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[He has good friends who are good to him... Minato just nods to both of them, expression softly content when they both come into view. Even if nothing comes of this... at least he knows some really good people here.]

Thank you both for coming, Kitagawa-san, Amano-san. I really appreciate it.

[Pleasantries first, before he dives into it!]

[Yusuke looks surprised... but lifts a hand leisurely to wave toward Maya as well before she joins them. SUP. This really is a party, what a motley gathering of persona-users.]

Of course.

[He tilts his head at Maya.] Amano-san. It's good to see you. [Hale and hearty and as enthusiastic as usual!!]

You too, Yusuke-kun!

I've gotta say though, this is a grouping I didn't expect. What's up, Minato-kun?

[ Given who he's called, she's guessing it's Persona-related, but she'll let Minato do the actual explaining here. ]

[It makes it easier that they know each other, not that Minato's surprised. Persona users seem to do that--gather, that is.

He just tilts his head a little, dragging in a slow breath.]

... Well, I wanted to ask for your help--both of you. You both know how I have to summon my Personas.

[Nobody needs the reminder that he has to put a gun to his head.]

I thought, maybe... I could learn how to do it without. More like how you two summon. [Even though they summon in very different ways. One of their ways must work for him, right?]

[Yusuke places his knuckles against his chin (very ala the Thinker statue, really) and it really doesn't take long to think of why Minato's may be looking for an alternate method. His way of summoning is extreme to say the least, and Yusuke doubts it's pleasant.]

I see... I'll lend my help, of course. But I've never tried showing or teaching another person how to call their Persona how I do, so I wonder where to start.

[Though he imagines the painful process he had to go through the first time. Minato's already a Persona-user, how would that work? Would he even need to? He looks at Maya like he's curious about her Persona summoning wisdom.]

[ Maya smiles ruefully; it's hard not to recall the first time she'd met Minato and just how horrified she'd been when he'd used such a painful-looking method to summon his Persona. ]

I really only know how to give someone a Persona. But... you know, even if we just talk it out and consider the kind of feelings we have while we're calling on them, maybe we can figure out something that will work for you.

[ A pause-- and then Maya smiles, warmly. ]

We'll do as much as we can. We're comrades, after all!

[Honestly... Minato has to admit with slight sheepishness:]

I don't really know where to start either, so... Amano-san's idea sounds pretty good to me. Are you two willing to tell me what it feels like when you're summoning your Personas? Or...when you manifest that costume for you, Kitagawa-san?

Yes, of course. [GOOD IDEA MAYA] I think that's an excellent way to proceed.

[Yusuke's thinking again, hand at his chin and adds:] Shall we speak about the first time we called upon our Personas, as well?

Well, for starters-- I'm assuming we were all in some kind of danger?

[ it seems like a common enough catalyst. ]

I'd be happy to tell you what it's like when I'm summoning Personas, but we'll probably want to find common ground where we can, too.

Right... that works for me.

[A beat.

And he admits, pretty easily:]

I was about to be killed by a Shadow. That's when I first summoned Orpheus.

I was... [Yusuke considers how to word it and how to distance his words from the personal aspect of it:]

I was finally confronting the truth about my mentor. As someone who had been corrupted by their own desires.

There was danger, as he had us surrounded by Shadows, but I felt under great pressure to accept and finally act on that truth as well.

I was attacked by demons summoned by a serial killer.

[ well. Okay. ]

... So for two of us, it was more the danger than anything. But Yusuke-kun had an additional thing to face?

I wonder if it's something more like conviction.

[... Huh...]

Your mentor...?

[???

Yeah, that's a lot for Minato to contemplate.]

Yeah, it's definitely a bit different for Kitagawa-san... I wonder why.

[Yusuke tilts his head with a frown.]

Though the danger itself was undeniable, it was not solely that...

[He then shifts his gaze back and forth between Maya and Minato.] Perhaps it relates to a person's individual nature itself. Their essence. You two may have had that capability to call upon a Persona easier than I, who was [he vaguely gestures] stuck for a long time, for lack of a better term.

Actually...

[ ... ]

Would you say you felt... trapped, at any point? Stagnant?

To me, a Persona is, more than anything else, potential. It's what you can become, but you have to acknowledge that much first.

[... Hmm...

He's mostly just looking between Maya and Yusuke curiously now; Minato's own situation is kind of...odd...so he's more interested in Yusuke's answer here.]

I did, for a long time, [Yusuke says, after a moment.

He hadn't used that exact word precisely because it's... too accurate, for his situation with Madarame. But he's come far enough and he respects Maya and Minato enough to explain what he can.]

I lied to myself and wouldn't acknowledge it as such for that long time, either. Until I was forced to accept the truth--and that is when I was able to call on my Persona.

[ Maya nods, expression thoughtful-- though she also reaches out to squeeze Yusuke's shoulder encouragingly. ]

Maybe it's not so much danger, as... the resolve to free yourself from feeling trapped. Which could apply to being in a dangerous situation, yes, but it also could apply to accepting that something isn't quite right to you and finding the power inside yourself to change it.

[... The resolve to free yourself, huh... Minato's expression is contemplative as he listens to both of them, hands tucked quietly in his pockets.]

I'm sure your situation was really hard, Kitagawa-san.

[He finally settles on that, voice soft.]

Even if you don't think you were in as much danger as we were... you were, still. Maybe not directly, like from Shadows, but...

[From someone who was taking advantage of him, or preventing him from seeing the truth? That's still danger too.]

But I agree with Amano-san. I think it really does come down to that resolve.

[Yusuke's a little, well, startled at the support from the two of them, gaze switching back and forth. Not surprised so much that they offered it, but that it came in such a situation when he wasn't precisely looking for it.]

...Yes.

[He pauses a beat, shakes his head.]

Perhaps so long as we carry some kind of resolve in us, we should be able to call upon our Personas. [He's focused his attention on Minato.] I cannot see why it should not be able to be harnessed by you as well to call upon yours in a different manner.

Your situation is not the same as mine, but different aspects of ourselves may create different resolves. [...] Maybe even a desire to be free from the way you currently call your Persona.

[ Maya really has nothing to contribute here, but she's nodding along. In a sense, Minato can probably do better with advice from someone else who's closer to his age, who's dealt with these things as a non-adult.

And besides, Yusuke definitely brings up a valid point. ]

[... Ah. Yeah. It is a valid point, and Minato... just sighs, head dipping a little.]

...Yeah. Maybe so. I can't seem to find a way to make it work, though. I--did try, with the werewolves, but I couldn't make it work.

[Life is hard, honestly, and also he almost got eaten.]

I need to figure out how to practice it.

[...]

In a not life or death situation.

Would it help in... not a life or death situation, but one where you still feel under pressure?

[Yusuke cups his chin.]

For example, sparring with one of us... Perhaps even doing something like meditating beforehand, to see if you can come closer to your Persona.

That's a good idea. The point is to get you comfortable with summoning, but it doesn't necessarily have to be in a situation where you don't have a choice.

[Huh...]

Sparring... yeah, maybe. That sounds like a good idea.

[He's tilting his head, expression contemplative.]

If either of you is okay with that...?

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