Author's Notes: Hello all! Welcome to a 25K word April Fool's joke that's delivered a day early! There's nothing to read here, so you can all go do something else.

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Okay, not actually. Here's the next installment of everyone's favourite Persona 3 fic. Huge thanks go to Firion on this one. His input definitely made it better. First though, some replies to my awesome reviewers.

Reginleif2044: I like your approach to Minato's power having a price. I'm of two minds on the Great Seal thing for a variety of reasons, but I think that there are other ways the high price of power can be exemplified, and that's what I'm playing up here. That said, given the ending I have in mind, there will be changes to how things wrap up. I won't spoil the surprise other than to say that I've got something fun in mind. Thanks for the review, and enjoy!

Xoraan: Great to hear from you as well. I promise, Akihiko will forever be a bro to them. He's too awesome not to. As for the Velvet Room, glad you liked it. It felt like a scene that needed to be there, so I hope I did the idea justice. Also, Elizabeth's a real blast to write; her and Koromaru especially so. Shinjiro felt like wasted potential in the game, so I wanted to make the most of him while I could. Glad he worked with Fuuka as well as he did. As to the part with Yukari, I can see where you are coming from. I meant for that to be deliberately awkward between people who have a fair bit in common, but can't get beyond their own issues to see that. Perhaps it worked, perhaps not, but live and learn, right? Ken's also someone with some room for a twisted back story, and I felt like he deserved something more given what everyone has to go through to get to their own ending. It'll pay off. Promise. The date was meant to do just as you say, so I'll definitely do more of that in the future. Thanks for the review. I too am glad that I haven't lost my touch, and I hope that the future chapters will break the rust off even more. Hope you like the chapter!

zainethedemonking: Much appreciated. Luckily for everyone involved, there's more to come. Enjoy!

Gallian Squad 7: Very glad you liked it, and I hope you continue to enjoy the fic. There will be more sap, that much I can promise you, so stay tuned!

Guest (Jan 24): Wow. Thanks for the high praise. I appreciate the feedback, and I'll cover a few of your points in your review. First off, the girls working together was something that we didn't see a lot of in the game, so I wanted to have a touch of normalcy in an otherwise not-normal setting and cast. It was a lot of fun to write, especially dealing with Mitsuru's social uncertainty. There will be more of the girls together in the future, so look forward to that. Shinjiro's a blast to write, honestly. He's blunt, direct and his narration style allows for a similar perspective, and cutting past the social niceties to get to the heart of the matter is a fair bit of fun. Him being an unwilling senpai, a softy under the hardened exterior, is a side I don't think the game shows enough, so going that route felt right. Ken's past is another thing that doesn't get its due, I feel. Reading his Wiki article, you'd think he'd go truly crazy when he puts the pieces together, but the game doesn't really deliver there. An oversight on their part, in my opinion. Finally, Mitsuru and her father felt like seriously wasted potential. She's one of the few members of SEES who has a living relative who plays a part in the story, yet he's off in the background. That doesn't work for me, so I did my own thing. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I hope you like where I go with the rest of the story. Enjoy!

Kirijo Senpai: I appreciate the praise. I'll strive to make their scenes together as awesome in the future, if not even more so.

Ramix: Gushing is entirely welcome in this case. Please feel free to do so whenever the mood strikes you. Elizabeth is a fun character to write, and her working out so well with Koromaru is just one indication of how much fun can be had with a warped perception of the world. Something we can all learn from, I think. The Velvet Room scene comes courtesy of Persona 2, where the entire crew could visit it and I was left thinking, "This is such a good idea, why did they drop it?" So here it is. Glad you liked it. Mitsuru and her father always felt like a serious blind spot in the game, and the potential for exploration and depth was too much to pass up. Good to see that my angle on them made sense. As to the date, that was a lot of fun to write, from the prep to the singing to the last part. More sap to come, I promise. Thanks for the review!

jtesauro: Thanks for the review. Regarding the Velvet Room occupants, they are as you describe, and I feel like that's a missing element in Persona at times. I admit that I haven't read the series that you mention, but it does sum up what I had in mind for Igor and Elizabeth. As to those details that Elizabeth and Mitsuru mentioned, there will be more of that fleshed out in this chapter. I love that quote, by the way. It puts into words how I feel as a writer, and it really clicked when I read it. Thanks for sending it to me, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Boi: Glad you liked it. If the flag gets that high, then maybe the crew can use it in the last battle. Gotta use what you can, right? Thanks for the review, and enjoy!

TheCogentGent: Sap it is! Not in this chapter, mind you, but down the line, there will be sap!

Regis JN: Well that's good to hear, because there's more Shinjiro here. As for more sap, well, there's more coming up in future chapters. Promise.

Lots of content here, lots of stuff happening, so on with the show.

Chapter 12 - Raddoppio

"So the next Shadow's at the train station?" Junpei asked as they gathered in the command room. The Dark Hour had just begun and the baleful moon glowed through the window. "Think it'll try to play conductor again?"

Yukari grimaced, brushing her hair back. "Let's hope not. This one's not on the train itself yet, and I'd like to avoid another ride down the tracks."

"We won last time," Minato pointed out, stretching his fingers and rolling his wrists, testing for pain. What soreness he felt was well within the realm of being bearable. "We can do it again."

"You mean the rest of us will do it this time," Mitsuru-senpai told him firmly. "You're still off the combat roster."

Minato looked at her, working on choking his protests down. They didn't go easily. He and Senpai had argued over that point for days. He'd insisted that he had healed enough to fight again, and the doctors had agreed after extensive testing that he was ready to be released. However, his physicals kept coming back with the verdict of "sub-optimal" where his fitness and reflexes were concerned. To his chagrin, his doctors were recommending another week of training and working out before he was strong enough to fight again. He'd tried pulling rank, but both of his senpai had kicked right back and told him, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn't fighting this time. "I'll still be there if something goes wrong," he bit out.

"It's not going to come to that in the first place," Akihiko-senpai told them firmly. "We know what we're doing, so let's play this one smart. No injuries or screw-ups, no mistakes and let's get through the night in one piece."

The others nodded, sober as they looked at the read-outs on the computer. "We will compensate for your absence, Minato-kun," Aigis told him, decked out in her weaponry and heavy armour. Out of curiosity, Minato had done the math on everything she wore when she hunted the Shadows. Between the weaponry, the armour and the extra ammunition, her entire ensemble weighed around 130 lbs. She looked like it all weighed about twenty.

"I appreciate it," he replied, trying to sound encouraged but feeling like he was letting his people take on all the risk for him.

"Why aren't Ken-kun and Shinjiro-senpai coming with us?" Fuuka asked just then.

"I understand that they have something to do," Ikutsuki replied. "Shinjiro didn't say what it was about, but he promised that they wouldn't be long. Apparently he intends to meet you all at the station."

Akihiko-senpai growled in frustration. "What the hell is he doing? Fuuka, can you get in touch with him?"

"I'll try," their detector promised, closing her eyes in concentration.

"Amada should know better than to go off on his own," Mitsuru-senpai noted, frowning in thought. "This is unusual. Did they say where they were going?"

"Shinjiro wasn't clear when I asked," Ikutsuki told them, spreading his hands and shrugging.

"I can't get anything from him," Fuuka reported, looking concerned. "He's in the city, but he's not answering me."

Akihiko-senpai swore viciously, ignoring Mitsuru-senpai's stern look of reprimand. "He knows what we're doing. Why tonight? What's going on?"

Minato cleared his throat, taking command of the conversation again. "We can't afford to split up. Who knows what the Shadow has up its sleeve this time? We'll need to do what we did last time and deal with it as fast as we can. We can also try getting in touch with them before we get to the train station. Maybe whatever they're doing will be done by the time we get there."

Akihiko-senpai let out a loud, angry breath. "It shouldn't come to this."

"But it has," Minato pointed out steadily. Much as his own condition angered him, the others didn't need to think that they were at a disadvantage despite being down three combatants. He had to step up as a leader and contribute enough to counteract his own uselessness. "And there's nothing we can do to change it right now, so let's focus on the Shadows and get back to Shinjiro-senpai after. Unless there's a reason we should be worried about him?"

"You mean aside from him being out there, on his own, without telling us?" Akihiko-senpai snapped. "And besides the fact that Amada's got the least amount of experience out of any of us and he's out there too?"

"Yes," Minato replied smoothly, "besides that."

Akihiko-senpai visibly seethed, but he shook his head and said nothing more.

Minato secretly wanted to say something more inspirational, especially since he wouldn't be able to help them on the front lines, but his senpai had already covered that and the others were looking like they wanted to get underway. "Then let's get ready. The sooner we deal with the Shadow, the sooner we can focus on this other stuff."

They all nodded and Junpei headed out the door with Yukari and Koromaru in tow. Aigis nodded politely to Minato and the others before following her comrades and Akihiko-senpai bristled, his anger clear, before he left the command room. To no surprise, his footsteps were heavier and louder than usual, and Ikutsuki looked a bit apologetic as he left Minato alone with Mitsuru-senpai.

The blue-haired student let out a breath, stroking his cheek. "What's going on here, Senpai?" he asked, turning to the taller girl. "Shinjiro-senpai wouldn't leave without telling anyone. Neither would Ken, especially when everyone knows about the Shadows and the full moon."

She appeared equally suspicious, looking at the door with narrow eyes. "I feel the same way. This feels wrong, but I don't know why or how. If I knew where Shinjiro would go, then I'd say he should be a priority. Doubly so since Amada's not suited to being on his own. But I can't help on either of these things."

"Then where does that put us?"

She let out a frustrated breath. "I don't know, and I don't like that feeling. The only thing I can think of is what you've already proposed: we deal with the Shadow as quickly as possible and hope that Yamagishi can find both of them before something happens."

Minato nodded, bracing himself for whatever the night brought. "Then that's what we do. On that note, be careful."

She raised an eyebrow, apparently not following the shift in conversation. "I'm sorry?"

"I don't want you risking yourself in the fight or getting careless because of Shinjiro-senpai and Ken," he explained. "We're all worried about them, but if you get hurt, that will make things worse."

Senpai chuckled, tilting her head back with a smirk. "My kouhai is throwing his weight around? Are you telling me what to do now?"

"It's my job as your boyfriend," he told her, trying to be smooth so he could catch her off-guard.

She blushed in the dim light and a small smile played about her lips. She stepped closer to him, close enough that he could smell the soap from her recent shower. "So that's the angle you're taking."

"That's right."

Her smile grew a bit, and she let the silence remain between them for a moment before shrugging. "I take your point. I'll be careful. But you have to keep your end of the bargain as well."

"I will," he promised. "I'm out of the fight unless I absolutely have to step in."

"Good." Her expression changed a fraction. She glanced in the direction of the window and raised an eyebrow when she looked back at him. "And the other matter?"

"It usually happens the night after we kill the Shadows," Minato explained, "sometimes the night after that. But it always happens and never more than two days after."

"Then Akihiko and I will be there," she assured him.

"I appreciate it."

Their business concluded, she let out a steadying breath, her game face settling in. "Come on, boyfriend. Let's not keep the others waiting any longer."

He chuckled. She was becoming more comfortable calling him that, and the previous uncertainty when she was alone with him was giving way to confidence and comfort. "Right behind you, Senpai. Let's do this."


Shinjiro stood still in the alley, looking at the scars on the building. Even years later, the damage hadn't been fixed entirely. Cement and plaster might have covered up the salient signs of what had happened, but Shinjiro could still see the places where the impact had shattered the wall. Light burn marks in the alley corner, some scratches on the fresh siding that didn't quite match the new stuff they'd put up, even the pavement under his feet felt like it carried the memory of what happened that day.

He snorted. Or maybe all of that was just his guilty conscience talking. Tonight was the first time he'd been here since the day he'd lost control, after all, and the timing wasn't a coincidence. It was on this day, years ago, that he'd lost a part of himself. Knowing that he'd hurt innocent people, killed someone and fucked up a young kid's life, had been too much to handle back then. He'd run as hard and as fast as he could, hiding behind poverty and violence, using drugs to keep Castor in check. No matter what he did, the emptiness remained throughout the years, reminding him of what he'd done. He hadn't been able to leave Tatsumi Port Island; every time he tried, the nightmares became worse until he returned. But he hadn't been strong enough to face what he'd done, so he'd sat back and hoped that everything would work itself out if he suffered enough. Maybe the universe would fix things if he deprived himself until the balance was struck. Nothing worked. Instead of getting better, everything had only gotten worse.

Shinjiro let out a breath, eyes narrowing in the gloom. It was strange. Talking to Amada and Aki about this stuff had made the weight ease up a bit, enough that he felt like he knew what he had to do. He wasn't sure about it when the thought first crossed his mind, and he was even less sure for a good while after. But, oddly enough, watching Arisato screw up being a leader and trip over himself to ask Mitsuru out had helped Shinjiro come to a decision. It was clear when they'd fought the Shadow at Paulownia Mall that Arisato had something going on under the surface. Something to do with the Shadows that the others either didn't know about or didn't care about. Given how Mitsuru fussed over him when he was in the hospital, it was probably the first option. Yet in spite of that doubt, in possibly being connected to the very thing that he was helping to kill, he still pushed forward. He fought the Shadows like a devil from Hell, he took serious hits in the fights against Metis and Sakaki, and he still had the balls to take Mitsuru out on a date. Shinjiro smirked a bit. If a scrawny, mouthy little shit like that could move forward with life despite being so bad at it, then Aragaki Shinjiro wasn't going to be second-best in the race.

Shinjiro pulled his Evoker from his pocket and looked at the scrawled Japanese inscription on the polished, gleaming slide. Aki and Mitsuru both made a big deal about what their Evokers would say when Ikutsuki had made the offer, but for Shinjiro there was only one saying that came to his mind when he thought of what made him tick: If you have to crawl to stay alive, then stand up and die.

"Oh! Hi Shinjiro-senpai," Amada called to him as the kid turned the corner. "What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Shinjiro replied, turning to face this comrade. Amada didn't have his spear, which immediately seemed strange. "Why aren't you with the others? It's the full moon tonight and they're going to need you to fight the Shadow."

Amada's smile wavered a bit as he looked at where his old house used to be. "Yeah, I was hoping to see something before I met up with them. Ikutsuki-san said it was all right."

Shinjiro's eyes narrowed. Ikutsuki? Why? Out of anyone, he'd know better than to let Amada into the city without a chaperone. "That so?"

"Yeah. He said it's be okay so long as I got back before Arisato-san found out I wasn't there."

That was even more fishy. Arisato and Mitsuru would know that Amada was missing the second they called the planning meeting, so sneaking back in through the back door wouldn't make things any better. And Ikutsuki knew as well as any of them how dangerous the city was during the Dark Hour. "He's going to give you some serious shit when he finds out, you know."

Amada's smile turned a bit sad and almost whimsical. "I know. But I had to do this."

"Had to do what? What are you doing here in the first place?"

"This is my old house," Amada explained, walking closer and pointing. "And today is the anniversary of Mom's death."

Shinjiro closed his eyes and pushed back against the memory of a terrified woman's scream, cut off abruptly. The smell of shredded siding and the red of her blood still dug into his senses, just as strong as it had been all those years ago. "That so?"

"Yes. I was afraid of that thing, the demon that took her away from us. When Ikutsuki-san told me I had a Persona and showed me Tartarus, I thought that it was a Shadow that killed her at first. It would make sense, wouldn't it? Shadows look like monsters and they come from our emotions, and the thing that killed Mom felt like it was angry and afraid." Amada let out a breath and his expression changed, turning harder as manic hatred entered his eyes. "But that thing wasn't a Shadow, was it? The thing that killed Mom and ruined Dad was a Persona. Your Persona, Shinjiro-senpai."

Shinjiro pocketed his hands, feeling his Evoker and struggling with how fast everything had gotten so fucked up, but he kept it to himself. He worked to keep his voice steady, to hold back the pain and remorse that writhed under the surface. "So you figured that out."

"As soon as I saw you use your Persona," Amada affirmed, glaring fiercely and baring his teeth like an animal about to lunge. "I could never forget it."

That narrowed things down. It was clear where this little disaster was going, and Shinjiro asked more out of need of something to say than actual curiosity, "What now?"

"I promised myself that I'd find the thing that killed Mom," Amada began, words trembling from the fury as he stepped forward. "I swore I'd pay it back for what it did to me and Dad."

Shinjiro let out a breath, hands still in his pockets as he turned to face the kid. "So you're going to kill me?"

"I'm going to kill the monster that I saw that night," Amada vowed, pulling his Evoker out and setting it against his head. "Fight me."

Shinjiro blinked dispassionately. He should have been afraid of this, like any person staring Death in the face. He should have felt worse about what happened, especially after learning what Amada had been through. But he didn't. Hearing Amada in the park and understanding just how bad things were, he didn't feel like he could go any lower. Lower wasn't an option now that he was staring the kid in the eye. But the guilt wasn't there anymore. All the chaos and pain fell away in an instant of clarity. Instead, he saw the full picture and understood what was going on, and he knew how to respond. "No."

Amada blinked in disbelief, staring like he expected an explanation. "What?"

"I said no," Shinjiro repeated. "I'm not fighting you. If you want to kill me, pull the trigger and do it. I won't fight you."

"You have to," Amada insisted in a cold growl.

Shinjiro snorted, his clarity sharpening his tongue. "I don't have to do shit, kid. Least of all what you're asking."

"Bring out your Persona and fight me!" Amada demanded.

Shinjiro's eyes narrowed. "You don't want that. If I fight you, I won't hold back. I'll kill you, and I'm not carrying that around with me."

"Don't you dare say that!" Amada screamed, his emotions spiking as he pointed his Evoker at the teen. "What do you know about carrying things around?! What have you gone through that comes anywhere close to what's happened to me?! You murdered my mother!"

"By accident," Shinjiro stated bluntly. "Because I lost control. And I've lived with that since the day it happened."

"You've lived with it?! That's a lie! There's no way you could know what I've gone through!"

"She was an innocent person, and she's dead because of me," Shinjiro stated blandly. Years of hearing those words screaming in his head had made them lose their edge when he said them. "She didn't deserve it."

"No, she didn't. Are you sorry about it? Because that won't bring her back."

"Neither will killing me. Nothing will bring her back." Shinjiro shook his head, still running on the clarity of the moment. "Do you know what I lost when your mother died? Everything. I gave up my friends, the people who were my family, because of that. I've lived on the streets and given up the things I wanted to do with my life, because of that. There's nothing I can do to make things right, and I can't go back and change things no matter how much I want to. You have to live with how things are, same as everyone else. If you want to kill me, then go ahead and do it. All you have to do is pull the trigger."

"Fight me," Amada demanded. "Bring that monster out."

"No."

"Do it!"

Shinjiro snorted. Amada's shouting was starting to grate on him. "Not even if you ask nicely. Pull the trigger or go home."

"I said do it!" Amada screamed again. "You don't understand! None of this means anything if I can't kill that thing myself!"

"None of this means anything anyway," Shinjiro pointed out coldly. "Killing people isn't like eating candy, kid. You're taking a life, ending someone's potential, someone's future. That person's gone and never coming back. Something like that should be hard."

Amada's eyes widened, tears gathering as he shouted back, "You're saying that, even though you killed Mom?!"

"I'm saying it because I killed her. It's something I wake up with and live with every day. I know how much it fucked me up, and I'm not going to make it easy for you." Shinjiro took two slow deliberate steps forward, challenging Amada and staring him down. "So do it. Pull the trigger and kill me. Then you can explain to Aki and Mitsuru and Arisato why you did it."

Amada twitched, tears of rage falling, but there was fear and doubt in there as well.

Shinjiro snorted a callous laugh. "Didn't think about that, did you? You're, what, ten? You've got a good seventy years to live if the Shadows don't kill you or you don't die in traffic or something. Seventy years of carrying this around with you, of living with it in every breath you take. Are you strong enough for that? Can you handle ending up like me?"

"Shut up," Amada muttered.

"Do you think they'll understand?" Shinjiro pushed. "Do you think they'll keep you around in the dorm when they find out you killed one of their own? Takeba might, she's a softy, but Aki? Arisato? What about them?"

"Shut up!" Amada shouted, his hand trembling on his Evoker. "I'm killing a murderer. I'm killing the person who screwed up my life! I'm ending this, the nightmares and the pity and everything, I'm ending it tonight!"

"Good," Shinjiro spat. "Then do it and see what happens. Remember that conviction when you go back to them. Or when they come find you, because I'm sure that's what Yamagishi will do."

"Fight me," Amada hissed.

"Kill me, if you think you can handle the consequences and still look in the mirror tomorrow." Nothing happened, so Shinjiro prodded even more. "Go on. Do it."

Amada glared harder and trembled with rage, but said nothing.

Shinjiro took another step forward, his stare becoming fierce. "DO IT!"

Amada jerked at the shout, but didn't respond. He didn't speak, or move, or fire his Evoker.

Several long seconds passed as they stared at each other before Shinjiro grunted. "You're not ready for this. Talk to Mitsuru, get some help, and let this shit go before you do something you'll regret." He turned toward the train station. The fighting had to have started by now.

"Stop! Don't you dare walk away from me!"

"The others are fighting a Shadow tonight," Shinjiro pointed out. "They need my help. I'd make it up to you if I could, but right now the Shadow's more important than waiting for you to make up your mind."

Amada clenched his teeth and glared, but the doubt was clearly getting to him. He was starting to pull his Evoker away, breathing ragged.

Shinjiro shook his head and started walking. "I won't mention this to the others if you promise to get some therapy. Go back to the dorm and wait for us to get back."

"That won't do," a new voice told him, stopping him cold. "Not at all."

Shinjiro whirled to see Sakaki Takaya emerge from the gloom, tattoos shifting and writhing in the low light. "You," Shinjiro grated, stepping back toward Amada. "What're you doing here?"

The response was a ghostly chuckle that floated through the gloom. "Watching the drama unfold, of course. It's been a wonderful little show to behold."

Shinjiro's eyes narrowed. What was going on? "How did you know where we were? How long have you been here?"

Sakaki ignored the questions. Instead he frowned and addressed the boy. "I'm disappointed, Amada. All your talk of wanting your revenge and you fail to take the necessary steps. Where is your anger now? Why did you hesitate? You won't get anything that way."

Amada jerked, his Evoker trembling in his hand. His furious hatred from before was giving way to growing dread that was real enough to taste.

"What do you want with him?" Shinjiro asked, stepping in between Sakaki and the kid.

"Did you know that he planned on killing himself after he killed you?" Sakaki inquired, an unholy interest growing in his voice. "He did, you know. You can see it in his eyes. That hopeless nihilism, that end of hope, knowing that nothing you do will change your situation in life. You should know what that's like, Aragaki, but didn't you see it in Amada here?"

Amada shivered. "Th-that's... How did you know?"

"That true, kid?"

"Why do you care?" Amada protested weakly, his voice becoming empty and toneless. "What do you know about my life?"

The decision was made in that instant. Shinjiro pulled his Evoker out, bringing Castor up from the depths of his soul. He couldn't risk hesitating if he wanted to get out of this fight alive. This guy was beyond dangerous, and Shinjiro knew that, without the others, there wasn't any hope for a second chance if he screwed up. "Leave," he told Sakaki. "Now."

"I don't think so," Sakaki purred, cruel glee showing on his face. "Life is at its most beautiful when it's about to be snuffed out, and those last, gasping struggles make death incredible. I haven't seen how a child dies. Especially one so full of hate for you. I don't want to miss something so exquisite."

"He's not dying tonight," Shinjiro asserted firmly, ignoring the incredulous looks Amada was giving him.

That brought out a chuckle that was rife with anticipation. "Yes he is. Either by his hand or mine."

Shinjiro shifted his weight and readied his mind, pushing past the dulling effect of the drugs he'd been taking and pulling at his deepest reserves. "Not a chance. You'll have to go through me first."

Sakaki grinned, his face lighting up as a familiar blue aura lit his pale body. "That was always the idea."

"Wh... why?" Amada choked out, legs trembling and disbelief in his voice. "You're fighting? F-for me? Why are you doing this?"

Shinjiro snorted. How could he explain his reasons when he was about to start the fight of his life? What could he say that would make any of this shit make sense? There was no way to get everything across in only a few seconds, and he didn't even know what needed to be said right now. "Who knows?" he grunted out, clenching his teeth as his focus narrowed on Sakaki's twisted grin.

Sakaki's tattoos began to glow, and that flayed Persona of his came into view, radiating as much power as it did dread. Shinjiro focused his emotions on the barrel touching his temple, not letting himself feel the fear. Fear had no place in his heart next to the purpose and direction he felt. He'd spent long enough running from the past and delaying his death. Now it was time to follow Arisato's lead and really live. He pulled the trigger with a grunt of effort, putting everything that he was into Castor as Sakaki's Persona shrieked and lunged.

The alley exploded as the two beings collided.


Minato swore under his breath, fingering the trigger of his Evoker and dodging a stray blast of energy. There'd been two Shadows this time, not one like before, and both of them were wasting his time. Unlike the last one who'd been able to speak clearly, possessed of a clear intelligence, these two were like small dogs on a sugar rush. They skittered and bolted around the battlefield, their motions as erratic as their thoughts, and they seemed intent on ignoring him. Instead of opening any sort of dialogue, their respective psyches only gave him meaningless dribble and static that sounded like insane laughter.

This didn't make them any less dangerous, of course. He'd skirted the edge of the battlefield as the others fought and he couldn't let his focus down for a second for risk of being hit by a stray shot. He'd had some close calls as it was, and he grimaced as he stayed back. The others bore burns and cuts from the psychotic game it made them play, and Minato was sweating from the exertion. He cursed his lack of fitness, his body still not responding the way it had before he'd fought Metis. He wanted nothing more than to help them, but he'd promised Senpai that he'd trust them. Any promise to her was one he was going to keep, no matter how much he wanted otherwise.

"Just die already!" Junpei shouted, bringing his sword around in a fast arc. The cut connected, cutting deep into the Shadow's flesh and spilling out screams and black blood in equal measure. The others concerted their efforts, using the opening to their advantage and blowing the Shadow in half. It shrieked in its dying moments, and Minato came forward, trying to hear something or see if either of them recognized him. Instead of anything like what he'd heard before, some last meaningful thought in their last moments, they sounded just like they had before. They giggled and laughed like they found his frustration amusing, then the sound died off with them. The same alien sensation from before lifted around him, like a phantom breath passing along his skin and making him shiver, but nothing else was forthcoming. Even the jolt he'd felt from the Shadow in the mall was missing this time, and he felt a strong sense of disappointment. Their job was done for another month and he had learned precisely nothing.

"Is everyone all right?" he asked, looking them over. Yukari was favouring one leg and Koromaru's fur was singed. Junpei grinned and gave a salute through bruises that he was definitely going to be feeling in the morning, Aigis cleared her weapons and nodded calmly, and Akihiko-senpai rolled his shoulder with a grunt. He'd had to dive out of the way a few times, and it seemed that he'd landed wrong at least once. Mitsuru-senpai wiped at her face to clear away the sweat and dirt, but she nodded.

"We'll be fine," she told him. "Were you able to learn anything?"

"No," Minato clenched out. "Listening to them was a waste of time. Nothing made sense, even at the end."

"That's unfortunate," she noted with a frown. "Perhaps the last one was a coincidence?"

"I don't know," he replied, frustrated. "It didn't seem like it, especially since –"

"Shinjiro-senpai!" Fuuka shouted over their link. "Minato-kun, I found him! He's in danger!"

Everyone turned to her, their injuries and exhaustion forgotten. "What do you mean?" Minato asked, trying to sound calm and hoping nothing else would go wrong. "What's going on?"

"I found Shinjiro-senpai," Fuuka repeated. "He's in the alleys, and he's fighting against Strega. Ken-kun's with him too."

A collective hiss went through the team, and they all looked grim to keep their fear down. "Is Ken in danger?" Minato asked.

Fuuka shook her head in apparent confusion, like she was getting information that she couldn't make sense of. "He's... I don't know if he's fighting too. Something's interfering. I can only feel Shinjiro-senpai and the man with the gun. Sakaki, I think it was. Maybe Ken-kun's injured?"

Minato clenched his teeth. He'd hoped that those two would have gotten back to the dorm already. This was bad. "Where are they?"

"I'm narrowing down my search now," she said, her bandana soaked with sweat.

"Can you give me directions if we leave now?"

Fuuka nodded, looking determined. "Yes."

"I'm going," Minato told Mitsuru-senpai.

"You're still not fit to fight," she protested. "And you promised that you wouldn't."

"I promised I wouldn't fight the Shadow," he shot back. "Sakaki's different."

"He's more dangerous than a Shadow!" Senpai argued.

"I have something that might work," Minato replied, a grim pall washing over him. "Fuuka?"

"I'm doing the best I can," she told him weakly. "I'm having a hard time finding them."

"Tell us on the way," he told her before turning to the others. "Split up into two groups. We need to get to them as fast as we can." Without waiting, he turned and ran down the steps, cursing his aching muscles as he bolted into a sprint as soon as he was on level ground. He ignored the protests and yells from the others and pushed himself as hard as he could. He prayed he'd get there in time.


Castor roared in rage as the flayed Persona tore into him. The edges of its wings weren't a problem against the horseman's plated armour, but the lightning was causing some serious damage. Shinjiro focused and pushed harder, empowering his Persona as much as he could. Through the pain and flashing lights, he could still see Sakaki's grin. The bastard looked happy, like he was enjoying this way too much, and it was easy to imagine why. It wasn't the adrenaline of a good fight that was getting him up, but the chance to, as he'd said, see someone die after fighting their hardest.

Shinjiro grunted in effort as Castor slammed his opponent back, feeling oddly exhilarated. He knew his odds were bad, and he was fighting with no assistance – Ken was clutching his Evoker and staring like he was at an R-rated horror movie, his fear clear as they fought. Yet Shinjiro also knew that he was doing something right for a change. Castor answered his every call and the sense of purpose he'd felt before had only gotten stronger. This was how it should be.

"Do you think that your efforts will mean anything?" Sakaki asked, his Persona panting in pained breaths as it hovered over him protectively. "Assuming that you stop me from killing you, what will it matter? Amada will still end his own life out of despair. All your suffering will have been in vain."

Shinjiro was breathing hard from his injuries. "Why should you care?"

Sakaki shrugged and chuckled. "As I said, I only care so that I can see it myself. But suppose you die here. Amada will have lost his chance at vengeance, after which he will kill himself. If you survive, he will kill himself. And even should you live, your days are numbered to less than a few years. How will he feel then? I presume that he will kill himself anyway, don't you?"

Shinjiro clenched his teeth, using the time spent talking to get his second wind. Amada hissed his breath in, getting close enough to ask his question clearly. "What do you mean?" he demanded, disbelief and fear in his voice. "What's wrong with Shinjiro-senpai?"

"He hasn't told you?" Sakaki mockingly asked, his smile growing again. "How truly cruel of him, to string along a child's hope like that."

"Shut up," Shinjiro growled.

Uncaring, Sakaki continued. "He's been taking drugs to restrain his Persona ever since your precious mother died, Amada. Those drugs suppress his powers at the cost of his life. Even if he stops taking them, even if he doesn't die here, he only has a few years left."

Ken almost shattered right there, his grief and anger apparent in his voice. "Wh... no... NO! You're going to die anyway?! That's not fair, Senpai!"

"Why should fair matter?" Sakaki inquired, sounding almost happy as he spoke. "Aren't you happy? Your tormentor, the man who ruined your life, will die whether you kill him or not. That's a greater punishment than you could have hoped for, isn't it?"

Ken shook his head, conflicting emotions raging on his face. "No! I... He's not supposed to die from that! I'm supposed to kill that thing, and... but he's... How could that be...?"

Sakaki's smile turned into a contemptuous frown. "Such a hollow revenge you sought. You gave up everything for this, and yet you couldn't take the step to claim what you wanted when you had the chance. You should have killed him before you learned about this. Then you wouldn't have had to suffer the truth. Doesn't your vengeance feel empty now, knowing that everything you sacrificed has been for nothing? You wanted him dead more than anything, yet his death has already been written. By his own hand, no less. Do you feel cheated now? Do you feel your world crumbling?"

"I said SHUT UP!" Shinjiro shouted, pulling the trigger. Castor slammed his fist into the ground, creating a cloud of dust and smoke before charging Sakaki's Persona. The lightning burned, but the demon knight charged forward, hammering as fiercely as he could. Shinjiro used the cover and the distraction to rush Sakaki himself. It was time to end this and hope the others knew where he was. He found his footing easily, knowing where Castor had struck and where to avoid. If he could get into Sakaki's face, he could break him. Shinjiro ran, almost there, fists clenched and a killing blow ready to be delivered.

Until a high-calibre gun fired, the bullet punching through his stomach.

"SHINJIRO-SENPAI!" Amada shouted in a mix of fear and despair.

Shinjiro faltered, his footing lost as he tumbled into a roll. Adrenaline dulled the pain, but the tearing of flesh stopped him from getting any closer. He fought to his feet, saw Sakaki's malevolent grin, and then saw that the gun wasn't pointed at him. Shinjiro pushed through the blood loss and darted between the gun and Amada, bringing Castor in and bracing hard.

It wasn't enough.

The next shot caught him in the chest, blowing through his right lung. Breathing immediately became harder and blood choked his breathing. Not prepared to let it stop here, he gave a final burst of strength to Castor, everything he had left, and struck back with a roaring blow that had the flayed Persona staggering back to protect its master. But it remained there, hovering and glowing with power.

Shinjiro's legs shook. He was running dry. He breathed shallowly so he wouldn't choke, but his head was getting fuzzy from the wounds and the blood he was losing. It was all he could do to stay on his feet and glare at his opponent.

"A hero's death, then," Sakaki noted, smiling like always. "Noble, bright, and futile."

"Stay alive, kid," he rasped to Amada, clenching his fists and hoping for one last shot. "Get the hell out of here."

Amada's response was lost as Sakaki chuckled, raising his glowing hand to his Persona. "Noble indeed. An impressive effort. Well then, as a gift, I will grant you a last reprieve before Amada dies."

Shinjiro stared at Sakaki as the Persona's winged stretched, its gouged-out eyes staring at him in rage. It drew back, then screamed and lunged. Shinjiro pulled his Evoker up in a last 'fuck you' to Sakaki, drawing in what little power he had left as the demon raced at him. He might be going down, but it wasn't going to be without a fight.

The alley lit up to the sound of a gunshot and a collision of Personas.


Minato had pushed himself as hard as he could to get to the alleys, his legs cramping up and a body-wide sweat making his clothes stick. He swore at his injuries as he thought of how easy a run like this would have been before he fought Metis. Everything felt like it was passing slowly, too slowly to get to Shinjiro-senpai in time. Fuuka's increasingly-terrified messages to him spurred him on and had him turning corners and dodging upright coffins at top speed, and he strained to get to the sounds of battle that seemed like they were just around the corner with every step he took.

His heart tripped when he heard a revolver go off. He nearly stopped when he heard Ken's scream.

Minato pushed himself harder, breaking into the fastest sprint he could manage. He pulled his Evoker out when he finally made it to the open area where he saw the rampant destruction caused by two Personas fighting. Time slowed as he saw Shinjiro-senpai and all the blood on the ground. Minato saw Sakaki and that winged Persona glowing in blue light. And Minato saw Ken in the corner, his Evoker clutched at the barrel, no signs of damage near him.

Minato pulled as deep as he dared, feeling his inner muscles stretch the same as his arms and legs had, and he fired as soon as his Evoker touched his temple. His strongest Persona raced out of him, crashing into Sakaki's in a collision that knocked the gaunt man back a few steps.

"SHINJI!" Akihiko-senpai shouted as he turned the corner behind Minato. "Sakaki, you're dead!"

Akihiko-senpai and Junpei had followed him while Yukari, Mitsuru-senpai and Aigis had tried a different route. Minato could feel their bloodlust and rage while Sakaki said nothing and smiled more, his arms glowing as his Persona drew back for another attack.

Again, Minato processed everything in a flash of overpowered nerves. He could guess how badly Shinjiro-senpai was hurt, and he knew how little time there was to save his life. He knew that his comrades would have fought Sakaki to the death in that moment, and that such a fight would have definitely resulted in Shinjiro-senpai's death. Ken was looking at them with fear and guilt written all over his face, backing away from them instead of coming over. Whatever his reasons, he seemed to have something to do with this little catastrophe.

Minato raced forward, the only choice apparent and clear. He got ahead of Akihiko-senpai and Junpei, then spread his arms out and stopped. He clenched his teeth in pain as they crashed into him.

"Arisato!"

"Dude, what the fuck!?"

Minato drew himself up and met Sakaki's eyes. There was only one chance to save Shinjiro-senpai's life, and he had to take it. "Let's talk," he told the pale man.

Sakaki raised an eyebrow, his smile showing that he didn't believe what he'd heard. "I beg your pardon?"

"You wanted to talk to me before," Minato clarified, holding the others back and hoping they would see what he was trying to do. "You seemed to have some questions. I want to talk now. We'll go somewhere else while the others look after Senpai. In exchange, you leave him alone."

"Are you crazy!?" Junpei shouted, trying to get around him and line up a shot. "You can't trust him!"

"You do realize that Aragaki's going to die anyway, don't you?" Sakaki inquired smoothly, glancing at the badly-bleeding teen who was struggling to stay standing on shaking legs.

"If there's a chance to save him, then I'll take it," Minato replied. Junpei and Akihiko-senpai stopped pushing against him, but they were even more tense than before.

"Intriguing," Sakaki noted. "You propose a parley, then? With what assurances? I don't particularly trust your friends."

"You ask your questions, I'll answer mine," Minato established, thinking fast. Hopefully the girls would be able to help Senpai and that would be enough to keep them busy. If they tracked him and Sakaki down anyway, then there would definitely be a fight and then they would be in danger. "We'll do it quickly so that there won't be any interruptions from my side or yours. Then we go our separate ways and kill each other some other time."

Sakaki chuckled, his tattoos shifting again while his Persona pulled back a little. "I agree to your terms. I look forward to seeing if Aragaki can survive those wounds. Come then. I will not harm you if you don't attack first."

"Get Shinjiro-senpai to Yukari and the others," Minato commanded as he walked away from his comrades. Ken was nowhere to be seen now, taking what healing skills he had with him as he'd apparently fled. "Get him there as fast as you can."

"You're crazy if you think this will work," Akihiko-senpai grated, already moving toward his wounded friend.

Minato had no doubt that he was going to catch hell for this. Taking risks by talking to the enemy was even worse than if he'd fought the Shadows without being at full strength. But this was the only option, and he hoped that Mitsuru-senpai would see that. "Get him to Yukari. He's what matters. Trust me." With that, Minato followed Sakaki deeper into the alleys, entering the gloom alone.


"You're an oddity among your kind," Sakaki noted after they had turned a few corners and reached the deepest guts of the dark passages. "The others wanted to fight me, and I'm sure they have had nothing good to say about Jin and myself, but you want to talk. Even if you're doing it to delay Aragaki's inevitable death, you made a very unorthodox decision."

"I did what I had to," Minato replied, keeping to his side of the narrow passages. Sakaki had started talking almost as soon as the others were out of view, seeming amicable and oddly conversant. There wasn't any tension in him, no more bloodlust or danger than what seemed to be normal, and Minato surmised that underneath the psychopathic tendencies, Sakaki had actually wanted to have this conversation. Or at least, he'd wanted it enough to spare Shinjiro-senpai for a few minutes. "Any one of us would have done the same."

"That's an admirable quality, having subordinates willing to do what you tell them," Sakaki noted with a dry chuckle. "Especially against their own desires. They make life so much more interesting."

"Is that what Yoshino and Shirato are to you?" Minato asked dryly. "Subordinates to keep you at the top of the food chain?"

"No more than your own friends," Sakaki drawled the word out, neither mocking nor approving, "are to you. They know that you are important, so they will do what they must to keep you safe. I helped Jin and Chi-chan when the Kirijo Group and the rest of the world abandoned them, so they help me however they can. It's no different."

Minato narrowed his eyes at Sakaki's familiar use of the white-wearing captive's name. It suggested a closer connection than just a group of people going in the same direction, but that might have been a lie, too. "You don't seem concerned about Yoshino. You haven't tried to get her out of the hospital. If you hate the Kirijo like Shirato does, then why aren't you worried about them torturing her or something?"

"Jin hates the Kirijo for what they did to him and the family that they took him from," Sakaki explained with a careless shrug. "The experiments they conducted robbed him of most of his memories, though he believes that his old life was a happy one. Happy and weak, I suspect. Instead of leaving him where he was, however, the Kirijo gave him a new path in life and the power to take what he wants. He'll hate them until his dying breath, but his hatred is his alone. Chi-chan is the same. She hates the world for abandoning her at every turn, and she will hate it until she dies." Sakaki chuckled a bit deprecatingly. "Don't presume to infer my motives from them, however. We're all very different people, same as you are different from your own comrades."

"Then you shouldn't let Shirato do your talking for you," Minato pointed out. "He gave me the impression that you all hated the Kirijo Group and that joining you would have meant drinking your brand of kool-aid."

"He does have that effect on people, I admit. Not the best first impression, but I wanted to see how you reacted to him. And what he thought of you." Sakaki shrugged again. "I'm not concerned about Chi-chan, however. She's quite resilient, and she has been through far worse than a clean bed and regular meals."

"Except she's still a prisoner."

"For now. Until she decides to leave. Her life is her own, and she is strong enough to look after herself." Sakaki gave a low, haunting laugh just then. "It's funny. You seem quite critical of my relationship with my own allies, but you are ignorant of the motives of your own. You'll understand if I find your persistence on this topic to be rather entertaining."

"You don't know the people I work with," Minato asserted.

Sakaki tilted his head a little, drawing his words out. "Don't I?"

Minato had a bad feeling that he was making a mistake by arguing this point, but he doubled down. "No, you don't. And I'm not stupid enough to believe what you tell me when you've already tried to kill me once."

Sakaki laughed at that, the sound genuinely amused but also chilling. "Such passion. Such fervor. I will grant you that I don't know all of your comrades. Those I don't know are beneath my attention. I was referring to Aragaki and Amada, however. I'm willing to wager that I know them better than you do."

"I'll take that bet. You're lying."

"Believe that if you wish. It will make you learning the truth all the more entertaining. But I'm not lying. Aragaki was known to us before he joined your little group, and he even gave us information on your activities before you scouted him."

"I rather doubt that," Minato replied, pushing for confidence that he didn't entirely feel. "He didn't seem to know you."

Sakaki drew a long breath in, almost seeming to savour the words as he spoke. "Then how do you explain the pills that he was taking? Chi-chan needed them to keep Medea in check. I'd guess that she's had an episode at some point, a case of Medea trying to kill her, and to keep her alive she would have needed those pills. Did you notice them when you captured her? Did Aragaki have them when you met him? Perhaps he showed them to you himself?"

Minato bit his tongue, feeling a shiver running down his spine. Akihiko-senpai had talked about Shinjiro-senpai having those drugs and the effect they'd had, but they had both clamped up when he'd asked for more information. "What's your point? Are you saying that he got those pills from you?"

Sakaki drew a prescription bottle from his pocket and rattled it mockingly. "That's right. He was reliant on our resources, even though he was working with you. That does make it easier for you to be set up, don't you think? It also means that he wasn't as loyal to you as you think."

"It means nothing," Minato shot back. "If you'd intended to ambush us, you would have done it. And you shot your own insider, so you couldn't have gotten that much out of him. Either he stopped being useful or you're just that twisted."

"Ahhh, you're astute. To be honest, Aragaki's information paled in comparison to the drama that he inspired with Amada."

The chill running up Minato's back grew worse, and he tried to maintain his calm but he knew that he was failing.

"You must have noticed it," Sakaki continued. "Amada running off, leaving Aragaki wounded and dying on the ground. These aren't the acts of comrades or friends, are they? No, Amada left Aragaki to die."

"He was afraid that you'd kill him, I imagine. Shinjiro-senpai didn't go down without a fight, did he? Ken ran off because of you."

"The only reason that me being there interrupted him was because he didn't have the spine to do it himself. If he'd been stronger, maybe if he'd wanted his revenge more than he did, things would have been much more interesting."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "Just so I'm understanding you, you're suggesting that Ken wanted to kill Shinjiro-senpai. When he's had the chance to do that for months, had the chance to cut his throat in his sleep or ditch him in Tartarus or do literally anything else. What's his reasoning? Why on earth would he wait this long if he wanted revenge?"

"Because Aragaki killed his mother."

Minato froze when he heard that, any witty words or sharp defence dying off in a flash.

Sakaki pressed on, seeming to enjoy the morbid twist. "Mmm, you didn't know that? Yes, Amada's mother was killed by a Persona that went out of control several years ago. You wouldn't know about it because the Kirijo Group covered it up. Aragaki took to the streets after that, and Amada took that anger and hatred and realized that he, too, had a Persona. A delicious irony, if you think about it. But it is even better when you consider the group who took him in would also have the Kirijo girl and Aragaki's best friend in it. A coincidence? Or perhaps it was deliberate?"

"That's bullshit."

"Quite the opposite. You asked why Amada waited until now. Tonight is the anniversary of his mother's death. One of the houses back where Aragaki is bleeding to death was where it all happened. Amada wanted to make it special, to tie it all together, and once he'd killed Aragaki, he was going to kill himself. He couldn't handle the pain or the despair. He couldn't stand the killer running free. So he used you to find out the truth, and then he was going to take his revenge. He lacked the spine to do it though, and Aragaki intervened when I arrived."

Minato shook his head, trying to push down the rising doubts. He'd known that Ken was lying about something. He'd known that there was something going on behind the scenes, but he'd assumed that his senpai had a handle on it. He'd assumed that the Kirijo had a handle on things if they'd allowed Ken to join. But... what if he was wrong? Shinjiro-senpai and Ken both leaving on the same night – a night when the Shadows had attacked, no less – lent some credence to what Sakaki was saying, and that thought sickened Minato to the core. "I don't buy it."

"Believe me or don't, but do ask yourself why Amada would run after you arrived. You might think that he was hiding for safety, but I surmise that he had a guilty conscience. It must hurt, thinking that you know those who fight at your side, but instead they harbour such dark secrets that undermine all your efforts in just one night. Who can you trust when something like that happens?"

"I'll believe my friends over anything you say, Sakaki. I take exception to the words of a murderer."

Sakaki snorted his eyes narrowing. "Don't speak like you're one of the ignorant masses, Arisato. You're not so foolish as to let minor details cloud how you see the world. People like you and me are above such drivel."

Minato clenched his teeth. "Don't imply that you and I are alike, Sakaki. We're not."

"How can you say that? By the mere function of where we are at this moment, we have things in common. We stand out even amidst our peers, we see more than they do, and we both know that there is more to the Shadows than what is presented. Yet you say that we are not similar?"

"I'm not an indiscriminate killer," Minato spat out.

"Indeed you are not," Sakaki observed. "Quite the opposite, actually; you restrict yourself and what you could do. Perhaps that is out of fear or out of propriety, but you do hold yourself back. I've always wondered why."

"Is that why you wanted to talk to me? To answer those questions out of some sense of academic interest?"

"I admit that I find you a curiosity. No one else is like us, after all, so I thought that I was an exception to the Kirijo's many ignorant assumptions. How are you able to do what you do?"

"I'm wondering the same thing in your case," Minato replied. He didn't know how to take the stuff with Ken and Shinjiro-senpai, but he needed to take back the conversation if he wanted some answers of his own. "We've had to reconsider a lot of things since we met you. For instance, I never knew someone could use a Persona without an Evoker until I saw you do it."

"I have never needed one," Sakaki admitted easily, seeming to go along with the change in topic. "It wasn't necessary for me to bring Hypnos out, and I wasn't the only one."

Minato's breath caught for a second. "Does that mean that there are more? Others who can summon a Persona without an Evoker?"

"There were more, yes. No longer. They all died ten years ago, from the experiments or the Shadows."

Minato's eyes narrowed. If there had been more like Sakaki, then why hadn't the Kirijo Group known about them? Why weren't there records?

"Did the Kirijo Group not tell you that?" Sakaki asked with a dry smile. "You should have a word with your sponsor, given everything that they are keeping from you."

Minato knew bait when he saw it, and wasn't about to bite. "It's an interesting deviation from the norm, that's all. How do you do it? Is there anything special to the process?"

"I don't know. Hypnos has always been there," Sakaki noted, his arms glowing lightly in the heavy gloom, "and he's always been able to come out when I need him. Easier than with Jin and Chi-chan, it seems. What about you? Why do you use that silly toy when you don't need to?"

Minato shrugged. "I've always needed to use an Evoker. I didn't know I didn't need it until recently, and bad things happen when I don't use one."

The pale man frowned thoughtfully. "Such a shame. All that potential and yet you are hobbled by ignorance and the foolishness of others."

"Potential? You're flattering me now?"

"It's the truth, and perhaps flattery compared to those who hold themselves back." Sakaki paused, his smile growing alongside the intensity in his voice. "You feel it too, don't you? A connection to the Shadows? Not the small ones, they are mice before snakes, but the large ones that stalk the nights when the moon is full."

Minato hedged around the question, not comfortable with where this was going. How could Sakaki have known that when Minato had only told Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai about it? "You feel connected to them? Do they speak to you?"

"Not to me," Sakaki clarified, "but I can understand what they are saying. It seems that I am alone in this, and that drives Jin quite mad. Do you experience the same phenomenon? You're not asking out of ignorance."

"If you can hear them, then why haven't we seen you when we've fought them? Aren't you interested in knowing more?"

"They aren't important," Sakaki replied in a haunting echo of Igor and Pharos. "Once I heard the first few, I didn't need to hear any of the others; they all seem to say the same thing. They're powerful, certainly, but they are just a step toward something bigger. Surely you sense that."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Minato replied, off the cuff and too fast.

"Do you not?" Sakaki inquired, dragging the words out like he knew that Minato was lying. "I have been forthright in my dealings with you, Arisato Minato. I'd appreciate the same courtesy."

"The jury's still out on that. I don't believe you about Ken and Shinjiro-senpai."

"Whether you believe me or not doesn't change the fact that I spared his life for this chance, and I haven't lied to you yet. You do feel it, don't you? You know that there's more than what you've been told, and you want to know the truth that the others keep from you. Instead of seeing the larger picture you are stuck looking at everything through a crack in the door. Doesn't that aggravate you? Don't you want the truth?"

"Jin said the exact same thing when I met him, and then he tried to kill me," Minato pointed out bluntly. "This little meeting aside, I don't know how much of the truth I would get before one of you finished the job. And what proof do you have that the Kirijo Group is keeping this from me deliberately? It could be that they don't know anything after the Shadows destroyed everything ten years ago."

"So many resources, so many people, and no one knows anything? What an odd excuse for them to use."

"Shadows are very good at breaking things and killing people. It's not that much of a stretch. But assuming you're right, and assuming that there is something more to the Shadows, what does it matter to you? You said that even what the Shadows say doesn't interest you, that it's what's behind them that's interesting. Is that all there is to it? Satisfying your curiosity about what's behind that door?"

"Curiosity is a very powerful thing, and that door, to use your analogy, is fascinating. Every time you kill a Shadow, that door opens just a little more." Sakaki chuckled almost gleefully. "There's something waiting on the other side. Something even greater than what we are seeing right now. It will be incredible."

"The Shadows are dangerous and need to be killed," Minato asserted, "and if there's anything that they are connected to, something bigger like you say, then it's going to be even more dangerous. A lot more people are going to be at risk, and if it is a threat to us then we will fight it."

Sakaki laughed, looking over in anticipation. "I look forward to that. I doubt that even you can do anything against it, whatever it turns out to be, but I want to see you try."

The man's fascination with this topic was becoming hard to understand. Did he actually comprehend what the ramifications were of something worse than what was going on in the city already? "You do realize that this is the Shadows we're talking about here, right? You want to see something that they are connected to?"

"Very, very much." The words were spoken with deep, clear relish.

"That's insane."

Sakaki half shrugged and raised a hand. "And why is that such a bad thing in this pathetic world? Men only a little older than you are dying of heart attacks for fear of their supervisor's ire. The Japanese are breeding less and less, apparently so civilized that they have forgotten how to reproduce. How can you want to protect a world that is so... boring? Our passions and insanities are what breed conflict, and conflict keeps things fresh and novel. Consider your young friend, Amada. Do you think he got to where he is because of his sanity? No. His hatred for Aragaki led him to develop a Persona, the very thing that killed his dear dead mother. His hatred pushed him to use you and your friends so he could get his revenge. He could have stayed normal and ignorant, but he denied the foolishness of a normal life and chose the road of power. He's a fool for stopping when he did, but I cannot fault his passion."

"So you said," Minato shot back with a glare. "I hope you don't mind me saying that I think you're full of shit."

"I don't mind at all. Your denial is expected, and it is beautiful in its last moments. Reality will show you otherwise, I promise, and I look forward to speaking to you after you hear it from his own mouth. Or perhaps he will kill himself now that he cannot get his revenge. Either way, it does make for a delicious irony." Sakaki smiled and narrowed his eyes. He walked toward Minato, and Minato set his hand on his Evoker. Sakaki chuckled, his eyes malevolent and ecstatic at once. There was something powerful in him, Like his Persona was looking through his eyes. "Tell me something: what do you feel when you see Hypnos? What whispers do you hear?"

"Nothing," Minato ground out, hackles rising. "Don't you dare–"

Sakaki darted forward, grabbing Minato arm before he could pull his Evoker free. He seemed about to say something, but he was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek that sounded between them. Minato froze, feeling something deep inside him, deeper than his Personas, react to the touch. Hypnos, Sakaki had called it, and the name pulsed in Minato's head like a migraine, reacted to him as something dark, something terrible, shifted. Like a predator shuddering in its sleep.

Minato pulled up enough control to yank back as hard as he could, and the shriek intensified, sending off a blast of raw power that knocked Sakaki back and blew the grime off the nearby walls. The noise echoed down the alleyways, a heavy silence falling between them as Minato fought with the thing inside him. The thing inside him felt like it grumbled, then returned to its slumber. Just its motions gave the impression of something terrifying, and Minato fought to control a deep, sudden dread. "What the hell did you just do to me?!" Minato demanded shakily.

Sakaki grinned, then laughed triumphantly. "Yes! YES! You ARE connected to this! More than connected, you're more than the Shadows! More than what the Kirijo could ever begin to conceive!"

"Tell me what you just did!" Minato shouted, trying to drown the fear with.

"I did nothing," Sakaki told him slowly, grinning all the while. "That was you. It was all you, and Hypnos simply connected to what is lying under the surface, waiting for you to awaken it."

"Cut the shit and stop lying to me, Sakaki!"

"I haven't lied to you at all, and that frightens you, doesn't it? It shouldn't. That power you feel, that which sleeps inside you, it's part of who you are. You'll learn the truth when it comes out, Arisato, and when it does..." Sakaki shuddered liked he was in a state of religious ecstasy. "...It will be glorious."

"There's nothing glorious about this. I don't want this! Any of it!"

"You will. You're still thinking how the Kirijo want you to think. When you see what lies beyond their hollow words, you will understand." Sakaki glanced down the alleyway, smiling sarcastically. "It seems your friends have found you. That little display has them concerned. We will have to end our conversation for today. I look forward to meeting you again."

"Not a chance. Not if that's what you're going to do to me."

"I only tapped into what is already there, Arisato. When it awakens... yes, we will see how you react when it awakens." With a chilling, phantom chuckle he turned and left, his footsteps becoming muffled as he was swallowed by the deep shadows. In a few seconds, he was gone.

Letting out a trembling breath, Minato pushed the alien sensation down. It went unwillingly, like he was pushing down a body that was trying to float to the surface, but eventually it subsided, leaving behind a sense of darkness, like a parting grumble that left Minato feeling cold on the inside. "What was that?" he asked the dark alley. "What the hell's going on?"

"Minato-kun!? Where are you?!" Fuuka called from nearby. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm right here, Fuuka," Minato called back, walking toward her voice after glancing one last time at where Sakaki had been.

She came around the corner, drying blood on her hands and sweat streaking her face. "Thank goodness. Akihiko-senpai told me about you going with Sakaki, and... well, I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm fine. What about Shinjiro-senpai?"

Fuuka trembled, and tears welled up at the name."

Oh no... "Is he...?"

Fuuka didn't answer. Instead she rushed forward and hugged him hard, bawling into his shoulder. Minato left out a shaky breath as he hugged her back, feeling the foreign sensation of tears gathering in his eyes.


The funeral was held at school the next day. Minato didn't know how the Kirijo Group managed to make the necessary changes so quickly, but classes had been interrupted for the afternoon assembly to double as the service for Aragaki Shinjiro. Minato wished he could have done something to help the others, but he'd been awake for the rest of the night fighting with what Sakaki had said, what was sleeping inside him, and how to deal with Ken. The kid's absence and refusal to answer his phone or contact them was an obvious concern to the girls, but Minato had the sinking feeling that Sakaki hadn't been lying. If that was the case, then there were some questions that needed to be answered and a decision to be made about what to do with the kid if they saw him again. He didn't want to believe that maniac, not after he'd killed Shinjiro-senpai, but the evidence was starting to speak for itself.

Minato shifted in the uncomfortable chairs. Kirijo Takeharu was in attendance, having apparently been part of the plans to handle the funeral, and the austere man had been the first to stand and speak about Shinjiro. The speech had been on loyalty and sacrifice, determination and life and had been surprisingly heartfelt given the man's hard demeanour. In spite of such an appropriate send-off, however, their principal still insisted on making speeches that were anything but comforting. Minato rested his hands on his lap, near the wrapped flowers he'd brought, and began to clench them into fists when he heard the snide comments from his classmates around him.

"Aragaki who? Which class was he in?"

"He stopped coming to school ages ago. Easy to forget him; he was a grade-A loser."

"I hear he hung around with the junkies and the hookers in the alleys. He probably died of an overdose."

"Or maybe he caught an infection from some skank."

Junpei hissed under his breath, turning to glare at the speakers and almost rising out of his chair as he did. "Shut the hell up," he growled.

"What's your problem, Iori? Did you know him?"

"We both did," Minato responded, also turning to face the gaggle of idiots. "And he was Akihiko-senpai's best friend. So shut up before we have a problem."

"That a threat, Arisato?"

Minato gave an empty smirk. "Damn right it is."

"Let's see if you can back that up."

"Quiet!" their teacher told them sharply

"Anytime. Bring friends so they can carry you out," Minato instructed, his smirk turning into a cold smile. The expression must have gotten his idea across, because the student who'd been speaking sat back with a snort and the chatter turned to Minato instead of Shinjiro-senpai. Minato found that he could live with that.

"Those who would like to pay their respects may now do so," the principal told them finally. "Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day in honour of our student's passing. That is all."

Minato didn't waste any time in standing up, directly and tactlessly. Junpei was half a second behind him, his face drawn but set and determined. Yukari, Fuuka, Aigis and Mitsuru-senpai also rose, as did several other students whom Minato didn't know. Oddly enough, Akihiko-senpai was nowhere to be found.

Minato went to the stairs leading up to the casket, but let the others go first. Several students grumbled when they had to wait, but the blue-haired student glared at them, daring them to speak. No one did. Fuuka was first, crying into a kerchief and holding a worn-looking book to her chest. She spoke to the body on the casket haltingly, breaking down a bit each time she tried to start, and the most that Minato could get out of what she was saying was that she'd look after the book for him. She stood aside, tears flowing freely.

Yukari's farewell was much shorter. She bowed, tears on her cheeks and her cell phone held in her hand. After her respects she only said, "I'll call her. I promise." Minato had no idea what that was about, but he wasn't going to ask.

Mitsuru-senpai took the longest out of them, standing solemn in a blouse, blazer, pants and boots that were all jet black. She spoke of her appreciation for Shinjiro-senpai helping her in the past, how she knew that he'd always looked out for her and the others, and she ended her words with, "You succeeded, you know. It made a difference in the end, to me and to Akihiko. Thank you for everything you did for us." She bowed respectfully, going over to Fuuka and offering an awkward hand on the girl's shoulder. Fuuka threw her hands around her and started crying her eyes out. Once Senpai's shock wore off, she embraced the girl firmly, a set look on her face.

Aigis said very little. She stood straight and tall and, to the surprise of the others, saluted Shinjiro-senpai as though she were a soldier sending off one of her own. "We will continue on in your absence, Shinjiro-san," she said with surprising gravity. "Rest in peace."

Junpei went up next, jaw clenched. Not solemn or subtle, he spoke through clenched teeth. "We'll find that bastard, Senpai," he vowed, eyes promising bloodshed. "And he's dead when we do. I promise you that. Leave it to us, all right? We'll get him for you." Then he went over to the others, his fists shaking with repressed fury.

Minato was last in line, taking his time as he stepped up to the casket. Shinjiro-senpai's body was under a crisp white sheet, the gruesome wounds he'd sustained at Sakaki's hands hidden for the sake of decorum; it was either that or keep the casket closed. No expense had been spared on the casket itself, a solid piece carved and polished, smelling clean and classy. A fitting tribute to Shinjiro-senpai. Minato stood tall before his comrade, feeling the tears come up again but fighting past them as he set two white flowers, picked from the ones he'd taken home and been raising, on the body. "Like Junpei said, Senpai: we'll find Sakaki and avenge you." Then Minato looked over at the others, feeling their combined pain from where he stood. "And I'll look after them. All of them, Akihiko-senpai included. I can't do anything less now." Not sure what else to say, he let out a shuddering breath before speaking. "Thank you. For everything." The tears fell, the cold sensation still strange on his cheeks. Minato crisply straightened, brought his chin up, set his hands at his sides and bowed in deep respect, more than was necessary at a funeral, and whispered, "Look out for us, Senpai."

Outside, loud enough for some students to look around in confusion, a lone dog howled his grief to the skies. The tone was pained, aching, and several students dabbed at their eyes from the sound. Even Koromaru was saying his farewells.

The teachers and the principal began directing students around, and the auditorium started to empty. "It doesn't seem fair," Fuuka whispered, still holding her book. "He was right here yesterday. How did this happen so fast?"

"It's a bit of a miracle that no one else has died up to now," Yukari noted. "Maybe it was naive to think that our good luck was going to last."

"I surmise that Shinjiro-senpai was satisfied with how his death occurred," Aigis offered. "He was a warrior, and suffering a lasting disease or a lingering demise would not have sat well with him."

"You're probably right," Minato replied. "He'd have wanted to go down fighting."

"Still doesn't make it right," Junpei grated. "Did he really have a chance against Sakaki?"

"Probably not. But you go to war with the forces you have, not the ones you want," Minato told him. "It was a bad situation, and Sakaki took advantage of it. Senpai did the best he could, and he lasted until we got there."

"That's not it though, is it? We can't let it sit like this."

"We won't," Mitsuru-senpai informed them, stepping away from Fuuka. "I have some ideas and some leads. I'm already following them up."

"Good."

"We have to figure out what to do with Ken if he comes back," Minato continued, not looking forward to how that conversation was going to go. "He's part of this too."

Junpei sighed, scratching the back of his head as his anger deflated a little. "How much do you think he was involved?"

"Shinjiro was responsible for the death of Amada's mother," Mitsuru-senpai told them bluntly.

Minato hissed, feeling sick. She didn't know it, but she'd just confirmed what Sakaki had said, and if that madman had been telling the truth about this... Minato pushed his speculations down. If Sakaki was right about everything else, then the problems they were facing were even worse than they seemed right now.

Fuuka looked shocked, and she held the book like she was protecting a child.

"That's impossible!" Junpei protested. "There's no way Shinjiro-senpai would have done that!"

"Are you sure that's accurate, Senpai?" Yukari inquired, sounding tired in spite of her inquisitiveness. "He didn't seem the sort to do something that harsh."

"It wasn't deliberate," Mitsuru-senpai replied. "It was an accidental death rather than a murder. Shinjiro and Akihiko were on a mission, years ago, and Shinjiro lost control. His Persona destroyed a house, and Amada's mother died as a result. The Kirijo Group covered the incident up and we assumed that Amada was taken care of. We're now learning some things to the contrary. It's very possible that Amada has been holding a grudge ever since and he joined SEES in part to gain his revenge."

"Where did you get that information, Senpai?" Minato asked. He couldn't fake surprise or indignation, and he couldn't find the energy to put on an act for the others.

"My father told me this morning," she replied. "I didn't know until now. I wish I had; we could have made some very different decisions before now."

"Did Shinjiro-senpai go out last night knowing that Ken had it out for him?" Junpei asked, incredulous. "Why didn't he tell any of us?"

"Only Akihiko or Amada would know those answers," Mitsuru-senpai replied grimly. "Arisato is correct, however; after this, we need to decide what to do with Amada and whether we can afford the risk of letting him come back to the dorm."

The group was silent, the pall weighing on them even more now. It was several long, uncomfortable moments before Fuuka spoke. "It's silly," she murmured, "but I wish that this was yesterday. Everything seemed much simpler before all this happened."

"That's a sentiment I share," Mitsuru-senpai assured her. "I wish we didn't have to do any of this, but it's a choice we're going to have to make when the time comes."

"What do you think we should do with him?" Yukari asked quietly. "He's just a kid, and he won't last long against the Shadows if we kick him out."

"That's assuming he even comes back. Could be that he took off," Junpei suggested.

"Let's focus on what we can do," Minato told them, trying to push down the rest of what Sakaki said. If Ken was suicidal, then them recovering a corpse instead of dealing with a traitor would be almost as bad for morale. "If we start going in circles, we'll just make a mess of everything. For now let's just work on what we can and handle things as they come. Senpai will get us some answers and we'll see if Amada decides to come back. Aside from that, let's just try and get through this in one piece. Any evening activities are suspended for now; I think we could all use the rest."

There were subdued nods all around, and they went to the shoe lockers to prepare to head back to the dorm. Everyone separated but stayed relatively close to each other. Fuuka and Junpei were talking in a corner, Yukari was looking at her phone and tapping through the menus, and Aigis had gone out the front doors and picked Koromaru up. The white dog whimpered in her arms, getting some gentle strokes in return, but their canine companion seemed to be feeling as low as the rest of them were.

Minato was startled when Mitsuru-senpai held out a kerchief. "In case you need it," she told him quietly.

Minato nodded, feeling his eyes prickle again. It was odd, he thought as he wiped at his eyes; he couldn't remember the last time he'd cried this much. He couldn't recall the last time his tears felt this cold. Had it always been like that?

"Arisato Minato," a man in a pressed black suit said suddenly, seeming to come from nowhere.

"Do you need something?" Minato asked.

"Kirijo Takeharu would like a word with you."

Mitsuru-senpai looked at the man curiously. "Father? Why?"

The man turned a little to address her politely. "He wanted to discuss the day's events, ma'am. Alone, if you don't mind."

Minato nodded. If the Kirijo Group chairman wanted to talk, then this would be a chance to ask some questions of his own. "All right. Where am I meeting him?"

"Please follow me."

"I'll be back," he told Senpai as he passed, getting an uneasy nod in return. Minato followed the man out of the school and down to the street, hesitating as the black door of a polished limousine opened for him. "This is all above board, right?" he inquired, only half joking. "A lot of American horror movies turn bad at this point."

The man cracked a small smile, and there was a trace of humour in his voice. "You have nothing to worry about. This is just a conversation."

"Right," Minato replied slowly before walking over and getting into the vehicle, his guide following him in and closing the door. "Kirijo-san," he said as a greeting, trying not to feel too intimidated as he was flanked by men in suits.

"Arisato," the older man replied gravely, dressed in sober black like his daughter was. The low lighting of the car made him seem older than when they'd met at Yakushima. "I hope that you are holding up well, considering."

"As well as I can, sir," Minato replied, sagging a little. "I can't say I've ever lost a friend like this before."

"And I'd hoped that you'd never have to," Kirijo-san commented with a sigh. "Aragaki didn't deserve to die."

"I agree, sir. The others... aren't taking it well."

"I wouldn't suspect so. Please make sure that they are looked after and that their needs are met. You and Mitsuru will have our full resources to get through this. If anything comes up, you can either talk to her or you can speak to me directly."

"Thank you, sir. I will."

"I heard that you spoke to the man who killed Aragaki," Kirijo-san noted steadily. "That you risked going with him alone to buy time."

"It was all I could think of at the time."

"That was foolish," the man told him bluntly. "You put yourself in jeopardy at a time when your team needed you."

"It was necessary if Shinjiro-senpai was going to have a chance of living," Minato objected.

"That chance wasn't high enough for you to put yourself on the line. From what I hear, you're still not in fighting form."

"Sakaki wanted to talk to me, not kill me," Minato pointed out. "If I'd thought that he was going to ambush me, I wouldn't have taken the chance."

"You're the field leader of the group, Arisato. You can't always do what soothes your conscience. If the others need you, then you have to consider the group first. Even if that means losing one to save the rest, sometimes hard choices have to be made."

Minato wanted to argue the point, but he knew where the man was coming from. Trying to talk to Sakaki had been risky, though less than someone else would believe. There was no way to convince someone of that, however, given the current circumstances. "I hope I never have to make that decision, sir."

Kirijo-san nodded. "As do I. Tell me, what did Aragaki's murderer say?"

Minato took a deep breath and recounted the discussion, not leaving out any details. Kirijo-san didn't interrupt, only asking for clarification on a few points after Minato was finished. "Is he right?" the man asked. "Are you feeling something around the Shadows?"

"Some of them seem to have recognized me," Minato responded, hedging a little. He was sure that Mitsuru-senpai had discussed this at some point, but he didn't want to risk being grounded for suspicion of being a rogue element. "I don't know why or how, and it's not all of them. The two that we fought last night didn't have anything to say at all, so I don't know if it's been a coincidence up to now or what."

Kirijo-san looked contemplative. "And your benefactors, Igor and Elizabeth, don't have anything to add to this?"

Minato blinked, surprised that those names would come up. "How do you know about them, sir?"

"Mitsuru told me about your meeting with them."

That made sense. She was on the ball with this stuff. "I see. Nothing concrete, no. They said that me knowing might change how things are supposed to go, and besides that they told me to just keep doing what I was doing."

Kirijo-san grunted. "A dead end."

"It seems so, and I'm not sure that I trust Sakaki's word on what's going on."

"He's not entirely wrong," Kirijo-san grunted, surprising Minato.

"How do you mean?"

"The children who could summon Personas without Evokers," the man clarified. "He wasn't wrong about them. We learned about them only a few days ago from some reconstructed records. There were others like him, and they are all dead. At the time, only a few could have been called stable, but the rest displayed some horrible mental complications. Schizophrenia, paranoia, psychological dissociation, that sort of thing. Some even displayed a similar incidence to what you did to yourself a few weeks ago, severe internal trauma and eventual death."

Minato felt sick when he thought of the implications. Again, Sakaki had been telling the truth. "Children actually went through something like that?"

"Yes," Kirijo-san affirmed bluntly. " And I take no pride in that, I assure you. My father was a monster, and the world is better with him being dead."

It was strange hearing such blunt honesty from a businessman, but Minato appreciated the candor. "I... yes, sir. Do you know where Sakaki might be getting those drugs he and his comrades are taking?"

"We're tracking them down as we speak. They are unique enough that suppliers should be small in number. I'll get the information to Mitsuru as soon as I hear anything."

"I appreciate it. Could I ask something else?"

"Go ahead."

Minato let out a breath, not wanting to know the answers to his questions but pushing forward anyway. "Is it true that Ken knew that Shinjiro-senpai killed his mother? Did the Kirijo Group know about that?"

"It is. And we did."

That wasn't encouraging. Even if Senpai had said as much, this was confirmation from someone who knew the most out of any of them. "Can I ask why we didn't know that Ken might have been a problem? Given his reasons to hate Shinjiro-senpai, having him on the team at all feels like a needless risk. "

Kirijo-san sighed. "There's quite a story behind that. But you deserve to hear it. Do you know anything about when Aragaki was part of SEES before?"

"Nothing as it related to operations or Tartarus."

The man nodded to himself. "Then I'll start from the beginning. Aragaki joined after Sanada did, and the tests we had at the time showed that he was a suitable candidate for field operations. Looking back on it, those tests were faulty and I suspect that we could have learned more at the time if we could do then what we can now. I suspect that he wasn't as in control as he seemed, and he always fought beside Sanada. They were chasing a Shadow one night and Aragaki lost control. We didn't expect it, and what's worse is that we didn't have the response procedures in place that we do now. Sanada argued to keep Aragaki on, to get him more training and therapy if he needed it, but we didn't even have the chance to assess the damage before Aragaki left SEES and started living on the streets. The guilt had gotten the better of him and he cut all ties with us."

Minato didn't know what sorts of response procedures could stop a Persona that was out of control, but he wasn't sure he wanted an answer in the first place. "Did anyone try getting him back on the team?"

"Sanada did," Kirijo-san confirmed. "Many times. He never succeeded. I was surprised when I heard that Aragaki agreed to join you this time. We'd written him off years ago."

"Akihiko-senpai talked about Ken joining, and that seemed to persuade Shinjiro-senpai to come back," Minato recalled. "Now that I think about it, it would make sense for Shinjiro-senpai to come back if he felt responsible for Ken's situation. I always thought that Mitsuru-senpai knew what had happened though."

Kirijo-san shook his head. "She didn't. She was working with her Persona when Aragaki lost control, training to become stronger so she could help them. Ikutsuki and I were the first ones to hear about it, and we controlled the damage as best we could. I only told her the truth this morning."

Minato couldn't imagine that Senpai had taken such an important detail very well. "Can I ask why she didn't know?"

"It wasn't from a lack of trying," the man noted dryly. "I think she always knew that there was a problem with our explanation, but I swore Ikutsuki to secrecy and never told her. Sanada kept his mouth shut as well, I suspect because he saw Aragaki as a brother and wanted to keep his secret. I kept her from knowing because it was the only thing I could think of at the time."

"She's your daughter, so I can understand what you mean."

"She didn't deserve it back then, though now I wonder if I should have told her."

Minato shifted in his seat before saying what was on his mind next. "Respectfully, we might have been able to predict this if we'd known those details. I'm surprised that you allowed Ken to join the group if you knew that he had a grudge against Shinjiro-senpai."

"I suspected that he might and I had him vetted as thoroughly as I could," Kirijo-san said grimly. "Ikutsuki ran him through the tests twice and said that he'd passed. I was suspicious as well, but the results I saw didn't suggest that Amada would be a liability."

"I could tell that he was hiding something when I talked to him, sir," Minato pointed out, trying not to sound condescending. "It seems strange that professionals couldn't tell that much about him. Are you sure your shrinks were thorough?"

"We knew that he was keeping his family matters to himself," Kirijo-san clarified, "but Ikutsuki reported no problems where Aragaki was concerned. His combat abilities were above par and he seemed mentally stable at the time. You mentioned that you knew he was lying. We put him through a battery of tests to be sure and Ikutsuki cleared him. I admit that I had my own reservations about the matter, but when Amada started to show competency, I assumed that the reports were telling the truth. Perhaps what we're seeing now is evidence that Amada was lying to Ikutsuki, and to the rest of you as well, the entire time."

"I don't like saying it, but at this point I wouldn't put it past him."

"We felt that he was a safe bet," Kirijo-san concluded unhappily. "It seems that we were wrong. Not only from a psychological perspective, but also regarding his reliability on the team. If he ran from Aragaki and Sakaki, then he shouldn't be in the field."

"I agree, and that's going to be a subject of discussion if he comes back. He won't fight unless we're all certain that he'll be an asset."

"Good."

Minato let out a long breath, feeling everything in the last twelve hours press together and weigh in on him. "Pardon me for saying so, sir, but this situation is pretty fucked up. Losing Shinjiro-senpai, Ken taking off, and the others don't know how to take this. If Ken does come back, that might actually make things even worse than if he didn't."

Kirijo-san smiled. "I agree, your situation has the potential to be even more fucked up than it is now. You'll have to handle it properly if he does come back, as well as if he doesn't. That's the burden of being a leader. Same as not risking yourself without thinking of the consequences." Kirijo-san sobered a bit and leaned forward. "But remember that you're not handling this all alone. Mitsuru will be there to help you, and I'll assist however I can. I'm sure Sanada will back your decisions as well.

Minato nodded in gratitude. "I appreciate it."

"Speaking of Mitsuru," the man continued, a small smile appearing on his face, "I have some questions of my own."

"Of course."

Kirijo-san's eye narrowed a bit, and his smile became a bit icy. "I understand that you are expressing a romantic interest in her. That you've been taking her out on dates."

Minato cleared his throat, not expecting the sudden shift in topic. The collar of his shirt suddenly felt too tight and he squirmed a bit in his seat. He'd never had to speak to the father of a girl he was seeing, and he didn't even have the luxury of running now. "That's... that's correct, sir."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I like her," Minato answered, trying to think of what responses would be most suitable, but also the most sincere. "She's an impressive girl, and she's a lot of fun to be with."

Kirijo-san's eyes narrowed. "Fun. Is that it?"

"No, I... I don't mean it like that," Minato assured him, trying to find his words and calm himself down; even the Shadows didn't make him this tense. "What I mean is that I enjoy our time together. It's not just going out with her, there's something more than that, and it's not because of who she is– I mean it is, but..." He gave a disgusted sigh, knowing he was sounding like an idiot. "I don't know if I can explain it."

"How do you feel about her?" Kirijo-san asked steadily. "Is she just a friend?"

"She's always been a friend, sir. She might have been one of my first when I moved here. But the dates and everything, those are... more than that. I think."

"You're not sure?"

"I don't have anything to compare it to, I'm afraid. I haven't dated much since I got here."

Kirijo-san grunted.

"But I do want to see her happy," Minato hastily assured him, "if that helps. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"I suspect that she would make you regret it if you did."

Minato smiled at the thought. Such a thing would probably involve her sword and a thorough trouncing in the sparring ring, and that was if he was lucky. "Without a doubt."

"Except that she hasn't, has she?"

"No, sir."

Kirijo-san sighed, leaning back and rubbing his face. "It's not easy hearing that she's become interested in dating. I've wanted her to be a normal girl since that bastard pushed her to manifest a Persona, but now that she's acting like one..."

Minato didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.

"She's been making friends since you moved here, connecting with the other girls and growing even more than I'd hoped. I thought it was a coincidence at the time, but it seems there's more to it than not." The man gave Minato a hard stare, the eye patch amplifying the effect. "She trusts you, perhaps more than she's trusted anyone else. Do not make her regret it, or you'll have to answer to both of us."

"Hurting her is the last thing I want to do, sir," Minato promised as sincerely as he could. "You have my word."

Kirijo-san took a moment to respond. "Regardless of where this interaction of yours goes, I hope that you will help her. These nights have been hard on you, but they're also weighing on her and you might be the only one who understands how much. Help her, however you can."

"I will. Senpai helped me out when I moved here and she's always been in my corner, even with all this stuff with Sakaki and the Shadows. I'll help her as much as I can until this is over."

"Then that's all I can ask. Thank you for looking after her, Arisato." The man inclined his head in what seemed like a bow, as much as the car and the seats would allow.

Minato felt an added layer of responsibility at the words, but also a lightening of the load. It was probably premature to say that he had Kirijo-san's blessing regarding Mitsuru-senpai, but the man at least knew about them and hadn't thrown him out of the vehicle at full speed on the highway. "Of course, sir."

Kirijo-san leaned back again, looking as serious and solid as ever. "If you have no further questions, then our business is concluded. Remember what I said: you have help if you need it."

"I won't forget, and thank you."

Kirijo-san nodded in parting and leaned back, looking out the window as Minato exited the limo. The transfer student closed the door firmly but quietly and stepped back as it pulled away. He let out a breath, trying to process everything that had happened, and then turned to find the others.

Except that there were a dozen of his classmates circled around him, watching with full interest and no shame. "Why did Kirijo-san want to talk to you, Arisato?" one girl asked.

"Maybe he did something to offend Mitsuru-senpai?"

"Offend her. Yeah, probably because he's two-timing her with that blonde girl."

"Is that true, Arisato? Are you and Mitsuru-senpai going out?"

Minato deflated a bit even as his lips pulled up in a begrudging smile. After everything that had happened since yesterday, after seeing one of his companion lying dead in a casket, the familiar ridiculousness of his classmates was strangely comforting right now. He could handle this. He could work with this. "Kirijo-san was just offering me a job," Minato replied with as much false sincerity as he could project. "It seems he's scouting for high school talent these days and he was asking for my input."

One of the students scoffed. "And he'd care about your opinion because...?"

"Because he knows that I'm always honest about my observations. Especially where my peers are concerned." About half of the assembled students laughed and brushed him off, but several seemed to take him seriously enough to ask for more details. "The most I can say is that they're looking for people who excel in specific fields, and they usually contact you instead of taking applications. If you stand out, maybe they'll call."

The remaining students nodded and departed, talking excitedly about their course of action and wondering if the Kirijo were offering scholarships. Minato rested on a bench and looked up at the clear sky, feeling, just a little, like things had gone back to normal since he'd fought Metis. He carried his good humour with him as he found the others, and as they made their way back to the dorm, he took Mitsuru-senpai's hand and firmly held it. She squeezed in response and gave him a smile that was drawn but sincere. Minato blushed a bit but made the most of the moment. As much as the last day had tested them, and in spite of what they still had to deal with, he believed that they'd get through it together.


None of them seemed to sleep well that night, and it was somber in the dorm when Akihiko-senpai came through the door after noon the day after the funeral. Fuuka and Yukari immediately dressed him down for making them worry while Mitsuru told him to answer his phone if he was going to stay away. Junpei and Koromaru welcomed him back with open arms and the mood lifted considerably until Akihiko-senpai came over to where Minato was sitting on one of the arms of the couch.

"We're good to keep fighting, right?" Senpai asked, seeming set and determined.

Minato wanted to let the matter slide. He wanted things to go back to normal, but he couldn't. Something that Kirijo-san told him came to mind and Minato knew that he couldn't ignore the problems inside the team if he wanted everyone to keep going. "That depends. Is there anything else you haven't told us?"

Akihiko-senpai straightened and looked at him warily. "Meaning what?"

"You knew about Ken and Shinjiro-senpai having a past, didn't you?" Minato inquired directly, not pussyfooting around the issue. "You were there when everything with Ken's mother went down. You knew there might be problems, but you recruited Shinjiro-senpai anyway. That's like playing with a loaded gun."

Mitsuru-senpai was stone-faced in the exchange, watching like she was waiting her turn. Fuuka and Yukari looked uncomfortable but didn't leave while Junpei scratched the back of his head, clearly uncertain of which side he was supposed to take. Even Aigis stayed silent, content to watch the two.

"Shinji was living with that crap since it happened," Akihiko-senpai answered firmly. "He needed to face it, or he wasn't going to get any better."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "So this is better? He's dead now, Senpai."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Akihiko-senpai hissed. "That's my best friend lying in a casket, Arisato. Don't talk to me like I don't know that he's dead."

"Then why didn't you tell us?" Minato brought up, not flinching or backing down. "If we'd known there was a problem, we could have handled it or grounded Ken or talked to them or done something. We're down two people now, we all lost a friend over something that could have been prevented if someone had talked about it."

"Shinji's always handled things head on," Akihiko-senpai pointed out. "I doubt you could have stopped him."

Minato growled. His senpai was dodging the matter, treating it like it was done and over with. Minato knew that they had to clean this problem up before they could move forward. "That's not the point. What about the rest of us? What if we'd been dragged into this as well? What if someone else had died there? Would you covering for him have been worth it then?"

Akihiko-senpai drew himself up and glared. "You weren't there when it happened, Arisato. There's a lot you don't know. Don't try throwing your weight around."

"There's a lot that I do know, actually," Minato shot back, pushing off the couch and stepping up to his senpai without fear. "From Kirijo-san, from Sakaki, and the thing that kills me is that I didn't know any of it before now. Also, don't complain about me throwing my weight around. You made me the field leader of SEES when I joined up. That's not just window dressing, Senpai; that means that I'm in charge where everyone's concerned. I'm sorry that you lost a friend, but I don't care if you think it needed to be done. If there's anything that concerns the rest of us, anything that can put us in danger or hinder our operations, I want to know about them. Not after they blow up in our faces, not after someone dies, but right now. Otherwise we can't trust each other out there, and we can't afford that."

The two glared at each other, earning murmurs from the others until Akihiko-senpai sighed and nodded. "This wasn't how I wanted things to end up. I thought he'd work it out with Amada, that he'd find some way of fixing that mess. Sakaki being there didn't help."

"That's not an excuse," Minato pointed out. He hated twisting the knife like this, but the idea of losing anyone else wasn't just a possibility anymore. "We've known about Strega for months and they hit us once before. That's why we operate as a team."

"I know, and I was pissed when Shinji took off on his own like that. But that's not an excuse. I hear you, and there's nothing else to hide now."

Minato nodded before turning to the others. "Good. That goes for all of us, too. If there's a problem, anything that can affect how we work at night, then talk to me or Mitsuru-senpai. Even if it's secret, even if it's embarrassing, I don't want to have to go to any other funerals."

The others nodded, some grimly, and Akihiko-senpai turned to their red-haired leader. "Did you have anything to add?"

"I know this isn't easy for you, so I'll save it for later," she replied rather coldly. "I just hope that all of this was worth it."

Akihiko-senpai grunted but didn't protest. Even though those two knew each other the longest out of anyone in the group, Minato didn't envy Akihiko-senpai for that promised conversation. He wasn't sure that he even wanted to be on the same floor when it happened.

"And I'd like to emphasize what Arisato said," she continued, speaking to the others. "We need to stand together in this. There are still fights ahead of us and challenges to deal with, perhaps harder now than ever before. I want everyone to get through their fights alive, and that means that we need to work as a team. We can't take risks for personal vendettas or be distracted by our own grudges, no matter what they are."

There were nods all around, and while things weren't as bad as before, there was still a pall in the dorm. Everyone went about their usual activities with less energy, and Minato was beginning to dread what would happen if a crisis kicked up right now. Their usual cohesion was missing, and he very much hoped that their problems could be solved with some answers and some rest.

They had gathered for dinner early that night, and the conversations were beginning to sound a bit more normal when there was a timid knock at the door. Curious looks went around the table, but Koromaru's gleeful barking made Minato's eyes narrow.

Ken had returned, coming in and shifting awkwardly.

"Ken-kun," Fuuka said as a greeting when they all went over to greet him, half-circling their comrade. "Are you okay?"

"I... I didn't have anywhere else to go," the boy admitted, looking exhausted and haunted. "I wasn't sure where I should go or where I could sleep, so..."

"Can we at least give him a place to rest?" Yukari asked, looking at Minato and Mitsuru-senpai. "I know we said that we'd discuss his place on the team, but would one night hurt that much?"

"That depends on what actually happened when Shinjiro-senpai died," Minato told them coldly. "We have a place for our team members, but not for traitors."

Ken jerked like he'd been hit, but he said nothing while looking at the floor.

"That's pretty harsh, Minato-kun," Yukari protested. "Ken-kun had motive, sure, but we don't know if he actually went after Shinjiro-senpai."

It turned Minato's stomach to have to think of what Sakaki said, but he didn't have a choice. "Someone knows those details. And if he's right, then this isn't as simple as it seems."

"Are you talking about Sakaki?" Junpei asked, incredulous. "Dude, you know that you can't take what that asshole says as the truth. He killed Shinjiro-senpai! Right, senpai?" Junpei looked to Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai, but both had cold expressions on their faces.

"If he's right, then he's right," Minato replied firmly, hating himself for even entertaining this notion. But he had to know. "My concerns are about the team's safety, and if Ken is a threat to that, if he contributed to Shinjiro-senpai's death, then that needs to be addressed right now."

"That's some crappy timing though. You want to do this when it's still raw?"

"Yes."

"What is your argument, Arisato?" Mitsuru inquired steadily, her voice neutral. "Let's hear all sides of the argument before we make any decisions.

"I'll let Ken go first. I want to hear his side of the story. All of it, from why he joined us to why he left the dorm to why he wasn't helping Shinjiro-senpai fight Sakaki off."

"To be fair, Ken-kun still isn't fit for fighting on his own," Fuuka pointed out. "Sakaki's very powerful and very dangerous. You said so yourself."

"I agree, he is frightening," Minato conceded. "He's crazy and he's strong and that's enough to scare anyone. If that's the reason, Ken, then let's hear it. I wouldn't blame you if he scared you that much, but I want to hear it all. No more lies."

Everyone looked at Ken, some with hopeful expectation, others with expressions that were almost condemning. He looked at them all, flinched from some, and then opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He tried again, but clenched his teeth and hung his head, saying nothing.

Minato waited, but when it was clear that Ken wasn't going to talk, he stepped forward and began speaking. "Nothing to say? Then I'll start. For some reason, you and Shinjiro-senpai left the dorm on a night when we faced not one but two Shadows. You didn't tell us why or what the problem was. You just left us to face them without any extra support. Sakaki ambushed you and Shinjiro-senpai fought back, but instead of contacting us, instead of helping or sticking around to see if you could heal him after he took a bullet to the chest, you took off. Am I right so far?"

Ken clenched his hands into fists and nodded, but still didn't look up or say anything. Yukari stepped back and let out a tense breath. Fuuka's hopeful expression began to fade, and Akihiko-senpai's teeth were grating.

"I talked to Kirijo-san today," Minato continued, making sure that he had his ideas in order and trying to not sound too accusatory. "He told me about what happened to your mother. It seems that Shinjiro-senpai killed her when his Persona went out of control, and instead of telling us about that so we could try and fix the situation, instead of letting us know so that someone else might not get caught up in your problems, you lied on your psych reports, lied to all of us, and had an axe to grind with him. And rather than getting help, you kept lying to us until the other night, the anniversary of your mother's death. Did you leave the dorm with the intention to attack him?"

"Do you know that he was lying?" Yukari asked. "Ken-kun's not the only one who didn't like the Kirijo Group when he joined, and the difference between him lying and someone else not giving the right information is pretty big."

Minato nodded, glad that, at least so far, no one was giving in to knee-jerk denials. "I caught him in it more than once. You'll have to work harder at it if you want to make a career out of it, Ken." The rebuke made the boy flinch, and some of the others winced but said nothing. "There's the question of why you didn't fight when Sakaki attacked. Maybe you were afraid, and some of us wouldn't blame you for that. Maybe Shinjiro-senpai told you to stay away, but if that was the case then I don't know why you didn't call us or come find us or do something to let us know what was going on." Ken turned his head, shivering but still silent. "Or maybe, and this isn't something I want to believe, you left it because Shinjiro-senpai being dead was why you went there, so if he died fighting, you'd still get what you wanted."

"That's too extreme, Minato-kun," Fuuka protested. "Ken-kun's not a cold-blooded murderer. He wouldn't leave Shinjiro-senpai out to dry like that."

"Like I said, I don't want to believe that myself. But I was there, Fuuka. Ken didn't fight and wasn't going to even at the end, and when Senpai was dying right in front of him, he ran instead of helping even when Akihiko-senpai and Junpei and I showed up. That doesn't look good." Minato looked at the boy expectantly. "If I'm wrong, Ken, you can tell me anytime."

"I... it's..." he choked out, but said nothing else.

Minato shook his head, disappointment and anger beginning to twist in his stomach like food poisoning. "The rest comes from Sakaki, so stop me if I'm wrong. He said that you went after Shinjiro-senpai for revenge, that you wanted to kill him for what he did. He also said that you were going to kill yourself after you were done. Was he wrong?"

The others flinched. "That's ridiculous!" Fuuka and Yukari argued.

Junpei nodded angrily. "That's too far. That's Sakaki talking. It's bullshit and you know it."

"What do you think, Aigis?" Minato asked. She was the only one who hadn't expressed an opinion yet, seeming content on observing.

"Depression over a lost loved one can increase thoughts of revenge and suicide by as many as two standard deviations," the android noted. "I do not know if Ken-san can be considered to fall into that category, however. I would prefer to hear more evidence before I form an opinion.

"Fair enough. Senpai? Anything to add?"

"You're doing fine for now," Mitsuru-senpai told him shortly, her knuckles white as her arms crossed her stomach. "Continue."

"Keep going," Akihiko-senpai added, his eyes and tone becoming brittle with anger. Fuuka and Junpei seemed about to protest, but he glared them down without another word.

Minato turned to the boy, who looked more and more like a prisoner about to be sent to death row. "Was Sakaki wrong?" No answer, not even a shake of the head. Minato very much wanted to think that his enemy was trying to screw with them, but that hope was beginning to feel more and more empty. "I'm asking you a question, Ken. It doesn't look good if you don't give us an answer. Was he wrong?"

Ken choked out one word, and the air in the room froze. "N...no."

The others shied away from him, looking at him in horror. Nausea hit Minato, and he could hear Sakaki's mocking laughter in his ears. He clenched his teeth, the anger starting to build, and pushed out the next question. "Was Sakaki wrong about any of this? Was he lying?"

The boy shook his head morbidly, looking like he wanted to sink into the floor. Akihiko-senpai looked away, a furious hiss of breath coming out between clenched teeth. Mitsuru-senpai glared at the boy, the angriest that Minato had ever seen her. Junpei looked like the wind had dropped from his sails, staring at Ken in growing realization mixed with pity and disgust. Even Yukari was silent, a hand to her temple as she seemed to be trying to work things out.

"Why?" Fuuka asked in a horrified whisper. "What could be so bad that you'd even think of killing yourself?"

"The resources of the Kirijo Group are open to all of us, Amada. Yourself included," Mitsuru-senpai told him coldly. "If you were having such problems that you were considering suicide, you should have spoken to us."

"It wouldn't have mattered," the boy protested, finally able to speak. "I've talked to people, I've tried therapy. It doesn't work. The feelings, the nightmares, they're always there no matter what I do."

Minato snorted. "So instead of talking to us about this or bringing it up with Ikutsuki so that you could get some help, maybe do something about Shinjiro-senpai that didn't involve a funeral, you bottled it up and kept it to yourself. Tell me something: is this why you haven't been able to fight? All those problems, wanting revenge, was that affecting your Persona?"

"It... kind of," Ken admitted in a small voice.

"So because of your own problems and your refusal to get any help, you could have lost control and hurt someone," Minato pointed out, "maybe killed one of us, just like Shinjiro-senpai did to your mother."

Ken recoiled, looking up in horror.

Minato felt a smile cross his lips. Evidently someone hadn't thought it all through. "Do you see how that works, Ken? Things like this don't stay locked in a corner. They spread, they fester, until they're everywhere. That's why we handle them before they become an issue, because now not only do we know that your judgment is impaired, but you're also not ready to fight beside us. What if something had gone wrong before now? Would your revenge have been worth hurting one of us?"

"You don't get it..." Ken whispered, his eyes beginning to harden. "You don't know what it's like. The pity, the nightmares, all the crap I've put up with. Every time someone tries to help, it just gets worse. You wouldn't know that, though. You have no idea what's happened in my life."

"And I don't care," Minato shot back coldly. "Its sucks that your life's been hard, but I don't care about that right now. You put all of us in danger by lying to join us. You held a grudge that led to the death of someone on our team. You bailed on him when you could have done something to help, and now you expect us to help you because you're having family trouble? Because you're somehow special?"

"I didn't tell you because you wouldn't have cared," Ken muttered moodily, "like you aren't right now."

Minato snorted, feeling like he wanted to smack the kid for his attitude. "I would have cared before your problems had a body attached to them, Ken. We would have helped you before. But a hard life isn't an excuse. All of us have had one. My parents and sister are dead. Akihiko-senpai and Shinjiro-senpai are orphans. We've all had a shitty hand dealt to us, and we've all handled it better than holding grudges and abandoning people."

"I didn't abandon him!" Ken shouted, staring up at them. "He got shot and he was bleeding and... I couldn't help him. He killed Mom, but then he said that he was dying because of the drugs he was taking, and I... I couldn't kill him. He told me to do it, and I couldn't. I wanted to kill him every since I figured out that he did it, but when I tried, I stopped."

"So those drugs were dangerous after all," Mitsuru-senpai murmured. "I wish I'd known that."

"Sakaki said that he'd be dead in a few years even if I didn't do anything, but they were fighting, and..." Ken broke down, knees buckling and tears flowing. "I didn't want him to die. I just wanted the nightmares to stop. I wanted Mom to not have died for nothing, to beat the thing that killed her, but now... I..."

The mood dropped and people began to shift as the boy wept, the sound weak and broken and pathetic. Minato let his pity die at the hands of his anger, however. "That's not enough, Ken," he said softly. "How do we know that you're not still holding a grudge? How do we know that this isn't an act? Even if you regret things now, that doesn't mean that we can trust you."

Aigis raised her hand. "May I advocate for the devil, Minato-san?"

Some of them laughed raggedly at her butchering of the wording, and Minato nodded. "The wording is 'play devil's advocate,' Aigis. But go ahead."

"If the concern has been that Ken-san would kill Shinjiro-san, then reliability regarding his dedication to SEES should not be in question. With Shinjiro-san deceased, Ken-san cannot do it again, so his prior intentions are irrelevant, correct?"

"It's not just about Shinjiro-senpai," Minato replied, turning back to the boy. "It's about the rest of us. How do we know that you're not blaming the Kirijo Group for covering up your mother's death? How do we know that you won't break down later and attack us because you can't kill Shinjiro-senpai anymore? And assuming that you're telling the truth about all that, why should we trust someone who thinks so little of his own life that he would end it to run away? That's not someone we need watching our backs in the field."

"I don't want to leave," Ken protested, a quiet, wet sound.

"We can't just throw him onto the streets," Yukari told them. "I'm not defending the stuff about him lying or hating Shinjiro-senpai, but does he deserve to be kicked out?"

"We're here to fight Shadows," Akihiko-senpai responded coldly. "Even if we ignore the stuff about Shinji, the problem remains that he's not an asset to the team if he can't fight. He shouldn't be here if he's not going to help us."

"It's also a question of security," Mitsuru-senpai added. "If Amada stays here but can't fight, then he's at risk from the Shadows any time that we go to Tartarus. He'll be here on his own, and we cannot split up to protect him if he can't protect himself. He'd be a liability in that case, and we cannot afford that."

"We shouldn't just kick him out," Fuuka commented, tears in her eyes. "Even with everything going on, Ken-kun's our friend. He's helped us as best he can, and perhaps he isn't suited to fight, but that doesn't stop him from being one of us, does it?"

"You're pitying him," Minato noted. "Ken already said that he hates that, so it doesn't help things."

"C'mon man," Junpei replied, "give the kid a break. It's been a shitty few days, so couldn't we at least talk about this tomorrow with clearer heads?"

"Tomorrow doesn't answer where he's going to sleep tonight," Minato pointed out.

"From a tactical perspective, is such a decrease in manpower acceptable?" Aigis asked. "Even if Ken-san's combat skills are below our own, he is still a Persona-User with some experience fighting the Shadows. If he is dismissed from the team, then we will face greater risks in our combat scenarios."

"Can we risk that we won't be injured in the field because of him?" Akihiko-senpai shot back. "If he loses control and takes one of us out with him, then we're really screwed."

Mitsuru-senpai stepped forward, clearing her throat to end the discussion. "I have a proposal," she told them clearly. "Arisato has presented a case against Amada, and his points are valid. However, we operate as a group, and I can see that some of you have reservations about removing Amada from SEES. The security of the team is paramount. Without ensuring that everyone is able to fight, then we risk people being injured or killed. On the other hand, each of us is also an individual, and we all have our opinions and desires. With the hopes of making the best choice for everyone, here is what I want to enact: Amada will be put under the care of the Kirijo Group at a separate location, complete with housing and medical care, and he will be tested more thoroughly than he has been up to now. This will include mandatory counselling to ensure that any of his psychological problems, both those surrounding his mother as well as anything caused by the trauma of the other night, are addressed. He will also receive more training with a Persona so that our concerns regarding his competence in the field are resolved. If he should complete the therapy and the training and he is deemed to be an asset, then he will be welcome to return and fight besides us. If he proves unreliable, or if his assessors feel that he is not suited to join us, then he will not and the Group will make a decision at that point regarding his welfare."

"Where would he be taken?" Yukari asked.

"I don't know yet, but for the interests of everyone involved, I feel that keeping him close would be most effective. He will have to deal with his problems, and that is best done in places he is familiar with. Also, should his schedule permit it, any one of us will be allowed to visit him for social support."

Yukari nodded, letting out a tense breath. "I can get behind that."

"So can I," Fuuka added. "I couldn't sleep at night if we didn't at least try to help him."

"The assessments will not be easy," Mitsuru-senpai informed them flatly. "And this is not a charity. He will be tested and his circumstances will be considered to the greatest degree possible."

"I think that's fair," Junpei chimed in. "Ditching him now feels like something Strega would do, and we're better than them."

Minato didn't point out that Strega's tactics up to now had been very effective. "That suits me, Senpai, so long as we've learned from the previous mistakes and make absolutely sure that he's where he needs to be."

"I've taken that into account, Arisato. I will make sure of it personally."

"Then here's to hoping that it works out this time."

"I also support this course of action," Aigis told them, "and should Ken-san require a sparring partner, I would like to offer my services in testing his Persona's strength."

That brought a weak chuckle from the group, even from the boy who was looking up at them with conflicting emotions.

"What about you, Akihiko?" the redhead asked

"It's better than kicking him to the curb," the young boxer noted shortly.

"No hard feelings?"

"Plenty," he grunted, "but Ken's not the only one who screwed up here."

Mitsuru-senpai nodded and turned to them. "I welcome any discussion on the matter, but if there are no objections then I will make the arrangements right now."

Ken smiled weakly, looking around with what seemed like a measure of relief. "Could I stay here for tonight?"

She shook her head. "The sooner that you get started on this, the sooner we will know whether you belong here. So my answer to that is 'no.' If your situation improves, then we will see."

Ken rose and sniffled, dabbing at his eyes and giving her a shaky smile. "Thank you, Senpai."

Mitsuru's tone turned hard. "Bear in mind that this is not clemency. I'm giving you an opportunity to succeed, but it's also an opportunity to fail, and you will be treated accordingly depending on where you go from here."

"I understand that. Thank you for the opportunity."

She nodded politely. "You are welcome. You should get ready to leave, get what you need out of your room. My people will be here shortly."

"I will." When he gave his thanks and said his farewells to the others, he came over to where Minato stood. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I let you down, Senpai. I'll try and do better."

"Whether you get anywhere or not depends on how much effort you put in from this point on," Minato replied shortly. "If you're serious about helping us, then prove it with your actions."

"I'll try," Ken responded, sounding exhausted and far less certain of himself than he tried to appear." And I'll try to show you that you can trust me, too."

Minato smirked a little. On one hand, it was easy to be cynical when so much had gone wrong so quickly. It was easy to blame Ken for the problems that had come about because of his vendetta. But on the other hand, Minato saw glimpses of the iron will that had begun to harness the power of a Persona, and he knew that if Ken did get better instead of worse, he'd be a force to be reckoned with. Not willing to get his hopes up too high, Minato just replied, "Focus on what's in front of you and do what you have to. We'll see where you go from there."


For the third night in a row, Minato was still awake as the Dark Hour approached. He'd napped after picking at his cold dinner, but months of fighting at night had trained his body to rise to consciousness in the few minutes before midnight, whether he wanted to or not. He rose from his bed and walked to his window, watching the empty city bathed in the light of the now-waning moon. There was something beautiful about the stillness as autumn approached, an edge in the air that harkened the approach to a cold winter. Minato tried to think of the happy times he'd had in the snow with his sister, but his thoughts kept returning to the past few days. Shinjiro-senpai, the casket, the fight with Ken all replayed themselves in his head and taunted him with Sakaki's voice until he clenched his fists to push them away.

"Hello, Big Brother," the familiar voice greeted him from his bed. Minato turned to address Pharos, but something was very different this time. It felt like he could pick out the boy's outline in the gloom, like he knew where Pharos was even before he laid eyes on him. "Is everything okay? You seem different now."

"It's been a bad few days," Minato admitted after a moment, still uneasy. Pharos's voice felt like an echo across his soul, stirring his Personas but not waking them up. Which was odd, Minato realized, given how they reacted to everything else around him. In fact, Minato wasn't even sure that he was only hearing Pharos with his ears now. "A friend of mine died a few days ago."

Pharos's smile waned into a mix of sorrow and thoughtfulness. "Died? That's unfortunate. Losing friends... that must be difficult."

Minato raised an eyebrow. "You've never lost friends before?"

"None except you," the boy replied. "I don't think I've had any friends besides you before. I'm sorry if it hurts."

Minato shrugged, not wanting to delve into his twisting emotions. "I'll manage."

Pharos hopped off the bed and walked over, looking up discerningly. "Will you? You're not the same as you were before. Was it the argument you had earlier tonight?"

Minato blinked in surprise. "How would you know about that?"

"I know a lot about you," Pharos told him almost happily, "and it's clear that something's on your mind. The one who ran from your dying friend. Everything was resolved, but you're still angry at him, aren't you? It's okay, you can tell me."

"You've never commented on my problems before. I didn't think you cared about stuff like that. What's changed?"

The boy shrugged, his clothes seeming brighter in the green of the Dark Hour. "They've never bothered you enough to bring up. Not the blonde machine, or the Shadows, or all the stuff at school. It's all been there, but this is the first time it's really gotten to you, and I can feel it from here."

That was an odd observation to make. Considering the direction things were going in, it would have been far weirder if he hadn't felt anything. "There have been plenty of things that have bothered me before, Pharos."

"Then maybe you've been holding them back until now. Or perhaps you've changed. Aside from your friend dying, is there anything else that's bothering you? Maybe something else happened."

If Pharos knew about Shinjiro-senpai and Ken, then the only other thing that had changed was the meeting with Sakaki and the... whatever had happened there. Minato's eyes narrowed. Sakaki had affected him on the level of his Personas, and Pharos was suggesting that something there had changed. Did Pharos operate on the levels of his Personas? Or was he just that observant? Odds were good that the kid wouldn't answer his questions directly, and Minato had other things to do this time. "There's something I want to ask you," Minato told the boy. "Why don't you show up when the others are around?"

Pharos blinked, then smiled disarmingly. "We've talked about this before. They're not important to what's going on right now. You are, so I talk to you."

"It seems like everyone's telling me that no one else matters," Minato noted slowly, staring hard at the boy, "that I'm the only important one here."

"Then you should probably start listening to them," Pharos chuckled. "They know what they're talking about."

"That's not good enough. My friends are important to me, so it only makes sense that I keep them in the loop." Before Pharos could respond, Minato focused his eyes on the boy and called, "Senpai!"

The door opened and Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai came in, both looking around. Except they looked right past where Pharos was perched on his bed. "Is he here?" she asked, sounding a bit bewildered. "You said that he disappears at times. Did he escape?"

Minato growled a little as he stared at the boy, whose smile turned into a mischievous grin. "You're doing that, aren't you? What's wrong? I wouldn't have expected you to have stage fright."

"They're not important, Brother," Pharos insisted, almost sounding chiding. "I told you as much."

"I want them to see you. It might help prove that I'm not just going crazy." Though he had to look crazy right now, talking to a person in his room that his senpai couldn't see. "They stayed up just to meet you, so shouldn't you introduce yourself?"

"I don't think that's necessary," Pharos said in parting.

Minato felt the shift in his soul, like a current was reversing and flowing back into him. He didn't know why it felt like that, or why he hadn't felt it before, but he clenched his fists and slammed down on it, stopping the sensation as he pushed back. "No," he grated out. "You're not running this time."

Pharos struggled in response, surprise showing on his face as he staggered back. "Brother?"

"You can stay here for a little longer," Minato told him coldly. "We're not done yet."

Mitsuru-senpai looked over, concern in her eyes. "Arisato, what's wrong?"

Pharos panted in effort, seeming to push against Minato's force of will. Pushing and failing. He fell back against the bed, letting out a breath of defeat as his legs gave out. Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai jumped in surprise, apparently able to see him now. "You're not running away this time," Minato established, straightening and glaring at the boy. "I want some answers about all this. About everything that's going on."

Mitsuru-senpai was looking between Pharos and Minato with an expression of growing realization on her face while Akihiko-senpai seemed curious. The boy looked at them, apparently accepting that the gig was up, and he nodded as his smile returned. "Okay, Brother. I'll make an exception this time."

Like he had a choice. "You're too kind."

"Good evening," the boy told the two older teens, bowing exaggeratedly. "I'm Pharos. It's nice to meet you."

"You as well," Mitsuru-senpai replied quietly.

"Likewise," Akihiko-senpai said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you escape from somewhere? What's with the prison clothes?"

"These were all I could find," Pharos joked, getting up to sit on the edge of the bed, folding his hands in his lap as though he hadn't done anything wrong. "And I had to wear something, right?"

"Were you a prisoner of somewhere?" the boxer inquired. "Where did you come from?"

The boy frowned thoughtfully. "That's not an easy question to answer."

"We have all night, Pharos," Minato told him firmly.

"It's not that I won't answer the question, Brother. I can't because I'm not sure what the answer is."

Minato raised an eyebrow, keeping a firm grip on... whatever it was that allowed him to keep Pharos in place. "Why not?"

"I can't remember much of my own life before you came to the dorm," Pharos admitted. "I remember my family, but they went away a long time ago, and that's about it."

"So why are you helping me? If you can't remember anything, then why bother?"

"I know that you're important, and I know that what you're doing is necessary. That's why I help you when I can."

"Have you never questioned that feeling?" Mitsuru-senpai asked. "Never wondered where it came from or why you have such a compulsion in the first place?"

Pharos hummed to himself, thoughtful. "It's always been there. It's a bit like breathing, or moving your legs when you want to walk. You don't really question how you do those things, you just do them to get somewhere."

"But we understand the processes that make those things happen," Mitsuru-senpai countered. "We need oxygen for cellular respiration and to keep the heart beating. Locomotion is achieved through the firing of neural impulses and the tightening of muscle fibres. Just because we don't actively tell our bodies to do those things doesn't mean we can't understand how they work."

Pharos spread his hands apologetically. "Then it might not have been the best example. I'm just here to help my Big Brother, nothing more."

"Is it possible that the example is accurate?" Mitsuru-senpai persisted. "Maybe you're like the lungs in your breathing example, there to perform a function as part of a larger system."

"That might be it. You're really smart, if you don't mind me saying so."

She seemed to ignore the compliment, pressing forward. "If that's the case, however, then it would stand to reason that there's a design in mind. And a designer. A brain and a consciousness to the body, if you will. Do you know who or what that might be?"

"I don't, sorry. I'm here to help when and how I can. That's all."

"Is there a reason that you look like Arisato?" Akihiko-senpai asked unexpectedly.

Minato raised an eyebrow, not expecting that question. "We do? I don't think we look that similar."

"You do," Mitsuru-senpai confirmed. "I saw Kirijo Group photos of you after the incident ten years ago, and Pharos here bears a very strong resemblance to how you looked then."

"Strange coincidence," Minato noted, looking at Pharos for an answer.

"I am who I am," Pharos answered, smiling back. "I didn't get to choose how I look."

"What else do you know about everything that's going on here?" Minato asked. "The Shadows, the Dark Hour, all of it. It's not a coincidence that you only show up at this time, is it?"

"Not completely a coincidence, no."

"Well, let's hear it," Minato prompted.

"There's not a lot to say that you don't already know," the boy informed them. "You're on your way to dealing with the larger Shadows, and that's what you're supposed to do. So long as you do, then everything's going in the right direction."

"Do you know why it's the right direction? Or is it another feeling of yours?"

Pharos pursed his lips and was silent for a moment, then gave an apologetic shrug. "It's the second option. Sorry about that."

"More questions than answers," Akihiko-senpai grunted. "Do you know Igor and Elizabeth-san?"

"The old guy and the funny lady? We've never met, but I know that they work with Big Brother a lot. She always has a good time when she's exploring the city, and she has the best outfits and stories. The way she talks is funny, too."

"You know what she's like even though you've never met?" Minato asked.

"I see her through your eyes, and you think about all the trouble she causes you sometimes. Even if it's a hassle, she's still a friend, isn't she?"

"Picking things out of my head, are you?"

"Should I not do that?"

Minato picked a different line of inquiry as a new idea came to mind. "You've talked a lot about what you can't say, but are there things that you can tell us that you haven't yet?"

Pharos looked genuinely curious at the question, taking a few seconds to answer. "Hmmm... I don't know. It's not like I have something specific to tell you when I visit you. I just say what comes to mind at the time."

"That sounds like you're responding to prompts. So if I ask you different questions, then you might have more to say?"

Pharos shrugged. "It could happen, I think. I'm not sure."

"Then let's try it. Why did you warn me about Metis? You only talk to me when we're here. Why did you pipe up that one time?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "She was dangerous. She was going to attack you no matter what, and I wanted to make sure that you had a fighting chance. If she had ambushed you or attacked you from behind, things might have ended a lot worse than they did."

"It's funny you say that, because the timing makes me think that she heard you or thought that you were a threat, and that's why she went crazy."

Pharos shook his head. "This is the first time anyone else has been able to hear me or see me, so I don't know if that's the case. Even if she could hear me, why would that make her angry enough to attack?"

"That's what I'm asking you. I'm also wondering if Aigis can detect you, or if you're hiding from her as well."

"You'd have to ask her about that. Same as with the other robot. They look neat, but I don't know much about them besides that."

Minato narrowed his eyes. The kid's answers felt off this time, like the episode with Metis wasn't completely above board. Was he lying? And if he was, why?

"The timing of your appearances suggests that you have some connection to the larger Shadows," Mitsuru-senpai observed. "That can't be a coincidence."

Pharos shrugged. "I come to visit Big Brother when I can. I don't get to control when that is."

"Do you know why the Shadows recognize him? He says that they speak to him and he seems to be able to hear them, but none of us can."

"I'd also like to know why Sakaki can hear them when you said that Strega was irrelevant," Minato brought up.

Pharos smiled a little. "Ahhh, that one. He's going in the same direction as you, so he can hear them too. He doesn't seem to care about that, though."

"He said as much." Minato thought over his next question, preparing himself for any odd reaction like last time. "Does this have something to do with the Appriser?"

Pharos gasped and bolted back against the bed frame, crashing into it hard enough to shake it. "Don't say that word, Big Brother!" he whispered, fear clear in his eyes.

"Why not? What is the App –"

"DON'T!" Pharos shrieked, covering his head. "Don't say it. Not here, not anywhere, not for any reason."

"What's the matter?"

"It's a bad word!" the kid insisted fervently.

"It's just a word."

He shook his head furiously. "No! No no no no, it's more than a word. It's an idea, a thing, and it's not ready to come out yet."

"He's starting to creep me out," Akihiko-senpai told them dryly.

"Igor and Elizabeth-san were very cautious about the word as well," Mitsuru-senpai noted. "It seems to be significant in this situation."

"I'd love to know why," Minato commented.

Pharos rocked back and forth a little, eyes losing focus for a moment until he seemed to calm down. "The next one," he told them slowly, almost mechanically. "The next one is the last one. And then you'll know what it means."

The three looked at each other. "The next one?" Akihiko-senpai asked. "Do you mean the next Shadow?"

"Yes."

"That's when that word will make sense?" Minato inquired, surprised that he was suddenly getting answers this easily. "Just because we kill a Shadow?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Pharos let out a long breath. "It just will. And things... might get hard after that."

"They've been hard this entire time. Why are you warning me now?"

Pharos said nothing. He looked up and stared at them, his eyes solemn.

Minato felt something sinking in his stomach, and a trace of dread ran through him. "You mean they're going to get worse?"

"They might."

"You're not sure?"

"It's a feeling I have. Nothing's clear, but... Be careful, okay?" The boy solemnly looked at the older pair. "Could I ask you two to look after my Big Brother? I'll help him as much as I can, but he can't do all of this alone."

"We've been doing that already," Akihiko-senpai replied. "That's not stopping."

Pharos bowed, oddly formal. "Thank you. I'm glad he has such good friends. Especially you, bright lady."

The redhead looked surprised at the appellation. "Excuse me?"

"You're bright. Even here, it's like you're giving off light."

Mitsuru-senpai's eyes narrowed, something like understanding in her expression. "I'll take that as a compliment. I'd like to know who you are, though."

"Big Brother knows who I am."

"I know that you're Pharos and you show up during the Dark Hour," Minato stated. "That's about it."

The boy stood up on the bed. "No no, you know me more than that." He stood straight up and bowed again, speaking as he did. "You know me very well, Big Brother. Because I am thou." Minato's concentration cracked for a second as the words ran through him, and Pharos flickered from sight as the Dark Hour ended.

The three looked at each other in silence. The room was bright with the moon's light, but it felt stark and austere instead of comforting this time.

Author's Note: Feel free to leave a review on what you felt was your favourite part. But if that's too trite and dull, then I'll post a question prompt. We're getting back onto the topic of Evoker inscriptions, and we still don't know what Mitsuru's is. What do you think it will be? Drop me a line and let me know.