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Throughout the months, even before Yu came around, there had been a small group consisting on mostly students and young adults protesting Junes, claiming they were doing harm to the community, running small businesses out of town. Their protests appear on the news a lot, interviews even being conducted with the members. The protests only started to die down with the sudden murders. One member that was featured a lot was a girl in yellow, the youngest member of the group. If Yosuke was in the room whenever she was featured on TV, he'd either leave or turn it off before even the news anchor speaks, let alone the girl. Whenever he's asked about the Junes protests, he doesn't say anything, literally. He's silent, for once. Everyone figured he was just upset they were attacking his and his dad’s job. At least in terms of the investigation team. The gossiping students and even adults seem to have a bit of an idea what's going on, but none of the team seemed to really notice or care what they had to say. Answers started to come on a completely random school day.
The investigation was still going strong, Kanji being the last one saved from the tv world. It was in between classes, the investigation team walking through the hallway together, discussing whatever came to their minds. They were stopped when footsteps suddenly got closer to them, and Yosuke was tapped on the shoulder. They'd stop and turn, being greeted by the youngest member of the Junes protests, the girl in yellow. Immediately everyone was scared this was going to turn nasty. Yosuke even looked confused.
“What are you doing here?”
“Mom wanted me to tell you to be home before 8. She wants to try real family dinners again and doesn't want us out too late with the kidnappings and murders going on.” She says with a pretty unamused tone, as one typically has when delivering boring news. It makes Yosuke sigh with an equally unamused look.
“Great…tell her I'll try.”
“You know she won't accept that.”
“Uuuuugh.”
“I'm not thrilled with it either. But you know how paranoid she can get.”
“I know…just tell her I'll be there.”
The girl nods. “I'll see you at home then.” She turns around and walks in the other direction, leaving the investigation team alone. It's silent for a bit as everyone tries to figure out what even just happened, Kanji being the first to speak up.
“Do you..know that girl?”
The question makes Yosuke, who had yet to turn back around, sigh.
“She's…..my sister.”
Yukiko, Yu, and Kanji all looked surprised, while Chie gasps maybe a little too loud.
“The Junes protest girl is your sister??” She says, again just a little too loud. Yosuke whips around acting all upset at the comment.
“Don't say it so loud! Or like that! But..yes. The “Junes protest girl” is my sister. And before you ask, it has nothing to do with me or our dad working there. She says it isn't personal.”
“But it still hurts that she's doing that to you.” Yu analyzes, Yosuke reacting with a somber look on his face.
“Maybe we should..not talk about this right now.” He says, walking forward without a word, giving his friends no room to bring it back up. It's not really talked about since, the investigation taking up more importance. They notice more things about Yosuke now when it comes to his sister. The looks they give each other, the way they talk to each other, whenever they talk to each other, which wasn't often. They definitely weren't as close as you'd expect a pair of siblings to be. There's no clue if they were like this for a while, or if this was a recent fall out. Things really came to a head in the fall. The midnight channel had yet to go away, Naoto being the latest victim. They were all so close yet so far away from the answer. The midnight channel was silent each night since Naoto, but they weren't safe yet. They kept an eye on their surroundings in case anything was out of the ordinary or someone goes missing. It took weeks till someone finally noticed something.
Yosuke had noticed his sister had stopped going to school. Well, he didn't see her often at school anyway, but the moments he usually does, she wasn't here. She suddenly stopped coming home early like their mother had asked. And she wasn't home in the mornings. Yosuke even checked her room one night in case she came home late, but she wasn't there. It was really freaking him out. He tried to watch the midnight channel every single night, staying up late to make extra sure. That and he couldn't sleep since his sister went missing. He started coming to school with dark circles around his eyes. He never answered the questions his friends would ask about his sister’s disappearance.
Answers started to become clear one dreadful night. Yosuke was staying up again, staring a hole through his tv. He didn't want to be right, but this was the only explanation he had. His stomach drops when the screen sparks to life.
What kinda looks like Junes is in the background, but it looks destroyed. The camera pans until it lands on..just what Yosuke had feared. His sister, in a giant black coat over her uniform, black gloves, a black mask pulled down, and holding a hammer. A big one. She had a wicked grin to her face, and her eyes were glowing yellow.
“See that?” She begins to speak in that messed up voice shadows have. “In a matter of minutes, I've managed to reduce most of Junes into rubble. The way it should’ve always been. Maybe now my stupid brother and father can learn a lesson, and really understand what's going on. Know how evil their silly business really is, and how we're better off without it! Now..I still have so much left to destroy. I'll be back when everything's gone.” The feed cuts as she starts to walk off screen. Yosuke is hyperventilating by this point, scrambling for his phone to call Yu. He doesn't even get to say hello before Yosuke's screaming into the phone.
“My sister's in the tv world!!!”
Yu has to hold his phone away from his ear when Yosuke yells. He puts it back and tries to speak as calmly as possible.
“I know Yosuke. I saw.”
“We have to go rescue her! See if the others are awake, I can't leave her in there!”
“Yosuke, we can't do it right now. If you act on your emotions, you won't think straight and get hurt. Not to mention your lack of sleep-”
“I don't care about that! It's not going to be any different if we wait till morning! How am I supposed to be calm and just wait when my sister is in danger?!”
“I'm..not exactly sure, but it's better if we wait till tomorrow. I promise, we'll go in as soon as we can. Do you want me to stay up with you so you're not alone?”
“....Yeah…that would be nice.” Yu managed to make Yosuke feel a little calmer, making him feel a little better over the phone call. It didn't make anything go away, but he helped him be more ok with waiting. He still didn't fall asleep, but he wasn't freaking out the whole night. Although the calm feeling didn't last once the next day came, Yosuke demanding they go to the tv world the moment everyone was awake. It definitely got on everyone's nerves, but nobody mentioned anything. It was very sensitive for him, so they had to be careful.
They managed to convince Yosuke to be ok with going after school, as they've done before. He couldn't focus on school all day. He couldn't before, but especially now. He's been getting stares for weeks now, and not the usual ones. Like he was a sad pitiful puppy. He didn't like it. Made him feel pathetic. Like people only care about him when something tragic happens to someone else.
When they finally made it to the TV world, Yosuke immediately started leading the way, giving nobody time to protest. They all just gave each other a look as Yosuke began walking, before following behind him. His sister's dungeon actually started off as…Yosuke's house. Bright and full of life, despite his family not being in there. It made Yosuke pause for a minute. Borderline freaked him out. They were in the living room, unsure of what door to go through. Yosuke took a guess, deciding to try his sister's room, this was her dungeon after all. Yet, when they went through the door, they were back in the living room. It wasn't as bright this time, the lights much dimmer, a few photos and other miscellaneous things missing. This was really freaking Yosuke out. They tried Yosuke’s room this time, once again greeted by the living room, lights darker and even more things missing. Must be a loop..doesn't matter what door they go through. They tried Yosuke's parents room to be sure, and the same thing happened, lights going darker and more things missing. Realizing the situation, Yosuke continued on strong, making a beeline through whatever door he saw first. His house kept getting more and more dark and empty the further he went, furniture even going missing. It felt like hours were going by. It's also…strange seeing Yosuke like this. So serious, extremely set on one goal. Not that he wasn't serious or set on saving his friends, this is just..so different. The trek through Yosuke's slowly decaying house was awkwardly silent, minus comments here and there about the house.
Eventually, the silence was just too much for Chie specifically. She had so many burning questions that she didn't even attempt to ask because of Yosuke's mood, but this would probably be her last chance to ask them, so she couldn't stop herself at this point.
“Ok, I think that's enough mulling in silence. Yosuke, what's with this attitude? I know this is your sister, but I thought you didn't like her.”
Yosuke stops dead in his tracks. Chie immediately feels like she screwed up. It takes Yosuke a beat of silence before he turns around to look at her.
“What..gave you the idea I didn't like her?”
“Well…you guys aren't exactly close. You barely talk to each other and give each other rude looks. She's kinda trying to make you and your dad lose your jobs..”
“So that means I should just let her die?!” Yosuke raises his voice. He doesn't mean to exactly, but he's too upset to care.
“What-no! I didn't mean that! I just-”
“Didn't expect me to actually care? I know you don't think highly of me, but do you seriously think that low of me??”
“Yosuke! Of course I don't! Are you serious??”
“Are you?! God, you're almost no better than everyone else…whatever, we don't have time for this. Have to save my sister I apparently don't care about.” Yosuke turns around, body tense from the anger he was feeling, walking off with a stomp. Chie felt awful. Yosuke was right, they didn't have time, so she just let the others go first, following behind away from Yosuke, the silence now even more awkward.
They eventually made it to the last loop of the Hanamura living room. Everything was missing, even the curtains. Walls had cracks in them, stains on the carpet, mold around the windows, dark spots where the furniture was. The only thing in the room was a broken portrait in the middle of the room. Yosuke walked up to investigate the picture, bending down to take a closer look. It was him and his sister as kids, smiling big and wide, hugging each other. This was definitely from one of Yosuke's birthday parties, one he remembers fondly. The glass was cracked almost perfectly down the middle, right in between the two of them. The wooden frame was even cracked. Some glass shards and wooden splinters surrounded the photo too. He had to force himself to look away before he got too emotional. He ran through the first door he saw, ending up at the food court of Junes, where they usually end up on their normal days. Only much like it was on the midnight channel, it was destroyed. Instead of chairs and tables, right in the middle was a huge upside baby crib, surrounded by broken picture frames. Under the crib, the hunched over crying figure of a girl could be seen, wearing yellow. Yosuke's sister.
“Azumi!!” Yosuke would yell out, running as fast as he could towards the crib, until he was stopped dead in his tracks by a hammer slamming down in front of him, making him fall backwards. Looking up, seeing that the person who stopped him was his sister's shadow, looking down at him with a sinister grin.
“My my, going a little too fast are we?” Her distorted voice would say, making Yosuke scowl.
“I don't have time for this.” He says, standing up. “Let my sister go!”
“But Yosuke..” She says in a slight whine. “I am your sister!”
The Azumi under the crib starts to move after hearing Yosuke's voice, getting up to her knees, but looking down still.
“You're a part of her, but you're not her!”
“Yosuke.” Yu speaks up, walking up to Yosuke and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I know you're upset, but you know this isn't your fight. That's her shadow to accept.”
“What am I supposed to do then?”
“We'll distract her shadow, you go get her attention.”
“Good idea.” Yosuke looks around for the best escape route, making a beeline to the left. He actually doesn't get very far, as Shadow Azumi throws her hammer towards him, hitting him in the back of the leg. He yells as he falls over, holding his leg. The yell gets Azumi under the crib to finally look up, rising to her feet and walking up to the wooden bars to look out at what just happened.
“H-hey!” She speaks up, making her shadow and Yosuke look at her. “Don't hurt him!”
“Awww, trying to play hero are we?” The shadow says, walking closer to the crib, getting in Azumi’s face. “Acting like you really care if he lives or dies..it's almost pathetic.”
“What are you talking about? I don't want my brother to die! Or be hurt at all!”
“Really? I thought you thought he was a waste of space. A pathetic loser who you're ashamed to be related to.”
“That's not true at all!”
“Now that I think about it…you're ashamed to be a Hanamura at all. Every day you're at home, you'd rather be anywhere else. You hate being around your family. Every night feels so terrible. It's amazing how you and Yosuke were even close at all.”
“Because we love each other!”
“But you're so different. So far apart..there's no way you could love him.”
“I do!!”
“Well, I don't! I'm a part of you…and I hate our brother. Try explaining that? You say you love Yosuke, but here I am, hating him. How can that even be? Surely one of us is a liar.”
“And that liar is you! I could never hate Yosuke!”
“Then why am I here? I am you! I am your feelings! Your truth!”
“No! You can't be! You..”
Before Azumi could finish her sentence, Yosuke stood up as fast as he could, reaching a hand out towards his sister.
“Azumi, no, don't say it!!”
“You are not me!! You can't be me!! It's not true!!”
“No!!!” The investigation team cries out, as Shadow Azumi smirks and laughs, taking a few steps back.
“Perfect…” She says, before just like the last shadows, she starts to transform. Her true form is as horrifying as the others, looking like a giant black and twisted humanoid form, with long limbs and cracks throughout her skin. Her body is split in half with jagged edges from the top of her head to her midriff. One half has an orange tint, that side of the head looking a lot like Yosuke's shadow's true form, but distorted. The other has a yellow tint, with what looked like the distorted head of a baby otter. A permanent frown was plastered across the two heads.
The battle had begun.
Yosuke immediately tried leading the charge, jumping the gun only a little bit. It rewarded him with a slash to his stomach, sending him across the court. It almost felt like he has a legit gash across there. It seems as though the shadow is made from jagged sharp glass. He refused to let it keep him down for long, getting back up and joining the fight, letting Yu take the helm. The shadow was strong, and horrifying, muttering things unintelligible to herself when she wasn't taunting the team. Azumi watched from under the crib, unable to do anything. Well…maybe not entirely. She did have her words.
As the shadow was weakened, Azumi sticks her head out from the between the bars.
“That's enough!” She calls out, making everyone turn to her. “Enough…please stop hurting my brother. Our brother. I…I know I've been feeling rather…angry at him lately, blaming him for things that are…really my fault, but that doesn't mean I want him hurt! I…do have to accept that..you are a part of me. I have thought those awful things about my brother. I've just been so…upset and angry at how things have turned out. How distant we've become. I refused to believe it was my own doing, so I made myself think all those terrible things so I could justify the distance by making Yosuke out to be a bad person. I never truly believed he was a bad person…I just wanted to. I do have those thoughts of hating him. There are things about him I really don't like. But he's still my brother…and I miss him. You..are me. A part of me. And I know..you miss him too.”
The further Azumi went on with her speech, the more her shadow and the baby crib started to glitch. Her shadow pleaded with her to stop, she was speaking madness. Up until Yosuke quickly gave the final blow with her persona, causing the shadow to explode in a smoke of black, leaving the human form of Azumi’s shadow. Along with it, the baby crib disappeared, freeing Azumi. Azumi walks up to her shadow and slowly squats down, sitting in front of her on her knees with a somber smile.
“We may not like it..but it's a reality we must accept.” She holds her hand towards her shadow, who looks back up at her. With a shaky hands, she takes it, her shadow disappearing in a blue light. Once the shadow disappears, Yosuke runs at full speed up to his sister, sliding down to his knees and giving her the tightest hug he's probably ever given anyone. Just as nobody's ever seen him so serious, nobody's ever seen him so happy and relieved. He even starts crying happy tears. Azumi returns the hug as tight as she can, but it's not nearly as tight as Yosuke's grip. His body even shakes slightly.
“Azzi..I had no idea you were..”
“I didn't tell you. How could you have known?”
“By paying more attention?”
“It's not your responsibility, Yosuke. I know you're older and all but..we have our own lives. You were off having yours. I was having mine. We just both forgot we could be a part of them.”
Yosuke lets out a sigh, hugging Azumi even closer and tighter than before.
“..I'm so sorry.”
“I'm sorry. I wasn't treating you right..and you didn't do anything.”
“Just know I never held anything against you. I was angry at you, yeah…and maybe I did blame you for a few things…but I could never bring myself to hold a grudge. You're my little sister. You'll always be that. I can't ever be mad at my best friend for too long.”
Azumi's jaw drops, before it drops into what looks like a frown as she starts to cry, burying her face in Yosuke's shoulder. Her crying is a little loud, but she's not upset. Just feeling a lot of emotions. The rest of the team allow them to have their moment, eventually looking away so they don't have an audience. They even stay for a little longer than they normally would, just to give the Hanamuras their time.
“Welcome to the Velvet Room…”
When everything was said and done, the Hanamuras finishing their moment, everyone escaping the TV world, Yu blacked out as he did all the other times he saved someone from their shadow. The blue limo fades into view, the same two passengers sitting in the exact spots they always do. Azumi must've gotten her persona. Though, it was strange. Yu didn't know if arcana could be shared, and he had basically all of them.
“Even this far into the journey, you're still learning more about your friends, and helping them in major ways.” The woman begins to speak, a voice Yu has gotten all too used to. “It's a great thing too. For reuniting two lost souls originally bonded tight, you've done something not quite seen before, and upgraded the Magician arcana in a new way. Instead of the arcana leveling up, it's doubled. Two wielders of the Magician arcana, one representing when you traditionally pull the card upright.” She uses the Magician card as a visual representation, holding it upright, a silhouette of what almost looks like Azumi flashing over the card. “The other when you traditionally pull it reversed.” She turns the card upside down, another silhouette flashing, this time looking like Yosuke. “Two sides of the same arcana, but with different personalities, elements, weapons, and more. Something never seen before.” She sets the card back down, another brief flash, this time the silhouettes on top of each other. Like a king or queen on a playing card. “The bond between the two users must be strong. You've done very well in bringing them together. You're now even closer to finding the truth. It shouldn't be long now..”
The vision begins to fade, and Yu comes back to reality…
When Yosuke and Azumi get home, it's immediately noticed by their parents the happier mood they're in. Like they never fought in the first place. It's a welcomed change, and dinner goes swimmingly because of it. Before getting home, Azumi is given the rundown of everything that's been going down, and her persona, Hua Po, is explained to her. She's given navy blue glasses for the shadow world, and ends up using two giant boomerangs for her weapon. Nobody quite understands how two people can share an arcana, but they figured it was due to their relation, and how Yosuke was a big part of Azumi's shadow. Now a part of the team, she starts spending more time with Yosuke and his friends, slowly becoming her friends. She didn't have much outside of her protests and theater, but even still the ones she had didn't feel as real as the investigation team. She felt really cared for, for the first time in a while.
A week after her battle with her shadow, Azumi comes to school with fawn brown tips on the ends of her hair.