Two Halves

Chapter 1: Fated Meeting

It was one those nights. One of those days where nothing seemed to go right… It was severely frustrating. It was another pointed reminder that even in this work a day world of on demand now that things could have the possibility of not going your way. It might have been one thing to get your super frothy mocha latte a little late. This, this was plain bullshit… Runako Gekkou stared blankly into the train car containing just her, and several other faceless no ones. She supposed they had been inconvenienced also. Not that Runako cared… She rolled her big red eyes, and cycled through more songs on her MP3. Several bands, and various artists flashed through her player: Slipknot, Red, Snoop Dog, Daft Punk, Korn. None of them satisfied her. Runako didn't know what she wanted. Anything should have suited her want to still the mind numbing boredom she was feeling. It wasn't just boredom… It was plain frustration at being this damn late. Runako should have been at Iwatodai around four PM at worst… Right now, it was almost midnight. Friggin' midnight!

Runako sighed, muttering angrily to herself. "Repairs, my ass… I swear I saw those retards take twenty breaks the entire time."

It was then that a familiar song came to life in her red headphones. Way of Life by Rise Kujikawa played gently in her ears. It served to calm her down some. Rise was probably her favorite up and coming idol. She only appeared recently, but she was an instant smash hit. Runako liked the cheerful face she put on. Seeing Rise's on bright eyes on TV usually brightened up her day infinitesimally. Runako could tell from a mile away it was an act, though… The cynic inside her always told her that. Runako tried not to listen to that reptilian underside of her brain for once. That type of bright outlook didn't seem too bad…

Runako swept those thoughts aside, letting the music carry her away. She sang to herself softly, not caring if anyone heard her. It was okay, really. She had a pretty singing voice, and she knew it. They ought to feel privileged to get a free show like this.

"My way of life~."

It was at that moment the train came to a stop, she could hear the monotonous droning telling her she was here. Runako turned up the music louder. She picked up her bag, and strolled out like she owned the place. This train might as well owe her its soul after the time it made her wait. If not a soul, money would do.

Runako hummed the song to herself melodiously. Things were beginning to look up for her. That was when the clock struck midnight. Everything went dark. Her music went dead, she scowled deeply. If she wasn't used to this, Runako imagined she might have been quite scared. A scared little school girl trapped in a dark subway with deadly creatures wanting to devour her whole.

Runako snorted to her disdainfully. "Yeah, right…" she deadpanned, starring out into the darken station with little concern. "These monsters have always been such lightweights; bunch of nerds."

A couple of red lights glowed eerily a short distance from her. Her equally red eyes gleamed with amusement. "You boys came to welcome me…" she cooed teasingly, feeling a thin smile tug at her luscious lips. "I'm honored. Hope you guys won't mind splitting on your little welcoming party. I've got a little thing called a curfew to adhere to. Yanno, school night and all."

Runako pulled out a very handy implement of her work. A gleaming pistol glared silver from the emerald moonlight flooding in from the streets. "Hey, Eurydice…" she called her inner self conversationally. The pistol slowly came up to her forehead. To anyone else, this might have been a sight telling a desperate forfeit of life; her diamond hard red eyes shown like a pair of finely carved bloodstones. They only told of unshakable confidence, a strong desire to cut down her foes.

"Burn my dread…" A smooth pull of the trigger caused glass to smash. A single ethereal figure flashed into existence, precise strumming played a dirge for their audience. Light suddenly manifested in two precise places. Fire ignited, and inhuman shrieks carried into the midnight air.

A pair of ears perked up at the familiar sounds of death. One Kuro Narukami scowled tightly at hearing that sound two blocks away. He fingered the black lacquered sheath of his sword tightly. Kuro was a young man of fifteen years. There really weren't a lot of things of really impressive about Kuro. He was rather short in comparison to the young man standing next to him. Unlike his silver haired senpai, he had unkempt short black hair. Coal colored eyes narrowed on the distance uncovered by the moon's generous light.

"I guess you heard that, too." Akihiko Sanada observed casually. Akihiko smirked thinly; he was always the type for a fight. He never turned down another chance to test his skills. "Should we check it out?"

Kuro shrugged carelessly, eyes flashed gold for a moment. He saw things others did not see. It was sort of his gift, he guessed. He saw nothing more than trace amounts of Agi mana in the air. The smell of burning teased his nostrils in most offensive way. "It might be smart…" he advised blandly. "We don't know what could have happened. All I'm getting is traces of aftermath of casting. No life force signs I can see, senpai."

Akihiko chuckled, cracking his knuckles. "That might be Takeba." He suggested eagerly. "Maybe she finally decided to get some exercise with us." Those sharp cracks used to annoy him at one point, or another. After years of working together, he learned to live with it.

Kuro rolled his dark eyes. Okay, maybe it still bothered him. He chose not to say anything about that annoying habit. "I always figured her as more of the breezy type, Akihiko-senpai." He replied conversationally. They both took off for the source he detected. They arrived to see nothing very interesting in the subway. Two black scorch marks pocked the concrete floor. Brimstone lingering in the air still, it was fresh. Created a couple of minutes ago, in fact.

Akihiko whistled, kneeling beside the two small craters. "What a coup de grace…" He admired the quick workmanship quietly. He picked up the ashes, letting it sift between his gloved fingers like blackened sand. "I'd like to meet whoever did this…"

"So you can give them a love letter, senpai?" He joked deadpan, putting his hand in his pockets. His gold eyes traced around room; nothing useful information wise. All he could tell was that those two piles of ash were Shadows once. Not humans, thankfully.

Akihiko rolled his flat grey eyes. "No," he answered disinterestedly. Irritation showed in his tired expression. Kuro guessed popularity wasn't something some men wanted. He knew a certain cap wearing dude who'd will to be that huge of a chick magnet. Sacrifice his precious hat a thousand times if he needed to. "Nothing like those tarts gives me…"

Kuro chuckled. Akihiko was an easy type to rile up. He waved his senior off casually. He frowned a little, feeling something twinge in the back of his head. It was a slight feeling of discomfort; an urge telling him to do something deep down. It was these moments that his instincts told Kuro something was up.

Akihiko saw his expression. "Something up?" he asked concernedly, getting back up from his kneeling position. His grey eyes were sharp, expecting anything. "I guess you're feeling something."

"Yeah, Senpai…" he answered firmly. He glanced to the left, seeing several life force signals flare up into being. "Several Shadows, and one person." He glanced to the right, a single life force sauntered down the street at its own pace. It clearly was in no hurry. "I'm also getting that same life source from before. It doesn't feel like anyone we know. I just know that feels like the caster of the Agi spell…"

Akihiko's considered the situation for a moment. His eyes flashed in decision. His senior was always reliable. "We split up." He carried out his orders swiftly. No wasted words, or fumbling. Akihiko had the experience to fully know what was on the line. "You go tail the single source. I'll go fend off the Shadows. Tell Mitsuru what we're up to. Get Takeba ready if she has to."

He nodded, snapping him a sharp jaunty salute. Akihiko, and Kuro took off in contrasting directions. Kuro ran about half a block before he felt the trace no longer. The blood coated streets gave off nothing more than cold indifference. "Where the heck…" He muttered to himself, glancing around for some signs. Nothing. "People don't just vanish like that…"

Power flared behind him. His dark eyes widened, feeling the insane heat bearing down on him. It was only his razor edge sharpened training that saved him tonight. He quickly rolled out of the way. Kuro was already on his feet. Unsheathing his sword at a lightning fast pace, he cleaved through a second fireball. Heat washed over him, burning his uniform slightly. His sword hand was slightly blackened. That quick amount of action didn't leave him undamaged. It was minor, Kuro could still fight.

Fire spread out in small patches around him from the results of his reaction. Fire burned on the blue spectrum, searing the asphalt like it was flesh. He whipped out his Evoker, feeling its cold grip tense in his hands. "Alright…" he breathed, sheath clattering to the ground. He fell into his trained stance. Kuro expected to see a Shadow…maybe some gaudy stereotypical villain from Featherman. What he saw wasn't his expectation at all…

A girl sat on a coffin, silhouetted by the moon. Her red hair kept in a fashionable ponytail glowed bright vermillion in the moonlight. She almost seemed ethereal, like a goddess of the dead night given form with her porcelain skin. Big red eyes regarded carefully, cautiously. They show brightly with power like the full, fat Dark Hour moon dyed crimson red. She closed them slowly; the goddess hovering above her protectively vanished with a sharp crack of glass.

The girl hopped down from her perch with unexpected grace, approaching him meaningfully. Kuro was silent, not exactly sure what to say. For all intents, and purposes he was struck dumb. He'd seen a lot of girls… Mitsuru had to be on the top ten list of his most beautiful women ever. Definitely number one. He didn't know what had him this…entranced. It was stupid. If anything, he should be angry; angry about almost getting murdered.

That anger was completely dispersed when she touched his injured hand. It definitely had to be crazy to approach someone combat ready. Especially when- He winced in pain. It still hurt… Kuro couldn't deny it. This girl touched it so gently, making it feel very warm for a moment. A green glow restored his hand to the point where it no injury remained. "There…" she chimed cheerfully. Smiling broadly, she gave off an angelic titter. "That should make us even, Mr. Stalker."

That set him off. It definitely crossed the line. "Who the hell are you calling a stalker, Miss Manslaughter!?" He snapped, snatching his hand away from her when he jumped away. He flexed it slightly. It was definitely good work. Maybe better than Mitsuru's…still he couldn't let his guard down when some stranger just attacked him. "You almost burnt me to a crisp!"

"Manslaughter!" She about screamed indignantly, putting her hands on her hips when she leaned in to get in his face. A tick mark appeared on her forehead. Kuro could feel a vein about to burst in his head, too. "What was I supposed to do? Huh?!" she demanded huffily. "You were the one coming after me! With a friggin' sword, mind you! It was like a scene out of a horror movie! I was scared shitless!"

"It wasn't even unsheathed…!" He argued back. Something came to mind rather quickly. It was just how dumb this argument was. Not to mention he was the one with weapons out…he definitely had to look like a crazy person here. He took a calming breath, raising a hand. The red head stopped at that, showing a bit of confusion. He picked up his sheath, letting the wood hiss against metal until it clicked back into place. He also holstered his Evoker, just to make himself look less threatening. He set his sword on the ground. Molten gold eyes shifted to dark colors once more.

He sighed in relief, glad that was over with. "Listen…" he began to explain, regaining his former calm composure. "My friend, and I were just patrolling the neighborhood when I sensed some magic being released. We went to check up on the situation." The girl listened without showing any sign of protest. She did frown a little, also showing off a slightly cute pout. She was clearly somewhat mad about their short, but unpleasant exchange. "We split up…And somehow it ended up like this. I'm sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to make sure nobody was hurt. The tangle you had back there at the station seemed kinda nasty."

The girl blinked, not expecting the level of maturity he was showing. "Wow…" she said admiringly, grinning broadly. She patted him on the head affectionately, almost like a cute puppy. "That was pretty adult for a middle school student. Those also were some pretty sick moves, too. I haven't seen anybody cleave a fireball in half before!"

Kuro's eye twitched visibly. "I'm a high school student…" He informed her in a measured tone. Their exchange was testing his patience by the moment. "My height just hasn't completely filled in yet…"

"Sorry, sorry…" The girl apologized, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. The pyromaniac girl closed her eyes thoughtfully for a moment. "Let's just pretend the last few minutes didn't happen, okay?" She proposed easily, brilliant smile returning once more. She offered out a friendly hand, a peace offering; burying the sword in a Shadow's backside, if you will. "I'm Runako Gekkou. What's your name?"

Kuro took Runako's hand reluctantly, and shook it strongly. Runako had a decent grip for a girl, he had to admit. "Kuro Narukami." He returned calmly. He somehow managed a smile. He guessed she wasn't so bad. "So, you're a Persona User, too." He perceived suddenly, everything did click into mind. It should have been obvious from the start. "Other than us…well, there is no one else. You must have been sent here by the Kirijo Group, right Gekkou-san?"

Miki shrugged carelessly. "Yeah, Kuro-kun." She said casually. She patted him on shoulder, laughing a little. "I guess can say I'm in a capable group if there are guys like you skilled enough to chop fireballs in two. Did you practice on baseballs?"

Kuro could tell she was joking, but that wasn't far from the truth. "Not quite…" He said carefully, blushing slightly. It was really insane to admit. Maybe he should have taken more pride in it. It took lots of tries, and showers before he got it right. "It was grapefruits. My senpai tossed them at me. Guy's got an arm for somebody not into baseball."

Runako squeaked excitedly. He didn't expect her to take his admission seriously. "That's really cool!" She gushed. There were literal sparkles shinning her red eyes. "You're like an action hero! Like Featherman!"

"I am not…" He protested blandly. He tried to put on a neutral professional façade. The bright blush on his face told her otherwise.

Runako smirked, poking him in the side playfully. "He's even modest, too." She teased Kuro. "That's cute. I like that in my escorts." Runako walked ahead of him with the required pep in her step. Runako turned back to face Kuro, Chesire Cat grin playing on her lips. "Well, c'mon. Show me the Iwatodai Dorm, please. I need a strong man like you to protect me from all the scary monsters…"

Kuro rolled his dark eyes, letting out an amused snort. "I don't think you need it…" He deadpanned. "Seeing how you almost made me the Fourth of July roast pig."

Runako let out a little giggle, looping her arm in his. "We can always pretend otherwise…" She whispered hotly in his ear, sultry voice like a sensuous storm. Something soft poked against his arm to place emphasis on her worlds. "I'm the princess, and you're the hero. I thank you by giving you my purity. That's how those hot Doujinshi go, am I right?"

Kuro blushed from ear to ear. He tried to keep his composure. It blatantly failed. "I-I don't…" He stammered nervously. "Know what you're saying."

"Here." Runako's lips got closer to his, he could feel her heated breath on his skin. It was just like mangas…only in real life. "Lemme fill in the blanks for you, hero."

"Okay…" He heard a voice call out from behind them. Akihiko suddenly appeared from the ether. "I send you on a recon mission, and I find you getting comfy with some girl. What mysterious night…"

Akihiko shook his head. Runako immediately broke off from Kuro, facing the new person. A big smile on was on her lips. "Something like that, Akihiko-senpai." She greeted him familiarly, gesturing to a beet red Kuro. "I was getting ready to let him ravage me."

Akihiko sighed tiredly. He looked like he didn't want to deal with it. "It really had to be you, didn't it, Gekkou?" It was more of a statement than a question. A bland disappointment he didn't want to get another taste of. "Look, just don't wear poor out Kuro too much with your mind games." He told Runako tersely, authority made clear in his hard voice. "He's got a sharp pair of eyes that are valuable to this team. We need him in top shape."

"Fine, senpai…" Runako huffed, crossing her lithe arms. "You've always been a killjoy, yanno that?"

"I don't care…" Akihiko curtly snapped, meeting his harsh grey eyes with her bright red ones. It truly was an intense atmosphere between the two of them. Kuro didn't know what had happened between them, but he didn't want there to be discord among the group; especially when they were out in the open during the Dark Hour.

"Whoa, senpai…" Kuro stepped between them, glancing between the two battling parties. He gave them both firm looks telling them both he would not back off. Dark eyes shifted to molten gold once more. Pronounced dark rings formed around his pupils. As if alive, the rings spun slowly to emphasize his point. "I dunno what's going on between you two, but I think we should save it for another date. It's in the middle of the Dark Hour. We should be doing is getting ourselves together, and adding to our strength. I think that's why Kirijo-san sent Runako-san here; to increase our strength."

Akihiko scowled. An equally nasty expression formed on Runako's face. The two shared a pointed look once more before deciding enough was enough. Akihiko turned on his heel, not bothering to turn to look back at Kuro. "You can take her back to the dorm…" Akihiko grunted out, stalking down the street with violent intent. Kuro was very glad he wasn't those Shadows. "I'll finish up the nightly patrol, Kuro."

Kuro nodded to his senpai sharply. He smiled softly at Runako when Akihiko turned into an alleyway. "That's that…" He chirped, offering a hand out to Runako. "I'm sorry about Senpai…I guess he doesn't get jokes. He's not exactly the most socially involved guy ever."

Runako smiled back at him, shaking her head slightly. "Who said it was a joke." She blatantly said, not caring that she was throwing him through a loop again. The girl leaned in slowly, giving him a chaste peck on the cheek. She held up two fingers animatedly. Her energy was really weird for somebody who was in the Dark Hour. Even her red eyes glowed with enthusiasm. "I'll say two things. One: you have nice eyes. Either way you have them is actually pretty. Two: that was the first time anybody ever stood up for me. So, thanks…"

Runako Gekkou blushed brightly, pecking him on the cheek once more. She ran off ahead of him, and stopped. "What're you waiting for, slowpoke!" She called out energetically, waving him over with unrestrained enthusiasm. "Dark time's a wasting!"

Kuro touched his cheek. It was still warm to the touch. Runako Gekkou confused the hell out of him. Still, somehow she fascinated him. Maybe it was the red halo the moonlight seemed to cast around her head. The light hitting it the right way made her seem like she was not from here, or this time. A lot like the Dark Hour, Runako drew him into another place right then. Beyond the Dark Hour…to some place he wasn't sure of. Potentially finding out the answer garnered even more of his interest.

"I guess it's like Akihiko said, Souji…" He said to the warm night, gazing up at the moon wistfully. Somewhere deep down, he hoped his brother heard this. In his heart, he wished his brother still shared a link with him beyond this place. "This is truly a mysterious night…"

Picking up his sword, Kuro followed after the girl bravely. Like always, a Narukami never backed down. They always moved forward into the future; always keeping their swords and their allies close to them in the uncertain future.