Okay, I'm going say it out here: This is going to be a LONG chapter and I didn't realize how LARGE it was going to be until I began typing it out. So... this is going to be in two parts.
...my apologizes.
xxSelphiexx: Thank you so much. I owe you big time.
Dreamin'Pop: Yes I did. XD And there will be more Akihiko/Minako moments to come... along with the day Minako's memories will return. And yes, Maya has appeared! And... not in an evil way either. XD I have heard about that, actually! I'm going to talk about it in a few...
Tora-Hime-Melody: LOL I have a confession to make: I have not played Persona Revelations or Persona 2 dualogy at all (along with Persona 4; I just watched the anime). So sorry if it's still confusing to you about the other characters... Awwwww no, I don't hate you! But yeah, the graphics for P4G do look pretty good for the PS Vita. And yes, I am so glad they didn't condense it like they did for P3P. I just hope I'd enjoy it too. And actually... there are two new S. Links added. One of them, actually, I'm not to fond about (I'll give you a hint: Look up Thoth Tarot Deck in Wiki and look up the title for XI. Take that title, search it up on the Megami Tensei Wiki, and click on the first search result. Just tell me what you think because I will talk about this in the next chapter).
namine23: Thanks for the heads up and great to have you back! Actually, I have not heard about that news until someone told me about it (about a few weeks ago). So... I'm not sure how much danger my fic is in right now. But I'm not so worried about it (they should let me know when I need to do something to my fic though).
Persona 3 being made into a movie?
On one hand, I should be excited for it, seeing as how they finally decided to make their own rendition of Persona 3 game after they did Persona 4 (I thought they did a pretty good job except for... well, if you haven't seen the ending, then I'm not going to spoil it for you).
On the other hand... I am dreading it because I don't know what they would do about the main characters. Will they stick to the male? The female? Or try to find a way to include both? And how the heck are they doing to cram it all within an entire movie (considering the amount of information that's included in the game)?
This is going to be interesting. I'm still going to see it anyway.
There are two new characters that you should know about from the previous Persona games; I'm trying my best to condense it.
Maya Amano (age 28): In Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment, Maya Amano is a reporter who teams up with Yukino Mayuzumi, a photographter. She is investigating the rumors of the Joker-sama myth. Both stories made her end up in Seven Sister High School and wind up encountering the demons Joker summons, causing her to summon her Persona.
In Innocent Sin, Maya joins Tatsuya Suou and his group to save the world from the Masked Circle- this is connected to their past. In Eternal Punishment, you play as Maya and her memories of Tatsuya, his friends, and the events in Innocent Sin are gone. The world is in danger, so she and her new companions (Ulala, Katsuya, Baofu, Kei, Elly, and one more individual) have to rescue the world, this time from the New World Order. What happens in both games, I'm afraid I can't spoil it for you.
Maya is known for her infectious positive personality and for saying "Let's Think Positive"; she is optimistic and very kind-hearted. She caught the hearts of Katsuya Suou and Tatsuya Suou (while I understand the former, the latter's just seventeen!). In this story, she is a reporter who is drawn to the story about the missing girls and winds up getting herself involved with SEES's business- providing useful information. She does not know her former comrades Katsuya Suou and Kei Nanjo are in Iwatodai...
WARNING: Someone comes back a bit earlier than usual; Spoilers regarding events in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. (If you are that curious, I recommend you watch the walkthrough and boss battles (JUST SKIP THE MINI BATTLES) of both games. If you REALLY want to save yourself the time, look it up on the Megami Tensei wiki.
Disclaimers were stated in the earlier chapters.
Memento Vivere
011: Face Reality/Never Beat Clarity (AKA The Empress and Emperor) Part 1
When Monday came around, Mitsuru was more than armed to confront Mr. Ekoda... especially since she now has an ally at her side. As soon as ten-thirty comes around, Mitsuru calls the reporter, making sure nobody notices her. The woman arrives just when lunch was beginning to start.
"Ready?" Maya grins, holding onto a notepad.
The notepad, from what Mitsuru recalls, contains more than enough dirt than Mitsuru can ever imagine; it also contains a lot of truth to the stories Maya Amano is writing. From where she gathers her information, she just shrugs and says that she knows a friend (which is what Mitsuru has been wondering about: who was this friend that has been feeding her information about the Kirijo Group? Thank God Mitsuru told Maya to meet her somewhere else since she had a feeling Kei was coming down to see where she was).
Mitsuru nods, "Follow me. The faculty office is in the first floor."
"Hold on," Maya pauses, taking out her cellphone, "I was talking to another student who was visiting her friends in the hospital; if that teacher doesn't talk, then we'll have to make her talk."
"Well, not surprised," The crimson-haired teen arches an eyebrow. As soon as the reporter hangs up her pink cellphone, a ganguro second year shows up, looking more agitated and nervous than usual.
"Are you ready to talk?" Maya gently asks the teen, who bobs her head with nervousness, "Good; let's go meet the old coot."
Mitsuru couldn't resist chuckling; Minako and Yukari complains of Mr. Ekoda of being an old coot as they walk up the office.
She opens the faculty door and calmly tells some of the professors they should leave... all but Mr. Ekoda. The teacher blinks, frowning, "Mitsuru, What is going on here?"
"You know why we are here," Mitsuru's eyes narrow, "We're here about Fuuka Yamagishi's disappearance."
As soon as Mr. Ekoda heard that, his face pales before looking over at Natsuki, who is trembling.
"N-Natsuki?" he asks in alarm before the door opens again... to reveal Minato, Minako, Yukari, Junpei, and Akihiko, who look alarmed to see Mitsuru with Maya and Natsuki.
"Mitsuru-senpai?" Yukari blinks, "What are you doing here?"
"Same reason why you five are here," Maya replies with a grin, making the other members look at her in alarm.
"Who are you?" Junpei asks, gaping at her, "Wait, never mind that! What are you guys doing here?"
Mitsuru decides to cut to the chase, "Mr. Ekoda. I'm going to ask you about Fuuka Yamagishi-"
"N-No!" The ganguro girl interrupts, horror crossed over her face, "I-I... I never thought it'll turn like this! Not at all! Fuuka..."
Minako and Yukari's faces dawn when they saw the ganguro girl in recognition.
"Natsuki?" Both Minako and Yukari exclaim at the same time, remembering her from not just when they saw her bragging to Mayi...
"What did you do to Fuuka-chan?" Maya gently asks, "Go on. It's your call."
"Hold on!" Mr. Ekoda steps forward, "Natsuki, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to-"
"But I want to!" Natsuki looks like she was about to cry, "Because.. because it was all of our fault! We always pick on Fuuka because we knew what buttons to push on her. I thought she was special because she was an honors student, but she's like us- the same as us. T-Then, one day- May twenty-ninth- we all took Fuuka to the gym and locked the door-"
"You did what?" Junpeis voice was heard, horrified, "You locked her in!"
Natsuki continues to talk, "That night, Mayi was the one who decided to go back to school alone since she was afraid that we'll get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide. But she wasn't there inside the gym! From that night, we all began looking for her inside the school. But then every night, another one of us wound up missing- and ended up in the hospital like Mayi!"
Silence overwhelmed the room before Maya nods, Mitsuru's eyes hardening before turning around to face the now nervous Mr. Ekoda.
"So... Mr. Ekoda," Mitsuru narrows her eyes, meeting the teacher face to face, "All this time, you've attributed Yamagishi's absences to her being 'ill' and 'sick'. Don't you dare lie; I've read those reports you've sent. I've personally asked for them."
Mr. Ekoda begins to back up, stammering, "I-I was thinking of the s-students of course!"
"But she was missing," Minato steps in, "How could you not have missed that?"
Mr. Ekoda fell silent before Maya steps in, her notepad out.
"Ekoda-san, I presume?" She flips to one page in her notepad, "I've talked with the Yamagishis and they have mentioned something interesting to me: they told me you've told them it was within your interests that Yamagishi-chan is placed as missing. And I believed it also has to do with not only her records, but also with your records as a teacher."
Everyone can plainly see Mr. Ekoda reddening with anger, "I-It is for the future of e-everyone affected! Do you understand what would happen if a student is reported missing?"
"In other words," Mitsuru grimaces in disgust, "You chose not to report to the police for the 'good of the class'. Just to protect your career, you did ignore your responsibilities as a teacher. How despicable...!"
That made the teacher pale in an instant, seeing the angered Ice Queen of Gekkoukan in action.
"Natsuki," Mitsuru asks, turning towards Natsuki, who looks up in alarm, "Did you and your friends notice anything unusual before these incidents happen?"
Natsuki pales, recalling something, "They... mentioned about hearing a voice. A creepy voice, right before all of them went missing. They said it was calling their name."
Yukari gasps, but covers her mouth since she and Minako know pretty well what she was talking about, causing Maya to glance at Yukari in surprise. Junpei, Akihiko, Minako, and Minato pale as they face each other, knowing pretty well what it means.
"Shit..." Minato whispers.
"Senpai," Minako murmurs to Mitsuru, "Do you think it's...?"
Mitsuru wishes they were wrong before, but what they have assumed two nights before actually came true. Her lips draw into a grimace. It was time to have another meeting elsewhere.
"Natsuki," she looks over to the ganguro, "Stay over at our dorm tonight; it is the safest place." Once she gets confirmation from the girl, she continues, "If you still do hear the voice, please tell us immediately. Don't leave any of the rooms, no matter what; if you can do that much, then you should be all right."
"B-But-" Natsuki freezes, "What about Fuuka?"
"Yamagishi will be all right," At least, I hope to God she will, Mitsuru purses her lips before facing her other comrades, "Meet me over at the roof. Now."
No sooner did she say that, the others nod before walking out from the office. After calmly telling Natsuki to go back to her class, Mitsuru and Maya face Mr. Ekoda, who is gulping in fear.
"This is not over yet," The crimson haired woman narrows her eyes, "We will handle your case later."
All the professor can do is nod. As soon as the two women leave the room and shuts the door, Mitsuru turns around to face Maya.
"So those are SEES?" Maya arches an eyebrow, "They're just second years- I think one of them was your grade..."
"You'll have to help us," Mitsuru frowns. "Looks like we need your aid from this point on."
Maya smirks.
"There's no doubt about it," Mitsuru purses her lips; Akihiko, Minako, and Yukari were sitting on the bench while Minato and Junpei were against the flower pot area. Mitsuru was standing on one side while the woman is looking over them, her arms crossed, "Until now, there was no way how or even why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour. Now we know."
"That voice..." Yukari bits her lower lip, "No wonder that sounded off. I guess it draws people inside Tartarus."
"Hang on," Junpei stops them, "That's nice and all, but... Mitsuru-senpai?"
"If you're going to ask about Maya," Mitsuru frowns, "That was my next thing to talk about on the list."
"Maya?" Minato and Minako echoes, having a feeling that they have heard her name before they turn around to see the smiling woman.
"Ciao!" Maya smiles, waving to them.
Yukari, Junpei, and Akihiko stares at Mitsuru, who lets out a small sigh.
"She came to me yesterday," Mitsuru explains, a bit irritated about the entire thing herself, "And she knows. About us... and our Personas."
"Wait, WHAT!" The other five teens were shocked before whipping to face the brown-dressed reporter.
"Yup," Maya smiles, "I think I had an idea something was special when I came into Iwatodai for the first night. It was odd, seeing that eerie green light that showed up with that large moon."
"You too?" Yukari asks, alarmed, "You have the potential?"
Maya nods, "It's surprising seeing how young you guys are," she looks around, "Especially since you're under the guise of a school organization. But," her face turns from a preppy happy person into a serious one, "That's not what you guys need to talk about."
"...come again?" Junpei wasn't exactly the brightest one out the bunch.
Mitsuru sighs, this time exasperated, "Amano-san is going to help us rescue Fuuka Yamagishi."
"Are you serious?" Akihiko bursts out, alarmed, "How do you we can trust her?"
"She already has a Persona, right?" Minako asks, standing up, "That's already good enough for me."
"And that's all it takes to trust a stranger like her?" Minato narrows his eyes, "What if she's dangerous?"
"Oh come on!" Maya frowns, "I'm not that suspicious!"
"Then why were you here in the first place?"
The reporter shrugs, "It was supposed to be about the link between this school and the hospitalized girls for a magazine that I work for- as well as for the newspaper. But, after hearing from Mitsuru-chan about what really happened-"
"Did you just call me with a -chan at the end?" Mitsuru frowns, her voice turning icy.
Maya blinks, "Well... you guys are teenagers, right?"
Junpei nods "Yeah, but you don't look like one!"
"Junpei!" Yukari and Minako glare at him before he frowns.
"What? She looks practically young!"
That, Minato looks at the young woman, who is giggling with amusement, ...as much as I hate to agree with Junpei, she doesn't look like a thirty-year old woman to me.
"Wow... I don't know what to say except I'm in my late twenties," The reporter grins, "It's normal. I've gotten used to it."
"Huh," Yukari blinks, calming down as she glances over at Maya more before asking, "So... Mitsuru-senpai? What about that voice again?"
That changed the mood back immediately to what it was before as Mitsuru's eyes hardened with worry, "That voice is not just a random phenomenon; the Shadows are clearly targeting humans since they are the enemy of mankind."
"And I'm guessing we're going to rescue her tonight," Akihiko deadpans, seeing Mitsuru nod.
"Since we now know what Iori said about the gym was correct," Mitsuru continues, "My guess is that Fuuka Yamagishi is still inside the school... but not inside the gym like we hoped she would."
"So," Minako pales, "...she's really inside Tartarus."
The crimson-haired woman nods, much to Minato and the other's dismay.
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," Minato mutters before looking up, "What now, Mitsuru?"
His eyes meets hers in determination.
"We rescue Yamagishi tonight."
"By breaking into school campus?" Junpei blinks, confused, "Ummm, Mitsuru-senpai? Where the hell is Fuuka inside the school?"
"In the gym," everyone replies, deadpanning at Junpei.
"Since the school turns into Tartarus," Yukari muses, "...maybe she wandered inside of the area, but because she was locked inside the gym, how long as she been stuck inside Tartarus?"
Maya steps up, "I've been meaning to ask about that since Mitsuru-chan told me more about Tartarus... how does the timing in there work?"
That made the other SEES members to look at each other in confusion.
"I never really thought about it for once," Akihiko frowns, "Tartarus only appears during the Dark Hour, meaning that by that clock, it only lasts for... technically, one hour."
"What about the rest of the day?" Minako asks, "We always go by the standard twenty-hour schedule. If a normal person was stuck inside the school by our standards, then they would have to consider their body and oxygen supplies."
"I've heard that a normal person can survive up to three to five days without water," Junpei steps into the conversation, "I don't think Fuuka can live for that long!"
"I think there's a different theory," Minato muses, "If what Sanada-senpai told us was true about Tartarus' appearance, time can work differently for that tower as opposed to how we handle things. It's been... ten days that Fuuka went missing?"
"Yeah... hang on," Yukari's eyes light up, "I'm starting to think this makes sense now..."
"Interesting theory..." Maya glances over before Minato takes out his hand to shake hers.
"Minato Arisato," he introduces himself, "My twin, Minako. Yukari Takeba, Junpei Iori, and Akihiko Sanada."
"Finally I get to learn your names," Maya murmurs before saying, "Are you suggesting that Fuuka-chan has been in this Tartarus for ten hours?"
"There is a chance that she's still alive then!" Junpei snaps his fingers before slightly wilting, "Hang on! The Dark Hour's pretty brutal with the Shadows and all! How's she gonna last ten when all of us together can barely last one?"
"That's the one thing that worries us," Akihiko narrows his eyes, "I don't want anyone to die inside Tartarus! We have to save her- I want to rescue anyone from that area at all costs!"
"Akihiko..." Minako whispers before looking at Mitsuru, "Hey, senpai? What if... I know this is going to sound like a very very stupid idea-"
"It's going to be a pretty bad one, all right," Minato mutters, having a horrible feeling about it already, causing Minako to glare at him before slightly pinching him, "Ow!"
"Yes, go on," Mitsuru asks, interested, "What's your idea, Minako?"
The brunette pauses before going, "How about we go in the way Fuuka did? We'll go into the gym and then we'll wait until midnight; that way, we can find Fuuka within the area easily!"
Silence overcame the group on the roof before a series of protests overcame them. Maya just stares at them, baffled as she sees the boys go at it against her. Mitsuru blinks as she thinks about the possiblity of the idea as Yukari bits her lower lip, thinking deeply about it.
"What the?" Minato shouts, horrified as he grips onto his sister's shoulder, "That's how you're going to save Fuuka?"
"No way! That's NOT going to work!" Junpei gapes.
"Minako, are you serious?" Akihiko exclaims before grabbing her arm to face him, "We all want to save Fuuka, but that? Do you remember what happened on Friday?"
"Oh come on!" Minako glares at the three boys, "It's not like it's the best idea! I'm just saying it because we might find Fuuka easier rather than going up from floor one!"
"And who's going to protect you if any Shadows decide to attack you at the spot?" Minato is still horrified at the idea-
"Ahem!" Maya's voice interrupts the three boys before making her way towards Minako, "Minako-chan, are you sure that's your idea?"
"Yeah!" Minako nods, courage building up, "I'd rather do that than running up all forty floors of Tartarus just to search for her!"
"Forty floors?" Junpei sounds exhausted, "That's how long we went up! Just how long is Tartarus?"
"I think..." Yukari looks at Minako, "...it'll work. You know what? I think it would."
Minako's eyes brightens before smirking at Minato, who sputters.
"I agree and I'm not a part of SEES," Maya grins, crossing her arms, "I think we can save Fuuka-chan."
Mitsuru was a bit hesitant, "I still have reservations and if anything goes wrong, you could all get lost in Tartarus. But," She nods, "Minako is right. It's faster and perhaps a bit easier than to start from the first floor of Tartarus."
"And you boys?" Maya arches an eyebrow, expecting any protests from the three boys of the group, seeing as how they were outnumbered by the four females.
Minato, Junpei, and Akihiko face each other, looking warily at each other before Akihiko mutters, "I don't it's just us we have to talk to..."
"That's your plan?"
Kei stares at the SEES members incredulously (they wound up realizing that going back to class was moot at this point since they have to prepare for tonight's operation- well, Junpei stopped to do something before he decided to go home with the others) before sighing, "I'm having doubts about this. But seeing as how dire the situation has become... we might as well go along with it."
"What about the Chairman?" Akihiko asks him.
Kei's lips drew a thin line, making the SEES look worried. Maya frowns, looking at the man with the #1 scarf on his neck.
"He didn't pick up his phone when I tried to call him earlier today," he sighs, "Meaning that he wasn't in his office today."
"This isn't good," Mitsuru narrows her eyes with concern, "We need someone to look after Moriyama-san and we need to get into the school at night in order to execute the plan."
"Hold on," Kei stops Mitsuru from finishing, "If I recalled correctly, don't all faculties leave before seven?"
"We have to save Yamagishi," Mitsuru stands up, slowly walking towards Kei, "This is the only way to do so!"
"And going up all the floors to search for her isn't enough for anyone?" Kei calmly asks, his eyes narrow, facing the crimson-haried woman.
"Whoa, whoa!" Junpei walks over nervously to ease the two heirs from arguing, "Before anyone says anything else, I've gotten it all taken care of! Don't worry about it! I've got it all set to go!"
"All... set to go?" Yukari whispers, eyeing Minako and Minato, who were equally as confused as her.
"You mean..." Akihiko stares at the capped teen, "...you had a small explosive set up?"
That caused Kei and Mitsuru to look at each other before a small chuckle raises between them and the reporter.
"All right, Iori," Mitsuru smirks, "I'll let you handle this one."
"How longer do we have until the school building closes?" Akihiko asks impatiently, "We don't have a lot of time to waste-"
"Sanada, relax," Kei replies sharply before looking at the clock, "We have about five hours until the actual operation starts."
"And how are we going to do this?" Minato asks before feeling all eyes on him, "...I mean on terms of who's going to be where."
"SEES will go up to Tartarus," Mitsuru answers, a smirk when she sees Kei's flustered expression, "We will have to get someone to watch Moriyama-san here."
"But, isn't it risky having someone here?" Yukari asks, concerned.
"Actually," Kei pauses, "I found someone to watch over her while we're in Tartarus. He's going to arrive later tonight."
"Tonight?"
"Get yourselves prepared in five hours," Mitsuru commands the SEES members, "I'll have to work things out with the equipment."
The SEES members look at each other and nod, especially Akihiko (who was grumbling begrudgingly) as they all left. As soon as they leave the command room, they heard Kei mention someone to close the door, which it did with a low thud.
"I'm going to take a rest," Mitsuru mutters, going down the stairs as she rubs her head, "I need to get enough sleep for tonight."
"I'm going out to the police station," Akihiko mutters, "Anyone need anything from there?"
"Not really," They all reply, a bit worried for the silver-haired senpai.
Akihiko looks a bit worried before he walks down the stairs towards the lobby. As soon as Akihiko was out of earshot, Minato, Minako, and Yukari turn to Junpei.
"Please tell me you didn't get an explosive," Minako groans, "Because if it is real-"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Junpei holds his hands before holding out his hands, "All I did was just unlock a freaking door!"
"...you mean the entrance door?" Minato stares at him, "Junpei, what if they lock it?"
"I've picked on locks since I was eight," The capped boy grins, causing the other three to groan.
"If we get caught for this," Yukari growls in irritation, "I blame you, Stupei."
"Stop calling me that!"
It wasn't until they heard some voices coming from the lobby door that they realize there was another person coming in. And whoever it was, he was arguing with Akihiko.
"Akihiko?" Minako asks, coming down the stairs as the others followed behind her. When they reach the lobby, they can pratically hear the man trying to be calm while Akihiko was really really irate.
"Look!" Akihiko snipes, "I don't care if you're an associate of Nanjo! Get out of my way and-"
"I can have you arrested for assulting an officer, you know!" The light brown-haired man threatens back, narrowing his eyes through his red sunglasses, "Now let me repeat myself again: Where is Kei Nanjo?"
Akihiko looks like he's about to kill someone when-
"Kei Nanjo's upstairs with someone right now," Minako manages to step in between the two men, "Is it-"
"Tell him that it is an urgent manner," the officer replies before seeing Minato, Yukari, and Junpei coming down, "...do all of you live here?"
"It's our dorm," Yukari replies, "Is something the matter?"
Minato can tell that all of them became tense.
"No," The officer frowns, looking at them with suspicion, "...I thought dorms are supposed to be separate."
"This... is... um, a special dorm!" Junpei laughs weakly, trying to divert any attention from any trouble.
Minato blinks before sighing, "Look, I'll go up there and tell Nanjo-san to talk to you or... something. Sorry, but I think he's in there with Amano-san-"
"Wait, wait?" The officer looks... shocked as soon as Minato mentioned Maya, "Maya's here too?"
"HUH?" This time, all five SEES members eye the officer with surprise. He knows Maya Amano? Minato's blue eyes narrows.
"Hang on," Akihiko frowns, his voice lowering from his shout, "Who are you and why do you need to see Nanjo-san?"
The officer enters and shuts the door behind him, "Tell him Katsuya Suou is here." Then he pauses, "...and tell Maya Amano to stay. I need to talk to her."
"You've been transferred here by your former editor?" Kei couldn't help but hide his laughter, "Out of here of all the places... Must be glad to get out of that editor's way."
"I know," Maya huffs, "But I really was here on a story about those hospitalized girls. Didn't expect to be involved in a full out rescue mission." She sighs before frowning, "Was it just me, or does this feeling of their Personae feel much different?"
"Funny thing is," Kei's amusement changes into seriousness, "I was thinking that same thing when I heard about their potential versus Minato Arisato's ability. Back then, we all used to possess the ability to summon more than one Persona. I've tried to ask Naoya about that, but he said that even he can't tell us anything since it is... well, how can I put it like this."
"Is it according to his plan?" Maya looks tense, "I mean, don't get me wrong. I understand if he was trying to help us then... wait, just to be clear on the record, we are not talking about your friend or Tatsuya, are we?"
Kei shakes his head, "What now? I didn't want to damper on those kids, but I was suggesting that we should do things normally: go up when it changes into Tartarus instead of sneaking inside the school. Not ot mention Ikutsuki is not answering his phone like we thought."
"Speaking of," Maya takes out her notepad, "I came here to SEES yesterday to see if what I heard about SEES was true. ...I mean, he did tell me about it..."
Kei frowns.
"...maybe Ulala and Baofu mentioned something to me about it."
"You do realize," Kei deadpans, "Baofu will-"
"Yeah, but for some reason, I've gotten used to it," The reporter smirks, "...and it's leverage."
"For a twenty-eight year old woman, you still have that infamous optimism in your voice."
"I know!" Maya grins, "Isn't that a good thing?"
And the fact that Yukino told me to never let you drive, The Nanjo heir frowns, ...can't be that terrible compared to an idiot that Iori boy is making himself to be. "What did you think?" Kei asks, eyes narrow, "...of SEES."
Maya looks around the command room before concern replaces her chirpiness, "I'll be honest: this is not new since we've gotten used to... well, summoning Personae. But to see teenagers summoning them at this time, while they have school and battling Shadows... I'm not in their head, but I have to say this is a little better than what we dealt with back in Sumaru City."
Kei sighs, narrowing his eyes, "...did Ulala and Baofu give you-"
"Yeah, about that," Maya looks back to her notepad, "Baofu told me to give you information about this Ikutsuki and more on the projects the Kirijo group performed. Why are you intersted?"
"I'll tell you later," Kei grunts, "It's a complex situation."
Maya stares at him before looking towards her notes, "If you insist... okay, Ikutsuki was a scientist who once worked for the Kirijo group... they were performing some experiments that-"
Knock knock knock.
"We're busy," Kei shouts, motioning Maya to go on, who just stares at him before continuing.
"-that had to do with Shadows, but knowing you, you must have known all of that-"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Mitsuru, we're talking!" Kei's eye twitches before allowing Maya to continue.
"You and Mitsuru not on good terms?" The reporter blinks before it changes to amusement, "...trouble in-"
"Keep reading," Kei slightly blushes, glaring at Maya, who smirks.
"-and lately, that Ikutsuki guy is one of the few scientists who-"
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM-
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!" Kei roars, obviously irritated, causing Maya to jump from her seat as she sees Kei storming towards the door before he opens it to reveal Minato, who couldn't contain his smirk.
"Irritated, Nanjo-san?" His godchild smirks.
Kei sighs, pinching his temples together, "...I'm going to kill Naoya for being a terrible influence on you. Don't know how Maki stands it..."
"Yeah," Minato chuckles, "Me neither."
"What is it, Minato?"
He sees the teen sighing, "Actually, there's someone here to-"
"Kei," Kei mentally groans, seeing one irritated officer glare at him, "I'm here."
"I can see that," The Nanjo heir mutters, "And I'm busy-"
"With Amano in there?"
That Kei did not expect. Minato blinks, staring at the two men and the one woman who is still inside the room, "...what is going on-"
"Kei?" Maya's voice was heard, "Am I done here for now?"
Shit.
Katsuya's eyes widens as Kei mentally groans. Minato frowns, confused, "Kei, what's-"
"Call Naoya and Maki," Kei instructs Minato, "And let him know I'm going to visit them."
"Umm sure?" Minato stares from the inside the room, to the very irritated Kei, and to an alarmed Katsuya... and then to his cellphone before calling his guardian, "Moshi moshi... Uncle, it's me. Nanjo-san says he's going to stop by and see you and Maki..."
While hearing Minato talk to Naoya, Kei opens the door to let Katsuya in, "You're here because we need your help tonight," he mutters to the detective, "And before you ask, Amano wants to help too."
"Does it involve anything with-"
"Yes, and you better brush up on summoning your Persona," Kei mutters before saying loudly, "Amano, save those notes for later. I'm heading out for a bit- watch on these kids and I'm going to leave you two to catch up."
"Hang on!" Katsuya sounds pissed off-
"Wait, WHAT!" He hears Amano exclaim before Kei closes the door on the room. Then he turns to Minato, who has just hung up the phone.
"Naoya and Maki says hi and to come whenever you want," Minato snickers, seeing the exhausted look on Kei's face, "...Mitsuru just texted me to ask what the hell is happening up there..."
The Nanjo heir stares warily at his godchild as they begin to descend the stairs to the lobby, "...and?"
"And you better tell us what the hell was that all about," He hears his other godchild Minako demands as she glares at her godfather. Yukari and Junpei look a little rattled and Akihiko just looks amused.
Kei groans.
"Scratch what I just told you to do," he instructs Minato, "Call those two and tell them to come into the dorm. ...we need to talk."
"Nanjo!" Katsuya roars, "OPEN THIS DOOR!"
And things had to go worse from here, Maya sighs before looking up at the detective, who was beginning to mutter a few curses about getting back at Kei.
The room fell dead silent once Katsuya turns around to see Maya before slightly turning away. Maya bites her lower lip, recalling those incidents: how she realized what happened in the other world, how Ulala and her got involved in the events with Joker, the cover-ups, the New World Order, the other version of-
"Maya."
She looks up in surprise, seeing Katsuya as he slowly walks over towards one of the chairs and sits down setting his red sunglasses down, "Y-Yeah?"
"Seven years..." the detective's eyes meets hers, "...why?"
"Why... what?" Maya gulps, knowing pretty well what he was asking her, "What did I-"
"You avoided me for seven years," Katsuya's voice was beginning to get tight, "I want to know why!"
"Katsuya-" Maya was about to explain before the detective cuts her off.
"I already have an idea why you avoid my brother and your fears of aggrevating his memories," Katsuya's dark brown eyes narrow, "But why me?"
The reporter was about to say something before realizing it is similar to what Katsuya just said: She has been suscessful at to leaving Tatsuya alone, but...
...why did she begin to avoid Katsuya? Aside the fact that he was his brother, Katsuya did what he had to do as an officer and helped them...
Did he really do anything to her to make her avoid him? Or was it her?
"I... I don't know," Maya whispers, looking down with guilt, "Katsuya, I... I didn't know what to do after it all happened seven years ago. I got over Tatsuya, but then there's you, and how you're going to react if I approach him and try to talk to him-" She looks up, feeling tears well up in her eyes, "You... You didn't do anything to me except help me... I'm... Katsuya, I'm really sorry."
She closes her eyes, trying to not look at the detective in front of her. She was expecting him to straighten up, to say that he's going to look for Kei, and then leave.
What she wasn't expecting was Katsuya wrapping his arms around her and embracing her. She also wasn't expecting him shaking either... until she hears stifled sobs escaping from him.
"I'll be honest," she murmurs before hugging him back, comforting him, "...I've missed you a lot. I've hung out with Ulala a lot, but you... I didn't know where you were."
"Maya, I missedyou," Katsuya whispers back, "I'm not letting you go. Not again."
"Katsuya..."
The sun's beginning to set, Junpei muses as he looks up at the sky, And the view of the city's nice-
"Iori, if you even dare make a scratch on my motorcycle while you doze off," Mitsuru threatens, getting his attention back, "I will repeat that incident that happened a few weeks back with your room and Officer-"
"GAH! Please don't!" Junpei panicks, setting his attention back into focus while he helps Mitsuru push her motorcycle, "How the hell did we get roped into this again?"
"I don't know, Stupei," Yukari grins, glad that she didn't have to endure through that, "Maybe because you signed your own death warrant?"
The capped boy stifles a groan, earning a wave of chuckles from Akihiko, Minato, and Minako.
At least they didn't know how Mitsuru called Officer Kurosawa over his messy room.
"At least we're not sitting around in the dorms," Yukari shifts her weight on the duffel bag she is carrying, "Whew! This is heavy."
"Want me to carry that for you?" Minato asks, shifting a much lighter bag, "I'll give you what I have."
Yukari blushes a bit before nodding, handing her bag while Minato gives his to her, "Thanks. You're pretty kind."
"I was worried about you when you were trying to hold onto the bag," Minato chuckles, causing Yukari to blush even darker.
"Who knew you had a suave side in you?" Minako sniggers, earning a glare from Minato.
"Shut it," he mutters darkly, "It's not like Sanada-senpai is any better than me."
"Hey!" Akihiko glares back at Minato, "I'm perfectly capable of handling that subject on my own, thanks!"
"Really?" Mitsuru arches an eyebrow as she eyes Minako and Akihiko, "Are you sure about that?"
"Senpai?" Junpei eyes her warily, "...hey guys? Can I ask something?"
"What is it?" Minako asks.
"I know we're about a third of the way towards school," he pauses, "..and it's eight-thirty. But why the hell are we going this?"
"Oh, that's because Nanjo-san wanted us to go out around the usual time," Mitsuru grumbles, "Who does he think he is when I'm the one who's in charge of all actions?"
"And not to mention that when we suggested that we go when school was supposed to be over and that Natsuki girl came in," Yukari snorts, "They just told us to sit there and wait while they formulate an idea."
They being not just Kei Nanjo, Maya Amano, and the detective Katsuya Suou; Naoya Todo and Maki Sonomura came into the dorm, making themselves known to the rest of SEES as the Arisato's guardians and as Kei's former comrades.
Let's just say that talk Kei wanted to tell them about did not go so well as they have hoped. Which eventually resulted in the following: the SEES were forced in the lobby while the adults plan inside the command room while Natsuki rested inside one of the empty rooms in the girls' floor. So, as the result of being too impatient and realizing that Fuuka's life was more important, the six SEES members decided that it was the best idea to go ahead with what they have planned and just enter inside the school to rescue Fuuka... and sneak out of the dorms while the adults were distracted.
Even Mitsuru, the Student Council President, have agreed to do this for once as long as they do not tell other people about it (in which they all swear not to). They decided to wait until eight instead of seven to throw the five adults off.
"Which I know will not end well," Akihiko grumbles, still irate at Katsuya from earlier.
"Remind me never to see Uncle Naoya and Maki's other friends," Minako mutters to Minato, who grunts in response.
It was an hour later (after Mitsuru and Junpei had to rest from pushing a heavy motorcycle) that Mitsuru determined they were far away to ride the motorcycle and meet the rest over at school, which they decide to go via train. Once they reach towards Gekkoukan High, the gates were closed, but Junpei manages to find a door to lead them inside.
"See?" He beams, "I'm a genius! We got in no problem!"
Yukari stares at him, "...seriously, this is something you're bragging about?"
"So, you unlocked it earlier," Mitsuru smirks to Junpei, who squawks, "Tres bien!"
Akihiko chuckles, "You didn't have an explosive on you?"
"Shut up!" Junpei grumbles, "And tray ben? The hell's that? That's not English!"
"It's French," Minato shakes his head as they continue to walk down the hallways, "...damn, it is dark in here."
"Can we turn on the lights...?" Yukari asks, her voice slightly quivering. Akihiko silently notes that this was the first time they've been in school after hours. Even he can tell Minako looks tense; grabbing onto her left hand, he tightens his grip when he sees Minako looking up at him in alarm.
"I'll protect you," he quietly murmurs.
"Awww, is Yukarichi scared?" Junepi sniggers.
"No!" Yukari grumbles, "...Stupei."
"Stop callin' me that!"
"Hey! Shhh!" Minato hisses, "...why is the power off?"
"They cut it off at night," Mitsuru replies.
Akihiko silently nods before stopping in the hallway. He slowly releases his grip on Minako's hand, who looks up at him again.
"I don't like this," Minako murmurs, looking around the empty facility, "What now?"
"We have to find the keys to the gym," Mitsuru faces the five, "We'll split up into pairs: one group will go into the janitor's office. Another group will check the faculty office. And the last pair will stay here to keep watch of our items. We'll meet back in the Main Hallway."
"Understood," they all nod.
"Faculty Office, huh?" Junepi smirks, "Maybe we'll find some test questions and the answers! Heheh..."
"Sounds interesting," Akihiko smirks too, "Maybe I should go there instead..."
"Uh no," Minato shakes his head, "Count me out. I've already had enough bad days last week."
"You two are dead," Minako and Yukari deadpan.
Mitsuru arches an eyebrow at the whispering group, "Iori, Akihiko. Are you two planning soemthing unscrupulous under my supervision?"
Akihko tenses up at that voice, Her 'you're-going-to-be-executed' voice. The same one she used when she threatened me about going out with Minako!
"It-It was a joke!" Junpei stammers, laughing weakly, "I'd never do something like that! Ha, ha ha..."
"C-Come on, Mitsuru!" Akihiko grins weakly, "Lighten up a little!"
"Uh huh," Mitsuru arches an eyebrow, crossing her arms, "Iori will accompany me to the janitor's office. Akihiko will stay here with Minako. And Arisato, you and Yukari will go inside the Faculty Office." She hides a smirk once she sees Junpei paling, Minato protesting before giving up, along with Yukari. Akihiko was about to protest when Minako nods, agreeing with her. The other four separate along the connecting area of the hallway while Akihiko and Minako sigh, leaning against the wall with the bags (Mitsuru decided to leave her motorcycle outside).
"So," Minako asks, "What's with the attitude earlier?"
Akihiko looks at Minako, shocked before he sighs, Just like that: she can still read through my eyes.
"You really don't remember me, do you..." he sadly whispers.
"Huh?"
"N-Nothing," Akihiko lies, "But... sorry about that. I was... angry that we couldn't rescue someone earlier in the day. And then that officer had to worsen my mood."
"It's like that for everyone," Minako smiles, gently patting on Akihiko's shoulders, causing the silver-haired boxer to blush, "But still... why the determination?"
He sighs before speaking up with seriousness.
"I won't stand by and do nothing if there's a chance we can save someone," Akihiko faces her, "I'd never forgive myself, especially if that harm goes to anyone that I care deeply for." Like you, he mentally adds, I especially don't want to lose you again, Minako. Not to Tartarus or Shadows... or to anyone.
He sees Minako looking concerned before placing her head against his shoulder, causing him to stiffen a bit.
"M-Minako?" he stammers.
"I've got a slight headache," she murmurs in reply before she pauses, "Sorry-"
"No," Akihiko places his hand on her head, stopping her from moving, "Don't. It's... fine. As long it's you."
Minako looks at him before a small blush appears on her face, "O-Okay."
Akihiko softly smiles, feeling her hair and her pins on the side of her hair, Just like you did when we were kids...
"Well, it's not in here," Minato grumbles as he gently shuts the classroom door behind him, "You?"
"Nope," Yukari shakes hers as they continue to walk down the stairs, "Wonder if... well, we're going anywhere."
"We will," Minato shrugs as they reach the Main Hall before stopping, hearing something like-
-footsteps?
"Hey!" He hisses to Yukari, "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Yukari asks before hearing the footsteps too, "T-There's someone else here?"
"Shh!" Minato yanks Yukari towards the nearest pillar before wrapping one arm around her waist and the other around her mouth to prevent her from talking. Yukari, on the other hand, tenses up and was about to mouth off to Minato about the abrupt embrace when they heard the footsteps coming closer, causing the two to tense up. At that same moment, Minato looks to the side in which the footsteps are coming from.
Shit, shit shit, He gulps, He's coming here...!
Seeing the flashlight beam scanning the area they were just in, the figure just shrugs before turniing away. The two stayed like that until the footsteps begin to fade until they can't hear it. Sighing at the same time, Minato slowly releazes Yukari's mouth, allowing her to take in a few deep breaths. She... she smells nice, Minato slightly blushes, his other arm still around her, I wonder what scent it is...?
"Whew," Yukari murmurs, "It's just a security guard."
"You were freaking out though," Minato chuckles, causing her to slightly tense up, "Do you still think about that ghost story Junpei told you?"
"N-No! I'm not!" Yukari scowls, facing Minato, "And didn't we already say that it wasn't a ghost! B-Besides! I'm just a little nervous, that's all! Do you blame me?"
Minato chuckles, seeing Yukari's pouting, "No, not really."
"Well..." Yukari pauses, "We did break into the school in the night- hang on. You don't think it might have been the others?"
"So, there's nothing to be scared of then?"
"Nah, not-"
Yukari's cellphone begins to ring off, causing both Minato and Yukari to jolt up before Yukari fumbles for her cellphone and shuts it off.
"Ahhh! Why now!" She hisses before checking it... and groaning, "Figures... It's spam."
"You get those two?" Minato arches an eyebrow.
"Sorry about that," Yukari blushes, "That... took me by surprise."
He chuckles, Wow, she is cute... whoa! Where the hell did that come from?
"H-Huh!" Yukari blushes, "...I-It's not funny!" Then she pauses, this time her face gets a bit darker, "U-Um... Minato?"
"Yeah?"
"Do... do you mind letting go of me?" She asks timidly, causing Minato blush this time before he releases her from his embrace.
"S-Sorry," Minato blushes, "I-I didn't know." Damn, my heart's beating fast! He gulps, seeing Yukari's timid expression, "L-Let's head up to the Faculty Office."
"I-I agree," Yukari grumbles as the two walk faster towards the office.
It wasn't until after they enter inside the office (the door was unlocked) that Minato and Yukari found the large set of keys.
"No... No..." Yukari mutters, frowning as she looks through her set while Minato looks through his set, "Argh, it's so dark! I can barely read these! What does this one say?"
"Now I wish the lights were on," Minato grumbles as Yukari presents him with a key, "...hey, you found the Gym key!"
"Really?" Yukari beams, "Awesome!"
"Would you have liked it if it said 'Morgue'?" Minato smiles, causing Yukari to smirk.
"Yeah right, as if I'd fall for that one."
"Now that we got it," Minato places his set of keys down, "Let's go to the Main Hallway. Bet the others are waiting for us by now."
Yukari grunts before nodding before pausing, "H-Hey, c-can we not tell anyone about that-"
Minato's face blushes too, "Y-Yeah. Let's head back."
"So, that's what you want to do?" Junpei arches an eyebrow to the currently scheming Mitsuru.
"Correct," she smirks, "So... what do you say, Iori?"
Junpei gapes at the crimson haired woman before he grins, "Well, well! I didn't know someone like you would do something like that! So... what's your plan?"
Mitsuru was about to say something when they hear some talking and footsteps, "I'll let you know later, Iori. For now, we need to focus. If you recall."
The capped boy silently snickers as he sees Akihiko and Minako on one side and Minato and Yukari coming from the other, "Hey! Did you fidn the key?"
"Sure did," Yukari nods, presenting the gym key, "There was no trouble finding it-"
"Ya know," Junpei grins, "I did hear a scream that sounded kinda familiar..."
"S-Shut up!" Yukari blushes as she looks away while Minato's face blushes lightly, muttering something about damn security guards.
Whoa, wait? Junpei's eyes widens in surprise, "Hang on. That actually happened? I was just kiddin'!"
"Looks like it you got it on the spot," Akihiko chuckles as Minako giggles. Junpei can see Mitsuru's eyes gleam with something like- scheming? And she's smirking... he mentally notes to himself to never ask Mitsuru to set him up with anyone.
"You want to make something of it?" Minato glares at the rest of them, especially to Minako.
"Keep it down," Akihiko tries his best to keep his laughter down, "Do you want to get us into trouble?"
"What time is it anyway?" Minako asks Mitsuru, who checks her watch.
"It's almost time for the Dark Hour," she replies, looking up, "We'll divide up into teams again, except this time, we'll try to enter the way Fuuka Yamagishi did. Meaning half of us will enter inside the gym while the other half will remain outside until Tartarus will come up."
"And when the Dark Hour will begin?" Minato asks, "What will the other half do?"
"I'll try to determine Yamagishi's position," Mitsuru narrows her eyes, "Although I cannot guarentee anything thanks to how the reception has been since we last entered inside Tartarus."
"Is it that bad?" Minako asks concerned.
"Pretty much."
"I'll go the gym then," Minato replies, "Who else is coming with me?"
"How about me?" Minako asks.
"No," Akihiko quickly said, surprising her, "I'll go. Minako, you'll stay here with Mitsuru."
Junpei blinks before staring at Minato, "Are you gonna-"
"I agree with Sanada-senpai," Minato nods, "Minako, stay here."
Junpei can see the brunette mutters something about having no fun whatsoever.
"I guess since it's Akihiko-senpai and Minato, since he's leader," Yukari pauses, "I guess I'll be the third-"
"Wit a second!" Junpei stops her from continuing, "Remember how I accidently screwed up on the monorail?" He didn't allow anyone to finish, "Gimme a chance to make up for that!"
"Come on!" Yukari groans, "It's not always about you, Stupei! You didn't 'accidently' screw up on the-"
"I guess we'll give you another shot," Akihiko stops them from getting into another argument. Junpei beams before hearing Yukari grunt with some form of discomfort in her voice, "What's wrong? You don't want to stay behind with Minako and Mitsuru?"
Junpei was surprised, seeing how uncomfrotable Yukari looks when she looks at Mitsuru (who is currently talking to Minako), "Um... n-no, it's fine."
"So it's a guys team this time around?" Junpei arches an eyebrow as he walks over to Minato and Akihiko. Junepi notices that Minato has the gym key since Yukari handed it over to him.
"Looks like it," Minato shrugs before seeing Mitsuru, "What is it?"
"You three should prepare yourself," Mitsuru commands them, "Get your weapons and go the gym. There's still a bit of time until the Dark Hour."
"Gotcha," The three boys nod as they begin to rummage through the supplies to look for anything that can help not just Fuuka, but themselves.
How long has it been since I was last here in these dorms? Shinjiro Aragaki stares up at the ceiling of the lobby before he snorts to himself, Oh right. Last year? Two years ago?
"They are not coming back, are they?" he hears the reporter woman ask, "It's almost eleven."
Shinjiro arches an eyebrow.
"Maybe it would have been a better idea to have one of us watch over them," The detective grumbles, his sunglasses off as he rubs his eyes.
And they'll just find a way to sneak out of here like usual, Shinjiro mentally grunts, That back door was the best way for them to sneak out.
"H-Hey, Katsuya," he can hear the reporter sounding uncomfortable when she sees Shinjiro staring at the two adults witting across from him, "When do you think Kei, Naoya, and Maki are coming back?"
Katsuya quietly snorts before hearing the front open to reveal a very annoyed Kei and an irked Naoya with a worried Maki following them.
"They're not even at the damn shopping center," The motorcycle man Kei is fuming, "Where the hell could they have gotten into?"
"Don't you think they might have gotten inside the school by now?" Katsuya sighs, placing his cellphone back inside his pocket.
"That's a possibility," Naoya scoffs, "Those two are dead when they get back."
"Naoya, stop," Maki sternly stops hims from asking Shinjiro, "Shinjiro, has anyone stepped foot inside here since we left?"
Shinjiro sighs, "That Moriyama girl has been sleeping inside one of the rooms since I last checked. ...why am I here?"
"Because I asked you to, you lazy delinquent," Kei places his helmet down on the coffe table, rubbing his temples. "This entire day has been a pain, that damn princess is missing and so are the rest of the SEES members, Maya has to show up- how the hell have things gotten wrong?"
"Because we have to deal with stubborn teenagers," Naoya grumbles, leaning against the wall, "That damn Minato and Minako... they should know better!"
"Hey Naoya," the reporter Maya asks curiously, "How do you know those two anyway? They seem to address you and Maki differnetly than us."
"You mean aside Kei?" Naoya replies. Shinjiro was about to close his eyes to sleep again before hearing, "I'm adopted those two since I left Mikage-Cho-"
"Wait a sec!"
Shinjiro can feel five pairs of eyes on him, but he shakes it off before glaring at Naoya and Maki, "You two didn't tell me that!"
"That's because you never asked us anything," Naoya smirks, "So why the sudden interest, Aragaki?"
"Just answer the damn question!"
"I was wondering about that," Katsuya frowns at Naoya, "Maya and I saw how you and Sonomura-san dealt with those two; they are not even related to you."
"You too?" Kei stares at the detective and reporter warily, "You both just got here. Just today." Shinjiro can see Naoya smirk, knowing how true that was.
Maya grins, "Well, it was a curious question, Nanjo! Unless you want us to ask Maki..."
"I'd be happy to answer that," Maki giggles, seeing Naoya's baffled expression, "...at a later time though. What about now? Don't you think we should look for SEES?"
Kei sighs, "We've looked all over. Where else do you think they are?"
"Where else could they be?" Katsuya asks, "Do you know, Aragaki?"
"Stop treating me like a criminal," Shinjiro grunts before narrowing his eyes, "Why would I want to search for them? It's none of my-"
"Weren't you the one who told those four children about the hospitalized girls and about Yamagishi?"
Shinjiro froze, his eyes snapping open to look at Katsuya. Even Maya was baffled (along with Naoya, Maki, and Kei). A chuckle escapes the detective.
"How the hell did you know that?" he growls, "Nobody knew I was going to-"
"That night, you were hanging out over at the area behind Port Island Station."
"How the hell-"
"I tailed you under orders from him," Katsuya smirks, pointing over to Kei, "Weren't you supposed to retrieve something that night?"
Shinjiro freezes, knowing that he was caught. He sputters, "But- How the hell did you-"
"Fuuka..."
The five adults in the lobby and one teen stop talking once they hear footsteps from the stairs.
It was Natsuki Moriyama, but something was off about her...
"Moriyama-chan!" Maya exclaims, trying to get over to the high school girl until Katsuya grabs her arm, looking concerned.
What the hell? Shinjiro's eyes narrows as he sees Natsuki robotically walk towards the door, Why the hell is she-
"She's calling me..." The girl murmurs as she grabs the door, opens it, and leaves, "I... I have to go... tell her... I'm sorry..."
"Her voice!" Shinjiro's eyes widens, "She's under-"
"The Shadow's voice," Kei narrows his eyes, standing up, "She's heading for Tartarus!"
"Get the car," Kei commands Katsuya, who nods as he leads Maya towards the front door before turning around, "Aragaki, stay-"
"I'm coming," Shinjiro grits his teeth, narrows his eyes as he steps forward to pick up a wrapped object, "I'm getting wick of waiting around."
Maki gasps, "But what about your-"
"Can you control Castor?" Naoya asks, concern written all over his face, "If you can't-"
"I'll have to calm him down on my own," Shinjiro smirks, slinging the heavy object over his shoulder, And no pills. It's time to kick some ass!
This was official: if Minako wasn't sitting there at the steps with Yukari, then the entire lobby would have been filled with the most awkward moments.
It doesn't help that a while back, they had to find a way to sneak out from the dorm while having to carry the motorcycle without to turn it on (in order to catch Kei's attention- along with Maya and that detective guy); she had to be separated with Minato while searching for the gym key, and then out of all the ideas, it was the guys in Tartarus while the girls are in the lobby.
At least she was glad for having Minako with her.
"What the heck's taking them so long?" Yukari frowns, looking at the clock as she hears Mitsuru tinker with the equipment on her bike, "I thought they should be going up to Tartarus for now."
"I think it takes them a while to find Fuuka," Minako winces before looking at Yukari, "Hey, are you feeling okay?"
"H-Huh?" Yukari blinks before nodding, "O-Of course! Why would you think that something is wrong?"
Minako sighs, her hands on her hips (well, one of them is holding onto her naginata), "It's kind of odd for me to say, but since the day we were in Mitsuru's speech, you acted like Mitsuru is the plague or something. Is something up?"
The dirty-blonde purses her lips, hesitant to respond before Minako sighs.
"I'll ask you later," her friend looks concerned, "Just let me know if something is up, okay?"
"I will," Yukari nods before hearing a small mutter come from Mitsuru, "Is everything okay from here?"
"We still haven't heard back from those three," Mitsuru's eyes narrows as she tries to set the equipment's frequency higher, "And yet the transceiver's sensitivity is set to high..."
"I hope Natsuki is safe," Minako frowns, recalling her, "Wouldn't want her to get hurt and all."
You're still bitter about that? Yukari looks at Minako in surprise.
"I wish she was," Mitsuru stands up, ready to kick the mechanics into the curb, "But no place is safe during the Dark Hour; we couldn't being her here and one of us- SEES members- staying behind was completely out of the question-"
"You know, I was going to say the same damn thing, Mitsuru," Kei's dry, strained voice cuts in, surprising the three SEES members, instantly cutting the tension off, "Where the hell have all of you been?"
"Fuck," Minako pales, "How did he-"
"Isn't it obvious?" Mitsuru's eyes narrow, stopping Minako from continiung, "Inside Tartarus, looking for Yamagishi-"
"And WITHOUT my presense?"
Yukari and Minako wince, knowing pretty well this was not going to end well.
"And where are you?" Mitsuru bites back, "Back inside the dorms?"
"No, actually," Kei replies, "Because I was damned worried sick about you, Princess-" That made him freeze a bit before resuming "-ahem. Suou, Amano, and I are on our way here along the rest of us!"
"Wait," Mitsuru freezes, "This is my operation- you can't tell me what to do, Nanjo!"
"Really, now?" Kei's voice is beginning to sound angry, "Is that what you think it is, Kirijo? A simple operation?"
"Yup," Minako mutters under her breath, "...this is going to be ugly."
Yukarki winces before hearing a scratchy voice stop all argument-
"Hey! HEY! Can anyone hear us?"
It was Akihiko. Yukari sees that Mitsuru looks at the other two in alarm before Minako responds, "W-We're here! I- Hang on, senpai?"
"We've confirmed your location," Mitsuru replies, a bit irate before muttering a few things, "Why is the communication range terrible?"
"It's because they are higher than you all thought," Kei cuts in, "Are you all right?"
"Well... sh..."Junpei's voice was beginning to get covered by the amount of large static.
"...don't know..." Akihiko's voice comes next, "...inako? ...that... you?"
"Yeah!" Minako replies, "Where are you guys? I canm barely hear!"
"...got separ..."
The communications that held Akihiko and Junpei were cut off.
"Come in! Come in, both of you!" Mitsuru says, but all they can hear is static.
"I think they're out of range..." Yukari looks at the other two girls, "I'm starting to get worried."
"And we're not the only ones?" Mitsuru mutters before shouting, "Nanjo! I know you're still listening!"
"Ah, Mitsuru-chan?" It was Maya's voice, "He's still worried sick about you."
"We can tell," Minako and Yukari deadpan before the three girls freeze.
"Hang on," Mitsuru slowly replies, "Amano-san? Did you say... that he is worried about me?"
"Yes, he is," A quiet snorts come from the detective Katsuya Suou, "Actually, when we tried to look for all of you earlier, he was actually panicking, saying something about how he should have been there when you decided to enter inside Tartarus."
Minako couldn't hold back her laughter.
Mitsuru slightly pales before- Hang on, Yukari blinks, Is she... blushing? "...can you explain?" Mitsuru asks slowly to the detective.
"Let me put this way," Maya replies with a teasing tone of her voice, "He looked all over the damn town for you before we told him that you were inside the school- and did I mention he was actually guilty for shouting at you earlier-"
"AMANO!" They heard Kei roar before another chorus of laughter was heard.
"Awww, look at that!" Maya was probably grinning, "Kei's actually blushing!"
"The day I thought I never live to see," Another voice cuts in, causing Minako to drop her weapon, "Well, well, you sly-"
"Shut it and I'll tell Sonomura about all those idiotic one-liners you tried to work on her but failed," Kei threatened the voice, causing a wave of chuckles from the other side.
And Yukari sees Minako freeze at that spot, "Um... Minako? You okay?"
Even Mitsuru has to look at her in surprise.
"Umm..." Minako pales, "For a minute, I thought I heard Uncle Naoya and Maki in the car-"
That was stopped by a loud clang along with a roar, forcing the three to stop whatever it was that the three girls were doing.
Yukari was the first to ask as soon as Mitsuru lowers the volume of the other side, "What... was that?"
"I don't know," Mitsuru's eyes narrow, "But keep your guard up."
"That... did not sound good," Minako gulps.
Yukari tightens her grip on her bow.
Minato... She gulps, Where are you?
To Be Continued
Okay, answers will be answered AFTER I'm done with this fullmoon event! How did I not know this is going to be in two-part... *headdesk*
Social Links so far:
Fool, Magician, Lovers, Chariot, Strength, Death, Star, Moon
Mastered:
Hierophant
Remaining:
Priestess, Emperor, Justice, Hermit, Fortune, Hanged Man, Death, Devil, Tower, Temperance, Sun, Judgement