Part 30: Entry Twenty-Five: August 31, 2009

Entry Twenty-Five: August 31, 2009

Mood: Depressed
Music: My own sobbing!

School's starting up again! Why, god, why?! Only blogging can take my mind off the impending homework, boring lectures, and classes with a teacher twice my age who admitted having a crush on me over the Internet...well, I hope it can, anyway.



I had a vision on Monday; it was the typical Akihiko/Shinjiro stuff where Akihiko was trying to get his counterpart to rejoin SEES. Turns out Ken was there, too, listening in...



Shinjiro: Well, the answer's still the same: I'm not coming back.
Akihiko: You know, another new Persona-user joined us...and he's not human.
Shinjiro: ...What?
Akihiko: It's a dog. He lost his master six months ago because of the Shadows. He's incredibly loyal...up 'til now, he's been guarding the spot where his master was killed despite the bad memories.
Shinjiro: ...



Akihiko: But it's been two years since then...
Shinjiro: ...
Akihiko: How long do you plan to beat yourself up over it? You're always at that spot behind the station, even though you don't hang out with the crowd there.
Shinjiro: It doesn't matter.



Shinjiro: What difference does it make if I come to terms with it? It won't change anything. This isn't the same as what happened to Miki.
Akihiko: Shinji...
Shinjiro: That's enough already. I just want to forget it ever happened.



Ken: ...it can't be...



It was weird, I thought I heard a menacing chill in Ken's voice. Definitely nothing you'd expect from an elementary school student.

Anyway, I spent the rest of that day doing just about nothing...




Ken: Now I know, and I'm ready to do it...my mind is made up.

...and talked to Ken the next morning to see what was up. No luck, though.



I've been trying to become a bit more tough lately, so I've been eating at Wild-Duck Burger and singing at Mandragora when I can. Seems to be helping.




I also went to see a sports movie marathon with Yuko...




...which was pretty inspiring. I need to stop being such a wuss.



I went again the next day with Kaz; they were showing war movies this time.





Once again, it seemed to help with the whole "being a pussy" thing.



The next day, Mitsuru came knocking on my door in the morning again...




...and again, it wasn't sexual. Damn.

Mitsuru: We'll meet on the 4th floor as usual. That's all.



I was on my way to Wild-Duck Burger when I saw Mamoru hanging out at the strip mall, so I stopped to say hi. He invited me to lunch, and I took him up on it.



If I was more of a pussy, I would've backed down, but since I'd been eating tons of greasy hamburgers I felt macho enough to go for it.




He ate pretty fast, but I started swallowing them whole to keep up.




What a poseur!




Mamoru: I'm impressed, Minato! Not many people can match my speed. Well, I wasn't really trying my hardest anyway. You had a lot of guts challenging me at yakoyaki, though...I'm impressed. You have a lot of potential.




Y'know, I kinda figured I'd get a rival one day since all this started...




...but I also figured they'd be the kind who tries to kill me. I guess I lucked out.




Mamoru: You put up a good fight today! See you around.



That evening, we had our meeting as scheduled. Turns out we were getting yet another new member...




...though I wasn't sure I felt right about having an elementary school student help us battle demons from beyond time and space.

Akihiko: You must be kidding...



Ikutsuki: I called this meeting so that I could introduce him, since he'll be joining our squad.
Mitsuru: B-but Mr. Chairman, he's still in elementary school. Besides...
Ikutsuki: Besides...what? His ability is quite promising. With the proper training, he could be a big help.
Akihiko: But is HE okay with it?



Ken: I believe I can be of some assistance...now I finally know why I was given this power.
Ikutsuki: So as you can see, it was his own decision.
Ken: Nice to meet you all. I'll try not to get in anyone's way.
Aigis: Nice to meet you, too.[
Akihiko: ...



Junpei seemed to be the only one of us who was cool with it...well, other than Aigis, and I think she's programmed to be cool with just about everything that's not a Shadow.

Junpei: It may be hard at times, but stick with it.
Ken: Yes, got it!

And that's how a little kid joined our demonslaying team.



...I'm part of a demonslaying team. And it includes a battle droid, a dog, and a fifth grader. My life is such a goddamn mess.

Anyway, this is Ken. He uses spears which are twice as tall as he is, and he's pretty goddamn good with them, especially given that he's like twelve years old.



Ken's Persona is Nemesis, the goddess of revenge. Kind of an odd choice for a little kid, as is the fact that it's a horrible buzzsaw robot monster. Nemesis is strong against Light and weak to Darkness, and has a diverse combination of skills, including physical, lightning, and light attacks along with healing. Ken's trademark skill is Cruel Attack, which does an enormous amount of damage to enemies that are knocked down.



With Ken in tow, we headed off to Tartarus that very night. I wanted to see what the kid could do, and man, did he put on a show for us:

Ken is Awesome 1
Ken is Awesome 2



We headed on up the tower, collecting Personas like Flauros...




...and items along the way.



Y'know, Ken's Persona freaks me the fuck out. That buzzsaw thing just makes me really nervous.



Damned if it isn't powerful, though. His lightning attacks put Akihiko's to shame.



As you might expect, the buzzsaw itself packs a punch too.




Fuuka's been learning new abilities as well, though they weren't exactly world-shaking; Third Eye would tell us if certain attacks would work on targeted enemies, but it'd only do so if we'd already analyzed them, meaning it was convenient and nothing more.



I've been updating my stable of Personas constantly, but I've kept Narcissus around; he's got a great selection of skills, and Sexy Dance is really accurate for something that basically shuts the enemies down.




When we got to the Guardian, I decided to put my new-found courage to the test...



First, I fused together a new Persona, Orobas. I was sure his funky dancing skills would see me through!



It learned Trafuri, which allowed us to escape from battles without fail. I didn't need that for the Guardian, but it'd definitely come in handy later. Anyway, with Orobas, it was time to take on this Guardian alone.

Tartarus Boss 11 - Natural Dancer (This is probably the single most difficult battle in this game. It uses extremely powerful wind attacks that wreck anyone but Minato and Yukari, and when it's not doing that it spams Sexy Dance to charm anyone who's not dead. It also casts Hamaon, a powerful instant death attack. Oh, and nothing but ice and physical attacks harm it, and it tends to use Tetrakarn to reflect the latter. Keep all this in mind as you watch me make it my bitch in this video.)

I won, of course. Everyone was about as amazed as you'd expect, and we headed back to the dorm victoriously afterward.



The next day, I had another vision, this one of Junpei and the strange girl in white.



Junpei: Huh? That girl...



Junpei: Uh, w-well...I mean, I'm surprised you remember me.
Girl: Same here...
Junpei: Well, you kinda stand out in that dress...so what are you drawing?
Girl: Nothing. Why?
Junpei: Uhh, no reason...I was just thinking that it must be nice to have something you're really into.



Junpei: Oh yeah? Still, I'd like to see it when you're done, okay?



That day I went to go see Maiko.



Maiko: At least Mom and Dad didn't forget about my birthday this year...they remembered Course nobody could forget me!



Maiko: We used to eat dinner together every night...how come Mom and Dad don't get along anymore?



Maiko: If I can get rid of the reason, everything'll be fine, right? I'm going to do whatever it takes to get my parents back together! You'll do what you can to help, right?




Well, you can't exactly say no to something like that...





...though I'm not really sure what I could to do help her.



I hung out with Mutatsu that evening, though it didn't go anywhere...



...and that night, during the Dark Hour...



...it was time for another visit from Pharos.

Pharos: Are you ready...? Only a few trials remain...so be careful. I look forward to seeing you again.

At least he's not muttering cryptic prophecies lately. Thank God for that.



The next day was Sunday, so I went to go see Akinari.



He seems happy to see me.



Akinari: I didn't expect to see you again. Usually people don't come back. Nobody treats me like a normal guy...not even my family. I can tell by how they look at me. The pity in their eyes is unmistakable. I don't need their sympathy any more than I need their curiosity.



Akinari: I don't expect anyone to pity me.



I...didn't know, really. I never thought about it that way.



Akinari: ...Hey. Thanks for coming today. You don't seem like everyone else. I'm not sure I know how to describe it exactly, but...you don't look down on me the way everyone else does.




I always feel terrible after hanging out with Akinari.





I know it's not his fault, but I can't help but wish there was something I could do.



Akinari: Dammit...what did I do to deserve this body?




Poor guy.



Poor me, too: today is the last day of summer vacation.



I had another vision about Junpei and that girl...I'd really rather spend my time living my own last day of vacation than watching someone else's.



Junpei: I'm Junpei. What's your name? You live around here?



All of a sudden, Junpei saw a huge bloody gash across the girl's hand.




Strangely enough, she didn't seem to notice it.



Junpei: C'mon, show me your hand. You need to put some pressure on it.
Girl: Why are you in such a panic...?
Junpei: Are you crazy?! Anyone would freak out over this. You need to see a doctor. ...You want me to go with you?



There's something really wrong with that chick.





Chidori: ...I'm almost done with the picture. I doubt you'll understand it, but if you want to see it, then you know where to find me.

And with that, she walked off, blood still oozing from the gaping wound in her hand.



I was a little shaken up, so I went to hang out with Mamoru; he's a pretty straightforward kind of guy.



I said I would, though I wasn't sure why.



Mamoru: It's not fair! Normal people get to eat whatever they want. But if that's what I have to do to win, then...by the way, who do you consider to be your biggest rival?

Well, to be honest, I mostly compete with myself most of the time.



Mamoru: I guess when you get down to it, we're all our own worst enemies, right? You know it! There isn't really anyone left who I want to compete with...the other guys in the club can't even keep up with me. I guess what I'm looking for is a good challenge.



Mamoru: I have this feeling we can drive each other to the limit!




Mamoru's actually a pretty cool guy.





Seems to be a breath of fresh air from all the insane shit going on with all my other friends.



I headed back to the dorm and chilled for awhile, then went to the club to see Mutatsu...



...but he wasn't around, so I headed to Mandragora instead.



Again, all that courage training seems to be paying off.

Sadly, however, I gotta get going. Class starts again tomorrow, which sucks ass...but what can you do? See ya, guys.

Coming up in the next entry: Nobody else could possibly join SEES...right?