Disclaimer: I don't own Persona.

Pure Momo – I've taken your review into account, and I'll try to make the differences into account. Hope that this chapter helps to cover some of what you pointed out. Thanks for the critique.


I walked out of Yasogami High, a folder tucked under my arm. Thankfully, the faculty bought the story I made about being homeschooled for the majority of my life, and that I would take any test they asked of me to show I was up to the standards I should be. I couldn't exactly say that I was excited to go back to school, but I didn't really have much else to do. Since I never technically completed high school, I figured it would be very unlikely that he would get a job if I asked around.

Looking up at the sky, I thought back to the castle and my conversation with the Narukami boy. Shadows, strange ones at that, were appearing. From their description, they reminded me of Pharos. These ones were much more aggressive however. Had Nyx managed to slip some of her power through the seal before Elizabeth took my place without me noticing? If that was the case, I'd have to move quickly; such abominations of human nature couldn't be allowed to exist.

And what of me, Minato?

'You've transcended such a thing, Thanatos. You're a Persona, not one of those creatures.'

But I was, once upon a time. I commend you for your viciousness however. Conviction, I feel, will be needed in the coming storm.

The clouds overhead flashed, a forewarning of a storm. I chuckled lightly, 'Had to go and jinx us, didn't you?' My mind, however, was still preoccupied with the information the other persona user had given me. A series of murders in the town, with the shadows playing some strange part in it all, and it was all tied to a world inside of a T.V.

'He's lucky I went through some strange shit in my life. No one else would've believed him.' I thought. 'Thankfully, it would seem that the shadows are confining themselves to that alternate dimension. That should reduce any casualties and damages this time around, eh Thanatos?'

The dark persona didn't answer me, deciding that it wanted to recede back into my mind for the moment. That was fine for the moment; it gave me time to think freely. Thanatos' presence always made it feel like a part of my mind was pre-occupied with something while the rest of it did something else.

"Hey, you must be new here," A voice called over to my left. It was a young man, dressed in what seemed to be the work uniform of the gas station. "Welcome to Inaba," said the young man, offering his hand. I shook it, not wanting to come off as rude.

"Thank you. I take it you work here?"

The man nodded, "Yeah. You looking for a job? We could always use the extra hand, and it'll help dull the boredom you find around here."

I contemplated his offer. It would certainly help me out; after all, I don't have any of the resources I did before. Having a job could help me rebuild my money reserves again…

I shook my head, "Sorry, but not today. I'm still trying to get settled in, figure everything out. Just enrolled in Yasogami you see, so I've got some catching up to do."

"Ah, well that's ok. I know that Master Daidara is looking for an extra hand, so you can also try him too," the boy said, before a horn interrupted their conversation. "Oops, sorry, have to go. It was fun talking to you though. Hope you get settled in nicely."

I simply nodded, and the boy went to go fill up the car. Master Daidara? Must be some kind of monk or somebody to be addressed with such respect. The sky gave one more ominous crack, and then the rain started to fall.


Yuu walked to school at a leisurely pace, choosing to enjoy weather of spring. The events of the conversation with the blue haired boy echoed in his mind, leaving him constantly thinking back to how small he felt back at the castle.

The power that Minato had wielded, with such ease too, seemed unnatural. It felt as though he had done before, time and time again. It made Yuu feel weak, and it reminded him that he almost failed his new found friends. Failure would result in all their deaths in that world, something Yuu could never allow to pass.

The school was in sight, and he made it with plenty of time to spare. When he walked through the door, he was mildly surprised to see Minato in a school uniform. He seemed to be looking around confusedly, trying to figure out where everything was.

"Oi, Arisato. You enrolled here?"

The blue haired youth looked back at him, "Narukami. I forgot you go to school here. Yes, I enrolled; I'm in class 3-1."

Yuu raised an eyebrow, "You're a year above me?" It was a strange concept to Yuu, interacting with someone who was his senpai. "Guess that makes you my senpai."

Minato shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I've never been one for honorifics. Don't bother tacking it on," he said, just before the bell for the first class rang. "That's the bell. See you around, Narukami."

Yuu watched the youth climb the stairs up to the third floor, his mind working quicker and quicker. All the people who had personas where now all in the same school. He had witnessed The staggering power behind Minato's persona, and it made Yuu wonder if he could get the youth on board with the rest of them to figure out who was causing these murders and to understand the shadow world.

Minato was a variable, however. Yuu couldn't shake the feeling that the man knew more than he was letting on about shadows. How could he go about getting Minato to share that knowledge though? A brokering perhaps? What information did Yuu have that could get Minato to share what he knew?

After all, the more cards Yuu knew were in the deck, the better he could prevent a repeat incident of Yukiko's castle from occurring.


"Run that by me again?" I asked, pausing in my sweeping of Master Daidara's shop. The blacksmith was busy in the back with his forge, hammer strikes ringing in the shop quietly from behind the closed doors.

The Narukami boy repeated himself, "A trade of information. I tell you of our conclusions in terms of the case, as well other things pertaining to the case, and you tell us what you know about the shadows."

I looked at him, contemplating his offer. It was plainly obvious why he wanted the information about the shadows; he wanted to further understand them, to be able to fight them better. He wanted to prevent something like before from happening. It was burning in his eyes, his resolve to grow stronger and protect those friends he made here.

"Well? Do we have an accord?"

Sighing, I beat my hands on my apron to remove the soot I swept up. If I gave him the information, information that he would only be able to find out through experience otherwise, it was likely he'd go back into the shadow world. If he did that, he would also drag the other three students with him should he go, as they would refuse not to go.

"What if I say no?" I ask, moving over to the fires that fueled the forge in the next room over. "Say I deny you my knowledge of the shadows, should I have any, what would you do?"

The Narukami boy clenched his fists, but relaxed them after a couple of seconds. He expected that response, but hoped otherwise. "Then I would have no choice but to continue increasing my offer until you consider it a worthy exchange."

There is little that he could tell me that I hadn't already figured out. After I got back to the people who were giving me board for the time being, I had looked up the murders and asked about them. Yamano Mayumi had stayed at the Amagi Inn, and Ms. Konishi had discovered the body. Konishi attended Yasogami, where Amagi Yukiko went to school. That effectively formed a triangle between the victims, but it was overall a weak connection at best. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something though, something incredibly pertinent to the case.

"Well?" the grey haired youth asked, masking the impatience I knew he was starting to feel. He desperately wanted that information.

I set the poker down, and dusted off my knees. "No," I said, looking him dead in the eye, "I won't tell you what I know. Just know that it is far more than what you can handle, despite what you think. Neither you nor your friends are strong enough to combat the threat I believe this to be. You've done enough by rescuing Ms. Amagi, and I commend you for that," I looked at the clock, noting that my shift was done and that Daidara would be back from the forge soon. "But at this point, it is best you stay out of it. All of you."

As I walked past him, it became more and more apparent that I would have to drive the point that he was incapable of dealing with Nyx, whether Narukami knew it may be her behind the shadows or not.

"Wait a moment, Arisato."

I sighed, and turned around again. Narukami was standing there, a harder resolve in his eyes. "Like I said, this is something you are ill-prepared for. Forget about that world and get on with your life. I'll take it from here." I was much stronger than he and his friends were together; I was far more capable of dealing with the threat Nyx's infiltrators posed.

"I'll sweeten the deal." Narukami said, narrowing his eyes at me. "Tell me what you know, or I report to my uncle that a previously dead man is roaming around Inaba."

I could feel Thanatos stirring in my mind, a predatory grin on his face. "That's bold of you," I said, crossing my arms, "And how, might I ask, did you discover this?"

"The internet is a wonderful thing. Look hard enough, you can find anything."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Indeed, so it would seem…"

You could put him in his place right now. Show him that you are not be trifled with.

'There would be little point in that; he would only get up again, with twice as much resolve. I'll play this cautious, find out how much he knows without giving up anything too critical.'

"Well, Arisato? Tell me what you know, or have the cops knocking at your door. We need the information you have. If you do not tell us, then at least help us. Otherwise, you leave me no choice."

I contemplated what he said, the idea of working with persona users again. The wind blew harshly for a moment, before settling down again. "Narukami, you've put a rather threatening trap in front of me it would seem. We'll talk again later; I have to think on this."

He walked away, heading south out of the shopping district. I watched him go, giving him a grudging respect in the position he had me in now.

'So…he is the one who has inherited the Fool…I suppose there are worse places for it to be. Thanatos…'

What?

'Looks like you're going to be getting to fight those shadows like you wanted to.'


Yuu let out a big breath as he rounded the corner, putting more and more space between him and the older male. While they were both similar in aspects, Arisato was much more familiar and comfortable with conflict than Yuu was that much he could tell. He was half afraid of being tackled and threatened to withhold that information.

As he boarded the bus back to the residential district, Yuu thought back on the developments of the past couple of days. The biggest development was what just happened, the battle of information between the youths. But there had been others as well, such as how Yuu had joined the basketball team, and how he had deepened his friendship with Yosuke. The former had resulted in a new bond, the Strength Arcana, and he could feel his Magician arcana growing stronger.

Thinking back, it was all Yuu could do now to relax and see how Minato would respond. Yuu had played his hand much earlier than he intended, but it worked to a satisfactory degree. The ball was in Minato's court now.

Yuu only hoped that the blue haired man would take the olive branch he offered instead of the arrows.


A/N: Thus spoke KrossWinter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Review, I'll try to get the next chapter up faster in the mean time.