Disclaimer: I do not own the Persona series. Atlus owns that, lol. I do own this story though.

Author notes:
1. Be advised that words that are italicized are the character POV's thoughts, or a voice in the POV's head, or music. The horizontal line denotes either a change in scenario, or a change in POV.

2. D-Drive: Yup, it's set in 2012, and since you mentioned it, I decided to start including the time and place to the beginning of each POV's, just to make it easier to read. Thanks for sparking this idea!

Blue Dragon: Well, it's been roughly twelve or thirteen years since the end of Persona 2 (since I believe the timeline has the P2 duology at 1999 and P4 at 2011-2012), so I reckon it's time to bring back the Crawling Chaos. Yeah!

3. Enjoy!

"A Night to Remember"

Friday, April 13, 2012
Meguro International High, Boys' Dormitory, Dining Area
End of 2nd week of classes

-7:00 pm-

"You know what, senpai, I'll never take garbage collectors, janitors, and those dudes who go cleaning the streets for granted ever again."

It was just after dinner, and Shin and Souji were cleaning the dining area. Souji was wiping the tables and gathering the dinner plates while Shin swept the floors, readying it for a good scrub that had to be done quickly or they would be late for Friday's Movie Night.

"And I really mean it, senpai! I mean cleaning is hard work! This dining area is huge! Why'd they have to make it so big anyway? Plus a lot of people seem to be slobs when it comes to eating, so there's food all the floor!"

Souji chuckled. "Maybe if you work with your hands instead of with your mouth, you could finish the job easier. Complaining never solves anything, you know."

Shin laughed. "Sorry Souji-senpai, I just had to let that all out. I don't want to turn into 'Mr. Giant Wall of Ice' over there, who keeps everything to himself."

He glanced at the dirty kitchen where Rei was washing the pans and other cooking utensils, and shook his head.

"I really don't understand why all of you first years call him that," Souji replied. "He's just not very sociable, that's all."

"Not very sociable? Talking to Rei is like talking to a wall… actually, no, scratch that, talking to a wall may even be better! At least the wall doesn't give you chills whenever you look at it."

Shin didn't look up, but he could tell that Souji was sighing. He really couldn't understand how Souji could put up with Rei; Souji probably had the temperament of a saint!

But he had to admit, Souji was a very likable person. He was friendly, but wasn't overly sociable. He would drink and party, but he would always impose a limit on himself, whether it be so he wouldn't get drunk or so he could use his time wisely, usually by studying or going on that part-time job of his, whatever it was. Though his senpai seemed distant at times, and could be quite contemplative and preferred to be alone, you could never say that he was introverted. And he understood. Everyone needed some time to themselves.

Also, when Souji spoke, his words had a weight to them; they made a lot of sense, were usually well-thought out and sometimes contained nuggets of wisdom. Souji was like Natsuhiko, his brother, except that senpai was less critical and accepted people for who they were. Shin respected that about him.

Now, there were some things that even Souji wouldn't talk about though, like his parents. He'd noticed that when they first met. Maybe they weren't on good terms? But Shin never looked into it, since Souji never pressed when he noticed he was going into realms that others didn't want to talk about. He had the maturity of an adult, and the empathy that went with it.

Mature. That was probably a good word to describe Souji. He was more mature, like he had seen more, heard more, experienced more, than others his age; in fact, he had the bearing of someone like his cousin, Kei. The bearing of a leader.

Was that what the girls saw in him too? He seemed pretty popular among the ladies; in fact, just a few days ago, he saw three letters right by the door that had been sent by snail mail. Snail mail! The mere fact that it was sent that way meant that Souji was important enough to them that they wanted to send a physical letter, instead of just an e-mail. He didn't pry, as that would be rude, but he did see the names 'Yukiko Amagi', 'Chie Satonaka', and 'Nanako Doujima' on them. All female names. Interesting. Add that to the rumors that there were also some girls who had taken a liking to him in school, and it could be confirmed that the guy was a bona fide ladies' man.

Souji's laugh brought him out of his reverie. "Maybe you, and pretty much every first year out there, are just experiencing, for the lack of a better term, jealousy?"

Shin frowned. It wasn't that he was jealous. Okay, maybe a little bit. Rei was quickly becoming a legend in Meguro International High; he singlehandedly defeated five different groups of seniors, both within and outside the school while being outnumbered; he was part of the top ten in class, which was coincidentally the same class as Shin's; he was capable of speaking multiple languages, English being one of them; and he was apparently so good-looking that a ton of first-year girls were chasing after him! And what really struck a chord was that everything he did seemed to be everyday business to him, while quite literally ignoring every single confession of love made to him by those girls! And they were still fawning over him, despite that!

"You know senpai, the guy just doesn't seem… I dunno, natural. I mean, he might be an alien or a demon or a tentacle monster freak for all we know… he just seems too perfect. Don't they have a term for that, like a Gary Stu or something?"

Shin glanced at Souji. He seemed busy with his work, but there was a twinkle in Souji's eyes. He sighed. "Just like Natsuhiko, he may not be laughing out loud, but his eyes suggest that he's laughing on the inside."

Souji glanced at Shin and shook his head. "There's no such thing as perfect, Shin. Everyone's got their problems, everyone's got their faults… everyone has a shadow inside of them. Rei's no different than you or me, I'm sure of it. I've talked to him, and he's the type of guy that doesn't just go trusting others easily.

Actually Shin, if you think about it, everything makes sense. Even though he never speaks about his past, from his looks alone you can assume that he was born outside Japan, which could explain him knowing other languages apart from Japanese.

His fighting prowess may have been a product of him always looking as if he wants to challenge you. If he always looks and stares at people like that, which I have a feeling is pretty much the case even before he got here, then I'm sure a lot of people may have gotten pissed off at him in the past, which would lead to fights.

For the case regarding his academic ability, just think about it: he's in this school. It's pretty hard to get in if you don't have enough money or don't have connections; he looks like he has neither, so that would just mean that he must be really smart to have gotten himself enrolled here.

And on the subject of girls, I'm no expert, but they do say that girls go after the foreigners and the bad-boy types, and basing on Rei's appearance, he definitely fits both categories. But you know, 'A pink alligator always stands out more and gets more attention if the world around him is yellow; but the attention given to him could very well be negative as well as positive.' That was a premise for a book, you know."

Shin merely nodded. He'd read that book; it was one of his favorites, even until now, and he'd understood Souji's point. "Damn, he reasons stuff out well. The guy would probably make a good lawyer or detective."

As Souji finished loading the plates on the kitchen cart, he turned towards him. "Alright, I'll be taking these dishes back; you gonna be alright cleaning the floors? Rei and I will finish the dishes quickly and then we'll come to help you."

Shin just nodded again, deep in thought. "Yeah, I guess Souji's right in a way, we have been getting a bit out of hand lately.. Not like Rei complains about it or anything… but maybe it won't really hurt to be a bit friendlier with him next time?"

Friday, April 13, 2012
Meguro International High, Boys' Dormitory

-11:45 pm-

Reinhardt leafed through the book, feeling a tiny bit annoyed. Despite the dormitory's library being in the basement, he could still hear the sounds of the party above. Parties didn't suit him, and he felt uncomfortable making conversation with people.

He was exhausted. This day consisted of waking up in the early hours of the morning for his regular workout at the gym next to the dormitory, followed by classes, followed by his part-time job, finally ending with working in the kitchens and cleaning.

Ending? He shook his head. No, there would be no rest for the weary. He also had to clean the living room together with Shinichi and Souji after that party above was over. He was certainly glad that cleaning duty would only last until tomorrow. And then another three-man group would take over for the next two weeks, while he would wait for the time when they would be in-charge of cleaning a portion of the gym. The gym! He shuddered to think of how much work that was going to be. No, he would think about that another day.

He closed the book, and leaned back on the cushioned armchair he was currently sitting on. Maybe he could just manage with taking a small nap…

Creak.

Reinhardt's eyes snapped open, and his body tensed. "Danger? No, that's not possible."

Being snuck up on wasn't a new thing for him. In fact, those experiences had taught him to become far more observant; he never took the external stimuli around him for granted. Any man who had lived his life as he had could easily get killed by the scent one never smelled, the sight one did not pay attention to, or the sound one never heard.

"I told you no one's here. They're way too busy with the party upstairs! Why did Ami have to bring us to this anyway?"

Reinhardt was surprised by soft voices coming from the stairwell going down to basement; they seemed to be girls! Girls were not allowed in this area! He moved from his seat to the couch directly across the door leading into the library, ready to rebuke the trespassers.

The door opened, and two girls stepped into the library, stopping in their tracks when they saw him staring at them.

"Erika, the idol, and… a brunette that I don't seem to know. Probably from a different class."

"Will you stop that?"

The girl who spoke up was the teen idol, Erika Aoi. If he remembered correctly, she was from class 1-B, the room right next to his and Shinichi's. She was quite famous at the school, but her fame was dying down because of rumors of her being too… slutty. Those rumors were probably false, as many truly were. Those were probably just spread by other females who saw her as competition. People could be quite vicious.

He stopped glaring and looked at the book he had previously been reading, but kept his peripheral vision on the two girls. "Now, how to get out about scolding these girls..."

Erika scowled. "You're really creepy, you know that?"

"I know," he replied simply.

The girls seemed a bit off balance; obviously they had expected him to argue with them.

Erika immediately recovered. "Let's go, Meimi. Ami obviously isn't here."

"You don't trust people much, do you?"

The question came from the brunette, the girl called Meimi. She was looking at him curiously.

He was tempted to ignore her, but decided against it. From the look of her, she was the type of girl that would probably keep asking questions till he gave her an answer. A very annoying type of girl.

"Trust? There's only two things you can trust: an unpredictable future, and a dead body." He stared her in the eyes.

She stared back, not even flinching. He looked away, surprised that he had done so. "I don't know what people see when I glare back at them, but most people leave me alone or wilt under my stare. Most impressive, especially for a girl." The girl was nodding to herself in a satisfied manner, as if she had won some argument between them.

"How about your friends? Don't you trust them?" she continued.

"Friends?" He gave a hollow laugh. "I don't think I have any."

The girl smiled, and held out her hand. "Well then, why don't we be friends? Someone's got to teach you how to laugh, and how to cry… so I'll make sure that I do just that. Besides, if you keep this up, that face of yours will have a ton of wrinkles before you reach thirty. I'm Meimi Li."

"Now that was surprising. I honestly don't know what to make of this…"

He nodded, but Meimi frowned at him, immediately snatched his right hand and shook her own hand with it. "That wasn't very polite, you know… but I'll look it over just this once. You're name then?" she declared in a stern tone.

He stared at her, not knowing what to make of this strange girl. "Reinhardt Svensson. Call me Rei." She smiled at him approvingly, like a master encouraging her pet.

"Who or what have I gotten myself entangled with?"

Friday, April 13, 2012
Meguro International High, Boys' Dormitory

-11:51 pm-

"You're really brave, you know that, Meimi? Rei is just plain creepy. I don't know what the rest of the girls see in him," Erika muttered.

Meimi just smiled. Outwardly, she was calm and positive. On the inside, however…

"I have no idea what I just did, but apparently I just became friends with this 'Reinhardt Svensson' person. Am I sick? Am I going insane? My god, those eyes of his unnerving. So cold… and piercing. It was like they were digging holes right into my head. No wonder he gets into so many fights! When he confronted me I thought he was going to scare or attack me. I am still in one piece, aren't I?"

Meimi tried to hide her shaking hands as she fixed her hair. "Calm yourself, Meimi. Calm yourself. You're alive, and you clearly won that encounter. But… I do feel sorry for the guy, though. To not have any friends, to not be able to trust at all… his mind must be in hell constantly. How can anyone continue living without having anyone to trust? Is he still sane?"

She had seen what lack of trust could do to a person. She had seen how it eventually tore apart the person's mind, making them completely paranoid, and alienating them from society. She had watched her own twin brother sink deeper and deeper into insanity, eventually disappearing from their family, never to be seen again.

She knew it wasn't her business to go about trying to reform Rei, but she could not let it go. Would not let it go. She would not see another Mamoru.

As they entered the living room once again, she noticed that the once bright lights of the living room were now dimmed once again, as if to watch another movie.

As she looked around the beautiful living room, she saw that the number of those present had now dwindled to nine. Most of them were second-years and third-years, but she did recognize the boy who had tried to hit on Erika earlier, Nanjou, talking with a classmate of hers, Junta Kobayashi. They had gathered around the gigantic LCD TV that was mounted on the dark red wall of the living room, and a senior looked to be hooking up a laptop to the TV, probably for display purposes. She and Erika took a seat beside the girl they were looking for, Ami Kobayashi, who was with her boyfriend, Faust Everton.

"What's this supposed to be?" Rei suddenly said from behind her.

She jumped in surprise. "Oh, it's just you, Rei. Don't scare me like that."

"Forgive me." Rei then headed over to the TV.

"Alright, party's over, it's almost midnight you know, and some of us still have work to do."

A collective 'boo' erupted from the group, followed by accusations of being a 'party pooper', a 'kill joy' and a 'douche'.

"He seems to be taking the accusations well. Too bad he has to go cleaning up after us. Maybe Erika and I should leave; that way we could be an example and others would leave with us."

"Chill out, Rei. We'll just be here a few minutes, and then we'll be gone. We all know how much you love your cleaning duties," joked the guy setting up the laptop. Rei folded his arms, but said nothing and remained where he stood.

The senior hooking up the laptop then looked up, and started gesturing excitedly. "Okay, here's the deal; I wanted to show this to more people since a lot of people were curious about it and it's been the talk of the school."

Erika turned toward her. "What is this, Meimi? Does he mean that rumor about a strange video that's been going around I-tube recently? The one that's said to let you talk to ghosts?"

Meimi blushed. "Actually, I'm not really up-to-date with rumors and stuff like that. But… the video does seem interesting."

The student setting up the laptop continued. "As you all know, rumor has it that if this video is played right after 12 midnight, a ghost is supposed to appear before us and show each of us a glimpse of our future spouse. You know, kinda like in the Ringu movie, except it's currently circulating on the internet. Of course, rumor also has it that everyone who sees the video dies as well, but come on, this video's been out on I-tube for two whole weeks now, and there hasn't been any news about strange deaths or anything. It's probably all just a stupid prank, but at least we can tell everyone else at school that we've seen it!"

The lights suddenly went bright again. "Alright, everyone out. It's way past the allotted time for using the living room. Shin and Rei and I still have to clean this mess up."

The speaker was a gray-haired student with a no-nonsense face and tone. He looked tired. Was he a senior?

The crowd erupted to cries of 'aw, come on, senpai!' and 'just a few more minutes!', which surprised her. "What a joke… when Rei scolds them, they see him as the bad gup; when this guy does it, they take it seriously."

"Come on, Souji," the student operating the laptop pleaded. "Just five more minutes."

The guy called Souji just sighed. "Fine. Five minutes, Kouli. But all of you who don't have to leave the dorm stays with us here to help us clean." He then shut off the lights, crossed the room and took a seat behind the old but well-maintained grand piano.

Kouli gave a small victory pose and started the video.

The screen turned black. Meimi's heart started racing, though she could not tell why. Suddenly, a white figure was being traced on the screen; was it a circle? An oval? Foreign letters were slowly appearing on the bottom. English, perhaps?

"Hey Rei, that's English on the bottom, right? I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that I'm pretty bad at it. Can you read it out loud? What does it say?" Kouli asked excitedly.

As the words materialized, Rei started reading them and translating them into Japanese.

"Gods and demons. Demons and gods. All are one. One in all."

The strange figure was mesmerizing. Meimi felt drawn to the circle, like an unknown force was pulling her towards it.

"Master Shadow, Master Shadow, please come to us."

Meimi could not stop gazing at the figure. She couldn't understand it, but it felt like she wanted to be with the figure. That without it, she could not live. Without it, she would die.

"Drown us in the sea of our unconscious. Pull us into the depths of our desires. Show us what we truly wish."

The figure was now transforming into something familiar. A face?

"Master Shadow, Master Shadow, please come to us."

Meimi blinked. And then she saw what was on the screen.

"Wh-what? You're—"

"Hello, Meimi."