I am Alive
"Good, Good" The Doctor smiled "Now then, Minato, do you have anyone we can contact? Family? A Friend?"
"I...ugh..."
"Doctor!" The Nurse hissed
"Yes, it appears it's too soon for all this" The Doctor sighed "Very well, you rest now Minato, we'll contact the local authorities to see if they can find your family"
"I..." Minato grunted as the pair left the room
"How...how am I alive?"
"Egypt..." Kanji groaned as he looked at the photograph "Why Egypt?...Maybe he's a fan of JoJo"
"Don't be dumb" Yosuke groaned
"Well actually, I have a theory on that" Shouhei said as he pulled out a book "If you're familiar with an author named H.P Lovecraft, you'll know he wrote a story named Nyarlathotep...and I assume he wrote this after he somehow came into contact with Nyarlathotep himself. He mentions that Nyarlathotep resembled an ancient pharaoh. It's my understanding that this confrontation probably took place in Egypt and it's because of that; he returned there"
"So what you're saying is; there's something in Egypt that Nyarlathotep needs?" Naoto asked
"It seems that way, yes" Mitsuru nodded
"So are we going after him?" Daisuke asked
"Of course we are" Yu cut in
"We need time to pin him down exactly" Katsuya added "Cairo is a big place, we just charge in, we'll be unprepared and could fall for a trap"
"How long will this take?" Yosuke asked
"As long as it takes" Was Katsuya's blunt reply
"Helpful..." Chie grunted
"I'm sorry" Katsuya replied "I spent the last twelve hours on a plane and thanks to his snoring, I wasn't able to get any sleep"
"I don't snore" Tatsuya glared
"Who are you anyway?" Dojima asked
"This is my brother, Tatsuya" Katsuya introduced "He's a Persona user, just like you"
"Tatsuya and Katsuya? Creative parents..." Motoko muttered
"He took down Nyarlathotep 11 years ago" Katsuya stated, exciting the group
"Well...not really, it was someone else..." Tatsuya admitted, noticing the groups fallenfaces "B-But I helped!"
"Oh, this is great" Kanji groaned "We know all this crap and can't do a damn thing about it"
"Hey" Chie greeted as she joined Yu on the balcony "Aren't you cold out here?"
"A little" Yu shrugged, his breath visable in the cold
"Then come back in..." Chie suggested
"I just want to some time to think" Yu sighed
"About what?" Chie scoffed
"About what I'm going to do when this is over, y'know?" Yu told her "I mean...don't get me wrong, I hate what's happened but...the journey itself...I..."
"It was fun, wasn't it?" Chie said with a small smile
"Yes...and it's almost over now..." Yu nodded "It'll...be lonely when it's done, like I don't know what to do with myself after it"
"I'll tell you what you're going to do!" Chie said aggressively as she grabbed his arm "You're coming to back to Inaba and you're staying beside me...we'll get married, we'll have kids, grow old and stupid together, and eventually lay in the ground together one day..."
...
"That last one was kinda dark" Yu gulped
"Was it?" Chie asked, genuinely questioning him
"Blissfilly genre blind" Yu chuckled before planting a kiss on her nose "Don't worry, I like that about you"
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was an insult..." Chie glared "...It was an insult wasn't it?"
"Kind of" Yu shrugged
"Jerk" Chie snorted before a smile crept onto her face and she leaned forward "But I like that ab-PFFTT! PUTOO!"
"You okay?" Yu questioned as Chie spat
"Your hair!" Chie gurgled as she removed the strands that were in her mouth "It's too long! I can't even kiss you without getting hair in my mouth!"
"You weren't complaining on Christmas" Yu huffed
"That's because we doing...other stuff on Christmas" Chie blushed slightly before leaning in and whispering in his ear "But seriously, It looked like a mop was going down on me"
"Okay, you definitely weren't complaining there!" Yu accused loudly
"You want the whole world to know what we did?!" Chie shrieked "All I'm saying is-"
"Cut my hair..." Yu sighed as he examined a strand of it "I suppose it's too long, yeah..."
...
"Here" Chie sighed as she took off one of her wristbands
"What're-" Yu tried to ask before Chie wrapped her arms around his head and tied his hair through the wristband
"There!" Chie smiled as Yu's hair not sat somewhat neatly in ponytail with the twisted wristband holding it in place "Now I can see your face and everything!"
"Oh god, I'm living life with a ponytail" Yu laughed
"Well if you don't like it then give me my wristband back!" Chie glared
"No, it's fine" Yu smiled as he leaned in to her "Thank you Chie"
"You don't have to thank me for anything..." She smiled as she kissed him
...
"He's found a good girl hasn't he?" Shinya asked
"You finally left your room?" Motoko questioned
"Couldn't stay there forever" He shrugged
"But you're right..." Motoko nodded "He's lucky to have her..."
"It's nice to know he has someone to take care of him long after we've gone" Shinya hummed "He's gonna be a good dad himself one day...a way better one than me"
...
"That won't be hard" Motoko glared
"I deserved that one" Shinya sighed "I don't expect forgiveness from anyone any time soon..."
"You shouldn't" Motoko told him
"I don't" Shinya repeated
"Narukami..." Dojima glared as he walked into the room
"It's fine, I'm going" Shinya huffed as he held his hands up and turned away
"Are you okay?" Dojima asked his sister
"I'm fine..." She said flatly "Fine..."
"Nggh...ahhh!" Minato yelped
"What are you doing?!" The Nurse shrieked as Minato stepped out of the bed "You can't get out of bed!"
"I have to..." Minato weakly rasped as he set back into his bed
"You need to rest!" The Nurse scolded
"Mitsuru...call...Mitsuru" Minato insisted "Or Akihiko...anyone"
"Nurse, may I call you over here for a second?" The Doctor questioned from the door frame
"Of course" The Nurse nodded as she walked over to him "What is it?"
"This boy...did say his name was Minato Arisato, correct?" The Doctor asked
"Yes" She nodded
"It's just...I looked him up on our database" The Doctor sighed "He's an orphan and lived with relatives. But..."
"But?"
"But no one's seen him in almost 2 years" The Doctor revealed "Minato Arisato disappeared on March 5 2010...no one's seen him since"
"But that's..."
"Where did you say this boy was found again?" He asked her
"On the roof of Gekkokan High School..." The Nurse confirmed
"That was the location of his last reported appearance..." The Doctor stated
"Then..."
"He appeared in the exact same place he disappeared" The Doctor rubbed his chin "It's almost as if he just jumped 2 years into the future..."
...
"What's going on?" The Nurse questioned
"Minato Arisato" The Doctor called out as he walked up to him "Please tell us...where have you been these last 21 months?"
...
"Dead" Minato said flatly
"What?!"
"Look..." Minato groaned as he rubbed his head "Just...call Mitsuru Kirijo, she'll tell you everything..."
"I-"
"Please..."
...
"Nurse, I'll be making a phonecall" The Doctor sighed as he took his leave
RIIIING
"Hello?" Mitsuru asked
"Ah, Ms Kirijo, good" An unfamiliar voice sighed "This is Doctor Kusaka from Tatsumi Port Hospital. I have a young man in my care by the name of Minato Arisato, he claims to-"
"Is this some kind of sick joke?"
"Excuse me?"
"Minato Arisato is a dearly departed friend, how dare you-"
"Ma'am, I understand that he disappeared, believed to be dead, we checked his files. But he turned up on the roof of Gekkokan High School, unconcuis but alive"
...
"Put him on"
"I-"
"If he's really there, then let me speak to him!"
...
"Very well..."
The doctors footsteps echoed through as he walked down the hall, she could hear him offer someone the phone
"Mitsuru-senpai..."
"M-Minato!" She gasped "Is that...is that-"
"It's me..." He weakly rasped "I don't know how but...I'm alive, I-"
"H-Hold on!" Mitsuru shouted as she threw on a coat "I'm getting a plane right there! I-"
"Mitsuru-"
...
"I'm afraid he's passed out" The Doctor sighed as he took the phone back "Ms. Kirijo? Ms. Kirijo are you there?"
"Kikuno!" Mitsuru yelled "Flight to Japan, book it now!"
"It's almost time..."
"Master?" Nyog'sothep questioned
"I feel it" Nyarlathotep rasped "I can sense their lingering power"
"So...will things get interesting soon?" Sho chuckled
"Oh yes" Nyarlathotep smiled "Very interesting...let's send an invitation"
DECEMBER 27, 2011
"I'm networking as hard as I can" Shouhei groaned as he typed away on the laptop, phone in his other ear
"I know" Tamaki sighed "I'm trying my hardest to find anything but...have your contacts in Egypt found anything new?"
"No" Shouhei groaned "And it's fustrating, we're pressed for time, Nyarlathotep's just getting stronger and stronger every day..."
"It can't be long before we find him" Tamaki sighed
"Sorry, I've got another call" Shouhei sighed, hanging up but he piped up, noticing the number belonged to one of his contacts "Hello?"
"Heellllooooooooo!"
"Wha-Who is this?!" Shouhei cried
"Name's Sho...heard you've been looking for me and a few buds..."
"You!" Shouhei growled
"We get it, you're fustrated, all you have is that little picture of me and Nyog walking down the street"
"How did you know-"
"You think we didn't notice your spies?" Sho spat "Bullshit, we let you see us out in open to get your attention. The Boss man said it was almost time, but now it is time! So come on...You want us? You can find us in the Babylon Fortress in the old part of Cairo"
CLICK
"Wait!" Shouhei cried, but Sho had already hung up "Son of a-!"
"It was Tatsuya-san, yes?" Yu asked as he approached the older man
"That I am, kid" Tatsuya nodded
"Can I ask you something?" Yu said "Nyarlathotep, what is he like?"
"He's the scariest sunovabitch I've ever known" Tatsuya admitted nonchalantly
"Yay..." Yu sarcasticlly cheered
"But he can be beat, I know that much" Tatsuya nodded "There's no special strategy to it, you just hit the bastard until he stays down"
"Good advice" Yu shrugged
"It's different this time though" Tatsuya noted "Nyarlathotep liked to twist others, manipulate people into doing his bidding, using humans to destroy humans. Not this time...he's doing it himself"
"But why?" Yu asked
"No clue" Tatsuya groaned "When it was with me, he twisted and manipulated Jun"
"Jun?"
"My best friend...we would become...well, like you and that Chie girl" Tatsuya girl
"It's that obvious between us?" Yu groaned "Jun huh...? She sounds nice"
"Yeah...he is" Tatsuya nodded
"Huh? He-Oh! Oh, you're-"
"Yep" Tatsuya nodded
...
"There's nothing wrong with that" Yu said
"I know" Tatsuya nodded again
...
"Well this is awkward" Yu hummed
"Yep" Tatsuya agreed
"Bye then" Yu waved
"Bye" Tatsuya waved back
"Stop! Stop it! STOP IT!"
"No signs Sir"
"Keep on with the electroshock treatment"
...
"No signs..."
"Break his fingers, maybe he'll finally snap"
...
"UGH!"
"What is with you?! Why won't you awaken it?! DO IT! DO IT!"
"I-UGH!"
"AWAKEN YOUR PER-URGH!"
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
"W-What is this!?"
"Mr. Ikutsuki!"
"STAY AWAY FROM SHO!"
"B-But you are Sho..."
"No...I am Minazuki, and I will kill you if you ever come near him again..."
GASP
Awakening in a cold sweat, Sho shot up, desperate to catch his breath
"What is the matter with you"? Nyog'sothep asked
"Nothing...it's nothing" Sho growled as he wiped the sweat off his brow, getting out of the chair he fell asleep on
"Why was I dreaming about that...?" Sho asked himself "I haven't thought about that stuff in years..."
"Nyog...sothep?"
"Master?" Nyog'sothep questioned
"Are they...on the way?"
"I believe so Master..." He nodded "Sho has sent the message, they know where we are"
"Good...good..." Nyarlathotep groaned "This human's body is on its last legs...I need that boy...I need Yu Narukami's body"
"The Babylon Fortress..." Naoto read "It's an ancient castle built by Persians in 6 BC, located in Coptic Cairo which was originally called Babylon, hence the name."
"Fitting for a so-called God" Kanji scoffed
"So then, are we good to go?" Katsuya asked
"Preparations are being made right now" Kikuno said to the group "The Shadow Operatives have been informed of the situation as well as the destination"
"So...it's almost time" Yukiko muttered
"Yeah..." Yu nodded
"Our fight is almost done" Daisuke said
"Shouldn't Mitsuru-san be here telling us this?" Yosuke asked
"I'm afraid Mitsuru-san is pre-occupied with previous commitments" Kikuno admitted
"When will she be back?" Labrys asked
"I'm afraid I do not know..." Kikuno admitted "But I was told the subject needed urgent attention..."
"What's more urgent than this?" Adachi questioned
"I was not informed" Kikuno repeated
"So...what now?" Motoko asked
"Until I receive further orders from Mitsuru-sama, I do not know" Kikuno apologized
"Minato! Minato! Oh my god..." Mitsuru gasped as she ran into the room
"Mitsuru...san" Minato wheezed
"How...how?" Mitsuru muttered as she walked up to the bedridden boy
"I don't know..." Minato groaned as he sat up "But...something feels different about me, like..."
"Like what?"
"Excuse me" The Nurse cut her off "Are you-"
"Mitsuru Kirijo? Yes" She nodded
"Can I speak with you?"
"Of course" Mitsuru agreed
"This boy..." The Nurse trailer "He was last seen in 2010, his disappearance has never been explained, he was believed to be dead, he-"
"I know, I know all of it" Mitsuru cut him off "Believe me, you wouldn't believe a single word if I told you"
"Ms. Kirijo!" The Doctor shouted as he stormed into the room, two men in black suits walking past him and began to unhook Minato's medical equipment "I must protest to this!"
"As much as I appreciate your help, The Kirijo conglomerate's private doctors will take care of him from now on"
"I-"
DING
"You should check that" Mitsuru said to the Doctor as his phone bleeped
"Wha-Bank transfer notification?! Is this a bribe?!" The Doctor spat
"Check the amount" Mitsuru nodded
"I-Woah...that's a lot of zero's" The Doctor gaped "B-But I must protest, generous as the offer is, I cannot-"
"That amount, deposited in your bank account every month for the next year..."Mitsuru stated
...
"Well, it's been nice meeting you, farewell Minato, take care!" The Doctor waved as the boy was carted away
DECEMBER 28 2011
"Yu Narukami...what is it you desire?"
"All I want is you gone"
"No, humans cannot truly desire one thing. You desire so much more...You desire the companionship of others, you desire stability in your life, you desire the love of your woman as well as the sensation of her naked flesh against yours, you desire strength, power. Your surname means to become god. Such a boastful name...but a fitting one"
"If you're trying to twist this and make it look like I'm worse than you, it's literally the stupidest thing I've ever heard"
"Hmm...there's fire in your heart, well now...just lnow this. Should you drag me down to hell, you'll be coming along for the ride"
GASP
"Yu?" Chie poked her head in room
"Bad dream...just a bad dream" Yu waved her off as she wiped the sweat away
"Okay...I was just coming to tell you that we're all being called for a house meeting by Kikuno-san" Chie explained "You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah" Yu nodded as he stepped out of bed "But I'm not sure if that was a dream..."
"So the good news is that we finally have a location for him" Shouhei sighed "The bad is that all my agents in Egypt are dead, not long after Sho Minazuki revealed his location...Nyarlathotep knew we were looking for him, we didn't find him, he showed us where he is. He wants us to come to Egypt"
"Meaning it's likely a trap..." Naoto hummed "But why there? We've established that the first human contact with Nyarlathotep likely occurred in Cairo, but why would he not only return there but flee to there at the first chance he got? What is there than he needs?"
"I looked into that" Shouhei stated "More specifally, I looked into Old Cairo and some old reports, apparently over the last 11 years, there have been a few UFO sightings in the area"
"W-W-W-Whoa, whoa whoa! What?!" Kanji cried
"A-Are we dealing with-" Rise trailed
"No, see that's the thing" Shouhei pointed "The reports weren't from people who saw UFO's in the sky, but underground..."
"Undergr-" Katsuya muttered before he gasped as it all clicked in his head "Ameno Torifune!"
"Xibalba..." Tatsuya added
"Wait, what?" Chie asked "Ameno what now?"
"Xi-whah?" Adachi questioned
"It's a spaceship" Katsuya revealed
"Wait, so it is Aliens?!" Kanji cried
"No, it's...ugh" Katsuya groaned "When Nyarlathotep turned up in Sumaru City just at the turn of century, rumors started coming true, Ameno Torifune, or Xibalba as it was called back then, came about from a rumor that there was an ancient flying saucer that brought civilisation to Earth lying underneath Sumaru City."
"It was where we fought Nyarlathotep last time" Tatsuya explained "We thought it was destroyed when we took care of Nyarlathotep, but it looks he just moved it"
"Yes, he must of transported it just after he made his fragment" Katsuya said as he rubbed his chin "He was desperate, moved it to the first place that came into his mind, which was Cairo, because of-"
"His encounter with H.P. Lovecraft!" Dojima cut in
"Exactly" Katsuya nodded in "As far as the world is concerned, Nyarlathotep began there, it appears that makes it somewhat sentimental to him..."
"So, he moved it there, but why?" Yu asked "What was in there that he had to keep..."
...
"Perhaps, it's not what's in there, but the ship itself" Shouhei cut in "This Nyarlathotep is a cunning fellow, he has the power to seperate his own energy into fragments, perhaps in his last moment, he left his energy there, splitting his power, not into Nyog'sothep like we thought, but splitting it between himself, Nyog'sothep and this ship..."
"Splitting his already weakened power in three pieces..." Katsuya hummed "Perhaps this is why Nyog'sothep took 11 years to resurrect his master. We assumed he possessed a significant portion of Nyarlathotep's power, but if this is the case and merely received a third or even less of a weakened Nyarlathotep's power, he lacked the strength to resurrect him imediantly, so he had to gain that power himself."
"He must have jumped from city to city, aquiring power somehow-" Adachi led on
"I believe I know how" Shouhei sighed as he pulled out a list "I was hoping this was unrelated but it doesn't appear so...there was some reports of murders within Mikage-cho within the last decade...among them Naoya Toudou, Maki Sonomura, Masao Inaba, Hidehiko Uesugi, Eriko Kirishima, Yuka Ayase, Reiji Kido, all murdered...and all of them were Persona users"
"What?!" The group gasped
"I...I..." Katsuya gasped "Soon after Nanjo joined...we found out his fellow Persona users died afterwards but there was so many others murdered along with them, we assumed that they were just coincidently caught up in a murder spree...he was out of town at the time, so he wasn't in Mikage-cho at the time of the killings"
"There was no coincidence, the police tied it up with the killer of an unrelated serial killing around the same time, but it was Nyog'sothep taking revenge for his master and stealing their power" Shouhei added on "Yukino Mayuzumi avoided the same fate by being out of town at the time, she had actually lost her Persona some time back, unable to cope with the grief of losing her friends, she fled to America. Last I heard, she's in America, married to some former American soldier named Jiminez, they've got kids, the whole package...Kei Nanjo seemed to escape too but-"
"Nyog'sothep eventually found him..." Katsuya growled "He must of been jumping from city to city trying to find Persona users...that must be how he met Sho Minazuki. Trying to kill him and steal his power before he realized he could use Sho..."
"Twisting humans just like his master" Tatsuya spat
"So he and Sho went on..." Yu listed "But they stopped in Inaba..."
"It's a humble and quient town" Dojima sighed "Why stop there?"
"Because it was there they could avoid suspicion, lay low, in a small country town" Shouhei said "It was there that they stopped and began to orchestrate the final part of the plan, they probably realized they should leave the Shadow Operatives until the very end, but they needed more Persona users...I checked some recorded sightings of Minazuki, there were reports of a boy matching his desciption checking out some family history records in a few libraries. It appears he was looking for the descendants of Persona users of the past, among them were files from 20th Century Japan and 17th Century Romania...and they apparently found a point when those two blood lines converged."
"17th Century Romania and 20th Century Japan..." Dojima pondered "Wait, it...does that mean..."
"Kuzunoha and Belmont" Yu cut in
"You mean-?!" Chie gasped
"Me..." Yu growled "They knew about me..."
"They must kept an eye on you, trying to track you" Katsuya sighed "They must have jumped for joy when they found out you were coming to Inaba...saved them from making the journey themselves"
"Son of a bitch!" Yu cursed
"That's why you're the true vessl" Yosuke muttered "Because of your bloodline..."
"Their very essense is written into your D.N.A" Shouhei said "Not just them, Flynn and Isabeau, your great-grandparents were Persona users too, your great-great-great-grandfather Aleph was a Persona user, and more of your descendants, they were Persona users too...do you see? It all leads to you...the amount of Persona users in your lineage, no wonder as strong as you are, you are the ultimate Persona user. There hasn't been as one as good as you and their won't ever be one as good as you...that's why Nyarlathotep needs you, but at the same time, that's why you can stop him"
...
"No wonder you're so special" Yosuke muttered
"Yeah..." Yukiko added in
"I was right, Big Bro is a superhero!" Nanako cheered
"I knew I sensed special potential within the boy..." Margaret hummed
"Raidou Kuzunoha" Theodore pondered "Who was his attendant in the Velvet Room"
"I believe it was Justine and Caroline" Elizabeth added, causing Theodore to shudder
"Oh dear, not them" Theodore shivered
"Ah yes, they were never quite fond of you" Margaret hummed
"So that's why..." Motoko said with her head hung low "My boy's caught up in this because of his family...it's my fault"
"No it isn't" Dojima cut her off "You can't go blaming yourself for everything concerning him, he's his own man...he chose to go down this road"
"So now that we know all'a this, what now?" Labrys asked
"I've received confirmation from Mitsuru-san" Kikuno said as she walked into the room "We will be departing for Cairo tonight"
"Tonight?!" The group yelped
"Yes, I've been informed that Mitsuru-sama, as well as the Shadow Operatives will be meeting us there" Kikuno added on
"So this is it then, it's almost over" Yosuke said
"Not yet, the most difficult part is still ahead" Yu sighed
"So...we leave soon?" Motoko asked
"I'm afraid all non-Persona users will have to return back to Japan" Kikuno bowed "That was a direct instruction from Mitsuru-sama"
"But-" Motoko tried to interject
"It's for the best" Dojima cut her off as he put his hand on her shoulder "We'd only be in their way, we can't help them with this..."
...
"Why am I so helpless to him?" Motoko sighed
"You're not Mom" Yu told her "But you need to be back in Inaba where it's safe."
"Yes...it's best to leave it to us" Tatsuya said
Unbeknowst to them, Shinya stood around the corner, hearing every word they were saying
PLANE ABOVE THE INDIAN OCEAN
"And that's it then" Mitsuru hummed as she finished explaining
"So this Nyarlathotep person..." Minato muttered
"He's dangerous" Mitsuru nodded
"And yet here we are flying right towards him" Minato groaned "Though I suppose I can't ignore this Sho Minazuki guy...Ikutsuki had a son huh?"
"I suppose you could call him his son yes..." Mitsuru sighed
"By the way, I'd have to ask" Minato said as he inspected his clothes "Why'd you bring me the old Gekkokan High uniform"
"Well...it's the only thing we had that fit you" Mitsuru smiled
"You mentioned another thing, this guy is going around collecting power, right?" Minato asked
"Yes" Mitsuru nodded
"That would it explain it then" Minato noted
"Explain wha-"
"Nyx is gone..."
"What!?" Mitsuru gasped
"Nyx is gone...that's by I'm back" Minato explained "He must have absorbed it from me, sealed it within himself, that must be why I'm free..."
"Then...damn it!" Mitsuru cursed "Then it's a good thing we're already on the way over there..."
"Yeah...I had a nice nap these last few months, but I suppose it's time to act" Minato said as he stretched "The others are coming, right?"
"Yes" Mitsuru nodded "I've sent planes for them but I didn't have time to explain why or that you were back..."
"So it'll be surprise huh?" Minato chuckled "I suppose I-urgh!"
"It's...good to have you back" Mitsuru sniffed as she wrapped him in a hug
"I just got out of the hospital, don't send me back" Minato groaned
"Here, you'll be needing this" Mitsuru claimed as she handed him a farmiliar item
"An Evoker..." Minato muttered as he observed the gun
"It's good to have you back" Mitsuru smiled as she put her hand on his shoulder "Make sure not to leave us again anything soon"
KIRIJO SAFEHOUSE
"Hmm?" Shinya wondered as he heard his room door open, his eyes widened as he noticed who entered "N-Naoto!"
"Hello" She greeted
"W-What are you doing here?" Shinya asked
"Quite frankly, I don't know" Naoto shrugged "But the fact is that tomorrow I'm going someplace I might not be coming back from so I-"
"Wanted to get to know your father?" Shinya concluded
"You are not my father" Naoto harshly cut off "I may be born from your blood, but you were not there for me, you didn't raise me, my father was Ryosuke Sanada."
"You called me Father a few weeks ago" Shinya reminded
"That was in a effort to get you to calm down" Naoto stated "You were waving a gun around, I had to stop you somehow"
"Oh well..." Shinya shrugged "So why are you here then?"
"I told you, I don't know" Naoto said again
"No, you do, you just don't want to admit it" Shinya told her "You're here because you want to get to know me"
"I-"
"Or to ask about your mother"
"What do you know about my mother?!" Naoto spat
"I was in love with her, I know a lot" Shinya glared
"You didn't love my mother" Naoto growled
"Yes I did, and she was in love with me" Shinya said "I was a stupid thing to do when I had a wife and child, but yes I fell into love with another woman"
"So...you were no longer in love with your wife?" Naoto asked
"No, I still was" Shinya shook his head "It's a stupid thing to do, but I was in love with two women...I was devastated when your mother left me...even more devastated when I found out she had given birth to our child and I would never see her. But words can't describe how empty I felt when I learned she had died..."
"You-"
"If...I'd known where you were, I would have come to you. I would have taken you in. Even if Motoko would have thrown me out for it" Shinya told her "I would have done anything to make sure you weren't alone"
"You...you would have done that for me?" Naoto questioned
"Of course" Shinya nodded
...
"Narukami-san"
"Call me Shinya" He smiled
"Shinya...can you tell me about my mother?" Naoto asked
"Sure...take a seat" He nodded
"Now you listen here" Chie growled as she grabbed Yosuke's collar
"Hrrk!" He groaned
"Yukiko is my best friend, If you ever hurt her..." Chie foamed at the mouth
"I'm sorry!" Yukiko cried as she ran into the room "It's just, I was remembering yesterday and laughed, Chie saw me and asked what I was laughing at and I tried to change the subject but she kept pressing on and I...told her about us"
"I swear Hanamura, if you ever put a hand on her without permission" Chie glared "I will kick you in the nuts so hard, they'll fly up and pop out your eyeballs"
"What is your deal!?" Yosuke roared as he smacked the hand clutching his jacket collar away "Can't you see that me and Yukiko are happy?!"
"Yes I can!" She shouted "Which is why I'm telling you this, if you ever upset her, you'll have me to answer too! You better make her happy, you got that?!"
"H-Huh?!"
And with that, Chie turned around and left
"W-What?" Yosuke gulped
"Chie's just looking out for me" Yukiko sighed "She'll be find with us, as long as I'm happy"
"Yeah, I gathered that" Yosuke groaned as he fixed his collar
"She's just wanting to make sure I'm okay" Yukiko said to him "I can garuntee though, if she wasn't in love with Yu-kun, she wouldn't understand us, she would beat you black and blue"
"Gee, how nice" Yosuke grumbled "So this was her way of giving us her blessing?"
"Essentially, yes" Yukiko nodded
"Well, that's...nice" Yosuke shrugged
...
"My" Naoto gulped as she and a few others had observed the scene from the doorway "Love can be a complicated thing"
"Like I would know" Kanji spat as he stormed off
"Kanji-kun?" Naoto questioned
"What was that about?" Daisuke questioned
"No idea" Yumi hummed, briefly making eye contact with Daisuke
The two quickly broke their gaze with their cheeks burning red
"Are you two okay?" Naoto asked
"Fine" Daisuke coughed as Yumi scampered away "Fine..."
Yu's Room
"So we should be in Cairo by tomorrow huh?" Yu asked
"Yeah" Chie nodded "Then it all ends..."
"Yep" Yu nodded back "So this is it...this is what this last year has been leading up too. Tomorrow is when our story comes to an end"
"It feels like yesterday when I saved you from that mouthing off from King Moron" Chie noted "But so much has happened since then..."
"We've made a lot of good friends...and lost a few too" Yu said solemnly "But we'll avenge them all..."
"There's no garuntee we come back tomorrow" Chie told him "Yosuke could die, Kanji could die...you could die...I could die"
"That's true..." Yu muttered "But I forbid you to die"
"Huh?!"
"You heard me" Yu smiled "You said it yourself, I'm not allowed to die until it's of old age with you by my side, I can't do that if you're gone"
...
"Fair enough I suppose" Chie laughed "So we both come back tomorrow?"
"Yep, and then we get back to Japan. Nice as France's been. I wanna go home" Yu groaned "Though, I'll always remember this room though..."
"Huh-Oh...pervert" Chie scoffed as they sat upon the bed where they gave their virginity to each other
"You were the one screaming for more" Yu chuckled
"I will kick you in the nuts" Chie threatened
"I'm pretty sure you enjoy them as much as I do" Yu laughed
"Oh that's it!" She shouted as she tackled him
"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry!" Yu laughed as the two wrestled on top of his bed "Hey, I will tickle you!"
"Don't you dare!" Chie cried as Yu flipped her over, running his fingers on his hips "HAHAHAHA! STOP! PLEASE!"
"You asked for this!" Yu chuckled
"I'm serious!" She tried to fight back as she pinned Yu down and she now sat upon him "Oh..."
"Well now" Yu smiled
"Hey..." Chie glared with a chuckle
"You know...our flight isn't for another few hours" Yu shrugged
"Hmm...really?" Chie hummed as she held up Yu's belt
"How did you-?!"
"I have my ways" She smiled
"Oh..." Yu grinned "I love you
"I know" She grinned back
KIRIJO PRIVATE AIRFIELD
"This is it..." Naoto muttered as she looked at the plane
"You two be safe" Motoko said as she wrapped her son and step-daughter in a hug "I mean it"
"Mom, too tight!" Yu groaned
"Ma'am!" Naoto gasped for air
"Motoko..." Dojima grumbled as he pulled her off him
"Come back safe okay, big bro?" Nanako whimpered as she wrapped her cousin in a hug
"I will, don't worry" Yu smiled
"You too Big Sis!" Nanako cried as she hugged Naoto
"O-Of course..." Naoto said in surprise before awkwardly hugging her back
"It's time" Kikuno nodded
"So long France..." Labrys muttered as she walked up the steps leading into the plane
"Let us go, sister" Aigis said as she followed her up
"Ready?" Chie asked Yu
"Yeah..." He nodded
"Brief as our partnership was, it was an honor to work alongside you sir" Shouhei smiled as he shook Yu's hnd "If you ever need help again, don't hesitate to call your old buddy Shouhei Narumi the Third!"
"Thank you for everything you've done" Yu smiled
"This is where we part ways" Margaret said as a bright blue door appeared the velvet room siblings
"Was that always there?" Yu questioned
"Farewell Yu Narukami" Elizabeth bowed
"But you can always find us in the Velvet Room" Theodore said as he entered the door
"Safe journeys to you" Margaret bowed as she and Elizabeth entered the door which promptly disappeared
"I'll come back safe" Yu said to them all "I promise"
And with that, he and Chie made their way up the stairs
"You stay safe too Adachi" Dojima said as he shook the younger detectives hand
"Wouldn't die and let you have to deal with all the paper work would I?" Adachi smiled before heading up the stairs
"So it seems that once again we are destined to do battle" Katsuya hummed
"Yeah..." Tatsuya nodded
"Still no idea how your memories came back?" Katsuya asked
"None" Tatsuya shook his head
"Maybe we won't find out why...but we have to stop him" Katsuya nodded as he and his brother walked up the stairway
"Suppose it's time" Naoto murmured before she joined the others on the plane, the door closing behind her
"That's everyone" Kikuno called to the pilot
"Come back home safe..." Motoko muttered "All of you"
PLANE BACK TO YASO-INABA
"Stop worrying, they'll be fine" Dojima groaned as his sister
"I know, I know" She sighed
"Relax, it's a long flight" Dojima said to her "Try to get some sleep or something, no one will bother you, especially seeing as how Shinya's on another flight"
"He is?"
"Well he isn't on this one, that's for sure" Dojima shrugged
"Shinya Narukami is not here?" Shouhei questioned "That's odd...too my knowledge, the only flights are this one and the one to Cairo"
"Now that you mention it...there were only two planes at the airfield!" Dojima gasped
"You mean-" Motoko gaped "H-He...he wouldn't..."
PLANE TO CAIRO
Sitting in the cargo hold, gun in hand as he slowly loaded the bullets into the barrel, Shinya Narukami breathed through his nose, uttering one sentence over and over again in his head
"I'll finally atone for my sins..."
"So...it's almost time" Philemon hummed to himself, before looking at the object in his hand, an object that looked very uncharacteristic in his possession
A blank CD Case with the words "The Truth" writted on a piece of tape stuck to the front cover, addressed from "The Man Who Sold the World"
"I only hope you can forgive me Yu Narukami..."
Why yes, I am a true believer of the TatsuyaXJun pairing.
I've gone back and renamed Chapter 24. It was originally called "The Man Who Sold The World" after the David Bowie song of the same name. You see, I misunderstood the meaning of the song. I assumed it was about a man who...well, sells the world, sells it out, abandons it, leaves it die, etc. But it turns out that's completely wrong. It's about a man who sells to the world. He doesn't sell the world, he sells something to the world, in the case of the song, his identity. The song is about a man whose life has been taken over by a doppelganger, this is reflected in the second verse when the lyric from the first verse;
"Oh no, not me! I never lost control. You're face to face with The Man Who Sold the World"
Is replaced with
"Oh no, not me! We never lost control. You're face to face with The Man Who Sold the World"
I completely ballsed up and missed the meaning. Chapter 18 is now called "All the Madmen" which is the name of another track on The Man Who Sold the World album.
Also, go back and read Chapter 1. I've added something...