I explained things to Akihiko on the way back to the dorm, and once we arrived, we ended up holding a meeting in my room together with Aigis.

"So Nyx is coming back, and half of SEES doesn't remember the dark hour…" Akihiko recapped simply as he sat on the sofa across from me.

I nodded back at him. "That's the short of it. I'm not certain why Minato, Aigis and I recovered our memories first, but if your case is anything to go by, Aki, then we might be able to help the others recover theirs, too."

"That should be our priority, then." He replied. It looked like he was already thinking of ways to proceed.

My gaze switched to Aigis as she spoke. "To clarify, Mitsuru, I never lost my memories." She explained. "It may be that the electronic nature of my mind rendered me immune to whatever effect suppressed them in the rest of you."

That was news to me. "Interesting. It seems like maybe the changes that occurred when the dark hour disappeared may be less far reaching than we thought."

Akihiko chimed in again. "That reminds me - I searched my room when we got back. I can't find my evoker anywhere. I think I might've tossed it, or maybe it just vanished…"

Come to think of it, I also hadn't seen my evoker recently. "That's a problem. I'm not sure where mine is, either." I heaved a sigh as I considered our options. "I wonder if the Chairman's old lab downtown is still operational? We might be able to get new ones there."

Akihiko frowned. "We can't just ask your family for replacements?"

Aigis shook her head. "Members of the Kirijo group have likely forgotten the existence of the dark hour, too. They may not be aware of what an evoker is anymore."

Akihiko grimaced in response. "I hadn't thought of that."

I shrugged at the two of them. "We'll check out the lab too, then. If it's still intact, we can resolve the issue there. Maybe we can even get some other useful equipment or information out of there."

"Yeah. I get the feeling we're going to need our personas when we take on Nyx again." Akihiko was nodding slowly. I smiled. It was nice to have someone else on board. He was planning too, now. It was progress.

"So, let's go over this. We need to visit the lab, and we need to recover…" I counted on my fingers as I went down the list. "Yukari Takeba, Junpei Iori, Fuuka Yamagishi, Ken Amada, and maybe Koromaru." Five (give or take one canine) members of SEES remained unaware of our situation.

Akihiko scratched his chin as he considered. "Yukari and Fuuka both seem to be staying at the dorm, but they're also out a lot. I haven't seen Junpei much. Ken… I think he moved back in with one of his relatives, since he had no reason to be in a high school dorm anymore."

He stared off into space as he searched his memory. "I'm pretty sure he still lives in the area. I'm not sure where, though. As for Koromaru, It seems like he went back to living at Naganaki shrine again."

I frowned at his report. "It sounds like our team is pretty scattered right now. This might be tough."

Akihiko shook his head with a grin. "We'll manage. They may have forgotten on the surface, but I'm pretty sure deep down they all still feel the bonds we formed. We'll work together and get the team back in shape." He said confidently as he gave me a thumbs-up.

I had to smile at his reassurance. "I'll do my best, then." My gaze moved to Aigis again. "Are you going to help with this, too, Aigis?"

Aigis's brow furrowed in thought. "If it's alright with you, I would prefer to remain at the dorm to look after Minato… and Ryoji, I suppose." She added after a moment. "As I have not experienced the memory loss you two have, it is possible that I am less suited to your task, anyways."

"That's fair." I agreed. I looked back and forth between the two of them. "I guess we know what we're doing, then."

Akihiko stood up. "Let's check the lab today. If it's not an option, we're better off finding out sooner rather than later."

I rose as well, moving over to my desk with a nod. "Agreed. Now if I can just find my key…"


It was late afternoon when Akihiko and I arrived at the entrance to the lab downtown. He had a confused look on his face as he surveyed our dim surroundings. "An alleyway? I was expecting a skyscraper."

I laughed a little at his luxurious mental image. "Shadows were never public knowledge, and we've always wanted to keep it that way. As such, most labs dedicated to studying them are hidden from prying eyes."

I stopped in front of an unmarked door towards the end of the alley, reaching into my pocket and fumbling with the key for a moment before inserting it into the lock. I breathed a sigh of relief as it fit, and the tumblers clicked gently as I unlocked the door.

"That's a good sign…" I murmured mostly to myself as I opened the door to reveal a set of metal stairs. "Down we go!" I called as I waved to Akihiko.

Our steps echoed through the stairwell as we made our way down. The lights were off in the main room, and Akihiko bumped into me with a grunt of surprise as I felt along the nearby wall for a switch. "Careful!" I chided him as I found it and flicked the lights on.

"Sorry…" He replied as he settled down and took a look around. The room that was illuminated before us was fairly utilitarian in design. Tables, computers, and shelves laden with supplies and various devices lined and filled the room. Akihiko was quiet for a moment as he stood beside me. "This place is a mess." He finally remarked.

I frowned and nodded. "An accurate assessment. This lab hasn't been fully staffed in years. Last I checked, the Chairman was the only one to use it regularly."

Akihiko's expression darkened at the mention of the Chairman. "I guess he wasn't really thinking about the tech, was he?" He said as he started to walk through the room, surveying the boxes and piles of junk and machinery lining the shelves.

I quickly waved off the unpleasant thoughts the discussion was bringing up. "It doesn't matter. We're here for our gear." I replied as I made my way to the nearest computer. It demanded a password for access, and I held my breath as I typed mine out.

I felt another rush of relief as it let out an affirmative-sounding ping and logged me into the lab's database. "It looks like everything is still here." I reported to Akihiko, who was across the room by now.

"Great!" He called back to me. He continued a moment later. "Hey, it looks like there's an office back here. I'm going to check it out, okay?"

He was getting distracted, but I didn't really need him to assemble an evoker. Maybe he'd find something useful. "Go ahead!" I replied, raising my voice a little. I browsed through the database for evoker schematics, and soon found them.

I shivered a little as I looked over the plans. They really were remarkably similar to a real gun. I supposed they had to be, to serve their purpose. I quickly noted a list of the necessary parts and began searching the room.

Eventually I managed to find everything. Most of the parts fit together just like the components of a pistol. The only difference was that the firing chamber was occupied by a specially-designed battery that somehow managed to incorporate spirit energy.

I slid the receiver into place with a soft click, and stared at the completed evoker. It looked like a weapon, but it was really a tool - the tool I'd used the most out of any in the past ten years. I hadn't had to assemble one in awhile. I hoped it would still work.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and put my finger on the trigger as I pressed the barrel to the side of my head. The cool metal was simultaneously disquieting and comforting in its familiarity.

As far as we knew, evokers were necessary to summon one's persona. They represented acceptance of the potential of one's own death. That resolve, and the duress that came with it, allowed someone with the right potential to call upon their persona's full power.

Some people, like Yukari, had a hard time finding that resolve, that acceptance. I'd found mine years ago, to protect my father. I pulled the trigger.

My vision flashed blue. The sound of shattering glass echoed in my ears, and pain flared in my skull. And then a voice other than my own spoke to me through my mind. "Your wish is my command…"

I smiled as the familiar form of my persona appeared before me. "Penthesilea…" I greeted her with a smile.

Akihiko returned soon after, and he grinned as he saw my persona hovering nearby for a moment before I dismissed it. "Looks like you've had some success." He observed.

I noticed he had a small book in his hand. "Yeah. We should be fine for evokers." I gestured at the book. "What's that?" I asked.

He offered it to me, and I took it. "Looks like a journal kept by the Chairman. It's a few years old."

I stared at Akihiko for a beat before opening the journal and beginning to flip through it. 1999… "This is from shortly after the lab disaster."

Akihiko nodded. "It looks like he was busy."

I read through a few entries. "'The lab went up in flames. We were so close, but Koetsu's dead now. I'm going to have to stay quiet if I don't want to go down with him. Death is on the loose. I can only hope it's strong enough to complete its task…'"

I turned the page. "'One of the anti-shadow weapons managed to subdue Death. I can't believe it. Was all our work in vain? I refuse to accept it. No mere machine could kill such a powerful shadow. She must've done something drastic.'"

The next entry was the second-to-last. "'The anti-shadow weapon, named Aigis, was brought to my lab today. She says she sealed Death inside someone, but doesn't know who. Useless machine. I'll find an excuse to have her put on standby - she's the last of her kind, after all.'"

I flinched as I reached the last entry, and glanced up at Akihiko. "Apparently they started building Gekkoukan high on the site of the old lab shortly afterwards. That must be when he got his claws into it…"

Akihiko snarled. "That bastard really was playing the long game…" he shook his head after a moment. "It's no use ruminating over it. We'll take the book with us and see if it has any useful info. Let's get our gear together and go."

I nodded as I closed the journal with a sigh. "Right." It could wait until later. Akihiko and I went to work collecting what we needed, then headed back out into the city.


It was late by the time we got back. Akihiko and I hauled our gear in through the door. "Where are we taking this…?" He asked, his voice a little strained. We'd had to carry it across town, since we hadn't brought a car.

I gave him a sheepish smile. "We can store it in your room, maybe?"

He sighed. "Whatever. It's one less flight of stairs."

Eventually we managed to get it up the stairs and into Akihiko's room without any trouble. He quickly ushered me out once we were done, shutting the door behind him and leaning on it as he gave me a tired-looking grin.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked him with a quizzical look.

He laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, all this just reminds me of the days when SEES was just you and me, after Shinji left. It was kinda stressful back then, but I almost miss the simplicity of it."

I found myself smiling too at the memories that brought up. "It was a different time, but it was fun." I eyed him for a moment. "You're one of my oldest friends at this point, you know."

Akihiko nodded amicably at me. "Same here - and it's been a pleasure the whole way." He added. I could feel his trust in me and mine in him.

It didn't surprise me too much when my vision flashed blue and another social link came to me from Akihiko. It was stronger this time, more reassuring. I took a slow breath as time resumed again.

"Likewise, Aki." I replied cordially.

"Good to know its mutual. On that note, however, I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight, Mitsuru." He said as he turned and opened his door.

"Goodnight." I answered. He shut the door behind him. I stayed where I was as I reflected for a moment, before heading upstairs to get some sleep myself.


I woke up fairly early and wondered what to do with my day. Life was a little odd right now - while we had the threat of Nyx looming over us still, there was no more Tartarus or dark hour to attend to. There was just… life.

I decided to check on Minato. He was asleep when I peeked into his room. Aigis was sitting nearby, watching over him. "Any changes?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "He seems to be about the same. Maybe a bit more movement. He sleeps most of the time." She frowned sadly. "I do not think he enjoys the feeling of being awake right now."

I sighed. It was about what I expected after the last time I spoke with him. "I guess there's nothing we can do for it right now." I glanced back towards the hall. "Any news on Ryoji?"

Aigis looked uncomfortable when I turned back to her. "He is fine as well."

I eyed her critically. "You two are playing nice, right?"

The robot girl gave me a forced smile. She really had human expressions down, I reflected. "Of course, Mitsuru."

I wanted to object, but Ryoji hadn't complained to me yet. I supposed I could trust her on this. "Very well. Keep up the good work." I relented as I turned to depart. She gave me an affirmative nod as I shut the door behind me.

I stared at the ceiling. What to do…? I still didn't really have a plan moving forward, besides "make everyone remember". I decided to head down to the lounge, hoping I'd run into someone.

As seemed to be the usual lately, the lounge was nearly empty. Luckily for me, however, I spotted Yukari idling on one of the sofas, looking bored. I quickly sat down nearby.

She smiled at me. "Hey, Senpai." She greeted me agreeably.

"Good morning, Yukari." I replied, smiling back at her. "Enjoying your break so far?" I inquired.

She shrugged. "It's relaxing, but it could be better. I don't really want to visit my mom, and a lot of my friends are out of town right now. I'm left a bit bored."

I frowned at her. "Is your father not around?" I asked, probing for an opportunity.

She looked a little sad at that. "No, sadly. He died ten years ago."

I feigned surprise. "I'm so sorry. What happened?"

She sighed. "A lab accident. He was a scientist. Something blew up, I think."

My frown deepened. She hadn't hesitated to answer, though she looked uncomfortable with the subject. Was she not experiencing memory dissonance?

She was staring at me. I decided not to keep prying, for now. "I see. Sorry to bring that up, then."

Her smile slowly returned. "It's alright, Senpai. You didn't know."

I winced at that. I felt like I was manipulating her. I shook the feeling off as I forced myself to smile again in turn. "If you're bored, maybe we could go out and do something to pass the time?" I offered.

She quickly sprang to her feet. Evidently, she'd been waiting for the invitation. "Yes! There's a movie I want to see over at Port Island station, but I didn't want to go alone. We can go shopping after, too!"

My eyes widened a little as she suddenly seemed fit to burst with enthusiasm. It looked like a good opportunity. Maybe I'd get a chance to remind her of herself at some point during the day. And besides… I missed spending time with my friend. I stood up and waved her towards the door with me. "Let's go, then!"

We spent much of the day together. It was pleasant, but it also made me realize something was wrong. Yukari really didn't seem to have any of the memory dissonance that Akihiko, Minato and I had had. Whether it was because of her disposition or her having had a relatively full year even without SEES, I couldn't say.

All I could say by the time we got back was that she'd had fun, and still didn't remember me. "This was a lot of fun, Mitsuru-senpai. Thanks for spending today with me." She said happily as we stepped into the lounge each carrying a few bags worth of goods from our trip.

I eyed her. She seemed content. I didn't see any of the uncertainty I'd seen in Akihiko yesterday. I couldn't help frowning, despite the fun I'd had. "It was no problem." I replied.

Yukari seemed to notice my glum expression. "Is something wrong?" She asked quietly.

I quickly hid my rumination behind another smile. "Oh, it's nothing serious. I guess I'm just getting a bit of déjà vu after today."

She looked amused. "Really? Maybe we did this already in another life." She laughed a little at the thought. "But really, this was a good day. Let's do this again sometime soon, okay?"

My time froze again as another social link channeled power into me through Yukari. Somehow, it wasn't satisfying. I didn't feel like I'd made any progress. "Yeah, for sure." I agreed as I carefully kept my frustration off my face.

With that, she departed for her room with a wave, leaving me alone in the lounge with my thoughts. What did it take to bring someone's memory back? I was confused and a little upset. I vexed over the matter as I started up the stairs myself.

Aigis flagged me down as soon as I reached the second-floor landing. "Minato is up. He seems to be looking for you." She reported curtly.

I nodded my thanks to her as I made my way to his room. He was sitting on his bedside looking thoughtful when I entered. I set my bags down as I sat in the chair across from him. He eyed the bags before looking at me. "Hey, Mitsuru. Been shopping?"

I nodded. "Yes, with Yukari. It was… fun." That was the truth, despite the problems it also highlighted.

He stared at me. "I get the impression that's not all there was to it."

I winced. Even as he was now, he was still reading me. "I'm at a loss about how to make her remember SEES. There don't seem to be any major issues with her false memories."

Minato frowned. "Ah, yeah, Aigis mentioned you were trying to remind the rest of SEES about the dark hour and their personas. You've only managed with Akihiko so far, right?"

I nodded sadly. "Yes, only Akihiko has recovered his memories. I pointed out discrepancies in his new memories and I guess they unraveled."

He stared into space. "Maybe it's different for everyone. Different people may have unique triggers."

"I had considered that. If that's the case, this could take a very long time…" I admitted with a sigh.

Minato smiled a little at me. "I'm pretty sure you'll figure it out."

I blinked at his response. "You seem to be in a better mood than last time." I remarked.

"I'm not sure why. The… emptiness suddenly got less intense. I still feel it, but it's getting steadily weaker." He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm not planning to complain about it."

I felt myself smiling back at him. "Whatever brings you back to me. I'm glad to see you're doing better, now."

His smile held for a moment before it faded again. "I've still got a ways to go, though. Making myself sit up was a chore. I'm getting my personality back, but not my motivation."

"It should all come back in time, if what Ryoji says is true." I reassured him.

He frowned. "I still can't believe Ryoji is back. I'm not sure if I'm happy about that."

I hoped it wasn't going to become an issue. I remembered how he felt about Ryoji. "He did keep you alive…"

Minato shrugged again, then yawned. "I suppose if you trust him, I trust him. For now, at least…" he said as he lied back in his bed again. He looked tired.

"It was nice talking to you again, Minato. I hope you'll feel better soon." I offered as I stood and grabbed my bags again.

He glanced at me, and I saw a little of his smile return as I made my way to the door. "You too, Mitsuru."


The next day came, and I still didn't know how I was going to approach the matter of restoring people's memories. If it didn't work like it had with Akihiko, I really wasn't sure how I could approach it.

I needed to think. I remembered back in the day, if I needed to think to myself for a long while, I'd ride my motorcycle. Maybe it was time to get it repaired? Especially with how far away the lab was, having some sort of transportation seemed valuable.

I headed out to the lot behind the building, where my motorcycle had been resting since it broke down. I slowly looked it over. I wished I knew how to fix it myself. It was a custom machine. Getting it repaired was going to be an unpleasantly expensive task.

I was distracted from my examination by a familiar voice. "Mitsuru-senpai?" I turned to see Fuuka approaching me from across the lot. "Is that your motorcycle?" She asked, a little perplexed.

"Hello, Yamagishi." I greeted her as I nodded. "Yes, it is. I used to ride it all the time, before it broke."

She seemed excited. "I've noticed this bike several times since I came here and always wondered who owned it. It's a custom model, right?"

I blinked. What did Fuuka know about motorcycles? "Uhm, yes. It is indeed a custom model. Associates of my family built it specially for me."

Fuuka took a few hurried steps over to me to give the bike a closer look. "Wow. It looks really impressive…"

I scratched my head in confusion. "Are you a big fan of motorcycles, Yamagishi?" I finally asked her.

She looked up at me with surprise, and I saw red forming in her cheeks. "Well… to be honest, I really like technology in general. I'm best with computers and electronics, but I try to keep up with just about everything engineering-related…"

I had heard bits and pieces about her tech-savviness, but I never imagined it extended quite so far. "Don't be embarrassed. That sounds like a very interesting hobby."

She smiled nervously at me as she looked at the bike again. "You said it was broken?"

"Yeah, for a few months now. I've been loath to pay for repairs…" I admitted.

Her eyes left mine for a moment as she seemed to consider something. Eventually she spoke up in a meek voice. "Maybe I could take a shot at repairing it…?" She suggested.

I stared at her for a moment. "Would you know how to do that?"

She nodded after another pause. "I'm pretty good at fixing things."

I was at a loss. I wasn't entirely sure I trusted Fuuka with this, but… "If you really think you can handle it, go for it." I really didn't want to pay for repairs. Besides, I wanted to see what she could do.

Fuuka seemed like she was ready to start bouncing with excitement. "Thank you, Senpai! I won't disappoint you." She eyed my bike like it was a great big toy. "I've been wanting to get a closer look at this thing for a while…"

She was really into this. "How did you get so invested in technology?" I asked her.

It took her a second to pry her eyes away from it. "Oh. My family never really encouraged me to do anything when I was a child. I ended up spending lots of time on the computer as an escape. Then I started taking things apart and it evolved from there." Her blush was returning. "It's left me a bit of a hopeless introvert, though…"

I smiled at her. "You seem charming enough despite that. We should hang out sometime. Maybe you can show me some of the things you've worked on?"

She hesitated for a moment before beaming at me. "I don't think anyone's had quite that response to my interests before. If you're serious, though, I'd really love that…" she said quietly.

"Sounds like a plan, then! I can't wait." I offered encouragingly.

She quickly looked back at the motorcycle. She was pretty clearly getting uncomfortable with all the eye contact - but she seemed happy, nonetheless. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Like clockwork, another social link. I was anticipating it this time, and didn't flinch as Fuuka's burgeoning trust fed new power into my persona.

She was staring at the bike again. I glanced back towards the dorm. "If it's alright with you then, Yamagishi, I'm going to head inside. I've had enough of this morning chill."

She briefly looked back at me with a nod. "O-okay! I'll stay out here and do a preliminary inspection…" she said before turning back to the motorcycle with excited eyes.

I laughed a little to myself at her enthusiasm as I turned to go. "Good luck, and try to get it back to me in one piece."


Ryoji was waiting for me when I reached the second floor, wearing a serious expression. "Mitsuru - I have something important to tell you. It's urgent." He said gravely.

I frowned as I approached him. Did something happen? Was Minato okay? "What is it? Is everything alright?"

He looked around for a moment before his eyes lowered to the floor. "I'm afraid not. You see…" he slowly looked back up at me again. His expression was still just as serious. "...I'm really bored."

I blinked, then smacked him in the shoulder. "What the hell? You had me worried!"

He winced as he rubbed at his shoulder. "Ow! I'm sorry, okay? I was waiting for a while and thought I'd be letting myself down if I didn't have some fun with it…"

I sighed and covered my face with my palm. "If you're bored, why don't you go do something?" I asked him incredulously.

He pouted at me. "Doing stuff is always more fun with a friend. Aigis and Minato aren't options, and I don't think the rest of the gang really knows or remembers me at this point." He paused for a beat before donning a familiar grin. "Plus, you owe me a date."

I glared at him. "I was kind of hoping this side of you had gone away."

His grin faded, and he was quiet for a moment. He didn't look me in the eyes as he spoke again. "If I'm being honest, I've been sitting in my room for three days trying to think of what to do. I realized eventually that I was getting lonely."

He eyed me seriously again. "I'm sorry I messed with you. I guess I was just trying to get away from all this darkness I've been dealing with lately." He was giving me puppy-dog eyes. "Please hang out with me?"

I can't be this easy… I reflected as I started to feel a little bad for him. "Fine, Ryoji. We'll go do something." I relented. I quickly fixed him with another glare soon after. "But it's not a date, got it?"

Ryoji smiled with relief as he nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior. Let's go get something to eat!" He said as he headed for the stairs. He turned to look at me with a nervous grin when he reached the landing. "By the way, I don't really have any money, so… I hope you're willing to treat me." He quickly shuffled down the stairs before I could retort.

I couldn't tell if I was dealing with the same old Ryoji, or something else as I followed him down with a sigh.


If I was buying, I wasn't going to be paying much. We ended up eating takoyaki at Iwatodai station, which seemed to have become my haunt lately.

Ryoji bit gleefully into his snack as we sat together on a bench under the cloudy afternoon sky. "Mmh, I haven't had anything to eat in almost a week…" he mused.

I stared at him. I supposed it made a sort of sense if he really was a shadow. "Do you not need to eat?" I asked.

He grinned at me between hasty bites. "Not really, no. I'm not entirely sure how shadow physiology works - but I don't need to eat very much to keep this body working." He sighed as he briefly took a break from eating. "I just really, really enjoy it."

He sure did - He was about halfway through his meal, while I was only just getting started. "So I guess you really aren't functionally human, despite appearances." I reflected aloud.

He flinched at that. "Well, that's something I've been thinking about lately." He was looking at me with a pensive expression. "I may not be human, but I'd really like to be as close to that as is possible."

"It sounds like you've been thinking about this for awhile, Ryoji." I remarked.

He nodded, looking depressed. "It's just… I remember what it was like back when I first manifested as 'Ryoji'. How it felt to think I was completely human for awhile. And then having it all torn away, realizing I couldn't stay…" his eyes were distant as he lost himself in memory.

Eventually he seemed to shake himself out of it. "I don't want that to happen again. That month where I thought I was just an ordinary high school student was the happiest time of my life. I'd really like to get it back in whatever capacity I can."

I could see the worry in his expression. "But you're not sure that's still possible?"

That got a laugh from him. "Man, I must be a bit obvious right now. Yeah, it's something I worry about." He smiled at me as he continued. "I won't let that stop me from trying, though."

I returned his smile. "That's a very human attitude to take." I said encouragingly.

"Them I'm off to a good start."

We finished our food quickly, and started heading back towards the dorm. It was surprisingly easy to talk to Ryoji now that the ice was broken - he was a very friendly and accessible person. It seemed like we could definitely be friends, if he kept his troublesome side in check.

I blinked as I felt a spot of wetness appear in my hair. Then another, and another. Spots of grey began to cover the sidewalk, and as I looked up a few more raindrops splashed against my face. "Spring rain…" I said quietly as the drops began coming down steadily faster.

It quickly turned into a downpour, drenching us both. I pulled Ryoji into the cover of an awning in front of the nearest store we could find. "Wow, that was fast. I didn't know it could come down so quickly…" Ryoji mused.

"Spring is a volatile time of year. At least it'll help the flowers bloom." I noted.

Ryoji was grumbling behind me. "Ugh, it messed up my hair. I'm gonna have to comb it back again." I looked back to see him trying and failing to dry his hair. It was falling in his face now, instead of being slicked back like it usually was.

Eventually he seemed to give up, and let it hang in face. He walked up beside me, looking out into the rain with a small smile of wonder. "I've never seen it rain so hard before…"

I was staring at him. Now that his hair was down, I realized his features were intensely familiar. He looked at me with a questioning expression. "Ryoji… you look like Minato's twin." Except for the beauty mark on his cheek and his hair color, they could've been the same person.

He paled a little and looked away. "Yeah… I was riding around inside him for a long time." He said quietly. He didn't seem happy thinking about it, and definitely didn't want to discuss it.

I frowned at him, and we were quiet for a while. Eventually, the rain stopped just as quickly as it had started, and we made our way back to the dorm.

"Thanks for coming with me, Mitsuru…" Ryoji said gratefully as I opened the front door. He seemed to have calmed down from his brooding before. He tensed as we entered the lounge to find Aigis waiting.

"Ah, there you a-" Aigis began as she looked up at us from her seat on the couch, cutting herself off as she caught sight of us.

She rose from her seat and approached Ryoji, watching him curiously. His hair was still a mess from the rain, and I had to wonder if she was seeing what I had seen.

She stood in front of Ryoji, staring at his face. He looked intensely uncomfortable. "Uhm, hi, Aigis." He said after a moment.

She flinched at the sound of his voice, and her eyes narrowed. "You should keep your hair up." She retorted icily before turning on her heel and departing up the stairs, leaving me alone with Ryoji again.

He was staring at the floor, not saying anything. I set a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" I asked.

He didn't look at me as he spoke. "I really want her to be able to forgive me. I want to be able to make things up to her. But I'm really not sure that's possible, sometimes."

My conversations with Aigis about Ryoji flashed through my head, and I gently squeezed his shoulder. "It might take time, but… I think you two are more alike than you know. Don't lose hope."

He heaved a sigh and nodded. Eventually he looked at me again, with the tiniest of smiles. "Thank you for a nice day, Mitsuru."

Another flash of blue, another rush of power. I guess even Ryoji could afford me a social link. I nodded at him as the feeling faded. "Thank you, too."

"I'm gonna go think for awhile. I'll see you later…" he said quietly as he pulled away from me. I frowned after him as I watched him disappear up the stairs.


I had nightmares that night. I couldn't make the others remember. Minato died. Nyx destroyed the world, and I failed my father over and over again. All my fears mixed together into a storm of doubt and worry.

I woke up in a cold sweat, and quickly realized something was wrong. The lighting in my room was off. Instead of simply being dark or blueish-black, it was tinged with a sickly green. I saw red splashes that hadn't been there before painting the walls and the corners. I glanced at the clock and realized it was stuck at midnight.

The dark hour was back. I shivered and put my face in my palms. I probably should've expected this, but I guess I'd been hoping it wouldn't be so. Some of the images from my nightmares flashed through my head. Everything was going back to the way it was, after it seemed like we'd finally won.

I forced my dark thoughts down and slowly got out of bed, quickly throwing on clothes and grabbing my rapier and evoker. I didn't sense any shadows through Penthesilea. This was the first dark hour I'd seen since Nyx's disappearance. Maybe there were no threats, yet?

I opened the door to the hallway and looked around. I realized I wasn't alone. Someone was standing at the end of the hallway, staring out the window at the eerie-looking sky. As I drew nearer, I realized it was Fuuka.

"Yamagishi…?" I said in a hushed voice, lowering my rapier. She had her arms in front of her, and as she turned to look at me, I realized she was holding something.

"Mitsuru-senpai…" She responded quietly as she looked me over. "You're armed."

I flinched as I realized she was looking at my sword and the evoker in its holster at my hip. "I… yes. This is a dangerous time. It's-" I began, only to be cut off as she spoke over me.

"The dark hour." she completed the sentence for me. She blinked for a moment, as if she hadn't expected the words to come out of her mouth. Eventually she looked at the floor. "I knew this felt familiar."

I took a few steps closer, a little surprised at the sudden turn of events. "You remember?" I asked hesitantly.

She nodded after a pause. "Yes. I think this is what got started reminding me…" She held out the curious object she was holding. I sheathed my rapier and took it.

As I cradled it in my hands, I realized it was emitting a familiar sort of energy. It felt like the evoker battery had in my hands. I looked at Fuuka with a confused expression. "Where did you get this?"

She smiled faintly. "I took it from your motorcycle. It's fixed, by the way. That thing was interfering with some of the other parts." She stared into my eyes. "It's what was keeping the bike functional during the dark hour, isn't it?"

I looked back at the device as understanding dawned on me. The bike had been designed specifically to function during the dark hour, when most electronics failed automatically. It functioned using spirit energy rather than electrical or mechanical energy, just like the evokers. "Yes… that's exactly what it is."

I looked at Fuuka with new appreciation as she continued to smile. She was far more observant than I'd realized. "I'm sorry I forgot… It looks like things aren't quite fixed yet." She said as she looked around at our surroundings, still eerily lit dark green by the forces of the dark hour.

I sighed and nodded. "We've got some things to talk about."

Suddenly the dark hour ended, and the lighting returned to normal. The hallway lights switched back on. I blinked. "That was shorter than usual."

Fuuka was watching me with a serious expression. I set my curiosity aside as I continued. "We'll meet in my room in the morning. I'll explain everything. And… you may need to reinstall this." I said as I gestured to the device in my hands.

Her faint smile remained as she nodded back at me. I felt some of the confidence I'd lost with Yukari a few days ago returning. Now we had two. We would find a way to help the others.