Yukari leaned over, organizing the various papers and packets that had come out of the folder, and taking a small bit of extra care as to not jostle Junpei's foot and restraining herself from commenting on the foul smell that came from it. There were three official-looking documents, each with a picture of three different women with information beneath all of them. There was also the cover of a newspaper, the rest of the article on the inside detailing events that had happened in a small town called Inaba. Finally, there were documents by the Kirijo group of Shadow activities and Personas.

"Huh? Why did you bring all of this?" Akihiko asked, picking up the news article and reading it aloud. "Following the murder of Mayumi Yamano, Saki Konishi, a third year student attending Yasogami High school, was found dead on the fifteenth in a similar manner. Her body, like Yamano, was hanging from a higher elevation, this time a telephone pole, and according to the police, there is no discernable cause of death…"

"I heard about that from a couple of photographers at my job." Yukari commented. "One of them had a sister who lives in Inaba, and they were really worried that she might be targeted."

"But still, why are we holding a meeting about it?" Ken looked to Mitsuru, who had allowed the conversation to continue until attention had turned back to her.

"The main reason why I called this meeting is because I was… concerned, for a multitude of reasons." Mitsuru picked up two documents, one detailing the medical information of Mayumi Yamano, and the other of Saki Konishi, both after they were found dead. "After hearing about the situation in Inaba, the Kirijo group sent support out to the police department in Inaba in the form of funds, more weaponry, and more policemen. In exchange, we received information concerning Miss Konishi and Miss Yamano's death, and the results drew some alarming parallels.

"Both were found hanging post-mortem, both were found after a heavy fog had set into the area, and both have no discernable cause of death. The coroner couldn't find any trace of poison, blunt force trauma, a gunshot wound—nothing."

"So?" Yukari asked. "It's a serial murder case. The guy would put the body up in the same way, and maybe he just used a new poison that can't be detected yet. This isn't our business, we're not cops."

"Yeah, and, why'd you bring this?" Junpei asked, grunting as he leaned over and reached for the document stating the effects of gaining a Persona. "I'm pretty sure that we all know about this."

"Because there was a third girl kidnapped," Mitsuru took out another file on a third girl and held it up. "The police didn't want to state it as a kidnapping as to not alert the public. Miss Yukiko Amagi was kidnapped on the sixteenth but, unlike the other women, she was returned back home with the assistance of her friend Chie Satonaka on the nineteenth. When police interrogated them both, Miss Satonaka acted normal and stated that she saw Miss Amagi on the side of the road disoriented and brought her back to the inn before the police arrived. However, when Miss Amagi was interrogated, she was reportedly being disoriented, had no perception of what day it was or how long she had been in the interrogation room, and could not remember any details of where she was for the past two days, nor the minutes before she was kidnapped."

Akihiko's eyes widened. "Those are the symptoms for when you gain a Persona."

This caused a rush of shocked outbursts from the rest of the S.E.E.S. members. Yukari's voice rose above them all. "But we stopped The Fall! And Minato-kun stopped Nyx, so no one else should be gaining a Persona!"

"But the murders do match up with Apathy Syndrome." Aigis commented. "Remember? People would become uncaring for seemingly no reason, and while we know it was a result of the Dark Hour, no scientists or doctors could figure out why it was happening. The two women before Yukiko Amagi were killed, but there's no foreseeable cause of death."

"But this can't be the Dark Hour!" Yukari persisted.

"Well, I can agree with you there Yukari-san, but just because the Dark Hour's over doesn't mean these incidents can't be related." Ken said, scratching behind Koromaru's ear, the Shiba's tongue lolling out of his mouth. "I mean, if it were the Dark Hour, we'd know, because we'd be experiencing it as well. But we don't know where Shadows come from, right? What if this is just a Shadow-related incident?"

"But even if it is, we need to tell this Amagi girl what's wrong, right?" Junpei spoke up. "I remember when I got my Persona, and I was scared out of my mind when it happened. I had no clue what was happening, and it might put her at ease."

"Exactly," Mitsuru said. "But since we have no bases or Kirijo members near Inaba, I was thinking we could all take a short 'vacation' there to scout the area out. Since most of us have luggage or simply have their essentials on their person, we'll leave today and arrive at Inaba around eight in the evening. Tomorrow, Fuuka-san, Aigis, and I will go to the highest point in Inaba and use our Personas to scan for any Shadow activity or Personas in the area, and Aigis will alert us if there is anyone coming so that we can hide our abilities to the general public. Junpei, Akihiko, Yukari, Ken and Koromaru will walk around Inaba and will head for any areas or people that Fuuka or I sense. We'll stay there for about three days before heading back to Iwatodai and our jobs, unless something comes up where we'll need to stay for longer."

"Are we certain that I'll be able to use my Persona?" Fuuka asked. "Normally I could only access Juno's abilities during the Dark Hour, not during the day."

"That's why the first time we'll attempt this will be close to midnight. Regardless of if the Dark Hour appears, we'll still be in relative privacy. If it doesn't work, then we will need to bring technology to the area to scout for us. In that case, we'll head back here immediately."

"Hey, I'm all for this!" Junpei said, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head. "A chance to be a hero again, save people from dying, I can dig this."

"But, Junpei, with that leg injury of yours, you won't be able to do any fighting, will you?" Fuuka said, a faint smile crossing her face. Junpei's eyes widened and he groaned, sagging in his spot as Ken and Akihiko laughed, Koromaru barking excitedly. Yukari, on the other hand, stayed still and looked down at her lap, a detail Aigis hadn't missed.

"Yukari-kun? Could I talk to you in private?" The android requested, standing from her spot on the couch. The model's head jerked up and she slowly rose as well, following Aigis into the kitchen—far away enough so that they wouldn't be heard, but close enough to hear if one of the other members were coming in, or required their input on one matter or another. The brown haired girl fidgeted in place and crossed her arms over her stomach while biting her lip. "You're upset."

"Of course I am!" Yukari kept her voice down, but Aigis knew that, even after a year apart, she would be more than willing to start shouting at the drop of a dime. "Minato… he gave up everything so that the Dark Hour would stop, and so Nyx wouldn't end the world. But apparently that was all for nothing, because Shadows still exist and they're possibly killing people, and people might be gaining Personas left and right. Was everything Minato-kun did in vain? We don't even have an idea of what we're going up against this time, and we can't—"

Aigis moved forward and hugged Yukari, hoping that the action would be consoling. "Minato-kun did not die for nothing. He prevented the end of the world, and he is keeping Nyx at bay, and he has kept us all safe. This might only be related to Shadows, like Amada-kun said, and if it is, it is our job as current and former S.E.E.S. members to stop this, in honor of Minato-kun, okay?"

Yukari, slowly but surely, returned the hug, and leaned her head on Aigis' shoulder. "Okay."

"We're staying here?" Junpei cried as they stood in front of the Amagi Inn. A police car was waiting about half a block down, the lights off despite the time. Through the lit windows, the S.E.E.S. group could see various workers passing by regularly to and fro to deal with the various customers that were staying. "I thought we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves!"

"Yeah, but, do you really want to stay in a motel that's out of the town?" Ken commented. "We could go to Okina city, but we'd have to take a train here daily, and it's pretty hard to stay awake long enough to come here and go back to the hotel around midnight."

"But Koromaru probably can't stay here. Most Inns don't allow pets, and I don't think there's a pound near here that can keep him until we leave." Yukari replied, and Koromaru growled at the prospect of being separated from the group.

"Koromaru says that he doesn't like being alone in an unfamiliar place." Aigis said before kneeling down and petting the Shiba's head. "Do you think you can find a place to stay for the night, Koro-chan? We'll find you in the morning, I promise." With a small whine, Koromaru nodded and trotted away, yipping back to the group as if saying 'Goodbye!' before darting down the road.

"What'd he say?"

"Koro-chan said that he'd be okay before he left. He did live on the streets before we found him, so he probably knows what he's doing." Aigis responded to Yukari's question, moving towards the entrance to the Inn. "We need to get our rooms, right Mitsuru-san?"

"Right. Takeba, Iori, can I trust you two to get the rooms while Yamagishi, Aigis and I start to head out to find a place where we can scan the town tomorrow?" Mitsuru asked, brushing a bit of her hair to the side.

"Ah, right, we can do that. C'mon, Junpei!" Yukari said, passing by Aigis as she went past the android and through the door. Since Akihiko had both his and Junpei's bag on his back, the younger man was unimpeded as he hobbled up the stairs, and Ken darted past all three of them to get the door for them, a cheerful tinkling of a bell above the door as they entered.

Yu rubbed at his neck as he slowly prepared dinner for Nanako. He was tired from getting tugged back and forth by children at his job, and he had gotten a pretty decent pay from it, but he wasn't about to let Nanako eat take-out again so soon. Besides, since tomorrow was Sunday, he could sleep in and get his homework done tomorrow or tomorrow evening.

I did want to talk to Marie, now that I think about it. Yu thought as he chipped away at the seaweed to make the strands smaller. Nanako had mentioned that she liked Miso Soup, and Yu was happy to make it for her, but it was a bit hard to get the flavor right.

"Um, Yu?" Nanako pipped up from her quiz show.

"Yeah, Nanako-chan?"

"Do you hear something at the door?"

Yu paused from his cooking and turned to the front entrance, his eyebrow rising when he heard a high-pitched whine every few seconds. With a somewhat practiced stance from his days of fighting in the TV world, he gestured to Nanako to stay near the TV as he practically crawled his way over to the front door. The whines stopped when he put his hand on the handle and, with a strong flick of his wrist, he flung the door open only to practically be bowled over by a small, white blur. There was a surprised gasp from Nanako before she started giggling madly, a few clicks coming from the direction of the TV. "Aw, a puppy!"

Yu closed the door and ran back into the living room, sighing in relief that Nanako appeared unharmed and relatively happy. Sitting next to her with its tongue lolling out was a small white dog that reached Nanako's hip while standing, an orange jacket with a hoodie was around its upper half, and was relatively happy with the neck scratches Nanako was giving it.

"Do you recognize her?" The dog growled. "…Him?" At the happy bark, Yu moved closer and check the dog's neck for a collar. Just barely hidden by the jacket was a strip of black leather, the kanji 'コロマル' written on a bronze tag attached to the collar.

"No, but maybe he smelled the soup you were making! He's probably hungry."

"But he has a collar, so that means that someone has to own him."

"Oh, he does?" Nanako sat up and twisted the collar towards her, squinting her eyes at the unfamiliar kanji. "Ko… ko-ra…"

"No, see, it's Ko-ro-ma-ru." Yu ran his finger over each of the kanji to show Nanako, the first grader greedily drinking up the information. "Anyways, I don't think we have any dog food for him."

"But he can drink the soup, and maybe stay for the night?" Nanako looked up pleadingly at the second year student, Yu's resolve withering at the sight.

"I don't know. Normally I'm okay with keeping a stray cat or two with me when I was back in the city, but I don't know how your father would react if he saw Koromaru here. Plus, I don't know how to take care of a dog."

"But he's not getting home until late, and I know he doesn't check your room when he comes back, so he could hide there for tonight!" Nanako argued, pouting and crossing her arms. Yu sighed as his resistance finally broke.

"Alright, alright, he can stay." At Nanako's cheerful cry, Yu went back the kitchen to finish the soup, slicing up a few blocks of tofu he had purchased on his way back from the Daycare and adding it to the mixture. A small bark next to him brought his attention to Koromaru, who affectionately jumped up on Yu's leg and licked at the teen's outstretched hand.

Yu smiled. He was, personally, more of a cat person, but Koromaru was a pretty adorable dog. However, he did have to rethink his dinner plans, since he was pretty sure that dogs couldn't eat tofu or seaweed. Humming, Yu turned to the refrigerator and looked through the shelves to find a package of beef and a few other vegetables, and prepared a pan to cook it and place it into the broth. "Nanako? I'm going to make a separate soup for Koro-chan that has beef in it, so if you don't like the miso, you can have this instead."

"Okay!" Nanako whistled and, taking the cue, Koromaru moved back to Nanako and obediently laid down next to her as she continued to watch the quiz show on the television, the six year old idly scratching the dog's back as she whispered answers. Yu hummed a song as he poured olive oil and the beef into a new pot before adding in the chopped vegetables. He then took the miso soup off of the stove as well, pouring out two bowls for him and Nanako to eat while Koromaru's beef soup started to boil. He wanted to wait a few minutes not only for the soup to be ready, but also so that it would cool down enough for their new guest to eat it. Taking a ladle in one of the cupboards, Yu poured two bowls for him and Nanako and brought them into the living room.

"Here we go!" Yu put one bowl to Nanako's right on the table and then sat down across from her. "The beef soup won't be ready for another minute or two, and even then we'll have to wait for it to cool, but you'll get your food soon little buddy." Yu affectionately pet Koromaru's head before saying a quick thanks and digging in, Nanako following suit. Mentally checking the time, Yu stood from the table and moved back to the stew, taking the pot off the stove and preparing a smaller bowl.

Yu nearly spilled the soup all over his hand and arm when Koromaru started barking furiously. Nanako cried out, and Yu placed the bowl on the table before rushing back to the living room. Koromaru stood defensively in front of Nanako, barking at the front entrance, where Izanagi had just phased through, tilting their head at the small dog.

Yu's eyes widened as Nanako moved over and reassuringly pet Koromaru's back. "Hey, c'mon, there's nothing there. What're you barking at?"

"No clue." Yu said shakily, going back to the kitchen and taking the dog's food to the table. "Here you go, Koro-chan, just try to be clean while you're eating it."

Koromaru slowly relaxed, barely growling as he turned his attention away from the Persona and to his food, licking at the broth and occasionally taking the vegetables or chunks of meat and chewing them, his gaze flicking to Izanagi and back.

He can see Izanagi. Yu thought as he scraped the bottom of his bowl. The random dog that visited my house for food can see a gigantic masked man who is the culmination of my soul.

At that moment, his phone buzzed in his pocket, a pre-coded jingle playing as Yu took it out of his back pocket. Chie's name flashed on the small screen, and he flicked it open and answered. "Hey, Yu-kun, this is Chie. I was wondering if we could talk about the other world?"

Yu's eyes widened and he hastily stood from the table, covering the mouthpiece as he stood from the table. "Hey, Nanako? I have to go up to my room, but I'll leave the door open for Koro-chan to come in, alright?" At the first grader's answering nod, Yu practically ran up the stairs, leaving just a small crack for Koromaru to nudge open. "Chie you will not believe what my evening has been like."

"Huh? What happened?"

"Well, first off, do you know anyone in town who owns a dog named Koromaru?"

"Koromaru, huh? No, not that I can remember. Hideki and I probably would have met the dog or the owner somewhere along the line. Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about maybe going into the TV world and seeing if we could find anything new in Yukiko's castle."

"Ah, well." Yu looked over at the door just as Izanagi faded in, the Persona taking their regular spot on the couch. "As much as I would love to, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"What, why?"

"I wanted to wait for Yukiko to recover before we brought her there. Not only would it help her get used to her Persona, but it would also help us work together as a team. And besides, I'm going to be pretty busy tomorrow."

"Finding a place for this Koro guy to stay? He could always hang out at my place, so long as he and Hideki get along."

"And Hideki is…?" Yu asked as he started emptying out his school bag and grabbing one of the textbooks on his desk.

"My dog, I met him when I was a kid!"

"Well, as tempting as that offer would be, Koro-chan already has an owner, according to his collar. But, and this is weird, I think he can see Izanagi."

"What?"

"Yeah. He came up to my house and Nanako convinced me to give him dinner and let him stay, and then Izanagi came in and Koromaru started barking like a madman. He was looking directly at Izanagi while he was doing it, too."

"That's weird. No one can see our Personas except for other Persona users, right?"

"Do you mean that Hideki hasn't reacted to Tomoe?"

"Nope, he didn't even wake up when Tomoe tried to pet him." There was a long stretch of silence where Yu took out the rest of his supplies and sat down at his desk before Chie responded. "Well, how about this then! You and I will look for Koromaru's owner tomorrow. I've got nothing better to do, after all, and I can show you around town."

Yu hummed and flipped over to a certain page of his textbook. It was far ahead with the class's current unit, but he wanted to remain ahead. "That sounds fine by me. See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow, Yu!" The line went dead and Yu sighed, leaning back in his seat. A few seconds later, the door was pushed open as Koromaru entered the room, immediately lowering his upper body and growling at Izanagi. Thinking fast, Yu took out his phone and took a picture of the event, sending it to Chie with the caption, "See! Izanagi is on the couch!" before turning off his phone and going back to his studies.

Sunday, 4-24-11. Weather: Sunny Throughout the Day

After denying a phone call from Kou about heading out to Okina City, Yu went down to eat breakfast and prepare a few strips of bacon for Koromaru to eat before convincing the dog to come out with him. Despite the dog's negative interactions with Izanagi, he easily followed Yu after they both go their fillings. Checking his phone, Yu saw that Chie had sent him a reply while studying.

[20:37] Chie: Aw, that Shiba's adorable! Let's meet s shopping district tomorrow, k!

Rolling his eyes at Chie's quick response, Yu headed to the designated spot, idly resting his hand over the pocket that had his phone. Koromaru would sometimes stop and sniff at a fence post, or stare at Izanagi as he hovered by Yu's side, but he still stuck close.

Chie's green jacket stood out against the blue sky and dull brown buildings. Tomoe stood guard next to her, idly twirling her staff in hand. When she caught sight of Yu, she waved and smiled at Yu, shouting out a greeting. "Hey, nice to see you again."

"You saw me yesterday, Chie." Yu said, but he was smiling as he greeted her. "Anyways, this is—"

Almost immediately, once Koromaru registered Tomoe floating in midair, he began to growl and bark at the Persona, startling them and Chie. "Oh, so this was the dog you were talking about. I thought you were joking, but it's apparently true."

"Yeah." Yu turned to the Personas. "Maybe you two should go and be out of sight? It might calm him down long enough for us to find his owner."

Izanagi and Tomoe turned to each other, seemingly having a silent conversation with each other before turning back to the two teens and nodding, flying above the buildings and darting off. Almost instantly, Koromaru calmed down and obediently sat down. Chie let out a sigh of relief. "Man, good thing that worked. I don't think that Tomoe would've liked a noisy dog following us around. This guy just showed up on your doorstep?"

"Mhm, he darted in when I opened the door to see what was outside, and then Nanako insisted we gave him dinner. Now I just want to find out where he's from or who owns him."

"Well, maybe one of the older couples owns him. I think I might've heard Mrs. Hidekazu mentioning that she—" Koromaru barked and stood, darting past Chie and running down the street in a full sprint. "What the—! Hey! Get back here!"

"Koromaru!" Yu shouted, running after the Shib. "Follow him!"

The two ran down the street, but since the dog was clearly smaller and faster, he darted away down the street and out of sight before Yu and Chie could round the corner. "Wow, he's fast!" Chie shouted as she looked up and down the road. "And now we have no clue where he went."

"We have to find him!" Yu shouted, pointing to the rest of the shopping district. "I'll check the rest of the shopping district, the shrine, and the neighborhood around my house. You check up the path and the outer neighborhood!"

"What? I thought you wanted to get rid of the dog!"

"I do, but I want to know why Koro-chan could see Izanagi and Tomoe, and the only way we can do that is if we find the owner!"

Yukari yawned and stretched, rubbing at her eyes. The Amagi Inn had wonderful beds, but she had slept in much, much more than she normally would, and now she was yawning every few minutes. Junpei had teased her endlessly, throwing out a remark after every yawn.

She did have to give him credit: she thought he would run out of them by now.

"Wonder how long it's gonna take for Mitsuru and Fuuka to get their evokers ready." Akihiko said as he stared up the stairs in the general direction of the girls' room.

"They basically kicked Aigis and I out of the room to talk, and I think they're getting used to… y'know, summoning Juno and Artemisia." Yukari commented. She remembered when she had first learned about the Dark Hour and Shadows, as well as attempting to first summon Io. The act of holding a pistol to her head, despite the knowledge that it wouldn't harm her, had still scared her to this day.

She still wasn't sure how Minato had done it with such little hesitation.

"Would it be okay if I waited outside?" Ken asked. "I want to see if Koromaru's here yet, and it's nearly mid-afternoon." At Akihiko's answering nod, the thirteen year old darted out the door and out of sight. Mitsuru and Fuuka came down soon after, the latter trailing a bit behind.

"We've decided we're going to check out the Samegawa Riverbank, as well as a building in Okina City, and a local hill overlooking the town. Whichever would be easiest to enter will be the location Yamagishi and I will use later tonight." Mitsuru looked around and tilted her head. "Is Amada not up yet?"

"No, he's up. He just went outside to look for Koro-chan." Yukari commented. "Are we coming with you, or…"

"Hey, I want to look around Inaba!" Junpei commented while lifting up one of his crutches. "Besides, I want to see what this Souzai Daigaku place has, I heard from some of the others passing by that they have some killer steak!"

"Then let's split up." Fuuka proposed. "Mitsuru-san, Aigis and I will go and look for a place to scan tonight while the rest of you look around town."

"I'm okay with that, but we should probably ask Ken." Akihiko said, and Yukari nodded. The S.E.E.S. group left the Inn, only for grins to grow on their face when they saw Ken affectionately scratching Koromaru's neck, the albino dog barking once he caught sight of the other adults.

"Hey Koro-chan! Did you have a good night?" Yukari asked as she kneeled down on one knee, joining Ken with giving her own morning scratches. At noticing Aigis, Koromaru broke free of the adoring touches and ran over to Aigis, barking enthusiastically. The android's expression became shocked as she listened to the Shib, and she slowly turned to Mitsuru.

"What's wrong?" The red-head asked. "What happened?"

"Koromaru saw, what he believes to be, a Persona."

"What?" Yukari exclaimed. "Koromaru, this better not be a joke."

"He's not: he saw two. He went to stay at a house yesterday, or at least get food from a house, and at the place he stayed the eldest son had one. It wasn't dormant, and the boy could see it and interact with it. Earlier today, he was walking beside the boy and they found a girl, and she had one as well. Apparently, they both interacted with the Personas, and Koromaru ran off to find us."

"So this proves it then." Akihiko said, crossing his arms over his chest. "There is, in fact, Shadow activity occurring. Did Koromaru get a name?"

"Only one: Chie. He didn't get the name of the son, but he had silver hair, so it shouldn't be too hard to locate—"

"No!" Yukari shouted, anxiously fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. "No, I'm sorry, but I just… I need to leave. I can't do this right now."

"Yukari…" Fuuka sighed.

"Please." Yukari whispered. "I can't… A year wasn't enough."

"I agree." Mitsuru said. "While Koromaru's discovery was great, we need to regroup. This is no longer a scouting mission, this is something that could become a national emergency. Not only that, we have confirmed that there are potentially three Persona users in this town, and we need to find out as much info as we can concerning them. We also need to figure out the identity of the boy that Koromaru stayed with."

"So… what, we catch a train back to Iwatodai and go back to our homes?" Junpei commented.

"That would be the best course of action." Mitsuru said. "I'll call for direct transport, for those who need it." The red-head turned back around and went into the Amagi Inn, already dialing away at her cellphone.

Akihiko turned to face the group. "Give her some time. She may not show it a lot, but she cared about Arisato-kun a lot, and this is hitting her pretty hard, alright?"

Junpei nodded, though he kept a smile up. "Well, this year got a lot more interesting, huh?"

Monday, 4-25-11. Weather: Cloudy

Yu yawned and rubbed at his eyes, trying to stay awake. Chie and he had run around all of Inaba to try and find Koromaru, but the dog had basically disappeared from the face of the earth. They had kept running after him until the sun had set and, to make up for it, Yu bought Chie to Aiya's and paid for a dinner. He had received plenty of teasing remarks, and he was relieved that Yosuke wasn't around to tease them. However, he was mentally and physically drained, and he didn't know if he was going to be able to make it through the day. Even Izanagi looked drained: their arms hung and their sides and their normally vibrant, yellow eyes seemed glazed and dull.

"The cultural clubs are accepting new applicants starting today! You're welcome to join, even if you're already in a sports club. Hmm… Which cultural club should I join?" Yu glanced up and saw two girls ahead of him speaking, the one who spoke was bursting with energy that Yu vied for, and the one next to her kept her head held high.

"You're going to join a sports and cultural club? Aren't you going to end up half-assing both of them?" The brisk girl said.

"Ouch! You don't have to be so harsh. I mean, I put some thought into this. Studying and grades are important, but I thought I should join a club and improve my personal skills."

"Oh. Then do you want to join our club? If you're serious about it, we'd welcome you." Yu yawned once more, forcing himself to stay awake. He knew he had a long day ahead of him, and he wasn't about to fall asleep in the middle of class.

At that moment, a girl with short brown hair ran past him, panting as she said, "G-Gotta get ready...!" Yu then saw her skid to a stop and turn on a dime, rushing back down the path. "M-My bag...!"

If there was one thing Yu was grateful for, it was that he and Yosuke shared a majority of their classes. Izanagi and Jiraiya also seemed to share this elation, as the frog-like Persona would always dash in circles around Izanagi whenever they would meet up. Not only that, but since they had gym together, Yu could wake up with the sun in his eyes and the physical torture that was sure to follow.

"Good morning!" Mr. Kondo, the teacher who 'taught' English earlier in the week, was now teaching physical education. "Today, I'll have you run so much, you'll have sore muscles! Hahaha! Don't look so sad! Everything requires muscles, after all! Why am I going to make you run until you're sore? Because that's how your muscles grow efficiently!" Mr. Kondo turned to Yu and, noticing the slightly dazed expression on the teen's face, he boomed out his name before blowing his whistle, jolting him out of his stupor. "Hey, Narukami! Hanamura's the one who's supposed to be nodding off, not you! Answer this one and I may forgive you: what's it called when you gain more muscle after getting sore through exercise?

Shaking his head to clear it, Yu answered. "Overcompensation."

Mr. Kondo nodded "You must be working out, Narukami!"

Smiling, Yosuke leaned over and whispered into Yu's ear. "Yeah, if you consider fighting Shadows inside a TV as 'working out', then yeah, we work out." Yu had to bit the inside of his lip to keep himself from chuckling, especially since Kondo's gaze was focused on them.

Unable to figure out why the boys were laughing, he continued with his lesson. "That's right! It's called overcompensation! If you rest for a couple of days after getting muscle soreness, you'll have more muscle than you started with! If you use this to your advantage, you can gain muscle efficiently! Now, enough jibber jabber, I'll have you run until you're sore!"

Yosuke visibly paled. "Aw, what! Mr. Kondo, come on!"

"No complaining Hanamura, or I'll make you run until you collapse! Now, go!" Mr. Kondo took his whistle and blew into it, a shrill whistle traveling through the air and inciting the rest of the class to take off. Yosuke and Yu, however, lacked behind, as Yosuke continued to complain and mutter about how psychopathic Kondo was for 'putting them through slave labor'.

"C'mon, Yosuke," Yu teased, poking his friend's ribs with his elbow. "I know your fast. Plus, it won't be too bad."

"Says you, I don't want to sweat my balls off."

"Hm... alright then, let's bet. First one to collapse has to give the other two hundred yen."

"...Okay, you're on."

"Okay, here's your water." Yosuke said, handing Yu a paper cup filled with water. "You do know that, when Kondo-san said that we were going to run until we collapsed, he was joking."

"I know," Yu recalled with a blush. He was, to everyone's surprise, rather competitive, so he took the bet seriously. Of course, since he was basically running on fumes, he collapsed on the track and Mr. Kondo had asked Yosuke to take him to the Nurse's office. Jiraiya had, according to Yosuke, held Izanagi bridal style, and even now the frog-like Persona was darting anxiously around the cloaked Persona, not letting them get up from their spot next to Yu on the cot and tending to them like a maid. "I probably shouldn't have made that bet in the first place."

"Well, duh! Why didn't you sleep last night, you could've done some serious harm to yourself!"

Yu chuckled before gulping down the water. "You're gonna laugh."

"Try me."

"Alright. On Saturday night, I was making dinner for Nanako and we heard something at the door. I opened it and a dog came in, and Nanako convinced me to let him stay for dinner and overnight, and we learned that he was called Koromaru. Izanagi then came in and Koro-chan could see them, actually see Izanagi, and I wasn't assuming this: he started barking and growling at them when they came in and would always try to keep an eye on them."

"So?" Yosuke shrugged. "Maybe dogs can just see them."

"I thought that too, but Chie called me later and then when I told her, she said that her dog never reacted to Tomoe's presence. We agreed to meet up in the Shopping District in the afternoon and we were going to try and find Koromaru's owner, but once we got there he ran off and we spent most of the day trying to find him. We didn't, and to make up for it, I took her to Aiya and paid for her food. And then naturally, I didn't get a lot of sleep, and then one stupid thing led to another, and I collapsed."

Yosuke was silent, sitting next to Yu on the cot. "If we found the owner, do you think they might be able to learn more about the other world?"

"That's what I was hoping. We might be able to just end the murders by getting rid of the Shadows, and maybe Koro-chan's master could've told us."

Yosuke smiled and put his hand on Yu's shoulder. "Don't worry, we're going to get through this together, alright?"

Yu felt a faint blush grow on his cheeks, and he hoped that it wasn't noticeable. "Yeah, I know, partner."

Yu rolled his neck, thoroughly exhausted from the day's events. He was, however, going through with the plans he had made in the morning, and was about to join one of the cultural clubs. After facing another lecture from Morooka, he had darted off to the Practice building, searching for one of the clubs. Finally, he had found the drama club, and slid open the door slowly, trying not to interrupt them. The group made a horseshoe-shaped line in the center of the classroom, but there were clearly more girls than boys.

"Let's move on to tongue twisters." Said one near the head of the arch. "Ready? The sixth chick cheek's shixth cheep... Argh!"

The girl to his left smiled and chimed in. "The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick!" She finished, and Yu was impressed. Tongue twisters, whether in English or Japanese, were difficult. "You're still not saying it correctly. Are you sure you're the club president?"

The male student rolled his eyes and huffed, only to brighten up when he saw Yu standing awkwardly by the pushed desks. "Oh, a new guy? You're Narukami, from second year, right? The transfer student?"

Yu timidly waved at the club members. "Yeah, that's me."

"I see, I see. Well, welcome to the drama club! I'm the club president, Nagai. And this is…"

The girl who successfully did the tongue twister placed one hand on her chest and waved at Yu with her free one. "I'm Yumi Ozawa. I'm in second year, same as you. It's nice to meet you."

One girl across from Yumi raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. "Yumi, are you trying to get your hooks into the new guy already?"

"Huh? Not in the slightest. Anyway, let's continue practicing."

Nagai cleared his throat "We don't have a stage, and we haven't decided on a script yet, so we're just training. I'm sure you'll catch on. Our club meets on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays."

A girl to the right of Nagai turned to Yu and took up where Nagai had left off "We're not gonna throw you out if you don't show up, but the more you train, the better you get, right? I think being in the drama club helps you learn how to express yourself more eloquently. Oh yeah, I'm the club's vice president. I'm not really much help, though…"

Nagai immediately turned around, and faced the girl with a sheepish smile. "That's okay, Mi-tan. I know you put a lot of effort into it. Besides, you're so cute…"

"Don't call me Mi-tan in front of everyone!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Yu saw Yumi roll her eyes at the obvious display of affection. He waved his hand slightly, managing to grab his attention, and pointed at his open mouth and pretended to gag. Yumi smiled faintly and moved away from the couple, approaching the new 'actor.' "Yu-kun, forget about them! Let's practice, okay? We'll start with voice lessons."

"That's right; now, focus on your stomach…" Yumi placed her hand below her ribcage and then raised it up to her collarbone. "Now, push the air out. Now, say "Ahh"!"

"Ahhh…"

"That was good! You've gotten a lot better than when we started!" She smiled and giggled slightly, only to look around in shock "Huh, school's over already! Everybody's already gone! I didn't even notice…"

"Hey, we were working pretty hard, it only makes sense."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll see you next time. Come to practice, okay?"

"Got it." Yu yawned and stretched his arms above his head, thoroughly tired. When he gets home, he'd probably take a nap before doing any homework.

"I'm glad to see you can take orders." Yumi teased before going over to her book bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "Well, Fate must've brought us here. Let's do the best with what we have."

Time froze once more, the now familiar sound of smashing glass filling the air as a card materialized between them. Placed atop of a stained glass-like background made of various reds, purples, and yellows was a sun with a gentle face. Held in the trimming was the Roman numeral XIX.

Thou art I, And I am thou.

Thou hast established a new bond…

It brings thee closer to the truth.

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Sun Arcana.

Time resumed at a normal pace, with Yumi gasping and searching through her bag. "Oh, yeah. Have you ever gone to see a play or a musical being performed live? I have a DVD you can borrow. It'll definitely help your technique." Out of her bag was a boxed DVD case. Yu raised his eyes at the odd image, a girl wearing a white hat and wearing all white was whispering to a girl dressed in a similar outfit, but in all black, with a green face and red lips, smirking. "The other members in the drama club don't watch this kind of stuff, or even talk about it… but then again, it is in English, so…"

"Hey, don't worry," Yu said while taking the case. "I'm pretty good with English, so I think I'll enjoy this."

Tuesday, 4-26-11. Weather: Cloudy with Rain Later in the Day

With a content smile, Yu walked down the street, fully rested after the sleep he got last night. Stretching as he walked, Yu tuned into the conversation two students were having in front of him.

"Oh yeah, did you hear? They found Yukiko-senpai." One said, and he vaguely remembered the voice from his own classmates

"Huh? Really? Uh, does that mean she wasn't part of the case?" Said the boy next to him.

"How should I know? I just heard people talking about it."

Good, the police didn't go public with the assumptions that she might've been kidnapped by the killer. At the very least, Yukiko won't be completely harassed when she gets back. And if she is… well, Yu glanced up at Izanagi with a grin, only to see Orobas there instead, blankly staring at him, silently judging the students ahead of them. Gah!

Orobas slowly turned down to Yu, his blank gaze reflecting Yu's shocked expression. "...Hello."

"Huh…" Continued the students in front of them. "But Yukiko-senpai might have been the next target after Saki-senpai, right? The culprit's definitely going after people based on looks."

"What? But those two are totally different. Plus, I hear that Saki-senpai got around…" Yu felt a small amount of rage well up inside him, and Orobas, picking up on that, moved closer to the boys and snorted. At the same time, a boy with white hair passed by, causing the two to stop their conversation and search for a new topic, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "B-By the way, guess what? It's gonna start raining tonight."

"Uhh, really? Seriously? I didn't know that."

Orobas, satisfied, hovered back to Yu. "...Do you know those students?"

I… think they're in my class.

"...Hmmm, interesting." Orobas disappeared, and in his place was Izanagi, who simply shook their head and continued on their path, unaware of the horse Persona's intentions.

As the day carried on, Izanagi traded places with Orobas once more and then disappeared for the rest of the day. This hadn't escaped Yu's attention, nor had the disappearance of the two students from earlier, who were, in fact, from his class. He couldn't exactly bring it up casually to Chie or Yosuke, not without someone hearing, and since he didn't really know how to forcefully change the Persona who was 'out,' he was stuck worrying.

Hopefully it's nothing, he thought as the period for math began, and Mrs. Nakayama began her lesson.

"I've heard there's a mysterious animal dwelling in the shopping district area. Supposedly, it knows how to search the change dispenser of the vending machines. How amazing in that? Even animals can learn the value of money… I guess I'll have to keep my wallet more secure from now on. Students, at your age you might not understand, but money is very important! You can't do anything without it!"

"Oh believe me, I know." Yu muttered under his breath, not noticing the concerned glance from Yosuke behind him.

"And you know, smarts don't guarantee wealth. Anyway, I guess I should do what they pay me to do and lecture you. Let's see, we left off talking about the properties of whole numbers… Well, Miss Satonaka. Tell me which of these don't exist: Amicable numbers, betrothed numbers, marriage numbers, or sociable numbers?"

Chie looked up, visibly panicking. "Uh… which one was it?" She turned to Yu, trying to appear inconspicuous. "Do you know, Yu-kun? I don't think I've heard of any of these!"

Yu whispered under his breathe. "Marriage numbers."

"Uhm… Marriage numbers, Nakayama-san?"

Ms. Nakayama tsked at Chie. "That's actually correct. Next time, Miss Satonaka, please just say honestly if you don't know the answer. Amicable numbers, betrothed numbers, and sociable numbers all exist as types of numbers. However, 'marriage numbers' don't exist… though amicable, betrothed, and sociable exist. Deep, huh? Anyway, let's move on. This is the Messene Prime. It's really quite…"

As Ms. Nakayama moves on with her lecture, Chie leaned over to whisper to Yu. "Guess she knew I was asking you. But… thanks, Yu-kun! Uh, do you think we could talk after school for a bit? I hang out on the roof, so just meet me upstairs."

Yu nodded and turned back to the teacher, noticing Chie's cheerful smile as he took notes. While the lecture was somewhat boring, as he had taught himself about the types of numbers earlier in the month, it was worthwhile to keep track of where he was.

However, the lecture was abruptly ended by frantic screaming in the hall. One of the doors was flung open by Mr. Kondo, who panted desperately. "I need any members of the sports teams to help me, two students have gone insane!"

Mrs. Nakayama stuttered, the chalk in her hand screeching as she applied too much pressure to the board. Yu stood from his chair, as well as two other boys and a girl in the far back, before running out into the hallway. The two students that were talking in front of Yu in the morning were now slugging it out by the stairs. Observing like a referee was Orobas with his arms crossed over his chest, his tail flicking behind him.

"What are you doing?" Yu cried, directing it at Orobas. Instead, one of the two students replied.

"He's a sick son of a bitch!" One yelled as he threw a nasty right hook at the other's eye, and then jumping on the other once he fell to the ground, straddling his chest while delivering another nasty punch. The sports team members didn't waste time, immediately throwing themselves into the fray and trying to separate the brawling students.

"Those who can speak so flippantly about the deceased do not deserve to keep their sanity." Replied the Persona. "A simply Hysterical Slap threw their puny minds out of their heads, and they will remain that way until the end of time."

Yu shook his head, switching to thinking to keep everyone from thinking he was as crazy as the two fighting in the hallway. That doesn't matter. They're idiots and don't know anything about Saki. Yes, what they said was wrong, but you didn't need to go out of your way to punish them!

Orobas snorted and tilted his head back, the Persona disappearing in a flash of red flame and Sylph taking his place. "That guy needs to get a grip on reality, right? Anyways, you restrain them, I'll fix them up!"

Yu nodded and joined the pile that had formed as he had talked to Orobas. He grabbed the one who only had one boy holding him and glanced at Sylph, whose hands were glowing a faint green color. Slowly but surely, the second year students calmed down, and were looking around confused.

"Whew, looks like that was sorted out." Mr. Kondo said, grabbing the two students by their arms and moving to the stairs. "You boys get back to class, I'll deal with everything from here on out."

With the situation defused, Yu let out a sigh of relief, and easily decided that he had to get rid of Orobas as soon as possible to avoid any more situations like that.

After explaining what had happened during Math to the other Persona users, Yu and Chie had left the school together and walked to Samegawa riverbank, the girl and Tomoe scanning the area with thoughtful expressions (well, as thoughtful as a masked Persona could be9.

Chie hummed. "This looks like a good spot."

"A good spot? For what?"

"Y'know, for training!" Chie bounced on the balls of her feet while Tomoe spun her staff and proceeded to point it at Yu's currently equipped Persona, Sylph, who darted behind Yu for attention. "I need to hone my kicking skills, or I won't be able to use them in battle. I tried practicing at home… but my mom and dad yelled at me for putting a hole in the shoji."

"Isn't there a gym nearby? I think I heard Daisuke talking about it, why don't you practice there?"

"Well, gyms aren't as good as practicing with a real person, y'know? Plus, a lot of guys might stare at me, and I don't like that. Besides, we both need the practice, and I can get used to seeing how Tomoe would react in a battle so I can adapt to her style. You don't mind, right?

Yu slowly nodded. "No, I'm fine with this."

"Okay, good! So, let's train together! Unless you'd want to do it privately or something."

"Like I said, I'm cool with it, it's just that I use swords, but I'm fine with learning hand-to-hand combat. I have to do that whenever I change Personas, anyways."

"Yes! Thanks, Yu-kun!" Chie jumped in place and pulled her arms to her sides, doing a fist pump before turning to face the river. "That thing… y'know, from that time? I mean the Shadow that came out of me. I feel pathetic knowing that's another 'me'. Makes me feel like I gotta work harder!"

Chie turned back to Yu with a smile, whatever serious expression on her face vanishing. "Alright, let's do it! Between you and me, we'll be unstoppable!"

The tarot card of the Chariot materialized, glowed golden, and the number 2 materialized on the picture before vanishing completely. Having seen the similar moment from Yosuke, Yu barely reacted, a hint of a smile crossing his face.

Chie cheered. "Alright, bring out Izanagi. I want a good sparring session!" Tomoe raised her staff into the air, a golden glow surrounding them, charging once Sylph had swapped places with the Fool. Yu grinned as he fell into a fighting stance, blocking a roundhouse kick from Chie as the two Personas collided mid-air, a shower of sparks flying from their weapons as ice and electricity clashed.