Chapter 14
“Hello? Yu? Why are you calling at this hour?”
“What? It’s Sensei! Let me talk to him! Let me talk to him!” Another energetic voice approached.
“Don’t snatch the phone!”
Yu chuckled at the commotion on the other end. Ren stood beside him, Mona peeking out from the bag.
They were both curious about Yu’s friends, the other Persona users he had mentioned.
“Yosuke, give the phone to Teddie. I need to ask him something,” Yu said.
“Did you hear that?! Sensei wants to talk to me!” the energetic voice exclaimed.
“Sensei, Sensei, what do you need?”
Yosuke Hanamura’s sigh followed, sounding as if taking care of Teddie had drained all his energy, prematurely aging him like a parent with a rebellious child.
“Teddie, calm down,” Yu soothed him in his usual gentle tone. “I have a question for you.”
“What is it?” Teddie asked excitedly. “Sensei has a question just for me?!”
“Do you know if, right now, throwing someone into a TV would still create their Shadow self, requiring them to accept themselves?”
The question was met with silence.
Soon, Yu heard a whooshing sound. Yosuke had taken the phone. The “Jeunesse” prince leaned against the doorway, his expression turning serious.
“Yu, why are you asking this? Is there another culprit throwing people into TVs?”
“Not really,” Yu replied. “I met another Persona user in Tokyo. She’s having some issues and needs to confront her true self.”
Yosuke frowned. “Your experiences are… quite something. Meeting another Persona user even after returning to Tokyo. But the other world is dangerous. One wrong step, and they could be killed by their own Shadow.”
“It’s alright,” Ren spoke up. “She’s already on the verge of awakening her Persona, and I’ll be with her the entire time. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Who’s that?”
“A friend I met in Tokyo…”
“I understand. You don’t have to explain,” Yosuke sighed, sounding slightly resigned. “Honestly, you made new friends so quickly in Tokyo. While I’m happy you’ve adjusted to your new life, I’m also a bit jealous.”
Yu smiled. “I can introduce him to you all next time. Ren is a good person.”
“Alright, I trust your judgment. I look forward to meeting your new friend.” Yosuke then patted Teddie. “Teddie, do you have an answer to Yu’s question?”
“Hmm…” Teddie leaned closer to the phone. “It should still work.”
“Although the other world has returned to its previous state, it’s still the other world. It’s different from the real world. The two worlds aren’t connected, which is why only people like Sensei and the others were able to come over during that special time. However, this is the first time I’ve heard of someone being thrown into the other world for self-discovery.”
“It’s the first time I’ve heard of it too,” Yosuke still sounded disapproving. “Can you explain the situation in more detail?”
Yu didn’t know all the details. He had only met Sumire Yoshizawa once, and it was Ren who wanted to throw her into the TV.
Ren pushed his glasses up, briefly explaining the situation to Yu and his friends.
Mona, listening from inside the bag, was bewildered: When had Ren learned so much? Hadn’t he been with Ren the entire time?
“So this girl can’t accept the fact that she hurt her sister, and after receiving treatment from a quack, she now believes she’s her sister, and even after learning the truth, she insists on being her sister…” Yosuke summarized, grimacing. “That’s definitely a problem.”
“And she definitely needs to face herself.”
Finally understanding the situation and Ren’s reasoning, Yu considered whether he and Ren could protect Sumire from her Shadow. After a moment of thought, he nodded.
The all-powerful Izanagi-no-Okami could defeat any Shadow.
“Teddie, can the other world in Inaba connect to Tokyo?”
Yu sighed. “The other world here in Tokyo is different from the one in Inaba.”
“Seriously?” Yosuke exclaimed. “Even other worlds have regional differences?”
“I only know how to leave the other world, kuma,” Teddie whined. “I don’t know how to get here through a TV.”
That was a problem. They couldn’t just kidnap Sumire and bring her to Inaba.
Yu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Let’s go to the Velvet Room.”
Ren looked at Yu. “Margaret?”
“Yes,” Yu smiled. “Margaret is very helpful. She helped me find Marie before, and she can connect the TV to the other world in any region.”
Ren nodded, then asked after a few seconds, as if just realizing something, “Who’s Marie?”
“…A former resident of the Velvet Room, and also one of my friends.”
He decided not to mention that Marie was Izanami. Explaining that would be too troublesome.
Although the Velvet Room typically didn’t interfere with its guests’ rehabilitation, Margaret, unlike the rule-abiding Lavenza, had a mischievous streak. Connecting a TV to the other world in Inaba was a trivial matter for her, and Igor simply turned a blind eye, offering no objection.
So, under Margaret’s amused gaze, they left the Velvet Room.
Margaret had given Yu three chances.
He could use this ability to connect the TV to the other world in Inaba three times. After that, it would revert to normal, and the other worlds of Tokyo and Inaba would remain separate.
“Now that we have the TV, how do we get Sumire to come out?” Yu asked Ren.
Ren opened his phone and dialed a number. “Let’s see if she answers.”
He had Sumire’s contact information, but her phone was unreliable, often failing to connect. Ren had been unable to reach her several times.
But this time, luck was on their side. Ren managed to get through, and they arranged to meet tomorrow, Saturday, to hang out and grab a bite to eat.
“See you tomorrow, then.”
“Hopefully, everything goes smoothly.”
Sumire Yoshizawa didn’t understand what was happening.
She had arranged to meet Ren at the arcade in Akihabara. Ren wanted to choose a new computer monitor for gaming, but Sumire knew it was just an excuse to check on her.
But as soon as she arrived in Akihabara, before she could call Ren, she felt a force from behind, and her vision went black. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a strange place.
It was the familiar training ground, colorful ribbons fluttering in the wind, trophies displayed on the podium, a giant screen proclaiming the champion’s victory.
“Where… is this?”
Sumire stared at her surroundings, bewildered.
Before she could process anything, she heard the sound of fireworks and cheers.
“Congratulations to Sumire Yoshizawa, winner of this year’s gymnastics championship!”
“Yoshizawa…” Sumire’s eyes widened slightly. “My sister?!”
She ran towards the source of the sound.
Behind a nearby partition, Yu and Ren peeked out. Teddie and Mona were huddled together.
“So heavy!” Mona pushed Teddie. “Get off me!”
“I can’t get up! Sensei, help!” Teddie, wearing his bear suit, had fallen over.
Yu helped the struggling Teddie up, then picked up Mona, patting him like a dusty plush toy.
Mona: …
This was so humiliating!
“This feels similar to a Palace,” Ren commented.
The partition displayed a large poster of Sumire Yoshizawa, advertising the “Sumire Yoshizawa Gymnastics Exhibition,” resembling the Palaces of distorted desires.
“It means the other world manifests in similar ways,” Yu placed Mona on the ground. “Except in Tokyo, it’s distorted desires, while in Inaba, it’s the self.”
“Yes,” Ren agreed. “…And she didn’t change clothes either.”
Exploring the self wasn’t thievery.
“Hurry up!” Mona urged them. “The girl’s disappearing!”
“Humph! Don’t underestimate my nose!” Teddie bumped into Mona. “I can smell where she is! I won’t lose her!”
“What are you?! Why can a stuffed bear walk around in the other world?!”
“You’re the one who’s a what! Why can a cat talk?!”
The bear and the cat immediately started fighting.
Yu/Ren: …
They exchanged glances.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Sumire had reached the podium. Beside it, on the stage, a ‘Sumire Yoshizawa’ with long, flowing red hair, dressed in a gymnastics leotard, was performing.
Her hair flew around her, her red eyes filled with joy. She leaped and twirled, thanking the audience for their support.
“Sumire?!” Sumire called out. “Is that you, Sumire?!”
“Are you still alive?”
“Everyone’s worried about you. Come home with me!”
The ‘Sumire’ on stage stopped her performance, holding a ribbon and looking down at Sumire.
“Sister?” she asked. “You think you’re my sister?”
Sumire paused. “Sumire?”
The girl on stage kept smiling, a wide, joyful smile, but her eyes held a cold glint that made Sumire instinctively step back.
Why? Why did she feel a chill down her spine?
Why was she suddenly so terrified that she wanted to run away?
