cookwithanaxe:

> Shinjiro is on the way back from Inaba on a train bound for Iwatodai/Tatsumi Port Island. He spent the previous night in the hospital making sure Yukiko would be alright after his Shadow had broken free and attacked and poisoned her. She was awake and would live, but she needed to stay in the hospital for a few more days.

> Noticing he was about a half hour out from his stop he decides to text Aki.

“Hey Aki, I’m about half hour out from Iwatodai Station, think you and maybe one of the others beside Hamuko can meet me at Hagakure? I feel like I need to unload some baggage on someone if you don’t mind. -Shinji”

goldenboysanada:

>Akihiko blinks at his phone. He wonders what on earth happened in Inaba. It must have been something really big, for Shinji to actually want to let off some steam. Mystified, he begins to type out a reply.

“Sure. I’ll save a table at Hagakure.”

>He sends the message to Shinji. Pondering on Shinji’s request, he types out another message.

“Hey, Yamagishi. Shinji’s coming back from Inaba, and needs a shoulder to lean on. Think you can meet us at Hagakure in half an hour?”

>After sending the message, he exits Paulownia Mall and makes his way to the station. He arrives at the strip mall in ten minutes. Hagakure was mercifully empty when he arrived, allowing him to claim his favorite table tucked in a corner of the shop. There, he waited for Shinjiro and Fuuka’s reply.

thesecondarcana:

>Fuuka looks up from the manual she is reading as her phone beeps. She retrieves the message.

Oh, senpai’s back!

>She swings her legs off the couch and makes her way up the stairs to her room for her wallet, composing her reply as she walks.

“Sure. See you both there! (:”

goldenboysanada:

>After reading Fuuka and Shinjiro’s messages, Akihiko crosses his arms and leans back on his chair, waiting for the arrival of his friends. To his surprise, his phone beeps again. It was a message from his boxing coach, telling him to come over to the gym for a training session.

>He let out a frustrated sigh. Why now, of all times? There was no way he can refuse his coach, his word was law.

“Sorry, Shinji, looks like I’ll have to bail. I’ll make it up to you some time. Yamagishi will be going to Hagakure, though.”

“Yamagishi, there’s been a change in plans. Coach called me out for practice. Sorry about that.”

>Embarrassed, he apologized to the store owner for occupying one of the tables without buying anything and hastily made his way out of the store.

((And this is the part when I mysteriously disappear from the RP due to my mind doing stupid things.))

cookwithanaxe:

> Shinji feels his phone vibrate and pulls it out and checks the message from Aki. He frowns after reading it and decides to text Fuuka.

“Hey, you ok with just eating with me while I rant? I don’t want to throw too much at you if you’re the only one there…”

thesecondarcana:

>Fuuka is just leaving the dorm when her phone beeps again. She makes to go back to the dorm, typing out a reply as she pushes open the doors.

“Oh, okay. Take care, then.”

>Her phone beeps again as she sends the message. This time it’s Shinji. She lets the door shut behind her as she steps out again.

“Sure, I’m fine with that. See you there!”

>She wonders what it is that happened to senpai in Inaba.

cookwithanaxe:

> A small smirk crosses Shinji’s face as he reads Fuuka’s response. He lets out a small sigh of relief and mumbles to himself.

“At least I’ll be able to vent a little. I’d call up Hamuko, but she’s probably still drained from all that Shadow crap. I’ll talk with her later when I get back to the dorm.”

> He then notices the train is arriving at the station and proceeds to exit the train and speed over to Hagakure which he finds nearly empty. Shinji heads towards the back and takes a seat in the corner booth, settling in to wait for Fuuka.

thesecondarcana:

>Lost in thought, Fuuka nearly walks right past the entrance to Hagakure. Shaking her head, she turns around and enters the shop. She looks around, and notices Shinjiro sitting near the back.

“Senpai. Welcome back.”

cookwithanaxe:

> Shinjiro’s eyes snap open at the sound of Fuuka’s voice, blinking away sleep and dried tears as he looks up at the teal haired girl and gives her a small smile and wave.

“Hey, Fuuka, glad you could come. Let’s order then we’ll talk ok?”

> Saying that he turns towards the counter and shouts.

“Hey, chef! Biggest beef bowl you got, ok?”

thesecondarcana:

>Fuuka smiles warmly and seats herself opposite Shinjiro.

“Sure. Enjoy your food!”

>She grins, calls for a Special, then turns her attention back to him.

“Um.. so.. while we’re waiting for the food.. did you have a good trip?”

cookwithanaxe:

> The small frown he wore quickly went sour as Shinjiro looks down at the table.

“It was… stressful. I got done what I needed to, but there were… issues.”

> He sighs while scratching the top of his head.

“I ran into another Persona user in Inaba… One who didn’t need an Evoker to call forth their Persona.”

thesecondarcana:

“…oh. Um. I’m sorry to hear that..”

>She berates herself for her stupidity. She should’ve known better than to ask, right…?

“A-at least you finished what you needed to..?”

>She half mumbles, trails off, and wonders what to say next, taking an avid interest in her hands, which she fiddles fitfully. She looks up as he mentions meeting another Persona-user, and stares at him in disbelief.

“Without an Evoker…? Then how..?”

>She is curious, but hesitant.

cookwithanaxe:

> He sighs, standing up.

“I can’t show you hear but if ya walk with me over to the Shrine, I’ll tell you what I can till we get there alright.”

> He turns his head to the counter.

“He chef, hate to do this but cancel my order would you?”

> There’s some grumbling from behind the counter as Shinjiro steps out of the booth.

“Let’s get going, Fuuka.”

thesecondarcana:

“Okay.”

>She follows Shinjiro out of the shop, all else forgotten.

cookwithanaxe:

> As he leads Fuuka towards the Shrine he slows a bit to walk beside her.

“I guess I’ll start by telling you something… important that happened before I went to Inaba.”

> The rest of the way to the Shrine, Shinjiro tells Fukka about how he and Hamuko confronted their Shadows and from it gained a new Persona.

> As they reach the top of the steps Shinjiro checks to make sure no one’s around and doesn’t see anyone besides him and Fuuka.

“Alright, best do this before someone shows up.”

> He gives Fuuka a quick look and a small smile.

“By the way, thanks for putting up with me, Fuuka.”

thesecondarcana:

>Fuuka listens in rapt fascination as he relates the story to her. In the spaces between she thinks about how her own Persona had changed, and the things leading up to it. She wonders, vaguely, if she would have had the strength to face her Shadow, like Shinjiro and Hamuko had.

>Eventually, they reach the shrine. She glances at Shinjiro, smiles.

“Hmm? O-oh there’s no need to thank me..”

>She looks around, before fixing an expectant gaze on Shinjiro.

cookwithanaxe:

> He shakes his head, sighing.

“Whatever you say, Fuuka.”

> Then a dull blue glow surrounds Shinjiro’s feet and a shining blue-white card appears in front of his face. With a cry of “Heracles!” Shinjiro punches through the card, which shatters like glass and a warrior in Roman-styled armor wielding a gladius and with a bow and quiver across his back appears next to Shinjiro.

> After giving his partner a nod, Heracles fades out of existence and Shinjiro looks back to Fuuka.

“Persona users that have faced their Shadows can some like that. No Evoker needed… I don’t know why it’s a card though.”

> He glances downward as if he’s considering something, then looks back up at Fuuka.

“I’m going to message Aki and see if he’s available. I’d rather you two and Hamuko hear about what happened in Inaba before anyone else… Especially Mitsuru.”

> Shinjiro then takes out his phone and sends Akihiko a message.

“Hey Aki. Me and Fuuka are at the Shrine if you still want to hear what I need to tell you. -Shinji.”

thesecondarcana:

>She sees Shinjiro sigh and wonders briefly if she’s gone about saying something wrongly again. She doesn’t get the opportunity to brood upon it, however, as he summons Heracles by shattering a blue card that he materialized at will. She notices that the card is one depicting the Hierophant Arcana.

>She stares in wonder at Heracles for the brief moment he appears, and remains a little lost in thought, until Shinjiro speaks again.

“Hmm, okay.”

goldenboysanada:

>Akihiko’s phone beeps while he was in the middle of composing a message to Shinji. He decides to check it out first before finishing his message. It is a good call, considering its contents. He was in the middle of jogging back to the strip mall after negotiating with his coach to have practice some other time.

“Alright, I’ll be there soon. -Aki”

>He makes it to the shrine in record time. For a while, he pauses to catch his breath when he reaches the top of the stairs.

>After making sure his heartbeat was back to normal, he approaches Shinjiro and Fuuka.

“Sorry for leaving you guys back then. Anyway, what’s this thing you needed to tell me, Shinji?”

cookwithanaxe:

> He groans a bit, realizing he needs to tell the story about what happened at the Seal all over again.

“Alright, it started about a week ago…”

> Shinjiro spent a great deal of time going over not only what happened at the Seal but also what happened in Inaba and about there being other Persona users there.

“So pretty much the last couple weeks for me have sucked.Hard. Now can you two promise me that Mitsuru won’t hear about any of this till I’ve gone over everything with Hamuko?”

thesecondarcana:

>Fuuka listens as Shinjiro recounts his experience to Akihiko. She nods.

“My lips are sealed, senpai.”

goldenboysanada:

>Akihiko listens to Shinjiro’s tale and nods solemnly as his friend finishes.

“Whoa, that’s a lot you unloaded on us, Shinji.”

>He whistles in amazement.

“Sure thing, Mitsuru won’t hear a peep out of me. I’ll avoid her all week if I have to.”

cookwithanaxe:

> Shinji smirked at his two new found confidants.

“Thanks, I just want to try to avoid her looking to far into whatever it was that happened in Inaba… Especially with the Persona users there. If they all had to awaken by facing their Shadows… I’d rather not know what some of them were like… Between mine and Hamuko’s I personally could do without meeting anyone else’s personal Shadow ever again.”

> He shakes slightly, something he did a few times while talking about what happened at the Seal.

“Also, Aki.”

> Shinjiro starts speaking as he reaches inside his coat then withdraws his hand, holding his Evoker.

“I want you to hold on to my Evoker, seeing as I really don’t need it anymore.”

> Akihiko received Shinjiro’s Evoker.

goldenboysanada:

“I can imagine.”

>Akihiko smiles bemusedly at Shinjiro’s words about Mitsuru. He can imagine how worked up she would be once she hears about those Persona users.

>He gives Shinjiro a concerned look as he cringes visibly. When he reaches inside his pocket and hands him his Evoker, Akihiko is understandably perturbed.

“Are you sure, Shinji?”

>He warily eyes the object in his hand. It looks like and resembles any other Evoker, but it felt foreign to him. Even if Shinjiro insists that he didn’t need it anymore, something felt wrong about the whole process. Oddly enough, it is like Shinjiro was leaving a part of him behind, a part which he was entrusting to him. He wonders if it’s something that’s part and package of facing your own Shadow.

cookwithanaxe:

> He nods.

“Yea, it’s not something I need anymore, and even if you don’t ever need it, it shows how much I trust you as my brother.”

> Shinjiro then turns to Fuuka.

“And even though I don’t have anything to give ya, Fuuka, I trust you just as much. If there was ever something I needed to get off my chest and Hamuko wasn’t around, kinda like now, I’d like to think I could trust one of you two to lend me an ear.”

> He gives a broad smile and scratches the back of his head awkwardly.

“So I’ll say it again, thanks. Both of you.”

thesecondarcana:

>Fuuka returns the smile.

“Um.. It’s no problem, senpai. We’re friends, after all.”

>She pauses, translating thoughts into words.

“And.. thank you for your confidence, senpai.”

goldenboysanada:

> Akihiko returns the smile as well.

“Alright, Shinji. I will take good care of it.”

> He wraps his jacket carefully around Shinjiro’s Evoker and tucks it under his arm.

“So, are any of you two up for some ramen or beef bowls? My treat for bailing out all of a sudden.”

cookwithanaxe:

“Yea, me and Fuuka had left before we got to eat anything. Plus I don’t have to pay now.”

> He gives Aki a smirk as he nonchalantly starts walking over to the steps.

thesecondarcana:

“Ah.. Okay.”

>She realizes that amidst all the excitement she had forgotten her hunger.

“Um.. thank you, senpai.”

>She smiles, and trails along behind the two older boys.

goldenboysanada:

“No problem, Yamagishi.”

> Akihiko smiles back as he walks down the shrine steps along with his two companions. His wallet is probably going to go down the route of bankruptcy judging by the smirk Shinji sent him, but it didn’t matter.