Chapter 1

The Servant

Thoughts

I own nothing but my lack of creativity. I do not own anything to do with Fate/anything or Persona.

It's Souji mainly because Golden is not out and Ultimate is not out. Besides, Souji has been added to my spell check. I use first names because… I am writing in English for this story. If you want Japanese, I am not in the mood today or tomorrow. I will, however, use –san and –chan and whatever else if it refers to the Persona characters because this is Tatsumi Port Island (P3 world). I will go with how the games use the names.

Servants will be 'Personas' and the Personas will not match up to the Personas in their respective games. If I said this would not be just a little AU on personalities on the Masters and locations, I would have you send me to the nearest mental institution. If I don't take other liberties with a few things, not gender, but slight variations on weapons and appearances… I would still be struggling on what Servants would be what. They have to be humanoid, yes? Yes, girl servants will have boy masters and vice-versa.

I will use my skills in German and then bastardize it for the spells.

Relationships? Haven't decided on it…


Tatsumi Port Island, Gekkoukan High, Baseball Field

Alright… I just need to get a hit… Come on! Can I not fail for once!

Souji Seta was the ninth batter for the Gekkoukan's Varsity baseball team. It took him almost all of the first semester to break into the starting roster. He was batting ninth while playing left field, but at least he had made the team. This game in late June would probably be the last in the semester, but it was also the most important. If they won the game; Gekkoukan would actually be playing in the regional competitions. Unfortunately, in this current game, Souji was batting 0-4 with three strikeouts and one groundout that led to a double play. The team was down 3-2 with two outs in the ninth inning. The batter before him had hit a double and now it was up to the one person who had been struggling to hit anything but air all of this past month to pull out a miracle on a Thursday afternoon with the sun blazing down on him.

Souji sighed as he walked from the warm up circle to the batter's box. He knew that many of his teammates had lost faith, especially when they knew it had come down to him. They had hoped that the guy before him had hit a home run instead of a double. Souji was surprised that the couch did not call in a pinch hitter for that matter. Maybe it was just for the fact that if it went to extra innings, they wanted Souji out in left field; he played better defense than offense. Regardless of the reasons on why Souji was now in the batter's box; it was now up to him.

Souji's dark blue batting helmet covered his short silver hair as he gripped the silver-colored aluminum bat. As he looked out onto the field, he saw his teammate at second, who was probably praying that Souji would get a hit. The sun was bearing down as Souji looked at the pitcher who had his arm behind his back, ball in hand. The sweat had run down his forehead all the way to his blue jersey and towards to his white baseball pants with grass stains caused by a diving catch in the fourth inning. Now, he was facing the best closer in the region who had struck out five straight before the guy before him hit the double.

Well… no pressure. Maybe, Kai's hit will have shaken his confidence just a little.

That was probably a misconception because the pitcher Souji was staring at looked as cold as ice, ready to kill the batter. The only way he was shaken was if his whole scary persona was just a façade to hide his nervousness.

Souji had no chance of hitting the slider that flew by his torso at a speed that should not have belonged to a typical high school pitcher. This reliever was definitely headed to a university that had a good sports team, and maybe… just maybe; he would be headed to the pros. Souji stepped away from the batter's box, dropped his bat between his legs, and adjusted his gloves. He exhaled his held breath and stepped back into the box. As he held the bat above his shoulders; Souji faced the one hundred-ninety-five centimeter tall pitcher and stared him down as he raised his leg and threw his next pitch. Souji watched the ball as it zoomed towards him.

Souji knew it was a strike, so he swung at the ball as the leather sphere neared the plate. The ball flew by so quickly that Souji nearly lost his balance after his follow through. It was embarrassing; it really was. Souji could feel his team's eyes on him; their disappointment evident. He knew they were waiting for him to strike out, or for him to pop it up. At best, Souji might ground it straight to first base. He closed his eyes and focused on the pitcher… he focused on the ball that would be pitched.

I promised myself… that I would not use this in something so trivial, but… I'm already unpopular enough as it is. No one should notice…

As the pitcher went into his windup, with his eyes still closed, Souji muttered under his breath, "Siehe Ungehemmter…" (To see… uninhibited)

Souji's gray eyes did not actually change, but instead… they gleamed for an instant. To Souji, it was as if time slowed slightly. As the opposing pitcher started to throw, Souji could make out every piece of stitching in the white leather; he could watch the ball spin towards him. Souji's trick would not last after he took the swing. If the silver-haired young man in fact got a hit, he would have to run the bases at full speed. The important thing about this spell was that no one would notice it except those affected, and the only thing he was directly affecting was the ball. Souji took in a deep breath as the spell he casted was about to wear off. He closed his eyes and started his swing as the ball neared the plate…

Souji heard the crack of his aluminum bat as the ball connected with the blunt object. Time retuned to normal as the spell wore off and he started moving, all while watching the ball fly high into the sky. As Souji rounded first, it headed towards right field; it was really high in the air. Souji prayed that he had not hit it too high and that the right fielder would make an easy catch by the warning track. However, the outfielder kept heading back and back, so far that Souji knew that he would not be able to catch up to it. For a moment, he thought that he would be the savior of the game; he would have won it for everyone by hitting a game-winning homerun. Halfway to second base, Souji realized that the ball was heading on the wrong side of the foul poll. The ball he had slowed had made Souji swing the bat too early, forcing the ball wide.

Damn it!

As he walked back to home plate, he heard a smattering of sighs of relief from the opposing team and sounds of disbelief from his own teammates. The fact that someone like Souji had almost pulled off a hit like that against a pitcher as good as the one he was facing was probably why everyone was in shock.

As Souji took his place back into the box, which was right in front of the catcher; he knew that he could not try that spell again. Souji's family… they were from a long line of magicians; it was just… that he had been all but abandoned by his parents. He had moved constantly all of his life and had very little time for learning magic. Instead of learning magic firsthand from his father, his mother had no magical talent, he learned from a book his father entrusted him as a child after the second time he was dumped off in a foreign city. Now that his parents were in America, Souji was left by himself in Tatsumi Port Island to study not just his regular studies, but also the magical arts. Unfortunately, his talents as a mage were somewhat lacking. He would never be a great magician.

Still, Souji could not use another spell. At least he had made contact with the ball, and since the teams did not notice the spell; it would be more respectable if he bowed out now. He gripped his bat; he loved this bat for some reason. It was just special to him and he had used it since he was tall enough to grip it properly. Souji raised the bat and bent his knees. Souji watched the windup of the pitcher and the release. He saw that the ball was a little wide and expected it to be a curveball. Souji was about to make a motion to move his foot forward when the ball stopped curving and instead… it flew straight towards Souji's left shoulder. Souji tried to pull away, but the ball still slammed into his shoulder at a blazing speed. As the batter collapsed to the ground, every person who was not standing up in the dugout raced to their feet and quite a few moved towards Souji. Another few teammates moved towards the pitcher, which caused quite a few of the opposing team members to rush to the pitcher's defense.

Souji might be expected to join the ones who were charging the mound, but his shoulder was killing him. He would leave the arguing and shoving to his teammates and to the other team; Souji would sit by the plate, clutching his shoulder.

It took five minutes to clear out a near-riot; it resulted in an ejection for each team, not like it mattered too much in the ninth inning. They replaced Souji for a pinch runner. The manager, the club advisor, clapped him on the back when he walked back to the dugout. The best part was that it would not be his fault if the team lost. He would just have to accept the fact that even with a magical spell; Souji could not save the game.

Souji was right… the next batter popped up straight to the center field on the first pitch. The other team started celebrating as soon as the ball hit the outfielder's mitt. It was an important game after all. Souji sighed; it still stung to lose like that, especially after sacrificing his body like that.

The Gekkoukan's baseball team slowly moved away from the field, most of them had their heads down after the tough loss. Souji clutched his shoulder as he moved towards the area where he could wash his face.

From the rooftop of Gekkoukan High, an emotionless girl with very short blond hair with a golden headband and a red ribbon on her school uniform moved away from the fence where she was watching the game. The girl put her hands together as she walked away from the roof and headed downstairs.

"Confirmed usage of spell…," the girl muttered under her breath, "Target acquired…"


Outside Gekkoukan High

Souji had finally changed out of his uniform and put most of his equipment into a duffle bag. The locker room had been pretty quiet after the loss and he was one of the last ones to leave the school. He had a large red welt where he had been pelted by the baseball, which was at least better than the injury he believed he had sustained. Souji's best friend was there to greet Souji; his friend had watched the silver-haired young man play in the game. Yosuke Hanamura had been his friend for years and when he moved from Inaba, where his uncle and his younger cousin lived, moved to Tatsumi Port Island with him. Yosuke was the son of a manager of a very prosperous department store, and because of certain bullying from others… Yosuke moved away from Inaba to Tatsumi Port Island.

Yosuke waved at Souji as he approached, gave a small smile, and showed body language that reminded Souji of someone who was pretending to be disappointed in Souji's efforts. Souji rolled his eyes as he walked and closed the distance to him. Yosuke had fluffy brown hair to match his dark eyes. On top of Yosuke's uniform were his familiar silver headphones. Souji thought it was nice to see that at least one person had watched his game; no matter how badly he played.

"Yo…," Yosuke said as he met up with his friend.

"Hey Yosuke…," Souji said in return.

"Nice game, Souji…," Yosuke smirked, "How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts like hell…," Souji answered. Thinking about the injury made the pain well up a little bit inside.

"A little ice will make it all better," Yosuke suggested.

"Probably…," Souji agreed.

"I'm just impressed you didn't go and pop that pitcher in the face for hitting you with that pitch," Yosuke smirked.

"I was in too much pain to think about doing that," Souji responded.

In actuality, Souji did not like to fight unless it was a last resort. The last time he scuffled with anyone… it was actually with Yosuke. It was one of those friendly fights that actually made you better friends afterwards, but it hurt like hell anyways. His little cousin had to help him clean a lot of blood off the floor of their house when he got back.

Souji sighed as Yosuke said, "Do you think you're ready to head back to the dorm?"

"Alright…," Souji nodded.

Souji and Yosuke lived in a lavish five floor dorm building; it was extremely lucky for the two of them. It was because they lived in the only co-ed dorm that was affiliated with Gekkoukan High. There were mainly second-years and third-years living there, including a shy girl with green hair named Fuuka who excelled in working with technology and a champion of the boxing club named Akihiko. That did not even include a hot-tempered blond-haired kid that was secretly a momma's boy named Kanji or a girl who was actually part of the family who developed the school, a beautiful girl with natural red hair named Mitsuru.

The two friends headed away from the high school and started towards their dorm. On the way the two of them chatted idly, but it was not until they reached a small-ish shopping area called Paulownia Mall did Yosuke and Souji start a meaningful conversation.

Paulownia Mall had a nightclub, a records store, a coffee shop, arcade, and karaoke. It also featured a small antique store and a pharmacy. There was a police station to break-up the nightclub ruffians just in case it got out of hand. There was only one place in town that dwarfed it and the Iwatodai Station was more like a strip mall than anything else. The only other place to go shopping was much larger than Paulownia Mall, but had nowhere near the amount of places to visit… outside of a cinema and a flower shop.

As Souji passed 'Power Records' with Yosuke, the boy with fluffy brown hair said to him, "Have you ever been to 'Club Escapade'?"

"No… it's not open to people our age, Yosuke… why?" Souji said.

Souji used his peripheral vision to look at the nightclub while Yosuke answered the silver-haired guy's friend, "Well… sometimes they let younger guys and girls in on special occasions." Yosuke smiled as he added, "Like tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow…?" Souji looked perplexed, "What's tomorrow…?"

It appeared the smile that Yosuke had put on was to hide the excitement he had and the smile collapsed. He could not hold in the excitement as he said, "Dude…Risette's final concert! It's playing at 'Club Escapade'… Friday night at Eight!"

Risette, or Rise Kujikawa, was a rising idol who took Japan by storm a few years back. Suddenly, a few months ago, she started wishing for a normal life again… or so she said. She suddenly started a farewell tour and apparently her last concert was at none other than Tatsumi Port Island's 'Club Escapade'. Souji was not sure exactly what it looked like, but it was awfully small. Why Rise was doing a concert there, Souji did not know.

Souji had to ask, "So… are you hoping for a chance to see her before or after?"

Yosuke shook his head, "No man…" He pulled out two sheaves of paper, "Take a look at these!"

Souji took a closer look at what was in Yosuke's hands. The pieces of paper were tickets. Could they really be tickets to that concert Yosuke was talking about? Yosuke idolized Risette and had a huge crush on a slim natural red-haired girl he had never seen in person.

Ever since Yosuke saw that commercial with Rise in that swimsuit… but does he really have tickets to Rise's concert?

"You actually have tickets to the concert?" Souji said in half-disbelief, "How?" They had now left Paulownia Mall.

"If you stand in line for two hours before school even starts, you can get tickets to the concert," Yosuke answered.

"So, you got one for me, too?" Souji said, a little skeptical. He half-expected the other ticket to be for someone else, like some girl Yosuke was going to beg to come with.

Yosuke nodded, "Considering all the times you helped me out when those people were trying to mess with me while I was in Inaba… I think it's only fair."

Souji was really grateful that Yosuke thought of him when he bought those tickets. Souji might not be quite as much of a fan of Risette as Yosuke, but he still thought she was cute and liked her acting in some forms. Souji guessed he would have to clear his schedule tomorrow night.

Yosuke dominated the conversation the rest of the way to the dorm, which did not bother Souji. When Souji arrived at the dorm, it would give him a chance to rest his shoulder. He used his right arm to open the door; it hurt a lot less.

It was not just the fact that it was five floors and co-ed that made the dorm special; it was the fact that everything inside in the dorm was beyond extravagant. From the cherry doors to the layered windows; the outside was beyond impressive. When Souji entered the lobby, the inside was just as impressive with oak dining tables, fancy couches, and dividers at the entrance. The crown molding at the entrance compounded the archway made it look even more expensive.

Sitting on the couch closest to the door, reading a book, was the extremely beautiful Student Council President Mitsuru Kirijo. A third-year with long and lavish red hair which complimented the ruffled additions to her school uniform; she had sort of taken over the role of dorm mother when the official one left. She was widely admired by everyone and had plenty of 'secret admirers'; it was not limited to boys.

She closed her book at Souji and Yosuke's arrival and looked up at the pair. Mitsuru could be harsh, but she was generally a nice person. God help those who harm one of the dorm members, however. She smiled at first when she looked at the two of them, but frowned when she saw Souji favoring his right side a little.

"I'm guessing your game did not go as planned?" Mitsuru stood up and then added, "And you are hurt as well?"

"It's just a bruise or something like that," Souji answered. He did not want to bother Mitsuru.

"Yeah, Gekkoukan lost," Yosuke added, "But at least Souji was not the reason they lost."

"Do you want me to take a look at it?" Mitsuru asked. Even with Souji's reassurance, Mitsuru still looked a little worried.

"No… but thank you, Mitsuru-senpai…," Souji shook his head.

"If you insist…," Mitsuru backed off a little. Mitsuru moved away from the couches. She said to Yosuke, "Oh… Yosuke, Fuuka is making dinner, so don't go off and buy something for yourself, alright?"

"Fuuka is…?" Yosuke looked seriously worried.

Mitsuru chuckled at Yosuke's apprehensiveness, "Don't worry… she's gotten a lot better."

Souji could understand where Yosuke was coming from. Fuuka, the girl who was so well-versed in using technology, was a terrible cook. She had been involved in the cooking club to try and improve her skills, but he had no idea how much it had helped. Souji hoped that what Mitsuru said about Fuuka getting a lot better was true. The last time Fuuka cooked it turned into some mystery food that could not be classified as anything. Souji thought it was supposed to be curry or something; it had gone wrong from the start. All Souji knew that his throat had burned from throwing up repeatedly.

Souji shook his head, "Okay… Yosuke, I'm going to wash up and start on the homework. I will come down for dinner afterwards."

"Alright buddy…," Yosuke responded, "I don't know how you can stomach studying when you know what's coming."

"Ha… stomach…," Souji chuckled lightly.

Souji walked up to the second floor, the guy's floor… the girls lived on the third, and then to the room farthest down to the right. After he opened the door, walked in, and dumped his duffle bag that contained his dirty clothes and favorite bat; Souji took a look around. As he looked in the mirror, he unbuttoned his shirt collar just enough so he could see his welt/bruise that had formed on his left shoulder. It would take days to heal. The bed on the opposite side of the room, Souji had to admit, was a bit more comfortable than the futon he used to sleep on. From the bed, there was a nightstand on the left and the desk on the right where he had a computer hooked up. That computer caused a lot of procrastination for Souji, especially when there was something due the next day and there was a MMORPG he wanted to play.

After clearing everything away, Souji grabbed a towel and went to the bath to wash off all remnants of grime from his baseball game. Souji made the mistake of using pure hot water on his sore shoulder at first. He waited until he could handle the pain before soaking the injury in the water again. He never really was skilled at healing himself involuntarily with magic. It was one thing he could have used in a situation like this and it was one that would not have broken his code to only use magic when necessary.

Heal… damn you!

Souji drained the water after he finished his bath, dried himself off, and wrapped the towel around himself. He opened the door and headed back to his room. After he changed again, Souji took out his English Lit. book, or the bane of his existence. He was actually pretty good at English, but Souji found the work tedious. The book was just used as assistance to whatever they were reading at the time. Regardless of the purpose of the book, Souji soon found himself bored out of his mind as he was mindlessly using it to check the comprehension of the text he was reading at his desk tonight.

Stupid book… I can do this later…

Souji pushed the Comprehension book to the side and opened up a side drawer on the desk. From the drawer, a large single red tome inlaid with gold writing that was nearly impossible to translate lay there. Souji pulled out the tome and opened up to the front page. The first symbols that Souji ever translated were right in front of him; his family's name was written out, 'Seta'. As he turned the page, Souji looked at what was in front of him, rows of spells and the methodology on how to use them. Souji's father was not around to teach him about magic, so this book was all Souji had to learn about the basics of magic.

He could not use more than five or six spells in the book; it was a lack of proper training more than anything else, Souji believed. The ability to slow time by seeing even the smallest detail as it moved was the most difficult ability he knew, and it was also the most dangerous. It was one Souji would feel tomorrow as using 'mana', or what magicians draw on to use their power, really drained Souji if he used a lot spells. The biggest drawback to Souji's inexperience was the aforementioned lack of healing spells. He knew there were multitudes of healing spells in the tome, but without the proper training… Souji could not master any of them.

Looking at the spell book, it was a necessary distraction from the tedium of worksheets and other work that would be due the next day. He had finals coming up, but Souji wanted to try and decipher a new spell. Souji knew it would most likely be futile, but… it was still a better use of his time.

At least for a little while…

Souji spent a whole hour trying to decipher some sort of spell; he had at least figured out what sort of spell it was. Actually, Souji had figured out the mechanics of many spells in the tome; it was the incantations and using the spells that hindered Souji. It was times like this that made Souji wish he had a competent teacher to help him out.

His father, Raidou, was a magician, and was absent from his life because of his work. His mother had no magical talent because of her bloodline. His uncle, who lived in Inaba, shunned magic and disapproved of Souji using magic. Souji believed that even though his uncle, Ryotarou Dojima, loved him dearly and thought of him as his own son; a little part of him was glad to see him go because it would rid him of the magical influence in his home. It would protect his daughter, Nanako, from Souji. Souji understood and accepted this… even if it broke his younger cousin's heart.

He just wanted a proper teacher, someone who could show him how to cast a spell properly. It was not like he could practice in the dorm; he could hurt another schoolmate if he started trying to shoot fire or something. He could not even put a proper circle in his room. Souji was even scared of trying a healing spell because if he screwed up… it could poison him and there would be no one to reverse the effects.

This is so frustrating…

Souji shut the book and opened the drawer just in time to hear a knock at the door. He quickly threw the tome inside and closed it so he could answer the person who would be calling for him, "Yes...?"

"Umm… can I come in?" a soft and somewhat shy voice asked. It definitely belonged to a girl, and it was a girl that Souji knew.

"Of course… come on in Fuuka…," Souji responded.

The door opened and in came a girl much shorter than Mitsuru. She had very short hair that was almost seafoam green and was still wearing her Gekkoukan school uniform, which was a sharp contrast to Mitsuru's unique summer wear. Souji had to admit she was a little cute, considering her stark contrast from many of the others who hated the conforming nature of the school regality.

She had a cheery smile on her face as she said to Souji, "Dinner's ready, Souji-san…"

The fact that Fuuka was so respectful, even to those of her same year, was another fact that Souji found a little cute. However, the two of them were just friends, and nothing more. It was probably best if their relationship stayed that way.

"Thanks, Fuuka," Souji smiled. She always insisted that he just call her 'Fuuka', and not use –san. He never bothered to use anything else, though occasionally would slip in a -chan.

Souji stood up and pushed in his chair as Fuuka asked, "Shall we go?" As Souji nodded, Fuuka's cheeks reddened slightly as she added, "Dinner should taste… good today."

Souji smiled, "Of course it will… I'm sure it will taste just fine."

As Souji followed Fuuka downstairs, he saw that many more inhabitants of the dorm were now sitting at the dining table. Mitsuru and Yosuke were already there, with Yosuke looking slightly worried. Sitting alongside Mitsuru was a slender young man with a silver buzz cut that sported a red vest with his khakis. He was a third-year like Mitsuru and also the captain of the boxing club. His name was Akihiko Sanada and was a childhood friend of Mitsuru. How the two of them met was a secret to Souji, but he did know one thing… Akihiko had a secret crush on Mitsuru that she was completely oblivious to. There was also the class clown of the second-years, Junpei Iori. He wore a dark navy blue baseball cap with his school uniform, backwards. The guy was rather jealous of Souji, only for the fact that he never made the Varsity baseball team and just did not have the defensive skills Souji had on the field. The tallest guy living in the dorm was the first-year, Kanji Tatsumi. The guy was a total badass, with his slicked-back shock blond hair, ear and a single nose piercings. If there was even a whiff of bullying at Gekkoukan, Kanji took them out. However, Kanji had a secret, and it was an amusing one. Kanji loved to sew. He was also very close to his mother, who owned a textile shop back in Inaba. He moved to Tatsumi Port Island after he was expelled from a junior high because cops thought Kanji did something wrong. Souji lived in the same town at the time and futilely tried to vouch for him.

Jackasses…

The only other person at the table was the resident tomboy and Yosuke's greatest enemy, Chie Satonaka. The girl with a brown bowl cut haircut was a kung-fu loving girl who got into plenty of arguments with Yosuke. It was more of a daily thing that was a distraction… a spectacle for the rest of the dorm.

It appeared that Souji was the last person and a few of them, it was really only Junpei, was annoyed to see him take so long. As Souji took his seat in-between Chie and Yosuke; it was necessary to prevent a war from breaking out, Yosuke said to Souji, "The cripple arrives…"

"Cripple…?" Chie looked confused, "What happened…?"

"Souji got beaned hard by a ball at the game today," Yosuke explained, "I saw it… he got whacked it in the shoulder and just lay there while basically the whole team rushed the pitcher."

"What a wimp…," Junpei muttered in Souji's direction, "You think you would want to get back at the guy who hit you with the ball."

Kanji, however, seemed impressed as he said to Souji, "I wish I had your self-control, Senpai."

"Keeping cool under pressure is key," Akihiko nodded in agreement with Kanji's statement.

Yosuke shook his head, "Unfortunately, the team still lost…"

"At least he still joined a club and played…," Chie directed her words at Yosuke. However, this barb seemed to hit Junpei as well.

"Are you accusing me of not doing anything, Chie!" Yosuke raised his voice.

"What have you done but play games since the semester started?" Chie retorted.

Mitsuru shook her head as Souji sighed. Junpei looked like he wanted to say something, like he wanted to argue as well… but Yosuke pulled out his tickets and said, "You see these!" He flashed the tickets to Rise's concert and said, "I waited two whole hours to get tickets to Risette's concert this morning. Two hours I could have spent sleeping…"

"Two hours you could have spent catching up on your homework," Mitsuru said softly.

Yosuke looked in the third-year's direction for only a second, but it would be suicide to say anything bad to Mitsuru. It was bad enough to argue with Akihiko. Instead, he focused his attention towards Chie. Meanwhile, Chie responded, "You call buying Risette tickets worthwhile? You only bought them because you think she's hot… You don't even like her music, or her acting."

Yosuke was about to continue, but before he could say anything else, Fuuka entered with the entrée she had slaved over for who knows how long. Souji had to admit that it looked delicious and that it smelled just as good. When she placed it at the center of the table, Kanji was the first to say something, "That looks great, Fuuka-senpai!"

"Oh…," Fuuka smiled with a red tinge, "Thank you, Kanji-kun…"

It was not until Mitsuru cut into it and took a bite before she said to Fuuka, "It tastes delicious, Yamagishi…" When she heard those words, Fuuka really blushed."

Souji had not tried it, but he was not going to… not until Fuuka took her seat. It was as if his friend was waiting for his approval as well… waiting for everyone's approval.

"Fuuka…," Souji said calmly while looking at her, "Please sit…"

Fuuka looked straight at Souji with her green eyes. She bit her lower lip before taking her seat next to Chie. Only then, did Souji try Fuuka's food. Mitsuru was right; it was delicious as the red-haired young woman had said it was. He smiled in Fuuka's direction, which only made Fuuka blush again. The meal went on in silence for a while, without even an argument between Chie and Yosuke. It did not stay this way, however.

Apparently, something Souji did annoyed Junpei, so as Souji was about to stand up to take his plate to the sink; Junpei said to Souji while raising his head slightly, "Hey buddy… how's your search for a girlfriend going?"

Souji had not gone out with a girl since a terrible break-up with a girl named Yukiko while he lived in Inaba. She was an innkeeper's daughter and he cared for her dearly. It was a terribly messy break-up and Souji wanted to shove all of those memories aside; he did not even want to think about girls for a while. It was one of those reasons why he did not think about asking Fuuka out. It was also a reason why he was willing to leave Inaba.

"Better than yours, apparently," Souji quipped.

Souji smirked at his quick retort. He knew that if he had gone through a bad break-up, then Junpei had gone through a worse one only a few days ago. Junpei had been dating a girl named Chidori. She was a gothic Lolita who wore long white dresses even in the summer and was constantly cutting herself as she drew pictures. Souji would not be surprised if she was drawing with her blood. The break-up was harsh and Souji even saw Junpei crying at one point. The only reason Souji thought that his action might have sent Junpei off the deep end would be… the soft spot Souji's baseball rival had for Fuuka.

Souji saw Junpei's face screw up in anger. Souji almost wanted for Junpei to come after him. Souji had resisted knocking out that pitcher, but Junpei… Souji just did not get along with him. Luckily for Junpei, he was stopped by Akihiko asking for him to bring him his plate so he could clean up and start his homework. Akihiko was not quite as smart as Mitsuru; she was the smartest person in the school as well as being one of the best looking. However, Akihiko was extremely studious, and generally had some of the highest grades in the third year of studies.

Souji left to go back upstairs right before another argument started between Chie and Yosuke; he heard the yelling begin as he closed the door to his room. He did not open that drawer that contained the tome full of magic spells when he sat back down at his desk this time around. This time, he got back to work on his homework. There would be no screwing around after dinner. He had exams coming up soon and that meant Souji needed to keep up on his work.

It was after midnight when Souji threw his head down on the pillow. As he slept, he had a terrible dream where instead of using his bat to hit baseballs; Souji used his bat as a tool to hurt people… he used it to hurt people he knew. He could not clearly make out their faces, but… he just knew that it was people that were important to him. The same dream looped over, and over in his head until he woke up hours before his alarm was supposed to go off. Unable to go back to bed, Souji lay there wide awake with nothing but bad memories of his dream ingrained inside of him.

Souji yawned as he buttoned up his shirt and headed downstairs. Fuuka and Yosuke were waiting for him when he reached the bottom steps, Fuuka with toast and coffee in her hands.

You really are a life-saver, Fuuka...

Souji gratefully accepted the food and coffee from the girl with green hair and sat down on the couch that faced the TV for what would be only a few minutes. Souji knew that they would not have a lot of time before they would have to leave and that most of the others had probably had left by now. He still turned on the news at least for a minute to see what was going on with the world. Souji had turned it on while the newscaster was speaking about the weather. It appeared that it would be a sunny day with tomorrow being a good chance of rain.

At least today will be nice…

When the news shifted to local events, Fuuka and Yosuke joined in watching, just in time to hear a newswoman speaking in front of a local bookstore at Iwatodai, "Here I am at Iwatodai… near the train station at a local bookstore. It appeared that two elderly people, a man and a woman, collapsed due to a gas leak. There is also a report of a third person, a young man who died… in what we believe to be a homicide. We are investigating the cause of the homicide."

A gas leak? Homicide?

"That's crazy!" Yosuke exclaimed, "Someone was killed by the bookstore?"

Fuuka looked shaken. Souji immediately went to her side and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I was just over there… looking at cookbooks… two days ago," Fuuka whispered.

"Man… that's creepy," Yosuke admitted, "You were there so recently." Suddenly, Yosuke chuckled, "Maybe Kanji caused the gas leak… you know… gas leak, Kanji..."

Souji gave him a look and Yosuke stopped laughing. Souji looked to Fuuka and said, "I'll walk with you to school today, okay?"

"Thanks…," Fuuka nodded.

Souji knew Fuuka was a little out of sorts this morning, and it was understandable. To Souji, it reminded him of his first year at Gekkoukan, when he did not really know anyone at the school besides Kanji and Yosuke. He found a friend, a friend who happened to be a girl, named Fuuka. He got her to open up by walking with her to school. It was because of this that they were such good friends. The two of them did not walk together quite as often, mainly because of the rumors that they were an item. However, this morning, Souji would not mind hearing random shit if he could assuage Fuuka's worries.

Souji hoped Fuuka felt a little better by the time the two of them, and Yosuke, who was trailing a bit behind, reached the long path that led to Gekkoukan High. It was a massive and impressive high school that was meant to take students' breaths away each time they saw it. Unfortunately, Fuuka and Souji did not have class together besides the occasional P.E., with Souji in 2-F and Fuuka in 2-E. He would have to hope that Fuuka would be okay from here on out.

"How are you feeling Fuuka?" Souji asked at the shoeboxes, not minding the looks he was getting from a few of the others.

"I'll be okay…," Fuuka pursed her lips.

"I just don't want what you felt this morning to affect you," Souji said, drawing more stares from people.

Fuuka gave Souji a look, "I don't want you to worry…"

"If you keep this up, you'll start apologizing to me, Fuuka…," Souji said.

"I'm sorry," Fuuka apologized, confirming what Souji said, "I'll be fine…"

Souji shook his head as he let Fuuka go ahead. Instead, he walked with Yosuke, who was in the same homeroom as he was, up the stairs at the far right end of the white-tiled lobby up to the second floor. From there, he went straight past Fuuka's classroom to his own, which was across from the Student Council room.

Souji walked past Junpei's desk; Junpei was standing by a brunette with a rather short skirt and a tight white blouse. Yukari was probably the most popular female student next to Mitsuru in Gekkoukan, and one of the prettiest. Junpei had known the girl, named Yukari, for years. Souji knew the two of them were more acquaintances than friends, but Junpei looked pretty serious today.

Maybe what I said last night got to him?

"Come on, Yuka-tan!" Souji heard Junpei tell Yukari.

"No way, Stupei!" Yukari had responded.

Souji ignored Yukari and Junpei and sat down in his seat; his homeroom would start in a minute or so. A few seconds later, Yosuke smirked before he took the seat in front of him. The brown-haired young man whispered to Souji, "You ready for tonight…?"

"Oh… yeah… I'm ready for the concert," Souji nodded. He guessed that Yosuke did not want others to know that Yosuke had somehow obtained tickets to the Risette concert because they were a hard find.

"I'm really excited…," Yosuke reiterated.

"Only a few hours… Yosuke," Souji said in reassurance.

Souji had stopped his conversation with Yosuke for a moment, only to be interrupted when Yosuke suddenly tapped on his desk. Souji was unsure what Yosuke wanted. It was why he asked, "Huh? What is it?"

"Dude… Aigis is just staring straight at you," Yosuke explained.

"Aigis?" Souji raised an eyebrow before half-looking towards the corner of the room.

The girl in the corner of the room was the quietest, most introverted girl in the whole school. The girl with blond hair that was as short as Fuuka's with a wide golden headband and a large red ribbon on her uniform was a different kind of introverted than Fuuka. While Fuuka was shy… Souji believed that Aigis just did not want to talk to people. It was a shame because a lot of boys had fallen for Aigis's deep blue eyes. Aigis always had white gloves on as well. When asked, Aigis said that it was to protect her hands from drying out.

Souji's eyes glanced in that the direction and he saw Aigis's blue eyes connected to his gray ones. She looked almost as emotionless as usual, but Aigis looked like she had something to say to Souji. Part of Souji wanted to get up and see what Aigis wanted to say, but the homeroom teacher entered at that moment.

The homeroom teacher, Ms. Toriumi, a brunette of about thirty, was also the dreaded English Literature teacher. Yet, this was one of the best subjects for this school. At least the girls would think so; it was much better than the P.E. class with the pervy teacher and all of those leering guys. However, Ms. Toriumi seemed to be in a rather bad mood today.

Yosuke whispered to Souji while Toriumi was taking attendance, "I bet she's got a hangover again."

Souji smirked and was going to laugh and really had trouble holding it in when the teacher started yelling at Yosuke. Homeroom was like that, especially when Toriumi had been drinking the night before.

The morning classes were as forgettable as always. Souji had to sit through the English Literature class after homeroom and deal with a Japanese history teacher with only a 'few' screws loose. The Japanese Literature teacher was a perverse man who all the girls hated; he also paid no attention to the males. It was a relief to Souji when he got through monotonous talk about another boring novel with grammar, a guy who was obsessed with the Sengoku Era, and another book that Souji never bothered to look at. Hopefully, none of that information would be on the exam.

When the morning classes ended, Souji watched at least half of the student head downstairs for lunch. He looked down and raised his eyebrows as he realized that he had forgotten his bento in the rush to get ready in the morning. He looked up with an obvious disappointed look on his face; he expected to see Yosuke in front of him. Instead, the person who was standing there was the girl with the red ribbon on her uniform. The sight of Aigis in front of him turned the disappointed look on Souji's face into a surprised one.

"Aigis-san…?" Souji said with somewhat of a confused tone.

Aigis's tone was monotone as she asked, "Can we talk… somewhere away from the classroom?" Aigis continued when she saw that Souji looked confused, "It is not busy enough here. Someone might hear us."

"Ohh… okay," Souji nodded.

What does Aigis want with me?

Souji stood up as Aigis turned away from his desk and moved towards the doorway leading out of 2-F. As Souji followed, he noticed a few stares from a couple of boys and girls. He heard a snide remark from Junpei, "So much for Fuuka… leaving her for an emotionless doll…"

Figures…

Souji followed Aigis until they stood in-between the classrooms 2-F and 2-E. There was a bustle of passing people during the lunchtime that was not present in the static classroom of 2-F. Souji could see why Aigis wanted to leave to talk. The two of them both had their left shoulders against the wall, which was slightly uncomfortable for Souji. It was not as uncomfortable as suddenly being in front of someone like Aigis. He had no idea why she suddenly wanted to speak with him. Souji had to hurry and ask before he got lost in her blue eyes, which he found himself staring into.

Souji was a bit lost for words, mainly because he had no idea what this girl wanted, as he stuttered, "Umm…"

"I know who you are, Souji-san," Aigis told Souji, confusing the silver-haired second-year even more.

Say what?

"I don't think I understand what you mean," Souji raised an eyebrow.

"I watched your game yesterday," Aigis said in her soft and unmoving voice, "I saw you use a spell."

Her words widened Souji's eyes. She knew Souji was a magician, but… if she knew Souji was a magician by seeing him use a spell at the game. It could mean only one thing.

Aigis is a magician as well?

"You know magic as well?" Souji questioned.

"I was trained in certain skills," Aigis nodded, "Skills I have been trained in since a small child."

"Really…?" Souji said. He asked with a fleck of excitement, "Did your parents teach you?"

Aigis did not respond to Souji's question. Instead, she had slipped off one of her gloves, revealing one of her delicate-looking hands. She responded with her own question, "Do you want me to teach you how to use your spell properly?"

"Properly?" Souji moved his head to the right slightly while putting a slight inflection in his voice.

"You can increase the duration and efficiency and your spells if you let me help you…," Aigis explained.

Aigis is willing to help me…?

"It would be the first proper teacher… I would love to have your help, Aigis-san," Souji nodded with a smile. He asked, "When do you want to start?"

I don't even know where Aigis lives, for that matter.

Aigis gave Souji something he never thought he would see; it was the smallest show of a smile. She answered, "How about outside the cinema, tomorrow night?"

Souji was about to agree when he heard the door to 2-E open and from the door… a girl with short green hair came out holding a small bento. The look on her face when she saw Souji with Aigis was one of great disappointment. Aigis somehow knew that Fuuka was behind her because she took her ungloved hand and touched Souji's bare forearm. The result of being touched by Aigis was a large amount of warmth that ran up his body. After the blond-haired girl touched him, Aigis said just loud enough for Fuuka to hear, "I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

Aigis passed by Souji back into 2-F, but Fuuka's face of disappointment said it all. She said nothing until she walked up to Souji and said in a soft voice and said, "I… I made you something since you forgot…" It was a bento box wrapped in green cloth and tied at the top she held in her hands.

"Thanks…," Souji took the bento, but after Fuuka left; he sighed. Souji had no idea what sort of mess he had gotten himself into.

Souji ate his lunch in silence, though there were a few people looking at him. A few people were muttering, asking each other if Souji had asked out Aigis. Another couple of classmates were gossiping between each other, saying that the two of them were already together. Souji would get to deny it to Yosuke later, because he knew that his best friend was smirking.

Though, there was one thing… this was Aigis after all. Though she was the most introverted girl in the school, Aigis was far too popular as a 'mysterious enigma' that many guys wanted to take a hold of. The looks of the blond-haired girl outweighed any lack of social skills that Aigis might have.

The afternoon classes consisted of subjects like math for children. Occasionally, a teacher would get sick and the school nurse would try and teach them about 'magic'. It was a mockery of what he knew, even though what he knew was just a sliver of the whole pie. It made Souji wonder what Aigis thought of Mr. Edogawa, the school nurse. If Aigis really was a competent mage… then Souji had to believe that she knew that Edogawa was spouting pure rubbish.

Souji picked up his bag after the last bell rang and hurried out of the classroom. He had a little while till the concert, enough time to head back to the dorm and change. Souji actually had another ulterior motive for hurrying out of the school, though. He did not want to run into Fuuka or someone like Junpei. Dealing with a misconception was bad enough, but dealing with people who would take advantage of those misconceptions was even worse.

Souji took some of the steps down to the first floor two at a time and walked very quickly until he reached the shoeboxes of Gekkoukan. Souji thought he had escaped everyone from 2-F; he thought he did.

"Yo, Souji!" Yosuke called out from behind him.

It could be worse…

Souji turned his head to the left while placing one pair of shoes in the boxes and putting the other pair of shoes on. He responded while Yosuke opened his own box, "Hey Yosuke…"

"Geez… a lot of people started talking about you and Aigis all of a sudden," Yosuke said, "See what three minutes does to you?"

"That sounds oddly dirty…," Souji shook his head.

Yosuke chuckled, "You would…" He added, "I don't know… I'll try and clear that up."

"Thanks…," Souji said with a good amount of sincerity in his voice.

As Souji and Yosuke both walked out of Gekkoukan and away from the high school, Yosuke said to him, "What was it all about? I mean… what did Aigis want?"

Uhh…

"Do you really want to know?" Souji asked.

"Well…," Yosuke looked like he really wanted an answer, but before Yosuke finished his statement; he was nearly run over by the track club. Yosuke turned his attention from Souji to the track team and yelled, "Pay attention to where you are going!"

"Are you okay?" Souji asked.

"Yeah… I'm fine," Yosuke muttered; he looked a little pissed off.

"If you say so," Souji said.

Yosuke did not ask Souji about Aigis after that. Souji guessed it was because of annoyance of being run into. The mood only lightened when Souji asked about Risette. Yosuke returned to normal and they made small talk until the two of them reached the dorm.

"What time do you want to get to 'Club Escapade'?" Souji asked as he opened the door to the dorm.

"No later than 7:30…," Yosuke said, "It starts at 9…"

Souji nodded a couple times, "Alright… See you there."

Souji and Yosuke lived across the hall from each other, but they were not going to walk to Paulownia Mall together. Yosuke handed Souji him one of the concert tickets before he went into the far right door of the second floor. Souji shed his Gekkoukan uniform and put on a different pair of pants and a white polo. He made somewhat of an attempt to make his hair looked somewhat presentable; it was not that his hair was looked out of place in the first place. It was not he was trying to impress Risette or something, or even some girl he might run into at the concert. Souji was doing it out of the basic idea of things; the idea that he should look respectable.

Souji would rather be early than late, so he left his room as soon he felt like he was ready. He went out the door, down the hallway and stairs, and walked straight into a blushing Fuuka. He nearly fell as he tried to untangle himself from Fuuka. Souji backed up a step when he was finally clear of the green-haired girl. It appeared Fuuka had been nervous even before Souji had run into her.

I should really pay attention to where I am going…

"Umm… Souji-san," Fuuka broke Souji's train of thought by holding up another small box, "You're going out today, right? I thought I'd make a snack for you since you'll be out for a while and will probably miss dinner."

It appeared that Fuuka had made something else for Souji. It was the second time today that she had cooked for him. It was both touching, and with the misunderstanding with Aigis earlier today; it was something that Souji had no idea how to fix.

"Thanks…," Souji said, taking the small box that was wrapped in the same kind of green cloth as his lunch, "I mean… really… thank you…"

Fuuka broke a small smile within the red tinges of her blush. She said to him, "Have a good time, Souji-san…"

"I will…," Souji smiled back.

"Keep Yosuke-kun out of trouble," The smile returned to normal on Fuuka's face and the blush receded.

"Now that… I can't promise," Souji's smile widened before they both started to laugh.

Souji gave a final goodbye before he left the dorm. It was not a long trip to Paulownia and he would make it well before 7:30, or so he should. However, he was not half a kilometer away from the dorm before Yosuke flagged him down.

Yosuke called out, "Souji!"

"Yosuke… I thought we were headed there at separate times…," Souji muttered as he turned.

Yosuke shrugged, "It's not my fault."

"Whatever," Souji said, "Let's just go…"

As the two sat on the shuttle to take them to Paulownia, Yosuke smirked, "That thing with Aigis didn't last long, did it? You move onto Fuuka already?"

Souji pushed Yosuke, "You're an idiot, Yosuke…"

Yosuke chuckled, "Yeah, I know…" Yosuke did turn serious after he finished laughing as he said, "I won't say that Fuuka doesn't like you though."

I can't say that isn't true.

"Yeah…," Souji said, though his tone was very non-committal.

Yosuke used the chance to ask, "How about you? Do you like her?"

Do I really like her enough to go out with her?

Once again, Souji bit his bottom lip and then looked at the floor. He was broken from his thoughts when Yosuke tapped him and said, "Yo, Souji… We're here…"

Souji was relieved that Yosuke did not pester him after they arrived at Paulownia. In fact, Yosuke's attention was so dead set on Risette that it appeared that the last thing on the fluffy-haired, headphone-wearing young man was Souji's intentions towards Fuuka. As soon as Souji and Yosuke reached the mall, their eyes went straight towards 'Club Escapade'; it was for a good reason. Souji was expecting to be advertisement of Risette's final concert. However, there were no signs that Rise Kujikawa was even performing tonight. Yosuke looked a little confused, but Souji had a reason why there was a lack of advertising.

Well… this concert is supposed to be low-key compared to the others; the venue is so much smaller than all of the other ones she performed at. Maybe she wanted it this way?

Souji tapped Yosuke on the shoulder, "How many tickets did they have for the concert?"

"I don't know… no one knew," Yosuke shrugged his shoulders.

"How many people were in line then?" Souji said.

"I was fifteenth of about one-hundred," Yosuke answered.

Hmm… only one-hundred… pretty small amount, yet it seemed like the whole dorm knew about the concert.

The two of them had arrived around seven-thirty, so there was little for them to do until the nightclub opened at eight. Souji took out the snack box that Fuuka had made for him; he then undid the cloth, and opened it. When he began eating the rice balls Fuuka made him; Yosuke smelled the food and said, "What are you eating?"

"Food that Fuuka made for me…," Souji answered.

"There is no way Fuuka can make two consecutive edible meals in a row," Yosuke said.

"Well… I'm eating it," Souji rebuked as he put another rice ball in his mouth; it really was good.

"Now she's able to cook along with being able to fix your broken electronics?" Yosuke raised an eyebrow. He shook his head, "Now you have to go out with her."

Souji was going to say something to rebuke his friend's words when Yosuke pointed out, "Dude! They've opened up the club."

Souji was not sure that he had ever seen Yosuke this excited before, but Souji had to make sure of something. He had to make sure that the people going inside were not just regular patrons of the club. It was the only reason Souji moved at a pace half the speed that Yosuke was moving at. Souji was only reassured that it was okay for Yosuke to act so excited when the young man with silver hair was able to make out the 'closed for special event' sign hiding on the right door of the night club.

Souji wanted to say something when he saw Yosuke almost shake with excitement when a bouncer-like character took Yosuke's ticket, but… Souji thought better of it as he let the tall and muscular guy take his ticket.

I'll let him have his fun.

As Souji walked in through the double arched doors, he was greeted not only by a wash of purple, but also by a cacophony of sound checks on the microphones in the back. The flooring on the outer edges on the first floor was purple that led up to the dance floor into the center. Souji guessed that the dance floor would become the de facto mosh pit. There were stairs on the far left side of the club that led to a second level and a bar on the same side. At the back of the club, a DJ area was being replaced by a stage and more lighting that was brighter than the darker sets that flooded the rest of the club. There were tables on the right side of the club that had been folded up and pushed even farther over to the edge.

They really are going out for this concert…

Souji looked around to try and see who was actually inside right now, the demographic to be more specific; it was mainly an older crowd. In reality, Souji believed that he and Yosuke were the oldest ones in the club at the moment. At least, they might be the only ones who would not be able to order anything if they got thirsty.

Is it me… or are there a lot of perverted Risette fans?

Souji did not bother to try and say anything to Yosuke, mainly because he was too excited about seeing Risette at this point. So, Souji just wandered off to the bar, told the bartender that he was the one getting his drunken friend home, and got a non-alcoholic beverage. Luckily, as minutes passed a few people right around Souji's age showed up. He would not feel quite as out of place if only thirty-something guys were there.

Yosuke tugged Souji's polo as the silver-haired boy finished his juice. Yosuke pointed at the stage and said, "Look!"

Souji focused his attention to the back of the club. The stage was pretty much empty when they arrived except for the lighting and microphones. Now, the drummer and guitarists had their instruments out on stage again after their checks. The three of them were standing idly around. The concert was definitely starting soon as a hush swept over the club.

It was then a cheer broke out through the crowd, quite a few of the people older than Souji. The bright flood lights suddenly went red, green, and blue; it then went to pitch black. When the lights went back to their natural color, a single young lady appeared in the center, bringing out even louder cheers; the loudest appeared to be from Yosuke. The young girl had natural red hair that was drawn back into twin pigtails. She had dark brown eyes that were set in an extremely soft and perfectly shaped face. She wore white very short shorts that were ridiculously tight and a pink tank top that exposed her midriff. It was probably some of the older guys… Souji did not want to think about it. She had the lead microphone in her hand.

When she started the first song; Souji understood what was entrancing about her. She was not the greatest singer, but at an age right around his own; she had a way of bringing you into her heart. Risette was considered the next 'big thing' for a reason. She was beautiful, could act, sing, and make you fall in love with her with a smile; it was that smile that melted you into a pool on the ground.

At least that's what Yosuke says…

As two background singers started singing for a few seconds, Souji observed Risette, or Rise's smile. It did not quite melt him into a 'pool of butter', but he saw Yosuke staring straight at her, completely entranced by her. Souji half expected for lighters or cell phones to start waving when Risette started singing again.

Well… it's only her first song; it's not even her most well-known one either.

The whole concert was basically a repeat of the first song. It was a series of cheers, older guys leering and acting perverted in front of Risette. Souji looked for signs that said 'Marry me Risette! I'm only 47!'. It was not until the last song, her most famous when performing during concerts, that it became interesting for Souji.

During a concert, on Risette's last song, "I Wish I Hadn't Fallen for You…" the idol brings a concert-goer up on stage and sings to him. The part that is most exciting for ther person is that Risette moves very close to that person at the end, a few centimeters, and almost kisses him. It worried Souji a little, only if the fact that many of the people here would make it seem so wrong…

I will scream 'pedo' if she takes a forty-something up there for the song…

"I wonder who she will pick…," Yosuke whispered.

"As long as it isn't some old guy," Souji responded.

The song was about a girl falling in love with a guy and having to move away because of her father's wishes. It hurts the girl so much that she regrets falling in love with him because the heartache is unbearable. The chorus is about the love she felt, but the last verse is about how she realized that the experiences she shared with the guy were well worth the pain.

It was definitely the slowest song of the concert; it also gave time for the boy Rise chose to sing to enough time to get up on stage. Souji wondered if Rise felt any pain in singing this; it was her last time singing this… if she did not come back.

Risette had finished the first verse, explaining the love she had shared with her boyfriend. The song would then move onto a chorus where Rise would pick the boy to sing to. Souji saw Rise lift her right pointer finger and begin moving it across the crowd. Souji was relieved when she moved the finger past all of the guys who were twenty years to be up on that stage with her. However, when the finger moved towards him for a moment, Souji was worried. It did not stop on Souji, thankfully; he did not really want to go up on stage. Rise made a motion for the person to come up on stage, and it was the person right next to Souji.

"Wait a minute! Me!" Yosuke looked as stunned as he had ever been in his life.

"Get your ass up there!" Souji yelled; it was the only way Yosuke would be able to hear his friend through all of the noise.

Yosuke was muttering some words of disbelief as Souji pushed him towards the stage. For the first time today, Souji was not the one who was getting the jealous looks. Though, getting jealous looks from adults looked a lot worse than from high school kids. When Yosuke made his way onto the stage; he looked beyond ecstatic. Souji's friend sat in the chair provided for him as Rise sat in one across from him. Instead of singing to the crowd, Rise's voice lowered in volume as she sang straight to Yosuke.

I would not be surprised if Yosuke does not survive the night, purely out of joy.

As the song reached its last verse and its last few words, Souji watched Yosuke close his eyes. Risette moved until she was almost touching Yosuke's face as she sang the last words in a rapid decrescendo, "I… will… never… forget you…"

Souji swore Yosuke wished he could move a few centimeters to finish the kiss, but he did not want to die. The only reason he had been able to reach the stage safely was that the burly security guy who checked his ticket led him to stage. That guy would probably kill Yosuke if he tried anything. For that matter, it was that guy who protected Rise from a danger like middle-aged men from rushing the stage.

That… and probably crazy guitarists…

Once, some crazy stalker tried to rush the stage and one of her backup band guitarists knocked the guy out with his bass guitar. It was an epic sight that any band that smashes their instruments would be proud of.

Yosuke's safety was ensured on the way up to the stage, but as the brown-haired boy made his way back; Souji knew he was fair game. There were instances where the lucky bastard had gotten taken down later by rabid fanatics.

It was why Souji did his best to persuade to get Yosuke to leave right away, even though Rise had not left 'Club Escapade'. Yosuke was not worried and wanted to get an autograph.

"Come on, Souji!" Yosuke rebuked Souji's insistence to leave, "This is Risette! Her last concert! We may never get another chance to see her!"

It would be no use to try and persuade Yosuke to leave. Souji did not even think it would be worthwhile to try and fight through all these older people for an autograph; it was well-known that Risette would sign a few autographs at every concert for free… a few.

Souji shook his head and left the club after wishing Yosuke good luck. He headed back by himself, knowing that the good luck was actually for Yosuke's safety, not for getting Risette's autograph. It was Rise now, not Risette, anyways. If the shuttle was barren headed to Paulownia on the way over; it was abandoned when Souji took it back to his dorm.

When Souji opened the lavish doors to the dorm, he thought he would be the only one up… considering that Yosuke would still be at 'Club Escapade'. What surprised him was that a light near one of the couches was on, and by the couches… was Fuuka. The poor girl must have been waiting for him to return. Souji could not exactly carry Fuuka up to the third floor and take her to her room… if someone saw him.

Mitsuru… I'd be executed. Junpei… God, I'd never hear the end of it.

Instead of taking a big risk, Souji walked up to the couch and touched his green-haired friend's shoulder. When Fuuka did not wake but instead snuggled in tighter, Souji shook Fuuka's left shoulder a little harder. It was only then she opened her eyes.

It's a shame… she looked cute sleeping like that.

"Souji-san…?" Fuuka said groggily.

"Hey…," Souji said, "I'm back…"

"Did… did you like my food?" Fuuka asked that of all things, making Souji smile.

"It was great," Souji responded, eliciting a smile through Fuuka's grogginess. Souji said, "I'm going to bed. I'm think you should, too…"

Fuuka nodded sleepily and slowly pushed herself out of bed. Souji found himself supporting Fuuka until they reached the stairs.

She must have really worn herself out today… maybe yesterday as well.

How Fuuka made it to the third floor, Souji did not know, but Souji was dead tired when he reached his room at the end of the second floor. Maybe it was seeing Fuuka sleeping in the lobby, but he just felt extremely tired. He threw off his polo and pants and hit the bath. After cleaning up, Souji sat on his bed. He had some unfinished homework that he would do... sometime.

As he laid his head on the pillow, his whole arm… the one Aigis had touched earlier; it flared up in pain. Souji bit his lip to resist reacting to the terrible amount of pain, but as soon as the pain struck him; it disappeared.

Does this have something to do with that dream…? Or is it just from that shoulder injury? I should go see a doctor soon.

Sleep took Souji before the pain could return.


Inside 'Club Escapade', Almost Midnight

At least ten bodies lay unconscious inside the nightclub and another one was lying over the bar itself. One of the ten was on the second floor; his beer had spilled on the floor. Two people walked among the bodies, occasionally kneeling among them. They seemed to be checking pulses and other vital signs. One of the people who was checking the bodies sighed and said in a voice that belonged to a girl, "At least they're alive… all eleven of them."

"I'm surprised that we got there in time," the other voice; it belonged to a taller male, "Not like yesterday…"

"What did you expect?" the girl said, "We can't always be that lucky… Lancer…"

The male, known as Lancer, moved closer to the girl and said, "Do we know which Servant did this? Do you think it is the same one as last time?"

"It could be any of them... and this time ," the girl told 'Lancer'. She said, "The only one that we've had the slightest clue in locating is Assassin, and then our leads dried up. Not to mention I have no idea where Saber might be."

"It won't be long before we start confronting each other," Lancer said to the girl, "It's all about who strikes first."

"We'll confront him tomorrow, Lancer…," the girl told him, "Don't worry…"

"If you say this… it will be so," the man shifted slightly, nearly hitting a break in the shadows; it revealed somewhat long blond hair.


Dorm, Morning

Souji's arm did not hurt when he woke in the morning, but he remembered the pain. It had lasted for only a few seconds, but it was excruciating. Souji got out of bed and dressed in the Gekkoukan uniform after brushing his teeth and fixing his bed hair. Since Souji had gotten up earlier, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Chie had not left when he walked downstairs. Yosuke was still present as well and stuffing his face with a makeshift breakfast. Fuuka, however, was oddly absent.

Did she leave already?

Souji sat down on the couch farthest to the side, noticing that the TV was on. He greeted Akihko and after a muffled hello from Yosuke, rolled his eyes.

At least Yosuke made it back… I wonder if he got Risette's autograph.

Souji turned his attention to the TV where the same newscaster from yesterday was in front of Paulownia Mall, "I'm here in front of 'Club Escapade' where a gas leak caused eleven people to collapse overnight. Everyone was taken to the hospital after they were discovered and are now in stable condition…"

Shit… we were just there… How coincidental that first Fuuka was just at that bookstore and now Yosuke and I were just at 'Club Escapade'? Oh yeah… Fuuka… I don't really want to let her know about this, but… where is she?

"Man… that's messed up," Yosuke said to everyone as he lifted his head from his food.

I guess he can do two things at once…

"Uhh… Mitsuru-senpai?" Souji asked, "Do you think you can check on Fuuka?" He was not going up to the third floor."

Mitsuru nodded, "Of course…"

Yosuke looked up from his food and winked at Souji; he had to resist the urge to get off the couch and whack his fluffy-haired friend on the head for being a teasing ass. Regardless of his teasing, Souji warned Yosuke, "Don't mention what you saw on TV to Fuuka, alright? I don't want her worrying."

Yosuke nodded in agreement, "Okay… I gotcha…"

A minute or so later, Fuuka came downstairs while she wiped her eyes. Mitsuru followed closely behind. The President of the Student Council hurried off after that, saying that she had an early morning meeting to attend. Souji waved off Fuuka's apology as he stood up. Souji knew why Fuuka was so tired and it was his fault. However…

"Yosuke… I'm heading to school in a few, are you coming?" Souji checked his watch and saw that the time before homeroom was not too far away. They would need to leave in a few minutes.

"Alright, alright…," Yosuke replied as he finally put down his plate, stood up, and pushed the chair in.

Souji did not want to leave Fuuka behind, but it looked like she was nowhere near ready. The silver-haired young man grabbed his bag that was by the far couch and slung it over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, Souji saw Fuuka hurrying to get ready; Souji sighed in response. He motioned for Yosuke and Chie to slow down a little so the green-haired girl could finish getting ready and leave with them. If they were late… they would be late, or Souji would just run.

Yosuke had opened the door and was waiting for Souji and Fuuka. Souji walked to the archway and had Fuuka following behind him. When they finally left; it was at a much faster pace than normal. Souji had remembered his lunch this time, but it was much less impressive than usual; it was the fact that Fuuka was not present when Souji came downstairs. He guessed that because Mitsuru prepared it instead that there was less… care put into it.

I wonder what Mitsuru put in my lunch?

The one thing pace-wise that Souji, Yosuke, and Fuuka could not control was the shuttle. As the three waited till they neared the stop to bring them to Gekkoukan, Souji chatted up Yosuke on something he had forgotten to ask earlier, "So, Yosuke… did you ever get Risette's autograph?"

Yosuke, who sat to the right of Souji, had an expression of great disappointment at Souji's question. It was something that Souji had not seen all morning, as if he had been hiding it until this exact moment. Yosuke finally shook his head and said, "She never came out to sign autographs…"

How unlike her?

"Well… maybe Risette was finally so tired of being that personality and she wanted to shed that persona as fast as she could," Souji shrugged, "She was probably just too sick of having to do every single thing like sign multitudes of autographs."

"Maybe…," Yosuke muttered but did not look that much better.

"Well… how was it up there?" Souji asked.

Yosuke's mood brightened somewhat at Souji's question as he smiled, "It was amazing! Her long legs… those eyes… that perfect smile… those perfect b… Oww! Dammit!"

Yosuke's head had a lump on it due to Chie's fist coming down at an unseen speed. Yosuke cursed under his breath and it continued for a few seconds… until Yosuke started yelling at Chie about being hit. Chie yelled back about being perverted and then hit him again.

He deserved it… but I have to admit… even I am a little jealous. I bet I would have been a little more nervous than he was during that whole song.

It was not a long shuttle ride, but after Chie and Yosuke's fight it was rather quiet until the girl to Souji's left suddenly spoke up in a meek voice with her face tinged in red, "Umm… Souji-san…"

Souji turned his head to the left to where Fuuka was sitting and said, "Hmm…?"

Fuuka seemed to be become even more nervous. She finally choked out what she needed to say, "I… I… wanted to know… if… y… you wanted to… if you wanted to go out after school… to get coffee with me?"

Chie and Yosuke turned their heads at Fuuka's stuttering and waited to hear Souji's answer. However, it was Souji's turn to be nervous. He had already agreed to meet Aigis after school and practice magic with her near the harbor. How could he turn Fuuka down? How could he turn Fuuka down… gently?

Souji certainly looked ashamed as he said, "Today…? I promised to go with a friend to the movies after school... well… tonight."

"Ohh…," Fuuka's face showed an expression that was beyond disappointment. She dropped her eyes and head as she said, "Maybe later then…"

Fuuka was not the only face that showed disappointment in Souji's direction. Chie and Yosuke were not fighting for once as they looked disappointed; they looked disappointed in Souji's actions.

Shit… But… should I have canceled my plans with Aigis? My first chance to learn proper magic in… forever?

Souji left the shuttle by himself as Chie and Yosuke left before the silver-haired young man could get off and Fuuka was still sitting in her seat when Souji got off. He turned his head to look at her face for a second before he left; he really had disappointed her, yet again.

Souji's walk to Gekkoukan from the shuttle was somewhat lonely. It was a long path to the massive marble-esque building and it gave even more time for Souji to contemplate what he had done to Fuuka. He was not sure what more he could do to hurt her. It was then he noticed the huge crowd forming around the entrance of the high school with a few people trying to fight their way through.

There were about twenty males gathered around the middle of the three entrances to the high school. One of the males at the back of the group was Junpei Iori, so Souji went to where the baseball cap-wearing student was to ask him what was going on.

Souji tapped Junpei on the back and when Junpei turned around; Souji asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing really…," Junpei muttered, not really paying attention to Souji, "Just a clog of people trying to get into the school."

Whatever…

Souji ignored the mass of people and entered at the left doorway; it was the one closest to his shoeboxes. He was sick of drama and the less of it… the better. He changed his shoes and headed up the stairs to the second floor and then to classroom 2-F. The classroom was bustling as usual, but there was a lot of gossiping going around.

"I heard that there is a new transfer student in this school..."

"A guy or a girl?"

"I hope it's a girl…"

"You just want someone else to hit on…"

Souji shook his head, but he did not take his seat quite yet. He had no idea why a transfer student that was not even coming to this class was even being discussed, or how it reached their ears to put in a better perspective. Instead, he looked for the girl that might have screwed up his friendship. As usual, Aigis stood by herself in the corner, ignoring all of the conversation around her. Souji had no idea whether she even noticed any of the things said about her, including all of the rumors involving her and Souji.

Souji watched a few of the people he knew trickle into his classroom. A minute later, Miss Toriumi entered as well and announced that the class would be changing seats today. Souji ended up at the back of the classroom, at the left corner. Fortunately, Yosuke was still in front of him. However, the person that sat to the right of Souji was Aigis.

Awkward…

Souji was not sure how Aigis took/liked the arrangement. She seemed rather uninterested when Souji glanced her way. When Souji turned back for the start of classroom, Yosuke was facing him. Yosuke's expression was one of who seemed to have forgotten about the transgression on the shuttle, or he had at least forgiven Souji's actions towards Fuuka.

"Souji… you'll never guess what happened," Yosuke whispered so to not alert the English Literature teacher who was taking attendance.

"What happened?" Souji responded.

"There is a new transfer student…," Yosuke said in a hushed tone.

"Well… I know that," Souji nodded, "I learned that from everyone talking about it in class."

"Well… the transfer student is Risette," Yosuke winked when he said 'Risette'.

Did he just say Risette? I heard Rise Kujikawa was going to live a normal life from now on, but moving here? If she wanted a normal life, why not move to some secluded place like Inaba? That's like the boonies… she'll get mobbed here.

Yosuke added another statement, "I'm going to try and see her during lunchtime. I'm going to the first-years classrooms to see if I can get a peek. You know… I have an advantage and all…"

Good luck fighting the rest of the boys in the school who want to see her, including those who already have girlfriends.

Souji wanted to say something else, but before he could get a word in, Miss Toriumi yelled at Yosuke, "Hanamura-san! Do you have something important to share with the rest of the class!"

"No, Toriumi-sensei…," Yosuke responded meekly as he turned back around in a hurry.

Most of the class chuckled at the exchange, including Chie, who was sitting at the other side of the room. Two years straight, Chie was in the same homeroom with both Souji and Yosuke. Many times, the homeroom teachers had to start classes by breaking up scuffles between Yosuke and Chie resulting in laughs all around.

With the morning classes as exciting as usual, Souji held out hope that Mitsuru's lunch would be as enjoyable. At least it would be better than anything he could make; he was a terrible cook. Souji considered himself almost as bad as Fuuka at the beginning of the semester; his food was barely edible. So, when the morning classes ended, most of the class either broke into gossip, or in the case of many of the boys… a majority of them left to try and see if Rise was in her classroom for lunch.

I want to keep my limbs…

He really did not think he would even get a chance to see her if Rise… or Risette had in fact transferred to Gekkoukan. Just like at the concert, Souji had no wish of fighting anywhere from twenty to one-hundred people to see her, so he stood up and left 2-F with the lunch Mitsuru had made for him.

Souji was not really sure where he was going, but his feet took him away from 2-E. For some reason, he did not want to see Fuuka. It might be the fact that Souji believed that Fuuka might still be disappointed or even mad at him, so he was walking away from the second floor. Instead, Souji moved away from the classrooms and found himself on the roof for lunch. As he sat down on the bench and untied the red cloth to open the bento, he finally felt at peace, at least long enough to consume his lunch.

If only my arm would stop hurting…

Souji had not mentioned it to anyone, but his left arm had been throbbing all through the morning classes. It had started right after the bell rang at the end of the homeroom. The pain was nothing like it was right before he went to bed last night, but it was still a distraction. Souji bit his lip and looked at the food Mitsuru had prepared. It looked more elegant than anything Fuuka had ever made for him, edible or inedible, but… there was no way it could ever taste better. It was probably because Fuuka put more care and time into making Souji's food. It was for that reason that Souji disliked hurting her.

He still had half of his lunchtime by the time he had finished his food; it was why many people spent so much time conversing with their friends during the break. Since Souji had eaten alone, he had plenty of time left over to think about anything...

His eyebrows rose at the sound of the door of the roof open quickly and then close at the same speed. Another person had come onto the roof, but unless it was Junpei; he did not really care. If it was Junpei, he was too annoying to ignore. However, the slight annoyance of someone breaking his solitude on the roof was turned into something indescribable when a girl with a high-pitched yet very recognizable voice asked, "Umm… can I sit here?"

Souji looked up and saw none other than Rise Kujikawa standing in front of him. The sight of Rise Kujikawa clad in a short Gekkoukan skirt and white blouse was actually much more stunning than the revealing outfit she wore last night. Souji believed he finally understood some peoples' obsession with girls in a high school uniform, even if those people were usually three times his age. Rise was beyond adorable with her hair in the same style as last night, with the twin pigtails, and just the right amount of makeup.

Souji barely kept his composure when he said, "Of course…"

Rise gave a little giggle and said, "Thanks…" As she sat down, she smoothed out her skirt and said, "There's no need to be nervous… Last time I checked, I don't bite."

"Generally… when you say that; it only makes things worse," Souji shook his head.

She had a small lunch wrapped up in pink cloth and started eating right next to Souji. In-between one of her tempura, she looked at Souji's empty box and asked, "Did a girl make that for you?"

Souji nodded, "You can say that…"

"Your girlfriend?" Rise giggled before taking another bite.

"No… she's just a senpai who helps us out at the dorm I live at," Souji explained.

Rise smirked, "You live in a co-ed dorm? Uh oh…"

"It's not what you think…," Souji shook his head, "The guys live on one floor and the girls live on the other. The senpai I told you about would kill us if any of us tried anything."

"Aww…," Rise frowned, "That's no fun…" Rise placed her chopsticks in the box as she asked, "So… are you dating someone?"

What's with the interrogation?

Souji shrugged, "Nope…"

Rise bit her lip before asking, "You live in a co-ed dorm and you are not dating anyone?" Rise winked, "By the way… I saw you last night."

Souji shook his head, "My friend invited me… The one you took up on stage for that song…" Souji tried to change the subject, "By the way, did you come up here to try and escape the throng of people?"

Rise nodded, "You caught me…" She frowned, "I just… don't want to be Risette right now."

Souji said in response, "I understand… well, I can't truly relate."

"Honest and respectful…," Rise smiled, "Exactly what I want in a guy…"

Souji could not help but redden a little; it made Rise chuckle a little. Souji did not know what to say at that.

"Hmm…," Rise closed her eyes, "Well… since you aren't dating anyone… you can walk me home! It will save me the trouble of hiding or running"

What! Aigis… now Risette? I am going to get flayed alive. Fuuka is actually kind of popular, too. God help me… Again, what can I say? Aigis asked me to meet her first…

"Well… I promised to meet someone by the movies tonight," Souji lowered his head somewhat as he answered Rise.

"Boy or girl…?" Rise asked.

Souji was not going to lie; he preferred to be honest. He told Rise, "Girl…"

Rise winked, "You told me you were not dating anyone… Or is it that you told me you were not dating anyone in your dorm?"

"No… it's not a date…," Souji bit his lip yet again. He added quickly, "They are sort of special lessons." Souji immediately regretted his last phrase.

Rise laughed at that statement, "Okay… okay…" She put her arms behind her head and moved her shoulders back for a second as she asked, "Why don't you just walk me back halfway? To Paulownia Mall? You'd make it to your 'special lessons' in time, right?"

Rise was right, and Souji knew it. He felt like he should do this for her, only for the reason it was something he could do. It would start a hell of a lot more rumors.

What didn't start rumors these days?

"I guess I'll meet you at the school gates then…," Souji said reluctantly.

Rise's grin was huge, "Thanks… umm…?"

"Souji… Souji Seta…," Souji said.

Rise stood up and flattened her skirt again, "Rise… Rise Kujikawa." As if for some reason Souji did not know who she was.

He took a look at his watch. It was almost time to return to the classroom. Rise would most certainly be late since she needed to fight through boys.

"See you later, Souji-kun!" Rise sounded bubbly.

Souji nodded, "You too, Rise-chan…" It sounded natural too call her that.

Oddly, Rise did not leave when Souji opened the door that would lead him back down towards his classroom. He also found a lack of boys waiting to mob her disturbing. Back at the roof, Rise muttered with no hint of happiness, "Should I do something while we're walking together? This is no game to me."

Souji's left arm felt a little better after he had spent his lunchtime with Rise. The best part… no one seemed to know that Rise had spent her lunchtime with Souji. That meant Souji would be safe at least until the end of the day. How he would pull Rise away from the mob and how would he survive the next day were the worries on Souji's mind. She had managed to find a solution for working out a plan for both her and Aigis to get what they wanted, and the consequences might not be in Souji's favor. The good news was that he would spend a small amount of time with two pretty girls. The bad news being that he would probably be killed by boys the next day.

If… no… When Fuuka sees this…

At least the afternoon classes were as dull as the morning ones. It was the first time he wanted time to drag on. When the bell rang, Aigis had moved out of her chair and out of the classroom as fast as Souji had ever seen her move, resulting in a remark from Yosuke about how Souji must be upset at him. However, Souji believed Aigis had to set up for the lesson or something. Overall, Souji paid no mind to what Aigis was doing; he knew whatever she was doing was for tonight. She would not forget his lesson, or she would not have grades that rivaled Souji's.

A few seconds later, Souji stood up, remembering his own mission. He had a rescue mission to perform, and the target was Rise Kujikawa. Before he could get out the door, Yosuke told him, "I have to see her this time… I couldn't find her at lunch, but I'll talk to her this time."

Good luck… but it isn't happening.

Souji had to hurry, only for the fact that Yosuke had rushed out of the room at a much faster pace than the silver-haired second-year. Souji knew he would have a lot of people besides Yosuke to deal with as well. Souji also knew that he would look like a Rise-chaser, but he increased his pace to at least be able extract Rise before anything bad happened. The 'Risette Fan Club of Tatsumi Port Island- Gekkoukan Chapter' would not get their hands on her.

As Souji rushed down the stairs, there was another crowd gathered around the middle section of the shoeboxes. Junpei was lying; the crowd in the morning was mobbing Rise.

Bastards… Junpei is such a dick.

Souji could not rush into the middle of the mob and expect to grab Rise without getting killed. Instead, he moved to his own shoebox and changed his shoes as fast as possible. Over the rabble and large amount of noise being produced by about fifteen to twenty people; Souji yelled from the divider, "Rise-chan!"

"Souji-kun!" Rise yelled back.

The effect was instantaneous as almost everyone in the rabble suddenly stopped moving and talking as Rise had actually responded to someone's exclamation. Souji moved around the front of the divider. As the group of fans and the rest of the mob saw who had called out to Rise, they split into two sides. The looks that were in Souji's direction were a mix of jealousy and pure malice. Souji called out again, but in a softer voice this time around, "Rise-chan…"

"Souji-kun… Are you ready to go?" Rise, with no one around her trying to get an autograph or 'anything else' from her, finally started putting on the shoes she had came into school with.

"Yeah…," Souji nodded, waiting patiently for Rise.

When Rise finished changing her shoes, she picked up her bag, which probably had a multitude of love notes inside it now, and went to Souji's side. Souji ignored the looks and took off with Rise by his right side, knowing that he was probably going to die tomorrow.

It was odd… having Rise Kujikawa walking next to him, drawing looks as they moved down the long path. Souji had no clue what to say, or if he should say anything at all. All he knew was that he was at least pretending to be Rise's boy toy for at least one day. She would probably move on to someone else tomorrow, forgetting Souji ever existed. It would probably be for the best, too; he might survive if Souji did not stick around Rise's side.

At the actual gate to the edge of Gekkoukan High; it marked the entrance and exit, Souji ran into Junpei. The boy with the backwards baseball cap, and self-proclaimed rival of Souji, looked up and down at him when he saw Rise next to him. He must have thought it was some random coincidence because he was going to say something, but Rise grabbed Souji's hand, locking her left hand within Souji's right before Junpei could say anything. The now ex-idol winked before walking straight past Junpei with Souji in tow.

Let's make it worse, shall we? Yosuke, Junpei… Who knows… maybe Fuuka saw it as well?

Souji thought that Rise was going to release Souji's hand after they had left Junpei behind, but that was not the case. She did not let go; it was for a reason Souji had no answer for. Only when they neared Paulownia Mall did Rise actually say anything to him. She kept her head forward as she said in a somewhat serious voice, "I want to thank you. I know I'm using you, but… I can't tell you how necessary this was."

Souji nodded even though Rise could not really see his motion. He responded, "I just thought I would help."

"You're going to be in trouble…," Rise said in that same voice.

Souji closed his eyes for a moment, "I knew that when I said that I would help you."

Rise sighed, "That's not what I'm talking about…"

Souji turned his head. He wanted to ask what Rise was talking about, but before he had a chance to ask; the two of them reached the 'Power Records' store. Rise had already released her grip on Souji's hand; he guessed it was just in case anyone else had been watching.

What the hell was she talking about? This danger stuff… Does she know I'm a magician?

Souji faced Rise as he prepared to leave her behind; he had to go to the literal 'port' of Port Island to see Aigis. She was heading to wherever she lived. It could be the last time Souji saw her, and there was a small bit of him that was actually disappointed that this incredibly pretty girl would be leaving his side. He started to turn, but before he could; he was stopped by Rise.

"I don't even get a proper goodbye…?" Rise frowned.

"Oh… I forgot… Goodbye, Rise-chan," Souji gave a soft smile.

"Thank you again…," Rise did the same, but afterwards she stood up on her tip-toes and brushed up against Souji's right cheek; it made Souji blush for the first time since he left Inaba.

What the f…?

Souji left not only a little confused, but a little dazed as well. He had a bit of a walk ahead of him and a lot of contemplation to do. He was going to try and forget his stroll with Rise, but now… he had nothing but Rise on his mind.

Back in the middle of Paulownia Mall, Rise stood silently.

Eventually, Rise whispered, "I really hope… I really hope that I don't have to kill you tonight."

As Souji took the opposite stairs from Iwatodai Station that would lead him to where Aigis was supposed to meet him; his mind was on anything but magic. His mind was focused on a young red-haired first-year for whom he had sacrificed any shred of his remaining popularity to walk halfway back to wherever she was living. He had accepted that part, but he would have been fine if only… if only her lips had not faintly touched his cheek. Not even in that song did she do that to the person she chose. It bugged him way more than it should have, but… it was really driving him crazy.

Souji shook his head as he looked about the area below the steps to the cinema. It was rather abandoned even though the sun had not quite yet disappeared completely. There were usually a few people still around, going to the movies… especially on a Saturday evening. Since, Souji did not see Aigis either, he moved to the bench in the middle of the area, parallel to the flower shop. As he was about to sit on the bench, someone called out to him, "Souji-san…"

The voice was calm and collected, yet rather monotone. However, the feminine edge of it could only belong to Aigis. Souji turned to the place where he heard the voice and was completely shocked by what he saw.

In front of the cinema stood Aigis, but the blond-haired second-year was not wearing her Gekkoukan uniform. Instead, Aigis was dressed in what appeared to be very tight-fitting pants and a very tight long-sleeved shirt that went up to her neck; they were both white and almost appeared to be armor. The only two things that remained of her school uniform were her red ribbon and the golden headband, and the only thing that was uncovered was her head and her ungloved hands. All of her clothes seemed to accentuate her curves; it was a bit much for Souji to take in, considering the school uniform was not as flattering as this.

"Souji-san… Please come here…," Aigis called out again.

Souji blinked a few times to make sure this was really Aigis before he made his way over to where his prospective teacher was standing. As he neared the girl, the radiant blue eyes confirmed that she was really Aigis; this sight was making it better… or maybe worse for Souji.

"Aigis-sensei…," Souji changed his tone, considering she would be teaching him from now on.

Aigis shook her head, as she replied, "That's not necessary…"

Souji had moved to about a meter away from Aigis. He did his best to keep his eyes on Aigis's face, but that would mean getting lost in her blue pools. However, if his eyes drifted down…

"Souji-san… Come closer…," Aigis said to him as Souji struggled to keep his face from drifting.

Souji did his best to nod without looking and walked straight up to her until they were almost touching; Souji made sure they did not. Aigis pulled on her ribbon until it came undone and held it in front of Souji. She said to him, "I want you to use the technique you used at the game… Use it on the ribbon while I move it back and forth… I want you to grab the ribbon from my hand."

Souji nodded, "Okay… I can do that…"

For a moment, Souji closed his eyes and focused on the ribbon with his eyes closed. All he needed to do was slow the ribbon down so he could take it from Aigis.

"Siehe Ungehemmter…" (To see… uninhibited)

Souji opened his eyes, and instead of seeing the red ribbon moving at a speed where it was nearly at a snail's pace; Souji saw Aigis's enchanting blue eyes. He tried to move away, tried to find the ribbon, but… he could not even drift away to look somewhere that would make him blush. He was trapped by Aigis's gaze.

Aigis suddenly said in the same monotone voice, "I can't trust you, Souji-san… I don't know if you are a Master or not. You might be a pretty bad magician, but regardless, you might still have a Servant on your side."

Master? Servant? What am I missing here? Why the hell can't I… Why the hell can't I look away?

Aigis touched his right arm; the one that she had touched yesterday. All of the pain that had been bothering Souji since last night released all at once. For the first time since his arm started hurting, Souji yelled out in pain. Aigis responded to Souji's cry of pain as she said, "See… you are a Master… Now… call out your Servant!"

Souji bit his lip; it was one of the few things he still had control of. He bit it so hard that it began to bleed. He had to respond to Aigis as he tried his best to ignore the pain, "I have no clue… what the hell a Servant is!"

Aigis said nothing but a single word, "Assassin…"

Souji's eyes widened when from out of nowhere appeared a very tall man dressed in red samurai armor, wielding two long blades that were sheathed. His hair was black, but it was barely visible underneath the slender kabuto that was unlike many others in how it slid back and protected only the top of his head.

Was he invisible? Where did he come from? Was he here this whole time? Assassin? Is she going to kill me?

Aigis said only a few more words, "I will give you one last chance to summon a Servant and end this charade before Assassin slits your throat. The only comfort from this is that even if I let you use your spell on his blades; you still would not be able to see them coming."

This "Assassin' said to Aigis, "May I end his life now? You would not have asked me to come if you did not have the intention to kill him."

Aigis responded, "It does not appear that he will summon a Servant. You may end his life…"

God… why did I not bring my baseball bat?

Souji tried to close his eyes, even though he knew he could not. He heard the unsheathing of this 'Assassin's' sword. Souji guessed he could start making peace with God… though, the whole becoming a magician and all probably would not go down very well with him.

There were always people who wanted to die of something crazy and disturbing, involving sex or partying. However, Souji just wanted to die from living a long and happy life. The way he did not want to go was being killed by a crazy, invisible samurai-looking dude. Souji could not see the blade coming, but he felt the warmth of something else surrounding him. It was a red spherical shield. It was that warmth that suddenly let Souji move as he heard the words from the steps above, "Niemand Wird Verletzt! Schützen Mein Herz!" (No one shall hurt! Protect my heart!)

Souji moved away slightly, but Assassin, or whoever he was, started cracking into the spherical bubble. He heard the same voice yell, "You have to run! It won't hold for long!"

Souji took that advice and started running. Luckily, the shield moved with him… but so did Assassin, waiting to strike him. Souji knew he was in trouble, so the person who was on the steps called out one more time, "Lancer!"

Both Assassin and Souji stopped when they heard 'Lancer!'. Souji stopped because he finally recognized the voice, and Assassin stopped because who appeared at the call. Souji had not recognized the voice at first because of the radical change in tone and inflection. The person who had been yelling was none other than Rise Kujikawa, still dressed in a Gekkoukan uniform standing with her feet apart and her arm outstretched.

Meanwhile, Aigis stood motionless, she watched as someone else flew towards her Assassin. This 'Lancer' had blond hair that came down to the nape of his neck and was dressed in silver, almost knight-like armor. He had a long spear in his right arm and a very large triangular shield on his back. When the two Servants made contact; it pushed the fight away from Souji, keeping him safe for the moment.

Souji only guessed that Lancer was another Servant person who was fighting Assassin. Lancer was Rise's Servant and Assassin was Aigis's Servant. Souji was just a guy caught in the middle of this battle, so he should try and leave.

Lancer had flown straight at Assassin with his spear extended, only to miss his target. He swung his weapon over his head and came down to his side, locking his haft to Assassin's own blade. Lancer pushed off from Assassin's sleek weapon and charged again, only to have Assassin parry the blow and attempt a vertical strike that nearly cut Lancer in half. Instead of being split in half, Assassin's attack was blocked by Lancer's left arm; it only caused a minor cut instead.

Lancer jumped back after Assassin pulled his sword free. Lancer said to Assassin, "It's been a while since I fought someone like you."

"I will take that as a compliment," Assassin responded. He questioned Lancer, "Why are you protecting that boy? I was sent to kill him…"

Assassin pointed at Souji and Lancer glanced over at the silver-haired boy who Assassin had nearly gored, "It was my Master's wishes… Unless he turns out to be a Master himself…"

"However, he has seen us…," Assassin explained, "Especially me…"

"Yes… I know," Lancer replied.

The chat ended at that and the two began again.

Meanwhile, Souji moved towards Rise at the top of the stairs, but when he tried to move past her, the girl put out her palm and said, "I warned you…"

"But…," Souji stuttered.

"Nothing good can come of you seeing this," Rise said, "This girl…" She motioned to Aigis. She continued again, "She tried to kill you because she thought you were involved, and now… you are involved, even if it is indirectly."

"I don't even know what is going on here!" Souji yelled.

When Souji finished his sentence, he was pushed to the ground by Rise as another shield was erected by the ex-idol. Aigis had come up from behind, and in her soft and monotone voice, muttered, "Flammen der Hölle… Fliegen Wahr!" (Flames of Hell! Fly True!) The shield barely held as what appeared to be an endless barrage of bullets made of fire shot from Aigis's fingertips.

The fire did not crack the spherical shield, but it slowly made headway into it. Rise struggled to keep the shield up and Souji could do nothing but hide inside it. It was when the fire knocked Souji out of the sphere and down the stairs did Aigis stop firing her flame bullets. He yelled out in pain as he tumbled down each step, landing only a few meters from Aigis. Souji had trouble standing up.

She called out to Rise in the same monotone voice, her fingers smoking from all of the fire shot from her fingertips, "Why did you bother protecting him?"

"Why are you attacking him?" Rise responded.

"Don't question what I am being told to do… It is… what I have been ordered," Aigis said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Orders!" Rise exclaimed, "What are you! Some puppet!"

It appeared Aigis had overcome her moment of weakness as she called out from behind her, "Assassin! Come and kill him!"

Assassin was still in a duel with Lancer when he heard Aigis's voice. He had inflicted two more small wounds on Lancer in the form of a cut right through the right greave and another on his right shoulder. When Assassin was beckoned, Assassin dodged a thrust from Lancer and took off towards Souji, leaving Rise's Servant behind.

Rise called out for Lancer, secretly knowing that he would not reach Souji in time. She did not want to kill Souji, it only be if he was the one attacking other people. It appeared her target had been this blond-haired girl all along. Now, Souji would die because she was inept at fighting with Lancer.

Souji was still on the ground, only a meter or two from Aigis. He would not be able to escape this time… not with these injuries. He could not walk with a broken leg. Souji wanted to try something before he died. He took his right hand and rubbed it against his scalp, allowing him to write in his own blood. With the blood fresh on his right hand, he drew a pentagram on the ground and started to write a few symbols he had not been able to translate due to the lack of a real teacher. He knew Assassin was close, so he took his left hand, which was still throbbing tremendously; he placed it on the pentagram.

"Souji-kun!" Rise yelled.

Souji wanted to know why Rise had yelled, but Souji knew almost immediately as white light surrounded him. He pushed himself out of the way as even Aigis backed up at the sight of the light. There were shimmers of blue and white as a beautiful lady about a few years older than Souji started to appear from the light. She was wearing a beautiful cream-colored dress that came down to her ankles, but in her right hand was a mix between a sword and a spear. In her other hand was what looked like a circular shield…

Souji was speechless at the sight of yet another pretty woman. Rise, however, said in a soft voice, "Saber…"


Not all chapters will be as long as this one... if anyone is not really familiar with Persona and has trouble figuring out what's what, just ask. I know I spent an inordinate amount of time focusing on Souji this chapter, but… it was because I was protecting that badly kept secret from you. Well, Auf Wiedersehen