PERSONA 4: EVERSION

LADY SHINIGAMI

DISCLAIMER: THE USUAL.

CHAPTER 8


Somehow, Souji was not at all surprised to see Akihiko waiting at the school gates after classes ended the next day, dressed imacculately in black, a large briefcase at his feet.

"Go get the others," he said to Yosuke beside him. "Tell them to meet us at my house."

"Sure thing, Partner." Despite his easy agreement, Yosuke cast an edgy glance towards the boxer. "You're sure about this guy?"

Souji nodded, smiling fondly at his protective lover. "Yeah, I get the feeling I can trust him. I'll see you soon."

Yosuke nodded before going back inside the school building in search of the others, pulling out his cell phone at the same time, presumably to call Teddie. Souji watched him for a moment before turning his attention to Akihiko.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"Only a few minutes. I would like to speak to your team."

"You will. We'll meet up with them at my place."

"Why there, if I may ask?"

Souji grinned at the older boxer walking beside him. "First off, I'll have the home field advantage, and when Dojima's busted leg, I need to be there for my little cousin."

Akihiko was silent for a while as they walked along the Samagawa, regarding him with an assessing stare, one that Souji refused to be intimidated by.

Finally, Akihiko broke the silence. "You share a lot of similarities with him, but you're so different. He had no family, well, before we became his family, but even after all we'd been through together, he was still distant from us. You seem much closer to your team."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Souji said. "I lost my parents in a car crash in April, before I came back here, and if it weren't for the close bonds I had developed here, I might have been the same way."

In short order, they arrived at the Dojima residence and Souji greeted Nanako as she came running. "How was your day, Nanako?"

"It was fun! We got to do an art project in class!" She paused at the sight of Akihiko next to Souji and moved to hide behind her 'big bro'.

"Oh, this is Akihiko Sanada, a friend of mine from the city. Is your Dad listening to doctor's orders and staying off his leg?"

Nanako nodded wordlessly before running back into the living room. With a shrug, Souji led Akihiko out of the front entrance of his home where his uncle was sitting on the couch, looking like he was bored out of his mind with his impromptu vacation.

"Oh, you're home. And I see that your... friend is back. Is the rest of your group coming over, too?" Dojima asked, and Souji nodded in reply.

"Yeah, we have a few things to talk about, and you're more than welcome to listen in, too." Souji said. "Yosuke should be here with the rest of them in a few minutes or so."

"Sure, make yourselves comfortable."

Nanako disappeared into her room, uncomfortable with a stranger around, and Souji started to make tea for everyone while Akihiko set his briefcase down at the table, removing a small stack of papers and setting them down.

It wasn't long before the others arrived, and Kanji, upon seeing Akihiko, grimaced in plain distrust, prompting Chie and the other girls to look back and forth between the two, confusion clearly written in the faces.

"Uh, Senpai?" Rise asked. "Who is this?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Chie moved into the room, settling on the couch beside Dojima.

"You might as well get comfortable." Souji said, setting the tea down on the table. "This is going to be a bit to take in at first. By the way, meet Akihiko Sanada. You could say that he is our predecessor."

His statement certainly grabbed their attention, so Souji explained everything that had happened yesterday, from Kanji's confrontation to Akihiko's presence in Inaba, bringing Teddie and the girls up to speed.

"Although the methods and circumstances of my group's Personas differ from your own," Akihiko spoke up once Souji had finished. "We were able to summon them in this world, even if it was during a hidden hour of the night. I can provide you with the means of summoning in this world."

He passed the documents to the girls and Teddie, since Souji, Yosuke and Kanji had already been given the permits to sign the previous evening. "The permits are just waiting for your signatures, then I can send them to my boss to be submitted."

"What exactly are these weapons that you'll be providing us with?" Naoto asked, eyes skimming the permit rapidly.

Without responding, Akihiko unlocked and opened his ever-present briefcase, pulling out the Evokers one by one, much to the surprise of the others. "This weapon, called an Evoker, will allow you to summon your Personas with very little to no injury. However, due to their uncanny resemblance to pistols, the permits are needed."

Chie raised her hand timidly. "Um, so you're saying that we're gonna have to... uh, shoot ourselves?"

"Exactly. However, you should be spared the... experience of aiming at your own skulls," He almost smirked at the reactions garnered from his words. "I believe that Seta's first instinct of firing at your hand will do the job."

"The choice is yours." Souji said firmly. "I know you've all sworn to fight beside me, together like we've always done, but if you're in any way even slightly uncomfortable with this method, don't feel obligated. I want all of you to be safe, first and foremost."

Nothing was said as Souji's friends looked to one another, silently communicating through the minute movements. Dojima sat among them, watching them solemnly, secretly astounded at the level of calm and maturity these kids were displaying.

If he hadn't witnessed it first hand, he'd still have trouble believing it, let alone staying calm enough to make such an enormous decision.

Right at that moment, Dojima was so proud of his nephew.

"Souji," Yosuke said, a grin starting to form. "You're an idiot!"

The silverette blinked, not expecting that answer, although he probably should have.

"It don't matter what we gotta do, Senpai." Kanji spoke up. "We're with ya all the way."

"That should have been evident from the very beginning." Naoto said her piece as well, as Souji started blushing lightly.

"Yeah!"

Akihiko chuckled lightly, a small grin turning up one corner of his mouth. "Looks like you've got one hell of a team. I'm actually kind of jealous."

Surprised, Souji blinked at the boxer. "Why?"

The grin turned bitter. "Without Minato there to lead us, we probably wouldn't have made it as far as we did. Your team is as loyal to each other as they are to you. I shouldn't have to tell you how rare that is."

One by one, everyone handed back the signed permits to Akihiko and in turn, the boxer fitted them all with their new Evokers and holsters, along with small permit cards, to avoid any issues with the Inaba Police Department.

As Akihiko closed his briefcase, he changed the subject. "So, I've been curious; what do you guys use for weapons?"

"Yeah," Dojima said slowly. "What weapons do you use?"

It kind of clued in to them that Dojima was still a detective. "Uh..."

"I know that you," Dojima pointed to Yosuke. "Use large knives or kunai of some kind. Tatsumi must be using that huge shield I've seen him lug around; Shirogane must be using her pistol, as she's a detective herself and is authorized to carry one. And you, Souji, you carry around a katana carrying case, but I'm interested in what the rest of you use."

Rise shook her head. "I don't carry a weapon; my Persona is strictly support-based only. I can provide an analysis of the enemy and offer some healing, too."

"Actually, Dojima-san, while I do use a firearm in combat, it is not my police-issued one." Naoto removed her gun from its holster at her waist to show to Dojima. It was more like a small cannon. "This is called the Black Hole. A .454 combat pistol with 10mm explosive steel rounds, designed purely for extreme combat conditions, and made with a special and extremely rare alloy, making it a lightweight weapon. A work of art, really."

"My weapons are boots, called Moses' Miracle." Chie said, pointing to a pair of subtly armored boots at the front door. "They look like a pair of regular, but expensive boots, but they're actually covered in a diamond-hard plated armor, allowing for full mobility and lined with neat padding on the insides, so I don't break anything but still giving the power. They look great, too."

Yukiko removed a deceptively delicate looking fan from behind her back. "This is the Boundless Sea. Each rod is made of a titanium-based alloy, sharpened to a razor sharp point, connected with razor wire. It can cleanly slice through almost anything, and I can direct its flight with a tripwire attached to my wrist."

"I actually haven't been in a fight on this side yet, but I fight with my bear claw, the Spirit Fang!" Teddie chirped excitedly. "Sensei got it for me, so I don't actually know what it's made of, but it's my best weapon."

"This side?" Akihiko asked and Souji nodded.

"Yeah, you know that world inside the TV I told you about?" The boxer nodded slowly. "Teddie is a resident of that world. Until he met us, he was just a Shadow that wanted peace for his world."

"A Shadow...? Amazing."

"My shield's actually called the Perun Plate. Strong enough to take a beating, light enough for me to swing it around easily, and once you've been hit by it, kinda hard to walk away so easily." Kanji glared at Akihiko, still sore about getting beat in a fight.

"Dojima-san is right." Yosuke said. "I use a pair of ninja long knives called the Malakh. Made with the same alloy that Naoto's Black Hole, and perfectly balanced, I've never come across a better set of blades. Virtually indestructible, too."

"And I carry the Blade of Totsuka, a katana of myth believed to be a weapon of the gods," Souji said, patting the sword case beside him. It never left his side. "We can carry these with us, hiding in plain sight, so that we're never caught off guard."

"Impressive."

"You lot just better be careful with this shit, okay?" Dojima demanded, adding a glare for good measure. "Now get out of here and go home before it gets dark."

Souji bid his friends goodnight as they left the house, except for Yosuke, who was staying the night again, and Akihiko was the last one to leave.

The boxer paused on the threshold before turning around with his hand extended in a handshake. "I look forward to working with you and your team."

Souji accepted the extended hand, shaking it firmly. "Me too. Maybe fresh eyes will provide me with a solution." He reached into his jacket pocket where he kept the blank tarot cards from Igor and withdrew one; passing it, face down, to Akihiko.

"What's this?" Akihiko turned the card over, gray eyes going wide as Caesar appeared on the surface. "But how?"

"You can now call your Persona outside of that Dark Hour you told me about. I guess you could say that you're part of the team now."

Akihiko left after that, exchanging cell phone numbers with Souji and Dojima asked Yosuke to help get Nanako ready for bed.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something." Dojima said to Souji as soon as Yosuke and Nanako were out of earshot. "I noticed something this morning, after you'd left, but I think it might be related to what happened the other night."

Souji frowned. "What is it?"

Dojima turned so that his back was to his nephew, lifting the bottom of his shirt up to reveal his lower back. There was a small mark or tattoo on the detective's lower back, to the left of his spine, and it was something that Souji immediately recognized as something that defined Dojima to him. On his back was the symbol of the Hierophant, the triple cross of Dojima's Social Link.

"It wasn't there before the other night." Dojima looked over his shoulder to Souji, trying to gauge his expression. "All I remember is this itch right after the car died, and I didn't think about it again until I noticed it this morning after I showered. Any ideas?"

Souji nodded. "I think I might have an idea, but I don't know if it's connected to what's going on with the supernatural stuff that's been happening. I'll inform you if I come across anything similar, okay?"

"To make sure your theory's right?" At Souji's nod, Dojima sighed. "Sure, that works. Now get your ass to bed, and I don't wanna hear anything, got it?"

Souji stammered in protest, all flustered, as Dojima laughed at his expense, limping his way to bed. Sighing in defeat, Souji cleaned up the living room, piled the dishes into the sink and turned off the lights, leaving the light on out on the back porch to the Hermit fox and her kits, before making his way upstairs to his room where Yosuke was waiting for him on the couch.

"Hey, Partner. You sure you can trust Akihiko?"

Souji sat down next to his boyfriend. "Yeah, I'm sure. He is a Persona user."

"Yeah, but when you think about it, so was Adachi."

"True, but I don't think that my 'Wild Card' predecessor would have trusted him so easily if he was like Adachi."

"Wild Card?"

Souji nodded. "Yeah, it's the term for my multiple Persona ability. Akihiko speaks fondly of him, so I think he meant a lot to our new ally. But I think its way past time to change the subject." He said, grinning at Yosuke.

"Oh yeah?" Yosuke smirked at him. "You have something in mind?"

"Yeah," Souji crawled across his lover to straddle his lap, tangling his fingers in Yosuke's hair. "A little experiment to see how quiet you can be."

The brunette beneath him raised an eyebrow, his smirk growing. "Oh, really?"

Souji silenced him with a kiss, cradling Yosuke's neck while stroking the sensitive skin with his thumbs, eliciting a muffled moan for his efforts.

Yosuke's hands grabbed at his waist, holding him in place as Souji deepened the kiss, running his tongue along soft lips before delving in the taste his lover's mouth.

Yosuke moved his hands up to the front of Souji's uniform shirt, fumbling just a bit with the buttons before sliding the shirt down Souji's arms, the silverette obliging him by shifting, never breaking the kiss.

Souji returned the favor by removing both Yosuke's uniform shirt and the t-shirt he wore beneath it, tossing the clothing to the floor beside the couch. He pulled away from the kiss, gasping lightly with a wicked smile.

"I think we should move this to the futon, don't you?"

Yosuke nodded weakly, eyes widening as Souji stripped off his t-shirt while still straddling him, revealing toned muscle and smooth skin. He could feel his erection building already, and he could hardly restrain himself, with Souji acting incredibly sexy on top of him like that!

Souji climbed off of Yosuke, making sure to rub against a certain part of his lover's anatomy, before quickly preparing the futon for the night. He turned back around to Yosuke, unzipping his jeans with a gleam in his eyes. "Well? You gonna join me?"

With a lust-filled groan, Yosuke hauled himself off the couch, stripping out of the rest of his clothes, stalking over to Souji with intent.

Souji grinned into the fierce kiss Yosuke initiated, stripping out of his jeans and lowering the two of them to the futon, with Yosuke beneath him. He flexed his hips, earning a moan from his responsive lover, and he moved his hands up and down Yosuke's body, fingers trailing fiery paths of delight.

He moved away a bit, grasping Yosuke's waist. "Move onto your stomach, knees beneath you." He whispered, tongue flicking across a sensitive earlobe, and Yosuke moved to obey, stifling any noise he made as Souji traced idle patterns across his skin with both his hands and oh-so-very-talented tongue.

Souji reached around to palm Yosuke's rock-hard erection, stroking lightly as he searched the cupboard beside the futon for his prize, opening the lube with one hand and coating his own hardness with the slippery stuff.

Pressing kisses along the curve of Yosuke's spine, and keeping his hand moving, Souji thoroughly prepped his lover with one, two, then three fingers before replacing them with something a little bigger.

As Yosuke moaned from the sensations of this different angle, Souji gently forced his face into the pillow, muffling the sounds. "Shh, you have to be quiet now, remember?"

Yosuke nodded into Souji's pillow, gripping it tightly as Souji began to slowly pick up the pace as he settled into a thorough rhythm, hitting that sweet spot within him with each thrust, his hand stroking his dick in perfect time.

Souji was biting his lip with the effort to keep quiet, burying his face into Yosuke's back, sweat dripping down his spine as he slowly fucked his boyfriend and lover, gently biting down on the skin right above Yosuke's right shoulder blade.

This was more passionate than last time, that first time, and despite the restriction if having to keep quiet, and both teens felt the tension building within each other, slowly bringing them closer to a shared climax.

Souji grabbed Yosuke's hand in his own, grasping tightly as he continued to thrust into that delicious, wonderful heat sheathing him, a fire burning within him as Yosuke started tensing beneath him.

"Oh, god Souji!" Yosuke groaned, arching his hips back to meet his lover's slow, methodical thrusts. "Dear god, I love you!"

Souji felt his blood quicken at those soft, passionate words spoken, and he sped up, thrusting into Yosuke harder as his reached his climax, his cock twitching as he emptied himself into the tight heat of his lover, feeling Yosuke reach his finish only a moment later, cumming all over his hand and the sheets, stifling his cry into Souji's pillow.

They lay there on his futon, panting, and Souji had to rest on his elbows so as to not crush Yosuke beneath him, pulling out as he regained some composure. He collapsed beside the brunette he cared so much for, smiling gently.

"Hey, I love you too."

Yosuke blinked at him, a soft smile making his eyes glow. "You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear you say that, partner. You're the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Same here." Souji leaned in to press a gentle kiss to Yosuke's lips. "Don't fall asleep just yet, we need to get cleaned up, or you'll end up stuck."

"Uhg, fine." Yosuke shakily hauled himself up, wincing slightly. "If I continue being the uke in this relationship, it's gonna be your job to do the clean up, got it?"

Souji couldn't help but laugh, making sure he kept his voice down. "I think I can handle that. I'll be right back, but feel to clean yourself off with a shirt or something."

"Sure thing; I'll just borrow some of your clothes tomorrow!"

Fifteen minutes later, boys were clean, the sheets had been quickly changed, a window thrown open for some fresh air, and as Souji settled in beside Yosuke, an arm draped across the brunette's waist, he sighed contently the warm feeling in his heart.


The weekend passed rather peacefully, considering the hellhounds were still prowling about in the twilight hours, and Monday had Souji back in class with the rest of his friends.

Why the school hadn't been closed yet, Souji had no idea, but it was getting a little ridiculous. All anyone could talk about was all the weird stuff going on; even the teachers didn't really put any effort into actually teaching something anymore.

It was such a relief when the last bell rang, and Souji stood from his desk with a stretch, exposing the bottom of the holster at his waist. This morning, he had called the others; essentially ordering them to carry their new Evokers on them at all times, so as to not be caught unprepared. He knew that Chie and Yukiko were carrying their Evokers beneath their skirts, and Yosuke was following his example of having his Evoker holstered under his uniform shirt.

He was just coming down the stairs to the first floor with Yosuke beside him when Ai approached him, a smile in place. "Hi, Souji, Yosuke. You boys behaving?"

"Hey, Ai, what's up?"

"I was just going to go down to Okina Station, and I wanted to see if you wanted to join me, for old times' sake?"

"Why are you going to Okina?" Yosuke asked, and Ai flashed a thousand watt smile at him.

"Shopping, duh! I'm gonna have to stock up on the essentials before it gets too dangerous."

"Essentials?"

"Well, yeah, clothes and stuff, and I'm thinking of getting some other things, too, while I'm there. So, do you wanna come with me?"

"Sorry Ai, but I've got plans already." Souji smiled apologetically. "A friend from the city's in town, so I'm meeting him after school."

Ai nodded, turning to Yosuke. "And you're going with him, right? You two stick together like glue; it's adorable!"

"Thanks. Just be careful, okay, and don't hesitate to call me, for any reason."

"Okay, that's fine. See you two love birds later!" With a cheeky grin, Ai flipped her air as she left.

Yosuke shook his head. "She is always so... chipper."

"That's Ai for you. Come on, Akihiko should be waiting for us." Today they would be meeting with the boxer to practise with him, fighting with and against him in order to get a feel of the man's own fighting style.

Souji also hoped to use this opportunity to help Akihiko truly become a part of his team. He wanted all of his friends to work seamlessly together, and the boxer was fast becoming a friend.

Thankfully, most of the others had already accepted Akihiko to a degree, well, except for Kanji, but Souji blamed that on the way those two had met.

He had managed to get Kanji to tell him everything about that first meeting, including the embarrassing parts the bleached blonde had not wanted revealed. And Souji could admit it; it was kinda embarrassing, getting your ass handed to you like that, but Akihiko was a fully-trained and seasoned fighter.

But from that telling, Souji was able to start to piece together a profile of sorts on the older boxer, and frankly, he liked what he saw. Akihiko was definitely someone he wanted as an ally and friend, strong and experienced, solidly firm in his beliefs with a philosophy of no regrets.

How Souji knew that, he couldn't really say, but he knew that while Akihiko missed his dead friend, Souji's Wild Card predecessor, the boxer was not one to be derailed easily. And now, Souji had given the older man a kind of purpose in staying in Inaba to help them with this current world-ending disaster.

"Hey, partner, you with us?" Yosuke voice broke through his reverie, and Souji blinked, realizing that they were down by the Samagawa, relatively isolated from the view of possible passersby. Most of the others were already there; it looked like just Rise and Teddie were missing, but Souji assumed that girl was on her way with the Shadow in tow.

Yukiko was carefully cleaning her deadly fan, sitting next to Naoto who was quickly disassembling and reassembling her Black Hole, while Kanji stood away a little, doing to stretches to loosen up, shield in hand. A little further away from them was Chie, hopping and spinning around lightly on her feet, doing her own routine.

Akihiko was by the water`s edge, fists covered in the strangest pair of boxing gloves Souji had ever seen, fashioned in the shape of skulls and glinting like dull metal in the light. They also looked somewhat... organic, maybe, wrapping around his forearms.

Souji blinked and realized that Akihiko was dressed less formally than he had been before, still wearing black slacks, but the boxer was wearing a fitted t-shirt that left almost nothing to the imagination. Akihiko was ripped, visibly strong and capable with rippling muscles, only hidden by thin fabric.

Souji glanced back to where Kanji was, noticing immediately that the bleached blond was trying very hard to not look in Akihiko's direction.

Interesting.

It was then that Akihiko noticed their arrival and motioned them over, apparently wanting to speak with him.

"Hey, are you two ready for this?"

Souji nodded, removing the Blade of Totsuka from its sheath as Yosuke twirled his two weapons.

Without warning, Akihiko lunged, a fist flying for Yosuke's face, and the brunette stumbled back, just barely blocking the potentially lethal blow as Yukiko alerted the others to the impromptu battle by letting her fan fly, a deadly spinning arc of steel.

Akihiko was fast, dodging the spinning fan easily, and ducking under Souji's swordswipe. He neatly chased after Yukiko and Naoto, Souji's best distance fighters, tripping Yukiko as he simultaneously barrel rolled away from Kanji's shield.

Chie was able to keep the boxer occupied as she leapt into battle with a fierce cry, striking lightning fast with her feet, using her entire body as a weapon as she rebounded with her hands pushing from the ground, and twisting her body around to give momentum to a double round house.

Akihiko was able to block most of the force behind Chie's powerful move, but it still knocked back enough that Souji could slide in really close, trip the boxer up and once was stunned on his back, Souji placed the tip of his sword to Akihiko's throat, signalling the end of the mock-up battle.

He was actually quite proud of his friends. They had been working in close quarters with each other on the other side of the TV, fighting Shadows constantly as they had sought to make themselves stronger for Izanami.

He stepped away, offering a hand up to Akihiko, which the boxer gladly accepted. "So, what's the verdict?"

"At first glance, you all are astonishing." Akihiko was clearly impressed. "You've done well, very well. I'd still like to go against you all individually, and in small groups."

The rest of the afternoon progressed in that fashion, as Akihiko tested each of Souji's friends, and Souji himself. The results were mixed; Chie and Yosuke fared the best against Akihiko due to their speed and fighting styles. Souji and Kanji did pretty good themselves, but were more of the powerhouses of their group. Teddie, once he arrived with Rise, won against Akihiko about half of the time, due to his unpredictable and wild fighting style. Naoto and Yukiko fared the worst of them, due to their long-ranged weapons, but Naoto was usually able to hold off longer due to the hand-to-hand training she received as a detective.

Once Akihiko had assessed them all, he split them into random groups to fight against each other, and Souji was quite impressed with his friends; they were able to work together with the boxer quite nicely.

They continued to work on improving their varied skills throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening before Souji decided to call it a night so that they could all get back home before dark and the subsequent roaming of the hellhounds began.

The others were just packing up their respective gear and Souji had just slipped his jacket on when his cell phone rang, the tone ringing sharply through the air. A quick glance at the caller ID revealed Ai's number, causing him to frown slightly.

"Ai? What's up?"

Souji, thank god, I need your help!"

"Ai, where are you?"

"I was on the train coming back, and it stopped halfway, delayed for some surely stupid reason. I only just got back and I'm trapped in the station! There are Hellhounds outside, and I think they know I'm here!" She sounded on the verge of tears and frightened.

"Shit. Ai, I want you to calm down and listen to me; while there's still daylight, they won't get to you. I'm coming to get you, but I want you to do what you can to barricade the entrances." As he spoke to his friend, he motioned for the others, using a sign language they'd developed in case any of them had been put under a Mute spell, to gather their weapons. "I'm on my way. If you can, get into a room with one door, a closet or something, and barricade it as best you can. I need you to do all this before it gets too dark. You understand?"

He could hear her moving around, her steps echoing from her end of the connection. "Yeah, okay. I got it. Please hurry!"

"I will. I'll see you soon." He hung up and turned to his team, matching expressions of worry on each of their faces. "Train station, now."

As they raced through the empty streets, he briefed them on the situation, desperately hoping to arrive at the station in time to save his friend. He kept one hand on his Evoker, and the other clutched at his Izanagi tarot card, the Persona ready to be released.

As they ran, the shadows lengthened in the descending twilight, and with it, bringing out the monsters and beasts that had no natural place in the world. Blue fire and ghost lights cast an eerie pall across the town, and quite a few hellhounds snarled menacingly as they passed, but Souji ignored all that, only speeding up the pace, pulling ahead of the others, and praying that they weren't too late.

"There!" Rise's voice rang sharp through the encroaching night as they approached the darkened train station. Souji felt his blood run cold as his gaze flickered past the battered doors of the building, crowded with snarling hellhounds. He caught sight of Ai, cowering inside a ticket terminal, the small room barricaded from the inside, flinching horribly as the beasts tried get in, crashing against the bullet-proof Plexiglas.

His neck prickled, instincts screaming as Teddie's "Lookout, Sensei!" cut through the air, and he dropped to the pavement, feeling something pass overhead.

His friends scattered; Rise hanging back with Yukiko and Teddie; Naoto fled to the parking lot, drawing her gun and firing at the new aerial threat; Akihiko, Kanji and Chie fought together to keep the incoming hounds at bay; Yosuke was at his side, Malakh drawn while Souji got to his feet, pulling his Evoker from its holster as he did so.

"Goddammit! What are these things?"

They were larger than any bird he had seen or read about, with a wingspan of roughly 15 feet, a deadly hooked beak that looked like it could shred him to pieces with ease, and large serrated talons.

Actually, Souji amended his thoughts on the new threat as he and Yosuke dove out of the way of another one of the creatures, one of the biggest dangers he could see were the wing feathers, glinting in the blue light as if made of metal.

Ai's scream rang through the night, drawing Souji's attention to the terminal she sheltered in.

Spider web cracks in the Plexiglas grew bigger with each blow the hounds furiously delivered.

Just like he had the night he saved his uncle, Souji held out his tarot card, pressed the tip of the Evoker to the back of his hand and pulled the trigger.

This time there was no pain, but blood still shattered, swirling up and around in a glittering red haze, and again, he was aware of the changes in his body as he shifted into Izanagi, swinging his polearm, the blade slicing through the bodies of two bird monsters, spilling blood and gore onto the pavement.


Yosuke rolled beneath a car, evading yet another flyer, and taking the small respite to catch his breath, and glancing around from the relative safety of the car, he assessed their situation. Souji, now as Izanagi, was blocked from Ai by the large pack of hounds between them, making little headway as the girl screamed again.

Rise was practically useless here, not yet knowing how to use her Evoker to provide them with support and that was forcing Yukiko, Teddie and now Chie to both protect her and keep any more creatures from joining the battle, drawn to the scent of blood in the air. Naoto was trapped in Yasoinaba Station's parking lot, using the few cars there as cover while she fought using her Black Hole pistol. Kanji and Akihiko were now back to back, covering each other and dealing a lot of damage.

If Yosuke didn't already know better, he'd have thought the two powerhouses had always been fighting together; they complimented each other so completely and seemingly effortlessly.

As it was, none of the others were in any position to help Souji reach Ai, and sooner or later, probably sooner, that Plexiglas was going to shatter.

Sheathing his kunai, Yosuke instead drew the Evoker from its holster, removing his Susano-o card from his pocket as he did so. Steeling himself, Yosuke rolled out from beneath the car he'd taken shelter under and ran for Souji.

He was about ten feet away when sharp talons sliced through his clothes and shredding the flesh on his back to ribbons, the pressure sending him sprawling to the pavement before a bullet from Naoto killed the deadly bird attacking him.

Blood spilled from his fresh wounds as he scrambled to his feet, casting around for his Evoker, the weapon having skittered away from him when he'd hit the ground.

"Hanamura, catch!" Hearing Akihiko's voice, Yosuke whirled about, snatching the Evoker tossed his way by the boxer from midair, wasting no time in pointing the weapon to the ground, the tip digging into the back of his hand.

"Let's go, Susano-o!"

He pulled the trigger, the flash from the muzzle blinding him-

Time froze.

Yosuke blinked at the scene before him, watching for a brief second as a group of teenagers, one of them looking a lot like a slightly younger Akihiko, circled a guy on his knees, baseball cap shielding his face as he held desperately the body of a redheaded girl dressed entirely in white. Yosuke instinctively knew she was dead, and that froze his heart with fear as the guy- Junpei Iori, a voiced whispered in the recesses of his mind- made a vow and his resolve became stronger, allowing Hermes to evolve to Trismegistus.

Yosuke felt for the guy, Junpei, for losing the girl he clearly loved; he never wanted to lose Souji, but he was going to if this stupid vision or whatever wouldn't stop-

Time resumed.

Blood shattered like glass, swirling up and around him as a whirling cyclone, shielding him from view as he changed. His body grew taller, sheathed in a familiar light blue and yellow jumpsuit and thick, bulky red boots. Matching gloves covered his hands, sunglasses materialized on his face, shielding his eyes, as did the serrated metal ring twirling idly around his torso. Then he could see again and with a powerful Magarudyne, he cleared a path to Souji, joining him in the fight. He used his wind-based spells to bat away the hounds, allowing his friend and leader to reach Ai, and once there, Izanagi's polearm decimated the remaining beasts.

"Rise! Naoto! We need you here!" His voice echoed strangely, a deeper, more guttural voice super-imposed over his own, but Yosuke didn't bother with thinking too hard about it.

The battle outside dispersed and the remaining beasts and flyers (Souji was already mentally calling them Abyssals, after a flying demon in a book he'd read before) fled into the night. The others joined Souji and Yosuke inside the station, with Kanji, Chie and Akihiko taking point at the entrance while Souji and Yosuke stood off to the side, since they didn't exactly look like they normally did, and they didn't want to scare Ai any further.

Ai was crouched down under the counter of the ticket terminal, hugging her knees, and generally just trying to make herself as small a target as possible. She was trembling something fierce as Naoto and Rise approached the terminal slowly, so as not to startle her.

"Ebihara-sempai, everything's okay, you're safe now. Sempai, can you hear me?" Naoto kept her voice calm, the tone level, and Ai looked up, her honey eyes wide. "Do you think you could open the door for us?"

"You did a good job protecting yourself, sempai," Rise added from beside Naoto, smiling gently. "Souji-sempai's proud of you, and he's glad we were able to make it on time."

"Souji?" Ai had lost all of her composure during the attack, sounding small and vulnerable. "He's here? Where is he? I wanna see him!"

"You'll see him in just a minute, sempai. I need you to do us a favour and open the door. Don't worry, it's completely safe."

Eventually, Ai got out of the terminal, latching herself onto Rise as her legs failed, shaking like a leaf. With help, they were able to move to a small part of the station that wasn't destroyed or covered in blood and gore and Ai collapsed onto a bench.

"Where's Souji? I wanna see him." Ai was getting more insistent as she recovered, and as Rise looked at him in question, Souji nodded, giving her his silent permission to explain the whole situation.

It took some doing, on both Rise and Naoto's parts, but together, they were able to explain their roles in both last year's events and their current supernatural problems and how they relate to each other.

"We're telling you this so you can understand how and why we were able to fight off those creatures." Naoto said calmly.

"So, what, you guys have some kind of super powers or something?" She asked, and after a moment's hesitation, Rise nodded.

"I'd say 'or something' is right." Souji stepped forward slowly so as not to startle his friend with his appearance. His voice echoed like Yosuke's had, deep and resonant.

"Souji? Is that really you?"

He nodded, dropping to one knee to be on a more level setting. "Yes, this is the form of my inner self. In this form, I am called Izanagi."

"After the god? It suits you." She seemed unsure, fidgety, but that seemed to stem from her recent ordeal, and Souji thought that maybe the evening's events were beginning to overwhelm her. "Do you know why I was attacked like that? It didn't seem random, like the other attacks we've heard of."

"I believe you were targeted." Gasps sounded from the girls around him, and Yosuke's posture stiffened. "I'm working on a theory, and your assault is more evidence to proving it. I believe that you were attacked because of your connection to me."

"Sempai, what are you saying?" Naoto asked, but Souji shook his head.

"Not now. I can explain it to the rest of you in the morning, but for now, we have other priorities."

"Souji," Ai's hesitance drew his attention back to her, and he realized that he needed to get her home to safety. "Does this have anything to do with why I was targeted?"

She held her left hand out to him; palm up to reveal her wrist. Etched in black was the crescent moon of the Moon Arcana, the Social Link that connected Ai to him and he frowned behind his mask.

"When did you notice this?"

"I'm not completely sure, but it wasn't there when I out shopping earlier, before the train back got delayed." Ai shrugged. "I don't know, but it started to itch right before I called you."

Souji nodded, silently wondering why the Arcanas were involved. "Yeah. This marks you as a target. I'll explain it to you tomorrow, but first we need to get you home safely."

"You better, or... or I'll get Daisuke to kick your ass!" Despite her tough words, Ai was scared and exhausted. The night had simply been too much.

"I promise. Let's get you home."

Naoto and Rise kept Ai between as Souji and Yosuke led them from the gored covered train station, flanked by the others protectively. It didn't take them long to reach Ai's home, and she was safely inside, Souji and Yosuke escorted each of their friends home until it was just the two of them standing outside the Dojima home, still in their Persona appearance.

The illusion cracked and the Personas faded away in a shower of drifting bits of shattered glass, fluttering into nothing, and Souji reached for Yosuke's hand, grasping tightly as he led the brunette into his home and up to his room.

This was becoming a habit. Much longer and Souji should just ask Yosuke to move in with him. But he dismissed that thought as the two of them prepared for bed, suddenly weary from the violence of the night's events.

Souji turned out the light, sending the room into darkness he was familiar with, joining Yosuke in bed, wrapping his arms around the other teen and burying his face into his neck.

"There's something I need to tell you all, something I didn't know was important until tonight. It's something I've lived with, defined my life with, for more than a year now." The words, softly spoken and barely whispered, tumbled from his lips.

It was a while before Yosuke spoke. Souji almost thought he'd fallen asleep.

"It's about that tattoo."

It wasn't a question.

"Yeah."

The silence became stretched out again, a little longer this time.

"Why keep something so important quiet?"

Souji sighed, long and deep. He knew that the conversation that would take place tomorrow would change things for him, but honestly, it couldn't be helped. He only hoped that the changes the revelation of his Social Links wrought would be changes that he could deal with, that wouldn't destroy him.

"I don't think anyone would have believed me if I had told you about it when it started. Even with everything we've dealt with in the last year." He tightened his grip on Yosuke, almost afraid for a reason he couldn't quite define.

"I want you to know, though, that the choices I've made have been real, I've not once been influenced by anything."

Yosuke stiffened in his arms, frozen in place. "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll understand once I've explained it tomorrow. But know this: I love you. I love you with everything that makes up my entire being, and that will never change."

"This better be a damned good explanation, Souji, you're scaring me."

He nuzzled Yosuke's neck, moving one hand to intertwine with one of the brunette's. "I'm sorry. You'll understand everything, I promise."

"I hope so. Goodnight, Souji."

"Good night. Love you."

It was a long time before either of them succumbed to slumber, but he was relieved when Yosuke kept holding his hand even as he fell into a troubled sleep.

He was relieved because it gave him hope that everything wasn't about to become even more fucked up.

They didn't bother going to school in the morning. Yosuke was still passed out in deep sleep as Souji hauled himself out of bed to get started on breakfast for Nanako, to make sure her day started without a hitch, but damn, he was exhausted. Dojima also made an appearance for breakfast, but he didn't say anything when Souji informed him that he would be skipping all his classes for the day.

After Nanako had been sent off to school, the Hermit Fox and her kits fed and watered, and Dojima settled on the couch with the morning paper, crutches nearby just in case, Souji trudged his way back upstairs to his room, where he immediately grabbed his cell phone and sent off a text message to the others, asking them to ditch class and come over to Dojima's for his explanation. He'd be ready for them in about an hour.

Finished with that and ready for the day, he sat down on the couch and wondered how the hell he was going to explain his Social Links and the power he gained from them to the others. All in all, he would sound like a dick, like he was using them for the power and the Personas they granted him, and while that was an added bonus, because he truly treasured the deep connections he formed with each of his friends, he doubted that they'd see that at first.

Unfortunately, the worst ideas were assumed first. He knew that.

They found him like that, still on the couch lost in thought, the mood rather dark. It wasn't until they had all settled, with Dojima joining them beside Souji, and Yosuke laying a hand on Souji's shoulder that he realized they were there.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself. This was it.

"I'll be honest with you; none of you will like what I have to say, but now I need to explain a few things. Last night, when Ai was attacked, she had a mark on her wrist, a tattoo of sorts. That mark tells us that she was attacked because of her connection, her Social Link to me. This Social Link, of the Moon Arcana is what gives me the power to summon the Persona Sandalphon. I have many Social Links, and nurturing them has given me strength and the capability to summon more Personas as I grow stronger.

"I share a Social Link with each of you. Nurturing the relationships I share with all of you, while precious to me, give me power."

He sighed, refusing to look at his friends as he explained. Until he said everything, he didn't think he would be able to.

"The reason I have these Social Links is because of my multiple Persona ability. I'm known as a Wild Card of the Fool Arcanum with none and infinite possibility, and each of you belong to a specific Arcanum."

"Essentially, I've cultivated the relationships I have partially to gain the power to summon my stronger Personas."

"I think I know where you're going with this, Sempai," Kanji interrupted gently. "You're worried that we'll just think that you've used us for your personal gain, but Sempai, you've helped us. Looking back, you weren't influencing me. You were more the voice of common sense that I would've ignored otherwise."

"I think you were like that for all of us, actually." Chie said, smiling. "You made us stronger, silly, by being a friend. These Social links are just a physical form of that friendship."

"Souji, I love you, but you're an idiot." Yosuke broke in, grinning at him, uncaring for their audience. "I know what you're thinking, that people will always assume the bad stuff first, and you were scared, I get that. We're different, though. All because you have all of us better people."

Souji looked away from them, dropping his gaze to the Izanagi tarot card in his fingers. He felt ashamed at his apparent lack of faith in people closest to his heart.

"Thank you for telling us. And I must thank you as well for including me, a relative stranger." Akihiko's comment surprised him, but he was relieved anyway.

"You're a part of our team now. How could I not include you?" Souji shrugged. "Also, since my predecessor was also a Wild Card, he would have needed Social Links. I'm sure he had to make a lot of difficult choices, but in the end, you probably gave him strength."

Akihiko nodded. "I miss him even more now. But I know he's always going to be protecting us, just like you have with your team, your friends."

"I think the conversation's a bit off track," Dojima interrupted, drawing everyone's attention to him. "You said that the girl who was attacked last night and I were two of your Social Links, and we were attacked because of those Links. How many more of them are there?"

Right. This was the whole point of this. "Everyone in this room, except for Akihiko, is a Social Link. Kou and Daisuke, my sports team friends, along with Yumi and Ayane from the culture clubs are the remainder Links from school. Sayoko, the nurse from the hospital; Eri from the daycare; Shu from tutoring; Nanako; Naoki Konishi, Saki's brother; Hisano, an old woman I met at the hospital; the Hermit Fox living under our porch; and a woman named Margaret."

Silence reigned for several eternity-long minutes.

"Then all we have to do is make to be there, ready to save them when the time comes." Rise was confident, smiling at them gently. Souji was grateful for that.

"How much time do we have?" Akihiko's question startled him, but really, it shouldn't have. The older man was incredible smart.

"What do you mean?"

"There's always some kind of time limit to these things. How much time do we have left before the end of the world?"

"Oh, right. Um, we have less than a year left. At the current rate of supernatural happenings, I'd say a few months, December probably."

"Then I guess we better think of something, and fast."

"Yeah. I know."

"Senpai, we can do this." Naoto smiled at him, resting a hand on his knee in support. "We defeated both Ameno-Sagiri and Izanami. We can do this."

"Thanks Naoto. That actually makes me feel better."

"Glad to be of service, Senpai."

"Alright, now that we have that settled, I'm afraid I've gotta kick you all out now." Dojima didn't really sound apologetic, but then again, he never did. "Yosuke, you might as well stay; you practically live here anyway."

Neither Souji nor Yosuke had anticipated that, so Dojima's truthful statement had both of them go red in the face as the news of their unofficial living arrangements was made public, even if only to their friends.

"You've been staying here?" Yukiko asked quietly. "What about your parents? Aren't they worried or anything?"

"Ah, you guys know my folks; they don't really care one way or another, too focused on their own lives. Besides, they never noticed when Teddie was staying with me last year." Yosuke shrugged, dismissing the issue.

"That's true." Chie didn't sound exactly happy, but it was no secret that Yosuke barely rated in his parents' world, and she didn't like that.

"It's okay, I'm better here anyway. I can be of more use here."

Thankfully, Chie and Yukiko let the matter drop, and the others were perceptive enough to leave it alone as well. While Souji himself was not entirely thrilled by the lack of regard from Yosuke's parents, it was Yosuke's decision he felt, if his lover wanted to make it an issue.

The others left then, meeting Nanako on her way inside coming home from school, and promising the girl that they'd all be back to play with her soon before leaving the Dojima household in relative peace.

Souji had Yosuke help Dojima with Nanako and dinner, so he could escape to the quiet of his room, needing to make a phone call to Ai. He needed to explain to her the circumstances of the previous night, she deserved no less, but he didn't feel terribly comfortable making that call in public.

The actual phone call didn't take long, as Ai seemed to accept his explanation pretty well. He couldn't be sure until he actually saw her again, but she seemed like she wasn't going to suffer from the trauma of the night before, for which Souji was glad.

Ai proved to be the good friend she was, knowing of Souji's need to be forgiven of his sins of endangering her, although she had been adamant that it wasn't his fault. She didn't blame him for anything, and it relieved the tension on SOuji's soul knowing his friend didn't hate him.

By the time he went to bed, Yosuke at his side, Souji felt much lighter, and despite the awareness that time may be running out for their world, he felt that he might actually succeed in saving the world, and before he drifted off into the comforting depths of slumber with Yosuke's arms around him, Souji vowed to accept whatever the future held for him, and to face the consequences, good and bad, of his actions and choices.

He would do anything to keep his world safe, to protect the people he loved. He refused to stand by helplessly when he knew that he could make a difference.

No price was too high, no consequence too much. He would bear whatever burden with honour.

With that vow firmly in his mind, Souji barely noticed something tickling his subconscious, a feather-light whisper just below his auditory range, words lost in the inky black of a dreamless sleep.


A/N: I must apologize for the time this chapter took. I'm going to try and take less time to get the next couple of chapters out.