NOTE: sorry for the wait! X\

damn school and writer's block! this is probably the longest chapter i've ever written! im so happy! XD

ENJOY!


"Hey! You can't talk to my Master that way! Take that back!" Metis swivelled around to the man in the beanie. She took her weapon and turned the cross to the man's neck. She was fuming with anger but the man's glare made her weak in the knees. 'I can't back down to this guy. Master and Sister come first...'

"Stop it Metis. Leave 'em." Her master walked to the opening of the floor without looking back at the others and proceeded to the floor below. Shinjiro swore he saw her gaze at him from the corner of her eyes. He glared at Metis who finally lowered her weapon and ran to the next floor.

"Shinji? What's the matter?"

"Nothing." He shrugged of his friend's arm off his shoulder as they followed the girls to the next floor.

COCYTUS: 8TH FLOOR

They just arrived to the eighth floor when suddenly, a black shadow passed them, running across from them. Instantly they figured out what it might be. But that can't be possible...right?

"That was-! It seems to have gone down to a lower floor. I sense something like this before too...Anyways, be careful when going to the next level. I sensed a powerful presence, directly below you...Are you ready?"

"You don't need to ask. We're ready!" Akihiko yelled.

"Senpai!" Tomoe turned to the one in red, eyes fiercely mad. He was startled but she looked away sighed, relaxing a tad. "Yeah...we're ready."

"O-okay, please be careful." The transmission ended.

"Master?" Metis looked worried, reaching an arm to her leader's shoulder. The leader walked away into the next level. The others looked at each other, concerned. One more than the other. As they got to the floor it was somehow similar to the first. Four pillars in one gigantic room. It was still dark and purple with one exception. An incredibly large shadow was in front of them. It hung upside down chained and tied on a silver spiked circle. It had a mask, painted white. It looked like a tortured hanged man. An intercom came in their mind. "Shadow confirmed!"

'No shit.' Shinjiro thought.

"Oh and over there...!" The shadow they saw a few floor above ran in to the corner. It peaked their curiosity, but stayed intact. They were going up against a boss. "Oh...it disappeared again. Well, just concentrate on the enemy before you for now...Incoming!" The Shadow roared and the battle begun.

"Fuuka, think you can analyze the enemy?"

"That won't do. I can't seem to analyze Shadows like this. I'm sorry..." Tomoe sighed heavily. Well, that's just great.

"Okay, everyone go to Full Assault mode. I'll assist with healing!" she yelled to the others as they cornered the shadow. 'Kay Orpheus, show me what you got...' "Assault Dive!" Orpheus smashed the shadow, denting the metal spinner. The Shadow ran towards Akihiko using a Slash Attack. He returned the favour with a powerful strike attack, knocking the Shadow down.

"I've been waiting for this!" an All-Out Attack, damaged the shadow completely. It was Metis' turn and she used her Orgia Mode to strike the Shadow again.

Critical Hit!

Two more All-Out Attack was performed, eradicating the shadow completely. Everyone gasped for air as Tomoe came up to everyone using a Dia Spell. When everyone rested, she walked around to the corner where they saw the silhouette. No one was there. 'Hm...'

"What're you looking at?" Shinjiro came by, trying to act normal. He used too much power when killing the damn thing.

"Nothing. I think we had enough for a while. Let's go back." She turned to the others, helping Metis up while the man in the red vest stood up, with the help of the pillar nearby.

"But Master-! We're fine. That Dia spell helps a lot. C'mon we can go farther. Please!" Metis had puppy eyes as well as Akihiko. "Yeah." he said. "We might be getting close to something. Just like in Tartarus."

She thought about it deliberately then glanced at Shinjiro. He saw her look. It said, 'You want to do this?' all he did was shrug. That didn't help at all. She sighed scratched her head slowly then furiously. Ah, she gave up.

"All right, fine." She took out her swords and walked around. She found another room and ran to it. "Wait here!" She found two silver suitcases and opened them. One had two homunculus and the other had bead chains. Tomoe smiled. 'This'll come in handy.' When she turned around, Shinjiro was right there. It startled her because she always knew if someone was there. "What is it?" she got up putting her hips to the side, crossing her arms. He walked over, hands in his pockets. "Just want to apologize..."

"Wait, you want to apologies? Wow senpai, I didn't think you were the type to sincerely say sorry. I'm impressed. But why though?"

"Whaddya mean? You looked on edge."

"That's cuz Sanada-senpai really isn't following my orders... Is he always like this?"

"Yeah. Though I don't know how she controlled him."

"Maybe she looked like his sister. Anyways let's go, can't keep them waiting. Senpai?" she turned around to meet a man's back. He was rigid. She tipped her head back to see his eyes wide open in shock. "Senpai?" she placed her hand on his shoulder, startling them both. He whipped his head towards her, eyes still wide. Her eyes showed worry. She's never seen him like this before. "Hey, Aragaki-senpai...if you think you can't do this anymore we can—"

"No. I'm okay." He pivoted and walked away. He turned his head. "You coming?"

"Yeah..." she jogged to his spot and they walked to the next floor. She won't ask questions now but he looked to scared. Like something in the past that patronized him more than what happened between him and Amada. Anyhow they entered the next floor. It was different from the place above.

COCYTUS: 10TH FLOOR

"That black shadow...It's the strange reaction I got when you got to this floor..." Fuuka became silent, thinking. She knew it wasn't real but why does she feel that her claim isn't true? Could she be forcing herself to believe it's not because she misses her that much? She shook her head. She must focus. "Oh, sorry...Umm I'm not detecting any strong presences right now. But the Shadows on this floor seem to be stronger than before. Please be careful if you go on..." she looked at Tomoe. She sense bad vibes from her. She was on edge from the last battle and seemed to get annoyed every second. She hasn't said anything but Fuuka knew she was feeling like an outsider, even though everyone was acting normal around her. Was it because they treated her like their decease friend? She remembered when Tomoe entered the room of the dorm; everyone looked at her like their friend came back from the dead. The technician already knew Tomoe-chan well enough that she didn't like being compared to her best friend. She saw it in her eyes.

Tomoe spoke up, startling the girl's thoughts. "A couple more floor, alright?" Oh, she was speaking to the others. She shouldn't be distracted. The teal haired girl focused on the floor ahead, trying to find the black shadow. "I don't want you pushing yourselves. Right Sanada-senpai?"

The boy just made a pouty face, brushing her off. Tomoe sighed and told everyone to spilt up with a partner again. This time she took Akihiko with her. After a few turns, they found a group of Dancing Hands and a Dogmatic Tower. "Fuuka analysis please and a check up on senpai and Metis."

"Roger. Give me a sec; I'll scan one." Tomoe took out four shurikens from her thigh pocket and threw it at the closest Shadow. One hit it but then out of nowhere the shadow, the Dogmatic Tower opened its center mouth, swallowing the rest of the stars. Sanada used his Persona, shocking the two Dancing Hands but the Tower blocked it off. "Damn, electricity doesn't seem to work on that three faced Shadow..."

"Tomoe-chan, the Dancing Hands are weak against fire. Use Agi skills. And Also, Shinjiro-senpai and Metis are doing okay. No one severely hurt."

"Got it. Agi!" Orpheus appeared, killing both the Hands.

It was the Shadow's turn. The 'three faced' tower smiled wickedly, turned its heads then whispered the words, 'Mazionga'.

'Shit...! Orpheus is weak to electricity!' she looked at her senpai who smirked. He could easily block it without moving. The multi-attacking skill moved around in a circle, zapping the ground. Tomoe had to act fast.

Akihiko can shake off electric attacks, like a boxer can dodge a punch to his face. But he kept his fist close to his body, just in case. He looked over at Tomoe who was concentrating hard on something. Her position was like a block. Then he remembered her last persona was Orpheus. If he retained his memory correctly, Orpheus was weak to electricity. Damn, he had to act fast and block her. He ran towards her however it was too late; the lightning struck her before it got to him, blinding his view of her. He heard a scream. As the smoke disappeared, he waited to see an unconscious body lying on to floor. But before the smoke cleared a figure jumped out fast, running to the Shadow.

"Garula!" Tomoe shot her temple summoning a different Persona. Winds blew around it, scratching it's face. She wasn't done; she took her Evoker again and screamed, "Power! Zan-ei!" That last attack blew the Tower to smithereens. Tomoe smiled, proud and deviously. In the nick of time she managed to change personas. It wasn't easy, none of them were able to block it but Kusi Mitama was able to resist it. She changed personas as soon as the lightning was 5 centimetres away. There was a slight zap here and there, but it didn't cause much damage to her body.

Her body shook of static and she was inhaling for air. Akihiko hasn't seen anyone fight that hard before. He ran to her when she collided to the ground. Tomoe was tired however that went away as another tingling sensation rushed through her. Her body felt refreshed and it didn't hurt. She looked to the five foot eight man above her. Akihiko stared before kneeling beside her. He took the bag off her body and opened it. He pulled out a tube shaped item and popped the lid. Then, grabbing her left arm, he pushed up her sleeve. There were blueish purple blots on her hand and wrist. He squirted the cold white paste onto her hand and wrist before rubbing it around.

"You're crazy, you know that?" he said in a small voice. He worked on her hands and wrist, not looking up. He kept talking when she remained silent. "How did you manage to change Personas so quickly?"

Tomoe looked at him, intrigued, but spoke up. "I was trying to find a Persona who can block it. Kusi Mitama was the closest I could get." She looked at her hands now. The bruises started to hurt but the cream cooled the pain. "I thought I was fully healed...How did I get those?"

"The bruises don't leave sometimes when you use a Dia spell. If you knew that was going to happen, why did you scream?"

"Yeah, I panicked when the attack was so close to me. I surprised myself; I didn't think I would be able to resist it so well." She chuckled to herself, shaking her head. Akihiko looked at her. She smiled like her, sounded like her but she was different in her fighting skills. Hamuko would dodge the attack. She was strong and never fell down even from such a strong attack. Hamuko would let everyone do their way in Tartarus but she shouted commands when it came to full moon operations. But this girl was different. She wanted to prove to be better than her friend. Heck, Akihiko even acted the same way he did when she was still around. Of course she'd yell at him for going off on his own. Then he remembered when he talked out of turn, when facing that Shadow. It scared him when he saw Tomoe's face. It was angry, annoyed and hurt.

Akihiko took a roll of bandages from the bag and wrapped her hands. "I apologise for what I did back there. You're the leader and I should be listening to you."

"Oh, um..." She didn't know what to say. Tomoe can't take apologies well. "Don't worry about it. I've been on edge since this happened. Thank you." both her hands were wrapped in bandages now. Her senpai stood up and offered his hand. She stared at him, curious. And grabbed his offering hand.

"Master! What happened to you?" Metis rushed over to where the two stood from. Tomoe felt like a new baby calf, her legs were like jello. She was about to fall when her senpai gripped her from her waist. She felt really embarrassed right now. Just as she looked up at him, his face smoothed out back to normal.

"Careful," He said. "I think we had enough for now. Besides, you should probably check if you have any more bruises."

"I agree! Master let's go back." Metis pleaded with her eyes. She didn't want her to suffer so much.

"Oh, so now we should leave? I thought you guys were up for more." She was up on her feet now. The bruises hurt from the remaining static but she was fine. She doesn't have to use her weapon to kill a Shadow.

"I don't think so. You're pretty badly hurt." Akihiko said, worried also.

"Nah, tis but a scratch. I don't have to use my weapon anyway. I got more than one way of fighting." She smirked pumped for more. Shinjiro came up to view now. He seemed fine if he was walking leisurely like that. "Hey senpai! Wanna go to the next floor?"

"Don't matter to me."

"Okay, then let's go."

"Wait... What's on your hands?" he reached for her arm but she took it away.

"Nothing. Just some meds. C'mon let's go." She picked up her weapons but tucked them away. She turned right and left before asking Fuuka for directions to the staircase. Shinjiro looked at Aki when Metis left, running to her Master.

"What happened to her hands?" he asked his friend.

"Damage from an electric attack."

"Are you an idiot? Her initial Persona is Orpheus."

"It surprised me too. She changed at last minute before it hit her." Then he turned to face the boy in black. "Why you so concerned about her, Shinji?"

"Didn't you hear? She's got a relative looking for her. If she dies here, it'll be on our heads."

Akihiko raised a brow. "You got some sharp ears. I didn't know you care, especially towards—"

"Shut your yapping... We're being left behind." Shinjiro walked faster towards the direction the girls headed. Akihiko jogged behind, keeping his pace. Shinjiro always kept secrets, and Akihiko found that understandable. But when it came to the suppressants it ticked him off. Tomoe was intriguing to everyone and it peaked both the guy's curiosity. Akihiko more towards his childhood friend's actions towards her. He easily hides his caring side with his 'tough guy' look but now he notices his concern towards a girl they just met. Is it because he felt a similar connection to Hamuko when she talks to him? Akihiko didn't understand his friend's relationship with his former leader, and he doubts he ever will. He let the thought go and followed their leader.

Along the way, Tomoe had gained two more Personas. Sarasvati and Oumitsunu. She was happy to gain so much Persona all from one exploration, but how was she going to keep up with so many?


"—to end, again a little further down." Fuuka's voice startled Tomoe as she came out of her daydreaming state. "You're almost there...Just hang in there."

"Uh, right." The transmission stopped and Tomoe hesitated to ask anyone what Fuuka had said. She kept her demeanour and turned to the others.

"Let's split up again."

"I don't think so. Your hurt and there's no way we're gunna leave you alone by yourself." Shinjiro spoke up before Metis got to speak.

"Shinji's right. You're the leader and your safety is our priority." Akihiko said, agreeing. Metis said nothing but her eyes did.

"Okay, fine." She replied. Everyone was slightly amazed. She didn't have any remarks or doubts. Well, she was injured and they were going to push on until she reluctantly said yes.

"Don't worry, Master. We'll protect you." Metis became pumped. Tomoe smiled. She never had experienced things like this before. Her heart warmed at the new acquaintances she made. Maybe being stuck here isn't as bad. Still bad but she's happy she got people to share it with instead of being alone.

Nothing much happened on the next few floors. They remained almost empty so it was easy to sneak up on the Shadows, gaining the upper hand at battles. Everyone gained a level and as well as new experience from each fight. It wasn't long until they reached the 15th floor of the new Cocytus. It's appearance remained the same when they entered the first door. Though, the background wasn't floating blocks but endless staircases that go on forever. To top it off, there was a couple waterfalls here and there, adding effect on the place.

"It looks like a dead end..." 'Where were you 2 minutes ago?' Tome sighed, she hasn't seen anyone this obviously stupid before. "We'll head over there now. Why don't you see if you can find anything else?"

"There isn't anything here, but the door again." Metis claimed as soon as Fuuka disappeared.

"Maybe we'll find the Iwatodai Strip Mall!" Tomoe lightened up. "I've been craving Hagakure for a while now..." her stomach rumbled, proving her statement.

"What are you? Some sort of vacuum? You just ate..." Shinjiro complained, peaking his best friend's curiosity.

"Actually we've been here for a while now...it can wear out a person. And that omelette can't compare to how much I eat."

"Master is right. Like I said before, time here is abnormal, so it may seem like only half an hour has gone by but maybe a few hours or a day may have passed." Metis said, informatively.

"Well that makes things a lot better..." Akihiko murmured sarcasm in his voice.

"Well, it's going to take a while before they get here. Why don't we just relax for now?" Tomoe walked around, sitting by the door. She slummed by it and thumped her head on the frame. Sighing she closed her eyes. Everyone followed suit. They rested for a while. Metis sat beside Tome and Akihiko sat with Shinjiro who laid on the other side of their leader. He kept his beanie down, trying to catch some zees when he noticed the bandages on her wrist again. It bugged him that Aki didn't save her before the attack hit but what bugged him more was his feeling towards it. He barely knew this girl but when he carefully observes her, there's a painful memory behind it that he can't quite pinpoint. Why is his mind repressing it? He looked at her sleeping face. His heart beat faster again but then stopped when her eyes flew open. She wasn't asleep like the rest of them. They had a staring contest, but nothing behind the stare made them talk. It was peaceful, calming and somehow it felt perfect. The sound of the waterfall, the crackle of the fire above them and the silent snooze on Metis and Akihiko.

"You okay?" he asked first, breaking the silence. It wasn't a bad thing. Hearing his voice made it all the more real.

"Yeah...I'm okay now. The pain's going away."

"After this, you're going to rest, all right?" he didn't threateningly glare like he would Hamuko or anyone to make them listen to him. That annoyed and eased him...why? Tomoe smiled tiredly nodded once and closed her eye again.

"I wish I could get use to this...It's nice." Shinjiro stared at her before closing his own eyes.

"Yeah, same here..." they fell asleep peacefully and relaxed.


"We're here!" Yukari's hollering startled the four sleeping people. It felt like only a few minutes had gone by. Shinjiro and Tomoe weren't asleep like the other two but they last group could have slowed down. They were tired as hell.

Everyone got up to their feet but Tomoe stayed sitting. Her legs were asleep because of how she sat. She rested on her legs but they slanted outward. Her knees hurt and her feet tingled. Shinjiro sighed. Again with the clumsiness... He placed his hands in front of her and as she took it, yanked her off the ground. He would have thought she would be standing fine but she wobbled, and her knees shook.

"Sorry...They fell asleep." Tomoe said, apologetically. She grabbed onto her senpai's right arm whilst he steadies her. Unconsciously he slipped his left arm that held her to her waist keeping her up. He hadn't known that made her blush furiously.

"Maybe you shouldn't have sat like that..." He kept his hands there while he looked at her. She didn't look up but he saw her ears turn red. That's when he realised his hands on her curved figure. Tints of blush came on his face but he didn't let go. To make it awkward, his body moved on its own, caressing her waist. That was no excuse either, something inside him forced his hands to move. Being suave, he went along with it. "Just try stomping it awake." He casually rubbed his hands on her curves, trying to make it look comforting.

"Uh I-I think I'm o-okay..." she moved away, dusting her skirt. Somehow his arms felt empty and her body felt cold. They didn't notice but Aigis, Fuuka and Yukari stared at them. The blonde and bluenet beamed lightly however, Yukari let on a frown upon her face. Tomoe was making a move on her friend's boyfriend. She narrowed her eyes from afar, making sure the girl didn't see her.

"Sorry for the wait. Did you wait long?" Aigis started.

"Don't worry about it Aigis. We didn't wait long." Tomoe said. The two senior boys walked in the back as Akihiko wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist. "Another door?" Mitsuru asked.

"Let's hope it's a way outta of here..." Junpei mumbled. Tomoe opened the door slowly, hesitating. They kept their hopes up, waiting to find another place out of the dorm. Again, they were wrong. They didn't enter another place, but a memory.


It was at the Paulownia Mall Police Station

"Well sergeant?" one of the young policemen asked. Two of them stood on the outside of the counter while a looking older man stood behind it. The police station looked the same as always. It hadn't changed one bit. Though there was one thing that caught everyone's eyes. A young boy, about the same age as...wait, he wasn't the same age. It was him. Ken Amada sat behind the police sergeant looking perplexed at his feet.

"Eh, you can go. Looks like a pretty routine accident." The older police officer said, scratching his head. The man looked awfully tired and seems to want to go home. He sent away his young partners giving them a nodding as a farewell. Sighing he turned and walked to the little boy. He didn't want to go through with any of this. He just wanted to go home. But orders were that he had to take in the kid's witness report. He was an official after all.

"Hey kid, sorry I took so long. Says here you name's…Ken Amada, is that right?" the man looked at the files embedded on the table in front of him. Then he looked at the kid. He didn't utter a word or sound but nodded his head slowly. 'This isn't going to go well...' the kid didn't talk and he looked like a mess. He lost someone important but he didn't show a sign of trauma. It's like his soul was sucked right out of him.

"Ah, well, geez…sorry about what happened to your mom." He tried to sound sympathetic over him though he wasn't in the mood. The man was tired! "But she gave her life to save you from the collapse." Again, Ken didn't speak. Maybe a loss for words? But it bothered the policeman. The kid didn't cry. The official kept talking. "Anyway, I gotta take your statement. You're a witness, after all." This time the boy looked at the man. His eyes pleaded for trust and belief. Looks like he's finally got something to say.

"If I told you what happened…would you believe me?" Ken finally opens up his mouth, forcing words to come out. The police noticed his voice didn't waver, or crack. Was he really a fourth grader?

"Of course I would! Helping people out is our job." The man in blue sound convincing to Ken. He had a slight feeling of doubt but the man wanted his 'statement' right? 'He'll believe my word won't he? He is a police officer.' Ken whispered his words carefully. "My mom was...murdered."

"...What!" the man shouted slightly but his reaction was late, changing Ken's opinion slowly. The man worked a full-time shift today and frankly wanted to get home. The caffeine disappeared from his body after a long day.

"Around midnight, I got up to use the bathroom…and I heard voices by the door…I looked and saw this teenager, holding his head and yelling…"

"Wait…you're saying he did it? But the whole house was crushed!" the policeman couldn't believe a teenager by himself caused the whole incident. What Ken described was entirely different from what he saw.

Ken stood up from his chair and continues on with his story. "There was this shining kind of horse monster, and it came right out of him! It roared, and my mom and my house were-!" he couldn't say anymore. Ken knew if he kept going the man wouldn't believe him. 'He is probably thinking I had a nightmare or something.'

"Oh, a monster, huh? Haha...there's no way that actually happened." He chuckles at Ken's made up story. "Oh uh...I shouldn't laugh...I know sometimes after a traumatic incident like this, people can—"

"I'm not lying! And I really saw it!" Ken was angry. He pounded his small fist on the metal table. The man he put trust in laughed and made fun at his words. No one was going to believe him. The man tried to find ways to get the kid convinced that it wasn't like that at all.

"Look...it was an accident, plain and simple. A drunk driver crashed his car into your house." He explains to Ken, who looked a bit dazed...

"What...? A car crash...?"

"We've already found the car and what's left of the driver. We just need an account of the accident now." The policeman kept talking. Ken didn't believe any of what the man said. He's making fun of him.

"That's a lie! You're making that up!" Another pound on the table.

"I know that's what you think, but...it's true..."

They kept arguing, trying to make themselves victor. As they rambled, there was a sound of a police car by the door. The engine revved then came to a halt. A young police man, different from the others before stuck his head into the door.

"Sergeant, can you come out here?" 'Finally...' the man thanked his apprentice silently and hollered to him.

"Be right there!" Ken couldn't let this happen. He moved away from the table and in front of the man.

"Wait! I really saw it!"

The man had about enough. "I'm sorry for your loss…I have to go, well…hope things get better." The man gave his regards, uncaringly. Ken didn't move as he saw the policeman walk out of the station and into the car outside. As they drove off, Ken hung his head. Shaking furiously. "Liar…you said you'd believe me!"

He gripped his hands tight into a ball. He couldn't take anymore lies. "I can trust any adults." He let his frustrated tears fall."So I'll find him myself…"


The memory faded returning the environment to normal. Everyone remained silent as Metis looked around. She hasn't seen anything like that.

"The door's gone…" Metis mutters. "But the first door didn't disappear. It just opened up to a new place…" as she examines the now empty archway everyone turned to the little boy. Tomoe couldn't glance. She knew what it was like to lose someone or two.

"Never mind that... That was..." Fuuka turned her attention to Ken. Everyone was appalled when he just chuckled. Shinjiro barely moved a muscle. He knew the consequences of his crime, so why did the boy laugh? Everyone had the same feeling.

"That brings back memories." This time Tomoe turned around. The kid was grinning. Who would believe it? Shinjiro kept his head down, just listening to Ken from under his beanie. Though he grinned, Ken turned his back from the others as he looked at Koromaru. "I thought of lots of ways to search for the culprit, but I couldn't manage any of them alone. I kept wondering why the culprit had special powers, and I didn't…I wonder if that's what led me to start experiencing the Dark Hour since that day…"

"Ken…" Junpei whispered. It was kind of a shock. The loud class clown had nothing to say to brighten the mood. How can he when they saw such a painful memory?

"My family must have been the ones who put up the 'accident' cover-up in place…I'm sorry for that." Mitsuru turned sullen. As a Kirijo, she experienced this kind of thing a lot. She knew once property was damaged or a civilian was killed or either injured, the family would cover it up as an accident. It was always like that. Even now...It was like a curse, to be brought upon the Kirijo household. To cover up the Persona and Shadow mishap, leaving burden and regret on your shoulders. But she wasn't the one who had the most weight. Shinjiro caused the accident, leaving a child alone without a parent. She glanced from her boyfriend's shoulders to a man hanging his head down, pocket occupied with his hands and an invisible weight in his back. She sympathized for her childhood friend for the second time in years.

Akihiko moved away from Mitsuru, shouting at the model in black. "Hey, Metis! What was that all about?"

Metis seemed confused. She pondered a bit before answering. "What was what about...? Oh I see. Apparently, events that not everyone was involved in can only be watched. That's something new…" Akihiko began to lose his patience with her.

"That's not what I meant! Why did we see such a painful memory?"

Being blunt and confused she spat the words harshly. "Huh...? How would I know? It's your past." She has a point.

Akihiko calmed down a little, eyes narrowing at her. "You better not be hiding anything."

She eyed him back as well. "How would I benefit from that? I'm only speculating but…I think the 'door' reflects the mind of those who enter it. It's the same reason we found a place to get supplies, and why we were able to return directly back. Right now, you wish to erase the Abyss of Time as soon as possible and make it out alive, right? If so, then although what's inside the doors seems irrelevant to our situation, we see it for a reason." She explains to them. Metis sighs. "Maybe you should think hard about what the reason might be instead of wasting time accusing me."

Akihiko glares at her. He can't take anymore with this girl. What is wrong with her? "What did you just say!" Mitsuru worries and she grabbed his arm, pleading him to stop while his other friend came over. "Aki..."

"But...!"

His sad eyes shut him right up. Ken intervenes, trying to keep the mood from turning heavy. He wasn't siding with the robot but what he feels right now might be similar to what Metis had said. "It's alright. What she's saying…might be true."

"Amada..." Tomoe whispers. He sounds so grown up its ridiculous.

"Actually, I've been wondering about that lately…" he explains."Things weren't perfect, but it seemed more straightforward and…pure back then, when I was fighting. We don't get that kind of passion by just going to school every day." He finally turned to meet Akihiko in the eye. For some reason Shinjiro saw the boy look at him too. It wasn't a glare or a plea or any sadness, but just a stare. What did that mean?

"Sanada-san, you've dedicated yourself to boxing again recently, right? Isn't that because…you don't want to forget? You don't want to lose that feeling you used to have? …Of course, that could just be my own way of seeing it." Ken hit it right off the mark. He started boxing again because he felt weak inside. He couldn't protect his little sister, best friend and his former leader he called sister. When he practices, he remember all those times Hamuko cheered him on in his matches, practices and help him train at the shrine. He didn't want to forget her even though they were trying to. "…Maybe you're right. Maybe I do feel just like I did…"

Yukari had enough. She didn't want to go through this again. It was hard enough living without her but remembering all the times with her was just too painful. "Let's not talk like that." Ken and Akihiko stop staring at each other and looked at the now turned over Yukari. "There's no use bringing up the past…don't you remember our entire reason for risking everything? If we don't keep our eyes forward, it was all a waste of time."

"Yukari..." the red head said, again with the sympathizing look.

"…Let's go." The girl in pink declared walking back to the teleporter. Tomoe sighed. She knows what she's feeling but why does she sound like everything revolves around her? Tomoe stared off in to the distance. She was amazed and annoyed at how far the Abyss goes. She sighed, tired as she is.

"Shinji? You okay?" Akihiko got the girl's attention. She turned to see the two boys side by side. One had his body facing away from the boy in red. His head was down like always but he was rigid. Her eyebrows creased as Akihiko waved his hand in front of Shinjiro but the boy didn't faze. He was in a frozen trauma. She walked over to the guy looking at the beanie headed senpai. "He wouldn't be okay with that look Sanada-senpai. I'll take care of 'im. Why don't you go on ahead?"

Akihiko nodded and walked to the portal. He trusted her now so he left his friend in the hands of his new leader. But he still worried. They saw Ken's past after the incident and the kid didn't cry, yell or anything in front of the group. He was maturing a lot.

"Senpai?" Tomoe gazed at the boy. He didn't move and this frightened her. His eyes were frozen in guilt ready to burst into tears. She wanted that to go away...


Shinjiro felt like he was frozen in time. It felt like ice formed around his body, taking away his life. The ice crept towards his chest, neck and face. He couldn't get away. He had to surrender... Slowly he closed his eye as he heard drips of water falling. Suddenly several sloshing sounds were heard. He opened his eyes and he saw the ice melting rapidly. In the darkness came a figure. It was hard to see but he knew it was a girl. Her hands latched onto his wrist melting the ice. It was her that formed the heat. It made him forget what was going on. As the dark shadows cleared the girl stepped forward. Her gray hair was long—past her shoulders thinning out as it goes down. Her gray green eyes looked up at him, scared, worried and confused. His vision went from black to reality in an instant.


"Senpai..." Tomoe whispered the word over until he heard it clearly. When she touched his wrists, they were cold as snow. It didn't stop there; his whole body was frozen. She moved her other hand to his face, examining his expression. It scared her, she never seen anyone so traumatized before. He of all people didn't look like that kind of person. She caressed his cheeks softly, feeling his stubbles as she moved upward. When she saw his eyes had life again she smiled. Oh, she felt so relaxed. Seeing her senpai go into shock was the most alarming thing in her life.

"You're okay." That was no question but a statement. His body temperature went back to normal and his eyes wasn't covered in fog. No one said a word when they realized her hand in his face and wrist. It relieved him too, when someone got him out of the darkness. He was more glad to see it was her, Tomoe. Something inside them made their hearts stir happily, uneasily and scarily. Shinjiro took his hand from his pocket and let Tome slip her hand into his. The electrifying chemistry didn't startle nor scared them. They were just relieved Shinjiro was okay.

"Tch...Of course I am. C'mon." He kept his rough fingers on her hand and dragged her back to the entrance. Nothing made it awkward and nothing made it good. It was a neutral feeling. They remained silent on their way to the dorm, hands still intact.

When they made it out on to the Desert of Doors, they released their hands instinctively and in sync. The quiet sound stayed as they walked side by side to the long stairway. As they got out, they saw Fuuka up at the front of the basement. "Oh there you are. Everyone went to bed. Mitsuru-senpai said we can continue the investigation tomorrow."

"How can we tell if it's morning or whatever with this time skip?" Tomoe asked.

"It seems the days are still moving outside the dorm. Anyway, senpai said you can stay on the second floor. There is a room at the end of the hall to the right."

"So she noticed that her door isn't opening?" that got Shinjiro's attention. He hasn't been there since the night of the party. This stupid Abyss of Time is messing everything in the dorm.

Fuuka nodded. "Your clothes are in there and here's the key." She handed the key to the girl then focused her attention to the man beside her. Her eyes were worried and that bugged him. Wait, Tomoe was also worried but why didn't it annoy him?

Before she talked he held his hand out as a stop. "I'm fine Fuuka. Just head of to bed."

"Oh, okay. Goodnight then." She bowed then headed to the third floor. Tomoe looked at the key in her hand. She gazed at it then turned to the man beside her. He stared at her the whole time. "Not heading off to bed, Aragaki-senpai?" she asked an eyebrow arching.

"Just gonna get something to drink. You go ahead."

She smirked. "Who said anything about waiting for you? 'Night..." He grinned too as he headed to the kitchen for some tea.

Tomoe came back down and she senpai was nowhere to be seen. 'Guess he did go to bed...' she left her room with a towel, toiletries and a hand full of clothing. She tiptoed in the hall and to the washroom in the floor below. When she opened the door she couldn't believe her eyes. The bathroom was huge! It was more like a hot spring rather than a dorm bathroom. She sighed happily when no one was there but it was odd when there was steam. Tomoe tied her hair and striped off the uniform as well as the bandages on her hands. The bruises were getting smaller thanks to the medicine. She placed them neatly in the basket and wrapped a towel around her body.

When she stepped it the hot water, it was pure heaven. The liquid worked wonders on her back and tense muscles. She ran her fingers around her neck to the center of her chest, feeling deep scars there. She looked down. 'So they didn't go away like I thought they would...' she lowered herself in.


After a while she got out, scrubbed herself clean and went upstairs. She went into her room and opened the laptop that was there from the beginning of her arrival. She was thankful that all electronics were functioning. It's been bugging her for a while so Tomoe searched up anything she can find about the Abyss of Time. She doubt anything would be there and nothing was. She sighed, wasting her time. The bath kept her up instead of making her sleepy. She searched again for Personas and Shadows. Luckily, there were something about them both.

'Shadows are born from humans, and carry with them human emotions, which are mostly negative while Personas are the opposite, the positive emotion of a human...' Tomoe searched for more but said the same thing. Were Shadows the same as Personas? But why and how did they turn to such things...? She took the glasses off the bridge of her nose. 'This doesn't make much sense...'


Shinjiro came from the bathroom after a quick shower. He left the kitchen when he finished his tea and headed to his room to get a change of clothing Aki bough for him. When he went inside the boy's lavatory there was sound of an opening door beside him. Tomoe had come out from the girls side fully clothe. He ignored her and took his quick shower when he was done he headed up the stairs. He had made another batch of tea for himself. Just as he was about to go into his room, he saw the door to Tomoe's room was slightly open. Curious he walked to the door and knocked. But he wasn't just curious. Something bugged and scared him. He needed someone to talk to. Though, why did he go to her?


Ken laid across his single sized bed, clothe in a white tee and blue shorts. It was around midnight judging by the darkness outside his bedroom window. He sighed thinking. Shinjiro-san was rather rigid when he saw his past but why would he be? Aren't they past all that? Ken looks up to Shinjiro as his hero. He knows now that revenge is pointless and doing it when you're still young ruins your life. Yeah Ken isn't going to pursue his vengence anymore. He never has until that incident and he won't ever again. He made up his mind. He sat up waiting for the sound of footsteps, or a door to open.


*knock knock*

The sudden sound startled her but she got up and put on a sweater before opening the door. Shinjiro stood at her door, bags under his eyes. She became worried again. "Senpai?"

He looked at her now. He realized the metal frame around her eyes. She wore glasses? He was silent for a minute. It took her less than that to grab his arm and let him enter. He was grateful he didn't have to speak for her to understand his actions.

She settled him on the swivelling chair. He placed his coffee mug in the study table as she sat on the bed. Again no one spoke a word. She knew what he has been going through but she couldn't say anything but stare at his tired face. He was like a zombie. Another minute passed and another. Her fear began to increase. Tomoe picked herself up from the bed and knelt in front him. She looked at his face, concern welling within her. Intuitively she grasped his rough callused hands. That spooked him a little but at least he's not in the paralyzed state.

"If you're going to be like this then you should've just went to bed." She sounded harsh but he needed to hear it. Again he said nothing but stared at her. He wanted an answer by the way he stared at her grey green eyes. "He's not going to hold it against you senpai. He knows better now. Don't get so worked up about it." She released his hand and slapped herself across the bed.

He kept quiet. The light from the center of the ceiling hurt Tomoe's eyes and she placed her hand above her eyes. He saw her action as always and looked at the hands. There was no bandages and little spots of purple blue were fading. "Glad to see the meds are working." He said at last.

"I guess. Stop trying to change the subject, senpai. You're going to have to face Amada sooner or later." He did change the subject to get away from that. But he knew she was going to force him to face it; not to run from things anymore. He sighed, grabbed his tea and sipped it. It was getting cold.

"What are you so worried about anyway? It's not like he's going to kill you again. Isn't he looking up to you now?"

"That's just it."

"Oh please, senpai don't get all melodramatic. He looks up to you and nothing can change that. Wasn't it you who said that vengeance isn't the key and beside he's a kid. Thing's like revenge won't stay with him that long." She got up from her bed and sat across Shinjiro. She half smiled and took the tea mug from him. She sipped it and placed it on the table. She pulled him up by the hand. "Go." It wasn't a command or her way of making him leave but a friendly push. He needed to stop running away and face it head on. He smiled genuinely as if a weight was taken away. No words we needed as he picked up the mug turned whilst patting her head. He headed to the door and opened it. When he closed it, Tomoe heard his voice as well as Ken's.

"Ken..."damn he wasn't prepared at all.

Ken had waited long enough. Marching to the room across his, he gently lifted his hand, ready to knock. Then a creak of an opening door caught his attention. He turned his body to see Shinjiro-san come out of...Tomoe-san's room?


AHHH im so tired...been watching Shugo Chara and Naruto for some inspiration :$