Minato wasn't aware how late he slept until the sound of knocking woke him up the next day. Grumbling lightly, he sat up and blinked at his alarm clock. It read a mocking 11.23, and he sighed and looked at the door. "It's not locked," he called out.

Akihiko poking his head in wasn't what Minato expected, but he was too freshly awake to comment on it. As it was, the other teen had a perplexed expression on his face. "You okay?" Akihiko asked, stepping into the room a bit more. His exact outfit was covered by a cream coat and bright red scarf, although the black gloves were the same as his school ensemble. "Everybody else is up and about, although Iori only got up about an hour ago."

Shaking his head, Minato let out a noncommittal hum. "I'm not physically sore, but I'm feeling the mental exercise from last night." He replied, thinking about how he had faceplanted directly into bed upon returning. "I should be fine for school tomorrow, though." At that, he gestured to Akihiko. "Unless something's going on?"

"Nah," Akihiko shook his head. "Mitsuru's getting some finer details from Shinji about how things went last night, but I haven't seen the others. They're probably out around town. I was gonna swing by the beef bowl shop for lunch, if you wanna tag along?"

The loud growl of Minato's stomach answered the question for him.

Mercifully, Akihiko took it in stride. "Alright; I'll see you downstairs in a few minutes, then." he commented even as he slipped out of the room, leaving Minato to change in peace. Hands in his pockets, Akihko meandered casually, lightly kicking the vending machine on the second floor. The satisfying thunk of ill obtained cookies made him smile, and he quickly scooped them out of the machine and into a pocket.

'I wonder if someone will ever fix that.' He thought idly, glancing upstairs. There wasn't any sound coming from the third floor, so that confirmed his suspicion that Yukari and Kotone were out and about. He didn't know where Ken was at the moment, and Iori had mentioned meeting up with school friends. 'Hopefully Shinji and Mitsuru relax a bit today …'

With that thought, Akihiko made his way downstairs, mind wandering as he felt the familiar mental ping that let him know where Shinjiro was. '... the other one was there last night.' He realized after a moment. 'When we were at Tartarus. So it's something on Port Island proper for sure …'

Humming, he leaned against the counter, trying to think. Unlike the mental ping that let him know when Shinjiro was nearby, the mysterious ping seemed to only show up when he was on Port Island, and he didn't know why he was getting that ping. 'Maybe I should try and follow it after school one day…' Akihiko pondered, arms folding over his chest; his injured ribs gave a slight twinge, and it made him sigh. "Cripes, how did Shinji handle this back then? And mine aren't even as wrecked as his were." He said aloud, storm grey eyes flicking to the ceiling briefly.

Minato didn't take long to get downstairs, saving Akihiko from the meandering rabbit hole that his thoughts could take when left alone. Shifting the lanyard for his MP3 player a bit, the blue-haired teen looked up at Akihiko. "Sorry about the wait." He spoke quietly, and Akihiko shook his head.

"Nah, you're fine." Gesturing to the door, Akihiko offered a small smile. "Besides, I don't think we've gotten much time to talk."

"That we haven't," Minato agreed as they walked out of the dorm and into the street. It was warm for a Mid April day, and Minato knew that cherry blossoms and other flowers would soon be blowing everywhere. "The first couple weeks here have been rather busy, even putting aside the supernatural side of things."

"Yeah, moving tends to do that, huh?" Akihiko nodded, leading Minato in the direction of the Iwatodai Station.

"Has your family moved recently, Akihiko-senpai?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Not really - Shinji's grandpa moved out here when we were about … twelve, thirteen?" He scratched his head in thought. "It was after his grandma passed, either way. Been here since."

Minato blinked at that. "... You live with Shinjiro-senpai?" he puzzled, scratching his head. Granted, it explained the sheer casualness of how the male seniors interacted, but it wasn't what Minato was expecting. At Akihiko's responding nod, Minato gave him a confused look. "What about your parents, if I may ask?"

"Don't remember them." Akihiko shrugged. "I met Shinji at an orphanage when we were three, if that's any explanation. Whatever happened to my parents was so long ago that I don't really think about it much." At the sight of Minato's continued somber look, Akihiko gave a dry smile. "If anything, Shinji's parents were the closest I ever had; old man Daichi is pretty cool when you get to know him too."

"...How did you two meet at an orphanage if it sounds like Shinjiro-senpai's family is alive and well?" Minato asked as they reached the beef bowl shop.

"Ah. his parents were the ones who ran it." Akihiko nodded. "Very sweet people, although Shinji got the default scowly look from his dad." At that, he sighed sadly. "They're … not with us anymore, or else we'd probably still be in Ashoro."

The mention of a Hokkaido town made Minato's eyebrows raise. "That's quite a move." he commented as they slid into their seats. "Is it a large family?"

"Eh, kinda? Daichi has me, Shinji, and kinda Ken to look after here in Iwatodai," Akihiko nodded. "Shinji's older brother Katsuro comes and goes, but he's a professional stunt double and trainer. He'll probably pop up at some point when we least expect him."

Minato let out a small snort. "Is he equally scowly?"

Akihiko just responded with a mischievous smile. "You'll find out when you meet him." He said simply. "But apart from that, the only other family members I know of are Asami and Roland out in Kyoto, and their little girl Kaede. We don't get to see them nearly as often."

"Still, it's good to hear that at least someone in the dorm has a stable home life." Minato admitted with a sigh, looking out the window. "I know that I would have appreciated it, instead of being shuffled around so much. Kotone for sure would have been happier in one spot as well."

At that, Akihiko tilted his head. "... how often did you guys move?" he asked, worry in his voice.

Grey-Blue eyes met storm grey, and Minato shook his head with a sigh. "We lived in Osaka until we were almost nine. From there … all over the place. Not quite to Hokkaido; Aomori is as north as we went. But every year, two years?" He looked away, staring at the window for a moment. "New foster home, new city, new school."

The shifting of fabric let Minato know that Akihiko had moved in his seat, and he could feel the senior gazing at him. "...So not using the Osaka dialect is an active choice, then." The words were more a statement than a question, and Minato looked at Akihiko in his peripheral. He was met with a wry smile. "I dunno what Kotone did to get Shinji to call her 'Firecracker', but I can imagine how she gets when she yells."

"She's … always been the braver of the two of us." Minato admitted. "I just got tired of the assumptions people made when they heard us talking. Kotone never cared."

Akihiko hummed a bit. "... Well, I hope you'll eventually feel comfortable enough to not worry about it either." He said after a long pause, voice genuinely kind. It was a surprising enough statement that Minato felt himself double take, but he couldn't think of a response before the beef bowls arrived.

The start of the school week was, mercifully on Kotone's nerves, peacefully mundane. Nobody had seemed really surprised by the student council elections, although she had to admit that Mitsuru's speech had flown over her head. At least it had also flown over Junpei's head, as she found out at lunch. However, that left her with a different type of debacle.

She had no clue what sort of sports club to apply to.

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.." she moaned Tuesday after class, slumped over her desk. Next to her sat Saori, the older girl watching her in amusement. "This school has a fencing club. FENCING. And nothing resembling hockey or bandy?"

"Seasonal sports like that are hard to keep an ice rink around for, Kotone-san," Saori shook her head, soft voice still very amused. "I don't blame your frustrations, but those are rather expensive to maintain."

Kotone muttered something into the veneer of her desk, exact words inaudible. Saori just chuckled more, and gave Kotone a gentle pat on the shoulder. "What about your brother?" Saori asked instead.

"He heard there was a pool and a swim team, and that was that." Kotone rolled her head to one side on the desk. "You'd be forgiven for thinking he was a fish." Crimson eyes met lavender ones, and she shrugged. "I like the water, yea, but not quite as much as he does."

"Hmm, that's understandable." Saori gave a nod, thinking. "I do know a lot of the clubs will let you sit in and observe if you're indecisive, so you could at least take a look."

"Do you have a club, Saori-chcan?" Kotone asked, picking her head up off the desk. She wasn't surprised when Saori gave a light shake of her head. "Feel awkward fitting in?"

"That, and my parents worry about how the other students would react," There was a twinge of disappointment in the older girl's voice. "Being the oldest student on campus already gets strange looks, so I think they're worried something else might happen, even if they don't want to say that out loud." At that, Saori smiled gently. "The Library Committee is satisfying, though; I like being helpful to people."

Kotone hummed, lifting her head off the table. "Well, at least you're not alone in sticking out in a crowd; I've been bouncing around so much that I don't really know what's cool and what's not in a place until I've been there a few months." Standing up, she stretched her arms over her head. "... But I probably could take a look, at least."

"Yes, that's a good place to start." Saori smiled, standing as well. "Although, if you want to avoid how many classmates seem to want to pester you about your dorm mates, a smaller club might be safer." She observed, adn Kotone shuddered.

"Seriously. How much anime is in this school for a fangirl horde to even exist?" Kotone asked aloud, knowing deep in her bones that her question was more tiers of ironic than Saori would hopefully ever know. As it was, Saori just laughed in response as they left the classroom. Waving goodbye to her friend as they parted on the ground floor, Kotone meandered slowly over to the gymnasium area.

About fifteen minutes later, Kotone had quickly remembered why she had opted out of a sports club in Narumi High. She had spotted the tennis club fairly fast, most of the members girls, and had quietly scooted away. The fact that there was so many clubs was a strange sort of curse, as it made it hard to pick one. Sighing, Kotone leaned against one of the gymnasium doors for a moment to catch her breath .. only to yelp as it opened more behind her, having been propped open.

She was caught before she hit the floor, and Kotone had a few seconds to register bright amber eyes looking at her in confusion. "Thanks?" she trailed off as she straightened herself up, laughing weakly. "I didn't think to look and see if it was open like that."

"Eh, you're fine; that door's normally closed." the person who had caught her gave a shrug, and Kotone turned to look at him. To her surprise, it was a boy about her height, fiery red hair tied back in a ponytail. "Gingersnap's just running some busted equipment out so we can get a proper count with newcomers, so I left the door open for him."

Looking around the gymnasium as he spoke, Kotone noticed several other students in the room - most of them were boys, although a couple girls were there as well. All of them wore bogu and hakama, and it took Kotone a second look to see that a few of them were holding bokken and working on footing positions.

"... Kendo meets in here?" She asked in clarification, and the teen next to her gave a nod before he poked his head out the door.

"Yep. A good chunk of the team graduated last year, so we decided to open up slot options for the day." He said as he pulled his head back inside. "Granted, a lot of the other clubs are the same way, so we've only got a few bites." At that, he looked at Kotone again, one eyebrow arching. ".. Don't think I've seen you around before, either."

"I transferred in at the start of the school year, so that's probably why." Kotone gave a small nod before bowing. "Arisato Kotone, by the way."

There was a knowing smile on the teen's face when Kotone looked at it, as if he knew about something. "Ah, that'd do it; I'm Akatsuki Takumi." He gave a nod of the head, then his face went grim for a second. "... And if your brain is going where it might be, yes, I've heard those jokes for years now …"

Kotone gave a small giggle, but shook her head. "Wouldn't even dream of it, Takumi …?"

"I'm a senior, so -san or -senpai's fine." He shrugged, and then tilted his head at Kotone. "Are you just poking around to see what's what? We're waiting for Gingersnap to get back before starting warmup, if you want to - oh, you need something, Iwasaki?"

The small swerve in topic made Kotone look as one of the other members walked over; it had been one of the girls, her black hair tied back up in a ponytail. She didn't seem to notice Kotone at first, and instead nodded to the senior. "Senpai, a couple of the guys were wondering if there was a way to get a standing dummy … Oh!" she had noticed Kotone mid-sentence, and offered a small smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were talking."

"You're fine, really," Kotone laughed and waved a hand lightly, hoping to deflect it. "I kinda fell in here, but … it seems chill in here?"

"That's because we haven't started yet." Takumi admitted, laughing. "Things can get intense, but Iwasaki here has been bonking heads that get too big before problems really start."

Kotone hummed. "... I like intense, but I also play street hockey for fun…" She pondered, tapping her chin. The other girl's face lit up, and it was enough of a weakness that Kotone offered a small smile. "Granted, I don't know how much of the skills from there would carry over to here…"

"You've got the arm strength started, at least." The other girl smiled. "I'm Iwasaki Rio, by the way - you're … one of the twins who transferred here, right?"

"Mmmhm; Arisato Kotone." Kotone smiled a bit. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rio-san."

Beside them, Takumi chuckled a bit. "Well, Arisato, if you wanna join up, I'm cool with that." He stated, nodding. "Sensei wants a head count by tomorrow morning, so just let me know by the end of the day if you're certain about wanting to hit a bunch of guys with wooden sticks."

"Maybe a dummy?" Rio repeated her question, grey eyes curious.

"What, tired of smacking Gingersnap?"

"... Right here, Taco."

The sound of Shinjiro's exasperated voice behind them made Kotone look over her shoulder with a blink. The brunet senior did indeed stand there, giving Takumi an amused look that didn't match his tone. To his credit, Takumi just smirked back at him, fearless.

Rio also seemed more amused than anything else. "Listen, sometimes Shinjiro-senpai needs to hit someone too."

"That's what I'm here for." Takumi shrugged, grinning. "But go ahead and take Arisato over to meet the boys, Iwasaki; they're starting to look over here." Nodding his head at the rest of the group, the redhead gave a nod to Kotone in particular. "Again, just let me know for sure after practice if you want to stay or not. Captain responsibilities and all that."

Kotone gave a nod, smiling. "Alright, Takumi-senpai." She agreed, and then turned to Rio as the other girl pulled her over to the group. "I don't think I've bumped into you in the halls, either," she admitted.

"Hah, I tend to come here very fast on club days." Rio admitted. "I can come and grab you beforehand if you decide to stick around. Also, what's street hockey actually like to play? There's not too many street sports in Iwatodai because of the traffic, so I only really hear about it secondhand."

"That's why you learn to play in abandoned parking lots." Kotone admitted, and began to explain things to Rio as the rest of the kendo team began to move to greet them.

Takumi and Shinjiro hung out by the door for a bit longer, the latter handing the short redhead a clipboard. Taking it, Takumi just gave Shinjiro a knowing grin. "So. That's the 'Firecracker' you were talking about?" He teased, chuckling at Shinjiro's exasperated sigh. "Seriously, Gingersnap, how do you keep finding tiny, angry redheads?"

"Bold words from the first of said tiny, angry redheads, Taco." Shinjiro retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "And she's less angry than you were at the time, more … frustrated overall. In the 'I need to blow off steam before I start a street fight' way."

"Welp, this is probably the safest club for that, then." Takumi gave a nod as he looked over the clipboard. "Iwasaki's gonna enjoy having another girl around at the least. Hopefully the new guys will be somewhat normal about things and we don't have to throw anyone out…"

Shinjiro gave a shrug. "Only time will tell at this rate." He admitted. "Honestly, Firecracker feels like she'd be more agitated in a 'girls' club…" Takumi's responding hum was amused, and Shinjiro just sighed at him. "Listen, she's already on friendly terms with Aki."

Takumi winced. "Point understood instantly." and tucked the clipboard under his arm. "Either way, let's get things started, shall we? Wanna get their attention while I do the spiel?"

"You're club captain, you do it."

"Fuckin … you're a fun sponge, Gingersnap."

"I love you too, buddy."

Kotone heard the tail end of the exchange as the two seniors walked over, and it brought a comfortable smile to her face. This was something she could work with.

Her gut instinct proved to be correct, as the hour and a half that seemed to be the normal club run-time flew by. A stop by the pool to fetch Minato - more accurately, about five minutes to fish him out of the pool - and the group of three teenagers walked out of Gekkoukan high school. Ken met them at the gates, the grade schooler's presence announced by him darting over and half leaping onto Shinjiro's right arm.

"Oh, hey Trouble." Shinjiro commented without breaking stride, effortlessly lifting Ken onto his shoulders. "Your friends pull you into a soccer game?"

Ken gave a nod, shifting a bit to sit more comfortably on his perch. Hazel eyes looked at Minato and Kotone, and he gave them a small smile. "Hello, Kotone-senpai, Minato-senpai." He greeted, and then gave Minato a curious look. "... Did you have swimming in PE today? You smell like chlorine."

"No, but I had a good time in the swimming club." Minato responded as they walked, looking up at Ken. "It sounds like Kotone joined the kendo club."

"She about tripped over Taco." Shinjiro clarified, earning a snort from Minato. Ken gave Kotone a curious look; Kotone just huffed and smacked Shinjiro's arm, her cheeks pink. "Ow, Firecracker." Shinjiro chuckled, shifting slightly to pull out his cell phone. "You're gonna be even worse with a bokken."

"I don't hit that hard, do I?" Kotone pouted.

"You sent a Shadow flying halfway down a hallway and it exploded on impact." Minato countered. "And that's excluding all the other heavy things you've carried over the years I've known you. And I've known you our whole lives."

"We're twins, I would hope you've known me our whole lives."

Ken and Shinjiro both laughed at that, Ken leaning on top of Shinjiro's head a bit. "But that's still impressive, Kotone-senpai." Ken said, nodding his head. "I think I heard Ikutsuki-san saying something about how a Persona user is a bit stronger than normal, if that explains anything."

"... I think I missed that memo." Minato mused, wiggling his arms for emphasis.

"You were a goddamn fish in that pool, Arisato." Shinjiro countered. "That's a different type of strength." A hum left him after a moment. "Although, if you want to work on not being a noodle, Mitsuru sent a text out asking if we wanted to go to Tartarus tonight."

Minato and Kotone shared a look, unspoken thoughts passing between them. "It would be smart to go beyond the first floor, wouldn't it?" Minato mused after a moment, resisting the urge to look after his shoulder at the school.

"And every three days being a Tartarus run feels good for a schedule." Kotone hummed. "It gives time for homework and resting."

"Yeah. Good idea to think about relaxing." Shinjiro gave a nod, somehow not disturbing Ken on his shoulders. "This Tartarus bullshit can wear you out if you go at it too hard, as Aki found out the hard way. Supernatural burnout is fuckin rough."

Ken let out a sad hum, the grade-schooler's grip on Shinjiro's head and shoulders tightening for a moment before he let go again. "Akihko-senpai's going to fuss about it." He said instead, voice quiet.

Shinjiro reached up to pat at his arm with the hand holding his school bag, allowing Kotone to notice a small gathering of key charms hanging off the side. "Do you have Literature homework tonight? You can pester Aki to help you with that." He offered. "Apart from that, just hit him with a nerf dart if he gets too mopey."

Kotone giggled at that, but Minato looked at Ken. The younger boy let out a small laugh at Shinjiro's suggestion, but the general air about him felt far too anxious at the idea of the Dark Hour. Or rather, the group of them leaving during the Dark Hour.

He wanted to ask so badly, but the words tightened in his throat. That wasn't his story to hear, not yet.

Shinjiro's moon grey eyes met Minato's grey-blue ones, then shifted to Kotone's crimson ones. "So is that a yes?" He asked quietly, although both twins noticed that he was still holding Ken's arm, as if in reassurance.

Kotone gave a nod after a moment, her crimson eyes also darting to Ken. The grade schooler didn't meet her gaze, but she offered him a smile either way. "We'll be okay Ken-kun, I promise." She said, and that was enough to make Ken look at her. There was something unreadable behind his eyes, even as Shinjiro gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.

"..I know … but that doesn't mean I have to like that you guys have to do this…" He muttered after a moment, looking away as they reached the monorail station. The solemn statement made Minato and Kotone look at one another; Shinjiro just sighed gently and he gave Ken's arm a squeeze again.

"I'll get you hot pot tomorrow, okay?" He offered, voice gentle in a way that felt more fitting to a parent. The thought made Kotone's stomach clench a bit, even moreso when Ken gave a small 'okay' in reply. "Alright; just pester Aki for help with your homework if he gets mopey.." Shinjiro continued, lowering his arm.

A heavy silence fell after that, neither twin quite sure how to break it even as they got on the monorail. Ken seemed reluctant to get off of Shinjiro's shoulders, and the child stuck close to his side the entire way home.

Unbeknownst to SEES, another person was making plans to go out and about in the Dark Hour.

In a home just outside of the Iwatodai station, Miki sat in a room best described as the fusion of a tinkerer's shop and a museum. Valuables and ancient relics sat on shelves all around, and the work bench that the young woman sat at was immaculately organized. At present, a set of drawers was next to her on one side, and the other side boasted the unusual sight of a Perkins Brailler, a piece of paper just starting to peek out of the top.

Miki hummed to herself for a moment, one of the drawers removed from the holder and in front of her as she flicked through a small collection of green-banded stones. "Eleven, twelve … Darn. normally we're swimming in these ones." She commented before typing the amount with one hand; the other placed the drawer back and shook the next one her fingers found. When nothing rattled inside, her hand moved down again. "Nope. Ruby's empty, nevermind."

A couple more drawers proved to be equally empty when shook, a small scowl coming over her face as she finally tugged out one that rattled off-key. "Okay, topaz, what about you …?" she muttered, shifting all the gemstones of varying sizes to one side.

One hand was in the drawer, ready to start sifting through the faceted and fractured gems she could feel inside, when her phone went off. "Oh, who is it .." She muttered for a moment, reaching out without moving her head in the sound's direction. Absently hitting the answer button on her nearby phone, Miki cleared her throat for a moment. "Welcome to Terracotta Tetrazzini Takeout, make I take your order?"

"I see you're still screening calls."

The direct, sensible woman's voice made Miki drop her airy tone instantly with a surprised 'oh!'. A smile came across her face. "Oh, Sensei!" she laughed and picked the phone up properly, the heavy plastic and raised buttons a familiar weight in her hand. "Sorry about that, there's still the occasional weird telemarketer here and there."

"Honestly, I'm more impressed you said that without getting tongue-tied. Especially in English."

"It doesn't quite flow as well in Japanese, you know?" Miki laughed more, clouded lilac eyes seeming brighter for a moment. "You still having difficulties with the smelter?"

"Yes, regrettably." 'Sensei' let out a tired sigh. "All of its parts are in good condition, but now I have to provide documentation to both mundane and supernatural customs that there will be no demonic entities shoved into it."

Miki let out a low hum, picking up one of the topazes and running it through her fingers. "Does it count as demonic if we're smelting down stuff after they've been glazed with supernaturally charged gemstones?" She asked, curious.

"No; unless one of the stones starts displaying sentience, they are 'just' gemstones." At that, Sensei paused for a moment. "Were you taking inventory?"

"You know it - we're low on Malachite, the cardinal gemstones are completely gone apart from a singular amethyst, and I was about to start counting topaz." Miki confirmed, sighing as she ran a thumb over an odd angle in the stone she held. "Don't ask about Opals."

"... you haven't been experimenting without my supervision, have you?"

"I know better, Sensei." Miki confirmed, shaking her head despite knowing she couldn't be seen. "I was gonna do a supply run tonight, or at least attempt to. There's been less and less Shadows out lately. Even the tiny little Mayas are being sneaky."

"We are on a waning moon at present, with the new moon on the twenty-fifth. Don't do anything reckless if your supply run isn't profitable tonight." After Miki's confirming 'mm' was heard, Sensei paused and then spoke up again. "Has there been another …?"

"Another big bastard?" Miki finished, now tossing the gemstone. Frowning when she missed the catch and it bonked her in the face, she sighed. "Nope. just the REALLY BIG bastard that showed up on the Full Moon, and then the unsettling thing."

"What did the 'unsettling presence' look like to your 'eyes'?"

At the question, Miki hummed, closing her physical eyes subconsciously as she thought for a moment. "I … admittedly couldn't get too good of a read on it between the flailing of the Big Magician and the bright orange glow that was someone's Persona, but … it was kinda the color of congealed blood? Not a color I've picked up on other Shadows before."

"That is very unsettling to hear, indeed." Miki heard her Sensei let out a hum. "Has the gathering of other Persona users done anything suspect?"

"Nope! But … they have enough now to start exploring the tower." Miki frowned as she spoke, her senses tingling. "I don't think they've found the other three yet either, for some small comfort."

"Have you interfaced with them at all?"

Miki let out an even lower hum at that, shaking her head. "No. Apart from indirectly pointing two of their group to the dorm when they first came to Iwatodai, I haven't directly interacted with any of them. They don't seem nasty, at the least?"

"Appearances can be deceiving, especially with an abrupt appearance of a larger Shadow." at that, Sensei's voice turned stern. "Observe them a bit longer before you interface, especially if that group is still putting their hands in this particular pie."

"Iwatodai's two degrees off from being a yakuza town, and as far as I know, they're the only ones who know about the supernatural." Miki sighed, "but alright, I'll play nice for now. At least try to figure out what they're trying to poke around the tower for." Returning the topaz back to its drawer, she drummed on the back of her phone for a moment. "You think something bad could be coming?"

"'Something Bad' is Iwatodai's life blood, regardless of how many people realize it. It's just a matter of 'when' and 'how severe' at this point, especially with how little is truly known about that explosion ten years ago." Sensei's voice was tight, and Miki was prepared to backpedal on the conversation when the woman continued talking. "Just make sure you're cautious until I'm back in Iwatodai, Miki. As skilled as you are, you do have your own weaknesses."

"Yeah, that I do; picking a fight with six other people who are also supernaturally inclined is a death wish." Miki agreed, leaning back in her chair for a moment. "I've got a bit of time before the Dark Hour hits, so I'm gonna get the topaz and aquamarine counted real quick so my shopping list is ready to go."

"Speaking of 'ready to go', how is your weapon holding up?"

"Blacklock is still in good condition." Miki confirmed, smiling. "None of the Shadows I've gotten into fights with have been particularly durable, so I do a good dry rub and cleanse scrub when I'm done for the night."

"Heh. very good," Sensei's smile was obvious in her tone. "With that, I'll leave you to inventory - I hope you ate before this."

"Chii and I got beef bowls earlier, and I can grab some beef jerky when I hit the street tonight." Miki confirmed. "But have a good night, Sensei~" Waiting until she heard the click on the opposite line, she set the phone down and returned her focus to the topaz drawer. "Okay, back to this …"

Silence returned to the room beyond Miki's muffled counting, and the occasional clacking of her Brailler. After a moment, the young woman reached out without turning her head and flicked on a radio that rested on the side of the work bench; an English audiobook started playing. "Oh good, I left this one in." She commented with a laugh, still focused on her tallies. "Let's see how many 'little soldier boys' are still up by the time the Dark Hour hits."

The answer turned out to be four, with the abrupt cut off coming right as Justice Wargrave was pronounced dead. "... That was some fucking timing, universe." Miki commented as she stood up, tugging the paper out of her Brailler before leaving the room. Reaching the entrance of the house easily as she felt her way around the orderly furniture, she reached into the concealed closet. "C'mon, Blacklock, we've gotta run errands." She smiled a bit, swinging the scythe onto her shoulders after getting her boots on.

As she exited the house, her lilac eyes slipped shut as a presence in her mind woke up. Energy seeped out of her body and spread out, the dull outlines of the stilled world coming into sharper clarity. The edges of buildings and coffins came into relative light as Miki let her focus shift outward, looking for any of the multicolored splotches of Shadows in her monochrome 'world'.

There didn't appear to be any in her general vicinity, which made it strange when a pair of hands with the consistency of smoke came to rest upon her shoulders.

-You know they will not pick a battlefield so close to here. They fear the grasp of war.-

Miki let out a heavy sigh at those words. "Man … I was hoping for a quick errand run tonight." She admitted, opening her eyes as she 'looked' up ahead of her. "Time to fly." The smoky hands faded from her shoulders at those words, a strong pressure forming at Miki's back as she knelt into a crouch. Lowering her scythe, she jumped straight up.

At the height of her jump, the pressure flared out into pale blue fire, and a pair of large metallic wings appeared behind her. Without breaking momentum, they snapped open and flapped, and Miki found herself propelled forward, over the monorail lines and toward Port Island

There. An airborne Shadow, wheeling over the Port Island station. Miki smirked a bit - errands could formally start now.

Without hesitation, she dropped onto it. Her scythe cut through a wing with ease, making the Shadow Shriek in pain. 'Pale gold,' she noted as the Shadow's color registered in her vision. 'Empress class.' breaking into a free fall as the Shadow plummeted, screeching, Miki pursued.

Both hand were on Blacklock for the second swing, and the Shadow was cut in half. The blur of pale gold scattered for a moment, before a few motes condensed into a solid piece. Miki grabbed for it, gloved hand closing around the gemstone even as her boots hit the ground of the Station. The metallic wings flared for a heartbeat before wrapping around her, the golden eyes emblazoned on the front peering out from her shield as she stowed the gem away. 'Felt like a topaz, but it was Empress class. That's normal.'

-The night is yet young. There are other skirmishes to be had.- The echoing voice came from Miki's brain again, and she was faintly aware of the smoky hands on her shoulders once again. -Not many are here; the warriors might have set them on edge.-

"I mean, I imagine they passed through a short while ago to make use of the monorail." Miki mused aloud as she began to walk forward. The wings opened from their shield around her, scattering sword-sharp feathers and blue ashes, things she had become accustomed to as they furled against her back. "And they tend to gather around the Tower, so perhaps I should head that way a bit."

-Sopdet requested you be cautious. Supply raids should not put the war itself at risk-

"I know, Helen, I know." Miki sighed, smiling. "It'll just become if anyone in the 'cool kids' club think to look up, y'know?"

The echoing voice Miki knew as Helen let out a small laugh, and she once again felt the Persona's smoke-crafted hands retreat with a faint clinking of chains. Grinning, the girl took off into the air once again.

Mercifully, there was indeed a gathering of Shadows closer to the gates of Tartarus. None of them seemed to realize Miki was there until she was attacking, Blacklock or the bladed wings cutting through things with ease. As time slowly crawled on, she eventually found herself perched on an extinguished street light, the large bladed wings mantled as she took tally of the gemstones she had gotten.

'Three topaz, a singular sapphire, about eight malachite …' Miki counted in her head, relying mostly on the pulses of energy from the stones. 'The street Shadows are too damn smart, honestly. Don't carry valuables out in the open where they can be easily mugged.'

Letting out a small sigh, Miki stored the small pouch she kept the spoils in. "Well, I got at least some stuff back. And Sensei's still going to be occupied until June." She reassured herself, hopping down to the ground briefly to retrieve Blacklock from where she had hurled the scythe into a particularly large Shadow's face. "Darn, no last minute gems…" She pouted, swinging the scythe up onto her shoulders as her head turned to where Tartarus stood.

Unlike most buildings, which appeared in limited flashes of crisp white frames and outlines, Tartarus somehow loomed darker than the rest of the shadows around it. It was genuinely unsettling, and it made Miki frown more as she turned to it fully. 'For real though, what the hell is this tower?' She mused.

-Wrong. Misplaced.' Helen responded instantly, and Miki felt the wings shift involuntarily. -This place was not meant to be torn from where it belongs.-

'Hmm. do you think the cool kids are doing okay in there, then?' Miki paused at that, weighing her options. Sensei had told her not to do anything reckless; but at the same time, poking her nose into the door couldn't be instantly fatal, could it?

With the passing thought in mind, Miki moved forward as swiftly and silently as she could. There wasn't much time in the Dark Hour left, and she would rather not deal with the awkwardness of Tartarus retreating while she was utilizing Helen's wings.

She'd pass on getting put on the tabloids for a strange 'winged human', especially with the firm chokehold Apathy Syndrome held on the port city.

The grounds were ominous, and it was only due to the fact that the inside of Tartarus manifested as the typical white Miki expected from buildings that she knew the front door was slightly open. '...That's very trusting of them.' She thought, stalking quietly to the front door.

Feeling around with the butt of Blacklock's haft showed that the door was only open enough for her head to poke in, and Miki took the invitation. The interior was far more spacious than she anticipated, and Miki felt a bit of vertigo hit her as the white abruptly shifted to the impenetrable black of Tartarus when she adjusted to the space inside.

A flash of royal red in the sea of white made Miki focus on it, curious. It was too concentrated to be a Shadow, so it had to be one of the Tower climbers. They were too far away for her to make out what they were saying, even with the suffocating stillness of the Dark Hour.

Her curiosity was almost strong enough to make Miki move forward, but a sharply hissed warning from Helen made her retreat. The pulse of energy hit her senses a heartbeat later, and she skittered backwards as quickly as she could before taking to wing. It seemed they were done with exploration for the night.

Tempted to race back to Iwatodai Station before they realized she had even been there, Miki paused in midair. No; she shouldn't do that. There were plenty of perches, and depending on how strong their sensor was, she could hopscotch above them and eavesdrop. All they had to do was not look up.

Smirking to herself, Miki retreated to her previous perch, letting Helen's wings dissipate into feathers and embers as she waited.

It didn't take long for the group to leave, their forms blending together into an amorphous rainbow. She could make out the royal red from before, but it was almost overwhelmed by a too blue presence behind it. A darker blue presence and an orange one were close together, a bright pink splash popping in and out behind them. The largest part seemed to be maroon of all colors, but distinct details were lost.

"Man, those windy chickens were assholes, but we showed 'em!" one of the group spoke up, making Miki tilt her head to listen better. A teenage boy, she wagered - he sounded tired, despite the boisterous nature of his words. "My ass is so sore, though …"

"Need to work on keeping your footing, Junjun!" Ah, Miki recognized that voice - it was one of the two she had directed to the dorm the first night. The rich Osaka-ben gave her away, and Miki smiled at the familiarity. "Yuka-tan did a great job at shooting them down." the bright words seemed to be directed at someone else in their group, and Miki tilted her head owlishly once again as they began to walk past her current perch.

"I - I mean, they're birds," a second teenage girl was speaking now, the softer tones of a Kyoto accent catching Miki off guard, "It felt logical they wouldn't like arrows in the wing joints." At that, the new speaker - Yuka-tan, going by the nickname the Osaka girl had used - let out a sigh. "But … Minato-kun, what was that blue lady that popped out?"

Miki tilted her head at that again, leaning as far forward on the street light as she dared. A sigh so quiet it was almost inaudible to even her preceded the new speaker. "... Apsaras, I think?" The voice made Miki nod to herself; there was the second twin from the first night. "I'm not quite certain where she came from, but it's not causing a reaction like whatever happened that first night."

That was interesting. This 'Minato' seemed to have some idea as to what the unsettling presence was. The group had started to move past her perch, and she waited for a heartbeat before making a Helen assisted long jump to the next street light.

"Still, this is unprecedented." A third female voice was speaking now, and the clipped tones made Miki's hair stand up on end. She did not like the way this person was speaking. "Even with limited information, there's been no records of a Persona-user with more than one Persona on hand."

Miki frowned as the other young woman continued to speak, and she actually tried to pick out the general color the clipped voice was coming from. A moment of disconcerted examination later, and she hazard it was the royal red presence that was in the lobby. '... Their sensor, maybe?' Miki thought to herself, before quieting her thoughts to eavesdrop more.

'Minato' let out a noise of indifference before he continued speaking. "But that's a thing, MItsuru-senpai. With all due respect, if the information you have is 'limited', it stands to reason to new information will make that change." Now that he was speaking more audibly, Miki found herself fascinated that he had a habit of half-singing his words; it was a habit she only heard in musically inclined people.

The name he had used for the royal red presence made Miki draw up short for a heartbeat after it registered, though.

'Mitsuru'.

Something about it tickled a dark corner of her brain, a corner that made Helen's wings mantle in the recess of her mind. The sensation of phantom feathers against the inside of her skull made Miki frown, and she listened more intently.

As it was, it seemed 'Minato's' very sound counterpoint seemed to have caught 'Mitsuru' off guard, because the clipped voice didn't respond. Instead, the boisterous teenager from the start spoke up. "Okay, genuine question; does it make your head hurt?" He asked, the question seemingly directed to 'Minato'. "You kinda staggered after that big spell you threw out at all of us."

"I wouldn't say it hurts?" 'Minato' responded', and Miki wouldn't be surprised if the other teenager was shrugging. "The spell was exhausting, yes, but we're still not used to … all this." at that, part of the too blue presence gestured broadly, a sweeping motion that Miki only barely noticed.

"Still," yet another new voice spoke up. This one was deep enough it made Miki double take, missing the way Helen abruptly 'jerked' in her head at it. "We're gonna want to ask the Landlord if he has any ideas. If not him, Dr. Tenshi." it was another masculine voice, more noticeably older than the others; that wasn't what had caught Miki's attention about it, however.

'... that is one hell of a Hokkaido dialect.' she noted to herself, shifting forward on her new perch. The group was moving fast, and the lack of anything resembling a breeze in the Dark Hour made it hard to stay stationary and eavesdrop. They were almost out of her hearing range. 'What could have brought that guy all the way down here?'

Shifting to leap to the next lamp post, Miki about choked on a yelp as it felt like Helen restrained her from leaping. She still cleared the distance, although she heard the slap of her form hitting the metallic pole. Moving faster than she could think, Miki scrambled to the very top and perched, not daring to breathe as the conversation below her stopped abruptly.

"... What was that?" 'Yuka-tan' spoke up first, voice tight with fear.

Fuck.

Miki remained motionless, the unnatural stillness of the Dark Hour the only comfort she had that her shadow wouldn't betray her.

"I'm not seeing anything …" the boisterous voice - 'JunJun' - commented after a moment. "You, Koto-tan?"

"Nada." The now named 'Koto-tan' responded, the shake of her head evident in her voice. "Do you guys want me to poke about and try to find out?"

"Not on your own." 'Mitsuru' responded almost instantly. "The Dark Hour is almost over; we should keep moving to get into a less suspicious area."

"Every area in this city is suspicious at midnight, though." JunJun pointed out, and Miki knew that if she wasn't petrified of being heard, she would have laughed. As it was, Mitsuru let out a noise of annoyance in response, but didn't try to fight the statement.

"... What about you, Shinjiro-senpai?" Yuka-tan asked. The question seemed to be directed at the deep-voiced speaker, because he spoke up next.

"I don't see anything, either. It seemed like it came from high up, though …"

Oh. FUCK.

Miki felt her heart leap into her throat, and Helen was letting out indescribable panicked noises in her head. If that person looked in the wrong direction …

Without thinking, the wings came out once more, and she shot straight up into the air before any of the group below her could spot her. The sharp whistling of wind kept her from hearing anything else they might have said, but she didn't stop her ascent until she was certain they wouldn't be able to see her.

Not pausing, she redirected herself towards where the feeling of Sensei's wards were, hitting the concrete roughly in time to hear the pop of street lights reactivating even as Helen's wings scattered into motes of light around her. "Too close. Too fucking close." Miki said aloud as she gasped for breath. She was relieved to realize that Blacklock was still in hand. "Fuck. I'm so glad this didn't drop …"

Once she had a reasonable amount of air in her lungs, Miki shook her head and entered the house quickly. While most people would buy the 'costume prop' excuse if they spotted Blacklock, she didn't want to risk a police officer on patrol being in her part of town.

Stowing the weapon quickly and taking off her boots, Miki rushed for the storage room. She collided briefly with a living room chair that she had forgotten to tuck in, but didn't pause until the familiar feeling of her brailler was under one hand. "Names. I have names, or at least nicknames." She told herself, hastily twisting up the knobs for a moment before swearing. "Shit-!"

A moment of scrambling for paper later, and Miki paused as Helen's smoky hands gripped her shoulders. -Breathe. We are in the sanctuary.- The Persona's echoing voice seemed unusually tense, but it was still grounding enough that Miki listened.

One breath, then two, and Miki felt around on the shelf beneath the work bench until she felt the paper for her brailler. A second later, and she flailed for another moment to reach the radio and switch it off. Now was not the time for murder mysteries, she needed to get the names down.

'Teenagers. They had to be all teenagers,' she thought to herself, frowning. 'Means it won't be as weird for them to be around school grounds to poke shit. And from the sound of it, there's a few who are new to this … and someone with multiple Personae?' Beginning to type, Miki felt her brow furrow as she worked as a familiar bile started to rise in her throat a bit.

It was as she was typing the last name that Miki paused. "...She said 'Shinjiro', right?" she asked aloud, the name making her hands stop. "That Yuka-tan person said 'Shinjiro'." At Helen's silence, Miki shook her head and lowered her hands completely. "I didn't mishear that name."

A part of her brain was rejecting the thoughts that were forming, incredulous. But she had been too panicked to mishear that name, and that had been the speaker with the Hokkaido dialect …

"... No. No fucking way." Shaking her head harder, Miki stood up to pace again. "That's so fucking improbable, what the fuck." Her work and notes forgotten, the silver-haired young woman began to pace, arms grazing against the shelves. "WHY the fuck would htey be down here? That makes no sense. And there was only one of them, not both of the set -"

After a few minutes of pacing - and smacking her hand into the wall by mistake - and Miki paused, rubbing her hands together. "... I'll be more careful next time." She said simply. "Even if it's not who I think it is, that's still a decent sized group they have. And multiple Persona … Fuck. I'm gonna have to have a long phone call with Sensei tomorrow."

With that thought, Miki sat back down at her bench, doing her best to ignore the unusually nervous shifting Helen was doing in the corner of her brain.

Back on Port Island, S.E.E.S stood there for a few seconds, sharing perplexed looks as the lights and electricity came back to life with the disappearance of the Dark Hour. Minato was the first to speak up, both of his eyebrows arched. "... Did anybody get a good look at … whatever that was?"

"Nope." Junpei responded and shook his head, frowning. His sentiment was echoed by the girls, and he shifted his gaze to Shinjiro as the senior walked over to the lamp post the strange shape had launched itself from. "... Senpai? Did you?"

Shinjiro didn't respond at first, kneeling on the ground. "... Well, whatever it is, it has wings." He commented after a moment, and picked something up off the ground. Holding it up, he frowned and examined it. "And they're big wings at that."

At the curious noises he was getting, Shinjiro stood up and walked over to the others again, holding up what looked like a feather. It had an strange, steel-colored sheen to it, and looked to be longer than his hand. Mitsuru looked at it for a moment and shook her head, brow furrowed.

"... I didn't even get an impression of anything being behind us." she admitted after a moment, sighing. "And it isn't disintegrating?"

"Nope." Shinjiro shook his head. "Feels about as solid as one of my cooking knives. Which, honestly …" Moon grey eyes looked back at the surface of the feather before he tapped one edge with a finger. A hiss later, and he pulled his hand away and shook it. "Fuck!"

A glance at the hand in question showed that the finger he had touched it with was now bleeding. It wasn't a more severe injury than a papercut, but it still made Kotone frown. "So, there's something in the Dark Hour that managed to 'lol nope' past Mitsuru-senpai's sensor abilities and has swords for wings." she commented, crimson eyes drifting to the female senior as she tossed a box of bandaids to Shinjiro.

"This … is not a development I'm comfortable with either." Mitsuru acknowledged with a frown. "We should hand that over to Ikutsuki-san the next time he stops by; there should be equipment to examine it more thoroughly elsewhere." At that, she sighed. "For now … we all need rest. Let's head back before the monorail ceases operation for the evening."

There weren't any other words exchanged after that, and the group resumed moving. Shinjiro lingered at the back, wrapping the feather in a handkerchief he kept in a pocket. A frown was on his face, one that was more troubled than his normal one. Castor had reacted to the thudding noise faster than the rest of him, and Shinjiro glanced back up and over his shoulder at the lamp post.

Nothing was there.

Yet, Castor shifted in his head all the same. It didn't seem uneasy, but the senses that came with the Persona were indeed on alert. 'Maybe I should have turned around faster…' the thought passed idly through Shinjiro's brain as he tucked the feather bundle into a pocket and resumed walking.

Even knowing nothing was there, he found himself looking over his shoulder again and again, until the walls of the Port Island Station cut his view off from the lamp post.

'... I'll be faster next time.'

- A Perkins Brailler is essentially a Braille typewriter, and were first created in 1951; 2008 saw a more refined, quieter version made, with a built in carrying handle and an erase button.

Tori's Notes: So. I uh. didn't intend to vanish for about a month :'D

School got into some complicated classes, and I got stuck on the last scene of this chapter because I was originally going to show the Tartarus run itself. it just. Refused to be written, so I sat in frustration until Mags and Aria both suggested I try a different scene that could help move the plot along.

And that's how you guys got surprise Miki content. That subplot is going to be so much fun to tie into things and explore.

Also yes, I scrambled the sport club for Kotone! neither volleyball or tennis really geled with her in my head, and Rio def has the intensity to practice kendo.

Next chapter should HOPEFULLY come up faster! It's Golden Week, and I have some shenanigans and thoughts planned!