Author's Note:

I am wasting away at home waiting for summer to end. I remember the days when I used to look forward to summer vacation…

Anyway, it was interesting to read all your favorite characters! The compliments on my portrayal of Yukari were really nice and made me blush too, haha. Yukari is actually one of my favorite characters; she's bratty and moody, but that makes her very realistic (especially for a high school girl), I think, and I love flawed characters. I'm also fond of Shinjiro, Akihiko, and Junpei. (I'm a sucker for the friendship of the trio, Junpei, Yukari, and Minato, I mean.)

To elaborate on Minato staying Minato and not Makoto, I will say that 1) I am deeply attached to Minato Arisato and I will probably never see him as Makoto Yuki, 2) As it is for Sayuko, it pisses me off (probably unnecessarily so haha) that they keep changing names of the protagonists, 3) HE IS MINATO ARISATO DAMMIT, 4) I used to be a big Rurouni Kenshin fan and all I can think of is Makoto Shishio and that's just not kosher. Mostly it's just me being immature and kinda lazy 'cause I am not going through the story to replace his name.

But I digress.

Thank you all for reviewing and answering my questions and dealing with stupidity. I love you! (This is also a really long author's note and I'll be so pumped/impressed if you guys actually read through this entire thing.)

L'Effet Papillon
"The Butterfly Effect"
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

Chapter Thirteen
No Use Crying Over Spilled Ramen

I will burn my dread
I once ran away from the god of fear
and he chained me to despair

Although her music is beautiful and she plays piano like it's written into her genetics, Minato is ninety percent sure Shiori Kobayashi is giving him the stink eye, and that kind of detracts from her magnificent performance. He wishes he could play without looking at the sheet music the way she does, both because it's a skill he'd like to have as a musician and because her glare starts to get kind of painful. "I think I'm actually sweating," he thinks, clutching his violin hard. It takes all the concentration he has to actually focus on playing his part and not being terrified by this girl who suddenly hates him, but the recital comes to an end and Keisuke has nothing but compliments to offer them.

"That went a lot better than I thought it would!" Yoshioka says cheerfully as she packs up her cello.

"It was one of our best, I think," Fuuka says. "By the way, Minato-kun, you seemed a bit distracted." He inwardly curses; maybe he wasn't being as discrete as he thought. Then again, Fuuka's plays violin, too, so she was standing right next to him the entire time. It isn't too weird that she noticed, especially considering how many times he had to wipe his sweaty palms against his pants. "I-I mean, it sounded really good, but..."

Minato steals a quick look around to make sure they're in the clear. "Say," he says, keeping his voice low, "what do you know about Shiori Kobayashi?"

Fuuka blinks, unsure of where his question is coming from. "Probably as much as you," she admits. "I know she's in our grade, but she's in another class. I'm not really sure which one, to be honest... Umm, I know she's friends with Yukari-chan, but I don't think they're very close. Why?"

"She was glaring at me the entire time," he says.

"Oh, she couldn't possibly have! I know I said I don't know her very well, but she's very quiet and timid. She's not the type of person who would do that." Fuuka looks like she really believes what she's saying, but Minato isn't convinced. The only person who's ever glared at him with that much conviction before was Yukari... Though, since they're apparently friends, that might be saying something. "She's pretty laidback, I think, but she might have just been focusing really intently."

"On my face," he murmurs.

"What was that?"

"Uh, nothing."

Ami walks up to them with a bounce in her step, even with her saxophone case weighing down her tiny body. "That was so much fun! We all sounded so good together, too. All that practice definitely paif off!" Noticing an awkward tension between Minato and Fuuka, her head moves from one to the other. "Umm, is something wrong?"

Before Minato can say no and diffuse the situation, Fuuka says, "Minato-kun thinks Shiori-san was glaring at him. Which I don't think is true because she doesn't seem like that kind of person. But I also don't know her very well."

"Oh, she definitely wouldn't!" Ami says. "We've hung out a couple of times, since she and Yukari-senpai are friends. She might seem a little cold at first, but she's just quiet. She's actually really sweet, you know. Maybe she was just really concentrating on playing right? This was her first recital where she got to play piano, I think."

Well, some people do just have intense stares, though he'd never beg Shiori as one of those people. There's more than what meets the eye, though. "Yeah, alright... I guess you're right," he acquiesces. As soon as one thing stops bothering him, however, another pops up. "By the way, her last name is Kobayashi, right?" They both nod. "Wasn't that the last name of one of the guys we ran into that one night? Akio?"

"They're related," Ami says, but she sounds a little weary now. Maybe she's making the connection, too. "He's older than all of us, a third year. We've talked a couple of times, because of Shiori-senpai, but..." She trails off, looking a little disturbed by how closely interconnected everything is. "Do you... Do you think she might be...?"

"We can't say for sure," Fuuka says. She looks worried, too. "We should tell Ikutsuki-san and Mitsuru-senpai, though. They might be able to find out more." She turns to Minato with a sympathetic smile. "Maybe she was glaring at you after all, Minato-kun. After what happened on the last Full Moon, with her brothers and his friends... O-of course, we don't know anything for sure yet." Except they basically do, because there's no way this can be just coincidence. Minato specifically remembers Phil talking about there being two other members; the likelihood of Shiori being one of them is pretty high.

Yoshioka comes over with the three of them still mulling over the issue. "You guys are still standing here?" she asks, snapping them out of their thoughts. "Geez, I thought you'd gone home without me or something. Hey, let's stop by Chagall on the way back! I really need some coffee."

"Great idea, Yoshi-senpai!" Ami chirps. "We can fill you in on some stuff there!"

She quirks an eyebrow. "What stuff?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Fuuka says, laughing softly.

Minato bobs his head seriously. "And it all started with Shiori Kobayashi glaring holes into me during the recital."

▶ We're having another meeting tonight, on the fourth floor. Ikutsuki-san is coming by, and I guess he has something important to tell us. See you later.

Minato heads back to the dorm right after school, after getting Akihiko's text. "It's probably about the Shadows... Maybe he found out something about the other kids, too." After telling Mitsuru about Shiori, she hadn't said anything much, though she promised to do some research on her and her brother. He'd run Phil once or twice since the confrontation, but the older male just smirked and kept on walking. None of them were willing to attack them during the day, apparently, which he was thankful for.

He approaches the dorm and spots Yukari and Fuuka outside on the steps, playing with a white dog. Upon further inspection, he notices that it has red eyes.

"Koro-chan," Fuuka coos, "give me your paw!"

Panting happily, it places its paw on Fuuka's outstretched hand, earning the praise of both girls. "Oooh, good dog!" Yukari cheers.

Minato walks closer, his steps eventually giving him away. "Oh, hi, you're back," Fuuka greets.

"Whose dog is this?" he asks, crouching down to scratch the dog behind the ears. He barks in thanks, nuzzling against Minato's hand, and Minato smiles; the last time he had a dog was when he was five, back when his parents were still alive.

Yukari shrugs. "He was just walking down the street."

"I've seen him sitting by the steps of the shrine, though," Fuuka says. "His name is Koromaru. Most people around here know his name."

Another dog suddenly runs over, its leash wagging uselessly behind it, and barks at them. A panting woman slowly follows, pleased that the runaway dog has finally come to a stop. "Oh goodness..." She takes a moment to catch her breath, when she notices Koromaru. "Oh... This dog still goes on walks all by himself?"

"What do you mean?" Yukari asks.

"He used to belong to the priest at Naganaki Shrine. Every afternoon the two of them went this way for a walk."

"Ah," Fuuka says, "that explains it..."

"Well," cuts in the passerby, "until the priest passed away."

"He passed away...?"

The way her eyes light up tells them that she's been waiting to tell this story for a while, and/or gossip is among one of her favorite pasttimes. "Oh, you haven't heard the story? It was about six months ago... The priest was hit by a car while walking his dog. He didn't survive. Ever since then, that dog sits patiently by the site of the accident. And he goes for a walk every day, just like when his owner was still alive." There's a moment of dramatic silence, until she checks her watch and jumps. "Oh shoot, I have to get along. My son will be back soon...!" She grabs her dogs leash and runs, dragging it along instead of the other way around.

"Gossiping housewives," Minato thinks as he continues to scratch behind Koromaru's ears. "Well, you're a very loyal dog, aren't you?" Koromaru barks, almost smiling, then ducks underneath his hand in order to trot away. "Must be time to get back to the shrine..."

"We should probably get going, too," Fuuka suggests. "The Chairman's coming today, right? We should get ready."

They head up the fourth floor, where everyone's already waiting. Minato takes a seat next to Junpei, who instantly groans and grabs onto his arm. "Dude, have you started studying for the Classic Lit test tomorrow?"

Minato blinks. "There's a Classic Lit test tomorrow?"

"That's it, we're screwed," he wails. "I'm gonna be up all night studying. You should join me, man. Maybe we'll soak up twice the amount of information if we do it together. C'mon, don't leave me hanging!" Although Minato's pretty sure that's not how studying or brain plasticity works, he agrees anyway. "Alright! Maybe we can get Yuka-tan and Yoshi-tan to join us..."

Ikutsuki enters the room a moment later, holding a steaming cup of coffee. "Hello, everyone. I wanted to let you know how my research has been going. This concerns those Shadows that have been appearing during full moons. I want you to listen closely; it might be hard to follow. Shadows can be divided into twelve categories, according to their characteristics. This, we've known for a while. It's like their class or order. ... Now, I've classified the special Shadows we've seen so far, and... It's simply fascinating!" Ikutsuki seems to get lost in his own thoughts and research, though that's hardly something new.

"And...?" Yukari urges.

"Oh, sorry." He grins sheepishly. "Ahem... Those four Shadows belong to categories I through IV, in order of their appearance! They may have looked different than the more common ones, but the classification scheme still applies."

"Is that something to be excited about?" Junpei asks.

It clicks in Fuuka's mind, though. "Oh, I get it... There's twelve in all... Either we haven't seen yet."

"That's exactly right, Fuuka!" Ikutsuki says. "You're quite sharp."

"It's just math," Minato wants to say, but Ikutsuki is glowing, and he'd feel bad bringing him down from that high because of common sense.

"Okay," Yoshioka says, "so what are they after?"

At this, Ikutsuki sighs, which is the universal sign for another road block. "That's a good question, and that's what we haven't figured out yet: their motive. They don't kill their prey; they feed on their minds. It can be considered predation, but is it really? Is there an underlying intent behind their behavior? The purpose of the Shadows as a whole... That's what we need to consider."

"This is interesting," Akihiko says, "but, no matter what, we still have to beat the rest of 'em."

Mitsuru nods. "I agree. That's about all we can do at this point."

"Eight more, huh?" Ami murmurs. "That's a lot..."

"According to the data, each one has been stronger than the last, so we better start training harder," Fuuka suggests.

Akihiko smirks. "We'll manage. We've got plenty of time."

"But what about Tartarus?" Yukari asks. "Why does it even exist?"

No one else seems to notice, but Minato catches the weary glances exchanged between Ikutsuki, Mitsuru, and Akihiko. "They know something," he thinks, though it doesn't shock him too much. They'd all known from the beginning that secrets were being kept hidden.

"By the way," Ryuu speaks up, "did you find out anything about those guys? The ones who cornered us during the last mission?"

Ikutsuki looks to Mitsuru, who shakes her head. "Unfortunately, there wasn't much information to be found. I couldn't find anything on them as a group, and the reason behind their movements is still a mystery to me..." She breathes a heavy sigh. "I'll have to do a little more research. You might be able to help me out as well, Yamagishi." Fuuka smiles, enthusiastic to help, and nods. "Individually, I was able to find some pertinent information, however. Phil Luciano has ties to the mafia, which requires some more investigation, I believe. As for the Kobayashi siblings... Well, it appears as though the younger sister is quite sick. She was born with a frail body and she often collapses from over exertion."

Those certainly don't seem like the ideal conditions to be part of Phil's group. "Maybe she's not actually with them," Ami suggests.

"Shiori and I are friends," Yukari says, mildly distressed. "She would never..."

"But we don't even know why they attacked us in the first place," Akihiko says. "They said something about us bringing everyone closer to death... What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know," Ami admits. "We didn't really get a chance to ask them what they meant... They really wanted to stop us, though... Do you think they know about the Shadows? The twelve big ones, I mean. Do you think they know about us trying to destroy them, and they want to stop us?"

"Why would they?" Junpei asks. "I mean, those things're destroyin' the city and eatin' people's minds! Isn't us killing them a good thing?"

"There's too much we don't know," Mitsuru says. "We'll have to find out as much as we can. They may be a threat to our mission."

"And what would we do if they are?" Minato asks.

Mitsuru hesitates to answer, though that's answer enough for everyone. In the end, she says, "I'm not sure."

It's almost July and the kendo tournament isn't until the beginning of August, but Ryuu is intent on winning this year, so he's using every practice to improve. "Good work," one of his teammates says, patting him on the shoulder. "You've gotten a lot better this year! Losing in the finals last year was a hell of a motivator, huh?"

Despite his grin, Ryuu winces at the memory. He can still vividly remember losing hit footing and getting struck on the shoulder, right at the end. He was so close to number one... "It's gonna be different this year, though!" he says. "I've been training on days off and during breaks, and I really think I can get it. Then again, Kenshin's gonna wanna protect his title, too..." Ryuu sighs, his shoulders dropping a little. "It's gonna be a rough one. I can tell."

His friend chortles. "Well, don't give up already. You've got, like, two months to get ready. Just don't slack off." He gives Ryuu a hard pat on the back, causing the blond to stumble forward, regardless of the padding of his uniform. "Maybe work on your balance, too... That's kinda what kicked you in the ass last time."

"Thanks for being sensitive," Ryuu mutters, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I'm just here to help! I wanna see you at the top just as much as you wanna be there!"

"Fff, okay..."

"Oi, Ryuu, Takato, get over here," grunts the captain of the kendo club. They jog over to the center of the gym, where everyone is standing in a circle. "Good practice, guys. If all things go according to plan, we'll get to final again, and hopefully take it all home." He grins in Ryuu's direction, which does nothing to lighten the weight on his shoulders. "Let's do a couple more rounds before we leave, huh? Just to get in some extra practice before the weekend. Takato, you pair up with Shin. Ryuu... Hmm, why don't you go with Sasaki?"

Ryuu's entire body freezes. Sasaki Kusanagi is part of Phil Luciano's group. "But he doesn't know that I know about him," he thinks, trying to calm himself down. "He probably still knows that I'm part of SEES, though... Shoot." He swallows thickly as Sasaki approaches him, pulling on his helmet. After the last full moon, Sasaki returned to school with notable bruises and bandages, and they still haven't gone away completely. "Alright, just focus on this..."

"Do you seriously wanna do this without your helmet?" Sasaki barks.

Flushing, Ryuu fumbles around with his helmet to put it on. "S-sorry... I just got distracted."

Sasaki scoffs. "Yeah? Maybe that's why you lost last year, 'cause you 'got distracted.'"

Being teased by Takato is one thing, but being mocked by Sasaki Kusanagi is a totally different matter. His purple eyes narrow as his grip on the bokken tightens, and he takes his stance across from his opponent. "Okay fine," he says, low and under his breath. "I'll take you on seriously." At the blow of the whistle, Sasaki steps forward with a simple downward strike — but Ryuu is quick, and he sidesteps in order to deliver a swift, but powerful hit to Sasaki's shoulder.

Sasaki stumbles back, surprised both by his pace and the forcefulness of his attack. "Good work, Ryuu!" the captain shouts. "But take it easy, eh? The last thing I need is you guys hurting yourself during a little extra practice." Even through the bars in the helmet, he can make out the expression on Ryuu's face, and he grimaces. "I hate when he gets like this," he thinks grimly. "Seriously. Take it easy."

"Alright, Senpai," Ryuu says. His knuckles are still white from his grip on the weapon.

"I can deal with you," Sasaki growls. "I wasn't ready last time, but I'm not gonna go easy on you."

"Fine."

It's the Dark Hour. A single teenager stands in the alley behind Port Island Station, confused and suddenly aware of his surroundings. "Huh...? How the heck did I—?" There are coffins all around him, standing where his friends were just moments ago, a slice of the green moon hangs in the air. "Wh-what the hell is this!?"

"Good evening."

He swivels around at the sound of the cold voice, which comes from behind him. There are two males and one female. The pale man with scraggly hair and tattoos addresses him with an eerie smile. "Are you surprised? Truth be told, we all visit this world every night."

The teenager swallows thickly. "Wh-what are you saying? Who the hell are you?"

The one in glasses steps forward, holding out a paper. "Didn't Mommy teach you any manners?" he asks with a sneer. "You haven't introduced yourself... Take a look. Name, age, address, etc... This is you, right?"

"Wha—!? Where did you get this!?"

He shrugs as he puts away the paper, tucking it into his suitcase. "Somebody's got a grudge against you, and they asked us to get revenge."

The teenager's eyes widen. "Revenge!? What kinda bullshit is this!? Who put you up to this!?"

"Can't tell ya. We're professionals."

"'Professionals'...? Oh shit... You mean, the rumors on the net are true!?" The second male takes a step back, allowing the first to move towards him, this time with a revolver. "Hey... W-wait," he stutters, eyes locking on the barrel of the gun. "I haven't done anything! Why me!? What'd I do!?"

"That is not our concern," the pale one says. "Your notion of right and wrong is irrelevant. My client's wishes are all that matter. People hear what they choose to hear, and believe what they want to believe." He raises the pistol, and with a shriek, the teenager tries to run away — but it's all in vain, and the bullet is quicker. "You squeal most magnificently!" he laughs. "Such raw emotion!" The revolver fires, and the sound of a body dropping is heard.

There's a moment of silence before the red-haired girl in a white dress speaks up. "He's not dead."

"Doesn't matter," mutters the second male. "We've held up our end of the bargain. Besides, tomorrow this will just seem like some random crime."

The first shrugs, unperturbed, as he puts away the gun. "If there's nothing else... I'm feeling rather tired."

A low groan comes from the fallen teenager, but none of them look back as they leave. The night continues.

"Have you heard of this revenge request website?"

Curious, Shuya stops behind the stairwell to overhear the girls' conversation. "A revenge request website?" he repeats in his mind. "That sounds like something that might be of interest. I shall collect further data."

"Revenge request?" asks her friend. "What's that?"

"Well," she continues, "you can write the person's name you want to get revenge on, and bam! Mission accomplished. They say it's guaranteed successful, and completely anonymous."

"Seriously!? Give me the URL! Quick!"

"Well... It's just a rumor... I mean, I don't know the details... Why are you so desperate...!?"

"Huh? I'm not... I'm not thinking about revenge at all."

"... Okay..."

The girls walk away, though from his position, Shuya notices one of them acting a little weary. "Just a rumor," he murmurs. "Well, Phil did say that there's some truth in rumors..." He turns around to search for the group's leader, but the first person he sees is Kanzeon. "Oh, good afternoon, Kanzeon," he greets. "I was on my way to find Phil."

"Phil?" she asks, eyebrows raising in surprise. "Why?"

"I believe that I just overheard some information that may be of use," he says.

She smiles, still amused by his formal speech. He's been with them for several months now, but he still speaks like he's decades older than them. "Oh? That's great. I think Phil might actually be talking to one of his teachers right now... Since he's a third year, they're starting to pressure him about what's he's going to do after he graduates." Probably inherit the mafia and move back to New York, though that also depends on how things turn out here, with the Shadows and SEES. "We can meet up with the rest of the team after school, though."

Shuya nods. "Yes, that is the best plan of action. It would be wise to inform the others."

Kanzeon loops her arm through his and proceeds down the hallway with him, back towars their classroom. Even if he is robot, she can't help but feel responsible for him. Maybe it's just that motherly intuition. (That apparently extends to robots...?) "It's like you're always working, Shuya," she comments. "Always on the look out, always hearing things—"

"Well, my hearing is superior to most humans'."

"... Yes, but that's not the point. What I'm saying is that you should take some time to relax and have some fun. I know that we have a lot of work to do, but you're playing the role of a teenager now." She gives his arm an affectionate squeeze then remembers he's made out of metal and probably can't feel anything. "Since you're here in school, and living among us now, there's nothing wrong with trying out some new things. Most teenagers have hobbies and passions and things to distract them from work and school. Try exploring."

Shuya blinks, and for a moment Kanzeon thinks the topic has gone right over his head. Much to her surprise, he nods. "Very well, Kanzeon. I shall do my best to 'explore' and 'try new things.'"

The way he says it makes it sound like he's undertaking another mission, but she figures there's not much more she can do about it. It's the thought that counts.

Hagakure is the best place for ramen on all of Tatsumi Port Island, though its many customers will argue for its superiority among all of Japan. Akihiko walks in, ready to eat some ramen, when he spots his old friend at the counter, already eating from a bowl. "Hi," greets the server, "how are you today? Just one?"

Akihiko takes the seat next to Shinjiro, though the latter doesn't acknowledge him. "I'll have what he's having." The server wanders off to prepare his meal, leaving the two of them alone. There are only a couple of others in Hagakure at the moment, though they're sitting in the corner and are completely oblivious to him and Shinjiro. "How can you eat the same thing all the time, without getting sick of it?" he asks, eyeing the large house special.

Shinjiro rolls his eyes. "Shut up. You always eat that protein shit."

"Hmph." He doesn't protest, though. Akihiko is notorious for his stash of protein bars and protein powder.

The server returns quickly with Akihiko's order and places it in front of him. "Here you go, one house special! Be careful, it's hot!"

"Thanks!" Akihiko says, positioning the bowl in front of him. He breaks the chopsticks and digs in, savoring the taste of the noodles and broth. Hagakure really does have the best ramen.

As he's eating, he steals a glance at Shinjiro, whose eyes are focused entirely on his meal. ".. You still haven't made up your mind?" he asks eventually.

At this, Shinjiro stops, and turns to Akihiko with a full blown glare that nearly knocks him off his seat. Oops, bad timing. "Is this what this is about?" he snaps.

"We've got nine members total, now. That's six more than when we started, just the three of us. Things have changed quite a bit since you left," Akihiko says. "We're more aggressive now."

His answer his short: "I'm not interested."

"Think about it, Shinji," Akihiko insists. "Don't let your power go to waste."

"My power ain't worth shit."

"Shinji!"

Shinjiro slams the chopsticks against the counter roughly. "I made up my mind a long time ago," he says sternly. It looks like it's taking all he has to keep cool. "I ain't going back."

It's a losing battle, Akihiko knows, but he's adamant and refuses to give up. "You have to let the past go," he says softly. "What's done is done. It's time you moved on."

Shinjiro scoffs. "You should talk."

"What?"

Shinjiro stands up quickly, deciding to bring an end to the conversation. "Not that I wanted any of this to begin with," he thinks bitterly. He pauses right outside the door, with Akihiko still watching him with an imploring look in his eyes. "Face it," he says, without turning towards him, "you're no different than me."

Shinjiro leaves, and Akihiko's left alone with his bowl of noodles. Defeated, he turns around and picks his chopsticks back up. "That could have gone a lot better."

Closing Song: "It's Time" - Imagine Dragons

Here's a fast update because I don't wanna do my homework. Which I should probably do at some point today, but I have to train my army of Spartan children (aka teach karate), then go to my karate class, and ugh hassle...

By the way, I love hearing your opinions and comparing them! There are some hints of the pairings I decided on (am still deciding on cough cough), but do you see any specific ones? Are there any you'd like to see soon?

xx, der kapitan