Persona: Invoke

 "Wait, Minato, don't just-!" What was it with him and just carelessly jump into danger like that? The moment his body vanished from sight, Chigusa was assaulted by a sense of dreadful impatience, eager to do the same thing. As if she was making someone wait... It's not like he would care if I went or not, though.


The fall was complimented with a mix of pain and shock if for but a moment. She promptly stood up, taken by what she could only describe as a new dimension they seemed to have stumbled on to. As if they found themselves in a new Inaba altogether... And yet again, she did not felt safe in the least, much less here. "...now what?..." She mumbled, unconsciously sticking close to her reluctant companion. "...I guess the only way is to go forward but...It's seems like there's no end to it. Not with this fog, anyhow."
 
Minato doesn't answer her, instead just walking forward down the hall, not the least bit of caution in his step.
 
Chigusa did not even bother to protest, as asking Minato wait for her was sure to be redundant. Following along, she remained wary throughout the path, eyes darting around their surroundings again and again.
 
Minato reached the end of the hallway in short order. There, he found himself in a large, square room, significantly different from the hallway they were previously in. For starters, it had no ceiling, and a plain gray, cloudless sky was seen overhead. The place felt like it was about to rain. To either side were two more hallways, and ahead was a large torii, and a path beyond it, not enclosed like the hallways, rather being completely open. The path was blocked off, however; obstructed by bars. More significantly, however, was the huge tower beyond the central path, which could be seen in the distance. It went up, as high as the tallest skyscrapers Minato had ever seen, perhaps taller, standing ominously against the gray sky.


Minato stared up at that tower, feeling quite perplexed. What was it? How was such a thing here? How was this world in itself here? So many questions and nothing to answer them...
 
The tower, the room, even the atmosphere itself spoke of ill-omen altogether. It was as if her key felt...heavier even. Not right, definitely not right. The stress was really starting to get to her...


Even Minato's unfazed reaction left her bitter, as she could not help but find unsettling how he remained so...apathetic towards all this. But she remained quiet, trying her best not to disturb him. If tension were to arise here and now... But doubt lingered. What was all this? Why were they were? Could this be those creatures' lair?
 
Minato was lost with his own thoughts, the urge to explore this place making him almost forget that he had company. He stepped up to the center path, grabbing a bar and testing its strength. It didn't budge, as he expected. However, it didn't feel like wood, like he also expected. Rather, it did feel like wood, but... something about it made him feel like it couldn't be cut. He could put a chainsaw to it and it would only break the belt. He peered through the bars at the path ahead. It was a straight path, red tiled like everything else, though it was narrow; wide enough for two people with a little room in between, seemingly suspended upon the fog that rested around it, obscuring it from view in the distance.
 
Well, at least the path stays consistent. No longer Chigusa bothered to speak out loud. It was best to keep it to herself rather than blabber it to no one in particular. Following Minato's lead, she cautiously took a step forward, as if gaining enough confidence to keep going. If he's going to be like that, I might as well do it too. Of course, he wouldn't remotely get as invested as her did. Still, they had come this far... In quiet steps, she headed forward, eyeing the fog with squinted eyes, hoping to at least find something, anything that could enlighten as to where they were... No humans, no animals, not even one of those strange creatures from before. Somehow it made this place all the more unsettling. Unconsciously, she picked up her pace...
 
Not bothering to ask for Chigusa's opinion, Minato then headed towards the left path, seeing that the center one was currently impassible, and choosing left randomly from the two choices presented. It may have been a bit of a bad idea to go any further at this point, but it seems that his eagerness to explore and investigate has gotten the better of him.
 
It shouldn't come as a surprise to her that Minato would just end up doing as he pleased. Rather, she expected him to do so eventually...but a part of her wished it wasn't so. It was the same thing with that redhead at lunch, now that she thought about it. Everyone was out for themselves. Minato just didn't care and the stranger didn't even trust her enough to come straight about his own key. But what would cursing her fate amount to? Was she just supposed to wait for the boys to come together just like that? No, no. Deep down, as if it was always there to remind her of such, Chigusa knew better. She always did this, just hope for the best, abide to what she was given, wait for tings to work out eventually or adjust to something she was not pleased with or used to. Take things for granted. Clenching her fists, her pace, little by little, would cease, leaving her standing by, eyes fixed on the ground, trembling in utter despite. Pathetic. Disgusting. Words that would cross her mind over and over. "...I'm sick of it." She spoke up, looking forward with a look of defeat. Was this all just a metaphor? A path that she could never find the end of? Not like this? Just waiting for Minato to defeat enemies? Just hoping the redhead would give her a straight answer? "No." She would carve her own path, not follow along, not submit herself to this. 


A blue light. A warmth that she could not have found anywhere else. A card that danced in her palm. A sight she had seen before. "...per...." Yes. "...perso..." This was her choice and her choice alone. "...PERSONA!" She had her answer.


She clutched the card within her own two hands, grasping her, breaking her, releasing her. A woman, a figure in blue robes, golden pieces, silk touch and...were those fox ears? It embraced the girl as if they were lovers from her back, giving her the strength to overcome her insecurities, her fears. And then, it let go, summoning forth multiple mirrors, all in different shapes and forms, showing reflections one after another. Chigusa could see it now, she could see it all...
 
Minato quickly looked back and noticed what had just happened, bouncing backwards to get distance and summoning his own card, cautious of Chigusa's sudden change. However, Minato quickly realized that Chigusa had just summoned her own Persona, and then let the card fade. He didn't know how she managed it, however... maybe he should have been paying a bit more attention...


"Chigusa?" He said, remembering her name.
 
Slowly, Tamamo-no-Mae would fade away, having served her purpose, leaving Chigusa in a state of stunned awe. Yes, it was done. She would be pulled through thanks to Minato's voice, as if waking back into reality. "...I did it." A bright, dazzling smile appeared on her face. "I did it." It would take a while for all to sink in before she faced the senior. "I know the way out. My...Persona showed it to me." She just assumed he had witnessed the whole thing and was just curious about the outcome. But hey, nice to know that he remembered her introduction. "Just focus on the path, don't get distracted. Just try to reach whatever it is ahead. The end will come."
 
"Huh...?"


Minato didn't have time to properly question the situation, before suddenly, a strange, sort of gurgling noise could be heard behind him. He looked down the hall, and saw strange, black things approaching. They were sludgy, slimy things that seemed to be constantly evaporating, but not losing any mass to them. They possessed red dots for eyes and strange, elongated, malformed arms and hands, which they used to pull themselves along.


"Damn." Minato cursed under his breath. "They must've felt that."


Minato quickly summoned his card and crushed it, Magatsuhi appearing behind him, drawing its blade.
 
At last, here they were, ready to strike. Though not as threatening as the creature from the night before, Chigusa could not afford to let size cloud her perception of this situation. It all came down to this moment... But Minato was not alone, not this time. Adopting a fierce look upon her, the female first-year summoned Tamamo-no-Mae yet again, allowing it to scan their surroundings in hopes to have it do more than just see beyond the fog. Said action would prove to be efficient, as the knowledge of their enemy was poured into her mind in a flash. "...Minato, electricity!" She called out to him and his Persona, now aware of his own abilities as well. "Use Zio!" Exploit one's weakness was the key here, especially in numbers. Just trust me, please.
 
"Use...? What are you...?"


Though Minato was cut off by a shadow lunging at him. He acted quickly and did as instructed, Magatsuhi's hand casting out to the shadow, a bolt of lightning striking it from above, instantly splitting it in two. Minato was taken by surprise at how effective lightning seemed to be... how did Chigusa know to use that? He supposed it didn't matter for now. He could ask all the questions he wanted after these shadows were dealt with.
 
She allowed her clouded expression to let loose, a smile gracing her features as she observed Minato. Keep it up! All creatures followed the same pattern in terms of attributes, leaving her in hopes for this to be over soon. Chigusa recalled how exhausted the senior had gotten in his last fight, further strengthening her concern for him. If only Tamamo-no-Mae could do more... No, no, focus. She proceeded to guide him through the battle... This is my purpose now. I have that much.
 
In short order, all the shadows were dealt with. Minato heaved a sigh of relief as Magatsuhi disappeared from behind him. He seemed to display no signs of fatigue or weakness, in stark contrast to the first time. Minato smiled, starting to get a hang of his ability.


"That's that, then."
 
"Hm." She answered his remark with a faint nod, as Tamamo-no-Mae would vanish as well. A smile graced her features as she saw no trace of the effects of the night before take a toll on Minato. Instead, she was the one who could not even so much as stand on her own two feet after the battle, not for now anyway. She would manage to rise, trying her damnest to not give away her weakness. She did not know what to make of Minato's decision as of now but if her Persona had made something clear, it was this: she could not rely on him to do everything. I'll follow my own advice. She took off, now aware of what she had to do.
 
Minato looked back towards Chigusa, who was now going in the exact opposite direction, away from him and back where they came from. She seemed to be suffering the same effects Minato was when he awakened his Persona; he could tell just by the way she was walking, though she was trying her best to hide it. Minato decided not to mention it.


"Where are you going?" He instead asked.
 
She winced, taken for a moment by his question. Now that he put her on the spot... Rather, she had not expected him to actually do it. Minato was someone who went his own pace. It was kinda admirable in a way, even if it did vex her at times. "The exit..." She turned around to face him, smiling as if proud of her own answer. But then it dawned on her. The reason for it..? "Tamamo-no-Mae showed it to me." The name of her Persona just came to her mind on a whim. It was somewhat reassuring. She did not allow her answer to sink in for too long, promptly parting her lips again. "...What about you, Minato? What are you going to do?"
 
"Well, I'd rather not be lost in here, so I think I'll just follow you." He answered plainly, stepping up to her. "It's not like I have a way to know where everything is."
 
"...Pfft." Chigusa didn't want to but in the end, she could not help herself from doing so. He had not said anything particularly funny but...well, perhaps it was just her way of expressing satisfaction. Or nervoussness. With a slightly appologetic look to her, she started walking ahead in a slow pace. Soon, the end to the path would come about.
 
It didn't take too long with Chigusa's guidance for the pair to find themselves back in the large, central room, and fortunately where weren't any shadows to pester them along the way. With that, Minato took out his phone to see what time it was, though he quickly found that the screen wouldn't turn on. Was it dead? Or maybe electronics just didn't work in this world. Either way, he sighed and began going back down the original hallway back to the portal. By now, he wanted nothing more than to go home.
 
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Chigusa stood by, quiet. Her struggle to keep up with her exhaustion was sure to be visible by now but, thankfully, Minato had chose to ignore it,so it seemed. Good, No longer wary of her surroundings, she continued to head torwards the portal without darting her eyes left and right. She felt...calm. Fatigued but calm. Once they reached a familiar sight, she found herself taking a deep breath, taking it all in. Her encounters with anything remotely related to the key dangling on her neck just kept getting more and more bizarre...
 
Minato stepped through the portal, finding himself back in his own reality. On his feet, this time. He sighed, the air feeling colder than in the other world. Pulling his phone again out of his pocket, he checks the time. 2:12 am. They'd spent over two hours in that world... that seemed about accurate. So time continued to move as normal even in there. Not like the Velvet Room... he concluded that the two worlds must be completely different entities. Oddly enough, despite everything surrounding the world they were just in, he felt that the Velvet Room was by far the more mysterious... but he'd put that aside for now. Right now, he was longing for the comfort of his own bed.
 
A discreet peek over Minato's phone was enough to send a chilld down Chigusa's spine. It had been that long, huh... It seemed she would have to get up earlier yet again tomorrow. Strange. After all that happened, my mind is focusing on what comes next already... Perhaps it was a coping mechanism? Or maybe it was just how her mind worked while assaulted by stress. I can't think straight, not now. Minato seemed eager to go home as well, further proving her point. "Well, I guess I'll go now." She rubbed her arms as if to call forth heat, smiling faintly at the senior. "Good night." 
 
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