With all their attacks together, the small shadow fell to the ground before its larger guardian could retaliate. Unfortunately, it did end up retaliating anyway, forcing everyone back as it swung fists. Alexai managed to stop it for a second with his persona, and in that split second Rui jolted in a blur of green, delivering a decisive blow straight down the shadow's center, the explosion of metal that was his attack blowing the giant back into the abyss it came from. With that taken care of, the smaller of the two shadows dissolved into its previous state of being, with the victim himself being the only one that can fight left.
The dark-haired boy appeared from behind the group and walked over to his shadow, Sato feeling the weight of the bow and arrows hanging on his back as he watched the cultist's latest victim confront himself. With no connection to this guy, Sato didn't know what to think about what was said between the two, but the air felt a little lighter when he said those words...
"I can change."
The boy's shadow transformed into a stoic figure, a blue saber at its hip. A persona, to be exact, and that meant another member to the team. Sato hurried over to the boy's side just as he started to fall, and with Alexai's help, lifted him off the floor. The two third-years looked at eachother and then at the other two team members. "We'll take him to the hospital," Sato said, "You guys should go help the others."
As he and Alexai carried the boy out back through the eerily vacant dungeon, Sato reflected on what had been said. "I can change..." He muttered to himself, feeling the taste of those words on his tongue. That's the same kind of sentiment he'd had when he faced himself back then. Was it really possible to change everything? Sure, he could change himself... but what about the people he'd hurt? The friends he'd lost... could he fix that? Before long they found themselves back in the real world, the fresh air revitalizing Sato's tired body. Alexai volunteered to take the unconscious boy over to the hospital, and Sato was left standing in the dim warehouse where the left-over members of the team waited, along with their navigators. By the looks of it, it didn't seem to be over for the other dungeon team, but Sato could only hope they were alright.
[. . . . .]
JUNE 22ND 2015, MONDAY
Afterschool Tap Tap
Tap
"Can you stop that?"
"Oh, sorry..."
Sato considered going to visit the latest two victims at the hospital, but with no real connection to either, he decided against it since he'd just be adding to any crowding up. Besides, what would he say? 'Sorry that you got kidnapped and stuff'? It frustrated Sato, that they could only react to the cult instead of preventing anything. If they could just save someone before they got thrown into the mirror world, they wouldn't need to get hurt... Or, is it better that they survive through the mirror world...? Everyone who has gotten a persona faced themselves, and came out better for it. Is that worth the risk of death? Can you only know life when you face death?
Tap
Sato rose from his seat and closed his books, chair squeaking on the wooden flooring, just as a surly student was about to murder the pencil-tapper. He wasn't getting any studying done anyway, with all the thoughts buzzing around in his head. It was all so frustrating... They were all, after all, just teens.
Most of them couldn't even drive. How were they supposed to stop a cult?
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