Life Will Change Book 2

Chapter 39: Zenkichi's Regrets

Begin

~Normal POV

It was a harrowing experience getting back to the bar by herself, but Futaba had managed it somehow. She'd never run so fast in her life. She dead-bolted the door behind her and paced around the room anxiously trying to organize her thoughts.

Futaba would be the first to admit that outside the Metaverse she wasn't as useful as everyone else. Akira had all the connections. Makoto had all the brains. Ryuji had all the muscle... But Futaba? She was most useful with a keyboard and a comfy desk chair. She wasn't dumb, not by any means, but her intellect was with computers and phones and video games. She was, in every sense of the word, a techie. Even in the Metaverse, she was nothing more than mission control; not that she minded, she enjoyed her position very much. Her Persona was not built for combat. Her job was to fuck with the battlefield and guide them the right direction. Neither of which would help her in this situation.

It had also been a long time since she was without her family- not physically, but in the way of being completely isolated from them and their assistance. She couldn't reach them in the Metaverse and as such, they likely cannot find a way out on their own. Futaba had thought that her family would always be there for her in some way, but she hadn't been expecting this turn of events...

Tears filled her eyes. "I- I'm really alone..." She muttered to herself. "I haven't been alone in so long... What am I gonna do?!"

She then felt as if the Necronomicon was putting sense back into her as she suddenly slapped herself and said. "Damn it, get a hold of yourself, Oracle! You can fix this! All you have to do is traverse a deadly Jail full of monsters without getting... spotted... or you'll be killed... And so will everyone you care about..." Her resolve diminished entirely by the end of her thought.

"Oh god! Everyone's counting on me and I can't help them!"

Her resolve came back again as she kept talking to herself. "No- No! Shut up! You can do this! You punched your mother's killer in the face! You can save your family!"

She kept pacing while going back and forth with herself like this, endlessly thinking about the worst case scenarios. What if she couldn't save everyone and had to go back to Sojiro all alone? What if they all died in there and she had to be the one to tell their families and loved ones what happened?! What if she died in there and nobody told Sojiro! It'd completely destroy him if anything happened to her! And what about her school, and Kana-chan? What would she think if her friend suddenly vanished without a trace? Or Kazuo? He'd be waiting up online for hours on end hoping to talk to her like normal but she just wouldn't answer anymore without explanation... So many things could go wrong with this mission. What on earth was she going to-

The door to the bar jiggled loudly behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She panicked and quickly grabbed an empty bottle off the shelf. She could do this, right? She'd seen Ryuji do it a million times- you just swing without thinking. No cop was gonna take her without a fight!

The mystery person unlocked the door and came down the stairs in a hurry. It was Zenkichi!

"Sakura!" He said, smiling. "Oh, thank heavens you're alright!"

"Zenkichi!" Futaba quickly dropped her bottle and ran over to hug him tight around his middle.

Zenkichi flinched a little from the sudden affection but didn't mind it. "Uh..." He gently patted her back. "Nice to see you too..." He then noticed they were alone here. "Where are the others? Did they make it?!"

Futaba was too busy crying into his shirt. "You're ok! I'm so glad..."

He could see that she was having it rough right now. He pulled away from her hug, but not in a rude way, and held her by the shoulders. "Calm down, of course I'm ok. Now, where's your family? Are they alright?"