With a shaking hand, Sebastian raised the glass to his mouth and took a small drink of the amber liquid within. He felt like he was falling apart. Something inside of him had changed. It was a terrible feeling; like he was sick or had been damaged in an event. He brought the glass to his forehead and closed his eyes trying to calm his erratic breathing. The condensation of the glass against his skin felt wonderful and awful at the same time. He couldn't calm his breathing, but he could bring it down to a more consistent level. His only hope was that he did not hyperventilate. He breathed in from his nose and out from his mouth slowly, holding his breath from time to time to try and calm down.

What was wrong with him? He was a mess. He leaned back against the leather of his seat and brought the glass away from his face, replacing it with his free hand, rubbing against his eyes and forehead. He took another drink and set the glass on the bar beside him, the glass clinking several times on the bar's surface as his hands continued to shake. He wanted to break down and cry but couldn't find it inside of himself to do it. Maybe if he broke down in tears he could feel a little better. This was a different kind of damage.

He leaned back from his hunched over position and removed his shaking hands from his face as he looked to the two individuals in front of him. The man in front of him simply stared at him beneath folded hands in front of his mouth. There was no smile on his face. The woman to the man's left on the right side of the room was staring as well; her delicate hands folded overtop one another. He always liked the look of her hands. He had always wanted to kiss them. He looked to the man in front of him

"Aren't you supposed to welcome me or something?"

The man said nothing, simply staring

"And aren't you supposed to make some sort of foresight comment? Hm? Tell me w-what I'm d-d-doing wrong?"

He tried to control the stuttering but couldn't help himself. He leaned his head down into his hands; pressing his palms hard into his eyes.

"God, what the fuck is wrong with me? Talk to me damn it!"

They said nothing, waiting.

Eventually Sebastian grabbed ahold of his hair and gave it a few pulls.

"Alright! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I shunned you off before. I'm sorry I didn't take your advice seriously. I'm sorry I was rude to you. I'm sorry!"

The woman smiled slightly with satisfaction as she looked to the man beside her and nodded her head. The man's ear to ear smile stretched upon his face.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room"

"You know, it really pissed me off that you can come to me whenever you feel like it and I have no means of contacting y-you. Fuck. What is wrong with me?"

Margaret glanced to the animal at Sebastian's side, outside of the car. The large beast kneeled down beside the open door as it watched the three of them. Volf knew that Sebastian was having a very hard time right now. He knew that he needed to be there for him should things get worse. Get him out of this car and somewhere safe in his own dreams and thoughts. In Sebastian's current state, he couldn't have him anywhere dangerous that might affect his mind.

"Your body is in a state of shock on the surface. Your fight with the boy has left your mind damaged. Anxiety and fear are still inside of you from another touch of death. No doubt this is due to the fact that this time your attacker has a face whereas the first time was a simple car accident"

"So there is no way of c-calming d-down?"

"Not until you wake up, no"

"Wake up?"

Igor smiled a little wider.

"Do not worry, you are fast asleep; deep in unconsciousness. Your affair with the boy has put you in a permanent dream for the present."

Sebastian leaned back and tried to relax, his hands fiddling with themselves; gripping, squeezing, digging his nails into his skin. Anything to stop himself from shaking. He bit his lower lip, speaking around it.

"How bad is my current physical condition, Margaret?"

"Less than critical and more severe than stable"

Sebastian rocked back and forth as he nodded his head trying to come to grips with all of this. To the outside world it may have been a day, but to him it had been moments. He remembered passing out in Naoto's arms and then there was a blackness before he woke up here. He put his hand to his chest, a small sting of pain spread out across it as he looked to Volf

"You saved my life, didn't you?"

Volf nodded his large head in response. Sebastian scooted over from his spot and wrapped his arms around the large beasts head, squeezing tightly.

"Thank you, my friend."

Volf pushed him back after a moment. He cared for his host, but he was still angry with him. Sebastian had just been through a great ordeal. He was not only physically damaged, but emotionally as well. Only now did he realize how stupid he had been and what he had done. He rubbed at his arm in embarrassment, unable to look his Volf in the face as he spoke. He didn't want to cry.

"I'm sorry I put you through that, Volf. I understand what I did was stupid and rightfully wear the blame. I don't know what I look like on the outside but I am certain I suffered for what I did and I'm sorry for doing it. I should have listened to your advice and just shot him. You were right and I'm sorry. But please don't push me away…"

Volf leaned his large head into the car after a moment and Sebastian held onto him tightly. Volf knew his boy was hurt. Hurt in a way that Sebastian did not fully understand. It would take weeks for him to get back to normal. If not months.

"I'll listen to you next time. I promise"

It was Margaret's turn.

"And perhaps you will listen to us next time as well"

Sebastian nodded his head and brought his face back from Volf, drying his eyes.

"God, I'm such a fucking child right now. I haven't cried from sadness in a long time. I hate it"

Sebastian leaned back in his seat but scooted closer to Volf, holding his large head for comfort like a child would a teddy bear. Volf right now, in Sebastian's compromised state, was his safety blanket.

"Margaret, Igor…What am I dealing with?"

Igor waved his arm over the table in front of him, his small deck of cards materializing upon the blue tablecloth in front of him. With another wave, the cards began to spread out and flip face up, their pictures facing up to Igor's large eyes. The cards spread out on the cloth and set in their square pattern. Igor looked over them before folding his hands under his nose again with a large smile.

'Everyone is in here, Sebastian. Everyone exists within this deck. Margaret exists within it. So do I; as do you. Your partner exists within it, your partner's friends exist within it, and even your parents existed within it. Every being with the capability to have a persona exists within these cards."

Igor's smile disappeared when the next words crossed his lips. It was a strange thing to see. Sebastian was used to seeing Igor with a large smile. This time however he saw only disgust within his eyes.

"That boy…Simon…does not exist within this deck…"

Sebastian clung a little tighter to Volf's head as Igor spoke.

"So...w-what is he t-t-then?"

Margaret's fingernails ran across her books cover as she clenched her fists

"He is an abomination"

Igor raised his hand to Margaret to call for silence and she drew quiet, straightening in her seat and relaxing her hands

"He is something new, Sebastian. Something we have never seen before"

"d-d-don't p-play stupid with me, Igor. Y-you d…didn't answer my question. W-wh-what…WHAT is he?"

Igor removed the center card from the square in front of him and moved it aside. He placed a pointed finger in the empty space

"He is this. The space between the cards and their links."

He placed the card back into the empty spot and began to place cards on top of it, restacking the deck

"A boy with a different kind of creature. It devours other personas and shadows to become a stronger, faster, deadlier monster. It is not a persona however. It is in fact, a Shadow. A shadow that was born within his head. A shadow that taught him how to think and feel and act."

"S-so, like how Volf and I work together?"

"In a sense, Sebastian. However, you developed the beast in a moment of desperation. In that moment, your Volf was created as a failsafe. The ego attempting to break through the depression and anger in order to save and protect itself. As you said, survival is an instinct. Self-preservation is an instinct."

Igor continued to slowly place the cards in the middle, the deck growing bigger.

"Where you and Volf were joined later in your life where you already had your own thoughts and feelings and were developing ways to think and act and decide what sort of person you wanted to be, Matthew was born with his shadow and it immediately began to shape him into what it wanted."

"Matthew?"

"The boys name"

Sebastian slumped back in his seat. Simon's name was Matthew. What a plain name for who he was.

"C-can you tell m-me his last name?"

Igor smiled with a small nod.

"Matthew Demitri"

A name. Finally he could put a name to the face he had in his head.

"Tell m-me about him, Igor…"

"The boy was born to a mother and father fourteen years ago. The father left the mother without a word;sSimply stopped coming home. Mr. Demitri then became the man of the house as he began to grow. Like you, his scholastic achievements grew vast as his shadow helped him through school; cheated for him. Your Volf is a wolf. He knows how to be cunning, how to fight with his claws and teeth; how to be violent. Matthew's shadow is a spider. By nature, spiders are patient, clever and can stay invisible from their prey until it is too late. Anansi is no different."

Igor put the last card onto the top of the deck and leaned back onto his elbows again.

"At one time, it is safe to assume that he was a normal person; Matthew. But years with Anansi in his head, whispering quietly and guiding Matthew's hand, he has become simply an extension of Anansi and her desires. Whatever good there was inside of Matthew was wrapped in web and killed when he was born. Now, there is only a shadow and it's extension."

"S-so how does the p-p….fuck…process w-work?"

"Referring to a persona?"

Sebastian nodded his head and clung a little tighter to Volf. Volf's large arm reached inside the vehicle and drew Sebastian closer, comforting him. He had never seen Sebastian like this. It was frightening and worrisome to the large wolf.

Igor smiled at the question

"A persona is gained when an individual enters this world and is confronted by their shadow. The shadow is a physical representation of one's self but holds all truths to the lies one tells one's self. In turn, when the shadow confronts its host, there is nothing the host can hide from the shadow."

Igor's tone changed to help Sebastian understand the gravity of the situation.

"When a shadow confronts its host with all knowledge of the host, the host is responsible to either reject or accept the shadow. Reject or accept who they really are. Should the host accept the shadow, the shadow is reborn as a persona; a representation of one's ego. A shining truth of one's self. However, should the host reject the shadow; the shadow will become enraged and attempt to kill the host."

"S-so when Simon walks around in the real world…"

"It is no different than an enraged shadow walking in the real world. Matthew is not a man, he is a monster; a shadow in the shape of a man."

Margaret opened the book in her lap.

"As I said; an abomination"

She leaned from her seat and took a seat beside Sebastian to show him the contents of the page; it was his own page. His name was displayed at the top along with the name of Volf.

"You two are the first of a new breed of persona wielder: a wielder that has never, in fact, faced their shadow. Undoubtedly there will be others as time goes on. For now, however, you two remain the only ones. But Matthew is a special case where his shadow was born inside of him in the place of a persona. And then there is you…"

He looked at the page. His name, age, date of birth, sex, eye color, weight, height, Volf's name, and Volf's powers and element type. But the origin of Volf was marked as unknown. Sebastian took note of the line that read:

Shadow: Volf

Persona: ?

Sebastian reached out and closed the book over Margaret's lap. He glanced up to Volf and buried his face into the beast's maw as he held on tightly.

"T-tell me then, Igor, What am I meant to do? Y-you obviously w-w-want Simon dealt with as m-much as the police do. I can't beat Simon on my own. Or with detective Shirogane even. So what am I meant to do?"

Igor smiled from ear to ear, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

"Under normal circumstances, Sebastian, there would be ways of dealing with a problem like Mr. Demitri. However, an extra ordinary circumstance calls for an extra ordinary measure. I believe the best course of action would be for you to aid your partner in her development of her connection with her persona"

Margaret looked stunned as she turned to look at him, returning to her seat quickly

"Master, is that wise? Having Sebastian and Matthew have it is one thing, but to train another individual-"

Igor silenced her with a stare from his wide eyes

"Margaret, please. As you and I both know, Sebastian is more than capable of such a task. He is also the last person we could expect to become something dangerous in the world to the innocent. He may be a monster, but he's a respectable monster"

Sebastian pulled his arms away from Volf and shouted at them

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here! I'm not a monster!"

He pressed his hand against his head as a headache washed over him.

"I'm complicated…"

Sebastian didn't know how he did it, but Igor seemed to smile wider.

"Regardless, if your partner was to be trained how to use the connection with her persona to become a more capable and efficient wielder, I can imagine you two being quite the team against an animal like Mr. Demitri…"

Igor removed his hands from under his nose and sat back in his seat; the arch of his back from who knows how long of sitting leaned over caused him to hunch low even as he tried to straighten his back.

"If he is not stopped by someone capable enough and fast enough then I am afraid there would be almost no stopping him. A shadow with a host at its disposal so readily with the ability to devour and grow stronger with each persona and shadow it consumes will only become a greater threat to this world and its balance. There are powerful shadows in this world that would be perfect to help Anansi develop into something more dangerous than she already is. In this world, Anansi is a force to be reckoned with should Matthew even need her for the plan he hatches. And Mr. Demitri will only become stronger with each persona and shadow Anansi consumes. In this world, Mr. Demitri is a monster. In the real world he is nothing more than a boy. My guess is that if you were to try and hunt him down that you would never be able to catch him without him escaping into this world"

Sebastian considered the possibility. In 2014 there were very few spots to go that had no televisions or screens to jump in and out of this world. Every street corner, every home, every school or mall, and almost every building had a television he could disappear into. Once inside, anyone that had been hunting down the boy would have wondered into the domain of a vastly superior hunter. A losing battle at that.

With Anansi pulling the strings inside the boys head, who was to say that they….she didn't already have an escape plan should her host come into danger? He knew they had an escape plan because he had an escape plan. If ever Volf and he were in trouble, they always had a place to escape to. The wonderful thing about this power was the ability to come and go from the shadow world to the real world. Simon could have jumped in and out at random.

If they could have cornered him in the shadow world, Simon had said they had a network to travel all over the shadow world. They could use that network to travel to the farthest corners of the earth and escape. With the influence of a brilliant mind like Anansi's and the cunning of the spider, who was to say he just couldn't escape? The money from the first few murders could keep him fed and sheltered for a little while but eventually he would run out.

Then the murders would happen again. If he continued to kill random people and dump the bodies in Inaba then there would be virtually nothing the government or anyone else could do. If Naoto and her friends entered the shadow world by that point then Anansi would kill them and eat their personas and become stronger. How many would she get in one try? Teddy and Yosuke? Kanji? The future owner of the Amagi inn? That was four in itself. Then Naoto. Five. And himself six.

Or he would drop the bodies in other places all over the world and nothing would come of it. He would become a ghost story; unable to be stopped or found with a sanctuary no one could touch him in. Sebastian did not really see another choice in the matter. If they did not stop him before things escalated then it would only get worse and eventually it would be unstoppable.

"Ok. I'll teach her what I can"

Igor smiled and leaned forward again, folding his crisp gloved hands under his nose.

"Wonderful. I look forward to your progress. Although a force for good and a force for evil are exciting and fun to watch, I wonder how two forces for good will clash against the force of evil"

Sebastian felt his hands start to shake and he scooted back into Volf's head.

"Can I wait outside until I wake up?"

Igor nodded his head and extended his arm. There was the door.

Sebastian slid out from the seat of the car and into Volf's crouched body. The car door shut behind him and pulled off into the swirling mist of the dream world. Volf sat down on the floor of the world and Sebastian curled up against the wolf's body as it wrapped its large arms around it's host. He squeezed Sebastian as he shook and tried to calm him down as he rocked. Sebastian had never seen Volf in such a manner. Even when he had been crushed by the cars of his accident he had never seen Volf be…gentle. That's not who he was. But he assumed that Volf was worried about his host and knew that it was time for Volf to take care of him until he woke up.

Then an idea sparked inside of Sebastian's head.

"Volf, why have I never f-faced m-m…fuck… faced myself?"

The rocking stopped and Volf swallowed hard to the question. Sebastian could feel Volf's powerful heart speed up and the strong arms that were wrapped around him shake. Sebastian looked up into the wolf's bright yellow eyes

"Why did you never try to kill me?"

As the water poured down her body, Naoto finally had a moment to breathe a sigh that caused her legs to get weak. She leaned against the wall and leaned her head down to let the hot water strike the back of her head and neck. She looked down at her feet and at the pink water that ran off her body. She had been under the water for over a half hour now and the blood never seemed to finish coming off of her.

She sighed again and dropped her arms to reach for the soap again. She would give her body another wash over before she would stop and let the blood come off in good time. Three times was enough she had thought, but four washes were getting out of hand. She was almost certain that the cloth she was using was just putting blood back onto her body.

'Are you mad at me, Naoto?'

Naoto was quiet and craned her head up into the shower head as the water hit her face with her eyes closed. She felt her body begin to rock back and forth. She was exhausted.

'Naoto? Sweetheart?'

"Be quiet"

'I don't want you to be mad at me…'

"I said be quiet."

'It's just that you haven't said anything to me since you got home'

"Shut up! Shut up! What the hell were you thinking?"

'I was protecting you!'

"You don't just beat people into unconsciousness. You don't just break people's bones until they tell you what you want! What kind of person does that make me? What kind of persona does that make you?! I don't want to have this with you! I don't want to speak to you or have your voice in my head if that is what I become! Shut up!"

Naoto waited a moment for the silence to set in. it felt wonderful to just be inside of her own head again. She looked at her hands pressed against the wall noticing the bruising on her knuckles and fingers where she had struck the man she had taken to the floor.

It had felt really good to hit those men; to break their bones and their teeth to get what she wanted. As good as it felt, she would never be that again. She would never let her persona act for her like that again. She was not who she had been in those few minutes. What was happening to her? Is this what Sebastian had gone through? Was he even who he used to be anymore? By all logic, who was to say he hadn't been compromised by Volf?

She turned off the water for the shower and stepped out onto the towel on the floor. She could see pink water still dripping off her legs and arms but it wasn't as though she could do anything about it. She took another towel off the wall and began to dry herself off from her legs up.

When she got to her face she winced as she pressed against her cheek and pulled the towel away, gently tapping at her cheek with her fingertips. It ached. She dried off a section of the bathroom mirror and looked at the bruise that had begun to form on her face. Her cheek was dark purple with green and yellow beginning to stretch along the upper section of her face along her eye and the bottom of her jaw. It looked like a very ugly birthmark.

As she made her way back into her room she let the towel drop from her body leaving herself naked as she dried her hair. She pushed what material was on her bed out of the way for her to sit down as she finished drying her body off. Her face began to throb as her body relaxed and reacted to the bruise. She hadn't noticed it until now.

The phone beside her bed began to ring.

Incoming call: Work

Naoto swiped her finger across the screen and pressed it against the side of her face. She winced and brought it around to the other side.

"Detective Shirogane speaking"

The woman's voice was sweet as it spoke.

"Hello again, Detective Shirogane, this is Alisia Roads again. Is everything ok?"

She fell back in her bed and sighed

"Everything did not go as I had hoped, Miss Roads, but I did uncover the information I needed for my investigation."

"My superior, Mr. LaFleur, send his regards. Any information you uncover for this investigation makes his life much easier"

"I am glad I could be of assistance. Was the investigation as to why former detective Adachi was released part of his business plan for this investigation?"

"No. But it helps the investigation you and agent Chastity are involved in which is part of his 'business plan'"

"I see"

"Reignbeaux would like to thank you for your assistance"

Her phone began to vibrate against her desk and she sighed with a small smile.

"I am afraid I must part with you, Miss Roads. I am being summoned it would seem"

"Of course, Miss Shirogane. If you need our assistance in the case further, please do not hesitate to ask. You have our number after all…"

"Thank you, Miss Roads. We shall speak again soon, I hope"

"Have a good morning Detective Shirogane"

"Have a good night, Miss Roads"

Naoto hung up the phone and reached for her cell.

"Detective Shirogane speaking"

"Detective Shirogane, We are sorry to contact you so late, but your partner, detective Chastity, has woken up. We just thought you should know."

Naoto leaned up in her bed

"He's awake?"

"He is. He asked for you"

Naoto looked over into her closet. She still had her old uniform hung up.

"Ok…ok I'll be right down"

She hung up the phone and pried herself up from the bed. As much as she wanted to just go to sleep, she wanted to see if he was ok more. He was more important to her than sleep. She felt herself hesitate as the idea crossed her mind before she grabbed her uniform and began to lay it out on her bed. What a concept.

It hadent taken Naoto long to get to the hospital this time. Dojima had dropped her off on their way back from the prison and she was able to take Sebastian's car. Technically it was under the control of the Inaba police department and Sebastian was out of commission. It wasn't as though he was going to miss it. She had decided to take it to get around better while he was being looked after. Though right now in the investigation, they had nowhere to go.

When Naoto opened the door to Sebastian's room she had waited until she was inside before she had decided to take her hat off. Sebastian was lying on his side away from the door with his knees drawn up to his chest. He shook quietly. She locked the door.

"Sebastian?"

He didn't answer. As she walked around the bed to look at him, she sighed with a small smile. He was asleep. Good. He needed whatever rest he could get. She reached out to him and ran her fingers through his hair. He seemed to curl up a little more at her touch. Idiot.

Her anger flashed for just a moment before she could push it aside. Whatever he had done could wait for her anger until he was a little better. Her smile hurt the side of her face and she stopped smiling. Instead she put her hands into her pocket and made her way over to the window of his room, looking out over the view. A small spot of white caught her eye. Then another. Then another. Her smile returned. Sunrise was coming quickly and it had started to snow.

The commotion behind her caused her to turn with the small groan that came from Sebastian. She turned and made her way over to the chair beside his bed. His eyes were open. One of them was anyway. The other was too swollen for him to look out of. He groaned again and tried to lean up but she reached out and cupped his bandaged cheek and he lay still again.

"Hey Sebastian…"

Sebastian smiled a little and closed his eyes

"Hi…"

"How are you feeling?"

"My face hurts…"

"It would…"

He tried to turn over but couldn't find it in himself. Instead he gave up and relaxed. His hand reached out for hers and she took it in both of hers.

"How long…was I out?"

"A little more than half a day. Maybe sixteen hours"

Sebastian sighed and curled up a little more, gripping her hand tighter.

"I'm sorry I put you through this."

"As much as scolding you appeals to me, I will wait"

Sebastian nodded his head slightly and only then noticed her bruise. He leaned up abruptly and the pain caused him to grab his chest along his ribs and stomach and lay back down. Naoto stood up to ease him back

"Who…did that?"

"I followed our hunch and went to the prison to confront our guards"

"By yourself?"

"No. Dojima went with me after Nanako gave him permission"

Sebastian smiled a little more than reached up to press against his cheek where the pain was.

"I like him…"

Naoto took his hand again

"You flat lined you know…"

Sebastian felt himself freeze up. He had died

"You went into cardiac arrest on the operating table while they tried to get the glass out of you and stich your wounds up."

Sebastian let go of her hand and brought the back of his arm to his eyes as he cried quietly. He had died. Volf had saved him. Again. It was the only explanation he could think of. He had been so careless and selfish that he had almost died. He had died. With a groan, he turned away from her, crying quietly. She rubbed his back.

"Sebastian, I know you have been through a lot, but we need to be able to work together on this. We can't solve this case without each other. And after that little speech you gave me about trust…how am I expected to trust you again?"

Sebastian didn't turn back to look at her as he spoke. He pulled the blanket a little higher over him.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you Naoto…I didn't want you to get hurt"

"What do you mean?"

"He told me that if I told you anything he would hurt you. Kill you even. I...didn't want to have you hurt. I didn't want to lose you"

Naoto understood finally. And it was a chilling revelation. The damage he had taken. The abuse their killer had done to him.

"He threatened to kill me if you told me anything?"

Naoto took his silence for a yes.

"Is that why you didn't tell me where you were going?"

Sebastian didn't respond again. Instead he reached across to the machine that fed him small amounts of morphine and turned it up a little. He relaxed a little more after a moment and the extra hit his body. His voice was groggy when he turned back around.

"There is a certain amount of pride and confidence that went into me not telling you, yes. There was also a certain amount that kept me from telling you where I was going. I was going to solve the case. Get our murderer. Instead this happened. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you involved. Not wanting you to get hurt came after"

"Was the abuse worth it?"

Sebastian smiled a little

"It was."

Naoto smiled back.

"If you ever keep something like this from me again…"

"I won't. I promise. I'll tell you the truth from now on"

"Do you swear?"

Sebastian nodded his head.

"I swear"

Naoto sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"What can you tell me about our murderer?"

Sebastian smiled a little more and closed his eyes, rolling back over to face her. He looked awful. The morphine was beginning to make him dizzy

"Your pretty face was hurt…"

Naoto felt herself blush but suppressed her voice from shaking.

"What did you learn?"

"He's 14 years old. Has a shadow in his head by the name of Anansi"

"The West African god of stories…"

He nodded slightly and went to speak but Naoto beat him to it.

"Red hair, space between his teeth?"

Sebastian nodded

"How did you know?"

"The guards at the prison told me"

He smiled slightly and shifted his jaw a bit. It wasn't set properly.

"He eats personas and Anansi gets stronger and bigger. So does he."

"Did you get a name?"

"Originally I called him Simon. His name is Matthew Demitri"

Sebastian opened his eyes to her and reached his hand out. She took it in hers and ran her thumb across the back end of his bandaged hand. Naoto took the floor.

"He ties up his victims in the thread of his shadow, has Anansi eat the persona, and then dumps the body in Inaba"

"How did you know?"

Naoto smiled a little

"I'm smart"

Sebastian nodded his head a bit before he grew serious

"I need your help in bringing him down, Naoto."

"Of course"

"I need to teach you how to work with your persona like I do with Volf"

Naoto tried to pull her hand away from his. She succeeded in doing so, but the look on his face when she pulled back made her give her hand back to him

"I can't do that Sebastian. Not after what I did to those guards"

Sebastian smiled a little.

"You hurt them didn't you?"

Naoto nodded

"You know you only have yourself to blame?"

"How so?"

"Your persona is only two years old. Consider her like a child. She doesn't know how to react or act because you haven't trained her; haven't worked with her. So when you lashed out under the influence of your persona, it was because of two reasons. First being that she was trying to protect you, and second because it's all she knows: fighting off attackers with ruthlessness and without mercy."

Naoto didn't like it, but this whole 'connection to her persona' thing was new and confusing to her. She wasn't sure if she should feel guilty for beating those men, angry and herself for it being her fault (apparently), or both. It was difficult.

"Then what do you propose?"

Sebastian scooted a little closer to the edge of his bed and brought her hand close to him, curling his arms around it. She noticed he was shaking; almost a little clingy.

"I need to show you how to fight with your persona; how to be a better wielder of it."

"Did you go through what I did?"

Sebastian nodded

"I told you when I was a kid I was in a lot of fights at school. That was Volf trying to protect me and acting through me. I hurt a lot of kids…"

"Sebastian…are you alright?"

His smile slowly disappeared. Tears began to form in his eyes again and he closed them tightly, curling up to her hand.

"No…"

He felt so foolish. He wanted to curl up and go away. He had risked everything foolishly. Everything that he had been beaten to death for, she had figured it out on her own. She was so much smarter than him. Maybe that's one of the reasons he liked her so much.

"I thought I wouldn't get to see you again after I passed out in your arms…"

Naoto ran her free hand gently along his cheek. He was cold from blood loss and his skin was much more pale than it usually was.

"I'll go get a nurse. See if she can get you something"

As Naoto went to stand up, he held onto her hand tighter, refusing to let go

"No…"

She sighed and sat back down.

"Sebastian, I'll be gone for just a moment. You won't even notice I'm gone"

"No…"

Naoto set her hat down on the nightstand with a sigh.

"OK. But can you let me go for a moment? Move over"

Sebastian hesitantly let go of her hand and Naoto went for his door, unlocking it in case one of the nurses needed to come in. When she returned and slid her feet from her loafers and took her jacket off. He kept faced away from her as she crawled into the bed behind him and draped her jacket over the two of them.

He was shaking from the cold and she slid her arm over him. He took her arm in his and held onto her.

"I was afraid I wouldn't get to see you again, Nao-chan"

Naoto leaned in and kissed the back of his head as she held him.

"I'm here, Sebbie-sama"

She was glad no one was around to hear those words come from her mouth.