A/N: Welcome to Chapter 8! Thanks to all of you who are reading this story! Your support means the world to me. :)

Chapter 8

Riko and her companions emerged from the Velvet Room to find themselves halfway across the city.

"Now where are we?" Ulala asked, looking around. "None of this looks very familiar."
"I think this might be one the industrial districts," Katsuya theorized. "Look at how the buildings are made."

They all obediently looked, and, true enough, almost all of the buildings seemed to be made out of bricks, cement, or steel, most looking like warehouses or factories. Riko, who had an inherent dislike of buildings that resembled warehouses, shuddered. Thankfully, she was distracted when Lisa began jumping up and down excitedly. "Look, look!" she said. "Over there!"

Riko looked to where she was pointing and smiled despite herself.

It was a short squat building that seemed to be made completely from cement and cinder-block. Seika Metalworks, said the sign above the door; upon inspection, Riko saw that the letters of the sign had actually been cleverly hand-crafted out of metal. Cool.

The group exchanged looks then went inside.
"So," Riko said as they entered and went down the hall to the main shop area, "what's our plan here? Who needs weapons, besides me and Shun?"

"I have my sidearm," Katsuya replied, indicating the pistol holstered at his hip. "I could use some more ammo, though."

"I'll need a new sword," Tatsuya added. "I don't know what happened to my other one..."

"I threw it out," Katsuya said apologetically. "We weren't sure what might trigger your memories so May—I mean, Amano-san and I decided to get rid of anything that could possibly be considered a trigger. Sorry."

Riko managed to muffle her snort of laughter, but only barely. There was just something funny about picturing Katsuya finding a way to toss out a sword for his little brother's mental well-being. What did he do, she wondered, toss it in a dumpster? What would the trash collector think?

"I don't really need any weapons," Lisa said. "A new set of boxing gloves would be nice, but I doubt this place has something like that."

"You box, too?" Ulala asked, seeming pleased. "So do I." This was followed by a rather animated discussion between the two about uppercuts and jabs and various other things Riko did not understand but assumed had to do with boxing.

"Which leaves you," Shun remarked, looking over at Baofu.

"Nah, I'm good," the man said, flipping a strange-looking coin. "I'd worry more about what you're planning to get for yourself. How much experience with fighting do you even have?"

Shun shrugged. "Not much to speak of. A friend of mine in high school tried to get me into fencing for some reason, but it never really took. And one of my uncles took me to some martial arts lessons, but that wasn't really my sort of thing either."

"I'm sure we'll find something here that'll work for you," Riko assured him.

He smiled at her. "Thanks. And what about you?" he added. "I saw you fight, but it was just with your Persona."

"I've been meaning to get a real weapon for a little while now," she admitted as she pushed through the beaded curtain that separated the bizarrely long hallway from the main shop. "And I was part of an archery club during high school, so a bow would probably be best for me. " She was spared further discussion on the topic of weapons (which could have been dangerous considering the really lively debate Ulala and Lisa had gotten into over training techniques) by a greeting from what Riko assumed was the owner of the store.

"Welcome to my shop!" a red-haired woman called out, waving over at them from behind a counter cluttered with various metallic odds and ends. "I'm Seika, Seika Daidara! I've been messing around with metal and stuff since I was ten, thanks to my old man, so I've got loads of experience, and any requests you put in with me are sure to be fantastic! There's no one better for miles!"

Riko gave the woman an appraising look. She seemed to be in her thirties or so, with messy orange hair tied back in a ponytail. She was also buff. Way buff, which Riko supposed to be expected from someone who was the modern equivalent of a blacksmith. It certainly wasn't a job Riko would've wanted, and she found it supremely impressive that not only was this woman pursuing such a career path, but seemed to be genuinely enthusiastic about it. "It's nice to meet you," Riko said sincerely. "I'm Riko Yukimura. My...friends and I, we're looking for some...weapons, I guess you could say," she said, not sure how to phrase it diplomatically.

For whatever reason, this statement didn't seem to phase Seika even the slightest. "Oh, that's great! Weapons are my absolute favorite to make!" she gushed. "There's just something so wonderful about crafting something tailored to a unique individual, to make something that works like an extension of their self. Just tell me what you need, and I'll get to work on it right away!"

Well...Riko blinked. That was...refreshingly easy. "Okay. Right. Um..." She glanced around at the others, not sure if this was something she should really be taking the lead on, being very inexperienced compared to the battle veterans here.

Thankfully, Tatsuya stepped right up to the plate, speaking into the awkward silence easily. "I need a sword," he said. "Not a katana," he added. "Something more European-style. But not quite a broadsword. More of a hand-and-a-half sword, if that's alright."

"Oh, like a bastard sword?" Seika said cheerfully. "Yeah, I can do that for sure, no problem. Any preferences for decorative designs on the hilt or anything?"

Tatsuya shrugged. "Not really. Anything's fine."

With the initial awkwardness dispelled, Riko stepped up to the counter. "I'd like to put in an order, too, if that's okay."

"Of course!" Seika chirped. "What can I do for you?"

"I need a customized bow and some matching arrows," she answered. "I did some archery in high school, but I'd like a bow that's a little shorter than the ones used traditionally; I'm fairly short myself," she added with a wry smile, "so I'd like something that isn't twice my own height."

"Absolutely," Seika answered. "I can make just the thing. And how 'bout you?" she added, looking over at Shun. "What would you like?"

"Not sure," the young man said. "I don't have much experience with weapons, really. I honestly don't know what weapon would be best for me."

Seika gave him an appraising look, leaning forward and bracing her elbows on the counter. "Hmmm," she said speculatively. "Well, you could probably pull off a tradition weapon, like a katana or something like that. But honestly...you seem better suited to pole-arms, in my opinion. Yeah, a good naginata or spear...maybe a nice dual-ended glaive. Mm-hmm. Yes, that's it! A nice glaive with double blades. What do you think?"

Shun smiled. "Whatever you think best, Seika-san. You're the expert here."

The blacksmith woman clapped her handed delightedly. "Wonderful! I'm so excited! It's been so long since I had good requests like this! How 'bout any of the rest of you? Anything else you need?"

Riko's attention drifted as Katsuya put in a request for handgun ammunition ("How delightful!" Seika said happily. "I haven't had a request to make bullets in ages!"), Baofu asked for a series of coins made out of some sort of rare metal ("I heard a rumor once that it retains chi energy," Seika remarked with interest. "Should be fun!"), Ulala asked for specialized brass knuckles ("Spikes on the knuckles? What a lively woman you must be! We should get together for lunch sometime!"), and Lisa got a pair of reinforced boxing gloves ("Nothing wrong with something nice and simple," Seika said, though she looked disappointed at not needing to do anything overly creative).

Her gaze landed on a framed picture up on the wall; it was of a teenage version of Seika, standing next to an old man with the same fiery hair. He had a large x-shaped scar across his face and looked rather intimidating, but there was no denying the pride in his gaze as he looked down at the young Seika, who was proudly displaying a somewhat misshapen metal shield.

"My first 'successful' project," Seika commented, seeing where Riko was looking. "We both knew it was really terrible, but my old man never said so. He just seemed so damn pleased that I was excited about metalworks," she added with a smile. "I'm his only kid, and no one else in that middle of nowhere town ever showed much interest in his work. I heard his business has been doing fairly well recently, but before that he was keeping it open more out of tradition than anything. I think he was seriously considering closing it down, but once I started getting into it...well, it was like he caught his second wind, you know? I wasn't sure about moving here and starting my own shop once I finished my apprenticeship, but he convinced me to. And he's doing lots of good work of his own lately, so it's awesome all the way around." She blushed. "Look at me, going on and on about myself. Sorry."

Riko smiled. "No, it's fine. It's good you're both doing so well."

"Thanks," Seika said. "It helps to be doing something you love. Anyway," she added, "I have the estimated costs for the items you requested if you'd like to look over the invoice. It's just an estimate, of course; the real bill won't be ready until I actually complete the work. But if you'd like to look it over before you go...?"

A knot formed in Riko's stomach. Oh great, she thought glumly. More expenses. At this rate, she'd be dead broke within a week. "Sure," she said, trying her best to not look like she was sucking on a lemon.

"Here's the estimated breakdown and cost for your bow and arrows," Seika said, scribbling down the figures on a piece of paper for her. "It'll take me at least a week to do all the work for the bow, and another week to do up the arrows and quiver. The bow itself will cost 19,000¥. A batch of thirty arrows will be an additional 4,000¥, plus 8,000¥ for the quiver. If you want an actual case to carry the bow, that'll be another 10,000¥."

"No case," Riko said hastily. "I'll just sling it across my shoulders like they do in the movies. Anything else?" She really hoped not; this stupid bow was going to cost her almost 30,000¥ already. She didn't have that much money to begin with, and she highly doubted she could come up with it in two weeks, not if she kept up with her bills and rent. She certainly couldn't make enough money to pay for it at Kiki's; she could pull double-shifts for the next month and still not have enough. She recalled a couple times where Shadows had dropped money after being defeated (why, she did not know), and wondered if that might be a way to solve her problem...Hmmm.,,

She thought it over as Seika ran through the costs of the other requests with her companions, and then once that was over and done with (thank goodness) they all bid Seika a good day and left the shop.

"You're making a face," Shun informed her in a low voice as they followed behind the others on the way out.

"I am not," she said defensively. "This is my face; it always looks this way."

He rolled his eyes. "Not liking the cost of our weapons, I take it?" he said, not letting her sidestep the issue.

She sighed. "I just don't know how I'm going to pay for it, Shun."

"I can-"

"Don't you dare," she said warningly. "You are not paying for my bow and arrows, Shun Wakahisa, so don't even think about it. Absolutely not."

He laughed. "You're being ridiculous. I can afford it."

"But I can't have you paying for everything," she objected. "Seriously, that's not fair to you."

"I really don't-"

"If you want to spend obscene amounts of money for the group as a whole," she went, talking over him, "then I might, maybe, overlook it. But I can't let you spend that much on just me, Shun. It isn't right."

"What do you mean, just you?" he asked, looking faintly offended. "What's wrong with spending money on you?"

She stared at him like he was an alien from outer-space. "Because I'm not worth it, you idiot. Save it for something important."
"Your safety is very important," he told her seriously.

She gave an exasperated sigh. "Would you please just stop? Honestly" she insisted when he looked like he wanted to argue some more, "drop it. I'll work out a way to pay for it myself." She recalled her earlier idea and brightened. "Hey, if you're up for it, wanna go out Shadow-hunting when we get back? I know we need weapons for fighting the stronger ones, but if we stick to the same types as the ones we fought before, we should be able to manage with just our Personas."

He gave her an odd look. "Yeah, sure, I don't mind. But why the sudden urge to go out and battle? You seemed fairly content to leave things be so long as we moved forward with the list."

She shrugged. "Well, we need the combat experience, right? Might as well get started now. Besides," she added with a slight blush, "sometimes Shadows drop money, or things that can be sold off for money."
"Ah," Shun said. "I see."

"I did mention that I'm dead broke, right?"

He snorted. "You've told me a time or two, yeah." He gave her a crooked grin. "So you wanna go kick some Shadow ass for pocket money? I'm in. We'd better let the others know our plans, though," he added. "So they don't worry if we're out late or something."

Riko rolled her eyes. "I doubt they'd worry, but I guess it's only good manners to fill them in. Let's tell them once we get back."

Shun nodded. "Sounds good. But speaking of...how are we going to get back? I'm still not entirely sure where we are."

Riko considered that for a minute then heaved a great big sigh. "Me, neither. Guess we'd better catch up with the others huh?" She made a face and broke into a jog, heading forward towards the others, who'd pulled ahead by a block or two.

Shun shook his head, laughing, and ran to catch up with her. Even if this is dangerous and unexpected...it's turning out to be quite fun.

A/N: And that's Chapter 8. Sorry if it seems sort of sudden, Igor just sending them off to get weapons to fight an apparently random Shadow boss that's conveniently causing trouble for our group of heroes, but...I have my reasons, really. So for now just believe me when I say that this random Shadow wreaking havoc with the power grid isn't totally random, and will tie in to the main boss of the story. :)

Also, I'm quite pleased at that nice little Shun and Riko moment; it happened without any planning on my part, and I think it ended up quite nice despite being unplanned. :)

Oh, and did you guys figure out who Seika is? Or rather, whose daughter she is? Shouldn't be too hard to figure out. XD

In any case, if you've got a second drop me a review and let me know what you think. Feedback makes me happy. :)