Conquest Arc:

Chapter 26: Return to Mikage-Cho

Naoya Toudou

Sunny – Morning – 21/11/2012(Wednesday) – Konan, SumaruCity
(2 days before Conquest arrival)

"Everyone's ready?" Naoya said, but no one answered him. The way people staring at him made him realized that everyone knew of the incident on Monday.

"Knock it off, Naoya." Yukino said coldly before heading to where Eriko and her twin sister Erio were. Naoya shrugged, separated himself from the group that gathered in the small station. It had been decided that all persona users of Mikage-Cho will investigate the pyramid tonight during Dark Hour.

"Erio, I'll have to go to Mikage-Cho today. Here's my key, keep it. I'll be back in Saturday." Eriko said, handing her twin a spare house key.

"Why can't I follow you?" Erio plead for an answer she asked since yesterday. Eriko refused to tell her about the prophecy for her own safety, but Erio was certainly concerned.

"Because there's a personal issue at our hometown and I don't want to trouble you. Please watch over my house while I'm gone, okay?" Eriko tried her best to convince Erio. Using that moment, she turned to Naoya who slowly shook his head. Naoya had warned Eriko to make sure Erio won't step foot into Mikage-Cho, no matter what happen.

"Okay, be safe." With that words said, Eriko finally felt relieved and let go of Erio's hand. She proceeded to the group that had been waiting for her.

"All ready?" Reiji Kido said.

"1, 2, 3, 4… Wait, there's one more…" Maki said, searching for someone among the crowd at the bus station. Maya who was there to see them off, searching for that man as well.

Finally, across the roadside, Ryoji waved his hand and made his way towards the group that had been waiting for 10 minutes at that small bus station. Naoya growled when he remembered this morning where Nanjo refused to give them a ride, mainly because Naoya was included. Nanjo must have heard about the date, and trying to stay away from him.

'Who dare to spread that news?' Naoya thought, watching the bus left the station again for the third time. It was decided yesterday, but everyone easily woke up today. Convincing Reiji and Maki to abandon their work and joined them was enough trouble, he didn't want any more obstacle.

"Good morning, everyone! Am I late?" Ryoji said as he brought a small baggage with him. He doesn't wear different clothes and he's a persona, so why bother bringing any?

"Now that everyone's here, we can proceed now." Naoya said as he saw another bus approaching them. Since everyone has arrived, Hidehiko was the first to jump on the stair of the bus right after the door opened. Following him, Yukino, Maki, Reiji and Ryoji entered the bus. Naoya, Eriko, Erio and Maya were the last to finish their discussion.

"Ms. Suou, come with me for a sec." Naoya turned to Maya who glanced at him. Although she was wary of Naoya's oddness, she nodded and walked a few steps away from Eriko and Erio with Naoya.

"Watch over Erio Kirishima, don't let her go to Mikage-Cho, no matter what happen."

"Why, is there something you are hiding?" Maya asked coldly. Naoya gritted his teeth, noticing the similar look between Maya and her short-tempered husband. However, he grinned anyway, half impressed by the chemistry of this lover that now shown since he saw them together. He never understood how an optimistic character can live with such a short-tempered person, but he realized it doesn't matter after all.

"Just don't let her go anywhere related to the prophecy, for her own sake." Naoya said with a forced tone. Maya widened her eyes, realizing the sudden change of attitude within Naoya who was now more serious than before. If she remembered it right, he changed when Erio return from foreign country.

'I wonder what happen.' Maya thought as she nodded, "Sure, I'll watch over her."

"Thanks, Ms. Suou." Naoya gave a wide smile and turned to the bus where everyone was waiting for him. He jumped on the bus that had started to move. Inside, Eriko was seen waving her hand to her twin before returning to her seat, which was besides Naoya.

"Naoya…"

"Nice view huh, Eriko?"

"…Y-Yeah." After not meeting him since the three way date on Monday, she didn't know how to start a conversation with him. But for some reason, Naoya smiled, as if reading her mind and turning his face away from her, reading some historical pyramid book from his bag. She of course, didn't ask him about it, same as hiding what Naoya told her two days ago from everyone, even when Ulala and Baofu busily asked her.

After another two hours of bus trip, the team knew they were crossing Mikage-Cho's border when the view on the window had now included sand. Naoya closed his book with his eyes brimmed a different aura when he turned to the window.

Tatsuya Suou

Rainy - Dark Hour– 20/11/2012(Tuesday) – Tower of Seven Chain of Time, Rengedai, Sumaru City

"Sealed, you said?" Father Time said as he stood from his chair in that wide room. The only presence besides him were Jun and Tatsuya who went straight to Father Time's tower after receiving the report from Inaba.

"Narukami said there's no access to another floor in a dungeon called Nakatsukuni." Tatsuya said. Father Time adjusted his hat as if remembering something before facing them.

"It's because the chain of 'mountain' was locked." Father Time said, "This tower control seven place using a chain:
Chain of 'pyramid'
Chain of 'abyss'
Chain of 'mountain'
Chain of 'sky'
Chain of 'mirror'
Chain of 'sea'
and finally, Chain of 'clock'

The chain of 'clock' is the chain that supported this tower, thus it is always opened. Currently, only 'clock', 'sea', abyss', and 'pyramid' were opened, thus until Conquest arrive, I can't do anything to open the chain of 'mountain', the chain that locked Nakatsukuni. Some chains are out of my control, even though I'm the owner of this tower, my only weakness in this great fortress."

"So the forest won't open until this Friday is over?" Jun reconfirmed Father Time's word, which he nodded. Satisfied, Tatsuya and Jun left the tower. Bad luck enough, the blood rain pour endlessly from the darkened sky. Tatsuya and Jun stared at each other with each hand empty. Since it wasn't supposed to rain when they arrived here, none of them bring an umbrella.

After Dark Hour ended, Maya almost screamed when she saw her husband covered in blood at the front door.

Windy - Morning - 21/11/2012(Wednesday) – Police department, Konan, Sumaru City
(2 days before Conquest arrival)

Here was Tatsuya at his office. He was brainstorming about the case that happened recently and he can't sleep well, not after knowing that Friday was just two days away. He glanced over his brother office to see him talking to someone, probably busy as usual.

Feeling stressed, he left the office and went outside, only to coincidently saw his wife and an Eriko look-alike walking on the other side of the road. 'What are they doing?' Tatsuya mused. After informing his underling, Tatsuya went after them.

Half an hour later…

"I see." Tatsuya said, after hearing Maya's rough answer about their reason for being together.

"Since Erio want to check the city, I take her around so that she won't get bored at home." Maya leaned closer to Tatsuya's ear. "Besides, Toudou asked me to watch over her so that she will remain safe."

"You need a rest, leave it to me to watch over her. How about you cook me my favorite dinner tonight?" Tatsuya said with a smile, extended his arm around Maya's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Oh, Tatsuya, what's with you today?" Maya chuckled, leaning her head on Tatsuya's firm shoulder. No matter when or where, Tatsuya's shoulder always seems to be the perfect place for Maya to rest her head and cry as much as she wants. Although being younger than her, Tatsuya's tall and well-built body was very comfortable to the point where she can sleep on it.

However, she lifted her head when she realized Erio was watching them. "O-Okay, Erio-chan is here. We can do it at home later." Maya said, face half red when she remembered they were still sitting in a restaurant. Tatsuya suddenly laughed at his usually composed wife. Often, Tatsuya was the one who was embarrassed in this situation, but the table has turned.

After eating, they went for walk around the city. Tatsuya has told his brother of the situation and decided to keep his wife company to rest his mind over the case that has been piling up on his desk. He walked them for another hour before finally returning to his office. However, his days sure didn't want him to sleep well when he received news from Mikage-Cho about a strange event that happened around that town.

"I wonder if Yu-kun from Inaba is doing well. I should give him a call."

Naoya Toudou

Sandy - Morning – Nanjo's Mansion, Mikage-Cho

The persona users group of Mikage-Cho find themselves returned to their memorable homeland. Only Naoya and Eriko were the one who frequently move around from here to Sumaru City. For the others, they only began to enjoy the old moment of their school life.

For their 4 days stay here, they rent a motel before heading straight to the sponsor for this trip, Nanjo.

"Thanks for the ride, Nanjo, first class." Naoya teased as they all entered the living hall to see Nanjo waiting for them.

"Remember my words that I won't take you to another ride again." Nanjo adjusted his glass as he said with a fierce look towards Naoya. Naoya smiled back at him as they took a seat.

"Now that everyone's here- Hmm, who is him?" Nanjo shifted his attention to Ryoji.

"I'm Ryoji Mochizuki, and I would like to join this trip into the pyramid that resides what I believe to have something that I need for the prophecy." Ryoji bowed his head slightly.

"So you are Thanatos, the god of death." Nanjo nodded to himself. "Very well, let's began our preparation."

The atmosphere turned heavy as Naoya gathered list of objective for tonight from the team.

Operation pyramid:

-Finding Takahisa Kandori –Reiji Kido, Yukino, Hidehiko, Nanjo, Maki

-Finding Pandora's Box –Ryoji, Maki

-Identify the vessel and sacrifice for Conquest -Naoya, Eriko, Nanjo

-Investigate more about the pyramid –Yukino, Hidehiko, Nanjo

"Whether or not we'll be stuck inside the pyramid if we don't get out before Dark Hour just like when Tatsuya's group saved Minato is unknown." Yukino added, "I think it is safer to escape from the pyramid before the Dark Hour ended." Everyone nodded.

"With this, we can wait until tonight's Dark Hour. We still got more than 12 hours." Nanjo said as he stood from his chair. "Now, we'll meet here again around 11:00 at night, so you can prepare yourself for the time being."

"Let's go meet our friends!" Hidehiko suggested, considering the amount of free time for them. Again, everyone nodded, and took their separate way from the mansion. Ryoji however, decided to return to the motel.

Their plan was distracted slightly when the car that Reiji kept at Mikage-Cho got stuck in a pile of sand covering the road. The sands have been blocking the street these days. A trailer had helped pulling the car out of the heavy sand and struggled for another half hour before noticing something.

There were nails all over the tires.

"I'm sure this isn't a prank." Naoya said, pulling a long nail from Reiji's car.

"Whoever put the nail there is asking for a punch." Reiji said angrily, he had to use his savings again after using a lot of money for these few weeks.

"Chill, you'll get him soon." Naoya smirked. Of course, his silver car was untouched in the care of Nanjo's mansion. Nanjo had to lend one of his cars for them, Naoya was an exception. In the end, he had to ride his own car.

Afternoon arrived as the group visited their old acquaintance during their school days. Speaking of school, Naoya and the rest visited their memorial school, St. Hermelin high. Fresh with new students, they couldn't help but smile. Was the persona game still being played somewhere in that school? They wondered. However, they received news about a strange event that has spread around the town recently. Curious, they went to their next destination, Mikage hospital.

Mikage hospital was the same as always, except today it was swamped with patients and doctors all over the room. Due to the recent sand storm that happened this week, many people were injured and infected with a strange disease that cause fever and cough. Maki took this opportunity to help the doctor and checked the patients.

"Sonomura?" As the group stopped in front of a ward and Maki went inside, two familiar faces greeted Maki with a surprised expression. The group widened their eyes on the two friends that they haven't met since they're here.

"Chisato, Yosuke…" Maki said. One of their close friends from high school, Chisato Kasai, was lying on a bed with weak face and Yosuke Naito of St. Hermelin High was beside her inside the room.

"*chuckle*… Yosuke, one of Narukami's friends. I just noticed their name…" Naoya chuckled silently.

"Maki, *cough* how many years has it been since we last see each other?" Chisato said with a forced smile.

"About ten years. But you don't look good." Maki went to her side and began to check on her.

"Eh? The rest are here too? Why are you *cough* not in Sumaru City? What brings you here?" Naoya and the rest could only remained silent by her question.

"This disease, I've never seen anything like this before. All patients said the exact same thing, they were hit by the sand storm that happen recently around this city and were infected. The residents were advised to stay in door and relatives are staying here in this hospital." Maki checked Chisato's pulse, "What kind of disease is this?"

"Pestilence." In a flash, Naoya answered, "Another name for the white rider is Pestilence, the spreader of deadly disease, Conquest's welcome gift for us."

"…" The atmosphere changed when the Four Horsemen was mentioned.

"What are you talking about? Will Chisato be alright?" Yosuke of Mikage-Cho asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, it's not really deadly, I think…" Naoya said.

"You'll be fine, they're not contagious. Have some rest." Maki comforted them. They nodded, and so the hospital is done. Now there's one more place to visit, SEBEC building.

Standing strong even after being abandoned for more than a decade, this building was the entrance to the mysterious pyramid that will appear tonight during Dark Hour. The glass on the front were cracked and dirty, doors were left open with some faint footsteps of someone wandering around inside. But as if this place is haunted, a single glance would make anyone avoid the gate of the building that has been shut tight with steel chain and locks.

Standing in front of the gate was a few people. Naoya's silver car still had its engine on, and they refused to waste another moment there.

"Hey guys." Naoya suddenly spoke with his gaze still locked on the building. "Until the prophecy end, please don't die, will you?"

Maki, Eriko, Nanjo, Yukino, Hidehiko and Reiji all froze by what he said. It was evening, yet his eyes were already darker than the night itself. His expression could mean hundreds of thing but one thing for sure; his words were the truth that came from his mouth with an image of sadness reflected on his face. Just like that, all his weird action for the past few weeks were forgiven from the team's mind. Naoya Toudou is still their leader, and he will join them to save the world again.

"Dude, what are you saying? We save the world more times than you, we'll be back to have another drink again at the restaurant!" Hidehiko said.

"You should worry more about yourself than us, we got stronger." Yukino said.

"Hey, I'm one of the saviors, I'm obviously stronger. Want to test me?"

"Let's see tonight!" Reiji taunted. The weak look on Naoya's eyes was gone and he smirked.

"Nanjo, want to use your butler tonight?" Naoya teased, jumping into his car and opened his window towards Nanjo's car.

"Maybe." Nanjo seriously said and went back into his limo. Apparently Naoya was the only one in his car.

"Don't you want to ride with him, Eriko?" Maki said.

"Don't be too obvious!" Eriko blushed and entered Nanjo's limo instead. Satisfied, they all went to rest at the motel and wait for the day to turn dark.

Tatsuya Suou

Rainy – Night –Suou Residence, Konan, Sumaru City

Tatsuya went to the kitchen for a drink. His son was already fast asleep in his room and now he's waiting. He checked the clock and realized it was close to ten. Maya still haven't returned home.

"I'm back." But his worries vanished when he heard someone entered his house. Her voice eased his mind again. Taking out a bottle of milk from the fridge, Tatsuya poured her a glass of milk and welcomed her. Maya was still in her working uniform since morning and her cloth was soaked in water even with an umbrella on her left hand. Perhaps she needed a bath first.

"How's Erio-san?"

"She already went home and asleep. I had to monitor her for a while." Maya took the glass and drank it, "How's Matsuya?"

"He's asleep, he still got school." Tatsuya said.

"What about you?" Maya shortened her distance with her troubled husband, "You look worried."

Maya placed her soft hand on Tatsuya's cheek and looked at him in the eyes. "That reminds me, is the voice still haunting you?"

"…Yeah, when I think about it, I haven't heard any voice of Nuclear Chaos since we defeated Yog-Sothoth. I wonder why…" The voice of Azathoth that constantly haunted Tatsuya days ago has stopped. "Yet why was his voice is inside me in the first place?"

"Please stop." Maya stroked his hair to the side to have a better view on her husband face, "You're clearly the one who need a rest the most."

"You're right." Tatsuya forced a smile and lend Maya a towel, "Here, go take a shower."

"Wait for me in bed." Maya said and went to the bathroom. Tatsuya laughed. Just right after he heard Maya shut the door, Tatsuya lean on the sofa in the living room and sighed in tiredness.

Ring!

All of a sudden, he heard a message from Maya's purse. 'Who could be messaging her at this hour?' Tatsuya looked at the bathroom and realized Maya had only started to shower. Hesitating at first, Tatsuya opened her purse and find one unopened message on her phone. Tatsuya opened it.

"To Suou-san,

Sorry! Can you watch over my house for me? I left the key under the flowerpot in front of my house for you to take. It's an emergency from my sister and Toudou-san is taking me there by car right now. Thank you for the fun today!

From Erio Kirishima"

"Naoya?!" Tatsuya jumped from his sofa and dashed towards the front of the bathroom. "Maya, did Naoya say anything to you today other than watching Erio?"

"Hmm? He told me to keep Erio away from Mikage-Cho. What's wrong?"

Questions began to swamp his mind. Something Naoya don't want to anyone to do but he did it instead? That was suspicious enough for Tatsuya to race for his own phone. He needed to call someone from Mikage-Cho, right away.

Cloudy - Night - Motel, Mikage-Cho

Ring!

"Eh? Tatsuya-kun?" Eriko said, currently in her room checking her equipment before noticing her phone. Wasting no time, she answered. "Hello Tatsuya-kun."

"Eriko, why did Naoya taking your sister to Mikage-Cho?!"

"H-Hold it, what do you mean?"

"Naoya is taking YOUR SISTER to Mikage-Cho right now!"

"Eh?" She began to panic; and she was already at the door. She went straight to Naoya's room. Confused, she knocked on his door repeatedly. "Naoya, are you inside? Open the door!"

There was a moment of silence on the other side, but eventually the door opened. "What's wrong, Eriko?"Naoya opened the door in rush.

"Eh? W-What…" Eriko gasped, "You're here. T-Then who… Who was fetching my sister at Sumaru City right now?"

"…" Naoya's face turned as pale as white, like something connected inside his mind. "…Tell Tatsuya and Maya to stay put. We're going after 'him'."

"'Him'? Who?"

Returned to his room, Naoya dressed himself in a flash and screamed, "I'm going out!"

"W-What happen?"

Bringing a sword and a car key, Naoya left the room and rushed to the lounge, passing by Reiji who walked by.

"Toudou, where're you going?" Reiji asked, but he didn't even respond.

"Naoya, I'm coming with you! Don't you run off on your own!"

Naoya and Eriko exited the building and ran to the silver car that was parked not far from them.

Cloudy - Late Night - Somewhere between Sumaru City and Mikage-Cho

Erio Kirishima was inside a silver car on the passenger's seat when she received a message from someone. "Eh, Eriko-neechan?"

"Seems that she know you're coming." The driver who smiled silently said.

"Umm, what do you mean, Toudou-san?" Seeing that the driver with Naoya's face ignored him, Erio checked the message.

"Erio-chan, where are you right now?"

"Umm…" Erio replied, "Toudou-san said you need to see me at Mikage-Cho right now, so I'm taking his car."

A few seconds after she sent the message, her sister replied with something she find very odd.

"Did Toudou-san wear any earring?"

"…" All of a sudden, she felt scared. Eriko's question was trying to tell her something. So just a peek, she turned to the man who looked extremely identical to Naoya Toudou…

…except the presence of his earring.

"You know Erio-chan?" the driver suddenly spoke, which startled Erio, "I've been thinking since that date, and maybe I'm not really suited for your sister, so…"

He smirked and turned to Erio, "How about you become my lover instead?"

"Huh? B-B-But I… I don't know- Ah!"

Erio felt a sudden pain on her right arm, and realized a short needle had pierced her. And the effect was fast, she quickly lose consciousness and fell asleep. The driver laughed.

"Relax, you're going to escape retribution with me, isn't that nice?"

After another hour or so, the silver car entered Mikage-Cho. The Naoya look-alike glanced at his watch, "Almost midnight huh?"

It was around 11:30 when he got closer to his destination, SEBEC building. He was overjoyed, like he finally accomplished his mission.

Crash!

But there goes his obstacle. From the right side of the lonely road and sandy weather, another silver car slammed to his car. He somehow struck to the light pole near the crash side.

Naoya Toudou

Sandy – Late Night – 1st ward, Mikage-Cho

"*heavy breathing* …Did we stop him- Ouch!"

"My sister is inside that car! Why did you do that?! What if something happen to my sister?" Eriko pinched Naoya's leg.

"Well obviously if we don't stop that car, something will happen to your sister! Wait, he's getting away again!"

Reversing, the identical car broke free from the crash and drove away. Naoya chased after it, ignoring the fact that the left light of his car had completely went off and badly damaged.

It was close to the second ward when Naoya managed to catch on the silver car ahead of him. The front car blocked Naoya's front to prevent him from reaching his side.

Finally, the two cars reached the district where SEBEC company entrance is. The two cars decreased their speed and stopped.

"Erio-chan!" Eriko left Naoya's car and ran to the other car, only to receive a shocking event. "Wait, two of-"

"Good to see you again, brother." A man exited the car with a wide smile.

"I never wanted to see you again." Naoya replied as he moved further ahead of Eriko and towards the man who was identical to him. The man laughed and turned to Eriko.

"Do you remember me, Eriko-san?" The man introduced himself, "I'm Naoya's twin, Kazuya Toudou."

A/N: Okay, that's it for this time chapter. Sorry for the late update, I promise a longer chapter next chapter. A few chapters ahead will be focusing on Mikage-Cho.

Like Eriko's twin sister, Naoya also has a twin brother and this is canon in the manga version. It has already been explained that Kazuya was the manifestation of Naoya's own guilt. But what brings his twin again this time? Wait for the next chapter.