A/N: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE FAVS, FOLLOWS, AND REVIEWS! This chapters a bit shorter but there's two parts! Enjoy~

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Date 22(1):

A Pool of Tears in Kyoto Hot Springs

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The train was scheduled to reach Kyoto by the afternoon on the day of the trip. She did hope it would be a memorable experience. It was odd seeing all of her classmates gathered outside of school grounds, cramming into a monorail.

She sat with her friends at SEES. Of course, Ken and Koromaru were not present.

"Kyoto, huh? Talk about a clichéd place to go on a school trip." Junpei carped.

"Don't you like it?" Ryoji was sitting next to Junpei, who he seemed to fancy in his time at Gekkoukan.

"I think it's a beautiful place to have some good memories of while we're still young." He seemed to look at Ezi, and she turned away to stare at the station outside.

"Is that so? Ya know, every now and then, you sound like an old man." Junpei said to him.

"Really?"

They reached their destination and the seniors and juniors were split up into lines. She could see Mitsuru up ahead in the senior line, looking depressed.

"She came… thank goodness." Yukari said to her.

"Yeah… Uh, its funny, I remember there was a time you seemed to hate Mitsuru. Now, your only concern seems to be her."

"I-I didn't hate her! Well, I don't know what I was feeling towards her…"

The classes transferred to a tour bus after arriving at Kyoto Station. The sun was already setting. Fuuka seemed eager to take pictures of all the landscapes and beautiful red trees blossoming for the season. The area they were in seemed just outside of the city. The buildings resembled old town Japanese structures with thatched tile roofs and sliding doors, having had gained more support over time.

The hotel they were staying at was called the Higashiyama-Sanjo Godaigo Inn, and had this kind of large architecture embedded by a crystal clear river that surrounded the premises. The inside was bustling with beautiful Japanese people in yukatas, and the lobby was adorned with a pink design on its carpets and seating umbrellas, and the wooden gift shop was centered there with an indoor pond.

Ezi walked passed a few of her familiar classmates as she found a place to stand with her friends as they waited for their room assignments. Some students were gossiping about Mitsuru's father's passing. Some girl was trying to spook her friends about some story that the hotel was haunted by dark spirits in the late night, and another was complaining about wanting to eat the gourmet dinners soon.

"Whoa! This is a nice place!" Junpei seemed to light up, despite his complaints previously.

"Well, it is an expensive place." Yukari answered.

"Ezi-chan," Ryoji was talking to her, "What are those umbrellas for?"

"Rain." She snickered.

"Oh, I don't think they're for that! 'Wanna go huddle under one, in case it does rain, though?"

"In your dreams!"

"What kind of reasoning is that?" Yukari snapped, overhearing them. "Watch yourself around this guy, okay, leader? He'll go after anything with a pulse!"

"Aye-aye, best mate!" She saluted, going along with it.

"Leader?" Ryoji asked. "That's no way to refer to someone with so cute a name as Ezi-chan's. Oh, and I don't just go for anyone. I want to get to know you better because… Well, you're you."

"I'm so flattered for this award." She continued to joke.

He chuckled. "Although, I must say, we're getting along pretty well already."

"Says you." She retorted, smirking back.

"What's with that laugh? Don't tell me, are you two really..?"

Ezi was surprised at how easily Yukari was interested in the possibility.

"Don't believe everything you read in the newspapers! Or see directly! Or hear at a close proximity…" She tried to brush it off.

Yukari seemed baffled. "You're both weird and full of energy. Maybe you two should be… uh…"

Ezi was feeling like her old self with all the excitement.

"You are a problem!" Aigis was suddenly beside him at an uncomfortable closeness, saying it to his ear.

He smiled, amused. "Thanks."

"Love triangle much?" Yukari grumbled. "Sheesh…"

Junpei switched gears after a quick look to Akihiko, who was staring at the scene rather precariously.

"So, uh, Ryoji, where were you guys gonna go at your school for a class trip?"

"Hmm? I don't really remember." He said it quietly, like he was embarrassed.

"Are you serious? That's the highlight of the year!"

"Really? I don't know… Wherever we were going, I think I'd much rather be here, anyway."

Aigis' menacing glare settled as she took a glance at the pond in the courtyard. "…Is this one of the open-air hot springs I have heard about?"

Fuuka seemed to return from taking pictures all around the room.

"No, this is a courtyard, Aigis. Wanna go out for a walk later?"

Ms. Toriumi scolded all the students for being spread out and cramping up the space. Then, she announced the rooms by going down the third years list of names and what room they were going to be in, and Mr. Ekoda did the same for the seniors.

"This way, Aigis!" Fuuka picked up her bags and they started walking. The students began crowding like wildebeest as they all marched heavily with their things. "Ezi-chan, this way!"

"Oh—coming! Hey, move it!" She felt like she was being trampled.

"No, this way, Ezi-chan!" Junpei teased.

Ryoji picked up his bag next to her. "I am looking forward to seeing the rooms, Ezi-chan." The boys seemed to be taunting them. "Do you need help finding yours?"

"Yeah! You too, Aigis?" Junpei added.

Aigis stopped walking with Fuuka, and looked to them. "Well, I will see you girls later."

"All right, this has gone far enough!" Yukari collided. "Junpei and Ryoji: guy's room! Aigis: girl's room! You're coming with us!"

"Awww." The boys said in unison.

"Perverts." Mumbled Ezi.

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Ezi had always called that horrible girl "the girl with buns", and even though she had heard her name before, she hadn't bothered to remember it. Unfortunately, they were assigned the same room.

Now, the girl's hair was down, and she was wearing a blue yukata robe. She had beaten Ezi to Ms. Toriumi, who she was complaining to in the lobby when Ezi bumped into them.

"Ezi-san, don't tell me you're down here for the same reason." Toriumi drawled.

Ezi cleared her throat. "Not at all, ma'm. I was just getting souvenirs." Ezi grinned at the girl. "We're in the same room, right? I look forward to hanging out with you more!" Ezi nodded her head towards them and skipped to the gift shop counter. She grinned slyly when she overheard Toriumi scolding the girl.

"You see, Mikako? You should be more of a team player like the way Ezi is…"

She smirked knowingly to herself, and headed for the souvenir shop.

"Yo," Akihiko almost appeared to be rolling, towards her. His hair was wet from the shower and he was in a large yukata.

"Yo yourself. What's up?"

"You're still in your uniform?"

"Oh, yeah—I haven't, well, I didn't want to change yet—"

"Don't you know you're supposed to get your souvenirs on the last day?"

She sighed. "I do…"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, well, I don't know—I guess I was thinking of getting Ken something now because I was thinking about the dorm."

"This place is sort of like the dorm, huh? Are you, homesick?"

"Not like that, I'm just thinking, you know…" She began to whisper, "about Tartarus, Mitsuru, the Shadows- everything. Too much is going on to be focused on this trip entirely. I'm trying to be happy, but…"

He smiled gently. "You know, I believe the tables have turned. Aren't I supposed to be the one worried all the time, while you're trying to get me to relax more?"

"Heh, I think that never happened." She joked.

"It did. Look, I know how stressed you are, but you don't need to be. We need to make memories here, just relax while we can. Tartarus will be waiting for us when we get back, okay? There's nothing you can do about it now, so you might as well relax."

"Wow, I can't believe it! You are actually telling me to chill—" She gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"What if Kyoto is actually a parallel universe? This is going to be an odd trip indeed!"

"If that's the case, then I get to be in charge! Relax! That's an order!" They both laughed.

"Thanks, Akihiko."

"No problem. You're always helping me out, and I could tell you were on edge earlier."

"Oh, well, thanks for investigating!" She saluted him, suddenly overcome with exhilaration.

"No problem. I want to see you more as yourself on our sight-seeing tomorrow, got it?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

He laughed. "Good. I'm heading to sleep early, so I can be refreshed. You should do the same."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Oh man," He laughed more, "cut the acting! You can be the leader again! The saluting doesn't suit you, soldier." He waved his hand. "Well, good night."

"Good night, si-" She stopped herself, "-Akihiko!"

She watched him head up the stairs first, when she heard Rio whispering to her.

"Ezi, psst!" She walked over to Rio, Kazushi, Yuko and Kenji, who were also already comfortable in their robes. "Hey! How are you enjoying the place so far?"

"It's pretty amazing to me! It reminds me of our basketball trip, just a bit bigger."

"It is pretty here!" She agreed.

"Anyway," Yuko cut in, "you and Akihiko, we were all just wondering, and instead of speculating, we thought we'd just ask, since we're friends…"

"We're not a thing." She answered quickly.

"Oh, thank god!"

"Why thank god?" Kazushi asked, angry.

"I just know he's eye candy for a lot of girls—my self included—so I didn't want to be eyeing someone else's man when he was at practice!"

"Oh, I guess a lot of girls do watch him after school, huh?" The thought made her shudder for a moment.

"It's a good thinking he's got you, Ezi," Kenji said, "He would have to deal with all the other crazy girls otherwise!"

"We're not crazy!" Rio scolded. "Besides, he's not my type…"

"Yes, we've established who your type is." Kenji teased, referring to himself. She slapped his arm.

"You better watch his type," Yuko warned, " he wants to peek at the hot springs!"

"Oh man, if you do that…" Ezi warned.

"No, no! I just wanted to know the time the girls would be having the hot springs so I could fantasize about it, not peek!"

"You're hopeless." Rio rolled her eyes. "You don't want to peek, but you're gonna fantasize about it? That's pretty scary, man."

"Anyway, you'd make a cute couple, you two do seem to get along." Yuko referred to Ezi and Akihiko, again.

"Nah, he gets along with Mitsuru, too." Kazushi said thoughtlessly. Yuko elbowed him in the stomach, and he heaved forward.

"Uh, thanks, I think?" Ezi hadn't thought of her friends seeing them as a couple. Sure, the fan girls were always assuming they were together, but it was different if closer comrades thought so too.

"I'm tired from the train ride, but I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"Goodnight!"

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The next day continued their school trip excursion. They went to visiting historical sites, based on their itinerary. The classes took the Kyoto tour buses for sightseeing. They saw many beautiful buildings and homes from the Muromachi period, with yellow wood and red trees painting the cool landscape. They visited the shrine, and Ezi took a picture of Fuuka and Yukari praying there, as some sort of calm lament to everything they had endured so far. They took many photos, all though seeing them up close in detail and massive with their own eyes didn't compare. Their last stop was the Kamogawa near the hotel. The students flocked to their groups of friends and walked beside the Kamo riverbank Sanjo Oohashi.

Yukari took the liberty of walking with Mitsuru by the beautiful clean water as the sun was setting, having had noticed her discourage throughout most of the day.

Hey, I wanted to see how you were doing!" Yukari said. "You didn't talk much on our trip today, but anyway, I'm glad you came—"

"Why are you being like this?" Mitsuru asked, harshly. "You know, our days of fighting are over. We no longer have a common goal, no enemies to fight, no reason to be friends."

"That's not true…"

"We've reached our conclusion. Even with the Dark Hour still there, why should we continue on? In the end, everything I believed in was a lie, and I failed, too…"

"You failed to what?" She retorted. "To protect the most important person in your life, is that what you're trying to say? You said you were fighting to fix the Group's mistakes, but really, you were fighting to protect your father, right?"

"That's right, I was! And now look at what's happened!" She was yelling, immensely. "My trust to the chairman blinded me, and now he's gone! My father put so much of the blame on himself about the incident, he always looked dead inside. I wanted to ease that burden away from him, and I thought I was so close! But it turns out, my point in life means nothing now, right?"

Yukari slapped her across her left cheek, hard, leaving her completely stunned.

"I'm sorry, but we don't know if that's true yet…." Yukari sighed. Mitsuru managed a small yelp, caressing her cheek, but said nothing. There was a long pause.

"…I used to live around here with my mom when she was throwing herself around at random men, and believing in my dad was all I had. He realized his mistakes, and risked his life to stop the Shadows. I need to fulfill his final wish! I don't know how yet, but I—we, will find a way to stop the Dark Hour. Right, Sempai?"

She rubbed her red cheek. "Fulfill his final wish?" Mitsuru was pondering this. "Yes…" She said, firmly. "I agree, Takeba. It's not over yet! We have to stop the Dark Hour, for the sake of my father, and yours…"

"Yeah, thanks…"

"Yukari… will you stand with me until the end?"

There was absolute exhilaration as she looked at Mitsuru's stretched out hand.

"U-um, yes! Of course." She grabbed it gently, and they shook.

They both smiled at one another. "Well, I guess that leaves only one thing for us to do! Take a bath together now!"

"Take a bath together?" Now Mitsuru was red.

"Yeah, at the hot springs! The hot springs are famous here, and Fuuka and Ezi wanted to try them out, too! What do you say? I think we all need some girl time! There's nothing left for us hide anyway, right?"

"Nothing?"

"Hey, stop blushing! I didn't mean it like that!" Yukari nudged her jokingly. "We should be getting back, though. It's already almost curfew…"

"Heh, alright, that sounds… nice. Just give me a moment here, alright? I'll meet you guys later."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

After Mitsuru watched Yukari leave, she looked up into the orange sky.

"Father, I won't look back again. I'm not alone this time, not anymore, so I know we can defeat what's coming."

The sky blinked, and Mitsuru could see Penthesilea flying into the sky, and she gave rise to her new, powerful persona: Artemisia! A guilded woman in a dark dress and red mask, boldly showing the extent of sensuousness and strength with her chain whip in hand.

"…Please, watch over me."

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Ezi stepped out of her room, after the girl with buns had gone in and chatted with another girl. She saw Fuuka and Aigis in their robes as well by the vending machine in the hall.

"Wow, you guys look great!"

"Thanks. These clothes are very comfortable." Fuuka said. "By the way, did you see Mitsuru-sempai and Yukari-chan?"

"Eh, no. Why?"

"Because they seemed to be rather happy together."

"Affirmative. We just saw them leaving their rooms together." Aigis commented.

"Huh. I hope that means Yukari got Mitsuru feeling better." Ezi smiled knowingly, thinking of one possibility regarding Yukari's intentions.

"Girlies." Yuko dropped her head in on their conversation. "Can you tell Junpei and Ryoji to stop cat calling all the girls in yukatas?"

"Hey Yuko! Why do you want us to do it? Just kick their ass yourself."

"Ezi! You look great in that yukata! I took mine off because I thought I needed a lighter complexion. I just seem so out of place with it on!"

Ezi blinked, as Yuko was referring to her being one of the other few with darker skin.

"Yuko, why would you want to fit in place with it? Embrace who are and but on the comfortable clothesies!"

She smiled. "Thanks, Ezi-san. I should go find Kaz. He supposedly forgot where his room is two times already…"

The girls seemed to go to bed early that night, since they had another day of touring to do.

Mikako was laughing with the other girl about something as Ezi opened the paper sliding door to her Bellflower room on the east wall hallway.

"What a skeez he is!" They were whispering.

"I know, right? Well, thank god they broke up." Mikako was wrapping her hair in buns for the night. "Ezi-san." She said it casually.

"Yeah?" She didn't look at them as she prepared her floor bed.

"I'm sure you saw Akihiko in his robes—wasn't he cute?"

She was annoyed. What was this troublemaker trying to do?

"Uh, yeah I guess."

"You guess?" The other one said. "Is it okay if we talk about him?"

"W-why would I care? I mean, if you're that obsessed with him..."

"Aw, you're so nice, Ezi." She said.

They whispered more into the night. She listened to her headphones until she could fall asleep, wondering what other gossip they were stirring. She wondered if the girl with buns—Mikako, would try to slit her throat at night just to keep her out of the way of all the men she lusted over so much…

Midnight.

The room seemed more verdant as Mikako walked over to Ezi's bed, stumbling over the sleeping girl's legs.

"What the-!" Ezi shot up and threw off her ear buds. Mikako had tripped over her, but she got up without a word and headed to the door.

"Uh, hello?"

She didn't say anything, and it concerned Ezi because it was clearly the Dark Hour. The other two girls were in coffins.

"No way…"

She threw off her sheets and raced out of the room to chase her, only to see some of the other girls in their robes walking out of their rooms in a zombie-like pace.

"Oh crap!" She tried puling them back to their rooms, but there was some inhuman power drawing them all downstairs and probably out towards the voice that was summoning them.

"Rio, Yuko! Snap out of it!" She was waving her hand in front of them.

"Kenji… Must… tell him how I feel…."

"I can't be… ashamed of myself…." They were muttering in their hypnotized state.

"Aigis, Fuuka, help!" Ezi screamed. The robot seemed to appear first from her room down the northern hall.

"I have analyzed a Shadow outside of my window; it must be eliminated!"

Mitsuru, Yukari and Fuuka jumped out of their rooms as well.

"The girls in our room are transmogrified! What's going on?"

"We have to fight a Shadow, let's go!" Ezi led them downstairs, and they brushed by the stalking girls and boys as they did.

"Dude, there's a Shadow outside?" Junpei and Akihiko joined them in the empty lobby.

Fuuka was sitting in their room with Juno, and she talked to them with her psychic link:

"I can sense it outside! Be careful, it has an almighty attack that it's preparing to use!"

They ran out to see a Fate Seeker floating about in the sky, above the buildings across the parking lot. The orbs floated around the plated eye, and above it was a white energy ball of light.

"That power must be luring people in with the voice."

"I'll stop it!" Akihiko had Cesar summon lightning, and for a moment there was a larger figure being shocked. It sent the megidola to them and the girls summoned all of their Persona's to take the blow, causing a loud explosion in the air.

"You're not ruining this trip for me!" Yukari's Isis appeared, and Fuuka gasped.

"Wait! Don't use-!"

The garu Isis created formed around the Seeker, and it was sent flying back to everyone, causing a gust strong enough to scrap and cut into the front of the Inn and throw them back.

Ezi slammed into the sliding door entrance, and went flying through the wood and paper. She rolled onto the pink carpet and scrambled back up quickly, scanning the room of walking zombified students that were approaching.

"Its weakness is physical attacks!" Fuuka explained.

"Now she tells us!" Junpei used Hermes to fly up with its leg, kicking into the eye of the monster that appeared every time they made contact. Aigis flipped into the sky and onto the top of the building below the Shadow. She began to fire, but the orbs began to shoot out sporadically in different directions to avoid the bullets; then it summoned electricity and Aigis was zapped into a frozen rest mode and she fell like a plate to the ground.

"Do not use magic!" Mitsuru decided. She released Artemisia, and everyone watched the new Persona swing her chain. It wrapped around the head and pulled the Fate Seeker down to them. Junpei used Hermes again to slash the creature with its golden wings, and the Shadow was defeated. Ezi spun around to see everyone in the lobby drop like flies.

"Aigis!" Yukari helped the robot stand. "Are you okay?"

"Recharged to sufficient supply. 49.5678%."

"Okay…"

Aigis blinked a few times and began to move on her own.

"There are no more Shadows. It appears that was the only one in this area." Fuuka told them.

"Dude… good." Junpei sighed. "I didn't want to deal with this on vacation! Then again, it does make Kyoto more exciting."

"Mitsuru, you got a new Persona?" Akihiko smirked. "I'm quite impressed."

"Yes…" She turned to look at Yukari, who was walking back to them with Aigis. "I had some help."

"Well, good work, team!" Ezi was roughed up from the fall. "Now to figure out how to get everyone back to their beds!"

Everyone that had been lured in by the voice had been unconscious and asleep until the end of the Dark hour. Aigis hauled most of them on her own, and Akihiko and Junpei were able to haul one person… The girls didn't do much, but Ezi wondered about how everyone's Persona and inner selves seemed to be changing.

When everyone was snug in their beds again, the SEES team turned in for the night.

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TO BE CONTINUED

I think we all know what happens next... ;) There's gonna be some changes, if only to progress the story so it makes more sense then it did in the gameplay. You'll know what I mean, next time!

Farewell, My Dearest~