69 Ah, well, that sucks
Shin grinned.
"Welcome to the team." said the black-haired boy.
"Uh, shouldn't Yusuke be tired since he just summoned his Persona for the first time?" asked Ryuji, confused.
"Give it a few seconds. It should happen any-" Shin was interrupted by the sound of Yusuke collapsing to his knees, "-moment."
Ryuji went ahead and helped the other boy up.
'Not exactly who I was thinking he'd take initiative on, but whatever works for him, I guess.' idly thought Shin.
The blond boy didn't need to help Yusuke for long, since they were just outside of Madarame's house. Ryuji just dropped him off in his room and went out, thought not before getting Yusuke's number.
"Alright, I got his number. Now, what are we gonna do?" he asked.
"I have to go pick something up from Mementos. Feel free to come with me, though." said Shin, walking towards Shibuya Station.
"Meh, I don't have anything better to do anyway. Might as well train in Mementos for a bit." shrugged Ryuji.
"Yeah." said Ann.
"You could try actually studying, for once. Both of you, I mean." said Shiho, deadpanning at the 2 slackers next to her who'd do anything to avoid doing any kind of schoolwork.
"Ugh." both blondes flinched at that thought.
-INTERMISSION-
"So, what are you looking for."
"A real pain-the-arse red-headed punk somewhat taller than me." replied Shin.
"What? You brought someone else in Mementos?" asked Ann.
"Isn't that very dangerous?" wondered Shiho.
"He's gonna be fine. He has a Persona of his own."
"Huh?" Ryuji looked utterly shocked.
"What? You didn't really think that Morgana over here is the first Persona user ever, did you? Otherwise he'd be so much more condescending."
"Hey!" sounded out a shout of disagreement from aforementioned cat.
"It's decently strong as well. Not as strong as the reaper, but that's pretty much granted at this point."
"Wait, wait, hold on! What the hell is the reaper?" asked Ann, as confused as Ryuji was before.
"Nothing much. Just this really powerful Shadow that wonders throughout Mementos and tries to kill whoever stays too much on one floor."
*Gulp*
"As for the other bastard..." started Shin, but he didn't finish as Sho came flying through one of the tunnels around.
The redhead managed to position himself so that he was skidding across the rails on all fours.
He came to a stop just before a horde of Shadows came rushing at him.
"Huh? You're here too, Shin." he commented.
"Yes, I noticed, Sho. Thank you for your particularly useful words."
The redhead clicked his tongue.
"Don't give me that sass. I've been here for hours, just fighting Shadows. I'm always up for some slaughter, don't get me wrong, but killing all of these weaklings can get... repetitive. So, I decided to fight them all on my own. No Tsukiyomi to help me."
"Uh-huh. And the reaper." asked Shin.
"He's been following me all of this time. He just sits there, not even trying to attack me." replied Sho, frustrated.
Meanwhile, the Shadow mob was looking between the two monsters who were closest to them, as if thinking which one would provide them with a quicker death. After a few more seconds of pondering, they decided that attacking Shin would lead them to their deaths in a slower way.
Without bothering to look at them, the black-haired boy simply shot his gun several times, practically tearing holes through the gang.
'We... were wrong...' were the final thoughts of most of the Shadows.
"Hey, stop that!" said Sho, outraged.
"Sorry for popping your fun, Sho. But it's about time you took a break and had a meal."
"I'm not even tired of all this."
Shin said nothing, but simply got closer to the redhead. He moved the arm that held the gun as if to strike the man, but, as he was expecting, Sho easily dodged it.
At that moment, Shin suddenly threw his gun into his other hand, which Sho quickly followed with his eyes, anticipating an attack from a new angle. Yet, despite his combat experience, he didn't see the fist he received to his solar plexus until it was too late.
"Gah!" he spat out saliva and all the air in his lungs.
Shin didn't follow up immediately, instead choosing to wait for a few seconds. When he saw that nothing ended up happening, he simply knocked Sho unconscious with a hit to the back of his neck. He picked up the older man with a fireman's carry and went on his way to the entrance of Mementos.
"Uhh, what the hell was all that?" asked Ryuji, rubbing the back of his head.
"I have no idea." replied Ann.
"They seem to be good friends." commented Shiho.
The cat of the group didn't say anything, instead going next to Shin and asking him.
"Why'd you wait after you hit him in the chest? You could've knocked him out immediately."
"I was waiting to see if he awakened Hamon. Considering how things seem to work around here, it might very well have happened. Sucks that it didn't, though."
"Hamon...?" muttered Morgana, adding another thing to his mental list of Shin's weird quirks.
Then, the remnants of the Shadow horde too scared to chase after Shin parted like the Red Sea when Moses willed it, and from between them appeared the reaper. The tall Shadow was carrying a large bag, inside of which were little trinkets and other metal stuff.
"I got the bag. Collected the trash left behind by Sho." he told Shin.
"Good job, Reaper." Shin smiled.
"THAT'S THE REAPER?! WHY'S IT BEHAVING LIKE A PET?!" shouted Ryuji.
"Well, I put him up to it. People tend to listen to your requests after you fight with them for long enough." shrugged the black-haired boy.
The thieves could only look at him in shock.
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Confidants:
0. Igor (The Fool) - Rank 2
I. Morgana (The Magician) - Rank 3
1. Takuto Maruki (The Councillor) - Rank 1
II. Makoto Niijima (The Priestess) - Rank 2
IV. Yusuke Kitagawa (The Emperor) - Rank 3
V. Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) - Rank 3
VI. Ann Takamaki (The Lovers) - Rank 7
VII. Ryuji Sakamoto (The Chariot) - Rank 6
IX. Futaba Sakura (The Hermit) - Rank 3
XIII. Tae Takemi (The Death) - Rank 4
XVIII. Saki Yoshiko (The Moon) - Rank 2
XIX. Sho Minazuki (The Sun) - Rank 1
XX. Sae Niijima (The Judgement) - Rank 1
Shiho Suzui (The Hope) - Rank 8
