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.
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.
[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. ]
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.
[ And Maya will take the Evoker, doing a bit of a double take when she spots Yusuke doing-- whatever the heck that was. Magically changing his clothes??
Minato just drags in a slow breath, following Yusuke to that clear area amongst the trees. He feels...totally, completely naked without his Evoker in hand; he can at least swap Personas to Byakko to try to minimize the damage he knows Yusuke can do with his ice, but he still won't be able to do much if he can't figure out how to summon.
Another slow breath.
Just hesitating over this forever won't help him.]
Yusuke watches him closely, like he's taking in the hesitation, glancing over to Maya before he raises his hand to his mask.]
Here I come.
[It feels somewhat like he's attacking someone defenseless, but he's imagining they're going to have to put that sense of danger and urgency in Minato. So he rips off his mask and Kamu Susano-o appears, sending a blast of ice with a wave of his giant sword.]
[ Carry on, boys. Maya's going to watch, but if it looks like Minato's actually in trouble, she'll step in. She's got healing spells, anyway, just in case. ]
In truth, while he doesn't need that now... he might, eventually. He stares Yusuke down, and that blast of ice comes his way, and Minato can feel his Personas in his mind, he knows they're there, but--
He can't reach them. He doesn't know how to reach them without his Evoker, and trying to reach out to them just distracts him; he ends up taking that ice head on, though at least it's render mostly unproblematic by Byakko's strong resistance to the element.
He still hast to lift his arms to shield his face as it slams into him, though, taking a step back and shaking ice shards from his sleeves. It should be his turn now. He should summon his Persona, and launch an attack at Yusuke in return and--
He can't. He's just left standing there, brow furrowed fiercely, but utterly unable to call upon any of them, no matter how hard he tries.
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Your mentor...?
[???
Yeah, that's a lot for Minato to contemplate.]
Yeah, it's definitely a bit different for Kitagawa-san... I wonder why.
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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.
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[ ... ]
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.
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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.]
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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.
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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.
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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.
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...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.
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And besides, Yusuke definitely brings up a valid point. ]
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...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.
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[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.
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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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[He smiles as he nods, a short dip of his head.]
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Fair enough.
[HONESTLY...]
Probably one at a time, though... I can't really say I'd be able to take on both of you very well.
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[Just to prompt urgent enough of a circumstance that he's able to summon his persona...]
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[ AKA they are teenage boys. ]
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In that case... [He'll step over to Maya, to hand over his Evoker.]
Can you hold onto this for me?
[It's not going to work if he can just rely on his Evoker all the time, right?]
Kitagawa-san, if you're willing then... let's do this.
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[Yusuke waves his hand and his mask appears, coupled with his fancy thief outfit. I mean, as you do.
He glances around them but he'll head to a slightly clear space, ready to go.]
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Persona users sure have come far, haven't they? ]
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Minato just drags in a slow breath, following Yusuke to that clear area amongst the trees. He feels...totally, completely naked without his Evoker in hand; he can at least swap Personas to Byakko to try to minimize the damage he knows Yusuke can do with his ice, but he still won't be able to do much if he can't figure out how to summon.
Another slow breath.
Just hesitating over this forever won't help him.]
... Okay. Ready.
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Yusuke watches him closely, like he's taking in the hesitation, glancing over to Maya before he raises his hand to his mask.]
Here I come.
[It feels somewhat like he's attacking someone defenseless, but he's imagining they're going to have to put that sense of danger and urgency in Minato. So he rips off his mask and Kamu Susano-o appears, sending a blast of ice with a wave of his giant sword.]
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In truth, while he doesn't need that now... he might, eventually. He stares Yusuke down, and that blast of ice comes his way, and Minato can feel his Personas in his mind, he knows they're there, but--
He can't reach them. He doesn't know how to reach them without his Evoker, and trying to reach out to them just distracts him; he ends up taking that ice head on, though at least it's render mostly unproblematic by Byakko's strong resistance to the element.
He still hast to lift his arms to shield his face as it slams into him, though, taking a step back and shaking ice shards from his sleeves. It should be his turn now. He should summon his Persona, and launch an attack at Yusuke in return and--
He can't. He's just left standing there, brow furrowed fiercely, but utterly unable to call upon any of them, no matter how hard he tries.
...Dammit.]
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