Chapter 51: Butter-Fly
Kishou the Badger
Stronger than LOVE
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Fate/Reach Out
Chapter 51: Butter-Fly
<><><>
The throne room turned into a warzone almost immediately. Blasts of elemental magic, mostly of fire and ice, hailed with reckless abandon. What tremors weren't caused by their destructive power came from overwhelming strikes of their opposition.
"Spread out!" Shirou ordered. "Don't give her a reason to strike us all at once!"
Vampire Satsuki either didn't hear or care about their planning. She was too busy laughing and dancing, beside herself with glee. She moved like a madman without rhyme or reason, rushing from one Persona to the next.
She barreled through Konohana Sakuya's flames to bite down on her mask, causing a spurt of blood from Yukiko's forehead along with a pained scream. She then leaped away as Tomoe lunged, grabbing her glaive in a tugging session, and then swung the warrior behind her with a thud hard enough to bounce. The gasp Chie made told her it must have hurt.
Take-Mikazuchi got a good hit in with his bolt-sword, digging into her shoulder blade. Kanji flinched, almost aghast at how gory that blow was to anything other than a shadow. That hesitation cost him as the vampire took the time to pry the blade up and out of her body, regenerating even before it was removed.
He redoubled his efforts, pushing harder and letting out an attack for good measure. "Zionga!"
A thick blue bolt struck her, a clear hit with the bolt sword as a lightning rod as it shattered. Take-Mikazuchi quickly stepped back to marvel at the gambit. Yet it did nothing to unnerve Satsuki. A twitch of her eyebrow was the only sign of discomfort she made.
"Nice trick," she smiled, holding out her hand. "High-five!"
"Huh?"
Satsuki leaped up and palmed Take-Mikazuchi's hand with her own. The high-five was more of a joy-buzzer, using her defibrillator-charged hand. It was more intense than any lightning the Persona could manage, and even through his resistance, the pain was excruciating enough to fizzle him out.
The others gasped in worry of their friend. "Kanji!" "Kanji-kun!"
"I-I'm okay!" Kanji wheezed. The attack was enough to put him to his knees, leaning on his metal board for support. He looked up to watch for any other trick-
Only to freeze, seeing Sacchin standing right in front of him, inches apart.
"Now what do we have here~?" she asked coyly. Her blood-red eyes seemed to glow as her hand reached towards his face. Towards his glasses-
WHAM! At the last moment, she moved her hand to the side and caught Jiraiya's punch before it connected with her head. She turned and smirked at the ninja Persona. Kanji took the opportunity to scamper away; not exactly cool or coordinated but he was more than a little scared of being that close to Satsuki.
"I was wondering where you holed up, Yosuke-kun," she said. "Why don't you come out and play for real?"
A burst of wind shot up from behind Jiraiya, howling like a wolf. His fist pushed harder against her hand, surprising the vampire at his ingenuity. She even had to squint her eyes as the gale and dust was starting to sting a bit.
She only blinked, but it was enough of a delay for Jiraiya to pivot his body into a spin kick. And at the exact moment the kick landed, the wind trajectory changed, boosting the force of his leg and sending her flying.
Her boyfriend had some moves AND moxie.
She righted herself in the air and exerted a burst of force to stop the pushing gale. It caught more than a few gawking fighters unaware that she was suddenly flying in mid-air, but not enough to stop the God Persona from swinging his blade down overhead.
Smirking, Satsuki clasped the blade with both hands, stopping it just from reaching her brow. The force did push her back down, her feet now planted on the ground and cracking underneath. The rumbling was loud, but… why did it sound like crackling thun-?
BOOM! A bolt of Zionga struck a moment later, singing her clothes and skin, as well as part of the castle floor. She still held firm to the blade, her smirk falling slightly out of annoyance.
"I thought we established that doesn't work?" she asked the Persona rhetorically.
Izanagi – and by proxy, Shirou – didn't answer. He just redoubled his efforts as more sparks danced across his metal tips.
Just as she contemplated whether to break his polearm, Jiraiya caught her peripheral vision. It was just a moment, but he passed the same spot again. And again, as he zipped around her in a circle.
A faint whistle, almost unheard in the roar of battle, started to grow in volume. And a thick green torrent of energy formed, with her firmly in the center. As if that wasn't enough, the booming thunder also echoed in the halls, striking almost uncontrollably around them.
Then, a brilliant white light flash, if only for an instant, directly above her. She knew as she was forced to stare up past Izanagi in their deadlock.
"Garu-!"
"Zio-!"
It was in that moment, Satsuki realized their intention. "Oh."
""Dyne!""
With the force of a jet-propelled hammer, the collision of two forces became one. A spiraling vortex that imploded on itself, and a lightning bolt as thick and hard as a tree trunk. It was enough to slam Satsuki into the floor… below the collapsed one.
<><><>
From his hiding spot of a far-off column, Yosuke gasped raggedly and patted his winded heart. It was nerve-wracking in more ways than he could count, skirting around lightning like that. But it worked. For now.
He saw Shirou from across the room, standing more resolute but no less winded. They exchanged glances and nodded. A brief respite. And as Shirou walked over to gauge the others, Yosuke finally allowed himself to fall on his butt, scurrying over to the pillar to lean on it.
"Yosuke-kun!"
His ward, his girlfriend, hovered over him immediately. If the Shadow of Sacchin was around, chances were that the vampire wasn't down for the count yet. Still, he put on a brave face and smiled at her. "No big, Sacchin. I do this kind of stuff every day."
"'Every day'?"
He winced. "Well… maybe I'm exaggerating. Just a bit."
"You still shouldn't push yourself. If I'd hurt you– If something were to happen to you, I'd…!" Shadow Sacchin's face scrunched, her normally eerie eyes glistening with tears.
It was oddly comforting that she was this torn up about his well-being. Or at least it should be. There was still a nagging doubt in his mind. "Sacchin… was our relationship real?"
It was a bad time to ask. Any moment now the vampire would show up and be no less for wear. But even in the best-case scenario, there might never be another chance.
Even she understood this, her frown falling further as she sniffled. It was for that reason that she decided to answer him. "You… weren't the first boy I liked."
Yosuke grimaced but kept quiet. He kind of expected that.
"But Shiki-kun… well, I don't think I was on his radar at all."
"Huh?" Yosuke was flabbergasted. How could anyone not appreciate the cute, spunky, and somewhat terrifyingly assertive Satsuki Yumizuka?!
"I never got a chance to tell him. Before all this, I mean. When I did, I was long gone in my primal urges and wanted to see more of his wild side. He was strong, deadly strong. Even came close enough to slaying my vampire self that I had to skip town."
Dammit, first Shirou and now this Shiki guy? Why did everyone but him get all the luck?!
Wait, that's the wrong thing to take out of this! Shirou was one thing as he seemed half-aware of the girls around him, but if Shiki never got to see what an amazing girl Sacchin was, then he was the one with the problem! Especially if he tried to kill her!
"I did have fun being your girlfriend, though," she smiled softly. With her glowing eyes closed, for a moment she looked normal and serene. "You were really funny, even when you didn't mean to be. You were attentive, considerate and kind. And you really took the time to be with me."
"Sacchin."
"I… might have influenced you with some hypnotic suggestions," she sheepishly admitted. "But it's because I wanted as much of a normal girl's life as I could, including dating!"
"Ah, that explains a lot," Yosuke said, thinking about the faded memories and why his phone would be turned off. "So uh, about this Shiki guy…"
"You're strong too, you know, Yosuke. Well, not Shiki-strong. No offense, but I'm not exaggerating when I say he can literally kill you with a single cut. I speak from experience."
Yosuke blinked. "But… you're still here? How can you be dead?"
"Because I already died. Vampires are undead, remember?" Shadow Satsuki pointed to her pale complexion and torn clothes for emphasis. "It's not simple to kill someone that is already dead."
A grim realization caused Yosuke to grimace. "So, in other words, we're screwed."
Shadow Satsuki blinked, then flushed, also realizing her verbal blunder. If it was hard to kill a vampire normally, then what chance did their team have, he was clearly wondering. "Uh… I'm still rooting for you guys!"
Yosuke knew she was trying to be helpful, so he would have accepted the awkward praise as genuine and prepared for round 3.
But the shadow of his girlfriend, feeling emboldened, grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him. Lip to lip, rather forced in, and… the teasing of a tongue through his gap.
It was their first kiss, he realized. It was made more romantic and significant as they parted lips and stared at each other with longing gazes.
"For good luck," she said demurely.
"Well," he managed with a smile. "With a kiss like that, I won't need luck."
Sacchin smiled back. And for a moment, everything was perfect.
Until a violent tremor occurred. Nay, an earthquake, threatening to tear down the whole castle with them in it.
Yosuke and Sacchin screamed upon seeing a pale hand pierce the stone floor. Or rather a set of fingers. They clenched and crushed the tile, then retreated like a timid mole. Another hand appeared near the hole, and then the same hand. They parted in opposite directions and widened the hole enough to reveal a manic vampire looking like a slasher villain.
"Heeeeeere's Sacchin!"
It happened so fast that Yosuke barely caught his train of thought. But he knew that he had to fight. He couldn't back down after his girlfriend kissed him, even if it meant fighting said girlfriend.
"Get back!" he yelled, all but shoving the Shadow away. With his free arm, he swiped at his Persona card and had Jiraiya vault down head and hands first, the shuriken gloves spinning like buzzsaws. "Power Slash!"
Satsuki smirked, swinging only one arm up, palm open, and smashed the Persona's hands at once and then his face. Yosuke felt the sickening squelch of his hands as they broke, dropping his knives before nearly blacking out from a ringing headache and flying across the room.
"Yosuke-kun!"
Thwup. His short-lived flight ended as Satsuki moved and caught him faster than he flew. "Gotcha!"
"Ghaaaa!" Yosuke screamed. She was hugging him, but in a grip so tight it might as well be a bear trap around his ribcage. And that was on top of his broken hands.
"Whoops, sorry! Don't know my own strength sometimes!" Satsuki giggled, barely easing up. "All I meant to do was to break your glasses!"
Glasses? Yosuke strained to look and saw a large hairline fracture over the right lens. The bridge was bent too. Not that it mattered, as she plucked the eyewear off his face and inspected them.
"Hey!" He tried to yell, but it came out as a pained gasp. The fog of the world was on full display and suddenly he had a migraine worse than ever.
"I thought you all just had tacky fashion sense, but these glasses have some filter on them, huh? Kind of like Shiki's, actually." She then shrugged and tossed them over her shoulder, inevitably causing them to break upon falling to the floor. "No matter. Because you're not going to fight me anymore, Yosuke-kun."
As soon as she said those words, and stared into his eyes, the pain went away. "Yes, Sacchin."
<><><>
"Up there!" Kanji cried, pointing. "She's got Yosuke-senpai!"
"Shiiiiit!" Shirou growled, putting as much fury as he could behind pulling his bowstring and firing. He aimed for her head, but she didn't seem to have a blind spot as she hovered away before it hit.
Nothing was going as planned. No, there was never a plan to begin with. The others rushed in to fight when able despite just being told to standby. They coordinated better with their surroundings, a better showing than previous encounters against Shadows.
Only Satsuki Yumizuka was a vampire. One running on fumes and still playing with them, but still a tier above their own.
And seeing that she had moved to hypnotize one of them directly by removing the glasses, she was starting to take them seriously. The room was vast with everyone spread out, but with her speed she could pick them off one at a time. Not to mention that the tension in the air was suddenly getting heavy.
"Kanji! Yosuke's compromised, stun him!"
"Wh-wha?" Kanji stammered, looking between Shirou and Yosuke above. "That's crazy, senpai!"
Shirou didn't have time to argue; Sacchin brought Yosuke down and held him up steady before she patted his back. His eyes were vacant, but his face was determined. He immediately charged towards Shirou.
"Nevermind, just keep her busy!" Shirou ordered, drawing his sword to deadlock the knives. They collided with such force that Shirou was pushed back several feet far and away from the rest of the group.
Kanji, not quite aware of what happened to Shirou, got the last word in. "Huh?! Make up your mind, man!"
"Just fight, you idiot!" Taiga sniped from behind him, rushing for the vampire.
Satsuki flexed and clenched her hand, then cocked it back for a punch. Taiga swung her Torashinai at the same moment, though the vampire's strength won out in sending her flying back.
"Kaihime!"
The Princess Persona switched in, slashing down on the arm from Satsuki's peripheral vision.
"You got her!" Kanji cheered, seeing the arm fly off.
However, as the severed arm bounced with a jet of blood, the vampire simply turned her stump and blinded Kaihime with her gushing fluid.
It surprised and burned Taiga enough that she recoiled mid-flight, and Kaihime was wiping the blood away. "Gah! Vamp juice! URK!"
Satsuki grabbed her arm and slammed it against Taiga like a hammer, sending her to the ground. Satisfied that the stubborn warrior was down for now, she lifted the arm back to her stub and reattached it with frightening ease. In her respite, Teddie conjured another tree of ice beneath her feet, but her instincts flared and she jumped away at the last minute.
She was coming in his direction now. Or would have if not a giant pyre bursting in front of her by Konohana-Sakuya. Then, out of nowhere, Tomoe leapt through the flames with a sudden torrent as the glaive slammed down. "Rainy Death!"
The attack was beautifully executed, immediately dousing the flames and slamming the vampire's head down to the ground like a basketball. Kanji saw an opportunity and capitalized on it, willing Take-Mikazuchi to gank on her. "Fatal End!'
The second attack was less graceful, but effective and gruesome with the force of a guillotine made for dinosaurs. At least, that's how Kanji viewed his attack, since there was no other apt comparison. He could probably easily take on a T-rex too.
Though a vampire was no dinosaur; even in the gory mess from him plowing her body apart, she was putting herself together in a swirl of red mist. If only he packed more than one garlic bulb! Or was it an onion?
"Dammit, just stay dead already!" Kanji yelled, going as far as having his Persona repeatedly hack at her before she could get back up.
Chie was half-tempted to join him, seeing that their efforts were fast becoming tiresome. "This isn't working. We need to hit her harder."
"No shit!"
"I got an idea, Kanji-kun! 'Taru' me!"
"Huh?" The question was enough to make him stop and look at her. "But can't you do that yourself?"
"Just do it!"
Well, it wasn't like he could keep pounding on Satsuki who rolled away the moment he stopped. He just had to trust that Chie had an idea in mind. "Tarukaja!"
A familiar orange glow illuminated her body. Satsuki noticed the change in the air, and was now diving from the air towards her. But Chie didn't move. She held her ground, her normally bouncing feet firmly locked into a guard position. She primed herself with an electrical burst around her body that shook the ground.
"Take THIS!" She threw the hardest, fastest roundhouse kick she could to her Persona card, and at the same time Tomoe swung her naginata from the side.
POW! A dual synergy-enhanced blow connected with a satisfying crack that snapped her head and body swiftly to the side, crashing to the floor.
Holy-! That was amazing! Chie-senpai not only boosted her strength but Charged herself so it would practically double!
…why the hell didn't he think of that before?
"Ha!" Chie smiled, posing with a victory sign. "How do you like… that…?" Thud. Chie fell down, and her Persona faded away.
Kanji gawked. Did she get hit after all?! "Chie-senpai!" He made two steps over to her before he too felt a sudden flash of dizziness. He fell down to his knees and nursed his headache. Take-Mikazuchi vanished too.
And… was this floor always a dry desert like where they fought Mitsuo?
"Ah, it's finally kicking in," Satsuki mused. She casually dusted herself off and cranked her neck as her injuries faded. "Was starting to wonder if that worked on Personas."
"What… did you do?" Kanji strained, trying to put weight on his good leg.
"Just neutralized your trick," she said, before plucking his glasses off. "Now stop fighting."
And with that, he was out like a light.
<><><>
Moments earlier, Shirou and Yosuke were launched far and away from anyone else, possibly out of Rise's range. Finally reinforcing his legs, Shirou managed a foothold as he swung his sword to send his dueler away. "Yosuke, snap out of it! I'm not your enemy!"
"Right, because fighting my girlfriend is more important!" Yosuke argued back, surprisingly aware. He zoomed quickly in to swing his knives, forcing Shirou on the defensive. "You never had problems with girls, given how naturally hot and suave you are!"
"I thought we got over this hurdle!"
"'Got over'? All that happened was I accepted I had a chip on my shoulder! I was still a loser, and you were still Mr. Perfect!"
A fight between words and swords. A horrible time to have one where there was a vastly more dangerous enemy nearby. And yet she was the vocal point to the argument. How much of this was Yosuke's true feelings and how much of it was hypnosis?
Again they were caught in a deadlock. "We can argue about this later. But for now-!" He slipped his free hand to the side and crushed Izanagi's card. "Stand down!"
A bolt of Zio struck Yosuke, forcing his brown-red hair on end and smoking his headphones and scarf. It should have been enough to knock him off his feet, but to Shirou's surprise, he stayed standing and looked even more incensed.
"You… FIRST!" he snarled, slashing his Jiraiya card in front of him.
With the force of a vacuum cannon, Shirou was sent barreling even further away from Yosuke and slammed on his back. Yosuke lumbered through the shock, holding his knives out with intent to kill. "Now I win!"
"Stupid Yosuke-kun!" WHACK!
Yosuke stilled from a sudden impact and then collapsed. From behind, Shadow Sacchin was standing with her eyes closed and hand extended, responsible for the dope slap.
A moment later, Yosuke groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "Aaoouch… that really smarts. Huh? Sacchin? Shirou? Aw shit, did I do that?"
"You can apologize by healing me," Shirou offered.
"Uh, good plan. Diarama!" From the Persona summon, a potent cerulean light washed over Shirou's body. Healing was not Yosuke's forte compared to Teddie or Yukiko, but it was enough to cover the pressurized cuts.
"Yosuke-kun, don't do that to your friends again!" Sacchin pouted/glared. Being on the receiving end of her smack, Yosuke was more than a little wary of being close to her again.
"Hey, come on, it was hardly my fault!" he argued. "I was hypnotized!"
"Which wouldn't have happened if you weren't so empty-headed to begin with!" Yosuke and Shirou both winced. True to form, the Shadow was brutal. "You need to learn to not listen to what others tell you to do!"
"Even when you tell me to?"
"ESPECIALLY when I tell you to! You're trying to stop me, remember!?"
In Shirou's mind, he heard his fey Persona swoon and gush. "Oh em gee. They are so ADORABLE!"
"Thanks for the help, Satsuki-san," Shirou said, now able to stand upright.
"Oh, it's the least I could do. But feel free to call me Sacchin. All my friends do."
"I feel Yosuke alone deserves that honor."
"H-Hey, man…" Yosuke stammered. He and Sacchin conveniently looked away from each other, sporting matching red faces.
Pixie was right. They were quite adorable.
The good mood suddenly turned grim as Yosuke collapsed and coughed. Sacchin quickly caught him before he fell down completely while Shirou saw Jiraiya dispelled from the room.
His senses told him something was off and very, very wrong. "Rise, are you there? What's going on?"
… "Rise?"
There was no answer. Her clairvoyant range with Himiko was able to determine the boundaries and layouts of Teddie's world, so even in this large room she should have been able to coordinate with the others. It was almost like they were cut off.
Actually, this room looked more desolate than he remembered. The lavish rugs were weathered and torn. The columns were crumbling. The gravel was loose with sand everywhere. The whole room reeked of… death.
"Shirou, hold fast of your wits and resources," he heard Izanagi say. "The land is like a vacuum now, not unlike Yomi."
"Or Hell by any other name," Power added bitterly.
Yes, even his prana was steadily fading away, his reinforced legs losing their boost. What's worse was that the prana wasn't just devoured or recycled in another venue. It simply vanished without a trace.
All evidence pointed to one certain fact. It was impossible to think about, but this had to be… "A Reality Marble? But how?!"
"You like it? I found out about this trick when messing around with the castle!"
The three of them balked as they saw vampire Satsuki walking towards them through a sudden red fog and the clicking of her heels. Her expression was lit with glee as if sharing a personal secret. "It sucks up all the prana in the area until it's depleted of excess energy. I call it 'Depletion Garden'."
"Satsuki-san…" Shirou knew the poor girl had a tragic fate, but for her outlook to create such a place?
"Please," Sacchin choked. "Haven't you done enough?"
Satsuki continued on, not listening to or acknowledging her Shadow. "Your friends have already been taken care of. They're not dead. Not yet. I want to make sure each and every one of you is out before deciding who to drain and who to turn."
"HIAAAAA!" A skyward scream boomed from behind as Taiga charged in with an overhead shinai swing. Satsuki whiffed to the side at the last moment and then chopped the back of her neck, sending her groaning to the ground.
"Okay, this one is tougher to put down, I'll admit," Satsuki frowned for a moment. "But," she continued with a shrug and smile, canines showing. "As you can see, without your Personas, you can't hit me."
Shirou grimaced, glancing between Satsuki and Taiga. The Reality Marble was changing the tide of the battle in Satsuki's favor. Even someone as stubborn as Fuji-nee couldn't close the gap without her Persona.
If she and Yosuke were having trouble, then no doubt the others were fading fast from mental fatigue. There would be no help from there. There were no options left… except for one.
"Yosuke," he said slowly, marching to meet the vampire. "Take Satsuki-san's Shadow as far away from here as you can."
"Shirou?"
"Uh, hello? What makes you think I'll let you do that?"
Shirou stared at her with resolution and held out his hand. A Persona card appeared, as black as night. It gave Satsuki pause from the sudden shift in aura.
Yosuke blanched. "Shirou, you can't! Not that one!"
"If our prana is going to be sucked dry, I might as well use the one Persona I know has a chance before that happens."
"That Persona also nearly killed Kanji without remorse!"
"Ideally, that's the plan."
"What?!" Yosuke felt betrayed. His friend and leader was committed to kill Sacchin after all?!
"This world egg is how Satsuki-san sees the world around her. A land devoid of all prana, all life, ceasing to even exist. It's as true to herself as the Personas are to us, but on a global scale. If we die here, she'll win and force that 'garden' on Inaba."
Even Yosuke had to admit that this whole scenario shift felt utterly wrong. It was always creepy before due to a blend of her and Mitsuo's baggage, but now it was just suffocating. Like they could actually die here from exposure alone. There have been close shaves before but this had a starching air of dread that topped all the others.
And yet he couldn't accept Sacchin's fate as being a lost cause before they even truly met. There had to be something to turn this around. An exorcism? Someone from the church Shirou mentioned before? If he could just bring out his Persona again-!
But as if sensing his conflict of resolve and desperation, Shirou said, "Yosuke, I'm not going to force you into a horrible choice."
Those words were spoken softly, with finality and regret. Ready to commit to a sin his friend didn't have the heart to do.
Because it had to be done. He was going to save his friends and the town he didn't know months ago, just because it had to be done.
Yosuke Hanamura hated Shirou Emiya for that.
Because he couldn't possibly live up to that level of faith and trust given to him.
Because unlike his good friend, he was a coward with more than a chip on his shoulder.
"…we haven't finished that fight yet, you know," said Yosuke. Sacchin looked at him, confused and horrified that he would bring that up right now, but he didn't care. He couldn't see anything but the dusty cracked floor tiles growing moist.
"And?" Shirou asked.
"I still want to punch your face in, so… don't die."
"Shirou…"
"Yeah," Shirou said, to both Yosuke and Pixie. A small smile graced his lips. "I know."
With a choked sob, Yosuke grabbed the Shadow in his arms and used the last of his prana to leap away in a wind-powered hop. He spared a passing glance at the vampire Satsuki, a last longing look to commit to memory.
He did find her choice of the evil attire hot, all things considered.
Satsuki watched him go with a frown, before she turned back to Shirou and his black card. "Big talk from a guy who is on death row."
"No one is dying here today, Satsuki Yumizuka."
"Really? And here I thought you were gonna 'save' me for my boyfriend back there? Or did you get cold feet seeing my Depletion Garden in all its glory? Killing me even in self-defense feels like a step back, no?"
Shirou was tempted. To defend Yosuke's honor. To remind her she had already been long dead. That just because he didn't like to get his hands dirty didn't mean he wouldn't do it for the sake of others. But he wouldn't give her that satisfaction, not with her Reality Marble in play.
"We both know we don't have time to wax life philosophies," he quipped instead.
Satsuki pouted. "Aw, why not?"
"Because you killed my philosophy teacher."
Satsuki chuckled. Before she could get another word in edgewise, Shirou steeled his mind and crushed the card with the confidence of playing Russian Roulette. "Kagutsuc̴̫̞̈́̓̃̀̿ẖ̵̨̏̂̏̍̕î̴̻̜͙̹!"
<><><>
From the safety of their new hiding spot, Yosuke and Shadow Sacchin heard and felt the searing explosion of the summoning. He'd only heard stories from the others that were conscious before, but the fact that it single-handedly kicked Shadow Kanji's ass meant it was powerful. Probably too powerful for Shirou to handle.
He glanced from around the shattered column that broke during the early fighting. The dichotomy of the charred black and fire-faced Persona punched its long arm down at the spot where Satsuki once stood. She leaped away and then twirled in the air to avoid a follow-up claw swipe.
At the apex of her backspin, she dive-bombed Shirou, who seemed to be in a trance. He barely paid her any mind as a literal fire wall erupted between them and singed the vampire for getting too close. Kagutsuchi, having conjured the flames with one arm, attempted to catch her with his other arm only for her to slip through his grasp once again.
It was surreal. Shirou's super Persona seemed to be able to do multiple actions at once and force Satsuki entirely on the defensive. She couldn't get a single solid hit in due to the giant's burning hard flesh. Maybe it was because Shirou was on a timer or resolved to kill her, but he was going all in on her.
It kind of worried and humbled Yosuke, seeing his friend having such an ace up his sleeve. He wanted him to win of course, but that would mean giving up Sacchin. He knew it was necessary. And yet his heart was torn, and all he could do now was watch.
Though what turned into a slightly one-sided fight in Shirou's favor became less certain as Sacchin grabbed a whole finger of Kagutsuchi and tossed him overhead. His impact with the ground caused the equivalent of an explosion as the fires hurled dust and sand around.
"Yosuke-kun," the shadow spoke suddenly. "I need one of your knives."
"What? Why?"
"I might need to protect myself if things get worse."
Yosuke stared at her intently. The explosions and shaking were now mere white noise. "That's not the real reason," he declared, frowning.
Sacchin looked away from his gaze. "Y-Yes, it is."
"Sacchin, my best friend out there is fighting your vampire body with the intent to burn her to death before he keels over! I don't see how anything could be worse than that!"
The Shadow flinched. He didn't mean to yell, but he was barely keeping his emotions in check as it is. He had a hunch, a feeling, of what she intended to do. But he wanted to know the truth. Or at least, convince himself that the reason wasn't the one he believed.
"Tell me the truth, Sacchin." He pleaded.
Sacchin's face showed a myriad of conflicting emotions. When she finally spoke, she had settled on resignation. "I'm still Satsuki Yumizuka. She hasn't accepted me as her other self, but she hasn't rejected me either."
Of course, he thought. His gaze fell to the floor.
"As long as that's true, then I can stop the monster. I can break her concentration on Depletion Garden so you can have a fighting chance. I can… end this."
He wanted to laugh at the cruel irony of it all. He'd finally got himself a girlfriend and all major signs pointed to her having to ultimately die.
She wasn't even the real culprit! Why her? This wasn't fair at all!
"Yosuke, I'm not going to force you into a horrible choice."
…life's never really fair, he realized. If his friend could keep fighting, if his girlfriend could keep fighting, why not him?
He pulled out his right-handed knife, marveling a bit at the sharpness. One of Daidara's latest works. He'd slashed plenty of Shadows and cards with it. But now, it was trembling in his hand.
Sacchin grasped his hand in hers, keeping it steady, and decidedly pointing to her heart. They looked up and stared at each other's eyes. They leaned in to kiss one more time.
It was bittersweet, but he liked to think that she made him feel the earth rumble under his feet. And not just from the fighting.
"It was for a short time," she said as they parted. "But I had a lot of fun, Yosuke-kun."
"Yeah. Didn't get to do all the stuff we said we would, though."
"You mean like in those magazines under your bed?"
"No, I mean, ye-wait NO! How did you even-?!"
She giggled. Somehow she knew about his stash and found it cute. Even now in a final goodbye she found the time to friggin' tease him! He found that both flattering and maddening. "No, I mean other things. Like binging anime over the summer, or introducing you to the rest of the guys!"
"Ah, that! There was one that had a really good opening song on your player! I think it goes…" She hummed a few bars of an uplifting stanza, one he recognized right away.
"Heh, yeah that was a great one. Cute creatures, cool monsters, and the power of friendship stuff. You'd love it."
"I know I loved the song. It felt like it could be about us. Especially now."
…god she was making this both easy and insanely hard to commit. Yet Yosuke cracked a smile (and voice) to assure her. "Then it will be our song."
"Really?!" She asked excitedly. She beamed more as he nodded. "Then I'll always be with you! Like in the song! A little butterfly!"
"That's a good thought, actually." Yosuke said. "I wonder… if Saki-senpai would think the same." He had told her about the late Saki Konishi once (or at least the vampire). Not all the details of her demise, but enough to give himself an unflattering light of the situation.
Yet the Shadow just grinned, easing his worries. "I'll give her a stern talking to when I see her."
"I'd rather you not give her a hard time, but thanks."
There was nothing else to talk about. How he wished they could just ramble about nothing like other couples did. He could forget all about the knife in his hands, the quaking of his combat boots.
Sacchin looked at him and said, "I love you Yosuke."
He wanted to confirm that back. To smile. To hug her, kiss her again. To do anything but stammer like a crying idiot.
But it took all his remaining frayed nerves just to nod, clench his eyes and scream.
And plunge the knife forward.
<><><>
Shirou's prana was finally tapped out, and Kagutsuchi couldn't maintain his form anymore. The backlash from Depletion Garden, as well as the strain of the infernal Persona, forced him down on his knees, clutching his sword of faint lingering embers. Dried blood was smeared across his shirt, one eye had swollen shut, and more than a few burns marred his hands.
Satsuki floated down to the ground, smug and no less for wear. No, it was clear that the fighting was finally getting to her, but it was moot once she drained them of their blood and made them her thralls.
If it wasn't for her damn Reality Marble…!
"Hah… nothing like working up an appetite," Satsuki grinned through her pain. She took deliberately slow steps, heels clicking. "I don't know where you got that big Persona, but I'm grateful that you didn't use it from the start."
"I'm not… done yet!" Shirou growled. With his sword firmly planted in the ground, he lifted himself up one shaky inch at a time.
"Nice last words. I'll remember them once I'm done with y-y—" Her step faltered. A look of confusion and pain flickered over her face before her cheeks puffed out.
"YUAAAACK!"
Suddenly, Satsuki doubled over and spewed blood. Her hands clutched her chest, heaving and vomiting more blood. It was enough to give the barely aware Shirou shock and alarm.
Her hacking and coughing didn't cease. What's more, the world egg surrounding them cracked and fizzled away, with nay the crushing pressure of a prana vacuum.
"What's… No! Dammit, I can't feel my Shadow! I thought he was supposed to protect me!"
Shirou grimaced. Did Satsuki's Shadow really die? What about Yosuke?
"Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit DAMMIT!" she slammed the floor with both hands in rage, hard enough to shatter the tiles. When she looked up, there was fury in her eyes and a mess of blood covering her lips. "FINE! I don't need my humanity anyway! I refuse to starve to death! I'll drain all but one of you of your blood, convince my thrall to send me back, and then turn Inaba into my domain!"
"I told you," Shirou glared, now finding it easier to regain his footing. "I'm not done yet."
"Oh, you will be. And don't worry, I'll make sure your little mystery villain suffers like the rest of the town."
They stared each other down in firm stances. Shirou knew his chances weren't great, but Yosuke and Sacchin had given him a chance. He couldn't waste it.
Before they could exchange their final blows, they heard a set of footsteps heading towards them. Followed by a voice, tired but resolute.
"Mugendai na yume no ato no nanimo nai yo no naka ja"
Shirou blinked, as he and Sacchin turned to see a familiar face walking towards them. "Yosuke?"
"Is he… singing?" Pixie wondered.
"What a beautiful, yet sad aria," Sarasvati noted.
"Sou sa itoshii, omoi mo makesou ni naru kedo"
Sacchin glared and snarled in fury. "You're first," she said cryptically before sprinting at her newest target.
Shirou's good eye widened in alarm. That was too fast for him to stop in time, even as he tried to run and reach his hand out. "YOSUKE!"
"Stay shigachi na imeeji darake no tayorinai tsubasa demo"
She was upon him in an instant. Face first, hands extended, fangs and claws ready to puncture him. She was fully intent to drain and kill him. He didn't seem to notice the immediate danger, as he continued to sing.
"Kitto toberu sa—"
Yet at the height of his meter, his Persona's Tarot card appeared between him and Satsuki. In the very next moment, it shattered – nay, detonated – in a burst of white light that sent her flying back. She quickly righted herself in midair, but looked enraged and confused as to what happened and why.
Shirou couldn't tell her if he wanted to. He had watched Yosuke closely and his prana seemed to just skyrocket. And for a moment before the explosion, he swore he saw Satsuki Yumizuka, serene and in a pristine school uniform, holding Yosuke's hand and singing next to him.
"On My Love"
That wasn't the only change, though. The ninja Persona, Jiraiya, appeared but was immediately enveloped in a light of his own as he spun in place. Almost like some anime about "senshi", the light parted as the Persona flexed his arms and legs out one at a time. His cameo gloves and boots were now shimmering red. His shuriken-covered frog-cameo hands were now armed with metal bracers. The white jumpsuit dyed itself to a cerulean blue with yellow stripes around the arms and waistline, with a metal belt stud to boot.
In a flourish, he ripped the outline of his red scarf. The jagged cuts solidified and it resembled a spinning cutter halo surrounding his body. The triangular "mouth" of the frog opened to reveal sharp incisors before rotating around to form a pinwheel. The force of the pinwheel spinning, or rather him screaming, blew up and threw away the Persona's frog-face mask, a towering and windswept red mane appearing in its place, as well as a metal face with sharp glasses.
With a final spin that quelled the winds, the Persona struck a pose with his arms flexed and poised underneath. He didn't resemble Jiraiya at all anymore, and was someone entirely new. Someone powerful.
And… there was a small fluttering, pink wisp over his shoulder too.
"SO COOOOOL!" Pixie gushed. And honestly, Shirou couldn't agree more.
"Shirou!" Yosuke called out, surprising him with a sudden Diarama spell. There was a look in his eyes, one different from before. More resolute and determined than ever. "You got enough steam for one last push?"
Smirking with renewed vigor, he echoed a familiar response from months ago. "Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Well said," Yosuke smirked back. He turned his gaze to the still active and angry vampire, pointing at her with his finger. "Now then! Let's go, Susanoo!"
Huh, so that was his new name.
Susanoo dashed forward, and Shirou could hear the faint revving of gears like a chainsaw. It took him a moment to realize it came from the wide ring around the Persona spinning against the air so quickly it churned a green veil around him. Realizing the implication as well, Satsuki dodged to the left, but still felt part of her arm tear from the razor wind.
Growling, she stomped hard on the ground to flip a shattered floor tile up, then punch it into smaller chunks that were sent rocketing towards Yosuke. Without skipping a beat, Susanoo flexed and threw his arms up, pushing the ring slightly above him. Prana also flowed from below and into the ring. Moments later, a viridian gale burst like a gunshot from the floor, dispersing the rocks before they could hit.
Shirou was not idle as that happened, popping one of the group's reserve soul candies for a burst of prana. Now that the Reality Marble was gone, there was no risk of using it now, and he summoned another Persona. "Power! Hama!"
"That won't exorcise her." Power warned.
"Doesn't have to!"
And so, he continued with the summoning. Power revealed the full glory of his black wings and vivid red armor and held his partisan aloft like a torch. Moments later, a ball of light floated in front of Satsuki, and burst into a flash. Such a spell would normally banish Shadows, but it would do nothing against stronger Shadows, let alone a vampire.
Yet it was still enough of a flashbang to irritate and blind her, however briefly.
"You miserable-!" she frothed angrily, only to get punched in the face by a red fist. And then another. And another, followed by an increasing number of blows in crescendo.
"Oraoraoraoraoraoraora!" Susanoo "cried", though it was most likely the wind from his rapid attacks.
"ORA!" This time Yosuke yelled it, throwing a fist out as well in timing with his Persona. The last punch hurled the vampire across the room like a bloody missile.
Before she could land or right herself, Power intercepted with his shield and lance, buffering her crash and skewering her through the abdomen.
"May God have mercy on your soul!" Power said.
"Shut UP!" Satsuki yelled. She swung her right hook with all her might towards the angel's face, cracking and fracturing it like a mirror. The Persona's damage transferred over to Shirou who bit back a scream and clutched his own bloodied face.
With Power gone, the spear inside her disappeared too. But the gaping wound was staining her dress, and more bile surged to rush out her lips. Satsuki realized that her wounds weren't healing as fast as they should.
Was she really going to die here? In another world, forgotten? No, no! It couldn't end here, not until she got back to Shiki and made him realize how strong she truly was without limits! If it weren't for that damn Executioner, or that other vampire, or any of those other bitches stealing him from her-!
"Garudyne!"
"SHIIIT!" she cursed, barely heard over the roar of the spell. With no time to dodge, she tucked her head and curled her arms and legs while floating, allowing the wind to blow her away while minimizing damage.
After maneuvering high and far enough away, she dive-bombed to Susanoo's position, crashing into his lanky body before the ring came back down. She bit down hard on the area of his neck, satisfied to hear a scream from his user. If she couldn't hit Yosuke directly, she'd bleed him dry through his Persona!
THRUMP!
Huh? Why was he hugging her? No, holding her in place! What is this idiot thinking?
"Shirou! I got her pinned!" he yelled out, clutching his bleeding neck. "Finish her with Izanagi's spear!"
"Yosuke?!"
"Just do it! I can take it!"
Although dismayed and appalled, Shirou couldn't refute that Yosuke was willing to go this far. Satsuki was infuriated, shaking frantically out of the bear hug Susanoo had on her despite the bite she was giving him.
But to use Izanagi?! He might be considering their combination attack from earlier, but a direct lightning strike would kill Yosuke for sure! Did he at least have a plan?
"Hey! Use me instead!"
Why would he… no wait. Actually, that would work perfectly! "Trace Persona!"
He took a running start even as magecraft copied the Persona in mind. Satsuki was starting to feel a little miffed (not worried!) that he was charging at her with another polearm weapon while she was being grappled.
Except as the weapon in his hand actualized, it formed the shape of a dagger with a curved edge and a cross of wings for a guard. She would have scoffed if her mouth wasn't full. But then she saw the blade light up.
"Pixie taser!"
The shiv pierced her weakened skin and crackled with discharge after discharge into her body. They were weak shocks, but they were aggravating and painful. Her only solace was that they seemed to transfer to Yosuke as well, who was wincing more.
And yet he cracked a smile. "H-he-heheh, not how I intended this to go, but thanks Shirou!"
Even as he bled and got electrocuted, Yosuke willed Susanoo to raise the spiked ring above them. The sparks flew up through the ring, and into a sudden formation of clouds high above. They started to crackle and boom, just like-
Thunder.
"If we're gonna end this," Yosuke said. "It's gotta be with a bang."
No, no no no no NO! This wasn't supposed to happen! NONE of this was supposed to happen! She couldn't die here to a bunch of brats who barely knew how to fight! They couldn't hold a candle to Shiki, or Ciel, or anyone back at Misaki Town! They were gonna be fodder for her big comeback, and this damn traitorous bastard who killed her was gonna suffer the worst for it!
Snarling like a beast, Satsuki dug her fangs deeper, going so far as to tear part of the Persona's flesh out and then bite back in again like prime cut meat.
He'd crack soon, he had to. That look of pain and pity was of his own weakness. He'd let go of her, out of pain and fear. He was always a coward, just as she had pegged him from the start! The pressure from her eyes would force him to admit that weakness!
And thus, he spoke, "I love you, Sacchin."
…what?
After all she had done, after reveling in her inner monster, after he killed her human remnant… he still had feelings for her?
She always wanted to hear those words. From Shiki.
She could have gotten those words from anyone else, and they wouldn't have mattered. She'd convinced Mitsuo that she was his sister and loved him, but his brotherly love didn't sway her.
And yet her eyes were suddenly moist, her body slack of any struggle.
Yosuke appeared to have a weight lifted from his shoulders, and not just because the mutual grapple between her and Susanoo ceased. The battle was over, and all that was left was the final blow to make it official. "Garu."
For once, the gale of wind was as soft as a whistle in a grassland. There was only one cut, across her lips. Kissed by the wind. A silly, yet cute cliché.
He had the power to conjure his strongest spell but in the end, decided not to.
Yosuke…
Her thoughts were waning, as her body finally started to decay and crumble. Her energy was nearly spent, and now her will to live on was fading. She knew then and there why her Shadow had let this happen.
In the end, she only had one true regret.
Had we met in another time, or lived in the same town, we'd probably be really happy together.
Isn't that sad?
<><><>
A/N: Yeah, I went there. Sacchin is now officially dead dead. Those that thought she could come back because of Persona magic, I did bring her back as Yosuke's little "eye" that came up as a funny glitch in the original game. Though it'd be more accurate to call it, IDK, a sub-Stand? Sub-Persona? Fairy Companion? Wait, that's Pixie.
I also initially planned for Margaret to fight the vampire, but I realized I could cheese it saying that she's weak and hungry to justify being more of an even match for the Investigation Team at this junction. And yeah, it sucks what happened to Yosuke, but I'll make it up to him later, promise.
And with that, this vampire Satsuki arc is pretty much over. More uncharted territory going forward, but hopefully I'll get at least one more chapter up before the new year, though I do want to work on other stuff such as an original manuscript as part of the resolution I made the start of this year (damn 2024 went by so fast).
Chapter 51: Butter-Fly
<><><>
The throne room turned into a warzone almost immediately. Blasts of elemental magic, mostly of fire and ice, hailed with reckless abandon. What tremors weren't caused by their destructive power came from overwhelming strikes of their opposition.
"Spread out!" Shirou ordered. "Don't give her a reason to strike us all at once!"
Vampire Satsuki either didn't hear or care about their planning. She was too busy laughing and dancing, beside herself with glee. She moved like a madman without rhyme or reason, rushing from one Persona to the next.
She barreled through Konohana Sakuya's flames to bite down on her mask, causing a spurt of blood from Yukiko's forehead along with a pained scream. She then leaped away as Tomoe lunged, grabbing her glaive in a tugging session, and then swung the warrior behind her with a thud hard enough to bounce. The gasp Chie made told her it must have hurt.
Take-Mikazuchi got a good hit in with his bolt-sword, digging into her shoulder blade. Kanji flinched, almost aghast at how gory that blow was to anything other than a shadow. That hesitation cost him as the vampire took the time to pry the blade up and out of her body, regenerating even before it was removed.
He redoubled his efforts, pushing harder and letting out an attack for good measure. "Zionga!"
A thick blue bolt struck her, a clear hit with the bolt sword as a lightning rod as it shattered. Take-Mikazuchi quickly stepped back to marvel at the gambit. Yet it did nothing to unnerve Satsuki. A twitch of her eyebrow was the only sign of discomfort she made.
"Nice trick," she smiled, holding out her hand. "High-five!"
"Huh?"
Satsuki leaped up and palmed Take-Mikazuchi's hand with her own. The high-five was more of a joy-buzzer, using her defibrillator-charged hand. It was more intense than any lightning the Persona could manage, and even through his resistance, the pain was excruciating enough to fizzle him out.
The others gasped in worry of their friend. "Kanji!" "Kanji-kun!"
"I-I'm okay!" Kanji wheezed. The attack was enough to put him to his knees, leaning on his metal board for support. He looked up to watch for any other trick-
Only to freeze, seeing Sacchin standing right in front of him, inches apart.
"Now what do we have here~?" she asked coyly. Her blood-red eyes seemed to glow as her hand reached towards his face. Towards his glasses-
WHAM! At the last moment, she moved her hand to the side and caught Jiraiya's punch before it connected with her head. She turned and smirked at the ninja Persona. Kanji took the opportunity to scamper away; not exactly cool or coordinated but he was more than a little scared of being that close to Satsuki.
"I was wondering where you holed up, Yosuke-kun," she said. "Why don't you come out and play for real?"
A burst of wind shot up from behind Jiraiya, howling like a wolf. His fist pushed harder against her hand, surprising the vampire at his ingenuity. She even had to squint her eyes as the gale and dust was starting to sting a bit.
She only blinked, but it was enough of a delay for Jiraiya to pivot his body into a spin kick. And at the exact moment the kick landed, the wind trajectory changed, boosting the force of his leg and sending her flying.
Her boyfriend had some moves AND moxie.
She righted herself in the air and exerted a burst of force to stop the pushing gale. It caught more than a few gawking fighters unaware that she was suddenly flying in mid-air, but not enough to stop the God Persona from swinging his blade down overhead.
Smirking, Satsuki clasped the blade with both hands, stopping it just from reaching her brow. The force did push her back down, her feet now planted on the ground and cracking underneath. The rumbling was loud, but… why did it sound like crackling thun-?
BOOM! A bolt of Zionga struck a moment later, singing her clothes and skin, as well as part of the castle floor. She still held firm to the blade, her smirk falling slightly out of annoyance.
"I thought we established that doesn't work?" she asked the Persona rhetorically.
Izanagi – and by proxy, Shirou – didn't answer. He just redoubled his efforts as more sparks danced across his metal tips.
Just as she contemplated whether to break his polearm, Jiraiya caught her peripheral vision. It was just a moment, but he passed the same spot again. And again, as he zipped around her in a circle.
A faint whistle, almost unheard in the roar of battle, started to grow in volume. And a thick green torrent of energy formed, with her firmly in the center. As if that wasn't enough, the booming thunder also echoed in the halls, striking almost uncontrollably around them.
Then, a brilliant white light flash, if only for an instant, directly above her. She knew as she was forced to stare up past Izanagi in their deadlock.
"Garu-!"
"Zio-!"
It was in that moment, Satsuki realized their intention. "Oh."
""Dyne!""
With the force of a jet-propelled hammer, the collision of two forces became one. A spiraling vortex that imploded on itself, and a lightning bolt as thick and hard as a tree trunk. It was enough to slam Satsuki into the floor… below the collapsed one.
<><><>
From his hiding spot of a far-off column, Yosuke gasped raggedly and patted his winded heart. It was nerve-wracking in more ways than he could count, skirting around lightning like that. But it worked. For now.
He saw Shirou from across the room, standing more resolute but no less winded. They exchanged glances and nodded. A brief respite. And as Shirou walked over to gauge the others, Yosuke finally allowed himself to fall on his butt, scurrying over to the pillar to lean on it.
"Yosuke-kun!"
His ward, his girlfriend, hovered over him immediately. If the Shadow of Sacchin was around, chances were that the vampire wasn't down for the count yet. Still, he put on a brave face and smiled at her. "No big, Sacchin. I do this kind of stuff every day."
"'Every day'?"
He winced. "Well… maybe I'm exaggerating. Just a bit."
"You still shouldn't push yourself. If I'd hurt you– If something were to happen to you, I'd…!" Shadow Sacchin's face scrunched, her normally eerie eyes glistening with tears.
It was oddly comforting that she was this torn up about his well-being. Or at least it should be. There was still a nagging doubt in his mind. "Sacchin… was our relationship real?"
It was a bad time to ask. Any moment now the vampire would show up and be no less for wear. But even in the best-case scenario, there might never be another chance.
Even she understood this, her frown falling further as she sniffled. It was for that reason that she decided to answer him. "You… weren't the first boy I liked."
Yosuke grimaced but kept quiet. He kind of expected that.
"But Shiki-kun… well, I don't think I was on his radar at all."
"Huh?" Yosuke was flabbergasted. How could anyone not appreciate the cute, spunky, and somewhat terrifyingly assertive Satsuki Yumizuka?!
"I never got a chance to tell him. Before all this, I mean. When I did, I was long gone in my primal urges and wanted to see more of his wild side. He was strong, deadly strong. Even came close enough to slaying my vampire self that I had to skip town."
Dammit, first Shirou and now this Shiki guy? Why did everyone but him get all the luck?!
Wait, that's the wrong thing to take out of this! Shirou was one thing as he seemed half-aware of the girls around him, but if Shiki never got to see what an amazing girl Sacchin was, then he was the one with the problem! Especially if he tried to kill her!
"I did have fun being your girlfriend, though," she smiled softly. With her glowing eyes closed, for a moment she looked normal and serene. "You were really funny, even when you didn't mean to be. You were attentive, considerate and kind. And you really took the time to be with me."
"Sacchin."
"I… might have influenced you with some hypnotic suggestions," she sheepishly admitted. "But it's because I wanted as much of a normal girl's life as I could, including dating!"
"Ah, that explains a lot," Yosuke said, thinking about the faded memories and why his phone would be turned off. "So uh, about this Shiki guy…"
"You're strong too, you know, Yosuke. Well, not Shiki-strong. No offense, but I'm not exaggerating when I say he can literally kill you with a single cut. I speak from experience."
Yosuke blinked. "But… you're still here? How can you be dead?"
"Because I already died. Vampires are undead, remember?" Shadow Satsuki pointed to her pale complexion and torn clothes for emphasis. "It's not simple to kill someone that is already dead."
A grim realization caused Yosuke to grimace. "So, in other words, we're screwed."
Shadow Satsuki blinked, then flushed, also realizing her verbal blunder. If it was hard to kill a vampire normally, then what chance did their team have, he was clearly wondering. "Uh… I'm still rooting for you guys!"
Yosuke knew she was trying to be helpful, so he would have accepted the awkward praise as genuine and prepared for round 3.
But the shadow of his girlfriend, feeling emboldened, grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him. Lip to lip, rather forced in, and… the teasing of a tongue through his gap.
It was their first kiss, he realized. It was made more romantic and significant as they parted lips and stared at each other with longing gazes.
"For good luck," she said demurely.
"Well," he managed with a smile. "With a kiss like that, I won't need luck."
Sacchin smiled back. And for a moment, everything was perfect.
Until a violent tremor occurred. Nay, an earthquake, threatening to tear down the whole castle with them in it.
Yosuke and Sacchin screamed upon seeing a pale hand pierce the stone floor. Or rather a set of fingers. They clenched and crushed the tile, then retreated like a timid mole. Another hand appeared near the hole, and then the same hand. They parted in opposite directions and widened the hole enough to reveal a manic vampire looking like a slasher villain.
"Heeeeeere's Sacchin!"
It happened so fast that Yosuke barely caught his train of thought. But he knew that he had to fight. He couldn't back down after his girlfriend kissed him, even if it meant fighting said girlfriend.
"Get back!" he yelled, all but shoving the Shadow away. With his free arm, he swiped at his Persona card and had Jiraiya vault down head and hands first, the shuriken gloves spinning like buzzsaws. "Power Slash!"
Satsuki smirked, swinging only one arm up, palm open, and smashed the Persona's hands at once and then his face. Yosuke felt the sickening squelch of his hands as they broke, dropping his knives before nearly blacking out from a ringing headache and flying across the room.
"Yosuke-kun!"
Thwup. His short-lived flight ended as Satsuki moved and caught him faster than he flew. "Gotcha!"
"Ghaaaa!" Yosuke screamed. She was hugging him, but in a grip so tight it might as well be a bear trap around his ribcage. And that was on top of his broken hands.
"Whoops, sorry! Don't know my own strength sometimes!" Satsuki giggled, barely easing up. "All I meant to do was to break your glasses!"
Glasses? Yosuke strained to look and saw a large hairline fracture over the right lens. The bridge was bent too. Not that it mattered, as she plucked the eyewear off his face and inspected them.
"Hey!" He tried to yell, but it came out as a pained gasp. The fog of the world was on full display and suddenly he had a migraine worse than ever.
"I thought you all just had tacky fashion sense, but these glasses have some filter on them, huh? Kind of like Shiki's, actually." She then shrugged and tossed them over her shoulder, inevitably causing them to break upon falling to the floor. "No matter. Because you're not going to fight me anymore, Yosuke-kun."
As soon as she said those words, and stared into his eyes, the pain went away. "Yes, Sacchin."
<><><>
"Up there!" Kanji cried, pointing. "She's got Yosuke-senpai!"
"Shiiiiit!" Shirou growled, putting as much fury as he could behind pulling his bowstring and firing. He aimed for her head, but she didn't seem to have a blind spot as she hovered away before it hit.
Nothing was going as planned. No, there was never a plan to begin with. The others rushed in to fight when able despite just being told to standby. They coordinated better with their surroundings, a better showing than previous encounters against Shadows.
Only Satsuki Yumizuka was a vampire. One running on fumes and still playing with them, but still a tier above their own.
And seeing that she had moved to hypnotize one of them directly by removing the glasses, she was starting to take them seriously. The room was vast with everyone spread out, but with her speed she could pick them off one at a time. Not to mention that the tension in the air was suddenly getting heavy.
"Kanji! Yosuke's compromised, stun him!"
"Wh-wha?" Kanji stammered, looking between Shirou and Yosuke above. "That's crazy, senpai!"
Shirou didn't have time to argue; Sacchin brought Yosuke down and held him up steady before she patted his back. His eyes were vacant, but his face was determined. He immediately charged towards Shirou.
"Nevermind, just keep her busy!" Shirou ordered, drawing his sword to deadlock the knives. They collided with such force that Shirou was pushed back several feet far and away from the rest of the group.
Kanji, not quite aware of what happened to Shirou, got the last word in. "Huh?! Make up your mind, man!"
"Just fight, you idiot!" Taiga sniped from behind him, rushing for the vampire.
Satsuki flexed and clenched her hand, then cocked it back for a punch. Taiga swung her Torashinai at the same moment, though the vampire's strength won out in sending her flying back.
"Kaihime!"
The Princess Persona switched in, slashing down on the arm from Satsuki's peripheral vision.
"You got her!" Kanji cheered, seeing the arm fly off.
However, as the severed arm bounced with a jet of blood, the vampire simply turned her stump and blinded Kaihime with her gushing fluid.
It surprised and burned Taiga enough that she recoiled mid-flight, and Kaihime was wiping the blood away. "Gah! Vamp juice! URK!"
Satsuki grabbed her arm and slammed it against Taiga like a hammer, sending her to the ground. Satisfied that the stubborn warrior was down for now, she lifted the arm back to her stub and reattached it with frightening ease. In her respite, Teddie conjured another tree of ice beneath her feet, but her instincts flared and she jumped away at the last minute.
She was coming in his direction now. Or would have if not a giant pyre bursting in front of her by Konohana-Sakuya. Then, out of nowhere, Tomoe leapt through the flames with a sudden torrent as the glaive slammed down. "Rainy Death!"
The attack was beautifully executed, immediately dousing the flames and slamming the vampire's head down to the ground like a basketball. Kanji saw an opportunity and capitalized on it, willing Take-Mikazuchi to gank on her. "Fatal End!'
The second attack was less graceful, but effective and gruesome with the force of a guillotine made for dinosaurs. At least, that's how Kanji viewed his attack, since there was no other apt comparison. He could probably easily take on a T-rex too.
Though a vampire was no dinosaur; even in the gory mess from him plowing her body apart, she was putting herself together in a swirl of red mist. If only he packed more than one garlic bulb! Or was it an onion?
"Dammit, just stay dead already!" Kanji yelled, going as far as having his Persona repeatedly hack at her before she could get back up.
Chie was half-tempted to join him, seeing that their efforts were fast becoming tiresome. "This isn't working. We need to hit her harder."
"No shit!"
"I got an idea, Kanji-kun! 'Taru' me!"
"Huh?" The question was enough to make him stop and look at her. "But can't you do that yourself?"
"Just do it!"
Well, it wasn't like he could keep pounding on Satsuki who rolled away the moment he stopped. He just had to trust that Chie had an idea in mind. "Tarukaja!"
A familiar orange glow illuminated her body. Satsuki noticed the change in the air, and was now diving from the air towards her. But Chie didn't move. She held her ground, her normally bouncing feet firmly locked into a guard position. She primed herself with an electrical burst around her body that shook the ground.
"Take THIS!" She threw the hardest, fastest roundhouse kick she could to her Persona card, and at the same time Tomoe swung her naginata from the side.
POW! A dual synergy-enhanced blow connected with a satisfying crack that snapped her head and body swiftly to the side, crashing to the floor.
Holy-! That was amazing! Chie-senpai not only boosted her strength but Charged herself so it would practically double!
…why the hell didn't he think of that before?
"Ha!" Chie smiled, posing with a victory sign. "How do you like… that…?" Thud. Chie fell down, and her Persona faded away.
Kanji gawked. Did she get hit after all?! "Chie-senpai!" He made two steps over to her before he too felt a sudden flash of dizziness. He fell down to his knees and nursed his headache. Take-Mikazuchi vanished too.
And… was this floor always a dry desert like where they fought Mitsuo?
"Ah, it's finally kicking in," Satsuki mused. She casually dusted herself off and cranked her neck as her injuries faded. "Was starting to wonder if that worked on Personas."
"What… did you do?" Kanji strained, trying to put weight on his good leg.
"Just neutralized your trick," she said, before plucking his glasses off. "Now stop fighting."
And with that, he was out like a light.
<><><>
Moments earlier, Shirou and Yosuke were launched far and away from anyone else, possibly out of Rise's range. Finally reinforcing his legs, Shirou managed a foothold as he swung his sword to send his dueler away. "Yosuke, snap out of it! I'm not your enemy!"
"Right, because fighting my girlfriend is more important!" Yosuke argued back, surprisingly aware. He zoomed quickly in to swing his knives, forcing Shirou on the defensive. "You never had problems with girls, given how naturally hot and suave you are!"
"I thought we got over this hurdle!"
"'Got over'? All that happened was I accepted I had a chip on my shoulder! I was still a loser, and you were still Mr. Perfect!"
A fight between words and swords. A horrible time to have one where there was a vastly more dangerous enemy nearby. And yet she was the vocal point to the argument. How much of this was Yosuke's true feelings and how much of it was hypnosis?
Again they were caught in a deadlock. "We can argue about this later. But for now-!" He slipped his free hand to the side and crushed Izanagi's card. "Stand down!"
A bolt of Zio struck Yosuke, forcing his brown-red hair on end and smoking his headphones and scarf. It should have been enough to knock him off his feet, but to Shirou's surprise, he stayed standing and looked even more incensed.
"You… FIRST!" he snarled, slashing his Jiraiya card in front of him.
With the force of a vacuum cannon, Shirou was sent barreling even further away from Yosuke and slammed on his back. Yosuke lumbered through the shock, holding his knives out with intent to kill. "Now I win!"
"Stupid Yosuke-kun!" WHACK!
Yosuke stilled from a sudden impact and then collapsed. From behind, Shadow Sacchin was standing with her eyes closed and hand extended, responsible for the dope slap.
A moment later, Yosuke groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "Aaoouch… that really smarts. Huh? Sacchin? Shirou? Aw shit, did I do that?"
"You can apologize by healing me," Shirou offered.
"Uh, good plan. Diarama!" From the Persona summon, a potent cerulean light washed over Shirou's body. Healing was not Yosuke's forte compared to Teddie or Yukiko, but it was enough to cover the pressurized cuts.
"Yosuke-kun, don't do that to your friends again!" Sacchin pouted/glared. Being on the receiving end of her smack, Yosuke was more than a little wary of being close to her again.
"Hey, come on, it was hardly my fault!" he argued. "I was hypnotized!"
"Which wouldn't have happened if you weren't so empty-headed to begin with!" Yosuke and Shirou both winced. True to form, the Shadow was brutal. "You need to learn to not listen to what others tell you to do!"
"Even when you tell me to?"
"ESPECIALLY when I tell you to! You're trying to stop me, remember!?"
In Shirou's mind, he heard his fey Persona swoon and gush. "Oh em gee. They are so ADORABLE!"
"Thanks for the help, Satsuki-san," Shirou said, now able to stand upright.
"Oh, it's the least I could do. But feel free to call me Sacchin. All my friends do."
"I feel Yosuke alone deserves that honor."
"H-Hey, man…" Yosuke stammered. He and Sacchin conveniently looked away from each other, sporting matching red faces.
Pixie was right. They were quite adorable.
The good mood suddenly turned grim as Yosuke collapsed and coughed. Sacchin quickly caught him before he fell down completely while Shirou saw Jiraiya dispelled from the room.
His senses told him something was off and very, very wrong. "Rise, are you there? What's going on?"
… "Rise?"
There was no answer. Her clairvoyant range with Himiko was able to determine the boundaries and layouts of Teddie's world, so even in this large room she should have been able to coordinate with the others. It was almost like they were cut off.
Actually, this room looked more desolate than he remembered. The lavish rugs were weathered and torn. The columns were crumbling. The gravel was loose with sand everywhere. The whole room reeked of… death.
"Shirou, hold fast of your wits and resources," he heard Izanagi say. "The land is like a vacuum now, not unlike Yomi."
"Or Hell by any other name," Power added bitterly.
Yes, even his prana was steadily fading away, his reinforced legs losing their boost. What's worse was that the prana wasn't just devoured or recycled in another venue. It simply vanished without a trace.
All evidence pointed to one certain fact. It was impossible to think about, but this had to be… "A Reality Marble? But how?!"
"You like it? I found out about this trick when messing around with the castle!"
The three of them balked as they saw vampire Satsuki walking towards them through a sudden red fog and the clicking of her heels. Her expression was lit with glee as if sharing a personal secret. "It sucks up all the prana in the area until it's depleted of excess energy. I call it 'Depletion Garden'."
"Satsuki-san…" Shirou knew the poor girl had a tragic fate, but for her outlook to create such a place?
"Please," Sacchin choked. "Haven't you done enough?"
Satsuki continued on, not listening to or acknowledging her Shadow. "Your friends have already been taken care of. They're not dead. Not yet. I want to make sure each and every one of you is out before deciding who to drain and who to turn."
"HIAAAAA!" A skyward scream boomed from behind as Taiga charged in with an overhead shinai swing. Satsuki whiffed to the side at the last moment and then chopped the back of her neck, sending her groaning to the ground.
"Okay, this one is tougher to put down, I'll admit," Satsuki frowned for a moment. "But," she continued with a shrug and smile, canines showing. "As you can see, without your Personas, you can't hit me."
Shirou grimaced, glancing between Satsuki and Taiga. The Reality Marble was changing the tide of the battle in Satsuki's favor. Even someone as stubborn as Fuji-nee couldn't close the gap without her Persona.
If she and Yosuke were having trouble, then no doubt the others were fading fast from mental fatigue. There would be no help from there. There were no options left… except for one.
"Yosuke," he said slowly, marching to meet the vampire. "Take Satsuki-san's Shadow as far away from here as you can."
"Shirou?"
"Uh, hello? What makes you think I'll let you do that?"
Shirou stared at her with resolution and held out his hand. A Persona card appeared, as black as night. It gave Satsuki pause from the sudden shift in aura.
Yosuke blanched. "Shirou, you can't! Not that one!"
"If our prana is going to be sucked dry, I might as well use the one Persona I know has a chance before that happens."
"That Persona also nearly killed Kanji without remorse!"
"Ideally, that's the plan."
"What?!" Yosuke felt betrayed. His friend and leader was committed to kill Sacchin after all?!
"This world egg is how Satsuki-san sees the world around her. A land devoid of all prana, all life, ceasing to even exist. It's as true to herself as the Personas are to us, but on a global scale. If we die here, she'll win and force that 'garden' on Inaba."
Even Yosuke had to admit that this whole scenario shift felt utterly wrong. It was always creepy before due to a blend of her and Mitsuo's baggage, but now it was just suffocating. Like they could actually die here from exposure alone. There have been close shaves before but this had a starching air of dread that topped all the others.
And yet he couldn't accept Sacchin's fate as being a lost cause before they even truly met. There had to be something to turn this around. An exorcism? Someone from the church Shirou mentioned before? If he could just bring out his Persona again-!
But as if sensing his conflict of resolve and desperation, Shirou said, "Yosuke, I'm not going to force you into a horrible choice."
Those words were spoken softly, with finality and regret. Ready to commit to a sin his friend didn't have the heart to do.
Because it had to be done. He was going to save his friends and the town he didn't know months ago, just because it had to be done.
Yosuke Hanamura hated Shirou Emiya for that.
Because he couldn't possibly live up to that level of faith and trust given to him.
Because unlike his good friend, he was a coward with more than a chip on his shoulder.
"…we haven't finished that fight yet, you know," said Yosuke. Sacchin looked at him, confused and horrified that he would bring that up right now, but he didn't care. He couldn't see anything but the dusty cracked floor tiles growing moist.
"And?" Shirou asked.
"I still want to punch your face in, so… don't die."
"Shirou…"
"Yeah," Shirou said, to both Yosuke and Pixie. A small smile graced his lips. "I know."
With a choked sob, Yosuke grabbed the Shadow in his arms and used the last of his prana to leap away in a wind-powered hop. He spared a passing glance at the vampire Satsuki, a last longing look to commit to memory.
He did find her choice of the evil attire hot, all things considered.
Satsuki watched him go with a frown, before she turned back to Shirou and his black card. "Big talk from a guy who is on death row."
"No one is dying here today, Satsuki Yumizuka."
"Really? And here I thought you were gonna 'save' me for my boyfriend back there? Or did you get cold feet seeing my Depletion Garden in all its glory? Killing me even in self-defense feels like a step back, no?"
Shirou was tempted. To defend Yosuke's honor. To remind her she had already been long dead. That just because he didn't like to get his hands dirty didn't mean he wouldn't do it for the sake of others. But he wouldn't give her that satisfaction, not with her Reality Marble in play.
"We both know we don't have time to wax life philosophies," he quipped instead.
Satsuki pouted. "Aw, why not?"
"Because you killed my philosophy teacher."
Satsuki chuckled. Before she could get another word in edgewise, Shirou steeled his mind and crushed the card with the confidence of playing Russian Roulette. "Kagutsuc̴̫̞̈́̓̃̀̿ẖ̵̨̏̂̏̍̕î̴̻̜͙̹!"
<><><>
From the safety of their new hiding spot, Yosuke and Shadow Sacchin heard and felt the searing explosion of the summoning. He'd only heard stories from the others that were conscious before, but the fact that it single-handedly kicked Shadow Kanji's ass meant it was powerful. Probably too powerful for Shirou to handle.
He glanced from around the shattered column that broke during the early fighting. The dichotomy of the charred black and fire-faced Persona punched its long arm down at the spot where Satsuki once stood. She leaped away and then twirled in the air to avoid a follow-up claw swipe.
At the apex of her backspin, she dive-bombed Shirou, who seemed to be in a trance. He barely paid her any mind as a literal fire wall erupted between them and singed the vampire for getting too close. Kagutsuchi, having conjured the flames with one arm, attempted to catch her with his other arm only for her to slip through his grasp once again.
It was surreal. Shirou's super Persona seemed to be able to do multiple actions at once and force Satsuki entirely on the defensive. She couldn't get a single solid hit in due to the giant's burning hard flesh. Maybe it was because Shirou was on a timer or resolved to kill her, but he was going all in on her.
It kind of worried and humbled Yosuke, seeing his friend having such an ace up his sleeve. He wanted him to win of course, but that would mean giving up Sacchin. He knew it was necessary. And yet his heart was torn, and all he could do now was watch.
Though what turned into a slightly one-sided fight in Shirou's favor became less certain as Sacchin grabbed a whole finger of Kagutsuchi and tossed him overhead. His impact with the ground caused the equivalent of an explosion as the fires hurled dust and sand around.
"Yosuke-kun," the shadow spoke suddenly. "I need one of your knives."
"What? Why?"
"I might need to protect myself if things get worse."
Yosuke stared at her intently. The explosions and shaking were now mere white noise. "That's not the real reason," he declared, frowning.
Sacchin looked away from his gaze. "Y-Yes, it is."
"Sacchin, my best friend out there is fighting your vampire body with the intent to burn her to death before he keels over! I don't see how anything could be worse than that!"
The Shadow flinched. He didn't mean to yell, but he was barely keeping his emotions in check as it is. He had a hunch, a feeling, of what she intended to do. But he wanted to know the truth. Or at least, convince himself that the reason wasn't the one he believed.
"Tell me the truth, Sacchin." He pleaded.
Sacchin's face showed a myriad of conflicting emotions. When she finally spoke, she had settled on resignation. "I'm still Satsuki Yumizuka. She hasn't accepted me as her other self, but she hasn't rejected me either."
Of course, he thought. His gaze fell to the floor.
"As long as that's true, then I can stop the monster. I can break her concentration on Depletion Garden so you can have a fighting chance. I can… end this."
He wanted to laugh at the cruel irony of it all. He'd finally got himself a girlfriend and all major signs pointed to her having to ultimately die.
She wasn't even the real culprit! Why her? This wasn't fair at all!
"Yosuke, I'm not going to force you into a horrible choice."
…life's never really fair, he realized. If his friend could keep fighting, if his girlfriend could keep fighting, why not him?
He pulled out his right-handed knife, marveling a bit at the sharpness. One of Daidara's latest works. He'd slashed plenty of Shadows and cards with it. But now, it was trembling in his hand.
Sacchin grasped his hand in hers, keeping it steady, and decidedly pointing to her heart. They looked up and stared at each other's eyes. They leaned in to kiss one more time.
It was bittersweet, but he liked to think that she made him feel the earth rumble under his feet. And not just from the fighting.
"It was for a short time," she said as they parted. "But I had a lot of fun, Yosuke-kun."
"Yeah. Didn't get to do all the stuff we said we would, though."
"You mean like in those magazines under your bed?"
"No, I mean, ye-wait NO! How did you even-?!"
She giggled. Somehow she knew about his stash and found it cute. Even now in a final goodbye she found the time to friggin' tease him! He found that both flattering and maddening. "No, I mean other things. Like binging anime over the summer, or introducing you to the rest of the guys!"
"Ah, that! There was one that had a really good opening song on your player! I think it goes…" She hummed a few bars of an uplifting stanza, one he recognized right away.
"Heh, yeah that was a great one. Cute creatures, cool monsters, and the power of friendship stuff. You'd love it."
"I know I loved the song. It felt like it could be about us. Especially now."
…god she was making this both easy and insanely hard to commit. Yet Yosuke cracked a smile (and voice) to assure her. "Then it will be our song."
"Really?!" She asked excitedly. She beamed more as he nodded. "Then I'll always be with you! Like in the song! A little butterfly!"
"That's a good thought, actually." Yosuke said. "I wonder… if Saki-senpai would think the same." He had told her about the late Saki Konishi once (or at least the vampire). Not all the details of her demise, but enough to give himself an unflattering light of the situation.
Yet the Shadow just grinned, easing his worries. "I'll give her a stern talking to when I see her."
"I'd rather you not give her a hard time, but thanks."
There was nothing else to talk about. How he wished they could just ramble about nothing like other couples did. He could forget all about the knife in his hands, the quaking of his combat boots.
Sacchin looked at him and said, "I love you Yosuke."
He wanted to confirm that back. To smile. To hug her, kiss her again. To do anything but stammer like a crying idiot.
But it took all his remaining frayed nerves just to nod, clench his eyes and scream.
And plunge the knife forward.
<><><>
Shirou's prana was finally tapped out, and Kagutsuchi couldn't maintain his form anymore. The backlash from Depletion Garden, as well as the strain of the infernal Persona, forced him down on his knees, clutching his sword of faint lingering embers. Dried blood was smeared across his shirt, one eye had swollen shut, and more than a few burns marred his hands.
Satsuki floated down to the ground, smug and no less for wear. No, it was clear that the fighting was finally getting to her, but it was moot once she drained them of their blood and made them her thralls.
If it wasn't for her damn Reality Marble…!
"Hah… nothing like working up an appetite," Satsuki grinned through her pain. She took deliberately slow steps, heels clicking. "I don't know where you got that big Persona, but I'm grateful that you didn't use it from the start."
"I'm not… done yet!" Shirou growled. With his sword firmly planted in the ground, he lifted himself up one shaky inch at a time.
"Nice last words. I'll remember them once I'm done with y-y—" Her step faltered. A look of confusion and pain flickered over her face before her cheeks puffed out.
"YUAAAACK!"
Suddenly, Satsuki doubled over and spewed blood. Her hands clutched her chest, heaving and vomiting more blood. It was enough to give the barely aware Shirou shock and alarm.
Her hacking and coughing didn't cease. What's more, the world egg surrounding them cracked and fizzled away, with nay the crushing pressure of a prana vacuum.
"What's… No! Dammit, I can't feel my Shadow! I thought he was supposed to protect me!"
Shirou grimaced. Did Satsuki's Shadow really die? What about Yosuke?
"Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit DAMMIT!" she slammed the floor with both hands in rage, hard enough to shatter the tiles. When she looked up, there was fury in her eyes and a mess of blood covering her lips. "FINE! I don't need my humanity anyway! I refuse to starve to death! I'll drain all but one of you of your blood, convince my thrall to send me back, and then turn Inaba into my domain!"
"I told you," Shirou glared, now finding it easier to regain his footing. "I'm not done yet."
"Oh, you will be. And don't worry, I'll make sure your little mystery villain suffers like the rest of the town."
They stared each other down in firm stances. Shirou knew his chances weren't great, but Yosuke and Sacchin had given him a chance. He couldn't waste it.
Before they could exchange their final blows, they heard a set of footsteps heading towards them. Followed by a voice, tired but resolute.
"Mugendai na yume no ato no nanimo nai yo no naka ja"
Shirou blinked, as he and Sacchin turned to see a familiar face walking towards them. "Yosuke?"
"Is he… singing?" Pixie wondered.
"What a beautiful, yet sad aria," Sarasvati noted.
"Sou sa itoshii, omoi mo makesou ni naru kedo"
Sacchin glared and snarled in fury. "You're first," she said cryptically before sprinting at her newest target.
Shirou's good eye widened in alarm. That was too fast for him to stop in time, even as he tried to run and reach his hand out. "YOSUKE!"
"Stay shigachi na imeeji darake no tayorinai tsubasa demo"
She was upon him in an instant. Face first, hands extended, fangs and claws ready to puncture him. She was fully intent to drain and kill him. He didn't seem to notice the immediate danger, as he continued to sing.
"Kitto toberu sa—"
Yet at the height of his meter, his Persona's Tarot card appeared between him and Satsuki. In the very next moment, it shattered – nay, detonated – in a burst of white light that sent her flying back. She quickly righted herself in midair, but looked enraged and confused as to what happened and why.
Shirou couldn't tell her if he wanted to. He had watched Yosuke closely and his prana seemed to just skyrocket. And for a moment before the explosion, he swore he saw Satsuki Yumizuka, serene and in a pristine school uniform, holding Yosuke's hand and singing next to him.
"On My Love"
That wasn't the only change, though. The ninja Persona, Jiraiya, appeared but was immediately enveloped in a light of his own as he spun in place. Almost like some anime about "senshi", the light parted as the Persona flexed his arms and legs out one at a time. His cameo gloves and boots were now shimmering red. His shuriken-covered frog-cameo hands were now armed with metal bracers. The white jumpsuit dyed itself to a cerulean blue with yellow stripes around the arms and waistline, with a metal belt stud to boot.
In a flourish, he ripped the outline of his red scarf. The jagged cuts solidified and it resembled a spinning cutter halo surrounding his body. The triangular "mouth" of the frog opened to reveal sharp incisors before rotating around to form a pinwheel. The force of the pinwheel spinning, or rather him screaming, blew up and threw away the Persona's frog-face mask, a towering and windswept red mane appearing in its place, as well as a metal face with sharp glasses.
With a final spin that quelled the winds, the Persona struck a pose with his arms flexed and poised underneath. He didn't resemble Jiraiya at all anymore, and was someone entirely new. Someone powerful.
And… there was a small fluttering, pink wisp over his shoulder too.
"SO COOOOOL!" Pixie gushed. And honestly, Shirou couldn't agree more.
"Shirou!" Yosuke called out, surprising him with a sudden Diarama spell. There was a look in his eyes, one different from before. More resolute and determined than ever. "You got enough steam for one last push?"
Smirking with renewed vigor, he echoed a familiar response from months ago. "Who the hell do you think I am?"
"Well said," Yosuke smirked back. He turned his gaze to the still active and angry vampire, pointing at her with his finger. "Now then! Let's go, Susanoo!"
Huh, so that was his new name.
Susanoo dashed forward, and Shirou could hear the faint revving of gears like a chainsaw. It took him a moment to realize it came from the wide ring around the Persona spinning against the air so quickly it churned a green veil around him. Realizing the implication as well, Satsuki dodged to the left, but still felt part of her arm tear from the razor wind.
Growling, she stomped hard on the ground to flip a shattered floor tile up, then punch it into smaller chunks that were sent rocketing towards Yosuke. Without skipping a beat, Susanoo flexed and threw his arms up, pushing the ring slightly above him. Prana also flowed from below and into the ring. Moments later, a viridian gale burst like a gunshot from the floor, dispersing the rocks before they could hit.
Shirou was not idle as that happened, popping one of the group's reserve soul candies for a burst of prana. Now that the Reality Marble was gone, there was no risk of using it now, and he summoned another Persona. "Power! Hama!"
"That won't exorcise her." Power warned.
"Doesn't have to!"
And so, he continued with the summoning. Power revealed the full glory of his black wings and vivid red armor and held his partisan aloft like a torch. Moments later, a ball of light floated in front of Satsuki, and burst into a flash. Such a spell would normally banish Shadows, but it would do nothing against stronger Shadows, let alone a vampire.
Yet it was still enough of a flashbang to irritate and blind her, however briefly.
"You miserable-!" she frothed angrily, only to get punched in the face by a red fist. And then another. And another, followed by an increasing number of blows in crescendo.
"Oraoraoraoraoraoraora!" Susanoo "cried", though it was most likely the wind from his rapid attacks.
"ORA!" This time Yosuke yelled it, throwing a fist out as well in timing with his Persona. The last punch hurled the vampire across the room like a bloody missile.
Before she could land or right herself, Power intercepted with his shield and lance, buffering her crash and skewering her through the abdomen.
"May God have mercy on your soul!" Power said.
"Shut UP!" Satsuki yelled. She swung her right hook with all her might towards the angel's face, cracking and fracturing it like a mirror. The Persona's damage transferred over to Shirou who bit back a scream and clutched his own bloodied face.
With Power gone, the spear inside her disappeared too. But the gaping wound was staining her dress, and more bile surged to rush out her lips. Satsuki realized that her wounds weren't healing as fast as they should.
Was she really going to die here? In another world, forgotten? No, no! It couldn't end here, not until she got back to Shiki and made him realize how strong she truly was without limits! If it weren't for that damn Executioner, or that other vampire, or any of those other bitches stealing him from her-!
"Garudyne!"
"SHIIIT!" she cursed, barely heard over the roar of the spell. With no time to dodge, she tucked her head and curled her arms and legs while floating, allowing the wind to blow her away while minimizing damage.
After maneuvering high and far enough away, she dive-bombed to Susanoo's position, crashing into his lanky body before the ring came back down. She bit down hard on the area of his neck, satisfied to hear a scream from his user. If she couldn't hit Yosuke directly, she'd bleed him dry through his Persona!
THRUMP!
Huh? Why was he hugging her? No, holding her in place! What is this idiot thinking?
"Shirou! I got her pinned!" he yelled out, clutching his bleeding neck. "Finish her with Izanagi's spear!"
"Yosuke?!"
"Just do it! I can take it!"
Although dismayed and appalled, Shirou couldn't refute that Yosuke was willing to go this far. Satsuki was infuriated, shaking frantically out of the bear hug Susanoo had on her despite the bite she was giving him.
But to use Izanagi?! He might be considering their combination attack from earlier, but a direct lightning strike would kill Yosuke for sure! Did he at least have a plan?
"Hey! Use me instead!"
Why would he… no wait. Actually, that would work perfectly! "Trace Persona!"
He took a running start even as magecraft copied the Persona in mind. Satsuki was starting to feel a little miffed (not worried!) that he was charging at her with another polearm weapon while she was being grappled.
Except as the weapon in his hand actualized, it formed the shape of a dagger with a curved edge and a cross of wings for a guard. She would have scoffed if her mouth wasn't full. But then she saw the blade light up.
"Pixie taser!"
The shiv pierced her weakened skin and crackled with discharge after discharge into her body. They were weak shocks, but they were aggravating and painful. Her only solace was that they seemed to transfer to Yosuke as well, who was wincing more.
And yet he cracked a smile. "H-he-heheh, not how I intended this to go, but thanks Shirou!"
Even as he bled and got electrocuted, Yosuke willed Susanoo to raise the spiked ring above them. The sparks flew up through the ring, and into a sudden formation of clouds high above. They started to crackle and boom, just like-
Thunder.
"If we're gonna end this," Yosuke said. "It's gotta be with a bang."
No, no no no no NO! This wasn't supposed to happen! NONE of this was supposed to happen! She couldn't die here to a bunch of brats who barely knew how to fight! They couldn't hold a candle to Shiki, or Ciel, or anyone back at Misaki Town! They were gonna be fodder for her big comeback, and this damn traitorous bastard who killed her was gonna suffer the worst for it!
Snarling like a beast, Satsuki dug her fangs deeper, going so far as to tear part of the Persona's flesh out and then bite back in again like prime cut meat.
He'd crack soon, he had to. That look of pain and pity was of his own weakness. He'd let go of her, out of pain and fear. He was always a coward, just as she had pegged him from the start! The pressure from her eyes would force him to admit that weakness!
And thus, he spoke, "I love you, Sacchin."
…what?
After all she had done, after reveling in her inner monster, after he killed her human remnant… he still had feelings for her?
She always wanted to hear those words. From Shiki.
She could have gotten those words from anyone else, and they wouldn't have mattered. She'd convinced Mitsuo that she was his sister and loved him, but his brotherly love didn't sway her.
And yet her eyes were suddenly moist, her body slack of any struggle.
Yosuke appeared to have a weight lifted from his shoulders, and not just because the mutual grapple between her and Susanoo ceased. The battle was over, and all that was left was the final blow to make it official. "Garu."
For once, the gale of wind was as soft as a whistle in a grassland. There was only one cut, across her lips. Kissed by the wind. A silly, yet cute cliché.
He had the power to conjure his strongest spell but in the end, decided not to.
Yosuke…
Her thoughts were waning, as her body finally started to decay and crumble. Her energy was nearly spent, and now her will to live on was fading. She knew then and there why her Shadow had let this happen.
In the end, she only had one true regret.
Had we met in another time, or lived in the same town, we'd probably be really happy together.
Isn't that sad?
<><><>
A/N: Yeah, I went there. Sacchin is now officially dead dead. Those that thought she could come back because of Persona magic, I did bring her back as Yosuke's little "eye" that came up as a funny glitch in the original game. Though it'd be more accurate to call it, IDK, a sub-Stand? Sub-Persona? Fairy Companion? Wait, that's Pixie.
I also initially planned for Margaret to fight the vampire, but I realized I could cheese it saying that she's weak and hungry to justify being more of an even match for the Investigation Team at this junction. And yeah, it sucks what happened to Yosuke, but I'll make it up to him later, promise.
And with that, this vampire Satsuki arc is pretty much over. More uncharted territory going forward, but hopefully I'll get at least one more chapter up before the new year, though I do want to work on other stuff such as an original manuscript as part of the resolution I made the start of this year (damn 2024 went by so fast).
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