Saturday, August 4, 2012, 12:52 PM

"You should've told them something, you know," I scolded. He didn't have the energy to answer. His eyes were shut, and it seemed that I'd lost him again. I sighed, frustrated. I'd been trying to avoid the word, but there was no escaping it: I was completely powerless, and it hurt to know that.

I practically had to drag him to the couch and force him to lie down. I quietly listened to him breathe. Maybe it's a weird thing for me to focus on, but when the strangled chokes and near-silent screams from the other side of the door filled my nightmares...And I also couldn't shake the feeling that it would stop again, like it had over the phone, and on the street.

...There had to be something more I could do.

I headed into the kitchen and pulled out my cell phone and Mitsuru's card. I guess while I was talking, I could apologize for giving out her e-mail. I dialled her number and waited.

"...Good afternoon." Her voice was fairly distinct, so I knew it was her, but I decided to be formal anyway.

"Hello. Is this Mitsuru Kirijo?"

"Yes. And this is...?"

"Yosuke Hanamura. I'm Set- Narukami's friend."

"Yes. Good afternoon."

"...I-I'm sorry, are you busy?" The thought struck me rather suddenly, and I cringed. "I mean, I never am, so I didn't really think about it-" Damnit, shut up.

I swear, for a moment, I heard her laugh, but I couldn't be sure. "No. I'm not busy until later this evening."

I sighed in relief. "Good...good." There was a slight pause. Right. I called. Might as well get to the point. "Um...I guess I'm calling to try and figure some things out...And I thought you might have the answers."

"I can't promise that I will, but you may ask if I can ask a few of my own."

"Y-yeah, of course. Um...in fact, you can start." Why was I so uncomfortable?

"...If you're certain. I thought you were calling because you may've learned something."

"Oh...um...no. I managed to use an evoker for the first time, but all that I've really discovered is that throats are very fragile things, there are some very important blood vessels in your arm that should never be severed, and that adrenaline can make you do some really, really reckless shit..." Did I forget who I was talking to?! "Gah, sorry! I really need to watch my mouth...geez..."

"...Were you in a fight?" Mitsuru asked.

"...We were on the receiving end of a slaughter," I sighed heavily, leaning against the counter. "I don't know the details, but when Seta freaks out, this Persona named Thanatos appears-"

"Thanatos?"

Her tone said that she knew who I was talking about, and I quickly jumped in. "Yeah. Any idea who he is?"

"Yes. He is Death personified."

"...Well, that explains why he tried to cut my head off." I sighed again. "Thanatos is absolutely batshi-...Sorry. He's out of control. Seta can't get him to stop a rampage once he's started."

"I'd assume only Arisato could. Death dwelled within him for ten years, therefore, he was able to use its powers for his own."

...'Dwelled within him'...? I decided not to press on that one. "If he can't control it, we're going to have bigger problems than Shadows. Any ideas on what we should do?"

"I'm afraid not. You should consult Arisato. You said you could, right?"

I nodded to myself. "Mmhm."

"...How?"

"How?"

"How do you consult him?"

...Uh...

"I think Seta put it best: I have no idea. Seta...meditates? I think? Some weird combination of meditating and fainting...It's honestly a bit unnerving...And I've only heard him twice, once on the train, once on the couch...He said Social Links were involved, but I don't know much more."

"...Does Narukami have Social Links like Arisato did?"

"Yeah. Apparently, they're kind of sharing them now...I don't know how to explain it. Just saying what I was told. Sorry." I sighed. "I'm a bit out of touch. I'm still trying to work things out."

"...To be fair, I'm not quite up to date myself." Judging by her tone, this wasn't common, nor did she like it. "So please, give me a call if you discover anything. At the moment, I'm currently trying to get my high school team back together...it's a bit difficult. Aigis is currently doing overseas work, and Akihiko is currently in the Canadian Rocky Mountains fighting grizzly bears with his fists...at least, that's what Iori tells me." She sounded amused.

...Dude, who the hell was Akihiko? He sounded awesome. I managed to keep myself from saying that out loud.

"Any way I could help?" I offered.

"...You should get your team together. Narukami said he had one, didn't he? And I assume you're in it. You two seem close." ...Close? She could say that again. But if she did, I'd probably feel a bit awkward. "The more people we have investigating, the better our chances are of solving this."

I sighed. "About that...Seta doesn't want them involved. He refuses to tell them anything."

"Why not?" But she sounded like she knew.

"...The two of us nearly died the other day. He doesn't want anyone else to get hurt, so he's only going to tell them what they need to know, I guess."

"I was like that when I was his age..." She sighed. "It's a very dangerous path to take, because you never know exactly what they need to know until it's too late."

"I gave Yukiko...a member of the team...your e-mail. I know I probably shouldn't have, but I was hoping maybe you could fill them in. You seem to know more than I do, and Seta's being stubborn."

"I'll do what I can."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I'm really worried about him."

There was a long stretch of silence, and finally, I heard something that caught me off guard: She was laughing. Not mean spiritedly, just...happily. "You really do remind me of several people I know...Thank you."

...Why was she thanking me...? As soon as the shock of it wore off, though, I was pretty sure I knew why. "...Yeah. I hope...Akihiko-san comes back from Canada soon...or something..."

She gave a light breath of amusement. "Yes. I'm sure he will. And once we've gathered everyone, I'll make sure you meet them." I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it. "That reminds me. I've picked up something important on the Dark Hour. It's not leaving Tatsumi Port Island."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It doesn't exist outside of the area...Outside of the fog. I had a few people test it for me, and it's not happening anywhere outside the foggy regions of the city."

...What was the importance of the fog this time?

"Last time I saw this much fog, it was bad news. When you hear from Yukiko, you should ask her and the others to investigate the other side. I would, but it's not safe to enter the TV from where we are."

"Should I save my questions about this 'other side' for her?"

I thought for a moment before answering. "Yeah. She's probably better with words than me, so it might be best that way." There was a long silence, and finally, I muttered, "...Anything else?"

"...How is Narukami?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"...He was very distressed when I left. ...I lost my father when I was his age, so I empathize. I just wanted to make sure he was holding up."

...It hadn't hit me that Mitsuru was...well, a human being, I guess, until she said that. I'd seen her more as an authority figure, a higher up...

"Not great. But he hasn't had much time to mourn properly since he's been fighting a high fever and a few mental assaults. Being connected to Minato-san hasn't been good for his health."

"..." She thought about that for a moment. "I'm not sure a human body was made to stand assaults from a being like Erebus, nor whatever second beast you mentioned."

"No kidding. I swear a few of his ribs are broken, and I don't know how it happened. It's like he's caving in on himself." And the truth was that this scared me.

"...I know someone who may be able to help. She was our team medic. I'm not sure if it'll do much, but I can call her and ask her to assist you."

I moved to the doorway and glanced over at Seta, silently fighting for his life on the couch. "I'll take any help I can get," I said softly.

"I can have her there in an hour, if you'd like."

That fast...? "I-If it's not interrupting anything..."

"I don't think so. I'll ask her."

I nodded to myself. "Thank you."

There was an unfamiliar voice on the other end, to which Mitsuru responded before getting back to me. "I'm afraid I have to get going. Thank you for the call." I imagined that she was a busy woman...

"Yeah. Let me know if anything comes up."

"You too. Goodbye."

"Seeya." I ended the call and lowered the phone, glancing at the front door. I wondered who this medic was. I really hoped she could help us...help him. Because we were struggling.

I hung up the phone and headed for Seta's room before going to the bathroom, removing the bandages from my bloody shoulder. It was beginning to ooze who knew what, and hurt to move even slightly. I took a wet cloth and tried to clean it again, which always ended up with me trying not to scream and swear so badly that Kanji would be impressed. It was what I'd loosely call 'luck' that my injured arm and my injured fingers had both been on my non-dominant side. Otherwise, the whole thing would've been that much harder.

One of my fingers was broken, or at least dislocated, and there was a lot of swelling, making them hard to move. What a pain...I sighed out loud to myself and began to reapply clean bandages. We'd be out of them soon. With how useless my arm felt, I knew we should probably both be going to the hospital, but what would we tell them? That a couple of samurai broke the door down during a secret hour no one could see? Yeah, right. Seta and I'd had a hard enough time trying to explain to the people in the lobby what had happened to the front door. (They'd managed to call in people to replace it yesterday. We'd slept despite the noise, which, ironically, probably meant we were the only people on that floor who'd gotten any sleep that morning.)

When Seta's phone rang about forty five minutes later, I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello. Um...I'm Mitsuru's friend. Could you call the front desk and tell them to let me and...um...my 'doll' in?" Her doll...? "They keep saying no, because he's from outside, but it's kind of important..."

"Alright. Just give me a moment..." I wasn't exactly sure how to go about it, so I simply told them that she was there to help us fix the second broken door and that her doll was for stress relief, even though I had no idea what it looked like or what it was of, for that matter. Apparently, it worked, because a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and I opened it.

The woman standing before me was...um...well. She was pretty. I guess that was the word I was looking for. She had brown hair slightly below her shoulders, and wore a low cut, pink, long sleeved shirt with a thin white overshirt. Her shorts, which were a bit too short for the weather, were white. In her arms, she carried her 'doll', which was actually pretty massive for a doll...it was of a white dog with red eyes, and it hung rather limply. I'd never seen a more realistic looking 'doll', but it wasn't budging, so...

"Good afternoon." She smiled tentatively. "Are you Yosuke Hanamura or Seta Narukami...?"

"H-Hanamura." Why was I blushing...? "C-Come in..." I quickly turned away.

"Hey, no need to blush." She seemed more flattered than she did embarrassed. She stepped inside, shutting the door with her foot. "My name is Yukari Takeba. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I glanced over my shoulder. "That's...um...a really big doll."

"Oh? Oh. Yeah. I guess...It's not really a doll though."

"Yeah, seems too big for that label..."

"No, not even that. This is Koromaru, and he's playing dead."

...It was alive...?! I knew it was realistic, but holy crap...! How well trained was he?!

"Are either of you allergic? He's been with Fuuka-a friend of mine-for quite a bit, and it was my turn to see him, so I didn't want to leave him...I hope that's okay."

"I-It's fine. Seta's more of a cat person, but I think he likes dogs, too."

She nodded. "Alright. They said they didn't allow outside pets...It's stupid, because I heard a dog barking on my way up the elevator. Ridiculous...Good boy, Koro. It's safe now." Just like that, the red eyed dog lifted its head and licked her face, wagging its tail. She giggled and put him down. "Alright, I know what I'm here for. Let's see the damage. We can start with you."

I shook my head. "I don't think we should..." I muttered, shooting a glance at the couch. "We should start with Seta. How much did Kirijo-san tell you?"

"Mitsuru's told me about a few things..." She fell quiet. "She told me that Seta's in touch with Minato..." Her voice was trembling... "M-Minato was my boyfriend."

...Oh. Oh, ouch.

"I-I'm sorry...I-I've spoken to him, he seems nice..." ...IDIOT.

"You've spoken to him...?!" Her eyes grew wide. "Is he okay...?"

"I think so. He's...he's a badass. That's for sure." I was remembering him blowing up the demon hellspawns as I said it. And then I realized that I was talking to my senpai. Again. What was wrong with me today?! "When did I get so informal?! Agh, I'm sorry..."

"No, no, it's okay." She smiled easily. "C'mon, take a seat. Mitsuru said it was your shoulder...?"

"Y-Yeah." I decided not to protest, and I took a seat in the rolling chair. She sat at the dinner table next to me.

...I was very, very uncomfortable taking off my jacket in front of her. I couldn't say why. Taking off my jacket should not feel like stripping. I felt unclean. But she didn't seem to notice my discomfort. It may've had something to do with the fact that the shirt I was wearing revealed my arms, but I'd only chosen to wear that because I didn't want anything else rubbing up against the bandages, and the jacket was because it was too damn cold in here. Though to be honest, I was sweating for some reason now...She placed her hand against my elbow. I flinched.

WHY WAS I SO UNCOMFORTABLE?!

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

"N-No." I looked out the window, my face heating up. "I-I mean, yeah, but not because you're touching it." ...Damnit!

She smirked. "You're so cute."

"Please don't say that..." I begged quietly.

She chuckled. "Alright, I'm going to take off the bandages. Let me know if it stings. I'll try to be careful."

It did sting, but I'd be damned if I said so. She eventually said something to break the silence. "...You know, Koro-chan's been staring at the fridge since we got here...Is everything alright, Koro-chan?"

"Grr..."

"The fridge is evil," I said, finally finding my voice. "Don't mind it too much."

"Evil...?" She seemed confused, but decided not to press for details. Her eyes narrowed as she finally finished removing the bandages, exposing the run through arm. She bit her lip. "What caused this?"

"...There's this Persona called Thanatos...do you know of him?"

She winced. "Yeah. I know of him. He was Minato's."

"Seta couldn't control him, so...I guess being Death...he decided to kill everything. Including me. It was rough."

She nodded. "I can imagine...can you move it?"

I shook my head. "No."

She nodded slightly, slowly taking my wrist and lifting my hand. "And here?"

"...Seta and I had a slight argument. He tried to slam the door on me, and I put my fingers in the doorway without thinking."

She cringed. "Oh, ouch...what were you fighting about?"

"Fighting may be the wrong word...Thanatos put both of his parents in the hospital, and one of them passed away...I guess I just said what he didn't want to hear: That he felt responsible for it."

She frowned. "Oh...that must be hard for him."

"It is. I can't imagine how that must be affecting his nightmares, especially with his fever..."

She nodded her agreement before reaching into her pocket and pulling out an evoker. "By the way, if you've found a way to summon your Persona without an evoker, I'd really like to learn how sometime." She managed a wry smile before she placed it to her forehead and pulled the trigger. Her Persona appeared behind her. It looked like the upper half of a woman draped in a large cloak, with wings and a huge gemstone between two horns on its forehead. It was kind of weird, but...well, my Persona was a red and blue blade ringed...thing, with fire hair, so who was I to complain?

Energy began to swirl around my arm, and I was amazed by how quickly it felt better. The swelling and bruising in my hand began to mend itself, and the pain throbbing in my shoulder began to fade. I could practically feel the internal damage beginning to heal. It stopped after maybe five to ten seconds, which was more than I'd ever been able to pull off. "...Wow." I laughed easily. "That's awesome!"

"Thank you." She grinned. "I've had a few years of practice. I can work miracles at the hospital when no one's looking, sometimes."

"The hospital?"

"Yeah. When I'm not designing, or studying, I'm volunteering at the hospital. I guess I have a knack for it. I never would've thought so when I was in high school." She smiled. "So, where's Seta? Is he in his room?"

I blinked and hit the couch behind me with my hand. "Right there."

"...He's on the couch? I didn't even notice..." She stood up, and I quickly grabbed my jacket. "Oh, hold on, let me reapply the bandages...you should take it easy for a few days. Hopefully, there won't be any permanent damage..." She reached into her bag, having apparently thought to bring her own, and wrapped the injury back up. "When it gets better, make sure it gets some air." She handed me my jacket, but blinked. "...What's in the pockets?"

"Huh? Oh. Kunai." ...Sorry, wrong answer?

She raised an eyebrow.

"I fight with knives," I clarified. "Or daggers, or anything about that size, really."

It clicked, and she nodded. "Right! I was an archer when I fought. I might be a bit rusty...I should work some practice into my schedule."

She stood up and walked around the couch. I'd forgotten to mention that, again, Seta was without a shirt. Too warm, I guess, not to mention that I'd woken up to find the one he was wearing soaked in blood yesterday morning. I'd tried to heal it, but I was nowhere near as good as Yukari, so there was still a ragged scar amongst the many bruises.

To say she looked alarmed would be understating it. "Oh...oh wow..." She bit her lip. She got to her knees, and I crouched down beside her as well. "Mitsuru told me the story, but I guess I didn't realize just how severe it was..."

I shook my head. "I don't think she knows, either. He had a fever when she visited, but he covered it up very well." I sighed, not wanting to say it, but feeling she should know. "If his condition is bad, it's probably because Minato-san's struggling."

She tensed. "He gave up his life so we could continue living...we have to help him somehow..." She looked distressed.

I hesitated before I put my hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me. "We will," I said. "We are. Don't worry about him."

She slowly nodded. "...Yeah..." She sighed. "It's just been so long... thought...I thought I'd never really hear from him again...and I thought, you know, it'd be better if we didn't, but I really wanted to...I'm so selfish..." She hung her head.

"...It's only natural. I'd give up a lot to have one more word with somebody I knew once." I'd do anything to wrap up the loose ends Saki-senpai left me with...pain in the ass...it still hurts, sometimes... "I'm sure Seta would be happy to reach Minato-san for you, if it means that much to you."

"It does..." She looked about ready to cry. "He died before I got the chance..." I squeezed her shoulder. "I know he won't come back, but to at least know he heard me...Maybe I'd finally be able to keep moving forward without one foot still slightly in the past..."

"Then we'll have it arranged," I said, releasing her shoulder. "But...um...Seta needs some help first."

She nodded. "I wonder if my reasons for being here today are selfish...it's not like I came here with speaking to him in mind...Mitsuru just asked me to..."

"Hey, no worries. You should be more comfortable with yourself." ...Why was I telling her that? She was older than me. But I grinned anyway. "After all, having a Persona has a lot to do with being comfortable with who you are." And before I could stop myself, I said something completely idiotic. "Selfish or not, I can't say, but you've got a lot going for you. You're smart, you're kind, you're beautifu-...Damnit, did I say that out loud? I need water."

I stood up and took off for the kitchen before she could comment. I didn't grab water, though; instead, I went straight to the sink and splashed my face. Why was I complimenting her like that when she was beside me mourning her dead boyfriend?! I felt like an asshole.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when she screamed in alarm. I jumped and bolted back into the living room, in time to hear a sound that I was only just beginning to identify with: the sudden crunch of bones and tearing of skin.

"Seta!" I grabbed the evoker from the table and fell to my knees at the side of the couch. His face was contorted with pain, and he was shuddering with agony as a large open wound began tear through his chest, a rib bursting outwards, blood splattering onto the couch. Oh, man...I put the evoker to my head and pressed down on the trigger. "Susano-O!"

A burst of silver light went off behind my eyes, and I felt a sharp pain cut through my mind, into my brain, and out the other side. For a moment, I felt like the world was fading to black. It was all imagined, of course, and when I opened my eyes again, Susano-O was behind me, trying to heal, despite the fact I was no good at it. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't do enough...

"Let me help you. Isis!"

...Isis? That name sounded familiar...

As her Persona began to materialize, Seta's mouth moved. "Per...so...na..."

A card glowed by his chest before bursting into light, revealing a humanoid woman with gold feathered arms, white and purple clothes, a headpiece, and a mask. I recognized her...no wonder the name was familiar...

She stepped forward and crouched down in front of Yukari. She shot a glance at me, and I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Seta has Isis, as well..."

She seemed baffled, but she held out her hand. Isis brushed her wings against her palm. Both of them glowed for a moment, before Yukari shut her eyes. "...It's got a different skill set..." she murmured under her breath. "...Think we can share?"

Seta, somehow, despite what he was going through, actually smiled. "Sure."

The floor beneath us glowed with a blue light before intermingling with yellow. It was blinding for a moment before it all simply vanished, and Yukari nodded. "Hang in there."

Seta's new wound began to knit itself back together, the bone melting back into its spot. I watched as the bruises began to fade, and his shallow breathing began to steady out, if just a bit. She seemed to be trying to do her best to mend every little bit of damage, and she tried until she flat out collapsed on the floor. Koromaru let out a bark of alarm and pelted down the hall, crouching down in front of her and sniffing her face. She laughed quietly. "I'm alright...Just a bit tired."

I scratched the worried dog behind the ears. "You're amazing, Yukari-san."

She managed a feeble smile. "I try my best..."

"Here, let me help you up." I offered her my hand.

She took it, and I pulled her to her feet, assisting her to the opposite couch. "Thank you so much. I'm feeling better already, and I'm sure Seta does, too." I glanced at him. He seemed more peaceful, at least. "Anything I can do for you while you're here?"

"I could use some water..." she said quietly.

I nodded and headed for the kitchen, returning with a bottle and a few more mental scars from having to open the fridge. She took it and downed the whole thing in one go. She seemed exhausted. I was pretty tired myself, so I sat beside her. "Um...I'm sorry if I've said anything that made you uncomfortable," I mumbled quickly.

"Huh? Oh, not at all." She smiled slightly. "I'm better about that than I used to be."

'That'? I found myself blushing slightly. "I'm clearly not."

She laughed. I tried to laugh along.

"You're pretty cute yourself."

...That was not what I'd expected her to say. I stared at her in complete shock.

"You also seem to have loyalty and determination that rivals Koro here. It'll get you far, I promise."

I was blushing so hard I thought I might explode. "Um...thank you." I looked out the window, at the fog. "...I'm not going home until I get to the bottom of this."

"You don't live here?" She seemed surprised.

I glanced at her. "What, did you think Seta and I lived togeth-" ...Oh. "...Don't answer that."

"Sorry." She seemed embarrassed. "I thought you were living here until his parents came back."

"I guess you could call it that." I shrugged. "But...I'm not sure what he'll do if his father..." I didn't want to finish that statement with Seta on the other couch across from us. "...Maybe he'll be allowed to stay in Inaba again for a while, with his uncle and cousin. I'm not sure what the plan is, for now, other than 'figure this out'."

"One step at a time, right?" She shrugged. "They always tell you to plan ahead, but when things get rough, it's easier to take it slow. Organize your thoughts before you rush in headlong and do something stupid." She smiled slightly. "I have a friend who's all about running headlong into brick walls." She shook her head, laughing. "Stupei..."

Stupei...? Before I could ask, though...

"Yu..." I looked up. Seta's eyes were half shut. "Yukari..."

Yukari seemed surprised. Had Seta heard her name...? When? He seemed too out of it to hear much...

"Yukari...Minato keeps calling for you..."

"What...?!" Her eyes were wide. She looked like she might be going into shock for a moment. "M-Minato...? ...A-Are you serious...?!"

"Yeah...He detected you when we shared Personas...He really wants to hear your voice..."

She looked about ready to cry. "Minato...!"

She stood up and nearly collapsed again. I grabbed her shoulder. "Take it easy...!" I urged. She was shaking. "You really should sit..."

She glanced at me. "You have to understand...that I lost him really suddenly two years ago...I never thought this would happen..."

I couldn't understand, but I could try. I got to my feet and helped her over to him, instead. She sat down at the table beside Seta. "Are you reaching him? Or can you just hear him?" I asked.

"Hear him. I wouldn't be speaking if we were communicating properly."

"Dude, have you been conscious since Yukari-san got here?" I thought he'd lost consciousness when he'd passed out on the phone. I thought I'd had to wake him up when Yukiko called.

"I've been conscious since my torso burst open at one this morning. Never lost it."

...Damn. Sounds like my worst nightmare. Right up there with that Erebus thing.

"Yukari." He held out his hand. She seemed reluctant, but she took it. I could see an Arcana card hovering above their hands, and for a moment, there was silence. I slowly began to realize I was the only one hearing silence. Yukari's free hand covered her mouth, and she began to cry, sobbing uncontrollably, occasionally nodding or shaking her head and murmuring things I couldn't hear under her breath. A few times, I heard her breathe, "Oh my god..." and before Seta let go, I heard her whisper, "I love you." He let his arm fall to the side of the couch, and she buried her face in her hands. Feeling sympathetic and more than slightly awkward, I went to get her a tissue. Koromaru padded over to him and began to lick Seta's hand. He instinctively scratched him behind the ears, and the dog let out a contented squeak.

I ended up getting Yukari an entire box of tissues. She sort of needed it. It was hard to say whether she was happy, or sad, or both, but when she finally recollected herself, her eyes were filled with determination. "We'll fight for him. He'll be able to sleep peacefully soon enough." She looked up at me, then at Seta. "Thank you so much. I needed that, but thought I may never get it...Miracles do happen." She smiled and rubbed her eyes again. "Minato still manages to surprise me, even years after he died..." I was glad that we could at least do something for her.

"He seems to be that kind of guy," I said with a slight laugh.

She nodded. "You have no idea." She slowly stood up. "Well, I suppose I should get going..." But I could tell she didn't want to. I wasn't sure what made her reluctant, but it was probably the newfound connection to Minato. "C'mon, Koro."

But maybe not, because Koromaru whimpered. He didn't seem to want to leave either.

"You're free to stay for dinner, if you'd like," I offered tentatively.

"I'm paying," Seta said bluntly. "You keep paying, so it's my turn. You're a guest at my house. You keep forgetting that."

I smirked, amused. "You can pay for the meal if you can walk to the door."

He glared dully at me, then glanced at Yukari again. "You're free to stay for the evening, if you'd like, Takeba-san. It's the least I can do to thank you," he said slowly.

"Believe me, you've done more than enough." She grinned. "...That's it! I'm going to have Mitsuru deliver some sushi here."

"...Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked. "She won't kill us for daring to ask that of her?"

"She seems scary, but I'm sure she'll be more than willing. You might not believe it, but she appreciates your help here." She hesitated, then slowly added, "But that e-mail Narukami-san sent really, really damaged her pride, so there may be some hostility there. Just a fair warning..."

I facepalmed, which seemed to be my standard reaction whenever that e-mail got mentioned.

"I don't take threats very well," Seta said simply. Koromaru hopped up onto the couch and curled up by Seta's stomach. He put his arm over the dog and shut his eyes again.

"Aw," Yukari giggled. "That's cute."

I smirked. I had to agree with her, they did make a cute pair.

"...Would you mind if I used the restroom?" she asked eventually.

"Oh, sure, the restrooms are attached to either bedroom."

She nodded and headed for the master bedroom, disappearing around the corner. The door shut, and there was a moment of silence.

"You know," Seta muttered. "I haven't seen you get that flustered about a girl in a long time."

"I-I-...What...?!" Damnit!

"And she thinks you're cute. Maybe you have a chance."

"Sh-shut up!" I stared at my feet, blushing insanely. "I-I just think she's hot, that's all."

"She is." He grinned. "You know, I can ask for Minato's approval if you want."

"What?! No! I-I'm not that serious about it. I just met her! Sheesh..." A thought crossed my mind, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey, I was wondering. Yukiko-san and Rise-chan were fighting about you the other day..."

"Really?" He opened an eye. "Why?"

"Well, Yukiko-san made a jab at Rise-chan's e-mail name...said that it was rude to you, since you two weren't married or anything."

"Yeah...?"

"...Are you dating either of them? Or both of them? Or something?"

"Why would I date both of them?" he asked blandly.

"...So you are dating one of them."

"...I might be. I might not be. I refuse to answer that."

"Why?"

"...On grounds of my health."

"That makes no sense, dude."

But before I could get any more out of him, Yukari came back, so we dropped the subject. I decided to grab Seta a new shirt around that point, too. Hopefully, this one wouldn't get blood all over it.

After Yukari pulled a few strings with Mitsuru, we did end up ordering sushi. And after she nearly fainted while getting herself a drink, Yukari and I spent the rest of the evening cleaning that damn fridge. Seta, to his credit, did try to help, but he was still in pretty bad shape, so I contented myself with hanging the 'you owe us so much for this' card over his head. Yukari had planned to go home after dinner, but Koromaru had made himself very comfortable squished between Seta and the couch, so she ended up staying the night.

When the Dark Hour hit, we were all sitting together in the living room. For the past two days, the Dark Hour had gotten longer and longer. It had hit for half an hour the day before, and I'd jokingly proposed a name change earlier, but 'the Dark Half Hour' didn't have the same ring to it.

"I never thought I'd have to deal with this again..." Yukari sighed heavily, her evoker tight in her hand. "You know, you really should each have your own." She shook her head and reached into her bag, pulling out a collar. "Here, boy." Koromaru hopped to her side, and she fitted it around his neck. "This is Koro-chan's evoker."

"...What?" Seta looked a bit lost. "W-Well...I guess that explains why my Cerberus suddenly has Mudo skills..."

"You have Cerberus, as well? How many Personas do you have?" she asked.

"Um...I never counted..." He seemed embarrassed.

There was a knock on the door.

...During the Dark Hour?

Seta got to his feet. He stumbled, and I almost told him to sit his ass back down, but he shook it off and headed down the hall, very obviously apprehensive. As he went by me, I placed one of my kunai into his hand. He slipped it into his pocket. When he took too long, they knocked again. I had a bad feeling about this...He'd left the evoker on the table, probably for me to use in case something went wrong. Yukari had gotten to her feet, and Koromaru was growling uneasily.

He glanced through the peephole and gave a rather sharp inhale, confirming some unspoken fear. He took his time grabbing the handle, preparing himself for the worse...

And then startled all of us by ramming his shoulder into the door, sending it flying open at high speeds. It hit the person closest to the door in the face, and he/it let out an inhuman shriek. He attempted to slam it shut once more, but one of the human attackers squeezed through and flung it open, before ramming into Seta headfirst, sending both of them falling to the ground. Koromaru threw his head back and howled. The human attacker faded, revealing a bird-like enemy that drove its beak into the side of Seta's face. He retaliated by pulling out the kunai and stabbing it in the gut.

I'd never seen Shadows like these before. Were they even Shadows?

I guess it was time to find out.