A chorus of heavy breathing approaches me in the form of the Investigation team, their clothes drenched in sweat and their hair glued to their faces. Kanji's arm is covered in blood, presumably his own. Yosuke is pale, shaking slightly, looking like he's sick with something. But they're all alive. Ken and Souji tail behind them, both looking smug.

"Did you kill them?" I ask. Kanji's smirk is all the answer I need. Beside me, Rise relaxes noticeably.

"Thank god," She releases her hand from its grip on my arm. "Do any of you need healing?" Getting to her feet, she holds up a vial of herbal medicine. Kanji nods, but it's clear he's not looking forward to drinking the potion.

"Here." Rise hands it to him, and he downs it in a quick gulp. The blood on his arm begins to fade, his wound scabbing over almost instantaneously.

"Thanks." Rubbing the wound gently, Kanji looks satisfied with how it's healing, and smiles.

"So, Fortune and Strength are down, then?" I query.

"Yes," Souji says, taking another bottle of liquid from Rise, and using his spare hand to force Yosuke's mouth open. In one swift movement, he forces the contents of the bottle down Yosuke's throat. "That makes eleven, doesn't it?" Yosuke's skin returns to its normal color, and his eyes fill with life.

"Mm. Magician, Priestess, Emperor, Empress, Lovers, Hierophant, Justice, Chariot, Hermit, Fortune, Strength," I count the Arcana on my fingers. "Only two more to go." Yosuke casts a healing spell on the fighters, replenishing their energy.

"Two more?" Naoto looks at me worriedly. "What makes you say that?"

"The first time they turned up, we fought thirteen Arcana Shadows. The eleven I've just listed, the Hanged Man, and Death. It was a sign that the end of the world was coming." Rise and Kanji appear startled by my news, while the others entertain serious expressions and frozen poses.

"So you think we're in for the end of the world?" Kanji grumbles.

"Maybe." Is the best response I can come up with.

"But the Dark Hour hasn't shown up, or any of the other things that signaled the last Fall," Ken steps forward, spear slung over one shoulder, looking skeptical. "It can't be Nyx, can it?"

"We don't know for sure, Ken, if it can be or can't be. I think the only reason we got any warning last time was because of Aegis dividing Ryoji into pieces."

"… Pieces..." Naoto looks thoughtful, her eyes glazing over slightly as she plunges into the depths of logic and reasoning.

"So you think we're just going to watch the world end one day, without any clue of when it's going to happen?" I shake my head.

"We have a clue, though. The Arcana Shadows. If all goes as planned, Ryoji'll be coming back as Death, and he should be willing to buy us time to prepare to battle Nyx." Her eyes glittering with life again, Naoto glances about us.

"You explained Ryoji to us a few days ago, correct? And you said he was your Shadow, your Persona, as it were," I don't see the relevance, but yeah, Naoto's right. "Everyone, I want you to think about something. Could a Shadow have a Persona?" Teddie steps forward, looking a bit annoyed.

"C'mon, Naoto, I've got a Persona, and I'm… ya know."

"Yes, Teddie, but you've completely disowned the idea of being one. For Minato, it's a very real problem, his Shadow-nature, and what I'm wondering is whether or not it would be possible for him to summon Ryoji as he once was while he's in such a condition," I think I see where she's going with this… "Every Shadow has to have a human to imitate, and Personae are simply tamed Shadows. What if, in becoming a Shadow, Minato has forced Ryoji into a human body?" What indeed.

"You think this Ryoji guy is gonna be human?" Kanji seems confused by our discussion.

"Perhaps. But regardless of the scenario, I have a hunch about one thing—that Minato is the—"

"The thirteenth Shadow." I whisper.

"Your unusual behavior after defeating each Shadow, and the way it becomes harder and harder for you to return to human form after each battle… Do you think the Shadows are becoming part of you, like they once did with Ryoji?" Naoto queries, and before I can stop myself, I'm confirming her fears.

"… Yes."

"… I see." Everyone goes quiet, looking fearful. Souji's eyes are downcast, deliberately avoiding mine. Kanji shuffles uncomfortably where he stands, and Yosuke folds his arms tightly, looking almost angrily at Naoto for daring to ask what we were all thinking.

"We'll have to kill you too. That's how it's going to be, isn't it, Minato?" Souji finally asks. Ken, remembering our encounter with Ryoji several years ago, moves nearer to me, locking his gaze with Souji's.

"If we kill the thirteenth Arcana, our memory might disappear." He informs them. "That'd stop us from fighting Nyx at all."

"I don't think that'd happen this time," Rise speaks up, for once. "After all, Teddie is one of them, and as long as he's around, we can't forget, right?"

"Probably," Naoto gives an almost-smile to Teddie. "But we can't be sure." Taking several short, slow steps, I make my way to Souji. Reaching his side, I smile as he takes my hand in his, trying to comfort me. I'm amazed at how calm I am at all this talk of killing me.

"Everyone. We have to look ahead. Ken and Minato have had different experiences with Shadows to ours, and it looks like our two separate worlds are mixing." Souji's words command the attention of all the Investigation team. "We've got to think of all this hypothetically, because the moment our two parties made contact, the moment Minato became my Persona, we crossed two sets of laws with each other."

"Nyx and Izanami—their Persona users have united, and now everything is uncertain. Please, let's not assume anything." Joining Souji in giving advice, I add a nervous smile to the end of my sentence, hoping to reassure the Investigation team and Ken. They all look slightly less confused for Souji and I speaking. Another silence envelopes us… only this time, it's broken by Ken.

"… Minato, do you know what day it is?" I glance up at the sky as I struggle to remember what important date I've forgotten. It's not Ken's birthday, is it? No, it can't be, that was earlier… I look around the alleyway we're all gathered in. Rise and I dashed in here after I was injured by the Strength, so I wouldn't be driven berserk. I kept trying to head back into the fray after my injury had healed (courtesy of that disgusting healing potion) but she refused to let me. Something about 'Souji's orders'… stupid Souji.

"… No, sorry." Definitely coming up blank. Ken smiles vaguely, before tossing his eyes up to the moon. The full, yellow moon.

"Shinjiro died three years ago to the day," Oh, hell. I remember now. And this is—this is the alleyway he died in. Ken gently pushes Yosuke out of the way, and takes up a casual stance. Raising one hand, he mimes firing a gun. Lowering the arm again, he looks at me sadly. "It was a night like this... remember? Takaya was here, and Shinji' was where you were standing." All the Investigation team is held spellbound by Ken's actions.

"This isn't a night to be discussing death, Minato. We should look to the future—isn't that what you convinced S.E.E.S to do back in the day?" Ken's right. "Shinjiro wanted us all to survive this. Let's not even think of killing anyone tonight." Over the past few years, I realize that Ken's grown in more ways than just his height. He's finally realized what Shinjiro and everyone else that died wanted. They wanted the rest of us to live.

"Rise, Kanji, Teddie, Naoto, Yosuke, Souji… Minato… The last two Shadows await us in the future. We can't think about them now," Looking around us, he gives a small smile when he notices our attentive listening. "For Shinjiro's sake, ya know?"

I know, Ken. And I can't believe I had forgotten that I did.