Second Chances

Disclaimer: Like I said before. I own nothing.

What's the most abnormal thing you have done? Mine was eating bubbles. Yeah, I'm pretty normal. And I loathe that about me.

Anyway, enjoy.

XxX

Minato wasn't so sure how he was supposed to react to this. The first thought he wanted was to have an evoker prepared for her, but, he didn't know Mitsuru yet. Or rather, Mitsuru didn't know him.

The second thing he wanted to do was to just ditch her there and lay siege to any and all shadows he was coming across. This was for two parts. The first: he wanted to vent and get out of his system that he was alive and kicking. The second: he was just frustrated to the point of insanity.

So many deviations from the original storyline, and he wasn't even at Iwatodai yet. Yeah, he needed something to destroy.

"So," Began the girl right next to him. He eyed her curiously, thinking of anything she would say now of all things. "How long have you been able to see the Midnight Hour?" She asked a hint of apprehensiveness in her voice. Minato didn't immediately respond. He only kept walking in the deserted street. The deserted green street with walls dripping with blood, coffins lined everywhere, eerily silent, and with the faint glow of the green moon shining down on the street.

Minato waited for awhile, before he heard her huff in annoyance. He sighed and decided to answer her question.

"Sorry, I'm so used to silence that I don't really pay attention during this hour. And why'd you call it the Midnight Hour? It's not even midnight yet." He asked her, which garnered a surprised look, before it turned into a sorrowful one.

"I-I first entered here during midnight. Ten years ago, in Iwatodai." She said vaguely. Minato raised an eyebrow. Why was that eerily familiar?

"Tell me, by any chance. Were you on the moonlight bridge?" Minato asked, stopping and turning around and looked at Hamuko's surprised eyes.

"H-how'd you know?" She asked with shock. This time, it was Minato's turn to raise an eyebrow. Ok, that worked, now for another bluff.

"Is your last name by any chance, Arisato?" He asked his voice laced with curiosity and apprehension. Hamuko stifled a gasp at that.

"Ok, you are seriously creeping my out. Do I know you? I know I don't, so who are you?" Hamuko asked with a slight edge in her tone. She was on guard around him now. And he didn't want that. He had to think fast.

"… I was there too." True, he was there. Just not THERE there. Hamuko was shocked at the revelation.

"W-wait, you were there when that giant black demon attacked? How come I didn't see you?" She asked, her voice quivering slightly at mentioning death's apparition. If only she knew she was talking to Death personified right now.

"It's a long story. Tell me, were your parents…. You know?" He asked, trying to piece together the pieces. He observed as she took in the question with confusion, before her eyes widened in shock and revulsion.

"No! My parents didn't die! Thank God. But they were injured. I thought you were there? Didn't you see the monster flip the car over with me in it? My parents were there too, but they didn't suffer any lasting injuries. The doctors said they were lucky that they survived." Ok, she wasn't the female version of him. She was just a passerby when it happened. So that meant he probably existed here. Or was existing. Or, if logic was the winner, he didn't at all.

He sighed as he turned around and continued walking down the street, Hamuko carefully trailing behind him. Eyeing him curiously and expecting something to happen.

Minato was expecting something to happen as well, but nothing. It looks like Kyoto was shadow free. Which was ironic, seeing as Kyoto was a testament of demon history. But apparently, the local shamans did a good job warding off spirits. So they should be relatively safe here.

"It's too quiet. Too quiet." And there it is. He sighed and turned around facing Hamuko with a blank gaze.

"You know those old horror movies?" He asked, getting a confused nod from Hamuko, who didn't expect the question. "Then you know that whoever says that line doesn't get a happy ending." He stated. Getting an involuntary shiver from Hamuko.

"H-hey! Don't scare me like that! I'm just not used to hearing nothing in this hour! I usually here crying and squishing. But not silence!" Hamuko shouted incredulously.

Minato stared at her blankly. Before letting out a small chuckle. "You don't hear silence. You observe that it is silent." He said matter-of-factly. Hamuko huffed and turned her head in annoyance.

"Yeah well, you don't see silence either!" She huffed. Minato chuckled.

"Touché. Now, if you're finished with you ranting. I'm going to explore some more. You should head back to the motel." He told her as he turned around. He sighed as he heard Hamuko keep walking with him.

"What are you doing out here anyway? I never really explored, since this hour scared me. But with you, I think I'll be safe." She explained. Minato just shook his head.

"So I'm your bodyguard now is that it? Fine, but I expect payment." He told her with a chuckle. Hamuko didn't react, only waiting for him to answer her other question.

"….I want to explore." Was all he told her. Hamuko eyed him suspiciously, but found that he wasn't going to say anything else anymore. So she just sighed and kept walking right behind him.

XxX

They had been walking for a total of fifteen minutes, and they haven't encountered a single shadow as of yet. They haven't spoken too, well. Minato didn't, Hamuko was the one talking.

"Hey look! A shrine!" Hamuko happily cheered as she pointed up the hill they were passing. The hill had a staircase leading up towards a barely visible shrine at the top. The roof was the only thing they could see, as well as the wooden arc at the top of the staircase. Minato eyed the shrine, hoping to see the rest of the building. Seeing as he needed to climb it to get a better look, he started walking up the stairs. Hamuko trailing behind him.

After a few seconds of silence, Minato broke it with a question. "So, why'd you leave Iwatodai?" He asked, eliciting a surprised look from Hamuko. Surprise because he hadn't instigated a conversation yet.

"My mom and dad thought I was traumatized by the car flipping over. So they sent me to Grandma over by the countryside. No cars, fresh air, and away from city life." She explained. Getting a slight nod from Minato.

"Sounds like fun. Did you enjoy being with your grandma?" He asked genuine curiosity in his voice. Hamuko let out a sigh at that.

"It was fun for awhile, but sitting still and doing nothing but go to school, tend the garden, and watch T.V got boring." She said. Minato motioned for her to continue. They had reached the halfway point of the stairs as he did that gesture.

"So, I decided to come back when I was gonna start high school. I asked Grandma if I could, and she said that it was ok and that I can make my own decisions. So she contacted dad and told them about what I wanted. At first, they were apprehensive, but they finally conceded two months ago. I took the exam for Gekkoukan high, and passed. Though only barely. And what's weird about it is that I was given a scholarship. Like a true genuine scholarship. I was confused, but I don't really look a gift horse in the mouth. So I just accepted. There was only one thing I had to do, was that I had to dorm. So, right now, I'm supposed to be heading to the dorm in Iwatodai. But they said that if the dorm didn't work out, I could go back with my parents." She finished her explanation as they finally reached the top of the stairs. Minato nodded his head as he took in every word she said. Well, at least she wasn't a clone copy of him. Maybe she wasn't him in this world.

Before he could question her anymore however, he sensed an ominous presence coming from behind him. From the shrine, and he saw Hamuko's eyes change from indifference, to absolutely terrified. Which meant only one thing.

"Get down!" Hamuko shouted as she jumped to her left and Minato's right. Minato grit his teeth and searched for the Persona he wanted. But before he could call it out, he was blindsided by a giant fist. The fist hit his back and sent him flying towards the arc they passed at the top of the stairs. He grunted in pain as he hit the post and slid down towards the ground. He caught himself as he steadied and stood up. He turned around and was faced with an ominous shadow.

The shadow was impossibly big, it was as tall as the shrine, and was as half as wide as well. The shadow was humanoid in nature, its mask was a hue of red so dark that it looked like blood. This coupled with the fact that the mask was dripping with dark red ichors really made it look like it was bleeding. It was also interesting to note that the shadow had the roman numerals XIII on it. Which clearly meant Death.

The giant shadow had a blood red kimono, and had a sheathed katana on its side. The shadow had wooden sandals, and its arms were lanky, but the fact that the shadow moved like it was a professional meant it had technique instead of power.

Minato growled as the Shadow reached for its katana. And, in a swift motion, drew it and slashed through the arc. The arc was cut in half and it spurt out blood. Thankfully, Minato had dodged and was now moving towards the shadow. One hand covering his face.

"Minato! What are you doing?!" Hamuko shouted as she saw Minato heading towards the giant shadow. She was in a panic; she didn't know what to do. She hadn't seen one this big before, and it was hostile. They needed to run, they needed to live!

"Let's give you a go. I call forth, from the sea of my soul. I summon thee!" The sudden sound of glass shattering waked Hamuko from her stupor, while the giant shadow just looked on curiously at Minato.

Suddenly, in a flash of light, a woman wearing bright silver armor, holding a burning white sword appeared behind Minato. The woman was blonde with short hair that reached just to her shoulders. Her body covered with knight's armor, and her sword seemed to glisten even in the dark. The maiden eyed the giant samurai shadow, and she raised her sword in position.

"From the sea of thy soul I cometh, hear me summoner! My name is J'eanne, the preserver of my way of life!" The persona – J'eanne – shouted as she readied herself. Minato couldn't help but smirk.

"God's word!" Minato shouted as he shot his hand forward. J'eanne reacted immediately. She sprang forward, her sword poised to strike. And she seemed to be muttering something. The shadow prepared itself, but found that it couldn't react.

As J'eanne was muttering, the shadow started quivering. As if it was shaken from the words she was saying. J'eanne as well seemed to start glowing white.

And in a sudden flash of bright light. J'eanne was behind the shadow. Her sword dripping with blood as she had pierced through the shadow. Exiting the shadow's back. But, only her sword was dripping with the shadow's blood. Which was surprising.

J'eanne turned around and faced Minato, and smiled bright at him. Minato was confused at this gesture, and his eyes almost bugged out as J'eanne spoke.

"My master, it is good to finally see you. Do not hesitate to call me again." J'eanne told him as she started to fade out of reality. Bringing with her the bright light she had envelope her. Minato just looked on as she disappeared. And only one word went though his mind as he finally took in what happened.

"Huh." Was all he could say, quite eloquently.

XxX

"What was that?!" Hamuko shouted as she approached the standing Minato. Minato raised his head and looked over towards her, and sighed. He didn't want anyone seeing that.

'Oh you mean the giant shadow? Or was it my persona about someone from history?' was what he wanted to say. But to save face, and to have Hamuko stay in the dark, he needed something else. Something smart….

"What are you talking about Hamuko-san?" He resisted the urge to hit himself. That was absolutely bull-shit.

"What am I talking about?! What are you talking about?! Don't deny what I just saw with my two eyes!" Hamuko shouted incredulously. Minato sighed and turned away from Hamuko and towards the shrine. For some reason, the shrine was giving him a very bad feeling. But he couldn't quite place why.

"What you just witnessed Hamuko, was something no one should have seen." Minato stated as he walked on towards the shrine. Hamuko quietly following him.

"Just get to the point already! Don't beat around the bush. I want to know what that was, both the giant, mask wearing samurai, and Joan of Ark calling you her 'summoner'!" Hamuko shouted at how Minato was treating her. She wanted him to get to the point, to explain to her what she just saw. That wasn't normal. That was an absolutely terrifying situation for her.

She heard Minato sigh as they had finally reached the shrine's offertory box. She noticed Minato look at the box like it was cursed, and that she felt a dreadful feeling coming from the box itself. She quietly chalked it up to the 'things he'll tell you about' list.

Minato meanwhile, looked past the cursed box, and over towards the inside of the shrine. He saw a coffin in there, so there was something inside when the dark hour struck. And that meant they were either cleaning, or were re-warding the place. And from the fallen pieces of holy papers around the coffin, it was most likely the latter.

"This is interesting." He said out loud, garnering Hamuko's attention. Though she was still apprehensive about all this 'hush hush' she was getting from Minato, she decided that now wasn't really the time for questions. That came later, when they were both back in the motel.

"What is?" She asked. Minato didn't look at her as he replied. "This offertory box is obviously cursed, but why are they warding the insides of the shrine instead of exorcising this box? That just doesn't add up." He told her, garnering a raised eyebrow from Hamuko.

"Can you explain that explanation?" She asked while her eyebrow twitched. That was just redundant.

"It means that, they're scared of the shrine getting cursed. More so then the offertory box getting cursed." Was all he said as he took a look in the shrine.

That was a mistake however; he suddenly felt an ominous presence coming from the inside. It was so chokingly filled with malice that Minato took a step back in surprise.

Hamuko eyed him curiously, surprised at his sudden movement. But before she could voice her question, Minato took her hand and started running.

"No time for questions, right now, we need to get out of here." Minato told her as they ran. He pulled her as they ran down the stairs at a fast pace. Hamuko was worried now, this night wasn't normal, it wasn't normal by any means. First, she found someone walking around in the Midnight Hour, and then she found that the person she found could summon people from the dead and use them to fight. To fight giant mask wearing samurais. And if that wasn't enough, she hadn't seen any of those black blobs that she was so accustomed to hiding from.

Minato really needed to explain what's happening when they get to safety.

XxX

"Ok talk. What happened at the shrine? Why'd you take off like that? Why'd you summon Joan of Ark? What the hell was that samurai?!" Hamuko demanded, her voice rising at each question. Minato plopped down on the bed, sighing deeply at her questioning look.

The dark hour had passed, and all electronics were working, the sound of cars passing was heard outside. The faint sound of the motel's cheap lighting buzzing in the background. After a short while to catch his thoughts. Minato sat up and eyed Hamuko with a serious look.

"First, the 'samurai' is a shadow. A shadow is, hmm…" He thought about it, and then continued as he recollected his thoughts. "A shadow is a piece of 'Death'. Now, as for me summoning Joan, or J'eanne as she likes to be called. That was my Persona. A physical manifestation of my psyche. Personae are used to combat the 'pieces of Death' or shadows. You with me so far?" Minato asked. Hamuko carefully nodded, indicating that she understood what he had said. Though she was still confused, she kept her mouth shut as he continued on to his explanation.

"Now, as for me running from the shrine. Let's just say that samurai shadow was there for defense. Whatever was in that shrine, did not want to get disturbed." Minato emphasized the last part of that sentence with a serious look. Hamuko flinched at how serious his eyes were. The normally blank and quiet silver eyes were now filled with seriousness. It was mesmerizing at the same time it was scary.

Hamuko recollected the information she had and sat down on the bed next to Minato. Who was eyeing her carefully.

Hamuko sighed as she faced Minato. "So what happens now?" She asked him, and he only replied with a small smirk.

"What happens next is that I'm going back tomorrow. Whatever is in that shrine, it's not supposed to be there, and it being there puts people in danger." He declared. Hamuko eyes bugged out and she stood up abruptly and shouted at Minato.

"No! Don't go back there! That thi-" She was interrupted by their walls suddenly thumping loudly. She was apparently too loud and the neighbors heard her. Hamuko had the gall to feel abashed. She blushed before continuing in a hushed tone. "If that thing is as dangerous as you say it is, don't go back there!" She managed to shout as quietly as possible. Which amused Minato at how she was trying to sound menacing in that hushed tone.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself Hamuko. You meanwhile, have to stay here. If that thing is as dangerous as you think it is, then take my advice and stay here while I take care of it." Minato told her, getting a frustrated sigh from the girl.

"Why are you doing this? It's not your job. You should just leave it be." She told him. Minato only shook his head at that. "It may not be my job Hamuko, but that shouldn't mean that shadow has the right to stay there. Shadows are the enemy of mankind. They're our anti-thesis. Our polar opposite. They don't deserve to just live, as we don't deserve to just die." He explained to her as he stood up and started walking towards the bathroom. Hamuko didn't say anything as she eyed him.

She watched him close the door, away from her eyes. She sighed as she sat back down on the bed and curled into a fetal position. Her thoughts going a mile a minute.

"I just don't want to see someone die again." She said in a hushed tone.

XxX

The next morning…

Hamuko yawned as she stretched in the bed. Her thoughts blank as she sat up and looked around groggily. Her hair down and reaching her shoulders, it was also very messy, as it got everywhere. She wiped her eyes from the after sleep sand. And eyed the alarm clock next to the bed. It read 9:12am.

She then stood up and stretched some more, before scratching her back and groggily moving towards the bathroom. She opened the door and closed it.

She had slept in her uniform, seeing as she hadn't changed. She decided to change right now. She took her blouse and unbuttoned it and removed it. Revealing her white bra and silky white skin. She set the blouse down on the sink and moved to remove her skirt. Before she suddenly remembered something. Something very important.

She quietly turned her head slowly, on towards the bathtub. And as her eyes finally arrived there, she was met with the blushing face of one Minato. She did the only thing a girl would do when caught stripping in front of a guy.

"KYAAA!" She shouted and promptly tried to cover herself up with her arms. Minato meanwhile, was busy covering his eyes from the sight.

"Get out!" Minato shouted as he tried to suppress the urge to peek through his fingers. Hamuko followed through and promptly ran out of the door and shutting it behind her. She was surprised that she had done that that quickly. But nonetheless, she was still embarrassed. She had actually striped down next to a stranger. Well, not a complete stranger she granted him. But it was still embarrassing.

She slid down the closed bathroom door as she sighed. That was taxing. It wasn't even 10:00 yet and she had practically exhausted herself. She heard shuffling behind the door, and she realized that Minato was going to have to come out of the bathroom door. So, she quickly put her blo-

"Oh damn!" She shouted. Her blouse was still in the bathroom. She heard Minato's footsteps get stronger, indicating that he was close to the door. She was panicking now, and did the only thing she could think of. She dove for the bed and covered herself with blankets.

Surprising her however, was Minato, who knocked on the bathroom door. "Hey Hamuko, I'm coming out, if you're not dressed yet though. Can you get dressed?" She heard him say. She resisted the urge to blush even more at how embarrassed he sounded.

"I'm dressed. You can come out!" She shouted. And she really wanted to hit herself. Why did she say that?! She wasn't dressed, only covered!

"Okay, I'm coming out." Minato said as he exited the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He carefully scanned the room, looking for Hamuko. He was surprised however when he saw her hiding under the blankets. He saw her peek out of the blankets, and they made slight eye contact, before she promptly slid the covers back on and hid herself again. Minato sighed, he figured she needed time to be alone now.

"I'll be leaving for awhile. I'll come back with lunch. And you should probably call your dorm, telling the people there that you'll be late. They might expect you today." He explained as he moved towards the door. He sighed as Hamuko didn't respond. And he promptly exited the premises.

Hamuko let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. That was extremely embarrassing. Well, at least she had the place all to herself now. Which meant she could get dressed and use the bathroom. But still, the thought of her stripping in front of Minato just warmed her face in embarrassment.

XxX

Minato was walking down the street he took with Hamuko last night. He needed to look into that shrine, it wasn't normal by any means. The shadow he fought was different; it had a different kind of aura surrounding it. And the mask it wore, it was different then the shadows in Iwatodai. It wasn't a normal shadow by any means. And he needed to find out why.

The street was busy with a few people walking and going to work. Some were rushing, coffee in their hands. Those were the people that woke up late and was late for work as well. The next kind of people were the ones casually walking about, taking in the sights and sounds. These people were the tourists, and seeing as it was a weekday, most people were busy doing these two things. But not Minato however, he was walking at a brisk pace, not looking anywhere, and walking towards an unspoken destination.

After a few minutes of silent walking, he finally arrived at the stairwell that led up towards the shrine. He could see that the arc was still broken from the fight yesterday, and he could faintly make out a few people up there and around the arc. He started walking up the stairs, and when he took the first step. He was met with a dreadful feeling. Like he wasn't welcome there, and anymore steps he took would be the death of him.

Normally, people will take this as an omen. And they would turn and leave, but Minato was normal. So he promptly switched his Persona, from J'eanne; the maiden of Orleans, to Thanatos; the greek god of death. All the intimidation was suddenly turned into child's play for him.

As he reached the halfway point up the stairs, he finally found out what was happening at the top of the stairs.

There at the top were three people, wearing white shrine robes, Minato couldn't make out their genders from this far away. But they were fretting over something inaudible to him, and he figured it had something to do with the broken arc. He shrugged as he just continued on towards the shrine.

At the top, the three people saw him and had garnered raised eyebrows from each one. Finally, after a minute of silence, one person approached him.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry, but right now the shrine is closed. There was an accident last night and we have to close the shrine for awhile." The woman said. Minato eyed the shrine maiden, and found that she wasn't at all that older then Minato.

She had short black hair that reached just to her shoulders. Her pale complexion seemed to counter her black hair however, and her heart shaped face gave her a look of elegance and sophistication. And her slightly puffed lips made her look like a model more then a shrine maiden. Minato figured that she was no more then 2-4 years older then him. Which surprised him, seeing as this woman was wearing shrine wear reserved for fully fledged curators of the shrine.

Minato carefully eyed her and the shrine behind her. He was surprised though, at how it was giving an ominous feeling. And that it seemed to deflect sunlight. The shrine seemed darker then the rest of the places in the lot, like it was rejecting the light. He chalked this up as part of whatever is happening around this place.

"I'm sorry, but could you tell me why? I wanted to pray, and this was the closest shrine to where I was staying. The next shrine is across the city you see." He lied with a blank face. The woman seemed to squirm, like she didn't know what to say. And Minato knew that this was the case right now.

"There was," She began before quietly thinking. She then followed up her previous sentence. "There was an accident last night. And we're still trying to fix it. Right now, the shrine is a danger to the people. So if I can kindly ask you to leave." She seemed desperate. But Minato wasn't one to give up.

"Oh well that's a shame. I walked up all those stairs only to be told that I have to go back down empty-handed. Can't I just stay for awhile, to catch my breath and offer my prayer? I won't be long, don't worry." Minato asked with the most pleasant smile he could muster. The woman was uncomfortable at how he seemed to insist to stay a second longer. And this really set off alarm bells in him.

"O-okay. You can stay for your prayer. But please, as soon as you finish, I have to ask you to leave." She told him, slightly hesitant in her words. Minato smiled bright at her, which made the woman blush a bit at how he smiled.

"Thank you, I won't be long. I promise." Minato told her as he made his way past her and over towards the shrine's offertory box. He heard the woman's footsteps soon after his however, indicating that she was following him towards the offertory box. He didn't mind that however, as long as she didn't see him looking around inconspicuously.

Each step he took seemed to increase the feeling of unwelcome-ness. Like he really wasn't supposed to be their. But Thanatos' presence in him made all these things moot. It was one thing to intimidate a human, and it was another to intimidate a human with the psyche of the god of death.

He had finally arrived at the offertory box, and just like last night. He felt the cursed offertory box's power emanating. It was powerful, and it seemed to want to lash out at the closest thing next to it. Minato didn't why it was holding back, but he had other things to observe.

He stepped up to the offertory box and took out his wallet. He heard the woman behind him take a deep breath as he took out money from his wallet. And almost after he did that, the offertory box's aura seemed to disappear. To be replaced by the pleasant feeling of the day.

He froze mid-way into putting the money in the box as the soothing feeling washed over him, it was extremely strange, to go from threatening you, to trying to coax you into putting your money in.

As he was still frozen however, the feeling returned ten-fold. Like it wanted Minato to drop the money now and leave. He heard the maiden cough behind him, and he turned to face her. To be met with her pale face sweating slightly.

"I-if you're going to offer the money, please do so quickly." She told him. He raised an eyebrow at what she had said. This was adding up now, but he still needed proof.

He promptly put the money in the box, and the feeling seemed to subside slightly. But the feeling of intimidation was still there. Albeit slightly lighter.

As he bowed his head though, he kept an eye on the insides of the shrine, namely the walls laddered with warding paper. It had looked like they were glued on by a child. It was so horribly filled with paper that the background looked like cracks on the white wall.

He clapped his hands and bowed his head even more and prayed. The intimidation didn't change, and it was still there. It didn't increase as he prayed, nor did it subside. He was at first confused at this, but then figured that it only wanted the money in the box. He really needed to find out what was happening.

He finished his prayer and turned around. And what he saw almost made him want to demand answers from the maiden.

The woman was now even paler then before, was sweating profusely, and was shaking in fear. Her eyes were wide with terror, and her other curators, who had stayed behind at the shrine, were also shaking in fear. He clicked his teeth silently, whatever was happening, was clearly affecting these people deeply.

He went over to the maiden and put a hand on her shoulder. Which stopped her shaking and made her eyes re-focus on him. He quickly switched to Helel, and hoped that Helel's soothing aura would be enough to help her.

Thankfully it was, and she seemed to visibly relax as she looked at him. He smiled at her, which made her blush a bit at him.

"Are you okay Miss? Is something wrong?" He asked, catching her off guard at his questions. It looked like she was about to answer him, but she cut herself off by biting her lower lip.

She eyed him with a look of pleading, but she shook her head. "P-please leave now. You've had your prayer and offering, s-so I have to ask you to leave." She told him, and Minato only smiled. Making her blush even more.

"Of course, but it looked like you were terrified. Is everything ok?" He asked again, hoping for an answer this time. She slowly nodded her head. Which didn't at all convince Minato.

"Okay then, if you say so Miss." He told her. Outside, he was smiling. Inside, he was raking his brain for an answer, everything just didn't add up. This was really confusing for him.

He made his way towards the stairs again, the maiden following him. As they reached the stairs however, he turned around and again and faced the woman. Which surprised her at the sudden motion.

"My name is Arisato Minato by the way. It was a pleasure meeting you-?" He bowed as he trailed the last part. The woman seemed to be apprehensive, before she relented and bowed back at him.

"Yuki. Just Yuki please. It was a pleasure meeting you too Arisato-kun." She said as politely as possible. Minato smiled at her.

"Fitting. Your black hair is as beautiful as your pale skin." He quipped as he turned and left the shrine. He didn't see the woman blush at his words.

XxX

"That'll be 2500 yen." The store owner told Minato. Who promptly took out his wallet and paid for the meal. He found a good store that sells bentos just outside the shrine's entrance. And he saw that it was cheap as well, he had ordered four bentos, two for him, and two for Hamuko. As he gave the money to the man, the man gripped his hand. Surprising him at the sudden grab.

"Listen kid, stay away from the shrine. That place is evil, it may look normal, but most people avoid it because of the dreadful feeling they get from the place." The man warned. Minato raised an eyebrow at the warning.

"What's so wrong about the shrine? Did anything happen there?" He asked, trying to sound as confused as possible. The man seemed to sigh at the question.

"Yeah, about six to eight years ago. People in suits came and took a child from the shrine. Now normally this would go unnoticed, seeing as the child was homeless and just living off the shelter of the shrine. But the child grew close to the head priest at that shrine." The man told Minato, who nodded his head and signaled for him to continue.

"Apparently, the priest didn't want the men to take the child, so he fought against them and tried to keep the child there. Now when I say fight, I don't mean the legal kind you see everyday in court. No, this was a full on fight. Like brawling, kicking, punching, and pulling. It also helped that the priest knew how to use a sword, like really use it. He was extremely good, he was trained in the ways of the sword when he was a kid. His mother thought it would be a good idea since he would become the lead curator of the shrine one day. But back to the fight, the kid was caught in the crossfire as the priest he looked up to as a father fought against his would be takers." The man said, sighing as he neared the end of his story.

"The priest fought hard, he was young. Only in his thirties, I remember he used to play around here when he was a kid. Poor guy didn't deserve what happened to him." The man told Minato, who raised an eyebrow at where he was getting.

"You mean he was?" He trailed; the man nodded his head glumly. "Yeah, he was shot dead. Three times actually. I heard the gunshots from here." He told Minato, who just nodded his head in understanding.

"Well, at least he took one of the guys with him when he did it. He almost chopped the guy's head off. Too bad they never did identify who the body belonged too. Anyway, long story short. The priest died that night inside the shrine, while the kid was whisked off to God knows where. The guy the priest killed was leaning on the offertory box, damn bastard bled on the money and ruined it." The man told Minato. Who was still silent.

"Thanks for the warning oji-san. I'll take your advice. But can I ask you something?" Minato asked, the man nodded his head as he gestured for Minato to continue.

"What was the name of the priest?" He asked, the man nodded his head at that question.

"Nothing too uncommon, the guy was called 'Jin Shirato'."

XxX

Wait what?! That's it! Damn you author for your cliffhangers!

Muahaha! The start of the shrine demon mini-arc starts now. More mysteries, more deviations from the original storyline, and most of all. New persona's and social links!

Oh, and that shadow at the start wasn't who you think it was. And it sure as hell isn't dead yet. It'll play a vital role in this ark. So just wait for future chapters.

So anyway, like it? Hate it? Review and tell me what you think. Tell me my mistakes. And I'll make sure to improve.

C.O.Y.L out, peace!