Chapter 4 – House Arrest

"Ugh… Why did I agree to that drinking contest…?" Sakuya murmured as he groggily stirred from his slumber. "…Should be kept as disinfectant or mouthwash… Hate alcohol…"

Slowly, his mind began to function again. Acting out of habit, he sat upright on the bed he was on, rubbing his eyes and groaning while he yawned. He was still drowsy from last night, so instinctively he reached out for his bedside cabinet for the glass of water he kept nearby, but his hand just groped at the air. So he reached further to the right. That time, he froze when he realised he got a hold of something else. Because he was too busy shielding his eyes from the light to take a look at what he grabbed, he decided to figure it out by touch. From the feel of fabric and bare flesh, it felt like he was grabbing a part of someone's leg. Someone wearing a skirt and thigh-high leather boots, he guessed.

KA-BOOM!

And then it felt like intense pain when a vicious slap dealing Almighty damage connected with his cheek.

"AH! Geez!" He exclaimed, letting go to clutch his fresh wound.

"Half-asleep or no, I will NOT tolerate people groping at me!" The owner of the leg bellowed.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry for not knowing you were standing there in place of my bedside cabinet. Could you please… ah… stop hitting me!?" Sakuya yelled back. He was going to say; "keep your undies on", but wisely changed his sentence in case he got another slap.

Finally opening his eyes, he found out that he was not in the apartment he shared with a college student, but in a spacious room. The blue curtains were drawn, but he could tell from the light that it was the early morning. The room was empty as well, as if it were not set up for human habitation just yet. From all that, he guessed that the guy with the maroon coat bought him to a spare room at his place while he was unconscious. Though he couldn't understand why his clothes and school bag were stacked up on the desk.

More importantly, there were three figures standing to his left. The first of which was a beautiful red-haired student wearing a ruffled blouse, a knee-length skirt and high-heeled boots. She also had an expression on her face that could be lightly described as "annoyed". This was, in all probability, the young lady he inadvertently felt up. To her right was Akihiko, who appeared to be cringing and wincing in sympathetic pain as though HE were the one slapped. And to their left was Yukari, her hands covered her mouth and an expression of complete and utter shock was displayed on her face. Guess she wasn't expecting that chain of events to happen.

But strangely enough, the guy who picked him up wasn't there. From what Sakuya remembered, it didn't seem like the guy in the coat was on friendly terms with Akihiko. He guessed this was the result of him simply cashing in a favour.

"By delivering me to them." Sakuya mentally complained. "And from the looks of things, I'm about to be executed on the spot. Oh, goodie."

Somewhat resigned to his fate, Sakuya swung around and placed his feet on the floor, crossed his legs and put his hands in his pockets. His eyes were aimed at the floor to avoid the murderous gaze of the redhead. "So, I'm assuming we're having that talk now?"

"Uh… Yeah. I guess you could say that." Akihiko said, regaining his composure once more. He then gestured to the redhead. "This is Mitsuru Kirijo, the leader of our club. And I guess you already know that Yukari here is a part of it too."

"Yeah, whatever." Sakuya replied in a bored manner.

"Look at us when we talk to you!" Mitsuru snapped.

"Yesma'amabsolutely." He spoke very quickly and complied without a moment's hesitation.

Yukari was trying hard not to laugh, amused that the normally steadfast and calm boy was scared out of his pants.

"Shiomi." Mitsuru began, calmer, but still brimming with anger. "I do not appreciate the way you have acted towards us lately. First you assaulted Akihiko without any provocation, then you lied to and stole from us, you went into Tartarus all by yourself and nearly ended up dead, and now you have the gall to act in such a despicable manner despite your circumstances. I would be very careful about my next action if I were you."

Sakuya remained silent, he couldn't be any more careful than that.

The refined girl brushed her neat fringe aside before looking back at her prisoner. "We have much to discuss, you and I. But I am afraid that it will have to wait. School will start in two hours' time, you had best prepare for it now. We visited your apartment and bought you your uniform, schoolbag and toiletries. Get washed and get ready."

"What did you do with my supply bag?" Sakuya asked.

"I was considering giving it back to you. But because of your appalling behaviour, you will not get it back until we are done with you."

Sakuya looked away and grumbled something under his breath, before realising who he was doing that in front of and stopped before he suffered something worse than a slap. "Okay… so what am I supposed to do in school today?"

"We'll be keeping an eye on you, in case you try another disappearing act." Akihiko spoke up, making Sakuya glad that he had something else to focus on apart from Mitsuru's icy gaze. "Go through the day like any other, then meet us in the lobby after school. We'll walk you back here and then we'll ask our questions."

"And in case you try anything unscrupulous, Shiomi," Mitsuru warned, "I will let the school know about your instance of under-age drinking. You already have a history of brawling at your previous high school. Those two subjects do not go together well. And if they believe that to be the reason for you staying out late, then you will either get suspended or expelled."

"Me and my big mouth…" He muttered. "So, I'm under house arrest? What a way to start the year." He then looked down in resignation and motioned for his jailers to leave. "Fine, I'll play by your rules. Now give me some privacy while I get ready."

"Very well then. I hope, for your sake, that you are not lying." Mitsuru concluded before she briskly strode out of the room, not sparing a single moment more.

Akihiko followed suit soon afterwards. Despite the animosity he held for his captive, he had a look of pity on his face. He knew full well that getting on Mitsuru's bad side would only end in pain. Plus, he usually jogged to school in the morning. He needed the extra time to prepare. The last one to leave was Yukari, who first walked up to Sakuya before delivering a slap to the other side of his face that wasn't as damaging as the first one he received, but it still hurt.

"That was for stealing my phone. And for the flirting the other day." She said before storming out, slamming the door behind her.

Both of his cheeks stinging, Sakuya hauled himself up and walked over to his stuff, picking things out with no enthusiasm before heading for the bathroom. Every step of the way, he despaired that he left his MP3 player in the supply bag while he was in Tartarus. He couldn't ease the pain of his situation with the help of his music collection. This turn of events called for a heavy dosage of thrash metal. But since that wasn't an option, he would have to settle with a shower.

"'Sup Akane, how's it…" Junpei said before he lost any and all ability to speak.

"Hello. Is something wrong Junpei?" Akane asked.

The boy in the blue baseball cap just stood there with his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

"Uh, Junpei?" Akane asked again, receiving no response even when she waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello, earth to Junpei? Why are you making faces?"

"I think that the three of us walking so close together may have something to do with it." A certain blue-haired boy suggested.

That was indeed the case for Junpei and the majority of the students passing by. Sakuya (Cheeks still rosy, but not as much as before thanks to a hot shower) was walking to school with both Yukari and Akane either side of him. They were there on Mitsuru's orders to make sure he didn't run off or misbehave. Yukari was less than enthusiastic and Akane was suspicious of the reasoning behind it. But Mitsuru was still in a foul mood over what happened this morning and would not take no for an answer. So the two of them walked with Sakuya from their dorm to the school. And even though Akane was there for only two days, she was starting to catch up to Yukari as one of the popular girls in the school. Suspicions were certainly raised at the sight of the three walking together.

And if it wasn't suspicious enough already, Yukari kept glancing at Sakuya with contempt. She did that now and again to make sure he didn't try one of his devious escape plans. What she didn't realise is that people could (intentionally) misinterpret this action. Put this and that together and you get a suggestion of a love triangle. The rumour mill was going to have a field day with this, and Sakuya was gladly increasing production with unhelpful comments here and there. For example:

"Dude, what the hell!?" Junpei exclaimed. "You've only been here for two days and you're already walking to school with Yuka-tan and Akane-chan!?"

"I know." Sakuya said in a casual manner with a sly smile forming. "Strange how situations develop, isn't it?"

"Son of a…" Yukari growled in disgust as Junpei gawked even more at the response.

"You okay, Yukari?" Akane asked in concern.

"One day of this." She spat through clenched teeth. "One. Entire. Day."

Thankfully for Yukari, the girls didn't have to stay by Sakuya's side for every passing second. Akihiko came by and relieved them during the lunch break and watched Sakuya as he once again ate in his usual trance-like state on the roof. So the two girls went down to eat in one of the courtyards outside. They ignored the stares and gossip of the other students and brushed off questions about their relationship with Sakuya. They just wanted to eat their lunch without discussing the subject. Well, Yukari did. If Akane were alone, she would try to disprove the rumours. But she decided to give Yukari some breathing space by not focusing on the subject. Instead, she decided to clear a previous point up.

"Sakuya was the person your friend tried to sort out, right?"

"Huh?" Yukari asked, completely caught off guard. "N-no…"

"You're a terrible liar, Yukari. Nothing you say is going to be plausible after an outburst like that." Akane countered. "Besides, a lot of what you said yesterday matches up with what happened with Sakuya."

Sighing, the girl in pink decided to come clean. "…You're absolutely right. Sakuya is proving to be a handful for us lately. He's pulling all sorts of crazy stunts and he very nearly ended up dying yesterday."

"Dying?" Akane's eyes widened at that. "What exactly was he doing?"

"You know how Mitsuru said it was dangerous to stay out late? Well, Sakuya didn't get the memo and he was up past midnight yesterday. Whatever he was doing tired him out so much that he passed out. Thankfully, someone managed to bring him to our dorm before he could get hurt."

"So… Why isn't he at the faculty office right now?"

"It's, uh, complicated…" There was no way she could reveal that it was a matter only SEES could deal with. Plus, Akane was right when she pointed out that Yukari was bad at lying. There was no way she could think of something plausible on the spot. "I'm afraid I can't explain that right now. Sorry, Akane."

"Oh, right." Was her only response. She seemed a little disappointed by the lack of information.

"Hey, don't worry." Yukari said in an attempt to reassure her. "I know that you have lots of questions, not just regarding Sakuya, I know, but I promise to tell you when the time comes. You have my word."

Akane looked a little sceptical at that, but she smiled after a few seconds. "I'll hold you to that, Yukari. But for now, I'll be patient."

Yukari nodded in response before turning her thoughts to other matters. So much had been kept from Akane lately. SEES, their dorm, the Dark Hour… Yukari just didn't like keeping secrets from Akane. Mainly because she, like most people, didn't like secrets being kept from her. Investigating her dad's death got her stonewalled most of the time, so when the opportunity came to work with the Kirijo Group's heir, she didn't hesitate. Only time will tell if she will succeed in her endeavours. But for now, she had to grit her teeth and bear it.

Speaking of gritting her teeth, they still had half the day left. There would undoubtedly be more questions concerning Sakuya and Yukari was already sick of talking about that guy. Of all the people that she had to deal with, he exceeded Junpei on the annoyance scale by a significant fraction. Despite the petty theft and shameless flirting, she will admit that he is a charming guy. But not the kind Yukari was fond of. He was way too extravagant with his gestures and behaviour, plus she got the vibe that he didn't really care about what his actions would bring. He just acted that way because he could, and she couldn't stand it.

"The sooner that guy is out of my life, the better." She thought as she finished off her lunch and made her way back to class. "There's no way I can go through another two years with him."

And later on, it seemed that Mitsuru and Akihiko couldn't last that long either.

Once school ended, Yukari and Akane escorted Sakuya back to the dorm once again, stopping at a coffee shop along the way to grab a drink. The sight of the three of them "hanging out" like this drummed up even more interest from those curious as they went. As soon as they made it back, Akihiko, Mitsuru and Ikutsuki took the captive into the conference room while Yukari excused herself since she felt she deserved a break from the blue-haired rascal.

The interrogation that ensued was, to put it gently, not going well.

"Answer me!" Mitsuru ordered as she slammed her hands down on the table.

Sakuya did nothing but calmly sip his tea with his eyes closed, casually adjusting his shirt's collar after he was done. Now that he was fully awake and comfortable as could be, he wasn't scared of Mitsuru anymore. He didn't even see her as anything to be afraid of. Some might think of this as suicidal behaviour, but Sakuya was confident that he could overcome her now he regained his marbles.

"You said you would play by our rules, so honour your agreement and answer my questions!" Mitsuru demanded again.

"What are you babbling about?" He said casually, looking at Mitsuru with a narrowed gaze and a sly smile. "When I said I'd "play by your rules", I was only talking about the house arrest thing. You should've been more specific."

"Why you piece of…!" Akihiko joined in, standing up and pointing indignantly. "My friend risked a lot to save your life last night!"

"And I nearly ended yours two nights before, in case you forgot. Do you really think this make us even?"

A silent stalemate ensued between the two parties. Mitsuru and Akihiko glared at Sakuya, who returned a sly gaze. Neither side was backing down. The tension in the room was so thick that, never mind the proverbial knife; you would need a diamond-bladed chainsaw to cut through it. So before the situation degenerated any further, Ikutsuki decided to step in.

"Settle down, all of you. This is getting us nowhere."

Reluctantly, the two senior SEES members took their seats again. Sakuya merely took another swig of his tea and turned to Ikutsuki in mild interest.

"Well then, Shiomi-san," the Chairman began, "you have made it abundantly clear that you will not be threatened into talking. So, what exactly would it take for you to explain yourself to us?"

"Two things." Sakuya responded. "Firstly, my bag. I would like back with everything that was inside. More importantly, my music player is in the side pocket. I need it back on my person ASAP."

"I said you could only have that back when we were done with you." Mitsuru countered.

"Look, I can't operate under these conditions. It was hard enough going through my normal routine without being able to drown out the noise running around my head with something else."

"The answer is still no."

Sakuya shrugged and responded in an indifferent tone. "I'm prepared to drag this out for as long as I can. Are you?"

Mitsuru scowled for a few seconds, before she stood up and left for the supply closet where she kept the bag locked up. Two minutes later, she returned with Sakuya's music player in hand. Knowing that he may complain if she threw or slammed it on the table, she decided to place it gently on her end and push it towards him. Sakuya wasted no time in putting his headphones on and played a track. He reclined in his seat, eyes closed and head raised as relished in the ecstasy he got from listening to music. After a few seconds, he switched it off and draped the headphones around his neck.

"Oh yeah… it still works." He said, completely satisfied. He straightened up and looked back to Mitsuru after a pause. "My bag?"

"…It is in your room." Mitsuru replied. "But we can't let you have the sword. That is the property of the Kirijo Group."

"Eh, fair enough. It's got your name on it. And as for my second demand…" He put down his styrofoam cup and leaned forward, hands laced together under his chin. "I want to be released by tomorrow."

The ice queen shook her head. "Out of the question."

"I'm afraid I will have to agree with Mitsuru" Ikutsuki said. "We cannot simply let you go unsupervised since we don't know the limits of your powers. It is simply a risk we cannot take."

"You're far too dangerous." Akihiko added. "Plus, you're too reckless if your time in Tartarus is anything to go by."

Mitsuru remarked how ironic that Akihiko of all people was the one to give that advice, given how he's been heading out on patrol like it's some kind of game. Sakuya, meanwhile, sighed and stood up from his seat, hands in pockets. He kept silent for a few seconds, staring into space before looking Ikutsuki's way.

"The Kirijo Group was originally part of the Nanjo Group, right? Are you still on friendly terms with them?"

"We are. Why do you ask?"

"Then get in touch with Kei Nanjo. Give him this message: "Dark Blue Moon says hello". I'm sure he'll be happy to give all the information you want. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to inventory my loot." Sakuya walked towards the door, placing his headphones back on as he went.

Akihiko was about to intercept him, but Mitsuru grabbed his arm, shaking her head at him. Sakuya left the room unchallenged and made his way downstairs to his room on the second floor, humming along to the tune of the song he played. Akihiko, meanwhile, was indignant that neither Mitsuru nor the Chairman stopped him and was prepared to chase him down.

"Now, now, we at least got some information out of him." Ikutsuki explained. "If he had prior dealings with one of the Kirijo Group's business partners, then it should be easy to find out more about him."

"I know that, but are you just going to stand by while that asshole with a girl's name treats us like dirt!?" Akihiko protested. "Well I can't! I'm going to go down there and teach him a lesson!"

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru snapped while glaring at him. "Do you not realise that he knows your weakness? He struck you with a Bufu spell when you first met. Your Persona is weak to ice and he knows it. Do you really want to get hurt again?"

"So what? I'll be ready this time."

"Like you were ready for him yesterday when he deceived you and Takeba?"

Akihiko clenched his gloved fists and scowled. He knew that Mitsuru was right. There was no way that Sakuya would be an easy opponent. His footwork at the train station and the ease of which he pickpocketed Yukari's phone were testament to that. And although he didn't witness him during sports classes, he suspected that Sakuya was a lot more athletic than he seemed. Then there was the annoying fact of his potential. Mitsuru already gave him the go-ahead to take his earnings from Tartarus. With all the spell gems and recovery items he managed to get his hands on, he would have everything to fend off a Persona user at his disposal.

"Tch, I'm going to get ready for my patrol." He said, storming out of the room.

Mitsuru sighed in relief. Now that her hot-headed partner was reined in somewhat, she could now focus on other matters. She then turned to Ikutsuki. "Mr Chairman, could I leave you to contact Nanjo-san? I have a feeling that I need to observe Shiomi in case he tries something."

"Of course, Mitsuru. I'll get on that right away." He replied, heading for his room at the back after he finished.

While everyone else was preparing for what was to come in the future, Sakuya was dancing around his room, enjoying the one pleasure he was deprived of for the entire day; listening to music. He sang along to the tune of the song he was listening to as he moved about, one that he felt summed up his situation well.

"I want to break free" by Queen.

In her dreams, Akane was back once again on the same gruesome street of Sumaru City. Everything remained the same as last time, the position of the corpses and wreckage, the imposing planes dropping troops and bombs. The place she stood was the same; ankle-deep in death. Even the fear that took hold at the sight of all this was the same fear she experienced last nightmare.

But there was one noticeable difference; the masked boy.

Instead of overlooking the carnage from the roof of the strangely pristine convenience store, he was right in the middle of the massacre holding a short sword in one hand and a pistol in another. His mask was cracked and his school uniform was tattered and stained with blood. And he stood there in a hunched position, breathing heavily and trying to steady himself. Akane remembered that the boy said he "fought off" the soldiers in black. That was an understatement. He outright slaughtered them.

"What are you doing here?" The boy growled, looking up towards Akane. "Why did you come to find me?"

"This can't be…" Akane said involuntarily. It seemed that she wasn't in control of her actions this time around. "What's happened to you? Why are you killing people?"

"To survive." The boy replied. "And to appease my master."

"And that makes it alright to murder? Take a look around you, is this any way to repay someone? By taking the lives of others?"

"And why not? Master Joker gave me the power to spill blood, so I'm happy to return the favour."

The person Akane was observing from suddenly felt sick. Her breathing became shallow and her skin began to tingle. "No… Y-you wanted the power to kill? Why? W-w-who did you want dead?"

The boy stood up straight and looked towards Akane's character. He lowered both of his weapons and stood tall and proud. He seemed to give an answer, one that didn't reach Akane's ears.

But that didn't stop her character from screaming two seconds after her vision blacked out.

And soon after, she was screaming as well, but she stopped herself when she awoke from her nightmare. Her room had a familiar green tint to it, indicating that she was, once again, visiting Weirdsville at her least favourite time of day. Sighing, she leant forward, closing her eyes as she rubbed her aching forehead.

"Ugh, not another one." She muttered. "And what's with those dreams, anyway? Are they someone's memories, or is there a god out there playing tricks on me?"

"Given what's going on in the world today, I'd say either one's a good theory."

Akane froze, opened her eyes and looked left towards the owner of the mysterious second voice. And to her surprise, she saw a familiar shadowy figure leaning against her wardrobe. Someone wearing a grey turtleneck, black jeans, blue boots and a pair of grey headphones dangling around his neck.

"SAKUYA!?" Akane exclaimed, scooting against the wall as fast as she could. "I know we're on friendly terms, but not to the point where you can just waltz into my room whenever you want!"

Sakuya chuckled, but afterwards held a rare, mute expression on his face. "Sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't a booty call. Get dressed, you're going to have to start running soon."

That, along with the fact that he wasn't perving on her like most boys her age would, surprised Akane a second time. "What do you mean? Are we in danger?"

"In a word: Yes. As I was taking my customary midnight stroll, I noticed that one of our dorm-mates was about to collide head-first with something unpleasant roaming the streets." He replied, stepping away from the wardrobe and making his way to the door. He stopped in front of it and glanced over his shoulder to speak again. "And it will make its way over here when he decides to retreat. In short, you need to be prepared for when it arrives."

"Hang on, Sakuya!" Just as he reached out for the handle, Akane sprinted out of bed and clamped her hand on his shoulder. "What exactly is coming after us? What is going on?"

"The same thing that happens in this city every night, Akane." He turned back to her with a grim look on his face. "A time when Man becomes prey for the darkness that is apathy."

Author's Note

Aaaand… this note marks the end of my first revamp. I'm glad I took time to review my old stuff before moving on, I think the whole story fared better for my changes.

I would've put an alcohol warning at the top of the page, but since it was somewhat anti-drinking, I don't think it matters that much.

And yes, Sakuya DID feel up Mitsuru and saw Akane in her jammies. It wouldn't be Persona without something vaguely kinky happening now and again, wouldn't it? [Insert dirty chuckle here]