With a sigh, he buried his head deeper into the soft down of his pillow and pulled the blanket to his chin. The gentle ticking of the grandfather clock lulled him into a peaceful rest, its swaying pendulum anchoring him solidly in the domestic bliss of his living room. His predilection for the antique grew as a child and in the absence of the everlasting arms of a Mother and father. He was so charmed by the soothing metronome, that whenever he found himself feeling sad or bathed in the sweat of a nightmare, he would emerge from his room and make fort under the clock's eternal ticking.
He shifted happily in his makeshift bed, and a soft, slender hand brushed against his forehead.
"Are you feeling better, sweetheart?"
A sharp chill raced down his spine, and Akihiko's arm began to throb with pain.
Darkness clouds my sight.
She furrowed her eyebrows, lips parted.
His footsteps fall silent on my ears, his shadow eludes my eyes.
We have to keep trying.
Lucia exhaled and Fuuka felt a cool breeze comb through her hair. An occaisional sliver of light would pass over her eyes as her persona glimpsed snapshots of Minato's sprinting through blackened corridors and blind corners. The floor he had chosen to explore was a total blackout, and behind Lucia's shroud Fuuka and Minato were quite literally walking in the dark. Still, the moment Minato separated from the others, Lucia's orb was alight with a nervous energy. There wasn't anything abnormal about that, after all this was a dangerous mission.
To say Fuuka was deeply unsettled by Minato's tight-lipped plan would be an understatement. His explanation of his strategy had been vague, and too many spontaneous elements were suddenly emerging as potential traps. When he left the others so suddenly and without warning, Fuuka began to think that he was doing more than searching. The trust among them was just beginning to thicken, but tonight, Fuuka had come dreadfully close to questioning Minato's leadership. When he left the others without mentioning what it was he was looking for, Fuuka had expected him to at least confide in her the object of his pursuit. He did not, and Fuuka, still timid in her new role, did not feel it right to ask.
It was as though Minato had felt the consternation of Lucia, for at that moment his voice reached her at the bottom of Tartarus.
"Do me a favor and keep an eye on the others, Fuuka. I'm almost done here."
"Are. . . are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Fuuka tilted her head back slightly, and Lucia raised her eyes to the strange corner on the 202nd floor, where Junpei, Aigis, and Koro-chan were waiting in tense silence.
She heard Minato's voice again.
"What's up, Junpei?"
Fuuka watched Junpei as he scratched his head.
"It's just like what you were saying, dude. There's some big cracks in this wall and some weird glow comin' from behind. Looks like another wall back here."
Deception awaits.
Fuuka shivered.
Junpei had scarcely finished his sentence when Minato chimed in robustly.
"Bring it down. I'll be up in a minute."
Fuuka watched under the safety of Lucia's shield as Junpei's lips formed an determined grimace. She closed her eyes as he raised the massive hammer in his arms and brought it crashing into the wall.
He will find you. He will find us all.
Akihiko buried his head in the grass, a howl of anguish trapped in his throat.
A few feet away, he registered Miki's blood curdling scream and the sound of the back door being flung open. Mother would come running in a moment.
Akihiko gasped, realizing the wind had been knocked out of him.
His sister loved him too much to ever say 'I told you so', but Akihiko couldn't help but sourly think that she had been right about the stability of the upper branches. After testing his weight on one branch, Akihiko thought his footing was secure. From below, Miki had covered her eyes, terrified at the sight of her brother so high up.
"Aki," she had complained, with one eye peering from behind her hands. "Let's just go to the shrine."
"You're such a baby," he responded, annoyed. "I've done this a million times before."
With Akihiko's weight confidently being pushed on the tree's limb, the branch snapped easily and dropped him to the earth. He blacked out for a moment after he hit the ground, but Miki's terrorifed response had brought him to.
The back door slammed again.
"Aki, I can't find mom anywhere!"
"Miki," Akihiko grunted, "Listen to me, okay?"
His sister dropped to the ground sniffling and pushed her face close to her brother's.
"Go to the Hideki house next door and get someone."
"But, Aki, what about mom? Why isn't she here?"
"I don't know, but my arm is really hurt," he forced a grimacing smile. "You can do it, Miki. I know you can."
"Okay, I'll go get someone right away!" Miki leapt up and bounded across the lawn to the neighbor's house. Akihiko swallowed and forced his lungs to breathe over the pain in his arm. Mother was probably at the store or visiting one of the neighbors. Such behavior was not unusual. In the past year, Akihiko had grown used to her random disappearances for long stretches of time, and used to her returning in the later hours to make a quick meal or say goodnight.
Miki had trouble acclimating to this new Mother, especially since they had just lost their father a little less than a year ago. She was still little and didn't understand the extent his death had on Mother, but Akihiko saw it everyday in her controlled avoidance of meeting his eyes. She had always told him he looked so much like his father, and now, even though she never said anything, Akihiko could feel the bitterness emanating from her cool beauty whenever her eyes met his.
He soon found himself at the hospital, wincing at a glowing X-ray of his arm, his bone split at an angry angle.
"We'll have to reset it," the doctor said gravely.
Miki clung to him, eyes wide in terror.
Akihiko pulled his eyes away from his sister and looked at the doctor sternly.
"I don't want her to see it."
Miki dug into Akihiko's waist, grinding her teeth.
"No, Aki!"
He patted her head.
"It's okay, I'll be better after this. Go outside and wait with Hideki-san, mom will be here soon."
A nurse led Miki out of the room, even though the little girl kept looking back at him fearfully. Akihiko vociferously denied any painkillers, and when the doctor reset the bone, Akihiko did not cry out. He and Miki spent the night together at the hospital, insisting to Hideki-san that their Mother would be there any moment. Akihiko fell asleep in the waiting room, with Miki curled up snugly under his arm.
Their Mother never came.
He took a step, and stopped, the crunching of the snow under his sole ringing of finality. Shinjiro tightened his arms around Mitsuru as he swallowed. He was hoping that the sight of his old refuge should would result in a miniscule amount of comfort, or at least nostalgia, but the sallow and aged wood of the orphanage only struck of sadness, a monument to memory.
It was getting colder, and closer to that unforgettable stinging sensation of that winter night settling into his chest.
"Are we going in there?" little Mitsuru asked timidly.
Shinjiro looked to Mitsuru, his expression heavy with bad news. He looked back to the orphanage and chose not answer right away. The longer he stared, the more Shinjiro began to realize just what sort of hell was about to engulf them.
His primary tactical strategist had taken the form of a small and defenseless child and his Jack of all trades was most likely well-embedded somewhere in a deeply rooted drama. As the only member of the party who had retained a speck of sanity, Shinjiro was responsible for extracting them from the shadow's grip. For the now, the biggest item of concern was finding and Akihiko and pulling him out of this shitfest.
Mitsuru's shivering stopped, and Shinjiro's panic grew.
Once he entered this arena, it was only a matter of time before the fire started, which would make it even more perilous for Mitsuru and her fire-weak persona.
"Fuck."
She did not reprimand him.
There was no way he could leave her out here. If the hypothermia didn't kill her, a shadow could easily overtake her. Shinjiro drew in a steady breath before he gave Mitsuru a firm nudge to the shoulder. She stirred weakly against him.
"Do you remember a time where you had to be brave, kid?"
Mitsuru burrowed her head against Shinjiro's hair.
"Yes," came the muffled whisper.
Shinjiro shifted her weight in his arms as he resumed toward the door.
"Good. Because we have to be brave now."
She opened her eyes for a moment, grounding herself in the intense preamble of their mission, and saw Lucia's palms twitch. Her own fingers shook soon after and Fuuka chided herself for her inattentiveness before quickly scouting for the 202nd floor. Junpei was still hammering at the wall, while Aigis and Koromaru stood by looking uneasy.
The beast is stalking its prey.
Fuuka held a hand to her chest, Lucia's whispers sending ripples of dread through her body. By nature, her persona's words were more of the esoteric sort, but these warnings were never uttered lightly and Fuuka knew immediately the weight they carried. In this situation, she was uncertain who was chasing who, though. Should she find Minato?
Fuuka bit her lip.
He had instructed her not to, so he must have had reasonable cause to assign her eyes to Junpei and the others. . .
Right?
I feel treachery as water feels a pebble ripple against its surface. Danger strikes on all sides, young oracle.
"How's that wall coming?"
Minato was breathless.
Lucia tensed at the sound of his voice, what was going on here?
A black pool of despair filled her chest and her knees buckled.
"Where the hell are you?" Junpei barked.
The fumes of rotting corpses filled her nostrils. Through a veil of fog, she saw Minato leap up the stairs to the 202nd floor, his trajectory pointed directly at Junpei, Aigis, and Koromaru. The sight was soon lost to a vision of her friend's bodies, strewn across the bloodied floors of Tartarus.
Let the chaste flee and the wicked kneel, Death has found you.
Elizabeth watched the Magician throw his enormous hammer against the wall she had meticulously labored over while Chariot and Strength stood by in wary observation.
Her eyes gleamed with fascination.
She had expected him to try something, anything, and she had not been disappointed. His unassuming and demure temper was lovely, but an obvious guise and one that could not withstand ambition. No, what surprised her was the extent of his willingness to risk the lives of his party members in order to reach his reward.
Elizabeth had to admit, even she was fooled at their last conversation, and she had walked away slightly disappointed that he was turning out to be a humble martyr. After all, his earnest pleas were more than convincing at their last meeting, and his reassurances that he was only thinking of his friends by requesting to cancel the request fell sincere on her adept ears. Clearly, she thought sweetly as she looked at the ignorant hammering of the Magician, their safety the utmost importance to the young man.
Always the timely hostess, Elizabeth turned away from her observation deck to greet Cocytus' new guests. After a little tidying up, she would have to pay Minato a courtesy visit and congratulate him on his impeccable treachery.
She was so enamored with Minato's devious planning that she did not hear the chains scraping against the stone floor as they followed Arisato Minato onto the 202nd floor.
She had felt the symptoms of his pesilent presence enough times to know when his guns were hot and ready to cut through flesh. Lucia felt her master's wave of nausea, and the protective globe began to vibrate against Fuuka's ears. Knowing she would never grow accustomed to this feeling, Fuuka could only hold herself within the sanctity of Lucia's dome and choke.
"Run," she whimpered.
Junpei grew pale as Koromaru whined.
Until your precious clutch returns, you must not falter.
Fuuka steadied herself at Lucia's encouragement, scarcely hearing Minato's nonplussed query from above.
"Where is he, Fuuka?"
"He's advancing from the North East corridor on your floor, please, get out of there!"
"Shit," said Minato with absolute calm. "Junpei, use Traesto, I'll meet you down at entrance."
"Are you serious? I have another two good knocks on this wall, dude-"
"We'll come back in a second when he's gone, but we have to get off his radar first."
With blackness creeping into her vision, Fuuka took to one knee. Outside, the muffled shouts of Amada and Yukari bounced off of Lucia's shield.
"God damn it," Junpei conceded.
She watched him reach into his pocket and toss a small gem into the air, and with a pop, they disappeared from her vision. She heard their footsteps roll in from the portal, making certain to hear for their voices before she collapsed entirely.
Shinjiro ignored the plummeting sensation in his stomach when the first floorboard of the back entryway made its signature creak. He had crept in this way enough times to know exactly how to break it without making it irreparable. After entering the drafty storage room, Shinjiro carried Mitsuru through a moldy passageway and into the kitchen.
Just don't get caught up in the minutia, Shinjiro told himself as he gently set Mitsuru down and took her hand. The kitchen smelled of apples and cinnamon, and Shinjiro had to firmly tug Mitsuru back when she strayed toward a basket of pumpkin muffins on a nearby counter top.
"Stay close to me," he whispered sternly.
"Are there monsters here?" she quickly skipped closer to him.
He stopped and looked down at her.
"Yes."
Mitsuru looked up at him gravely before she took a deep breath and nodded primly. Faced with the bravery of a small girl, Shinjiro swallowed back the feeling of his heart melting and tugged her along with a slow urgency.
Fuuka opened her eyes to Yukari's softly looking down on her.
"Hey there."
She lifted her head off of her friend's lap, and Yukari immediately helped Fuuka to her feet.
"You passed out, Fuuka. Don't push yourself so hard-"
Before Yukari could finish, the others rushed Fuuka in a frenzy.
"Where is he-"
"That ASSHOLE! I'm going to tear him a new-"
"Arf! Arf! Arf-"
"You really didn't see him at all before you came back-"
"No, the prick took off and then told us to meet him here-"
"We must find him this instant-"
Fuuka brushed her fingers against her temple, conducting her count even as her head spun: Koro-chan, Junpei-kun, Ken-kun, Yukari-chan, Aigis-
"What happened? Where's Minato?" Fuuka asked dizzily.
The entryway to Tartarus went silent and Fuuka lost her breath.
"We were kind of hoping you would be able to tell us that," Yukari murmured, her eyes large.
After glancing down at the cast on his arm and then briefly back at his mom, Akihiko closed his eyes, his Mother's pained smile burned on the back of his eyelids. At that moment, the only sound that entered his ears was the sound of the grandfather clock ticking away the seconds. He should be thinking something right now, but what? Should he be thinking about how happy he was to see her smiling again?
He opened his eyes to that smile, but it did not warm him.
"You gave your sister quite the scare, Aki," she said firmly, her hand still running through his hair.
"I'm sorry, mom."
A vacant smile hung on her lips as she continued her caresses.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Akihiko's eyes focused on the towering clock.
"Miki," his Mother called. "Your brother is awake now."
She must have been waiting on the stairs, because the sound of footsteps scuttling hastily down the stairs was too sudden and quick for her to be in her room. Relief washed over her face when she saw Akihiko's short lived smile. The stress on her features blazed into anger and Miki burst into tears.
"I hate you! Don't ever do that again!"
Akihiko looked at her in surprise as she rushed into him, sobbing uncontrollably onto his shoulder as she draped herself around his neck. The familiar shape of her hands and even her strength as she held him moved Akihiko's thoughts to a strange destination. The strangeness of this scene was uncomfortable, and he quickly took himself away from it.
He closed his eyes.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
"Miki, honey, let your brother rest. He's had a long day."
Sniveling, Miki obeyed and peeled herself away from Akihiko's chest.
Their Mother tucked a loose strand of hair behind Miki's ear and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Don't worry, honey. You have all the time in the world to be with us," she cooed before planting a soft kiss on his sister's forehead.
"We'll always be together."
A bird chirped outside and Akihiko opened his eyes, his lips falling into a limp frown.
The clock was dead.