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Summary- Chapter 9: Shadow Summoner

"Every one of us here has faced our other selves and accepted it as a part of who we are, thus gaining the power to use our Persona in battle. Have any of you ever wondered what would have happened if you had not accepted it? The answer is quite simple, the shadow self would have become corrupted and taken over the original person. The person's heart would darken and they would be granted the ability to summon and control shadows. We in my clan call that person a Shadow Summoner. So to put it simply a Shadow Summoner is created when a person faces their true self and fails to accept it. A Shadow Summoner is pure evil; the corruption takes the original's hopes and dreams and twists them until they too are evil. We have no way of knowing what the Shadow Summoner is after until we know exactly who it is. And even then, we will need to know everything we can about who they were before the corruption took over."

We all sat in silence for a few minutes, absorbing what Romi had just told us. Naoto was the first to break the silence.

"How do we find out who this Shadow Summoner is? And when we do what are we suppose to do? I s there a way to save this person or are we suppose to…" She trailed off, obviously not wanting to think about the other possibility.

"There are ways to track the Summoner; Kyo here is able to sense him, as will your own analyst once given the proper training. As for what to do when we find him, there is no known way to bring someone back once corrupted. We do have a way to block the ability to summon, however that would involve capturing him first. That will not be an easy task, it would be much simpler to just kill him, but I can see that you are all against that so we will try it your way. Just know this; he will kill you given the chance. He no longer has any sense of mercy. Given the chance your death would be painful and drawn out."

"How could you possibly know that? You don't know who it is, maybe he wouldn't kill us."

"Rise, was it, you are a foolish girl. I know this because I have studied these particular monsters ever since I awakened my power. There has never been a Shadow Summoner ever to show mercy. There are records depicting the murder of their own families in the most gruesome and tortuous ways imaginable. While it may be true that each one has differed, it has never been that much. No, if you leave yourself open to a Shadow Summoner you will die."

Rise drew back. By then I had heard enough. I decided I needed to step in.

"Everyone we need to calm down. Look Dalian we understand that you are just trying to warn us, but this isn't our first fight. Last March we took down a god. We can handle ourselves. And the rest of you, we need to keep in mind that what she is saying is probably true. This is not our first time tracking someone bent on killing us. Think about it, last winter Adachi would have murdered us all, he tried to kill us. And most of us he tried to have killed by Namatame. We all have to watch our backs until we figure this one out."

"Hey Senpai's right. This isn't our first show. Let's kick this guy's ass. And who knows maybe we'll figure out a way to save this sap along the way." Kanji's outburst surprised us all but he was right.

"Nicely put Kanji, our first order of business is to find out who we a fighting. Dalian, you said that Itama could sense him?"

She looked at me, "Yes, and he can teach your analyst to sense him too."

"Alright then, Rise you will work with Itama." She gave me a look, obviously she was still upset about what he said about Teddie, "I know Rise, but we have to get along for now."

"Fine." I could hear the annoyance in her voice.

"Since you seem to have everyone under control, I will concede leadership to you. My scythe and Kyo's whip and blades are at your service."

"Miss Romi…"

"No Kyo, this is his team and his territory. We will abide by the code and offer our knowledge and abilities to him."

"Yes Miss Romi."

"Good Kyo. Also why don't you guys just call us by our first names since we will be working together?" Seeing them interact together was interesting. It was very obvious that she was in charge.

"Alright. Is there anything else we should know for the time being?" I could tell there was a lot more she wanted to say, but it was getting late and everyone was tired.

'Only this, Rise is not the only one receiving training. Everyone has more abilities than can be learned by ones self. You need careful guidance to be able to reach into the inner recesses of your heart. So starting tomorrow I will be working with the rest of you to help you reach your full potential." I have to say I was very curious about what she was saying, but I needed some rest and I wanted some alone time with my girlfriend.

"Okay then, let's meet back at Junes in the morning. From there we can come back here to begin our training. Where are you two staying tonight?"

"We planned on staying here." I was slightly shocked by the statement, but not entirely.

"Are you sure? Between all of us we could probably find someplace for you guys to stay. As a matter of fact I insist it. Alright who can keep them?" The look of shock on both of their faces was hilarious.

"I would, but I'm keeping Teddie with me." So Yosuke was out.

"I could probably take Romi with me"

"Thank you for the offer Chie, but we would prefer staying together." Kyo nodded in agreement.

"Well then my place is our, Ma would freak if I asked for a chick to stay over. What about you Yukiko, any extra rooms at the inn?" Again Kanji brought up an good point.

"Hmm, we might have some. Since the murders last year we haven't been as busy, so I could ask my mother."

"An inn, I hadn't even thought of that. Kyo check the money father sent with us, is there enough?"

"Yes Miss Romi." He looked in a small bag he was carrying. "How much is it?"

"Oh, well that depends on the size of the rooms. Come over here and I'll see what can be worked out." They walked a little away from the group to discuss prices and such.

"Okay so while they figure out that stuff why don't the rest of us head back? Chie, Yosuke can you stay behind and help them. Teddie can go with Kanji for now."

"Alright." Chie agreed easily.

"Why do I have to take the bear?" Kanji complained.

"Because I'm sure Rise and Naoto are still tired from their trips, and I have a few things I need to check on. Come on Kanji it's not that bad. Here I'll give you some money for Topsicles and animal crackers."

"Fine, but I'd better find the penguin this time. Come on Teddie." They walked off together back towards the entrance.

"Actually I think I'll go with them. Hey Kanji, Teddie wait up." With that Rise took off.

"I'm going to go see what's taking Kyo and Yukiko so long." Romi then went off in the direction those two headed.

"Okay, you two will be alright?" I asked Chie and Yosuke.

"Yea, no problem partner. Good luck with whatever you are doing."

"Yea we'll be fine. They can't be too much longer."

"Alright then we are going to head on back." I turned to leave, motioning for Naoto to follow me.

"Okay, see you guys tomorrow." Then Chie and Yosuke started following after Romi and the other two.

"Let's go Naoto." Once everyone was gone I grabbed her hand as we were walking.

"You just manipulated everyone so we could spend some time together alone didn't you." She looked at me accusingly. I just smiled at her and responded.

"So what if I did. I worked and everyone is happy. Now I say we should go somewhere can catch up."

"I suppose since you went to all that trouble." She said while giggling slightly. So we walked off back to the TVs and reentered our world. From there we went to our favorite spot, the highest hill in Inaba.

We talked for hours. We had only been apart for a few months, but we were both very busy people so there was a lot to talk about. I think that was probably one of the best nights of my life, if not the most relaxing. I told her about school and the friends I was making there, and about my new fan club, she wasn't too thrilled about that part, but it's kind of cute to see her get jealous. Of course I reminded her that she had nothing to worry about, none of those other girls could hold a candle to her.

After I calmed her fears she told me about work and the new cases she's been dealing with, and about what's been going on here in Inaba. Turns out that Kou discovered that he really did like Ai and they started dating about a month ago. She also told me about Kanji's doll making business and how it was booming. Apparently he was starting to get a new rep as the "best doll maker in Japan." He even had people coming in from other cities.

Naoto told me that not much had changed with the rest, Yukiko started helping out at the inn even more than before, but this time she was really enjoying herself, and Chie and Yosuke still fought every day about something or another. She told me about the time she was spending with Nanako and how they were quickly growing into close friends, Nanako even called Naoto her big sis sometimes. That made me happy to hear. I was really glad that they got along so well, it would be horrible if the two most important girls in my life hated each other, but that wasn't the case so I didn't have to worry. While we were talking an idea came into my mind. One that had been there before and after spending the entire evening with her I decided that I needed to do it. The only problem would be timing.

A/N: So here's another chapter. I'm a little sad that no one got the name thing, or at least didn't review about it. So I'll just tell you, the special name is Romi Dalian which is a mix of Naoto's Japanese and American voice actresses Romi Pak and Susan Dalian, okay so maybe I'm the only one lame enough to do that, but oh well, now I'm actually kind of fond of the name. Sorry it took so long to post, I had the hardest time figuring out how to explain everything, and to he honest I don't really like how the chapter came out, but it got the job done so I'll post it anyway. Hopefully the next chapter will be better. Oh and if someone knows how t make those boarder things then please let me know. Until next time, please review.