Shadows of the Supernatural
Chapter 1: The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad
Minato Arisato yawned as he stepped out of the shower. He was never a morning person, and the hot water he had just been standing under for ten minutes had not exactly helped the situation. As much as he really wished he could just go back to sleep, he did have to attend school. After drying off and tossing his towel to the side, he began to get dressed. First, he changed into his uniform, a black pair of pants and a white dress shirt. Next, he fastened his tie, a thin, black ribbon, into the shape of a bow and let it hang loosely from his neck. Finally, he threw on his black blazer, opting not to button it. Minato moved over to the mirror and examined his facial features. He had some very light stubble, but he decided that it was not enough to warrant a quick shave and moved on. He frowned as he noticed dark circles beginning to form under his pale blue eyes. It must have been the result of his late study session the previous night. He brushed his teeth thoroughly and then picked up his fine-tooth comb. Minato tried to comb his hair, but as usual, it refused to be pressed down neatly. So, after struggling for a few minutes, he gave up and let his unkempt dark blue bangs hang limply over his right eye. Generally satisfied with his appearance, he walked out of the bathroom and over towards his desk. After picking up his MP3 player and headphones, he left his room and began making his way to his dormitory's lounge on the first floor.
When he reached the lounge, he found two people waiting for him. They were Junpei Iori and Yukari Takeba, fellow members of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, a "school club" that combated supernatural threats. Junpei was slightly taller than Minato, who stood at 170 centimeters. He wore a blue dress shirt under his jacket and chose to substitute a silver necklace in place of the tie. He too had not shaved, but unlike Minato, Junpei purposefully let a goatee grow on his chin, despite the fact that it violated school rules. His navy blue baseball cap covered his buzz cut and shaded his gray eyes from the sunlight filtering in through the dormitory windows. When he saw Minato, he flashed a sheepish grin and waved. Yukari was shorter than he was. She wore a pink sweater and black miniskirt instead of the jacket and dress pants, and instead of the ribbon Minato wore, she had the red bow that the female uniform used as a tie. Her chestnut brown hair hung down to her neck in the back and covered her forehead. She wore white earrings and a matching, heart-shaped choker. She smiled sweetly when he arrived.
"Took you long enough," Junpei laughed. "Did you fall asleep in the shower or something?"
"I considered it," Minato remarked dryly. "I would seriously kill for school to start a few hours later."
"The extra sleep would be nice, but then it wouldn't end until the evening," Yukari said, joining the two guys as they began walking to school.
"I'd be perfectly okay with that." Minato could not stop himself from yawning. "Man, I really need to fix my sleep schedule."
"So Minato, are you excited for tonight?" Junpei asked.
"You bet. Sanada-senpai really piqued my interest last night."
"I still can't believe that we get to fight evil!" Junpei exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "It's just like in Phoenix Ranger Featherman R!"
The three of them laughed. The sentai series analogy may have been a little childish, but it was not entirely inaccurate. They were in fact heroes, fighting to protect the peace.
The ten-minute walk to the train station and subsequent monorail ride to Port Island passed pleasantly. The trio chatted and laughed as they enjoyed the day's weather, and soon enough, they had found themselves at the front gates of Gekkoukan High School. The first half of the school day was pretty normal, all things considered. Besides Toriumi-sensei embarrassing Junpei for sleeping through her composition class, it was completely uneventful. At Lunchtime, however, Mitsuru Kirijo, the student council president and the leader of S.E.E.S, visited their classroom. The entire class, barring Minato, Junpei, and Yukari, stood nervously as the redhead entered the room. Her hair draped over her left eye, mirroring Minato's, and draped down in the back to about her waist. Her uniform matched the rest of the female students', except for the fact that she did not wear a jacket. She casually walked up to the group.
"Can I have a minute?"
"Sure," Minato replied.
"Come to the meeting room on the fourth floor when you get back to the dorm today. I have something to tell everyone."
"Ooh, are we having that talk?" Junpei asked, giggling at his own dirty joke.
Minato and Yukari both sighed. Junpei could be so incredibly stupid sometimes. Minato did enjoy dirty jokes, but right now was not really the time for it. Mitsuru did a fairly good job at hiding her annoyance, only lightly massaging the bridge of her nose for a moment, before she continued.
"I'll save the details for later. See you there."
With that, she left, and the rest of the students in the room began to resume their usual activities, with a few gossiping about the encounter that had just taken place.
"Wow," Junpei whistled, "she didn't waste any time leaving..."
"She's probably busy with things like the student council, unlike us," Yukari retorted.
Minato merely made a mental note of her hostile tone towards their upperclassman, while Junpei mocked her for it. They talked for a few more minutes until the bell that signaled the start of the next period sounded. They returned to their seats and braced themselves to endure the remaining lectures in the school day.
Minato and Junpei decided to go home once school had ended, but Yukari had to stay after for archery practice, which postponed their meeting until the evening. Once she had returned, they made their way to the fourth floor. Mitsuru was waiting for them in the meeting room along with two others. One was Akihiko Sanada, a tall, well-built third-year with short silver hair and a bandage above his left eye. He wore a bright red vest instead of the blazer. The other was Shuji Ikutsuki, the school's Chairman of the Board. He was a middle-aged man with long, wavy brown hair and a goatee. He wore a pair of glasses and a tan jacket over a brown turtleneck. Once the three of them had taken their seats, Ikutsuki spoke up.
"Well, it seems like everybody's here."
He paused for a brief moment.
"I'd like your undivided attention, please," he began. "For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona users we had… but that number recently jumped to five."
Minato smiled. The power he had recently awakened to, Persona, was the power to manifest one's psyche in a physical form, as well as the ability to remain conscious during the Dark Hour, a hidden time period between one day and the next. Thanks to it, his mundane life had just changed into something much more exciting.
"Therefore, when the Dark Hour begins tonight, I'd like to commence our exploration of Tartarus."
"Sorry, I asked Akihiko-senpai this yesterday, but um… What's this Tartarus thing again?" Junpei asked.
"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" Yukari asked, almost surprised by her teammate's ignorance.
"It's no wonder," the chairman cut in. "After all, it does appear only during the Dark Hour."
"Just like the Shadows," Akihiko said, a large grin forming on his face. "Interesting huh? And even better, it's the perfect place for us to train." Akihiko paused for a moment before elaborating. "You can think of it as a sort of Shadow nest."
"Woah… Their nest…" Junpei said, awestruck.
"But senpai, what about your injuries?" Yukari asked.
"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, he'll only be coming as far as the entrance," Mitsuru assured her.
"...Yeah, I know. Don't remind me," Akihiko grumbled.
"I'm sure he won't complain, as long as you don't go too far in without him," Ikutsuki chuckled. "Since it involves the Shadows, Tartarus isn't something that we can just avoid. We need to investigate this."
And with that, the meeting adjourned. Everyone returned to their rooms to prepare for the long night they had ahead of them.
Just a few minutes before midnight, the members of S.E.E.S, with the exception of Ikutsuki, who could not summon a Persona, had made their way to the gates of Gekkoukan. Minato killed time by listening to his music, Yukari was fiddling with her bow, and Junpei was just staring at the building in confusion.
"Sooooooo… Why are we at school?" he finally asked.
Akihiko laughed. "Just wait and see, it'll only be a few moments now."
Junpei was content enough with that response and started whistling to keep himself from becoming bored. Not much later, the clock struck midnight. The moon changed into a pale, sickly green, any nearby water changed crimson like blood, and the atmosphere became incredibly oppressive. All electronic devices shut off, which snapped Minato to attention when his headphones stopped working. The Dark Hour had begun. Immediately, Gekkoukan High School began to change. From the two-story building, a massive structure began to form. Countless bits and pieces began to protrude from it and kept climbing higher and higher, twisting and turning until it had reached past the clouds.
Admittedly, Minato found that just a little disturbing. His school turned out to be the nest that the Shadows were originating from. The structure of the building itself reminded him of some of the paintings by M.C. Escher, with how it was twisted insanely out of shape.
"What… the… hell?" Junpei was at a loss for words.
"So, this is Tartarus?" Minato asked, still surprised.
"Yes," Mitsuru began, "this is Tartarus, the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."
"What!?" Junpei shouted. "What happened to our school!?"
"Don't worry. Once the Dark Hour ends, it'll go back to normal."
"But… But why?! Why'd our school turn into a giant tower!?"
A long, awkward silence passed before anyone spoke again.
"You mean… you don't know either?" Junpei asked.
"...No," Mitsuru admitted, a sullen expression forming on her face.
"I'm sure it's complicated," Yukari cut in. "But who cares? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting."
Akihiko turned to face the massive tower.
"Now that we can explore it, maybe we'll be able to find out. Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek. This will be our first real expedition."
Akihiko took a deep breath.
"I'm sure there's some clue about the Dark Hour here. There just has to be!"
"I respect your enthusiasm, Akihiko, but remember, you won't be accompanying us today."
"Believe me… I am well aware of that disappointment," Akihiko sighed, his facial expression turning dejected.
The group walked through the enormous doors that served as the entrance to the tower. The first floor was a massive, open foyer, with a large staircase leading up to the entrance to the labyrinth. They were looking around when Minato noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a blue door, glowing brightly in the darkness that surrounded the place. He walked over towards it and remembered the words spoken to him in his dream.
"Take this key. It will grant you free access to the Velvet Room. The next time we see each other, you shall have come here of your own will."
He felt something in his pocket. He reached for it and pulled out a small, blue key. He was sure that it had not been there up until that point, but he dismissed it. When testing the key, it fit perfectly with the door. He unlocked it and entered. Immediately, he was blinded, and he felt his consciousness slipping away.
When his vision returned to him, Minato was sitting in a chair. He recognized the blue room he was in, as he had been there when he first awakened to his power. It was the Velvet Room. Sure enough, there was Igor, the strange old man with a nose so big that it would put Klinger from M*A*S*H* to shame. Elizabeth, Igor's attendant, was also present.
"I've been waiting for you," Igor said. "The time has come for you to wield your power. However, before you proceed, it is important for you to understand the nature of your power."
"My power's nature?"
"Your power is like the number zero."
"What," Minato deadpanned, almost insulted.
"It is empty, but at the same time, holds infinite possibilities," Igor chuckled. "You, my boy, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed."
"I… see."
"You may not be very powerful now, but your power will grow, and you may come into contact with those who will oppose you because of this power. Be sure to keep that in mind, and proceed carefully. I wish I could tell you more now, but unfortunately, our time is running out."
"Okay. Thank you, Igor."
"Please, come again of your own accord. Then, I shall explain my true role, and how Elizabeth and I will be able to best assist you. Until we meet again."
Minato's vision began to fade again. Slowly, all of his sense dimmed until he had lost consciousness.
He had returned to Tartarus. The door to the Velvet Room was still there, so Minato assumed that Igor was fine with him returning whenever. He turned around and was met with all of the members of S.E.E.S. staring at him like he was mentally deranged.
"Uuh… You okay, dude?" Junpei asked. "You've just kind of been standing there, spacing out for a few minutes now."
"Did you guys not see me enter the door?"
"What door?" Yukari asked, a puzzled expression on her face.
"The blue one, behi-" Minato paused for a second before realizing that he was the only one who could see and access the Velvet Room. "Nevermind. Forget it."
His teammates were still confused, and he could still tell that they were casting worried glances his way occasionally, but he decided to ignore it. They would forget soon enough. Mitsuru was kind enough to diffuse the situation for him.
"Here, these are your weapons," she said, handing Minato and Junpei swords. "Your Personas are useful, but using one drains a lot of mental and physical stamina, especially when you've first awakened to it." The two of them gratefully took the weapons from her. "Just ask Arisato. His first time summoning a Persona, he went so overboard that it knocked him out for a week."
Junpei turned and looked at him.
"Really?"
Minato let out a nervous laugh.
"Y-yeah… that happened."
After a moment, a proverbial lightbulb lit up above Junpei's head.
"Oh! That's why you were out of school for so long in the beginning of the year!"
"Arisato, I want you to be the field leader while you're in there," Mitsuru told him.
"Alright."
"Wait, why him?" Junpei asked, a slight tint of jealousy contaminating his voice.
"He has the most experience out of all of you, and he has shown no trouble summoning his Persona. Can you two say the same for yourselves?"
Both Junpei and Yukari remained silent and accepted Minato as the leader. After some idle chitchat while making preparations, Minato, Junpei, and Yukari formed up and began climbing the stairs to the labyrinth.
"Be careful, you three," Mitsuru called out. "The Shadows you encounter may be weak, but do not underestimate them. After all, there's a reason why we don't have a single Shadow kill by a non-Persona user on record."
Minato nodded in affirmation, and the trio entered the second floor of Tartarus.
The second they entered the tower, it split off into countless separate hallways and corridors. Minato sighed. He had a feeling that this was going to take a while.
"Okay everyone, stay close."
"Yeah, on it," Junpei replied.
"I hope none of us get lost," said Yukari.
"Can you hear me?" a staticky voice called out, almost like it was done over a radio.
"Kirijo-senpai?"
"Yes, it's me. I'll be providing audio backup for you from here on out."
"Wait," Junpei interrupted. "You mean you can see in here?"
"I can. It's part of my Persona's abilities. I would prefer to join you three in there, but the layout of Tartarus changes on a day to day basis, so external support is necessary."
"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better about getting lost in here," Yukari said, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, I'm sensing some enemies up ahead. They should be weak, but be careful."
"Got it!" Junpei replied.
The trio began walking through the labyrinth, turning through the halls until they came upon a black puddle of sludge. There was a blue mask in its center, and two lanky, toothpick-like arms protruded from it.
"I don't think it's seen us yet," Minato whispered, trying to avoid detection. "Here's the plan. I'll sneak up behind it and ambush it. Once it's been thrown off guard, we surround it. Sound good?"
"Yeah," Yukari replied.
"Sounds good to me!" Junpei confirmed.
Minato began slowly creeping up on the Shadow. His breaths became quick and shallow, his grip on his sword tightened so much that it hurt, and his pulse increased to the point where he felt like his heart would explode. Once he had moved to about half a meter behind the Shadow, he raised his sword over his head, his nerves still running wild. In one, swift motion, he brought the sword down with all of his strength, smashing it into the back of the monster.
"NOW!"
Immediately, Junpei and Yukari were in position. Junpei swung his sword as if it were a baseball bat, causing the Shadow to tumble and collapse on the ground.
"This one's weak to fire and wind!" Mitsuru called out, having finished her analysis of the enemy.
"Got it!"
Minato drew his evoker and placed it against his temple. Without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger and let a cathartic wave of energy wash over him.
"Persona!"
Orpheus, the mechanical musician, manifested from thin air, his lyre slung over his back. He raised his right hand, and a blast of flame engulfed the Shadow, causing it to burn until it disintegrated into nothing more than ash and smoke.
"Target destroyed."
"Good job, Arisato," Mitsuru said, her approval obvious in her pleased tone.
The team resumed making their way through the maze. It was not long before their next encounter with a Shadow. The nest was completely crawling with them. It was disgusting, to be honest.
"I've got this!" Junpei called out, pointing his evoke at his forehead. "Get out there, Hermes!"
The Greek messenger god slashed through the enemy at ridiculous speed with his razor-like wings. A large gash formed on the Shadow, which bore a pink mask, causing a blackish-red mist to spew out of its wound.
The Shadow was not done, however. Its body contorted, and it lunged at Junpei, landing a striking blow directly on his left shoulder.
"Come to me! Persona!"
Yukari's persona, the Greek goddess Io, barraged the enemy with strong gales of wind, which sliced through the Shadow's body like a knife through butter. The remaining pieces of the monster quickly dissipated into nothingness.
Yukari turned and ran to Junpei, who was clutching his shoulder in pain.
"Be more careful, you idiot!"
"Heh, yeah," he laughed. "Sorry about that."
She summoned Io once again, but this time, the Persona gently touched Junpei's wound, which began healing on contact. The gash was light, so it had fully closed in a manner of seconds.
The team had managed to climb to the third floor before Mitsuru called them back.
"Alright. I think that's enough for tonight. You've done well. All of you have."
They complied. Mitsuru was right. Exploring Tartarus had taken a toll on his stamina. The three of them split up to look for the teleporter to the entrance and quickly left once they had located it.
It had been two days since Minato had first entered Tartarus. S.E.E.S. explored the tower again the next night and succeeded in progressing a few more floors, but they stopped when they reached a powerful presence on the fifth floor. He was completely exhausted. His body was not used to the heavily taxing physical burden that came with being active during the Dark Hour. Having to go through an entire school day just made it even worse. As soon as he got back to his dormitory room, he collapsed onto his bed and passed out. It was time for him to get a good night's sleep.
Minato's eyes jolted open in response to the blaring sound of an emergency alarm. The moonlight that shone through his window was green, which meant that it was the Dark Hour. He sighed. He knew all too well that an alarm at this time of night could only mean one thing.
"Emergency! High Shadow reading detected! All personnel report to the meeting room immediately! I repeat, all personnel report to the meeting room immediately!"
Minato desperately wanted it to be a drill, but he highly doubted that it was. He was fairly confident that Mitsuru wouldn't wake them up like this unless the situation was dire. He quickly pushed himself off of his bed and darted out the door. He, Junpei, Akihiko, and Yukari all scrambled in their groggy, half-dressed states to get to the meeting room on the fourth floor. Once they reached it, they found Mitsuru, fully suited up for battle.
"Where is it!" Junpei eagerly shouted. "I'll rip it a new one!"
"I've detected a massive Shadow reading in an old warehouse on the edge of the city," Mitsuru said, briefing them on the situation. "It seems to be similar in power to the one Arisato fought on the roof earlier this month, but other than that, I've never seen anything like it."
"So, what's the plan?" Akihiko asked, the fire of excitement igniting in his eyes.
"Akihiko, you stay here. You'll be too much of a burden in your current state. The three of them will combat it. I'll provide support from nearby and reinforce their fighting capabilities should the need arise." She turned to face the trio. "Do you think you're ready for this?"
"I was born ready!" Junpei grinned.
"I'll do my best!" Yukari agreed.
"I've already taken down one of these things before. I can do it again."
"Very well. S.E.E.S, move out! Our first search and destroy mission begins now!"
The members of S.E.E.S. had mobilized in record time. In less than ten minutes, they were able to gather their equipment and cross the town, arriving at the warehouse where the Shadow was located. As per usual, Minato was the point man. He was not only the strongest but also the most experienced member of the group. He would be able to take a hit or two. He entered the warehouse and, after confirming that it was safe to proceed, signaled for his teammates to follow. The four high school students had made their way to the center of the room when Mitsuru spoke up.
"It's coming! Ten o'clock! Behind that rubble!"
Minato was expecting another deformed monster, so he was surprised to see a beautiful, naked girl pop out from behind the rubble Mitsuru had pointed out. Junpei made the foolish mistake of immediately lowering his guard.
"Hey! Are you okay?" he called out. "You're not hurt, are you?" He then turned to Minato and whispered, "Dude, check out those tits! That girl's a ten out of ten!"
Before Minato could stop him, Junpei began walking towards the girl. However, he froze in his tracks when she started to reveal the rest of her body. Her lower body was horrifying, a terrible blend of a centaur with the tail of a snake. There was a large cavity on the lower torso that housed a few rows of razor-sharp teeth. Bloody claws protruded from her front legs, ready to strike at any minute.
"It seems that a few humans have wandered into my nest!" she sneered in a slithering voice. "I suppose that I won't need to hunt tonight!"
Mitsuru just stared at the beast in confusion, while Minato, Junpei, and Yukari expressed their shock in unison.
"What. The. Flying. Fuck!?"
And there's the first chapter. For a while now, I've been reading PersonaXDxD fics and have had tons of ideas swirling in my head, so I decided it was time to try writing a fic myself. One story I have yet to see is one where the DxD cast interacts with S.E.E.S. during the time frame of Persona 3. It's always either a few years after, or Minato being reincarnated into the DxD world, and I thought it would be fun to have all of S.E.E.S. present for the story. Plus, this heavily tips the power scale against S.E.E.S, unlike most stories, which have them at their endgame strength. As for Minato, I wanted to make him a little bit more expressive than most fics depict him, at least when he's around his friends, such as Junpei and Yukari. I remember one line in Persona 3 that said that he and Junpei were "laughing at each other's dirty jokes" while walking home from school, so I do see Minato as someone who has fun socializing with friends, even though he may be a bit introverted. Anyway, this has gone on long enough. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Feel free to tell me what stupid mistakes I've made, and until next time.