A/N: This is for Rima. A little something about Persona-sorry I mean Rei.

Chapter 9: Perfect.

"Sir! He has arrived, please relocate. Now!" The speaker used his laser eyes to destroy the incoming debris which would otherwise have knocked him and his boss off.

"I am not a coward." Zagi proclaimed, "I'll face the son of a bitch!"

"You're foolish. Not brave," A man in his late twenties, with long black hair tied in a pony and a silver mask covering his face entered the room. He was holding Scarlet at gunpoint, as if he was holding a trophy. His fingers adorned with numerous alice controlling rings.

"Give up Zagi!" He called out. "All your men are taken care of,"

"Never," Zagi wouldn't admit outright, but that man standing before him was a real deal. He had single handedly defeated all his men and even defeated Scarlet. But he was not going to let him get away that easily. "Although I have to admire your courage…..Persona…"

"I am not known by that name now," Rei replied.

"Ah! I almost forgot. Atonement. How noble!" Zagi smirked, "I see you have chosen the path of righteousness. And all thanks to Yuka's daughter, right?" Rei was not in a mood to talk to this vicious man. "But don't forget something, Persona. You and I are alike. We both enjoy killing. It's our nature. That's what we are born for,"

"SHUT UP!" Rei was pissed off by now, "Just shut the hell up. You are wrong. I am repenting for my sins."

"You really think that by clearing up your old mess, your sins will be erased. How naïve," The wicked man said almost laughing.

"I have done terrible things in past. Horrible. Even to the people I love the most. But they have forgiven me and I have decided to make this world a better place for them. I don't want them to suffer anymore. I'll bear the punishment for my sins alone, but I've been forgiven by my loved ones, that's more than enough for me. That's why I am clearing up my old mess." Saying so, he pushed Scarlet down, tired and exhausted she collapsed.

"Aaaaa…" Zagi lunged towards Rei to attack him, Rei dodged. Even after fighting almost all the men outside and a skilled assassin, he still had strength left. Zagi took out his knife and dived for Rei's stomach, he dodged again. Rei raised his left leg and hit Zagi's wrist hard so that the knife fell off. Rei punched him. One. Twice. Rei was winning the fight. He used his long sharp nails to attack. Zagi's left cheek got a deep scratch ensuring to leave a permanent mark. Zagi touched his wound, fresh blood smeared on his fingers.

"Give up now." Rei asked him.

"You'll pay for this." Zagi was furious. He decided to use his last resort: his alice. Rei's body paralysed all of a sudden. He crouched on floor, hands tightly holding his head bursting with pain. And a piercing pain ran through his spine. It was agony. Worse than hell.

"AAARRRGGGHHHH…" Rei screamed out enough to be heard ten miles from the building.

"Who's coward now, huh?" Zagi taunted him. Rei gasped for air, he closed his eyes, pictured Nobara: Standing at the threshold of their little cottage, waiting in open arms for him to return home. She stroked her slightly round stomach which was pulsating life. 'You can do it, Rei…for us…..' He could even hear her sweat melodically voice encouraging him. He clenched his fist tight, kneeled a little and then tried to stand up despite all pain.

"Impossible!" Zagi said in astonishment, " How can you even stand with that much pain?"

"I have a family waiting for me at home, I will not let them down." He took tiny steps towards Zagi and tried to fasten his movements, "Aaaaa…." He grabbed Zagi's neck and did something he hadn't done in over 3 years. He used his alice. He had stopped using his corrosion alice after the alice war, he thought it was for the best. But today he had to use it to save his life. He can't die now. He has a wife and an unborn baby awaiting him back home. The pale skin of his neck turned darker, brownish and in a blink of an eye it was turning blackish purple. It was rotting, his skin. And the rot was spreading from his neck above to his face and to his torso below. He screamed in horror and pain.

Rei was engrossed in his alice, he didn't notice Scarlet moving towards him. She grabbed him from behind and freed Zagi. As soon as the contact broke, the black rot ceased to spread and the already present marks faded a little to blackish brown. Zagi gasped for air. So did Rei as Scarlet held tight onto his neck. He tried his best and moved his hands to touch her and started to rot her hand. She quickly withdrew.

"You son of a bitch!" She yelled as she felt the burning sensation from her rotten hand. Rei grabbed the chance to escape. He was not a coward, but he wasn't a fool either. It was two against one. Not wise choice if he wanted to live for his family. "You'll pay for this Persona! I swear." Zagi yelled at him in anger.

"Woaa….aaa…..Whoaa….."

Rei woke up with a start. Glanced at the clock: 4:58 AM. He walked over to the crib place beside his wife's side of bed. She woke up simultaneously. He signaled her to go back to sleep as he took their son in his arms and cradled him. "Hush now….daddy's here…..shhh…." He rocked his beloved son. He knew his father's warm touch well. He stopped crying. But refused to go back to sleep. He probably wants to play around with his daddy.

"Rei…" Nobara said concerned about her husband. He felt her cold small hands wrap around his waist from behind. "You're sweating. Heavily. Everything alright?" He turned to face her. She was still so innocent and small even at 19. Her wavy blue hair falling carelessly on her forehead. She reached out for their baby from his arms.

"I got this," He insisted as he tightened his grip on the child, "You should go back to sleep. " And he continued cradling the baby.

"Rei…" She touched his face gently, caressing it slowly, " Another nightmare?" She knew him so well. He didn't like lying to her. So he nodded in agreement. Silence was broken by the baby's resumed crying.

"Wooaa…aaa….Woooaaaaaaaaa….."

"He's hungry." Nobara stated. Mother's instincts. Rei handed him over to her, she unbuttoned her blouse and nursed the baby. He hungrily sucked onto his mother. "What was it about?" She asked as she sat down comfortably.

"Nothing for you to worry about." He sat beside her and placed an arm around her. A perfect family. Something he always wanted. Something his Izumi sensei and Yuka sempai wanted as well. But their dream remained a dream forever. But their kids will definitely live in a better world.

"Rei?" She snapped him out of his musing. "You don't have to bear the sins of your past alone. I am here to share it with you. The pain. The fear. Everything. Remember our vows?"

'I,Nobara Ibaragi, take Rei Serio to be my lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, for better and for worse, in sickness and in good health, for past and for your future, for richer and for poorer; until death do us apart.'

Yes, he remembered every word she spoke in front of the priest that day. How can he forget? He smiled at her, stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "Rei!" She was a persistent girl.

"Nothing, just a dream about this fight with an AAO boss about a year ago." He confessed. She smiled at her victory. She took a look at their baby, for it had stopped sucking now. It was sleeping soundly in his mother's arms. She kissed his eyelids carefully and placed him back in his crib. Rei was already lying in bed by the time she finished buttoning her blouse up. She snuggled beside him, feeling his warmth, and closed her eyes.

Before sleep waved its magic on the two she managed to say, "Rei….I don't want you to involve in such missions now…..for my sake…..for Izumi's sake….promise me…." He nodded. His life was perfect right now.

He would do anything for their sake. Izumi was his precious baby. They had a hard time conceiving, probably due to his alice. Not to mention the rough times he put Nobara through. He regretted it. Two painful miscarriages. Nobara was indeed a strong woman, surviving the mental and physical pain. The first time she was all alone in house, and she was bleeding profusely and next thing they knew was their baby was gone. The next time, he woke her up from sleep. He woke up in middle of night feeling wet and was horrified to see the blood soaked sheets. What had he done to her? They both cried arms in arms the whole night.

'Let's give up now. It's okay. The two of us can be a perfect family too you know.' He had told her.

'No….' She sobbed, 'Rei…..let's not give up….'

'Nobara…..please….don't….I don't want you to get hurt anymore…look at you…..you're exhausted…'

'Rei…..please….I am strong…I can do it…..We can do it.' She said with determination in her eyes. He sighed and gave in her argument. Not long after they were blessed with another child. This time to their joy it survived full term. Rei was the happiest man on earth the day his son was born. He was scared at the thought of being a father, for his had abandoned him; but he looked up to Izumi sensei as a fatherly figure. He decided that he'd raise his kid how his sensei raised him. He clearly remembered the day his son was born. So tiny. So fragile. So innocent. He felt his heart melt at the very sight.

'I told you we can do it.' Nobara reminded him. He smiled at her as she handed him their son. He gently took him in his arms. So soft. He held his son's tiny hands and cradled him. Tears flowed uncontrollably out of his eyes. Nobara cried at the sight as well. The three embraced. Now that was a perfect family.

"Welcome to the world, Izumi Rei Serio." Nobara whispered in her son's tiny ears. All was perfect.

"Really? That's great we'll be there. Right. Okay." Tsubasa placed the handset in the charger,

"Misaki!" Tsubasa shouted.

"What?" Her irritated reply came, "I am trying to cook without burning. Don't distract me,"

"They're back!" He yelled in joy. He heard the clang and bang of the utensils slipping through her fingers. She ran into the front room from the kitchen. "Really? Even Hotaru?" Her eyes were beaming with joy.

"Yes, both Hotaru and Subaru with the rest three." He confirmed.

"That's great!" she hugged him in joy. "There are all in Academy. The Imai sibling are recovering in the hospital. "

"It's Mikan's first time in there after her memories got erased right?"

"Yeah. And they're having this welcome back party. We're invited," Tsubasa said.

"Eeppp…" His fiancé yelped in joy. The thought of meeting everyone again in Academy, just like old times, made her jump in joy." Kinda like an alumni reunion right?"

"Yeah," She hugged him. "I am so glad everything's back to normal now." She hugged him tighter. Finally everything's perfect.

"This is bad," Kenji muttered as he shivered and shook violently. He wrapped his arms around himself, curling himself like a puppy. He clutched the bed-sheets tightly in his fists. The two blankets covering him did not warm him up. He felt a cold wet liquid drip from his nose. It definitely wasn't mucus. He touched it and it revealed itself to be blood.

"Oh no! This is very bad." He exclaimed in fear. He knew that his epistaxis, was a bad sign. His fever was bad, he often ran high temperatures if he used his alice for more than an hour. But the nosebleed are worse. It means he had used up a LOT of his alice. He had been going on frequent visits throughout Tokyo since past few weeks, examining memories of almost any person remotely linked to their target. There was however no news about them since the day they disappeared in the time void. That was some work. He indeed had used quite a lot of his alice. They had to get to know the targets location soon. There was no luck so far. Kenji had to withdraw his mission when he suddenly fell unconscious one day while reading an old man's memories.

"You need to toughen up brat." A familiar cold voice called out from behind.

"Scarlet!" Kenji responded.

"Here." She handed him over a bottle containing pills, "Osoujisama has sent these for you. The fever will subside with it." He grabbed the bottle and popped in two pills.

"Easy there, tiger." Scarlet teased him, "Get better soon. We're expecting guests." He gave her a baffled look.

"I am going to the Academy, to get her." She hinted.

"They're back?" He sounded half surprised and half excited.

"Yeah. We got other intel sources besides you, sweetie," She winked at him. He blushed like a silly little boy. Scarlet's flirty ways always made him embarrassed. Scarlet smiled at the fact that how very meek the 13 year old kid was. "Get rest brat." And she walked out. She walked out thinking about their perfect plan.

Everything was perfect for everyone at the moment. Yes, perfectly on its way to imperfection.

A/N: This chapter was mainly written to show what the other characters have been up to while Mikan and Natsume were on their trip through time. Hope you guys liked it.

This chapter was written by edwardelric108 and edited by Sonic-Keyblade007 and Neverlookback756.