Most of the next week passed without incident. My time, for the most part, was split between Minato and Yukari. Minato, despite getting better, still needed my support to avoid lapsing back into apathy. On top of that, I enjoyed having him back. I wasn't going to leave him alone for long if I could help it.

Yukari seemed to have taken me under her wing, revising my makeup, my hair and my clothing as often as she could persuade me to come out with her. While I could appreciate the bonding (and even a few of the lessons she taught), I was still not making any progress towards recovering her memories. We were close, but still the truth of her past eluded her.

Today was another Yukari day, and we came back to the dorm together as evening fell. "Sooner or later, you're going to run out of new shops to take me to." I warned her.

She grinned at me, shouldering a small bag with a colorful logo on it. "That's not gonna stop me from trying to make you over, though."

I sighed good-naturedly as we made our way to the stairs. "There's a limit to how much you can shape me in your likeness, you know…"

Yukari was unperturbed. "Well then, I'm going to find it!" She replied cheerily.

Her attitude always shined through despite the loss of her memories, and I smiled to myself as we made our way to the third floor. We paused when we saw Junpei waiting near the door to my room. His eyes quickly focused on mine.

"Junpei? What are you doing up here?" Yukari asked with only a little hint of suspicion in her voice. While he had been in a very different mood the last few weeks and still looked no better, it was still Junpei loitering on the girls' floor.

His eyes remained on me. "I'm here to talk to Mitsuru-senpai, that's all." He said flatly. I noticed he had his sketchbook under his arm.

Yukari looked at me questioningly. "Senpai?" She seemed to want my input.

I smiled reassuringly at her. "It's fine. We can catch up more later, Yukari. Thanks for going out with me today." I replied.

She watched me for a moment before shrugging. "Well, you two have fun then." She said before disappearing into her room with a last glance at Junpei.

His eyes lingered on her door after it shut, and only returned to me when I moved over to stand next to him. "Did you finish your drawing?" I asked him expectantly. He'd gone back to being a ghost in the days since I'd established my social link with him. I could only hope he'd been making progress.

He nodded, but he didn't seem particularly enthusiastic as he handed me the sketchbook, a small bookmark telling me where to look. I frowned at him for a moment before opening the book to the indicated page.

He'd filled several pages. I blinked as I slowly leafed through them, one after another. Every page was covered in abstract drawings, but I could make out a few distinct objects here and there. Eyes and flowers seemed to be the most prevalent. It carried on for more than a dozen pages before I finally reached blank paper.

I glanced up at Junpei again, a little baffled. He was watching me expectantly. "These are really beautiful, Iori." I complimented him.

He frowned, but nodded again nonetheless. "Thanks…" he replied.

I couldn't understand his reactions. I looked back and forth between him and the sketchbook several times. "I didn't know you were such an artist."

Junpei sighed, scratching his head. "The thing is, I'm pretty sure I'm not."

I blinked at him. "What do you mean? You drew all this, didn't you?" I asked, confused.

He shrugged, looking a little confused himself. "My hand drew those, yes. I don't feel like it was me, though. When I draw lately, it feels like someone else is taking over and doing it for me." He explained.

I frowned at him for several seconds before something clicked. "Someone else?"

"Yeah. Not me." He eyed me warily. "What, do you think it's a ghost or something?"

I shook my head, smiling a little. "What if it's someone who's inside you?"

Junpei flinched. I saw a flicker of recognition in his expression. "Someone inside me?"

"Yeah. Someone important to you. Someone who became a part of you when they couldn't carry on anymore." I watched him intently. "Maybe someone who saved you in the process."

His gaze left mine, and he stared at the opposite wall without speaking for a moment. He shivered, and I realized tears were rolling down his cheeks moments before he covered his eyes with one hand. "I…" he began, before stopping and taking a breath. "How did I forget? You even told me her name again…" he said, his voice wavering. "Chidori…"

I set a hand on his arm. "Are you alright…?" I asked quietly.

He eventually moved his hand away to look at me once more. "I wasn't… but, maybe now I can finally get there." he finally smiled.

My fingers gently squeezed his arm. "Good." I said, my smile persisting for a little longer before it faded. "When you're ready, though… there's some things you need to be caught up on." I hated bringing it up while he was likely grieving all over again, but he needed to know about Nyx at some point.

His expression was serious as he stared at me, drying his eyes with the back of one hand. "I'll be okay. Whatever it is sounds important." His eyes met mine. "Fill me in."

Junpei was surprisingly quick to latch on to the details of the situation once informed. I guessed he was eager for the distraction, now. With his memories now returned, that left us with only Yukari's to recover. Sadly, that problem continued to elude me, and I spent another evening up late stressing over her situation that night.

The ceiling of my room offered me no comfort as I considered our situation as objectively as I could. Maybe Yukari simply wouldn't recover. Maybe we could handle Nyx without her. I grimaced to myself. That didn't sound like a great gamble. Then again, last time we'd fought Nyx, we'd won pretty much entirely off the back of Minato's sacrifice.

If we weren't going in with full strength, that implied we were planning to make another sealing attempt, or something similarly risky. I didn't like that. My mind went to my chats with Igor in the blue room. Maybe whatever power he saw sleeping within me would do the trick. I hadn't learned anything new about it lately, though, despite cultivating my social links.

My musing was interrupted as the ticking of the clock suddenly stopped. The light in my room went out, and sickly green darkness spread over everything. I sat up in a flash. Another dark hour. We'd seen two more brief, quiet ones in the last week. Few shadows had appeared. This time felt different. I had a sense of foreboding as I got out of bed and began gathering my gear.

My suspicions were confirmed when Fuuka's voice rang in my head a minute later. "Senpai, we've got problems. Come to the lobby, quickly." I gritted my teeth before heading out the door and down the stairs.

I was apparently the last one to arrive. Everyone but Yukari, Ken and Koromaru awaited me in the lounge when I came down the stairs onto the first floor. They were all armed and ready as well. Fuuka had her persona summoned, and its glassy lower half encased her as always as her extended senses canvassed the area.

Her eyes snapped up to mine as she approached. "Lots of shadows. Way too many of them, all over the city." She reported at a frantic clip.

I shivered. With no more Tartarus to contain them, I could only imagine a swell of shadows would run rampant across anyone unlucky enough to be conscious during the dark hour. "Any big ones?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "They're all ordinary shadows, as far as I can tell." She looked pale behind the protection of her persona. "There's just… a lot of them, and they're everywhere."

Minato spoke up from nearby. His fingers tapped away at the hilt of the rapier by his waist as he did. "We should form teams and try to cover as many areas as we can. If they're ordinary shadows, we don't need to all be together to handle them."

I saw the others nodding. It seemed sensible enough. "Okay. Teams of two, everyone has someone watching their back. I can cover port island, since my motorcycle will let me get there the fastest."

Minato nodded at me. "I'm with you." That reassured me a bit.

Aigis was the next to chime in. "I will work with Ryoji. He can scout out shadows for me, and I will exterminate them." She said calmly.

Ryoji blinked at her for a moment before smiling slightly. "I'm fine with that. We can cover downtown, since neither of us will need to take a break getting there."

Akihiko stepped up alongside Junpei, who looked antsy as he clutched his sword. "Guess that leaves us." He noted, before glancing at Fuuka. "Where should we go?"

Fuuka closed her eyes for a long moment before replying. "Ken and Koromaru seem to already be working in the area around Naganaki shrine. You two should clear out the areas adjacent to the dorm."

"Fine by me." Junpei replied. Akihiko nodded his agreement.

"Let's get moving, then. We're losing people every minute." I said as I headed for the door with Minato on my heels.

It didn't take us long to get to port island, though Minato looked a little frazzled as he hopped off the back of my bike. I made a mental note to buy him a helmet sometime.

Paulownia mall was closed at this hour, and few shadows lurked around it. We dispatched them quickly on our way through to the hospital.

There were far more shadows congregating there, and we found several staff members out of their coffins and lying or sitting on the floor with blank stares. We were too late to help them. We tore through the monsters crowding the halls with sword and spell as we searched for survivors.

"There!" Minato shouted as he pointed to a door at the end of one of the halls we passed. Several shadows were crowding around it, and one that had taken the form of a muscular man with chalk-white skin was bashing away at it with its shoulder. As we approached, I could hear people clamoring from the other side.

The assembled shadows turned towards us as we neared. My vision flashed blue as I pressed my evoker to my temple and fired. "Penthesilea!" I called aloud.

"Mabufudyne." The voice in my head chanted, and a swirl of wintery air surrounded the clustered shadows, quickly coating them with ice.

"Surt!" Minato cried as he summoned one of his own personas. A black and red demon appeared before him, and with a flick of his wrist, he ignited all of the frozen shadows at once. The ice shattered, and most of the monsters vanished promptly without ever having had a chance to attack.

The strongman was the only one left, and he rushed at us. Our personas winked out of existence as we split up to either side of him. He took a swing at Minato, who ducked under the strike easily before piercing the monster's chest with his rapier. I did the same from the other side, attacking its exposed back.

It burst into black smoke with an anguished cry, and then Minato and I were alone in the hallway again. I headed to the door and knocked on it. "Are you okay?" I asked, raising my voice.

A muffled voice replied from the other side. "Wh-what the hell is going on? I'm not opening this door!"

I sighed. Hopefully they'd forget about this promptly once the dark hour ended. "Good. Keep the door locked until it stops looking… weird." I said.

Nobody replied. I glanced at Minato, who shrugged. Suddenly, Fuuka's voice was in my head again. "I don't detect any more shadows in the area of the hospital. Your last stop is port island station."

I nodded seriously at that, and Minato and I hurried out of the hospital. My bike got us to the station quickly, but it was clearly far too late by the time we arrived.

Shadows swarmed the plaza. Every person I could see was already down, with eyes glazed over and unseeing. "That is a lot of them…" Minato said a little uncertainly. He looked worn out. Dealing with so many shadows already had exhausted us both. Handling this many more might be out of our reach.

"Stay together. Let's conserve our strength." I said. He followed me as we dove into the crowded plaza and began to kill shadow after shadow. It quickly became apparent that there were far more even than we had anticipated. We found ourselves getting pushed towards the center of the plaza as more and more of them continued to flank us.

Minato summoned another persona that hailed lightning on several of the shadows surrounding us, but too many more rose to take their place. He didn't look like he had that many left in him. I growled as I looked out over our assembled enemies. I wasn't much better off.

I took a shaky breath as I dodged another strike, pierced another shadow, and pressed my evoker to the side of my head. "Protect us!" I implored as I called on my persona.

Penthesilea glowed brightly as she appeared above me. Something was different about her. "As you wish." Her voice was melodic in my mind. She spread her arms wide and cast a spell I hadn't seen before. "Megidolaon!"

Pinkish energy exploded from my persona to wash over the shadows around us. It tore almost every one of them apart as it went, and I felt a wave of exhaustion when at last it was over. Penthesilea disappeared. My shoulders sagged as I gasped another breath.

Minato rushed to dispatch the stragglers while I recovered. By the time I felt like I could take another swing, the station was clear. The only other people around were too far gone for us to help.

Minato moved to my side and set a hand on my shoulder. "That was really something. Are you okay?" He asked.

I nodded wearily at him. "Yes… I'll be alright. I guess I've gotten stronger without realizing it…" I mused. I frowned miserably as I looked around at the victims scattered throughout the station. "A shame that it came too late."

Minato sighed dejectedly. "We did everything we could." He said consolingly.

I continued staring around the station as I contemplated this for a moment, before Fuuka's voice came to me again. "The others are reporting all-clear. It looks like most of the shadows have been dealt with."

Almost on cue, the sickly green light that hung over the world receded as the dark hour came to an end. I watched as the coffins surrounding us suddenly vanished to reveal dazed-looking bystanders. I felt little relief as I gestured to Minato, heading towards where I'd parked my bike. "Let's go. We can't be here when people come to their senses."

We all met in the meeting room when we got back. Even Ken and Koromaru made it, apparently having been called by Fuuka. I looked over the group with a grim expression. None of them looked particularly happy. "How did it go for the rest of you?" I asked.

"Sanada-senpai and I cleared out the nearby shadows pretty quickly. We rescued a few girls, but that's it." Junpei replied.

"Ryoji and I were also able to efficiently clear out the shadows downtown, but we were too late to help anyone. We had no quick way to track people over shadows."

Aigis added.

"There weren't really any people around the shrine. Just monsters." Ken reported. Koromaru backed him up with a bark.

I grimaced. We'd dealt with the shadows, but saved virtually no one. "This is bad." I said simply.

Fuuka nodded with a frown. "We probably should've anticipated this."

Akihiko sighed. "How could we? We've never seen the shadows do this before." He countered with exasperation in his voice.

I interrupted them. "There's no point arguing it. We need to be ready to head out at a moment's notice from now on."

"Agreed." Minato said sadly.

Ryoji, who'd been pensive and quiet up until now, spoke up with a slightly uncomfortable note in his voice. "I'm afraid I have more bad news to add…"

Everyone turned to look at him. "What is it?" I asked.

He looked away. "I've been keeping an eye on Nyx's presence. She's been escaping the seal faster and faster lately. I can now say with some certainty that she'll return before the end of the month."

I felt myself pale a little. "That leaves us with only a week or two, at best…" Fuuka noted quietly.

"And with the shadows acting like that…" Akihiko added miserably.

Ryoji hurried to clarify the situation. "Tonight may have been an anomaly. While I'm fairly certain the dark hour will be more consistent now, I can't imagine it'll muster that many shadows every night. The limited time is our main concern."

I looked over the group again. Everyone looked strained. I wished I could offer them more hope. "It seems like we could all use some rest. Our objectives haven't changed, even if we're more pressed for time now. Stay focused and don't let the stress get to you." I saw a few small smiles and nods as I finished. "Meeting adjourned."

My dreams took me to the velvet room that night. I opened the door and stepped inside again, taking my usual seat across from Igor, eyeing him as he grinned at me. "Welcome back." He greeted me cheerfully.

"It's a little bothersome that you can call me here from my dreams whenever you want." I reflected with a sigh.

Igor wagged a finger at me. "Now, now. The door is right behind you. You are free to leave at any time. Surely you do not think I would hold you hostage?"

I glanced back at the door, then returned my attention to Igor. "What is it this time?" I asked.

He laughed. "I'm so glad you've decided to stay." He quickly calmed down and stared at me with a serious look in his eyes. "Your persona is growing stronger."

I recalled the unexpected display of power Penthesilea had shown me earlier in the evening. "I can't deny that. I'm still not sure what the end goal is, though. I learned new skills, but I'm not sure that's enough to beat Nyx."

Igor thoughtfully tapped his chin with one finger. "It's less about power, and more about influence. You influence your peers to grow strong through your presence. That, in turn, strengthens you. It is a cycle that makes each of you exponentially more powerful." He explained with a grin. "Your true power is nurtured by this process, just as the power of the one who influenced you was."

I frowned at him. "The one who influenced me?" I asked. Suddenly something occurred to me. "Are you talking about Minato?" I leaned forward in my seat as I spoke.

Igor's grin was wider than ever. "I'm not at liberty to divulge that information. Suffice to say, the power sleeping within you is the result of many others' influence upon you. One in particular added a certain spark that allowed it to begin manifesting."

"Cryptic as ever." I groaned. "Am I almost there, at least?"

He seemed thoughtful for another moment. "You will get there when the time is right." He replied. He glanced behind him at a clock that hung over the room, constantly spinning at high speed. "It seems our time is up."

I had to wonder how he'd gleaned any information from that thing. "I guess I'll be seeing you again?" I said a little uncertainly.

He nodded sagely to me as my vision began to go white. "For the last time."

I almost wanted to stay in my room the following morning. I had a lot to think about, and was still feeling a bit worn out from last night. Still, I recognized that moping would do me precious little good. I didn't have time for it now.

I came downstairs into the lounge to find Yukari sitting on one of the couches. She seemed to be watching TV. She gave me a small wave as I came into sight, and I returned it as I moved to sit next to her a moment later. "Good morning, Senpai." She greeted me. She didn't seem particularly chipper.

I started to understand why as I caught some of the news broadcast she'd been watching. "Medical experts are as yet unable to determine the cause of the mysterious illness that suddenly swept the nation last night, but thus far nobody affected has recovered. It is informally being dubbed 'Apathy Syndrome'..." The anchor droned on and on.

"Scary, isn't it?" Yukari said quietly. I realized she was looking at me now.

I supposed the world had to have forgotten Apathy Syndrome when the dark hour disappeared. This would be new to her. "Yes, it is. I wonder what's causing it?" I replied somewhat disingenuously.

Yukari shivered a little. "I've got no idea. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before, though…"

I blinked, reeling for several moments before giving her a long look. That was the first time she'd ever said anything that could indicate a conflict with her new memories. "Where have you seen it before?" I asked her.

She seemed to think on it for a moment before shrugging. "I'm not sure. It just seems familiar." She gave me a small smile. "It was probably a long time ago."

I was encountering resistance again already, but that couldn't stop me from feeling giddy with excitement. Was I finally going to be able to break through to her? I'd have to keep an eye on her. "I'm sure it'll come back to you eventually." I said as I returned her smile.

She laughed softly as she turned off the TV. "Maybe. Or maybe it's just déjà vu." She got up and stretched as she spoke. "Sorry to cut this short, but I need to get going. I'm meeting a friend today." She winked at me. "Let's hang out again soon, okay?" She said as she departed for the door.

"Definitely." I replied as I waved a goodbye to her. Like that, she was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts in the quiet of the lounge. I sincerely hoped I was not being misled by Yukari's mismatched memories. I badly wanted her to remember.

I wasn't sure what else to do with my day. A quick search around the dorm didn't find Minato, or any of the others, around. Maybe I'd go out myself. Perhaps I could do some more prep at the lab…

I stepped out into the lot behind the building to find Aigis wandering around with a lost look on her face. Her attention went to me as I waved to her. "Good morning, Aigis." I greeted her. "I don't often see you out of the dorm these days."

She eyed me for a moment before nodding. "With both Minato and Ryoji out, I have little to occupy myself with today." She explained simply.

I glanced at my motorcycle, then back at her. "Well, I was about to head to the lab for a bit, if you'd like to come with me." I gestured to my bike. "Though… I'm not sure how you'd handle the ride."

She followed my gaze to the bike. "I may be a bit heavy for it. I would not want to risk causing damage to your vehicle."

I shrugged after a moment, smiling at her. "Well, I don't particularly mind taking a walk today, so the offer's still open."

Aigis considered that for a moment before nodding. "Let us walk, then. It will give me time to process." She replied.

A few minutes later we were on our way downtown to the lab, walking through quiet residential areas. Aigis was mostly silent, staring at our surroundings with evident curiosity. My thoughts kept drifting to Nyx, and social links, and Yukari. I needed a distraction. "So what exactly are you processing?" I asked at last, giving her a look.

She blinked for a moment, as if realizing that I was still there. She frowned as she met my gaze. "I have been considering my past."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Ten years ago, you mean?"

She nodded slowly. "I have been talking to Ryoji at length, and it has begun to make me reconsider my view of the events of that night."

"Talking to Ryoji, huh?" Her eyes quickly left mine. I felt myself smile a little before getting back on topic. "So, what's changed?"

She stared at the ground in front of our feet as she replied. "I am beginning to wonder if I could have done something else then. That decision still haunts me sometimes, but was it a decision?"

I frowned as I considered the question. "Well, I wasn't there, mind you, so I'm working from your account of the story. But as far as I can tell, Death was quite dangerous and inhuman at the time. If you hadn't sealed him and couldn't kill him, he'd have carried on killing, and eventually have brought Nyx back anyways."

She looked very sad as she nodded at my assessment. "That has been my understanding of the situation for a long time. But… it is so strange. Neither I nor Ryoji are the people we were then. I felt no remorse for my actions then. Neither did he. Now it weighs on both of us more than anything."

I shrugged my shoulders, giving her another smile. "Bad decisions or no, it sounds like you've both grown a lot since then." My smile faded as another thought occurred to me. "Could you have sealed Death inside yourself? What prevented that?" I asked.

She gave me a perplexed look. "From what I understand, sealing a shadow inside oneself requires a soul."

I blinked at her. "And you don't have one?"

Aigis looked away from me. "I do not know. I am a machine, so presumably I do not."

That didn't quite add up in my head. "But you have a human mind, human enough to be capable of creating a persona. If you can contain a persona, why couldn't you contain a shadow?"

Aigis opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. Slowly her gaze returned to me. "You… may have a point." She frowned yet again. "Does that mean I ultimately did make a mistake by sealing Death inside Minato?"

I shook my head. "Don't think of it like that. If you did, it's pretty clear the person you are now wouldn't repeat that mistake." I gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it."

"I will try not to." She replied, and soon after the two of us lapsed back into silence as we covered the rest of the distance to the lab.

The lab was looking considerably cozier when we arrived than it had when I'd first arrived with Akihiko. Potential projects had been sorted out onto the tables scattered around the room, and useful materials organized on the nearby shelves. I quickly began taking stock of what I'd need for today as I stepped inside with Aigis in tow.

Aigis wandered through the lab with an odd expression on her face. I eyed her as I hauled a box of spare parts off a nearby shelf. "Are you alright?" I asked.

She looked at me again as I set the box down on a table in front of me. "I was originally shut down here after the incident ten years ago."

I recalled the journal I'd found when I'd come here with Akihiko. "Oh. Yes, this would've been the place, wouldn't it?" I paused as another idea came to me. "I wonder if they'd have your schematics on file?" I said as I set aside my would-be project and headed over to one of the research terminals, signing in.

Aigis seemed intrigued by the idea, moving to my side to peer over my shoulder at the screen. It took some digging, but eventually, I managed to track them down. My eyes widened as I scrolled through pages and pages of diagrams. "Wow. You're complicated." I said as I glanced back over my shoulder at my robotic companion.

She was staring at the schematics, and it took her a moment to respond. Eventually, she looked at me with a questioning expression. "May I?" She said as she gestured to the keyboard. I stepped aside, and she quickly went to work examining her mechanical makeup in detail.

"Everything is here…" she said quietly, eyes fixed on the screen. "Me…"

I frowned. "This must be odd for you." I noted.

She slowly shook her head, and I saw a smile spreading over her lips. "No. It is an answer."

Aigis spent most of our lab visit looking through the details of her construction, occasionally pausing to help me find or build something. We left late in the day, and she parted from me quickly when we returned home, looking distracted. "I will see you again soon." she'd said.

I was eager for a break. I headed upstairs and knocked on Yukari's door. No response. I knocked again. Still nothing. She hadn't been in the lounge either. Was she still out?

Fuuka passed behind me, looking a little weary as she headed for her room. I quickly tapped her on the shoulder, and she gave me a questioning look as she stopped in her tracks. "Have you seen Yukari around?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "I haven't, sorry. I'd help you look for her, but…" she stretched with a little yawn, looking embarrassed afterwards.

I smiled at her. "It's alright. I'm sure she'll be around sometime soon. Have a nice rest, Yamagishi." I said cordially. She looked relieved, and gave me an apologetic smile as she hurried to her room.

I supposed I'd just have to wait around. Neither she nor Minato seemed to be home. I wasted time in my room until late in the night. The dark hour came and went without trouble, and I drifted off to sleep soon after as my mind wandered.

I woke feeling surprisingly refreshed, and headed out into the hall, knocking on Yukari's door again. Still nothing. Was she staying somewhere else? Perhaps it was just too early for her. I went down a floor and decided to check on Minato. He opened it after a moment, and I grinned as I saw the headphones hanging around his neck. I guessed his habits never changed.

"Got time for me today?" I asked politely.

He opened the door wider, giving me a mock bow. "Of course. Won't you come in?"

I nodded gratefully as I stepped inside and promptly sat down on the bed. He shut the door and followed me, sitting next to me after a moment. My grin remained as I watched him. He really looked back to his old self. I found it a little more difficult to be concerned with dark hours or death gods when I was alone with him. "How are you doing?" I asked.

He looked exaggeratedly thoughtful for a moment before responding. "I'm still a little worn from that adventure the night before last, but otherwise I'm feeling quite refreshed." He winked at me. "You really are the best medicine for me."

My smile turned a little wistful, despite the happiness I felt at his continued recovery. "It's a shame that every time you get better, our schedule gets a little tighter." I reflected, recalling Ryoji's news about Nyx.

I gasped in surprise as he put an arm around my waist and pulled me closer, leaning close to me to give me a chiding expression face-to-face. "Always. Worrying." He said seriously, before planting a quick kiss on my lips. I sighed softly into his mouth before he pulled away. "You've spent this whole month preparing. Take a few seconds to enjoy yourself."

My cheeks heated a little as I met his gaze, enjoying the sudden closeness. Suddenly it was easier than ever to follow his advice. I gently set a hand on his cheek, grinning at him again. "If you insist." I replied.

He returned my smile, and I felt a shiver run down my spine at how good it made him look. "You know, I'd originally come here to ask you out for the day." I said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I wondered if he was reading me, even now. "Originally?"

I was definitely blushing now. "Now I think I might like to stay in."

"That can be arranged." He said, his voice husky as he pulled me into another kiss, his hands just starting to roam over my body. My arms slid around him as I leaned into his touch.

I was just beginning to get into it when a knock at the door forced us apart. Minato groaned, looking frustrated. "I don't want to answer it…" he lamented.

I frowned at him, mirroring his frustration. "It might be important, though…"

He looked at the door for a moment before leaning close to me again, his eyes fixing on mine. "To be continued." He said firmly. I gave him an abashed smile as he hopped off the bed and went to the door, opening it just a little to peer out at his visitor. "What's up, Akihiko?" He asked.

I heard Akihiko's muffled voice from the other side. "I can't find Mitsuru anywhere. You're next in line. We need to address this, now."

Minato was handed something from the other side of the door, and I watched him slowly pale as he read what looked like a note. "Give me a moment." He said to Akihiko before shutting the door. He hurried over to the bed.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"This is bad. Read." He said as he presented the note to me.

I took it and read through it. It was scrawled hastily in what looked like pen, on a scrap of paper. I slowly read it aloud. "I have your friend Yukari. Come alone and unarmed to the location below, or she dies." Below was listed the address of someplace downtown.

I glanced up at Minato as I bit down on the panic welling up in my chest. "We need to hurry."