"I'm proud of you."

Minato glanced back at Pharos and just shook his head.

"I know you feel lost… But don't you also feel like something's changing within you?"

Little by little, SEES and he were beginning to chip away at the cage surrounding his heart. Was it good or bad? "I guess…"

Pharos watched sadly as his friend slumped down onto the bed, as if trying to lift even a finger was a chore. "I… I feel like even though we did find out that the one who started the Dark Hour is dead now, there is something more to this." And of course, Pharos could not bear to look upon him, drained of purpose—of life itself—leaving only the skeleton of his being, if that. No, it was closer to a husk.

Still, Minato only gave him a weak smile. "And… And! We have some loose ends to tie up with Sachiko-san, and we can still try to find out more about your power, because that's still a bit of mystery, isn't it?"

Pharos stood rigidly, awaiting a response. "You're right. Sorry to make you worry, Pharos." Inwardly, he breathed out a sigh of relief. He hoped and hoped that it would be enough.

"It's alright," he replied. "Oh! Perhaps you should go to the beach! To help you calm down and relax, that is."

For a few minutes, eyes darting around the still shadowed room, lips pursed as if his answer would be in his mouth somewhere, Minato was silent. The birth of his decision was tension the length of a gestation period, within which Pharos sat down next to Minato and patted his back. Eventually, however…

"Alright.

…

As Minato made his way to the beach, Pharos kept an eye on the surroundings. Ever since yesterday, he couldn't help but feel that there was something, or someone, watching them—no—Minato.

Still, Pharos couldn't help but crack a smile as Minato settled down next to the water, removed his slippers and let the brine wash over his toes.

Not wanting to interrupt Minato, Pharos took it upon himself to investigate the matter.

He floated over to the bushes, trying to peer into the darkness of the forest. As he scanned the area, Pharos narrowed his gaze, eyes diving in between the nooks and crannies of shrubbery matting the floor.

Pharos looked back towards the beach for a moment. He couldn't help his chuckles as Minato was accosted by Akihiko and Junpei, despite knowing how distressed he was. Maybe the extra sun, laughs and banter would do him some good.

Then, a rustle.

He darted back towards the dark outlines of foliage. Were those… eyes?

Pharos felt its stare bore into him, electric blue dots too stark, too bright to be normal. They reminded him of something… Of course! His own! But these… these were not soft glows; they were beacons of light, fixated upon the beach. Troubled, and with the comfort of knowing that these eyes could not see him no matter how close he was, Pharos floated towards the pair of lights.

As he moved, Pharos could make out the brief outline of a long dress, a feminine body shape, some unkempt, sandy hair… Yes, they definitely looked like a person. Yet, something was off…

The girl could sense a disturbance in the vicinity. A vague, ghostly shape whose presence shaped the air to be approximately 1.3 degrees colder than normal. Somehow, she couldn't help but step towards it, hollow protocol urging her into apprehension.

"Pharos?"

The two of them whipped around to face the whisper.

"What are you doing back here?" Minato asked. "Would've been nice to warn me about Junpei and Akihiko-senpai…"

"Sorry… I… I'd be careful, Minato," he replied. "You can see them, can't you?"

As Pharos spoke, his eyes landed upon hers, tunnels of light cutting through the shadows. "What…?"

She observed his face. 'Confusion' seemed to be the appropriate term to describe his facial features. After cross referencing his image with those in her database, it seemed an accurate deduction.

Confusion: uncertainty about what is happening, intended; uncertainty coming from a given stimuli. Alternatively, it could also refer to the state of being confused: being bewildered or not having clarity of certain stimuli.

Her understanding of confusion was not heightened considerably.

There was a 98.43 per cent chance that this blue haired boy was the one she'd been searching for. This human was tucked away in her database of recognisable faces, although she didn't quite comprehend why he was of utmost priority.

Was that something she was 'confused' about?

"Initiating evasive manoeuver. Confirmation must be made at a secure location."

Before Minato could say or do anything, the pair of eyes darted away into the darkness. "U-Uh…" He glanced at Pharos, who looked just as bewildered, and the two of them wordlessly pursued the blinking lights. "What the hell was that…?"

"I don't know. But I'm extremely curious," Pharos said, echoing Minato's thoughts on the matter. He could kind of see that Minato was also a little bit irritated from having been interrupted, but the intrigue that he felt easily masked it.

For a moment, Minato caught sight of a shadowy blur swerving through past the trees. Sucking in a gasp, he followed suit and reached a small clearing.

They could almost make out the form of the girl, whose presence was slightly obscured by the flickering canopy. There she was, however, staring at Minato from behind a towering tree. Then, she spoke once more: "I…"

"I was correct. I have found you."

She stepped out from cover, approaching him, slowly at first. Minato couldn't help but back away as the girl continued, but alas…

The girl enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.

It was in vain. "W-W-Wait! Get off me!" he cried.

But she didn't listen. "I have been searching for you. My highest priority is to be with you!" What. As she tightened her grip, Minato was wholly focused on the unpleasantness and how uncomfortable he was; mentally and physically.

Yeah. The hug… Instead of soft skin, her arms felt smooth, hard. Indeed, they took 'porcelain skin' literally.

"Aw, what the hell!? This is bullshit!" Junpei exclaimed. Hitting on girls all morning: Get attacked by a milf. Do jack shit all morning: Get a cute girl to hug you. "He hasn't even been at the beach for like five minutes!"

Akihiko was equally as dumbfounded. "I… I don't get it either…" he muttered to himself. "He didn't even really say anything to her!"

"There you guys are! What're you guys doing? We've been looking all over for you!"

Yukari.

Minato struggled to look over at the two girls that had emerged from the forest clearing with them. Oh right. Fuuka left a note saying that they'd gone to see the jyomon cedar tree early that morning…

"What are you doing um… in the middle of the woods? In your swimsuits?" Fuuka asked uncertainly, directing the question to Junpei and Akihiko. The two boys exchanged some looks with gritted teeth, eventually landing on Minato, who was still feeling and looking extremely uncomfortable in the girl's grip.

"You have no idea what we've—Huh?" Yukari had finally trained her eyes on the girl that was clinging to Minato. "Who is this…?"

"Listen, we've encountered a problem. I'm sorry to interrupt your vacation, but I need you all to go back to the house and prepare for battle." Mitsuru came from behind Yukari and Fuuka, arms folded, ready for business.

"That won't be necessary!" Ikutsuki too entered the scene, his usual smile on.

Yukari furrowed her brow, still trying to take in the sight of Minato and the girl. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled and approached the girl. "You had me worried. You don't have permission to leave the lab on your own, Aigis."

Minato's mind had already… sounded the alarums when the hug had begun. Now its battlements were clanging their swords, spears and shields together—after what had happened a few days before, how could he not?

Still, he forced himself to make eye contact with Aigis. Indeed, they weren't quite human-like, having the tiniest mechanical elements whirring behind the eyes' glow.

Somehow, Aigis was pried off him, and he (kind of, sort of) took in Fuuka's explanation on the matter. Because Ikutsuki had worded Aigis as just an 'Anti-Shadow combat vehicle', everyone got the wrong impression on what it was supposed to look like when they were sent to find it.

They reached the vacation home soon after, eagerly waiting for whatever explanation the chairman had for Aigis.

"I apologize for all the trouble. Everything is under control now," Ikutsuki said as he walked into the lounge where everyone was waiting.

"So, what happened to capturing the tank?" Fuuka asked.

"Oh, that's been taken care of. Come here, Aigis." He gestured to Aigis.

Without her sundress, her white body laced with steel was revealed. So that's why the hug was so uncomfortable… "This is Aigis. As you can see, she's a 'mechanical maiden.'"

"I am Aigis. My mission is to destroy Shadows. I have been assigned to SEES, effective immediately," she spoke. The stiffness in her voice seemed more noticeable now that they knew what she was.

Yukari gasped. "No way… it's like she's alive!"

"This is unbelievable," Akihiko whispered, sharing the same sentiment with many of the SEES members.

"She's so cute, but… she's a robot…" Junpei groaned.

"Anti-Shadow weapons were created ten years ago to combat uncontrollable Shadows. Aigis was the last to be made… and she's the only one that still remains today," Ikutsuki explained, looking upon her rather fondly. Being an important piece of machinery that was not only powerful, but unique in its own right, he was happy that she was intact. Considering her circumstances…

"An Anti-Shadow weapon… Does that mean she…?" Mitsuru trailed off, gazing upon Aigis with intrigue. After all, the only ones that could fight Shadows had to have it.

"Yes. I am capable of operating the Persona 'Palladion,'" Aigis answered.

"She suffered major damage in combat and has remained in the lab ever since. It's still unclear as to why she suddenly reactivated herself this morning… Well, I hope you will all get along." Ikutsuki laughed.

"An Anti-Shadow weapon with a will of her own…This is amazing!" Fuuka exclaimed. She absolutely adored technology and almost sentient robots were things of science fiction; today it showed.

"Um…" Yukari began, looking at Aigis. "By the way… When I saw you earlier, it seemed like you knew him…"

She nodded. "Yes. It is very important for me to be by his side."

"Hmm… Perhaps her identification system is malfunctioning… Or maybe she's still half-asleep... This is quite interesting…" Ikutsuki speculated aloud. "Hmm… Well, I can ponder this later." He gave a smile and turned towards the team members. "Oh, I forgot to tell you all… You can participate in a wide range of recreational activities here. There's a tennis court, a pool table… even a karaoke machine. Would you care to hear me sing?"

Minato's knee-jerk reaction mirrored the discomfort he'd felt not so long ago. Goddammit! He came to relax; not to get involved with 'mechanical maidens' and all that bullshit!

"Looks like we've gotta suck it up, huh, Minato?" Pharos smiled nervously, as if afraid that she would hear him.

He could tell that he agreed.

As the two of them shared their 'silent' conversation, the two of them could only feel her stare intensify.

Edited: 22/11/16

AN: Elaborated more on Minato and Pharos' relationship, and more from Pharos' POV. There's another change, but we'll get into that in another chapter.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter.