A/N: Hey, sorry for the late chapter. I have been extremely busy and had a lot of random chaos going on. I am really bad at thinking about what Junpei would say and this chapter has a lot of focus on him. I wanted to connect the door to his past from FES to the time when he first joined. I thought it would be a logical sequence. This chapter is more of a setup/foreshadowing for the next chapter. Mini-spoiler possibly, but probably not, haha. I wonder if I should keep these 1 word chapter titles... hmm. I think I've finally settled on the format on the P.O.V. switches for now, so that's a good sign. Hmm, what else, what else? I think that may be it for now. Feel free to drop me a p.m if you have questions or just wanna talk. Anyhow, thanks for all the follows, reviews, and favorites. I'm not someone that gets worked up over the statistics, but it is nice to reach 50+ follows. So kudos to you for following my rambling project! I look forward in continuing the story with your input and advice. Cheers!

Thanks to rEpose in continuing to beta my work and offering great advice.

Inevitable Update Placeholder: Yup, I know it'll be coming...

Formatting Update: 7/6/14

Reader Reviews:

DeathChaos25: Indeed, Minato can already see that some things aren't going exactly to plan and that he is experiencing some new stuff, a la Hamuko. Still, he holds onto his belief partly from stubbornness and partly from the need to be in control. I think people in the story are beginning to suspect that he is a mad genius or a psychic, but only time will tell. Yeah, he should do well on the tests considering he already was top of class before haha. Ah, glad you mentioned the possible social link play between the two. Definitely, there could be a lot of jostling with Minato not being forthcoming and Hamuko being sort of his antithesis if you know what I mean ;) Yeah, it always bugged me that the MC or FeMC would wake up after having the equivalent of a terrible coma and then Yukari is like I'm sorry, but insert wall of text here. More power to Akihiko... maybe. It depends on how bullheaded he wants to be. Glad you caught up with the story again! I'm still contemplating how things will work out... like I said before I know the ending and a lot of the stuff that leads up to it, but we're still not even past April yet, haha. Ah well, I'm sure things will come together with some hard work and a lot of thinking.

ChilledKitsune: I think that's the main conflict in Minato's mind. How much does he help Hamuko? If he does help her will it compromise what events occur? As for the leader spot, you'll see next chapter. Yes, that is partly why in previous chapters Minato is able to do some things Hamuko can't (e.g stand up to Mitsuru in dangerous situations) Glad to see another review from you!

Yami no Majou077: Glad you liked the fluff! I'm not particularly great at it, but in my opinion stories do need some of it at least. I'm trying my best to get better with the story, so thanks for the encouragement! Hopefully, I can continue to figure out where I can improve upon. Thanks for reviewing again!

kazikamikaze24: Minato will get stronger eventually. I am going at a deliberate pace because I am sort of a nut for details, for better or worse. Glad you like the story.

titanpmedusawitch: Here's your chapter, haha. Hope you keep on reading the story.

Chapter 11: Belonging

April 18th, Saturday (Gekkoukan High Entrance, Early Morning)

Hamuko P.O.V.

The cherry trees that lined the walkway outside of the school gates were in full bloom, with their fuchsia petals swaying gently in the morning light. Hamuko appreciated the fact that they seemed to welcome her, after she had been away from school for a while. It was going to take a while to get used to the hustle and bustle of life at Gekkoukan, but at least it gave Hamuko a sense of normalcy after recent events. A couple of people passing by her gave her a hello and she returned their greetings in earnest. From a distance she could see a baseball cap separate itself from a gaggle of fellow students.

"Hamukooo!" Junpei said, placing an extended emphasis on the end of her name. At least, he seemed genuinely happy to see her.

"Hey, Junpei," she replied, giving him a small hug, which caught him off guard. Junpei fumbled over his feet a bit, as Hamuko let go of him. She could see that he had an embarrassed expression on his face.

"Well, where you have been all this time, Hamuko?" He shifted around a bit, looking around to see if anyone was watching them.

"I was in the hospital, Junpei. Just didn't feel too well."

"You had everyone worried, geez." He gave her a look that bordered on exasperation while adjusting his cap.

"Really? I didn't think people would care much about a new kid missing school for a couple of days," she said, innocently.

"A couple of days? It was like a week. Let me tell you, a lot of people noticed you weren't here, and the rumors were flying everywhere! I guess you're already that popular, huh?" He grinned that silly smile that Hamuko had already come to appreciate.

"Well, I guess. I'll see you later, Junpei." Hamuko briskly walked toward school, leaving a confused Junpei. Of course, Junpei did not know the real reason for Hamuko cutting the conversation off; it was because Yukari had approached them from across the courtyard.

Yukari P.O.V.

Yukari saw Hamuko hurry away to school as she approached and Yukari felt a little hurt on the inside. She had hoped that they would be able to settle their differences from the previous day at the hospital, but it seemed like that wouldn't be the case. Yukari wasn't really in the mood to talk to Junpei, but he had already seen her and she resigned herself to talk to him.

"Hey, Junpei," she said in a sullen tone while craning her neck to see a last glimpse of Hamuko as she entered the school building.

"Yuka-tan! What's with the long face?" Junpei said, rather comically.

"It's nothing, really. Well, you seem to really get along with Hamuko."

"And?" Junpei looked somewhat serious as he gave Yukari a quizzical look with an eyebrow raised.

"I dunno, I just find it hard to talk to her. She just seems so distant," Yukari replied.

"Are you sure we're talking about the same person, Yuka-tan?" Junpei shrugged his shoulders. "Hamuko is really easy to talk to. She always seems open to talk with me about anything."

"I wish she were that open with me," Yukari sighed.

"I mean, you two are both girls, right? I don't even understand women at all and I can get along with Hamuko."

"Geez, Junpei, not all girls get along!" Yukari made her usual face of disbelief when Junpei said something really dumb.

"Well, that's news to me then. Let's get going, we have Japanese history today, ugh."

During the middle of class, Yukari whispered to Hamuko, but Hamuko pretended not to hear and continued to take notes as Mr. Ono was talking about mud huts. Eventually, Hamuko turned around and gave her a blank stare without saying anything and it unnerved Yukari.

"Look, Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today. Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget." Yukari wasn't really sure if Hamuko had heard what she said, as Hamuko didn't acknowledge her at all. This wasn't how Yukari had planned it to turn out. She hoped Hamuko and her could be friends with in S.E.E.S. However, now she could almost feel the apathy with which Hamuko looked in her direction. What had Yukari done wrong, anyhow? That's why I don't like letting people get close to me, she thought. Yukari still needed to tell Minato the same thing and hoped she would have an easier time in doing so.

(Iwatodai Dorm, Evening)

Minato P.O.V.

There wasn't really any way of getting out of joining S.E.E.S.; not that Minato didn't want to join the group. It was just annoying to go through all of the motions again. Do you know there is a 25th hour during the day? Just hearing Ikutsuki's voice in his head was enough to make Minato want to crawl up the wall. As expected, there was no one on the first floor in the lounge, and Minato wondered if he should just keep them waiting and see what happens. However, Hamuko entered the dorm shortly after and Minato didn't really have much of a choice now.

"Hey, what's up?" Minato asked, looking at her glum expression.

"I don't know, but I bet you know. Don't you?" she replied, slowly walking towards the television and fiddling with the remote.

"Well, they're probably going to give us the guns that will let you summon a Persona," Minato said, nonchalantly using a tone as if describing the weather forecast.

Hamuko seemed to perk up at this and rounded towards Minato's direction.

"You really think so? You mean like the one Yukari is always carrying around?"

"The same one. Just remember that nothing is as it seems."

"Why do you always talk to me in riddles, Minato? Why can't you just tell me straight and not cause my head to want to explode?" Hamuko had gotten close enough to Minato that he could see the individual lashes on her eyelashes, as well as the angry flush coming over her face. She was clearly invading his personal bubble. He took a few steps back, toppling over an ottoman and fell awkwardly into the loveseat.

"Ow, why did you have to invade my personal space like that?"

"I'm sure you liked it!" she said, as she extended a hand to help him get back on his feet.

"Wha-? What makes you think that?" Minato said, brushing himself off a bit.

"But like I said, I want you to tell me what's on your mind, instead of trying to sound all sagely, because honestly you sound like a moron." Hamuko gave him a grin like a Cheshire cat.

"Psh, I am thoroughly offended," Minato replied, crossing his arms and sticking up his nose.

"Seriously, though, I don't want you to treat me like I'm a small child. I don't need some white knight in sterling armor to rescue me from anything. I can take care of myself just fine; I mean, look what I've been through growing up."

Oh no, she was trying to drag out the past again. Hamuko could truly be manipulative with her words, Minato thought. Minato breathed a bit easier, as Akihiko had come downstairs to see the source of the ruckus and said, "Hurry up you two, we've been waiting for you guys to come."

"Sorry, senpai," Minato went ahead and started climbing the stairs and could see that Hamuko was visibly pouting. She had won this battle, but not the war. It was a battle of attrition and it didn't help Minato that he had a complex in wanting to save a damsel in distress. The only problem was that he was weak and Hamuko was a lot stronger, which disintegrated the stereotypical image in Minato's mind.

"Ah, there you two are," Ikutsuki said. "The reason that I asked you two here was because I needed to discuss something with the both of you. Please have your seats."

They were back in the old control room lined with notes about the Dark Hour and the bank of consoles with recordings from all the rooms in the dormitory. The room still had its old furniture and the Corinthian columns that were more for decoration than real structural support.

Minato sat as far away as possible of Ikutsuki, sitting next to Yukari on the sofa. Hamuko sat next to Akihiko on the middle ottoman. Minato knew it would be impossible to keep his interest in this conversation, so he resigned himself to make occasional eye contact and nod his head up and down at strategic intervals. That way, he wouldn't draw too much attention to himself and could take a mental break while everyone else was busy getting pumped up with introductions.

"It seems like you two have already been acquainted with Akihiko, correct?" Ikutsuki asked. Minato and Hamuko gave affirmative nods to Ikutsuki who said, "Good, that will make this a lot easier then."

"So, would you believe me if I told you that there were more than 24 hours in a day?" Hamuko didn't seem to know how to respond, but Minato just continued to nod like a rocker at a music concert.

Minato drifted off into his own sea of thoughts and remembered what he had told an incapacitated Hamuko at the hospital. What had really come over him that day, anyhow? Was it somehow related to that voice he continued to hear randomly? There was something about his latent ability being unlocked. It wasn't like he had the power of the Wild Card or Death to draw from. Did he have a third power source? That seemed highly unlikely, but each explanation that he could think of seemed less plausible than the last.

"Minato, are you still with us?" an irritated voice said. Mitsuru's glare brought Minato out of his reverie and he replied that he was.

"If that's the case, then what were we just discussing?" she said, rather icily.

"Uh, Dark Hour, Shadows, S.E.E.S, Persona, whatever," Minato replied, in a bored tone.

Mitsuru seemed a bit taken aback and said, "Well, I suppose I was mistaken that you were not really listening. You have my apologies."

Hamuko and Yukari were having a hard time suppressing their laughter, but quickly stopped when they could see each other. Minato wondered what was going on between those two.

"I suppose the only question left is whether you two will join us or not," Mitsuru continued, while grabbing the briefcases with evokers inside them. Minato noticed the immense amount of peer pressure that the three current members of S.E.E.S. gave Hamuko and himself. Minato wanted Hamuko to make the first move because he didn't want to color her decision with any bias from him.

"Alright, I guess it only makes sense that I join you to beat the Shadows and save the day," she said, cheerily.

"Excellent, and what about you Minato?" Ikutsuki asked and all the eyeballs in the room focused on him.

"Well, I'm not sure. I'm probably the weakest Persona user here, you know? Not really sure how much help I can provide and that's not mentioning that I'm still hurt from the earlier battle."

For some reason, Minato thought he saw a flicker of something malicious appear on Ikutsuki's face, but it was gone as fast as he saw it. "I understand your concern, but we need all the possible help that we can get. We will arrange for you to offer a more supportive role until you feel that you can get back on your feet." Ikutsuki seemed to choose his words rather carefully. Akihiko seemed reassured by Ikutsuki's explanation.

"That sounds fine, I guess. I'll join, for now," Minato replied. This brought a wave of relief from Yukari, Mitsuru, and Akihiko, who seemed extremely happy that they had added two members to their budding group of Persona users. Ikutsuki's happiness seemed more muted for some reason that Minato didn't really understand, but ignored.

Hamuko P.O.V.

At last, Hamuko knew just what was going on in this dormitory. They were fighting those pesky Shadow monsters that seemed to continually show up wherever she went. It only made sense that Hamuko would join S.E.E.S., since they seemed to know a lot more than she did about the Dark Hour. Plus, she would get to continue to live with the same group of people for the rest of the school year. Sure, everyone in the dorm had their faults, but for Hamuko they had started to grow on her.

"Welcome aboard, you guys!" Yukari said, with unabashed enthusiasm.

"I am glad that you two will be on our side," Mitsuru added.

Hamuko's vision suddenly went haywire and a mist enveloped the room in front of her. A hollow voice rang from the depths of her mind and a tarot card revealed itself in front of her. It had a strange little man with a dog at his heels.

"Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana." Hamuko had successfully created her first social link and felt an odd surge of energy inside. Igor had mentioned the importance and power of social links and Hamuko was just beginning to understand what this entailed. She wondered how her social links would get stronger and in turn her own strength. None of it really seemed to make any sense, but that was something she was getting used to while going to school here. Her vision returned and Hamuko partly wondered whether she had hallucinated.

Hamuko let out an audible yawn and excused herself from the meeting as she was still tired from just getting out of the hospital recently. As Hamuko changed her clothes to go to sleep she saw that strange boy in jail clothes appearing in front of her again.

"Not you again," she muttered, rubbing her eyes and hoping he wouldn't be there when she looked again.

"That isn't a nice way to greet someone you know, but I wanted to tell you that soon the end will come," he intoned, in that eerie voice of his.

"What the heck is the end?" Hamuko felt grumpy that she couldn't fall back asleep.

"Honestly, I don't really know what it is."

"Well, that's really helpful, thanks," Hamuko snorted.

"Oh, looks like you've awakened to your power, and an unusual power it is."

"Do you mean my Persona powers?"

"A power that makes many forms, yet is bound by none. It may prove to be your salvation in the end."

"What do you mean by that?" The boy was making it sound that the end and her own abilities had similarities somehow.

"Do you remember when we first met? I expect you to honor your commitment. I'll be watching, even if you forget about me. Okay then, I'll be seeing you." The boy quickly disappeared after this without a trace and Hamuko thought that he was a terrible listener or had amnesia. Next time, Hamuko would make sure that he wouldn't dance around her questions and try to grab him, just to see if he really was a ghost or not.

April 19th, Sunday (Iwatodai Station, Morning)

Minato P.O.V.

There really wasn't anything to do here, except reminisce about old times for Minato. He remembered the suicidal journey Yukari had embarked upon and dragging along both Junpei and himself to the corner where the rough crowd were. It had only been through Shinjiro that they had made it out of the alley that night and Minato wondered if he could find him there now, but remembered that he couldn't even use both arms right now. Minato resigned himself to sit on the bench and just watch the sparrows fritter about fighting for bread crumbs that an old man was throwing about.

At least, the weather is nice, Minato thought as he dozed off.

(Junpei's House, Evening)

Junpei P.O.V.

"Junpei, you good for nothing son of a bitch! Go steal me some liquor!" A man who was overweight and lethargic stumbled over his own feet. He stunk of stale cooking wine and was a pitiful sight to behold. His soon could only watch in dismay as he continued to throw profanities in his direction. For Junpei, the profanities no longer hurt because he had become numb to them. What pained him was how low his father had gotten.

"I'm not gonna go buy more just so you can get more drunk, Dad," Junpei said, stoically while locking eyes with his father. Maybe all of this wouldn't have happened if his mom were still around, but that was just wishing for someone who was no longer here.

"What did you say?! You talking back to your father?!" His father picked up the wine bottle and hurled it in Junpei's direction. Junpei had anticipated this happening when he saw his father's sleight of hand, but the action was still jarring for him.

"I've had enough! Find me, when you stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Junpei took a quick series of steps and took his jacket from the coat rack.

"You'll crawl back, you ungrateful ingrate. Don't come back without a bottle of liquor." It was probably a bad idea wandering out at this time of night, but Junpei had nowhere else to go. He decided that he would go to Paulownia Mall and hope that some time away from his dad would cool off both of their tempers.

Eventually, Junpei settled to the closest bench to the water fountain at the center of the mall. He threw a coin in and made a simple wish that his father would stop being an alcoholic. Fat chance that will happen, Junpei thought. A dog's whine caught his attention, and Junpei saw it came from a white dog with deep red eyes. The color of its eyes made Junpei jump in his shoes a bit because they reminded him of Mitsuru Kirijo's when she was telling off some student at school.

"Hey, pooch, what's your name? Silly question to ask huh?"

The dog barked in reply, as if it knew what Junpei was asking. The dog walked slowly towards him and Junpei wondered if he had seen him somewhere before.

"Heh, sorry, pooch, I don't have any food for ya." Junpei scratched the dog behind his ears and he seemed to enjoy it. Later on, a pair of guys sauntered up to Junpei who he knew somewhat from his previous year.

"Hey, it's Junpei. Why the long face? Did a girl dump you or something?"

"Oh… hey, guys. Shouldn't you be in your dorms, since it's probably past curfew?"

"Oh, we snuck out. When you get to be a junior, you learn the secret exit."

"Still dumb as rocks, huh?" Junpei muttered.

"Anyways, we're going to Escapade, wanna come with? This guy is drowning his sorrow about getting turned down by Yukari Takeba. We're gonna grab some booze and-"

"I think I'll pass," Junpei interrupted.

"Come on, live a little," one of the guys said.

"I said, I'll pass!" Junpei stood up, anger flashing across his face.

"Your loss, then! Let's go drown your sorrows, man."

The two guys left for Escapade and left Junpei to wallow by himself.

"Things never go the way I want them to," Junpei muttered. He let out a sigh and saw that the white dog was looking at him in a sad way. "Aww, come on don't look at me like that, I don't need the pity."

"Man, is my life as bad as it seems right now? I wish I could do something to change the world. Like some awesome skill no one else has. Junpei sighed, and when the dog kept whimpering he laughed a bit, at his own stupidity.

"I'm sure someday… we can make us some real friends that'll listen to us. Not for being like someone else, but just for who we are." The white dog wagged its tail, as if almost affirming the words Junpei had just said. He really needed to find something better to do than talk about his problems with a dog.

Still, it did feel like a weight had fallen off his chest, a bit and he felt an odd sense of determination that wasn't really there before.

After some time passed Junpei figured that he had better go back home, otherwise he might end up with the rough crowd that usually hung out at the mall around this time. He had no idea what time it was, but with the white dog leaving him there was nothing else to keep his attention.

There had been a couple of other people in the vicinity when it happened. The streets became irradiated in green ooze, and Junpei thought this was some kind of bad dream. The coffins that lined as far as he could see made him gulp. Maybe the worst part was how silent it was; and the only things that made noise were his nervous footsteps toward Paulownia Mall, hoping to find anyone else. It didn't help that he had clumsily stepped into the puddles of blood that gave an odor of metallic rust.

It was then that Junpei's keen detective skills came into play. At school, students and teachers alike thought Junpei had next to no ability to keep attention, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It was just that the stuff taught at school just couldn't keep his attention, but when he put his mind to it he could read between the lines quite well. He noticed that on the ground a distinct trail of blood that was different from the other ones he had seen and was still fresh. Slowly following the markings on the ground he hid behind a turnstile at the train station and cupped his ear trying to listen for any kind of noise. Junpei really didn't have to try that hard to hear because he heard a sickening thud and a wail of pain from something that didn't sound human. The wail stabbed through the night like a jagged knife-edge and Junpei felt it in his bones. Would he dare to take a look at what was going on?

"Man, why me?"Junpei muttered, but he decided he would man up and take a look at what was the cause of the commotion.

Someone was brutally beating down a figure that Junpei couldn't really make out. The constant thuds were intermittently filled with a disturbing panting that caused Junpei to cringe. Junpei looked one more time, but couldn't tell who was in the red sweater vest. Junpei's intuition told him he should get out of here and began to move away.

A surprised voice called out to Junpei and said, "Hey, you! Wait up!" Junpei's body seemed to move on its own and he didn't bother to stop. It was almost as if an unnatural spirit had taken control of his body, as he ran toward the convenience store. There were nothing but coffins everywhere here too and Junpei kept trying to pinch himself awake thinking that he had just fallen asleep at the mall.

Eventually, the figure in the red sweater approached Junpei who felt too tired to move, but something was unusual. The hand that reached out to him was of someone who Junpei vaguely knew from listening to the rumors at school.

"Hey, it's okay. You're alright. Let's get you out of here," a kind and even voice said.

"You're Akihiko Sanada?" Junpei had only seen the champion boxer a couple of times and instead had heard more about the exploits of the white-haired senior.

"Yeah, do we know each other by any chance?" Akihiko helped Junpei get on his feet and dusted him off a bit.

"I don't think we've ever met, senpai, but thanks for saving my bacon. I'm Junpei Iori, a junior in class 2-F, but what're you doing out at this time of night, anyways?" Junpei was safe for the moment it seemed.

"Oh, that means you're in the same class with Hamuko, Minato, and Yukari. Perfect, that should make this easier," Akihiko said, with a smile. "You saw me fighting earlier right? What if I told you that you had the power to change the world for the better?"

"For real, senpai?" Junpei was definitely intrigued about changing the world, though a bit confused about what Akihiko was talking about. "Color me intrigued, Akihiko-san."

"Well, if you're interested, you can join our group, S.E.E.S., which helps fight those monster things during this time called the Dark Hour."

"That's a pretty catchy name, and I always wondered what you guys did at your club. There's all sorts of rumors out there, but I had no idea that you guys fight monsters when everyone is asleep." Junpei definitely liked where this was going, but was concerned about the part about having some power to fight these monster things. "Senpai, you said something about power, but I don't really think I have it."

"Don't worry about it, Junpei. Just being active at this hour already proves that you have the potential to survive the Dark Hour. The alternative is having your mind flayed by the Shadows, which are the monsters that cause the Apathy Syndrome." Akihiko didn't really seem perturbed about how he was framing this issue ,Junpei thought.

"That doesn't sound like much of a choice, so I guess I will join. I'm sure it'll be a blast!" Junpei couldn't help himself at the thought of playing hero.

"That took less convincing than I thought. Go home and pack your things, I'll come with you if we meet any trouble along the way." Akihiko was trying to rub off some of the blood on his boxing gloves absent-mindedly, as he said this. "Then, we'll go back to the dorm and I'll introduce you to everyone."

Things on the up and up for Junpei. He was joining a group that was trying to stop the Apathy Syndrome, he was going to live in the same dorm with some of the hottest at a co-ed dorm, and he would be able to get away from his old man. It would probably do Junpei and his dad a world of good to stay away from each other for a while.

"I'm in, let's go get my stuff, senpai."