Nobody had any objections to Yuka's request. I could see that some of the others believed that she was sincere in her wishes to protect others, and her knowledge would prove valuable in our future battles. All in all, she would be a good addition to the team. We decided to order some food to celebrate, though I ordered a little less than everyone else. I wasn't really that hungry, for whatever reason.

Yuka seemed rather deep in thought. I didn't want to disturb her, but it could have been important.

"Something on your mind?" I asked her. She shook her head and looked up at me.

"I was just thinking about some things. Like...whatever the hell happens as midnight. As well as that giant tower. I'm pretty sure that tower is where Gekkoukan is, but..."

"Oh, right, I forgot," I murmured. "You don't know anything about that."

"Well, uh... Now might be a good time for you guys to tell me about that," she said. "Seeing as how I'll be joining the team and all."

"Good point." Mitsuru nodded, placed her burger down and focused on Yuka. "How much do you know about the Dark Hour?"

"Dark Hour? Is that what it's called?" Mitsuru and I nodded. "Well, the sky turns into a putrid green, the moon turns yellow, puddles of water become blood, and every human who doesn't have the potential to summon a Persona, or the strength to survive in that time, gets turned into a coffin. Though the reason why is very much unclear to me... Why does all this happen in the first place? What made the world this way?"

Mitsuru shifted uneasily in her seat before replying, "...We know just as much as you do. That's why we're trying to uncover the answers, by delving into the depths of Tartarus."

"Tartarus...? Is that what you call the tower?"

"Yeah," I said. "It's a rather fitting name, given that it is pretty much hell on earth."

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that you guys don't know much about that, either."

"And you would be right," Yukari replied with a nod of her head. "That's why S.E.E.S. was formed to begin with; to find out more about the Dark Hour, and see if there's a way we can end it."

Yuka pondered this for a moment. "So, any solid leads so far?"

"Right now, we're still working on uncovering the mysteries surrounding Tartarus," I told her. "We do have something resembling a lead...in a sense."

"What do you mean?"

I began, "Every full moon after April, we've had the pleasure of dealing with massive Shadows that would somehow appear out of nowhere and wreak havoc. One of our goals is to defeat them when they crop up, and see if they have a connection to all this."

She blinked, musing "So that's what happened with the monorail..."

"You knew about the monorail incident?" I asked, voice thick.

"I caught a glimpse of it speeding down the track, heading towards another monorail... I remember it being a full moon that night as well. I didn't hear it crash, so I figured that it must have been stop—" Her eyes widened. "Wait, don't tell me you guys were on that?"

"And where were you when all of that was going down?" Didn't even try to hide the incredulity in my voice.

"I had my own share of problems to deal with that night as well," she said with a heavy sigh, as if thinking about it was tiring. "You remember the large Shadow I told you about; the one I had to deal with?" I nodded. "That's what showed up that night. A large, behemoth-type Shadow was terrorising a girl that had got caught up in this whole Dark Hour mess. I managed to save her, and got away from that Shadow as well. That was when I saw the monorail. I didn't have much time to think about it, though... I haven't seen her since that day. I doubt she'd recognise me even if we ran into each other again. From what I understand, people who don't have the power to enter the Dark Hour naturally can't recall anything about it once it passes. At least, that's what the Recorder tells me."

I looked around and saw impressed faces on the others. While we were in the tower investigating, Yuka was trying to save anyone she could. She would help remind us that the truth isn't the only reason we're trying to uncover the secrets of Tartarus.

"We'll be investigating Tartarus tonight. We could use your help, Narukami, if you're up for it."

Yuka nodded. "Of course. My mom's out of town right now. She'll be coming back in the next few days so I'll be free."

Like all our expeditions into Tartarus, it didn't go as smoothly as we hoped. However, it did show us something about our new recruit. Her capabilities as a fighter.

A Place Where She Doesn't Belong

It was 11:00 PM.

Earlier, we'd stopped by Paulownia to get ourselves some new weapons from Kurosawa. After the battle with the Emperor and Empress, it seemed the most logical course of action. Yuka had brought her own weapon: a katana. A rather normal looking one, but Yuka told us that it had been enhanced in several ways. It was made so it would be incredibly difficult to break—nothing short of a god or goddess would be able to make a dent in it, to use her words.

Well...that would have been nice to have a few days ago.

She added that she could have made it elemental if she wanted, but decided against it because of the many different kinds of Shadows that she thought she would encounter. She didn't want to be locked into a single path and find her weapon useless in battle. Considering what we've encountered in Tartarus so far, keeping your options open isn't the worst decision one can make.

Mitsuru brought her own weapon as well, and I knew I'd never seen it before. A longsword with a red handle that she kept in its sheath. With this, the katana she brought in, and the myriad of swords she brought with her to the Empress and Emperor battle, I was left wondering just where exactly she kept them all.

As we made our way to the tower, Yuka made her curiosity known.

"You know, I'd heard some rumours about a ghost a week ago. Did that have anything to do with the Shadows as well?"

I glanced at Fuka for a moment. She looked off to the side, obscuring her expression. I didn't know what she was thinking. Did she still blame herself for what happened? I turned to give Yuka the answer she sought.

"Yeah, it did," I told her. "Shadows were luring people into Tartarus, turning them into the Lost... Incidentally, the people who vanished were caught up in this because they managed to accidentally trap Yamagishi in there."

Yuka's eyes widened. She looked to Fuka, who was still looking away.

"I-I thought you were just off sick," she told her.

"That's what they told everyone," Mitsuru said, a little anger seeping into her tone. Couldn't say I blamed her. "That's why we weren't able to find out what happened to Yamagishi until the day of the full moon."

"Are you alright?" Yuka asked Fuka worriedly. Fuka finally turned to look at Yuka, who tried to reassure her with a smile.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I'm stronger than I look."

"That's an understatement," Junpei added with a chuckle. "Survived ten days in Tartarus by herself."

"Though, for me, it was actually just a little over ten hours."

The conversation died down from there. Yuka filled the air with some random questions, to help pass the time more than anything. It wasn't anything too important, but I think she was nervous about going to Tartarus. She did say that the thought of Tartarus made her really nervous when we first talked. I think everyone recognised that, so they indulged her in her questions.

Eventually, we made it to Gekkoukan High. From there, we waited. A quiet, tense silence filled the air between all of us. Then, the sky turned green. And we watched as the school transformed, the tower piercing through the clouds.

"So this is what it looks like on the inside..." Yuka said as we all stepped inside the tower, looking round the front entrance with a curious, but cautious eye.

"Pretty creepy, isn't it?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it is... It feels like I just stepped inside an evil castle," she commented as she continued to examine the area. I glanced around as well.

"...You're right. It sort of does feel like that," I agreed softly.

"Yuki, have you decided on a party yet?" Mitsuru asked, bringing me back to the matter at hand.

"Yes, I have," I replied. "But first things first: Yamagishi, are you nervous on your first night as a S.E.E.S. member?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't...but I'll do my best to help you all."

"Glad to hear that. Don't be nervous. If anything happens, we'll rush back here as fast as we can."

"That's good." She smiled. "Still though, I'll be here to help you in whatever way I can."

"I'm sure you will." I smiled back. "Now. I'd like to have Yukari, Akihiko-senpai, Kirijo-senpai, and Narukami in the party."

"Dude? What about me—?" Junpei made to ask, but I cut him off and say:

"I'd like for you to guard Yamagishi, just in case a Shadow manages to get inside the lobby."

"Dude, the Shadows can't do that!"

"Have you already forgotten what happened a few nights back? The Emperor and Empress were lying in wait for God knows how long. I'm not willing to take that risk again."

"...Well..."

"I-I'll stay and guard Fuka-san, if you want," Yuka spoke up. "With the Recorder, I can defend her against any threat that comes."

She did make a good point. However: "I think it'd be a good idea for you to get a feel for how we operate," I told her. "In case we need to sub you in for whatever reason."

"I... I understand."

"Good, now then—"

"I don't think that'll really be necessary," Fuka said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well...you saw how strong Lucia's protective shell is," she pointed out. "I'll be fine. If a Shadow happens to show up here, I'll be able to hold it off for a while. I'll call for you guys, you'll get back as fast as you can, and then you can take care of it. There's nothing to worry about."

"But that's the problem," I said. "If a Shadow attacks a Persona, its user will feel pain corresponding to where the Persona was attacked."

"I'll be fine. Trust me."

...Her Persona must have told her to say that.

"...Alright, fine," I told her. "But if things go south, you'd better tell us."

"I will."

"So then, Junpei." I turned to look at him. "I guess you can come with us."

"Sweet!"

"So...are we ready to go?" Yukari asked me.

"...Yeah. Let's do this."

"Don't worry," Mitsuru said, unsheathing the sword she was carrying. "My skills with a blade are as sharp as ever. I'm more than ready to combat the Shadows."

"I'd be very disappointed if you weren't, Senpai. Let's go."

We found ourselves on the twenty-eighth floor of Tartarus, in the Arqa block.

"What floor are we on exactly?" Yuka asked.

"Close to the thirtieth, I believe," Mitsuru replied, taking a look around the corner of the small corridor we were in. She looked back to me and nodded. It was safe, for now.

"Alright, we'll split into two groups tonight. I want to make as much progress as possible. Kirijo-senpai will be the leader of the second group. Narukami and Akihiko-senpai will be in her group, Yukari and Junpei in mine."

"Alright," Mitsuru responded. "What else?"

"Yamagishi will guide us through the floor, but she won't be able to keep track of two groups at once. Kirijo-senpai will have to use her detecting abilities for her group, and Yamagishi will use hers for mine."

"My abilities in that regard aren't quite on par with Yamagishi's, Yuki. Are you sure about this?"

"Back when you detected the Shadows for us, you've never let us down. I'm sure you'll hold your own."

"...Very well."

=/= Alright. =/=

"Kirijo-senpai, when your group finds a staircase, use Penthesilea to contact us. When my group finds one, I'll have Yamagishi contact you. In the case you encounter the Reaper, and my group's not in the vicinity, contact us about it and transport yourselves back to the lobby. If that somehow doesn't work, teleport back to the lobby without us and have Yamagishi alert the Reaper's presence. Of course, my group will do the same if we encounter him."

"Wait, what's the Reaper?" Yuka asked.

"A Shadow you never want to meet," I grunted. "He's annoying. Anyway," I turned to the rest of the team, "am I clear?"

Nods all around.

"Let's do this."

The two groups were forced to diverge into separate pathways very quickly. We had went left while Mitsuru's group had gone right. These labyrinthine corridors were a pain to go through, especially when they changed on a daily basis. However, with two groups covering more ground, we would find the staircase sooner or later.

"Senpai, anything on your end?" I called out.

"Quiet as a tomb," Mitsuru replied. "It's far too silent. I don't like it."

"I'm inclined to agree. Silence in this place can mean one of two things. Either the Reaper is here, or..."

"They're planning something. Stay on your guard."

"Always am." I cut off the link with Mitsuru and brought my complete focus back on the corridors in front of me.

Since we had a brief moment of respite before the inevitable confrontation with whatever was waiting for us, Junpei thought to ask a question.

"What do you think of that girl?" he asked, referring to Yuka. I was silent for a few seconds before I replied.

"...Her heart's in the right place," I told him. "I have the feeling she isn't being entirely forthcoming with the true reason she wanted to join us, though."

"Does it really matter what her reason is? She asked to join and we let her. I'd say the reason isn't that important in the grand scheme of things."

"...I'm not sure if I buy the reason she gave for joining us either," Yukari said in agreement with my earlier point. "What if she's just hiding her true reason and all that talk of protecting others was just a lie?"

=/= I-I wouldn't go that far, Yukari-chan, =/= Fuka jumped in and said. =/= And even if her reason for joining is as simple as wanting to find some answers, there are worse reasons for wanting to join S.E.E.S. =/=

"Oh?" Junpei let out. "Care to give an example, Fuka-chan?"

=/= W-well... Wait. There's a Shadow that just spawned twenty feet away from you. =/=

"What kind?" Yukari asked, readying her bow.

=/= It's...it's of the Empress Arcana, but... I can't get a proper reading from where you are. You'll have to get closer. =/=

"Thanks, Yamagishi," I said. "Let's move."

"...Is that really it...?"

=/= Yes, Yuki-kun. Why do you ask? =/=

"...N-never mind."

It was a statue. Literally, a statue.

Specifically, it was a statue with an Empress mask on it that resembled a woman holding a sword by the hilt with both hands, pointing the blade down so the tip of it was touching the stand the statue itself was situated on.

And it was just standing there. As if it was waiting for something or someone.

...I really do hate it when they do that.

"Weaknesses, Yamagishi?" I requested.

=/= It doesn't seem to have any real weaknesses...but it is resistant against wind attacks, light attacks, dark attacks. It seems to be immune to fire damage as well, so be careful. =/=

"Hmm. Okay then."

The room was...wide. Almost as spacious as the Gekkoukan gymnasium. This meant that we at least had a wider battlefield than normal. More freedom of movement. While we were standing right out in the open, we were a considerable distance away from it; the Shadow didn't seem to be aware of our presence.

We got ourselves against the wall to our backs.

"What's the plan?" Junpei asked.

"I'll go ahead of all of you and try to get it to attack me first," I whispered. "As it's distracted with me, both of you will get behind it. I'll use Jack Frost to deal some damage and I'll do my best to dodge all of its moves. Junpei will use Hermes to beat it down while it's preoccupied. When Hermes slams into it, I'll have Frost take the opportunity to freeze it into place. Since wind attacks can't affect it that much, Yukari will have to use her arrows to damage it."

"Alright...that's a good plan."

"I'll do my best...," Yukari gulped.

=/= Good luck, everyone. =/=

"Alright...," I said, gripping my sword and turning to face the music. "Now—"

Do you think me deaf, child? I heard a female voice ask.

"...Did you guys hear that?"

"You heard something?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I—"

Over here, the voice said. I turned my head to look straight at the statue.

Yes, I'm speaking to you, boy, she said. Would you kindly hurry over here? I'd like to have a word with you.

Yes. The statue was talking to me. Its voice was that of a woman's, though it'd be difficult to tell without listening carefully. Otherwise, you'd just hear static, and screaming, and weeping.

"...Uh..."

"What is it?" Junpei asked me.

"...It...it wants me to go towards it," I said. "You guys didn't hear that?"

"No," Yukari said. "Junpei?"

"Nope."

"...Yamagishi."

=/= I know. What are you going to do? =/=

I didn't respond. I didn't know what to do in this situation.

Come now. Don't keep me waiting, the Shadow said. It told me to call off my allies as they weren't needed at that moment. She also gave an assurance that I wouldn't be harmed. I smirked in response.

"Yeah, right. Like I would trust a Shadow."

...Very well, she said. It looked like she'd have to do this by force.

"Wait...what—?"

Immediately, black tendrils burst out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Junpei and Yukari, trapping them like flies in a web.

"Makoto!"

"D-dude! Get us outta here!"

=/= Yuki-kun! Wh-what's going on!? =/=

"What do you want!?" I seethed, turning to the Shadow. "What are you planning!?"

She'd already told me, she said with a kind of bored tone. She'd simply like to have a word with me. What she was doing wasn't exactly getting me in the mood to talk, which I made rather clear.

"Let my friends go."

She wouldn't. Not before she was satisfied.

I could hear a crunching sound come from behind me.

"AAAGGH!"

=/= Yukari-chan! =/=

I swiftly reached for my Evoker.

Ah-ah, I wouldn't try that if I were you, she "suggested", though I would say it was more an order. She went on to say, One more squeeze and her ribs will break, and will either pierce her lungs or her heart. You wouldn't want that now, do you?

"Makoto, what are you doing!?" Junpei screamed as I dropped my weapon.

"It wants to talk to me!" I screamed. "If I attack it, it'll kill you! J-just trust me on this!"

Junpei gritted his teeth in anger before turning to our crushed companion. "Yuka-tan...keep it together!"

I could see the tendrils loosen their grip on Yukari to a slight degree. The look in her eyes was dull, and not a small amount of blood streamed down from her mouth and nostrils.

A plan formed. Make your voice as small and as undetectable as possible, I said to myself. Do it. This gamble is all you have left, Yuki.

"Yamagishi," I whispered the smallest whisper I could muster and made sure to keep my mouth as closed as possible, hoping that Fuka would be able to hear me and that the statue wouldn't. "Alert the other group to our location. Tell them to get to us as soon as possible."

...Please...please work...

=/= They're already on their way. Keep her talking for as long as you can. =/=

Yes!

The Shadow began by saying that it had been decades since the last Wild Cards have fought off their forces.

All I had to do at this point was to keep the conversation going. "Really now?" I retorted.

Decades since the last of the humans who'd ever stood a chance against them had gone into the realm of normalcy. However, it's been...unheard of for humans to be able to communicate with us. She went to say that it had been so terribly boring. So, since I was there, she'd have liked to have a little chat. After all, I seemed to be of a stronger breed than other Wild Cards that had battled against them.

"...What?"

The statue sighed. Must I explain everything to you like you're a simpleton? The Wild Cards of generations past were...exceptional, but they weren't as powerful as I. The capabilities I possessed were astronomical, to put it lightly. I was apparently beyond anything the Shadows had ever seen.

"While I appreciate the compliment," I spat. "I'd prefer it if you didn't hold my friends hostage."

"Makoto...?" Yukari's voice was weak and hoarse. Couldn't bear to see her so broken, so frail. Needed to stall; had no other choice.

"What is this...?" Junpei groaned, though more out of horror than exasperation.

"Guys, it's okay...just...just wait a bit..."

"Makoto, what's going on!?" Junpei impatiently yelled, his eyes practically bursting out of his head. Saw the tendrils squeeze a little bit more, saw his body tighten, saw the worry in his eyes fade into fear in an instant.

"I can talk to it! It wants to speak to me! That's all it says it wants!"

Ah. Yes, the Shadow said with a knowing tone. You still have that single flaw that the other Wild ones had...

"Which is?"

That I hold on to such useless things as bonds and emotions. What idiocy.

"You're going there?" She had the nerve to ask me that? "You're seriously going there of all places?"

She asked what I was blabbering about. So. I answered her with a question of my own.

"You're calling my willingness to establish relationships a weakness?"

Yes. Because it is, she told me, sounding certain of this so-called "fact".

"If not for the bonds I've established, I'd probably have already killed myself by now. If not for those who've cared about me, those who loved me, those who treated me like a normal human being, I'd be dead. What you call weakness, I call the only thing keeping me going. You know nothing of what true strength means."

The Shadow went quiet for a while, then she asked me if I had heard the story of the Sun of Souls.

"What?"

He was apparently a Wild Card of a lesser breed than I. At least, according to the Shadow. His Arcana was the Sun, rather than the Fool. He had not the necessary Arcana fit for the burdens of a Wild Card, and could only control five or six Personas at a time.

"...Five or six...?"

Nevertheless, he'd met his downfall all the same. He'd fought a being of darkness so strong and mighty in its scope that it had nearly taken the life of the woman he valued most.

As such, his allies, who were friends with this woman, begged another entity—a separate entity, to save her life. The entity did so, but at the cost of their memories and experiences with each other. The Sun refused to forget everything he had shared with his friends and made a decision that had, in the Shadows words, signed his own death warrant. Suffering what had felt like an eternal punishment for the simple act of refusing to let go, he was forced to retain each and every memory, while his friends had completely forgotten about him. And the woman he loved had been saved, but had fallen victim to amnesia.

The darkness that had risked his lover's life in the first place hadn't been destroyed, even. Not completely. And when the Sun had finally defeated that being, the cost was his own memories, finally letting go of the friends he'd so desperately tried to cling to.

In the end, his stubbornness, and his will to carry on remembering his friends at a time when he shouldn't have, was the end of him. And that was why the Shadow believed that I would fail. Because I...was even worse than him.

"...Well then," I began. "It seems that I'll just have to prove you wrong."

How so? the Shadow asked.

"I won't let you kill the ones I love."

"What the...?"

"Junpei, please—"

"AAAGGH!" Crunching noise. Junpei screaming. Nose streaming blood, mouth coughing up red. Body merely beginning to fold in on itself—

=/= Iori-kun! =/=

"J-Junpei!"

What's taking them so long!?

The Shadow told me to order Junpei to stop interrupting the conversation because she said it was so annoying— "Junpei! Keep quiet! It wants you to keep quiet!"

"F-fine! FINE! I WILL! I'LL SHUT UP!"

The tendril's grip softened and gave Junpei ample space to breathe again. But he wouldn't stop bleeding, wouldn't stop making soft cracking noises from his limbs and ribs and spine—

The Shadow asked why I would even fight to begin with. What was my motivation for doing so, when there was no benefit to gain from this useless struggle?

My family was dead because of the Shadows. And now, the city I was born in fell prey to them. "How can I not fight back when there is so much to kill?"

So...you fight out of vengeance. The most pathetic of motivations, she said, sounding almost...disappointed.

"I suppose so." I sighed. "But that what keeps me going, I guess. But that's why I haven't quit yet. I'll be the one to hammer the last nail in the Dark Hour's coffin."

...Useless platitudes, coming from the mouth of a liar, the Shadow said after a long pause. Words like that were worthless, according to her. Things that have been said before by people who were more of a hero than I would ever be. And none of them had a pleasant ending.

"...Who's to say I won't be different? That I won't be the one to bring you down? Your biggest mistake will be underestimating humans."

The Shadow laughed. A shrill laugh that bounced off the walls of this chaotic mess of a maze. She spoke like she was trying to keep from laughing, finding what I said so amusing. To quote exactly what she said: Humans? Humanity is flawed. Self-serving, egotistical creatures. Only concerned with how they're viewed in the eyes of others, instead of living their lives as they see fit. Underestimating humanity, you say? Don't you think you put a little too much faith in their capabilities?

I didn't respond. The Shadow continued: There's a reason we, this tower, exists. It's because of humanity's hubris—them wanting to play God. Only to find that there are consequences for delving into places in which they cannot even comprehend. So, if humanity doesn't have the strength to stand against us... Tell me. What exactly do we have to be afraid of?

=/= Get down! =/=

Fuka's voice yelled into my ear. I saw what was coming the moment before she said that. My eyes widened, but I didn't stand there like an idiot. I fell to the floor, letting the strength leave my legs as a flash of lightning zipped past above me. Through the Shadow's chest.

I quickly lifted my head as the Shadow's demonic-sounding roars echoed in the corridor. A burning hole resided in her chest, roughly where a human heart would be. It still had a grip on Yukari and Junpei, however. That was about to change. I heard footsteps running opposite of where we were. I managed to catch a glimpse of silver hair, and I immediately realised who was responsible for that blast.

Her momentum allowed her to briefly run across the wall beside the shadow, her katana drawn. One slash to one of the tendrils, the blade sharp enough to make a sound as it moved. Junpei fell to the ground. Yuka pushed off the wall and into the air. A second slash to the other tendril and Yukari was free.

Not willing to stop there, a black blur zipped past the monster, equally black bursts of the Shadow's blood sputtered out from the multiple slashes that had suddenly appeared on the statue's form, and then the Shadow was suddenly launched through the wall by some unknown force. Well, it wasn't unknown for too long.

It didn't take long for me to see what had caused that much damage in so little time.

It wore a sleek black trenchcoat that fluttered about in the air. It had a two-pronged silver helmet, its yellow eyes blazing through the eyeholes. Wielding a huge, bandaged naginata, its boots had what looked like axeheads for soles, its hands were gloved and clawed, and it had...a silver codpiece on, as well... rather strange, but I wasn't one to complain about fashion.

"Sorry we're late, leader," Yuka said when the noise died down, keeping a good grip on her katana.

"Takeba!" I heard Mitsuru yell as she ran past. Kneeling down next to Yukari, she pried the remains of the black tendrils off her body with ease. "Are you alright?"

Yukari coughed a little before lifting her head, putting a hand to her stomach and letting it glow green. "Y-yeah. I'll be fine."

Mitsuru immediately got over then to Junpei, who slumped to the ground and groaned in his agony; she laid her hands over him and the green light spewed forth.

I turned to look at Yuka. "What kept you?" I had to ask. It took way too long for them to show up.

"Well, we ran into some trouble on our way here." She looked up at the creature who attacked the Shadow. "Say hello to Izanagi... And before you ask; no, I don't know. The Recorder didn't answer why."

"It didn't tell you why he has that?" I asked incredulously. Yuka shrugged.

"Like I said, it's picky."

WHORE! the statue yelled, sounding positively enraged now. You dare—!

She didn't get to finish her sentence. Yuka snapped her fingers, an extremely angry expression on her face, and Izanagi shot another powerful lightning bolt in the statue's direction.

The statue's roars were like music to my ears. Yet they were so unearthly and horrifying that I didn't even think it could be written down in any comprehensible language. But what might have unnerved me more was the look on Yuka's face, and the tone she had when she screamed, "The hell is your problem, huh!?"

Well, I think anyone would be annoyed if someone shot a lightning bolt through them.

A sound unfamiliar to us rang out. The sound of what sounded like creaking metal,and metallic footsteps heading in our direction.

"It seems as though that statue wasn't much of a statue after all," Yuka said as the creaking steps came closer. What we thought was a statue was more animated than we realised. Brandishing its sword, the Shadow moved out from the room that it was sent into and targeted the one who sent her there to begin with.

She said that she'd had enough of Yuka, and attacked. The ensuing overhead attack was slow, slow enough for Yuka to dodge; yet once the blade hit the ground, smoke and rubble kicked up into the air. Knew that if Yuka hadn't dodged, she'd have been cut in two.

Normal weapons wouldn't be able to withstand the weight of the Shadow's weapon. I would imagine a normal sword breaking after colliding with it just a single time. However, Yuka's weapon was different. I'm not certain what was done with her katana, but it was able to go toe-to-toe with the Shadow's weapon. She parried the Shadow's attacks, one of them being strong enough to send Yuka jumping back to avoid the impact of the next swing.

I got up and ran straight for Yukari and Junpei—Mitsuru running past to help Yuka out.

I grabbed Yukari by her arm, at which point she muttered, "I-I'm fine...," as she gritted her teeth, clutching her stomach and chest in pain. "I'm alright..."

Junpei got to his feet, "Senpai healed me enough. I'll keep Yuka-tan safe. You go and help Narukami!"

"Alright."

"No!" Yukari exclaimed, straining herself to do so. "No...Junpei, go help Makoto. I'll heal myself. You've got to help him fight!"

=/= Narukami! =/=

I turned to look. A gust of wind swept Yuka off her feet and sent her towards us, the ground grinding against her back and scraping against both the scruff of her clothes and the flesh of her skin as she landed. Her yelp of pain called us to action, rushing over to her. I summoned Pixie to help heal the wounds.

Statue could use wind attacks as well.

"It's...it's deceptively fast for its size," she told me as she looked back towards the battlefield, coughing and groaning. "If we can get it to stop moving, we've won."

"Easier said than done," I responded, looking towards the statue. Mitsuru was fending it off just fine, but without backup, it would be difficult landing a decisive strike.

I heard a fast set of footsteps heading in our direction. I looked behind me and saw Akihiko rushing towards us.

"And where have you been, Senpai?" I asked.

"Had to take the long way round. I told you to wait for us, Narukami," Akihiko scolded as he kneeled down.

"There wasn't any time," she replied sternly as she stood back up, the moment I had finished healing her.

"It's alright to be eager about what you do, but don't rush in and get yourself into a battle you can't get out of."

Says the pot to the kettle, I noted amusedly to myself. I would have just said that to him outright, but this wasn't the time for jokes. Yuka turned to look at me.

"You have Jack Frost, don't you? Freeze her legs."

...I was a little annoyed at myself for not thinking of that sooner. Then again, my mind was a little preoccupied at that moment. "First, we got to slow it down," I said before looking to Akihiko. "Senpai, on me!"

"Roger! Polydeuces!"

"Orpheus!"

The Master of Strings barrelled out of my skull and charged straight for the statue along with Akihiko's Persona. The wounds that Izanagi inflicted on the Shadow gave us a nice little opening to attack. Orpheus bashed his lyre into the still-bleeding slash like a baseball bat, and once that was done Polydeuces gave the wound a solid punch, pushing the Shadow back even more.

"Hermes!" I heard Junpei cry out. His Persona rushed forward, attacking quickly. The Shadow was quick to recover from the earlier onslaught, blocking Hermes' attacks with the broad side of its blade. The sound of metal on metal colliding echoed off the walls like the sound of a bell chiming. Hermes moved back before rushing forward again.

This time, the Shadow couldn't avoid his attack, the wound on her chest getting worse and worse. She was staggering. Couldn't possibly keep up, not at the rate she was bleeding out black. Not at the rate we all were attacking. The end was nigh.

"Mitsuru-senpai!" I called out to her. "Follow my lead!" I placed the Evoker against my head once more. "Jack Frost!"

As I called out the name of the Persona I was summoning, she seemed to understand what I was going for. "Penthesilea!"

I focused on the left right, she focused on the right. In a matter of seconds, the statue was rooted in place, unable to move because of its frozen legs

The moment it was stuck, Yuka rushed in once more, katana in hand. Seeing what our newest member was doing, it tried to swing at her. Yuka was ready for this, blocking the strike and using the weakened state of the Shadow to force the weapon out of its hands and into the air. She sheathed her weapon quickly and caught the airborne weapon by the hilt.

I didn't want to think how heavy it was, but Yuka managed to swing it. Once, destroying the left leg, and quickly swinging it again to destroy the right. Now, with the Shadow on the ground, completely powerless, all that was left was to kill it.

And indeed, that was what Yuka did. She scraped the weapon across the ground, sparks coming off the tip of the sword, so it was behind her. With a yell, she attacked, bringing the weapon over her head and driving it into the Shadow beneath her.

The statue couldn't even scream.

The battle was over. The Shadow had vanished, the last sound made in the battle was Yuka dropping the sword and letting it hit the ground with a loud clang.

"You okay?" I walked over and asked Yukari.

"Yeah...yeah...I am...I've already healed myself."

I sighed, "I'm glad you're alright."

"You did a good job out there," she said, shaking her head and even managing out a little chuckle. "Didn't want to be dead weight throughout the fight...and I couldn't even help that much..."

"There's always the next fight." I told her, to which she gulped. "...Which won't be tonight."

"So much for making progress, eh, Leader?" Yuka semi-joked, looking a little exhausted.

"I did say that, didn't I? Well, we're going to find the next staircase, and then we're going back. That fight took more out of us than I expected. It might be best if we—"

"No," Yukari interrupted, getting to her feet. "Let's keep moving. I don't want to slow us down."

I would have spoken against it. But then that would have just motivated her to fight even more, so I didn't bother. "Alright, fine. Let's go to the next floor. But first, there's some business I have to take care of. Yamagishi?"

=/= There's an Access Point close to where you'll end up on the next floor. I can guide you to it. =/=

We followed Yamagishi's guidance. As we walked, I began to think on the newest addition to S.E.E.S.

She proved to be a very capable fighter. One that S.E.E.S. will no doubt be weaker without...but I couldn't help but think of one very simple fact. This was a place where she didn't belong. As a matter of fact, it was a place where none of us belonged. But this was the battle we chose to fight, and we couldn't just run away. It would have just made everything we did up to this point pointless.

Besides...someone had to do this. If not me then someone else would have taken up this cause. And I had a reason to go through with this. The same as everyone else.

...I won't ask her why she wanted to join S.E.E.S. If she wants to tell me, she will. It's really none of my business.

Thanks to Yamagishi, we made it back to the front hall safely. My sight was drawn to a particular corner of the room, where a blue door stood. I had a few questions for a certain hunchback and bellhop.