This story is based on Persona 3, but it's mostly a reimagination (not sure is that's the right word to use), so many things won't match with the original plot.

Maybe I didn't need to mention that, but I know some people prefer fidelity to the game and this story goes MILES away from it, so…

Better safe than lame! :D

Disclaimer: Persona and anything related to it are intellectual property of Atlus. Anything from any other franchise belongs to their respective creators. I only own this story.

And yes, I know this disclaimer has no legal value and can't protect me in court, but at least I want to make clear that, if I violated any law or copyright, I had no ill intention!

The Little Great Seal

Chapter 1: Newcomer

Darkness. The only thing around him was darkness and an oppressing emptiness.

Minato could move his body and turn his face around, but there was absolutely nothing nearby. At least, nothing he could see.

In fact, it was so dark he couldn't even see his own hands desperately moving in front of him, looking for anything or anyone while he walked deeper and deeper in the unknown.

Heart filled with fear, he tried calling for Ryoji or Nyx, but his voice echoed infinitely, never reaching anyone. He tried doing the same a few more times to no use, until being forced to admit there was absolutely no one else aside from him there.

Minato sat on the ground and began to cry. As far as he remembered, Ryoji and Nyx were the only family he had and the only people that ever cared about him. Now, he was completely and utterly alone in an unknown place, probably for the rest of his life.

He didn't want to die like that. He didn't want to die alone.

"Don't cry, young one. I'm here with you."

Minato's eyes widened in fear. Who said it?

"Wait just a moment, I'll show myself to you."

A light appeared in front of Minato, blinding him for a moment. When his eyes got used to the brightness, he saw the figure of a man standing in front of the light.

He didn't think twice; Minato ran at full speed to that person. He didn't care who he was or how he got there, the only thing he wanted was company.

When he was just a few steps away from the man, he finally saw his appearance and immediately stopped, even taking a few steps backs in apprehension.

The man had a very striking appearance, with an extremely long nose, bloodshot eyes, a wide smile and some gray hair. He dressed very refined clothes, looking like a butler. He was also very tall, although it could be just Minato mistakenly seeing as such due to his small stature.

Noticing how the boy seemed scared of him, the man chuckled a bit and adjusted the collar of his shirt.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. My appearance is a bit striking and I appeared way too suddenly," the man said with a very courteous voice. "However, I mean no harm to you, little one. In truth, I'm here to help."

Despite still a bit frightened by the man's look, Minato seemed to become more comfortable with his presence after hearing his calm voice and seeing how gently he treated him.

"Please, follow me," the man asked, turning around and slowly walking away.

Although Nyx always told him to never accept anything from strangers and much less follow them, Minato didn't have much choice in the current situation and went after the weird man. After all, it wasn't like he had anything to lose; he was completely alone in the dark, Nyx and Ryoji nowhere to be seen and absolutely no one to miss him aside from them.

He did follow the man with some steps of precative distance, though.

What felt like a few seconds later (in a place like that, Minato had no sense of time and couldn't say for how long he stayed there), they found a very well adorned door that let a faint blue light escape from beneath it. The man grabbed the doorknob, opened the door and politely invited Minato to enter.

With apprehensive steps, the little boy entered the place and found himself in what seemed to be a club.

There was a light globe on the ceiling, many tables with drinks of many colors, a stand with some tall chairs and a jukebox to the corner.

The size of the place greatly surprised Minato, but what he found most curious about the club was its color.

Wherever he looked, everything had a tone of blue. He wasn't very sure of what kind of blue it was (he never was very good with colors), but he once heard Nyx talking about the color of paint she wanted for Minato and Ryoji's room and got interested in something extremely similar.

If his memory didn't fail him, it was called velvet.

"Please, take a seat," the man appeared at his side, startling him a bit, and gently gestured to a chair nearby.

Slightly confused at what was happening and what was that place, Minato slowly sat at the chair the man showed him and fidgeted nervously. The man took the chair in the opposite side of the table, put both hands on his lap and closed his eyes, letting out a low sigh that had a faint glimpse of nostalgia.

"Ah… it's been a long time since I last put foot in this place," the man said calmly, eyes still shut, before putting a hand in his pocket and taking what seemed to be a deck of cards.

Minato observed curiously the deck in his hand, immediately recognizing it as a tarot cards deck. He saw Nyx using one of those a few times before, but aside from his adoptive mother he never saw anyone else using it.

The long-nosed man shuffled the cards, put some on the table and gently gestured to them saying:

"Please, choose a card."

Not sure of what was happening and why, Minato carefully choose a card, turned it and took a good look at the picture.

He didn't know that card; at least, he didn't record ever seeing it in the deck Nyx had.

"Ah, the Fool," the man said while taking the card and looking at it with interested eyes.

Minato felt a bit sad when he heard the card's name. Did it mean he was a fool?

"The Fool is a very unique card, with great power and meaning," the long-nosed man said with a smile. "Its number is the zero, which means nullity, the void from which all other things begin. It means madness, inexperience and chaos, but is also a symbol of creativity, innocence, spontaneity and, above everything else, infinite potential."

Infinite potential? That one Minato liked.

"You choosing this card wasn't a mere coincidence," the man continued. "There's a power inside you that, although awakened, can be further developed to greater lengths and is deeply linked to the infinite potential you hold. This potential will lead you to a great destiny."

Great destiny? That sounded neat.

"However…"

A catch…There's always a catch…

"That same potential may bring great hardships and dangers to you and all around," the man alerted serious, but never breaking his smile. "You'll face powerful enemies and be forced to fight some of your greatest fears."

That sounded intimidating.

"You won't be alone, though," the man said reassuring. "Your family will stay at your side all the time and I will gladly offer my assistance as much as possible. Not only that, but you'll meet people during your journey that will the key for fulfilling your destiny. Be careful, though, as those same people can also be your ruin if you aren't careful."

Minato gulped loudly.

People? But he wasn't good with people! He never was and doubted he ever would!

If everything he said was true, then how was he supposed to fulfill that 'destiny' of his?

"Ah, look at time," the long-nosed man looked up, prompting Minato to look too.

Much to the boy's confusion, he saw nothing but the bluish ceiling. Maybe that man had some ability to see time or something like that; he somehow took Minato from that dark place and took him to that mysterious club after all.

"You're nearly arriving at your destination, which means we must finish our conversation," the man announced.

Minato wasn't exactly comfortable with his current situation, but he didn't want to leave yet. He had so many questions and that man seemed to have the answers. If not, then he could at least give him some idea of what was happening or explain what was that club.

"I see you have many questions in mind, my young boy, but our time is short. I must send you back to your world," the man said like he could read Minato's mind. "Do not worry. I ensure you this won't be the last time we meet and, in your next visit, I'll answer everything you want to know with great pleasure."

Minato shook his head and tried to say something, but the club and the man began disappearing.

"Until then," the man politely bowed while his image vanished. "I must bid you farewell."

"Minato! Minato! Wake up, Minato! We're here!" a very animated voice called as Minato felt someone shaking him awake. "Our new house! Look!"

Still a bit drowsy, Minato rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn.

"Look, Minato! Isn't it beautiful?" the same voice from before said to him.

Turning his head to the right, Minato saw a distorted figure that slowly gained form as his eyes got used to the brightness, revealing a very excited Ryoji pointing to something out of the car.

Taking a better position on the seat and putting his earphones aside, Minato looked through the window and saw the house Ryoji was talking about.

It was a one floor house with a wood door and two windows at the front, a tree with yellow flowers to the right, a small garage to the left and was surrounded by a yard with vivid green grass. Around the terrain, there was a simple wall made of red bricks, with an entrance that led straight to the street and had no gate.

It was indeed a beautiful house, just like Ryoji said, but after a few glimpses here and there, Minato also noticed it was smaller than their previous one and felt a bit disappointed by it. A smaller house meant less internal space, and a good internal space was something the little boy considered one of the top priorities of any habitation that could be considered decent.

He could understand why the house was smaller, though.

With rents going up nonstop and inflation reaching excruciating levels, Nyx wouldn't (and couldn't) afford an expensive house; her job as Goddess of Night paid well, that's true, but the bad economic situation of the country forced even her to 'tight the belt'.

Besides, she was already doing a lot for him and Ryoji by putting them in a very good and RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE school, move to a new town so they could attend it and, on top of all that, leave her super ultra mega amazing office in Tokyo for a not bad, but very 'meh' one in that town called…

Minato couldn't even remember the town's name.

In any case, Nyx was already doing a lot for them, so he felt like complaining about the house she was SUFFERING to pay the rent after all those sacrifices she did just so he and Ryoji could have a good education would be extremely selfish and insensitive of his part.

While Minato still looked at the house with a slightly disappointed look, Ryoji lost no time and opened the door, jumped from the car and ran to the yard, anxious to check everything. Nyx was already out and opening the car trunk to take the bags and boxes they brought, leaving only Minato inside.

With a sigh, the boy slowly got out of the car, closed the door and walked to the house, stopping a few steps away from the front door.

From a closer angle, Minato noticed the house wasn't so small as he initially thought, but there was no way to deny their previous one was bigger. On the bright side, Nyx said the new house had more rooms than the other despite being a tad smaller, which meant he and Ryoji wouldn't need to share a room.

Not that he minded sharing room with Ryoji; in fact, it was comforting to have the boy's company during the night and most of the day.

Minato and Ryoji were raised by Nyx like brothers and created a very strong fraternal relationship, so sharing room, toys, crayons and other things wasn't a problem for them. In fact, Minato preferred Ryoji to be around as much as possible because his adoptive brother was the only friend he had and, to a degree, the only person aside from Nyx that accepted Minato for what he really was.

Even back in Tokyo, where they previously lived, people didn't see the blue-haired boy under a good light and would always cast him aside. By the way, when I said 'people', I wasn't referring only to humans.

Demons, angels, gods, deities, ghosts… Not even the Shadows, with all their crazily corrupted and aggressively twisted natures wanted him around.

Truth be said, the Shadows were probably the ones that despised him the most.

Why you ask? For the same reason all the others also looked at him with bad eyes, although in a much more moderated manner than the Shadows:

He was a Persona User.

Persona Users, as the name implies, can summon and use Personas, physical manifestations of their psyches that wield magical powers or unmeasurable strength. Most Persona Users can use only one Persona, which is directly born from their hearts and minds, but some have a very elusive ability that enables them to not only control, but also create multiple Personas from their personalities.

That ability is usually known by most people as 'Gift' or 'Power', but the specialists call it the Wild Card.

And, if you haven't guessed yet, Minato had it.

Persona Users were so rare Nyx became extremely surprised to discover that her little boy was one, but that alone never was something that worried her too much. When he started showing signs of having the Wild Card, though, things got a lot different.

Trying to avoid a rushed assumption, Nyx remained skeptical for many years, just searching for the small signs that would prove if Minato had it or not. There were a few things that always made her suspicious, but none of them were extremely relevant or irrefutable evidence, so she eventually stopped worrying and let things happen.

At least until Minato, after trying to protect Ryoji from being bullied in school, summoned a second Persona that was much more destructive and hard to control than his original one.

From that day on, Nyx became totally sure he had the Wild Card and that worried her a lot.

Not only because the Wild Card was extremely hard to be controlled by an eleven years old boy, but it would also make Minato's personal life much harder than it already was.

Due to their powers, the unpredictability of Personas and their unique ability to destroy absolutely any kind of deity or creature, no matter how powerful or godly it is, Persona Users were widely considered dangerous, a public threat and would always be under the watch of the government or some high authority, especially the internationally powerful Reaper Association, which meant Minato would be considered problem and cast aside wherever he went.

Add this to the fact that he was reclusive and had many problems with socialization and you have the perfect recipe for a disaster.

And, if that wasn't enough, there were the Shadows, those vicious creatures born from humanity's suppressed feelings and negative aspects that hated Persona Users with a passion.

Truth be said, Shadows hate everything; humans, animals, sunny weather, rainy weather, strong smells, bright light, darkness, cucumbers, brick walls, printers, toasters, stairs, other Shadows… One could say they only care about themselves.

But if there's something they hate above anything else, it's a Persona User. The reason?

First: aside from deities and other Shadows, Persona Users are the only ones that can permanently kill Shadows using their powers and;

Second: Personas are, in a way, 'tamed' Shadows that remained under the control of whoever created them and are blindly loyal to that person, which made the Shadow Society see Persona Users as people that use Shadows as slaves. In fact, they usually call them 'Shadow Enslavers'.

All those factors together created a very harsh life for Minato in Tokyo, where dozens of people and Shadows would be constantly hostile to him.

Worried with Minato's quality of life, his and Ryoji's education and the enormous amounts of stress the capital caused, Nyx decided it would be better to put them in a better school than the one they attended in Tokyo and move to a smaller town or at least to a house in a quieter place, where not only the two boys could prepare themselves for the future, but also where Minato could live a bit more in peace.

"Phew! I don't remember those things being so heavy when I put them in the car," Nyx commented drying some sweat from her forehead before turning to Ryoji, who was running from one side to another. "Ryoji, help me here."

The boy didn't listen; he was too absorbed in checking every little corner and crack of the new house to notice what was happening around him.

"Oh, jeez…" Nyx shook her head with a sigh, then turned to Minato. "Minato, come here help me."

Minato also didn't listen; he was too fixated looking at the house to notice his surroundings.

"Oh, I see what's happening here…" the night goddess put both hands on her hips, frowned and marched towards the blue-haired boy. "Little mister, I need help. Don't pretend you aren't listening."

When Nyx got closer to Minato, she noticed the boy staring blankly at the new house, his face showing a few signs of apprehension.

"Oh, dear…" all the irritation disappeared in an instant, the boy's worried expression making her heart melt.

She knew that face he was making; it was the same face he always did whenever he was forced to face something new. Change was a thing Minato didn't like and moving to a new house in a new town so suddenly was probably filling his head with all kinds of worries.

"Hey, dear," Nyx gently called Minato, who snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her. "I know you're worried, but I ensure you everything will be okay."

That didn't make Minato feel much better. Not that he didn't believe in Nyx or thought she was wrong, but there were too many things happening at the same time for his comfort.

"Changes will happen all the time and we can't fight against them, but we can face them," Nyx extended a hand to the boy. "Together. You, me and Ryoji. Like a family."

The goddess's sweet words gave Minato some confidence, enough to make him smile a bit more at ease and gently hold the hand she extended to him.

After looking at the whole yard for the ninth time, Ryoji noticed Nyx and Minato standing in front of the house and ran to them. The goddess noticed the boy approaching and extended her other hand to him, which he grabbed and held vigorously.

"Well, that's it boys. Our new house," Nyx said to the two kids, turning her face to look at the building. "I don't know what future has for us, but let's make the best of it, as much as we can."

"Yay!" Ryoji happily celebrated, raising both hands in the air.

Minato wanted to celebrate with his brother, but couldn't find the energy to do so. Deep down, he was still worried about all the sudden changes in his life.

Which also remembered him of the dream he had while they were traveling to the new house.

He was totally sure it was just fruit of his imagination; all the memories he had about it were hazy and, no matter how weird that huge world where he lived was, everything that happened in that dream was way too magical to be real.

A man with a long nose that appears from nowhere and reads Tarot cards? A bluish club materializing from nothing? Above everything else, Minato having a great destiny?

Yes, it could only be his imagination. Maybe Ryoji would have a great destiny waiting for him, with all the powers he inherited from Nyx, but he? No way.

Yet, it felt so real a small part of Minato still wondered if that was just a dream.

A bit later…

Fortunately for Minato, organizing his room was extremely fast. Sure, he had lots of toys he gained from Nyx on his birthday, Christmas and many other commemorative dates (he and Ryoji were spoiled to no end), but aside from them he only had things that were small or very easy to put on drawers and stands.

Books, mangas, comic books, pencils, pens, clothes, shoes… The biggest things he had were his games collection and the Jack Frost plush he gained from a crane machine, but they also didn't need too much space.

Ryoji, on other hand, needed hours to finish organizing all the stuff he had.

Aside from clothes, school material and his many collections, he had the toys he gained from Nyx, toys he gained from festivals, toys he bought using his own money, toys he gained from teachers, toys he gained from friends, toys he gained from girls… Yes, Ryoji was that popular.

There was so much stuff Minato had to help Ryoji or the boy would need the whole week to finish. It didn't help that he would stop every five minutes to do something else like read a comic book, play with a toy, mess with Minato or simply disappear without reason.

In the end, the boys started at one in afternoon and only finished at four thirty-five, mostly thanks to Ryoji's inability to stay focused on one single thing.

With the rooms finished and risked of their 'to do' lists, the two boys left for the living room, where they found Nyx angrily speaking at the phone.

"You said it would be here today! TODAY! What am I going to do without the rest?"

A few moments of silence before Nyx's face turned even more irate.

"Fine! Do however you want, but I want everything here TOMORROW! Take any longer and you may wake up in the morning with a Megidolaon on your face!"

Extremely irritated, Nyx slammed the phone on its base, clenched her fists and furiously grumbled:

"UUUUUUUUUUURGH!"

"Is something wrong?" Ryoji innocently asked.

The goddess froze in place and all blood disappeared from her face.

"Nyx?" Ryoji tilted his head confused.

Recovering a bit from the shock, Nyx slowly turned her head to face the two boys looking intrigued at her, a deep red in her cheeks.

"B-boys… did you see…?" she stuttered.

"You angry at the phone? A bit," Ryoji answered, not understanding the goddess's weird behavior.

"Oh, dear lord…" Nyx facepalmed in shame.

"What happened?" the boy asked.

"T-the guys from the moving company said they can't bring the rest of our stuff today, so they'll come tomorrow in the afternoon," the deity explained while taking her hand from the face, revealing her still slightly flushed cheeks. "Not a reason to get so angry, but that whole thing of moving and hiring people to transport our things is much more stressing than I expected."

"So, we won't have our oven today? Or our sofa? Our chairs? Our refrigerator? Our television?" Ryoji began questioning.

"Unfortunately," was everything the goddess said.

"But how are we going to cook? Or sit in the living room? Or sit to eat? Or stock food? Or watch 'Keeping Up with the Devil Mayas'?" the boy continued questioning.

"Well, we can use some cushions to sit on the floor and I can order something to eat. The watching 'Keeping Up with the Devil Mayas' part, though…" Nyx scratched the back of her head. "That one I'll find a solution later."

Ryoji nodded with a smile, happy to know that Nyx always knew what to do, no matter the situation. Minato was also happy, but really hoped his legal guardian wouldn't order Yakisoba again.

Not that he disliked the dish, but every time Nyx ordered it, she always asked for the biggest size and the three of them would be forced to eat only Yakisoba for two weeks straight.

"In any case, have you finished organizing your rooms?" the goddess asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yes!" Ryoji answered animated, while Minato just nodded calmly.

"Good. Now, what can we do? It's still a bit early to order dinner," Nyx tapped her chin thoughtful, then turned to the boys. "Do you have any idea?"

Minato was about to raise his hand to give a suggestion when Ryoji beat him and said his idea first.

"Oh! Can we go meet the neighbors?"

Minato didn't like that idea. In fact, his idea was to stay home, play videogames, read some good books and wait until the truck with the rest of their stuff arrived.

"That's an excellent idea!" Nyx approved, much to the blue-haired boy's unhappiness. "That way, you can get used to the neighborhood and maybe even make some friends!"

Why everyone was so centered about making friends? Minato had Ryoji and Nyx and that was more than enough for him.

He couldn't understand why Nyx wanted him to make friends so much. It wasn't like anyone would want, anyways.

"Let's do the following: you two go outside and present yourselves to the neighbors while I finish organizing the kitchen and the living room. Just make sure to come back before six."

Before six? That meant…?

"And no, you can't just go greet the neighbor next door and come back," Nyx practically read Minato's mind. "I want you two to go meet as many people as possible."

Ryoji's face shone with excitement while Minato looked down and sighed disappointed.

"These two are so different. Sometimes, even I get a bit surprised on how well they get along despite that," Nyx commented to herself, looking at the boys' different reactions. "But maybe I shouldn't. After all, they both…"

The goddess shook her head to prevent herself from finishing the thought. They had just moved to that new house trying to leave the past behind and there she was, bringing back all the things she wanted to forget or, at least, think less about.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she clapped her hands and smiled warmly at the boys. "The neighbors won't come present themselves if you stay here doing nothing. Go on!"

"Okay!" Ryoji happily saluted the woman and grabbed Minato's hand, running straight to the door and leaving at an impressive speed, nearly making the other boy trip in the process. "Come on, Minato! Let's make some new friends!"

Taking many quick steps to keep up with Ryoji and avoid falling, Minato tried to force a smile, even if it was just to please his adoptive brother, but couldn't find the strength to do so. Unlike him, he wasn't very excited to go 'make new friends'.

Not that he never wanted to have other friends besides Ryoji, but he knew from the bottom of his heart that nobody would want to be his friend.

The last eleven years were proof enough for him that 'friends' were a thing he couldn't have.

Unaware of the thoughts passing through Minato's mind, Nyx observed the two boys leaving with a smile, hopeful that, this time, things would be different for her little Persona User.

And she was right; things would be VERY different for him, although not the way she expected.

In the street…

If there was something that Minato couldn't understand about Ryoji, even after so many years living with him, it surely was how he could have so much energy.

In the span of what felt like only seventeen minutes (it was less, actually), Ryoji managed to drag Minato to nine different houses and present them to the neighbors, never losing the smile or the enthusiasm.

It was very clear that everyone immediately fell in love with Ryoji thanks to his positive attitude and energy; all words and gestures directed at him were of pure sympathy, coated with lots of invitations to visit or to play at some later moment.

With Minato, though, things went a bit different. Maybe it was his clear insecurity, his awkwardness to speak, the way he constantly avoided eye contact or, worst case scenario, a combination of everything, but people seemed to be a bit… Apprehensive of him.

That's probably the wrong word to use for this situation, but was what Minato saw in their faces.

They looked at him the same way the children from his previous school and even their parents did; always spying with the corner of an eye, like they expected him to do something wrong at any moment and just waited the perfect time to scold or say something about him.

Heck, even the teachers looked at him that way!

The people from the previous school knew he was a Persona User, though, and he did accidentally summon and lose control of his second Persona more than once during class or in the break time, so at least their concern was something Minato could understand.

But those people never met him before, so why were they giving him that same look?

Could it be his appearance? Maybe the way he talked? His posture? His clothes? The striking difference between him and Ryoji? His silence? The color of his earphones? His shoes? His eyes? The way he always kept his hands pocketed?

Well, whatever the reason, it couldn't be because he was a Persona User. Nobody there knew that!

Or did they?

Minato shook his head to dismiss the thought and called himself a fool for thinking such a thing. How could they know? He was new in the area; nobody knew his past or who he was. There was no physical trait that could delate a Persona User and humans were unable to sense the psychic energy unique of Personas that emanated from him. In fact, only deities and Shadows could feel it, so that surely wasn't what was casting him aside.

Which, for some reason, made him feel even worse than before.

"Hey, look! There are some children there!" Ryoji suddenly pointed to two children not far away from them that seemed to be playing a game. "Let's go meet them!"

Without giving Minato time to argue against it, the boy grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him closer to the group of youngsters, losing no time to call their attention and present themselves.

"Hello, there! How are you?" Ryoji happily greeted, dragging a very insecure Minato closer.

"Oh, are you two new here?" asked one of the children, a girl with short teal-blue hair that held what looked like a small portable computer.

"Yes! I'm Ryoji Mochizuki! I've moved recently to the house in the end of the street!" the boy pointed at the direction of his house.

"That old house?" the other child, a boy with short silver hair, a red sweater jacket and black gloves that looked to be one, maybe two years older than Ryoji and Minato, raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was abandoned."

The house was abandoned? What a great thing to know…

"No, no! That's the house in front of ours!" Ryoji corrected.

"Ah, the house at the other side of the street!" the boy realized. "I forgot about that one. It wasn't abandoned, but no one came to live in it for many years. Most of us don't remember it exists."

That didn't sound too good, but was way better than being abandoned.

"Now you have a reason to remember, because I live there! Oh, and Minato too!" Ryoji pulled the blue-haired boy closer.

"So, you're Ryoji and he's Minato," the girl deduced.

"Yes! His name is Minato Arisato! He's my brother!"

"Your brother? But you have different surnames," the older boy commented confused.

Both Minato and Ryoji fell in an awkward silence, the former looking down with a slightly sad expression and the latter apparently unsure of what he should say or if he could say something.

The boys' expressions left both the girl and the older boy puzzled for a moment, but the girl suddenly widened her eyes in shock as realization hit her.

"S-senpai…" she lowly called the older boy and whispered something in his ear.

Whatever she told him, it made all the blood disappear from his face.

"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry!" the boy bowed apologetically, clearly nervous about what happened. "I didn't mean to be rude! I just…"

"Nah, don't worry. You aren't the first one," Ryoji tried to reassure the boy it wasn't so bad as he thought, although still feeling a bit awkward.

"Anyways, I'm sorry. I should be more careful with what I say,"

Yes, he should. Not only to spare Minato of more awkwardness, but also for his own safety.

It didn't upset him that much, but the young Persona User could feel something moving inside him, anxiously wanting to relieve frustration on something, or better saying, someone.

It worried Minato. That Persona was harder to control, but it had been especially disobedient since the beginning of the year, so if it escaped just for a few seconds, it would be enough to create lots of problems.

"Since you presented yourselves, I think it's our turn to do so," the girl politely said. "My name is Fuuka Yamagishi. Pleased to meet you."

"And I'm Akihiko Sanada," the older boy announced. "We both are students at Gekkoukan School."

"Gekkoukan School? That's the school we're going to attend!" Ryoji revealed.

"Really? That means we'll meet every day from now on!" the girl called Fuuka smiled warmly at them. "We may even end in the same class!"

"Wow! That would be so cool!" Ryoji smiled back. "We'll study together, play games together, go to school together… I can barely wait!"

While Ryoji, Fuuka and Akihiko continued talking, Minato remained in silence, just observing the three a bit jealous.

He couldn't understand how they did it; how they managed to speak so freely with people they just met. Minato suffered to speak with people he met, imagine people he never saw before, and yet there those three were, standing right in front of him and talking like they had been friends for ages.

Why couldn't he do it?

"Oh, we spoke so much, but Minato barely had the chance to say anything," Fuuka suddenly commented turning to the boy. "Tell me, Minato, what do you like to do?"

Caught completely off guard by the question, the blue-haired boy's eyes darted everywhere, his mind trying to find what to say.

That was a question Minato hated; anything related to his personal life, be it tastes, hobbies or whatever else always made him go 'super awkward mode'. For him, it was difficult to talk about himself because none of the things he liked to do matched what people of his age did.

Truth be said, some of them did like the same things as him, but even them kept distance from the little Persona User and avoided him like the plague, so no one could blame him for not knowing that there were people who shared his tastes.

Unsure if Fuuka and Akihiko would find him weird for whatever he liked and having no idea of what to say, Minato resorted to the same strategy he used whenever things got too uncomfortable for him:

He looked away a bit lost in thought and remained silent.

Fuuka and Akihiko stared confused at the boy, trying to understand what it meant, a bit worried they touched in a sensitive subject and accidentally offended him.

Noticing that Minato entered in his awkward mode AGAIN, Ryoji decided to take the lead and answer for his brother, like he did many times before.

"Minato likes a lot of things! Play videogames, read comic books, watch television, collect plush toys, draw, do things I can't understand on the computer…"

"Not much of a sports guy, can I suppose?" Akihiko asked.

That question Minato could easily answer for himself; it only needed him to nod.

"Well, that's a shame…" the silver-haired boy crossed his arms and sighed a bit disappointed. "Your physique just needed a bit more of training and you would probably become a very good athlete."

Minato became a bit surprised to hear it.

"Really?" Ryoji asked impressed.

"Yes, he's very thin and a bit taller than someone of his age would be," Akihiko proceeded to explain. "He could easily become a runner."

The 'very thin and a bit taller than someone of his age' part made all the surprise turn into embarrassment.

"I think he's a bit more like me," Fuuka commented. "I also prefer indoor activities than going outside."

Someone sharing his tastes? That was relieving and a bit satisfying.

"Although collecting plush toys isn't something I do," the girl said putting a finger on her chin and looking down thoughtful. "To say the truth, I don't know many people that do it nowadays."

And again, everything turned into embarrassment.

"Oh! There's another great thing about him!" Ryoji suddenly declared with a wide smile. "Minato is very special! He's a Per…"

Noticing what his brother was about to say, Minato quickly stopped the boy from finishing the sentence covering his mouth with a hand, cold sweat running down his face.

"Uh… What happened?" Akihiko asked confused.

Both boys looked awkwardly at the children giving them perplexed looks. Minato didn't know how to explain why he prevented Ryoji from finishing and the latter noticed too late he was about to give an extremely personal and potentially harmful information about his brother to people they had just met.

"Ah… you see…" the black-haired boy gently took Minato's hand from his mouth and scratched the back of his head nervously. "He didn't want me to tell you… because… uh…"

Fuuka and Akihiko raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… he's embarrassed!" the boy loudly affirmed. "It's something he's SUPER ashamed of! That's why he doesn't want anyone to know!"

Minato nodded vehemently; he didn't want anyone to suspect they weren't telling the truth, although it wasn't exactly a lie as well.

"Something he's ashamed of and starts with 'per'?" Fuuka tapped a finger on her chin, seemingly trying to guess what it was.

The two boys began sweating madly.

"Oh, I know it!" the girl suddenly announced, making both boys freeze in place.

"Really?" Akihiko frowned, still unable to guess what it was.

"Yes! I know what Minato is! He is a…"

Tension and LOTS of shivers running down the spine.

"Performer!" the girl finished. "He must do theater classes to become a junior performer!"

Minato and Ryoji never sighed so relieved in their lives.

"Phew… That was close. I mean…" the black-haired boy forced a smile. "Oh, boy! You guessed! That's too bad!" he then turned to his brother. "Sorry, Minato! I delated you!"

The Persona User shook a hand dismissively, his face clearly showing a lot of uneasiness.

"You don't have to be ashamed of that. I think it's pretty cool!" Fuuka said encouraging, before clapping her hands animatedly as an idea came to her. "Hey! You could show us something!"

Minato's face turned pale and he desperately shook his head.

"Oh… If you don't want…" Fuuka became a bit disappointed.

"It's nothing personal! He's just a bit shy!" Ryoji quickly commented giggling nervously. "I'm sure that after he gets used to you two, he'll happily teach you everything you want!"

Minato launched a shocked glare at his brother. Why was he promising it? He, of all people, knew better than anyone that Minato NEVER made theater classes and couldn't teach anything about it.

"That would be great!" Fuuka celebrated. "I'll be looking forward for that when the time comes!"

The blue-haired boy's answer was a forced smile that freaked the crap out of Fuuka and Akihiko.

"Yeah… just wait for that," Ryoji said with a worried grin, noticing the mess he had put Minato into. "When the time comes… Time… Time?"

The boy slapped his own forehead.

"Oh, Jesus Christ! Do any of you guys know what time is it?"

"Let me see…" Fuuka put a hand inside her pocket, took a cell phone and looked at the screen. "It's five fifty-six."

"Five fifty-six?!" Ryoji repeated shocked, while Minato's jaw dropped. "Is it that late already?!"

"What's wrong?" Akihiko asked, confused at the boys' reactions.

"We're super late!" the black-haired boy said exasperated and turned to Minato. "We have to go home now or Nyx will spank our butts until they fall over!"

Wasting no time, Ryoji grabbed his brother's hand and began running back home, dragging the Persona User behind him while yelling to Fuuka and Akihiko:

"It was a pleasure to meet you two! I hope we can talk again! Come home to play games or have a snack! Don't forget to ring the doorbell and clean the feet before you enter the house! Bye!"

In a question of seconds, the two boys became a black and blue blur disappearing in the distance.

"What a curious duo," Akihiko crossed his arms, staring amused at the two distant figures.

"Indeed, not the most normal people I've seen," Fuuka agreed. "Ryoji seems nice, though. He's very charismatic and it's very nice to talk with him. Minato, on other hand, is a bit…" the girl seemed unsure on how to finish the sentence.

"He's weird," the boy bluntly finished for her while turning around to leave. "I mean, he looks like a nice guy, but he barely said a single word during the whole conversation."

"I don't even remember if he even said anything," the blue-haired girl commented, also turning around to return home.

"And he always seems to be kind of… I don't know, it looks like he doesn't fit," Akihiko continued. "It becomes worse when we compare him to Ryoji, who's always cheerful and brings good energy. Minato is just so… savorless, gray and gloom," the boy scratched a cheek sheepishly. "His company isn't a very good one."

"I wouldn't say that, but…" Fuuka clearly agreed with her senpai's opinion, although a bit hesitant and even ashamed of admitting it. "I did feel something curious about him, though."

"What?" Akihiko turned to Fuuka.

"I'm not sure. I felt… something different in him."

"Something different?"

"I'm not sure of what, but it felt like something… powerful and… mysterious," the girl looked down thoughtful. "At the same time, there was also another thing that felt… dangerous. Even hostile and hard to control."

"Hostile and hard to control?" Akihiko raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," the girl admitted embarrassed. "I just felt something. I have no idea of what or why, but it was there, in him."

Any person who didn't know Fuuka would probably dismiss it as her impression or an instant dislike for Minato, but Akihiko wasn't one of those people; he had known her for a long time and was aware that the girl had a 'sensibility' to… things. What exactly were those things? Apparently, anything related to Shadows, spiritual energy or psychic powers.

There was never a way to know in an instant of what she was talking about, but Akihiko and the others learned that, whenever Fuuka said she felt something, they should listen to her.

It became especially true when the first week of January ended and, for some mysterious reason, Fuuka's 'sensibility' became much more potent than ever.

"In that case, it may be wise to keep an eye on Minato," Akihiko concluded, turning to look at the direction the two boys went.

"Yes, but…"

"But?" the silver-haired boy looked at the girl with an intrigued expression.

"I didn't feel something only in Minato," Fuuka revealed insecure. "I also felt in Ryoji."

"In Ryoji?" Akihiko frowned. "What? The same thing or…"

The girl mused for a few seconds, before sighing disappointed and admitting:

"I'm not sure."

Meanwhile…

"Come on, Minato!" Ryoji said exasperated, still mercilessly pulling his brother. "I can't even imagine what Nyx will do if we're late! Can you?!"

Minato couldn't answer; he was too busy trying to keep up with the other boy and avoid tripping and breaking his nose on the asphalt.

"I don't want to see her angry!" the black-haired boy loudly commented to himself. "She's so scary when she's angry!"

Truth be said, Ryoji and Minato practically never saw their mother and legal guardian angry, but the few times they did were enough to teach them that, if there was something they should never do, was unleash the fury of Nyx.

And if there was something that made her mad, it surely was them disobeying her.

"We don't have time! We don't have time!" Ryoji cried desperate. "She's going to be so-"

THUMP!

Ryoij and Minato hit something that suddenly left a store they were about to pass in front and fell backwards, both boys letting out a loud huff as they hit the walkway.

"Hey! Whatta hell?!" a loud, high pitched voice angrily screamed.

As Minato recovered from the fall and took a sitting position, he laid his eyes on what he hit and nearly let a scared screech out.

In front of him, stood an extremely weird creature made entirely of long, thin black arms, some of them holding weird looking pieces of metal that resembled swords. One of the creature's many hands held a blue mask that had two holes for the eyes and another one in the format of a straight line, made to represent the mouth, with an 'I' written on the forehead.

The creature's appearance on itself wouldn't be enough to tell what it was, as many demons, deities and even some angels had very striking or startling bodies, but that blue mask left no doubt about its identity.

That thing was a Shadow, and one of the biggest Minato ever saw in his life.

"What are ya doin'?! What's wrong with ya?!" the Shadow furiously vociferated at Minato and Ryoji, the latter still trying to recover. "Do ya wanna problem?! Do ya wanna find problem with me?! Well, ya found it, 'cause problem is mah surni… surnama… sirname… deh last name of mah name!"

Minato felt a drop of cold sweat running down his forehead. That Shadow wasn't only one of the biggest he ever saw, but also one of the stupidest.

"It was an accident!" Ryoji sat on the walkway glaring at the Shadow, Minato quickly going to his side help him get up. "Do you really think we would hit you on purpose?"

"Shuddup, ya stupid human!" the Shadow yelled angrily, his voice apparently coming from the mask it was holding. "Me know ya did it on purpose! All humans do is throw tons of shit on our faces and keep sayin' everywhere how yer kind is da best in da world!"

"What?!" Ryoji asked indignant.

"Deh humans think they're the biggest guys in da universe, but you only deh biggest DICKS in the history of universal shit!" the Shadow began to angrily hit his fists on the ground and shake the mask around. "Ya wanna control everything and ruin Arcana Magician's life!"

"Arcana Magician?" the black-haired boy asked tilting his head. "Isn't it from Nyx's tarot deck?"

"Me much better than any tarot deck!" the Shadow, whose name Minato and Ryoji discovered was Arcana Magician, yelled. "Me gotta deh powah! Ya gotta fear me!"

"The only thing to fear about him is how horribly he's murdering our language…" Ryoji lowly sneered to Minato, making the blue-haired boy giggle a bit.

"SHUDDUP STUPID HUMAN!" Arcana Magician furiously screamed, having heard the boy's mockery. "That's what me sayin' all this time! Humans suck, 'cause they wanna make the whole world their way! They think they deh best and don't do what Arcana Magician wants!"

The Shadow then pointed to the store he just left.

"Deh fagot that owns this store, for example! Me came here to get some donuts, but old man only said bullshit to Arcana Magician and that he doesn't sell it!"

Minato looked at the store's front and facepalmed.

How could he think they would sell donuts in a CLOTHES STORE?

"Man, this is a clothes store. Of course they don't have donuts here," Ryoji stated after also looking at the store and noticing the Shadow's stupidity.

"BUT ME WANNA DONUTS! IF ARCANA MAGICIAN WANTS DONUTS, THEN ARCANA MAGICIAN GETS DONUTS!" the Shadow angrily screamed and began hitting the mask's face on the walkway.

Both boys stared horrified at the scene, extremely disturbed to see someone who had no head hitting his own head on the ground.

Well, at least it explained why that thing was so idiot.

"If me wanna something, then deh world gotta do it!" the Shadow, whose mask was now slightly damaged, affirmed with a convicted tone.

"But it's a clothes store!" Ryoji pointed out again. "Why would they need to sell donuts if they don't work with it?"

"Why? Me tell ya why: 'cause I wanna donuts now and they gotta do what I want!"

"You want people to change out of a sudden just to please your own desires?!" the boy glared indignant at the Shadow. "That's ridiculously selfish!"

"I don't give a FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Arcana Magician hummed. "And that fagot that runs deh store better do donuts for me soon, or me gonna put that store down!"

"You'll destroy the guy's store just because he doesn't have what you want?!" Ryoji glared even more indignant. "YOU are the biggest dick in the universe!"

Infuriated at hearing it, Arcana Magician let out a horrid scream, wiggled his arms around violently and began hitting the mask on the nearest light post. The sudden outrage deeply scared both Minato and Ryoji, who took many steps back.

"Me biggest dick?! Ya are deh biggest dick!" the Shadow stopped going nuts and pointed many accusing fingers at Ryoji. "Just 'cause ya are a human ya think to be better than Arcana Magician!"

"I don't think that!" the boy shot back irritated.

"Yes, ya do!" the creature retorted aggressively. "All humans think they better! They all do! Ya no exception!"

"I'm an exception and do you know why?" Ryoji crossed his arms and glared challenging at Arcana Magician. "Because I'm not human!"

"Not human?! BULLSHIT!" the Shadow yelled. "Ya look like a human, speak like a human, walk like human… Ya a human!"

"No, I'm not!" Ryoji argued.

"Yes, ya are!" Arcana Magician argued back. "I bet ya stink like human too!"

Determined to prove his point, Arcana Magician approached his mask to Ryoji and began moving it up and down, close to the boy's face, while a keen sniffing sound came from it.

"How can you smell me if you don't have a nose?" the black-haired boy asked confused.

The Shadow simply ignored the question and continued sniffing.

"See? Me told ya! Ya smell like putrid, stupid… Huh?"

Smelling something that seemed extremely out of place, Arcana Magician approached his mask even closer to Ryoji and began sniffing faster.

"Wait a minute! Whatta hell is that?! Me feel the smell of a Shadow in deh human kid!" he claimed sniffing a bit more. "And me feelin' something akin to a god!"

The Shadow stopped sniffing, took a few steps back, pointed its mask at Ryoji and asked with an intrigued and irritated voice:

"Whatta hell are ya?!"

"I'll tell you what I am!" the boy said challenging, stuffing his chest with air and raising his chin pridefully. "I'm Ryoji Mochizuki, one of Nyx's sons!"

"SON OF A GODDESS?!" Arcana Magician stepped back, wiggled its arms violently and let out a disgusted screech. "Uuuuugh! Ya just as bad as humans! Yer kind is full of themselves 'cause they have the blood of gods or deities or whatever else is in the higher plane!"

"But Shadows are of full of themselves too," Ryoji deadpanned.

"But we deh best! We don't need gods or deities or whatever else to have dah powah! We need just chaos and destruction and death and destruction and powah and destruction and killin' and destruction and… Did me say destruction already?" Arcana Magician scratched his mask thoughtful, but quickly shook it dismissively. "If me haven't, then destruction too!"

It was official: that was, without a doubt, the stupidest Shadow Minato ever saw in his life.

Which meant A LOT, since all Shadows were twisted to the extreme.

"And 'bout ya?! Ya son of a god too?!" Arcana Magician suddenly pointed his mask to Minato and got dangerously close to him, forcing the boy to take a few steps back.

The Shadow began moving the mask up and down, close to Minato's face, making the same sniffing sounds as before.

"Huh… Huh… Ah… Uh?" Arcana Magician flinched for a moment, then began sniffing again. "What… Deh smell… Deh smell of that brat… Is like…"

If the Shadow had any eyes, they would surely have jumped out of their orbits as he recognized the smell he felt coming from Minato.

"A PERSONA USEEEEEEEEEEER?!" Arcana Magician screamed in horror, getting away from the little boy like he was radioactive. "This even worse than anything else! Ugh! Me so disgusted! DISGUSTED!"

"Hey! What are you talking about?!" Ryoji inquired the Shadow, angry for Minato being offended. "He's the one that should be disgusted!"

"What YA talkin' 'bout?!" Arcana Magician screamed furious. "That Shadow Enslaver came to make Arcana Magician his maid! Force Shadows do stinky thingamajigs! Turn our lives a mountain of trash!"

Indignant at all the false accusations, Minato glared at the Shadow and got ready to argue.

"SHUDDUP!" the creature said before the boy had any chance to mutter a single word and violently hit him on the side using one of its many hands, launching Minato against the store's wall.

The attack was so sudden Minato didn't have time to put his hands in front of him to soft the impact, which made him hit his forehead on the wall. A sharp pain coursed through the boy's head and made him weakly fall to his knees covering the injured part with both hands.

"Minato!" Ryoji yelled worried and ran to his brother's side, kneeling close to him and trying to check the wound.

"See?! Me powerful! Ya trash! Me can destroy ya without gods or deities!" Arcana Magician proudly stated, hitting his own mask with a punch for some unknown reason.

"You jerk! He didn't do anything!" the Persona User's brother angrily shouted at the Shadow, defensively pulling Minato closer to him.

"Yeah! He did! HE WAS BORN!" the vile creature yelled. "Persona Users should die in the birth! Ya know why?! 'Cause they trash! TRAAAAAAAAAAASH!"

Despite all the shouts, yells and insults thrown everywhere, it was possible to hear someone sobbing.

"Ha! Ya cryin'?! Ya better cry, ya giant crybaby!" Arcana Magician laughed evilly, noticing the Persona User's shoulders quickly moving up and down while the sobbing became louder. "Cryin' is the only thing ya can do! Ya know why?! 'Cause ya are trash!"

"No, he isn't!" Ryoji yelled furious.

"YES, HE IS!" the Shadow insisted. "NOBODY LIKES PERSONA USERS! NOBODY LIKES HIM!"

"That's not true!" the boy wrapped his arms around his crying brother.

"It is! Gods, demons, angels, humans, Shadows, Avatars… Doesn't matter! Everyone hates Persona Users!" Arcana Magician laughed maniacally and pointed a mocking finger at Minato. "Ya never gonna find happiness! Ya never gonna have friends! Ya gonna be trash for all yer life! YA GONNA DIE ALONE, YA STUPID SHADOW ENSLAVER!"

Feeling satisfied, Arcana Magician turned around and walked away, wiggling his arms agitated, shaking his mask like a drugged person and cackling loudly, leaving behind an extremely irate Ryoji and a sobbing Minato with a bleeding wound on his forehead.

When the creature was a few meters away from the boys, he turned around, mockingly waved a hand at them and yelled:

"HAVE A ROTTEN DAY, YA PIECES OF SHIT! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Back at Nyx's house…

"Where are those two?!" Nyx angrily tapped a foot and looked at the clock for the eighth time. "I told them to come back at six and it's already six twenty!"

Just as she finished her sentence, the goddess heard the door opening and the sound of steps.

"Those two are troubled," Nyx immediately went after the two boys, mentally preparing her scolding. "Where were you?! I was worried as…"

Nyx froze in horror at the scene in front of her.

Just a few steps away from the door stood a worried Ryoji holding the hand of a crying Minato with a wound on his forehead that made a thin line of blood fall all the way to his chin and drip on the floor.

"Oh, my God! What happened?!" the goddess forgot all the anger in less than a second and ran to the injured boy, checking his wound with worried eyes.

"It was a Shadow!" Ryoji told, his voice a mix of anger and indignancy. "He appeared from nowhere, pushed Minato against a wall and said lots of horrible things to him!"

"I can't believe this… We just moved to get…" Nyx shook her head to interrupt herself, noticing it wasn't the time to worry about that. "Dear, did he harm you anywhere else?"

Minato didn't answer.

"This isn't too bad, but we have to stop the bleeding," the goddess said slightly relieved to see the wound wasn't very serious. "Ryoji, go to my room and get…"

Before Nyx could finish her sentence, Minato tightly hugged her and began crying desperately, countless tears falling from his eyes and wetting the goddess's shirt.

"Shh… It's okay. Everything is okay now," Nyx gently wrapped her arms around the boy and kissed his cheek. "I'm here. You're safe."

The boy continued crying.

"Minato, don't cry!" Ryoji ran to his brother and enveloped him in a tight hug. "That horrible Shadow won't hurt you anymore! Nyx and I are here to protect you and we'll kick the ass of that fiend!"

Enveloped by the warmth of his family's love, Minato calmed down a bit and stopped sobbing, but tears continued falling from his eyes.

"Minato, I don't know what that Shadow told you, but I want you to remember one thing," Nyx gently held the boy's face with both hands and made him look at her, a serious expression in her face. "Never believe any of the horrible things anyone tells you, especially the Shadows. They don't know what a sweet, intelligent and caring boy you are."

"Yes! You're the best!" Ryoji nodded vehemently with a wide smile. "You always got the highest scores in class, learned everything so fast and always protect me!"

"Exactly! That's exactly what Ryoji said!" the night goddess affirmed. "You're so special, so full of talents and hardworking! If people can't see all your qualities, then it's their loss!" she enveloped him in her arms again. "But never, EVER, forget who you really are, Minato. No matter how much people insult or harm you, never believe in them. I'm here with you and so is Ryoji. Nobody will hurt you anymore, so don't cry."

He wasn't crying because of the wound in his forehead; he wasn't crying because of the horrible words he heard; he wasn't crying because he couldn't make friends like Ryoji, be popular, join clubs or walk in the street without anyone giving him a weird glare.

He was crying because it was happening again.

He had just moved and it was happening again.

In that town, in Tokyo, in any other place they went before, the story was always the same.

Why it had to be like that?

Later that night…

Nyx mentally slapped herself while she lighted the cigarette.

More than once, the goddess promised herself and her boys that she would stop smoking and once again, she broke that promise.

Although it didn't make up for it being her fourth cigarette in less than two hours, at least she wasn't drinking. Much before, when they still lived in Tokyo, she would spend whole nights drowning in beer or wine and smoking more than any human could resist, in unhealthy attempts to alleviate stress.

Minato and Ryoji caught her during her unsavory habit many times and forced her to promise she would stop doing it, to which Nyx complied. Much to the boys' chagrin, she never managed to keep her word for very long and they eventually began inspecting the goddess from time to time, trying to make sure she wouldn't repeat it.

The memory of the promise she broke again pained her heart, but she couldn't find anything else to help calm her down and the boys were already asleep, so, even if she wasn't very proud of it, Nyx took the chance to get the box of cigarettes she left in her purse for a long time and enjoy her 'poison' without Minato or Ryoji to scold her.

Talking about them, Minato didn't eat dinner (it was Yakisoba, by the way) and went to sleep much earlier than he usually did, only wanting to sleep and forget that day while he could, knowing everything that happened was bound to repeat at some time, sooner or later. Without his brother, Ryoji had no reason to stay up until late and decided to finish his day as well.

Now, it was just Nyx, her thoughts, the darkness of night and her cigarettes.

"Heavens, we just moved and it happened," the goddess pinched between her eyes. "I can't understand what's wrong with those people! Minato is just a child and they treat him like he's a monster or something worse!"

Irritated, Nyx inhaled some more of her cigarette, then threw it to the side.

"It's all my fault…" she covered her face with both hands. "If I wasn't so blind to all the evil I was causing, this wouldn't be happening now. All the pain he's suffering is because I noticed my mistakes too late. I destroyed his life… And…"

With a sigh, Nyx leaned against the chair and let her arms fall, staring at the ceiling with a pained expression. She didn't know what to do; the only thing she wanted was to give Minato a good life after everything he was forced to endure, but she was failing again.

Even as the Goddess of Night, Nyx had limitations; there were some things, as few as they were, that neither her knew how to do and, much to her dismay, making Minato happy seemed to be one of them.

What should she do then? The only thing that came to her mind was something Nyx never thought she would resort to, even more because of her former nature before she became Minato and Ryoji's mother.

She prayed.

"Great Will, I know I have no right to ask you anything, especially after what I did, but please… Please, listen to my plea," Nyx felt her heart heavy. "My little Minato has suffered so much already. He deserves a good life more than many people in this world, but I can't give it to him. The only thing I had to do was make sure he would live happily and I can't do it!"

Nyx had to hold the tears that threatened to fall.

"Please… please, help him. Give him the strength he needs to face all the hardships to come. Enlighten him. Watch over him. Please…" she closed her eyes and let a solitary tear roll down her face. "If not for me, then for him."

Taking a deep breath, the goddess ran a hand on her hair and looked at the clock. It was eleven forty, just twenty minutes before the Dark Hour started.

With her heart still heavy and nothing else to do, Nyx decided to follow her boys' example and went to bed.

Meanwhile…

The green, eerie tower's intimidating size contrasted with all the other buildings around it, looking like a tenebrous spike made of concrete stuck in the ground and pointing its tip menacingly against the moon.

Inside the highest floor of that tower, three figures bowed to a fourth one that sat on a fancy chair behind a large black table made of wood.

"The preparations are finished and the Needles are ready," the figure in the middle, the tallest and oldest of the three, said calmly. "We just wait for your order, Mr. President."

"Excellent," the figure sitting on the chair let out a sinister laugh. "Call that useless walking sack of pus and tell him to get you three a transport. Go to Port Island and activate the first Needle during the Dark Hour of the next full moon."

The three figures nodded and turned to leave.

"However…"

They stopped in place and looked at the president.

"Before you leave, I would like to remember you three that I'm NOT accepting more failures," he said menacingly. "Your mistakes already cost me precious time and resources. If you don't have success after you leave this place…"

He leaned on the table and threatened with an eerie tone:

"Then you better not even dare to show your faces here again."

The two smaller figures to the left and the right flinched for a moment, but the one in the middle just bowed politely and assured:

"We won't fail you again, Mr. President."

"Good," the president leaned his back on the chair again. "Now stop wasting my time and go at once."

The three figures nodded and left the room as quickly as possible. Once alone, the president turned his chair to the window at his right and looked the buildings illuminated by the moonlight with a wide grin.

"The time is coming. All the pieces are positioned and the Needles are ready."

He let out a deep, satisfied sigh.

"I'll end what was left unfinished and fulfill our prophecy. Soon, the old world will give place…" his smile turned extremely evil. "To a new era. Ahahahahahaha!"

To be continued…

Author note: I'm not sure which gender this story fits into, so I chose what I felt was right. If someone knows a gender more fitting for this story, feel free to leave a suggestion or PM me.

Aside from this short note, the only thing I have left to say is thank you very much for using your time to read my story and I hope it was worth it.

See you later!