A Birthday to Remember

...At Yasoinaba Station...

...Trail... Trail... "Yasoinaba, Yasoinaba." The train intercom said as a train with a...

Tap, tap... A unique passenger of sorts, comes out... Souji Seta. "Ah." He has returned here after almost a year without paying a visit to the ones he has cared about here, his cousin and uncle, his friends who are probably going on with their lives right now, Yosuke will probably inherit the family business, Junes branch that is, Chie will probably be studying to become a police officer just like she told Souji before he left, Yukiko will probably be at her family's inn, practicing as manager since she will be the future manageress there, Kanji will probably teaching some certain people who are willing to learn the secrets of sewing of threads and many other clothings, Rise will be coming back for a short while from show biz, Kuma... will probably be guarding the T.V. world right now, and Naoto... will be coming back here soon too to... Well, the reason for Souji coming back here is because... It's birthday of a friend... Girlfriend in fact, that's right, it's Yukiko's birthday today! It's December 8 by the way, it's already snowy around here since it is the month of Christmas and the houses around are filled with some Christmas decorations, probably come from the nearby town of Okina where some students around here, and some other people, go to to buy something that is from urban areas like the city where Souji came from. "It sure is snowy here. Hm?" He then notices someone... a writer it seems. There's a disk near the vending machine here and he seems to be... younger than him in a way, but... He's wearing a glasses, though they seem to be just for... hobby of sorts, as apparently, he doesn't need them much. He has blue hair that is quite dark and silver eyes and his uniform... is that of something Souji remembered during their memorable school trip to the artificial island in Iwatodai, and this guy... He seems to have an "aura" about him that makes you think he has known that place.

"..." ...He turns to Souji with the glasses being fixed. He's also wearing a ribbon tie on his neck, meaning his uniform is that of something like from a private wealthy school, that means... "You are..."

"Hm?"

"...Seta Souji right?"

"Ah." Now that's a surprise, how does he know his name...? "Who... are... you?"

"Me?" He fixes his glasses as he stood up. ...but he just takes them off afterwards, making his attractive face a bit attracting, he seems to have attracted women in the past due to... well... "Boku wa Arisato Minato, and I need you to sign this." He offers a document file of sort.

"Hm?" He stares at it and walks closer... "...What's this?"

"It's a "contract", can't you tell?" He said handing over a feather pen. "Time is something no one can escape, it delivers all equally to the same end, you can't plug your ears and cover your eyes you know." He said putting back the glasses. "That is a 'contract of destiny', you do know fate cannot be avoided right?"

"..." He stares back to the contract and... "..." He takes the pen from Minato's hand and signs his name... then...

"Yosh, now then..." Minato takes back the document file and the feather pen then... Warp.

"Huh?" ...Souji has experienced a lot of things that are not... well, happening everyday and... another one here. A velvet door appears, and... coming out of it is...

"He signed the contract." Minato said handing over the contract to the "attendant" that comes out while taking off his glasses.

"Yes, I am aware of that." ...This attendant...

"Hm?" Souji can sense some kinship about her that relates her to Margaret, she seems to be a younger sibling of sorts...

"Nice to meet you, Wata shi Elizabeth, I am also an assistant to my master in the velvet room."

"..." Now that's a surprise, perhaps she's the "sibling that went astray" from what Margaret would put it from the velvet room, and she just mentioned Igor's name meaning... he... Minato, may be similar to him, in fate anyway, in a way that... he may have... the... "Wild card..." ...just like he said.

"Ah, I'm also a 'guest' and "contractor" there to that place you probably been to many times now." Minato said.

"Our master wishes for you two to cooperate, I wish you all well the blessings of Truth." Elizabeth said bowing while holding the contract in her hands, the feather pen too by the way.

"...What exactly are we dealing right now?" Souji asked.

"That's..."

...Meanwhile, at the Amagi inn...

"Wow, Sempai, you look great!"

"Yeah!" Yukiko and the rest of the gang are here, dressed for the party this evening at 6 p.m..

"Um..." Yukiko, by the way, is dressed into a dress that is similar to the one her Shadow worn in the Midnight Channel which... "Do I... have to... wear this...?" She said blushing from all the stares she's having, from the staff who are very loyal to her family and her friends.

"Of course you are, you look great, I wonder what Seta-kun would react once he arrives here." Chie said.

"Yeah, aibou will probably have his jaw drop, ha ha, come to think of it, this is like preparing for a wedding day isn't it? Ha ha!" Yosuke said to which Yukiko blushes, she and Souji have something going on...

"Ha ha, yeah, it is."

"...It is, yeah..." Rise said dejected at that idea due to... well...

"Well, we'll see, how long is gonna be here anyway?" Kanji asked, he and Yosuke are wearing black tuxedos as if guests into a wedding day as Yosuke said and...

"Ma, I'm sure he'll be here soon." ...Naoto, by the way, is her usual habit of dressing up as a male, so she's wearing a tuxedo that is similar to the boys.

"Say, Naoto-kun, why didn't you wear the same dress that we have?" Rise asked, she's wearing a pink dress while Chie... well, she's not dressed... or at least, her outfit is that of her normal school uniform which consist of a green jacket and short black skirt with a short underneath it.

"Yeah, well, Kuma isn't here too, geez, that bear, I wonder what he's doing right now, we haven't been seeing him for quite some time now, you think he'll come by anytime soon?" Yosuke said to which...

"Yahoo-!" ...A voice that took everyone by surprise... Thank God the staff members went to the floor below as...

"What the...? Is that...?"

"Yahoo-! Kumada is here!" ...Jumping out of the large T.V. around here in a tuxedo is... Kuma, the King of the T.V. world! ...sort to speak. "Yohoo everyone!"

"What the... Kuma?" Yosuke and the others were taken by surprise at his so-called grand entrance through the T.V. since the fog is no longer in the Midnight Channel, it's probably okay to go in from any sort of televisions due to the shadow lingering there no longer becoming violent due to the fog that is deceiving them no longer exist. But casting that aside... "How the heck did you get here!"

"Yeah, weren't you suppose to be coming out of the T.V. at Junes?" Kanji asked.

"Heh, there's no need for that, my brothers at my world allowed me to enter in from that T.V. of Yuki-chan." ...The "brothers" he mentioned are probably...

""Brothers"? You mean... the Shadows in the other world?" ...Since there are no one else in there, who could he be referring to...? And the fact that he's a Shadow himself, except he has human emotions and appearance, makes that more obvious. ...The party debates about his way of entering in due to the staff probably going to get confused since he didn't came in from the front door at the first floor, they're at the fifth floor by the way, the toppest floor of the inn. But...

...Back at Yasoinaba...

"A persona user? A renegate one?" Souji and Minato sit on the stairway, discussing things about an ordeal that they will have to work together to overcome it.

"Ah, apparently..." Oddly enough, Minato is smoking a cigarrete. ...Not really a cigarrete actually, but rather, it's just a paper that is mold into a cigarrete shape, he's doing this to act as a detective of sort, while Souji is making origami, which is his hobby, both are weird in a way that they do not think like most "normal" thinking people do. But that aside... "Those people your girlfriend... You know who it is right?" ...The one he came to visit to their date of birth that is...

"Ah..." He knows that choice of words that Minato used... Yukiko is the one he's referring, that is enough for him to confirm who it is since... "Who are you...?" He's going to ask about "those people" he mentioned and...

"It seems those people from "News of the Weird" have a grudge against her, they didn't took the rejection of their idea of a show for their inn so they have come... with an extra hand."

"A persona user?"

"Ah, a renegade one." ...Minato remembers some people who are also "renegaded" persona users and those are... well, three actually, who at first is that they are all but enemies to them, but they did managed to save one of them who is currently being look after with by a friend of his back at Iwatodai... but that aside. "Those guys have been offerred a lot of sum of money for them to have their revenge, so I guess you can say the one who is orchestrating the abduction of your girlfriend is the renegaded persona user. I believe you have also fought one in your days right...?"

"..." Right... Tohru Adachi... a murderer and a persona user... he can be considered a 'renegaded' persona user due to him... well, using his power for abusal, and that by the way, his persona is in fact no longer can be considered the manifestation of power of bonds but rather, it's the manifestation of Adachi's ego, which shaped his probably orginal persona into a corrupted one, Izanagi is Souji's persona, right now it's at its original form of having a banchou coat and it sometimes transform into a much more god like figure in a right time should it required to, Adachi however... his has lost its true form and color, turning instead into a malevolent being that is similar to the shadows, but that aside. "So who is this renagaded persona user?"

"Not sure, someone... who is rich I think, he's probably someone who... well, I don't know, Igor mentioned someone who is a manifestation of the fog of deceiption though I didn't really get what he was trying to say, you know... cryptic words."

"Yeah..." They both know that too well, Igor's words are deep but gentle and compassionate in some way of understanding it, and that aside, that "grand manifestation of the fog" part, he means that it's someone who is not human, but have taken the form of a human who... well, someone who is probably similar to the group due to it being able to harness the negative experiences of the group, the seekers of truth that is, in Minato's case, he has already managed to solve all the emotions that have been running through him in his days but as for Souj... "So, what should we do first?"

"We should go to your girlfriend's place first, so, let's go." They both stood up with Minato tossing away his cigarrete. ...Again, it's not really a real cigarrete.

"Alright, let's go." Both of them give a handshake with both of their arms and hands, then, with a determined face, they set out... on foot.

...A while later...

"Who is that?"

"I don't know, but he's cute."

"Yeah, you think he's from the city?"

...Though they're suppose to be heading for the Amagi inn, where Yukiko and the rest of the gang are, Minato, who is being murmured and whispered by the passing women around, young and adult women by the way, about him being new around here and how attractive he is due to his mystifying aura of... well, attractiveness, Souji, in the other hand, felt like this a waste of time taking a stroll sort to speak in this shopping district, either way, Minato suggested doing cultival, sort to speak, before going to the party. "Hey, what are we doing here?" Souji asked so sudden that it broke the silence, he's mostly the silent type of guy but Minato seems to have outmatched his silence in some way that he didn't talk for the whole stroll, they're here because...

"Don't you have something to buy as a present for your girlfriend's birthday?"

"Oh um..." Now that he thought about it, he hasn't thought of that yet. "What do you think?"

"How should I know? You're the one who knows her." ...Just as they talk about what to buy for Yukiko, some girls who are vendors around here, the shops around here by the way have been given a chance to open up due to Junes moving... or rather, planning to move soon somewhere else, much to Yosuke's dismay since he doesn't wish to go somewhere else but here. Eventually, some women, who are young by the way, took Minato as a customer to the variety of their shops for him asking if they have any appropriate item that would... "benefit a woman's interest" he said, that only made him more attractive to them with Souji sort of getting left out of the fray, though in the end, he's the one who found something to give Yukiko as a present to the old lady where he usually by from... That old lady was at the summer festival last year, and it seems she'll be here forever since... well perhaps town loyalty? But that aside... the gift that Souji bought is the same item he received from her last Christmas Eve, the one that is last year that is, today is now 2012, and it will soon come to an end soon with December... well, when the month's days are over that is.

...Meanwhile, back at the inn...

"Yosha, let's have a toast!"

"Yeah!" ...Everyone had a toast of their drinks here, some ice tea that is, with all of them gathere up at the round sofas at this large living room with the dinning room at the kitchen on the other side of the room, there is a huge stairway that leads to both dressing rooms on the upper floors with a balcony wooden railings on the edges of the upper floors, it seems Yukiko is indeed rich to have a furniture of a house like this, but, that aside... the special 'groom' that Yosuke mentioned hasn't arrived yet... and that is...

"Geez, where is the hell is Aibou? It's already 5 o' clock!"

"Maybe he got stucked in traffic?" Kanji said drinking his ice tea.

"Yeah, sensei has a tight schedule." Kuma said which... "Kuma, ha ha-kuma." ...with the usual suffix of "-kuma" as usual...

"Yeah, whatever, this is the country side you know, there ain't no traffic that cannot easily bypassed around here. Something must have happend to him." ...On that note, Yosuke...

"Ah... You mean..." Yukiko gets worried, she's the worriesome amongst the group, assuming many dangerous things that would never come true, concerning Souji especially...

"H-Hey, Yosuke! Don't believe what he said Yukiko, Yosuke, mind your words." Chie said, she's wearing a tuxedo that is similar to Naoto... since apparently, all the cute dresses around here have already been worn and Kuma... just removed his tuxedo earlier and changes into a white one which makes him like a disco dancer, normally, the tuxedo he just took off would probably the one that is left for Chie to wear, but due to his small size, or at least, compare to Chie, he's small, she cannot wear that so Yosuke has to use some of his money, which he wisely spend off, he knows well enough not to leave it to Chie when it comes to buying stuff, whenever possible, due to... well, overuse, sort to speak, habit of Chie to entrust to him a lot of sum of money that would require Yosuke to work overloadly and overnightly to repay it, like a husband doing things for his wife... sort the least, anyway, Yosuke has now, finally, was able to fulfill his dream after Souji left and that is... he finally bought a motorcycle! ...Though it's just a scooter, not a real motorcycle, it's by the way has the same color as his bike when he is going to school. But that aside...

"Say, where's the cake?" Yosuke asked.

"Oh right, the cake, kuma will slice it all for all of you-kuma!" Kuma suddenly stood up on that.

"Oh no you don't, you're not gonna cheat us out on this."

"Yeah you damn bear." Yosuke and Kanji were immediately against to that idea since... well, a lot of complicated matters involving the last summer festival and due to them losing to him to that cross dressing contest and the fact that Kuma is a "son of a bitch harem guy" from Yosuke's book, and... a lot more actually... but that aside...

"Oh...~kuma."

"Hey, don't be mean, you can slice the cake kuma." Rise assures and...

"Wippee!"

"No YOU WON'T!" Yosuke and Kanji yell while standing.

"Waah-!" ...Causing Kuma to fall down back to his seat.

"Shrrk, he he... ha ha ha...!" And Yukiko's laughing habit kicks off...

"Ugh, Yukiko..."

"Are you ready, Yuki-chan?" ...Kisara, the most probably known maid of Yukiko, comes in with the tray table of the cake for the birthday along with some two more staff members, one male and one female.

"Oh, come on everyone." Everyone gathers there.

"Alright, now that's what I'm talking about!" Yosuke and the other excitedly stood up and gathered there.

"Wait, aren't we going to wait for someone?" ...Chie reminds everyone of the special "groom" and...

"Oh right, geez, where is the hell is Aibou? The party is about to start!"

"Yeah, sempai sure is late, I wonder if something happens to him..." Rise said now getting worried as well. ...Unknownst to the group, except Kuma, however...

"Hm?" He turns to a group of men... all wearing tuxedos with shite scarfs around their neck, walking gracefully towards them from the other side of the room. "Uh, guys, do we have more visitors here?" He asked to which...

"Hm? Who the...?" Yosuke and the rest turn to the new guests and...

"Who are they?" Chie asked.

"I don't know, Kisara-san, did we have other invitations?" Yukiko asked the maid.

"I... I don't believe so I... Hey, who are you? You can't just barge in here!"

"He he..." The leader of these guys... the one that Yukiko recognized from before who she humiliated due to them being obnoxious about turning this place into a maid hotel and... he snickers and...

"You... what are you...?"

"Why hello there, it's been a long time."

"Ha ha." The leader said with the henchmen laughing. ...One of them however...

"..." A young man covered in a white vale and a white cape, he seems to be hiding his identity to the group and even to his allies, if he even considers them as such, so...

"What are you? Who are you? And how did you get in here?" Yosuke and Kanji, who are the males in the group, step forward to defend the group since most of them are girls and are not experienced in fighting, though of course, Kuma is a guy too but... he's not suitable for that kind of department so... He's cowering with the rest of them.

"Huh, like climbing down a chimney, I came to check out on Santa Clause." The leader said mockingly as he walks towards Yukiko... and...

"Gr."

"Wait." Kanji was about to get aggravated by his mockery but Yosuke restraints him for a while.

"But senpai-"

"Shh, we should watch for now." ...They're the guys so the girls are counting on them.

...As for the man, he walks up besides Yukiko and the maid Kisara then... He brings out a document file. "This, is a signature contract, if you sign it, this place will be extremely popular in the T.V. world."

"T.V. world?" Kuma asked mistakenly believing by "T.V. world", he means his world but rather...

"It's not what you are thinking." Chie corrected him.

"Oh." Back to business...

"What do you want?" Kisara asked in a rude tone then...

"I want to improve our company's merchandise so I will be-"

"We're not signing it!" ...Yukiko snuffs. ...She has become more caring of the staff around here and her family... which...

"Oh, alright, boys..." The leader signals the henchmen and...

"Gyaah-! Let me go! Let me go!"

"Hey!"

"Hey, what sacrilege is this!" Rise, Chie and Naoto got grabbed by the henchmen and...

"Hey, let them go!" Strike!

"Teme! Huaarrgghh-!" Strike, strike...! Yosuke freed Chie by kicking the captor on the jaw then Kanji frees Rise and Naoto through brute force, with his masculine body on their side, they easily fend off the rest of the henchmen but...

"Teme, get out of here!"

"..." Yosuke was about to attack the one in a white vale and cape but... Block! "..." ...He easily blocked his attack by stopping it with his hands that is covered in white...

"Huh?" ...Yosuke feels idiotic as his foot is stopped by him, he intended to kick him off like the henchman that was holding Chie but...

"Hmph." Whoosh...! With brute and unbelieveable strength...

"Wh-Whoa!" Bonk! ...Yosuke got thrown upward... through his foot that was being hold on that the young man simply tosses him upward with it and he lands on the ground, feeling unreal of the young man's strength. ...and...

"Yosuke!" "Hanamura-senpai!" "Senpai!"

"Damn you... You're gonna pay for that! Hiyaarrrrghh-!" Kanji rushes towards him but...

"Hmph." The young man prepares himself then... Strike!

"Ugh!" ...He slide down to dodge Kanji's punch then he returns it with a punch to the abdomen with brute and unbelieveable strength, that made Kanji cough blood and...

"Kanji!" "Tatsumi-kun!" Rise and Naoto said to which...

"Hmph, hiyaa-!" Strike!

"Ugh!" ...Kanji, unbelieveably, got kicked on the chest and is then sent flying towards...

"Huh?" Yosuke is behind Kanji and...

"Ahh!"

"Wh-Whoa!" Bonk! Crash...! Crash! ...The two of them got sent flying towards the sofas that fell when they landed on them with them feeling the pain of the impact.

"Ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha!" The leader of the "News of the Weird" and the henchmen laugh off the development with the young man in white fixing himself after the battle then...

"Guys!" Chie said.

"Oh no." Seeing that no one is noticing him, Kuma... "Ge." ...He decided to sneak by the henchmen through the stairs and quitely climbs up to avoid being capture... he made some creeking sound that made one of the henchman turns to his direction but then he was already gone as he runs towards the right direction so the the henchman simply shrugs it off. "*Huff* *Huff* Ah, sensei!" ...He said halfly crying that he couldn't do anything for everyone.

"Alright, back to business."

"Gyaah!"

"Whaa-!" Yukiko and Chie got grabbed by the leader as scape goats but...

"It's the inn, or your daughter lady." He said demanding that Kisara sign the contract while mistaking Yukiko as her daughter but...

"Hey, let me go!" Griit!

"Yooww-!" ...Chie bite his hand which... "Ow, ow! Geez." He shrugs off the pain while the henchmen deal with Chie but...

"Get her! Hiyaa!"

"Oh yeah, take this! Wa ta!" Strike! ...Using her kung fu moves that she has learned this past week...

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!" ...The henchmen got their jaws injured by her mighty foot that she frequently use in battle in the Midnight channel and...

"..." The white young man steps in and...

"Hey you, you're gonna pay damn you! Hiyaa-!" ...Another kick towards...

"Hmph." Block. ...The young man blocks it with his hands similar to Yosuke's attack earlier...

"Chie!" "Satonaka-senpai!"

...At the railings at the above floor... "Chie-chan!" ...Kuma watches the development from the wall before the railing balcony and...

"...Hmph." The young man then... Whoosh! ...Like Yosuke...

"Wh-Whoa!" Bonk! ...Chie got tossed upward then lands on the ground then... "Ugh... Ow... Huh?" Looking at the face of the young man...

"..." ...Grab!

"Ugh!" ...He holds her by her throat... meaning choking her... "Ugh... cough... cough... "

"Hey, leave her alone!" Yukiko said to which...

"Senpai!"

"Just what do you want from us with the intent of kignapping Amagi-senpai?" Yukiko is worried for Chie while Naoto asked that. Rise is being held hostage by a henchmen so...

"Oh no." Kuma keeps watching from the balcony railings and... "I... I... Mngh. Argh... Hmmnggh~!" ...He regrettfully left for the room at the far end of the hall as he cannot stand it anymore.

...As for Chie... "...Hmph." Slam...!

"Ugh!" ...She got slammed on the wall, in a much more brutal way of torture compare to...

"Ugh... Sa... to... na... ka... Ugh..." Yosuke tries to stand up but due to the pain that was inflected upon him by the young man, he only managed to see the torturing of his friend who he now considers a true and trusted friend and perhaps even more but...

"Hm? Well, what do you know. Ha ha." The leader and the henchmen turn to him and Kanji, who are lying on the ground beaten and battered by the young man in white. "I see you still have some strength in you huh? Well... Hiya!" Strike!

"Ugh!"

"You too."

"Yeah. Hiyaa!" Strike, strike!

"Ugh! Ow..." ...Both of them are being tortured. ...slowly...

"Hey, stop it!" Rise said to which...

"That's enough! We'll do anything you want, just don't hurt them anymore. Tch." Naoto painfully admits that and surrendered, due to them unable to summon their personas here in the real world, or at least, they don't know yet, there is nothing else to do.

"Naoto-kun."

"..." ...strike...

"Ugh... Ow... cough." ...With the leader giving one last weak kick on Yosuke, they stop and...

"Hey, stop it!" Rise exclaims again to which...

"Relax Kujiakawa, it's gonna be okay."

"Naoto-kun."

"Leave them alone, hey." The leader calls out the young man in white who is still holding Chie by the throat in the wall.

"..." He turns to him...

"Let her go, they'll sign the contract."

"..." ...The young man does so, though he merely let go of Chie, who is unconcious due to her being unable to breath when he was choking her. "Hmph." Then he walks away from her.

"Alright, since we're all in agreement, your mother here will come with us at our office then we'll be back to pick you up while... he he, boys, you can do whatever want with these girls."

"Ha ha!" ...They are a bunch of perverted bastards.

"Ah, everyone... no..." Kuma comes again, tearfully, not being able to do something, not to mention having the guts to step down there and do something... but... "No... No...!" ...He runs back to the far end of the hall and... Keplunk. "I..." ...He's crying... "I couldn't do anything... I... *sob* *sob*" ...He kneels down on the floor, groveling on his uselessness of being unable to save everyone so... "I... I'm..."

"Kuma." ...A voice said...

"It's no use, I can't do it sensei I... Huh?" ...Realizing and noticing that voice... Recognizing it, he turns upward and... Seeing a smiling face that is very similar... and...

"Hmhm." ...A chuckling young man with a smiling face... silver hair, bowl cut and...

"Sensei!" ...Like a lover that has not been seen for a long time, Kuma excitedly jump and... "Sensei!" ...Hugs his favorite "sensei" in a way they fell down on the floor. "Oh sensei, I miss you, I miss you!"

"Yeah, yeah, I miss you too." He said halfly patting him on the back.

"..." Another individual, who is watching this development, stands at the side allowing them to enjoy the reunion... so...

...A while later... back at the living room...

"Hmmhnggh...!" ...The girls have been putted with bunny outfits with bunny ears and their legs being only covered with long sacks that are black and some of which are white, these type of clothings are worn by "entertainers" sort to speak, in strip teased and in any casino that is own by yakuzas or syndicates so... the henchmen who volunteered to enjoy themselves and watch over the girls sit on the sofa, eating some cake that was provided in the tray by Kisara, who got taken away to the office of the "News of the Weird" company to sign some contracts while Yosuke... Naoto, by the way was mistaken as a male so she wasn't putted with with a bunny outfit like Rise and the rest of the girls, Chie is unconcious due to the impact she experienced a while earlier by the young man in white who left for a while with the leader and some henchmen, Yosuke, Kanji and Naoto are all gagged up with their hands tied up behind them. Then...

"Greetings everyone, I would like to welcome you all here." ...A voice said... above the...

"Hm?"

"Hm?" Both groups, the henchmen and Yosuke turn above the railings of the second floor and... ...There they see... "Hm, A-aiibbourrrghh...!" ...Yosuke said incoherently due to him having a gag on his mouth. What he was saying was... "Aibou" and...

...Stands above a railing is... "Senpai...!" Rise tries to be ovejoyed by that someone's presence though she's quite tied up with a bunny outfit that is black and Yukiko...

"Souji-kurn!" ...She said incoherently as well due to a gag and her wearing a red bunny outfit with black sacks that is only halfly covering her slim legs with Rise being covered in white.

...Above is... Souji... standing over a railing with him is... "Hmph." Minato... and below them is...

"Ha ha." ...Kuma, who seems to have rebuilded his self-esteem that he decided to do something and...

"Hey, how did you get in here?" ...The henchmen stood up from their seats while putting down their plate of cakes and...

"Huh, through there." Minato points the ventilation above which is open and they might have sneak by when the commotion was going on.

Flashback...

"There they are." Minato and Souji decided to go inside the inn through ventilation due to the cars of the "News of the Weird" company members parked already outside and... well, sneaking route would be the most appropriate way to get inside without alarming anyone so...

"Hey, that's..." Souji sees his friends being tortured by the guys as they lie on the ground... Yosuke and Kanji that is... and... "Guys...!" He's about to rush out to save them but...

"Wait, don't be an idiot."

"But."

"We'll save them at the right time, right now, follow my lead."

"...Tch." He scoffs. They both slide down on the railings of the floor above Yosuke and the others then quietly sneak at the far end of the hall.

End of Flashback.

...As for now... Tap, tap...! Some of the henchmen climbs up the stairs with the intent of holding them as hostage as well but... "Hmph, let's do this."

"Yeah." Minato and Souji took their positions then...

"Hiyaa! Get them!"

"Yeah! Haa!" Two henchmen and...

"Hmph. Hmngh!" ...With their wild cards in check they...! Strike, strike...!

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!" ...The two guys got their jaws injured by the two wild cards users and...

Tap, tap...! Two more and... "Hmph, mind if I do this...!" Crack, crack, crack...! Crack!

"Hmnghmngh!" Yosuke and the others wince at the damage that were done at the stair way, it's been destroyed... with the railings being destroyed by Souji, the special 'guest' or 'groom' who is supposed to be the one who will be greeted specially by their birthday girl, Yukiko, and...

"Uwa." Acknowledging the strength of the two wild cards, the two henchmen on the ground of the above floor cower away from the two.

"Ah. Ah, d-don't cry, they're..." Strike! "Ugh!"

Strike! "Ugh...! Ugrrh..." ...They both got kicked on the stomache in the same manner as Yosuke and Kanji earlier... and...

"Uwaah-!" The two henchmen on the stairway, that is in ruin due to Souji's kick earlier, run away but...

"Kuma!" ...Kuma comes greeting them through a rope line that he attached during the conflict of Souji and Minato on the two henchmen on the above floor and he decided to play a prank on them.

"Ahh!" ...To which they aren't very amused as...

"Game over." Minato said and...

"Ah!" They turn around... Stab, stab! ...Both teenagers, Minato and Souji, stab, sort the least, the two on the chest with the sharp edges of their fingers like a knife has been enthrusted on them, making them loose consciousness.

"There. Ah." Souji said. The two of them then free the others, well actually, Minato untied Kuma, who is hanging from the ceiling, and Souji unties everyone and removes their gags. "Yukiko." ...First is, of course, his girlfriend, Yukiko.

"Souji-kun." She said after the gag is removed and... "Hm."

"Ah." She proceeds to welcome his arrival with a hug... from a girlfriend that is, he returns it with pats on the back, then they proceed to untie the others.

"Sempai! Hm!"

"Ah." ...Rise does the same, and again, Souji just returns it with pats on the back... two for Yukiko and three for Rise.

"Aibou!" Yosuke got untied and ungagged by Naoto, who got untied by Yukiko, then she proceeded to release Kanji.

"Sempai!" ...And the group then welcomes Souji.

"Aibou, geez, what the hell kept you!"

"Yeah, we were like waiting forever!" Chie said.

"Ah, sorry." Souji said feeling embarrassed from all the warm welcome he's receiving from his dear, cherishable friends.

"Hey, no time to celebrate just yet, we got the other guys to deal with first." Minato joins the fray along with Kuma, who just got untied by the latter.

"Yeah, kuma, they went out of the inn of Yuki-chan earlier, but I think they'll be back soon-kuma."

"Yeah, I guess we still have to prepare for the arrival of that snickering bastard of the leader of the "News of..." guh, whatever their company's name is, leader is." Yosuke said which...

"It's "News of the Weird"." Chie corrected him.

"Whatever, it's "News of..." Ugh, whatever, anyway, I think we better prepare for their arrival, first off, we're gonna get this place fix then think of a plan to set them up."

"You're gotta to be kidding, look at the state of this room!" Chie refers to the damage that has been done on the room... which was caused by Souji by the way... as he is the one who broke down the railings of the stair way.

"Oh, gomen." Souji apologizes to Yukiko since this is her home, after all.

"Hmhmn." Though she just shrugs it off, there are far more important things like that after all.

"Nah, don't worry about that, we got some friends who will help out, I'm calling them now." ...Yosuke calls somebody in his cellphone, probably an acquiantance so...

"I think we should fix the stair way first." Minato concluded since the repair of that will probably takes about three days or perhaps even five days to be repaired so...

"Oh, by the way, who are you?" ...Yosuke asked for his identity, finally acknowledging his presence before the group... and...

"Oh, he's..." Souji will do the introductions...

...A while later...

...Everything has been miraculously fixed and the henchmen who were suppose to look after the hostages are... well... "Alright, now that you sign the contract, we should be able to finally do something fantastic here, I can't wait for all of you maids to dress up as such, he he." ...The leader of the "News of the Weird" company and some staff of the Amagi inn, who are frustrated, arrives with the young man in white as his body guard, the leader that is, though the young man seems to be more than willing to be released from his service so... "Now then, gentlemen, you can relax now and..." ...Rubbing on the first guy... he just dropped dead... unconcious actually. "Huh?" ...All of them are sleeping on the sofas that were recently fixed... "Hey wake up, wake up!" ...The leader rubs the others which they ended up lying on the ground unconcious.

"Sir, I think they're..."

"Ha ha ha!" ...A voice... Two voices actually...

"Huh?" The leader and his henchmen, and that of the staff of the Amagi inn, looks at the balcony railings of the floor above, which by the way are now fixed due to... well, the group's effort and...

"Ha ha! Hey look, Nagase, it's the party pooper just as Hanamura told us! Ha ha!" ...Ichijo Kou and Nagase Daisuke, two trusted friends of Souji and Yosuke, who...

"Ha ha!" ...They laugh off as Yosuke and Souji join the laughing from behind.

"Ah..." The leader is in awe as the teenagers laugh off then...

"Yeah, you fat sucker moron, take this!" ...Sling!

Hit! "Ow!" ...Nagase hit him with a sling shot. ...Followed by...

"Hey! You can't do that to our..." Sling, sling! Hit, hit! "Ow!" ...The two henchmen also got hit by two sling shots that were fired by Yosuke and Kou.

"Ha ha ha!" They laugh again then...

"Oorryaa!" Sling, sling...!

"Take this!" Sling!

"Incoming!" Sling! Then Kanji and the others appear out of the right hall of the second floor, or at least the floor above the living room, and started raining down sling shots on the leader and his henchmen.

...Hit, hit, hit! "Ow, ow, ow! Hey!"

"Dammit, get them! You! Get them!" The leader implores of the young man in white but...

"Hmph." He merely scoffs at his childish order so...

"Teme, take this!" Sling! ...Kanji fired at him but...

...Whoosh! Block! Catch! "..." ...He merely catched the bullet with two fingers. "Hmph."

"Oh man." Kanji complains at that, and...

"Get them!"

"Hyaarrgh!" The leader and henchmen then climb up the stairway, that is, miraculously, been repaired by now and...

"Hey, Satonaka, NOW!" Yosuke alarms the girls on the right side of the hall to...

"Alright, Rise, NOW!"

"Yeaahh-!" Rise pulls down a rope and...

Schhttaabb-! ...A "sucker" sack that is filled with flour comes sliding down through the stair way and... "Ah!" The two henchmen move out of the way but...

"Huh? Ah!" Bonk! "Ah! Ugh!" ...The leader got his ugly face hit by the "sucker" sack and got thrown down towards the end of the stairs. "Ugh... Ah..." ...His face is now filled with flour that is making him look like a clown... which...

"Ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha!" The boys, Souji, Minato, Yosuke and their two other friends, Ichijo and Nagase, laugh at the development along with the henchmen, who cannot help but laugh at their boss's face and...

"Ha ha! Oh man boss you... Ha ha ha!"

"..." Secretly however... Kuma... pulls down another rope and...

Scchhhtttaaabbb-! Another "sucker" sack filled with... cement! "Ah!" The two henchmen turn around and... Bonk! Hit! "Ah! Ugh!" ...And they got thrown down to the end of the stairs along side their boss.

"Ha ha ha!" This time, Kanji and the girls laugh at that.

"Ugh... Ugh..." The leader of the "News of the Weird" and his henchmen stand up with flour and cement on them.

"Na~ na~ nah~!" The group taunt the bad guys, sort to speak, at the stair way and...

"Come here!" The leader and his henchmen then try to climb up the stairway again, with the boys and girls of the group splitting up to the left and right direction, Kanji is with the girls by the way, and Chie is with the guys, with them going to the left while the other group is going to the right. "Why you-"

"Wait, slowly, slowly." The leader recommend a slow motion to climb up the stairs for proper concern and...

"Where are they?" The henchmen are eager to get revenge but...

...Tap, tap... Below the edge of the stairway is... a wire... that is... shoock-! "Hmrrgghh-!" ...The leader is shocked by it and...

"H-Hey, boss, you-" Shoock! "Urrgh! Urrgh!"

"Ugh! Urrgh! Arrgh!" ...The leader, being touched by his henchmen, got electrified by the wire that was set up by Naoto, with her brilliant intelligence, earlier when they were fixing the place.

"Hey it work, nice job Konoshi-kun!" ...Yup, Konishi Naoki is here, Kanji called him earlier for the proper wire, Naoto is nodding in triumph that her idea to set up the guys, the leader and his henchmen, works.

"Ha ha!" Then they laugh at the development.

"Ha ha ha! Oh man, this is too damn too much!" Yosuke said laughing hardly.

"Ha ha, yeah."

"Where did these guys came from anyway? Ha ha!" Ichijo and Nagase said.

"Hey, Naoto-kun, you should let them go now." Rise recommends to which...

"Hm, I agree." ...Naoto pulls down the cord of the wire that...

-shoock... Shock! "Waarrghh...! Wahh-!" The leader and his henchmen fall down the stairway with their hair guzzled enough electricity for them to remain stand up as if they've been struck by a lightning bolt. "Ugh... Ah..." They stare at the balcony railing of the second floor... where...

"Ne~ Ne~ Neh~" Yosuke is taunting them with Ichijo and Nagase like mocking them while moving in inappropriate way which...

"What are those guys doing?" ...Which Chie herself doesn't undertand the gesture and...

"Grr... Grr!" The leader and the henchmen get aggravated however so they run up the stair way again...

...Meanwhile, at the bathroom...

...Kuma is filling up a drum of water with various liquids for... "Kuma, they're ready?" Souji comes in and asked.

"Hai, they're ready sensei."

"Good, let's go!" Then they left for the grand finaly which...

...Back at the living room...

...Tap, tap! The leader of the "News of the Weird" and his henchmen run up to the stair way again, aware of the... "Ah!" ...the wire on the edge of the stairway. "Ha ha!" They laugh at the group's attemp to trap them again but... "Hyah!" ...They jump to which...

"Now, aibou! Kuma!"

"Here me and sensei- Go!" Splash, splash! ...They splashed the mixtures of liquids, who knows what they are, Souji and Kuma that is, on the floor and...

"Ah! Ahh! Ahhh!" ...And the floor became super slippery causing the bad guys to get slipped and... "Ah! Ahh! Ahhh! Ahhhh!" ...Causing Yosuke to mock them as well... and...

"Yeah, dance! Dance! Yeah! Disco dance!"

"Kuma! Kuma disco dance!" ...Since the bad guys were frankly dancing, or at least due to them being slipped by the liquid on the floor, they are dancing in a way, that Yosuke is mocking them as payback for the take over kind of thing and for torturing them earlier and...

"Ah...! Ahh...! Ahh!" The leader falls down back to the stairway... then...

"Ah...! Ahh! Ahhh-!" Then the two henchmen. After giving it a few more try, they finally gave up... and...

"Yay! We did it!" The group above cheer for their victory. And...

"Ah... *sob* *sob* I want my mommy~" ...The leader cries with the two henchmen comforting him in a way.

"Hmph." ...The young man in white leaves the room... and...

"Hm?" Minato and Souji notice his departure, and... "...Hm." Both nod to take him down, then... Whoosh, whoosh!

"Hm?" They jumped down from the balcony railings of the second floor then give chase to the guy. "H-Hey, wait up!" Whoosh...! Yosuke jumps as well which... Breaak! "Gee-!" ...He finds his legs to be shaking... from the impact of his landing... the only reason why Minato and Souji weren't hurt during their landing is because... well...

...Outside...

Keplunk! Minato and Souji, on their wild card thinking, step out of the inn and... "Hm?" Minato notices the young man... floating up... towards the roof. "There he is, he's the renegade persona user we're after."

"Where?" He points upward to answer his question. Then...

Keplunk. "Hey!" ...Yosuke steps out as well. "Hey, what are you guys doing? I almost injured my legs for following you and-"

"Hey, Yosuke, what are you-" Chie's voice then...

"Huh? Satonaka? What-" Blast! "Wha-!" ...Something exploded... at the roof...

"Hey, what are you guys doing out there?" The girls came, along with Kanji, and asked the three guys who are out in the snow and... there's Kuma... who...

"Sensei, what are you-? Weren't you suppose to follow the...?" He's referring to an adversary that Minato and Souji have been soughting out this evening... so...

"Hm." Both wild cards agree to use the back stair way to get to the roof. Tap, tap...!

"Hey!" Yosuke follows behind...

"Hey, Yosuke, Seta-kun, Arisato-kun, where-" Blast! "Huh?" ...Looking up... something is eminating... at the roof... "Wha...?"

"What is that?" The rest of them step out without the ones who are outside of the knowledge of personas, and that of Shadows... then...

"That's... kuma..." Kuma said then...

...At the back...

...Tap, tap, tap...! Minato, Souji and Yosuke took the back stairway and step on it to reach the top of the roof where the young man is located, during all the running, Souji explained everything to Yosuke... of course, not really everything as... "Huh? A persona user? Up there? You mean that guy who is wearing white all over him?"

"Ah, that's him, me and Arisato have been looking for him, so this will be our chance to capture him."

"Hurry up you two." Arisato said.

"Hey, we're advancing on a stairway, we should-" Tumble! "Ow!" ...He should takes his own advice for himself... Yosuke that is. "Ow, hey, wait up!"

...At the rooftop...

...Blaast... blaast... Negative energies are gathering... these are... "Grooaarr..." ...The young man removes his white vale... then his cape... revealing him to be... "Grooaarr." ...A Shadow... black in color... its appearance and shape is...

Tap, tap...! The three finally arrived here and... "*Huff* *huff* Ah, huh?" ...Turning to him, the three... "Who the...?"

"Groaar." The Shadow turn to them... it has the exact same appearance as Souji... it's way of moving... it's bodily posture... even his face! Except it's all black... and his eyes lack any color except white.(Note: Same as the Shadow who looks like Minato in Persona 3 The Answer.) "Grooaarr!" Blaast-!

"Whoa!" ...The three are caught off by the negative energies... and so...

Battle Commence

"Grooaarr." The Shadow moves in the exact manner as Souji in a way he walks, then with the exact same weapon, a katana, it puts on a combat stance posture in the same way as Souji in which he's holding it backwardly with his two hands. "Grooaarr!"

"Is this... A Shadow?" ...Yosuke asked astonished by the Shadow's appearance that is resembling his aibou, Souji.

"This is..." ...Souji himself is surprise.

"This is the exact fog that you guys lifted a year ago, now it's time to put it back to where it belongs!" Minato said.

"Grooaarr." ...This Shadow... This unique Black Shadow is the grand manifestation of the fog that was lifted here a year ago, it wants revenge for all the nuisances that Souji and his friends provided for it, making it... filled with a lot of negative emotions such as anger, hatred and probably the most powerful and insane emotion, Fear. Fear will lead to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to sufferring... thus... "Grooaarr!" Flash! ...It summons a black Izanagi... this is the same as Magatsu Izanagi, Adachi's corrupted ego, not persona, but this is not the same as that "ego" or Shadow, but this one... is that of something that is part of this Black Shadow that it's making it look like it has a persona of its own... that is...

"Huh? Izanagi...?" Souji recognized the black Izanagi to his own persona, Izanagi.

"That's not really your persona, aibou! Let's kick this damn immitation once and for all!" Yosuke said to which... "Let's go, Susanoo-O! Hyaarrgh!" Flash! ...With his persona, Yosuke... "Hiyaa!" Tries to lay a punch on the Black Shadow then...

Block! "Grooaarr!" Just like before, it blocked his attack, though this time, the Shadow did it with his supposedly "making-it-look" persona, Black Izanagi, then... "Grooaarr!" Slash, slash...! *Vorpal Blade*

"Ugh!" Yosuke felt the pain his persona felt as it IS him directly in physical... and mental. So...

"Grooaarr!" Slash! ...Black Shadow and Black Izanagi then lay a fatal blow on Susanoo-O, which...

"Ugh-! Urgh!" ...Yosuke felt the pain again, making him grovel in pain.

"Yosuke! Tch, Izanagi!" Flash! ...Now it's the banchou's turn... The REAL banchou's turn then... Whoosh! "Arrgh!"

"Grooaar." The Black Shadow acknowledges his attack then... CLASH! ...Two banchous clashed... then... "Grooaarr!"

"Grr, Arghh-!" Clash, clash...!

Flash! ...At that same moment... "Come forth, Messiah!" Flash...! Minato, using the same way of summoning, crushing a card with his palm, then... Flaash-! Blast! ...*Megidolaon* ...Boom!

"Grooaarr!" ...The Black Shadow and Black Izanagi dissolved by that attack then... "Grooaarr!" But then it morphs back into the shape of Yosuke, and his persona, Jiraiya, not Susanoo-O, which...

"Hey, copy your own self you damn copycat!" ...The latter of immitation, sort to speak, Yosuke, said standing to his feet and so... "Damn, you've got to be having permission from me to copy my own psyche, arrgh... Arrgh... ARRGH! Let's go, Susanoo-OOO!" BLASST-! Boom, boom...! Boom! An explosion that is seen throughout the rooftop.

...Below...

"Huh?" Chie and the rest saw that... "Was that...?"

"Hanamura-kun?" ...Yukiko asked while everyone else is watching.

"Sensei, Yosuke..." Kuma said.

...Back to the rooftop...

Boom, boom! "Grooaarr!" ...The Black Shadow is now immitating Yukiko's appearance in which... "Grooaarr!" It also summons a black version of Konohana Sakuya, not Yukiko's current persona, Amaterasu. "Grooaarr!"

"Leave HER out of this! Hyaarrgh!" ...Perhaps feeling irritated that it's ACTUALLY mocking him in personating his actualy girlfriend, Souji launches an... deadly... BLAAASSTT- BLAST-! BOOM! ...Another explosion that is soon throughout the roof...

...Below...

"Wha...!" Everyone saw that.

"Sensei!"

...Back at the rooftop...

"Grooaarr!" Boom! "Grooaarr!" Boom! "Grooaarr!" Boom! "Grooaarr!" Boom! "Grooaarr!" Boom! ...The Black Shadow took on many various appearance, Chie, Rise, Naoto, Kanji, then Kuma... then another Kuma, his bear form, sort to speak, the other one is his human form, and lastly... it has no more appearance to immitate after getting dispatched several times now so...

"*Huff* *huff* Ah, had enough yet, huh?" Yosuke asked, irritating the Shadow a bit so...

"Grooaar... Grooaarr!" With one last resort... "Grooaar... Warrghh-!" Waarp... Mooldd-! "Grooaarr, GROOAARR!" ...It transforms into something more deadly... a two headed demon... though the other head is not on the neck where most heads... well actually, ALL heads are supposed to be but... it's other is instead... on its... lower body... on its penis... right, it's PENIS which...

"Eww, I think I just swallow my last saliva." Yosuke said disgusted by its appearance as the three of them step back a little from the edge of the roof, they took care to remember not to fall at the other edge so that they wouldn't get injured, die for that matter, so...

"Grooaarr!" With now on its true form and probably the final form to fight, the Shadow prepares to battle the three... then...

"Here we go." Minato said.

"Bring it on."

"Ah, let's go." Yosuke and Souji said.

...Below...

"What's going on?" The others, who are outside of the knowledge of the existences of the Shadows or the Personas in the world, come out as well then...

Boom! "What the...?"

...Back at the rooftop...

...Boom, boom, boom! "Grooaarr!" The Black Shadow who has transformed itself into a gigantic monster with two heads, one is at its between legs which is like a penis(Note: Similar appearance of Zorc Necrophades in Yu-Gi-Oh.), that is making Yosuke throb as if he's fighting some naked man and he still remembers the experience with Kanji's Midnight Channel location and it is still an unpleasant experience for him to remember so.

"Ge, I wonder when are we gonna fight something decent...?" He said backing away a little.

"Since when did somethig out of the fog of deceit ever comes out decently?" Souji asked wearily. He's also still not get used to that sauna place yet...

"...You got me."

"Finish it, let's do this." Minato said, the other two agree to that then...

"Alright, let's do this, let's give this guy one way trip to Hell!" Yosuke said then... Blast, boom, boom, BOOM-!

...Below...

"What the? What's going on up there!" ...Ichijo asked as everyone look up the rooftop where the battle is taking place.

"..." Chie and Yukiko turn to each other, they know that someone they cherish so much is up there, probably fighting for their lives right now... so...

"Sensei, Yosuke." ...Kuma said, he can feel the battle and the feelings and emotions running through the veins of the ones participating up there, so...

...Back at the rooftop...

"Grooaarr!" Slash, Clash!

"Hiyaarrgh!" Slash! Souji, Minato and Yosuke used all of their personas capabilities, with Souji and Minato using various personas to dispatch all of the Black Shadow's attacks one by one, Souji has used this kind of fighting style during his unforgettable moment when he battled Mitsuo Kubo, who was insane at the time, and used all of his bonds with his friends to dispatch his enemies in the way, nothing can withstand the power of the bonds of people afterall, now... let... the... finalle... BEGIN! Clash, Clash, Clash!

"Grooaarr!" So far, the Black Shadow had the disadvantage as it swings it clawed hands to the wild cards and one persona-user who only has one persona, then with three of them together...

"Hiyaarrgh! Go forth, Susanoo-O!" Flash! Gust, gust...! A tornado... then...

"Alright, come forth, Orpheus Telos!" Flash! ...A reddish version of Orpheus... then...

"Come forth now... Izanagi-no-Okami!" Flaash... ...The mightiest of the personas of Souji... The great deity, Izanagi!

"Huahhh-!" It readies it's final stand against the Black Shadow... so...

"Grooaarr."

"From the truth lies the falsehood, and through truth that one prevails against any struggle, and that is why... I command you, who is an embodiment of falsehood and deceiptions, to begone from this place and never return, Ten Thousand Words of Truth!"(Note: Other name for "Myriad Truths")

"Huaahh-"

"Go forth, Orpheus Telos!"

"Go, Susanoo-O, deliver the final blow on this bastard!" Flash, flash! ...Both Orpheus and Susanoo-O join Izanagi... and then... the moment of finale...

"GO, TEN THOUSAND BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP! GO, TRUTH OF UNWAVERING BONDS-!" They said altogether with a clunched fist then... BLAASSTTT-! A probably accumulated power of bonds that they forge as an attack together... with that... nothing... BLAASSTT- Boom!

"Grooaarr!" Flaash... Flaash...! FLAASH-! ...An glow that engulfed the entire rooftop...

...Below...

"Whoa!"

"What the..."

"What is that?"

"Souji-kun."

"Yosuke."

"Sensei, Yosuke. Arisato..."

...Back at the rooftop...

...Boom! "Grooaarr!" Shatter! ...The Shadow has been crushed... destroying the source of all the troubles around here...

...At the Velvet room...

Flash... A World Arcana card comes flashing in glow in front of Igor and Margaret... and Elizabeth. "He he, how marvelous, you have driven back the force of deceiptions and brought peace to the world you have claimed by right." Igor said to two people... those are...

"He he, it seems you have retained your bonds with the other people you cherished in your life 3 years ago..." Elizabeth said.

"Hm, you too as well, this might be just one of the times we may say farewell for now, but I'm sure... Heehe, that we'll meet again soon, good luck... and farewell." Margaret said blowing a kiss, and so did her sibling.

"This is yet some of our "contracts" being fulfilled, I am sure we'll meet again, farewell... and see the bright light for your eyes, goodbye." The three residents wave a farewell wave towards them...

"Huh...? Is this...?" ...It seems Yosuke...

"Huh? Is this...?"

"What is this place...?" ...and the other friends of Souji were able to "come in" as well, despite not being "contractors" or "guests" to this velvet room...

...At the real world...

...Some of the guests remain at the inn, everyone had fun with Souji finally fulfilling his role as the special 'guest' or 'groom' as Yosuke would put it, and giving Yukiko the gift he bought which is a crimson necklace that she would treasure forever, now let the party continue...

THE END

...Epilogue: Souji's P.O.V

...I had fun at the party, Nanako and Dojima had arrived afterwards and Arisato... well, I'm keeping him under my knees and care as Igor informed me that he doesn't have a family and/or home so I guess I'll just take him under my wing, I can always use a tenant to keep our house back at the city occupied by a occupant who will be cleaning in exchange for free salaries and food, I have all but enjoyed December this 2012, I will surely return there again... with Arisato too, of course, but for now, my beloved friends, let us enjoy every moment of truth, painful or good, life is full of truths...

FIN