Persona - Mask of Origins

"Just as long as she doesn't want to persue a romantic relationship with me. Yuki would probably try and kill her.

 

Callen nodded and waved his finger at Ari, "Hear that Ari, he doesn't want you to bother him so much." Ari snatched Callen's finger and bit it, "Toji...said not to pursue romantic relationship....not leave him alone..." Zain ruffled her hair like a child, "I don't think she knows what a romantic relationship is." Standing, Ari stood behind Zain and rested her chin on his head, "Ari likes Zain-Sensei best." Zain frowned and said, "Well that's never good."

 

"I think she really likes you, Zain."

 

Zain gave him a cold look, "I don't think it'd be wise of me to get involved with a shadow. I still have to find a way to get Cara back." Zero lifted his head, "Cara? You mean this Cara?" He pulled out an old black and white picture of Cara. "Huh, y-yeah. But how do you know her? Why does that picture look so old?" "Cara's been dead for a few lifetimes. She was going to be my fiancee." "No, the Cara I know was shy. She wouldn't have been engaged to a shadow and not tell me. After all that time we spent together?"

 

"How odd." Toji said.

 

Zain stood and Ari wrapped her arms around Zain's waist. "What are you trying to say to me, shadow? That Cara was lying about who she was? For what gain?" "Perhaps no gain. I'm saying, I believe Cara may be one of those souls who keeps their form no matter how many times reborn. She's gone again, isn't she. You might as well give up trying to bring her back. For I think she's already dead." Zain sat back down, making Ari move back. "If she is dead...then that means Orphan is dead too. I didn't think persona's could die." "Orphan...is a crystal beast from legend. Myth."

 

Yuki listened in and sighed.

 

Callen sighed, pulling at a loose thread on his coat, "Enough of this idle talk of myths. Toji...we came back because you said you had more questions. If there's anything we can try to answer, we will. It's not like we have anything to hide." "Nothing that would be important to a human that is."

 

"I was curious about why you helped Zain make the cure."

 

Callen looked at Zain, watching him turn his face away. "He paid the price. For my blood, he let me have his. Those who resist the shadow's change, have halfling blood. Half human, half shadow. It's exceptionally delicious. Human blood is second to that, but shadow blood is disgusting. And...I owed Zain a favor for all these years of making sure I was safe where I was. You see, this man...Mircea Deathchild, is an exceptional scientist, but his ways are a bit like your father's. After being changed into something like this by your father, Toji, Dr. Deathchild found me and even worse things were done to me. Zain's father saved my life and as a small boy, Zain saved me afterwards too. With his blood."

 

"I see. So it was just to repay a debt."

 

"Exactly. But now I've grown so used to the boy, what would I do with my time without him?" Zain still couldn't look at Callen, "Thanks for reminding me."

 

"Odd relationship there."

 

Callen laughed, "You think so?" "It's not just odd, it's wrong. Very wrong. A shadow shouldn't be attatched to a human." Zain felt better calling himself a human than a shadow now.

 

"Such is life, I suppose."

 

Zain shook off Ari and left, "Toji...shut up." Ari trailed after him like a lost puppy.

Zero finally snapped, "Why are we still sitting here?! I swear father, you've become lazy in your old age." "And you don't enjoy sitting in a nice house once in a while? Rather be treated like dirt in the shadow society? Go ahead and be my guest. Zero, I'd rather be scorned here, where at least we can stay for the moment than offered a home of our own in a place where everyone will try to murder you in your sleep."

 

Toji shrugged and went to work in the lab.

 

Zero couldn't stand be be around his father any longer. He reluctantly followed Toji to his lab. "What's all this for?"

Zain dozed on the couch. Being human was exhausting, especially with Ari hanging off him. She curled half in his lap and half on the couch beside him.

 

"Just experiments I do in my spare time."

 

His eyes narrowed on him, "Experiments...?" he spit out the word like poison and kept his harsh gray stare on Toji.