Chapter 11
Akira’s in the middle of another gossip in the limo, this time without Marie, who had gone out with Firefly.
“I swear, how bad could it be, but Kanji-kun’s still not telling me where he got that fantastic wig.”
“I would have to agree, you’d look great in that wig, if you were a bit older.” Margaret looked up from her cards.
“From the pictures Akira has shown me, it looks a little bit like your hair, sister, does it not?”
“The arcana line up.” Igor grinned.
“What? Oh. OH! You and Kanji-kun are Firefly’s Empress and Emperor arcana!”
Margaret sighed.
“About that, I still feel bonds with you guys, but I’ve only had Lavenza announce them out of nowhere, and officiate it with Lavenza and Igor. Also, what is the Velvet Room for?”
Margaret sighed again, longer and deeper this time.
“We all knew he was going to ask this at some point.”
“Indeed. The Velvet Room helps guests of the Fool Arcana reach the World Arcana.”
“Like my mom.”
“Exactly. You have your own bonds to make, each one of the 22 major arcana. While you can still bond with other arcana, they are not… yours. You make these ‘social links’ to further increase your power, but also because it’s nice to have real friends,” Lavenza ignored the “awwwwww” from Akira and the glare from Margaret for interrupting the explanation. She continued.
“Though you cannot bond with these people, the more people you bond with, the more powerful that arcana will be to you. For example, you already know 2 Empress arcana, Mitsuru Kirijo and Margaret. You can already do things with this, and those options will grow expansively when you meet your own Empress arcana.”
“Why would I need these arcana to be strong?”
“Tell me, Trickster, do you remember experiencing what your parents have dismissed as bedtime stories, the Dark Hour?”
“Yes. Goro knew it too.”
“The monsters called Shadows, the tools used to fight them, facets of our soul, Personas, they are real. The Wildcard, you are one, Trickster, and you must use these bonds to fuse powerful personas and defeat those who threaten humanity.” Margaret looked at him, as if she could see through his soul. It wasn’t the first time.
“One day, Akira, you’ll sign a contract, and you’ll awaken to a persona, and I’ll be your attendant. But after Firefly finishes his contract, you can’t access the Velvet Room anymore.”
“Why?”
“It would hinder your growth, Trickster. But fear not, we will see each other again.”
“Then we can have more gossip sessions!”
The Velvet Residents smiled softly.
“Of course.”
“One more thing, though.”
“What, Trickster?”
“. . . Don’t tell anyone I know about this. I haven’t even told my parents I saw the Dark Hour, and-”
“Akira. We won’t, don’t worry. Now, did you bring Topsicles?”
As Akira pulled them out of his backpack, Lavenza squealed, jumping, Igor had one magically appear in his hand, and Margaret tried to take one when nobody was looking, smiling to herself.
The Trickster would be a wonderful guest, Igor thought, and he could not wait to see what he would do.
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When Akira came out of the Velvet Room, he headed towards the Samegawa Flood Plain, only to see Yukiko pacing back and forth.
“Kiki-chan? What are you doing?”
“Akira! O-Oh! I-I’m just u-uhhhhhh.”
“What?”
“I wanna confess to my crush, and oh god what if-”
“Slow down. First of all, who’s your crush?”
She turned as red as her headband.
“I-It’s Chie.”
“Your best friend? Steak Chie?”
“Y-Yeah. I asked her to meet me here in 10 minutes.”
“Well then, we have a lot of work to do! GET YOUR STUFF TOGETHER YUKIKO AMAGI OR SO HELP ME GOD! YOU CAN DO THIS! YOU CAN DO THIS!”
“I CAN DO THIS!”
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“And she asked me to meet her at the Flood Plain @ 5 pm sharp, and-”
“Wait, wait, wait. She did?! Chie, this is your chance, oh my god!” Ryoji bounced up and down.
“B-But what if it’s not that? What if everything goes to-”
“Satonaka Chie. Are you a coward? Will you back down from this?” Minato raised an eyebrow.
“N-No! I’m not!”
“Very well, then.”
“Come on, Chie-chan, vamonos, or you’re gonna be late!”
_____________________
When Chie arrived at Samegawa, Minato and Ryoji hid, only to find their nephew in the same spot. They gave each other a thumbs up.
“They totally like each other.” Akira whispered.
“I’ve been trying to tell Chie that for forever.” Ryoji whispered back.
Meanwhile,
“So, I really gotta tell you something,”
“I also need to say something.”
“I LIKE YOU.”
“I LIKE YOU ROMANTICALLY!”
They embraced, meanwhile the boys whooped and cheered, interlocking their arms and walking back home, singing. Yes, even Minato.