Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Persona 3 or any of its reincarnations. All creative rights to the characters named in this story belong to Atlus and I certainly do not profit from this story.

A/N:

11/11/11. The 11th Arcana, Strength (at least where Persona 3 is concerned). It was a coin-flip between Koromaru and Yuko, and Koromaru won the toss.

The T rating is for the overall tone of the story. There are also mentions of blood and injury. Other than that, I suppose the only things that are warning-worthy in this story are some expected spoilers for 7/29.

"Hello, Koro-chan."

I was walking down the beaten path of the commercial-residential district when a familiar-looking lady approached me. She smelled nice, a mixture of baby cologne and freshly laundered clothes. Ah, this was the girl who gave good belly rubs. I sat down and allowed her to stroke my head.

She smiled at me. "Your fur is clean today. Did someone give you a bath?"

I barked my acknowledgment. The woman who owned Chouji, a brown Akita I got along with, spotted me that morning and gave me a much needed bath. It was really nice of her, considering that it was a really hot day, and I haven't had a bath in ages.

"I see." She took out something from her bag. "Have you eaten yet? I have something for you." Crouching down, she unwrapped the object on her hand and held it out to me.

I sniffed it cautiously. It was a small slab of steak. It smelled delicious. Did she get this specially for me? I wondered. To be safe though, I took a small bite first. I've had a bad experience with a rice ball that I dared not to repeat. After all, smelling was still different from tasting, no matter how closely those two were related.

"Relax, it's not one of my Cooking Club experiments." She chuckled. "I bought it from the convenience store."

I have never heard of this "Cooking Club" entity, but instinct told me it was one scary affair.

Anyway, the meat tasted good. Bit by bit, I finished it off, until none was left. I licked her hand clean, for good measure. I don't know why, but humans really enjoyed it when I did that.

She giggled. "Haha… it tickles!" When I finished "cleaning" her hand, she patted my head with her other hand. "You're such a sweet dog, Koro-chan~"

I merely panted at her, giving her my best doggie smile. I wouldn't mind eating something like that again.

She looked at her watch. "Oh! I have to hurry back to the dorm." She stood up. "See you some other time, Koro-chan." Giving me one last smile, she left, moving towards the direction I came from.

I resumed my walk. The shrine steps were only a few blocks away. Continuing down my familiar route, I bumped into a few of my fellow Port Island dogs. We simply exchanged greetings, nothing more. For a while, I paused by a certain spot on the pavement, waiting for something.

~o~

The sun was beginning to set when I reached the shrine steps. There was something different about the air. It smelled a little sweet. To my surprise, there were some flowers by the tori.

I rested next to the two bouquets. Its scent gave no indication of who left them. Nice gesture though, whoever left them. If I was not mistaken, these were calla lilies. A calming feeling washed over me as I smelled the white flowers. It reminded me of the times Master would tend to his garden. As I followed him around, he would patiently explain to me the purpose of each plant. I never really paid attention to his words, but I loved the scents that filled the place, and I enjoyed his company. Whenever he was around, I felt happy and secure, as if nothing could ever go wrong.

As I was busy reminiscing, I heard someone climbing down the steps. I turned my head lazily to the source of the footsteps. It was the kid who frequented the shrine. This particular kid stood out in my mind, because while other kids usually busied themselves in the playground, this one spent a lot of time in front of the offertory box. He used to visit about five times a week, but for the past few days, I haven't seen him around.

"Hey, Koro-chan." Looks like he noticed me. Instead of smelling like fresh earth, he smelled like laundry detergent, similar to the girl I met earlier. "Sorry I haven't been visiting lately." He sighed. "I moved to a new dormitory, so I've been busy adjusting to my new place."

Just like now, he sometimes paused to talk to me. Mostly about school, and how difficult he found it to connect with this classmates. During one of his somber moods, he would mutter something about "a promise he had to keep". His eyes would darken, and he'd bite his lower lip in frustration. Poor kid. That's something too serious for someone like him to think about. Kids his age should be playing, not brooding on those things. Just what happened to this kid?

"It's almost dark, I hope they don't get mad at me for returning so late. 'Bye, Koro-chan."

I stood up. Giving the flowers one more glance, I climbed up the shrine stairs. Upon reaching the top, I circled the playground for a while, frolicking around the slides and swings, and nimbly navigating the jungle gym. Then, I rested by the benches, waiting for the night to fall.

~o~

That evening, I dimly remembered something Master said about calla lilies. It was a symbol of rebirth, used during funerals. Was it a message for me? Part of me knew that I lost something important more than half a year ago. Master disappeared in a sea of blood, shouting people, and wailing sirens. Since then, I never saw him again.

There were two places wherein his presence was strong. One was the place where he disappeared, and the other one was the shrine itself. When he disappeared, I made a promise to protect the shrine in his stead, until he returns.

"Hey, little fella."

My ears perked up at the voice. Those familiar, heavy footfalls. It could only be Beanie-san. His arrival could only mean one thing.

FOOD.

I stood up to greet him as he surveyed the surroundings furtively. Satisfied that no one was around, he sat on the bench next to me and stroked my head. "Hey boy, I have something for you." He took out a yellow package from the plastic bag he brought with him. I wagged my tail excitedly as he opened the item and took out several strips of meat jerky.

Happily, I wolfed down one of the strips he held out to me. That steak I had earlier felt so long ago.

Beanie-san was really nice. I wasn't the only one he fed, confirmed by my friends around Port Island. Also, rumor has it that he roamed around the streets, nursing sick animals back to health.

I knew for a fact that this food he fed me was expensive. Once, I looked at this package longingly outside the shop window, and Master treated me to a lecture on frugality and simplicity. In front of him, I never expressed interest on that food again, but I still wondered how it tasted. It was as good as the smiling Labradors on the package cover claimed it to be, now that I ate it on a fairly regular basis.

He simply watched me as I ate, smiling all the while. Once I finished off the meat, he patted me once more on the head and said, "Good boy. Hope that's enough to keep you going for today." He stood up. "I better get going."

As he disappeared down the stairs, I was left waiting once more.

~o~

I must've fallen asleep, because when I woke up, it was already very dark. No, "very dark" wasn't the right term. Beneath my paws, I could feel the cold concrete which I slept on. However, the air was very still. Lifeless, I would say. The only source of light was the moon, which was half-full today. Something felt a little off about it, but I didn't dwell on that any longer, because I heard something move by the stairs.

I tensed, turning to the direction of the unfamiliar entity I sensed. My hackles rose. It was a giant beetle. Cautiously, I approached it. Not only the size was suspicious, but its smell was different. Sixth sense told me that this creature was up to no good.

I barked warningly at it, giving it a chance to back off. If it left this place without causing any trouble, then good. But if it would do something bad, then I will fight. I made a promise to protect this shrine, and I certainly wasn't going to back out on it.

Instead of heeding my warning, it charged at me. I jumped out of the way, causing it to nearly crash into the offertory box. It turned around and threw electricity at me. Surprised at this move, I dodged it by a hair, literally. The attack left a strange, burning sensation on my fur. The beetle did not miss my hesitation and took it as an opportunity to assault me. It must lack control over its strength, because his horn attack sent us both tumbling down the shrine steps.

I was barely conscious when we stopped rolling down. I tried to stand up, only to end up crumpling on the ground in pain. A familiar, coppery-smelling substance pooled beneath me. Unable to get up, I watched helplessly as the intruder recovered. It didn't seem to take much damage from that fall, because it started climbing up the shrine steps.

Blood continued to flow out from a wound on my stomach. Must've been from the attack that sent us flying. Sorry master, I thought sadly, I am unable to keep my promise.

I felt my consciousness slipping. I closed my eyes, tired of keeping them open. Soon, I will be reunited with Master.

"Koromaru."

Hmm, that voice sounded familiar.

"Now's not the time to give up."

…Master? It sounded like him, yes. Still, I was afraid to open my eyes.

"You're a very strong and brave dog."

It's no use. I failed to protect the shrine you loved.

"Nonsense. You have an immense, untapped power within yourself."

…Power?

"Yes, power. Use it to protect the ones you love."

The 'ones' I love?

"Yes, the 'ones'. There are people in need of your power."

How about you, Master?

"I'm in a place where I don't have to worry about such matters."

I whimpered at his words.

"I didn't mean it that way, Koromaru. I'm with you always, that's why. "

The shrine. Who will protect it when I'm gone?

"The shrine will take care of itself."

…How do I use this 'power', then?

"Empty your mind. Then revisit this moment."

You'll help me, right? I'm not sure if I can do this alone.

"Of course. Now, go on, your future awaits."

I took his word for that. When I opened my eyes, I felt like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders. I saw something which looked like a three-headed dog chase after the beetle. I don't know what it was, or if it was simply a figment of my imagination, but thanks to that apparition, I no longer sensed the beetle.

Still, one thing's for sure. I was losing blood. Fast.

"Hang in there, little fella." I felt someone's hand rest on my back. A warm feeling coursed through my body as the bleeding stopped and my bruises stopped hurting. "Sorry, that's the best my healing can do." The owner of the hand, someone I presumed to be male, sighed. "That's going to need several stitches, and your body's in bad shape…" He whistled. "Still, you're one tough breed, beating that Shadow all by yourself."

Shadow? That's what it was called? I could barely keep my eyes open as I heard him dial a number. After he was done talking over the phone, he said, "Help's on the way. Until then, hang in there."

I rested my eyes, as it was taking too much effort to keep them open. So this is a part of my 'future', huh? Smiling inwardly, I waited for the rest of my 'future' to arrive. A future with my new comrades, and the Master who continued to live on inside me.