AN: The idea of using a pocket knife for Ren actually came from the comic. It's kinda funny he gets a useless weapon while Minako gets a naginata.
Disclaimer: All parts of Persona (Except the OC and his Persona) belong to ATILUS
Ren's Room – Dark Hour
Ren was about to open the door when he heard.
"Wake up! Sorry I'm coming in!" Yukari's voice said before coming in the room."I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!
"What's going on?" Ren asked.
"Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door! Wait. Take this, just in case." She said handing him a pocket knife. Once they left his room, Ren noticed that Minako was there too and that she had a naginata. "I get a pocket knife while she gets a naginata." Ren thought to himself.
"Okay, Let's go! Follow me!" Yukari said leading them downstairs.
Dorm – 1st floor – Rear Entrance
"Alright, we should be safe now—" Yukari said before Mitsuru contacted her.
"Takeba, do you read me."
"Y-Yes! I hear you!"
"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one were fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!"
"What?" Yukari said before they heard another crashing sound. "*gasp* L-Let's pull back!" She said leading them back up the stairs.
Dorm – 2nd Floor
"What was that?" Minako asked hearing something break downstairs.
"Whatever it is, it's getting closer!" Ren said hearing something pound on the stairs.
"K-Keep moving! Hurry!" Yukari said.
Dorm – Rooftop
Yukari sighed. "The doors locked. I think were safe for now…" She said until they heard something growl "….!"
On the edge of the rooftop came one hand followed by a masked looked at all of them. It wasn't long before the mask stopped moving and more hand soon grasped the edge of the roof along with hand that had blades in them. The creature made its way onto the roof and stopped in front of them.
"You've gotta be kidding me…! It climbed up the wall!" Yukari said.
Ren looked at the pocket knife in his hand and then at Minako's naginata. She had a better chance of defending herself than he did with this knife.
?
"There! They're on the roof!" Akihiko said.
"That gigantic Shadow… Just what is it were dealing with!" Mitsuru said.
"…Let's go Mitsuru" Akihiko said.
"Wait!" Ikutsuki said stopping them.
Dorm – Rooftop
"That's the thing that attacked this place…We call them Shadows! O-Oh yeah…I have to fight…I can summon mine, no problem." Yukari said taking a gun like object and pointing it to her head. Before she could pull the trigger, the Shadow attacked her knocking the gun out of reach. Once Yukari was knocked away the shadow turned towards Minako and sent one if it's hand at her.
Seeing this Ren pushed her out of the way and the hand grabbed him instead, starting to choke him. When Minako realize what had happened all she was Ren being choked to death be the shadow. Before going to help she notice the object Yukari had and picked it up and pointed it to her temple. "Per…so…na." Was all she said before the sound of glass shattering came as she pulled the trigger and a women in metal with brown hair, yellow metal chest plate and a heart-shaped harp appeared.
"I am thou…and thou art I." The being said before a sharp pain shot through Minako's head. The being the she had summoned also change, it became a man like figure with a white mask that covered it's whole head. Coffin like wings on its back. A black cloak that ran down it's legs and a katana on its side. Grabbing the katana it sliced through the arm that held Ren, who had passed out from lack of air, and dropped him on the ground. As soon as that was done, it went for the shadow and began to rip it to shreds.
When it was done it crushed one of the hands that belong to the shadow before returning back to normal.
?
"…!" Mitsuru gasped
"What on earth was that!" Akihiko said surprised about what he had just saw.
"…" Was all the Chairman said.
Dorm – Rooftop
"Is it over…? …! It's still moving!" Yukari said as a piece of the shadow began to move towards her. "No…G-Get away from me!" She said as Minako ran over and took out the shadow with her naginata. Suddenly her vision became black and she soon collapsed on the floor.
Yukari gasped. "Are you okay? Come on…! Please… Can you hear me! Answer me!"
When Minako came through, she found herself in the velvet room. She looked around and noticed another seat next to her.
"It's so nice to see you again." Igor said.
"Nice to see you to. Any reason why there's another chair here?" She asked.
"You became unconscious after awakening to your power. I see it was Orpheus who heeded your call. The chair next to you is for another guest, he'll be here another time." Igor said.
"Oh okay."
"That power is called a persona… It's a manifestation of psyche."
"What do you mean?"
"A persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli…You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships.
"That's what "Orpheus" is?"
"When you use your Persona ability you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you developed your social links—you emotional ties with others. The stronger your social links, the more powerful your persona ability. Please remember that. Now then…Time marches on in your world. I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord. Until then. Farewell." Was the last thing Igor said before everything went black again.
4/19 – Tatsumi Memorial Hospital – Daytime
When everything became clear for Minako, she found herself in a hospital bed. Looking around she saw Yukari and Ren sitting down next to her.
"You're awake…!" Yukari said.
"What a relief." Ren said.
"Um, how do you feel?"
"Not bad I guess, Have you guys been here long?" Minako asked.
"Thank goodness. You finally came too…I was so worried about you…The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you. He said you were just exhausted…Um…I'm sorry I could do anything…But, your power…it was amazing." Yukari said.
"What were those things?" Minako asked.
"…You mean the Shadows? There what were fighting against. And the power you used, we call it "Persona". We'll explain everything later. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before…I, uh…I wanted to tell you that…I sorta like you."
"What do you mean?"
"My dad died in a accident when I was little…And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms…You're all alone too right? To be honest, I already know about your past…But, it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine…It was back in '99…There was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but nobody knows what really happened…He was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group. So I'm hoping if I stay long enough, I'll find out something. That's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High, and why I was there when this happened to you…Of course I panicked and I wasn't much help…It was my first time fighting them too. I'm sorry…You wouldn't have to go through this if I wasn't such a coward ."
"It's not true, at least you did better than I did. All I did was get myself caught." Ren said
"Yeah besides, I was scared too." Minako said.
"Thanks…but still…And here I am telling you this the minute you wake up. While I was waiting, I thought to myself, "I've been hiding so many thing from here…As soon as she wakes up, I'll tell her the truth." So thanks for listening, I've been wanting to share that story with someone for a long time…Alright I'm gonna get going. I'll let the others know you woke up. Oh, and, uh… You don't have to be formal around me or anything." Yukari said before leaving.
"It's hard to believe that she's been through all that, right? Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for saving my life." Ren said.
"Come on, you don't need to apologize. It was nothing." Minako said.
"Tell that to my bruised neck, seriously if it wasn't for what you did, I probably wouldn't be here talking right now." He said before turning to the door.
"Now where are you going?"
"What, I thought you wanted to rest." He said before he left.
4/20 – Early Morning – School Gate
After being let out of the hospital, Minako was finally allowed to come back to school.
"Looks like your all better." Ren said walking up to Minako
"Why wouldn't I be?" Minako said back.
"Yo, long time no see. What's up? Did you have an upset stomach or something?" Junpei said when they got to the gate. "Anyway I got something to tell ya."
"What?" Minako asked.
"Actually…I'm not supposed to say anything! Sorry man."
"Sheesh, someone's full of energy today…I could hear you from all the way over there." Yukari said walking towards them.
"Hey it's Yuka-tan. You three live in the same dorm, yet you all came at different times. Is it…because there too many rumors again hm."
"What! I just left a little late! Anyways I need to talk to her alone, Bye-bye Junpei."
"Whaaat." Junpei said before leaving.
"Guess I'll see you guys in class." Ren said leaving as well.
" Are you feeling any better?" Yukari asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"No reason…Minako…Um, sorry to hit you with this first thing in the morning…Ikutsuki wants to talk to you and Ren today. Tell Ren to come to the 4th floor in the dorm along with you, afterschool okay?"
"Got it." Minako said as they went to class.
Morning – Classroom 4B
Class went on without many problems except for when Minako had to help Junpei with a question.
Evening – Dorm – 1st floor
"So why do we have to go to the 4th floor?" Ren asked as they walked in the dorm.
"All I know is that Ikutsuki wanted to see us and being that nobodies down here, everyone's probably already up their waiting for us." Minako said going up the stairs and Ren soon followed.
Dorm - 4th floor
"Ah, there they are." Ikutsuki said as they walked through the door. Everyone was already there waiting for them, including one unfamiliar face. "I'm glad your both okay. I wasn't sure what I'd do if anything happened to the both of you. The reason I asked you both here is because I needed to talk to you. I believe I mention him before, this is Akihiko."
"How ya doing." He said.
"Would you believe me if I told you a day consisted of more than 24 hours?"
"No." They both said at the same time.
"I'm not surprised by your reaction." Mitsuru said chuckling. "However you've already experience this truth firsthand. Do you remember the night you came here?" She asked Minako. "You had to notice the signs…The streetlights went out…Nothing was working…There were coffins everywhere…Didn't it feel like you were in a different time…? "That's the Dark Hour—a time period hidden between one day and the next.
"Hidden?" Minako said confused.
"I guess it's more like something people aren't aware of." Ikutsuki said. "But, the Dark Hour does exist. It occurs each night at midnight. It'll happen tonight and every night to come."
"But, that's not what makes the Dark Hour interesting…You saw those creatures. We call them "Shadow" They only appear during the Dark Hour and attack any not in a coffin. It's our job to defeat them…Sounds exciting right." Akihiko said.
"Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!" Mitsuru said.
Now, now, He does his work well. Long story short were the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad or SEES for short. On paper, were classified as an ordinary school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor."Ikutsuki said.
"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incident on the new, if not all of them." Mitsuru said.
"If that's the case, then how do you fight them?" Ren asked.
"There all asleep in their coffins." Akihiko said.
"Even though there are few we can operate during the Dark Hour. Some may awaken to a persona to fight the shadows, which means it's all up to you guys. Ikutsuki said.
"I see." Minako said.
"Even though I haven't awaken to a persona, I'll do all I can to help." Ren said.
"I'm glad you're both quick to understand." Ikutsuki said as Mitsuru opened a sliver case that was on the table. In the case were two sliver guns.
"What he's trying to say is that we want you to join us." Mitsuru said. "We've prepared to Evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength."
"Alight." Minako said taking the evoker.
"Count me in." Ren said grabbing his evoker.
Yukari sighed, "I was afraid you'd say no. Welcome aboard!"
"Thank you so much, I'm really glad." Ikutsuki said. "Oh, I almost forgot…about your room assignment…Why don't you just stay here, in your current room? He asked Ren and Minako. "I don't know what the holdup is but, I guess it all worked out in the end. He said chuckling.
"Holdup? But, wasn't that— Oh never mind…" Yukari said.
As the conversation continued, Minako sensed a bond form with all of her club mates. Recalling what Igor had said about developing your social links. The strength of her bond would determine how strong she becomes.