April 19, Early Morning

Hiruki closed the door to her room and noticed Junpei sitting at one of the tables outside.

"Hey! Mornin' sleepy head!"

"Good morning. I thought you left with Yukari." She replied.

"Nah, she had to go early for archery club. I was gonna ask ya if you wanted to head to school with me." Junpei suggested.

"Ok, that'd be nice." Hiruki nodded and began walking downstairs.

They entered the streets.

"So, your from Osaka, huh?" He struck conversation.

"Yep, but I like it here. It feels…familiar." She tried wording it right.

"I'm glad. You'll have no problem fitting in though. Your already well liked."

"Really?"

"Yeah, my friends won't shut up about you being the new girl." He sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize coz your popular." He laughed.

"You know, your nice. You seem familiar." She smiled.

"Yeah…" He looked away. "More than ya think."

"Huh?" Hiruki didn't hear what he'd mumbled.

"Oh, nothing." He lied.

~Afternoon~

"Junpei!"

"Uh…ah, c'mon, Mr. Ekoda, why me? I don't know this!" He groaned. "Hey!"

Hiruki looked up at him from his whispering. "Do you know the answer?"

"Its Hosawa Hisanagi. He wrote the book." She quietly told Junpei. He repeated it aloud.

"…Correct."

Mr. Ekoda continued his lesson. Junpei exhaled in relief. "Thanks, you saved my butt." Hiruki smiled, and he was swept with memories of her. She always told him the answers in class.

In her next class, she fell asleep, bored with the lesson. As Hiruki slept, she had a weird dream of a robot and a dog in her class. Even weirder, Aigis had been the robot.

After school, while sitting in Paulownia Mall, she found herself in a blue room.

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room." A man hunched over with a big, long nose greeted her.

"What am I doing here?"

"Hm? Amazing…exactly identical. The only question is your abilities."

"I am Igor, and this," He held out a piece of paper. "This contract, do you remember it?"

Hiruki shook her head. "Then until you understand, keep hold of this key."

She opened her eyes to the Paulownia Mall, a velvet key in her hand. She slipped it into her pocket.

~Evening~

With a sigh, she walked into the dorm room to the lounge. The second she entered, she found herself on the floor. Above her was white fur, and red eyes.

The dog licked her face happily, as if he hadn't seen her in years, though she knew she'd never met him.

"Whoa…" Three voices said. She looked up to see two guys about her age and an elementary kid.

"Koromaru, did you tackle Hiruki-chan?" Fuuka asked, entering the room.

"Its fine, he's so cute." Hiruki giggled, petting him. He panted.

Hiruki turned her eyes to the three that just stared at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, its just—" The little boy stopped. "I'm Ken."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hiruki Tomoyo." She smiled. "And you two?"

"They're Akihiko Sanada and Shinjiro Aragaki." Mitsuru replied.

"They attend college with Mitsuru-senpai." Fuuka added.

"Oh, well, who's this one?" Hiruki patted the dog's head.

"He's Koromaru. They'll all be staying with us for a while." Yukari informed her.

"Well, that's good, I guess." Hiruki fell silent and listened to the TV.

"It seems the reports are true. The Apathy Syndrome has come back in the town of Iwatodai. This man was found in the back alley of Iwatodai Station with all symptoms. We hope you all look out for any clues about this horrible event. Stay tuned for more information."

Hiruki stepped closer and narrowed her eyes. "Is somethin' wrong, Ruki-tan?" Junpei asked.

"I've seen him before." She muttered just loud enough for them to hear.

"You have?" Akihiko spoke up. She nodded once.

"On my way from Iwatodai Station, I think around midnight…he was hanging out in the streets. They seemed like they were part of that group always causing trouble I heard about."

"Now I remember. He was talking shit in the Tatsumi Alley." Shinjiro said. Hiruki put a hand in her skirt pocket and remembered the key from earlier.

Pulling it out where the others couldn't see it, she whispered, "The Apathy Syndrome, the Velvet Room, what's all going on?"

"We should all just turn in early." Junpei looked over to Hiruki. "Ruki-tan, ya okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I guess I was spacing out." She forced a smile. "I'm going upstairs." Hiruki left the room and went up to her dorm.

"She looks just like her." Akihiko remarked.

"Even her personality." Ken agreed.

"It seems we'll have to study further into this." Mitsuru said.

"But she doesn't remember us." Yukari pointed out, and Koromaru whimpered.

"This can't be the same Minako. I saw her fall into a coma before my own eyes." Shinjiro told them.

"You were in a coma too, but you wake up." Yukari sighed.

"On her first day, she said she came from an orphanage in Osaka. Does that mean…?"

"Her files list that she has no parents." Mitsuru explained.

"I do not sense Minako within her." Aigis announced.

"Then its not her?" could it be a coincidence?" Fuuka questioned.

~Midnight~

Hiruki looked around the spacious dorm, seeing various books on the desk. There laid a box as well. Curious, she reached out to touch it.

A sudden noise stopped her, and she stared at the door. Nothing happened. She quickly began to change, grabbed the box, and slipped out into the hallway.

Trying to not make a sound, she heard the noise again behind the door to the roof. She turned the doorknob, and felt the cool, night air hit her skin.

~Command Room~

"Have you found anything, Yamagishi?" Mitsuru asked.

From within Juno, Fuuka shook her head. "I'll keep looking."

"Where's Yukari?" Junpei asked.

"She's checking up on Tomoyo." Mitsuru told him.

"They can't seriously be back, can they?" He continued.

"Well, if they really are the same person, then the great seal has been released." Akihiko explained.

"We have a problem!" Yukari shouted. "She's gone!"

"Yamagishi!"

"Yes!" Fuuka closed her eyes and concentrated. "She's on the roof…wait, w-with a shadow!"

"Let's go!"

~The Roof~

Hiruki looked out at the edge. A growl erupted from her left. Up in the sky, a huge body stared back at her. The box crashed to the floor at her feet.

A gun stared back at her. The others ran outside.

"Hiruki!" Junpei called.

'Persona!' The voice came from a memory. Hiruki picked up the gun, and hesitantly put it to her head.

"Hiruki-chan, don't!" Yukari hollered.

"Wait, that's not a—!"

She shot the gun, and the memories quickly played in her head, restored.

"Minako Arisato…" She muttered.

"Hiruki, watch out!" Akihiko warned her too late as the shadow landed so hard she lost her balance.

"Messiah!" She called and before she began to fall the Persona caught her in the air. Gasps filled the air. "It's a…its the persona."

Hiruki stood, glaring at the shadow, Messiah behind her.

"I await your order." It said.

"…Per-sona…" She whispered, tired. Her energy quickly depleting. Messiah attacked and Hiruki screamed in pain before passing out.

"Hiruki-chan!"

"Ruki-tan, wake up!"

"Hey, stay with us here!"

"Minako, I'm sorry…" Her vision went black.