Persona Chaos Butterfly Chapter 12: Misadventures in Babysitting, a persona series fanfic

Hey guys, Sea of Soul here. I'm truly, truly, truly sorry about taking so long with the updates. I've got a good explanation for it and so does Ohta-chan:

"What's up, guys? Hi, I'm OhtaSuzuke, co-writer and beta for this fic. As Sea of Soul mentioned just now, we've been busy as heck these past few months. I managed to graduate from university last September, followed by my convocation ceremony the following month. You'd think that I'd be stress-free after that, but I beg to differ. It was job-hunting madness right after…and my mom won't stop hounding me about it until I'm employed. To lessen the intensity, I took a part-time job to at least have some spending money for myself, along with job interviews in between. Boy was it a relief, when only last week that I got hired by a production company just a town away. Now my mom can stop breathing down my neck and do her own thing without worrying about financing me. But I still can't catch a break; the ever-so hideous writer's block hit me like a brick wall and now it's hard to put my thoughts into writing when my brain is just bursting with ideas. AAARGGHHH! So please, bear with us. We worked out half the plot, filled with awesome teasers and cliffhangers, but life gets in the way too often. Your support and comments keep us alive and going, and who knows, inspiration might hit us hard and we'll be updating much, much more frequently. *Kneels and pleads* Please…PLEASE pray for that day! *Puppy-dog eyes*"

As for me, I've graduated from Medical School in November and I've been studying non-stop for the Residency exams now in December. It's my dream to become a Pediatrician. Becoming a doctor is the first step, and for the next part, I need to pass on the residency exam so I can learn how to be a proper child doctor. If I don't pass on that exam, I'll have to waste an entire year with cramming school and part time jobs in order to pass and I so don't want that. Please bear with me and Ohta-chan. Once the exams are over I should be able to rest and upload this fic at a steadier pace. So please, keep reading and reviewing! Love ya all!

A few warnings: (Yes, I put those before every chapter to avoid issues)

-There will be spoilers for all games! You've been warned.
-The Main characters from each game in this fanfic are called Minato Arisato (P3:FES), Minako Arisato (P3P) and Souji Seta (P4)
-There'll be some cursing. (Anyone that played any persona games knows that some characters on it curse quite a bit.) as well as some heavy subjects.
-Main Pairings in this fanfic: MinatoxYukari, ShinjiroxMinako, SoujixYukiko, KanjixNaoto, AkihikoxMitsuru, YosukexChie.
-Hinted Pairings(in later chapters): JunpeixChidori. (Hinted because Chidori doesn't appear much on this story) KenxNanako (Ya know those little girl's crushes on older boys? It'll be along those lines) FuukaxKeisuke (Other than Minato and Junpei, Fuuka only displayed some sort of close relationship with Keisuke the club president. I found it kinda cute.) TeddiexRise (Just for giggles. They are after all the two hyperactive cuties of the team X3)

Have fun ya guys. On with the show!

Chapter 12: Misadventures in Babysitting.

Yasoinaba Station…

The Summer Festival came and passed for the Persona users and now it was time to go back to their routine of fighting Shadows and investigating the mystery behind the Dark Hour and the Fog.

It also meant that Chidori needed to return to Port Island, for her own safety. So the entire group, plus Nanako, had gathered at the station to see her off. The day of her departure was really tear jerking for her and the girls, as they had became quite close friends.

"Take care, Chidori!" Minako said, hugging her. "We're gonna miss you so much!"

"I'll miss you guys too…" Chidori was trying not to cry. "You're the best friends I've ever had…"

Yukari smiled at her. "Hey, don't be sad. We'll come visit you when we come back to Port Island. We can go shopping again."

"We can also chat online with the web cam I gave you," Fuuka added. "That way we will always stay connected."

Chidori gasped when she recalled something. "But what about…"

"I already took care of that," Mitsuru said. "Regarding your absence, I already contacted your college and explained that due to 'health issues', you were invited by us to spend some days in Inaba to rest."

Thank you, Mitsuru-san." She then looked at the guys. "I can't thank you enough for what you all did for me. Especially Hanamura-san and Teddie-san."

"There's no need for that, Chidori-san." Yosuke gave her an embarrassed smile. "I'm glad to help."

"Teddie loves to help pretty ladies like you, Chidori-chan. By the way…" Whatever pick-up line he almost tried, was cut off by a smack on the head from Yosuke. "Ow! You meanie! Jerk!"

A giggle escaped her lips when she was approached by Minato and Souji. "I owe you two my thanks as well."

"Your friendship is gratitude enough for us, Chidori," Minato smiled.

"The same goes for me. Have a safe trip," Souji added.

Chidori smiled at them. A hand landed on her shoulder. She turned around and her eyes met Junpei's. "Chidori…" He was trying his hardest to keep a straight face, but in the end he couldn't contain himself and started bawling.

"Junpei…" She smiled warmly at him. He leaned close over her, and she whispered, "Can you… Can you kiss me?"

With a blush, Junpei nodded. He turned his back to his friends, shielding Chidori as well, not wanting them to see his blatant display of affection. Very slowly, deliberately, tenderly, Junpei pressed his lips to hers in a single, passionate kiss; and as they parted, she softly whispered, "Promise me… Take care of yourself and come back safely, okay? I'll be waiting for you."

As the train whistled signaling its almost-departure, Junpei nodded as he embraced her. "Of course, Chidorita…" He gently stroked her hair. "I promise." His voice held strong conviction and finality.

With final hugs and goodbyes, Chidori boarded the train and, with a final, gentle smile, she left, content.

A few days later…

Souji's prepared breakfast for himself, uncle and cousin. His mind was crowded with concerns and questions as he tossed some vegetables in the wok.

The rumors of the supernatural phenomena continued to grow as the sightings increased. More and more people witnessed the undeniable evidence, like the ghost lights and blue fire; but so far, everything seemed harmless, for which the group was immensely glad and relieved for. At the same time, it seemed that the supernatural sightings were becoming almost normalto the town of Inaba, as if it was an everyday occurrence that sparked little attention from the desensitized populace, save for those few that knew that something worse could be on the horizon.

*Yip!*

He paused, looking up with a frown – had he heard something?

*Scratch scratch*

There it was again! He turned, looking towards the back porch, and he blinked at what he saw there. With a smile, he went over to open the door, dropping to one knee as the Fox nimbly stepped inside, two cubs on her back and the third dangling from her jaws.

"Taking me up on my offer?" Souji asked.

The Fox placed her cubs down before nodding once in reply.

With a smile, Souji patted the Fox. "There should be a comfortable space beneath the porch for you for the time being, and I'll let my family know you're here after breakfast, okay?"

She let out a small yip of gratitude and reached over to give him a quick lick before disappearing outside with her cubs.

'What a nice family...' Souji thought. His memory drifted back to his parents and he frowned a bit before mentally slapping himself to snap out of it. 'C'mon, get a grip of yourself! As long as there's a chance, no matter how small it may be, I gotta cling to the belief they're still alive!'

Sighing softly, Souji finished making breakfast and brought a small dish filled with water to the back porch, setting it down on the grass for his unexpected, but not unwelcomed guests before he went back to his room in order to get ready.

When Souji came down, he was greeted by Nanako carrying one of the Fox's kits in her arms, cooing over 'Kyu-chan', as she affectionately called the tiny creature. Souji couldn't help but feel his worries washing away at the sweetness that was his cousin with the little animal.

The kits were so adorable that even Dojima wasn't immune to their cuteness, and he gave his approval for Fox and her family to stay with them once Souji explained the situation.

With that settled, the family had a nice breakfast together and then Souji left to meet up with the others.

Evening, TV World…

"Sensei! Sensei!" Teddie was running towards Souji, in his hand was a small sack of some kind. "Look what I found near Nao-chan's dungeon!"

Souji and the Investigation Team, plus all the members of SEES, were resting at the entrance hall after a training session in the TV world. "What is it, Teddie?" he asked.

Teddie lifted the small sack high enough for everyone to see. "I don't know what it is though. I was just passing by and a Shadow ran away and dropped it. I think it was sniffing around for something."

"Guys, we should be careful with that," Yosuke interrupted. He snatched the sack out of the blonde's hands. "He did say he found it in Naoto's dungeon after all."

Everyone's interest, especially SEES, were piqued.

"So ~ what about that particular dungeon?" Junpei asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. An instant later, he was smacked by Yukari.

"Get your head out of the gutter, Stupei! Yosuke-kun doesn't mean it like that." She shifted her eyes to the young detective, and shook her head. When Naoto admitted to SEES that she was actually a girl, all of them had a hard time believing it. Junpei found it highly amusing when the detective told them she managed to fool their entire school for a few months. An instant later he was crestfallen when Rise blurted out how she won the school beauty pageant because she was also popular among girls (which Junpei was not) causing everyone to laugh.

"You say that these 'dungeons' were created by the people who were thrown into this world. What exactly did you mean?" Aigis inquired.

The Investigation Team looked at each other with mixed expressions. Of course, they haven't mentioned the embarrassing stories that followed suit said dungeons. Nobody else had to know about that! All seven heads turned to their leader. "Why don't you tell them, partner?" Yosuke prompted. "You're the one who's actually good with words." However his eyes were pleading Souji not to tell the older group about their personal revelations.

"Come on, Banchou-kun. We wanna know too!" Minako chirped. She was sitting between her twin and Shinjiro.

Sighing, Souji turned his attention towards the others. "Well, how should I start? You all remembered that at each dungeon we had to fight each of their personal Shadows before the fog sets in, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Each dungeon also harbors that person's unique characteristics. For instance, Naoto here is knowledgeable and very passionate with detective related stuff especially mechanical trinkets. Even the Shadows and objects there look a lot like things you would find in an espionage movie."

"Ooh! Remember that huge robot Shadow we had to fight before we could precede to the next floor?" Chie exclaimed. "It looked like something from Featherman."

Ken's eyes sparkled. "I wish I could have seen that!"

"Anyway, Yosuke is right." Souji got up, dusting off his bottom. "We should probably put that somewhere safe until we know exactly what it is. If it's from Naoto's dungeon, I wouldn't be surprised if it contains some sort of untested chemical reagent or whatever. It could be nothing, but better safe than sorry."

"Doesn't look like any healing item I've ever seen," Minato said with a thoughtful look. The brownish gurney sack looked normal, but there was a symbol for radioactive substance painted in yellow on it.

Minako also came to join the conversation, her ruby-colored eyes shining with curiosity. "I wonder what it does…"

As the team leaders were discussing about the possible contents of the sack, Teddie started to fight with Chie and Kanji for the last piece of egg roll Souji cooked earlier.

Yukiko was trying to calm them down, but one could clearly see the strained smile she had on her face. "Come on, guys. I'm sure Souji-kun can make more tomorrow!"

"But you guys always eat Sensei's cooking at school!" Teddie complained.

"Piss off, Ted!" Kanji growled. "That egg roll was in MY lunchbox." He emphasized this by pointing his chopsticks to a messy scrawl in permanent black marker on one side of the container. "I don't see your name on it."

Chie rolled her eyes. "Like I care… you already had two servings for crying out loud!"

"Could you please stop quarreling over food like children?" Naoto drawled. Such childish behavior was beyond her comprehension, and she didn't want to be part of it.

"Please give me some, Kanji!" Teddie pleaded, trying to wrestle the container out of Kanji's large hands.

"Get bent!"

Shinjiro smirked. It's been quite a while since he heard meaningless banter. He forgot the last time he and Akihiko fought over food.

Akihiko was also amused. In his mind he was comparing his best friend with the high school delinquent and found many similarities, and chuckled. If he voiced his thoughts aloud though, Shinjiro would be pissed.

A vein in Yosuke's forehead was throbbing. Being second-in-command was a pain in the ass sometimes, especially since he was the only other male senior in their team. As their leader was busy figuring things out, it was his job to keep the situation under control. "SHUT UP!" he yelled at the two. "If you don't stop fighting over that damn egg roll, I swear I'm going to blow you guys over with Magarudyne!"

Kanji immediately let go of his container. He didn't want to anger his senpai any further. Despite being a jokester most of the time, Yosuke can also be scary when he got upset and that frightened him. He remembered one time Yosuke got hit with Pulinpa and turned against the team, knocking him out with a powerful Garula spell which he was weak against at that time. His body was sore for the next three days.

When Kanji let go, Teddie lost his balance and crashed into Yosuke, the egg roll flying out of the container and landed right in front of Koromaru. The dog was only too happy to receive free food and ate it, tail wagging all the way.

Having lost his balance, Yosuke's arms flailed. The sack flew out of his hands.

Time seemed to pass very slowly as the Investigation Team and SEES helplessly watched the sack fly in the air, its projectile clearly indicating it was about to land on top of the oblivious Wild Card trio. It landed on Minato's head, engulfing the three in comedic yellowish smoke.

As the smoke started to clear, Shinjiro was the first one to approach. He was worried about Minako. "Oi, are you guys alright?"

"Minato-kun?" Yukari called out, followed by Yukiko's "Souji-kun?"

The two teams now surrounded the area after the smoke completely cleared.

In the middle of their circle, three toddlers stood; their expressions dumbfounded, in clothes that were three times larger than their size.

A thick silence followed before…

"Holy crap, we're in seriously deep shit!" Yosuke hollered, being the first to break the silence.

Mixed expressions could be seen on everyone's faces; from horrified (Yosuke, Naoto, Mitsuru and Akihiko), surprised (Chie, Yukiko and Fuuka), amused (Junpei, Ken and Rise), shocked (Shinjiro, Kanji, Teddie and Yukari) and straight poker faces (Aigis, Metis and Koromaru).

The three children looked around. They were obviously confused because they didn't know how they got here in the first place.

Little Minako walked towards Shinjiro with great difficulty in her big clothes. She stared at him straight in the face, her mouth forming a cute pout. "Umm…Mister, do you know where my Mommy is?"

Shinjiro blushed at the cute gesture. Despite the confusion and shock, he was relieved that the little girl wasn't afraid of him. The others weren't sure how to answer her question, because everybody already knew what happened to her parents 13 years ago.

"Minako, don't talk to strangers!" Minato scolded, pulling his sister away from Shinjiro. He managed to stick his tongue out at the beanie-wearing teen before turning away, which annoyed Shinjiro in so many ways.

"Yeah, leave our sister alone you meanie punk!" Souji exclaimed, backing up Minato and puffing out his chest. It was an adorable attempt at aggressiveness, causing the girls to coo in delight. Shinjiro's eyebrows twitched in more annoyance.

"Onii-chan…Banchou-kun…" the little girl protested, but followed them anyway. "I don't think he's a meanie…"

"Don't you remember what Dad said about approaching people we don't know?" Minato said, pointing to the other grown-ups. A frown was plastered on his face. "We don't know any of them. Now let's get out of here," he added with finality.

"Aniki's right. Let's get the hell outta here." They were completely oblivious to the fact that they were wearing such big clothes.

The little girl's pout became longer. "Stop swearing, Banchou-kun. Don't make me tell your mom that you were watching yakuza movies with your dad again."

"Sensei…likes yakuza movies?" It was Teddie's turn to pout while holding his chin. His eyebrows were scrunched together, trying to imagine Souji in a yakuza getup. It wasn't that difficult really; Souji's skill with a katana and his Persona Izanagi was the perfect example. The blonde Shadow shivered in fright.

Meanwhile, everyone else was close to panicking.

"Oh…my…GOD!" Yosuke was attempting to tear his hair out, refraining from swearing out loud. "Don't tell me these guys don't remember us?!"

"I'm afraid so," Naoto sighed. "It seems that they have forgotten about everything that proceeds their current age. But they seem to know each other. I would estimate them to be between the ages of three to six."

"This is a nightmare indeed," Mitsuru deadpanned.

"It's that weird powder!" Junpei said, putting the pieces together. "It turned them into kids? How the heck does something like that even exist?!" With that, everyone panicked. Teddie ran around as if his head just disappeared.

Fuuka, Yukari and Yukiko were rational enough to try and dissuade the children from leaving and wonder around by themselves. It was obvious that leaving them alone in the fog-filled world was dangerous.

"First things first, we have to get them out of here," Kanji said. "We don't want what happened to Nanako-chan to happen again."

Junes Food Court …

The three children fell asleep as they were carried out. Shinjiro, Metis and Aigis were holding Minako, Souji and Minato respectively. Everyone hurried to their usual spot at the food court despite the thinning crowd.

Yosuke was rubbing his temples. 'This day just gets weirder and weirder…'

Everybody was silent for a moment before Yukiko said "I don't think we should take Souji-kun back to Dojima-san's house."

"Yeah, she's right," Akihiko added. "He won't have trouble believing that something turned his nephew into a kid, but I don't think that he'll have the time to take care of another one."

"We'll tell him the truth if need be," Naoto said. "But I suggest that the three of them stay at the inn with you guys until we figure out how to turn them back."

"Yeah, that would be best. We did promise not to lie to Dojima-san after all," Yosuke agreed, but still felt uneasy. How else was he supposed to feel? His best friend was turned into a child and showed no signs of turning back to normal any time soon.

"This is seriously going to cripple our investigation," Chie groaned. "How are we gonna do it without our leaders?"

Mitsuru's expression turned dark. She looked at everyone around the table. "Yes…that will be a problem. But in the meantime, somebody will have to babysit these three. We can't have them causing trouble while we try to find out how to turn them back."

"Err…come on Mitsuru, you know I'm not good with kids," Akihiko stated, blushing a little. He hated admitting his weakness in front of others, and after Miki's death he never really interacted with young children much.

The group of teenagers looked at each other, faces filled with confusion. From the looks of it, it seems that nobody here possess any knowledge of taking care of toddlers. "Actually, the only one among us who have any experience of babysitting is Souji-senpai," Kanji pointed out. "He took care of Nanako-chan andworked part-time as a daycare assistant last year. I dunno how he did it…"

"Come to think of it, I sometimes see Minato-kun and Minako-chan playing with an elementary school girl at the shrine back home," Fuuka said. "Does that count as babysitting?"

"We're officially screwed either way," Junpei sighed, leaning against his chair. He crossed his arms and swung his left leg over his right thigh.

The three toddlers were left to sleep on a bench nearby. Yukari, Yukiko and Rise were watching over them, whispering and fawning. Yukiko let out a soft squeal as little Minako scrunched up her nose, followed by Minato and a little while later Souji. They were smiling and giggling, mumbling something about candy.

"Oh my goodness, that was so cute!" Rise cooed.

"I always wondered what our kids would look like," Yukari sighed, her gaze settling on Minato with a gentle smile on her lips.

"Then I guess this is close enough," Yukiko giggled.

Rise turned around to see Shinjiro sitting nearby, his body language clearly indicating that he was listening to their conversation despite a slight scowl. A wicked grin appeared on her face for a microsecond. "I wonder how Minako-senpai and Shinjiro-san's kids would look like? Hopefully they'll be as cute as her~!" she sang, raising her voice slightly with a sharp, sweet tone. Just like Akihiko, Rise too secretly compared Shinjiro with Kanji. Knowing him – messing with the big idiot never gets old– she hoped that the tone she used hit a nerve in the older male.

Of course, it worked. Shinjiro cringed, the high-pitched noise hurting his ears. At the same time he was blushing furiously at the mention of his and Minako's future children, and pulled his beanie down further to hide his face. He turned his head in another direction to avoid being seen by the others.

Rise was watching his reaction with delight. 'Aww…he's so cute!'she thought with a giggle as she approached the older teen. She immediately plopped down beside him.

Shinjiro scowled at Rise, his face still red from the blushing earlier. "What do you want?!"

"Hehe…it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I knew you were listening~" Rise sing-songed, swinging her legs back and forth.

The intensity of Shinjiro's blush increased again. "Wha-what the hell are you talking about!?"

"So…" she scooted closer to him, which Shinjiro inched himself away. "When are you gonna pop the question?"

"Huh?"

"When are you going to propose to her?" Rise asked bluntly, invading the older teen's personal space again. "Minako Aragaki…it has a nice ring to it, don't ya think?"

Shinjiro was feeling very,very uncomfortable. A part of his mind was questioning how Souji put up with such straightforward shamelessness. The other part was still processing Rise's question, not sure how to give an answer. Never in a million years will he admit that he likedwhat she was insinuating to the young idol's face. Shinjiro prayed for an escape.

His prayer was answered when Mitsuru approached them. "Shinjiro, I need you to babysit the children while the rest of us investigate Shirogane's dungeon to find a cure," she said. "Ken will help you."

His eyes went wide. 'Straight from the fishing net and into the frying pan.'He thought before he found his voice again. "Are you kidding me?! I don't know anything about taking care of kids!" he protested. "Can't any of the girls do it?"

"Come on Shinji, don't be like that. Remember what a great job you did when the twins fell sick during the typhoon?" Akihiko stated, approaching just in time to back Mitsuru up. He ignored the glare Shinjiro threw at him.

Minako was the first one to wake up after her short nap. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned widely. Yukari and Yukiko had to stifle their squeals at seeing how cute she was. As soon as she was on her feet, her stomach gave a loud growl. Everyone swiveled their heads at her direction.

"Uh…umm…" Minako stuttered. It was clear she was embarrassed and confused, staring at her feet to avoid eye contact with the others.

Yukiko was the first one to approach. "Are you hungry, Minako-chan?" she said kindly. "It's almost dinner time. Why don't we go back to the inn and I'll make you something to eat. Would you like that?" Minako nodded shyly, giving Yukiko a small smile.

"Over my dead body!" Yosuke interjected. As quick as a flash, he was standing between Minako and Yukiko. "Look, I don't care what Chie said about you training under the head chef at the inn. You and the girls are forbidden to feed them any form of Mystery Food X!" he scowled, hands on his hips, standing with his full height, completely serious.

"Uh…what's Mystery Food X?" Junpei asked Kanji.

"It's basically anything cooked by Chie-senpai, Yukiko-senpai and Rise. The leader and Yosuke-senpai almost died eating it last year, though I don't know much about the hellish details," Kanji said with a shrug.

"Why isn't Naoto included?" Rise whined, which he ignored.

The other girls glared dangerously at Yosuke. "What the hell…you all know I'm right!" he yelled back, flailing his arms. Despite being so serious, his actions were comical.

"It tasted awful too!" Teddie chirped, a little too cheerily. It earned him piercing glares from the girls (especially Chie) causing him to run and hide behind Kanji.

Junpei chuckled. "Yeah, I know the feeling. You can say the same about Fuuka's cooking. The only girl who could make anything decent was Mina-tan." Fuuka only hung her head in shame, a dark depressed aura surrounding her. The memories of the food she cooked being the likely cause of sending some of her dorm mates to the hospital came flooding back. The SEES members shuddered.

Shinjiro was mortified. He wasn't expecting there were another three girls as bad as Fuuka in the kitchen, and he felt sorry for the boys for having to put up with it. He mentally thanked Yosuke for the sudden intervention.

"I think that Shinjiro-san is a good choice. We would not have to worry about the children going hungry," Aigis added.

Koromaru barked in agreement. "He says that we should also include Nanako-chan to help since she is a child herself, she can understand them better," Metis translated.

"A sound idea, Koromaru. But first we have to inform Dojima-san that Souji will be staying with us tonight," Mitsuru said.

"I'll do that," Yosuke volunteered. "Me and Teddie will also be picking up Nanako-chan tomorrow morning so expect us early."

Akihiko smirked at Shinjiro. "Looks like the decision is final, Shinji. You're the babysitter," he said, patting his friend on the shoulder. Shinjiro could only hang his head in defeat.

Minato and Souji woke up due to the commotion. Just like Minako earlier, their tummies growled loudly. Souji started to cry. Ken rushed to one of the counters and purchased three sandwiches and apple juice. "Here guys," Ken said, handing the sandwiches and drinks to the toddlers. "Don't cry anymore, okay?" He patted Souji softly on the head.

"That should hold them until dinner is ready. We should head back," Shinjiro sighed. "Thanks, Ken."

"I still have some of the clothes from my childhood," Yukiko said. "Kanji-kun, can you come to my place later and lend the boys some of yours?"

"Sure, not a problem Yukiko-senpai."

Meanwhile, the toddlers were talking amongst themselves.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Minako whined. Her brother just gave a shrug, munching his sandwich.

"Are you sure they didn't run away?" Souji asked, on another verge of tears. Before he could cry again, Minato conked him on the head.

"Don't be stupid, Banchou-kun. They would never do that!" he said gruffly, but with a gentle undertone.

"But what about those people? Did we get kidnapped by bad guys?"

Minako only smiled brightly. "I don't think so, Banchou-kun. I like them, they're so nice. Nice people don't kidnap kids."

Nodding at his sister's logic, Minato slung his arm around Souji's shoulder. "She's right, so don't cry." Like magic, Souji's tears disappeared and he smiled.

Yukiko approached them. "Alright, kids. It's time to get back. You'll be staying with us for a while," she told them. The toddlers nodded and followed the grown-ups.

Amagi Inn…

Yukiko managed to persuade the chefs to let Shinjiro use the kitchen, and also invited the Investigation Team to stay for dinner.

Shinjiro asked Kanji and Yukari to help him prepare food for everybody. He didn't want Fuuka, Yukiko, Chie and Rise in the kitchen for fear that they might accidentally screw up and poison the food.

An hour later, dinner was ready. Everyone somehow managed to squeeze themselves in the private dining hall Yukiko reserved especially for them. On the table were dishes and dishes of good looking and even better smelling food. Yukiko even brought in a small table for the Wild Card trio to use.

"Oh man, I didn't think I'd be able to eat Shinjiro-senpai's cooking ever again," Junpei whooped. A silly grin was plastered on his face. "Delicious dimension, here we come!"

"All this is cooked from scratch?" Chie asked, flabbergasted. "It's like looking at one of those fancy cookbooks."

Akihiko laughed at Chie's reaction. "Shinji is always full of surprises."

Shinjiro could only grin at the younger group. "Alright alright, stop yammering and dig in. We don't want to keep the kids waiting."

A while later, plates heaped with food and drinks were passed around. Squeals of delight could be heard from the girls, while the boys were chewing noisily. Mitsuru and Naoto were reprimanding those without manners. Around the small table, the children were giggling at the funny scene. Koromaru was eating from a doggie bowl beside them, wagging his tail violently, and indicating that he was enjoying himself very much.

"This food is just AWESOME!" Kanji exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. Yosuke and Teddie only nodded in agreement as their mouths were full, continuing to stuff themselves.

"Too bad Souji-senpai is a child. I wanna eat his cooking~" Rise griped while stuffing a piece of tofu into her mouth.

The three toddlers were eating with incredible gusto, their appetites not ruined the least by their early snack. At least that part of them hadn't changed, and this pleased Shinjiro. Children will eat anything if they are hungry enough after all.

After finishing their dinner, everyone pitched in and help clear their mess. Yukiko accompanied by Yukari took the children to the front garden to play with Koromaru. Hopefully chasing the white dog around will keep them occupied for a while, tiring them out faster.

As soon as the chibi leaders were tucked in, the rest of the Persona-users gathered at the other end of the room. Mitsuru cleared her throat, loud enough for everyone to hear. The room became silent. "While we are still gathered here, let's discuss our plan of action."

"We already agreed that Shinji and Ken will babysit the kids," Akihiko started. "But I'm worried about the Dark Hour."

"We should have a backup team outside of the TV World. That way, while the others are exploring the dungeons they could help protect our leaders from a safe distance," Yosuke suggested.

"I'll stay," Fuuka volunteered. "Rise-chan is more suitable for analytical support inside the TV anyway."

Koromaru barked a few times before scratching his ear. "He says that we should bring him and the Fox to help sniff out for clues," Aigis translated. "I agree, Koromaru-san. Your nose will not fail us."

"No!" Shinjiro cut in. "Fuuka should also go in there with you guys. You need all the help you can get and find something to reverse this." He jerked a thumb at the sleeping toddlers.

"Are you sure about this, Shinjiro-san?" Chie asked.

"I don't think we need to worry too much, Senpai," Naoto said. "Shinjiro-san is a capable fighter and Ken-kun has healing skills in case anything goes wrong."

Everyone pondered at this idea. "Then I guess it will have to do," Metis said, breaking the silence. "Shinjiro-san is right. We should focus on finding an antidote of some kind. We need their Wild Card abilities if we want to continue our investigation."

"Y-you're right, Metis. We can't forget our main objective," Yukari said.

Yosuke got up and smoothed his shirt. "In that case, we should be heading home. Remember guys, we'll be meeting here early in the morning so get enough rest."

After the rest of the Investigation Team left, Yukiko went to get extra futons for the kids while Aigis carried Minako to the girls' room.

Souji was tossing and turning in his futon, beads of sweat trickling on his forehead as he was struggling with a nightmare:

He felt odd, because Souji wasn't a child in the dream as he was wearing the Gekkoukan High uniform. His parents were sitting in the front, his mother at the wheel. The radio played some classic English rock from the early 90's, and not long after both of them were reminiscing their younger years. Souji couldn't remember the last time he saw his parents smile like that, so jovial and carefree. The three of them continued to talk about trivial things.

The small car was already halfway across the Moonlight Bridge when a speeding delivery truck headed towards them from the opposite direction. It made a sharp turn and crossed the divider, successfully ramming the Seta family's smaller vehicle. All he could feel was the impact of the crash to his skull, ribcage and arm. Flashes of a manic grin and echoes of maddening laughter could be heard amidst his father and mother's screaming. His vision began to blur and disappear. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the flutter of blue butterfly wings.

Little Souji woke up abruptly, gasping for air. He rolled to his side, instinctively grabbing the nearest object which happened to be Minato's torso. The older Arisato twin stirred from his slumber, and snapped his eyes open when he heard Souji crying beside him.

"Banchou-kun, what's wrong?" Minato asked in a low whisper.

"I had a bad dream," he answered tearfully. "Mommy and Daddy were in a car crash, and I never saw them again!"

Minato sat up and hugged his little brother, patting his back softly. "Wanna go for a walk?" Souji nodded weakly.

Luckily for the two, the grown-ups forgot to lock the door. They quietly sneaked out, only to find Minako already waiting for them, wearing a pink nightgown.

"Aniki, I felt that you were awake and I ran here as fast as I can!" she gushed. "Is something wrong with Banchou-kun?"

"He had a bad dream, so we're going for a walk. How did you get out of your room?"

"I unlocked the door myself. I had to use a chair to reach it though."

The three toddlers silently made their way to the flower garden, illuminated by the moonlight. The sound of the water fountain in the middle of the koi pond was peaceful as the kids huddled together for warmth. They didn't mind, being this close to each other was comforting in itself. The twins patted Souji's head and whispered soothing words to calm him down.

Footsteps echoed behind them, causing the three to panic. They hid behind a few bushes just in time to see three tall figures approaching the center of the garden. All of them were clad in blue. There were two women and a taller man, their golden eyes shining like a cat's under the moonlight.

"Are you sure this is the correct location, Sister?" the lady with the bob haircut asked the one with long, wavy hair.

"I am positive, Elizabeth. Master Souji's compendium tells me this is where he is staying," she answered curtly. "Be thankful that I am supervising you two in this world lest you get over your heads and anger Master Igor like last time."

The tall man sighed. "You don't have to lecture us, dear Margaret. We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves in this world."

Margaret pursed her lips in an annoyed manner. "Your overconfidence will be the ruin of you, Theodore. Let me remind you that our master has no tolerance for mistakes this time, and finding the Wild Cards is our upmost priority."

"Master is worried, Brother. Even if he doesn't show it," Elizabeth said with a frown. "The reality altering spell that he detected was by no means casted on a whim. The enemy is up to something. Unless we find those three now, we will not be able figure out what they are up to."

The rustling of bushes caused the Velvet siblings to tense. Unable to hide themselves any longer, the toddlers stumbled out of the bushes in a heap, with Souji and Minako landing on top of Minato.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Theodore inquired, unable to hold back his curiosity. He approached the children and crouched down to their level as they picked themselves up and dusted their clothes. "Children like you should not be allowed to wonder outside this late at night." When the little girl lifted her head to look at him, Theodore took a sharp intake of breath. He recognized those ruby red eyes anywhere. "Could it be? Is that you, Master Minako?" He reached out a gloved hand to touch her head, but was violently pushed aside by her twin.

"Don't touch my sister!" Minato growled. Souji hid behind his back, unsure of what to do. Despite his anxiety due to the nightmare, Souji didn't feel like these people would cause him and his friends any harm.

Margaret and Elizabeth heard the commotion and approached their brother. When they saw the toddlers, they had the same reaction as he did. "Now this is unexpected," Margaret said. "Why would the enemy turn them into children?"

Unlike her ever-so-logical sister, Elizabeth let out a small squeal. "Sister, they are so adorable. Very much like the Jack Frost dolls that Master Minato gave me for one of my requests."

"Elizabeth!" the eldest scolded. "We have a crisis here. Focus!" Unfortunately her warnings went unheeded as her siblings attempted to touch the children. Minato didn't have a problem with Elizabeth, but he slapped Theodore's hand away when he tried to pat his sister's head yet again.

Souji shyly glanced at Margaret from behind Minato's back. Margaret's cheeks began to heat up. She always knew Souji was handsome, as even she was unable to resist his charms. But seeing him this small and cute, it took huge reserves of willpower to refrain herself from acting like her brother and sister. She did notice something else though; the children didn't seem to recognize who they were. This information bothered her, and she would make sure to report this to Igor when they got back.

Elizabeth was pinching Minako's cheeks and Theodore was trying to get through Minato's defenses, which Souji quickly joined in to help keep the adult male away. Margaret really did blush this time; the entire scene before her was just too cute to ignore. All that was ruined when she felt a shiver up her spine, and quickly her golden eyes darted to a rose bush that wasn't too far from them. Margaret furrowed her delicate brows, noticing the light rustling of said bush which could be mistaken for a breeze but she knew better; they were being watched, and closely at that.

Theodore and Elizabeth noticed the tension in their eldest sister's shoulders and immediately put their guard up.

"Master Souji," Margaret said gently, kneeling on the ground in front of the silverette. "I need you to tell me why you're not asleep right now. Maybe I could help."

At first, Souji hesitated to answer but something inside his head told him that he could trust this person. "I…I had a bad dream where my Mommy and Daddy and me were in a car accident. And then there was a round moon, and a blue butterfly, and lots of screaming. Th-that's all I can remember."

"I told him it was just a bad dream," Minato added, placing a hand on Souji's shoulder. Minako hugged him from behind to let him know that he's safe.

Margaret gently ruffled Souji's hair. "Please do not distress over this matter. Master Minato is right, and you have my word that we will try our best to get to the bottom of this." She stood up and held Souji's small hand. "Now let us get you three back to bed. Your friends would panic if they find you missing."

The next morning, everyone woke up early to prepare for the mission. Unfortunately things didn't go as smoothly as planned when you add kids into the equation. The children didn't appreciate being awakened so early, trying to get away from the adults when it was bath time. The little boys managed to squirm their way out into halls, running around naked. A few of the chambermaids and guests shrieked as the guys chased them around the inn. At least Akihiko had the workout of his life; they were sweating bullets by the time they caught little Minato and Souji and hauled them to the bathroom. Who knew that such passive and aloof teenagers would have so much energy? Trying to get them dressed was a different story altogether…

The young women were having an equally difficult time with Minako, but that was expected. What they didn't expect was for her to dash out of the room like a bullet train in her undergarments when Shinjiro opened the door to check up on her. Thus the chasing began yet again.

Yukiko greeted the rest of the Investigation Team plus Nanako and ushered them to the dining hall. SEES and the Wild Card trio were already seated, waiting for the other group. On the huge low table, breakfast was served.

Nanako was surprised when she saw the children, especially the little boy who had dark silver hair like her Big Bro. After a simple explanation from Teddie and Yosuke, the little girl giggled with delight. "So you want me to help take care of Big Bro, Aniki and Aneki?" Nanako concluded. "I'd love to! I get to be the big sister this time!"

"Sorry we couldn't take you to that place, Nanako-chan. It's pretty dangerous there at the moment," Chie told her. Nanako nodded in understanding.

Breakfast was finished in a matter of minutes. After the table was cleared, everyone prepped themselves for their mission.

"So you're going there to find something to turn them back?" Nanako asked. She looked a bit worried.

"Yeah, we're all going except for Shinjiro-san and Ken," Yosuke informed her. "They'll be babysitting you and the little guys."

"We should get going," Mitsuru said, adjusting the ribbon on her collar. They were all dressed, armor hidden under their school uniforms. They left their weapons in an abandoned store room at Junes.

"Right!" everyone echoed in unison.

Mitsuru turned around one last time. "Shinjiro, once we are out of that place, I'll give you a call."

"Will do," he responded.

Shinjiro and Ken watched them leave as Nanako played with the toddlers. "Why don't we go play at Samegawa River? It's nice there this time of year!" the little girl suggested.

Shinjiro thought about it for a while. "Sure, I don't see why not. Better than being cooped up here, I guess."

Samegawa river bank…

The air was nice and cool despite the summer heat. Cicadas were buzzing and birds chirping amongst the many trees surrounding the area. It was a nice change of scenery.

Nanako guided the toddlers to her favorite spot near the riverbed where her mother used to take her when she was alive.

As if on cue, an old man came fumbling along. He spotted Nanako and gave her a big toothy grin. "Well, if it isn't little Nanako Dojima. How's your father doing these days?"

"He's doing great. Busy catching bad guys like always!" Nanako stated with pride. "Oh, and these are Big Bro's friends from the city. Meet Shinjiro Aragaki and Ken Amada." At the mention of Ken's name, the little girl's cheeks turned pink.

"Souji's friends, huh? So it's you guys that he was borrowing some of my fishing gear for," the old man said. "It's a pleasure to meet such fine looking young men. Where is Souji anyway? I haven't seen him lately."

Nanako fidgeted at that. She didn't like to lie, but…

"Souji is showing the rest of our friends from the city around town. He asked us to take care of Nanako for a while," Shinjiro answered for her. He saw Nanako sigh a breath of relief and smirked a little.

"Is that right?" the old man mumbled, rubbing his chin. He looked at Shinjiro for a minute. "I was hoping Souji could help me catch the Samegawa Guardian again. My tinker almost stopped when he presented that monster to me last year. I'll never forget it!"

"Big Bro fished a lot during the summer. He caught me my first pet goldfish," Nanako told Ken. "He's so thoughtful."

"Tell him I said 'hi' for me, will ya? I'm sure he'll want to challenge the Guardian again." With that, the old angler walked away.

"Exactly how big is this 'Guardian' he keeps talking about?" Shinjiro asked Nanako.

The little girl merely giggled. "You should have seen it! Big Bro said it could swallow me whole…" she emphasized her point by extending her arms vertically to give the two an idea of how big the Samegawa Guardian was. "I'm sure Dad still keeps the picture somewhere." Nanako giggled again when Ken and Shinjiro's eyes went as wide as saucers.

The Wild Card children were playing nearby, splashing water at each other. Nanako joined them to play with the fish.

Ken laughed at their antics. "Look at them, you'd think this is the first time they see what a river looks like."

The senior chuckled. This was nice; being able to relax without any distractions of their current life, in a beautiful countryside town. His eyes settled on little Minako, and he blushed, recalling Rise's question the previous day.

"You're blushing, Shinjiro-san," Ken pointed out. He sat down beside the senior on a rock nearby, putting the small duffel bag which contained extra clothes for the toddlers (just in case) by his feet.

"It's just an embarrassing question that Kujikawa girl asked me yesterday," Shinjiro said bluntly, turning away from Ken. "And before you ask, I'm not telling you about it."

The middle-school student just shrugged. His thoughts wondered about the others in the TV World. 'I hope they're alright…'

Inside the TV World…

"It's weak against wind spells. Finish them off!" Fuuka yelled.

"Zap 'em with thunder, guys!" Rise cheered.

"Go Susano-O! Magarudyne!"

"Isis, Magarudyne!"

"Psyche, Garudyne!"

"Cesar, Maziodyne!"

"Crush them Rokuten Maoh! Maziodyne!"

In a blink of an eye, the Gigas and Raven type Shadows surrounding them were eliminated.

In order to cover more ground, they divided themselves into two groups. The first group consisted of Junpei, Aigis, Koromaru, Chie, Yukari and Akihiko with Mitsuru as the leader. The other group had Yukiko, Naoto, Teddie, Metis and Kanji with Yosuke as leader. The Fox stayed with Fuuka and Rise.

After a few hours of dungeon grinding, they were nowhere close to finding anything that might reverse the condition of the Wild Cards. They even checked other dungeons, but all they found were the normal items used for healing or support during battle. Even Fox and Koromaru were about to give up sniffing.

At the Entrance Hall, the Persona-users were catching their breath. The Fox was passing around leaves for the injured members. In one corner was a heap all the items they collected earlier, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a frustrating day…

And they were getting hungrier by the minute.

Back at Samegawa…

After playing at the riverbank until it was almost noon, the temperature became unbearable. Shinjiro decided to call it quits and head back to the inn. The kids didn't want to go just yet.

"I want ice cream!" Minako chirped.

"I want soda!" Souji demanded.

"I'm hungry…" Minato groaned, his stomach growling. He had to pat it in order to calm it down.

"Madam Shiroku's shop is not far from here," Nanako pointed out. "We can get some tasty snacks there."

"I am getting a little hungry myself," Ken admitted sheepishly.

At first Shinjiro was reluctant to do so; sugar and children weren't exactly a good combination. But Minako gave him the puppy-dog eyes and he couldn't say 'no' after that. He cursed himself at his weakness and sighed. "Fine, let's go get snacks." The toddlers whooped with joy.

Madam Shiroku greeted them, a warm smile adorning her gracefully aging features. Nanako and Ken made small talk with her as the kids ran around, trying to figure out what snack to get. Shinjiro waited for them outside. While waiting, he thought about the menu for today's lunch. Mitsuru gave him a credit card in case he needed to shop for groceries.

The toddlers were chattering happily when they exited the small shop, each one carrying a small bag filled with rice crackers and sweets. They used their free hand to hold a Topsicle which was slowly melting from the hot sun.

"What flavor did you get, Aniki?" little Minako asked her brother.

"Grape. I wanted cherry," Minato sighed. "What about you, Banchou-kun?"

"I got sour apple," Souji said, scrunching up his face in displeasure. "What about you, Aneki?"

"I think its pineapple," she said. "It's yellow and doesn't taste like banana."

Ken also walked out of the shop with a small bag in hand. He was halfway through his animal crackers when he pulled out a small sticker. Thinking that he didn't need it, he absent-mindedly offered it to Nanako.

"Wow, a rare sticker of the Featherman badge! I was looking for this forever!" Nanako's eyes sparkled. "Thank you!"

Realizing his mistake of not checking his prize before giving it to someone else, Ken felt torn. He wanted the sticker, being a huge fan of the series, but he didn't want to disappoint Nanako and look like a jerk for retracting his offer. Like the gentleman he is, he gave it her anyway.

"Wait till Yuuta-kun sees this," Nanako exclaimed. "I completed my collection before he did!"

Before Ken could ask her about it, Shinjiro cleared his throat loudly. "Are we done here?" he asked. Ken and Nanako nodded, and so did the toddlers. "Let's head to Junes before going back. I need to get some groceries."

It looks like Shinjiro was right all along; sugar and children were a bad combination. When they arrived at Junes, the toddlers, in their hyperactive sugar-rushed state; dashed in three different directions at the same time, leaving their babysitters speechless. Shinjiro cursed under his breath and ordered the other two to chase after them.

Half an hour later, exhausted and out of breath, Shinjiro, Ken and Nanako managed to gather the troublemaking midgets together at the electronics department.

"I told you guys…" Shinjiro panted "…that giving them snacks wasn't a good idea."

"But you said it was okay Shinjiro-san," Ken countered.

"Whatever. We still have some shopping to do," the tall teen grumbled. Nanako on the other hand, looked like she was in heaven despite being tired; they were in Junes after all.

Meanwhile, the children were in front of the giant flat-screen TV used as the gateway to the Shadow Dimension. They were in awe by its size.

"It's so huge~!" Souji said, his mouth still hanging open.

"It's flat too," Minako stated. "I wonder if we're allowed to touch it."

"I dare you!" Minato challenged her.

"Not if you do it first!" she shot back.

"What's the matter? Being a scaredy cat?" Minato taunted. "Mi-chan is a scaredy cat, scaredy cat~" he sang.

"Aniki, stop it…" Souji whispered timidly when he saw anger flash in Minako's red eyes.

"You're going down!" she screeched, and tackled her twin brother. Souji tried to stop her, but ended getting caught in the tousle.

Shinjiro's temper wasn't cooling down. He was about to snap at the three to be quiet, until he saw what they were about to hit in their petty struggle; the television. "Shit!" was all he could say before they collided and got sucked into the screen. He was quick enough to catch Souji's ankle, but the combined weight of the toddlers and the suction of the portal was enough to pull him in. A few unpleasant words echoed out of screen.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" Nanako inquired, sweatdropping.

"Yeah, I think we should," Ken said in an exasperated tone as he held out a hand for Nanako. "Let's go."

The little girl blushed and took his hand and together they leapt into the TV.

Shinjiro's backside hit the ground, bearing the full brunt of the fall and his body acting as a cushion of sorts for the toddlers. They simply rolled off of him as if nothing happened. A few seconds later, they heard another thud nearby.

Ken managed to land on his feet, but he lost his balance and fell flat on his behind. "I'll never get used to this," he groaned. "Are you alright, Nanako-chan?"

"Yes," Nanako said. "I'm fine." She stood up and dusted her dress with her hands. "But I don't think Shinjiro-san is."

The tall teen was still lying on the floor, breathing heavily. He then stood up and rubbed his tailbone. "Those damn brats! I can't wait for this to be over with... Now we can't get out of here until that bear shows up. Just PERFECT!" he hissed.

Said brats were looking at their surroundings, curiosity shining brightly in their eyes and mouths hanging open in a perfect 'O' shape as they ogled the fog-filled world. The fog at the Entrance Hall wasn't as thick as the other places, so they could still see some of the surroundings.

Minato saw something shining on the floor from the corner of his eye. He immediately went and picked it up. "Look what I found!"

Souji and Minako snapped out of their trance and approached him. Shinjiro, Ken and Nanako turned their heads to Minato's direction and gasped. The blue haired boy was holding an Evoker! Ken and Shinjiro checked their holsters, and sure enough, both were empty.'I must have dropped it when I fell,'they thought at the same time.

"I found another one!" Minako shouted proudly.

"I want one too!" Souji pouted, flapping his arms wildly.

"There aren't any more. You can have this weird hat, Banchou-kun." Shinjiro immediately felt his head. His beanie was gone too!

"B-but…" Souji tried to protest, but Minako shoved it on his head anyway. Souji took the opportunity to grab the Evoker.

"Hey, give that back!"

"No!" Souji stuck his tongue out. Minako proceeded to wrestle the gun-shaped object from his hands.

The toddlers continued to bicker and grapple each other.

Shinjiro finally snapped. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" he roared. He grabbed the Evokers by force as well as his beanie, and returned one to Ken. "You three are going to sit here and be quiet until the others come back. Understand?!" He shot them a glare for good measure.

All of a sudden Minako's eyes begin to water, her bottom lip trembling. She inhaled a huge breath of air…

'Oh shit, she's gonna cry!'the older teen thought, slightly panicking. The waterworks finally began, and Shinjiro felt guilty all over again. Upon hearing Minako's distress, Souji and Minato were immediately by her side and patted her back to comfort her, disputes forgotten, and shot an equally devastating glare towards Shinjiro at the same time.

Nanako stifled a laugh. She never would have thought that her Big Bro would be so rebellious and cute at the same time.

As soon as Minako stopped crying (much to Shinjiro's relief) the three Fools' attention were now on a glowing blue butterfly which fluttered past them. As if Shinjiro's warning didn't exist, they ran off to chase it.

"What are they doing?" Nanako wondered. "It looks like they're chasing something."

"Chasing? I don't see anything," Ken answered.

One of Shinjiro's eyebrows twitched with annoyance, a vein in his forehead throbbed. Seeing that arguing is not going to make them stay, he decided to take action and secure them by force if necessary. But the topic of their conversation was worrying him.'If Ken and Nanako-chan can't see that blue butterfly, then something is about to go wrong,'his gut told him. "Stay here and protect Nanako. I'll be right back," he ordered Ken, and put on the glasses Teddie gave him.

Ken and Nanako already had their glasses on. "Alright. Be careful, Shinjiro-san!"

"Damn kids and their short attention span," Shinjiro grumbled. "Wait till those brats return to normal…I can't wait to give them a piece of my mind!"

The trio hadn't run off very far. Shinjiro recognized the area they were in; it was the shopping district on the North side, albeit a creepier version. 'Oh yeah, Hanamura told us that this is the place where he and Souji awakened to their Personas.'

The blue butterfly was fluttering around an electric pole in front of Konishi's liquor shop, the children running around in circles trying to catch it. As they butterfly was floating above them, they had to jump up and down to reach it. It was giving Shinjiro a headache. He was going to grab and possibly tie them up when his ears heard growls somewhere nearby.

Five Shadows emerged from the shop. There was one Shadow which looked like a lion, chained to a floating ball wearing a blue mask. The other four were literally enormous floating balls with black and purple stripes. It had huge grey lips, with their tongues hanging out. They had their sights on a certain target; the Wild Cards.

By now, the toddlers saw the Shadows and cowered in fear. Minato and Minako were hugging each other, with Souji protectively in the middle. The butterfly was the last thing on their minds right now. The screamed when the lion Shadow begin to pounced on them.

Shinjiro whipped out his Evoker. "Pegasus, Fatal End!"

Pegasus performed the slash attack, but as soon as it came in contact with the lion Shadow, the attack deflected and hit his master instead. He was fast enough to dodge it before it caused serious damage. 'Another one that reflects physical attacks…Just my luck!'He didn't see one Halberie attack him from behind, and it went downhill from there.

While Shinjiro was struggling, the other Shadows continued to approach the trio menacingly. The children continued to back away before hitting a wall. They gasped in dismay as they were surrounded, their fear of getting eaten growing and growing.

One of the balls leaped at the trio, its tongue sticking out much longer than before. The toddlers were too scared to scream this time.

Blue smoke glowed at their feet, and suddenly three figures hovered above them.

Shinjiro was surprised when he saw that the three toddlers summoned their respective Persona, especially when they didn't have their Evokers or in Souji's case, his tarot card. Orpheus managed to hit one Shadow with his lyre while Eurydice casted Agi as a follow up attack, causing the rest of the Shadows to back away. Izanagi zapped the lion Shadow with Zio, nearly hitting Shinjiro.

Distinct shouts could be heard from the distance (Junpei and Teddie's stood out so far) as the cavalry arrived. Shinjiro never felt more relieved. The children were exhausted from the oppressive atmosphere of the fog-filled world and the summoning of their Persona. They immediately fainted, and the three Personae disappeared.

Seeing the window of opportunity, the Shadows attacked again. But before they can do so, Shinjiro blocked them with Pegasus. He grunted as a piercing sting coursed through his body when his Persona's pain was transferred to him.

"Guys, the Halberie Shadows are weak to fire. Burn their asses!" Rise shouted.

"That Beast Shadow has a weakness to Light. Naoto-chan, please get rid of it!" Fuuka said.

Yukiko was furious. She summoned Amaterasu and released a Maragidyne attack. 'If those Shadows think they can hurt MY boyfriend and get away with it, they've got another thing coming!'she glared dangerously. Her anger fueled her flames and the Halberies were ash in no time. Junpei didn't even need to help.

"Yamato Takeru, Hamaon!"

A symbol with runes of yellow light flashed beneath the Beast Shadow before the light engulfed it. And the Shadow was no more.

"Shinji, are you alright?" Akihiko approached his childhood friend. "Don't move. I'll heal you." He summoned Caesar and casted Diarahan.

"Thanks, Aki." Shinjiro let himself relax as his cuts and bruises healed, letting the cool sensation of the healing spell wash over him. "How did you guys know we were here?"

"Rise-chan said she sensed a bunch of Shadows here. Mitsuru had a bad feeling about it and we had to check it out. I'm glad we did."

Yukari and the Fox ran towards the toddlers, followed by Yukiko, Yosuke and Teddie.

The young brunette kneeled beside Minato and began to look for injuries. She sighed with relief and checked on the other twin. Yukiko was cradling Souji while Yosuke casted Diarahan on him. Teddie used the Fox's leaves to help them regain their energy.

"Shinjiro, how did you even get here?" Mitsuru questioned. "I thought you were supposed to be babysitting them in our world."

"I was. We were just doing some grocery shopping when they started to fight. One thing led to another and they got sucked here," Shinjiro scowled. "I'm never taking babysitting duty ever again!"

"Where's Ken? More importantly, what happened to Nanako-chan?" Kanji asked frantically.

"Don't worry. I left them at the entrance," Shinjiro grunted. He stood up and dusted himself off before picking Minako up bridal style. "We should head back before this world does any more damage to them."

Junpei took the opportunity to say something. "Shinjiro-senpai, was that Orpheus, Eurydice and Izanagi we saw when we got here?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later."

As the group reached the Entrance Hall, they were greeted by Ken and a very worried Nanako. "Are they alright?" she asked when she saw Minato asleep in Kanji's arms and Souji in Yosuke's.

"They are fine, Nanako-chan. They're just exhausted," Metis answered.

"We are sad to report that our search has not been successful," Aigis said in a depressed tone. Koromaru only whimpered beside her.

"Yes. So far we checked most of the dungeons and found nothing of remote interest," Naoto continued. "Teddie, if you would be so kind to let us out of here."

Teddie nodded. He tapped his foot three times and the stack of televisions appeared. All of them exited the TV World.

Back at Junes Food Court…

Yukiko and Yukari were cradling Souji and Minato on their laps, wiping their foreheads with a damp cloth. Shinjiro did the same with Minako. The little girl giggled in her sleep and snuggled into his jacket, feeling safe in his arms. Souji and Minato did the same with their girls, making them giggle and Shinjiro smiled.

Behind him, Akihiko snickered. His best friend rarely showed any sort of affectionate behavior, but never in front of this many people. It was a first. Mitsuru smirked when she saw what Akihiko was smiling at.

Teddie was fussing over Nanako, offering her some of the Fox's leaves and poking and prodding her for injuries. If she was feeling uncomfortable, Nanako didn't show it. The rest slumped on chairs or the benches, exhausted out of their minds. On the table were the items they managed to collect so far.

"We've been through them three times. Most of them are just the normal stuff we use for healing or support," Chie reported.

"I'm so tired. I can't wait to get back to the inn and soak in the hot springs," Junpei sighed.

"You can say that again," Yosuke echoed. "But I'm never spending a night at that inn after what happened last year." He shot Yukiko a dirty look, which she didn't seem to notice.

"That was worse than the camping incident," Kanji said as a depressing aura surrounded him.

"We agreed to never speak of that again," Yosuke hissed. "Do you want to mentally torture yourself to death?"

"You started it…" Kanji mumbled before becoming silent.

Everybody else was too tired to ask what both of them meant. There was one more important question to ask; Junpei was the one to voice it out. "How did the little dudes summon their Personas without the Evoker? I thought we left them at the inn."

"Interesting…" Akihiko mused. "I suspected that it is possible to summon a Persona without one. These guys proved it -" he gestured to the Investigation Team. "How else did you summon yours during your awakening, Junpei?"

"It must have been some sort of defense mechanism," Fuuka theorized. "They were in extreme danger when those Shadows attacked, and they unconsciously summoned their Persona. Minato-kun did that when Minako-chan and Souji-kun were in extreme danger when we faced Adachi."

"Really? Aren't they a bit too young to have any sort of emotional baggage or whatever?" Rise asked. But then she lowered her voice to a whisper. "I mean, remember what we told you about Nanako-chan?"

"The same logic may not apply to them, Rise. After all, they did possess the power of Persona before turning into toddlers," Naoto said.

Shinjiro overheard their conversation while he nursed an unconscious Minako. He had a strong feeling that the blue butterfly helped them, and if anything was connected to the three Wild Cards it had to be the Velvet Room. While he was confused, at the same time he was thankful that everything turned out alright. He might have to thank Igor if he ever saw him again.

"It looks like we should just call it a day," Mitsuru concluded. "Why don't we all grab a bite to eat before we head back?"

Night time, Amagi Inn…

"Stupei actually made a good suggestion today," Yukari said as the girls headed for the hot springs. The SEES girls were already in their yukata. They had invited Yukiko to join them, but she declined saying she was busy helping her mother.

"This will be a new experience for me," Metis chirped. She was extremely happy; she had never been in a hot spring before.

"As long as what happened in Kyoto never occurs again," Aigis said in a grim tone.

"Still mad about that, huh? Don't worry, I haven't forgiven Junpei yet either," Yukari reassured the blonde android.

"I'm sure the boys know better now," Mitsuru smiled triumphantly. The other girls shivered at the memory, grateful for not ending up on the other side of their senpai's 'execution'.

Behind the group of girls, the Wild Card trio happily trotted in their little bathrobes. In each hand they carried their bathing items and a towel in the other. It seems that the girls were okay with Minato and Souji joining them; they would be playing at the kid's section anyway.

When they reached the hot springs, the girls took Minako to the locker rooms to undress. Souji and Minato were already in their swimming shorts and made a dash for the children's pool.

The girls came out of the locker room in only their towels. Yukari was holding Minako's hand as she guided her to the hot springs. The little girl was jumping up and down in excitement, causing the others to smile at her limitless energy. They could hear the little boys splashing each other in the distance.

Mitsuru, Yukari and Fuuka sank their tired bodies into the hot water of the springs, letting out a satisfied sigh as they let their muscles relax. Aigis and Metis sat at the edge of the pool with their feet in the water. Minako was at the shallow end, mimicking the three girls while chatting with the androids who were closer to her.

"Hey, let's have a breath holding contest!" Minako announced, waving her chubby arms excitedly. Seeing the girl's enthusiasm the female SEES didn't have the heart to say no. 'She's just too cute!'they thought.

Before they can start, Minako had already disappeared under the water's surface. At the same time the girls heard loud voices coming from the kid's pool and it didn't sound like they belonged to children.

"That sounded like a man's voice!" Yukari hissed. "That stupid moron, he's trying to peep on us again!" At the word 'peep', the young women wrapped themselves with their towels.

"It will be my pleasure to get rid of him," Aigis said nonchalantly and walked stealthily to the small pool, readying her guns.

"I'll come with you, Sister," Metis said. Both of them disappeared.

Two loud and manly screams followed soon after. Yukari and Mitsuru were out of the hot spring and into their fighting stances, with Fuuka behind them. They heard the bushes rustling nearby and readied themselves to beat the crap out of whoever dared to sneak in while the women were bathing. To their utter surprise, Aigis and Metis pushed two young men from the bushes; and it happened to be Minato and Souji, who weren't kids anymore but full-grown teenagers!

Not just full-grown, but half-naked as well. The swimming shorts they wore when they were in their child forms now closely resembled speedos. Yukari blushed as she caught herself comparing Minato and Souji's physique; Minato was lean and muscular, while Souji had a bit more bulk and wider shoulders.

There was a few seconds of silence before Fuuka screamed. A few moments after that, the sliding door opened to reveal Shinjiro.

"What the hell happened? I thought I heard Fuuka shout–"

"I win!"

Everyone heard a splash of water coming from the middle of the hot spring as a grown-up Minako emerged from the water with her arms raised in a victorious manner.

The three young men blushed at what they saw. Since Minako was facing the opposite side of the pool, they only saw her smooth, bare back, slightly covered by her wet, chestnut hair. Her lower half was (thankfully) still in the water. Dirty thoughts began to form in Shinjiro's mind.

Minato's over-protectiveness kicked in. "Minako, for goodness sakes cover yourself!" He saw her body stiffen at the sound of his voice before she tilted her head downwards and gasped at what she saw.

"KYAAAA!" She submerged into the water once more and wrapped her arms around herself.

Mitsuru found her voice again. "GET OUT OF HERE, YOU DAMN IDIOTS!" she thundered. At the same time Yukari picked up a bucket and threw it at the guys. Fuuka, Aigis and Metis followed suit.

The situation was becoming all too familiar. Minato and Souji high tailed it out of there, dragging a still blushing Shinjiro and dodging buckets in the process. The sliding door slammed shut behind them. The young women swore they heard Yukiko shriek in the hallway a few moments later.

Yukari threw Minako a spare towel and they rushed to the locker room to get dressed, no longer in the mood for another dip in the hot spring.

Somewhere in the inn, a silver-haired boxing champ and a cap wearing class-clown shivered in the warm night.

Mitsuru had booked a conference room the next day and called the rest of the Inaba Persona-users to join in the meeting to deliver the good news. In the middle of the room was a huge oak table, surrounded by soft, red cushions. Everybody was already seated as Yukiko and Rise passed around some refreshments.

"So let me get this straight…" Yosuke sighed, pinching the skin between his eyebrows. "We went through all that dungeon grinding, found nothing, and all it took to cure you guys was a bath in the hot springs?!"

Souji rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

Nanako hugged her Big Bro. "I'm so glad that you guys are back to normal." This earned her a pat on the head.

"Why do bad things happen to us at hot springs?" Minato uttered grimly. His twin was grinning sheepishly between him and Souji, who looked just as dejected.

"So it's like putting clothes in the dryer…they expand!" Kanji said suddenly, punching a fist into his other hand.

Everybody sweatdropped at his analogy.

"Ugh…I'm just glad this whole ordeal is over," Chie grimaced. She knocked Teddie, who was sitting on her left, at the back of his head. "For the record, this is your fault!"

"What did I do?" the little blond whined. Everyone ignored him.

It took a while for everyone to notice that Minato was avoiding Yukari's stare, Souji blushed and quickly looked away when he spotted Yukiko (which is weird because she wasn't sitting beside him like she usually does) and Shinjiro was sitting by himself in one corner trying desperately to avoid a certain crimson-eyed girl.

"Uh…what's going on here?" Yosuke whispered to Akihiko. Beside him, Chie's ears twitched.

The silver-haired boxer seemed uncomfortable at the question. "Well you see…the girls didn't know that this would happen when they took Minato and Souji, when they were still in their kid forms, to play at the hot springs. Shinji kinda barged in on them when he heard Fuuka screaming," he whispered back.

Getting a sense of what might follow afterwards, Yosuke just nodded.'I'm just glad they weren't hurt in any way, if past experience helps,'he thought.

"They did WHAT?!" Chie squawked, making Akihiko and Yosuke jump in their seats. She happened to be paying extra close attention, since Yosuke wasn't really that skilled at whispering, and she swiveled her head towards Souji. "Even after what happened the last time, you still haven't learned?" she hissed venomously.

"This happened before…?" Fuuka asked.

"They peeped on you guys too?" Yukari gasped.

Souji gulped. He was very much aware of what Chie was capable of when angered enough. "It was an accident, I swear!" he defended.

"You can't blame us! We didn't even know that would happen!" Minato stressed, backing up Souji.

"Aniki is right. You shouldn't get too worked up, Chie-chan...Yukari-chan and Fuuka-chan too. Like Souji-kun said, it was an accident." Minako tried to pacify the martial artist. But when she caught Shinjiro's eye, she blushed and found the floor more interesting instead.

Yukiko was also very red. During the hot spring incident last year, all she remembered was throwing wooden pails at the guys. Last night she saw Souji half-naked, and she couldn't help but stare and admire. When she became aware of what she was doing, Yukiko screamed her head off and ran away covering her eyes. 'I wonder what kind of impression I left on him,'she sighed mentally.

The atmosphere in the conference room was getting awkward, and fast. In one corner of the room, Shinjiro sat by himself trying to avoid people especially Minato and Souji. He stole occasional glances around the room, but mostly he just stared at the ceiling or the carpet.

…Flashback….

The three of them managed to return to their room without running into other guests. Minato dashed to the bathroom while Souji just grabbed a robe from the closet to cover himself up. Junpei and Akihiko were shocked when they barged in suddenly, two of them in skimpy clothing. Junpei had the decency not to laugh, which made the situation a little more bearable. Ken and Koromaru were already fast asleep so neither of them noticed the commotion.

A few minutes later, Minato came out of the bathroom fully dressed. Souji took his turn.

"Damn, that was one freaky experience," Minato mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as a headache was forming. "I'm just so glad Mitsuru-senpai didn't execute us this time."

"Dude, you had to bring that up?" Junpei whimpered. He could still feel the prickle of ice on his skin after all of these years."But wait…weren't you guys little kids a little while ago?"

"Yeah…you're going to fill us in on that. All I remember was us training in the TV World, surrounded by yellow powder, and then pushed by Aigis and Metis in front of the girls."

Akihiko grimaced. "That is never a good situation."

Souji stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms he borrowed from Minato. "So you guys had a hot spring incident too?" he chuckled, rubbing his hair dry with a towel.

"It was Junpei's idea," Minato deadpanned. "Why Akihiko-senpai and I listened to him and Ryoji was beyond me."

Shinjiro found this amusing, but it angered him as well especially when it regarded his girlfriend. "You had a part in peeping on girls, Aki? How low can you get?" he glared dangerously.

Akihiko sighed. "Like Minato said Shinji, it wasn't our fault."

"Tell us about yours, Souji, while we're still on the topic," Junpei said, grinning. Akihiko only rolled his eyes at Junpei's perverted intentions.

"It wasn't really our fault either," Souji began. "We were a little jumpy because of the whole murder business and a tiring day at the school's cultural festival. We took the chance to go relax in the hot spring since the front desk called to inform us that it was the guys' time. When we arrived, the girls and Nanako were already there. Long story short, we got chased out by wooden buckets. But what happened after that was a lot worse though, and that time it was Yosuke and Teddie's fault." Souji skin crawled as he tried to scrape the horrible memories from his brain.

"Is that what Hanamura and Tatsumi were mumbling about earlier?" Akihiko wondered. Shinjiro just shrugged.

"Persona-user women really are scary," Junpei muttered. "We were lucky we didn't get frostbite after Mitsuru-senpai executed us."

"So us guys escaped but not without injuries, huh?" Minato laughed lightly. Then he turned sharply to Shinjiro and narrowed his eyes. "Senpai, I hope you don't get any ideas about my sister after what you saw in there. Just because you weren't in Kyoto when it happened doesn't mean you're entitled to a chance."

"That's right, Shinjiro-san. What Aniki said," Souji clasped a hand on the senior's shoulder. His face was smiling but the malicious aura indicated otherwise.

Shinjiro gulped, but still kept his stoic exterior. He was never one to be intimidated, but it was different when being confronted by two powerful Wild Cards who also happen to be overprotective brothers to the girl he loves.

"Whatever," Shinjiro said in a flat tone. That was all he could say at the moment as his heart was uncomfortably beating very, very fast.

Junpei and Akihiko had a newfound respect for Shinjiro, but they also made a mental note not to cross these two – No, scratch that. Make it three since Minako could be just as scary – ever.

…End Flashback…

Before Mitsuru could say something to break the ice, Rise beat her to it. "This calls for a celebration! How about a karaoke party?"

"That won't be necessary, Rise," Souji told her. "We squad leaders have decided to make lunch for you guys instead."

"Yeah, to thank you guys for braving the Shadows to help us turn back to normal," Minato said, smiling.

"I'll even bake a cake!" Minako smiled.

"It's the least we could do," Souji added.

Yosuke could barely contain his excitement. "Awesome! More delicious food!" His enthusiastic cheer was echoed by Kanji and Teddie, while the girls could only pout.

"It's been a while since we tasted anything you made, Minako-san. I can't wait," Ken said.

The hostility was temporarily forgotten as the conversation steered to the topic of food. The Investigation Team were praising their leader's cooking skills while the SEES members were reminiscing about Minako's home-made sweets or Minato's whacky but delicious ramen combinations. Even Shinjiro was in the mood to join the conversation.

Three hours later, all of them returned from Junes carrying bags of groceries and placed them at the inn's kitchen. The chefs had already cleared out a small area for them to use at Yukiko's request. The three Wild Cards started to work while the rest went to wait at the same conference room earlier.

Give or take another two hours later, the three of them arrived, pushing three carts of food. Everyone was in awe as they ogled their leaders' creations; grilled chicken skewers, soba noodles, beef sukiyaki, salad and fried rice with omelet. To top it off, there were fruit tarts, milkshakes and chocolate cake for dessert.

The sight of the desserts and omelet fried rice made Nanako and Ken very happy. It didn't take long for the food to be passed around and everyone started consuming.

Mitsuru cleared her throat to catch everyone's attention. "I would like to propose a toast to our leaders." She raised her glass of fruit punch. "Congratulations to you three for turning back to normal. And may our search for the truth be victorious!"

"I wouldn't say no to that," Naoto commented as everyone also raised their glass.

"And again, we would like to thank you all and for standing beside us all the way," Minato said, as he glanced to Minako and Souji. "We couldn't have asked for a better team!"

The Persona-users took pleasure in each others' company as they partied into the night, fully aware that tomorrow would bring even more challenges and possible dangers. But for now they were content with the time they have to just enjoy their youth.

Hope ya guys enjoyed this chapter as much as Ohta-chan and I enjoyed writing it. I told ya it would be a sort of WTH?! Oh and stay tuned, next chapters will get intense. And when I say intense, expect serious battles, an unexpected foe returns and memories and secrets are revealed! Mark my words!

Have fun and don't forget to Read and Review!