Author's Note: What… what is this? I was rummaging through my computer and found this story stuck in a folder it shouldn't have been in. I read it over and thought that it was in the stage where I could release for the soul purpose that it's releasable. I hope you enjoy it!

A girl clad in pink was hyperventilating, she seemed to be in a state of panic or something along those lines. She lay crumpled against the wall, finding the floor somewhat comforting. The sink faucet was still running but left unattended as water was still gushing out, it was probably used by the girl to try and relief this unknown fear although it did not seem to help as much as it should have. The girl seemed to have collected herself for a bit, she tried to find comfort from her voice when she started to speak.

"O-Okay... No chickening out..."

She picked up a silver gun that had been left on the floor. Its cold silver plating reflected to the red sunlight of the evening sun. She meticulously placed it against her fore head, where both her thumbs were against the trigger.

"A-All I have to do is pull the trigger..."

The fear had started to show, sweat was running down her face and it became more apparent when she started to shake uncontrollably. It had completely taken over her mind, her thoughts were completely jumbled and she could not control herself. In that instant she tossed the gun in another direction, completely disregarding it. A feeling of helplessness and frustration was all that had remained. She covered her face, almost in shame that she could not pull the trigger.

"I can't do it..."

Her voice was rigid and she seemed to be near tears. She seemed so small and fragile, it was as though she could shatter at any given time.

"I just can't... Even though today we..."

"Takeba?"

She turned her head to see who it was although she was sure she knew who decided to visit. A girl with long rose hair was standing at the doorway with a look of concern adorning her face. She seemed older than her initial appearance, even the aura around her seemed to resemble it.

"M-Mitsuru...?"

"Is everything okay?"

No...

Everything is not okay. Yukari Takeba felt like crawling into a hole and die in it. She's been trying to do it for hours now ever since school ended for the day, but in the end she still couldn't do it. She knew that if she did pull the trigger she would be fine, but every time she thought about it, it would scare her. Not everyone has the guts to put a gun to their head (Albeit a fake one), including Yukari.

Yukari wanted to say so much, but she knew in the end that she shouldn't worry her Senpai anymore than she already is. Besides she didn't trust her just yet, she couldn't open her mind to just anyone so she'll act the part.

"Y-Yeah, I'm ok..."

The look on Mitsuru's face showed that she didn't quite buy that statement entirely, but decided it was best to let it slide.

"Alright, if you say so. Takeba, you know you don't have to push yourself like this. If you don't want to we can postpone our expedition..."

"NO!"

That can't happen, Yukari knew the consequences and repercussions if they didn't go but other than that she needed to go no matter what the cost. She just wanted to know.

Yukari just noticed her sudden outburst and knew that was probably not the best thing to do.

"I-I-I mean it's alright I can still go..."

"Of course, if so then be ready to leave in just a bit. It's almost time..."

Mitsuru quickly got up and left the room, leaving Yukari to ponder for a bit. She of course knew that she had to step it up a bit but it seems way too hard on her mind and conscious. In the end she grabbed the discarded gun and slipped it into the holster around her leg. She had to hurry.

It was almost midnight...

So this is it huh?

Yukari didn't know what else to say, the towering structure that was in front of her was something beyond comprehending. Its eeriness and dysfunctional structure made it all the more menacing. Everything about it was shrouded in mystery that added even more fear and anxiety as she continued to stare at it to no end.

This was Tartarus a place that only emerges for one hour every day after mid-night during the Dark Hour; where time is frozen, electronics stop working, and people are sleeping within their coffins until it is over. It is also the home of shadows, beings that feed of the minds of the living leaving them apathetic. In short, this tower was a living embodiment of hell. Of course if one had the choice they would probably want to avoid this tower if they could, but three teenagers decided to venture forth into its chambers only to figure out how this tower came to be.

"This isn't the first time I've seen it, but every time I do I always wonder if there ever is a top..."

Mitsuru seem to have blurted out a small personal thought, if only to calm or reassure Yukari. It was indeed her first time seeing it in such magnitude, and as such it made it all the more terrifying. While Mitsuru was trying to calm her down it was not working. Her heart was pounding and she felt incredibly uneasy, but despite that she tried her best to keep a straight face. It was hard no doubt, so that's why she needed to have the determination if she wanted to come back alive. One wrong move and she may end up like all the other victims, lifeless and without purpose.

"We shouldn't be delaying, we only have an hour. If you really want to start we should do it now."

The new voice spoke up, it was the other senior Akihiko Sanada. He too was much more calm and collective than she ever was, in fact he seemed more excited than anything. He came fully prepared, his boxing gloves which she knew were his weapons were at his side ready to be put on at a moment's notice, and his evoker was strapped up in its holster like hers. She still brought it but she was still reluctant to use it, she was hoping that she'd really rely more on her bow and arrow if anything. She was confident in her skills as an archer but at the moment she was lacking the usual confidence.

"He's right, so I'll ask again. Are you sure you still want to continue with this?"

"Yes..."

It was a simple answer but it would change her future forever.

"Alright let's go."

Through the gates of this tower, they entered. And what would await them would only be left to fate.

"It's much more different inside than I thought..."

"Wait until you really enter the first floor. From there it starts to show more of its true colours."

"Huh, you don't say..."

But it is true that at first glance this interior is much different than what one would predict after seeing the outside of it. Pillars were surrounding them and a single flight of stairs that led to a large clock like structure that acted as the gate to the upcoming floors. Yukari was kind of relieved that it looked like this, she had thought it would be much more horrifying than it really was. But still, she knew that looks were deceiving.

"Alright here's the plan."

Yukari straightened up and made sure that she was paying the utmost attention to this. It was important since her life was on the line.

"I've told this to you before during our brief meeting but I'd like to repeat myself just in case there was something you had missed."

Yukari only nodded, she knew the plan. She re-ran it through her head countless times, repeated it to herself on the way here. But it never hurt anyone to hear it again, because in all honesty she was still somewhat doubting herself.

"I'll be taking care of support from here via com-link/telepathy, making sure to direct you in the correct direction and making sure you have a safe exit route in case of an emergency. You and Akihiko are to stay together at all times and making sure you have each other covered. On a side note this is only a mock trial for our newest member to get a feel for the place, therefore I would advise that if given the chance you should avoid a fight at all cost."

"Alright, I got it. Takeba you got everything?"

"Y-Yeah... More or less..."

Honestly, she knew exactly what she needed to do. It's just the lack of confidence and uneasiness isn't helping her.

"Hey don't be so tense, this is only a practice run. No need to be nervous, I'll make sure nothing happens to you, alright?"

"...Thanks Senpai..."

It reassured her just a bit, but she really needed that to calm her nerves. She kept thinking to herself that she would eventually screw up or something, but that extra reassurance pushes that thought out of her mind.

"Alright let's begin..."

'Finally... With this I may finally be able to find some answers...'

They began climbing the flight of stairs, and for once Yukari had a look of determination.

But this will be the beginning of it all...

"*Whimper...* Uh... Uh-h-h..."

"Huh? Senpai, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Do you hear... Crying?"

It was quiet but Yukari swore she heard someone whimpering, she looked back and started to scan the room trying to locate the source of the noise. It was coming from one of the pillars near Mitsuru. Mitsuru quickly pulled out her saber and aimed it at the pillar, waiting to strike whatever was hiding itself. She had a look on her face that said everything; she was ready to cut down whatever it was.

"Akihiko, Takeba. I want you to back me up, we don't know what it is. But we should be prepared for the worst."

A nod from both teams led Mitsuru to slowly walk towards the pillar. The closer she got the more she could hear. It was... Weeping. It sounded like a child's weeping. Mitsuru was still ready, she knew how devious a Shadow could be and it was important to never let one's guard down. When she reached the pillar her first move was a quick movement behind the tower where she believed whatever it was hiding.

"I have you now...!"

The top of her blade was pointed towards a child no more than the age of ten. She had an orange coloured shirt and a simple red skirt to match, her hair was an auburn brown tied into a ponytail, her eyes which were obscured by her tears could be seen as a piercing ruby red, her skin was so smooth and pale almost like a doll. Mitsuru was at a loss for words, what was a child doing here in Tartarus? How was she still active during the Dark Hour? Does she have the potential?

"Waaaahh!It hurts!"

Blood was starting to bleed from her right arm and was starting to be visible on her sleeve. Mitsuru withdrew her weapon and immediately rushed to the girl's side.

"Hey are you okay? What happened to you? We need to get you some help. Akihiko! Takeba! It's alright, it's not an enemy. It's a little girl and she needs some medical attention!"

"What! What's a childdoing in a place like this?"

With a quick burst of speed Akihiko rushed to Mitsuru who was still holding onto the crying girl. Yukari was still kind of out of it, she was still wondering how a child was able to move about in the Dark Hour much less get into Tartarus. But she knew that if she was hurt she needed help and fast. Akihiko was carrying her on his back while Mitsuru was starting up the motorcycle.

"Takeba, I'm sorry but it seems like we will need to postpone this mock training for now. Our highest priority is this girl's health and safety."

"Yeah, I understand. Let's hurry back..."

The child was still crying, and although she had good reason for it, it didn't make it any less painful to hear.

In no time they had reached the dorm but by then the girl was already out; it was either from injury, or she tired herself out. Either way she was silent and asleep when they had arrived. When they got inside Akihiko placed her on one of the couches in the lounge and ran into the kitchen to get the first aid kit while Mitsuru and Yukari stayed beside the sleeping child.

"I got it! How's she doing?"

"She's still asleep, but there seems to be more blood than there was before. Hurry up, we need to act quickly."

Mitsuru rolled up the sleeve and saw the wound. It was a large cut, but it should heal soon if given the proper treatment. Mitsuru started to wipe the excess blood and start to clean the wound with alcohol. Even though she was sleeping she could still feel the burning sensation and started to fidget and moan in pain.

She didn't wake up and now they were placing a gauze around the wound. After attending to her wounds the group started to discuss their next course of action.

"Akihiko have you ever seen this girl before?"

"Never, I just recently went to Tartarus a couple days ago and I swear that I didn't see or hear her."

"Well, she was active during the Dark Hour. It's possible that she has awakened to her potential recently and somehow wandered in..."

Yukari cringed at that thought, it reminded her of when she awoke to her potential. She was scared out of her mind and had no idea what was going on, it was only by pure chance did they find her before she lost it. If that's what happened to this child she wasn't sure if she would be okay when she woke up.

It was then that the Dark Hour had subsided and all the lights in the room lot up once again. Mitsuru and Akihiko were still discussing leaving Yukari to watch over her. Yukari took a good look at the girl, she couldn't have been older than five yet she seemed to have awakened to her potential. Yukari was starting to wonder if Mitsuru would force her to fight against shadows.

The child's eyes flung open revealing sleepy ruby eyes that were trying to adjust to the bright light of the room. She started to look around the room, seeing that she was in an unrecognizable place. It looked like she was starting to panic, when she saw Yukari who was very close to her she started to back up with fear in her eyes.

"W-W-Where am I? Who are you? W-Where's onii-chan? Uh-h-h..."

"H-Hold on! It's not what you think...!"

Too late...

"WAHHHH!"

She was bawling... And very loudly.

Yukari was stuck in a situation that would not be easy to solve. She's dealt with children fine before, but... She felt incredibly tired after that trip to Tartarus. And besides, the girl was scared out of her mind; she's in a place she doesn't recognize with people she's never met before, of course she would be scared.

"Umm... Uhh...! Please stop crying!"

Almost like magic the girl's volume had gone down and she had almost stopped crying altogether. She was sniffling, trying to hold back her tears. She seemed to be incredibly obedient and well-mannered enough to listen. That kind of shocked her a bit.

"*hiccup!*... Ano... Onee-chan?"

""Oh! Yes?"

"*Sniff* Where am I?"

"You're at our dorm... Actually at our "home"..."

She wasn't sure how to explain this to a child, so it's going to have to be as simple as possible. Mitsuru and Akihiko joined Yukari as the child was still asking questions.

"Ummm... Are you bad people?"

"No, we're not bad people."

...

"Momma and Papa and Onii-chan and Onee-chan told me never to talk with bad people..."

Well, at least she listens to her parents. Then again, didn't we always at that age?

"...Okay! I believe you!"

"I... See..."

Yukari couldn't find it in herself to say anything otherwise. This kid was just too innocent, if it were her she'd probably still be freaking out. Well, she was glad that she had calmed down though. It was much easier than she thought.

"My name is Minako Arisato! I'm five years old!"

Akihiko and Mitsuru didn't seem that frazzled, more so they seemed more neutral about the whole thing. Yukari was more worried about Minako, mainly her relation to the Dark Hour. They all gave short introductions to themselves, keeping them as simple as possible. Mitsuru decided to speak to Minako and ask her a few questions, but in a way that was much friendlier.

"Minako, what were you doing where we found you?"

"Nothing!"

Everyone was hesitant to that answer but it was better that they didn't press that at the moment. Besides Mitsuru was sure that she didn't have a clue about what she was doing there either, she was only five and didn't seem to have any idea in the first place. While Akihiko was concerned about how she ended up in Tartarus, he seemed to have prioritized the injury she had gotten.

"Minako, how did you get hurt?"

"Ano... There was this mean Mr. Blobby and he was really mean! He had big black gooey claws that were really really icky! He was so mean to me he hurt me! But Onee-chan scared him away with a big boom!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

It was definitely an interesting answer, but to understand it was a completely different thing. Mitsuru and Akihiko tried to digest the information to see if there was any hidden meaning. Yukari wasn't really sure about the whole situation in general, so she kind of just shrugged it off.

"O-oh really? That's a really interesting story."

"Yeah! Onee-chan is so cool! She can do anything!"

She kept bringing up an "Onee-chan" but who was it? There wasn't anyone else with her when they found her. Were they still stuck in Tartarus? This was nagging Yukari to no end.

"Umm... Where is this Onee-chan?"

She was staring at Yukari like she should've known about it in the first place.

"Onee-chan always disappears! She's only around when we play or if I'm in trouble or when I get a boo-boo or when she wants!"

"That's... A really peculiar Onee-chan..."

Mitsuru and Akihiko thought the same, nodding their heads in approval. They were able to bandage the wound fine, and it wasn't really that severe but nonetheless it was great they made it before any major damage was caused. Minako let out a tired yawn, it was extremely late and no little kids should be up this late.

"Minako, are you tired?"

She only nodded her head slowly with her eyelids half open. Yukari thought enough was enough, they should let her sleep.

"Alright let's get you somewhere to sleep..."

She turned to her seniors, and asked them if that was alright.

"Of course, I don't see why not. Besides it's late, we can't do anything about her at the moment. She'll just stay with us until we can find her parents. You don't mind do you Akihiko?"

"I don't mind, I wouldn't dare just leave a little girl alone out at night."

"Then it's settled. Now I think there's a spare room on the girl's floor..."

At that, little Minako clung closer to Yukari's leg.

"I-I don't want to sleep alone! I want to sleep with Yuki-nee-chan!"

All eyes were on the ruby eyed child, out of all the things she could've said she said THAT.

"A-Are you sure? Didn't mommy and daddy say not to... Sleep with strangers?"

"...No..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone was speechless, for a while. The request itself wasn't actually that ridiculous, but Yukari felt that it was a tad bit wrong to do something like that; regardless. Before she could say anything else Mitsuru spoke first.

"Yukari, I know it may sound unreasonable but I suggest that you let her sleep with you tonight. Before you say anything else, I would like to point out that she's just a child and I think it'd be best if someone kept an eye on her in case her injury acts up. Who would help her then?"

When she puts it like that, how could she refuse?

"Yeah, I don't mind. I'll take care of her for the night."

Getting Minako to stop clinging to her leg, she took her hand and led her to the stairs.

"Come on Minako! Let's get you to bed!"

"Okay..."

Soon they had arrived at her room, the familiar pink setting somewhat relived Yukari's nerves. It was nice to know that she could find comfort in resting after such a turn of events. But instead of her lonesome self she had company this time; company that was ready to pass out at any given moment.

"Alright Minako, let's get you out of your dirty clothes... Oh! I don't have anything for you to where... You'll just have to wear one of my t-shirts and shorts. Is that okay?"

"Mmhmm!"

After a couple minutes Yukari was in her sleeping pajamas, and Minako was wearing a T-shirt that was easily twice her size and shorts that went over her feet. Both were now lying in bed ready to sleep.

"Goodnight Minako..."

"Goodnight Yuki-nee-chan..."

...

"Yuki-nee-chan?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"You won't leave me... Will you?"

...

"Of course not, I won't leave you..."

"Okay... Goodnight..."

Yukari didn't know how much those words meant to Minako yet, but for now she found a new place in her heart for this little girl.

"Sweet dreams Minako..."

To Be Continued