Junes Department Store

September 7

6:02

Souji sat around their usual table at the food court, waiting impatiently for the others. He opened his cell, making sure he had the right time from Youske.

Emergency Meeting. Be at Junes by 6:15.

Yup, he had the right time, but why would Youske want to meet so damn early? They didn't have school or anything today, but still, it seemed a little weird, even for him.

Finally, the rest of the group showed up, baggy-eyed just like their silver-haired leader.

"Okay, Souji…" Kanji said, irritation filling his voice from the early morning. "Why the hell are we up so damn early?"

Souji looked back at Kanji, confusion covering his face. "What are you talking about? Youske said he's the one who wanted to meet up."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Youske seemed confused as well. "I got the damn text from Chie."

Chie stomped her foot, almost crushing Teddie's in the process. "That's stupid! I never sent any text out!" Everyone's face showed confusion as an eerie silence fell over the group.

"So… Wait…" Naoto looked all around the table. "If we all received a text from someone else, but no one sent out any texts about this meeting…"

Silence covered the table as the harsh truth seemed to set in on them: This was a trap.

"Does everyone have their weapons?" Souji looked around, hoping he knew the answer for his question. Everyone responded, flashing their weaponry at their leader. Chie was even wearing hers already. "Good, be ready for anything that could-"

Suddenly, a massive explosion seemed to rock all of Junes, the young teens having to hold onto each other and their chairs for support. "The Hell?" Kanji stuttered as he regained his footing. "What was that?"

Suddenly, another explosion rocked Junes more. "He's heading for the TV!" Teddie's eyes were wide.

They all looked at him, a bit freaked. "You sure, Teddie?"

Rise shook a bit, nodding her head. "I can feel him…" They all looked at her, somewhat confused. "He's strong…"

"So wait, it's a human causing these explosions?" Yukiko's face seemed like her stomach was churning. "Then could it be…?"

They all charged down to the electronics department of Junes, all suspecting the worst case scenario: It was the murderer.

06:31

As they all reached the TV, they stopped, confused. Rows and rows of merchandise seemed like they were knocked over, but their portal into the other world stood there as if nothing even happened.

"This makes no sense!" Youske kicked a nearby computer that fell and was already busted. "Rise, is he inside the TV?"

Rise concentrated long and hard, then shook her head. "No… It's like he-"

Another explosion came from outside of Junes, rocking the store more and more. Even the TV almost fell if not for Souji catching it wobbling.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Chie looked back at the entrance. "Did he sneak out when we weren't looking?"

"I think so…" Youske's voice sounded worried. "It sounds like he's heading for the residential area. We have to stop him." Everyone on the team nodded as they began to follow a long trail of explosions …

Samegawa Flood Plain

07:11

The young Persona-users followed a trail of explosions all over Inaba. Oddly enough, the explosions left no real physical proof of their existence, save for loose items knocked over by them.

"This is really creeping me out…" Rise seemed worried, following behind, trying to keep the mystery man on her radar. As they reached the flood plain, Rise stopped. "He's here!"

They looked around, trying to find the culprit. What they did end up finding was far worse. "Nanako!"

Nanako was lying near the river, completely unconscious, a small wound on her head. "Souji, over here!" Yukiko found Dojima, knocked unconscious as well. His arm seemed to be broken, a larger cut on his forehead.

"What the Hell..?" Kanji stood, looking at the unconscious family of his Senpai. "Who could do this? No human could take Dojima head-on…"

Souji picked up Nanako who hung limply in his arms. "We need to get them back to-"

Another explosion from up above them, closer to the road. It was still strong enough to launch the entire team backwards, all of them landing on their backs, Nanako flying out of Souji's arms back to basically where she was to begin with.

"Well, well, well…" A dark voice rang throughout the flood plain. They looked up only to find a blue-haired boy walking down the stairs, hand in his pockets and a sword and gun hanging from his belt. "I figured I'd get more fun from you than this." The blue haired boy smiled evilly, his grey eyes seeming to pierce the hearts of the young team.

They all stood back up, weapons in hand, ready to take on their young attacker. "You do this?" Kanji roared, the blue-haired boy merely smiling. "Did you?"

He laughed an evil laugh. "Of course, I did. It was fun, too, breaking the old man's arm with my bare hands."

Kanji heard enough. They all did. Kanji and Youske charged at their mysterious attacker, only to be rejected as the boy jumped out of the way, sword in hand, cutting a small cut on Youske's cheek. "Quit jumping around, you little prick!" Youske tightened his grip on his knives.

The boy laughed a sickening laugh. "Alright, then…" He pulled the gun from his holster, aiming it at his head to the astonishment of the others. "Let us end it." He laughed harder as he pulled the trigger, glass seeming to shatter around him. Every conscious human there realized what this meant: Their attacker wasn't using any tricks. He was a Persona-user.

Their thoughts became truth soon as his Persona appeared. It was a beautifully horrifying young girl, her skin looked as if it was made from cracked porcelain, her eyes a deep, blood red, wearing a red dress, black and white hair and a single porcelain wing spouting from her shoulder. She pointed one of her fingers at Kanji, then seemed to warp directly in front of him, bitch slapping him. Kanji flew back, landing hard beside Dojima. He was out could.

The others looked back, completely in shock of the horrors they now faced. Just as they returned their gaze towards their attacker, his Persona appeared in front of its next victim, launching Yukiko backwards with a horrifyingly quick kick.

"Be careful! He's too strong!" Rise cried out. "We need to-" Her sentence was cut short as the attacker charged at her, kicking her in the head. Her eyes instantly glazed over as she collapsed, blood trickling from her mouth.

"Rise!" Youske charged on to help her, but was intercepted by the boy's Persona. Youske quickly paid for his efforts with a massive blast of Almighty energy to the stomach, knocking him into the water, his upper body on dry land, keeping him safe from drowning.

The boy's Persona returned to his consciousness. He looked on at the last of the Persona-users in front of him as he laughed. "C'mon, none of you can hit me?" He put his gun back into its holster. "Tell you what, I won't even summon my Persona anymore." He began to taunt them with his cold eyes.

Naoto, Chie, Teddie, and Souji looked at each other. "This may be our only chance, Senpai."

"Naoto, don't underestimate him." Souji calculated his opponent, his large two-handed sword in hand. "All-Out Attack."

The team nodded, realizing he wouldn't be able to stop all of them at once. As they charged in, though, the boy smirked.

Chie was the first to reach him, nearly landing a massive kick to his face. The boy gracefully dodged the attack, though, landing a punch to her ribs. Naoto got a shot off with her pistol, barely missing him. He responded with a large cut on her hand, making her drop her weapon. Teddie was the next to get to his foe, landing a small cut on his face. The boy smirked as he began to bleed, grabbing his arm and throwing him into a nearby rock.

Souji brought his sword down, making the cut Teddie landed much bigger. The boy laughed sadistically as Souji went for another cut, then blocked the massive two-handed sword with his rapier.

Souji's eyes widened. "That's not-"

Souji paid for his horrible timing to speak. The boy stabbed him in the shoulder, making him drop instantaneously. The boy then pinned him down with his sword and a foot, crushing his ribs just enough to make a point.

"So here's the deal. I know exactly who you are, Souji Seta." He dug the sword deeper into Souji's shoulder. "You're a threat, and I'm the kind of guy who likes his threats… Eliminated." His foot stomped on Souji's chest, making him let out a yell of pain and anger. "But since I'm such a nice guy…" He pulled his sword out, then grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up so they were eye level. "I'll give you a chance to beat me. One on one, fair fight. I'll be at the shrine waiting. Be there at noon. Not 11:59. Not 1:01. Noon, got it?"

Souji only wanted to spit in his attacker's face. "And if I don't…?"

The blue-haired boy smiled a sick smile, pulling his face in so they was mere inches apart. "If you don't show, I kill everyone here. I don't care how long it takes to find them, they will eventually die by my hand."

He looked into the eyes of the boy. They were insane, dead. He wasn't bluffing… "… I accept."

The boy laughed as he kicked Souji, launching him backwards. He landed next to Chie, who was holding her ribs in pain. "Souji…"

The boy laughed as he walked away. "I'll see you soon, Souji. Rest up…" His laugh continued to ring in his head as he passed out…

08:25

Souji opened his eyes, looking up at a recognizable ceiling. He was in the hospital.

"Hey! He's up!" He looked over at Chie, smiling. She must've been here the whole time.

Naoto and Youske walked into the room, smiling small smiles. "Hey there, leader." Youske tried to play it cool for Souji, like usual.

"It's wonderful to see you're okay, Senpai." Naoto smiled more, nodding in confirmation of her words.

Souji looked Chie. "How is everyone…?" Her expression melted into a sad one.

"They're alive… Most of them have concussions or cracked ribs…" Chie held her own. "But they are going to be down and out for awhile. We thought you would be, too." Her eyes watered a bit. "I mean… You didn't wake up no matter what I tried and the nurses and doctors couldn't wake you up…" She began to bawl. " I was so scare, Souji!"

Souji leaned up, holding her close. "Hey, it's okay…"

She looked back at him, eyes still watering. "You can't go after him, Souji. I won't allow it."

Youske nodded. "She's right. There's no knowing what he'll try to pull."

Souji looked down, he hands scraped up. "I'll be ready this time…"

Chie slapped him hard. "NO!"

"Chie, if I don't go, he'll just come after everyone!" Souji held her hand, ignoring the throbbing pain on his face. "I'll be okay, I swear."

She continued to bawl. "Damn straight! If you die, I'm so kicking your ass!" They continued to hug each other, enjoying these precious moments together before he'd have to face his biggest threat yet…

Dojima Residence

10:21

Souji sat on his futon, lulling over the events of the morning. He didn't question the motives of the blue-haired boy. In fact, he didn't care. He simply wanted him dead. His anger grew even more cause the door to the Velvet Room was locked after he got out of the hospital. He knew something was wrong and that he should really examine the situation more closely, but he didn't care. His friends and family were put into the hospital by this sick freak and he needed to be taught a lesson "The shrine, huh…?" Souji continued to play with his sword, staring anxiously at the clock. "I'll enjoy this…"

Finally, the clock chimed 11. Souji stood up, sword in hand, marching out of his room. It was time for him to go make this blue-haired bitch pay…