Persona: Defiance of Fate

by Solid Shark

In the deepest night, there is the Dark Hour. It began ten years ago; now, the players have assembled according to the Arcana, and with the arrival of Port Island's prodigal son, it will soon end. They have been given one year... Novelization of Persona 3

10. Chapter X: Hearts and Minds

Sunday, July 12th, 2009, Daytime

---

No one in their right mind visited a certain alleyway behind Port Island Station unless they were the kind of person who fit in there. Teenage delinquents, mostly, with a smattering of "grown-up" toughs, like your average drug dealer. Not too many of the latter, though, since the Port Island delinquents tended to scare even them.

Well, almost no one. If you looked the part, you could fit in, even if behind the façade all you really wanted was to be left alone… or to atone. Like dealing with any other kind of predators, just looking as if you were more predator yourself than prey could work wonders-especially if you looked like a bigger hunter than those around you.

Shinjiro Aragaki had taken advantage of that for a long time now. He didn't give a damn about the real delinquents around him, and he had no interest in the casual lawbreaking they tended to indulge in. He came to the alley behind Port Island Station because it was isolated from the kind of people who might see through him, and because it had happened there.

There wasn't much to do here, if you didn't fit in with the street toughs. For Shinjiro, though, that wasn't the point. Even on a Sunday, he still came here, doing little more than people-watching, and staying the hell out of the way of society.

"What exactly do you do around here all the time, anyway?"

Shinjiro snorted under his breath. That was the other kind of non-delinquent who came to the Port Island Station alley. The kind who was too soft for his own good, even if he probably could thrash everyone there barehanded.

"I mean, seriously," Akihiko went on, strolling down the alley toward the youth in the trench coat, "doesn't this get boring? You don't even like the people around here, for heaven's sake."

By rights, he should've been a target for the local riffraff. One look at his biceps, and the fact that for all his casual demeanor he was wearing brass knuckles on both hands, made the locals think twice. The fact that he was talking to Shinjiro Aragaki, who had recently given a reminder that he wasn't to be underestimated, was just icing on the threatening cake.

"Tch," Shinjiro scoffed, leaning back against the stairs he was perched on. "What the hell're you doing here, anyway?" His eyes narrowed, remembering their last conversation. "If it's about the usual, I'll tell you again, like always: buzz the hell off."

Akihiko waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, nothing like that. C'mon, Shinji, even I'm not gonna try to make a stone bleed every time. I just wanted to see how you were doing, that's all."

That's all? Yeah, right, Aki. I can see right through you, even if you can't.

Despite Shinjiro's gruffness, Akihiko settled onto the stairs by his side. "Hard to believe," he mused.

Shinjiro glanced at him sidelong. Okay, I'll bite. "What is?"

"That it's been almost fourteen years. Since we first met, I mean." The boxer stared up into the sky, looking at something only he could see; though Shinjiro could guess. "You, me, Miki… back then, at the orphanage, it felt like we had all the time in the world… We'd even run around this place till sunset, back before the delinquents took it over…"

Oh, hell. This again? Shinjiro sighed internally. Not like I don't sympathize, Aki, but seriously… how can you say some of this stuff with a straight face? And how the hell can you claim to be any different from me, when you talk like that?

Outwardly, he maintained his gruff, irritable look. "If you're just gonna blather about the past, I ain't interested. Go be sappy with your other friends; they looked soft enough for it." He stood, beginning to turn away.

"Soft…? What the hell is that supposed to mean, Shinji?" Akihiko demanded, also coming back to his feet.

"What do you think?" Shinjiro said over his shoulder. "Not that it's really the point, right now. You, talking about the past like that? You usually just charge on ahead and break things with your head. So what's really on your mind?"

Akihiko sighed. "You still see right through me, don't you? I do reminisce sometimes; I just don't usually see the point. Done is done, and all… But you're right. Something did get me to thinking lately… See, we've finally found out how to get rid of the Dark Hour."

Shinjiro slowly turned back around, unable to keep the surprise off his face. For all that he stayed out of things now, for all that he tried to forget what he'd been, and what he'd done, he was still as caught up in the Dark Hour itself as anyone else. For all that he wanted no part of SEES, that didn't mean he no longer agreed with their goals.

"…Are you kiddin' me?" he said slowly.

"We've got a good lead," Akihiko confirmed, smiling. "And we're already halfway there." His smile faded. "You know, ever since that day, all I've worried about is getting stronger, strong enough to never be helpless again. But… something came up yesterday. Something that made me start to wonder about my reasons for fighting."

Shinjiro nodded slowly. That one he could sympathize with unreservedly, even now. To get involved in something as big as the Dark Hour, you had to have a reason. To keep fighting Shadows, night after night, without just saying "To hell with it!" took more than just the ability to fight. You needed a goal, a cause.

If you lost it, or something shook your belief in the rightness of that reason…

"Everybody does this stuff for their own reason," he said quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's different for everybody, and nobody call tell you what your reason should be. You gotta figure that out for yourself; and if you decide it's not good enough after all, well. Then you can just quit, right? Like I did."

"I'm not like you," Akihiko shot back, mustering a half-hearted glare. "I'm uncertain, yeah, but I can't just stop now…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't believe this. You're lecturing me?"

"Sometimes you're the one who needs it," Shinjiro said bluntly, and began to turn away again. Then, as something else occurred to him, he paused. "You wanna know about reasons to fight? You should talk to your friend, the one who looks like he's in a Hong Kong blood opera. Bet he could tell you a thing or two."

The boxer blinked. "You mean… Minato? I didn't know you knew him."

"I don't." Shinjiro started walking away for real now. "But I saw him fight. Look in the obituaries from wherever he used to live sometime, and I bet you'll see something interesting. But he keeps on going, and he looked willing to kill for his friends when he was here. You'll probably get more talking to him than you would me."

There was silence for several moments, long enough for him to get almost out of earshot. Then, at the last, he heard a mutter. "…See you around, Shinji."

Feh. Aki, you haven't changed one bit, you know that? Truth is, you're no different than I am… you're just better at closing your eyes than me. You're as tied to the past as me, just in a different way.

Hell… sometimes I envy you for that. But it won't change anything. It won't change what I did. Nothing ever will.

---

Kyoto… Tokyo… Hinamizawa… Inaba… Nishinomiya… The key has to be in one of them…

Looking at Fuuka Yamagishi, most people wouldn't likely expect her frankly phenomenal skill with computers. Shy, frequently "ill", and more bookish than geeky, she came across more as shrinking violet bully magnet than a typical nerd.

Yet both her desktop computer and her laptop she'd actually constructed herself, assembling the components she deemed best suited to her own normal computer usage; she'd even heavily altered the operating systems to suit her own needs. It wasn't something she liked to talk about much, especially since her parents looked down on her habits, but it was something she was very quietly proud of.

Fuuka also didn't look the part of a detective, and normally, that impression was actually accurate. Her recent research for Yukari aside, she wasn't given to snooping, and definitely wasn't one to dig into someone else's obviously unpleasant past… under normal circumstances. These, however, were not normal.

She wasn't comfortable with the research she was doing now, but she also couldn't stand not knowing anymore. The first time she'd met Minato Arisato, he'd been leading her own rescue effort, and in the middle of it had acted with suicidal determination to protect her, despite -or perhaps because of- what was obviously a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. His behavior and his abilities had been completely outside the norm for a simple "high school student"; but when Fuuka asked the rest of the team about it afterwards, they hadn't known anything, either.

In fact, as far as Fuuka could tell, nobody in SEES or the school proper really knew anything about Minato's past, except that his parents were dead, he'd lived mostly with his sister and grandfather, and he liked to tell tall tales that might or might not have any basis in fact. For all that he was friendly and seemingly outgoing, a cursory look revealed him to be basically a blank.

Fuuka normally would've let that slide. Not really her business, after all-except that he was their leader in the field, and that position required a certain amount of trust. It was also very clear, based on what happened the night she was rescued, that his past had the potential to affect his performance in battle, and that was something that needed to be accounted for.

She'd have felt guiltier about it, but he had thoroughly investigated her, first. Fair's fair, Fuuka reasoned. He'd probably even agree with me on that point… I think.

The first thing Fuuka had done was to very quietly obtain a copy of the background check the Kirijo Group had done on Minato. A very cursory glance at it had told her that it was either heavily edited or outright fabricated, but it had given her a place to start, with the locations he'd at least supposedly lived at prior to returning to Port Island.

"Minato Arisato", she had discovered almost at once, was an alias. She still didn't know what his real name was, but the paper trail for "Arisato" only went back as far as Nishinomiya; nothing prior to the documents used for his entrance into North High School was verifiable. Whatever had prompted him to assume his current identity, therefore, presumably occurred before that. Possibly another alias preceded it, but she somehow doubted that, based on his medical records.

Those records indicated a severe, violent injury some four to five years in the past. That tended to rule out anything prior to his time in Hinamizawa -not to mention his simple age made anything that far back unlikely- and a quick search of Hinamizawa-related news had turned up nothing of interest more recent than the 1980s. Fuuka also had noticed Minato's tendency toward rapid healing, so she didn't take the medical report as gospel regarding timing.

All of which, so far, seemed to mark Inaba as the place to focus her search. Eventually, she'd look more deeply into the circumstances of his parents' deaths -after the research she'd done for Yukari, Fuuka found the timing somehow unsettling- but the Inaba lead seemed the mostly to pinpoint his exact identity.

Fuuka was just beginning to look into old Inaba newspaper articles when she heard a knock on her door. "Yes?" she called, quickly minimizing the current window on her desktop.

"It's me," was the reply. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Senpai?" Fuuka stood and crossed to her door, wondering what Mitsuru would want with her. "Please, come in."

After allowing the redhead in, both moved to sit, Mitsuru on the edge of the bed, Fuuka back by her computer. Rather to Fuuka's relief, her senpai wasn't simmering with old pain or recent humiliation this time; whatever had happened on Tanabata, and whatever she'd been remembering during the previous night's meeting, seemed to have retreated from the forefront of her mind. She seemed fully as reserved as she often appeared on the surface, and in this case Fuuka took that to be a good sign.

There was a small spike of amusement as Mitsuru glanced at the younger girl's computer. "You really are amazing, Yamagishi," she commented. "Your skill at providing battle support far surpasses mine, and on top of that, you excel at gathering information."

Fuuka flinched guiltily, both at the obvious reference to the digging she'd done for Yukari, and the way it reminded her of her current prying. "Sorry," she murmured, looking away. "I… I didn't mean to cause trouble…"

"You didn't," Mitsuru assured her, shaking her head. "The fact is, Takeba was probably right that that needed to be brought out into the open. That is why I'm here, but not to scold you for it." She took a deep breath. "I know Takeba already asked you to do this, but I'd like you to find out everything you can about the incident from ten years ago."

"You would?" Fuuka blinked, surprised by the request. "I mean, I'd be happy to, but Senpai, there really isn't much more available than what I already showed Yukari-chan. Almost nothing was ever made public to begin with."

"I know." Mitsuru pursed her lips. "Which is why I'd like you to access the Kirijo Group's database on the subject."

Fuuka froze. Technically speaking, she was almost certainly capable of it; it wasn't a skill she advertised, far less so than her skill at putting together and programming computers, but she'd dabbled in code breaking in the past. Very carefully, and more to broaden her general programming skills than anything else, but she could do it. Even so…

"You mean, hack their system?" she said carefully. "Senpai… that's illegal."

Mitsuru nodded gravely. "I know. Which is why I'll give you my user ID and password; if anyone comes looking, I'll be the one to bear the responsibility; you'll be completely free of accountability on the subject. I'm the one asking you to do it, so I should suffer whatever consequences may result." She looked away. "I want to know the truth, too."

It was an unusually vulnerable moment for the senior. Fuuka hadn't known the team as a whole very long, but she'd gotten a feel for how they usually presented themselves to the world; Junpei's cocky, gung-ho attitude, Yukari's energetic but occasional sarcastic bearing, Minato's very sarcastic commentary and general "seen it all" façade, Akihiko's casual yet occasionally hot-blooded nature…

Mitsuru, she generally associated with reserve. The heiress was capable of genuine humor and friendliness, but she tended to hold her cards close to her chest, much like Minato. Fuuka could feel what lay beneath, but it was very unusual for her to openly display it.

Now, Mitsuru seemed to take Fuuka's hesitation as reluctance. "Of course, I'll understand if you refuse," she said gently. "This is something of a risk, even with the safeguards…"

"I'll see what I can do," Fuuka interrupted her, thinking quickly. For it to be really secure, she'd have to fudge things like IP address as well, but that would be fairly simple; with an authorized user's ID and password, the rest would be… "Yes, I think I can handle it, Senpai."

Mitsuru looked at her closely. "Are you sure, Yamagishi?"

"Absolutely," she said firmly. "It's something we all need to know, isn't it?"

"…Yes. Yes, you're right about that." The redhead smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Yamagishi. I really appreciate it." She stood, making her way to the door, then stopped, smile fading. "Yamagishi… doesn't it bother you at all? Takeba was right, you know; I did essentially trick all of you into joining SEES, without explaining what was really going on. You can't tell me that doesn't make you even a little bit angry."

That she was genuinely concerned about it, Fuuka could tell beyond a doubt. Yet Fuuka, too, had known right off that not everything was being said, and like Akihiko and Minato, she had her own reasons for going along with it anyway. Nothing that had been said last night changed her own reasons for being here, selfish as they might be.

"I'm not angry at all, Senpai," she said at length, surprising Mitsuru. She paused then, considering just how much to say, before settling on full honesty. In SEES, laying all cards on the table was really starting to seem the smart thing to do. "You see, I… don't really like living at home. Most of my relatives are doctors, but my parents aren't, and they've got an inferiority complex over it." Fuuka looked away. "They're really tough on me because of it."

Mitsuru nodded slowly. "Which is why you were absent due to 'illness' so much even before the bullying started," she realized.

"Yeah," Fuuka confirmed. "It's hard to keep up with that kind of pressure… But here, I feel like I'm actually important, like I can make a real difference." She smiled shyly. "Why should I be angry about being in a position like that, however I may have gotten there?"

Her senpai slowly smiled in return. "You're right, Yamagishi. You are making a difference; we'd all have died without you, more than once. No one can replace you here. You, as much as our 'ace', make it possible for us to finally end this."

Fuuka blushed. "U-um, well… I…"

Mitsuru chuckled lightly. "Thank you, Yamagishi. I'll see you around."

The redhead left before Fuuka could think of a response. Left also without closure to the embarrassment that she was now feeling, she could do little but turn back to what she'd been doing when Mitsuru arrived, hoping that it would take her mind off the unaccustomed praise.

It did. Within moments, she'd found a headline that sent a chill down her spine, chasing the warmth of embarrassment right out.

Small Town Erupts With Big City Violence; Kidnapping Of Local Girl Turns To Yakuza Bloodbath…

---

Port Island Station was always busy on Sundays, from the increased gang activity in the back alley to the booming business of the local theater and flower shop. Along with Paulownia Mall, it was one of the more popular commercial areas in the Iwatodai/Port Island area, and this time of day, this time of week, it was crowded.

Junpei didn't realize notice, even though he was on a bench not too far from the Screen Shot Theater. He was staring off into space, oblivious to those around him; his attention was entirely on the revelations of the previous night, and the events of the recently-passed Tanabata.

"So," he muttered to himself, "if we keep this up just a little longer, Tartarus and the Dark Hour will be gone, huh? No more Shadows, no more Lost, none of that stuff? …Tch!"

He'd been involved in the mess with the Dark Hour only a little over two months, not even as long as him, but it was already so deeply ingrained into his routine that it seemed like it had always been there. Like he'd been fighting Shadows all his life.

By rights, Junpei knew, he should've hated it. Should've already gotten tired of the sleepless nights that visits to Tartarus, let alone Full Moon Operations, tended to cause. Any sane person would've already been nearing burnout. And yet…

"That's a good thing. Getting rid of a threat to all Mankind… that's supposed to be the winning conditions of all this, right?" Junpei looked up to the sky, as if hoping for an answer from above. "So… why the hell am I so mad about it?!"

As if to underscore the point that he was trying very, very hard not to think about, a couple of older students came out of Screen Shot, chattering to themselves. "Oh, wow, is it hot. Even for July, this is crazy; and these uniforms really aren't suited for this."

The other student laughed. "Seriously. But hey, at least we're seniors now; we won't be wearing these stupid uniforms for much longer."

"There is that. Man, I've had it with all this… I just wanna get into college and start having some fun, darn it!"

Another laugh. "Yeah, but that's if you even get accepted, remember…"

Their voices trailed off with distance, but the damage to Junpei's self-deception had been done. The truth he'd been trying to deny was staring him right in the face, and he couldn't look away any longer. He'd barely held it off after his "leader" threw down the metaphorical gauntlet to begin with.

"…Yeah," he muttered. "Yeah, I know why/ It's got nothin' to do with anyone else, or right or wrong… It's me. I was all, like, 'With great power comes great responsibility'. 'I have the power to make a difference, so I should put it to good use…' But hell, that's not really why I'm fighting, is it? I'm fighting 'cause it's the only thing I'm actually good at. Without it… what the hell am I good for? Nothing, that's what."

"You have no idea what the hell you're talking about. You wanna be a hero? You wanna be the war machine?"

"Yeah… that's exactly it." Junpei laughed quietly, bitterly. "Responsibility? Making a difference? Hell, all I want is to be a hero… and I can't even do that, can I? I can't even fight worth squat." He grimaced. "Not like Minato freakin' Arisato, anyway."

He'd never attended the Kendo Team's practice sessions, but he'd seen Minato in action time and again now, and as much as he wanted to deny it, as much as he wanted to claim the blue-haired swordsman was a show-off, Junpei couldn't deny that Minato got results, and did so with a practiced grace he couldn't hope to match. As much as he'd like to mock it, he knew the particular style Minato practiced was one of the most complicated there was, yet the SEES field leader made it look easy.

As much as Junpei wanted to never, ever admit it, he knew that in a fight between them Minato would destroy him, Persona or no Persona.

"Dammit! Nothing I do is good enough!"

"You want to be a hero, Junpei? Then stop trying to be one, and start acting like one!"

"Well let me tell you something, Junpei Iori. You want to be a hero, you'd better understand what it costs!"

Junpei hung his head. "Dammit," he said again, voice sinking to a whisper. "I just don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore…"

---

"I just don't know what I'm doing anymore…"

A typically girlish dorm room, complete with posters of music bands and a fair bit of pink. A bow hung on one wall, along with a quiver; one of the traditional weapons of the Yamato Nadeshiko archetype, still popular among certain segments of the population. The girl sitting on the bed, also seeming like a typical high school girl, with form-fitting jeans and a pink tank top, a choker with a heart-shaped clasp fastened around her neck.

So very typical, on the surface. So very… not, beneath the façade of normality. On the desk beneath the bow lay a pistol case, containing a very unusual weapon; this was the least of what separated Yukari Takeba from her peers.

She held in her hand a letter, paper worn by the number of times she'd read it since it first arrived, a letter that had set her onto the path she'd walked for the past year. A path she'd walked without hesitation, despite her misgivings… until now.

Yukari had known from the beginning that she wasn't being told everything. The number of clues that had begun to add up on top of that had prompted her to enlist Fuuka's aid in finding out what really happened, in the end forcing the confrontation with Mitsuru the previous evening. Yet when the truth did finally begin to come out, she'd found she hadn't been nearly as prepared for it as she'd thought.

That the Kirijo Group, Mitsuru in particular, had been hiding things from the junior members of SEES, Yukari had long since realized. That they had, in fact, been responsible for the entire situation, that she'd spent the past several months helping to clean up something they'd set into motion to begin with, wasn't a revelation that she'd been at all prepared for, and now, she just… didn't know what to think.

She had joined SEES for one reason, originally: to learn the truth behind her father's death. She still hadn't quite managed that, but she was coming close. Along the way, she'd begun to realize that they really were all that stood between the Shadows and mass death, and preventing that had seemed a worthy goal all by itself. Now, even that seemingly simple idea was wavering within her, for she was fighting those Shadows under the auspices of the very same organization that had inadvertently set them loose to begin with.

Yukari wanted to blame Mitsuru, wanted to lay the responsibility for "tricking" SEES entirely at the senior's feet. When she began her tirade the previous night, she'd more or less intended to do exactly that. And yet…

"Some of us were never given a choice at all, Takeba."

"Truth or lies, I'm not just a pawn, Yukari. And quite frankly, neither are you."

Yukari sighed, and looked down at the letter in her hands. "Am I stupid to believe in trust and friendship?" she whispered. "Mitsuru-senpai implied she's been used as much as any of us, while Minato suggested he's not who we think he is… Can I really trust anything anymore?" She closed her eyes, thinking back to a face she scarcely recalled anymore, outside of photographs. "Dad… This old letter of yours, I must've read it a thousand times since it arrived, just last spring…"

Even after ten years, even with how often he'd been absent while he was still alive, somehow she could still hear his voice as she read once more over the words her father had left for her.

"March 6th, 2000," the letter was dated. A mere month before the explosion… "To my family. Tomorrow, I'll bring this letter to the opening ceremony of the Moonlight Bridge. It'll be stored in a time capsule, to be sent ten years from now."

In the end, it had only been nine years. Yukari still wasn't sure why; it had arrived completely anonymously, accompanied only by a note saying that the time capsule had only just been found in old archives. What that meant, she didn't know.

"Yukari… You're so small right now, but in ten years, you'll be in high school. Almost all grown up, huh? I can't wait to see how you are then…"

She sniffed, wondering how her father would feel about how she'd turned out. She was doing well in school, was, in her own modest opinion, doing well on the Archery Team, and was managing to stand on her own despite her family troubles. Yet academic and social success aside, she knew well the issues that lay at her own core. Issues like the one that had led her to confront Mitsuru, knowing the damage it could do to the entire team.

"I know you've been sad because of how late I've had to work, yet you always greet me with a smile. It makes it all feel worth it, you know? I'm really proud of how things are turning out at work, mind you. Kirijo-san appointed me Head Researcher at the lab here, a really important post. I'll be starting on a big project soon, and I'm happy to be receiving this kind of recognition for my work."

For the longest time, Yukari hadn't had any idea what the project was; she'd been only vaguely aware of what her father was doing, at the time or for most of years since his death. Even after joining SEES, she'd only had the vaguest glimmer. Now, she was beginning to see what he must've been involved in, and it made her heart ache.

He couldn't have known exactly what it was leading to, she reminded herself. Kouetsu Kirijo covered his tracks so well, after all; Dad must've known the basics of the experiment, but he couldn't have known what the final result was supposed to be.

"However, as proud as I may be of how work is going, I want you to know that nothing is more important to me than you and your mother, Yukari. Everything I'm doing is to make things better for you both."

Those weren't the words of a nihilist, like Mitsuru had described her grandfather. Even now, Yukari clung to that certainty.

"Yukari… are you still bright eyed and hopeful? Are you remembering to enjoy life, even in the middle of the hectic high school life? No matter what happens in the next ten years, I hope you're happy… Well, I hope at least this letter puts a smile on your face. …Love, Dad."

It did put a smile on her face, even now. Even through the tears reading his long-ago words still brought her. It put a smile on her face, and renewed the resolve in her heart, just like it always had. The one thing she clung to, even when everything seemed to be changing all around her.

"Dad started because he thought it would make Mom and me happier," Yukari whispered, folding up the letter. "I can't do any less, can I? However this might've started, I know fighting the Shadows is the right thing to do, that it's continuing my Dad's work… I can't lose. For Dad's sake, I have to keep going." Her expression tightened, remembering the other person the letter was nominally addressed to. "I won't ever give up. Not like Mom did."

No. She might not be the happy, hopeful person her father had hoped she would still be, but Yukari Takeba had never lost sight of herself. Even through all the pain and humiliation she'd suffered over the years, she'd hung on and continued walking forward. She sometimes lost her way, but she never stopped, never turned back.

She refused to be like her mother, who had stopped, had turned back. Who had tried to "move on" by acting like a high school girl with low standards, returning to immaturity instead of setting an example for her daughter.

I will keep fighting, Yukari vowed. Last night turned the world upside for me, but I still know for certain that the Shadows are dangerous. If I keep fighting them, I know I'll be on the right path, and if I can help bring all of this to an end, I'll finally overcome the past entirely.

I'll be that girl again, Dad. Just… give me a little time, okay?

---

Dark Hour

---

Minato hadn't seen the others all day, except very briefly when he'd gotten up in the morning. His schedule for the day somehow hadn't matched up with any of them, which was admittedly just as well, probably. Last night's revelations, he thought, were bound to leave all of them with too much to think about, even the ones who'd already known about it.

In the end, the truth coming out would either break the team, or bring them all closer together than they'd ever been. At this point, Minato wasn't prepared to guess one way or the other, although he did think it might finally have gotten Junpei really thinking about it all.

Everywhere I go, things are more complicated than they seem, he mused, leaning back in his desk chair in the eerie yellow moonlight. Isn't that right, Saya? Tsu-chan?

Three photos featured prominently on his desk. One of his dear sister, face partly obscured by her favored hat. Beside it, a girl with long black hair, red eyes, and face framed by glasses that still haunted his dreams even now; she smiled out of the picture at him, showing none of the deadly serious side he knew she had. At the end of the row, a girl with bright green hair and yellow eyes, her broad grin exposing her fang-like canines as she laughed at the camera.

The three girls who had defined his life up to this point, two of whom had shown him just how much more there was to the world than most people thought.

Mentally, Minato added a fourth picture, of a redhead he was still having trouble getting out of his mind at very awkward moments. If anyone in SEES fit in the company on his desk, he thought it was her, for more reasons than he was comfortable with.

"It's good to see you again, Kyousuke."

Minato didn't even twitch, hearing that odd voice behind him. "Evening, Pharos," he said smoothly, turning in his chair. "Figured I'd be seeing you soon."

The strange boy that had so recently named himself as "Pharos" smiled at him. "I suppose I am getting a little predictable, at that. But it's a good thing, isn't it? I don't want to surprise you too much, after all." Pharos peered thoughtfully out of the window, into moonlit night. "Hm… how long has it been since we first met, anyway?"

"About three months, give or take," Minato said after a moment's thought. "The night I arrived at the dorm, back in April."

"Ah, yes, of course… Time certainly flows quickly, doesn't it?" The boy nodded. "So, how's life treating you, as a Persona user?"

"Pretty well. It's even crazier than things were at North High, but it really does feel like I'm making a difference." Minato leaned back in his chair. "Although Tanabata made things… a bit complicated, let's say."

Pharos tilted his head curiously. "In a good way, or a bad way?"

Now, isn't that a question? "I don't know yet," the swordsman admitted. "We're all still working it out for ourselves. But if it goes well, I think we'll all be the stronger for it."

The boy smiled. "That's good, then, isn't it? Perhaps you'll even find what it is you've been looking for all this time." Before Minato could process that statement, Pharos' expression sobered. "I thought you should know, by the way, that I remembered something else about the end."

Minato tensed. As friendly as Pharos was, as pleasant as he was to talk to despite the eeriness of the circumstances, the relaxed atmosphere vanished in an instant at the reminder of the strange boy's favorite subject matter.

He'd read various texts about "ends". The Book of Revelation, Norse Ragnarok, even the supposed Mayan apocalypse some claimed was slated for only a little over three years hence. Not one of them that he could think of was reassuring.

"Can I ask what?" Minato said warily.

"You might find this useful," Pharos said earnestly. "I remembered that it all goes back to one event, from many years ago… Actually, about ten years ago, I believe."

Minato's blood ran cold. Ten years ago…? No. That can't be a coincidence. But that would mean, what we're doing, it's even more important than I-

"Say," Pharos continued, frowning thoughtfully, "didn't your parents pass away about that time, too?"

Fire. Squealing brakes. Impact. Gunfire. Screams. Blackness-

Minato tore himself out of the half-recollection that was all that remained in his memories of that day, and stared at his otherworldly friend, face pale. "You…" he whispered. "You're not suggesting…?"

"It's just a thought," Pharos told him, fading away and reappearing almost instantly by the bed. "But it's something you might think about. Talk with 'yourself' about. Persona… Opposing mirrors of hope and despair, that's what Persona is. …What I mean is, a Persona user can never hide from his own true self."

"And this above all… To thine own self be true." Those words, she was the first one who said them to me…

Pharos looked him in the eye, somber. "You will find the truth within yourself sooner or later, Kyousuke," he said solemnly. "But don't worry. Regardless of what you find there, I'll be with you. Because we're friends, right?"

He faded again, this time disappearing for the evening entirely, before Minato could formulate a response.

"Ne, Kyousuke… If you saw a new side of me, something different from what you know, what would you think of me?"

"I'd still be there for you, Saya. You don't have to ask me that."

"Even if it was something terrible? Something… inhuman?"

"Saya is Saya. No matter what, I would stand by you. I'd… still love you. That's what it means to love someone, isn't it? To accept all of them?"

A giggle. "Kyousuke-kun, you really are one of a kind, aren't you? …Thank you…"

---

Monday, July 13th, 2009, Evening

---

Coincidences can be amazing, leading to meetings between people who by rights should never encounter each other in their everyday lives. Coincidence can save lives, and just as easily take them, when one of the random factors beyond human comprehension tips just slightly in one direction or the other.

Coincidences can also be just plain uncomfortable. Such as when all members of a team which had not gathered in the same spot in days, whose most recent group actions had ranged from uncomfortable to venomous, managed to accidentally have business in the dorm dining area, all at the same time. Junpei, whose resentment had set off one of the firestorms; Mitsuru, who was one of the key players in another, and the center of yet a third. Akihiko, who stood by her side through it all. Yukari, who had precipitated the latest clash; Fuuka, whose research had been used to set it all off.

Minato, who had the dubious honor of being the target of Junpei's resentment, the other party in Mitsuru's humiliation, and her partisan in Yukari's interrogation.

All of them just happened to end up in the dining area at the same time, and the resulting silence was a very awkward one. Fuuka felt it the most strongly, through Lucia; to her, the oppressive atmosphere was a physical pressure, and so she cast about for a safe topic to break the silence. Exams were coming up, which by themselves were probably a dangerous subject around Junpei, but…

Ah, of course!

"S-so," she began hesitantly. "Summer break is coming up, isn't it? Does anyone have any plans for it?"

Her choice was apparently a winner. Tension began flowing away, slowly but noticeably, right away. "I haven't decided yet," Minato said thoughtfully, sliding into a chair at the dinner table. "An old friend wants to meet up with me, but I haven't figured out where to go yet."

"This from the guy who's spent half his life bouncing around like a tennis ball?" Junpei grinned, dropping ungracefully into a seat himself. "Ahh, you probably just wanna crawl into a book or something… But me? I wish I could go to the beach! Hot sand, cool breeze, the water…" His grin widened. "Babes in bikinis…"

Minato rolled his eyes. "You would say that, wouldn't you." To Fuuka's relief, though, he seemed more amused than furious this time, and Junpei took it in good fun.

"And you need to get out more, Minato. Seriously," the Man in the Hat said, shaking his head, "whatever problems you may have with bein' a chick magnet, even you gotta admit having a girlfriend wouldn't be so bad!" He stopped suddenly, eyes widening as he realized the potential minefield the suggestion represented. "Uh, not that I mean-"

"Relax," the swordsman told hm, rolling his eyes again. "Contrary to popular belief, my history is not right out of a Shakespearean tragedy, Junpei. I just might surprise you someday."

He missed the way Mitsuru looked at him with sudden, intense curiosity; Fuuka did not.

"Zat so? I'll believe that when I see it!" Junpei laughed. "But man, it sure would be nice to get some sun, dontcha think? Someplace in the south, where they know how to have summer!" His grin faltered. "Oh, yeah… but we got exams first, don't we." Junpei's expression suggested someone had just run over his dog. "Man, I hoped to live to see summer, too…"

"Oh, come on, Junpei-kun," Fuuka said, smiling at him. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You haven't failed anything yet, have you?"

"That ain't very reassuring, Fuuka-chan. Not in this gang of overachievers!"

Junpei's expression remained hangdog, but Fuuka was intensely relieved that he was joking about things like grades again. Something had changed since his fight with Minato at Shirakawa Boulevard, and while she could tell that his resentment wasn't quite as gone as he was pretending, he was making an effort.

Maybe things can still go back to normal, she thought hopefully. I miss how things were when I first got here.

"I know what you mean," she said aloud. "I'd like to go someplace with a beautiful beach… Like Okinawa, maybe."

To Fuuka's surprise, and carefully hidden amusement, Minato gave a theatrical shudder at that. "Okinawa? Really nice place, great scenery and everything. But man, the last time I went there on vacation, it turned into a ghost story."

Yukari sighed. "Minato, I'd have thought that by now you'd know some of us don't like hearing spooky stories. Or were you on the receiving end back then, and you've been getting revenge by proxy on us ever since?"

"Wasn't a spooky story," he told her, shivering. "Spooky real. I may tell a lot of tall tales, Yukari, but that one… Well. Actually, the spooky part wasn't the worst… Ah, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Are you blushing?" Junpei demanded, leaning forward. "Damn, man, what could make you-"

"Don't ask, because I'm not telling," Minato said firmly. "A couple of the others, I might trust with that. But you? Hell, no. I am not giving you ammunition, Junpei. I'm just going to say that Okinawa is not my favorite place, and leaving it at that."

The tension was definitely gone now. Mitsuru and Akihiko exchanged a notably relieved look, and Fuuka felt herself relax more than she had since the Tanabata Operation. This was the kind of atmosphere she'd been so glad to find, when she left home to live in the dorm.

Summer break might be just what we all need, she mused. Get a break from all the studying and fighting, and maybe we'll be even better off.

"Well," another voice interjected unexpectedly, "I admit it's not Okinawa -which, I take it, you're just as happy with, Minato-kun- but… how does Yakushima sound, guys?"

They turned as a team to see Ikutsuki walking in, wearing both his usual tan suit and his usual bright smile. As with her fellow SEES members, Fuuka knew that smile wasn't always completely genuine, but right now the Chairman really did seem to be in a good mood.

"Mister Chairman," Mitsuru said in surprise, straightening from her lean against one wall. "I didn't expect to see you today."

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "I thought you all might appreciate having my schedule for the next week… but along the way, I had another idea. I'm glad to hear you all talking about summer break, because I've got a great suggestion for you. Mitsuru, your father will be taking some time off himself during your break, and he'll be at the family home in Yakushima."

She blinked. "He will? Father hasn't taken much time off in years…"

"Which is probably why he'll be there," Ikutsuki pointed out. "Even Kirijo-san needs a vacation every now and then. The timing is good, isn't it? You've got time off right after exams, so why don't you drop in on him?"

Fuuka was interested to note the reactions of her teammates. Mitsuru seemed conflicted, as if she liked the idea but wasn't sure if it was really okay. Akihiko… he felt fairly neutral, which didn't surprise her; beaches didn't seem like the sort of thing he'd care about much one way or the other. Yukari's sense was of cautious excitement; Minato, interest tempered by an odd, almost comical sense of foreboding.

Herself? She liked the idea quite a bit. She'd never been to the island of Yakushima before, and it sounded like it was just what the psychologist ordered. Which, she thought wryly, doesn't quite cover Junpei-kun's feelings, does it?

If Junpei's grin got any wider, Fuuka feared his face would fall off. "Are you for real, man? We're going on a trip?! Oh, yeah! Beach babes, here I-!"

With changing expression, Minato reached over and smacked him on the back of the head. Junpei yelped and shot him an aggrieved look, but his enthusiasm didn't really seem dampened. If anything, he'd expected the blow.

Yukari huffed in annoyance. "Men," she muttered.

"Hey, don't lump all of us in with the pervert," Minato protested.

Ikutsuki chuckled at all the byplay. "Ah, youth… So, Mitsuru? What do you think of the idea?"

"W-well," Mitsuru began, biting her lip. "It does sound like a good idea, but I don't want to impose on my father. He's always so busy, I don't want to ruin his first real vacation in years…"

"Don't be silly," the Chairman chided her. "No father could possibly think of his own daughter dropping in as an imposition. You don't get to see him enough as it is, don't you think?" He looked over the group as a whole. "Besides, all of you have been doing an amazing job. You deserve a really good vacation. Some time away from Port Island, and Shadows, and everything else. And it's not like we don't know exactly when the next operation will be, is it? There's plenty of time before the next full moon."

Mitsuru bit her lip again, and Fuuka could sense her inner conflict. It wasn't hard to predict the final outcome, though, once she'd been reassured about her father; clearly, she, too, thought they all needed a break, and Fuuka could feel her own, hidden yearning just to see her father.

"All right," she said at last, breaking out in a slow smile. "I guess we do all need a break, don't we? Let's do it."

"Yes!" Junpei shouted to the heavens. "I can't wait! Yahoo!"

"It could be interesting," Akihiko allowed, smiling. "I can think of a few ways a beach could do for my training…"

Typical of the boxer to think of physical conditioning when everyone else was looking forward to just some time to chill and forget about back-breaking labor and brain-bending studying. For herself… "I'll need to buy a new swimsuit," Fuuka mused. "I haven't gone to the beach in so long."

Junpei flashed her a megawatt grin. "Oh, don't worry, Fuuka, I've got a spare you could- Youch!"

Minato and Yukari had stomped on his feet simultaneously, leaving him quite unable to stand. It was a measure of just how much the mood had changed that he only looked exasperated, not furious. Well, also agonized, but that was probably unavoidable.

Minato stood now himself, wearing an expression that mixed anticipation with dread, the latter, again, coming across as somehow comical. "I've got a phone call to make," he announced, turning toward the stairs. "Wish me luck."

"Is it really that bad, Minato-kun?" Fuuka asked curiously.

"Depends on how perverse her sense of humor is this week."

---

Late Night

---

When the minor celebration had broken up, Mitsuru made her way toward the stairs herself, feeling a bit subdued. She was looking forward to some time at the beach herself, somewhat to her own surprise; and yet… She couldn't help but think of the implications of her father being at Yakushima at the same time SEES was.

Not given the conversation two nights prior. That had brought everything right back to the surface. Speaking of…

As Mitsuru reached the foot of the stairs, Yukari caught up with her. "Um, Senpai?" she said tentatively. "About the other night… I'm sorry. I think I got a little carried away, so…"

Mitsuru shook her head. "No, Takeba. You were right. I should've told you everything, right from the start. You deserved to know what you were fighting, and why." She pursed her lips. "Which is why… it's probably just as well that we're going to Yakushima."

Yukari tilted her head. "Senpai?"

"The Chairman said everyone involved in the experiment was killed," Mitsuru reminded her. "But that's not strictly true. There was one witness who survived, albeit badly injured. Just one."

"And that witness is at Yakushima?" the archer hazarded.

"Yes," Mitsuru confirmed quietly. "My father."

---

This has the potential to be exciting in all the wrong ways, Minato thought, flopping down on his bed. I hadn't quite expected the whole team to go on vacation together. It's good that we're all getting along again, and it's a relief that Junpei seems to have calmed down, but… Wow. I had not planned on this when I agreed to meet up over the break.

No use delaying the inevitable. Even if he waited until the last possible moment, she'd still have time to make it, even if she had to hire a helicopter. Or a helicopter carrier. Her family can probably afford it.

Sighing, Minato pulled out his cell phone and hit one of the speed dial options. As expected, it didn't take long for the other party to pick up, and a familiar blast of cheer came through right after. "Heya, Minato-kun! I was wondering when you'd call!"

"Hello yourself, Tsu-chan." He winced at the volume, and made a mental note to turn down his speakers before his next call to her. "My summer plans have been settled. The whole club is taking a trip to Yakushima right after exams."

"Yakushima? Awesome, nyoro!" Minato could easily picture Tsuruya's grin. "Alrighty, Silver-kun, I'll make my own arrangements right away. Ha ha! A few days at the beach sound like fun. Just like old times, eh?"

"As long as it's not too much like old times, Fang-tan." He rolled his eyes. "Like I said, the whole club will be there, so please try not to embarrass me too badly, okay?"

"Well, that's partly up to them, isn't it? Not my fault if they misunderstand a reunion between old 'friends'!" Another burst of Tsuruya's trademark laughter. "And hey, you were the one who brought up the ship in a bottle, Silver-kun!"

"Circumstances brought up the ship in a bottle, Fang-tan," he replied, grimacing at the memory. "Believe me, I'd just as soon forget it."

"Aww…" Minato could hear the mock-pout over the airwaves. "But it was so fun! You can't tell me you didn't enjoy how it ended, because I know you did!"

Unfortunately, he couldn't quite refute that one. Not without being both dishonest and insulting. He would never, ever admit where Junpei "The Pervert" Iori could hear it, but he certainly couldn't deny it to Tsuruya herself. Even if the images the thought evoked meshed entirely too well with what happened on Tanabata, in ways he would never dare remark on where his Senpai could hear.

"All right, so it ended… pleasantly," Minato said reluctantly. "It still started awkward as hell, and my current club does not need to hear the details of beginning or ending, got it?"

"Oh, if you insist…"

"I do," he said firmly. "And these days, I might just be able to enforce it. You're not the only one who can set things on fire now, Tsu-chan."

There was a long silence on the other end; and an unnerving one. Minato had very, very rarely seen Tsuruya in a remotely serious mood. When the laughter stopped, smart people sat back and paid very close attention.

"Is that so?" she said at length.

Nope. No laughter this time. "It's not quite what you do," Minato told her, turning to look out his window at the night sky. "…Does the word 'Persona' mean anything to you?"

"…A little," Tsuruya admitted. "Sounds like we gots to talk about things when we see each other, Silver-kun." A pause, and then her voice turned cheery again. "Anyways! Right after exams, ne? Yakushima, here I come! And I've even got a new swimsuit I can't wait to show you!"

Oh, that so doesn't bode well.

Yes, it does, Master, Pixie said excitedly. This should be fun!

For once, Minato didn't even bother to chastise the lecherous Persona, being far more concerned with other lechers he could name. "I'm… looking forward to it, Fang-tan," he said uneasily. "See you next week?"

"You bet! Catch ya later, Minato-kun!"

The connection ended with a click, and Minato fell back against his pillow. "I'm so doomed," he whispered. "No. Scratch that. Junpei is doomed, because I'm going to have to murder him next week. Whatever Tsu-chan is planning, I will have to murder Junpei for it."

Feh! And that is a bad thing, Master?

"Be nice, Valkyrie." He sighed. "I might be able to find another option. Depends on how quick I can make an appointment with the right doctors."

Doctors, Master?

"To perform brain surgery and remove certain glands," Minato explained. "Junpei's, that is. A little surgery in the right places, and Tsu-chan's idea of swimwear might not make him self-destruct."

I still say that wouldn't be a bad thing…

---

Even for the studious, the trials and tribulations that are exams can be the stuff of nightmares. Free time evaporates, time itself assumes properties normally only found at large fractions of lightspeed; Einstein laughs from beyond the grave at those poor students who discover how truly "relative" time can be.

Thoughts of freedom vanish, replaced by endless equations, quotations of history, and references to unfathomably boring "classic" literature. In the end, one cannot even dream of release any longer, only of quizzes and horrid creatures out of textbooks.

At the height of time of horror, Minato's sleep was tormented by contact-lens-wearing, spell-casting samurai, who fired bullets from their hair. Even he, as diligent a student as he was, had succumbed to the sheer nonsense inherent in some of the exam questions, and sanity was nearly lost.

In the end, however, time moves on…

---

Saturday, July 18th, 2009, After School

---

The final bell rang. The teacher departed, leaving only students. The five-day ordeal that was "exam time" was over for a few more months.

"Awright!" Junpei shouted jubilantly, attracting looks from almost everyone else in the classroom-especially when he leapt half a meter in the air in excitement. "Yes, yes, it is finally over! Damn, but I'd started to forget what sunlight was like!"

Minato shook his head in resigned exasperation, putting away his books in a far more sedate fashion. Not that he disagreed with the sentiment, far from it, but Junpei's enthusiasm was tiring just to watch. How the heck does he have that kind of energy after five straight days of exams? I'm dead on my feet.

Over at her own desk, Yukari stretched, audible popping coming from her joints. "Could you try not acting like a little kid sometimes, Junpei?" she said dryly, coming to her feet. "Did you actually do that well on your exams?"

I'd be surprised, personally. I know he did study some this time, but what I heard through the wall wasn't very encouraging…

Junpei grinned. "Actually, yeah, I think I did! I totally aced P.E., y'know!"

Yukari rolled her eyes. "…Yeah. I guess that was a stupid question, wasn't it?" She turned to the saner student. "What about you, Minato? You do all right?"

"I think I probably passed P.E.," Minato said soberly, working the kinks out of his shoulders. "Kaz gave me a run for my money, mind, but I still think I did okay."

"…Right. If you say so."

"Oh, c'mon," Junpei scoffed, picking up his bag. "What the hell're you guys doing worrying about exams now, anyway? It's over and done with! A real man doesn't worry about the past, he looks ahead to what's coming next."

Given what your definition of a "real man" is, Junpei, forgive me if I take that with a grain of salt.

Nay. Make that a truckload, Master.

Well, on balance Minato wasn't going to argue the point, but he had to admit he simply saw no need to worry about the exam results. Whether he did as well as he had the last time or not, he was entirely confident that he'd passed. Yukari, he was reasonably sure, had as well. Junpei… well, he figured Junpei at least wasn't likely to be held back a year.

"What, no comeback? I'm disappointed, Minato!" Junpei flashed another megawatt-grin. "Ah, but who cares? It's about to be summer! We're going to Yakushima! What do we care about anything else right now?"

"I can think of a few things," Yukari told him, shaking her head. "But yeah, I have to say I'm looking forward to that, too." She turned back to Minato. "What about you, Minato? Are you all packed for the trip?"

"Just about," he replied. "I just need to finish getting my gear squared away, really."

"Your gear?" Junpei laughed, figuring out what his nominal leader meant. "Oh, c'mon, Minato, you're seriously bringing all that stuff to a beach vacation?"

"Yes."

"Why am I not surprised?" Yukari chuckled, and started for the door. "Well, I should probably finish getting ready, too… Hey, I don't have practice today, so you wanna go out for a bite to eat or something?"

Before Minato could respond, Junpei's eyes lit up. "Oh, awesome! Where're we goin?" He grinned slyly. "Oh, hey, if you need to buy a new swimsuit while we're out, I'd be happy to help ya pick it."

"Do I look insane?" Yukari demanded. "Never mind, don't answer that. Look, I need to grab some stuff from my locker before we go… Oh, how about I stop by 2-E on my way out? I'll ask Fuuka if she wants to go with us."

"Good idea." Minato still didn't know their newest teammate as well as he might, but he wouldn't dream of denying that she'd swiftly become an integral part of the group. She'd saved their lives several times now, and she was proving to be fiendishly effective at information gathering.

She'd make one hell of a good detective herself, he mused, as Yukari left the classroom. Maybe not so good with fieldwork, but she'd been quite the asset on the computer side of things. I should find out if she's interested; I've certainly got the contacts to get her a good start.

"…Hey, Minato?"

Minato looked over at Junpei, mildly surprised. "Hm?"

"Look, I…" Junpei hesitated, looking away. "Can we talk? Privately?"

"…Yeah, sure." I wonder what's up?

With this barbarian? 'Twould not be wise to expect too much, Master. Not after his behavior in recent weeks, particularly.

Can't really disagree with the Norse lady on this one, Master. Remember how you almost had to put him through a wall just a couple weeks ago.

…Perhaps, perhaps not, Pyro Jack said slowly. Something feels different, somehow… Not that I really want to admit it.

Let's find out.

---

"Y'know, I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to be able to get up here," Junpei remarked, when they'd gotten to the top of the school. "Like, wasn't there a lock on that door? …How'd you open it? I thought you said you didn't know how to pick locks, Minato."

"I don't," Minato confirmed, wandering over to the railing, hands shoved in his pockets. "I stole the key from the Faculty Office and copied it weeks ago."

"…I don't really think you should tell Mitsuru-senpai about that." Junpei laughed. "What the hell was your last club like, anyway? Was Hanzo Hattori your president or something? Or maybe Lupin III?"

More like Mata Hari crossed with James Bond and a wizard, Minato thought, remembering some of the crazier stunts he'd been roped into with the North High Irregulars. The Haunted Trainyard, the Ship in a Bottle, the Case of the Missing Ink…

Actually, I probably should have learned lock picking at some point, but that was Ginrou's job back then. I was the "problem solver" and the only one who could even hope to reign in Tsu-chan…

"It was interesting," he said at last, with deliberate understatement. "Not the collection of misfits we've got in SEES, and not as wild as That Girl's 'Brigade', but we had our share of weirdness in both members and activities."

"Heh. I bet. I should probably take offense to the 'misfits' line, but…" Junpei scratched the back of his head, chuckling uncomfortably. "I guess I really can't talk about that, can I? I mean… I've been kind of a jerk lately, haven't I?"

Minato watched him steadily, not comfortable now with confirming the statement, but also quite unwilling to lie about it. As much as Junpei had been shaping up the last few days, the fact was that Minato had meant every word he'd said at the end of the Tanabata Operation. "Jerk" didn't quite say it, honestly.

"…That bad, huh? Guess I earned that." The Man in the Hat sighed. "Look, Minato, I… I'm not gonna say I don't think I had reason for the way I was acting, but I admit I was over the line. Way over the line, actually. 'Specially with some of things I said to you the other night. You, uh… You've got a reason you don't like talking about chicks, right?"

"You could say that," Minato said evenly. "And why I don't think 'heroism' is an idea you should treat lightly."

"Figured as much. And I'm not gonna pry," Junpei assured him. "You wanna talk about it, I'll listen, but I know all about personal issues." He coughed. "So, uh… I just wanted to say I'm sorry, Minato. For everything."

Minato spent a long moment just examining Junpei's face. He didn't have the uncanny ability to read people's emotions that he'd seen from some -Fuuka, in particular, seemed more sensitive than she let on- but he couldn't call himself a member of his family without being able to do it the old fashioned way.

Generally, he was pretty good at telling when someone was lying. In this case, he wasn't getting that kind of vibe from Junpei; just chagrin, and what seemed to him to be genuine remorse. He was pretty sure his teammate was still uncomfortable with the gap between their capabilities, but that was to be expected.

I think he means it, Pyro Jack noted, with some surprise. Interesting. I guess even he can learn, with time and… incentive.

Like almost getting strangled to death? Pixie snarked.

"In that case," Minato said at length, "I should probably apologize for choking you. I overreacted a bit."

"I'll say!" Junpei managed a nervous chuckle. "But… all's well that ends well, right? So… we cool, then?"

Nodding slowly, the blue-haired swordsman stuck out his hand, and the goateed one shook it.

"Right, right… Blank slate, then," Junpei said, tension visibly leaving him. "…Oh, man! We'd better get down to the lobby before Yuka-tan wonders where we're at!"

Minato winced at the thought. Yukari, thinking they'd gone and goofed off or something… Not a nice thought. He'd avoided getting the foot-stomping that Junpei frequently suffered so far, and he'd like to keep it that way.

"Right. Let's go."

As they made their way back down into the school -carefully locking the roof door behind them, Junpei glanced sidelong at his leader. "So… Minato?"

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow, meet me on the dorm roof, will ya? Something I want to find out for sure." A nervous chuckle. "Prolly a foregone conclusion, but… I gotta know."

?

---

"All right! Freedom, guys, freedom! I won't have to see those doors again for weeks!" Junpei laughed delightedly. Then, suddenly, paused. "Uh… but what do I do with myself now?"

Junpei. Seriously. You don't study when you are in school. Why don't you do what you do the rest of the time? …Whatever that actually is. Hang out with Kenji at Hagakure, or something. …Well, maybe not Kenji, given how he's been, lately, but still…

"It's summer, and we're heading for Yakushima soon, Junpei," Yukari reminded him, as they left Gekkokan's doors behind them. "I don't think boredom is something you're going to be worrying about much."

"Right," Fuuka agreed, smiling. "If nothing else, I still need to finish packing."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Coming from the direction of the gym, Akihiko walked over to join them with a cheery wave. "I haven't been on a trip in quite a while myself… As for right now, though, Ikutsuki-san called me. Said he was going to meet us at the gates."

Yukari's eyebrows went up. "The Chairman? He doesn't usually turn up like that. Any idea what he wants?"

The boxer shrugged. "Said something about a new candidate, if you can believe it."

A new candidate? Minato's mental antennae twitched. Weird. I'd have expected to hear about that ahead of time. …Although I guess Fuuka was kind of a special case. Still… I wonder who it is? Someone else from our school?

"So we might have someone else joining the team?" Yukari said thoughtfully. "Well… I guess we could still use the help…"

"Maybe so." Akihiko's face was contemplative. "I think we've been doing fine lately, myself, but… I suppose you're right. I wouldn't put too much stock in it yet, though. We have had a couple of duds in the past."

You have? Huh. I guess it makes sense, but I'm surprised I haven't heard about it before. Well, I suppose that really isn't relevant to what we're doing, and it's not so much "hidden" as not following up on the implication of calling it "potential" to begin with.

Minato was still mulling that over when another voice interrupted. "Hey, Fuuka!"

Natsuki Moriyama. The girl running over to greet Fuuka was one Minato hadn't seen in weeks, not since the operation that had nearly gotten her killed. He'd heard stories, though, both from Fuuka and some other students, and he was impressed by her complete turnover in attitude. It still seemed a little bit weird, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It means Fuuka, at least, has a friend outside SEES and the Dark Hour madness. Good for her.

"Natsuki-chan!" Fuuka called back, smiling warmly. "Do you need something?"

The tanned girl rolled her eyes. "There's a 'mandatory study session' today. You know how boring those are, so I was wondering if you could stay after school with me? Oh." Natsuki looked around at the gathered SEES members, and her face fell. "Right, you're going 'home' home today, aren't you? Sorry to bother…"

"Wait!" Fuuka interrupted. She shot her teammates an apologetic look, and turned another smile on Natsuki. "Of course I will, Natsuki-chan." Taking Natsuki by the arm and heading back toward the school, she said over her shoulder, "Sorry, guys! I'll see you all back at the dorm later."

"Wow," Junpei commented, when they'd disappeared. "Can you believe how much she's changed?"

"Which one?" Minato replied, his own eyebrows edging upward.

"Both," Yukari said, shaking her head. "Fuuka's a lot more confident than she used to be, and Natsuki's certainly come a long way from being a bully. I'm really surprised by how quick both of them have changed."

It is pretty impressive, Minato mused. But sometimes, all it takes is the right person, with the right words. Isn't that right, Tsu-chan? Back when I first started at North High, back when you first found me, I was…

Bleak. That was what he most associated with those days. Like the color had been leached out of the world, everything had seemed gray, like a silent film. A year he'd spent that way, until Tsu-chan had come along and shown him a world with color again…

"Ah, I see Fuuka and Moriyama are getting along splendidly. That's wonderful! The beauty of friendship, the vibrancy of youth… Adolescence is such a wonderful thing, wouldn't you all agree?"

Minato turned to see a familiar tan suit, long hair, glasses, and perpetual smile approach. About the only thing missing from Shuji Ikutsuki's appearance was the uncanny way light occasionally reflected off his eyes and made him look dramatic and spooky. A look rather at odds with his usual goofiness. Case in point… what the heck did he just say?

"Good afternoon, Mister Chairman," he said, nodding politely to SEES' nominal advisor. "Akihiko-senpai said you told him something about a new candidate…?"

"Ah, yes!" Ikutsuki nodded with a bright smile. "I did, didn't I? Well, it's… kind of complicated, which is why I wanted to talk to you all face to face. Since I had to come here anyway to pick someone up, I thought I'd deal with it all right now." He glanced back to the school gates. "Over here, Ken!"

When the young boy came into view, Minato heard Yukari greet him with some measure of evident surprise. He didn't really pay attention, though; not to her, and not to Junpei's questioning look. He was slightly more attentive to the way Akihiko seemed to stiffen, but in the main his focus on the boy himself.

Brown hair. Average height for someone of his evident age, which Minato estimated to be about eleven or twelve. A hooded sweatshirt combined somewhat oddly with a pair of shorts. Ordinary brown eyes. Nothing at all that anyone would find very remarkable; certainly nothing a guy with naturally blue hair had any right to consider "odd".

Except his expression. The boy looked about as you'd expect, friendly, innocent… yet to Minato, something seemed off. He couldn't put a name to it, couldn't begin to describe why he felt this way, but his cheerful, open look just felt off. It made his instinct tingle, and he couldn't even answer to himself what the problem was.

…Mature, Angel murmured in the back of his mind. The first Persona he'd manifested since Tanabata, one which represented the Arcana of Justice in Minato's psyche, she was examining the boy as intently as he was. The boy is more mature than his years should suggest, Master. I do not know why, but the boy has the feeling of "loss" about him.

Minato became aware that Ikutsuki was explaining something to Akihiko. Or… reminding, perhaps. "Yes, I'm afraid Ken here doesn't travel during school breaks. His… circumstances, you see."

Yukari nodded soberly. "Yeah, I heard about that. His parents…"

"My mom," the boy -Ken?- corrected calmly. "I never knew my dad. It was just Mom and me, and then… she got in an accident and she… she died." He looked away. "It was two years ago now."

Well, that explains that. I was only six when my parents died, and that was ten years ago. Being ten years old, and only having had two years to try and come to terms with having no family… Crud. I at least had Naoto and Grandfather.

Indeed, Master. Angel sighed. This one bears watching over. I fear what might become of this poor child, left all alone.

No arguments here.

Ikutsuki, for once, wasn't smiling. He had a genuinely somber look on his face. "Right now," he explained quietly, "a distant relative of his is paying for his expenses, but he lives at a boarding school here in Port Island. His relatives… would prefer not to take him in directly-" at this, an expression of distaste crossed his face "-so he'd otherwise be all alone at the elementary school dorm over the break. As I'm sure you all realize, that's not exactly healthy. So, for the time being, I've decided to move him to your dorm."

Minato had only thought Akihiko was concerned before. The way he tensed up now, the swordsman was afraid the boxer was going to stop breathing entirely. Why, Minato couldn't imagine, but obviously the idea didn't sit well with Akihiko. Not one bit.

He wasn't the only one. Junpei didn't seem especially bothered, but Minato was genuinely wondering what Ikutsuki was thinking. Sure, the SEES dorm was probably the safest place in the entire city, but it was also the center of operations for fighting monsters from the abyss in the dark of night. The idea of exposing a kid to that kind of thing…

Even I was fifteen before I saw the darkness. The idea of a twelve-year-old being anywhere near what we do on a daily basis…! Is the Chairman out of his mind?

"You can't be serious," Yukari blurted, looking as anxious as Minato felt. "I mean- To our dorm, Mister Chairman? Are you sure that's safe?"

…And Yukari reminds me again that discretion isn't her strong point. Yeah, sure, let's talk about how there's things we shouldn't talk about in front of the kid right in front of the kid. Yeah. Remember what happened with Junpei, just after I got here?

To his surprise, Ken didn't seem at all puzzled, and Ikutsuki merely smiled. "Oh, I don't think it'll be a problem at all, Yukari. Don't worry, he, too, has the potential."

…Oh, crud.

Akihiko's expression took on the aspect of one struck by lightning. "You mean," he whispered, "he's the new candidate? Mister Chairman…"

Ikutsuki waved a placating hand. "Yes, he is. But don't get too concerned just yet, Akihiko. Ken is still in elementary school. Right now, his 'potential' is just that; this is only a possibility for the future. But you see now, don't you, why I think he should be at your dorm over the summer?"

"Totally," Junpei said, nodding quickly. "Damn, that's nuts."

Minato, to his own regret, couldn't disagree. If Ken had the potential, it meant he, too, entered the Dark Hour. Nascent Persona abilities or not, that put him at risk, along with everyone around him. The SEES dorm would at least be away from potential bystanders, and Minato was reasonably sure of its safety even without actual Persona users on hand.

But, dammit, just a kid and he has to worry about the Dark Hour? That's a crazy way to have to grow up. …I wonder how Senpai is going to take this?

He remembered Mitsuru's scars, and her allusion to "not having been given a choice", well. He was pretty sure she wouldn't like the idea of a child Persona user any more than he did. Possibly less, all things considered.

"Are you… Akihiko Sanada?"

Minato snapped out of his reverie, to see Ken peering intently at Akihiko. The boxer, in turn, glanced down, obviously uncomfortable. "Well… yeah, I am," he admitted uneasily.

Ken broke into a smile. "I'm Ken Amada!" he said brightly. "I've heard a lot about you… They say you haven't lost a boxing match yet!"

Akihiko shrugged awkwardly. "I guess… Well, it's… it's nice to meet you."

Okay. The kid's maturity, I get; he's had to grow up fast. But what the hell is Akihiko-senpai's problem? The guy looks like he's seen a ghost. He didn't look that bad when the Emperor and Empress Shadows were tossing us all around like rag dolls. …Any ideas, guys?

Hee-hooo!

…Pixie. Imitating Jack Frost? …I suppose that tells me what you think of it, at least.

Fae twit.

Got a better notion, Valkyrie?

…Feh.

---

Sunday, July 20th, 2009, Daytime

---

Minato had found, in recent weeks, that the dorm roof was an excellent place to practice his craft, being a reasonably open space without much chance of being spotted by people who might look askance at a high school student practicing with real swords. He'd put it to that use most nights he wasn't going to Tartarus or studying for exams, ever since the Tanabata Operation forced him to take up Niten-Ryu again.

That also made it ideal for Junpei's request, as unexpected as it was.

"Man," Junpei groused lightly, shrugging his shoulder uncomfortably. "How do you get used to this stuff, Minato? Is it really worth it?"

He'd never worn the protective gear that went with kendo training before, and it showed in how obviously awkward he found it. Although in fairness, he was wearing Minato's spare set, so it didn't really fit him, either; even so, Minato suspected he wouldn't have liked it much even with a fitted set.

He adjusted his own mask, and reach for the bag of shinai that he'd brought up to the roof with them. "It's worth it, Junpei," he assured his teammate. Pulling out a shinai, he tossed it to Junpei, adding, "These may be wood, not steel, but it can still leave some nasty bruises if you're not careful."

"Well, okay," Junpei granted, catching the practice blade. "But still… this stuff feels heavier than that coat of yours!"

"Bulkier, maybe, but not heavier." Minato reached back into the bag, and withdrew a pair of shinai for himself. "Differing situations, Junpei. Kendo is good for teaching you the basics of real combat, but the rules are very different… especially for someone like me."

Ordinarily, that would've made this test fairly useless for the purposes Junpei had intended; the Man in the Hat was trying to make a point about their operations, or have the point made to him. Tournament rules would've rendered the exercise moot. Despite the gear, however, Minato had no intention of running this according to the "rules".

As shown by the way he was equipping himself with two practice blades, something illegal in most tournaments, this was meant to be "anything goes". Just like real combat.

Junpei took one look at the twin-blade stance Minato was assuming, and shook his head. "Man, you're really going all-out, aren't ya? Try not to humiliate me too badly, Minato."

"Nonsense," Minato declared, smiling behind his mask as he lifted his blades before him. "This is a handicap in your favor. After all, these shinai are both full-length, meant for use with both hands. Their reach and balance is different from my usual ninjato; I'll have to spend some of my concentration just compensating for that."

"Heh. You're unbelievable, y'know that?" Junpei chuckled, raising his own shinai up to shoulder-level, gently waving the tip in circles. "All right then, you think you're a hotshot? Let's find out!"

"Any time you're ready."

Minato had no intention of going on the attack. He was completely surrendering initiative to Junpei, something he never would've done in "real" combat-at least, real combat against someone he couldn't predict.

Which is exactly the point of the exercise, when you get right down to it. I understand that, because I've fought more than just unthinking monsters. Time to see if Junpei knows the difference.

With a yell, Junpei charged forward, crossing the few meters between them at a brisk pace. His balance, at least, was good, and he was fast; he even had power, as he brought his shinai down at Minato's padded shoulder. Were it to connect, the blow would almost certainly bruise even through the armor. Blocking it would've been difficult, too.

Pity he telegraphs his moves.

Minato was probably more than strong enough, especially backed by his Personas, to block the attack, were he using a single shinai in a normal two-handed grip. With a shinai in either hand, neither one truly balanced for the style, he simply didn't have the leverage. So, rather than trying to block or even parry, he simply stepped to one side at the instant Junpei committed to the attack, letting the heavy blow go right past.

Junpei staggered forward a couple of steps, and almost slapped his shinai right into the roof before he could catch himself. In that time, Minato lightly tapped him on the shoulder with his right-hand blade, while dragging the tip of the left across his side.

"Point," Minato said dryly, while Junpei recovered to his "ready" stance. "Or do you think that counted as two?"

"You're fast," Junpei admitted, shaking his head. "How'd you do that, anyway?"

"Try again and find out."

He did, this time lowering his blade as he lunged, bringing it down to his side so he could swing it up in a right-to-left diagonal. This time, Minato did parry, his blades both from up from the lower left to catch Junpei's from below, actually adding to the attack's speed and power; combined with a very slight backstep on Minato's part, and the shinai went up and over, passing harmlessly centimeters away.

Somewhat to Minato's surprise, Junpei rode with the momentum, spinning around to add power before bringing his shinai down in a heavy overhand blow. Almost certainly a purely improvised move, and one Minato thought might actually have worked well under certain circumstances.

Not, to be sure, against a normal kendo practitioner, but it would've provided a significant challenge to an ordinary Niten-Ryu specialist. Alas for Junpei, Minato was not normal.

Minato responded by swinging both of his blades up, crossing them in front of his body, and catching Junpei's strike in the V-shape they formed. The force of it made his arms tense, and it actually pushed him back slightly, but the improvised guard held.

Junpei recognized this after a moment, and sprang back. "Hey," he complained, "that shouldn't have worked! I put everything I had into that; a normal guy couldn't have held a block like that!"

"No, but I can," Minato said dryly. "The point isn't what normal people can do, Junpei. It's what someone can do. And no offense, but most people wouldn't be using my style at all. Against 'normal' kendo, what you just did would've been pretty easy to block."

"Feh!"

Things continued in that vein for several minutes, with Junpei using powerful but largely improvised attacks, and Minato using a mix of speed, Persona-enhanced strength, the general unpredictability of his style, and Junpei's own lack of subtlety to control the flow of battle. On balance, as Minato had observed in previous battles against Shadows, Junpei seemed to regard a sword more as sharpened club than a precision instrument.

The goateed katana-wielder did have power, Minato had to admit, after nearly having his own guard broken several times. Speed wasn't really his strong point, but he could put a lot of strength into his blows. The problem was that he seemed unconcerned about defense, and had no sense of subtlety at all; he could think on his feet, but he telegraphed every move he made.

Against Shadows, being "subtle" usually didn't matter. If he ever had to fight a human for real, though, it was going to give him problems, and the glaring holes in his defense were an issue in any kind of fight, even against "beasts".

The same kind of thinking that made him rush ahead during the monorail operation. Beat the other guy before he beats you… There's some measure of practicality in the idea, but taking it to the excesses he does leaves him open against the ones he isn't attacking, and sometimes blinds him to their presence entirely.

Either way, he wouldn't last long in a real fight against an actual swordsman. Especially with the amount of energy he wastes with those heavy, wild attacks of his.

Junpei seemed to be starting to realize that last point. He was breathing hard, now, much harder than Minato. "Dude," he gasped out, "how d'you keep this up all the time? Doesn't Kendo practice take longer than this? What d'you do, drink enough caffeine to kill a horse?"

"By being more conservative, and decisive," Minato replied, rolling his eyes. "You're strong, but you're overdoing it."

"Yeah?" Junpei grunted. "Okay, then. How does a 'real' swordsman fight? C'mon, Minato, you've just been sitting back and taking it so far. Gimme your best shot!"

Minato shrugged. "You asked for it." Waiting a beat, as Junpei hefted his shinai back into "home run" position, the blue-haired swordsman set himself. Bringing both blades down and to his right, he moved his left foot forward one step, and pushed off.

The resulting rush was half-run, half low-leap. True to Junpei's stance, he actually attempted a motion like a baseball player trying to hit it out of the park, but Minato's low running stance slipped right beneath it. When his foot touched the ground, just past Junpei's attack, Minato turned on it, swinging both shinai up to catch Junpei in the small of the back.

Completely unbalanced by his own attack and the inertia imparted by the blow right above his backside, Junpei stumbled forward, collapsed to his knees, and fell flat on his face.

The knave is fortunate he's wearing a face mask.

"Game set, match?" Minato suggested. Straightening up, he lightly flipped his grip on both blades, set them point-first on the roof, and leaned on them.

For a few moments, the only sound from his erstwhile opponent was heavy breathing. Then, "You could've done that… right from the start, couldn't ya?" Junpei wheezed out a chuckle. "Why not?"

"Instant death doesn't teach anything," Minato pointed out.

"…Yeah. Guess you got a point." Lungs heaving, Junpei pushed himself back to his knees. "So tell me, 'Sensei'. What the hell am I doing wrong?"

"Short version?" Minato pondered a moment. "You're playing baseball, not practicing martial arts. You're thinking like sports, not combat. …Actually, get right down to it, your main problem is probably just lack of training. You've got speed, you've got power to burn, and I think you've got reflexes. You just haven't been taught how to put it together."

"Don't suppose you can give me some pointers?"

He shook his head. "I can tell you a few things, but I'm not really a teacher, Junpei, and my specialty I don't think you could handle. Not any time soon, anyway." Minato shrugged. "I might be able to recommend a teacher, though."

Junpei pulled himself back to his feet, just so he could stagger over to the nearest railing and slump against it. "Yeah? …I'll have to think about that. That was kinda embarrassing." He took a few moments to just breathe, still trying to recover from the match. Then, slowly, he met Minato's eyes. "Remember what I said about you being reckless? I still think you're kinda crazy for some of the stunts you've pulled, but remind me never to badmouth your sword again." He pulled off his mask, and managed a grin. "And remind me never to get on your bad side again, man."

Well, well. He really has improved.

Even a barbarian can learn from enough pain, Master. …But, Valkyrie conceded reluctantly, I suppose you are correct. Mayhap he has the makings of a decent comrade, after all. With a few years of remedial training, mind.

Now, now. He's still rough around the edges, but let's give credit where credit is due.

"Awright, then," Junpei wheezed out, pushing himself fully upright at last. "I got a lot to think about, Minato… but that can wait, dontcha think?"

"Not much that can be done right now anyway," Minato agreed, turning to return his shinai to the carry bag. "Summer break is starting, and tomorrow we're on our way to Yakushima."

"Hell, yeah!" The other flashed a megawatt-grin. "Forget about swords, Shadows, and exams! Time for babes and tans, dude!"

"No, and no." Minato made a face. "Hell no to the first, and Bad Idea for the second."

"You're no fun at all… but I guess that's just like you." Junpei snorted. "But c'mon, are you really that worried about skin cancer, Minato?"

"No, I'm worried about scaring off the rest of the beachgoers." The swordsman tapped his left shoulder. "Not the only scar I've got, Junpei. You think it's a good idea for me to let people see that?"

"…Okay, ya got me there." Junpei was grinning again, but he did nod agreement on that point. "Won't help any of us if you scare off the girls 'cause you look like a Yakuza goon. …Fine, you get to wear a shirt, Minato. But you're still coming to the beach!"

"…Didn't think I could avoid that, no."

The two of them got to work packing up the kendo gear then, but Minato's attention wasn't really on it. He was, in fact, as concerned about the beach as he'd told Junpei, and for exactly that reason. He was even telling the truth about not being interesting "cruising for chicks", as Junpei would probably put it.

But the biggest reason he was worried about it?

I don't think Senpai has forgotten what happened on Tanabata any more than I have. This is gonna be awkward as hell any way you slice it, whether the rest of the team knows it or not. So far, we've been able to work around it, mostly keep it "out of sight, out of mind"…

But the beach? Swimsuits? Minato shuddered. I don't know how Senpai is going to handle it, but I think we'd both just about die if I turned up shirtless.

---

Author's Note:

---

May just go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: I'm not really happy with this chapter. It's mostly a remixed rehash of canon, without much "original", and not really a heck of lot of even canon stuff that's really interesting. I didn't plan the chapter that way, and it originally did go straight on to Yakushima.

Problem was, it went on to Yakushima for a full extra chapter length. I prefer my chapters to reach at least 12k, preferably 15k, but with Yakushima added on it was looking to hit twenty-five thousand words.

So. Bad news is, you get this mostly fill-ish chapter for now, without the promised Yakushima content. The good news? I was most of the way through the Yakushima scenes before I became convinced I'd need to split the chapter, so you won't have to wait more than a few days for the next chapter. (Also, you can thank the split for the last scene of this chapter; I wanted it originally, but decided it would make the chapter too long; once that happened anyway, I needed just a little more to round out the "first half" and provide a suitable end point. Voila.)

Yeah. Probably not the greatest chapter, but it needed to be done, and you won't have to wait long for the "good" half. Hope it was at least mildly interesting. -Solid