A/N: The mysterious group known as the Harbingers. What knowledge of this new world do they possess? And will they aid our young hero or antagonize him? Only time will tell.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona.

Chapter XXX: The Reapers of Class 2-E

Friday, 4/18 20XX, After School

"Here, take these. They'll help you recover," said the White Rabbit as she handed a small medicine bottle to Takuya.

Takuya graciously took the bottle and then stared at in curiosity. "Huh, I think you guys gave me some of these last time too." Then he opened the bottle and took some of the medicine. And much like the last time, Takuya felt much better in a matter of moments. He stopped bleeding and his wounds began to heal. "Man these are really effective. What are they anyway?" Takuya asked.

"Pain killers. Simple over the counter pain killers," the White Rabbit replied.

"…?" Takuya was confused.

"Don't ask, we don't even know why they work the way they do here," the White Rabbit added. "Maybe it's like a positive thinking kind of thing. Just thinking they'll heal anything actually makes them work miracles…or something like that. Who knows?"

"Well whatever the case, thanks. Now you guys said you wanted to talk?" Takuya replied.

"Not here, ain't no telling how many Shadows are lurking here in the darkness. Let's mosey on down to the homestead and we can chew the fat there," Revenant replied.

"…?" Takuya was confused again.

"He means, we'll take you to a safe location so we can talk without worry of being ambushed by Shadows," the White Rabbit replied. "You'll have to excuse him, he doesn't usually talk all dorky like this. It's just when he's here acting as Reve-kun."

Revenant cringed and then collected himself. He cleared his throat. "Ahem. Anyway, you and your compadre can follow behind us. Rabbit help me carry the dust devil back there."

"Roger," White Rabbit replied, and then she and Revenant went over to the unconscious body of Blackened and White Rabbit helped Revenant place him on Revenant's back to make carrying him easier. "You gonna be okay? Blacky-kun is kind of heavy, and you're pretty scrawny under that outfit."

"No need to…worry. If I…can't carry this much weight…I can't call myself a man…now, can I?" Revenant replied between bated breaths.

Takuya and Ryuta shared a look. "Uh, you want any help carrying him, dude?"

Revenant shook his head. "No need. This malicious dust devil…has caused you two enough…stress. Now come on, we'll show…you the way to the…homestead. Let's saddle up…and move out." Revenant slowly walked ahead of the group while doing his best to carry the unconscious Blackened on his back.

"We're walking there? Is that safe with the Shadows lurking around?" Takuya asked.

"Oh don't worry, there aren't that many Shadows that venture out into the Blank World. They mainly stick to the dark parts of Limbo and certain special areas," the White Rabbit replied. "It's pretty calm here for the most part. But you shouldn't stay in one place for too long, just in case." Then she walked ahead to meet up with Revenant.

When the two Harbingers were out of ear shot, Ryuta whispered a question to Takuya. "After all of that, do you still think we can trust these guys?"

"Blackened will definitely be a problem in the future, but I think White Rabbit and Revenant can be trusted. There's no harm in hearing what they have to say at least, right? And learning more about Limbo and our circumstances will be good in the long run," Takuya replied in a whisper.

"I guess," Ryuta whispered back. "Alright, let's go." Then Takuya and Ryuta followed after the Harbingers as they went further into the Limbo version of Akihabara.

Friday, 4/18 20XX, After School

After a few minutes of walking, the group came out into the Main Street area of Akihabara. And it was there that Takuya and Ryuta saw a peculiar sight. There were various people littered throughout Main Street, standing and sitting in different locations here and there. For the seemingly empty world of Limbo, this was an odd sight indeed.

"What the hell?" Takuya blurted out in surprise.

"Are those people? What are they doing here in Limbo?" Ryuta asked.

"Oh, I guess you guys haven't fully explored everything yet, huh?" the White Rabbit replied. "These guys are actually pretty common in Limbo. Here in the Blank World, you see them even more than Shadows."

"I don't understand, what's going on here?" Ryuta asked.

"…" the White Rabbit was quiet at first and then she simply said, "Why don't you two go see for yourselves? You should be able to get a clear picture up close and personal."

"…" Takuya and Ryuta gave each other a look, and then shrugged their shoulders before walking up to a nearby person. The person in question was a young salaryman who wore a two piece suit and carried a briefcase. He was standing next to a cross walk and appeared to be waiting for the sign to change.

"Umm, excuse me?" Takuya asked the salaryman.

"…" the salaryman did not reply.

"Hello?" Takuya replied.

"…" and again there was no response.

"HELLO?" Takuya replied in a louder tone.

"…" again no response.

Ryuta waved his hand in front of the salaryman's face, and then snapped his fingers in front of his face, attempting to illicit any reaction. But there was no response at all. "I don't think there's anything going on upstairs, dude."

Takuya was confused at first, but then a thought came to him. "Wait a second." Takuya thought back to a conversation he had with Takuya.

Flashback:

Shinichi was confused but then he thought about it for a moment. "I-I'm not entirely sure. I mean most of the other ghosts I see don't even respond to anything. They just stand around, staring off into space. So far I'm the only one I know of who can move around freely and do all those cool ghost tricks."

"Shinichi said something about this. He said that there are lots of ghosts in Limbo, just like him and Benzo. But they're exceptions to the norm. Apparently most ghosts are completely lifeless. They stand around, staring off into space, almost like they're dolls."

"…!" Ryuta's eyes widened. "Wait, are you saying that these people are – ?!"

"Ghosts," said the White Rabbit, cutting Ryuta off. Takuya and Ryuta turned to look at the female Harbinger. She walked up to the duo and crossed her arms, while wearing a solemn expression on her face. "While Shadows don't really venture out into the Blank World, these poor souls are scattered around everywhere."

Takuya looked up and down Main Street. There were at least twenty different ghosts in this area alone. "There's so many of them. Is this what it's like everywhere else in Limbo too?"

The White Rabbit nodded. "I haven't seen every area of Blank World. Nowhere near every area actually. But in every single one that I have seen, there's always at least one ghost hanging around. My guess is that it's the same everywhere else too. In our exploration we've discovered a few things about them too."

"Like what?" Ryuta asked.

"Well first of all, as you can see, they are completely lifeless. They don't move, speak, or even blink. They really are dolls. It's kind of sad." The White Rabbit sighed before continuing. "Secondly, all people who die in our world end up here in Limbo."

"How do you know that?" Takuya asked.

"The news mostly. When we were first starting out, every time someone died here in Tokyo we would go out and scout the surrounding area where the death occurred. We would always find the ghost of that individual, hanging around somewhere near where they drew their last breaths," White Rabbit explained.

"I see. So have all these people appeared in an Omen before?" Takuya asked.

"Oh so you guys know about those too? Huh?" White Rabbit asked, getting a nod in reply from Takuya and Ryuta. She shook her head. "Not necessarily. As far as we can tell, Omens don't appear for all deaths. Which leads us to believe that the ones that do appear are…"

"Unnatural deaths. Deaths that shouldn't happen," Takuya replied.

White Rabbit nodded. "Even now, we don't know all the details but we can say for sure that the deaths that occur in Omens are different from the norm. We have a theory about what cause them but there's no actual proof so far."

"You mean the Shadow Spirits, right? You think they cause them?" Takuya asked.

White Rabbit was surprised. "You know about them as well. Huh, maybe you guys aren't as out of the loop as we thought."

"How far have you guys gotten in investigating them? What exactly are they? What do they want?" Takuya asked.

"Well that's…" White Rabbit was about to reply but was cut off by Revenant.

"Not here…we'll talk more at the homestead," said Revenant, in between bated breaths. "Now come on."

"He's right, it's not safe to stay in one place for too long," White Rabbit added. "Now come on, it's not that much farther." White Rabbit and Revenant (carrying Blackened) ran down Main Street and then turned right off to a side street.

"…" Takuya and Ryuta gave the ghosts on Main Street one more look before they followed after the other Reapers.

Friday, 4/18 20XX, After School

After walking for a little while longer, the group finally reached Akihabara's Junk Street, a little side street off of Electric Town, an area where most of Akihabara's electronic merchandise was sold. Junk Street sold just that, old parts from varying electronics that people could buy and rebuild into something new. "Huh, I've never actually been this deep into Akihabara before," said Ryuta, after a long silent walk.

"That's normal, most people don't come to Junk Street unless they're looking to build their own computer," said White Rabbit. "But it's still pretty thriving. Just ask Reve-kun," the White Rabbit replied.

"Huh?" Ryuta replied in confusion.

"My uncle…owns a shop here…that's where we're headed," Revenant replied.

After another minute of walking, the group stopped at a secondhand electronic components shop. There was a sign above the shop that read: Gonçalves Gadgets, written in katakana. "Gon…Gon…Goncarves?" Ryuta said aloud trying to read the sign.

"It's pronounced Gonçalves," Revenant replied. "It's Portuguese."

"Portuguese?" Takuya repeated in confusion.

"Oh, Reve-kun here is originally from Brazil," White Rabbit replied.

"Brazil? I wouldn't have guessed that from the way you talk. I would've guessed America," Ryuta replied.

"Same, my money was on Texas," Takuya added.

Revenant sighed before replying in an unusual tone. "I like Westerns okay. I think cowboys are cool so I like to talk like that."

"It's just a quirk of his. Don't pay it any mind," White Rabbit added.

"More importantly…we're here," Revenant replied, before dropping Blackened onto the hard ground.

"…" But despite the hard fall, Blackened still didn't stir. Revenant turned around and decided to kick him awake. "Hey asshole! Wake up already! Come on, I'm not carrying you up the stairs!"

White Rabbit sweatdropped. "Easy there, Reve-kun. I know Blacky-kun kind of deserves it, but that's still a harsh way to wake someone up."

After a few more kicks, Blackened finally stirred. His eyes shot open and when he saw who was kicking him he immediately shot him a nasty glare. Then he grabbed hold of Revenant's leg before he could administer another kick to his side. "Try that again, and it will be the last thing you ever do."

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Revenant replied in a mocking tone. "Is that anyway to talk to the person who carried you all the way here? I could have easily just left you for the Shadows to snack on. After what you did to Sin Eater and Scarecrow here, you would have definitely deserved it."

Blackened looked up and saw Takuya and Ryuta standing over him. "Tch," he clicked his tongue. Then he let go of Revenant's leg and got up off the ground. "So I take it you two interrupted our little fight."

"Little fight is an understatement, Blacky-kun. You were clearly trying to hurt them," White Rabbit replied. The she smiled and giggled. "But from where we came into the fight, it looked to me like Sin-kun was about to crush you."

Blackened growled and then glared at White Rabbit. "Watch your mouth, bitch."

"Hey!" Revenant exclaimed as he drew his gun and pointed it at Blackened's back. "Apologize, now!"

"…" Blackened didn't say a word.

"It's fine, Reve-kun. I've been called much worse," White Rabbit replied. "Besides, anything we do to Blacky-kun won't compare to what the others will do when we tell them how he acted today."

Blackened cringed and his eyes went wide. "..." but he still didn't utter a single word.

Revenant sighed and holstered his gun. "I guess you're right. But still, I really hate this guy."

"Feeling's mutual," Blackened muttered.

"…" Takuya and Ryuta silently glared at Blackened.

White Rabbit clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay, enough fighting amongst ourselves. It's time to get down to business. Reve-kun, please lead the way to the safe house."

Revenant sighed again. "Please stop calling it that. It's not a safe house, it's my house." Then he went around the junk shop and walked into small lot that housed a small two-story building at the back of it. The other Reapers followed him up to the building and then followed him inside after he opened the door with his Skeleton Key.

Friday, 4/18 20XX, After School

The inside of the shabby building was revealed to be a small cluttered house that had many piles of metallic junk scattered here and there. Other than that though, the house did seem rather warm and cozy. Takuya and Ryuta took notice that their Reaper costumes had disappeared and in their place were their school uniforms. Then they noticed that the three other Reapers that they had been accompanying had now also changed out of their Reaper costumes. They were also wearing school uniforms, very familiar ones too.

White Rabbit's new appearance consisted of lime green eyes that were hidden behind a pair of pink glasses and shaggy black hair, which was dyed green in certain places, and was pulled back in certain places by orange hairbands. She now wore a Yousha Academy female uniform, but with a few alterations. She was wearing a white T-shirt underneath her blazer instead of a white dress shirt, and a few of the buttons on her blazer were open, showing off the cute, cartoonish rabbit decal on her T-shirt. And she was also wearing a red beaded necklace with a blue flash drive on it.

The boy at the front of the group's, who Takuya and Ryuta assumed to be Revenant, appearance now consisted of black hair that was styled in a chin-length bowl haircut, and a pair of tired-looking, light brown eyes. He also had a small button nose, and a slightly pointy chin. And they could clearly see that White Rabbit wasn't lying about him being scrawny. He looked almost like a twig. He was now wearing the Yousha Academy male uniform, which was slightly wrinkled and sloppy in appearance. He was wearing his dress jacket unbuttoned, and he was also wearing a black beanie on top of his head with a pin, that had the Yousha Academy insignia angel on it, pinned to it.

The final boy's, who Takuya and Ryuta assumed to be Blackened, appearance now consisted of short, black spiky hair, which was dyed over his original hair color, which was blonde shown by the few leftover strands of yellowish-gold underneath his dye job, and a pair of piercing purple eyes. He wore the Yousha Academy male uniform, but he was wearing a black dress shirt underneath his jacket instead of a white one. He was still glaring at Takuya and Ryuta.

"Sorry about the mess, my uncle thinks of this place as a second workshop rather than his house. And I've been too busy lately to clean up for myself," Revenant replied.

"So this is your house too then?" Takuya asked Revenant.

Revenant nodded. "I live here with my uncle. He's running the shop right now though, so we should have the whole house to ourselves to talk."

White Rabbit walked up to Takuya and Ryuta and began studying them. She looked them over from all angles like she was observing a piece of art on display at a museum. When she was satisfied, she retreated and stroked her chin as she thought her findings over. "Sin-kun, this is certainly unexpected. When I first met you, I didn't think you would be…so…so…so freakin' hot," she said in an excited tone.

"What?!" Takuya exclaimed.

"…!" the other boys appeared surprised as well.

"Innocent, kind, and down to Earth, but in the body of a gyaru-oh…" White Rabbit squealed.

"G-Gyaru-oh?" Takuya repeated in confusion.

"To be honest you look just like how I draw the kind and brave bad boy, Masaomi-kun, in my novels. Yes, without a doubt, you are definitely, equivocally, 100% my type. Please make this nerdy girl's dreams come true and go out with me," White Rabbit replied in a very serious tone.

"H-Hold on, this a bit too sudden," Takuya replied waving his hands in protest.

White Rabbit gasped. "That's exactly what Masaomi-kun said when Sayaka-chan confessed to him! Even the hand motions are the same! It's like you really are Masaomi-kun!" she squealed. She shook her head.

White Rabbit was getting a little too close for comfort, so Takuya tried to calm her down by grabbing her shoulders and holding her in place. "Please calm down, I don't understand a single thing you're saying. Who the heck are Masaomi and Sayaka?"

Unfortunately, the small act of skinship seemed to be a little too much for White Rabbit to handle. Her face turned as red as a tomato, steam seemed to be pouring out of her head, and she started to visibly tremble. "My heart is beating a million beats per minute! My face is on fire! Your touch shakes me to my very core! This has to be love! It can't be anything but! I am completely in love with you, Sin-kun! No way! I'm not going to take no for an answer! Even if you reject my love today, I'll just keep confessing to you until you cave in! I shall become the perfect Sayaka-chan so please don't give up on me my dear Masaomi-kun!" Takuya could actually see little hearts in White Rabbit's eyes.

Finally White Rabbit was brought to her senses by a swift karate chop to her head. "That's enough out of you, you're scaring them off," said Revenant

"Ow! Owie! You're so mean, Reve-kun!" White Rabbit exclaimed while rubbing the new bump on her head in pain.

"And knock it off with the mantles already. We're in the world of the living now, we're safe," Revenant replied.

Ryuta wore an awkward expression on his face. "Umm, glossing over all of that. What do you mean by safe?"

"Did you think the mantles given to you by your Personas were just for show?" Revenant asked. He shook his head. "No, they're for your own protection. Using your real identities in Limbo is risky. Shadows might be harmless outside of battles but Shadow Spirits are certainly not. If they find out your real identity there, they could try and hurt you here where we have no real power."

"Wait, Shadow Spirits can travel to this world too?" Ryuta asked.

"What the hell do you think's been causing all those Omens, idiot?" Blackened replied.

After White Rabbit finally came back to her senses, she gained a serious expression. "This is that theory we talked about earlier. It's yet to be proven completely true, but it's the only thing that makes sense if you think about it logically."

Takuya realized what the Harbingers were thinking. "The Shadow Spirits are killing the people seen in the Omens?"

White Rabbit nodded. "That's what we think at least."

"Wait, so that means that Endou-senpai was killed by a Shadow Spirit?" Ryuta asked.

"…" the Harbingers remained silent.

Friday, 4/18 20XX, After School

A few minutes later, the group moved their conversation upstairs to Revenant's bedroom. While Revenant went to go get refreshments, the remaining four Reapers sat around Revenant's bedroom. Blackened sat on Revenant's bed while White Rabbit, Takuya, and Ryuta sat down on the floor around a small circular coffee table in the middle of the room.

Out of curiosity, Takuya and Ryuta looked around Revenant's room. It appeared to be quite modest for the most part. There weren't that many unique things besides a self-made PC in the corner of the room, a DVD collection (made up primarily of Western movies) lining some wooden shelves, and a few posters advertising Western movies and the popular card game MTG, Magical Theoretical Gathering.

"…" The room was completely silent. Nobody had said a single word since Revenant went down to the kitchen to get refreshments.

Takuya kept catching White Rabbit making awkward glances at him and blushing. Clearly, she had finally realized exactly everything she had said and done a few minutes ago. 'I can't believe I actually said all of that. What the hell is wrong with me? He probably thinks I'm a total freak now,' White Rabbit thought to herself.

Takuya was pretty much in the same mind space. 'This is so awkward now. I felt like she was the one we could trust the most, but after all of that I can barely look her in the eye. Does she seriously like me like that? And for that matter, who the hell are Masaomi and Sayaka?' he asked himself.

"Hey don't overthink it, dude," Ryuta whispered to Takuya. "She's pretty cute for the most part. If she likes you, I say go for it."

"Easier said than done," Takuya replied. He honestly didn't know what to feel after seeing that side of White Rabbit. Flattered? Embarrassed? Maybe a little creeped out? 'One thing's for sure though. I'm probably going to need to have a chat alone with her when I get the chance.' Then Takuya looked over to Blackened. 'And then there's him. I'm worried about that guy for a completely different reason. White Rabbit and Revenant might be trustworthy, but I trust Blackened about as far as I can throw him.' Takuya sighed. 'Will this really be alright?'

A few moments later, the bedroom door opened and Revenant, carrying a tray of drinks and snacks, walked into the room. "Sorry it took so long, the kitchen's a mess so I had to look around to scrounge up something to eat. I hope everyone's fine with cookies. And all we had to drink was OJ and coffee. I really need to go grocery shopping this weekend."

"That's fine with us," Takuya replied for him and Ryuta.

"Hey aren't those the cookies I was snacking on earlier today!" White Rabbit exclaimed.

Revenant sighed. "Don't be stingy. And furthermore, they're actually my cookies to begin with. You just started eating them without asking."

White Rabbit looked embarrassed. She chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "Oh…oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot that part."

Revenant put the tray of refreshments down on the coffee table and then sat down with the others. Then he looked up at Blackened. "Don't just sit down on other people's beds without asking. Do you not have any manners at all?" Revenant asked.

"Oh, sorry. Were you going to sit here?" Blackened asked in a sarcastic tone.

Revenant sighed again. "No, no. It's fine I guess." Then he turned to Takuya and Ryuta. "Now then. I think it's time that we get down to business. First of all, since we're back in the world of the living, we can introduce ourselves properly. I'm Gabriel Gonçalves, but everyone just calls me Gabe. Like Ikumi said before, I'm originally from Brazil and I came here to Japan about a year ago. And six months after that I joined the Harbingers and became a Grim Reaper. I'm actually the most senior member here, so don't hesitate to ask me any questions you have."

White Rabbit had already started drinking some of the OJ and snacking on the cookies. When she realized all eyes were on her and that it was her turn to introduce herself, she nearly choked on the cookie she was eating and then quickly swallowed down the rest of her juice before starting to talk. "Umm, my name is Ikumi Komaeda. You can just call me Ikumi, by the way. I'm Japanese born and raised, and have lived in Tokyo all my life. I'm actually a published light novel author and in case you've been wondering, Masaomi-kun and Sayaka-chan are two of the main characters in the series I'm writing: Why Can't I Just Have a Normal High School Romance?."

Ryuta's eyes widened. "Huh? Wait, you're Kumi Koma-sensei?!"

Ikumi awkwardly laughed. "Guilty."

"You know her?" Takuya asked Ryuta.

"Only through her novels. She debuted four years ago and has since then written hit after hit. The series she's currently working on is one of her best," Ryuta replied enthusiastically. "I had no idea you were in high school. So that means you wrote your debut novel when you were middle school?"

Ikumi nodded. "Yeah, it started out as a hobby but on a whim I mailed it to a publisher and to my surprise they loved it. But it's no big deal really. I still tend to think of it just as a well-paying hobby."

"No big deal? You've won like tons of awards. I never imagined someone as famous as you was in our position," Ryuta replied.

Takuya sweatdropped. "I didn't know you were so into light novels. Much less rom-com themed ones."

Ryuta got embarrassed. "U-Umm, well when you get sick of the isekai genre, there isn't that much variety in terms of light novels to choose from. So I picked up a copy of her work on a whim and actually really liked it."

Ikumi seemed embarrassed too. "I think you're praising me too much. I'm happy that you're a fan but I'd appreciate it if you could keep it a secret. I don't like to stand out too much." Gabe snickered in reply. "What's the laugh for?"

"Please you get a kick out of telling people you're secret. Half the school already knows because of how many people you've told," Gabe replied. "Stop acting like some shy, aloof artist to maintain some dignity. It's best if they know the real you."

"You don't have to say it like that!" Ikumi exclaimed in embarrassment.

"Wasn't the original title for your new series: Why Can't I Just Have a Stupid, Puke-Inducing, Normie High School Romance, Instead of All This Ridiculous Over-the-Top Bulls**t?, before your publisher made you change it? And didn't you tell me that it was actually based on a personal romance fantasy of yours?" Gabe asked, teasing Ikumi.

Ikumi squealed in embarrassment and started relentlessly hitting Gabe. "No more talking! You are forbidden from revealing any more embarrassing things to Sin-kun! You're making me look even worse in his eyes then I already am!"

Ryuta sweatdropped. "Wow, you are absolutely nothing like how you are presented in the author's notes of your novels."

Gabe chuckled. "Yeah, she intentionally tries to make herself sound like some kind of sophisticated mature lady, instead of the big dork she actually is."

Ikumi was visibly crying at this point. "Wah! Stop talking! Stop it, please!"

"Huh, you know, I kind of want to read some of her stuff now," said Takuya.

"Huh?!" Ikumi exclaimed in horror.

"I have all of her books back at my dorm room. I can lend you them when we get back," Ryuta replied.

"Oh cool, thanks man," Takuya replied.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooo!" Ikumi exclaimed, before bashing her head down onto the coffee table.

"Hey Ikumi, don't be so embarrassed. Your novels are so good that you're already an award-winning, published author even though you're so young. That's a real accomplishment, you should be proud of yourself," Takuya replied

"Sin-kun?" Ikumi replied and then raised her head. "Do you really mean it?"

Takuya smiled at her. "Yeah, I don't think you're weird for being so passionate about something you love. So far I've just seen you as a playful but reliable senpai, so I just want to read them because I'm curious about the kind of person you really are. I just want to know more about you, Ikumi."

Ikumi's face turned red in an instant and a massive amount of steam poured out of head. 'Critical hit! Sin-kun's charm is super effective!' Then she fainted. 'Ikumi…whited out.'

Takuya seemed worried. "Umm, is she going to be okay?"

Gabe chuckled again. "She'll be fine. Just give her a few minutes to calm down. To be honest it's kind of refreshing seeing her so lively. Usually she's nothing but a shitty NEET who refuses to leave her room. A little flirting is probably just what she needs to get her to enjoy the outside world."

"Fl-Flirting? Was that really how it came across? I was just trying to be nice," Takuya replied. And then Gabe suddenly punched him in the arm. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

Gabe smiled. "Sorry, I just kind of felt like hitting you for saying that."

And then Ryuta followed suit and did the same to Takuya's other arm. "Ow! What the hell, Ryuta?!"

Ryuta smiled. "Sorry, I couldn't resist either." He growled inwardly. 'I just thought he flirted like that with Ayuka because he liked her. But here he is doing it to another girl. And this bastard says he's just trying to be nice? You already have one girl crushing hard on you, you don't need another you freaking playboy!'

Gabe sighed. "Anyway, that's Ikumi. She may seem a little odd but she's a very reliable ally, and one our strongest Persona users despite being our newest member."

"Wait, she's your newest member? But she seemed so strong and confident when I fought with her before," Takuya replied.

Gabe nodded. "Yep, her power is no joke. But she's still a rookie, just like you. And out of the three of us, the strongest one here is most definitely that asshole," he replied motioning to Blackened sitting on the bed.

Blackened clicked his tongue. "Tch. By all means, don't try to hide your animosity." Then he looked down to Takuya and Ryuta. "So I guess it's my turn for introductions then? Fine, if I must. I'm James Guzman, and no I'm not Japanese as you can probably tell. I was born and raised in Canada, and after going through some BS over there I wanted to get as far away as I possibly could. So here I am, the end."

"And he's conveniently left out the part where he had a criminal record overseas for assault and attempted murder," Gabe added.

James scoffed. "Aww come on, can't let sleeping dogs lie? What good will them knowing that possibly do?"

"It will make sure that they are as wary of you as humanly possible," Gabe replied.

"Fine then. If you must know, yes it's true. I tried to kill someone, but the bastard had it coming. He attacked me first, I just got the upper hand. Let's just leave it at that. Anyway, after getting out of juvie I came here for a fresh start and then I end up becoming a Reaper, it's been about three months since then. And now I rank 4 out of 6. With the three remaining members holding the top ranks," James explained.

'Figures that guy would be one of the problem children of Yousha,' Takuya thought to himself.

"So there are six of you. Then where are the other three? Don't you think we should meet them too?" Ryuta asked.

"The others don't go to Yousha with us so they're harder to get ahold of. We only meet face to face when something important happens, and that's only when messaging isn't an option. Besides, they don't know that you're here with us right now," Gabe replied.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Takuya asked.

"Technically, our leader ordered us to keep our distance away from you and your group. He wanted us to observe your actions from afar, and then report to him our findings at a later date," Ikumi (who had since recovered and was sitting back up at the table) replied.

"So basically, we're disobeying that order by talking to you guys now. But with everything that's happened this past week and what's going on at school right now, we decided this was the best course of action for all involved," Gabe replied. "We'll just have to explain this all to Prospero and the others later and hope they can get on board. That's going to be a rough conversation." He sighed again. "At this point there's probably a lot that you two want to ask us, but before that, I think we should get to know you a little better. It's your turn for introductions."

Then Takuya and Ryuta formally introduced themselves to the Harbingers and told them all about their circumstances becoming Reapers and what they had learned and done so far. Though Takuya chose to omit several important bits of information that he was not sure as to how the Harbingers would react, including the Velvet Room, the Blue Butterfly, and Shinichi's status as a ghost. Taking a chance, they told them everything else. By the time the boys were finished talking, almost half an hour had passed.

"Takuya Miyazaki, so you're the headmaster's grandson then?" Gabe asked in reply to Takuya's introduction.

"That's right. I'm the new transfer student in Class 2-B. And Ryuta's in Class 2-C," Takuya replied.

"I see, we're all in Class 2-E by the way. We had heard of a new transfer student in 2-B, but we didn't put it together that it was you, Sin…oh, I mean Takuya-kun," Ikumi replied.

"And there's two more members of your group as well, huh? Shinichi and Ayuka, was it?" Gabe replied.

"That's right, Shinichi you met the other day, Gabe," Takuya replied. "And you and Ikumi have both seen Ayuka."

"Oh, you mean Phantasm. So that's his real name," Gabe replied.

"Ayuka Yamasato. The princess does have a pretty name. Her other name is pretty too. Cavatina. When she's feeling better, you have to bring her to meet me. Me and Sumiko-chan have been the only female Reapers around for a while, so I'd love to meet another. Ooh, maybe we can do all the normie girl rituals too, like shopping sprees, girl talk, and even slumber parties," Ikumi replied in an excited tone. Then she scowled. "But before that, one more question if I may, Takuya-kun?" Ikumi stood up and pointed an accusing finger at Takuya. "What's the nature of your relationship with Ayuka-chan?!"

'Oh boy, let's see how Mr. Casanova deals with this,' Ryuta thought to himself as he snickered.

"Me and Ayuka?" Takuya replied in a confused tone. "Well she was one of the first friends I made when I came to Yousha. She's really smart, kind, talented, and brave. I've got to know her a lot over this past week and we've become even better friends because of it. She's definitely one of my best friends. I'm lucky to have her in my life." Takuya's answer was well thought out. He had been contemplating his relationship with Ayuka for a while now. But even though they had been through a lot together, it had still been less than a week since he met her. He couldn't really define their relationship any further yet until he learned more about her. So until then, she was simply one of his best friends.

But to Ikumi this answer seemed as bad as saying that he and Ayuka were lovers because Ikumi's mind comprehended relationships like this: ((Takuya-kun + Ayuka-chan) x (Best Friend Trope + Time)) x Flag-Raising Events = Madly in Love. "Nooooooooooooooooooooo!" Ikumi cried. She dropped to her knees and then banged her head on the coffee table again. "I only fell in love less than an hour ago, and I already have a rival?! Why is the real world so cruel?! Why can't Ikumi find true love without rom-com misfortune?!"

'Wow, that snap was actually bigger than I was expecting,' Ryuta thought to himself and sweatdropped.

Gabe let out a long sigh. 'Fucking idiot.'

Takuya blinked in surprise. "Did I say something wrong?"

Ikumi looked up and gave Takuya a confident look, with tears in her eyes. "Takuya-kun, I will not give up. I promise you, my love for you will not be beaten out by that red-haired hussy!" Gabe then administered another swift karate chop to Ikumi's head. "Ow! Owie! So mean, Gabe-kun."

"You told me to hit you whenever you acted like a spaz in public, remember?" Gabe replied. "I'm a good friend to you."

The bump on the head had certainly brought Ikumi to her senses. 'Oh my God! He's right! What the hell am I blabbering about?! What is wrong with me?! I've never acted this way around a boy before! I wasn't acting like this when we were just White Rabbit and Sin Eater! But the moment I saw his face…!' Ikumi looked up at Takuya's clueless face. 'My brain turned to mush!' Ikumi shook her head. 'Calm down, girl. Calm down. He's going to think you're a total freak if you don't start talking to him normally.'

Takuya smiled at Ikumi. "Oh, I get it. Don't worry, Ikumi. I think of you as my friend too. You helped me conquer my Shadow and protect Ayuka from Limbo. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be sitting in front of you right now. So of course I want to get to know you more too, Senpai."

Ikumi's face went even redder than before, if that was even possible. Her heart was beating so fast that she felt like it might actually jump out of her chest. 'Doki dokiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!' she inwardly exclaimed before fainting again.

"And she's out again," said Gabe. He sighed again. "She is seriously such an idiot."

"Hey Ikumi! Are you okay?! What's wrong?!" Takuya exclaimed out of concern.

'He's kind of an idiot too, isn't he?' Gabe asked himself.

The group waited for Ikumi to wake up before continuing their meeting. After a few minutes she started stirring again and for the remainder of the meeting, she refused to look at Takuya as she felt it might be bad for her heart. "So now that you guys know about us. Is it okay to ask some questions?" Takuya asked Gabe.

"Sure, fire away. We'll try to answer any question you have to the best of our abilities," Gabe replied.

'Alright, finally we can get some more answers. Now what should we ask first?' Takuya asked himself.

Make A Decision

How long has Limbo existed?

Can you tell us more about Personas and Reaper abilities?

Can you tell us more about the Shadow Spirits?

Can you tell us more about Omens?

Do you know about the mysterious voice that causes Shadows to run wild?

First Choice.

"Well I guess the first question we have is kind of obvious. How long has this all been going on for? Limbo, Personas, Shadows, ghosts? Has the world always been like this?" Takuya asked.

"Hmm, asking a difficult question right off the bat, huh?" Gabe replied. "Well the short answer is, we're not sure. The long answer is, the Harbingers have been active for a year and a half, since our leader Prospero first became a Grim Reaper. Since then, we've explored Limbo as much as we could and we have determined several things." He crossed his arms and continued. "First of all, Limbo is endless. It goes beyond Tokyo, it goes beyond Japan, it goes beyond the entire world. One of our other members, Bloody Mary, was able to confirm this first hand by using her Reaper Eyes. According to her, Limbo goes beyond the furthest reaches of our imagination. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire universe was recreated and reversed in Limbo."

"The entire universe?" Ryuta repeated in astonishment. "Are you sure about that?"

"Bloody Mary's Reaper Eyes are called the Eyes of the Pantomath. Basically, they are the eyes that know all. They act as security cameras for all of Limbo. And I'm telling you that even when she tried her hardest, she could not see the end of Limbo. It literally goes to infinity and beyond. That's the conclusion that we've drawn," Gabe explained. "Secondly, as far as we can tell the phenomenon of the souls of the recently departed appearing in Limbo is new. We haven't checked outside of Tokyo thoroughly, but the sprits that are here are relatively new. They all died roughly in the span of the last two years. As to where any people who died before that went, we have no idea."

"But we like to think that everyone else went to the actual after life. It's just everyone who has died for the past two years who have gotten stuck," Ikumi added.

"Our ultimate goal as such is to figure out how to properly help these spirits to pass on. You say that you have successfully helped one spirit pass on already though. Yamasato-san's younger brother Benzo Yamasato, correct?" Gabe asked.

"Yeah, that's right. But we couldn't even begin to tell you how it happened. We think it had something to do with Shinichi's Reaper Eyes, the Eyes of the Phantom. Before it happened, his eyes glowed red and then he held Ayuka and Benzo's hands, and then the next moment Benzo was awake and talking to us," Takuya replied.

"And then after that, this light came and the next moment he was gone," Ryuta added. "I'm not really that religious but if there is an afterlife I'd say we saw Benzo being taken there."

"Hm, then we'll definitely need to discuss this with Prospero and the others. We have had no success in communicating with the other spirits. Shinichi might be the key to doing so. Anyway, this brings me to the last point. Limbo is somehow connected to humanity," Gabe replied.

"How do you mean?" Takuya asked.

"Have either of you ever heard of the theory of the Collective Unconsciousness? It's a term used in Jungian psychology which can help you better understand. Basically, it refers to the unconscious mind and shared mental concepts that all of humanity possesses. It's a spider web made up of every human mind, it determines what everything is and there places in the universe. We think something exists, therefore it exists. That's the idea at least," Gabe explained. "Mind you, I don't understand all of it because Prospero is the one who explained it like this to us."

"In a way, Limbo is like a stylized version of the Collective Unconsciousness. Except in this case, the spider web isn't made up of minds, but souls," Ikumi added. "This is made apparent by the existence of Shadow Spirits. Souls that have essentially given over to the negative side and become beings of darkness. You've probably seen a few by now. Different parts of Limbo which are modeled by the inner selves of the person who is imprisoned there. Like Ryuta-kun and Ayuka-chan. Their souls are what created those areas, or as we have taken to calling them, Haunts."

"Haunts?" Takuya repeated in confusion.

"It's just a little moniker I coined. Basically a Haunt appears when a new soul that is being tempted by their Shadow joins Limbo. Ryuta-kun and Ayuka-chan were both taken by their Shadows into Limbo and created Haunts. The sign of a Haunt, is always the same, the marking of the Gates of Death, another moniker I coined. If you see those gates, then you can bet that a Haunt is behind them. The Haunt is kind of like a nest for the Shadow Spirits. The Shadow consumes their host's soul there and then becomes a Shadow Spirit," Ikumi explained.

"So let me get this straight. Limbo is a world made up of the souls of humanity?" Takuya asked.

"Yes, a Collective Soul if you will. Ooh, that's another good one. That's what we're calling it from now on. Got it," Ikumi replied.

Gabe sighed again. "Anyway, those are our findings so far. And through those things we've managed to establish one fundamental fact. Limbo hasn't always existed. If it's existed for a long time then there would be older spirits inside of it. So that means it suddenly appeared out of nowhere around two years ago. Someone or something must have created it around that time. But for what purpose we still don't really know. Are you satisfied with that answer?"

Takuya nodded. "Yeah, I think that really helped a lot."

"Okay then, what's your next question?" Gabe asked.

Make A Decision

Can you tell us more about Personas and Reaper abilities?

Can you tell us more about the Shadow Spirits?

Can you tell us more about Omens?

Do you know about the mysterious voice that causes Shadows to run wild?

First Choice.

"I guess our next question would be, can you tell us anymore about our abilities? Like what are Personas exactly? And these Reaper powers, where do we get them from?" Ryuta asked.

"Another good question. Let's see, I think the best way to put it is to think of it like two sides of the same coin. One side is light, the other darkness. Our powers come from both sides of the coin. Our Personas are a manifestation of the positive, the light. While our Reaper powers actually come from our Shadows which are a manifestation of the negative, the darkness. As Grim Reapers we have the power to channel both the positive and the negative in order to become beings of pure neutrality," Gabe explained.

"So in other words, it's not just Personas that we draw power from but Shadows as well," Takuya replied. "But then how do you guys function when you destroyed your Shadows?"

"Ah, yes. Ikumi said that you manifested your true powers differently. Instead of destroying the darkness you embraced it. The darkness and light became one entity instead of being two separate but equal entities. It is interesting, but we're not entirely sure why this separate choice exists in the first place. Prospero destroyed his Shadow so the rest of us have always followed suit. And yet, the path you chose seems better in a certain manner. But what's done is done. We chose to destroy our Shadows and we must live with that choice. But just because our methods are different, it doesn't mean that our goals are different. I think it would be a waste not to combine our forces," Gabe replied.

Takuya nodded. "Alright, I think I understand. You just did it because it worked for Prospero. I guess that's the same way with us. Ryuta and the others just did what I did as well." Then Takuya started thinking to himself. 'That pretty much lines up with what Igor and the others told me as well. Except there's still something that's bugging me…'

Flashback:

Igor cut Takuya off. "Wait. Stop for a moment. What do you mean by other Reaper team?"

"Huh?" Takuya was even more confused.

"The cards have given me a clear picture of what's to come. Including you, there are ten children of man who shall receive the powers of light and darkness. Two more have already been discovered, Death and the Chariot. But the others aren't meant to awaken to their powers just yet. So the only Reapers in existence should be you, the holder of the Death arcana, and the holder of the Chariot arcana. So I ask you once again, what did you mean when you were talking about another Reaper team?" Igor asked.

"A-Are you serious? There's more than me, Shinichi, and Ryuta. At least seven that I know of. And so far I've met three of them. I don't know their names but they go by the White Rabbit, Revenant, and Death. The first two are apparently allied with four other Reapers who I haven't met yet, but Death…" Takuya grimaced as he thought about the person in question, "…Death is a goddamn psychopath. He tried to kill me and the White Rabbit the day I awakened to my powers. I assumed you knew about them. Didn't you just say you saw the world through my eyes? Then how could you not know?"

Igor seemed troubled. For the first time since Takuya had met him, he wasn't wearing that mischievous smile of his. He looked oddly perplexed. "I…I don't know. That shouldn't be possible. It is as you say, you share a connection to the Velvet Room. Everything you know, we should know. And yet, a blind spot like this alluded me. Alphonse? Samantha? Is it the same for you?"

"Yes, Master. I don't remember anything about this either," Alphonse replied.

"Like, neither do I," Samantha replied. All three residents of the Velvet Room looked completely lost.

"So what does that mean? Did you guys forget or something?" Takuya asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. This has never happened before," Igor replied in a grim tone. He then waved his hand and the pages of the Persona Compendium flew back, until they finally stopped moving when Igor reached the end of the massive book. "It is as I feared, there's nothing in the Compendium either. It's as if these other Reapers you speak of do not exist in the eyes of the Velvet Room. This is truly a strange occurrence. I have no idea what to make of it."

'They don't exist within the eyes of the Velvet Room, that's what Igor said. I wonder, could the reason why there's no record of them be because of this difference between our two groups? But what does that mean exactly? I guess even they don't know. Oh well, if I keep digging maybe I'll find something else out,' Takuya thought to himself.

"Any more questions?" Gabe asked.

Make A Decision

Can you tell us more about the Shadow Spirits?

Can you tell us more about Omens?

Do you know about the mysterious voice that causes Shadows to run wild?

First Choice.

"What do you guys know about Shadow Spirits?" Takuya asked.

"Well it's like we said before, a Shadow Spirit is born when a Shadow devours its host's soul," Ikumi replied. Usually this only happens when a Shadow drags it's host into a Haunt, but as we've seen with you Takuya-kun, there are apparently some cases in which the Shadow is not strong enough to create a Haunt, so instead they just lure them to Limbo where they can attack them. And you said this was the same for your friend Shinichi-kun as well, right?"

"Well yes, and no. Shinichi's Shadow didn't create a Haunt but it didn't seem like it wanted to devour his Soul either. It acted completely different from mine," Takuya replied.

"Hmm, then maybe the Man with the Pocket Watch didn't get to his Shadow," Gabe replied.

"The Man with the Pocket Watch? Who's that?" Ryuta replied.

"Our enemy. One of the Harbingers' main goals along with investigating Limbo, and helping free the spirits trapped there, is stopping him," Gabe replied. "We don't really know who he is, or where he came from. We only know that he carries a pocket watch with him wherever he goes. Prospero is the only one who's ever seen him, and even he only managed to catch that small detail. But whoever he is, we have determined one thing. He has an ability similar to our own. But one that's extremely powerful and deadly," Gabe explained.

"And what is that?" Takuya asked.

"He can control Shadows," James replied, speaking up for the first time in a while. "We don't exactly know how, but Prospero's seen it in action, and we've all heard it first-hand."

"Heard it?" Ryuta repeated in confusion. Then his eyes widened in insight. "…! You don't mean…?! That voice?!"

Ikumi nodded. "That's right. That's him using his power to control your Shadow."

"…" Takuya and Ryuta shared a look and then decided to ask more about the Harbingers' mysterious enemy.

Make A Decision

Can you tell us more about Omens?

Do you know about the mysterious voice that causes Shadows to run wild?

Second Choice.

"So this voice that called out to Ryuta and Ayuka's Shadows? It belongs to the Man with the Pocket Watch?" Takuya asked.

Ikumi nodded. "There's no doubt about it. Ryuta-kun, he called out to you and Ayuka-chan when you were at your most vulnerable and then appealed to your darkest desires to awaken your Shadows. Then your Shadows drew you into Limbo and created Haunts so they could slowly devour your souls and become Shadow Spirits."

"But he doesn't just awaken them. He can completely control them with the right mindset," Gabe replied. "With a few simple words he can turn them berserk. And only a person who stands up to their Shadow and faces it head on can gain the power to defeat it."

"But then what does the Man with the Pocket Watch want exactly?" Takuya asked. "From the sound of it, he's just turning people into Grim Reapers. Wouldn't that cause him more trouble than it's worth."

"That's most likely not his intention, just a byproduct of his failures," Ikumi replied. "After investigating we've determined that the most likely reason as to why he continues doing this is to create more Shadow Spirits."

"What do you mean?" Ryuta asked.

"Think about it. Do you really think that the Man with the…" Ikumi sighed and then shook her head, "Nope, I can't do it anymore. I don't care what Prospero thinks, that's way too long and dull as a code name. If he's our main bad we should at least give him a decent name."

"Again with this? Could you just give it a rest?" Gabe replied.

"No, no, no. I won't keep saying it," Ikumi replied in a defiant tone. Then her eyes widened. "I've got it! The perfect name!" She smirked in a satisfied manner and simply said, "The Shadow King. That's his new name. That's what we call him. And Ikumi coins another moniker. I'm on fire today."

Gabe sighed. "Fine, can you please just finish what you were saying about this "Shadow King"?" Gabe replied.

"Right, right, right. Anyway, as I was saying. The Shadow King's ultimate goal is most likely to create more and more Shadow Spirits. If we exclude the unknown variant, i.e. the Grim Reaper who calls himself Death, we are left with ten of us in total. With the exceptions of Takuya-kun and Shinichi-kun, who weren't tempted by the Shadow King's words, that's eight. At least eight people's Shadows were awakened by the Shadow King. But do you really think that we're the only ones who have heard his words?" Ikumi asked.

"…!" Takuya's eyes widened in realization. "You're saying there are others, besides the Shadow Spirit at Yousha?"

Gabe nodded. "A lot more. If we go along with the theory that the Shadow Spirits are wreaking havoc in our world then a lot of the strange accidents and tragedies that have been taking place for the past two years start to paint a very grim picture. There has to be hundreds, if not more of them, scattered all throughout the world. We were lucky, we managed to overcome our Shadows and thwart the Shadow King. But that means we're also the outliers. His failures. If at any point our Shadows did defeat us…"

"Then we would have become Shadow Spirits too," Ryuta finished Gabe's thought.

"So in other words, this Shadow King, is creating an army of Shadow Spirits. But why?" Takuya asked.

"Chaos? Conquest? Some unseen goal that only he knows the answer to? Who knows? But does it really matter?" James replied. "The fucker is planning something big and only we can stop him."

"Well do you guys have any leads at all? If we find him and question him, then maybe he can tell us how to free the ghosts and more about how Limbo works," said Ryuta.

"That's been one of our main goals for months now, but we haven't gotten any new leads. At this point all we've been doing is slowly putting out the fires he creates. It's taken everything we have to just get rid of a few of the Shadow Spirits plaguing Tokyo," Gabe replied.

"How many have you gotten rid of so far?" Ryuta asked.

"Only five so far," Gabe replied.

"Just five? Even though there's probably still tons of them out there?" Takuya replied.

"Getting rid of a Shadow Spirit is no easy feat. First you have to infiltrate the Haunt it controls, and then find certain objects tying it to the Haunt, and only then can you destroy them," Ikumi replied. "The process is very time-consuming and dangerous. Plus, we have to find the location of the Haunt before we can start exorcising a Shadow Spirit, and that's usually easier said than done."

"Okay I get it, sorry if I made it sound like you guys weren't doing a good enough job," Takuya replied.

"That's fine, no harm done. Now is there anything else you want to ask?" Gabe asked.

Make A Decision

Can you tell us more about Omens?

Only Choice.

"Could you possibly tell us anything more about the Omens?" Takuya asked.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would ask that. I take it your group has been seeing them frequently as well?" Gabe replied.

"Yeah, we all saw Endou-senpai's Omen in various locations the days leading up to her death," Ryuta replied. "At first we thought we were just seeing it because we were near the place she was going to die. But then we realized that the Omens were in fact appearing wherever we were."

"Well then you've mostly worked out what they are by just using logic. As far as we can tell, they're a side effect for anyone who visits Limbo and has an inclination of spiritual power. In other words, anyone who has the potential to become one of us will be able to sense them after entering Limbo," Gabe explained.

"And just to confirm, they show up anywhere that we are right?" Takuya asked.

"That's right. They're warnings meant specifically for us so they only appear wherever we are. Though the times that they show up are really sporadic. There's no telling when one will appear," Ikumi replied.

"But when they do appear, the same scene always plays on a loop. And we see the unlucky person's last moments again and again." Gabe sighed. "And unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it."

"What do you mean?" Ryuta asked.

"As far as we know, there's no preventing the fate that is shown by the Omens. The person in the Omen always dies no matter what we do. Our group has tried several times before, since the very start with Prospero. But the outcome is always the same," Ikumi replied.

"We've successfully prevented some of the deaths before. But as soon as we did, another Omen would appear, showing a different death awaiting the unlucky individual. The same thing will happen if you try it again, and again, and again. There's always another death awaiting them. Basically, when a person appears in an Omen, their fate is already sealed." Gabe crossed his arms. "And that's why, we've decided to officially ignore the Omens."

"Ignore the Omens? But you said it yourself, the Shadow Spirits are what cause the Omens, right? So if you get rid of them, then the Omens should stop," Takuya replied.

Gabe shook his head. "Unfortunately, that's not the case. There's no doubt that the Shadow Spirits are what's upsetting the balance of our world and causing the Omens to appear, but as we've already learned firsthand, getting rid of one problem does not erase the other. Even if the Shadow Spirits create the Omens, destroying them does not destroy the Omens."

"If there's a way to truly prevent the Omens, we haven't found it yet," Ikumi replied. "As of now, saving those people is nothing more than a pipe dream."

"So you guys have just given up then?" Takuya replied in a disappointed tone.

"Don't get us wrong. If we do find a way to prevent them, then we'll do everything in our power to do so. But as of now, trying to prevent those deaths is wasted energy. Energy that could be better put to use fighting the Shadow Spirits," Gabe replied.

"But who knows? Now that we have you guys on our side, we might be able to find an answer," Ikumi added. "So please, don't give up hope."

"…" Takuya was unsatisfied with the Harbingers' answer, but didn't question it. They had already done and experienced much more than him at this point. Ignoring their insight on the matter was a dumb move to make.

"I know that's probably not the answer you were looking for, but it's the only one we have for now. So do you have any other questions?" Gabe asked.

Takuya shook his head. "Nope, I think that's pretty much it."

"Alright then. Now that we're all on the same page, I think we should officially get down to business. Since I've been a Reaper the longest out of anyone here, I'll take point if there are no objections," Gabe replied.

"…" nobody said anything.

"Okay. I think the main thing we should discuss is a no-brainer. We can't let that Shadow Spirit take control of Yousha. Even if they've just taken over its Limbo version, it won't be long before her influence starts to extend to the real world and the school itself. Who knows what kind of chaos she could cause if left unchecked? We have to stop her, that's a given," said Gabe.

"Agreed, a Shadow Spirit so close to home doesn't bode well. It would be in our best interests to get rid of her as fast as possible," Ikumi replied.

"But how are we going to do that exactly?" Takuya asked.

"There's only one way you can get rid of a Shadow Spirit," James replied. "We have to perform an Exorcism."

"An Exorcism? You mean like The power of Christ compels you, holy water, crucifixes? That kind of exorcism?" Ryuta replied.

Gabe shook his head. "No not at all. An Exorcism for a Shadow Spirit is an entirely different affair that involves several delectate steps which culminate in us weakening the Shadow Spirit and removing it from its Haunt."

"What kind of steps?" Takuya asked.

"Well first, we need to explore the Spirit's Haunt more and discover all of its secrets. In the process, we'll learn more about the Spirit and be able to properly communicate with it when the time comes. Secondly, we need to find the objects that tie it both to Limbo and to our world. Two special objects that represent the Spirit's inner turmoil and strife. We call them Bound Objects," Gabe explained.

"Bound Objects?" Ryuta repeated the phrase.

"Of the two Shadow Spirits that we Exorcised, they both had a set of Bound Objects hidden. One in Limbo and one in our world. We needed to find and collect them both before we could begin the Exorcism. If Endou-senpai's Shadow Spirit is the same, she'll have a set of Bound Objects too," Ikumi replied.

"And how do we find these Bound Objects?" Takuya asked.

"That's the tricky part. The Bound Objects mirror each other, so we won't know what to look for until we find one of them. But it will be pretty much useless until we find its partner as well," Gabe replied.

Takuya thought it over. "It sounds like the best move would be to investigate the Haunt more and find the Bound Object there first. Then we can know what to look for here."

"That's how we've done it so far. But exploring a Haunt is no easy feat. A Haunt is essentially a giant nest of Shadows mixed in with the darkened soul of the Haunt's owner. There's no telling what we'll find there. It's not a place for idiots who will just get in the way, like you two," James replied.

"…" Takuya and Ryuta shot a glare at James.

"I disagree, James-kun," Ikumi replied. "I think we could use all the help we can get. And Takuya-kun and Ryuta-kun seem like capable fighters."

"We want to help no matter what the danger," Takuya added.

"For sure, and I'll bet Shinichi and Ayuka will agree. Please, let us help you put Endou-senpai to rest," Ryuta added.

"…" Gabe crossed his arms and thought to himself. "I think before we decide our next steps we should consult Prospero and the others. If he says that it's okay for you guys to help us out then it's fine with me. It might take a day or two for him to reach a decision though. Are you guys okay with staying on standby until then?"

"I…I guess that's fine. But I just don't feel right sitting around and doing nothing," Takuya replied.

"Well even if we might not be able to enter the Haunt right away, we can still investigate on this side. Who knows? We might be able to find this side's Bound Object by just doing a little detective work," Ikumi replied. "You guys are more than happy to help me out on that end?"

"We'll help out however we can." Takuya sighed. "We made an oath to ourselves to save Endou-senpai from dying. Since we failed, this is the least we can do to make it up to her."

"You can count on it," Ryuta added.

"Alright. Tomorrow's Saturday so we won't have classes to worry about. We can spend the next two days getting prepared for what's to come. James and I will try and get in touch with Prospero and the others…" Gabe was cut off by James.

"Pass, that doesn't sound like a two person job to me. I'm going to spend the weekend relaxing like a normal high school student," James replied.

Gabe sighed. "Fine, I'll reach out to Prospero and the others on my own and fill them in on the current situation while you three try and learn as much as you can about Endou-senpai's circumstances," Gabe replied.

"Got it," Ikumi replied.

"You can count on us," Takuya replied.

Gabe smiled. "Alright then, I think that brings our business here to a close. Takuya, Ryuta, it might just be temporary but I look forward to working with you guys."

"Same here," Ryuta replied.

Ikumi squealed in glee. "Yay, another team-up with Takuya-kun! Let's work hard, okay?"

"Right," Takuya replied and nodded.

After that, the group began to chat about random topics in an effort to learn more about each other. The only who didn't talk at all was James who silently observed the conversations while he blended in with the background. However, it was obvious from the look of contempt on his face just how he felt about the whole situation. "…" James silently bore holes in the back of Takuya's head, glaring at him like he was nothing more than an annoying gnat that he was preparing to swat.

Takuya noticed James' gaze out of the corner of his eye, but didn't pay him any mind. 'It's hard to believe that just a little over an hour ago, he was trying to kill me and Ryuta and now we're working together,' Takuya thought to himself. Then he inwardly sighed. 'For Gabe and Ikumi's sake, I'll give him a chance. He is strong, there's no doubting that. So hopefully he'll come in handy going forward. But I'm not going to let him hurt Ryuta or anyone else ever again. If he tries anything, I'll cut him down to size for good.'

James caught Takuya's brief mirrored look of contempt. 'Yeah, there's no mistaking it. He reminds me so much of him. No wonder I want to make him bleed. Watch your back, asshole. After I finish off Prospero, Raven, and that Shadow King bastard, you're next. I'll crush anyone who gets in my way. I'm the strongest and one day I'll make you understand that.' James clenched his fists in frustration.

Friday, 4/18 20XX, Evening

Not that many people were left in the Priority Homicide department. Most detectives and officers had already gone home for the day, and only a few members of the night shift crew were in the office. This included Det. Azami Kobayashi and her younger partner Det. Kirii Asakawa, who had just gotten back from the medical examiner's office after obtaining Michiko Endou's official autopsy report.

"Whew, I am beat!" Asakawa exclaimed in exhaustion as she collapsed back into her desk chair.

"You have three more hours on your shift, please try to act professional until then. You can complain about how tired you are when you get home," Kobayashi replied as she sat down at her own desk.

Asakawa groaned. "You're such a slave driver, Senpai. Cut me some slack, I've been on my feet since 6:00, anyone would be exhausted after that."

"I've been up and about since 4:00, you don't hear me complaining," Kobayashi replied while she organized some papers at her desk.

"You don't feel exhaustion because you're a workaholic robot, Senpai," Asakawa replied with a glare.

Kobayashi sighed. "A workaholic robot am I? Well you know, this workaholic robot was thinking about buying her cheeky, unprofessional kohai some drinks after her shift was over as a sign of appreciation. But now that I think about it, robots don't need to unwind with drinks after work do they?"

"…!" Asakawa bowed her head in forgiveness. "Please forgive my rudeness, Senpai! And please reward me with tons of booze after the work day is over!"

Kobayashi sighed again. "How did I ever get stuck with you as my partner?"

Asakawa snickered. "Because you saw such great potential in me that you begged the Chief to let me be your pupil so you could turn me into the greatest detective the Tokyo Met has ever seen?"

"The way I remember it, the Chief begged me to take you on because no other detective would work with you," Kobayashi replied in a deadpan tone.

"…!" Asakawa stopped acting perky and started chuckling nervously.

Kobayashi sighed for a third time, clearly fed up with her partner's antics. "Honestly, if you just acted in the office even a fraction of the way you do in the field you'd go far in the department."

"Because the stuff out there is what's really important. At least that's the way I see it. I helped reunite a lost girl with her family today. And I'll never forget the look of happiness and gratitude on her parent's faces for as long as I live. I like to help people, that's why I became a detective. Next to that, office work and decorum doesn't really matter to me," Asakawa replied.

Kobayashi lightly smiled. "You're an idealist, I'll give you that. Lord knows the department needs more detectives like you."

"Ooh, a rare smile from Kobayashi-senpai! My day just got a whole lot better," Asakawa cooed.

"Tch, I take back what I said. You're the worst," Kobayashi replied in a deadpan tone.

"Oh come on, lighten up, Senpai. I figured we could both use something to get our minds off what we saw at the medical examiner's office," Asakawa replied with a frown.

"It was just an autopsy. When you're a homicide detective, you get used to them," Kobayashi replied.

"Even when a child is the one that's on table?" Asakawa replied.

"…" Kobayashi frowned. "Like I said, you get used to it. In a perfect world we wouldn't. But this isn't a perfect world."

"This was my third. How about you, Senpai? Or do you not…?" Kobayashi cut off Asakawa.

"It was my twenty-first," Kobayashi simply said. "You get used to it. But it doesn't make it any easier."

"…" a long silence filled the air. All that could be heard was the mindless chatter of the rest of the office and Kobayashi mindlessly looking through different files.

'I really don't know how to talk to her when she gets like this. Her change in attitude is very subtle, but this is definitely eating at her. She barely said two words the whole car ride over here. I finally got her to start talking again and now we're back to this unbearable silence. I should say something, but what?' Asakawa asked herself.

"You don't need to worry about me, Asakawa," Kobayashi suddenly spoke up. "I'm your senpai, you're my kohai. I should be the one worrying about you. I'm fine, really. So let's not let anymore dark thoughts cloud our minds."

"Right," Asakawa replied in serious tone. "Let's discuss the case then." Asakawa picked up a file and then opened it and read the contents. "The autopsy results prove that Michiko Endou's cause of death was indeed hanging as the pre-mortem examination inferred. However, the medical examiner noted several rope markings on the victim's neck that were inconsistent with hanging."

"Which tells us what?" Kobayashi replied.

"That the victim was strangled prior to her hanging. Most likely with the same rope. The medical examiner also found some dead skin and blood underneath the victim's fingernails. Both of these details suggest a struggle," Asakawa replied.

"Which leads us to the conclusion that before the hanging, the victim was involved in an altercation in which she was strangled by an assailant and managed to badly scratch them in the process. This is definitely a homicide. The assailant simply staged the scene to look like a suicide," Kobayashi replied.

"So how do we proceed from here, Senpai?" Asakawa asked.

"We're going to need to investigate Michiko's personal life. We'll also need to schedule interviews with the students and faculty at Yousha Academy," Kobayashi replied.

"Alright, should we schedule that for tomorrow then?" Asakawa replied.

"No, not quite yet. There's another avenue I want to explore first," Kobayashi replied.

"Oh?" Asakawa replied.

"There are two other girls from Yousha Academy who have been involved in incidents this past week. Haruna Iwasaki and Ayuka Yamasato. And I just can't help but feel like there's some kind of connection between the cases," Kobayashi replied.

"Senpai, I thought I told you, what happened to Ayuka was…" Kobayashi cut off Asakawa.

"Even if you claim her disappearance has nothing to do with Michiko, we can't say for sure until we've investigated thoroughly. You told me the doctors said she would be awake and talking again by tomorrow?"

"Yes, that's right," Asakawa replied.

"Good, then we'll talk to her after we talk to Haruna Iwasaki's family," Kobayashi replied.

"I'll admit that Ayuka's disappearance a few days before the murder seems a little suspicious, but do you really think Haruna's suicide is connected in any way, Senpai?" Asakawa replied.

"Maybe, maybe not. Nevertheless, there is something I'm rather curious about Haruna's suicide, and I want to ask her family some questions about it," Kobayashi replied. Then she handed another file over to Asakawa. "See for yourself, the point I'm curious about is on the top of the front page of the autopsy report."

Asakawa opened the file and read over the autopsy report. "…!" Then she saw what Kobayashi was talking about. The top of the autopsy report read:

Deceased: 岩崎 春菜 (Iwasaki Haruna)

Sex: Male

Age: 17

Date and Hour of Death: 4/13/20XX, 7:26

Date and Hour of Autopsy: 4/13/20XX, 10:30

"…" Asakawa looked up at Kobayashi.

"I don't know if this is related to Michiko's murder or not, but my gut tells me that there is much more to this girl's story that anyone at that school is even remotely aware of," said Kobayashi.

A/N: As our young hero gathers more allies to his cause, a new secret emerges from the shadows. What shall come of this new information? Stay tuned to find out.