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It’s interesting how much and how little can change over the course of several years, Minato thinks as he stares over the body of his once dead sister. The Hamuko that lies in front of him is ultimately a different Hamuko than the one he grew up with. Maybe she hasn’t changed personality-wise – Elizabeth and Theo are always wishy-washy on whether she’s been aware this whole time or not – but she’s gotten older. Her face no longer holds the softness typical of a high-schooler, and he rests easy in knowing that they are still around the same age.
He toys with his Evoker and watches patiently for each rise and fall of her chest as she breathes. Any proof that she’s alive is good right now, but he won’t be convinced until she’s actually awake and talking to him. It would be rather cruel to have gotten this far only to have her slip from his grasp once again, but it’s not as if he’s a stranger to losing family unfairly.
His mind won’t be at peace until she wakes up, not least because he’s afraid she just won’t wake up. The Velvets had discussed a multitude of possible consequences to her mental and physical health with him after his decision. It’s hard to tell if someone’s gone insane when they’re sleeping.
But he can wait. They aren’t quite in the safety of the top floor of Mementos, but it’s probably safer here than up in the newly ominous blue glow of the Velvet Room. He shouldn’t even be able to see the Velvet Room anymore, according to Elizabeth and Theo. He’s inclined to believe them – he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of it until the first time he set foot in Mementos. Being able to see it is probably a bad omen.
He refuses to enter on the principle of it being incredibly creepy now, and the Velvets agree without explaining why. They both left the Velvet Room in order to search for a way to revive Hamuko against Igor’s wishes, which would explain some of their uneasiness but not all of it. They’ve always thought of the Velvet Room as a home. There’s no reason for them to agree that it’s creepy.
There’s no point in thinking about that. They’re on the floor below the top because that’s where they did the sacrifice, so that’s where Hamuko appeared. He doesn’t want to risk moving her in case of internal injuries, that’s all. It has nothing to do with how on edge the Velvet Room puts him now.
Sounds of battle wage on in the background. Aigis is roaming around the level killing any Shadows on sight, probably just to feel like she’s doing something to protect him and Hamuko. If this place functions anything like Tartarus, they’re probably safe from the Reaper for another half hour or so, so he leaves her to it. She’ll come back when the chains sound, or when she runs out of Shadows to kill.
Running his finger over the spot where he had dented his Evoker a few years ago during the Inaba incident, Minato tries to listen for how close Aigis is. A half hour is not a small amount of time, but he wants to be sure she’s close enough to get back if need be. As much as he can definitely beat the Reaper with just him and Aigis, he won’t put Hamuko in danger like that. He’ll need Aigis here to move Hamuko in a worst-case scenario.
Only a little longer now.
She shouldn’t take that long to wake up, hopefully, and if she’s not awake by the end of the thirty minutes he might be forced to consider taking her to a hospital. It would be easily excused by Mitsuru in minutes but carrying her there would definitely draw attention. Maybe he could call an ambulance? Then he’d be the one that has to invent the lie, and he’s not particularly good at lying.
No point in thinking about it until something actually happens, he supposes. Worst case scenario he’ll have to carry her up and call one of the Shadow Operatives, which opens a whole new can of worms. He hadn’t exactly told them what he was planning on doing.
They’re going to be pissed when he comes back. He’ll need an explanation for Hamuko’s sudden reappearance, where he’s been for the past few months, how cryptic he'd been about this whole endeavor to Akihiko, etcetera etcetera. He could come up with a convincing lie if he had a little more time, but everything coming out of his mouth is going to sound suspicious considering he didn’t take his phone with him and Hamuko definitely won’t go along with the lie that he just found her. Accidentally. In the Metaverse, which he shouldn’t even be able to access.
He’s not actually sure when the Metaverse app got onto his phone. He knew about it, of course – Ken had gotten it when he was pulled in trailing the Phantom Thieves – but Mitsuru thought it too dangerous for anyone but Fuuka to enter after that, even Ken. While it would be nice to have all the Shadow Operatives with the Metaverse app on their phone, it’s just too risky to bring everyone in. His had just. . . appeared one day.
He hadn’t told Mitsuru – she hadn’t asked – and he wasn't actually around the rest of S.E.E.S. enough for them to realize that he had the app icon on his phone. Maybe Yukari, but he's not sure she even knows what it looks like. Either way, he could technically go into the Metaverse whenever he wants to, without anyone even realizing he has that capability.
Not, of course, that he should have any valid reason for going into the Metaverse in the first place. The Shadow Operatives are a background group, there in case things go wrong, a crutch to lean on if something happens to newer Persona users. Whatever is happening with this newest form of “world in which Personas can be summoned” isn’t particularly their business until it needs to be, and he’s not technically an official Shadow Operative anyways. Neither is Yukari – they’re public figures, so Mitsuru finds it a bit too risky.
The only reason he has to enter the Metaverse is for things the others would explicitly not approve of, so he keeps it a secret. He’s still going to have to find a way around explaining Hamuko’s sudden presence, though. (And his absence, because he’s sure “sudden Velvet Room business” won’t cut it when faced with Hamuko’s revival.)
Minato imagines telling them the truth.
“Oh, I’m so sorry for my sudden departure, Mitsuru-senpai. I’ve been secretly plotting to bring back Hamuko this entire time and needed a few months off to make preparations. Where have I been? Oh, still in Tokyo, just well hidden. Was it dangerous? Oh sure, I only thought I was going to die and take Hamuko’s place, no biggie.”
Yeah, not an option. He’ll have to think of a convincing lie to tell Hamuko as well, since she will one hundred percent be mad if he tells the truth. Maybe if he fudges it so it seems like he knew this would be the outcome? . . . She won’t believe that. She won’t believe anything he says, probably.
That is, assuming she’s mentally sound.
He heaves a sigh and tries to think of something more positive and less stressful. He’ll think of an excuse later. If it doesn’t work, at least Hamuko is alive. And they’ll stop being mad at him eventually. (Probably. Akihiko might take a while. He’s just. . . refusing to think about that one.)
Birthdays, that’s a positive – well, arguably. He thinks to all the birthdays he hasn’t celebrated in Hamuko’s absence. He’s still not quite sure any of their friends know their birthday – Mitsuru, perhaps, since she had access to their files and had reviewed them back when they first transferred to Gekkoukan. He knows she’ll never bring it up without his prompting. Akihiko probably knows, but if he does it's never come up. Minato doesn't celebrate it. It’s a sore date for all of them, even with the rest of them not knowing that Hamuko died on her 17th birthday. (Their 17th birthday.)
What will this next one be?
Their. . . 25th. Right. It’s not that close now. Just under half a year, at this point. Plenty of time for her to recover if she needs it. This one they can celebrate together, properly, without the weight of March 5th hanging over them. They can make up for all the missed birthdays and milestones, or something. He’s not quite sure what to do now that bringing her back has actually worked.
Not only worked, but failed to take him in the process.
He’ll have to ask Elizabeth and Theo about it, later when he sees them again. He was under the impression that he would die and take Hamuko’s place, not be left sitting next to her on the near-top floor of Mementos waiting for her to wake up. It was supposed to be Theo that greeted her, but there’s no sign of the attendant now. He must be running late; kind of rude, considering, but not altogether surprising or dangerous. They’d all been working under the assumption that Aigis would wait and protect her until such time as the attendants could arrive.
The sound of battle in the background has stopped. Minato waits patiently for Aigis to make her way back as promised, but after a few minutes she still hasn’t appeared. That’s. . . odd. None of these Shadows should be powerful enough to even give her a small dent, let alone incapacitate her.
A few more minutes pass. Still no sign of Aigis.
He stands cautiously and carefully makes his way onto the warped train tracks, making sure he holds his Evoker tightly in his hand. He can’t get too far from Hamuko, on the off chance that there are still Shadows lurking about, but he could at least wait for Aigis in the doorway. There’s nothing dangerous about at least that.
He checks the coast once he reaches the large doorway. Nothing. The eerie silence is starting to creep him out. Aigis battling had been almost comforting. But – there’s nothing he can do. He can’t leave Hamuko alone. Aigis is a robot, perhaps he could form a rescue team and repair her later.
He makes his way back to Hamuko’s still form, putting his Evoker up on the platform before he begins to hoist himself up.
There’s a sound behind him.
He turns, startled –