Disclaimer: Persona 3 and all related characters are rightfully ATLUS's.

Main character's name: Hidetoshi Aoki.

I feared.

I feared for everyone's well being whenever we were exploring Tartarus, I feared for them whenever they rush into a battle that they may not win, I feared for the lives that are being manupilated by the Dark Hour. I feared for the unknown fate that lie ahead of us: the Special Extracurricular Execution Squad.

My power was special in the sense that I cannot engage in battle, and that I could map out an area without being there; like a scout. Countless battles could be avoided thanks to my mapping, along with my ability to detect weaknesses and arcanum of the opponents. It was my job. I will do it. Because it's the only thing I can do.

That night, Hidetoshi-kun's face was unreadable. I couldn't make out anything from what he was feeling, as I normally could have; even if it was only a little. He silently geared himself up on the ground floor of Tartarus, without even glancing at the others. Kirijou-senpai and Yukari-chan threw each other questioning looks, and Aegis had even offered vocally to accompany him, but he just coldly declined her offer. Without saying another word, he quietly slipped through the giant door and disappeared. And I went to work.

Hidetoshi-kun's progress was beyond fast, quickly closing distance between him and the deepest part of Monad Depths. The last I remember, though, there was nothing of interest but a treasure case that held a big fortune… But now, there was a woman, a woman that I had never noticed before, a woman with staggering yellow eyes and a dress of blue. Holding an encyclopedia-sized, hard-covered book with ease, she looked at me—she knew that I was watching her—but casually shifted her gaze back to the S.E.E.S. bluehead that emerged in front of her.

There was a conversation that did not make sense, and then there was a battle.

I couldn't read anything about that woman. Everything turned out to be blank.

Have I… failed?

In one swift motion, he had unsheathed his short sword and made a charge for the woman. The sudden glint in his eyes signified that he had switched his personae to fit his current situation; but I could only shout a warning when the woman took a card from her thick book and summoned a Persona I recognized; Surt, the final Magician Persona, as Hidetoshi-kun had placed it. The teenager quickly stopped in midstride to reach for his Evoker, but was too slow to deflect the fire giant's heat wave. I saw him stagger once, before he barely sidestepped and dodged the nimble woman's attack with her potentially fatal dictionary. Noticing the chance to evoke, he quickly summoned forth Titania to counter her with an ice spell of his own.

It was then I realized that he was not using any of his strong Personae I had seen before. Why?

Back at the ground floor, Junpei-kun was complaining to Ken-kun about his lack of involvement in the expeditions lately, but realized that "our air-headed leader" was in trouble when I shouted another warning out loud. Yukari exchanged worried glances with Aegis, and the two senpais immediately made for the gigantic doorway, presumably to leader's aid. At that moment, I heard Hidetoshi-kun's broken voice; he was hurt. But he still gave a stern order for me to relay, between gasps of pain. I took a deep breath to calm down my pacing heart and pounding head, and stopped Kirijou-senpai along with Sanada-senpai from entering the Monad Depths. They greeted my sudden orders with scowls and angry faces, and I returned them my determined face from within Juno's protective globe.

"None of you will go, and I will not provide backup even if you did."

It was all quiet, and suddenly they were bombarding me with questions. I stopped them with a pained look on my face, and lowered my knees to the floor, my eyes never leaving theirs. "He said he must do this alone," I whispered quietly, my voice echoing through Juno's presence. "And that I must not allow any of you to go after him." My eyes watered slightly at that, before adding my own thoughts. "Please… Let him do as he wishes."

I did not wait for their response. Lowering my head, I shifted my attention back to the battlegrounds once more.

Hidetoshi-kun was on the floor, his face covered in numerous thin cuts, his blazer and trousers slashed and smeared in red, his working left arm struggling to hold the woman's weapon—a card. The woman, her exteriors still calm and collected, had a knee on his stomach and was shoving her weapon closer to his neck. There were more pools of blood than I remembered around them, and once again I feared. I was about to scream out in terror when the bluehead looked at my direction with his gray, hazy eyes and mouthed a word.

"Oracle."

I acted fast. Behind the inhuman woman, a knightly figure raised his spear for the final strike to put an end to the demonically fast battle. Before Cu Chulainn, the woman's Persona could finish delivering the final blow, my quick prayer was finished and I saw Hidetoshi-kun's face twist into a smile. His right arm, supposedly rendered useless, took a firm grip at his Evoker. The woman was staring at him in mild disbelief, her Cu Chulainn paused momentarily... and that was all Hidetoshi-kun ever needed.

The next moment there was a flash, and he was facing all of us in front of the Terminal. "… Thanks for caring," he said weakly with a smile, before collapsing on the floor.

Two days later, he progressed about his day as normal, no longer having that cold look on his face. Perhaps it was my imagination, or it was his way to prepare for the battle, I did not know. His many friends once again showered him with concern over his injuries and fatigue, and he dismissed them with reassuring smiles and small talk. He came to my class and invited me to join him during lunch hour, and I agreed. There were random squeals from the girls at my class, but I pretty much ignored them and headed to the roof.

When I got up there, the clear skies of Port Island greeted me with gentle sunlight and welcoming breeze. A quiet and soothing sanctum, it became a place that many came for solace. Even myself. I found his frame sitting on one of the few benches, eyes on the vast blue sea stretched across the horizon dotted with windmills. He just sat there, unmoving, his minds going through numerous things as he waited for my arrival. There were times where we wished that he wasn't this complex a person, that we could understand him better. Compared to the rest of us, he had the most brutal background, so I guess we couldn't really blame him for having an irremovable gap between us…

"You have queries directed at me."

Said the ephemeral person. I did not notice I was looking at the floor by the rooftop entrance until then. Looking up, I found his steady gaze on me; a gaze that urged people to speak up, to voice their opinions. Steadily making my pace, I walked over and took a seat beside him, vaguely noticing that he was using the custom earphones I made for him. He arranged this meeting only for the two of us. "Well," I began while shifting uncomfortably, "Why did you fight that woman alone? ... You could've done so much better if you let the others joined you… and why use weak Personae—"

"My, full of questions, aren't we," he pointed out, chuckling softly. I could feel my cheeks glowing hot from that, and turned away from his gaze to admire the tiled floor. He stopped and placed his hands into his pockets before standing up. Leaning against the fencing, he turned to me, his hair caressed by the wind, his face once again impassive; but not without the occasional glint of warmth in his eyes. The blue sea glittered and reflected the sunlight behind him, creating yet another light source to brighten nature with.

That moment was beautiful.

"… That woman. She wanted to find her purpose in life, so I helped her," he spoke nonchalantly at the subject, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "She wanted a challenge, and I gave her one. She laid out some rules, and I followed it. It's that simple." I just gave him a look, realizing that he was talking on his own accord; a rare occurrence. Noting that I wasn't interrupting him, he changed the subject abruptly. "I'm surprised you obliged by my instructions," he said questioningly, his uninjured hand reaching up to hold on the fence. "Usually in that kind of situation, you people would either panic and give chase. What made you stop the others?"

I gave a soft sigh, hands tightening into fists on my lap. It was a mystery to me, too. But now… I think I know the answer. "I… believed in you," I said cheesily, and the temptation to speed to the stairs was very alluring. "I… think you knew what you were doing, so…" I stopped. He was appraising me. I immediately stood and rushed for the exit. I could feel his gaze following me, with slight curiosity. Before I reached the door, though, he called out for my attention. "Hey," he said, "you scored a miracle Oracle last night. Thanks."

It was then that I wondered if I could tumble down the stairs faster than running, and slammed the door behind me.

Little did I know that after I left, his silent apology had been carried away by the breeze, never to be heard again.