Welcome To Hashi High: A Persona 3, 4, and 5 Crossover

The True Inner Self

Escaping the confines of the temple was harder than the three leaders originally thought. The place was a maze of jail cells, most of them empty. The only way they could even track where they had been was through Akira's third eye, and even that was limited. There were cultists and Shadows around every corner, so progress was slow.

Akira leaned out from a wall, scanning a wider hallway lined with shackles. He hated it here, it reminded him of the old Velvet Room, where he was chained to his own heart. The energy rubbed him the wrong way, constantly making him feel on edge. It was worse than the first two temples, and at least in those he felt like he could breathe.

"Akira."

At a gentle nudge from Minato, Akira's attention snapped back to the hallway. He had gotten distracted and overlooked a figure laying limp and chained to the middle of the hallway floor. After a moment of staring with the third eye open, he decided that they weren't a threat. He slunk forward, nodding at the others to follow.

The person in the hallway was wearing a standard prisoner outfit. The shackles on their wrists seemed to melt into the floor, and there was a ball and chain around their right foot. As Akira stepped closer, he felt worry and concern starting to spark through him. Something's wrong. Even so, he felt himself moving closer towards the figure, desiring to help them.

"Akira, wait."

Yu's composed voice stopped him in his tracks. He turned back around to see the gray haired boy glaring at the prisoner. Akira felt his heart drop as he turned back. He recognized why he felt close to them. The messy black hair, the tattered outfit, the sharply curving jawline, all of it screamed his name. This was what he looked like in the Velvet Room last year. And now that he was close, he could hear the muffled sobs that wracked this figure's body.

"I don't know how you managed to miss this, but that's a Shadow." Yu's voice was dripping with...well, Akira wasn't sure what all was in there, but it wasn't anything good. His arms shook as he whipped his dagger from the fold of his coat. If it's a Shadow, then we have to kill it.

"I'm nothing but a prisoner."

Akira stopped again. His own voice called out as the Shadow leaned over backwards, its bright yellow eyes glimmering. It had tear stained cheeks as well as cuts and bruises from the restraints. It spoke again, sending Akira into a deeper panic.

"I'm shackled down to fate, a prisoner of destiny. I'm supposed to be jailed. I'm nothing but a criminal."

"No...No I'm not." Akira wasn't sure what had led to him saying this. His voice trembled as the Shadow stood up, the chains in the floor pulling up as if being pulled from sand. The sobs turned into cackles.

"You think everyone is chained down like you!" No! I don't feel that way! "And anyone who isn't is just better than you!" There was a sharp clink as Akira's knife hit the floor before he put his hands over his ears. It didn't do anything to block out the Shadow's scalding words. "You drag everyone around like they're dogs, all because you think they can't change! Even those two! You think they'll never change!"

"No! I swear, I don't think that!" Akira turned to Yu and Minato in desperation. "This isn't m-"

"Stop."

Yu's voice penetrated his panic. Akira blinked a few times at the gray haired boy, noticing how those light gray eyes were soft for once. Minato looked soft as well, less indifferent and more friendly. Almost.

"While I don't think that's your real Shadow, it's fashioned after you. That's you. You need to accept it."

"But it's not! I don't think that way."