"Mysterious fire burned down an apartment at the back of Port Island," Mitsuru read the headline aloud. Minato gasped and snatched the newspaper away from her hands.

Minato hissed, crumbling the newspaper into a ball. "Little kids shouldn't be reading newspapers." he chucked the ball into the nearby dustbin and let out a sigh.

Mitsuru's eye twitched. "… What was that for?"

"Don't question me," he coughed, going back to buttering his toast.

"… You did that, did you not?" Mitsuru narrowed her eyes at him. "Why would you get angry over someone reading a newspaper?"

Minato ignored her, taking a sip of orange juice.

Mitsuru coughed into her fist. "Ham-" Minato winced, everyone had been attacking his weak point, his ONLY weak point.

"Alright, alright!" he snapped, scowling at his senior. "I did it dammit, burned the apartment down."

"Why?" Mitsuru crossed her arms, obviously pissed that he had killed people once again.

"Because…" Minato held her gaze. "Strega…" he hissed and then back to his toast.

"…"

"…"

"So they live in that apartment?" Mitsuru questioned.

"Well, they used to live in that apartment," he snickered to himself, giving his signature, twisted smirk. "Before I burned every bit of it…. Oh, and killed the steroid junkie as well."

Mitsuru was never comfortable with the way he smirked, despite seeing it so many times before. "… You should have told us."

"Who cares about you?" Minato blew a raspberry. "Bow down, dammit! Thank me for saving oxygen for the rest of the morons in the world."

Mitsuru slapped her forehead.

"Yeah, I'm the damn Messiah of this world," he yelled, standing up as his hands twitched. "Aww dammit, I want to abuse someone now." like Theodore, he had developed a fascination for screams of terror and helplessness.

"Calm down," Mitsuru said slowly as Minato's expression twisted again.

Minato cracked his knuckles. "See, It might be you…. if you don't shut up about this and tell this to Hamuko then well…. You're in trouble."

Mitsuru sighed. "I promised and I won't break that."

"Good for your life," Minato smirked again, twirling the knife in his fingers with another one of his slasher smiles. "Just sit on your ass and all of them will be dead within a week."

"…"

"Call me Mystic Minato because I predict these things," he said. "Mark my words, Takaya will lose his spine."

"You're psychotic," Mitsuru reiterated. "I've said it so many times."

"You're welcome, bitch!" Minato snapped back, driving the knife into the wooden table. And with that, Mystic Minato swaggered out of the dorm, leaving Mitsuru alone in the lounge.

…

Minato gulped down another pill and clipped his headphones to his ears. Summer vacations were still going and school was shut for a few more weeks. The full moon was right after the end of summer vacation. "This was one long ass vacation…" he muttered. So much shit had happened this summer.

Getting tortured by SEES, joining Strega, losing his sanity and finally coming back to SEES, but most important of all, Minato lost his health somewhere along the way. He didn't have much longer to live. "Well, as long as I live… I'll keep doing my shit."

And the days passed, not much happened, aside from a little kid named Ken joining the team. Minato didn't give a shit about him (much like the rest) but had to look out for him because of Hamuko.

Junpei was almost back to normal, totally cool with Hamuko and even conversed with Minato who usually waved him off but it was an improvement.

Mitsuru caught Minato yelling on the phone one day, something about naming his entire fortune to Hamuko. The senior grimaced, Minato was going to die sometime very soon and she couldn't do a thing to stop it.

Minato kept walking through the crowd of people, still listening to his headphones. He had bullied his uncle into giving all of his fortune to Hamuko but even then, he knew it wasn't enough. Money wouldn't stop her from crying when he would finally pass away.

"At least she has friends," he couldn't believe it but he was handing Hamuko over to those fools but he had no choice, he had some faith that Yukari would support Hamuko… and then there was Aigis, as much as Minato hated her metal guts, he knew the android would keep Hamuko safe.

Minato bumped into a boy, shoved him to the side and kept walking. He really wanted his health back to spend more time with the redhead but it was gone and he had to accept it.

The blue haired teen finally stopped when he reached the café, the spot for the planned date. Summer vacations were nearly over and he could feel his death creeping closer and closer. "I won't live till the final full moon…" and he was sure of it. With a shrug of his shoulders, Minato stepped into the café, spotting the redhead fairly quickly. He smiled back and made his way over to her.

…

Minato stepped into the school campus and let out a sigh, this was probably his last semester. Hamuko was holding onto his hand and this caused quite a commotion at the gates.

"Yes, we're dating," Minato snapped at a couple of students. "You got a fucking problem!?" his glare sent them scurrying away.

Hamuko laughed softly. "I won't scold you for doing that, keep them away from me."

"… Can I use my fists?"

"NO!"

"Aww dammit," his shoulders slumped. He really wanted to maul someone, he hadn't done that in a long while, but like always… he listened to the redhead and just glared everyone away.

Minato wasn't paying attention to the lecture; he was simply counting the days till the full moon. "2 more days…" he whispered to himself.

"Arisato-kun! What is the answer to his equation?" the teacher asked.

"Stuff it," Minato replied and the teacher went back to her work. Hamuko giggled beside him and Minato smiled softly, that giggle always made him smile.

Minato also noticed that Junpei was in lala-land. The capped teen was extremely happy about something, Minato didn't give a shit about that but he did lift Hamuko's spirits up a bit and that was welcomed.

Minato still had his usual spats with everyone, sans Hamuko and Shinjiro. The latter didn't barge into his business and kept his thoughts to himself most of the time and Minato respected that.

And finally, the full moon was upon them…. And asshat was nowhere to be found. "That moronic weirdo," the blue haired teen spat. "Where the fuck is he!?"

"I can't sense him," Fuuka said timidly. "Do you want me to search again?"

"Ugh, leave that asshole be," Minato groaned. "He's probably high on hormones and doing something to help himself." he spat out, resulting in utter silence amongst the teens.

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes. The females were blushing and Ken didn't know what he was talking about. "What!?" he hissed. "Ya bunch of wimpy prudes!"

Hamuko slapped him behind the head, making him groan again. He turned around to see her blushing as well. "Did you have to say it like that!?"

"I'm just saying the truth," he growled. "Did you remember the way he was ogling you at Yakushima…" there was a pregnant pause and then his rage erupted, reddening his face. "Why that shameless bastard…" how dare he, how dare he ogle at Hamuko. "He ogled at you! Goddamn, I'm going to burn every single hormone in his damn body."

Hamuko slapped her forehead this time but a few of her friends did chuckle since it was so amusing.

"What is he talking about?" Ken asked Akihiko who kept quiet for a few minutes.

"N-Nothing important," the boxer replied.

"Anyway, fuck him and his hormones," Minato gripped his sword. "Let's head there and end this already, we'll find him when the shadow is finished." the others agreed and they set out towards the mall.

The team reached the mall and waited around as Fuuka scanned the area for the shadow. Minato smirked as Koromaru nuzzled against his leg. He crouched down and petted the red eyed canine on the head. He had grown really attached to the pooch and it was a surprise for many.

"The shadow is in some kind of room," Fuuka announced. "Some sort of rectangular room, somewhere in this mall…"

"Well, thank you very much for nothing," Minato mocked, grabbing his sword. "Let's bust these stores open and find where the sumbitch is at!"

"No," Hamuko sighed. "Seriously Minato, can you think anything other than violence and destruction?"

"Smooches," he replied. "I think of many smooches. That's always on my head."

Hamuko blushed fiercely, smacking him on the shoulder. "C-Can you not?" she growled. "The others are around here."

"Well, I don't give a shit about them," he said, he really didn't mind his language, whether the team was there or not, it made no difference for him. He flipped them off to further prove the point.

Yukari was sure that Hamuko was going to explode on his ass but Fuuka spoke up once again. "The shadow is right beneath our feet!"

Hamuko released the grip on Minato's collar and gasped. "Under our feet?"

Minato's eye twitched. "He better not be peeking up someone's skirt or else…" the blue haired demon hissed. "I told you to wear jeans dammit!" he yelled at Hamuko.

Hamuko growled and the two started bickering once again.

"Um, I'm sorry!" Fuuka apologized. "It's underground but right below us."

"Huh," Minato blinked, thinking over her words, despite the fact that Hamuko was pulling on his hair. "Must be the club…"

"I think so too," Shinjiro agreed. "The manager was talking about the power acting up, they had to cancel some concert because of that."

"Huh…" Minato thought for a while. "Oh yeah, I head that too… but I was too drunk to give a shit."

Hamuko pulled on his bangs. "I told you to stop drinking!"

Mitsuru couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you Yamagishi," she faced the blue haired leader. "What do you think we should do?"

"All of you morons go into the club and give us both some time alone," he ordered. "Oh and… throw that robo-bitch along the way." he pointed at Aigis who was glaring at him for standing so close to Hamuko.

Hamuko clasped his mouth shut, taking the charge. "The team will be this moron right here," she thought for a while. "Akihiko-senpai, Shinjiro-senpai and…." she looked around. "And... Ken-kun."

The selected members nodded. "And yours truly, of course."

Minato finally broke free and sighed. "Fine them. Rest of you will stay here and wait till someone else can't fight anymore."

"Roger," Mitsuru nodded. "Good luck." And the team ventured into the club.

…

"Let me go," Junpei struggled to break free from the chains. He was held captive by Chidori and someone else he knew. Junpei had never talked to him but he knew him very well. Alongside Chidori was the brutal and remorseless redhead male, the same one who nearly killed Minato in battle.

Sho was irritated because of the constant yelling. "Shut your mouth."

"Why did you do this?" Junpei looked at Chidori. "This was all nothing but a lie, right? Us meeting, the wound and the picture, it was a just a lie, right?"

"…" Chidori was emotionless, her expression not twitching one bit.

"I told you to keep quiet," Sho spat, gripping one of his swords. "I'm getting a headache listening to you."

"Why are you doing this?" Junpei demanded.

"I'm just here to settle a score with that punk," Sho shrugged. "I can't wait till he comes back."

"Why did you lie to me about being the leader?" Chidori asked the capped teen who fell silent.

"We knew it all along," Sho said. "That blue haired bastard is the leader." he couldn't help but grin at the thought of another battle with the blue haired teen. He loved the thrill of it, not to mention he loved cutting Minato apart.

"Ugh," Junpei struggled once again. "He'll be back to kick your ass."

Sho shrugged. "He can't beat me and he knows that…" he continued. "But by some miracle, if he does beat me…. He won't live much longer."

"W-What are you talking about?" Junpei blinked, not believing his ears. "What do you mean!?" he yelled at the redhead who growled in irritation and kicked Junpei to the ground.

"He'll die after the next full moon if he survives against me," Sho yelled. "His health is falling apart; he doesn't have much longer to live."

Junpei shook his head. "You're lying!"

"Fool," Sho kicked him on the gut as Chidori watched on. "He put his body through hell, first for his vengeance."

Junpei couldn't refute that, Minato really did put his body through hell when he was booted out of SEES.

"And then… for that girl," Sho spat out, disgusted at the thought. "He burned our apartment down just because she would have an easier time when he passes away."

"…" Junpei remained silent. Minato was going to die? That couldn't be. "So then…." Junpei thought back to the little skirmish. Maybe he allowed himself to be beaten because of Hamuko. "…" the capped teen shook his head, still refusing to believe.

"You're lying, you piece of shit," Junpei spat. "He isn't going anywhere."

"He beat you to a pulp," Sho yelled back. "Why the hell do you care?"

Junpei struggled to break free, trying his hardest to break the chains. "All in the past!" he yelled again. "He's going to kick your ass till he's fucking 70 years old."

Sho kicked him in the gut once again. "Fool!"

Junpei took the kick and refused to shut his mouth. "He's going to rip you apart, beat the crap outta me, nothing will change that."

"Grrr," Sho kicked him hard once again but Junpei refused to keep quiet. He kept insulting the redhead, confident that Minato would beat him to the ground.

…

Minato shoved another pill into his mouth and focused his attention on Hamuko. She was doing okay, more than okay actually. She had grown strong, strong enough that she was able to toy with the shadow for a while.

He turned back to the shadow. "Heh," it was weakened and was barely on; the team didn't have much trouble this time, everything was so easy. "Albino, keep punching the electricity outta him."

Akihiko shook his head at the insult but kept pummeling the shadow, dodging the slow ass strikes of the Hermit.

Hamuko clutched her evoker to her temple once again. "Get back, senpai," she warned and the boxer obliged, jumping away as the shadow slumped to the ground.

"Hades!" Hamuko summoned the Olympian. His presence caused an eerie chill in the basement, everyone could feel the horrific power of the persona and it unnerved them, except for the blue haired teen who whipped around and walked away. The mission was done.

As Hamuko finished off the shadow, Minato lost his balance as something started ravaging his insides. "UGH!" he yelled on the top of his lungs as the pain only grew more and more unbearable.

Hamuko threw her evoker to the ground and hurried over to the fallen teen. "Minato!" she held him close, shaking him gently.

Minato's eyes rolled to the back of his head as his body started shivering; something was about to rip away from his soul and it was causing Minato immense pain. It had happened before. Every time they defeated the full moon shadow, Minato would start yelling out in pain.

Hamuko pressed him closer to herself as the rest gathered around the two. She knew what was happening; the beast inside him was breaking apart once. She only hoped that it wouldn't hurt Minato too much.

"Do something, he's in pain," Shinjiro said as Minato started to shiver once again due to the pain.

"He'll be fine," Hamuko replied. "He'll be fine."

Minato clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as the pain grew more intense. He held onto Hamuko and started battling back the pain.

"You'll be fine," Hamuko whispered as Minato's vision went blurry but her voice helped him with the pain somewhat.

Another part of Death separated from Minato's soul and he passed out in Hamuko's embrace, drenched in sweat and barely breathing but the pain was gone.

Hamuko released a sigh and looked below at the passed out male with a smile. She couldn't help but giggle, the dammed thing was finally leaving him, and the real Minato was finally going to come out real soon.

…

"They've completed the mission," Chidori announced.

"Ugh," Sho bit his lower lip. "One step closer, shit!" he looked back to the capped teen who was still glaring at him. "Ah well, they'll be coming back soon enough."

Sho was ready for another battle on the roof but Takaya had other plans, the only reason they held Junpei captive was to lure SEES into their base, where they held the advantage. Takaya hadn't forgotten the pain Minato had inflicted on them, he swore to the team that he would cripple the leader of SEES for what he did.

"Come on already," Sho yelled out in excitement.

…

Hamuko helped Minato walk out of the club, the rest had offered to help him but he told them to piss off, only Hamuko could help him, anyone else touching him would get mauled. "Are you okay now?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," Minato said. "You're here after all."

Hamuko laughed. "I'll always be here, don't worry."

Minato bit his lip but smiled nonetheless. His time was limited but these moments brought him great joy.

"Well done," Mitsuru congratulated the team as the stepped out, barely scratched, except for Minato who was still holding onto Hamuko for support. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Minato finally stood up on his own power.

"I've also located Junpei," Fuuka announced. "He's back in the dorm."

"… He spent a long ass time in the shower," Minato spat. Hamuko sighed and clasped his mouth shut once again, gesturing Fuuka to go on.

"But something seems strange, we should head back quickly, just to check on him," and the rest nodded.

…

SEES finally reached the dorm, making Sho release a sigh. "Is he with them?" he asked the redhead standing next to him.

"Yes he is," Chidori confirmed. "They're coming up here."

"Great," Sho pulled out both of his swords, a feral grin spawning on his face. "Come on, Minato, save your stupid friend."

The two members of Strega heard footsteps; it was almost like there was a stampede going on. "Guess they're really worried for you." the redhead male looked back at Junpei who started struggling once again.

The door to the roof was kicked open and Sho took a step forward as the members of SEES scurried out to the roof, gasping and shrieking in surprise and horror as they found Junpei chained right next to the members of Strega.

"Where is he?" Sho ignored the glares and focused his attention on the head of blue hair. Minato brushed past his team mates and ended up in the front, his vacant stare drilling into the two members of Strega.

"Sho," Minato hissed at the male as Sho glared right back at him with his soulless gray eyes.

"Minato," Sho hissed back, his knuckles turning bony white.

"Who is she?" Mitsuru noticed the Goth female standing right next to Sho. Mitsuru had never seen her before. She held an evoker, much like the other members of Strega.

"She's the support persona user for Strega," Minato answered, not taking his eyes off Sho. "What do you want Sho?"

"Come on, aren't you going to attack?" he jerked his head back at Junpei. "Your friend here was really cheering for you, he's sure that you'll kick my ass."

"He's right for the first time in this life," Minato gripped his sword. "Leave him alone," he looked back at Hamuko. "Leave everyone alone, I'll kick your ass all by myself."

"Oh no, that's not how we will play this time," Sho took a step back. "Your friend is our guest… if you want to save him…. Come find us."

"You piece of shit," Shinjiro yelled at Sho. "Leave him alone."

"No can do," Sho grabbed Junpei by the collar as a vortex of darkness surged beneath the three. "I'm just following orders."

Aigis readied herself to open fire but Minato halted her. "Don't shoot moron, you might kill asscap along with the two."

"Guys, I'll be fine!" Junpei yelled at the team. "Don't come after me, I'll come back myself."

"We'll be waiting for you," Chidori said. "Search and come for us…" and with that, they finally disappeared, along with Junpei who kept yelling at the team to not fall into their trap.

"…"

"…"

Minato blew a raspberry. "I'm going to sleep," and he started to make his way down the steps.

"Are you serious?" Yukari yelled at him. "They're going to kill Junpei!"

"Who gives a shit about Junpei?" Minato growled.

"I give a shit about Junpei," Hamuko looked Minato in the eye. "If you don't want to go then fine, I'll go by myself. I'm not leaving him alone."

"You were planning to save him yourself anyway," Shinjiro pointed out.

"Shut your mouth," Minato spat. "I don't give a fuck, he said he'll be back, leave him be."

"You'll head out the moment we all fall asleep," Akihiko barged in. "You don't want us getting involved, right?"

"Don't get the wrong idea," Minato hissed at the boxer. "I don't give a shit what happens to you or that moron but…" he looked at Hamuko. "Fuck this all." he was going to go out and save Junpei when they all hit the sack, he really didn't give a shit about SEES but anyone of them dying would cause immense pain to Hamuko and he didn't want that.

"You were looking for a counterattack," Mitsuru said. "This might be the best chance."

"Fine but Hamuko stays here," Minato demanded.

"No, I'm going," Hamuko yelled at him.

"Tch," the blue haired Fool clutched his head. He looked deep into Hamuko's determined eyes and she held his gaze, there was no way she was going to back out this time. ".. Fine, so be it."

"But if anything happens to Hamuko…" Minato gave everyone a fierce glare. "I'm going to kill all of you, mark my words."

"Minato, I'll be fine," Hamuko assured but the male didn't listen.

"The only reason I do this is because of her," he spat out. "If she's gone…" he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm going to kill both you and those assholes in Strega."

"…"

"Keep her safe and pray something doesn't happen to her," Minato started making his way down the steps to prepare himself for the counterattack. "Or else… all of you are history."

The rest followed him to prepare for the counterattack.

Wow, been a long ass time. Hahaha, its hilarious how I promise that I'll finish this story every year but that doesn't happen. I'm sorry about that but who knows, some day... this might get finished? Always up to the fire and motivation and unfortunately, writing fluff after fluff kinda lost the charm. Feels weird as fuck writing this after writing so much of Fallen Messiah. But hey! for those of you who still enjoy this, thank you! If my writing can entertain you a little bit then it means a lot. Hope this made your day or something.

Well peeps, hope you liked this. I hope to see you soon.