy he felt towards life did not spare his studies. Still, he made sure to do just enough to keep from failing, or his grades from becoming noticeably low, after Minako had gotten on his case when they were still children. She didn’t want him to fail, she had said; she wanted her brother to do well in school. So, he had kept up his schoolwork to keep her happy.
That was, after all, basically the only reason he had to exist. Watch out for his sister. Keep her happy. Make sure she is safe.
That was, after all, what he had promised their parents. Before that night. Before-
“Hey, ‘To!”
Minato’s eyes, more than half closed, opened wide, and looked up at his sister, sunny and smiling as always. He was grateful that they were both assigned to the same homeroom, and happier still with the seating arrangement; Minako’s seat was one row forward and one seat to the left of his own.
“Did you have a good first day of school?” his sister asked.
Minato shrugged in response. “Decent. Classes were fine. Chemistry especially.” The bit he had learned about how freezing metals made them more brittle stuck out in his mind for some reason. “The history teacher is completely crazy, though.”
His sister smothered a giggle. “He is a bit odd, isn’t he.”
He grinned slightly, but then it vanished. “I’ve been listening to the gossip between classes, to see where the rumor mill is with us.”
‘Ko’s face turned serious. “Have you heard anything?”
“Not much. Just the usual speculation on our past. Nothing about the accident, or us being cursed children bringing death with us everywhere we go. I don’t think there’s any imminent threat of bullies coming our way, either.”
“I was keeping my ear to the ground, too,” his sister whispered. “I heard pretty much the same things.”
Minato nodded, then, on a whim, added, “Also, I’ve been overhearing the girls around the school say that some new guy has just started attending class here, and they’re all cooing over what a pretty-boy he is.”
Minako froze, then her face broke out in a smirk. “That’s you, ‘To.”
Minato felt his eyes widen, and his body went still. “What?”
“That’s you, little brother,” Minako repeated, clearly fighting down laughter. “You are the ‘pretty boy’. You are the one all the girls are cooing over.”
Minato’s eyes narrowed, and his unamused gaze turned straight ahead. “I hate this school,” he said, standing up and shouldering his bag. “Let’s go back to the dorm.”
Minako nodded, snorting in barely concealed amusement. Before they could leave, though, another student, a boy who sat at the seat to the right of Minato, walked up to them, all smiles and apparent friendliness.
“Sup, dudes! How’s it going?”
The twins froze up immediately. They had been through this before; their tormentors in the past had used two different tactics. Either they immediately began insulting, pranking, and cornering them, or they would try to act friendly to lull them into complacency. This was setting off their alarm bells.
Spotting the look on Minako’s face, their baseball hat-wearing neighbor broke out into a huge grin. “He he. You look like a deer in headlights!”
“What do you want,” Minato snapped, trying to draw the boy’s attention away from his sister.
“What, don’t look at me like that,” the boy said, still smiling. “Let me introduce myself, at least.”
“Ok,” Minako said, hesitantly. “Who are you?”
The boy’s smile widened. “Call me Junpei! Iori Junpei.” Placing a hand on his hip, he continued, saying “I transferred here when I was a second-year in middle school. It’s pretty tough, bein’ the new guy kid at first, y’know?”
“Yeah…” Minato replied slowly. “We know.”
“Not your first time transferring, huh?” Junpei’s smile turned sympathetic. “That must be tough for both of you guys. So, guess that means I was right to come over and say, ‘Hey!’” Walking forward, he came alongside Minato, and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “See what a nice guy I am?”
In spite of himself, Minato felt himself relax slightly. It really didn’t seem like Junpei was anything other than what he was saying he was; a boy welcoming the new transfer students.
In that case, he had an entirely new objection to Iori’s behavior.
“Personal space,” he complained.
A sigh from behind the pair put an end to the introductions. Minato and Junpei broke up the one-sided embrace and turned around, Minako following their gaze.
“Hey, it’s Yuka-tan!” Junpei crowded as Yukari walked up towards them. Their dorm mate’s face immediately scrunched up in annoyance; clearly, she didn’t appreciate Junpei’s nickname. “Didn’t think that we’d be in the same class again.”
Yukari closed her eyes and shook her head in dismay. “There you go, acting like everybody’s best friend. Try not to make the two of them uncomfortable, ok?”
“What!?” the boy complained. “I was just being friendly.”
“If you say so,” Yukari said. Turning to the twins, she continued, “Anyway, who’d have thought that the three of us would be in the same homeroom?”
“Yeah,” Minato murmured. “It’s quite a coincidence.”
“Well, I’m happy about it,” Minako said, smiling at Yukari. “It’s nice to have a friend.”
Yukari looked taken aback. “A friend? Oh… you mean me.” A guilty look flashed across her face, before being replaced with a smile. “Yeah, I… I’m glad we ended up in the same class, too.”
“Um, hello!” Junpei butted in, frowning at being ignored. “Did you forget that I’m in this class, too?”
His smile returned once their attention was back on him, and continued. “Anyway, I’ve gotta ask. I heard you all walked to school together. What’s up with that? The most popular girl in school, walking around with the emo pretty boy and auburn-haired cutie transfer students, at the same time? Come on, gimme the dirt!” 1.
Yukari flinched. “Huh! What are you talking about? We just happen to live in the same dorm. Why do people always jump to conclusions?” Sighing, she put a hand on one hip, and gave Junpei what could only be called a look.
“Look, don’t go spreading rumors like that, ok? I mean, I’m used to it by now, but they just got here, you know.”
Junpei grinned, closed his eyes, and mimed zipping his lips shut.
“Good,” Yukari said. Then, she turned back to Minato and Minako. “Hey… You two didn’t tell anyone about… you know what, did you?”
“No,” Minato immediately said.
“Absolutely not,” Minako affirmed.
Yukari visibly relaxed, a relieved smile forming on her face. “Okay, good.” She paused for a moment, then added, “Seriously, though, don’t either of you say anything about last night, okay?”
Both the twins nodded, before they heard a gasp. Turning to Junpei, the source of the noise, they saw that his eyes were bugging out of his head, mouth slightly open in shock.
“Last…night…” he whispered.
“TV is not real life, Iori-san,” Minako muttered, giving the boy an unamused look.
For her part, Yukari took a moment to understand what Junpei was getting at, before practically jumping out of her shoes in shock. “Wait a minute! Don’t get the wrong idea! I just met them yesterday, and there is absolutely nothing between us! And besides, they’re twins!”
“Really?” Junpei asked, turning to Minato.
“Really,” the blue-haired boy confirmed.
“Huh,” Junpei said, looking back and forth from him to Minako. “I know twins don’t always look identical, but I’ve never seen twins that looked less alike than you guys.”
“We get that a lot,” Minako agreed.
“Geez…” Yukari groaned, clearly silently begging that Junpei’s antics hadn’t started a NEW rumor about her. “I have to go. There’s something I need to take care of for the archery team. You’d better not start any more rumors!” With that last warning, she turned on her heel, and walked off.
“Ah, who cares?” Junpei asked rhetorically. “No one takes rumors seriously, anyway.”
“Wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Minato muttered.
“Hey, come on man. Don’t look so down!” Junpei’s smile widened even more. “It’s your first day here, and people are already talking about both of ya!”
“Yeah, we know,” Minako said, eyes downcast. She was not nearly as happy with that as Junpei was, and Minato agreed with her; they had been trying to get a feel for the rumor mill about the two of them for a reason.
“Hey, why are you lookin like the world’s endin’?” Junpei asked. “You guys have gotten in with Takeba Yukari! Believe it or not, she’s actually pretty popular. You guys are the man! Oh, uh, or the woman, in your case.”
Minako giggled. “Why, thank you very much, Junpei-kun. I hope we have a good school year together.” She smiled, and Minato had known her long enough to spot a sort of nervous hope on her face.
He was surprised to turn and see the same sort of smile on Junpei’s face as well. “Right back ‘atcha, Minako-chan! You both ready to head out? We can walk to the station together.”
Minato paused for a moment, and looked to his sister, who nodded. “Sure, Junpei-kun,” he replied.
“Alright,” the baseball cap-wearing crowed. “Let’s go!”
And with that, the twins followed their new acquaintance, and possible future friend, out of the classroom. As they walked down the hallway to the stairs, Junpei gave them an impromptu tour of the school, including the roof, and told them about which rooms were used for which class and clubs, adding his own humorous anecdote on each one. Some of them were actually funny.
Once the overview of the school was over, they left through the main entrance, and began heading toward the monorail station. At the entrance gate, he mentioned that some of the school’s athletic clubs would be recruiting new members starting later in the month; swimming, track, and kendo for boys, volleyball and tennis for the girls. The twins thought about it for a moment, and decided that they would look into joining one later.
As the three made their way to the monorail, Junpei asked “So, where’s your stop?”
“Iwatodai,” Minato answered.
“Really? Me too. So, you guys are staying at the dorms?” When he and his sister nodded, Junpei whistled, and said, “Droms, man… Must be nice! Talk about livin’ life wild and free!”
Minato winced slightly at his classmate’s tone; it sounded joyful and carefree on the surface, but he had gotten very good at picking out undercurrents in the things people said, and underneath the happy exterior, Junpei’s voice carried a slight tinge of longing. Even envy.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Minako had noticed it as well.
“It isn’t total freedom,” his sister offered, trying to tamp down any resentments Junpei might start harboring for their situation, and in turn for them. “There are curfews on when we can go out, and we still have to abide by the student behavioral rules while we live there.”
“Maybe,” Junpei murmured. “But it sounds pretty good in comparison to other things…”
The twins exchanged a nervous glance, not sure of what to do next, before Junpei brought his fun-loving persona back up. “Eh, that’s not important. You guys are still on your first day; I don’t wanna’ bring you both down. Any other questions you guys have about Gekkoukan? Your ol’ pal Junpei will be happy to tell ‘ya!”
Relieved, the twins turned back to making small talk about their new school, and their new classmate obliged them, all the way to the station, on the train ride back, and when they arrived back at the Iwatodai Station, until they found themselves standing in front of the Iwatodai Strip Mall. There, the three of them started as they realized they were going in different directions.
“Oh, you guys are going that way?”
“Yes,” Minako said. “We can stay with you longer, if you’d like.”
“Nay, that’s alright,” Junpei replied. “I don’t want to keep you guys. See you tomorrow?”
“See you tomorrow,” Minato said, nodding. With that Junpei smiled, waved goodbye, and headed out, as he and his sister went in the other direction.
“I don’t think that we need to worry about him, ‘To,” Minako said. “In fact, it sounds like he might be in a similar boat to ourselves. You know, bad home life, and all that.”
“You may be right,” he replied. “Let’s wait awhile before we start trusting him, though. We’ve been burned by this before.”
“Ok,” Minako sighed. She paused for a moment, then said, “You know, we still have some time before the curfew hits. Want to walk around, and get familiar with the area?”
Minato thought for a moment, then said “Sure. We’re going to be here for at least a year; we may as well learn where everything is.” With that, he began fumbling for his earphones, but was stopped when Minako tapped his shoulder. Looking over, he saw her holding up one of her own headphones.
“Soul Phrase is up next,” she explained, smiling.
Minato felt the slightest of smiles tug at his lips. “Ah yes, the one good song you listen to.”
“Hey! My songs are a lot better than the garbage on your MP3, like Changing Seasons!”
“I’ll take Changing Seasons any day over Sun!"
“Hey, Sun is awesome! You just never listen to it longer than the first ten seconds!”
“That’s because those first ten seconds keep driving nails into my eardrums!”
His sister opened her mouth to continue arguing with him, stopped, closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, opened her eyes again, and smiled. “Let’s just look around the neighborhood and listen to Soul Phrase, ok, little brother?”
Minato felt his left eyelid twitch at the mention of ‘little brother’, but then nodded, took the headphone, and placed it in his ear.
It’s getting late, Mitsuru thought, looking up from her book to check the time. It read a few minutes before 10:00. If they are not back soon, Akihiko and I will need to go look for them.
The Kirijo heiress was… not fretting, but concerned. She knew that the Arisato siblings were able to operate during the Dark Hour, but there wasn’t any evidence that they had gained the ability to summon Personas. If they were to remain out and about during the Dark Hour, if another shadow had left the nest in Tartarus…
Mitsuru shook her head, trying to focus her mind. It was still at least two hours before the Dark Hour began. It wasn’t an emergency yet. There was still time.
Looking across the room, she saw Takeba sitting in the dining area, phone in hand. She had been sending text messages non stop for at least an hour now.
Understandable. She is a member of the archery team; she must be keeping in touch with the other members. They may even be friends.
A sudden spike of envy pierced her heart. She fought it down.
She was a Kirijo. She didn’t need those things.
She didn’t deserve those things.
Not after what her family had done.
She had to atone for her family’s crimes and hubris, for all the pain and disaster her grandfather and his followers had caused, and to protect her father from the Shadows in the Dark Hour. Until that was done, she would simply bear the burden alone.
It was her duty.
Turning away from Takeba, she returned to reading her book, a history of the Imperial Court during the Heian period. She was particularly fascinated with the Fujiwara clan, which had famously married their daughters into the Imperial Family, which had allowed them to control the Imperial Court for 200 years. 2.
Looking up at the clock again, she saw that it was almost half an hour past ten. Where are they? She asked herself. That’s it. Akihiko and I need to get ready. If the twins aren’t back soon, we need to find them and bring them back.
Even as she thought this, though, she heard the front door’s open. Looking up, she felt relief flood through her; it was the Arisato twins, finally returned from wherever they had been. “Ah, welcome back.”
The two started slightly before stopping and turned to look at her, having apparently not noticed her before she had greeted them. “Good evening, Kirijo-senpei,” Minato-kun answered.
“To you both as well,” Mitsuru answered. “How was your first day at school?”
“Not bad,” Minako-chan said, a small smile on her face. Mitsuru found her tone somewhat odd; it sounded nonchalant, but the heiress could sense what sounded like relief.
“I see,” she replied. “I’m glad that your first day went well. Please, don’t hesitate to ask your classmates for help if you need it.”
“We will,” Minato-kun replied, his voice quiet and subdued, just as it had been since they had met. She noted that he had difficulty maintaining eye contact with her. She wondered what that might mean.
Mitsuru nodded, her mind racing behind her calm exterior; she needed to get these two back in their rooms, both to keep them safe during the Dark Hour, and to continue monitoring them for signs of the Potential. Looking back to the clock, she said, “Oh, my apologies. I didn’t mean to keep you here. You’ve both had a long day, so you should both get some rest.”
At first, she worried that she had been too forward, but thankfully both twins agreed, and went to the stairs with no complaints, pausing only to say goodnight to Takeba. Sighing in relief, Mitsuru returned to her book; it was still an hour and a half to midnight, and between S.E.E.S., her schoolwork, studies to prepare for college, and preparation for one day taking over the Kirijo Group, at least on paper, she had hardly gotten even the tiniest moment to herself. She wanted to enjoy it while she could, in spite of the guilt she felt for it.
Lost in her reading, the clock ticked away until, a few minutes before midnight, the sound of footsteps caught her attention. Looking up from the book, Mitsuru saw Sanada Akihiko, her classmate and fellow founder of S.E.E.S., walking towards the door, his evoker on his hip and the brass knuckles he favored as weapons in one hand.
“I’m going out for a bit,” he said, rolling his shoulders.
“Why?” she asked.
“Have you seen the newspapers lately?” Akihiko asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.
Mitsuru sighed. “Yes, I know. Cases of Apathy Syndrome are on the rise, even in people that showed no symptoms before. The media has been reporting that it's due to stress, but… we know better than that, don’t we?”
“Yeah, right,” Akihiko scoffed. “It’s got to be them.” A savage grin split his face, while began sliding the brass knuckles onto his fingers. “If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be worth my time.”
Mitsuru gave her teammate and friend an exasperated smile. “You have a one-track mind. Are you sure you’ll be okay out there on your own?”
The boy gave her a cocky grin. “Don’t worry. I’m just getting in a little practice.” And with that, the boxing champion walked through the door, and into the night.
The red-haired senior shook her head. “This isn’t a game, Akihiko…” she murmured, worrying for her friend; he was always so reckless in his quest for strength, for himself and his Persona. She was certain that he would eventually bite off more than he could chew one day, especially since Arigaki had left after… the incident.
Still, Akihiko had done this before, and had come back with at most minor injuries. She would just have to trust in him and his abilities.
Sighing, she looked up to the clock again; it read only five minutes to midnight. Looking over to Takeba, Mitsuru saw that she had fallen asleep slumped over the table, with her head resting in her arms. Standing up, Mitsuru marked her place in the book, before replacing it on the shelf, walking up to her sleeping kohai, and gave her a gentle shake on the shoulder to wake her.
“WAH, WHO, WHA-,” Takeba exclaimed, head darting around in surprise. Blinking rapidly, she quickly found Mitsuru. “Oh, senpai! Sorry about that; I must have dozed off.”
“It’s alright, Takeba-chan,” Mitsuru said. “It’s almost midnight; we need to get to the control room, and observe the Arisato twins again.”
Takeba cringed at her words. “Okay, Kirijo-senpai. But… should we really be doing this? We’re treating them like guinea pigs.”
“Yes, we are,” Mitsuru answered. “And I don’t like it any more than you do. However, it is necessary; we need new members to join us if we are going to make progress against the Shadows. Also, if they have the Potential, then we need to know about it, so we can train them to use their Personas’ properly. I know what happens when a Persona isn’t fully controlled by the person wielding it.”
“Okay…” Takeba said, hesitantly. It was obvious that she wasn’t fully convinced by Mitsuru’s words.
She didn’t blame her; she wasn’t fully convinced, either.
It seemed that her family’s crimes in the past had trapped her in committing further crimes in the present.
Stop, she thought to herself. Once you go down that road, you’ll never stop. Focus on doing what needs to be done that is right in front of you. That is how you can atone for your family’s sins.
That is how you can protect your father.
With this thought held firmly in her mind, Mitsuru went up to the control room, Takeba following behind her, to observe the Arisato twins.
Hopefully, all these shameful acts would be worth it, in the end.
April 8th, 2009
Minato sighed in relief as he stepped off the monorail and onto Iwatodai Station, Minako a step behind him. They had just finished their second day of school, and now that the newness of opening day had worn off, it was the same hard study work as school had always been everywhere else they had lived. The siblings had kept to themselves, taking notes as best they could, and doing their best to remain awake and attentive to what their teachers’ were saying. This had paid some dividends in their Composition class, when Toriumi-sensei had called on Junpei, and Minato had bailed him out with the correct answer. Somehow, Ms. Toriumi hadn’t noticed him, while the entire rest of the class did, and by the end of the day they were hearing whispers about how good his memory was.
It was nice to have good rumors about him for once.
“Do you want to look around some more,” Minako asked him. “Or should we just head back to the dorm.”
“Let’s head back,” he replied, stifling a yawn. “I feel like I could fall asleep any second now.”
His sister closed her eyes and giggled. “There you go again, ‘To,” she said, reaching up and messing up his hair. “Always the sleepyhead!”
Minato waved her hand away. “Hey, like you’re any better,” he whined.
“Let’s get back to the dorm,” his sister said as she set off, avoiding the accusation. Minato scoffed, and followed after her.
When the twins had it back to the dorm, the sun was just about to sink below the horizon. Minato held the door open for his sister, and followed her in. Looking over the lounge, he saw Yukari-chan sitting on one of the couches… and someone else was with her.
It was a man, who looked to be in his early forties, with long, wavy, light brown hair, a goatee, and thin glasses. He was wearing a light brown suit, and was sitting on the easy chair on the opposite side of the sitting area from them.
“Oh, they’re back,” Yukari said.
“So,” the man said. “These are our new guests. Good evening.”
He crossed his legs, and placed his hands on his knee. “My name is Ikutsuki Shuji. I’m the chairman of the board for your school.” Gesturing to the coach opposite Yukari, he said, “Please, have a seat.”
The two nodded their heads, and sat on the coach, Minato making sure to take the seat closer to the chairman; given their past experiences with new guardians, he wanted to make sure that he was between them and his sister.
“I apologize for the confusion regarding your accommodations,” Ikutsuki continued. “But it may take a bit longer before you both receive proper room assignments. Is there anything that the two of you would like to ask?”
“Why did you come to see us?” Minato asked.
“To welcome you, of course,” Ikutsuki replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not, Ikutsuki-san,” Minako answered, before her brother could say anything. “We’re grateful that you could make room in your schedule for us.”
“You are quite welcome, Arisato-kun.”
As the chairman turned to Yukari-san, asking her about Kirijo-senpai’s whereabouts, Minato flipped through the information he knew.
There was no way the Chairman of the Board of Directors was coming to their dorm to talk to two transfer students about what dorm they would be staying in. Now that he knew Korijo wasn’t present, as Yukari was just saying that she was upstairs, and the fact that Yukari and Kirijo were both clearly able to function during THAT, it became clear what was really going on.
Ikutsuki was aware of THAT, and had come to check in on them, to keep tabs on them, and how they reacted when THAT was occurring.
Turning to his sister, he saw her look at him, and spotted the look in her eyes.
She had come to the same conclusion he had. He nodded that he understood, and they turned their attention back to the chairman.
“Is there anything else?” he asked them.
“Who else lives here?” Minako asked.
“There are five students at this dorm,” the chairman explained. “The two of you, Yukari-kun here, Kirijo-kun, and another third year, Sanada Akihiko-kun. I hope you all get along.”
No mention of that boy, Minato thought. He was beginning to suspect that not only had he and Minako been the only ones who had seen him, but that they were the only ones who could see him.
“Any other questions?” Ikutsuki asked.
The twins looked at each other, then back to the chairman. “No,” Minato said. “That’s all.”
“Same for me,” Minako confirmed.
“Excellent,” Ikutsuki said, smiling. “Here’s to a wonderful school year.” Standing up, he continued, “I’m sure that you’re worn out from all these formalities. You may want to consider going to bed early.”
There it was again. Kirijo-senpai had made a similar order disguised as a request last night. That confirmed it, as far as Minato was concerned; Ikutsuki knew about THAT, and was shepherding them so that could help them with what scheme that they had cooked up.
He sat for a moment, considering this insight.
Whatever, he thought.
As long as Minako was safe, he really didn’t care what these people were planning.
“As they say,” the chairman continued, ignorant of what Minato was thinking. “The early bird catches the bookworm.”
Yukari rolled her eyes, and groaned.
Minako closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her smile becoming strained.
…
“...heh.”
Everyone started, and looked at Minato. The boy looked up to the chairman and Yukari, a small smile on his face.
“Get it. Birds eat worms. Bookworm. Because we’re students.” He looked back and forth between the two, one looking happy that someone shared his sense of humor, and the other looking disgusted for the same reason. Not really caring what the others thought about it, he shrugged and said, “I thought it was funny.”
Beside him, he heard his sister sniff. Turning to look at her, he saw that she was still smiling, but he was taken aback to see tears in her eyes, and her right hand clutching at the red ribbon over her heart.
Instantly, his usual frown was back on his face. “‘Ko? What’s wrong?”
His sister sniffed again, and rubbed her eyes. “It’s… nothing, ‘To.”
“Well,” the chairman interrupted, standing up as he did. “If you all don’t have any more questions, then I’ll be on my way. It was lovely to meet both of you.” He took a few steps towards the door, then stopped and added, “You two should probably get some rest. Transferring schools must be exhausting, so you should head to bed to regain your energy.”
Very subtle, Minato thought as he stood up. “Whatever you say, Ikutsuki-san,” he said.
“Thank you again for your visit, sir!” Minako added, smiling widely as usual.
As the twins made their way to the stairs, Minato realized that his sister’s smile seemed much more genuine than usual.
Minato was intimately familiar with dreams. He had them often enough.
Mostly, they were about the night his parents had died.
Sometimes, they were about his memories with Minako, usually before the accident.
Occasionally, they were inane nonsense, and quickly forgotten.
This dream was neither.
He was floating in the air, his feet a few inches off the black and white checkerboard floor, and flying forward as if being pulled by something. Looking up, he saw he was heading toward a blue door, which opened on its own accord to admit him into the white void beyond, which consumed his vision.
When he regained his sight, he found himself sitting in a chair in an incredibly blue room, which looked like an incredibly old fashioned elevator. High above his head, he saw a mechanical floor counter, the arrow spinning around and around endlessly. In front of him was a round table, covered in a blue tablecloth, and past that a plush couch-
And seated on that couch was the strangest man Minato had ever seen. He had unnaturally long and slender arms and legs, pointed elf-like ears, bulging bug-eyes, and a freakishly long nose. He was dressed in a butler’s suit, his white gloved hands were clasped together with the fingers interlaced, and an unnaturally wide grin that never seemed to waver. At either side of the couch, there were two people, a man and a woman, the former to Minato’s left and the latter to his right, dressed as old fashioned elevator attendants, each holding massive tomes in their arms.
“...huh?”
Hearing a familiar voice, Minato turned his head to his left. Seated on a chair, with the back made to look like a greek lyre, was his sister.
“‘Ko?”
Immediately, she turned to him, looking him directly in the eye. “‘To?”
The siblings were interrupted by a chuckle from the man on the couch. Both siblings turned toward their apparent host.
“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” the long-nosed man said. “My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.” Gesturing to the lady and gentleman in turn, Igor continued, “This is Elizabeth, and this is Theodore. They are residents here, like myself.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Elizabeth and Theodore said in unison.
Turning back to the Arisato siblings, Igor said “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place.”
“Contract?” Minako asked. “Do you mean the paper my brother and I signed?”
“Indeed,” Igor replied, pointing at the table between them. In a flash of light, the booklet containing the contract the two had signed appeared on the table.
“From now on, you both shall be welcome here as guests in the Velvet Room. You both are destined to hone your unique abilities, and you will require my assistance to do so. I ask only one thing in return; that the both of you abide by your contract, and assume full responsibility for the choices you make.”
Minato stared blankly at the strange man. “Is this a dream?” he asked.
“Precisely,” Igor replied. “You are both fast asleep in the real world as we speak. This visit of yours is, as you say, merely a dream. However, you will both come here of your own accord, sooner or later.” Holding out one hand to the twins, he continued, “Hold on to these.”
Two shining balls of blue light, throwing off sparkles, descending to his and Minako’s hands. Grabbing hold of it, Minato looked at what he had been gifted. It was a key, the same blue color as the room around him, and the bow embossed with a mask divided between a white half with black nose, eyes, and mouth, and a black half with the same features in white. A quick glance to his sister confirmed that she had received the same gift.
“Thank you, Igor-sama,” Minako said.
Turning back to the strange looking man, Minato added “We will make sure to take care of them.”
Igor nodded. “Until we meet again…”
Minato attempted to reply, but he couldn’t. He was overcome with drowsiness, and his eyes closed as he slumped in his seat.
April 9th, 2009
Minako opened the entrance to the dorm herself this evening, and slammed it shut behind her. Her usual smile was long gone now, replaced by an intense frown. Storming across the lobby, she sat down in the closest easy chair, crossing her arms and legs, and staring at the lobby’s coffee bar like she was trying to set it on fire with her gaze alone.
A few seconds later, she heard the front door swing open, and footsteps as someone entered the dorm; she made a point of ignoring them.
More footsteps.
A pair of legs, dressed in the school uniform’s pants, appeared in her peripheral vision, followed by a hand, palm opened upwards.
“Pay up, ‘Ko.”
She pursed her lips. “No.”
“You know the deal, ‘Ko,” her brother pressed. “Pay up.”
Minako scowled. Thanks to their memories of the night their parents died, the memories of the decade of jumping to different foster homes, and the sheer unnaturalness of THAT, neither she nor her brother had ever had the best time sleeping, and would often nap during class, voluntarily or not. After it became clear that they would be changing schools every year or so, she had made a bet with Minato, in an attempt to have a bit of fun to draw him out of his depression; whoever was the first to fall asleep in class when they started attending a new school owed the other 5,000 yen.
Usually, she was the one who won the bet.
Usually.
And just to add insult to injury, the class she had fallen asleep in was Classical Literature, which was taught by one Mr. Ekoda, who was a walking, talking parody of a moralizing social conservative. Immediately upon spotting Minako napping, he had woken her up, and began a multiple minute rant about how she was a disgrace to the school, her family, and herself, and how her behavior somehow showed a complete collapse of traditional values in her entire generation.
Still refusing to look at her smug little brother, she reached into her schoolbag, pulled out her wallet, took out a 5,000 yen bill, and placed it in Minato’s outstretched hand.
“Thank you, ‘Ko.”
She explosively exhaled through her nose; she could FEEL his stupid smirk get even bigger without even looking at him.
“Get lost, Minato.”
“No need to be rude, sis,” he replied, before heading toward and up the stairs. Minako stayed where she was, stewing in her own annoyance, until she heard the front door open again. Looking up from her chair, she saw Yukari-san and Korijo-senpai come into the dorm.
“Oh, hi Minako-san,” the former said, offering a small smile. “You and your brother took off right after school ended. Mr. Ekoda didn’t upset you too much, did he?”
“No,” she replied. “I just lost an old bet with my brother.”
“What’s this about Ekoda-sensei?” Kirijo asked.
After explaining her mishap in Classical Literature, the red-haired senior looked at her thoughtfully. “Arisato-chan, do you and your brother have difficulty sleeping through the night?”
Minako felt a chill run down her spine, and shame filled her heart; she had drawn attention to something that was supposed to be out of sight, and stood out in a way that drew undue attention. She knew that it wasn’t that big a deal, she knew that she shouldn’t be feeling this way, she knew that this was just their second to last guardian’s influence rearing its ugly head…
And yet, still the shame came.
The shame, and the fear.
“Sometimes,” she murmured, unable to meet Kirijo Mitsuru’s gaze.
“I see,” her senpai replied, her tone thoughtful. “Well, all the more reason for you to go to bed.”
Minako gave a hollow, but still slightly amused, chuckle, and managed to look back up to Kirijo’s red eyes. “Senpai, why are you and Yukari-san so desperate for my brother and I to go to bed early all the time?”
Kirijo gave her a polite smile. “It’s more that we’re trying to make sure that you don’t stay out too late. I don’t know if you’re aware, but this area has gotten a bit more dangerous at night lately. Speaking of which, do you know where your brother is?”
“He already went to his room,” Minako answered, standing up and turning to the two other girls. “And I think I’ll do the same, seeing as I can’t stay awake in class. See you in the morning, Yukari-san, Kirijo-senpai.”
“Goodnight!”
“Sleep well, Arisato-chan.”
With their farewells said, Minako made her way up the stairs, up the third floor, her eyelids growing heavier all the while. Now that her annoyance at losing to her little brother had worn off, she was beginning to understand just how tired she actually was. By the time she reached her bedroom, she simply closed the door, dumped her bag on the floor, and collapsed onto her bed still wearing her school uniform. Before she went to sleep completely, though, she felt something in her skirt pocket jab her in the leg. Reaching into it, she pulled out the offending object.
Her eyes shot open.
It was the key she had received from Igor in her dream last night.
I guess that wasn’t an ordinary dream last night, she thought. Is it connected to THAT? Does ‘To remember it? We didn’t talk about it today…
Before she could begin thinking of any answers, she felt exhaustion wash over her again. Allowing her arm to slump down on the bed, her head rolled to the side, and she finally fell asleep.
***
She woke up, what seemed to her, an instant later from a massive shake through the whole building. Looking around, she saw THAT was already in full swing, everything bathed in green light and the moon swollen to twice its normal size.
Was that an earthquake, she thought. I don’t think we’ve had an earthquake during THAT before…
A moment later, the dorm shook again. This time, Minako heard a massive crashing sound accompanying it. She quickly realized that this was no earthquake; it seemed like something was ramming into the building itself.
And what, exactly, is out there that is big enough to make a four story building shake when it hits it?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running footsteps in the hallway, followed by a pounding at her door. “'KO!? 'KO!?”
Getting off the bed and running to the door, she was greeted by her brother, fear in his eyes driving out his usual apathy. “Are you alright, sis?”
“Yes,” she answered. “Are you?”
“Yes.” Minato held out his right hand. “Let’s get out of here. Maybe the others know what’s going on.”
Minako nodded, taking her brother’s hand, and following him through the hall to the stairs, and down to the second floor. As they descended, they heard another set of running footsteps coming up from the ground floor. After reaching the boy's floor, they saw that the footsteps belonged to Yukari.
“Oh, good, you’re both up already,” the girl said breathlessly. “Follow me!”
“Yukari-chan, what’s going on?” Minako asked, half-shouting.
“There’s no time to explain! We just have to get out of here, now! Follow me to the first floor, we’ll leave through the back!”
“Whatever,” Minato said, and followed their classmate down the stairs, pulling her along with him. In spite of everything going on, Minako felt her face scrunch up in annoyance.
Oh, come on, ‘To! You’re allowed to show emotion right now!
The three second years raced down the stairs and past the bar, headed toward the dorm’s back door near the small kitchen. As they did so, Minako could hear what sounded like gunshots coming from outside the front entrance, along with flashes of yellow and ice-blue light. Just as they reached the back entrance, however, Yukari suddenly stopped, her hand going up to one ear.
“Yes, I hear you!” she half-shouted.
Minako’s eyes narrowed in confusion. Who was Yukari talking to? And, for that matter, how was she talking to them? She wasn’t wearing any headset, which wouldn’t even work in THAT.
Minato looked uncaring. As usual.
Yukari waited a moment, eyes darting around in fright and nervous energy. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open. “W-what! Where is it?”
“Where is WHAT!?” Minako shouted, beyond being confused at what was happening.
She got her answer almost immediately; another massive crash resounded through the dorm as whatever it was that was attacking them struck the building, making the two girls jump in place. This time, the blow was clearly struck at the door that the three of them were just trying to leave through. Then another crash. And another.
The door was beginning to splinter, and the hinges were breaking loose from the frame.
“Upstairs!” Yukari shouted. “Upstairs, now! We have to get to the roof!”
“Ok!” Minako answered, turning back toward the stairs; this time, she was pulling Minato along with her, rather than the other way around. Taking the stairs two at a time, the three ran back up towards the roof. Just as they reached the flight to the fourth floor, however, Minako felt her brother’s hand slip from her grasp. Turning, she saw him staring out the window at the massive green moon, his face a mask of detachment.
“Minato-kun?” Yukari had just noticed that the male twin had stopped dead in his tracks.
“The moon…” he said, voice apathetic with a current of detached, academic interest.
“Minato-kun, what is wrong with you!?” Yukari shouted. “That Shadow is trying to kill us! Do you want to die!”
Minato was silent for a moment, then flatly said, “I don’t really care.”
Yukari’s eyes went even wider than they already were, struck dumb by realization that the boy didn’t care whether he lived or died, even as death was at their heels. Minako felt herself wince; she had figured out her brother’s attitude toward life quite a while ago, but it never stopped hurting to be reminded of it, especially from his own mouth.
Minato then turned away from the moon, and toward Yukari. His features didn’t change; he remained as apathetic as ever. “Is dying really that scary to you?” He sounded truly confused.
Yukari stood still, blinking in shock a few times, and then shouted “YES! Of course I’m afraid of dying!”
Minato was silent for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and answered “Well, I’m not. Haven’t been for years. Don’t care about living much, either. The only reason I keep going is for my sister. You should be worried about her.” He gestured toward a more and more openly distraught Minako. “She’s the one who’s still happy. She’s the one who still wants to live. Isn’t that right, ‘Ko?”
Minako closed her eyes, tears leaking out from under her eyelids. Every word Minato had just spoken felt like a spear being thrust into her heart. She couldn’t stand it anymore. She couldn’t stand watching her little brother waste away like this, silently sleepwalking through life, only continuing to breathe out of obligation. She couldn’t stand seeing the boy who had so much life to live and so much good to give the world believe with all his heart that he had nothing to offer to anyone.
And above all, she couldn’t stand keeping the truth buried anymore.
“No, little brother. I don’t.”
She held her eyes closed a few more moments, before opening them again, trying to blink away the wetness that had begun streaming down her cheeks. Her vision was somewhat blurred, but it was still enough to see the look on her brother’s face.
He no longer looked apathetic.
He was stricken.
“‘Ko…” he murmured.
She opened her mouth, trying to explain herself further, of exactly what she felt and why, but was interrupted by another crash; whatever was attacking the dorm wasn’t giving up.
“C’mon!” Yukari shouted, drawing the twins’ attention back to her and the situation they were in. “We have to get out of here! We can talk about all of this later!”
Both of them nodded, and the three resumed their sprint up the stairs. Minako reached out to take her brother’s hand, and found that he was already doing the same for her. Arms around each other’s shoulders, each supporting and pushing forward the other, they followed Yukari to the roof. Once they had barreled through the exit, their classmate slammed the door shut and locked it behind them. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned to the twins and offered them a small, nervous smile.
“There. We should be safe for now.”
“What about our senpais, though?” Minako asked. “We’ve just locked them out!”
“Don’t worry, they can handle themselves,” Yukari replied. “Once the Dark Hour is over, we’ll all sit down and explain ev-”
There was another crash. Then another. And then another. And then still more. Slowly, the three second-years turned toward the edge of the rooftop.
Whatever was attacking the dorm was climbing up the wall toward them.
As they watched, a single large hand emerged over the edge, rested on the lip of the rooftop, and grabbed ahold of it.
It was joined by eleven or twelve more. And they pulled the rest of the creature up onto the rooftop.
The monster- Yukari had called it a Shadow, she remembered- was a mass of arms and hands, with no body and no head. One hand held a large, light blue mask, which it moved about to look about at its surroundings. Its skin was all jet black, save for the red shades that seemed to glow from within.
Barely more than a few seconds after reaching the roof, the mask spotted the three of them. Instantly, six of its many hands produced swords, while the others began haphazardly loping toward them.
Yukari took a step forward, pulling her pistol from its holster- which Minako had only just now noticed she had- she planted her feet, looked at the oncoming beast…
And then turned the pistol around and pointed it at her own forehead.
Minako was struck dumb.
“I don’t think that’s how those things work, Yukari-san,” Minato said.
If Yukari heard her brother, she gave no sign of it; her eyes were squeezed shut, her body trembling, her thumbs shaking against the trigger of the pistol. She seemed like she was, understandably, struggling to pull the trigger.
Looking up, Minako blanched. “Yukari, move! It's on top of you!”
Even as she said the words, it was too late; the Shadow reached Yukari, and one of the hands slapped her away. Yukari was sent flying to their right, while her pistol went in the opposite direction, skidding to a halt at Minato’s feet. The Shadow ignored her and her brother, and began walking toward Yukari, who lay on the ground, dazed from the blow she had just suffered. Pausing for a moment, the mass of arms and legs braced itself for a finishing blow.
Then, it seemed like every arm gained a mind of its own, and began pulling the mass in all directions at once. Some tried to finish off Yukari, others tried to come after her and Minato, others tried to go back the way the Shadow had come from, and still others were trying to hold all the rest in place. The end result was that it was being pulled in all directions, with no overall goal, or even the ability to form one.
If it weren’t for the fact that it was trying to kill them, Minako would have pitied it.
Her thoughts were interrupted by movement in her peripheral vision. Turning her head, she saw that it was Minato, bending down and picking up Yukari’s lost pistol. Looking down at the weapon, he started breathing heavily…
And placed the barrel to the side of his own head, just as Yukari had done.
“MINATO, NO!” she shouted, launching herself forward and grabbing hold of weapon-
Instantly, the rooftop and everyone else on it fell away. She found herself with her brother in a white void.
And next to them, smiling gently, was the boy from the dorm entrance that had given them their mysterious contract.
“Go on…” he said.
Minako blinked.
They were back on the rooftop, and the boy was gone.
Some instinct, some deep and primal and vital part of herself, seemed to awaken within her.
She knew what she had to do.
She and her brother both began breathing heavily. Slowly, Minako released her grip on the pistol, though she was now doubting that that was what it was, and maneuvered herself so that she was shoulder to shoulder with her brother. Then, she pressed her head against his head, her right ear to his left. At the same time, she brought her right hand up to the right side of Minato's head, holding them together.
She felt her brother do the same, with his left hand on the left side of her head.
“Per…” Minato whispered.
“...so…” Minako whispered.
“...NA!” They finished together.
Minato pulled the trigger.
The sound of a gunshot rang out, and her brother’s head was pushed sideways, whacking against hers . An instant later, she felt the sensation of a bullet piercing her skull, shooting through her head from end to end, and heard the sound of shattering glass. In spite of this, she felt no pain, and quickly realized that she wasn’t bleeding; it looked like that pistol-thing was just meant to simulate being shot, without doing any actual physical damage.
Unconsciously, massive, elated smiles spread across Minako and Minato’s faces, as circles of blue-white flames fanned around their feet, illuminating the rooftop in blue light, temporarily pushing the sickly green away.
Minako’s smile widened to the point it looked almost crazed. So did Minato’s.
Euphoria.
Absolute euphoria.
And, as blue-white bubbles began to circle, and then spiral around them, that euphoria allowed the power in their hearts to manifest.
Hovering above Minato, his Persona took the form of a man. Or, what resembled a man; from the look of him, his body was almost totally mechanical. His knees, elbows, and upper arms were thin metal prosthetics. The shoulders, lower arms, hands, hips, and lower legs were bulkier, covered in thick white cloth that looked riveted in place, and his feet were flat-bottomed cylinders. His torso was teal-colored metal, like armor plating, and a stereo speaker was in his stomach, protected by a metal cross. Only the man’s head appeared to be flesh and blood; his skin was as black as the Shadow’s, while his hair was white as snow, styled exactly like its owner’s, and a red scarf was wrapped around his neck. His eyes glowed bright red, and a lyre floated behind his back.
Minako’s own Persona looked markedly different. It took the form of a woman, skin white and smooth as a porcelain doll, with hair the same auburn color as her own, and wearing a dress of golden silk. Her face had a look of horror and despair, with a single teardrop falling down from one brightly glowing blue eye. Her right arm was reaching out desperately in front of her towards another lyre, this one in the shape of a heart. The left arm was pinned to her side by a massive hand, clad in a black gauntlet covered in spikes, that appeared to reach up and seize her around the abdomen to drag her away from the heart-shaped lyre and into an abyss. Yet for all of its apparent malice, the gauntleted hand gave off an air of reluctance, as if the owner wanted anything except to pull her away from it.
“I am thou…” said the man, the speaker rumbling.
“...and thou art I.” the woman continued.
“From the seas of your souls, we come forth!” both Personas shouted together, before floating down behind their owners.
“I am Orpheus,” Minato’s Persona said. “The Master of Strings.”
“And I am Eurydice,” her own Persona said. “The Joy of the Master.”
Minako slowly turned her head toward her brother, her smile somehow even wider, and her breath coming in deep, rapid gasps. As she did, she saw Minato do the same, and her heart leapt in her chest. She saw something on his face that she hadn’t seen in a decade, something she had begun to think she would never see again.
Joy. Her brother, after so long, had joy again.
And, to her own surprise, she found that she felt the same.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by a squelch as something slapped onto the ground in front them. Turning to look ahead, she saw that the Shadow had turned away from Yukari and towards them. It stood in place for a moment, its many arms twitching, and the hand-held mask flicking back and forth between her and her brother, then it launched itself forward in ungainly bounds, its half-dozen swords poised to strike.
The twins responded in the most elegant manner that they could think of; willing their Personas forward, Orpheus and Eurydice seized hold of their lyres, and began bludgeoning the mass of arms and hands for all that they were worth.
Caught off guard by their counter attack, which cost it one of its many arms, the Shadow pulled back out of their reach, hand holding the mask twitching side to side. Slowly, it began to sidestep to its right, looking for an opening for another attack. Minako and Minato mirrored its movement, keeping the monster in front of them. The three combatants continued their slow maneuvers, looking for any opening or weakness…
Until the twins saw that the monster had moved far enough that they wouldn’t risk hitting Yukari.
“The girl is no longer in danger, my love,” Eurydice half-whispered to her husband. “Shall we show these young heroes the true strength of their hearts?”
“Yes,” Orpheus replied. “We shall.” Turning back to the Shadow, the Master of Strings reached for his lyre again. “You know what to do, young Minato. Follow your instincts, and send this demon back to Hades!”
Still smiling widely, Minato took a deep breath, and shouted, “Orpheus! AGI!”
As he did so, Minako felt some compulsion overtake her, and shouted with him. “Eurydice! BUFU!”
The two Personas each seized their lyres again, this time both strumming the strings instead of using them as cudgels. Instantly, a ball of flame appeared in front of her brother, and shards of ice in front of herself. The projectiles shot forward at the Shadow, ice slicing into the Shadow’s black-red flesh, while the fireball struck the mask itself, scorching its chin. The monster backed up two paces, blood leaking from its wounds.
“Aim to the left after I attack, ‘Ko,” she heard her brother say. “AGI!”
Another fireball launched at the Shadow, which jumped to its left to dodge it. Immediately, Minako shouted, “BUFU!”
Again, ice shot out at the Shadow, which shielded itself from the projectiles on one of its swords. When the mist from the impacts cleared, she saw that the sword was covered in frost, frozen to its core.
“Strike the blade, my love!” Eurydice exclaimed. She needn’t have bothered; Minato had already willed Orpheus forward, bringing his lyre down on the Shadows' frozen sword. Their opponent tried to parry with the frosted weapon, and it shattered under the blow. Reeling from the attack, the Shadow was helpless as Minako followed up her brother’s attack with one of her own, having Eurydice bring her lyre down on the Shadow’s mask as Orpheus withdrew. The Shadow staggered back again, its mask bearing a hairline crack down its forehead to match the deep burn on its chin.
“That is a fine tune you have composed, Mistress of Strings,” Orpheus complimented.
“I had the best tutor in all possible lifetimes, my love,” Eurydice replied. Despite the overall melancholy of its form, Minako could feel the elation coming off of her Persona.
Sensing a change in the balance of strength, the twins began marching in on the Shadow, which in turn began retreating in on itself, trying to defend itself with its remaining blades. Minako was amazed by the feeling of strength and power that infused them both; after so long of being tossed around by life and by decree, finally she and her brother had control. Finally, she sensed that they could enforce their will on the world around them, rather than the world enforcing its will on them-
Her feelings of triumph were interrupted as agony suddenly seized her; it felt like something was trying to rip its way out of her abdomen. Dimly, she was aware that her brother was in the throes of something similar, though he was clutching his head instead.
Minako fell to one knee, gasping in pain. The ripping grew worse and worse. She felt Eurydice react in much the same way she was. Looking to her right, she saw Orpheus clutching its head, just as Minato was clutching his own.
She felt a punch come from inside her gut, followed by another and another. At first trying to close her eyes against the pain, she now opened them wide, raised her head back, and screamed in pain. As she did so, she heard and saw Minato do the same.
As the twins screamed, their Personas were rent asunder; Orpheus was torn to shreds as a black arm with a white, arm-length glove emerged from its throat, grabbed hold of its armored chest, and ripped him apart. Eurydice suffered the same fate, as an identical glove, though for the opposite hand, finally punched its way out of her abdomen, like the chestburster from Ridley Scott’s Alien . Tearing free from both Personas, the two dread beings, each looking half complete, leapt at each other and, in another flash of blue light, merged into a whole.
That whole was a magnificent horror. It wore a leather trench coat, pants, boots, and gloves; the first two were night-black, the latter two bone-white. Reddish-brown belts criss-crossed its body, including the solid leather mask that covered its head, and the buckle at its waist was golden, embossed with a skull and crossbones. A scabbard containing a sword with a single-edged blade was at its waist, and a mask in the shape of a bird skull, with two eye-holes and a serrated edge on the top and bottom of the beak, was on its head. Finally, eight coffins were arrayed in a fan around its shoulders, attached to those shoulders by unyielding iron chains.
The thing, the Beast for lack of any other term, leaned back and roared like a tiger, its mask moving as if it was the thing's face. Reaching down with its right arm, it pulled its sword free of its scabbard, lunged forward, and sliced down, severing no less than three of the Shadow’s arms on its right side in one blow. Desperately, the shadow raised up one of its remaining arms to defend itself, but the Beast grabbed that arm by the wrist, forcing it down and out of its way. The blade struck out again in a horizontal slash, cutting the mask in two at the eyes, and cutting loose still more arms in the same strike.
With this, the Shadow finally fell limp, its severed limbs twitching and convulsing on the rooftop floor, as the broken mask and the main body dissolved into black-red slime. As the Shadow’s body dissolved to nothingness, a blue butterfly emerged from the disintegrating ooze. Fluttering around for a moment, it flew directly at Minato, disappearing into sparkles as it stuck his chest.
The Beast remained where it was, breathing heavily, still clutching the arm that he had grabbed while striking down its prey, which writhed in its grasp. Taking in a deep breath, the monster that had emerged from the twins began to squeeze the flailing limp with all its strength, until it finally burst under the pressure. Red blood and black ichor splattered the ground all around the Beast, boiling away like the remainder of the Shadow.
Finally, the pain that engulfed the Arisato twins subsided; the two slumped down, panting for breath like they had run a marathon. The Beast took three deep, menacing breaths, before turning its face to the enlarged moon and roaring again. Yet even as it did so, a white light bisected it, seeming to slice it in two, and, as if stuck by static, the Beast’s image blurred for a moment, and it separated back into two halves. Then, the static effect ended, and Orpheus and Eurydice appeared in the two halves' place, as if they had always been there. Finally, with flash and an aura of blue-white glass shards, the Personas faded away.
With that, Minako could take no more. The Persona, the Shadow, the battle alongside her brother; it was all too much. Exhaustion claimed her, her legs gave out from under her, and she fell to the rooftop floor. Hearing a thump to her right, she sensed the same had befallen her brother.
Using what little strength she had left, Minako turned her head towards where she had heard the sound. Sure enough, Minato was flat on the ground with her, his eyes barely open. He was reaching out toward her, plainly trying to reach her.
With her last remaining strength, she reached back toward him, their fingers touching, and then twining together. The twins smiled at each other, thankful that the other was alive.
They finally passed out as they heard Yukari shouting to them, her words making no sense. That didn’t matter to them.
Their reasons for living were alive and safe. That was all that mattered to either of them.
Notes:
1. "...not a pretty boy..."
2. This meme has been brought to you by Japanese History and Folk Lore Youtuber Linfamy, because if I have to have this line stuck in my head forever, than so do all of you.
Chapter 3: Power Awakened, Links Forged
Notes:
Huzzah!!!! I finally got the thing done! I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long!
As always, I am very grateful that you have taken the time to read my fic, and I hope it was worth the wait.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
April 16th, 2009
Bursting out the door, Iori Junpei sprinted down the hallway of the apartment complex. He was followed by an empty beer bottle, sailing out the now open door and shattering against the opposite wall, and his father’s curses, which were slurred so much they were almost incoherent. Leaning out of the doorway, the drunken man shouted for him to come back, and to get what was coming to him.
Junpei ignored him. He couldn’t bear to go back.
It wasn’t the physical pain he was running from; he had gotten used to that. Not to mention, his old man had destroyed himself by drinking so much booze for so long, his fists didn’t have the same strength they used to. If it was just the pain from the punches and kicks that mattered, he could have easily stood his ground.
No, he was running from something else.
Junpei sprinted down the near-empty streets, turning at random street corners, not having any place in mind, not caring enough to think of one, just wanting to get as far from his father as he could. Finally, after running for he didn’t even know how long, he found himself in front of a convenience store. Panting, trying to hold himself together and failing, he slumped down on the ground near the front entrance, leaning his back against the wall.
Still trying to slow down his breathing, and finding it was picking up faster and faster, Junpei was dimly aware of the handful of people out and about this late. Most did their best to ignore him. Others gave him dirty looks as they entered and exited the store. Others called him a delinquent, and to stop making a fuss.
Usually, he would leave wherever he was whenever people started saying these things to him, either silently, or with some smart remark.
Not today, though. Today, he was too overcome to care.
Slowly, against all his efforts to stop himself, Junpei started to weep, and then to sob.
Why? he thought. Why am I here? To get ripped away from my favorite sport to be my drunken old man’s punching bag? To be the butt of every joke in school about my grades? To wander around, not accomplishing anything in my life?
Isn’t there anything I can be proud of? Anything that makes me special? Any reason I should be alive?
Anything? Anything at all!?
With that, he lost control of his thoughts as the tears came on, in spite of all his efforts to stop them.
And as he did, the time hit midnight, and the Dark Hour began, with all the shoppers taking their usual spot in their coffins. Usually, Iori Junpei would have joined them.
But not this night, or for any night afterward. Not with the potential he had always possessed and had now awakened to.
And so, as the young man wept at what he saw as a hopeless life, his cries were heard by a red sweater-wearing senior from his school 1., who immediately turned to go to their source, and guide him towards the path he would walk to glory.
April 17th, 2009
Slowly, almost painfully, Minato opened his eyes and groaned. He felt awful; his head felt like it was throbbing in time with his pulse, his limbs felt like they were made of gelatin, and his chest felt like someone had been stuck with a baseball bat over and over again. He was grateful that the nightmares about the night on the Moonlight Bridge hadn’t come this time, at least; just another trip to that strange Velvet Room, shared with his sister, with the long-nosed Igor explaining more about the power of Persona to Minako and himself, and how they could strengthen their Personas by forming Social Links with others to strengthen their hearts.
Blinking, he tried to wipe the metaphorical cobwebs off his mind, and began trying to recall what had happened before he had passed out. The last thing he remembered was being on the rooftop of the dorm with Minako-
The Shadow.
Orpheus.
The Beast.
Minako, collapsing to the ground.
Immediately, he tried to leap out of his bed, and failed immediately, floundering under the sheets. Now fully awake and aware, he desperately looked from side to side, and saw that he was in a hospital room, rather than the dorm. To his left was a large window, covered by translucent white curtains. A teenage girl was sitting on a stool in between them, apparently watching him, and she jumped to her feet when she saw he had woken up. After his eyes adjusted to the late afternoon sun shining through the window, he realized it was Takeba Yukari.
“You’re awake!” she exclaimed, relief and worry plain in her voice. “How do you fee-”
“Where’s my sister?”
Yukari was taken aback. “Huh? Oh, she’s in the bed next to you. Right over there.” She pointed to the opposite side of the room. Minato turned his head toward where his classmate was indicating, and saw Minako laid down on the other bed in the room. Minato’s eyes went wide; she was paler than she usually looked, and from his position, it didn’t look like she was moving at all.
Immediately, Minato rocked himself up into a seated position, and moved his legs over the side of the bed. It was frustratingly slow going; his limbs felt as weak and uncoordinated as newborn foal’s. Yukari opened her mouth to try and tell him to stay still, but upon seeing the desperate look in his eyes, she thought better of it. “Here, let me give you a hand,” she said, hurrying around to the other side of the bed and offering Minato her shoulder.
The boy grunted in thanks, and finally got to his extremely unsteady feet with Yukari’s help. As quickly as his treacherous feet would allow, he walked to his sister’s bed, heart pounding with fear. Once he reached Minako’s bedside, his legs finally gave out, and he fell to his knees. Looking at his sister close up, he saw that she actually was moving; her chest was gently rising under the blanket with each breath, and her nose and mouth twitched with each breath she took.
“‘Ko?” Minato half-whispered. He reached up one unsteady hand, and patted the top of her head. “‘Ko?”
After a few pats, his sister stirred, her eyes turning in all directions behind her closed eyelids. With a groan, she opened them, blinking herself back to awareness. Shifting her head, she looked at Minato, and smiled.
“Hi, little brother.”
Minato, who had a moment earlier had a look of wonder on his face as Minako woke up, instantly started scowling. “Go back to sleep, sis.”
The gremlin disguised as his sibling giggled, and sat up in bed. “Good morning to you too, ‘To. And you as well, Yukari-san.”
Yukari giggled. “Thank you, Minako-san. But, it actually isn’t morning; it's afternoon.”
Minato looked up at his classmate in surprise. “We’ve been unconscious for a whole day?”
Yukari’s smile became rueful. “No. More like eight.”
“EIGHT!” the twins shouted in unison, shocked and a little appalled at the news.
“Yeah,” Yukari confirmed.
The twins glanced at each other, not sure what to do or say next. “Where are we?” Minako finally asked, her usual peppy voice subdued.
“Oh, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital,” Yukari explained. “It’s just a short walk from the station.”
“What did the doctor say was wrong with us?” Minato asked.
“They couldn’t find anything wrong with either of you. He said that you were both just exhausted.” Yukari was quiet for a moment, then she started fidgeting. “Hey, um… I’m sorry that I wasn’t helpful back there. But… wow. Both of your powers were amazing!”
Both twins closed their eyes. Minato went over what he remembered had happened that night. The monster, the strange gun, the power flowing through and out of himself, the mythical characters, the Beast; it was all too much, and he couldn’t understand any of it. “Yukari-san, what did we do, exactly?”
“Oh, that power you used…” she answered. “We call it ‘Persona’.”
“And, what was that… thing that attacked the dorm?” Minako asked.
“That was a Shadow,” Yukari explained. “That’s what the others at the dorm and I have been fighting against. Well, our senpai’s have, I’ve only just joined.” She paused for a moment, then added, “If you have any more questions, Kirijo-senpai said that she’ll explain everything later. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you earlier…” She looked away from them, guilt plastered over her face.
“It’s okay, Yukari-san,” Minako said, clearly trying to reassure their classmate. “I can see why you would think we wouldn’t believe you.”
Yukari turned back to them, looking relieved. “Thanks. You’re too kind.” She paused again, eyes darting between the twins. “I, uh… I wanted to tell you both something.”
Minato cocked an eyebrow at her. “What is it?”
“Well… I’m sort of like you two.”
Minako sat up in the hospital bed. “What do you mean, Yukari-san?”
“I mean, I’ve lost my family, just like you did,” Yukari explained. “My dad died in an accident when I was little. And my mom and I are… not exactly on good terms.” She paused, then gave them a sympathetic look. “You’re both alone, too, aren’t you? Aside from one another, I mean.”
The twins both froze, glanced at each other, and slowly turned back to Yukari. “Yukari-san, how much do you know about us?”
She gave them a guilty smile. “All about it. At least in the broad strokes. That’s why I wanted to tell you about my past. It didn’t seem fair for me to know yours, and you having no idea about mine.”
Minato looked back to Minako, and she to him, before they looked down at the floor and the bed respectively. “Well?” he spat, resignation, anger, and fear heavy in his voice.
“Well, what?” Yukari sounded genuinely confused, and… hurt?
“What are you going to yell at us?” Minako asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Minato saw his sister look back up to Yukari-san, a bitter smile on her face. “About how we’re cursed, evil, and carry death around with us?”
There was a pause, then Yukari did something Minato never would have expected.
She chuckled.
“Wow. I have more in common with you two than I thought.”
He looked up in shock, looking into her cynical, sad smile. “What do you mean?”
Takeba Yukari closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said “It was a while ago, all the way back in ‘99, in fact. There was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but nobody really knows what happened.”
She paused, eyes darting back and forth without focusing on either of them; she was obviously trying to gather her nerve. Taking another deep breath, she continued.
“At the time, he was working at a lab run by the Kirijo Group, which was supposedly where the explosion came from. A lot of people focused on that, and some of them blamed my father for what happened. My mom and I faced a lot of harassment and abuse from them.” She stopped, turned her head to the side, and muttered something under her breath. Minato thought he heard her say “... probably deserved…, … how she acted…” but he wasn’t sure.
Looking back at them, Yukari continued. “Anyway, long story short, my mother and I didn’t have a pleasant time. So, I get what it’s like, having people who don’t know anything about you hate you. In fact, that’s why I’m attending Gekkoukan High; I was hoping that if I attended and stuck around long enough, I would eventually find out what happened. And that’s why I was there with you when this happened.”
She sighed and looked down guiltily, gripping her skirt. “Not that I was much help, given that I panicked and couldn’t fight properly. That was my first time facing a Shadow, too. I’m sorry,” she continued, looking back up at the twins. “Neither of you would have to go through all of this if I wasn’t such a coward.”
“It’s okay, Yukari-san,” Minako said. “It wasn’t your fault.” Minato felt his sister snake her left arm around his right, and take hold of his hand with hers. “Besides, we were scared too. Right, ‘To?”
For you, yes. For myself, no. “Of course,” Minato said.
Yukari smiled, seeming relieved but still guilty. “Thanks, but still…I should have been better prepared. I was the one who was supposed to be fighting the shadow.” She sighs, then adds “And here I am telling you both all of this the minute you wake up.”
“It’s alright, Yukari-san,” Minato muttered. “But, why did you tell us? We’ve only known each other for a few days.”
Yukair took a deep breath. “Well, while I was waiting, I thought to myself, ‘I’ve been hiding so many things from them. As soon as they wake up, I’ll tell them the truth.' So, thanks for listening. I’ve been wanting to share that story for a long time.”
“Thank you for trusting us to share it, Yukari-san,” his sister said, smiling warmly to their nervous classmate.
“It’s nothing. Especially since I’ve already learned about both of your histories.” With that, Yukari stood up, smoothing out her skirt. “If it’s alright, I’m going to get going. I’ll let the others know you’re okay; they’re still back at the dorm. The doctors said that you both could leave after you regained consciousness, so I think that you’re both free to go.”
“Well, let’s get going, then!” Minako chirped, rapidly regaining her usual energy. She made to start pulling the sheet and blanket off of herself, but stopped as her brother grabbed hold of her left wrist.
“Wait,” Minato said. Turning back to their, hopefully, new friend, he said, “Yukari-san, could you go on ahead? I’d like to speak to my sister in private for a moment.”
Yukari blinked a few times, then smiled and said, “Oh, ok. No problem! See you!.” With that, she walked out of the room, leaving the twins by themselves. There was a brief moment of silence, then Minato turned to his sister, pushing his long bangs out of the way of his face, so that he looked at her with both eyes.
“‘Ko,” he murmured, trepidation heavy in his voice. “Did you really mean what you said on the stairs that night?”
Minako went totally still, and looked down at her hands resting on her lap. Her jaw worked up and down, tensing and loosening, as she tried to force herself to answer and was unable to.
Minato leaned in closer, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and placing the other hand on her forearm. “‘Ko?”
Still looking away from him, his sister squeezed her eyes shut. Finally, she gave him a quick, short nod.
“Sis…”
Minato was speechless. He had always thought she was happy; she was always smiling, always energetic despite a lack of sleep from THAT, especially in the last two years since their second to last guardian-
He stopped.
Their second to last guardian had been their first cousin Yuki Kaito 2., and he had been, at least to Minato, by far their worst guardian. While all of them had come to believe that the Arisato twins were cursed children, or at least feeling extremely uneasy around them, Kaito had made his disdain and loathing plain from the moment they met. Claiming to still be furious over the death of his cousin, though he suspected that he was just an angry and violent man, Minato had received his first beating the moment the door of the man’s home closed and locked and his sister was out of sight, and that had set the scene for him for the next year. Looking back on it, he was amazed he hadn’t ended up in intensive care.
But through all that he had been made to endure, for all the pain and injury, Minato had never seen Kaito lay a hand on his sister. For a whole year, she had come out of her room with a smile in the morning, and kept it through the whole day. For a whole year, his sister had been happy. So, for that whole year, Minato had endured every insult, every curse, every blow that rained down on him, until finally even the neighbors, who were as indifferent of them there as they had been everywhere else, could not stand Kaito’s increasingly obvious behavior any longer and brought the police down on his head at near the end of the school year, and the two of them had been transferred yet again to their final guardian before they had transferred to Gekkoukan.
As awful as it had been, Minato thought it had been worth it for Minako’s sake. If his sister had been able to be happy again, he would have put up with even worse from their “dear” first cousin.
But, if he had been wrong… if that smile was a lie…
“Why? If you aren’t happy, why do you act like you are?”
“Because I wanted you to be happy, and I didn’t want you to get hurt, ‘To,” Minako whispered. Opening her eyes, she looked up to him, with a bitterly sad smile on her face. “When we were staying with Kaito, he was always telling me that my being unhappy was what was making you unhappy. That it was making everyone around me unhappy. So, he trained me to act happy. All the time. If I was happy, everyone else would be happy, he would say.”
She shuddered for a moment, closing her eyes as her face twisted in pain. “But I was never good enough for him. I would try and try, but he always said I did something wrong. I didn’t smile right, I wasn’t polite enough, I said the wrong thing or said it at the wrong time. And he… he would hurt YOU for it, ‘To! He told me that if I didn’t live up to what he expected, he would hurt YOU! Everyday I would try, everyday he would find something wrong, and he would beat you like you were a dog! Everyday, for a whole year! And even after he was arrested and we were sent to that orphanage until we took the offer to come here, I couldn’t break out of it! I kept up the mask, kept on trying to make everyone happy, so that you would be! I just…”
Minako paused, trying to catch her breath and stop herself from breaking out into sobs. “I just want you to be happy, Minato. That’s all I want. I don’t care what happens to me. I just want my brother to be happy and live a full life, and to not be haunted by what happened to our parents anymore.” With that Minako fell silent, bowing her head and closing her eyes, tears leaking out and tracing their way down her cheeks.
Minato didn’t feel any better, feeling himself tear up. “I wanted the same for you, ‘Ko. That’s why I put up with being beaten like a dog all the time. He was only doing it to me, which meant that you would be alright. I thought-” He paused for a moment, trying to regain control of his breathing, and said, “I thought that you didn’t know what was going on, and that you were happy. And so long as you were happy, it didn’t matter how miserable I was.”
He paused, trying to force down his tears at his own blindness, both to his sister’s pain and to how much he truly had cared for and loved her, and continued, “I’m sorry, ‘Ko. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I’m sorry I didn’t see.”
“I’m sorry too, ‘To,” Minako whimpered, leaning her head against his chest and wrapping her arms around him in a hug which he quickly returned. The two sat there for some time silently, each sibling quietly weeping for their sibling and themselves.
“We… we need to get out of this, ‘To,” Minako whispered. “We can’t keep going on like this, either of us.”
“I know, ‘Ko,” Minato replied. “But, I don’t know how to. I’ve… We’ve been stuck like this for so long.”
“I don’t either,” his sister said. Breaking off the hug, she leaned away from Minato to look him in the eye. “But I think I know who does. Igor, from the Velvet Room.”
He nodded, remembering their shared dream. “Right. He was talking about the Social Links we apparently need to form. Whatever those are.”
“I think that it’s just us making connections with people around us,” Minako said. “You know, friends, family, people we’re close to and trust.”
Minato felt a tiny sardonic smile form on his lips. “You mean those things we haven't had in a decade, and have absolutely no idea how to get or keep?”
Minako matched his smile. “Well, I guess we’d better start learning how, now shouldn’t we?” Leaning forward, she pulled the sheets off of herself, and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. “We can try starting with the others at the dorm; we’ll be seeing them a lot, given that we’re living in the same dorm.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Minato replied. Standing up from the kneeling position he had taken, he held out his hand to help Minako up. “Let’s get going; the sun looks like it will be going down soon, so we need to leave soon to get back before dark.”
“Ok,” his sister said, taking his hand and pulling herself to her feet. The two walked towards the door to their shared room, Minako reaching out and taking the handle. But as she did so, she stopped, and held still.
“‘Ko?” Minato whispered.
She held still for a moment, then turned to look him in the face, eyes wide with fear and desperation. “Minato, I want you to promise me that you’ll reach out to people. To make those… Social Links. I want you to have a happy, full life, even if it takes you away from me. So, promise me that you’ll do it.”
Minato blinked for a few moments, then gave a small smile. “I will if you promise me the same thing, Minako.”
His sister gave him a grin, and nodded. “I promise.”
Minato’s smile widened. “Then I promise, too.”
His sister’s grin spread into a full-toothed smile. “Then let’s go get our lives back, brother!”
Minato nodded. “Let’s do it.”
And with that, Minako opened the door, and two began making their way back to the dorm.
April 18th, 2009
“Home safe!”
“Yes, we are,” Minako replied. “Thank you for escorting us both back to the dorm, Yukari-san!”
“...Thanks,” she heard Minato murmur off to her right.
“You’re both welcome,” Yukari replied, holding the door open for the siblings. As the three entered the dorm, she turned to them and added, “You both remember that we have a meeting with the chairman, right?”
“Yes,” her brother replied as he walked past her. Minako quickly looked her little brother over as he did so. Since their heart-to-heart at the hospital yesterday, she had been looking for any sign of any improvement in Minato’s state. She was immediately filled with bitter disappointment when she yet again found no obvious change.
“Peace, young one,” she heard Eurydice whisper in her mind. “It has scarcely been a day since you have admitted your feelings of emptiness to him, and you both swore to bring yourselves back to the land of the living. Surely, you cannot expect him to turn about completely in so short of a time. And remember, for all your smiles, you are just as unwell in this regard as he. Trust in him, and in my husband, that he will be well, and see to yourself and to your own Bonds.”
Minako started at her Persona’s words; she had found it was very helpful and comforting having Eurydice speaking in her mind, but she was still far from used to it yet. I’ll do my best, she thought back.
“Good.” Yukari’s voice pulled her back into the world around her. “He should be waiting for us on the fourth floor. I’ll go on ahead; you guys can drop your stuff off at your rooms before you head up.”
“Okay, Yukari-san,” Minako replied, giving their classmate her customary sunny smile. “See you in just a minute!”
With a smile of her own, Yukari nodded, and led the two siblings up the stairway, Minato breaking off at the second floor. As Minako turned down the hallway on the third floor, she thought back to what Junpei had said when they had arrived at school that morning; their potential new friend had been so giddy and excited he had practically bounced up and down like a little kid, and had been desperate to tell her and Minato something, but clammed up and said he wasn’t supposed to talk about it. She wondered what it could be.
Entering her room, she took off her uniform’s coat and put it and her school bag into the closet. Just as she was about to turn and leave to go to the meeting with Ikutsuki-san, however, she spotted a glimmer out of the corner of her eye.
Turning towards the source, Minako saw what looked like a shard of white crystal, which gave off a soft blue glow. Hesitantly, she reached down and picked it up. She almost dropped in shock; the little crystal seemed to pulsate between her fingers, like it had its own little heartbeat. Narrowing her eyes, Minako began to feel something else. The strange little thing felt like it was trying to reach out in all directions; her gut was telling her that the thing, whatever it was, was incomplete and was trying to seek out the other parts of itself.
Whatever it was, it was a mystery that could wait; she had a meeting to get to. Reopening her closet, she stuffed the strange glowing thing into a pocket of her uniform’s coat, and left to head up to the fourth floor. Just as she reached the end of the hallway, her brother came up the stairs from the second floor to join her.
“Personwhofoundaweirdglowingbluethingsayswhat,” Minato motor mouthed.
“What?”
Minato grinned slightly, reached into his pocket, and took out another glowing blue crystal.
Minako’s eyebrows raised up in surprise, then smiled back at her brother. “I left mine back in my room,” she explained.
Minato nodded as he placed his mystical item back into his pocket. “Makes sense. Let’s go to our meeting with the chairman. We can figure out what to do with these weird things later.”
Minako nodded, and the two siblings walked up the last flight of stairs to the fourth floor, which aside from the men’s and women’s restrooms had only one set of double doors, beside which Yukari-san stood waiting for them.
“Ah, there you are,” she said as they reached the top of the stairs and crossed the room. “C’mon, they’re waiting for you inside.” With that, she turned to the double door, reached for the handle, and held it open for the twins, who walked into the room past it.
The room, the old presidential suite if Minako were to guess, was more than a little strange. At the center was a table with two metal briefcases on it, surrounded on three sides by a long sofa, three padded backless chairs, and a single easy chair at the far end. Kirijo-senpai was on the far side of the sofa, Ikutsuki-san sat in the easy chair, and another student, a boy with silver hair and green eyes, sat on the backless chairs closest to Ikutsuki-san. Behind the sofa was a bureau and sets of shelves holding framed photos of people and places Minako did not recognize, and on the opposite wall was a bizarre combination of what was clearly an advanced, specialized supercomputer and more shelves filled with star charts and books on esoteric religious lore.
“Ah, there you are,” the chairman said to the twins. “It looks like you’ve both recovered. I’m glad that you are both okay.” The man crossed his legs, then continued. “There are some things I need to discuss with the both of you; that’s why I asked to see you both to see me so soon after your discharge from the hospital. Please, have a seat,” he finished, gesturing to the chairs and sofa.
Nodding in thanks, Minako walked over to the backless chairs, sitting on the one closest to the other student, a senior she thought. She did feel a little confused with what she saw Minato do; her brother made to go sit on the sofa, but was cut off by Yukari-san, who walked past him and sat down on it instead, forcing him to sit next to her. Minako cocked her head; her brother mostly kept his usual look of disinterest, but she definitely saw a touch of disappointment in his eyes.
“Oh, before that,” the chairman said, drawing her attention back. “I believe I mentioned him earlier, but this is Sanada Akihiko-kun.”
“How ya doin’?” Sanada said, smiling at the Arisato twins.
Minako tried to respond, but the chairman spoke before she could. “Okay, let me start off by asking you both this… Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?”
And there it is, Minako thought. They all know about THAT. Turning to Minato, she saw in his eyes that he understood as well. Swallowing, the two siblings nodded to each other, and both turned back to the chairman.
“Yes,” they said together.
“I know it can be difficult to accept, but I assur- wait, what?” Ikutsuki-san was more than a little taken aback by their affirmation. “You believe me?”
“Yeah,” Minato responded, blunt as ever. “We do.”
“Ever since we were six, we’ve gone through the same event every night,” Minako explained. “At midnight, the clocks stop, the moon gets larger and turns green, everyone turns into coffins, blood appears everywhere, and everything that uses electricity stops working. Then, after a while, it stops, and everything returns to normal. Ever since it started, we’ve just called it THAT.” Looking over the table to Yukari-san and Kirijo-senpai, she added, “Until we met the two of you, we thought that we were the only ones who could see it. I guess that’s where the extra time in a day comes from?”
“Yes, it is,” Kirijo confirmed. “We call it The Dark Hour- a time period hidden between one day and the next.”
“Hidden?” Minako asked
“I don’t get it,” Minato muttered.
Ikutsuki-san cleared his throat. “I think it might be more accurate to say that most people aren’t cognizant of it, rather than it being hidden. But, cognizant or not, the Dark Hour does exist. It occurs each night at midnight, just as you say. It will occur tonight, and every night to come.”
“Normal people don’t realize it, since they’re sleeping inside their coffins,” Sanada-senpai cut in. He paused, then broke out into a smile that could only be called bloodthirsty. “But, that’s not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting. You both saw that creature, and then had to fight it. We call them Shadows. They only appear during the Dark Hour, and attack anyone not in a coffin. It’s our job to defeat them. Pretty exciting, huh?”
“Akihiko!” Kirijo exclaimed, her eyes narrowed and her thin red lips twisted in a frustrated scowl. “Why are you always like this!? You just got hurt the other day!”
“Now, now,” Ikutsuki-san said, trying to calm the irate senior. “He does his work well.” Turning back to the Arisato twins, he continued, “I’ll get to the point. We are the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. S.E.E.S. for short. On paper, we’re classified as a school club. But in reality this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Kirijo Mitsuru-kun is the leader, and I serve as the club advisor.”
“Why do you need to fight the Shadows?” Minako asked. “What makes them so dangerous? Aside from what happened the other night?”
“A Shadow feeds on the minds of human beings, its prey,” Kirijo-senpai explained. “The victim becomes a living corpse.”
“Apathy Syndrome,” Minato murmured. He was looking up with interest in the one eye not covered by his bangs.
“Yes,” the chairman confirmed. “We sometimes refer to those who suffer from this as ‘the Lost’.”
Minako noticed that her smile, that she did her best to keep up at all times, had fallen away, replaced by a serious frown. “How do you fight them?” she asked.
“Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour,” the chairman answered. “Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight Shadows. That’s known as ‘Persona’- the power that you both called upon the other night. From what we can tell, Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. That means that all of you are the only ones who stand a chance against them.”
Minako swallowed. “I see…” she whispered. Looking at her brother, she saw, to her total lack of surprise, that his face was a blank mask of apathy, though she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was listening carefully.
Ikutsuki-san smiled. “I’m glad you’re so quick to understand.”
With that, Kirijo-senpai leaned forward and opened the two briefcases. Inside, Minako saw that each held a white leather holster, and red school club armband, a silver-colored pistol embossed with the S.E.E.S. logo, and a dummy magazine.
“What he’s trying to say is,we want you both to join us,” their senior said. “We’ve prepared these Evokers for you; they are what we use to summon our Personas. We’d like for you both to lend us your strength.”
Minako felt her jaw set, and turned to look at Minato, who was doing the same to her. Looking each other in the eye, a silent conversation passed between them.
This will be dangerous.
Yes, but we’ve never felt so alive in years as when we were fighting that Shadow.
True. And they’re giving us a purpose to live. And I just realized I want it.
So do I.
With that, they both turned to the rest of S.E.E.S. and said, in unison, “All right.”
Across from them, Yukari sighed in relief. “Good! I was afraid that you both would say no. Welcome aboard!”
“Thank you so much,” Ikutsuki-san added, smiling gently. “I’m really glad. Truly. I guess it’s a good thing there was such a long holdup with your dorm room assignments. Now that you’ve joined, we can just have you both stay in the rooms that you have now.”
“You all were deliberately holding that up so that you could keep an eye on us in case we had the potential to summon a Persona,” Minato said flatly. It wasn’t a question, either.
All of the members of S.E.E.S. started fidgeting and averting their eyes from both of them, clearly embarrassed at having been caught. “Sorry about that,” Yukari said.
Minako giggled at the sight. “It’s alright everyone. We’re happy to join you all. Aren’t we, ‘To?”
Looking to her little brother, she saw him make his usual shrug, and start to say his usual ‘whatever’-
He stopped.
And he looked up at each of the members of S.E.E.S., nodded, and said, “Yeah. We are.”
Minako felt her heart sing at her brother’s words, just as time seemed to stop.
The back of a tarot card appeared before her eyes, with the same symbol as the one on their Velvet Keys, before flipping over to reveal that it was the Fool Card, showing a young man carrying a bindle stick with a dog following at his heels. Then, she heard a voice echo in her mind. It took her a moment to recognize it as Theodore, the male attendant of the Velvet Room.
I am thou… thou art I… Thou hast established a new bond…
Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana…
After that, the voice faded away, and the outlines of 10 stars appeared around the Fool Card. With a chime, one of the stars turned solid white. After a few moments, all of it faded from view, and time resumed its course. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Minako turned to Minato again. He didn’t need to say anything for her to know that he had just experienced the same thing.
“Well,” the chairman said, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. “That’s all for today. I’ll follow up with you both on our “club activities” later on.” Addressing the entire club rather than just the twins, he continued, “I apologize for gathering you all here today on your precious day off. Tomorrow is Sunday, so take some time to relax.”
Suddenly, the chairman smirked. “So, shall ‘week-end’ this meeting?”
Minako felt herself cringe so hard she was amazed she didn’t shrivel up into a raisin. Everyone else seemed to react the same way.
Everyone, except for her little brother.
“Ha… hahaha!” Minato laughed, he actually laughed, and gave the chairman a real, full toothed smile. “That’s a good one, Ikutsuki-san!”
Ikutsuki-san seemed rather taken aback at first, then smiled back. “I’m glad you liked it, Arisato-kun. Maybe we can come up with new puns together next meeting.”
“I… would like that, Ikutsuki-san. Thank you,” Minato replied. He seemed to go still for a moment, and Minako felt Eurydice whisper that Orpheus said her brother had formed another bond.
As S.E.E.S. dispersed back to their dorm rooms, Minako felt like leaping for joy. Ever since she could remember, Minato had loved bad puns. Whether making them or hearing them, he always laughed, and the worse they were, the funnier he found them. After the accident that had killed their parents, though, he had become so depressed and apathetic he had never made or laughed at a pun. She was so happy that he was regaining that part of himself, she could just sing!
It wasn’t until she was in bed and about to go to sleep that her eyes had shot wide open, as she remembered something rather important.
She had HATED her brother’s bad puns.
Minato groaned slightly as he woke up, though his eyes remained closed, as the Dark Hour, as he now knew to call THAT, descended once again. It was always difficult to sleep once this horrid thing started up, and this time was no different.
Actually, he thought, there is something different.
He felt like he was being watched.
You are, young Minato, Orpheus murmured. To your feet, mine other self. We have a guest to attend to.
Opening his eyes, Minato sat up in his bed, trying to blink the tiredness away. Looking around his room, he tried to find his supposed guest- and stopped dead once he did.
It was the boy in the prisoner’s uniform he had seen on the first night he and his sister had arrived at the dorm and when they had used Yukari-san’s Evoker. But this time, something was very, very wrong with him.
Namely, the boy looked like a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing.
He looked like a line had bisected him down the middle of his body, and his head, upper torso, and lower body had had alternating halves removed; the left side of his head remained, then the right side of his torso and his right arm, and finally the left leg and hip.
The left half of the boy’s head smiled, beckoned Minato with his right arm, and turned to walk to the door, his left leg moving as if he still possessed his right. As Minato watched in horrified fascination, the prisoner-boy passed through the door with another puff of the strange black smoke. Minato followed, grabbing hold of his new Evoker as he did so.
Opening the door and walking out into the hallway, he saw the living Picasso painting waiting for him in the small sitting area near the stairwell. Once again the boy smiled, and once again beckoned him with his one arm.
Minato felt himself blink twice, then settled back into his usual slouch. Whatever, he thought, walking down the hallway towards the quartered boy.
As he did so, Minako walked down the stairs from the third floor, the twins arriving at the sitting area at the same time. “‘To,” she said, an utterly plastic smile on her face. “I think I’ve gone completely crazy.”
“If it’s because you saw that kid from our first night here with half his pieces missing, then don’t worry, ‘Ko. I saw the same thing.”
Just as he finished speaking, another puff of smoke appeared to his right, and another half of the boy stepped forward, with the other halves of his body. Coming around behind the half that had talked to Minato, the part that, presumably, came from Minako slid together with the first, and the two merged back into a whole. Minato thought he heard a clicking sound, but that could just be his imagination.
“Ahh,” the boy sighed. “Much better…” Looking up at the twins, the boy smiled wider. “Hi, how are you both?”
“Who are you?” Minako asked, clearly disturbed by what she was seeing. Minato tensed, and felt his hand holding the Evoker tighten its grip; his sister was always hap- always acting like she was happy, so if she was openly afraid, it meant he needed to be on guard.
“We’ve met before,” the boy said, still smiling.
“Yes, but you still haven’t told us who you are,” his sister pressed. “So, tell us who you are. Please.”
The boy giggled, closed his eyes, and did not tell them who he was. Slowly, his eyes opened again, and he said, “Soon, the end will come. I remembered, so I thought that I should tell you both.”
“What do you mean, ‘the end’?” Minato asked.
“It’s the end of everything,” the boy answered. “...But to be honest, I really don’t know much about it.”
Minako’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she muttered, “...Thanks.”
The strange boy laughed. “I wasn’t expecting you to thank me. But, you’re welcome!” He paused, then frowned slightly. “That… is what I’m supposed to say, right?”
“Yes,” Minako answered. She paused, then added, “Are you sure you don’t know anymore about ‘the end’?”
“No,” the boy said. “I really don’t really know what this ‘end’ is about, either. More importantly,” the boy added, his smile widening, “it looks like you both have awakened to your power. And what an unusual power it is. It takes many forms, but is bound by none. It may prove to be both of your salvation, depending on where either of you may end up.”
The boy paused for a moment, his smile slowly fading away. “Do you remember when we first met?”
“How could we forget?” Minato asked, with a tiny roll of his eyes.
“Don’t be rude, ‘To,” Minako chided him.
“Well, it’s good you remembered,” the boy said, now smiling again. “I expect you both to honor your commitments. Remember, I’ll be watching you, even if you forget about me.”
“We will,” both Arisato siblings said.
“Okay, then. See you both later.”
With that, the boy was covered in yet another plume of smoke, and when the smoke dissipated, he had vanished once again.
Minato released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “That kid gives me the creeps.”
“I agree,” Minako said. “Do you think we should tell the others? They might know something about him that we don’t.”
“I doubt it,” Minato answered. “We asked Yukari-san about him on our first night here, and she didn’t have any idea what we were talking about. I doubt Sanada-senpai or Kirijo-senpai would know any more than she did.”
As he finished his last sentence, Minato suddenly felt his eyelids sag, and the rest of his body droop as tiredness made itself known. “Not to mention, it’s the middle of the night, and we really need to sleep. We can ask the others about this later.”
Minako yawned, clearly just as ready to go back to bed as her brother. “You’re right. We need to go back to bed. Goodnight.” She paused, then an impish smile spread across her face and a gleam appeared in her red eyes.
“Little brother!” And with that parting shot, she hurried back up to the girl’s floor.
Annoyance, real honest-to-god annoyance, filled Minato. “I’m not your little brother,” he muttered, as he turned to walk back down the second floor hallway to his room and his bed. 3.
Notes:
Author's Notes:
1. Who was DEFINATLY NOT disobeying his leader's explicit instructions to not go on patrol, and to stay at the dorm so he could recover from his injuries.2. Yuki Kaito's given name uses the 海仁 Kanji. According to a website for Japanese names I found, the 海 means 'sea or ocean', and the 仁 means 'benevolence or kindness'. So, Yuki Kaito's given name means "ocean of kindness".
No. No, he was not.
3. Arisato Minato's annoyance at having Minako call him her 'little brother" is directly proportional to how joyful he is to be alive. The stronger his annoyance, the more joyful he is.
Social Link Progress (format shamelessly stolen from Queen's Checkmate by blazingEmblem)
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 1
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
Chapter Text
April 19th, 2009
What a night, Minako thought as she walked down the stairway, straightening the sleeves of her sweater and wrapping her scarf around her neck as she did so. Personas, Shadows, joining secret organizations and getting handed what look like guns, my little brother getting his sense of humor back, that boy turning into an abstract sculpture… Thank goodness it’s Sunday! I definitely wouldn’t be able to stay awake if we had school today.
Reaching the second floor, she walked down the hallway to her brother’s room, and knocked on the door. After a few moment’s waiting and no response, she frowned, and leaned forward to press her ear to the door. Listening carefully, she smiled slightly; she could hear, just barely, Minato’s slow, gentle breathing.
He must still be asleep, she thought. I should leave him be.
Turning back, she walked down the hallway and down the stairs to the lobby. Looking around, she at first thought that she was the only one there, but then she spotted Yukari sitting at the dining table. “Good morning, Yukari-san!” she said, walking up to the girl with a smile that, unlike many times before, was completely sincere rather than a mask.
Yukari’s head darted up to Minako, a small, nervous smile spreading on her face as she did so. “Oh, morning, Minako-san,” she replied. Pausing for a moment, seemingly looking for the right words, she said “Um… Thanks for what you and your brother did yesterday.”
Minako cocked her head and frowned, confused. “What do you mean, Yukari-san?”
“For both of you agreeing to join S.E.E.S.,” she explained. “Our… club is pretty small, and with Sanada-senpai injured, it would have just been me and Kirijo-senpai as active members.” Yukari paused, looking around nervously, before she continued. “I was really uneasy about working alone with her.”
Minako was about to ask what it was about Kirijo that made her so reluctant to work with her, but she got the sense that Yukari wasn’t up to tell her yet, so she changed her question. “Is Sanada-senpai alright? He seemed okay at the meeting.”
“He said that he had hurt his ribs a little fighting against the Shadow that you and your brother killed,” Yukari-san explained. Smirking, she added, “Which means he hurt them a whole lot, and has to be benched for at least a month. He’s not happy about it.”
Minako giggled. “I’m not surprised, given the impression I got from him at our meeting last night.” She paused for a moment, then asked “Where are the senpais, by the way?”
“They’re going to the hospital for Sanada’s treatment. Kirijo mentioned something about ‘needing to watch him every moment of the day and night’, so I guess he went Shadow hunting when he wasn’t supposed to.”
Minako giggled, then asked, “Did she give us any instructions for today?”
“Nope,” Yukari answered. “She just said to get back before curfew, and especially before the Dark Hour starts. You’re free to do whatever you would like, Minako-san.”
“Oh. I see.” Minako felt herself fidget nervously, one arm crossing over herself and gripping the other. “Do you… have anything planned for today, Yukari-san?”
Yukari frowned in confusion. “Uh, no. Why, what’s up?”
Minako felt herself fidget even more; reaching out to others, even in the name of forming Social Links, was harder for her than she thought it would be. “Well, I was wondering if… we could spend our day off together.”
Her classmate’s eyes widened in surprise. “Huh!? Oh! Uh, okay. W-what would you like to do?”
Minako’s inner glee at, hopefully, forming a new bond, quickly came up short. “I… actually, I hadn’t thought of anything ahead of time.” She thought for a moment, then asked “What do you and Kirijo-senpai do together?”
To her surprise, Yukari let out an undignified, derisive snort. “Kirijo-senpai and I don’t do anything together. She doesn’t seem to do anything other than schoolwork, and work for S.E.E.S.. Other than that, we don’t really even talk much.” Her face twisted into a sneer. “She’s probably too busy with whatever rich kids from rich families do.”
Minako, more than a little taken aback by her classmate’s vehemence, hesitated before giving a nervous smile. “Guezz, Yukari-san, tell me how you really feel!”
Yukari suddenly looked extremely guilty, averting her eyes to her left. “Well, maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but… I don’t know. I just don’t have a good feeling about her.” She gave a mirthless laugh. “Wow, I guess you really won’t want to go on an outing with me anymore after this, right?”
Minako paused, then forced her nervous smile to look warmer and more welcoming. “Actually, I still do, Yukari-san. I get the feeling that we’re both a little lonely.”
“Really?” Yukari asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “O-ok, but… what about your brother? Do you want him to come, too?”
“He’s still asleep,” Minako said with a giggle. “If he wakes up, he’ll call me.”
“Alright,” Yukari said, her smile returning. “Is there anywhere you’d like to go in particular?”
“Not really. A walk around the area would be nice; I’m still not fully familiar with the area yet. You can decide when and if we stop anywhere.”
“Ok!” Yukari said, her smile widening and growing warmer. Together, the two girls walked across the lobby, and exited through the double doors. As they began walking down the sidewalk toward the strip mall, Yukari spoke up again.
“Uh, just so we’re clear on Kirijo-senpai… it’s not that I don’t like her or anything, y’know. I just… feel like she gives off a bad impression.”
“What kind of impression?”
“I don’t know. It’s like… I don’t think she thinks she’s better than everyone, but it definitely feels like she’s deliberately putting up walls between her and everyone around her. Like she doesn’t want anyone close to her.”
“Well… maybe she’s just nervous about letting people close. Or she doesn’t really know how to.” Kind of like me and ‘To, Minako thought.
“Maybe…” Yukari murmured, looking away from Minako, frowning in thought. After a moment, though, her expression brightened, and returned to her companion. “Although, I can think of someone she, and everyone else, would want to not be anywhere near them; Iori Junpei.”
“Iori-san!?” Minako asked, flabbergasted. “Why would anyone want to keep him at arm's length?”
Yukari scoffed and looked at Minako like she was a fool. “Didn’t you pay attention to everything about him after school the other day? He’s always butting in to everyone’s business, when he doesn’t have any reason to ask! Plus, everything he says, he says in the creepiest, most perverted way. He’s the posterboy of sexual harassment!”
“I’m pretty sure he’s just lonely, Yukari-san,” Minako said in defense of her acquaintance. “And there are definitely worse sexual harassers than Iori-san.”
“Oh really?” Yukari said, in clear defiance. “Well, let me tell you about all he got up to last year…”
And that set the stage for the rest of the day between the two girls; Yukari and Minako gave each other an, admittedly edited, rundown on their last school years, the former bringing up many of Iori Junpei’s more embarrassing moments, before moving on to other parts of her school life, like her membership in the Gekkoukan Archery Team. There managed to be enough stories to last them a walk through the Strip Mall, the shops around the Port Island Station, Paulownia Mall, and back to the dorm again in the evening.
And yet, in spite of all of that time and effort, there was no sign that she had formed a Social Link with Yukari.
Before the frustration overcame her, she heard Eurydice whisper in her mind; she had not yet formed the link, but she was laying the groundwork for one. It would just take more time with Takeba Yukari personally than it did with her as part of S.E.E.S..
Minako gave her other self a quick mental nod, and turned her attention back to her classmate as they made their way back to the dorm, giggling at another story of Iori Junpei’s antics as the sun began to set.
Minato blinked in confusion, giving out as loud a cough as his little six year old lungs would allow. Everything hurt; his head was sore, his chest ached, and he felt his seat belt digging into him. Blinking, he looked around, trying to find out what had happened. The door on his left side was dented, there were three round holes in the roof, and he could see through the now cracked windshield that the hood of the family’s car was crumpled up.
Did… we have a car crash? he thought. Minato had heard of them on the news; they had sounded so scary. He had never thought that he and his family would be in one.
Of course, all the people in the other crashes probably thought the same thing.
Blinking his wide, blue-gray eyes, Minato undid the seat belt from its buckle, shrugging it away. Hearing a moan to his right, he turned to look for the source, and froze; Minako was leaning back against her seat, her head leaning to the side.
Immediately, he remembered what his father had told him what he must do if something like this happened; ‘You help your sister, Minato. Whatever else, help her, and keep her safe. I’ll do the same with your mother, and we’ll come and find you both. So, help and stay with your sister.’
Immediately, Minato began crawling towards his sister. It was harder than he had thought; he hurt all over. It felt like he had been hit with every playground injury he had ever had at once, and then made worse. Still, he powered through until he reached Minako’s side, unbuckling her seat belt and laying her down on the back seat. Here, he hesitated; he desperately wanted to get his sister out of the car, but he also remembered being told that you should never move someone hurt in an accident unless staying meant they would be in danger.
Just as he thought this, he heard a small ‘whoosh’. Almost immediately, he saw a small orange glow out of the corner of his eye, and began to smell smoke.
THAT certainly meant that Minako would be in danger.
Desperately, Minato grabbed Minako by her armpits, and began pulling her across the seat. He pulled as hard and as fast as he could; the fire was spreading and getting bigger fast. Pausing only to open the door, Minato pulled his sister out of the car, and, carrying her in his arms, he began to run across the street, away from the flames. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be; Minako was heavier than he had expected. It didn’t help that he kept flinching from the explosions, crashes, and flashes of light that he heard and saw coming from another part of the bridge; it sounded like a battle was happening there.
Still, he eventually made it to the opposite side of the bridge, laying Minako down on the walkway. Immediately, he took off his jacket and draped it over his sister to help keep her warm, though he himself shivered at the cold November air. His job done, Minato looked up and to his right; his parents had been in the front seats, so they would have to be in that direction.
They were not there.
Confused, he turned to his left, where the flashes and explosions were coming from. But he wasn’t interested in that. He was looking for his parents.
They were not there, either.
Minato’s eyes widened as an icy claw gripped his heart. Slowly, reluctantly, he turned to look back at the car, the hood of which was now engulfed in greasy red flames.
His mother and father were still in their seats.
Maybe they were hurt. Maybe they were trapped. Maybe they had suddenly become incredibly stupid.
Minato didn’t care which it was. To a six year old child, this was the ultimate nightmare.
He ran to the car as fast as he could, his leg’s moving faster than he had ever thought that they could. Reaching the left side door, he looked through the window, its glass shattered. His mother was slumped over towards the door, still bound by her own seat belt. Looking across to the driver’s seat, he saw his father was much the same way.
But something was wrong, even on top of everything else. His father, rather than leaning against his seat like his mother and sister, was slumped forward on the steering wheel, his arms hanging free, with his head turned to face Minato, and again unlike his mother, his eyes were open, but they weren’t moving. In fact, unlike his mother, who was twitching in her sleep, his father wasn’t moving at all. Looking closer, Minato saw that there were at least three small holes in his clothes, and one in his head, and they were all covered in blood, so much blood, much more than any cut he had ever seen.
That much blood meant…
It… meant…
He… didn’t understand what it meant.
All he understood was he needed to help his parents.
Quickly, he grabbed hold of the door handle, and pulled it as hard as he could.
The door didn’t open. He pulled again. It still didn’t open. Desperate, he reached through the broken window, careful of the pieces of glass, to unlock the door.
His hand closed on the pin… which was already pulled up.
The door wasn’t locked.
It was jammed shut.
“NO!” Minato shouted, seizing the handle with both hands and desperately pulling on it again and again, trying to force it open with all the strength he could. “NO! NO! NO!”
Blind with panic and terror, he wrenched on the handle again and again, heedless of the spreading flames. “MAMA! PAPA!” he steamed, tears beginning to pour out of his eyes in torrents. “MAMA! PAPA!”
“Minato… run…”
Stopping dead still, he looked up, blinking to clear his vision. His mother had woken up, but she looked tired, so very tired, barely able to keep her eyes open.
“Minato… run… get away… from the flames…” his mother said, voice barely above a whisper.
“But… you’re hur-”
“Minato!” his mother interrupted. “Get away from the flames. Now!” She paused, blinking rapidly and swallowing. Looking back at him, she asked “Is… your sister safe?”
Minato nodded dumbly.
His mother smiled at him, blood between her teeth. “Good! Good…” she took a deep breath, and continued. “Go to her, Minato.”
“But-”
“Minato. Go to Minako. Protect her. Make sure she’s safe.” His mother raised a trembling hand, the pinky finger raised higher than the others. “Can you do that for me, Minato?”
Caught in a kind of trance, Minato could only nod again, taking a few, slow steps backward.
“Good. Good.” Her tired smile got just a little wider. “Tell her mommy and daddy love you. We love you both so mu-”
She was cut off as the front of the car exploded, and pieces of radio, engine, and plastic paneling were blasted into her head, neck, and chest, with one piece of shrapnel taking off the tip of the pinky finger on her raised hand; the same happened to his motionless father. Minato felt something wet and soft hit his cheek, and caught it on instinct as it fell to the ground. Immediately, there was another ‘whoosh’, and the fire spread to the front seats of the car.
Minato knew from touching a hot stove a few months ago that hot things like fire hurt. They hurt so much. That much fire should have made his mom and dad yell at the top of their lungs.
They were completely silent.
As the awful implications of that began to sink in, Minato looked down at the wet thing that had hit his cheek.
It was the tip of his mother’s pinky finger.
Minato began trembling, and the torrent of tears resummed, as he realized the truth; his mother and father were dead. They had just died in front of him.
Barely able to see, barely able to breath, Minato closed his hand around the bit of his mother’s finger, her finger!, turned around, and walked back to his sister, quietly sobbing as he did. The bright blue light and sounds of straining metal immediately to his left were hardly noticed; his family was almost all dead. Nothing else mattered to him
Coming to his sister, still sleeping with her head on his jacket, Minato fell to his knees, barely able to even comprehend what had happened. He inched forward toward his sister, his only remaining family, before falling to his side beside her. Half-blind with tears, he wrapped his arms around his sleeping sister, and pulled himself toward her until they were in a full embrace. Placing Minako’s head under his chin, he did his best to shield her body with his own, closed his eyes, and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.
Then, behind his closed eyelids, an unimaginably bright blue-white light flashed out to engulf everything-
Minato shot upright, gasping in shock at what he had just seen. After a moment to regain his composure and remember where he was, he slumped down and fell back on the bed, still breathing like he had run a marathon.
Dammit, he thought, wiping the nervous sweat from his brow. It’s been days since I had that dream. I thought it might have finally stopped. Guess that was too good to be true…
Getting his breathing back under control, Minato thought back over what he had thought about himself before. That he didn’t care about his parents anymore. Every night he woke up from that dream, he would tell himself that he wasn’t sad about that anymore, that he didn’t care, that there was no reason for him to have that dream anymore.
He pulled the covers and sheet off of himself, twisted to sit up on the side of his bed, and hunched over himself, rubbing the back of his head. But that wasn’t true, he realized. Thinking about it, since he and ‘Ko had had their heart to heart at the hospital, he did still care. If he truly didn’t care, he wouldn’t still be having that dream.
If he truly didn’t care, he wouldn’t have worried about his sister.
If he truly didn’t care…
Minato lifted his head, eyes moving toward the closet.
… then he wouldn’t have kept The Box.
Upon seeing the image in his mind, Minato felt Orpheus stir.
This is not a good thing, young Minato, his Persona whispered. Keeping that can only bring a curse upon you. It must be buried and mourned, not kept tied around thy neck.
I know, Minato whispered back.
He sat still for a moment, then went to retrieve The Box.
The pain of keeping it was less than the pain of giving it up. For now, at least.
Opening the closet, he reached into the container that held the small number of personal effects he had gathered after being shunted around all of his life, his hand reaching, grabbing, and pulling out a two inch square, white paperboard container he had purposefully placed at the bottom to keep it hidden. This was The Box.
He had never told anyone about The Box or what was in it, not even Minako. He knew that he would immediately have it taken away, at minimum, and possibly separated from his sister. On top of that, he was pretty sure that his nightmares actually got worse whenever he looked at it and what was in it. All of these things would have been good reasons to get rid of The Box, like Orpheus had just said, but… he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.
Listening in case someone came down the hallway, and careful to keep his arms in the closet and out of sight from the door, Minato lifted the lid off of The Box.
Within The Box, nestled in the puff of a pulled-apart cotton ball, was a single, white finger bone.
Minato stood stone still, utterly transfixed. He was dimly aware of Orpheus whispering in his mind, but he simply could not understand what his Persona was saying.
After a few moments, he raised his right hand, index finger extended, and brought it into The Box. Carefully, he touched the bone with the tip of his finger, stroking it as gently as he could.
Mama…
He didn’t know how long he stood there, transfixed by the last physical remnant of his parents. It could have been minutes or hours. However long it may have been, he was drawn out of his hypnosis by the sound of footsteps running down the hallway, and not stopping at any of the other rooms on the floor. Hurriedly, Minato placed the cap of The Box, and shoved it back under the pile of clothes and other knick-knacks. Just as he had covered up his most closely guarded secret, a series of rapid-fire knocks on his door rang out.
“Hey, ‘To! You in there?”
Closing the door of the closet as silently as he could, Minato turned to the door, and resumed his usual drooping slouch, and apathetic blank expression. “Coming…” he said in his quiet tone, walking to and opening the door.
Minako greeted him with a smile that both widened and became much more genuine when she saw him, now that he knew what to look for. “Good to see you, ‘To! How was your day?”
Minato shrugged. “Don’t know. I just woke up.”
Minako froze, her smile beginning to morph into a look of confusion. “You… just woke up?”
“Yes.”
“Minato… do you know what time it is?”
Minato paused, then pulled out his cellphone, and flipped it open. The time read 9:35 PM.
“I do now,” he said, returning his phone to his pocket.
His sister’s jaw dropped. “‘To, are you telling me you slept all day today?”
“Looks like it,” Minato muttered, trying not to fidget in place; he did not want his sister to find out about The Box or what was in it, and desperately wanted her to leave. He didn’t know how she would react to what he’d done, but he was terrified of what that reaction could be. He began to turn back to his bed and continued, “and it also looks like it’s time to go to bed. Goodnight, sis.”
“Hold on there, you crazy narcoleptic,” Minako said, reaching out and grabbing his left shoulder to stop him. “We need to head downstairs. Sanada-senpai calling us all down.”
Minato stopped, and looked back at his sister, relieved that the chances of Minako finding out about The Box were going down by the moment, and genuinely curious about what was going on. “What did he say he needed us for?”
His twin sister shrugged. “I don’t know; he just said we needed to come down to the lobby.”
Minato nodded, and followed his sister down the hallway and the stairwell.
Sanada-senpai and Yukari-san were already waiting for the two of them, standing between the front desk and the couches. Looking up at the twins, Yukari said, “Okay, we’re all here. So, what’s this about?”
“There’s someone I want to introduce to you all,” Sanada explained, a satisfied grin on his face. He looked to the door and paused for a moment, clearly expecting something, then frowned as a moment passed and the doors didn’t open. “...Hey, hurry up!”
“Just a sec,” a voice from outside called. “This thing’s freaking heavy.”
Hold on, Minato thought. I recognize that voice. And sure enough, the double doors opened, revealing one Iori Junpei, pushing a wheeled suitcase, and with his school bag and a camping backpack hanging off both arms.
Yukari looked gob smacked. “Wha- Junpei!? Why are you here!?” Slowly, her face sank into a look of hopeless despair. “Don’t tell me…”
Sanada turned to the three resident second years, a satisfied smile on his face. “This is Iori Junpei from Class 2-F. He’ll be staying here from now on.”
Junpei looked up from his luggage, and gave the three of them the most nervous looking smile Minato had ever seen. “Eheheh… ‘Sup?”
“He’s staying here!?” Yukari asked Sanada, looking more than a little horrified. “Are you sure there wasn’t some mistake?”
“It’s no mistake,” Sanada-senpai said. “I bumped into him the other night, while the Arisato twins were still in the hospital. Iori has the potential, but he only awakened to it recently. I told him about us, and he agreed to help out.”
Yukari-san looked back at Iori Junpei, her expression changing to one of genuine surprise. “You have the potential!? For real!?”
At this, Iori-san slumped over, shame-faced. “He… found me cryin’ like a baby in front of the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins.” Looking back up, he gave them all a self-deprecating smile. “I don’t remember much, but maaaaan, that’s embarrassing! But he said, y’know, that’s completely normal… in the beginning. Like being confused, and not remembering anything. Did you guys know that?”
“Nope,” Minato immediately answered.
“I was okay, too,” Minako chimed in.
“What?” Junpei asked, clearly not believing them. “Have you two not talked to anyone about it? You both ought to know, since you’re Persona-users and all. But man…” he trailed off, now looking much more serious. “I had no idea you guys had all this stuff going on too. I’m glad I’m not the only one with this power. It could get kind of lonely, ya know.” He finished with a wide smile, wiggling his eyebrows at Yukari and Minako. “I bet you’re all stocked too, right? Havin’ me join?”
“What?” Yukari asked their new teammate, apparently not understanding why he would think that, before Minako elbowed her in the side. “Oh! Uh, yeah, I guess…”
“So anyway,” Junpei said, cutting back into the conversation. “Glad to join the team!” Walking across to the Arisato twins, Junpei forced himself between the two of them, and wrapped his arms around both their shoulders. “Nothing’s gonna happen to either of you as long as I’m around!”
Minako giggled. “Good to hear, Iori-kun! Let’s do our best!”
“Personal space.” Minato complained, shaking himself free of his overly affectionate new teammate.
“Well, enough with the introductions,’ Sanada cut in. “Now that our forces have increased, I think we’re about ready.”
“Ooh, are we gonna do something?” Junpei asked eagerly. “Sweetness! I’m pumped!”
He was as excitable as a golden retriever puppy, as far as Minato was concerned.
“With this many people,” Sanada continued from his first point, “we can start checking out that tower.”
“Oh,” Yukari muttered, now looking extremely nervous and uncomfortable. “You mean Tartarus.”
Iori’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Tartar sauce? Wha…?”
Yukari looked at Junpei with an expression of total exasperation. “Not tartar sauce, you idiot! TAR-TAR-US!”
“Tartarus…” Iori-san repeated, mulling the word over. “What’s that? Sounds like toothpaste.” 1.
“It’s the place that holds the key to understanding the Dark Hour,” Sanada answered. “Or so we think.”
To his left, Minato heard Yukari-san give a slight sigh. “The key, huh…”
Not noticing his classmate’s comment, Sanada continued. “The chairman will give us more details tomorrow night, so be ready.”
“We understand, Sanada-senpai,” Minako said, with a slight bow.
“Good!” their senior replied, smiling. “Minato, could you give Junpei a hand getting his stuff up to his room?”
“Oh, man, would you?” Junpei asked, sounding desperate. “I shoved basically everything I own into these things; they’re sooooohohoho heavy…”
In spite of himself, Minato felt himself freeze up. All of his belongings in a few bags, going off to live in a dorm with who-knows-who… this was sounding very familiar.
Looking Iori Junpei in the eye, Minato gave his classmate the slightest of nods. “Alright.”
“Sweet!” Iori crowed. “Could you grab the backpack?”
Nodding, Minato bent down, shouldered the backpack, and made his way up the stairs, Iori Junpei close behind with his suitcase and schoolbag, excitedly chattering away about his newly-found power as they walked.
April 20th, 2009
That night, at around nine o-clock, Junpei and Minato finally stumbled their way into the control room, half out of breath after running from the monorail station to the dorm. Looking around, he cringed to see that the two of them were the last to arrive at the meeting; Sanada-senpai, Yukari-san, and ‘Ko were sitting on the couch, while Kirijo-senpai was sitting on the backless chair closest to the Ikutsuki-san. He had hoped by skipping out on Iori’s suggestion to grab a bite at one of the restaurants at the strip mall, in spite of giving up on the possibility of forming a new Social Link, that they would be able to make it in time.
Fortunately, the chairman did not seem offended. “All right, everyone’s here.”
“Heck yeah!” Iori-san half-shouted. “Let’s get right into it!” With that, he took his seat… in the chair next to Kirijo-senpai. Which, for reasons he didn’t understand, he had wanted to sit in.
On second thought, Minato said to himself as he sat on the last backless chair, I don’t want to form a Social Link with Iori Junpei.
“Now,” the chairman said. “I’d like your undivided attention. For a long time, Kirijo-kun and Sanada-kun were the only Persona-users we had. But that number has recently jumped to six. Therefore, starting tonight, at 12:00 AM, I’d like to commence the exploration of Tartarus.”
At that moment, Junpei spoke up. “Uhh… I asked Sanada-senpai this yesterday, but what is that Tartar thing again?”
“It’s Tartarus,” Yukari-san answered. “You haven’t seen it, Junpei?”
“It’s no surprise you haven’t seen it,” Ikutsuki-san cut in. “Since it only appears during the Dark Hour.”
“Just like the Shadows,” Sanada-senpai added with a grin, plainly spoiling to get back into the fight with the monsters in spite of the fact that he was still not fully recovered from his injuries, favoring one arm and occasionally rubbing his ribs. “Interesting, huh?”
Turning back to Iori-kun again, Ikutsuki-san explained, “The goal of our club- S.E.E.S.- is to fight those Shadows. However, simply defeating Shadows during the Dark Hour isn’t enough. We must get to the root of the problem. We must destroy the Dark Hour itself.”
“Uhhhhhh… I don’t really get it,” their newest member deadpanned. “You’re saying if we run around Tartarus, we can somehow get rid of the Dark Hour?”
“We don’t know for certain. Sorry I can’t give you all a better answer, but investigating the mysteries of that tower is part of our job.”
After the chairman finished speaking, Kirijo Mitsuru stood; Minato immediately sat up from slouch, and gave the red-haired girl his full attention. Once again, he was struck by his own reactions, now and his frustration at not being quick enough to sit next to her at these meetings, here and the other day. He didn’t understand what was happening with him at all.
Wait, he thought. Could I have-
Before he could finish the thought, Kirijo-senpai began to speak. “The bottom line is: we need more information. Everything we encounter there will be a vital clue for us.”
“Quite right, Kirijo-kun,” the chairman said. “For that reason, the exploration of Tartarus is our top priority.” He paused for a moment, looking over the whole group. “Our society, while remaining blissfully unaware of the Shadows, is slowly but surely succumbing to their influence. I would go so far as to say that the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of you Persona-users.”
Iori-kun puffed out his chest and, with plainly false modesty, proclaimed, “That’s one hell of responsibility… but the hero’s of justice will prevail!”
“It’s also the perfect spot for us to train and improve our skills,” Sanada added. “That place is like a nest of Shadows, you know.”
“Woah… their nest, huh?”
“But Senpai… What about your injury?” Yukari-san asked, looking at Sanada’s bad arm.
“Akihiko’s still recovering from his wounds,” Kirijo answered for him. “He’ll accompany us, but won’t participate in the exploration.”
The older boy sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
“Relax!” Tipping the shade of his baseball cap, Iori looked at the seniors with an assurance that could only be called cocky. “Ol’ Junpei’s got your backs.”
“I’m not so sure about this,” Yukari-san muttered.
“What about you, Mr. Chairman?” Kirijo-senpai asked.
“I’ll stay here,” Ikutsuki-san. Grimacing, he added, “Not much point in my going, anyway. As you know, I can’t summon a Persona.”
Kirijo nodded. “Very well.” Turning back to the rest of S.E.E.S., she gave what could only be called a command. “Everyone, follow me.”
With that, Kirijo walked past the rest of the group towards the double door.
This time, Minato made sure that he was first in line behind her.
***
Iori Junpei spoke on Minato, and the rest of the second years’ behalf, when he asked “Why HERE? Why are we at school?”
“Just wait a few minutes,” Sanada replied, looking down at the clock on his opened phone. “It’s almost midnight…”
For a moment, the group stood in front of the closed front gate, waiting out the last minute of the day before midnight struck, and The Dark Hour. Beside him, Minato felt his sister shift in anticipation. The twins were each carrying a bundle, both wrapped in tarps and tied shut, at their seniors’ request. They hadn’t been told what they contained, only that they would learn at their destination.
Finally, midnight came, and Minato felt the usual sinking feeling that had plagued him and Minako for a decade now come upon them all again. The street lights went out, Sanada-senpai’s phone went dead, pools and streams of blood spilled out, and the green light of the now swollen moon illuminated everything.
What was new to them, however, was the shaking of the ground, and crashing of masonry.
Looking up at the school, he saw the building twist and morph, lines of windows changed their style of architecture and duplicated themselves out of nothing, great marble towers with classical Greek style columns burst from the ground and thrust skyward, gears and searchlights appeared all over the growing structure, and clock faces appeared festooned on random points all around it.
When the crashing finally stopped, what remained was a gargantuan tower, many dozens of stories higher than any building had been, or likely could be, built by human hands. On top of that, the architecture and design were not merely slapdash and bizarre, it was downright unnatural; if the laws of physics were still in force, the whole tower would have come crashing down in an instant.
“Huh,” Minato muttered. His expression hadn’t changed at all during the whole process; he was used to unnatural phenomena during this cursed time.
Kirijo Mitsuru continued staring at the tower for a moment, her gaze full of an emotion Minato couldn’t identify, before turning to face the rest of the group. “This is Tartarus- the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour.”
“Labyrinth!” Iori shouted. “What are you talking about!? What happened to our school!?”
To his side, Minako rounded on Sanada. “Senpai, we can’t brush our teeth with this! You’ve bamboozled us!” 2.
“Don’t worry,” Kirijo cut in. “Once the Dark Hour passes, everything will return to normal.”
“But why!?” Iori practically shouted. “Why’d our school turn into a giant tower!?
Kirijo-senpai averted her gaze from the second year, sighing as she did. Minato cocked his head in confusion. She, Sanada, and Ikutsuki had already told them so much of what was going on with the Dark Hour; why was she hesitating now?
“You don’t know either?” Iori-san asked, his voice tinged with defeat.
“...No.” Kirijo-senpai said simply, still not looking up.
Minato’s eyes narrowed. Whatever he was feeling for the girl, he was getting a sinking feeling in his stomach the more he listened to her now. A feeling that told him that he, that all of them, were being lied to.
After a moment, he gave a mental shrug. Whatever.
“I’m sure it’s complicated,” Yukari-san cut in. Even she sounded doubtful, though.
“Well,” Sanada-senpai said. “If we don’t know, we’ll just have to find out. Mitsuru and I have only ever managed to take a peek when it was just the two of us. This will be our first time exploring it together.” Once again, the older boy broke out into a wide, fighting grin. “Exciting, huh? There’s gotta be something in there. Hopefully some sort of clue about the Dark Hour.”
“Akihiko,” Kirijo spoke, her authoritative tone returning and finally turning her gaze away from the ground. “I respect your enthusiasm, but you won’t be accompanying us today.”
Sanada Akihiko seemed to deflate like a balloon, adjusting his injured arm as he did so. “I know… you don’t have to keep reminding me.” Turning to the second-years, he asked, “Can you all help me get this gate open? We need to get in there.”
As the Arisato twins had their hands full with their bundles, Iori and Takeba moved forward and moved one half of the gate enough for them all to fit through, and the group passed through the gap, then walked up to and through the entrance of what had once been their school.
Inside the monstrous tower, they walked out onto a circular lobby, surrounded by yet more Greek columns. At the center, set on four pillars, was a massive clock, with multiple faces and the gears exposed. A sort of doorway leading to a void of green light was cut into the center of the main face, with an apparently unsupported staircase leading to it. To the right of the clock was some sort of bizarre, science fiction-looking, electric device that seemed, for the moment, to be without power. On the left was an ornate grandfather clock with multiple pendulums, and to the left of that was a glowing, free-standing dark blue door.
“Whoa,” Iori-san breathed. “It’s just as crazy on the inside.”
“Sure is creepy, though…” Yukari-san whispered, clearly on edge.
Stopping before the staircase, Kirijo Mitsuru turned to the second-years. “This is only the entrance. The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of these stairs. Arisato-kun, Arisato-chan, open the packages.”
“Yes, senpai,” Minako said, laying the tarp-wrapped bundle on the floor and beginning to untie the strings holding it closed; Minato quickly imitated her with own. With ties undone, the twins rolled out the tarps, revealing what lay within them.
When the contents were revealed, all the juniors save Minato gasped; laid out on the tarps, in addition to three S.E.E.S. armbands, were four weapons. His held two swords, a western-style short sword and two-handed katana, while his sister’s contained a naginata and a bow with a quiver filled with arrows.
“Oh, man…” Iori whispered as he strapped on his armband and grabbed hold of the katana, simultaneously giddy and scared. “This is far out.”
“Got that right, dude,” Minako said with a wide smile, trying to imitate the boy’s slang as she put on her own S.E.E.S. armband.
“Okay, let’s focus on our jobs, you Yankii,” Yukari interrupted, picking up the bow with one hand and slinging the quiver over her shoulder with the other. Seeing their now limited options, Minato strapped on his own band and picked up the shortsword, twisting his wrist around to try and get a feel for the blade, while Minako claimed the naginata, taking a few steps back and testing her reach with the polearm.
Once they had warmed up a bit, Sanada spoke up. “First, you need to get a feel for the place. Why don’t you head up the stairs, and have a look around.”
“What!?” Yukari exclaimed. “By ourselves!?”
“We’re not asking you to go very far,” Kirijo said, trying to reassure her. “And I’ll be feeding you information from here.”
“We’ll also need to appoint a leader,” Sanada continued from his last point. “To make any necessary decisions.”
Instantly, Iori Junpei perked up, his eyes and smile wide. “A leader? For real? I’m in! Oh! Oh! Me me me! Pick me!”
Sanada-senpai gave Iori-san a flat look, and Minato could have sworn he heard a sigh. Turning away from Iori, he said, “Minato-kun, Minako-chan, you two are in charge.”
“What!” shouted Iori.
“What!” echoed Minako.
“Whatever,” muttered Minato.
“But why them,” Iori-san demanded. “Minato doesn’t look like a leader! And Minako’s a girl!”
Immediately, Sanada-senpai froze up, fearful eyes darting to look at the red-headed senior to his right. Kirijo-senpai, for her part, narrowed her own eyes at Iori, fingernails digging into her uniform’s shirt, and seemed to shift her weight so that she was pressing down on the ground with her right foot.
“Calm down,” Yukari interrupted, trying to calm her classmate. “Both of them have fought Shadows before.”
Iori was taken aback. “Seriously?”
“That’s true, too,” Sanada replied, looking relieved to have the subject changed. “But, there’s another reason.” Looking from Iori to Yukari and back again, he asked, “Can either of you summon your Personas without any difficulties, like they can?”
“Y-yeah, of course I can,” Iori-san immediately said, voice full of clearly false bravado.
“I think so,” Yukari-san tried to affirm, though she wasn’t any more convincing.
Sanada-senpai seemed to pick up on both their hesitations as well, and frowned. “These are Shadows we’re talking about. If you can’t bring out your Persona reliably and immediately, you’re screwed.”
Yukari-san’s jaw set, and she nodded stiffly. “I’m aware of that.”
Sanada-senpai returned the nod. “Alright. Let’s head inside. You two ready to lead?” he asked, pointing to his sister and himself.
Minako gave the silver-haired senior her widest go-getter smile, placed her naginata’s end cap on the ground like a soldier on parade, and began saying “Yes sir, Senpa-!”
“No.”
Everyone paused, and turned toward the offending voice.
“No,” Minato repeated. “We can’t go yet. There’s a problem that we need to solve first.”
“What would that be, Arisato-kun?” Kirijo Mitsuru asked, her eyes narrowing again, though this time in curiosity rather than hostility.
Minato paused for a moment, suddenly overcome with a nervousness stronger than he had ever felt, but he shoved the feeling down, and began explaining the issue.
“Conflicting orders. What happens if my sister and I give orders to do the opposite things? Then, try to cancel the other’s orders? What do Takeba and Iori do? We could end up in a huge mess, and the Shadows will overwhelm us before we get it straightened out. We need to figure this out now, before we go in.”
The scion of the family that owned their school, and practically the whole island besides, blinked, then gave him an approving smile. “Ah, yes. That is quite true. Très bien, Arisato-kun!” She turned to Sanada-senpai, missing the blue-haired boy’s light blush. “What do you think, Akihiko?”
The older boy looked down thoughtfully for a moment, then answered, “If I remember my history classes correctly, during the time of the Roman Republic, the citizens of Rome would elect two men to be Consuls, their highest office, as civil and military leaders. If both of them were in the same army at the same time, they would have each Consul command the army on alternating days. I think that we need to implement a similar system for our Tartarus expeditions.”
“Agreed,” Kirijo replied. Looking back at the Arisato twins, she asked, “Consul Minato, Consul Minako, which of you will be leading S.E.E.S into Tartarus this evening?”
“I didn’t mean that we should literally call them- oh, nevermind,” Sanada-senpai muttered.
Minato gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t care.”
“Well, I guess I'm the leader for today, then,” Minako said, her fake smile on her face. Then, she looked at Minato, and it became far more genuine. And mischievous.
“Which is only right, since I’m the elder.”
“Knock it off, ‘Ko,” Minato complained with a quiet, half-hearted growl. Her snickering told him that she would not.
“Alright,” Sanada interrupted. “Now that we’ve sorted that out, are you ready to head inside now?”
“You betcha!” Minako said, again striking her parade ground pose.
Their silver-haired senior smiled. “Haha, that’s the spirit.” With that, he turned toward the stairs leading to the entrance, Minako leading the other three juniors behind him.
“Akihiko, what are you doing!?” Kirijo shouted, eyes flashing. “You know you can’t fight Shadows in your condition!”
Sanada-senpai looked at his fellow senior and cringed, looking exactly like a child caught with its hand in the cookie jar. “Well… Mitsuru, I…”
“Am ignoring your instructions to rest and heal because you are ridiculous,” the red-head finished for him, her gaze narrowed to mere slits and a truly frightening scowl appearing on her lips. “Do you WANT to end up doing yourself permanent harm? Or are you truly the reckless, senseless imbecile I’ve been told you are?”
As the two seniors began their argument, or rather, Kirijo Mitsuru began her dressing down of Sanada Akihiko, Minato felt a trembling and saw a blue glow emanate from his pocket. Reaching into it, he pulled out the only item they contained and thus the only thing that could be causing the disruption; the blue key that Igor had given him. He noticed Minako did the same for her own key.
Yukari-san noticed them as well. “What’s the matter?”
Neither he nor his sister answered her. Looking up from their keys, they gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, then turned toward the odd blue door. Slowly, they walked up to the bizarre free-standing portal, which, seemingly sensing their presence, opened on its own accord, revealing a bright white void beyond.
They stood together for a moment, staring at the nothingness that lay before them, before turning to each other again. “Ladies first,” Minato said.
Minako snorted. “How chivalrous of you, ‘To,” she snipped at him, though without any real heat. Steeling herself with a deep breath, she walked into the void, Minato following behind her.
Once he was enveloped, Minato felt himself yanked forward, hovering over the ‘floor’, as he raced past other white doorways, Minako slightly ahead and to his right. Immediately, he realized that this was exactly what had happened when they had had their shared dream while they were unconscious at the hospital. And just as had happened then, another doorway opened up in front of them leading to another white void, which Minato followed his sister into.
Once they had passed through, the twins found themselves seated on their lyre-shaped chairs, though Minako was now on his left side, in front of Igor, Elizabeth, and Theodore, with the round, blue cloth-covered table between them.
“Welcome back,” Igor said, his wide, bloodshot eyes and unwavering grin unchanged from when Minato had last seen him. “I’ve been waiting for you both. The time has come for you to wield your power.” Leaning back in his seat, the long-nosed man tented his fingers together. “The tower that you are about to venture into…How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist? Regrettably, you are not yet capable of answering these questions.”
“But you, by implication, are,” Minato said, spotting the hidden meaning immediately.
“Hey, yeah!” Minako added. “So you know the answers! Tell us!”
Igor’s already wide smile widened more, giggled to himself, and continued, saying, “I’m afraid that those answers must be earned, not given; my hands are bound in that regard. That is why you both must be made aware of the nature of your power before you go any further.”
“The nature of our power?” Minato asked. “Aren’t we just Persona users, like the others?”
“Yes, but it is more than that,” Igor explained. “Both of you are what we residents of the Velvet Room call Wild Cards. That power… it is like the number zero; Empty, but at the same time, holding infinite possibilities.”
“Okaaaaay,” Minako said, clearly confused. “But what does that mean practically?”
“You, my dear guests, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed. And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when they are difficult to grasp… But do not fear. Seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly. Be sure to keep that in mind.”
At that point, Elizabeth stepped forward. “As you gather new Personas from your victories, my brother and I will record them in these Compendiums. I am responsible for watching over Minato-sama’s Compendium, and Theodore will do the same with Minako-sama’s.”
The male attendant stepped forward and bowed slightly. “I am happy to be of service. Rest assured, Minako-sama, your Personas will be kept in excellent care.”
“Thank… you, Theodore-san,” Minako answered hesitantly, taken aback by the attendants referring to them as -sama. Minato felt the same way.
“Now then…” Igor spoke up again. “My spare time will soon be scarce. Next time, please, open the door and come again of your own accord. I’ll tell you then about my true role… the manner in which I can best assist you. Until we meet again… Farewell.”
“Thank you very much, Igor-sama,” Minako said with a seated bow.
Minato paused for a moment, then offered a simple “Thanks.”
And with that, Minato found himself and his sister again flying through the blue hallway, back to the white, door-shaped void they had entered into. Blinking, Minato found himself staring at the free-standing door in the Tartarus lobby, with Minako standing next to him, and the sound of Kirijo-senpai still dressing down Sanada-senpai behind them.
“Hey, are you two alright?”
The twins turned on their heels to see that Yukari-san and Iori-san had followed them over to the door and were standing behind them, looking concerned. Kirijo-senpai was still laying into an incredibly dispirited-looking Sanada Akihiko by the stairs.
“Yeah, what’s up,” Iori asked. “You both look like zombies.”
“Really!” Minako exclaimed, sounding bizarrely delighted, before wrapping an arm around Minato’s shoulders. “That’s so cool! I’ve always wanted to be a zombie with my little brother!”
Iori-san’s jaw dropped. “THAT’s what you pick to dwell on!?”
“Personal space, ‘Ko,” Minato muttered, peeling her arm off of him. Turning back to their club members and gesturing to the strange portal, he said, “We went through the door.”
Both of the other juniors looked at them like they had lost their minds. “Huh? What door?” Yukari-san asked. “Have you two been nodding off?”
“Man, are you loco?” Iori echoed. “Or are you just yanking my chain?”
I guess they can’t see the door, Minato thought to himself, as he looked over to his sister. Catching his gaze, Minako turned to the others, took a deep breath to try and explain what had just happened… and then deflated in total defeat. “You know what? Never mind. Let’s get back to work, and save Sanada-senpai.”
“Good!” Iori-san said. “You’re our leader, so it's good to know you’ve got your head in the game!”
With that, the four walked back over to their seniors, Kirijo still giving a deeply chastened Sanada an earful, stopping only when Minako tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to turn about in surprise.
“We’re ready to head in, Kirijo-senpai!” she said, her customary wide smile on her face.
The heiress blinked, then composed herself. “Ah, yes. Very good, Arisato-chan.” Kirijo pulled her own Evoker from its holster, though her arm remained at her side. “My Persona allows me to navigate a group through Tartarus and analyze the Shadows for weaknesses, though not to the extent I would like,” she said with a grimace. “Nonetheless, I am more than capable of watching over you all for the first level after the entrance.”
“Thank you, Kirijo-senpai,” Minako said with a small bow. “Let’s go, everyone; we have work to do!”
The second years finally turned and began to ascend the stairs, finally marching toward their first operation. Reaching the top, the group paused, staring into the bright, greenish-white light leading into the labyrinth. Minako cocked her head to one side, then said, “Junpei-kun, you get to go through first.”
Iori-san’s eyes lit up at his sister’s words, any residual disappointment for not being picked as leader evaporating, at least for the moment. “Sweet! Thanks, Consul Minako!” Gripping his katana with both hands and with a triumphant laugh, he charged through the entrance, Minako adjusting her grip on her naginata as she followed after him.
To his left, he saw Yukari-san roll her eyes and sigh. “That idiot…” she muttered, adjusting her quiver as she too walked into the void. Finally, with a deep breath, and a final adjustment to his grip on his sword’s hilt, Minato joined the rest of the S.E.E.S. field team in whatever lay beyond the oversized clock’s portal.
Notes:
1. I couldn't decide whether the OG/FES or Reload Tartarus joke was better, so I used both.
2. Thank you, Shenpai!
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL-S.E.E.S.: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL-S.E.E.S.: Rank 1
THE JESTER- Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
Chapter Text
April 20th?, 2009
After passing through the green void, Minato found himself in another, smaller lobby, which looked like a nightmarish version of the inside of Gekkoukan High. The walls made of thick gray-white stone, the hallway ahead lined with windows filled with the same green-white nothingness as the entrance, and the school’s transplanted tile floors were splattered with yet more blood leaking down the walls.
“So, it’s the real deal from here on, huh?” Junpei asked, standing in the arch leading to the hallway. His eyes rapidly scanned for any sign of Shadows, holding his katana in both hands like a baseball bat.
“Looks easy to get lost in,” Yukari added, readying her bow and knocking an arrow.
“Best keep our eyes peeled then,” Minako said. Minato’s usual emotionless expression cracked slightly as he raised an eyebrow; ‘Ko’s normally bubbly, smiling exterior was fading away as she readied her naginata, replaced with a serious, business-like frown and hard stare.
For that matter, he didn’t feel like his usual self, either; he felt his foot impatiently tapping the floor, and his right hand clenching and unclenching the grip of his sword.
“Can you all hear me?”
Everyone except Minako jumped slightly. “Whoa!” Iori-san exclaimed. “Is that you, Kirijo-senpai?”
“My Persona has limited navigational and communication abilities,” Kirijo explained. “I’ll be providing audio backup from here on out. Keep that in mind.”
“Wait… You mean you can see inside here?”
“It’s my Persona’s abilities. I’d like to join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. Having a navigator to provide outside support is imperative.”
“Well, THAT makes me feel a whole lot better,” Yukari muttered darkly.
“Enough, Takeba,” Minako cut her off, voice unusually sharp. “We’re about to go fight Shadows; we can’t be doubting or second guessing each other now.”
Eyes widening at the rebuke, Yukari-san murmured an apology, before turning her gaze down toward the hallway, watching for any unwelcome guests.
“Now,” Kirijo-senpai continued, “based on your current location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any time. They shouldn’t be too tough, but proceed with caution. You’ll get the hang of it as you go. After all, practice makes perfect.”
Iori-san, Yukari-san, Minato, and Minako all nodded, as if Kirijo had been there with them.
“Right!”
“Got it!”
“On it!”
“Understood. S.E.E.S., fall in behind me.”
Before he even realized it, Minato obeyed the order, marching down the hallway behind Minako with Yukari and Iori at either side. He was practically shaking with an excitement he couldn’t remember having; his arms were beginning to shake, and he could hear and feel his pounding heartbeat in his ears.
“Right, let’s begin. I want you to defeat all the Shadows on that floor. I’ll support you as much as I can, but it’s up to you to clear the way, and to learn something out there.”
The four second years only responded with silent nods; all were focused on the hallway ahead, scanning for any sort of danger. Minato could sense that they were all scared, but also determined to prove themselves; this was their first time in Tartarus, and for two of them their first time facing Shadows. Their seniors were watching them, and they would see to it that they were not found wanting.
They reached the end of the hallway quickly, which opened up into a small room with sets of stairs leading up to a small balcony looking over a massive hole in the opposite wall. Immediately, Yukari-san ascended the stairs, bow at the ready, scanning over the room.
“All clear,” she called.
Minato swallowed and licked his lips nervously, following Minako around the second staircase, Yukari rejoining them as they passed by. Just as they left the room and entered the next hallway, however, Kirijo spoke up again.
“Hold up! There’s a Shadow in front of you!”
The heiress’s words immediately brought the whole group to a halt. As they did, Minato finally spotted the enemy; his gaze had been at human head height, but the Shadow turned out to be… what could only be described as a blob of black goo, with four arms and a cartoonish head with bright red eyes emerging from it. Having noticed S.E.E.S. At the same time they noticed it, the Shadow shuddered, then with a great squelching sound, reformed into a floating ball that in turn reformed into a floating head of a woman with long black hair. An elaborate, tall purple crown was on its head, and a purple mask with the roman numeral II was on its face.
“This is the first real battle for Takeba and Iori, Arisato. Proceed with caution.”
“Yes, senpai,” Minako answered. Then, with the tiniest of smiles, she reached up to her MP3 player that she had kept at her neck, ratched the volume up to maximum, then hit the play button.
Bringing her arms up and around, she slashed naginata’s blade down in the diagonal slash, the Shadow swaying back to dodge the blow at the last moment. Then, it surged forward, moving through the air like a jellyfish through water, striking at Minako with one lock of its hair. Instantly, she brought her polearm up, blocking the attack and causing the Shadow’s hair to wrap itself around the shaft. Before it could pull back, Minako took one hand off her weapon and grabbed the entangled lock.
“‘To, hit it now!” she shouted, pulling hard to keep the enemy in place.
Minato didn’t need to be told twice; swapping the sword from his right hand to his left, he ran around his sister’s left flank, careful to avoid the naginata’s blade, and thrust forward, driving the sharpened metal into the Shadow’s ‘head’, for lack of any other term, as the monster was ALL head. Moaning in pain, the Shadow finally pulled free from Minako’s grip, shaking as red blood and black ooze seeped from the thin but deep wound.
“Iori! You’re up!” Minako shouted, pulling her Evoker from its holster and adjusting her grip on her polearm.
“Ok!” Iori-san replied. Stepping around Minako from the opposite side of Minato, he too pulled out his Evoker in his off hand, and brought it up to his temple. “Here it goes. Check this out…”
Turning his full attention back to the injured Shadow, Junpei’s face scrunched up, one eye shut tight and the other narrowed as he tried to concentrate. “C’mon… C’mon…” Minato heard him mutter. As he spoke, the floor around Junpei’s feet began to glow blue, and glowing white shards rose from the glow, just as they had for his sister and himself when they had first summoned Orpheus and Eurydice. Then, his eyes shot open, glowing a bright blue, and a massive, cocky smile spread across the boy’s face.
“PERSONA!” Junpei shouted, and fired the Evoker, a white steak blasting through his head, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.
A bright white mass appeared and spread above and behind Iori-san, out of which emerged what appeared to be two wings. Though, after a moment, and with an uncharacteristic thrill, Minato realized that the wings were not made of feathers, but of blades. Immediately, the wings descended on the Shadow, which was not so much cut up as exploded on impact with the blow, reddish-black slime spattering across the floor, which quickly dissolved away into nothing.
“OH, YEAH, BABY!” Iori cried out in triumph, face splitting into the same smile that had been on Minato’s when he first brought Orpheus out of his heart. The familiar spirals of blue-white bubbles formed around his classmate, as the white mass hovering over him morphed and reformed into a more distinct shape; it had the body of a man, with a purple coat and leggings, with steel bracers and boots on its arms and legs, with the blade wings attached at its ankles. On the Persona’s head, which was a black, man-shaped void similar to the Shadows, was a steel helmet, highlighted with gold and with another set of blade-wings on each side.
I am thou, the Persona said. Thou art I. From thy desire for glory, I am born! I am Hermes, Champion of the Flock!
“AW, YEAH!” Iori-san crowed again, as Hermes slowly faded back into his heart. “How’d you like my Persona ability!?”
“That was so cool!” Minato half-shouted, eyes and smile wide in unusual enthusiasm.
“Yeah, yeah, that was amazing,” Yukari-san said dismissively, clearly unimpressed.
“What are you talking about, Yukari-san!?” Minato complained. “That was-”
“Enough!” Minako cut in, eyes staring down the hallway, looking for any sign of danger. “Remember where we are and what we need to do.” She paused for a moment, then smiled and added, “That was well done, Iori-san.”
“Yes, well done, Iori,” Kirijo-senpai said. “Considering it your first battle, you did quite well. Takeba, too. You’ll be fine; don’t be afraid of what you can do.”
Yukari’s face twisted into a frown, looking like she had just bit down on a lemon. “Got it,” she muttered darkly.
“Good. Let’s continue exploring, then.”
Immediately, Minako began to move down the hallway, with the rest following close behind. Quickly reaching its end, they saw the only way forward to their left leading to a descending staircase. As the group approached it, Kirijo spoke up again.
“There are more Shadows up ahead. Let’s use this as an opportunity to get you more accustomed to combat.”
“Understood, senpai,” Minako answered. “Everyone, stay focused!”
Hefting their weapons, the four second-years charged down the stairs. In front of them were three Shadows, one identical to the monster Iori-san had destroyed, while three resembled the four-armed disguise that the first had formed before they had fought it. There were differences, though; these only had two arms, and wore masks, two resembling the mask of the Shadow he and his sister had fought on the dorm rooftop, light blue with the numeral I; the third had the same purple, numeral II mask that the floating head had.
“Alright. Here’s some advice to defeat Shadows more effectively; Personas and Shadows have different elemental and physical abilities, that both can either resist or have weaknesses to. Targeting those weaknesses will stun the Shadows, and do even more damage to them than usual.”
“Weaknesses, huh?” Iori-san repeated, hefting his katana. “Got it! I’ll show you how it's done!”
“Wait!”
Minato, Minako, and Junpei stopped, turning to look at the source of the cry.
“...Let me handle this one,” Yukari continued, pulling her Evoker from its holster, spinning it in her right hand so that it was held in reverse, with her thumb on the trigger.
“Just point it to my head…” she whispered to herself, doing exactly that as she said it. “And pull the trigger…”
Staring down the barrel of her Evoker, she scrunched her eyes shut and began to tremble. “I can do this… I can do this!” It took a moment, but soon the telltale glow and floating shards appeared, and when Takeba Yukari’s eyes opened, they held the familiar blue glow.
“PERSONA!” she shouted, and pulled the trigger. Again the white streak, again the sound of shattering glass, and again the indistinct glowing white ball as the deepest part of a person’s heart and soul was made manifest in front of them. From the amorphous mass, two arms emerged, spread out as if inviting an embrace. The air around them seemed to bend as a gust of wind filled the room, which then centered on the floating head Shadow and turned into a miniature tornado, green glaives slashing at the purple-masked monster. The floating head shrieked as wind blades cut into it, and it fell to the ground, stunned and listless. Before it could recover, or anyone else could react, Yukari brought up her bow, drew back its string, and sent an arrow flying into the Shadow’s head, which dissolved into nothingness from that killing blow.
“Whoa, lookin’ migh-ty fine, Yuka-tan!” Iori shouted, his smile wide.
“Oh, shut up, you idiot,” Yukari shouted back, as her Persona began to take its true form; it took the shape of a young woman, with blonde hair and wearing a pink dress. Her arms were crossed over her chest in devotion, and she was seated on a plush throne in the shape of a floating cow’s head, its skin white with black highlights and two great horns rising at either side of the seat’s occupant. Yet while the seat was impressive, it was also clearly a prison; the woman’s wrists were bound with manacles with chains attached to the horns, another chain was wrapped around her waist, and a wooden stock bound her feet at the ankles. The blonde-haired woman was clearly aware of her situation; her face, though mostly blank, had two closed eyes, with black streaks of tears running down her cheeks.
“I am thou,” the Persona said. “Thou art I. To aid in thy quest, I shall ford the Sea. I am Io! Servant of, and accursed by, the Divine!”
“That’s it, Takeba. Excellently done.” Kirijo said as Io faded back into Yukari’s subconscious. “According to my Persona’s scans, the Shadows with the blue masks are weak to fire and slashing attacks, while the one with the purple mask is weak to ice.”
“Understood, senpai,” Minako answered, pulling out her Evoker. Placing it to her temple, she continued, “Iori, take the blue one to the left. Minato, the one on the right.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice, sis,” Minato replied, the look on his face almost crazed as he put his own Evoker to his head; he hadn’t felt this alive in a decade.
An instant later, three Evokers fired.
“Eurydice!”
“Orpheus!”
“Hermes!”
Shards of ice, bladed wings, and a glowing fireball descended upon the black blobs, which had been slowly retreating after Yukari so easily dispatched their comrade, but had left it too late. As the blows struck home, each of the Shadows was knocked flat like the first, unable to defend themselves.
“Everyone, finish them off!” Minako ordered, leading them in a charge forward. Junpei raced ahead of either of them, bringing his katana down on his targeted Shadow like a baseball bat. Minako reached her target next, impaling it on her naginata’s blade all the way up to the polearm’s wooden shaft. Finally, Minato pounced on the last Shadow. Turning his shortsword so that he was holding it in a reverse grip, he seized the hilt with both hands, and brought the blade down, driving it into the Shadow’s slimy black flesh until he felt the tip hit the tile beneath. With a shudder, it dissolved into oblivion, the reddish-black slime washing over his shoes as Minato leaned back and roared in triumph.
He wasn’t the only one celebrating; behind him, he heard Yukari laughing nervously between deep, steadying breaths. “Whoa, I did it!”
“ Fantastic work, Takeba,” Kirijo-senpai’s disembodied voice echoed around them. “ You performed as well as I’d hoped you would.”
“Totally!” Iori shouted, his smile widening. “I couldn’t keep my eyes off you!”
Yukari-san gave him what could only be called a look. “Can you try not being a creep?”
“Great, it looks like everyone’s gotten to the point where they can reliably summon their Personas while fighting the Shadows. Consuls, take note of every teammate’s strengths, and conduct the battle accordingly.” Kirijo paused for a moment, then said, “I can still sense some enemies nearby. Let’s move on.”
Minako nodded, even though there was no way their navigator could have seen her. “Understood, senpai.” With that, his sister turned and led the group of four across the room they had just fought in, and up another set of stairs leading to a new hallway. Along the way, they found a chest, an actual treasure chest; Kirijo explained that they would show up in Tartarus, and that she and Sanada would find items that could be used to fight Shadows. In this case, Minako opened the chest, and found three glowing green crystals that the senior claimed could be crushed to heal injuries. Passing two to Yukari and Minato, and keeping one to herself, they pocketed the crystals, and moved on down the hallway.
A few turns and another treasure chest later, the group encountered two more Shadows, both wearing the light blue I mask, though this time they had their backs turned to the S.E.E.S. team. At Kirijo-senpai’s urging, they immediately went all out on the two enemies, hacking and stabbing them without restraint until they had been reduced to black gunk smeared across the floor. However, this time, as the Shadows dissolved away, Minato found himself frozen in time, as a familiar blue blow filled his vision. As this occurred, a single card appeared before his eyes, bearing the image of a woman with sky-blue skin, dressed in a leotard and a ballerina tutu.
Take it, he heard Orpheus whisper. Follow your guide’s instruction; seize what you have earned! Take up the power of the High Priestess!
Minato nodded, and reached out his hand, seizing the card. As he did so, it dissolved into motes of light, and they in turn coalesced into his heart and his mind. Out of that light, a woman identical to the one on the card emerged in his psyche.
I am thou. Thou art I, the woman said. I am Apsaras. From the sea of thy soul, I have come to give you aid.
“...Thank you, Apsaras,” Minato thought.
You are quite welcome, Arisato Minato. I-
Apsaras suddenly went silent, as she noticed Minato’s true self, and then gasped. Orpheus! The Master of Strings!
Minato felt his first Persona tense up in confusion. How do you know my name?
How do I- why, how could I not!? Apsaras exclaimed. Even in Hindustan, you are renowned! The water spirit began dancing in a circle around the ancient Greek musician, saying, All of my sisters desire to combine their dance and song with your accompaniment! With one final twirl, she brought herself up to the demigod, placing one hand on his hip and the other on his cheek, gazing at him with longing. Shall we join together, and guide this young hero to Nirvana?
Personal space, Orpheus complained.
“That was magnificent teamwork,” Kirijo-senpai complimented the group, drawing Minato out of the conversation in his mind. “It’s hard to believe it’s your first time. As you grasp the flow of battle, you’ll learn to coordinate with each other seamlessly. Let’s continue exploring; the more experience you can gain fighting together, the better.”
Minako acknowledged their navigator’s words, and led the group further down the hallway. Almost immediately, they found a proverbial fork in the road; the first branch led to a dead end, which thankfully held another of the inexplicable treasure chests. Doubling back to take the other path forward, the hall opened into a fairly wide room with two massive pillars. As the four S.E.E.S. fighters crossed the threshold into the room, a blob-Shadow with the purple “II” mask came around the corner, moving toward them. Minato, who was the closest to the Shadow, immediately turned on the enemy and began to raise his Evoker to his temple.
“Wait, Arisato-kun,” Kirijo ordered. “That Shadow has a resistance to your Persona’s fire attacks, but it is weak to ice. Pull back, and allow your sister to attack.”
Minato, begrudgingly, began to follow instructions and step back-
Wait.
He paused.
Apsaras came to the forefront of his consciousness, Orpheus moving aside for her. As she did, he remembered Igor’s words from before they had entered the labyrinth.
“You, my dear guests, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed.”
Draw on my power, young hero, Apsaras whispered. You will find it well suited to this battle.
Minato felt, more than saw, the new abilities and power that Apsaras offered him. Immediately, he stopped stepping back, and brought his Evoker back up, a crazed war smile on his face again.
“Minato-kun, do not attack that Shadow!” He heard Kirijo-senpai shout. “I say again, do not attack that Shadow! Your Persona’s attack will be ineffective! Stand back, and allow your sister to-”
“APSARAS! BUFU!” he shouted, then fired his Evoker.
This time, it was indeed the blue-skinned dancer, rather than the ancient Greek demi-god, that answered his call. Lacing her fingers together, the Persona stretched her arms down. Immediately, the shards of ice that were normally his sister’s Persona’s calling card formed around the Shadow, and struck home, knocking it flat. Instantly, Minato sprang forward and, with a shout, slashed his shortsword down on the Shadow’s neck and decapitated it, the monster dissolving into sludge like all the others.
The other three members of the group, and their senior, were struck dumb, unable to move. Finally, Iori hesitantly spoke up.
“Uh, Kirijo-senpai… is having more than one Persona… normal?”
“No,” their navigator answered hesitantly. “In fact, every person with the potential we have found has only ever had one Persona…”
As the shocked senior trailed off, the liquid squelch that Shadows made as they moved reached the group’s ears. Turning to the threshold on the other side of the room, Minato saw another of the enemies, this one wearing a blue “I” mask, crawl into the room with them, then starting and cowering as soon as it spotted them.
Before anyone else could react to the newcomer, Minako ran past him on the right, putting her Evoker to her head, and fired.
“UKOBACH! AGI!”
Amid the now ubiquitous blue glow that accompanied every Persona summoning, another, new Persona appeared in Eurydice’s place; a small, green-skinned demon, about the size of ten year old child, with blonde hair and eyebrows, a tail with a heart-shaped tip, a vindictive grin, and carrying a massive spoon holding flaming coals.
BEAST!
Minato reeled as Orpheus returned to the forefront of his mind, roughly shoving Apsaras aside as he did so, and hefted his lyre. TORMENTOR! ABOMINATION! HATER OF LOVE AND LOVER OF HATE! YOU DARE COME NEAR TO MY LADY WIFE AGAIN, SO SOON AFTER SHE HAS ESCAPED THEE!? I SHALL OBLITERATE YOU FROM EXISTENCE, I SWEAR TO CALLIOPE, MY MOTHER DIVINE!
But you must not, Master of Strings! Apasaras cried as she grabbed hold of Orpheus’s scarf and tried to pull him back. Your love is too near to it! You may strike her in your wrath! I beseech thee, restrain thyself!
As The Fool and The High Priestess played tug-of-war with Minato’s brain, the little demon thrust its spoon at the Shadow, sending a fireball that struck the enemy in the “face”, and leaving it stunned on the floor.
“Takeba, finish it off!” Minako shouted. The archer hesitated for a moment, but then raised her bow, drew the string, and let the arrow fly, the missile striking the Shadow just beneath the mask.
The stunned silence returned as the second Shadow dissolved. Finally, Kirijo Mitsuru spoke up.
“Minato-kun… Minako-chan… you’re Persona’s just now…” She paused for a moment, then added, “It looks like you both have a special power. Excellent work.”
“Um…” Yukari spoke up, looking at the Consuls in confusion. “What… was that, exactly?”
“Well, it looks like the Arisato twins have the ability to summon different Personas. Although, given the events of the night that they awakened to them, that may have been expected. In any case, given this revelation, I think that this would be a good place to stop. Based on my scans, there should be a teleportation device that will bring you back to the entrance. There should also be some stairs nearby, but I can’t approve any more exploration right now. We’ll explore the other floors another time.”
“Understood, Kirijo-senpai,” Minako answered. “Which way is it to the teleporter?”
“To the left.”
With that, his sister led the group down the hallway that their navigator had indicated, naginata pointed ahead as she scanned the area for any new Shadows; Minato was just as alert, eager for the next battle. As the group left the room, though, they were confronted with an unusual sight; it was another treasure chest, but it was notably different from the others. Rather than a military crate or a briefcase, as the previous chests had been, this one had no obvious lid or hinges. It and the stand it was resting on were covered in gears, and a small, round hole was carved into the front of the chest, with a spoon-like lip extended outward.
“Look,” Yukari said. “That chest looks different from the ones before.”
“Yes, that box, and others like it, are sealed in a special way. They can be unlocked by their own special mechanism, but based on what Akihiko and I have experienced, they need something else to work during the Dark Hour.”
Just as Mitsuru finished speaking, Minato saw a flash and felt heat emanate from his pocket. Reaching into it, he pulled out the only object that could have been responsible for both phenomena; the glowing blue shard he had found on his bed the other night.
“What’s that ya got there?” Iori asked.
“That reaction… Minato-kun, do you have a Twilight Fragment with you?”
Minato’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “I beg your pardon, Senpai?”
“A Twilight Fragment. It wouldn’t be wise to discuss the details while you are in Tartarus, but simply put, they are objects strongly connected to the Dark Hour. If you don’t mind, try holding it up to the treasure chest; it might be what we need to open it.”
Looking to his sister, who gave him a nod of approval, Minato stepped forward to the locked chest, holding the so-called Twilight Fragment up to the round hole at the front, presuming that the Fragment would need to be placed there. His presumption quickly proved to be right; as he raised his hand, the crystal shot out of his hand and flew to the hole like it had been drawn in by a magnet. Immediately, the lip closed, sealing it in. The gears at the base and the side of the chest began to spin, and the top opened in sections like ribs. Once the chest was opened, he looked into the chest, and found two other crystals, which resembled the green ones they had found earlier, except these were purple.
“Ah, I thought that’s what it was. Everyone, keep an eye out for any more of these Fragments. They can be used on devices like this throughout Tartarus. You’ll want to take them.”
“We’ll keep a lookout for them, senpai,” Minako answered. She paused for a moment, then looked at her brother and gave a small smile. “Good work, ‘To.”
He felt himself smiling back. “Thanks, sis.”
Minako gave him a nod in return, before turning around and leading the S.E.E.S. combat team to the right-hand doorway of the chest room. The four of them braced for another attack from the Shadows, but the attack never came; the hallway passed through two rooms, before ending at a metal grate fence in front of a third, wider room, which fell down into the floor as they approached. Within the room, they found an utterly bizarre device, with a round, glowing pad on the floor, a futuristic holographic monitor the opposite side of the pad from the group, and two sets of tesla towers on either side with arcs of lightning shooting back and forth between the two pairs.
“Looks like you found a teleporter. Use it, and return to the entrance. You’ve all done well for your first expedition into Tartarus, but let’s not push out luck.”
“Alright, senpai,” Minako answered. Turning to the rest of the group, she ordered, “Everyone, onto the pad,” before stepping onto it herself and walking to the control screen. Minato, Junpei, and Yukari all followed and, once all of them were on the pad, Minako “pressed” the activation key. Immediately, they all felt static electricity seem to cover every inch of their bodies, and a blinding flash of white light. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Minato looked around and, sure enough, they were all back at the entrance, standing on the odd device they had seen earlier that he now knew to be the other end of the teleporter. Stepping off the pad, the four second years walked back up to their seniors, who were standing at the foot of the stairway to the entrance.
“Welcome back,” Kirijo Mitsuru said. Turning to face Minako, she asked, “So, how was it?”
Looking over at his sister, Minato saw that the uncharacteristic stern expression that ‘Ko had worn throughout the Tartarus expedition quickly melted away, and her usual peppy smile came back into place. “No problem, Kirijo-senpai!”
“I see,” Kirijo said, giving the group a small, satisfied smile. “Well, if you all have gained confidence in your abilities, that in itself is a good thing to achieve.”
“Wow…” Iori-san said quietly. “I never knew I had that kind of power.” Suddenly, he slumped down, shoulders sagging. “But damn, I’m beat. Why do I feel so exhausted?”
“That’s ‘cause you were bouncing around like a little kid,” Yukari said.
“You say that, but you look pretty tired yourself, Yuka-tan.”
“This is different,” she answered. “I’m having trouble catching my breath. What’s going on?”
“That’s the effect of the Dark Hour,” Kirijo-senpai explained. “You’ll become fatigued more easily. Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.” Closing her eyes and giving the team a small smile, she continued, “I have to say, though, I’m surprised. You all did much better than I expected.”
She paused for a moment, then shot an amused look at Sanada-senpai. “At this rate, they’ll catch up with you in no time, Akihiko.”
Far from being offended or taken aback, the silver-haired senior just laughed. “We’ll see about that.”
“Hey, before I forget,” Iori Junpei suddenly spoke up. “Can I ask our… leaders, about something?”
“Sure, Junpei-kun!” Minako said, turning to him. “What’s up?”
“Well, what was up with you and your brother while we were in Tartarus? It was like you both swapped personalities; you started acting all serious and business-like, and your brother turned into some battle-crazed berserker!”
“Yeah, I noticed that, too,” Yukari added. “Why were you two acting so differently?”
The Arisato twins, struck dumb by the question, blinked twice at their fellow second years, slowly turned to look at each other, then slowly looked back. “We were?” Minato asked.
“Yeah, you were!” Junpei half-shouted. “You mean that neither of you noticed!?”
“No, we didn’t, Junpei-kun,” Minako answered, looking genuinely bewildered. She paused to think for a moment, then hesitantly said, “Maybe it has something to do with our Personas abilities? Like, mine uses ice attacks, and ‘To’s uses fire? So, when we get into a fight with Shadows, we start to… act in line with our element?” Shaking her head, she finished saying, “I don’t understand this at all. What do you think, ‘To?”
Minato narrowed his eyes, thinking the matter over carefully, before looking up at the others… and shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t care.”
Yukari-san closed her eyes, and sighed. “Well, he’s definitely back to normal.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Minato saw his sister wince. “If you say so, Yukari-san.”
Minato felt himself frown, wondering what she meant by that.
Still, he felt a deeper sense of trust with her, and with the other members of S.E.E.S.. They had faced their enemies, the Shadows, together, trusting each other, and had emerged victorious. Minato couldn’t remember any point in the last decade when he had felt that with anyone, for anything.
It felt… good.
It felt very, very good.
Just in that moment, he felt time freeze, and the deep blue hue coated his vision again. The card of The Fool again appeared before his eyes, and the ten stars, one filled and the others outlined. Yet even as he watched, a second star, with a chime, was filled. Warmth filled his heart, and he heard Orpheus hum in contentment.
As the card and the blue coloring departed, and time resumed its march, Minato suddenly felt himself slouch down; the same exhaustion that was plaguing Junpei and Yukari was making itself known to him, and, judging by his sister’s similar reaction, it was affecting her as well.
Just as he thought this, Minako turned to the third-years. “Senpais, I think we should call off the operation for the night; the Dark Hour has taken the mickey out of all of us.”
“I agree,” Kirijo Mitsuru replied. “You all look exhausted; it would be foolish to continue any further tonight.” Smiling, she continued, “Very good, all of you. Let’s get back to the dorm.”
“And don’t worry about fighting the Shadows by yourself,” Sanada-senpai added, smiling widely. “You won’t have to shoulder this burden forever!”
“ After your injury has healed.”
At those words from their overall leader, Sanada’s expression soured. “Yes, after my injury has healed.”
Kirijo-senpai smiled in satisfaction, and began walking back the way the group had entered, the rest of the anti-Shadow group falling in behind her. Once again, Minato felt himself drawn toward her, and took his place walking a few feet behind the senior. He really didn’t understand why he was drawn to her like this; he only knew that he was mesmerized by her. Her stature as she walked ahead of all them, the way she raised her chin in utter confidence of herself and her abilities, her perfectly squared shoulders, her long scarlet hair swaying in her stride-
Oh…
Oh, I see…
As the group exited Tartarus, Minato smiled in understanding and, for the first time in a while, quiet joy.
I… have a crush on Kirijo Mitsuru…
At that thought, Orpheus emerged in his consciousness, and followed his master’s gaze, looking into the female senior’s soul. And once he saw the true self of that senior, the composer sighed in resignation.
Oh, mine other self… you are in for a wild, wild ride…
Notes:
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
Chapter 6: Equipment, and Gatekeepers
Notes:
Hello, everyone! Happy Belated Christmas! I had hoped to get chapter out as a Christmas gift for you all, but it grew by about 2,500 words as I was writing it, so it has become a New Year's gift instead. I hope you all enjoy it.
It has also been the last time I promise myself I will be writing at least one chapter a month. From here on out, chapters will be released when they are finished being written, whenever that may be.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
April 21st, 2009
Minako stood off to the side of the school’s front gate, tapping her foot impatiently, as she scanned the oncoming groups of students, eyes darting back and forth impatiently from one group to the other, trying to find her prize.
C’mon, ‘To. Where are you? I know you said you would be a few minutes behind me, but I didn’t think that that would mean we would be on DIFFERENT TRAINS!
As she continued scanning the crowd for her sleepy little brother, Minako began mentally looking over Ukobach, the Persona she had gained fighting in Tartarus. She… did not care for it, to put it mildly. It felt like the opposite of everything she was, of everything she wanted to be, but was at the same time an inseparable part of her. Eurydice, for her part, agreed with her; the representative of her true self was as far away from Ukobach as her subconscious would allow. Still, for all the malice that radiated off the little demon, it remained stock still, unmoving and uncaring. It was a slave to its superiors, completely unable to act without a direct command.
After giving the little demon a once over, seeing its potential for fire attacks and to weaken enemies once it became stronger, she dismissed it to the back of her mind, bringing Eurydice back to the forefront. As she did so, she returned her attention to her surroundings, spotting Sanada Akihiko approaching her.
“‘Morning,” he said. “I didn’t know we were on the same train.”
“I’m sorry for not seeing you there, senpai,” Minako answered. “I guess I’m just not back up to one hundred percent after… our club activities.”
“I know what you mean; things have been really crazy these past couple days. Are you and your brother alright? You two have just transferred here.”
“We are both alright, Sanada-senpai,” Minako said. Then her polite smile twisted into a frown, and she muttered, “Although, probably only one of us is going to be on time.”
“Well, it’s still impressive, your brother’s tardiness notwithstanding.” Pausing, Sanada closed his eyes and gave a weary sigh. “On the other hand, I’m so bored that I feel like I could die… Hey, is there any way I can sneak in on the fight? Maybe I could get past Mitsuru if I wear Junpei’s hat!”
Minako felt herself go stiff, and her lips twisted into a grimace. “I… don’t think that that is a very good idea, senpai.”
Sanada sighed, looking downcast. “Yeah, you’re right. The consequences wouldn’t be worth it.”
“Quite right, Akihiko,” Mitsuru said as she passed by them and walked through the open gate.
Minako and Akihiko froze; neither of them had seen or heard her coming.
After taking a massive nervous swallow, Sanada whispered, “I… need to get to the auditorium for the assembly.”
“Yeah… yeah, me too.” Minako answered, as they both turned and began heading toward the school.
Sorry, ‘To. Can’t wait around anymore. Club leader is angry.
Looks like I missed her, Minato thought as he walked up the path to school. He knew he didn’t have any excuses; he had been so exhausted after the Tartarus expedition that he had woken up late, then had wasted even more time obsessing over The Box. By the time he realized how late he was, the train ‘Ko was on had already left the station, leaving him cooling his heels at the station for the next train and having not eaten breakfast.
At least he managed to make it to school on time. Barely.
“Hey, you’re in 2-F, right?”
Pausing just before the school’s front gate, Minato turned to look back at whoever was speaking to him; a sandy-haired male student he was pretty sure was in his class. He felt himself tense up as the distance between them closed; even after awakening to a mythical being born from the depths of his soul, the memories and ingrained instincts from his past experiences with bullies were making themselves known.
Seeing Minato’s stature and stare, the other boy came up short. “...What’s with the wary look in your eye? I’m Tomochika Kenji. We’re in the same class.”
“Arisato Minato. What do you want?”
Tomochika chuckled, and said, “Nothing, really. I just wanted to say ‘hi’.”
Minato’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Well… I heard from Iori that you’re pretty close to Takeba-san. Is that true?”
“We live in the same dorm, participate in the same extracurricular club, and walked to school together once,” Minato answered, already annoyed. “If you want to go out with her, you’ll need to talk to her yourself.”
“Really? That’s it? The rumor mill has been going crazy over you two.” Tomochika asked, before he shrugged it off. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. I’m looking for someone with a little more… experience anyway.”
Just as he finished speaking, and as Minato was trying to figure out how to extract himself, the school’s bell rang out.
“Oh crap, it’s almost time for the morning assembly. C’mon, we’d better hurry.”
Giving his classmate a nod, Minato set out toward the auditorium, Tomochika by his side, and made it just before the doors were closed and the speeches were about to begin. Feeling, but not particularly caring for, the disapproving glares of teachers and students alike, he made his way toward where the 2-F students were seated, Tomochika peeling off at a different row. Once he got closer, he spotted an open seat next to Iori, with Yukari-san and his sister seated behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Iori spotted him, smiled, and waved him over.
“Hey, man! I saved you a seat.”
Nodding in thanks, Minato sat down in the chair, and immediately heard Minako slap her hands down on the backrest next to his ear.
“What. Took. You. So. Long?” she hissed through her teeth.
Minato froze, his mind once again going back to The Box, and what lay within. After a moment, he forced himself to relax. “I… fell back asleep.”
He sensed Minako go still after hearing what he said. “Ok, ‘To, I’m really getting worried about you now. I think you should see a doctor about this; you should not be this tired all the time.”
“I don’t think this is worth worrying about, Minako-san,” Yukari said. “We were all tired after last night. I would have liked to sleep in, too. Besides, I think you’re in the same boat as your brother. Didn’t you nod off sitting here until Junpei said that Minato wa-”
“Th-that’s not important,” Minako quickly interrupted. “What’s important here is that-”
“Guys, quiet down,” Iori-san hissed, pointing up to the emcee walking up the stage. “I think the assembly’s finally starting.”
With that, the group finally went quiet, as the student on stage reached the podium and began to speak. As the minutes went by, Minato gave her the attention that almost all high school students gave to school assemblies; he entered a state of torpor, allowed his eyes to glaze over, and waited for the useless waste of time to end. 1.
Finally, after who knew how long, the emcee said, “...and that concludes the main portion of today’s assembly,” and Minato felt himself roused from his half-slumber.
“Next, we’ll hear a word from the student council. Please welcome the new president, Kirijo Mitsuru, from class 3-D.”
And with that, Minato became fully awake and aware, sitting up straight and giving the oncoming senior his full attention, the same as he always seemed to feel when he saw Kirijo-senpai. It was ridiculous, of course; he had only known her for around two weeks, a good amount of which he had been unconscious for, and on top of that, the vast difference in their social standings, with her as the heiress to her family’s conglomerate and he an orphaned commoner, more or less precluded any chance he could actually act on his feelings.
Still, after a decade of instability, confusion, depression, with no one but his sister to care for or be cared for, it was nice to have those feelings for someone. And, as he remembered Minako’s words to him at the hospital about wanting him to have a full life, it would make that same sister happy for him to have them at all.
So, he remained attentive and upright as Kirijo Mitsuru began walking to the podium, saying a ‘Thank you’ to the student emcee.
“So, she did get elected,” he heard Yukari-san whisper. “Well… I guess she is the most popular girl in school.”
“You can say that again!” Iori-san said. “She’s got this intimidating vibe around her. Not to mention, this school’s owned by the Kirijo Group, right?”
Less ‘intimidating’, and more ‘authoritative’, Minato thought, staring up at the senior as she reached the podium and began speaking into the microphone.
“As I begin my term as Student Council President, I’d like to share with you my vision for this coming year. It is my firm belief that each of us must accept the responsibility of bettering our school. However, change cannot occur without sustained effort and an unprecedented level of commitment. That is why we must restructure our daily lives in order to rise to this challenge. I’d like each of you to dig deeply into your well of motivation, and re-evaluate your convictions. Strive to imagine a bold new future without losing sight of the realities around you. That is the key. My own ideas are but one person’s vision. For us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, opinions, and enthusiasm are essential. Thank you.”
With that, Kirijo Mitsuru ended her speech, and left the podium.
“Dang…” Iori Junpei whispered. “What a speech.” He paused for a moment, then turned to look at Minato and asked, “Do you, uh, have any idea what she just said?”
Before Minato could answer, his Personas whispered their own thoughts in his mind.
It was a competent call to bravery, thoughtfulness, and cleverness by an exceptionally competent youth, Orpheus whispered to him. And. Not. A. Thing. More.
That is correct, Apsaras agreed. To say otherwise would be to lie to others, and to thyself.
Minato considered the words of his inner selves, then turned to Iori-san to give his answer.
“It was the most beautiful, magnificent speech in all of history.”
Inside his heart, Orpheus and Apsaras looked at each other, sighed, and shook their heads in exasperation.
“Oh ho!” Iori whispered, eyes and smile wide with mischief. Turning to look at the row of seats behind him, the baseball cap-wearing boy said, “Hey, Minako-chan! I think your brother’s got a crush on the student council president!”
From directly behind him, Minato heard a gasp. “Really!? My little brother is in wuv with his senpai!?”
As the snickers from his dorm mates filled his ears, Minato let out a soft groan and slumped forward, his forehead resting on the back of the seat in front of him. “...why must you call me that, ‘Ko?” he muttered.
Once the last bell of the school day rang out, Minako sighed in relief, standing up and stretching her arms and back. Turning around and to the right, she saw Minato still seated, hunched over and eyes closed. She smirked at the sight of her sleepy, ‘smitten’ brother, wondering how long ago he’d drifted off. Still feeling guilty after teasing him about being in ‘wuv’ with Kirijo-senpai, she decided not to give him grief for it this time. Walking over to his desk, she gave his shoulder a gentle shake.
“Hey, ‘To. Class is over now.”
“I know,” Minato answered. “I actually wasn’t asleep.” He lazily blinked a few times, his unusually long eyelashes fluttering, and no doubt causing any of his secret female admirers’ hearts to do the same. So far she knew, he hadn’t gotten any anonymous love letters in his shoe locker yet, but she was sure that it was only a matter of time.
“Yo!”
Both siblings looked up to find Iori-kun walking up to them, smiling his usual smile. “Wanna stop by Paulownia Mall on the way back? We might want to stock up while we can, since we’ve got stuff going on at night. There’s a pharmacy there, too. Couldn’t hurt to get some meds in case anything happens.”
Looking up at their classmate with half-lidded eyes, Minato sighed quietly. “You seem really into this,” he said.
“You bet I am! If we don’t step up to the plate, then who will? The chairman said it himself. The fate of the world depends on us!”
“Not so loud, Iori-kun,” Minako whispered, an intimidating false smile on her lips as she tried to will the boy she hoped would be her friend to not blow their groups cover to the entire school.
“Oh, sorry,” Iori Junpei replied, in a drastically quieter tone. “Let’s go, Leaders! First task: escape from the school!”
“An excellent suggestion, Iori-kun,” Minako said with a nod.
“Whatever,” Minato muttered, though he got to his feet and shouldered his bag with unusual energy. Following their teammate’s lead, the three second years made their way out of their homeroom, down the stairs, and into the main hall, before changing back into their own shoes at the lockers and exiting through the front doors. Just as they walked down the stairs, however, they were distracted by a sudden, shrill squeal.
“Look! It’s Sanada-senpai!”
“Wait for us!”
A group of three girls, first and second years by the looks of them, jogged past them on their right, straight toward an exasperated-looking Sanada Akihiko. Maybe it was her imagination, but Minako could have sworn she heard a dismayed sigh, as if their dorm mate had been attempting to slip out unseen. Which, as Minako looked at him with narrowed eyes, he probably had been.
“Have you two noticed how popular Sanada-senpai is with the ladies?” Junpei asked. “I hear they’re always swarming him like that.” He paused for a moment, then sighed and continued, “I know he’s the captain of the boxing team. Never lost a single match, but… I mean come on! Who’d have thought boxing would turn you into a chick magnet!? You don’t even see girls flock around a guy like that on TV or a harem manga! I wonder where they’re going…?”
Looking at their senior, Minako narrowed her eyes. “I… don’t think that Sanada-senpai actually wants all those girls around him, Junpei-kun.”
“WHAT!? Are you crazy!? Why wouldn’t he want all these babes hanging on his arms!?”
“Too much noise,” Minato answered.
“And too much gossip and backstabbing,” Minako added.
Before the three second years could say anything else, their silver-haired senior spotted them, and, not so subtly moving his fanclub aside, walked closer to them and asked, “Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?”
“Huh!?” Junpei-kun spluttered, clearly not expecting Sanada to actually talk to them in the circumstances. “Who, us? I-I mean, hell yeah! We’d love to join your little, uh, group here.”
As the Arisato twins rolled their eyes at their classmate’s less-than-subtle efforts, Sanada Akihiko said, “I want the three of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You all know where it is, right? I’ll be waiting for you all at the police station. See you there.”
“Th-the police station?” Junpei asked. “...Uh, are your friends gonna come along, too?”
Sanada gave the boy a baffled look. “Who, these girls? I don’t even know their names. They talk so much they give me a headache.”
…I think that we are bearing witness to the legendary Anti-Charisma, Minako thought.
“Anyway, I’m gonna head out. Don’t keep me waiting.”
With that, the red sweater-wearing senior turned on his heel and began walking toward the front gate, his adoring fans, who were somehow not completely driven off by his blunt dismissal of them, chasing after him.
“Aww… why can’t he be more friendly?”
“Wait, Senpai! Don’t leave us!”
“Man, how can he not know their names?” Junpei-kun whispered. “I mean, seriously! Just look at them!”
“Let’s just go,” Minato said. “We need to get those supplies for S.E.E.S.”
“Oh, right. I guess we gotta go…”
With that, the three of them set off to meet up with Sanada at the police station. Mostly, they walked and rode the monorail in a comfortable silence, apart from Junpei-kin complaining about his afternoon being rained on, now that his chance at an in with Sanada Akihiko’s female fans was gone. Eventually, though, they reached their destination, and began making their way to the station. As they walked through the doors, Minako saw Sanada-senpai talking to a stern looking officer, as he handed a few bills to him and received a pair of brass knuckles in return.
“Thank you, Kurosawa-san. I’ll be putting this to good use.” Turning to look at the door, his eyes widened as the three second years walked in. “Oh, these are the guys I was talking about earlier.”
Officer Kurosawa turned to look at them, eyes and jaw firm as he scanned over the three of them, before giving them a single, silent nod.
“This is Officer Kurosawa-san,” Sanada-senpai explained. “He helps keep our squad well-equipped. And this,” he added as he pulled something out of his pocket, “is from Ikutsuki-san.”
That ‘something’ turned out to be three ¥5,000 bills, one for each of the second years.
“Whoa, are these our war funds?” Junpei-kun asked. “Sweet!”
“Well, you can’t fight empty-handed,” Sanada quipped. “And the weapons we gave you for your first time in Tartarus really weren’t the best for the job, just the ones we had on hand. So, find something you all like.”
As Minako, Minato, and Junpei all walked up to the counter, Sanada continued. “Kurosawa-san is unofficially working with the Kirijo Group; they’re the ones who are getting us these weapons.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Junpei complained. “You’re sayin’ that the Kirijo Group is sending us weapons, but we still have to pay our own money for them?”
“Of course you do,” Officer Kurosawa answered. “Nothing in life is free.”
“More specifically, the funds that the Kirijo Group uses to get our weapons comes from the company’s Petty Cash account,” Sanada-senpai explained. “So, we need to reimburse them to put the same amount back in. If we don’t, people are going to start wondering where the money is going, and start hunting around for receipts.” 2.
Giving an appreciative smile to Kurosawa-san, Sanada said, “Well, I’ll see you all later. Thanks again.” With that farewell, he exited the station.
Kurosawa-san now gave Minako, Minato, and Junpei his full attention. “I’ve been informed about you three. My job is to maintain peace in this city, regardless of the circumstances. I’m just an ordinary police officer, but it doesn’t take a genius to know something strange is going on here. Apathy Syndrome is a lot of things, but ‘natural’ and ‘caused by overwork’ aren’t on the list.”
“Thank you very much for helping us, Kurosawa-san,” Minako said, giving the officer a bow. “We are very grateful that you would do this for us, and our ‘club’.”
Kurosawa waved her off. “I’m only doing what I think is right. Nothing more.” Gesturing behind him, he continued, “If you three need something, we can talk in the back.”
Nodding, the three teenagers made their way to the back room, where they were presented with a list of different weapons, with pictures accompanying them. Kurosawa-san explained that their choices would be delivered to their dorm, as they couldn’t risk them getting caught in public with weapons. After looking over the choices available, they each made their selections, which left them all out about half of the money that Sanada had given them. Something that Iori Junpei especially was sour about.
“Pssh… only ¥5,000,” he muttered. “Ain’t that kind of stingy? We’re kinda saving the world here, aren’t we!?”
“We should be grateful that they gave us any money at all, Iori-san,” Minato said quietly.
“He’s right, Junpei-kun,” Minako said. “We should always be grateful for every gift we are given, no matter how small it is.”
Heaven knows, Minato and I have gotten few enough in our lives, she thought to herself. Given their long list of guardians over the last decades, they were lucky to receive anything at all. Some of them had tried to be friendly, at first, but all inevitably became extremely distant from them, at the best. If it hadn’t been for a clause in their parent’s Will allowing them a small stipend every six months, neither she nor Minato would have had anything to give anyone, let alone spend for themselves.
As Minako strayed into her own thoughts, though, Iori had already wandered off into his own, reaching into his pocket for his phone to check the time. And as he did so, his eyes went wide. “Oh crap, It’s this late already!?”
Putting his phone back into his pocket, he turned to the twins and said, “I’m gonna miss the rerun of The Lonely Shogun! I’ve gotta go!”
“What about stocking up?” Minato asked. He sounded genuinely annoyed at their classmate.
Junpei-kun froze up, looking very nervous. “Uh, well, about that… I’ll leave the rest to you two. You are the leaders, after all. Let’s meet up again at the you-know-where! Besides, there’s a ton of shops and stuff in this place, so you guys should both check them out while you can. Alright, see you both back at the dorm!”
With that, Iori Junpei, the boy who was supposedly so eager to give his all in defense of the world, ran off to watch television, and dumped the responsibility of preparing supplies on those he had deemed unworthy of their station.
The Arisato twins stood still for a moment, blinking as they watched their companion leave. After he was out of sight, Minako felt her brother turn to look to her. “Well, ‘Ko. What do we do now?”
Minako gave herself a mental shake, and began looking around the mall, doing her best to see past the crowd of people to the signs and lights of the storefronts. Finally, spotting something promising, she said, “I think I see a pharmacy on the other side of the mall. We can pick up some medicine there.
Her brother nodded, and then said, “We should go in one at a time, and only take a few items each. We don’t want to draw attention.”
Minako nodded, and the twins made their way to the pharmacy, and did exactly as they said; Minako went in first, made her purchases, and, after leaving the pharmacy, showed Minato what she had purchased, allowing him to go into the pharmacy and make an identical purchase. Once all was said and done, they had built up an acceptable store of medicine and bandages, while still having a little over ¥1,500 each. With this accomplished, the twins began to make their way back to the dorm. Once they began passing by the strip mall on the way back, though, Minako noticed that her brother was no longer walking beside her.
He is behind you, young one, Eurydice whispered.
Turning around, she saw that he had stopped in front of, and was staring at, the Wild Duck Burger restaurant on the ground floor.
“‘To? What’s up?” she asked, as she walked up to him.
At first, he didn’t answer her, remaining transfixed at the burger joint, but eventually, slowly and deliberately, Minato turned to look at her, his expression unreadable.
“‘Ko… we have money.”
Minako felt her face scrunch up, more than a little confused. “...Yes. What about it?”
“...And… we don’t have any guardians hovering over our heads. So, we don’t have to worry about getting punished for spending money on ‘frivolous’ things… or just flat out tell us we can’t go…”
For a moment, Minako simply stared at Minato, eyes narrowed, not comprehending.
Then it struck her, her eyes going wide and her pupils dilating. Minato was right; they didn’t have to worry about that. They could spend their own money as they saw fit, and there was no one who would punish or scold them for it.
She felt her hands begin to tremble; a glance downward showed that Minato’s were trembling as well. Slowly, Minako looked back up to her brother’s eyes, her lips twitching as they tried to form a maniac smile and she, at the same time, fought to stop it. Minato was struggling with the same.
She didn’t know how long the two of them stood there, stock still, blocking pedestrians, as they twitched incessantly, but she knew it would have to be a long time.
The Wild Duck Burger cashier had long since adopted the glazed-over look and mind-deadening apathy familiar to all retail workers when the latest customer approached the cash register. “Welcome to Wild Duck Burger,” he said robotically, words falling from his mouth like bricks, lacking all inflection or emotion, not even truly seeing the people standing in front of him. “May I take your order?” 3.
“I WANT A DOUBLE-BURGER WITH A LARGE DUCK FRIES, LARGE DRINK, AND LARGE CHOCOLATE SHAKE!” the voice of an excited teenage boy shouted at him.
“MAKE IT TWO!” another teenager’s voice added, this one a girl. “BUT MAKE THE SECOND SHAKE VANILLA!”
Shaken fully out of his trance, the cashier looked up at his guests. They were, indeed, a teenaged boy and girl, the boy with blue hair, and the girl’s auburn, almost red, and both were shaking like leaves in a typhoon with excitement.
The man at the cash register blinked a few times, then, suddenly feeling a smile pull at his lips and a spark in his eyes for the first time in a while, asked, “Finally got out from under the bastard’s thumb, have you?”
The two of them nodded so vigorously, the man thought that their heads would go flying off their shoulders. His smile widening, the man said, “Well, in that case…” and reached down under the counter, pulling up a polaroid camera. “I’ll need to take your picture.” And, lifting the camera up so that the siblings were in frame, he did exactly that.
“What for?” the girl asked him.
“For the rationing board,” the cashier said, walking up to a corkboard with several photographs of other customers pinned to it with pushpins, with this newest photograph soon joining them. “As of now, you two are only allowed to buy big meals like this twice a month.”
“Only twice a month!” the auburn-haired girl exclaimed. “Why!?”
“So that you don’t become overweight, and destroy your health,” the cashier explained. On further inspection, the photos were arranged in columns, and under categories; In Danger, Tubby, and Fat. One customer, a severely overweight male senior from Gekkoukan High School, had his own category; American.
“Are you kidding!?” the girl said again, while the boy glared at him through his obnoxiously long bangs. “We finally got some scrap of freedom, and now you’re trying to tell us how to spend our money!?”
The cashier raised one eyebrow. “Do you two WANT to be so large, you can’t get through the front door?”
The two children paused, looked at the front entrance, then to each other, then back to the cashier, smiled, and together said, “Yes!”
The cashier changed his coy smile to an outright smirk. “You are both being rationed. Two big orders per month. Thank you for dining at Wild Duck Burger!”
The two siblings glowered at him, but then moved aside to wait for their order to arrive.
With that, the cashier resumed his post waiting for his next customer. As he did, he felt alive and refreshed like he hadn’t been in ages, that he could still find joy, hope and a taste of life, if only a little, even as he worked at this lowest of positions.
And with that, an easy victim of the Shadows, who a moment sooner had seemed destined to join them in Apathy, was brought back to the land of the living.
Minato slowly walked along the sidewalk, his steps small, worried that he may very well burst. Idly, he wondered if some of his and his sister’s past guardians had forbidden them from eating at restaurants like Wild Duck not because they had been needlessly cruel or neglectful, but because they had been trying to save the siblings from themselves.
“...’To,” Minako groaned, taking his arm and leaning against his shoulder. “My tummy hurts…”
“Yeah,” he answered. “So does mine.” Looking up, he saw their temporary home loom large over them. “Don’t worry, sis; the dorm is right in front of us.”
“Good,” Minako answered, seeming to lean on him even more. “Good…”
Wrapping his arms around his sister, Minato gave his sister his shoulder, and helped her forward as they made their way along the sidewalk, up the stairs, until they finally reached the double doors of the dorm’s entrance. Leaning forward gingerly, Minato opened one door, and gently shepherded his sister and himself through.
They were greeted by Kirijo Mitsuru, Sanada Akihiko, Iori Junpei, and Takeba Yukari all waiting in the dorm’s lounge, the third with his focus on the television, with their S.E.E.S. gear in bundles around them and their armbands tied to their arms.
“Ah, good,” Kirijo said as the Arisato twins walked in. “We were waiting for you to arrive. S.E.E.S. will be going on another Tartarus expedition tonight.”
The siblings went still, staring at the red-haired senior in shock. After a moment, Minato quietly spoke.
“A… another expedition?”
“Yes,” Kirijo replied, eyes narrowing in confusion. “Another expedition.” She paused, then added, “Is there a problem?”
“...Does anyone have any Tums?” Minako moaned.
April 21st?, 2009
“Orpheus! Bash!” Minato shouted as he fired his Evoker. The lyre-wielding demigod duly appeared from the glow, bringing his lyre down on the blue-masked Maya with such force that globs of reddish-black slime splattered in all directions. Out of one of the corners of his eye, he saw his sister shred a purple-masked Maya with Eurydice’s ice spell, while in the other Junpei decapitated another blue-mask with his katana. Behind him, he heard Yukari fire her Evoker, healing the other three of any injuries with Io.
As was becoming a regular occurrence, time froze, and cards again appeared before his eyes; from the quiet words they had exchanged earlier in their mission, it was likely Minako was experiencing the same. There were so many kinds of cards, not just ones with new Personas; they could give the entire group an increase in strength, buff certain attacks, give skills and abilities to Personas that they couldn’t otherwise use, or just leave behind a sum of money. He and his sister had decided to divide up the money evenly with all the members of S.E.E.S. once they had made that realization. The amount of envy that that would cause if they were found out precluded any other course.
In this case, though, Minato found yet another Persona among the other cards. He immediately reached out to grab it. He had already gained two new Personas on this outing in Tartarus, Nekomata of The Magician, an elderly cat spirit, and Pettigrew of The Jester, a nervous looking rat. Minako had also gained three others herself, Pixie of The Lovers, Angel of The Justice, and an Apsaras to match Minato’s.
As his fingers closed on his chosen card, a Pixie of his own began to form in his own heart.
I am thou, the mischievous forest spirit said. And thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I have come to give you aid.
Welcome, Pixie, Minato thought. That last part was what all of his new Personas said, rather than anything original, like Orpheus did. He supposed that was because Orpheus was his original Persona, his truest self.
Oh, wonderful, Nekomata groaned, the very epitome of a grumpy, irreverent old woman. Another youngster to make noise and disturb my rest…
Well, I rather like that I’m not the one you want to catch anymore, Pettigrew muttered.
Put a sock in it, you old hag, Pixie answered Nekomata, before turning to the other two. Also, Apsaras? My sister told me to tell you that Eurydice wants you to stop flirting with her husband.
As does the husband, Orpheus added. I did not descend into the underworld and back to retrieve my wife, fail in my goal and die myself, only to regain her after many millennia, in order to take a mistress.
Apsaras harrumphed, but did as she was instructed.
With that, Minato was brought back to reality as time began to move forward again. Looking around at the other three fighters, he said, “I just got another Persona; a Pixie, like my sister’s.”
“I wish that you had just asked for mine, Minato,” his sister said, voice weary. “The little pest keeps insisting I confess to practically every boy I’ve seen since we got to the Island. And she keeps forgetting that she did it, so she thinks the newest one is THE one!”
Minato chuckled, then asked, “Is everyone ready to move on?”
“Yes,” Minako answered, her face bereft of her usual act of excited joy, just as she had been on their first mission in Tartarus. Minato had decided to call it her ‘war face'”.
“Yep!” That was Junpei.
“So am I!” Yukari.
His own ‘war face’, an exuberant, almost crazed, smile, bloomed across his own face. “Alright!” he half-shouted. “Let’s go!”
The four second years then set off at a light jog, down the last section of the hallway leading to the stairs to the next floor. Minato was on point; it was his turn to lead, after Minako had led the group last night. It had been tricky, trying to direct everyone, keeping track of who needed to strike where and with what attack. Mitsuru had been a godsend in that regard; he would never have been able keep track of what kind of Shadow he was facing and what they resisted or were weak to without her keeping track of it all.
His new Personas were worth their salt too, even when he wasn’t actively using them. Nekomata may have been a grumpy old witch, but she had managed to keep his newfound inner fire under control, not constantly charging from fight to fight, but planning, preparing, healing his and his subordinates' injuries, and generally providing sound advice that could only be drawn from an old master of the hunt. Pettigrew was just as helpful, teaching him how to hide himself in out of the way places to ambush the Shadows and strike them from where they least expected the blow.
As the group arrived at the top of the staircase, reaching the fifth floor of the tower, Mitsuru suddenly spoke up in his ear.
“Everyone, hold. I’m detecting two powerful enemies up ahead.”
“What are you detecting, senpai?” Minato immediately asked, already beginning to draw up tactics for the next fight.
“They appear to be a sort of powerful Shadow that remains on certain floors of Tartarus that remain stable and don’t change from day to day. Akihiko and I call them Gatekeepers.” Mitsuru paused for a moment, then added, “According to my Persona’s navigation abilities, there should be a two-way teleporter just to your right. If you come back to the entrance from there, you will be able to go back to the same floor without having to go through the other floors again. You all can come back, if you feel you need to.”
“No need for that, senpai!” Junpei immediately said, smirking as he shouldered his katana. “Iori Junpei is good to go!”
“So am I,” Yukari affirmed.
“And me,” Minako said, face as serious as she was when she was in Tartarus.
Minato felt his lips twist upward, and said. “Then we fight the Gatekeeper! Is there anything more you can tell us, senpai?”
“Not much, I’m afraid. My Persona’s abilities aren’t strong enough to make out many details. The only thing that I can say for certain is that these Shadows have a strong affinity for ice.”
“Understood, senpai,” Minato answered, moving Nekomata into place as his primary Pesona; the old cat had the dual advantage of possessing fire attacks, and having no weakness to ice. He knew that his sister’s Ukobach was vulnerable to them, but that was a risk they would likely have to take, unfortunately. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Junpei’s usual cocky smile had gone a bit sly.
“Alright, everyone! Foreword!” Minato charged up the stairs next to the teleporter, the rest of the S.E.E.S. combat team close behind him. The moment he reached the top of the stairs, and the Shadows, in the form of two blue-feathered ravens with reddish-brown masks marked with the IX numeral on their breasts came into view, Minato brought his Evoker to his temple, and fired.
“PERSONA!”
Nekomata formed over his head, and swiped one clawed hand at the closest raven. Flames engulfed the bird, and it fell to the ground with a shriek.
“Minako,” he cried. “You’re up.”
“Got it,” his sister answered. Moving around him to his right, Minako brought up her own Evoker. But before she could fire it, Junpei leapt out in front of them both.
“Hang on there, Leader,” he shouted. “Check THIS out!”
Before Minato could say or do anything, the baseball cap wearing boy had already fired his own Evoker. “HERMES! AGI!”
Instantly, the blade-winged messenger of the gods appeared, but instead of skating forward with those blades, he stretched out an open palm, and fire came forth from it. The second raven fell next to its brother, icy-blue feathers singed and burning.
Minato was more than a little taken aback, but recovered quickly; the results were what he had hoped for, just not the way he had thought they would come about. “Everyone, pile in!”
All of them rushed forward to drive their blades into the Shadow’s prone forms, except Yukari, who only had her bow and Evoker. Minato made a mental note to ask Mitsuru to remedy that as he thrust his short sword into the Shadow he had knocked down earlier.
Unlike all the other Shadows they had fought so far, though, these two weren’t finished by the group's rain of blows; raising the lanterns they held in their talons, a wave of blue fire pushed all of them back, and the Shadows rose unsteadily into the air.
Minako didn’t let them gain the initiative, though. Firing her Evoker as soon as she regained her footing, Ukobach thrust its load of coals at the lead Shadow raven again, and it fell to the floor again.
“Iori, hit the other one again!” Minato shouted.
“You got it! Persona!”
Hermes again appeared, and again flung his new fire at the second Shadow. It struck home, and Minato led S.E.E.S. forward to attack the ravens on the floor the moment it did. This time, he focused the three melee fighters' efforts on a single Shadow, which did kill it, but the second managed to get back in the air, launching shards of ice at Iori-san, who yelped in pain.
“Yukari, heal him,” Minato ordered, even as he put his own Evoker to his head, and fired it. “PERSONA!”
Nekomata again lashed out at the raven, her flames striking its head and sending it to the floor again. With a shout, Minako ran forward on her own initiative, driving her naginata’s blade into the raven’s breast, splitting its mask in half, killing it and reducing it to dissolving black slime like all the others they had faced.
Once again, time froze, and the cards appeared before his eyes. He immediately seized the card bearing a new Persona, a green-haired woman in a long red dress, with a white kerchief around her hair.
I am thou, she whispered in his mind. Thou art I. I am Silky. From the sea of thy soul, I have come to give you aid.
Minato took a moment to catch his breath and calm his heart rate, as he heard Yukari summon Io to heal Iori-san. Those Shadows had been tougher then the usual ones they had fought. A LOT tougher. Usually, once they'd been knocked down by hitting their weaknesses, one round of blows from them was enough to kill them. The fact that these “Gatekeepers”, as Mitsuru had called them, needed at least two, showed just how strong they were. If they hadn’t had her information on what their weakness was, and hit them with it immediately, that fight could have gone very badly for them.
“Thanks, Yuka-tan!”
Especially, he thought, given the stunt that he just pulled.
Turning on his heel, Minato marched up to Iori-san. “Iori. Why didn’t you tell me?”
The katana-wielding second year had the nerve to look confused. “Didn’t tell you what?”
“The fact that your Persona gained a magical fire attack. Why didn’t you tell me? Or anyone else?”
Understanding flooded Iori’s face, and he smiled his cocky smile. “Well, I wanted to surprise you all!”
Minato felt himself go still, and, for the first time since entering Tartarus, his blood chill. “You… wanted to surprise us.”
“Yeah, of course!” Iori-san said happily, completely ignorant of the danger he was in. Putting his hands on his hips and striking a pose, he continued, “Pretty neat, huh?”
The silence that filled the floor was so complete, they could have heard a pin drop.
“Iori-san,” Minato finally said. “What ails you?”
Iori blinked, “Wh-what do you mean?”
“I mean, what were you thinking, not telling us about this!” Minato demanded. “As today’s field leader, I need to know what everyone here is capable of! We went into that fight with Shadows we knew were ice-based with most of the group thinking we only have two people with fire magic! Not to mention, you ran out to attack when I ordered Minako to, and broke up the group’s cohesion! All so you could get a moment of glory for yourself!? You could have gotten yourself, or someone else, killed with that stunt!”
Iori-san opened his mouth to retort, but Mitsuru immediately interceded.
“Arisato is right, Iori. That was unbecoming of you. If we are to face the Shadows effectively, the Consuls need to know everyone’s abilities, whatever they are or whenever they are acquired. Speaking of which, has anyone else gained any new abilities?”
“...My Persona gained a new ability just now,” Yukari said, her voice quiet and hesitant. “You mentioned that Shadows try to inflict what you called ‘ailments’ during fights. This looks like it can clear some of them up.”
“I gained another Persona,” Minato said. “Silky. Another ice-caster.”
“So did I,” Minako said after him. “Ara Mitama. It looks like it’s a bludgeoning, physical attacker.”
“...Bash,” Iori-san muttered.
“What was that?” Minato asked.
Iori-san looked up, his eyes hard. “Bash. My Persona just gained a new ability; it’s a bludgeoning attack. And I’m telling you about it. Like you said you wanted me too.”
Minato looked back, his own gaze no softer. “Thank you, Iori-san.”
The two boys stood staring at each other for a moment, before Minato turned and spoke to Mitsuru.
“Senpai, I think we’ve had enough for tonight. We have a two-way teleporter to this floor; we should stop here, and resume tomorrow, or whenever we come to Tartarus next.”
“I agree. We only have a few minutes of the Dark Hour left, anyway. Everyone, take the teleporter back to the entrance. You did good work today. All of you.”
Did we? Minato thought, as he led the S.E.E.S. combat team back down the stairs they had come up. He could feel Iori-san's hard stare on him the whole way down, out, and back to the dorm.
He didn’t care.
The glory hound had kept important information to himself, been wildly insubordinate, and put the whole group, especially his sister, in danger, just so that he could have a chance to show off.
I was right back at that meeting, he thought, his mind cold and dark. I do not want a Social Link with Iori Junpei.
Notes:
Author's Notes:
1. Don't lie. I was a high school student once, I know what it is like.
2. In case you couldn't tell, the author has an accounting degree.
This might be the only time I've ended up actually using it.
3. Working in retail jobs can cause Apathy Syndrome even when Tartarus and the Dark Hour don't actually exist.
Source: the author has worked in retail.
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
Chapter Text
April 22, 2009
Of course this would happen, Minato thought to himself as he waited by the school’s front gate. I try to make sure I don’t get distracted and wind up almost late again, and I end up getting to school earlier than my sister, who I was supposed to come to school with!
Giving a quiet huff, Minato hunched over into his slouch, and began looking around for his sister, or anyone else from the dorm, utterly frustrated at himself. After last morning, he had gone out of his way not to repeat his error; setting his alarm clock to go off half an hour earlier, getting dressed quickly, leaving his room without even trying to look at… that, having a quick breakfast, and getting to the monorail station. It was only when the train had already left and was racing down the track that he had gotten a text from his sister, asking where on earth he had gone.
He had heard that one of the leading causes of car accidents wasn’t that a driver made a mistake, but that they realized that they had and overcorrected. Maybe that wasn’t true, but it was for him today.
As he was scanning the crowds for the distinct auburn hair and the familiar hair pins, though, another recognizable head of hair, sandy-brown, cut fairly short, and obviously male, was headed directly for him.
“Yo, Arisato,” Tomochika-san said cheerily, giving him a small wave. “You by yourself today?”
“Not on purpose,” Minato answered with a shrug, voice monotone and eyes half-lidded.
Tomochika-san’s eyes and smile both widened. “Ah, so the rumor about you and Takeba-san was true! You’ve been coming by your lonesome so often, I was starting to think that it wasn’t even true.”
“Only on the first day.”
“Oh yeah,” Tomochika-san replied, his face beginning to fade back to a neutral expression, before a small smile spread again. “Well, it’s not like I care or anything. Anyways, you must be pretty unlucky to have to transfer here.”
That finally got through Minato’s mask, and his face scrunched up in confusion. Transferring to Gekkoukan and Tatsumi Port Island was one of the best things that had happened to him in his life, it being the site of the car accident that his parents died in notwithstanding. There was no guardian to walk on eggshells around, no beatings from Kaito, no bullies at school, he’d gotten closer to his sister who was also safer here for all the same reasons, and the two of them could go to restaurants and eat themselves sick without getting in trouble with anyone. 1.
“Why would that be unlucky?”
“Wait, you seriously don’t know!? Weird stuff has been happening at this school. There are a couple of folks who say they’ve heard strange voices.” Tomochika-san paused for a moment, then allowed his smile to turn sly. “But I guess since you’re always wearing those headphones, you probably haven’t heard anything.”
Minato paused for a moment, then, in spite of himself, felt his lips curl into a small smile. “I do like my tunes.”
“That’s what I thought! So, wanna head in? We could stop by the school store on the way; since we’re early, the good stuffed breads should still be in stock!”
That temptation was so powerful, Minato almost agreed immediately; with his mental block broken by the Wild Duck Wild Binge with Minako the previous afternoon, he was more than eager to try out the school store’s treats.
But, even as he thought it, he immediately began trying to pull back from it; he was waiting for his sister, after all. “Sorry, not today. I’m waiting for my sister.”
This time, Tomochika-san could not hide his disappointment. “Oh. Okay.” His classmate stood in place for a moment, fidgeting awkwardly, then said, “Well… I guess I’ll see you around, then…”, and walked around him, headed toward the school.
Immediately, Minato felt like a knife had been rammed into his heart. He had just done something wrong; it was clear now that whatever fears he had held that Tomochika was some bully coming after Minako or himself were completely unfounded. His classmate genuinely was just trying to be friendly to him, and Minato had just stonewalled him for no good reason. And he’d done it after Minako and Igor’s words to him to reach out to others as well.
So, fighting a decade’s worth of built up instincts the whole time, which surprisingly was harder than physically fighting the Shadows, Minato turned to the departing boy, and spoke up.
“Hey, Tomochika-san. I… I’ll be available after school today. If you want…”
For a moment, one terrible moment, Minato thought that he would be refused, that he had already ruined his chance. But, whatever God watched over him smiled, and Tomochika stopped and turned around, also smiling. “Of course, Arisato! No problem! There’s a ramen joint that’s all the rage around here; you want to head there after classes let out?”
“S-sure, Tomochika-sa- Tomochika,” Minato said, trying to keep his voice steady, and to act the way that most people would consider ‘normal’. “I’m… looking forward to it.”
“Me too, man,” his hopefully new friend said. “I think you’ll really like it.” Tomochika appeared to want to say something more, but then paused and he looked past Minato to the walkway. “Hey, it looks like your sis has finally caught up with you.”
Immediately, Minato spun around, quickly scanning the walkway, already much more crowded as the opening bell came closer and closer to ringing, and after a moment, spotted ‘Ko walking toward the school gate. The small smile that began form on his face, though, faltered once he saw who was accompanying her.
That’s another reason for me not to leave for school without her, he thought. I know I can’t trust HIM to keep her safe…
“Man, I’m so tired…” Junpei said through a yawn. Turning to Minako-chan, he continued. “Coming to school’s a job by itself, right?”
“I guess so,” she answered. “We sit at our desks for eight hours a day, like office workers.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You don’t think the school system is deliberately designed to condition us for the workplace after we graduate, do you?” 2.
Minako looked at him, her face apparently happy, but with a strange, blank look in her eyes. “Maybe. It would make sense.”
“Well, either way, it still feels like we’re at a job,” Junpei continued. “Especially since things got… busy all of the sudden. Well, I feel a lot more satisfied, though.”
“Satisfied!? But we’re just starting!”
Junpei gave the Arisato sister a concerned look; maybe he was being a bit overprotective, but he couldn’t help but feel that Minako was biting off more than she could chew. “You sure you’re gonna be okay? You better not get sick from pushing yourself too… hard.”
He trailed off as he looked back ahead at the school gate, and spotted who was standing there; Tomochika Kenji, who Junpei had hung out with a few times, and his companion’s brother, Minato. Who was staring right back at him, like he wanted him to drop dead.
Junpei immediately felt his blood boil; it was bad enough that the little punk had somehow lucked his way into being the co-leader of their little group, but then he had had the nerve to ruin his big show when they had been fighting the Ice Raven Shadows last night. And then Kirijo-senpai had gone and backed him up! Those two had something going on between them, he was sure of it!
“Is something wrong, Junpei-kun?”
The sound of Minako’s voice dragged him back to reality. Turning back to her questioning look, Junpei considered how he would answer. He was annoyed with the fact that she outranked him too, but it didn’t bite as hard with her as it did with her brother. At least, she hadn’t deliberately made him look bad.
In the end, Junpei decided to try and brush it off; stretching out his arms, he made a show of yawning.
“Man, I’m just getting teary-eyed. Goin’ to class is a pain… The only thing I look forward to is after school. How will I kill time…”
Minako-chan looked thoughtful, and almost fearful for some reason. “Maybe…” she whispered, then repeated herself more forcefully. “Maybe we could kill that time together…”
Junpei stared at her for a moment, then smiled. “Sure! There’s a ramen joint at the strip mall we pass on the way back to the dorm! Do ‘ya wanna stop by after class?”
Minako gave a smile of her own back. “That sounds great, Junpei-kun! Looking forward to it!”
“Morning, ‘Ko.”
The two of them came up short; looking around, they immediately saw that the two of them had made it to the school gate, and more or less right in front of Minato and Tomochika. The brother had thankfully stopped looking at Junpei and started looking at his sister, a tiny, sheepish grin on his face as he raised his hand at his waist and gave her a little wave. “Sorry I left so early. I didn’t mean to spook you.”
Minako sighed, then smiled and returned her brother’s wave in the same way. “‘To, from now on, let’s just set up a time for us to meet up at the dorm’s lounge, so we can head to school at the same time, okay?”
“Okay, ‘Ko,” Minato agreed, as the two fell in side by side and made their way toward the school. Trying not to scowl at having to spend time close to that little man that didn’t even deserve to be a leader of anything, let alone the secret Persona-users who were saving the world, he began walking after them, but stopped as he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
“Hey, Iori? Could I talk with you for a second?”
Looking back, Junpei saw that the person trying to get his attention was Tomochika. “Sure, man,” he answered. “What’s up?”
Kenji looked toward the retreating forms of the Arisato twins, seeing them moving closer to the main school building, and out of earshot. Finally, apparently guessing that no one would overhear, he leaned in to Junpei, and whispered in his ear.
“We need to help Arisato Minato! He is not in a good way, man! I mean, just look at him; I don’t think the guy’s smiled since he got here!”
Junpei started, then laughed bitterly. “You’ve gotta be kidding me, Tomochika! That guy, in trouble!? He’s just acting all cool just to get girls, or something.”
“NO, Iori,” Tomochika insisted. Junpei paused, brought up short; Tomochika didn’t usually act this serious.
“He really isn’t,” his acquaintance insisted. “Arisato-san pulls off the emo look, but it’s just that; a look. Everything else about him seems like he’s dead; his breathing, his answers to the teachers, his eyes… dear god, his EYES, Iori! Have you ever seen anyone with eyes that are that lifeless!?”
As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Junpei began to acknowledge that Tomochika may have had a point. Maybe Minato-”sama” wasn’t the untouchable demi-god that everyone around him seemed to think he was and he was trying to portray himself as.
And, he suddenly realized with dawning horror, he actually had an answer to Kenji’s question.
“Yeah, I have seen someone with eyes like that,” he said. “Arisato Minako.”
Tomochika looked at him with utter confusion. “Minako-chan? Why would you be worried about her? She’s always smiling.”
“Her eyes, Tomochika,” Junpei whispers back. “You said that Minato-san had dead eyes. Well, Minako-chan has them, too. I didn’t understand it until you brought it up, but now that you have… there’s no way that she isn’t in the exact same spot. I think she’s just been actin’ so happy and energetic to cover it up, man. She needs help, too.”
Kenji’s mouth went thin, and his back straightened. “Iori, we can’t just stand here and do nothing for them. I’ve… I’ve heard stories, on the news and online… about what people do to themselves when they get this way. And that’s without the Apathy Syndrome going around. If we can, you know, reach out to them, then maybe we can stop them from doing… that.”
Junpei felt himself tense up. He knew that Apathy Syndrome was off the table for the twins; with their knowledge of the Dark Hour and having Personas for protection, the Shadows wouldn’t be able to get at them. But the first part…
The first part might be a very real problem.
“I don’t know, Kenji,” he replied, voice uncharacteristically quiet and hesitant. “When you’re dealing with people with problems like this… I don’t think just getting a new friend is going to fix them.”
“Maybe not, but it could definitely help. Or at least, it won’t hurt.”
Junpei paused for a moment, then gave his classmate a decisive nod. “Alright, Tomochicka. I’m in. You focus on Minato, and I’ll focus on Minako. Maybe we can stop the two of them from doing anything… drastic.”
Tomochika returned his nod, as the two began walking up to the entrance of the school as the first bell rang.
After School, Arisato Minato
Another school day done, I guess, Minato thought, closing his Composition textbook and putting it back into his school bag, which he had brought up onto his desk. Even as he did so, he felt himself slump forward, his eyes half-closed; his waking up earlier than usual had made him even more drowsy than usual.
“Yo, what’s up?”
“Not much, Tomochika-san,” Minato answered, lifting up his head slowly and forcing his eyes fully open, turning to his right to answer his classmate. “What about you?”
“Well, now that schools over, I was figuring we could go straight over to that ramen joint I was talking about earlier. Ready to head out?”
“Sure thing. Just let me let my sister know what is going on.”
“Alright, man,” Tomochika-san answered, his smile widening. “I’m looking forward to finishing our chat from this morning.”
Minato sighed, feeling a little dejected; he was finding he didn’t like rumors about himself even when they were about him supposedly dating the most popular girl in school instead of being a cursed, death bringing child. Bringing his schoolbag up onto his shoulder, he walked up the aisle up to his sister’s side… and stopped dead.
Every instinct he had was screaming at him that he was doing the wrong thing. That ‘Ko was the only one he cared for and cared for him. That he needed to cancel his plans with Tomochika and get back with his sister, who he needed to watch over and protect. But Igor’s words, as well as his sister’s, pressed to the forefront of his mind, and dragged the words from his mouth.
“Hey, ‘Ko. I… I’m gonna go with Tomochika-san. If that’s okay.”
At first, it seemed like his sister didn’t quite understand what he was saying, but after a second or two, a smile spread across her face and an unusually bright spark in her eyes. “Okay, ‘To! Go on ahead!”
Minato felt himself come up short, blinking a few times, before asking, “Are you sure?”
His sister nodded eagerly. “Yes! Of course! You remember what I said at the hospital and Igor said in the Velvet Room, right?”
Minato nodded.
“And you remember that you wanted the same for me, right?”
He nodded again.
“Well, then, you should go with him, ‘To. I have my own meetup, too.” She paused for a moment, then added. “We need to do this, ‘To. And we both want it, too. So why fight against it?”
Minato felt his lips curl into the slightest of smiles. “You’re right, ‘Ko. So… I’ll see you back at the dorm, then?”
“Yep!” Minako said, her eyes shining. Really shining, not the fake shining that Minato had come to recognize in the past few days. “See you there, little brother!”
Instantly, Minato felt himself scowling again. “Knock that off, ‘Ko,” he whined, before turning and walking through the door of the classroom, sliding the door shut behind him.
He found Tomochika Kenji waiting for him in the hallway. “You ready, man?” he asked, a cheesy smile on his face.
“Yeah,” Minato answered. “Whenever you are.”
“Alright! Let’s head out, then!”
With that, the pair made their way out of the school and to the ramen restaurant at the strip mall, chatting the whole way. Well, Tomochika-san chatted; Minato didn’t say much, on account of not really knowing what to say. He really didn’t know what other guys his age liked, so he just nodded and hummed in agreement when it seemed appropriate.
Once they finally arrived at the ramen shop, Hagakure, they arrived to find the restaurant fairly empty, aside from a few salarymen and a few students that had managed to get there ahead of them. This was just fine for them, though; they got to sit on the stools at the booth. Minato felt a tiny thrill as they took their seats. He hadn’t been able to do this in more than a decade; the last time had been when his father had taken him when Minato had woken up early enough to join him on his usual early Sunday morning outing to a similar shop. He felt his lips twitch upwards as the memory came back to him after all these years.
His lips twitched upward even more when he remembered how absolutely spitting mad Minako had gotten after they got home and she found out that he had gotten to sit at the booth with dad, and hadn’t woken her up to go with them.
As he was reminiscing, the chef came over to take their orders; Minato, not really knowing what to order, simply asked for the same thing that Tomochika asked for.
Fortunately for him, what Tomochika ordered was delicious. As was made clear by all of the slurping his classmate made as he was drinking down some of the broth.
“Whew!” he said as he finally came up for air. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Well, was I right, or was I right? The soup here tastes great, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Minato agreed, and not just to be polite. “It’s delicious. I wonder what exactly they put in it.”
“They’ve gotta put some special ingredient in it,” Tomochika-san answered, his eyes narrowing conspiratorially. “Something no other ramen shop would ever use.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Maybe there’s a secret clue in the shop’s name…”
“Not likely,” Minato muttered, beginning to lift the last of his noodles to his lips with his chopsticks. “There’s no way the owners would ever risk everyone finding out about their secret ingredient by advertising it.”
“Ah, you’re right. Sorry for dragging you into my little conspiracy theory; I always geek out a little whenever I eat here.”
Thinking again about his memories with his late father, Minato nodded slowly. “I know what you mean.”
“You do!? Really? You can taste the magic, too! Man, I wasn’t expecting that. I think I’m liking you more by the minute!”
After that, the two of them eat their meal in silence. Minato absolutely savored his own bowl; it being his first outing to a ramen shop in quite some time, every bite and sip seemed absolutely wonderful. He briefly thought of ordering another bowl, but he immediately remembered yesterday’s fiasco at Wild Duck, and decided against it.
Once they had finished their ramen, Tomochika-san turned to speak with him again. “By the way, I haven't just been trying to annoy you over that stuff about you and Takeba-san being close. Everybody at school has been saying that you managed to get together with her right when you transferred here!”
With a sigh, Minato pushed his empty bowl away, and turned to Tomochika-san, looked him dead in the eye, and flatly said, “Takeba and I are not together. We live in the same dorm, are a part of the same school club, and talk to each other politely. That is all. Please tell anyone who asks you what I just said, and that you heard it from me directly.”
Tomochika-san’s eyes widened a little, then he smiled. “Wow, man, I’m impressed. Most guys I know would have totally said they had gotten with the most popular girl in our grade, even if it wasn’t true!”
Minato shrugged. “Most guys you know must be liars.”
“Oh, now that was harsh. Probably true, though.” Tomochika-san paused for a moment, then said, “Hey, would you like to hang out after school again sometime. We can go on your time; just let me know when you’re free.”
Even now, Minato felt hesitant. But, after a moment, he pushed through it, and answered, “Thank you. I will… Tomochika.”
He was nervous about what the effect of leaving off the honorifics would have, but he worried for nothing; if anything, Tomochika smiled wider. “You bet, man. Let’s meet up here again when we do! I’ll tell you all about my secret plan. Dude, you are gonna flip when you hear it!”
Minato nodded, and gave a little smile, both to Tomochika and to himself. It really did seem like his classmate had taken a liking to him.
Just as he thought that, time still, and the scene around him became tinged with dark blue.
Another one!? Already!? Minato thought, surprised, but also feeling a strange, child-like joy.
As if in answer, another face down Tarot card appeared before his eyes. A second later, it flipped over, revealing it to be The Magician.
Oh, lovely, Nekomata groaned in his mind. I thought that I felt some sort of resonance with this brat.
As his Persona finished her griping, Minato heard another voice echo in his mind, that of his Velvet Room Attendant, Elizabeth.
“I am thou… thou art I… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of The Magician arcana.”
Like the previous two Social Links, the card appeared again, surrounded by the ten empty stars, one of which filled in with a chime. The scene in front of him held for a moment, then faded away, time resuming in the ramen shop as it did.
Tomochika, his new Social Link and, hopefully, friend, turned to look out the door, and looked shocked. “What, it’s already dark!? Damn, I missed my favorite show! Oh, well… let’s get going. Ah, but first, let’s swap numbers. Bust out that cell phone!”
Minato rolled his eyes a little at the excitement, but he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and the two of them exchanged numbers. With that finished, he looked up and said. “We should probably head out before it gets too late, Tomochika.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It is getting pretty late. It was great hanging out with you, Arisato! Let’s do it again soon.”
“Sure,” Minato said. The two stood up from their stools, and began walking toward the front door-
Only to almost run into Minako and Junpei as they entered the ramen shop.
After School, Arisato Minako
As her brother closed the classroom door behind him, Minako let out a deep sigh of relief. If he had stayed with her much longer, she was sure that she would have cracked. As much as she had meant what she had said to her brother about reaching out to others, and she HAD meant it, she had been struggling not to go back on it all. To just grab hold of her brother and never let go, like she had been doing for the past decade of her life. It was proving so much harder to act on that then she had thought that it would be.
“Yo, Minako! You ready to head out?”
Minako turned around, and found Iori Junpei walking up the desk aisle, smiling his usual cocky smile. Immediately, she stood up from her chair.
“Sure, Junpei-kun! Let’s go!”
“Alright! I know someplace that’s really good! It’ll be my treat!” Junpei paused for a moment, then said, “Although, before we head there, I could show you around the area. Port Island is a big place, and I don’t want you to get lost.”
“That would be lovely, Junpei-kun,” she answered, smiling. “Thank you very much.” She had already been around the island with her brother, but she still didn’t feel like she had a complete lock on every important spot yet.
“All right! Let’s go!”
By the time she and her classmate had left the room, her brother and his companion had already left and were out of sight. Silently thankful for the potential temptation being removed, Minako walked beside Iori out of the school and to Paulownia Mall, with Junpei giving her another rundown of the area as they chatted back and forth about that day’s classes. Mostly about how much he hated Mr. Ekoda, his attitude, and how bad his lesson had been.
Minako wouldn’t have known; she had fallen asleep in his class again. Thankfully, she hadn’t been caught by the man this time.
Once they got to the mall, her guide immediately brought her over toward the arcade, or more specifically, the crane machines right outside of it, filled with Jack Frost dolls, with the occasional Ganesha banks in the mix.
“Hey, I hadn’t realized they’d put these in!” he exclaimed, pointing to the machines. Turning to Minako, he smirked and asked, “Gimmie a sec, and I’ll get you a Jack Frost with my mad crane game skills!”
“Really!?” Minako said, placing one hand over her heart and giving Junpei as sweet a smile as she could, as Pixie moved to the forefront of her mind. “For me!?”
“You betcha, for you, Minako-chan!” her baseball cap wearing classmate declared, taking out his wallet. “Let the Master do his work!”
“Be careful not to spend too much on it,” Minako warned. “You need it for ramen later.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve set aside enough for that,” Junpei answered, pulling out a few bills. “Not like I’ll need it for this, anyway!”
As Junpei began his battle with the crane game, Minako began to increasingly think that he WOULD need the money; time after time he wrestle with the controls, and each time the crane either failed to grip the Jack Frost box, or failed to hold it long enough to get it to the deposit slot, to Junpei’s increasing frustration.
“Maybe you should just stop now, Junpei-kun,” Minako said at his last failed attempt, acutely aware of how much money he had already spent on the machine.
“No way,” he said. “I’ve got enough cash for one more game, and I’m gonna beat this thing, and get that doll for you!” Before Minako could object, Junpei shoved his last few coins into the slot, and the crane game fired up again.
Carefully moving the joystick, Junpei brought the crane to precisely to the point where it needed to be to get as strong a grip on the nearest Jack Frost box as possible. Pressing down hard on the grab button, the crane lowered down toward the box, closed its claws around it, and… gripped tight, lifted it up, brought it over to the deposit box, and dropped it.
“Oh, yeah, baby!” Junpei-kun shouted as he reached into the hatch to retrieve his prize. Pulling the box out of the crane machine, he spun around on his toes, lifted the Jack Frost box up in the air with one hand, and proclaimed, “Ta-da-da-da! I’m the man!”
He held the pose for a moment, then presented the Jack Frost to his classmate. “For you, Minako-dono!”
“Why, thank you, Junpei-sama,” Minako said, smiling, and taking the box offered to her. “You are truly the master of the crane machine!”
And of our heart! Pixie exclaimed. Now Minako! Now is the time! Confess your love for this wonderful man, here and now!
Eurydice, Minako thought.
Roughly shoving the fae creature aside, Eurydice took up her heart-shaped lyre, and hit Pixie on the head, leaving her dazed with cartoonish stars circling her skull.
Thank you, she thought.
“Ma’am, you honor me!” Junpei replied, giving Minako a little bow. “Well, is there anywhere else you’d like me to show ya? Or do you just want to head over to Hagakure now?”
“Let’s go now, Junpei-kun,” she answered. “We need to be back to the dorm by curfew, and we need time to finish our meal.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get goin’!”
By the time the two of them had walked to the monorail station, boarded the train, and made their way to the stripmall, the sun was already setting. Hurrying up the metal spiral stairs, they at last arrived at the restaurant, with its white-skyblue sign. The smell that was wafting through the cracks in the door was absolutely spectacular.
“Well, here we are!” Junpei said. “Ready to head in?”
“Yep!” Minako said, reminding herself to not to get too big of a bowl; the embarrassment and pain of having to waddle home after her and Minato’s pig out at Wild Duck stuck out firmly in her mind, and she did not want to repeat it.
“Well, then, ladies first,” Junpie-kun said, opening the sliding door and ushering her in. With a thank you, Minako walked past him, into the ramen joint-
And barrelling right in front of her twin brother and Tomochika Kenji, nearly driving the box with her new Jack Frost doll into her brother’s ribs.
“Oh! Hi, ‘To! I didn’t realize that we were going to the same place.”
“Guess we can’t really be parted even when we try,” her brother muttered, before giving her their little waist-high wave. “Good to see you, ‘Ko. Looks like you’ve got a new Jack Frost.”
“Yep! Junpei-kun won it for me at the crane machine at the mall!”
At that, Minato’s face hardened from his usual, relaxed indifference to something cold, and rigid. Slowly, he traversed his head to look at Junpei-kun, who had also gone still and was staring back. “Did he?”
Minako frowned. “Yes. He did.”
Her brother wasn’t still angry about what had happened last night in Tartarus, was he? It really didn’t seem wise for him to hold onto that. S.E.E.S. didn’t need infighting, and she really thought that Minato turning down a chance for another Social Link was a bad idea.
There was a tense silence for a few moments, as the two of them tried to stare each other down, before Tomochika-san cleared his throat, breaking the tension. “I don’t like to interrupt, but I’ve gotta get going before it gets too dark. See you around, Arisato?”
Turning to his companion, Minato relaxed. “Yeah, I’m gonna head back to the dorm. See you later, Tomochika. You too, ‘Ko.”
Her brother moved past her and out the door, even as she opened her mouth to object; was he really just going to leave without even SPEAKING to Junpei-kun!? She turned back to their dormmate, desperate to make some kind of apology, but stopped. Tomochika-san had gotten Junpei’s attention, and was whispering something in his ear, who whispered back in turn. The two gave each other a small smile, a tap on the shoulder, and then Tomochika left the restaurant.
Minako cocked her head. “What were you talking about?”
“Nothing,” Junpei-kun said easily. “Just something we were talking about this morning at school.”
Suddenly hearing the sounds of a large number of footsteps coming toward the ramen joint, the two schoolmates made their way into the restaurant to make room for the other customers.
“Um… alright,” Junpei said, as the chef came over to take their order. “We’ll have two specials!”
“The special?” Minako asked. She hadn’t been expecting Junpei-kun to get her something that extravagant. She would have been thrilled with a regular, standard bowl.
“Oh, the normal meals here are good, too,” Junpei said. Then, she smiled widely, and whispered, “but the special? Pure. Awesome.”
Minako giggled. “Well, it must be if you say so, Junpei-kun.” She paused for a moment, not sure what to say, then added, “Thanks again, though. You didn’t need to get me the special right off the bat, you know.”
“Sure I did!” he replied. “And I wanted to do it, so why wouldn’t I?”
Minako felt a warmth well up in her, a warmth that she had usually only felt around her twin brother.
Please, oh please, let this be the start of a Link! she thought.
The two of them chatted for a few minutes, mostly about classes, before the waiter brought them their bowls. As they ate their meals, Minako couldn’t help but think that the ramen had come from heaven; the smell was wonderful, and the taste of the soup blended with the noodles perfectly.
“This is delicious!”
Junpei-kun laughed. “See? I told you it was good!”
The two continued their meal, savoring every bite and sip. Once they were almost finished, though, she felt Junpei tap her on the shoulder.
“Hey… do you feel okay, now?” he asked.
Minako looked over to him, frowning in confusion. “Yeah. Why, what’s up?”
“Oh, nothing,” Junpei said, trying to nonchalantly wave her question off. “I heard that while you were out for a while, you were at the hospital. You seemed full of energy at school, but I was kinda worried.”
“That’s when my brother and I had our first Persona battle with the Shadows,” Minako whispered to him, hoping that no one overhead them. “Thanks for asking, though.”
“No problemo, partner,” he said with a smile. “And, I had some problems when I transferred here, too. In your case, you’ve got all the fighting stuff on top of that… I was wondering if you weren’t accustomed to school or whatever…”
“We- I’m not accustomed to being at the same school for more than one year,” Minako murmured. She had almost included Minato in her statement; she didn’t want Junpei to think that her brother was strange.
“Well, don’t worry. I think that you’ll do just fine,” Junpei answered, giving her a warm smile. It really seemed like the brash young man was trying to be thoughtful toward her.
Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease, she thought desperately to herself.
Her prayers were answered immediately; time froze, a blue hue engulfed Hagakure, and her attendant, Theodore, whispered in her mind that she had formed a Social Link with The Magician, the card for which appeared her eyes, with the usual set of stars. Then, almost as quickly as it had come, it vanished, and the world returned to its usual state.
“Still though, I’ve been thinking,” Junpei-kun said, his smile turning to a smirk that Minako didn’t trust. “Girls and guys livin’ in the same dorm? That can’t be good…”
Minako’s eyes narrowed, as she switched Eurydice out for Ara Mitama in her mind. “Stop smirking like that.”
“Aww, I can’t help it,” Junpei moaned. “Oh, but I don’t drag love into my work. Then again, I can’t guarantee that I won’t fall for somebody, haha!”
Minako sighed, decided to give Junpei the benefit of the doubt, and drained the last of her ramen. Setting the bowl down, she turned to her new friend, as that was what he undoubtedly was, and said, “Thank you for coming out with me, Junpei. This was a lovely time, and the food was delicious.”
“Anytime, Minako-chan!” Junpei said. Looking up, he frowned and pulled out his wallet. “We’d better get a move on. It doesn’t look like the crowd is letting up; we should make space for the next customers. And besides, Kirijo-senpai will probably get on our case if we don’t get back by curfew.”
“That’s a shame,” Minako said as she stood up. “I would have liked to have another bowl.”
Upon noticing Junpei-kun’s look of horror, she closed her eyes and gave a cheeky smile. “I’d pay for it myself, of course!”
Evening
What an interesting book, Kirijo Mitsuru thought as she placed her now fully-read book on the history of the Fujiwara clan down on the lobby’s table. I wish that I had been taught this properly at Gekkoukan; Mr. Ono gives far too much focus on the Sengoku era at the expense of the rest of our nation’s history.
Taking the sip from the tea she had prepared for her reading session, she scanned the two other people in the room, Akihiko and Takeba-chan. The first was sitting on the couch to her right, polishing his boxing gloves, and the second was seated at the dining table behind her, texting on her phone again. Iori and the Arisato twins had yet to return to the dorm even though the sun had gone down, which was making her concerned. It wasn’t anywhere near time for the Dark Hour, or even the dorm’s curfew, but as the leader of S.E.E.S., the three of them were her responsibility, and if they were out and about at night, they could be in danger.
That, and she was more than a little fed up acting as a navigator, when her innermost self longed to take to the field personally. Perhaps… perhaps she should go out after them. Face whatever might be threatening them. Put herself at the front, at the point of greatest danger. Even as she formed the thoughts, she could feel Penthesilea trembling with excitement, readying her rapier and dagger.
It was what she was meant to do. All she was meant to do. Why would she just sit here, then?
Mitsuru paused for a moment, then let out a whisper of a sigh, setting her tea cup down. She knew that such things were foolish for her to think. While the Arisato twins were the Consuls, the field leaders in Tartarus, she was the overall leader of S.E.E.S.. She couldn’t let her own desires overrule her duty or her better judgement. For the time being, it would be best to simply remain here, remain patient, and await the return of the other three members of their dorm.
As if in response to her thoughts, the dorm’s front door swung open, and Arisato Minato walked through it. “Hey there, Arisato-kun,” Akihiko said as he looked up from his gloves. “Where have you been?”
“Hagakure,” he answered. “With one of my classmates.”
“Really?” she heard Takeba ask from behind Mitsuru’s seat. “Who did you go with.”
“Tomochika Kenji.”
“WHAT!?” Mitsuru heard Takeba shout, followed by the sound of a chair almost tipping over. “Minato-san, you can NOT be serious! That guy’s almost as much of a creep as Junpei is, and I’m pretty sure that he’s the one at the center of the rumors about us! You can’t get involved with him!”
“Too late,” Minato said, his voice flat. “Already promised to meet up with him again. Besides, I told him clearly today that there’s nothing going on between us.”
“Alright,” Takeba said, clearly nervous. “But if he starts getting out of line, you need to put him in his place, ok!”
“Ok.” With that last word, Minato began walking toward the stairs. Before he could make it across the room, though, Mitsuru stood up.
“Arisato-kun,” she said. “I’d like to speak to you, please. In the command room.”
Minato stopped, seemingly with a jolt, and turned back to look at her. She wasn’t sure, but there seemed to be an odd look in his eyes, though she couldn’t place what it was.
Inwardly, she frowned. He had looked at her like that a lot, ever since he had arrived at the dorm in fact. He wasn’t scared of her, was he?
Was… was she scary?
“What do you need to talk about, Kirijo-senpai?” Minato asked, bringing Mitsuru out from her thoughts.
“I… just wanted to discuss a few things about our operation in Tartarus last night,” she answered. “It shouldn’t take very long.”
For a few moments, Minato stayed silent and unmoving, then he nodded, and said, “After you, Kirijo-senpai.”
Smiling just a little, Mitsuru said, “Merci, Arisato-kun,” and walked over to her underclassman, and began walking side by side with him as they ascended the stairwell in a comfortable silence.
Or, at least, what Mitsuru had considered a comfortable silence. At the midpoint between the boys and girls floors, Minato suddenly asked, “Kirijo-senpai, am I in trouble?”
More than a little taken aback, she looked over to her companion and said, “Of course not, Arisato-kun. I just want to discuss a few matters, and ensure the team’s effectiveness going forward.”
Minato paused for a moment, then nodded silently, and the two continued up the stairs until they reached the top floor. Opening the door, Mitsuru usured Minato inside, before entering herself, ensuring no one had followed her before she closed the door behind her.
Once the two of them were alone together, Minato looked up to her through his long, thick bangs. “May I ask what it is you wanted to talk about, Kirijo-senpai?”
Mitsuru nodded, returning his gaze, and trying not to be too self-conscious that it was only her boots’ high heels that allowed her to stand at an equal height to her supposed subordinate. “Yes. I wanted to discuss the… business with Iori last night.”
Minato stiffened, clearly unsure what to expect next. “What of it?” he asked.
Mitsuru took a deep breath, looked at him firmly, and gave a small smile.
“I think that you handled the situation quite well, Arisato-kun.”
Clearly taken aback, Minato hesitated before he answered. “Y-you do, senpai?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “Given that you have only joined our organization recently, I think that you displayed remarkable astuteness of the importance of what we do, and the situation that your team was in. While it can be easy to allow one’s emotions to guide one’s hand, you kept a level head, and realized the dangers of acting without thought, and acted to ensure that they did not emerge from your team again. That was well done, Arisato-kun. Well done indeed.”
At first, the boy in front of her stood still, blinking a few times, as processed what she had said. Then, he gave her a soft, full-toothed smile, the first one that Mitsuru had seen from him. “Thank you, Kirijo-senpai. Thank you very much.”
“You are quite welcome, Arisato-kun,” Mitsuru said, returning his smile for a moment. Sadly, she had to let it fade away, and return to more serious matters. “With that said, however, there is something serious that I wanted to discuss with you as well.”
Immediately, and fortunately, Minato became serious again. “What is it, senpai?” he asked.
Mitsuru paused for a moment, considering how exactly to say what she was about to say, before deciding that simplicity was her best option.
“Please, do not allow any feelings you have for how Iori acted to become personal.”
At that, Arisato became pensive and… angry? Yes, he was definitely angry.
“I… don’t know if I can do that, senpai.”
“What?” Mitsuru exclaimed, more than a little taken aback; given his reaction in Tartarus last night, she had thought that this sort of thing would not be a problem with Minato-kun. That it was becoming one left her confused, and slightly disappointed. “Why not?”
Minato was silent for a moment, then, slowly, said, “Because… because he put my sister in danger, senpai. My sister. She’s my only family. My only remaining family. And Iori’s recklessness put her in danger. If I lose her, I don’t…” He paused for a moment, swallowing, then continued, “I don’t know how I could take it.”
Mitsuru felt her chest tighten at his words, images of her father flashing through her mind. The idea of losing him, her own only remaining family… it was just as horrifying to her as it horrified Arisato.
Do not worry, young one, Penthesilia whispered in her mind. Your father shall not die. We will make sure of it. We will both die to prevent it.
Reassured by her Persona’s words, Mitsuru refocused on her own conversation with Minato.
“I completely understand, Arisato-kun. I… I too have very few remaining close family, and would do anything to protect them.” She paused for a moment, carefully considering her next words, before continuing. “That said, not holding a grudge toward Iori is entirely in keeping with keeping your sister safe from harm.”
Minato’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “What do you mean, Kirijo-senpai?”
“I mean, regardless of your feelings for Iori, we will all still need to face the dangers of Tartarus. And if you maintain an animus against him, that will affect your performance during our expeditions, and if your performance in our expeditions suffers… that in itself could put Minako-chan in danger. So, for your sister’s sake, you should keep your feelings for Iori tamped down, and focus on our mission and our true enemy, the Shadows.”
For a moment, Arisato Minato remained very still, and she began to worry that he would reject her advice completely. But, after a moment, he looked her in the eye, and nodded. “I understand, Kirijo-senpai.”
Letting out a breath she didn’t know that she was holding, Mitsuru smiled. “Thank you, Arisato-kun. You show maturity far beyond your years.”
This time, Minato’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, something Mitsuru had never expected to see. “Th-thank you, Kirijo-senpai. Is there anything else you need?”
“Now that you mention it, yes. There are a few more kinks in the group’s cohesion I believe need to be worked on. However, I’d like for your sister to be present before we discuss them; as the second Consul, she needs to be included, as she will be in command half the time.”
Nodding, Minato asked, “Also, I’d like to request that we get a backup weapon for Yukari-san. With only her bow and arrows, she can’t participate in group attacks, and if a Shadow were to get past the other three of us, she would be defenseless.”
“You are quite right, Arisato-kun,” Mitsuru agreed immediately. “I will discuss the matter with her, and ensure that she receives a suitable sidearm as soon as possible.”
With that, the major points that she needed to talk about being settled, Mitsuru turned to a handful of minor points before ending their meeting, and releasing Minato back to return to his room. Perhaps it was her imagination, but it seemed like the normally apathetic boy had just a little bit of a spring in his step.
Notes:
Author's Notes:
1. Although Sanada and Iori HAD laughed at them.
2. It seems that way, because it was.
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Iori Junpei: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
THE MAGICIAN - Tomochika Kenji: Rank 1
Chapter Text
April 23rd, 2009
“See, ‘To,” Minako teased as she and her brother made their way through the school’s front gate. “Isn’t this better than trying to get here ahead of each other all the time?”
“Of course it is,” Minato muttered back. “And you know I know it. I’m sorry I missed you the last couple of days.”
“ And almost again today!” she teased. “You only got down to the lobby at the last minute!”
Immediately, though, she felt she had taken a step too far; her brother stiffened up, and his head shot to the side, clearly trying to avoid her gaze. Quickly reaching, she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Did you have another nightmare about that night, ‘To?”
“...Pretty much,” he muttered, still not looking at her.
Sighing, Minako gave her brother a few pats on his shoulder, and said, “You know that you can always talk to me about that, right ‘To? You don’t have to keep all of that bottled up.”
“Yeah… yeah, I know.” Minato relaxed under her hand, and finally turned back to look at her, giving her a small smile. “Thanks, ‘Ko.”
Minako gave her brother a big smile. “No problem, ‘To!”
With the siblings brought back to a proper frame of mind, they reached the front entrance of the school, with Minato opening the door for Minako, and following her inside. As they were changing to their indoor shoes at the lockers, though, they both overheard a pair of girls talking on the other side of the shoe lockers.
“Is it me, or have there been more weird people around lately?”
“You’re talking about the Apathy Syndrome, right? My neighbor has that… He grosses me out. Sometimes I think I might have it too, and it depresses me.”
“Maybe you just need some exercise. The athletics teams are accepting new members starting today. Maybe we should join!”
The girls started to walk off, their conversation growing quieter and more inane as they walked away. It was just as well for them that they did; Minako had felt herself getting angrier and angrier listening to them. Peoples’ lives were being destroyed by the Apathy Syndrome, and all these girls could say was that they looked gross!
“What’s wrong, ‘Ko?”
Drawn out of thoughts by her brother’s question, she hissed, “Didn’t you hear the things they were saying, ‘To!? A real disaster is happening all around us, and these stupid little girls can only think of how it’s affecting them!”
“We can’t go around arguing with every idiot in the world, ‘Ko,” her brother murmured. “Let’s save our energy for something useful; fighting the shadows.”
Minako sighed, and grimaced. “Yeah, you’re right.” She paused for a moment, then smiled slyly as she thought over the conversation they had eavesdropped on, and noticed something important.
“Like getting more Social Links. By joining one of the Athletics Teams.”
Minato’s face remained blank, to her eternal frustration. Finally, he said, “Seems like a good idea. If we’re lucky, they’ll match up with one of the Persona’s we’ve nabbed the last couple of days.”
“We’ve each got a pretty wide spread at the moment, don’t we,” Minako replied with a grin; S.E.E.S. had gone out to Tartarus again last night, and they had made it a few levels higher in the tower. She and her brother had each gotten two more Personas in the fighting; she had found Alp of The Lovers and her own Nekomata, while Minato had claimed his own versions of Angel and Ara Mitama.
She was jolted out of her thoughts by the first bell of the day. Hurriedly, the two finished changing their shoes, and made double time to their homeroom.
After School, Arisato Minato
As the final bell of the day rang out, Minato gathered his sister and they walked out the door at the front of the classroom together. Going this way had the dual advantages of both being faster to get to the school’s athletics facilities, and avoiding having to directly cross paths with Iori. He felt a little guilty about not talking to Tomochika, but he had sent him a text message during class, something that he had never done before in his life, explaining that he was trying to join one of the sports teams. Fortunately, Tomochika had texted him back, saying that he understood, and wished him luck.
He had silently thanked whatever God was watching over him that he hadn’t been caught.
In any case, the two siblings made their way down the stairs to the ground floor, and toward the outdoor walkway to the gymnasium and other facilities. That uncovered walkway was actually very nice, and even had a small seated area with a persimmon tree at its center. The tree, while still very young, looked to be just about ready to start bearing its first fruits. Making an apathetic note to check in on the tree later, Minato kept walking down the path to the gymnasium, opening the door for his sister before following her in.
It being both of their first time in this building of the school, the two took a quick look around, taking in the layout, before Minako suddenly went still as her eyes focused on one specific spot.
“Weird glowing blue thing, eleven o’clock!”
Following her gaze, he quickly spotted another crystal like the ones they had found on their beds, laying on the floor in front of a set of lockers.
“Mine,” Minato said, hurtling forward.
“Wha- Hey! I saw it first!” Minako shouted, racing to catch up. But she was too slow; Minato snatched the Twilight Fragment up before she could get close to reaching it.
“No,” Minato said, smirking at Minako, and holding the Fragment up in the air as far as his arm could stretch, well beyond her reach. “Mine.”
“‘Tooooooo!” his sister wailed, jumping up and down to try and grab her stolen prize. “Give it baaaaaack!”
Minato’s smirk widened. “On one condition.”
Brought up short, Minako stopped jumping, and looked at him with suspicion. “What condition?”
“You stop calling me ‘little brother’. Forever.”
Minako stilled for a moment, then returned her brother’s smirk with one of her own. “Enjoy your new Twilight Fragment, little brother. ”
Minato sighed, his face returning to its usual blank expression, his arm lowering as he put his prize in his pocket. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
Laughing at her tiny triumph, Minako continued down the hallway, her sullen, slouching brother following her. Reaching the double doors that led to the tennis courts and the racing track, they found a list of boys and girls athletic teams tapped to one of them. Looking it over they found five teams that were still accepting members; track, swimming, and kendo for the boys, and volleyball and tennis for the girls.
“I’m taking kendo,” Minato immediately announced.
“Of course you are, ‘To,” Minako answered, completely unsurprised. “And it’s probably for the best, given what we’re doing with S.E.E.S.” She paused for a moment, tilting her head as she thought her choice over, before saying, “I think I’ll take… tennis.”
Minato nodded, an increasingly familiar unease settling in his stomach. “Then, I guess we’re splitting up again. See you later, ‘Ko.”
“You too, ‘To,” she replied, reaching out to take the door handle. Opening the door and stepping outside, she turned back so they could give each other their little wave. Then, smiling, she made her way over toward the tennis courts. Sighing, Minato turned on his heel, walked toward the gymnasium, where the kendo team was meeting, and went inside.
Immediately, his ears were filled with the sound of wood striking wood. There were thirteen members on the team, all dressed in their protective gear, plus the coach and the student manager, a tanned girl wearing the school’s gym clothes. Twelve of the team members had paired up and were sparring with each other, swinging their shinai in practiced strikes. 1.
As the door closed behind him, the coach somehow managed to hear the noise over the din, and turned to look at the newcomer. Waving him over, Minato walked over to the coach, who said, “Welcome. I assume you’re looking to join the kendo team?”
“Yes, sensei,” Minato said, louder than usual to reach over the din of the practice.
The coach nodded, then gave Minato a thoughtful look. “Are you part of Miss Toriumi’s class?”
Minato nodded.
“Ah! Then you must be one of the new transfer students! Arisato Minato-kun, correct?”
Minato nodded again.
Nodding back, the coach said, “I’ll take care of the paperwork later,” then turned to the six pairs and the one extra member, who was standing off to the side, and blew his whistle. Almost instantly, the entire team stopped, and an unexpected quiet fell over the gym. “Everyone, fall in, and remove your helmets.”
Just as quickly, the kendo team hurriedly formed up behind the thirteenth member and the manager, all of them taking their helmets off. For some reason, likely Social Link related, Minato felt himself honing in on the spare member of the club, a boy with a lightly tanned skin, and short, swept back hair.
“Everyone, this is Arisato Minato. He has decided that he would like to join the Gekkoukan kendo team. So, starting today, he’s an official member of the team.”
Minato tried not to cringe into himself; even among S.E.E.S., he hadn’t felt this much like the center of attention, with so many pairs of eyes homing in on him. It was bringing back bad memories. “Like the coach said,” he spoke up. “I’m Arisato Minato. It’s nice to meet you all.”
“Welcome aboard, Arisato-kun,” the student manager said. “I’m Nishiwaki Yuko. You’re a second year, right?”
“Yes, I am.” Minato answered.
“Then you can just call me Yuko,” she said.
“Thank you, Yuko-san,” Minato replied. As she was the team manager, he thought it was best to keep the honorifics.
At that moment, the coach cleared his throat. “Let’s see… hey, Miyamoto!”
The boy that Minato had focused his attention on earlier took a step forward, and said, “Yes!”
The coach turned to address Minato. “This here is our team captain. He’s a great fighter, and places well in competitions. You two are in the same class, right?” Without waiting for Minato to answer, the coach turned to the captain, and asked, “Miyamoto, keep an eye on the new guy here, okay?”
“You got it, coach,” Miyamoto answered. Then, he walked to Minato. Looking him dead in the eye, the team captain raised an eyebrow, and said, “You’re the guy who went out with Takeba on the first day of school, right? You’re practically a celebrity.”
Sagging even lower than his usual slouch, Minato groaned, “For the last time, we just walked to school together. We live in the same dorm, and she was showing me the way from there to the school, and that. Is. ALL.”
Miyamoto paused for a moment, and then he grinned. “Yeah, that’s what Tomochika told me this morning. Good on you for being honest. I’m Miyamoto Kazushi. You’ve seen me around, right?”
Searching through his memories, Minato realized he HAD seen Miyamoto before; he had been arguing with Yuko on the first day of school. He had forgotten because it simply hadn’t seemed relevant at the time. “Yeah, I have.”
“That’s what I thought,” Miyamoto said, his face splitting into a cocky smile. “I’m a bit of a celebrity around here too, after all! Gotta warn you, though. You better not think you’re getting the easy treatment just ‘cause you joined mid-season!”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Miyamoto-san,” Minato replied, more than a little amazed that the team captain was giving him such a warm welcome.
Even as he thought the words, once again time froze; again the Tarot card, this time The Chariot, again Elizabeth’s words whispering into his ear, and again the ten stars with one filled, before time resumed.
“Since this is your first practice, I’ll just fill you in on what’s expected of everyone, let you observe the other guys practicing, and call it a day,” Yuko-san said. “We have practice on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Not on the days before tests, though. I’ll make sure your uniform and pads are ready for next time.”
“Thank you, Yuko-san,” Minato said, following her to the back of the gym. Miyamoto and the rest of the kendo team donned their helmets, and moved back to resume sparring.
He was pretty sure that kendo was going to be a fantastic time, even without his metaphysical activities.
After School, Arisato Minako
Hearing the door shut behind her, Minako felt a pang in her heart; deliberately separating herself from her twin wasn’t getting any easier. Still, it was necessary, so she tried to focus on what she needed to do, and made her way all the way over to the tennis courts.
There were two tennis courts, each occupied by the boys and girls teams, with each engaged in their own scrimmages. Minako felt her eyes narrow as she watched the girls team; they seemed so… unenergetic. Especially after she had gone through several outings in Tartarus.
Well, except for one of them, a girl with long, black hair tied in a ponytail who was moving across her court and wielding her racket like her life depended on it.
Finally reaching the courts, she walked up to the club advisor, a woman in her mid twenties. Minako frowned; maybe it was just her imagination, but the teacher really didn’t seem to be taking her job seriously, or paying any attention to what was going on at all. Stopping a few feet away, Minako waited for the teacher to address her.
And waited.
And… waited.
Finally, at Ara Mitama’s urging, Minako took a step forward, cleared her throat, and said, “Excuse me, sensei?”
Acting like she had been shaken awake, the teacher finally turned to face her, putting a very fake looking smile on her face. “Oh, hello. I guess that you’re here to join the tennis team. I’m Ms. Kanou. What is your name?”
“Arisato Minako, Ms. Kanou.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Arisato-kun,” Ms. Kanou answered. “Would you like to meet the rest of the girls?”
“Yes please, sensei.”
“Alright then. I’ll sort the paperwork out later. Turning to the tennis courts, Kanou opened the chain link gate, usured Minako into the court, and blew her whistle. “Everyone, come over!”
On hearing the call, the other members of the tennis team stopped their scrimmages, and began walking over to the pair. All except the ponytailed girl, who immediately set off at a run.
“So,” Kanou-sensei said once everyone had arrived. “You all have a new teammate. She’s Arisato Minako, from class 2-F. Everyone be nice to her, okay?”
“Nice to meet you all!” Minako said, hoping to make a good first impression.
“Nice to meet you, too!” the team chorused back.
“Um,” Ms. Kanou interrupted, looking over at the rest of the girls. “Who was the leader of the juniors?”
“That would be me,” the energetic girl Minako had singled out earlier said, taking a step forward. Now that she was closer, Minako could see that she had an almond-shaped face, and dark grey eyes, so dark they seemed to be as black as her hair.
“Oh, good,” Ms. Kanou said. “I’ll leave the rest to you. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do here, anyway!”
And with that, their teacher let out a childish giggle, tossed her hair, turned on her heel, and left, walking back toward the school, leaving them all at the court by themselves. Minako stared at her back as she walked away. This… this wasn’t what the teacher overseeing an athletic team was supposed to be doing, right?
“‘I don’t really know anything! Tee-hee!’” a girl with short hair mimicked.
A girl with tanned skin laughed. “That sounds exactly like her. She’s too old to try and act cute like that.”
The leader of the juniors sighed, then turned to look at her team’s new member. “So, you’re Arisato Minako-san?”
“Yes. Please take care of me.”
The other girl smiled. “Geez, no need to be so formal. I’m Iwasaki Rio; I’m a junior, like you. Like Ms. Kanou said, I’m in charge of the juniors on the team, so don’t hesitate to ask me anything, ok?”
“Thank you, Iwasaki-san. When does the club meet?” Minako asked.
“We meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, except in the days leading up to exams.”
“Thanks again, Iwasaki-san. I’ll do my best!”
Iwasaki’s smile became a bit strained. “Well, it’s good to know I won’t be the only one,” she whispered. Just as quickly, though, she managed to get her expression back under control. “Well, since this is your first day, we’ll just focus on some basic stretches and exercises. Just keep up with us as best you can.”
At that, the girls all groaned. “Really?” the short-haired girl that mimicked their teacher complained. “MORE exercises?”
“I keep telling you all, fundamentals are important!” Iwasaki-san said, voice sharp. “Let’s start with a run around the court.”
A chorus of “Alrights” came out of the group, all of them with sour looks on their faces, as they filed into a double line beside the chain link fence. Sensing that she should head to the back, as she was the newest member, Minako was surprised when Rio joined her there.
“Minako-san, you stand in the left-hand line,” she said, pointing to the line of girls further from the fence. “If you start getting worn out, just focus your mind and you’ll be able to pull through.”
“Don’t worry, Iwasaki-san,” Minako said cheerfully, thinking of her time in Tartarus. “I’ll be a-okay!”
The team captain laughed. “Ah, you sound promising! I’m happy to have you on the team, Arisato!”
Minako felt her own smile widen as she looked at the team leader. “Happy to be on it!”
With that, the team’s run began. But just as Minako lifted her foot from the ground, time froze, and the Chariot Tarot card appeared before her eyes.
I am thou… Theodore said. Thou art I… Thou hast established a new bond. Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Chariot arcana…
The ten empty stars around the Chariot card, then one filled. Then, the whole scene fell away again, and Minako was running again. And she and the others kept running, for at least fifteen minutes.
Then they went through a series of muscle exercises and stretches.
Then Minako went over the basics of serving and receiving, how to hold her racket, and an intensive run down of the rules of the game.
Iwasaki Rio was… dedicated.
“Alright, everyone,” the leader of the juniors finally said. “That’s all we can get in for today. Let’s head home. I expect to see all of you here at the same time on Monday.”
Ah, I like her, Ara Mitama said in her mind. She will be a fantastic leader for this sport!
The girls began filling out of the tennis court, sour looks on their faces. Minako managed to pick out words like ‘taskmaster’, ‘slave driver’, and other unflattering remarks. She felt her eyes narrow in confusion; why were they so upset? Granted, she may have had an unfair advantage, having to face the demands of Tartarus and all, but they were in an athletics team. Having to go through lots of physical exercises really ought to be expected.
So, after giving her final goodbye to Iwasaki, Minako made her way back to the school’s main building. As she reentered from the same way she had come, though, she didn’t see her brother anywhere. Briefly, she thought about texting or calling him, but quickly focused herself. She decided to check by the front entrance for him before she chose to really go unnecessarily far in trying to find Minato. As she crossed from the athletics building to the main building, two fallen leaves from the persimmon tree, fully grown out and unbroken, blew across her path. Acting on an idle thought, Minako bent down, picked them up, and placed it in her pocket. Then, she continued on with her search for her brother.
Sure enough, when she reached the main entrance, with its fancy, turfed shoe lockers, she found him. But as she looked at him, she could tell something was wrong; Minato was gazing forlornly out the front entrance, as the setting sun was filling the hallway through the front doors. Walking up to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “‘To? Are you okay?”
After a moment, her brother turned his head to look at her, and said, “I think I lost a chance to form another Link.”
Looking to where her brother had been looking, Minako immediately spotted the object of his attention; another student, a girl with darkly tanned skin, walking away at a brisk pace.
Turning back to her little brother, she asked, “What exactly happened, ‘To?”
Minato swallowed, looking down at his feet, then said, “I offered to walk her home, but she said that she was in a hurry, and went off on her own.” He shook his head in frustration. “Did… did I mess something up, ‘Ko?”
Thinking for a moment, Minako took her brother’s hand, and asked, “Is that really all that happened? Is that all that you or she said to each other?”
Her brother nodded.
Minako gave Minato a small, reassuring smile. “I’m pretty sure that you’re overthinking things, ‘To. It sounds like she genuinely just needed to leave. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“If you say so,” he replied, relaxing a little. “It’s just… frustrating. I was hoping to form a second Social Link today.”
Minako’s eyes went wide at the last comment. “A SECOND Social Link!?”
Giving a quick look around to make sure they weren’t being overheard, Minato quietly said, “Miyamoto Kazushi, the leader of the kendo team. The Chariot.”
Minako smiled, and whispered, “Iwasaki Rio, the leader of the tennis team, and the same.”
Minato smiled back. “Good work, ‘Ko. I’m proud of you.”
“Same to you, ‘To,” she said, as they turned and began to make their way back to the dorm; it was getting late, and they needed to have at least a little rest before braving the halls of Tartar Sauce again.
As they reached the outside gate, Minako suddenly had a thought worm its way into her mind. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out one of the leaves. “‘To, I’d like for you to have this.”
Her brother, face slightly scrunched up in confusion, reached out and took the leaf. “What… is this, ‘Ko?”
“It’s a leaf from the persimmon tree in the courtyard. A few of them fell off, I picked them up, and I wanted to give one to you.”
Minato cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
Minako blinked a few times, then started fidgeting on her feet, an embarrassed smile spread across her face as she realized how silly she must look, giving her brother a random persimmon leaf for no reason. “I don’t know, I just… wanted to give it to you…”
There was a long, pregnant pause, as Minato kept staring at her, blinking twice, not seeming to understand at first. Then, his lips twitched upward, he extended his hand, took the leaf, and put it in his own pocket.
“Thank you, ‘Ko.”
Immediately, Minako perked up, her embarrassed smile quickly transforming into her bright and cheerful one. And as the siblings made their way to the monorail, the girl had an extra spring in her step.
April 23rd?, 2009
“Yukari, hit the last one!” Minato shouted as he wrenched his sword out of what Mitsuru had called a Cowardly Maya, the blue-masked Shadow, he had just finished off. He was beginning to absolutely despise that kind of shadow; it was weak not just to fire attacks, but even the weapons which he, Minako, and Iori all used when not summoning their Personas. Any fight where they showed up quickly became a bloodbath in S.E.E.S.’s favor.
Behind him and to his right, he heard an Evoker fire. “IO!” Yukari shouted, and a small gale descended on the last floating Tiara Shadow, which fell to the floor screaming in pain.
“Iori, finish it off!”
The boy rushed past Minato in a blur and, with a shout, brought his katana down on the Shadow like a bat, killing it.
As he looked back up, Iori-san looked around hurriedly, trying to spot any more enemies. “Are there anymore?”
“I don’t see anything,” Minato answered, scanning the hallway, hands twitching in anticipation. “Minako? Yukari?”
“I don’t see anything,” the archer said.
“Neither do I,” Minako said, slashing her naginata through the air to shake the Shadow blood off the blade.
“Alright,” Iori-san muttered, then turned and walked back behind Minato.
Minato pursed his lips; Iori had been acting strange ever since this operation had started. Last night, when his sister had been leader, he had been acting like his usual self, albeit with a thankful absence of needless recklessness. He had even managed to make himself very useful during the last Gatekeeper battle, using his fire attacks to keep the walking hand Shadows knocked down for pretty much the whole fight while Yukari had used a new ability to keep the enormous lion-wheel too panicked to act before knocking it down with her own wind attacks. He and his sister had only occasionally had to act aside from moving to attack when the Shadows were all down.
Now, though, the baseball cap wearing boy had held a near total sullen silence, and hadn’t displayed any initiative at all; so far, he had only acted to defend himself, or on Minato’s explicit orders. Granted, he vastly preferred that to how he had acted during the last Gatekeeper battle, but it was still disconcerting, given that he was acting so completely differently from how Minato was expecting him to act.
After a moment, though, Minato simply shrugged and waved for the other three members of the team to follow him as he charged forward into the next room. He wanted a new fight. Ever since he had first entered Tartarus, he had felt the call of the warrior in his blood, and he was eager to move on and find his next enemy.
Yes, young Minato, Ara Mitama whispered in his mind, though the Persona’s voice grew in volume quickly. Go forth, and face this new battle! Show your strength and your courage!
Do not be so reckless! Apsaras hissed back. We cannot go off and face whatever is ahead of us alone!
Indeed, said Angel 2. It is foolish to act without thought. Seek wisdom from those who are around you, and see things differently from yourself. Then, you shall know the proper way forward.
Taking Angel’s advice, Minato asked his navigator, “Kirijo-senpai, do you detect anything else on this floor?”
Yes, the senior immediately replied. Down the next hallway, there is a room with six new Shadows. Once you defeat them, you’ll be able to reach the stairs to the next level.
“Alright!” Minato answered. “Everyone, follow me!”
With the order given, Minato hurried forward down the hallway, the rest of S.E.E.S. close behind him. As they came to the hall’s end, they saw that it led to a small staircase, leading to a depressed area with another stairway leading to the ascent to the next floor. Moving about on the sunken area were the six Shadows Mitsuru had mentioned, occasionally bouncing off of the bottom step of each stairwell.
“Look at ‘em,” Iori-san whispered. “Wandering around like clowns…”
“Junpei, shush!” Yukari hissed back.
Minato raised his hand, beckoning for quiet. Pettigrew, he thought to himself. You’re up.
Very well, the nervous rodent replied, moving into prime position. But be cautious.
Nodding to himself, Minato turned to the rest of the group, and whispered, “Everyone, stay quiet. I’ll ambush the first Shadow, and get the other’s attention. Once they’re all focused on me, charge down and flank them. Yukari,” he said, focusing on the archer. “Stay on the high ground; it will give you better fields of fire.” Turning his attention back to the wandering Shadows, Minato gripped the railing, ready to drop down into a dark corner while the Shadows were looking away. “Wait for my signal before you attack.”
“Hold on, ‘To,” he heard his sister say, shaken out of her ‘war face’ by her brother’s uncharacteristic aggression. “What are you…?”
She was too late; Minato, seeing that none of the enemies’ eyes were on him, lifted himself up and jumped over the railing, landing in the shadow-covered corner. Hefting his blade in one hand, he pulled his evoker from its holster with the other-
Don’t move! Pettigrew hissed.
Minato followed his Persona’s instructions, freezing solid as he stared ahead and saw what the rodent had noticed; one of the Shadows had suddenly gone still, and was looking around suspiciously, particularly in his shadowed corner. For a few moments, it seemed like his heart had frozen up. But then the Shadow relaxed, and resumed its usual wandering patrol.
Until it finally turned its back to Minato, and he charged forward.
With a shout, Minato thrust his short sword into the Shadow’s back with such force that its true form, some sort of cupid-looking thing wearing a purple mask with the ‘VI’ numeral stamped on it, was thrown to the floor in front of him. Before it could rise up on its tiny wings, though, Minato had already brought his Evoker to his temple and fired.
“Silky!” he shouted. “Bufu!”
The kerchiefed fey maid materialized above his head, dusted her hands, and aimed an open palm at the cupid. Immediately, shards of ice formed and fell, piercing the defenseless Shadow to the floor. Letting out a pathetic wail, the Shadow dissolved, its watery remains spreading across the floor as the others changed into their true forms and turned to face their attacker, trying to outflank Minato on either side.
The leading Consul smirked, then shouted “YUKARI! NOW!”
Even as he was still speaking, an arrow sailed through the air, hitting another cupid in the head and sending it dissolving to the floor. An instant after that, Minako and Iori-san ran down the stairway, Evokers already at their heads.
“HERMES, AGI!”
“ARA MITAMA, BASH!”
The two had targeted the two Cowardly Mayas in the enemy group; Iori’s target was knocked flat, while Minako’s groaned in pain but remained upright. Not that it did the Shadow much good, as his sister immediately decapitated it with her naginata. As the other was finished off by thrust from Iori’s katana, the final three Shadows, a Muttering Tiara and two Magic Hands, turned to face the new threat…
Which left them wide open to another strike from the leading Consul.
“ANGEL, SINGLE SHOT!”
Firing the Evoker, the Persona manifested over his head, blindfolded with her arms and wings spread wide. Bowing her head and crossing her arms across her chest, Angel extended her wings toward the Tiara, and a white streak of light shot out and hit the Shadow in the cheek, sending it spinning around to the side.
His savage smile widened still further, and he opened his mouth to order Yukari to finish it off-
“PERSONA!”
Before he could say a word, though, Yukari’s voice and Evoker rang out, and Io came forth, and killed the Tiara Shadow with another magical gust of wind.
Minato blinked, coming up short that the archer had acted before he could give the order. Curious, he looked over to Minako and Iori-san, to see if they would strike at their own initiative, and it did not take long for his curiosity to be satiated.
“Hermes, Agi!”
“Nekomata, Agi!”
With Hand Shadows quickly knocked to the floor by the cat spirit and messenger god’s fire magic, Minato finally got the chance to step in. “Everyone, pile in and finish them off!” he shouted, charging forward with his short sword and stabbing down at the closest Hand. He was swiftly joined by the rest of the S.E.E.S., this time including Yukari, who was wielding her new dirk for the first time this evening.
With the usual red-black sludge spilling out over the floor, the group lifted their heads again, scanning for any more enemies that might have snuck up on them. “Mitsuru-senpai, can you detect any other Shadows on this floor?” Minato asked.
Scanning… No remaining enemies on this floor. Well done, everyone.
“Thank you, senpai,” Minako answered.
“Up the stairs, everyone,” Minato ordered, racing toward the next floor, blade at his side. Quickly ascending the stairway, he could hear the other three following behind him.
Once they had reached the next floor, and hearing the tell-tale sounds of the tower rearranging itself to block their passage back, Minato looked around, and immediately recognized the layout of this floor’s entrance.
“Mitsuru-senpai, we’ve reached another Gatekeeper. Can you give us any information on it?”
Give me a moment, the navigator replied. Silence descended on the group as the navigator began her work. Finally, after a minute or two, she said, I’m having some difficulty getting a firm reading; I’m not used to scanning something so high up the tower. However, I am fairly certain that this Gatekeeper is weak to electric attacks. Do either you or your sister have a Persona that can use electrical magic?
“Yes.” “No.”
Blinking in surprise, Minato turned to look at Minako, who had an identical expression on her face as she looked at him.
“What do you mean, no?” he asked.
“I mean, no. I don’t have a Persona with electrical skills.”
“Yes, you do. You have Pixie.”
Minako’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Pixie doesn’t have an electric attack.”
“Yes she does,” Minato insisted.
Sure do! his Pixie chirped. Just look and see!
Deep in his mind, Pixie raised a single finger, bolts of static running up and down it with sparks flying off. Forming her hand into a finger gun, she aimed her arm in front of her-
Wait! Minato thought in a panic. Pixie, don’t!
-and fired a bolt directly into Orpheus’s back, who, being weak to electric attacks, immediately collapsed in a heap.
…oops, Pixie whispered.
Uncrossing his eyes from the kerfuffle between his inner selves, Minato refocused on his sister, and asked, “‘Ko, it’s starting to sound like our Personas are different abilities.”
“Yeah, and we each have Persona’s that the other doesn’t,” Minako muttered.
“Well, either way, what are we going to do about the Gatekeeper,” Yukari asked. “I don’t think that we have enough time to run around the lower floors so Minako-san can get a new Persona with lightning skills.”
“Mitsuru-senpai,” Minato asked. “How long will it be until the Dark Hour ends?”
A little over twenty minutes, Minato-kun.
The leading Consul frowned, looking down at the floor, before his head shot up again.
“Everyone, get on the teleporter. There’s something we need back at the lobby.”
“Ah, welcome my dear guests,” Igor said happily as Minako and Minato entered the Velvet Room, with Elizabeth and Theodore flanking him on his right and left side respectively. Minako sat across from her attendant, and her brother across from his. “It is good to see you after these past few days.”
“We are sorry we didn’t visit earlier, Igor-sama,” Minako said. “It was just that all of our Personas were up to the task up until now, so we didn’t think we’d need new ones.”
“There is no need to apologize, my dear. I have offered you my services as you have need them. Which, I assume, is why you are here now."
“Yes,” Minato answered. “But before we do, we have a question about our Personas.”
“Ask, and I will answer,” Igor replied, spreading his tented hands in invitation.
“Why do my sister and I have different Personas, and why do the Personas we do have have different abilities?”
“I truly do not know the answer to this question,” Igor answered, again tenting his fingers. “It may be the simple fact that you are two different people with two different souls. Or perhaps each of our guests’ Personas manifest themselves differently; our previous guests’ wielded and developed theirs’ quite differently than the two of you have. I am sorry that I cannot be of more help to you, Minato-san.”
“It’s alright, Igor,” her brother said. “Thank you for telling us what you could.”
“You are welcome, Minato-san. In the meantime, you say that you wish to form new Personas, and I am here to assist you in this. Tell me, what kind of Persona do you seek?”
“I need a Persona that has electric magic,” Minako explained. “There is a strong enemy in our path that is weak to it.”
“I see,” Igor said, considering her words. Turning toward her brother, he said, “Minato-san, I would advise you form such a Persona also.”
“But why? My Pixie already has electrical skills.”
“Yes, but you will be needing Personas of sterner stuff as you continue on your Journey. Pixie is somewhat… pathetic in terms of its power.”
Hey! Minako’s Pixie complained.
“Alright,” Minato said with a nod. “How do we form Personas?”
“That is my role on both of your Journeys,” Igor said, his wide, rictus grin seeming to grow wider still. “I will take two of the Personas in your possession, and Fuse them together. They will then become a new, separate Persona.”
“Wait,” Minako spoke up. “You’ll fuse two Personas into a different one? Wouldn’t that mean we’d lose those Personas?”
“Yes, that is true,” Igor explained. “But do not be alarmed. You are merely showing your growth, both in your power and in your souls.”
“But,” Minako’s attendant Thoedore spoke up, “if you truly wish for your old Personas to be returned to you, I hold them here in your compendium, Minako-sama.”
“And I will do the same for Minato-sama,” Elizabeth spoke up. “But, each time you retrieve one, it will require a sacrifice.”
“What kind of sacrifice!?” Minato immediately snapped, his eyes darting over to Minako.
“Money.”
That brought both siblings up short. “Money?” Minako asked, blinking in confusion.
“Yes, Minako-sama,” Theodore said. “Money. Master Igor has told us it is a valuable object in the human world. We believe it would be a fitting sacrifice for a restored Persona.”
“Now then,” Igor interrupted. “In order to form the Persona best suited to your current needs, I would recommend fusing a Persona of The Fool and The Magician Arcana.”
Minako swallowed. That’s Orpheus and Eurydice, she thought to herself.
Just as she did, though, her own original Persona entered the forefront of her mind.
Do not fear to do this thing, mine other self. It is as Igor said; fusing the Personas that you have into new ones will pave the way for you to grow in strength. I would never deprive you of that, young one. Do what needs to be done, and do not hesitate.
Okay, Eurydice, if you say so, Minako whispered back, then, acting on instinct, she raised her right hand to her temple, pinched, and then pulled. As she did so, two cards emerged from her head, one side with a picture of the Personas she was going to fuse, Eurydice and Nekomata, and the other the symbol of their Arcana. Instantly, Minako felt an emptiness in her heart where the Personas had once been. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Minato do the same, his cards holding Orpheus and his own Nekomata.
Don’t worry, Minako, she heard Pixie whisper in her mind. At least they’ll be together again.
Before she could reply to the fairy, the cards that she and her brother were holding suddenly shot out of their hands, and laid out on the table in front of Igor. The long-nosed man waved his hands over the cards, and they levitated up over his head, the fronts facing toward the twins. Then, he snapped the fingers of both his hands, and the cards, weaving in and out from each other, raced toward their respective owners, striking each sibling on the forehead.
Minako felt ice water and boiling steam burst into her mind, and a flash of blue-white light momentarily blinded her. When her eyes readjusted, there was indeed a new Persona hovering above and in front of her; an exposed brain with two blue eyes, nerves drifting below it that sparked with lightning, and eight tentacles, four with squid feeding arms and four with other eyes. An identical Persona hovered before Minato.
We are Omoikane, they said in unison. From the seas of your souls, we have come to give you aid.
After they finished their shared sentence, there was another flash of blue-white light that dazzled Minako, and the Personas turned into cards, floated toward their owners, and faded out of sight, before reappearing in their minds. Minako blinked a few times as the new presence settled in.
“Ah,” Igor whispered, delight clear in his voice. “Omoikane of The Hierophant. Fascinating. I’m sure that it will be of great use to you bo-”
He was interrupted as Minato suddenly groaned, leaning forward in his seat and clutching the side of his head.
“‘To?” Minako asked, more than a little concerned for her brother, before she felt the same pain in her own head. Placing her fingers on the same temple she had pulled the cards from, she tried to massage away the pain, but it grew… not worse, but expanded to take up more and more of her mind. Then, with some sort of mental tearing, the pressure faded away, and a presence returned to her mind.
Well, young one, it seems we were not to be parted after all, Eurydice whispered with quiet joy.
Igor chuckled, drawing Minako’s attention back to the Velvet Room; to her left, she saw that Minato was also looking up, with a look of happy surprise on his face.
“Interesting,” their long-nosed patron said. “Very interesting. It seems that Orpheus and Eurydice have returned to you, even after being fused into a new Persona.”
“Why do you think that is?” Minato asked.
“I am not certain. However, if I were to guess, as they are the ones who answered at your first awakenings, they represent your truest, deepest selves, who you both are at your cores that will carry on with you even as you grow and change.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” Minako said, putting up her usual smile. “We’ll also never be completely deprived of our power, if they keep coming back.”
“Indeed,” Igor said. Spreading his hands, he asked, “Do you have any other Personas you would like to fuse?”
“Not now,” Minato answered. “We don’t have much time left in the Dark Hour; we need to get back to our friends.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Thank you, Igor-sama, for your assistance.”
“No thanks are necessary, Minato-san. We are here to assist, and to observe. I do hope that this service will be of use to you both.”
“All the same, thank you,” Minako said, bowing to the master of the Velvet Room. “Hopefully, we will be returning here more often.”
“We hope so as well,” Igor said as the twins exited out the door back to Tartarus. “Farewell, for now.”
After turning to give the three residents a wave goodbye, Minako followed her brother out the door and into the hyperspace corridor back to their physical bodies. Blinking a few times, and getting over the disorientation of looking in the opposite direction of where she had just been headed, she turned and followed Minato back to the rest of S.E.E.S.. Yukari-san was sitting on the stairs leading to the entrance inspecting her bow, Junpei-kun alternating between checking his katana’s edge and kicking at the ground, Kirijo-senpai standing with her eyes closed quietly meditating, and Sanada-senpai twitching and drumming his fingers on his upper arms in impatience.
“Alright, everyone,” Minato said, reassuming command as the night’s leading Consul. “We’re ready to get back to it.”
“A moment, Minato-kun,” Kirijo-senpai said, opening her eyes and turning to her brother. “While you and your sister were… doing whatever it is you were doing, I continued my scans on the Gatekeeper. It would seem that, in addition to being weak to electric attacks, this Shadow appears to specialize in wind skills, in addition to strong melee attacks. You will need to plan accordingly.”
Out of the corner of Minako’s eye, she saw her brother nod. “Iori-san, you need to sit this fight out.”
“WHAT!?” Junpei-kun shouted. “What do you mean, I have to ‘sit it out’!?”
“I mean just that, Iori-san,” Minato repeated, traversing his head to look at him. “You’re Persona is weak to wind spells, which we just found out our current enemy uses. You’d be more of a hindrance than a help here.”
Oh, wonderful choice of words, ‘To, Minako mentally groaned, knowing what was coming. And sure enough, Junpei-kun delivered, marching up to her brother and standing almost nose to nose with him. For his part, Minato held his gaze without even blinking.
“Oh I get it, Mr. Leader,” the baseball cap-wearing boy snarled. “Still can’t let anyone act on their own, huh? Gotta keep all the glory to yourself?”
Minako saw her brother’s eyes narrow. “That has nothing to do with it. As the leading Consul, I need to make decisions on how to manage the team and deal with the Shadows regardless of who gets the ‘glory’. If we’re fighting a Shadow with powerful wind attacks, why on earth would we include someone whose Persona is weak to wind.”
“Kirijo-senpai!” Minako immediately and loudly interjected before Junpei-kun could respond. “Is there any way that Junpei-kun can cover up his Persona’s weakness?”
“Yes, of course,” the group’s overall leader immediately replied. “You will simply need to guard yourself against its attacks.”
“Guard?” Junpei-kun asked, looking confused. Planting his feet, he raised his katana up as if blocking a vertical cut, his off hand’s palm bracing against the flat of the blade. “Like this?”
“Yes,” Kirijo-senpai confirmed. “When in a guarded stance, Akihiko and I have found that attacks that target our Personas’ weaknesses don’t cause as much harm, or render us unable to fight. It does mean that you won’t be able to attack, however.”
“That’s alright,” Junpei-kun said, his smile beginning to return. “If I can get and keep the things attention, you all can hammer the thing with lightning all you like, and I’ll join in on the ‘All-Out Attacks!”
“Yeah,” Minako said excitedly, smiling as widely as she could, hoping to push the calming effect further. “And I have a Persona that can help protect him even more,” switching out Eurydice for Ara Mitama as she did.
Damn straight! The aggressive Persona cried out. Anyone who fights with no regard for their comrades is a selfish, vile creature that will soon wind up dead!
“...Orpheus can weaken the Shadow’s attack.”
Minako, and everyone else, turned to look at her brother, more than a little surprised after he had been so against Junpei going at all earlier.
“With my sister boosting Iori’s defence, and me weakening the Shadow’s attacks, he’ll be able to hold the Gatekeeper’s attention even longer, letting the rest of us get more and more attacks of our own in.”
Junpei-kun’s smile took on a hard, mocking edge. “So, does that mean that it's okay for me to join the fight, ‘Leader’?”
Minato looked back just as hard, seeming to bite back a retort. Minako felt herself frown; her little brother had never been an overly angry boy or one to hold on to a grudge. That his relationship with Junpei-kun had gone so badly so fast was very unlike him. She supposed that meant he was continuing to get out of his depression and apathy, but this was just about the worst way he could do that.
A few moments passed in a VERY uncomfortable silence. Finally, her brother spoke.
“You will follow the plan that we have set out. You play the part that has been assigned to you. And if you have any crazed, hare-brained ideas, you TELL me about them, and give me a chance to think them over before you act. Am I clear, Iori-san?”
There was another pause, then Junpei-kun nodded.
“Alright,” Minato said, looking between the three other fighters of the group. “Let’s get up there and finish this thing off.”
“There are only eighteen minutes left in the Dark Hour, Arisato-kun,” Kirijo-senpai warned. “Be sure to finish this fight quickly; we may not have time to do much after this.”
“Understood, Kirijo-senpai,” her brother answered. “Everyone, on the teleporter.”
The four second years quickly ran to stand on the teleporter, and with a flash, they were back on the Gatekeeper’s floor. As they stepped off of the pad and began running up the stairs, Minako felt Eurydice’s ice flood her veins; her usual wide eyes and bright smile morphed into a narrowed stare and a flat line. Finally, as the four reached the top of the stairs and the Gatekeeper came into view, a massive Shadow with a humanoid body and head, which bore a yellow mask with the “VII” numeral stamped on it, but with arms replaced by spiked, steel war clubs, and it’s lower half was seated on two wheels with human-shaped legs instead of spokes, Junpei-kun picked up speed and raced ahead. Coming to a stop in front of their enemy, he took up his guard pose as the Shadow came to life with the clicking of gears.
“Alright, guys! You’re up!”
Even as Junpei spoke, Minako was bringing her Evoker up to her head. Instinctively, she knew Minato was doing the same.
“Orpheus, Tarunda!”
“Ara Mitama, Rakukaja!”
As the twins fired their Evokers, a pillar of violet light engulfed Junpei-kun, while a glowing red sphere struck the Shadow. With a roar like a car engine, the Gatekeeper raised its club-arms up in the air, and a tornado, similar to but larger than Yukari-san’s, hit Junpei. But even as she watched, she realized something was off; the spell, while it looked powerful on the surface, seemed to behave almost anemic. Junpei-kun would probably agree with her; he barely grunted as the tempest struck him.
“Ha! Is that all you’ve got!”
“Yukari, heal Iori!” Minato shouted. “Minako, hit the Shadow!”
“Got it!” both girls shouted, Minako turned to the Shadow, trying to ignore the sound of Yukari summoning Io behind her, and raised her Evoker.
“Omoikane, Zio!”
Firing a single shot, the tentacled brain reappeared before her, stretching its feeder arms towards her foe. Instantly, a bolt of lightning descended and hit the Shadow on the head, and it slumped to the ground, dazed and unmoving.
“Everyone, now!” her brother shouted as he charged forward, blade raised. Minako quickly followed after him, followed by Junpei-kun and Yukari-san. All of them hacked and stabbed at the enemy as many times as they could, but like the other Gatekeepers they weren’t able to finish it off in time. Sensing more than knowing that the Shadow was about to strike back, the four teens sprang back as their enemy spun around like a top, trying to catch them with its clubs.
“Iori, guard again! Minako, weaken it even more!”
“Right!” she shouted back, firing her Evoker. “Pixie, Rakunda!”
The fey girl appeared in a blue glow, and blew a sarcastic kiss toward the Shadow. Another glowing sphere, identical to the one Minato cast except that it was purple rather than red, rammed into the Gatekeeper, which immediately seemed to groan under its own weight, and the armor it was wearing grew splotches of rust.
Ha! Pixie shouted in her mind. How’s THAT for ‘pathetic’!
The Gatekeeper again launched an emerald wind spell at Junpei, tunnel visioning in on what it clearly sensed was the attacker most vulnerable to its abilities. But it was again for nothing; Junpei-kun had followed his orders and guarded again, powering through the gale with only a few small cuts to show for the effort.
Finally, Minato raised his own Evoker, and fired. “Omoikane, Zio!”
Her brother’s own new Persona appeared, and it brought another lightning bolt down on their enemy. Thanks to her own spell weakening the Shadow’s defenses, this bolt struck even harder than her own did, the lightning sending their enemy flat to the ground instead of merely slumping down. Again, all of S.E.E.S. rushed in and hacked away at the strange chariot, hoping to finish the thing off this round. Alas, it was not to be; the Gatekeeper rumbled and began to rise, and S.E.E.S. was forced to retreat again.
Everyone! Kirijo-senpai suddenly shouted out. The Shadow is about to use a multi-target attack!
“‘Ko, switch!” her brother shouted, as he and Junpei-kun guarded. Minako was already ahead of him, bringing up Alp to replace Omoikane even as she brought the shaft of her naginata up to shield herself.
Just as their navigator had warned, the Gatekeeper in desperation launched a massive wind spell, this one spreading out in a wave from its caster rather than a concentrated cyclone. It did indeed strike the whole group, but it was a futile gesture; with Junpei-kun and Minato guarding and Yukari-san and herself having Personas resistant to the type of attack, they barely suffered harm at all. Seeming to sense that it was doomed, their enemy barely seemed to move as Minako and her brother fired their Evokers.
“Omoikane, Zio!”
Twin electric spells from the Twin Wild Cards descended from the ceiling, striking one after the other, and bringing the Gatekeeper to its knees, its head slumped in defeat. Seeing that their enemy was on its last legs, Junpei-kun ran forward and, with a shout, thrust his sword into the Gatekeeper’s head. The Shadow went still for a moment, then dissolved into the red-black slime that all Shadows seemed to be made of.
For a few moments, the four students stood still, panting heavily, still filled with adrenaline from the fight. Finally, Minato raised his Evoker with a shaking hand, and fired it one last time.
“Pixie, Dia!”
As a wave of bright, sparkling waves of healing power reached out, they coalesced around Junpei-kun, to everyone’s surprise. The katana-wielding boy spun around to look at him, looking both confused and suspicious. Out of the corner of her eye, Minako heard and saw Yukari-san use the same spell to heal Minako, then herself.
Turning back to the two boys, she saw that they continued to stare at each other silently. Finally, her brother spoke.
“Good work, Iori.”
Junpei-kun stood still for a moment, blinking in surprise, then gave a tiny, albeit still skeptical smile. “Thanks, Arisato.”
Yes, well done Iori, Kirijo-senpai added. Well done, all of you.
“Thank you, Kirijo-senpai,” Minato said. “But I think that we need to stop here tonight. We’re all exhausted, and we don’t have the time left anyway.”
Agreed. Everyone, come down to the lobby. We need to head home for now.
With those words, the combat team, beginning to slump in exhaustion, began filling back to the teleporter.
Notes:
1. And definitely not just stepping forward and backward swinging their practice swords like they're chopping wood.
2. Who was dressed in what could only be bondage gear that the Persona INSISTED was merely metaphorical for her total obedience to God.
He and Minako were skeptical.
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Iori Junpei: Rank 1
THE CHARIOT - Iwasaki Rio: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
THE MAGICIAN - Tomochika Kenji: Rank 1
THE CHARIOT - Miyamoto Kazushi: Rank 1
Chapter Text
April 24th, 2009
After School, Arisato Minato
Minato slumped down in his seat, leaning his head forward. Thank goodness, he thought. Another school day done with. Minato may have been starting to come out of his apathy, just barely, but he still could not bring himself to care over much about school, especially when he was as tired as he was right now.
He had to resist the urge to lay his head down on the desk and go to sleep. While he hadn’t had any nightmares last night, or at least none that he remembered, he still felt like he needed a nap. Still, he had managed to get down to the dorm’s lobby and head out to the train station with Minako again for the second day in a row, and this time without a detour to obsess over The Box.
His musings were interrupted by a ring coming from his pocket. Pulling his cell phone out and flipping it open, he saw he had a text from Tomochika, asking if he would like to go to Hagakure again. Feeling his lips twitch up just a little, Minato looked up to tell Minako what was up-
Only to see her walk out the door with Iori-san, smiling as she did so.
That killed Minato’s mood stone dead, along with his smile. Minako had told him that Iori was one of her Social Links, The Magician if he remembered correctly, but that didn’t mean that he was happy about it. Sure, Iori-san may have kept himself in check last night, but Minato wasn’t going to trust him with his sister’s safety anytime soon. The fact that Minako had apparently formed a connection with him only made him more suspicious and on edge, because she would be spending even more time around him, and they had promised each other that they would support each other in reaching out to others.
If Minato had known that one of the people his sister would reach out to would be someone who would put her life in danger for the sake of his own grandstanding and ego, he would have added an asterisk to that promise.
Sighing in frustration, Minato shoved the last of his books and pens into his school bag as he stood up. Maybe spending some time with Tomochika would help him get his mind off of-
Wait, Minato-san, Apsaras said, bringing him up short.
What is it? He asked in his mind.
You need a Persona of the same Arcana to help strengthen your Links, the mystical dancer explained. It will strengthen your bond faster, and guide you when you must make an important choice in how you should act with them. Therefore, have patience, delay gratification, and seek out the power that thy once had.
…alright, he thought to himself, before turning, and walking down the aisle between the rows of desks to his new… friend? Acquaintance? Minato honestly wasn’t sure what Tomochika Kenji was to him at the moment.
“Hey, ‘sup, dude?”
Minato stopped and looked up. “Not much, Tomochicka-san.” He paused, then added, “How are you?”
“Just fine, man. Anyway, are you ready to head out? The sooner we get to Hagakure, the sooner we beat the crowd.”
Minato hesitated for a second, nervous over how his answer would go over, before answering, “...Can I meet you there? I have an errand that I need to run first.”
Kenji looked surprised for a moment, then nodded and replied, “Sure, man, no problem. I’ll see you there.”
“See you there,” Minato said, then went out the classroom’s back door, walking past Yukari-san as he did. Taking the stairway down to the ground floor, he walked out of the school’s main building, out of the gate, and over to Paulownia Mall. As he arrived, he saw Minako and Iori coming back the other way, the latter smugly holding a newly-won Ganesha piggybank in one hand.
Not wanting to interrupt his sister’s efforts with her own Social Links, Minato reluctantly let them go on their way, and headed into the mall, and toward the hallway leading to the maintenance rooms at the back. Looking around to see that he wasn’t being followed, he walked into the normally off-limits space, and turned the corner.
There, waiting right where Igor and Elizabeth had said, was another glowing, blue, freestanding door, identical to the one at the entrance of Tartarus. Idly wondering if his sister had gone in before him while Iori-san was wasting his Shadow loot on the crane machine, Minato opened the door, and disappeared into the white void beyond.
After the now familiar vertigo subsided, Minato again found himself seated in the Velvet Room, facing Igor with Elizabeth and Theodore standing at his side.
“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” Igor said, his already freakish smile widening still further. “How may we assist you today, Minato-san?”
“I need a Magician Persona,” he replied.
“I see,” Igor answered. “You are trying to strengthen your Social Link of the same arcana, yes?” After Minato nodded, Igor let out a soft sigh. “However, there is one problem; I fear that you cannot hold anymore Persona’s at this time.”
“What!?” Minato said, sitting up in his chair in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“You have not strengthened your heart enough for it to hold any more Personas than you currently do,” Igor explained. “For you to regain a Magician Persona, you would have to discard at least one of the Personas you currently hold, or fuse two of them into a new one.”
Minato hesitated, trying to decide which course to commit to. He was loath to do either; losing any of his Personas was unpalatable. He and his sister were having some good luck finding new Links, and he might need their arcana at any time.
Fuse the two of us, Minato-san.
He started as he heard, and felt, who was speaking to him; it was Pixie and Apsaras.
Yes, Pixie repeated, subdued but still happy. Fuse the two of us. You have another Lovers Persona now that you have Silky, and Omoikane for electric spells.
And Silky will also have stronger ice spells, Apsaras added. You need a reborn Magician more than you need either of us, Minato-san. Let Igor fuse us, and continue on your Journey.
Minato sat still for a moment, then gave a reluctant nod. “Alright,” he half-whispered, and reached his hand to his temple.
As he did so, Apsaras turned and reached out a hand to Orpheus, who was absentmindedly plucking his lyre. Farewell, my dearest Master of Strings! I shall always remember you, now and forever!
Yeah, Orpheus muttered, not even looking up from his instrument. Sure. Whatever.
With that, Minato pulled his fingers away from the side of his head, taking two cards as he did so, which floated over to Igor’s table. The long-nosed man waved his hand over the cards and, with a snap of his fingers, sent the cards flying at Minato’s head, striking him on the forehead, and blinding him with a flash of light.
Instantly, a familiar presence filled his mind. For heaven’s sake, couldn’t you two brats let my sister and I rest for two minutes? Nekomata complained.
In spite of himself, Minato smirked slightly. I’m so sorry, “Obaasan”, but your work is not yet done. We have another meet up with my new friend, and we need to get there fast.
Ignoring his regained Persona’s sigh, even as he appreciated her slight increase in power she had gained from the Magician Link, Minato stood up from his chair, and bowed to Igor and his attendants. “Thank you very much, Igor-sama,”
“You are more than welcome, Minato-san,” Igor replied. After the attendant’s had finished bowing to him in return, Minato turned and left the Velvet Room, and made his way to Hagakure. Once he got off the monorail station, he spotted Tomochika standing by one of the spiral stairways, and made his way across the street to him.
Finally looking up, Tomochika smiled and walked over to him. “Hey man. You get what you needed?”
Minato nodded.
“Excellent! Let’s get in there before the crowd shows up.”
The two quickly ascended the stairway, went into Hagakure, took their seats, and gave the cook their orders. Tomochika chatted away the whole time, Minato again mostly letting him do the talking.
When their food finally came, it was as delicious as last time. “Man,” Tomochika quietly sighed. “This always hits the spot. This flavor’s pretty addictive, huh?”
“It is,” Minato murmured back.
They both continued eating for a moment, before Tomochika turned back to ask him another question. “By the way, dude, why the hell is your dorm co-ed?”
Minato looked back and shrugged. “Can’t say,” he muttered.
Tomochika kept looking at him with what seemed like wonder. “How does that work? Can you, like, just waltz into Takeba-san’s room and stuff?”
Minato took a moment to listen to Neckomata whispering advice in his mind, then raised the eyebrow of the eye not covered by his bangs. “If I wanted to be shot full of arrows and expelled, yes.”
That threw Tomochika for a loop, but he quickly recovered, his smile widening. “Really? You live at the dorm where you get arrows shot at you if you get caught in the wrong spot? You’ve got guts, man!”
The two continued with their meal, finally finishing the soup, before Tomochika said, “Well, I’m not interested in girls her age anyway. I’m more into older women. How ‘bout you?”
Of all the ways their conversation could have gone, THAT was just about the last direction Minato would have expected. He REALLY didn’t know how to broach this topic with someone he was only just starting to know. On top of that, he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this wasn’t something one ought to talk about, along with the childish feeling that he would be disappointing his mother.
“Tomochika-san,” he asked slowly. “I need to ask you a question that you’ll probably think is strange.”
Kenji’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Uh… sure, go ahead.”
“Is it normal for guys our age to go on about girls like that?”
For a moment, Tomochika gave him an odd look, like he was horrified by him and pitying him at the same time. He quickly recovered, though, and was all smiles again. “Of course we do, man! It's one of our favorite things! So, are you into older women, or girls our own age?”
Minato sighed, and turned back to his empty soup bowl. He was about to answer that he felt the same way about both of them, meaning that he didn’t really care about them at all-
He stopped.
Images began flashing through his mind. Red hair. Red lips. A tall, mature, collected figure.
Tell him you agree with him, Nekomata whispered in his mind. It is the truth, and also the best way to draw him closer to you.
He looked back at Tomochika, this time with a small smile. “Yeah, I like older girls, too.”
At this, Tomochika looked ecstatic. “No way! Really!? Not a lotta guys out there who feel the same way! Man, you’re cooler than I thought!” He looked around, trying to see if any of the other patrons were paying attention to what they were saying, before leaning in and lowering his voice. “To tell you the truth- and this stays between us- I have my eye on someone. This is the ‘secret plan’ I was talking about. Basically, I’m just gonna ask this girl out.”
“Who is it? I promise, I won’t tell anyone.” Minato asked, and he meant the second part; he was already carrying a massive secret with what was going on in the Dark Hour. It was only fair that he would keep Tomochika’s trust when he offered it.
“Alright,” Tomochika whispered, his smile growing a bit nervous. “Get this.” He took one last look around, then said, “She’s actually a-”
But before he could finish telling him, both boys picked up a sudden noise outside the restaurant; it was the sound of many different shoes stepping on the metal steps of the strip mall.
“Ah man, the rush is here!” Tomochika complained.
“Let’s pay and get out,” Minato said, reaching for his wallet.
The pair barely managed to set out the notes to cover their meals and leave the restaurant in time before a rush of half-dead looking salarymen more or less barged into Hagakure. Half-jogging over to the stairs on the other side of the strip mall, before resuming their conversation.
“Man, I can’t tell you who it is here,” Tomochika complained. “There’s too many people around who might overhear us.”
“It’s alright, Tomochika,” Minato said. “You can tell me the rest later.”
“I guess I’ll have to,” his classmate muttered. Looking back at Minato, he gave him a small smile. “Thanks for being willing to hear me out though, Arisato. I can’t think of anyone who would hear me out like this, or keep it quiet.”
“I’m happy to, Tomochika,” Minato said. “Just let me know when you want to meet up again, and I’ll do my best to get there.”
“You got it, man,” he replied. After the Velvet Room’s ring filled in its second star, the two walked down the stairs, and went there separate ways
After School, Arisato Minako
Man, we’ve been wandering over the whole island, Minako thought to herself. Junpei-kun seemed like he genuinely didn’t know what to do with himself at times. First they had gone to the mall for him to have another crack at the crane machine, winning a Ganesha bank this time, then he had shown her around all the other stores and arcades at the Mall, and now wanted to go and see a movie that had just come out.
At least his diversion to the crane machine had bought her a moment to sneak off to the Velvet Room; her other Personas had insisted that she needed a Magician Persona to match Junpei-kun’s Link. When Igor had informed her that she would need to discard a Persona to make room for another, she didn’t need any time to consider which one; Ukobach was ripped from her mind and cast into the void with no hesitation. As prickly as her newly regained Nekomata was, even her worst barbs were nothing compared to finally being rid of that demon.
“And here we are!”
Minako was drawn out of her thoughts by Junpei’s chery shout. Looking up, she saw that the two of them were standing in front of the Port Island movie theatre, Screen Shot. Junpei-kun turned around to face her, smiling widely.
“This is it!” he continued. “Time for some “Double-Barreled Justice! I’ve been looking forward to this coming out!”
Minako herself felt increasingly skeptical; this was not sounding like a movie that she was going to enjoy. But, looking Junpei-kun over, seeing how brightly his eyes were lit up, how happy he seemed to be… she couldn’t bring herself to voice any objection. So, she brought up her smile for others, and, at Nekomata’s urging, asked, “What kind of movie is it?”
To her own surprise, Junpei-kun dropped his goofy grin, and looked at her rather seriously. “In a nutshell… it’s about fighting for what’s right in a world gone mad.”
Minako giggled. “Gee, I can’t imagine what that could be like.”
At that, Junpei’s smile returned. “Yeah, me neither. BUT, if we were to be doing that, then the way we would be doing it would be way too strict and methodical for ol’ Iori Junpei, and he’d be wanting to kick major ass. And that’s what this movie promises!”
“Well, we’d better not miss it, then!” Minako cheered. With that the two of them paid for their tickets and snacks, and sat down to watch the film.
It… was fairly more complex than what one would expect from a movie called ‘Double-Barreled Justice’.
Once the movie was over around two hours later, the two of them exited the theatre, squinting as their eyes began adjusting to the glaring evening sun. Putting her hand up to block the light, Minako noticed that Junpei was looking down at the ground, uncharacteristically pensive and thoughtful.
“Hrm…”
“Junpei-kun, what’s wrong?” she asked.
“It was… kinda not what I was expecting,” he said, turning to look at her.
Blinking, Minako pushed him a little. “What do you mean, not what you were expecting?”
Junpei looked back out toward the setting sun, lips pursed as he tried to explain himself. After a few minutes of thought, he turned back to Minako.
“The villain really wasn’t all that evil,” he explained. “It kinda killed it for me when he started talking about his tragic past… It isn’t cool if you have to beat somebody who didn’t want to be a bad guy. Bad guys should be evil all the way to the core. It’s just more satisfying.”
Minako turned her own gaze away, thinking to herself for a moment. Then, she turned back to Junpei, and said, “I don’t think that that matters, Junpei-kun.”
Her movie companion blinked, not understanding. “Ah… could you try and explain that better, Minako-chan?”
“I mean, it doesn’t matter if the villain WANTED to be the bad guy. The fact is that he was. Yes, he had bad things happen to him in the past. Yes, he wanted and wished for things to be different, that he could have gone on a better path. But the fact is that he didn’t. He didn’t choose to be good. He didn’t choose to be better than those who had wronged and hurt him. Instead, he chose to continue the cycle, to do all the things that had been done to him to others. And all for him to reach a goal that was not worth that effort, and would only have caused more harm to others, who likely would have gone down the same path yet again.”
Junpei-kun stared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged. “I guess you’re right. I still say it would be more satisfying my way, though. Anyway, you still got some time, right? Let’s grab something to eat on the way back.”
“Something to eat!?” Minako asked, her eyes and smile wide. “Can we go to Wild-Duck Burger!?”
“Woah, someone’s excited,” Junpei-kun said, raising his eyebrows in surprise but still smiling. “Alright, Wild-Duck Burger it is!”
Remember, young one, Angel whispered in her mind. That temperance is a great heavenly virtue, and you have already faced the consequences of disregarding it. Please, call upon the Holy Spirit, and exercise control over thyself.
Right, Minako thought back as she walked beside Junpei to the monorail station, doing her best to be serious. Temperance. Don’t stuff your face till your stomach explodes. Got it.
Carrying a tray with two burgers, a set of large fries, and a large drink, Minako hummed as she sat down at a table, with Junpei-kun seated opposite of her.
“Oh crap…” Junpei gasped, a look of dawning realization on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Minako asked.
“The guys at school might say some stuff if they see us together,” he whispered in a sing-song tone, lips twitching into a smirk as he did.
Minako responded with a smile of her own, though hers looked much, much colder. “Now, Junpei-kun, you wouldn’t be telling lies about what our relationship is like just to make yourself look good, are you?”
“Well, what I mean is, it looks like there’s a lot of guys at school interested in you.”
“W-what?” she spluttered. “Really!?” Was I so focused on the girls cooing over ‘To, I didn’t catch anything about what guys were saying about me?
“Oh yeah,” Junpei-kun confirmed, his smirk getting even wider. “Plus, you live in the same dorm as the famous Yuka-tan and Mitsuru-senpai. There are a lot of dudes who envy me because of that…”
Just apologize for the ‘inconvenience’, Nekomata spat. It will appeal to his ego.
“I’m… sorry?” Minako muttered, not feeling particularly sympathetic; it was obvious that Junpei-kun was reveling in the attention that he was getting.
“Yeah, it’s your fault all this is happening to me!” Junpei-kun said with a laugh. “...Actually, now that I think about it, you don’t seem to be all that interested in guys.”
“...Most guys didn’t want anything to do with me,” Minako muttered, picking at her duck fries while memories of the bad times started coming back. “Not many people want to hang out with the cursed girl who killed her own parents, and brings death with her wherever she goes.”
“Oh,” Junpei-kun whispered dumbly. “Well, no wonder you’re not all excited and asking me who’s saying all this stuff.” He paused a moment, then shrugged and said, “Eh, probably for the best. No girl would be that desperate. And you’ve got your hands full with your own stuff, like being our leader.”
Co-leader, Minako thought, but managed to keep from saying; she knew that Junpei-kun and ‘To were butting heads over almost everything, so best not to add fuel to that fire.
“Actually, the same goes for me, to…”
Looking up from her fries, Minako saw that Junpei had turned serious again, his gaze drifting off to the side, not really seeing anything he was looking at.
“...Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.
After a moment, Junpei-kun slowly turned back to look at Minako, holding her gaze for a moment. Then, he flashed a cheeky smile, and gave a cheerful “Nope!”
Minako rolled her eyes, muttering “Boys…” to herself as she munched on more of her fries. They were always trying to avoid talking about their feelings.
Still, Junpei-kun had told her that he had the feelings in the first place. That was more than she had expected when they first came out after school today.
Maybe that meant that she had gotten closer to him today?
Her question was answered almost immediately; as she met Junpei-kun’s eyes again, time froze, and the Magician card with the ten stars appeared again, a second star filling solid as she watched, before once again disappearing as time resumed its flow.
“...Well, forget about that stuff,” Junpei-kun said. “You want some more fries? I’ll trade mine for one of your burgers.”
Minako looked down at her tray, thinking for a moment, then looked, smiled and nodded. “Deal!”
Swapping parts of their meal with each other, the pair chatted for a while, even after they had eaten all of their food. Eventually, though, they realized that the sun was going down and, as the restaurant was starting to fill up, that they had overstayed their welcome. Quickly throwing their garbage away, Minako and Junpei made their way back to the dorm; they needed to be ready for the next Tartarus expedition.
April 24th?, 2009
As the light of the two-way teleporter faded, Minako was the first off the pad, immediately turning to her right and hurrying up the stairs to the arena where they had fought the Chariot Gatekeeper. Hearing the sounds of the other three members of her team on the stairs behind her, she forced her face into a serious, business-like mask and forced herself to run even faster, going across the arena in record time. Once she was further into the hallway past it, though, she held up her hand to stop everyone; the hallway branched off in two directions, one on to the stairs leading to the next level, and the other to, what she could tell, a separate, wide room.
“Kirijo-senpai, can you see anything in the room to our left?”
Scanning… I’m not detecting any Shadows. You may proceed.
“Understood. Thank you, Senpai,” Minako said, and walked into the room, Minato, Yukari-san, and Junpei-kun coming in behind him. Quickly looking around, she saw that the room was empty apart from three chests, two of which would need the Fragments to open.
“‘To, how many Fragments do we have,” Minako asked her brother, as she walked toward the only chest that didn’t need them to open. In addition to finding them around town, there were remains of Shadows spread over the tower’s levels that were holding other Twilight Fragments.
“Twelve,” Minato answered, as he headed for the center chest.
“Good. Open them both up,” she ordered, as she pulled open the chest she had chosen. Finding another colored crystal, she reached into the chest, pulled it out, and called for Yukari-san. The archer had agreed to carry a tote bag to hold the items and loot that they found in their expeditions into the tower.
As she was putting the crystal away in the bag, her brother was reaching into the Fragment chest, pulling out what looked like part of a set of armor.
“Looks like a chest and backplate set,” her brother called out to the group.
“Oh, man,” Junpei-kun crowed, once he saw the armor. “Can I have that? I think it’d help bring out my inner charm, y’know?”
At first, when her brother didn’t respond, Minako was worried that the two were about to have another go at each other. But, to her surprise, Minato instead smiled widely. “Sure, Iori. It’s all yours!”
Minako breathed a sigh of relief, as Junpei-kun happily took the armor, and began strapping it on over his uniform. Maybe this was a sign that the two had started becoming friendlier. 1.
As Junpei was fiddling around with his new chest and back plates, Minato moved onto the next chest, placing the appropriate number of Twilight Fragments into the slots of the chest, which opened with the spinning of its gears. Once the chest had opened fully, Minato again reached in, and pulled out the contents; a traditional wakizashi sword, slightly longer than usual, with a simple, undecorated wooden hilt.
Holding the sword at arms length, Minato gave a few experimental movements with his wrist, trying to get a sense for the balance of the blade. A few moments passed, before he finally turned back to look at Junpei, and said “This one is mine.”
Junpei-kun’s only response was to give a distracted thumbs up, as he finally finished fastening the straps of his new armor.
After a quick trip back down to the ground floor so that Minato could drop off his first sword, the group returned to the tower and finally raced up the stairs to the next floor, Minako at their head. They cleared through another four floors of shadows, looting crates and gathering cash from her and her brother’s coin cards as they went. Minato also claimed an entirely new Persona, named Forneus.
Eventually, though, they reached the twenty-second floor, which was completely different from anything they had encountered before now; it wasn’t a wide area for a Gatekeeper fight, nor was it a winding labyrinth filled with Shadows, chests, and shrines to Twilight Fragments. Instead, there was another staircase leading to the next level, but with no stairs in it, leaving a gap so wide and high that there was no way they could jump it or bridge it. To the left of the stairway was another one way teleporter, and to the right was a metal briefcase, placed far too neatly and conspicuously to have ended up there by accident.
This floor… Kirijo-senpai whispered. There’s no mistaking it! Do you recall how I told you Tartarus was separated into multiple areas by borders resembling ‘rifts’? I believe… this is one of those ‘border floors’. She paused for a moment, then added, I’m not sensing any enemies. Would you mind taking a look around?
“Of course, Kirijo-senpai,” Minako answered, walking toward the stairway, now seeing that the steps seemed to be in a pile on the floor in front of them, that was a few inches taller than she was. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Minato walk over to the metal briefcase, opening it and pulling out the contents; a single piece of paper, which appeared to have several parts burned away.
Minako, for her part, walked up to the foot of the stairwell, which also contained an assortment of enormous gears. Clearly, this staircase could be mechanically opened to allow them to go to the next floor, but it didn’t seem to be doing so and Minako couldn’t see any way to activate them. Curiously, she reached out to the gears with her naginata, and tapped them with the flat of the blade.
Nothing.
“Kirijo-senpai, I don’t see anything that is going to get us past this ‘border’,” she said.
I agree. Everyone, come back to the ground floor; I don’t think that there is anything else you can do from there.
With that, the S.E.E.S. field team filed onto the teleporter, her brother still holding onto the burned paper he had found, before the customary flash brought them back down to the entrance, where Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai were waiting for them. Almost immediately, Minato went up to Kirijo-senpai, and offered her the paper, saying that he had found it at the last level. Curiously, she accepted it, clearly not understanding why her brother would think it was important. But, as she looked at it, or rather what Minako assumed was written on it, her eyes widened, and she hurriedly shoved the paper into her pocket. Giving her brother a quiet thanks, Kirijo turned to address the rest of the group.
“Well done, everyone. You did wonderfully to progress as far as you have. Unfortunately, it does not appear that we will be able to go any further at the moment. I will try to use my Persona to scan for a means to find a way forward, but I am not sure when or even if I can find a means to do so.”
As the rest of the group nodded, and muttered in agreement, Minako asked, “Kirijo-senpai, how long do we have before the Dark Hour is over?”
Their senior frowned for a moment, calculating the time passed in her head, before saying, “It should be a little more than half an hour before the Dark Hour ends for the night. But, with the border floor in our way, what exactly are you hoping that you can accomplish, or to acquire?”
Minako paused for a moment, thinking Kirijo’s question over, before giving her senior an impish grin.
“Money!”
Mitsuru went still, and her one eye visible through her bangs widened. “M-Money?”
“Yep!” Minako chirped happily, bouncing a little as she nodded. “We’re gonna spend the next half hour strip mining the Shadows of Tartarus!” Turning to the rest of the S.E.E.S. combat team, she asked, “Are you guys in?”
“Hell yeah!” Junpei-kun shouted, jumping up and pumping his fist in the air. “Let’s get that sweet, sweet moolah!”
“If my sister is going, then I’m going,” Minato said.
“Well… there was this cute winter sweater in one of the magazines I was looking at earlier…” Yukari-san muttered.
“And there you have it!” Minako said happily, looking back at a still stunned Kirijo-senpai. “See you in half an hour, senpai!”
And with that, the gremlin leading Consul of S.E.E.S. ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, with the rest of the group behind her, and they all disappeared into the green glow at the tower’s entrance. Blinking a few times, Mitsuru did her best to regain her center, and give navigational advice to them. Around half an hour later, the four reappeared on the teleporter, arms, pockets, and tote bag stuffed full of Yen bills and coins. Kneeling down on the floor, they divided the money into six piles, each with as equal an amount that they could make. Once that was done, Minato grabbed two of the stacks, one in each hand, and walked over to the two seniors.
“Here is your share, Kirijo-senpai,” he said.
The red-head gave a soft chuckle. “Thank you very much, Minato-kun, but that is not necessary; I don’t have any need of the money from your battles in Tartarus.”
“But I want you to have it,” Minato said, before catching and correcting himself. “WE want you to have it. We are all sharing the burden of climbing this tower, so we should share the rewards, too.”
Aw, Minako thought. ‘To is being ‘sweet’ with his ‘crush’. She reached down to pocket her share of the loot, shaking her head slightly; she had no idea why she kept toying with the idea that her brother was interested in Kirijo-senpai when it clearly wasn’t true.
She paused just as she was halfway back to standing up straight; Alp and Pixie were snickering, and she didn’t know why.
“Well, if you insist, then I am happy to accept it, Minato-kun,” Kirijo-senpai said, hesitantly reaching forward and taking the money. Then, she smirked slightly, and said, “Though, I would make sure you put limits on what Akihiko can spend his share on, or he may run out and buy another set of training weights. Again.”
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Sanada-senpai sighed as took his own share of the loot. “We need to train wherever and whenever we can, if we want to survive long enough to figure out what on earth is going on with this tower.”
“Yes, Akihiko, training is important, but so is having wisdom, forethought, and knowledge of how to manage resources properly.”
As the seniors bickered, the group began exiting out of Tartarus for the night, Minako handing Minato his own share as they walked. All the way back, she looked back and forth through all the members of S.E.E.S., and kept thinking about how she was coming to appreciate them all. It was early days yet, but they seemed to be starting to gel together well. Even if it wasn’t on a daily basis, she was happy to be able to be their leader.
She hoped that they were happy with her as their leader.
…
…
…
She really, really hoped that they were happy with her as their leader.
Notes:
1. I wouldn't count on it, Minako; that specific armor set is called the Hothead Shirt.
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Iori Junpei: Rank 2
THE CHARIOT - Iwasaki Rio: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
THE MAGICIAN - Tomochika Kenji: Rank 2
THE CHARIOT - Miyamoto Kazushi: Rank 1
Chapter 10: The Hierophant and The Emperor
Chapter Text
April 25th, 2009
After School, Arisato Minato
Minato slowly began waking up, roused by the shaking of his shoulder, and the relentless, teasing voice saying “Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead!” in his ear. Bringing himself half-upright, he shook his head from side to side, blinking rapidly as he tried to come back to consciousness. Looking to his left, he was unsurprised to see his sister’s impish grin.
“Why, hello there, little brother,” she teased. “Didn’t get enough sleep last night, did you?”
“...’m not your little brother,” he muttered back, annoyance helping to focus his attention and bring him back from his nap. The second part was true, though; he hadn’t gotten anywhere near enough sleep last night, even accounting for the going to Tartarus during the Dark Hour. His obsessing over The Box and its contents had seen to that. He had been mortified to be woken up by his alarm clock to find that he had fallen asleep sitting on the floor, his head leaned back with drool running down his chin and his most closely guarded secret scattered all over the floor.
“So, ‘To, how are you going to get through kendo practice today?” Minako asked, her voice lilting as it always did whenever she thought that she had him.
Fortunately, this time Minato had a real answer for her. “I don’t have kendo today, ‘Ko. The team doesn’t meet on Saturdays.”
“Oh.” His sister seemed flummoxed for a moment. “Well, I guess we’re in the same boat then; the girls tennis team doesn’t meet on Saturdays, either.” She paused for a moment, then asked, “Are you going to go with Tomochicka-san?”
Minato pulled out his phone, and, seeing that he had a text from Kenji, immediately read it, before sighing and saying, “No, it looks like he has something else planned for today.”
Minako fidgeted. “I think that Junpei-kun is in the same boat; he walked out of class while you were still asleep.”
The twins paused, flummoxed as they realized that their opportunities for strengthening their Links had slipped them by. After a moment, Minato asked, “Could we spend the afternoon together, ‘Ko? We haven’t had any time as brother and sister for a while.”
Minako cocked an eyebrow, looking amused. “‘To, your ‘a while’ is only a few days! But… you’re right. I would like to spend some time with you, too.” Thinking for a moment, she said, “I overheard that a bookstore is due to reopen at the strip mall near our train station. Would you like to go over and check it out?”
“Sure,” he immediately replied, standing to his feet and shouldering his school bag as he did so. “I’d love to.”
Smiling brightly, Minako fell in beside her brother, and the two made their way off the campus to monorail, and on to the Iwatodai Station. As they walked and waited on the train, they talked back and forth on the Links that they had formed, alternately chuckling, critiquing, and congratulating each other on the progress that the other had made. Before the two siblings knew it, they had arrived at their destination at the Iwatodai strip mall. There, on the ground floor next to the Wild Duck Burger, was the book store, with a fresh, new reopening sign in the window.
“It looks like it’s called Bookworms,” Minako said, looking over the sign that also served as an awning, before her face formed into a fawning smile. “Oh, and look at the cute little mascot they made! Isn’t it cute!?”
Giving the awning a quick glance, Minato saw it had a picture of some anthropomorphized bug, standing on two oversized feet and with two oversized antennae growing out of its head.
“Whatever,” he muttered, and began making his way to the store’s entrance. His sister’s footsteps followed behind him, and he heard a sigh as she did.
Opening the door and stepping inside, Minato took a quick look around at the store’s layout; it was fairly cramped, and every single inch of wall space was filled with book shelves, as well as two free standing shelves to his right that formed an aisle, and each and every shelf was filled to the brim with books. Just past the aisle, and directly in front of the doorway, was a desk, also piled high with books as well as a cash register. Standing behind and beside the desk were an elderly man and woman, both of whom Minato vaguely remembered seeing before when he and ‘Ko had been walking around the city trying to get their bearings.
“Welcome!” the old man greeted them cheerfully, taking an unlit pipe out of his mouth. “What would you like to order today? Our special today is fresh mackerel!”
The looks of blank incomprehension must have been obvious on both his and his sister’s faces, because the old woman, presumably the man’s wife, immediately stepped forward and said, “As you might suspect, we don’t serve sushi here.”
“That’s a shame,” Minato whispered, just loud enough for Minako to hear. She managed to restrain a giggle, but only barely.
The man continued to stare at them blankly for a moment, before suddenly saying, “Oh! You’re both students, aren’t you? Then you both must be from Gekkoukan High, right? That means… you probably know about the persimmon tree there, don’t you?”
“Persimmon tree?” Minato asked, voice flat.
The old man frowned, seemingly thinking that he was being made fun of. “Do you think that I’m making this up? I assure you, it’s real! At Gekkoukan High, there’s an open courtyard area. The tree grows beside a walkway there.”
Minato felt himself go still, except for one hand that snaked into one of his school jacket’s pockets. Sure enough, the leaf that Minako had given to him on an impulse was still there. Looking over to her, he saw that she had done the same thing, and gave him a quick nod.
“Please excuse my husband,” the old woman said, an apologetic smile on her face. “Just consider it the ramblings of an old man. Don’t you worry your little heads about-”
But before she could finish speaking, Minato began reaching into his pocket and pulled out his leaf; he could sense, more than see, Minako doing the same.
“...Hm,” the old man said, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at what the twins were holding. “Those leaves you two are holding…”
“Are from the tree in the open courtyard by the walkway at Gekkoukan, yes,” Minako finished for him.
“Oh! Do you mean to tell me these are leaves from that persimmon tree? It must have grown quite a bit to produce such splendid leaves…”
The old man gazed at their leaves for a moment, seemingly transfixed, before his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Wait, why do you have these in the first place?”
“My sister here picked two of them up, and gave one of them to me,” Minato explained.
Minako blushed. “It… seemed like a good gift to my little brother, at the time,” she said.
“ Not your little brother,” Minato hissed.
Seemingly not noticing the tiny sibling spat, the old man gasped in joy. “You both thought that the leaves of that tree were a gift!? I knew it! I knew right from the start that you were a kind young woman, and a kind young man! I’ve been meaning to go see that tree for awhile now, but I’m not sure if these stumpy old legs will make it that far…”
At that, Minato went still. Stumpy… tree…
He couldn’t help himself; his lips twitched up unusually high, his cheeks bulged as he tried to hold in his breath, and then he released it in an explosion of snickering as he failed. Beside him, he heard Minako groan.
“Ah, young man, that… wasn’t meant to be a pun,” the old man explained sheepishly. After a moment, with Minato still chortling, he turned to his wife and said, “You know, ‘stumpy’, ‘tree stump’. Get it? Ahaha.”
“Yes, yes,” the elderly woman said, with a tone of long-suffering patience. “You’re very clever, dear.”
“And you have a wonderful sense of humor, ‘To,” Minako added.
“Let me introduce my wife, Mitsuko,” the man said, smiling at her fondly. “I’m Kitamura Bunkichi. If you don’t mind, would you tell us your names?”
“I am Arisato Minato,” Minato said. Indicating with one hand, he continued, “And this is my sister, Minako.”
“Very pleased to meet you,” Minako added, smiling widely and giving the store owners a bow.
“Hm… Minato and Minako… Minato-chan and Minako-chan. Good names, as good as ours,” Bunkichi-san said.
Bunkichi-san and Mitsuko-san… Minato thought to himself. I wonder if…
He did not have to wonder long; immediately his vision was flooded with blue.
I am thou… thou art I… thou hast established a new bond…
After Elizabeth’s voice faded away, and the new Hierophant card disappeared, Mitsuko-san stepped forward and said, “We’re open everyday except Monday. Please, come visit us whenever you’re free.”
“We would love to, Mitsuko-san,” Minako chirped. Turning to her brother, she asked, “Right, ‘To?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “Of course.” He paused for a moment, then asked, “Want to look around, ‘Ko?”
“Of course! But you have to too, ‘To! This is supposed to be a day out for both of us.” With that, his sister disappeared into the aisle.
Minato rolled his eyes; he may not be as uncaring as he was before they came back to Port Island, but he still didn’t care much about reading. Giving the shelf immediately to his left a languid lookover, he reached out and grabbed a set from some baseball manga he’d never heard of before. A few minutes later, Minako came back out of the aisle with her own purchase; from the quick glance Minato got, it looked like a romance manga about a school girl falling in love with a hard-looking, but secretly sweet-hearted, delinquent.
After ringing them up and giving them their receipts, the Kitamuras gave them a cheerful goodbye. As the door slid shut behind them, Minato asked his sister, “Did you get a-”
Minako spun around so fast, and nodded her head up and down so quickly, that she looked almost like a cartoon character.
A tiny smile formed on Minato’s face. “Me too.”
Before either of them could say anything more, they were interrupted as both of their stomachs let out loud growls. After exchanging chagrined looks, Minako giggled and asked, “Up for some Wild Duck, ‘To?”
“Always,” he answered.
With that, the twins happily went into the restaurant next door, and waited in line to place their order. He enjoyed the rest of his evening with his sister, but he didn’t say much, even by his own standards. His thoughts kept turning back to Bunkichi-san and Mitsuko-san. There was a warmth in his stomach as he thought about the old couple. The same warmth his instincts were telling him he would feel when he was with his grandparents.
April 26, 2009
Arisato Minako, Daytime
Minako jolted awake, gasping for breath and clutching the covers close to her. It took more than a few minutes for her to calm down; it had been awhile since she had had a nightmare that intense. She was at least a little bit grateful that it hadn’t been about dear cousin Kaito this time, just some bullies from one of the many elementary schools she and ‘To had been to in the years after their parents had died. In spite of herself, she began to smile; she could easily remember what happened after the events, how her brother had come running from across the playground, screaming at the group and sending them running. It had been less than a year since their parents had died and it had seemed to her then that her little brother would never recover; he hardly even spoke or did much of anything at all in those days.
After that, she had devoted herself to try and bring more moments like that out of him, his blowup about Mass Destruction and Whipping All Out being the largest and her most treasured. It brought her endless joy to know that he wasn’t totally lost. All she wanted was to pull him back from his wallowing indifference permanently.
And what of you, my other self?
Yes. Don’t you want to leave that place, also?
Minako froze, brought up short Eurydice’s and Apsaras’s words. What… what do you two mean?
You know exactly what we mean, my child, Eurydice whispered. What of you? As I have said before, you suffer the same affliction as thy brother.
I… I don’t want to be selfish, Minako thought back, her mental voice quiet and shivering. Now, she was feeling Kiato’s stifling grip again. The need to keep silent, to smile, to make sure everyone else would smile, to make sure no one would know…
It is not selfish to desire and seek out dignity, my child, Eurydice whispered, her voice gentle and patient. All men and women are worthy of it.
And the fact that you do not think that you are shows that your heart is out of balance, Apsaras added. It is not natural nor healthy for a human heart or mind to so completely disregard oneself. That is not virtue; it is a wish for death.
I’ll… try to stop, Minako replied.
Just then, she was drawn out of her thoughts by a knock at the door.
“Are you awake, ‘Ko?”
“Sure thing, ‘To,” she answered, pulling off the blankets and getting to her feet; she was wearing a set of pajamas, so she wasn’t afraid of anyone out in the hall. “Come in.”
Her little brother quickly stepped inside, closing the door behind him, before turning back to her, and giving her a tiny smile. “Good morning, sis.”
“Good morning to you too, ‘To!” she said, giving him a wide and genuine smile. “What brings you up to the forbidden hallway?”
Minato snorted. “I’m pretty sure I’m allowed to come talk to my own sister, ‘Ko.” After shaking his head, he slouched down and put his hands in his pockets. “Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you’d like to hang out together again.”
“Of course I would, ‘To,” she immediately answered. “Where would you like to go today?”
“Well… I’d like to go back to Bookworms again.”
That brought Minako up a little short, her eyes narrowing in confusion. “Um, okay. But… why? You can’t have read that whole set you bought yesterday already.”
Minato started fidgeting. “Well,” he explained, “I just wanted to go and talk to Bunkichi-san and Mitsuko-san again.” He paused, and his fidgeting increased. “I… I really liked spending time with them.”
Minako held her brother’s gaze, unblinking, for a few moments. Then, her lips curled into a predatory smile. “You’ve adopted them as your new grandpa and grandma, haven’t you, ‘To?”
“N-no!” he complained, his cheeks lighting up and only driving her point in further. “I just wanted to go and see them again, and wondered if you’d like to go with me.”
Not willing to let up, Minako’s smile widened and she reached up to pinch one of her brother’s cheeks. “Aw, how sweet! My little brother wants to go see his Baa-chan and Jii-chan!”
Twisting his neck to escape the pinch and swatting her grabby fingers away, Minato hissed “I’m not your little brother, ‘Ko! Now do you want to come with me, or not!”
After making a show of thinking it over, Minako nodded and said, “Okay, ‘To. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
“Fine,” her brother muttered, rubbing his pinched cheek. “I’ll see you in a moment.”
Minako gave him a wave goodbye, until he had stepped out into the hallway and closed the door firmly behind him. Then, as soon as she heard the latch bolt click, she ran to her closet and started changing out of her pajamas and into her casual clothes faster than she could ever remember doing before.
She wanted to go and see Baa-chan and Jii-chan, too.
“Oh, you came back!” Bunkichi-san said as Minako and Minato walked through the front door of Bookworms. “Welcome back, um…what were your names again?”
“We are the Arisato twins, Kitamura-san,” Minako answered. Indicating to herself and then her brother, she continued, “I’m Minako, and this is my brother, Minato.”
Bunkichi-san laughed. “No need to tell me! I was just joking! I’m not that senile.”
“Glad that we haven't been forgotten,” she heard Minato whisper under his breath.
Bunkichi-san took a puff from his pipe, and said, “My wife and I were just talking about you both, Minako-chan, Minato-chan.”
Minako stilled and focused her gaze at the old man; distantly, she sensed her brother do the same. “You- you have?” she asked.
“Of course!” Bunkichi answered, smiling widely. “It isn’t often we get youngsters like you as customers. And even when we do, they don’t often come back. Uh, tell me, do you two like this kind of treat?”
Looking down, Minako saw what the old man was pointing at; two plastic wrapped melon breads, the same brand that she remembered being absolutely delicious, but had hardly ever had the chance to eat before under her and her brother’s past guardians.
“Someone gave them to us, but we have more than enough,” Bunkichi explained. “Go on and take them, both of you.”
“O-ok,” Minako whispered. “Thank you, sir.” Reaching forward, she took one of the melon breads, Minato taking the other as she did so.
“Yes, Bunkichi-san,” her brother whispered. “Thank you very much.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. You two don’t have to thank me over something as small as this.” Bunkichi sighed for a moment, then continued, saying “Minato-chan, Minako-chan, you’re both so polite. You’re both like his complete opposite.” Reaching down under the table, he produced two more melon breads. “Would you both like another one, to give to a friend? We have so many, my wife and I would take forever to finish them all.”
Minako was struck dumb, having someone offer her so much food all at once. Fortunately, her brother was able to answer on both of their behalfs.
“I’d like that, Bunkichi-san,” Minato answered. “Thank you very much.”
The older man smiled, reaching forward to give them the extra melon breads. “Right then, here you go, um… Er… Hmm… For real this time, what are your names again?”
“Oh, goodness, dear,” Mitsuko-san finally spoke up. “It’s Minato-chan and Minako-chan, remember?” Turning to the twins, she said, “My apologies, Minato-chan, Minako-chan. He’s been terribly forgetful lately.”
“It’s alright, Mitsuko-san,” Minako replied, smiling as she and Minato took the extra treats. “Anyone who gives us melon bread gets to forget our names at least once.” She could sense, rather than see, Minato nod in agreement.
Bunkichi’s already wrinkled face scrunched up even more, seemingly trying to remember something, before finally turning to his wife. “Say, where did that boy run off to, dear? He should be here, helping customers. Sorry about that, young ones.”
“...No need to apologize, sir,” Minato said hesitantly. Minako frowned herself; she wasn’t sure who Bunkichi-san was talking about.
“I’m sure that you both would prefer another youngster like yourselves around, instead of talking to an old man like me,” the elderly man continued. “But, I’m sure that our son will be back soon enough. Right, dear?”
Immediately, Minako knew that something was wrong; Mitsuko-san’s face fell, and she seemed to be trying to hold back tears. “Oh, my dear,” she said quietly. “He’s…”
Before his wife could finish, Bunkichi’s eyes went wide, and then his whole body seemed to sag. “Oh, that’s right. Our son is… deceased.”
Immediately, Minako went still, feeling dizzy and her grip weakened; it was all she could do to keep hold of her melon breads. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Minato have a similar reaction.
“I’m sorry Minako-chan, Minato-chan,” the old man continued. “You both came all the way out here, only to see this pitiful sight.”
Minako stared straight ahead, trying to find words, before closing her eyes and saying, “Well, let us apologize, too. For making everything even more pitiful.”
“More pitiful? What do you mean by that?” Bunkichi asked.
“We’re orphans,” Minato said, preempting anything Minako could say. “Our parents passed away ten years ago.” Looking back and forth between the two senior citizens, he added. “It… seems like we’ve both lost family before their time.”
“It seems that we have,” Bunkichi-san whispered, bringing his pipe back to his lips. It seemed he did that out of habit; the pipe wasn’t lit, probably for the fire risk.
A heavy silence descended on the store, feeling almost physically suffocating. After a moment, Minako managed to pluck up her courage enough to speak. “Bunkichi-san, Mitsuko-san, would it be alright if my brother and I came over more often, even if we don’t actually buy anything?”
The effect was immediate; the older couple’s faces brightened, and a light seemed to return to their eyes. “Why, that would be lovely, Minako-chan!” Mitsuko said, a gentle smile spreading across her wrinkled face.
“Of course!” Bunkichi added, looking just as happy. “Feel free to come by whenever you can! And enough talking about all this sad stuff! It’s dark outside; we don’t need it to be dark in the store, too.”
But… it’s the middle of the morning, Minako thought, as the world turned blue and a second star around the Hierophant card filled in.
After the Velvet Room’s interruption went away, Bunkichi reached down and retrieved two more wrapped melon breads, handing one to his wife. “Anyway, let’s change the subject, and eat some melon bread! Seriously, my wife and I have so many of these things, we didn’t have any idea what to do with them all until you both walked in.”
And with the that the Arisato siblings and their hosts settled in to their snacks, making small talk about various goings on in each of their lives; the Kitamura couple about their setting up of the Bookworms store, and the Arisato siblings about their first few days of school and their joining their respective sports clubs. 1.
At around lunchtime, though, a few customers began to filter into the bookstore, and Minako and Minato knew their time was up. Giving a quiet goodbye to their self-proclaimed new grandparents, they left the store to make way for the new customers. Not really knowing what else to do, the siblings ended up wandering down the shoreline, spending most of the afternoon watching ships come and go in the distance, and looking over the water in comfortable silence. Once the sun started to come down, they began walking back to the dorm, stopping to have dinner at the strip mall; they decided to try the Wakatsu Kitchen, the one restaurant they hadn’t tried yet.
And if their first visit was anything to judge by, Minako knew that she and Minato would be coming back quite a lot in the future.
April 27th, 2009
Arisato Minato, After School
I am beginning to hate this school’s principal, Minato thought to himself, his head hitting his desk an instant after the lunch bell rang out. Another big assembly? Really?
Not to mention, the man had clearly been trying to upstage Kirijo-senpai, given his speech had basically plagiarized hers almost down to the letter. That definitely made him a little miffed.
Rather you were unreasonably wrathful, Silky whispered in his mind.
I… no, I wasn’t.
Yes you were, mine other self, Orpheus replied. And given that the Master of Strings was the most complete embodiment of his heart and soul, that pretty much settled the argument.
Minato sighed. At least he’d managed to get the classroom buzzing about him when he’d bailed out Junpei when he’d been called on by the math teacher, and he hadn’t known the answer to the question.
Reaching down to his schoolbag, he pulled out the bento he had made for lunch, his sister doing the same. Turning around in her seat, Minako smiled her usual wide smile and asked, “Ready for lunch, ‘To?”
“Always,” he replied, opening the box. Just as he was about to pick up the chopsticks, though, the left hand door to the classroom, Kirijo-senpai stepped into the room and began walking toward himself and his sister. After getting over a brief skip in his heartbeat, Minato placed his chopsticks down on his desk, and indicated to Minako to look behind her.
His blinked, then turned to look over her shoulder. “Oh, Kirijo-senpai! How are you?”
“Hello, Minako-kun, Minato-kun. Do you both have a minute?”
“Of course, senpai. What is the matter?”
Kirijo took a breath, seemingly trying to steady herself, then said, “I’m sorry, but I’ll be needing some of your time after school. I have a special request for you both.”
Minato’s eyes narrowed, curious. “A special request?”
Kirijo nodded. “I apologize if I’m being abrupt, but I couldn’t think of anyone better to ask than the two of you.”
Minato felt a warm feeling well up in his stomach.
“I’ll tell you more about it after school,” the club leader finished. “Until then, have a good day.” With that, she turned on her heel and left the way she had come.
Turning back to look at him, Minako asked, “What do you think it is she wants, ‘To?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know.”
His sister smirked at him slightly. “Don’t you mean, ‘Don’t care’?”
“That, too.”
Rolling her eyes, Minako picked up her chopsticks and returned to her lunch. After a moment, Minato did the same.
Squinting at the glare of the setting sun, Minato waited with his sister for their school president to return. Hearing footsteps coming up behind him, he turned to see Miyamoto walking toward him, a giant smile on his face. “‘Sup, dude!” he said, enthusiasm gushing. “You ready to get to practice? It’s gonna be your first real day, so I’m gonna really show you the ropes!”
Feeling a pang of guilt, to his own surprise as he hadn’t felt that for anyone other than his sister for nearly a decade, Minato shook his head. “Sorry, Miyamoto-san. I can’t. Kirijo-senpai said that she wants to see me after school is over.”
The kendo team’s star player’s eyes went wide. “The prez? You serious? What’s it about?”
Minato shrugged. “I don’t know; she didn’t say.”
Miyamoto-san frowned, then nodded. “Alright, Arisato. You go and do what you need to do with Kirijo-senpai. But tomorrow, you ARE going to kendo. No ifs, ands, or buts. Got it?”
Minato nodded, feeling himself tense up; talk like this was bringing up bad memories of past guardians. “Understood, Miyamoto-san.”
The other boy snorted. “Ah, cut that polite crap out. Just call me Kaz.”
“Ok… Kazushi-san.”
Miyamoto rolled his eyes. “I’ll get you there eventually,” he muttered. “Later, man.”
Just as the kendo team leader walked away, Minato heard the classroom door open, and turned to see Kirijo-senpai had returned. Walking up to the siblings, she said, “Sorry to have kept you both waiting. To make a long story short, I’d like you to join the student council.”
Minako was physically taken aback. “Wait, really? The student council?”
“Sounds like a lot of work,” Minato commented.
“Don’t worry,” Kirijo said. “We meet regularly, but I don’t expect either of you to participate every time. Just come by the student council whenever you can.”
“That’s it?” Minato asked.
“Yes, that’s it. All I want is for the two of you to be members. Being a president is time-consuming. I’d like to have an ally or two to support me in case of an emergency.”
“What do you mean by ‘an ally’?” Minako asked.
“It means someone who understands my situation. You both know what it means to be a leader, so I am asking the two of you.”
Turning to look at his sister, they made eye contact, and, as they had done many times in the past, seemed to understand each other without speaking. Turning back to Kirijo, they both said, “Alright, we’ll do it.”
Slightly, so slightly Minato almost missed it, Kirijo Mitsuru sagged in relief. “Excellent,” she said. “I knew that I could count on you both.” She paused for a moment, then added with a guilty look, “...And I’ve already filed and approved your student council membership forms on your behalf. But you’ll have to go to the faculty office on your own to sign everything.”
The twins stared at the council president without blinking. “Kirijo-senpai, I don’t think that you are allowed to sign us up for extra curricular activities without our consent,” Minako said, voice unusually flat and devoid of energy.
“Yes. I am sorry for making arrangements without your permission, but I hope you understand the position I’m in.”
The young lady has titanic responsibilities weighing on her shoulders, and desires aid in carrying them out, Forneus whispered.
“Yes, senpai,” Minato answered.
“Thank you. Once you’ve finished everything you need to in the faculty office, come to the student council room. I’ll be waiting for you both there.”
With that, the two siblings nodded, and three went their separate ways, Kirijo-senpai the council room, and the Arisato twins to sign their pre-filed forms. Once that was done, they made their way back up the second floor, walked to the closer set of the student council room’s doors, which Minato opened, and stepped inside.
Looking around, Minato saw most of the council members were seated; the room had three long tables that had been arranged in a ‘U’ shape. The only exceptions were three figures in front of the chalkboard at the front of the room; Kirijo-senpai, a tall second-year boy with steel-grey hair and yellow armband, and a mousy-looking first year with long brown hair and glasses.
“Alright everyone,” Kirijo senpai said, voice raised slightly. These are the ones I’ve been talking about. They’ll be joining us in the student council starting today. Please, come up and introduce yourselves.”
Walking toward the front of the room, feeling his skin itch from all the eyes on it, Minato introduced himself to the council after Minako did so first.
“Ah, so they’re the Arisato twins,” the grey-haired boy said. “I’m Odagiri Hidetoshi. I supervise the disciplinary committee.”
Taking a small step forward, the spectacled-girl said, “I’m Fushimi Chihiro, the treasurer. I’m a first year, and um, I’m still learning the ropes, so please be patient with me.”
“Of course, Fushimi-kohai,” Minako answered. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
“We’ll do our best,” Minato added, trying to sound enthusiastic.
Fushimi smiled and nodded eagerly, but Odagiri just stood there, looking the two of them over repeatedly. Finally, he said, “You both must be quite talented to be hand-picked by the president herself. I look forward to working with you.”
Well, it seems like we’ve made a good impression, Minato thought. Maybe we can get another-
He was cut off as his vision went blue, the Emperor card appeared in front of him over Odagiri’s head, and Elizabeth gave her spiel.
Once the Velvet Room attendant gave him his bodily autonomy back, the rest of the council introduced themselves. Minato nodded politely, to each of them, but he was certain that he would need to be reminded of what their names were; he didn’t think he’d be talking to them all that much.
“Well,” Kirijo-senpai said as the last person finished. “It’s getting late, and we finished business while you both were at the faculty office, so introductions will be enough for today.”
“Thank you, Kirijo-senpai,” Minako said. “But, what is it you want us to do here, exactly?”
“What we want from you is to assist us as necessary,” the president explained. “From now on, you have my permission to enter the student council room whenever you wish. Your time is your own after school, but try to remember the student council every now and again.”
“We will,” Minako promised.
“When do you meet?” Minato asked.
“We meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but not on the week before tests. Thanks for coming today Minako-kun, Minato-kun.”
“Thank you for having us, senpai,” Minato answered, willing his voice to stay steady; he was getting sick of his crush trying to make him speak gibberish.
“We’ll see you back at the dorm, senpai,” Minako said. And after giving their goodbyes to the rest of the council, the twins made their way out the door.
Once they were at the end of the hallway, far enough that they wouldn’t be overheard, Minako turned to him with a manic smile on her face. “New Link?”
He grinned at her in return. “New Link. Emperor.”
“Fantastic!” his sister cried, pumping her arms in the air. “I can’t think of a way this day can go wrong!”
Unfortunately for his sister, a way it could go wrong presented itself; waiting for them at the shoe lockers once they came down the stairs was a very angry girl with fierce grey eyes and long black hair tied in a ponytail.
“Arisato Minako! Why the hell weren’t you at tennis practice today!?”
Notes:
Author's Notes:
1. "Ah, tennis and kendo, I loved playing those when I was younger! Wait, what are tennis and kendo again...?"
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Iori Junpei: Rank 2
THE EMPEROR - Odagiri Hidetoshi: Rank 1
THE HIEROPHANT - Kitamura Bunkichi and Mitsuko: Rank 2
THE CHARIOT - Iwasaki Rio: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 1
THE MAGICIAN - Tomochika Kenji: Rank 2
THE EMPEROR - Odagiri Hidetoshi: Rank 1
THE HIEROPHANT - Kitamura Bunkichi and Mitsuko: Rank 2
THE CHARIOT - Miyamoto Kazushi: Rank 1
Chapter 11: The Strength, The Lovers, and The Hermit
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
April 28th, 2009
Arisato Minato, Morning
Minato trudged his way forward, eyes half-closed in tiredness and annoyance, feeling even more like he was about to fall asleep on the spot than usual. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his sister was in no better condition.
And the reasons why they were in that state could be heard behind them.
Turning to look over his shoulder, Minato saw Yukari-san and Iori-san walking behind himself and his sister, faces guilty and only growing more so as they spotted his gaze. Turning his head to look ahead of him again, his thoughts drifted back to the evening before…
Minato and Minako sat across from each other at the dining table in the dorm’s lounge, going over their homework and making notes for the midterms; the tests may have been weeks away, but it was important for them to prepare for them as much as they could as early as they could.
Or so his sister and Kirijo-senpai had insisted.
After a moment more of pens scratching against paper, Minato sensed Iori-san and Yukari-san walking up to the table. At first, he ignored them, not seeing why they would approach the twins, but that quickly changed as Iori strode up and slapped a hand down on the table, drawing both his and his sister’s full attention.
“So, leaders! What’s the plan for our attack on Tartarus tonight!?”
“What do you mean, Junpei-kun?” Minako asked. “We’ve already reached the blocked floor; there really isn’t much more we can do in Tartarus at the moment. Why would we go there right now?”
“W-well, we could make ourselves stronger by fighting the Shadows, of course!” Iori countered. “If we go out and fight them every night, we’ll be improving ourselves by strengthening our Personas! And isn’t improving ourselves reason enough to do anything in the first place?”
Minato looked into Iori’s too-sincere looking face, closed his eyes and sighed. “Iori, you’ve already spent all of your share of the loot, haven't you?”
The other boy spluttered. “Hey- I- um… well… yes.”
Across the table, Minako sighed, and shook her head with a quiet laugh. “Oh, Junpei-kun. Going through all that money so quickly! Isn’t that embarrassing, Yukari-san?”
A few moments passed, as Minako waited for her fellow female second year to agree with her. But, she didn’t. And as the increasingly oppressive silence descended, his sister turned to look at the increasingly skittish looking Takeba. “Yukari-san,” she said. “You always take shots at Junpei-kun at times like this. Why are you staying quiet now?”
“Well,” Takeba muttered, averting her gaze. “I’ve been looking through some of the newest fashion magazines, which I always like to do, and… I may have… slightly overspent.”
Minako’s red eyes narrowed. “How slightly?”
Fidgeting more and more as the conversation went on, Yukari-san finally held out a piece of receipt paper to his sister. After taking the receipt and looking it over, Minato saw something he had rarely seen in his life before; his sister, Arisato Minako, staring, eyes bulging and mouth wide open in astonishment when she finally reached the total amount.
Looking back up at an extremely guilty-looking Takeba, Minako’s astonished expression quickly morphed into a predatory and very unfriendly smile. “Yukari-san. People already make jokes about how girls like us spend way too much money on useless stuff like fancy clothes as is. You didn’t need to give them more ammunition.”
Neither Yukari-san and Iori-san had the nerve to say anything more in their defense; they simply stood there, staring at the floor and trying to avoid the Arisato twins gazes’. Closing his eyes, and letting out a long-suffering sigh, Minato stood up, and looked to the two contrite juniors.
“We will go to Tartarus tonight, and we’ll get you some more money. But next time we go to Tartarus, you two get NOTHING. Understood?”
When the two profligates started nodding frantically, Minato sighed, and slumped back into his seat and back to his studies. “What a way to run a railroad…” he muttered.
Arisato Minato, After School
With the final bell signalling the end of the school day, Minato pushed his books into his school bag, said goodbye to Minako, and began walking to the back-left corner of the classroom. He remembered the promise that had been made yesterday, and he knew better than to try to avoid it.
Miyamoto Kazushi was waiting at the back of the classroom by the projector sitting on a rolling cart 1., easily picked out by the fact that he was already wearing his gym clothes. Minato inwardly cocked an eyebrow; if he or his sister had ever done something to stand out like that, then, combined with their ‘cursed’ status many people had held them in, they would have both been torn to shreds.
Noticing that Minato was walking toward him, Miyamoto-san turned to him and gave him a small, but welcoming grin. “Hey, Arisato. You headin’ to practice?”
Minato nodded.
“Better hurry and get changed, then,” Miyamoto continued. “Head down to the locker rooms and get into your gym clothes, then talk to Yuko to get your gear. Today, we’re gonna see what you’re made of. But, don’t overdo it, alright?”
Minato blinked twice; idly, he wondered how intimidated he would have been if he hadn’t had to fight in Tartarus. “Alright.”
Late into practice, Minato brought Miyamoto down yet again, twisting on his left leg and driving his breath out in a huff as he hit the mat. A whistle ran out, followed by the shout of the team manager calling the fight. Groaning, the head of the team slowly pushed himself back to his feet, his right hand trying rubbing his ribs through his protective equipment as he took his helmet off with his left.
“Ah, m-my side is killing me,” he hissed. “I might have overdone it a bit.”
Minato, himself trying to catch his breath, began trying to apologize to him and suggest that they take things slower, but Ara Mitima seized the forefront of his mind and began barking orders into his ‘ear’.
“...toughen up…”
“What was that, Arisato?” Kazushi barked, eyes focused on him like lasers.
“I said, you need to toughen up, Miyamoto,” Minato said again, louder and with more projection.
His sparring partner paused, then gave a determined nod. “Easy for you to say. But, honestly, you’re probably onto something.” He paused, thinking over the advice, before asking, “How about you? You okay? You’ve really been pushing it, especially with this being your first day and all. Actually, now that I think about it, you don’t even look tired. Just what kind of training regimen do you have?”
Minato froze, thinking over the hordes of Shadows that he had faced down the previous night, before giving a shrug and saying, “I have a very special routine.”
“I figured as much,” Miyamoto-san sighed. “Overwise, I wouldn’t be having my ass kicked by the new guy.” He groaned quietly. “It kinda sucks. You totally destroyed me. I knew the standards were high around here, but I never thought that someone so good would be right in front of me.”
“You’re not so bad yourself, Miyamoto,” Minato answered. “You really kept me on my toes.”
At least as long as we’re talking about kendo and not an actual life or death fight, he added to himself.
“Oh really,” Miyamoto said, making a face that looked like he had made up his mind to drive his head through a brick wall and was about to do it. 2. “Then in that case, you’ll be the best man on the team for me to test myself against.”
Minato blinked. “Huh?”
“Okay,” Miyamoto said, ignoring him. “I’ve made up my mind. Listen up, Arisato Minato! You’d better be on your toes, ‘cause I’m not gonna rest until I can beat you at kendo!”
Minato blinked again, still not sure how he had managed to make the leader of the kendo club his rival. And even while he was trying to think that through, the world turned blue again, and a second star around the Chariot card was filled.
I… guess that means he likes me more? He thought.
Damn straight, he does! Ara Mitama confirmed. That’s how us competitive types roll!
As the internal conversation was going on, Miyamoto suddenly turned apologetic. “Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to get so worked up. Let’s get go- ARGH!”
Minato’s eyes widened as Miyamoto shouted in pain and began clutching at his left leg. “What’s wrong, Miyamoto?”
“Think I might’ve… twisted my knee,” he hissed, eyes squeezed half-shut in pain. After a moment, though, Kazushi managed to stand up straight, and give Minato a smile. “Ah, forget it. I’ll put some ice on it once I get home, and that should take care of it. Let’s head home.”
Minato hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded and walked with him to hang up their gear; Kazushi knew his own body better than he did. With one final goodbye among the team members, Minato gathered his schoolbag, and started making his way back to the dorm.
However, as he reached the front entrance, to his surprise, he found the team manager, Nishiwaki Yuko, by the shoe lockers.
She must have left sooner than the rest of us, Minato thought to himself. He still felt a bit of trepidation, given how things had gone last week, but he pushed himself to try again. Minako said that she wanted him to reach out, and he wanted it himself.
“Hello, Nishiwaki-san,” he said, trying to force his voice to be stronger than a murmur.
If she had noticed, though, she didn’t mention it; she merely looked up from her locker, and gave him a polite smile. “Oh, Arisato-kun. What’s up?”
“Well, last week I asked if you wanted to walk home together,” Minato said, cursing himself for how quiet and halting his voice was. “But you weren’t able to then. Could we do it today?”
Nishiwaki gave him a curious look, humming to herself, before saying, “Okay, sure!” A smile spread across her face as she asked, “Why don’t we stop somewhere on the way?”
“Alright, Nishiwaki-san,” Minato answered. “Thank you.”
“Oh, enough of that ‘Nishiwaki-san’ stuff,” she playfully complained. “I told you, we’re both second years; call me Yuko.”
“Okay… Yuko-san.”
“That’s better,” Yuko said. “So, where would you like to stop by?”
“I don’t care.”
As the two made their way through the streets, Minato eventually found himself seated across a table from Yuko at Chagall Cafe, both of them with a single cup of the company’s famous Pheromone Coffee, talking about the ins and outs of the school's kendo team, its members, and Yuko-san’s responsibilities.
“It’s tough being a team manager,” the dark-skinned girl complained. “You really don’t get any respect. And the guys on the team, present company excepted, all act like little kids. ‘Where’s my towel!’ ‘Can you wash this for me!?’ Ugh! I’m not their mother, you know.”
Minato quietly thought of his own mother for a moment, silently and suddenly wishing that he could have some annoying moments like that with her, as Yuko continued. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about gaining weight, since I’m always running around taking care of them.” She paused for a moment, seeming to spot that he was looking distant. “How about you, Minato-kun? Are you enjoying kendo?”
Minato didn’t answer immediately. Finally, he said, “I’m a bit worried after today; I’m the new guy on his first real day of the club, and I ended up tossing the favorite for the big championship around like a rag doll. Doesn’t seem like a good way to make a good first impression.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that; Kaz will head that off. He’ll be thrilled to have a real rival, and once that gets out, the rest of the team will leave it alone.”
Minato’s lips quirked up by the barest degree. “In that case, it’s a lot of fun.”
Yuko smiled. “Oh yeah? That’s good to hear. Thought it might be boring for you, since you turned out to be so much better than everyone else. I can just tell by looking that you don’t waste much energy on any one move. It’s almost like you’ve been in a bunch of real, life-or-death fights.”
Minato started, barely managing to cover his surprise with a fake coughing fit.
“Well, if you have any questions about the club, just ask Kaz. Um, you know, Kazushi. You guys are in the same class, so I’m sure he’d be willing to help you.” Breaking into a smile, she added, “You can ask me, too, since I’m the manager.”
“Thank you very much, Yuko-san,” Minato said, lifting his coffee cup to his lips. He hadn’t even gotten it halfway before Elizabeth interrupted time again, and the Strength card appeared before him. Once that vanished, he finished the last of the cup in one swallow.
It was just as well, as Yuko jumped in her seat. “Hey, sorry Minato-kun, but I’ve gotta run. There’s a show I want to catch.”
Looking at his phone, Minato was surprised at how much time had passed. “I need to get back too. Thank you for walking with me, Yuko-san.”
“Thank you, Minato-kun. See you at school!”
Arisato Minako, After School
As she watched her brother make his way to the back of the classroom, Minako had to suppress a sigh; it still wasn’t easy to watch her little brother walk away from her and go to others, even if she knew it was good for him and would make him stronger. Turning around in her seat and looking over her shoulder, she tried to get Junpei-kun’s attention, only to see him chatting with Tomochika-san. She sighed, figuring that her friend’s attention was lost to her for today, and began packing her bag, wondering what it was she was going to do with herself this afternoon.
“Oh, Minako-san… Heading home?”
Looking up, Minako immediately found the source of the voice; her fellow girl junior in S.E.E.S..
“I guess I am, Yukari-san,” she replied. “I don’t really have anything else to do at the moment.”
“Well, I was thinking that maybe… we could go somewhere to hang out,” her roommate continued, clearly nervous. “I… just wanted to… you know… make up for being an idiot with the fashion stuff; I could tell that you were really annoyed with me.”
“You and Junpei-kun,” Minako corrected, standing up. “So, where are we going?”
“I was thinking of Chagall,” the archer said. “I don’t know about that whole ‘Pheremone Coffee’ thing, but the decor is nice, and everything I’ve had there was tasty.”
“Alright, Yukari-san. Lead the way.”
After the two had made their way to the cafe, walking in a comfortable silence, and placed their orders (Minako had gotten two pastries before Yukari said that she was only going to pay for one of them and the other was on her), they sat down at one of the smaller tables.
“Um, well,” Yukari started to say, as Minako happily began dipping one of her pastries into her coffee. “I wasn’t just bringing you here as an apology for spending so much on clothes. There’s… something I need to say to you.”
Minako paused, keeping the coffee-soaked snack over the cup. “What is it?” she asked, scared of what exactly it was.
“Um… you probably won’t remember, but… when you and your brother woke up at the hospital… you know, after the dorm was attacked by that giant Shadow and you both discovered your Personas…”
Yukari swallowed nervously, then pressed forward. “You know how I said all those things right after you both woke up?”
Minako nodded. “You said that you were in the same place that the two of us were, alone and without our parents.”
“Yeah, that. Well, it occurred to me after a while that I might’ve been making assumptions about you. I mean, I lost my dad, but in you and your brother’s case it was both your parents, and even when things may seem the same, people react to them differently. But, I ignored how you might have felt, and forced my own opinions on you.” She fidgeted as she finished, saying, “I’ve been worrying all this time that I might’ve said some unfair things to you that day, and I want to properly apologize for it. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for, Yukari-san,” Minako replied, smiling reassuringly. “I’m glad that you felt that connection. I felt it, too.”
Relief flooded Yukari’s face. “Good. I was worried that you wouldn’t feel anything similar, or that you wouldn’t like it because it's because we’re both missing parents. I’ve never had anyone who could understand it around me before. It’s different for everyone else at school.” Taking a moment to look over the cafe at the handful of other students that had come to the cafe, she explained, “They have both their parents at home; they can complain about how they’ll get yelled at if they come home late.” She sighed, then added, “When I hear stuff like that, I get so jealous, but I hate feeling that way, so I hide it, and because I can’t tell anyone that, I feel distant. I felt lonely.”
Yukari started trembling slightly, clearly scared by whatever it was she was about to say next. Minako felt an instinctual urge to reach across the table and rest a hand on Yukari’s to try and comfort her, but quickly decided against it; that would almost certainly be too forward a gesture.
“So,” the archer said, voice barely a whisper. “When I heard about you, and your brother too… I felt like you could… save me from that.”
Minako was struck silent, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. That was almost word for word what she herself would have said. Moreover, she had never thought Yukari-san had been hiding anything like this; the girl must have gotten very good at hiding her feelings over the years.
Yukari, seeing the look on her face, suddenly broke out into a nervous smile. “Yikes! Sorry! I’m being selfish again, I know. It’s just, the fact that you’re part of our group now makes me feel a lot better.”
“...Can I be selfish with you, Yukari-san?”
“Huh?”
Minako took a deep breath, then continued. “What you just said… About being lonely, and hoping you could be saved from it. I could say the same thing. I don’t have anyone anymore, except my brother. And as much as I love Minato, it doesn’t change the fact that we had no one else in our lives, and that hurts. And I don’t want to live like that anymore. So, again, can I be selfish with you, Yukari-san?”
It took a moment, but Yukari-san’s smile turned from nervous and unsure to warm and relieved. “Of course, Minako-chan. I’d be happy to be selfish together with you. I’m… I’m really glad that you decided to join S.E.E.S..”
Minako smiled back. “So am I, Yukari-chan.” She didn’t get the chance to say anything more, as a familiar blue hue descended on the world, and a card with the silhouette of a man and a woman as well as a giant heart appeared before her.
I am thou… Theodore’s voice echoed in her mind. Thou art I… Thou hast established a new bond.
Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Lovers arcana.
WAIT, WHAT! Minako shouted in her mind as Velvet Room nonsense began to fade away. NO! No no no no nononono, this can’t be right! I shouldn’t have a Lovers Social Link with a girl !
Quickly, far too quickly for the now panicked girl’s liking, time resumed, and Yukari finished her cup of coffee and looked at a nearby clock. “Oh, it looks like it’s starting to get a little late, Minako-chan. I think we should start heading home.”
Go home!? The girl I just formed the Lovers Link with wants to take me home!? Oh my goodness, oh my goodness…
“Um, sure, Yukari-chan. Let’s go,” she managed to say after regaining a tiny bit of her wits, as she tried desperately not to blush.
The trip back to the dorm was awkward, at least to Minako. She walked in total silence, with her arms straight down her sides, back and head stiff, and eyes staring straight forward except for quick glances at Yukari-chan, who was walking beside her, smiling gently, seemingly completely unaware of the crisis boiling over in her new friend.
You know, Minako, Pixie whispered in her mind. Yukari-chan is very pretty…
Taken aback by the fae creature’s words, Minako took a bit of a longer look at her new Social Link, hoping she wouldn’t get spotted. Oh, you’re right, she thought back. Yukari-chan IS pretty. In fact, she might just be the prettiest girl in our gra- wait, nononononono NOOOOOOOOOOO!
Oh, enough, you silly girl!
Minako was taken aback; the Persona speaking now was Alp, who had mainly kept to herself since Minako had found her.
Arisato Minako, do you not know the true depth and meanings of our arcana? the fur-clad demon woman asked. Yes, the Lovers can and often does refer to connections of romantic love, but it is MORE than that! It can also refer to close friendships, or family, or other unromantic relationships. In fact, it doesn’t have to refer to human relations at all; it may be showing different paths of life are before you, and the time has come to make a decision of which you will walk!
Minako shifted nervously as she thought over Alp’s words. Then, having Yukari-chan as a Lovers Social Link DOESN’T mean I actually like girls?
Correct.
I see, she thought.
Eurydice.
Within Minako’s mind Eurydice moved up and behind Pixie, who had retreated into its depths to laugh hysterically at her own mischief, and bonked her on the head with her lyre again.
Thank you.
Arisato Minako, Evening
Minako turned the page of the magazine that Yukari-chan had lent her, who sat next to her on the same lounge couch doing the same. Her new friend had offered to help Minako through the world of fashion, after she had let slip that she hadn’t ever gotten into it at all. It was a lot deeper and more complex than she had thought, with the same clothes having different prices based on what materials they were made out of. She was starting to understand just why Yukari-chan had gotten lost and spent so much money on the stuff.
Not that that changed how genuinely dumb a thing it was to do.
The sound of the door opening broke her out of her browsing, and she looked up to see her brother walk into the dorm. “Oh, hey ‘To,” she called out, setting the fashion magazine aside and walking up to her brother. “How was your day?”
“Pretty good,” he murmured, in his usual quiet way. “Kendo went well. And I made a new friend.”
Minako’s eyes widened, knowing what that meant. “I made a new friend, too,” she said, indicating her head over her shoulder to Yukari-chan.
Minato looked at Yukari-chan, then turned back to Minako and gave her a little smile. “Good.”
“Welcome back, Arisato-kun.”
The twins looked up to see Kirijo Mitsuru walking up to them. Stopping a few feet away from them and resting one hand on her hip, she said, “Now that you are all here, I’d like to let you all know that the internet line that the Shadow ripped apart will be fixed tomorrow. Starting then, you will be able to connect the computers in your rooms without issue.”
“...Um, thank you, Kirijo-senpai.” Minako answered.
“Now we just need our own computers,” her brother muttered, lips lifted upward in amusement.
“Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that,” the red-haired senior spoke up. “I realize that I massively overstepped my bounds the other day when I signed you both up to join the student council without asking you first. You were quite right to be upset with me over that, Minako-chan. So, as an apology for my presumptiveness, I took the liberty of purchasing both of you new laptop computers.”
The twins stood stock still, blinking in turn, not sure how they were supposed to react to this news. “Th-thank you very much, Kirijo-senpai,” Minako finally managed to whisper. “But… but wouldn’t that be expensive?”
Kirijo’s eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. “No. Why would it be? My father’s staff told me that it was perfectly affordable.”
“Says the rich girl,” Minato muttered, so quietly even Minako could barely hear him, with a tiny smirk on his face.
“What was that, Minato-kun?” Kirijo asked.
“N-Nothing!” her brother immediately stammered, pure panic in his tone.
“...Very well, then,” Kirijo continued. “That takes care of everything that was damaged. Except, of course, Akihiko’s rib cage.”
Minako couldn’t help but snicker at Kirijo-senpai’s smug expression at the last point.
“Speaking of the internet,” Junpei-kun cut in, walking up from behind Kirijo-senpai. “Either one of you two into online games?”
“Not me,” Minkao said. “I never had much of an interest in them.”
“I’ve thought about it,” Minato replied after her. “But I never had the money for them.”
“Well, man, I used to be addicted to this one game, Innocent Sin Online, but I kinda got burnt out on it.” Handing the game case over to her brother, Junpei-kun smiled. “Here, you can have it, man. I’ve seen pretty much everything in there, anyway.”
Minato looked very confused, but eventually reached out and took the case. “Thank you, Iori.”
Junpei-kun nodded, then went back to the dining table to his dish of instant ramen.
“Ah, Arisato Minato-kun.”
The twins turned to look at chairman Ikutsuki, who had been sitting in one of the lounge chairs silently reading until now. Standing to his feet, he turned to the twins and walked up to Minato, a polite smile on his face.
“Good evening, Mr. Chairman,” her brother said with a slight bow.
“Good evening to you as well. I was hoping to speak to you in the command room once you got back, about the quick progress that S.E.E.S. has been made in Tartarus since you and your sister joined the group.”
“All right, sir. Let’s go, ‘Ko.”
“Actually, I’d prefer just to speak to you, Minato-kun. I need to leave soon, and I just don’t have the time for two interviews. I’ll speak with your sister… another time.”
“...Alright,” Minato replied. With a final “Goodnight, ‘Ko,” he made his way up the stairway, beside Ikutski-san. Minako frowned. Perhaps it was childish of her, but she felt offended by the Chairman’s dismissal of her. Not to mention, she was the other Consul of the group. It didn’t seem like a good idea to only talk about their efforts with one and not the other.
“Hey, Minako-chan! Take a look at this one.”
Turning around, she saw Yukari-chan holding up another magazine. Smiling, she returned to the couch, and listened to her new friend gush over the outfits she had found. Occasionally, Minako would ask a question, trying to gauge what clothes would go with which, something Yukari-chan was only too happy to explain at length.
Slowly, Ikutsuki-san faded from her mind.
April 29th, 2009
Arisato Minato, Early Morning
Minato slowly opened his eyes, awakened by the sunlight drifting in through the window. He frowned; shouldn’t his alarm clock have gone off by now? He knew he was going to be massively late for school-
He sighed, and slumped his head back down on his pillow. It was Showa day, he now remembered. They were off from school today. He didn’t need to set his alarm early.
He lethargically got to his feet, walked over to his closet, and began putting on his now rarely worn casual clothes. Task done, he closed the closet door quickly, trying to avoid the temptation that lay within. Taking a deep breath, he gave his small dorm room an uncaring look, trying to think of something to do with himself on his holiday. Finally, his gaze settled on his writing desk, and the new laptop and old MMO that Kirijo and Iori had given him.
After a moment, he gave a mental shrug of his shoulders. May as well, he thought. Then he snorted derisively. Might even get a new Social Link from a player in the game!
Quickly plugging in the laptop, still feeling astonished that Kirijo-senpai would consider such an expensive computer an apology gift, and installing the game, Minato sat at the desk, chose a server, and entered a game world meant to hold hundreds of players at the same time.
He didn’t see anyone.
A flash on the edge of his screen made him turn to look for the source, and he saw a girl dressed in red approach his character. Minato hesitated, not really sure what he was supposed to do, when a message appeared in the bottom left corner of his monitor.
“sup xD”
A moment later, another followed.
“asl…? oh wait, r u a nub? U r, huh? >_>”
“oh wow. U haven’t even finished makin your char yet… o_O”
Minato swallowed, then typed back his own message as he put the finishing touches on his character.
“Ye@h. 4ny+hin9 new | need +o know?” 3.
“guess the new default skin thing was 4 real. I got dis cool outfit in the patch too”
“not liek it brought in many ppl… this is kind of a dead MMO these days xD”
“did peop1e 9et brnd out?”
“m@ybe. but they prob@6ly just went bacck to Universe of Conflictcrafting”
“eh, welcome to teh game! cool to seeya round :3”
“Thnx. Who are you?”
“sry. I got kinda ooc there =o”
“we r supposed to be our “alternative selves” rite? uhhhh… yeah =/”
“sooo… what r u gonna call ur char? all i c is “no data” o_O”
“I dont cre”
“hm… hey, i got a good name for u :3”
“how bout tatsuya? ya thats perfect, imo”
“i’ll change mine to maya, k? =D”
“k”
“also, vry clevr”
“o, didn’t know u plyed that! well if you see any jokers, be sure to rescu me, k? ^^y”
After Minato and his new companion took a moment to change their characters’ names, a new message appeared.
“ne way, im usually idling here on my days off… >_>”
“so if ur bored, maybe we can level together. it sux to be lonely =P”
Minato leaned forward to try and type an answer, but before he could, to his astonishment, the Velvet Blue haze descended.
“How?” he tried but failed to speak over Elizabeth’s voice. “How can I possibly have a Social Link here? I don’t even know who, or even where, he or she is.”
Once Elizabeth said that the Link was for the Hermit, though, it made a bit more sense.
After he was given control of himself back and time resumed, “Maya” began to show him the ropes, and she guided him around the starter area. He completely lost himself fighting the starter mobs, and trying to get used to the controls. Finally, Maya indicated to him, and walked up to his new “friend”.
“sry, gtg =x”
“what’s wrong?”
“kneed to meal prep. Forgot 2 make lunches for rest o the week becuz of teh holiday.”
“remember, let’s think positive! treasto! xD”
With that, Maya logged off from the game, and her character’s avatar disappeared. Not seeing anyone else to talk to, and not wanting to anyway, Minato did the same and turned off his new laptop, a tiny smile on his face.
That smile was driven off his face, and he himself almost fell out of his chair, by the loud bangs that struck his door.
“Alright, To! I know that even you can’t sleep that deep for that long! Get up already!”
Grabbing his phone, he was slightly appalled to see that it was both almost one o’clock in the afternoon, and that his sister had texted him several times and he had never answered her. Standing up, he quickly walked over to and opened the door, revealing his very angry sister, with her hands crossed over her chest and fire in her red eyes.
Minato shifted nervously. “Sorry, ‘Ko.”
Minako glared at him for a moment, then reached out, grabbed him by his right arm, and started dragging him down the hallway.
“Uh… ‘Ko? Where are you taking me?”
“To go and see Baa-chan and Jii-chan,” she replied tersely.
“Oh,” Minato answered, face blank at first. Then, he lips twitched into one of his increasingly common tiny smiles.
“Ok.”
Arisato Minato, Afternoon
“I can’t believe you spent half the day on that dumb game,” Minako muttered, shaking her head as they walked down the sidewalk to the strip mall.
“I lost track of time,” Minato replied. It was the only thing he could say.
His sister hummed, seemingly deep in thought, before suddenly looking up at him again, this time curious. “Hey, what was it that Ikutsuki-san wanted to talk to you about?”
“He just wanted to go over the details of our expeditions to Tartarus,” Minato explained. “And how I can use and change through multiple Personas.” He paused for a moment, then added, “He also said he was… proud of me.”
Minako’s eyebrows went up. “Wow. Congratulations, ‘To.” She paused, and whispered, “Wish he did the same for me.”
Minato patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, ‘Ko. He will.” 4.
Just as he was finished speaking, the twins reached Bookworms. Holding the door open, Minato let his sister into the store before following her in. They immediately saw Bunkichi and Mitsuko were both looking over the shelves and across the floor instead of waiting for customers.
“That’s strange,” Bunkichi muttered. “I swear I left it around here…”
“I’m sorry dear,” Mitsuko answered. “I can’t seem to find it.”
“Looking for something?” Minako asked.
The elderly couple jumped slightly, and turned to the twins. “Oh!” Bunkichi exclaimed. “Minato-chan, Minako-chan! Welcome back!” The old man smirked. “How did you know I was looking for something, Minako-chan? Are you psychic?”
“We heard you muttering,” Minato deadpanned.
“Well, either way, you’re right. I’m looking for my glasses. Er, not my glasses, my wallet! I can’t seem to find it…”
“Can we help you look for it?” Minato asked.
“What kind of thing is that to say, ‘To,” Minako asked, looking a little incredulous. “We WILL help you look for them, Bunkichi-san.”
“Wow! Minako-chan, you really can read minds!” Bunkichi crowed.
With that, the Arisato twins joined the elderly couple and the four of them searched the store high and low. But, even after more than an hour, none of them found Bunkichi’s wallet.
“We’ve searched everywhere, but… where could it be,” the older man muttered. “Wait… What were we looking for again?”
“Good heaven’s, dear,” Mitsuko said. “We were looking for your wallet.”
“Oh. I knew that.”
Before anyone could say anything else, the bell rang as the store’s door opened. As the four turned to look at the new customer, what they saw was the last thing any of them expected; a foreigner, a boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, who Minato suddenly remembered talking to Mr. Ono on the first day of school.
“ Bonjour! ” the foreign exchange student said, walking up to Bunkichi. “I found something important on the ground outside! Does this belong to you?” Reaching forward, the foreign boy, French judging by his greeting, showed the old man what he was holding; a wallet.
“Oh yes, that’s it!” Bunkichi exclaimed, taking the wallet. “We’ve been looking for this everywhere! Thank you very much, young man. It’s not a golden wallet, but it has an even bigger treasure to me in it.”
As Bunkichi began hunting through the returned wallet, the blonde boy turned to look at the twins. Minako stiffened, clearly not sure how to go about speaking to a foreigner. Minato didn’t care.
“Ah, sumimasen, excuse me,” he said. “Are you two not the transfer students that everyone is talking about?”
The twins both nodded, Minako nervously, and Minato apathetically.
“I am one as well! I go to the same school- Gekkoukan!”
“Nice to meet you,” Minato said.
“Yes. Same.” Minako added. Then, she asked, “Can we ask for your name?”
“Of course!” the boy said, happily. “I am here from France as an exchange student. My name is André Laurent Jean Geraux. But you can just call me ‘Bebe’. It is quite nice to meet you both.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Minato answered.
“Y-yes!” Minako squeaked. “Very nice!”
“I am delighted to, erm, make both of your acquaintances. Yoroshiku! I train in the home economics room every day. If either of you ever get bored, please come and join me!”
Train? Minato thought. What was he training for?
“Well, then,” Bebe said, his smile widening. “Au revoir and sayonara!” And with that, the boy turned and left the store.
“Well,” Mitsuko said, apparently unsure how to restart the conversion. “He seemed like an interesting young man.”
“And classy, too,” Bunkichi added, as he pulled something out of his wallet. “Especially returning this to me. I knew I needed to keep this in my wallet. I didn’t want to forget about it at any cost.”
The old man held it up for the other three to look at; a car key.
Mitsuko’s eyes widened, and her breathing seemed to stop. “Dear… that key… is it…?”
Bunkichi, oblivious to his wife’s distress, just smiled. “Come on dear, you know what it is. It’s the key to our son’s car. Having these two young ones come to visit us has a way of making me feel young again. Been awhile since I felt like putting the pedal to the metal and heard the roar of the engine. What age do I look, dear?”
Before Minato or Minako could interject, Mitsuko finally stood up and let out the closest thing to a shout she could, clearly not able to stand what she was hearing any longer.
“Please don’t! Why must you get into a car!? Do you want me to end up all alone!?”
Minato seized up at those words. Next to him, he felt Minako do the same.
“What’s this about a car?” Minako asked, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.
“Oh!” Mitsuko gasped, turning to the twins. “Um… Minako-chan, Minato-chan. I’m sorry for raising my voice. Did I scare you both?”
“No,” Minato said, trying to reassure her and steel himself. “We just wanted to know why you were so upset.”
“Oh. Yes,” Bunkichi said, looking guilt-stricken. “Our son. Remember what we told you the other day? How he passed away? On his way home from work, he… got into an accident…”
Bunkichi swallowed, his breath hitching, then, through a sob, said, “He was hit by a dump truck driver who was drunk on the job.”
The twins went stock still; it was more or less what the two had expected to hear, but it still struck home to them. Minako was the first to break, beginning to quietly sob. Minato wasn’t far behind, tears leaking out of his eyes and around his nose. As Mitsuko descended on them like a mother hen, the two managed to calm down and, at the elderly couple’s urging, tell the story of their own parents; Minako explained how they had been driving at midnight across the Moonlight Bridge, and that they had been in a car accident themselves. Since she had been knocked unconscious in the crash, Minato had to explain what happened after that, how he had pulled Minako out of the wreckage, then tried to save their parents, and failed.
There was a moment of silence, then Bunkichi finally sighed, and stepped forward.
“Oh… Please, punch me, Minato-chan. Just punch me, for being so insensitive. In all my excitement, I didn’t consider how my wife would feel, and I made the two of you so upset on top of that. I’m such a… such a…”
“Jii-chan.”
The other three froze, then looked at who had just spoken.
“Jii-chan,” Minako repeated. “Grandpa. You’re such a grandpa. At least, that’s how we think about you. And you too, Mitsuko-san.”
There was a pause, then Minato said, “Would… it be alright with you if we called you that, Bunkichi-san, Mitsuko-san?”
The older couple stood still for a moment, looking more than a little shocked, before breaking out into wide, tears-of-joy filled smiles.
“Of course you can,” Mitsuko said. “Oh, thank you both, you sweet, sweet children.”
“I agree,” Bunkichi agreed. “I can’t believe fate brought us all together like this.
The only surprising thing about the Velvet Room card appearing again after that was that only one star was filled instead of all of them.
Once the four had stopped embracing each other and gotten their breathing under control, Bunkichi was the first to speak up.
“Well, now that we’ve gotten all that sad stuff out of our systems, why are we just moping around here? Since we’ve found my wallet, why don’t we go out and have a nice dinner, dear? And you both can come too, Minato-chan, Minako-chan.”
“U-us too?” Minako asked. Minato was just as surprised.
“Of course, dears,” Mitsuko said, smiling sweaty. “After all we just said, why wouldn’t we?”
So, smiling at the new, strange, but happy feeling that filled them both, the twins followed the Kitamura couple out of their store, and down the street as they made their way to the restaurant Bunkichi had in mind. As they walked, Minato suddenly felt his sister place his hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you, ‘To.”
He looked at his sister with confusion written on his face. “What for?”
“For telling me about what happened that night,” she explained, giving him a small smile. “It’s been a decade, and you’ve never explained what happened after the crash. Not to me, not to anyone.”
Minato swallowed, and looked away. “I’m sorry for not telling you for so long.”
“It’s okay, ‘To. I know that it had to be hard for you. And it tore me up to watch you hold that in. I’m glad that you could finally say what happened, as much as I am that I finally got to hear what happened.”
And the whole evening, Minako made it clear that she was happy it had happened. From them finally reaching the restaurant, through the meal, the walk back to the dorm, and when they finally said goodnight and went to bed.
And yet, through all of that, Minato couldn’t wholly enjoy the evening. Guilt gnawed at him, made worse by his sister’s every act of sibling affection.
Because even now, at a time when the whole truth was supposed to have come out and be told without reservation, he still had not mentioned what lay within The Box.
Notes:
Author's Notes:
1. I cannot even begin to tell you all how old I felt when I saw that thing when I first played Reload.
2. Kazushi "Ulysses S. Grant" Miyamoto.
3. Minato and the author both needed a leetspeak translation machine for this part.
4. No, he won't. He "forgot". As you all know, Ikutsuki-san is "silly" like that.
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Iori Junpei: Rank 2
THE EMPEROR - Odagiri Hidetoshi: Rank 1
THE HIEROPHANT - Kitamura Bunkichi and Mitsuko: Rank 3
THE LOVERS - Takeba Yukari: Rank 1
THE CHARIOT - Iwasaki Rio: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Tomochika Kenji: Rank 2
THE EMPEROR - Odagiri Hidetoshi: Rank 1
THE HIEROPHANT - Kitamura Bunkichi and Mitsuko: Rank 3
THE CHARIOT - Miyamoto Kazushi: Rank 2
THE HERMIT - “Maya”: Rank 1
THE STRENGTH - Nishiwaki Yuko: Rank 1
Chapter 12: Outings with Friends
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
April 30th, 2009
Arisato Minako, After School
“So,” Minato deadpanned as he walked into Paulownia Mall with her. “Theodore, your Velvet Room Attendant, called you after class was over?”
“Yes,” Minako replied, as she made her way to the right of the center fountain.
“And he said that he and Elizabeth want us to take the two of them on a ‘date’ around Paulownia Mall?”
“More or less,” she said, deciding not to mention that Theodore had worded the request as “escorting him” in case Minato tried to punch the otherworldly being.
“Did either of them say what the purpose of this was?”
“I think that they both want to get out of the Room and see the human world,” Minako explained, as they reached the service hallway where the door to the Velvet Room was hidden. “And if you’re worried about it taking up time we could be spending with our classmates, don’t worry; he explicitly said that this would only take a few minutes, and we can head right back to school.”
“I hope so,” Minato muttered as they rounded the corner, and walked up to their ‘dates’ who were waiting on either side of the ethereal blue door.
“Ah, Minako-sama,” Theodore said, closing his eyes and giving her a bow. “A delight that you arrived so quickly.”
“And the same to you, Minato-sama,” Elizabeth added, bowing to her own charge. “We are both overjoyed that you both have come.”
“It’s good to see you both outside of the Velvet Room, Theodore, Elizabeth,” Minako answered, returning the bow. “We are happy to show you both around the Mall. Right, ‘To?”
“If you say so, ‘Ko.”
Minako turned to admonish him for being so rude, but the Velvet siblings strode past them and out towards the main courtyard, forcing the Arisato twins to turn and hurry to catch up. They did so just as Theodore and Elizabeth were approaching the Mall’s central fountain.
“So, this is Paulownia Mall,” Theodore said, looking around appreciatively. “Indeed, it’s exactly as I’d imagined.”
“Well, that would explain how plain and lacking in finery it is, my unimaginative brother,” Elizabeth sniped. “Our sisters and I could definitely-”
“Are you excited to be here, Theodore,” Minako interrupted, desperately trying to head off a sibling scuffle in public.
“Oh, come now, Minako-sama,” Theodore replied in faux offense. “I’m not that easily amused.”
“Oh, my!”
Three heads turned to look at the source of the exclamation; Elizabeth slowly stepped toward the fountain, awe in her golden eyes. “An encounter with one of your world’s exquisite treasures, right out of the blue!”
Before Minako or Minato could say anything, Theodore joined her.
“An aqueous duct in a place like this?” He said, stroking his chin. “The dwellers of this place must get thirsty easily.”
After choking down a laugh at her attendant’s ignorance, Minako stepped forward and said, “Theodore, I really don’t think that that’s what that’s for.”
After his double take, Theodore quickly stammered out an excuse, saying that of course he knew that the fountain was for handwashing. Then he took off his gloves, and began doing exactly that.
As the Arisato twins stared, dumbfounded at what they were witnessing, Elizabeth sighed, drawing their attention.
“My dear guests,” she said. “Unlike my utterly useless brother, I DO know what this is. This… is a Fountain.”
“Yes it is, Elizabeth,” Minako said, happy that things were starting to go back to a reasonable, sensible direction.
“Do you know what it’s for?” Minato asked.
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, both happy and confident. “It is to make sport of water, a precious resource and the very foundation of life, for trifling amusement and a display of power.” Looking back at the fountain with a knowing look, she finished, “Such a sinful form of art…”
Never mind, a crestfallen Minako thought.
“Additionally,” Elizabeth continued. “I’ve heard of its mystical powers, wherein those who offer the fountain coins may have their wishes granted.”
“Maybe so…” Minato muttered. In spite of his flat tone, though, Minako spotted the tiny smile on his face that most would miss.
“Then I must try my hand at this,” his attendant replied, reaching into a pocket in her dress.
“Oh, come now sister,” Theodore chidded, still washing his hands. “I doubt that whatever spirit inhabits this fountain would grant such a favor for a paltry offering." His sister merely smiled.
“Foretunately, I anticipated this, and brought a hefty sum of coins. 2,000 of this world’s 500-yen coins, to be exact,” she said, pulling out a purse, opening it, and holding over the water of the fountain.
“T-two thousand 500-ye-” Minako spluttered.
“But-” Minato stuttered. “But that’s-”
“Yes, indeed, dear guests,” Elizabeth said with glee. “I shall make an opening bid to the Fountain Spirit of one million yen!” And she dumped out the coins into the basin before the Arisatos could stop her, staring at the massive and desperately needed sum of cash now forever beyond their reach.
“Oh!” Elizabeth suddenly gasped. “I was so caught up in the excitement that I started tossing coins without giving my wish any thought.”
“Wish for better money management skills,” Minato muttered darkly.
Elizabeth stroked her chin in thought, as Theodore finally stopped washing his hands and put his gloves back on. “I shall give it more careful consideration before I return here in the near future,” she promised.
“Excuse me, Minako-sama,” Thoedore suddenly said. “What, pray tell, is this facility here?”
Turning to look where her attendant was indicating, Minako swallowed nervously when she saw he was talking about the police station. ‘To and I need to keep these two on a shorter leash, she thought. Or these lunatics are going to cause a Public Fuss. 1.
And as their tour of the Mall continued, the danger only grew and grew; when they walked over to the police station, Elizabeth noticed the Wanted and Missing Persons posters, and commented on how similar they were to the list of hunting requests that the two of them were preparing for her and Minato in Tartarus. Theodore had added to the mortification by mentioning those that fulfilled the bounties must have to bring back "a part of the body as proof of their kill.” She and Minato tried to hurry them along as quickly as possible, but it did no good; the attendant siblings spotted the entrance to Escapade, the Mall’s nightclub, with Elizabeth immediately spouting nonsense about a "subterranean garden” and “uninhibited spectacle” far too loudly. Even with the obvious ‘closed’ sign set up right in front of the entrance, the Velvet sister was not deterred; Elizabeth immediately started pumping her arms in the air while shifting from one foot to the other, determined to become part of the “scene”. Seeing this, Theodore immediately declared that he wasn’t going to be outdone by her, and began doing disco moves from Sunday Evening Temperature.
Desperate to avoid causing a fuss, Minako all but dragged Theodore to the other side of the Mall, motioning to Minato to keep his attendant where she was. At first, he seemed happy amusing himself with the crane machine, seemingly thinking that the grabbing arm was actually the aforementioned bird, but then he spotted the right-hand fountain, and walked over to it, taking off his gloves as he did so. But rather than give himself another handwashing, he simply dipped his hand in the water, held it there for a moment, and pulled it out again.
“The water’s temperature is 8 degrees Celsius,” he said.
Minako looked at him, surprised. “You could tell that just by putting your hand in the water?”
“Of course I can,” Theodore said proudly.
Before she could say anything more, a half shout echoed across the Mall.
“Elizabeth, wait!”
Minako froze; that was ‘To’s voice, and ‘To NEVER came even close to shouting, at least outside Tartarus. Turning she saw Elizabeth racing across the mall, her purse held in one hand.
“Oh, a third fountain! I simply must give an offering to it as well”
Wincing at Elizabeth’s volume, Minako missed her chance to stop Theodore, who now ran towards the left-hand fountain, his own voice also much too loud.
“Wait! There is a third fountain here? Allow me to determine that one's temperature, too!”
A Fuss! Minako’s now thoroughly terrified and fragmented brain managed to squeak out. They’re making a Fuss! And Minato and I will be punished for it!
After a few moments of desperate wrangling, the twins finally got their attendants back under control, and to quiet down. Once they had finished with the fountains, Elizabeth and Theodore were all but dragged back to the Velvet Room door, the Arisatos hearts’ pumping as fast they did when they were fighting in Tartarus. The attendant siblings, apparently not knowing enough about humans to understand their state of distress, thanked them for showing them around the Mall, and requested that take them out again once they had found another place that caught their interest, which the twins agreed to only after extracting a commitment that the Velvet siblings that they be taught basic etiquette on how to behave in public. Then, with a final goodbye, Minato and Minako made their way back out to the Mall’s center, trying to calm their heartrates down.
“Well,” Minako finally said. “That was… something.”
Minato just gave a quiet, but deep sigh. “I need to hurry back, or I’m gonna be late for kendo.” Turning to look at her, he gave Minako a smile. “See you later, ‘Ko.”
“Bye, ‘To!” Minako answered, suddenly cheerful at his improved mood. “Have fun hitting your friends over the head with sticks!”
“I will,” he said, and began making his way back to the school. Minako watched him until he was out of sight, then began wondering what exactly she was going to do herself. After a moment, she picked up her phone, opened her contact list, and called Junpei, who picked up after two rings.
“Hey, Minako-chan. What’s up?”
“Not much, Junpei-kun. I just wanted to know if you were up for anything.”
“Ah, sure, I don’t really have anything on deck. Where would you like to go?”
Humming to herself, Minako looked around Paulownia Mall, trying to make up her mind on their meet-up spot. Finally, her eyes settle on one sign in particular, and her lips quirked up.
“Seriously?” Junpei-kun complained, eyes closed and mouth drawn in exaggerated annoyance. “You brought me, a guy, into a girly place like the Chagall Cafe?”
“Oh, come on, Junpei-kun,” Minako said. “Chagall isn’t ‘girly’. It’s just a place to get coffee and relax. No one’s going to think that you aren’t manly for being here.”
“Yeah, maybe with a girl or by yourself. But if you're a guy and you’re with other guys, you wouldn’t be seen dead suggesting we all go to a place like this.” He let out a short laugh, then looked around at the cafe’s decor, a surprisingly appreciative look spreading across his face as he did so. “I think that might change, though, now that I’ve seen what it’s like inside. I just assumed that it was all pink and frilly and stuff like that.”
Minako frowned, wondering what she should say next. Fortunately, Nekomata whispered some advice in her “ear”. “Where do guy friends go with each other, then?”
“Uhh… Karaoke, Wild Duck Burger, the manga cafe,” Junpei-kun listed, before he began trailing off. Then he laughed. “All that sounds a lot lamer, now that I actually say it out loud!”
Minako smiled. “Sounds pretty nice to me,” she said, before taking a sip from her drink.
Junpei-kun kept his smile up, and did the same, humming in approval as he did so. “This is some damn good coffee, too. You can tell that the guy who owns this place is real picky about the beans. Probably uses special waters for each type of bean when he roasts them.”
Minako sat up straight, tilting her head slightly to the side. “You really know a lot about coffee, don’t you, Junpei-kun?”
He just laughed and shook his head. “I just really like the stuff. That’s all.” Looking back at the table, his brow furrowed. “Oh yeah, what did you get, Minako-chan?”
“Oh, I got hot cocoa. I’ve tried their coffee already, so I felt like something different this time.”
“Oh, you mean hot chocolate.” Junpei-kun broke into a wide smile. “That’s a girly drink!”
Minako pursed her lips. “And what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing! I’m just surprised that that’s what you’d get.”
“Why not!? Do you think I’m not girly? I’m girly!”
“Not from the way I’ve seen you in Tartarus, what with you swinging your naginata around and shouting ‘I’m not a princess!’ all the time.”
Their conversation continued apace, arguing back and forth over Minako’s “girlyness”, although she quickly got the sense that Junpei was just teasing her. It went on so long that she suddenly realized that her cocoa was starting to get cold, and she quickly began drinking it down.
“By the way, are there any guys you’re interested in?”
Nearly choking on her drink, Minako grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth, glaring up at her so-called friend as she tried to get her breath under control. “Did you wait until I was drinking to ask me that?”
“Maaaaaaaaaaaaybe,” Junpei-kun said, a sly look in his eyes. “So are ya? I’ll totally help you out. It’d be fun being your Cupid!”
Minako sighed, and tried to give him a polite smile. “No, I’m not interested in anyone at the moment, Junpei-kun.”
The boy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously? What about Sanada-senpai? He’s good looking, the captain of the boxing team, and he gets pretty good grades, too. All the other girls are crazy about him, so I thought you’d have an eye on him, too.”
She just shook her head. “Nope, not even him. I’ve barely spoken to Sanada-senpai, and besides, he’s way too focussed on training for the boxing team and our S.E.E.S. stuff. I honestly don’t think he even notices girls.”
“Well, I guess it’s better he does that than try and play ‘ya, or anyone else,” Junpei whispered. Then he scoffed and added, “But he’s not the kind of guy, so even if he didn’t care more about his dumbbell collection, he wouldn’t do something like that.”
A thought suddenly occurred to Minako, and she let out an involuntary giggle. “If anything, he’d get ultra-serious if he ever got a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, Sanada-senpai doesn’t seem to like doing things halfway,” Junpei-kun agreed. “Still, though, I think you should go for him. Just think of it; the transfer student swoops in and steals the heart of the boy every girl wants! Don’t you think that would be cool? It would be like something out of a manga!”
“One, we’re already living in something out of a manga,” Minako replied. “Two, it would only be cool right up to the point when I’m found dead in a dumpster somewhere from making all those girls so angry. Third…” she paused for a moment, and flashed a cheeky smile. “Maybe I should give it a try, then.”
Junpei laughed. “What do you mean by, ‘then’?” Then he shrugged, and said, “Well, if you’re serious, feel free to talk to me about it. I’ll be more than happy to give you some pointers.”
“Thank you very much, Junpei-kun,” Minako said happily, while making a mental note to never, ever do so. Her friend clearly meant well, but she did not trust his advice on dating one bit. And as they continued chatting on the matter, it quickly became clear that that was the correct choice; Junpei-kun clearly did not know what he was on about.
Still, it was clear to Minako that Junpei really was interested in helping her, even if his potential advice didn’t work. It was strange; for all that he seemed like a totally carefree guy, he really did seem like he was looking out for those around him. Maybe she was imagining things, but it seemed like she may have even gotten closer to him herself.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised by the fact that a third star for the Magician was filled in after all.
Arisato Minato, After School
The prey stood, trembling and helpless, before the predator that had caught it unawares.
It tried to stay totally still, hoping that if it didn’t move it wouldn’t be seen, but it was useless; it was completely exposed to the predator’s unerring gaze. Traces of sweat could be seen running down its face, evidence of a recent battle of supremacy with others of its kind. Its eyes stared down, flat, lifeless, uncaring. Grey eyes. Dead eyes, like a doll’s eyes. 2.
“Hello, Fushimi-chan.”
“AHHHHHHH!”
The treasurer of the student council shrieked, and seemed to jump backwards. “A-A-Arisato-senpai! Um… Er…” The girl stammered, fidgeting from one foot to another, before suddenly frowning and demanding, “W-What do you want!?”
Minato shrugged. “I just wanted to talk…”
“I-I-I don’t have anything to talk about!” Fushimi-chan said, practically spitting in anger. Suddenly, though, her eyes went wide in shock of her own behavior, and became so timid that she seemed to shrink into herself. “Oh, um… I’m sorry… I… I shouldn’t have said those things to you.”
Minato blinked twice, then asked, “Would you like to talk another time, Fushimi-chan?”
“Oh! Um… well… yes. Yes I would.”
He nodded. “Alright then. Have a good day, and see you tomorrow.”
“Um, you- you too, Arisato-senpai,” Fushimi-chan whispered, still scared out of her wits for whatever reason. Then, fast as a whiplash, she sped past him, then past the shoe lockers, and out the school’s front doors.
Minato watched her go, then shrugged, and turned away. He had a suspicion that Fushimi-chan was another potential Social Link for him, but it was clear that the girl herself was not ready to make such a connection with him. It would be best to just leave her be until she was ready for it.
And if she’s never ready… then I don’t care, he thought.
“Yo! Arisato!”
Looking up and to his right, Minato found the speaker; Tomochika Kenji walking toward him and the exit.
“Hello, Tomochika,” he replied, voice flat. “Are you ready to head out?”
“You betcha!”
Nodding to his new friend, the two turned and walked out the front doors of the school, heading their way to the ramen shop.
“So,” Tomochika said as they walked down the front path. “How was kendo today?”
Minato shrugged. “It went pretty well. I missed the first part, since my sister and I had an errand to run, so the teacher overseeing the club wasn’t too happy with that. Other than that, it was fine.” He was a bit disappointed that he hadn’t had much time with Kazushi-san beyond their duels on their mat. Seeing him had also caused him to feel a twinge of concern; it was obvious that he was favoring the leg with the injured knee. He was doing a good job of trying to hide it, but to Minato, who knew the truth, it stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Just ‘fine’, huh? I’ve heard that you’ve become the new favorite, that you’ve been taking down the best members on the team like their nothing.” Tomochika gave him a massive grin. “It must feel pretty good, right? Going up that high that quick?”
Minato stared at him for a few moments, blinking once, before turning to look forward as they made their way to the monorail.
“I don’t care.”
I don’t care.
Those words kept reverberating in Tomochika Kenji’s head the whole way Hagakure Ramen, and kept reverberating as his bowl was served to him. Using his chopsticks to bring a mouthful of noodles, he quickly slurped them down, hardly tasting them, even though he usually loved his ramen as much as he loved his life. And the reason why, which he subtly looked up at, was sitting next to him.
Arisato Minato sat next to him, starting to eat his own ramen. It was only now that he seemed to have any kind of life in him, now and the couple of times they’d come here before. Just a tiny spark in his grey eyes as he got his bowl of ramen.
Kenji felt his teeth clench as he turned back to his own bowl. Ever since he had first seen Arisato, when he had been cursing the fact that he hadn’t gotten Ms. Kanou as his homeroom teacher, he had immediately sensed that something was deeply, deeply wrong. In the days that passed, other students whispered around the rumor mill that he was trying to act that way to seem mysterious, probably to invite the other sex. But, seemingly on instinct, Kenji knew the awful truth. That this man, this boy, Arisato Minato, if not actively wishing for death, no longer cared whether he lived or died. He didn’t even know how or why he knew it, but he did.
At first he tried to ignore the nagging at his heart. He’s a total stranger, he thought. It’s not really my responsibility, he thought. Besides, how was going to do anything to get through to him? Would he even listen to him, or just brush him off.
As he was thinking over these things in his room that night, though, he suddenly went still. He couldn’t explain why, but it seemed like a hand had suddenly rested on his shoulder. And his heart.
And at the same time, two simple words echoed in his head, in a voice that was not his but which he sensed held great authority.
Help him.
That, combined with the fact that Arisato had been hospitalized just a few days after the school year started, had made him finally approach him, risks be damned, and to his own surprise it worked. It had helped that he had been able to talk about him and Takeba-chan walking to school on the first day. Minato-san had brushed it off, but Kenji honestly thought that the two of them would make a great couple, if he could somehow find a way to get him out of his state.
Still not sure how to get a connection going with someone who seemed to not have anyone other than his sister, whose own trouble Kenji would have missed completely if Iori hadn’t pointed it out, he decided that the best way to do it would be to reveal something about himself that he hadn’t told anyone. It was more than a little nerve wracking, exposing himself like that, but after hinting at it a few times, he had eventually worked up the nerve to do it… right in time for a rush of salarymen to make them leave the ramen shop early. And now here he was, trying to get his nerve back again. To try and do something that he had no idea how to do and help someone he had no real idea how to help.
Maaaan… I’m so sick of this…
“Of what, life?”
Kenji sat up straight, eyes bulging in surprise, and turned to his right. Arisato Minato was looking at him, his flat grey eyes staring, waiting for an answer.
“O-oh. Did I say that out loud?”
“Yes. Very loud,” Arisato said, voice flat. Then, and may have been a trick of the light, he gave the tiniest smirk. “So, sick of life, Tomochika?”
Kenji snorted. “Dude, you watch too much reality TV. But, I guess yeah, you could say that I’m sick of life.”
Arisato looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, “Well, what is life like for you that you’d end up being sick of it?”
Well, aside from trying to make sure you don’t off yourself, he thought at first, then began speaking aloud. “Well, I guess that my life is just so formulaic, bland, and on rails. I mean, I get up, go to school, sit through all those lame-ass lectures, eat dinner with my folks, watch TV, and then go to bed. It’s just so dull and… what’s the word if looking for? Monotonous?”
Arisato blinked. “What are you complaining about? Nothing horrible is happening to you. Your parents don’t beat you or neglect you, you get to eat ramen when they give you an allowance, you don’t constantly get bullied for being ‘cursed’, and you have a family that doesn’t send you away after a single year. This ‘monotonous’ life sounds pretty nice.”
Kenji squeezed his eyes shut, cringing in shame. Another shot pierced his heart as he remembered that Arisato Minato had ended up this way for a reason. He started to speak, trying to explain himself. “Well… yeah, but…” He sighed, and slumped in his seat. “I don’t know how to explain this without sounding like a selfish asshole.”
“Just say it,” Arisato said, shrugging his shoulders. “I promise you that I’ve heard worse.”
“Alright, then.” He took a deep breath, thinking his argument through, then said, “Everything that you just said is true, but I really haven’t had to go through anything like that. So, I don’t really have a viscerally worse option to compare it to. It’s just the same old, same old, day in and day out. And to be totally honest, I’m completely sick of it.”
Minato was silent for a moment, then said, “Well, if you really think that this routine is that bad, then you need to change it. And I do mean that YOU change it, and for the better. This is your life, and you need to take responsibility for all of your actions.”
Kenji was silent for a moment, contemplating as he stared at his soup bowl, watching the noodles bloat and start to disintegrate, something he would NEVER allow to happen under any other circumstance. Finally, he summoned up his intestinal fortitude, and said, “You’re right. You’re absolutely right, Arisato.” Turning toward his friend, he smiled, and continued, “Okay, that settles it, Arisato. I’m gonna get myself a girlfriend! Right now!”
There was a pause, and then Kenji watched as Arisato Minato’s face finally split into a genuine, full-toothed smile for the first time that he had seen since he had met him. But then he spotted a mischievous gleam in his uncovered eye, and picked up the tone underneath his apparent cheerful encouragement.
“Good luck!” he said, then picked up his chopsticks and turned back to his ramen.
Oh, you little shit! Kenji thought. You don’t get off for stuff like this just because you had a crappy life up ‘till now! I’ll show you, and then we’ll see whose smug!
“Oh, but I’m not just gonna get myself just any girlfriend. This is what my secret plan I was talking about the other day was; I’m gonna get with one of the teachers at our school.”
Minato-san froze, the noodles in his chopsticks hovering in the air, his mouth hanging open slightly. Slowly, the chopsticks were lowered back into the bowl, and he turned to look at him, eye wide and face blank.
“wut?”
Kenji felt his smile widen; clearly, Arisato was stunned and overawed by his secret plan! He was still feeling jitters about it, not that he would admit it, but seeing this? This made him feel he had a chance.
“I said, my girlfriend is gonna be one of the teachers at our school,” Kenji repeated. “I’m gonna ask her out, and get her to fall in love with me!”
As Arisato continued staring at him, his un-banged eye growing wider and wider in wonder, Kenji continued. “Her name is Ms. Kanou. Have you heard of her? She teaches third-year ethics. We’ve talked about my grades before outside of class, and we get along pretty well. She’s not mainstream beautiful, but she’s still really pretty. She has these cute little eyes, a real sexy body…”
He trailed off for a moment, finding himself distracted for some reason, before suddenly snapping back the reality of where they were. “Uh, don’t tell anyone about this, okay? You’re the only one who knows.”
Arisato continued staring at him for a second or two, still clearly trying to process his brilliant plan. Finally, he turned to face him full on, and, to Kenji’s surprise, to one of his hands in both of his own.
“Tomochika Kenji,” he said, voice solemn and serious, like he was taking an oath. “I swear, on my father and mother’s graves, that I will never speak a word of this to anyone as long as I live.”
Notes:
Author's Notes:
1. And even I, an ignoramus who knows next to nothing about Japanese culture, knows that one must NEVER make a Public Fuss.
2. Go back to hunting your sharks, Quint.
Social Link Progress
Arisato Minako:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Iori Junpei: Rank 3
THE EMPEROR - Odagiri Hidetoshi: Rank 1
THE HIEROPHANT - Kitamura Bunkichi and Mitsuko: Rank 3
THE LOVERS - Takeba Yukari: Rank 1
THE CHARIOT - Iwasaki Rio: Rank 1
Arisato Minato:
THE FOOL - S.E.E.S.: Rank 2
THE JESTER - Ikutsuki Shuji: Rank 2
THE MAGICIAN - Tomochika Kenji: Rank 3
THE EMPEROR - Odagiri Hidetoshi: Rank 1
THE HIEROPHANT - Kitamura Bunkichi and Mitsuko: Rank 3
THE CHARIOT - Miyamoto Kazushi: Rank 2
THE HERMIT - “Maya”: Rank 1
THE STRENGTH - Nishiwaki Yuko: Rank 1
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