It was getting hard to ignore the tension between second year SEES members Yukari Takeba and Junpei Iori. Their usual dynamic of friendly, if harsh, teasing was something the other dormmates had learned to accept, but things had gone downhill after a spat at school a few days ago. Their regularly scheduled lunchtime argument strayed into personal territory and the two parted on bad terms. It didn't get much better after school, with Junpei pissing Yukari off anew by showing up at her archery club meeting, and climaxed with her slapping him in public. The two had refused to speak to each other since then.
The one time they went to Tartarus since then had been a disaster. Both of them had refused to be on the active team with one another, but they also refused to wait with Fuuka in the lobby on the ground floor if the other was there. And so Minako had to always have one of them, but not both, with her while ascending the floors. That wouldn't have been too bad either, if not for the fact that neither one of them could keep their head in the game, both mumbling to themselves and missing their cues. By the time Minako called it a night, the Dark Hour was only half over, and they hadn't made much progress at all.
The next day, she forced them both to sit down next to each other in the common room for a lecture. "Listen..." She started with a tired sigh. "You two are my closest friends, and it's killing me to see you fighting like this. Now, Friend-Minako wants nothing more than for you to work out your differences peacefully. But what Friend-Minako wants is less important right now than what Leader-Minako wants. Leader-Minako will not tolerate a repeat of last night. Now whoever started this-"
"It was her!" Junpei shouted, pointing to his left.
"It was him!" Yukari shouted, pointing to her right.
"-I don't particularly care, and I don't care what started it either. But 'it' needs to end, so if you haven't made up by tomorrow, I'm locking you two in a room until you either kiss and make up, or fight to the death, got it~?" She ended her violent ultimatum with a cheerful smile that would strike fear into the heart of even the Senpais.
"Yes, ma'am." Came the chorus.
Yukari couldn't sleep that night. Minako's words were ringing in her head. She knew that she and Junpei had to end their squabble soon, the full moon would be coming up in two weeks. And really, she did want to just talk it over and get back to the status quo. But every time they tried to talk it just became another shouting match about something or other. The best way to solve it would be time apart, but that's not really an option for a pair of high school students who fight shadows at night.
Ugh, she couldn't stop thinking about all this, and there was no way she was going to get to sleep with her mind so occupied. She stood up and headed downstairs. What would be nice right now is some fresh night air. Mitsuru-senpai really didn't like them going out after curfew, but if Akihiko-senpai could go out running or chatting with Kurosawa or whatever at night, she could take a walk. She padded over to the door nice and quiet, navigating the furniture in the dark, and opened the front door.
What she was greeted with was a green-illuminated world drenched in blood and decorated with the occasional coffin. The Dark Hour. Right, forgot about that for a little bit. But she had her heart set on this walk now, even if the air wouldn't be fresh enough for her liking, so after locating her bow and evoker just in case, she headed out. The Shrine would be a nice enough place.
The few shadows that stalk the streets at night outside of Tartarus were below even the foes on the lowest levels, so none of them gave her any trouble as Yukari made her way to the shrine alone. She wasn't a very spiritual person, but Minako insisted that an offering and a prayer at the shrine could improve your relationship with someone. May as well.
She didn't get to the offertory box before a footstep behind her set her on full battle-alert and she whirled around, arrow drawn. "Wh-who's there?" What she saw was the very bane of her existence at the moment, Junpei. She felt a boiling in her gut and glared at him. "W-were you following me, Stupei!?" She spat.
He wasn't that happy to see her either. "No dumbass, I went for a walk to the shrine. And stop calling me that."
"I'll stop calling you that when you stop being so stupid." she growled back.
Junpei heaved a heavy sigh. This happened every time now, and it was so irritating. "God, why are you always such a bitch, anyway?"
Yukari's face changed from a glower to a full-on snarl. "What did you just say to me?"
Never one to back down from a bad idea, Junpei wasted no time in doubling down. "Called you a bitch, Yuka-tan, cause that's what you are. What are you gonna do about it?"
Yukari glared at him for a few more seconds before leaning down and setting her bow on the ground. Her quiver followed it, and lastly she grasped the hem of her cardigan and pulled it over her head, leaving her chainmail shirt exposed. She put up her fists and steeled herself. Something inside of her screamed this is a bad idea we're both armed and dangerous and it's the Dark Hour we could easily kill each other by accident but she tuned it out. She wanted this settled and if stupid, raw violence was the only way to sort it out, then she wouldn't pretend she was above it.
Junpei looked like he hadn't expected that, but he followed up on the challenge, leaving his sword stuck in the ground and his coat hanging on it. The two fighters stared each other down, reflecting briefly on their mutual lack of any fistfighting experience. If Akihiko-senpai could see them now, he'd be all kinds of disappointed.
"So, gonna feed me some crap about not hitting a girl?"
"Nah, somehow I'll live with myself."
And the fight began as both of them wound up and threw a simultaneous pair of hard punches with all their might, both of them missing by an agonizingly large distance and almost falling over. They had only managed to swap their positions by the time they regained their footing. A moment of awkward silence ensued.
"...That never happened." Junpei offered.
"Agreed."
This time, they toned down their assault, Junpei throwing a more controlled punch while Yukari tried to knee him in the crotch. She missed again and hit him in the gut, sucking all the air from his lungs, as his fist, backed with most of his weight as he fell, collided with her jaw and they both fell to the ground painfully
"This isn't working!" Yukari yelled, wincing as she held her bruising jaw. She stood up while Junpei still wheezed on the ground and stomped over to her bow, refastened her quiver and tested her string. "Pick up your sword, Junpei!"
Junpei had only just managed to get up onto his hands and knees. "Is that... really a goo-"
"Just shut up and fight me!"
"Alright, alright..." This wasn't going like Junpei had imagined fighting with his teammates would have gone. Not exactly a clash of the titans. He trudged over to his sword and pulled it out of the dirt, dropping his jacket on the ground unceremoniously. "So, uh, you gonna count to three or-"
He only barely jerked out of the way of an arrow aimed for his shoulder, hissing as it sliced a shallow gash. "R-right, okay then!"
Junpei flicked his sword back and leapt forward, catching her off-guard as she fished for another arrow. He swung with the flat of his blade towards her chainmail shirt, knowing that even through the armor, he could easily break a rib or two if he didn't hold back. It was an exceedingly dangerous game they were playing but he had to admit it was a rush. Maybe even kind of fun.
Yukari jumped back out of the way of his first slash and sidestepped a follow-up thrust. She had to put some distance between them to fight effectively, but it wasn't going to happen if he kept the pressure on her. She gasped and held her bow up over her head to block Junpei's sword on a collision course with her crown, thanking the gods that the bow she had brought was reinforced carbon fiber and could take it. She tilted it to deflect the sword off her and elbowed Junpei in the face in one motion, and immediately turned tail and ran while he was stunned.
By the time Junpei had given chase, she was already halfway up the jungle gym, and he couldn't catch her in time, not that he could climb with a sword in his hand anyway. As soon as she got to the top, she anchored her feet in the bars and let an arrow fly for Junpei's legs. If it hit she could heal him anyway, so no big deal as long as she didn't kill him, she figured. She just needed him to forfeit and admit that she was always right and smarter than he was, and there wouldn't be anymore problems between the two anymore! Right?
Junpei jumped, the arrow missing, and was ill-prepared for the next one which sank right into his off-arm. "No fair Yuka-tan!" He called, yanking on it. "I can't hit you from there!"
"That's the point Stupei!" She hollered back. "Now give up and we won't have to fight anymore!"
Giving up wasn't on Junpei's radar just yet. Sure, he had put the whole wanting-to-be-leader thing behind him, but he still considered himself a warrior with honor. He wasn't going to admit defeat unless incapacitated. Besides which, if he won then Yukari would finally have to acknowledge his considerable battlefield prowess, heroics, masculinity, and maybe even stop calling him Stupei! And he was going to win.
"Well Yuka-tan, you know what I say to that?'
After all, there was still one more stop to pull out, taking tonight's mistake to it's full potential.
"...What?"
"Persona!"
Dammit, when had he pulled out his evoker? As Hermes' looming form materialized between her and Junpei, she tried to pull her legs out of the bars below her, forgetting in the moment that she had hooked them in for stability. She only managed to get free in time for Hermes' boot to connect with her chest, knocking her clear off the other side.
Junpei rushed around to the backside of the playground, figuring if he could point his sword at her neck like in anime, she'd concede. There was no way she could take a blow like that and not still be on the ground, but when he got there he found no trace of her. This was bad. He gripped his sword and looked all around him, stilling his breathing to try to locate her by sound. There sure were a lot of bushes, trees and buildings around here... If she were to be, say, behind him, and shoot out his knee, that would be pretty bad.
Fortunately, that didn't happen. Instead, a piercing, sharp pain surged through him from his right buttock, and his realization of what happened coincided with the high-pitched wail he let out.
Yukari couldn't stop laughing, watching him yank out the arrow she just shot in his asscheek. Her laughter only intensified as she watched him rub his sore behind. "You were just asking for that, Junpei, all hunched over like that!" she managed to get out in between bursts. Her laughter died down pretty quick when her opponent ran at her, screaming.
She leapt from the bush she had been hiding behind just before it was sliced in two. If she got into the jungle gym, she could probably keep him at a distance, but it would turn into a barbecue grill if he used Hermes again. She didn't want to damage the shrine, and while she didn't know if a Persona's fire could ignite the woods around them, she wasn't about to risk it. There weren't a lot of places to hide.
Yukari pressed her evoker to her head and called Io's name, discovering that summoning a Persona while running full tilt was a poor idea. All the energy in her body felt like it was being drained from her, and she was getting very lightheaded and woozy. The girl fell to one knee as Io's gusts blew Junpei right off his feet and into the fence. She could feel her energy returning after her Persona dissipated, but not as fast as she would have liked. He was already standing up and she was still a sitting duck. She watched, helplessly urging her body to move, as he raised his evoker to his temple and pulled the trigger.
Hermes crackled into existence and breathed an enormous plume of flame from the openings on its helmet, engulfing Yukari in supernatural fire. The elements conjured by Personas and Shadows had odd properties, fire didn't burn, it just hurt. Wow, did it hurt. Still better than electricity as far as Yukari was concerned, but it was getting to be a close race. She forced herself to hold up her evoker again, eyes squeezed shut, and summoned Io.
Junpei examined the scene of carnage with a smile. Looks like this match was gonna be a point for Junpei Iori. He was feeling kind of tired, so he allowed Hermes to flicker out again. Magic fire couldn't hurt her too much, but there was just no getting up from that. He strode towards the immaterial smoke to help Yukari up and hear her surrender, but found himself walking into the wind. A very strong wind, at that. Did wind even happen during the Dark Hour? He only had just enough time to realize what was happening before a public trash can flew out of the cloud and knocked him out flat, his sword and evoker soaring in different directions.
When his consciousness returned to him seconds later, Yukari was already up and coming at him, and he was unarmed. He barely staggered to his feet, preparing for what needed to be the last move. They both picked up the pace, running at each other like it was a joust. Yukari brought her knee up to crotch height and Junpei swung for her chest, both of them connecting at the same time for the worst pain either one could remember experiencing, collapsing into a battered heap instantly.
"Ugh..." Yukari groaned, "Right... Right in my favorite boob..."
"Guess I'm... not havin' kids after all..." Junpei gasped.
For a long time they just lay there, Yukari awkwardly splayed out on top of Junpei, who was curled in a ball, occasionally moaning about whichever body part they were most aware of the pain in at the moment. Over time they managed to sit up, back to back, gasping for air.
"I don't think either of us won..." Yukari was the first to break the silence.
"Nope."
Another silence.
"Yuka-tan?"
"What?"
"What were we even fighting about?"
Yukari wracked her memory for the answer, still a bit hazy from all the adrenaline and pain signals. "I think it was, like... was it something about the girls' volleyball team?"
Junpei chuckled, dryly. "We can't even remember. There's no way it was worth fighting about."
"We weren't fighting about the argument at school, Junpei. We were fighting because of all the tension we've been building up since this whole SEES thing started. We're probably really stressed, you know?" She shook her head, not knowing if her on-the-spot explanation was really true. "But if that's it, it might happen again..."
Junpei curled up again a little at the very thought. "I don't want to fight you again."
She laughed lightly, which hurt. Must have cracked a rib or two after all. "What, did I really beat you that bad, Junpei?"
He was quiet for a bit, which was unlike him. It worried her. "Yukari... are we friends?"
She was taken aback. "Junpei, of course we're friends. We've been friends since we were seven. Are you telling me you don't think we're friends!?"
He sat up straighter and held up his hands in a placating gesture she wouldn't see. "No no, I didn't mean like that! I think of you as a friend, but I dunno know if you think of me as a friend..."
"Aw, Junpei..." She reached back and stroked his arm a little, speaking in a much softer voice than she ever really used around Junpei. "We've known each other a long time. When we first met on the playground, we both liked playing the same games, and using the same equipment. That was when you started calling me Yuka-tan... But when we grew up we changed. We don't like many of the same things anymore... but some friendships are stronger than just a few shared interests, y'know? Others have come and gone every school year, but we're still here, with each other, right?
Junpei paused. "Wow, Yuka-tan... that was really sappy. I'm gettin' cavities!"
She stopped rubbing his shoulder and slapped it instead. "Junpei, we were having a moment!"
He laughed, pressing on his ribs when it hurt. "Seriously though, I-"
"Nope, too late." She snapped. "Moment's over."
"Oh come on, Yuka-tan!"
They paused for a moment, and then started laughing, not caring if it hurt. So it wasn't the way either wanted this fight to end, but this was okay. It was over now, and maybe they were even a little tighter than before. But not long after the laughter died down, they could hear a sound that made both their hearts sink- a group of people running up the steps to the shrine.
"With any luck, that's just Strega comin' to kill us..." Junpei groaned.
Yukari sighed. "I always wondered what it felt like to be executed..."
Mitsuru and Minako led the group, with Akihiko, Aigis and Fuuka behind them. Minako's face was unreadable; Mitsuru's was far less ambiguous.
"I am very disappointed in both of you," Mitsuru started. "Yamagishi woke us all up, telling us she had a dream you were fighting at the shrine. We came after she verified it with Lucia. This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen members of this team engage in, by a wide margin. What do you two have to say for yourselves?"
Neither one spoke.
"I'm removing you two from active duty," She continued, "I'll see to your punishment later, and I'll have you both seeing the guidance counselor at Gekkokan to work on your-"
"Excuse me, Mitsuru-senpai?" Minako's voice was pitched high and sickly sweet, but everyone present felt their spine tingling with fear. She was such a nice girl normally, but getting her out of bed at this hour could be very dangerous indeed. "So sorry to interrupt, but what time is it?"
"It's... it's the Dark Hour, Arisato."
"That's right. And that makes this...?"
"...A field operation." Mitsuru sounded decidedly less commanding at the moment.
"Right again! So, last question! Who is the leader of this team in the field?" Minako had her hands clasped politely behind her back, smiling broadly and batting her eyelashes like a little kid asking her mother for candy.
Mitsuru swallowed, and nodded. "I understand." She stated, and took a step back. The gesture visibly pleased Minako, who approached her friends on the ground.
"So! First things first," She pulled out her own evoker and fired in one smooth motion, summoning forth High Pixie, and cast a warm, green light on the wounded combatants. Cut flesh sealed up, bruises faded, and cracked bones set quickly and properly. It worked like a speeding up of the body's repair process, though it didn't do much for the pain in their more sensitive areas. "Now..." Minako said as High Pixie vanished. "Are you two still going to be at each other's throats?"
"No ma'am." They both replied in sync.
"Good." She turned to her friends. "Aigis, time left in the Dark Hour?"
"Exactly nine minutes, forty-eight seconds and counting, Minako-san." Aigis reported dutifully.
Minako nodded and looked around. "Enough time for me to point out the damage to the shrine grounds."
Yukari and Junpei shot up and looked around, not liking what they found. Junpei had sliced a shrub in two, there was trash all over the place from Yukari's last attack, leaves and branches from the trees scattered everywhere by the wind, and one of the fence-posts had been broken where Junpei hit it. Yukari noted with some embarrassment that the majority of the collateral damage was her fault. It looked like a hurricane hit it. Fancy that.
Minako stepped up behind them and clapped them both on the shoulder. "Looks like it was the work of some nasty vandals during the night! Too bad no one saw them. Only that group of kids spotted heading back to their dorm around midnight. Of course, there's no way they did it, Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai were with them! And to top it off, two of the juniors in the group volunteered to clean up the shrine and restore it to it's former beauty the very next day! Wasn't that nice of them? Giving their time after school to the community?"
The guilty pair nodded enthusiastically.
"Well, I'd say that wraps it up then! Let's get going before the Dark Hour ends! I need to catch up on my beauty sleep~" She spun around on her heel to start leaving, but stomped on the ground, remembering something else. "Oh yeah!" She marched right back to her two closest friends. "One more thing. If I can speak as Friend-Minako again after all that... I really, really hope you two can find a better way of settling your arguments soon. You know I wasn't serious about you two fighting, right?"
"Right..." Yukari answered.
"Well, I don't ever want you two trying to hurt each other again. My poor heart can't take it." She kissed them both on the cheek and turned to go again.
Junpei and Yukari hung back as they walked back to the dorm, walking side by side in silence. It had been an eventful night, and they were both tired.
"Yuka-tan, I'm... I'm sorry." Junpei pierced the silence, speaking a few decibels quieter than usual.
"What for?" She asked, without malice.
"For the argument, and roasting you, and... and callin' you that word. I didn't mean it, I really didn't mean it..."
She smiled. "I know, Junpei. We've both been saying things we didn't mean. I'm sorry too. Actually... does it bother you when I call you Stupei?"
He shrugged. "Sometimes. Only if I'm already in a bad mood."
Yukari hummed. "Maybe I should stop saying it then. I don't really think you're stupid, after all."
He chuckled. "Sometimes it fits though, I gotta admit."
The silence that followed then was much more comfortable then it had been in a long time, but neither one complained when it was broken again.
"Friends again?" Yukari offered, holding out her fist.
Junpei bumped it. "Heh, definitely."
The Dark Hour ended, and all life returned to the world.
AN: It took about three drafts for me to be somewhat happy with this story, but I think I did it well enough in the end. Junpei and Yukari have a great relationship that's rarely explored, and I wanted to do that. Of course, the part about them having known each other for several years, as well as Hermes' fire not being real fire are just headcanons and may be contradicted by a drama CD somewhere, so don't take everything in this as canon.
Thank you for reading and please leave a review if you have anything to say! I'm open to criticism and corrections.
EDIT: Fixed some grammatical issues, thanks LeafyDream.