Chapter 14

A shadow wielding a Persona – that was a new trick. Izanagi and his glowing red doppelganger faced each other as Yu and Shadow Adachi stared each other down. Each swept an arm forward and the Personas charged, clashing swords between them. The test of strength was inconclusive and they separated, launching matching electric attacks a one another. Yu felt a rush of power as his Persona absorbed the attack, filling it with strength. A swing of Izanagi's sword sent Magatsu-Izanagi reeling but did little real damage. "I'm done playing games." The shadow hissed. Magatsu-Izanagi unleashed a blast of wind, slamming into Izanagi. Yu doubled over in pain and hastily withdrew his Persona.

"Norn!" Yu summoned another Persona. The next blast of wind was absorbed, allowing Yu to recover from the previous attack. The shadow changed tack again and launched an electric attack. Yu dropped to his knee as a wave of pain flowed through his body. He withdrew this Persona as well. "Kikuri-Hime!" The next electric attack was resisted and Yu used his Persona to heal himself. He stood back up and faced the shadow again.

"You're just full of surprises aren't you?" The shadow said. Magatsu-Izanagi rushed at Yu's Persona, swinging its sword in a frenzied charge as Kikuri-Hime struggled to block the attacks. Yu's Persona was finally able to gain some separation and blasted the shadow and its Persona with fire. The shadow recoiled and growled with pain. "I've got surprises too!" Its Persona blasted Yu's with ice. Yu was stunned and left in pain. Magatsu-Izanagi should not have been able to wield ice. Again Yu withdrew his Persona.

"Isis!" Yu shouted. The image of a beautiful winged woman appeared above him. The shadow's next ice attack was reflected. The shadow and its Persona recoiled in pain as Yu took the opportunity to regroup. He knew an electric attack would be coming next; this shadow seemed to be an expert on his weaknesses, so he withdrew this Persona as well. Both Yu and the shadow were weakened by now, and any attack that managed to strike a weakness would likely be the last. The Magatsu-Izanagi Yu was familiar with had no weaknesses, but all of his Personas did.

"This is getting nowhere." The shadow concluded. "I think a more direct approach is in order." The shadow raised its arm, aiming its gun straight at Yu. The shadow squeezed the trigger and the gun fired.

Yu stood stunned. Izanagi had appeared in front of him at the last moment without even being summoned. The shadow fired another shot and Izanagi took it too. Yu felt the pain but it was better than catching a bullet. Izanagi charged at the shadow and sliced off its arm. The arm dissolved and disappeared as the gun clattered to the ground. The shadow was in shock but quickly recovered. Izanagi was out of position. Yu's Persona spun to face Magatsu-Izanagi, but it was too late. Magatsu-Izanagi's sword lanced through Izanagi's chest. Yu dropped to all fours in pain and with his last bit of strength countered. Izanagi, still impaled, forced its sword through Magatsu-Izanagi's chest. Yu and the shadow, both in terrible pain, withdrew their Personas.

Yu struggled to catch his breath as the shadow was struggling to his feet. Yu spotted the gun, still lying on the ground between them. In desperation, he lunged for the weapon, grabbing it before making it to his feet. The shadow approached menacingly as Yu aimed the gun at it, his hand shaking slightly. He had never held a gun before. Yu took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger.

The gun melted in his hand. He stared forward in horror as the shadow continued its approach, a smile on its face. "I'm a shadow you idiot." The shadow said. "Everything about me is in my control. That includes that prop." The shadow laughed. Yu was too shocked to move. The shadow grabbed him by the throat with its one remaining arm and lifted him off the ground. "If only the real Adachi could see me now." Yu gasped for air and desperately struggled to get free. "Goodbye fool."

Yu reached into his pocket and pulled out a cylinder. It was about an inch across and a little more than a hand's-width in length. With the slide of a latch and the push of a button, a meter long blade telescoped from the cylinder. In a single swift motion, Yu swung the blade around and sliced off the shadow's remaining arm. The shadow dropped to its knees and stared at Yu in shock as its arm dissolved and disappeared.

The Day Before Yang Awakened Her Persona

"After we weren't able to protect Rise from that shadow, I started thinking about a solution." Blake said. "You should all be able to defend yourselves, with or without a Persona."

"Naoto's got a gun, but other than that we don't have any weapons." Yu said.

"I know, so I got each of you one of these." Blake said. She pulled a cylinder out of her pocket. She slid a latch and pushed a button, causing a meter long blade to telescope from the cylinder. "Be very careful with these. They're razor sharp. Only use it in an emergency." She slid the latch in the other direction and pushed the button again, retracting the blade.

"Thanks, but I hope we never have to use them." Yu said.

Yu stood over the shadow, blade in hand. "You wouldn't kill you old pal Adachi would you?" The shadow pleaded.

"No, but you're not Adachi." Yu said angrily. "I have no mercy for shadows. You are simply a reflection of the part of me I don't like. It's a part of me, but I reject it. It will not control me. This act is the proof." He raised his sword above his head. With a single slice he cleaved the shadow from shoulder to hip. It dissolved and disappeared, leaving Yu alone again.

Ruby would have to fight the twisted shadow of her mother all over again. It was just as painful the second time around, but Ruby had been hardened by the first fight and she was ready. Ruby and Shadow Torchwick blasted wind at each other from their Personas. The opening salvo managed to gain each some separation but little else. Ruby would have to figure out what the shadow and its Persona were vulnerable to – wind clearly was not it. "Kikuri-Hime!" Ruby switched Personas and launched a ball of fire at her opponent.

"Bad move Red." The shadow taunted. It returned the fire with a blast of wind. Ruby's Persona may be resistant to wind, but she was not. She dodged and retreated, barely avoiding being engulfed in flames. The shadow pushed forward, launching attack after attack against Ruby's Persona. Wind was only moderately effective, but it was rapidly wearing her down. She hastily healed herself as the shadow's Persona closed the gap. It reached Kikuri-Hime and began slashing the Persona with its claws.

"Izanagi!" Ruby summoned her newest Persona and turned the tables. A series of slashes and stabs from Izanagi's sword sent the shadow and its Persona reeling. She launched a bolt of lightning that seemed to stun the shadow and renewed the physical assault. A sudden blast of wind from Dark Rose knocked Izanagi back and doubled Ruby over in pain. Izanagi had been a poor choice against an assailant that was clearly focused on using wind attacks.

"I thought you'd put up more of a fight." The shadow laughed. Ruby withdrew her Persona and went without one while she formulated a plan. She attacked the shadow directly with sniper shots from Crescent Rose, but the shadow used its Persona to take the hits for it. A blast of wind knocked Ruby off her feet as the shadow regrouped and launched a new attack.

"Norn!" Ruby desperately summoned another Persona. It was a timely action as the next attack from the shadow healed Ruby instead of injuring her. It was just the respite she needed. "Isis!" Ruby was on her last option as far as Personas were concerned. She fired an ice attack at Dark Rose, scoring a direct hit on her target. The Persona faded and disappeared as the shadow recoiled in pain. Ruby finally had the advantage and intended to press it home. As a wall of ice closed in on the shadow it leapt out of the way. Shadow Torchwick took aim with Melodic Cudgel and fired an explosive shot at Ruby's Persona. It was a devastating hit. Ruby dropped to a knee in pain as her Persona began to fade into static. She quickly withdrew her Persona, knowing another hit could very easily take her down entirely.

"What's the matter Red?" The shadow sneered. "Can't handle the heat?" It fired another shot, this time directly at Ruby. It struck the ground near her feet and blasted her into the air. The shadow fired the hook at the end of Melodic Cudgel at Ruby and caught her by her hood. Rapidly retracting the hook, Shadow Torchwick used it to slam her into the ground at its feet. The shadow laughed. "Sorry kid, it's just business." The shadow raised Melodic Cudgel over its head and brought it down toward Ruby's face. She managed to block the attack with her arm, but it was incredibly painful. Using her semblance, she shot away from the shadow to relative safety.

Ruby fired Crescent Rose backwards, propelling herself toward the shadow at high speed. She swung her scythe as she passed, but the shadow parried the attack. Ruby landed on her feet and turned to face her opponent. The shadow launched its hook again, catching her behind the knee. With a pull, the hook tripped her and she slammed down on her back. Shadow Torchwick spun Melodic Cudgel around and quickly fired. Ruby rolled out of the way, using Crescent Rose to boost herself to safety. She leapt to her feet and fired a series of sniper shots at the shadow. The shadow deflected them with its weapon and fired another shot her way.

Ruby acrobatically leapt over the shot and toward the shadow. She brought her scythe down hard where Shadow Torchwick had been standing, but he had dodged the attack. Now on her flank, the shadow slammed Melodic Cudgel into the side of Ruby's head. Dazed, Ruby stumbled away from the shadow, firing Crescent Rose wildly in its general direction as she fell to the ground. Shadow Torchwick closed in, a confident smile on its face. It pressed the barrel of Melodic Cudgel to Ruby's head. "I've wanted to do this for a long time." The shadow laughed as it squeezed the trigger.

The close-range blast knocked the shadow off its feet. When the smoke cleared, Ruby was nowhere to be seen, only a cloud of rose petals where she had been. Confused, the shadow spun around just in time to catch the full weight of Crescent Rose in the face, blunt-side first. "And I've wanted to do this." Ruby said, readying Crescent Rose for a final slash.

"Hold on Red, if you kill me you'll be no better than I am." Shadow Torchwick pleaded.

"That would be true if you were Torchwick." Ruby said. "You're just a shadow. I hate everything you stand for, even if it's a part of me." She swung Crescent Rose around and sliced the shadow in half. It dissolved and disappeared, leaving Ruby alone again.

Yu sat down. After the battle he had just fought, he was in desperate need of a rest. He had plenty to think about as well. Did he really just look at his friends as a means to an end? Did he only care about the girls because he found them physically attractive? Was Ruby just his next conquest? No, of course not. He might have those thoughts from time to time, but that was not who he was. Right? The more he thought about it, the less sure he was. He had entered a dark spiral and it was close to consuming him.

"Yu!" A familiar voice called from nearby. He turned to his side and there was Ruby, rushing toward him. She looked a little beat up; she must have had a fight too. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Yu answered. He was less than convincing. "I'm just tired. I had a hell of a battle."

"Me too." Ruby said. He stood up and she looked him in the face. She could tell he was not in a good place mentally. "You had a talk with a shadow too huh?"

"I did." He replied, frowning. "It said some things that really got to me. I know that's their game, but the fact that there's truth to what it said is what really hurts."

"It was the same for me." Ruby said. "Cheer up. You said it yourself, we all have parts of ourselves we're not proud of. What matters is that we recognize it and don't let it control us."

"I have to be honest with you." Yu sighed. "Otherwise, I don't think I can look you in the eye anymore. When I first saw you and your friends, all I could think about was how sexy you all were. I wanted a piece of that. My reasons for befriending you all have been less than pure. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you're a guy." Ruby laughed. "If you didn't have those thoughts I'd be surprised. I've got to be honest with you too. I find you fascinating. You're mysterious and helpful, and you're so nice to me and my team even though we just met. When I found out you might have a romantic interest in me, I was shocked but in a good way. As you probably noticed, I'm pretty socially awkward. Making friends is hard enough for me, and the idea that I could have a boyfriend was so attractive. I was even willing to ignore that you're already seeing others and that you'll probably go back home as soon as we've finished with this. It was selfish. I knew I couldn't commit to a relationship with you, but I would lead you on because of how great and wanted it made me feel. You've got nothing to apologize for. We've both used each other, but I think we've become real friends too and we're able to be honest with each other like this. I think that's what's important."

"I guess you're right." Yu said, sounding a little less depressed. "I think you just save me from myself."

"It's what friends do." Ruby said. "Your actions have shown that you really care about us, even if you have dirty thoughts too. You've helped me so much. I can tell you've done the same for your companions just by the way they look at you. You're a great friend and we're all lucky to have you."

"As much as you've all helped me, I think I'm the lucky one." Yu said.

Yang, Weiss, Yosuke, Naoto and Chie waited. There were no shadows around and their friends were nowhere to be found. They had tried looking around, but only found more featureless blackness. A figure dressed in red and black appeared in the distance. Yang squinted to see. "Ruby?!" Yang rushed to her and hugged her tightly. Ruby did not react. There was none of the usual squirming or complaints about it being too tight. Something was very wrong. Yang let go and took a step back. Yang could only see rage and hatred in Ruby's eyes. This was not Ruby, it was a shadow. The shadow swung Crescent Rose around, slamming the blade down inches from Yang's back. If the gun fired it would slam back and slice her in two. With a malevolent smile, the shadow pulled the trigger.

"Someone's coming." Blake reported, pointing to the approaching figure. Rise, Teddie, Kanji and Yukiko turned to look.

"Senpai!" Rise shouted excitedly, rushing toward Yu. "I'm so glad you're alright." She embraced him tightly, and he stood there motionless. "Where were you?" There was no response. "Senpai?" She looked him in the eyes, eyes filled with rage and hatred. Rise did not need to summon her Persona to know that this was a shadow. She pushed him away and stumbled back. The shadow lunged forward and punched Rise in the face. She fell to the ground unconscious.

"Magatsu-Izanagi." The shadow growled. The glowing red Persona appeared positioned its sword above the motionless Rise. The shadow brought its hand down and the Persona slammed its sword downward.