Persona 3: Whispers in the Dark

Story: Persona 3: Whispers in the Dark

Storylink: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10204141/1/
Category: Persona Series
Genre: Adventure/Angst
Author: A Dog in Fox Clothing
Authorlink: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4425895/
Last updated: 02/13/2016
Words: 136233
Rating: T
Status: In Progress
Content: Chapter 1 to 39 of 39 chapters
Source: FanFiction.net
Summary: Minato has had the ability to talk to Shadows for more than half his life. A Persona user and a wielder of
Shadows, how can SEES trust their leader? Will he care? Will he turn to apathy? To love? To sweet agony? Is it help he
seeks? When no-one else could, I heard his whispers. I shall answer.

*Chapter 1*: Withdrawn Voices

Current Edit: 04/02/16
Chapters 21 or so were worked on with Nightly7, with Raidou The 16th as beta for the original chapter.
Warning: Themes relating to self-harm and mental illness are present in later chapters. Read at your own discretion.

Music blocked out the world.

The occasional clatter from the train was faint in his ears as Lotus Juice and Yumi Kawamura spat rhymes and repeated
'burn my dread' like a mantraa saying to discard your fear.
Minato couldn't and wouldn't attempt to sing along even if he wanted to, however catchy the lyrics were. He wouldn't be
able to hear himself over the guitars. They served to fuel his love for rap, rock and metal. That and rather unfortunately,
he couldn't speak much in an articulate sense.
Leaning comfortably against the wall of the train, he listened out for the announcements. The PA repeated, "The next
stop is Iwatodai." A decade ago, it was his home. With a small sigh, his overcast eyes scanned the nearly empty train.
Now, he was heading back because of the scholarship he'd managed to receive for the most prestigious high school in
the area: Gekkoukan High School. Out of anxiousness, perhaps, he began and immediately regretted chewing on his lip,
which was habitually chapped and raw.
There was another man on the carriage, slumped in his seat. He struggled to stay awake and his breaths carried
weight. What kind? Minato could try and figure it out.
Although his memory was foggy, he knew a few things for sure. First: his parents were dead. Iwatodai, while his home
from long ago, was where they and his sanity had come to die. His aunt had urged him to return to Iwatodai and
complete his schooling there, despite her knowing what associations he had with it.
He shook his head. Second: From that day, ten years ago, he'd experienced a variety of things. Things of oddity and
terror. What he'd decided to pass the time with while on the last stretch of the journey was one of those things.
Perhaps out of boredom and perhaps out of concern, he concentrated and spoke aloud, his gunmetal eyes glinting with
a dash of cyan light. Minato heard, although the man certainly wasn't talking to anybody, or himself, "I really suck at my
job I'm worthless I should stop maybe if I disappeared, no-one would notice"
Sometimes, he thought that the white collar class in Japan was being driven too hard. Women desired less and less to
start families, men's relationships with women were strained and often resulted in divorce or were simply unhappy
marriages. Well hey. There was a reason why the birth rates in Japan were declining.
Sobering thoughts pervaded Minato's mind and he stifled a half-hearted chuckle as he formulated a response to the
voice, playing muted and on repeat in the background. It was a wonder that he could hear it over 'Mass Destruction' now
blasting in his ears.
"Everyone can tell that your week has sucked. Did you know that?" Instead of Minato's usual voice, an almost frantic
mutter or mumble characterised by breathy tones rushed from his mouth.
"I could guess," the dark voice replied.
Minato almost laughed. "Yup, keep getting the bad ends from work, work late to make up for it, use it as an excuse to
avoid your probably unloving wife and be absolutely terrified of returning home, dreading every moment that you get
closer on this train?" he presumed, predicting his answer.
There was a pause. "Yeah." The voice sighed wistfully.
Shoving his hands in his pockets as the familiar arpeggio of notes came from the PA, making a final announcement as
they pulled into the station. "Well, sorry I can't talk much more but uh yeah. I can't tell you what you can and can't do but
if you're thinking of throwing yourself off a train platform soon or doing something else like that
"Personally, I think you'll regret ever making that choice more than if you found even something little to keep yourself
going. Like a friend or a hobby?" Minato resisted shrugging, although that was exactly what he wanted to do.

The voice fell silent for a moment. "Are you speaking from experience?"
Knitting his eyebrows in thought, Minato replied, "Maybe. Like I said, up to you. I can't and won't stop you." There was a
small whirr accompanied by a long, synthesised note as the train doors opened. "See ya."
The presence that he'd spoken to and its voice faded as Minato sighed and approached the gates leading out from the
station. He removed a pamphlet as he observed the clock overhead, which read '11:58'.
Considering how dark it was, Minato knew he should be hurrying to his designated dormitory. It was supposed to be a
placeholder before he could be moved to the boys' dorm.
The first of many strange things that he'd been able to do was talk to a person's inner subconscious and hear their
words if they were in thought. Going by Jungian terminology, Minato called them 'Shadows': an unconscious aspect of
the personality which the conscious ego does not identify in itself.
Something like that. Wikipedia wasn't always reliable.
Anyways, he figured that if a psychologist had an ability like he had, they'd probably make a fortune or become
traumatised by what the hell they had to deal with. He'd never heard or seen anyone with what he called 'Shadow
Whispers' before.
If nothing else but the ability to talk to Shadows, it was great for cursing when he didn't want people to know he was.
Accompanied by this strange ability wasas he passed the gate, his watch read 12:00the ethereal world that coated
the norm.
He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but what he saw was all too striking.
Darkness hung over the streets, with ominous illumination from the monstrous moon above lighting puddles of blood
spread over the road and coffins standing upright where he thought people were. Stained with murky green tints, in a
rather morbid sense, the colours reminded him of Christmas.
A really dank Christmas, where coffins replacing humans served as decoration and strange creatures lurked. They didn't
give out presents.
Still, he continued walking. Minato sometimes looked at his flyer and at the surrounding streets, confirming that he was
going in the right direction.
On occasion, he saw odd, amorphous and black creatures roaming around. Last time that he'd encountered one of
them, it turned into a sad impression of Hulk Hogan and almost pummelled him ten ways to Sunday.
And no-one liked wrestling after that night.
In all seriousness, he found himself cursing on impulse and he'd noticed that the weird creature was laughing whenever
he did so.
By an informed guess, Minato thought that maybe those creatures were Shadows too, but uh outside the human
body? It was weird. He didn't question it and hadn't confirmed it as such, but it was plausible.
As plausible as strange creatures lurking in some alternate time or dimension and talking to said creatures could be,
anyways.
He didn't exactly hate the time of Shadows because they were attacking him sometimes (although that was definitely an
issue) in a brutal lesson of improvised weapons and defending one's self. Minato hated it because it cut out his mp3
and electronics' power while he was in it. He could deal with Shadows now, however loosely. But turning off his music?!
That was just a crime.
After about what he thought was twenty minutes or so, he arrived. The rust bricked building standing three storeys above
him matched the picture on his brochurewhat he could make out from it anyways. The address matched and all.
With that in mind, he entered, surprised to find that it wasn't locked. Convenient for him, he supposed.
An eerie pall of silence reigned in the lobby. He made out a counter nearby to his left, couch and table to the right, some
partitions further ahead

Wait, why was the light near the counter working? His interest was definitely piqued.
There, he saw a boy, perhaps ten years old, garbed in black and white striped pyjamas. His pale skin and cyan blue
eyes which seemed to glow in the dim lighting definitely stood out. "You're late," the kid pointed out. Minato approached,
now making out his short, dark hair and the beauty mark under his left eye.
Raising an eyebrow, Minato's train of thought was running at one-hundred miles an hour. Who was this kid? Why wasn't
he in a coffin? Why were the lights working here?
How the hell did he teleport, sitting on the counter when he was standing before?
"But I know why. It's because the trains were delayed, right?" the child said before Minato could even comment on his
statement. But yes, he was right. Someone, perhaps in a daze, had thrown themselves off the platform straight into the
speeding train. It was pasted all over the news on TVs and online. Needless to say, it had taken a while to calm the
situation and investigate the scene. "Anyways I need you to sign this contract here."
Gesturing to a folder, sitting neatly on the table next to the docked pen, it opened without any hand contact and flipped
open to the lone page within. Alarm bells were definitely going off in Minato's mind. Sometimes he really thought he was
crazy.
But he'd never seen telekinesis the likes of what he was witnessing just then.
Why the hell did he feel calm, then?
"Don't worry. All it says is that you will take full responsibility for your actions. You know. The usual stuff." 'Usual stuff', his
foot. Minato had little idea of what that meant. Still, he felt compelled to do as the boy had said.
It readannoyingly enough, in English'I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.' Not to mention the whole 'ye olde
England' thing it was going for. Through all common sense, he picked up the pen and signed his name in kanji, 'Minato
Arisato', on the line below the rather short sentence.
When Minato had finished, the boy smiled, picking up the contract, reading it over, before hugging it against his chest.
"No-one can escape time," he stated, making Minato raise an eyebrow. "It delivers us all to the same end." He lifted his
hand, the contract disappearing into thin air. "You cannot cover your eyes or plug your ears."
Again, he teleported (if Minato could learn how to do that from the kid if he somehow saw him again, he was definitely
going to ask) behind him, where the meagre counter light died against the overwhelming dark.
The shadows wrapped around the boy, taking him in, melting into the umbra. "And so it begins" With those mysterious
words, he disappeared.
Taking a moment to register what spectacle he'd just witnessed, Minato noticed that the lights were cut off as well,
leaving the lobby in black and green. He could barely see, once again.
Shaking his head, Minato took a few steps towards what he thought was a staircase when he heard from above him,
front and centre, "Who's there?!"
He thought it was a girl's voice and oddly enough, he couldn't feel the presence of a Shadow from this person. Minato
could, however, see that there was something silver near her leg and its glint stood out in the darkness. As she was
about to grab for it, another voice came, "Takeba, wait!"
Turning back to face the voice, her and Minato's eyes were drawn towards the new, commanding presence in the room.
It was then that the murk disappeared, revealing the two females up the first flight of stairs as the lights flickered on.
'Mass Destruction' came back in full force. Awesome. Music withdrawals wouldn't do for him.
The first girl was a brunette with milky, brown eyes. If Minato didn't know any better, he would've said that she was
probably decently popular at the school. She wore a pink blazer over her shirt, grey skirt, knee-high socks and loafers.
The girlactually, lady or woman behind herlooked more like a senior in age, and similarly to her junior, was wearing
a white, long-sleeved shirt, skirt and knee-high boots. Her complexion was that of snow, her hair like wine and eyes of
similar colour.
"I didn't think you'd arrive so late," the senior began. Minato supposed it was supposed to be an ice-breaker. "My name is
Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students at this dorm, and this" she gestured to the girl in front of her. "This is Yukari

Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you."

Her voice was still shaky. Yukari gave Minato a half-hearted, "Uh, hey."
Briefly wondering why she seemed so nervous, he introduced, "Yeah. Minato Arisato."
Yukari could barely make out what he said, but she'd read his profile before then. Rather thankfully, she didn't have to
strain to hear him, however guilty she felt. "Anyways, your journey must've been tiring. Takeba will show you to your
room," Mitsuru said, leaving the scene.
"Oh, right. Um, follow me." Minato stifled a heavy sigh as they walked to the boys' section of the dorm. They stopped at
the end of the hallway of that floor. "This is your room," she said. "Our curfew's at eleven, so make sure you come back
then and sign your name off at the roster on the counter," Yukari warned. "Make sure you don't lose your keys, otherwise
you'll never hear the end of it."
"right. Thanks. Is that from experience?" He asked slowly, not out of fatigue or because he didn't have the words. It was
mostly because if he spoke any faster, he'd probably make a mistake.
She rubbed the back of her head. "Sorta" Yukari admitted. It turned out that she didn't lose the key to her room and
even though it turned out that she'd just misplaced it somewhere in the dorm, Mitsuru was not amused. "Um Actually,
on the way here, did you see anything strange?"
Minato raised an eyebrow. He could say something vaguely witty in response, but he felt like he wanted sleep more than
he wanted to explain. Eventually, he shook his head.
Studying his expression, she came up with nothing. His blank face didn't give any emotion away. "Ah, I see. That's good."
Yukari sighed in relief. "Anyways, I know you might have more questions but let's save them for later, okay?"
Spinning his keychain, Minato nodded.
Yukari seemed satisfied with that. "Okay. Well, I'll see you in the morning."
As she left for her room, Minato turned to his, put his belongings down and changed, ready for the Sandman.

*Chapter 2*: Less Mending, More Suffocating

The island was pretty. The train ride felt like you were gliding over the ocean. Thank you for the information Yukari. Minato
most definitely cared and knew he was going to like her a lot. It most definitely wasn't because he couldn't talk to her
Shadow.
"Hey, were you even listening?"
She turned Minato to face her. He hadn't once responded and it made her more than unnerved.
He scoffed before nodding. The music in his ears was suffocating him in his world. From what he'd seen of Iwatodai so
faror what little he'd bothered to pay attention tohe wasn't sure he liked it. Did he like it before he came back? Not
sure.
Yukari sighed and beckoned him out the doors as the monorail sailed to a stop as workers and students alighted. The
masses moved in and out as if the system they had to follow was broken. Some people went to nearly the same places
as others and some people didn't. That was how it worked. The water was going to drown him, with all the others
fighting to get another breath of air.
"Uh, are you okay?" She'd noticed he spaced out.
He nodded again. Geez, what kind of response was that? "We need to move," he said shortly.
Yukari gazed at him for a moment. "Right." Calm down it would only take a few more minutes and she wouldn't have to
deal with him for another six hours.
She barely mentioned the mall, docks and ferries around Port Island as they passed. Minato had wondered before why
they would bother making Port Island with all the money they seemed to waste. He'd tried to find out but he was lazy
and he wasn't them. He didn't wish to be them.
The whispers of students' Shadows dribbled about, spittle spattering about the following: school sucking; the reasons
why they couldn't go home; and the fact that they could be fapping to some hentai at that moment. Those were just some
of the guys. The girls were basically talking about the same, but add in some stuff about 'life oh-so-totally sucks(ing)' and
how much of a slut Eriko was.
It was the same thing over and over again. It wasn't rare to find a repressed Shadow from a bulled student. Would they
acknowledge it? Would it consume them? Would they die before that? It was almost scary.
He'd be afraid of his own Shadow consuming him. He knew he had one. He didn't know the words, but he knew. He
couldn't understand the growling and the snarling, but he could feel the roar of the chained beast. What if it was
unleashed?
What if Yukari could finish her already short tour and let him go to the faculty office? Bad memories were coming and he
wanted to get them over with. He transferred a lot and became kinda used to it, but was accosted by a sneering
companion under the apathy. It twitched. You'd see it move in the smallest of cracks in his handmade shell.
"Ten years ago, your parents" The teacher gasped.
Time wouldn't freeze, but she'd almost felt like it did with his cold eyes. Were they alive? Could he tell? Did he care?
Could the teacher shut up and lead him to wherever the auditorium was already? Minato shrugged, telling the teacher
not to harp on it.
Put it shortly: he could remember jack shit. It was a blur of erased marks, locked up deep in his recessesnothing he'd
remember soon. But when he found out what caused his life to go veering off-road and off a cliff, Minato knew he'd
mutilate it and bring it bloody death.
"I'm sorry. I haven't had time to read this beforehand" She shook her head. "My name is Isako Toriumi. Your class is 2F. That's my class."
"Okay."
"The morning address should be starting soon, so I'll lead you to the auditorium." He only focused on ignoring everything
around him. His music ate away reality as the time just passed. In the middle of the principal's drawl and in the middle of
the fading cacophony, a pit in his stomach formed. It was a headache and a load of annoyance from the Shadow

Whispers coming through.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"
He snapped his head towards the mosquito behind him. "What."
Back off. "You came to school with Yukari-san this morning, didn't you? Do you know if she has a boyfriend?"
Static razed his mind. "No. Find out yourself." The mosquito opened its mouth to continue, but"Good luck stealing her
panties."
Whispers over whispers rose. "I hear some students talking. They're from Toriumi's class!" Minato heard the boardscratching over the racket.
"Shh. You'll get me into trouble," she hissed.
Well, it wasn't his fault that he was yet another horny teen. Minato rolled his eyes and sank into his chair, hoping the
howling hollowness would be smothered. The voices were almost starting to overpower his music as they were soon
directed towards their homerooms.
"We have a new student joining our class today," Toriumi-sensei began, quieting the students.
Minato slid the door open, walked to the blackboard and scratched kanji onto it. It was just his luck that Yukari was in his
class. "I'm Minato Arisato. Nice to meet you," he introduced through gritted teeth.
As Toriumi went on with her lecture, Minato laid his head on his folded arms and tried to break from reality. Surprisingly,
he was interrupted by nothing but a capped dick. "Hey, dude." Minato turned towards the sleep stealing bastard.
"School's over!" he grinned.
"I see. Who are you?"
"My name's Junpei Iori!" he introduced. "But you can just call me Junpei. I transferred here when I was in the eighth
grade. Thought I'd be nice and see how you're doing." A grin spread across his face.
"I'm okay. I want to go home." Minato shrugged.
"Oh I guess I know how you feel" It wasn't very convincing. Now that he thought about it, Minato could feel a Shadow
which he couldn't get at.
"Yeah. Sorry, but later." He stood and was about to pick up his bag but
"Oh, uh! I do just wanna ask why you were with Yukari-chan in the morning. People've been talking about that all day,"
Junpei said quickly. Minato would've answered but
"Ugh, at it again huh?" I swear Junpei, don't you think that he better things to do than wanting to talk to you?"
"Whoa there dragon-lady, I was just being friendly!"
"I'm just kidding. How was your first day?" Yukari asked.
Must. Suppress. Eye rolling. "Okay."
"That's good." Yukari nodded, seeming to be unperturbed by his curtness. "Hey, you haven't told anyone, have you?"
What was she talking about? He shook his head.
"Oh good. But seriously, don't tell anyone about last night," she continued. Minato groaned.
"I haven't said anything, if you're finished drawing attention to yourself."
Yukari seemed stunned silent and Junpei still had his curious face on. "Last night?" Junpei asked. Of course she would
go and raise a fuss, huh?
"Nothing happened." Minato resisted pinching the bridge of his nose.
"See?"

"I'm not interesting enough to fuck, so of course not." He also resisted his snort of laughter. Cue the outrage in three
two
"What!?" Yukari glared at Minato.
"Yup. Jump on my gun when we've only just met while security cameras watch our every move." He leaned back in his
seat. "Kinky."
"Tch you're just like the rest, aren't you?" She suppressed her growl.
"You brought this on yourself." Minato shrugged before striding out the room, blocking out the looks from the crowd.
"Wait man!"
Junpei burst from the doors and grabbed Minato's shoulder. "Why'd you say that to Yukari?"
He flinched from his hand and flung it away as he turned. Minato could've said something but Shrug. Walk off. He
could hear them talking about him and shook his head. This was nothing he needed.
"How dare that asshole"
"Even the new guy is a jerk"
"How could he be so cute but be so mean?"
Argh! He almost ran to the station.
"How was your day?" Mitsuru asked as he entered the lobby. There was someone else with her, shoulder length mullet,
and glasses. Shady, yet friendly. Nice.
Minato sighed and tilted his hand to indicate 'it was okay'. He was totally lying, of course.
"I see." Mitsuru nodded after a moment. "I won't try to keep you then. I would just like to introduce you to the chairman,"
she said, indicating him.
"Thank you Mitsuru. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the chairman of the board for your school," he explained with a friendly,
yet shady smile. There was something about this man and his Shadow that set Minato on edge. He had to endure.
Unfortunately, this person actually looked kinda important. "Ikutsuki, hard to say isn't it? Even I get a little tongue-tied
sometimes."
Minato just nodded along. Maybe his assumption was wrong. Maybe this guy was just kinda friendly, shady and
eccentric. "Do you have any questions that you'd like to ask?" Ikutsuki asked.
He shook his head, earning a satisfied smile from the chairman. "Then I hope you have a successful school year. You
must be tired from all the excitement! Be sure to get some rest! After all, the early bird catches the bookworm!"
Nod. Minato chose to pretend that pun didn't happen.
"Then I'll see you another time, Arisato," Mitsuru said.
He nodded in her direction before making his way upstairs. Well, Mitsuru-senpai didn't seem horrible. It was just a
guess.
Sleep came quickly that evening, although his mind was plagued with the thoughts of the day. He turned to his side and
closed his eyes.

"He seems to be fast asleep," Mitsuru noted as the Dark Hour fell. Any normal person would transmogrify into a coffin,
but it did not appear to be the case for Arisato. He just stayed asleep, apparently so used to it that he wouldn't even stir.
On the other hand, Yukari was torn between feeling guilty for spying on him and feeling mad about that afternoon. She
wouldn't like it if someone watched her during the night without her permission either. Too bad that wouldn't stop him
from coming off as a jerk. "I feel kinda bad, spying on him like this," she mumbled.
"It is unfortunate, but we are in desperate need of new members." Ikutsuki sighed. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable

working in someone that's in your grade, Yukari-san?"

"Uh well, yeah, but" she stammered. That would be true; Mitsuru was too standoffish and Akihiko seemed nice, but
couldn't talk to him about anything. Unfortunately, said person in her year was a jerk.
"In any case, we're going to have to investigate a little longer for any signs of the potential," Mitsuru mused aloud. "We'll
come back tomorrow to check on him. Let's get some rest for the night."

Minato had a dream.

He sat in an armchair, seeming motionless. His body wouldn't respond to his calls.
There was a black thing that crawled around the floor and walls. It came closer every moment. His heartbeat thundered.
His breaths poured from his lungs.
Then, the thing climbed over his nose, covered his mouth and hugged his ears. "Shh" He felt faint. Minato's senses
were feasted upon. It raked its spindly nails over his arms and legs, summoning shivers through him.
A nightmare. An old friend.
He woke up the next morning, dead, although he could finally breathe.

Edited: 12/06/15
AN: Haha, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter.
For those who read before, thanks for the general compliments. I appreciated them quite a bit when I was not selfsustainable. And don't worry, because I'm going to and have have cut down on a lot of swearing.

*Chapter 3*: Umbra Fury

Psychology's fun.
When Minato was younger, he wanted to study and become a psychiatrist or psychologist. Nowadays, he just went with
the flow and cruised by on reasonable scores while the badasses missed the day, students were pressured by their
parents or literally feared education and endured just because they have friends they don't want to miss.
It was something like: Younger self, look to the future and throw a tantrum. You're going to be stuck in a slog and only
technically got his wish by attempting to fix up the dredges of humanity.
He was the one probably needing a psychiatrist. Considering his attitude, however, Minato was sure they'd start charging
him more just to talk mentally healthy. There were also things like pills and certainly medicines so they could keep stuff
like bipolar from relapsing.
School was uneventful and lectures were boring. News of the century. He only looked forward to lunch. The melon bread
was too good. He'd keep on throwing all the yens at the vendor just for that. Maybe he needed to get a job.
He was going to go to Paulownia Mall and the strip mall to find one, but was immediately distracted by a Shadow.
Surprisingly enough, he had a thing called concern for it. "Hey, you seem down," he whispered.
"Yeah I uh" Minato rubbed the back of his head. He could just tell that this person was probably in a lot of shit and
closed his eyes as he steeled himself for his response. He'd hear that they were doing too.
Shuffling. It was probably looking from side to side nervously. "You see, my friend has a terminal disease a rare
cancer," the Shadow began. From what he could gather, it was a Chariot Shadow. However, Shadows are reverses of
the real thing. Great start.
"Do you know what it is?" The first steps always have to be delicate. If it didn't work, you pressed a little harder. Questions
and possibilities cycled through his mind as he predicted the best outcome. It was like some twisted game.
"No, I don't" It sighed. "That isn't really the problem though. But what pains me the most is that I don't know what to do
about her, specifically. I'm no doctor, but I want to do something for her. I'm her best friend after all" Rustle. Looking
away or being nervous. Was Minato biting off more than he could chew?
With pity in mind, Minato had some choices formulated. What to do? What to say? What would he tackle first? "So do
you have an idea of well anything that you want to do? Something, even small?" he started.
"I want to stay by her side to the very end" he responded.
He suppressed a smile. Yeah. "Then you should go and do that!" Minato bit down some enthusiasm as his tongue was
starting to sting.
"Thing is" he paused as if he couldn't speak further. But he did. Bitten lip. "I'm sick too." The Shadow paused once
more. "I don't know whether I'll be able to stay with her until the end"
Oh. "I see" Minato said. He had to think of something else to say! Think faster dammit! "I still think you should try, even
if you're going to die or something," he finally continued.
"But if I die first, she'll suffer and if she dies first, I'll suffer even more" the Shadow murmured. "I just don't know what
to do! I've never been more afraid of the future in my life. Every day I look to the future, looking for an answer I know I'll
never get what can I do? Why us?" he whimpered.
Minato could just imagine the grimace he had. Minato momentarily pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "I
get that." He certainly hoped so. "And if you really like her that much you'll be able to go through a little pain if you're going
through it now. Makes sense?" Something told him that he shouldn't have said that.
"I already went through so much pain" Crap. "Maybe I should just end it all" Sweat was starting to trickle down his
forehead. That was definitely the wrong response. Shit.
"No, no! If you do that she'll follow!" Minato exclaimed, earning himself some stinging and a little blood. When he became
excited or stressed as he was whispering, the cuts would appear earlier.
"But then it'll end sooner maybe I should take her with me too" the Shadow murmured.

"Look, if you really want to make her happy, you must stay with her! She wouldn't want you to die because of her and she
wouldn't want to remember you like that."
"But I" Minato was feeling that the Shadow was starting to fight back. If he wasn't careful he didn't want to think about
it.
"I know it can feel pointless. Death's like that," he breathed out. He heard the Shadow mutter 'pointless' slowly.
Contemplating. Okay, hopefully he could dig out of that hole that he so quickly made. "And I can't say that I understand
what it feels like to go through your life, impending death on the horizon for fear that you won't wake up the next day.
But" Minato paused. "Some might say people give a point to going through with all of the things that are thrown at
you, even with something like you dying."
The Shadow fell quiet. Minato felt more sweat carve out paths on his skin. "I see" he said. Sniff. Crying. "Thank you"
Minato sighed in relief. Was that how people on the helpline felt like sometimes? Wonder who had the worse job? "No
problem. So you considering spending some time with her now?" he asked.
"Yeah I'll do my best to make her happy," the Shadow said with a happier tone than before.
"Alrighty. Good luck," Minato replied. He could feel the Shadow's presence vanishing.
"I wish I could repay you somehow," he said, his voice growing fainter.
"Don't worry. I'm sure there'll be a way," Minato sighed as he ran his hand through his hair and then wiped the building
sweat that he had off his forehead. With that, the Shadow disappeared completely.
He opened his bag and fished out a thick leather book with black pages inside. Minato folded a dog ear on the next
empty page to remind himself of that Shadow and to find it when he could.
But hey, it was evening and he didn't find a job. Minato strolled back to his room, thinking about where he could find the
Shadow he purified. If he called it 'enlightened', he'd make a horrible pun.
Shadow purification could be tedious. He couldn't go after every Shadow that he purified since he could only put them
into his Shadow compendium in the Dark Hour. Each page in the compendium was black and only he could read the
details of the Shadows he absorbed into it.
Why'd he have it? Well that was because
Bang!
Um. Was that a Shadow? It sounded pretty big. Uh well, he was going to hold onto his book then.
"Hey, are you awake?" he heard. "Sorry, I'm coming in!"
Did she have a key to his room or something? He stood as she came in. "You're already awake? Ugh, never mind, we
have to get out of here quick!" she exclaimed. "U-Uh, take this!"
"I'm good." She nodded slowly. Well, he did give her the better weapon while he was stuck with the crappier. At least with
swords you can kinda slash things to pieces, but for books you kinda just have to whack things really hard.
"Uh alright," Yukari said, rushing downstairs. Minato followed after her with the same speed, stopping at the bottom floor
near a back door. She pressed her fingers to what seemed to be an earpiece as thumps thrashed against the exit.
"The one that we're fighting isn't the one that Akihiko saw," Mitsuru spoke through the communicator.
"Ugh we've gotta find another way out!" she exclaimed.
"Roof?" Minato said uncertainly, pointing upwards. He wasn't sure what could happen if they went back but there was
only so much that the two of them could do to keep safe.
"Um, okay."
They made their ways up, each floor punctuated by a quake. Yukari slammed the door shut behind them and locked it as
if Shadows could open doors. Thing is, they can't, but neither of them can escape that easily if something as unlikely as
a Shadow climbing up the side of the buildi

Minato muttered a curse as he heard an icky lurch of Shadow flesh and ichor and black, inky fingers inching up over the
rooftop edge. A blue mask held up by an arm, peered around its surroundings.
Hollow eyes gouged in the blue latched onto the two of them with an eerie gaze. Shit.
Yukari shook like a leaf as she faced it. There had been small ones before and she was kinda okay with them, but they
didn't hold a candle to this beast when it leaked all menace to match. However, there wasn't much of a choice. Her
trembling fingers grasped the silver gun in her holster and she pointed it to her forehead.
"H-Hey, wait!" Minato shouted. She was pointing that gun to her forehead. He thought he'd seen stupid but this was
lunacy. He was cut off by a torrent of fire roaring at Yukari. She'd flinched and fell, thankfully avoiding the brunt of the
attack.
He bit his lip. How the hell was he going to fight that thing with those huge swords it's waving around? Minato would
have to do something to save himself here.
The monstrosity stalked him. Minato concentrated and whispered. Perhaps it was the reason Yukari felt a shiver rake her
spine. It stopped as he spoke. Would it listen to him?
"W-What's happening?" Mitsuru blinked, cringing as she heard the faint whispers coming from the speakers.
"Is that the Shadow?" Akihiko exclaimed. "I didn't know these things could talk"
Ikutsuki adjusted his glasses. Or was it Arisato?
"We don't have to fight." The Shadow stared him down as he kept talking. He couldn't know what would calm the
Shadow, but he had to try. "We can just go our separate ways." It only growled in response, almost unintelligible, even to
him.
Minato furrowed his brow. It pierced the sky with a shriek, forcing him back. The hostility striking him was unparalleled.
"Death"
It charged. No reasoning would stop that thing. "Alrighty then." He flipped his compendium open which seemed to cackle
in the presence of their foe. Yukari had barely gotten up when sacrilegious screams made her cringe.
"What is that sound!?" she gasped.
He beckoned it towards him, swinging away from a lunging blade. There came another swipe, soon swerved from. A
sweep came for his legs and in quick succession was another crying for tender flesh. Minato only managed to roll from
the slices.
The compendium came loose and Minato tore out a page before crumbling it in his hand. When the beast began pursuit
once more, a black mass appeared on the ground which summoned a searing shield around Minato.
He didn't predict that the Shadow would gash the flames with no problem, earning similar wounds across his shoulders
from which blood gushed. This was not what he needed. Minato had to side step from another ravenous slash despite
the searing injury, only earning more red across his clothes.
"Fire healing ice" He took two pages and hurled one at his predator. It twisted into a blur and slammed into and
exploded frost bite over its body.
The other morphed into fluid around his wounds, cooling down the pain. Minato couldn't help but smirk as the large
beast reeled from the gnawing cold. Perhaps it sensed his contempt and thrust towards him with towers of swords
looking to skewer and a few others summoning unholy suns.
He couldn't dodge both and ended up patting out the heat from the thrown spheres on the floor. It took a few moments for
him to recover, especially as burns made banquets on each layer of skin. It seemed the healing Shadow from before
had to spread its efforts as he tried to stand. Two pages surged towards his foe, making small cuts through its arms.
"Zio!" The thrown Shadows weren't done and caught onto the larger one's limbs, biting and lighting up the beast with
snakes of lightning. It charged recklessly still even as it felt the parasites feeding off its flesh.
The two afflicted arms swung at Minato, setting the Zio Shadows as puddles on the floor. Torn between recalling them
and dodging, he wasn't fast enough to be missed. He was caught on his arm and leg as a result, only giving more work

to his healing Shadow. The numbed spots from before were starting to sting again.
Realising the Shadow would attack again he sent the two on the floor to attack again with another two Shadows thrown
into the mix. Thoroughly distracted by the Shadows on its body, Minato took the opportunity to grab a sword from one of
the still squirming hands.
It made its mark into the Shadow's mask as he got close enough, making it release the roars of fallen souls. Even
Minato had to cover his ears.
He chuckled to himself even though hell banged on his eardrums. Minato was about to finish it off with another volley of
Shadows, but the thought was muted as his gaze fell onto the silver gun sitting in a puddle of blood on the ground.
"Go on" Was it the voice of the child he encountered first night to the dorm?
So he did pick it up, against all natural compulsion he had saying 'no'. The Shadow growled and finally began to recover
from the earlier blow as Minato's Shadows dispelled, but the next move wouldn't have that. The muzzle was at his
temple.
"Per" Minato murmured. "Persona." Bang!
Blue mist spread from the other end the bullet would've gone through, giving rise to a power hungry grin and gleam in
his eyes. A slim, mechanical creature bearing a lyre on his back formed from the glass. Minato knew its name.
"Orpheus!" He collapsed to his knees, throwing his compendium away in favour of clutching his head. A rush
penetrated, thrashed and scratched at the inside of his skull, causing screams of pain.
The creature behind him felt the same as it contorted, twisted and was finally forced apart. White, gloved hands dug out
of the metal and utterly shredded Orpheus in half. In his place was a black creature that meant death with its hollow
eyes.
The monster roared to the heavens as Minato did. It just broke his mind open but the euphoria consumed him in the
most bestial, most pleasant way. Coffin lids waved in the air as it spun towards the helpless Shadow. It clawed, ripped,
shredded at its skin and flesh with its blade and bare hand, hungry for its blood.
Death finished the bloody work and laughed uproariously in its triumph as it squeezed oozing ichor from its hands. It
dissolved, the leftover mask merging with the bits of blood. To see it finally gone from his sight brought a grin on Minato's
face, similar to the figure's . There was no doubt it was in absolute glee at the prospect of killing, destroying and ravaging
anything in its path.
It dissipated in a show of static into Orpheus' form, and it too disappeared. Minato fell from his power high and slumped
onto the ground. He could only hear footsteps and Yukari's voice as he passed out.

Edited: 13/06/15
AN: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter.
I rewrote the fight with my new skills and I hope you enjoy it just a tiny bit more because of that. Later.

*Chapter 4*: Flutter Blues

"Welcome to the Velvet Room my dear young man"
A sliver of blue in his vision had his interest piqued. He finally forced them open, immediately noticing that his
surroundings were very different. Minato was of course sure that he passed out on a rooftop and not in a weird blue
elevator room.
Especially not a weird blue elevator room with an elf-like being sitting hunched across from him. Where was this place?
He tilted his head at the long-nosed man.
He chuckled. "This is the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It's been years
since we've had a guest." The man's constant grin seemed to widen just a little.
The man chuckled. "This is the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It's been
years since we've had a guest," he said. "My name is Igor I am delighted to make your acquaintance."
Minato raised an eyebrow. He didn't really think he could make an acquaintance with this strange creature. "Right I
thought I passed out on a roof. Not a psychedelic blue room which is the love child of LSD and amphetamines."
Igor just chuckled. "Your satire is quite delightful. Regardless, we of the Velvet Room have summoned you here to begin
something of great importance; so important, that your future may be forever lost without deliberate action," he continued.
"But first, I must introduce you to someone that I've sadly neglected. This is Elizabeth."
In the direction Igor indicated was a blonde in blue with the most enigmatic smile and entrancing eyes. "Pleased to meet
you," she greeted.
"Only those that have signed the contract can enter this place." Igor's voice cut into Minato's train of thought. "Henceforth,
you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help
to do so." He waved his hand, revealing the red folder that Minato had signed in the first night he came to the dorm. "I
only ask one thing in return... that you abide by the contract and assume responsibility for the choices that you make."
"No loopholes?" Minato inclined his head. He hoped so but
"Unfortunately not." Igor laughed, perhaps as a result of his guest's crestfallen expression.
He sank in his chair. Minato was just attacked by a huge Shadow, nearly killed by said Shadow and was now in the
middle of a psychedelic blue elevator room with a dwarf and a bombshell. Yay. "So then what?"
"You became unconscious after awakening to your 'power'. It is nothing to worry about, so just relax" Igor said. Minato
was far from relaxed, but okay. "By the way... I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. That power is called a
Persona... It is a manifestation of your psyche."
"Oh. And the bigger one? Is that a Persona too?" Minato raised an eyebrow, urging an answer with narrowing eyes.
"Yes and no," Elizabeth spoke. "On one hand, it is a manifestation of your psyche which is too strong for you to control.
On the other, there is some outside influence from a stronger force which may have forced this Persona out."
He gulped. Did he get that right? That thing was a part of him? "When you use your Persona ability, you must channel
your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Linksyour emotional ties with others; the stronger
your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability," Igor then explained.
"What if I don't want to have them?"
"You will have to accept and deal with the consequences that may arise from it," Elizabeth simply answered.
Oh. He could deal with that. "Now, then... Time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Take
this" A small key fell from the endless ceiling into Minato's lap. "Next time we meet, you will come here of your own
accord. Until then... Farewell."
He hadn't even taken hold of the key before white blinded him.
"I will see you again," Minato faintly heard what he thought was Elizabeth's voice before he couldn't hear any more.
"Master" Elizabeth turned to Igor.

"You know his fate, Elizabeth. We must simply bear with it," Igor sighed. "I do not know why Philemon chose someone
this unstable, but we must assist him as best we can. His future and his wellbeing depend on it."
Although she wasn't sure he could trust him, she nodded. It was that tampering with Shadowy power that led to their
catastrophe in the first place. "I will do my best"

This time, when Minato opened his eyes, he was assaulted by aches. They mostly came from his legs, arm and chest.
What he just experienced had to have been a dream, or at least some kind of contact in his dream. "Oh, you're awake!"
He turned to the direction of the voice, seeing Yukari sitting next to his bed. At this point, Minato began to figure out that he
was in a hospital from the (ironically) sickening sterility of the place. "Hi."
"Hey. I'm glad to see you're going okay." Yukari smiled a little. "We were worried sick about you! You just kept sleeping
and sleeping and sleeping do you have any idea how worried I was about you?" She sighed. "You were out for about a
week! A-And your power"
Blink. Thought she didn't like him. But then again, in a life and death situation and a conscious decision that might've
resulted in her being saved Maybe he was tolerated just a little bit more. "How are you feeling?"
Minato tilted his hand in a 'so-so' motion. "That's good." She breathed out. "Um I wanted to talk to you about
something." He raised an eyebrow. "Um I just wanted to say 'thank you' for protecting me. I didn't think I was going to
be much help back there I panicked and"
He would've shrugged, but his chest and shoulders protested. "It's cool."
"Oh um okay." Yukari nodded to herself. "Also I have to get something off my mind. I've been thinking about it for a
while now. But I wanted to say that I'm kinda like you."
Again, he implored she explain. "My dad he died in an accident ten years ago and I don't really talk to my mum
anymore." Well, there was a little similarity, he supposed. "You're all alone too, aren't you?"
She didn't know the half of it. "Kinda. But we're still different."
Yukari looked surprised. She wanted to be mad at him for what he said to her, but after all this time and how surprisingly
understanding he was, she couldn't. At least, not then. "You still have friends." Yet another train of thought crashed into
his current one. "Actually Why'd you tell me? I'm not exactly nice."
She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again. After some thought she replied, "I guess I thought it would be
good to know that you aren't or we aren't alone with someone who doesn't know how you're feeling."
"Okay." He supposed that made sense, even though he didn't believe her completely. Minato closed his eyes. "I'm sorry.
For saying those things to you. I don't like dealing with people much." Shut up about the irony.
"U-Um it's okay." A smile appeared. "Thank you for listening though. I'd been waiting to tell someone that for a really
long time."
"It's cool." Minato breathed out. "If there's something important, then talk. To me."
"Are you sure?" Yukari asked.
God he wished he could just nod. "Yeah."
"Alright. Thanks." Yukari stood. "I should tell the others that you've woken up now."
With that, she left his ward. Finally, peace and quiet. He was just left to wonder what calm fell over him and where his
compendium went.

He was told earlier at lunchtime the next day of school to come to the command room. This finally gave him a chance to
observe the doors on the fourth floor. Minato was only able to catch a glimpse of it when they were running to the rooftop.
In the command room was Mitsuru, Ikutsuki, Yukari and a grey-haired teen in a red vest, much taller than him. Minato
assumed he was a senior. After a glance, he sat next to Yukari. Just what were they going to ask him?

"Hey," the senior said. Minato regarded his senpai with a nod.
"This is Akihiko Sanada. He's another resident of the dorm and he's a year older than you," Mitsuru introduced. Minato
barely had any time to formulate a response before Ikutsuki broke through his thoughts.
"So Arisato, how long have you been aware of the Dark Hour?" Ikutsuki began. Cutting right to the chase, Minato mused.
"Ten years," he answered shortly. Akihiko looked horrified, Mitsuru was trying not to look horrified, Yukari was surprised
and Ikutsuki's face was strangely devoid of reaction. How unsettling.
"I see" Mitsuru said after recomposing herself. "Anyways. We called you here to ask of you a request." He suppressed
his scoff. Of course. He raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue with, "We dorm residents make up a group known
as SEES that aims to minimise damage from Shadows and find out more about the mysteries of the Dark Hour." With
that, she had his interest. Especially since calling it so was a complete coincidence.
"You want me to join."
"Correct. You see, only those with the potential and power to summon Persona can fight against Shadows," Ikutsuki
explained. Minato's eyes widened. So apparently this was supposed to be a special thing. "Mitsuru sensed that you
wield a great deal of power that allowed you to battle against that Shadow on that night."
"Where's the book?" He sank in his seat and folded his arms.
"Here." Mitsuru drew the familiar form of his compendium, hissing and shaking like usual.
Minato nodded. "Are you going to give it to me or not?"
"We were going to but we won't give it back unless you explain exactly what your powers are," she said sternly.
He let out a huge sigh. "What if I do tell you my powers and you give back my book?" Minato pressed further.
"It depends," Mitsuru continued, undeterred by Minato's annoyance.
What great choices he had. "I can talk to Shadows, but if I talk to them for too long, my tongue stings." He felt as if
someone would interrupt him. "I tame Shadows and use their skills to kill stuff that wants to kill me."
"Whoa" Yukari stammered.
"How is that even possible?" Akihiko mumbled.
"I don't know" Mitsuru said, eyeing Minato suspiciously.
"So?" Now that he thought about it, the Kirijo was heavily involved in the accident ten years ago. With the itching of
mysteries from that night, he had a motivation to join up and clear that crazy blur of events.
"Unfortunately Mitsuru, even if you have some misgivings about his association with Shadows, we are in desperate need
of members," Ikutsuki said.
Minato shrugged. "I just have some conditions."
She clicked her tongue. "What might they be?"
"One: Stay in my room. Two: Let me use my Shadows." He leaned back into the couch, awaiting a response.
"That actually that seems kinda reasonable," Yukari spoke and earned Minato's attention. "I saw him use them. And
well he seems really good at using them. I guess if you're using something that you're more comfortable with, then
you'd want to use it, wouldn't you?"
"I agree," Akihiko murmured. It didn't seem as if Minato was that bad of a guy either. How much could it hurt?
"I suppose we don't have any objections?" Mitsuru bit her lip. Even though he seemed a little untrustworthy with his
powers, their options were limited and as a Persona user that took on a large Shadow singlehandedly and won, there
was little reason to deny his contributions at this point.
"It's settled then! I think it would be best if we all got some rest now. It would be alarming if none of you woke up in time
for school the next morning." Ikutsuki smiled. Oh. All deadpans were on Ikutsuki.

"In any case, we're glad to have you on board." Akihiko grinned, seemingly ignoring the chairman's pun.
Well, Minato needed a break from the poisonous atmosphere anyways. They didn't trust him because of his powers, he
didn't necessarily like most of them because he usually hated human interaction great chemistry was happening.
Kinda like that strange pall of calm coming over him as they disbanded. In one instant, a string was drawn between
each of the SEES members, tethering them together. He was probably imagining it.
He found sleep quickly. Hopefully whatever came next would be interesting.

Edited: 14/06/15
AN: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Just as a general note, the Shadow Compendium works by forcing Shadows into page form and putting them into
the book. They still retain their skills and can be summoned as needed when they're torn from the book.

*Chapter 5*: Conjugal Visits

Sometimes he just wished things would be normal.
"What's up dude? I heard from Yuka-tan that you made up or something?" Junpei caught up to him at the gates. Great.
What now? Minato nodded back slowly. "Whew. That's good. But why were you so why are you so cold to everyone?"
He just shrugged. Because he didn't like people? "Anyways, I'm glad that you made up with her." Junpei grinned. "I want
to tell you something but eh, I probably shouldn't. I'm not supposed to talk about it."
Minato just sighed and shook his head. Why did he tell him that when he wasn't going to continue? Junpei soon hopped
off to class while the other trailed behind. School. Exciting. Riveting.
During their break, Mitsuru joined them briefly to tell Yukari and Minato to go back to the dorm early. "I wonder what's so
important," Yukari wondered aloud as she exited. It would be something to find out, he supposed.
He went back to eating his melon bread. "You really like that stuff, don't you?" Yukari commented as Minato wolfed down
his food. He gave a deadpan in response as if to say 'I hate them'. "I just have to ask. Why are you sarcastic all the
time?"
Gulp. "I don't like people."
"Why's that?"
Shrug. "I'm not that nice. Just relax and try not to deal with me."
"We can't be friends?" She sighed.
"I won't make an effort." Minato shook his head. Too bad he wasn't sorry about the whole thing.
Finding out that Junpei was supposed to be joining SEES as the newest Persona user further mutilated whatever mood
he had that afternoon. "Wassup?" he grinned.
Minato just sighed. He would be stuck with this guy for who knew how long in SEES. Yay. "What's he doing here!?" Yukari
exclaimed.
"You already know him?" Akihiko asked. Of course it was his fault. Blame successfully placed on Akihiko Sanada.
"Y-Yeah" Yukari stammered. "B-But He actually has the potential?"
"Hey, I'm still standing right here," Junpei said with an indignant tone.
Oh they knew. "Yeah," Akihiko said simply.
"He found me crying in a convenience store surrounded by a bunch of coffins," Junpei began. "But man, I was surprised
to find out about you guys." Sure he would be. He was Junpei. "How was it, summoning the thing? I don't really
remember much about awakening to be honest. Feels like it was all a haze. But apparently it's normal."
"I dunno." Minato shrugged. Persona summoning was like an ungodly rush of power that gave him every single bit of
primal euphoria and the motivation to destroy whatever lay in his pathmarshmallows.
"What do you mean?" Junpei asked. "You can't seriously have forgotten!" He looked quite unimpressed with him.
"What I said." He then spaced out. "I can't remember"
"Oh yeah you were active for a lot longer than us." Minato nodded to Yukari. Right.
"Huh? How?" the capped teen asked.
He replied absentmindedly, "Mind your business."
"G-Geez man" Junpei grimaced. "Why've you gotta be such an asshole?"
"Calm down you two. We can't have a fight here, especially we have things to do in the Dark Hour later on," Akihiko
warned.

Meh. He was perfectly calm. Minato only half listened to the things Akihiko was saying as he stared at a random spot in
the room, seeming to be glazed over as he was fixated. He mostly just caught Tartarus out of the corner of his ear when
they started saying something about finding the origins of the Dark Hour and possibly clearing some things up.
"So, what do you think?" Akihiko asked. Junpei's mistake in regards to toothpaste went ignored.
Minato sank into the couch. Now that he thought about it, there would certainly be a lot of work involved when it came to
exploring this place. Just thinking about it made him sigh.
"How could you not be interested!?" Junpei exclaimed.
"I don't really want to," he replied simply. "Shadows aren't easy to deal with."
"Pft. They can't be that tough."
"My book says otherwise." Junpei picked up Minato's compendium, trying not to flinch as low hissing came from it. "What
the heck is this?" he asked.
"It's a book full of Shadows, right? He can control some of them and tame them" Yukari explained slowly,
remembering what Minato had said the previous night. He nodded.
"You can tame Shadows?" Junpei's eyes widened.
"Some. Not the really strong ones." It wasn't nice when they were trying to kill him and they were stronger than him, okay?
Kinda like that one he encountered a week ago. "I'm gonna go to sleep" Minato stood and took his compendium with a
small yawn before walking upstairs.
"How is it that he can control Shadows? Like, why even?" Junpei asked as Minato walked upstairs. Why was he part of
this group?
"Well when Minato was trying to fight against one of the larger Shadows, I heard him and he seemed to be talking to
them and somehow was able to use their language or something." Yukari shuddered. "It sounded so ugh, I don't want
to remember."
"Unfortunately, none of us know how he was able to talk to those Shadows, but he's one of our greatest assets so far,"
Akihiko said. "Probably at least even a bit more powerful than Mitsuru, and she's the most experienced of us here."
Junpei gritted his teeth. He was that special and could even control Shadows? How was that even fair? "You know, I
have a feeling" Yukari said.
"What kind?" Junpei asked.
"I have a feeling that maybe his talking with Shadows has to do with why he's such a sarcastic jerk sometimes," she
continued.
Junpei raised an eyebrow. "Do you think?"
"It's perfectly possible. It's not as if the Dark Hour and the things associated with it are cakewalks," Akihiko sighed
heavily. If only they knew
Later in the evening, the team travelled in search of Tartarus. Mitsuru led the way, surprising and confusing the juniors
as they walked their usual path to school. When they arrived in front of the school gates, clamour broke out among them.
"What're we doing back at school?" Junpei asked. "I mean, weren't we going to see where that Tartarus thing is?"
"It only appears in the Dark Hour, Junpei. Don't you remember?" Yukari said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
This was going to be a long hour "It's almost midnight," Akihiko noted as he looked at his watch.
Minato took a deep breath as time distorted and slowed. Sickly green tinted his vision while red sprawled across the
ground. What he hadn't expected was the groaning, heaving metal screech he heard.
The school. The gates had disappeared. The path was marked with night lights. The building turned into a large tower. It
was unusual and lopsided, eerily rising into the sky like a piece from a pop-up book. The apex of the tower pierced into
the face of the old moon, casting dark shadows where it could.
"This is Tartarus," Mitsuru said.

"W-Why did our school turn into a huge tower?" Junpei's mouth was agape.
Yukari glanced at Mitsuru warily. "Don't you know?"
She stayed quiet for a few moments. "No," Mitsuru replied.
Yukari decided to leave it for another time, although her hesitation didn't go unnoticed by the juniors. As they walked, he
felt something inside him trying to claw its way to the surface. It scratched at his skin as it thrashed in his soul.
This Tartarus thing it was exciting him, although he'd shown no prior enthusiasm. It was homely. Well, into Greek
hell they went. If it was a Shadow nest, maybe the name had some stock.
It was gonna be a nice field trip. "This is the lobby of Tartarus. The stairs at the clock lead upwards to the labyrinth,"
Mitsuru began. "The door in the corner on the right side of the stairs, we haven't been able to open.
The floor was a chess playing field, well lit. Majesty crowned the room, as if they were in the presence of a watchful king.
However, to the left side of the stairs was a blue door that didn't seem to match the dcor.
"That on the side appears to be a device of some sort, but it isn't activated," Mitsuru finished.
"Wow this place looks amazing," Junpei mumbled.
"It really is it's creepy but there's just something about it," Yukari continued.
"Well. Before we go inside, we have to pick a leader to make any necessary decisions while you guys explore," Akihiko
said.
"Not coming?" Minato asked sharply.
"Yeah. Mitsuru needs to stay behind and support your guys while you explore, and I can't exactly do much fighting,"
Akihiko replied as he eyed his cast.
"What about me?" Junpei grinned confidently.
"Hm" Akihiko rubbed his chin with his free hand. "I was going to go with Minato." He blinked in response. "Yes, I'm
being serious."
"I'm not a leader. Go with Junpei," he said sharply. "He'll probably do better than me."
"Heh, that's right! I'll do better than he ever will!" Junpei exclaimed.
"I'm still sticking to my guns." Akihiko shook his head.
"I agree with Akihiko," Mitsuru finally spoke up. "Minato has more battle experience than most of us, and while his attitude
to the people around him isn't the best we could hope for he is calmer than any of you two under pressure and can
summon his Persona uninhibited."
"Are you serious?" Junpei and Minato said, incredulous and sighing respectively.
"Yeah," Akihiko said with finality. "Minato, I'm forcing you at this point."
"Um Minato?" Yukari asked. Minato raised an eyebrow. What now? "What about, until senpai is healed, you can be
leader? It won't be that long before he's alright to fight after all."
He was about to open his mouth to retort, but didn't have a formulated response. Minato sighed. "If you say so."
They seemed satisfied and it gave him a chance to get to the door while the seniors gave weapons out. He kinda
expected what was inside.
"I've been waiting for you," Igor said as Minato entered. "The time has come for you to wield your power. The tower that
you are about to venture into... How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist? Regrettably, you are not yet
capable of answering these questions. That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power."
Minato nodded along. How did people talk for that long? "Your power is unique. It's like the number zero... It's empty, but
at the same time holds infinite possibilities." Igor briefly indicated him. "You, my boy, are able to possess multiple
Personas, and summon them as needed.

"And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when
they are difficult to grasp... But, do not fear. Seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly... Be sure to
keep that in mind."
He nodded again. Wasn't that much to say. "What're you here for?"
"It is my job to create new Personas. But in order to do so, I must fuse your Persona cards together... In other words, I
shall merge them into a single Persona.
"Furthermore, if you've established a Social Link, you may be able to create an even stronger Persona. So, as you
accumulate cards, please bring them to me."
Well uh he supposed this would make more sense when he actually had more than one. "What happens to the ones
that are used?"
"They merge to form the one," Elizabeth supplied.
"So they both disappear?"
"There is a way to retrieve Personae that you have used in fusion or dismissed from the sea of your soul," Igor said as
he gestured to Elizabeth. He seemed to point out the large book that she was holding. It was quite similar to his, actually.
"I will tell you more about this tome's functions at a later time," Elizabeth said. "There is no use for now until you have
gained more Personas for yourself."
Huh. Interesting. "Okay."
"My spare time will soon grow scarce. Please come again of your own accord. You have some business to take care of,
after all." Igor chuckled.
"Okay," Minato replied. Once exiting, he was brought to his senses by a tap on the shoulder.
"Dude, you've been staring at that wall for almost a minute now," Junpei sighed. "What kinda leader are you?"
"I'm sorry I space out. Let's go." Minato shrugged and re-joined the crowd.
"Good luck you three," Mitsuru said. "I'll be feeding you information from here, so if you have any problems don't be afraid
to tell me."
With a nod, the team made their way up the stairs. Upon entering the labyrinth, a rush of vertigo swirled around them and
the things in their vision twisted until it wasn't the Tartarus lobby. "Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru's voice echoed, tin-like
in their minds.
"Loud and clear senpai," Junpei said, wondering how Mitsuru was able to contact them. Maybe it was some special
power of hers or something.
"I can," Yukari replied.
"Mmhm."
"You're quite quick, aren't you? What we want you to do is to get a feel for Tartarus and get accustomed to battle here,"
Mitsuru answered. "I would just like you to stay on this one floor and defeat all of the Shadows that you can find to get
some experience. I'll explain more things as you go. Just remember to stay cautious."
"Follow me, I guess"
"Uh Minato?" Yukari asked. He regarded her with a soft 'what?' in her direction, not turning back to face her. "Why're you
being so quiet?"
"Shadows aren't deaf." Minato shrugged.
"He is correct," Mitsuru said. "It's best to have the element of surprise on your side. Unfortunately, when it comes to
fighting Shadows, they are not forgiving and will take any opportunity to give you a jump and will attack first if you're not
prepared. Groups of Shadows travel around in small packs, taking the form of gelatinous, black sludge. It is best to
strike first perhaps with a long distance projectile or simply sneaking up on them like Minato has suggested."

"Suppose you got that from some of your experience, huh?" Junpei spat.
Minato nodded, ignoring the distaste in Junpei's voice. "Feel up to it, Yukari?"
"I-It's probably best if you do it, Minato-kun," she said meekly.
"What about me?" Junpei asked.
He just shrugged and went to find the nearest pack of Shadows. There were probably only three, considering its medium
size. Minato tore out a page and sent it sailing once they turned away.
The shard stuck fast into them, sending three spilling out of the mass. He then ran ahead, only beckoning his team
members as he came closer.
"Arisato, I should remind you that you are not alone. I am able to scan your enemies for weaknesses. You can find them
out if you try certain attacks on them, thus making your battles easier," Mitsuru explained briefly. "Once you've found out
enemies' weaknesses and resistances, I will record them and whenever you want to scan the same enemy again for a
different fight, I'll be able to let you know."
"Would now be demanding?" he asked.
"You underestimate me. I'll scan the enemy."
"Fire" Minato muttered to himself as he flipped through his compendium. A fire wielding Shadow burst from the pages
and into a swirl of flames that razed the enemies into submission. He'd recognised these guys before, since they were
some of the weakest and most common.
"Hey! Let's get them!" Junpei exclaimed.
Minato nodded in agreement, charging further into the fray. While Junpei and Yukari gunned their two targets with their
weapons, he swept his into the wall with a well-placed kick. With a thud on contact, they all disintegrated.
"What a stunning victory!" Mitsuru exclaimed.
"Heh, we destroyed them good!" Junpei said.
"Y-Yeah, we did," Yukari nodded.
Maybe he was imagining the surge of power that overcame his senses, powering Orpheus. Lastly, Apsaras, which he'd
picked from a set of spinning cards.
"Good job. Our goal for tonight is to get you all accustomed to fighting against these Shadows and get a feel for Tartarus,
so I want you to go and find all of the groups of Shadows on the floor and destroy all of them. They shouldn't be too
tough, but exercise caution," Mitsuru said. "Once you do that, you will be able to return by finding an access point, much
like the one in the lobby."
"Whatever you say." Yukari nodded, watching as Minato scanned the corridors. That book of his was seriously unsettling
her, with the way that it twitched, shook and growled in his grip. He didn't look to be fazed by it. Perhaps it was that
calmness that was setting Junpei off too. The fact that this guy could come in and completely steal the show with not only
Personas, but Shadows and sheer experience was staggeringly frustrating.
"Let's go." Minato beckoned his team over, seemingly remembering that he wasn't alone. This was not something he
was going to get used to. At least the enemies on this floor didn't seem to be very strong. For that, he was thankful.
The team walked with caution in their steps. Minato probed around the halls with a whispered 'hello?' to any of the
Shadows lurking, hoping for some kind of intelligent response. The most he received was a roar that came bounding
down the walls and floor, making the two behind him jump in surprise.
For whatever reason, the Shadows inside the next seemed to be much more hostile. "A Shadow!" Minato sidestepped a
lurching Shadow blob that lunged towards him and kicked it against the wall. Upon contact, it burst into the form of a
large beetle several times larger than the team with a cream mask on top of its horn.
It was a Grave Beetle, right? So it was an Emperor and its weakness was uh goddammit.
Junpei soon tried a slash on the Shadow with his katana. A shrill scream came as the metal scraped against its horn
and opened up a small wound, perhaps prompting the beetle's next action: crushing him into the wall with a sharp crack.

"Junpei!" Yukari next tried to fire at the Shadow, but the arrowhead did nothing against the creature's thick skin.
"Over here." Minato caught the Grave Beetle's attention and tore out another Shadow, trying the last physical category.
The blur slammed into the carapace with an audible echo, but only seemed to do minimal damage. That damned shell
was getting in the way!
"Takeba, it's weak to Wind!" Mitsuru informed. Yukari reacted and dug her Evoker out of her holster, her body trembling.
Come on! She could do this!
The Shadow thrashed uncontrollably, throwing the assailant away, leading Minato to recall it. "Calm down a little here!"
he growled, nearly stopping mid-sentence as he felt a sting in his tongue.
"All hail the mother"
What? From then, the Grave Beetle spread its wings, about to charge him. Minato just kept calm as he remembered
Mitsuru's warning: it was weak to wind.
He just opened his compendium to the right leaf and let loose a Garudyne which soon ripped the Grave Beetle apart into
bits of flesh and ichor.
That all happened in a few split seconds.
"What happened?" Mitsuru muttered to herself, not believing the little scene she witnessed. It was so quick. He just
opened his book and a third tier spell came careening out.
Junpei's eyes widened as he tried to comprehend what in hell just happened. He owned that Shadow with one attack
and it was gone! Yukari only felt her confidence levels taking a nosedive.
Minato was just that strong. He seemed unfazed by the whole event. Actually, he seemed to be spacing out? After a
while he sighed and asked, "How many are left?"
"there are three more groups," Mitsuru answered.
"Let's go," Minato said to the team. Junpei and Yukari broke out from their musings and followed him, with jealousy and
anxiety on their tails.

Edited: 16/06/15
AN: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter. Because I didn't.
There'll be more cool stuff coming up. Unfortunately, Elizabeth won't be getting as much of a focus for some of the
beginning parts of the story. And a word to Zentari2238: lol.
Later.

*Chapter 6*: Dissonant Chords

It seemed curiosity had the better of him.
He made his way to the Velvet Room at an almost begrudging pace. After gaining the new Persona cards, Minato wanted
to know about the thing Elizabeth had mentioned the last time he went in. That is, the book she carried. It looked similar
to his, but he assumed at this point it would be a book full of Personas that could be summoned.
The room was in a side route in Paulownia Mall, conveniently placed and sitting below Mandragora. "Welcome to the
Velvet Room," Igor greeted. Was he going to say that every time that he went here? "It appears you have found the
alternate route that Elizabeth directed you to." Right. She called him earlier despite him not giving her his number.
"Elizabeth?" Igor addressed.
"I will now explain to you the purpose of the tome that I carry. This is the Persona Compendium," she began, prompting
Minato closer to observe it better. It was basically what he had, but more aesthetically pleasing. The pages glowed with a
white, mysterious aura, as if to contrast his. "From this, for a fee, I will be able to resummon Personas back into the
forefront of your psyche."
"Money?" Minato rubbed the back of his head.
"Yes. Those mysterious notes and coins." Did she just refer to money as 'mysterious notes and coins'? Where would
she even find a use for it?
Never mind. He gestured for her to continue. "It appears there are so many possibilities sleeping within the sea of your
soul that it would be near impossible to harbour all of them at once," Elizabeth explained. "You would need assistance in
order to draw them out."
"And the money?"
"Consider it repayment."
"But I use Shadows more," he pointed out.
"Indeed. You carry your own compendium to transport them with wherever you go," she agreed. "Personas are might I
say, superior?" Twitch. Really? "They are tamed Shadows and are symbols of your resolve or masks to protect the
wielder. Unlike Shadows."
"Shadows are worse than Personas, right?" Minato sank in his chair.
"Personae are much more powerful, and controllable," Elizabeth affirmed, her gold eyes now fixed coldly on him.
"Shadows are wild and unpredictable."
"Personas were there when Shadows were going to kill me." Minato nodded. "Shadows most definitely weren't."
Underneath the cool sarcasm, he found he was seething. Maybe it was because she was attacking his routinea
routine he wouldn't be breaking soon.
"I'm afraid that the usage of Shadow powers is dangerous," she retorted firmly. Elizabeth would not show how frustrated
she was becoming with his stubbornness, especially with Shadows being the very thing responsible for their disaster. "If
you're not careful, you will be consumed by their darkness or killed. As unpredictable as they are, you cannot control them
and are in fact, at the root of the problem we are faced with."
All the questions that he might've wanted to ask went 'poof'. "Elizabeth-san, isn't my contract to accept all responsibility
for the actions I make?" She narrowed her eyes. "I want to use Shadows. You can't stop me."
"Allow me to show you your mistake," Elizabeth intoned. "Master, is this acceptable?" She turned briefly to Igor.
Igor closed his eyes. "Do not disturb the furniture." Just how much would Elizabeth worry about the boy? Moreover, when
would she stop being so nave?
Minato clenched his teeth and put some distance between him and Elizabeth. Once a page was torn, a large black form
barrelled towards her, spinning wildly out of control. "That's your move?" She seemed to sidestep easily, crushing a
glowing Persona card in her compendium snapped shut.
Apsaras, the blue dancer appeared, freezing the tracks of the Shadow Minato had sent. The block of ice revealed it to be

a Rampage Drive, but this didn't faze him. "Break out." It burst from the ice magic with little effort, sending lashes of
lightning across the Persona and Elizabeth.
She didn't dodge completely, but seemed unfazed by the Mazio spell even as it grazed her shoulder. Elizabeth shook her
head. He seemed perfectly serious about fighting her. "Angel." The winged Persona began to buffet the Rampage Drive
with gusts of wind, leading it to spin wildly with its momentum against the attack.
It managed to smash Angel into the ground, leaving only Elizabeth to float away from the mad Shadow. "Ara Mitama." The
red magatama rapid fired into the Rampage Drive with shots of flame aimed at its head. This time it roared even as the
fire petered out, wearily eyeing Elizabeth and her companion. "Rakunda," she continued.
A purple haze fell over the Shadow and Minato, immediately feeling its weakening effects. "Tch" He whispered for the
Rampage Drive to be recalled and summoned once more. In the Rampage Drive's place, a knight and steed in
gleaming armour appeared. It raised its lance to the sky, gathering a tornado of spiralling energy as Elizabeth backed
away.
Minato could instead feel the drain of his more powerful summon, internally firing curses as Elizabeth summoned Alp to
defend against the attack. The Garudyne cut through the Persona, but left some noticeable gashes on Elizabeth's
person, especially around her legs.
She'd barely dodged the knight's charge with her wounds, but couldn't expect the next move. Minato jumped onto the
Shadow, holding onto his arm. "Kishimaru. Makarakarn." A golden mirror appeared just behind Elizabeth, making her
shake her head. Of course she wouldn't attack the mirror with a spell.
It seemed it wouldn't work. With his momentum, Minato then jumped near Elizabeth, commanding Kishimaru to use
another Garudyne, funnelling towards her. She'd dodged that attack, but did not expect Minato to sweep her onto the
ground with a low kick.
She rolled away from him before Minato could attack again, but stopped as she stood. Wind forced her into the floor,
tumbling in full force. Gashes spawned at her back and sides, staining her clothes. "You're better than I thought" She
managed her way to her feet, a pleased smile appearing. "I suppose I should show you just what a Persona can do."
Pixie.
He blinked at the power it seemed to hold, silently formulating a way to come out of its next attack with as little harm as
possible. The fairy began to glow, seething with purple gold energy. Rumbling erupted from the floor.
Blinding light nearly seared his eyes, but thankfully, the Judgement Sword he'd summoned earlier took the brunt of the
attack. The stony arm twitched on the ground, only kept alive by Minato, who was sprawled behind it.
Minato groaned as he felt pain burn his nerves. Moving was greatly protested by a burning vengeance, but just managed
to recall the Judgement Sword into his compendium. He registered Elizabeth's footsteps.
"Now do you see?" she asked, observing Minato's burns.
He somehow forced his arms to tear a Shadow from his book, letting it do its healing magic to soothe his wounds.
Elizabeth narrowed her gaze and sighed. "You're so stubborn."
Minato stood, ignoring the tremors and dizziness. He closed his eyes and shrugged. "That didn't mean anything."
She bit her lip. "It is unfortunate, but I suppose I have to let you do as you will. I do find your bond with your enemies to be
quite interesting" Minato sighed. Right.
"Just help me with the Persona compendium," he said slowly.
"I will." As inexperienced as she was about the world outside the Velvet Room, Elizabeth at least knew he didn't harbour
many positive emotions for her, or anyone. She'd have to let it rest and hopefully as he progressed, he might see. "Once
you have gained new powers with a Persona that you have harboured in your psyche and used in battle, you may register
it again, so you can save the version of the Persona that you want in the compendium again so that you can summon it
again if you use it in fusion or dismiss it."
"Okay."
"I have one last thing to explain to you that will greatly benefit the growth of your Personae," Igor said. Minato raised an

eyebrow, prompting Igor to go on. "They are what we call Social Links. By spending time with the people around you,
you may be able to find and strengthen bonds. By strengthening bonds, you will be able to give power to your Personae
in fusion."
"Okay." Minato turned heel, slowly walking from the room.
"Until we meet again"
He didn't respond and simply left the room.
Igor then turned to Elizabeth, who had healed her wounds. "I would not recommend getting into arguments with our
guest," he said. "He is yet upholding his contract. His methods are unorthodox and perhaps even dangerous, but he will
fulfil his destiny. Just differently. There is no right or wrong just what Philemon has recommended."
"But yet, there is something dark about the path that he takes if he continues." Elizabeth looked at the ground.
Igor chuckled. "You're worried about our guest?"
"To my duty's call, of course," Elizabeth answered.
He stayed silent, yet amusement stayed in his mind. Something interesting was beginning to evolve. Whether she could
sort out her feelings would be an interesting development.
Minato couldn't feel himself focus on the fight and replaced the burns with cooling nothing. He only knew he had a long
way to go before he could begin to match up with her.
He entered the dorm some minutes later, still battered, wounds not too noticeable and tired. "Welcome back," Mitsuru
noted. He murmured a greeting in response and passed by. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"I don't appreciate it when people lie to me."
"I don't want to tell. You know how that feels." Mitsuru bit her lip. "I need to go out later. In the Dark Hour."
"Why would you need to? You don't seem to be in the best condition," Mitsuru asked.
"I want to find a Shadow." Minato sighed.
"You make it sound like you're trying to find a Pokemon." Junpei laughed as he strode over.
He suppressed a groan. "I'll go to Tartarus in two days."
"Hm I will have to monitor your movements. For one, if you're truly serious of going out tonight then I need to be able to
contact you if anything happens, or you me. Secondly, I don't truly know what is involved in this operation of yours,"
Mitsuru said. "I don't approve of this, but if you really are in need of that trip I suppose I don't have that much of a choice."
"Okay." He returned to walking. "I don't like Pokemon."
How could he not like Pokemon!? "What's he doing again?" Junpei asked.
"Apparently to add to his arsenal, he collects Shadows. By having more Shadows, he will have more access to skills to
make him more useful in battle," Mitsuru explained. "I do not know the details to this however"
"Pfft. Of course he gets to go out," Junpei muttered under his breath. "Why Shadows outta everything?"
"I do not know Iori. Now are you not going to study? While we have Tartarus as a priority, I cannot have my team
members neglecting their school lives either," Mitsuru said pointedly, making Junpei flinch under her glare.
"Ah! I've got I've got uh trig to do!" he exclaimed, running to his room.
"That aside I wish I knew more about the nature of Arisato's abilities," Mitsuru said to herself. "I'll admit, just having to
do with Shadows makes him extremely suspicious. I do not think it will be easy to trust him, or he us." She shook her
head and went back to reading. She could give him the communicator that he needed later. It was going to be a late
night for her

Meanwhile, Minato gathered his supplies to go searching for the Shadow he'd purified not long ago. He only thought of
what its name would be and what it would look like. There were Shadows that he had known and kept with him for a long
time and Kishimaru, his Intrepid Knight Shadow was one of those. He was a reliable partner.
Kishimaru was once the Shadow of a boy that he'd befriended before going to live with his relatives. He was a shy,
introverted child and those qualities probably drew the two together. The bond that he had with him didn't last as long as
he would've liked when he moved, but his Shadow that he had purified had stayed with him and grown stronger ever
since he found it.
The deeper a Shadow was, the more powerful it was. The easier it was to make them lose control. Those that grew
powerful enough consumed their hosts and they either killed themselves or went insane.
Soon the Dark Hour fell and he got ready to leave. At his door, he found Mitsuru standing. "Here. Unfortunately, I cannot
communicate over long distances without help." She presented him with a communicator, and he took it into his ear.
"I'll be back." He passed by her.
"Be cautious," she warned, making her way up to the command room.
He left the dorm and tried to sense the location of the Shadow. For whatever reason, he was drawn to these purified
Shadows and could find them. After noting that it came from Iwatodai Strip Mall, he turned on the communicator and
started his walk.
The unnerving atmosphere didn't slow him down. He opened up his compendium and drew out Kishimaru. "You've
summoned me again, Minato-kun? What have you called me for this time?" he asked.
"I don't want to walk."
"Laaaaaazy." Kishimaru let Minato on. "So are you looking for another one of us?"
"Yeah," Minato replied. "I wonder what kind of Shadow it is"
"We'll have to see when we get there then, won't we?" Kishimaru laughed as his steed galloped on. "Is it just me, or are
there a lot more Shadows crawling around than in all of the other places from before?" he commented
"It's not just you. There is a nest of Shadows here," Minato replied.
"Geez " Kishimaru's horse clattered to a stop. "But still, seems exciting."
Minato nodded. "Hello?"
It seemed to be on cue that several hordes of Shadows squirmed to Minato's location, attempting to surround him and
his companion. "Okay. You don't have to fight," Minato said as he grabbed his Evoker and pointed it to his head.
"Why?" Kishimaru asked. "I can fight."
"I'll do it." He summoned Angel. "Garu!" Minato shouted. Angel's wings flapped, and a mighty gust of wind blew the
hordes a distance away from the two of them. "They're Mayas and Books. Okay then."
"Have you been doing some actual fighting?" Kishimaru seemed astonished by the fact.
Minato rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like I don't do anything."
"It is the Shadows doing most of the work, you know?" Kishimaru shrugged.
"Maybe." Angel disappeared and in its place, Orpheus appeared. "Agi," he smirked. The Persona responded with a
gleam in his eyes, seared, ate through the Shadow's flesh with blasts of flame.
"I sense a non-hostile Shadow coming this way!" Kishimaru exclaimed.
He looked around as he was drawn to the power source, hearing what seemed to be wheels and an engine. There was
a Brave Wheel purring with flame. "Hello?" The lion's mouth moved as it spoke. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"
The Brave Wheel came closer and eventually stopped right in front of Minato. "Wait! Aren't you that guy who helped me at
the mall?"
"Yeah what's your name?" Minato asked.

"My name's Sho Tsuyo. I honestly never thought I'd see you again." If it could smile, it would've.
"I'm Minato. This is Kishimaru, and he's kinda like my partner," Minato explained.
"Glad to meet you, friend." Kishimaru bowed his head.
"Nice to meet you too." Sho nodded. "Why are you guys here? It's dangerous."
"You said you wanted to repay me." Minato inclined his head. "Would you want to now?"
"Of course."
"I" Minato looked up at Kishimaru. "I'm trying to get stronger, so I can find out something that's important to me. There's
going to be a lot of trouble on the way."
"You need help fighting?" Sho asked, earning a nod. "That's no problem. I just how do I go with you?"
Minato pulled out his compendium. "If I put you in here, would that work? You just have to turn into a page."
"I understand." His form compressed into a black page, made to fit into Minato's compendium. Like attracting magnets,
the leaf stuck firmly in. "You have a lot of Shadows, Minato."
"Yeah Thanks for joining me."
"It's nothing, I assure you."
"It seems we have a new friend," Kishimaru noted. "We should go back Wait. I feel someone else's presence"
Minato blinked, finally getting a feel for that mystery person. It was a human She had no Persona, but he could feel
something of a mysterious dark aura emanating from her.
He heard whispers.

Edited: 16/06/15
AN: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Unfortunately, Minato's speech problems have been downplayed just because... my editing... and well, if I'm good
about it, you'll see him mess up sentences later. I'm sorry.

*Chapter 7*: Fickle Fortune

The mystery set him on edge.
"Kishimaru" Begrudgingly, he returned to his page state.
Minato was sure that he hadn't seen or heard anyone else that could use his ability. But there it was; someone speaking
in Shadow whispers to another. "Hello?" he asked, hoping they would notice.
Soon, a girl with long, lavender hair stepped from the dregs of the darkness, eyeing him with a cool gaze. He seemed to
be stunned by her. Once close enough, she looked him up and down. "You've been fighting them, haven't you?" she said
sharply. It wasn't much of a question.
He opened his mouth to speak, but had no words. Instead, he gave a nod. "My name is Sachiko Kagami. What about
you?"
"I'm Minato Arisato." Minato couldn't tell whether she was someone he could trust. It appeared as she scrutinised his
expression that she was trying to figure out the same.
Eventually, she nodded. "I see. I must be going. If fate so demands it, we will meet again." Sachiko then brushed past
him, not stopping to apologise. It was still enough time to see that she had a smile, however.
Normally, he could care less. As a person his age that knew how to whisper, Minato knew that she was going to be on
his mind. If she knew more about the ability, Sachiko would become a useful source of information. Maybe he could get
a Shadow out of talking to her too.
He resummoned Kishimaru and began his way back. "What happened?"
"She wasn't a threat."
"Are you sure?" Minato made his way off Kishimaru's steed.
"Yeah," he replied. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Kishimaru nodded before returning to Minato's compendium.
Minato suppressed a chuckle. He was that worried about him. Up to the fourth floor he went to check on Mitsuru.
She was still awake, although it seemed she was struggling to be alert. "Arisato welcome back," Mitsuru said. He
nodded in response. "I will require you to tell me more of the details of your trip after we both get some rest. I will see you
tomorrow." She strode past him, but not before saying, "Good night."
It didn't surprise him that she'd want to know. Rest however, sounded good. Maybe he could get Mitsuru to make him
some mp3 player and a clock that functioned in the Dark Hour.

Sachiko entered her room, noting that the Dark Hour would soon be over. After having gathered some information during
the day, she'd corroborated some of the information with the Shadows in the area. She was tired.
That night would've been normal, hadn't she met that personMinatowith the same powers as her. At least in terms of
athletic ability, he was much stronger. As an objective observation, Sachiko felt an aura around him that made her
calmer. Maybe it was the way she saw him fight off the Shadows.
She deduced that the Minato character was adept at battles against Shadows. His lightly built body and supernatural
powers attested to this fact.
Sachiko could admit that she still had a lot of things to work out when it came to the mystery she had before, so she'd
have to prioritise that. Seeing him would be a bonus. He appeared to be her age, with the Gekkoukan High uniform, so
she'd likely see him at school.
There was something about him that made her feel as if she'd been seen right through. She was transparent and he
could see her darkness. It was No Sachiko. You promised yourself you'd get more sleep.
That was exactly what she did, although she couldn't stop thinking or dreaming about that strange little meeting.


"Hey Minato-kun," Yukari greeted him as he entered homeroom. "You look more tired than usual." Maybe it was the
eyebags.
He nodded in agreement. "I went out during the Dark Hour."
"Oh really? Mitsuru let you do that?" Yukari's eyes widened.
Minato nodded shortly.
"Well, that's good" Yukari answered slowly.
"Our leader looks kinda tired, huh?" Junpei commented as he walked into their conversation. Minato just sighed and
buried his face in his folded arms. "What's up with him?"
"He's just tired, I guess"
"Oh yeah! What happened?" Junpei raised an eyebrow.
"Later."
Yukari and Junpei looked between each other before deciding to leave it. Class was about to start.
Throughout the lesson, Toriumi-sensei had called upon a few people to answer her questions. Minato only barely
registered her complaining to some Kenji kid that he was falling asleep and not paying attention and that as
punishment, he had to buy her strawberry shortcake to appease her.
Why wasn't she picking on him? Kenji had called him out on such as just as he was about to leave but only received a
shrug in response. He walked out, only to meet a certain lavender haired girl at the exit. "Isako Toriumi likely has a crush
on you."
Minato blinked. Okay then. "You go here?"
"Indeed. I remembered I'd seen you here before," she said shortly.
"Minato, you're blocking the entrance!" Junpei called out. Minato sighed and moved aside, but still he complained, "What
got you stuck there?"
He just shrugged and "Whoooa, she's cute! Have I seen you around here before?" Junpei asked, bewildered by
Sachiko's enigmatic charm. What.
"We do attend the same school. Are you trying to come on to me?"
Junpei staggered back, stabbed by her words. "How did you"
"Not now."
He gave a disappointed sigh. "Whatever you say man" With that, Junpei walked off to get some lunch. Minato owed
him two explanations now.
"Is he your friend?" Sachiko asked.
Minato shook his head. "Not really." The most they could be were teammates.
She nodded to herself. "I'll be frank. I'm curious about you. I've never met anyone who can do the same thing I can."
Minato felt the same. "I'd like to get to know you, since I guess it'll happen while I find out about our powers."
"Where do you want to meet?" He almost couldn't believe he was going to hang out with someone. He hadn't done that
in a while.
"I commute to the school from the area around the Iwatodai Strip Mall. I usually eat in the afternoons at the Hagakure
ramen shop," Sachiko explained. "During the well, I never thought of a name"
"Dark Hour."
"Dark Hour I am usually around the same area, but my location is unpredictable due to my activities," Sachiko

continued, never missing a beat.

"Alright. I'll check when I feel like talking."
"I look forward to it." Sachiko then made her brisk way to her classroom. If she did, she didn't seem like it.
Minato rubbed the back of his head and was going to get something to eat from the canteen, regardless of whether he
was late to class.
wait, did she say that Toriumi-sensei had a crush on him? How did she even find that out? Weird If she was able to
make that assumption just based on some few moments and the 'conversation' he had with Kenji, she must've been
pretty smart.
He went back to the dorm after class, barely remembering that he was supposed to tell Mitsuru about last night. She
was there, sitting on the couch as usual. "Welcome back."
"You wanted me to explain last night."
"I did." She nodded in agreement. "Have a seat." Mitsuru gestured to the couch, where he took a seat. "Did you find what
you were looking for?"
He nodded.
"May I see?"
Minato blinked, but eventually handed her the book, flipping open to the page were Sho's image was. "There is a list on
his skills, resistances and weaknesses. You can't read it."
"It's in an assortment of symbols and characters I don't understand." The Kirijo database had a fair amount of
information on Shadows, but she'd never imagined that there'd be some kind of script. Or was it something he had
devised that only he could understand.
She now knew there were so many things she'd never known about before, with Minato just making things more
complicated. It was frightening to think of what he knew and what he might do with that information.
"Brave Wheel. Chariot Arcana. Weak to Ice. Drain Fire. Reflect Strike," Minato read mechanically. "Agidyne. Maragion.
Gigantic Fist. Kill Rush. Matarunda. Rakunda. Evade ice."
"Interesting" she murmured. "Did anything else of note occur?"
He cut off the thoughts about Sachiko. It'd raise more questions which he wouldn't want to deal with. Besides he had
to respect other people's privacy. "No. Just a Shadow attack that you saw."
"I see" Mitsuru said, handing Minato back his book. It even seemed to relax right within his grip "Tell me if you need
to go out for business outside of the Dark Hour. If it suits you, you can even bring other team members along to help you.
I'd prefer that."
"I'll see." He highly doubted he'd need their help, but gave a half-certain answer. Minato gave a half-hearted goodbye
before he went upstairs.
The eyes on Minato narrowed. There was something that he wasn't telling her, although with the information she'd been
keeping from the junior members (intentional or not), she couldn't really complain. Yes, the lack of information was
frustrating, but she couldn't do anything about it then. Until then, the trust they harboured was only governed by a tiny
thread.
He spent the day resting, still fatigued from the previous night. Minato then realised he'd have to take Yukari and Junpei's
wellbeing into account.
If he was only going to be relaxing, studying or just lying in his bed for the rest of that day, what would he do tomorrow?
Meet up with Sachiko?
Or school clubs could happen. There were some sports clubs with open spots like tennis, swimming, track, kendo
Minato figured that the activities were available because of the Kirijo resources.
That being said, some of them had already filled up like archery, aikido and boxing. It was to be expected when they were
more popular. The things left were swimming, kendo and track.

Considering his skill in sword related things like fencing (already filled up), he didn't consider kendo. It left track and
swimming. Both of them would build his endurance.
Considering his skill or well, lack of skill in any sword related thing like fencing (which was also promptly filled up) and
his lack of need for it, he wasn't considering kendo. So track was left. It was probably for the best too. It could help to
build up his endurance during battle.
It was too bad he was too lazy to join any of them.
He made his way to Hagakure, remembering that Sachiko would likely be in the area. Maybe he could grab a bite there
too.
A voice cut through the clamour of noodle slurping. "Hello," Sachiko greeted before turning back to her food. He nodded
and sat next to her. "I need to eat first."
After he ordered some food, minutes without any talking passed. About half an hour. Minato wasn't enthusiastic with the
way the soup burned his tongue and Sachiko seemed to be taking her time. "So when did you start talking to
Shadows?"
"Decade ago," he answered. "You?"
"Twelve years ago," Sachiko replied. Minato blinked. He wasn't expecting that. "What do you talk to them for?"
"They keep me safe." She looked upon him for a few moments, shortly deducing that he'd need the Shadows to protect
himself during the Dark Hour. "What were you doing?"
"I am from a long line of detectives. We solve mysteries and various cases," Sachiko replied. "Not many people know
about us since we try to keep hidden from view. I talk to Shadows in order to gather information for cases."
True enough. Rational Shadows could be pretty good sources of information. The Shadows he'd met first night at the
station were right, after all. "But, I am the only one from my family who is able to do this," Sachiko continued.
"So am I," he mumbled.
"You seem bitter. Why?" she asked.
"Orphan."
"I see" Sachiko closed her eyes, not seeming to be fazed. "When you were talking to a Shadow before, you seemed to
be friendly with it. How?"
"Talking to Shadows in the day. If I 'purify' them, I can talk to them," he explained after a period of stammering. Too many
words.
"I won't push further." Sachiko nodded to herself, placing the chopsticks across the side of the bowl. "I'm sorry to cut this
meeting short, but I have some business to attend to. I'll see you again, another time."
He wasn't sure whether the pleasant warmth engulfing his chest was real or not. At least she seemed to be confident.

Edited: 16/06/15
AN: Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Great, the two romances start at almost the same time.
Minato's stats? I updated with Persona 4's.
Knowledge: 2 (Informed)
Courage: 4 (Daring)
Diligence: 1/5 (Persistent/Rock Solid)
Expression: 1 (Rough)
Understanding: 4 (Motherly)
It... kinda depends on what he's working on.

*Chapter 8*: Distancing the Towers

"So, you never did explain what you were doing last night," Yukari noted as they walked through Tartarus. Since their last
exploration, all of the members had been able to recover sufficiently and had managed to climb up a couple more floors
as well, since Mitsuru wasn't restricting them.
"I was l-looking for a Shadow," Minato replied. Goddamn his stupid tongue.
Yukari ignored his little slip up. It had been going on for a while since he had been trying to commandeer them through
the packs of Shadows scattered about the floors. "Is that so? How do you find them?"
"Did a dark power guide you through the hour or something?" Junpei snickered.
"Accurate." Minato nodded to himself.
"Wait, are you serious?" the capped teen exclaimed. "I was just kidding!" What the hell kinda dark power helped him find
those specific Shadows?
"Well, for once you're right. I kinda find them on instinct? I guess? I-I dunno" Minato sighed. He never quite
understood how it was that he could find these Shadows on his own. Only that he could sense them and something
within him allowed him to do so. "I can't really explain it. But I doubt I'll have to use him here."
"Him?" Yukari's eyes widened.
Minato immediately realised his mistake. He wasn't supposed to refer to them specifically around them. If he did well,
it would further segregate him from his team. Crap. "Him," he muttered. "Does it matter?"
"Not really but it seems like you're really cosied up to them Shadows," Junpei noted. Even if he was dumb, he couldn't
miss the implications of the way that Minato referred to Shadows. It was almost as if they were great pals, the ones he
had under control.
"You got that right," Minato nodded.
The group walked on with thoughts brewing in their minds about Minato and his relationship with Shadows. For Yukari, it
just seemed so surreal. She had seen him talk to a Shadow before. The times when he spoke in Shadow Whispers
made her tremble. There was something about it that made her recoil whenever the Shadows and he talked, however
briefly. Yes, the way to describe it? Simply put, it made her feel uncomfortable, and the reason was unknown. That only
gave more reason to feel that way.
Junpei however, was starting to wonder more about how he could have those Shadows under control. What was he
saying? They sounded like they were friends or whatever, from the way that Minato talked about them. He really wanted to
find out more about his experiences with Shadows. To be honest with himself, he was jealous of the fact that Minato
could tame Shadows. There were lots of reasons that he couldn't articulate at the one time.
"Hold it," Minato warned, sensing a daunting presence above their next set of steps.
"What's up?" Yukari asked.
"I feel there's a strong Shadow on the next floor. Keep your guard up," Minato explained. "I think you guys should try to
be careful. I dunno exactly what it is."
"Whatever you say leader," Junpei rolled his eyes.
The team continued their ways up, and as Minato had said, there was a group of Shadows that neither Junpei nor Yukari
recognised. "Is that?" she stammered.
"I think so," Minato nodded and beckoned the two others closer to the Shadows.
As Minato stood in front of the trio of Shadows, he tried to recognise what they were. They took the form of eagles, with a
pink Empress mask where their heads would've been. He couldn't be quite sure what they were, but at least he figured
out that they were a little more powerful than the two following them and could give even him a bit of trouble if he wanted
to take them all on at once.
wait, why hadn't they thrashed about in his direction yet? "Why aren't you attacking us?" Minato whispered, gazing upon
them steadily.

One of them answered, "We must guard the passage. Test the desecrators. A fair battle we shall have, and so we will
begin once you are ready."
"What did you just say?" Junpei chuckled. "That sounded like a whole load of gibberish."
"I just asked them why they weren't attacking us," Minato shrugged.
"Um what did they say?" Yukari asked.
"They said that they weren't going to make a move. Until Until we do," he replied. "Are you guys ready?"
"Hell yeah!" Junpei grinned.
Minato threw a look to Yukari, who nodded back. "We can do this," Yukari said. It might've been encouragement, but it
was mostly to assure herself. She wasn't quite sure how well she could fare against the Shadows in front of her. They
were imposing. They looked like they were trying to stare her down.
"wait, did you just call us desecrators?" Minato deadpanned at the Shadow he had been talking to before.
"Indeed I did," it replied. Minato barely heard the Empress Shadow trying to suppress a snicker. Oh. Oh! They thought it
was funny!
"Okay, you're going down," Minato growled. "Surround them!" he commanded as he jumped back.
"What got into him all of a sudden?" Junpei wondered aloud, following his orders. He seemed perfectly calm before, but
then he actually sounded pretty angry. Weird.
"Mitsuru-senpai, please scan them as best you can," Minato requested. She responded with 'alright' before getting to
work gathering information on the eagles. "Now Yukari, try to get a shot on them! Junpei, try your sword!"
"O-Okay!" Yukari said, loading a shot. By then, the three Shadows had begun moving around, making it difficult to get a
clear hit. "It might take a while! They're moving too fast!"
"I got it!" Junpei grinned as he summoned his Persona. A 'bang' filled the area and the messenger god, Hermes formed
from shards of blue glass. "Distract 'em!" Hermes spread his wings and sped towards the group of birds, attempting a
Cleave attack.
The eagles dodged handily, but one of them was clumsy enough to smash into another of its allies, disrupting their
pattern. The Shadow pushed aside seemed to glare at it and began babbling with high pitched screams and hissing.
"You dunderhead! Get back in line you dummy!"
The berated bird gave a low whistle as it returned to formation, but it was too late and Yukari made her shot. "Please hit!"
she said nervously as the arrow let fly. It whizzed towards the seemingly sheepish Shadow, but at the last minute, it was
pushed out of the way of the attack by the leader that Minato had spoken to before. "What!? How did they-?" Yukari
gasped.
"They're intelligent little bitches" Minato shook his head. "Okay, we have to separate them, otherwise we'll never be
able to hit them!" he hissed.
"They are Venus Eagles. Empress Arcana. From what I can tell, they specialise in Wind attacks," Mitsuru informed. "I'm
sorry I cannot do much more. I will record their resistances and weaknesses as you find them."
Minato sighed wearily. That meant Junpei might have some trouble. "Green Wall," he muttered as he raised a page from
his compendium and cast a spell to minimise the damage of Wind attacks to the team.
"W-What's that?" Junpei asked as he summoned Hermes. The winged god charged towards one of them, spinning in a
torrent of fire.
"It removes your Wind weakness for a bit," Minato explained briefly. "Come on! We ain't got all hour!" he snarled.
Tch. Hermes sped past the Shadow he was gunning for as it dodged, but the flames' residue managed to graze it at
least. "Whatever you say, leader," he rolled his eyes.
"Yukari!" Minato's growl brought Yukari to attention. Two of the Venus Eagles had approached her, and they seemed very
ready to try an attack on her. "Try Wind!"

"B-But, I can't!" she pleaded, although the advances of her foes weren't stopping any time soon.
Minato gritted his teeth. Junpei would be fine for the moment, but Yukari didn't have the confidence to summon her
Persona yet. That meant "Sho!" He could feel his energy leaving him as he tried to summon his newest addition to his
team. He had been using his powers liberally throughout their travels in Tartarus, but evidently constant usage was
starting to take its toll on him and it was getting harder to summon his Shadows' powers.
But, the Chariot Shadow did manage to appear, clearing the chaos with a rumbling roar. "Sho, quick! Agi-!" Minato cried,
immediately feeling the repercussions of his heat as a startling cut in his tongue deepened. "Agidyne!" he managed to
get out.
"You got it!" Sho replied. He blazed a trail of fire behind him and crashed into one of the Empress Shadows that was
cornering Yukari, burning it into the floor with scorching flames and screeches. "DUDE you're running low on power! You
can't keep me out here for long!" the Chariot said frantically. While Shadows could live on their own power, Minato also
had to sustain some of that energy in order to keep them materialised.
In that way, summoning powerful Shadows all the time wasn't an option for him.
"T-Tch" Minato coughed out blood onto his hand and nodded, recalling Sho back to his compendium.
Yukari gave a sigh of relief. Minato's little stunt had managed to buy her some time as the remaining Venus Eagle in front
of her was distracted. She pulled the bowstring back and shot the Shadow, nearly point blank, making it release a
hellish scream of pain. "It's weak to Pierce!" Mitsuru exclaimed.
"Y-Yukari, help Junpei," Minato stammered, spitting out a glob of blood onto the ground. For the moment, Yukari ignored
his gesture and left to shoot an arrow at Junpei's foe. "So regret calling us desecrators?" he panted.
The Shadow gazed upon him briefly and gave out a pitiful 'yes' as it lay crippled on the floor. "Thought so." Minato used
Power Charge and stamped his foot onto the Venus Eagle's neck. It whimpered under his boot before slumping lifeless
onto the ground and dissolving into smoky ichor.
He pulled his gaze over to Junpei and Yukari. Junpei appeared to have few cuts on him from Garu attacks, but he
seemed okay for the most part as the Green Wall Minato threw up earlier managed to last. Junpei cut the remaining
guardian's neck with his sword, having a tired but triumphant grin on his face. "We did it!" he exclaimed.
"You all did very well." Mitsuru seemed to have a satisfied smile on her lips as she spoke. "The Dark Hour is almost
over. You should all head back and get some rest. No doubt you are tired," she said.
"Y-Yeah, even I'm out," Minato admitted. Wait, did he just miss out a word in his sentence?
"H-Heh, our leader's pretty banged up," Junpei laughed mirthfully, although it seemed more as if he was just poking
fun at him rather than out of spite.
Yukari nodded along before turning to Minato. "Wait, I saw you spit out some blood earlier. Are you okay?" she asked.
Minato's eyes widened, and as if the occurrence was on cue, he coughed some more watery blood into his hand. "SShit I'm fine," he shook his head.
"W-Wait." Yukari was shuddering, but she managed to fire off her Evoker and summon her Persona, Io. She summoned
it before in much simpler battles, but she was so scared that she didn't get to during that fight. "Io, Dia!"
Her Persona spun and gave off a healing glow- first to Minato, then to Junpei. "Thanks Yuka-tan," Junpei grinned.
However, Minato just gave a low grunt. The wounds on his tongue weren't healing. No matter what he did, he couldn't
ever heal them using Dia or otherwise. He had tried it a while ago, but for some reason, there was some kind of force
that kept the cuts open. "It won't work," he said tersely and headed towards the large transporter on that floor, only
stopping briefly to pick up the masks of the Shadows that were left and stuff them into a small bag. After all of the items
that were lying around on the floors, having a bag to carry that stuff in was a necessity.
"Why not?" she asked.
'I don't know'. But he didn't say it and just headed out, activating the contraption and travelling back down to the lobby.
"Why didn't he answer you?" Junpei asked, yawning a little. He was tired, and it was kinda late. Dark Hour took their
energy away a lot quicker than in the day.

"I don't think he knows or maybe he just didn't want to answer me for some reason," Yukari replied, following Minato's
lead.
"Tch. I'll find out," Junpei sighed and did the same.
After feeling like he was spinning around so much and wanting to puke, Minato landed back in the lobby, all too glad that
the sense of vertigo that was attacking him had left once he struggled to full height. "I don't like transporters," he muttered
with a glare to the innocent green pad.
While Mitsuru was concerned for how he seemed to be feeling, Akihiko was busy trying to suppress a small chuckle at
Minato's ire. "Are you alright?" she asked.
To her question, he gave a small 'so-so' motion with his hand as the rest of his team joined the crowd. "I-I don't think I
can go to Tartarus tomorrow," Yukari said weakly.
"Yeah, I'm kinda beat up. But we made some progress, right?" Junpei smiled a little, trying to lighten the mood.
"It would be for the best," Mitsuru agreed. "And yes, Iori. According to my brief scans on the transporter that you just used,
that can be used to send you back to that one floor."
"Sounds like a plot point so we don't have to keep fighting our way back to our previous position," Minato said slowly.
And yet, he still missed a word. Accursed damned cuts.
"It kinda does!" Junpei exclaimed.
Minato just shook his head, choosing to ignore a possibly important surge of power in favour of trying to avert a migraine.
Note: Never again use powerful Shadows two days in a row if you haven't had much time to rest. "Anyways, we got up to
that point. We'll go again in a couple of days, if that's alright with everyone? You should be rested up by then," he said.
"Well actually, Arisato I think while your apparent dedication is a stellar asset to our exploration of Tartarus, I think it
would be better if you spaced apart the Tartarus trips so that not only can your team mates get rest, but be able to
socialise" Mitsuru suggested. Oh right. Minato didn't have that much of a social life so he didn't care as much.
"Besides, I'm sure that you know. We have to balance our school lives as well. I believe that some may have to study?"
"S-Studying?" Minato chuckled, but a cough and a grimace betrayed him. "I hate studying!" he muttered, earning him not
only Mitsuru's glare but Akihiko's pleading 'no' look. "Ugh fine" He might've actually had to start listening in class then
especially if Mitsuru was breathing done his neck for something like that. Somehow, her look promised pain.
"Uh right! T-Trig!" Junpei whimpered. He was screwed, by the way.
Yukari tried to keep her composure, nodding slowly. Studying. She didn't like it either, but it was something that she had
to do. Besides, it couldn't be that bad. Right? "Alright," Yukari said.
"Good," Mitsuru gave her satisfied smile.
"Well, we better get going," Akihiko said. "Dark Hour's gonna end in a few minutes," he said.

"What's this? I never imagined that you would actually be staying up during class," Sachiko chuckled.
"How do you know that I usually sleep?" Minato blinked. What was she? Psychic or incredibly observant? eh, it was
probably the latter option. Even he wasn't crazy enough to believe that she was psychic.
"to tell the truth, I'm psychic. I'm just kidding. I just have really good intuition," Sachiko said, starting to freak Minato out
even more. "And I mean I'm joking. My joke was a one-time thing."
"I have no idea where you got that from, but it sounds eerily familiar and I d-don't like it," he said quietly, coughing into his
fist.
"I have no intentions of doing that again," she seemed to reassure him. Not that her expression ever supported any kind
of speech that came out her mouth. It was always fairly blank. "Anyways. I have time after school. I would like to discuss
with you about that speech of yours"
He caught that she was trying to use more discreet wording that seemed like it was related to school instead of saying
whispers outright. "Okay Hagakure?" Minato asked.

"Like before," she agreed. "Well I'll be looking forward to it. I'll see you at another time." With that, Sachiko strode off.
Minato gave out a sigh. Wait. "Sachiko-san," he called. She raised an eyebrow just as she was about to leave the
classroom. "How did you know that I was awake?"
"Toriumi-sensei didn't seem as flustered, and I heard from a few people as class ended," Sachiko shrugged before
finally going back to walking out.
"That was not" It wasn't something he was expected, although he should've, really. Minato sighed once more and was
about to take a nap on his table.
"Hey dude," Junpei said. He gave a deadpan in response, silently telling the capped teen that whatever he was going to
say had better been good. "Y-Yeesh I I think we mighta gotten off on the wrong foot. Truce?"
Again, something that Minato wasn't expecting. "Whatever." While his answer was plain as ever, this time Minato was
giving Junpei eye contact. He never really did that, and was usually focusing on something else rather than the person
speaking. It was usually the case most of the time actually.
Question was whether he was glaring at Junpei so he would go away or for him to spit out whatever was on his mind.
"Uh I just thought that maybe later we could look, I'm really curious about that Shadow talking or whatever so is it
okay if I found out a bit about it and stuff?" Junpei asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"meet me at Hagakure after school," Minato sighed eventually and went back to sleep. He might as well have killed two
birds at once. No, he didn't want to talk to Junpei but he might as well humour him if nothing else.
Junpei blinked. Wait, did he just actually agree?
Later on in the afternoon, all three teens had managed to meet up at the same place. Minato gave a brief wave to
Sachiko before sitting next to her. "We have company," he muttered disdainfully before ordering some ramen.
"Who would that be?" she asked.
"That guy." Minato gestured to just behind him, Junpei finding his way in.
Sachiko raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like him. What is he doing here?" she wondered aloud.
"He knows about the Dark Hour and wanted to know about Shadow Whispers," Minato explained quickly.
"So there are more than just you that are able to fight against Shadows but he mustn't have the same power as us if
he doesn't know exactly what Shadow Whispers are," Sachiko deduced quietly with a small smile.
"you're right," Minato replied. She was dead sharp
"Hey Minato," Junpei grinned as he took a seat next to him.
"Hello," she greeted. "I haven't told you my name" Sachiko noted.
"Nope! My name's Junpei Iori, but you can just call me Junpei," he said.
"My name is Sachiko Kagami," she replied. Sachiko briefly wondered how it was that Minato didn't like Junpei. It wasn't
as if he seemed all that bad, if energetic and cheerful.
"Sachiko-san what businesses are you usually caught up in?" Minato asked after slurping up some noodles. Although
he almost regretted it since his wounds on his tongue were being scorched by the hot soup
"I'm a detective. I solve cases, and I use Shadow Whispers in order to gather information from Shadows at times,"
Sachiko explained. "I don't usually need it, but well, they can be a source of valuable intel sometimes."
"You talk to Shadows too? How is it, talking to them I mean?" Junpei asked wide-eyed.
Sachiko looked at him curiously, as did Minato. "Hm I don't talk to them enough to be able to make a solid judgement.
For the most part, it's almost like talking to another person in the day."
Minato sighed. "I I talk to Shadows so I can get their purified forms. They listen to me, owing me a huge debt," he
explained, deftly avoiding any sign of emotional attachment to them as he spoke.

"You didn't exactly answer my question," Junpei pointed out. Okay, since when we he so curious and so smart?
He shook his head and shrugged. Minato wasn't sure how to answer that question; did he like talking to Shadows?
There was a part of him that liked talking to Shadows (at least more than people anyways) but there was another that
held a near unimaginable amount of disdain for them. "I don't know," Minato muttered.
"Hm he didn't exactly answer me very well when I tried asking him questions about this the last time," Sachiko said. "It
is best to conclude that whatever is keeping him from divulging his feelings on the matter may be very personal in
nature."
"to purify Shadows, I have to make them accept themselves," Minato mumbled. "It's not easy."
"How's that?" Junpei asked.
Minato's hands and shoulders were trembling as he thought about what happened if he said the wrong things and
couldn't save them. Knowing his failures left a deep, dark depression in his stomach and blocked up his throat with
regrets, that maybe it would never happen again like it almost did to Sho. "N-No. Shut up about it," he said weakly. "It
doesn't matter."
Hearing Minato's shuddering voice finally hit Junpei hard. He had never heard him sounding so scared or so pathetic. "If
you say so," Junpei nodded.
"purifying Shadows is a dangerous task, it seems. Maybe not for Minato," Sachiko concluded easily. She was almost
afraid to push Minato's buttons further on the subject, but something prevented her from doing so. Whether it was some
amount of care or apprehension, she couldn't inquire further. Besides, if Minato really wanted to, he would've said. He
had a reputation of being a douche or other such colourful language, but if given the chance he wasn't so disagreeable
or unruly. "Well. Junpei, how long have you known about Minato's powers?"
"Found out about it a few days ago," Junpei answered. "Our group that we're part of, ya know, SEES?" Sachiko nodded.
She had heard about SEES at school, hearing that it was a lesser known extra-curricular group. But now she
understood: SEES was a group that fought against Shadows. "I found out about Shadow Whispers around the same
time that joined."
"I see to be honest, I can't give anyone much insight into talking to Shadows unfortunately," Sachiko lamented. "Minato,
may I see that book of yours?" He nodded wearily. Minato expected her to ask about it. Sachiko took his compendium
and flicked through it briefly. She found that even if she saw the symbols that seemed to represent some kind of normal
human language, she couldn't read it for whatever reason. "I can't read it"
"you can't read it?" Minato's eyes widened. "I thought all Shadow Whisperers could read Shadow Script"
"Maybe this is something different," Sachiko said, handing back the tome to him.
Minato rubbed his temple. All of the symbols of Shadow Script made sense to him whenever he cast his eyes over the
words, almost as if he was reading Japanese. It was just natural. He could even write in it. "Maybe"
The fact that only he could understand the strange symbols had him curious but that wasn't the real animal at hand. Now
no-one, not even a fellow Shadow Whisperer could trust what he could write in Shadow Script or what was printed in his
compendium.
"Oh right. Minato, remember when Yukari tried to heal you but it didn't work?" Minato gave Junpei a small nod. "What was
that about? I couldn't really tell. You didn't get beat up by any of the Shadows as we were going along"
"That'd be tongue," Minato said, immediately missing out a word. "Goddammit."
"What do you mean?" Sachiko asked.
"My tongue gets cuts all over it when I talk to Shadows for too long," Minato explained. "Why I don't like talking. They don't
heal up spells, and I have to let them heal naturally that takes a time" More stammering. Wonderful.
"Eh, really?" Junpei's eyes widened. Since when was that kinda thing possible?
"That doesn't happen to me though" Sachiko said quietly.
Minato sighed. Figures.

Nights: *writes epic battle* yo guys! A little busy but get ready for a fucking slobberknocker! Box us yo thoughts and
toodles.
Star: Hello guys, because I was such a ning-nong I almost forgot to put the review replies and author notes at the
end of last chapter, so if you're wondering they're here now soooo *hides from Nights* Slobberknocker?
Anyways! More character interaction and I got to write the Tartarus fight with the Venus Eagles, so hope you enjoy it!
Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you guys later!
Reviews! :D
Afterados: Heehee. I'm glad you like Sachiko. Ah, actually not really. Considering who Naoto's relatives could be, I
feel that Sachiko is from a completely different branch of case solving. That's just me though. Sachiko is based on a
character from a completely different game, so yes, there isn't much of a relationship. HAHA, Nights actually wanted
to get a harem with Sachiko involved just because of who she's based on but I told him no. They're just *cough*
friends (not that Minato would admit it at this point).
Yup yup! Hm no? *whistles* Well, not the phrase itself anyways, but *shuts up for fear of spewing spoilers*
Yeah, I'll get to focus on them more as he finally figures out that maybe interacting with the people around him might
actually be a good idea. Hehe. For now, they aren't so important but I'll mention them a couple of times, as well as
some other minor Social Links that I couldn't possibly forget.
Thanks!
Yoshikunitsu: Yeah, he will. Hm well, more will be explained about Sachiko's using of her powers later and yeah.
It's a huuuuge coincidence, isn't it? Heehee.
Yup yup! Hopefully. Not this chapter, but it's something I'll keep in mind for later (since most of the chapters up until
chapter 10 have been written in advance but it's just my co-writers are slowpokes) when I write.
Not yet. Especially not when Minato's got his jerkass Persona on. XD
izmtky: Uh no? Haha She's just similar in nature. She ain't related to our favourite pint-sized detective! XD

*Chapter 9*: Obligatory Bonding Episode

Sometimes, Minato did wonder what his purpose in the oh so wonderful universe was when he made no friends and
never tried to get close to anyone or anything except for Shadows. So far, everything had been pointing to be a sort of
protector, in which he would destroy wayward Shadows and purify other ones. But thinking about that kind of question
was just like trying to find his way through an abandoned warehouse, or something of the sort; it was dark, and there
would seemingly be no real purpose to going through with it. It was also kind of liking falling into ravenous abyss; same,
it would be dark and there would be no purpose to falling. There was also almost no way to try and get out of it either.
If that was so, why did he continue on?
Should Minato have warmed up to you enough, he probably would've said that it was to find out the real truth behind the
incident that destroyed his life about a decade ago, leaving him to pick up the pieces after. It had been slow-going, trying
to recover everything and he was also very sure, that it wouldn't take much for them to fall out of his hands again.
Until the time that he was able to reveal that truth it was treading on thin ice, and one wrong move- god forbid someone
pushed him over -could mean him drowning in a frigid river below as he was swept away.
He had been trying to be careful, although not finding anything in particular at the time that he came to Iwatodai. But now
he was stuck in SEES and he had actually subjected himself to voluntarily meet with someone to help with his Shadow
Whispers and whatnot. Why was he thinking about this heap of thoughts at the moment?
Because Sachiko wanted to know what purifying Shadows was all about.
That is, after the trio had finished eating, Junpei left for the dorm so that it was only those two. "So you're saying that you
want me to try and talk to your Shadow?" Minato asked, looking at the detective with an incredulous stare. "Don't be daft,"
he scoffed. "If your Shadow is as strong as I think it is, I can't promise you getting out of it alive."
"Why is that? If you tell me, I'd know," Sachiko responded stubbornly.
"Shut it," he growled. "I just can't. I doubt I could handle it."
Sachiko was in no way deterred by his words, but she was starting to find inkling of the things that he was thinking. "I
thought you didn't want to worry about other people," she said.
Minato's eyes widened before turning to a glare. "You've got to be kidding me" he muttered.
"If purifying Shadows is as you say it is, then it must take a toll on you to be able to happen. Not only that, but aside from
the obvious power that you could gain from Shadow purification, you'd also need to care enough to be able to wade
through their problems," Sachiko replied sharply. "I don't believe for one second that you don't care about the peoples'
Shadows that you purify at all."
He growled. Minato wasn't about to admit something like that. That's right, why did he even start this? He would've been
fine without Sachiko's help. He wasn't supposed to get close to people or anything. But what did he do? That same thing
dragged him through the mud so many times he couldn't and just wouldn't take it anymore.
The problem with everything that Sachiko was saying?
It was true. Despite what he did to distance himself from everyone around him, he still did care enough to want to talk to
Shadows and help make people better. After Shadow purification, the people went on with their lives in a happier, and
overall, better fashion. He could be honest about it, but never say it aloud; he liked seeing those people with such deepseated problems be able to pick themselves up again.
There were so many kinds of people out there, in the world, and all of them harboured their different problems. He
couldn't get to everybody, but the few that managed to survive were so worth it that sometimes he didn't even need, or
want to look for their Shadows afterwards. Maybe it was nave to think that he could care about people still, even though
he knew that most humans had the same generic problems, over and over and over again, but in slightly different forms.
It was strange to think that one person could be homeless and the next person had been sexually abused, depressed,
or even all three that he could think of. And that it was normal. This other thing that he couldn't ever admit aloud, was that
he would still try to help those kinds of people if they couldn't climb out from that rut themselves.
"And?" He glared at Sachiko with stony eyes. "What if I did? What is there to it?"

"It means that you would potentially harbour some care for me?" Sachiko smirked, seeing Minato's frown turn to
uncertainty. It wasn't something that he wanted to admit in front of her. And in just a few minutes, she had managed to
find that out. Shit.
"You know what? Yes. I do," Minato he said with a condescending tone. "Congratulations on finding that out," Sachiko's
eyes widened. He was still managing to dodge her! "And that still won't change the fact that I don't want to do it."
"I see" she sighed.
"But then again, talking to your Shadow is preferable to me teaching you how to purify other peoples' Shadows," Minato
smirked, seeing her dismayed expression turn into one of surprise. "You should see the look on your face, it's hilarious."
Sachiko blinked before shaking her head. "I don't even know how you think that kind of expression is funny," she
mumbled as the twitch of a smile appeared.
"Oh, it is," Minato folded his arms. "You're right. I do care about people enough to be able to rid them of some of their
problems. The power factor is there too. I might as well try, and you'd get what you want."
"Alright," she nodded.
Minato nodded back, and began to draw on his powers. "What's up?" he whispered, hearing Sachiko's Shadow start to
stir. "You know me, right? It's me, Minato."
"Hm it appears that when you do this, the person won't notice that much either," Sachiko murmured. "Interesting it
must be because the Shadow is more repressed, so the person wouldn't be aware of that kind of activity."
He laughed a little. Minato didn't really know how it worked, but it seemed to be a possibility. "Yeah, I guess. I'm gonna
focus now, so I can't exactly talk," he warned, earning himself a nod in response.
"So, you're that Minato?" the Shadow replied. "Cool. I'm Sachiko Kagami," Minato's eyes widened. Okay. He wasn't ready
for that change of tone. Sachiko outside, was normally formal and everything, so her Shadow's casual tone caught him
off guard. It really shouldn't have, since the Shadow having a dissimilar personality was normal. But still. He never really
talked to the person before speaking to their Shadow before "What's your business?"
"Well, I just wanted to talk. You seemed interesting," Minato answered.
"Interesting? What's more interesting is that you'd take the time to talk to me of all Shadows," she laughed playfully. "Why,
more interesting than a game, or a card trick. That can't be the only reason."
"Not at all," he responded. Promptly shut out the thought of how Sachiko might sound if she actually laughed in real life.
"So, what's up?"
"You, at the moment, and I am currently at your service," the Shadow seemed to smile. "Also, the next whim of chance.
Oh, Shadow Whispering. Such a burden, such a bore it is surely one of the greatest weaknesses of my character."
Minato raised an eyebrow. Again, not ready for that change of tone. Well, he deduced that her Shadow was referring to
the fact that Shadow Whispering was bestowed upon her by chance. It was likely anyways. "Why do you think that?"
"Why? Well, it is simply unnecessary. Like I said before, a burden," she replied. "Is it not a burden on your shoulders too?
I could not believe it was a blessing rather than a curse. Even then, isn't your speech a little different? Quite, quite there
is a difference. A startling difference," Sachiko giggled, almost dancing about her words.
"You mean how my Shadow Whispering hurts me?" He was trying not to acknowledge the rhetorical question that her
Shadow has posed. It wasn't something he had decided. Or maybe, it was something that he had hidden, even from
himself? Minato simply wasn't sure anymore.
"Indeed, my friend," Sachiko replied happily.
"Friend?" Minato's eyes widened.
"Yes. Or did you not hear me the first time? Oh well, quite normal. There are only so many possibilities according to
quantum theory that could have let you hear my sentence." She sighed wistfully. "Isn't that just quite lucky? It's almost like
a universal die. You never know what will show up on it whenever it is rolled!"
Minato frowned. It was obviously going to be very difficult trying to purify her Shadow. Somehow, he felt that his job

suddenly got a lot harder But at least it seemed as if it was relatively stable, not depressed or anything, if whimsical
and strange. So, that was good. "I heard you, I just didn't believe you."
"Well, deal with it. That is what we are now, after all? We now share a certain bond that no other would ever have
revealed to their eyes." Minato could almost feel Sachiko's Shadow giving him a thoughtful look, if it could. "You should
come back again. Perhaps we can talk a little more about 'what's up.'"
Minato opened his eyes with a headache and some stinging in his mouth. That was not conventional. "Minato-san, are
you alright?" Sachiko asked.
"Uh yeah. I'm fine," Minato replied as he rubbed the back of his head. "Guh, that was weird. Your Shadow is a lot more
closed off than any other that I've encountered so far"
"Hm. There may very well be some forces at work" Sachiko mumbled. "Are they normally this difficult to reach and
purify?"
"No, but they're more dangerous. Maybe it's just your Shadow being special," Minato shrugged. "Do you feel any ddifferent?"
"A little I feel lighter than before," she said with a wondering tone. "Is that normal?"
"Yeah. They usually feel better or happier after their Shadows are purified," he said. "But I've never had to purify a Shadow
multiple times before."
"Interesting. Would you mind doing it again sometime, now that it seems that we are in the clear?" Sachiko requested.
Minato folded his arms. "Sure. I wanna try and purify your Shadow anyways. Could get some good stuff out of it."
"Oh, that is what you would say," Sachiko rolled her eyes. But really, she did feel a bit more cheerful than normal. More
than that; she felt like she was getting to know Minato a little more. "Well. I'll be off. I have to go home and check some
cases and clues."
"Okay. Are you okay with the same place?" Minato asked. "I don't think that these kinds of meetings would be this
consistent."
"Perfectly," Sachiko gave a satisfied smile before walking off. "Farewell, Minato-san."
"Oh wait." She stopped and turned back to face him. "Just call me Minato."
Sachiko raised an eyebrow. She had not been expecting this. "Sachiko-chan."
"Wha?" Minato's eyes widened.
"You heard me." Sachiko smirked at his dumbfounded expression before continuing her way.
Somewhere inside, he felt a surge of power rise within him as she left. Not that he noticed it that much since the shock
still hadn't worn off yet. "Geez" he muttered before beginning to make his way to the dorm.
Over the course of several days Minato had been taking some time to rest up in between the time that he wasn't doing
homework or doing some exercise. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't that much excitement except for trying to get
through the floors of Tartarus which, by the way They encountered a lively fellow called the Reaper as they were going
through the levels.
"Clink. Clink."
"Stop trying to imitate the Reaper!" Yukari groaned. "It's not funny, and it gives me the creeps." He just gave a mild
chuckle in response. "Ugh, it almost makes it feel like it's going to be right around the corner," she shivered, scanning
the Tartarus halls liberally.
"Yuka-tan, you're just imagining it," Junpei laughed.
"Well, looks like someone understands my humour!" Minato exclaimed. "I never thought I'd live to see the hour!" he
teased. Junpei gave him a deadpan in response, muttering things like 'I can hear you' behind him. "But seriously. If the
Reaper was going to show up, we'd know. We've only had slight scrapes with him so far and we managed to run away
every time."

"That is correct, but I'd rather you refrain from trying to scare Takeba," Mitsuru spoke. Minato chuckled. He could almost
see her trying to rub her temple. It was just the thing to get under their skins. That was a fun past time.
"I'm not scared," Yukari said stubbornly. Haha. Right.
"Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink."
"Stop it Minato!" she growled.
"Huh?" Minato blinked owlishly before looking around. "I said nothing."
"Uh guys is it just me or is the sound getting louder?" Junpei said nervously. The last time that they saw and heard the
Reaper- if the story was any more comical than it already was -he would've pissed himself. He was scary, and he felt
strong! Junpei didn't have to fight him to know that it would be a very bad idea to try and beat him down. Not even his
pride could overwhelm the looming sense of DEATH that came from his figure.
"Shit. We should find our way to the next floor, treasure or no treasure," Minato commanded, beckoning his team around
the corridors. "I can sense him he's somew-where around here!"
he was behind them, wasn't he?
"Oh hiiiiiii Reaper-k-kun" Minato's eyes widened, looking up at the form of the Reaper's billowing, black cloak. "Guys,
why aren't you running?"
"RUN!"
"I'll distract him!" Minato said frantically as Yukari and Junpei disappeared behind him. He laughed nervously and began
his whispers. "H-Hi, um say, what do you do for a living? I suppose you must be very pretty busy chasing after us, trying
to murder maim and destroy the desecrators I mean miscreants I-I mea-"
The Reaper stared Minato down with his lone yellow eye, sending him trembling. "Let me count to ten. By the end of my
countdown, you should be gone, otherwise I will Megidolaon you to blindness."
was that a threat? "Was that a threat?" Minato found his audacity once more. "Maybe that's the reason you've only got
one eye; because you're zetta slow and you couldn't get away from your own explosion."
"Arisato, what are you doing!? Run!" Mitsuru called frantically.
"I have no idea what I'm doing," he muttered.
The Reaper groaned. "One. Two. Three. Four."
"Mitsuru, tell me that they've found the exit," Minato said nervously, getting ready to run.
"Five-"
"Go-"
"Six-"
"Yes?"
"Seven-"
"To-"
"YES?"
"Your-"
"Eight-"
"YES!?"
"Nine-"
"Left!"

"Holy shit!" Minato spun and ran as fast as his legs could take him.
"Ten." The Reaper lifted the barrels of his revolvers and took steady aim for Minato.
"Oh shit!" Minato briefly used a Sukukaja spell to speed up his escape from the encroaching light being blasted his way
from the Almighty attack shot from the Reaper's guns. He was wasting precious energy, but obviously trying to save it
was not an option when an attack was threatening to swallow and eat him for dinner.
The burning magic was licking at his heels, and he could feel his skin starting to become painfully seared from the
intense heat. Minato jumped into the segmented walls to the area where the next set of steps was, finding Yukari and
Junpei waiting for him there. "Come on!" Junpei said.
"Argh" he snarled. Almighty magic barely touched him and already there were ravenous pains biting at his back.
"Never encounter the Reaper like that again" he muttered, seeing out of the corner of his eye, the coated Shadow
staring him down from the partitions.
"You're lucky I'm not allowed to enter in there otherwise you'd never have seen the next light of day," the Reaper hissed. "I
will see you many times before the end of this journey is come; remember that."
Minato gulped. He was going to see him again? How could he take that when he almost killed him this one time? "Uh
right," he breathed out, feeling cool Shadows start to soothe his skin and heal his burns.
"Hm." With that, the Reaper disappeared behind the walls.
"Guys. Promise me you'll never try to fight that guy without the whole team?" Minato said with a shaky voice. "And u-until
we're stronger?"
"R-Right," Yukari replied.
"Heh, looks like you got out alive though!" Junpei grinned. "That's something!" If he was being honest with himself, yes.
He was still jealous of Minato's skills. But he could never wish death on him, so the hate could never get that far. It was
gladly cut shorter earlier.
"that was reckless, Arisato. Never do that again," Mitsuru said, trying to keep her tones even.
He sighed, nodding in agreement. "We still have a boss to take care of though."
"Shoot! I forgot about that!" Yukari gasped. "Are you okay to go on?"
Minato gave a nod and followed his team up the stairs after affirming that he didn't get seriously hurt in that chase. Not
that he was telling them, but one of his Shadows was using Diarama on him to help him along. "So. Now we got to deal
with A Rampage Drive? That's funny"
"What's so funny about that?" Junpei raised an eyebrow.
"I have one of those," Minato replied. "It has no weaknesses. Which was kinda why I liked using it but"
"It's kinda bad to battle something that's that badass, especially if you've had it before," Junpei said absentmindedly.
"Because it's like"
"You betrayed me!" Minato and Junpei said in unison. "You're absolutely right, Junpei," Minato remarked, earning a
begrudging groan from Yukari. This was not something she was expecting. "Anyways, let's go. I know the RAWs pretty
well so Mitsuru can just record them as they come up."
"What are they?" Mitsuru asked.
"Null Slash and Pierce, Reflect Strike and Resist Fire," Minato listed. "Junpei will be handicapped, and Yukari too, but I
have a plan."
"I see" Mitsuru noted, listening intently.
"What's that?" Yukari asked nervously.
"Well"
"This is working soooo well," Minato sighed as he released a Fire Break Spell on the raging Chariot Shadow. Rampage

Drives were normally very energetic and destructive. That was a lot of people, but they could still give some trouble. A
red haze distorted the Rampage Drive's image and Minato called to Junpei, "You can use Fire on it now!"
"Alright! Agi!" Junpei commanded Hermes. He spread his metallic wings and rained a volley of fireballs onto the
Shadow. It thrashed and roared in pain as it wasn't able to dodge all of the attacks.
"Yukari, you can use Wind fine," Minato said, spurring Yukari into action.
"I-Io! Garu!" Yukari's Persona blew cutting wind into the Rampage Drive. While it was hurt by the Garu spell, it definitely
wasn't down for the count. Minato knew that these kinds of Shadows had a lot of endurance up their sleeves, and it kept
them fighting for a long time, whether he was powering them up or not.
The Shadow spun its upper body around, and crackling filled the air. Minato cursed. "Shit!" Mazio! And Yukari was weak
to Zio Okay, lightning would be too fast to summon for Shadow "Yukari, you better goddamn dodge, otherwise"
It was too late to be able to warn Yukari of the incoming attack. While Junpei was fine and managed to dodge the
lightning since he had already attacked, she was still recovering and managed to get struck by one of the bolts. She
slumped onto the ground, trembling as electricity discharged onto the floor.
And the Rampage Drive was still moving. It was charging towards the downed Yukari at high speeds with an Assault
Dive attack. "Sho!" Minato called, materialising the Brave Wheel in front of the crazed Shadow.
Just as the Assault Dive was about to hit Sho, a barrier appeared, and the Strike Attack was deflected. Yukari gasped as
she managed to recover, seeing the roaring Shadow defending her. It disappeared back into Minato's compendium as
the Rampage Drive powered up for a Tarukaja instead, but Junpei managed to take the chance to attack the Shadow
with Agi.
It hit cleanly the Rampage Drive's back, making it release a howl of pain. "Garu," Yukari said, and once again, the
Shadow was bombarded with Wind.
"Heh" Minato mentally thanked himself that he remembered Sho's resistance to Strike and moved to throw a Hama
spell, blinding and searing the Chariot's vision. "It's getting low on energy!"
Junpei grinned at that and sent Hermes to blast the Rampage Drive with Agi once more. While it was nearing low
energy, it still hadn't given up however. Again it cast Mazio, shocking Junpei's Persona out of existence. This time, Yukari
saw the attack coming and managed to barely dodge when the lightning began to touch down to Minato's relief. His
earlier blinding must've provided them all with some leeway. He too had dodged and began to activate another spell.
"Mudo!" he called.
Spheres of dark energy raced towards the Rampage Drive. While it dodged, it couldn't evade the majority of the attack
and it was hit. Then it began an Assault Dive for Junpei, but it seemed something was off as a result of the Mudo attack.
"I was pretty sure it was way faster than this before!" Junpei exclaimed, easily moving from the Shadow's trajectory as
another red haze befell it.
"Yeah, Mudo spells curse the opponent. The effect changes and it doesn't happen that often. Hama can blind," Minato
explained briefly, leading to Mitsuru filing that away for another time. It seemed like a very useful tactic to use in battle.
"Watch out for the Mazio!"
"You don't need to tell us!" Yukari said, out of breath after she evaded the tendrils of lightning. "Garu!"
"Heh, I got it! Agi!" Junpei grinned as he summoned Hermes and fired Agi at the Rampage Drive.
The two attacks hit the Rampage Drive from both sides, hitting it full force. It seemed to be tiring, although it tried to throw
another Mazio spell as a last resort. Not that Minato would let it. "Kishimaru!" he smiled, bringing the armoured knight to
bear the battlefield. "Garudyne!"
The Intrepid Knight let out a hollow chuckle before sending a twisting tornado that tore into the Rampage Drive finally.
The Shadow dissipated out of existence, as did Kishimaru to his page form. "Heh. We did it," Minato murmured.
"You three all did well," Mitsuru smiled.
"Hell yeah!" Junpei cheered. That was awesome!
"Yeah we pulled it off!" Yukari said on a relieved note.

"Well I think that's enough for this hour. We collected stuff, ran into the R-Reaper (shiver) and we beat a boss," Minato
said. "What do you think?"
"Well, I am pretty tired out," Yukari admitted. Minato nodded at that, earning a similar disappointed response from Junpei.
"Alright. Let's go," Minato sighed, following his way to the transporter.

Star: Haha, we're back with another. The next chapter will be extra-long, and Nights is writing the fight for that one.
For now, this is just filling in for some of the other elements which I'm going to introduce later on Especially since I
learnt that resident Reaper was of the Death Arcana a while ago. Alrighty, that's enough from me. Plz box us yo
thoughts and we'll see you guys later.
Nights: ... Well, more CD and stuff. Will ya'll kindly review this chapter real fast so we can have some action? Yeah,
the next chapter is done. Fusio- *cough* No spoilers, but you'll see. Shove us your thoughts and we'll see you later.
Reviews. :3
Sacchin: Maybe, maybe not! Har har. You'll see later on. The reason why it's different can only be traced back to one
reason and one reason only. X3 The difference is further explained here, a tiny bit.
Yoshikunitsu: I suppose so, but he's stubborn! It's already had a greater effect on him than you might think! I've
alluded to it in the very first chapter, although subtlety is presumably, not my kind of art.
Yup yup, and her Shadow even pointed out a few differences too!
As always, I'm going to have the Social Links. But they won't be as focused on as the other Shadow Links he makes,
like with Sachiko's Shadow.
Will do.
Mr. Haziq: Hm, if you say so. I did look back over the chapter for now at least, but I couldn't see anything though
Indeed, you are! Sachiko is based on Kyoko! The joke about Sayaka's line was merely a reference however. It's her
character as a base, but I threw in and took away some things, so Sachiko will be different to her.
Droffatsstafford: You don't have to. (Although to my appreciation and Nights', it would be nice X3)
Commas? I guess so? Sometimes I leave them out on purpose to make it seem like the characters are speaking
or thinking rapidly or because I don't think I need them in the sentence for it to make sense. :T I dunno, I guess I
just can't see it.
Descriptive language is something I've had a dilemma with for a while now. Sometimes, you'll want more of it, and
sometimes you won't even need it. With that example you used, I see where you're coming from. But sometimes I
choose concise language instead which will get the same point across, while still carrying a different meaning that
will let the readers do some more of the work in their heads. As in, less words for me. I usually do that kinda flowery
language only when I need it to make stuffs flashier. XD But, I'll see. There's always me putting more in. (I don't think
my co-writers would notice to be honest)
I had thought about it, but I find bolding or italicising speech is kinda tacky and unnecessary now Believe me, I'd
done it before. And I can't say that I particularly liked it. :T
Haha, well Sachiko's just like that because of whom I based her on. Kyoko has high perceptive abilities, and is
very adept with creating new possibilities to go with cases that seem to have no leads. Sachiko in particular further
utilises this when she's talking to people too. :3
I'm glad you liked it though. I'm actually still a little iffy on how Junpei should act around Minato, especially in that
scene, but that should all change next chapter. :D
Har har, thankee muchly. X3c

*Chapter 10*: Derailed Complications

Now that Minato had finally bothered to give some thought to it, he concluded that every trip to the Velvet Room to register
Personae in the compendium and trying to fuse new things was like a staring contest between him and Elizabeth, only
made more awkward by the fact that Igor was caught in the middle of it whenever mixing things together was involved.
Speaking of people getting caught in the middle of awkward situations
"Arisato, have you been keeping up with your studies? It appears as though you've been taking quite a lot of time in class
for sleeping rather than listening to the teachers' lectures," Mitsuru asked as he entered the lobby.
Immediately, it felt as if the temperature dropped a few noticeable degrees and his sweat turned cold. To be honest, yes
he was sleeping in class more than he really should've been, but that didn't mean he didn't study. He did so, however
begrudgingly. Unfortunately for him, no-one could get perfect marks just by sitting around in the holidays and studying
your ass off when you don't even know the syllabus. "Of course. I do a thing called homework," he said, throwing a
deadpan at the red haired senior.
She raised an eyebrow. "Well, that is more than I can say for Iori or Akihiko," Mitsuru lamented. "But you know that even
homework won't cover every single thing that is taught."
"Well, neither do lectures but you don't see anyone else complaining," Minato folded his arms.
"Mitsuru-senpai?" Yukari's voice came. "Minato-kun doesn't sleep in every single class. He manages to pay attention to
most of them anyways. He usually only does it after we come back from Tartarus"
"Is that so?" Mitsuru said, punctuating her words with a bemused chuckle.
Minato gave a look to Yukari, who just shrugged in response. "It's true, right?"
"Ugh, yes," Minato murmured. Yukari just ruined his fun. He was messing around with Mitsuru but she defended him. He
wasn't actually sure how to feel about that. Minato would always have the audacity to throw witty remarks and jokes at
Junpei and Yukari since while he tolerated them it wasn't as if he liked them either. "Fine, I pay attention in class. Happy
now?"
"It's merely quite curious," Mitsuru said with an enigmatic smile, confusing the two juniors. "Well, I'm glad to see that
some of us are doing well. I can't say the same for those other two" Of course, she was referring to Junpei and Akihiko.
Yukari winced. Never once did Junpei get that good of marks. Most of the time they were at least passable, but it was still
a dismal display. That had been going on since the last year when she met him too. "Junpei was like that before this
though. I think he's using Tartarus as an excuse not to study." It almost made her wonder how it was that he got into
Gekkoukan, considering the high standards that the school had. It wasn't as if it was a cakewalk to get through the tests
that everyone had to go through to get into their chosen high schools.
"Smart, smart," Minato praised quietly. No-one would ever hear that he actually said that something Junpei had thought
of was a good idea. "Well I-I got some sushi to down and homework to plough through," he announced before
making his way upstairs.
Yukari followed after him, intending to do the same, but as it came to the point where Yukari could turn for the next set of
stairs and Minato could go to his room he stopped. "Why'd you help me?"
"I was just telling the truth," Yukari answered, wondering what he could be so hung up on. People helped others in those
kinds of situations, right? "I remember the last time that Mitsuru was talking to Akihiko, I swear I saw her try to freeze him
in a block of ice"
"But y-you didn't need to. I-I'm not even a friend of yours," he sighed.
Something about what he was saying sounded off. It was his tone. Usually he would sound condescending but this time
it came out more as if he was tired. Weird. He wasn't tired earlier. "Minato-kun. I don't believe you," Yukari said
stubbornly.
Minato muttered a few things under his breath, mostly about how Yukari was starting to sound like Sachiko. "Believe me
or not," he shrugged, about to walk off.
But Yukari caught his shoulder. "I'm serious," she said. "You could honestly have left me or Junpei unprotected back in

some of those battles in Tartarus. You tried to give off that aura as if you don't care about us bu-"
"Enough Yukari-san," he growled.
"it's not working," Yukari continued, regardless of his tone. "It's not working. I'll be honest with you. I didn't think that I
could trust you before with how mean you were to everyone and the fact that you could control Shadows and talk to them.
Right now, there's still a part of me that thinks the same way." She took a breath and said, "But I want to be able to trust
you. I still don't, but I'm beginning to think that maybe what you're doing, to try and make us not like you it's not real."
"Tch. You don't know what you're doing but you're going to try anyways? You've got to be kidding me," Minato laughed
coldly. "I'm not going to let you find out. Not now, not ever."
"Is that a promise?" Yukari asked.
"whatever you want to make of it," he said. Minato shook his head and went back to his room, this time, ignoring
Yukari.
She gave out a small sigh, about to walk up to her room. "What's up Yuka-tan? You seem kinda down," Junpei laughed
heartily.
"Oh hey Junpei," Yukari replied, neglecting his usage of 'Yuka-tan.' "Minato-kun was being weird again," she explained
briefly.
"Whaddaya mean? He's always weird," he rolled his eyes. Yukari gave him a sceptical expression before agreeing. That
was true. He was always standoffish like that.
"I know, but I can't shake this feeling about him." She shook her head. Yukari knew that he was hiding something, and he
was practically trying to dangle that thought in front of her. But he always took it away before she could try and find it.
"That he should be your next boyfriend?" Junpei teased.
Yukari looked at the capped teen with a heavy glare, wiping the smirk off his face. "That's not even funny," she groaned. "I
mean that he's hiding something. I don't know what but I really want to find out."
"Eh? He's a hardass Yuka-tan! He isn't gonna just tell ya," Junpei exclaimed. "Besides, I couldn't get much outta him
when I tried to find out about that weird power a few days ago."
"You tried that?" Yukari's eyes widened. Since when did Junpei get so interested in Minato?
"Yeah. But every time he tried to talk about it he just got quiet and clammed up," Junpei sighed. "Maybe he is hiding
something but whatever it is, it ain't pretty. Even Sachiko-san didn't seem to be able to get anything outta him either."
Yukari sighed. "I guess so, if he's been trying to hide it. Wait, Sachiko Kagami? You mean that girl from 2-D?"
"Uh yeah, why?" Junpei asked.
"Just I was just wondering what she was doing with Minato," Yukari said. "It's not as if he's the type of guy to just
randomly hang out with people. Do you think there might be a reason behind that?"
"Um maybe?" he shrugged. The fact was pretty obvious; Junpei didn't care whether or not Minato managed to meet
Sachiko by chance or whatever other reasons. Possible that he cared more about the fact that Sachiko did actually look
pretty cute.
"Oh well there's a lot that we don't know. I'm gonna go and do some studying. See ya," she said before walking
upstairs. Junpei too went to his room after that, muttering about Minato and Yukari.
Once he had walked off Minato fell onto his bed. For once, he had no desire to study. There would always be a part of
him that made him continue to study, however much he didn't want to. But this time there wasn't. He supposed that
conversation- if he could call it that with Yukari drained all of his energy.
He figured that he probably should've gone back to just ignoring everyone and being a jerk. Evidently, by letting up he had
unleashed a whole load of questions from people that he was pretty sure, he didn't want to talk to. Minato always lied to
himself to justify being standoffish by saying that he didn't like the person that he was talking to. There was another part
of him that told him that dealing with trivial problems also gave him a headache.
You know? Those students that will always have the same, easily solvable egos all the time? That thought was

something that kept him from not only interacting with their Shadows, but from talking to them nicely at all.
Instead, he slept. It was rather peaceful until the Dark Hour fell. That was rather normal for him, so that wasn't what woke
him up. Rather, it was the presence of the boy that he saw when he first came to the dorm and the same voice that he
heard when he first awakened to his Persona. He was sitting on the edge of Minato's bed. "Hello. How are you?"
Hearing that, Minato stirred awake. "Aren't you?" he mumbled, still groggy from sleep.
"Be careful," the boy warned. Minato was about to ask what he meant, but that was soon answered. "You'll be facing
another trial soon."
"Do you mean that Shadow? That really big one that I saw?" Minato rubbed his eyes, barely deciphering what the
mysterious boy was saying.
He laughed and gave him a smile. "You know very well what it means! I'm glad you figured it out," the boy said, the barest
hint of excitement in his voice. "Well" The boy disappeared and reappeared near the window at Minato's desk, making
his eyes widen. "I'll see you again, once it is over." With that, he disappeared into thin air.
"Agh" Minato shook his head. That wasn't a dream. It couldn't have been. Somehow that boy seemed eerily familiar,
and it was just from the brief times that he had met him. "I think I just I need some more sleep," he muttered before
falling back to his pillow. He could figure out what that meant in the morning; not that it meant he would be any less tired
then.
Since then, he had been thinking about what the boy said. He more or less confirmed for him that there was probably
going to be another big threat coming, like the one he'd encountered on the roof with Yukari. With that in mind, spread
over a few days, Minato spent some time going through Tartarus.
Eventually, the team encountered what seemed to be the end of their explorations. "What is that?" Yukari asked.
Blocking the way to the next set of stairs was a dimly glowing lamp post, accompanied by towering fence of cluttered
chairs and tables. The setup itself seemed to be glowing with a mysterious power that told that it wasn't any ordinary
barricade. "I'm not really sure, but we gotta keep going!" Junpei said.
"Wait, we mustn't be rash," Mitsuru said. "We don't know what could happen if you do. Examine it first." Minato sighed
(ignoring Junpei's outburst) and approached the barrier, placing a hand on it. The glow seemed to make up a wall, and
while the mountain of chairs and tables themselves looked almost insurmountable in height that was what blocked their
way. "How is it?"
"There's a wall," he said simply. "We probably can't get through"
"Pff. You haven't even tried and you're just going to give up there?" Junpei scoffed. Minato just shrugged and stepped
back.
"And you've better idea?" Minato pinched the bridge of his nose. Was he seriously going to try and ram int
Oh. Junpei was flat on the floor, staring up at the sky. He'd tried to ram his shoulder into the wall, but he was bounced
back onto the tiles. "Okay, I don't think that's going to work," Yukari shook her head. She breathed out and summoned Io.
"Garu!" she called, and blades of wind sailed towards the barrier. Unfortunately, even though the attack dissipated, the
wall stood ever strong.
"Orpheus," Minato muttered. If only to calm their hackles. A blast of fire spawned upon the wall but left no dent; not even
when Orpheus tried to bash it down with his harp. "Alp." He switched and instead, struck a bolt of lightning into the
barrier. "I don't think Persona attacks will work either."
"Tch, what else can we do?" Junpei growled as he stood back up.
"Well" Minato mumbled. "Kishimaru." He summoned the Intrepid Knight, and commanded him to try any attack he
could on the wall. "I dunno if it'll work, but try it," he whispered to him. Kishimaru nodded and attempted to stab into the
barrier with his lance.
To Minato's amazement, the green glow was starting to distort but nothing more than that even when Kishimaru
attempted to blast it with a Garudyne. Yes, the glow flickered for a few split seconds, but it was clear that it was going to
stay strong. "I don't think there's anything we can do. We'll have to leave it here for now. Good work," Mitsuru said as
calmly as possible although, it also sounded as if she were dismayed that they couldn't go any further.

"I wonder what's going to happen now since we can't get through," Yukari said. She really wanted to know more about
Tartarus, especially if it could potentially hold any secrets.
Minato shrugged. He honestly wasn't sure either, but he wasn't about to, nor was he bothered to voice his concerns.
Instead, he turned his attention to the lone treasure sitting rather innocently on the side of the wall. Inside the box was a
piece of paper with neat writing that read: 'The electricity is hooked up. But why do they need so much? There's only a
school on this island'
"What's that you have there?" Yukari asked, looking over Minato's shoulder. He shrugged, and gave it to Yukari to read.
"Electricity I wonder who wrote this?" she wondered aloud. "Here Junpei," she sighed.
"Ehhh. I have no idea what that means," Junpei nodded sagely, earning him a deadpan from Yukari.
Meanwhile, Minato sighed. "Beats me. But that's one thing t-that we got outta this," he said, making his way to the
transporter. "Maybe our senpais know."
"True, maybe they could get something out of it," Yukari agreed.
Once the team went back down, they encountered Mitsuru and Akihiko nearby. "It's unfortunate, but it seems that we
won't be able to move any further into Tartarus if we want to find out more. We may have to look for signs as to when the
barriers could be removed. I myself would like to find that out," Mitsuru said. "Did you find anything else there of note?"
Minato brought to Mitsuru and Akihiko's attention, the piece of paper. "Where did you find it?" Akihiko asked as he read it
over. "I wonder where this came from"
"I don't know," Mitsuru agreed. "If we are able to further our investigations, it's very well possible that we could find more
of these and piece together Tartarus and the Dark Hour a little more."
"Hopefully they get unblocked soon then," Minato sighed. "Let's go?"
"I suppose we'll have to go back and see another time," Akihiko said.
The next day, Minato went to the Velvet Room. Like oh my god, for once he actually went there. Yeah, he couldn't really
believe that he was going there for a reason other than trying to fuse new Personae (which he only really used for the
RAWs as he called them, because trying to say resistances and weaknesses took longer than he needed them to) or
getting Personae out of the compendium.
"Welcome," Igor greeted him and Minato regarded him with a nod before sitting. "What would happen to be your
business today?" he smiled, seemingly more amused than usual (if that was even possible).
"I was just thinking Would you know what this is?" Minato asked as he presented the piece of paper with the strange
report.
"It appears that you are getting that tiny bit closer to discovering the truth," Igor chuckled. "What do you think, Elizabeth?"
"Well, it's also wonderful that you've managed to clear Tartarus to that extent," Elizabeth said as straight a face as
possible (it was almost like she wanted to smile but was trying not to). "I must commend you for getting that far in that
small amount of time. I know that you've done well in completing my requests before."
Oh yeah. Sometimes, when Minato was going through Tartarus, he was given requests by Elizabeth to do a certain task
for her. So far it appeared that defeating Shadows and finding items from Tartarus was the norm and Minato would've
been perfectly happy to do just that. But you know what had been weirdest so far? Trying to figure out why Elizabeth
wanted to try that goddamned Muscle Drink. Minato and his team had sworn not to drink that swill ever again, but he so
obligingly gave it to her when she asked, promptly trying to ignore any semblance of logic that went into consuming that
awful protein drink substitute. Even Akihiko didn't like it and that was saying something.
Minato nodded at that. "So, yes, a reward is in order," she said before presenting him with string of beads. "This is a
Bead Chain. You can use it to heal your team if you feel that you are all low on energy."
"Huh thanks," he mumbled as he took it in hand, trying to ignore her gaze. "I should get going now. See ya."
Elizabeth nodded. "Minato-san."
He stopped just as he was about to leave. "What?"

"Be careful," she said.

Minato blinked. "Uh a-alright" he replied, evidently stumbling over his words. With that, he exited in a hurry.
"I believe you may have broken something of his," Igor commented, earning him a pouty look from Elizabeth.
"Pish posh, I'm sure he'll be fine," Elizabeth said.
"Oh no, I meant his apparent look of disbelief," Igor chuckled.
The next thing would be to decide whether that boy and Elizabeth's warning could help Minato at all. "You're still up?"
Akihiko asked Mitsuru. She normally stayed up late to see if there were any wayward Shadows that could prove trouble,
but usually it was clear.
"Yes. It never hurt to be more vigilant," Mitsuru said. "They could show up at any time."
"I know that, but even you gotta get some sleep," Akihiko shrugged. "Just don't push yourself."
"You're the last one to say that," she pointed out, earning a small laugh from him. "Wait. I'm detecting something,"
Mitsuru said.
"Another Shadow?" Akihiko asked.
"Yes, but the reading is different. It's too large," Mitsuru said, biting her lip.
"Could it be another one of them?" Akihiko wondered aloud.
"Wake the others up and tell them to prepare for battle," she said, striding out of the room to prepare her leave. "Tell them
to meet at the monorail," Mitsuru commanded.
"Better go wake them up then," Akihiko chuckled lightly at her stern demeanour before going out to do just that.
After some disgruntled groans from the three juniors (mostly Minato and Junpei) they all made their ways to the monorail
station like Mitsuru had said. "I wonder what's taking her so long," Junpei sighed. "I did not want to be woken up just for
this!"
"Stop complaining Stupei," Yukari shook her head, ignoring the indignant 'hey!' from the capped teen. "The full moon
looks really creepy in the Dark Hour," she mumbled.
Minato too looked up. It was huge and it covered a large proximity of the sky that you almost couldn't tell it was the moon.
The eerier glow could let you tell what was which however. He briefly wondered whether this was what the boy and
Elizabeth had been warning him about.
A distinct 'drrr' sound brought his mind back to current matters. A motorcycle. Wait, did that mean Mitsuru had a
motorcycle that worked during the Dark Hour? Bullshit! "Sorry I'm late," she said. "So, tonight this operation is the
extermination of a large Shadow. Its presence has been detected on the monorail, and to get there, you three will have to
walk on the tracks."
"On the tracks!? Isn't that dangerous?" Yukari exclaimed.
"Don't worry. Machinery doesn't work in the Dark Hour," Mitsuru reassured.
Junpei had since then been admiring the motorcycle but once he caught that bit of information he had to ask, "But what
about your bike?"
"It's specially designed by the Kirijo group," Mitsuru answered. Minato had expected that kind of answer. He briefly
wondered whether it was possible to get a Kirijo-modification for his mp3 player. That would've been the most awesome
thing for him; to be able to listen to music during the Dark Hour. Alas, he did not have that luxury. Maybe he could ask
later if all went well "Anyways, are you all prepared?"
"Uh yeah. As ready as I'll ever be," Yukari answered, glancing at Minato and Junpei. Minato was blank-faced as ever
while Junpei had his trademark grin.
"Hell yeah!" Junpei fistpumped.
Minato just nodded. "You're in charge again," Akihiko noted.

"Again, huh?" Junpei sighed. He always was. Junpei did try not to get his jealousy in the way of his actions most of the
time and tried to keep it to himself, but sometimes he couldn't help it.
The blue haired teen just shrugged off the tone in his voice and began his way to the tracks, letting the rest of them catch
up. They reached the monorail in a matter of minutes, in which time Minato had time to observe the moon. It was indeed
full as Yukari had pointed out earlier, but he couldn't help but feel there was something about that sight over Tartarus that
was almost entrancing.
"We're here," Yukari noted. "Let's go!"
"In which the guys will go first and Junpei won't get a chance to stare up at your panties," Minato cut in thoughtfully before
Yukari could start climbing up the rungs to the door.
"WHAT!?" the other two teens exclaimed in unison.
"H-Huh? B-But" Yukari spluttered. "Ugh, I guess he does have a point though"
"U-Uh yeah! We'll go first! And goddammit Minato, I wouldn't stare!" Junpei shouted before hopping onto the train.
Minato gave a brief glance at Yukari before shrugging and eventually making his way up.
When Yukari finally made her way to the monorail, the door shut behind them. "Hey, what happened to the doors!?" she
said frantically. "I thought technology didn't work in the Dark Hour!"
"What happened?" Mitsuru called.
"The d-doors shut behind us," Minato answered, eyeing a Shadow that had appeared further down in the train.
"This isn't good. It must've been a trap. You'll have to take it to the source," Mitsuru warned. "Be careful, and stay
cautious." Minato gave a grunt of acknowledgement, but before anyone could go any further
"Pshh. I can do this myself without you guys' help! That Shadow just ran off! I'll take it down no problem!" Junpei said
determinedly before running after the Shadow. No doubt, his pride was getting the better of him, which was why he had
taken such rash steps.
"What the heck Stupei!?" A lurching sound came from behind them, and the remaining two teens turned to face the
Shadows that had formed. Yukari muttered a 'damn' under her breath. "Why couldn't he just stay with us!?"
"We'll have to go after him," Minato sighed. This definitely already wasn't going well "Wonder if someone stuck a
horseshoe up his ass" he wondered aloud and glanced at Yukari. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head in
annoyance.
"W-Whatever let's go a-an" Minato took a deep breath. "And save that fool!" he yelled, inwardly cursing his stupid vice
like many times before.
"Look out! There are incoming Shadows!" Mitsuru warned.
Minato brought his view to see two Mayas forming on the ceiling. They dropped down in mounds of goop in front of the
two, making him release a sigh. How annoying could this mission get?
Yukari began to nock an arrow, but was stopped by Minato's yell. "We don't have time!" he exclaimed. "Out of my way!"
Minato hissed in Shadow Whispers. The two Shadows jumped in surprise and scuttled into the darkness. "Come on!
We're gonna try and haul our asses now!" he said to Yukari. With that, he dashed out of the compartment.
"Wait up!" she called, running after him. Minato hurried ahead. Luckily there was only one way to go so Junpei couldn't
have wandered off somewhere stupid. It wasn't too long after the chase and dispatching weak Shadows that he arrived
at the compartment Junpei was stuck in.
"Crap" Junpei was fighting several Shadows at once, and from the looks of it he was losing badly too.
Yukari finally caught up to Minato. "Junpei!"
"I've got it under con-" Junpei was interrupted and let out a grunt of pain as he was head butted by a Tiara Shadow. He
stumbled backwards, dropping his Evoker during the daze.
"They won't listen" Minato muttered. Was it just him, or maybe Shadows got really hostile during Full Moons? But then
wasn't the time to dwell on it. He tore a page from his tome before tossing it in front of Junpei, who was backing away

from the Shadows' advances. "Now!" The page released a harpy screech, and a fiery wall invaded the space between
the Shadows.
They didn't have Fire resistances, so the flames readily burnt their bodies into nothingness. Yukari took that opportunity
to help Junpei to his feet. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"O-Of course I am! I was doing just fine!" Junpei panted. Yukari was about ready to lash out at Junpei for even
suggesting that outrageous remark, but Minato cut in coolly.
"You can't run alove. You don't have this." He gestured towards his compendium.
"Like I need those things!" Junpei snapped.
"The more the merrier," Minato said with a smirk.
"Tch. I don't need my own enemies to fight my battles," Junpei spat.
"In your case, not mine," Minato retorted. Was he seriously going to argue about this now?
"Your Shadows, or my Persona. What do you say?" Junpei exclaimed, clutching his evoker.
"You're on" Minato accepted, knowing full well that his high levelled Shadows could readily kick his ass. But before
Yukari could barge in and cool things down the ground jerked beneath them, throwing them to the floor. The vehicle just
moved.
"What's going on!?" Yukari said, clutching the seat for support.
"The monorail is moving," Mitsuru exclaimed.
"We know that," Minato spat. "Who did this?"
"It's the Shadow" Mitsuru went silent for a couple of seconds before blaring, "If you don't stop this thing, it will crash into
another train!"
"What!?" Junpei said, horrified.
"What will we do!?" Yukari said.
"We defeat the Shadow. I can sense it. It's in the last car," Minato said.
"Correct. Hurry up! You only have five minutes before the collision!" Mitsuru ordered, making the three run for the next
compartment.
"Y-You can't be serious we aren't seriously going to die, right?" Junpei laughed, trying to keep the realisation from
getting to him.
"Should've thought of that before you went off and ran like an idiot," Minato snarled. Why was he stuck with some of the
hugest imbeciles that he had ever encountered in his life? The trio dispatched some smaller Shadows before reaching
the last car.
"Damn! This thing is filthy!" Minato hissed. He referred to the large Shadow standing in their way to the driver's
compartment. It took the form of a woman with a slouched back and wiry tendrils that made up her hair. On her vacant
face was a red mask that covered her eyes. One half of her body was black, the other white.
Did we forget to mention that it appeared that the Shadow was spreading her legs? Thankfully for everyone involved,
there was a white drape that covered up the majority of what could have been a potentially scarring experience. That is,
more than it had already been.
The Shadow gave an airy chuckle, raising Minato's and his Shadows' hackles. "She's got to shut up. She's scaring my
Shadows" He turned around to face Junpei. "Stop ogling, dammit!"
"I'm not!" Junpei growled, almost taking it as an insult.
"Alright, we have no t-time..." Minato stammered, as the Shadow broke their reverie with hollow moans. "Kill this thing,
enough said!" The two nodded at their leader. "Mitsuru-senpai, scan this shit!"

"I'll do so," she replied with a resolute tone. "The Arcana is Priestess!" The Priestess Shadow summoned two smaller
Shadows out of thin air, making Minato stop his charge.
He gritted his teeth. They didn't have time for this! "Move!" he demanded, narrowing his eyes. The two Book Shadows
were sent into a state of shock as an overpowering aura from Minato flooded their senses. By that, they scrammed and
left the Priestess defenceless. Minato grinned. Just what he needed; weak Shadows that he could just control.
The larger Shadow was not pleased and even seemed to mutter a few curses at Minato, and hurled her wiry hair
towards the team. Minato was caught off guard by the assault and was bashed into a side window, partly cracking it.
"Minato-kun!" Yukari cried. The Priestess gave an icy smile in response and let loose a frigid gust of Bufu, blowing
Junpei and Yukari back.
Meanwhile, Minato recovered from the earlier blow and brought Jack Frost to the forefront of his mind, granting him a
much needed Drain Ice affinity. With that, he summoned a page to confront the Priestess. A resounding 'boom' filtered
through the carriage, and the Shadow was toppled. "Was that a fist?" Junpei mumbled.
"We can't think about this now! We have to attack!" The Priestess recovered from the Sonic Punch and once again blew a
cold gale to freeze the surroundings and halt the team's advances. Fortunately, Yukari managed to counter it by
summoning Io to Garu away the frost.
"Move outta the way!" Junpei roared and summoned Hermes to the field. He spread his wings and flew into the
Priestess, digging his claws into her chest. Minato grinned and used a Cleave attack to cut or deflect the incoming hair
that was about to attack Junpei. The Shadow screeched in pain, however clearly not giving up as another Bufu attack
was sent their way.
While Minato was unaffected, he was starting to lose his balance as a result of the wind. Of course, Yukari and Junpei
were buffeted by the harsh gusts. "I can't switch" he muttered and opened his compendium again. The Priestess
seemed to sense the presence of the Shadows inside the tome and grabbed it with her hair.
"It listens to me" he laughed darkly. "Agi!" Minato commanded. The compendium flared ablaze, surprising and burning
the Priestess' grip. While it thrashed and sent more Bufu spells to every corner of the carriage, the flames produced by
the compendium detonated and engulfed her. It finally let go of the tome and tossed it aside, but Minato managed to
catch it. "Don't mess with mah damn compendium, bitch!"
The Priestess let out a grunt of frustration and again attacked Minato with her tendrils of hair. However, he just smirked.
Minato waited. Just before the tentacle could strike him, he opened his compendium and absorbed the attack into its
pages.
It shook violently, but Minato was determined to keep it shut. Minato knew that it was getting pissed beyond all hell, and
he knew it would attack. He didn't expect an arrow to go flying past him and make its home in the Priestess' forehead.
"Glad you stood," he grunted before looking back at Yukari and Junpei.
"Hermes!" Junpei shouted. The messenger of the gods darted once more to attack, but obviously it had learnt from its
earlier encounter with Hermes not to leave it unchecked. She actually took Hermes with her wiry hair, and hurled him at
Minato.
He cursed. That was not supposed to happen! Granted it wasn't really Junpei's fault, but goddamn it those metallic
wings and the whole metal body didn't help him!
Junpei gritted his teeth and began to charge. Minato was out of commission for a few moments, and the Priestess took
advantage of the situation by blasting them both with a mind-numbing Bufula. "Two minutes remaining!" Mitsuru
shouted.
"Goddammit" Minato stood up, ignoring the blood that was starting to trickle from his wounds. He had to hold onto his
compendium. "Heh this has gone far enough. I ain't dying. And I'll be going down swinging if I do!"
The Arcana Priestess released another Bufula straight for Minato. He just stood, and let the magic happen when his
compendium was finally released. The tendril he had absorbed earlier smashed straight through the ice and dug into
the Shadow's flesh, making her release a screech like nails streaking down chalkboard which pleased Minato.
Goddamned bitch had gotten in their ways, big time. "I would try to absorb you but I'm about to smash into another
fucking train and I don't need something as disgusting as you in my book."
The Priestess tried to put up a fight to Minato's thrown pages by raising her hair, but it was simply not use. The Power

Charged pieces tore remaining resistance apart and slashed her all over like hot knives through butter. "Zio!" He
unleashed hungry lightning from his compendium, searing the Shadow. It attempted to attack Minato again, but he
defended easily with his tome before cutting more tentacles apart.
"Yukari, get up," he commanded.
"I-I'm here," she winced. However, Yukari did manage her way to Minato.
"Wind spell." Minato looked back at Junpei, who was starting to struggle with small Shadows which had spawned
behind them.
"Now?" Yukari said with a confused expression.
"When I tell you" he sighed. "Dodge!" Minato shouted, shoving Yukari from another Bufula spell. "W-We've got to end
this" Minato frowned as he flipped open to another page in his compendium. "Get ready." He glanced at Yukari, who
was getting ready to summon.
Minato for once, did the same. He held his Evoker at his temple, still keeping his book open. "What are you doing?" she
asked worriedly.
He just grinned. "Orpheus!" Minato called on the musician, and his compendium began to rumble with small embers.
With a nod Orpheus played balls of fire into existence with his lyre, and the compendium formed the same.
"Now!"
"Io!" Yukari summoned Io, and let out a gusty Garu towards the conglomerate of flames. The gales sailed heat through
the metal of the carriage, and even they were starting to irritate both casters. Minato switched to Pyro Jack, and finally the
scorching tornado engulfed the Priestess.
Only a few seconds remained.
"Drop low!" Minato shouted, and Yukari did just that by hiding behind the seats and bracing herself.
The tempest of heat exploded, resulting in fiery wind swirling about the space. Even Junpei felt that the heat was near
unbearable, despite his resistance to fire. Minato held his arms up and shut his eyes as embers flew in their direction.
Once the explosion ended, he opened his eyes to a pleasing pile of smoky ash on the ground. "Serves ya right!" he
smirked.
Yukari and Junpei managed to find their footing after a while, but the archer was quickly beginning to realise something.
"Why are we still moving!?" she exclaimed.
"Shit! The momentum" Minato began.
"The momentum from the minutes the train has been moving is still going! You have to find a way to stop the train!"
Mitsuru exclaimed. What could she do!? There were only remaining seconds before the collision
"What if they don't succeed?" she muttered to herself.
"Snap out of it Mitsuru! We just have to believe in them. There isn't anything that we can do now!" Akihiko exclaimed.
"U-Uh" Minato stumbled to the driver's compartment. There had to be some brakes somewhere, right? Uh. Uhhh
where the fuck was it!? He was no conductor or some shit! "Wait, big shiny red metal"
Sickening screams from scratched metal rung out.
"Hah hah Fuck you damned Priestess bitch, we survived!" Minato exclaimed with a goofy grin as he somehow, by
instinct, managed to pull the right lever to stop the train.
"I'm never doing that again." Plonk.
"He just collapsed onto the floor" Yukari mused. "Oh god, I thought we might've"
"Are you alright?" Mitsuru asked, barely hiding her shaky voice.
"Yeah, we're fine!" Junpei exclaimed.

"What of Arisato?"
"Oh. He just fainted. I think the stress he was going through just left him," Yukari laughed nervously.
"Well, at least one of us is gonna sleep well tonight," Akihiko sighed in relief with a grin.

Nights: WAS THAT EPIC!? You better think so! I wrote that on tablet and my fingers were crying during the end.
Anyway, yes, that was a Fusion Spell; Mega Blaze from P2. Minato might be more OP than I imagined. He can do
Fusion Spells without summoning two Personae. And believe me, a LOT more is in his store for him, and his power.
Stay tuned and review us yo thoughts.
Star: Oh you. Well yeah, I didn't plan the Fusion Spell. And I don't think it's that OP if that stuff is available in another
game. Welp, hope you guys enjoyed the longest chapter in the fic so far? Yup. Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see
ya guys later.
Reviews! :D
Yoshikunitsu: Yeah, it was just some fun on my part. The Reaper will definitely be coming back later in the story for
more shenanigans.
Well, her Shadow will. How so will be more of a fun little mystery
I did touch on it (more like Nights did) and the FM bosses that Minato encounters will play some greater role as well.
One of them in particular will definitely.
Yup yup.
Droffatsstafford: Line breaks? I definitely use them. But I try to avoid it as much as possible.
Well yes, I know where to put them for the most part, but sometimes having too many commas is a bad thing
too
Sacchin: More lively? Hm, probably not. It might've been the excitement of the situation though. (as in, probably my
fault because sometimes I can't balance him properly)
Technodude: You said it yourself! It was a friendly question. He was just stalling anyways and there was no telling
what would happen since it was his first time encountering the Reaper face to face. :T
Paradoxjr: Thanks! :3

*Chapter 11*: Apathetic, Like Emotion

"Minato, you've been fulfilling my requests rather soundly," Elizabeth began. Obviously, Minato was quite piqued as to
why she was starting the conversation like this. It was almost as if she was quite reluctant to go on. "I have yet another
however, it will be different to the rest," she said sternly.
"How?" he asked.
"I would like to become more acquainted with your own world," Elizabeth explained. "You see, I've had a growing interest
in your world and I would like nothing more than to see it for myself. However, I do not know my way. I would like you to
guide me around Paulownia Mall."
Minato immediately choked. "W-What?" he spluttered.
"I will give you a moment," she gave him an enigmatic smile as he processed what he was hearing.
So she wanted him to show her around Paulownia Mall. Okay, that was simpler than he thought, but it was the surprise
of the quest itself. He supposed that Elizabeth had only him to ask, and he would be getting something out of it. But what
if people saw him? With her?
"You seem nervous," Elizabeth noted. She gave him a wondering look before continuing with, "Perhaps you don't know
what to show me?"
"N-No, that's that's not it," Minato murmured. "I really have to do this?"
"I never said that you have to. These are requests, after all. Whether you do them or not is up to you. It also means that
you won't be able to get any rewards out of it, but you may choose not to," Elizabeth explained.
They were just requests? Then why was it that Minato just couldn't make himself refuse? Okay, so someone could see
him with her they might get the wrong idea. And it wasn't as if Minato was looking forward to looking after Elizabeth and
making sure that she didn't do anything silly. "Gah, fine! What am I getting?"
Elizabeth smiled. Looks like he did accept her request after all. "A Small Cheongsam. The item will allow you to fuse a
certain Persona," she said. "It should prove very useful to you, considering the Persona's power."
"Tch let's go," he sighed.
"You're doing it right now?" Elizabeth asked.
"You seem to forget that I don't have a social life," Minato muttered disdainfully. Elizabeth frowned but relented from
berating him.
Minato opened the door out, briefly waiting for Elizabeth to step outside. "How courteous of you."
He scoffed. "Just because I don't like people doesn't mean I don't know what manners are. Come on. Paulownia Mall's
not that exciting," Minato sighed.
"You might be surprised," Elizabeth smiled, trying to stifle her laugh.
Minato just shook his head and walked from under Mandragora, only briefly looking back to see whether Elizabeth was
following him. "Oh yeah. Would you happen to know this w-weird feeling that comes up after I talk to people and get
along with them somehow?" He still questioned himself as to how it was he could get along with so many people. For
his standards anyways.
"Oh that. That would be the power of your bonds beginning to empower you," Elizabeth explained succinctly. "This
happens as you spend time with the people around you."
"Exactly what I wanted," Minato groaned. "Anyways. Paulownia Mall. Knock yourself out," he sighed, pinching the bridge of
his nose.
"I don't know how to knock myself out. That is impossible," Elizabeth intoned.
Minato would've done a spit-take if he had any liquid in his mouth. He settled for a stunning silence and a facepalm. "Are
you serious? Ugh, fine!" He was slowly but surely, starting to fathom Elizabeth's character. It was frightening. How
could he ever deal with someone as inexperienced with something as simple as a fucking mall? "Obviously, I don't think

I can take you through this with you just"

Elizabeth just raised an eyebrow. Another sigh, and he took a roughly took a firm grip on Elizabeth's wrist and started
walking. "I can walk myself," she said.
"I know. That's scaring me," he muttered darkly. First thing, the fountains. "Okay. I hope you know what a fountain is."
"Why yes! It is a strange contraption, built for making play of water, humanity's primary source of sustenance. How
wicked!" she exclaimed.
How Minato wished to shrink back into his room after the things that she just said. "N-No! Fountains just make places
look more pretty!" he explained.
"How so? Perhaps the clarity of the water and the way that it weaves through the air is what gives the fountain a special
quality of beauty" Elizabeth smiled. "Why, it is majestic. I must pay my respects to the fountain spirits!"
"W-What? Mountain no wait, fountain spirits? You've gotta be kidding me!" he wrestled with his hair, distressed. "No!
Don't pour the fucking money in the-"
Too late. Elizabeth had promptly begun pouring monstrous amounts of yen coins in the fountain pool. "No, Elizabeth,
stop it! Argh, why am I stuck with you!? Don't pour the money into the fountain! There is no such thing as 'fountain spirits'!"
By now, people were definitely beginning to stare, but for once, Minato didn't care. He was too focused on Elizabeth's
inexperience. "Like there isn't Persona?" Elizabeth asked innocently, seemingly stopping the stream of coins from her
apparently bottomless wallet.
Minato bit his lip and just shook his head. Suddenly he wished that he'd never associated with her. He preferred it when
she was beating the crap out of him now. "J-Just no. Please, don't do it," he mumbled.
"Why, I haven't heard you plead like that before," Elizabeth laughed airily.
"S-Shut up," he whimpered pitifully. "I can't even tell whether you're doing this just to spite me or if you're really just this
clueless about the real world."
"Maybe it's both," Elizabeth smiled a sickeningly sweet smile.
"I hate you" Minato muttered. "You're lucky I'm a selfish asshole, otherwise I would've just left already because this
Persona just isn't worth it." Dragging his hand down his face and turning to some other thing he could try to explain to
Elizabeth.
Elizabeth almost looked offended. "Tch there is a police station, caf, antique shop, CD shop, club and an arcade.
What should I commentate for you now?"
"What is this police station you speak of?" she asked.
Minato strode over to the entrance of the police station. This was where Akihiko had introduced Junpei and him to Officer
Kurosawa. Apparently he was the one that kept SEES well equipped. Of course, Minato didn't really have a use for his
weapons but he could appreciate the utility of the place for the others. "Well the police station is for like I-I dunno.
Criminal stuff. It's hard to explain. I mean, everyone knows what police and people like that do, but putting it into few
words is kinda"
"Difficult?" Elizabeth added helpfully.
"Yeah," Minato nodded. "This is a board where people put up troubles. It helps to keep the peace."
"Oh, I must say these requests on this board they are rather similar to my subjugation requests," Elizabeth
commented.
"Kinda. But we hey, we don't kill them. We need them alive," Minato blinked in surprise. However true her statement
was well, yes. As he had so succinctly put it: they didn't kill the people they arrested, unless capital punishment was
handed down as the criminal's sentence.
"Ah, I see This might in itself, require more skill maybe I should ask you to do the same," Elizabeth said, making
Minato choke in surprise once more. "But then again, your team mates wouldn't do very well with such an action"
"Damn straight and they aren't exactly my team mates. They're their own team mates," Minato replied stubbornly.

Elizabeth frowned at Minato, but chose not to comment on it. "Now, what is this Mandragora, so seated above the
entrance to my abode?" she asked, pointing out the booth at the top of the stairs.
"It's a place where people hire rooms and then they use certain programs to sing along to songs with lyrics on a
screen. We call it karaoke," Minato explained. "It's actually kinda" Fun. The last word died in his throat.
"Hm?" Elizabeth turned to Minato curiously.
"N-Nothing" he sighed. He liked singing with his parents at these places. It was fun while it lasted. Somehow, Minato
had this natural affinity for music. It was more reflected in Orpheus, a master of music himself. Maybe it could make
sense, but the argument was largely circular. "So yeah, that's Mandragora."
"I'd like to try my hand at these so called karaoke booths at least once," Elizabeth said. "But not now! There's more to
see, after all!"
"Uh right," he nodded.
"Now, what of this club that you mentioned?" Elizabeth visibly brightened up at the prospect of seeing the club.
"It's Club Escapade," Minato said. "I don't really know much about it since I don't think I'd be allowed in. I'm not exactly of
age."
"You need to be a certain age in order to enter! For what reason?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, they don't really allow in minors since we're at risk to drinking alcohol," he shrugged. "Not that I'm really interested
in it."
"Why is that?"
"If you have a lot of alcohol, you lose your sense of self and do silly things maybe get injured, get yourself killed or
something," Minato replied. "Aside from drinking stuff, people also go there to do dancing, I guess."
"Dancing? Why, I'd like to try that myself sometime!" There appeared to be a lot of things that she wanted to try. "Swaying
in time to the music, following the rhythm it sounds absolutely invigorating!" Elizabeth performed a small dance on the
spot.
"R-Right" Minato wasn't one for dancing.
"And there's even another fountain here! Why, it is a trinity of fountain spirits," Elizabeth said eagerly.
"N-No! Not again!" he yelled, again reminding himself as to why he wasn't enjoying himself that much with Elizabeth.
There was a small part of Minato that told him it was a pointless cause to try and stop her now. He'd rather not have to
deal with it. With that in mind, he just let Elizabeth pour the rivers of cash into the nearby pool of water.
With a groan, he took Elizabeth's hand and dragged her over to the arcade. "Because I know you're going to ask, this is
an arcade."
"A series of arches?" Elizabeth asked.
"No. You come here to play games," Minato sighed.
"That sounds rather fun!" she laughed.
Fun, huh? He glanced to the claw game near the entrance. "Oh wait! Is this the claw machine containing the Jack Frost
dolls?" Elizabeth asked.
he hated that machine! "Yes," Minato hissed.
"Hm" Elizabeth approached the machine with curious eyes and inserted the desired amount of coins into the slot. She
tried controlling the claw and moving it, moving through piles of toys to get the Jack Frost doll.
Minato watched amusedly. She'd never get it.
"My, that was easier than I thought it would be," Elizabeth said. Hahaha, wait what? Minato blinked, watching the Jack
Frost doll pop out the dispenser.

"What!? How did you?" Minato couldn't even get out the rest of his words. She got a Jack Frost doll on her first try!
"It was rather simple," Elizabeth shrugged. "You're staring at me with widened eyes. Why is this?"
"No-one. Gets the Jack Frost doll. On the first try." Minato breathed in and out, trying to wake himself from this dream.
Pinch yourself, and find out that this wasn't all just a dream; that Elizabeth that the most amount of dumb luck that he had
ever seen.
"Well, then earlier competitors must have been rather unskilled then," Elizabeth said. That ground Minato's gears so
badly, he couldn't speak anymore for fear of throwing every swear word that he knew out into the open.
"J-Just are we done here?" Minato gritted his teeth.
"I do believe we are." Elizabeth smiled before skipping off in the direction of the Velvet Room.
Minato groaned before following suit. Not fun. Just no. He almost had half a mind to refuse her next request if there were
going to be any more like this one. But the reward
Upon returning to the Velvet Room, Elizabeth settled back into the usual spot where she stood, next to Igor's chair. "I
believe that this quest has been completed to a wholly satisfactory standard," she said happily. With that, Minato received
the Small Cheongsam.
And yet there was something very empty about it. He did only just get Fusion Material out of it; not that it was a bad
thing. But there was something that gave him a certain kind of hollowness. Maybe it was because he felt like there was
something more to whatever he had just experienced. It was certainly a ride. Hm
"Is there something wrong, Minato-kun?" Elizabeth gave Minato her enigmatic smile, like always.
"N-Nothing," he shook his head.
"That's what you said before but know I do not believe you," she laughed. "You should be off then. Time doesn't wait for
you, unfortunately."
"I know," Minato sighed before making his way back to the dorm.

The past few days had been a whirlwind of activity for him. Not only did he have to deal with a meeting after the attack on
the monorail, but there were rumours going around, mysterious cases and dramas with Shadows.
The meeting went as a summary of anything that they had learnt about the Shadows after that encounter. They had
definitely confirmed the presence of Shadow intelligence, rather like Minato's Shadows, but worse. Far worse. Many
questions as to his powers were raised, as well as some berating for Junpei's recklessness.
As for the rumours, recently students had been showing up right around the entrance to the school gate in near catatonic
states. They hardly moved and appeared unconscious, until they started mumbling remnants of sentences that you
couldn't quite hear. People had begun speculating that there was some supernatural force behind the unconscious
students. And they mightn't have been far from the truth.
The mysterious cases were those of murder. There were apparent signs of murder scattered around the back alleys of
Port Island, and it was becoming more and more unsafe for people to securely go about their daily lives. There were
their own sets of rumours when it came to the murders. They went about nearly the same way; no marks, blood
nothing.
By dramas with Shadows? That had more to do with Minato in particular.
Occasionally he did his 'therapy sessions' with more passer-by Shadows, talking to them and all, making them accept
themselves more of the same. However, it was becoming harder for Minato to be able to control the Shadow's
tempers. While they were hard before, it seemed as if it became even harder to try and purify the Shadows. He had no
explanation as to why, and it had been worrying him.
"I wonder there is any number of possibilities as to why this is so," Sachiko wondered aloud. "I don't know what to tell
you without more information to go on. What about talking to my Shadow again? It appeared to be safe last time."
"I guess so" Minato sighed.

"You sound rather resigned. Is something wrong?" she asked, never missing a beat.
"Oh. N-Nah," he shrugged. "But a bit later. You had something else to tell me about, didn't you?" Minato had originally
come out on Sachiko's request to discuss some other matters that is, that were not as related to his original cause,
but could potentially help.
"Ah, yes. This is regarding the murders that have been occurring around the Port Island area," Sachiko explained. "You've
heard of them. There is no blood, but the bodies appear mangled and found in strange places."
"Oh that. What about it?" Minato asked. To be honest, the rumour had been floating around for too long. And as a
result, too many people at school had been blowing it out of proportion. At least, when it came to the cause. Because
everything had to be caused by angry ghosts.
"You see I have reason to believe that this may be related to Shadows," Sachiko replied with a light smirk. Minato
obviously had no idea how she could come to that conclusion, so she continued. "The symptoms of what you might call
apathy syndrome are rather similar to the circumstances of these deaths. However, the effects are just more extreme,
leading to death."
"For something like that" Minato blinked. When she put it that way it made a bit of sense. He decided to humour her
conclusion. "You'd need like a LOT of Shadows. At the one time, consuming the victim's mind."
"Exactly what I was thinking. No, I'm not sure, but" she sighed. "I'm sure that it wasn't you, even if I considered how
many Shadows you may possess in that compendium of yours."
"I'm surprised you trust me that much." Minato raised an eyebrow.
"Well I don't know about that. Maybe," Sachiko chuckled. "But the number of Shadows seems far too many, even for
you."
"How so?"
"Like as if multiple people were commanding a large, almost army-like group of Shadows," Sachiko mumbled.
"Are you saying that because you never really find that many Shadows in the one pack?" Minato asked. Shadows did
travel in small numbers, but it sounded as if the number was much greater than a measly three or four.
"Yes," Sachiko replied.
"But that would mean that there are other people out there with the same powers." Minato blinked. He supposed it was
possible, but
"That's what I think too. But there's something about it that is wholly malicious," she sighed. Minato wasn't quite sure how
to respond. He had no evidence, and this was all merely conjecture, although very convincing.
"Well I guess, tell me more if you find anything else out," Minato sighed. "We could find out more about our powers
maybe stop them if I'm feeling generous."
"If you say so," Sachiko gave him a small smile. "Now, were you going to do some talking?"
"Yeah, I h-haven't forgotten." He rubbed the back of his head. "You ready?"
"As always," Sachiko replied.
Only twice now, remember? Minato breathed in and out before beginning his whispers. "You still there?" This was the
first time he had to talk to a Shadow again, so he was a bit nervous. Hopefully it would work out alright
"Why of course. How are you?" Minato sucked in a breath. Sachiko's Shadow didn't waste any time in replying.
"I'm alright what about you?" he asked.
"I'm very unlucky," she laughed heartily. "Why don't we just cut straight to the chase?"
"How so?" Minato was not expecting that reaction, but he tried to keep his composure and the conversation going. Get to
the bottom of this
"You see I have a little problem and of course, I'm at the core of the problem," Sachiko said rather happily.

"O-Okay?" Minato blinked. A pause.

"I am a useless piece of shit."
wait, what? "You seem rather surprised. Did I scare you? That's right! You heard what I just said! I'm useless! I am the
burden. Out of everyone else" She giggled. "I've gone off the deep end with my own sanity because I can't trust anyone!
Everyone everyone, look at me! They have to! Otherwise, I will fade into obscurity. The crazy girl who can communicate
with the shit stains of humanity!"
He had absolutely nothing that he could say to this. When had he encountered a Shadow like Sachiko's!? It was so
how could he deal with it? Minato just could not get a word in! She laughed, and laughed and laughed "Don't you
agree!? Being able to talk to Shadows! It's the most unlucky thing that has ever happened to me so far! And no-one will
ever thank me for it. I am the misfit kid. All those other jobs get shoved onto me, I get no credit If not for my cognitive
skills, I'd be disowned from my own family already!"
"Y-Yeah being able to talking to Shadows and"
"It's annoying! I can do this one thing, this one 'gift' that the gods had played onto me. And what happens? What
happens?" Sachiko growled. "I am cast aside like yesterday's trash. They won't accept me and I hate them for that. I
hate all my family. I could barely even call them so!"
The words were ringing in Minato's ears like crazy! How could he even concentrate on the one thing? It was almost as if
the Shadow was too agitated but he knew that this wasn't a sign of the other more grisly result. For that, he was
thankful, but he had no idea how he could get past the things she kept on saying. "I-I slow down"
"Oh sorry. Did I fly off the handle?"
"Y-Yeah?" he chuckled nervously.
"I thought so. Seemed inevitable," she snickered. "Ask away, friend."
Minato gulped. Focus! "Sachiko-chan. Listen. Shadow Whispers suck. I know that," he managed to get out. He also had
no idea where he was going to go with the rest of his point. "I deal with it all the time but just because you have this
special ability doesn't mean doesn't mean that you're useless."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah. If anything it could make you more useful. Hasn't it helped you thus far?" Minato continued.
"I'm forcing it to be a useful ability. I wouldn't have used it otherwise I'll show them I can show them all! They're not
right in the heads," Sachiko muttered in disdain. "Just because it's different they hate me for it. It's 2009! How has this
not gotten through to them yet?"
"I don't know," Minato mumbled. B-But okay, what could he use? He didn't know anything about her family to be able to
make a basic premise. The only things that he could use to try and calm her down somehow were right here He
guessed he could try. He knew Sachiko at least. "I-I I don't think that just because you're a bit different means that you
should be hated for it. If it was like that all the time, everyone would always be at each other's throats."
"That is rather convincing," Sachiko muttered. "But even if I have a friend's support, that won't stop my family from
condemning me as if I was one of those criminals that they caught themselves."
Like that, the link vanished.
Minato wiped his forehead of a thin layer of sweat. His tongue was stinging like crazy, and his head was ringing with the
Shadow's voice. "W-Whoa"
"Are you alright, Minato?" Sachiko asked.
He looked at Sachiko worriedly before nodding especially slowly. "Sachiko-chan I am not a psychologist however
much I want to be. But, tell me what's wrong. Your Shadow's pretty crazy."
"I'd almost resent that," she sighed.

Star: Heyo, we're back. So starts the road to the next Full Moon! There'll be more Whisper elements added too, so

that'll be good. Hope you guys like the chapter, and plz box us yo thoughts!
Nights: First of all, thanks to paradoxjr for the compliments! :D And yay, even though the date was sorta hostile, the
two still bonded a little. You guys can expect more hostility between the two; the usual lovey dovey has gotten so old
and this fic needed something different. Get ready for a big surprise real soon! :D Not a surprise battle or anything
but a surprise nonetheless. Box us yo thoughts as always! See ya!
Reviews.
Izmtky: Ah thanks. And yes, it will but later.
Mr. Haziq: Yeah, he could. He just hasn't figured that out yet.
Yoshikunitsu: Well, of course. Actually, tbh, Nights has a thing for making things a lot more OP than they could be.
Which is why the 'Fusion Spell' happened. Maybe, maybe not.
Thanks.
Sacchin: Hm, well he just acts the way he does. Maybe he really is more animated than people think. But
considering he can change his personalities, who knows? Haha, that was just for comedic purposes.
Oh that was a one-time thing. Since he used the attack he absorbed in that battle, he can't use it again.
Paradoxjr: Haha. He appreciates it.
Maybe that'll happen sometime soon, who knows?

*Chapter 12*: Yes, I've Heard of Productivity

Akihiko was bouncing lightly on his feet, cutting through the air with sharp jabs and one-twos. His arm had finally
recovered after the Shadows on the night of the dorm's attack had injured him. He was ready to get into some action, and
that day was his first time actually fighting in Tartarus since Minato had become leader.
"You can't get too excited, Akihiko," Mitsuru said sternly. "It wouldn't do well for you to be injured again."
"I know." He chuckled, finishing his shadow boxing with an uppercut to the chin. "I'm not planning on it."
"Even if you don't plan, you always seem to get into trouble," she replied simply.
He turned back to Mitsuru with a mock hurt expression. "Don't you have even a little faith in me?"
"Of course I do," Mitsuru laughed a little. "I'm just making sure."
"You're worried about me?" Akihiko teased. He continued even though he knew that the air was starting to freeze.
"As worried as I am for the rest of the team," she clarified with an icy glare. "Well" Mitsuru had packed the last of her
supplies into a satchel, mostly consisting of radio components. Her Persona could only go so far in support without
technological help after all. "We should be going soon."
"Heh. This'll be fun," he grinned.
The Dark Hour fell, and the team entered Tartarus soon after it rose from the ground.
Minato knew that they were going to have to check on the obstacles blocking their ways further up the tower. Elizabeth
had tipped Minato off a few days ago, saying that something had changed about the tower since the last time that they
entered, so it was all the more reason to take a look.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much of an idea as to what they would do if the barrier was still there, and from what he
could guess, Junpei would be pretty disappointed if he couldn't get to do any action.
Speaking of that asscap, he got a good chewing out from Mitsuru about how irresponsible he was after the Priestess
battle. He remembered rather vividly that the room temperature did drop a few degrees when she had her eyes fixed on
Junpei, with an equally cold voice when she spoke.
Quickly, he figured out that Junpei didn't really like him, however much he did say that he wanted to be able to trust him.
But then again, jealousy was different from fear.
The team stepped onto the transporter, taking it up to the floor with the barrier.
When Minato laid his eyes on the stairs, he was disappoint
As if on cue, the wall of chairs and tables was receding into the floor, groaning and screeching until the barrier
disappeared. "I guess we should go on?" Yukari said tentatively.
Minato nodded wordlessly and passed through where the wall once was. It seemed that there wasn't anything strange
happening or anything. With that, he beckoned the team to follow him up. For a while, they only had to deal with a few
minor Shadows and Minato quickly became accustomed to how Akihiko worked, in comparison to the others.
Akihiko actually used Zio and Strike skills to attack his enemies. Not only that, but he could work a little as support with
spells like Tarukaja and Sukukaja, and even Dia. He had his own notes on Junpei and Yukari too; Junpei attacked with
Physical skills, and Agi. Yukari was of course, a user of Wind and supported with powerful healing spells.
Minato was of course the 'jack of all trades', as it were, although it might've been more accurate to call him something of
a mage too.
After a while, the green halls of the first block turned to violet walls and floors.
"What happened to the scenery?" Junpei asked, looking around with curious eyes.
"I believe that we might have entered a new realm of Tartarus, or something of the sort," Mitsuru explained. "That being
said, you must tread cautiously. We don't know what is ahead."

Minato nodded an affirmative before moving on. Time passed slowly as they trudged their ways up the floors. They
stopped once they reached the floor containing three more powerful Shadows. Not that Minato was impressed. Muttering
under his breath with whispers, he said, "It's just a bunch of fucking tables Crying Tables"
The three Shadows were indeed in the form of tables, with a Magician mask and floating articles of flaming cutlery above
them. "Uh Minato what did you say? They seem a bit on edge," Yukari asked.
"I was saying that it's sad that we have to f-fight against a bunch of Crying Tables," Minato sighed.
"that is kinda sad!" Junpei agreed after a moment, seeing the unintentional pun.
"They look kinda angry though," Yukari noted.
"Heh. Just what we need; a bunch of riled up enemies looking for a scrap," Akihiko grinned.
Minato just looked at Akihiko bug-eyed before saying to Mitsuru, "Scan them when we fight."
"I'll do my best," she replied with her stern tone.
He briefly commanded everyone to surround the table Shadows and the battle started. One of the Crying Tables
unleashed upon Minato knives and bursts of fire, which Minato promptly had to jump the way out of. "Angry" he
muttered in whispers, watching the explosion that occurred behind him. The flames were intense, and Minato could feel
the heat even from where he was standing. He concluded that they were a group of slow, but extremely powerful magic
users.
"We are offended. You dare to insult us. For that, you will all perish here," the table that just attacked said, although
everyone else heard it in high pitched screeches.
"He says that we're all going to die because I insulted him," Minato translated.
"Why did you have to say that then!?" Yukari bit her lip and summoned her Persona to unleash a Garu spell on a
Shadow. The wind attack rose from beneath one of the Tables, almost flipping it over. It managed to move its legs
enough to land back in its original position. "H-How did it-?" she gasped.
"They're stubborn little assholes!" Junpei growled and summoned Hermes to perform a Kill Rush on the same Shadow
Yukari attacked.
"Akihiko. Use Polydeuces at the same time as Hermes on the same Shadow," Minato said calmly.
"got it," Akihiko replied. He wasn't quite sure what Minato was getting at, but he summoned his Persona and
commanded it to use Sonic Punch. Minato watched as the two Personae closed in on the table. He was aiming to
sandwich the one Shadow in two attacks, dealing heavy damage. It kinda worked since Junpei and Akihiko happened to
be on opposite sides.
But of course, he didn't take into account the other Crying Tables joining in to help their ally. Again, Agi spells burst from
either sides of the assault, exploding with great power and dispersing the two Personae. "S-Shit! They actually helped
each other!" Junpei exclaimed.
Minato nodded to himself. So they were pretty intelligent too. This was probably going to be more difficult than he first
thought. "Hm M-Mabufula," he mumbled. Minato tore a page from his compendium, whispering it into existence.
Feeling the repercussions of his whispering he quickly commanded the Shadow to perform its spell.
Icicles speared from beneath the Crying Tables, and just as they were about to pierce them more bursts of fire came
to disintegrate the ice. "This isn't good. They're adapting to avoid your attacks!" Mitsuru warned, biting her lip.
He clicked his tongue in frustration. If he had any SP to summon Kishimaru, he would've done so. But as it was, he
couldn't effectively aid him with lacking spiritual power. Before that he spat out watery blood onto the floor and
summoned another Shadow. Instead, he commanded it to form into a blade and threw it directly at their targeted Crying
Table.
More bursts of fire came towards the 'blade', however it deftly dodged them mid-air and latched onto the Table. "Bufu,"
Minato whispered, covering his mouth as he coughed out more blood.
A haunting cackling came from the sword as it morphed into a blobby, gelatinous form and froze onto the Shadow. Just
unsettling hissing came from the Crying Table before the pain started. The morphed Shadow laughed a haunting laugh

before expanding in spiky ice, piercing through the Crying Table.

Harsh cries of pain came from the trapped Crying Table. Ichor began to pour out from the grievous wounds, when the
Shadow disappeared back into page form to Minato's book. "W-What was that?" Yukari watched in horror. The Crying
Table wailed not only because its weakness was hit, but because ice burn lingered painfully at its wounds.
"I-I" Mitsuru couldn't even get her words out. The near unhinged nature of the Shadow Minato sent surprised her. It
wasn't only because he assumedly transformed it into a sword but because Minato himself looked completely calm.
"T-That was simpler than I thought" he mumbled to himself. "Akihiko, Zio. Junpei, Kill Rush. Yukari, help me distract
the other Shadows," Minato commanded.
"U-Uh right" Junpei nodded slowly. That Shadow was so damned gleeful while it impaled that Table, that it was
unsettling. Attempting not to show any weakness, he did as Minato said and summoned Hermes. Raising his metallic
wings, Hermes charged towards the weakened Table.
Akihiko breathed out and summoned Polydeuces to use Zio. A bolt of electricity shot towards the targeted Crying Table,
shocking it still.
"I-I'll try," Yukari stammered. Again, she summoned Io to cast Garu on one of the other Shadows, which was getting
ready to defend their weakened ally with Agi. Distracted, it instead attempted to cast Agi on Yukari. A tornado of wind
mitigated the flames and hit the Shadow.
Minato did the same as earlier and summoned another Bufu wielding Shadow. It too turned into a blade, darting past the
last Crying Table's Agi spells. One morph and a Bufu later, and the Shadow began to suffer similar cold wounds.
The previously shocked Table was taken down with a single shot from Hermes, unable to defend itself because of its
shocked state. "Two to go!" Akihiko exclaimed.
"Junpei, K-Kill Rush. Akihiko, Sonic Punch. T-Target the one Yukari attacked," Minato demanded. "Yukari, help me finish
off the one I just hit."
"Okay Io!" Yukari once again summoned her Persona, throwing a Garu spell at the speared Crying Table. Minato
amplified the attack with a Garu of his own from a Persona, Alp, destroying the Shadow even through its feeble attempts
to fend off the Garu spells with Agi.
One last hit from Hermes and Polydeuces, and the last Crying Table was vanquished.
"Looks looks like we managed to win," Akihiko said. "You're not bad at this whole leader thing, Minato."
He just shrugged back, doing away with another glob of blood onto the ground. Nah, Minato didn't think he was that
good. "No SP," he muttered.
"I think we should all go back. I'm tired," Yukari sighed.
"Yeah, I'm bushed too," Junpei grumbled.
Minato nodded slowly and picked up the remnants of the Crying Tables' masks before exiting with the rest.
"Uh Minato what did you do earlier?" Yukari asked.
"I changed a Shadow into a different shape," he answered simply.
"You can do that?" Junpei asked.
He nodded. "They can turn into pages, they can turn into a lot of things," Minato answered cryptically.
Mitsuru took the silence and continued, "It is true that Shadows have the power to perhaps warp time and space It
wouldn't be all that surprising to see them change their own forms too, if they had a little power to help them."
"I guess they'd be changing all the time then," Akihiko mumbled.
"I use my SP to change their forms," Minato elaborated. "I could change them into anything, but d-doing that takes more
energy than just changing them to their original forms"
"Interesting" Mitsuru mused aloud. "However, we can continue this at another time. The Dark Hour will soon end."

With that, SEES left Tartarus.

However many thoughts were still running through everyone's heads. They were mostly of the same mindset after they
saw what Minato was able to do to one of his Shadows; partly amazed, other unsure, another third unsettled.
And it wasn't as if they could just talk to Minato about it either. He would probably say that it was their fault for letting
themselves become scared by another Shadow. Surely, if his intentions turned to being against SEES, then everyone
would be afraid of his power.
Of course, with how little Persona users there were, they were rather limited and had to use what they could.
Not that Minato knew any of this. Annoyingly enough, he couldn't find out about their Shadows. He thought that he
could've found out a little about what they were all thinking, to an extent at least. Everyone in SEES seemed to have their
own problems but presumably because their Personae were protecting them or some shit, he couldn't try and get rid of
the sticks up all their asses.
Moving onto the next day, it was a rather strange one.
Walking back from Iwatodai station, he was about to near the dorm, when he was stopped by a small, grey dog. Upon
closer inspection, it was a shiba inu with a grey and white coat, and bright red eyes. It also seemed to be wearing a kind
of plain garment on its upper body.
The dog barked at him and nuzzled his leg. Minato had half a mind to start towards the dorm again, but he decided that
the pooch was too cute to just leave alone. He wasn't very sure as to how he should deal with the dog, since Minato
seldom dealt with any animals.
"Koromaru!"
The dog let out a happy yip and turned towards the direction of the voice. Behind was a boy with brown hair and eyes,
lightly tanned skin, orange hoodie and elementary uniform. "Why'd you run off here Koromaru?" he asked, puffing.
"Arf!" Minato assumed the dog's name was Koromaru then. Koromaru ran around in a circle around Minato, making him
raise an eyebrow. Even he wasn't sure why the dog was so attracted to him.
"U-Um sorry about Koromaru-san," the boy apologised and bowed.
Minato just shrugged back. Why was Iwatodai just full of people that he didn't want to be mean to? He wasn't good at
dealing with kids either. "I-It's okay," he replied.
The boy looked at him with a smile of relief. "Thank you. My name is Ken Amada," he introduced himself.
"Minato Arisato," he replied.
"Nice to meet you," Ken said. "Um, I need to take Koromaru back to the shrine," he continued, rubbing the back of his
head. "He's so fast" Ken muttered.
"He isn't yours?" Minato asked. He had assumed before that Ken might've owned Koromaru since he did know its name
and all.
"No, actually. Koromaru lives at Naganaki Shrine, where his old owner used to live. He was a priest. However he died in
an accident. Koromaru still walks the same way that his old owner used to take him on, and tries to take care of the
shrine too," Ken explained. "He's really loyal."
Minato briefly questioned how Koromaru could take care of the shrine, but decided not to voice that question. Other than
that, Koromaru's story sounded very similar to Hachikou who was known for something like that. He nodded. "I see"
"Well I should get going now. Hopefully I'll see you some other time, Arisato-san," Ken said. Before Minato could even
tell Ken to call him by his first name, the two were off.
oh well. He could just see him again. It was a few years, after all.
Minato began his way back towards the dorm, but was interrupted once more by a voice. "Hello."
He briefly waved back at the approaching Sachiko. "What are you doing here?"
"I was on my way back home actually," she replied. "However it appeared that some people didn't welcome me very

warmly in the place I was investigating. That is, there are shady characters after me."
"You're calm" Minato noted with a raised eyebrow.
"I just appear so," Sachiko sighed. "Having that kind of composure is near inhuman."
Minato observed her face. She did seem pretty puffed out from what he assumed was running. "Should we go then?" he
asked.
After a moment of silence and a prompt interruption of said silence via angry voices in the background, Sachiko agreed.
"Okay."
He took Sachiko's wrist and led her inside the dorm. "If they come in, I have a heavy book to hit them with," Minato said
with a wry smile.
"I am so assured" Sachiko mumbled.

Nights: Just ignore Ken *sigh* Man I hate that little brat. =w= Anyway, another power demonstrated by Minato. I
wanted to under power him but looks like this one might be the most OP of all? :P Thanks for the reviews so far
guys! Hoshi and I appreciate it. Now, all of you better pray that Mitsuru doesn't catch the both of them in the dorm.
Toodles.
Star: Uh hi again after a month? Don't kill me, I had writer's block. It's not very nice
In any case, yes, Minato can turn Shadows into weapons. But it's only temporary and it takes a lot more SP than just
normally summoning a Shadow.
(Also don't ignore Ken. I will MAKE you feel sorry for him. MWAHAHA *cough*) Anyways, plz box us yo thoughts and
we'll see ya guys later! :D
Reviews X)
Afterados: Glad you found it funny. I found it absolutely hahlarious and fun to write! And as for Sachiko's Shadow?
Well, it was sorta filler since I couldn't figure out what to put in the rest of the chapter tbh, but I'm glad it turned out
like it did.
Welp den, danke. :P
Sly3rx: lol, maybe? But he's not trying to catch them all. He's kinda more like 'make sure these blobby things don't
kill me.' XD
Nah it's just I've been lazy in putting that stuff in, but I tried a bit with this chapter. :)
Mr. Haziq: Well they can, and Minato can force them into a specific shape using his own power. It's just that Minato
prefers not to use weapons themselves and uses magic instead. If he did want to use a weapon, he'd have to learn
how to use it too.
It's kinda hard to hold a book and slash enemies to death at the same time X3
Kazikamikaze24: Ah thanks! Glad you liked it. There'll be more probably in the next chapter. :)
Yoshikunitsu: Haha, as with the case of Sachiko's Shadow? Just have to find out. Actually think of it as Minato
having a Social Link with her Shadow too. Gradually he'll be able to purify it, so it's kinda like a dark version of Social
Links, and the purified Shadow is the Ultimate Persona.
Haha, that's good. I had tons of fun imagining dialogue for her. Danke.
Izmtky: Dat's okay! We haven't updated in a while anyways.
Yup! It's kinda scary and creepy, what he can do.

*Chapter 13*: Friendly Suspicion

"Tch I hear them getting closer," Sachiko muttered under her breath. This was just not her day. Well, she at least had
Minato with her, but saying that he was just going to hit them with a heavy book wasn't very reassuring.
"Well, I wasn't aiming to fight them," Minato sighed. "Wanted to try lose them."
"Somehow I doubt that there's any chance they'd miss the dorm," Sachiko replied.
Minato just shrugged. "Who are they?" he asked.
"I was investigating a crime scene for a case" Sachiko explained with a sigh. "You remember the strange murders I
told you about a few days ago?" she asked. Minato nodded back. How could he forget? "I feel as if these people, the
ones that saw me they might the culprits of these murders. I can't see any other reason as to why anyone would be in
that area, unless they had some kind of business there to begin with."
Minato looked at Sachiko wide-eyed before sighing. "Right."
"What was that?" Sachiko raised an eyebrow at his reply.
"J-Just" He tried to find a way to explain what he was feeling. Half of him was thinking about how stupid it was to hang
around in a dank alleyway. The other was thinking about how scared shitless everyone would be if the people that were
chasing Sachiko were really Shadow Whisperers like him.
Actually, especially if they were Shadow Whisperers like him.
It'd just be all the more reason not to trust him. "I can't explain it," he said, shaking his head. "Anyways, I-I'm going to
check the coast is clear," Minato explained. Sachiko nodded back slowly, and he went out.
Minato sighed and opened the doors, looking for any suspicious signs. It was nearing evening. Thankfully, whatever
Sachiko was hiding from wouldn't be able to do anything to her until the Dark Hour. It was still a while away.
He returned to where Sachiko stood near the sofa, shaking a 'no' to say he didn't see anything. "Hm Minato. I'm sorry to
say, but I can't stay here forever. All my case notes are back at home," she shook her head.
"Arisato-san?" Minato at that moment felt a shiver go down his spine, and he swore that his neck creaked with frost as
he turned towards the stairs. What a great time for Mitsuru to come down.
Sachiko looked curiously at Minato's reaction before deciding to see what he seemed to be so afraid of. "Y-Yes, Mitsurusenpai?" he asked. "W-What are you doing here?"
Mitsuru approached, keeping her cool expression. "I just heard someone, and I just wanted to make sure it was you,"
she answered simply. "I didn't expect to find someone else, however"
"My name is Sachiko Kagami." Sachiko sighed briefly as Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.
"Kagami-san. What are you doing here?" Mitsuru asked.
Sachiko was undeterred by Mitsuru's commanding aura. In fact, she almost seemed to take it with a tone of contempt.
"Well I would say Minato was helping me with something."
More questions were raised as to what he was helping her with, why in the dorm, and other questions like why she
referred to Minato the way she did. "I'll I'll tell you about it later," Minato said with a resigned voice. Looks like he was
going to end up telling her about the possibility of bad Shadow Whisperers, and well, who knew what was going to
happen then "S-Sachiko-san needs to get back home first."
She had noted that Minato went back to using 'san' instead of 'chan'. Sachiko had begun to speculate the reasons as to
why, but Mitsuru started to speak. "I see. Take care, and make sure you're back before it gets late."
Minato nodded with a sigh and beckoned Sachiko out the dorm.
"Who is she, your mum?" Sachiko raised an eyebrow.
"She was talking about the Dark Hour," Minato explained. "She didn't know you knew," he mumbled. That sentence
sounded kinda messed up in his head.

"I know, I know" Sachiko looked around the street, lit by lamps along the sidewalk. "Anyways would you mind um
escorting me, I suppose. I'm not looking to get attacked by this unscrupulous bunch," she asked, looking at the ground.
He gave a small sigh and nodded. "I have no idea where you live."
"I'd like to keep it that way, but I value my life over privacy." With that, the two of them began walking towards the Iwatodai
Strip Mall. After a while, they passed through the mall and entered the streets surrounding it.
"We almost there?" Minato asked, looking around the apartments. It was typical of Tokyo; they wanted to squeeze as
many people into the one area as much as possible.
Sachiko nodded, but stopped as she heard something in the background. It sounded eerily like Shadow Whispers
"Where are you? Show yourselves!" she hissed in whispers.
"I'm impressed" Minato managed to hear it out of earshot. "She has sharp ears too. What I would give to-"
"Shut up. You're losing focus again," a low voice scolded.
Minato raised an eyebrow, and took a firm grip on Sachiko's wrist. She clicked her tongue and continued towards the
direction of her home. She couldn't dwell on it for then. The important thing was getting somewhere safe. "It's getting
late" she mumbled. "It's almost midnight. I've been dragging you around"
He just shrugged. "I don't r-really care about Mitsuru" Minato sighed. "Anyways we're at your house now. Be safe."
"I haven't heard you so concerned in a while," Sachiko said teasingly.
Minato choked and spluttered, "S-Shut up and go to sleep." Sachiko just gave a small smirk and gave him a wave before
entering her home.
"If I didn't know any better I'd ship you two together." Minato looked around gritted teeth, searching for the source of the
voice.
"It's not funny," he muttered darkly. He held no romantic attraction towards Sachiko whatsoever. "Come out already."
It was pretty much near perfect timing when the Dark Hour fell. The group that had been following the two of them finally
made themselves known in the dim moonlight. Minato's eyes widened as he saw the four.
The one who skipped out first was a cheery looking girl, much shorter than him. She had short brown hair, fair skin,
hazel eyes and had on a yellow dress. If Minato hadn't known any better, he might've just assumed she was a little kid.
But considering who he knew she was with she probably was mistaken to be really young a lot.
Next was a dark man, clad in a black long-sleeved shirt and jeans. His hair was black, straggly and long, so that it
covered the majority of his face. From what Minato could tell, his skin was pale and his eyes were brown. He seemed to
have a perpetual frown on, which only served to make him more intimidating in the lighting of the Dark Hour.
The girl who came next to him had shoulder-length hair, black with lavender highlights. She seemed much more
nondescript than the rest he had seen so far, only wearing a plain grey shirt and faded blue jeans. What stood out about
her most were her glasses, which glinted and hid light blue eyes behind them.
The last one he noticed was a teen in a white singlet, cargo pants and runners. He had short brown hair, dark green
eyes, lightly tanned skin, and looked to be fairly built. The last thing he noticed was that he had a necklace that had the
symbol of the Triforce on it. And he was scaring him. He knew who he was, even after he had grown up. "Kishimaru?"
Minato mumbled, looking at him with widened eyes.
The teen Minato referred to just looked on passively before his lips began to move. "Amass, then rush," he said in
Shadow Whispers.
Shadow Whispers? Minato hardly had any time to linger on the fact. Shadows began to fill every space that he could see
in the street, blotting out what little light illuminated the path. "T-Tch" Minato backed off. The others in the group started
saying the same, and soon enough a wall of Shadows began to tower over Minato's vision.
His first instinct, with that many Shadows?
He ran, and ran.
"Sho!" he hissed, quickly grabbing his compendium and releasing the Chariot Shadow. "I need some speed!"

"You got it!" The Brave Wheel waited for Minato to find a place to hold on to before revving off in the direction of the dorm.
As Minato rode, he was seriously starting to reconsider what he thought about Mitsuru. Maybe if Sachiko and he hurried a
little more, he wouldn't have gotten into this impossibly strange situation. "How'd YOU get into all that trouble?"
"There are more Shadow Whisperers than just me, Sho," Minato sighed. "They were commanded to attack me, but I don't
really know why. But I think that if I did stay around it wouldn't have boded well for me," he said, punctuating the sentence
with a cough.
The lurching and squelching of incognito Shadow flesh was hot on their heels, and they still followed when Minato
reached the doorstep of the dorm. "Tch this is going to hurt," Minato muttered, thinking of what to do. "K-Kishimaru!"
He flicked open his compendium again, jumping off Sho, but not recalling him. "What're you doing?" the Brave Wheel
asked.
"Just watch" Minato summoned his trusty Intrepid Knight to his other side.
"My I never thought you'd have gotten into this situation before," Kishimaru said amusedly, gazing at the hordes of
Shadows.
"Arisato! Are you alright?" Mitsuru burst out the door behind him, clutching her Evoker. "I sensed a great presence of
Shadows, so I came to look what is this?"
Minato was reluctant to speak on the matter. Today just wasn't this day. But then again, when was it? "I'll tell you later"
he mumbled. "Kishimaru! Sho! Agidyne and Garudyne at the same time!" Minato shouted in Shadow Whispers, almost
choking on blood mid-sentence.
He expected the two of them to fire their attacks at the same time, but somehow it didn't seem to be the case.
"Destroy all of them"
Minato himself shivered at the voice. It spoke in Shadow Whispers, but it was somehow familiar
The forms of Kishimaru and Sho began to morph into their incognito forms before the two spheres joined. The newly
formed incognito Shadow turned into its regular form, appearing as what appeared to be a fusion of the Brave Wheel
and Intrepid Knight. The new Shadow appeared to be a knight, riding on a horse with a lion's head. Instead of legs,
however, it had one huge wheel with fire flaring behind.
"What the heck?" Minato mumbled, looking at the Shadow. He felt his energy drained, and he dropped to a knee.
"Guh" His vision blurred, and he could hardly keep his eyes open. It felt like some other kind of force was taking control
of him, and in turn, the Shadow. Eventually he fell unconscious from lack of spiritual energy.
The Shadow remained, and it charged towards the army of Shadows cloaked in wind and flame, tearing a majority of
them apart.

When Minato came to, it was after the Dark Hour. "You're awake," Mitsuru said, however it also sounded as if it was a
sigh of relief. "The Shadows you summoned they destroyed most of the Shadows. I only took care of what was left."
"W-Wait, what?" Minato said as he sat up, before having to cough out bloody saliva onto the ground. "A-Argh" Mitsuru
looked at him with some worry, but Minato just shook his head. "Kishimaru, Sho?" he asked in Shadow Whispers,
hoping to hear them.
"Don't worry. We're just tired," Kishimaru said with a chuckle.
"We ain't going anywhere!" Sho said determinedly.
Minato breathed out a sigh of relief as he heard them from his compendium. "Did you see p-people behind the
Shadows?" he asked.
Mitsuru had stood up, looking at him with a concerned expression. "No, I didn't," she replied shortly. "Did I not tell you to
be careful?" Mitsuru said sternly.
Minato briefly rolled his eyes and conceded a 'yes' with a nod. "The S-Shadows were being controlled by people. Four.
Two girls, two guys."

"You mean that they used the same power as you, to send these Shadows after you?" Mitsuru said with widened eyes.
He sighed, and gave another heavier nod. "I don't know who they are," Minato said, although that wasn't all true. He
recognised one of them. Kishimaru Fukawa. The first person whose Shadow he purified. Apparently he was also a
Shadow Whisperer.
"This is" Mitsuru shook her head. "We will discuss this later. Get some rest."
Minato nodded slowly and stood up, following Mitsuru into the dorm.

Mitsuru was in disbelief. Not only were there more Shadow Whisperers other than Minato in the city which could control
large amounts of Shadows, but they were using them to attack him.
She had no doubt that these Shadow Whisperers had some strange motive behind their actions. Mitsuru did want to
know exactly what it was, because from what little she heard from Minato they were malicious. They attacked people.
He let on later that they were responsible for the bloodless murders that were happening around the city.
There was something else troubling her; something that dealt less with the new enemies, but with Minato.
If Shadow Whisperers, people like him, were able to control Shadows for malicious means what stopped Minato from
using his powers to attack SEES? She saw earlier. The two Shadows he had summoned somehow fused together into
a devastating new force. After the Shadow attacked, they defused and returned to Minato's compendium. With just that
one attack, so many Shadows were destroyed.
Who was to say that SEES could handle what Minato could do at all?

Nights: Don't look at me for slow updates, its RG's fault. *cough* Anyway, another power of Minato revealed. But, this
takes up some SP. He would be near invincible if we didn't add some sort of limit to his skills. :T
And watch out for Mitsuru, she MIGHT push Minato into I'd say more but that would be a spoiler
Anyway, box us yo thoughts and we'll see you later. Toodles.
Star: Hey guys! Sorry the chapter's short, but I just wanted to get past this point and introduce some cool stuff. It
was hard to write (curse you writer's block) so I hope it's okay. I'll edit out mistakes later since I defo won't be
updating in the next five days. Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see ya guys later!
Reviews :3
Afterados: Well, we'll see. I'm hoping to add some more character development to Ken later, and I just always saw
Koromaru and Ken together as a near inseparable pair.
Haha, I'm glad Sachiko's making that kind of impression. I'm serious, it's not happening. o_o I even specifically told
Nights while we discussing the pairings that he wasn't going to bang her. :o
Ah, I can see that After that point I got writer's block and I just wanted to move the chapter along. :T It might be the
same with this one because it was a bit difficult to write
That's good. Will do.
Mr. Haziq: Not really. He can store the Shadows as pages in his book only but he can directly summon a Shadow
into a particular form if he really needs it. Which he doesn't because he doesn't really have that much experience
with any weapons.
Technodude458: Haha, I don't hate Ken. Nights does though. My aim here in the story is also to make people
sympathise and maybe empathise with Ken more.
Har har.
Yoshikunitsu: Haha, like I said, there's no romantic attraction. I think this time the antagonists are more sticking to
canon than they have before so Nyx won't really have as much of a consciousness.
Yeah, I'll get more into them later haha, this time it's more OCs (I'm surprised no-one's been minding them so far,
or maybe I'll be proven wrong later). He'll come in later, and inevitably Ken'll have to deal with him and him with
Ken.
No fluff for a long time, I think. I hope so too!

*Chapter 14*: Unwinding Mechanics

Minato sighed to himself. Last night just wasn't like any other that he had encountered before. Not only did he just find
out that there was some creepy voice in his head that commanded his Shadows to somehow fuse together (there was
also the matter of his Shadows being able to fuse at all) but he was pretty sure that Mitsuru was starting to distrust him
more than ever.
He was no expert on human interaction and emotion but even he could see the only barely hidden fear that she was
holding in her eyes. There was no control for her. No understanding.
For Minato that was also the case, although it may have been to a lesser extent. It wasn't only because of whatever he
had managed to pull last night but because of the people that he saw, chasing after him and Sachiko. They were
Shadow Whisperers just like them.
That was probably the other reason why Mitsuru was starting to distrust him. Maybe she was afraid of what he might do.
Minato had never thought he was a wonderful human being by any means, but even he wasn't going to go around and
kill people. It wasn't like he had a reason to anyways. Massacring people was not on his to-do list. But she didn't know
that. They didn't know that.
He chuckled to himself. Trying to justify his and other people's actions for once. Of course, Minato was worried. But there
wasn't much he could do except wait for some godforsaken explanation about everything.
Minato could've tried the Velvet Room but he was more or less scared shitless of whatever Elizabeth might suggest he
do. That and Igor was near useless when it came to giving out freebie information. He'd probably go off and try to sound
mysterious and philosophical, which never really helped.
Speaking of things that never helped... Minato also had to deal with school. No, he was not in the mood for it and
probably would never be.
He left his room shortly, trying to avoid the rest of his dorm mates.
School was uneventful as always. He had briefly met Sachiko that lunch time to make sure they each were okay. She
appeared to have the same dry sense of humour that she normally had and still had the gall (much to Minato's ire) to ask
whether Mitsuru was going to adopt him later that week. Oh, jokes about orphans. Lovely subject.
In any case, that was probably the only highlight from school besides Mitsuru reminding him that he had many things to
exposit to her. Joy. Pure joy.
Out of school? That was a different story. A horrifyingly different story.
Who would've guessed that Elizabeth would be outside of the Velvet Room all by herself? Minato certainly didn't. He
immediately approached her at the school gates.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, completely foregoing any form of introductions.
Elizabeth turned to address Minato with a seemingly cheerful smile. "My, Minato-san. You're so polite," she said airily.
Huh, she was learning the meaning of sarcasm. Maybe he was rubbing off on her too much
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth-sama for my impertinence. How are you this fine day?" Minato shot back. It was about this time
where people were starting to stare at their scene. Or shipping them, the weirdos. "Just cut to the chase," he groaned.
"Well, you see," she began, "I have something of utmost importance that I must tell you." Minato blinked at her tone,
which took a complete 180 from her earlier airiness.
"Y-You came all the w-way out here just for that...?" Minato said quietly, toning down his irritation. It seemed that she was
acting rather seriously as opposed to her calm eccentricity. He looked around quickly as he felt the stares fixed on his
back. "W-We need to move..."
"Oh, indeed," Elizabeth agreed. "Where to?"
"Just-"
"I'd like to visit the Iwatodai strip mall," Elizabeth interrupted. Minato swore his eyebrow twitched when she cut in, but he
eventually gave a heavy sigh and took her by the wrist.

"Why the hell would you ask if you already knew what you had in mind?" he growled to himself. Weirdo Elizabeth.
"Because I thought you didn't have any suggestions yourself," she answered gleefully. "So I just saved you the trouble."
"Thanks," Minato grumbled. She just gave a self-satisfied smile behind him and followed him along the road to the
monorail. Elizabeth thought that it was quite amusing to watch Minato react to her metaphorical pokes. "Is there anything
actually important that you wanted to do before you use me as your personal tour guide?" Minato asked, making no
attempts to hide his venom.
"Yes, there was," Elizabeth said.
Minato turned back to face her. She wasn't continuing, prompting a glare from him for her to spill. "Would you care to tell
the class?" he sighed as she wasn't deterred. Infuriating woman, he swore. He felt the sting from his tongue attack,
causing some blood to pool in his mouth.
Elizabeth seemed to observe his predicament and went on to explain some things, turning serious. "Minato-san, I'm
afraid that I must warn you of the consequences that have arisen as a result of the power you displayed last night," she
said.
"...what about it?" Minato raised an eyebrow.
"Do you remember what Igor told you about the majority of your power relying on the bonds that you form with other
people?" Elizabeth asked. He nodded back slowly, wondering where she was going with her words. Also about Igor
telling him about his Persona power? That was probably the only thing that he told him about himself so far, without
trying to sound like a cryptic tomb. "Then you know that yours are quite strained. Almost abnormally so. I'm advising you
to be careful."
"Right..." Minato said, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'd also advise not to utilise that power of Shadow fusion that you used last night," she continued. "It is a near
uncontrollable power. That is the reason why they are only fused temporarily, unlike Persona."
"Are you trying to persuade me to use my Persona more?" Minato looked warily.
"No, unfortunately not, my stubborn guest. But if it does, then I'd be most pleased," Elizabeth said cheerily. "Now that is
over... Would you care to show me around?"
Minato shook his head. "By the way, I'm not your perso-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Elizabeth ran towards the
station escalators. "Wha...? Hey!" he called, running after her.
Elizabeth stopped at the foot of the stairs, staring up at them in wonder. "My, they're devious little contraptions, trying to
slow me down," she said.
"They're not... t-trying to slow you down," Minato tried to explain from behind her. "Wait, are you trying to go up the down
escalator?" he blinked.
She pouted as when she tried to run up the stairs, they only slowed her down and eventually returned her to the bottom.
"Are you saying that you're not supposed to go up them?" She looked up, observing the way the steps were descending.
Minato sighed just one of his other, many sighs that would come from that day. He grabbed her shoulders and pointed
her in the direction of the other set of escalators, which rose towards the station. "Ah, that makes a surprising amount of
sense," she noted. "But then what of the stairs in the middle?"
She was referring to the rather stationary steps between the escalators. "To be honest..." Minato tried to think of a reason
as to why the stairs existed. "Sometimes... the escalators might uh... not work?" Why was it that the question turned out
to be much harder than he might've expected?
"You mean to say that they don't just go on perpetually in that same motion? They're able to, all day?" she said in awe.
"How is that possible?"
"We have something called electricity," Minato groaned.
"Electricity?"
He just looked at the Velvet Room attendant with disbelieving eyes. The question was fairly obvious at this point. "It's

basically Zio all the time," Minato explained quickly. Because he wasn't looking to explain the mechanics of atoms and
how the movement of electrons was electricity.
"How interesting..." Elizabeth murmured. After a few moments of deliberation her head shot in another direction.
"Huh?" Minato blinked. "What's up?"
Elizabeth just gave a quiet 'hm' and walked from the escalators. He decided not to question what was going on in her
head and just followed after her. "Hey! Watch out!"
Minato ran towards Elizabeth and grabbed her shoulders just as a car passed by the road she was heading towards.
"Minato-san?" She blinked as she found her back pressed to his chest.
"Geez woman, you need to be more careful!" he scolded before finally letting go of her.
"I never knew that you could be so concerned for my safety," she commented.
Minato seemed to choke on his blood when he heard her and gritted his teeth. "J-Just... Just shut up..." he said weakly,
looking away. "I don't need to hear this from someone else."
She looked at him curiously before deciding to shrug it off. Now if only he were like that all the time. "In any case..." she
said, recomposing herself. Elizabeth walked across the road, much more careful than the last time.
Another huge sigh escaped Minato's lips, although this time it was one more of relief. Honestly, he had next to no idea
as to why he was starting to act so awkwardly around Elizabeth, but he couldn't ignore the fact that he did choose to save
her as opposed to letting her get hit. By that, he pretty much had the guess that she would've been able to handle it for
the most part, but Minato saved her anyways.
"Oh Minato-san, don't be slow," she called, beckoning him over. He rolled his eyes and followed her to the nearest
takoyaki stall, wondering what interested her so.
"What is it this time?" he asked.
"I need to confirm my suspicions," she answered. Seeing as Minato still had no idea what she was talking about at this
point, Elizabeth explained further with, "I would like to try some of this mysterious takoyaki."
Minato raised an eyebrow and went over to the counter, asking for a box of takoyaki. Elizabeth looked with piqued interest
to the prices just next to the window. "Here."
Elizabeth turned to face a slightly annoyed Minato, who was biting onto a stick of takoyaki and holding out the box with
another two sticks. She took it with a surprised expression. "I could've bought it myself," she said.
"I-I'm not going to watch you... spending your whole life savings to get millions of boxes of takoyaki," he mumbled before
taking a small bite out of one of the balls.
"You thought that I didn't know that?" Elizabeth stared back at him.
"Even if I knew something like I that, how much do you think I would care?" Minato deadpanned. He was actually busy
lingering on the fact that the owner of the shop called him out to be on a date with Elizabeth which he, of course,
vehemently denied. If ever it came to some far off day that he was considering dating the weirdo Velvet Room attendant
any time soon... Well, he'd probably think that he was a crazy-ass motherfucker, to put it not-so eloquently.
Elizabeth just shrugged back and began eating.
He sighed and cursed how slowly he had to eat. The cuts on his tongue which had still not healed, would basically throw
a protest with fire and pitchforks if they made contact with the hot food. It was especially bad because he actually liked
takoyaki. Minato wanted to eat it just that much faster. Also, did he mention the saltiness would be hell? "Goddammit..."
he muttered under his breath.
"Hm?" Elizabeth turned to him with a questioning look. "Whatever is wrong?"
"It hurts to eat," he grumbled. "The cuts kinda..."
"They are aggravated by the combined heat and saltiness, are they not?" she surmised. Minato nodded back slowly.
"Just a moment..."

He looked with a raised eyebrow as Elizabeth retrieved a ceramic bottle from her seemingly bottomless purse. "What's
that?" Minato asked.
"It's a Soma. I had originally intended to give you something else for your trouble, leading me around this area," Elizabeth
answered. "But instead I'll give you this. It should soothe your tongue and stop the bleeding momentarily," she explained.
"R-Really?" Minato said with widened eyes.
"Indeed. I do not lie," Elizabeth said cheerfully. "Now drink up. If you ration it, then you can use it for moments other than
this. You can also use all of it in one go to heal the whole of your party's wounds and spiritual power while in the Dark
Hour. In fact, I'll give you three of them."
"O-Oh... Thanks," Minato said quietly, taking the rewards. He wasn't sure how he should react. Opening one of the Soma
bottles, he took a small sip of the clear liquid. It didn't taste particularly nice. In fact, it tasted closest to a bad combination
of cough medicine, Centrum tablets and vegemite gone off.
However, after forcing it down, his tongue was relieved of pain. Maybe it wasn't to the point of closing the wounds
magically, but it felt really good not to have stinging at the back of his mind. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Better," he replied. Minato noticed the comparative ease of his words and quickly set out to eat. Elizabeth watched with
an amused smile as he (more or less) wolfed down the food. At least as fast as you could eat steaming takoyaki. "If I
wasn't eating right now I'd kiss you," he said.
"You're not eating now, so are you going to?" Elizabeth asked, many questions popping up in her head.
"It's... It's just an expression," he mumbled before shaking his head. Maybe he was just too excited.
"Uh, say. Why did you want to come over here in particular?" Minato asked, after some silence.
"Well, I believe that I sensed something devilishly packed into this food... I'm amazed to say that I wasn't wrong,"
Elizabeth said cheerfully. Having finished her serving, she skipped over to the counter, quietly asking the shop owner
about the secret ingredient.
"Wow, you just smelled it and you could guess exactly what the secret is!?" the shop owner exclaimed. That was pretty
much, most of what Minato could hear.
After that little outburst, Elizabeth skipped back to the bench where Minato was sitting with a small something in her
hand. "What's that?" he asked.
"I believe it is a mobile phone strap. She gave it to me as a reward for guessing the secret ingredient," she replied. It had
a thin black cord, and attached to it was a plastic figure of an angry octopus.
"I see..." Minato nodded. "Say, what is the secret ingredient? Octopus yeah, but..." He rubbed the back of his head.
"I'm afraid, Minato-san that it will have to stay a secret. It is just not meant for human ears," she giggled with a
mischievous smile.
"Right..." Minato deadpanned.
"Don't be difficult Minato-san," Elizabeth scolded.
Minato sighed. "Elizabeth-san... How much would it kill you if I used a different honorific?" he asked.
"I'd be stabbed," she said with a straight face. Minato deadpanned at her, making her burst into laughter. "I'm just joking
Minato-san. I wouldn't mind at all."
"Then I'll start calling you Elizabeth-chan, Elizabeth and Liz while you are stuck calling me Minato-kun, Minato and Natto.
You can thank me later," he half joked.
"Thank you Natto-chan," Elizabeth said with a cheerful expression.
"You're welcome Liz-chan," he replied dryly, swallowing down the last of the takoyaki. If you remember, he was half
joking. "Welp. Mitsuru-senpai needs to chew me out at the dorm," Minato grumbled. "How much do I have to worry about
you getting back to the Velvet Room?" he asked.
"I have a Go-Hom," she replied rather happily.

"That you're going to use." Avoid the loopholes!

"Yes." Elizabeth took it from her purse and presented it to him.
"That you're not going to use in the line of sight of anyone in public."
"Yes."
"Then a hearty goodbye from me to you," Minato said as he rose from the seat.
"Goodbye, Natto-chan," Elizabeth said, waving.
"I shouldn't have suggested that nickname," Minato lamented as he ran towards the dorm. After a few minutes, he arrived
at the doorstep and steeled himself for whatever glare he was going to get from Mitsuru. He opened the door and found
a roomful of stares and glares.
"It's rude to stare," he sighed, deadpanning at everyone in SEES. Yes, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei, Yukari and Ikutsuki were
in the lounge.
"Well... I thought it would be prudent to include everyone's thoughts on the matter," Mitsuru said as Minato went over to
the couch where Junpei and Yukari were sitting, and leaned on the back. "So. Can you explain exactly what happened
last night?"
Minato rubbed the back of his head. "I met Sachiko-san on the road and she was being followed by a bunch of
suspicious people. I took her to the dorm, hoping to lose them."
"Why the hell would you take her to the dorm?" Junpei asked. Minato thought that he sounded kinda angry about it, but he
wasn't sure for what reason.
"Because why would they follow some people into a place full of other idiots living in the same place?" Minato snapped.
"Mitsuru-senpai saw me and after a while we went on our way back to Sachiko's house. She can corroborate that."
Mitsuru gave a small nod of approval and gestured for him to move on. "While we were going to her house, the same
people from before were following us again. I could tell because I could hear them, talking in Shadow Whispers."
"They were like you?" Yukari said, struggling to keep her composure. Minato could just guess what was going through
her mind and really, everyone else in the room.
"Now, now, settle down, Yukari-san. Let him explain," Ikutsuki reassured. Not that it really mattered. He could already see
the concern seeping into their expressions. Although, Ikutsuki was being awfully calm...
"...when I left Sachiko-san, I was approached by them just as the Dark Hour hit," he continued. "There were four of them,
and all of them looked to be around my age." Minato wasn't even going to mention the fact that he could recognise one of
them. Honestly, he didn't think it was that important anyways. But then again it might come to bite him in the butt later...
"Then they used their Shadow Whispers to summon a large group of Shadows. I managed to get away using the Brave
Wheel Shadow, and I stopped at the dorm.
"Mitsuru burst out of the doors, and saw the group of Shadows..." Minato stopped to cast a questioning look at her.
"I was intending to get everyone else to help fight them off," she answered.
"Well, yeah. So I was going to hold them off, and I summoned another of my Shadows to fight. Just as I was getting them
to use a spell..." He stopped to try and sort out how to explain what happened. "It's a bit blurry. I remembered there was
some creepy voice. I can't remember exactly what it was saying, but after that, somehow the two Shadows I had on out
fused together."
"Fused... together." Akihiko raised an eyebrow.
"I dunno. It hadn't happened before," Minato shrugged. "I couldn't even begin to explain how it works. Anyways, what
happened drained me of all my energy and I blacked out. From what I heard from Mitsuru, the combined Shadow
destroyed most of the company."
A lull passed while everyone thought it over.
"I don't see how we can trust whatever this guy is saying when we have evil team versions of him, running wild and
popping huge groups of Shadows outta nowhere," Junpei said with gritted teeth.

"I agree," Akihiko murmured.

"H-Hey guys, I think we're making some huge assumptions here!" Yukari said frantically. "I mean, sure, we don't really
understand what's happening. But it's not like Minato's attacked any of us yet."
"How do we know that he won't?" Junpei asked.
"Wouldn't he have done it sooner then? We're assuming that he's even associated with those other bad Shadow
Whisperers or whatever..." Yukari rebutted, turning back to Minato.
"I hadn't heard of them until Sachiko-san told me about them. She's been saying that they might be related to the
bloodless murders popping up around the island," Minato explained shortly. "Honestly, with just the Shadows that I have,
I can't do something like that. I don't even have a reason to go around killing people with my Shadows for the heck of it."
"Yeah, but you have that Shadow fusion thingy! We don't know that you can't, especially with how you somehow managed
to destroy all those Shadows!" Junpei exclaimed.
"You're making it sound like I'm the one that commanded that Shadow to kill all of them," Minato scoffed.
"Perhaps not, but it is unpredictable. I'm not quite sure I can trust something like that," Mitsuru said.
Junpei laughed, mockingly. "That's even saying that he's telling the truth at all," he pointed out. "We don't even know,
because he hasn't told us about anything."
"Neither have all of you, but you don't see me complaining," Minato glared.
"I think this is getting out of hand," Ikutsuki cut in, prompting everyone to turn to him. "Even if we're not quite able to trust
Minato-san, we also can't forget that we don't have so much choice in the matter. As it is, we're many people short and
we are forced to work with who we have."
"So he's saying that even though you guys don't like me, you're stuck with me until more people magically pop up,"
Minato summarised. "Problem not solved. Can we go now?"
"...I'm merely concerned about the safety of the team. Arisato-san," Mitsuru spoke. "If we find that you are affiliated with
these new threats; if you are not able to control your powers; and or if, you use your powers against the team... then I'm
afraid that you can no longer work with us."
He scoffed. "Fine with me." Minato found it pretty funny that they were considering staying with the group as a positive
rather than a negative.
She nodded back. "Alright. Well, we should get some rest. School is still on tomorrow," Mitsuru said, prompting everyone
who was sitting to stand and make their ways towards their dorm rooms.
Yukari cast a concerned look to Minato. He looked back with a tired gaze. "You defended me again," he noted mirthfully.
"Well, yeah. It's not like everything's worked out now. Junpei was just being annoying because he doesn't like you,"
Yukari rolled her eyes.
"It wasn't like everything he was saying was bullshit though," Minato shrugged.
"I guess... Say, what happened to your voice? It's... Smoother, I guess," Yukari asked.
"Someone I know gave me something to help with my cuts on my tongue. I don't have a lot of it though," Minato answered
quickly. Yukari nodded back unsurely.
"Uh, Minato-kun?" He raised an eyebrow, prompting her to go on. "Do you plan to join any culture clubs later this year?"
Minato thought for a moment. True, his electric guitar was gathering dust at his old home. "I might join the music club."
"Do you play?" she asked.
"Yeah. Piano, guitar... Flute, sorta. I can pick up most instruments pretty easily, and I can sing," he said, a tiny smile
starting to upturn the corners of his lips. "I studied theory too. I try to write songs, but I suck at thinking of tunes to put to
lyrics I make up."
"You seem like you have a lot of fun with that kinda stuff," Yukari smiled, noting how Minato's smile was getting bigger as

he thought about it.

"Yeah... I might even ask someone to mail my electric guitar over," he grinned.
"I haven't seen you smiling like that before," Yukari laughed. His next expression was basically saying, 'oh crap, she saw
me smiling!?' "Well, we should get some sleep. See you in the morning, Minato-kun." With that, she went off to the stairs,
leaving him behind.
"...I shouldn't talk about music in front of other people," Minato cursed.

Star: Hey guys! Back with creative juices! :D Hope you guys like the longer chapter! There's a lot more going on and
I'm trying to pick up the story with some cool stuff. Isn't it hard to believe that we're only up to the second full moon?
It doesn't really feel like it. Welp, plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you guys later!
Nights: Isn't the tension just awesome? And wasn't the date awesome too? Even though it was snarky and not as
sweet as in the game? But welp, nobody is trusting poor Minato right now! Wll he snap one day and do a gigantic
rant? You'll have to keep reading and find out! Keep the reviews coming, toodles!
Reviews! :3
Afterados: Glad you liked it!
I wouldn't say it would be an accident, if it happened (who are we kidding? We all know something's gonna go
down)
Hehe. I'd thought of it later and I thought it would be interesting to have some other kinds of bonds other than the
regular kind. You'll see! :D
lol, danke! I felt like I didn't put that much into it tbh. X3 Oh, we'll get to see him again later. He'll get his time in the
limelight soon. Heehee, that was one of the lines I remembered most, so I'm happy someone else liked it too.
Haha, maybe it's because I wrote it more or less in one go.
Will do. :)
FlawlessMirage: Well, after thinking it over you might see some interesting things happening between Sachiko
and Minato later. To be honest with everyone, I was only going to ship the OC with Minato if other people were okay
with her being shipped with her. :3
Not exactly. Taming Shadows and purifying them is different. Minato's friend can control Shadows to an extent, but
he can't control purified Shadows since they have their own obligation to serve Minato. :o So, even if he tried to
control the Intrepid Knight Shadow Minato has, it might not work unless he was trying really hard. But that would
only be because he was originally his Shadow.
Yoshikunitsu: Wish granted.
Hm, maybe something to wonder about still.
Ah, Ken and Maiko. Maybe! Maybe! Hahahahaha we'll see.
Will do.
Mr. Haziq: He will later! :D Sachiko's Shadow is one of them, and there are some others, if I'm not forgetting any.

*Chapter 15*: Expectant Skies

The breeze was cool and the evening sky blotted with arrays of purples, blues and blacks, littered with small pinpricks of
stars, and swirled with dark clouds. "Fancy seeing you here." Minato bent down to the approaching Koromaru, who sat in
front of him expectantly. "Yeah, yeah..." he laughed a little, before patting his head.
Koromaru yipped happily, as if to welcome Minato. "Thanks, he said quietly. It was another few days from the last group
meeting and yes, a few Tartarus trips had led them to some upper floors. Nothing too major until you accounted for the
fact that Minato wasn't truly the best of leaders.
He tilted his head, as if in wonder of his concerns. "I just needed some place to relax," Minato reassured Koromaru,
beginning to walk to a bench. He sat down, burying his face in his hands.
...
That strange voice from a few days ago had popped up in their latest trip to Tartarus. It had summoned Sho and
Kishimaru, and fused them together like before. It completely destroyed the Tartarus guardian they had been going at for
a while, but...
"Minato-kun! Wake up!" Yukari tried to shake him awake as the Shadow thrashed around, throwing flames and wind
everywhere. And like before, Minato fell unconscious from the consumption of spiritual energy.
He lay motionless, hearing the voice whisper memories into his mind. Minato saw lanterns swinging and drifting in the
wind, like fairies flitting about in the night sky. The wind was warm with the breath of Tokyo summers, and on it wafted
the scents of festival foods.
"Minato! You have to wake up!" The fused Shadow's steed snorted and looked ready to charge at Yukari, with large
flames cloaking it's body.
"Minato-chan. Is there something you want before we go?" Minato nodded back eagerly and said what it was. His aunt
went off to the stall, and he followed. It was late, and he wasn't really supposed to be up at that time. By that time? The
Dark Hour, of course. It fell and cast a dark green hue over the shrine.
"Ugh, that Minato child. Why am I saddled with this burden?" He looked around frantically for the voice, seeing in his
aunt's place a coffin and a Shadow. Was that where the voice came from?
"W-What are you saying...? Y-You don't like me, oba-san?" Minato asked, biting his lip nervously.
"Are you kidding!? I hate you!"
The Shadow charged towards Yukari, seemingly fuelled by the emotions that were running through Minato's head.
"Sonic Punch!" Akihiko reacted quickly and summoned Polydeuces to stop its advances. It knocked it off course with
minimal damage, sending it into a pillar.
Minato backed away in horror from the Shadow, hearing its words. "W-Why do you hate me?" he asked, very much afraid
of what it was going to say.
"You are my sister's curse. You are my burden. You were not supposed to come here," it answered.
He was stunned, and backed away further. Minato's back touched the front of a stall, and his head grazed what seemed
to be the tip of a knife. Turned quickly, grabbed the hilt of the knife, pointed it not at the Shadow, but at his throat. "End it,
end it all..." Minato spoke in unison with another voice, the same one he would come to recognise as that creepy voice.
The fused Shadow fired a Garudyne at Junpei, knocking him into the wall. "Junpei!" Yukari ran over and tried to cast
some Dia spells to heal his wounds.
Minato gulped and pointed the tip at his throat for what seemed to be an eternity. Sweat poured down his forehead. His
heart was pounding in his ears.
Clatter. His trembling hands dropped the knife onto the ground. Minato stared at the blade, until eventually he slid down
the front and curled up into a ball. "I... I'm alone..." he mumbled, collapsing in a heap in the ground, regardless of any
blood. "Why am I alone!?" Minato pounded his fists into a puddle of red, splashing it onto his knuckles.
For a while he was silent, with only crying and sniffling. Minato put on his earphones and connected it to his MP3 player,
only half listening to the white noise in his ears, delirious enough to think that there was music at all. "I have lost the will

to live... Simply nothing more to give... There is nothing more for me... Need the end to set me free..."
"Are you okay!?" Yukari asked, shaking Junpei awake.
"U-Ugh... I think..." Junpei answered slowly.
Minato's eyes shot open as the memory ended. He breathed in and out quickly, trying to calm down. Once he saw the
teams wounded state, he understood. "Kishimaru! Sho! Come back!" he growled in Shadow Whispers. The Shadow
stopped and split into its two original materials, back into his compendium.
Just as everything calmed down, Minato could feel the glares and stares of his teammates. He'd fucked up.
...
It pretty much went without saying that Tartarus trips were off while everyone was busy recomposing themselves.
Minato was busy dealing with the fact that the voice managed to awaken a memory that he'd been blocking up until then.
His aunt found him after that Dark Hour covered in blood. He never really talked to her again unless it was something
important.
He still wasn't on good terms with her either, since another something happened that kept him from talking to her at all.
But that was for another time. Minato put on his earphones and started towards the other reason why he had come to the
shrine.
Koromaru followed after him, of course.
Minato laughed a little at him and stopped after a while. It was at the back of the shrine; a cemetery covered with all kinds
of headstones. When Minato remembered about it, he mentally kicked himself for not remembering sooner.
He hadn't been to Naganaki Shrine even once; never for offerings, fortunes and certainly never to visit his parents'
graves.
The path was slow, much like the sakura petals that drifted down and carpeted the ground with a pastel pink. What was
it again? Five centimetres per second? That probably wasn't the point of the expression, but he didn't really care.
Whatever the case, the walk was uneventful and quiet. Amber light was starting to slide into the distance once he
reached the shrine, casting dark shadows across the tiles and dirt. Minato took a moment to observe his surroundings.
It took some minutes, but he finally managed to find the grave, barely paying attention to the epitaph carved into the
stone. He looked the site over and sighed. Minato wondered whether the memories that he had of his parents were
withering over time.
Now in front of them, things were starting to come back in a slow trickle and a sad smile began to crack his stony look.
Revenge and disbelief fuelled most of the actions that he took and ever kept him alive; away from the pills and knives.
Pain was a powerful and insistent motivator. It drove him on as he tried to avoid that inevitability by distancing himself
from everybody else. It kept him from thinking that there was nothing else for him to do and that he was a useless cause
with no-one to salvage his remains.
But then, bittersweet memories were starting to arise. Up until then, he couldn't have remembered the times that his
parents scolded him for breaking things on accident before they said that it was okay and that he should be careful the
next time. What about the time that they pushed him on those swings at the shrine? Or the time that for his birthday he
got his mp3 player and earphones as a present after they were coming back from seeing a movie?
Minato knew that they were gone and that he'd never be able to touch them again. They couldn't care for him any longer,
and any love that he might've had for them was pointless to a bunch of dead people. They wouldn't know how much that
he still missed them. They wouldn't know what he had become and scold him for that since they probably didn't want him
to veer off into the dark path it seemed he was leading.
Caring for people, huh? It must've been something that just stuck with him, because no matter how much he tried not to
care about everyone else, he couldn't help but to. Ulterior motive or not, he couldn't deny that even though he tried to hide
any bit of kindness left in him, he was still attracted to helping people with serious problems that maybe he could try and
fix.
Maybe his parents would've been proud for something like that.

Maybe. But they weren't around anymore, were they? They were dead, and he always pushed people away as much as
possible. So, he was becoming alone. Not lonely, but alone.
And, he so wanted them back. All of it. He wished it could be reversed and that none of the things that had ruined his life
before had happened. He could've been perfectly normal, but for him, it appeared that it could never be an option.
Minato breathed in and out, suppressing his urges to break down and cry. He clasped his hands together. 'Kaa-san.
Tou-san, you probably don't like me anymore. Without you guys, I don't have anyone else anymore. It's my fault. I'm too
weak to handle any more I just wish I knew what happened to you. I wish I knew how I got these godforsaken powers. I
wish that getting to know people now won't be a mistake.'
Koromaru seemed to sense his prayers and whined sadly, prompting Minato to pat his head. "I'll I'll be okay," he
mumbled. Koromaru nuzzled into Minato's side. It almost seemed like he didn't believe him. "I'm serious," Minato
laughed.
"I didn't think I'd see you here." Minato looked up, surprised to see Yukari.
He stayed silent, narrowing his eyes for a moment before shaking his head. Whatever. Minato rose to full height. "I didn't
think I'd see you either" he mumbled. "Tch. What?"
Yukari bit her lip, thinking of what to say.

Minato frowned as everyone looked at him. "Let's go back down," he said.

No-one moved a muscle, still looking at him in disbelief. Minato stood up, heading towards the transporter down and
pocketing the spoils of the Tartarus Guardian battle. He didn't bother to repeat his words. If they wanted to stay in the big
fucking tower then that was their business, not his.
After a while, everyone did reach the bottom of Tartarus. They didn't speak. There was nearly no doubt that Mitsuru was
going to discuss what just happened the next day.

"Wait, it's raining" she mumbled, a raindrop falling on her nose.

"They're like guided missiles," Minato deadpanned as a raindrop fell on his cheek.
"Arf arf!" Koromaru barked and led them undercover to the shrine. Yukari looked at Minato briefly with curious eyes before
deciding to follow the shiba-inu. It wasn't any warmer undercover, but at least they weren't getting wet.
"A-Anyways what were you doing here?" Yukari asked slowly, not sure how Minato was going to react.
"I was praying at my parents' grave," he said blankly. "They're about as dead as I imagined they would be."
Yukari was taken aback by his wording but she saw what he meant. "O-Oh"
"What about you?" Minato asked. It was mostly out of politeness because he already guessed what Yukari was at the
cemetery for. Her dad, wasn't it?
"I was I was placing some offerings. For my dad," she answered.
Figured. Minato looked at Yukari's pursed lips. Nah, she probably didn't want to elaborate. "H-How badly d-did I fuck up
yesterday?" he asked instead.
She thought for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by the question. "I think you're just exaggerating. It's not like
anyone was seriously hurt or anything"
"Weren't you scared?"
"Well yeah, of course I was," Yukari said. "But in the end you recalled it without anyone getting seriously injured. So I
mean that wasn't even on purpose, was it?"
He shook his head. "It just happened."

"Well personally I don't think you should be kicked out or anything," Yukari said.
"You're going to regret that," Minato mumbled.
"I think they're going to regret leaving you behind when you're the most powerful out of all of us," Yukari rebutted.
"You must be courageous or an idiot," he said, gritting his teeth. Yukari frowned, but sighed. Minato might've been right
about that.
For a while, it was quiet with only the pitter patter of rain. "Did you know it rains in the Dark Hour?"
"Huh?" Yukari blinked, not only surprised but partly wondering where the question came from and where he was going
with it. Or was Minato even going to continue at all?
"The clouds. They rain blood onto everything," he smiled wryly. Yukari flinched, not wanting to imagine what that would
feel, let alone look like. "S-Sometimes it storms too and darkness appears like lightning splitting open the sky," Minato
continued.
"Where are you going with this?" she asked.
"Once I got caught in a storm. I was so scared and I ran to my aunt's house, to my room and I just stayed there,
bawling my eyes out as my clothes were soaked," Minato said. He sounded as if he was amused, but his expression
was blank. "And after it ended, the blood disappeared. But the smell didn't. My aunt asked me sometimes why I smelled
like rusty iron, and I never answered."
Yukari looked on horrified, yet fascinated. "What's happened with your aunt now?"
"She's still going. I don't like her though," Minato smirked. "She doesn't like me either."
"Why's that?" Yukari asked.
Minato knew that she was probably going to ask that, but he ended up frowning anyways. "Guess it's because I-I
guess it's because she didn't like caring for her sister's son and thinks of me as a burden?"
"Really? That I don't think you're something like that at all. Wait, how did you even hear about that?" she asked.
"I heard her Shadow say it. And something else happened which is mostly why she hates me," Minato mumbled.
"W-What what's that?" Yukari asked with a shaky voice. Somehow she thought that it was a pretty touchy subject.
"If I told you, you'd probably be horrified," he chuckled.
"U-Uh tell me anyways," she said determinedly.
Minato took a deep breath. Welp, it'd be her loss for asking. Or so he assured himself. "I made my uncle commit
suicide."
"What!?" Yukari exclaimed.
"You heard me," he said, trying not to show any emotion. It was still a touchy subject with him, there was no denying that.
Whenever he remembered that? It was a reminder that told him how nave he was when he was a kid. He wasn't even
completely sure why his uncle hated him too. A few years later he began to be tossed around the country like a hot
potato no-one wanted. "Welp, now you know how much of a regret you might be making by trying to trust me," he said,
beginning to walk out in the rain.
Koromaru whined sadly, sensing how he was feeling, and ran over to him to nuzzle his leg. It was like he was saying 'it'll
be okay'.
Not that Yukari knew that. Her thoughts were jumbled up in her head as she tried to process what Minato just said to her.
He became so much scarier and much more mysterious and to be honest, she wasn't sure what to think of him.
Yukari didn't mind him that much before because she was certain that he was still hiding a lot of things. But hearing
about him apparently being the cause for his uncle's suicide? She was afraid.
Minato walked off back to the dorm shortly, but not before bumping into someone on the road. Oh, literally. He totally
walked into them. "O-Oh! I-I'm so sorry!" Minato backed off once he heard the voice, quickly realising that he must've been
spacing out into his thoughts. As he did.

"I-It's fine" he groaned, finally finding the person in front of him. She was a girl with short teal hair, fair skin and grey
eyes. She had the female Gekkoukan uniform on, but instead of a white collared shirt, a teal green turtle neck with floral
patterns. "I w-wasn't I wasn't watching where I was going."
"I-I wasn't watching either. I'm sorry," she replied quietly, clutching her bag close to her chest.
He waved it off, of course. "Don't worry about it. U-Um tch. Sorry. I need to go back to the dorm"
"O-Oh no, it's okay. I'll I'll see you later," she said quickly, running past Minato.
Minato rubbed the back of his head. "Weird rainy day," he commented, continually being drenched by the pouring rain.

Nights: Poor Minato. :T I wonder if this constant grief, anger and mistrust might lead him to do something drastic...
that's just a prediction, not a spoiler though. :P
Anyways, box us yo thoughts and we'll see ya later.
Star: Hey guys, we're back. I had written this out a while ago, but it just took a bit of time to look over. Anyways, hope
you enjoyed the chapter. So now Minato's presence sets everyone on edge. No, I hadn't just pulled that bit about his
relatives outta nowhere. I hinted at it in an earlier chapter, but nothing that revealed much.
ALSO YES IT'S THE START OF THE ANGSTIn any case, plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see ya later.
Reviews. :3
Afterados: Funny thing to note about his nickname; I just thought of it on the spot, but I realised that it made complete
sense since natto is actually like a thing. XD Yeah, I'd actually forgotten what Elizabeth's original prize for that was
so I just went 'fuck it' and it came out with him having somas instead. I think it went better that way anyways! :P
Yeahhhh, it just might not seem like it at the moment since the other pairing *points to Sachiko* and the
relationships just haven't developed enough for me to add anything more until later.
Indeed! (I'd have to admit I got an idea as to handle SEES' reactions to Minato from another fic) Unfortunately, this
isn't gonna let up any time soon. :(
Yes, I knew that. Ehe it's a bit OOC, maybe, but I had to give him a break and this is setting up for something in oh
yeah, THIS very chapter. XD
Hm when you say that well, when I said 'mirthfully' I just pointing out that he was amused by what Yukari did. I
didn't really mean it in a joking manner.
Thanks, and will do. :3
Blarg7865: It sounds like a thing, doesn't it? Just have to see.
Of course! :P We were just going to add the pairing, so we aren't going to replace it or anything.
Not really. I think the story will stay with the original cast.
Technodude458: When Nights is hinting at a rant the way he's doing right now, I think it should be safe to assume
that he's going to put in a rant somewhere the question would be when.
Mr. Haziq: Haha, he'll come around later.
Yoshikunitsu: I wish he was as good as him. It's just some symbolism there with how Orpheus was the father of
music, pretty much and Minato has him as a Persona.
I'm glad someone else thinks I'm going well with Elizabeth. XD She's so fun to write. Minato would be likely to keep
that as a secret as much as possible. :T
Heehee. We'll see, ne?
Yup yup.

*Chapter 16*: The Edge of the Shadow

After that day, everyone seemed to be acting different around Minato. As always the seniors kept to themselves, but
Yukari always seemed to avoid him while Junpei gave him sharp glares whenever he even so much as walked passed
him.
Probably only the remotely fun thing that happened was Junpei's so called 'Junpei's Believe It Or Don't'. And even that
was an atrocity in itself. He was obviously just waiting for that opportunity and Minato could tell. He did just suddenly grab
a flashlight out of nowhere while they were eating after all.
What was really interesting was that Yukari became very determined to prove Junpei's ghost story wrong, pulling the both
of them into investigating. Well, Minato didn't exactly investigate. Neither did Junpei. Rather well, he did have a
detective as a friend. Sachiko still talked to him every once in a while.
"Hey Minato-san," she said. "Are you doing anything today?"
Minato shook his head. "Good timing though. I w-wanted to ask you about some things" If Sachiko had been on this
case, it would be a lucky break for him. He wasn't looking forward to investigating anything, really.
"Convenient," Sachiko commented. "Let's go." With that, the two of them exited the classroom. They went towards
Iwatodai Strip Mall, just like always. "What did you want to ask me about?"
"The rumours about the ghost story," Minato mumbled. "Have you heard anything about it?"
"Sure. I don't believe it's because of a ghost though. That's just stupid. I'd think of something more realistic all three
victims were all unconscious, but they were muttering things unintelligibly," Sachiko explained. "Much like the victims of
Apathy Syndrome that have been showing up in the news. I can only gamble that these symptoms are a result of the
Shadows' influence."
"Tch. Yukari-san was worrying about it for nothing," he groaned, taking a small sip from a Soma bottle. If there was any
time for him to be smooth with his words it was then. "If this is a problem with the Shadows, I guess the group's gonna
do something about it," Minato sighed.
"I see Well, before you go on, I have to say that I did hear some suspicious things about this case. There have been
people saying that it's one of the student's ghosts for a reason. Apparently there is a girl from 2-E, and she hasn't been
seen for at least a week. People say that they saw the three victims bullying that girl," Sachiko said, appearing deep in
thought. "But hey, I'm going to guess that you were too lazy to find out?"
"Bingo," he replied with a blank face. Nope, he appeared not to care.
She just chuckled however. "Should've known. Then I have something to talk to you about in return," Sachiko said. Minato
looked up at her and gestured for her to go on. "First, I had to mention some new information about the people that you
encountered before. Second, would you mind taking a look at my Shadow again?"
"Sure," Minato nodded. "What were these new details?"
"You see I feel they may be connected to another group," Sachiko explained. "While I was passing by the streets in
Paulownia Mall during the Dark Hour, I saw a group, interacting with another group of four. Unfortunately I couldn't see all
of them clearly since it was dark. You said before that the people that you saw were a group of four, right?"
"Yes," he affirmed. "Two girls, two guys."
"I can't confirm anything for now, but I feel that there are going to be more things to watch out for from now on," she
warned. "I'll tell you more if I find anything. So would you mind?"
"Yeah, I'll try again," Minato nodded, steeling himself for whatever her Shadow might say. "Hello?" he asked in Shadow
Whispers.
"Well, hello there. How has your day been? Somewhere along the lines of terrible or mildly irritating?" Sachiko's Shadow
replied. He wasn't even sure how well she got that question right. "Do you remember what I said last time? Why don't we
start off from there?"
Could he remember something so far back? Well, actually yes, he could. He couldn't forget a Shadow's words. "You
ended the conversation with you talking about how your family distrusts you because of your Shadow Whispering

abilities."
"Ooh, so you did remember! I'm impressed that you'd remember something like that from someone like me," she
laughed mirthfully. "Hm, where to start, where to start? Oh yes! I asked my parents whether they could buy me a book
while I was out investigating a while ago!"
"W-What happened?" Minato had no idea where this question was going to lead, but he certainly didn't think it would be a
good thing.
"They acted as if I said nothing, and when I went there myself, the book was sold out," Sachiko replied. "Ah, but they
weren't always like that I remember when I was a child they'd do whatever I asked, so long as I was polite"
Okay, he might as well just ask. There wasn't much else, and he wasn't sure he could predict what Sachiko's Shadow
was going to say. "Where are you going with this?"
"Well, of course! Then my ability up and came along, so now I'm treated like yesterday's trash. Oh dear, I'll keep going on
like this and I'll never stop cursing these damned whispers," Sachiko snarled.
Minato was starting somehow to think of all the reasons why Sachiko was so bitter about this. And honestly for
something like he had been thinking, he could relate. It was risky saying this, but "Are you angry because they make
you feel lonely?"
He was beginning to be unnerved by the silence that Sachiko's Shadow was giving him. Was he right? Or darn it, he
couldn't figure out whether that was the right thing to say or not! "You must be pretty unlucky if you know how that feels,"
she commented. "I feel sorry for you."
"This isn't about me though," Minato said, diverting the conversation once more. "Sachiko you probably won't trust me
when I say this, but you're not you're not alone."
"I know that, silly," her Shadow seemed to sneer. "But I never would've expected that you of all people would suggest that
she wasn't alone. I thought you never wanted to associate with anyone yourself."
"That doesn't matter," he growled.
"Ooh, did I hit a nerve somewhere?" she laughed amusedly. "Oh well. Even if I'm not alone, that won't change how I feel
about this situation."
"Do you feel like it isn't worth it anymore?" Minato asked slowly, wondering of the answer.
"Yes somehow, drifting through life, trying to find a good purpose for something that had been haphazardly thrust upon
me I do feel that doing the same thing will not change anything. The monotony is stifling, to say the least! And to get rid
of that stifling feeling I do think of ending this worthless existence," Sachiko chuckled.
"But-"
"Oh, but my existence isn't worthless because of you? How self-centred," she scoffed.
For a moment, Minato's jaws seemed to lock up. Was it really that self-centred? But that wasn't what he was going to
say. "Let me finish. But. Even if I was out of the equation, I very much doubt that no-one cares at all."
"You don't have any proof of that," Sachiko's Shadow sneered. "Hmph. Interesting conversation though. You're quite the
humouring person, aren't you?" With that, the link disappeared.
Minato knew himself that it was just Sachiko's Shadow saying it because she was angry but what she said didn't sit
right with him either. "Um, how'd it go?" Sachiko asked curiously.
He stopped to formulate a coherent response. "It was longer of a conversation than before. But"
"But?" she blinked.
"Sachiko-san do you feel lonely?" he murmured.
Her eyes widened in surprise. It was an expression in between fear and denial. Minato could tell from her trembling that
she was scared, but from her narrowed eyes and furrowed brow, she was angry. "N-No," Sachiko said through clenched
teeth.

"You're lying," Minato sighed. "Sachiko-san, just be honest with me."

"No. I'm not lonely I'm not lonely, don't you get it?" she scoffed. He was starting to realise that pressing the point would
just make her angrier.
"Sachiko, I know you are!" Minato growled.
"And I'm telling you, I'm not! How do you know that whatever my Shadow says might be true anyways!? You'd trust my
Shadow over my words now?" Sachiko said, her eyes widening. They quickly narrowed and fixed a glare onto Minato's.
However, he gazed back ever stoically.
"Sachiko, do you know what Shadows even are?" Minato just shook his head. "Shadows are things that the person
cannot accept. As in, they are irrevocably true, but the reason they exist is because the person cannot accept the fact that
what their inner selves is saying is really a part of them. I have to believe her otherwise I can't do anything about it."
"Tch," Sachiko squeezed her eyes shut. "You've got to be kidding"
"No. Look at mine, and you'd know," he sighed. "It's but my Shadow's probably horrible. I don't even know what it's like."
She furrowed her brow, starting to calm down as Sachiko thought things through. "Hello?" However, she said it in
Shadow Whispers.
Minato's eyes widened. "What are you doing!?"
"Seeing what you mean," she replied simply. Sachiko continued on without heeding Minato's words and spoke once
again in Whispers, "So, are you there?" She felt a force hammering at her head once she started, and a cold feeling
erupted in her chest like ice freezing her from the inside out.
"Hmph. I'm always here. I never thought you'd have the balls to try this," Minato's Shadow spoke coldly. "But maybe you
better stop, just for your own sake. I'm not a normal Shadow talking to me for too long would be a pretty bad idea."
"Guh you're probably right about that," Sachiko shook her head, trying to get rid of the headache she had. "Minato, your
Shadow's different probably different to mine. Unless talking to Shadows gives you a headache too."
"It should've been the same is there something else to it?" Minato shook his head and the questions out of his mind.
"No, I can't deal with this now"
"Minato, I'm sorry! I just said things I shouldn't have," Sachiko sighed, looking down at the ground.
"I was pretty forceful too. Don't forget that," he said, breathing out deeply. "But, I just realised we're calling each other just
by first names," Minato chuckled amusedly.
"Oh we did," she agreed. "I guess it was in the heat of the moment."
"Well, I wouldn't mind you calling me just Minato," he shrugged.
"Then, we better just drop the honorifics," Sachiko said, a small smile creasing her lips.
"Uh Sachiko. You still haven't answered my question though," Minato pointed out, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah. I do get lonely. But not as much as I used to," she answered with a low voice.
"Why's that?"
"Well because I have someone I can depend on now; you," Sachiko replied. "I mean, I now have someone I can talk to
whenever I want who will listen to what I say, and who can relate to what I'm talking about. I thought before I'd just go on
trying to get by on my own, but maybe it's because my new year's wish came true."
"Your new year's wish?" Minato blinked.
"Yeah. I thought this time, I'd ask for someone who'd be a good friend," she laughed. "Isn't that cheesy, especially
coming from me of all people?"
"Nah. On new year's, I always wish that there's someone who I can be myself around," he grinned back. "And well, I've
been finding more and more people who I can be like that around." Sachiko blinked, never having seen him smile so
much before. "Welp, I think I better get going. People at the dorm call."

"Farewell Minato," Sachiko replied, standing up and going her own way back home.
"I hope it doesn't turn out like the last meeting though," he sighed.

The last meeting went a little something like this.

"Arisato you should remember what I told you about your powers," Mitsuru began. Of course he remembered, but it
wasn't like it was something he could control. Even he didn't know the source of that power.
"You said you were going to kick me out?" Minato asked closing his eyes. It wasn't much of a question though. He was
fully prepared to get kicked out. He was expecting it. More than that, he didn't particularly care. "Then do what you want."
"But Mitsuru-senpai um, it wasn't really his fault," Yukari pointed out.
"If you're g-going to ask me to spill my guts on why I can't tell you, b-because I don't know," Minato groaned. "Still,
assuming I can do something about it, I'd still be one of the best assets you have. I'm still a Persona user," he pointed
out.
Mitsuru gritted her teeth. She knew he was right. Persona users were running thin in numbers as it was, and to have one
of the most powerful ones out would be more than disadvantageous. "But you have to control your powers," Akihiko
grunted.
"If I could, I would, but I can't. I'm not the one in c-charge of when these guys mush together, or whatever," Minato said,
shaking his head. "I can tell, even though Mitsuru-senpai says she'll kick me out, she doesn't want me too. She just
wants her most powerful assets with her to the end, no matter what the cost, right?"
Akihiko's eyes widened at Minato's jab. Did he really just say that? "Take that back."
Minato deadpanned at Akihiko. "Why? Mitsuru-senpai obviously isn't denying it."
"Senpai, would you really make the guys in the team less important than what we've gotta do?" Junpei asked. "It's not
like well, I dunno. We can handle it just as well!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, but I've been saving your asses since day one," Minato said, a sly smirk on his face. "You sure she's gonna give up
someone as easily as you think?" Cue the mental rick rolling.
"Minato" Akihiko stood up, clenched teeth and fists. "You better stand down. Mitsuru has her reasons"
"Would she mind telling them to the class?" he said, rolling his eyes. With that, Akihiko grabbed Minato's collar. He kept
his eyes on Akihiko, a blank stare. While he was beginning not to breathe, he was still looking to piss him off.
"Akihiko!" Mitsuru stood up, about to step in.
"T-Tch" He put him down, leaving him to recover his breath. Minato coughed, covering his mouth as he felt blood
threatening to spill. But behind his hand, he just smirked. Akihiko really did care about Mitsuru that much, didn't he?
"Heh," Minato laughed. "You guys make me laugh," he grinned. "Well, whatever are you going to do, senpai? You going
to keep me in and break your promise, or are you really going to let go of your most powerful asset?"
She bit her lip, but this time
A hard punch met Minato's cheek. Akihiko glared at him, while Minato pulled his head back to face him. "It's not like that,"
he growled.
"Guys, stop fighting! This isn't getting us anywhere!" Yukari exclaimed.
"Hehe" Minato rolled back his head and returned the punch with one of his own, straight at Akihiko's cheek. "They say
an eye for an eye," he chuckled.
"Goddammit Minato!" Akihiko retaliated with a one-two punch at Minato's chest. This time, Minato dodged by swaying out
of the way and got him with a right straight to his back.
"Akihiko, stand down! This isn't helping," Mitsuru ordered.

They won't listen. Minato predicted that. "The hell Minato!?" Junpei jumped up this time as well.
"Please guys, you have to stop!" Yukari shouted. "This isn't doing anything!"
Minato taunted both Akihiko and Junpei with a smirk, beckoning them over. Junpei charged in like a damned fool, while
Akihiko advanced with several jabs. But really, the end result was the same. Minato grabbed both their wrists as they
tried to punch him and swung them into the wall. "I don't even fight for real and this is the best you can do?"
"Arisato, Iori, Akihiko! Stand down or I'll execute all of you!" Mitsuru finally yelled, putting an end to the conflict. Minato just
lifted up his hands clear of weapons and walked away as Akihiko and Junpei recovered. He didn't throw them that hard.
"Arisato, you are our greatest asset! But never hurt any of the team members again!" Mitsuru demanded.

Needless to say, it didn't end very well. "So, now we're going to discuss the strange incident that has been occurring
around the school. You guys investigated, right?" Yukari asked, giving Junpei in particular pointed glares.
"Give the man a rest," Minato sighed. "Why don't I explain it?"
"Y-You've been investigating? I didn't think you would," Yukari blinked.
"Well fine. The ghost story is just a student rumour blown out of proportion," he explained. "It spread quickly since it
happened multiple times. And from my sources they all display signs of apathy syndrome."
"Your 'sources'?" Junpei parroted, deadpanning at Minato.
"Well, I have a friend who's a detective. Did you forget already?" he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"You have friends?" Junpei scoffed. Minato gritted his teeth.
Why did you say that, you asshat!? There were low blows, and then there were lower blows. Minato growled to himself
and shook his head. "This is why I hate dealing with idiots. If you're gonna go out and investigate some more, then
whatever."
"Just stop it, the two of you! We don't have time for this! We have to find out more about this," Yukari said. "Tomorrow
night, we're going to check out the place where those girls hung out."
Junpei gritted his teeth and replied to Yukari, "But I've heard bad rumours about that place! It's dangerous!"
"Come on. It'll be an adventure and after what Minato-kun just said, we have to find out about this now!" Yukari said
with determined eyes. "You're coming too, right?"
Minato deadpanned at her, but ended up sighing. "Fine, whatever."
"Tch" Junpei shook his head. "How can you be scared of ghosts, but not this!?"
"It's easier to be afraid of something you can't see, don't you think?" Yukari replied.
"Yeah? Well I'm more afraid of things I can see. Like bats. And knives!" he exclaimed.
"Don't forget the lead pipes and spiked bats, along with-" Minato didn't get to finish his sentence as Junpei cut in.
"See what I mean!?" he shouted, still trying to bring Yukari to reason.
"It'll be fine," Yukari sighed. "Come on. Tomorrow. Saturday night. We're going, and that's that."
A collective groan escaped both Junpei and Minato's mouths. "Tch. Just great Yukari" Junpei moaned.

Like Yukari had said, the three of them entered the back alleys of Port Island. Many punks along with rough women spent
their late hours there. Junpei certainly wasn't exaggerating about the place being a bad one though.
Just a few minutes into the conversation, if you could call it that Junpei was punched in the gut, doubling him over.
"Junpei!" Yukari gasped.

"You sure have to deal with a lot of shit, don't you goatee? I almost feel sorry for you," one of the punks said. He will
hereby be dubbed punk one. There was also punk two, and the rest are miscellaneous punks.
"And you. I don't like the look of your face, pretty boy," punk two snarled, getting right up in Minato's face. However, his
eyes just averted to the piercing on his nose and ear; especially the chain connecting the two of them.
"Ah, that's impressive," Minato commented. Punk two gave him a dirty look, wondering what he was going to say next.
"You chained your nose to your face so you wouldn't lose it." That was about when poor punk two lost it.
"What the fuck did you say kid!?" punk two growled. He lunged at Minato, who merely sidestepped the reckless attack. He
grabbed his wrist and swung him into a row of miscellaneous punks like a bowling ball.
Minato swept the dust off his hands and stared down the punks. "I thought that would've been harder," he muttered under
his breath. He sighed and was about to charge ahead and get this over with, but the punks had other plans. Punk one
stared down Junpei who was breathing heavily. He wanted action too! He wanted to show that he was tougher than
Minato.
"Stop staring at me, dammit!" Junpei growled at one of the delinquents, holding his stomach. The pain from the punch
earlier still lingered.
"Or what, goatee?" The punk replied. Minato shoved his hands back into his pockets. This would be fun.
Meanwhile, Yukari looked on at the scene helplessly. How was she supposed to know that this was going to happen?
She was seriously starting to doubt that they remembered the purpose of this trip at all. They were all fighting instead.
"He told me that y'all have like a thousand fathers," Minato helpfully supplied to the other punks standing guard. The
punks jeered at the cap wearing teen who gulped and glared daggers at Minato.
Minato smirked slyly. It was almost like he was edging Junpei to deny it, so Minato could call him a wuss later. "Yeah I
did," Junpei mumbled. "Problem?"
"Junpei!?" Yukari shrieked, but it was too late. The two punks sprinted over to Junpei as Minato leaned against the wall.
He was fully prepared to watch the entertaining beat down, but he would sure miss the popcorn.
Junpei was about to defend himself from the charge, but he let out a groan of pain as something was smashed right into
the back of his head, making him fall face first on the ground. The punk behind Junpei snickered as he raised the
baseball bat and began to smash it onto Junpei's body over and over again.
"Help him!" Yukari cried, but Minato just shrugged.
"Hit this sucker in the nuts," Minato wished quietly as he watched the scene unfold.
The punks rolled Junpei over and resumed beating the shit out of him. They kicked, punched and kneed him wherever it
was possible. Junpei was sporting some ugly bruises right now and Yukari was almost wailing in the corner. Minato
gave a satisfied snicker as he heard Junpei release a shout of pain because of a very painful nut shot.
"You brought this on yourself, asshat," Minato shook his head and looked over to Yukari who was literally on her knees
now, begging Minato to help. He gave a sigh. Fine! Minato charged into the brawl. He was going to end this as soon as
possible and then taunt Junpei for being so weak and pathetic.
Minato grabbed one of the dudes and head butted him, sending him skidding backwards. The others noticed this and
diverted their attention to Minato. He sighed again and jerked his head, taunting them over, which worked. Once again
the miscellaneous punks charged.
There were like five, or six maybe? But Minato wasn't worried. He was sure they would be cake compared to the
monsters he faced usually. He started off by knocking one out by a single punch. He sidestepped another charge and
drove his knee right into the attacker's nads, making him collapse onto the ground.
He made short work of the rest, pummelled them with ease and merely threw them away. He swept the dirt off his hands
with the back of his sleeve and gave a sneer to Junpei. "Welp asshat, I might not have friends, but I do have the strength.
Do you?"
The punks slowly got up again, but this time, a gruff voice halted everyone. "That's enough."
"Aw. I was about to rip that guy's piercing off," Minato muttered, folding his arms.

"I'll make sure they leave." Out of the darkness, a teen in a maroon pea coat and beanie appeared.
"It's another one from Gekkou High!" punk one exclaimed. "None of you are leaving alive!"
The beanie-wearing teen just scoffed, subtly shifting his stance. "You wanna bet?" Punk one flinched at his gaze, but
ended up charging into him with a punch ready anyways. The beanie-wearing teen just looked on with a blank
expression before smashing his forehead right into punk one's head, sending him cascading to the ground.
"L-Let's go guys!" punk one yelled, ignoring the snide remarks from the women with them as they fled.
Yukari mumbled, "Y-You're the one from the hospital"
"You idiots," the teen muttered. "You should get out of here. This place isn't for you!"
"W-Wait we came for information," Yukari said just as he was about to turn and leave. "It's just" She gave a
sympathetic look to Junpei and a glare to Minato.
"Tch. What do you want to know about that ghost story?" he asked, leaning against the wall.
"Well, Yukari here was wondering about the victims and how it's related to the supposed ghost," Minato helpfully
supplied.
"The three girls that became unconscious came here every night, talking about shit they've done to a girl named
Fuuka," he explained.
"Fuuka Yamagishi" Minato mumbled. He knew who she was. He'd met her briefly about a week ago.
"Isn't that the girl from 2-E?" Yukari thought aloud. "What happened to her? I heard she'd been sick a lot"
"Fools. This Fuuka girl might be dead. She hasn't been seen in a week," the teen growled.
"Great, great. I figured," Minato sighed, about to walk off.
"Wait, did you already know about this!?" Yukari exclaimed.
"Yeah. But someone didn't let me finish," he smirked at Junpei, still struggling to his feet. "If you'd known that well. It's
too late for that now, isn't it?" Minato laughed bitterly.
"Y-You" Yukari glared at Minato. He'd crossed the line. Of course, Junpei was partly at fault, but even he didn't deserve
the beat down he'd just been put through.
"Kid. That was a fucked up move," the teen shook his head before striding off. "Get outta here. All of you."
"I know," Minato smiled a little, barely stopping to sling Junpei over his shoulder. "Now you know what happens when
you cross me, asshat."

Raider: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took a while, but it was long! XD Minato's grudges can go a long way, can't they?
And there's more unrest in SEES! Maybe that's foreshadowing something later? Or not. Hehe. Plz box us yo thoughts
and we'll see ya guys later.
Nights: Ouch, poor Minato! Nobody in SEES likes him and now, they're resorting to fists! This won't end well, at all.
Anyway, I wrote the best part! Which was the beat down. :P Don't underestimate his assholic-ness, Minato will get
revenge huh, I wonder what's the worst that could happen...
Please, review us yo thoughts and we'll see ya later!
Reviews!
Afterados: He also doesn't give them. :P
lol, I think that time I was in Singapore while I was writing that part of the chapter. So, the imagery was really good
since I was kinda inspired by it, I think. That's awesome! Exactly what I wanted. :D
Danke.
Yes. Well, I'm gonna assure you here, it certainly wasn't on purpose. But with all the hints he's been giving out,
maybe you can figure out the reason why his uncle committed suicide! (No kidding.)

Yup yup. We sped through it a little since we thought we were dragging it out.
Will do! X3
Mr. Haziq: Haha, yeah. Being responsible for someone's death isn't really a good thing
Well, remind me not to piss you off in real life! (I kid.)
Yoshikunitsu: We'll have to see about that.
It's surprisingly true now that you say that. There's going to be some more details into this later since well, Minato
has to deal with himself first and foremost before he can try to move on.
Yeah. :T Well, now that you've mentioned Shadow and Personae fusing Nah, you totally guessed right! The fun part
will be when and why, because the reason might be different.
Will do.

*Chapter 17*: Tyrants, But Macbeth-like

Minato, Akihiko and Junpei stood in the gym of Gekkoukan High, waiting for the Dark Hour. A row of events happened
after the juniors found out that Fuuka had actually been missing. Efforts were dedicated to finding out what they could
about Fuuka's disappearance, eventually leading them to Mr. Ekoda and a girl called Natsuki.
At that meeting, they discerned that Fuuka had to have been trapped within Tartarus, and they devised an operation to
find and retrieve her by going to the gym where she had been trapped. They'd made Natsuki stay at the dorm (all by
herself. Yes, it was very stupid a move.) so that she wouldn't be affected by the Shadows' voices. It turned out that the
Shadows were able to draw people into the Dark Hour with a voice that lured them.
Yukari's unfortunate encounters with her phone aside, the team assigned to finding Fuuka made it into the gym safely
while Yukari and Mitsuru were going to wait at the bottom of Tartarus to help support them.
Ongoing thing? Everyone was pissed at Minato. They didn't want to have him on the team, but everyone had to concede
that he was their most powerful asset at the moment. There was no replacing him.
"Dark Hour's coming in three two one," Akihiko said.
An overwhelming force twisted their bodies around, sending the bulk of their weight quickly and to uncomfortable places.
They all blacked out, and the team had been separated. "Can y hea me?" Minato faintly heard in his mind. Mitsuru's
voice cut off however. "Too hi up can't rea"
Looks like Mitsuru had reached the limits of being a wifi router that day. "You bee separted" Minato gave a wry
laugh and started to try and look around the floor for Akihiko and Junpei. From what he had been able to glean, Mitsuru
wouldn't be able to help them much. At least, he knew that they were separated as if he didn't know that beforehand.
The Shadows were spread thinly across the floor, and any he could easily use a Shadow or Persona on to get past. He
barely remembered that Pharos had warned him about a week ago before. Another trial.
"Who are you? Are you human?" Minato heard a voice. And this time it wasn't Mitsuru. Actually, it sounded like Fuuka.
Maybe he was getting closer.
He'd felt a sense of foreboding now that Minato had remembered this tidbit of information. Was he missing something?
Minato sighed and continued on. This wasn't this day. No. This wasn't his week.
Between what happened on Saturday and the following Monday, he had to say that the past few days had been absolute
shit.
And on that note
He'd reached the floor that both Akihiko and Junpei were on. It looked like they weren't as far spread as Minato was from
them. "Where were you?" Junpei asked, not hiding his glare. Minato gave an inward laugh. Where did all his excitement
from earlier go, he wondered. Nary an hour ago Junpei had been so gung-ho about redeeming himself and getting into
the school, and now well, he was glaring at Minato.
Of course, he knew the reason why. "Separated farther," Minato answered shortly. "Found Fuuka?" he asked.
"No. Not yet," Akihiko replied lowly.
"But, I have been hearing someone" Junpei said. "Like"
"Who are you?"
"Yeah, like that!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Actually, isn't that wasn't that a real voice?" Junpei asked, looking
around the floor.
"Are you human?" the voice continued on. Minato left the room and stepped into the corridor, finding a familiar girl
standing behind a wall. It was Fuuka, and it looked as if she was hiding.
"Your name's Fuuka," Minato pointed out, approaching her slowly.
The teal haired girl gasped, recognising him, also seeing people in uniform from her school. "Y-You're you're that
person I met about a week ago, that I bumped into," Fuuka said.

"Mmhm-" Before Minato could say more, Junpei cut in.

"Wait, you knew her already!?" Junpei exclaimed.
"Yeah. I met her when I was c-coming back from the shrine about a w-week ago," Minato replied. With a sigh, he turned
back to Fuuka. "Anyways, are you hurt or anything?" he asked, rubbing he back of his head. Fuuka answered with a
shake of her head.
Both Junpei and Akihiko were surprised by how amiable he was being. Since when could he be so nice, and why wasn't
he like that around the rest? "Have you seen any monsters around here?" Junpei asked.
"So there are strange creatures here I've managed to avoid them so far," Fuuka said.
"For that long!?" Junpei said, wide eyed. Akihiko had much the same sentiment, but slightly less enthusiastic than his
capped counterpart.
"I could kind of sense where they were," she elaborated.
"She must have the same power as Mitsuru no, it's even stronger," Akihiko mused aloud. With that thought finished, he
fished out what seemed to be a spare Evoker. "Take this," he said, presenting it to Fuuka.
"But that's a" she stammered, looking at the Evoker.
"It's not a real gun. Think of it as a lucky charm," Akihiko reassured. Fuuka hesitantly took it and clutched it in her hands,
trembling all the while. "Anyways-"
"Akihiko there's thing attack" Mitsuru came through once again, broken audio like before.
"Mitsuru!" Akihiko called, trying to get the connection back.
Minato sighed. "We have to find the transporter," he said, starting to walk off. Ignoring Junpei and Akihiko's muttering, he
felt Fuuka following closely behind him.
"I feel something something strange. It's attacking somebody," she mumbled.
He stopped, looking out a window. Luckily enough, that floor was one with a window which you could look through. The
moon came full circle in other words, it was full. "Akihiko. Junpei. Was it a full moon on the nights the big Shadows
attacked?" Minato asked, sternly.
"A full moon?" Akihiko blinked, looking out the same window as Minato. His eyes widened when he realised the same
thing as Minato. "On the night the Shadow attacked the dorm"
"And on the monorail," Minato said. "We better hurry." He didn't explicitly say that they should though, and still went on
with a leisurely pace.
"I sense a way out here" Fuuka said, pointing down the corridor.
"Wait, full moon?" Junpei asked.
"The big ones. They always come on a full moon!" Akihiko explained, running past Minato. "Hurry up!" he growled,
dashing ahead and going down the transporter.
Minato looked up lazily and sighed. He just didn't want to. "Um are you going to follow him?" Fuuka asked shyly.
Goddammit. He nodded back and ran, pulling Fuuka along with him. "Are you keeping up?" Minato asked shortly.
"Yes. I'll be alright," Fuuka replied. Minato nodded with another sigh and reached the transporter, waiting for Junpei.
Once he too neared the transporter, Minato wordlessly stepped onto it, whirling down to Tartarus' lobby.
"W-What are they!?" Fuuka exclaimed, looking at the two large Shadows in the room. Mitsuru and Yukari were lying on
the floor, struggling to get onto their feet.
"Be careful! They're extremely powerful!" Mitsuru warned, trying to find her footing.
"They're pretty huge!" Junpei agreed. "Alrighty! Let's go kick some ass!"

"Stay back," Minato warned, pointing his words to Fuuka.

"R-Right" Fuuka took a step back and the others a step forward. Several steps forward. They charged into the scene.
Minato bit his lip, gripping his sword tightly as he gazed over towards the two gigantic Shadows that completely stomped
Mitsuru and Yukari. He snickered inwardly. How in the blue hell was Mitsuru equal to her if she couldn't defeat these
things?
Akihiko and Junpei launched their respective elemental attacks which bounced off harmlessly from the shadows. Minato
clicked his tongue as he tried to wrap his mind around the phenomena.
"Only during full moons" Minato wondered to himself. "Are they special or something?" He flipped his compendium
over and mused, "If they're too unstable, they might destroy my collection. I can't take that risk."
Just as he said that Junpei went flying right next to him, before he ended up smashing into the pillar. Minato blinked.
Well, he at least had a small notepad in his pocket, since he didn't bother changing his uniform. He stuck his hand
inside his pocket, and indeed, the notepad was there.
It'd work. He just needed a good distraction. Minato nodded to himself and charged at the two shadows. He sidestepped
the oncoming capped wearing teen; again he was sent soaring through the air.
One was of the Emperor Arcana, while the other female Shadow (or so it seemed) was of the Empress. They were giving
out really hostile vibes which meant his chances of a peaceful negotiation were slim to none.
"I gotta take the fat one into the tower," Minato said. "No way Mitsuru and her cronies will let go peacefully." Minato
sidestepped the Emperor's sword swipe before dashing ahead towards the Empress. He jumped up and mustered all
the energy he had into his kick, planted it right into its neck, and waited for it to topple over. Minato was near positive that
it had to be a weakness of some sort. The Shadow released a hellish screech as it toppled over, clearly hurt from the
strike. Minato himself was a little damaged because of the kick but he managed to shrug it off.
Lights, camera, action! "Hey you," Minato whispered, directing his mocking towards the Empress Shadow. "You obesity
ridden bitch."
All he got was a ferocious roar from the Shadow which seemed totally pissed. Heck, its screeches were unintelligible.
The Empress got up and launched a gust of wind right for Minato. He hurriedly switched over to Queen Mab, nullifying the
damage.
"Hah, you suck at this," Minato mocked again. "Even your big, ugly stick legged boyfriend isn't doing anything!" The
Shadow gave out another roar of rage before she charged ahead, aiming to strike Minato with what seemed to be a
wand.
He effortlessly dodged the strike and backed away, hurling insults and curses. "You should quit this job, ya know?"
Minato took another step back, his back facing the teleporter. Almost there. He looked over towards the Emperor which
seemed to just as slow. At least Akihiko and Junpei weren't getting hit anymore.
"But remember, prostitution is always an option!" Minato laughed and the Shadow charged once again. Her body mass
and small legs proved advantageous for Minato, since he again side stepped the charge with ease, the Shadow ending
up on the teleporter. There was a flash of green light and the Shadow disappeared out of sight, deep inside the tower.
Minato ignored Mitsuru's yelling and Junpei's mocking. He couldn't care less right now. Double checking that the
notepad was in his pocket, Minato stepped onto the teleporter. He arrived on the very last floor they last explored. The
barrier was still there, and having no other Shadows meant the job just got a lot easier for him.
Wordlessly, Minato pulled his compendium out and tore out a few pieces. He channelled a little bit of his energy into
them before chucking them right towards the Empress.
The Shadow retaliated by creating another gust of wind, which halted the oncoming slashes. Minato gritted his teeth and
shouted. "Explode!" The tiny Shadows exploded into flames upon his command. The tornado caught the flames which
created another explosion, sending several gusts of hot wind all around the floor.
Minato closed his eyes and switched to Pyro Jack, hoping that the attack would have left some kind of dent on the
shadow. The aftereffects of the attack finally ended and Minato cussed, there was not a single burn on the shadow.
"Must block every elemental magic," Minato clicked his tongue again, before wincing from the pain. "A-Alright then" He
clutched his sword once again and charged.

The Shadow threw a gigantic fireball right for Minato who simply ran through it, thanks to Pyro Jack. The grip on his tome
tightened and he prepared to jump and avoid another swipe of the sword... or wand. Whatever.
Minato growled and smacked the Shadow right in its face with his heavy ass book. The Empress staggered back and
Minato hurriedly tore out a few more pieces from the compendium, before hurling them towards the Empress.
The Power Charged pieces of Ichor slashed the Empress all over its metallic body, making it screech in pain. Minato
smirked and fished his notepad out. That blasted thing was so gigantic and it just pissed him off.
"Gotta compress it," Minato muttered, dashing once again. The Shadow recovered and it launched another vortex of
wind. He couldn't halt his charge and he ended up taking the attack, which made him fly through the air before smashing
right into the barrier.
"You goddamned piece of shit!" Minato stood up and rushed once again. He pushed his Evoker to his temple and yelled,
"Orpheus!" The Persona manifested just as Minato stopped in front of the Shadow. There was no way she could dodge
this one.
"Bash!" Orpheus grabbed a hold of his lyre and rammed it right onto the side of the Shadow. The collision released a
sick, nearly ear shattering crack which pleased Minato. The attack was so ferocious that it sent the Empress flying
through the air before landing with an equally sick thud.
"Kishimaru!" Minato yelled, summoning the Intrepid Knight from his tome. The Shadow nodded and without a word,
charged for the Empress which was struggling to get up. "Rip it apart," Minato commanded. The Knight dug his lance
right into the belly of the shadow, shredding it open. The Empress released another hell harpy screech as Kishimaru
rammed the injured body of the Empress right against the barrier.
Minato opened his compendium and called the Knight back. "Good job," he smiled, before taking some time to observe
the Shadow caked in Ichor. Minato walked over towards it and sighed. "Welcome to my collection, even though you're
weak as fuck!"
The Shadow growled but simply didn't have enough energy to summon another tornado. Minato opened the notepad and
directed it towards the Shadow. "You will listen to me," he whispered, piercing the Shadow's eyes with a cold glare.
The Arcana Empress shivered as Minato began to emit his SP, hoping to compress the Shadow into Ichor. "Listen to
me, dammit," He scowled, ignoring the lingering pain that was building up in his skull. "I command you." Blue mist
swirled around the shadow, before it slowly began to react with its body. Minato kept his focus, sending more and more
of the mist from within his soul.
The weakened Shadow began to dissolve slowly, convulsing and shuddering, as the gigantic form of the Empress
slowly began to turn into a blob of darkness. Minato fought back the numbness that was attacking his head. What was
going on? This hadn't happened before! He battled it back and kept on emanating his SP.
"Hehehehe" Minato ignored the voice this time. What the fuck was going on!?
"Listen to me, goddammit!" Minato shouted, letting out a massive blast of his spiritual energy which this time, nailed the
kill. The Shadow released a vicious screech, perhaps the final one, before it transformed into what appeared to be a
blob in incognito form.
Minato opened his notepad and the Empress quickly jumped onto it, fitting itself right on the first few pages of the
notepad. And with a final shudder, the notepad stopped jerking and came to a rest in Minato's hand.
He was pleased about the results, but he ended dropping to his knees, letting out deep breaths. What were the
numbness and the voice? He swore it felt as if his brain was gonna melt.
"Phew, least I did it," Minato grinned. He opened his notepad and chuckled, reading through all the symbols that
described the weaknesses and strengths of the newly tamed Shadow.
He could feel the power of the Emperor Shadow weakening also. He wondered about the sudden turn of events, and
began to walk towards the teleporter.
"Mitsuru will give me hell, but eh, fuck that!" He sighed with a wry smile as his body disappeared from the floor and
ended up in the lobby.

Nights: Heyo guys! Please welcome the first full moon Shadow in Minato's compendium. Yes, he didn't put it in his

tome and opted for a notepad, and the reason is pretty simple. These FM Shadows are way harder to control and
tame, so he isn't taking any risks with this. Hope you enjoyed the battle and all, since I wrote that. :P Please box us
yo thoughts and I'll see y'all later.
Raider: Heyyyyy! It only took TWO Poke Balls to catch this bitch! *cough* A-Anyways! Hope you guys liked the fight!
Nights did a great job with it! More'll be coming next time, so stay tuned. Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you
guys later! :D
Reviews! X3
SilverFlameHaze: I'm glad you liked it! :D
Yes! The segregation is on purpose, that is for sure.
lolol, I think people have mentioned it, quite. Well while Minato can do rash things like that, he's not completely
heartless either. He can get pretty touchy with the things people say! His thoughts are an indication of that. Yup. It
was partly for that, and partly because Junpei definitely should not have said that around him.
Thanks! :D
SteveisRight: Haha, thanks! :D
It'll come to an end soon, so keep tuned! Will do!
Yoshikunitsu: Yes, that is pretty accurate! However how much scarier could it be if it wasn't the dark part of him,
and that was really just him being an asshat? But I kid. That happened.
You called foreshadowing on Minato's Shadow. Hehe. And Sachiko will play more to Minato's strengths later on in
the story too.
Hahahaha, well yeah. But Minato mostly left him on a whim. Glad you liked the scene with Mitsuru. That was difficult
for me to write
Will do!
Afterados: Aw, thanks!
Yes! Everyone has a Shadow! Also, if you recall, I said before that Minato couldn't probe into the minds of people with
Persona, yes? Does this tell you anything? :3
Indeed. It was difficult to write! I've never written so much of people being jerks to another person before, and the
other way around Oh well, it'll probably happen later.
Good. Everyone's supposed to be pissed at him. He can be pretty awful sometimes. And yes, that was the right line.
You might find that there's a reason as to why he acted like that later!
It'll coincide with an important event later, so don't you worry about that. Hehe.
Will do!
Mr. Haziq: lolol, no problem? XD

*Chapter 18*: Sweet and Sweeter

"So. What happened? You look a little banged up," Sachiko commented, looking over Minato's sleepier than usual eyes
and his much more pronounced slouching. "Did something happen?" she asked.
He gave a heavy sigh, trying to gather his thoughts. "Well l-last night uh I was being a dick and ignoring Mitsuru's
orders. She g-gave me another chewing out because of that," Minato said. "Yesterday there was an attack by these two
h-huge Shadows, and I was fighting one of them by myself." That sentence alone made Sachiko's eyes widen. Doing it
alone? "It wasn't that tough, but she was still an annoying bitch," he spat. Minato scowled at that thought and shook his
head.
"How was it annoying?" Sachiko asked, taking note of Minato's scowl.
Minato fished out a notepad from his pocket and flipped it to the page where the Empress was stored. "Well I know you
can't read it but A-Anyways I t-tamed that Shadow and stuffed it here. Thankfully it didn't destroy all of my notes from
class while it was at it," he noted wryly.
Sachiko shrugged. "Well, I guess so. That wouldn't be very productive Also, you study?" she joked, earning her a
deadpan from Minato.
"Duh," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not amazing by any standards, but"
"I'm just joking," Sachiko laughed. "So what happened after you tamed that Shadow?"
"I came back down into the lobby, f-found out not surprisingly that Fuuka was a Persona user, got chewed out by Mitsuru
for not following orders and found out s-surprisingly that Natsuki had made an ill-timed appearance in the lobby of
Tartarus. That's p-pretty much it," Minato explained briefly. "T-The rest of the group they dealt with the remaining
Shadow."
"That's good," she nodded. "Fuuka's doing alright?"
"Y-yeah Fuuka seemed more worried about Natsuki,"he said.
"Well, She's a kinder soul than I," she sighed. "I don't think I could be so forgiving," Sachiko said, her fists tightening as
she thought.
Minato furrowed his brow and took a small sip of Soma, forcing it down his throat. "I couldn't either," he said lowly. "Any
news on that Shadow Whisperer group?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Not at the moment. At least, not anything very significant," Sachiko said. "But"
"But what?" Minato asked.
"I found out something interesting though, about the Shadow Whispers," she mumbled. The next question on his mind
was 'like what?' "Well, after what happened yesterday, I tried talking to other Shadows, just to see what would happen,"
Sachiko began. Already Minato was scrutinising her words. It wasn't like he wanted her to try that. "At least three out of
four people, I couldn't talk to. That's a simplified fraction, mind you."
"Really? I can talk to every Shadow," Minato mused aloud. "I guess there's another difference."
"That's what I was thinking too but now that I think about itthere were four people in the group. If we used the same
information"
Minato's eyes widened. "There are twelve regular kinds of Shadow Arcana. If you don't count Death I mean, because
those hardly exist"
"Perhaps they too can talk to three each like me?" Sachiko concluded.
"That might just be it," Minato agreed. "If they're all different"
"Well, it was just an interesting thing. We ended up talking about clues to the Shadow Whisperers after all," Sachiko
smirked.
"We did," Minato chuckled. "Maybe not counting me anyways. Other Shadow Whisperers have a limit on what
Shadows they can talk to. It might explain the headache and why there;s four of them."

"Perhaps so," she nodded. "It makes me wonder how I haven't noticed until now"
"You are of the Fortune Arcana, did you know?" Minato pointed out. "Maybe you're just really lucky."
"Really? Sounds like a weak plot point to me," Sachiko deadpanned.
Minato held his hands up. "Hey, I dunno. Just a suggestion!"
Sachiko continued deadpanning for a while but eventually just smiled. "Just kidding."
He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "Anyways You've been helping me out a lot. I I uh well I just think I
should repay you in some way. But not with me talking to your Shadow again. There's something in it for me too."
"You sound like you're having a hard time trying to ask a girl out," Sachiko said.
Minato's eyes widened. "W-We are out dammit!" he all but spluttered.
She laughed a little and said, "Anyways, continue." Sachiko might've said before that she was joking but even she was
sure Minato knew it was a joke. And if he didn't? God help us all.
"So, we're going to eat at whatever place you want and I'm paying," Minato finished, folding his arms.
"Oh, really?" she asked. "I thought you would've picked something more romantic."
"I have no words. No words for you," Minato sighed.
"You're funny to mess with," Sachiko chuckled. "Come on. Let's go. I need some sugar to keep me awake," she said,
standing up and brushing off the dust from her skirt.
"You don't mean coffee?" Minato asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Both," Sachiko replied. They headed to the sweet shop at the strip mall, very much avoiding the creepy bobble head
mascot next to the sliding doors. "You know, I still can't get over their mascot," Sachiko commented. "Were they expecting
it to attract customers?"
"I agree to be honest," Minato said. "So what're you getting? I never imagined you to be the sweet type," he chuckled.
"Comfort food when I'm stressed," she admitted. "Flat white and I dunno what kind of sweet," Sachiko noted.
"Going straight for the sweets? Pff caramel or strawberry. Go," Minato said quickly.
"Caramel," she answered quickly, appearing very absentminded about her answer. When Sachiko realised what she
said, she covered her mouth. "You know how I said I wasn't a sweet tooth?"
"I'm not inclined to agree," he smirked.
"Shut up and give me the money," Sachiko growled. Minato held the bills out, and they were swiped from his grip. She
sighed and headed to the counter to pay, while he was left to his thoughts. Minato was thinking about how easy it was to
tease the girl. Maybe that was the same for her when she was teasing him?
Sachiko came back, disposable coffee cup and plate with confectionery in hands. "So what'd you get?" he asked,
craning his head over to see what was on the plate.
"A brownie," Sachiko replied, a scowl on her face.
Minato nodded along. "What does that have to do with caramel?"
"Caramel popcorn," she answered just as tersely.
"Wait, this brownie came with caramel popcorn and who knows what else and you didn't tell me!?" Minato exclaimed.
"I'm offended!"
"How was I supposed to know?" Sachiko asked, putting her drink and brownie down. "If you want one, then buy one
yourself," she said simply. True enough, the brownie not only had caramel popcorn, but chocolate sauce to the side and
hazelnut ice cream stacked on top.
"Pff no, not now," Minato grumbled.

"You're so amusing" Sachiko chuckled a little.

"Thanks." He rolled his eyes. He sighed and returned to watching Sachiko eat. There were simply wonderful days when
you were watching someone else eating good food. "I don't feel like using more of my money today," Minato continued.
"What're you talking about? I saw your wallet before, and it was loaded with the stuff!" she said with widened eyes.
"Does it really matter?" He shook his head. "Anyways, lemme look at your Shadow again. Got time while you eat."
"Well fine," Sachiko said. He better have a good reason for not using his bill-filled wallet. She continued to consume
the brownie in its entirety, taking occasional sips of coffee along the way while Minato started to concentrate when he
finished his thought about stealing some of her food.
"You're there, right?" he spoke in Shadow Whispers.
"Why hello there. What brings you here? Do I have another therapy session scheduled for today?" her Shadow laughed
amusedly. "I didn't think you'd be so persistent!"
"Yeah. Actually, when I was little, I wanted to be a psychiatrist. But that's unnecessary information. What's been up? And I
don't mean the magnificent ceiling," Minato said, breathing in and out slowly. To be honest he was thinking a little bit on
Sachiko's words from earlier. To be specific, what she had said about other Shadow Whisperers not being able to talk to
more than three kinds of Shadows. It was a bit unusual to him. But of course, he was getting side tracked.
"Aw, how did you know I was going to make that joke?" Sachiko's Shadow seemed to pout. Minato cringed internally.
Well shit, he hit the nail right on the head. "Well, since you asked I've been arguing with my parents on more than one
occasion."
"About what?" Minato asked.
"They were saying that I should give up on being a successor to the Kagami name, and that I should pursue some other
interest of mine," she replied, utter and bitter distaste lacing her words. "As you might expect, I didn't take kindly to that
suggestion."
Minato blinked. He'd not been expecting a response like this. He'd better think this through carefully. "So, to paraphrase
it, you've been fighting with them about your future?"
"I suppose you could say that. But to be honest, I can't tell what my parents' intentions are. Especially my father," she
sighed. To his surprise, Sachiko's Shadow seemed to be calmer than usual. "I'm not sure where to go from here." Okay,
looked like that idea was out the window. This was about the time that Minato realised that she wasn't calmer. Her
internal voice about these developments may have been subdued, but she was hiding her panic under the surface of her
snarky and sarcastic humour.
"Have you tried asking him about it yet?" Minato asked, looking for a stable place on which he could tread.
"Well, of course," Sachiko's Shadow replied. "It's a rather difficult course of action when he won't tell me what information
I need."
"Maybe you can find out then? You're still a detective, you know?" Minato suggested, rubbing the back of his head. Maybe
he was getting at something there the idea itself made his stomach churn in anticipation. Did he hit upon something?
He rubbed the back of his head.
"Hm" Her Shadow stopped to gather her thoughts. Minato thought this was when Sachiko's Shadow was adopting a
thinking pose. "Well, I suppose I might've been a little narrow-minded about how I should pursue this line of thinking.
You're quite the cunning one yourself to think about how my skills can apply and contribute to the situation."
"I wouldn't say I'm cunning," he mumbled.
"Oh, I think you are. Well then, ta-ta," she giggled. With that the link was forcibly shut.
"How'd it go that time?" she asked after Minato had finally regathered his wits.
"Better? I guess?" Minato shrugged.
"You don't sound very reassured by that," Sachiko chuckled. "What happened?"
"Well, I dunno if you feel inclined to go and argue with your parents again" he muttered, but it was enough for Sachiko

to hear.
"Oh. That's what she said, huh?" Sachiko said, appearing to take the last bite of her brownie. "Maybe"
"Well I'm not sure what you're going to do, so that's why I'm apprehensive about this," Minato explained.
"I understand," Sachiko nodded. "If you say it like that, even I'm going to get nervous. Anyways, I need to get going. I have
some info to organise today," she said, standing up. "Farewell Minato."
"See ya Sachiko," Minato reciprocated the goodbye and slouched in his chair when she'd left. The fuck had he gotten
into? He shook his head and left, heading for the dorm. Again, he was not looking forward to going back there.
He was also wondering what had happened to that kinda creepy kid that showed up during the Dark Hour He'd seen
him a week before the 'ordeal' came and roflstomped Mitsuru along with Yukari the first time. Of course, by saying
something like that, it meant he was soon to find out.
Minato entered the dorm after some minute walk and found pretty much everybody at the bottom floor. Wordlessly, he
ignored them and headed up to his room. Minato was going to go out later in the evening so he could check on some
things in the Velvet Room and play some games. That was always fun.
This was done a few hours later.
"So uh why're you looking at me like that?" Minato asked.
"Well, I've been wondering whether you still remember your contract," Elizabeth replied with a curious smile. And yet,
Minato could feel every bit of disdain behind her smile. Okay Minato wasn't sure whether he wanted to be here. Actually,
where was Igor? Shit, where the hell was he?
"Well, yeah," he nodded. Elizabeth's eyes up to that point had been closed behind her smile. But when they opened, her
golden eyes pierced his with simmering anger.
"I do not believe that you know exactly what situation you are in," Elizabeth said lowly. Even though she was shorter than
him by many centimetres, he felt so small under her gaze.
"What do you mean by that?" Minato asked, not having the heart to deadpan back.
"Do you not remember your contract?" Elizabeth asked slowly, earning an equally slow nod from Minato. "Then you must
remember that you have to uphold this contract. You must accept the responsibilities for all actions you make. And if this
means that you would rather sit and watch everyone that you know fall apart around you, you must accept that too."
Minato sighed. Was this really what this talk was all about? "If you do not uphold your contract, the Velvet Room's
services will no longer become of use to you," she warned.
Wait, what?
"You're serious?" is all that Minato managed to get out.
"Of course," Elizabeth replied. "I cannot stop you, but I am afraid I will never stop worrying about you."
"You're worrying about me?" Minato raised an eyebrow. She had to be kidding this time, right?
"Is it not the duty for the attendants to worry about such things?" she asked.
"I am kind of a douche though," he shrugged.
"Is that not only a persona of yours?" Elizabeth pointed out, earning a scowl from Minato. Okay, even that was true, but did
she have to point that out?
"S-Shut up" Minato clenched his teeth. "I'm not going to stop just because you told me to. It's probably too late already
to change something like this."
"It is, if you say it is," Elizabeth shook her head. "I know that I cannot stop you but if you truly do think of whatever it is
people think of you then you must change. And I know you have that capability."
"That's some misplaced faith there if I've ever seen any," Minato muttered. "Come on. I just came here to fuse some
stronger Personae and go. Can you just let me? Whatever the hell comes my way whatever I do about this shit that

keeps coming at me is my own business and I'll deal with it myself."

"Well then how can I help you?" Elizabeth asked with a sigh, seemingly regaining her normal composure.
"I need to fuse these two"

Every bit of ire came to a head that night, when Minato pounded the pillow on his bed, kicked the wall and nearly punched
his mirror. Goddamned Elizabeth always messing him up she couldn't just tell him what to do. Moreover, he was
getting so worked up about it that he'd had to simmer his anger dangerously under his skin, stewing it over and over
again as he interacted with the people that day. Minato couldn't figure out the reason why either.
"Hello there," he heard a voice from behind him. But the time he'd began to let his anger out, it was the Dark Hour. "It's
rare to see you up this late. How have you been?"
Minato turned to the mysterious boy. Without even thinking, he threw a punch at him, only for the boy to catch and
intercept his fist just as it was about to hit his face. And damn, his grip was strong "W-Wha? I" He withdrew his fist,
confirming for the first time that he was a tangible presence. Normally, he would've had some choice sarcasm at hand,
but this time was not the case. "S-Sorry I'm just really w-worked up right now," Minato apologised.
"I know. After all, I'm always with you," the boy just smiled back. "I came to tell you something about the end. I
remembered a little more about it."
Minato tried and relax and sat on his bed while the boy sat next to him. "What about it?" he asked. He only barely recalled
weeks ago that the boy came to tell him more about the end. He'd spoken before about how it would come, and that it
was supposed to be the end of everything. Call it morbid curiosity, but Minato still wanted to know more about it.
"Apparently the end won't be brought about by anyone in particular," the boy said. "It seems strange though. Why would
anyone want to wish for something like that?"
"I know some people t-that might want something like that," Minato mumbled.
"You do?" the boy asked, although he didn't seem surprised either.
"Like me, when I was younger," he smiled wryly. "No ambitions, no dreams, no people just me on my lonesome. I
didn't have anything that really kept me alive, so even I tried to kill myself at some points before this. But I think I'm
sounding really angsty, talking like that"
"Hm, perhaps. There are others like you were before that don't have anything to live for, aren't there?" he wondered aloud.
"It would be enough that they too could wish for the end. But you are still alive. What do you yearn for?"
"Shouldn't you know that?" Minato chuckled. "Truth though i-it sounds nice. Need some."
The boy chuckled along with Minato. "Good luck then, even if you don't need it. Considering the vast amount of potential
within you, I'm sure you can find what you're looking for. With you, the end doesn't seem so certain either."
"Is that a compliment?" he asked jokingly, receiving yet another enigmatic smile. "What's your name kid? I keep
mentally calling you 'mysterious kid' or 'mysterious boy' or w-whatever other synonyms. H-Help me out here."
"Ah yes. I need a name. You can call me Pharos. You may call me that if you wish," he replied. "Well then I'll see you
again," Pharos said. Leaving only those words, he disappeared into the shadows.

Raider: Hi guys, back again. This chapter isn't much, but it's mostly to catch up on some elements of the story
which uh, I've forgotten about? If nothing else, I hope you enjoy Sachiko and Minato's talking. We're mostly going
to be speeding ahead to the next full moon because Nights is getting impatient. So, enjoy the rest chapters while we
have 'em. Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see ya guys later.
Nights: *is shaken vigorously by Raider*
Reviews! :o
Decode: Well, glad you're liking it so far. Hope you catch up sometime.
Guest: Yeah, Nights has a way with words.

We'll see how every single reaction comes to a head next chapter.
SteveisRight: Hm, perhaps. We'll have to see where this goes, ne?
Hehehe, yeah. No-one's really discussed anything yet, so all the action's gonna be happening next.
Yeah, I like how Nights made the capturing too. I enjoyed reading both those aspects myself!
Thanks.
SilverFlameHaze: Indeed. More on them will definitely be coming up on them later, so look forward to that.
Hm, I'd say it wasn't his Shadow his Shadow doesn't do the whole chuckling darkly thing. He's dry and sarcastic,
kinda dead-ish.
Yeah, more details will be coming. Oh the FM Shadows will still be popping up. The Shadows all still exist and are still
roaming, even if one of them is killed. The only thing that really seems to be important is the order in which they
appear to SEES.
Thanks.
Yoshikunitsu: We'll have to see, ne?
Ah, I thought it'd be boring if it was like that, but I think really the only thing that changed was how Minato was
interacting with Fuuka. In the game it was quite uh *cough* impersonal, if you know what I mean.
Thanks.
Afterados: Guilty as charged. I have a habit of referencing other works in my stories so oh well, who knows?
Haha, well his personality changes a lot. One minute he's angsty, another frustrated and angry, another part of
him caring and kind. He's a jack of all trades, that's for sure.
Well, if you put it like that, it does seem kinda cute. Funny thing: before we started writing this, I wanted to make this
Minato and Fuuka, but Nights said to make it Minato and Elizabeth.
Thanks. I didn't have that much input into it besides editing tbh, so glad you liked it.
Have to see, huh? Heehee.
Thanks, and yup.
Mr. Haziq: You know, I was a little surprised too, but the Empress would be easier to handle on her own, I think, at
least as far as capturing is concerned.

*Chapter 19*: Mr Anti-Social

Minato opened the doors to the command room, finding the whole of SEES, including Ikutsuki in the lounge.
"Oh Minato-kun," Yukari said.
He shook his head, suppressing his sigh. "Yeah. Meeting," he said flatly, deciding to stand at the back. The meeting was
relatively mundane at first, only talking about the Dark Hour, Shadows and Persona, along with the purpose of SEES.
The last thing was really what they wanted to ask.
"What we are saying is that we would like you to join us," Mitsuru said. "Will you lend us your strength?"
Fuuka was quiet for a few moments, seemingly reaffirming her actions. "I'll do it," she said resolutely, with as brave a
face as she could muster.
"We can give you time to think though. We aren't forcing you or anything" Yukari pointed out.
"No, it's fine," Fuuka reassured. "I want to do this."
"Are you sure? You'll have to live in the dorms," she continued.
"No, it's okay. I'd prefer living here than at home anyways," Fuuka said, looking down at her hands.
"So, it's settled then?" Akihiko presumed.
"It seems so," Mitsuru nodded.
"Glad to have you on board," Junpei said with a grin.
"Alright then! I'll organise the rooms and talk this over with your parents," Ikutsuki said with a cheerful smile.
"T-Thank you," Fuuka replied. "I'll do my best."
"Now then those special Shadows have appeared again," Ikutsuki began. "We still don't know where they're coming
from. But, Akihiko is right about one thing. Their appearances seem to coincide with the full moon. We'll take that into
consideration from now on." Minato just sighed inwardly. He was the one that realised that first. But of course, Akihiko
would have to be the one to tell anyways.
"They're kinda like werewolves then!" Junpei exclaimed.
"Well, it's a big advantage to know when to expect them," Akihiko said. "That way, we'll be ready when we have to get into
the ring"
Yukari looked concerned, but she didn't say anything. The meeting ended from there. After Akihiko, Mitsuru, Ikutsuki and
Fuuka left the room, only the juniors were left. "Wassup Yuka-tan? You look scary," Junpei chuckled.
"I-I just I felt like that it went too fast," Yukari replied, a concerned look like before.
"If you're that concerned t-then ask her," Minato said simply, leaving the room. Yukari stared at his back for a few
moments and gave a heavy sigh. He was right about that even with how much fear he could give her sometimes it
wasn't as if he was mindless either. He always made an effort to drive people away, it seemed. At least, if that was any
reason as to why he told her these unsettling things
"I guess Minato-kun is right about that" Yukari said, looking at Junpei.
"Maybe," Junpei shrugged. "He's been acting kinda weird today I don't like it."
"Really? Hm, maybe I should go ask about that," she thought aloud.
"If ya don't wanna get chewed out by him," Junpei rolled his eyes.

It didn't take long for Fuuka to fully recover at all. "Hey Fuuka," a voice greeted her. It was Natsuki.
"Oh, Moriyama-san," Fuuka returned the greeting. All around her, she could hear the students' buzz of rumour and

theories of her disappearance. One would think that they'd have better things to do rather than to gossip and spread
rumours, but apparently that was just how Gekkoukan worked.
"You're gonna start living in the dorms from now on, huh?" Natsuki asked.
"Y-Yeah," Fuuka stammered.
"Guess you'll be pretty busy then," Natsuki nodded. "Well, tell me when you're free then. We can go out and do something
fun. Just thought you might need a friend," she said with a warm smile on.
"Moriyama-san" Fuuka started, but she was unable to find the words to continue.
"Come on Fuuka. Just call me Natsuki," she laughed.
"Thank you"
When Fuuka came out from the classroom as school finished, she bumped into someone she hadn't been expecting at
all. "Oh, I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"Is this gonna be a thing?" When Fuuka looked up, she saw Minato looking down at her with a blank face. As ever.
"M-Minato-san" Fuuka managed to get out.
"Hi. Y-You're going to the dorm?" he asked, although Minato was sure he knew the answer.
"Yes," she nodded back.
"Mind if I tag along? W-We're going to the same place anyways," Minato said.
"Of course not," she smiled a little. Fuuka didn't know Minato very well, but he didn't seem to be that bad of a person. At
least, from what she could tell. Minato nodded and the two of them began their ways to the dorm from out the school.
"I'm surprised how forgiving you are," he said quietly. "I haven't seen anyone l-let someone off so easily. Especially for
s-something like bullying," Minato elaborated.
"I knew Natsuki from before I upset her, so I understand that she must've been angry at me," Fuuka replied lowly.
"That doesn't excuse their actions. Two wrongs they don't make a right," he sighed. Minato knew he was a definitely not
the person to talk for saying something like that.
"I know. But we were friends before. You should forgive your friends at least," she said. Although her voice was quiet, she
sounded very set on that notion.
"Maybe. I don't have a lot of people that I call friend," Minato said wryly, earning himself a curious look from Fuuka.
"You're a kinder soul than I am, I suppose."
She looked away at his compliment, trying to search for something to say. "T-Thank you?"
He nodded with a small shrug. As an afterthought, Minato ruffled Fuuka's hair. "W-What was that for?" she stammered.
Minato replied, "You're kinda cute. Like a little sister." And yet, his face never changed. "Especially when you're flustered,"
he elaborated coolly. Poor Fuuka had no idea how to respond to Minato's words. Meanwhile, Minato was thinking about
how insanely fun it was to making people so ruffled. Sachiko was awesome for thinking of this. "Anyways you're sure
about this?" he asked, deftly removing the smirk that was trying to crawl onto his lips.
"Y-Yes, I am," Fuuka answered, thankful for the change in subject.
"Why's that? Shadows and stuff a-aren't exactly cake. At least, not all the time," Minato said.
"Because I feel that I should be able to help people, if I have the power to," she replied. "I want to be useful in some
way."
"With your Persona?" he tried to reaffirm. Not by some other way? Minato wasn't actually sure what had happened in the
lobby while he was away. Fuuka gave a nod in response. Ah, so he was right. "Hm I see. I won't stop you. But you don't
want to be useful in some other way?"

"I don't have one yet," she said shyly.

Minato nodded. "You remind me of my friend." He almost hesitated to call her as such, but it was probably the most
accurate thing to call Sachiko. Fuuka, of course, wondered what he meant. "She's been looking for a way for h-her ability
to be useful so her family might accept her," he explained.
"Have they yet?" she asked curiously.
"No. But I have been trying to help her," Minato said, rubbing the back of his head.
"That's nice of you," Fuuka mumbled, but it was loud enough for Minato to hear.
When they got back to the dorm, Fuuka headed up to the third floor. The girls were getting her room ready, and Junpei
pointed out that it was only going to be an all-girls thing. He hadn't missed the fact that Fuuka came back with Minato
either. "Don't tell me you have a crush on her!?"
Minato just deadpanned at him. "Don't be stupid," he replied, unwilling to give any more elaboration than that. Actually, he
stopped going up to his room and turned back to Junpei, taking a deep breath. He wanted to say this without stuttering.
And hopefully it would come to pass. "She's-"
As if to screw with him, his phone started ringing. More like it was blaring: 'Charlotte the Harlot, show me your legs,
Charlotte the Harlot, take me to bed. Charlotte the Harlot, let me see blood, Charlotte the Harlot, let me see love.' "The
hell?" Minato blinked. He gave a pointed look to Junpei, telling him that he had to answer.
Also, thank god Junpei didn't understand English as well as Minato.
"Hello?" he asked.
"This is Elizabeth."
Oh shit
"Oh. W-What is it?" Minato replied.
"I have called you to inform you of a change in Tartarus. It seems that a path that was once blocked is now open," she
explained. "I thought you would like to know. I wish you a safe journey."
"W-Wait, you mean you're n-never going to explain how you have connection and my number!?" Minato said, flustered.
Junpei was still watching the whole thing.
"There are some things that you are better off knowing," Elizabeth said. He could just imagine the smug look on her face.
Goddammit Elizabeth! "Farewell, Minato."
Minato was stunned for a few moments before turning back to Junpei. "Hah! You looked hilarious back there!" Junpei
guffawed. "Who was that anyways?" he asked, wiping a tear from his eye.
"N-None of your business" Minato stammered.
"Ooh. Don't tell me Minato's got a secret lover? Mr. Anti-social actually moves pretty fast, doesn't he?" Junpei teased,
striking a chord.
"One, no. Two, no!" he growled. Without waiting for a response from Junpei, he stomped his way upstairs.

The next day, Fuuka had finally settled into the dorm and there was much rejoicing, for Mitsuru was to join the front lines
once again. Minato sighed. Maybe he could finally get off the leader train. "Yukari-san."
"W-What is it?" Yukari asked, turning to meet Minato. They were in the lobby of Tartarus.
"Didn't you say that when Akihiko finally re-joined the fight that he could be leader again?" Minato gazed at her with folded
arms.
"Change of plans," Akihiko cut in. "You're still in charge but Mitsuru said she's going to step in whenever it feels like
you've gone too far," he explained.

"Well, whatever. But w-why are you keeping me as leader at all?" he sighed. Why was he stuck doing this?
"I am merely acknowledging your competence in battle," Mitsuru said. As much as she didn't want to admit it, that much
Minato was sure of. "You will continue. Despite your earlier timidness," she said, referring to how unsure Minato was in
the beginning of his leadership skills, "you have grown to at least be responsible for your own team members."
"When my Shadows a-aren't going berserk, right?" Minato quipped, earning himself a glare from Mitsuru.
"Don't test my patience." Mitsuru articulated her words with ice. Minato raised his hands in the universal unarmed
position.
"I just can't b-believe that you're con-sidering this to be honest," he shook his head. "Fine then. Yukari, Mitsuru and
Junpei with me. Akihiko's in the second wave and whoever else isn't puffed out." After issuing his orders, Minato stepped
onto the teleporter to the latest guardian floor they'd encountered.
They trudged up, Minato becoming familiar with Mitsuru's battle style; a whole lot of ice and healing, which was very
convenient. Having to be the only Ice user on the team was kind of annoying. Unfortunately, Minato still had to cover
some other Physical attacks as well. No idea why they weren't all just one element (hint hint) but he just had to roll with it.
Like Elizabeth had said, the next section of the block had opened up. Yay. Still purple though. Minat almost wished it
change soon. The faces on the walls crying blood were getting old in his opinion.
It was something awesome to have Fuuka on support. Her support skills were so much more advanced compared to
Mitsuru's. Minato probably just liked Fuuka more and more for that. And yet, he'd never consider her as a girlfri
"There are three powerful enemies on the floor. Please be careful," Fuuka said. Her voice came in clear to everyone's
minds, like she spoke through water. Kinda made sense though, considering what it looked like she was doing in her
Persona, scanning away like the good little Navi she was. Except less fairy like and not as annoying.
"Oh. Okay," Minato replied. Well, time to get cracking then.

"The number of victims with apathy syndrome are going up," Mitsuru noted to herself. "They've been appearing in pairs. I
wonder what this means"
Minato came down the stairs and looked over Mitsuru's shoulder. He skimmed the newspaper she was reading.
"Shirakawa Boulevard" he muttered to himself.
"Shirakawa Boulevard oh." Mitsuru frowned a little at that.
"That's awkward," Minato commented.
"More than. Why are you looking over my shoulder, Arisato?" she asked.
"Just helping you solve a mystery," he shrugged. "Have you noticed the order?"
Mitsuru thought for a moment. "Do you refer to the Arcana these Shadows are appearing in?"
"Magician Priestess, Empress, Emperor? M-Maybe two Shadows are showing up, because this doesn't suit the
Hierophant very much," Minato said.
Mitsuru seemed to deliberate the possibility for a few moments, but Minato started moving towards the exit. "I'm going
out," he said quietly.
"Be careful," Mitsuru said absentmindedly.

Goddammit, does this mean the next mission was going to be where he thought it was?

Raider: Welp, Fuuka's finally joined. Probably be seeing the next chapter with the Full Moon, and guess who gets to
write the fights for once? Well, I don't have the same intensity as Nights, but hopefully you guys like it. Sorry if this
chapter is a bit lacklustre, but things have been slowing me down and I wanted to get something out, even if I had to
force it. Otherwise I wouldn't have written anything for about a month. Oh dear. Plz box yo thoughts and I'll see ya

guys later.
Reviews. :o (I'm really impressed with how many reviews we got the past chapter! Thanks!)
kaineHokage: Sounds good. Hope you like the rest.
SilverFlameHaze: Aw, thanks. Will try.
SteveisRight: Well, it might be who you're expecting, or maybe not. It isn't really a matter of like anyways. Reverse
Lovers refers to having a lack of choice.
Yup. Probably be more later.
Thanks.
Afterados: Glad you liked it. It was one of my favourite parts to write actually.
Good. Still not quite shipping them. You'll see what happens. :3
Yeah. She's saying it for a good reason though. Technically, he could go around parading his douche-ness as much
as he wants to but you just saw how stressed he can get. Who's to say he might not abide by the contract in that
case? Hehe. Or maybe it's just Elizabeth worrying about him and being paranoid? Thank you. :)
Yeah, originally I was going to have Pharos dodge, or have the punch phase through, but I thought that'd be cooler
(I honestly did it just because it was cool). And here, we have an example of the Badass Adorable
Sorry, I should've clarified. And maybe I'll go back to fix it later, who knows? But Minato was trying to say that he
was searching for the truth about his parents. But speech impediment struck. Yet again. Sorta. I was kinda lazy
about it too, so maybe I'll fix it.
Thank you. I'll try.
Guest: Probably not.
Decode: You're reviewing too much man. XD
Yoshikunitsu: Well, there was a slight change in plans, but there is still some shipping of that involved. Hehe.
Thanks. I'm getting a bit bored of this arc already though, so we'll be jumping back into some action pretty soon.
Just have to see. Yeah.
Mr. Haziq: Haha, I know it doesn't. But considering Minato's volatile personality there's no telling how he'll react to
future events, and whether he will take responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Elizabeth may just be
worried about him because of that.

*Chapter 20*: Oh God, Piety

Fuuka was in the command room, searching for the next Shadow to take down. Seeing as it was a full moon and they
seemed to have found a good enough pattern to go on, it definitely wouldn't hurt to look. She stood in the bubble of her
Persona, eyes closed as she searched.
"Have you found anything?" Mitsuru asked after a few moments.
"Just a moment" she replied. A few restless moments later, her eyes widened. "I found something it's in a place
called Shirakawa Boulevard."
"Shirakawa Boulevard?" Mitsuru blinked, looking pensive for a few moments. "Oh" she sighed, having realised the
implications of their next mission. And as much as she didn't want to, it would be best to press on anyways, regardless
of the circumstances.
"Hm. The Lost had indeed been showing up in pairs lately. Now I understand why," Ikutsuki added after a brief silence.
"Why? What's on Shirakawa Boulevard?" Fuuka asked, looking around the group with curious eyes.
"That's where all those hotels are" Junpei snickered, rather creepily.
"Ugh, stop sounding like a perv," Yukari groaned.
"Oh, don't you worry about that! They're nothing more than ordinary hotels!" Ikutsuki exclaimed with an amiable smile.
"The rooms are just a little fancier, that's all."
"Aw, that's it?" Junpei sighed.
"I'm sorry to burst everyone's bubbles" Minato finally pitched in, prompting the team to give him their attention. "And
Ikutsuki's. But w-whatever you might say to lead us astray, I'm sticking to my guns and saying that these are the places
people go to fuck when they can't in their houses." Cue Fuuka's look of disbelief. "That's why they're showing up in pairs.
Got it? Not that it really matters.
"You're still going to make us go, even knowing what those places are like," he sighed, pointing his statement to Mitsuru.
She furrowed her brow. "You're right," Mitsuru said reluctantly.
"Then let's get this over with," Akihiko nodded.
"Well then. I'm coming with you this time. It's not fair if you all get to hog the action," Yukari said. She referred to how
Junpei forced his way onto the rescue team during the second full moon, of course. "Don't try to stop me."
"Whatever," Minato sighed. "Yukari, Mitsuru and Junpei. Akihiko can look after Fuuka."
It sounded all well and good, but part of the sentence was actually a slip of the tongue. "Wait, really?" Junpei said
incredulously.
Minato actually meant to say that Akihiko could defend Fuuka, but when he said 'look after', it sounded way more as if he
cared about her more than the others. That being said, he just ignored Junpei's outburst. "And you're backup if anyone
gets tired. There might be more than one. Objections?"
"Alright. It seems this is settled. Let's go," Mitsuru said.

The team entered a love hotel on Shirakawa Boulevard. The walls were cream, but the floor was a garish shade of pink.
If Minato wasn't tactful enough, he probably would've said that he'd gotten turned off just by walking into the building and
looking at the colour scheme. But he was, so thank god he didn't say that aloud.
"Let's move. Tell where the Shadow is," Minato commanded Fuuka, spinning his compendium in his hand. He also had
his notepad from before. He decided not to use it for note taking after he'd used it, so he could go wild with it if he
wanted to. As if you'd take notes on a notepad that had a big ugly fat Shadow packed into it.
"Alright. It's not far," Fuuka said. It's two floors above," she said.

He nodded and without another word, started off towards the staircase up. On the way, there were some small groups of
Shadows, but they were weak in comparison to the ones nearer to the barrier in Tartarus, and lesser in number.
The other three made short work of them as they passed.
Eventually, they ended up in front of the hugest set of doors in the building thus far. "That's it! The Shadow is in there. Are
you ready?" Fuuka asked.
"Mmhm," Minato nodded, walking in.
Breathing in and out slowly, he calmed himself down and called for the others to surround the Shadow in the middle. It
had the appearance of a pot-bellied man sitting on an uncomfortably small throne. On both sides of him were small
crosses, and behind was what seemed to be a thin, tall, beige coloured woman with a six barred cross for a head.
it made Minato cringe even more than the Empress did when it was 'waddling' towards him. If he got a chance, he
could absorb it, but at the same time, he really didn't want to.
But he just had to bite the bullet, he supposed.
"Fuuka, try scanning it," Minato ordered.
"Alright. I'll do my best."
"Pff welp, let's just see how this goes," he sighed. Minato tore a page from his compendium and threw it towards the
Shadow, slashing through its belly. It didn't appear to do much damage, even though it seemed as if it didn't resist
Slash.
"Bufula." Mitsuru stepped forward and summoned her Persona, Penthesilea. The Amazonian queen brandished her
blade, sending choppy waves of ice. The spikes pierced into the Hierophant's body once more, but again, didn't seem to
do much damage.
"It reflects electricity, but everything else is normal," Fuuka noted. "Its Arcana is Hierophant!"
"Hermes!" Junpei shot his Evoker and commanded it to use Assault Dive. It charged forward and pushed its wings and
helmet into the Hierophant's belly before fading. Again, it appeared not to do much. If there was human logic at work
here, it seemed as if all the attacks were only bruising or damaging its large layer of fat.
"Yukari. Aim for its head," Minato commanded, realising this.
"Please hit" she mumbled. Yukari nocked an arrow into her bow and let it fly at the Hierophant's mask. It made its mark
quite handily in fact. However, what was surprising was that the woman behind the Shadow removed the arrow from his
head and threw it away onto the ground.
Minato gritted his teeth. It was tough, that was for sure. But he wasn't looking to waste a major amount of his energy in
this fight so early on. Minato chuckled and was hardly amused by the fact, but it was enough for him not to be quiet the
whole time. "Orobas."
For once, he pointed his Evoker to his temple and summoned the horse prince of the underworld. "Garula." If Mitsuru
filled Ice, Junpei Fire, and Yukari Wind, he filled in Zio. But since that stupid Hierophant reflected Zio, he settled for hitting
it with brute strength instead. The horse gave out a loud neigh before summoning a ball of wind to throw at the Shadow.
Crash! And the spell made contact. The main obese Shadow howled in pain as the air cut into his body, but the woman
behind seemed to be disapproving and slapped the mask he wore. She hissed in Shadow Whispers, "Get yourself
together medium!"
"I'm terribly sorry, my grace. It will not happen again," the Hierophant muttered as it finally recovered. Of course, the
whispers only sounded like low hissing and screeching, but Minato could understand.
And he just laughed. "Oh my god, it's arguing with itself!" Minato exclaimed.
The others had no idea what the hell he was on about. "Bow down before me!" The Hierophant growled.
"No way," Minato just grinned back, speaking in the same tongue so he'd understand.
Seemingly ruffled by Minato's taunt, the Shadow used Mazio to summon bolts of lightning and strike the team. "Dodge!"
he growled so the others could hear. Yukari almost didn't get out of the attack in time, so he caught the tendril of

electricity that was heading for her, hurting him instead.

"Minato!" Yukari summoned Io to heal him, at least relieving the pain. He shakily lifted himself to his feet. It wasn't a
weakness, but it still hurt quite a bit.
"I'm fine" he muttered, glaring at the Hierophant. "We can't brute f-force this, or we'll be here all hour. Aim for legs,
arms, head anything but his main body," Minato explained. He would've so liked to try and brute force it, but oh well.
Mitsuru and Junpei got the message and rushed with their weapons to disable the Shadow.
Mitsuru skewered one of the crosses on her rapier and tried to get a hit in on the Hierophant, piercing and slashing at
one of his arms, his chest, and head. Just as she was about to withdraw her blade, Junpei used Assault Dive to push
the blade in further into what seemed to be the Hierophant's head. "Great job Iori," she praised, jumping back from the
Shadow's chalkboard screams. Junpei gave a smirk in response and swung his katana, hitting cleanly the Shadow's
cheek.
"Yukari, aim for the one behind him," Minato commanded.
"Alright, I'll try," she nodded. Nocking yet another arrow, Yukari shot it towards the woman. It hadn't been expecting the hit,
and it lodged in her side.
"My grace!" The Hierophant cried in between whimpers of pain.
"Fool! Do your work!" she screamed.
The Shadow seemed to respond to his divine's commands and let out a hollow screech. "You'll pay, and know your
destiny know your Prophecy of Ruin!"
The air dropped.
Darkness filled vision so nothing was all they could see.
Shadowy mutterings came from the Hierophant, and a cold sweat trickled down Minato's forehead. Shivers came from
all over and everywhere they travelled, hairs stood on end, at as much attention as he was. A pit formed in his stomach,
and he almost found himself unable to move.
He could partly understand some of the Shadow's words, but the rest he couldn't hear over the pounding of his chest.
Minato felt his heartbeat increase in speed every thump. His breathing was erratic.
Feeling a lump rise in his throat, he tried to contact Yukari. "U-Use Patra!" he managed to get out. He stuttered over his
words, but that was just his tongue not working. Was it the right spell even? Maybe what he was saying was wrong
This time, he was frozen in fear.
Absentmindedly, he felt relief wash over his lungs, rib cage, untangling his oesophagus and intestines. No, he couldn't
be scared.
Minato looked around and was about to smash a Me Patra Gem to help the others, but the woman and Shadow started
screaming in unison. Demons raised hell, hell harpies sung, dying mothers let out one last pleading cry for help as the
trigger on the gun that was pointed towards their child clicked. That happened all at once.
He wasn't affected, but his teammates were. They were sprawled on the ground, unconscious.
There was one blessing from that attack.
"Well then since we're alone now you are mine." Minato smirked. He ran, dodging bolts of Zionga from the sky.
Craters and smoke appeared where they struck, and out of it all, Minato appeared. "Magarula."
Pillars of tornados minced both the Hierophant and the woman behind him, letting out pained screams. Minato smirked
and summoned Kishimaru, whispering to use his lance to skewer, but not kill it.
"As you wish," he replied. The Intrepid Knight charged and plunged his lance cleanly into the woman and Hierophant
from behind, like pieces of meat on a stick. Again, shrieks of agony came from the two combined. This time, Minato just
scoffed at them. He really didn't like this Shadow, but it would make some good wall fodder if he really was desperate
enough to use it.

"Bow to me." Minato ordered, his eyes starting to glow.

"Never!"
He rolled his eyes at the Hierophant's defiance and continued, "If you don't, I will mutilate that grace of yours until she is
unrecognisable, and even she will beg you to," Minato glared. The threat was half-hearted, but it seemed to work. The
little sod was too loyal to his divine being for his own good.
"You fool!" the woman gasped as rivulets of ichor started to stream down from the ghastly wound in her.
"Hmph." Minato could see the Hierophant had already begun to submit.
He removed his notepad from his pocket and used his spiritual energy to compress the Shadow, mistress, crosses and
all. Even the chair. Still, its form contorted and burbled as Minato forced it all together into incognito. The crosses and
woman turned to lumps, and all that was left was the Hierophant himself.
Eventually, he succumbed to the overwhelming pressure and joined the blob. "You'll pay for this dearly, Fool" Minato
heard the Hierophant mutter. Shutting out his words, the glob morphed into a page and fitted into his pad.
"Shut up," he growled. "Fuuka, are the others alright, I guess?"
"U-Um, yes. They're just unconscious," she explained.
Minato nodded to himself and went about waking them all up. They were less than pleased to get a rude awakening via
some slapping, shaking and very tiny zaps of electricity, but they were at least conscious.
"Ugh, what happened?" Junpei groaned.
"From what I can gather, the Shadow used a spell that caused Fear and then used an attack to knock out the people
that were affected by the spell," Fuuka explained. "Um, Yukari managed to use Patra on Minato before it could use the
attack, so he wasn't affected and defeated the enemy on his own"
"How the hell did you do that?" he blinked, looking at Minato incredulously.
And he just shrugged. Before Junpei could get another word in, Minato asked, "Is that it?"
"Just give me a moment" The team was silent as they awaited Fuuka's results. "There's another enemy hidden inside
that room! But I don't know exactly where it is"
"We should search the room and see what we can find," Mitsuru said.
"I guess so. Let's go," Yukari nodded.
While they did that, Minato tried the doors, finding that they were sealed shut. Somehow. Maybe it was the Shadow, but
he didn't linger on it for too long. He walked around, wondering how it was that the Shadow they were looking for could
hide in the one room.
Minato walked past a large mirror to the side of the bed in the room, and gazed at it for a few moments. The mirror's
glass looked a bit hazy, and Hey, he couldn't see his reflection!
The world turned black.

Raider: Hi guys, we're back! Sorry about Nights' disappearance last time, but good thing is that he's back now, and
there'll defo be an awesome fight coming up. I mean, other than the one I did. Hehehe. Time to see what happens
next, huh? Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you guys later!
Reviews! :3
Afterados: Yeah. It defo won't last though. It's just temporary. And honestly, I haven't even explained the whole
reason why Minato seemed a little softer than last chapter. Which I will say later.
Hahaha, yeah. If he actually tried, his Charm stat would be amazingly high!
With Fuuka, I'm just teasing. But that's because Minato's a bit of a softie if the person isn't already confident. He
enjoys teasing Junpei, Yukari and the rest, because he knows that it's funny to see them get taken down a peg. I'll
even reiterate it later, so you can see what I mean.
Yup, just a little bit. His personality's so weird! And indeed, it'll be happening quite soon.

Glad you liked the Navi joke! I guess I found it funny just because Navi can be really annoying. And Fuuka's voice
acting for the Tartarus sections can be soo bad. XD
Will do!
kaineHokage: Haha, glad you like them. They're some of my favourite parts to write. And I'm also glad you liked
Fuuka and the Zelda reference. I thought it'd be funny.
Thank you! Will do. :)
Yoshikunitsu: Glad! It's a bit hard to pin her quite down since she doesn't have as much as a presence in P3 as some
of the other characters. And yes, it does! :)
Yup yup! She's already started. With her around, Minato is just too soft to have to act badly in front of her, which is
why SEES is starting to see him a little differently.
In due time, you'll see.
Will do. :3
SilverFlameHaze: Glad you think so! Minato will be setting off more new reactions later though, so I guess you can
look forward to that. X3 Ah, really? Hm I haven't watched Durarara, so I won't know
Haha. Well, you keep it in mind. Worse stuff will happen later, don't you worry.

*Chapter 21*: Compulsory Choice

Water surged forth from a shower.
Minato sat on a bed, his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to regather his wits. What was he doing there? He couldn't
remember. At least, he couldn't then.
His mind was uncharacteristically hazy. He knew he could be crazy sometimes, but it just felt like there was a thick fog or
mist covering up his thoughts and muffling them in cotton.
"Embrace your desire"
What? He groaned, wondering exactly what the voice was talking about. The voice was almost garbled, although he
could understand it just fine. Wait, was that supposed to happen? He wasn't completely sure. But whatever it was
His desire though
Every attempt to clear up his mind was foiled by wait, it was her. It was her that made him so messed up. She always
made him so angry and just If he could show her just what it meant to mess with him but she was too powerful.
She'd brush him off like a common ant.
Wait, no. He couldn't let this thing do whatever it wanted. "No, not now I can give her a piece of my mind later" Minato
muttered, shaking his head.
"I am the voice of your inner self. Enjoy the moment That which cannot be felt is merely a dream. The present is all
we have," the strange voice rang.
His distrust and his hate which he kept bottled up. Minato wanted it all gone. He didn't want it. And the only way to relieve
it Was it just him, or did he feel uncomfortably warm thinking about it? Goddammit, what was this voice even saying!?
Every time that it talked about his 'inner desires', his thoughts wandered to that girl in the Velvet Room; Elizabeth. She
just riled him up so badly and messed him up. Think second thoughts. And now that she was permeating his
thoughts, he was more anxious and nervous than he'd ever been. Again, uncomfortably so. "No, I don't want this" he
growled to himself.
"The future is but a fantasy, memory a fabrication Let your desire free you from your shackles Such is my wish"
"No, I you're not me, you don't you don't know me" Minato snarled, his temperament becoming even more vicious.
He felt as if the images were being pushed into his mind. It wasn't him. It wasn't him! No, not Elizabeth. She was too
zany, too goddamned aggravating
"Pleasure is what you truly want. You stand before the doorway to bliss. You cannot deny your instincts Embrace your
desire"
Minato felt like there was only one wall left he had to get through if he wanted that damned voice gone. "No you don't
know what my damned desire is! Get outta my head!" he growled.
He stood up, feeling his thoughts were getting clearer. He was supposed to get rid of that other Shadow, wasn't he? The
one they couldn't find?
The shower was running all that time, but it stopped. As Minato's back was turned, finding the way out of the room, a
figure emerged from the shower room. He turned to see who it was and his eyes widened. "Shit," he muttered. It was
Yukari.
She was wearing next to nothing, except for the towel that barely covered her. "W-What was I?" Yukari muttered,
shaking her head. She realised exactly what Minato had seen, strode over, and gave him a slap on the cheek before
rushing back into the bathroom.
"Oh, I can finally reach you! Can you two hear me?" Fuuka asked telepathically.
"Uh, yeah, I can," Minato replied, rubbing his cheek.
"I'm sorry I couldn't contact you sooner! The Shadow was interfering with your thoughts," Fuuka explained. "You all got
separated. The enemy is in the same room, so please regroup and hurry there," she said. "Did you hear that Yukari?"

"Yeah, I can hear you," Yukari called.

"Um did something happen?" Fuuka asked.
"No, nothing!" she replied. She then exited the bathroom in her normal clothing and armour. "Let's go don't tell anyone
about what just happened."
Minato held his hands up in the unarmed position and walked out of the room. Well, he couldn't exactly blame her, but
you'd think she'd have some other way of dealing with the situation other than slapping him. This wasn't an excuse, but
he wasn't thinking about her at the time either
The two headed in awkward silence to the second floor, where they regroup with Junpei and Mitsuru. One
uncharacteristically quiet and the other stony faced with a frown. "Psh. Let's go," Minato sighed without another word and
headed to the doors where the Hierophant was. He could only guess that something happened between them, but
wasn't looking forward to figuring out what that was.
the doors were sealed shut.
"I got it! It's the mirrors," Fuuka exclaimed. "They're giving off the same energy as the Shadow. Maybe the seal will vanish
if you break the mirrors"
Minato nodded. After figuring out that breaking the mirrors WITH reflections was a bad idea, they split up to break the
mirrors where you couldn't see your own reflection. They were finally able to enter the room after they regrouped.
He sighed and deadpanned at the Shadow, cursing it as thoughts of seeing the school idol almost topless filled his
mind. Waves of hatred emanated from her form, not only towards himself, but the Shadow. So much hatred, it almost felt
like she was going to unleash her final form. Well, none of it was really his fault, but he got slapped anyways. Whoop-dedoo.
Observing the Shadow, sizing it up, he saw that it was a giant pink heart with googly glob wings and a crown on top. And
what the hell was going on INSIDE the heart? People freaky! Welp, he absorbed the earlier Shadow. No reason not to do
it now. Even though it looked less than appealing. "Tear it open. Get your revenge," he said flatly.
Yukari didn't seem to need a signal as she fired two warning shots towards the Shadow. It dodged to her dismay. "Geez,
that thing is fast," she muttered.
"Fuuka, scan it," Minato commanded.
"Alright," she replied, getting to work.
Junpei went next and dashed towards the Shadow with his katana. While he did that, Minato signalled the rest to
continue the assault and opened his compendium. Junpei summoned his Persona to use a fire spell, but it didn't
appear to do too much damage.
The Shadow glided towards Junpei, and he rolled to the side. He sprang back onto his feet and tried to slash with his
sword. The attack made its mark, but he quickly had to dodge when the Shadow threw a pink arrow of some sort at him.
It thankfully only hit his sleeve. "Penthesilea." Mitsuru summoned, taking the moment of the distraction Junpei provided.
The Shadow was shocked by the cold burn of ice lodged into its body, courtesy of a Bufula spell.
Yukari smiled a little and said, "That got it!" before readying her bow once more.
"It's Arcana is Lovers. It has no weaknesses, nor resistances," Fuuka called.
However, it couldn't possibly be the end. The Lovers let out a shrill screech and a massive vortex of flames that not only
melted the ice, but flung out at the team. Mitsuru quickly backed away from her weakness, while Minato merely switched
over to Pyro Jack and blocked the flames. Junpei and Yukari weren't so lucky; Junpei had some only minor burns due to
his resistance. Yukari's sweater caught fire and forced her to roll on the ground to put them out.
Minato tore out a piece of paper and sent it flying at the Shadow. The black page morphed into a blade, passing through
the fire before piercing, and digging into the Lover's body. It let out a hell harpy scream, bringing a small smile to Minato's
face. Mitsuru was helping tend to Yukari, which meant all he needed to do was lure the Lovers away to absorb it. Turning
to direct more orders to the team, he said, "Final stri-"
He was cut off by another howl, and it sounded angry! Minato turned with a sigh. "Shut the" His voice got lost
somewhere in his throat. Something lodged into his chest.

His vision turned black, and the voices of his teammates faded.
Why'd he feel sadistic all of a sudden?
Yukari hurried to Minato who lay on the ground, the pink arrow embedded in his chest. The wound wasn't deep,
thankfully. She pulled the arrow out and was about to patch him up with Dia.
Minato smashed his fist into her face before kicking her away. The sickening laugher that followed let everyone know that
the worst was yet to come.
"You piece of shit!" Junpei snapped. "Finally shown your true colours, huh?" He glared daggers at Minato. He only
snickered in response and stood up, lifting his head to reveal a feral, teeth-baring grin that made Junpei shiver. Almost
as if he was staring him down like his next prey.
"Tch," Mitsuru shook her head. "Fuuka, we need Akihiko now!" She bent down to heal Yukari once again. "Iori, hold
Arisato off. Be careful."
"Oh, I will," Junpei smirked. He was relishing his chance to finally get to beat the crap out of Minato with Persona alone.
He could finally put the train wreck in his place. "You guys handle the Shadow. I'll take care of this asshole."
"You wanna fuck around with me goatee?" Minato snickered. "You always do that but me? I'm just going to fuck you
up." Junpei snarled in response and rushed at him.
Minato waited patiently and simply sidestepped at the last second, avoiding his blade. Junpei made another vertical
slash as he turned around, which he dodged like before. The third time, Minato blocked Junpei's sword by catching it in
his hand. Not that he really cared about the slight amount of blood. He planted his fist into Junpei's gut next.
He bit back the pain and stepped back before retaliating with a fist of his own. Minato caught it and replied with a punch
to Junpei's chin, sending tremors through his limbs as his brain shook. He took the opportunity to snatch Junpei's
sword, and slashed him across the back.
Mitsuru looked back and gasped to see Minato pounding his fist into Junpei's wounded back. With every strike, he cried
out louder and louder. However, she couldn't watch any longer when she was sent sailing into the wall by the distraction.
Minato roughly held Junpei's collar and lifted him up, depriving him of breathing space. Again, he pummelled his face
over and over again. Junpei was only able to shove Minato away after the tenth hit. "Damn you!" Filled with rage, Junpei
staggered over bloodied with no weapon. Minato anticipated he'd do something as reckless as that, and sidestepped it
before whipping out his compendium.
When Junpei turned, he could barely make out the black surging towards his face.
Blood spattered onto the ground. A thump and Junpei's body hit the ground. His forehead busted open. Minato stood
over him, grinning at the blood that streamed from his head. "Do you see the difference?" He placed his foot onto the
wound, pressing down on it and almost teasing Junpei with what he knew might happen next.
"Arisato!"
Minato skidded backwards, a vicious slap making its mark on his cheek. He glared at Mitsuru who stood in front of
Junpei, Evoker and rapier in either hand. The atmosphere grew heavier with tension.
At this point, the Lovers wasn't even doing anything. It just watched like the next episode in How I Met Your Mother where
Marshall and Lily were arguing about what to do about the baby and their jobs and little things like that. Except, less
talking, more violence, and a heaping of entertainment.
"So wonderful of you to join us," Minato smiled gleefully. Junpei slowly got up to his feet with pained winces, and a side
of his face stained with sticky blood.
"Arisato, you must gain control of yourself," Mitsuru said. To any other person, it might've sounded at least concerned, but
not this time.
"Haha, no." Minato tore a number of pages from his compendium and threw them at the two.
"Get out of the way." Mitsuru yanked Junpei away by the collar and hurled him to the side. While it was harsh, he was
safe from the slash damage Minato just sent. Mitsuru did not have the same comfort, however. One of the pieces of
paper was buried in her left arm. She held her arm tightly, trying to stop, or lessen the bleeding as much as she could.

"Jackpot." He grinned as she struggled to remove the Shadow from her arm. Mitsuru threw it away, hissing from the pain.
She'd just lost her left arm, and it definitely didn't look like Minato was going to stop there.
"Hey!" Some hope returned to Mitsuru as she recognised the voice of Akihiko. Minato simply laughed. The more the
merrier, right?
Akihiko stopped beside Mitsuru and took his stance. "How cute," Minato snickered as Junpei and Yukari regrouped with
their senpai. It was four against one, but it couldn't matter much.
"Guys!?" Fuuka kept yelling, hoping that they'd hear her. But they were too focused on Minato, and Minato was too deep in
his charm status that he couldn't hear either.
"Why don't I show you firsthand how scary I can be?" Minato asked with the fakest of smiles. "All of you you've all
treated me like shit. And now, you're going to pay."
"Go fuck yourself!" Junpei snapped.
He tore four pieces of paper from his compendium and sent them sailing through the air. Mitsuru could tell that they each
contained the four elemental spells. Which was bad news because everyone was weak to one. The pages exploded on
contact.
Akihiko, Junpei and Yukari were thrown across the room with their respective weaknesses. Mitsuru was the only one
who ended up dodging and she in half one of the pieces aimed for her with one swipe. "Well then I've waited for this."
"So be it, Arisato," Mitsuru replied.
Minato grabbed Junpei's katana off the floor. "This will be the longest fight of your life." With that, he bolted. Mitsuru held
her rapier tightly, watching him with every bit of concentration she could muster.
He slashed for her neck, but she countered with her own sword. They were locked in a stalemate, even though Mitsuru
was still injured. Minato stepped back and slashed again, forcing Mitsuru into a defensive manoeuvre. She parried the
attacks every time, and it was starting to piss him off. Getting into his rhythm, she parried yet another slash and kneed
Minato's stomach.
He felt every bit of the force, but shrugged it off as much as possible and grabbed Mitsuru's left wrist. The pain in her arm
multiplied and spread up her arm already, and it multiplied exponentially when Minato twisted her arm and threatened to
break the bone.
She winced and tried to bite back as many of her pained screams as she could. Mitsuru head butted Minato, making his
grip loosen. With that opportunity, she slashed him across the cheek. He stepped back and cussed at Mitsuru, who was
still trying to recover from her earlier intake of pain. Many of the muscles in her arm were damaged, if not destroyed.
Minato recomposed himself and rushed at her. Mitsuru was still trying to recollect her thoughts from the pain and the
chance stared him in the face. Minato grabbed the ribbon around her neck and shoved her into the wall before punching
her stomach, once, then twice.
Baring her teeth, she grabbed Minato's blue bangs roughly and rammed him headfirst into the wall. "You will regret
crossing me." Mitsuru kicked him in the nads, causing him to stumble. She didn't allow him a break, however, and
twisted him around. Setting her eyes on a nearby mirror, Mitsuru threw Minato into the glass. Shards of glasses
shredded his face and body. She grabbed his collar and intended to throw him into the glass wall that separated the
room from the shower. It would knock him out and allow them enough time to defeat the Shadow.
He growled and forcefully took control of the situation by digging his fingers into her wounded arm. She only flinched, but
it was enough for Minato to throw her into the wall near the shower room. The wall shattered into millions of tiny pieces,
many of which made their way into Mitsuru's flesh. She landed neck in the shower. Mitsuru tried to get up, but ended up
collapsing. The pain made it too difficult.
Minato laughed, but was interrupted when a fist flew into his face. He crashed into a wall, and his head was grabbed
harshly before his face was pounded into it. Two strikes and Minato finally got an opportunity to kick Akihiko in the nuts.
He let out a raspy 'fuck' and was hammered into the ground before being stomped on the back multiple times.
"Serves you justice" Minato smashed his knee into Akihiko's face before forming a dagger and digging it into his
shoulder. He cried in pain but was silenced by the book smacked into his face. The dagger lodged in Akihiko's arm
began to squirm, and an explosion set off. Blood began to pool around Akihiko's arm, the Garu attack rendering it
useless.

Minato looked around. Junpei was still knocked out and Yukari was the only one standing. The look she gave him was
one of rage, mixed with overwhelming fear. And the dread she felt. The Lovers seemed to be pleased by this turn of
events, and even started to cackle in amusement.
"Wake up!" Yukari shouted, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation.
"I'm awake, and alive," Minato grinned. Yukari took a step back, her shivering hands only barely holding onto her Evoker
and only barely bringing its muzzle to her forehead. "I'm not giving you any chances." He hurled a piece of paper which
slashed Yukari's wrist, making her drop her Evoker. She let out a gasp as Minato headed in her direction and floored her.
She tried to kick him and recover, but Minato juts caught her leg and forced her knee into the ground, eliciting a pained
scream.
"Scream, bitch!" he laughed, kicking her to the side. Minato was about to follow her, but was stopped by his back being
sliced. He turned to see Junpei, a ruddy handle of a katana in his grip. Minato ducked underneath another swing this
time, and smashed his book into Junpei's ribs with every bit of power he could muster. That meant, his ribs cracking.
And that meant, Junpei let out an agonised bellow.
Minato tore out another page, but unlike before, opted to change it into the short sword. He plunged the sword into
Junpei's thigh, cutting through his flesh and bone. The sounds of pain were a given, but the sound simply turned to terror
as the sword shook.
Blue electricity travelled and coursed through his body, racing through his organs and forcing a loud scream out his lips.
Not stopping there, he opened his compendium and sandwiched Junpei's face between it. Cackling, maniacal screams
came from the Shadows as they tore and gnawed at him. He could only flail his arms, hoping someone could help him.
The reality of the situation was that it was very, very unlikely now. He finally pulled his compendium away and finished the
job by knocking out Junpei with a strike to the temple.
He'd figured that Yukari might try an attack, and sidestepped the strike with her bow. He punched her stomach, burying
his fist deep. Yukari shrieked when Minato grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her close. She tried to fight her way out
of his grip as Minato pressed his lips to her ear.
What on earth was he doing!?
She stopped and paled. Quiet, barely audible whispers flowed into her ear. Yukari shivered, starting to regain what little
wits she had and tried to claw her way out of his grip, but he didn't let go. He felt Yukari go numb against him, her eyes
widened in pure horror. The whispers had broken her. Minato let go of Yukari and let her collapse on the floor, shaking
and convulsing violently.
He stood over her trembling body with a satisfied smile. But he knew that the albino was probably running towards him.
Why couldn't they just die? He tore out pieces of paper from his compendium as Akihiko came within striking distance,
and let loose a flurry of razors aiming them all for him.
Akihiko stopped as the razors stuck into his body everywhere; his legs, arms, shoulders and even his chest. He was
mortified, and paralysed as Minato counted down.
"1 2 3." Minato clenched his fist, and the Shadows exploded into every kind of elemental spell, ripping, freezing,
searing and burning the flesh off his bones. He collapsed, eyes rolled to the back of his head.
He'd finally put all of them down.
"N-Not yet" The voice sent Minato ballistic. That bitch was still alive! He jerked his head towards Mitsuru who was
barely standing, rapier in grip. Her arm might've been bloodied and hung limp against the rest of her body, but her eyes
were not. "You will regret this I swear on my honour as a Kirijo!"
"Oh please" He chuckled darkly. "Bloodied and we-" Minato couldn't complete that sentence (read: innuendo) as
Mitsuru summoned her Persona and fired a volley of icicles, some of them finding their mark on him. He crumbled a
piece from his compendium, creating a fiery shield that made the ice melt into vapour.
Mitsuru dismissed her Persona as Minato charged for her, intending the end it. He threw a punch, but she sidestepped
and replied by slashing his arm. Minato growled in response and head butted her, making her stumble back. She came
back in with a head butt of her own anyways. Minato tore out another piece of paper and held it near her gut. She could
feel it was a fire attack; her weakness.
She stomped on his foot with her heel, which made Minato lose his grip. Next, she stamped the Shadow out of

existence.
"Tch" Minato gave Mitsuru a punch in rage, the hate forcing out blood from her. She could feel her legs weakening, but
she shrugged the pain away as best as she could. This was for her team. He snapped her counterattack in pieces by
bringing her broken left arm into a tight and painful triangle lock, and twisting it. That's when she ended up screaming.
The pain was overwhelming, and the rapier slipped from her grasp as her body was filled with it. She dropped to a knee
as Minato just increased the pressure, and even though Mitsuru tried to fight her way out of the hold, he was hardly
injured by her futile fist.
Until
"W-What?" Minato groaned as he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He let go of Mitsuru, regathering his wits. She
collapsed onto the ground, clutching her arm and trying to suppress her whimpers of pain. "What's going on?" He
regained his senses. His compendium fell from his grasp, the situation coming to grips instead.
Mitsuru was lying next to his feet, her arm horribly out of place.
Akihiko was sprawled on the ground, some of his flesh nearly ripped off showing bloody bone and shoulder with a hole.
Junpei's face was barely recognisable as it was caked with blood, and similarly to Akihiko's shoulder, had a deep hole
from which flesh appeared to be gouged out of.
Yukari was shaking like a leaf, her eyes barely showing a grip on reality. She was the one with the least bruises, but
whatever damage Minato had done left her probably more incapacitated than the rest.
"Who who did this?" He finally uttered his first words, ignoring the pain that was starting to build in his body. He was a
little hurt too, but it was nothing like them.
"Y-You've damned us all" Mitsuru growled through gritted teeth, piercing Minato with a bone-chilling glare. "Charm or
no charm, this mark will always remain."
"M-Minato-kun you were charmed," Fuuka informed shakily. Shouting throughout the fight while he beat them all
senseless and not being able to do anything about it, her voice was shaky with tears.
Minato never liked his teammates that much, but never had he ever wished to hurt them like this. Tough love was there
when they were out of line or made low blows to him, but it wasn't supposed to be like this. They weren't supposed to be
blacked out on the ground slowly dying with their bodies so mutilated they were unrecognisable. That wasn't on his to-do
list at all.
So, he gave the Lovers Shadow the most vengeful glare. For putting that blood on his hands, that little fucker was going
to pay, and he was going to enjoy every single minute of it. He'd never hated a Shadow so much "You've signed your
death warrant," Minato whispered. The Shadow that had been sitting on the side lines moments ago was forced into
attacking and let out a screech in response, taunting him.
"You're done!" Minato roared in pure rage before bolting into the Shadow's face. The Lovers tried to defend itself with a
volley of fire, but he just switched Personae and rushed through the flames unharmed. He morphed two pages into
daggers and plunged them into the jelly-like consistency of the Shadow, tearing it open like jagged canyons carved from
rock. Ultimately, the Shadow was brought to the floor.
"Sho!" Minato summoned the Brave Wheel, and he rammed the Shadow into the wall, cracks crawling across it like
spider webs. The Lovers tried to recover and sent a torrent of fire at Minato, who just walked through it easily.
He threw his entire compendium towards the Shadow, and the book was plunged straight into the jelly. "Detonate!" The
compendium now snug in the Shadow's body howled and screeched like the legions of hell and began to glow in blue,
green, red and white.
"Die."
An explosion rang out through the room, and the pieces of flesh from its body scattered, flew everywhere with it. Flames,
ice, electricity and wind swirled in a tornado, tearing the Lovers apart. The attack sent tremors through the room,
prompting the members to stir. The one attack alone sent the Lovers through the walls of the hotel before it came to a
stop about two rooms away, trailing debris and destruction.
Minato caught his compendium as it blasted back towards him and called, "Fuuka. Help them."

"R-Right!" Fuuka responded, disconnecting the link. Seeing his chance, Minato followed the trajectory of the Shadow.
Every step, another step, it felt as if his mind was becoming hazy and numb. Fighting the feeling, he stared down the
Lovers Shadow sitting on death's doors.
Torturing the Shadow further would be his absolute pleasure, but he was tired, and the Dark Hour seemed to be ending
soon. He opened his notepad and forced the Lovers Shadow into incognito form before fitting it into the pad. Minato
finally dropped to his knees.
His mind just didn't feel right, and that voice he'd been hearing before the one that whispered curses and threats of
pain was lingering over his shoulder. That wasn't it either. His teammates were too, mangled and red. It was him. He
was charmed, but it was his blame.
Minato could barely make it to his feet before dropping his compendium and notepad onto the ground. His head was
throbbing, and even though he tried to find some way to relieve the pain, it would just keep coming back. "D-Dammit"
He grabbed his belongings shakily and staggered back to the team.
Everyone was glaring.
Issues of mistrust had been there since the beginning, but now he was almost sure that he was just going to get kicked
out. Before he could say anything significant, Junpei ran over to him and punched his jaw, sending him cascading to the
ground. "You sick human being!" Junpei snarled.
Minato didn't fight back, nor did he have the energy to.
"You've definitely screwed up this time" Akihiko glared.
"I-It wasn't me," Minato tried to counter, even though he knew it was barely an excuse.
"Silence!" Mitsuru snapped. "This has gone too far."
"G-Guys" Fuuka wanted to speak, but nobody would listen. Minato barely gave her a look as some of the members
glared and hurled curses at him. They slowly began to make their way out as the Dark Hour ended, nearly leaving Minato
behind them.
Almost wanting to cry, he just sighed, bit back the tears and trudged on.

Nights: Whoop, who saw that coming? Yes, Minato beat the shit out of them and now, they know firsthand about his
power. Mitsuru is prolly the only one near him, but I'd like to point out, Minato wasn't fully in his senses during the
fight and Mitsuru was already handicapped. Imagine how awesome their battle would be without limitations. What
do you guys think about what will happen to Minato now? Will he get kicked out? Welp, keep reading and find out. Let
us know your thoughts, see you all soon.
Raider: Hellooooo. This part took long to edit. This time, Nights wrote the fight. Hope you like it.
Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see ya guys later.
Reviews :o
Mr. Haziq: Yup! He'll be getting every FM Shadow he can from now on.
SilverFlameHaze: :3
I have a character named Reticle, and he's a griffin. He's really good at seeing far-away things. So then, I changed
Hoshiro to Hawkeye.
Pureshadow013: Hahaha, well, considering the pairing and yes, he was implying angry hate sex before.
Yoshikunitsu: Haha, I'm glad! Especially about Fuuka. I've definitely been guilty of leaving her out of the fun, so I hope
to I suppose, redeem myself here.
That's great! I'm hoping it does seem different.
And yeah. Considering his volatile personality, there's no telling what he'll do and that might mean he might get
locked out of the Velvet Room.
Will do. :)

*Chapter 22*: Temper a Temper

"They're faster than I expected," A young, thin man with pale skin, hair and yellow eyes spoke. He observed SEES
walking away from the hotel where they fought the Hierophant and Lovers Shadows. "They've been rather busy these last
few months, including their frequent forays into the tower Their fighting style is absolutely fascinating, especially their
field leader what was his name?" He thought for a little before continuing with, "Ah yes. Minato Arisato And they've
gained more new recruits too."
He turned to another man with a mop of blue hair in a green jacket and jeans wearing a pair of glasses. "Well Jin? Are
they our enemy?"
"Why don't we ask our 'buddy'?" the addressed responded. "We'll be seeing him soon."
"True enough I still wonder about that boy's power, however"
"He has the same one as us," a tall boy spoke. It was the voice of Kishimaru. "But it's even more powerful. I honestly
didn't think I'd see him with it but you should definitely be careful. He has a lot of Shadows on his side."
Jin turned to Kishimaru and his team. "Is that so?" He smirked.
"Yeah. He even has that detective chick on his side so really, who knows what'll happen?" Kishimaru shrugged.

Even though Minato was tired, he just couldn't go to sleep. His body was screaming with aches despite all the Dia spells
he used the day before, but his eyes wouldn't close. "You're still awake?" Minato looked to the voice, coming from his
bedside.
"I can't sleep," Minato mumbled. It wasn't even the Dark Hour, but the kid was showing up.
"Why's that?" Pharos asked.
"I don't know if I can sleep i-if I know that I feel like I can sleep here the next day," he sighed.
"Are you lonely?"
Minato glanced at Pharos. "Maybe." Yes.
"I can be your friend," Pharos smiled. "If you don't mind me being here more often although, it's funny I say that,
because I'm always with you."
"If you want," he shrugged. Thank you.
"Alright then!" Pharos got off Minato's bed. "Good night, Minato. You should try to sleep." With that, he disappeared.
"Right" He rolled over and tried to get some shuteye. I will.
Minato only ended up getting a precious few hours before waking up again. And he did not feel like going to school at all.
If he did go to school, he was almost certain he'd not only be awful company, but that he could snap at anybody. He didn't
feel like he could try and keep a hold of himself.
So guess what he was doing?
At about dawn-ish, he was dressed in casual clothes like nobody's business and out of the dorm. It was pretty warm,
seeing as it was summer. Summer in Japan was the awful humid kind of hot where everything managed to get wet and
sticky. That innuendo was not intentional. "You're not going to school?" Pharos said, hovering over his shoulder.
"O-Oh it's you," Minato said, initially surprised by his appearance. "Yeah."
"Skiving's fun. No-one can see me, but you," Pharos informed rather helpfully.
"okay," he nodded. So he just needed to avoid looking like he was talking to an imaginary friend.
"To adventure!" he smiled.
that was exactly what Minato was thinking. "We'll do that." With that, the two of them headed off.


"Um, has anyone seen Minato-kun today?" Fuuka asked Yukari and Junpei.
"Who cares about that asshole?" Junpei growled. After what happened two days ago, he couldn't stand Minato any
longer. It was just as well that he was staying away from them.
"no," Yukari answered after a few moments. She'd only recovered from the whispering in her ear the day before. Yukari
didn't have any idea how it worked or why, but it made her so scared; even more scared than when the Hierophant cast
that strange Fear spell. Somehow, even though it never appeared that Minato intended to hurt them before all this, she
couldn't find it in herself to trust him again.
"O-Oh, I see," Fuuka said sadly. "Do you have anything after school today?" she asked, pointing her question to Yukari. "I
managed to find out more"
"Uh no, not today. Tell me after school," Yukari said.
Sachiko strode into the room, looking at the three. "You guys you know Minato?" she asked sharply.
"U-Um, yes," Fuuka nodded. "I've been looking for him."
"Well, I met him on the way to school. He said to me that he's skipping, so he's out somewhere," Sachiko informed.
"It's likely he won't be back in the dorm until late in the evening, or until he feels like going back."
"Good riddance" Junpei muttered.
Yukari looked at the ground. "He told you that?"
"I've gathered you're angry at him, or scared," Sachiko observed. Junpei never seemed to hide his emotions about
Minato, and Yukari tried to avoid eye-contact while mumbling. So she didn't want to talk about him. "So what? You know
about the Shadows what happened?"
"Buzz off," Junpei gritted his teeth. He couldn't talk about that blue-haired jackass. That guy who literally attempted to kill
all of them Oh he was charmed, he knew. But once you find a reason to ostracise something that you haven't liked for
a while, some people were prone to jump at the opportunity. Isn't that what happens when you hate someone? You find
every reason to put them down. Even if they didn't really deserve it.
"Minato he attacked them, but he was influenced by the Shadow," Fuuka explained quietly.
"Okay here's to saying that he beat the crap out of the team," Sachiko said, snapping her fingers. Junpei gritted his
teeth and Yukari flinched, but she pushed on anyways. "And you have your answer why already. She even just said. It's
scary, isn't it? But have you ever thought about him? Really? Have you?"
"Why should I care?" Junpei growled.
"Because, he's a person who has feelings just like you! If you knew what he was like I'd still be a little afraid. But I know
he's not just going to hurt you because he feels like it!" Sachiko exclaimed, drawing attention from everyone in the room.
"If you're gonna be like that I don't see why he'd consider staying in your group anyways. Some friends some
teammates you are."
"H-Hey! Get back here!" Junpei said, standing up. He ran after her.
Yukari and Fuuka were left behind. "Minato-kun" Fuuka was worried about him. She was scared of him, yes. She'd
seen what he'd done to them while he was charmed, and she hadn't been able to do anything about it. Fuuka was most
of all frustrated at herself for not being able to stop him. Apologies from her to him were in order, especially with how
he'd been subtly taking care of her. He probably never even noticed it himself, but she, the observant type, did. "I-I'm
going to go now. Goodbye, Yukari-chan!" She could've added 'and look for Minato' to her first sentence. That was exactly
what she was going to do.
"See ya Fuuka." She gave a half-hearted reply and slowly got up from her desk. She had archery.
Fuuka ran through the corridors, but not before encountering Junpei and Sachiko arguing and causing a scene in the
hallway. "What's going on?" Ounishi-sensei, the science teacher encountered them.
"Sensei, I'm afraid that he's just acting immature would you like us to leave?" Sachiko asked, ignoring Junpei's glare.

Ounishi-sensei was the homeroom teacher for 2-D, so she understood how Sachiko never missed a beat. "Yes. You're
both causing a disturbance," she answered.
"I see." Sachiko quickly started walking the way she did before, while Junpei just sighed and went back to his classroom
to get his bag. "Goodbye."
Fuuka had watched the exchange, a dip forming in her stomach the whole time. She probably only caught the tail end of
the exchange, but neither looked happy. "Um please wait," she squeaked, catching up with Sachiko.
"Hm? You're smarter than him, aren't you? I don't think I can handle another Neanderthal speaking more gibberish"
Sachiko said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
She gulped. Sachiko was a little scary. Especially now. "I I was going to ask um if you have any idea where Minatokun is," Fuuka managed to say.
"Well, I guess so but I can only guess. Is that fine?" Sachiko asked.
"Y-Yes, it's fine! Thank you," Fuuka smiled a little, albeit nervously.
"So I guess we can check Paulownia Mall, Iwatodai Strip Mall or Naganaki Shrine they're on the way," she
suggested. Minato had told her before that he sometimes went to Naganaki Shrine to pray for his parents. Paulownia
Mall was not as common, but he also seemed to visit there often for other reasons than to shop.
"Alright wait, you're coming with me?" Fuuka blinked.
"I was planning to go and find him today since he didn't look very happy," Sachiko said. "Might as well kill two birds with
one stone it might make things easier anyways. You are?"
She'd just realised that they'd never really said their names. "I-I'm Fuuka Yamagishi."
"Sachiko Kagami. Pleased to meet you," she replied. The two of them started to walk out of the school, briefly discussing
with each other things that they were doing in their spare time. Fuuka divulged that she had been trying to learn how to
cook, but it wasn't going very well. Sachiko lifted an eyebrow at that, offering to help her if she ever had time. Since her
parents never paid as much attention to her, it was up to her to get food for herself sometimes. Sachiko wasn't
spectacular, but far from terrible.
"I have to ask Why are you looking for him? I should've asked earlier, but it must've slipped my mind," she sighed.
Maybe Minato and others around him pervaded her thoughts more than she might've initially thought.
"I well, I wanted to help him during the fight but I couldn't do anything and I didn't say anything," Fuuka said, looking
down at the ground. "I could've too I was too scared as well so I wanted to say sorry to him for that."
Sachiko gave Fuuka an incredulous look. "Well I'm sure he'd like it I think he would. He's lonelier than you might
think," she said, her expression softening.
"How so?"
"Well, I don't normally see him talking to anyone else except for me, and he always seems to sit alone too," Sachiko
shrugged. "At least when he's sitting alone he's usually stuffing himself with melon bread, but still."
"Oh and no-one really talks to him at the dorm either he must be lonely," Fuuka said sadly. "He usually pushes them
away when anyone tries to talk to him though, so why?"
"Well" Sachiko thought for a few moments. "I'm not sure but he might be like that because they don't trust him either.
Or maybe he enjoys teasing and annoying them. Either way if you aren't scared of him, and maybe you're closer to him
than the others or something maybe it's either because you don't share their mindset, or because he thinks you're
too fragile to try and tease. I guess you could take it as a blessing or an insult."
"O-Oh" Fuuka said, falling silent. Was she really like that?

"This facility is very similar to a temple it is a shrine," Elizabeth said as she entered. Minato trailed behind her, trying to
ignore Pharos' giggling in the background. He'd been laughing about how awkward he was around Elizabeth since he'd
first brought her there. Thank god only Minato could hear and see him. "I sense mysterious presences but they're

markedly different to Shadows."

"Please d-don't tell me there are spirits here" Minato sighed. Although, somehow he wasn't sure she was joking.
"I'm a spirit!" Pharos joked, wiggling his arms and saying 'oooooo' in the background. Minato just gave yet another sigh.
He needed that.
"I suppose we should begin" Elizabeth approached the offertory box and the bell. "I shall make my opening offering
here." Minato foresaw the waterfall of coins that came from her basin-like wallet. Somehow, he didn't have the heart to
stop her this time. It was too much of a hassle. So, the clinking of coins continued to fill in the peaceful scene.
"Arf! Arf arf!"
"Koromaru?" Minato blinked.
"Oh? Are you thanking me for the large offering? You say that some of this money goes towards the upkeep of the
shrine?" Elizabeth gasped. "Rather not to spirits this is a great cause."
"Y-You understand him?" he stammered.
"Hey, she's passed almost one million yen now," Pharos pointed out.
"Why of course," Elizabeth just smiled. That told him nothing. "This system of monetary offerings is very similar to that of
the wishing fountain" she mused aloud.
"that's Koromaru. H-he lives here," Minato explained briefly, trying to ignore her last comment. He didn't need to be
reminded of that embarrassment. She gave Koromaru a curious look and bent down to pat him as he walked over and
sat.
He made a happy whining noise and almost seemed to be smiling. "My, my! He seems to want to accompany us."
"Don't we all?" Pharos laughed.
"of course he does," Minato said, rubbing the back of his head.
"And, there is a place filled with strips of paper," Elizabeth said, pointing out the fortune slip box. Minato just frowned at it.
"Could it be?" He'd honestly had enough of random notes just suddenly flying out of his pocket even though he was sure
all of his money was in his wallet. In his bag.
"A game, where you draw these slips of paper it appears that these have different things written on them!" Elizabeth
exclaimed. Koromaru barked, appearing to explain that people usually got them on New Year's Eve. Or when finals
exams for students came. That was when the money really started coming in. "How curious. I must see them all for
myself."
"She's drawing a lot of the good luck ones" Pharos said, pretending to sit on Minato's shoulders, though he had no
weight.
"Wow." What was he? A machine for manufacturing bad things? He couldn't even get a slightly lucky fortune out of that
goddamned box! It took a while, but eventually Elizabeth was satisfied.
"There are certainly many places for supplicants to request good fortune," she said. "I wonder why your world is truly a
wondrous place." Minato wanted to say that it wasn't really true, but just sighed.
"Right."
"Now, I have been wondering" Elizabeth walked over to the park area. "If memory serves these must be a slide
jungle gym" Koromaru indicated that there was also a see-saw there too. "Of course! You're very right about that.
"The inner self is exposed to any true god Their magnanimity of spirit excuses all!" she exclaimed.
You know, Minato was starting to miss having that tour guide job forced on him before. Now Koromaru was stealing the
spotlight. And he was a dog. Was he just that pathetic or?
Elizabeth ran to the slide, and climbed to the top. Instead of sitting down, however, she stood and slid. "Uh that was
kinda d-dangerous" he mumbled.

"Intriguing one must first claw their way to the top before relaxing in luxury," she said.
"That didn't look relaxing. Y-You're supposed to sit on it" Minato pointed out.
"Is that so? I should try again to experience this way." Elizabeth did just that. "Hm, yes this is an example made to
teach children of a metaphor for life. Truly clever."
"Kids aren't that complex," he sighed. Well, usually. But who saw brooding twelvies going down slides in the first place?
"But it kinda makes sense" Minato conceded.
"Hm it was fun!" she smiled. "Would you like to go on the slide too?" Elizabeth asked Koromaru.
"Groof."
"Ah, you're content just to watch. What about you, Minato?"
"Um I'll pass," he said. You didn't find brooding seventeen year olds on slides either. Usually.
"That's too bad," Elizabeth sighed.
"Let's go on the slide," Pharos grinned.
darn it. Minato breathed out and climbed, sitting himself at the top. He felt like such a kid doing this. And it was
embarrassing but at the same time well, there was a time that he liked slides and it was rushing back into him. Not
that he'd ever admit it. "Happy now?"
"More than," she giggled. "You seemed rather excited."
"You're kidding yourself."
"Or am I?" Elizabeth gave her enigmatic smile and turned towards the jungle gym. "How does one use this?"
"You climb," Minato answered simply. She just lifted an eyebrow, and Koromaru looked up at him expectantly. He shook
his head and hung onto the green pipes, climbing to the top. "Easy."
"Interesting" She copied where Minato stepped, and sat next to him. "My, things seem much wider here than they were
before"
"It happens w-when you're high up," he said. You know, now was as good a time as any. "U-Um I-I have to tell you
about something. If I d-don't, something'll happen, and you'll start to hate me m-more than you already do," Minato
sighed.
"How so?" Elizabeth asked. And he said that as if she truly utterly hated him. It wasn't necessarily the case then.
"Well I guess it was about what happened. T-Two days ago," he muttered. "It isn't about what I did I don't want
someone else rubbing that in."
"Then what is it?
"The S-Shadow tried to put thoughts in my head" Minato admitted. "I broke free but what I thought was just"
Elizabeth tilted her head. What was he getting at?
"I kept thinking about you," he mumbled. "And it was just really bad." Minato couldn't find another subtle way to put
it.
She didn't seem to have a way to react in kind either. "Me?"
"Yeah. You. Seriously you annoy me, somehow you can get under my skin, and you help me too it's kinda weird"
Elizabeth became silent. "Minato I have been requesting to go to your world to fulfil my own hunger for knowledge
about your world," she said. "But somehow I wonder if I enjoy these outings just because of the novelty or because I do
have you with me." He bit his lip. Was that how it was? "It's a mystery you're rather stubborn, it's almost irritating but
somehow I think your circumstances make me care about your welfare even more so."
"So can we conclude by saying that we irritate each other but we aren't at each other's throats like we were before?"

Minato asked.
"I suppose so," Elizabeth nodded.
"I didn't know Minato had a girlfriend." Holy shiiiiiiite it was Sachiko
"M-Minato-kun?" Fuuka stammered.
"She's not my girlfriend," he deadpanned. "She's she's a friend."
Wolf whistle. "Alright, alright. Looks like we'll have to come back later," Sachiko laughed amusedly. "Come on Fuuka."
"Y-yes!" And she followed.
"Are they your friends? I am a friend?" Elizabeth asked as they walked off.
"Yeah."
"Are all of your friends girls?"
He had no idea how to answer that.

Raider: Hello guys. Hope you liked the chapter. Expect progression to Yakushima coming. And yes, Pharos will be
around so Minato isn't such a lonely fairy. And that encounter Sachiko has with Elizabeth and Minato will not be over.
Same with Fuuka. Nights doesn't want to say anything so
Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you later.
Aniki120: Can't do anything about it. Better just look forward to the next Full Moon then or just enjoy the drama while
it lasts.
SilverFlameHaze: Hm, we'll see. I'm never very enthusiastic about writing Tartarus sections and I haven't decided
whether he's enough of a douche for that. Yet.
Mr. Haziq: They are. Minato has been a douche back too, and he's going to change again. It's people. When people
are angry let along bloody and beaten, do you see them acting rationally? I guess I tried to explain it with Junpei in
the chapter. Well, I dunno if you agree, but that's what I think would happen.
Afterados: Thanks a lot.
Sacchin: Well, it'll last a bit longer. Minato still has something that he wants to do which he may only get with SEES'
help, so he'll deal with them and SEES needs the manpower too.
That's a surprise for later.
Thanks. Glad you liked it.
Pureshadow013: You're right. I'll explain what's happening to the rest of the SEES members later too, so you can
see what's happened.
Haha, yeah to be honest, I DID remember what happened with Alternity Paradox, and I think it made sense and
would've happened. But I guess this is to an even greater degree.

*Chapter 23*: Wounded Prey

Awkward was likely Minato's middle name.
Sachiko watched amusedly the scene of Minato saying goodbye to Elizabeth. He stammered, and Minato could not get a
straight sentence out without Elizabeth throwing in yet another witty remark. Eventually Elizabeth did leave, with a skip in
her step. She mused that part of Minato's awkwardness came from the fact that Elizabeth seemed to make her
comments at the worst of times, catching him off guard. They were designed to make him annoyed, frustrated,
disappointed flustered. Sachiko needed to talk to her and find out how it was she did it, but later.
"So, who was your friend?" she asked.
"Just S-She's Elizabeth," Minato said, scraping his foot on the ground and swallowing back some blood. He hadn't
talked to someone that much in a little while.
"Elizabeth? She's I felt a lot of power coming from her," Fuuka mumbled. "I could feel it, even without my Persona."
"She is," he replied, but realised his answer didn't make sense pertaining to the question. "If I try to fight her, she um
hands my ass to me," Minato said dejectedly.
"Well Minato I believe she has something to say to you," Sachiko said, urging Fuuka forward. She had more questions
for him, but Fuuka took priority.
"Hm?"
Fuuka bit her lip and she was shaking, but she had to say it. "I-I wanted to say um I'm sorry, Minato-kun."
Minato up until then had something of a frown on as he wondered, but it softened into his usually blank face. "For what?"
"I-It's just that during the operation, I wanted to help you and everyone else. But I was too scared and I couldn't,"
Fuuka admitted, clenching her fists tightly. Minato opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped himself. He better
let her finish. "I felt like if I could do something maybe the others wouldn't be like this so I'm sorry that I didn't help you
more."
He gave a glance to Sachiko, who just shrugged and gestured to Fuuka. She wasn't behind this, it seemed. "It's fine. TThey didn't trust me before anyways," Minato sighed. He could pretend to be fine with it all he could, but it wouldn't
change the fact that his downtrodden state was starting to turn into something else. Well, future self could deal with it
later. "Surprised you're thinking of me."
"W-Why wouldn't I? Um I know that you don't um I guess you don't speak to the others the same way," Fuuka said.
"Why is that?"
"they're easier to t-tease than you are," Minato said, putting his arms behind his head. "I'm just being soft. And I guess I
like your um attitude m-more."
"O-Oh" Yup, she was at a loss for words.
"Smooth!" Pharos finally cut in.
Minato so wished to send him a mental 'shut up', but he actually needed to talk to him for it to work. "So yeah what
now?" he asked.
"Um, I'm going to go back to the dorm. I need to discuss things with Yukari-chan," Fuuka said. "I-I'll see you later, Minatokun." And she ran off.
"you told them a-about me s-skiving?" Minato asked. Well, he assumed that was what she was going to do with the
information. He was pretty sure that they didn't really care though. At least, as far as Junpei's concerned. Yukari, he
wasn't so sure.
"Of course. It wasn't going to be my fault if someone ended up crying for your absence," Sachiko replied dryly. Not that
anyone would, but both of them knew not to say something like that. And really, if anyone was going to say something
like she knew they just thought, it was going to be Minato that said it.
"Well, okay," Minato sighed. Then, he gave her a knowing glance. "Do you w-want me to talk to your um Shadow?"
Sachiko looked at the ground. In truth, she did. But at the same time Minato was already going through a lot of things.

She couldn't impose. "Too late, I'm doing it."

"W-What!?" Sachiko said. "N-No! You've already got a lot of things to deal with, so"
Minato was going to come back with a self-deprecating remark, but stopped himself. True enough, he actually would've
liked to stay with SEES. Certainly, he didn't want to for the characters in the group, but for the information. "It's nothing," he
mumbled.
"You're there, aren't you?" Minato whispered.
"Minato, stop. You have things to deal with, and it's not that bad," Sachiko said through clenched teeth. "You should go
back to the dorm and sort things out."
"You know, I think you should listen to her" her Shadow replied.
"I don't want to go back to the dorm," he said flatly to Sachiko.
"Minato, you can't use this as an excuse" Both sides of her said in unison.
Actually, now that he was thinking about it, there was this hazy buzzing at the back of his head "Tch" He turned heel
and stared down the ground. "Sorry." Minato kicked one of the poles of the jungle gym and groaned. Could he even
remember whether he was in a good mood before this? It felt wrong whatever he was feeling, this thing flaring up in
his chest and heating his head it felt wrong. He felt angry.
A deep-seated something was there. He hadn't felt so much resentment before, but he kept it down before he spilt it and
let it tumble from his mouth like a waterfall. Words. Words that he wanted to say to those pretentious little b astards in
those DAMNED RED ARMBANDS
"M-Minato" Sachiko reached for his shoulder, shuddering. With tears or anger, or maybe both. He slowly lifted his head
and let out a growl before gently taking her hand off him.
"I I guess I should find a way to deal with them haha" Minato said. His laugh was hardly a laugh.
"More than that, I think you really need to take a rest!" Sachiko exclaimed. "Slow down for a minute you need to calm
down. If you talk to them now, you know what will happen."
He would snap, as would their teammate relationship, or at least, what remnants of their relationship remained from the
most recent train wreck.
Ragged breaths escaped him as he attempted to calm down. His blood ran cold and frigid through him. The heat
clouding his vision and mind was being replaced by ice. He wasn't sure what the hell was happening. Things just felt
wrong. He wanted to scream into the abyss until he lost his voice, run until his legs were pitiful stumps against the rest
of his body, listen until his ears bled there were so many things running through his head. He was surprised he wasn't
overheating or something of the sort.
Minato didn't and couldn't feel right in his own skin. His fingers inched through his clothes and skin to tear him from the
inside out. But no, it didn't feel right.
Nothing felt right.
And he didn't know why. He could almost swear that he felt it before too. But where?
"Sachiko, I do need to go back to the dorm" he said lowly, bringing worry to Sachiko's throat. "And I need to sleep.
Sleep until I don't feel so bad anymore."
"I think that would be best too," she agreed. "Can you walk?"
"I'll be fine," Minato muttered. "I don't know if I want to deal with them as I'm coming in though"
"I'll go with you," Sachiko said. "I don't care what they say." You know, she actually didn't have that much of an idea as to
why and how she was able to get so worked up over Minato. Was it because he was helping her? Was it because he
needed help? Was it because she really thought of him as that close a friend?
They weren't the kinds of people that knew each other inside out. It wouldn't be like that for a long while, but it wasn't like
Minato well, as far as she knew, he didn't lie that often. And she never did as far as she knew. Sachiko in a long time
was given someone that she could depend on. She managed to find someone that would care about what she said, and

someone that listened. Maybe she wouldn't know exactly how much of what he was saying was false, but what mattered
was that he could listen. And he tried to help in what ways he can.
Of course, she'd stop him if he was pushing himself too hard.
Minato found it hard to even mutter a 'thanks', and opted to give a small smile instead. It wasn't like the kind of genuine
ones you'd see on happy people. It was like the smile you saw in a cracked mirror. Then, you told yourself that what you
saw in the glass shards wasn't real. But he was saying 'thank you'. That was what mattered. Then, he started to walk.
"Arf arf!"
"See ya Koromaru," Minato waved a little, and Koromaru gave some happy whines in response.
"Goodbye," Sachiko nodded, receiving yet another farewell bark from the shiba-inu.
"S-Sachiko I have to ask" he mumbled, taking his steps slowly.
"Hm?"
"I haven't seen you this worked up before."
"And?"
"Why?"
She breathed out. "Well your other teammates they made me angry. I couldn't understand how they would want to
ostracise you like they do I'm sure they had some degree of distrust, but forcing yourself to hate someone. Being
perpetually afraid of someone's next move I can't understand how they'd want to do that to someone like you."
"Like me?" Minato blinked. As she spoke, the cold burn didn't seem to fade, but was muffled by the conversation.
"Yes. Someone like you," Sachiko nodded. "Minato, I don't really know what they think but I think you're a genuinely
good person."
"I'm flattered" he mumbled.
The doors to the dorm seemed to be taller than usual. It was just enough to fit people of their size (give or take, 160170cm), but not so as the two stared it down. Sachiko reached for the handle and looked back to Minato, who had more
of a frown on. After giving her a nod, she pushed the door open.
The two of them were deer in headlights as everyone directed their stares to the new visitors. "Why weren't you at
school?" Mitsuru asked coldly.
Before Minato could even try to explain himself "I bet you'd like to know that, but I doubt any of you actually care."
"S-Sachiko" he stammered. "D-Don't" Oh, but he wanted her to rip into all of them
"That was rather uncalled for," Pharos blinked. "That was quite the outburst." Minato agreed. And he would make no effort
to stop her.
But really. Most of the dorm members became silent at that. "How dare you" Mitsuru said, biting her lip.
"Yeah. Because he's my friend. If you guys were really teammates, you'd know" Sachiko narrowed her eyes.
"Sachiko, I need sleep," Minato murmured.
"go to sleep then," she sighed. "I've said more than I needed to."
Almost uncertainly, he made his way up the stairs, feeling stares and glares many apprehensive looks clung to his
back as he walked. Once entering his room, he got ready to go to bed straight away.
"Why're you defending him?" Akihiko asked. Not that he would ever show it Akihiko was not only angry at the fact that
Minato had hurt his friends. But perhaps it was something part of his competitive nature that made him angry at himself
for letting Minato get the better of him. He wasn't even supposed to be much of a physical fighter. He could definitely
snap him like a twig if not for those Shadows and Persona. The way that he was able to use them was to devastating
effect. But Akihiko didn't want to depend on something like that. Ultimately, that would be his fault for falling behind, which

was also part of the reason that made him keep Minato a little closer if he needed to.
"Didn't you hear me? He's my friend whatever went wrong, I'm sorry. But he would never, ever, do anything like that on
purpose," Sachiko said, folding her arms. "If you're teammates you should be trying to support him and make sure
nothing happens to anyone, including him, ever again."
"Psh. We can get on without him" Junpei said stubbornly. For Junpei, it would've been something of the complete
opposite. He felt the same helplessness that Akihiko did in terms of strength, without so much as a good purpose.
Junpei felt rage when Minato was better than him, and the earlier incident only gave him a better reason to hate him.
Something that started off as jealousy turned into something else, and he would've been more than happy to have
Minato out of the picture.
Sachiko pinched the bridge of her nose. She could not deal with Junpei's robust stupidity without getting a headache. It
was irrationality at its worst. At least, as far as she was concerned. "We also cannot simply discard him as an ally, Iori,"
Mitsuru cut in.
"Why not!?"
"He is stronger than us and has more experience. We can't afford to lose any more assets, even though he is the most
volatile of us all," Mitsuru explained. "I cannot say that it will be easy to deal with him. I would rather not."
"Are you saying we should risk our safety just so we can get to this goal of yours?" Yukari said with a furrowed brow.
"Yukari-chan he might be powerful, but he wouldn't turn on us and attack if he could help it," Fuuka squeaked out.
"Well, that's one person I'd listen to" Sachiko shook her head.
"Well you weren't bloody mauled to near death, were you!?" Junpei growled, standing up.
No, she wasn't. "No. Because Minato protected me, you dimwit"
"That's enough!"
Everyone turned to Mitsuru. "Kagami, I politely request that you leave the premises. Everyone else, settle down. We are
having a meeting in two days' time so we can discuss it all then." Sachiko sighed and strode out of the dorm. She really
shouldn't have picked a fight anyways.

It still took a while for Minato to get any sleep that night, so he could hear them shouting from below. He felt a pit growing
in his stomach, and a lump forming in his throat. Man, they really didn't like him. That thought alone made his blood icy.
He could not stand to think that Sachiko of all people would put herself out to defend him. It wasn't like he was that good
a person. In fact, he himself thought he was pretty horrible, but that might've just been him.
And yet, he felt no motivation to try and fix that any time soon. He didn't want them to like him, but at the same time he
did. He wasn't supposed to let them get close to him. They were just supposed to stay alive and do their thing while he
led them in the field.
Oh well.
A few days had passed and true to Mitsuru's word, they were having a meeting to discuss what happened on the night of
the full moon.
He could go on about the exposition that went on about the fight and the comments Ikutsuki made but Yukari cut his
work out for him. "Mitsuru-senpai, I have to ask you something before we go on."
"Me?"
"Since I've joined, a lot of things have happened I went along with it, not really knowing what was going on. But I want to
know the truth, and I'm going to ask you straight out," Yukari said gravely. "You're hiding something from us, aren't you
senpai? You act as if you don't know anything about the Dark Hour and Tartarus, but they're related to that accident ten
years ago, aren't they?"
Minato's eyes widened. Where was she going with this? He knew about it, for sure, and he'd never forget it. But he hadn't
known how it was related to the Dark Hour and Tartarus like she said. It was part of the reason why he was in SEES and

now he was going to find out? "What kinda accident?" Junpei asked.
"There was an explosion near our school, and a lot of people died. It was big news back then. You know about it, don't
you?" she said, narrowing her eyes at Mitsuru.
"Yes" Mitsuru nodded.
"Thankfully, no students were injured. But around the same time, a large number of students were recorded as absent.
Seems like more than just a coincidence, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I dug up some old school records and found something interesting. The students that were recorded as absent all
collapsed suddenly, and had to be hospitalised. Sound familiar? Like the girls that bullied Fuuka"
Mitsuru averted her gaze to the ground.
"There has to be an explanation! What really happened on the day of the accident? The Kirijo Group built it, so you must
know something. Tell me the truth."
"I never meant to hide this from you. It just never seemed relevant"
"It's okay Mitsuru. It's not your fault," Ikutsuki reassured.
"Alright. I'll tell you the whole story. The Shadows have many mysterious abilities. Some research indicates that they
can even affect time and space. We think of them as our enemies, but what if we could somehow use them to our
advantage? They would be a source of unimaginable power, wouldn't they?" Mitsuru said, giving a glance to Minato.
"I-I didn't know they could do that," he mumbled. As for Mitsuru, her biggest misgiving about Minato was the fact that he
DID have an amount of Shadows literally carried along with him the whole day. What were the risks that something
similar could happen? It would not bode well for anyone involved; not just the rest of SEES.
"Fourteen years ago, one man pursued that line of thinking He was the former leader of the Kirijo Group, Kouetsu
Kirijo My grandfather," she explained. "My grandfather was obsessed with the Shadows. He wanted to harness their
powers and use them to create something extraordinary," Mitsuru said. Despite what she said, her frown betrayed her
words.
"Harness their power?" Fuuka asked nervously.
"He assembled a team of scientists, and over several years collected a significant number of Shadows," Mitsuru
continued.
"What!? That's damned freaking crazy" Junpei exclaimed.
"However Ten years ago, during the final stages of the experiment, they lost control of the Shadows' power.
Consequently, the nature of the world was altered," she murmured.
"You mean?" Fuuka mumbled.
"Yes. Tartarus and the Dark Hour," Mitsuru nodded. "By their account, the mass of Shadows they collected split into
several large ones that then dispersed. These are the Shadows we've been encountering on nights when the moon is
full."
"Hm, this is escalating quickly" Pharos noted. Minato rolled his eyes. This actually sounded important. So now he
knew why the Dark Hour existed and the people responsible for its creation. People that he would never see to draw
blood from.
"Is that why they've been appearing in different places?" Fuuka asked.
"Wait a minute If what you said is true, then why did our school turn into Tartarus?" Yukari gasped. "Don't tell me
That's where they conducted the experiment!?" she exclaimed. Mitsuru nodded in agreement. "Then those students that
were hospitalised"
"I'm afraid it's just as you're thinking. Port Island must have been an ideal location for them. It was a highly-populated
area, and the Kirijo Group had influence there. They could do as they pleased" Well, Mitsuru certainly didn't look
pleased explaining that. "As you guessed, the experiment ten years ago was conducted at Gekkoukan High School."

"Does that mean all we've been doing is cleaning up their mess? You lied to us!?" Yukari said, her voice rising in tone
with every word.
Minato looked down at his compendium. How many Shadows DID he have packed into it? Now he was starting to be
afraid what if something happened? Granted, he'd never experiment or cause rifts in time and space or something, but
that was still freaky to know that maybe just maybe, his book held such a great power. And he'd missed some of what
the others were saying. "Think what you'd like It was my decision not to share that information. I'm sorry. I never
intended to deceive you. Convincing you to join SEES was my highest priority. As absurd as it may seem, only wewith
our Personascan fight the Shadows," Mitsuru said.
"Peachy. That's why you aren't letting me go," Minato murmured.
"some of us were never given a choice," Mitsuru muttered, shaking her head. Guilt trip, right there.
"Mitsuru, don't" Akihiko whispered.
"Yukari It's those in the past who are to blame. And they lost their lives as a result of what they did We're all in the
same boat, here; none of us are deserving of the burden that's been thrust upon us," Ikutsuki said. Yukari wanted to
protest, but she couldn't speak more as Ikutsuki continued. "It's been ten years since that incident No one knows
those Shadows suddenly returned. But, since they're active, at least we can find and destroy them Do you realise what
this means?"
"What if I told you those twelve Shadows are the cause of all of it?"
"Are you saying that if we defeat them all the Dark Hour will disappear?" Fuuka asked.
"Exactly! That's what I was going to tell you earlier. See? It's good news, isn't it?" Ikutsuki smiled.
"Is that true?" Fuuka asked.
"Yes. There's evidence that supports it. Now, our true battle begins," Ikutsuki replied. Evidence? What did that mean?
Minato lifted an eyebrow. There was something that he wasn't telling them But no-one would listen to him.
"Regardless of what's happened in the past, we must fight to protect the people. The Shadows are gaining strength. We
can't afford to just wait for them. And there are many mysteries still surrounding Tartarus. Why did such a gigantic
structure appear in the first place? The answer must lie within it."
"Um" Minato mumbled, raising his hand.
"What is it?" Mitsuru asked.
"What do you mean b-by evidence?" he asked.
"I understand you must be sceptical," Ikutsuki said. "For now, the evidence I mentioned it still needs a little more fine
tuning. For now, defeating the Shadows is the best lead we have! And letting them roam free would cause destruction in
the city, wouldn't it?"
So even if he could have room to be sceptical, there was still no way of getting out of it.
"And what do you mean by defeating the Shadow?" He had been sealing them for his own use later, but if there was
something about them
"Well, I mean they should be destroyed, completely," he replied.
"Oh. Okay then" Minato said, rubbing the back of his head. That was sad. He could get rid of those Shadows at a later
date if he needed to, but he'd captured them because why not, and while they were annoying to fight, were pretty powerful
in their own rights. Not that they'd compare to Kishimaru and Sho, but hey. You did with what you had.
"Is there something wrong?" Ikutsuki asked.
Fuuka gave Minato a worried glance. She'd managed to see what Minato did after SEES was unconscious. And she
wasn't sure of what had happened herself either. She wasn't even sure if Mitsuru remembered what she'd saw. Fuuka
decided she would definitely ask him about it later. "No, I was just curious."
The chairman gave Minato a sceptical look, and Minato looked with his own. Things were off with the both of them, but
no-one would say why. No-one would know why either.

"Uh so, what are we doing in the holidays?" Junpei exclaimed, duly breaking the tension.

Raider: Hello guys. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Most of this was exposition from the game even though I changed
some of it. Sorry if it was a bit boring, but I had to include a lot of it. Minato's finally getting what he wants. And I'm
sure you readers can connect the dots on your own to some of the next clues in the story.
Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you guys later.
Reviews! :P
Afterados: Oh your reviews never fail to make me cheerful for the next chapter!
It'll affect the plot sooner than you might think! :D Or at least, as far as Minato is concerned.
I thought it would work. I'll leave my other comment for later. Ehehehe
Oh no! I meant 'skiving'! 'cause skiving means to skip things, so skiving off from school kinda makes sense? :o
Oh god, she does more of that this chapter too! I'm glad you like it. The characters will be getting screentime later.
Yukari, very soon so hopefully I don't forget. For now, I'm glad you like how Fuuka's turning out!
Man, I loved writing that part! It was so much fun. I'm glad you loved Pharos and Koromaru. I thought someone would
find it funny.
You're right! They're getting a little closer every meeting. :) And yup, Minato's opening up a little man, I love it when
things come together *laughs evilly*
Glad! Actually, a LOT of people liked the last part! :o
Thanks, and will do! :D
Pureshadow013: Yup! I didn't get to include him much this chapter, but seeing as it's comedy chapters come up
well, I hope you like his little appearances.
Yeah, unfortunately. ._.
SilverFlameHaze: Haha, I know, I know. Koromaru is technically a guy
Oh yes. But none of the others know about him. Yet. XD
I actually like that you noticed that! I don't know whether I'm doing it on purpose or not, but it's nice to notice.
Heehee. We'll see what happens then! I like how you described Minato because that's exactly what he's doing.
Angel in the Machine-Hollow man? Care to enlighten me as to what it is? :P
Mr. Haziq: I'm glad you found it funny! :D
Yoshikunitsu: Yeah, I've been getting the response!
Hopefully, ne? He'll shine in the next few chapters, seeing as they're funnier than anything else at least. Oh, yes
and she snapped too.
Sacchin: lol, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :P Oh, yes. Sachiko has to meet her later.

*Chapter 24*: Salty Air

Why did the sun have to be so bright? If Minato was in a joking mood, he would've said he was a vampire and slowly
shrivelling up in the rays while he lay in the water like a starfish. He liked that the water spreading over him was nice and
cool. The warmth, he didn't mind so much since it was Japanese summer norm. But looking up in the sky blinded him,
burnt his eyes and killed the mood. Damned sun for being so bright.
"Are you just going to sit there and float until you get pruny?" Pharos asked, hovering above Minato.
"Bitch I might," Minato sighed. Oh well, at least Pharos kept him company.
As it turned out, to take a rest from the fighting part of SEES, they went to Yakushima for vacation. He wasn't all that
ecstatic, even though mid-terms were over. Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't paid as much attention to
how he was doing during the test either. Well, Minato was pretty sure he did fine, but oh well.
Pharos just chuckled. Oh Minato, he was so funny. "Well, you came here first. Don't you want to see the others in their
swimsuits?" he asked.
"do I? Do I really?" Minato deadpanned at Pharos, who just giggled like nothing was wrong. "Psh I'll be thinking
about um"
"Are you thinking about Elizabeth?" Pharos asked with a knowing smile on his face.
Minato sighed. "I've thought about angry hate sex with her courtesy of the Lovers Shadow. What do you think?"
"Awwwwwhhh," Pharos grinned obnoxiously. "I almost smell a romance brewing."
"You'd better put emphasis on the 'almost'" he muttered. Eventually Minato did drift a little closer just to hear what
Junpei was saying. As it turned out, he was apparently trying to grade each of the female members on their swimwear.
To put it shortly, Yukari was pretty hot, Fuuka was cute and Mitsuru was beautiful as fuck. That was without his very
embarrassing comments.
Akihiko well, he had speedos on. That was about as much as Minato would be willing to comment on.
The others started splashing water on each other once they finally reached the waves and Minato had no intention of
participating. Actually, most of them didn't really want to participate, but they were acting in spirit of the holiday season;
mostly by Junpei's insistence.
But did it matter? Who was he kidding?
Well, no-one. Because someone accidentally put a shot of water right into his face and Pharos started laughing his ass
off. Little bastard. "Guys, what the hell!?" he shouted, scrabbling the salt water from his eyes. He was having fun getting
pruny and doing nothing in the water! Geez! Way to tear apart a man's peace!
"Sorry Minato-kun!" Fuuka exclaimed. "Are you alright?" Oh. It was Fuuka.
He guessed he could let it slide. "Yeah, I'm fine" Minato muttered as he went back to what he was doing before. This
time, paying more attention to how the water fight was going for fear of yet another load of water haphazardly thrown onto
his face.
When the team came to the island, many of them made their first meetings with Takeharu Kirijo: Mitsuru's scary eyepatch wearing father. After Junpei finished gawking at the maids (unfortunately Minato and Akihiko did not share his
enthusiasm) and the fact that they had maids, they'd had a brief amount of eye contact with the trench-coat wearing man
as he walked past. Many of them regretted it.
Just before that, he learned that the kid called Ken was being considered to join their team. It went something like
"Ah, friendship How beautiful! Adolescence is such a wonderful thing! So full of vibrancy!" Ikutsuki exclaimed from
behind Junpei, Yukari and Akihiko. Fuuka would have come along too, but she was called by Natsuki to help her with a
mandatory study session. Minato also wasn't there since he decided to make his way back to the dorm at a considerably
slower pace. Not to mention, why the hell would he hang out with them?
"Mr. Chairman" Yukari blinked as he approached.
"Oh, hello. I just stopped by to pick someone up. I might as well introduce you to him now," he said. Ikutsuki called and a

boy came walking behind him. It was

"Hello." Ken Amada.
"Oh, hi Ken-kun. What's up?" Yukari asked.
Akihiko flinched as he came into view. "Y-You know him?"
"He doesn't leave during the break due to his circumstances" Ikutsuki explained briefly and vaguely.
This left Yukari to ask the clarifying question, "Oh I heard about that something about his parents?"
"It was only me and my mom, but she got in an accident, and she she died. It happened two years ago," Ken explained
with stony features.
"Right now, one of his distant relatives is paying for his school expenses. But, staying at the elementary school dorm
all by himself isn't proper for a child his age. So, I decided to move him to your dorm for the summer," Ikutsuki said,
pressing his glasses to his face.
"To our dorm!? Do you really think that's a good idea!?" she exclaimed.
"Why, of course. He has the potential," he replied simply.
"Then, he's the new candidate?" Akihiko murmured.
"Yes But, as you can see, he's still just an elementary school student. So, it is merely a possibility for now," Ikutsuki
continued, seemingly trying to justify himself.
Cutting out Ken's fanboying over Akihiko, Minato thought that the fact Ikutsuki was even considering trying to bring him
into the team was disgusting in itself. He supposed that in the interest of utility, Ken would be a great addition to the
team. In the interest of morality, allowing a child to fight against eldritch abominations and larger versions of these
eldritch abominations to end the Dark Hour seemed wrong.
Maybe it was just because Minato had been thinking back to when he was about Ken's age. He was definitely biased in
that respect.
At Ken's age, he couldn't rein in his emotions at all. He'd vividly remembered making multiple attempts to himself when
no-one was looking, but not being able to actually do anything about it because of his last second thoughts. Until he'd
found a goal to work towards, Minato told himself that he wouldn't let his body lie. And apparently that evening was the
day when many of his questions were going to be answered.
That was why he listened to Takeharu's words as everyone gathered. "From what I understand, Mitsuru's already given
you the short version," he began. After earning a nod from Yukari who seemed to have the same eagerness as Minato, if
not more so, Takeharu explained, "Well, it's true We adults are to blame. If I could've atoned for it with my life, I would
have done so Now, I have no choice but to rely on you. What my father wanted to create with those monsters' power...
was a time manipulation device."
Mitsuru's surprise definitely showed on her face. "That's what he was trying to do?"
Minato's fists tightened as he heard. A time manipulation device? "Imagine if you could control the flow of time
eliminate unwanted events before they occur. With such a device, you could shape the future to your liking," Takeharu
said grimly.
"That's insane" Junpei muttered.
"However, under my father's direction, the research began to stray from its original goal. In his later years, my father
seemed to have only nihilism in his heart." Takeharu closed his eyes. "Now that I think about it, his madness may have
resulted from his struggle to break free from that It's only natural that you want to know the truth and it's my duty to tell
you."
A video flickered to life in the now darkened room, prompting Akihiko to ask, "What's this?"
"This is the only existing footage of the accident, recorded by a scientist who was at the scene," Takeharu explained.
The sound and visuals were fuzzy at best, but it was enough to make out the appearance of a scuffed brunet in a lab coat
in the frame, standing in front of equipment and licks of fire in the background. "I pray that this recording reaches safe

hands"
Yukari recognised the voice immediately. Even after a decade, she could still remember it vividly as she read his last
words only on a piece of paper. "That voice!?"
"My employer has become obsessed with a loathsome idea. This experiment should have never even been conceived
I'm afraid what I've done will result in an unprecedented disaster But if I hadn't, the entire world may have paid the
price" the scientist spoke. Minato narrowed his eyes, as if trying to curse whoever it was, but just barely stopped
himself. He hadn't even heard everything yet.
"The entire world?" Fuuka gasped.
"Please, listen carefully... The Shadows that were amassed here have been dispersed as a result of the explosion," he
said. For a moment, the visuals became clearer and the sound just a smidge cleaner. "To end this nightmare, you must
eliminate all of them! I am to blame for this. I knew the risks, but I was blinded by the promise of success And so, I
didn't raise any objections It is all my fault" Through his words, a smile appeared on his face before the recording
was stopped.
Yukari stood up, looking at the screen in utter disbelief. "D-Dad?"
"You mean that was?" Fuuka started, unable to continue her sentence as Mitsuru opened her mouth to speak.
"Father?" She hadn't seen that video before and knowing that new information had definitely piqued her interest.
"His name was Eiichiro Takeba" He cast a glance to Yukari. "He was the head researcher at the time, and a very
talented man. But, we are the ones who are responsible. We pushed him to continue the research. The Kirijo Group is to
blame for his death."
"I I can't believe it" Mitsuru swallowed thickly.
All the while, Yukari's shoulders were shaking. "So, that means my dad caused it all? The Dark Hour, Tartarus
The people who died in that incident It was all his fault?" she only managed to get out.
"Y-You okay?" Akihiko blinked. Minato scoffed. That was the most terrible question he'd ever heard that whole evening.
Ignoring Akihiko, Yukari turned to Mitsuru with a rising voice, "So, that's why you were hiding this? Because you felt
sorry for me? Is that it!?"
"No, Takeba, I"
Yukari cut her off. "I don't want your pity!" She went running out of the room.
"Um Shouldn't someone go after her?" Fuuka said awkwardly, scanning the office. Most turned away, except for Minato
who seemed just as angry but was just managing to hold it in.
It looked like his teasing game was over. Only giving Fuuka a narrow glance that sent shivers down her spine, Minato
strode out after her.
So apparently it was Yukari's father's fault, but ultimately the Kirijo Group's fault. Now that he knew it, what was he going
to do? Well, the thing is, he was thinking he could wreck their shit, but that would be counterproductive.
He found Yukari on a nearby beach, standing near the water. Although she might've flinched form his presence alone,
Yukari didn't and only said, "I believed in him for so long This is too much Remember what I told you at the
hospital?" Minato opened his mouth, but clenched his teeth shut as she continued. "How my dad died when I was
little? You understand now, right? He died in that incident. Nobody knew the truth, so there were all sorts of
rumours Because he was in charge of the research team, people were really mean to me and my mum We even
had to move a few times."
Steeling himself, Minato waited for Yukari to say what she needed to. He understood the need to vent after all. It was like
speaking to a Shadow. "But all this time, I kept telling myself it wasn't his fault. I loved him a lot, and I believed he'd never
do anything wrong," she said, the smallest of smiles upturning her lips.
"I received a letter back in the spring. It was from him, written ten years ago It cracked me up 'cause, even though it
said 'To my family', it was pretty much all about me," Yukari laughed a little. It was not the sincere kind. "That only made
me believe in him more When I found out I had a special power, I thought it was fate. I was scared, but I thought if I

cooperated with the Kirijo Group, I might find out that really happened. That's why I agreed to fight using my Persona. But,
it turns out all of that was for nothing"
A brief silence passed with Minato's jaw locked up. "And?" he murmured.
Yukari cast her gaze to the sand. "Why does reality have to be so harsh? I tried so hard to fight my fear, and this is what
I get Maybe I'm just jealous of Mitsuru-senpai. I mean, why my father and not hers? Haha I'm a horrible person,
aren't I?"
"I don't believe that."
"Hmph. Well, you're just Mr. Perfect. Nothing ever fazes you," she murmured and then turned to face Minato. "And now
you've got the nerve to try and tell me how to feel!? You think you know me!? You don't know anything!" Yukari exclaimed,
nearly on the verge of tears.
"Yes I do," Minato growled, immediately bringing Yukari to her senses.
She bit her lip. "I'm sorry My head's a mess I'm so afraid I don't know what to do anymore I'm totally lost Tell
me What should I do?" Yukari asked, looking to Minato's grave eyes.
"Uh C-Can I tell you a story if I um t-think it would help you?" he asked, breathing in and out.
"W-What?" Yukari asked, blinking in confusion.
"When I was a k-kid, I didn't know what I was well, doing with my life either," Minato began, leading Yukari to the dots. "I
was scared, afraid and no-one no-one seemed to be on my side. I d-didn't know what was going on. My parents
were dead. No-one knew the truth and they blamed me for everything that everything that was going wrong. They
called my parents' deaths my fault."
Yukari looked incredulously. "But"
"They didn't know it was something related to the Kirijo Group or w-whatever," Minato said simply. "I was starting to
believe them. They called me things. I I even tried to kill myself because I couldn't find a way out of it."
"Y-You You tried to kill yourself?" she swallowed thickly.
"But somehow I figured out that if I did know the truth and find out where all of this came from then I-I would be fine. If
you believe that your dad is the cause of all this then m-maybe it is all meaningless. If not then you keep believing tthat your father would never do anything wrong," he finished with his hands shoved in his pockets. Even though it was
hard to believe, Yukari was starting to think of him as a person with his own moments of weakness. He'd let that on
before, but now Minato was telling her. And even then
"Keep believing in him?" Yukari asked, thinking on Minato's words. Even though there was a possibility he was the
cause of the Dark Hour and everything that had occurred thus far, she couldn't bring herself to believe that he would do
anything wrong. She was being stupid. He wouldn't want her to think like she was right then. Would he proud of her now?
Would he be sad? Either way
Minato shrugged, gazing at Yukari. "Ya know, you really are one-of-a-kind. I'm sorry for acting like this. You've lost your
parents, too. But, I'm alright now I'm used to dealing with stressful situations. Anyway, thanks for listening. Lemme
guess Senpai asked you to bring me back, right?"
"She did?" he raised an eyebrow.
Yukari blinked in disbelief, but ended up laughing. "So you came on your own?"
Minato nodded a little and looked to the ground. "I have to be honest though uh I just wanted to say that the um
well, senpai's grandfather" Yukari looked curiously and he finally said, "He's a f-fucked up dude"
She opened her mouth to say something in response, but ended up just smiling. "Y-Yeah, you're right and um" He
sighed and gestured for her to go on. "Y-You're you're not as bad as I thought. Why do you act like that?"
"Honestly" He mumbled. "I don't really know." Minato was being true when he said that. At times, he felt like what he
thought wasn't his own and his emotions were out of control. Ultimately, most of the negative ones were brought to the
surface and he ended up being a standoffish douche that no-one wanted to associate with.

This is the cue to say that maybe you shouldn't trust what the narrator is saying
Yukari gave him a questioning look, but decided to leave it at that. In the end, Minato was still being mysterious, but she
could ask some more
"Hey!" Junpei. When he stopped, he was out of breath. "What's taking you so long? Everybody's waiting It's almost
gaspthe Dark Hour, so you should get back"
"Huh? Oh yeah, that's right" Yukari's eyes widened.
"Hm? Um Did I miss something?" he said slowly, casting a suspicious glance to Minato (who was just chilling
with his hands in his pockets, eyes closed) and then to Yukari.
"I-I almost forgot It doesn't matter where you are when the Dark Hour comes" she stuttered.
"Well, duh." Junpei rolled his eyes.
"You know, I've been thinking lately Once you awaken to the power of Persona, you remember everything that happens
during the Dark Hour" Yukari looked between Junpei and Minato, the latter having cracked one eye open. "It's like
trading away your innocence In exchange for power, you can no longer look away from the things you don't want to see.
So, I guess I'm stuck with you guys, huh?"
"Yup. Now that that's settled, let's get back!" Junpei grinned and ran back in the vacation home's direction.
"Aren't you coming?" she asked Minato, who was scanning the area.
"Yeah. Go," he said. Yukari nodded unsurely and began to walk behind Junpei.
Why did he feel like he was being watched? And it wasn't Pharos' fault either. "I feel kinda stalked," Pharos pointed out.
"That's nice feel like the stare's on me though" Minato muttered, starting behind the two of them.

Raider: Hello guys. Sorry it took so long, but I was forcing myself to write a lot of this and I didn't really want to write
anything other than angst. That was pretty much at the end though and most of the dialogue was from the game, so
yeah Hope you enjoy it anyways, and yes, Yukari's not as scared anymore.
Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you guys later.
Review Repliesss (I'm thinking of switching to PM replies after the next chapter)
Sacchin: Well yes, perhaps. But you never know; things might not go as you think.
Oh yeah. *silently adds Yukari to the non-existent harem* Hehe.
Kazikamikaze24: Oh yes, definitely expect things to go down. This is just the calm before the storm my friend.
Until then, just enjoy the Yakushima chapter/s left while they last.
Pureshadow013: To be fair, Mitsuru also wasn't fully informed of the situation either until now (even then I'd call that
shaky grounds because Ikutsuki but you know). But to say that the characters are pissing you off is kinda what I'm
going for. It's easy to sympathise with Minato since I write from his viewpoint a lot, but had he been an outside
character writing from the view of someone else, you might think of him differently.
Yoshikunitsu: Yeah, it was nice. Well, I don't think Sachiko's parents would do well with that kind of stunt.
Boobie Support: Exactly what I'm going for. Haha yeah, just see what happens next chapter.
Mr. Haziq: Well, yes, it technically is possible! I wouldn't make it happen only because I have specific fusion
combinations in mind, but it is definitely possible.
SilverFlameHaze: Haha, it's lowered a little at least.
That's kinda true. Although you might not want to trust the commentary of his thoughts now. There's a lot going on
with his personality, so I suppose you can be on the lookout for that if you're interested.
Oh yes, I actually looked it up but I figured each chapter was too long and I probably don't get as much of the
premise as I should when I started reading but it was incredibly well written. Liked it, even though the angst was
too much for me. Haha.

*Chapter 25*: A Toaster Without Warranty

It wasn't often that people nowadays woke feeling completely refreshed. Minato wasn't about to join the club of people
that did manage that feat, but he didn't feel worse for the wear. Well, not in particular at least. It was a rare occurrence in
a daily life rife with bad luck and equally bad social skills.
"I'm surprised that you didn't completely go off at Yukari yesterday," Pharos commented before giving Minato a pointed
look. "Let alone reveal something like that to her about yourself."
He quickly threw a shirt, shorts and thongs on. "I guess so." For the first time in a long while, he felt a little freer. Minato
felt a little more comfortable in his own skin. Okay, maybe he wasn't raring to go to the beach or anything, but this day
didn't feel connected to the previous. Unfortunately, he still wasn't optimistic enough to think that it would last. For him,
that was as far as a happy mood could get him.
"You seem a little different. Have you noticed yet?" Pharos asked, hovering around Minato's shoulders. Receiving a nod
in affirmation, he then said, "What are you thinking of doing today? I don't suppose you're going to the beach, are you?"
Minato shook his head. He honestly had no idea. He felt rather listless in fact. Learning that his true target was no longer
available to him and a bigger fish to fry than he could handle anyways wasn't exactly something he was prepared to hear.
So now what?
"Pharos do you a-already know everything about me?" he asked. Although he was dressed to go out, all Minato
did was sit on his bed.
"Yes. I'm always with you after all," he replied with a small smile. Maybe he included the fact that Minato had a strong
attraction to masochism. But that certainly wasn't going to be something that he said aloud.
"T-Then um you know how I said my one goal w-was to find out everything about uh the Dark Hour, my parents
and t-the Whispers?" Pharos nodded. "Should I keep looking for the truth?" Minato asked, clenching his fists tightly.
"Well I do think that there is more to it," Pharos replied. "I don't remember everything that I knew before and you
haven't found out about the Whispers fully either," he said. "I can't make that decision for you though. It's your own fate."
Minato gave Pharos the slightest upturn of his lips. "I know. It makes me feel a little better though," he murmured. "I gguess I'm completely in the clear now so I should keep going." As he spoke, his smile grew.
"Does this mean you're going to the beach now?" Pharos teased. Did he just really want to go to the beach? Because
his constant suggesting made it seem like that.
It did sound like a good idea but some of the others were probably going to be there and he wasn't sure he wanted to
deal with them, even if he'd sorta repaired the relationship he had with Yukari. It was only a small step and he knew there
were some that still didn't like him. "I didn't say that," he picked up and sighed into his pillow.
"So you're just going to nap some more even though you're dressed?" Pharos chuckled. Great idea. Really.
"Maybe," Minato replied. But seriously, he could've been doing something productive. "Maybe not" Groaning, he up and
dragged his feet to the door out (opting to take the pillow), passed by the dining hall to grab something to eat and slowly
walked to the beach.
"You're changing your mind a lot."
He nodded in agreement. His thoughts were all over the place. He felt okay before, but now he wasn't so sure Minato
casually walked passed the failing duo trying to hit on the girls on the beach: Junpei and Akihiko. Probably better not to
disturb them while they're so busy. Pharos wandered from Minato's side for a moment as he took a seat on the sand
near the pier.
When Minato raised an eyebrow Pharos said, "I'm going to see what the others are doing."
That was okay then. Go probe.
okay, that was only a few seconds, but a sense of loneliness started to fill his sen "They're not doing well at all and I
think the next person they're going for is a transvestite," Pharos said rather happily. Minato tried hard not to crack a smile
at that but he eventually gave in.

"Oh. Figures," he said.

He was about to say something about how much of a sad sack Minato was being, but belayed that with another less
scathing comment. "I never realised it was possible to take so much pleasure in watching other people's misery"
Pharos said as he observed the scene of Junpei freaking out and Akihiko being crept out by the decidedly not female
person they'd just encountered. They'd both realised they'd walked into what was literally a real life trap. Like the ones
from those anime.
"They say humour is birthed from just that," Minato said as he took his thongs off and let the brine wash over his toes.
"That's why I like teasing people. It is funny."
"Kinda mean, isn't it?" he pointed out.
"Never stopped cartoons." And that was an all too true statement.
"True enough." Silence fell between the two of them, and Minato certainly wasn't going to be the one to break it. Pharos
interrupted the lull as he felt a pair of eyes fixed upon him. Even though he knew no-one could see him other than Minato,
the feeling wasn't about to fade any time soon. "I feel like someone's staring at us" he mumbled, looking around the
sand and bushes.
"Hm?" Minato decided to quell Pharos' worries and took a gander at the surroundings for any signs ofWait, was that a
pair of unbelievably blue eyes boring into him from the darkness of the forest? He gulped as faced it, feeling very
uncomfortable under that stark gaze.
"What are you staring at?" Akihiko. To be honest, he wasn't sure whether he was in his right mind speaking to Minato
but Junpei certainly wasn't going to fill him in on what had been happening that morning. Not even stopping to drop off a
slightly scathing comment for Akihiko, Minato pointed out the eyes that were moving about in the forest. He was that
uncomfortable.
"The hell?" Akihiko was certainly curious. While Minato was more squirming, he was wondering who the hell that
creepy stalker pair of eyes belonged to. They were so bright that they literally looked as if they were lit up. And that wasn't
a metaphor for that silly candlelight flickering in your date's eyes as you're waiting for the food to be served. They were
glowing. Like for real. Electricity. Lights.
Minato stood slowly and began to walk towards it, ignoring Akihiko and Junpei behind him. Whether or not they were
discussing what the hell he was doing or what he was looking at well, frankly he could care less. And he said that he
felt nicer that day. Oh well. That feeling only lasted so long.
The blue lights moved as he came closer, seemingly growing more apprehensive with every step. Soon enough, Minato
stood at the edge of the forest with the eyes straight in front of him. Finally, he made out the figure of the person(?).
She had light blonde hair and a pair of red and grey headphones (that's what it looked like to him anyways) on her head.
Her skin was porcelain and light, while under her neck was white. Wearing a blue sundress that matched her eyes, he
couldn't see what else she was wearing through the bushes and cloth.
who the hell was she?
Meanwhile, the girl was observing his face. He seemed confused. After cross referencing his image with those in her
database, it seemed an accurate deduction. Confusion: uncertainty about what is happening, intended; uncertainty
coming from a given stimuli. Alternatively, it could also refer to the state of being confused: being bewildered or not
having clarity of certain stimuli.
She did not understand confusion much better than before, but the girl knew she wasn't confused. There was a 98.43
per cent chance that this blue haired boy was the one she'd been searching for. This human was tucked away in her
database of recognisable faces, although she didn't quite comprehend why he was of utmost priority. That thought likely
meant it was something she was 'confused' about. "Initiating evasive manoeuver. Confirmation must be made at a
secure location."
"What." Minato was just so bewildered, his question simply didn't sound like one. Ignoring his lack of thongs, he chased
after her as best he could through the forest. He barely registered Akihiko and Junpei shouting and following him.
Weird-ass girl just running off into the forest while he conveniently forgot his shoes back at the beach Great. Minato's
apathy had certainly taken a turn for the worse as it first became confusion, then just sheer irritation. All of that was mixed
in with sick curiosity and despite the fact that this girl was leading him on a chase in a godforsaken forest (even if it was

a national heritage site or whatever), Minato wanted to find out who this girl was more than ever.
Pharos had been keeping up with Minato, only stopping when Minato finally did in a small clearing. "Fucking my feet"
He didn't count how many sticks Minato had stepped on.
The girl was watching him from behind a large tree (he wasn't quite sure whether it was the jyomon cedar tree, but that
was another irrelevant thing to chew on later) and only stepped out as he came a little closer. "I"
"Tired," Minato said flatly. Something he didn't acknowledge? He got tired pretty easily, even in the Dark Hour.
"I was correct. I have found you," she spoke. Despite that calm demeanourWHY THE HELL WAS SHE HUGGING HIM!?
No! Personal space! Personal fucking space!
"Uh please get off me."
"I have been searching for you. My highest priority is to be with you!" What. Minato didn't say that aloud, but that was all
that was running through his mind. This hug was actually kinda well, it wasn't a pleasant hug. She felt hard? Not like
human skin? Really, her flesh, if it was flesh, felt smooth and hard. This was taking porcelain to a literal level.
"Awww what the hell!? This is bullshit!" Junpei exclaimed. They'd been hitting on girls all morning and Minato of all
people got a girl hugging him straight away! That just wasn't right. "How come he has the girl when he hasn't even been
at the beach for five minutes!?"
Akihiko was equally as dumbfounded. "I I don't get it either" he muttered to himself. "He didn't even really say
anything to her!"
"There you guys are! What're you guys doing? We've been looking all over for you!" Yukari. Minato struggled to look over at
the two girls that had emerged from the forest clearing with them. If he recalled, Fuuka had left a note saying that they'd
gone to see the jyomon cedar tree early in the morning. None of them looked particularly enthralled.
"What are you doing um in the middle of the woods? In your swimsuits?" Fuuka asked uncertainly, directing the
question to Junpei and Akihiko. The two boys exchanged some looks with gritted teeth, eventually landing on Minato who
was still being squeezed by the girl in blue. He'd given up on getting out of that hug, even though Yukari and Fuuka were
shooting him sharp looks to his back. Mostly Yukari.
"You have no idea what we'veHuh?" Yukari had finally trained her eyes on the girl that was clinging to Minato. "Who is
this?"
"Listen, we've encountered a problem. I'm sorry to interrupt your vacation, but I need you all to go back to the house and
prepare for battle." Mitsuru came from behind Yukari and Fuuka, looking stern with folded arms.
"That won't be necessary!" Ikutsuki made his rather unexpected appearance, wearing a smile on his face.
"What do you mean?" Yukari asked, giving sceptical looks to the girl on Minato and the chairman.
He chuckled and approached the girl. "You had me worried. You don't have permission to leave the lab on your own,
Aigis."
"Aigis?" Minato blinked, before gazing into her eyes. They didn't look quite like a human's now that he was up close
Aigis was finally pried from him and Fuuka explained that earlier on in the day, Ikutsuki contacted them because he said
an Anti-Shadow combat vehicle had gone missing. They were sent to find it.
They reached the vacation home soon after, eagerly waiting for whatever explanation the chairman had for Aigis.
"I apologize for all the trouble. Everything is under control now," Ikutsuki said as he walked into the lounge where
everyone was waiting.
"So, what happened to capturing the tank?" Fuuka asked.
"Oh, that's been taken care of. Come here, Aigis." He gestured to Aigis. Her sundress from before was not worn, instead
revealing a white body lined with metal at the joints. Minato quickly realised that the reason why she felt so different was
because she wasn't a human. Aigis just looked like one. And she was a robot. "This is Aigis. As you can see, she's a
'mechanical maiden.'"
"I am Aigis. My mission is to destroy Shadows. I have been assigned to SEES, effective immediately," she spoke. The

stiffness in her voice seemed more evident upon realising how different she really was.
"No way it's like she's alive!" Yukari gasped.
"This is unbelievable," Akihiko whispered, sharing the same sentiment with many of the SEES members.
"She's so cute, but she's a robot" Junpei groaned. His mind was clearly on another aspect of the situation.
"Anti-Shadow weapons were created ten years ago to combat uncontrollable Shadows. Aigis was the last to be made
and she's the only one that still remains today," Ikutsuki explained, looking upon her rather fondly. Being an important
piece of machinery that was not only powerful, but unique in its own right, he was happy that she was intact. Considering
her circumstances
"An Anti-Shadow weapon Does that mean she?" Mitsuru trailed off, gazing upon Aigis with intrigue. After all, the only
ones that could fight Shadows had to have it.
"Yes. I am capable of operating the Persona 'Palladion,'" Aigis answered.
"She suffered major damage in combat and has remained in the lab ever since. It's still unclear as to why she suddenly
reactivated herself this morning Well, I hope you will all get along," Ikutsuki laughed.
"An Anti-Shadow weapon with a will of her ownThis is amazing!" Fuuka exclaimed. She absolutely adored technology
and almost sentient robots were things of science fiction; today it showed.
"Um" Yukari began, looking at Aigis. "By the way When I saw you earlier, it seemed like you knew him"
"Yes. It is very important for me to be by his side," she nodded.
"Hmm Perhaps her identification system is malfunctioning Or maybe she's still half-asleep... This is quite
interesting" Ikutsuki speculated aloud. "Hmm Well, I can ponder this later." He gave a smile and turned towards the
team members. "Oh, I forgot to tell you all You can participate in a wide range of recreational activities here. There's a
tennis court, a pool table even a karaoke machine. Would you care to hear me sing?"
"I'd rather not," Minato mumbled as he began his way to his room. Aigis followed him.
"You know, I'm not really sure I'm comfortable with the robot staring at you all the time" Pharos whispered, as if he was
afraid she would hear him.
"I agree."

Raider: Hello guys. Sorry this took so long. Honestly, I wasn't very excited to write this chapter, but I finally finished it
just so you guys know that Aigis will be more or less the same as she was in game. I will add a little of my own
flavour to her character development, but right now I'm getting hit in the head with a load of apathy syndrome
myself. Hope you guys like it.
Plz box us yo thoughts and we'll see you guys later.
Reviews (I'll reply to everything here, but from now on, I'll reply to reviews with PMs when I can)
izmtky: Don't get your hopes up I like Mitsuru too (I shouldn't be saying this since I like almost every character) but
there's not much telling what we'll do.
Afterados: Honestly, if I didn't skip to Yakushima, I'd have gotten very bored of all the in game exposition
I understand and I know what you mean. Looking back on it, I'm still so cbbs to fix that I would've added a few
sentences about Minato's mind drifting off, but
True enough. Nights actually said that I should lay off some of the characters a little, so and yeah, it does work for
his character development. (No, you're not remembering wrong. He did just that)
Yeah That's just me being lazy tbh. And glad, because if I didn't use the in-game dialogue, I'd have missed a LOT of
details.
Unfortunately, she doesn't deviate much in this chapter (but again, that's because I'm lazy and really cbbs rn).
Thanks.
Yoshikunitsu: I see you're catching on with the time travel don't forget about the Abyss of Time either. Any more
and that'd be a spoiler.

Maybe haha.
Mr. Haziq: Yeah, sorry, not sorry the narration's going to hopefully change, which is just what I'm referencing. Any
more and that'd be a spoiler though.
SilverFlameHaze: It is a hint to something that'll be more prominent later on.
Well, it's good you mentioned that. His goal still has to be addressed further, so he isn't quite giving up yet. When you
have Pharos backing you up too, how can you go wrong, right?
Hahaha, I hope so. The really fun bits are starting to come up soon which in comparison to this chapter will
probably completely overpower whatever apathy I've been feeling for the story so far.
Ah I see
Pureshadow013: Hm? She did know I think it was well connected in the game that she knew about Minato's
background. Um to be clear, his with his Persona abilities it's pretty obvious that they came from the Dark Hour.
His Whispers is a different matter though. She was 'guilt tripping' in relation to everyone's Persona abilities; not his
Shadow Whispers. Minato doesn't even quite know where they came from either.
Hm well, expect things to still be rocky, even if Yukari is starting.
Sacchin: That's Pharos for you.
Well we'll find out in the next chapter. OTL

*Chapter 26*: Unnamed Feeling

He was sleeping soundly, each breath exhaled at approximate intervals of 1.263 seconds.
It had been a day since the end of their trip to Yakushima and that morning, Aigis had been watching over Minato's
sleeping form. The poster on the wall read 'Do things five minutes early' and that was what she intended to do: rouse
him from his dormant state five minutes before the prescribed time of his alarm clock.
The last number blinked from a four to a five, and that was when Aigis called, "Good morning! Please wake up."
His eyes were pried open after a few moments. That wasn't the sound of 'Fear of the dark! Fear of the dark! I have a
phobia that someone's always there!' blaring from his alarm clock. What could possibly destroy the rest of that beautiful
moment which he almost looked forward to when he was to be roused from sleep?
An android. Sitting next to him on his bed. That was what. And he couldn't think of a witty response.
"Mission accomplished," she intoned.
All that tumbled from his mouth was a simple, simple word: "What."
"The paper on the wall says, 'Do things five minutes early'. Therefore, I woke you up five minutes prior to the triggering of
your alarm clock." Aigis seemed not to be bothered by the hard stare forming on his features.
Knock knock.
"Hey, are you awake? That girl disappeared, and we can't find her anywhere. Think you can help us out? She might've
gone out on her own, like she did in Yakushima..." She recognised the voice to be one of Yukari Takeba.
"I am not a girl... I am Aigis, and I am here," she replied flatly.
"Huh?" Yukari said, especially when it was the android opening the door. "Aigis!? How did you-"
"He was asleep, so I unlocked the door," Aigis explained with no sign of apology on her lips. Minato's train of thought
was similar to 'WHAAAAAAAT!?' and kept staring at the robot with the widest eyes he could muster in his sleepy state.
And the alarm went off. Great. Next thing he knew; Aigis saw the doujins he stashed in his locked drawers too.
"That's unlawful entry! Didn't we tell you to stay in the command room at night!?" Yukari all but spluttered.
"I propose to be on standby in this room from now on. Is this acceptable?" she asked with a tilt of her head. Had Minato
been more focused on Aigis rather than the music playing from his alarm, he might've thought that it was a bit cute... but
he was still partially pissed off from missing those five tiny droplets of sleep and tried to focus more on the song
shredding out its epic riff instead.
"What!? N-No, it's not acceptable!"
"If there is a problem, then I will address it promptly."
"Uh, the problem is it's against dorm regulations..." Yukari struggled to explain before turning to Minato who was currently
walking over to his clock. "Well, don't just stand there! Tell her!" she exclaimed. How could a robot be so difficult to deal
with!?
"True," he said tersely. "And I need to change."
Yukari brushed off his quip and said, "See? He agrees."
"I will do as told," Aigis voiced after a few moments.
"Tch... Alright, I'll have a room prepared for you on the third floor. You can stay there," she sighed. "Oh, and don't leave the
dorm by yourself, okay?" Yukari added.
"I will do as commanded." Aigis gave a slow nod at her words.
The other gave a sigh. "I'm tired... I have practice this morning, so I gotta go..." she mumbled before striding from the
door frame.
"...Everyone goes to a place called school in the morning. I comprehend." Aigis nodded to herself this time after

reaffirming 'school' in her personal records.

Minato sighed himself. Now how should he get the creepy robot from his room?
After stressing to Aigis that a little something called 'privacy' was of great importance, Minato got ready for school. Weren't
exam results supposed to be posted that day?
...Oh shit.
Radiating a glum air which Aigis commented seemed 'to exude from him and give the atmosphere a five to ten per cent
increase in weight without scientific explanation', Minato made his way to the boards later that day with every bit of him
prepared to cringe from his rank.
Even though he was partly expecting it, the number pulled on his sanity just a teeny, tiny bit... A voice lingering at the back
of his head seemed to roar with laughter while another of the same, raspy voice spoke of how easy it would be to rip that
fucking piece of shit paper off the wall and- "I'm guessing you didn't study, huh?"
"Uh... yeah," Minato murmured as the haze of students dispersed. Even Junpei's sobs faded in the background.
Sachiko nodded knowingly and asked, "Do you mind going out after school? We haven't spoken in a while."
It would take this failure off his mind; that was for sure. Well, at least his science related grades didn't suffer that much...
"Sure. Where?"
"Hm... Why not the beef bowl place?"
"Alright. I'll meet you there."
A silence passed between the two friends as they both came to the same, rather shameful conclusion. "An urge to
change where we were going to eat just washed over me, but I'm going to ignore that for now. I'll see you there," Sachiko
said.
Minato headed straight there after school. Even she might be excited to know that they now (somehow) had a robot with
a Persona that could fight the Shadows alongside them too and that made him smile a tiny bit more. There was the
second thought of slight breakdown in front of Yukari being more exciting, but he brushed it off. The walking toaster was
more engaging of a topic and a more pleasant one too.
While the mentions of Ikutsuki's terrible singing and their rather enthusiastic water fights came to mind (along with trying
to figure out whether that robot was waterproof) on the karaoke machine came to mind, Minato eventually came to the
more important matters that were addressed during their meeting. They still weighed heavily on his mind, even if he told
everything in as casual a manner as possible. After finishing their meals, they headed back towards the shrine on the
way to the dorm.
"So you're saying that apparently the Shadows that you're encountering... on the full moon... they have to be defeated
before the Dark Hour can truly come to an end," Sachiko asked, processing what Minato had told her so far. "Moreover,
the Dark Hour was caused by the previous head of the Kirijo Group whom you can't remember the name of and will not
bother to try remembering due to a lack of importance. He was responsible for causing the Dark Hour through his
experiments on Shadows... and the explosion ten years ago came about because of the Shadows used in the
experiments breaking out. Ultimately, this caused the Dark Hour."
Minato nodded in response. Actually, he just remembered; Mitsuru's grandfather was called Kouetsu Kirijo. He wasn't
sure whether to be happy that he remembered, or frustrated that he forgot.
"I see... what was that you said about manipulating time and space though?" she raised an eyebrow. "That seems
awfully far-fetched, even for Shadow standards. Or perhaps I'm just being a little sheltered..."
"I don't know," he said simply. "It is worrying though." Why was there a part of him saying that it wasn't? Minato supposed
that it probably was just this part of him that was intrigued by the sick excitement that only morbidity could bring.
"Worrying? Ah yes, you said that apparently the effects could be seen due to the large concentration of Shadows in one
area," Sachiko recalled. "You're worried about your compendium, aren't you?" With a sigh, he nodded. That was exactly it.
His compendium suddenly seemed a little more frightening, a little more mysterious, and a little more dangerous.
"Understandably so..."
A silence fell between them for a few moments. "I'll do some digging around for you, if you'd like. I actually have some

things to go over with a case..."

"Case?" Minato asked. It was probably the one from before about the victims turning up dead in weird positions and shit.
Oddly enough, the fact that these were real people turning up dead with lives, work, friends and family wasn't making him
angrier or sad. That actually sounded kinda satisfying, but he didn't know why. He just had to push back the feelings at
this point. Probably just his mind going haywire or something.
Sachiko tightened the glove on her hand. "Yes. More and more people have been turning up dead around the streets.
Some of them are in that strange, yet mangled state... others have been shot and wounded with incendiaries," she
explained. "I tried to look for and examine the markings on the bullets, but that's no use until we actually have a suspect
weapon to sample."
"That's too bad..." he muttered. "Things've just been happening... l-left... and right," Minato sighed as he gave Sachiko a
worried glance. At this point, being scared of where his train of thought was going was being overridden by his concern
for his friend. It worked like a muffler to that clacking transport in the background.
"You're right... I'm starting to wonder whether this is simply something bigger than us..." Lost in thought, she didn't see
Minato's look until the cogs in her mind started to slow. "I think it would be prudent to exercise great caution, if you haven't
already been doing that. Things are... dangerous now."
"You better as well," he replied.
"Who do you take me for?" A smirk crawled onto her face as she rolled her shoulders. It contorted into one of pain as
Sachiko relaxed a little.
"What's wrong?" What part of him questioned his sincerity and concern? There was no sign of knowledge when it came
to his train of thought.
She had half a mind to give Minato one of those sceptical looks of hers with a lifted eyebrow and all, but... "Bad posture,
mostly." It gave him the image of being hunched over numerous papers and notes as she rifled through details of each
victim in a darkened room with some dim lightning overhead from a hanging lamp, akin to those scenes in hard-boiled
detective comics. While entertaining, it wasn't exactly a good thing either.
"Great caution, huh..." Minato rolled his eyes as he stood and placed his hands on Sachiko's shoulders with a firm grip.
"Why're you...?" she trailed off as the knots in her muscles slowly became undone from the circular motions of his
thumbs. Truthfully, Sachiko could discern just what he was doing. The reason why was a little lost to her, however
obvious it was in the right mindset. Maybe it was the unfamiliarity of the situation settling in that made her oblivious to the
answer.
Actually, Sachiko was busy being thankful that they were the only ones at the shrine. Koromaru was napping near the
offertory box at the temple, so he wasn't watching either. It was just a quiet and warm summer's day with no-one around
but the cicadas buzzing in crevices bored into the trees and a sleepy sunset with droopy eyes. "Better?"
"Uh... I guess so," Sachiko answered awkwardly. "Thanks?"
"Hm." Minato wasn't really bothered to say 'you're welcome', but that was what he would've said if he was. On the other
hand, he could've just not responded or maybe he could tell her to fuck off- What the hell was he thinking? Shit.
"What's up?" she asked. "Are you bothered or something?" At this point, Sachiko was at a loss as to how and why Minato
was so terse at that moment. More so than usual, at least. It a little bit out of the blue, she supposed.
"I dunno." He gave a shrug in response, silently wondering why he felt like he didn't want to explain when that was what
he wanted to do most. Forcing the words out, Minato muttered, "I feel kinda weird today..."
"Why's that?"
He set his arms in a folded position and closed his eyes. "Well, hell if I know..." Minato muttered. "There's something... I
don't know what. And it makes me want to just..." He'd recalled that he'd felt like this before. It was like being stuck in a
fog, where it would clear occasionally but always, always come back. But this however... whatever he was feeling; it
wasn't being depressed.
It was having a monster locked up within you, clawing and scratching at the pillars of your skin to no end. You keep it
inside as best you can because you're not supposed to be angry. You're supposed to be calm on the street. You wonder,
'why the hell am I not!?' but cannot find an answer. You think it might make you even madder... it drives you that little bit

insane. It builds. You want to lash out at anything and everything, even though you know you can't. You don't really want
to.
Or do you?
Minato couldn't exactly tell what this feeling was, or even when, how or why it was there.
"You're not alright... shouldn't you see someone?" Sachiko asked with every bit of genuine concern in her eyes and voice.
Even if it was related to the Whispers, the mental state itself was a problem that could probably be fixed by a
professional or something of the sort.
Yet everything in him protested with burning ice. His mind, he couldn't figure it out... there were thoughts running at the
back of his head. They almost overpowered him, but most of the time, he was stronger. At what cost? Sometimes, he
didn't know what price his mind truly had. Was resisting that tiny voice at the back of his head worth appearing sane in
front of others? Minato didn't have an answer and that fact alone was enough to drive him mad.
"Minato, snap out of it!"
What?
Swamped by the debris of the train wreck in his mind, he'd been staring at the same spot with glazed eyes without a
word, or even a small response. "U-Uh... sorry," he mumbled.
"Minato, you need to need to go see a doctor. I don't really care at this point what it's caused by... because it looks like you
need help," Sachiko murmured.
No, he didn't. "I-I... I guess," Minato said half-heartedly.
"Don't 'I guess' me here." She sighed and got out her phone from her pocket.
"Wait!" he said, clenching his teeth. "I'll do it myself later." At this point, he couldn't trust himself to go, but if it got Sachiko
off his back for a while, then Minato could say anything. If he was listening to himself in hindsight, he probably never
would've stopped her.
Sachiko narrowed her gaze at Minato. Another sigh. "You better... I'm worried."
"I know," he mumbled.
To be honest, she wasn't fully convinced, but the next time she met up with him, Sachiko would ask again. "You can't take
it lightly, alright? But I'm sure you already know that," she warned. "Anyways, I have to go. I'll see you later."
"Uh yeah. Later," Minato replied.
Sachiko strode from the seat and went down the shrine stairs as he said farewell, still sighing inwardly with every step.
None of it sat well with her and Sachiko really wished she could do something about it, but she had to trust her friend.
With slow steps to her home, she observed the streets with every bit of scrutiny she could muster. Who knew if there
were suspicious characters in the background? Quickly quashing her thoughts of catching the perpetrators of the
Shadow attacks with an injection of rationality, Sachiko quickly reminded herself that she hadn't much to go on.
Except... for a dark whisper that lingered at the back of her mind. "What's the time?" it asked, in a hush.
"It's 6 hours," another murmured.
Sachiko counted the hours from twelve on her watch. The hands read '6:04", and it was after school. Whether it was
evening or morning was obvious. The gesture of her hands to her hair and pulling a hat over the loose ponytail was
automatic as she led her eyes up a trail of words and with relaxed posture, walked nearer.
"How many days?"
"...you expect me to remember?"
A rather out of place comment, but Sachiko took it in stride. She mentally noted that they weren't exactly a tight-knit group,
or that they weren't really professionals. With their presumed abilities, it could make sense.
"Guys-"

"13 days," a woman's voice cut in before the conversation could rise. "We have a little less than two weeks."
Sachiko struggled to figure out just what the significance of the number of days could have. Minato had told her that they
appeared on full moons, so that might've been what they referred to. She didn't check whether the moon was waning or if
it was a waxing gibbous, so at this point, couldn't make the connection.
"Thank you." He said those two words dripping with sarcasm before continuing, "Where are we meeting next?"
"Today, it's the back and tomorrow... we're meeting with those other three at the front," another male replied, deeper in
tone.
The 'other three' that he referred to didn't seem to be particularly close to this group she was dealing with. She could
concern herself with deciphering what the 'back' and 'front' meant later. Losing track of her train of thought wouldn't do
well.
"Don't forget," the deep voice intoned.
The shuffle of footsteps came. It would be best to move. Sachiko let down her hair and walked with a slow gait once
more, shifting her muscles into gear so that they'd move naturally, even as the steps came closer. She kept her gaze
forward for the most part and let the presence slide by her.
As the steps faded, she stole a glance to her back and caught a short-haired woman's back before Sachiko decided to
return her field of vision ahead.
Knowing too little to act, Sachiko simply headed home to compile her notes. She'd better speak again to Minato
whenever possible.

AN: Hello guys, it's been a while, since I wanted to put more things in the chapter. Thanks for reading and hope you
enjoyed the chapter. Later.

*Chapter 27*: Hypocritical, With a Side of Epic

Footsteps echoed on the path as a male, bony and cold walked into the dim light of the moon.
Shinjiro had been leaning against railing, musing that he hadn't really seen Aki and the others for a couple of days.
Granted, he shouldn't have cared, but it was hard not to notice when that idiot wasn't causing trouble. "Hey," he said
simply as four more came.
"Why do they always run and hide when I approach? They're like back alley rats," he sighed as he observed the three
punks walking from them with looks of disdain.
"Beats me," Shinjiro replied with a shrug. "Who're your friends?"
The pale man chuckled mirthfully. "They're nothing to be concerned about," he replied with a thin smile.
He looked them up and down as best he could before clicking his tongue. "Whatever."
"Jin... Give him the capsules," he said.
Jin did as he asked and handed a tin to Shinjiro, small enough to fit in his palm comfortably. He closed his grip around
the clinking container and said, "Thanks." Shinjiro moved to walk from the group and continued even as he faced away
from them, "I'll pay you the same as"
"Hold up," Jin spoke.
"This time, information will suffice," the pale man explained. "Your acquaintances have been busy lately. I'm referring to
their activities on nights when the moon is full. They've spent a great deal of time in the tower as well. Why did they take
this burden upon themselves?" Shinjiro gave them narrowed eyes as he tried to find his response. "You do know, don't
you? ...But, you don't wish to say? Is it because they are your friends?"
"No! I've got nothing to do with them," he protested.
"Then tell us."
"Tch... I don't know the details, but... Supposedly, if you destroy all those creatures... then the tower will disappear, and
with it, the Dark Hour," Shinjiro said through gritted teeth.
"You mean... they intend to eliminate the Dark Hour?" The otherwise impassive expression the man had seemed to twist
at the corner of his lips.
"Y-Yeah? Why?"
"Why would they do such a thing!? With the power they have... They wish to destroy the Tower of Demise as well!?"
"Tower of Demise...? ...Who wouldn't wanna take out that damn tower?"
"Easy, Takaya..." Jin warned.
Takaya breathed out and took a moment to compose himself. "Yes, yes..." The two left, passing the other four.
"Hey. Tell us if you see an irritated looking kid with blue hair," Kishimaru said as Shinjiro was about to move.
"I'll think about it," he answered with a shake of his head.
...
A lurch.
From the corner of Aigis' optics, she spied a Shadow inching away from them. Yukari-san and Akihiko-san stood behind
Minato as he observed the creature's movements, waiting for the optimal time to strike. Wordlessly, Minato stepped
towards its back and kicked the pack of four into the nearest wall with a thud.
He'd made hand signals some time ago to make up for his stammering and with an open hand and spread fingers,
Yukari and Akihiko surrounded the downed Shadow while Aigis followed suit, unfamiliar with his conduct. Unfortunately
there weren't enough unique signals for every individual skill that he could think of, but for him, it worked. From then on,
he'd hope that the rest of the team had some common sense stashed on them somewhere.

He recognised the four Shadows that had split in front of them; they were Devoted Cupids. Not that he remembered what
their weakness was. "Fuuka. Scan."
"I'll do my best!" Her voice came, watery in their ears.
Minato rushed forward upon her response and sidestepped a volley of arrows before taking a two handed swing of his
compendium into the Shadow's arm. It blocked, but Minato had enough sense to thrust his knee into its leg, making it
hobble in air unguarded.
"My turn." Akihiko wound his fist back and smashed knuckle into ribs, all the while enduring a vortex of Holy Arrows
spiralling into him. He gritted his teeth and stumbled from his foes, trying to regain his footing.
"Yukari-chan! Wind won't work on them! Bufu skills should work," Fuuka informed just as she was about to point her
Evoker. That wouldn't have turned out to be productive if she'd finished that! She nodded to herself and nocked an arrow,
letting fly the head into flesh.
The Devoted Cupid she'd aimed for screeched and stopped firing spells at Akihiko, glaring at Yukari as it reeled.
"Thanks Yukari," Akihiko grinned as he summoned Polydeuces and gave back some much needed feeling to his numb
left arm with a Dia spell.
"No problem," she replied tersely, dodging her own assault.
"I request that everyone backs away," Aigis intoned, leading the two boys to give pointed looks at the robot. The moment
of weakness allowed two Devoted Cupids to send more Holy Arrows sailing at the two of them. Not reacting to the
assault, Minato blocked the glowing assailant with his arm while Akihiko shielded with a cross block.
With a motion from his free hand, Minato told Akihiko to make distance between them. As they backed off, Aigis
modulated "Initiating summon sequence" and brought her PersonaPalladionmechanised and poised with cannon
open wide to life. It let loose a Swift Strike upon the Devoted Cupids, sending blow after blow from its weapon.
"The fuck Akihiko!?" Minato growled and pushed his senior's three quarter smash from Aigis to the side. Although with all
the Holy Arrows he'd been getting with...
"Akihiko-senpai is charmed! Use Charmdi or a Dis-Charm!" Fuuka cried, nervous as a similar situation had occurred
just a few weeks ago. "Yukari-chan, you know that skill, don't you?" she asked, biting her lip.
"I'm on it!" she nodded, holding her Evoker against her forehead. "Wait! What's that sound!?"
Minato gritted his teeth and momentarily looked to see the incoming Shadows coming in their direction. Perhaps a poor
choice as Akihiko struggled out of Minato's grip and dug his fist into his stomach, causing hacked out spit to come flying
from his mouth.
"Minato-san!" Aigis stopped unleashing her skill and turned her gaze towards the two struggling boys.
"Aigis-san, don't hurt either of them!" Fuuka warned, trying to get a grip on the new Shadows. "I'll scan the other ones..."
Minato skidded and cascaded on the ground, musing to himself that this was probably one of the worse situations he'd
had to deal with thus far in his short life. "Minato-kun, are you alright?" Yukari reached out a hand which he grabbed
eagerly as Akihiko approached the two of them.
"Kinda," he rasped, finding his footing.
"They're tough enemies! They're weak to Zio, but resist physical skills!" Fuuka warned, her voice rising when one of the
two cast a Rakukaja spell.
It was just their luck that the person who used Zio was charmed, huh? Minato chuckled bitterly and told Yukari,
"Concentrate on Akihiko-senpai."
"I'll try my best," she murmured and summoned Io, ready to cast Charmdi on him.
Akihiko lumbered with clenched fists and tried a one-two towards her, grinning with hazy eyes. Through the next few
moments, it felt as if everything was out to get her. Clanking with malice, a Wild Drive seemed to know their plan and
smirked as Yukari backed away from both of them. Not to mention the arrows that were being sent flying towards her.
There was no way that she'd be able to deal with all of them without getting hurt while she cast Charmdi on Akihiko.

"Minato! Aigis!" Yukari shouted, nearly tripping as she retreated.

Minato beckoned Aigis from a dissipating Cupid and formed a shield from the Wild Drives and arrows. "Aigis, t-take care
of the Cupids. I'll deal with... these guys..." As he spoke, his fingers flicked through the pages of his compendium,
looking for the nearest Mazio using Shadow.
"Understood."
Yukari nearly wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but knew that if she wasn't focused, Akihiko would nail her with a hard
punch if she wasn't careful. "Io!" she called, the Persona coming forth in a flurry of blue.
Akihiko wouldn't let up and was trying for a haymaker and Yukari did her best to dodge, but the hit kept going and
crashed into Minato instead. "Whoa!" Thankfully, his fist only grazed past his cheek and jaw without getting a clean hit.
Minato staggered away with a torn page and crumbled ashy flecks into the Wild Drives. Bursts of electricity rained down
on them, shocking them paralysed onto the floor with their weakness hit. Whispering a recall, the Mazio-wielding blur
reformed in his tome.
Aigis gunned down the second last Devoted Cupid, setting her sights on the final. 'Kill Rush." With a gleam in her eyes,
Palladion appeared without hesitation, made its charge, pinning the Shadow against the wall.
"Be careful!" Minato growled and pointed his Evoker at his temple and summoned a Persona with raging skin wielding a
golden sword. "Take-Mikazuchi," he muttered. Flashes of Mazionga burst onto the already downed Wild Drives, making
one slump back onto the floor, dizzied. The other managed its way to full height, spinning its legs and spike-like arms
into Minato.
Yukari bit her lip as she felt tremors from behind her, travelling from the Shadow pounding its metal feet. "Sorry senpai..."
she muttered to herself and put some distance between her hypnotised senior using a Garu spell before again bringing
out Io to heal Akihiko. "Charmdi!" A pink haze ceased his movements and as it dissipated, he shook his head of the
Charm. "Minato-kun! Akihiko's back to normal!"
As the form of the Devoted Cupid dissolved into black and red mist, Aigis turned to target the dizzied Wild Drive. With
continuous gunfire accompanied by the clinking of empty shells hitting floor she kept the struggling Shadow down.
Minato wasn't exactly able to answer as he was batted into the wall, groaning as impact shook his bones. "Polydeuces!"
Akihiko's voice came. Another bolt of lightning struck at its back, engulfing its body with blue-white arches of electricity.
Grinding gears came from the Wild Drive-presumably a cry of pain to the others and a 'fuck all of you!' to Minato-and it
staggered away from him before tumbling with a thump into ichor.
Even though the latter Wild Drive Aigis was dealing with was resistant to pierce attacks, even it wouldn't survive them in
multitudes. "Enemy annihilated."
The leftover members were left to catch their breaths as Aigis approached them. Minato struggled to stand, using the
wall behind him as support. Yukari sighed and healed the leader, lending some energy to his bruised back.
"That was a close one..." Fuuka breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're all okay!"
Minato shook his head as he grabbed at a Persona during Shuffle Time and wordlessly pocketed the Wild Drives'
remains (the Greasy Gears that he needed for Elizabeth's requests) as they calmed down. He didn't expect it would last.
"Minato-san. I would like to tell you about an option available to me called Orgia Mode. It should help you in battle. Would
you like to hear?" Aigis asked, looking at him blankly.
"What?" he said sharply, although his tone seemed to be lost on her.
"In Orgia Mode, my limiters are temporarily disabled to allow my damage output and mobility to increase. However, it only
lasts for a short period of time, after which I become defenceless," she explained.
"And... you didn't t-tell me earlier because...?"
"Up until now, there was no need. If we are to keep experiencing more complications such as this in later battles, it
would be prudent to have an alternative course of action in a troublesome situation."
"She has a point!" Pharos commented, speaking for the first time that Dark Hour.
Aigis was basically saying that they hadn't sucked up until now, so then she had to tell him how not to. "Oh."

Then Fuuka gasped, "Be careful! I sense Death!"

As if things couldn't get worse... "Access point?"
"Take a right at the T up ahead," she instructed. "Hurry! It's coming from behind you!" It certainly explained why those
clinking chains sounded so close.
Minato told the team to follow her direction, taking solace in the fact that this meant there were no more Shadows on the
floor that would impede their progress. That was the last thing they needed when they were already dodging bullets
flaring at their feet.
Turning towards the Reaper trailing black behind them, Aigis fired upon it and flew back using the recoil and a well-timed
jump as she leapt after the team, slowing it down a little. "Where do we go next?"
"Go straight and take the first left," she replied, assured as they'd be able to outpace the Reaper at this rate and get there
in a short time span. "The access point is at the end of the hallway."
"Alright," Minato nodded, ready to make a sprint.
"It disappeared! Hold on, I'll try to find it!" Fuuka warned.
"It disappeared!?" Yukari exclaimed.
"You have to get away from there! The Reaper is blocking the entrance to the access point and it doesn't seem to be
moving!"
Never mind. Things did just get worse. They could find their way to the stairs, but at this point, Minato was even willing to
bet that the Reaper was going to be an awful person and teleport over to the entrance of the stair room. "Do you think you
can find a way around this?" Pharos asked, smiling enigmatically.
"We'll see," he muttered to himself. "How long does Orgia Mode last?" Minato said aloud.
"Approximately thirty seconds," she replied. "Time may lengthen or shorten, depending on actions taken during this time
period."
"Wait, you're not seriously thinking of fighting that thing, are you?" Yukari asked, biting her lip. "There's no way that we can
win against it!"
"I... I didn't say we're going to win," he replied.
"Then what?" Akihiko asked.
"We just need to get past it."
"Are you crazy!?" Yukari yelled, still shivering at the thought of facing the Reaper. She knew they were just going to be
dancing around like their feet were being shot at because their feet were getting shot at. It wasn't something she wanted
to deal with.
"Maybe. This t-time though... I'm being practical," he sighed. "You and Akihiko should p-pass the Reaper while Aigis and I
d-distract it. That's all.
"Get Orgia thing ready and don't shoot my Shadows," Minato told Aigis. She'd attempted to shoot down Minato's
Shadows earlier on and it did take some coaxing for her not to do so.
"Understood."
Minato breathed out and summoned his next partner, muttering "Garudyne" as Kishimaru appeared. His familiar
unleased a hurricane of force at the Reaper. Despite his opponent never appearing deterred, Minato commanded,
"Akihiko! Yukari! Get going!" and kept the Reaper distracted as they began to slip past.
"R-Right!" Yukari gulped and moved through the corridor, stepping cautiously as the wind behind her forced her legs to
move with ease. The Reaper gave a mirthful chuckle which only Minato could hear as he took the full brunt of the wind
torrent.
Propelled by the spell, Aigis smashed forward with joints and headphones whirring and spinning like a battering ram. It
responded in kind and moved away from the white blur along with the Garudyne which was slowly dying down. She

wouldn't take that and zipped to the Reaper's arm, tore it into grasp, hauled its weight into her limbs and reared back
before slamming it shoulder-first into the nearest wall. Hailing bullets came from Aigis' guns as she flipped back from
the force, bruising and even piercing the Reaper's flesh. She wouldn't even stop there.
Yukari sneaked past the downed Reaper with Akihiko, silently promising to herself that she wouldn't get on Aigis' bad
side, if she had one. Stepping onto the green pad, she was whisked to the bottom floor. "Get back soon!" she called.
A huge roar came from the Reaper as it tried to brush Aigis away, but she moved too fast to be able to. She manoeuvred
from its thrashing arms while the Reaper took an opportunity to fire bullets of its own. Just as they went flying, Aigis
wrenched its arms from the recoil and swung the Reaper into the floor, about to fire again "An unexpected
development." She froze as her joints had taken too much and overheated, leaving her unable to move with smoke
filtering from her.
The wayward bullets stuck fast into wall and flesh, leaving Akihiko's side marked with a searing wound. He swallowed
the pain and made his way to the access point, with only this thought in mind: if he didn't get it healed, it was seriously
going to mess up his training.
"Aigis!" Minato charged after her helpless frame, stopping short as the Reaper batted her aside into a wall behind the
access point. She slumped, eyes closed and body prone as the Reaper laughed and pointed the barrel of its gun at her.
Faintly a chuckle echoed. It lingered, lurking at the back of his mind. His compendium shook.
Biting his lip as Kishimaru roared with his steed, Minato flung his compendium open and hissed, "Stop your
goddamned laughing!" A flood filled his veins with adrenaline, if enough wasn't already driving through him. The Reaper
turned its attention to Minato and shot its readied bullet straight for his chest.
Sho did not appear on command, but on instinct, and burst from black with flared engines and thunder bellowed from
his mouth. Red began to pump from Kishimaru and Sho as they convulsed, twisted, merged. Minato dodged the attack
as best he could, still getting clipped by the blazing shot on his shoulder. Although his sight began to grow dim, he could
still hear the voice pounding at the cage of his skull. He could copy the whisper's growling. He could let it control him. He
could kill it.
Bestial, he combined Sho and Kishimaru roared and grumbled, its wheel burning with orange flame while its lance
swirled with wind. The Reaper seemed to laugh once more as it faced its new adversary which thrashed with unrest.
Bullets came barrelling from its revolvers, as did the wheeled knight, the haze around it becoming charged with heat
crushed from the air. Heat became cinders, cinders became flames, and flames became amber infernos raging with
combined turbulence.
Stubborn, it pushed through the bullets even as they exploded into Megido spells on contact before thrusting its lance
into the Reaper's chest, scorching a burn into the wound. The Reaper hissed and
Minato picked up Aigis as best he could and hopped into the access point, telling Kishimaru and Sho to come back into
his compendium. As they disappeared in a flash, the Reaper left behind gave a smirk as the hole in his chest slowly, but
surely sealed. What an interesting bout, and what an intriguing ability that boy had.
As Minato stepped out, he saw Yukari and Mitsuru nursing Akihiko's wound with some hissing, Diarama spells, gauze
and bandages. "Arisato. That was quite a reckless course of action that you took," Mitsuru said as she finished wrapping
his wound. Minato was about to protest but, "No-one was seriously injured, except for Akihiko."
He gave a smile and rubbed the back of his head, looking apologetically at Minato. He shrugged in response and after
getting their supplies, exited Tartarus. As much as he didn't care about Mitsuru's comment, he was still angry.
Minato narrowed his eyes as he remembered the last full moon's incident. Of course Akihiko got a free pass when he
was charmed. Of course. It wasn't the senior he was mad at in particular, however.

AN: Hello. My favourite fight scene that I've ever written appears. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the
chapter. Later.

*Chapter 28*: Justice for the Egoist

Nobody likes closed doors.
He stared at this metal example before swinging his gaze towards the murky tunnel ahead. Inviting. "We will be alright.
Rather than wasting our energy, I suggest we deal with the Shadow first," Aigis intoned. Well, someone was undisturbed
by that recent turn of events.
Unfortunately for Minato, he wasn't Aigis.
After coming back from their most recent expedition to Tartarus, most of the team members went to their rooms to get
much needed rest. "What is it, Arisato?" Mitsuru was quite sure that Minato wouldn't speak to her without good reason.
"Akihiko."
"What about him?"
"Why him and not me?" Minato narrowed his eyes, while she only bit her lip in response. "Why was he let off, and not
me?" he clarified.
If there was a sugar-coated answer she could give him, it had slipped from grasp. He drew his own conclusions
meanwhile. "It's because you trust him more than me." Even though Minato's words were small and he kept interrupting
himself, the impact wasn't softened. He scoffed. "I get it."
"No, that isn't it," she protested.
He cocked his head.
"The consequences and the situation... They were both different," Mitsuru justified.
Minato wasn't sure what to make of her response, however true it was.
"More people were hurt and Akihiko only hurt me," he pointed out. "That day was a full moon. Today wasn't."
"Yes."
"So?"
"Taking into account the damage done to all the team members, merely slapping your wrist wouldn't make suitable
recompense."
Minato silently muttered about how utilitarian that thinking was. "Even though it was the same thing? Getting Charmed?"
Mitsuru didn't have the heart to nod with irrationality and impulses given the reins. Perhaps they'd spread their influence
even more because of the revelations at Yakushima, but whatever the trigger was, Minato was and is still a victim of
others' paranoia.
He understood. Understanding didn't necessarily smother rage. "I see. Good night."
She closed her eyes as she was left behind. Perhaps Mitsuru didn't realise it herself.
God, he wanted to lash out. If he did, it would only aggravate fraying bonds of trust. Minato didn't want to care, but there
was no stopping his consciencenot even some creepy voice closed at the back of his mind that might've wanted to rip
everyone's heads off.
Tonight, the group known as Strega had chosen to interrupt their briefing in the underground bunker they'd been led to.
Questions raced through the team's minds, even as the thin man spoke. "My name is Takaya. This is Jin. We are known
to some as Strega..." A glint appeared in his gold eyes. "We've been keeping an eye on you...
"From what we hear, you've undertaken a 'righteous' battle to save the world. But, we've come here tonight to put an end
to that dream. You've gained new allies, yet this land still crawls with sin. Tartarus is towering as beautifully as always..."
Minato wasn't quite sure who to focus on at this point, as he caught the four presences behind the two. Kishimaru.
"But, why the hell would you wanna stop us!?" Junpei exclaimed.

"Simple... If the Shadows and the Dark Hour disappear, then so will our power. And we can't let that happen, now can
we?" Jin smirked. He knew that his words would only provoke them further.
Somehow, it reminded Minato of how found out Koromaruthe dog at the shrinewas actually a Persona user just like
them. That seemingly peaceful Dark Hour was stopped when Fuuka notified them of the Shadow prowling the city.
Akihiko was sent to investigate as the others prepared.
His voice came through the transceiver with, "I'm here. Sorry, but I think you guys better come, right away."
"What's wrong? Is it a powerful one?" Mitsuru asked.
"No, the Shadow's been defeated. In fact, it was already defeated when I got here." Akihiko chuckled lightly at that.
"What happened?"
"The little fella's been injured... I wanna save him if we can."
"'Little fella?' Who's he talking about?" Yukari wondered.
As Mitsuru already mentioned Naganaki Shrine just before, Minato's mind leaped to the conclusion that it had something
to do with Koromaru. What other 'little fella' would you find at Naganaki Shrine anyways? No, he didn't mean Pharos
when he was pretending to be a ghost.
There wasn't much conversation after that and the group headed there to assist Akihiko with Koromaru's bloody scene.
Blood flowed from him like rivers, whimpering as the liquid fled.
"Koro-chan! Are you okay, Koro-chan!?" Fuuka exclaimed as she rushed over.
"You know this dog?" Mitsuru asked.
"Yeah, everyone around here does... We have to help him!" Yukari agreed.
Over the bleeding, they discussed how he was able to deal with the Shadow. Of course, it was because the shiba-inu
was a Persona user, as incredulous as it sounded.
"This is a place of peace, so I protected it," Aigis intoned.
Flowers leaned next to the gate of the shrine. "Those flowers... they must be for the priest who died in that accident,"
Fuuka whispered.
"So, he really was guarding this place..."
"Uh, Aigis? Don't tell me you can translate dog language too..." Junpei blinked.
"Canines do not have their own language. However, speech is not the only means of communication."
Final words were dedicated to finding a veterinarian to care for Koromaru. Minato bent down next to him and stroked his
fur, softening his stony expression. He hadn't spoken, but Koromaru seemed to understand his worry and whined. It was
the same feeling as when Ken started staying at the dorm, but he didn't know which to feel for more.
He gritted his teeth.
"What about you?"
The words seemed directed at him. Minato wouldn't be honest if he said he knew what they were talking about. He
raised an eyebrow in response.
"Don't tell me you're really letting these guys push you around for a goal you might not even want." Jin sneered.
How did that guy know? Minato narrowed his eyes as SEES turned towards him. "I wouldn't say that it's your business,"
he intoned.
"You're so different..." was muttered in whispers, perhaps from one of the four behind Takaya and Jin. A twinge of a frown
threatened his faade, but Minato stayed his words.
"I get it... You've each got your own reason for fighting. 'Justice' is only an excuse... And that makes you all hypocrites! So I

say, to hell with you!" Jin's words pierced through their thoughts. As they turned to leave, Akihiko lunged after them to no
avail. The doors had slammed shut and only his banging against them was left. "Have fun in there."
And now, for the present.
"You're right. If we lose our cool, then they win." Yukari gritted her teeth.
"The Shadow's moving! I think it's noticed us!"
"Alright, let's concentrate on our original goal. We can look for a way out after we've won. Everyone, prepare for battle,"
Mitsuru said after a few moments.
"What is the matter?" Aigis asked as Minato stood, staring at the locked doors.
He shook his head in response. "Not now." They were on his mind and it would ruin his concentration.
The team of four traversed down the tunnel, only feeling reassured as Fuuka led them through the darkened, clammy
walls. "I sense the target two blocks ahead of you! It's moving slowly downward. Chase after it!"
A Shadow leaped from the darkness.
"Please stay on guard. There are some Shadows in the tunnel too," Fuuka warned as Minato batted it away with his
compendium. He kicked the Insidious Maya into the wall and let Yukari make the final blow through its mask.
Obviously, Minato would have time to mull over his quiet seething. "Convenient," he muttered. Yukari pulled the arrow
from the concrete.
As they walked, they observed tread marks in the ground. Thrums and vibrations came through, signalling that it was
some kind of vehiclea tank, from what the tracks indicated.
Remnants of weaponry were strewn across the floor in greater numbers than before. "Whoa... This place seems to have
been some kind of weapons depot. I've never seen so many weapons before..." Fuuka gasped. "All designed to kill... But,
I guess that's the reality of war... It's hard to believe that a time like that actually existed..."
His eyes shuttered. She made it sound like it had ended. People just chose not to pay attention.
"Akihiko. Shadow."
On cue, he planted his fist into rock-hard hide. It was a Justice Sword, about to swing its blade into him. Akihiko wrestled
against the strength of the Shadow, giving Minato an opportunity to hurl a Garula-using Shadow at it.
The wind tore into the Shadow's skin and blew it into the nearby wall, making groans of metal as it lifted itself from the
pile of artillery. With Minato recalling his Shadow, Aigis sped forward and grabbed the Shadow by its sword.
A thud rang through the room. It dissipated. "Enemy annihilated."
There was a brief moment of understanding between the four: be on guard.
Tunnels ahead had patches of steel sewn into the floor, with stitches of darkness making it difficult to discern the dust
filled throat. The occasional creaks and whirrs from working gears only served to make the atmosphere just that bit more
unnerving.
"Watch out! There's a Shadow spinning towards you!" Fuuka warned.
"What kind!?" Minato exclaimed, his eyes darting through the shadows.
The dark tornado came in a torrent. "A Wild Drive," she informed.
Oh. Those fuckers!
He could feel the air being disturbed by the Shadow's roaring. "Hug the left wall!" Minato experienced the same
shuddering the tunnel did ceaselessly. It wasn't aiming for them. It slammed into the walls and sent the trembling
impacts through the hall. "Akihiko!"
"Polydeuces!" In a flash, his Persona appeared with a bolt of lightning in hand. Crackling, it screamed when it was thrust
into the Shadow. Locks of metal and grinding shrieked when the Zionga hit home.

A blur shot into the Wild Drive with no chance of recovery. Brief blue paralysed the foe before ripping it apart into gore.
"What was that Shadow even doing...?" Yukari wondered to herself as Minato recalled his own.
"I do not know. But our main enemy is ahead. We must focus."
"You're right Aigis. The target has stopped. It's waiting in the next area. Be careful!" With that, the team moved ahead. The
darkness grew and grew, until it engulfed them and pulled them under.
They were thirty-three metres underground.
A set of yellow eyes stared at them, being the only things they could see in the darkness. "This explains the tread
marks... It's using the tank as armour!"
"A tank." Minato sighed. This was going so well. They could see, so well. "Scan."
"Roger that."
There was a surprising amount of space in the bunker, which the team began to spread out in. Golden sigils flashed on
the ground, triggering their reaction to dodge. The Hama spell splashed temporary illumination in the darkness, searing
in their memories the enemy's image. "Its Arcana is Justice..." Fuuka murmured. "Wait, it's Chariot? What the
"Why am I sensing two entities...? It doesn't make sense!"
The tank clanked into action, while a yellow blur shot towards him with a rain of bullets on Minato. "I see... there are two
parts to the Shadow. The bottom is the Chariot, while the turret is Justice!" Fuuka said. "You have to defeat both of them!
They don't have any weaknesses."
Easier said than done. Minato hissed in annoyance and dodged the line of shots. Or at least, two waves of the torrent.
The third hit home when he realised the turret had him trapped by the earlier assaults, leading him to switch his
Persona to minimise the damage. Still, the bullets burned into him until he found himself against the wall. "I thought
you'd be stronger than that! This should be easy then!" he heard the Shadow taunt.
"I'm hoping you're not serious..." Minato growled as he cast a Diarama spell to neutralise the pain, on guard for any more
attacks.
"You better catch me." Talkative for a full moon Shadow, wasn't it?
"Kishimaru, use Garudyne and knock it into the other Shadow," Minato whispered.
"You have to do better than that." Arcana Justice flung into close range before he could summon and slammed Minato
into the nearest wall. His wounds scorched under the Justice Shadow's smirk, making it difficult to concentrate on his
next action. "And all the others thought you were trouble! I'm not going to believe them now."
"Shut up!" he rasped, groping for his compendium.
"You're not going to win! You'll die here and together with our mother, we will be victorious!" the Shadow gloated. It still
had every bit of vigilance and swung its turret into Minato's dominant hand, knocking away the tome. Maybe it was just his
imagination, but a huge pain was evident in his arm, shooting fire as he tried to shift it.
Broken. Just his luck.
"You better catch me." Minato growled as the Justice Shadow flew for the book on the ground, comfortable in its tiny grip.
"Look out!" he yelled, catching the attention of his other three teammates. "Justice incoming!"
"Heehee. I wonder what this thing has inside" Arcana Justice seemed to smirk as it rifled through the pages, trying to
find the most devastating thing in the book.
"Get my book back!"
"Understood." Aigis leaped towards the Shadow. It wasn't expecting the next assailant and was swept through the air.
"Get outta the way, stupid robot!" the Justice Shadow screeched. The human members nearly flinched at the board
scratching wail, barely dodging the bullets it spewed. "You'll pay for that! Get 'em!"
Arcana Chariot responded to its master's calls and the other rushed towards Aigis so she'd move, forming the single

menace from before. "They've fused together again! Watch out!" Fuuka blurted out. With her Persona, she could feel their
merged strength. Independently, the two Shadows were bad, but together with combined power she could feel the
ripples of two cast stones.
"Not one of you will get out alive!" The Justice component roared and commanded its Chariot to the tunnel behind.
"What is it doing!?" Yukari shouted.
"It's going towards the tunnel, but..." Minato stopped short as he realised what the two Shadows were going for. They'd
thought the behaviour of the Wild Drive earlier was strange, but until now there wasn't a reason. "Stop it from shooting!"
Polydeuces, Aigis and a funnel of wind charged at the combined Shadow at his words. "Tch... Persona," Minato
muttered. He didn't like using Persona that much, but with his compendium gone, there wasn't much of a choice he
could make.
A purple haze fell on the Shadow, leading Akihiko's Persona to disappear with its job done. The Garula twisted into the
Chariot Shadow's side and Aigis bolted with a kick to knock the Justice and Chariot Shadows over. Master Justice
zoomed from the wreck with the metallic red angel, Power, on its tail.
"You can't stop me..." it growled, spraying Myriad arrows at the team to keep its pursuer in particular at bay. The tank
behind it groaned to action and further impeded them with a wild rush into the team.
"Is it aiming for the crack the Wild Drive made earlier?" Fuuka mumbled as Power threw its spear at Arcana Justice.
"Exactly," Minato forced through gritted teeth.
"This is your grave!" The Justice proclaimed as the spear zipped past its wingnot close enough. Bullets and bombs
pelted into the cracks.
What were they going to do?
"We can't be trapped in here!"
"I'm not going to listen to it..."
Minato bit his lip as Power picked up its weapon and thrust it towards Arcana Justice.
A loud rumble.
The Shadow was plunged into the ground with a bent turret by Power's attack. Surely that would've been long enough for
a collapse, but
"The structures of this facility are quite strong. It would need more impact to cause significant damage to the bunker,"
Aigis informed. "It is a military bunker after all, with reinforced walls and scaffolding to prevent collapse."
That Justice Shadow obviously found out the hard way.
"You've got to be kidding me!" it wailed as Minato's Persona wrenched his book from its grip. "Why didn't it work!? Why!?"
Arcana Justice sobbed into the ground.
With touch, Minato's compendium shrieked with sacrilegious whispers of murder, suicide and warped terror.
Everyone's vision spun as shadows, darker than night, palled the room. Pulled by their flesh and compressed into the
smallest space, the most accursed blessing warped their senses with scorched nerves.
"They've all disappeared, including the Shadows and our team!" Fuuka gasped, almost unable to process the influx of
power she'd felt. It was surely strong enough for even the combat-based Persona users to feel; the swamp of cold heat
that rushed through their systems. It was also nothing that she'd ever felt before.
Mitsuru had an idea.
"What happened?" Minato groaned.
"I... I'm not really sure myself," Pharos answered. "But I can tell you thisyou're in Tartarus."
"Tartarus!?"

"Yes. I believe that it might've had something to do with your compendium," he mused aloud. "But you better find those
Shadows and your... team. You need to get your compendium back too."
"Loving how you're putting my compendium on top priority."
"Yes, Mr. Anti-Social, your teammates are important." The greens of the Thebel block filled Minato's vision when his eyes
opened. Well, he had the intent of rolling his eyes at Pharos.
Thump!
"I better find it..." He hopped to his feet, immediately regretting that as his wounds from earlier hadn't been healed. With
that in mind, he cast a Diarama spell to wash his burning injuries and broken armalmost falling as another thump ran
through the floor.
"Hey, come here." Pharos's apparition beckoned Minato to the corner where he stood. There in the corridor he saw the
Chariot Shadow on the prowl. "I don't know where your friends are... the other ordeal is nearby too though. Be careful."
"...thanks Pharos." He disappeared, but not before pointing out the separated Justice Shadow the other direction,
sprawled and convulsing with ugly sobs on the ground. The compendium lay near it.
Thump! The Chariot ploughed into the nearest wall.
He ran towards Arcana Justice and picked up his compendium, who only howled further at its loss. "Hey."
"What!?"
"Come here." He remembered that he'd kept the rest of the full moon Shadows in that notepad of his. The Shadow faded
into pad after giving him a baleful look, secured within.
Thump!
Shadows were gathering near the larger rampant after hearing the beating of war drums. This was certainly not going to
be a walk in the park with all these Shadows around. He still had to deal with the Chariot Shadow too.
"Interesting friend you have."
A voice from behind loomed over Minato. "The Reaper?" he muttered to himself.
"I'd like it very much if you removed that Shadow from the premises. I'm afraid that it's damaging the labyrinth," it
whispered.
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
"I didn't say I was just going to leave it to you."
"Oh."
"And you're not alone."
"Hey! I found it!" Akihiko yelled, beckoning Yukari and Aigis to the room. Shadows were gathering there, seemingly drawn
to the Chariot Shadow's presence. He pulled up his Evoker and shot Polydeuces out of his skull, summoning a Mazio
spell on the Shadows.
Many of them burst into gore as they were cracked open by splits of blue-white light, spilling blackness on the battlefield.
Those that were left...?
"See that tank? Maul it. Kill it. Spill that goddamned ichor all across the floor because I'm afraid I'll be mopping up after
your own corpses."
Minato trembled as he cupped his hand to his mouth after commanding the lesser Shadows. They'd frozen to full
attention upon hearing his voice, hearing Death's stronger voice wash over their senses.
They drifted towards the Chariot Shadow, who began to charge against the oncoming sea of Shadows with a Swift Strike
attack. The treads smashed into flesh, staining the metal with night.
The Reaper chuckled as it floated from behind the corner, sending chills down everyone's spines (except for Aigis).

"We can't really be dealing with the Reaper too, can we!?" Yukari stammered as she summoned Io, firing a Garula blast
at the Chariot Shadow. She couldn't even fathom having to deal with a full moon Shadow and the Reaper too. Honestly,
Minato was thankful that no-one had to as well.
It chuckled and shot icy shrapnel from its revolvers at the Chariot Shadow. Cold spread from the shards and pinned it
against the nearest wall. "The Reaper appears to be assisting us for the moment," Aigis pointed out as she leaped out
to shoot Arcana Chariot. The bullets left shallow dents in the tank's armour with every satisfying 'clang'.
"Aim for its face!" Minato shouted as he wiped away some blood.
Its exposed, square face spun wildly as it struggled against the spears of ice, spewing poison gas against the waves of
incoming Shadows. Ice and fire shot into the Chariot, beginning to eat away at the hull and treads with heat and rapid
cooling.
"Can you do me a favour?"
"Whatever would that be?" the Reaper asked with a chuckle.
"I need you to scare them away for a moment. I'll handle the Chariot Shadow."
"...You shall repay me." It floated amongst the throng of shrilling Shadows, heading towards the team.
"Guys, just run! I can handle this guy!" Minato yelled.
"This isn't good..." Akihiko wasn't sure about leaving Minato alone, but with the Reaper coming towards them, he also
doubted he could argue with that.
"We'll go back around!" Yukari said as she started to run.
"Are you sure this is the action which will optimise our utility?"
"Yes."
Minato turned back towards the pierced Chariot Shadow. "Get in here!" he hissed, crunching his spiritual energy around
the thrashing beast. It wailed and forced itself off the wall, despite its now decrepit body.
The wounded roared and thrashed about in the crowd of Shadows, finally ridding it of those insects. After all, who
followed the orders of a human? Its glare fixed on Minato. He wouldn't even need words to figure out how that Shadow
was feeling; a feeling that needed to be quashed.
"Samael." Crimson bled from the air, arching back with flared wings towards the Chariot Shadow. Electricity steeped the
air as searing light formed in the snake's maw, coiling around the beast's throes.
It latched its jaws into the hull of the tank, holding onto the energy forming. Arcana Chariot's treads were strapped by
Samael's long body, with no way to defend itself from the Persona. The orb of light engulfed the Shadow's body and ate
away at the hull, dribbling light that nearly burned to look at.
"Get. In. Here." Minato again increased the pressure of his spiritual power, squeezing the Chariot's broken body into a
ball of blackened gore. The flesh of the Shadow warped into the notepad, sticking reluctantly to the spiral.
Silence. Breathing. Iron. He breathed out, suppressing his smirk. Today was done.
"You still owe me. Remember that."
"Friendly." Pharos chuckled as he appeared outside again. "You did well, Minato."
"Hope so." He held his hand up. The other grinned and met it with his. No-one would hear, but the impact seemed real.
"How're we getting out of here?" Pharos asked.
"We'll find the others and... get to an access point," he replied. It was getting harder to suppress his coughing and blood.
"Alright. Imagine if they found out what you did so that they wouldn't see you obtaining that Shadow though."
"How about I don't?"

Laughter ensued between the two.

AN: Sorry that it took so long (read: more than two months). I'm just happy to get it out of my system, so maybe the
rest of the fight is a bit rushed. Anyways, thanks for reading and hope you liked the chapter. Later.
(I renamed some of the chapter names, so maybe they're funnier.)

*Chapter 29*: Ritual of the Beast

TRIGGER WARNING: Self harm
A.K.A one of the reasons why this story is M-rated.
If you don't want to read anything of this nature, I suggest you turn back now.

Something was wrong when you thought 'I could cut myself with this' when you looked at a knife.
That was what he thought. He could do it with a razor. He could pick at his skin with the nearest toothpick or safety pin.
He could jump off the nearest building and experience his last bout of vertigo. He could drown himself. He could slowly
bleed out. He could overdose.
Something sharp. Something blunt. Something poisonous. Anything.
Pain would numb pain. It was also a decision he hadn't made up until then. Even though there was occasional
beckoning from his recesses, he ignored it and continued shivering in the shadows. He'd be alone with nothing else but
some brand-like words hammering at his brain.
He was hated.
He was a burden.
He was a curse.
It was her dark parts, so it had to be true. Hot tears ran down in the cold comfort. Well, they were honest, right? They
hadn't really lied, as far as he could tell. Then there was a mirthful chuckle that devolved into snotty sobs.
He took the razor near him. It was supposed to be for keeping away anything that wanted to attack him, but their work
was cut out for them.
Trembling clatters. The blade shook in his tiny hand. He held it against his forearm, just icy against his wrist. Gently.
Gliding across his skin. A deformed smile. He wouldn't even press hard enough.
Oh. A burn with a little blob of red split. A few more popped up. They split too. They fell apart. He shivered as he watched
the welt sneer with red teeth. Now, he wouldn't imagine himself without it.
About a centimetre away from the firstthe very first. A second. It's deeper this time. There's more red because he put
more pressure. A smirk climbed onto his face as he watched the blood spread like a virus across the milky paste of his
flesh.
At this rate, it would be him doing more damage than one of those monsters and he was totally fine with it.
What was happening? He felt like things were going to end. The green would disappear. He wished he could too. He hid
the razor under his bed. His aunt never checked there. No-one would find out. He just needed to wear something to
cover it
His heart pounded. Was it the hot air?
It was partly why Minato hated summer now. Things were so warm that trying to wear a coat or long-sleeved anything just
didn't work. No-one questioned him after a snark and a glare, but trying to survive the swelter in a jacket was hell. "Hey,
are you okay?" he heard Yukari say.
Of course it was her. He nodded and picked up his bag.
Minato was conscious of the itch that came from his wrist as he motioned towards it. When he finally found the ambition
that kept him going now, he'd gradually stopped cutting. Although the scars remained he'd almost forgotten about it.
He steeled his grasp and stood. "Are you alright? You seem more tired than usual."
Minato nodded slowly, forcing an impassive expression.
"Well... I'll see you at the dorm. Later." With that, Yukari left.

Did he have a compass with him? Or scissors? He didn't think he had a razor blade with him. There was probably
something under his bed though. He felt something cold in his hand.
Minato forced his feet to move. Sachiko wanted to meet with him and she was waiting for him at the shrine. He didn't
want to go.
...
She hated Cassandra.
No, she wasn't talking about a random idiot who got on her nerves from school or an equally random creep stranger
from outside; she meant that woman from Greek mythology whose predictions about the future were never believed
because of that curse Apollo put on her.
Okay, so maybe couldn't really blame the woman herself (rejecting a man's advances was a completely reasonable
thing to do, even if it wasn't encouraged during the period) but the frustration and sadness she felt must've been near
unimaginable.
That was not what Sachiko signed up to feel, especially as a detective.
Minato hadn't once contacted her since the last time they met. Not a word. Not even a text. What was more aggravating
was that she knew the reason.
At this point, she'd almost had enough of waiting and was going to confront him. If he didn't do it after that, Sachiko would
call someone herself.
She saw him drag his feet, even up the stairs. Sachiko could only assume that he wasn't looking forward to meeting with
her for exactly the reason she called him. "Hey."
Minato regarded her with a nod before stopping in front of her. He inclined his head.
"I was worried about you. Your arm's in a cast..."
That it was. His dominant hand was broken from the full moon Shadow fight. He nodded in response.
"But... you look okay. I'm glad." Sachiko smiled slightly.
He mirrored her expression for a moment. "But... you haven't called anyone yet, right?" Her words came slower.
Apprehension. His heart and stomach dropped.
Minato scrunched his brow and set his teeth. "I thought so." Here was what he wanted to avoid.
"Minato, seriously. Something is wrong and you're hurting." Sachiko gritted hers. If it was him, he'd know exactly what to
say. But she wasn't him and he was the one in trouble.
He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. The itch came back. "I'll do something about it... but not today."
"I'll call them myself if you don't do it the day after tomorrow, alright?" Sachiko sighed. "I gave you a month but..."
He looked to the ground. "Sorry." When was the last time he said that? He swore bile uprooted his mouth.
"It's fine..." She reached slowly towards him. Flinch. Sachiko looked up.
Shit. Minato bit his lip. "S-Sorry. I'm... not used to people touching me."
She retracted her hand."I should've asked."
"Even though I've done that to you already?" Minato smiled sheepishly.
"True enough, but you can't help and respect a person's boundaries sometimes."
"Anyways. I found some more information about the killings... I'll explain it from the start."
Nod.
"There are four perpetrators that are working with a group called Strega. They use Shadow Whispers to control large
groups of Shadows, which are then sent to feast on their target's mind. Because of the severity, the target ends up

getting killed.
"They often meet during the Dark Hour and I found out their names after some investigating," she explained.
"Their names?"
"Yeah. They're aged from sixteen to seventeen. Their leader is called Kishimaru Fukawa. The rest are Hide Naegi,
Mayumi Tanaka and Michiko Asahina."
"I know the first one."
"You do?" Sachiko's eyes widened.
"Kishimaru was my friend. But since I left Iwatodai before, I didn't know what happened to him."
She nodded slowly. "Well... they're killing... largely innocent people. What are you going to do?"
Minato shrugged. "I haven't thought about it yet."
"I wouldn't expect it. Honestly, I'm more concerned about you than them." Sachiko shook her head, leaving Minato to
wonder why. "Let's meet up here again in two days, alright?"
He nodded slowly.
"I'll see you later."
"Later." After glancing around at the empty surroundings, Minato pulled his sleeve up and cringed as he saw the rifts of
uneven skin itch on his wrist.
He was greeted at the dorm by none other than Koromaru. "Arf arf!" The dog nuzzled his leg, obviously happy to see him
with that wagging tail. Koromaru had finally healed and joined SEES' ranks a couple of days ago before summer school
started. It would be a while before they'd go to Tartarus with the injuries sustained from the last fight, but it would be
interesting to see how Koromaru did in battle.
"Hi, how was your day?" Fuuka asked.
Minato made a so-so motion with his hand. For once.
"That's good." She looked at her lap.
He inclined his head.
"O-Oh, nothing. I'm just thinking," she said quickly. Minato just looked on, waiting for her to answer. "I was thinking
about what happened two days ago."
"I don't know." There came a low grumble, which soon subsided. Hissing.
"I wonder if anyone else has an idea as to what happened" Fuuka tightened her fists. "I sorry, I'm happy that
everyone was safe, but it was so strange. All of a sudden, I couldn't detect your presences and I was"
"Scared?" Rumble Faint laughter.
"Yes. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. If that did somehow happen again or something similar, I want to be
prepared for it."
"Sorry." Was he? Again, he felt bile rising in his mouth.
"N-No, it's alright and you're sure you don't know?" Fuuka looked nervously.
Minato shook his head. It confused him as much as anybody else. But then again Shadows could manipulate time
and space. All of the Shadows that were in his compendium had disappeared, except for Sho and Kishimaru. The ones
in the notepad were separate, so they were fine too.
She nodded and he took it as his cue to leave. "I'm sorry Minato-kun."
He turned back with a sceptical expression. "I trust you and I should act like I do. I just I'm so confused. I'm sure
everyone else feels that way too."

"It's It's fine" he murmured. The thunder fell away.

Minato left at that, avoiding eye-contact with anyone else. He was pretty grateful that at the meeting Koromaru joined, the
main focus was on him and summer school rather than the crazy warp thing that happened during the full moon. There
was no doubt they'd be gathering more information about it.
He scrambled under his bed, groping at the luggage underneath. The bag was clawed open, books and frames spilling
from it.
"Minato"
"Pharos?"
"What are you doing?" he asked, floating near. His blood ran cold, but still he reached in. "Minato, I know what you're
doing. But why?"
"I'm just looking for it. I won't do anything." Trembling clatter.
"I remembered something about the end." Minato looked up at the solemn Pharos. "It won't be because of one person
but because there are many people that wish for it. I don't think that you think it's strange, do you?"
"Not at all." He gazed at the sheathed blade in his shaky hand. Euphoric rushes sped through him, like his breath.
"Minato, I'm just worried. You might have all the potential in the world to grow, but the opposite is true too. I don't want that
to happen to you," Pharos murmured.
There was only silence as he turned his eyes towards Pharos.
"I have one last thing I want to warn you about." He kneeled next to Minato. "Soon, the poisonous flowers will bloom; one
in your own garden and three in the garden opposite yours. I don't know whether or not this has anything to do with the
end, but you should be careful."
Minato nodded.
After a moment, Pharos said, "I'll contact you if I remember anything else." He disappeared.
Everything in his mind shrieked for him to put it away, but some monster in the background screwed up the words.
Clack. Clack. Clack clack clack. Clack.
The blade mesmerised him. It spoke dirty thoughts of ecstatic suffering when he looked at it. Minato pulled back his
sleeve. Sureness split the seams of healed scars. Darkness pooled. It streamed. One cut. Two cuts. Three cuts. Four.
He soon fell asleep.
"Minato-san. It is time for summer school."
"Go back to your room, Aigis." Minato sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"I will do as I am told." The robot soon left. He was dressed after struggling with his cast. Hopefully it would come off him
soon since having to deal with it was annoying. Everything ahead was a blur of heat.
It passed without incident, if you didn't count Edogawa's speeches on tarot. So it happened that Minato was having to
learn a minimal amount from the Velvet Room, but that didn't change tarot's irrelevance, compared to their *actual*
subjects. Get through summer school, he did.
In the hot night, he opened his notepad. Minato hadn't looked at the full moon Shadows, let alone used them. That was
probably a good thing considering how many people would flip if they knew some of the Shadows were still alive.
Why was he keeping them? Because he could use them and kill them all later if it was really that urgent.
Low growls. Did they hear what he was thinking? "Sociable," he whispered.
"Why the hell would we be 'sociable'?" It was the voice of the Justice Shadow. All the others seemed to lurk like creatures
in a devouring forest as they spoke.

"I don't know. Why are you talking to me?" Minato leaned back into his chair. If all of them were willing to talk (from past
encounters, he'd learned that they usually weren't) it wouldn't be bad to try and tame them.
"What is justice?" it boomed.
"Justice?"
"Did I stutter?" Snarky too.
"Hm" Minato sank in his chair. Edogawa's long-ass lectures might actually come in handy for once. "If there are two
people who need a certain amount of money, then both of them get the same, equal amount."
"Why would they get the same?"
"Because that is what we would call 'fair'. Being 'fair' is part of being an agent of justice."
"If that was all it was, I bet a lot of people would be called agents of justice. What is my name?"
Minato shrugged.
"Make one up."
"Masashi Seito."
"I have no idea what that means, but okay. Nice to meet you."
"Why aren't the others talking?" Minato asked.
"Because the Emperor's being a stubborn asshole and doesn't want us to talk to anyone. But I'm the fucking Justice
Arcana and I can do whatever I damn please." Masashi seemed to laugh. Minato could only imagine him smirking.
"Alrighty then. I'm Minato Arisato."
"I know. We all know you."
He furrowed his brow. "I've never met you before I fought with any of you."
"That's where you might be wrong."
The next day, Sachiko called him to an appointment. It looked as if she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and was dragged
along to a behavioural health education specialist, along with a therapist.
There were so many tests and questions that he was surprised he didn't rip any of them up. Make some drawings, have
some more quizzes. At least the later ones weren't four-hundred questions long.
At the end of the day, he let Sachiko give him a hug.

AN: Sorry, but I wasn't going to get out another chapter if I didn't write about this. Uh... thanks for reading, if you did,
and hope you enjoyed it.
If it confused you because there weren't any line breaks... good. It's supposed to be confusing.

*Chapter 30*: His Remaining Sanity

Movement was unknown.
He didn't know how to return the hug, having forgotten how to do so. Minato was just comforted in the softer sunlight,
Minato breathed out. Now that he was a bit more aware, he wondered whether the thing that he saw and felt was real.
"You wouldn't even let me touch your hand earlier." Sachiko sighed as she rubbed his back. "Why is it different now?"
she asked, hesitant to move.
His eyes darted to the ground. "My hands are a special case," he murmured. Sachiko moved from him and he felt hollow
absence where she should've been. Minato shook his head and pulled back the sleeves of his blazer. "Almost anywhere
else is okay."
She looked at her hand for a moment, then back to his as he pulled the scars out of sight. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Minato rubbed the back of his head, watching as Sachiko bit her lip. "You didn't know."
"Still." She looked at the ground, silently realising how much sense it made. Of course he would flinch away from the
places he was scarred.
"You're the first one that I've told."
"What?"
He waited as she recomposed herself. "Do you trust me that much?"
Minato paused, searching her eyes. "I guess I do."
"Wow..." Sachiko ran her hand through her hair.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No... I'm just... kinda glad, I think." She smiled slightly.
"Can I tell you something?" he murmured.
Sachiko blinked. "O-Of course."
"Just... thanks, I think." Minato smiled brokenly, the rarity soon fading.
"It's fine. I was worried about you, so I just... did it, I guess." She nodded slowly. That smile of his didn't go unnoticed. "I
haven't seen you smile in a long time."
The pit in his stomach deepened. He could count on his fingers the amount of times that he'd actually smiled into the
year. About five or six times. "It's hard to."
How could she respond? Sachiko only gave a slow nod. "I just..." She clenched her fists. "I don't know. I don't know how I
should deal withno, I don't know exactly how to help you."
Minato bit his lip and looked at the ground. Was it right to ask? He whispered, only just loud enough for her to hear: "Can
you hug me again?"
"Minato..." Sachiko wrapped her arms around him. "Of course." How did it end up that just the thought of giving someone
a small physical action could make them happy? That couldn't be right.
People were supposed to be happy because they were passing in school. They just bought a new game and couldn't
wait to play it. They were happy watching movies with their friends. To be so deprived of all of it that just giving a hug
could make them feel the safest and most comforted felt so wrong.
Then, they think it's fake. "I'm sorry." He slowly returned it. They felt the need to be sorry and disapproving of everything
they asked for, said, or did. It was like having your own security camera which shouted down insults at you.
"You don't have to be sorry. You will be okay, alright?" she said quietly. "I'll be there for you, okay?"
Minato closed his eyes. Something inside him doubted. Maybe he didn't want it. He could hear that something loud and

clear. "Promise?"
"Promise." Sachiko sighed to herself. "Want to get something to eat?"
"Okay."
"Yes. Let's go." He didn't miss how her face lit up at that mention, even though she assumed calmness afterwards.
"What are you waiting for?"
"I'm not." Minato began to walk, however slowly, then paused and held out his hand. She was surprised and hesitantly
took it, noticing how he tightened his grip around hers.
Sachiko let him as the two walked in a comfortable silence. When they entered the shop, it was early evening and the
smell washed over their senses.
It all passed slowly, Minato beginning to smile just a little more as they talked.
So when it came to the time they had to part ways, a hole in the shape of her was gouged out where she had been. It
was so wrongly misplaced and he was awake in his bed, wanting it all back.
"The Dark Hour's coming soon," Pharos murmured.
"I know." Minato squeezed his eyes shut.
"Hey..." He appeared at Minato's side and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. It seemed Pharos already knew why he
wouldn't be touched at his hands or legs. "Minato, it's okay to cry."
"I don't want to. I'm not supposed to fucking cry." He felt the absence grow in his chest, like his lungs had been ripped
out. It was like he couldn't breathe.
Pharos sighed. He could feel it too, although to a lesser extent. "Pharos... Are you real?" The words were lightning.
He took a moment before answering, "I am, Minato. I know some things don't seem to be, but I am."
"Okay." Pharos grimaced as he saw him drift off to sleep. Of course he was. Minato wouldn't be sure. "I don't want it to be
gone..." he murmured, almost sure it would be.
Within a day, she'd shown him and stolen something: something irrevocable; something important.
...
"Fuuka-chan, have you seen Minato-kun?" Yukari asked as she walked into the lobby.
"I haven't seen him come back yet. Why?"
"I'm just... wondering. He's been leaving class kinda early nowadays and it's strange," she said.
Junpei yawned as he came down for some instant ramen. Never hurt while he was playing Innocent Sin Online. "I
wouldn't know... I'm not in your class," Fuuka replied.
"What're you guys talking about?" Junpei asked as he found the food in question.
Yukari looked over at him. "Oh. Uh... I was just asking about Minato," she replied slowly, bracing for a response.
"Never thought you'd be so interested in him, Yuka-tan," he said, stopping to pause.
"I mean... it might just be me, but Minato's been really quiet."
"Minato-senpai?" It was Ken. "I've seen him. He usually only greets whoever is occupying the lounge before going
straight upstairs if he's here early."
"Ken-kun! How do you know that?" Fuuka asked.
Koromaru barked as he approached Ken. "Well, I hear him pass by my room in the evening. It's hard to miss," he
shrugged. "Koromaru's also seen him, right boy?"
"Arf!" he affirmed.

"Koromaru says that he often sees Minato-san with someone, holding hands outside," Aigis informed. The words she
spoke only became more incredulous as she went on. It started with 'often' to 'someone' to well 'holding hands
outside'.
"Who?" Yukari blinked. "You aren't being serious, are you Aigis?"
"I am only relaying what Koromaru has observed."
...
Usually, it was Sachiko that invited Minato out somewhere. He would be happy to go along with her, so long as they were
close together the whole time.
"I feel like something sweet today" she murmured. "You don't mind going to the sweet shop, do you?"
He raised an eyebrow. If she said that... "I want to try the brownie you had last time, so yeah."
"Oh yeah... I forgot you didn't have any the last time." Sachiko nodded to herself, unable to hide the smirk on her face.
"Shut up."
"Make me."
Minato just sighed and went ahead, while Sachiko caught up with him. "Hey, uh... you don't mind going out with me all
the time? If it's too much trouble, then"
"It's fine. If you're having a bit of fun, then it's fine." She smiled.
He gazed back warily. Well, at this point she wasn't expecting him to believe her. "If you say so."
"Hey... why is it that you don't believe me?"
Minato bit his lip and took a few moments before replying, "I used to trust people with this. I thought my aunt... I thought I
could trust her. But she hates me."
"But why not? I think you're a good person," Sachiko murmured.
He smiled wryly. "I guess she thought I was a burden. And if there's someone that I like or care about who thinks the
same way, I don't want them to."
"I don't believe that you're a burden, okay?"
He sighed, straining to smile. "Thanks."
"It's fine."
Minato nodded ever so slightly. Right. Sachiko wasn't like his aunt. "And..." She looked towards him. "I made a mistake."
"A mistake?"
"The Shadow whispers. I wanted to use them on my uncle." Sachiko hid her incredulous look. "I'd used them before for
Kishimaru, my friend. And it worked.
"I wanted to use them on my uncle because I found out that my aunt didn't like me some time ago. I wanted to see
whether he felt the same." Minato kept his face blank as he thought. "He did."
"Him too..."
"I became scared and angry after that. I think I said something... and I felt like the Shadow had grown so much stronger,"
he murmured. "The next day, we found him dead in a noose."
Sachiko didn't seem sure how to respond then. How could she think of anything to say after finding that out? "And I think
after that, my aunt started blaming me for it. I'm sure it's true too."
She breathed out as she processed the information. It was an accident. "You aren't going to run?"
"No... I'm just taking it in. It isn't exactly something you hear every day."

Truthfully, his heart was pounding. "And it doesn't change the fact that I'm going to be there for you."
He couldn't even think of an expression on his face. The last time that he told anyone anything like this they became
scared of him. Granted, he didn't tell Yukari properly, but... Minato couldn't help the smile he had. "Hey, you're smiling."
Minato blinked. "I am?"
"You're so funny sometimes." She laughed, mirroring his.
They arrived at the sweet shop shortly after, eating their food over small talk. He found that he laughed just a little more,
especially as she started telling him about some smaller cases that she'd taken on.
Who knew people would go to detectives so they could find a cat who stole their underwear? Maybe it was because they
weren't taking Sachiko seriously, but it was still funny.
In the end, they came to part ways in front of the dorm.
"Um... thanks for today," Minato said quietly.
"It's fine. It was fun... and I'm happy that you trust me more." She smiled back.
He felt his heart pounding again and heat suffusing his face. "I... I have to tell you something."
"What is it?"
...
"Arf arf!" Koromaru ran over to the doors, seemingly catching Minato's scent beyond them. There was another person
there too.
"Is that Minato-senpai?" Ken asked, joining the dog.
Their shadows were partly visible; one taller, one shorter.
...
"I..." Minato sighed and shook his head. "Okay maybe this wasn't a good idea."
"You've already started and my curiosity isn't going to go away, okay?" Sachiko's laugh faded into a sigh.
"I um... I like you."
Sachiko blinked. This was nothing she'd expected to hear. "You do?"
He nodded.
"I... I like you too."
"You do?" he said slowly.
"Yeah..."
Minato bent a little and Sachiko, seeming to catch on, pressed her lips to his.
For a moment, he felt like everything would be alright. He couldn't ask for anything more. It didn't take long for their
awkward first kiss to break but he immediately felt its absence.
"Uh... I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.
"Y-Yeah. I'll see you later." With that, she went, having taken both his heart and another important something.
He slowly made his way to his room, saying brief greetings as he, the Myrmecoleon stalked past.
In there, he wanted her near. Sachiko had to fill the hollow absence. Now closer and the closest he'd ever been to
someone, she'd made off with it, even if she didn't know.
Pharos and Minato knew. Even with that knowledge, he'd starve.

AN: By the way, do you really believe this is going to end well?
I guess I might not have mentioned this before, but this story is very personal to me. Things are going to get even
tougher from here.
I am currently editing the chapters of Whispers, since they've been bothering me. Please go check them out, if for
the newer, more epic fights and some extra scenes which might shed a little more darkness on what's going on.
I'm also going to edit the Author Notes from before so that they're much shorter, but I'll try to address any major
questions that came up in the reviews.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

*Chapter 31*: Black Spots

She'd never hated butterflies more.
Minato hadn't done more than fuse a few Personas, but Elizabeth couldn't help but think there was something wrong with
him; more than usual. "Is there anything else?" she asked.
"Requests."
Elizabeth complied and handed him a thin book. Most of the requests were filled in aside from the current Tartarus
requests. "These three." Those that he resolved to take.
"Please complete them as soon as possible."
He nodded in response and stood to leave, about to step out when
"Be careful and cautious."
"Okay."
Elizabeth sighed with his exit. "Your master's ways may lead to more harm than good," she whispered. She never knew
someone could love so aggressively, but suffer so violently as a result. Bonds with others were supposed to make the
people involved stronger, but when he established a meaningful bond with someone else, it became more of a
detriment rather than an improvement.
"It is making him stronger and I do sense your concern He has the choice of treading a road of pain, or one of regret,"
Igor murmured, opening his eyes. "It will be a question of what he chooses to bear."
"He should tread neither." Elizabeth shook her head. "I thought having a bond would help, but only the opposite is true."
He stifled a chuckle and flipped a set of cards left on his table. "The Tower Death, and the Lovers, all in the upright
position," Igor intoned. "A disaster leading to renewal, which will then lead to a choice"
Elizabeth's eyes flickered. "Fate is indeed, a cruel mistress."

Why'd she say that?

"Hey." Minato looked up at the voice and smiled ever so slightly. "Why'd you call me out here?" Sachiko asked, walking
closer. She couldn't help but mirror his expression. He always seemed to perk up whenever they met.
He rubbed the back of his head. "Do you w-want to come with me to the festival?" Minato asked, trying to hide his
stammering. To be honest, he didn't have many good memories about festivals since he'd never been taken to one,
aside from the times his parents did. Those were all blurs. "Y-You don't have to i-it's just I dunno I"
"It's okay, Minato!" Sachiko exclaimed, barely stopping the words tumbling from his mouth. "Of course we can go."
Minato laughed nervously, trying to think of what to say next. He'd only steeled himself for rejection, after all. "O-Oh okay.
You don't have to be fancy I just" Want to be with you. This time, the words died without his doing.
"I can't tell whether you're trying to use reverse psychology on me, but I'll see what I feel like." She smiled, calming him.
"Alright." He breathed out. "Sorry I'm always really awkward," Minato mumbled.
"I know you are." Sachiko reassured. "It's" Fine. "Kinda cute."
"Cute?" He blinked. "How's that cute?"
"Hm" Well, she didn't mean to say that. "I suppose it's because I don't know. It just is." Her logic just failed her
miserably there. "Long story short, I like it, okay? I guess it's because it means to me that you're being sincere." Only after
trying to use her logic and go with what she felt did she find the reason? This was complicated
Minato nodded slowly. "I-I guess uh" Yeah. "Okay," he said lamely.
"Is there anyone around?" she whispered.

"I don't think so" Minato whispered back as he looked around the shrine. Empty. Koromaru would be at the dorm and
people rarely went there except for maybe Ken. He was at the dorm too.
"I don't think so either." Sachiko cursed inwardly. She wasn't used to this. Was she supposed to be?
He hummed softly and held out his hand, waiting as she took hold of it. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."
"Yeah, that might be a good idea." She sighed and tried to calm herself down. Too bad her blood didn't agree.
Technically they'd already known each other for half a year. This couldn't be wrong, could it? There wasn't really anything
running through her mind that told her it would be a bad idea.
Besides, she doubted Minato was in this just for some meagre physical attraction.
"Where do you want to go?"
"How about I lead the way?"
"Alright."
The lone cats wandered down, wary of their watchers. It was only late afternoon then, but they felt evening approaching
without a clock. It cooled traces of their presences in clear darkness. "Isn't this?"
Minato somehow recognised the streetlamps and shining buildings. "Yes, it is," Sachiko answered. "Unless you don't
want to go?"
"No. I'm just" Surprised. "Yeah Are you sure it'll be okay with your parents though?"
"If they care, they'll have to deal with it," she replied. "I don't believe they're home anyways."
"If you say so."
"Indeed." Their paces sped onto the shadow of her house. She nimbly led the way with key in hand, stopping to take off
her shoes in the vestibule. Sachiko waited for a moment as Minato did the same.
"It's not that impressive, is it?" Sachiko asked as Minato gazed upon the surroundings. If the mats and paper sliding
doors were any indication, the house was fairly old.
"I'm just not used to it," he replied.
"It doesn't surprise me. More and more people have apartments or modern styles. Anyways" She grasped Minato's
hand once more without pausing, weaving through the maze of sliding doors and wood. "We changed some parts of the
house so the rooms could actually be locked though," Sachiko murmured.
This time, the door swung open.
It seemed to be safe in the room. Minato stood at the door until Sachiko beckoned him to the nearby desk. "You like TV
Tropes too?"
"I might come off serious, but I'm not that serious, am I?" She laughed as Minato blinked.
"N-No." He rubbed the back of his head. "But still I" Was this a good idea?
"Well I trust you," Sachiko murmured. "I also don't know what you want to do."
"I don't want to do much."
"What do you mean by that?" She tilted her head.
Breathe, Minato. She fell silent as she felt his arms wrapping around her waist. "Can I kiss you?" he murmured against
her ear.
"You dork"Sachiko's small laugh faded, as with a moment, he brushed his lips against hers. She could faintly feel his
breath, warm as it clung to her skin. Minato couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched, although it was the two of
them. Perhaps that kept him from going further. "Close your eyes."
As he did so, she wrapped her arms around his neck, coaxing him just that bit nearer. Even then, he seemed shy or

hesitant.
"Is that any better?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair.
"Yeah. I'm just I've only done this once before," Minato murmured, somehow finding comfort in how she lingered on the
apparent softness.
"I get it. But if you don't, you won't know how."
His heart fluttered in the cage of his chest as he weaved another, connection. Sachiko seemed to respond in kind,
spinning it tighter and tighter. The bird seemed to soar higher and higher, seeming to enjoy a freedom which they'd
never felt before.
An intake of soft air mixed, mingled, thready traces of her scent. Wind was picking up against his stony resolve. If it
wasn't that strong, Minato could've crumbled before it, but as it was well
He also didn't want her to hate him for that.
Minato breathed out, finally breaking the kiss and opening his eyes. Were they always that blue? "Why'd you stop?"
"Did you like it?"
Sachiko glanced at the floor, then back to his eyes. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't."
A slight smile. "I'm glad." Truthfully, he was more than glad and he was even happier that he was.
"I'm glad you are." She turned her gaze to the window, where amber light slipped in. "What's the time?"
"Not sure." Could it stop there? Minato sighed inwardly and let go of Sachiko, already starting to miss her warmth. If only.
"It's six" She returned to him and into his arms. "There's still time, isn't there?"
It wouldn't be enough. "Yeah," he murmured. "I want time to stop."
Sachiko wasn't sure whether she could bring herself to say a snarky remark about how cheesy he was being. "I want to
be with you all the time too." He tightened his grip a little. She sighed inwardly and led him to the bed, motioning to lie
down.
He was glad that she didn't know the meaning of that statement. Next to each other, so close, just sleeping against the
grain of the worldit was a moment only matched by when their lips touched.
Minato hoped she was unknowing of how badly he seemed to be addicted to her presence. It wasn't even some
possessive lust he felt. It was only how he needed her to be there and how she was there when he wanted to do nothing
more but get revenge and die for it straight after.
Being wrapped up in a sweet dream turned reality, he could wish it would never end. But he knew it would. Because
'time never waits'.
The presence she'd gouged out whenever they were apart became deeper every time, but filling it in also became more
of a relief.
Somehow, he didn't want Sachiko to know what he thought about her. Minato wasn't sure he had the courage to say it
then. It was more than a 'like'; it was a kind of twisted love. The kind that had the qualities of a stimulating drug and the
after effects of a depressant pumped into his chest. The kind that would relapse into suffocation of fake waterthe kind
you could breathe in, but made you sick when you tried to surface again.
After this, he wasn't sure he'd ever want to leave her. She'd get tired of him, he was sure. Just like the rest. That only
welled up tears as he thought. Her back was against his chest, so she couldn't tell. He held her just a bit tighter.
Light dimmed and violet streamed into his vision as the sun went down, down, down Sachiko hadn't moved. The
rhythm of her breathing was all that was left.
However, he could feel her getting cool even through her clothes. "Hey, are you okay?" Minato heard the words tremble
as they crawled out his mouth.
There was no response, but a sort of deafening silence that hammered at his ears. They hit hard and fast against them.

Or was it his heart racing? He couldn't tell. Oh, but this was it. That was what he was going for.
There was an attempt to shake her awake, but even when her body moved, Minato didn't see the rise and fall of her
chest. She was gone. Just like the rest.
"Minato!"
He wasn't asleep. Sachiko was the one shaking him. He blinked in confusion, his heart still pounding like the beat of a
death knell. "Oh" That wasn't real.
"You scared me" she murmured, trying to hide her sobs.
Minato blinked in confusion, his heart still pounding like the beat of a death knell. "What did I do?"
"Y-You were" How the hell could she say this thing aloud?
Her hand lingered around her neck. "I'm sorry" for whatever he did.
"No, it's fine. It's kinda late," Sachiko said as she observed the surroundings out the window. "Do you need to go back
to the dorm?"
His stomach sank and his chest began to cave in. "I think so," Minato agreed slowly.
"Alright. I'll see you at the summer festival, okay?"
"Okay."
He left soon after, trudging his way, dragging his feet and missing her already. There was some niggling feeling at the
back of his mind wondering what had made her so agitated like she was, but it was quickly being numbed by
overpowering longing.
There had been at least two hours which they slept in, but somehow there was no rest. He could make out now some
kind of dark voice grinning close to him like a monkey strapped to his back. Was it then the progenitor of murderous
thoughts, feasting on his troubles as if to satiate a sick hunger for misfortune and violence?
The thoughts slipped his mind, especially as he came closer to the dorm. It was more a large, rectangular cell at this
point. He'd be running free, but he had to come back. Always.
"Hi, how was your day?"
"Hello!"
"Greetings."
"Arf arf!"
He pursed his lips before answering, "Alright."
"Minato-senpai" Ken approached hesitantly. "We'd been noticing that you've been coming back to the dorm at a later
time than usual. We were wondering why. Just out of curiosity."
He raised an eyebrow before saying, "Is it anyone's business?" Minato questioned, as calmly as he could. It wasn't like
he was looking to get angry at someone.
"Arf arf arf!" Koromaru circled around Minato's legs, wagging his tail all the while.
"Koromaru-san says that you have found a mate."
"Boof."
"He also refers to the person that you part ways with before you come into the dorm."
"A mate?" Minato stared blankly at the dog. What even, Koromaru? He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Guys,
I'm sorry I hang out with people, but you don't need to rub the fact that you have more friends than I do in my face."
"Oh Minato-kun! We didn't mean to offend you," Fuuka apologised hastily. "Everyone's just been curious. You don't really
talk to anyone once you come into the dorm, so we never know what you might be doing"

"Okay, but I bet everyone also wants to know who that person is, right?" Junpei came downstairs to get some instant
ramen, it seemed.
Minato just sighed and walked slowly past him as the other made his way to the kitchen.
"Well do you have any idea, Junpei-san?" Ken asked.
"Actually, maybe! I've seen him hanging out with" The voice trailed away as Minato neared his room.

She lingered near her neck as she slept.

Her eyes fluttered open, her heart still pounding like the beat of a death knell.

AN: Sorry if this chapter is crappy... I kinda just threw the words onto here. I promise I'll edit it when I get the chance,
but right now if there are any errors or things that don't make sense, you might just have to deal with them.
As a collective thing, thanks for the kind words, everyone. Things will only get worse for Minato as the story goes on,
in ways that you probably won't expect. I hope you look forward to what's up ahead.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter. Later.

*Chapter 32*: Muted Regards

'Take a deep breath, deep breath.'
Grey eyes met grey eyes, blinking together in unison as they watched their chests heave. It was his idea in the first place,
but that didn't mean he couldn't be nervous. His tightened lungs felt weighty and he couldn't stop looking for air which
didn't seem in abundance.
He shook his head like a wet dog and pulled a shirt on. "C'mon You can do this It's just her," Minato reminded his
reflection over and over again. It was an unfortunate temperature that day, especially since it was in the middle of the
summer. How could he hide his cuts?
Now, before his first date, he regretted the welts along the length of his armespecially the ones around his wrist. They
chafed the most since it was irritation upon irritation, skin upon skin. Growling to himself, he removed a roll of bandages
from a cabinet, wrapped it and fixed it around his fingers. If he did it on both arms, would it be less noticeable?
Pause. Sigh.
Screw it. Screw it, screw it, screw it
Maybe it was his anxiousness getting the better of him, but as he retrieved his belongings and shoved them into his
jeans, he read Sachiko's messages five, ten, twenty times, reassuring himself that he wasn't going to be late.
The whole situation was making his brain run laps double time, even though it should've and probably would've been a
simple affair. Clapping his hands over his cheeks, he headed out. Apparently the others were making similar
preparations to go to the shrine, so Minato was more than grateful not to be seen as he headed out.
Well, that was except for Koromaru, who looked like he was also waiting for someone. Maybe Ken.
He gave a bark in goodbye as Minato headed out the doors. "Right, see ya," he murmured to Koromaru. The dog could
hear that, right?
He didn't give it much more thought before he was on the road to Naganaki Shrine. There was a river of people, entering
and exiting in waves of blues, pinks and reds. Many people, even the children, came dressed in yukata, hair done up and
maybe carrying lanterns or umbrellas.
A few minutes later, he reached it, deciding to take a vantage point from near the top of the stair entrance. Hopefully it
would make it easier to spot Sachiko from there, especially since there was a lot more people. Usually it was the odd
elderly person coming to pay respects there, but the festive spirit was in full force.
Minato checked his watch. 5:51 PM. He was early. He figured that maybe he'd been too anxious about it, which was why
he went when he did. Were people this stressed on their first dates?
He sure hoped he could get used to it, because the pressure he felt on him, especially on his chest, was more than
overwhelming. His heartbeat simply wouldn't calm down. He breathed in and out deeply, hoping to quell it.
His stomach felt sick, tossing and turning within him. Minato had never realised how nervous he was until then. Quick!
What were they going to do on the date?
The train of thought halted, coming to a slow.
He was now very aware of the pressing around his head, dully aching with thought. It wasn't working. has stopped
working.
Muttering and berating his head for skipping out on important thinking time, Minato squeezed his eyes shut, barred his
teeth and concentrated on waiting everything out. He almost lost count of how many times he looked at his watch and
swept his line of sight across the ocean of colours.
That was until he saw lavender faintly in the sunlit sea. If his heart was pounding out of nervousness before, it was
fluttering now.
Dammit. He had to get back on track. They were pretty much just going to go around the shrine stalls, play some games,
get some snacks, some souvenirs sounded good too and you know, pay respects at the shrine
On that thought, he bit his lip and recalled it; mottled and frayed by time, he recalled the last tanabata festival that he'd

gone to: Autumnal notes playing about the trees; His aunt, in dark blue
"What're you thinking about?"
Minato turned towards the source of the voice, broken from his reverie. Sachiko, to put it in one word, looked dainty.
Dressed in a deep red yukata accentuated by pink floral patterns depicting sakura branches and faintly lit by what he
thought was makeup, he was at a loss for words. "I-I Nothing, just thinking about uh the last time that I went to a
festival. It's been a while," Minato admitted.
She smiled slightly. He'd be surprised if he didn't go into cardiac arrest at least once that day. "I haven't been to one in a
while, either. New Year's greetings don't really count, do they?" Sachiko inclined her head and his eyes were drawn,
fixated on the way her hair and the ornaments decorating it swayed. It was normally down and he was more than
interested to know how her hair was put up.
He rubbed the back of his head. "Not really," he replied. "U-Um You look uh pr-beautiful." Minato's voice almost
completely died by the time he got to the end of his sentence. What a time to mess up. He sighed, looking down at the
floor to hide his flushed face.
Her eyebrow arched slightly, but it seemed that she managed to catch what Minato was saying. "It was really nothing,"
Sachiko replied easily. She took his right hand. "But I'm glad you like it."
His eyes met hers, surprised by the sudden contact. For a moment, his mind lingered on the warmth of her hand
wrapped around his. Minato hoped it was just the delirious summer heat, but it was likely his embarrassment getting to
him. He nodded, not really knowing what the gesture itself meant, or if it really had any meaning by this point.
The thoughts went from their holding hands to his bandaged left arm. He was glad that she hadn't asked about it yet, if
she'd noticed. Knowing her, she probably had. "Um Anyways, l-let's go Anywhere you wanted to go first?"
Sachiko seemed surprised as well. The way he carried himself now reminded her that Minato wasn't defined by his
unconscious actions. For that moment, the small fear she had was dashed. "Not off the top of my head I guess we can
go to the bell first and if I see anything that catches my eye, I'll let you know?"
"Y-Yeah, that's fine." They took their time towards the heart of the shrine. It was there that the stream of people thickened.
Minato tried suppressing the way his blood ran cold at the swarm in front, but not enough, clearly, as he couldn't resist
his sharp intake of breath.
She squeezed his hand lightly. "Hey, try this."
Minato felt a solid something get shoved into his latter one. It was a white kitsune mask with red markings forming
eyebrows and around the eyes and mouth. He put it on. His breaths were trapped within it, warmth clinging to his face.
"You look cute with it on." Sachiko couldn't see his surprise until he took the mask off. "I think it suits you."
He inclined his head, deciding to wear the kitsune mask and push it to the side. "Why's that?"
She furrowed her brow. "To be honest, I don't really know why. I'm at a loss," Sachiko admitted.
"Well Thanks, anyways." Cute? He rubbed the back of his head. Never a compliment he thought he'd receive,
especially from her.
As the two of them approached the bell, Minato put on his mask, realising somethingsomething striking. Peering
through the crowd, he just held onto Sachiko's hand and eventually waded through, even as they bowed near the
towering torii gates.
The mask gave him an odd safety. Whether it was on purpose or not, it was something of a lifeline. Unable to see his
face, his expressions, everyone else just saw a guy with a mask getting into the festive spirit. He thought he heard,
'mum, may I have one of those?' in the background.
"Boom bow, strike a pose!" Pharos called excitedly. "Wow! I've never been to one of these before. You call these festivals,
do you not?" he asked, lingering around Minato's shoulder like a youkai.
"Mmhm," he answered quietly.
Traditional shrine manners were carried out: cleansing with water (Minato elected to pour it over his bandages),
offerings, bowing

Gentle chimes resonated with the rustling of leaves and the scent of summer wind. Closing his eyes, Minato realised he
was at a loss as to what to pray for.
How long would this god wait for him? He doubted that if he didn't think of it, that the god would answer inaudible
prayers. He'd removed his mask, feeling conscious of some unknown stares he thought were fixated upon him.
Conscious of the grip no longer on his hand.
What did he want?
Deep breath, deep breath.
After, the two of them headed back towards the stalls in fragile silence.
Pharos hummed a tune. It sounded like a certain Jeopardy song.
Minato frowned. "Boo."
She jumped a little. "Holy crap" Sachiko stared at him, who'd now donned the kitsune mask. What the hell kind of
expression did he have behind that?
"S-Sorry," he spluttered, taking the mask off. "It was just kind of q-quiet so"
Sachiko blinked at his meek apology. "No, I get it" She sighed softly, making him flinch. Exasperation? Exhaustion?
What was that sigh? "Well, there's at least one reason why that mask suits you now."
As he blinked in confusion, the grip she held grew just a little tighter and she rubbed the centre of his palm. Minato
wished he could explain why he felt a little calmer, but immediately had that thought dashed as he felt Sachiko pressing
into his arm with hers. He spluttered.
She laughed. "Come on. Where to?" Minato suppressed a whine as he realised very quickly that he had no idea what he
wanted to do next. Wasn't that just the question of the day? Sachiko chuckled, shaking her head. "Okay, okay, I'll choose."
Minato breathed out a sigh of relief. "Sorry" he murmured.
When they came to a ball drawing game, he ended up picking out a prize. The both of them were definitely surprised, as
was the vendor. Minato was given a Jack Frost Doll. Where did these things even come from? He gave it to her. "You
don't want it?" she asked.
"Games aren't really my thing."
Huh. Sachiko wouldn't have pegged that on her own. "Why's that?"
He just shrugged. "I just don't find a lot of them fun. I ended up playing a lot of instruments instead," Minato spoke quietly.
The two of them moved towards the bench near the jungle gym. "Like?"
"Hm Piano, bass, drums I can sing a bit, but I u-usually mess up the words." Sitting down there, he smiled ever so
slightly. "My favourite is the electric guitar though. Have I told you about how I'm a huge metal head?"
"I don't believe so." Sachiko didn't remember Minato ever talking this much about something that he liked. You learned
something new everything, she supposed. "Which came first: the metal or the guitar?"
Minato chuckled nervously. Perhaps he'd started to realise that fact. "Uh I heard this song called 'Remember
Tomorrow' by Iron Maiden? I didn't know what they were saying but after that I wanted to learn how to play guitar. They're
kinda my favourite band."
She nodded. "I believe I'll have to look up their music later today. And sometime, you'll have to show me your skills."
"Maybe I mean I dunno The dorm policies and stuff" he trailed off.
"Mm. But we can figure it out later," Sachiko reassured. She squeezed his hand and leaned lightly on his shoulder,
asking a silent request. Truthfully, she felt uneasy still, but he'd reaffirmed something. He really shouldn't be a person to
be afraid of.
Leaning back into the seat, she experimented with her weight. Sachiko was now aware of his growing warmth and the
light, minty notes about him. Oddly comforting, tainted by a certain foreboding. "Hey I wanted to ask something" she

murmured.
He gave a low hum in response.
"What's up with those bandages you're wearing?" Sachiko asked.
His blood ran cold. How could he possibly explain that? The pit in his stomach was well and truly formed. "Just
Shadows."
The hesitation gave it away. She frowned.
Goddammit! Why did she care?! How could he think of it the way he did now? His pulse raced as he thought of any other
way to respond. He didn't often lie straight up to get people away from himhe did it by acting as if he didn't care and
acting annoyed at them.
But she knew that he did.
Breaths grew more desperate. "Minato"
"I don't want to say," he replied weakly.
To be responsible for his greatest happiness and his greatest sadnessa persisting sadness that hit harder against
his chest; led him to inflict pain on himself to forget.
Thinking it through, she knew that he probably wouldn't divulge the 'why' behind it all. Sachiko sighed deeply. Dammit,
she wanted to know! "Sorry. Maybe later," he murmured.
"You better. Don't do that again. You get hurt enough from fighting the Shadows and everything else." She bit her lip,
thinking of him in his cast.
He'd laid off the cutting before. For a while. "I won't." He could do it for longer, right?
She closed her eyes, nearly falling asleep on his shoulder. "Okay."

The summer was delirious.

The Japanese ones were the kind you needed a bit of air conditioning to survive in, otherwise the sun just beat the sweat
out of you. "Man, it's scorching how out here," Junpei muttered to himself, checking his phone. He grimaced at the
featured date. "Shoot, it's already the 20th. Summer break's almost over Too bad there's nothin' to do."
He sighed to himself and caught a glimpse. A glimpse of a doll-like girl sitting near some flowers, with blood red hair
and contrasting pale skin, mirage clothing, drawing something of equally mysterious nature. The gothic style she wore
was far from unnoticeable.
Something about her drew him closer.
"Get out of my way. I can't see Move."
Harsh. "Uh Sorry." Junpei moved to one side.
"What do you want?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Uh, nothing. My bad." It probably wouldn't be tactful to just say that she stood out. Walking to just beyond earshot, he
muttered, "Dude, what's with that outfit? It's like almost thirty degrees. And what the hell is she drawing? Man, I'll
never understand art. Oh, well" To aircon.

Edited: 04/02/16
AN: Same rules: Expect things to go wrong; watch out for Sachiko and Minato; and watch out for Junpei and Chidori.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter.

*Chapter 33*: You're Feather Swan!

How often was it that a seventeen year old guy went to the coffee shop to buy hot chocolate?
Minato still felt like a bit of a child. He'd never had the stomach for coffee, even though a long black's colour and taste
matched his dispositiondark and bitter. Like his soul. He snorted to himself. Plus ten edge points.
He felt like he needed to unwind a little bit after things had gone down at the dorm.
A little moustache of milk formed above his upper lip.
Minato recalled that someone told him to drink milk so he'd get taller. He recently told that to Ken as well, who said that
he'd been drinking a lot of it, even though he didn't like it.
Ikutsuki had told everyone in a meeting that Ken was joining their team as a member of SEES. Even so, the general
outcry among the newer members was starting to drown in the relaxing caf atmosphere.
It could only be complete with rain.
Of course, many objected because Ken was most obviously a child, or at least, younger than all of the current members
of SEES, Koromaru and Aigis notwithstanding. Minato wished that he could feel anything more than just some passing
concern at Ken's apparent resolve to join them.
Actually, he was leaning towards encouraging Ken more than discouraging him and telling him to think about it some
more. Let an eleven or twelve year old kid start their daily doses of angst early, you know?
Those edge points were going up fast these past few days.
Minato promised already that he'd come clean for Sachiko so to compensate, he'd been making a lot more 'edgy'
comments from the sidelines.
If his team mates and classmates were getting annoyed at it, he certainly wasn't noticing, especially since it was
normally Aigis, Akihiko and Koromaru that he took along.
He realised that he was really favouring those three. Sure, he'd taken along Ken for a test run since then to get some
practice with his spear and with summoning his oddly shaped Persona, Nemesis, but he'd been making less of an
effort to include members that he knew he didn't like as much.
It was irresponsible on his part. Maybe he could do something about it.
Speaking of oddly shaped, Nemesis kinda looked like a buzz saw and Ken, while having a rather weak attack, was quite
agile and surprisingly enough, lucky. Nemesis' latter forms of offense depended on managing to trap the opposing
Shadows with Hama-based skills.
Minato had avoided using his Shadows as much as possible, mostly because he hadn't explained why he was different
to the others to Ken yet. Maybe he could do that the next day, when he came back from school.

Truthfully, Minato still felt like he was in a daze as he returned. The odd calmness he felt as he drifted through the day
managed to last from the previous night.
He was surprised himself that he didn't forget what he promised to himself the night before. He was even more
surprised because he was going to commit to this course of action.
"Hello!" Ken called rather enthusiastically as Minato walked in. Ah, but the mood didn't last for long. "Have you noticed?
Those people'The Lost' They've been increasing I wish there was something I could do."
Minato rubbed the back of his head. Maybe it was just because he was a child, but Minato hadn't gone out of his way to
make a bad impression of himself for the kid. "We should soon," he said, barely loud enough to hear.
Ken was miles more confident when talking to Akihiko, since he idolised the way that he fought in boxing matches so
skilfully, and had been on a long winning streak since he started participating in tournaments. It went something like,
'You haven't lost a match yet!'

That was what he said, right? He couldn't remember completely.

"Yeah." The stoic, distant Minato, was much harder to talk to, and that was taking Junpei's apparent enthusiasm around
the boy into consideration. It was hard for him to get a word in. "Uh, is there something that you wanted to talk about,
Arisato-senpai?"
"It's just Minato," he replied almost immediately, making Ken's cheeks flush.
"S-Sorry. I just thought" Minato rubbed the back of his head. "You didn't have too much trouble dealing with the
Shadows at Tartarus, did you?"
Ken frowned a little. "Of course. It wasn't difficult, especially with Aigis-san and Akihiko-senpai helping," he replied.
Minato inclined his head. "That's good." He hummed in thought. "It's just I figured I should tell you why I didn't help that
much. I just ordered everyone around, didn't I?"
He nodded slowly, but let Minato continue after saying, "I was wondering why you were doing that. I thought it was just so
I could get used to working in that team dynamic, but now that I think about it, Minato-senpai, you mostly took on
opponents using hand-to-hand combat, didn't you?"
The kid caught on quickly. "Well, what you said is partially true." Minato was a little impressed by Ken's precociousness,
although he would understand if it got a bit annoying later on. For the most part, he seemed to have Junpei stumped on
some subjects (although Minato hesitated to call it an achievement considering his already lacklustre mental capacity)
and at times, even surprised Yukari and Fuuka.
"I have two powers which are unique to me: one of them is Persona related, but I" Minato searched for his words. "I
don't like using Personas that much."
Ken's eyes widened. "If you don't use Personas, then how do you fight them?"
"The thing is" Minato bit his lip. He hoped that Ken would have a better response to this. It certainly seemed that
Koromaru didn't care, anyways. "I use Shadows to help me fight."
The familiar mix of confusion, fear and mistrust flickered in Ken's eyes.
"I don't think it would've been a good idea just using them on the first night, I guess," Minato tried to explain. Ken
frowned as he processed the information.
"But if you're saying that, Minato-senpai Even if those reasons are true" Ken paused. "If you didn't want to show it to
me first even though it seems to be your main means of attack The others don't approve of you using that power?" His
gears were turning quickly. He had to trust his senpai, who was now telling him about this ability and the reasons why he
hadn't used them, but Ken couldn't exactly help the unease that was forming in his chest.
After all, wasn't it those Shadows that killed his mother?
Minato sighed. "It's something I just want to bury at this point" Ken seemed to gather that perhaps this had been
happening for a while, but no-one could stop him from using Shadows when they might've been of some use. "My
Shadows won't attack you unless I say so, just like a Persona."
Just like a Persona?
Those words stuck out for some reason. Comparing what appeared to be untamed, violent entities that certainly had
every enmity for humans, let alone Persona users, to, the so familiar power of Persona and all the euphoria that
accompanied itKen found it a bit odd.
"I have no choice but to trust you, Minato-senpai," Ken spoke aloud, "And I guess I will." Minato raised an eyebrow. "I
don't have a reason to mistrust you yet," he reasoned.
He chuckled. "Smart."
"And besides," Minato raised an eyebrow, "Koromaru-san seems to trust you quite a bit still, even though you use the
Shadows."
He laughed a little. "Trusting the dog, huh?"
Koromaru ran over to join the two of them, wagging his tail excitedly. "Mmhm. I think he wants to go on a walk," Ken said

with a laugh, giving him a pat on the head. Koromaru gave some more excited whines, before nuzzling Minato's leg.
Minato was hesitant to suggest walking together, partially because he didn't exactly feel energetic enough to want to and
partially because he wasn't used to going with another person when he walked with Koromaru. He gripped his phone in
his pocket. In fact
"Wanna come with me?"
Ken smiled slightly as he hopped off the couch. "Uh" It seemed he was surprised that his normally quiet senpai was
the one to suggest. "Okay Minato-senpai. Let's go then!"
Undoubtedly, after some minutes of walking, Koromaru would head towards the shrine at a steady pace.
Minato and Ken followed the shiba-inu together, the former silently sending a text to a certain detective to meet at
Naganaki shrine. "Um Ken-kun, you seem to be really interested in Akihiko-senpai and his boxing. Why's that?"
"Eh? Um" Ken thought for a moment. "W-Well, Akihiko-senpai's winning streak has made him really popular even at
my school He's a really skilled fighter and I've heard he manages to keep that up while he's studying"
He stifled a chuckle at Ken's stuttering. It was like he was trying to suppress his own excitement at his senpai's
coolness, at least, battle-wise, but Minato decided not to press it. "Is that so?" he thought aloud. "Hm, alright. I guess
he's cool, because of that?"
"C-Cool?" Ken tried to laugh it off. "N-No, he just reminds me of a sen-TV series protagonist w-who, along with his team,
fights evil and t-they never lose. K-Kinda like Akihiko-senpai?"
Minato really couldn't suppress his laugh that time. "Phoenix Ranger Featherman R?" He smiled slightly. He'd seen a
few episodes of it when he was relaxing in the lobby on Sundays. "I didn't think you would be a sentai fan."
"I-I'm not! It's really childish and" Ken shook his head as he trailed off.
"I watch a bit of it. It's not really my thing though." Minato rubbed the back of his head.
"Y-Yeah, you see? I bet that no-one in the dorm really watches that kind of stuff, right?"
"Junpei probably does."
"He doesn't count." Ouch. Minato couldn't help but chuckle at Ken's impression of the capped teen.
He thought for a moment. "I don't really watch Phoenix Ranger, but I do like watching Bakugan, Yugioh-5Ds,
Dragonball" Minato said, rattling off names of some popular anime that Ken would probably recognise. He was a bit of
a K-ON fan. Not that he'd say that he was into slice of life genre. Ever. Especially one full of moe girls. He was low
enough on manliness points already.
Ken's eyes widened. "I-I never thought Minato-senpai would watch those kinds of things either" he mumbled.
It seemed he was able to break the ice a bit. "Well, it's fine to watch that stuff. Doesn't mean you aren't mature," Minato
said, barely above whispers.
Koromaru gave some happy barks as well, seeming to agree with Minato's assessment. "You too?" Ken rubbed the
back of his head as the three of them continued to the shrine.
It took a few minutes more until they finally reached the shrine and Ken went off to play with the dog around the jungle
gym. Minato reached the bench that Sachiko and he sat on during the summer festival, unbothered by the girl waiting
near it.
"Why did you want me to come?" Sachiko asked with folded arms.
Minato's lips upturned ever so slightly. "I haven't" He chewed his lip as he thought of what he meant to say, "talked to
you for a while now, since you were really worried about me."
Her eyes widened as she registered his thought. "Are you sure?" They shuttered as Sachiko thought about what her
Shadow might say.
If there was anything that Minato knew, it was that Shadows changed, and evolved, and devolved, just like Personas
could grow in power. Finding those changes and accepting them wasn't always easy.

And Sachiko, having her inner, although darker feelings revealed to Minato, was hesitant to want to try it again. Her
situation with her family hadn't changed much, although her mother had become a little more accepting of her.
Her situation with Minato, however, had.
It had taken a truly unexpected turn.
Koromaru barked when he saw Sachiko, seemingly remembering her from a long time agowasn't it that time that blue
hair was showing the girl in a blue dress the treasures of the shrine? He could recognise her because of the light,
lavender fragrance, tainted with iron, which came from the girl.
"Koromaru-san?" Ken of course, caught up with Koromaru as he approached Sachiko. He immediately straightened
when he saw another senior with Minatoshe oozed a strange air of calm assurance and authority.
It reminded him of Feather Swan, the blue member of the rangerstheir tactician.
"What do you mean I'm like Feather Swan?" Sachiko rubbed the back of her head. It seemed Ken had said his thought
aloud. "Um I guess I'm kinda smart but"
Minato really couldn't help but laugh, making Ken splutter a sort of cobbled together explanation to answer Sachiko. "I
dunno. I think Sachiko's more of a Magical Detective Loveline than Feather Swan," he said, making Sachiko flush with
embarrassment.
"What do you mean?! I-I'm not into magical girl anime" she exclaimed.
And both of them were blushing. Minato rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I just said that because my friend, Sachiko
Kagami, is a detective."
"A-A detective?" Ken said with widened eyes. "Like Detective C" He stopped midsentence. His childish nature could
not be revealed! Shounen was reviled! Sentai was childish! Tengen Toppa Guren Lagann was cool and stupid!
Something like that?
"Like Detective Conan, yeah," Minato agreed.
"Close enough," Sachiko said, running her hand through her hair.
"'Case Closed', you mean?"
She punched Minato's shoulder, making him rub the spot in mock pain. "S-Still that's pretty cool, um Kagami-senpai,
i-if that's really true."
"It's just Sachiko," she muttered, resisting giving Minato a deadpan. "But it is true, I suppose."
Koromaru seemed to bark in agreement, as if to tell them that she most definitely wasn't lying. "Wow what kind of
cases do you solve?"
Thus, Minato and Koromaru watched the two of them discuss Sachiko's missing cat cases, thefts and missing persons.
He couldn't suppress a smile as Sachiko got more and more into telling Ken about all the things she'd done that year.
"W-What are you smirking at?"
Minato shrugged. "I told you. Detectives are cool."

AN: F-Filler? I'm actually really nervous since I haven't written Whispers in a very long time. I hope it's okay? I'm just
getting back into the swing of things... Haha... Happy new year and hope you enjoyed it? Yeah. I apologise for all the
anime references this chapter. L-Later. :')

*Chapter 34*: In the Blink of an Eye

A sigh.
Junpei thought to himself. "Man, this year's going fast. It's already second semester. Next year, I'll be a senior"
The summer dragged on his shoulders. New arrivals from Aigis, Koromaru and Ken hadn't weighed on his mind as
much as the heat did. At the beginning of the year, he never would have imagined that he could get into SEES with all the
adventure, vigilante antics and heroism that he was getting.
But who was he kidding? When it came to Minato dramas, Junpei knew that even with his usually confident and
optimistic outlook, he wasn't filling a niche in the group, especially since Minato had been leaving out many of the
members when it came to Tartarus explorations.
He was of course leader, Fuuka was their navigator, no-one could say anything bad about Koromaru, Mitsuru was of
course keeping the team together, was a powerful as hell spell caster and was unofficial leader, even over Minato,
Yukari was a more than reliable healer, Akihiko, with his boxing skill and practiced fighting style could fill in any kind of
offense they needed, Ken was quick and even though he was just a kid, was a jack of all trades offensive and healing
member and Aigis She was more than a force to be reckoned with, especially when she chose to use Orgia mode.
He shook his head. Probably just needed to unwind a little bit. "Huh? That girl"
It was that redhead, white and striking, like a China doll.
His legs, without protest, led him over to her. "You again?" she intoned.
"Uh, w-well... I mean, I'm surprised you remember me." Junpei laughed a little.
The girl narrowed her gaze and after a moment she said, although heavily, "Same here."
"Y-You do kinda stand out in that dress." She paid no mind to his statement and continued drawing. "So what are you
drawing?" Junpei asked. Since his last meeting with her, he'd only held a brief conversation with her, he recalled.
"Nothing. Why?"
The words cut through his intentions. She likely had no plans to ever show him her fleeting creations. "Uh, no reason I
was just thinking, it must be nice to have something you're really into." What was he into? Video games and doujins? It
seemed more pitiful the more he thought about it.
She paused. "It's no big deal I only draw because I like to." The soft scratches of her pencil resumed.
What was it like to have something that you were really passionate about? Junpei hid his grimace. "Oh yeah?" It was
getting hotter by the minute. How could she stand the heat in her dress? "Still, I'd like to see it when you're done."
As Junpei left the scene, the girl bored her gaze into the back of his head, thoughts and ideas humming in her mind.
He sighed as he continued to Book-On. Air conditioning, manga and the opportunity to take a nap undisturbed didn't
sound too bad.
The pebble he kicked skittered across the floor. Minato came back to mind. Right. He wasn't anything. Junpei clenched
his fists. There was a saying that 'any publicity is good publicity'. He couldn't feel it to be truer than in Minato's case now.
Although he'd managed to earn the utter distrust of SEES, with a few exceptions, he was still able to maintain his
position as leader because well It wasn't anyone else's fault that he seemed to be most up to the task.
Underneath everything that misfortune had thrown at him so far, he somehow managed to keep calm and lead them
through the field with a combination of intelligence and skill honed over prior years of experience. Sure, he didn't have a
distinct fighting style like Akihiko-senpai or Mitsuru-senpai, but the compendium he had and his reflexes managed to
get him through a lot of things, fighting style or no.
Junpei knew that he could never be like Minato. It was near impossible. No-one had the experience or skillset that he
offered. Someone who could use Personas, switch between a selection of different ones, continually get stronger ones
and use strong Shadows at the same time? That didn't happen.
Not normally, anyways.

He recognised the feeling and the hate that he felt towards Minato because Junpei felt inferior to him. The transfer
student, that despite never wishing to garner the attention that he did, sometimes had to push past an adoring or
disapproving entourage, when Junpei just had to earn his with a couple of cheap laughs and perverted jokes.
The chance of becoming something more than that, squandered because of Minato.
Junpei's care towards someone he hadn't even met before contrasted with the months of anger towards Minato. They'd
certainly had their spats.
So, should he stop?
He was reasonably nice when he wanted to be. Junpei hadn't been blind to how buddy-buddy he was becoming with
Ken, recommending him all kinds of manga, TV and anime series when he came back from school.
Sometimes, he'd talk briefly with Fuuka-chan and they never seemed to be at each other's throats. Not that it was really
possible to get overly angry at the girl. Junpei couldn't, at least.
Minato was even non-threatening around Yukari, having somehow earned a small, but mutual trust.
And Koromaru? Well, everyone got along with Koromaru.
Ever since a month ago, he'd found a real reason to hate Minato.
Sort of.
He was charmed, at least, and he destroyed everyone else despite their efforts to stand against his power.
No. Junpei knew who he should've been angry at.
Was it too late to be forgiven? Could he bring himself to be forgiven?
His fists clenched ever tighter in his pockets as he walked to Book-On.

"Hey, Fuuka-san."
She could recognise that soft, almost whisper from a mile away now. Okay, maybe not literally with his volume, but
Minato had been talking to her more often. Sometimes he even looked like he had a vague half-smile, but that was just
on occasion in the summer holidays. "Yes, Minato-kun?"
Fuuka had even gotten used to talking to him that really, he was stammering more than she used to. She sighed
inwardly. It was an uncomfortable amount of stammering. Despite that, he was almost always straight to the point.
"Everyone's good to go to Tartarus today, right?"
"Mmhm. Everyone's well. But there might be a few more accidents than usual, so you'll have to be careful," she warned.
He nodded before leaving the building.
Just like then. "Wonder where he's going after saying that we're going to Tartarus," Yukari wondered aloud.
"Do you remember Sachiko-san?" Fuuka asked.
She thought for a moment. Oh. It was that time when that lavender-haired girl was telling them about where Minato had
gone when he was truanting for the day. She and Junpei were getting riled up about it while they were in the hallway,
causing a fuss. "Yeah, a little bit," she replied.
Fuuka's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she thought. "W-Well, I'm not entirely sure, but Minato seems to be
spending a lot of time with her lately. I think yeah, about the time of the summer festival, he was fussing about with his
clothes and later, he came back with a kitsune mask and he looked really happy," she tried to explain.
Her eyes widened. "Really? Happy? I dunno about you Fuuka-chan, but He's not really the happy type, isn't he?" Yukari
asked. "He's usually anything b ut happy, you know?"
"I know But he has been smiling a lot more. I don't think he's done that a lot before," she replied, now very much
conscious of how much work she wasn't doing on her laptop. Ah well.

Some many minutes later, Junpei hobbled back in from the heat, adjusting his cap. "Oh, how was your day, Junpei-kun?"
Fuuka asked.
"Uh, fine, I guess." His head was still in a whirl. Was it thinking about his choices, the girl or the nap? Probably a
combination of all three.
Yukari raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you? You seem a little more out of it than usual."
He frowned, giving her narrowed eyes. Sigh. "Not the time." Her eyes widened. It was rare to see Junpei so serious,
especially when she couldn't take her teasing. "Look it's just where's Minato?"
Fuuka pursed her lips. "Um, he just went out. I think he should be back soon now" Where was it that he went? It was
probably Paulownia Mall, to gather some items and equipment.
Junpei suppressed his growl and slumped over onto one of the unoccupied couches. "Right"
She let out a sigh. "Junpei, seriously, what's wrong? You don't look fine," Yukari said, letting more caring tones seep into
her voice. Yes, she teased him for the reaction, but he was still a sort of begrudging friend. She'd known him for more
than a year now.
"Look, I'll be fine. I just need to talk to him," he replied, trying to bite back the mix of irritation and frustration rising up in
the back of his throat like acid and bile.
"What about?" Fuuka asked warily. She had no desire for this to turn into a fight or argument. It had escalated that far
once before and who knew if it would happen again?
Creaking, like a discordant anthem.
Minato swung the door open, holding onto a plastic bag that seemed to be full of bandages and medicinal supplies.
Maybe there were some Traesto gems scattered about in the supplies he'd amassed for their Tartarus run that night.
He stood in the gaze of the larger than normal company like a deer in headlights.
Junpei stood, with Minato beginning to inch his way towards the stairwell. He wanted to ask a 'what' and why everyone
was staring at him, making his stomach and heart run at a million miles a minute. Previously, at least content with how
he'd been feeling for that week with no-one questioning what he was doing or why he'd felt so damn content, he didn't
want anybody to ruin the perhaps false sense of security that had partially lifted his burden.
Of SEES. Having no target for his anger. The fear and anger he felt at their mistrust.
"Minato, wait." Junpei's expression was stone.
The words awakened a hair trigger. No, if he was going to just shout at him for how jealous he was and how great his
power was and how he wanted to take his place, he wanted no part of it. He was ready to bolt, adrenaline pumping,
humming under the surface of his skin through his veins.
"Junpei" Yukari bit her lip and Fuuka found words were able to escape hers to prevent whatever might happen from
escalating any further.
"I think I think it's time to settle things." Minato clenched his teeth. "Or at least try and start. Maybe. I guess"
Junpei's mind raced as he thought of anything more comforting to say than whatever train wreck he'd started off with. "II've been a dick to you. Maybeno, who am I kidding Definitely, unfairly. And uh that isn't right."
The thoughts of that afternoon settled in the pit of his stomach, making it churn as the remaining hate he felt was thrown
against its lining. "W-Why."
"Why? Because I know it! I've realised it. I hate you just because you're better than me. I'm jealous of all that shit that
you can do, and that you're leader. And it's been getting to me."
His question sounded nothing like one. Minato felt conflict simmering under the surface. He could forgive him. He
sounded sincere. But something at the back of his head told him: no. It was a lie. He was probably just doing it because
someone told him to apologise. He didn't mean it.
They could not trust each other.
Sudden, the rush for someone to hold on to and tell him what was right and wrong was so strong. What was he

thinking? How could he know that he was genuine?

Minato was silent as he thought, his eyes darting about the room as he felt the stares, the oh-so expectant stares
piercing and stabbing into him, like knives. Knives. The knives. Heat rose in his head. "R-Really." His voice came out
with a lot less strength than he'd intended and without the intonation too.
"Y-Yeah, really!" Junpei never even wanted to check with Yukari or Fuuka, who looked on the situation, dumbfounded.
How elaborate could his lie get? His Personas were shouting at him, especially the one of Sati, telling him that
everything Junpei spoke right now was truer than truth itself. Minato's grip on the bag softened. Think, rationally. Just like
she always managed to do. "Y-You're sorry? Really?"
Junpei gulped. How could he still be like that? He was throwing every bit of feeling that he had at him. "Yeah. Minato, I'm
sorry for being a dick to you. And I'm sorry that I thought that you were a completely bad guy. I'm You're not really like
that. I just" He wanted something to fight for. Maybe he wouldn't realise just what for. He wanted to be the best, to fit in,
to be recognised for what he and his effort could achieve.
Minato furrowed his brow as he concentrated. Of course, he felt the familiar sensations of Io and Lucia's presence,
guarding Yukari and Fuuka respectively, like a solid brick wall to his whispers and probing. But Junpei, still having
Hermes' presence, felt less guarded. Like he and his Persona were in complete synchronisation. Yes, protecting. But
empowering. It was odd. He'd never felt anything like this.
"Junpei, I want to say that I forgive you, just like that," Minato finally said, stumbling and pausing with every second or third
word.
He chewed on his lip. Was he serious?!
"So" He frowned as he formulated a further response. "I will accept your apology."
Tension fluttered in Junpei's chest.
"B-But you'll have to earn your keep on the team again. If you act up again" Minato's eyebrows knitted together, and
his grey gaze stuck to Junpei, promising that he'd never bring him to another Tartarus expedition if he could damn well
help it.
"Got it. I'll show you what I can do," he said, the beginnings of a grin making its way onto his face.
Minato nodded, however hesitantly as he ascended to his room, his mind and feelings in a whirl. The dark voice he
heard had subsided. It was just his common sense pulling through.
His door closed quietly behind him and he took out the notepad kept on his desk, intending to have a little session with
Arcana Justice.
He knew Junpei at least well enough that whatever he said he probably meant it. Minato had chosen to give him the
benefit of the doubt. It was probably good enough payback after the things that he'd done to him before.
Recollection of that Saturday in the alley, and the fight he'd gotten into with him and Akihiko flickered at the edge of his
memory.
Yeah. Best he could do was let him prove what he'd said.

Junpei fell back with relief onto the back of the sofa. "D-Dude"
"Junpei I didn't think you'd do that." He shot Yukari a glare as if saying, 'as if doing it in front of you two made it any
easier!' She just smiled slightly. "No, no, I think it's I think it's awfully mature of you. What made you change your
mind?"
His eyes shuttered as he saw that Yukari meant no harm. He was probably getting too paranoid after all of that thought.
Minato was too hard to figure out sometimes and talking to him felt like there was a dud grenade that could engulf
everyone in the blast radius, if it was nudged too hard in the wrong direction.
"I guess maybe it was because of that girl I met?" he mumbled to himself, not loud enough for the two girls to hear.
There was something about her. "I-It was probably just the heat making uh the thoughts come to mind, uh, you know?"

He struggled to think of a better excuse than that.

"W-Well, Junpei-kun, I'm really glad that you two might be able to patch things up a little I just hope Mitsuru-senpai and
Akihiko-senpai feel the same way," Fuuka said with a bout of nervous laughter.
The other two laughed along as well. How could they possibly fix anything to do with Mitsuru?
Akihiko was doable; after all, Minato seemed to tolerate him and was allowing him along on the Tartarus explorations.
He was pretty selective about his members now. Maybe he could spread it to the rest of the team now.
Maybe they could really work together?

"Have you noticed that there are more Lost hanging around?"
Kishimaru sighed, watching his breath turn to mist in the cold of the Dark Hour.
His other team members talked in the background. There was almost no chance of them being attacked by Shadows
thanks to their abilities. Even if there was a Shadow which they weren't taming coming to attack them, the ones that were
would listen to their commands easily.
"Yeah! They're everywhere! I thought their numbers were supposed to go down when those big, funny Shadows were
killed." She looked around at the ground. "Well, aren't they? I thought so. I'm not pegging this wrong, am I? Am I?"
"Yoko, you're fine." The tall, dark teen gave a sigh. He wasn't used to dealing with Yoko, despite all the months he'd spent
with the group so far.
Yoko looked at each of them, demanding an explanation. "What if they're not actually killing them?" the girl with
lavender highlights spoke aloud. "Remember that other Shadow Whisperer. You said his name was Minato Arisato,
right, Kishimaru?"
He turned towards Shina. "Yeah. If I'm right, Takaya's kinda keen on having Minato join us. Said there was something
about him which made him feel different."
"What, you mean he doesn't feel dead inside because of them meeting?!" Yoko exclaimed.
Hakori sighed once again. "You sound like you're shipping them together or something."
"Am not!"
Shina couldn't help but laugh a little, but Yoko just rolled her eyes. Hakori shrugged and turned to Kishimaru. "Are we
going to try persuading him?"
He kicked the wall with the back of his heel. "Tomorrow. They're going to Tartarus tonight."

Sachiko almost tried to let out the breath which she didn't remember she was holding in and scooted from the area as
fast as she could without alerting those she was listening to.
They were targeting Minato, huh?
Her fists tightened, her gloves clutching at her tensed skin.
She'd have to warn him as soon as possible. Sure, the people at SEES mostly seemed like a bunch of blockheads the
last time she spoke to them, but they weren't inherently badjust bad at dealing with Minato. "Just stay safe, you dork"
Sachiko hoped to herself.

"Okay then" Minato muttered to himself as Akihiko sidestepped a Ziodyne.

Sweat trickled down his temple. It could've been worse; he decided to bring Mitsuru along and his team consisted of
Akihiko, Mitsuru and Junpei, since the latter was eager to prove himself. He wasn't so much of a dick to disregard what
he himself said earlier.

Mitsuru was doing pretty well, knocking them down with some Bufula attacks whenever she was given the chance.
He decided to test out his newest ally.
"Vile Assault that sorry son of a bitch!" he called in whispers. A metallic, winged blur slammed into the downed Arcane
Turret, creating the most satisfying grinding noises as his Shadow mercilessly dug into and filled it with lead, despite its
apparent resistance towards Piercing attacks. And every other type of Physical attack category.
Almost as soon as it was done, it was recalled to his notepad, not wanting the others to see or recognise just whom
he'd used to attack their enemy.
"Not bad, Masashi," Minato whispered with a satisfied grin as the now wrecked Arcane Turret dissolved into ichor.
Arcana Justice cackled wildly. "These weak-ass suckers need more lead in them!"

AN: Oh my gosh guys, thanks for the support! I'm so glad that the same people from before are back and reading,
and a big merry hello to any new readers!
I decided to include as much hi-jinx with the supporting characters as I could for this chapter and even revealed the
names of the baddie Shadow Whispers... and don't worry about Elizabeth; she'll make an appearance next chapter
along with the bad Shadow Whisperers, which will be the lead-up to the Hermit battle (and Shinjiro's joining SEES so
yay!). :D
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter and later!

*Chapter 35*: Alternate Current

Smirking.
It wasn't an out of place occurrence for Minato. There were more times that he felt cocky or confident than he felt really
happy. "Masashi-san, I don't really want to keep all of you in this notepad. I'm sure that you and maybe the others might
feel happier if I actually temporarily unleashed you in battle."
"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind. I don't think the others are that keen," he replied in whispers, as usual.
He hadn't thought of commanding the full moon Shadows which they'd been defending Iwatodai from until he
encountered Arcana Justice. So of course, when he'd thought of it, he had to at least try persuading itno, himto help
fight other Shadows. "Which ones might want to fight with me?"
Masashi scoffed. "You say 'with', but you really mean 'for', don't you?" Minato knew differently, but waited for him to
continue before saying anything. "I'm quite sure that the Empress couldn't give a shit about you. She doesn't give a shit
about anyone, actually.
"And well, both the Hierophant and Lovers Arcana are in here too," he noted. "Otherwise, the rest you've killed them,
haven't you?"
Minato flinched at the mention of the Lovers Arcana. He wasn't using that piece of shit if he could help it. "I guess I could
tolerate the Hierophant, but Arcana Lovers won't see a wink of use," he replied easily, grabbing a tissue from nearby and
using it to soak up some of the blood dribbling from his lips.
"Oh yeah, I figured. Arcana Lovers said that the last time they messed with you, you absolutely tried tearing it and the
place it was in, to shreds," Masashi said smugly. "Arcana Chariot probably won't mind, since they love teaming up with
me. But otherwise, those are your choices."
He nodded to himself. "You, Chariot and Hierophant then."
Masashi grunted in acknowledgement. A surge of power flowed through Minato, mad and erratic through his veins. It
built in pressure, waiting to burst from the seams of his skin, bubbling dangerously beneath it.
It was far from unpleasant.
His muscles were charged with an antipode of energy and fatigue. "Masashi. I mean what I said."
"What do you mean?" He took on a tone of contempt, as if he couldn't be wrong.
Minato breathed out as the high faded, wondering just what it meant. It felt strangely similar to the energy he felt when he
was spending time with Sachiko, or the brief times that SEES seemed to agree on something. And when he was
hanging out with Fuuka, he felt a faint trickle of that sensation too.
It was almost the samemore evident, stronger and pleasant.
He smiled slightly. "You're fighting with me. This isn't slavery. I have my most powerful Shadows with names and
personalities because they agreed to fight with me and protect me out of their own free will," Minato reasoned as he
thought about Kishimaru and Sho. They were probably his closest Shadows and the ones he used most often.
"I'm flattered, Minato-kun," Kishimaru spoke from the compendium.
"Well duh. Why wouldn't I help you?" Sho laughed. Minato smiled slightly at his Shadow companions.
"Masashi, I have faith that we can grow strong together. You were frustrated that you lost to me earlier, right?" He tried
hiding a scoff at his statement. It didn't work. "So I gave you an opportunity for you to help me and get stronger in the
process. I didn't make you agree."
Arcana Justice fell silent for a few moments. "I suppose," he paused with a sigh. "I don't know. I feel close to you, for
some reason. I'm drawn to you, despite what animosity I feel. I don't even know why it's possible for me to feel. My kind
on the full moons we aren't supposed to be like this. I don't understand it myself."
Minato shrugged. "Well, we can find out together, for as long as you feel like you want to fight with me. Just don't turn on
me in the middle of a fight or something. We have designated appointments and talking times around here."

Again, he scoffed, but Masashi did feel like he was a bit closer to Minato. Was it the talk, or was it that other feeling he got
from him?

There had been a few swaps in terms of the exploration team. Ever since that discussion he had with Masashi, he'd
been feeling oddly energisedenough that he could get to the Arcane Turrets without too much trouble. And that was
quite a few floors up.
His team of course, was Akihiko, Mitsuru and Junpei.
He didn't want to bring along Mitsuru, but since everyone else was starting to get tired as they were traversing the
floors well, they needed a healer. Ken wasn't as powerful and Yukari was tired.
The Shadows they were to fight next turned to face their targets with the tell-tale grinding of gears. Turrets were fixed on
the four of them. "So, what's the strats, leader?" Junpei asked, keeping up his grin. Minato turned out, was one to make
good on his promises and the leader himself hadn't been having too many problems with him either. It was a win-win for
the both of them in that respect.
"First, try surrounding them so they can't get us all at the same time. Then, we'll chip away at one of them at a time with
whatever weakness or weaknesses they might have," Minato said, pausing momentarily as he gathered his words. The
strategy came easy. The words not so.
He didn't have to tell Fuuka to record their resistances and weaknesses since it was a norm for pretty much every battle.
Minato did want to try something a little different for him, however. He couldn't help but smirk with the slightest
anticipation.
The Arcane Turrets swivelled around to face the team now attempting to surround the three of them. Blasts rung through
the clearing in enthusiastic echoes. "Getting smarter, huh?" Akihiko grinned, beginning to feel the rush of battle in his
veins.
Why would anyone just let their assailants surround and trap them in the first place anyways?
"About time!" Junpei halted just as a shell punched past him into the wall with a 'bang!' Thankfully, he heard the Arcane
Turret cocking one of its bullets before.
Mitsuru exclaimed, "Iori, we don't need a second Akihiko!" as she summoned Penthesilea to her aid. "Come!" Her
mental commands reached her queenly Persona, striking her closest enemy with bolts of ice.
She tried not to let surprise overcome her expression as her targeted Arcane Turret was completely frozen over, knocked
over on its side from the fearsome Bufula spell.
Minato chuckled. As much as he didn't want to bring his senpai along, he couldn't really deny how powerful her ice
attributed attacks were. Dammit, he sounded just like her Crumbling out a familiar page from his compendium formed
his favourite Chariot Shadow. "Matarunda," he whispered.
Junpei had summoned Hermes, attempting an Agilao with it. The Arcane Turret swung into him with gale force. The
flames glanced off the tank's annoying ass armour, forcing him to try blocking the strike with his sword. Small scratches
appeared in the Shadow's armour, but already Junpei was feeling overwhelmed by its surprising strength.
Crushed by the Turret's weight, he could almost feel himself crunching with its force. "Guys!" Junpei gasped.
Breaking from his amusement as an amber aura turned dark around each of the tank Shadows, Minato heard his 'guys!'
from across. "Sho, use Gigantic Fist and get that Shadow off him!"
"You got it!" Partially directed by Minato's will, the Brave Wheel rocketed into the Arcane Turret assailing Junpei and
whammed it into the now dizzy Arcane Turret Mitsuru was dealing with. Sure, it wasn't seriously injured, but the two tanks
collided with each other in a display of shock and slush.
Mitsuru blinked at the appearance of the new Shadow. "B-Bufula!" Both of them were frozen on top of each other in a
totem-like manner, neither inclined to move as their weakness had once again been exploited.
Large sidesteps had been aiding Akihiko that battle. As a boxer, there wasn't much that even bladed gauntlets and
gloves could do for him against the Arcane Turrets. He'd tried Zionga on his opponent, but it wasn't even phased by the

magic.
"Junpei, you okay?" Minato asked as he dispelled Sho and summoned Orpheus. He muttered 'Diarama' and a healing
aura began relieving some of his pain. "I need you to do a Marakukaja."
Struggling to full height, Junpei gave a "no problem," before a fortifying air charged through all four team members.
Good thing too.
Akihiko summoned Polydeuces. "Sonic Punch that bastard!" Syringe poised, Polydeuces charged its hand into the
incoming Turret's attack. Perhaps as a result of the two earlier support spells, Polydeuces was able to stand against the
Arcane Turret's attack long enough for Akihiko to get out of its trajectory.
Again, Minato summoned Sho, commanding it to use Kill Rush.
Once Polydeuces was dispelled, the Arcane Turret went spiralling into the wall it was intending to crush Akihiko behind.
It wasn't quite damaged.
Not yet, at least.
The first hit slammed the Shadow into the next closest wall. The second hit knocked the tank into the ceiling.
"Bufula!" Mitsuru couldn't help but be awestruck at the show of strength (or Sho of strength?) that the Brave Wheel made.
The ice pillar of tanks was completedall three of them stacked on top of each other in a gently curving arc of frigid
death.
Minato couldn't believe he was joking with himself. "Come back! Masashi, Vile Assault those sorry sons of a bitches!" he
cried. The blood and hurt in his mouth was totally worth it.
Grasping his notepad, Arcana Justice blurred out and flew towards the wretched tower of Shadows. In one fell swoop
only preceded by the sound of lead and bullets in a 'ratatat' fashion, Masashi charged and screwed into the bodies of the
Arcane Turret totem, breaking it into a shower of icy ichor.
"Not bad, Masashi." Minato couldn't help but grin as Masashi was recalled to the notepad.
"Those weak-ass suckers needed more lead in them!"
He dropped to a knee as he finally felt the drain of his spiritual power. The three remaining members ran over to join
him. "Hey dude, are you alright?" Junpei asked, kneeling in front of Minato. Mitsuru had given him a few more Diarama
spells meantime.
Minato chuckled and looked up at the three of them. Why did he feel the way he did? "Y-Yeah. Just running low on SP," he
strained to say.
Junpei clicked his tongue. "W-Well uh, don't push yourself, you know?" He glanced at his two seniors, grabbing Minato's
hand and pulling him up.
"That was quite impressive," Mitsuru admitted.
"Heh I didn't really do that much except get crushed against a wall." Junpei sighed.
She turned towards Junpei. "On the contrary. Minato's Matarunda and your well timed Marakukaja helped Akihiko
withstand the Shadows' heavy assault."
"Yeah. I don't like to admit it but I was struggling a bit against that Shadow. It resisted all of the types of attacks I had."
He closed his eyes. "And well, Mitsuru found their weakness and helped set up the final blow," Minato finished. He
didn't really want to admit it. "It was actually a bit of a team effort," he mumbled.
"Sorry, can't hear ya, leader," Junpei teased.
Why did he start feeling camaraderie now? Minato sighed and repeated, "It was a team effort."
The question was: How long would it last?

They had to have ended their last Tartarus expedition of the summer with a 'bang', huh?
Junpei himself felt satisfied with the last day of summer. A few nights ago, they'd finished climbing up to the next barrier
and Minato didn't really feel much of a need to go back there unless he needed to test out something with his Shadows.
Unbeknownst to him, Minato also didn't want to go back there since he'd pretty much completed Elizabeth's requests for
then. Needless to say, he wasn't eager.
It seemed that the previously fragile team dynamic and their teamwork was on the mend, somehow.
He went back to the same spot. Maybe Junpei would meet her again and if she wasn't there, then tough luck. There was
always the manga caf to take refuge in.
"So, we meet again, huh?" It seemed luck was on his side that time.
Not looking up, the girl replied, "That's because you keep coming back."
Now was as good a time as any to introduce himself, right? "I'm Junpei. What's your name? Do you live around here?"
She didn't respond and simply got up to leave after closing her sketchbook shut. "Hey wait! Your hand!"
She kept walking.
"I said, 'Wait'! You're hurt!" Junpei repeated. Glossy red blood trailed from the inside of her palm, and the rivulets coursed
down into his sight.
"What is it with you?! Why don't you mind your own business?!" She clenched her teeth.
"But, you're bleeding, for cryin' out loud!" he implored, grabbing a hold of her hand. "C'mon, show me your hand. You
need to put some pressure on it." The wound didn't look deep exactly, but it was definitely enough to draw quite a bit of
blood.
The girl furrowed her brow as Junpei examined it. "Why are you in such a panic?"
"Are you crazy? Anyone would freak out over this. You need to see a doctor." She couldn't hide her flinch. "You want me to
go with you?"
She just stayed silent awhile before snatching her hand back. "You're weird." There she went, walking again. "Chidori."
"Huh?" Junpei blinked, first at her, then at the remnants of the bleeding on his hand.
"That's my name. You asked, right, Junpei?" So she still paid attention although it seemed she was ignoring him, huh?
"I'm almost done with the picture. I doubt you'll understand it, but if you want to see it, then you know where to find me."
Somehow, he didn't have the heart to follow her.

Leave it to the start of the second semester to kick start a new whirlwind of activity.
Ever since the first time she'd met Aigis, she'd been mystified by the girl. It would be more appropriate to think of her as
an android that possessed an astoundingly advanced AI and she was definitely curious as to how it was she functioned
in such a human-like manner.
It was enough that the chairman was curious enough to want to 'study her behaviour in a social environment', but with
the way things were going then Well, Fuuka was less than hopeful to say that Aigis would succeed in assimilating to
their school and their ways of life.
Junpei just grinned. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, it's a great idea Just look at how cute she is in that uniform!"
"Of course you'd say something like that" Minato muttered to himself as he formulated a way to somehow get past
Aigis and to his room. His comment was in response to Junpei, who'd been complimenting Aigis' apparent cuteness in
the uniform. Guess he might've forgotten that she was an android for a minute. Her next sentence served to bring them
back to reality.
"The camouflage Fuuka-san has provided me with seems to be the appropriate size."

Fuuka hid her face in her hands. Camouflage? There went her hope.
If he walked past now, the probability of her attempting to grab him in an uncomfortable manner (it was hugging, but
Minato would never admit it as such) would be somewhere around ninety-one per cent or something like that.
"It looks very natural on you; no one will suspect a thing. But, why does he want you to go to school? It's not like there's
anything special about it." Even Ken, as mature and precocious as he might come off, was no stranger to the boredom
that sometimes accompanied school. It was even more so, since it was harder for him to talk to other children around
his age when he wasn't being open with his interests.
Aigis turned towards him. "With the commencement of the second semester, I intend to synchronize my schedule with
the other members'." She gestured to the second-years gathered in the lounge. "If I were to remain here on standby, it
could delay our deployment. Therefore, I request to accompany our squad leader."
Minato had to hide a scoff. Of course it was another excuse for her to 'stay by his side'. He already had a girlfriend; he
didn't want to complicate things with Sachiko if she saw Aigis wandering around and trying to stalk him. He shivered at
the thought.
"Your body temperature has dropped by approximately point two of a degree. Is something wrong, Minato-san?" Aigis
somehow had the speed to come over while he was lost in thought and touch his neck. He immediately, and I mean
immediately, recoiled from her touch, scratching at the afflicted area.
"Delay our deployment?" Yukari rolled her eyes. "Won't you going to school create more problems?" She gestured in
the general direction of the cringing Minato and Aigis, who was attempting to poke him and gather data on his body
temperature.
And he was dodging as best as he could without too much movement!
"I will make any necessary adjustments as problems arise."
Aigis didn't even look to reply to Yukari directly.
Koromaru barked and circled Minato, then Ken, then Fuuka, Junpei and Yukarihe nuzzled the latter's leg affectionately.
"He said, 'I want to go to school, too'," Aigis informed, still not ceasing her assault on Minato.
Yukari patted Koromaru. "Sorry Koro-chan You have to stay here."
He gave a whine in response.
"Why is Minato-kun?" Fuuka mumbled to herself. Minato's movements were becoming even more erratic as he
sprinted around the couch and tables.
While Junpei laughed, Yukari furrowed her brow as she tried figuring out just what was wrong with him. His reaction
when she touched his neck was like "Oh my god. Minato-kun!"
"W-What?" he stammered. And he was caught. Aigis poked Minato's neck, making him twitch towards and away from
her.
Yukari snapped her fingers. "Minato-kun, I never would've pegged you on this but" He stared at her, blinking owlishly
as Aigis calculated aloud his body temperature to be back to normal. "Are you ticklish?"
He chewed on his lip. Crap.

Things just became even more annoying.

With Aigis at school, how could he ever avoid any more rumours? She was metaphorically and literally uneducated
uneducated enough that she wouldn't know any better not to say something like, 'This spot will be perfect... Because I
wish to always be by his side,' while she was being introduced to the class.
Thankfully, and surprisingly, Akihiko was his saviour from the barrage of rumours and Aigis' stalking methods for that
day. He confirmed the text he received from his senior, detailing to meet him after school at the gates for something of
apparent importance.
"There you are. There's something I have to do, and I want you to come with me," Akihiko explained briefly, already

beginning to set off.

He followed him with a sigh. Akihiko might drag him along regardless. Might as well know why. "What for," Minato said
flatly.
"We're going to get someone. An old member."
Well. Seemed important enough, he guessed but "You need me because?"
"You're not walking out on me, are you?" Akihiko asked warily. After a shake of his head, he elaborated, "Well, he should
meet the field leader of the whole team. He'll probably want to size you up himself."
Size him up? Geez.
Minato followed him to the ramen shop in Iwatodai Strip Mall (he now had some serious ramen cravings and it was
definitely Akihiko's fault), where he saw a familiar beanie-wearing teen exit.
"You're getting on my nerves!" Shinjiro growled.
Akihiko frowned. "The situation has changed. Sorry, but this time, I'm not asking." The briefcase he was holding onto was
thrust towards him.
The command from his usually, more passive friend, made Shinjiro's eyes widen. He either had to have some balls, lost
more brains than was good for him, or had something serious happen. He was almost sure it was a combination of all
three. "What?"
"This belongs to you. We have a new enemy. They're Persona users, like us," he tried to coax at first.
He scoffed. As if that would change anything. Typical Aki, getting worked up about their new enemies and whatever.
Shinjiro began walking from the scene. Minato had a vague feeling of camaraderie with the beanie-wearing guy. That's
what he felt like! "There's more.
"Ken Amada has joined our team."
Frozen. "What the hell are you talking about?" he snarled.
"He has the potential, and Ikutsuki-san has okayed it. He's now a Persona user," Akihiko explained further, waiting for his
friend's response.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Shinjiro muttered before turning back to face Akihiko and Minato. "Let me ask you one
thing Was it his decision to join SEES?"
He nodded. "Yeah. He volunteered."
Shinjiro sighed. "Well Then, count me in" Minato immediately wondered what Ken's relationship to them was, but
decided not to voice that concern. "So, you're the one leading the operations now, huh? If you don't mind me asking, what
exactly are you fighting for?"
Minato was eyed by his steely glare. He could only respond with blankness. "Do you really care?"
He snorted in amusement. "You're right. I don't. You do your thing. I'll do mine."

"Here."
Immediately slumping into the lyre chair, Minato threw a satchel of Shadow remnants and items towards Elizabeth. She
managed to catch it on the full. "Ooh, I must peer into this collection" she muttered to herself as she rummaged
through it, nodding at the contents.
Something had been on his mind. And for once, it wasn't her. And no, it wasn't the fact that Igor was mysteriously absent
from the room. "Hey."
She kept muttering, "Ooh, Tiara's Hairfive of them! And four Knight's Reins"
"Elizabeth." Minato clearly wasn't bothering with the honorifics.

She looked up at him after emptying the bag into a box. Where did it even come from?! "What is it?"
"You know There are other people that can talk to Shadows, right?" Minato furrowed his brow.
Elizabeth thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose it shouldn't be too much of a surprise to say that your power isn't
unique. It is simply that your power, while similar, has a different quality. So of course, there are other people capable of
Shadow Whispering like you."
Just like Sachiko, huh? "Right" Minato gave a sigh. What should he do?
"Could it be that Minato-sama is unsure of something?"
He folded his arms. "Sachiko had warned me about another group of Shadow Whisperers. The next Dark Hour, since I'd
been resting from that Tartarus run" Minato pursed his lips. "I saw some people outside the dorm. And I could hear
them speaking to me in Shadow Whispers."
She sat down in Igor's usual spot. "Welcome to the Velvet Room. What are your troubles, Minato-sama?" His lips
pursed in annoyance. He'd already had so much trouble dealing with Yukari and Junpei teasing him about him being
ticklish and that wasn't even mentioning the fact that Aigis was in his classroom, still on about the whole 'I must stay by
his side' schtick.
"They asked me to join their group. With Strega and all," he answered after a moment.

There was one of them in plain view. "Minato-kun," Kishimaru whispered.

Reluctantly, Minato opened the window. He could hear it faintly before, but it had been lost through the glass. The cold
made him reluctant. This was even worse than the visit that Pharos gave him a few days ago, reminding him about the
next full moon.
He knew that even if people were still watching him on grounds of 'observing his behaviour' like he had the feeling
Ikutsuki would have no qualms implementing, they wouldn't be able to hear or translate a thing of what he, or this person
was saying, regardless of the way he acted. "Is it you?" Minato asked.
His jaded eyes met Minato's stone ones. "Yeah. Kishimaru," he breathed out, watching his breath fog up.
Minato recalled the mass of Shadows he escaped from. He hadn't forgotten. He also hadn't forgotten about who
Kishimaru was and why he knew him. That persuaded him to say, "What are you here for?"
Blunt and straight to the point, as always. Kishimaru's mouth set in a line as he suppressed some fading nostalgia.
"You know who I'm aligned with. Those other people; Takaya-san and Jin-san. Along with Strega, the other three Shadow
Whisperers and I have free reign in the Dark Hour by our command of Shadow Waves."
Taking his pondering as an invitation to continue, Kishimaru did just that. "We want you to join us." Minato narrowed
his eyes, but said nothing, waiting for his seeming friend to elaborate on the why and their motivation.
"We are working together as a team to prolong the Dark Hour," Kishimaru stated. "Eliminating SEES is a part of that
effort."
His fists tightened and his brow furrowed. "Are you telling me this just because of your goal? Or because you don't want
me to get hurt as part of it?"
He snorted. "A little bit of both." Kishimaru paused. Then chuckled. "Heh. I want you to join. We have some catching up to
do, don't we?
"How our lives went in that ten year timespan. How we might've suffered. I don't really remember you smiling a lot back
then either. Were you happy while you were away?"
Minato flinched on his emphasis and the wry smile Kishimaru had. "I know your powers. I won't discriminate. None of us
will. We'll welcome your power and you can put that sorry bunch behind you.
"It's not like we haven't noticed how you act around them, and how they act around you."
His hairs were now raised, like a dog's hackles.

He paused.
Sachiko He remembered that she warned him about the group of Shadow Whisperers. They were targeting him. But
then again was it so bad? Sure, he knew that they were getting a bit better, little by little. The question was whether he
could wait for them to fully accept him when theyhis friend, was waiting for him to join with open arms.
"Kishimaru" Minato chuckled inwardly. Unlike him, he was always a bit shy to use anything beyond a more familiar
honorific. "I I actually am glad to see you. But would it be okay to give it some time? It's a big decision, isn't it?"
Why the hesitation?
He just laughed, mirthlessly. "No, I understand. But come whenever. Back of Port Island Station. You know the place."

"Then, he left me alone." Minato closed his eyes as he leaned back in the lyre chair.
Elizabeth seemed thoughtful. "I'm surprised that you're coming to me for consultation, Minato-sama. I would've thought
you might've confided in your friend. What was her name again? Sachiko-san, was it?" She turned back to him with a
gleaming gaze. "But alas, you have made your decision."
He sighed deeply. There was no way that he could tell Sachiko just what had happened. Minato knew what she'd say
which would be not to trust them and not think about joining them, especially since they were responsible for the
numerous deaths that had been occurring around Iwatodai.
"I suppose I must be revealing something quite pertinent to your decision now."
Wow. Didn't expect her to be actually honest with him but then again, he was being honest with her. There wasn't really
anyone else that he could entrust that information to; it wasn't like he was going to spill the information to a part of the
public or SEES.
"You see, I must reveal that" Elizabeth gave an enigmatic smile. "I have given you a half truth in saying that acting your
antisocial self," he deadpanned at her, "and using Shadows for your own strength will affect the Velvet Room's services."
Minato blinked. Seriously? He could've been acting the way he wanted and
"It is true that wielding Shadows is a dangerous practice; you may already know the consequences of using such power,
especially those of the negative variety." Her smile grew wider. "And of course, you know what happens when you act
unsociable. What is important, however, is that you uphold your original contract."
Accept all responsibility for the consequences of your actions.
He grimaced. "So I can't run can't hide from the bad things that might happen, is what you're saying. If bad things
happen to me because of the things that I do, I have to fix it or deal with it."
She nodded, seeing such realisations affect his normally blank visage. The words, now given context, gave him a
meaning of great weight. "So if I chose to join the other Shadow Whisperers"
"Minato-sama we of the Velvet Room will always be there for brief consultation and for your regular request,
compendium and fusion needs, regardless of your choices," she reassured.
A sigh. "Gotcha But Elizabeth." She inclined her head, certainly not letting the perfectly perched hat on her head fall or
even shift. "Why did you not exactly lie I guess, but mislead me like that, all those months ago?"
"I must be honest, yes?"
"I'd prefer it."
Elizabeth closed her eyes, giving him a well-practiced smile. "I do only wish for your continued success, Minato-sama.
"Through using Shadows, you share their pain and it becomes your own. Healing that pain of theirs gives you power. It
hurts you as well, for those moments when you fail and that voice you hear" he flinched at its mention, "may only
wish to bring you into a deep darkness which even you, of all people, may not be able to bear."
They fluttered open. "I hope that fate does not befall you before too long. That is a concern, which may be alluded to
with the power of the cards. I hope you avoid it."

Minato's body grew frigid with tension. "Is that an obligation or a want?"
Her smile softened. "A little bit of both."

AN: It's over 5000! - Like I promised, it's a lead up to the Hermit. Expect things to go down. Not in a good way. But you
already knew that, right? I'm almost sorry for the long chapter, but I wanted to move the story along and well... I
ended up packing a lot of important bits into it.
Junpei and Chidori will have their own section in the next, so... look forward to that?
This long chapter was brought to you in part by a Persona fanfic called 'Ticklish', Danganronpa and Noragami.
WORSHIP THEM! Jokes.
Also... Orpheus using Diarama and Minato still having it around? That's on purpose.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it.

*Chapter 36*: Direct Carnage

Thump, thump, thump.
Beating, like the heart to a fatal dance, was syncopated by the crackling of tension and lightning.
"Hey, Junpei What do you do to make you feel alive?"
In his hand, was her hand, where he could feel lifeblood silently flowing, living dying. A hand that showed no scars, but
had felt pain, however faint or fleeting. "Bet you don't just mean 'breathing', huh?" Chidori didn't give him an answer. He
sat down next to her and she didn't seem to mind. "I guess I guess I've never given it that much thought. Is that why you
draw?"
She'd snatched her hand back. "Maybe But, most of these are just scribbles I don't understand myself very well." The
warmth of his fingers lingered on hers. Calloused, yet soft.
Junpei nodded. "I see" He closed his eyes, now awarebasking in the heartless sun. "I used to think maybe I could
get a kick out of playing hero." Chidori gave him a look of confusion.
The pain seared away at his nerves, dancing and trampling on them, using him as the road to scrape the dirt off their
shoes.
"But I don't know anymore." He gave a sigh. "I actually went to apologise to someone last time I met with you. And I feel
kinda better, I guess. I think I want to feel like what I'm doing is significant. That the effort I put into I dunno fighting.
That when I fight, it's for something good and that people can be like, 'Wow! You really rock dude! You're the best! Thanks
for protecting us!' when I'm done."
A frown crossed her face as she tried making out the meaning of his words. "Do you fight alone?"
"Nah. In a team. I don't really call the shots, which sucks" Junpei sighed. "No-one really knows about us either. It's
kinda lonely, being a vig."
Nerves fired.
"So you mean you fight to protect people that you don't know. You don't receive any praise for it. Do you want that?"
Chidori asked, continuing to draw.
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. But wait, you actually believe what I'm saying?"
"Depends. What do you think you're saying?"
Junpei's eyes widened. "Agh, man It's supposed to be a secret and all. I'm not supposed to tell ya something like that."
He'd probably get chewed out for it anyways.
She paused. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to hearing your story." He chewed his lip, but definitely decided 'no'.
"Maybe another time? It's not like I'll tell anyone else."
He found himself nodding. "Yeah, that's probably for the best. You know. For whenever the worst of the danger goes
away and stuff!" Junpei couldn't help but grin.
Chidori gave a hum of affirmation and closed her sketchbook. "Well thank you, Junpei. I had fun today."
"Y-You did?"
She stood and motioned to leave. "I'll see you another time." As it turned out they had something else to attend to that
they needed Medea for.

The muzzle of the Evoker was pressed against her temple.

"Hey, Takaya. Do you really think it's a good idea to just leave SEES to that bunch of Whisperers?" Jin sighed, clenching
his fists. Takaya's eyes were dazzled, fixated on the stretching light of the moon, almost glowing with ethereal power as
Hypnos raged under his skin. "We could've gone to up the ante a little."

"Medea" she murmured, revelling in a euphoric high of power that only summoning her Persona could give her,
accented by hard, painful notes against her mind and body.
Takaya just smiled eerily. "I wouldn't worry too much. But if we must we do have the final assurance that we need," he
replied. The grin he had widened as the barrel of his revolver touched, moved her hair behind her ear in a mockery of
hand gestures.
In blue light, only stabilised by suppressants, formed a lithe woman with red and black seared onto her skin. Her amber
eyes lit up with power, mimicking the cup of flames she held in one hand. Raging with vengeful life, tendrils of fire
created a hot, fearful air that covered the life signatures of the four now heading over to Club Escapade.
Sachiko gritted her teeth. Just her luck that she had to run into Strega while the Shadow Whisperers were getting ready
to leave. The fact was that while she had a gun against her head and the threat of a Persona being unleashed against
her person, she couldn't do much.
There were so many words that she wanted to say and she ended up cursing aloud in Whispers. "That dork better not do
something stupid." How the hell did she manage to get caught up in a damsel in distress situation when she'd
managed to avoid it for so long anyways?! Just her luck, wasn't it?
She'd gathered some clues from a Shadow that they'd recently been forced to attack another person who'd awoken
during the Dark Hour from their call. It then froze up as if by some overpowering force and was made to attack her
somehow. By the time she'd started running, there was a wave of Shadows on her tail, throwing fire, ice and wind at her;
their spells.
Couple that with Takaya, Jin and Chidori coming in from the other direction and she was more or less screwed.
"It appears that she truly does have the same abilities" Takaya commented aloud.
Jin furrowed his brow. "Hey. You know that if you try to get a Shadow to help you, we're just going to kill it? It's not like
they're any competition."
She sighed. "Oh, don't worry. I wasn't." Just busy cursing the non-comforting feel of the gun against her head.
"They're almost there," Chidori notified, dispelling her Persona.

"Dodge!"
Junpei hopped away from the Mazionga, now scorching his previous spot. The blue-white electricity came down in a
thunderbolt from above, cracking, splitting his line of sight.
Arcana Hermit reared and swung wires and cables about the floor as a flash of spiritual power came from the generator
on its back. Junpei managed to deflect the attack, pushing the wires with the flat of his blade.
"Careful! It just used Mind Charge!" her voice came through.
Ken pole vaulted with his spear over the attack, leaping nimbly the end of his weapon into the Shadow's side. "There's
another Mazionga coming!" Fuuka exclaimed.
Shinjiro scoffed. "That kid better not get himself into any trouble" He braced himself to dodge the aforementioned
attack, toting his bus stop sign on his shoulder.
Minato waved his compendium, he and the book bursting with spiritual power. "Blue Wall," he murmured. Over time, he'd
built up a few more Shadows in his compendium from Tartarus. That place was really convenient.
"Hey Ken! Watch out from overhead!" Junpei shouted.
He flicked off Arcana Hermit's side with a backflip, spinning his spear. Landing rather safely on Castor, Ken replied,
"Thanks! But what's another Shadow doing here?!" He watched the enemy he hit with his spear as it clambered to full
form on the grounda Magical Magus.
As Shinjiro lowered his Persona, he noticed the wildly sparking lightning bolt coming from above Ken. A blue wall formed
above Shinjiro as he commanded Castor to dodge the Mind Charged Mazionga attack. The blue-white lightning hit him
head on in the process, although it was partially neutralised by the energy of the wall.

"Fuuka, the hell's going on?!" Junpei exclaimed, jumping away from the Zio attack and summoning Hermes. His
Persona gleamed and shot towards Arcana Hermit, wings pinned as it repeatedly dug into it like a nail.
The Shadow let out screeches of anguish upon each hit. Seeing more Shadows somehow able to seep through the
ceiling, Hermes shot towards them the same way it did before, piercing into them and whizzing into the next like a
torrential pachinko ball. "There's way too many of them! Where are they even coming from?!"
"E-Everyone, there's a large wave of Shadows coming to attack us! There are so many of them! The others can't hold
them all back and some of them are getting inside," she tried to explain. "I don't understand I should've been able to
sense them before they came here and"

It blacked out the moon.

The sight, dark as coal, enveloped their vision.
"There are more than eighty Shadows in that wave," Aigis spoke aloud, peppering the Shadow Wave with machine gun
fire.
"Eighty?! I've never seen that many Shadows in the one place" Mitsuru stopped herself. She had, once before.
Blobs of Shadow dropped off from the wave, disintegrating into incognito forms. Some of them turned into their full
forms, beginning to assault the team. Most of them, when each of the members were occupied, scuttled into Club
Escapade and seeped through the ceiling like liquid straining through sponge.
With the Shadows hiding them and with Chidori's power, Kishimaru, Yoko, Hakori and Shina managed to slip past them,
all except for Koromaru, by sense of smell. "Arf arf!" he barked, summoning Cerberus.
The three headed hellhound howled, summoning waves of fire to catch the four off guard. Maragion spread, even hitting
some of the Shadows in the wave before them. Koromaru let out a yelp of surprise when he saw a rare, golden Shadow
scoot past and take the hit as if nothing happened.
A Supreme Hand?! Really?!

"Some bodyguard, Shina."

Hakori cursed as he brushed off the small flames that he caught from Koromaru's Maragion attack.
"Hey, what works, works. I wanted to bring along something like an Avenger Knight Shadow, but I can't control those."
She shrugged and sighed, side eyeing Kishimaru. He didn't return or even notice the distasteful look she gave him, only
heading straight for the basement. "Some conversationalist" she muttered to herself, following the leader.
Minato was horror struck at the gelatinous movement beginning to pour into the basement like sludge rain.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The wailing he heard wasn't just something his mind thought up. In fact, he could hear it ringing in even his teammates'
ears. Eerie Sound. It came, like a hurricane, blasting the team's ear drums off with screams and moans of terror.
Like a typhoon, spells and skills were lashed upon the now distressed team.
Junpei could only hope to hear again, even as he pressed his hands against his ears. Even Shinjiro couldn't handle the
overwhelming wave of Shadows armed only with Castor and a bus stop sign, but he did manage to block the brunt of the
attack for Ken.
"Glad to see that you've made your decision, Minato-kun." An all too familiar voice cut through the shrieking throng.
He could also hear the sound of three other simultaneous whispers in the background, telling the wave to stand down
awhile.
She warned him to be careful. Not to join them. What did that do?
Minato breathed out, feeling his chest heave and head pound from Distress. "I haven't," he hissed. "Sho!" On his

whisper, the Brave Wheel appeared in gelatinous form from his compendium, hovering in the air. The Intrepid Knight
had also reverted to incognito form.
"The seeds of doubt have already been sown," Kishimaru whispered with a thin smile. The other three; Yoko, Hakori and
Shina began chanting in whispers, making a majority of the Shadows shudder on their command.
"Why are you denying it? After all, it's not like you've ever cared about your so called 'team', right? You considered my offer
because you know how much they've treated you like shit!" Kishimaru laughed, grinning down at Minato all the while.
Junpei's gaze shot towards Minato at Kishimaru's words, who was shuddering as he muttered indecipherable Shadow
Whispers.
"Minato-kun. Together, we're going to destroy until there's not even a trace of them," he urged. "Unless You really do
feel a connection with them? Is that why you're making those two Shadows fuse?" Kishimaru whispered.
His eyes gleamed as the two's incognito forms began combining.
"I do have to tell you This isn't exactly a request. We have her."
An influx of blue and black energy whipped around as he dared add something else to the mix. "I thought I could trust
you before I thought you were my friend," Minato spoke aloud. "But if you're here because you think you can hurt
her Then I don't know what you've become."
The incognito form of Masashi joined the mix.
Kishimaru grinned. "It's too bad. We had so much catching up to do Only to be cut short."
"By order of your fear; your anger; and your suffering, we who wield this ancient tongue do command and empower your
agony," the whispers started. "In this dark art will we rain death upon your adversaries," he continued, "Merge!"
A similar influx of ruby coloured energy cracked like thunder and lightning as the Shadow Wave whizzed into Arcana
Hermit.
Minato felt the surge of whispers even reach the notepad he'd hidden the other Arcana Shadows in and his
compendium. The black pages morphed into incognito form as well, joining the mass of Shadows melting into Arcana
Hermit's form.
Minato's three chosen Shadows burst in azure light, forming, "Rising Knight." Kishimaru's trusty steed turned steely grey
with a metallic body and limbs. Emerald and amber light streaked across its body, the same colours lining the knight's
armour. His helmet had turned lion-like, reminiscent of Sho's head and now wielded both a lance and a winged arm
cannon. Imprinted on it was a yellow cross and the number XX.
Engage 'Rule of Cool'. He snorted. Well, all the mindless trawling he did on TV Tropes with Sachiko could actually come
in useful now.
Ichor melted and slathered Arcana Hermit as the Shadow Wavethose that weren't engaged with the others outside
arched towards and covered it in an extra layer of ichor, burning and melting into its body like acid.
The dark chrysalis was lashed with red, like paths of lightning streaked across the Hermit's hunched, lupine body. Its
masks burbled, morphed and combined onto where the head would be, becoming a white, malformed mask with a
hollow smile. A constant sheet of lightning hovered over its fur, metal-enforced arms had gelatine wings and four rings of
tank tracks wrapped around its body like bandoliers. The wires it was previously attached to were drawn towards its
back, plugged into the now sparking generators on it.
Junpei's eyes widened as he told Hermes to attack with Torrent Shot. It zoomed towards the electrical cloak, making him
cringe as he felt some of the lightning paining his Persona and plunged into its flesh.
Arcana Hermit, now fully reformed, swung its cross adorned sceptre, creating a fierce gust of wind with Magarula. Not
once expecting the attack, Shinjiro, Ken, Castor and Hermes were blown back by its attack.
The gust of wind slammed Junpei into the nearest wall, winding him easily. "How can it?" he struggled to say.
"I-It! It has the power of those Shadows and I can also sense the presences of the Empress and Chariot full moon
Shadows!" Fuuka realised. "But I thought we destroyed them"

Taking the opportunity, Kishimaru smirked. "Well, if that's not proof that Minato wasn't on your side, then I don't know what
is," he pressed.
Minato's eyes widened. "Rising Knight!" he whispered. Responding to his will, a purple haze fell over his teammates and
over Arcana Hermit, lighting up over the four former and weakening the Shadow with Rakunda. As another amber light
formed over Arcana Hermit, it gave a roar and flashed once again with Mind Charge. "Yeah, I wouldn't still be helping my
team if I was against them!"
Junpei stared at Minato, finally recovered from the earlier Wind spell. "Minato!"
He looked back at Junpei, about to summon with his Evoker.
"We're still going to beat these guys' asses, right?!" Two bangs rang out as Orpheus and Hermes formed.
He gave the slightest smirk as he registered Junpei's apparent faith in him. "I'm going to, if you are," he answered.
"Matarukaja!" Minato continued with, "Rising Knight, protect Hermes!"
A similar amber light enveloped his team from Orpheus, now playing an empowering melody on his lyre. "Hermes!" The
winged Persona enveloped itself in flames, spiralling towards Arcana Hermit.
Rising Knight followed by casting Makarakarn on him. The Magarula that came to knock Hermes back reflected from the
mirror. Wind slashed back, Hermes was chest bound, slammed into it, rebounded and crushed it once more before
dispelling.
Although the Rising Knight was draining the spell's energy, Minato didn't share the same immunity and was forced back
against the attack, nicked and bitten by it.
Shinjiro gritted his teeth as he withstood the effects of the two wind spells that were thrown at him. Just his luck that his
first encounter with one of those full moon Shadows was this one, where the craziest shit had to happen.
Ken struggled to stand against them, somehow managing to lodge onto a row of cables with his spear, summoning
Nemesis after the onslaught was over.
Arcana Hermit cried out as it was knocked onto the floor. "Ken!" Minato called. "Rising Knight!"
"Right!" Nemesis rushed towards the downed Arcana Hermit as Rising Knight loaded its cannon with shells.

"Come, Hypnos."
A grisly figure, suspended by means of the wings grafted to its spine, appeared in a burst of red light. The pale Persona,
riddled with bulging, red veins, had tiny dots of light flowing through it, channelling just under its body. The energy
coalesced into a violet orb then thrown overhead.
"W-Watch out! Above you!" Fuuka warned the outside team members.
Mitsuru glanced upwards, immediately summoning Penthesilea as she stepped away. "Bufula!" The shards of ice came
to counter the Almighty attack. Catching on, Koromaru summoned up flames in Agilao, while Yukari tried slashing it away
with a Garula.
The three attacks fought back the larger one, eventually blasting in an explosion of light.
Takaya clapped as the SEES members managed to counter his attack. "Hmph Almost impressive," he spoke. "I'm
afraid, however, that this little show will have to come to a premature end. If you dare make a move towards me, my
associate," he gestured towards Jin, "or those Shadows, I will not hesitate to end her life."
As Hypnos and its attack disappeared, Akihiko gritted his teeth and spoke what was on everyone's minds, "Y-You
brought a hostage" Sachiko glared at the ground as she felt the muzzle of his revolver press a little in her back.
He was sure then. If Minato truly had begun fighting against his new foes, he would be stopped by her.

"I'm afraid that if you keep going like that, someone is going to end up hurt."

Minato snapped his head to face the voice. It was himTakaya, wasn't it? "Ken, wait!" he shouted, immediately regretting
it as he began coughing diluted blood profusely onto the floor.
"W-What happened?" Ken murmured aloud, halting Nemesis as he turned towards the source of the voice, along with
Shinjiro and Junpei.
He growled, shifting Rising Knight to face the group of seven. "So Minato-kun I'm afraid that this ends here, with you
joining Strega," Kishimaru stated, gesturing towards Sachiko. She chewed on her lip as she locked eyes with Minato.
Junpei, Shinjiro and Ken stared at Minato, imploring him not to. "Just summon those Shadows into your compendium,
defuse yours and leave SEES."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Sachiko seemed resigned. She knew exactly what he was going to do, even though she said herself not to. As it was,
she wasn't fearless enough to think that she could get out of the situation; her death was just a bullet away, after all.
With Minato's whispers, Kishimaru grinned wildly. The Rising Knight split into its original components into his
compendium and the still downed Hermit began a transformation into its amorphous one, compressing with blue light.
His spiritual power crushed the Shadow, smaller, and smaller, with more resistance the smaller it became.
Eventually, it reached page size and flew into his compendium, affixing itself to the spine. Taking a deep breath as his
power faded into the air, the sparking in the room died down and he walked towards the group, passing an apologetic
look to Sachiko, who seemed to return the sentiment.
"Hypnos."
"Moros."
The two Personas flared into existence.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
They readied their weapons and Personas, now calculating several things at once; including the possibilities of their
deaths.

AN: Um... Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter. Later! :)
There's also a bit of information about Rising Knight and transformed Arcana Hermit if you're curious.
Name: Rising Knight
Arcana: Sun (4+7+8=19)
Components: Intrepid Knight, Brave Wheel, Arcana Justice,
RAW: Drain Wind, Drain Fire, Null Light,
Skills: Garudyne, Magarula, Mind Charge, Power Charge, Makarakarn, Gigantic Fist, Heat Wave, Rakukaja
Agidyne, Maragion, Kill Rush, Matarunda, Rakunda,
Twin Shot, Torrent Shot, Myriad Arrows, Vile Assault, Hama, Poison Mist, Samarecarm, Unite
Name: Arcana Hermit
Arcana: Fortune (3+5+6+7+9=12 mod 22)
Components: Mainly Arcana Empress, Arcana Hierophant, Arcana Lovers, Arcana Chariot and Arcana Hermit,
RAW: Skills: There's too many. The skill sets of all the Shadow components.

*Chapter 37*: Missing the Switch

Breath was cold, clammy against his neck.
It was the echo of a familiar voice which gave him shivers and comfort. The words were usually maniacal nonsense, but
what he heard made him freeze.
Sounds of struggle and Shadow Whispering drowned out. Muted vibrations warped, were mangled in blaring volume
and then dropped to white noise before repeating the cycle.
"Minato-kun"
The voice spoke his name.

Sachiko chewed her lip as Takaya and Jin unleashed their Persona against the remaining three members in the room.
They handed her to Kishumaru, who merely watched the scene play out with grim amusement.
Throwing his head back with laughter, Hypnos' wings arched and zigzagged with gale force at Hermes. "What feeble
resistance can you three give us?" Takaya's expression spread into a thin smile.
Shinjiro gritted his teeth as he summoned his Persona. Castor's horse swung its blade-like horn into one of Hypnos'
wings, allowing Hermes to tuck his wings in and dive in.
With a fearsome crack, the wing dislocated. Feeling the same pain to his spine, Takaya's gasp turned into a hacked out
cough, morphing again to rasping when Hermes slammed into his Persona's fragile frame.
What Junpei didn't expect, however, was the influx of negative emotion that welled up within him as Hermes backed
away from Takaya's Personahis knees shook as he felt the sheer malice and nihilism bear down on him as if the air
had gained weight.
Kishimaru turned his attention to Minato and Sachiko.
She seemed still in resignation at their situation. "M-Minato?" Sachiko spoke in Shadow Whispers.
Minato looked around blearily, his hands, arms and voice shaking as he to hold his compendium. "How could it be you?
What happened to you?" he whispered.
On one hand, Minato wasn't in any condition to resist, let alone fight. On the other, there was something wrong with him,
although Kishimaru didn't know what. "H-He's!" Sachiko stifled her gasp as her hand unconsciousness drifted to her
neck.
After a moment, Kishimaru asked very simply, "What?"
"He's going through psychosis"
Ken had Nemesis face off against Moros. Hearing the faint whirring sound of Jin's robotic Persona spinning wildly with
darkness and flames, Ken hopped nimbly away. The Mudoon orbs flung into Nemesis. It was commanded by Ken to
counter the weakness with Hama and floated from its trajectory.
Halted temporarily by the opposing attack, the Mudoon curse pulsated and finally drowned out the seal tags before
dissipating against the walls. "Zionga!" Ken called. The rings of raging Agilao were cut through by Nemesis' electrified
buzz saw.
He felt burns as Nemesis passed through, making Ken flinch even as he approached Jin. The dread that pulsed
through him upon contact with the leftover flames was far too noticeable.
"What is that feeling?" Junpei gritted his teeth as Hermes broke into mist and glass. Hate and misanthropy throbbed
in his chest and in his head, spies piercing, infiltrating the corridors of his mind.
Takaya hummed as Hypnos backed off from Castor, now gathering Almighty magic around its body. Shinjiro grunted as
he felt a similar, but lesser assault on his psyche; enough to make Castor pause as it completed its Fatal End attack.
For him, it was a lot more familiar. The clashing of their wills. Opposing minds, psyches and philosophies seeping into

another's with every injury inflicted and upon each contact with their opponent. He vividly remembered when he sparred
with Aki in the past, growing used to the burning determination behind Polydeuces' power seeking fists.
Still, Ken shrugged off the strange pain and let loose the electrical attack as he leaped towards Jin, spear poised to
strike. White blue arcs of voltage scarred the air and lashed at Moros. The fear that now settled within him sowed doubt.
His first major battle against the Shadows now against a Persona user, just like him.
With Shadows, it was easy. Ken's mind wasn't set on becoming a killer, even if it was manslaughter. He focused more
on hitting Jin in such a way that would incapacitate him than hitting him in the first place.
Jin growled as he felt searing anguish shock his nerves, but holding onto what concentration he had left, a pulse of dark
energy unleashed from Moros. Mudoon hit true into Nemesis, engulfing it in curses which took the form of arcane circles
and spheres.
Dark flame enveloped it, shattering Nemesis and Ken's psyche, blowing energy out of his body. The cold animosity that
Jin had for him and quite easily the rest of SEES surged through his mind, making him only capable of the slightest
movements in his stunned state. He couldn't even concentrate on making Nemesis use a Diarama spell.
Revolvers and pistols were not his area of expertise. In fact, he rather preferred the large area of effect that bombs and
other incendiaries gave him. However, Jin, now retrieving such a pistol from within his jacket, knew that even they weren't
the most efficient methods of killing. It was pointed squarely at his shivering opponent. He tried putting up a fight, but hell
if the kid was just unluckyMoros specialised in the Mudo branch of spells which happened to be his Persona's
weakness.
Shinjiro looked between Junpei, now regaining his bearings; Hypnos and its new attack; and his downed teammate.
"Junpei, get your ass back in gear before his Persona blows us to smithereens dammit!"
As much as he would hate to admit it, he couldn't handle both dire situations at the same time. Castor rushed towards
Jin with a hollow roar. Even though Jin's Persona had been dismissed prior, he wasn't concerned. Seeing the attack
telegraphed from a mile away, he managed to jump away from Castor, unscathed.
Junpei barely registered his senpai's warning and the dangerous humming of a Megidola spell. He wasn't close enough
to Takaya yet. At this point, if he could make him lose his concentration or something like that, it would be the safer
option.
Hermes swooped towards Takaya and although he saw the attack coming, he barely managed to get away. With a few
scratches, Hypnos only flickered for a moment. He didn't expect the Agilao that hit him from behind once Hermes had
stopped. Letting out a yell of pain, Hypnos shattered, along with its attack.
Ken looked on in stupor at Castor and the quickly retreating Jin. His vision felt muddier as he struggled to retain
consciousness. His brain had been trying to hide something from him, now resurfacing in fuzzy static as the tint of the
Dark Hour clouded it, barely muffling the screams of his mother's voice.
"Interesting" Takaya laughed, his barks fading as he held up his revolver and shot at the now rushing Junpei.
Blindsided by his prowess and the speed of his bullet, it pierced into the side of his torso, now bleeding profusely. He let
out a strangled gasp, concentration on the grip of his katana quickly slipping from his fingers. Junpei pressed one of his
hands against the wound, flinching as agony shot through him.
Takaya had surely been injured by the burns of Hermes' Persona; it was more or less even, depending on how Jin
would be able to deal with their old benefactor.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. A cacophony composed of his heaving chest, heartbeat, the pounding in
his ears and the all too familiar voice speaking odd dulcet tones amongst it all was at its chorus. Minato swallowed back
his saliva and blood. "I-I'll Yes You're right Arcana Hermit Attack those three" he whispered, his eyes glazing
over as he held out his compendium and set the full moon Shadow free.
"Psychosis or not, this is turning out better than I expected. I never thought Minato-kun would take such a proactive role in
his team's downfall." Kishimaru folded his arms even as he felt Sachiko stare at him like a caged animal.
Sachiko licked her dry lips. "Y-You can't be serious. Minato is completely unpredictable! You and I both have no idea
what's going on in his head!"

The form of the transformed Arcana Hermit bloated from page form into the black and crimson chrysalis. With an ear
splitting roar, the Shadow emerged and prowled towards the engaged Persona users like a wolf stalking its prey.
"Magarula"
The two still in the fight, found it was impossible to ignore the Shadow. Junpei braced himself and Shinjiro immediately
went to cover Ken. If the others weren't able to help them, then they'd all be screwed.
Arcana Hermit spun its sceptre, whirling with an unprecedented speed and ferocity that hadn't been seen from the
lumbering Shadow prior. The wind spell grew fiercer as spiritual power was injected into it.
"Io! Heal and protect Junpei!"
The impossibly strong wind blast arched around Takaya and Jin, clearly aiming for Shinjiro and Junpei. A familiar
Persona took the hit however, before casting a quick Diarama spell to quell his anguished torso. As she burst in, Yukari
didn't look overly hurt or fazed by the attack, but seemed to be running low on stamina.
With the fight outside, they'd used up a considerable amount of energy dealing with the hordes of Shadow. Their ichor
created a sea of inky blackness above, pooling about Paulownia Mall's fountains.
Shinjiro was knocked aside by the powerful wind attack, only to be met by Akihiko and Mitsuru, both with their Personas
out. He felt some of his energy return after Penthesilea's healing wave, while Akihiko attended to Ken. "What took you so
long?" Shinjiro scowled as he struggled to his feet.
"Mazionga," Minato whispered
Koromaru jumped nimbly from the thunderbolts while Aigis blasted her shells into Arcana Hermit with her dodge.
"There was an unusual amount of Shadows outside It took some time to" Mitsuru took deep breaths as she turned
her attention to Takaya, Jin, Arcana Hermit and the rest of the group huddled near the back of the basement.
Shinjiro scoffed. "I was kidding. We already know."
"What happened? Why isn't Minato-kun fighting with you guys?" Yukari asked Junpei. As Takaya fired off his revolver, Io
used a Garu spell to deflect the projectile, rendering it harmless.
Junpei gritted his teeth. No. He wasn't doing this because he wanted to. He was doing it because he felt like he didn't
have a choice. "They took that girl hostage and if he didn't join them, they'd probably"
"Those!" Yukari gritted her teeth as Hypnos blared from behind Takaya in a blast of red light.
"Can you confirm, Yamagishi?" Mitsuru asked, sending ice at Jin with her Bufula spells. They exploded in a flurry of cold,
countered by the rings of Agilao sent by the now spinning Moros.
Fuuka gave a response of affirmation. "In fact, he even fought against them until Sachiko-chan was brought here" She
sighed. "None of your opponents have any weaknesses! However, Jin's Persona repels fire and blocks darkness!"
Fuuka informed. She had to focus. Lucia had finally been able to scan the members of Strega.
What was most odd, however, was the energy that Arcana Hermit seemed to be sharing with Minato. It was almost as if it
was siphoning his spiritual energy to power its own attackseven if it was a second tier spell, it appeared to have the
strength of a third tier one.
He ran and leapt towards the Arcana Hermit, stripping Shadows from the compendium and morphing them into shields,
marked by their Rampage Drive-like appearances. Aigis' rain of bullets barely left dents in them and seeing Koromaru
summon Cerberus, Minato summoned Sati to counter the Agilao billowing towards the much larger Shadow.
The flames whirled into Sati's body, engulfing her, then dying out, leaving her unscathed. "Diarama." Green-white light
covered Arcana Hermit, healing the wounds that Hermes and Aigis had inflicted on it earlier.
"Minato-san! Please come to your senses!" Aigis called. Koromaru barked repeatedly, trying to reach Minato's ears.
Knowing that he was a good person, he didn't want him to hurt the other humans living with him in the dorm.
If he ignored them or simply couldn't hear, no-one knew. "Unleash your power!" Minato whispered. Arcana Hermit roared
as it felt his Persona's energy revitalising it and responded to his will. The generator on its back had cords of lightning
coursing into it, flashing brightly as it cut through the darkness.

Fuuka gasped. "Everyone! It's gathering power for an attack through those cables attached to its back! Maybe if you
disable them, you can slow that Shadow down," she informed.
Hearing her explanation loud and clear in their minds, Penthesilea made a beeline towards one of the many cords,
slashing them apart with swipes of her rapier. Grasping cables of electricity soon fell lifelessly on the floor, cutting off
part of the Hermit's source of power.
Shinjiro frowned as he and Akihiko stared Jin down. Both of them had been weakened already. It was a question of who
would be able to outlast the other. Knowing that, Jin knew that he was at a disadvantage; Shinjiro had no problems with
close quarters combat with his close range weapon, while Jin had a revolver and incendiaries to rely on. He appeared to
be a stamina and strength based Persona user with no apparent weaknesses for him to exploit. That and he had a
second, unknown Persona user to worry about.
With the stubbornness of a mule, Shinjiro raged forth with his Persona. "Fatal End, Castor!" Moros and Castor were
about to meet mid-air.
Knitting his eyebrows together, Jin realised that the best chance he had was to distract them. Throwing a bomb down,
the three's vision was obscured by an acrid plume of smoke.
"Argh" Coughing madly to get the hot, poisonous air out of his lungs, Shinjiro and Castor were paused. Shinjiro in
particular, was now backing away from the smoke.
Smiling to himself, Jin immediately commanded Moros. It threw flurries of shadowy orbs upon them, while he managed
to steady the hammer of the gun against the palm of his hand. Disoriented and unable to see, let alone dodge, the
revolver let loose.
Castor, bombarded by the Mudoon spell, struggled to stand against the onslaught of darknessthe pain was
transferred to his master.
Ken bit back a yelp of pain as Nemesis shattered. The two bullets stuck fast into his Persona, but didn't let a single one
go through. He was knocked unconscious onto the floor.
"Tch" Jin clicked his tongue. They were running out of time.
Shinjiro registered what had just happened. "K-Ken!"
Yukari and Junpei faced the struggling Takaya together, determined to end the fight. "H-Hey Yuka-tan remember that
trick you and Minato pulled on the monorail?"
She gritted her teeth. How could she forget? "What about it?" Io floated above Yukari, now gathering a ball of wind in her
hands. "No, don't tell me." It completely destroyed the Priestess Shadow with their combined spell power.
Seeing that she'd caught on, Junpei grinned and summoned Hermes, gathering a sphere of heat and flame in front of
the two Persona users. "Agilao, Hermes!" he commanded.
As Takaya struggled to regain his bearings from the burns inflicted upon him and the recent Garula spell, he heard the
hum and roar of magic heading towards him. "Hypnos!" he growled, sending a quickly charged Megido to meet the
attack.
"Garula!" The wind and flame blasted at Takaya in a rampage, quickly filling the basement with heat. Embers flew from
the combined spell, overpowering Takaya and Hypnos. The Persona descended in front of Takaya, taking the hit.
The pain came in droves, making Takaya double over and Hypnos completely shatter. Holding his head in his hands,
mind crushing pain assaulted him, sending shivershis body writhed as it struggled to overcome it.
"I thought you were better than that, Shinji!" Akihiko looked tired, but much fresher than Shinjiro. As his Persona disrupted
Moros with a Sonic Punch, he heard Shinji mutter a 'screw you' in response. Jin felt the pain also, staggering as if he
was hit by Polydeuces' right straight.
The Mudoon spells spilled about as Moros spun and dissipated, sending the curses flying at the walls and floor.
Sparking electricity died out as they damaged the cordsthe cords connected to Arcana Hermit.

Fuuka began sensing something else; something other than the struggle occurring in Club Escapade's basement and

the dying web of electricity that Arcana Hermit was feeding on.
Quietly, avoiding being stained by the remnants of Shadow, she stepped towards her. Medea's life masking energy was
strong, but at a close proximity, any sensor would be able to detect stronger presences.
"Medea" The Persona came to her aid, flashing with energy as she activated Mind Charge. Quickly approaching
Paulownia Mall, Fuuka turned to face her.
She immediately communicated to her fellow members, "There's another Persona user!"
That was all she was able to say before a mind charged Agidyne exploded Lucia to shards of glass, sending her to the
ground. Fuuka looked up in horror at Medea, glancing at Chidori who towered over her, chain and hand axe dangling
from her hand. "You. You must be their sensor. Do exactly as I say or" Her weapon shifted.
She immediately understood. "W-What do you want?" Fuuka stammered.
"Summon your Persona."

"T-The end of the Dark Hour is a-approaching," Fuuka spoke into her team's ears. "Y-You have to w-withdraw" she
struggled to explain.
"Yamagishi! What happened?!" Mitsuru exclaimed.
"O-Oh um" She paused for a moment. "The Persona user attacked me and if you don't stop trying to fight against the
Dark Hour, they'll kill me" Fuuka's voice dropped to a whimper, followed by a gasp.
They all felt a pit of dread form in their stomachs. They'd been overwhelmed and lives were most certainly at stake.
Akihiko furrowed his brow as he looked at Mitsuru, cursing under his breath.
"Giga Spark." Arcana Hermit let loose a roar and with its body as the nexus, a bright flare of electricity erupted from it.
Excruciating pain burned away at their nerves, making it near impossible to stifle their cries of pain as racing bolts of
lightning ran through their systems.
Akihiko groaned, "M-Mitsuru!" Despite his resistance to electricity, even he was shocked by the attack. Yukari and Aigis
were knocked out of commission and the others were in no better condition.
"W-We have to retreat," she rasped, struggling to her feet. Koromaru whined, swaying and shuddering as he did the
same.
Taking that as their cue to escape, Jin ran over to Takaya and rushed from the basement as fast as he could. "Minato!
You have to stop!" Sachiko shouted, struggling out of Kishimaru's grip. Realising that her normal voice wasn't reaching
him at all, she switched to Shadow Whispers. "Please! It's over! We have to go!"
He gritted his teeth, giving a look to the other three Shadow Whisperers. They began whispering to Arcana Hermit, who
was shaking in place and beginning to shrink in size.

Breathing heavily, the spiritual tether forged between the two of them cracked, splintered and fragmentised. Minato
shook his head as he felt some of his power flood back into his system, now noticing how Arcana Hermit had shrunken
into a much smaller size.
Looking between the Shadow Whisperers, the downed members of SEES on the ground barely conscious and twitching
on the ground and the Shadow, he sighed. "We have to go!" he heard Sachiko whisper.
Barring his teeth, he compressed Arcana Hermit into page form and summoned it back into his compendium.
Eventually, he too, left the scene.
But if he'd wanted to be rid of them, why did his chest tighten seeing their bodies splayed across the floor?

AN: This is probably my favourite fight scene so far, actually. Were you expecting this? Technically I guess this is a
part two to the previous chapter, but I didn't have the energy to write this at the time. Besides, I think it works a bit
better this way.

I'm mostly wondering what you guys think about the fight scene and the way I jumped about the different parts of the
fight and the perspectives I took on; was it understandable?
Anyways, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter!

*Chapter 38*: Complete, Utter Fallout

Electricity in shambles and Dark Hour ended.
Nudged along at axe and gunpoint, Sachiko, Fuuka and Minato were forced in the direction of Port Island's slums behind
the station. None of them dared speak as they were led away by Strega and the Shadow Whisperers.
Dread in their stomachs and the hollow, spinning record of their breathing. Sachiko and Fuuka couldn't help but be
worried for the members of SEES which they'd left behind.
Their last companion couldn't begin to speak even if he wanted to. Minato's tongue was lacerated severely after the Dark
Hour had left and the throbbing migraine he sported didn't help either. He could vaguely make out the building that they
now stood in front of.
A ramshackle apartmentvictim to erosion, rust and dustwas their destination. It didn't particularly stand out amongst
the other cloned structures surrounding it.
Ascending one flight of stairs, moonlight hoped to peer in through the murky windows. The milky light died before it hit
the floor and only meagrely lit their ways.
They were thrust into a peeling room, littered with flakes and dust. Shadows stained the walls and floor. "You three.
Watch them and don't let them escape," Kishimaru commanded.
Hakori sighed and nodded, however slowly. Shina followed suit, seeming to share his displeasure. "Yeah, right," she
mumbled in response. As he left the room, the remaining three sat down and dispersed themselves in the sparse
furniture.
Sachiko narrowed her eyes, seeming to notice the strange responses that the two older-looking members gave
Kishimaru. "Well I guess you heard what Kishimaru-san said. You can talk if you want, but we can hear you even if you
talk in Shadow Whispers, so" Hakori shrugged, sinking into the couch and picking up a book.
Still, Fuuka gave a sigh of relief. "Um okay," she said quietly, approaching Minato and Sachiko. "Uh, Sachiko-san?
What's wrong with Minato-kun?"
She glanced at her before turning back to him. His look was blank and listless, but occasionally his Adam's apple would
bob. Sachiko thought that he must've been swallowing something. "We're about to find out," she replied. "Minato, what're
you swallowing?" Startled by her voice, he coughed profusely. When Minato removed his hand, there were flecks of
diluted blood, now dripping from his palm.
Sachiko's eyes widened. "What the hell?"
"O-Oh! Yukari-chan told me about this," Fuuka exclaimed. "And I noticed that sometimes he coughed a lot when he
was fighting against some of the Shadows when we were at Tartarus or sometimes against the Shadows at the full
moon." Sachiko urged her to continue. "He told Yukari-chan that sometimes his tongue started bleeding She didn't find
out why or how though."
A frown crossed her face. "Minato. How and why does your tongue start bleeding?" Sachiko asked.
"Talking in Shadow Whispers for too long especially against powerful Shadows," he whispered, flinching as he felt a
new sting to his mouth. Minato knew that he couldn't exactly keep talking.
"Fuuka-san, I think it's a side effect of his Shadow Whispers," she relayed to her. "But this only seems to happen to
him. I don't know how or why." Sachiko wasn't looking forward to straining Minato while his speech seemed as impeded
as it was.
Yoko hopped over, inclining her head. "That's weird! That doesn't happen to us. But then again, we can only talk to a few
types of Shadows," she said excitedly.
"Um What do you mean by that?" Fuuka asked.
She grinned. "Well People who can talk to Shadows can only talk to three types of Shadows. You know how they have
those different masks and all that? Some of them are really different from the others and some forms of Shadow appear
with those very specific masks?" Yoko spoke quickly, but somehow they understood.
Fuuka's eyes widened. "Y-Yes Shadows are separated into twelve different types. The Kirijo Group classified them

with names of tarot card arcana, from Magician to Hanged Man" she recalled aloud. Ikutsuki was the one that had
relayed the types of Shadow, how they were using that to predict the number of powerful Shadows and Fuuka herself,
with Lucia's help, could identify which arcana a Shadow fell under.
"Yeah, yeah! So" Yoko was interrupted by Shina.
She cleared her throat. "I know you're excited, but I'm not sure if we're supposed to be talking to them ourselves," she
pointed out.
Yoko's eyes gleamed dangerously as she spoke her ideas aloud, "But Shina-chan, Kishimaru-kun didn't say that we
couldn't! Besides, you're really going to listen to what he's saying after he went and talked to Minato-kun alone and then
totally backstabbed him?"
Even Hakori looked up at her words. "If you put it that way" he muttered. "Shadow Whisperers can only talk to three
kinds of Arcana. That's why there's four of us; we cover all of them." That did explain why she could only communicate
with a few Shadows. Sachiko nodded to herself. "But Minato-san. He's different, somehow. Like Yoko-san pointed out,
we don't get our tongues bleeding if we whisper for too long."
"By the way You can sleep on the couches if you want," Shina said offhand, rubbing her eyes.
Yoko had fallen asleep on the floor.
Vacating the couch, Hakori picked her up and put her on it before moving to a rather uncomfortable looking wooden chair
in the corner.
Minato sighed and moved to an empty one, fully intending to sleep the night off. Never before had he felt so helpless. He
didn't even know why! It wasn't like he really considered SEES to be his team. Just a team that he led because he was
the most versatile of them all.
"T-Thank you," Fuuka mumbled, walking to the couch Yoko was sleeping on. She only took up half of the couch space
while she was curled up.
Sachiko definitely had more questions for the Shadow Whisperers, but she was feeling tired. It could wait until later. If
they were going to keep the three there, did that mean that they were going to keep them from going to school or from
going home?
Probably. If they were smart, they wouldn't take chances.
But then again The three of them didn't appear to be happy about the whole situation. They expressed a disdain for
Kishimaru in particular. Perhaps Sachiko could use that as a means of escape. Exploit it and the rest could come
later. She wasn't exactly thinking sharply.
She chewed on her lip before sitting near Minato. Noticing she was there, he moved his legs out of the way, hanging
them off the seat, and moved further into it. Sachiko sat down, glancing between him and her hand.
No. Sachiko wouldn'tcouldn't trust it. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

Clinical white.
Junpei had been rushed to Tatsumi Memorial Hospital for medical attention. The bullet probably wouldn't be removed.
Knowing him, he'd probably take the bullet as some sort of cool war scar rather than a problem, extraction or no
extraction.
Very thankfully, the bullet didn't lodge anywhere too dangerous so with a bit of gauze and antibiotics, Junpei would heal
just fine.
All of them suffered electrical burns from Arcana Hermit's final Giga Spark attack, but it wasn't too big an issue. The
bruises they had were of the same priority. Just less pain. That was how it went for physical injuries anyways.
It was their mindset in shambles.
After assessing Junpei's condition, SEES left for their dorm sleep deprived and lost. As the other members went to sleep
it off as best they could, Mitsuru relayed her report via voice message to Ikutsuki.

Aigis had to be carried back she'd shorted out from the abnormally large intake of electricity. It didn't help that it was her
Persona's weakness. She hoped to have some repairs for the android done at a laboratory.
Waking up in a cold sweat, Akihiko headed towards the kitchen, deciding that he needed something else to get him to
calm down. Mixing together hot water and protein powder in a tall glass, he almost couldn't resist crushing the
receptacle in his grip.
It had been such a long time since he'd seen Miki, dreams or otherwise. Familiar silver hair, braided a bit on the thin
side and always carrying around a ratty teddy bearthe last remnants of their parents.
Neither he nor his sister remembered their parents very much. They were flickers of times gone past, faded from
memory. Anything he saw was a faint black and white image of an outdated film reel.
But noAkihiko somehow found it in his heart to believe that the two's parents had left them at the orphanage for a good
reason. Somehow, he thought that they were truly kind people; kind people in the wrong circumstances.
At first, the two of them were afraid to make contact with any of the other children. It was that period of time where they
would keep to themselves and hope that none of the others were curious enough to ask about them.
And really, it didn't happen.
Miki, however, had lost her toy. One of the other kids, noticing how frantic she looked, helped her, however begrudgingly
he might've seemed at the time. In fact he remembered the way that he brashly shouted, "Hey! Stay away from her!"
"The hell?! I was helping her find that damn teddy, dumbass!"
Later on, he pointed out that he might've had a sister complex.
The two of them stared each other down: one silver-haired child gritting his teeth; and the other brunet glaring back. Miki
had to break the two of them up after she managed to find the stuffed toy. They'd punched and brawled their hearts out.
After that, they cleared everything up.
Akihiko sighed, taking a sip of his drink as he finished his reminiscing. It was even more bland than usual.
"Hmph. You're at those damned protein shakes again? You know that shit isn't good for you," Shinjiro grumbled.
He looked back and shook his head. "When haven't you said that?"
Shinji rolled his eyes. "When you weren't drinking it," he pointed out. "You're not seriously moping around over all of this,
are you?"
"W-Well I!" Akihiko stopped himself and skulled some of the liquid. He very nearly slammed the cup onto the counter
near him. He closed his eyes.
His arms folded. "Aki. You know that pretty much none of this is your fault? It's those bastards from Strega and those
other guys with them. They were the ones that planned it all out. Unless you're going to tell me that you saw it coming."
"I wanted to," he muttered.
Shinjiro shook his head. "Who was the one that said not to think about the past?" Glaring at him, a fist shot smack dab
into his cheek. He reeled momentarily, staring at Akihiko as if to say, 'is that all you've got?' "Tch. Aki."
"What?"
"I didn't come down here to fight, as much as I wanna punch your lights out right now after that."
Akihiko sighed, pulling his arm back. "Then why?"
"Well" Shinjiro shrugged. "I couldn't sleep so I was going to get a glass of water or something but" He sighed once
more. "Look. I know how much of a stubborn little bastard you are. So just wait and think it out. Rubbing those two tiny
brain cells together shouldn't be too hard.
"Anyway. I will get you back for that shit you pulled. Sleep with one eye open." He grinned a little as he retrieved that glass
of water he so needed and returned to his room.
Staring at his shake, Akihiko downed the rest, wiping the remnants from his mouth. "No" He smiled wryly. "He's

probably right. We'll find a way to fix it. We have to find it." The three's lives could've been solely relying on them if they
couldn't find a way out. They, as teammates, had to do the same.
Shinjiro breathed out as he swallowed some pills along with his water. His wrenching chest calmed down, heart rate
normalising and Persona calmed down. He hadn't intended to give his friend a motivational speech or anythingjust to
get him to stop blaming himself again.
What a joke.
The pills he had were proof of that joke.
Lying awake on his bed, watching the ceiling, Ken had heard footsteps. His teeth clenched as his realisations came full
force. It was Castor, Shinjiro's Persona.
Somehow, he'd heard the stomps in the night. Awoken by a loud slam, he and his mother jolted awake to an hour of
absolute nightmare.
That was when he saw the looming figure, staring down at the two of them with a contemptuous gaze. It rushed in, fist
trained on his mother. Another voice came from nearby, just behind. "No way! I've got this!"
In a blast of blue light, Castor struck.
It rampaged, killing the Shadow assaulting his mother and his mother too. In a visceral mess, Castor's steed gored the
Shadow, swung it into her and stomped out her final breaths with its blade horn. Shadows were part of the problem, but
Shinjiro was his perpetrator.
Tightening his fists, he stubbornly forced himself not to cry. Shinjiro was going to pay, one way or another. His mother
could find peace, the killer would be brought to justice
The failure of that night's operation didn't discourage him at all. If anything, it spurred him to try even harderhe had to
get stronger and when he did, he'd face Shinjiro and take his life. Now, he couldn't sleep.
He stood, laying a mat out onto the floor. First, without the spear. Then with. Ken growled to himself as he stretched.
Above, Yukari couldn't stop thinking about what had transpired that night. It had all gone so utterly wrong. Sure, they
technically managed to win against Strega, but now they'd found out that Minato had been hoarding those Shadows they
were supposed to be killing, that he'd gotten away with that Hermit Shadow as well, that they'd managed to kidnap both
Fuuka and Sachiko
She wasn't sure what to think.
Why was he keeping those Shadows instead of killing them? It was explaining why there had been so many cases of
Apathy Syndrome nowadays. The rate at which people were turning vegetative was increasing exponentially. The amount
of people, also.
According to Junpei, Minato would never have betrayed themhe was compelled to act because someone that he cared
about was in danger.
Now, Yukari wondered whether she would have chosen to do the same as Minato. Pursing her lips, she closed her eyes
and struggled still to fall asleep.
If it was her father she probably would've done the same. What mattered now was that they needed to set things
straight.
If SEES as a whole was to continue, it would put all three lives at stake. Many questions remained about Minato's
allegiances, but it seemed clear that he felt he didn't have a choice. Otherwise, he wouldn't have joined them in that
moment. Mitsuru had yet to figure out why he'd been keeping the Shadows, but ultimately, she knew that they had to ask
him.
She couldn't really imagine what the chairman's reaction to the whole situation would be after this decided failure of an
operation.
Either way, they needed a plan, and fast. In her heart, she knew that she needed to somehow continue with SEES, get rid
of the Dark Hour and her father's burden. Mitsuru wasn't about to take no for an answer.


Static blurred through his dreams and a quiet, haunting, familiar voice spoke:
"Don't worry, Minato. I'll help you. We'll protect them together I promise Just as soon as you're all better
"We can destroy them"

He chuckled, listening to her debacles. In all seriousness, it was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that Minato could
prove to be a problem. His smile grew.

AN: Sorry, I know not a lot happened this chapter since it's more of a setup. I hope you like it still; this next arc is
gonna be a doozy. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed! :D

*Chapter 39*: Hiding Your Hand

There was nothing truer than her wanting to become more useful for her teammates in SEES.
As the Dark Hour went on, Fuuka felt the weight of her helplessness.
The next day, the three of them weren't allowed to go to school and were forced to stay inside the building. They were
given some meagre food and fluids to keep them going, but nothing more than that.
After that night, Kishimaru had also been keeping an eye on them. The other three Shadow Whisperers had been
chatting to them on and off (Yoko had been falling asleep periodically throughout the day and Hakori had been awake
almost the whole time, struggling to fall asleep) but once he was around, no-one said a whisper.
She wasn't sure what her friends were doing at school. Did they decide not to go to Tartarus? Were they going about
their lives normally? To keep them safe? To keep each other safe?
Somehow, doubt had settled in that Strega and the Shadow Whisperers probably wouldn't leave the situation as it was
that is, leaving them alive.
If there was anyone that could help them right now, it was them. She refused to give up.
She didn't dare try summoning her Persona while they were there. Moreover, they'd taken their dangerous belongings,
like Sachiko's gun, Evokers and even his compendium. The realisation came that she'd been able to talk to the
members of SEES even without Lucia being summoned once before.
Fuuka tried first to probe into Minato's mind, seeing as he'd probably be familiar with it. It wouldn't necessarily freak him
out and he knew how to talk back to her, by sending some silent messages through their mind link.
It was a strange experience poking into Minato's mind for communicating while they were on Tartarus runs. It was
almost like it was a small, light space which she could fill in with speech and information, while the rest of it was blocked
off. She wasn't sure how, or why.
Right now, that small space was gone. Her mind link wouldn't connect, vainly pushing against bricked walls of darkness.
Minato appeared to be asleep, but something was off about it.
No-one got results when they tried only once, however. If she could somehow peer hard enough in, or stay for longer,
perhaps she could find out something. Anything.
Breathing in, deeply, she branched her mind link into it, attempting to call out for his name. "Minato-kun? Can you hear
me?" Fuuka asked, however hesitantly.
What reached her was the quiet, but distinct sound of what she'd describe as 'beached waves'. Waves, so far from
home, having given up letting out sighs of defeat. It sounded very much like when Minato was talking to other Shadows
in Whispers. That was probably exactly what it was.
As Fuuka listened, however, she felt a migraine creep in at first, attacking her, piercing into her ears and infiltrating her
mind. The beached wave sound grew louder, angrier. They rose with fury, attempting to swallow her consciousness.
She snapped the link. Fuuka shook her head. What was wrong with him?
With a sigh of resignation, she took a momentary rest. It seemed that none of the others had figured out what she was
doing. There wasn't a sign of it, at least. She hoped at least, that the red haired member from before wouldn't notice this.
Her only other option now was to reach Sachiko. She hadn't been doing much since Kishimaru had arrived.
Breathing now even, she connected her mind to hers. It was always a strange sensation. An invisible rope tying together
to separate minds. An odd, two way tunnel of thought.
Sachiko's mind was unlike any other mind that she'd linked to. Fuuka was used to connecting with other Persona users.
Linking with someone else who apparently didn't have a Persona was a new experience.
Being submerged within water was not new. The significant amounts of darkness surrounding the depths were,
however. Usually, if there was such shadows, they were held back in a noticeable, dome-like shape, segregating the
light from dark. Fuuka ventured that the shape holding everything back was made of the same material, but had been
repurposed to hide the umbra within.

In this case, however, Sachiko's light and dark was more interspersed in the water. It seemed to mix, but there were
significant light spots too. However, Fuuka decided that she was done observing the state of her mind for then. "Sachikochan"
Upon hearing her voice, Sachiko looked around the room, briefly falling on Fuuka before closing her eyes once again. It
seemed she was a light sleeper. "Sachiko-chan, it's me, Fuuka. I I um I'm talking to you, using my Persona ability. If
you transfer your thoughts to me, you can speak to me in secret."
Sachiko breathed out. "Like this?" she struggled to think.
Unlike when she talked to the other Persona users, their voices were loud and clear. Whether it was inexperience or
because of her lack of Persona, it was a bit difficult to hear.
"Yes. I can't hear you very clearly, but you can hear me, yes?" Fuuka tried affirming.
She bit her lip. "Yes. Loud and clear," Sachiko replied.
"Okay. Thank you. I decided to try using my Persona ability to establish a mind link with you. It's not dangerous; I just use
it to speak to people from farther away, or for what I'm doing now," Fuuka explained. "I tried talking to Minato-kun, but for
some reason, his mind is inaccessible. I don't know why
"A-Anyways I um I was just testing this. I don't know whether this can help but I want to get us out of here
somehow" Fuuka sighed. "My Persona ability isn't meant for fighting, so this is really all I can do without summoning
it."
There was a pause. "Okay. I was trying to talk to the other Whisperers here to see if they had any weaknesses.
"And it seems they do. At least, from what they told us on the first night about their Shadow Whispering ability. To add on,
none of them particularly like their leader for whatever reason. From what I've speculated thus far They're afraid and or
displeased with him.
"Whether it is the person himself, or because of what he chooses to do with his leadership over them Or who is to say
that he really is the 'leader'? I haven't reached any conclusions," Sachiko tried explaining.
So it seemed that Sachiko had been attempting to get more information out of them. "Okay"
"Actually, Fuuka-san. I have two things to ask: You said that you can't talk to Minato? And do you even know how this
telepathy thing works?"
"Y-Yes. Sort of, anyways. You see there's a sort of light space where my voice is able to reach you, in an endless sea.
The other space is occupied by some sort of darkness. I don't know exactly what it is. But I can't talk to people if they have
too much darkness. Minato is like that right now."
Sachiko admittedly, didn't have much of an idea as to how Persona ability really worked. She could only try to look at it
from a mildly scientific standpoint. "Hm Alright, let's take a step back. The Persona ability is the physical manifestation
of a mask or faade that the host uses to protect themselves? At least, that's sort of what Minato told me before."
She furrowed her brow, but gave Sachiko a 'yes' in response.
"And the mask you would say does it come from the mind, or the soul?"
Fuuka bit her lip. She'd been told to gather information by Yukari and Mitsuru once before. But did she get any information
on how exactly Personas worked and where they come from? "I I'm not sure. I call these mind links because I can put
my voice through into your oh."
Surprisingly, Sachiko laughed. "Well, either way I was just thinking that you sorta transmitted some signals using
your Persona. Whether it's from your mind or your soul doesn't really matter at this point. But that's how you get your voice
across. That's what I'm thinking."
"W-Wow" Truthfully, Fuuka was overwhelmed by how quickly Sachiko could draw any sort of conclusion from the
information she just gave her.
There was a sigh. "Well, it's just a hypothesis, but it's the best shot we have, isn't it?"
"I suppose so But if you say that I can do this by getting out a signal of some sort" Fuuka furrowed her brow. "What if

it
"Wasn't just voice?" Fuuka blushed as they'd managed to come to the same conclusion at the same time.
"Not bad. I was entertaining that idea just now" Sachiko smiled to herself. "If you were able to change the type of
signals that you were sending me You could change it to smell, touch You know. Sensory illusions."
Fuuka pursed her lips. "You really think I can do that? What if it doesn't work?"
Sachiko gave a non-committal grunt. "Well, don't sell yourself short before you've even tried it now. If it doesn't work, it
doesn't work, but we have time to try. Otherwise, I'm stuck just waiting until Kishimaru leaves or something," she
reasoned.
Right. Until there was another opportunity, they just had to try what they could. "O-Okay. I'll do my best."
"Good. Try changing the signals so that an image appears wherever you are. It can be whatever you want. Just uh
don't make it scary or something."

Deep in musty darkness, the glow of flames illuminated two, three forms.
"Will it be much longer?" Takaya questioned.
The two fighters had seen better days, but Medea had been able to heal most of their wounds. What was left was for
their energy to return to them.
Chidori dismissed her Persona. "You just need some rest now. If I didn't catch anything, your body should do the rest."
Takaya's previously blank expression grew into a thin smile. "I see This frail body may be of some use yet," he
chuckled to himself, leaning back and closing his eyes.
Watching Chidori swallow another pill, Jin gave a sigh. "When are we going to attack them next?" he asked.
He thought for a moment. "Well We should strike while they are still recovering. Perhaps tomorrow night? They won't
be able to sense us thanks to Chidori. It will be a pleasant surprise attack."
Jin nodded. "But we have to make sure that the hostages can't do anything. From what I've been hearing, Arisato's been
out of it. He won't even eat or drink anything. Those Kagami and Yamagishi girls, though" He furrowed his brow. "Well,
they shouldn't be that much trouble but we should be careful anyways."
"Maybe we should bring Arisato He's more or less under our control. We can use it to our advantage. The others can
figure something out to keep the other two," Chidori suggested.
He scoffed. "Well, they better do their job properly, but I think that'd be for the best," Jin agreed. "Takaya?"
Humming to himself, he then spoke, "I believe so. But perhaps we should get into contact with our benefactor?"

He looked up at the sliding doors' sigh.

"Yo, Yuka-tan!" Normally, he would've give her a wave, but the nurses had told him to limit his movement as much as
possible. "Come to see little ol' me?"
She tried to suppress her sigh. She really did. Junpei was just so full of energya huge contrast to what things were like
at the dorm. Things were tense. No-one seemed to know what to do. "Do you see anyone else in the room?" she
retorted.
He just chuckled. "Well, I'm flattered. What's up?"
Yukari furrowed her brow in thought as she took a seat next to his bed. "Things well I can't really say things have been
going on at the dorm. We're in total lockdown!"
"Oh yeah. 'cause they might come after us and all? And they still have those three, huh?" Junpei looked up at the ceiling.
"I I actually really wanna help them out, but can't really do that, yanno?" He made a clumsy gesture with his chin

towards his wound.

Sigh. "Hey, don't move too much" Yukari scolded weakly, with Junpei giving her a sheepish grin. Yeah, he knew he
probably shouldn't have done that. "Well It's just that Ugh, I mean, everyone is so on edge. We don't know what to do.
We can't move forward even though we might want to. It's just"
"Frustrating?" Junpei suggested. "Heh, I know how you feel! I'm still stuck here, after all."
Yukari opened her mouth, to respond, but she realised very quickly that he was right. "Yeah. Well, it could've been worse
if we didn't get to heal you I just I wish I could do something about it. I have a bad feeling about what's going to come
up next. I don't want to be a sitting duck."
"Yukari."
She looked towards him, catching how he'd said his name. "Too soon? But well We just have to hang in there.
Besides, I doubt that they'd just be doing nothing. They have Fuuka-chan and Minato! And I can't speak for that Sachiko
girl but I'd bet they're trying what they can."
He looked expectantly up at her for some sort of response, snarky or not. Yukari just smiled. "Yeah. Just gotta hope." She
stood up. "Uh, thanks for uh listening to me. I didn't mean to rant, but"
"Nah, it's no problem Yuka-tan. Some games would be good though. It's boring just waiting for everything to heal."
Junpei grinned.
Yukari pursed her lips for a moment. "Oh. Well I could bring you your COMP, if you want?"
"Make sure to bring that one game called Alternate Tales of the Goddess: Devil Survivor!"
"Right, right See ya, Junpei."

AN: Hey guys! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Now's a good time to tell you that if you want to see the prologue to the sequel of this fanfic, you should go read
Persona 4: Falling Inside the Black. Anyways...
Later!