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The club leader of S.E.E.S. was silently reading a novel in the main lobby of Iwatodai Dormitory. A cup of green tea along with some biscuits were placed on the coffee table in front of her.
After a while of reading, the red-haired girl shifted her focus from the novel to the tea cup.
She held the book in one hand, her thumb served as a bookmark as she reached for the cup to take a sip.
“Kirijo-senpai!” An energetic voice called out. The teenage girl didn't even have to take a glance to know who it was. “How may I help you, Iori?” she responded, taking yet another sip from her cup, before placing it down again.
She finally turned her face to meet Junpei's eyes. While doing so, she spotted another familiar face tagging along behind him.
“We uhm- have a suggestion to make,” Akihiko said, nervously.
What could have made the boxer so nervous , Mitsuru wondered.
“Hm? What is it?” she asked.
“Well~ Sanada-san and I wanna train to prepare for the upcomin' fight against Nyx,” the junior started, “and we thought it would be a good idea to have a duel against each other! Y'know like in a fightin' game!”
Akihiko facepalmed. “Anyway...we thought it would be a good preparation. Shadows are good and all but we don't know what we will face, battling against Nyx,” the white-haired teen explained.
Mitsuru pondered. They have never used their Persona's in a battle against each other before. Junpei's and Akihiko's reasoning was sound. However, they were mere days away from fighting Nyx and any last minute complications would be bad.
“Are you absolutely sure you two want to do this?” the red-haired girl questioned.
Both boys nodded simultaneously. “We've been thinking about it for a while now, Mitsuru. We will be careful. I promise,” Akihiko explained earnestly.
“Yeah! What Sanada-san said. I need to kick Nyx's ass, also for Chidori!” Junpei followed up. The teenager just recently learned about Chidori's survival, due to the flowers he gifted her. Knowing that seemed to increase his will to fight.
“I will trust your judgmental abilities then,” she announced, “but make sure to take a healer with you. We'll be meeting at Tartarus tomorrow.”
“Yess! You're the best Kirijo-senpai!” Junpei cheered.
The high school girl smiled. “Well, it's not everyday I see the two of you agreeing on something. Color me surprised.”
The high school boys left Mitsuru's side after their conversation concluded. The girl wasted no time putting her focus back on the novel in her hand. Hopefully she wouldn't regret letting Akihiko and Junpei have their duel. They seemed really serious about it and mature enough to know the dangers. Mitsuru had to admit that It’d caught her off-guard.
“Mitsuru is right, you know,” Akihiko said, crossing his arms. “Us agreeing on something without much backlash is rather unusual.”
Junpei smirked. “Turns out Kirijo-senpai just gave us another thing to agree upon, we still need to decide which healer we're gonna take with us.”
The box champ huffed. “Easy choice.”
“Yup!” Junpei agreed.
“Takeba.”
“Amada.”
They responded simultaneously.
The junior's eyes shot wide open. “What?! We're not gonna take Yuka-tan, sorry.”
The other frowned. “Why not? She's objectively the best healer in the team. What's your argument?”
“UHM, Yuka-tan,” he responded, “that's my argument. C'mon, we're not going to obliterate each other. Besides, you were the one who promised Kirijo-senpai to be careful, remember?” The teenager raised an eyebrow.
Akihiko groaned, pinching his eyebrows. “Are you sure it's not just because you want to show off in front of Amada?” he argued.
Junpei held his hands up in surrender. “Hey now! You have to teach your junior a trick or two, no?” The teen snickered.
“I'm sure he would love to see that too, he's always been admiring you,” Junpei finished.
“I don't know,” the boxer responded. He didn't want to drag Ken into unnecessary danger.
“If we take Amada, I'll be more motivated to beat your sorry-face up. Showin' him how cool his big bro Junpei really is,” he argued.
“Whatever, fine. I don't care either way.” Akihiko sighed, brushing him off. The third-year figured Junpei wouldn't give up anytime soon. Maybe Amada doesn't even want to come , Akihiko thought but he knew better. Ken was always eager to tag along when it came to Tartarus.
“Uh-huh. That's why you argued with me, cause you didn't care ,” Junpei teased. “I'll inform him.”
The next day
When Akihiko, Junpei and Ken arrived in front of Gekkoukan High School, they saw Mitsuru already waiting for them there on her motorcycle.
“Hiya, Kirijo-senpai,” greeted Junpei. He was excited for today's duel against Akihiko. He always wanted to know how he would fare in a battle against him.
“You're here. Good.” Their club leader responded. Mitsuru walked over to remove the scabbard and boxing gloves attached to her motorcycle.
“New weapons? Neat,” the second-year said.
“These are for training,” she explained, “they are not sharp or hard, in the boxing gloves case, but if you put enough force into them they can still hurt nonetheless.”
“Why is the sword in a scabbard if it's not sharp?” the youngest of the group asked.
“No Amada, a better question is why did we even bring our real weapons in the first place then?” Junpei frowned.
“In the case of an emergency, of course,” the teenage girl responded, “regarding Amada's question, I'm not entirely sure. It's probably to store it better.”
I really did it this time , Junpei thought. He was so focused on the battle that he forgot about the possibility of being ambushed, even if it seemed unlikely; the Shadows in the bottom layers usually ran as soon as they saw them.
“Sorry, but what is this mission about? What are we training for with fake weapons?” Ken asked. He seemed really confused about what the four of them were trying to do at Tartarus without their field leader.
“Hm? Did Iori not tell you?” Akihiko asked. Ken shook his head.
Every head turned towards Junpei. “I said it was a secret mission! Which it kinda is?” he tried to defend himself.
The boxer facepalmed. “Iori-, was it so hard to just tell him? I should have gone.”
Junpei didn’t know what AKihiko was so heated about, he just tried to make it a bit more tempting for their youngest member. He really didn’t want to take Yukari, he felt like she wouldn’t have approved of the two of them battling it out.
“They are training against each other, to prepare for the battle against Nyx,” Mitsuru explained to Ken.
The younger boy's eyes widened. “What? Like with their Personas?” He asked, shifting on his feet.
“Yupp, the full program,” Junpei beamed.
Before anyone could utter another word, the Dark Hour officially commenced. Gekkoukan High shot sky high, transforming into the familiar tower they were used to.
“Ready to go?” The second-year asked Akihiko.
The box champ punched his fists together. “After you.” He smirked.
“Don't mind me then,” Junpei responded, walking into Tartarus first. The other S.E.E.S. members soon followed suit.
The Tartarus hall was minimalistic. In the middle of the entrance hall were stairs leading up to a huge clock, which always told them the exact amount of time that had passed in the Dark Hour, it was simultaneously the entrance to the tower as well.
To its left was a smaller clock that helped to fully recover the health of the exploring group. None of them really had an idea how it worked, besides their field leader.
To its right was a teleporter. They always made use of it to reach the higher floors. Every member of S.E.E.S. was thankful for such a device. However, they wouldn't make use of the teleporter this time.
“I will be doing the navigation from the main hall,” Mitsuru informed them.
“Will you be fine?” Akihiko asked with crossed arms.
“There should be no problem, it's not a full moon, so we shouldn't expect strong enemies,” the girl explained. “If a Shadow does show up, I will inform you. Since you'll be on the second floor of Tartarus, you shouldn't take too long to arrive back at the main hall in case of an emergency.”
“Okay, sounds good. Let's go! We're on a time limit,” Junpei exclaimed, dragging the other boys with him to the entrance. “H-hey, don't drag,” Akihiko complained.
Mitsuru watched the trio disappear through the entrance.
“This should be a good spot, no?” Junpei asked.
Currently, The group stood in a large room in the Thebel Block. There were stairs leading up to an elevated platform, the same clock that was at the main hall was also present there.
Ken looked around the floor. “So this is what the first few floors of Tartarus look like,” he mumbled to himself. Since he was one of the last members to join, he'd never seen the lower blocks of Tartarus before.
Junpei chuckled. “Sure brings back memories,” he said. A lot has happened in not even a year, it was crazy to think about. If Junpei could travel back in time to tell his younger self what he would get himself into, he wasn't sure his younger self wouldn't believe him.
The boxer started to switch his usual boxing gloves for the ones Mitsuru brought. Junpei did the same with his sword.
The teenagers put their weapons down near the stairs, where Ken was also sitting. The young boy had his spear resting in his lap, occasionally he would start to fiddle around with it. Whether it was because of nervousness, anticipation or boredom, Junpei didn't know.
“Alright Iori, let's settle this,” Akihiko taunted, throwing out some jabs in the air.
“Settle this? Haha, I see Sanada-san.” Junpei smirked. “Operation ‘Yakushima Beach Fling’ was a flop but this is where we can see who's the better one,” he retorted, testing out the new sword by throwing out a few swings into nothingness.
“ Operation Beach Fling? ” Mitsuru's voice sounded through the communicator, spooking the boys.
“Idiot! You didn't turn off your communicator,” Akihiko growled under his breath.
Junpei was wide-eyed. “Oh uhm, oops?” Sweat was running down the teen's temple. “I'm not used to having one anymore since Fuuka joined…” He tried to defend himself.
“ Boys- ” Mitsuru's stern voice sent shivers down everyone's back, Ken included.
Junpei finally switched off his communicator.
“I fear this will just be the warm-up round...You're such a damn loudmouth, Iori,” the white-haired teen complained.
“I'm sorry man, at least we're in it together…?” the junior offered with a nervous chuckle.
Both S.E.E.S. members moved into their battle stances.
“Here I come, Sanada-san!” Junpei announced.
Almost immediately both teenagers pulled out their evokers, calling forth their personas. Instead of attacking, both settled for supportive skills first.
Junpei improved his defense, while Akihiko improved his accuracy and evasion.
The boxer moved first. With his increased speed, he approached the other at a fast pace.
Junpei called his Persona, Trismegistus, once again. He fired off an Agidyne to keep distance. The attack didn't make contact with the other, since Akihiko managed to dodge out of the way. The dodge did however slow the boxer down.
With a distance advantage, Junpei went for a strike with his two-handed sword himself. The boxer didn't make a move to dodge however. Instead he raised his non-dominant hand to block the strike, blocking the blade in its track as it tried to cut through the other's arm. With Akihiko's left, he reached for his evoker and in the blink of an eye, he commanded his Persona, Caesar, to release a Ziodyne on Junpei.
The second-year wasn't able to dodge in time at such a close range. Trismegistus tanked the damage as best as he could but Junpei was still able to feel it, the shock from the electric attack made him lose his grip on his weapon. That left an opening for Akihiko as he immediately followed up the attack with a quick jab to the head, followed by a right cross and finishing it off with a left hook to the body.
The senior tried to follow up with another right cross but Junpei was able to hold up his sword to block the incoming punch this time, the impact made the teen stumble back.
Junpei quickly shot his evoker into his head, this time he summoned a Maragi to cover a wide area.
Akihiko backed off from the fire wall, so he doesn't get burned. Suddenly, Junpei stormed through the flames, catching the other off-guard. The boxer blocked his face at the last second but Junpei already aimed for his side instead. The force knocked him off his feet. Junpei called forth Trismegistus, sending him towards the downed Akihiko. The white-haired boy, still on the ground, called Caesar, to block the other Persona's attack.
The Persona's cut through each other on impact. Akihiko stood up, wiping away some of the sweat that built up.
“Not a bad tactic...Iori,” he praised the other with a smile, catching his breath. “Caught me off-guard...for sure.”
The other teenager gladly took the break initiated by Akihiko, to catch his own breath as well. “Not bad yourself...Sanada-san.” Junpei breathed out. “Round two?” he asked. The second-year took some nasty hits but he wasn't bothered by it much. Ever since Chidori's Persona Medea fused with Hermes, Ken noticed Junpei’s ability to recover and heal much more quickly from injuries. The teenager could definitely use that to his advantage, and so he did; taking his own fire damage, to catch Akihiko off-guard was a really good idea. Ken had to give the senior props for that.
Akihiko nodded. “For sure.” The box champ was glad they suggested the idea to Mitsuru.
Ken felt like he learned a lot more about combat strategies from just watching, than he would have just fighting normal Shadows. It’d seemed like Akihiko’s narrowed view of Junpei's fighting style, left him unaware of such an attack. If that was a real sword, the boxer would have taken a detrimental injury.
“Uhm, should I heal?” Ken chimed in. Both boys turned their heads towards the voice.
“Nah, not yet. I wanna see how far I can go, what 'bout you, Sanada-san?” Junpei asked.
“I share that sentiment,” he responded.
The elementary student blinked. “Oh, ok..if you say so,” he muttered.
Both S.E.E.S. members started by refreshing their buffs on themselves. Junpei was the first to charge this time, evoking his head, ready to be pulled.
Akihiko on the other hand, seemed to be more passive this time around, waiting for the other's first move.
“Trismegistus!” Junpei called out. He charged together with his Persona by his side. Making it harder for the other to dodge.
The boxer quickly responded by calling forth Caesar, sending a Maziodyne into their direction. At the same time Junpei ordered his Persona to release a Brave Blade towards Akihiko but before his Persona could move it got hit by the electric attack. Junpei flinched from the backlash he felt by Trismegistus getting hit, but he didn't disappear into the teens mind again quite yet. Ken wondered if determination of following out the order kept it going.
Akihiko seemed surprised to see Junpei's Persona still being visible as well; he immediately called Caesar once again, going for a physical attack this time. Trismegistus released the long awaited Brave Blade at the same time Caesar released a God's hand attack.
The Brave Blade connected with the boxer's arm, resulting in a long cut traveling along his arm, the cut was not deep but blood was still dripping from it.
Meanwhile, the God's hand managed to pass through the weakened Trismegistus easily, making it evaporate in the process.
The attack's shock-wave however, threw Junpei far away. The teenager traveled through the air until he finally made impact with a wall, knocking the air out of his lungs. He spit a bit of blood. Junpei wiped the red liquid at the corner of his mouth away. The teenager stood up again, he smiled nonetheless. Junpei readied his weapon to continue the fight.
Upon seeing the bloodied injuries, Ken’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t expect them to hurt each other that bad…And they didn’t even seem to mind. What if they overdid it? The student's thoughts were going a million miles per hour. He – out of everyone – knew the most about how quickly accidents could happen. Without another thought, Ken pulled his evoker to cast a Mediarahan on both teenagers.
“Hey, what was that for? Sanada-san gave up?” Junpei asked from his corner, getting back up on his feet.
The boxer shrugged. “I didn't say anything,” he retorted.
“Oh uh, sorry,” Ken apologized, holding his spear close. “I just- I don't like this,” he admitted.
Akihiko glanced over to Junpei. “I'm sure he would love to see that too, huh?” he said to Junpei. Ken didn’t understand why, had he quoted something Junpei had said?
The elementary student raised an eyebrow. “Uh- what?”
“Hey, don't go around lookin' at me with that judgmental stare of yours. I thought he would,” the second-year tried to make a case for himself.
The white-haired teen rolled his eyes. Then, he walked to Ken’s side and put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. “What do you not like, Amada?” he asked.
“I- just...it's dumb, it's a dumb worry but what if any of you just accidentally lose...control…?”
Suddenly, everything started to make sense for Akihiko, his eyes widened upon the realization that just struck him.
Of course Ken wouldn't like seeing them use Persona's against each other. His mother's death was the result of a Persona attacking a human, even if it wasn't on purpose.
The third-year wanted to beat himself up over not thinking about that sooner.
“Everyone here is well acquainted with their Persona, there is no need to worry about an incident like that happening,” Mitsuru spoke through the communicator.
That's not the point, Mitsuru! Akihiko wanted to shout but instead he took a deep breath. “It's about what happened to your mother, right?” the boxer asked as calmly as he could. Ken nodded in return, sadness clouded his features. So he was right…
Suddenly, the elementary student's expression hardened. “What was the reason that Aragaki-san lost control back in the day?” the student blurted out. “Before I know that I can't approve of you two battling it out with each other,” Ken argued. He seemed to grow desperate. “Isn't that irresponsible Mitsuru-san?? Or is there something you're not telling me?” the elementary student asked.
Mitsuru didn't respond, she was probably pondering about what to say, Akihiko figured. He decided to take matters into his own hands. “We...would like to know that too, Amada,” he muttered.
“Huh…?” Ken widened his eyes in surprise.
The red-haired girl cleared her throat, it seems like she finally found her voice again. “Aragaki he... He just awakened to his Persona around that time. We assumed it was because of that reason, making his Persona unstable,” the girl informed the youngest one.
Ken frowned. “But that...doesn't make sense,” he muttered aside. “Were there any other Persona users, who struggled with controlling their Persona after awakening?” the brunet asked.
“Not like how it was with Aragaki…” Mitsuru pondered for a moment. “We're being truthful, when we tell you that we don't know the definitive reason for Castor's rampage,” the girl insisted.
“It's not like Shinji would give us a straight answer, when we asked,” Akihiko added.
“In short, no other occurrences were ever reported of naturally awakened Persona users losing control,” the club leader concluded.
Junpei rubbed the back of his head. “Aragaki-san, was naturally awakened, right?” he chimed in.
“No doubt about it,” Akihiko quickly responded without hesitation.
Ken seemed lost in thought. “Artificially awakened…” he mumbled, “The Strega members also had an artificially awakened Persona, right?” the student asked.
“That's right,” Mitsuru responded. Truth be told, she wished she never had to bring up her family's history with the child experiments to him.
Though, when Strega insisted they were different from S.E.E.S. on the Moonlight Bridge, there was no way around it.
She wasn't aware of the child experiments at first herself, it was only after the fight on the bridge, that she did research and later digged through Ikutsuki's notes to find out more. It was some really disturbing information...
Ken, as curious as he is, came to her to ask about Strega one night as well and she was being as honest as she could. It wasn't easy but in the end Mitsuru decided to tell him about the experiments to awaken a Persona by force, that were carried out in the past.
Of course she kept it to the basics and didn't actually reveal the progress the children needed to suffer through to get to that point nor how many victims it brought.
Ken was a mature child, she knew he could probably deal with that information but he was still a child . It's not like he needed to know every disturbing and cruel fact about these experiments there was.
“Was it...because he was in a conflict with himself?” Ken asked out of nowhere.
Everyone's eyes widened at that suggestion. “Uh..you mean like battlin' his own Persona?” Junpei questioned, scratching his temple.
The elementary student nodded. “What exactly happened that night?” he followed up with a serious expression.
Akihiko crossed his arms. “Are you sure you want to hear that, Amada? It won't answer your question. We don't know what Shinji thought that night, only he knows,” the box champ explained.
“Return from Tartarus for now, it's not a place for discussion. We can discuss further information back at the entrance,” the red-haired girl interrupted.
No one had anything to retort, so the trio returned to the main lobby to meet up with Mitsuru again.
“Why don't we go outside and get some fresh air?” the club leader suggested as soon as she saw the trio heading down the stairs. “It would do wonders for the brain circulation,” she softly smiled.
The group agreed and stepped outside Tartarus. As soon as they left the tower, they immediately got hit by the nightly breeze. It was a cold breeze but it was refreshing.
For a moment the group just stood outside Tartarus in silence, taking in the nightly atmosphere.
Junpei was the first one to break the silence. “So uh, I assume you were worried about the whole losing control shebang, because of what Aragaki-san did?” he asked Ken. If no one else was going to step up and ask, he would do it. The teen couldn't help but start to think it wasn't the best to bring Ken after all, after he witnessed the young one's distress about their battle.
He really thought he would do him a favor, showing him something to distract him for the unavoidable end that would befall them soon. Instead, it turned out the exact opposite, the elementary student seemed to have even more worries now.
Ken looked down, clenching his fists. “I just want to make sure, something like that will never happen again,” the brunet stated.
Junpei rubbed his head. “Dude, doesn't that come a lil late though? I mean, the Dark Hour's gonna be over after we kick Nyx's ass anyway, no?” the teenage boy tried to calm Ken down. No need to worry about that now out of everythin', right? the second-year thought.
The red-haired girl of the group hummed in thought. “It should be...but Shadows will probably remain in this world,” she stated with a stern voice.
The boxer raised an eyebrow. “You sound pretty sure about that, Mitsuru.”
She shook her head. “I'm not certain about it at all, I just believe it's very likely,” she explained, “I mean even before the Dark Hour was created, Shadows were a part of this world.”
“Ah yeah, the experiments…” Akihiko mumbled.
“Please, tell me what happened on the night my mother died,” Ken begged, looking at Mitsuru with pleading eyes.
The red-haired girl averted hers in return. “Amada, are you sure you want to hear it? Even if we tell you the story, we will never know how Aragaki felt,” she clarified.
“Yes, I'm sure, Mitsuru-san,” the student insisted, looking at her with unblinking eyes.
The club leader nodded in acknowledgment. “Very well, then we won't shield you from it any longer.” Junpei felt himself agreeing with that sentiment, If Ken so insisted to hear it, then who were they to deny him that.
“Hey uh- Is it okay that I'm here? You're talking about like...the accidental murder thing, right? I wasn't really involved in that in any way,” Junpei asked warily. Everyone's eyes widened.
“H-hey what's with the looks!” The teenager complained. They act like I'm never considerate , he thought with a frown.
“Well it's up to Amada,” Akihiko stated.
“M-me?" said boy stuttered, “I don't mind Junpei-san being here.”
“What about a nightly walk to the docks, while we explain?” Mitsuru suggested. “The Dark Hour is ending soon as well.”
“No one's gonna fall asleep walking half way, right?” the box champ asked the group.
Junpei threw a fist in the air. “I'm gonna be A-okay, still pumped full of adrenaline,” he responded with a sly smile.
“I'm fine as well,” Ken chimed in.
“So am I,” Mitsuru added on.
The green shining moonlight beamed down on them as they walked through the streets towards the dock.
On the way, they passed by the cult posters, hung up from Strega. It truly looked like an apocalyptic scene with these hanging around everywhere on top of the many Apathy Syndrome cases.
The world will come to an end, through the hands of Nyx.
Soon the end will come to visit upon this world
The world will be destroyed
If you have faith, your wishes will be fulfilled
With us, over our departure towards a new world
The master sees all
The master knows all
The master will guide us on all
Were the words written on those posters. The world will come to an end, they say, but not if the members of S.E.E.S. can help it.
They unanimously decided to try their best and stop the incoming ‘Fall’ at the end of the month.
“Looking at these posters makes me sick ,” Junpei grunted.
“I know what you mean,” spoke the white-haired teen.
Mitsuru shook her head with a frown. “Let's pay these no mind, we all made up our minds after all,” she said.
“Right. We have to stick with our decision,” the boxer agreed.
The second-year adjusted his cap. “Saving the world and no one will know about it, heh what a bad joke,” he mumbled.
The elementary student chimed in as well. “I made up my mind like everyone else...but people wishing for the end that we're trying to stop is...I don't know how to describe it.” Ken sighed.
The once bright and peaceful Tatsumi Port Island turned into a bleak, dying place in not even a month and still S.E.E.S. grasps for hope – the hope for a new day. Their companionship gives them the strength they need. Their friendship gives them the courage they need to overcome the boulders laid in their path.
Mitsuru stopped in her tracks, and she turned around to face the group. Her eyes were glancing at the others, switching from one person to the next.
She wouldn't allow them to fall into despair, she wouldn't let their resolve waver. “Whatever their reason may be, if these people really wish for the Fall or if they are affected by Nyx's approaching arrival, it won't matter,” she announced with determination. “It's wrong, we all agreed on it. I need to make up for my grandfather's past mistakes and I trust that we can stop Nyx. I... We won't go down without a fight.”
Once, she thought she had to carry this burden alone. She closed herself off and blamed herself for everything her grandfather did but now she saw the world differently. They made it so far because they weren't alone. Not even Makoto could burden everything alone and he was the strongest fighter and glue keeping their team from falling apart.
Akihiko put a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see the teenage boy's smile. “You bet we won't, Mitsuru.”
The teenage boy's action made the girl fluster. “Right..and I'm thankful for that.” She cleared her throat. “Ok then...let's get back on topic. We still have other matters to discuss. Sorry for getting off topic Amada.”
Junpei released a heavy sigh. “Yeahh, I would rather talk about anythin' else right now than Strega …” He admitted under his breath.
“It's fine Mitsuru, it's only normal that this particular topic is on all of your minds right now,” Ken sympathized.
The red-haired teen showed him a soft smile, then she adjusted her neck, to look up at the sky above. “Well then...I shall start,” she muttered.
Mitsuru thought for a moment, recalling the memories from that fateful night back into her head. “That night,” she started, “we were hunting down a Shadow that escaped from Tartarus-”
Akihiko held up a hand to interrupt her. “Hold on Mitsuru, it's best if I explain, you saw the least,” he explained.
The high school girl's eyes widened for a split second. “Very well,” she responded.
The boxer started to crack some of his knuckles, Mitsuru recognized it as a nervous tic from knowing the teen for so long.
It seems like both of them were not keen on telling the story.
Despite this, Akihiko didn't let any nervousness show up in his voice. The teenager kept his voice steady and calm, if you didn't know him better, you would think it wasn't bothering him to tell the story. “As Mitsuru previously stated, we were hunting down a Shadow,” he began, “while we chased after the Shadow in at the Port Island Station, Shinji and I came into a conflict.”
Nothing unusual , Akihiko thought. It was just a normal conflict like any other between them after all, wasn't it?
“Shinji started to complain about S.E.E.S. being a waste of time and that we could never achieve anything fighting these Shadows. His voice was really strained. Looking back it felt like he didn't really mean it but back then I just took it at face value,” he paused, glancing at the ground. “I argued that we're protecting the people of Port Island but he just dismissed me. I got angry at that.”
Ever since Miki died in that orphanage fire, they promised each other to get stronger to protect others they hold dear and suddenly Shinjiro didn't want to do that anymore? It infuriated Akihiko to no end. It still infuriates him but in the opposite way, he should have shoved his narrow-mindset aside to try to understand Shinjiro's side more.
From Shinjiro's point of view, Akihiko got into a lot of fights and got hurt a lot in their beginning days at S.E.E.S. The boxer was so careless back then. A one minded protein addict , as Shinjiro would say.
The white-haired teen took a deep breath. “It was at a back alley behind Port Island Station that we found the Shadow roaming around.” The teenager's expression darkened, his voice started to become croaky. “It turned out to be more powerful than the previous ones we fought...I got hit badly, broke some of my fingers, it was hard pulling the trigger but I tried. I was the only one with healing spells and we didn't put as much thought into bringing a lot of healing items as we do now. Before I could pull the trigger I lost unconsciousness however…” Akihiko snorted.
After a pause, Mitsuru decided to take the story over.
“...Only I still had some healing items on my motorcycle at that time but I wasn't close, since I was their navigator and looked out for any other Shadows that could approach or surprise them,” she started to explain, “As soon as I felt Akihiko's mind slip into unconsciousness with Penthesilea. I jumped on my motorcycle and rushed over without hesitation. A-Aragaki wouldn't respond to my calls anymore either...I feared the worst. I- was able to still sense Aragaki however, even if it was faint. So I knew he was still fighting.”
“You can take your time…” Ken chimed in.
“What he said…” Junpei followed up, his voice was barely audible.
“No, it's fine, you deserve to know…” Mitsuru assured, clearing her throat once again. “To continue on...when I arrived at the scene, your house was already destroyed. Aragaki was on the ground, gripping his head, like he was in pain,” Akihiko felt her gaze on him but he couldn’t meet her gaze, instead he kept his eyes focused on the ground. “I- eh, I rushed over to Akihiko first to heal him, all the while I shouted at Aragaki to give me an answer to what happened but he was seemingly in a trance, I wasn't sure if he even noticed me arriving at all.”
“I could hear him mutter. ‘ I killed her, I killed her ’ repeatedly, over and over again. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding. I didn't know what to do, I just told them to retreat. Akihiko and I had to drag Aragaki back...I-I…”
“Thanks to Mitsuru,” Akihiko interrupted her, “then I regained consciousness and just like her I only saw the aftermath of what happened that night. I immediately tried sprinting over to him as soon as I came to my senses, trying to get Shinji to talk, to move, something, anything but he wouldn't respond and yeah...We ended the night, trying to drag Shinji back to the dorm.”
“The truth is, we don't really know what happened either…” Mitsuru admitted.
No one uttered a word after the reveal, everyone either tried to process the new information or come to terms with old emotions arising from diving back into the past.
As they walked in silence, the group soon arrived at the docks. The group watched as the greenly lit sky slowly changed back to its origin.
A familiar dark blue sky, brightened up by the moon and the shining stars surrounding it.
Ken was the first to sit down on the wooden dock bridge, leading out to the ocean.
The elementary student let his feet dangle over the water below, he watched as the waves slowly crashed against the shore. Junpei was soon to follow.
The teenager sat down in the middle of the wooden plank. Both of his hands were behind his back, leaning on them as he tilted his neck upwards. His legs were twisted into each other.
Both Mitsuru and Akihiko decided to stand instead.
“I may have a theory…” Ken admitted. He took a deep breath before continuing, “when I had Nemesis, I remember having a harder time commanding her, whenever I had to fight by Aragaki-san's side.” Everyone's attention was focused on the youngest S.E.E.S. member as he explained, “At first I thought it was normal to have trouble controlling your Persona but after Aragaki-san's death I've been talking with a few people about their first awakenings, like Yukari-san or Yuki-san, Junpei-san too.”
Said teen jumped at the mention of his name. “Oh yeah! I remember you asking about that, so you had trouble commanding Nemesis? What about Kala-Nemi?” Junpei questioned.
“I never had any problems with Kala-Nemi,” he quickly clarified, “it was just with Nemesis. That's why I was so confused.” He frowned. “I had a few theories over the months. At first I thought it was because I was newly awakened to my Persona but the issues never quite went away and the most problems others had at the start was calling their Persona in the first place and stabilizing it, right?”
He turned his head towards Mitsuru, asking her for a silent approval. The red-haired girl nodded upon realizing. “That's right,” she confirmed.
After that, Ken continued, “My second theory was maybe because of...my age, but like I said Kala-Nemi is easy to command so I quickly dismissed that theory, which brought me back to the reason why Nemesis was so hard to control in the first place. She was only like that when I had to fight by Aragaki-san's side like I mentioned.”
Akihiko's eyes widened. “Did you mean that, when you were asking about if Shinji had a conflict with himself?” he asked.
Ken shrugged. “Kinda.”
“H-hold on, you were like fightin' against your own Persona for real?” Junpei exclaimed, snapping his head towards the club leader. “That's a thing??” he asked, wide-eyed.
Mitsuru brushed some strands out of her face, a frown was present on her face as she pondered, “I...I'm not quite sure. Amada, why have you not told us about your issues sooner? Not being able to command your Persona efficiently...it could have led to some real problems,” she explained with a dejected face.
Ken folded into himself, slightly. “Sorry, Mitsuru-san. I- did a lot I'm not proud of but I want to make up for it now and I assure you, if there were any problems with Kala-Nemi I would have told you!” Ken assured her.
Akihiko huffed. “The better question is, how did we or better said Yuki never notice this issue with Amada and Shinji in the team before?” he questioned with furrowed brows.
“To be fair, I made an effort to hide it,” Ken confessed, “saying, I thought a Zionga was better than a Kougaon or that I was simply tired and couldn't focus much...I was also mostly on heal support with Aragaki-san on the team. Healing spells are vastly different from casting attacks, so there wasn't much of a switch up Nemesis could do. The only issues with healing spells on Shinji were that it sometimes didn't heal as much as it should. I think Fuuka-san also noticed at some point but it was really my fault for lying. Fuuka-san is always so nice, she didn't want to put me on the spot, whenever she noticed something was off and Yuki-san was too busy with the on-going battle to notice the healing not being done properly,” the elementary student explained.
Mitsuru pondered for a moment. “That wasn't really responsible from Yamagishi either but I'll overlook it, since we all made mistakes, which we could have solved with the proper communication, myself included.”
Junpei stopped leaning on his hands for support, instead he just sat cross-legged on the plank now. The teen scratched his temple in confusion. “Wow ehm- that's a lot to take in. I thought you just couldn't summon your Persona anymore if ya didn't have the conviction? Not that they are harder to control.”
Ken blinked. “Well, I didn't really lose my conviction. It would be more accurate to say...I suppressed it,” Ken explained.
“Suppressing your conviction?” the box champ asked with an arched eyebrow. “You mean like you couldn't follow that desire from y- uh...Nemesis because you had to fight by Shinji's side, right? The opposite of what she wanted to do?” The boxer tried to choose his words carefully.
"You could put it that way," he responded.
“Once you've awakened to your Persona, you have to face that part of yourself,” Mitsuru explained, she put a hand on her chin after that and started to mumble to herself. “Suppressing the desire but still with a will to fight...making the Persona in question lash out and act on its own..”
“Do you think that's what Shinji could have been through...?” the boxer asked Mitsuru, carefully.
The girl's eyes widened for a split second. “We can only speculate…” She responded, averting her gaze.
“And how did Nemesis feel after... he died?” Junpei quietly asked.
“I couldn't really feel her anymore…I think it's because I lost my whole resolve and didn't have anything else for Nemesis to keep going. Then I awakened to Kala-Nemi but with a totally different direction of resolve, of course,” he answered.
The second-year released a sigh. “Man, Persona's suddenly seem more like a two-sided sword.”
Ken put a hand on his heart. “I'm not proud of my actions when I first joined S.E.E.S. but now I want to make sure accidents like my mother's never happen again.” He looked up to stare into the familiar faces, he started to consider a second family over time. “It didn't only affect my life, it affected Aragaki-san's too...I realized that too late.”
Mitsuru knelt down, putting a hand on Ken's small shoulder. “You've really grown,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for sharing that information, the Kirijo-group and I will make sure to use that knowledge well.”
Ken shook his head. “It's not only me, who's grown. We all did,” he ended with a smile.
Junpei groaned. “Normally I would say that's wayy too cheesy but you're right, bud.” He gave the younger one a rough pat on the back.
The group shared the rest of the night stargazing. Both Ken and Junpei laid spread out on the wooden plank, while the older teens sat down instead.
For a moment it felt like the world was at peace.
“Do you think Shinji didn't want to stop Amada from the whole revenge plan...because he knows how it is to fight against your own self? If that even was the case…” Akihiko asked the red-haired girl in a hushed voice.
Mitsuru crossed her arms, thinking about it. “We don't know,” She paused, “what counts most is that Aragaki wanted it to be like that, most of all.”
“ This is how it should be , huh,” Akihiko said with a low voice.
Suddenly, the teens could hear loud snoring near them, when they turned their head towards the sound, they saw both junior's fast asleep.
“How about we take Amada and just leave Iori here?” the white-haired teen suggested with a chuckle.
Mitsuru turned towards him, looking at the other with a gaze that could kill.
The boxer felt the air around him freeze up. He immediately held his hands up in surrender. “I-I was joking, Mitsuru!” A sweat drop ran down his temple.
“Wake Iori up but let Amada sleep if possible. One of you can carry him,” she instructed, brushing herself off after she stood up from her sitting position.
“I hear you,” Akihiko responded shakily, following her orders without a complaint.
The S.E.E.S. members were on their way back towards the monorail station.
Mitsuru decided to accompany them as far to the station as she could, since she still needed to go back to Gekkoukan High herself, to get her motorcycle.
As they walked through the streets, Junpei was trying not to collapse from his tiredness. He wasn't impressed by the third-year waking him up earlier.
Ken on the other hand, was asleep, cradled up in Akihiko's arms.
“Akihiko, Iori.” Mitsuru's cold voice suddenly spoke up.
“Yeah...?” Akihiko asked uncertainly.
“You will tell me all about Operation Beach Fling tomorrow morning, am I clear?” she stated coolly.
Both teenage boys couldn't help but gulp.
Their real battle was definitely going to be tomorrow and it was going to be against the Ice Queen herself.