Fate/Reach Out (Fate/Stay Night x Persona 4)

[Xamusel]

...Kieran, you raise the most perfect point possible, and I didn't really catch on until now. (/)_-)

Kudos... you just won the internet.

[Kieran]

I will use my prize wisely . . . Or at least, for my own amusement.

*Shakes head* In any case, I only thought of it recently myself, but I think the idea has potential - and if not here, certainly in a Persona 2 crossover. But I do wonder if that idea is planned for this, given that we already have Sacchin (a Melty Blood character, after all) in play here.

[Kishou the Badger]

Lol

As much as I would like to do that, I'm going to keep things strictly monogomous as far as relationships go. I feel too many other fate stories (or at least the ones I've read) like to go the harem route. I rather be daring and a bit more realistic.

[Xamusel]

So... Kishou, question for you: Will you put Wallachia inside of Inaba, or will that not come into play?

[Kishou the Badger]

Definitely not. Things are not going to escalate as badly as TATARI.

[Xamusel]

*phew* I was really worried about that being a possibility.

[Kishou the Badger]

I know I don't hang around here a lot, but I still like to share this story to those that like to read it. And wouldn't you know it, here's a new chapter before Christmas!

<><><>

Fate/Reach Out
Chapter 37: Boiling Tensions

<><><>

Deep in the Steamy Bathhouse

The first thing Kanji felt when he came to was that he was hot. Like, stuffy hot. He knew it was June, but this was unbearable. “Ugh, dammit Ma, would you turn the AC on or something?”

He blinked his groggy eyes awake, but it was soon clear that the room wasn’t hazy from his rousing eyes, but from smoke and steam. He didn’t remember his house being like this. In fact, this didn’t look like his house at all!

“The hell is this!?” Kanji shouted, but there was no answer.

It looked like he was in some sort of old-styled steam room usually found in resorts and inns and stuff. Filled with buff men in nothing but their towels… no way he was staying here.

“Geez, if this is Naoto’s idea for a prank, I’m gonna make sure he regrets it,” he grumbled, making his way to the door.

Leaving the cramped sauna room, Kanji walked down the left side of the long hallway, hoping to find a way out. He kept finding doors that led to other sauna rooms, and longer hallways even. It was soon clear that he was getting lost, and he felt creeped out as if there was someone, or something, watching him.

“Shit,” Kanji muttered, tugging the collar of his shirt. He had slept in shorts and his flaming skull tank-top, but he might as well be wearing leather slacks with how hot it was in this freaky place. “It’s so damn hot in here.”

It was getting harder to move, as if the heat itself was a weight bearing down on him. Part of him just wanted to try and sleep again, but he couldn’t. Not here. Not when he didn’t have any idea about how he ended up here, or that someone was still watching him from behind.

He almost gave up trying to find a way out when his search for an exit led him to some sort of built-in pool at the far end of the room.

“Hmm… maybe a morning soak will help,” he mused aloud. Not that he knew if it was morning or not. He reached for his shirt, ready to pull it over his head and set the clothes aside, when he realized he didn’t have anything else to wear. What could he go in, his underwear? Maybe try one of the towels lying around, but did he really want to look like some toga-wearing freak? In a bathhouse-like place where the guys get all flamboyant, flexing muscles and showing off their-

No. The clothes stay on. He decided to wring them dry back home later or something. He straightened his shirt and hopped into the pool. The water was heated as well, but in a way that just made him melt and feel at ease. So much he could close his eyes and lean back with a smile.

“Aaaaaah, that’s the stuff.” Despite the tension of being stuck in this weird place, Kanji allowed himself to relax in the moment.

<><><>

Steamy Bathhouse, Floor 2

Rise was no stranger to pressure or nerves. She’d never forget the feeling of first stepping before a live stage audience after months of preparation for songs and public speaking practice. So really, learning how to summon the inner will to fend off bloodthirsty monsters should be as easy on paper as well as execution.

But this was a worse feeling, she realized.

Yes, she was scared. Petrified even. Terrors of running from her Shadow doppelgängers and how her then-not-friends getting gored and blasted away was more traumatizing than any lynch mob her security might break up.

And her new friends, who also had that same near-death experience, didn’t hesitate at all in going after them. It didn’t matter what the Shadows looked like, or what strengths they had. They fought them indiscriminately just for being in the way of their search.

“Yosuke, switch to wind when needed, but stick to offense otherwise! Satonaka, stay with the others and mind your distance! Amagi, hang back with fire but mind your prana in case we need healing!”

“““Roger!”””

Shirou was so scarily efficient in treating this run as a training mission. He focused on all of his surroundings, ensuring that the Shadows never got the drop on them. He would always lead with spells on Shadows they hadn’t seen before to see what worked best and remembered those weaknesses (thanks in part to Teddie of course). He knew how his teammates worked best according to their Personas and strengths, giving curt orders to rein them back in.

No wonder he was the team leader.

“WATAAH!” Chie’s battlecry echoed through the freaky bathhouse as she roundhouse kicked the cop Shadow in the side of its hollowed-out gut. Her new weapon, a pair of fur boots that gave off an almost Viking-like vibe to them, seemed to ignite in fire with each kick. It looked like she was in her natural element.

“Satonaka, stay in formation,” Shirou ordered. His back was towards her, and he was busy swinging overhead at a cupid Shadow, but he knew where she was.

“Right! Sorry, these boots are just awesome. Thanks again, Emiya-kun!”

Meanwhile, Yukiko squared off with another cupid Shadow, extending her whole fan like a shield over her upper body. The Shadow pulled back its bowstring and launched an arrow, but she danced to the side and deflected it past her. Following up, she spun her fan’s edge down at the Shadow’s face which caused blackened muck to splatter out like blood.

Yosuke came in from behind and slashed both knives at the back of the weakened Shadow, killing it. Following up, he turned and slashed his Persona card. Jiraiya promptly blasted the boulder-shaped Shadow high enough to land it in a pool of boiling water behind it.

“Wow, that was really good, Hanamura-kun!” Yukiko smiled.

Normally he would have appreciated praise from Yukiko Amagi, but he had a girlfriend now and he had to be faithful to her. That, and his current track mind was having tunnel vision on the Shadows and nothing else. So much that he kept chanting “Just keep fighting, just keep fighting, just keep fighting, just keep fighting” like a mantra.

Before long, the skirmish ended and the path to the next stairway was clear. Shirou calmly sheathed his sword and told everyone to “take five”.

Rise found herself letting out a breath of relief she didn’t know she was holding and slumped down to the floor. Teddie and Tama immediately huddled up to her side. “Ugh, between the humidity and the fighting, I don’t think I can last much longer.”

“We have a lot more floors to go, but it might be best to head back after climbing the next set of stairs,” Shirou told her. “But before that, I think it’s time we teach you how to summon your Persona too.”

“Right,” Rise frowned. “Sorry, I must be dragging you guys down.”

Shirou shook his head and extended his hand to her. “I should be the one to apologize. With the rush to help Kanji, I forgot to help you summon your Persona first.”

It was always a tough transition for a new Persona user to figure out how to use their power. Shirou figured it out by virtue of being a magus and applying what he knew (even misinformed as it was) into practice. The others were just normal teenagers with simple problems and didn’t grasp the trick as easily as he did.

Helping the blushing girl back up, he stayed close to keep her upright. “It just requires a trick to do it, and once you get it, it’ll come naturally.”

Before he could rely this knowledge, Teddie’s nose twitched and he frantically waved to Shirou for his attention. “Sensei! There’s a Shadow nearby!” Sure enough, a grunt-like growl echoed around the bathhouse, causing the Investigation Team to tense in preparation again.

Shirou tsked. “Missed one. And it sounds close too.”

An aura suddenly flared around Rise. He saw her eyes closed and hands clenched as if in prayer. Himiko’s figure solidified behind her, with her hands down at Rise’s level and holding a golden visor over them. Rise opened her eyes and saw the world even more clearly combined with her glasses. Numbers and symbols flared, and she could see the figure of a Bribed Fuzz lurking behind a corner.

“There!” she cried out, pointing to the hiding Shadow.

“Ippon-Datara!” Shirou reacted first, summoning his blacksmith Persona. With surprising agility for a being with only one leg, he leaped forward like a whip with his hammer arm poised back to strike.

“SMAAAAAAAASH!”

With a battlecry fitting the sound effect, his hammer struck true and dispersed the Shadow in a single strike. The impact was hard enough to even crack the wood floor below. Having hoped to get the first strike itself, the Shadow was caught unaware by the counterattack and suffered a quick death.

Ippon-Datara looked further down the hall around the corner to be sure, before turning towards Shirou so his one eye made contact. “…Secure.” The Persona stated before he returned back to Shirou’s subconscious.

The team exhaled relieved breaths. “That was a close one. Thanks, Rise-chan!”

Rise smiled and nodded at Yukiko. Blinking, she realized what just happened, and jumped with a wider smile. “Hey! I did it! I summoned my Persona, Himiko!”

“And without my help at that,” Shirou said.

“Rise-chan’s amazing!” Teddie added.

“Hehe, thanks!” she giggled. “But wow… this is kind of weird. I feel like I’m seeing the world in three perspectives or something.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of wonky like that,” Yosuke started, before he double-took. “Wait, three? You should only see things in two.”

“Well, it’s more like two-and-a-half, really. I can see in front of me, and around Himiko, but also through this visor thing like it’s virtual reality, or some sort of spy-op game. There are numbers, charts, and maps flying all over it. I know if it was anything else I would probably go crazy trying to figure out, but it’s all easy enough for me to understand. I feel like I can see anything.”

“Really? Like what?” Yukiko asked.

“Let’s see…” Rise said, and stared more intently into Himiko’s visor. The shaman Persona moved her head much like a radar, back and forth slowly in a deliberate scan. “I… I can see Kanji. Two Kanjis actually. There’s a lot of Shadows up above, and some really big readings a few floors down. Must be those big guy Shadows at the entrance. And… I think there’s about a dozen floors total, give or take one below.”

“Tw-Twelve floors…?!” Yosuke gawked. He had hoped the dungeon would be a smaller one like Saki’s liquor store or Yukiko’s castle, but to have a dungeon being as large as Rise’s, if not larger, was something that made him very uneasy.

Shirou too was bothered by the news, but for different, less self-conscious reasons. “I was a bit afraid of that. Are these dungeons supposed to be getting bigger?”

“I know the cluttered emotions that come whenever someone is pushed in makes the Shadows more agitated, and thus stronger,” Teddie explained. “But I think a dozen floors is the max limit of how deep these places will ever go, because there’s only so much thoughts and emotion a person can have when they come here.”

“So we should just accept eleven or twelve as how deep these Shadow dungeons go?” Shirou asked, to which Teddie nodded.

“If it helps, we’re on the second floor right now, close to the stairway to the third,” Rise said. “So it’s only ten more floors to climb.”

“That’s awesome!” Chie cheered. “I mean, not that we still have a lot fighting to do, but the fact how your Persona is like a super radar!”

“Indeed. There’s only so much my nose can do,” Teddie added humbly.

Himiko vanished back to her subconscious, but Rise was decidedly not as excited as everyone else was. “Yeah, but…”

“What’s wrong, Rise-chan?"

“I’m sorry, it’s just, my Persona seems to only be good at seeing things and doing dungeon crawling support. I can’t move while she’s active so I’m just a dead weight when it comes to fighting.” She sighed bitterly, clenching her hand into a fist. “I was kind of hoping I could fight with you guys too…”

No one knew what to say. None of their awakenings were smooth transitions either, but they had weapons to fight with and some form of fitness thanks to P.E.. The closest Rise probably ever got to physical exercise was dancing, and that was rare.

Shirou and Teddie exchanged knowing glances and nodded.

“It’s a bigger responsibility than you may think, Rise,” Shirou told her. “That kind of ability blows away anything Teddie or I can do.”

“That’s right! You’re amazing, Rise-chan!” Teddie added. “You just need to have more confidence in yourself!”

Rise looked happy at the encouragement but still uncertain. “But… I don’t know how else to fight.”

“So? You’ll learn. None of us are experts in this sort of thing either, which is why we’re doing this as a team.”

Team… she could get used to that. She usually had back-up singers and always led the charge as an idol, but it felt nice to ease back a little as intended.

“Okay,” she nodded with a smile. “Thanks, guys."

“Great! Now we’re definitely one more Persona stronger for whatever comes our way!” Yosuke smiled and looked at everyone. “...can we leave now?”

Shirou fought the urge to sigh. “Yosuke, this is the third time you’ve asked that since we got here. Are you going to keep asking that every time we find the stairs?”

“Yes! Because Teddie’s dioramas only teleport us between the entrance and the flight of stairs!” It was sound reasoning to try and put off an escape route until reaching the next checkpoint, but Shirou had a feeling that Yosuke would demand escape constantly if Teddie wasn’t so reluctant to use a GoHo-M unless it was an absolute emergency. “Besides, you said we should head back after this next set of stairs! You said that!”

“I did, didn’t I?” Shirou noted aloud. He knew they hadn’t made much progress climbing floors, but that was due to taking the time to work on tactical maneuvers. After the near disaster that was Shadow Rise, Shirou knew they couldn’t face future Shadows without being a cohesive and well adapted team.

“I’m all for heading back,” Chie said. “Yukiko and Rise-chan are both exhausted, Homophobura here is close to a mental breakdown, and we’re still in debt paying Tama for the last batch of leaves we bought. We’re not exactly in top-shape to keep going.”

It was surprising to see Rise out of breath due to her lack of fighting, but there was a lot of running involved in finding and fighting Shadows. The sauna air didn’t make things easy either. He regretted not giving Rise enough time to adjust fighting with her Persona yet, but there was always next time. And there was time for Kanji until the next rainfall.

Weighing all those options, Shirou nodded. “All right. We’ll head back for now.”

“Oh, thank god,” Yosuke sighed with audible relief as Teddie puffed up a GoHo-M. Considering how well he held up, Shirou allowed him this.

<><><>

June 28th, Samegawa Flood Plain

The last few days were actually a blur and a bit hard for another get-together at Junes. Yosuke made it a point to keep putting it off with excuses like work or hanging out with his new girlfriend. Shirou, for his part, gave him his needed space to adjust while keeping himself occupied, hanging out with the other members of the Investigation Team, and even some time with the Dojimas during the evening.

Yesterday he helped fulfill another ema request for Tama, directing a lost dog back home. It was one of the harder good deeds he had to do, as the dog was not friendly or patient to strangers. But a little time, patience, and a steak skewer from Souzai Daigaku carried the day. Tama was pleased that another ema wish was granted, as it meant more people would pray at the shrine, and even waived him off the leaves bought at the striptease dungeon.

And the day before that, after retiring from the bathhouse, Shirou helped Yukiko do some last-minute grocery shopping. Yukiko was still serious in her endeavors to eventually leave Inaba, and after the disaster that was the camping trip, she had decided to practice. For better or worse, he agreed to help her by being her taste-tester.

Which led to today, sitting under the gazebo, staring at a neatly packed and visually appealing boxed lunch. Yukiko sat next to him, staring expectantly and trying to hide her… excitement? Nervousness? Pride? Shirou honestly wasn’t sure.

“Well?” she asked. “Go ahead and try it.”

Shirou just stared at it, keenly aware of the pungent smell it was giving off. “Did you taste it yourself?” he asked simply.

“No, I haven’t,” she admitted shyly. “I wanted you to be the first one to try it.”

Anyone else would have been touched and moved by a gesture as sweet as this. But Shirou wasn’t moved. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and her smile faded. “…are you sure this is edible?”

Yukiko pouted. Those were not the words she hoped to hear before a taste test. “It’s not poisonous.”

Shirou eyed the piece of food in his chopsticks with scrutiny. “Forgive me for being skeptical and experiencing PTSD after eating The Sin you and Satonaka made.”

Geez, it was hard enough due to him being a smartass about her cooking, but he was still holding that over her head too? “I wish you’d stop calling our cooking that.”

“Would you prefer… what did Yosuke call it again? ‘Mystery Food X’?”

Yukiko blushed. Both names were bad, actually. “Just eat it, already. Please.”

Shirou shrugged and did just that; he promised to taste this for her, and he couldn’t help her cooking (or Satonaka’s) without learning more about her quirks in cooking. He popped the bit of food in his mouth, and started to chew the soft omelet loo-

CRUNT!

…there was something inexplicably hard inside the morsel that couldn’t be chewed further. He was also picking up the raw, burnt taste coming out of it. It wanted to be anywhere but his stomach, that much is certain.

“Do it for her.”

Sarasvati was right. He needed to do this for Yukiko and help her grow as a proper cook. He taught someone how to cook once in Sakura, he could do it again. Even if it was becoming clear he would have to un-train Amagi and Satonaka first…

Fighting off the growing sense of nausea from the bite, he finally swallowed and eased his breathing. After a few tense seconds, he turned to Yukiko, still brimming with high expectations.

“It’s bad,” he said bluntly.

Yukiko’s mood soured immediately, as her head dropped down in depression.

“But I didn’t pass out. That’s a good sign of progress.”

“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better,” Yukiko lamented dryly.

Shirou sniffed the meal again, trying to pick out the smells in the plain-looking... mystery food, should he call it? Or minor sin? “I think you just tried to go too fast in style and flavor. I told you to stick with the basics, but you seemed to dump all the eggs, noodles and greens into one bowl while dabbing it completely in, what, four different condiments?”

“…five, actually.”

Shirou stared at her blankly, before picking up another piece of food with his chopsticks. Yukiko’s mood brightened, thinking he was going to give it another try. But instead, he held it towards her and said, “Your turn.”

“Eh?”

“Your skill level at cooking is simply abysmal. If you ever want to get better at cooking, you need to taste for yourself how bad the flavors are. Even if you followed the recipe to the letter, there are some things that instructions can’t tell you that taste buds can.”

“B-But I made it just for you,” she insisted.

“And it’s bad,” he told her again. “You need to properly understand exactly what makes your cooking bad so you can avoid doing it yourself. Honestly, you should have done that already, considering what your ‘curry’ turned into.”

Yukiko winced. Admittedly, the smell alone from the campout curry was enough to make her second guess herself, but it was just a fluke, she told herself. Just… conflicting cooking ideologies between herself and Chie. None of them were to blame for causing Emiya-kun and Hanamura-kun to pass out!

And if none of that was true, well… then it was Chie’s fault!

She knew her cooking wasn’t… great, per say. Not enough to be served at her family inn, but she had never cared before. Maybe if she just stared at him cutely enough, he would back off? It seemed to work in getting a few boys to leave her alone, lately.

“How are you ever going to live on your own if you can’t even bother to eat your own food?”

…nope, he wasn’t budging. Maybe he didn’t think she was cute enough?

Not really. What she didn’t know was that Shirou almost gave in right then and there, until Sarasvati reminded him that she was uncertain of her own talents, preferring to shy away from them. It was enough to push forward and insist that she wanted to leave Inaba, she needed to do this for herself.

Sighing, Yukiko opened her mouth and accepted Emiya-kun’s offering. Even if it was the food meant for him, he was feeding her. The thought alone brought a smile and flush to her cheeks as she started to…

To…

Oh goodness.

OH GOODNESS GRACIOUS!

“BLUACK!” she spat the food out on the ground in front of them before coughing. She thought she could block out the smell if that was the only problem, but it was like trying to like a smoldering ball of ash hardened into a mud-covered rock. Nevermind swallowing it; she couldn’t hope to chew it without feeling grossed out.

“Water! Water!” she cried, fanning her tongue and looking around their seats. She was so glad she thought to bring bottled water for this lunch date, and that Shirou opened one for her before handing it over. She guzzled it down so fast and clumsily that some droplets spilled down the sides of her cheeks and chin, even staining the top of her sweater.

Shirou patiently waited for her to finish drinking, gasping for breath as the foul taste was cleansed from her mouth. “You understand, now?” he asked her.

Oh, she did. She knew her cooking was bad from what people had told her, but she never actually knew how bad. She’d never felt so fearful for her life eating something before. That it came from her own hand was terrifying. And to think the Sin, the Mystery Food X, was enough to make Emiya-kun and Hanamura-kun enter a near death state…

Guilt and horror from the campout incident resurfaced, as she hugged him tight with tears bawling out her eyes. “I’M SO SORRY, EMIYA-KUUUUN!” she wailed.

Shirou stiffened and blushed. He didn’t expect such a reaction from her, and he felt bad making her suddenly cry like this. “U-Uh… there, there, Amagi?” he said awkwardly, patting her back.

A few minutes passed as she calmed down and dried out the tears in her eyes. They were now glinting with an odd mix of determination and pity. “I,” she sniffled. “I promise to do better for your stomach’s sake, Emiya-kun!”

“That’s… great?” Well, as long as she was going to do better cooking now, this was fine, right?

“Hey, big bro!”

Shirou was instantly relieved and happy to see Nanako skip over to them. The feeling was mutual, as the young girl was acting a lot more cheerful since Golden Week. By now she was familiar with all of Shirou’s friends, and it was fairly common for her to drop in and ask what they were doing. Like right now. “What are you two doing?”

“Just practicing my cooking and having Emiya-kun here try it.” Yukiko explaining, looking at the box lunch on Shirou’s lap.

“Can I have some too?”

““NO!””

Nanako flinched at both teens’ immediate outburst. Shirou pulled the box lunch away and Yukiko’s hands were spread-out forward to stop her, both wide-eyed with fearful expressions.

Seeing the younger girl confused and hurt, Yukiko waved off her protective reflex and smiled. “I-I mean, you wouldn’t like it, Nanako-chan! It’s… not very good…”

“Oh, okay,” she nodded. “Then I’ll just have some when you make a good boxed lunch!”

Nanako was so simple and innocent. It was a matter of “when” the food would be good rather than “never” to her, and she was willing to wait until that happened. It was the kind of confidence boost Yukiko didn’t even know she needed, which was why she was speechless.

Realizing that fact, Shirou smiled and answered on his friend’s behalf. “I’m sure she’ll like that very much, Nanako.”

“Yay!” Nanako cheered. “I’ll be rooting for you!”

“Y-Yes! I’ll do my best, thank you Nanako-chan!” Yukiko smiled.

They waved and watched Nanako hurry on to her friend’s house. When the younger girl was out of earshot, Yukiko sighed. “This… didn’t turn out at all like I had hoped. Sorry.”

“You’re not going to hug me and cry on my shoulder again, are you?”

“No!” she squawked, more embarrassed than offended. “Maybe…”

“Relax, it’s fine,” Shirou told her. “Teasing aside, we all have our strengths. And I’ll keep eating whatever you make until you get good enough to serve it to Nanako too.”

“Really?”

“Really. It’s the least I can do after all the times your healing helped us in the TV world. I’m counting on you.”

Yukiko’s face burned brighter as she looked away. “Th-That’s my line,” she stammered. But it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, really…

<><><>

Steamy Bathhouse

Kanji had lost track of time and what was going on. Soaking in the bath helped a bit, but that endeavor made his clothes wet and sticky. Maybe he should strip down next time he needed a soak. There was nothing else to do, anyway.

At first, this was kind of nice. No one around to scream or judge him, and he could relax as long as he needed. Finally, some time to himself to cool off, and maybe wait until someone did find him.

But now it was just effin’ creepy. He had seen no one for… hours? Days? He didn’t even know how long he had been stuck in this place and it was something that both scared him and infuriated him. Not that he would ever show that weakness to others. Part of him felt that he really wasn’t alone here and that someone was watching him.

“Stop hiding and show yourself already you bastard!” he screamed as he ran through the halls. He rested enough to try wandering the place, but his stamina wasn’t like it used to be. Something about this crazy sauna made him just want to sleep and tune out everything.

“Oh, but I’m not decent!”

Kanji stiffened. He was both relieved and rather scared that he’d heard someone for the first time since he got here. Something about the voice sounded familiar, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. He turned around to see the newcomer.

It was a man with bleached hair smiling and reclining in a pool of waist-deep water. Kanji quickly realized he looked just like himself, and that he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Oh god was he-?!

“THE FLIPPIN’ A!?!” Kanji wailed as he jumped away.

“Hiya, handsome!” The double waved at him, grinning and opening one eye to look at him. His eye was that of a cat’s, gleaming a bright yellow gold. “Sooooo glad I finally found you!”

‘Found me’? What the hell was this guy going on about? “Who the hell are you?!”

“I’m you, obviously. Don’t you notice the muscles, the scars, and the other subtle male charms? I’ve been looking everywhere for you, you know.”

Talking to himself? This had to be a dream, right? He had been wandering for so long that the smoke was getting to him. Yeah, that’s it. Thinking about it like that, he was willing to accept this for the moment. But it was still creepy as hell.

“Th-Then why are you…?” he pointed, but couldn’t finish the sentence, as his mind was still processing what was going on. Luckily, or perhaps unfortunately, the other Kanji smiled coyly while splashing the water with his feet.

“Well, it took so long to find you, you know, but when I did, I was trying to think how to make a good first impression. You didn’t seem to be causing a hassle running around like a headless chicken, so I’m just taking it easy cooling off here. And what a rest, my feet are KILLING ME. But enough gabbing, come on in! The water’s great!”

“The hell I’m going in the same pool with a lookalike! Hell, I wouldn’t share a pool with another guy period, much less someone who’s naked!”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not naked, just a little indecent. I’m wearing a towel hugging my crotch and showing off ALL my curves.”

“Men don’t have curves!” Kanji screamed.

The golden-eyed Kanji’s smile never left his face. It was honestly creepy seeing him grin like that. “Aww, don’t be like that. We’re both guys here! No evil hussies are here to muck everything up!”

“Hu-Hussies?” Something about that word struck a nerve with him.

“You know, girls! Aren’t they just the worst?! Always lying, always gossiping, and able to get away with double-standards because they’re ‘sooooo sexyyyy’,” For the first time the other Kanji’s smile dropped, especially as he dragged the last two words sarcastically. “You can never trust such two-faced bitches. Much less Shana-chan.”

Kanji’s face paled. He didn’t know how or why, but this other guy knew Shana-chan… and his words hit a little too close to home. A long pause followed before the doppelgänger pulled up a long clear sponge lathered in some soap. “Hechima?”

Kanji had heard enough from this guy. He needed to get out now. Without a word, he bolted further down the hallway, looking for what looks like an exit.

The other Kanji just reclined further back and smiled as he lathered himself. “You can run all you want darling, but you can’t hide! Especially not from yourself!”

Himself? Ha, no, he was a man. A man always faces their problems head-on, and right now he was getting away from this deathtrap. If he couldn’t, then he had to hope someone from the outside would get him out. Naoto, his ma, anyone… surely SOMEONE was going to get him out of this crazy hell, right? Right?!

<><><>

June 29th, Okina Station

“Sorry dude, BZ 2day @ Junes. L8r?”

Shirou read over the text Yosuke left him over and over again. Even after replying back with a simple “okay”, he still couldn’t believe his friend was putting off Kanji’s rescue for so long. By now the police and locals of Inaba were convinced he had been kidnapped by the culprit after being absent from school for so many days. The only thing holding the Investigation Team back searching was Yosuke, as they promised to always go together as a team, and yet he always had an excuse these days.

He was fine for waiting if they were ready, and he could understand if Yosuke had personal conflicts going back to the bathhouse, but they were running out of time. The weather report said it would rain later in the week.

“I’m done, Shirou-senpai!”

Shirou pocketed his phone and greeted the voice coming out of Croco Fur. “I see you got everything you need?”

“Yep! Grandma’s allowance for the tofu job is kind of cheap compared to Inoue’s checks, but the stuff here was within budget anyway!”

Rise carried four shopping bags under her arms proudly and smiled through her incognito disguise of a white hat, wide sunglasses, and her hair let down. Instead of her school uniform, she was now wearing a white blouse over orange shorts and black leggings. She made a quick turn-around so he could see all sides of her attire. “So, how do I look?"

“Pretty nice,” he said. “I hardly recognize you.”

“That’s kind of the idea,” she told him. “I’m done with showbiz, so I need to keep my wardrobe updated so I can hang out in Okina without getting hounded by the paparazzi until they get the hint.”

As best as Rise’s efforts to stay hidden were, they didn’t last long when word of mouth got out. By now every Risette fan with an ear on the floor knew that Rise was currently living in Inaba. Aside from a boost of tourism for the Amagi Inn, not much had happened since. In a few months, maybe she could wander around Okina without worry of someone hounding her.

“Was this shopping trip really necessary though?” Shirou asked. “I thought idols as popular as yourself would have a ton of clothes already.”

“Well, most of them are costumes to begin with,” she shrugged. “I also left on short notice. I didn’t want to waste any time packing my bags and making it a bigger deal that it already was. Perhaps if I had been more patient or spoke out sooner…”

He frowned, saying the only thing he could think of. “Sorry.” The whole mess with her quitting as an idol couldn’t have come at a worse time. He could only imagine how traumatic it was for her, or any of his friends for that matter.

But Rise smiled and shrugged it off. “It’s not your fault, senpai. I quit because I needed a look in the mirror, anyway. And besides…” Her smile grew as she stared pointedly at him. “I wouldn’t have gotten to meet my new friends. Like you.”

“I-I see…” Shirou coughed nervously and looked away, blushing. It just made Rise giggle, finding his shyness adorable. Man, if Shinji ever found out about this…

“But seriously, you could have asked Satonaka or Amagi to do this with you. Girls know what other girls should wear, right?” It was one thing he still didn’t quite get. It was never the fact that he wouldn’t do things for his friends if they asked, but he thought the girls would think twice before asking him for a favor, Social Link or no Social Link.

“Maybe, but guys know what they think looks cute on the girl they like,” Rise told him. Then she pouted. “You do like me, don’t you Shirou-senpai?”

The next words left Shirou’s mouth without thinking. “Is this one of those trick questions girls like to ask so much?”

Rise blinked, giving him a sense of urgency that he might have offended her. The moment passed when she just laughed. “You’re so funny, senpai!”

“So I’ve been told,” he said. Lately, he found himself less inclined to keep his thoughts to himself. Had he shown this side of himself to anyone back at Homurahara, they’d probably see him as some sort of enigma or freak. But after seeing the extremity of his friend’s Shadows born out of suppressed issues, something clicked within him that his own secrets weren’t that big of a deal.

At least the ones he was willing to tell.

“I just… think you were the best person to ask.”

Shirou blinked out of his reverie. “Huh?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong. Chie-chan and Yuki-chan are great, and Yosuke-senpai’s… well, someone likes him so he’s kind of busy with his own thing! But you’re open, and you recently moved into Inaba too, so you probably have an idea of where to find fun hang-outs and stuff. I’d feel more comfortable hanging out with someone in case other people recognize me.”

Fun hang-outs? Shirou didn’t think of himself as social or outgoing like Rise. Well, it was true he had been more active since coming to Inaba, he just wasn’t sure if he knew the kind of places she would enjoy. “I’m not sure if I know the kind of places you would like to hang-out,” he admitted. “But I guess it wouldn’t hurt for us to explore Inaba together.”

“Really? Woo-hoo!” Rise jumped and cheered. Part of her didn’t think Shirou would go along with her request, but he did and everything was perfect!

Well, almost.

“There’s just one thing I need to ask,” she said seriously, lowering her glasses enough to show a disapproving frown. “I’ve noticed you’ve been getting chummy with the other girls on the team. You’re not going to lead any of us on, are you?”

“Wha-?”

“She’s asking if you plan to act on debauchery.”

Angel’s voice, coupled with a memory of a specific phone call with Yosuke, suddenly flashed in Shirou’s memory brightly enough to make him pale and blush in quick succession. “N-NO! Of course not!” He would never think about cheating. That kind of emotional manipulation was exactly what he feared happening with Social Links. Even if he did somehow pull that off, Fuji-nee would definitely make him regret it.

Rise smiled, satisfied and happy with his response. “Ah, that’s good! I would hate to think you were some playboy.” She then leaned in and gave him a wink. “Now all I have to do is woo you with my cute charm, Shi-rou-Sen-pai!”

He… didn’t know what to make of that comment honestly, so he just glared at her. He was still blushing though, so he unintentionally amused her more. He just wished everyone would stop hounding him about his love life. But even so… he felt he could understand and appreciate Rise’s eagerness and friendly behavior. He never expected a former idol to be so approachable, but perhaps that’s why so many people loved her as Risette. Some of that behavior was present as Rise.

His senses dimmed as the card marked by “VI” appeared in his mind’s eye. A black ink heart in a pink backdrop filled up most of the image of the card. From under the heart and cutting the face into thirds was a tree with fruit dropping off the lower branches. The heart looked like it was being cradled by hands from above and a sun hovered over it. From the lower corners on each side of the tree were two figures in their own colored sections; a silhouette of a man in the left indigo corner, and a silhouette of a woman in the right magenta corner.

I am thou, and thou art I.
Thou hast established a new bond.
It shall bring thee closer to the truth.
Thou shalt be blessed by Personae of the Lovers Arcana.

“Now come on!” Rise smiled, latching onto his arm with both of hers, and started dragging him away from the station. “Let’s have a tour of Okina so we can decide what to do the next time we come here!”

Shirou sighed, but still allowed himself to be led along by her. “Isn’t this the part where the girl wants to do something fun, rather than sightsee?”

“Oh Shirou-senpai! Being with a guy like you is the fun part!”

<><><>

June 30th, Shopping District, Souzai Daigaku

I’m the luckiest guy alive.

That was what Yosuke thought as he sat and stared at his girlfriend across the table they had sat down at together. Nothing but sitting and eating, and occasionally flirting. “Your smile looks so adorable, Sacchin.”

Sacchin gave him that same smile between bites of her steak skewer. “You’re pretty cute yourself, Yosuke-kun!”

They laughed and smiled.

Every time he saw the cute angel that was Satsuki Kubo, he just felt so giddy and light. She wanted nothing more than to spend as much time with him as possible. Sitting at the food court while he worked at Junes. Waiting for him at the school gate when school ends. Late night texts that sometimes share pictures that slowly get more and more… daring.

It was times like these being with her that he felt he didn’t have a care in the world, not having to worry about stuff.

I think there’s something important to do, though. Was it homework? Well, that can wait until later.

Sure, the Souzai Daigaku wasn’t a very good place to set up a date, but frankly he didn’t care. And let the people gossip all about him and his family. It meant nothing as long as he was with Sacchin.

Then again…

“You sure you don’t mind me being here?” Yosuke asked her. Just because the stigmata might not bother him, it might make things harder for Sacchin like with Saki-senpai.

“The only one complaining is my younger brother, and even then, he keeps skipping out on his job,” Sacchin said. She then looked over her shoulder before leaning in with a whisper. “Between you and me, he likes to complain about everything that isn’t a video game or superhero comic.”

“Well, who doesn’t like a good video game or superhero story?” Yosuke smiled back.

Younger brother… something familiar about this. Ah, right, Saki-senpai had one too.

“Think I could meet him at some point?” he asked. Being friendly with a girl’s family members always scored points with being better boyfriend/girlfriend material.

“Not for a while,” she shook her head. “He doesn’t like going outside, and he’s been very seclusive after a run-in with Tatsumi-kun.”

“Tatsumi? That sounds familiar…” Yosuke noted aloud. Wait, does she mean Kan-

“Say, how about you visit my house for the weekend?” she asked suddenly. “It’s just me and my brother, and if you like video games, maybe you two can get along.”

“’For the weekend’? This weekend?” Yosuke asked. “I don’t know… it’s going to be raining, isn’t it?”

“I always thought the rainy weather to be pleasant, honestly,” she said softly. “Everything in the land gets cleansed and the sound of drops is relaxing. Especially in a romantic night…”

“R-Romantic…?” Yosuke’s cheeks started to color. Surely, she couldn’t mean… this early in their relationship?!

“Well, it is our one-week anniversary, today,” Sacchin said. “You said you wanted to take me out to someplace special than Junes, but I think you deserve something a little special for our milestone, just like how you like to spoil me.”

And what a milestone! If he did everything right, he might even pass Shirou Emiya in reaching manhood first!

Shirou Emiya… wait, he asked me something lately.

“Uh… I might need to check my calendar for that,” Yosuke said, reaching for his phone, and surprised to see it turned off. Wait, don’t I always have this on?

Sacchin reached over and touched his other arm on the table. Their eyes met. “Surely you don’t need to make time for me, do you Yosuke-kun?”

Yosuke didn’t know what to say. But then, he didn’t need to say anything because of how touched and happy he was. He really was lucky and happy to have met her.

Still, I feel like I’m forgetting something… something very important. What IS this something?

He started to feel Sacchin’s leg slide up against his, slowly and seductively. That definitely promised something to look forward to.

Well… maybe it’s not that important as the girl in front of me. I mean, heck, she’s asking me to spend the weekend at her place! That shouldn’t even be a question!

“Well, Yosuke-kun?” she asked again, batting her eyelashes at him.

Yosuke sighed but smiled. He just couldn’t say no to her. “Sacchin, I would love to-“

“So this is where you are.”

Yosuke snapped out of his emotional trance, and paled. Standing behind him with a deadpan stare was his red-haired classmate. “Sh-Sh-Sh-Sh-SHIT-irou! Wh-Wh-What a surprise!” On the outside, Yosuke tried to play it off cool, despite slipping his tongue making a slight curse.

But mentally he was hyperventilating, as the memory of their last shared texts came to mind. Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP! I KNEW I was forgetting something!!

Shirou ignored him, turning to the girl sitting at the other end. “Satsuki Kubo, was it? Yosuke told me quite a number of glowing compliments about you. Pleasure to meet you.”

“And you must be Shirou Emiya. Likewise.” She extended a hand out to him. He politely shook it as brief as possible.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your date, and I normally wouldn’t impose on a ‘one-week anniversary’ plan…” Yosuke gulped at how dryly Shirou phrased that. “But I’m going to need your boyfriend for the night.”

“Aww… can’t he stay?” she asked while leaning in and batting her eyelashes. Yosuke loved that about her. She just looked so mesmerizing like-

“No."

Sacchin blinked. “Wh-What?”

“I’m sorry, but no,” Shirou told her simply. “I’m afraid this is rather urgent. In fact, Yosuke is going to be busy with me and my friends for the rest of the week. Aren’t you, Yosuke?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.” Yosuke was honestly just as stunned as Sacchin. He didn’t think anyone ever turned down Sacchin’s charm that bluntly.

“Good. Satonaka and the others are waiting for us at the food court. We have a big D&D session to catch up on.” Shirou did not wait for Satsuki or Yosuke to leave a comment before grabbing the latter by his wrist and dragging him to the hilltop bus stop.

“Uh, call you later, Sacchin!” Yosuke waved and called out to her.

When the two of them were at the stop, Shirou let go of Yosuke’s hand… and then quickly smacked the back of his head. “OW! I thought that was my thing!”

“Your one day off on your ‘busy schedule’ all week and the first chance you get, you’re out dating again?” Shirou snarled. “I’m starting to think Morooka-sensei had a point about his rants on debauchery.”

“I-It wasn’t like that!”

“Then why was your phone off? Satonaka and I have been trying to call and text you for the last hour.”

“I don’t know!” Yosuke snapped. He had been surprised seeing that himself but didn’t have any time to question it.

“You were the one who said we shouldn’t go in unless we were a full team,” Shirou reminded gravely. “We’ve all been waiting on you for days, and you were just making weekend plans with your girlfriend?!”

“I’m sorry, okay!?”

A long moment passed after Yosuke’s outburst, breaking the tension between them. Yosuke almost immediately deflated, and his head sank down. “I just… for the first time I feel like I’m somebody important. A guy with a great girlfriend doting on him, and then I guess I let it get to my head.”

Shirou frowned, thinking back to the time he spent with the others the last few days. “I guess I can kind of understand that. Having breaks like these from fighting Shadows is more tempting and rewarding than going back in there.

“But we can’t just keep sitting idly by. Kanji Tatsumi is still missing, and time’s running out for when we can rescue him. Because after tomorrow, it’s going to start raining for the next three days.”

“Man, we always seem to be cutting these rescues close, huh?” Yosuke weakly joked. Shirou didn’t laugh, and honestly, Yosuke didn’t either.

The wait for the bus seemed to take longer than usual, so Shirou (with only a little urging from Pixie) coughed before starting a new topic. “So, uh… what’s it like having a girlfriend?”

“Oh, it’s amazing!” Yosuke gushed, almost blooming with vigor. “She’s sweet and funny, she laughs at all my jokes, always makes time to see me, man I could go on and on about how awesome she is!”

“Please don’t,” Shirou groaned, already regretting asking. Yosuke just laughed more, thinking more about how happy he’s been being around her. But as he did, he also recalled something else.

“But you know, the weird thing is that whenever I’m with her, I seem to forget everything else but her.”

Shirou looked baffled. “I thought you liked having a girlfriend, though.”

“I do! She’s great, but… I want some me-time to myself, you know? She’s been bothering me all week, even when I’m at work. It was like there was this nagging sensation in my head that made me forget everything but her. It felt nice at the time, but then I just… forget what I was supposed to do.”

Shirou stared at him intently. Yosuke took that to mean he was being annoyed again and scratched this chin nervously. “Yeah, I know, sounds weird and sketchy. She’s not a bad girl though, honest!”

“I see…”

The bus finally started to appear from further down the road. “Are you prepared for this, Yosuke? You know we have to go back to the bathhouse.”

“Yeah, I’m good. I’ve had enough time to prove and bolster my red-blooded self.” He was almost looking forward to seeing those two burly Guys again. If only to scream and ram his knives into their faces with testosterones pulsing.

“Good. Because we’re going to save Kanji, and you have no excuse to complain about leaving after all the time we waited on you.”

Yosuke winced, wishing he had more time to spend with his girlfriend. “…fair enough.”

“One last thing.”

Before Yosuke knew it, Shirou suddenly kicked him hard enough in his right shin to knock him off his feet. He swore he felt a static shock from that blow too, and he cradled his leg in agony. “OW! Sonova-! What the hell, man?!”

“That was from Satonaka,” he told him. “I told her I’d do it on her behalf since she planned to hit you in a particular part of your body. Again.”

He soon realized that his friend spared him from a horrible, painful fate by enacting a lesser one. Tears of gratitude started to mix with those of pain. “Th-Thanks a million, Shirou.”

“Don’t mention it,” Shirou said, and helped him up to climb onto the bus as it arrived.

<><><>

.

.

.

Neither boy noticed Satsuki staring at them the whole time since they left the skewer stand. “That Emiya boy shrugged off my hypnosis,” she muttered. “Interesting.”

[Kieran]

[COLOR=#CCCCCC][FONT=tahoma]I know I don't hang around here a lot, but I still like to share this story to those that like to read it.

And we who eagerly await it appreciate it!

And wouldn't you know it, here's a new chapter before Christmas!

Yay! Thank you very much.


. . . I have to admit, as much as I love Yukiko, I find your characterisation of Rise more compelling - I could practically see the "relationship up flower burst" (with accompanying chime) during their not-a-date. She is just so adorable . . . And so dead if Sakura ever finds out about this.

Really, I think Marie is the only one capable of surviving the Homurahara Harem - or Margaret, but she doesn't work that way (at least, in-game) . . . Although, that's with Narukami; we both know that Shirou has far more luck when it comes to romancing supernatural entities, even ones that know better.


. . . And right - it's been long enough that I had forgotten that Sacchin was around. Cue resumption of existential dread . . . *Shivers*

[MWkillkenny84]

. . . I have to admit, as much as I love Yukiko, I find your characterisation of Rise more compelling - I could practically see the "relationship up flower burst" (with accompanying chime) during their not-a-date. She is just so adorable . . . And so dead if Sakura ever finds out about this.

Really, I think Marie is the only one capable of surviving the Homurahara Harem - or Margaret, but she doesn't work that way (at least, in-game) . . . Although, that's with Narukami; we both know that Shirou has far more luck when it comes to romancing supernatural entities, even ones that know better.


. . . And right - it's been long enough that I had forgotten that Sacchin was around. Cue resumption of existential dread . . . *Shivers*

... and who is to say that Rise will not suggest to Sakura that the two of them were to join forces to share Shirou-senpai (remember, Sakura is Rin's sister, and both of them are She of the Threesome Ending, if what is implied in Heaven's Feel Good Ending of the relationship between Sakura, Shirou and Medusa is true) and fend off the competition from the respective cities .

[forumghost]

... and who is to say that Rise will not suggest to Sakura that the two of them were to join forces to share Shirou-senpai (remember, Sakura is Rin's sister, and both of them are She of the Threesome Ending, if what is implied in Heaven's Feel Good Ending of the relationship between Sakura, Shirou and Medusa is true) and fend off the competition from the respective cities .

Because Sakura and Rise are both Clingy and easily Jealous. If they had an alliance it'd only be to keep the other Girls away while they schemed to destroy one another for the title of one-true-kouhai

[Kieran]

That, basically - that's why I think it's going to have to be Marie (. . . or Margaret). Which is far from bad - nay, 'tis eagerly anticipated! - but it's still a shame, in some ways.

[warellis]

That, basically - that's why I think it's going to have to be Marie (. . . or Margaret). Which is far from bad - nay, 'tis eagerly anticipated! - but it's still a shame, in some ways.

Between Margaret & Marie, Margaret is probably the better choice I'd say. :P

Because Sakura and Rise are both Clingy and easily Jealous. If they had an alliance it'd only be to keep the other Girls away while they schemed to destroy one another for the title of one-true-kouhai

So, how would the two fight for the title of "one-true-kouhai?"

[Kishou the Badger]

At the very least, outside of some joke/non-canon stuff, there won't be any harem stuff. Which I admit is kind of hard with how fun it is writing characters (especially the female ones) but I want to make F/RO stand out more from other Shirou-centric stories that just throw that open relationship thing for viewership.

As for the kouhai girls, Rise would probably declare a cook-off, thinking it would be an easy win. Only for Sakura to best her easy and poor Rise scrambling to think of other good wife contests...

[Kieran]

At the very least, outside of some joke/non-canon stuff, there won't be any harem stuff. Which I admit is kind of hard with how fun it is writing characters (especially the female ones) but I want to make F/RO stand out more from other Shirou-centric stories that just throw that open relationship thing for viewership.

That's certainly fair - and it's not as though I expect any harem stuff, either. Shirou's really not built that way (Rin, yes, but not Shirou). But it is a Persona story, and relationship shenanigans are part of the fun.

As for the kouhai girls, Rise would probably declare a cook-off, thinking it would be an easy win. Only for Sakura to best her easy and poor Rise scrambling to think of other good wife contests...

While those of us watching pity the fact that it's too early for Rider to show up and give Rise-chan a shovel speech.

[forumghost]

I mean Rise will definitely lose that fight, but you still shouldn't underestimate her.

While Sakura is being smug and postulating her victory, Rise will have an emotional breakdown on Shirou's shoulder and convince him to give her lots of 'private lessons' to catch up to her.

[Kishou the Badger]

Chapter 38: Shadow of the Masculine Self

Steamy Bathhouse Entrance

It was a long time coming, but Shirou was making good on his word he promised to Nice Guy and Tough Guy. Part of him hoped they had forgotten or that they weren’t at the front entrance anymore, but they have been patiently waiting and reminded Shirou of his end of the deal, with the necessary tools at that (table, towels, massage oil, the works).

Luckily he had experience giving massages to Taiga years back, and he read a book on how to give massages and the techniques involved during the reprieve, so he was prepared for that. It was really fortunate the Shopping District had that exact book he needed, but that was another story.

And If nothing else, Shirou Emiya was a man of his word, and was now currently pressing the back of Tough Guy to relieve pressure points. Judging by the Shadow’s euphoric moans, he was doing something right.

“Ooooooh YES.” Tough Guy said. He rolled his shoulders slightly and pressed his head deeper on the head towel he was resting on, enjoying the feel of Shirou’s hands over his oily back muscles. “Your hands are just simply divine, Shirou-chin!”

“Are you sure?” Shirou asked as he worked. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this so I think I’m a little rusty..”

“Rusty, you say?” The bodybuilder Shadow beamed. “Could’ve fooled little ol’ me. You’re pressing all the right joints so wonderfully!”

“I’m glad you appreciate it. I want to make up for the long delay we had coming back.”

“And it is so worth it!”

Despite himself, Shirou smiled. He strived to always help people for praise and feel a bit worthier, and despite this being an obvious enemy he would have to fight, that moment wasn’t for here or now. In fact, if this could help avoid fighting Kanji’s Shadow at all, it was worth the investment.

“How the hell did I get roped into this?!”

From the next table over, Yosuke was standing over Nice Guy, also set up for a massage. He looked like he rather be anywhere but there and didn’t even try touching the Shadow yet.

“You have no right to complain, Yosuke,” Shirou told him dryly. “We all waited on you.”

“I-I’m not complaining! I just find this completely left field! Couldn’t you do both yourself?”

“I need time and focus on one at a time, and you’re the only other person they’d allow to help, like it or not. We don’t have the time to spare.”

Shirou emphasized his point with a hard elbow drop at the lower back of Tough Guy. Between the impact of the blow and the cry of pleasure the Shadow made, Yosuke couldn’t help but cringe.

“I-I don’t even know how to do massages!”

“Just rub your hands over my back in circular motions. I’ll tell you when you’re being too rough and need to press somewhere else.”

“See, even Nice Guy is willing to make this easy on you,” Shirou told him expectantly. “So start rubbing. The sooner we both get this done, the sooner we can find Kanji.”

“B-But he’s so thick and veiny and… manly,” he muttered the last word softly with envy. Shaking his head out of that train of thought, he quickly added, “Look, I get I’m getting punished for this, but this is way beyond my comfort zone!”

“Did you even use the oil?”

“It feels gross, man! Like, dipping my hands in vinegar!”

“It’s meant for the customer’s enjoyment, not the masseur’s!”

“Since when are Shadows customers?!”

Nice Guy sighed, his patience clearly waning of not having a massage yet. He pushed himself enough off the massage bed to turn and look flatly at the worried teen. “Would you rather I give you the massage instead?”

Yosuke smiled, willing to take any lifeline out of this. “Oh, you’re volunteering?! Well, my back has been feeling a bit stiff late-“

“Because I’m thinking to pound you firmly into the ground until those aching bones of yours are as fine as the grains of salt that I would then use to season my dinner.”

It was as implied a death threat as the jovial “Nice” Guy could put it, and it left Yosuke feeling sick and nauseous. He could see the no nonsense expression on his face matching his deadpan tone, and he clearly had the bulk to follow his words.

Yosuke gulped, briefly tugging with his scarf to do so. Then he forced his smile back up and quickly squeezed the oil out the bottle into his hand. “On second thought, let’s not strain those big muscles of yours! You deserve a good old-fashioned rubdown!”

“That’s more like it,” Nice Guy smiled back, and sat down.

Realizing he had no more excuses, Yosuke started to press his hands over Nice Guy’s back. He groaned and winced away, completely creeped out of the feeling. He wasn’t really a man, so this didn’t count, right?

“Lower,” the Shadow commanded. Yosuke moved his hands down as instructed, still doing the rhythmic circles to placate it. Hopefully this would end soon and they could get Kanji out and he could salvage his date with Sacchin-

“Lower.”

He nearly stopped and gawked. “I did go lower!”

“Lower than that.”

The auburn-haired teen hissed through his teeth, and reluctantly moved his hands lower. “F-Fine, but this is as low as I’m going!”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t let you touch my balls.” Graphic image and bluntness aside, Yosuke was so relieved to hear those words. “That’s Tough Guy’s property.”

Yosuke’s relief gave away to a single eyebrow twitch and loud, internal screaming.

Further back at the entrance, the girls and Tama watched the massages with rapt interest. “I feel kind of bad for Hanamura-kun,” Yukiko admitted.

“I don’t,” Chie spat. “If his constant dating makes it so we can’t save Kanji-kun in time, I’ll never forgive him.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to come back here either with those biased bouncers around,” Rise said. “They wouldn’t even let us use the shortcut until Shirou-kun massaged them.”

Honestly, standing in front of the path they made through Goho-M? Talk about petty.

“At least Emiya-kun is taking this well.”

“Yeah…”

While Yosuke was slowly going through the notions, Shirou was doing this almost naturally and enjoying himself. It wasn’t hard to imagine how sensual those hands could be, as Tough Guy let out an occasional moan of satisfaction.

Chie, Yukiko, and Rise all swooned in a dreamy sigh. A guy that knows how to please a girl in more ways than one… that was always a plus (nevermind the fact he was technically massaging a guy).

Rise then noticed their bear friend having a peculiar expression on his face; flushing red and mournful. “What’s wrong, Teddie?"

Teddie didn’t answer right away, as he was still staring at Shirou. Then he turned and asked her, “…is it weird that I kind of find this hot?”

The girls all stared at the bear with alarm and shock. Even Tama, previously resting in a corner, emulated her surprise well evident as she shot up and turned to him.

Poor Teddie got defensive. “What?! That’s why I was asking!”

<><><>

July 1st, Samegawa Floodplain

They were ready.

It took the last two days of training and strategy, but Shirou could finally say they were like a well-oiled unit in fighting. Rise’s sensory skills were especially a boon having a layout of where a Shadow was and how many were on a floor at a time. The other members have seemingly grown in leaps and bounds with new skills and spells to use, and they even found some rare treasures like an electricity suppressor for Yosuke.

Shirou himself had a stronger grasp of his Personas’ limitations and was fully ready to test the tools of his disposal to fight Kanji’s Shadow, or at least his facets in the Guy bouncers. Having finally reached the top floor and prepared as much as possible for the evitable fallout, nothing was stopping them from marching to the final room and rescuing Kanji.

Except a mutiny to rest a day before going in.

Chie was the most adamant about it, going as far as to physically pull Shirou away from the door.

“We’ve been fighting all the way up here! Yukiko’s out of breath, our supplies are all used up, and we sure as hell don’t have the money to buy Tama’s leaves!

“But Kanji-!”

“-Will be fine for one more day. The rain’s not going to let up yet, the worst of the Midnight Channel has already happened, and it doesn’t look like Kanji’s Shadow is going to burst yet. We haven’t even seen him the whole time we’ve been here.”

“And thank god for that,” Yosuke had said, but no one commented on his delivery. They did listen to his input though. “Look, as vice-captain of this team, I have to side with Chie on this one.”

The others predictably made fun of how he wanted to get away from the bathhouse and into Sacchin’s arms, and to Yosuke’s credit he was only mildly sidetracked from the point he was trying to make. “Every time a fight with one of our Shadows comes up, we get our asses kicked, and barely win by the skin of our teeth. And each time that happened, it was because we were not at the top of our game or had some fights already leading up to them. These Shadows keep getting stronger, and we need to be at our best A-game from here on out."

After that, it was a unanimous decision as the others agreed to head back, and Shirou had to swallow his pride for a day.

As he and Chie live the closest together, they were once again walking the same road down the floodplain, with umbrellas at hand. The walk was quiet, and he had no cues to start a conversation with Chie as Eligor was absent.

But should he start a conversation? She looked like she didn’t want to be next to him, daring only a few awkward glances his way.

Come to think of it, it was raining too when they first met under the gazebo. At least she got a new umbrella this time.

“Hey, uh,” Chie started, surprising him. She was still looking ahead and away from him, though. “You’re not mad at me, are you, Emiya-kun?”

“Mad? Why would you think that?”

“You were scowling the whole time since I argued for going back instead of fighting. It was kind of scary.”

Oh. That. He didn’t even knew he had a scowl on his face, but he recalled feeling very bitter back there. “No, Satonaka, I wasn’t mad at you, or the others. What you and Yosuke said made a lot of sense. I was… madder at myself, really.”

“Yourself?”

“If I had been a bit stronger, or managed our time better, we could have rescued Kanji by now. All I could think about was what I could have done better, or if I hadn’t screwed up—"

“No.” Chie stepped in front of him and was now scolding him again. “No, I’m going to stop you right there. This is no one’s fault.” She paused. “Well, a little bit of Hanamura-kun’s fault, but that’s it.”

Despite himself, Shirou chuckled. He had a feeling poor Yosuke was never going to live this down.

“Kanji-kun is still fine. And he will be when we get him back home tomorrow. You’ve done enough making sure we got close enough for a fresh battle and getting us ready and coordinated and stuff. Among other things.” She awkwardly tapped the ground twice with her right foot, testing her shoes after kicking with the Boots of Abigor for what felt like hours.

“So don’t beat yourself up about this!” she added with a smile. “You’re a great leader! No one blames you for managing time, or doubts how serious you are rescuing Kanji-kun. Allies of Justice need their rest too.”

Shirou was speechless. He had been warned about his habit of overworking from his family and peers for all he had known them back in Fuyuki. Taiga and Issei were the most concerned about his wellbeing, and Sakura did her part to cook breakfast to alleviate some burden off him.

He was so used to being mocked for his dream of being a hero that he never heard someone appeal to it as a reason to rest. “Allies of Justice need their rest too.” He could have never fathomed such a sentence. And yet, all he could do was gasp in awe feeling a sudden, unexpected warmth fill him.

It felt… nice.

“Hey, Satonaka-kun!”

The moment ended as a voice called out to the now startled Chie. She turned with some surprise and unease at the approaching teenager their age. “T-Takeshi-kun?!”

“I didn’t think I see you out in the rain, and with someone other than Amagi-san!” he said casually, walking up to them. He carried his own umbrella, which he looked over and under it as if looking for Yukiko.

He then settled on appraising Shirou head-to-toe before asking her. “So who’s the guy? Wait, don’t tell me; your recruit, right? A fellow ‘Ally of Justice’? You haven’t used that title since grade school!”

Chie’s head shrunk back, and her umbrella was pulled closer to cover her glowing face. Takeshi either didn’t notice or cared as he continued. “Actually, I think you were part of the Runt Gang way back in kindergarten, and after that you were the undisputed King of the Hill.”

Shirou looked between the two; the more names Takeshi listed, the more humiliated Chie reacted. It didn’t help that he didn’t seem to have a tone of endearment towards those memories, either. He was embarrassing her, and… was her lip trembling?

“Oh, and the Vanguards of the Lunch Revolution! Man, the crazy names you came up with!” Takeshi chuckled. “What exactly are you this time? A Defender of Earth’s Peace or something silly like that?”

“I-I…”

“Shut up.”

Chie and Takeshi were startled by Shirou’s sharp tone. He was scowling again, directing his anger towards the teenager that came to greet them.

No. Chie realized it was different. That time wasn’t anger. This was.

Takeshi quickly stepped back, holding his hands up. “Whoa, hey man, relax. I’m just joking—”

“Do we look like we’re laughing here?” he cut him off dryly, gesturing to him and the clearly uncomfortable Chie.

Takeshi winced. “N-No, I guess not. Let me start over.” He then extended a hand out to him. “Name’s Takeshi Kouno, old friend of Satonaka-kun! Pleasure to meet you!”

“Shirou Emiya. Trust me, the pleasure is all yours.”

“Emiya-kun…” Chie hissed. Just because Takeshi was being rude didn’t mean he should be rude back.

To his credit, Shirou noticed Satonaka’s warning and restrained his emotions a little bit. He still made no move to shake his hand, though, and Takeshi took the hint. “Look, Kouno was it? We’re kind of in a hurry here, so if you have something to say, make it quick.”

“Oh, don’t worry! I’m not getting in between your date or anything!” Takeshi said. For some reason, Chie felt a pang of disappointment than embarrassment of what he implied. “I was just wondering how Amagi-san was doing these days. Satonaka-kun here is her best friend so—”

“Ask Amagi yourself how she’s doing. That is, if you have the balls to actually talk to her.”

Shirou was already walking past him as he spoke. Again, both teens were gobsmacked how cutting and brutal his verbal responses were. Chie spared a glance at Takeshi to see him failing to make sound out of his flapping mouth, before leaving him and rushing over to Emiya as they continued to walk home.

“You didn’t have to be that mean,” Chie told him.

“So it was okay for him to make fun of you like that?”

“I’m used to it,” she argued. “We were classmates up until high school, and only friends at that. Nothing really came between us since he had his eyes on Yukiko.”

Shirou frowned. Would an old friend really take another’s dreams and feelings for granted? Clearly there was more to this Takeshi Kouno than Satonaka was letting on, but he was her friend and it wasn’t any of his business.

He felt he needed to say something to her. Anything. But what? Dammit, of all the times to be without Eligor…

They reached the street corner where their destinations split off, but both of them hesitated to leave. For several minutes they stood in the rain, waiting. They spared each other glances but just as quickly looked straight ahead as if afraid to make eye contact.

Still not a word spoken.

“Weeeeeell,” Chie dragged the word out, making a long, exaggerated step off to the side. “I better get home for an early night’s rest! Tomorrow’s a big day after all!”

Now or never. “I’m sorry.”

Chie stopped and looked back. “Huh?”

“About Kouno, I mean,” Shirou said. “I usually don’t go off mouthing people like that, but when he talked about you being an Ally of Justice and laughing, it bothered me, for a lack of better term, and I just said things without thinking. Because I’ve been there too, mocked for wanting to be an Ally of Justice and I saw you sad you were I thought…”

Chie stared at him, wide-eyed. That didn’t look like a good sign. Rather, he saw it as his cue to leave. “Forget I said anything. It was just stupid of me.”

“No, no!” she said quickly. “I mean, I get it, Takeshi-kun can be rude sometimes. I don’t want you bad-mouthing him again of course. I was just surprised hearing you snap at him like that. You had a reason though, and hearing it makes me… happy.”

She smiled at him, relieved and thankful. As opposed to her sad resignation from when meeting Takeshi earlier, this was a much-needed improvement on her mood. Enough to also relax Shirou with a deep exhale.

“Well, we Allies of Justice got to stick together, right?”

“Right!”

And there was nothing more to be said. Come tomorrow, they would finally rescue Kanji.

<><><>

Steamy Bathhouse, Top Floor

Kanji was exhausted. It didn’t matter where he ran to or how far. He couldn’t find away out of this damn bathhouse! Instead, he just found his way right back to his look-alike, even in a different room. It was so frustrating, and this heated sauna was getting way too humid now.

“You’ve been way too tense, darling!” The other Kanji said, walking around a big room with nothing but a towel around his waist. Why don’t you just relax and take the load off?”

“Screw that!” the sweating, bleached teen snapped. “Just tell me how to get out of this damn place!"

“Don’t you get it now? There is no way out!”

“Bullshit!! I had to have gotten in here to begin with, right? What kind of prison doesn’t have a way to get out, you know, for the jailers and shit!?”

These arguments were just as aggravating as getting lost. This guy, supposedly his “Shadow” (who didn’t at all look black or dark or anything like that, just creepy), kept talking in circles about how he needs to accept his innermost feelings and junk. What did he think he was, some looney foreign therapist?

Lucky for him, even the Shadow looked tired of their play-by-play, sighing dramatically with his hand resting on his chin. “I guess you have a point. But you just reinforce the beautiful, dim-witted men stereotype getting lost for nearly a week.”

“I thought I told you to can it with the— wait. A WEEK!?!” Kanji was flabbergasted. He lost track of time and thought he was just gone for a really, really, long day, maybe two at most. But seven? Crap, his ma and Naoto must be worried sick he went missing like those murder victims back in April. Well, Ma at least. Not so sure about Naoto.

“Alright, I’ve decided,” The Shadow said, pleased with himself. “I’ll let you out. On one condition.”

“Figures,” Kanji spat. That was the most stock evil bad guy line he had ever heard, and it pissed him off a bit that someone with his likeness said it so seriously. “What do you want, then?”

“For you to admit your deepest, darkest secret to me, and accept that we are one in the same.”

“That’s it? Fine, I’m—"

“You didn’t let me finish~! I don’t want a fake verbal promise you’ll break as soon as I show you the door.” The Shadow leaned closer to Kanji with a creepy smile. “I want you to forever promise that you are – how should I say this? – VERY in touch with your feminine side!”

Something about those words chilled Kanji to the bone, and a not in his stomach started to form. He hid this unease with angry swagger. “Wh-What the hell’s THAT supposed to mean?!”

“Come now, handsome. I know you’re not that dense. You’re me after all.”

Suddenly the door was slammed open and a stomping of feet rushed in.

“There they are!”

“Kanji!”

Kanji looked back to the door in surprise. Among the five teens wearing glasses (and some cute looking mascot character), he recognized at least two of the people in the crowd. “Emiya? Yukiko-senpai?!”

“Wait, what are the bitches doing here?!” Shadow Kanji stomped in anger. “This is supposed to be a MEN’S SPA!”

The red-haired girl winced and uttered under her breath, “That’s gynophobia, all right…”

Emiya stepped forward to confront the Shadow, standing between him and Kanji. “Kanji, stay with us. I promise when this is over, we’re going to take you home.”

“Wait, I get out of here?”

“Yeah, we have an escape route.”

That was the best news Kanji heard all day! Or week, rather. He didn’t care if he had to be near a few girls, just as long as he could get out of this freaky place!

“HA! Joke’s on you, asshole!” Kanji smirked and pointed at the copy. “I’m getting out of here, and don’t have to see, hear, or think of your ugly pansy mug again!”

“B-But I’m YOU! How could you think this handsome face to be ugly?!”

“To hell with that!” Kanji snapped, already marching to the group. “You can die in this overgrown bathtub for all I care!”

<><><>

Shirou was worried. This was almost too easy.

They managed to catch to Kanji and his Shadow in time before the transformation. That was lucky… or maybe a coincidence. Perhaps they could finally get out of this without a fight, and they were just better safe than sorry.

He like to think he was just getting paranoid or nervous due to a magi life-style being ever-so riddled with death, but… something didn’t feel right.

Kanji feeling embolden to mouth off his Shadow probably have something to do with that.

“You rather trust those hussies and jerks than me? Than yourself!?” The Shadow demanded.

Kanji stopped and turned to snap back. “They didn’t keep me prisoner here!”

“I never put you here in the first place. I kept you here, yes, but to protect you. From those ugly little liars.”

“Why you-!”

Shirou could see this fight was escalating too quickly, and he pushed Kanji back. “Enough of this, we’re leaving.” If there was chance to avoid a deadly battle, he would take it.

He stopped when he felt a sudden killer intent in the room, from behind. He wasn’t the only one, as Teddie’s fur bristled and Rise’s Persona sense kicked in. “Guys! We got- KYAAAH!”

Without warning, two monochrome blurs rushed from behind and attacked the girls. The others turned and blanched at what they saw.

“Oh shit, it’s the bouncers!” Yosuke cried in dismay. For once, Shirou couldn’t blame him for feeling scared of their presence.

Nice Guy and Tough Guy were both very tall, muscular Shadows, and for the first time they were showing the extent of their physique by man-handling the female members of the Investigation Team. The former had Yukiko and Rise both in a painful bearhug, while the ladder was applying a sleeper hold on Chie. They were completely at their mercy.


Shirou immediately drew his sword at pointed at them. “Let them go!”

“I’m afraid that isn’t an option, little Shirou-chin.” Nice Guy told him, almost sounding genuine.

“You are free to leave, but the girls must be punished.” Tough Guy added, squeezing ever so tightly around the struggling Chie’s neck.

“That’s not fair!” Teddie shouted. “You gave your word after Sensei and Yosuke gave you massages!”

“I say it’s perfectly fair,” Shadow Kanji scoffed. “You girls think you can just keep breaking the rules whenever it’s convenient for you, and then cry foul when you happen to see someone flashing you? Sorry hunnies, NOT in MY bathhouse!”

Yosuke pulled out his knives and moved to swing at Shadow Kanji. “You son of a—!”

“Yosuke, no!” Shirou grappled him from behind and held him. “Don’t do it!”

“You said the Guys are some part of Kanji’s psyche before, right?! That means if we beat the source, they’ll go away!”

“We’re trying to save Kanji, remember?!” Teddie warned him “If you kill his Shadow, you’ll kill him too!”

Yosuke’s struggle reluctantly ceased. “I know that, but…!”

This whole thing was a trap. Shirou couldn’t berate himself more for letting this happen, brought down half their fighting strength in an instant, and Yosuke felt the same way. The only way to safely save the others was for Kanji to fully reject himself. The fight was determined entirely against them and they were forced in an impasse.

“I’ll deal with you cuties later,” Shadow Kanji taunted with a wink. “Now as for you…”

The real Kanji was numb. He couldn’t stop staring at the two burly men seemingly choking the life out of the girls like from some weird torture video. He barely knew these girls, and yet they came all this way… to help him?

And… he was somehow causing their pain? Was this his fault?

A tap on his shoulder shook him out of his trance, and he saw his golden eyed doppelganger grinning at him. “I’m waiting on that heartfelt apology~.”

Kanji knew if he just played lipservice, or at least made it convincing, this would be over. Before he would have denied it as a fact of pride, but this…

“Why are you doing this to them?” he asked, gesturing to the Guys.

“It’s what we want. What we deserve after everything we’ve been through.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“I’m just going to say it plain; WOMEN SUCK!” Kanji’s Shadow roared, no longer smiling. “They’re so arrogant, so self-centered, and so damn entitled! They complain that chivalry’s dead, but they want to pampered like little princesses and knock men down like dogs!”

If Yukiko and Chie were aware of anything but their own dimming consciousness, they probably would have winced at the too-close-to-home admittance.

“They cry when you get mad, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies,” The Shadow ranted, his features contorting with line listed. He then stared at his shaking hands. “They just take one look at me and laugh like I’m… I’m some sort of FREAK to them!”

“’You bake cookies? That’s so not you!’ ‘You like to sew? What a queer!’ ‘Why would a guy like you do painting?’ ‘Are you really a guy?’ ‘Shouldn’t you act more manly?’ What do they know about being a guy? About being manly? THEY’RE JUST A BUNCH OF GIRLS!”

The Shadow grew more unhinged and angrier as he talked, looking much like the regular Kanji on his own tantrums. No one dared to stop him, worried of how he would react. But as soon as the rising anger came, it went away with a sense of somber melancholy.

“I hate them, really. But deep down? They scare me,” The Shadow admitted sadly. “They can do so many mean things to you, and even when you mean well or apologize, they are never satisfied. They would go so far as to wish your head on a pike if they can make that happen.”

It was then that Shirou realized that they never once encountered Shadow Kanji throughout the whole dungeon crawl. Yukiko and Rise’s Shadows saw fit to taunt them mid-way as they searched for their shared person of interest. Which meant this Shadow was probably more dangerous than any they have faced before. Was it because it had more time to foster and grow?

“Men are easy to understand. They’re strong. Loyal. Hard-working. Straight forward. They can be stupid, but also simple, because you can tell when a man likes you or not. even if you piss them off, at least they’re upfront about it. They’ll just kick your ass and admit so right to your face. Women would just mock you and play the victim to get their way.”

“And Naoto,” The Shadow smiled as the name left his lips. “Oh, Naoto, he’s just an angel. So lean yet forceful. Angry but in a tranquil manner. Mysterious and at the same time honest. There was nothing extravagant in our meetings, nothing grandiose or romantic like those bitches would dream about, but it didn’t matter. Those few months with Naoto… were the happiest I’ve had since daddy dearest passed away. And now he’s going to hate me. Unless I admit I’ve been wrong.”

Suddenly, Kanji had a flash of clarity.

“What do you say? Are you ready to admit the real you, Kanji Tatsumi?”

“…yeah, I hear you all right.”

POW!

No one saw the blow coming. Kanji reared his arm back and decked his own Shadow in the mouth. The force was so strong it sent the Shadow careening across the room and crashing into a small side pool.

He felt a phantom pain over his own jaw but ignored it. Damn, so that’s what I feel like…

At the same time, Shirou and Yosuke noticed the Guys stagger and their grips on the girls loosen. Immediately they summoned their Personas Izanagi and Jiraiya to strike them while stunned. The body-builder Shadows were also blown across the room, allowing the three girls to safely land on the floor relatively unharmed.

Teddie and Tama rushed over to them. “Are you girls okay?!"

“Ugh, five more minutes,” Chie half-groaned in drowsiness, craning her neck as she did so.

Rise was the worst of them of them, turned on her back and clutching her sides. “Oooooh… I never thought a hug could hurt so much.”

Shirou quickly dismissed Izanagi for Sarasvati, casting light healing over the girls. “Get ready, it looks like a fight is going to break out.”

“Is it weird that I’m kind of glad this is our best outcome?” Yosuke joked. No one had an answer for that, and just watched the inevitable fallout from the sidelines.

Yukiko was the most torn. “Kanji-kun…”

Meanwhile, Kanji and his Shadow were in their own world. Both had a hurt jaw, but the impact of the punch was more emotional than physical.

“You… you punched me?!” The Shadow screeched.

“Quit whining. If you have my face, then you should at least be able to take a punch.”

“But why… why would you help the same sex that ridiculed you?! Why would you lie to yourself?!?”

“Yukiko-senpai and the others don’t deserve that kind crap! A true man doesn’t make girls cry, let alone hurt her!”

‘That’s rich! Coming from the guy who made Shana-chan cry!”

Kanji flinched but stood vigilant. “And you think blaming everyone associated with her is any better!? You claim you’re like me, but you’re a rag-wearing pansy throwing a hissy-fit!”

Shadow Kanji’s posture was outright hostile. Barred teeth, clenched fists… and especially the glowing aura that Kanji could see spike. “Even you reject me now? You reject me like everyone else?!”

“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I know two things for sure. For one, I’d never be able to look Naoto in the eye if I let you have your way. And second…” He pointed defiantly at the Shadow and yelled, “This is no way in hell you’re me!”

Shadow Kanji growled, and the aura around him grew darker. Kanji felt a distinct feeling that he was getting weaker but tried to stare him down. He did, however, step back as soon as the Guy Shadows landed behind Shadow Kanji with mighty thuds to crack the wood.

“YOOOOOOOU…” he bellowed. “I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET EVER SPURNING MEEEEEEE!”

<><><>

I'm back and brought something to share a bit. Hope you all like the new chapter. And by the way...
April Fools! The joke is that this is the story in it's alpha form, no beta reading or anything. And it's not finished yet.

So... I originally planned to complete this entirely before the month of March was over but time slipped me and even if I wanted to I can only write so much before my mind wanders and/or goes bored. I thought instead of cruelly teasing fans with different stories, I'd tease with them with the story they want. I wish I could marathon write and share the entirety of what I planned for this chapter in time for April Fools Day, but I cannot. Either way, this is technically another snippet preview (like what I usually share on the Spacebattles discussion thread of this story) as I plan the fight scene and already got something along the way here. Maybe I'll change this up a bit depending on how people like the Shadow Kanji transformation (this honestly came out differently than I had intentioned and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not).

I hope you guys aren't too made of a preview of the official story. Either way, knowing how Beast's Lair tends to cut up my bigger chapters, I'll just edit this later with my beta changes when the chapter is officially done and post the second half later.

[Kieran]

Ah, it's good to see this back - and novel to see it all born of gynophobia, since that's not the usual (at least, that I've seen) interpretation. Also the first time I've ever seen someone deck a Shadow - I guess Kanji is just that badass.

[Kishou the Badger]

Fate/Reach Out
Chapter 38: Shadow of the Masculine Self

Steamy Bathhouse Entrance

It was a long time coming, but Shirou was making good on his promise to Nice Guy and Tough Guy. Part of him hoped they had forgotten or that they weren’t at the front entrance anymore, but they have been patiently waiting and reminded Shirou of his end of the deal, with the necessary tools at that (table, towels, massage oil, the works).

Luckily he had experience in giving massages to Taiga years ago, and he read a book on how to give massages and the techniques involved during the reprieve, so he was prepared. It was really fortunate that the Shopping District had the exact book he needed, but that was another story.

And if nothing else, Shirou Emiya was a man of his word, and was now currently pressing the back of Tough Guy to relieve pressure points. Judging by the Shadow’s euphoric moans, he was doing something right.

“Ooooooh YES.” Tough Guy said. He rolled his shoulders slightly and pressed his head deeper on the head towel he was resting on, enjoying the feel of Shirou’s hands over his oily back muscles. “Your hands are just simply divine, Shirou-chin!”

“Are you sure?” Shirou asked as he worked. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I think I’m a little rusty.”

“Rusty, you say?” The bodybuilder Shadow beamed. “Could’ve fooled little ol’ me. You’re pressing all the right joints so wonderfully!”

“I’m glad you appreciate it. I want to make up for the long delay we had coming back.”

“And it is so worth it!”

Despite himself, Shirou smiled. He strived to always help people for praise and feel a bit worthier, and despite this being an obvious enemy he would have to fight, that moment wasn’t here or now. In fact, if this could help avoid fighting Kanji’s Shadow at all, it was worth the investment.

“How the hell did I get roped into this?!”

From the next table over, Yosuke was standing over Nice Guy, also set up for a massage. He looked like he rather be anywhere but there and didn’t even try touching the Shadow yet.

“You have no right to complain, Yosuke,” Shirou told him dryly. “We all waited on you.”

“I-I’m not complaining! I just find this coming from completely out of left field! Couldn’t you do both yourself?”

“I need time and focus on one at a time, and you’re the only other person they’d allow to help, like it or not. We don’t have the time to spare.”
Shirou emphasized his point with a hard elbow drop at the lower back of Tough Guy. Between the impact of the blow and the cry of pleasure the Shadow made, Yosuke couldn’t help but cringe.

“I-I don’t even know how to do massages!”

“Just rub your hands over my back in circular motions. I’ll tell you when you’re being too rough and need to press somewhere else.”

“See, even Nice Guy is willing to make this easy on you,” Shirou told him expectantly. “So start rubbing. The sooner we both get this done, the sooner we can find Kanji.”

“B-But he’s so thick and veiny and… manly,” he muttered the last word softly with envy. Shaking his head out of that train of thought, he quickly added, “Look, I get that I’m getting punished for this, but this is way beyond my comfort zone!”

“Did you even use the oil?”

“It feels gross, man! Like, dipping my hands in vinegar!”

“It’s meant for the customer’s enjoyment, not the masseur’s!”

“Since when are Shadows customers?!”

Nice Guy sighed, his patience clearly waning due to not having gotten a massage yet. He pushed himself enough off the massage bed to turn and look flatly at the worried teen. “Would you rather I give you the massage instead?”

Yosuke smiled, willing to take any lifeline out of this. “Oh, you’re volunteering?! Well, my back has been feeling a bit stiff lately—"

“Because I’m thinking of pounding you firmly into the ground until those aching bones of yours are as fine as the grains of salt that I would then use to season my dinner.”

It was as implied a death threat as the jovial “Nice” Guy could put it, and it left Yosuke feeling sick and nauseous. He could see the no nonsense expression on his face matching his deadpan tone, and he clearly had the bulk to follow through on his words.

Yosuke gulped, briefly tugging on his scarf to do so. Then he forced his smile back up and quickly squeezed the oil out the bottle into his hand. “On second thought, let’s not strain those big muscles of yours! You deserve a good old-fashioned rubdown!”

“That’s more like it,” Nice Guy smiled back, and laid back down.

Realizing that he had no more excuses, Yosuke started to press his hands down over Nice Guy’s back. He groaned and looked away, completely creeped out by the feeling. This Shadow wasn’t really a man, so this didn’t count, right?

“Lower,” the Shadow commanded. Yosuke moved his hands down as instructed, still doing the rhythmic circles to placate it. Hopefully this would end soon and they could get Kanji out and he could salvage his date with Sacchin-

“Lower.”

He nearly stopped and gawked. “I did go lower!”

“Lower than that.”

The auburn-haired teen hissed through his teeth, and reluctantly moved his hands lower. “F-Fine, but this is as low as I’m going!”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t let you touch my balls.” Graphic image and bluntness aside, Yosuke was so relieved to hear those words. “Those are Tough Guy’s property.”

Yosuke’s relief gave away to a single eyebrow twitch and loud, internal screaming.

Further back at the entrance, the girls and Tama watched the massages with rapt interest. “I feel kind of bad for Hanamura-kun,” Yukiko admitted.

“I don’t,” Chie spat. “If his constant dating makes it so we can’t save Kanji-kun in time, I’ll never forgive him.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to come back here either with those biased bouncers around,” Rise said. “They wouldn’t even let us use the shortcut until Shirou-kun massaged them.”

Honestly, standing in front of the path they’d made through that Goho-M? Talk about petty.

“At least Emiya-kun is taking this well.”

“Yeah…”

While Yosuke was slowly going through the notions, Shirou was doing this almost naturally and enjoying himself. It wasn’t hard to imagine how sensual those hands could be, as Tough Guy let out an occasional moan of satisfaction.

Chie, Yukiko, and Rise all swooned in a dreamy sigh. A guy that knows how to please a girl in more ways than one… that was always a plus (never mind the fact how he was technically massaging a guy).

Rise then noticed their bear friend having a peculiar expression on his face; flushing red and mournful. “What’s wrong, Teddie?”

Teddie didn’t answer right away, as he was still staring at Shirou. Then he turned, face slightly red, and asked her, “…is it weird that I kind of find this hot?”

The girls all stared at the bear with alarm and shock. Even Tama, previously resting in a corner, declared her surprise well as she shot up and turned to him.

Poor Teddie got defensive as his flush glowed brighter. “What?! That’s why I was asking!”

<><><>

July 1^st, Samegawa Floodplain

They were ready.

It had taken the last two days of training and strategy, but Shirou could finally say they were like a well-oiled unit in fighting. Rise’s sensory skills were especially a boon by having a layout of where the Shadows were and how many were present on a floor at a time. The other members had seemingly grown in leaps and bounds with new skills and spells to use, and they even found some rare treasures like an electricity suppressor for Yosuke.

Shirou himself had a stronger grasp on his Personas’ limitations and was fully ready to test the tools at his disposal to fight Kanji’s Shadow, or at least his facets in the Guy bouncers. Having finally reached the top floor and prepared as much as possible for the inevitable fallout, nothing was stopping them from marching to the final room and rescuing Kanji.

Except a mutiny to rest a day before going in.

Chie was the most adamant about it, going as far as to physically pull Shirou away from the door.

“We’ve been fighting all the way up here! Yukiko’s out of breath, our supplies are all used up, and we sure as hell don’t have the money to buy more of Tama’s leaves!

“But Kanji-!”

“-Will be fine for one more day. The rain’s not going to let up yet, the worst of the Midnight Channel has already happened, and it doesn’t look like Kanji’s Shadow is going to burst yet. We haven’t even seen him the whole time we’ve been here.”

“And thank god for that,” Yosuke had said, but no one commented on his delivery. They did listen to his input though. “Look, as vice-captain of this team, I have to side with Chie on this one.”

The others predictably made fun of how he wanted to get away from the bathhouse and into Sacchin’s arms, and to Yosuke’s credit he was only mildly sidetracked from the point he was trying to make. “Every time a fight with one of our Shadows comes up, we get our asses kicked, and barely win by the skin of our teeth. And each time that happened, it was because we were not at the top of our game or had some fights already leading up to them. These
Shadows keep getting stronger, and we need to be at our best from here on out.”

After that, it was a unanimous decision as the others agreed to head back, and Shirou had to swallow his pride for a day.

As he and Chie lived closer together, they were once again walking the same road down the floodplain, with umbrellas at hand. The walk was quiet, and he had no cues to start a conversation with Chie as Eligor was absent.

But should he start a conversation? She looked like she didn’t want to be next to him, daring only a few awkward glances his way.

Come to think of it, it was raining too when they first met under the gazebo. At least she got a new umbrella this time.

“Hey, uh,” Chie started, surprising him. She was still looking ahead and away from him, though. “You’re not mad at me, are you, Emiya-kun?”

“Mad? Why would you think that?”

“You were scowling the whole time since I argued for going back instead of fighting. It was kind of scary.”

Oh. That. He didn’t even know that he’d had a scowl on his face, but he recalled feeling very bitter back there. “No, Satonaka, I wasn’t mad at you, or the others. What you and Yosuke said made a lot of sense. I was… madder at myself, really.”

“Yourself?”

“If I had been a bit stronger, or managed our time better, we could have rescued Kanji by now. All I could think about was what I could have done better, or if I hadn’t screwed up—"

“No.” Chie stepped in front of him and was now scolding him again. “No, I’m going to stop you right there. This is no one’s fault.” She paused. “Well, a little bit of Hanamura-kun’s fault, but that’s it.”

Despite himself, Shirou chuckled. He had a feeling that poor Yosuke was never going to live this down.

“Kanji-kun is still fine. And he will be when we get him back home tomorrow. You’ve done enough making sure that we got close enough for a fresh battle and getting us ready and coordinated and stuff. Among other things.” She awkwardly tapped the ground twice with her right foot, testing her shoes after kicking with the Boots of Abigor for what felt like hours.

“So don’t beat yourself up about this!” she added with a smile. “You’re a great leader! No one blames you for managing time, or doubts how serious you are rescuing Kanji-kun. Allies of Justice need their rest too.”

Shirou was speechless. He had been warned about his habit of overworking from his family and peers for all he had known them back in Fuyuki. Taiga and Issei were the most concerned about his wellbeing, and Sakura did her part to cook breakfast to alleviate some burden off him.

He was so used to being mocked for his dream of being a hero that he never heard someone appeal to it as a reason to rest. “Allies of Justice need their rest too.” He could have never fathomed such a sentence. And yet, all he could do was gasp in awe upon feeling a sudden, unexpected warmth fill him.

It felt… nice.

“Hey, Satonaka-kun!”

The moment ended as a voice called out to the now startled Chie. She turned with some surprise and unease at the approaching teenager their age. “T-Takeshi-kun?!”

“I didn’t think that I’d see you out in the rain, and with someone other than Amagi-san!” he said casually, walking up to them. He carried his own umbrella, which he looked over and under it as if looking for Yukiko.
He then settled on appraising Shirou head-to-toe before asking her. “So who’s the guy? Wait, don’t tell me; your recruit, right? A fellow ‘Ally of Justice’, like you were going on about earlier? You haven’t used that title since grade school!”

Chie’s head dipped downward, and her umbrella was pulled closer to cover her glowing face. Takeshi either didn’t notice or care as he continued. “Actually, I think you were part of the Runt Gang way back in kindergarten, and after that you were the undisputed King of the Hill.”

Shirou looked between the two; the more names Takeshi listed, the more humiliated Chie reacted. It didn’t help that he didn’t seem to have a tone of endearment towards those memories, either. He was embarrassing her, and… was her lip trembling?

“Oh, and the Vanguards of the Lunch Revolution! Man, the crazy names you came up with!” Takeshi chuckled. “What exactly are you this time? A Defender of Earth’s Peace or something silly like that?”

“I-I…”

“Shut up.”

Chie and Takeshi were startled by Shirou’s sharp tone. He was scowling again, directing his anger towards the teenager that came to greet them.

No. Chie realized it was different. That time wasn’t anger. This was.

Takeshi quickly stepped back, holding his hands up. “Whoa, hey man, relax. I’m just joking—”

“Do we look like we’re laughing here?” he cut him off dryly, gesturing to him and the clearly uncomfortable Chie.

Takeshi winced. “N-No, I guess not. Let me start over.” He then extended a hand out to him. “Name’s Takeshi Kouno, old friend of Satonaka-kun! Pleasure to meet you!”

“Shirou Emiya. Trust me, the pleasure is all yours.”

“Emiya-kun…” Chie hissed. Just because Takeshi was being rude didn’t mean he should be rude back.

To his credit, Shirou noticed Satonaka’s warning and restrained his emotions a little bit. He still made no move to shake his hand, though, and Takeshi took the hint. “Look, Kouno was it? We’re kind of in a hurry here, so if you have something to say, make it quick.”

“Oh, don’t worry! I’m not getting in between your date or anything!” Takeshi said. For some reason, Chie felt a pang of disappointment rather than embarrassment of what he implied. “I was just passing by for some… errands, when I saw Satonaka-kun, and I was wondering how Amagi-san was doing these days. Satonaka-kun is her best friend so—”

The story was already sketchy enough on errands, but as soon as Amagi’s name came up, Shirou knew how crestfallen Chie felt without showing it, and nipped the problem in the bud. “Ask Amagi yourself how she’s doing. That is, if you have the balls to actually talk to her.”

Shirou was already walking past him as he spoke. Again, both teens were gobsmacked how cutting and brutal his verbal responses were. Chie spared a glance at Takeshi to see him failing to make a sound out of his flapping mouth, before leaving him and rushing over to Emiya as they continued to walk home.

“You didn’t have to be that mean,” Chie told him.

“So it was okay for him to make fun of you like that?”

“I’m used to it,” she argued. “We were classmates up until high school, and only friends at that. Nothing really came between us since he had his eyes on Yukiko.”

Shirou frowned. Would an old friend really take another’s dreams and feelings for granted? Clearly there was more to this Takeshi Kouno than Satonaka was letting on, but he was her friend and it wasn’t any of his business.

He felt he needed to say something to her. Anything. But what? Dammit, of all the times to be without Eligor…

They reached the street corner where their destinations split off, but both of them hesitated to leave. For several minutes they stood in the rain, waiting. They spared each other glances but just as quickly looked straight ahead as if afraid to make eye contact.

Still not a word spoken.

“Weeeeeell,” Chie dragged the word out, making a long, exaggerated step off to the side. “I better get home for an early night’s rest! Tomorrow’s a big day after all!”

Now or never. “I’m sorry.”

Chie stopped and looked back. “Huh?”

“About Kouno, I mean,” Shirou said. “I usually don’t go off badmouthing people like that, but when he talked about your titles and laughing, it bothered me, for a lack of a better term, and I just said things without thinking. Because I’ve been there too, mocked for wanting to be an Ally of Justice and I saw how sad you were that I thought…”

Chie stared at him, wide-eyed. That didn’t look like a good sign. Rather, he saw it as his cue to leave. “Forget I said anything. It was just stupid of me.”

“No, no!” she said quickly. “I mean, I get it, Takeshi-kun can be rude sometimes. I don’t want you badmouthing him again of course. I was just surprised hearing you snap at him like that. You had a reason though, and hearing it makes me… happy.”

She smiled at him, relieved and thankful. As opposed to her sad resignation from meeting Takeshi earlier, this was a much-needed improvement on her mood. Enough to also relax Shirou with a deep exhale.

“Well, we Allies of Justice got to stick together, right?”

“Right!”

And there was nothing more to be said. Come tomorrow, they would finally rescue Kanji.

<><><>

Steamy Bathhouse, Top Floor

Kanji was exhausted. It didn’t matter where he ran to or how far. He couldn’t find a way out of this damn bathhouse! Instead, he just found his way right back to his lookalike, even in a different room. It was so frustrating, and this heated sauna was getting way too humid now.

“You’ve been way too tense, darling!” The other Kanji said, walking around a big room with nothing but a towel around his waist. Why don’t you just relax and take a load off? Oh, and watch that wet floor sign over there; the water in this room tends to spill over a lot.”

“Screw that!” the sweating, bleached teen snapped. “Just tell me how to get out of this damn place!”

“Don’t you get it now? There is no way out!”

“Bullshit!! I had to have gotten in here to begin with, right? What kind of prison doesn’t have a way to get out, you know, for the jailers and shit!?”

These arguments were just as aggravating as getting lost. This guy, supposedly his “Shadow” (who didn’t at all look black or dark or anything like that, just creepy), kept talking in circles about how he needs to accept his innermost feelings and junk. What did he think he was, some looney foreign therapist?

Lucky for him, even the Shadow looked tired of their play-by-play, sighing dramatically with his hand resting on his chin. “I guess you have a point. Then again, you reinforced the beautiful, dim-witted men stereotype by getting lost for nearly a week.”

“I thought I told you to can it with the— wait. A WEEK!?!” Kanji was flabbergasted. He lost track of time and thought he was just gone for a really, really, long day, maybe two at most. But seven? Crap, his ma and Naoto must be worried sick how he went missing like those murder victims back in April. Well, Ma at least. Not so sure about Naoto.

“Alright, I’ve decided,” The Shadow said, pleased with himself. “I’ll let you out. On one condition.”

“Figures,” Kanji spat. That was the most stock ‘evil bad guy line’ he had ever heard, and it pissed him off a bit that someone with his likeness said it so seriously. “What do you want, then?”

“For you to admit your deepest, darkest secret to me, and accept that we are one and the same.”

“That’s it? Fine, I’m—"

“You didn’t let me finish~! I don’t want a fake verbal promise you’ll break as soon as I show you the door.” The Shadow leaned closer to Kanji with a creepy smile. “I want you to forever promise that you are – how should I say this? – VERY MUCH in touch with your feminine side!”

Something about those words chilled Kanji to the bone, and a knot in his stomach started to form. He hid this unease with angry swagger. “Wh-What the hell’s THAT supposed to mean?!”

“Come now, handsome. We both know you’re not that dense. You’re me after all.”

Suddenly the door was slammed open and a stomping of feet rushed in.

“There they are!”

“Kanji!”

Kanji looked back to the door in surprise. Among the five teens wearing glasses (and some cute looking mascot character), he recognized at least two of the people in the crowd. “Emiya? Yukiko-senpai?!”

“Wait, what are the bitches doing here?!” Shadow Kanji stomped in anger. “This is supposed to be a MEN’S SPA!”

The red-haired girl winced and uttered under her breath, “That’s gynophobia, all right…”

Emiya stepped forward to confront the Shadow, standing between him and Kanji. “Kanji, come with us. I promise when this is over, we’re going to take you home.”

“Wait, I get out of here?”

“Yeah, we have an escape route.”

That was the best news Kanji had heard all day! Or week, rather. He didn’t care if he had to be near a few girls, just as long as he could get out of this freaky place!

“HA! Joke’s on you, asshole!” Kanji smirked and pointed at the copy. “I’m getting out of here, and don’t have to see, hear, or think of your ugly pansy mug again!”

“B-But I’m YOU! How could you think this handsome face to be ugly?!”

“To hell with that!” Kanji snapped, already marching to the group. “You can die in this overgrown bathtub for all I care!”

<><><>

Shirou was worried. This was almost too easy.

They had managed to catch up to Kanji and his Shadow in time before the transformation. That was lucky… or maybe a coincidence. Perhaps they could finally get out of this without a fight, and they were just better safe than sorry.

He liked to think that he was just getting paranoid or nervous due to a magi lifestyle being ever-so riddled with death, but… something didn’t feel right.

Kanji feeling emboldened enough to mouth off his Shadow probably had something to do with that.

“You’d rather trust those hussies and jerks than me? Than yourself!?” The Shadow demanded.

Kanji stopped and turned to snap back. “They didn’t keep me prisoner here!”

“I never put you here in the first place. I kept you here, yes, but to protect you. From those ugly little liars.”

“Why you-!”

Shirou could see how this fight was escalating too quickly, and he pushed Kanji back. “Enough of this, we’re leaving.” If there was a chance to avoid a deadly battle, he would take it.

He stopped when he felt a sudden killer intent in the room, from behind. He wasn’t the only one, as Teddie’s fur bristled and Rise’s Persona sense kicked in. “Guys! We got- KYAAAH!”
Without warning, two monochrome blurs rushed from behind and attacked the girls. The others turned and blanched at what they saw.

“Oh shit, it’s the bouncers!” Yosuke cried in dismay. For once, Shirou couldn’t blame him for feeling scared of their presence.

Nice Guy and Tough Guy were both very tall, muscular Shadows, and for the first time they were showing the extent of their physique by manhandling the female members of the Investigation Team. The former had Yukiko and Rise both in a painful bearhug, while the ladder was applying a sleeper hold on Chie. They were completely at their mercy.

Shirou immediately drew his sword at pointed at them. “Let them go!”

“I’m afraid that isn’t an option, little Shirou-chin.” Nice Guy told him, almost sounding sincere.

“You are free to leave, but the girls must be punished.” Tough Guy added, squeezing ever so tightly around the struggling Chie’s neck.

“That’s not fair!” Teddie shouted. “You gave your word after Sensei and Yosuke gave you massages!”

“I say it’s perfectly fair,” Shadow Kanji scoffed. “You girls think you can just keep breaking the rules whenever it’s convenient for you, and then cry foul when you happen to see someone flashing you? Sorry hunnies, NOT in MY bathhouse!”

Yosuke pulled out his knives and moved to swing at Shadow Kanji. “You son of a—!”

“Yosuke, no!” Shirou grappled him from behind and held him. “Don’t do it!”

“You said that the Guys are some part of Kanji’s psyche before, right?! That means if we beat the source, they’ll go away!”

“We’re trying to save Kanji, remember?!” Teddie warned him. “If you kill his Shadow, you’ll kill him too!”

Yosuke’s struggle reluctantly ceased. “I know that, but…!”

This whole thing was a trap. Shirou couldn’t berate himself more for letting this happen, brought down half their fighting strength in an instant, and Yosuke felt the same way. The only way to safely save the others was for Kanji to fully reject himself. The fight was determined entirely against them and they were forced in an impasse.

“I’ll deal with you cuties later,” Shadow Kanji taunted with a wink. “Now as for you…”

The real Kanji was numb. He couldn’t stop staring at the two burly men seemingly choking the life out of the girls like from some weird torture video. He barely knew these girls, and yet they came all this way… to help him?

And… he was somehow causing their pain? Was this his fault?

A tap on his shoulder shook him out of his trance, and he saw his golden eyed doppelgänger grinning at him. “I’m waiting on that heartfelt apology~.”

Somehow, Kanji knew that if he just played lip service, or at least made it convincing, this would be over. Before he would have denied it as a fact of pride, but this…

“Why are you doing this to them?” he asked, gesturing toward the Guys.

“It’s what we want. What we deserve after everything we’ve been through.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“I’m just going to say it plain; WOMEN SUCK!” Kanji’s Shadow roared, no longer smiling. “They’re so arrogant, so self-centered, and so damn entitled! They complain that chivalry’s dead, but they want to be pampered like little princesses and knock men down like dogs!”

If Yukiko and Chie were aware of anything but their own dimming consciousness, they probably would have winced at the too-close-to-home admittance.

“They cry when you get mad, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies,” The Shadow ranted, his features contorting with line listed. He then stared at his shaking hands. “They just take one look at me and laugh like I’m… I’m some sort of FREAK to them!”

He started to stomp in a tantrum, enunciating his re-enactment of shrill girl voices. “’You bake cookies? That’s so not you!’ ‘You like to sew? What a queer!’ ‘Why would a guy like you do painting?’ ‘Are you really a guy?’ ‘Shouldn’t you act manlier that this?’ What do they know about being a guy? About being manly? THEY’RE JUST A BUNCH OF GIRLS!”

The Shadow grew more unhinged and angrier as he talked, looking much like the regular Kanji during one of his own tantrums. No one dared to stop him, worried at how he would react. But as soon as the rising anger came, it went away with a sense of somber melancholy.

“I hate them, really. But deep down? They scare me,” The Shadow admitted sadly. “They can do so many mean things to you, and even when you mean well or apologize, they are never satisfied. They would go so far as to wish your head on a pike if they can make that happen, and who would people rather listen to? A scary guy, or a cute girl?”

It was then that Shirou realized that they never once encountered Shadow Kanji throughout the whole dungeon crawl. Yukiko and Rise’s Shadows saw fit to taunt them mid-way as they searched for their shared person of interest, but not Kanji’s. Which meant that this Shadow was probably more dangerous than any they have faced before. Was it because it had more time to fester and grow?

“Men are easy to understand. They’re strong. Loyal. Hard-working. Straightforward. They can be stupid, but also simple, because you can tell when a man likes you or not. Even if you piss them off, at least they’re upfront about it. They’ll just kick your ass and admit so right to your face. Women would just mock you and play the victim to get their way.

“And Naoto,” The Shadow smiled and squirmed as the name left his lips. “Oh, Naoto, he’s just an angel. So lean yet forceful. Angry but in a tranquil manner. Mysterious and at the same time honest. There was nothing extravagant in our meetings, nothing grandiose or romantic like those bitches would dream about, but it didn’t matter. Those few months with Naoto… were the happiest I’ve had since daddy dearest passed away. And now he’s going to hate me. Unless I admit I’ve been wrong.”

Suddenly, Kanji had a flash of clarity.

“What do you say? Are you ready to admit the real you, Kanji Tatsumi?”

“…yeah, I hear you all right.”

POW!

No one saw the blow coming. Kanji reared his arm back and decked his own Shadow in the mouth. The force was so strong that it sent the Shadow careening across the room and crashing into a small side pool.

He felt a phantom pain over his own jaw but ignored it. Damn, so that’s what I feel like…

At the same time, Shirou and Yosuke noticed the Guys stagger and their grips on the girls loosen. Immediately they summoned their Personas Izanagi and Jiraiya to strike them while they were still stunned. Ironically, the body-builder Shadows were body-checked across the room, allowing the three girls to safely land on the floor relatively unharmed.

Teddie and Tama rushed over to them. “Are you girls okay?!” “Hrrn!”

“Ugh, five more minutes,” Chie half-groaned in drowsiness, craning her neck as she did so.

Rise was the worst off of the three, having turned on her back and was clutching her sides. “Oooooh… I never thought a hug could hurt so much.”

Shirou quickly dismissed Izanagi for Sarasvati, casting light healing over the girls. “Get ready, it looks like a fight is going to break out.”

“Is it weird to admit that I’m kind of glad this is our best outcome?” Yosuke joked. No one had an answer for that, and just watched the inevitable fallout from the sidelines.

Yukiko was the most torn. “Kanji-kun…”

Meanwhile, Kanji and his Shadow were in their own world, the former watching his double climb out of the pool and then stumble down to the floor. Both had a hurt jaw, but the impact of the punch was more emotional than physical.

“You… you punched me?!” The Shadow screeched, cradling his swollen cheekbone.

“Quit whining. If you have my face, then you should at least be able to take a punch.”

“But why… why would you help the same sex that ridiculed you?! Why would you lie to yourself?!?”

“Yukiko-senpai and the others don’t deserve that kind of crap! A true man doesn’t make girls cry, let alone hurt them!”

‘That’s rich! Coming from the guy who made Shana-chan cry!”

Kanji flinched but stood vigilant. “And you think blaming everyone associated with her is any better!? You claim you’re like me, but you’re a rag-wearing pansy throwing a hissy-fit! Take responsibility, dammit!”

Shadow Kanji’s posture was outright hostile. Barred teeth, clenched fists… and especially the glowing aura that Kanji could see spike. “Even you reject me now? You reject me like everyone else?!”

“I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I know two things for sure. For one, I’d never be able to look Naoto in the eye if I let you have your way. And second…” He pointed defiantly at the Shadow and yelled, “This is no way in hell you’re me!”

Shadow Kanji growled, and the aura around him grew darker. Kanji felt a distinct feeling that he was getting weaker but tried to stare him down. He did, however, step back as soon as the Guy Shadows landed behind Shadow Kanji with mighty thuds to crack the wood.

“YOOOOOOOU…” he bellowed. “I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET EVER SPURNING MEEEEEEE!”

An explosion of darkness knocked Kanji off his feet, his body sliding over the wet wood tiling. Try as he might, he couldn’t get back up, like a lead weight was strapped over his chest. The Investigation Team hurried past him with weapons drawn for battle.

When the dust and smoke settled, standing there was a giant figure with a size and muscle bulk that dwarfed even the Guys by a few extra feet. Shadow Kanji was now an Olympian in physique and colored in perfect monochrome; half white, half black, wearing only a loincloth. Around the upper body was a bed of roses arranged like a Mars symbol pointing down to the crotch, and vines grew out to entangle around the arms. Surprisingly enough, Shadow Kanji’s original face was still intact, popping out of the bed of roses from the chest up. Perhaps the most alarming feature of this Shadow’s form was the pair of golden Mars symbols it held like weapons.

“I am a Shadow, the true self! And all I want to do is be true to myself! I don’t care who gets in my way, BECAUSE I’M GOING TO KILL THEM DEAD!”

To follow through with this threat, Shadow Kanji took a single step forward before swinging his right-hand gold weight down so that the round end would hit the ground.

“Scatter!” Shirou ordered as he lifted the real Kanji up, and the team split in time before the attack connected, barely avoiding the shockwave explosion that followed. Dust and splinters were sent flying from the impact, with a piece of sharper shrapnel nicking Yukiko in the arm.

“Yukiko!” Chie cried. She would have rushed to her friend’s side if they hadn’t been separated by the attack with Tama, Teddie, and Yosuke being in similar straits.

“Ahh!” she yelped, reflexively covering her arm. “I-I’m all right!”

“Me too, sorta!” Rise whined on all fours, having tripped during the escape.

“You won’t be when I’m through with you!” Shadow Kanji roared, stepping forward to swing the second weight down where they were.

“Izanagi!”

Luckily, Shirou was with them, and his God Persona intercepted the attack in time. To ease off on the pressure, he also let out a Zio attack through the weapon to shock their enemy. He may be stronger than a normal Shadow, but with gold being an excellent conductor, it was only natural that the effect should stun him for a bit.

“Hmm?” Shadow Kanji, however, didn’t seem affected at all. His lecherous grin just grew wider. “Are you really trying to taze me, bro? Bitch, please. Fanatical Spark!”

Almost right away, a stronger surge of blue thunder pulsed out from his body and through his metal symbols, shocking the ground around him. Shirou immediately tried to buffer as much damage as possible so the shock wouldn’t hit the girls behind him. He and Izanagi held out due to natural resistance, but the force was stronger than any other electric attack he had felt until now, and nearly caused his legs to buckle.

“Emiya-kun!” Yukiko cried.

He winced and exhaled a steady breath as the last sparks of electricity died out, with Izanagi barely staying stable. “That… shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did.”

The Shadow reared back his second arm as he spoke. “A bit of advice, mano-to-mano; a real man can dish as much as he can take, not either or. Try again when your Zio is a Zionga at least.”

After sharing his advice, he swung the weight at Izanagi’s open midsection. He took sadistic joy at Shirou’s wide-eyed expression of pain before he went… bing?

“Huh?” he blinked before he noticed a transparent shell around him, and the sudden appearance of a Shaman Persona. “Well, that’s new.”

“What in the--?” Shirou asked aloud, before noticing he was being held from behind by Himiko’s user. Rather close at that, since he could feel her brushing against his back. “Rise?!”

Rise giggled, sliding the visor off to look at him. “Himiko’s not a fighter like the rest of you guys, but she can support you and protect me. I thought that if you were in her small shield range, she could protect you guys too.”

Yukiko was beside them too, just under Himiko’s body. Between the quick thinking and ingenuity of her skills, Shirou couldn’t help but smile at her. He didn’t even mind the skinship as it meant that their lives had been saved. For now, anyway. “Thanks.”

Rise smiled, as did Yukiko.

That moment of peace shattered as a harder strike rang against Himiko’s shield. Rise yelped, biting her lip down against the phantom pain. “Amagi, can you heal her?”

“Not in here, there’s not enough room for Konohana Sakuya!”

“Guess it’s up to Pixie,” he said, summoning the fey right away. But with her limited healing, it would be a stalling tactic at best. He just needed to wait on the others to find an opening…

“So all I have to do now is break your little bubble? This is too easy!” Shadow Kanji gloated, continuing his assault. “I’m not even sure if I need my posse to help me whip you bad boys and girls down!”

Shadow Kanji’s smile was soon wiped out as a fast, straight punch hit his face hard. “Aacck!” The gargantuan Shadow stomped back, almost dropping the symbols outright, while his small human hands cradled his important feature. “My face!”

“Keep your dirty monochrome hands off of Risette’s Persona!” Yosuke shouted, sprinting alongside Jiraiya to get some quick hits in. “The fight’s just getting started!”

Yosuke managed to quickly stab at the Shadow’s legs, taking advantage of its top-heavy size. Jiraiya continued to deck the Shadow like a boxer, ducking and dodging every time the enemy Shadow tried to swing those gaudy weights around. The weight played a huge factor as he couldn’t lash out against the naturally agile Persona quickly enough. Now fully absorbed in fighting Jiraiya, Shadow Kanji was successfully dragged away from Himiko so the others could recover without pressure.

Despite the strong start, Shadow Kanji wasn’t worried. He had been in fights before with street gangs, and knew that the quick ones usually had piss-poor endurance. All he needed was just one opportunity, and an opening for that hit. “Has anyone ever told you that you’ve been coming on too strongly?”

It seemed to have worked as Yosuke’s expression gave away to shock, but instead of pressing the attack or slipping, he just jumped back. “Nope! Ignoring that! Your turn, Satonaka!”

“Aww, don’t be like-GYAH!”

The Shadow’s banter was interrupted, this time by a hard staff strike at his stomach. Tomoe held her weapon there for a second before lowering and pointing it down. Chie, running straight forward, stepped on her Persona’s staff before her for a boost in momentum. In perfect synchronized movement refined with hours of practice, Chie jumped as Tomoe lifted.

The spirited girl soared in the air, higher than she could ever achieve on her own. She reached the surprised real body of Shadow Kanji in the bed of flowers, and threw her leg forward to meet him. “Galaxy Kick!”

In a panic, he tried waving his hands to stop her. “Wa-Wa-Wa-Wait just a FUMPF!”

Shadow Kanji’s words died as Chie’s foot sank into his face. Literally. It was like the face was just a putty mold that she ruined and it imploded around her boot.

“I didn’t think that could really happen!” Although she didn’t show it or say it in the heat of the moment, Chie was quite disturbed. She had seen this kind of thing happen in anime, but never in real life. Then again, the Shadow World worked on different rules and this was the Shadow of Kanji Tatsumi, not the human.

Luckily, with her other foot free, she broke loose by applying an impromptu backflip to launch herself back and out of the Shadow’s body. With the added bonus of hitting him a little more.

She even stuck the landing back on the ground with a crouch and just some cracked wood. “Ha! That went perfectly!”

“Hell yeah, it did!” Yosuke agreed with a grin. “This guy may be a titan, but he’s slow as hell!”

Annoyed and head ringing, Shadow Kanji lurched back upright with his weights as support. His humane face returned to normal but had lost its haughty smile. “Slow as hell, huh? Well, I have just the remedy for that.” He turned slightly back to the Guy Shadows, patiently hanging in the back since the fight started. “Boys! I’m going to need your help after all!”

“But of course!” Tough Guy smiled, already striding into the battle.

“Let’s make this quick just to be on the safe side, Master Kanji,” Nice Guy said, flexing his muscles in a rear double biceps pose. “Heat Riser!”

A triad of colors (orange, green, purple) flowed over Shadow Kanji’s body, before a stunning rainbow aura shone around him. Whatever had just happened, it couldn’t be good.

“Let’s blitz him!” Yosuke shouted. “We just need to focus on Kanji!”

Rise, with Himiko still active, notice a sudden spike of power in Shadow Kanji, and paled. “Guys, wait! He’s—!”

The warning came too little too late. Jiraiya and Tomoe vaulted forward, easily jumping over Tough Guy who tried to intercept them with a grapple. With a winding fist and twirling spear respectively, they struck forward at Shadow Kanji’s smug face.

But he just grinned against the Personas’ blows, the muscles of his face actually hurting Jiraiya’s fist than the other way around.

Yosuke gulped as a sense of trepidation set in, a feeling he was all too familiar with when pain was imminent. “Oh crap.”

“Harder!”

He grabbed Jiraiya’s arm and spun him around like a flail, giving Yosuke an uneasy sense of vertigo like riding a roller coaster without actually moving. The wild attack caused Tomoe to back away in order to avoid friendly fire.

“Better!”

He then hurled Jiraiya to the other end of the room, the Persona’s body crashing through a small support beam and against the wall. Yosuke quickly followed suit with a wall dent of his own, and felt enough pain from the attack to knock him out. Jiraiya fizzled out of existence soon after.

Angered, Tomoe lunged forward with her spear, trusting her reaction time to be faster than the bulky Shadow’s. He was still leaning forward when he had thrown Jiraiya so there couldn’t be enough time to even block her strike.

“Faster!”

A blink later, he was gone, and her spear pierced the empty space where his shoulder used to be. Instead Shadow Kanji was looming behind her, grinning with both arms raised behind him with the weights pointed downward.

“STRONGER!”

BOOM!

The wooden floor exploded from the impact, leaving a hard bedrock underneath. When the dust settled, there was no sign of Tomoe left, let alone a gory corpse.

Chie exhaled a breath of relief, having dismissed her Persona at the last moment. The act was so shocking and draining that she nearly collapsed to the ground. “I didn’t think that would work…”

“Clever girl,” Shadow Kanji admitted, before turning fully towards her. “But not clever enough!”

“Cu Sith! Sic’em, boy!”

Those were words no one, least of all Shirou himself, would ever expect to hear him say out loud. But it served as a perfect distraction to the giant Shadow as a green fey dog charged forward with a snarl and swung its whip-like tail with a powerful slash. For good measure, Konohana Sakuya lobbed fireballs his way at a distance, forcing the Shadow to back away least he be burned.

As his Persona landed blows, a slightly bruised Shirou closed the distance to Chie and helped her up. “We have to get rid of his weapons. Can you still use ice?”

“Yeah, but I’m better at physical attacks. You know that.”

“Amagi will help too. It’ll work, just wait on my signal.”

“But—!”

“Trust me, Satonaka.”

Chie would have argued more, but the finality on Shirou’s words told her that this wasn’t up for debate. Not in the middle of a deadly Shadow battle, anyway. And he was their leader at the end of the day. He trusted them to follow his lead, and she trusted him to know what he was talking about.

But more importantly, Tough Guy choose that moment to make a beeline for them and swing a haymaker down their way, forcing both of them to leap away at the last moment.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’re not going to hurt Master Kanji as long as I’m around,” he taunted, flexing his arm before charging at her again.

“Fine by me!” Chie shouted. “I’ve been meaning to get payback for that sneak attack, you creep!”

Her foot shot forward to stop his fist, and the impact cracked the ground beneath them. Undeterred, Tough Guy threw another punch at her. Chie hopped back and turned to dodge out of the range of his fist, and then finished her spin by lifting another leg to strike him in the face.

A hit!

Chie’s victory was short lived as the Shadow’s eyes snapped open and he threw a punch at her midsection before she had time to dodge. The force was enough to knock her into the air, back a few feet, and land hard on the ground.
Tough Guy took the time to crack his neck muscles from the hit but didn’t let his eyes leave her downed form. “You’re going to have to try better than that to beat me, girl.”

Despite the ringing pang in her abdomen, Chie pushed herself up and smiled. “Don’t worry,” she said, with Tomoe’s card in view, just in range of her high kick. “I haven’t even begun to fight.”

Snarling, Tough Guy rushed over with rapid fisticuffs, the blows matched by Tomoe’s rapid spear work as she burst into being. Chie kept her distance, bouncing back and forth as her Persona fought the bodybuilder. Despite the severity of the battle and stakes raised, she felt a sort of adrenaline high that made her excited.

This felt natural. Perfect, even. She didn’t need to compare herself to anyone else, least of all Shirou, because in this moment, she was in her element. And she could kick this Shadow’s ass all on her own.

As they squared off, Shadow Kanji was slowly gaining an edge over Cu Sith now that the element of surprise was gone. His enhanced senses made all the difference, as he now matched the fey dog Persona in agility, taunting him by twirling his symbol around in front of him. “You want the stick, doggie? WELL GO FETCH!”

He slashed the symbol sideways, meeting Cu Sith’s face with the narrow arrow edge. A single blow was enough to send the dog flying and he dispelled out of his corporeal form with a whine. Shirou, meanwhile, coughed some blood out of his mouth alongside the phantom pain.

“I told you I’m unstoppable, baby!” The flamboyant Shadow grinned, stomping over to him. “You’re not the only one that likes to use a team, and mine are in a class of their own! With such sexy bods to boot!”

“Do you ever shut up?” Shirou snapped. Sure, the other Shadows liked to gloat, but this one was especially loose-lipped.

“Don’t be like that, hun!” he smiled, inching ever closer to him. “You’ll enjoy the sound of silence when you and your little buddies die real soon! So just wait because there’s nothing you can do to stop it! It’ll be over faster than you can say—"

“Dekaja!”

The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the room as the powerful aura around Shadow Kanji faded away. The bulky Shadow tripped mid-step, having lost his speed and he fell to the ground in a comically graceless flop. Everyone turned to see the one responsible, a recovered Yosuke in a crouched position, left hand over his face, and right arm clenching his short blade to summon Jiraiya again; who mirrored his posture.

“Ha! So much for your little power-up!” Yosuke grinned. “Took me a while to remember I that had this spell to use, but like with my self-healing, it’s a jack-of-all-trades thing, and the perfect counter to use against you! What do you say to that?!”

“Heat Riser!

Almost immediately after, the same rainbow glow surrounded Shadow Kanji, giving him a literal second wind. Everyone’s gaze was now on the monochrome bodybuilder, flexing his muscles to a side chest pose.

“I say your intelligence is almost as pitiful as your hand dexterity!” Nice Guy shouted. “I am Master Kanji’s shield, and I will continue to support him with the necessary means to defeat you! Your efforts are useless! Useless! Useless, useless, use-!”

“Dekaja!” The shattered glass effect promptly ended the Guy’s rant, and depowered Shadow Kanji once again. Yosuke and Jiraiya seemed to pose again for the spell, arms crossed like a T and both hands flipping the bird.

“The same thing applies to you, dumbass,” he said. “As long as I can keep your so-called ‘Master’ back on a level playing field, it’s a win for me. Keeping you preoccupied to do nothing but waste prana on him is just a bonus. And FYI, that impersonation sucked!”

With a snarl and popped blood vein, Nice Guy made a front lat spread as he cast his spell again. “Heat Riser! You wouldn’t know sucking if you were a pufferfish! You’re the one wasting prana like the mewling knave you are!”

Without skipping a beat, Yosuke leaned forward with both arms extended back, imitating a hawk in motion. “Dekaja! I can do this all day, Tiny!”

“Heat Riser! Cannot!”

“Dekaja! Can too!”

“Heat Riser!”
“Dekaja!”
“Heat Riser!”
“Dekaja!”
“HEAT RISER!”
“DEKAJA!”

The two of them (three if you counted the Persona) continued to shift their bodies as they volleyed their spells like a ping-pong match. Shadow Kanji continued to glow and dim in rapid succession, staring at himself in shock and confusion. In the meantime, Shirou kept his distance away from Kanji and close to Yukiko as her Persona quickly applied Dia-grade first aid.

Rise groaned. “If it weren’t for the fact that they’re actually throwing spells around, I’d accuse them of immaturely showboating at each other. Feels like a kind of thing you’d read in a shōnen manga.”

“Well, it’s working to keep the Nice Guy occupied, so I’m willing to overlook it,” Shirou said. “Right now, we need to get rid of Kanji’s symbols while he’s distracted.”

“Sounds great, but how? The only other guys strong enough to lift those things are… well, the Guys!”

“Is it part of the plan you told me about earlier, Emiya-kun?” asked Yukiko.

“Yeah, but we still need help from one other person,” he said, before calling out across the room. “Satonaka, are you ready?”

“Give me a sec!” Chie called back, still fighting Tough Guy. “Just need one good hit…”

“That’s my line, girl,” the Shadow said. It was a testament to his fitness that he could speak so evenly while exerting his muscles to throw a Rampage of fisticuffs. “Once I get you into another sleeper hold, you’ll stay asleep.”

Jumping out of range of his attack, Chie bent her knees down to make herself looser. “Yeah, not gonna happen. Not this time. I’m done playing games here.”

Tomoe was suddenly dismissed, a brief flash that startled the Shadow long enough for her to close the distance between them.

Both incredulous and insulted, Tough Guy’s face morphed to a stern frown as he readied his fists for another Rampage. “Do you have a death wish, girl?!”

“Oh, I’m making a wish all right! On a shooting star!” She leaped forward in a hop, spinning in place, and then landed on her left foot. With her right extended at the same time. Aimed right for his crotch. “Galactic Punt!”

BOOM! CRASH! Ding!

With a powerful roundhouse kick, the Tough Guy Shadow was sent flying so hard and fast that he might as well have been shot out of a cannon. The quick crash that followed came from the bathhouse roof, where Tough Guy left behind a perfect outline of his body from launch; hunched forward, rounded edges for shoulders where the arms should be, and legs crossed over each other. No doubt he was still in that position even as he soared further beyond the horizon.

Everyone stopped and stared, still processing what they had just witnessed. From his hiding spot, Teddie broke the silence asking aloud the important question. “What the fluff just happened?!”

“I… think she just kicked Tough Guy to the moon. If there is one in this world,” Shirou answered slowly. Looking down, he noticed a faint viscous liquid splashed in front of Chie, and it didn’t look like sauna water.

“Yay!” Rise cheered as she pumped her fists up. “Just what I’d expect from Chie-senpai! Woo!”

Yukiko giggled. “Well, she’s the strongest one of us on the team, that’s just to be expected.”

“Uh, well… it’s nothing, really!” Chie said, slightly embarrassed at the praise.

“You killed Tough Guy,” Nice Guy croaked, before his face scowled with intense hatred. “YOU KILLED TOUGH GUY!” He started to dash towards her, forgetting all about his Master Kanji in order to enact vengeance on his other half.

“And you’re joining him, sissy!” Yosuke yelled, Jiraiya lunging towards him with a sucker punch before he could reach her. POW! A single blow to the jaw was enough to rear the Shadow back and knock him on his back. But the attack left Yosuke with a phantom pain in his arm that Jiraiya had punched with. “Gaah! Geez, that smarts!”

“My turn~!”

Yosuke paled, looking up through Jiraiya’s eyes to see the creepy grinning Shadow Kanji holding one of his symbols up with his beefy hand. He then swing it down like an executioner’s ax. The Ninja Persona barely managed to leap to the side at the last moment before the floor exploded in a cloud of wood splinters.

“That clinches it!” Shirou said. “Amagi, Satonaka, it’s time!”

“Right!” “Roger, leader!”

Yukiko stepped up first, facing the Shadow of her old friend with her Persona summoned. Konohana Sakuya spread her flower-petalled chain, sending a fan-wave of fire out to strike both of the enemy Shadows. With Nice Guy vulnerable and only able to curl closer to his body at the moment, Shadow Kanji used his symbols to protect his face and flower garden under his torso. The flames harmlessly licked over them, which given their girth and stamina, might as well be comparable to a sun’s heat wave.

“What was that?!” Shadow Kanji taunted. “Compared to all the blunt blows your posse made, I barely felt a thing!”

“Don’t worry! We’ll cool you right off!”

From the other end of where Yukiko stood, Chie was behind him, and their Personas acted quickly. Sarasvati played a note on her lyre, and Tomoe spun her naginata in place; both actions followed with blocks of ice flying in a wide spread.

Grinning, Shadow Kanji turned to face them and shielded himself again. The ice came just as quickly as the fire, and felt just as harmless. “I always knew girls were weak, but this is just pathetic!”

CRACK!

“Eh?” Shadow Kanji looked down, seeing his weapons crumble in his hands until they were just gold dust. “My symbols!”

“Funny thing about metal,” Shirou said, smirking. “It has a higher tolerance to temperature than most objects, but it still expands in heat and contracts in cold. Normally the act to expose it so quickly in fire and ice would be impossible in practical terms, but this world runs on altered reality.”

“And gold happens to be the most malleable of known metals,” Yukiko added. “Its weight is only possible by its density. Solid gold is simply not strong enough to last under extensive use.”

“In other words, you’ve been scienced!” Chie ended with a dramatic point. “So up yours!”

Yosuke gave her a flat look. “’Scienced’, Satonaka? Really?”

“Guys, focus!” Rise said. “He’s down and vulnerable! Give him hell!”

The team took the opening as soon as they could, rushing over to the still shocked Shadow Kanji. Shirou hacked at his leg with a slash. Yukiko slapped at his arm with her fan. Chie kicked hard at his crotch. Yosuke jumped up to jab his fingers into his eyes. All these attacks and slapsticks happened in quick brutality, doing everything to end the fight as quickly as possible.

It worked to a degree. When the All-Out Attack ended, the Shadow was ragged and bloodied, but still standing. They just needed to push a little more.

Yet, despite the sudden turnaround, and surrounded by all four fighting members of the Investigation Team, Shadow Kanji didn’t rage or despair at losing his weapons. Rather, he started to cackle in mad laughter. That gave Shirou a bad feeling; the giant Shadows always seem to get more emotional as the fight went on, good or bad, and it always meant trouble.

“Oh you darlings are so naïve,” Shadow Kanji grinned between giggles. “Let me show you something… absolutely toxic. Forbidden Murmur.”

A thick cloud of purple gas suddenly expelled out of his pores and swept around most of the room. Shirou felt the effects almost immediately and he started coughing.

“Emiya-kun!” Yukiko cried, rushing to his side.

“Sh-Shit, I feel so nauseous,” Yosuke rasped, quickly supported by the shoulder of Chie.

“Be careful, guys!” Teddie called out from the back. “You’ve been poisoned!”

“It must be a situational poison,” Rise noted. “One that targets men.”

“Bingo! Give the piglet a prize!” Shadow Kanji chuckled. “As you can see, I don’t need my sex toys to defeat you. Just some… machinations.”

The team stopped and stared in shock. Mostly by fear, but the last comment raised even more questions. “Uh… did he just call his weapons—”

“SHUT UP, HANAMURA!” Chie flushed and snapped before he could finish that question, going as far as to push him away.

“There it is! The bloody rage! Let me help you bring it out! Let me hear your Roar of Wrath!”

This time, orange-red gas expelled out of his body. The team immediately edged back and covered their mouths, wary of inhaling the unknown substance that could be something poisonous again. Shirou didn’t feel any different, so he believed that nothing had happened.

For about five seconds.

“RAAAAAAAAA!”

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

“Shirou-sensei, watch out! Chie-chan and Yuki-chan have gone bear-zerk!”

“I can see that, Teddie!” Shirou growled. This was bad; Chie was normally the front-line fighter, but her attacks were so wild that Shadow Kanji was just dancing around her. Yukiko was even worse as she just threw her fan wildly and kept tripping on the water to pick it back up. And they weren’t even thinking of using their Personas. Rise was barely able to shield herself with Himiko’s barrier, but it was a small comfort, as with two moves the team was effectively crippled.

Shadow Kanji enjoyed every minute of this. “Look ma! No hands!” he taunted, raising both sets of hands up as he moved away.

A gas that poisons men, and a gas that enrages women. At least they weren’t mixed, or else a poisonous rage really would be the end of them. Yukiko was the healer, so she needed to recover first. Actually, he could help both her and Chie at once.

“Pixie! Me Patra!”

The fey Persona followed the command right away without commentary, creating a ray of light that illuminated the room in a rainbow cascade. The girls immediately stopped their frenzied movements and clutched their heads from a migraine they were just now becoming aware of.

“Uh… is this what a hangover feels like?” Chie asked aloud. She quickly realized how close they were to Shadow Kanji and stepped protectively in front of Yukiko. “Get back!” she barked, jumping back while at the same time quickly summoning Tomoe to skewer him.

The lance grazed through his arm and triceps, leaving a thick red gash. Growling in both pain and anger, he suddenly spun his upper body into a lariat with such speed that he quickly connected with Tomoe’s helmet. Chie herself was whipped to the side, seeing stars and almost knocked clean off her now wobbling feet. A gash started to form on her scalp, marring her features with strings of blood.

“I’ll deal with you two later,” he promised, already stomping past them. “But first… now Nice Guy!”

Crap! There was still one of those bodybuilders left! Shirou looked around, failing to see any sign of the monochrome Shadow. He wasn’t as dangerous as Tough Guy, and not as nimble either. As long as he could find him before he got close enough to—

“Behind you.”

Shirou’s nerves stood on end. He had no time to summon a new Persona, and simply swung his blade as he turned. Or at least that was the plan before Nice Guy hooked his arms under Shirou’s armpits to lock his arms and cross-choke his neck.

“I rarely feel the need to use my Heat Riser technique on myself,” the Shadow explained. “But this time is an exception.”

Shit, he’d actually enhanced himself while they weren’t looking?

“Hey! Let go of him!” Pixie yelled, throwing Zio after Zio at Nice Guy’s face. “Why aren’t you listening?!”

“Shh shh shh shhhhh,” Nice Guy hushed quickly. “Don’t struggle. It’ll all be over soon.”

Yeah, for them. If he could summon a new Persona. Try as she might, Pixie’s zaps might as well be bug bites with how they didn’t even bother Nice Guy. Between her low aptitude and the poison, it was a struggle for Shirou just to stay awake. Yukiko and Chie were too far away, and Yosuke was casually swatted away by the bigger Shadow.

This was a worst-case scenario.

Grunting through the hold covering his mouth, Shirou immediately imagined Ippon-Datara’s card; his power should be enough to pry his body free. Already the card was dancing within range of his hand. If he could just touch it—!

CRUNCH.

Shirou barely fought down an urge to scream. Standing before him, Shadow Kanji had his thick white arm crushing his hand. He tsked and waved his humane hand in a scolding manner. “Not this time, handsome.” Forcing his hand up, Shadow Kanji then lifted his arm, reared his titan black arm back, and chopped against his elbow hard.

A crack, then a split, and a complete severing with a sickening squelch of blood.

<><><>

Pain. So much pain. Almost like that one time.

Shirou couldn’t stop himself from screaming, but he wasn’t sure if he was anymore. All sound seemed to be muted to a dim heartbeat. His own? Or… someone else’s?

The Shadow of Kanji had a sardonic smile on his face, whispering something that he couldn’t make out. Taunting him, mostly. And pointing to his left arm, holding something. Why? What was… wait. A severed arm?

Oh… so that was what the pain was.

Was this how it will really end? It seemed so surreal. He'd survived countless Shadows before. A giant frog, a towering dominatrix, an angry phoenix, a technocolor stripper… okay, those were pretty ridiculous in hindsight, but did he really need the shame of dying to the most ridiculous of all, a very campy bodybuilder?!

Looks were deceiving, though. It was foolish to think that with his active enforcer gone and his weapons destroyed, Kanji’s Shadow would be easier to defeat. He’d had more tricks up his sleeve… and still had the raw power to rip their bones apart.

If the poison didn’t kill him, the bleeding from his arm’s stump would.

No, he couldn’t let this happen. Even now, the others were fighting, desperately. He couldn’t make it out clearly though; his vision was getting dark, and he was still being held by Nice Guy in a numbing hold. Almost like fire, and it was burning…

Wait… why was the scenery changing? It was almost like everything had been lit up… and burning….

‘My first memory was of fire.’​

The scene before his eyes morphed. The steam house was no longer present, the wooden floor having been replaced with cracked asphalt, broken pieces of glass, and random chunks of concrete. The heat surrounding him went from somewhat stifling to a scorching inferno, and the bright red and orange flames darkened to otherworldly black and blueish hues.

Everything burned, even materials that shouldn't be flammable in the first place like rock and steel. People, of course, were no exception.

‘My second memory was of the agonized cries of a woman.’​

The seven-year-old child he once was covered his ears to the screams. Some begged him for help, others cursing him to die with them, a few uncomprehending ones simply asking for a reason.
All of them in agony, all of them waiting for the release of death. But then again, so was he.

‘My third memory was of the tears falling from Father's eyes.’​

The pure bliss in Kiritsugu's eyes that day would forever remain in Shirou's memories, even now.

The child wondered how anyone could ever be as happy as him. Was it possible for him too? Was it… as simple as what Fuji-nee said? Being happy with being alive?

Could he be happy with his own life?

‘Is it alright for me to live, Father?’​

Could he be allowed to live when so many others were denied that right on that day?

Could he be allowed to die today without first atoning for his sins?

‘Is it a sin for me to want to live, Father?’​

Between the poison and his spurting arm, it hurt to do anything. He felt cold in both body warmth and realization. The bitter realization that if he were to die here and now, the killer would get away. That his friends, whether they survived or not, would never be the same.

In the end it was fear that pushed the magus, the Persona user, into action; the realization that the enemy may not stop after claiming its first victim too terrible to bear.

‘I want to live!’​

Shirou Emiya couldn't allow himself to die yet, not like this. Not with his friends on the line. He’d brought them here, possibly leading them to their defeat, they were his responsibility.

He had to live in order to save them, no matter the cost to himself.

‘I want to be ____!’​

Damn the poison, damn the Nice Guy, damn the arm! He could still call someone to save them from this fight. He reached deep into his soul, to find a Persona that could answer his call. Either they ignored his plea, or it went unheard in his weakened state, so he called again, deeper.

And that’s when he heard it; a primal roar unlike any Persona he had ever seen or heard before. It was simply indiscernible. He thought he also heard Izanagi cry out, but the sound was quickly silenced. What was left was a raw power that seemed to just consume him. A Tarot card appeared, just in front of his eye, blackened as the night sky on each side. He reached for it with his hand, barely aware that it was now ablaze.

‘Fire is my blood!’

<><><>

“I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Tomoe surged forward in a powerful thrust that punctured Shadow Kanji in the stomach. To his credit, he grinned despite a slight trail of blood coming out of his mouth. “Ha, to think this was enough to send you into a frenzy! Maybe I should have played with his little piggies first.”

Chie roared again, rushing to sweep-kick his legs, only stopped by his thick muscle. Gritting her teeth, she jumped away before he could swat her across the room.
This wasn’t supposed to happen! They were supposed to kick Kanji’s Shadow’s ass, give him a pep talk, and bring him back home! Even with the close calls they'd had in previous fights, they always came back in top form. They were ready this time! READY!

And yet Emiya-kun… his arm… his arm was—!

“Yuki-chan! Yosuke-senpai! Shirou-senpai’s heartbeat is dropping way too fast! You have to get him out of there NOW!”

“What the hell does it look like we’re doing?!”

“Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay…!”

Chie heard so many voices from the others going around, but her eyes were focused solely on the bastard Shadow, grinning like a murder clown as he blocked most of Tomoe’s strikes. She had to get his attention, just long enough for them to get to Emiya-kun!

But Shadow Kanji could see them both trying to run past him on either side, and he held his arms out wide in expectancy. “Ooh, don’t be like that! Come closer and hold me! HOOOLD MEEEEE!”

At the height of his scream, Fanatical Sparks flew around him in a wide radius around him; a perfect maneuver of attack and defense. The teens screamed in pain, Yosuke taking the worst as he was knocked out thanks to his weakness towards electricity. Due to a combination of pain and exhaustion in constantly trying to get past Kanji, Yukiko too collapsed.

Chie forced herself to stay up, trying so hard not to let herself trip over her feet by counting her heaving breaths. Just needed to rest a bit, then try again, maybe hit him just hard enough to win?

No, that was foolish. He might be weak, but everyone else was weaker and he knew it. Yukiko’s prana reserves were almost all gone, and even after she purged his poison, Yosuke was too weak to help now. What could Chie do on her own? Without Emiya-kun?

“This is bad,” Rise said, as if also realizing the severity of the situation. “This is really, really bad.”

“Don’t worry, guys! I still got the item bag! I’ll save Shirou-sensei!”

Shadow Kanji’s eyes glanced over to the room entrance, where Teddie and Tama had dragged the real Kanji over since the fight started. Teddie, seeing the Shadow stare at him down, quickly covered his mouth.

“Aww, so the teddy bear wants to help too? I almost forgot about you, but we have a no pets policy,” Shadow Kanji said. He cracked his knuckles and started to march over to him. “Well, I was thinking of redecorating with some animal skin pelts anyway.”

BOOOM!

A sudden explosion and subsequent heatwave stopped the fight. Everyone turned to the source, to see a giant tower of fire where Shirou and Nice Guy were last.

Only Nice Guy was nowhere to be seen; the most likely explanation was he was instantly incinerated from the blast. All that stood there now was their leader, covered in a shadowy hue… and a flaming arm, cradling a Tarot Card.

Chie felt relieved at first, as this meant he was okay and had a great comeback going. But the more she looked at him, the more she felt a sense of fear and foreboding, that something was terribly wrong. “E-Emiya…kun?”

The fire wasn’t blue, instead being a tainted, bloody orange. It was bigger, and more volatile than any summoning fire before. The Tarot card summoned… it was hard to tell if it even WAS Tarot because both spinning sides were completely black.

And when he spoke… it was like a voice of the Legion, unable to hear anything but a deafening, crushing voice.

“K̷̬̬̲̝̗͓̎̄̄̏͛̀͑̀̈͝å̵̯g̷̢̪̲̬̫̜͗̄̀̽͛̈́̋͠͠ȕ̴͈͕̳̮̺͓͒ ̨̖t̶̨̰͇͉̭̱͎̠́̍̃̓͒͝͠s̴̙͖͕̫͖̻͙̥̗̍́̑͗͜ū̸̯̫̜͙̂̇̍͋c̷̈́̔ ̡̹̥̳̩͚͚̮̄̋͆̾͝ĥ̶̹̗͔̼̻̺͇̥͖̿̈́ȉ̵̡͎͇̻̺̹͇̄̅͋.”

The summoning that came forth was like an explosion, bigger than the last, that blinded everything in light, and then, silence.

[Kieran]

Oooh, lots of interesting implications here . . . Though, I have the impression I've read the first half of this before?

[Mattias]

Ohh, we're getting Arena up in here now. Nice. Too bad that without Sho, best girl Labrys won't be around. Also, I think this is the first time I've seen such overt Jojo homages in this fic. Though it has been a while since I've read it from the start.