This story is an AU of all Persona Universes. I declare that I do NOT own Persona series. Please R&R!

This story is just a fiction. Anything that concerns real people, places is just a mere coincidence

0-0-0 PROJECT SHADOW: PERSONA 0-0-0

OP Song: "Filth In Beauty" by The GazettE

Project #1: "Will You Kill Someone You Love Because of Love?"

The town that never sleeps, Mikura City during winter

"Nagase, I expect something better than this!" a loud and gruff voice called out by a middle aged man. The man is the boss of 'Mike Industries' yelled at a young, standing before him with a ferocious glare. "I'm sorry, sir. That will never happen again." The youth said in a low voice while lowering his head. The young man had a dirty blonde hair with an Ahoge (Ahoge is an 'Antenna Hair') sticking out of his messy hair. The boss hit the boy with the paper report the boy just gave a couple of minutes ago.

"You've said that a couple of times and you know what?" the boss took a gulp of his coffee. "What?" the blonde said in a monotone manner. The boss got heated up by the youngster's word and stood up, grabbed him by the collar and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"You have failed me for many times, Nagase. And now, you will take the consequence. You are FIRED!" the gray haired boss banged the report book on his table. The blonde youth groaned and fixed his collar as soon as the boss let go of his grip. He fixed his neck tie, too albeit, he still looks messy. As the young man opened the office door, the boss gave out another yell, "Give it up, Nagase! You are a GOOD-FOR-NOTHING! Just go and die already!" the youth, closed the door behind him. He gave out a deep sigh.

Then, a guy with a more polite-looking outfit ran to him, calling him, "Michiru! How's it? What happened?" he is the general manager of Mike Industries or should we call him Michiru's superior?

The blonde youth, Michiru Nagase reacted by only scratching his hair, saying something in the process "I just got fired. Ain't that good?" he walks past the guy without saying anything.

"Ha! You should've my advice back then. If you do, you won't be a loser like this!" the guy said in a very sinister way, pissing Michiru off. The Ahoge boy picked a keyboard from an unoccupied table and bashed the asshole in the face, making him fall to the floor, hands on his face, screaming in agony.

"I double-dare you to call me by that again, asshole. Next time you say it, I'll bust all of your front teeth!" Michiru glared at the frightened Manager with both of his crimson eyes and then walked away from the room, ignoring all the people watching behind him.

Streets of Mikura city

Our loser protagonist walked through the city, filled with lethargy and disappointment all mixed up, building a flame of frustration inside of him. He actually really pissed now but his facial expression isn't showing of any signs of it probably because, he's used to it. "Haargh, what a day…" the young man gave out a long yawn, followed by him scratching his eyes.

*PI PI PI!*

Michiru's phone received a text message. Wondered who texted him at a time like this, he dug his hands into his black trench coat and took out his phone which had a text that reads:

From: Mii-chan

Hello, Michi ~! It is lunch time break right? Let's meet up at the usual café? Today, I'm treating you. Can't wait! Bye bye, * muaach* I love you.

Michiru smiled when he looked at the text. Wiping some snows that fell on his android phone's screen, he put it back to his pocket. It's from Midori Mitsugawa; his girlfriend whom he's went out with for 2 years. Michiru's currently looking for money for their marriage heck, he just got fired and lost all hope. But, he isn't giving up.

His love for Midori is what keeps making him going forward…

Pocha Café, Shopping District

"Where are you…?" Michiru sighed deeply as he keeps touching his Ahoge restlessly. Actually, that was some kind of his habit when he starts to get impatient. He took another sip from his hot black Arabica coffee. That's when he heard Cindy, a waitress from the café exclaimed, "Welcome!" Michiru took a better look and saw a green-haired lady with cyan eyes, wearing a white scarf and a fur coat with a matching color. Yes, that's Midori A.K.A Mii-chan, Michiru's girlfriend.

"Michi!" Midori ran to Michiru's table and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Your lips taste like strawberry!" she said as she sat down. Michiru just gave her a confused look and she she wondered why.

"What? I drink Arabica you know." Michiru pointed at the coffee mug, letting out a soft chuckle. Midori giggled. "So, have you ordered anything?" she asked the Ahoge guy who is tapping on his phone.

"Yup, coffee and Fish and Chips with strawberry sauce." Michiru said nodding. "You eat weird stuff you know that, Michi?" Midori gave out a laugh. "But it's good. Trust me, strawberry sauce is better than mayo, Mii-chan." Michiru said as finally the meal he waited for arrived. Midori ordered English tea and Cinnamon Roll.

As Michiru ate his lunch slowly, he and his soon-to-be wife had a heartful conversation until Midori asked a certain thing, "Hey, Michi, when are we going to get married?"

Michiru choked on his food and quickly drank his coffee. "What's wrong? Did I said anything wrong?" Midori raised her eyebrows. "No, nothing wrong *cough* it's just that I-" before Michiru finished his sentence, he saw that Midori had a Nausea-like symptom. "Mii-chan!" Michiru stood up, worried about Midori. "I gotta puke!" She said before running to the women's restroom to throw up. Michiru quickly ran towards the same direction, ordering a hot water on the way.

The blonde man waited outside of the restroom entrance and finally, Midori got out of the restroom, limping while holding her belly. Michiru quickly gave her a hand and walked her to their table. Michiru lets Midori sat down first and gave her a sip of the hot water he ordered. "This will make you better." He said while Midori drinks the water. "Ow, you're so sweet~" Midori said.

"Sorry that I worried happens a lot lately." Midori said
"Really? Are you sick?" Michiru asked
"No, not really. It feels like the kid's kicking from inside."
"Yeah, right… Wait, what kid?!"
"You don't know?" Midori said, leering at Michiru in a teasing manner
"Oh, whoa, whoa… You're pregnant?" Michiru said, surprised. Midori nodded quickly

Michiru could never be happier than this. His vision became hazy as tears started to form in his eyes. He wiped the tears as he heard the great news. I mean he is going to be a dad! But as the memory of 3 hours ago start to trail back to his brain, he felt a sudden breakdown. He gave a long and deep sigh.

"Michi?" Midori looked at Michiru with a concerned look "Is there something you don't tell me?" she asked. Michiru held Midori's hand tightly and said between his sobs. "A-am I going to be a loser for the entire life?"

"Hmm?" she enquired. "I'm a failure, Mii-chan!" Michiru said, almost screaming "I just got fired! How am I supposed to start a family when I, myself is a goddamn loser?" Michiru rested on his hands; start to break down in tears. Midori pulled Michiru closer and hugged him, held him close to her chest.

"Hey, do you feel me?" Midori asked. Michiru suddenly stopped sobbing as Midori continued, "I can feel you. Your warmth. You are not a loser, Michi. Probably it's because the job isn't fit with you. I'll help you find another job 'kay?" Midori looked at Michiru's wet eyes, simultaneously wiped the tears from his face. Michiru smiled again. "Yeah, I feel you. Thanks for the comfort, Mii-chan." Michiru sat back, leaned his entire body on the sofa.

Suddenly, Midori's phone rang. Michiru immediately knows that it's a call ringtone. Midori picked up the phone and spoke to the caller. Michiru tried to eavesdrop but sadly he couldn't. After Midori bid goodbye to the caller, Michiru asked right out, "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Tony Richfield, your GM." She said. The name made Michiru had a spit take. "What? Why did he call you?" Michiru exclaimed. "He said that you're such a loser and I'd better go out with him." Midori replied while taking a bite of her cinnamon roll. "Oh, what the hell?" Michiru reacted the pretty much the same way he always been. "But that's no way I'm going out with him right? I have our kid in my tummy now. Hahaha." Midori winked at Michiru and her answer seems to be the right one. It calmed Michiru down. "Delete his contact, will you? For my sake." Michiru demanded. "I've already done it." Midori answered in a deadpan manner. Michiru bursts into laughter saying, "Haha, you're such a cruel person you know Mii-chan?" but Michiru suddenly realized something on Midori's left arm which was plastered.

"What's wrong with your arm?"
"Oh, this? A 3rd grader kid bit me last evening. Pretty strange don't you think?"
"Yeah, it sure is. There are lots of cases like that lately. Better be careful for now on, yah?"
"Okay, oh, my lunch break is almost over. Welp, bye bye, I love you, Michi."

Midori stood up, kissing Michiru in the forehead and left the café. Michiru's smile turned into his usual blank expression then, despite his joy.

Michiru got to his apartment. Pretty small but tidy. There's something bothering Michiru's mind for awhile. 'How did Tony get Mii-chan's cell number?' he thought as he takes off his coat, leaving him only in his dress shirt. He sat down and thinks, 'Well, they've met a few times but that's only twice or once? How the hell? Maybe Mii-chan… nononono NO! Don't think like that, Michiru!' He thought as he slapped himself to cut it out. He ran to the shower to clear the depression out of his head.

He filled the tub with hot water and dipped his body into it. "*sigh* what a day…" Michiru sighed. He hummed the song 'Ryoshin Ryoukai' which was sung by Kagamine Rin. Although he is 20, he still likes that kind of song. But heck, he still can't let his mind off from what happened today.

Especially, his doubt with Midori and his GM's relationship…

MIchiru punched the wall beside him hard, releasing his frustration and sadness. Is Midori cheating behind him? Michiru's chest is heated from the inside. He stood up from the bath tub and got dressed in a red shirt and black sweatpants. As he got out of the bathroom, he took out some knives, forks and other sharp object and brought it to the living room.

"You are my enemy, Tony." Michiru growled as he looked at the 30x30 picture of Tony Richfield. Michiru took out the knife and aimed carefully at the pic and threw it. The knife hit the left eye. "Yes! Take that, you punk ass bitch! Here comes nothing!" Michiru threw a fork but he missed. The fork hits the wall that connects this room with his neighbor. "Oops." He said under his breath. He started to hear banging and mumbles in Chinese which he doesn't understand. Michiru sighed and screamed at the wall, "Sorry, Mr. Wong!" surprisingly, the noise stops and ended up with a gunshot.

*BANG*

Michiru raised his left eyebrow. "The fuck?" he tilted his head as he continued his refreshing activity. When he's about to throw another knife, his doorbell rang.

*ding dong*

Michiru frozed for a moment. "Oh, shit. A guest?!" he exclaimed as he quickly pulled off Tony's holed picture and kept the knives and forks but that's when the door was opened. "Hey, can't you wait?! Wha- Mii-chan?" Michiru looked at Midori, standing at the doorway. Only, she was covered by blood. Her green hair is messy and her cheek is bloodied. More or so, her eyes is different. Her usual calm and bright green orbs,

Now it's emitting cold aura…

"Mii-chan, hey, what's wrong?" Michiru took her to the living room and sat her on a couch. She hasn't talked. Instead,

She laughed…

Darkly…

"hahahha… Michi…" Midori mumbled. Michiru tilted his head and walked to the kitchen. "I'm gonna make you some tea, okay?" He said as he hurriedly walks. "Michi~, my head hurts…" Midori said weakly. Michiru, not even bothering to look back, answered while taking the tea sachet, "Okay, I'll get you aspirin. Say, you wanna uh… wash yourself?" Michiru asked and when he looked back, he saw Midori vomiting a black colored liquid. Surprised, he dropped the mug and ran to her.

"Mii-chan, what's happening? Midori?" MIchiru crouched and patted his girlfriend by the head. When Midori raised her head, Michiru's shocked at the sight of blood started to pour down Midori's eyes. "Midori?!" Michiru exclaimed and grabbed her by her left arm and notices that the black fluid is flooding out of the bite mark. 'What the hell? A bitemark can't be this big!' Michiru thought. Midori, having lost of her entire control, strangled Michiru. "W-what happened t-to *Gag* you , Midori?" Michiru questioned the green haired woman between his coughing.

"…you…"
"*cough* Huh?!" Michiru exclaimed.

"I… Love… You… Michi… Love only you…" Midori mumbled then she giggles and lunged her head towards Michiru's neck, attempting to bite him. Luckily, Michiru was able to react. He kicked her stomach and pushed himself from her. He ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, pointing it to his girlfriend. "Midori, you don't want to make me do this." He phrased as his hands trembled with fear.

Midori walked towards Michiru, leaving blood tracks all the way. The black fluid drips more now, the liquid seemed denser now. "Midori, stop this!" Michiru shouted. Midori doesn't stop but instead, she hurried her pace. Michiru had nowhere to run now. And with a loud scream, he planted the knife on her left shoulder, able to pin her to the nearest wall. The Ahoge young man panted heavily; not from exhaustion, but from fear. Midori yelled in agony many times and it is so loud that it could break Michiru's eardrums at any second. "I'm sorry, Midori." He muttered.

Michiru took out his phone and called for ambulance. "Hello, this is from Dimlight Apartment room 203. I need ambulance, fast!" Michiru exclaimed panickingly.

"How many do you need, sir? May I ask your name?"

"…" Michiru doesn't answer.

"Sir?"

Michiru looked at Midori who is screaming in agony…

Midori cried ….

Michiru finish the call and walked up to her. "Midori, it hurts right?" Michiru asked in a very desperate way. "I'm going to put you to ease." He said, smiling sadly as he took out another knife from the table. Michiru sat on his girlfriend's body and aimed the sharp knife at her chest.

"I love you, Midori." Michiru said as the blade impaled her chest, stopping her heartbeat once and for all. Tears started to drop from Michiru's eyes. He cried on the bloodied corpse of his girlfriend.

He killed his beloved Midori and… his unborn child. The man stood up and walked himself backward to a corner of the room. He lets his body slides down and fell on the floor with a seated position. Michiru, after having fallen into despair and guilt, pulled his legs and hugged his knees. "What the FUCK!" He screamed as he banged his head on his knees strongly.

Our Ahoge boy has lost everything including his sagacity. Slowly, Michiru stood up and pulled the knife that impaled Midori's heart. He aimed the knife at his throat, attempting a suicide.

"Midori, I'm such a loser, am I?" Michiru, finally able to collect the resolve to stab himself, was going to thrust his own throat when he heard a voice. It is unclear at first, but the voice sounds clearer afterwards. The voice turns out to be a voice of a baby's crying. Surprised, he turned his vision to where the voice from, that is from behind him. He saw Midori's belly which was bulging due to pregnancy, start to move tremendously. Michiru backed off from the body immediately.

Her belly grew bigger. And bigger. And bigger to the extent that Midori's belly exploded. Blood was sprayed everywhere as a figure of a baby started to crawl out of the dead maiden's body. Michiru's shocked as hell and stared at the sight with horror. The baby is blood covered and had the same black fluid from Midori earlier, overflowing form its mouth. Could it be that Michiru's baby? Michiru just stood there, dumbfounded. He's very confused after everything's that happened today. It's a great impact on both his body and soul. The baby looked at MIchiru with a blank expression. Its eyes have no pupil at all. Just,… white. Michiru started to hyperventilate, thinking that this is just a dream although he's ultimately aware that he's not.

"GAAAAAAAH!" The baby screamed, having this maniac toothy grin plastered on its face. It lunged towards Michiru, but Michiru's legs just frozed to the point that he couldn't move his entire body. It feels like the horrors and emotions building inside him are dragging him to hell.

Just when the baby was about to bite Michiru's leg, the window broke, revealing a man in an eyepatch on his right eye jumped into the room. The baby stopped for a moment and looked at the man.

"What a pitiful creature. You're not supposed to be in this world." Said the man as he took out a Mauser pistol and shot the baby with a loud bang.

*BANG!*

The baby vomited some mixtures of blood and the black liquid. The eyepatch guy quickly kicks the baby to the far end of the room. With a loud thud, the baby stopped moving. Michiru still looked blank, he's hyperventilating and stared off blankly at the baby. The man who's just barged in tapped Michiru on the shoulder and then said, "Get your shit together, man."

The words seem to get Michiru back to his senses once again. Michiru gasped while backing off to a wall, holding the knife in a hostile manner. "Dude, drop the knife. I'm not here to kill you so calm down." The man put his Mauser into its holster around his waist. Michiru observed the man.

He's an average built man with a long and wild strawberry brown hair which reaches the nape of his neck. An eye patch that covers his right eye. He's wears a green coat with a wide collar, complete with prominent, spiky, brownish white fur trimming lining the hood, over a white shirt, black pants and whitish sneakers, each adorned by a pair of light green stripes. "Yo, the name's Mikito Sakurai. You can call me Mikito." The man introduced himself.

"You. What did you do? What are those things?!" Michiru asked panicking
"I killed it. The same way you killed that girl."Mikito pointed at Midori's dead body. Then, Michiru ran to Mikito and grabbed him by the collar. "What the fuck do you know?! Huh? Answer me!" Michiru yelled at Mikito who looked at Michiru with a blank expression.

"Those things. We call them Shadows." Mikito paused as Michiru put him down and then continued, "It all started 4 years ago when a meteorite fell to the earth. At Hawaii to be exact. The Meteorite, unexpectedly, carries a very infectious virus with it. The virus can turn you into a man-eating creature. Well, that's about sums it up." Mikito said as he took a cigarette and lit it up.

"What? I don't seem to grasp the root of this Shadow thing. If the pandemic starts 4 years ago, why didn't the global world know about this? It's never been told." Michiru asked.

"Well, think of this rationally. What will happen if the people around the world know that a lethal virus is being broadcasted worldwide? Well, ANARCHISM, of course will happen. When that happens, the earth will come to a post-apocalyptic era." Mikito replied after taking a long drag of his smoke.

"But how come people never notice it if the Pandemic happens worldwide?" Michiru asked with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Because the world government hires people like me. HUNTERS. We are trained ops, specializes in pulverizing Shadows. We are deployed worldwide to fight these abomination creatures." Mikito said. When he's about to say more, there's a bang on Michiru's door.

"We are from Mikura City Police Department. Open the door!" said a man in front of the door. "Holy Shit, you called police?" Mikito looked at Michiru with an annoyed look on his face. "Hell no, man! Probably the reception called for one when she heard the ruckus." Michiru explained. Mikito sighed in disappointment as the police kicked the door open and pointed the gun at both of them. "Freeze!" the two police officers aimed at the both males. One of the cops looked at Midori's gutted body on the floor and quickly exclaims, "You are charged of homicide. You guys are under arrest!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. We did nothin'. She's already dead by the time we got here. Right? Uh…" Mikito looked at Michiru.

"Michiru Nagase." The ahoge male whispered. Mikito gave him a glare which looks like he's saying 'Shut up!'

"You two, hands where I can see them!" The cop said. Michiru raised both of his hands however, Mikito incidentally pulled out his Mauser. The two cops got panicked in second and exclaimed, "Y-you're against the officer of law?!"

"No no no! Sir, this is just a- look out!" Mikito exclaimed at the sight of the baby Shadow still moving and took a grab on one of the cop's leg. "Don't let it bite you!" Michiru ran to the officer but it's too late, the baby's reaction is faster than either one of theirs; the Shadow baby bit the cop's leg that it bleed out. "AGHH!" the cop screamed loud while his friend shot the baby but because of the panic situation, the cop couldn't aim right and emptied his S&W Model.37 without landing a hit on the baby.

Mikito walked to the cops and pulled his Mauser's trigger on the baby's head. Brain splattered all over the floor. The two cops panted heavily and fell flat on the floor. Mikito, without wasting any other second, pointed his Mauser at the bitten cop. "What are you-"

*BANG!*

Before Michiru finished the sentence, MIkito killed the police officer. The other officer, he ran out of the building hurriedly. MIchiru, who's previously watching in horror, ran to Mikito, grabbing him by the jacket. "What the hell are you doing?!" Michiru yelled at the eye patch wearing man. Mikito quickly pushed Michiru back and straightened up his jacket. "Is that wrong? He should be grateful instead." Mikito looked at Michiru's got enraged in seconds Mikito finished his words.

"KILLING IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG!" Michiru yelled.

"Oh, how ironic. You just killed someone over there!" Mikito pointed at Midori's corpse, "Besides, if I don't kill him, he'll just end up like that girl of yours!" Michiru quickly looked down, staring at his own bloody hands. He's commited a murder. The blonde man fell to his knees, still staring blankly at his hands. Mikito can't help but sigh at the sight. The red-ish haired man took a deep drag of his cigarette.

Michiru punched the floor and shouted, "WHY MUST THIS HAPPEN?!" he kept hitting the floor while weeping, blaming everything to himself for not protecting Midori. Mikito came up to him and said while his eyes traced down to Michiru, "So, what are you going to do now?" Michiru let out a sigh and implied,

"Leave me alone…"

"Tch..!" Mikito turned around heading for the exit door when his phone rang. The long haired man quickly picked up the call,

"Yeah, what?... just finished here… MK.3? Wait, did you say 5? Oh great, this shit is getting worse. FUCK them!" Mikito exclaimed on the phone and ended the call. "Hey blondy! We gotta get out of here!" Mikito shouted from the doorway. Michiru didn't give a response which pisses Mikito off and resulting Mikito to grab MIchiru by the collar, "Listen you, there is no reason for regrets. What's happen, let it go, dammit! Now do you want to live or…" Mikito puts Michiru down and aimed his Mauser up the blondie's forehead. "…I'm gonna kill you right here." Mikito whispered. As he was about to pull the trigger, Michiru instinctively grabbed Mikito's arm and pushed Mikito backward. "You'd better explain everything after this!" Michiru shouted as he grabbed his trench coat form the couch. Mikito grinned satisfyingly, "That's what I want to hear!"

The two men ran out of the building, dashing through the snowy streets. However, Michiru still felt guilt inside his heart. It's as if he's going to explode in any moment. He tainted his hands with the blood of the love of his life. But is it true? Midori's death? Does it have been planned by the god? There must be an explanation to why must Midori die tonight! Those questions have been resonating inside Michiru's brain for awhile when he struck up a question to Mikito, "Hey Mikito, why are we running away?" Michiru asked between his puffs of exhaustion.

"We are being targeted."
"By whom?"
"Shadows. The ones that's targeting us are MK.3's, an advanced form of a Shadow. There are 5 of them."
"Why target us? I don't seem to get this!" Michiru sighed.

Mikito threw him his phone which was dialing a number. When it went through, Michiru sticks the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" Michiru said.

"Hey, who's this?" said a girl voice which was on phone.

"Isa, give some lectures about Shadows to this guy on phone! You got 5 minutes before we arrive at the designated location!" Mikito shouted.

"Who's 'this' guy you're talking about?" the girl, Isa asked.

"Hello, it's Michiru. Nice to talk to you, miss. What Shadows that are chasing us?" Michiru pointed out his question without wasting any time.

"There are around 5 located on you guys' tail. You know about Shadows huh? Maybe this won't take too long after all. Shadows are beings classified as diagnosing a disease called 'Shadowfication'. It's very infectious so, take care not to let even a single drop on your wounds. Normal humans will turn into Mk.1 Shadows in about 1 day but this is Mk.3 we're talking about so it infects faster." Isa answered.

"So, you classify these genes' infectivity, huh."

"Precisely! You learned Biology right? Shadow Genes, like other viruses, it also evolves. Through Mk.1 Shadows, they still probably look human like the zombies you see at TV, but starting with Mk.2, the virus, produces black fluids that will differentiate your cells and organs."

"Why do you guys tell me this? Isn't that information's top secret? Why don't the governments tell their public about this very important piece of info?! Answer me that, miss." Michiru seems to raise his voice due to the emotion stirring inside him. Frustration, disappointment, sadness, all mixed into one.

"Hey, I got a name. It's Isa Nadeshiko. Use your goddamn head! If you can prevent conflict, why don't you do it? That's why the Government conducts a research regarding Shadow Genes and deployed Shadow Hunters like Mikito!"

"But, Nadeshiko-san-" Before Michiru finished talking, Mikito swiftly snatched the phone and talked, "Isa, we're near the designated point."

"Roger that. There are 2 teams on SDF, waiting to cover you up. Oh, Miya's on standby, too."

"Well, job well done, I'll just have to lure those sons of bitches into the warehouse and kill it. Okay, get the picture." Mikito grinned as he reloaded his Mauser while running.

"Wait! Mikito, there's another one around 7 meters behind you right now. Take care not to fight in public." Isa screamed at the phone, loud enough for Michiru to hear what happened. The blonde quickly turned his head and saw Mr. Wong, his Chinese neighbor running towards him with blood rolling down from his eyes. Michiru, immediately knew something was wrong with him and dodged left. Mikito quickly kicked the old man into an alley near that place.

"Wait over here." Mikito ordered. Michiru nodded as a reply. The eye patch guy took out his Mauser which he just reloaded recently and walked into the alley, shooting the seemingly Mk.1 Shadow in the legs, immobilizing it. As he reached the distance of point blank, the Shadow swung its hand and hit Mikito's gun which made it fell off from his hand. The Shadow took the chance to hold Mikito by the neck, attempting to bite him like what Midori's about to do. But as the teeth of the Shadow's about to touch Mikito's skin, its abdomen was stabbed by 3 horizontally-lined blades.

"I also got melee you son of a bitch!" Mikito dragged his claw-blade from the Shadow's stomach to its, chest, pulling a palm-sized red orb out of its chest. In an instant, the Shadow fell, laying flat on its stomach as blood started pooling on the alley's door.

"What is that?" Michiru came to Mikito who had an orb stuck at his claw-blades. Slowly, the orb started to melt down, and popped like a water balloon only this one spurted out thick crimson fluid.

"It's the core of a Shadow. To kill it, you have to destroy the core. Actually,…" Mikito said as he walked out of the alley, "…It's the differentiation of a human's heart." Mikito took his Mauser from the ground.

Mikura Town, Abandoned Public Warehouse

The two males reached the Public Warehouse and were greeted by a man in an SDF uniform. "Mr. Orbeye? Hurry this way!" the man said. Mikito ran following the SDF unit with Michiru at the back.

"I thought your name is Mikito Sakurai? Why is he calling you Orbeye?" MIchiru whispered at the taller eyepatch wearing man.

"Orbeye is just a codename. Every Hunters have them." Mikito said, thrashing his cigarette. "You'd better not run off by yourself from now own since this is going to be a battlefield."

"Huh? What do you mean?!" Michiru asked when suddenly he heard a wolf-like cry. Mikito gritted his teeth and paced up his running. Michiru, Mikito, as well as the SDF member came into a huge warehouse and Michiru saw something terrible. Two wolf shaped creature which was as big as a human adult, pinned down with nets on them. The wolf also had black liquid coming from their nostrils and mouth. The black fluids themselves already proved Michiru that they are Shadows. "Are these the Mk.3 Shadows you are talking about, Mikito?" Michiru asked the brown haired man as he nodded as a response.

"Where are the other 3?" Michiru asked again. Mikito looked at Michiru and sighed, "Well, actually, these Shadows have patterns on finding their prey. You see, that Shadow girl in your apartment actually had a Shadow Provoker flowing through her Shadow Gene cells and…" Mikito raised Michiru's chin and saw a stack of the black colored black which belongs to Midori. "Wait, you're saying that they're after me?" Michiru yelled in disbelief. "You should've told me sooner! I could've washed this back there you know!"

"Well, too bad that it's too late for that. You're going to be dead if you stay there, anyway. There was too much Shadow blood sprayed all over your Apartment room." Mikito replied calmly and readied his claw-blade. "Capt, let's do these two bitches here first." Mikito pointed his Mauser at the captured Shadows. "Yessir!" the SDF captain saluted and ordered his men to fire their MP5s at the 2 wolf Shadows to their death.

"2 down, Archer." Mikito said on his phone.

"Well, it's rare for you to call me by the codename, Orbeye. But it's too late for that. The cry just now attracted more Shadows there. These Mk.3 Shadows, codename: Fenrir, have a special trait that is to call for help in dire situations. Just like what will wolves normally do." Isa, whose codename is Archer explained through the telecommunication system.

"You should've told me sooner, dammit." Mikito sweatdropped.

"Okay, here comes another 4 Fenrirs, plus 7 Floyds coming your way!" Isa informed. "Men, guns at ready, we have guests!" Mikito shouted and his call quickly make the soldiers from both unit, reloaded their empty magazines.

Michiru, looked at the night sky when he notices large black colored birds coming their way. "Mikito! Flying Shadows!" Michiru alerted Mikito and he quickly ran to the entrance to make sure. "The Floyds are here!" one of the SDF force's unit yelled. "Fenrirs form 3 o'clock! Sir, we're surrounded!" the SDF unit from Charlie team informed his leader. The morale of the SDF troops fell drastically as they start to panic.

"Calm the hell down! We have Majou stationed here remember? Charlie team, you and Majou handle the floyds while me and Bravo team handle the Fenrirs! Now move your asses! Go, go, go!" Mikito ordered and the soldiers' panic situation seems to ceased due to his perfect leadership. "Who is this 'Majou'?" Michiru whispered at Mikito.

"One of the most amazing Sniper I've ever met." Mikito pointed at the roof of a warehouse across. Michiru can see a girl with black hair covered by a pink bandana holding a Sniper rifle in a lying position. She wears a white long-sleeve shirt with a Kevlar vest covering her body. "'Majou' is her codename. Her name is Miya Kamijou. She's from my team , too." Mikito tapped on his phone and talked to the phone. "Hey Majou, cover our asses will ya?"

"Wilco" Miya gave a simple reply to Mikito as she starts to shoot the Pterodactyl shaped Shadows which were flying with high speed. Miya knows that this is a tough job but she know she can do it and pulls the trigger without hesitation.

*bang!*

Miya manually extracts an empty cartridge and chambers a new round in her bolt action M40A3 sniper rifle as the first shot kills one out of seven. The Charlie team is almost wiped out due to their unprofessionalism.

The 4 Fenrirs which attacked the warehouse which Bravo team is in, started to prey on each one of the SDF members. "Shoot the fuck out of it!" one of the soldiers exclaimed but was soon wiped out by a slash of the Fenrir's sharp claw. Though, it doesn't look really deep, Michiru was shocked because just in one strike, the claws were able to rip through the flesh of the soldier's abdomen, revealing his intestines which flooded out of his stomach.

The fight goes on, and team Charlie was completely wiped out and Miya's the one remaining. Back at the warehouse, the soldiers from Bravo team can't do a single thing against the hardness of the Fenrirs' skin and their lethal speed. "Archer, what the hell's going on?!" Mikito shouted at his mission Operator.

"These Fenrirs… *gasp* they have manufactured a hard layer of skin. Bullets won't do anything against it. Use melee!" Isa screamed.

"Men, switch to combat knives!" Mikito ordered as he himself also equipped his claw-blade. The soldiers charged at the 4 Fenrirs but were immediately wiped out; Mikito was left with his final choice, his going to make a last stand. "Michiru, stand back." Mikito said calmly, trying to concentrate every fighting skills he has. One of the Fenrirs jumped at Mikito but he dodged and planted a good thrust at the belly of the Fenrir, pulling out its core at the same time, 2 others are charging at Mikito simultaneously but was blocked by Mikito who used the dead Fenrir's carcass. He quickly slashed the throat of the two Fenrirs in a time. "One remaining." He muttered.

The last Fenrir, had no other choice. But that's what Mikito thinks. The Fenrir ate the body of the other 2 Fenrirs, devouring their core. "Wait, that's!" Mikito is surprised as well.

The last Fenrir cried loudly after it's done gobbling the 2 other cores. The black fluid started to burst more out of its mouth and its ribs ripped through the skin of its chest. The legs and body of the wolf got bigger and more muscular. As the last transformation, 2 wolf heads appeared from its shoulder.

Michiru jumped back instinctively and Mikito got worried all of the sudden. "Isa, it's Mk.4. A Cerberus. It's going to be hard. Can I use 'it'?" Mikito spoke to Isa through the phone.

"A Mk.4?! I can't believe this. Regarding to your genetic codes and synchronization with Shadow Gene, all status green. Mikito, you're allowed to commence the 'PERSONA Summoning Sequence'"

"Roger that. Now I need some light." Mikito started to look around for an area with light for some reason and he found it near the doorway. He quickly dashed to the entrance.

"What are you doing?!" Michiru shouted from afar.

"I'm going to use my special weapon. Just watch!" Mikito said as he almost near the light but the Cerberus is also quick and it jumped infront of Mikito. Mikito got hit by the wave of the Cerberus and flew off a few metres back. Michiru ran to him. "You okay man?"

"Just barely."
"What are you trying to do?"
"My special weapon needs shadow to appear."
"What?"
"Just help me think of something! We need light to create shadow but that dog bitch is covering the light with its huge ass."
"light?" Michiru looked at his sorroundings and saw a dead soldier grabbing something.

"I got an idea. You go first and ready yourself." Michiru ran to the corpse and took the something from his hand. Mikito saw what Michiru did and made an evil smile. "Nice, Michiru"

Mikito stood up against the Cerberus and took out a red dice from his pocket. "Now!" he exclaimed. Having heard the signal, Michiru threw a flashbang and shot a hole at it with a Glock.17 from the soldier.

*Kaboom!*

Light fills the area in an instant and Mikito walked slowly as he saw his own shadow. He threw the dice to the air and said,

"You Shadows aren't allowed here. Whenever there is light, there will be shadow. Whenever there are Shadows, there will always be a…"

Mikito caught the dice and completed his sentence, "PERSONA"

Mikito's Shadow suddenly made a figure of a humanoid with searing flames from its head. It has a red suit on. The figure roared loudly.

"Graaawr!" the roar made the Cerberus stepped back a bit.

"Let's go, ASHER!" Mikito exclaimed and the red figure charged at the huge Cerberus.

To be continued…

Onto the next Project: "Awakened"

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