Piecing the Fragments

Chapter 76: Readying Themselves

Original Concept: Persona 3 Portable

..

Created by: Atlus

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Game Spoilers Galore, Readers be warned.

Author's Notes: Woah - that was faster than I thought, but still slower than my heyday, I'm sorry guys.

Thank you, kaiserdude for the beta, he's always got my back on this!

6/18 Thursday (Dark Hour)

Dormitory

The chairman was there for dinner, and it had been a remarkably civil one because of Junpei's endless attempts to try and get Chidori to talk with the rest of the group.

It hadn't helped when Shinjiro wasn't accepting the compliments given by the director for his food and he almost, almost snapped his chopsticks in half when he mentioned that he might drop by more just to try his cooking.

Fuuka took that as a warning, or at least a sign of changes to come from the chairman and she sighed internally. Their plans to get rid of all the bugs and the cameras that would allow them to talk about their other plans were going on so well too. If he was going to stick around the dormitory more, it would make it much harder for the members to speak freely to each other.

Especially if Minako was going to involve the rest of S.E.E.S into their plans. What were they going to do about Chidori? Was she a spy? Fuuka knew that the other girl's persona, Medea, was strong enough to interrupt and interfere with her powers.

How could she remember the painful way that Mediea interfered with the feed between Lucia and her to taunt the members of S.E.E.S.

Anyway, she had not missed the way that the chairman had been a little cold towards the members of S.E.E.S after all. It was a welcome change for Fuuka and she had hoped it would last till Mitsuru was ready to start their move against the chairman in the open.

Sadly that wasn't the case, and they might be forced back to square one to hide their plans from the chairman.

Regardless of the difficulties, dinner was terrific and all got to know Chidori a little more from Junpei's interactions with her. Fuuka was relieved to see that Junpei's attention on Chidori was mainly due to concern and not due to affection just yet. It was only a matter of time before that happened though, from Minako she had gleamed that memories could in fact be carried from world line to world line. It was perhaps like deja vu, perhaps when they were done with this year, she would start to research and work out the circumstances of this phenomenon. All science experiments could be repeated, and if there were two examples of this phenomenon, Minako and herself having retained memories from the other world lines, it was a scientific fact.

Yukari had cornered Junpei and asked him to spill on what he had done the whole afternoon together with Chidori. The brunette was happy to report that Junpei liked the girl, but was keeping his distance from her a little as well, feeling a little uneasy at how easy she approached him. Junpei was right to be cautious, even if she felt a little sad that all of her friends were getting very paranoid and a little awkward at dealing with people that they didn't know.

Fuuka wasn't embarrassed to admit that perhaps all of S.E.E.S were broken, once due to learning about the Shadows, twice when facing their Deaths and using their Personas, the last time was when they learned of the future and of the Fall together with the Chairman's betrayal. All of these events did in fact break S.E.E.S for a period, perhaps revealing everything to them in one go was too much for them.

Anyway, it seemed Junpei did mature a little, or was just worried at getting gobbled up by Chidori without him realizing it – which could be a legitimate concern for him.

It was a surreal thing for Fuuka to witness and to experience for she had always viewed Strega as an enemy, and Chidori has to be treated in the same manner till after her untimely demise. Maybe if they changed their treatment of her, she wouldn't betray them like she did then?

All of them were, at best neutral towards the girl who was part of Strega despite what she had done for and against them. Even if they were forgiving, and even if Chidori did in fact save Junpei, it didn't help that Strega had hurt all of them very deeply.

Being a member of Strega would make it hard for any of them to trust her, even if she might honestly be manipulated by Takaya. Even Minako was at best an objectively neutral person towards Chidori, not being overly friendly or antagonistic towards her. Junpei was the only one who treated her nicely, and that played a big role in how she was willing to give her life for his.

But then again, Chidori's own past in Strega was also a good reason for her to be easily swayed as they had treated her badly. Probably... now that she was given a new lease of life, probably thanks to the chairman, who knew how she would react to kindness. Altogether, welcoming Chidori as part of them was a double-edged sword.

Who knows what Takaya might be telling her to poison her mind while in S.E.E.S.

Argh – she was getting all worked up over this, she shouldn't be the one thinking through this by herself!

..

But right now, they were all observing what would happen to Chidori during the Dark Hour. Would she still be a Persona user? Or were members of Strega going to react differently to the Dark Hour? She shouldn't be too worried though, if Ikutsuki did tie up with Strega, he would cover his bases all the way.

Everyone knew more or less what was going to happen save for Junpei – who did not know she was a Persona user in the first place. As much as Ikutsuki showed that he was nervous, the rest knew that he knew what was going to happen anyway.

When the clock struck midnight, the same familiar and uneasy green light shone upon all of them when the Dark Hour begin and lo and behold, Chidori remained unchanged sleeping in her room.

'That decides it... She has the potential.'

Ikutsuki declared with a smile and he looked around to see everyone still staring at Chidori, Junpei especially and he was the one to ask when would she be initiated to the S.E.E.S proper.

'As soon as possible. It would take time for her to be able to use her Persona, and no time like the present, right?'

Ikutsuki smiled but he blinked when Shinjiro said that it'll be good if they waited.

'A week, that's all I'm asking for. We got our eyes on another kid... a Persona user and we wanted to bring him into S.E.E.S. We might as well do the initiation together.' Shinjiro growled at the chairman and for once, he looked taken aback before nodding his head in agreement.

'Of course, I was unaware of the fact that all of you had discovered another person with potential. Is the individual trustworthy? It would be best for me to initiate a back ground che-'

'It has already been done. It helped that you had been keeping track on his movement ever since that incident, Chairman.'

Mitsuru spoke up coldly as she turned his cold eyes at Ikutsuki.

'Oh... I did? Well that was a stroke of luck is it not? May I know the candidate's name?'

'… Well considering how you kept Yoshino Chidori's information from us, we would inform you only if we are unable to persuade him to join our cause. The same option would of course be given to Yoshino-san, would it not?'

Mitsuru sniffed unhappily and one could sense the change in the atmosphere when Mitsuru asked Ikutsuki. The chairman didn't look affected at all, but one could still sense the discontent he was feeling against Mitsuru for being so uncooperative for a change. Mitsuru had been very pushy towards Minako for her to join S.E.E.S, even ignoring Yukari's protest before Minako had accepted. Now on the other hand, she was rejecting two new potential recruits at the start, or seeming to at least..

But true to the title of the Ice Queen, Mitsuru did not even bat an eyelid and her own temper flared as the entire room started to be a little chilly due to the effects of Mitsuru's strengthened Persona powers.

'Well, I admit I was trying to surprise you with my find, Kirijo-san. She was a person I stumbled upon by pure accident. I wonder if there truly is any other Persona users out there.'

No one missed how Ikutsuki had called Mitsuru with 'Kirijo-san' rather than the more familiar Mitsuru, it was a sign of him getting upset at her, but Mitsuru had opened the first salvo by calling him Chairman instead of Ikutsuki-san as well. So it was the pot calling the kettle black.

..

'However you missed the fact that I am not your subordinate in S.E.E.S, I am the chairman and the lead advisor to S.E.E.S. I do not report to anyone but the Director of the Kirijo group. Know your limits, Kirijo-san. Even as the heir, there are boundaries you should not overstep.'

Ikutsuki was pulling his rank and authority here, but it didn't work on Mitsuru; the heiress of the Kirijo group barely flinched as she raised an eyebrow back in reply.

'Is that so, Chairman Ikutsuki? I assure you that this is well within the rights of the leader of S.E.E.S. I do not answer to you. I answer to the director as well. And as the leader, I would dearly like to be informed if there were any external recruitments that I am not made aware of. Having a new member is a good thing, but it is also with it's own risks. I am woefully unaware of what our new comrade would require, her psychological profile, her weapon speciality, additional training in combat and in her studies. Of course that is no even considering her mental state, what her personality and goals are like. Having a Persona is a great responsibility, if she does not have the maturity to handle it, we might be just opening a can of worms that we would have to spend resources to keep an eye on. Lastly, the best teammate and dynamics for her to perform her best during our missions, have you considered all those issues in your assessment of Yoshino Chidori.'

Mitsuru was sounding very condescending now and most of the members save for Akihiko and Shinjiro had taken a step backwards due to the dangerous aura she was emitting. Did they mention how there was the silhouette of Artemesia behind her right now? She was getting a very good grasp of power, she might be able to summon her Persona outside of the Dark Hour if this was any indication.

'…'

But Ikutsuki Shuji refused to be cowed by Mitsuru's display, in fact he even seemed a little interested and impressed at the way Mitsuru had manifested her Persona powers.

'Your Persona, it had evolved. This is similar to how Akihiko's Persona changed? Amazing! I was not aware of this change! What kind of powers had you unlocked, Mitsuru?'

Mitsuru had the grace to look surprise for a moment before raising an eyebrow at him. That wasn't how she expected him to react to her show of power, if she was not mistaken, he was holding himself remarkably well for not being a Persona user. How could... he do that? A Persona's presence was crushing by itself, she had felt the power of Minako's Persona crashing down on her and it wasn't pleasant, how could the chairman stand up to her Persona's presence without one himself?

Mental note to self, have Yamaghishi do a scan on the chairman, and soon.

'I've yet to experiment with it properly yet. From what I see I might have lost some of my scanning abilities and made it up with my combat abilities. My control over my element have increased as well.'

Mitsuru was enjoy this now as the immediate vicinity around her froze and expanded, slowly growing towards the chairman when Fuuka, Yamagishi of all people stood in to stop Mitsuru.

'I... think it's bad to hurt one another.'

Fuuka spoke so softly with her back to Ikutsuki. That way he couldn't see the stern and warning expression on Fuuka's face. It was good thing too as Mitsuru found herself hesitating in front of Fuuka's look more than the thought of hurting Ikutsuki.

If she had the choice, she would do that without a single moment of hesitation. Sadly, that choice was not open to her, yet, and the heiress narrowed her eyes before shaking her head.

'I apologize, I was out of hand there, Chairman, Fuuka.'

Mitsuru gave a small smile when Fuuka started at her calling her by her name and the cheeky tealette actually gave a small grin before schooling her features to a more respectable small smile.

'No harm done, really, no harm done. I guess we can call it a night now. Shall we go through some last things for the report? I would dearly like to see your new recruit soon, Aragaki. In a week then, hmm?'

Shinjiro didn't like the way Ikutsuki shrugged off what had happened so far, but he simply said nothing, only choosing to give Akihiko a friendly tap at his back to get him to remember what they were doing right now.

They were getting ready for the biggest farce of their lives regarding Yoshino Chidori.

It'll be good practice for Ken, maybe...

6/18 Thursday (Dark Hour)

Dormitory - Lounge

Yukari had persuade Junpei to sit together with her and Akihiko at the lounge while the chairman, Mitsuru and Fuuka monitored Chidori's situation. Shinjiro just barged into the room without being invited, but Akihiko remarked that he was just worried about leaving the two girls with that manipulative bastard.

Junpei had wanted to be there to check on Chidori, but Fuuka had quickly shot him down, declaring him a pervert for wanting to see Chidori in her pyjamas. It was only in jest of course, but Junpei had just blushed redder and gave up almost immediately without a fight.

Yukari hated to say it, but Junpei had it bad for this girl even if he might not have realized it. Perhaps he did, but again, this was a moot point. From what they knew of Chidori, she was their foe, part of an element that would cause harm and death to their members.

She absolutely could not be trusted. She was a spy, she had to be – but at the same time Yukari had to admit that Chidori sacrificing herself for Junpei was sweet and also very very bitter to swallow.

If it was not for Chidori, Junpei would be lost to them after being shot by Takaya in that fateful night. Granted, it would be taking place quite a while from now – but that did not make the scene less troubling.

Electronics didn't work in the dark hour, but items still functioned – meaning that firearms was one way to attack Persona users. Well, Persona users besides Minako at least – she had alluded that there were Personas in her arsenal that made her impervious to physical damage, but she could not discount the possibility that if she was shot, she would be unharmed.

She and her Personas were on a totally different scale altogether, and as proven before, she could even materialize and maintain Personas outside of battle. The flight she took on Thanatos was proof of that. None of them – barring Mitsuru and Minako herself, could lay claim to having so much control over their Personas. No, control wasn't the right word. The right phrase to use was: None of them were as connected to their Personas as they were.

Mitsuru's Persona, Artemisia was the silent Avatar of Mitsuru when she was extremely agitated and unable to conceal her true emotions with that stony and icy facade. For Minako, her Personas was simply a part of her, like an extended limb and she was always true to herself in battle.

Not so in her dealings with her friends in school of with S.E.E.S though, Minako had called herself a manipulative bitch, a term Yukari hated to accept, but was also – sadly true as well. That might have to do with how Minako had a mask that was stronger and more adaptable than Mitsuru ever had.

Junpei still had no idea on who Chidori was, Minako would do whatever she could to ensure that her true identity would not be compromised by anyone in S.E.E.S to Junpei. At the same time however, she did not say that others couldn't – was that on purpose? Or did Minako not realize that loophole? If it's the leader of S.E.E.S, Yukari was confident in saying that it was the latter – a loophole for herself to abuse.

..

Back to topic however, both Yukari and Mitsuru believed that being shot has nothing to do with the Persona's toughness or health, regardless of when they were in Tartarus or outside of the dungeon. it was an injury on the person's physical body after all and had nothing to do with their Personas. So that meant that Minako might not even be safe from a gunshot wound even if she summoned her Persona. Would a Persona even be able to stop a bullet? Yukari believed they could, Thanatos did interact with the environment when she sat on it's steel hands and it had carried her.

As Personas could no be physically manifested for long periods, one couldn't expect a Persona to block a bullet for them. However, at the same time, experiments had showed that users did retain the statistics, strengths and weakneses of their Personas while battling Shadows in Tartarus, that's why none of them were grievously hurt when the Shadows attacked them.

Would the same thing apply for weapons? Or perhaps it was a mental thing involved here. After all – S.E.E.S were all focused while fighting Shadows, so perhaps they needed to be mentally prepared in order for their Personas to help them.

That would explain how Shinjiro and Junpei were so grievously injured and died after being shot and it was a good theory, seeing how if they were ambushed, their physical abilities were greatly reduced and made them vulnerable to be attacked.

Still, it was an incomplete theory, and all of them came to the conclusion that regardless of whether it was true that Personas could protect them within the Dark Hour, they would be wearing at least some kind of armor in their excursions from now on to Tartarus, for insurance.

Of course, there was no hiding that from the Chairman as the funds for such equipment would be funded from S.E.E.S. Minako might be able to provide the best possible armor for fighting Shadows, but that did not mean that she had any sources she could tap on for bulletproof vests and etc.

Well, Shinjiro did mention that he was going to scour the black market for them, but that had it's own risks. So the Kirijo group would have to sponsor the items for them, it was the least they could do.

However, it has to be said that neither Minako nor Fuuka did had the chance to study the weapon that Takaya used against Shinjiro and Junpei. It could be that they were manufactured and created differently from normal firearms to enable them to harm Persona users as well. For all they knew, the chairman and his splinter group of scientists might have developed that during their experiments. They certainly had many test subjects for that, even if they were unwilling.

Yukari felt sick that Minako could consider that line of thought, but perhaps it wasn't that surprising seeing how much Minako went through. It should be a miracle that she had even been able and willing to help them despite having so many mental scars... then again, Yukari felt that she could never understand her best friend fully like how Fuuka could.

The two of them were close, closer than she was with her best friend and they had only met for barely two months now. But they were close, friends tied together by similar circumstances and that was why Yukari could accept it so easily.

They were each other's confidant, and Yukari was happy for them.

..

'So... do you think Chidori is a Persona user too?' Junpei broke the monotony of the situation by asking suddenly. The question caused Akihiko to snort as he looked up from his shadow-boxing.

The athletic boxer had been training very hard since his injuries were healed, and he treated the Dark Hour as just one extra hour for him to train without losing sleep. It was admirable to say the least.

'If she wasn't, the chairman wouldn't transfer her into the school and the dormitory without even asking Mitsuru... she's a Persona user.' Akihiko replied while looking at Yukari meaningfully.

The brunette wasn't sure what Akihiko wanted her to do, but she was going to try and figure out anyway.

'Sempai has a point, Junpei. Well, the more the merrier right? I just... don't quite like how the chairman is trying to mess around with S.E.E.S... he really isn't the kind man that I thought he was.'

Junpei nodded his head before putting a finger on his lip, a very un-Junpei like thing to do as he wanted her to be discrete.

'Well you know what they say, office politics and all that, Yukari-chi... It's not like we can do anything about it, but it'll be even worse if we discuss it behind their backs. … and who knows who might be listening in too.'

Junpei had a point and he turned the subject towards Chidori again.

'I'm just curious what weapon would Chidori be able to use? I mean, I have my long sword -'

'Which you don't use properly... who uses it like a baseball bat anyway!' Yukari interrupted him as he scowled at her.

'I'm a born batter, if it wasn't for my old man, I'll be hitting home runs with the best of them.' Junpei answered with a small frown but waved it off, switching topic as he pointed at Yukari.

'Yukari-chi has her bow, Sempai has his gloves, Kirijo-sempai has her rapier, Shinjiro-sempai with her battle axe and Minako-chan has her naginata. How did Minako-chan know how to use it in the first place?' Junpei asked suddenly till he frowned and shook his head.

'Scratch that, she's been using that for years... no wonder she's good at it.'

Left unsaid was the many years that Minako had to use it, or die trying. Either way – it was a painful thing to know.

'Fuuka doesn't need one... and we all know Minako-chan is teaching Ken-kun how to fight with a spear... but what can Chidori-chan use as a weapon?'

'Hmm... it's best for us not to use any repeated weapons for balance. So we can't use spears, naginatas, gloves, rapiers, bows, axes and long-swords... maybe a short sword?' Akihiko suggested while Yukari shook her head.

'We should let her have a ranged weapon instead? I mean, she's still new to Tartarus and fighting Shadows right? And it's not fair that only I get to fight at range... having someone else help me at the back would be great.'

Yukari suggested and was relieved when the other two nodded in agreement.

'Yeah, it'll be best if Chidori's at the back to help support us. We got your back, and you got ours right? Fuuka-chan suggested that we can start operating with two teams too. We mustn't hold Minako-chan back.'

'But I'm not sure... I can trust this... Chidori just yet... no offense, but Yukari has proven herself over the few months. Chidori hasn't... especially if she doesn't have any healing spells, it'll be very hard for the team she is assigned to.' Akihiko argued but before the two of them could continue the debate, Yukari stepped in.

'We can discuss this again when we know whether Chidori is a Persona user and what Persona she is able to summon. Speaking of which, what about her elemental affinity? Mine is for Garu, Junpei is Agi, sempai is Zio and Mitsuru sempai is Bufu right?'

All of their Personas have a primary elemental affinity and one weakness, they were lucky they didn't really overlap. Well – when Minako only had Orpheus, she overlapped with Junpei but when she had unleashed her potential, she had a spectrum of resistance, affinities and abilities due to her Wild Card ability.

'We do have all the elemental range covered – but what about Hama and Mudo? Those spells are nasty... I wouldn't want Chidori-chan to have a Mudo affinity...' Junpei shivered while Yukari smiled mischievously at him.

'Afraid that your angel is actually a devil? You're such a baby, Junpei.'

'S-Shut up... it's a valid concern! Those spells are nasty... you didn't get hit by a Mudo before...' Junpei sounded distress and Yukari stopped teasing him.

'It's... that bad huh?'

'One hit, and it's lights out... and you get nightmares... ugh, I don't want to talk about it...'

'Hama is different... you... get good dreams... but it's... the waking process that's so painful.' Akihiko mumbled and the two juniors fell silent at the melancholic look that Akihiko had on his face as he looked to the side.

'Well, we just have to wait for the results, eh?' Yukari tried to cheer the other two up as she waited for her friends to give them the expected news.

6/18 Thursday (Dark Hour)

Tatsumi Port Hospital

Arisato Minako, the Wild Card, practiced with her naginata in the hospital room she was stuck in. Just like Akihiko, she couldn't afford to stay out of shape – especially since she found out that Strega members, Takaya and Jin were actively out and about in the hospital. She wondered if they were here to keep tabs on her... but it was a matter for later.

Right now, she had to train, and ready herself to meet the dangers ahead – just like what she has done so before.