Persona Chaos Butterfly

by Sea of Soul

Co-written with Ohta-Suzuke. P3FES/P3P and P4/P4G x-over. After a personal tragedy, Souji's life is turned upside down when he meets up with two long lost friends and the Dark Hour returns. Now, together with the other Wild Cards, SEES and the Investigation Team, they must get to the bottom of this mystery. Feedback is appreciatted. It's tough work, ya know.

19. Chapter 19: Back to School

Hi guys! Sorry I've been so slow. Work's been intense and me and otha-chan decided it would be better if we focusing on catching up with DA before working on new chapters.

Questions time!

KO: The one talking to Pharos? Nah, it's Marie. Now if ya mean the one with Labrys… I can't say it yet 3 And Teddie is no masochist or sadist. He's just Teddie. He never knows when to keep his mouth shut. XD;;;

Snake King: Soon. I promise.

Blitzshine: Aww, thanks. Comments like that are what really pays off all the hard work me and my friend Ohta-chan have with this. =3 Hope ya keep reading. =3

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 19: Back to School

The next day had finally arrived much to both Arisato's and Metis' excitement, and Shinjiro's annoyance. Their first day of school in years (in Metis' case ever) had finally come. Souji and Nanako decided to meet up with them at their dorm to walk them and Ken to their new schools together.

Ken seemed a little nervous about attending a new school, but with some encouragement from the others, put him a bit more at ease. With waves of goodbyes and wishes of good luck from the college-going SEES, the group headed off.

They had to split up at the Samegawa flood plain. Ken and Nanako parted ways with the older groups, and continued to chat about TV shows, manga and books, smiling and laughing together. It was so adorable that even Souji couldn't resist the cuteness.

The morning was nice out; the sun shining with light wisps of clouds in the sky as the transfer students walked along the path to Yasogami High. As they got closer to school, more and more students appeared, heading to the same destination, but each in their own world as they passed by or dawdled, complaining about how the vacation was too short. The twins smiled, remembering the last time they'd walked amongst peers, almost three years ago, and looked around for familiar faces.

Souji quickly spotted Rise and Kanji walking together ahead of them, the bleached blond towering over the pop star, so he picked up his pace and jogged over. "Rise! Kanji!"

When he got close enough, the teen idol turned around and pounced, latching onto his arm with glee. "Senpai, I'm so glad you're back! You have no idea!"

"I know, Rise. No need to knock me down." Souji chuckled as the others caught up with them.

She giggled at that and looked at the other four. "And you guys? Excited?"

"Yeah!" Minako cheered. giggling at Shinjiro's scowl.

"We're seniors this year...big year for us. Of course we're excited," Minato replied.

"You guys've got nothin' to worry about, Senpai." Kanji lightly punched Minato on his unoccupied shoulder. "Souji-senpai swears that you guys're geniuses."

Minato grinned at his tall, future underclassman. "Thanks, Kanji. Hopefully, this year will end well."

Soon enough they could see Yasogami High from afar. "It's… It's so big!" was all Metis could say in a mix of awe and excitement.

"Not as big as Gekkou, but ain't really shabby either…" Shinjiro said, unimpressed at enthusiasm surrounding him while the twins looked at their new school with curiosity and joy.

"Oh, by the way, I noticed something." Metis said. "Why do the students keep staring at us?"

Yukiko and Chie walked up to them. "I guess they're all curious since they don't know you guys. Or because Souji-kun is back," the raven-haired said. "I just hope they don't start any rumors. With a town as small as Inaba, it's quite hard to keep a secret for long as the information travels so quickly."

"You make it sound like you don't want me here," Souji fake-whined, making a little pout.

"Wha-! No, no! That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Yukiko squeaked, her face a deep shade of pink.

"Hey, I'm just messing with you." He grinned and gave Yukiko a playful kiss on the cheek. She glared at him for a while, but then smiled at his teasing.

Five minutes later, the group had reached the front gates of the school, where the rest of their group were waiting for them.

"Hey, partner!" Yosuke waved as he walked up to them, his easy-going grin in place. Naoto and Teddie were also with him. "It's gonna be great having you back in school!"

Souji tried to repress a snicker. "Do you miss me giving you all the answers in class?"

He got a playful punch in the arm for his comment. "Damn straight! All of the teachers keep picking on me now, so I actually have to pay attention in class!"

"You make that sound like such a hardship…"

Yosuke sniffed at him. "Well, not everyone's a genius like you are, you know. You make everything look easy."

"I do not! I just crack open a book every now and then," Souji protested, rolling his eyes at Yosuke's drama. "Besides, I might not be in the same class as you guys are, so you still have to pay attention in class."

Minako giggled. "Déjà vu, huh Aniki?"

Minato chuckled himself. "Yeah, just like with Junpei. I'm starting to think it's a Magician thing."

"Hey, I ain't the only one that asks Souji for answers!" Yosuke rebutted. "Even Chie and Yukiko do that from time to time!"

"Well, it's not our fault some of the teachers explain things in a way that makes no sense at all!" Chie defended.

"By the way, do you guys have a normal homeroom teacher this time?" Souji asked as he recalled something. "It's not Kashiwagi again, is it?"

Upon hearing that name, Minako's usual smile was replaced by a scowl. Obviously, she hadn't forgotten how…that woman…harassed him, her twin, friends AND boyfriend!

Everybody sensed her mood changing. Thinking fast, Shinjiro held her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She was startled out of her anger, and smiled at him for his thoughtful gesture.

Chie pulled a face in disgust, sharing the same opinion as Minako's towards the Biology teacher. "Nah, Kashiwagi got moved to reach freshman year classes, but we'll still have her teaching some of our classes. I just hope none of the freshies have their minds soiled by her."

"Our homeroom teacher now is Sofue-sensei, who teaches history," Yukiko added. "Which is definitely more pleasant than Kashiwagi."

"Yeah! Queen Tut-sensei is so nice in classes even though she always scares me with her Egyptian hat and rod thing!" Teddie piped in.

"Is that so? That sounds a lot like Ono-sensei, our history teacher with his Sengoku era fetish." Minato turned to the juniors. "What about you guys? Who's your homeroom teacher?"

"That'd be Hosoi-sensei, our literature teacher," Rise said. "He's kinda eccentric with that hand puppet of his, but way better than Kashiwagi for sure."

"Jeez, and I thought Gekkou was full of freaks for teachers…" Shinjiro muttered.

"You don't know half of it," Yosuke said gloomily.

"While it is true that our school's faculty members are…peculiar to say the least, most of them are rather competent teachers, Kashiwagi-sensei included," Naoto spoke up from beside Yukiko.

Souji was somewhat surprised to see the young detective in the girl's uniform, rather than the boy's uniform she'd donned the previous year. "Naoto, you look good. Embracing your femininity?"

She blushed, but smiled at him. "Yes, it's actually somewhat of a relief, to be honest. It reduced the amount of female attention and love confessions I have received."

"Nao-chan looks so pretty in that uniform!" Teddie said with a dreamy expression.

"Yeah, she made quite an impact on the first day of the school year." Yosuke snickered at the memory. "The moment Kanji laid eyes on her wearing a skirt, he blacked out. I was lucky enough that Nagase and Ichijo were passing by or else I'd have to drag his sorry ass to school alone."

"You wanna pick a fight or somethin'!?" Kanji growled, his voice turning high-pitched from embarrassment.

Minako patted him on the back. "It's okay, Kanji-kun. Yosuke-kun just likes to tease you."

"And he does a damn good job at that…" the tall teen muttered. It took him forever to be around Naoto wearing that uniform without passing out or having a nosebleed. 'That was a giant achievement for me, dammit!'

"Hehe, Kanji can't take the beauty that is a girl in a school uniform~!" Teddie sang.

"Shut up, ya damn furball!"

With a startled squeak, Teddie hid behind Souji for protection. That was when Souji and the twins noticed that he too was also wearing Yasogami's uniform. Even then he still hadn't lost his sparkling appeal. The rose he usually wore on his white shirt was stuck onto the uniform jacket to add to that charming feeling of his.

"Whoa, Teddie-kun, you look so cute in that uniform!" Minako praised.

"Thank you, Mina-chan!" he beamed at her, but quickly backed away when he felt Shinjiro and Minato glaring at him

"How the hell did he manage to enter school anyway?" Shinjiro questioned.

"My folks enrolled him after he kept whining about how bored he was at home and that all he did was work at Junes," Yosuke explained. "How he passed the admission exams and entered the second year…I'm not sure myself."

"That's easy! I studied and studied hard, just like Sensei does!" the bear stated proudly. "Sensei always does his best, so I should too!"

Minato felt some admiration for the human Shadow. "That's actually pretty mature of you."

"And besides, I can't score with the ladies with only my good looks. I gotta show them my smarts too!" This earned him face-palms from the entire group, minus Metis.

"So much for praising him…" Souji sighed in defeat. Teddie was Teddie after all. "As long as he focuses on his studies as much as he does on his flirting, he should survive through the school year."

"He did make it this far, didn't he? I don't think school will be problem for him. He's able to handle situations quite well with that personality of his." Minako laced her fingers together behind her back and smiled.

"Since we're all in the same class, we've been checking on Teddie periodically," Naoto said, gesturing to herself and Kanji. She readjusted her hair band, the same one she wore to the summer festival. She held her chin in a pensive way. "While he had spent an awfully lot of time having 'fun', he also paid close attention to the lessons and I found him studying in the library quite a few times. Overall, he has done a fine job as a student."

"Studying, paying attention to lessons…" Metis wondered out loud. While excited, she also felt nervous. "I hope I'll do fine here…"

Chie contemplated on the android's situation, but ended up giving her an encouraging smile. "Everything's gonna be okay, Metis." She looked to the others. "Right,guys?"

A chuckle escaped from Minako and she waved a hand. "It's no big deal! Metis will fit in nicely and the teachers were okay with this whole thing from what Mitsuru-senpai said. They didn't even ask many questions about her past. And even if they did we can come up with something."

"Aigis' first days at school were kinda awkward I admit, but I don't think there'll be a problem seeing as Metis is more human now than ever," Minato said, expressing his opinion on the matter.

"Going to high school is a good step into making her acknowledge the variety of cultures and general views there are in this world," Souji added. "Plus, you'll get to meet other people."

Rise gave Metis a hug. "Welcome to Yasogami, Metis! I'm sure you'll have a great time here with us! We'll guide you with everything you need."

The warmth Metis felt from the young Lover's embrace was more than enough to melt her doubts away. "You guys are so friendly…Thank you so much!"

Further conversation was cut off as the first bell rang, and they rushed into the school building to change their shoes before heading for their respective classrooms. The new transfer students broke away from the group, with the silverette telling Yukiko they'd hopefully see them soon as they finished up with some last minute administrative paperwork. She promised to pass the message along to the others for him, and he thanked her with a light kiss.

---

The bell rang again as Souji knocked on the faculty office door. Upon seeing the group, one of the school secretaries immediately ushered them over to an out-of-the-way table where some last minute forms awaited them.

As they finished filling the forms, another knock on the door was heard. Another student walked in and was guided to an empty teacher's desk near the group to fill her forms. Minako took a peek and noticed the girl's long ocean blue hair held back by a peculiar metallic headband, piercing red eyes and the beautiful dark grey cardigan sweater she wore over her Yasogami uniform instead of the usual winter blazer.

Wasting no time, Minako walked up to her with a warm smile on her face. "Hi! I'm Minako! Are you a new student?"

The girl blinked, startled at the sudden greeting. "Y-yes…" she said shyly.

"Hey, it's okay. I don't bite! What's your name?"

Slowly the girl eased up. Minako's smile and friendly nature was really contagious. "L-Labrys…" she answered. "My name is Labrys."

"Labrys…what a unique name." Minato approached the two girls. "And really beautiful, too."

Labrys blushed. "T-Thanks…"

"Nice to meet you, Labrys-chan! Oh, this is my twin brother Minato." Minako pointed to the others. "And those are our friends Souji-kun, Shinjiro-kun and Metis-chan. We're all new students too!"

"Hello there. Pleased to meet you, Labrys." Souji bowed his head politely.

"Hey," Shinjiro said flatly.

"Greetings, Labrys-san." Metis got off her chair, bowing deeply.

Labrys smiled at each one of them, but stared a bit longer at Metis. For a second, her gaze turned into a hard glare at the mechanical maiden, who in turn just blinked in confusion. Her smiled returned. "Pleased to meet you. I hope we can be good friends."

"Sounds great to me. Which classroom are you in?" Minato asked.

"Hm…" Labrys read her class schedule. "That'd be 3-3."

"Oh, that's the same class as Daisuke if memory serves me," Souji said. "He's good friends with Kou, Ai and Yumi from class 3-1. They're a little on the goofy side, but really nice people. You'll likely to meet them soon."

"That does sound nice." Labrys said. The school bell rang again. "Oh, I should get going. I'm supposed to meet my homeroom teacher in the classroom. It wouldn't be nice if I was late for my first day."

"Yeah, you're right. It was nice to meet you Labrys," Souji said. "We'll see you later, okay?"

"Of course. See you later." Labrys bowed and headed for the door. She took one last glance at Metis, and left.

"Rise-chan was right. She is kinda shy, but she's also pretty nice," Minako commented.

"Yeah, she could use some friends," her brother said. "It is tough being the new kid, especially when you don't know anybody around here."

"Just like us when we started attending Gekkoukan." she added. "Junpei-kun was the first person to greet us in class. He even stood up against that peeping tom who was taking secret photos of me and spreading them around school."

"He helped me find the perv and we taught him a thing or two…" Minato smirked evilly. The lecher managed to give Junpei a bruise, but Minato gave him an even worse one in return.

Shinjiro turned speechless. He had a new-found respect for the capped jokester, and also made a mental note to keep any strange men away from his girl.

The office doors opened and a woman wearing an Egyptian headdress walked in. "Ah, if it isn't my favorite student." The ever-passionate historian pointed her dowsing rod at Souji. "Welcome back, Seta."

"Thank you. It's nice to see you too, Sofue-sensei." He smiled and gave a respectful bow.

"And you four must be the new transfer students," she greeted, referring to the others. "Minato and Minako Arisato, Shinjiro Aragaki and Metis Papillion, correct?"

"Yes ma'am," Minato answered. The others just nodded.

"I'm Kimiko Sofue, your homeroom teacher." The historian nodded back at them before turning to the twins. "My brother spoke very highly of you two. I see that he's correct…for once."

"Excuse me, Sofue-sensei, but who is your brother?" Minako asked curiously.

"A history teacher at Gekkoukan High. You'd probably remember him by his foolish samurai helmet."

The twins' eyes widened. "Ono-sensei?!"

"Correct," Sofue laughed. "I also talked with one of his co-workers regarding you two on the phone. Isako Toriumi mentioned how wonderful students you were. She sent you her regards."

"Toriumi-sensei…" Minako smiled. "That's so sweet of her."

Ms. Sofue turned to Shinjiro. "Aragaki, right? Your previous school records are far from perfect, so I must insist that you take classes seriously otherwise there will be dire consequences."

"Yes, sensei…" Shinjiro drawled. 'Now what? Mitsuru told the teachers to keep me on a leash or something?!'

"As for you…" Ms. Sofue looked at Metis from head to toe. "Ah, a foreign exchange student…You shall fit in nicely here."

Metis smiled shyly. "Thank you, Sensei."

"Very well, class is about to start," the teacher announced. "Let us head to class 3-2."

"Alright! We're in the same class as Yosuke-kun, Yukiko-chan and Chie-chan!" Minako cheered. They followed their teacher to their classroom.

Souji grinned. "Just like old times."

---

Class 3-2 was noisy as ever, excited chatter could be heard between some of the students – news and interesting happenings from their holidays and, most probably, rumors as well. Some were bragging about where they've been to for the summer, some complaining about chores, some whining about not having gone anywhere, etc. The classroom somehow felt emptier because quite a few students transferred out of Inaba after the fog incident, but that didn't cut down the noise level.

Yukiko, Chie and Yosuke talked among themselves, anxious to know which class Souji and the others would end up in.

All conversation ceased when Ms. Sofue walked into the classroom. She stood at her podium. "Class, I have an important announcement to make. From this day forth, we'll have new companions joining our journey of learning. I know it is a rather sudden and unusual transfer, so I hope that none of you dare to pry into their personal lives." She headed to the door and opened it for those outside. "You may come in."

As the newcomers walked in, Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko held back surprised gasps when they saw five new students walking in.

"Now, I'm sure you all remember our former student Souji Seta," Ms. Sofue said, not hiding the pride in her voice. "Please greet your fellow classmates, Souji."

"It's wonderful to study with you all again." Souji gave them a quick bow, winking at Yukiko and the others.

She just smiled back at him, her cheeks turning light pink. Yosuke and Chie could barely contain their happiness to have him back as their classmate.

Ms. Sofue then turned to the other four. "Please, introduce yourselves."

Minako was first. "Hehe, hi there! I'm Minako Arisato! From now on I'm a senior student in this high school!" Her smile was overflowing with energy as she waved to the class. "It's great to meet you!"

"Hello. I'm Minato Arisato, her twin brother." Minato bowed with a calm smile. "Pleased to meet you."

Shinjiro grunted, but a nudge from Minato convinced him to open his mouth. "Hey. Name's Shinjiro Aragaki."

Metis shyly hid between Minako and Souji, so they had to step aside to make her visible. "I'm M-Metis… Metis Papillion… P-Please, go easy on me…"

"Very well. You may sit now and we'll start today's lesson." Ms Sofue said, placing her materials on the podium.

The five students picked their seats. Souji sat at his usual spot, next to Chie and in front of Yosuke, the twins picked an empty pair of seats next to Souji's at the middle rows, Metis sat behind them and Shinjiro walked over to a desk by the window located way back, flopping down on a seat. He preferred sitting by the window, they were much more relaxing than the ones in the middle of the class where the teachers often pick someone to answer the board.

As soon as they sat down, they could hear the other students whispering. While the students already knew Souji, they were curious about the other four.

The girls were unsubtly squealing in delight. "Ohmigosh! Ohmigosh! Souji-kun's as handsome as ever!"

"Minato-kun is so hot too! There's something mysterious about him…but it makes him even cooler!"

The guys were commenting on the new the girls as well.

"Man, that Arisato girl is so cheerful and cute!"

"The black-haired girl is really pretty too. That shy blush is completely adorable!"

However, it was Shinjiro who was drawing the most comments, some students not doing a good job of keeping them below the range of hearing.

"Dude, isn't he like...a little old to be attending high school?"

"Oh crap, he's totally giving off Tatsumi's vibe here…Better keep away from him or he'll hurt ya, just like he did with those biker gangs!"

"But he is kinda good-looking if he doesn't scowl so much...and perhaps get a trim too. That long hair looks too wild."

"What is it with girls and bad boys? I don't get it..."

"Tatsumi-kun has the leather thing going on, but this guy wears a beanie. It's creepy how they're almost similar..."

"Maybe they're relatives?"

Yosuke honestly tried withholding his laughter after hearing that last comment, but he wasn't successful. His shoulders were shaking as he pounded his desk, muffling his laughter while trying to control himself. Shinjiro glared at him, silently promising payback. The others couldn't help but laugh too, although not as exaggerated.

The rest of the morning was a bit of a blur, as the group quickly settled in a familiar routine. Throughout the rest of class, the teachers were ecstatic to have Souji back, and continued to call out him and the twins (apparently Sofue-sensei had told them about their impressive academics) for correct answers. Metis and Shinjiro were called as well, but overall they did fine with some help from the Wild Cards. By then, the silverette was already hearing whispers about weird lights at night and at the now-popular shrine in the shopping district, along with a few other locations. He made a mental note to check them out sometime.

It was actually a relief when the bell signaling the lunch hour rang and the group was able to head for the school's rooftop to meet up with their juniors.

---

The twelve of them were all seated at the rooftop, preparing to eat lunch. It wasn't long before the others started drooling over Souji's and Shinjiro's lunchboxes.

Souji had already anticipated his friends' reaction. "It's okay, guys. I've made plenty of extras." He pulled out a large container from his bag and opened the lid, presenting the food to his friends. Inside were some tempura, potato salad and handmade onigiri with different fillings.

Soon enough the container was passed around. The Inaba girls munched quietly with the exception of Rise, who made approving sounds as she chewed. The twins happily ate, thoroughly enjoying their little brother's cooking. Metis was also enjoying the meal even though she couldn't eat too much due to being a machine. Shinjiro also tried some and was surprised with the silverette's skills. Teddie, Yosuke and Kanji were eating noisily; the manager's son and former delinquent literally shedding tears of joy at the meal.

"Hm? Are you two feeling well?" Metis questioned, looking confused. "Aren't people supposed to be happy when eating food instead of crying over them?"

"Better than ever now!" Yosuke exclaimed after he swallowed a mouthful. "You have no idea how much I missed having a decent lunch at school!"

"Hell yeah! Senpai's lunches are number one!" Kanji concurred, throwing a fist in the air. "No more guinea pig job for me!"

His statement roused some curiosity among those from Iwatodai. "Guinea pig job?" Minato asked.

Yukiko, Chie and Rise giggled nervously while Naoto looked at the ground, eliciting inquiring stares from the others around them.

"So, girls…" Souji began, a smirk already in place. "Something I should know about?"

Chie blushed bright red, Yukiko dissolved into further giggles. Yosuke and Kanji whimpered quietly. "Uh, not that it's really any of your business, but Yosuke, Kanji and Teddie have been our taste-testers while you were away, so we could practice our cooking," Chie said.

"And they're still alive? Glad to see you're improving, then."

The kung-fu maniac shot him a dirty look and slapped his shoulder. "Of course they're still alive, you idiot!"

"Can't blame him for thinking that. We've had unfortunate experiences with you girls' cooking, Chie. Remember Mystery Food X? We went hungry for the entire camping trip!" Yosuke said, grimacing as the memories that followed resurfaced.

"Or the omelet rice fiasco…" Kanji shuddered. "Thank heavens Nanako-chan didn't get food poisoning that day. Damn, those 'dishes' could be used as weapons of mass destruction."

Yukiko's giggling faded and she pouted. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Only when I can start singing praises about anything you cook," Yosuke said through a mouthful of onigiri.

Rise stuck out her tongue at the guys. "You meanies!"

"Aw, don't be sad Rise-chan. Your cooking is great!" Teddie said, trying to cheer her up. "Sure, it looks weird and tastes funny, but still is great!"

Rise shot him a glare. "Thanks a lot!" she huffed sarcastically.

"Easy there, girls. I'm sure your cooking can't taste that bad," Minako said.

"Well, the bentos still need more work…" Yukiko said. "But the Christmas cake we baked for Nanako-chan turned out really good."

"Although it took us three attempts to get it right..." Naoto sighed.

"But it was thanks to you that they got that cake right, Naoto," Kanji praised, a tiny blush on his cheeks.

Chie narrowed her eyes at him. "Well yeah, since Naoto-kun kept telling us to focus on the cook book and keep trying until we got it right. She's the one who taught us how to use the measurement utensils correctly."

"Practice makes perfect as they say," Minato said, trying to placate the atmosphere. 'Although some may need more practice then others…Way more practice…' he added in his mind.

"Aniki is right. If you try hard enough, I'm sure you all will become great cooks!" Minako said as she opened her bento she made that morning.

The Inaba girls stared in awe at Minako's lunchbox. It was neatly arranged with a wide variety of items and the aroma was completely irresistible. They couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the female leader's skills.

"Mmm-mmm! Mina-chan, that looks so tasty!" Teddie complimented as he threw some sparkles at her. "It looks like something out of a five star restaurant!"

"Oh this? It's just some sweet tamagoyaki and steamed veggies." She held out her bento to him. "Wanna try some, Teddie-kun?"

The bear nodded frantically, taking a piece from Minako's bento. Stars sparkled in his eyes as he enjoyed the first bite. "Holy…! This is the best lunchbox ever! Any girl's cooking is just plain awful in comparison to Mina-chan's!"

Hearing that only pissed off the other girls, angry tick marks throbbing on their foreheads. The guys sweatdropped. Teddie's tact plummeted to zero when Nanako wasn't around, the blonde blissfully unaware of the death glares the girls were shooting at him as he kept gushing over and over about how delicious Minako's cooking was.

It wasn't long before Shinjiro saw through Teddie's attempt to flirt with his girlfriend and, being the possessive and protective guy that he is, scooted closer to her, glaring at the human Shadow. "You still hungry? Here, you can have this." He offered the blonde some of his own food to steer him off, while holding Minako's waist for good measure.

"Yay! More yummy food! Thank you bear-y much!" Teddie dug in, all flirting plans forgotten.

Shinjiro grunted in satisfaction while Minako giggled, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So, you guys heard anything unusual in class?" Souji asked, deciding it was time to change the topic.

"Other than people talking about your return as well as the five new students, not much, Senpai," Rise informed. "By the way, is the fifth student who I think it is?"

"Yep!. It's the girl you told us about. We met her at the faculty office." Minako smiled. "Her name is Labrys. She's in the same class as Daisuke-kun."

Rise then turned to the others with an 'I-told-you-so' smirk. "I knew it! Never doubt my powers of preservation!"

"It's 'observation', Rise-chan," Yukiko corrected.

"Great, now she's gonna ramble about that all day..." Kanji grumbled.

Rise paid no mind to him. "So, what's she like?"

"We didn't get to talk to her much, but overall she seems pretty nice," Minato said.

Before the talk could go any further, the rooftop door slammed open, revealing the grinning faces of Kou and Daisuke.

"Told ya he'd be here!" Kou said, his full attention to Souji. "Hey, man. Talk about making a comeback! You're the talk of the school."

"Him, Labrys and you guys," Daisuke completed Kou's sentence. "It's probably the most exciting thing that happened in school for a long time. And I mean a really long time."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Minato asked in a jokingly manner.

"Uh… Yeah… I guess?" Daisuke rubbed the back of his head, earning a chuckle from the blunette.

"Speaking of Labrys-chan, what is she like in class?" Minako asked curiously.

"My first impression was the quiet, passive type. But when Yumi and I were recruiting volunteers to help the student council with the planning of the school festival, she was the first one to step up," Kou said. "I really didn't expect that she was outgoing, enthusiastic even. I guess first impressions can fool you at times."

"That's a good way to help others and meet more people," Minato said, recalling his and Minako's experience in Gekkoukan's Student Council.

Kou leaned over, placing one hand on Souji's shoulder. "So Souji, you made up your mind about basketball?"

"Sure thing. I'll stop by the gym after classes are over," the silverette said. "Just need to get some things settled first."

Kou nodded. "Sounds good. I'll see ya later then."

The two athletes didn't stay long and went back to their own classrooms as school bell rang, signaling lunchtime was over.

---

The bell rang, and class was finished for the day. Most of the students were packing, either to go home, their part-time jobs or club activities. In Souji's case, it was the latter. He had promised Kou he'd stop by in order to confirm his decision about joining the basketball team and becoming one of the front-line players.

"Souji-kun, you going somewhere?" Minato questioned, packing his books inside his bag.

"I'm heading off to the gym. Kou should be waiting for me there," the silverette answered.

"Do you mind if we come with you?" Minako asked. "I wanted to ask around about any clubs we could join."

"Sure. If that's the case, we should stop by the faculty office and get the permission slip from Sofue-sensei."

Minako turned to her boyfriend. "Shinji-kun, do you want to come along?"

Shinjiro shook his head. "No thanks. I'm heading off to work. I'll see you at the dorm later."

Yosuke was already heading out the door. "Sorry guys, can't talk. I gotta go get Ted and supervise his punishment. See ya!"

Yukiko, Chie and Metis approached next. "We'll see you guys around. Yukiko and I are gonna take Metis on a tour of the school," Chie informed them.

"I can't wait to see what this establishment has to offer," Metis said with shining eyes. The three of them left the classroom, talking excitedly.

"Not much…" Shinjiro scoffed. "Oh well, I'm off." He gave Minako's hand a reassuring squeeze before heading out.

"Wow, everyone's so busy!" Minako commented.

"Well, since we're not training today, they've all made their own plans," her twin said. "Come on, let's get those permission slips and see which clubs we can join."

---

Yasogami High Gym…

"Souji, you came!" Kou Ichijo ran as fast as he could from one end of the gym to where the trio just entered.

"Well, I couldn't just leave you to be running the team by yourself now. You're pretty much hopeless without me. Right…Captain?" the silverette smirked.

Kou laughed at the title. "Don't you mean the one-man-show? The club still lacks motivation, but a few recruits have joined since you left." He gestured to three guys practicing their footwork. "If we're lucky, we might be able to snag a place in the district championship and bring back the drive to move Yasogami High forward." He turned to the twins and noticed the permission slips in their hands. "Looking to join a club I see…Any interests in basketball?"

"I never played basketball before. In my previous school I was in Kendo club," Minato said. "But we'll observe for a bit before making our decision."

"That's cool, no pressure," Kou said. "After Souji warms up, we'll be having a friendly one-on-one match to see the level of skill the new guys are currently at. You're more than welcomed to stay."

"Thank you, Kou-kun. We're more than happy to do so!" Minako chirped. She wanted to see just how good Souji was at sports.

Out of the blue, Daisuke appeared at Kou's side and gave Minato a hearty pat on the back, nearly giving the latter a heart attack.

Kou raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be training the rookies for the upcoming tournament?"

"Nah, those guys can handle themselves," Daisuke grinned. "I had them running laps and practice passing the ball. Nothing too heavy for the start of the semester."

"Yeah right, you're only here to stare at Ebihara," his friend scoffed. "Instead of drooling over my team manager, why don't you take care of yours?"

"Didn't you hear? He quit just before summer break started. Something about focusing on exams and mock tests." Daisuke's usually smiley disposition turned into a frown. "Kondo-sensei gave him the okay, despite his workload having doubled with all the paperwork that's been swamping him lately. I think he'll fall sick at some point if he doesn't get any assistance."

"Kondo-sensei is still teaching two subjects AND coaching?" Souji interjected, having finished changing into a muscle shirt and three-quarter bottoms.

Kou sighed. "Sadly, yes. From what I heard from Yumi, the school is low on funds so they couldn't hire more teachers for classes or coaches for the sport clubs. Rumors started floating around that some of them were voting to lay off one or two clubs from the school program to cut corners. The school newspaper has been raving about it since April."

The twins looked at each other, silently communicating with their eyes. Souji picked up on this and wondered what they were talking about. He was snapped out of it by Kou.

The captain picked up a basketball and spun it on the tip of his finger, a challenging smirk on his lips. "Souji, care to demonstrate at how much you improved the last time you were here? Loser has to polish balls for a week."

The silverette returned a cocky grin. "I'm confident enough to kick your ass. Bring it on!"

Instead of breaking off into pairs and playing against each other, the team members scattered around the edge of the basketball court to watch two of their best players battle it out, waiting for a while as they warmed up first. Ai agreed to be the referee cum scorekeeper. She held the ball between the two, a silver whistle between her lips. She tossed the ball into the air and backed away. When the ball reached zero velocity mid-air, she blew the whistle to start the match.

The battle was on. Everybody cheered as the adrenaline level started picking up. Both teens had skill and technique – dribbling, dodging, and feinting their way to score a point. Kou used his shorter stature to elude Souji and sped his way towards the hoop, but Souji took advantage of his height to knock the ball out of its trajectory and jumped again to snatch it away when it rebounded. He used his shoulder to block Kou as he tried to make a grab for the ball. It was an intense battle as the ball kept switching from one player's hands to another, neither willing to give up. The crowd went wild whenever a point was scored, the noise attracting more people from outside to stop what they were doing to come and watch. The twins noticed how much fun their brother was having, and couldn't help but cheer him on.

After 20 minutes, Ai blew the whistle, indicating the friendly match was over. "Alright, that's enough you guys!" she shouted, her voice barely making it through the crowd. "Ichijo – 3, Seta – 3. It's a tie!"

The crowd soon dissipated. Souji and Kou shook hands. Looks like both of them would have to polish balls for the time being.

"Dudes, that was awesome!" Daisuke exclaimed, giving Kou a surprise noogie.

"Get off!" the Ichijo heir choked, shoving his childhood friend away from him.

"That was so cool, Souji-kun!" Minako squealed as she grabbed his arm.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Minato said, a proud smile on his face. "You really did enjoy throwing balls around when we were kids. You used to run off every time you caught it though."

Everyone laughed, including Souji albeit a bit embarrassed. Kou then turned his attention to the twins. "So, any interest in joining yet?"

"Yo, not so fast!" Daisuke exclaimed. "I got dibs on Minato here. We're going to the soccer field to shoot some goals. You're not the only one who wants new members."

Minato had a huge question mark above his head. "We are?" Daisuke dragged him away before he could blink.

"I used to be in tennis club before this. I think I'll go and check them out," Minako said. She put on her MP3 and cranked up the volume before leaving the basketball court.

"So, you fired up for practice now?" Kou asked Souji, who gave him an enthusiastic grin. "Alright! Time to train some freshmen!"

---

Minako wondered around the school grounds, reminiscing the time she came here previously with the Gekkoukan tennis team. She giggled at the memory of her fellow teammates teasing Kanou-sensei behind her back. 'I hope she's doing well in Kyushu…I wonder if she married her fiancé yet? Maybe she did, since Kenji-kun lost interest in her to finally date Rio-chan! I'm so happy for them!'

Heading towards the tennis court which she remembered where it was located, Minako watched them practice. Of course, the members who hosted the fellowship have all graduated, so it was awkward trying to approach them now, as there were no familiar faces…except one. "Yumi-chan!"

Yumi Ozawa turned to look for the voice who called her. The girl who was talking to her earlier walked off, leaving Yumi by herself. "Oh, it's just you Arisato-san."

"No need to be so formal with me, Yumi-chan. You're a friend of Souji-kun, so I also consider you one. Please call me Minako."

Feeling rather flustered at Minako's display of friendliness, she relented. "A-alright…Minako-san…"

Minako beamed. "What are you doing here? If I recall correctly, Kou-kun said you were in student council. Do you play tennis by any chance?"

"No, I was just checking up on something with the team captain. They'll be participating in a fellowship with another school in the neighboring prefecture instead of hosting it this time." Yumi then noticed the pink slip in her hand. "Are you looking to join the tennis team?"

"Yeah, I am." At Yumi's slight frown, Minako's enthusiasm lowered a bit. "Is something wrong?"

"The team captain told me they aren't accepting any more members. I'm afraid you'll have to join elsewhere."

The auburn-head's smile turned upside-down, shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Oh…"

Yumi suddenly felt guilty. "B-but…I heard the soccer team is in dire need of a manager. Perhaps we could look over there? Ever done any management duties?"

"Actually…I have. I used to be a member of the student council in my previous school, so I'm familiar with the paperwork." Minako's spirits were going back up. "My brother should be there with Daisuke-kun Come on, Yumi-chan. Ler's go and watch them play!"

---

Yasogami High field…

"Alright guys, listen up! We've got a new teammate!" Daisuke slapped Minato's back. "You guys heard about Minato Arisato, one of the new students, right? He's from the city and I'm sure this guy's got some great moves just waiting to show off!"

The other members exchanged groans, whispering among themselves.

"A skinny guy like him playing soccer?"

"Poor sap won't last five minutes here."

"Really? We are not that desperate for new members…are we?"

Minato sweatdropped. 'Far from a friendly reception, huh?'

"Hey, man. Don't let 'em get to you. Just play hard and have fun." Daisuke tossed him a spare jersey. "Here, put that on and show 'em what you can do."

With a nod, Minato went to the lockers and five minutes later came back wearing the full soccer uniform with cleats.

"Looking good!" Daisuke grinned, placing the soccer ball on the ground and motioned to the other players to take their positions. "Alright, you guys know what to do. Get to it!"

The moment Minato kicked the ball, the other players closed in, trying to disarm him. Smirking, he made a swift dash to the left and bypassed the first player. Without wasting time, he dribbled around two more who charged at him. At the right moment, he curled a shot from 30 meters into the top-right corner of the goal.

Daisuke was in awe. "Whoa! Nice shot!"

The other players were amazed as well. "That was crazy!" One shouted. "I've never seen someone hustle like that!"

"With those moves…we might actually have a shot at this year's tournament!"

"I'm glad you came along!" Another member praised. The others were starting to change their tune as well.

Minato smiled bashfully as the team finally acknowledged him. "Heh. Thanks a lot, guys."

Daisuke slung an arm around Minato's shoulder. "What'd I tell ya? I know a good player when I see one. But man, how did you get so good? You played soccer before?"

"Not really, but when I was in kendo, you need to have good footwork," Minato explained. 'Plus, fighting killer Shadows on an almost daily basis you're bound to get faster or else you're dead meat.'

Soon enough they heard clapping and squeals. "That was so awesome, Aniki!" Minako shouted as she ran up to him, Yumi calmly following her.

"Thanks Minako." Minato smiled at his twin.

"Yo." Daisuke greeted the girls. "What's up?"

"Minako-san is interested in becoming the manager for the Soccer Club," Yumi said.

"Yeah. Tennis Club aren't accepting members anymore so I figured helping out in another team would be the next best thing to do."

Daisuke's face lit up. "Are you serious?! That'd be awesome! We could really use someone reliable like you to help around."

That got the rest of the team excited.

"For real?!"

"That's awesome!"

"Alright! Finally, a girl on the team!"

Minako turned to her twin. "This'll give me more chances to hang out with my big brother!" She couldn't help but giggle as their expressions fell.

Her twin smiled back at her. He turned to the club members with a dangerous look in his eyes. "And before any of you guys get any ideas, my sister's already got a boyfriend and trust me, you don't want to see the both of us angry."

The guys backed off, gulping at Minato's silent threat. Daisuke laughed heartily. "Okay, enough fooling around!" His expression turned serious. "Let's run a few more laps! Get moving!"

The players grunted, but complied. Minato shrugged and followed them.

"That's gonna keep them busy for a while." Daisuke turned to Minako. "I'll fetch the papers you're gonna need for manager duty. Thanks again for helping us out, Minako-san."

"Don't mention it, Daisuke-kun!" Minako beamed.

"Well, if things are all set here, I should be going. I need to check a few things with the other clubs," Yumi said. "I'll see you guys some other time."

"Okay. Thanks again, Yumi-chan! See you later!" Minako waved at Yumi who smiled back at her before walking way.

After that, soccer practice went on like usual with the guys training passes and running laps. Minako filled some papers at the side, occasionally checking up on her brother.

When practice was over, most of the members took off, leaving Daisuke and the twins to tear off the goals nets and clean up.

"Not bad for a first day, you guys." Daisuke praised the two. "With you guys around, looks like the team finally got some motivation."

A voice from around the corner interrupted him. "Good, 'cause they need all the help they can get." Kou appeared with a teasing grin as he walked up to them with Souji and Ai. "Pretty weak team, know what I'm saying?"

Daisuke frowned at him, a big red tick mark above his head. "Shut up! Your team is just as lame!"

"Come on guys, don't start with this again," Souji sighed.

"Fine..." Kou rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, it's gonna be good for the team to have you guys around." He then glanced at Ai. "A woman's touch is just what these guys needed."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing big. You'll figure it out soon enough."

The twins smiled, feeling a faint bond forming with the athletic duo as they kept talking back and teasing each other. Suddenly time stopped, a familiar card flashed:

Thou art I… And I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana…

The twins smiled at each other and then at Souji, who simply grinned in understanding.

"What do you say we help you guys clean up so we can grab a snack?" Kou suggested.

"Good idea!" Daisuke cheered and Souji nodded. "I'm starving."

"Boys will be boys…" Ai said with a small smile as she stood next to Daisuke, intending to hold his arm.

The soccer captain looked at her with a mix of happiness and confusion before he left to clean up with Kou and Souji, leaving her behind. Ai in turn frowned, but moved to the side waiting for them to finish.

Minako approached her. "Hey Ai-chan, how was basketball practice today?"

"Actually, pretty good." She forced a smile as she watched the guys. "Kou-kun and Souji-kun's match really got the others motivated. I haven't seen them like that in quite a while."

"That's great to know." Minako smiled back. "So, as a team manager, what do you do?"

"Mostly paperwork, like registration of members, booking venues depending on the occasion, such as the culture festival, sports carnival or competitions. And you're also the secretary whenever there are meetings with the club members, student council or with clubs from other schools. To tell you the truth, I was forced into this job in order to pass last year because I was skipping too many classes, but I didn't think I'd end up sticking to it on my own will. It's hard work, but I met some great people because of it."

"I take it you catch a lot of attention from the guys, huh?"

"I guess…"

"Like Daisuke-kun's?" Minako asked with a mischievous smile.

Ai blushed at that, and nodded. "Y-yeah…"

"You two started dating recently, right? How's that going?"

"I wish I knew…" Ai sighed. "I like him… I really do, but I don't know. At first I thought he was just a little dense when it comes to girls, but there are times I really don't know what he's thinking when we're together. Kou-kun convinced me that he's still getting the hang of handling girls, but that doesn't make me feel any better…"

"Perhaps he's shy?" Minato interjected, joining their conversation. "From what Souji-kun told me, this is his and your first serious relationship, isn't it?"

"So, maybe I'm rushing things?" Ai looked at Daisuke who was chasing Kou around the field, most probably caused by bad joke from the basketball captain while Souji just laughed at them. "I just wish I could understand him better…"

"Maybe we can help with that," Minako said. "Since we joined the soccer team, we'll hang out with Daisuke-kun. That way, we'll be able to get more info about him."

Ai's sharp eyes flickered between blue and auburn in disbelief. "You guys… You would really do that for me?"

"Why not? That's what friends are for," Minato smiled gently at her. "By seeing things from different perspectives you'll understand yourself and others better."

Ai cocked her head. She was still a bit confused but smiled nonetheless. "I'm not really sure I understand what you two mean, but I really appreciate it."

"No rush. Soon enough you'll understand," Minako grinned cryptically. She noticed the three friends coming closer. "Ah, speak of the devil."

"We'll talk more about that some other time, okay?" Minato said, wearing the same grin as his sister.

Ai immediately cheered up. She gave them a wink. "Okay!"

After they finished, the group of friends left the school for a quick snack at Souzai Daigaku.

---

The following day started out without any major incidents. The school-going SPIES had no trouble setting into the normal routine to the eyes of the public. However, not all was okay with Souji.

A sigh escaped his lips as he tried his best to listen to Hosoi-sensei's lecture. Souji felt he should have stayed home today when he woke up feeling tired, no wait scratch that, he felt EXHAUSTED after not getting any sleep on the previous night, caused by Izanagi's pounding and the ominous images plaguing his dreams. But still he pushed himself forward, as the last thing he wanted was to trouble the twins and his friends with things that not even he himself understood at the moment.

Luckily, he was able to get through classes unnoticed. Since everybody had their own things to do after school, Souji decided to attend basketball practice again hoping that would help him unwind.

On his way to the gym, Souji stopped by the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked rather pale and forming dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. Nothing serious. He just hoped his main Persona would give him a break and let him enjoy practice. With a deep breath, he washed his face trying his best to look healthy and headed out.

Halfway through practice, Souji's headache came back with full force. He had a hard time focusing, but managed to avoid suspicion from the rest of the team. Kou and Ai seemed to notice that something was off, but didn't say anything.

After they finished up, Souji, Kou and Ai headed for the soccer field. Minato and Daisuke were practicing shooting goals, while Minako and Yumi were chatting nearby.

"Alright, one more shot and I'm done!" Daisuke shouted, getting ready for another kick.

"Dude, you said that five times already," Minato shot back. "The rest of the team already took off, so let's wrap this practice up."

"Sorry, man, I got too fired up," the buff teen smiled sheepishly. "Alright, this one will be the REAL final one. Here goes!" Daisuke took a few steps back, broke into a sprint and kicked the ball with all his strength. The ball flew over the goal, ricocheted off one of the building walls, its trajectory flying full speed towards an unsuspecting Souji.

Minato saw that and tried to warn him. "SOUJI-KUN! LOOK OUT!"

Because of his headache, Souji didn't hear Minato's warning nor had the focus to dodge in time. The ball hit him square on the side of his head, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground.

"SOUJI!" his friends shouted as they all rushed to his side.

Souji groaned as he found himself surrounded by his friends. His sight was getting blurry.

"Oh my god, man! Are you okay?!" Daisuke was in a panicked state. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"

"Hey, say something!" Yumi called. "Souji!"

Kou looked scared. "Dude, talk to us!"

"Hey, come on! Don't scare us like that!" Ai said nervously.

"Souji-kun! Souji-kun!" the twins cried, clearly concerned.

Next thing he knew, everything faded to black.

---

Darkness everywhere... Souji could hardly see a thing before him. Izanagi started acting up again, which didn't help on the matter.

"Where am I?" he asked himself. "How did I get here? I was leaving school and then…" He groaned and held his head. It hurt too much. "Damn, I can't even think straight…"

"Souji…" A female voice called out to him, almost like a whisper.

He looked around "Who's there?.

"Souji…" Another voice, a male one, called.

He gasped as Izanagi immediately stilled, seemingly calming down. Wait a minute…he knew those voices! "M-Mother?! Father?! Is that you guys?!"

"Souji, my baby… It is you…" his mother said. There was a mix of relief and sadness in her voice.

His father sighed with relief. "You're safe… Thank God…"

"Where are you? What happened?" Souji asked, frantically looking around, hoping to see them. "Are you okay?!"

"Son… No, we can't tell you… Not yet…" his father said. "It's not safe…"

"That man… He's still on the loose," his mother said. "If he finds you… He'll take you away from us…"

"That man? Who are you talking about?" The silverette was getting more and more confused.

"Please, stay safe…" Mr. Seta's voice started fading away.

"We love you…" his wife's faded as well.

"Wait! Don't go!" their son screamed. "Mom! Dad!"

"FOOLISH CHILD!" Another voice boomed out from the darkness. This one was cold and evil. It sounded to be a distorted version of the chairman's. "THEY MAY TRY TO PROTECT YOU, BUT YOU WON'T BE SAFE FOREVER! I WILL FIND YOU!"

"Who are you?! What did you do with my parents?!" Anger overrode his fear, until Izanagi started getting agitated again. "Gah… Damnit! Izanagi! Calm down!"

"DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THEM. WHERE YOU'RE GOING… YOU'LL NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN!"

Souji felt himself sinking into a pool of darkness. He tried to move, but was held in place. The shadows surrounding him started to solidify, taking form of hands and arms, pulling him down even further. No matter how much he struggled, the darkness' grip was viciously strong and suffocating. 'D-Damnit…' He felt devoid of strength, already chest deep. 'Am I…. gonna die here…?'

Just when Souji was drowning up to his eyeballs, he felt someone grab his hands.

"Don't give up!" A male voice said. It sounded younger than his father's.

"You're not alone!" Another young female voice said.

Souji felt himself being lifted, the pressure around his chest loosening up as warm light wrapped his body. He tried to open his eyes, but all he could see were two bright silhouettes. "You two…? I know you…"

"You should really stop talking…" the female figure said. There was something familiar and comforting about her. "You're safe now."

"Everything's gonna be okay," the male one said. Souji couldn't see his face, but he could tell he was smiling. "We're here to help, so don't worry."

As the light covered Souji's body, he felt his eyelids become heavy, a peaceful feeling enveloping him. He smiled and closed his eyes. "Thank you… Marie… Ryoji-san…"

---

Souji's eyes fluttered open. He felt his body lying on a bed, and soon recognized where he was – the school infirmary.

"Souji-san, you came to…" A soft male voice said. "Thank goodness…"

"Huh?" Souji looked to his side. "Naoki? How…"

"Minako-san pretty much crashed into me when she was heading here," Naoki explained. "When she told me you had been hit by a soccer ball, I called the nurse, while Ichijo-senpai and Nagase-senpai helped Minato-san bring you here. The nurse said you got a nasty hit, but luckily, not bad enough to get a concussion."

"I… guess?" The silverette took a better look around the room. Indeed, Kou, Daisuke and the Arisato twins were there, staring at him with relieved smiles on their faces.

"Dude, you're alive!" Daisuke shouted. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit THAT hard! Hell, I didn't mean to hit you at all! I know I'm strong and all, but… I don't wanna give you a cracked skull or anything like that!"

His friends sweatdropped. "I'm fine now, Daisuke…" Souji grinned weakly at the soccer player. "Don't worry."

"Man, 'bout time you woke up," Kou said. "Daisuke here was so panicked while you were out cold, I had to ask Yumi and the girls to go get him tea or something to calm him down. Hell, I would've forced him drink alcohol from the chemistry lab if none of that worked."

Daisuke blushed. "Hey! You didn't have to bring that up!" The others laughed lightly at that.

"How ya feeling, Souji-kun?" Minako asked as she sat on the edge of his bed, gently stroking his arm.

"I'm fine. I could use some water, though…" Souji rubbed his forehead. He winced when he touched a bump. 'Ouch…that's gonna hurt for a while. At least Izanagi's calmed down. But what was that dream about?'

"Just to be safe, you take it easy for now okay?" Minato said with a gentle smile, but there was concern in his eyes.

'Did something else happen while I was knocked out?'

Moments later, Ayane, Ai and Yumi walked in, chatting about girl stuff as they brought in a few cans of cold drinks, but automatically turned silent upon seeing Kou frown, eyes hardened. "Souji…" he started, sounding serious. "While you were unconscious…you were calling out for your parents."

Souji flinched while the twins looked away. The others were surprised, and became concerned. "You came back from the city without warning and resumed studying at our school," Kou continued. "I was really happy about that, but couldn't help but wonder the reason for your sudden return." He looked at his friend directly in the eye. "It has to do with your folks, am I right?"

The silverette avoided his friends' gazes. He didn't want to hide things from them, but at the same time, he wasn't ready to disclose to them about the subject. Even though the twins and his teammates had helped him through his grief, the wound was still fresh, especially after the run-in with Ikutsuki, which he still didn't know why that affected him so strongly.

"Man, if you don't wanna tell us what's going on, we understand…" Daisuke said, forcing a small grin, but it was clearly visible that both he and Kou were disappointed that their close friend wasn't willing to talk with them about his problems.

Minako came closer to Souji, her twin doing the same. They bent down slightly, closer to his ear. "Souji-kun…" she whispered softly. "Don't keep your feelings bottled up inside you. It's not healthy… Aniki and I learned that the hard way."

"Your Personas' power lies in your bonds with your social links," Minato added. "If you reaffirm those bonds, it might help you calm your powers down and stop your headaches."

Souji was silent at first, but he finally nodded. The twins were right; when he faced Kubo's Shadow, it was his doubts over the bonds he created with his friends that had caused his Personas to fail him, almost falling victim to the psychotic teen's illusion. Only when he realized that his friends and family would never abandon him, that they truly cared for him, was he able to unleash that power to defeat the Shadow.

"Alright…" he finally said. "You guys better sit down then. It's a long story…"

The six friends approached closer, some sitting down while the two athletes preferred standing up. The silver-haired Wild Card took a deep breath before he once again recited the events of that fateful night. The twins, already knowing the full details, helped him fill out the blanks, not mentioning anything about Shadows or Personas for obvious reasons.

"Senpai… I'm… I'm sorry!" Ayane sniffed quietly, eyes brimming with tears.

And she wasn't alone. Yumi and Ai were already shedding tears while Kou and Daisuke both had stunned expressions, but it was Naoki's reaction which surprised everybody. He put a hand on Souji's shoulder. "Souji-san…I think I can understand…the pain you must be feeling now…"

"Naoki…" he whispered. Everybody, including the twins whom Souji had told them the tragic tale of the Konishi family, knew that deep down, the junior still grieved over the death of his sister Saki, from time to time.

"I know you probably can't grieve in front of everyone, but don't push yourself so hard… If you need a friend, I'm here for you," Naoki said with a gentle smile. "So please… I may not be that reliable, but I'll be here for you."

"Yes…I understand how you feel too." Yumi said. "Just like with my father..."

"Yumi…" Souji frowned as he recalled the days when Yumi's father was in the hospital, and all her mixed feelings she poured out about her mother, herself and him.

"Don't stop thinking about your parents, but don't stop thinking about yourself too," Yumi continued. "Don't run away from it all. Otherwise it'll just hurt you more."

"When you're going through tough times, you can't carry all the weight in your shoulders, Senpai," Ayane said softly. "It's selfish, and hurtful to the ones who care about you."

"That's right, knucklehead. You gotta take care of yourself too!" Ai said. "I know it's tough, but your parents will worry about you instead when they come back, right?"

"Ai… Ayane…"

"You've got the guts to pull through this!" Daisuke grinned "You gotta be brave, man!"

Kou grinned as well. "And if there's anything we can do for you, let us know. You know, I…no, we're here for you. After all, we're best of friends, right?"

"Daisuke... Kou..." Small tears pooled in Souji's eyes. "Thank you, guys... All of you..."

The twins couldn't help but smile. Their little brother had found truly wonderful friends.

A few minutes later, the nurse came back and shooed the group of students out of the room so she could give Souji some medicine, check his temperature and evaluate if he could go home or if he needed to be checked by a doctor.

While waiting outside, the twins approached Naoki while the others chatted among themselves. "Naoki-kun… Thank you." Minako smiled gently.

"Huh? For what?" the junior blinked, looking confused.

"For what you said to Souji-kun," Minato answered. "Even though my sister and I also understand his pain, for we lost our own parents when we were young, your words and actions really had an impact on him."

Naoki was silent at first. "I… I'm just doing the right thing…" he finally said, feeling embarrassed. "My sister Saki…she passed away not too long ago…" He looked back at the door. "When I saw Souji-san like that… I couldn't stand it… I think… I think he reminded me of myself…"

Minato nodded in understanding. "You are still going through a lot yourself, huh?"

"I guess you can say that…" Naoki felt Ayane holding his hand. He smiled at her before he looked back at the twins. "Do you…do you still miss them?"

"Every day," Minako said.

Naoki looked at the floor. "I see… I guess that feeling never goes away, huh?"

"Time heals all wounds, even if some scars may never completely fade," Minato said. "I believe…no, I'm certain that things will be okay, given time."

"Because in the end, that's what we all need, right? Time to grieve, to experience each of its stages and then come out knowing we're just that little bit stronger."

"I've never thought about things that way…" Naoki mumbled. "That does lift a weight from my shoulders. Thank you."

They smiled back at him, feeling a bond forming with the junior when they felt time stop. A card flashed and the familiar voice spoke:

Thou art I… And I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana…

Souji finally walked out of the room. He was greeted with a bombardment of questions and words of relief that were immediately quieted by his raising hand. "I'm okay now, guys." he said with a small smile. "The nurse said I'm good enough to go home. Some rest and painkillers, I should be 100% in a few days, though I'm not allowed not play sports for at least two days."

Upon hearing that, Kou smacked Daisuke upside his head. "Thanks a lot, numbskull!" he said, faking anger. "Now who else is gonna help me get the freshmen motivated to train?"

"Ow! C'mon man, could've been worse." Daisuke whined, rubbing his head. "At least they still got the captain to make them work their butts off. Besides, Souji here can still watch you guys practicing and stuff."

"Oh sure, leave it to me to do the dirty work!"

Souji chuckled at the comedic scene while the others laughed at the duo's banter. "You two are a real piece of work," Ai grumbled, grinning amusedly as she grabbed Daisuke's arm. "Hey, it's getting late. You're supposed to be walking me home, you know."

"Oh, yeah. You're right." He smiled at his girlfriend before turning to Souji. "You gonna be okay, man?"

Souji smirked. "Yeah, I think I'll manage to get home in one piece."

"We'll make sure that happens," Minato said. His sister just giggled. Souji rolled his eyes, knowing that there was no arguing this time.

"I guess you're in good hands then," Yumi smiled. "Just don't get careless, okay?"

"See you tomorrow, Senpai." Ayane bowed politely. "Please rest well."

"Take it easy, dude." Kou patted his shoulder. "I'll handle the rookies."

"I'll help too, so don't worry okay?" Ai assured. "See you later."

Daisuke grinned again. "Later, dude."

"Take care, Souji-san," Naoki waved.

Souji nodded with a small smile as the trio saw the six friends off.

---

The twin Wild Cards accompanied Souji home despite the silverette insisting that he was well enough to walk on his own.

As the trio walked in silence, Souji reflected about his dream, his parents and the two figures he saw. He knew Marie and Ryoji had a hand in pulling him out of that unknown, malevolent entity's grasp before it was too late, but he couldn't help but wonder. 'How could they have known about that? Now that I think about it, why hadn't I run into Marie ever since I've arrived in Inaba? I'm certain she's not avoiding me, but… Ugh! Why do I have a knack of befriending the unknown, mysterious types?' He sighed in frustration.

Hearing that, both twins turned their concerned gazes to him. "You okay, Banchou-kun?" Minako asked.

"Your head's still hurting?" Minato added.

"No… Well, not that bad… At least Izanagi's calmed down." Souji stopped in his tracks. "Just thinking about that dream I had while I was out cold… No, that wasn't a dream. It was a vision."

"What was it about?" Minako asked. "I mean, aside from you calling out for Uncle and Aunty…"

Souji closed his eyes in recollection and explained the dream to them. Needless to say, they were surprised at the part regarding Ryoji and Marie.

"Okay… I might understand how Ryoji could've interfered with your vision, since that part of his power came from Pharos," Minato started. "But, Marie? How could she do that?"

"I never told you guys before, have I? Marie isn't a real denizen of the Velvet Room. After we met, she became an assistant there trying to find herself."

"Find herself?" Minako repeated.

"I first met Marie on the day I arrived in Inaba. At first she was rather cold and antisocial. But it turned out that her apparent lack of emotion was basically just her way to deal with her own shyness, insecurity and naïveté," Souji explained as they continued walking again. "She was questioning her own existence in life, having no memories of her past and that's why she wanted me to show her Inaba, to learn about the world and who she really is. Kind of like Teddie when Yosuke and I met him for the second time."

"All those who reach the Velvet Room are destined to go on a journey in search for identity," Minato pondered. "Maybe that's how Marie ended up there."

Souji continued. "I think so too. Anyway, after my friends and I defeated Ameno-Sagiri and cleared the fog from the real world, Margaret told me about Marie's sudden disappearance. I had no idea where she had gone to or why she left that way. It was only during a trip to a ski resort during winter break did we find out she had trapped herself inside the TV World after regaining her memories and remembered who she really was."

The twins looked at each other. That story sounded too familiar…

"We fought our way through the Hollow Forest, the reality she had created within the Midnight Channel, and when we finally found her, we discovered the truth – she was actually Kusumi-no-Okami, one part of a greater power like Ameno and Kunino-Sagiri, and her role was to spy on our world." Souji took a deep breath before continuing. "While Ameno-Sagiri's purpose was to cloud the world with fog, it was Kusumi-no-Okami's role to absorb it, and to die after. She tried to push us away because of that and make us forget about her…trapped in a dilemma between self-sacrifice, or to lose all we had worked for by returning to the real world."

Minako frowned. "Just like Ryoji-kun…"

"I suppose you can say that. Unable to reason with her, we had no choice but to fight. After her first defeat however, the remnants of both Ameno and Kunino-Sagiri used the fog she had absorbed to take control over her, turning her into her Kusumi-no-Okami's form. It was a difficult battle, but we managed to free her because she sealed away her consciousness, thus protecting herself from death and allowing her to return to the real world with us. After the defeat of Izanami-no-Okami, I learned that Marie was also the other half of her…Izanami-no-Mikoto."

"The other half of Izanami?" the twins chorused.

"Izanami-no-Okami was the half that granted people's wishes. Izanami-no-Mikoto was the half that actually believed in the good of people. Over time, Izanami-no-Mikoto lost all of her powers and memories, and became a shard while Izanami-no-Okami's increased and her views on mankind grew twisted. When she was defeated, Marie vanished along with her." Souji rubbed his eyes in mild frustration. "I was hoping to meet her after returning to Inaba, but so far no luck. And now, her appearance alongside Ryoji-san looking out for me…it makes me wonder… what's really going on here?"

Both twins put a reassuring hand on his shoulders. "Marie-chan cares a lot for you, Banchou-kun. Just like Ryoji cares for me and Aniki," Minako said. "If we find her, Ryoji-kun or even Pharos-kun, we'll find the others. And when we do, I'm sure they'll be able to tell us what they know."

"Minako is right. They must have a reason to act like that. We just need to trust them," Minato added. "When the time is right, they'll show themselves to us."

Souji nodded, a small smile on his lips. "You're right. They know what they're doing," he said. "Let's go home. It's getting late."

As they trio walked away, two people watched them from afar, a girl and a guy, who were none other than Ryoji and Marie themselves.

"Looks like we acted at the right moment..." Marie said with a small frown. "But we're running out of time… I don't know for how long Souji will be able to keep his powers in check under these circumstances…"

"C'mon, Marie-chan, don't be so pessimistic," Ryoji said, trying to cheer her up. "You're underestimating Souji-kun."

"Maybe I am…" Marie turned her attention to the setting sun. "But he has no idea what he's dealing with here…then again, neither do we."

Ryoji was silent at first, fiddling with his scarf. "Look, trust me when I say this – as long as Minako-chan and Minato-kun are there for him, Souji-kun will be fine. We'll also be there for him when he needs it, right?"

Marie smiled at that, her eyes closed. "You're right. I'll help him just like he did for me." She opened her eyes to look at Ryoji. "You know Mochizuki, you're quite a nice guy after all."

"Really?" His face lit up. "Then would you like to have dinner with me at Aiya's tonight, Marie-chan? Or maybe that nice restaurant in Okina? My treat."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Don't push your luck, Casanova. You still need to pick up Pharos at Nanako-chan's place while I need to get ready for my new job. And stop calling me Marie-chan. I have to keep a low profile here for now, you know."

"Can't blame me for trying," Ryoji chuckled. "Very well, shall we be on our way…Mariko-chan?"

Marie simply shook her head with an amused grin as they walked away.

---

Souji wasn't feeling so well the following day. He knew the nurse ordered him to take it easy for a few days after the soccer incident, and that meant heading straight home after school. But a stubborn part of him wanted to attend music practice today. The twins already went ahead. Ayane wouldn't be pleased, but if he didn't go, then neither would he. As he made his way to the end of the hallway, the disturbing visions hit him full force, instantaneously triggering the pounding in his head. It was more intense, and Souji couldn't be sure if the headache was more painful because of the slight head injury or that Izanagi was getting worse.

He shakily made it to the washroom. The nausea came and Souji emptied his stomach contents into a toilet bowl. 'There goes my lunch…' he inwardly groaned. He felt terrible.

A large, warm hand on his back eased his discomfort. "Are you okay?" a rough voice asked him.

Heaving the last remnants of his lunch, Souji flushed the toilet and wiped his mouth with some toilet paper. "Yeah…thanks for asking, Shinjiro-san."

"You look like shit. And what are you still doing here, anyway?"

Souji sighed. "I'm guessing Aneki told you about that, huh?"

"Yeah, she did. You're supposed to be at home, resting!" The tall teen gave him a mild glare, warning him not to push himself too hard.

"I thought I felt better enough to attend music club. Obviously, my stomach doesn't agree with me…"

Shinjiro slung Souji's left arm around his shoulders. He pulled out his cellphone with a free hand and dialed a number. A few seconds later, someone on the other line picked up. "Nakamura, it's me. Tell your dad I'll be coming in late today. Got some business to take care of first…No, I'll deal with that later. He'll understand after I explain. Okay…later." He hung up and pocketed his phone. "Go wash your face. I'll take you back to the dorm. You probably don't want Nanako-chan seeing you like this."

The silverette mumbled a quiet thanks as his tall friend practically dragged him off the school grounds.

When they reached the dorm, Shinjiro pulled out a stool and sat him at the kitchen's island counter. "Stay put," he ordered. "I'll whip up something to ease that stomach of yours."

Souji groaned lightly, but complied nonetheless. He rested his elbow on the counter surface, and supported his head on his hand, watching his classmate quickly get to work. He measured some rice in a pot and washed the grains at the sink, filling half of it with water. While waiting for that to cook, he boiled some water in an electric kettle. He took a ginger root out of the fridge, peeled it, sliced it thinly, and put it in a mug along with a regular tea bag. The boiling water was poured, and left to steep. In the meantime, he rummaged the fridge for more ingredients.

"Here." Shinjiro pushed the slightly cooled cup to Souji, who had dozed off slightly. "Some ginger tea should help ease the nausea."

The Wild Card sipped the spicy tea, the soothing aroma calming his queasy stomach, simultaneously relieving his headache. The two of them chatted about mundane things as Shinjiro worked, chopping and putting various ingredients in the pot and stirring. The silverette wasn't really paying attention, and fell into light slumber once more.

Shinjiro sighed affectionately, his brown-grey eyes softening at the sight of the sleeping Fool. He was pulled into memory lane, back when Miki was still alive. That protective, nurturing feeling he had back then resurfaced once more. Thinking that calling out to Souji would be rude, he opted to pat his head instead. "Oi…wake up, will ya?"

Souji snorted lightly, rubbing his sleepy eyes. The aroma of something warm provoked his senses. A bowl was placed in front of his face.

"Eat up. After puking your guts out, you need to regain your energy."

Souji looked at the bowl's contents – rice congee. It smelled wonderful. He swirled the soft porridge around with a spoon. There were Chinese red dates, mushrooms, a piece of ginseng, sliced ginger and shredded chicken. "Thanks for the food," he said, and scooped a spoonful into his mouth. The temperature was just right; slightly on the hot side but not enough to burn his tongue. As soon as he swallowed, he felt energized, and ate some more. Pleased, Shinjiro started to clean up.

"This is delicious!" Souji complimented. "It must have taken a lot of practice to get this recipe right…"

"Yeah," Shinjiro said without looking, washing the dishes. "I made it quite often when Aki and I were kids. That dumbass always got sick easily, mostly from jogging in the rain. I made it for the twins once, as you already saw."

"Hmm…" While eating, Souji observed the tall teen. A small smile made its way to his lips; Shinjiro was tough, stubborn, and intimidating…but that was just a cover-up. He knew behind all that was a tender-hearted soul. That sounded a lot like Kanji, but comparing those two together felt wrong. There was something about Shinjiro that felt more…mature. 'I can actually picture him settling down with Aneki in the future. He's not fooling anyone with that scowl of his…he'll probably be busy spoiling their kids, especially if they have a daughter.' A soft chuckle made it out, but was covered quickly by a cough.

"Hey," Shinjiro started, wiping his hands with a dishcloth after cleaning. He gave the silverette a lopsided grin. "Feeling better?"

Souji felt at ease, not just because of the wonderful meal, but being in Shinjiro's presence as well. He felt a brotherly bond forming between them, the trust they shared strengthening. That's when he heard the familiar echoing voice.

Thou art I and I am thou,

Thou hast established a new bond,

It brings thee closer to the truth,

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hierophant Arcana.

'Ah, now I see the similarities between Uncle and Shinjiro-san. Despite their bad manners, they're just protecting what's important to them.' After finishing his meal,Souji got off the stool, steadier on his feet this time. "I'll walk myself home if you don't mind. You still have to get to work, so don't worry about me."

As they were about to separate their own ways at the front gate, Shinjiro reminded Souji once more about getting some rest.

"Hey," Souji called out when they were some distance away. "Teach me that recipe sometime."

Shinjiro grinned and waved back.

---

Souji calmly walked home. His head wasn't pounding like before and his stomach was at ease, thanks to Shinjiro's delicious meal.

He was closing in on the Dojima residence when he saw an unknown figure squatting by the driveway, talking with a stray cat. His eyes squinted to get a better look; it was a young boy in stripped pajamas.

"Hello there, little one. Are you waiting for someone too?" asked Pharos, his tone curious. The cat rubbed its head against his leg, meowing cutely. His bright blue eyes widened with happiness at the gesture, and gently patted its head.

'Black hair, stripped pajamas…no doubt about it, it's Pharos. He must be waiting for Nanako,' Souji thought. He took a deep breath. 'There's no need to worry. Aniki and Aneki said he's a good person…he's probably looking out for Nanako, just like he did for them.'

Souji quietly walked towards the young boy, hoping not to startle him. However his presence was given away by his feline friend who spotted him and pranced up to him. "Hey, little guy." Souji smiled, petting it. The cat purred happily.

"So, we were waiting for the same person after all…"

"No need to be shy." Souji gave him a gentle smile as the cat walked back to Pharos. "You're Pharos, right? I'm Souji."

"Yes…that is my name," Pharos said as he picked the cat up. "It's great to finally meet you, Souji."

"I could say the same. Nanako spoke a lot about you and your brother."

"She did?"

"Yeah, she did. She said you're a great playmate." Souji gestured for Pharos to join him sitting at the doorstep.

The young boy blushed at the praise. "Nanako-chan is just so much fun to be with…" he continued. "When I'm with her… I feel... happy. Like… Like…"

"Like the time you spent Aniki and Aneki?"

"Yeah! Just like those days!" Pharos said with a sincere smile, as the cat rested on his lap. "The times we talked are the best memories I have! Whenever I play with Nanako-chan or I meet with this little cat, I feel the same joy."

"That's understandable," Souji said. "Be it having fun with someone, or just enjoying the warmth of someone else's presence…Having a companion you can trust and feel safe with is a wonderful feeling."

Pharos nodded in agreement, amazed at the likeness between Souji and the twins' warm nature towards him. A frown appeared on his face when he noticed that Souji's face was rather pale. "Um… Souji?"

"Yes?"

Pharos looked at the cat, fidgeting with his words. "I… I didn't expect to see you home so early… Nanako-chan says you're usually busy after school…" He looked at Souji with intense, blue eyes. "Something's…wrong."

The silverette was taken aback, not knowing what to say.

"A Persona is like a mirror, so you can never escape yourself. But…if that mirror shatters, you'll lose yourself…And with that, all that's dear to you..."

Souji blinked, surprised at Pharos' choice of words. Despite the cryptic message, the silverette detected concern; not only towards Nanako, but to him as well. He felt a faint bond forming with the mysterious boy when…

Thou art I and I am thou,

Thou hast established a new bond,

It brings thee closer to the truth,

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Death Arcana.

Souji looked at sky at the distance. 'He's right. If things go unchanged… All that we have worked for will be lost… I can't let that happen…'

"Thanks, Pharos. You're a good friend – " he turned his head to where the boy sat, only to realize he had mysteriously disappeared. "Huh? Where did he go?"

The cat meowed repeatedly, confused as it circled the spot the young boy previously sat. "He is mysterious alright…" Souji chuckled. "Aniki and Aneki will be happy to hear from him." He turned to address the cat. "You hungry? I think I got some fish for you."

The cat purred and rubbed against his leg. Souji smiled as he picked the cat up and went back into his house, failing to notice Pharos watching him from afar. "You're a great friend too, Souji." He gave on last smile, and was gone.

---

The plot thickens… This is getting so much fun! 3

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