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

[Twi]

I am pleased by this relatively non-action, informative chapter. I would like more soon.

And Magi are aware of where they stand in the grand-scheme of things. They probably don't care, because who needs to rely on Gods when you can touch the Root of all things and surpass a bunch of jumped-up Elementals?

[warellis]

Sure don't act like it, or maybe they're just in denial in their own way.

They aren't in denial and know they're already in one. As others have said, they just don't give a fuck. You just want them to be in denial and try to pretend they are.

[TheInfamousMan]

They aren't in denial and know they're already in one. As others have said, they just don't give a fuck. You just want them to be in denial and try to pretend they are.

Okay, okay calm down. I wasn't making a big deal out of it Jesus.

My strong suit isn't the technical aspects of the Nasuverse.

[Kishou the Badger]

Well, I might have misjudged how Izanami would think about the magi anyway, and after some discussion with a fan (nitewind), realized that it was just plain bad. The rest of the scene was fie so all that was stricken was that rant.

For what it's worth, I apologize.

[TheInfamousMan]

Well, I might have misjudged how Izanami would think about the magi anyway, and after some discussion with a fan (nitewind), realized that it was just plain bad. The rest of the scene was fie so all that was stricken was that rant.

For what it's worth, I apologize.

Well, so long as it leads to a better version to you I can't complain. Stick to IC behavior rather than personal interpretation, in my opinion.

[Crying]

The thing about Mages is that they are very much aware they are stuck inside a Cosmic Horror Story. That's probably why the first Magi became the first Magi. They were like "Wow, everything else would kill us all out of sheer apathy. We should all learn this totally sick Thaumaturgy thing that will maybe let us survive a little longer."

And then they discovered the Root, and saw how if one "reached" it they would get True Magic, which put whoever had it on a roughly even level with some of the cosmic horrors. They decided that it would be a good thing if they could all reach it, except overtime they started caring more about "reaching the Root" and less about "reaching the Root to survive" to the point where they eventually forgot why they even wanted in the first place. Kind of like Zouken, but on a larger scale.

Well, that's an idea I had, anyway.


Back on topic, good work Kishou, I rather enjoyed that chapter.

[Kishou the Badger]

Fate/Reach Out
Chapter 31: Striptease

Velvet Room

The Izanagi and Cu Sith cards were set on the table. The temporal room was silent as the long-nosed man waved his hand. Shirou, having seen the ritual before, kept his eyes more on Igor than the soon-to-be fusion. As his nose picked up the distinct scent of fresh tailored silk and champagne, the table erupted as sigils appeared.

In trying to gauge Igor's technique, he was distracted by the cards once again rocketing to the non-existent ceiling and dancing before blending together in a flash of white. Moments later, the new Persona appeared, feminine in form. She wore a white leotard over her slightly tanned skin, and had flowing blue hair. She looked human enough, beautiful even, but the wings and tail sprouting from behind in the same skin-tone color showed she wasn't normal. In fact, she was very dangerous and represented the Devil arcana.

Her teal eyes shifted to Shirou and she smiled seductively. Without warning, she flew down to his side and started stroking his chin. "Why, hello handsome! My name's Lilim, but feel free to call me Lili for short. Makes me sound almost human, no?"

"Uuuh," was Shirou's intelligent reply. He was aware that Lilims were sex demons, junior to the Succubi, but he was still taken aback from this one's forwardness.

"Aww, you're so cute acting all flustered like that!" cooed Lilim. She glanced back to Igor and Margaret, who were calmly staring and watching them. They might as well be statues, but the she-devil didn't seem to like how cramped the room was. "Say, why don't we go somewhere private and I can show you some of my techniques?"

The boy's face flushed a deep red. Before he could stutter a weak refusal, another Persona from his mind forcibly revealed herself to confront Lilim. "Still your tongue, hellspawn. You will not corrupt this soul under my guidance."

The woman could pass herself off as Lilim's sister in appearance, as they shared the same body size and hair color. The other woman's eyes appeared closed but she was hardly blind. A white sundress covered her body to her ankles, and feathery wings sprouted from her back.

Angel of Justice. Ninth of the nine hierarchies of Heaven, they were among the many messengers and guardians assigned to the equally large number of humans living in the world. Even when found from the remains from a Shadow weeks ago, she claimed to be Shirou's guardian angel, such as she was proving now. Not to say that she wasn't as fond of Nanako as he was.

But perhaps it was a bad idea to fuse Lilim while Angel was around…

Though looking put off from Angel's appearance, Lilim recovered and proceeded to lick Shirou's cheek, much to his discomfort and her anger. "A bit too late for that," the devil grinned. "This guy has a dark, burning fire inside him that's just waiting to get out. And I bet he could rock any girl's world if he let himself run wild."

Angel's eyes scrunched as if narrowing to a scowl. She gently but forcefully wrapped her arms around Shirou's. Tender like a lover, but also possessive. "No man is born perfectly Good or Lawful, but we endear those that try to follow our example. This child tries harder than anyone else, and heroes of the past have an unfortunate track record of acting on impulse than chastity."

"Chastity sucks! Real heroes are so sexy that their fingernails radiate testosterone!" Lilim argued. "And he has the potential to have any and EVERY girl he could want! Why wouldn't he want to have a girlfriend or five?"

"Because it is unbecoming. Love is a sacred bond between family and spouses, yet you seem to confuse it with orgies."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it, honey!" Lilim looked once over at Angel, and smiled seductively. "How would you like to become a Fallen Angel?"

Angel was obviously offended, but didn't show it. Instead she fired her own rhetoric. "How would you like to be a redeemed Nun?"

Lilim gasped as if her mother had been insulted. "I'd rather die before I go through something so demeaning!"

"The feeling's mutual."

Shirou could see and feel Zio sparks ignite from the two Personas glaring at one another. If this kept up, there could be a serious outbreak, leaving nothing of the Velvet Room left. "U-uh, Lilim? Angel?"

"What?" they growled as they turned towards him. Shirou felt his wellbeing at considerable risk now, but he couldn't stop now.

"I understand that you two have a… disagreement with one another." No one was fooled by the gross understatement. "But I would appreciate that you keep your advice and feedback towards my Social Links, so we can all get stronger."

"Understood, child," Angel nodded. Romance was something that took time, and she was content that Shirou would let things take their due course.

Lilim wasn't as patient, and saw this as him siding with Angel. She folded her arms and pouted cutely. "But that's boring! Don't tell you aren't the least bit interested in cute girls?"

Again, Shirou's mind let loose a Persona that couldn't help but add their two-cents in. He felt a bit of horror realizing it was the Duke of Hell, and what he was about to say next. "His heart clearly yearns for young Chie Satonaka, despite his denials and false sense of chivalry. It is most endearing."

"I'm partial to the scent of Cu Taiga myself," the fey dog added, also appearing in the cramped room. "Her kiss still finds its way to his dreams."

"Cu Sith!" Shirou flushed in equal parts embarrassment and anger. How the hell did his Persona even know about those dreams anyway?!

"What is there concern about? They were all chaste in nature after you rescued her from perils such as Kotomine's Tower-"

"Bah!" snorted Eligor. "You are clearly ignorant of the dream where he rescued Chie from the fierce Flygon."

Lilim cracked a smile. "Flygon? That's some sort of lame-man's kiddy monster, right? Why would anyone be scared of a knock-off?"

"The young Chariot has a severe case of entomophobia. It was a dream worthy of film classics."

"Huh. So how cute are these girls he's clearly into?" Lilim asked as she idly twirled her tail along her finger. "On a scale of one to ten?"

"Let me put it this way," said Cu Sith, before letting out a long, primal howl. "Arooooooooooo!"

"Nice."

"Can we please drop this?!" Shirou cried out from his seat. He couldn't sink any lower than he wanted to nor could he hide his face any further. He was just here to fuse more Personas to help Rise. How in the world did it get to the point that they were all talking about Satonaka and Fuji-nee like this?!

"Yeah, sure," Lilim smirked. "I think I'll hang around if your life is like an episode from a harem show."

"My life is not a harem show!" he snapped, for what little good it did.

The Personas finally dismissed themselves back to his subconscious, having their heckling fun. Though it was clear that Angel didn't share his other Personas’ good cheer about his love life; in fact, she seemed to be rather disappointed in him.

Igor and Margaret's expressions had the faintest hints of amused smiles. "My," said Igor. "What a colorful ensemble you have collected!"

"And you're quite a hit with the ladies as well," Margaret teased.

Shirou could only glare and twitch with a bright red face. "Are we quite done here?"

"Yes," Margaret nodded, summoning the Izanagi card from the tome now that the joke was over. "Remember what you have seen today, because you'll have to complete the next fusion yourself."

Shirou nodded in understanding. One of the conditions to his magecraft training was to master fusion himself in a series of requests. The first request was to create a "subtle and fast Ippon-Datara". He had been thinking it over after she opened his magic circuits (which was as painful a process as she forewarned), and he assumed what she was asking to create him with a skill or spell to help him get faster. Like Jiraiya's Sukukaja.

Perhaps it was his own Structural Analysis acting up or some benefit of the Velvet Room, but Shirou could see the possibilities of Personas before they fused, including the skills they would inherit and later learn. Cu Sith was a trial run made in a hurry, while Lilim was decided out of other potential fusions because of her ability to learn Sukukaja.

Not that it would happen anytime soon, but rescuing Rise should help towards that.

"I will," he said, before glancing to the older man. "That is, if Igor-san will allow that."

"By all means," Igor smiled while gesturing towards him. "You are our guest, after all."

<><><>

Route to Rise

Sometime later, everyone regrouped and met with Teddie again. They now had armor, supplies, and a lead. Shirou told Teddie of what he’d heard (Rise's worries about her stage life overtaking her personal one) and like a bloodhound on the trail, the bear was off. Shirou and the others followed close behind.

There was a silent anxiety working over everyone on their second rescue run. Yukiko had undergone trial runs through her castle before, but she was still nervous the whole trip as he looked over her shoulder. Chie herself was sporting a bō staff strapped over her back, looking ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. When asked about the change of weapon, she shrugged and insisted that she needed something easier to use. No one really questioned this and dropped the issue; Yosuke in particular was relieved. In fact, Yosuke seemed beside himself as to how to greet Rise.

"How about 'Hey babe! Name's Yosuke Hanamura! And I want to be your boyfriend for life!'? No, too long, I need to make a good first impression. Maybe if I make a dynamic entrance with Jiraiya and whisk her off her feet? I could play a cool song to go with it. I wonder if I have one of hers on my player-"

"For crying out loud, Hanamura!" Chie snapped hotly. "We're on a mission to save Rise-chan! Stop treating this like a pick-up date!"

"I-I'm not!" Yosuke argued, looking at her warily. "I just want to make sure she likes us!"

"Whether she likes us or not is pointless, Yosuke. Chances are we'll have to end up fighting her Shadow." Shirou reasoned from ahead. He’d settled for a short sword strapped to his hip, and carried his old bow at the ready. He had no quiver, but he figured that as long as he visualized the iron-tipped arrows he needed, it would suffice and he waste prana instead of ammunition.

The auburn-haired teen flustered and grumbled as if shimmering in heat, before shrugging it off. "Well, I guess I'll impress her with my actions instead of my words. Dating can wait after."

Shirou and Chie rolled their eyes, and they pressed on. Teddie hadn't been quipping as much since he began guiding them, which they could only assume required his utmost concentration. And why wouldn't it? This wasn't a rescue of a friend and classmate. It was the pop idol Risette, a famous celebrity. If someone like her were to turn up dead, news of such a tragedy would definitely gain widespread attention. Even the Clocktower might take notice.

Yukiko was far more nervous than her friends, still being new to the group and all. It only got worse as their way forward was getting darker and harder to see through. But surely they would find a clearing after getting through this… cave? Was it a cave? She decided to call it a cave.

Suddenly, due to their guide abruptly stopping, everyone bumped and collided with each other to form a tangled pile on the ground. "Teddie! What gives?" Yosuke complained for all of them as they stood back up.

The bear ignored them, seeming to take in a few more whiffs before turning towards them. "Well, here we are! Lost person world number 4, starring Rise-chan!"

"Huh?"

Everyone looked around, but all they saw was darkness. Even the fog glasses couldn't see what wasn't lit up, and this area was very dark. What kind of secret did Rise have to hide here? "Teddie, are you sure this the place?"

"Of course, Yuki-chan!" Teddie nodded. "I can definitely pick up a kindred spirit in Rise-chan here!"

"But why is it so dark here? I can barely see my hand in front of my face," she argued, holding up her hand for emphasis. Not that she was sure if the others could see her or not. "Do we even know what it's supposed to look like?"

"We would if we had seen the Midnight Channel," Shirou said. "Hold on, I'll give us a light."

A card crush later, the divine Persona appeared over his head. Cupping her hands together, she whispered "Hama" before a ball of light started to illuminate their surroundings, such as the pink carpet with heart designs under their feet.

"Ah, that's much better," Yukiko smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Angel. And Emiya-kun, of course."

"It is only a temporary solution," said the divine Persona. "And limiting of my powers until a suitable alternative is found."

"In other words, we need to find a light switch." Shirou supplied.

"Hey, I think I found one!"

Everyone turned and walked towards Chie. Angel's light showed a sort of empty booth back the way they came, like an entrance. It looked like a ticket stand of sorts, and had a big red button with the word "POWER" written in big English letters.

"Guess this will turn on the lights here," Shirou noted.

"But what if it's a trap?" Yukiko asked.

"It's a risk we'll have to take," said Yosuke. "We can't really fight in the dark here."

Everyone exchanged glances and gave unanimous nods of agreement. Shirou reached forward and pushed the button. Lights all over turned on, mostly from the studio steel crates dangling from the ceiling, as well as glowing neon lights that rotated colors. Light blindness aside, the team finally got a good look of their surrounding dungeon.

The pink carpet led to a small elevated stage, wide enough for someone to dance on or enter the large stage door ahead. Red leather couches were set around tables at each side of the carpet, designed with rich taste. Many pink-purple drapes were set up, and partly wrapped around pillars for aesthetic value. The pink stage curtains had patterns of hearts glowing as if coming from spotlights.

The setting was not lost on any of them, except maybe Teddie. Yosuke was busy pinching himself. Shirou's right eye was twitching. Yukiko was busy blinking through the bright lights. Tama craned her neck at the tables and seating. Only Chie had enough function in her mouth to utter the words circling through her friend's heads.

“Oh my God."

Angel's face fell as she covered her already closed eyes in shame, Hama spell no longer active. "Please do not utter the Lord’s name here," she weakly pleaded. "It's used enough in these places."

"Oh-ho!" Yosuke grinned perversely. "This looks like the kind you'd find at resort towns, too!"

"I think you're right," Yukiko nodded. Realizing what she said, she blushed and immediately backpedaled before anyone noticed. "N-not that our inn is like that! We do not have one of these at all!"

"Rise's in a strip tease," Shirou groaned bitterly as he dismissed his Persona. "If Fuji-nee ever finds out about this, she'll kill me."

"I don't get it," Teddie asked innocently. "What's the big deal?"

Seeing Yosuke grin towards the bear, Chie quickly stomped on his foot so all he could utter was a pained scream. "I'm not going to let you corrupt him into your image!"

"Look who's talking!" he argued. "You're the one who dropped the word ‘scoring’ in front of him!"

"Well you're not going to drop the word ‘strip’!"

"Strip?"

For a brief moment, Yosuke smirked as Chie clasped her mouth shut. Shirou sighed, thinking it was best to run damage control as soon as possible. "Teddie, the word strip means-"

"Oh Shirou-sensei, I'm already familiar with the term!"

"Y-you are?"

"Of course! It's a piece of road where shops set themselves up against!"

Shirou blinked. As did Chie, Yosuke, and Tama as they stared at the confident bear, trying to process his logic. "That's a strip mall," the magus slowly explained. "It's… not the same thing."

"Huh," said Teddie. "Then a regular strip would be a line, right? Like on a zebra?"

Again there was bewildered silence. "You're joking, right?" Shirou asked finally.

Teddie blinked. "Wouldn't you be laughing if it was a joke?"

Exasperated sweat rolled down the three students' heads, and Tama could only paw her face in shame equaling Angel's. Yukiko, more worried about the lighting affecting her glasses and convincing the others that her inn had no relation to a strip tease, didn't seem to notice the exchange at all. Despite of the fact she stood next to Teddie and Shirou the whole time.

Yosuke and Chie exchanged glances. "Should… we explain to him what strip really means?"

"Please don't."

<><><>

Marukyuu Striptease, 3rd Floor

The dungeon was as suggestive as the entrance implied. Neon lights lit up the ceiling with bright circles and heart designs. Purple heart-patterned curtains were placed not only as "doors" through the halls, but also set up around the walls with lights of full lips and pin-up women silhouettes. The floor path was almost like a runway, with slick silver and pink tiles more suited to a rich home than an adult setting. The paths, much like Yukiko's Castle, branched out in irregular construction pathways. In the dead ends with big space, was a small elevated stand with a stripper pole set up.

And of course, there were Shadows that more or less suited themselves to the setting. Like the Soul Dancer, a pair of male-female figures in ballroom costumes and in an affection dance. It could have passed as a normal duo if not for the rapier they shared in their off hands, or the black heart with a Lovers Noh mask floating over the space where the heads were absent.

It made for an easy target though, Chie soon realized. She hated the things because of their tendency to throw fire magic around, so she swung her staff at the head fast and hard at the heart-head, smiling in satisfaction as the bodies crumbled and then dispersed into black.

"Ha!" she grinned. "I knew getting this staff was a good idea!"

So confident in her new weapon, she didn't notice the five eyeballs or Hermit numbered Noh mask looming towards her. The area behind the eyes distorted, as the figure was cloaked in camouflage. The Shadow looked like a large black face with red marks under the eyes and a red mane-cape fabric flowing off the edges. The Death Seeker started to crackle with energy, and a ball of blue electricity formed in the space of its open mouth-!

Only to be snuffed completely by a plume of flames underneath it. The Death Seeker Shadow too, was eliminated.

Chie only noticed the heat as soon as it vanished, but gave a knowing smile. "Thanks, Yukiko!"

Not too far from her side, Yukiko exhaled a sigh of relief and lowered her extended fan hand. Konohana-Sakuya, with her crescent feather blade, mirrored the action before she returned to Yukiko’s subconscious.

As Shirou and Yosuke finished off their own targets, the group huddled back as Teddie and Tama sneaked out of their hiding spot. "Great job, guys! You're really getting the hang of this!"

"It's still annoying that some Shadows can only be hurt by one sort of attack," Yosuke griped as he holstered his twin short blades away. "Like that floating half-crown mask that looked like a cloud of its own dust-"

"Rainy Sister," Teddie supplied.

"No one cares," Yosuke quipped back. "-and how it was only affected by ice, which Satonaka sucks at."

"My ice does not suck!" Chie huffed.

"Then why can't you do that double thing that you used back at the castle? You could level an entire floor with it!"

"It's a super move! You can't just use super moves willy-nilly! There's a time and place for everything!"

Yosuke only stared at her incredulously for a moment before turning to their leader. "Shirou, you can use Personas with ice spells, right?"

"Not right now, but I'll see what I can do with my benefactors," said the magus.

"Please do," Yosuke nodded, deliberately ignoring the hurt and angry glare Chie was sending them. "Anyway, how are we on energy so far? No one abusing physical arts or anything, right?"

"I got a minor scrape from that DNA-looking Shadow ("Miss Gene," Teddie quickly stated), but nothing a small Dia can't fix."

"Allow me, Emiya-kun!" Yukiko offered, already summoning her Persona to help, but he held his hand to stop her.

"It's alright, Amagi. My scrape is nothing serious, and you've been using a lot of spells as it is."

It was expected from her Shadow that Yukiko had a flare for fire spells, but the healing was a boon as well. She even knew how to cast a wide-spread cure in Media, something both Pixie and Jiraiya lacked. The downside however, was that she was purely specialized in magic. That meant low strength, low endurance, and not even a physical attack art like Cleave. So Yukiko was a bit of a vital asset; she could take away pain and dish it out in spades, but couldn't take it, especially from ice.

"It's no trouble though," she argued. "Sakuya has a lot of energy to spare; I don't think I'm at the half-way mark either."

"Just remember to ration what you have and use the spells when we really need it," Shirou insisted, searching through the medicine bag Teddie handed him. "Especially with the Shadows being a bit stronger than at the castle."

Yukiko frowned. Not just at the dislike of being reminded of the castle, but the implication that the fighting was getting worse. "How could that be?"

"It's raining on your side, right?" Teddie asked rhetorically. "It's like I said before. When it rains on your side, the fog thins out and Shadows get rowdy. That also means stronger Shadows that normally wouldn't come out on a normal day show up here. Like the Rainy Sister."

With the battle over and their injuries patched up, the Investigation Team (plus animals) continued their search. Their current floor seemed to have a single corridor with no branching paths, and no other Shadow made their presence known.

Then they approached a wide curtain. Teddie's nose twitched and wiggled. "Hold on… I'm getting something. Something really strong and smelly beyond that door!"

Yosuke blinked. "Smelly? Well either that's Rise behind the door, or a giant turd-based Shadow."

Ignoring his attempt at levity, Shirou pulled the curtains open. Behind them was a widespread room with square support beams, glowing floor panels, and spots on a lone figure ahead of them. It looked almost like a stage, similar to the castle room Shadow Chie had appeared in.

"Why, hello there you lucky VIPs! I feel so lucky having fans coming so early! But not too early if you know what I mean~! 3"

Again the Investigation Team was shocked into silence. The students quickly recognized the red, wavy hair of Risette, as well as a dark blue aura around her. But her choice of attire was far more startling, for it was more suited to a beach setting… or here of course.

Yosuke licked his lips, and uttered in growing pitch and perversion, "Such an itsy-bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini-!"

Indeed, the voluptuous figure of Rise Kujikawa, or rather Shadow Rise, was clad in only a matching two-piece swimsuit, her bust bouncing once as she turned to greet them. Her bosom drew the eyes of everyone, even the girls.

"They're so big," Chie found herself saying in envy.

"Anyway, glad you could make it!" Shadow Rise smiled as she spoke to the microphone in her hand. "Today's a special last minute show. I may have quit the idol showbiz, but don't worry! You'll see a lot of me before we're done."

Her hands idly twisted the microphone very… suggestively. "It may be hard to see through all this smoke, but that's the fun of it, right? Teasing your emotions, getting excited the further you go in? I may be a tease, but if you follow me all the way through, I'll show you e-very-thing!"

She jumped and spread her arms wide, breasts bouncing again. "Join me and together we'll show the world my real, bare, naked truth!"

As if on cue, a large, tacky gameshow sign hovered over her head, in colors of purple, yellow, and pink. The form was oblong with bubbles, stars and a triangle with words printed over. In kanji it read "Maru-Q Midsummer Night Dream's Special", and in English were blubs of "Live!" and "Hot!" and "All the Way!" The eye-catcher was "Risette'S E-X-POSED!!!"

"Toodles!" The Shadow waved quickly before skipping ahead in her bare feet.

The Investigation Team made no move after her, as they were still processing what they had just seen and heard. Only Tama seemed unaffected as she looked up to the wide eyes of the humans and bear. Teddie’s face flushed, feeling a sort of rising tension in his chest… but he didn't have a heart, did he? He was empty inside. What was this sensation?

Yukiko eventually turned away and looked to her best friend for comfort, blushing as she did so. "Uh, was my Shadow ever-"

"No, Yukiko, yours wasn't as bad," Chie sighed, and holding Yukiko's hand with both of hers for comfort. "And thank God for that."

"I wish she stopped uttering the Lord’s name in here." Angel lamented. Not that anyone would hear or react, as Shirou was having a bit of a mental overload.

"Hey! Listen! Hey! HEEEEY! Snap out of it! Geez, he’s acting like he’s never seen a half-naked girl before!"

"A strip bar, a busty femme, and conflicting virgin emotions? Oh yeah. I couldn't have joined up at a better time if I had wished for one!"

Shirou eventually snapped out of his stupor, as did Yosuke and Teddie, when they heard the sound of cheap audio laughter. "What was that?"

"The Shadows are getting rowdy, just like at the other places!" Teddie answered for them. "All because of Rise-chan's suppressed feelings."

"Oh man, an idol blabbing about sexual innuendos are way worse than a few nasty secrets!" Yosuke cried. “We've got to hurry and save her!"

"That's right! Or else it might end up getting 'bear' naked!"

Almost collectively, Shirou, Chie, and Yosuke suppressed a groan. Humor was not exactly what they needed to alleviate the mood, and Teddie's puns were some of the worst attempts they had ever heard.

"'Bear' naked?"

They had to suppress another set of groans realizing that Yukiko was about to break into a giggling fit again, and take much too long to calm down and help. "He had to say a bear pun in front of her…" Chie lamented.

And yet… there was nothing. Not even a chuckle. Curiously, everyone looked to Yukiko to find her more confused than amused. "That was a pun?"

The incredulous yet innocent question, coupled with the timing, led to her classmates collapsing due to being caught off guard by her taste in humor. Teddie too had fallen, more in defeat that he couldn't make Yukiko let out that melodic laugh from before. Even Tama was swept off her feet, though no one would know it was because she found not just Teddie's pun, but Yukiko's reaction, highly amusing like in a TV sketch.

Yukiko Amagi could only blink bewilderedly at this development.

<><><>

Marukyuu Striptease, 7th Floor

"I'm so happy you came, my diehard fans!"

Shadow Rise kept an eager lead in front of the Investigation Team, and always had time to drop thanks and innuendoes as they climbed the dungeon floors. Teddie seemed to discover his true gender ever so slowly as he shared the flustered faces of Yosuke and Shirou.

"Gah, so intense," Teddie huffed. "Must press on. And yet, these colors are making my head dizzy."

"Aww, you're trying so hard too! Well, I am feeling a little shy, so I'll just dim the lights for now."

Like a switch, the floor went immediately dark, earning several startled gasps from the team. It was no different from the entrance before turning the power on.

"If you can find me on this floor, you'll get a special reward!"

"Teddie, Yosuke, calm down," Shirou quickly ordered. It wouldn't do for anyone to get flustered before reaching either Rise or her Shadow. The dungeon was a trial in itself getting through the atmosphere and Rise’s teasing Shadow.

"I, I know that! I can buckle down and get serious you know!" Yosuke insisted between stutters.

"That's right, Shirou-sensei!" Teddie added enthusiastically. "I'm ready-no, I'm more than ready to climb the stairway to maturity!"

…that was probably the best response he could get from either of them. Still, the team of four teens and two animals traveled warily on through the dark floor, and huddled closer together. It was a good thing that Teddie's nose worked better than their eyes, and they were able to avoid any unnecessary fights or ambushes.

Eventually they had to rely on Angel making another Hama light, which seemed to help keep the Shadows away. Though it was still dark, and expanding too much light would have drained Shirou's energy, so they ended up fumbling and hugging the walls. Arms would reach out blindly trying to grab a curtain… though Shirou's hand ended up brushing against someone's shoulder.

"EEP!” Without any other warning, the figure spun and brained him with their long weapon.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Emiya-kun!” Chie cried out almost immediately in embarrassment. “It’s so dark in here that I’m feeling a little jumpy.”

“It’s… quite alright,” he groaned with a ringing headache. “I was at fault too. Sorry.”

“Geez, you’re like a sitting duck without your long sword,” she frowned. For as good a shot he was, he couldn’t move very far and had to stay still before shooting. The blade he brought along might as well be a knife for all the good it was doing him. “Tell you what, just stay close behind me! I'll be your front guard!"

Yosuke, ever the desperate suitor, managed to catch wind of the conversation. "Say, Amagi-san?" he asked the black haired girl behind him. "Want me to be your front guard?"

"No."

Damn it, she didn't even let him set up his pitch! Well, it was clear she was trying to put on a brave face, and she didn't have to. "I-I insist, Amagi-san, after all, you don't know what kind of Shadows lurk in the, well, shadows. They could be hideous monsters, like, having see-through guts, or wielding chainsaws!" Seeing her tense, he decided to go for the clinch. "Or, or even having the ability to summon arms that pop up from the ground and pull you underneath!"

"Aaaaaaah!" Two girlish screams echoed the hallways. Surprisingly they came from Chie and Teddie, and both of them latched to the closest bodies to them (Shirou and Tama respectively, and neither seemed to mind). Not exactly the reaction he was aiming for, but hey? If Chie Satonaka was this scared, he could only imagine Yukiko being so terrified that she wanted to hug him too, but nerves wouldn't let her.


But instead, Yukiko smiled and her eyes sparkled. "I know! And in the dark too! Isn't that exciting?!"


The auburn teen could only stare, flabbergasted. His jaw slacked and eye started to twitch. Did he hear her right?


"So many dark corridors and a Shadow could pop up at any moment! Maybe they'd be a pair of zombies bound together in skewers, or a giant blob that can dissolve skin and bones! Why, think of the traps that we could encounter here!"


"Please don't," squeaked Teddie, stroking the fur of a not-so-reluctant Tama like a security blanket.


This… was not the image of Yukiko Yosuke had envisioned at all. She was supposed to be a cute, feminine traditional girl of yesteryear. How the hell was he supposed to get a girlfriend when the girl was excited at the idea of monsters when the tomboy was scared?!


…though in hindsight, this might explain a few things about her castle dungeon.

"I'm going to look ahead!" she said cheerfully as she summoned Konohana Sakuya with a rather eager swipe of her fan. With flames dancing around her rather creepily, she started skipping down the hallway. She was the least suited to play scout but she didn't care. Worse, she started to sing. "Skulls and bones, skulls and bones, spikes and traps so full of holes! Oh, I should have brought a camera…"

Eye still twitching, he turned to Shirou and Chie – the latter clinging even tighter to the former – with a worried expression. Angel floated above ever so stoically with the light illuminating them. "What the hell was-?"

"Horror buff." Chie squeaked quickly between her teeth. "Horror is Yukiko's favorite genre. To an unhealthy degree."

Oh. Well, that's… balls.

Shirou seemed surprised as well, but was far more concerned of Chie's behavior in the dark affecting her ability to fight. "You can protect me, Satonaka."

She looked at him with relieved tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

Yosuke's mood soured as he watched them move on. Then he heard squeaking come up timidly behind him. "C-c-can you protect us too, Yosuke?"

"Shut up," he said, and moved ahead before Angel's light couldn't reach them anymore. Next time he was going to be damned sure to bring a flashlight.

<><><>

Eventually everyone calmed down. The main concern was finding Rise and stopping her Shadow, so there was no time for getting overexcited about monsters or bikini girls. Not that it was stopping Teddie from looking forward to the prize.

As they reached the umpteenth curtain door, Teddie sniffed once before panting and pointing at it. "There! She's there! Rise-chan is just beyond that curtain!"

"Try to contain yourself," Shirou warned dryly, though his hand reached for the curtain all the same. "We're most likely going have to fight."

"And I'm ready to fight in the name of love!" Everyone stopped and stared at the flustered but excited bear. Yosuke coughed to the side, pretending not to look as conspicuous, but no one was fooled or cared about his behavior.

Rolling his eyes, Shirou tugged the curtain open. Though she was barely visible in the dark room, they saw Shadow Rise waiting for them as promised.

"You found me!" she cooed and giggled. "This is my first time, so please be gentle."

Not a moment later, she snapped her fingers. The lights switched on and she was nowhere in sight.

Instead, the room was full of three Shadows. The one on the left was a giant chariot-centric wheel with spikes attached to both hub sides, and a metal lion's body mounted on top of the rim like an ornament. The rightmost Shadow was a blue-steel armored samurai with a bronze round hat-helm obscuring the face, and poised in position with its long katana. And the third Shadow, positioned between the wheel and samurai, was a floating albino snake with a red Noh mask over its face. The slender neck was through the hole of the Mars symbol, which in turn was linked through the hole of the Venus symbol like a keychain.

Teddie could only stare comically, wide eyed. His previous excitement died much like his verbal reaction; weak and nearly silent. "….a….aaa….ah!"

"Well he warned you!" Chie snapped at the bear.

No more banter was made as the Amorous Snake coiled itself like a pretzel and expelled a thick green gas. On instinct the Investigation Team covered their mouths while expecting some sort of poison, but the gas washed over them, seemingly ineffective.

That's when the Rain Wheel literally revved up and charged forward to mow them down. "Scatter!" Shirou cried quickly, as he and everyone else dived and rolled to safety. Teddie barely managed to move away from the wheel, but that was when he saw the spike rolling closer-

SNHK!

To her horror, Yukiko saw Teddie's head fly off across the room, severed from his body. "Teddie!"

"He's fine!" Yosuke called out, even as Teddie's arms waved about wildly, looking for the head. Heck, the fox even went to retrieve the head where it flew off so he would be back to his quivering self soon. They were without tactical support for the moment but they just had to find their enemies’ weaknesses and exploit them, right?

Quick to the draw, he summoned the ninja Persona from within and took aim at the wheel as it made a sharp u-turn. "Garu!"

But alas, the mighty green gale aimed at the support beams of the frame might as well have been a cool summer breeze. The Shadow was undeterred.

"Wind's no good!" he barked, before willing Jiraiya to throw a quick jab at it. To his further surprise, his hand hurt after the punch didn't even dent the gold lion head, and was forced to use both hands to stop the revving advance. Poorly. "Punches aren't working either!"

"I'll back you up! Just hold!" Shirou called out. He led the girls further into the room and away from the wheel. Some good fortune revealed that the snake was vulnerable to fire, so he and Yukiko kept it down and dizzy with constant spellfire.

"Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!" yapped Cu Sith. It was such an annoying sound, but fireballs were still conjured out with each escaped breath. The blossom princess Persona simply raised her hands high in prayer and conjured the flame from the floor.

But while Yukiko was focused on her Persona, Shirou multitasked in drawing projected arrows from his new circuits. He could never thank Margaret or Pixie enough for correcting him, as he never had to worry about burning his spine anymore. With exercises drilled in since Archery club, he fired another perfect shot, this time at the wheel Yosuke was fighting. The arrow tip was reinforced enough to pierce the wheel base, though it did nothing to slow it down.

Meanwhile, Chie charged towards the Rain Leg Musha, swinging her staff wildly behind her like a baton before swinging it down. The samurai stepped away from her attack, and further backed away as she tried to swing across. It was her first time using a staff, but she liked to believe she learned quickly by muscle memory. Watching all those martial arts shows, movies, and even Tomoe helped. The power of the staff was its reach, and as long as she had that, the Shadow couldn't get near her. "Ha! Hoo! Tah!"

But she was still a novice against a pragmatic Shadow. The musha simply bided its time with an enhancing skill and held off from retaliating. Chie's fluid movements finally gave way to an opening – an extended reach in the form of thrusting the staff one-handed. Like lightning, the Shadow closed the distance between them and finally drew its long sword. The slash nearly tore through Chie's armor and sent her flying off her feet at the Shadow's mercy. "Gaah!"

Yukiko glanced away from the downed Amorous Snake in time to witness her friend’s vulnerability to the enemy. "No!" she cried, immediately focusing Sakuya's flames on the samurai Shadow. They stopped its advance, but the damage was minimal at best. Yukiko was at a loss; her spells couldn’t stop it!

Chie took this reprieve to back away and summon her Persona. As the flames departed, Tomoe shot forth and slashed diagonally across the samurai's armor. She would have followed through again with the other blade, only for the sword to guard at the last moment and force a standstill.

"Yukiko!" she called to her friend. "I could use first aid!"

"O-oh! Right!"

As Shirou tried in vain to blast the wheel with fire magic, the snake finally roused itself up with no interruptions. And thus, the Investigation Team was caught unaware as the snake coiled into another pretzel shape and glowed a light pink.

The wheel's charge forced Shirou and Yosuke to split up again, rolls and all. If they weren't getting hurt from getting run over, they risked it on hitting the floor in a panic. "That thing seems to have no weaknesses."

"Even a strength can be a weakness. If you can't find a weakness, use its strength."

But how, he wanted to ask the Duke. But before he could ask, he saw out of his peripheral vision Yosuke with knives drawn, and attempting to flank Yukiko.

"Amagi! Behind you!"

Surprised from her healing of Chie, Yukiko tensed and looked over her shoulder. She almost relaxed at Yosuke's presence but didn't miss the eerie glow around him. Nor the blades he held up as he swung them down at her back. "Aah!" she cried, barely backing away before he could stab her.

Chie tore her focus from the samurai and blanched. "Hanamura, what the hell?!"

"It's not his fault!" Teddie called out from behind the curtain 'door'. "The Amorous Snake Charmed him into its control!"

"Hey! I got this!" Pixie called from Shirou's head. "Just call me and I'll have him Patra'd faster than you can say-!"

"AIIIIIEEE!" Yosuke cried out, seemingly snapping out of the trance before falling down. Of course, anyone would cry out after taking a kick from Chie Satonaka in a very sensitive place he was now cradling. Again, Yukiko blinked. Again, Shirou winced. And Teddie, Tama, and the Shadows paused and watched with some morbid curiosity at the case of friendly fire.

"There," Chie huffed, ignoring the pointed stares she was now getting. "He's better now."

"…nevermind," the fey deflated.

"I honestly don't know what to make of this," said Angel, just as defeated.

"I do! It's my time to shine!"

Feeling a cue to make a switch, Shirou allowed his new Persona out. "Lilim!"

The little devil fluttered about, sniffing the air twice before smiling. "Oh yes, the Stagnant Air is still ripe for use. Now I just need a volunteer-"

The Rain Wheel finally recovered, revving back for speed before charging head-on at Shirou and Lilim. The former was ready to bolt again, but the latter smiled contently. "Match found! Now, Marin Karin says: STOP!"

A pink hue quickly expelled out and around Lilim's body before hitting the wheel Shadow. The wheel was now saturated in a pink outline and slowed to a stop before her outstretched hand. Lilim allowed her hand to pat the lion figurehead before turning to the now nervous albino.

"Not so fun messing with ailments when they're used against you, huh? That's the thing about Stagnant Air. It affects everyone on the field." Nodding to her improv lecture, Lilim then pulled her hand back into a fist before giving her infatuated enemy its order. "Now my Gorgeous Wheel, Marin Karin says: LET HER RIIIIIP!"

Her behavior was childish, as was the hand gesture of two knuckles pressed together before parting. The wheel did indeed "rip" though. Charging headfirst toward the snake, it reduced the weakened Shadow into the darkened goop of a corpse (only to disappear entirely). With one hostile Shadow left, the wheel turned appropriately to face it head on. The musha turned to face the wheel, but stood its ground all the same. The distance closed between them as the wheel seemed to turn at the last minute, using the spikes to defeat the samurai. In turn, it swung its blade in a deft flash-

And in an instant, both Shadows exploded into black nothingness.

"And that, my duckies, is what happens when an unstoppable wheelie meets an unmovable samurai. The. End."

Lilim nodded to herself after the sage advice(?) and disappeared back into Shirou's subconsciousness. Everyone else stared rather mutely at how quickly the fight resolved itself by forcing the enemies against each other.

"That was… discouraging," Chie said after a while.

"I know," Teddie added. "All that, and I didn't even get a chance to choose! I've been fooled."

Exasperated sweat rolled down the students’ heads. "Not quite what I meant, Teddie."

Shirou ignored them as he walked to the blobby mess of the Rain Shadows and started scavenging for parts and cards. For some reason, their remains were of higher quality than the other Shadows, so he had a feeling Daidara would have a field day even having one of these in his hands.

A new Persona was acquired as well; a blond woman with a silver winged mask, wearing chain and leather armor with two swords, one in each hand. Despite having no harness, saddle, or even reins, she sat and rode proudly on a large red horse. "I thank you, master. On my honor as a Valkyrie, I shall serve you to the ends of the world."

"Thank you," Shirou said simply, and accepted the Tarot card she metamorphosed into. Valkyrie of Strength. Another Arcana he had yet to form a Social Link, but she reminded him of someone.

"What… the hell...?"

Chie turned to the slowly raising form of Yosuke. "Oh, you're awake."

"That's all you have to say?!" he wheezed angrily. "After you nearly shattered my nads again?!"

“Well, you tried stabbing Yukiko like some psycho puppet. I figured the best way to stop you was the usual one."

"Guys, we still have an idol to rescue," Shirou intervened. "We can save the bickering for later."

"Right, allow me." Everyone gathered close to Yukiko, who closed her eyes in focus. As the card danced over her fan, she spun around once and slashed the card with the bladed tips of her fan. The flower princess Persona appeared in her prayer position, and a purple vitalizing light bathed everyone with energy. Minor scrapes and bruises healed up, and physical exhaustion slowly left them.

But as soon as the Media came, it left. Sakuya disappeared and Yukiko let out an exhausted gasp of air.

Chie noticed the change right away in alarm. "Yukiko! What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she huffed. "I think I reached my limit. I can't do any more."

"Amagi-san's only good at casting spells," Yosuke frowned. "If she says she can't do any more, we're effectively a man down."

Shirou rubbed his chin in thought. They’d climbed so far, and he hoped if they made good time, they could have rescued Rise in one day. Maybe it was still possible… "Tama, how much do your leaves cost again?"

A quick abacus calculation later told them that it was beyond their pay. Maybe if they hadn’t spent so much on medicine and armor today, they could have scrounged up just enough, but the fact was the fox was not cheap in her services.

"Now would be a good time to head back and rest wouldn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "What do you guys think?"

"I'm volunteering for a respite!" Yosuke raised his hand. A little too enthusiastically.

"But we’ve come so far!" Yukiko cried. "If we leave now, we'll have to start all over from the beginning!"

"Not necessarily!" Teddie smiled. "I can leave a checkpoint, so to speak, on this floor. So when we come back tomorrow, we'll skip the other six floors and be that much closer to Rise-chan!"

"I guess a rule of thumb is to assume the victims are always at the furthest level," Chie frowned. "Never makes things easy, huh."

"Well, as long as we can save her later," said Yukiko. "I'm sorry we have to leave because of me though."

"We're all tired, Yukiko. Don't let it get to ya."

"Okay Investigation Team," Shirou nodded. "We'll stop here for today, and sleep early so we can head back tomorrow."

Yosuke sighed in relief as Teddie conjured his diorama. "That's good. I think I could use some downtime before round two. Maybe find something good on TV."

The team leader blinked, glancing over to Yosuke in concern. "What did you say?"

"You know, television. Game shows, anime, that sort of thing. What, don't tell me you never used one for anything besides watching the news?"

Shirou seemed to be lost in thought again, as if weighing his options. "Maybe we should keep going after all."

Yosuke blanched at the betrayal. "Dude, are you still high on adrenaline or something? You just said yourself we should rest!"

"That was before you reminded me that an idol's reputation was at stake," he countered, only earning confused looks. "Think about it; Risette just announced her retirement from idol work, and disappears from the world the very same night. No one knows where she is, let alone that she was kidnapped. And if her Midnight Channel airs tonight…"

Yukiko's eyes widened in realization. "Everyone would believe Rise-chan has become a prostitute."

"Exactly."

An uneasy silence filled the room.

"Now hold on, Emiya-kun," Chie argued. "I get what you're trying to say, but isn't that a bit of a stretch? I mean, Yukiko's Shadow was on some power trip about eloping with a prince but no one really believes the real Yukiko is like that."

"Rise-chan's an idol, Chie," her friend said softly. "It's one thing for people to gossip about some small urban girl with an inn to her name. But if the rumor starts, then it will get out to her paparazzi one way or another."

"But it's not even true to begin with! It's just some suppressed psyche going haywire like the rest of us!"

"It doesn't matter whether it's true or not," Shirou frowned, recalling the news media and what Nami said. "If enough people believe even subconsciously in what they're seeing or talking about, then so will everyone else, and no amount of truth could ever fix that damage."

He would save people, that much he knew. But what would saving a person's life be worth if it was going to be forever scarred by a damning commercial and the rumor mill? Kiritsugu may have saved his physical body from the fire, but he could have just as easily left him at an orphanage without ever meeting him at the hospital.

People like Nanako looked up to Rise Kujikawa. To them she was a hero. He knew how much it hurt to find the bad side of his own stepdad, but at least it was by his own choice. But Rise Kujikawa didn’t, and he wasn't going to let her go through the same thing.

"Tama," he regarded the fox as he knelt to her level. "Please consider the price of your leaves, just for tonight. This is an emergency."

The fox made no move from her position, or the soroban tool in front of her.

"I may not understand how valuable those leaves at your temple are, and I may understand even less about why you're insistent on making money, but I do know you care about others. You watch over the shrine and make sure those wishes come true, even if no one knows you exist. In fact, rumors have been going around painting you as a ghost haunting the place."

Tama's eyes glanced down to the floor, still silent.

“Please Tama. I’ll pay you back later. I’ll clean every inch of the shrine. I’ll do anything you want. Just allow us to use your leaves for tonight.”

Tama’s body was still stuck in place. A clearly thoughtful look was present in her eyes, though they refused to look back at Shirou’s for whatever reason.

“Tama-chan?” Teddie asked. The fox gave him her undivided attention right away. “If you have any doubts, take it from me. You can trust Shirou-sensei.

“I still don’t know what he means about all this Midnight Channel stuff, but I guess it must be important to him to break out and ask for favors. And he seems like a guy who wouldn’t do so without good reason. But that’s okay, really.”

The bear nodded confidently to him. “He’s an ally of justice, after all! He always keeps his word, and if he says he’s going to pay you back for this big favor, I’m sure he will.”

“Teddie…” Hearing the bear speak up for him was touching. He couldn’t even begin to put those feelings into words, let alone what else to say to him.

Tama was also moved by Teddie’s speech, as she stared intently on the soroban in front of her. Moments later, her neck craned down and she pulled out several zip-lock baggies, each holding a leaf vacuum sealed, and handed them to Shirou.

He was about ready to express thanks when the fox pointed at the soroban intently. The exact amount she wanted for the leaves before, to be paid at a later date.

Shirou only smiled and ruffled her head and ears, earning a yip of contentment. "I'll pay back every yen, with interest."

<><><>

Inaba Road

“You’re still mad, aren’t you?”

They were driving away from the station, now on a routine patrol in trying to find anything out of the ordinary. Dojima was deadly focused on the road, and his knuckles were whitening from gripping the wheel so hard. Adachi watched nervously as his senior partner continued to give him the cold shoulder.

He hadn’t said a word since they left.

“Come on, Dojima-san! It was an honest mistake! I know you said not to touch anything, but I wanted to be sure that the video was there, you know? And I did see the video of Rise getting kidnapped, like you said! You were talking so long explaining it to the guy, anyway!”

Dojima kept on driving.

“But then I started fiddling with the device… and accidentally pressed the record button.”

His scowl grew deeper. Adachi didn’t notice and kept on gabbing.

“And that’s when you came in yelling at me. I told you the video was proof and I could ID the van!”

His eyes scrunched in anger.

“…but since I have no good description to give to a sketch artist, my word might as well be shit. That’s what you said, I think.”

Dojima did nothing this time, and still said nothing, yet the building silence made Adachi feel very uncomfortable. “I’m really sorry I got you mad.”

“Adachi.”

He finally spoke, and it wasn’t as pissed as he thought it would be. It was more resigned and helpful. “Yessir?”

“There’s a saying my senpai would tell me when we worked together, and I made a rookie mistake-”

“You made rookie mistakes, Dojima-san?” Adachi couldn’t help asking. He was deftly ignored.

“’Actions speak louder than words. If you have the time to make excuses, then you better damn well have the means to follow them up.’” He final gave the junior detective a side glance, with a bored scowl on his face. “So what should you be doing instead?”

“Uh… working my ass off on the case?”

“Damn straight.”

They continued to drive in the patrol car in silence, as Dojima replayed the scene in his head. They had been so close to a lead, and yet it slipped away because of his rookie partner the moment he left the room. He really shouldn’t hold it against Adachi, but it’s like the guy could do nothing right. Well, when he was through with him, the rookie would learn his mistake and be damn sure not to record over evidence again.

"Dojima-san!"

Adachi’s worried cry was enough to get him to snap out of his thoughts and warn him of the danger ahead. Ahead he saw a pale, black-haired figure walking in the middle of the road in heavy rain.

In the back of his mind, he thought back to the damn horror movie he watched one too many times as a kid Nanako’s age. But he quickly ignored that sinking feeling of fear as he slammed on the brakes and turned the car hard left.

The tires screeched and likely left skid marks, but the car came to a safe stop beside the… naked girl?

Immediately the two cops opened their doors to talk to her, but she kept on walking past them. She probably didn’t notice that she had almost been killed, let alone how cold her body was out in the rain. The only distinctive traits she had to her were her mopey black hair and some small item clenched tightly in her hand.

Well, this was definitely out of the ordinary.

Before Adachi could fumble for a weak excuse, Dojima left the car and called out, “Hey!” She ignored him. Either she was messing with him, or she seriously did not realize he almost ran her over.

He tried again, marching over to directly confront her. “Hey, when someone calls out, you-!”

He touched her shoulder. It was real all right. But what was really surreal was her reaction. The girl jumped almost immediately, and turned to look accusingly at him. Her brown eyes held gaze on him for a few moments, before darting around, looking for something familiar but couldn’t find it.

“Whe… where am I?” she rasped.

Dojima unfolded his coat and draped it over the girl’s shoulders. He was not one to get embarrassed over some teenage nudity (even ignoring the fact that she could be Shirou’s age for all he knew) but it was meant for her discomfort in mind than his own. “Near the shopping district of Yasoinaba,” he answered. “Where’s your family?”

“Family?” she asked, hugging the coat close to her as if it was hers to begin with. “What is ‘family’?”

Dojima frowned. This was looking more and more suspicious, and he didn’t like it. “What are you doing here?”

“I… I’ve just been walking here,” she said. “I think I was-Aaah!” she suddenly clutched her head with both hands and fell to her knees.

Whatever she had been through, it was too painful for her to remember. But she had to remember something about her life. Anything. “What’s your name?” Dojima asked.

The girl stared up at him with scared eyes. “I don’t know.”

[Rai Burnout]

So Shirou's rushing it all in one night. God Bless that kid, cause no one else will. Good point on the image view. Adachi wiping more evidence and Marie arriving looking like a rape victim caps off this chapter. Good Chapter, I especially liked the banter in the striptease as well as that segment in the Velvet Room as Shirou's Personae discuss his love life or lack of it. Good Job.

[Xamusel]

...Marie? Is that you?

[MWkillkenny84]

...Marie? Is that you?

Yes, she is.

And we have discovered that the Personas inside Shirou are all shippers.

[Twi]

Lilim is fun.

[Kieran]

...Marie? Is that you?

Yes, she is.

Ooh, this will be fun - I know who she is, but I never got to meet her (stupid CTS meant I had to give up video games before I finished Persona 4, and long before Golden came out ).

And we have discovered that the Personas inside Shirou are all shippers.

Yeah, and just wait until they meet his original harem - I envision a Lilim/Rin or Lilim/Dark Sakura double-team.

[Kishou the Badger]

Another two-parter because it's so HUGE. Enjoy!

Chapter 32: Shadow of the Real Self

<><><>

Marukyu Striptease, Floor Unknown

"Uggh..."

In a quiet, dark blue corridor, Rise Kujikawa limped forward and supported herself against the wall. She was still in her idol clothes from her concert. She had no idea what time it was, or how long it had been since her kidnapping. Had it been a day since she ended up here? Two? She couldn’t tell, not with the lack of windows and the growing headache she was having. At least she wasn’t bound and gagged though, small a silver lining as it is.

What the hell went wrong? She just wanted a break from being a sex doll before it blew out of proportion. She had hoped to avoid ending up in a situation like in Perfect Blue. And yet almost immediately after retiring she was drugged and thrown into this closed-off brothel.

She was hungry. She was tired. She was scared. And most of all, she was alone.

But she was Rise Kujikawa, and unlike Risette, she sure as hell wasn’t helpless.

“Just gotta find a way out,” she told herself. “Just gotta keep moving and find the exit.”

Rise knew the situation looked rather grim, but it was easy to block out the unwanted or distracting emotions for the ones that were needed. This was just a horror scene she had to play out, nothing more. Thinking about it wouldn’t help her get out.

With her hand pressed against the wall to support herself, she nearly slipped when she felt herself push through a curtain. As discreetly as possible, the red-haired girl slipped through. Her hopes of a secret exit were dashed as she realized that she had only come across a small, suggestive room. Nothing risqué, but her eye did catch a sort of stand table elevated for someone to strut around.

It reminded her of idol dancing for some reason. All the times she had to dance and look cute for the creeps undressing her with their eyes. How many young girls were even at her concert the other night? The ones that she was supposedly a role model for?

Her musing stopped when she noticed a small purple chest in the corner of the room. Maybe it had something to help her? Or was it a trap?

Only one way to find out, really. And what’s the worst that could happen to her now short of dying?

…Morbid thought aside, Rise approached the chest and carefully unlocked the hinge open. She looked inside to find a shimmering yellow key. With growing hope, she grabbed it.

“Maybe this can open a way out?” It seems weird to throw a key into a chest and forget about it, but perhaps this would help on some inconvenient lock on the exit door.

“Nah, that’s just a chest key for a fancier chest.”

Startled with fright, Rise jumped back and held the key in front of her defensively like a knife.

For a moment she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Even after rubbing her eyes with her free hand, she saw what looked like her with a boob job and clad in a two-piece swimsuit. And that smile… it was anything but welcoming, and looked wrong for some reason.

Despite the fear and confusion, Rise felt strangely calm enough to let out a humorless giggle.

“You’re going to kill me now, aren’t you? Just like in that movie.”

The Other Rise, or what she felt was more like “Risette”, shrugged casually. “Meh, pretty much.”

Something felt right and wrong about this conversation. She hated the idol business but never enough to even contemplate suicide. Just trying to get out of it led her to this, and she felt strangely content that she was going to disappear from everything without anyone knowing what happened to her. It wasn’t like she had much dreams or aspirations anyway, or anymore.

But that was just it. Risette would have given up without a fight. Rise would come down swinging.

And so she rushed forward. Risette’s eyes widened and felt the key poke her bare abdomen before Rise’s body tackled her down. The sensibly dressed girl felt a phantom pain from where she struck the double, but ignored it just like the headache. Wasting no time, she hurried out the curtain door at a sprint and hoping to find the way out.

“Owwie! Now that wasn’t very nice!”

Rise ignored it. This was just some mental trick, probably some sort of drug. This wasn’t real!

As she turned the corner though, she nearly stepped back seeing another near reflection of her. But instead of a swimsuit, this one wore something akin to a cheerleader’s uniform in shades of blue, yellow and white. She even broke into some chant as she waved her pompoms.

“Stop/Don’t run! I am you! Something, Something Marukyu!”

Startled once again, Rise backed away and planned to make another hasty retreat when she felt a firm hand grip her shoulder. She saw her face again with the eerie yellow eyes, and this time dressed like some horror survivor movie protagonist with a camo-uniform. Was this based on the movie deal Inoue set her up with? “Come with me if you want to after-live!”

In response, she stabbed the offending arm with her key, forcing the soldier double to let go. With Cheerleader Risette still in front of her, Rise made a desperate dash past Soldier Risette towards the other end of the hall.

As if Murphy’s Law couldn’t tip things further, she saw a fourth lookalike with madly brazen hair, goggles and a lab coat. “The odds are clearly against you. It is futile to resist! SO SAYS SCIENCE!”

Rise turned yet again, more concerned with getting away than finding a way out. But in her panic she realized that she had run into a dead-end corner with the other Risettes behind her. And waiting for her was another Risette, one with a more somber gaze and wearing a traditional red and white miko dress. “You can stop now. It was destined to be this way.”

Bullshit. She was not supposed to die at the hands of a bunch of lookalikes just for wanting a break. None of this made sense. None of this was fair!

Soon she was surrounded by other Rise’s, all wearing different clothes with a different phrase or personality, but it was all so overwhelming. All she could see was the Swimsuit Risette that managed to stride up to her as the crowd closed in was the leader.

“Who?” she asked in fear and desperation. “Who are you?”

She couldn’t even scream as they started swarming and groping her down. She didn’t bother to either. Her mind was still focused on the bikini-clad monster who smiled and told her, “The one and only Risette.”

<><><>

Sometime later, Floor 9

“Is it just me or is the fighting getting easier?” Yosuke asked aloud. His question was casual despite the fact he was fighting and hacking a Shadow on a floating purple chair to pieces.

“I feel like we've had this conversation before,” Chie commented, also calm as she kicked a scale-like Shadow towards Tomoe for a finishing strike. “I’m still not accustomed to this by the way.”

“Not that. I mean, yeah it feels easier to get into, but like we’re stronger each time we do this.”

“That’s probably the adrenaline talking. We did just apply Tama’s leaves to boost our energy.”

“I don’t think that’s it either. I mean, I certainly feel like I got up refreshed from the bed this morning and bursting with energy, but I definitely know I’m better off now than when I first came here. It’s like I leveled up or something.”

Chie turned to give him an incredulous look. “’Leveled up?’ What the hell do you think this is, some kind of video game?!”

“Hey, I know that sounds bad, but I feel faster and lighter than I have since I started out in the Castle. It’s like all these fights are fine-tuning my muscle memory and getting me stronger. Heck, if I do this enough I’ll probably start getting that rock-hard abs and pecs body I always wanted!”

“You can’t just get five second massive pecs with magic, you know!” she snapped incredulously.

“Tell that to the magus! He’s frigging ripped!”

And what a surprise that had turned out to be. Much like her favorite action movie actor, Shirou Emiya possessed the kind of toned musculature that remained unnoticed under normal clothes but betrayed just how much time and effort he must have devoted to his physical training across many years the moment you get to see it.

The brown-haired girl reassured herself that it was such dedication what was worthy of admiration, not merely the results that made the redhead oh-so-easy to picture in the lead character role in the big melée scene from Trial of the Dragon, and how well oiled his upper body looks...

Chie shook her head. Stupid sexy Shirou aside, Chie had half a mind to berate Yosuke into thinking that this life-or-death fighting exercise routine was literally suicide. He really should try to do actual safe workouts with her sometime. Not necessarily on a Sunday though as those were the times she reserved with Emiya, who happened to earn those “pecs” the hard way. But their conversation was cut short as an explosion shook the floor. Followed by a shrill cry of “Emiya-kun!”

It didn’t take a genius to know that their leader had taken a hit for Yukiko. Their designated Shadow target was a small armed tank with a Chariot Noh mask as the “hatch”. The Arcane Turret’s muzzle was smoking with a white mist, and directly within its line of fire lay Shirou, who bloodied and embedded with large chunks of ice.

“Those tank shells are equivalent to a Bufudyne!” Teddie cried from behind a corner. “And that’s even stronger than what Chie-chan pulled on Yuki-chan’s Shadow!”

Chie didn’t care. If that tank had hit Yukiko she could have died. Emiya-kun was probably dying himself after getting caught unaware, but she was going to deliver kung-fu justice on that toy treadmill.

Right then the tank started to glow as it focused for another super shot. Apparently, there were “charge” techniques that could more than double the following physical or magic attack if used. Chie wouldn’t mind having one of those one day but now was neither the time or place for that.

“Whaataaaa!” she let out her battle cry, zipping across the battlefield. Her staff in hand, she twirled it sideways just before smacking the top-side of the Shadow with as much force as she could muster. The Shadow might look like it was made of metal, but it was still no less vulnerable to Persona-rich attacks.

“Garu!” Shortly after, Jiraiya’s wind magic blasted underneath the Shadow like a geyser. The green blast didn’t even lift the tank off the ground as Yosuke had hoped, but the damage was starting to show in the leaking white mist from the tank’s iron hinges and the slight droop of the barrel neck.

It wasn’t enough though. The tank slowly righted itself up and took aim at its closest target. Chie quickly took a defensive stance by raising her front leg up while her bo staff was held firmly in place in front. But before the worst could happen, a bolt of thunder struck the Arcane Turret and dispersed it into black nothingness.

Shirou was still grounded and in pain, unable to see anything but the strobe-light ceiling. But he still managed to summon Izanagi and strike true through their shared perception. The God Persona, with the Shadow gone and job done, quickly dismissed itself and the magus exhaled a sigh of relief, as did his nurse next to him.

“That was completely reckless, Emiya-kun!” Yukiko chided, resuming her healing through Konohana Sakuya. The ice had only started to melt, and Emiya’s wounds weren’t even closed up yet. “I told you not to move!”

“And I totally could have handled it on my own,” Chie grumbled to herself. She felt slightly vindicated that her attempted rescue ended up like this. The ice shell probably couldn’t do that much damage to her if Tomoe could do it too…

“It’s not that bad,” he said softly. “Valkyrie shielded me from the worst of it, and it was better to cover your ice weakness, Amagi.”

“That was still a stupid thing to do!”

“Sorry. I was just making sure you two didn’t get hurt.”

His words were innocent enough, but they left a profound heating effect on both their faces. Yukiko shyly looked away while Chie huffed to show she was still angry. “W-well, be more careful next time, idiot!”

While Shirou was left wondering why they were flustered, Yosuke glared in contempt as he stood by with the bear and fox. “Geez, the guy could so much as pick his nose and still cause girls to swoon and faint. That’s so unfair…”

“I’m worried,” Teddie frowned.

Yosuke turned to the bear. Poor thing was not only having some sort of identity crisis, but was also experiencing puberty on top of it too. “Hey, don’t get worked up about it,” he encouraged. “There are plenty of other girls to find and ask out. You just have to, well, be patient about it. And maybe take a few cues on his fitness physique.”

The bear shook his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Between Shirou’s fast recovery and the ever-present rush to save Rise, Yosuke didn’t have the time to ask what he meant.

<><><>

Top Floor

When Rise regained consciousness, she wasn’t in the crowded hallway anymore. She was instead bound and suspended against a long metal pole. The glaring lights made her eyes hurt, but she was able to focus enough to see that she was set up on some sort of pedestal.

She wasn’t alone either. A bunch of her Risette clones were lined up like an audience. All staring with those unnatural, yellow eyes of theirs. Watching her…

“Gives you a little thrill, doesn’t it?”

Rise jumped, seeing the Swimsuit Risette strut up from behind her. The hip sway, the coy smile, all of it was practiced sex appeal. It was almost like the one time she had done a summer photo shoot along with the TaP commercial.

…But of course some facsimile of hers would know that. This was just a dream. No, a nightmare. She would wake up back in her grandma’s house any moment now-

“Look at me,” the copy ordered. Rise intentionally stared down at the floor, trying to ignore her. “I said LOOK AT ME!”

And she was slapped hard across the face. It hurt.

It hurt.

It… hurt? Just like when those copies swarmed her, she felt their grips too, and when she tried to throw them off-

Risette’s flare of anger was gone, now that Rise was staring back with some startling horror. She almost didn’t notice a red mark on her own cheek. “Now that I have your attention,” she said. “Let’s begin the show, shall we?”

Before Rise could even form a protest, the same hand that slapped her darted for her pink bowtie ribbon and ripped it off, including a good half of her blouse. The sound of torn fabric echoed in the closed room, and suddenly a draft tickled her chest.

“KYAA!” she cried, instinctively trying to cover herself. But her hands were bound and cuffed above her. Instead, she could only feebly squirm against the pole, as if playing on some sexual fantasy.

The Risettes in the audience all cheered and whistled. They were enjoying the view.

“They’re all watching,” cooed Risette, as her hands reached from behind to start groping her. The fingers dug in and pushed up the flesh under her striped bra, so ticklish and close… “All their eyes are glaring holes into your beautiful, sexy frame, undressing you down to your core being!”

“Stop,” Rise gasped. This was just fear setting in, nothing about this felt good.

“Aw, I know your first time is always the hardest, but trust me. Do it enough times and you’ll become a natural!”

Her hands slowly trailed up her sides, to her arms, and then started to rather forcefully clench through her hair and pulling back. Her bright hairbands and ribbons were removed, disheveling her iconic pigtails into a single pile of red hair.

“Why?” she pleaded. She wouldn’t cry. Dream or not, she was stronger than this. She had to be. “Why are you doing this?”

“Why?” her copy echoed with amusement. “You should be thanking me for doing this. You always wanted to show off your stuff, right? The real you?”

“No!” she cried, shaking her head furiously. “I never wanted this!”

Risette ignored her, digging both hands into her frilled skirt and pushing it up and down, briefly flashing her matching striped panties each time. The onlooker Risettes cheered louder at the striptease, leering more intensely. Rise squirmed further under their stares.

“Are you sure? You seem to be feeling a little excited down here~!”

Rise shook her head again, feeling tears of shame roll down her face. “I am not!”

“Come on, be honest with yourself. I know more than anyone how much you want to show off your T&A instead of play the role of airhead. You want to show off that there’s more to yourself than a pretty face, MUCH more. You quit because you were tired of choking that biased garbage and wanted to start over fresh."

This had to be a dream. No other way this big-boobed molester would know all her thoughts. But the sensations of touch and pain reminded her that this was more than that. Her top was torn, her hair was a mess, and the skirt was now fully slipped off her waist which gave everyone a good look at her half-nakedness. Rise didn’t know what was real or not anymore.

“So do yourself a little favor and just admit it, alright? After all, I’m you, you’re me, we’re one and the same. It’s not that hard to understand!”

Then and there, she knew at least one thing.

“No,” she glared through her tears. “You’re Risette. And I’m Rise. There’s a difference.”

It was the one thing that she could have an identity on. Rise was her real self, like a secret identity. It was the one thing that the idol industry didn’t have over her. And it was the one thing she knew that was undeniably true to herself.

“You can pretend to be me all you want,” she said with growing confidence. “But you’ll never be the real me. You’re just some… thing that wants nothing more than to be a sex ad to the audience. I wanted to get out of it, but I guess you didn’t. I have more self-respect than that.”

It seemed to work, as the audience stopped in silence and the bikini-clad faker stared back with wide eyes. Until she made the angriest, scariest scowl she had ever seen, and Rise didn’t think her own face could do that. “Oh. My. God. Do you even LISTEN to yourself, you little skank?!”

“Wh-what?”

“You’ve been lying to yourself so long that you actually use your stage name as an excuse for your little personality crisis. ‘Oh this isn’t me! It’s just big dumb bimbo Risette! I’m nowhere NEAR as demeaning!’”

“That’s-!”

“Oh sure, it’s just a marketing ploy by the idol industry to sell fanservice. But who was it that actually allowed those creeps to basically trademark my name and body for some tasteless song and dance?”

“It’s not like that!”

“Then why did you make such a big deal about leaving? You could have called in sick but you wanted to show everyone how vulnerable and ‘real’ you were by quitting in front of a live stage audience!”

“I just wanted a break!” Rise cried.

“And then find some other hobby to try out and see where that goes,” the Shadow countered. “If you liked it, then it was your new identity. But if you didn’t, you’ll just chalk it up as another Risette phase, wash your hands and be done with it. And start the process all over again.”

Lies. No matter how convincing they sounded, no matter how much she might have thought that in her darkest moments, it was still all lies.

“All I want is to be me!” Risette cried pitifully, arms extended out as she gestured to the audience. “Not a Risette! Risette doesn’t exist! I am no one but myself! A weak, bullied, pathetic self that can do nothing but hide in shame! So please, just look at me!”

No matter how convincing… they were just-

“Look at all of me,” she reached for Rise’s body, prepared to remove her last articles of clothing. “The only true thing about me. The naked truth.”

No, no, nononononononono

“Let this burn into your brains as I show you who I REALLY am! That I really am Rise Kujikawa!”

“NOOOO!” she screamed and flailed, before staring at her mirror with hateful, tear-ridden eyes. “YOU’RE NOT ME!”

<><><>

A few minutes earlier

“She’s just beyond here,” Teddie pointed to the curtain in front of them, before frowning. “…I think.”

“What do you mean ‘you think’?” Yosuke frowned.

“Well, I know my nose is still rusty, so I can’t tell about smells very far away. But we’re so close, and there are so many Rise-chans that I lost count. It’s like the Shadow somehow learned to divide herself into smaller pieces.”

“But the real Rise is over there too, right?”

“Definitely, Shirou-sensei.”

This complicates things, Shirou thought. A fight might break out if they rushed in now, and their energy boost from Tama’s leaves was nearly gone. They couldn’t let this wait either if her Midnight Channel was going to air tonight.

He turned to the fox, asking as politely as he could; “Any chance we can get more leaves on an I.O.U.?”

She glared and growled a low, threatening hum. Translation: “Don’t press your luck.”

“Maybe we should just leave here and take it on tomorrow?” Chie asked. “Teddie can set up a backdoor, and we’d be fighting fit for whatever happens.”

Shirou shook his head. “If we wait until tomorrow-”

“I know, the Midnight Channel,” she argued. “But aren’t we taking a big enough risk as it is? If we fight now, then we ALL might die, and a bad rep from a cheesy low budget commercial would be the least of our problems. She’ll be fine as long as the fog doesn’t let up soon, right?”

Shirou had considered that on the way up. He would have fought to save her regardless, as one more day in this world was one too many. He almost thought to tell the others they were free to head back while he rescued Rise, but he had made a promise- no, two promises.

The first was with the team itself, that they wouldn’t go in alone. True, the others broke that rule but it was on a training mission and they had fled to safety as soon as it got dangerous. They certainly wouldn’t let him go off on his own if they couldn’t be talked out of fighting before.

And if he was fighting alone, there was no guarantee he’d survive. He’d be okay if his life ensured that Rise would keep hers, except that he promised Fuji-nee he would come back alive if he could help it.

“I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”

Broken from his train of thought, Shirou turned to Yukiko as she explained herself. “I mean, when you found me at the highest floor of the castle, it was before my Shadow appeared, right? I was relatively safe because she hadn't found me yet. And Rise-chan’s Shadow is in there with her, so who knows how long it’ll take before she says something she’ll regret?"

“But that’s only if we rush in right now, right? Acting as her audience and hearing all the stuff she wouldn’t admit to anyone else? There’s no way her Shadow would go crazy like that, right?”

“Tell that to Ms. Yamano and Saki-senpai,” Yosuke bitterly remarked. “No one was around for miles to hear their secrets and they ended up dead anyway.”

“Well, those two got unlucky because of the fog entering your world almost immediately after they showed up,” Teddie reminded. “As long as it’s still raining on your side, she won’t go berserk.”

The students all turned and stared. Something about the bear’s tone set warning bells off in their heads. “But?” Yosuke egged on.

Teddie gulped. “But if Rise-chan is harassed by her shadow enough to reject it before the fog, she’ll still try to kill her. It’s just a matter of when it happens.”

“So we have more to worry about than a deadline,” Yukiko frowned in thought. “It happened with the rest of us, after all.”

As if on cue, the walls around them started to echo. Not just Shadow voices, but more human voices, as if they were watching from beyond somewhere.

“You know, something’s been bothering me for a while now,” Yosuke admitted. “I know Teddie stressed that no one should know about this place but him and Shadows, but how is it that we hear these human voices too?"

“If they’re made from the person’s reality, they hear what others think of them. At least, what they think they think… I think.

“I don’t mean those voices,” Yosuke told the bear. “I didn’t mention this before, but it seemed like some of the kids at school saw some of Amagi-san’s Shadow moving around the castle floors. Like, maybe they were watching through the Midnight Channel while we were fighting to save Amagi-san and now Risette?”

“That’s impossible,” Shirou argued. “We all established that the Midnight Channel only happens on rainy nights, and we would travel here well before that time.”

“Maybe it records the people that watch the Midnight Channel and projects them here?” Yukiko asked. “Not that it would explain why it’s happening for Rise-chan now, of course…”

“Don’t look at me!” Teddie cried. “I hired you guys to stop this in the first place!”

“What do you mean ‘hire’? You’re not paying us!”

The bear’s face turned slightly lecherous with a sly smile, narrowed eyes and wiggling eyebrows. “Then would you lovelies like to be compensated in hugs and kisses? They’re Ted-deliciouuuuuus~! (hehe!)”

Shirou sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, an action oddly mirrored and echoed by his Persona inside. Yosuke was torn between laughing at Teddie’s brazen flirting attempts and crying at the horrible pun. Yukiko blinked owlishly, once again missing the intent on both counts.

Chie blushed, but more in anger as she pointed her staff threateningly at the bear. “D-don’t get any funny ideas!”
It was then that a shrill cry was heard deep inside the room, feminine and very terrified. “She said the magic words, didn’t she?” Yosuke weakly joked.

“Dammit!” Shirou cursed, barreling through the curtain gate with the others close behind.

What they saw was spiraling darkness with the force of a gale. At the center of it was Rise and her Shadow, the former chained to a stripper dance pole, and the latter leaning (or grinding) against said pole with an ecstatic expression.

“YES! I CAN FINALLY BE MYSELF!” she panted as the swirling mass of darkness flowed into her. “HERE IT COOOOOOOOMES!”

Even as he stared at the birth of a new Shadow, even with the realization of how close Rise was to her own literal demons, even with the severity of the situation slowly sinking in as the Shadow’s own size grew, Shirou had only one snarky quip for this development: “What is it with Shadows and exaggerated libido issues?”

When the smoke cleared, Rise herself felt exhausted, and saw strange new faces, two boys, two girls, and two animals (at least she thought that round blue thing was an animal. Was it some sort of future cat?). Those were soon the furthest thoughts on her mind as she noticed that the room had suddenly been obscured by a large shadow silhouette. Up above, she saw what could be best described as a giant wearing a skintight, rainbow-splattered zentai (otherwise known as a full-body spandex). She was hanging higher up against the pole, holding on with just a bent leg, and swinging upside down like a pendulum. The fingers were long and pointed like claws, and the face was replaced with hexagons and a needle arranged like a radio dish, but the pink long pigtails and curvy figure was Risette, without a doubt.

A Risette with another boob job anyway, given the size of them now.

The Investigation Team stared with equal parts shock and bewilderment, especially now since that they were hearing audible cheers and applause from around them. As if energized, the giant called out and introduced herself. “I am a Shadow, the true self! I’m all set to give you what you’ve been waiting for: watch and weep as I show you every last inch of me!

“And as for you,” she glared down, and Shirou felt she was focused solely on him. “You nearly ruined my show rushing in like that! But if you’re so insistent, I’ll give you an extra-special, extra-INTENSE service!”

“Not the kind of service I want anymore!” Teddie squeaked as he slowly edged further back

Shirou’s eyes glanced down to Rise. How scary this must be for her, chained down and forced to hear all her suppressed emotions. And the Shadow agitated her feelings early because she knew he was trying to rush to her safety? Shirou couldn’t help but feel responsible, although Rise’s life was in danger regardless if he waited or not. So long as she was safe in the end, he could take any punishment.

“Rise!”

No one had thrown the first punch yet, Shadow Rise had her hands up and ready to swipe down while the others raised their weapons in defense. But everyone was now staring at Shirou, who in turn was staring intently at the bound idol.

“We’re going to save you and get you out of here! I promise!”

Rise had never met this boy before, but she had a good read on body language. His strong posture, his purposeful stance, the piercing gaze, it was all brimming with confidence and honesty. He believed he could win and help her. And he called her Rise, not Risette. Though her emotions were a muddled mess, she couldn’t help but feel hope for this one stranger to be right.

Yosuke however was fuming and glaring daggers. His friend didn’t even care about Risette and here he was making a proclamation of her protection before he could? Might as well propose to her on the spot while you’re at it! “Damn you, Shirou Emiya…!”

“Hmm, rather passionate for a first timer, aren’t you?” said the faceless Shadow. “Maybe I should give you something extra to SHUT YOU UP!”

As she screeched this, she swung around on the pole to build up momentum before extending her claw-like hands to slash him where he stood. The others tensed, and Teddie and Tama wisely diving for a side table near the entrance, but Shirou stared at the claws dead on.

“I plan to return it in kind,” he said, before summoning his Persona. A hand crush later, and his newest Persona emerged to parry the hand.

Valkyrie let out her battle cry, chorused by her neighing horse. “Ho-jo-to-ho!” With an expert flourish, she swung her twin swords hard enough to force Shadow Rise’s hand back. But she wasn’t done yet, the horse quickly sprinted forward with the rider pulling her arms back for a timed strike. “Arm Chopper!”

Both blades slashed the arm, earning a howl of pain from the Shadow as she recoiled. The others quickly summoned their Personas to flank her, Jiraiya and Tomoe striking her flailing body with their weapons as Konohana Sakuya fired an Agi blast at her.

Painful as it was, all it did was make the Shadow angry. She swung around the pole with both legs and her arm, using the momentum of the attacks. Her free arm, even with the jagged sword wounds, waved out as it glowed and then lobbed a fireball that split into several more. “Maragi!”

Everyone immediately took evasive action, but Chie tripped mid-run. Yukiko quickly rushed in front of her friend and crossed her arms in a blocking stance. Her fan was also extended to protect her face, so the worst she felt was a humid heat wave. As one that controls fire, Sakuya was only mildly inconvenienced from the attack, giving Chie plenty of time to strike back.

“Yosuke! Satonaka! You two get Rise out of there! We’ll cover you!”

“Easier said than done!” Yosuke barked, but followed the order anyway. “Can’t you at least use your -kunda spells?”

“Not really able to do that right now!”

True to his word, Shirou drew his bow and projected a steel-tipped arrow. He quickly assumed a strong stance, took aim, and fired. The arrow found its mark on Shadow Rise’s abdomen, which guided his Persona to swing her blades again. Even if it would break down moments later the damage was literally done.

When this was all over, he’d be sure to thank Fuji-nee and Mitsuzuri-san.

“So that’s one,” the Shadow mused to herself, entirely ignoring the arrow. “Now let’s try… Mabufu!”

This time a barrage of ice flew out of her grotesque hands. Amagi cried out and flinched in worry, but Valkyrie simply rode out in front and acted as their vanguard. The biting wind didn’t deter Shirou’s concentration at all, and although she didn’t emerge unscathed, the Chooser of the Slain and her mount shook off the attack as if it was a mild snowfall.

“You could never compare to the size or strength of the jötnar,” she spat.

Meanwhile, Chie and Yosuke ran to opposite ends of the stage podium before climbing onto it. As the team’s only frontrunners, their main duty was to take the fight to the Shadows and keep their ranged support from getting hit.

Yosuke had always imagined what his first words would be to this idol (even on the way here). He never believed that they would to be fighting words, but that’s life. So, with Jiraiya in position, he willed the Ninja Persona to throw his shuriken hands while shouting, “Hey Shadow! Here’s your Sonic Punch!”

Both knuckles(?) struck her shoulder, interrupting her barrage of attacks as Shirou and Yukiko made their own. “Ow! That was a terrible line!”

His spirit was wounded, but she was right, even if it was the name of Jiraiya’s move, it was so damn cheesy. He should have said something cooler.

“Yosuke! Help me get Rise-chan out of there!” Chie called out, already sprinting to her side.

With a quiet Sukukaja on himself, Yosuke reached the center of the stage a fraction before Chie. He had to stomp down all of his inner fan impulses to ask for an autograph or something else stupid as she was not only in danger, but most likely lethargic. Instead, he took his nata blades and stuck them between the chain links and fiddled with them like lockpicks. Chie then arrived, simply swung her staff as hard as she could to break the chain on her side.

The volley of arrows and fire distracted Shadow Rise, but not enough from the sounds below her. “Oh no you don’t!” she growled and literally stomped, the blow empowered with wind magic. Even when she missed, the force knocked the two off their feet and rendered them vulnerable, or at least Chie.

Yosuke, thanks to Jiraiya, merely shrugged off the wind as he stuck the landing with his newfound acrobatics. “Ha! Up yours, techno-color-stripper-priestess! You can huff and puff but you can’t blow me, freeze me, or burn me, so don’t even try!”

“That’s rather bold. Plan to put that to the lie-detector test?”

“You bet!” he boasted. Then he blinked. “Wait, what lie-detector test?”

“This one!” she sang, holding up a hand charged with electricity. Yosuke flinched. “Here’s your first and only question! You’re gonna die.”

“Protect me, Tomoe!”

A moment later, Chie’s Persona appeared and flanked her with a strong naginata swing, breaking her concentration. Relieved at the assist, Yosuke followed with his own Persona to gang up on her with punches and spinning discus cuts.

In retaliation, the Shadow palmed both the ninja and warrior, slamming them together like flies. The resulting head pain dazed the two even further, and their Personas almost fizzled out their summoners fell to the ground.

“No touching the merchandise!” she chuckled, before spinning around her pole and kicking both offstage and into a side table. Their bodies lay still, alive but groaning in pain. The Shadow felt morbid satisfaction at that, a feeling not at all shared by anyone else.

“Chie!” “Yosuke!”

“Don’t worry! You’re next~!” she said to them in faux cuteness, before lobbing another spell. “Zio-Later!”

Having noticed the slight discharge around her hand, Shirou had already stepped in front of Yukiko and switched out Valkyrie in favor of another. “Izanagi!”

The flash of the Persona was only a moment after the flash of the bolt, but he successfully buffered the attack. The God Persona’s eyes seemed to glow as he fired his own Zio right back, almost powered from Shadow Rise's. She had no natural resistance and simply lit up like a Christmas tree.

“She’s stunned!” Shirou noted with relief. “Quick, Amagi, go over and heal the-”

When he turned, he saw that the black-haired girl had doubled over and was twitching. He was suddenly worried that he had missed a stray bolt guarding her, and turned to her fully. “Amagi! What’s wrong?”

“Zio-later.”

“Huh?”

Without warning, she threw her head back in jovial laughter. “BWA-hahahahaha! Oh, Zio-later! That’s so clever! I got to remember th-”

“AMAGI! Now is NOT the time!”

Her laughter died and was replaced with slight fear. She had never heard or seen Emiya-kun so angry, that it was almost jarring to think he was the same kind leader. Even Teddie and Tama flinched away.

“W-well, you have to admit, it was kind of funny,” she reasoned weakly.

“Yeah, and I’m sure we’ll all be laughing to death real soon,” he deadpanned with emphasis, pointing to where Yosuke and Chie had landed. “Now, keep your emotions in check and help them!”

Yukiko was still put off from his outburst, but he had a point. Breaking into laughter during a serious fight like this was unprofessional, not to mention extremely dangerous. “Y-yessir. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Heal!”

“Aww, a lover’s quarrel?”

Growling, Shirou turned back to the recovered Shadow and fired another arrow as Yukiko’s Persona used her healing magic. Izanagi mimicked his action by pulling his arm back and throwing his naginata like a javelin, charged with electricity for good measure. Both found their marks, causing her yelp.

“Owwie!” she cried as she crushed the arrow and plucking the spear out. “Seriously though, you need to lighten up, handsome. All that pent-up stress isn’t doing your hot bod any favors.”

Izanagi surged forward to grab his weapon. Shadow Rise, not knowing how to properly wield the naginata, held it both ways like a pole to bash the God Persona. Instead it became a tug-o-war scenario as both sides struggled to keep it. Shirou’s face scrunched in tension as his Persona fought on, and more so as he readied another arrow.

“You can act serious and determined all you want,” she continued. “But take it from me, all work and no play makes Risette go crazy. You can only play the same role without so much as a break from monotony for so LONG before something in you snaps.” The Shadow’s head leaned in closer, and would have likely smiled sardonically if she still had facial features. “And you’re just one step away from a big fat meltdown.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” the magus growled as he generated another arrow.

“You’d be surprised what an acting career can do in picking up someone’s problems. Though I admit you’re a bit tougher to read. You’re determined, a lone wolf kind of guy, but you care a lot about saving little ol’ me and your classmates there. And you hate anything that might distract you from saving someone from an unfortunate death.”

“Your point?”

“I’m just gonna take a shot in the dark and say… survivor’s guilt?”

Shirou’s eyes hardened and, in a split-second decision, changed from aiming at her thigh to her radio-dish head before immediately firing.

“Gah!” she flinched and let go of the naginata, sparks pouring out of her head wound like blood. “Huh, consider that nerve touched.”

Almost immediately, Izanagi pulled back and swung in a powerful arc also directed at her face. “Cleave!”

Not wanting to lose her head, the Shadow was forced to retreat. Fortunately for her, she had amazing flexibility, and simply fell backwards as her legs wrapped themselves around the pole. All she got from the Cleave attack was a grazing blow, cutting only the lower rim edge of her head.

Like a spring lock, Shadow Rise shot back to upright position, and swung her arms down in a haymaker. Izanagi’s raised his weapon up to block, but underestimated her reach. The blow swung over his head and struck him square in the back instead (earning a pained gasp from both Persona and magus).

“No touching~!” she half-sang half-screeched, before twisting back and grabbing the pole with both hands. This time she swung her feet up in place before thrusting both at Izanagi. Shirou had a split second to see her feet glow before forcing his next spell command.

“Rakukaja!”

BOOM!

Just moments after a flash of purple empowered them, Izanagi and Shirou flew off the stage before crashing against the wall. The former was stunned into faulty static, and the latter slipped out due to gravity and hit the floor.

Shirou barely caught the action through his own eyes, but he saw a familiar spiral green appear from her legs like Yosuke’s Garu. It seemed like she had no elemental preference, lobbing spells as naturally as the magically-designed Shadows. Her attacks on their own shouldn’t cause much damage, and she was rather vulnerable in close quarters, but she seemed to fight smarter than the other Shadows they had faced thus far. It was like she was waiting on something, but what?

“That’s enough foreplay,” she said before pivoting herself and leaning back on the pole. She started to spin around in place, her head leaning back as her satellite head flashed out a laser light. “Supreme Insight!”

Shirou guarded to the best of his ability, as did his teammates once the attack was uttered. Green lines phased over them, almost methodically, vertically and horizontally. In fact, the same waves seem to hit Yosuke and the girls from across the room, just as they finished recovering. As soon as it happened though, the Shadow stopped spinning.

“And with that, I know all your weaknesses,” she cooed excitedly.

“That power,” Teddie paled as his eyes shrunk. He then cupped his hands and shouted across the room. “Shirou-sensei, be careful! Her power is just like ours!”

Shirou was alarmed but very skeptical. A power like Structural Analysis? Impossible, that was magecraft only, and even then Teddie was the only being in this world for whatever reason to show any signs of scanning.

Yosuke, whether he missed Teddie’s warning or didn’t care, rushed right in with nata spinning and Jiraiya blitzing over him. He felt a second wind from the healing (and would keep getting healed so long as Amagi was around, the way he saw it) and the Shadow wasn’t going to kill itself.

“Dammit, I had a good line for this,” he thought dejectedly, but his face hid that mental lapse well as he swung and shouted the best thing he could think of. “Eat steel, stupid!”

He swung his weapon in tandem with Jiraiya’s pocket shuriken, only to miss as Shadow Rise leaned back with surprising flexibility at the last moment. At the very least, it stopped her from glowing and likely casting a powerful spell. Determined to keep going, the duo jumped for another attack. She was hanging upside down and clinging onto the same pole that the real Rise was chained to. There was no way she could avoid this.

But to the surprise of everyone, she could. Still following the momentum, the Shadow’s legs unhooked from the pole and she followed through, doing cartwheels in succession. Yosuke was on her tail with rapid flurry strikes, but he would always miss by a hair. Even the wind from Garu spells seemed to hit her a fraction too late as she would swerve away at the last minute.

“Stand still, damn it!”

“Uh, no. Like I’m gonna sit and keep taking that.”

Shirou watched from afar with an arrow drawn, but he hesitated to fire on the off chance he might hit Yosuke by accident. His aim was good, but two moving targets didn’t make it any easier. “Teddie! If there’s some element weakness that you forgot to mention during the fight, now would be a perfect time to say it!”

“But she doesn’t have one!” the bear cried. “Rise-chan’s Shadow is completely neutral to the elements she wields!”

So, unless someone struck her with a hard-enough blow, there was no chance for an all-out attack. That figured…

Chie had tried to follow them, but they were too fast to catch. Realizing that they were circling around the pole stand, she stopped and waited to make a pincer strike. “Steady, steady…” she chanted to herself, keeping her staff steady, with Tomoe mirroring the actions above her.

“Now!” she shouted, sprinting as the Shadow finally aligned herself directly in front. Both fighters were in sync to pierce the enemy, from their movements to their voices. “Skewer!”

However, Shadow Rise chose that exact moment to stop spinning, with one hand remaining on the floor. Then she pushed and sprang into the air, high above the Persona’s charging trajectory. Yosuke and Chie saw each other, and immediately tried to backpedal, but their Personas still crashed into one another, and knocked their users back by the impact.

Meanwhile, the Shadow spun in the air like an acrobat, arms crossed over her chest and legs straight before tucking during the descent. She thrust her feet down at the last moment, causing a bit of a quake from her dismount. “YEAH! Stuck the landing!”

The others watched the scene unfold with worry and shock, but none more so than Shirou. Before, when Shadow Rise dodged their attacks, it was a reaction and response. Now she seemed to know instinctively where to move and when to avoid any attack, even ones from her blind spots. She knew when to dodge, how to dodge, and if her claims were correct, knew everyone’s exact elemental weaknesses. Teddie was right, her power was like Structural Analysis!

Shadow Rise turned back to the recovering teens. Her body gave off a familiar red aura as she shot her arm out with an Agi. The tomboy cried and curled into a ball, feeling as if the fire was melting her. Then the Shadow repeated the action on Yosuke, this time with a Zio bolt. He too yelped, and was pushed further away by a bounce.

“Here it comes again!” she cried as she glowed for another spell. Her gaze heavily implied that Chie was her target again.

“No!” Yukiko cried, rushing over. Konohana Sakuya trailed ahead, extending her hands out to release an Agi spell.

It succeeded in stopping Shadow Rise, but only briefly. The fireball sailed harmlessly forward as she twirled to the side at the last moment, and calmly launched her spell. Though wasn’t fire like Yukiko had expected. It was ice, which crashed onto her Persona like freezing-cold water. “Kyaaaaa!”

“Do you fools understand now?!” The Shadow gloated over Yukiko. “I know your every move before you can make it! I know all possible outcomes, all scenarios, and even your three measurements! Nothing you can do can surprise me now, let alone hit me!”

Shirou crocked his arrow back, but stopped. That Supreme Insight of hers, biding her time to know elemental weaknesses… she was playing the long game, dividing and conquering. If he had been more hands-on with team formations, this might not have happened, but there was little he could do now. Save for winning this fight, of course.

Normal brute force through Persona wasn’t going to cut it this time, so he set his bow down and held his hand out in front of him. He closed his eyes and briefly let his mind wander to what Margaret told him…

<><><>

May 20th, Inaba Hill, 13 Days Ago

This was Shirou’s first time visiting the hill. He had heard about it being the planned sight for a child daycare, but most days like today, it was empty. Empty, yet a nice reminder of how peaceful the town could feel, with the gazebo, grass, and view of the whole town below.

It was the ideal setting for the first of Margaret’s 10-step plan to Magecraft. At least, in theory.

“I warned you this was going to hurt.”

Shirou heaved from his crouched state, eyes wide, hands clutching his knee and abdomen to stop himself from collapsing. It wasn’t as bad as he made it look though, if there was ANY benefit to his (now discredited) magic circuit making ritual, it was creating a high pain tolerance before doing the actual process.

He trusted Margaret to go through with this, and she did warn him three times if he was certain he wanted to go through with the procedure. Any edge to solving the case was pain well spent, and he didn’t want to worry Fuji-nee or anyone else should he have to resort to magecraft again. That said, it was still sudden when Margaret shoved a green, glowing crystal inside him, and sat back to literally watch him grovel in pain.

“To put it simply, everyone has the power of potential inside of them,” Margaret spoke. “But how that potential is used or awakened is solely up to the user. For example, a martial artist would harness their power through years of conditioning the mind and body. This potential of theirs takes the form of ‘chi’ or ‘ki’. And as you have seen, you and your friends are blessed with the power of Persona as your potential. It is one that my Master and I specialize in, so to speak. But what sets the potential for a magus, and what they might insist is why they are better than the common man, is that they are born with a switch inside of them.”

A switch? How could he imagine a switch when he was never told of this before? Shirou wanted to ask, but clearly the pain was too much to even move his mouth. He could only settle with staring up at her. Margaret, the smart enigma, could tell from body language alone and answered.

“This switch, of course, refers to how they can harness their magecraft. It is no different from how a martial artist can access their ki, or how you summon your Personas. Once you have a grasp of your inner workings, you can use it fully and freely. But that can only happen if you build a foundation for it first.”

Shirou knew this of course. That was why he tried making magic circuits over and over again.

“Your problem, however, is that you were led to believe you had to recreate the magic circuits each time when at best you only had to do it once and activate the switch,” she explained. “That’s about as futile as the martial artist spending years relearning his punch motions, or you trying to re-summon Izanagi under duress again.”

That… was actually a decent pair of analogies. Why take the time building something repeatedly when there was already something to use without risk? No wonder Pixie was so mad before. All that potential was wasted for nothing.

But still, could he be blamed for that? He was taught by his dad about this, and surely he had a good reason. Or maybe it was possible for anyone to create their own magic circuits through their potential?

As if reading his thoughts again, Margaret shook her head. “There are limits to how one accesses their potential. Remember when you first fused Cu Sith? He was created using the base of Izanagi and Eligor, inheriting their skills as his own. Skills he could never access on his own otherwise.”

“In other words, it is like breeding the best qualities and traits of two parties to make something superior. Magi have been doing this for years to achieve heirs and prestige for their crafts, as Magic Circuits, or rather the switches, are a hereditary trait. Just like some people are born with no skill to whistle, those without a switch can never use their magic circuits.”

Heredity trait… so did that mean he had magic circuits after all? But Kiritsugu thought of his skillset in Gradation Air to be useless, and he could barely cast two of those three spells down right after all this time. He thought that, as they were basic spells, he would be able to learn more with practice in keeping his magic circuits stable.

But that was probably a topic for another time, as she spoke of more relevant matters. “What I gave you is called a Plume of Dusk. You could say they are fragments of a living, yet different thing. Existing between mind and matter. They have many uses, from emitting their own space-time barrier to even the miracle of rebirth.”

Slowly but surely, Shirou found feeling in his legs again. Huh, this was already a major step up from the hour-long pain equivalent to inserting a red-hot iron into his spine. He didn’t feel good enough to talk though, such as ask more about this “Plume of Dusk” thing she shoved inside him, like how she got such an item. That would be for another day.

“It’s best to see them as miniature Shadows, that can impart an identity and even a Persona in one’s subconscious. But for you that would be redundant. Instead, it is now forcing your magecraft switch on, and the backlash of pain is caused by your atrophied circuits. It is almost the same principle of using Personas, so now you should be able to freely access your circuits without the Plume’s help.”

Seeing Shirou fully stand upright, Margaret rose from her seat on the bench and wrapped an arm over his shoulders. She paid no mind to the proximity or his flushing features. “The process should wear off overnight, so allow me to carry you far enough that you can reach your house.”

The red-haired teen wanted to argue against this, as he felt red in the face again at being so close to her. But he could barely manage a groan as she practically dragged him back to the street corner of the Dojima home.

<><><>
(So, because how new posts tend to fuse with past posts and thus fuse word count that had exceeded it before, I can't immediately update more of this yet, and probably won't for a few hours. To those reading this, I'm sorry but you'll have to wait a few hours before I wake up and hopefully will be allowed to post new again)

[Kieran]

Yay, it's back! (And having caught it on FF.net first, I can wait. )

. . . And personally, I think this chapter is my favourite, so far as the topic of that poll goes, so I'll wait and see if you add it; if not, I'll vote for Yukiko's.

[Kishou the Badger]

(Chapter 32, part 2)

Present Time

“Hmm?” Shadow Rise craned her featureless head to the side. She expected the last standing fighter to either give up or rush in blindly like his friends did. But instead he was just standing there in a trance. Amused, she closed the gap with a few short (but sexy) steps. “Aww, stunned in place? I guess I was little too rough for you. Don’t worry, just one more push-!”

“Trace on.”

Shadow Rise had intended to stomp him like a bug. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he just vanished, not even caught by the impact or Garu shockwave from her foot. Slightly startled, she quickly searched the area for him. She didn’t need to look hard as he had jumped behind her and literally backstabbed her.

The Shadow roared in equal parts pain and rage. “You little shit!” Already her hands reached out to grab him, but all that was left was a sword that was easily plucked and crushed.

Shirou had leapt away almost as soon as she struck, and was on the offensive once again. Shadow Rise turned and saw him sprinting for her legs. She instantly foresaw his trajectory and planned attack and responded in kind by bending in a reverse somersault.

As she predicted, he swung his blade too slow and missed her now rising leg. But he kept swinging, turning with the momentum and hacked at her other leg before she finished the maneuver. It was enough to trip and knock her to the ground face-first.

Deadly and flexible, she flipped herself upright with the intent of swinging her non-damaged leg at him. Shirou guarded his side with his sword arm. What should have been a devastating counter meant to send him flying was suddenly buffered by an arm as strong as steel. If the ringing pain wasn’t bad enough, he then followed up with some hidden sword to quickly stab her heel.

Shadow Rise found herself in pain, worse, she found herself losing and forced to retreat back from the smaller boy. “Th-that’s far enough you freak!” In desperation, she cupped her hands together and extended them out towards him with a mighty Garu gale. She was pleased to see him flinch back when the winds started to pick up, but that soon turned to horror as he waded through them with strong steps and a mean glint in his eyes.

His speed, his endurance, his ability to summon swords instead of Personas. All of this was inconceivable.

No, it was impossible. She had made accurate readings on all their attack patterns and battle styles, even including details such as reach and elemental weaknesses. Not just this fight but from when they were climbing the dungeon floors, and especially against her entourage of Shadows. This red-haired boy may have been a wild card with altering Personas, but he was always the slowest next to the black-haired hussy and only fought with magic arrows.

So why was he suddenly a red streak swinging magic swords at her?!

“That’s it, Shirou-sensei! You almost got her beat!!”

Damnable as the bear was, it was right. Her moves were starting to lag, and if that boy got in one or two more hits, it was over.

Shadow Rise returned to the pole still chaining down the lethargic Rise Kujikawa. Even though she felt like she had dozed off once or twice, Rise could see and hear that same red-haired teen fighting her evil twin. And yet for once she wasn’t in control of the fight, he was winning and giving off a powerful aura like in shonen anime shows.

“Who are you?!"

Although it was the Shadow that demanded it, Rise couldn’t help but wonder too.

“A high school student. A part-time gas station attendant. A third-rate magus. A proud chef. A big brother. A leader of the Investigation Team before you.” He listed his seemingly unrelated titles as if downplaying his role. Yet each one was said with pride, as they were his own accomplishments. His words carried more draw and impact than the new sword magically configuring into his hand, bit by bit. “And above all else, I’m a future Ally of Justice, Shirou Emiya.”

Had it been anyone else, Rise (human or Shadow) wouldn’t believe them. She didn't think that anyone could say a sappy line like that with a straight face without acting practice, and even then, have some sort of fake tone to play off their inner fantasies.

But that was pure honest conviction in his words. This Shirou Emiya believed himself to be a hero, and for all intents and purposes, he was. He was a shining, brilliant, gallant knight that stood tall against a monster that seemed unstoppable. It was enough to make the young idol cry silent tears and believe that he could save her, even if they had never met before.

It was now that the others finally roused themselves from their weakened states. “Geez, what does that make us, chopped liver?” Yosuke joked, even as he struggled to hold his knives steady.

“We all came here to save Rise-chan and kick her repressed ass back to normal,” Chie stated to the Shadow, before half-heartedly glaring at Shirou. “Don’t go stealing the limelight yet, Emiya-kun!”

The Amagi heiress summoned her Persona first, and blessed everyone with an immediate Media as Sakuya fanned her arms skyward. “We’re in this together, and we’ll settle this together.”

“That’s right!” Teddie clamored, hiding with Tama from behind the door. He still raised a paw to let them know he was with them in spirit. “We’re invincible! We’re unbeatable! Fight the power!”

“Ruo ruo!” the fox added.

Despite himself, Shirou was smiling. He knew that the others had suffered the most in this fight, yet they were still willing to keep fighting and finish strong. Likewise, Rise was touched and amazed how all these people she had never met were going out of their way to fight and rescue her. She didn’t care if it was a lucid dream, or if they were some mercenaries with a motive or whatever. She was starting to feel hope that everything would turn out fine.

But whatever Rise felt about their encouragement was not shared with her Shadow, who was clutching either side of her head and stomping her foot in frustration. “Ugh, are you posers done with the cheesy self-help speeches? God, and I thought my idol scripts were bad!”

“You should just give up then!” Yosuke taunted. “Or stand there while we beat you down to size! Either way works!”

The Shadow almost snarled a nasty reply, reminding them that only one of them could hope to even hit her. But she just stopped and stared (which was very unnerving to Yosuke personally). “’Just… give up?’”

Shirou didn’t like how she processed those words. And he liked it even less how she started to laugh.

“Hmhmhmhm! Ahmhmhmhmhm-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

She threw her radio head as she arched her back. Her hands were extended out and open, briefly held in place before groping her own “face”. Her laughter echoed throughout the room, and despite this slip of sanity, no one could stop staring in bewilderment. The idea of taking advantage of her being distracted didn’t even register to their minds.

By the time Shirou did, he knew they had made a mistake.

“Of course, the answer is so obvious!” Shadow Rise’s voice cracked, but she started to calm down and stand upright. “Why keep trying to be someone I’m not when there’s no point? The world only knows as me as Risette the idol slut. It’s not my real personality, but I don’t know if I even have one! I just want to expose my sad, naked truth that I’m really a talentless hack!”

The Investigation Team almost expected Rise to verbally respond to that, but she just slumped further down in her chain bindings as if ashamed. Whenever a Shadow was rejected, the act seemed to leave the person mentally and physically exhausted. Rise probably didn’t know what was going on, or assumed all this to be a long dream.

In truth, Rise was fighting tears at having these feelings revealed, but could do nothing at all to stop her. She felt so tired, so useless, so bullied.

“But maybe it’s better that the truth stays buried.” For a moment, Rise was surprised. Was her Shadow giving up? Was she convinced that she really didn’t want to act so brazenly shameless?

She looked up, and saw the Shadow’s multicolored hand snatch her and forcibly tear her from her chains. And clutch her painfully hard in her grip. “Aaaaah!”

“At least until I die of course! I’ll become a martyr to the idol world, the next Yuko Osada, and those little shitheads can reflect at how they drove me to suicide!!”

“Rise-chan!” “Risette!”

The Shadow held out her spare hand in warning before anyone could think to attack her. “Careful now! I don’t know my own strength, and if you surprise me I might end up squeezing her too hard!”

She had them at an ultimatum. She had a long reach and quick reflexes. It took a lot out of Shirou’s reinforcement to catch up to her, and now she had a hostage she could end at any moment. And yet things were just starting to get worse.

To remind them, Shadow Rise squeezed her smaller lookalike slightly, and everyone flinched at her cry of pain. Her face, while featureless, might as well have had an evil, confident sneer written all over it.

“Normally I wouldn’t do this, but you brats are the only ones who know the truth of what’s going to happen here. So, I’m going to be generous and ask you a favor, get out of my domain and relay a little message for me.”

“Message?” Yukiko asked incredulously. “What are you saying?”

“I’m letting you live, morons.” The Shadow spat, pointing deliberately out the door. “Live so you can go and tell the world the truth about my life! Tell the paparazzi that I quit because they ruined my life, my self-image, and I can’t bother to deal with this crap anymore! Tell them that I am sick of being their sex toy and living with this burden they all but dumped on me! Tell them that I died because of them!!”

Shirou was furious. He was mad at the Shadow that was willing to let go, gloating as if her victory was all but assured. But he was also mad at himself for being so weak that the only sure way the team could live was if they abandoned Rise.

He couldn’t do that. Rise was a popular idol and many people would legitimately worry over her. The town serial murderer was still on the loose and wouldn’t stop until he was caught. Teddie’s world would continue to deteriorate, and he had promised to help save it.

But most of all, he was an Ally of Justice, and he responded the only way he knew how: defiantly.

“Rise can tell them that herself!”

Everyone stared at him now. He didn’t care, as he fixed his glare on the Shadow. “If Rise has a problem with the idol industry, then she should have the right to confront them instead of hiding and dying here. I don’t know what the full extent of her problems are, and I’m sure there’s no small amount of self-loathing on her part, but dying is not going to fix the problem. It’s going to make people sad, not just her fans, but her friends and family who care about her beyond the façade!”

“Yeah!” Chie added boisterously, as they all converged next to him. “Our leader already made a big deal about saving Rise-chan, and that counts for all of us! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!”

“You’re not alone in this, Rise-chan!” cried Yukiko. “We also had our Shadows try to hurt us, say hurtful things, and believe no one would ever understand. Our Personas are proof that we can be accepted for who we are, warts and all!”

“I’m one of your biggest fans, but I’d still risk life and limb to save you if you weren’t!” Yosuke grinned. “I’d just hate myself if I let a cute girl die like this!”

The group was unanimous in their stand-off and refused to leave. Even the timid Teddie and aloof Tama stayed right where they were. Shirou felt torn that everyone would continue to stand in opposition alongside him, in a lifestyle that should only be allowed for the most steadfast of magi and hardened of mercenaries. But they shared many of his feelings in fighting for Inaba’s peace and for whoever was in danger.

He couldn’t have asked for better friends.

The Shadow seemed disappointed, but then shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, I guess your bodies can be message enough, so okay! You’re all die first!”

Shadow Rise raised her free hand high up, and glowed with another red aura. “Megidola!”

Unlike any spell the Investigation Team had seen before, there was a bright light surrounding the room that then slammed into the ground in front of the Rises. Shirou’s sense of magic alerted him to a smell akin to sulfuric gas, or rotten eggs, but the warning was too little too late.

“GAAAAAAAH!”
“AAAAAAH!”
“EEEEEEEK!”
“WHAAAAA?!”
“Shirou-sensei! Everyone!”
“Hurrro?!”

All four fighting members of the Investigation Team were blown back by the explosion, slamming against walls and crushing tables into splinters. Their armor was burning hot, as was their skin, and bloody wounds that were once closed were forced open again. Even their Personas were destroyed.

Such power. Such ferocity. She had a spell like that in reserve the whole time and only now decided to use it?

“You gotta to be kidding me,” Yosuke winced, slumped against a broken piece of a side table.

“Oooh,” Chie tried in vain to push herself off the floor, but found no feeling from her waist down. She barely had the strength left to crawl. “How are we supposed to win against that?”

Yukiko had hit her head hard against the wall, and was close to losing consciousness. The gash was shallow, fortunately, but a small trail of blood marred her facial features. “A-are we… going to die?” she asked, almost too soft to be heard.

“No!” Teddie cried as he pushed each of them gently to get back up. “You guys can’t die! Not like this! Tama-chan! Your leaves! Maybe they-!”

The bear’s hopes were dashed as, looking to the vixen for help, saw the sad, forlorn look in her eyes. Her head slowly shook side to side. This was beyond the magic of her rare leaves. There wasn’t anything she could do.

There was nothing he could do.

“No… I have to do something!” he assured himself. “Shirou-sensei! Please! What should I do?! Shirou-sensei?!”

Only Shirou was still on the center stage, or at least hanging over the edge, having dug his sword in at the last moment. The trail of cleaving metal had reduced it to a lump too insulting for even a dagger, and it still looked better than Shirou felt right now. His hands were so raw and numb, they didn’t even feel the blood he coughed out as he crawled back onto the podium.

And yet despite the pain which he chose to ignore, he turned his attention to Shadow Rise. His mind was still reeling that she had the power of a mini-nuke at her disposal. If there was any consolation, her chest heaved and shoulders sagged with each pant of exhaustion. That last attack must have taken a toll on her magic reserves.

“Not that she needs any strength left to stomp us to death.”

“I’m surprised,” she said in a tone that meant it. “You actually took that, on top of all the exquisite pain from earlier too. It’s almost a shame you have to die, but you did ignore my generous offer.”

She tossed the smaller Rise underhand in front of her. The idol groaned in pain as she hit the floor. She looked no better than he did, in half-stripped clothes, disheveled hair, and broken chains still on her arms and legs. The magus thought he could also see her eyes blurred from wet make-up and puffiness from tears earlier. Are they from now?

“It’s over, Shirou Emiya,” her Shadow said. “You were certainly eager for sure, but you just lacked the stamina to survive the climax.”

Shadow Rise didn’t have the strength to crush her with her bare hands anymore, and intended to end everyone -including her selves- in one big bang. And already she was glowing red for the spell, with both hands high up.

“Goodbye… forever!”

Yosuke appropriately summed up the situation in two words, “Aw shit.”

Shirou was at death’s door once again. He saw his life flash before his eyes, relevant to his time after Kiritsugu Emiya rescued him. His life, he now realized, was so brief and empty and meaningless that he wasn’t sure if he could be content if he fell on the job anymore. Not when he realized how fulfilling it was with his friends at school. Not when he promised Fuji-nee he would come back alive.

And especially not with his Personas each goading him to fight on.

“Stand. Stand and fight for truth!”

“You have faced the fires of hell once, Fool, and you can do it again!”

“May my blessing, however small, grant you second wind, child.”

“Hey! You can’t let the last good memory with Yosuke be a concert! I won’t accept it!”

“And I won’t accept you dying before getting laid! You are going to snag that idol, dammit!”

“There is glory in death, but not a premature one. You have so much left to do.”

“You promised Cu Taiga! A true man NEVER breaks a lady’s promise!”

He couldn’t let this end. He wouldn’t. If only he had more power-

Power. Power just like Structural Analysis.

“Teddie,” he finally spoke. His voice sounded so raspy that he almost didn’t recognize it.

The bear, relieved to hear his leader speak, quickly climbed the podium next to him. “Y-yes, Shirou-sensei?!”

“I need you to Reinforce my arms,” he told him, showing him them in their bare, bloody state. “Keep pouring prana into them until you can’t anymore.”

“Huh? But I never used-”

“I know, but you’ve seen me cast it before. I know you can do it."

“Uh, okay,” the bear nodded slowly. “But are you sure you can’t use reinforcement to move your arms on your own?”

“Not on my own. That’s why we’re both going to reinforce my arms at the same time.”

“You’re going to WHAT?!” Pixie screamed from his head.

Teddie’s face paled, further evidence that what he had suggested was a bad idea. “But Shirou-sensei, that’s dangerous! You don’t know what will happen! You need those to get healed first! Maybe Yosuke or Yuki-chan-?”

“We don’t have the time for that. Rise’s Shadow is almost done charging her second round, and if that hits, we’re all beyond healing.”

Teddie glanced between Shirou and Shadow Rise. There was no time for anything else. Even if he could conjure a Goho-M now, the real Rise was too far away to take with them. And so, with great reluctance, the bear trotted behind the magus with a paw supporting over each of his shoulders.

“This better work, Shirou-sensei.”

Fortunately, Teddie didn’t need guidance on how to use reinforcement, and the two overlapped their body-enhancing magic at once. Shirou found he was grinding his teeth down to fight the pain, and slowly but surely, he could move his fingertips again.

He weighed his options. His legs could move, but there was no guarantee he could reach the Shadow in time for a close blow. He only had time for one decisive hit anyway, so anything short of a Persona or powerful sword was doomed to fail. His bow would take too long to fire, and it was too far to reach anyway.

That left him to use one of his Personas. A quick mental view of his entry revealed that Izanagi was the only one capable of dealing the finishing blow, but he was nowhere near as agile to close the gap between him and the Shadow.

He was already conjuring Izanagi’s Tarot Card when a thought occurred to him. For a time, he believed Personas to be a new branch of Magecraft and treated them as such. Although wrong he realized that there were several similarities between the two. Then there was that lesson he learned from Margaret and the Plume of Dusk. If he could harness the potential of Magecraft as well as Persona… why not use them both at once?

Instead of crushing the card firmly, he gently grasped it as he began to Analyze. Then Project. And finally Reinforce. All in a matter of seconds.

“Trace… Persona!”

A gunshot-like sound boomed in the room, and a blue aura flared around Shirou and Teddie like a bonfire. The card reconfigured in his hand, forming a sturdy, familiar cloth-covered grip. The magus didn’t even need to look to know it was the naginata from his first dream in Inaba. Izanagi’s weapon of choice: Ame-no-Nuhoko, the heavenly jeweled spear.

“WHOOOOOOOOA!” Teddie cried from behind him, still pouring prana into Shirou’s shoulders. “Th-this is amazing! I feel like I’m gonna go bear-zerk!!”

The wounded but still conscious fighters of the Investigation Team found their crushing despair replaced with stunned awe. Tama stood still as a statue, but her tail was wagging on its own accord. From Rise’s perspective, she saw only a blue fire that engulfed the red-haired boy yet didn’t burn him. It was scary, and yet so beautiful…

Even Shadow Rise had to stop and take notice. Her Supreme Insight allowed her to instantly know the power of her enemies. The jump of Shirou’s power was startling at first, as he reacted faster than she could. But this was entirely different from his Personas or random magic tricks. “This high-energy reading… how is this even possible?!”

“Teddie! When I say now-” Try as she might, the zentai-clad Shadow couldn’t hear what the boy told the bear over the roar of their shared power. But in hindsight, she didn’t need to know.

“NOW!” “RRRRROOOOOOOOAWWR!”

Shirou and Teddie worked and moved in perfect sync. Lifting his arm, they slightly shifted the magus’ body before following in a forward step. And then threw the naginata directly at the Shadow’s head.

The speed was worthy of any professional javelin thrower. Despite the odd shape and weight of the Persona weapon, it flew at a perfect trajectory for her head, with enough force to pierce through and kill her. The Shadow knew this much, and knew she didn’t have time to finish the spell before it struck. The moments clicked away, everyone waiting at held breath at their hope for victory-

…only for her to turn and dance counterclockwise at the last moment. Just like with Yukiko’s Agi spell before, she had perfect balance on her legs and no wasted movement. The Jeweled Spear was a hairline fracture close, just harmlessly passing her hexagonal rim head as instinct told her to move. All the power in the world was useless if she had time to read and react accordingly, just like now.

Her back was turned to them, and her hands were still in place controlling the Megidola. She saw as their ace in the hole sailed further away. It was going, going… gone.

She had won.

“HA!” she yelled, finishing her spin with the intent to blow them up here and now. “You MISSED, Motherf-!”

BRZT!!

Her head was snapped back by a sudden projectile piercing it through. Technicolor blood, metal shards and electric discharge seeped out of the open wound. The force was enough to send her flying off her feet as if she had been shot. And yet she couldn’t understand how or why this had happened. She knew everything.

Somehow, he played on her overconfidence of dodging attacks she could read, that she never anticipated a second polearm immediately thrown as she focused on the first. Even their posture implied that they took a second step forward to throw with the other hand.

The damned magus knew she would dodge, and played that against her with a near instant counterattack. And he had the chance to gloat too: “Ataru.”

“He fired… before me? Twice?”

Shadow Rise crash-landed into the side tables past the podium and exploded into a puff of dark mist. The Jeweled Spear too fell out of its position in from the Shadow’s head, before dispersing into the gradation air it was made from. When the blackness cleared, only a bikini-clad human-like Rise was left, laying down on her side.

From their points of view, the Investigation Team could only see a small flash after the Shadow was sent flying. “Did you get her?” Chie asked.

For several seconds, there was no reply but pants between silence. And then, finally, “Yeah,” the magus said slowly. “I got her.” Everyone exhaled relieved breaths, even Shirou. He was straining to hold himself upright after throwing two copies of Izanagi’s weapon in succession.

“Thank you, Teddie,” he rasped. Although it was his foresight that knew that Shadow Rise would dodge, it was the bear’s supply of Prana and following his instructions to the letter that helped save the day.

“Y-y-you're welcome, Shirou-sensei,” the bear said. Whether he was exhausted too or scared stiff, Teddie simply stopped pushing his paws against him and fell back in a slump. With his arms now really numb and his energy exhausted, Shirou wanted nothing more than to rest, but he had one more task to complete here.

He slowly limped over to where Rise Kujikawa lay; the real one. He cared not for her state of undress, as he looked and felt kind of shitty himself. “Hi,” he said. Rise almost laughed. Most fans of Risette would kill to have a chance to talk to her. In Shirou’s case, he literally did so. And the best he could think to start a conversation was “hi”? “Hi yourself,” she replied. “Are you… going to be okay?”

Shirou smiled, extending a hand to help her up. “I’ll live, don’t worry.”

“That’s a relief. Thank god.”

“If the situation was any different, I’d ask for an autograph.”

“Everyone would, really,” Rise smiled coyly, despite the gloomy atmosphere. “And I suppose you wouldn’t mind getting a kiss for saving my life too?”

“Not in particular,” he admitted, feeling she misinterpreted him. Even so, he handed her his school jacket so she’d have some form of decency. “The autograph would be for Nanako.”

“Who’s Nanako?”

“My little sister; technically my cousin. She was really worried about you after your announcement at Okina.”

She had a fan in a little girl? That went to her concert in Okina? All this time Rise thought she was just pandering to lusty males by majority. And this guy wanted to give his sister an autograph from her? That was so sweet.

But then his soft smile grew to a tired frown, and looked towards the defeated Shadow. Rise knew it was alive, if only barely, and a bit of fear came back to her from all the words she spouted out. She found herself shrinking a bit in his Yasogami jacket.

“You’re going to have to accept her, you know,” he said softly. It didn’t make her flinch any less. “Your Shadow may be parts that you hate, but she’s still a part of you.”

“No,” she said. Even after everything that had happened, she couldn’t accept it just like that. Not when it tried to kill her. Tried to kill them. “That thing… she’s everything that went wrong with me ever since I became Risette. I don’t want to associate myself with her anymore.”

“And what will you do when this happens again?”

That simple question, more curious than accusatory, felt more disarming than any of her Shadow’s insults and retorts.

“Trust me, I know what it’s like to keep a secret from the world. One that you feel no one could even hope to understand. One where you have to pretend to be someone that you’re not, whatever the intent or reason.”

Shirou spoke from personal experience. While the pressures between idols and magi may differ, there was no doubt that they carried a weight unique to them, and that normal people wouldn't fully understand. It was perhaps this reason that Rise wanted to quit, but that was neither the time or place to ask.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t people who accept you for who you are,” he added. “Your lies, your facades, your secrets… they’re still a part of you. You don’t have to like them, but the least you can do is acknowledge that they are part of the larger sum that is you.”

Rise Kujikawa, the sum of the whole? She had never thought of it that way before, if only because people took one look at her and called her “Risette.” But they all shared the same face, the same body, the same life. Could she look past Risette as a job or mask, and see it as a title worth remembering?

Slowly she walked to the side of the podium and climbed down using the wreckage. What was once a nice little strip stage looked like a tornado disaster area from all the fighting. Her Shadow had no injuries from the fighting, but looked no less vulnerable than Rise herself.

She hesitated. This felt so surreal compared to their first meeting, and she could never imagine it coming to this. Still, she knelt and reached out with her hand. “Can you stand?”

Risette, or Shadow Rise, took the offer. There was no hostility between them anymore.

“I’m sorry,” Rise bowed genuinely. “I was so caught up in my own problems that I didn’t know how much you were hurting. I knew deep down you were a part of me, but I kept refusing that you existed.”

Well, she wasn’t lambasting her with passive aggressive remarks anymore. That was a start.

“I was trying to ask myself what is the real me, but that’s not right at all. You said it yourself before. We’re all one and the same. I’m sorry I didn’t realize that before.”

Shadow Rise smiled, no longer a slasher horror gesture, but a serene one. Then she transformed again, almost in a heavenly counterpart to her previous monstrous form. Her body structure was the same, but looked more compact and holy like a priestess. She wore, instead of a skin-tight zentai, a long white flowing robe that left her black shoulders bare and covered the rest of her body. Her hands held a crown-like visor with the utmost care. Her head was also like a radio antennae, but larger and more highly defined. There were five needles instead of one, a coaxial line reaching far out from the back of her head, and the hexagonal plates, though smaller in number, made up for a larger face. She even had blue hair-like braids flowing over her shoulders.

How this being could even move right with her rigid face was a mystery to Rise, but if her Shadow form showed her careless abandon to the world, this showed her abstinence. Her staring of the being was short-lived as she transformed again, this time into a card. Rise cupped her hands and accepted it with a smile.

“I promise I’ll do better this time… Himiko.”

The fight was over, Rise was saved, and her Shadow was accepted.

Satisfied, Shirou turned to the other side of the podium, where everyone was just recovering and patching themselves up with medicine and magic. “Let’s go home.”

[Kieran]

. . . And back in Fuyuki, Sakura couldn't get a sudden, odd refrain out of her head: "A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED . . . !"

*Chuckles* Seriously, though - it's just as good to read the second time. I admit, it took me a while to warm to Rise, but I do enjoy her; I look forward to seeing what chaos her attachment to her new Sempai will cause . . . Though I'm still just itching to see Marie take the stage.

[Alternative Ice]

Cool boss battle Kishou, I'm amazed they managed to pull it off with one less person.

[MWkillkenny84]

... is Tama-chan a Gurren Lagann fan?

[Kishou the Badger]

Fate/Reach Out
Fuyuki Gaiden 3: Shoot for The Moon


The Mitsuzuri clan; a family with a strong history of martial arts and collected weapons. For generations, our clan has been known to have men and women with strong physical fitness and peerless stamina. Our family tree goes back as far as one of the many samurai clans around the Heian Period before branching out to martial arts.

It’s an honor to be a Mitsuzuri. To be a strong leader, a capable fighter, to preserve the talent for ages to come. To be a Mitsuzuri is to be a warrior pushing your limit to be the strongest. My father, a retired police officer, is a master of taiho-jutsu. My mother, a traditional Yamato Nadeshiko, has practiced naginatado so long that she named her polearm like a pet. My younger brother is a quick study and is intent to learn kyudo.

…and then there’s me.

“Shout~ friends! / Just those words you'll feel that you'll need/
And let your / voice be heard all over the world /
Stand up / when you hear the knock on the door -”

A knock on my door interrupted my singing, and ruined my focus on the music. “Ayako! Time for practice!”

“Okay, mom!”

I’m the daughter and heir apparent of the Mitsuzuri clan; Ayako. Second year student of Homurahara High, Captain of the school’s Archery Club, all around competitive girl… with a girly streak.

I feel I need to emphasize that because no one seems to take me seriously when I show them my CD collection, let alone my copy of Risette’s newest single.

I turn off the music player and open my closet, exchanging my girly clothes for my martial uniform. Considering it was a white undershirt and black front guard, it was a bit hard to find through all the other dresses and cute clothes I’ve bought. So many colors, frills, designs… and I haven’t worn all of them yet!

It’s a dilemma all girls have, I’m certain. Even Rin.

<><><>

My family dojo is nothing special; it’s not as pristine and well maintained as the one in Emiya’s house (or so I've heard), and it’s a dwarf in comparison to the archery dojo at Homurahara. But it has an entire closet full of weapons. Mostly swords and polearms, with the odd exotic weapon like a chain knife, but it’s a treasure trove of weapons all around.

But I know a handful of styles. There’s archery that I picked up on my own naturally. I would have said I’m proud to be a master of it, but I can’t say that in good confidence after seeing Emiya use a bow and arrow. He took to it as naturally as a fish to water. I’d love to learn more from him, but he quit the club last year, and is now visiting his relatives in the rural country town of Inaba.

Then there’s kendo. I just started it recently this year, so I’m not so skilled in that one. It’s kind of hard to get better when your teacher, opponent, rival, and above all worst enemy is Taiga Fujimura. Mind of a child, body of a… big vicious carnivore. It makes for a dangerous combination, and while I’m learning through her, she’s still leagues above any student in Homurahara High. I would say she’s worthy to be the best of the best, but she hasn’t reached any level higher than five-dan lately.

Last but not least is proficiency of the naginata. A beautiful weapon, really, used back in the age of samurai as their bladed polearm. There are different naginatas meant for men and women (but mostly women), usually in a smaller blade to compensate for the heavy thick pole you swing around. I’ve always used the o-naginata to try and compensate for my girlish figure, but I’m not sure if it’s working.

Tonight’s exercise is just my mom and me swinging our weapons. Strike, turn, parry, repeat. The basics are important in any martial art, and once you have them down pat, you can focus better in fights. It’s like training to level up, but using the long and hard way instead.

Strike, turn, parry, repeat.

I was about to do my next set when my mom stopped and looked at me. “Something’s troubling you, dear.”

I blink. “What do you mean? I’m following this routine like clockwork.”

“That’s just it,” she told me. “Fighting and training is about more than routine. You need to have passion in your art, and a reason to pursue it.”

I could tell what she was saying, but it’s not like we live in an anime or video game. Having a martial arts skill set isn’t going to make you become a magical girl or save the world from some ancient evil. Modern warfare and technology has come a long way since the age of the samurai, and the act of aiming and shooting with a gun makes any extension of martial arts next to useless. But even so…

“I’m doing this because this dojo is kind of a big deal. You and dad want it to keep going, don’t you?”

“Not if it means you giving up on just enjoying yourself.”

“But I do have fun and enjoy myself.”

“With swinging a naginata? Or a kendo sword? Or firing an arrow?”

I frown. “I want to keep doing martial arts, mom. Really. It’s okay if I don’t like doing it, right? It’s more of a job to keep it going on. I don’t have to like a job to do it.”

Because seriously, a lot of people would tend to do work even if it sucks. The reasons vary, like a big payoff or something honorable or rewarding. Maybe not in money, but in something else…

Mom still looked upset with me though. “If you keep thinking like that, Ayako, you’ll never reach master status.” She walked across the dojo to set her weapon back on the closet rack. “We’ll end early tonight. Take this time to reflect on what you really want.”

What was that supposed to mean?

<><><>

I’m not an official Kendo club member, because there’s no Kendo club for women in school.

It just happened one day after watching a couple shows that had the main characters use wooden swords to save the day. The idea was cool, and the practice behind it was sound too. You swing a wooden, weighted weapon enough, and you’ll build muscle to learn the motions. Then you can use real weapons based off their wooden counterparts and deal a lot more damage.

Of course, I’ve practiced with a naginata and bow for so long that I already have the necessary upper body strength, so the real challenge is muscle memory. While a discipline in kendo sounds like the perfect art to add to my repertoire, I’m not an official kendo club member, so I had to… improvise.

“HA!”

Luckily there’s Taiga Fujimura. English teacher, supervisor of Archery, the living proof that scientists have it wrong about the perpetual motion machine… and a total brat.

The situation for the Kendo club is tricky, as Fujimura-sensei is old enough to be captain but is regularly a member. I think everyone just calls her captain and lets her take all the important planning because she’s a teacher and highly skilled at the art. She certainly cares more about getting the club into regional contests than spending funds on superficial equipment, for starters.

“YAY! I win again!”

Not that it excuses her for acting like a kid more frequently than her own age. Standing in the arena circle, the taller kendoka was jumping and cheering. She had earned her final point striking the shorter kendoka on the crown of his head, and judging how he was crouching and rubbing it, the helmet did little to buffer the pain.

Sitting in the back with the other official members, I hear them grumbling among themselves. “There she goes again, acting as if the fight wasn’t that serious.”

“Yeah, but it’s amazing how far off she is compared to the rest of us. Shouldn’t she be higher than five-dan by now?”

“If you ask me, it’s better this way. Otherwise she’ll get famous!”

The boys nodded in agreement. I didn’t quite follow their logic as to why this was bad. If Fujimura-san was famous and a master of kendo, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

…if we overlooked her childish antics of course.

“Besides,” they started up again, and spoke more softly. “We all know her shinai seeks out the blood of those that she duels against.”

“Such a deadly weapon can only be described as cursed!”

I found their claim ridiculous, but it’s not really my place to ask. A kendoka is supposed to give respect to senior members, as well as always pay attention in practice. Not that I’m really an official member but still…

“Okay, Moto-kun. You can go rest for today,” Fujimura-sensei told her latest victim as he more or less fled. She turned to the rest of us sitting at the side of the dojo. “Now, who’s up next?”

No one stepped forward or raised their hands. They still squirmed and flinched at the idea of having to go up against Fujimura-sensei.

“This is all your fault, you know,” one of them whispered.

“My fault?!” A kendoka asked incredulous. Even I was surprised by with the claim.

“You had to blab out loud that Fujimura-sensei is a kendoka, and now she’s running us ragged in these sessions!”

“Well, sensei was upset about our last match and really wanted us to shape up. I didn’t think the rumors around ‘The ‘T’ of Fuyuki’ were true!”

Ah, so that’s what happened. It did seem weird that Fujimura-sensei was spending so much time with these guys. Well, if no one else was stepping up…

“I will, sensei.”

Sensei turned to me, and I can barely make out the smile behind her mask. “Ayako-chan, perfect! Come on up then!”

I nodded and slipped my helmet on as I carried my shinai over. Some of the boys sighed in relief at not having to fight. I don’t see why they keep coming to this club if they don’t try to better themselves. Friendly spars among club members could only go so far before they stagnate. Only by facing stronger, more skilled fighters could they learn more and get additional experience. Any gamer would understand that logic; it’s how you “level up” in video games.

And Fujimura-sensei is the best there is in kendo. She is even better than me. At least right now. We bowed to each other as custom dictates, the calm before the storm.

Okay, review time. In Kendo, you can only strike at four points; the crown of the head, the side of either wrist guard, the abdomen, and a small space for the throat. Each strike there counts as a point, and the first to get best out of three points wins.

What’s more, the strikes don’t count unless they have the energy, the accuracy, or the proper stance all at once. Usually matches last up to five minutes, but the matches can go by very quickly if you don’t even have time to count the score.

Sensei seems to prefer the straight approach, and her preferred target is the head. As long as I can parry and thrust at her neck, I’ll get ahead with a point.

The referee signaled us to begin, and like always, sensei is off like a bullet, and her shinai even faster. I swear I saw her lucky tiger bangle tied to it. “HOOOA!”

From my standing position, I raised my own bamboo sword to a diagonal slant. It wasn’t enough to stop her swing, but did divert her enough to hit my shoulder pad. A miss, and the match will keep going until an official hit is registered.

With my sword in position, I quickly thrust at her throat guard. She all but vaults backwards to avoid it, but I press forward in chase. She shifts her arms back into position and swipes down to strike my head to score before me.

“KIAH!” “HOOOOA!”

I connect with her neck. She hits my head. One of the three referees blew their whistle.

“Point, Mitsuzuri!”

Two more to go, but the real fight is about to start.

It’s rare to get the upper hand on sensei, but especially so to win against her. She’s already designated me as a threat and holding her shinai seriously. She’s always been serious in sports, but lately she seems to be making more of an effort to train and spar. I think she only agreed to help these kendo club kids solely to brush up on her skills, too.

The second match starts, and sensei doesn’t move right away. I flinch, expecting some sort of advance and barely hold myself back for her to take an opening.

It’s easy to assume that to win in kendo, you have to strike first and strike hard. While striking with vigor is very important, it doesn’t count unless the strike is in proper form and hits the right target. Those rules might sound very restricting, but when refined with sharp reflexes and precision, a kendoka can theoretically wield a real katana with ease.

But musing on the speed or lack thereof in kendo is pointless-

“HOOOOHYAAAA!”

Or else you get blindsided for not thinking quick enough.

I barely manage to block her, this time getting stuck in a deadlock instead of a parry. Sensei must have anticipated this regardless as her strike was rather light and she made a quick retreat. I chase her forward with the intent to attack her abdomen this time. “KIAH!”

Almost at the same time I swung to her left torso, I feel a deft smacking of wood against my left arm. “HOOOOOA!”

Since it struck the outer rim of my vambrace, that meant- “Point, Fujimura!”

The remainder of the spar became a sort of song and dance. Having read off our moves for a while now, we give up points and advantages to guard our weak spots. Our torsos were well guarded, our arms always moving, and our heads just out of reach from a strong strike. And of course, our battle cries entered a sort of rhythm of rise and fall. During this barrage, there was a brief pause as the refs said:

“Point, Fujimura!”

“KIAH!” “HOOOA!” “KIAH!” “HOOOA!”

Smack, smack, smack, smack, we continued with gusto.

I was tired, my arms were shaking, and my throat was raspy from shouting to make sure my strikes had the right “energy” to count for points.

But Fujimura-sensei? She was a dynamo of energy. Try as I might, I could only go for so long before she overwhelmed and struck past my defenses, claiming her victory.


“Match point! Winner: Fujimura!”

“I WIN AGAIN!” she jumped and cheered loudly like an overeager school girl. At least she remembered to bow to me to signify the end of our match. It’s those bouts of rudeness she has which remind me why she’s not a higher ranked kendoka.

She removed her helmet to wipe away the sweat in her hair. It’s amazing how young and energetic she acts. “Good match, Ayako-chan! You’re getting better every day!”

“I’m still leagues behind you, though,” I told her honestly. “I mean, fighting you was like trying to fend off a tiger.”

“…” Fujimura stared at me blankly, mouth agape in a gasp. I think I heard the other kendoka boys wince and gasp too. Why is-

…Oh shit, I just said that out loud, didn’t I? The one rule of Taiga Fujimura is never ever ever say that word in front of her! The one that sounds so much like her given name. Not even the fact that our match is over could spare me from her violent outburst.

Survival instincts, think of something and don’t fail me now!

“-Oak! Tiger oak, that is about to fall over you and crush you! Yeah, that’s it, heheh-heh…”

Such a weak excuse backed by a weak laugh only showed how vulnerable I was. And even then, the recovery was bad. I had to compare her power to a falling tree? Why couldn’t I apologize?!

Game over, girl. Game over!

“Yeah, I work out so much that I’m pretty much the second coming of Kaihime!”

…what.

Was she… smiling? And laughing? And slapping my shoulder like a good sport?

…thank goodness that my mask is still on. I don’t think I can trust my facial reaction from seeing Taiga acting so jovial. I can’t help but to feel guarded though, like she’s already planning her revenge of my slip-up.

“I…I’m sorry,” I squeaked, in what little I could do for damage control.

“Yeah, you gave me a good match! Don’t sell yourself short. Just keep it up and maybe you’ll do better!”

I slowly nod back to her and then walk back to the benches. I’m a bit confused by Fujimura-sensei now. I assume she’s a master, so dedicated to martial arts and gung-ho about what she does, but instead of going into a rage, she acts mellow and nice. Passionate, even. Not just in kendo and teaching, but in personality.

Is this what mom was talking about?

“Wow, you did pretty well against sensei, that time,” one of the kendoka whispered to me.

I shrug. “I still lost. I’m just glad I didn’t get told off for that blunder.”

They smiled and chuckled. “Maybe the tiger doesn’t have a strong bite on her after-“

“Toshi-kun, you’re up!”

The boys stopped rambling and they turned to Fujimura-sensei. Toshi was annoyed. “Come on, sensei, I already did my-”

Toshi-kun stopped. All the kendo members flinched. I don’t blame them. Taiga Fujimura, helmet still in her arms, was giving them the Smile.

On the surface, it had the image of a pleasant, happy, generic smile that anyone can make. But you can make out the small facial differences, like how the lips were strained to stay that way, or how the eyes were closed a little too tightly. But what differs a smile from the Smile is the fact that the former was genuine and the latter promised a swift death.

Man, and I thought only Rin knew how to pull that gesture off.

“I said,” she said in faux sweetness. “You. Are. Up.”

There was no mistake. Fujimura-sensei was pissed. She gave me a stern, sad warning as she knew I didn’t mean it. But since the idiots assumed that she wouldn’t fly off the handle every time it was said, she needed to make an example. And whether or not he felt forced to see it through or believed he would still get away with it, he slowly made his way to the ring.

“GWOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

Not even a second passes before he steps in and she all but bulldozes him while screaming with a powerful forward swing. The club member standing in as referee was all but ignored in this execution session.

I’ll pray for you in the next life, Toshi-kun.

<><><>

I practice the naginata to get close to my mom as a proper martial arts woman. I practice the bamboo sword out of love for anime and to beat Fujimura-sensei.

But my third proficiency, the bow and arrow, is something I chose to practice out of a fascination of shooting targets. It’s definitely more primitive than a gun, but it’s not like I can afford one like an American. But hey, it’s not like they have a giant-ass school dojo made solely for the sport, so that’s something.

There’s just something very soothing and awesome when it came to picking an arrow, pulling it tight on a bowstring, and watching it fly. I remembered the years I struggled to successfully pull back a practice bow. The disappointment of seeing it sink down to the ground just in front of my feet. All the years pulling back and forth, building the muscles to fire farther… it was worth it to see my arrow fly true and pierce through the target rings on the other side of the open range.

It seems funny that I’m the captain of the archery club now. I don’t see myself as a master of archery, but more as a caretaker of the trouble students. There’s only one real master of archery that I’ve seen so far, and he’s all the way in Yasoinaba.

As odd as the request was, I’m glad Fujimura-sensei asked for his old archery gear, even though she didn’t say why he needed it again. Knowing he’s practicing again is enough of a motivator to keep me going.

I turn my sights to a target ring. I can see Emiya in my mind’s eye, his back facing me. He looks so distant, yet confident. He should still be in the archery club. His mindset is that of a master of the craft. Fast, sharp, calculating, accurate, dutiful… the list goes on. He was a prodigy, we shared the same club, we became good friends, and then he just leaves without looking back.

I still regret not asking him out when I had the chance. I might not find another guy like Emiya to be a future boyfriend in time to beat Rin.

Thinking about it though, when did Emiya and Rin get close enough for him to owe her a favor? I mean, Emiya is just not the kind of guy to ask people to do something for him. It’s more of the other way around. Did they have a secret meeting that even Fujimura didn’t know about? Are they, dare I think it, together?

I only joked about it when I assumed Emiya was Rin’s boyfriend to her face, but she reacted quite off guard and flustered. She’s a school idol, highly popular, and if they were really going steady everyone at Homurahara High would have known that by now.

Furthermore, if Rin was actually dating Emiya, she would've told me, if nothing else to claim victory in our secret bet over who could get a boyfriend first. So why the secrecy? Perhaps they went out as friends but didn't go steady? Or maybe they did and then broke up? He did have to leave Fuyuki due to family reasons, so perhaps they ended their relationship by mutual agreement instead of going for a long distance one.

That would have been disappointing if the case. If I were dating Emiya, I'm sure I would have at least tried to make it work. Emails, phone calls, maybe an online game could play together. The trick is keeping contact, right? Well, it would have been more difficult for Rin "Analog" Tohsaka, but if she really wanted to…

I blinked. I replayed the memories of that Children's Day again in my mind. Rin did seem rather excited when she mistakenly thought Emiya was coming back. Could it be that she wants to go back together? What about him though? He spent the holiday here in Fuyuki, but from Rin's reaction is safe to assume he didn't seek her out to catch up with her – heck, I haven't quite forgiven him for neglecting me that way.

And for all I know, he’s probably getting cozy with a new girl at Inaba. Maybe a popular school idol like Rin, or someone sort of cute tomboy?

Dammit, Emiya. Who do you think you are to play with a maiden's heart like that?

So mad at that handsome jerk I visualize him as a my target to shoot at, for all my frustration. Preferably at the heart, like the center target ring. My arrow flies, and hits dead center.

Bullseye. Now if only I could strike his metaphorically small brain too…

Just as I was about to draw another arrow, I hear applause. Just around the dojo door were Fujimura-sensei and Sakura Matou. Supposedly, they always ate breakfast and dinner together at the Emiya household (I learned that to be fact from my snoopy younger brother). This is the first time I’ve seen them arrive at school together though.

“Nice shot!” our teacher smiled. “You’re really getting good at this, Ayako-chan!”

“Thank you,” I smile back. If Fujimura-sensei thought I was good, then it meant I was doing something right as archery captain. Namely, to pay attention to her members.

Sakura bowed and muttered a soft, “Good morning, Mitsuzuri-senpai,” before walking over to pick out her own shooting spot. Sensei is always so chipper and happy, but Sakura looked like someone kicked her puppy into a vat of acid. She’s better now than she was the start of the year, but there’s no prizes for guessing that was because of Emiya’s brief visit.

“Keep your form straight, Sakura,” I told her. As her captain, this is probably the furthest extent of what I could help her with.

My purple haired kohai nodded and adjusted her arms slightly. At least Shinji wasn’t around. Probably too busy trying to flirt with girls, or stalking Rin. Well, family matters have to be resolved within the family, so it’s none of my business anyway.

“Ayako-chan? A word?” Sensei asked. I almost missed the timid tone in her voice.

“Sure,” I reply. After setting my bow down gently, I follow Fujimura for a bit, and purposely away from the only other archer on the field. Morning practice isn’t mandatory or even required, but more of a perk for early riser martial artists. I think Emiya was the one that even suggested the idea to do so.

But that was a year ago, and not important now.

“If it’s about the kendo thing yesterday, I really am sorry,” I told her.

Sensei blinked, and then laughed. “Are you still worried about that, Ayako-chan? I know you’re one of the more respectable students here, and accidents happen!”

“But-“

She patted my shoulder with a rather sad smile. “It’s fine. I had a bit of a self-revelation recently, and I’m trying to keep all my emotions in check. In a way, I’m kind of jealous of you, Ayako-chan.”

“Jealous? Of me?” That made no sense!

“It’s just, well…” Taiga started, before glancing over her shoulders to make sure we were still relatively alone. “I know what the other students see of me, coming across as more of a tomboy than a teacher. I’m sensitive about my name being used as a joke, and that I’m not seen as feminine enough.”

Taiga Fujimura? Sensitive? The only time you would read or hear a sentence with those three words together is if the word “isn’t” is between them!

Although, if all her overreactions were a mask for her being slighted all the time… that makes sense.

She looked at me with a sort of begging plea in her eyes. “I have a favor to ask of you, Ayako-chan, but first I want to ask a serious question.”

A favor and a question? I’m really starting to get scared for this more vulnerable Fujimura-sensei. But I kinda owe her for the other day, saying that word, so why turn her down? “Okay?”

“First off… why do you do all of this? The archery? The kendo? Even practicing with your family? It’s one thing to be good at a sport or martial art for the fun of it, but you throw yourself in them all the time. You can’t possibly be training for a war, so why?”

…okay, this is getting weird. I expected a simple question like something about Sakura or the other students, and she’s only this serious whenever she’s teaching or in a fighting ring. This introspectiveness isn’t like her at all!

Still, she has a point, and it reminds me of the talk I had with mom before. Why do I do all of this?

“I think,” I started, trying to think of the right words. “I just want to beat my other self.”

Fujimura stiffened. “Y-your other self?”

“My weaker side,” I clarify. “The one that is trying to learn from the stronger martial artists like you and mom. The one that can’t seem to find a balance between my interests and my fitness. I don’t know if I’ll find the answer if I keep doing this, or if I’m making things worse in the long run. But I think if I’m strong enough to pass my current hurdle, maybe it’ll all be worth it.”

Because I think that’s my problem. I’m still behind other masters. My mother in naginatado. My sensei in kendo. My old club member in kyudo. I can’t move forward until I pass at least one of them. What happens after is irrelevant.

“To be better than your weaker self,” she muttered in thought. “Yeah, that sounds deep. I should do that more, too…”

“Sensei?”

“Sorry, just talking to myself. Thank you for your honesty, Ayako-chan. I feel more motivated to do this now.”

“Do what, exactly? And what about the favor?”

“Ah, that,” she frowned, glancing back to Sakura. “Can I ask you to keep an eye on Sakura-chan while I’m away?”

“Of course, sens-EH?!” Did I just hear her right?!

“Sorry for dumping this on you,” she smiled sheepishly. “As I told you, I’m kind of having trouble with my emotions right now, and hearing my students throw around Ti-ti… the T-word has been rather straining.” Geez, she can’t even say that word herself without stuttering! “I’ve been considering a leave of absence the rest of the school year, and the only thing really stopping me is Sakura-chan. I tried telling her about it, but she didn’t take it very well.”

That would explain her mood, I guess. Focused, yet monotonous and without the vigor and energy behind it. She would make a poor kendoka-

Wait a minute.

“Sensei, what about the kendo club? And your position watching the archery club?”

“Well, I asked a few other teachers to oversee the clubs while I’m gone. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’ll keep watch over her,” I promise. “But do you think you could loan me a second kendoka set?”

“What for?”

I glance over to Sakura. Still staring, still focused, probably absent of life in her. Fujimura-sensei followed my gaze and got my point. “For Sakura-chan? She’s not suited for that kind of sport.”

“It’s not about whether she’s fit for it or not,” I answered. “She needs some more ‘kiai’ in her life, especially if you’re leaving soon. I can be her personal tutor in archery and kendo, maybe make her my protégé.”

The more I thought about it, the more I smiled. I barely knew Sakura, but anyone who is a friend of Shirou Emiya and very familiar with Taiga Fujimura is okay in my book. Rin’s great, but we barely interact outside of school. Whenever we do, we try to one-up each other. I’d rather have someone like a kohai to count on me.

Fujimura smiled and sighed at once. “First cooking, now self-defense? I’m getting the feeling everyone wants to play with poor Sakura-chan.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

She paused, and then shook her head. “…no, it’s probably good for her. I’ll give you a copy of Shirou’s house keys later so she can cook for the both of you. Anything to help her calm down and relax the rest of the year.”

I don’t know how to think about that, really. I mean, being able to hang out in Emiya’s house without him being there? Maybe I could rummage through his room and find what kind of porn he reads- purely for research of course.

Gah, what am I thinking? “Why Emiya’s house? Can’t I just invite her over to dinner at my place or something?”

“Well, Sakura-chan doesn’t like to impose and make new friends, see. It took her a while to warm up to Shirou because of how stubborn he was. Embarrassingly so, but that’s another story. Being at Shirou’s big house is sort of like her sanctuary and second home, and I still don’t get what makes her so tense about talking about her house or being around Shinji.”

Besides the fact that Shinji is kind of a pompous ass? The guy is a decent shot and has good grades, but for some reason that’s never enough for him and he overreacts at the worst of times. Sometimes I wonder if Sakura and Shinji are even related; I know one doesn’t really deserve the other.

“But anyway, thanks for this, Ayako-chan,” Fujimura smiled at me. “First fetching Shirou’s archery gear for me on your free time, and now this? I’ll be sure to make it up to you later.”

“Sure then, sensei.” I nod, and she hurried off. Not sure what she does between now and the school warning bell, but it almost always ends with her running late and making her frantic yelling through the halls.

Without Emiya or Fujimura around, Homurahara High is going to be a rather sad place this year. Especially for poor Sakura…

Well, no time like the present, and the initiative is always important in martial arts. I walk back to the shooting field towards Sakura, who was just now looking my way.

“So, Sakura-chan,” I smile to her. “How would you like to wield a bamboo sword?”

Her reaction was to be expected. “Eh?”

I’m gonna have to shoot the moon for her.

[Kieran]

As I said on FF.net, I really like the focus on Ayako - now I feel that she's woefully underappreciated - but I really want to get back to Marie-chan!

. . . The music is a nice touch, though.