Chapter 24

I head back through the glass doors, leading to the comfortably awkward atmosphere of the hotel suite. My seat at the table has been taken by Teddie, who grins at me with his mouth filled with tofu ramen. I decide to put up a little façade, and smile. My hunger overwhelms my emotions, and I pull my French dip into my lap and sit on the soft carpet. My mouth waters with anticipation. I can already smell the different kinds of meat and condiments. The juice, the sauce, the onions...the meat...Man...Smells glorious. I feel myself drooling slightly. I dig in; it's so perfectly juicy and salty and meaty, all the flawless flavors kicking in all at once. I mop up a dribble of meat juice rolling down my chin, and I smile to myself. I'm content; the chefs have done well.

Me: Thanks, Rise. By the way, how did you know I liked French dips?

Rise: I saw on your Facebook page. Oh, and Tumblr...And Twitter...And Google+...and basically everywhere that you exist...

Me: Oh. 

I look over at Chie, who's really enjoying her meat.

Me: Is your prime rib good, Chie?

Chie: Ah...It's amazing!

Chie grins, and I reflect her grin. I finish the sandwich, then set the napkin delicately on my plate after I've wiped my face.

Me: So...I was wondering. Do you guys wanna play truth or dare?

Yukiko: Oh, sure!

Yosuke: If it'll get you dancing like that again, I'm game.

Me: Nothing will. It won't happen again.

Yosuke: Aw-

Chie stops his whining by kicking him under the table. He whimpers, then closes his mouth and goes back to his noodles. We all finish eventually, and gather up in a circle again. I plop down in between Yukiko and Naoto. 

Rise: I wanna go first! Sasha, truth or dare?

Me: Dare.

Rise: That's pretty ballsy!!! I dare you...To kiss the hottest guy in the room. Right here, right now. No chickening.

Me: *sigh* Okay. Fine.

I stand up and walk slowly towards Yu. I squat down to his level, and kiss him on the lips. I don't wanna make a scene, so I make it quick. Before I get up again, I bend over and whisper in his ear.

Me: *whispering* This is my way to say I'm sorry.

I get to my full height, grinning. I plop down again next to Naoto, who nods slowly with admiration.

Yosuke: So, are you two going-

I cut him short before he can finish his sentence. 

Me: No. We're not.

Yosuke: You should. You'd make a hella cu-

Yu: Yosuke. Shut the fuck up if you don't mind.

Yosuke: Sorry, bro.

I clear my throat. The air has turned more sour than a lemon. I grimace when Yu glares at me. Yu glances away when Rise starts laughing. I'm frowning. Everyone looks at me expectantly. 

Me: My turn, isn't it?

Yosuke: Who you gonna dare?

Me: Naoto. Truth...or...dare?

Naoto: Dare, I suppose.

She sighs tiredly. I glance over at the clock. It's nearly 11 p.m. I feel a shoot of sudden electricity run through me. I grin widely.

Me: NAOTO. I dare you to sit in Kanji's lap. Right now. No backouts.

Assorted members of the gang whoop and holler. Naoto glances at Kanji, who shrugs at her. Naoto gets to her feet shakily; she's really nervous. He walks over to Kanji and eases herself uncomfortably into his lap. He shivers with ecstasy. I explode with laughter. The two blush redder than tomatoes, and then Naoto bounds out of his lap. We groan.

Me: C'mon Naoto...You gotta be more brave than THAT!

Rise: Yeah, c'mon Naoto! 

Naoto: N-No. I won't. I did the dare and now I'm done.

With Naoto's sudden innocent refusal, Kanji blushes, and turns away to avoid us seeing his face. He's got a nosebleed. I toss him a box of tissues. Kanji grumbles a thank-you, and turns around, embarrassed. 

Rise: Fine. Then it's your turn, Naoto.

Naoto: Fine. Chie, truth or dare?

Chie: Truth.

Yosuke: The first truth of the night!

Chie slugs him in the arm to shut him up. He groans.

Yosuke: Stop hitting me, Chie. You've been doing it alot. You're gonna kill me one of these days.

Me: Yeah. It's almost like you like him...

Some of the gang hollers at her, "oooo"-ing. 

Naoto: Chie, have you ever had a boyfriend before?

Chie: No, I've never had one before. 

Yosuke: I see why...

Chie: WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!

Yosuke: Nothing! Nothing!

Yosuke raises his hands in surrender. Yosuke's the only guy ACTUALLY wearing normal clothing. And that's kinda scaring me, since it's Yosuke's lazy ass.

Naoto: Hm...Then...Have you ever liked anyone before?

Chie: Well, duh.

Naoto: Do you like anyone now?

Chie: Yeah, and there's no chance I'm saying who. Ever.

Yukiko: I know, though.

Yosuke: You do?! Spill it!

Yukiko: No way.

Yosuke: Don't get my--I mean, our-- hopes up, then! Don't say you know unless you're gonna say who!

Rise: Next!

Chie: Yukiko, truth or dare?

I ease myself to my feet, my eyes heavy. I feel someone hold me back by my shirt collar, and pull me right back down to the floor on my ass. 

Rise: No leaving until we're finished!

Me: B-But I'm tire-

Rise: No but's, you pussy. C'mon!

Yosuke stops arguing with Chie long enough to focus on Rise and I.

Yosuke: OOOO! You gonna take that, Sasha?

Me: Hell no I'm not.

I hate being called a pussy. I hate being called anything associated with being weak. I bounce to the balls of my feet, raring to fight. Nobody dares make a move to stop us. Yosuke starts hooting, and the others join in; almost everyone's betting Rise will win. My pupils dilate. I ball my fists tighter and tighter until my knuckles turn white. Rise seems to be an unbalanced fighter and not all that strong, but I can tell she's very agile. I wait for her to make the first move. 

Rise lunges at me, and I've already predicted that. She's screaming like a fucking banshee. I dodge her attack, kicking out my foot just in time for her to be blasted right in the stomach. She wails in pain. She lands on the carpeted floor, right next to Yu. I hear the gang gasp. I grin mischievously. She pushes herself back up with some difficulty, her lips curled in a snarl. She jumps at me, screaming louder than before. She claws at my hair, pulling the blonde fragile tufts of hair from my scalp. I howl in pain. Rise kicks me into the frame of the bed, and I hear snapping of something. A dull pain shoots through my hip. I feel something warm roll down the bridge of my nose. I bring my hand up to it, and I pull it away bloody.

Rise: You're stealing him away from me! You bitch! You have everything!

Me: I FUCKING DID NOTHING! At least your parents didn't die, leaving you all alone! At least you weren't raped by your best friend! At least you weren't treated like shit when your parents WERE alive! You have no fucking IDEA how much my life SUCKS!

I run at her, my teeth clenched. Tears of anger billow in my eyes. I punt her right in the temple, and she goes down. I'm huffing, gasping for air. I wipe blood from my mouth. A hush has fallen over the onlookers, their mouths wide open. I hear loud sobbing, and Rise pushes herself to her knees.

Rise: I just...want him to love me...

Me: You'd better wait in line. He's all I can get. You have adoring fans, a loving grandmother. More friends than I can count. What do I have...?

Rise: You have him...

A solitary tear streams down my cheek, carving through my pores all the way across my cheekbone and rolling down to the carpet. Another follows, and I turn away. I walk slowly to the bathroom alone. I shut the door behind me. My delicate, broken frame rolls down the door. I start to sob. The blood on my face mixed with the tears, creating a light red liquid that drips to the cold tile. My shirt is torn, and I shiver. Not with being cold, afraid, or in ecstasy. I shiver with loneliness. I run the sink, sticking my bruised face under the cold water. It soothes the cuts and washes away the blood. It still doesn't remove the hurt, which has left a stain on my heart. The blood has caked on a little, and I scrape it off with a fingernail. I wince. It hurts like a bitch. The pain is dull and sad.

I open the bathroom door, and Rise and Yu are sitting on my bed. They laugh, unknowing of my reappearance. Rise leans into Yu, her eyes closed and lips parted. Their lips connect, and Yu kisses her no different than he kisses me. Then Yosuke looks in my direction.

Yosuke: Oh shit.

I feel hot tears of rage fill up my eyes, blurring my vision. Yu's eyes shoot open, and he looks at me, his eyes pleading guilty. I'm blinded, and I break into a run towards the TV. I feel strong arms trying to keep me in, but I break through their grasp. I'm flailing, screaming, and crying. I'm surrounded by black. Then, the black-and-white of warping. 

I'm zooming from world to world, the light getting brighter the faster I go. I go from powerless to powerful. I feel my fists ball up, my nails piercing my palms. I snap my fingers, my emotions raging. I'm wearing the royal purple gown again. This time it's torn right above the knees, and my crown is made of thorns. I'm wearing purple glasses to match it all. I take off running. I don't know where, but I'm running. Going anywhere but back there. I sprint through the Dark Forest. The Forbidden Castle seems to beckon me. I'm drawn by the dark, ominous shadows, towards it. I feel tears stream freely down my cheeks. I gasp for air; I'm sobbing. I summon Excallibur, it's weapons all drawn at once. 

I hear distant shouting. Teddie, Yu, Rise, Naoto...I ignore them and summon Izanami, her form glowing powerfully in a blue light. My glasses fog up with the heat of my huffing breath. Izanami casts Impenetrable, a spell used to summon a force field that can only be broken by the caster. Izanami stands ready beside me, ready to defend me.

Izanami: I sense that you're hurt. 

Me: Yes.

Izanami: Not just physically. I mean emotionally.

Me: Yes.

I hear a cackle resonate from the Forbidden Castle's damaged gates. A boy in a yellow scarf walks up to us.

Ryoji: Welcome back, Dearie. I knew that you'd be crawling back to me now.

Me: Ryoji...Such a pleasant surprise.

Ryoji: Darling, tell me how you've been since you killed my master.

Me: Pretty shitty, actually.

Ryoji: Oh, that's too bad for you.

Me: Damn right.

Ryoji: So what is it that you want?

I scoff, annoyed. I start sarcastic, annoying.

Me: Relaxation. What the hell do you THINK I'm here for?! Fighting, you ass!

Ryoji: Why fighting? Hm?

Me: To help me get away from the pain.

Ryoji: So be it. Would you like to fight hundreds of Shadows? Or just me?

Me: Both, if you don't mind.

I grin evilly, wielding Excallibur. I feel my crown of thorns pierce my scalp. Ryoji laughs enthusiastically, then sprints away, towards the center of the castle. I hear the sound of Shadows behind me, and I blast them with Excallibur before they even touch the ground. Their souls break into black mist, then dissipate. I chase after Ryoji.

Ryoji leads me deeper into the castle, summoning more and more Shadows as he goes. I summon the power of the wind, meanwhile taking aim with my weapon at Ryoji. He turns around, his aura flickering with a red glow. A glow of a thousand suns, a thousand burning infernos. A shudder goes through my body. A burning card falls slowly from the ceiling, and Ryoji snaps it between two fingers. 

I summon the full power of Izanami, my form flickering with blue light. Izanami stands to her full height, her form massive and powerful. She has a massive version of Excallibur in her right hand. As I point mine at Ryoji, so does she. I pull the trigger, and so does she. There's a massive explosion as it fires. I grin. Izanami casts Maziodyne, knocking back surrounding Shadows with the power of 1 million volts of electricity. Ryoji laughs, his form flickering as well. We lock eyes, challenging each other. That's when I realize he looks around my age. Even though he's Death, he looks around 16. I know he's not though. I wave away the thought, and focus on the battle. Ryoji leads me towards the center of the castle, summoning more powerful Shadows as we keep going.

His form explodes into his massive Persona, Thanatos. His cape made of coffins used to be cool. Especially in the video game. Now...It's horrifying. Ryoji/Thanatos lunge at me, weapon drawn. I merge with Izanami, and slam into them with Excallibur bared. The force of Ryoji slamming into me is so massive that I slam into the wall. My head spins with the force of the collision. 

Ryoji: Giving up...?

Me: Hell...no...

I feel my muscles weakening. Ryoji's not playing, we're not just fighting. There's no Master to stop him from killing me. Ryoji chuckles at the thought of it, and I know he can hear me. He takes me by the neck, pinning me up on the wall. My form flickers. It takes me back to the day he nearly killed me. I'm in human form again, weakening.

Ryoji: You're precisely right. I may just kill you. Why wouldn't I?

Me: Ry-o-ji. Y-ou're. Ch-ok-ing me.

Ryoji: Darling, I know.

He pulls me higher, and the black spots envelop my vision. I'm like a fish out of water, gasping for air that isn't there. I claw at my neck to no avail.

Ryoji: Dearie, you killed my Master. For which I thank you. But that only hurts you. After all...I am still Death.

Ryoji laughs wickedly. I await the slow blanket of death, and silently do one more thing that could save me. I take the barrier down. I hear screaming, then I hear one more thing before everything fades away. I hear Ryoji speak an ancient tongue, the same one I spoke when healing my leg, the same one my Shadow said when she gave me my powers. Then, everything breaks apart. 

Me: I'm dead, aren't I?

Margaret: Yes. You are dead. I'm so sorry...I-

Me: It's not your fault. Don't apologize.

Margaret: But there's one thing you must know. You aren't really dead. You're in a plane of space and time just beyond yours, and just before death. That is my realm. My home.

Me: A realm between life and death?

Margaret: A break, so to speak.

I bite the inside of my cheek, conflicted. In this world, the spot where I bite it doesn't hurt.

Me: What do I do now...?

Margaret: I don't know.

--

Hey guys, Mako here! OMFG feelz last chapter made my heart hurt...OMFG it HURRRRTTTS...

*Yu snakes his hand up your bare skin, causing you to shiver. He says, "I stole you away from Izzy, so comment, babe.*  DOOOO ITTTT!!!!!!!!!!!