Personal Model - P5R

Warm Up - 1

I should actually work on Looming Falsehoods, but I need to write this first part while I'm thinking about it. Speaking of, if you like Shuichi, that's a book about him. I need to write the opening to Chapter 3, so check it out. #shamelessselfpromotion

Y/N's P.O.V.

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The bright white light hurts my eyes, just like every other time. 

The too-small dark blue table beckons me, and at the other end of the table sits the cousin I never see. 

"Welcome back," he greets me, putting the plastic teacup down. "It's been a little bit."

I roll my eyes and smile as the chair I pull out screeches against the floor. "Did you come to see me? Or did Nyx get boring again?"

"It's always boring, but I felt this was a good reason to pay a visit. No questions this time, not from you."

Oh, okay. Good. "So," I'm not really sure where to start, so I pick up my own plastic teacup. There's nothing in it, but it's soothing to go back to a simpler time. Rather, to pretend to. 

"So? Do you know where you are?" He tilts his head, his fringe moving up and down, then falling back to the same place. 

"I was hoping you'd have that answer, Makoto."

He crosses his right leg over his left, then balances his chin in his hand. His S.E.E.S. band creaks, and he brushes it in an attempt to fix it. "I'm not really sure where you are either. You're asleep for sure, but I don't know where your physical person is."

"That makes two of us." I pause and tap my palm on the table. "So, what brings you here?" I repeat my question. I don't want to leave where it's safe, but I don't know if I'm in immediate danger. I need to wake up and get out as soon as possible.

"I just want you to know you can do it."

"Do what?"

"You are..." he clicks his tongue and drops his hand. "About to save the world. There's not an easy way to put it, so there's no reason to sugarcoat it." His eyes bore into my soul, and I know he can see all the fear in my body. I can feel myself shaking; he doesn't need to pretend to not see it. "You are about to be responsible for saving the millions of people in Japan, possibly the billions in the world."

"I feel so small..." I don't realize the words have squeaked out of my mouth, but I feel shame when they do. "Would it be better for me to sit this one out?"

His face hardens as he frowns. "Don't ask stupid questions. If you were not fit to save the world, you wouldn't have been given a Persona. This is not your burden to carry alone. If it was, then you sure as hell wouldn't need me to mentor you, you'd have it figured out."

"I don't have it figured out, but I didn't ask for your help, that's for sure."

"You need it."

"I do, and you're an ass. But I do need it." This conversation is stressing me out. "What is your advice, oh Makoto of stone?"

He weighs his words carefully. The silence is heavy as I watch his eyes move back and forth, like the justice scale in court. "I need you to be willing to be a sacrifice."

"I already was willing," the words are stronger as they fall out of my mouth, but I hide behind them in my head. 

"No, I mean you need to be ready to..."

"...die. Yeah."

"Neither you nor I can predict what you are about to see, but my advice to you is to be ready to sacrifice yourself for the public."