I usually wait for reviews but today is the last day of my holidays and I gotta start prep for my finals so I had to put this one out because who knows I get free. Behold the finale to the battle. This concludes the Makoto arc and well... Hope you enjoy.
"Thanatos!"
Hamuko braced herself and the collision occurred moments later, forcing her to withdraw a few steps but she stepped forward again, glaring harshly at the dark teenager.
Makoto growled in response. Her persona was able to match his own and it pissed him off to no end. "You little bitch!"
Hamuko howled, making Makoto take a step back and forcing a break in his concentration as the fear seized him. The redhead took the moment and Thanatos tore through his lookalike, sending a painful jolt up Makoto's frame.
"Kill him!" Hamuko ordered and her persona tried to do just that by rushing forward with his blood-stained sword in hand.
Makoto regained his wits and sidestepped the charge by mere inches. Thanatos turned around and discharged a wave of purple energy from his maw that struck Makoto head on, making the shadow screech in pain.
Hamuko grinned sickly at the sight and called Thanatos off. "Come on, get up!"
Makoto powered back to his feet but Hamuko had already started summoning at that point.
"Satan!" she called upon the persona, evoking a demonic roar from within her as the blue monstrosity spawned above her, freezing Makoto in place again. "Black Viper!"
Makoto looked up and jumped backwards to avoid the two orbs of red and black energy from above. Hamuko charged forward and kicked the third orb into his stomach, detonating an explosion which sent Makoto crashing into the gates of the tower.
Hamuko gripped her sword in one hand and after one look at Minato, charged head, determined to suffocate the damn thing to his miserable death.
Makoto got up and grabbed the lunging by the throat before hurling her into the wall behind him. "Stupid!" he spat and drilled a punch into her face.
Hamuko growled and kicked him between the legs, forcing him to a knee. "Asshole!" she spat in return and smashed his face into the wall.
Makoto tried to get up but a knee to the back of his head kept him glued there and Hamuko started unloading with more knee strikes without pause.
Eventually, Makoto pushed her off and whipped around. "This is new…"
"That's right!" Hamuko confirmed and lunged in with a slash which Makoto blocked with his own sword. The two hissed at each other and Hamuko disengaged before coming back in to rip his head off.
Makoto was forced on his back-foot but he fired back with his own attacks, cutting Hamuko on her shoulders. The redhead gave no concern to strategy and kept coming back with her eyes fixated on his neck. "I swear on his life, I will slaughter you!"
"I swear on his sins, I will drown you in a pool of your own blood," Makoto shot back and the two kept clashing blades, not worrying about the little bruises or about the little sparks coming from their collisions.
Eventually, Makoto found the opening and sent Hamuko to a ground with a brutal right.
Hamuko shook her head and hopped up to her feet, got in his face again and resumed the sword fight which Makoto was clearly getting the better of. After ducking a rather sloppy swipe from Hamuko, the shadow ripped open her stomach and floored her with another punch to her temple.
"You hit like a bitch!" Hamuko spat and jumped on him, taking the hilt of the blade into her busted stomach but started roughing the shadow up with short punches and elbows.
Makoto manhandled Hamuko after a few seconds due to his superior strength, busting the female up with more accurate punches but Hamuko stayed in the pocket, paid no attention to the cracking sound and kept slamming her knee into his gut repeatedly.
The two disengaged with Hamuko gasping for air and Makoto panting slightly.
"Pathetic," Makoto berated. "Is that what you call hope!?"
Hamuko licked the blood off her lips and grinned again, making the shadow narrow his eyes. "You're just as fucked up as he was."
"Hahahaha!" Hamuko laughed out loud. "We're lovers after all!"
Makoto was slightly unnerved but he discarded the feeling and run forward.
"HAHAHAH!" Hamuko gave a colder laugh this time and summoned a very familiar serpent that shot forward like a blur and struck Makoto on his gut, pushing him backwards and trying to rip a hole through his abdomen.
Makoto skidded backwards and summoned with a hateful yell.
"Pale Rider!"
The horseman tore through the serpent with his scythe and dashed forward to do the same to the redhead who was already welcoming the charge. Hamuko summoned another persona of the Death Arcana, the personification of Death that met the charge head on and cleaved the horseman in two.
The mist eventually settled and Hamuko walked forward. "That got my blood running hot."
"Do you really expect to beat me?" Makoto asked. "I'm taller than you, stronger than you; I can take beatings just as well as he did. You're out-matched; your personae can't save you forever."
"Keep fighting under the delusion that I'm the same," Hamuko said. "You can hack off my legs and I'll crawl over to you and stick my fist down your throat."
"Hack off my arms and I'll beat you to death with my head," Hamuko smiled. "Go back into his memories, when he fought for me and then maybe you'll understand…"
"Grrr…"
"I am unbeatable tonight," Hamuko said. "And I say it right now; you know it too, don't you?"
"Fuck you!" Makoto lost it and rushed forward.
Hamuko endured the shove and like before, she paid no attention to her size and strength disadvantage and kept returning his punches with knee strikes and elbows.
Makoto pushed her off with a straight in the middle of her face. Hamuko stumbled backwards and the next punch sent her skidding backwards. Makoto smirked and shook his head. "I told you, you're too weak to beat Minato. The only time you did was when that fool was head over heels for you or when he was half dead…"
Hamuko looked down. "Yes, you're just as strong as him…"
"Makes me sick but I'm exactly like him," Makoto said. "Just as strong, just as durable, just as brutal."
"When the chips are down," Hamuko looked up. "I can be just as brutal as him. If you really are Minato, you know that."
Makoto ignored her statement and ran for her again, sword in hand.
Hamuko took a deep breath and thought back….
"So, I'm just throwing this because…. Y'know?" Minato looked away. "There are lots of shadows in Tartarus that can cast charm…"
Hamuko opened her mouth.
"If I get charmed then please, kick my ass," Minato pleaded. "Hell, beat me till I'm unconscious…"
"No, I quit this lesson," Hamuko shook her head. "Can we go back to learning new kicks?"
"No, this is important," Minato sighed. "Just in case, please…"
Hamuko gave an annoyed sigh. "Go on…"
"This is for your safety," Minato said.
"I'm heavy on my right side,"
"My stance while fighting is wide open,"
"I place all my weight on my lead-leg,"
"Chop it down with kicks and kept moving to my right so I can't generate power,"
"I've never told this to anyone but you," Minato smiled. "God forbid the time ever comes, this little lesson will help you…"
Hamuko looked ahead to see the shadow charging at her. "It finally happened…. In one twisted way…" she said and dodged the punch before slamming her foot into Makoto's right knee. She noted his stance was too wide, just like Minato had said.
Makoto stumbled and Hamuko started moving to his right side, kicking at his body and right leg repeatedly. Makoto fired a punch from the short range but Hamuko took it and kept working on his right side.
Makoto pushed her way and Hamuko came pressing forward, going to his right to stifle his movement and room for punches. A sharp side kick sent Makoto a few feet away and Hamuko followed him.
"Minato, are you watching?" Hamuko said.
"…"
"I'm doing this for you!" Hamuko kept talking. "This is nothing about repaying the debt; this is because I love you."
Makoto punched her to the ground and dove in with a punch to her collar bone, drawing out a scream from Hamuko who ripped open the shadow's cheek with her nails.
Makoto growled and slammed her head back to the ground.
Hamuko slithered away from under him and looked back at Minato. "Come on, get up!"
"Get up and see your girlfriend get beat to a blood pulp," Makoto cackled.
"Don't listen to him!" Hamuko spat. "Don't listen to despair. Reach out to me, I know you can hear me."
"Silence!"
Hamuko endured another punch to her cheek and retaliated with a kick to his lead leg again. Makoto picked the nearby blade and sliced open another gash on her abdomen but Hamuko kept busy in kicking his lead leg. "Ugh, gotta keep fighting!" she chanted and dove in with an overhand slash which Makoto dodged and slammed another punch into her chest.
"Ugh," Hamuko could feel it; the force in his punches was lessening due to her staying at his right. Another fist to her face drew out a demented giggle from Hamuko who poked the shadow in the eyes and dug the sword into his shoulder.
"Shit," Makoto aimed a wild slash for her neck but Hamuko ducked beneath and dove into his right leg, making him collapse to the ground.
Hamuko twisted his leg and slammed the knee against the ground before kicking the shadow in the gut.
Makoto grabbed the neck kick and threw the redhead next to himself. He quickly got up and dove in with another strike to her neck but Hamuko caught his wrist in a vice grip and pushed him away with her feet. She stood up and jumped up with a knee strike into his jaw.
Makoto took the hit and caught her in mid-air before throwing her away. Hamuko rolled away but Makoto followed her to kick her in the gut.
"Persona!" Hamuko shouted, immediately summoning the Death God who managed to scare Makoto away before lunging at him with a slash that tore open his shoulder further.
"Helel!" Makoto shouted to the skies and summoned Helel, causing the skies to split up.
"Oh shit," Hamuko got up and ran towards Minato. She knew he couldn't survive the blast of that magnitude.
Makoto watched her run with a smile. He held up his sword and smirked. "Go heat, bitch…" he chuckled and tossed the sword for Hamuko.
Hamuko screamed out loud as the blade ripped into her back and she collapsed to the ground. The heat was building and despite the hellish pain, Hamuko crawled over to Minato and pulled him close, seconds before the explosion.
"Hahahaha!" she could hear the damn bastard laughing at the sight. The attack worsened the wound on her back but she kept the grip around Minato.
…
….
Hamuko fell on top of Minato and Makoto strolled over to the two, kicking the female off and staring at Minato. He noted the expression on his face and growled. Instead of the usual dead one, Minato was…. In pain, like he was trying to fighting and crawl his way out.
"No chance…" he held up the blade to finish him.
"Get the fuck away from him!" Hamuko interrupted with a yell, tackling the bastard away from Minato who finally turned his head to the side to see the battle unfolding. The battle between hope and despair.
"Don't you dare touch Minato," he heard her say that and it boggled his mind. Why was she fighting over a dead man?
Makoto felt the surge of energy and ripped a brutal punch into Hamuko face which dazed her. "No!" the redhead said as she responded with a punch of her own. She postured up and rained down elbows from the top until Makoto shoved her away.
"Cute punches," Makoto sneered.
Hamuko ignited her fists with flames and took her stance. "How about now!?" she knew that her punches were nowhere near Minato or Akihiko but the flames would likely cover up for her shitty technique.
The two rushed forward again while holding their fists back. Hamuko switched stances and swayed to the right to avoid his punch. She kicked his leg and went up a blazing punch that Makoto avoided by the skin of his teeth.
Hamuko took the punch to her stomach and drilled her fist into his chest, pushing him backwards.
Makoto regained his balance and caught Hamuko in mid-air again. "Little bitch-AH!" Hamuko ignited her hands and grabbed a hold of his face, giving him a number of burns which made Makoto slam Hamuko neck-first onto the ground.
Makoto stomped onto her back and Hamuko screamed out to the skies.
"Are you hearing this Minato?" Makoto said, looking over to Minato who was staring intently at the battle.
Hamuko caught that and swallowed the pain. She wasn't going to allow this; he needed to see his hope beating his despair, not this.
Hamuko pushed herself off the ground, surprising Makoto. "Stay down, bitch, just like your boyfriend."
"Persona!" Hamuko shouted, blowing Makoto backwards with a gust of wind from Clotho. The persona quickly faded to mist and Hamuko closed the distance between herself and Makoto, getting into range again.
Makoto dodged her punch and sneered. "I see it; you're already slowing down…"
Hamuko growled at another missed attempt and Makoto kept talking.
"Face it, you're nothing but a weak female, that's why you hid behind Minato because you are weak,"
"You sexist asshole!" Hamuko slapped him hard across the face.
Makoto looked back and hissed.
"I am weak no longer," Hamuko ducked the punch and went to his right side again, kicking his leg repeatedly until Makoto heard a crack and fell down, grabbing onto his leg which was swelling up slowly.
Hamuko dashed ahead and smashed her knee into his face.
Makoto tossed her to the side and made a run for Minato.
"Oh no!" Hamuko stood up and ran after him. She dove at him and tripped him to the ground. Makoto crawled towards Minato but she brought him back.
"Get off me!" Makoto snapped, kicking her and making her release the grip. He got up and made a mad dash for the blunet again.
Hamuko shouted in horror. "Minato!" that bastard was standing right next to him, blade aimed right for Minato's heart.
"Minato, move!"
"Time to die,"
"Move if I ever meant a damn to you!" she yelled and Makoto drove the blade towards his heart with a smile, finally, he was going to die-
Minato cried out in pain but to the disgust and surprise, Minato had moved just enough so that blade was stabbed into his arm, not his heart.
"What…" Makoto blinked. Why did he move?
"You son of a bitch!" the angry yell broke him out of his thoughts. He turned back and saw something fiery flying for his face, which was Hamuko's fist wrapped up in flames.
"Ugh," Makoto backed off but Hamuko kept a rough grip around his fringe, never breaking away and never stopping her kicks which she repeatedly slammed into his sides and leg.
Makoto switched and summoned forth a frosty explosion of ice that blew Hamuko backwards. She rolled a few times and came to a stop near Minato who was looking at her with his single eye.
Hamuko glanced at his arm and smiled. "I'm proud of you…"
"…"
"Stay here, like I said, your demons are mine," Hamuko rubbed his cheek and stood back to her feet. "Is that all you got!?" she taunted and marched forward to resume her battle with Makoto.
"Hamuko…" Minato muttered. "Why?"
He thought back. Why was she fighting because of him? He was the most worthless piece of trash to ever walk the earth. Why was she fighting over someone whose existence itself was a sin?
Minato heard another sick sound and looked ahead to see Hamuko and his creation clashing their blades with every bit of force in their bodies. Hamuko was on the bad end as Makoto was able to use his reach to gash her up from range but Hamuko was relentless in closing the distance and returning the damage, not caring about her own wounds.
"Don't you dare look at him!" Hamuko yelled, ripping open a new wound on his chest.
Makoto sailed a stab for her neck and Hamuko blocked it by using her forearm. She hissed in pain and floored Makoto with another kick to his busted leg. "Burn in hell!" she yelled and jumped on him with her sword.
Makoto caught her wrists and pushed her away.
Hamuko's expression melted into another vicious smile, scaring the darkened teenager underneath who lost a little bit of grip.
"HAHAHAH!" Hamuko laughed towards the heavens. "Come on! Keep pushing me into a corner, I love it!"
"Hamuko…" Minato muttered again. "Stop…"
"I'll never stop!" Hamuko heard it and yelled back at him. She was still trying to power her way down and stab the shadow on his face but Makoto was able to keep him bay until he kicked her gut and sent her away.
"Never ever!" Hamuko shouted. "I will not let this be unrequited love like it always was because I didn't do shit."
"Fancy speech," Makoto mocked. "I'm touched really."
"Take your feelings and stick it up your ass," Hamuko shot back, taking her stance again. "Come on, this goes on until one of us drops."
"Of course," Makoto said and rushed towards her.
Hamuko moved to his right side and sidestepped the punch. She kneed him in the gut a couple of times and easily countered his punch with a head-kick that made the shadow stumble. Makoto looked down at his swollen leg and growled, those damn leg-kicks from Hamuko did this to his leg and with all the bruises, he wasn't able to move freely.
"Every single wound on his body!" Hamuko repeated, marching forward with her sword. "I'm going to repay it back a thousand fold."
"You'll do nothing!"
"Try me!"
Minato got to his knees and cringed due to the pain. "Hamuko, stop, just let him do what he wants…"
"What is needed to be done…"
"Stop giving yourself pain,"
"I can take it," Hamuko responded, sending Makoto to the ground with another leg-kick. "I can take it much more, give it all to me!"
"You stupid bitch!"
"…" Minato remained quiet.
"Give me your sins; let me suffer for what was supposed to be my destiny!"
Makoto got up and ran into Hamuko, knocking her to the ground. The redhead immediately hopped to her feet and surged forward to impale the damn thing on the side of his face, busting his eye open which drew a screech from Makoto and a grin from Hamuko.
Hamuko pulled the blade out before launching it again for his gut.
Makoto caught it coming and ducked low to impale the female on the stomach, widening the eyes of both of the two wild cards.
"Hamuko…" Minato widened his single eye.
"Guh," Hamuko growled in Makoto's face and pulled the blade out with her own hands. "For Minato!" she swore and thwacked Makoto on the face with another blazing fist.
Makoto endured the hit and shot forward for another skirmish. Hamuko welcomed it and the two clashed their blades while hissing and scowling at each other.
"Those sins are mine…" Minato looked to the side. "All mine…. It was me… I remember them all…"
"All my memories are of my sins," Minato said, thinking back and hissing in disgust, which empowered Makoto again who tore into Hamuko's already mangled stomach with more hooks and punches.
"Hahaha, weakling!" Makoto tossed her to the side and started walking over to Minato.
"No chance!" Hamuko said, summoning her persona and launching a volley of ice shards that Makoto took head on. He reached deep and summoned Seth to burn away the incoming bullets.
"Minato, you're forgetting!" Hamuko shouted and ran back to keep Makoto at bay. "Remember the bonds. Remember our bond, the bond you formed with the rest of the team."
"… What bond?" Minato said. "I formed nothing…"
"I deserve to…" he crouched down and curled into a ball. "Rot…"
"That's right!" Makoto said as he fired another punch for Hamuko who kneed him in return. The two thrashed around together with Makoto punching and Hamuko kneeing him just as hard in return. Eventually, Hamuko kicked his leg and the shadow fell to the ground.
"Persona!" Hamuko held out her hands and called forth Thanatos once more. The Death God fired another beam of purple energy which Makoto dodged by rolling away. "Remember this; this persona is a proof of our bond. Don't tell me you forgot that."
Makoto summoned a number of holy cards beneath her feet and Hamuko switched to a null light persona before rushing at the shadow again.
Another barrage of fists and knees repeatedly wobbled the two persona-users but they kept attacking each other without stopping, without caring for the broken bones and gallons of their blood being spilled to the ground.
"This is for Minato!"
"You're damn right it is!" Makoto snapped, punching her face and snapping it to the side. "I exist because of him!"
"Your existence is a lie," Hamuko fired more knees and stomps onto body. "You damn well know what happened to him 10 years ago!"
"Grr!" Makoto growled and tossed her away. "Shut up! Those sins are his!"
"Those sins were never on him," Hamuko spat and got up. "That damn demon, that piece of shit cursed his life and you know that very well!"
"Shut up, shut, up, SHUT UP!" Makoto lunged in with another strike that Hamuko saw from a mile away. She weaved through the punch and fired off another head-kick that made Makoto wobble.
"Minato, remember," Hamuko shouted at him. "Take my hand; let me pull you out from this darkness that you've created yourself."
Makoto stopped mid-attack and hiss in pain. "No you piece of shit, you caused all that. Remember the blood on your hands!"
Hamuko saw the expression switch on his face again. She growled and whipped around to send another kick up Makoto's mid-section. The shadow stumbled again and Hamuko kept the heat up with more kicks and stomps to his leg and solar-plexus.
"You're my messiah!" Hamuko shouted. "My messiah, do you think I'd lie about something like this!?"
Makoto tossed Hamuko to the side and took off running towards Minato who was looking down at the ground.
"M-Messiah…." he muttered and looked ahead to see the shadow charging for him, fully intent on ending his life, but….
A powerful, joint elemental attack of fire, wind and thunder struck Makoto head on, blowing him backwards and keeping away from Minato.
"Guys!" Hamuko smiled as the rest of team emerged from the shadows. Everyone was there; all of them had arrived for Minato's sake.
"We couldn't hold it," Yukari said. "He's our friend too."
"He's our leader," Mitsuru said.
"He's my sensei," Junpei yelled.
"You goddam fools!" Makoto was seconds away from summoning his persona to attack the team but Hamuko rushed towards his back and drilled the sword into his body. She clasped his mouth shut from behind and sneered in his ear.
"Your fight is with me," she spat, dragging the blade down and tearing open his back without remorse. "Your despair against my hope…" she pulled the blade from his body and kicked his knees, forcing him down.
"Get up…" Yukari crouched down next to Minato and made him sit up on his knees. "Minato, we're here…" she assured, looking around her team that had formed a circle around Minato. The brunette gently lifted his face up and smiled at him. "Don't slip away…"
"Kick his ass, Hamu-tan!" Junpei cheered. "Show him that you're the girl of the toughest human walking this earth!"
Hamuko listened to his advice and sent Makoto to the floor again.
Makoto quickly got to his knees to avoid the roundhouse kick and punched her on the back in return.
Hamuko unbolted a side kick for his stomach, pushing him away. "Persona!"
Makoto sidestepped the charge of Samael and Hamuko quickly called off her persona and endured another explosion of ice. It pushed her away but she came rushing towards the darkened teen again, uncorking a number of kicks for his body that Makoto was definitely beginning to feel, after the extensive damage Hamuko had unleashed on his leg and stomach.
"I can go all day long, buddy," Hamuko hopped a few times. "Come on, entertain me!" she demanded and Makoto lost it again, he charged forward and Hamuko easily avoided his sloppy punch due to the lack of footwork and timing.
Another head-kick sent the shadow reeling and Hamuko swiftly turned back to talk some more. "Look around you Minato; these are the people that you formed a bond with, even with evil that had possessed you."
"Shut the fuck up!" Makoto growled.
Hamuko turned back to face him again. "Come on!"
"Bonds…?" Minato mouthed. "Insignificant…"
"Don't you dare," Mitsuru said. "You saved my father once and I will never be able to repay you for that. You reached out to me, despite all that had happened between us in my time of weakness."
Hamuko stabbed Makoto on his arm, streaking it open by dragging the blade downwards.
"Every wound!" Hamuko pulled the blade out and avoided a lariat to impale his other arm with the blade. She tore it open and pulled it out with a sick giggle. "Just like you inflicted on Minato…"
"Get away from him!" Makoto yelled at the members of SEES, making a mad dash for the blunet but Hamuko halted him again and threw him back to the ground.
"Come back, man," Akihiko said. "We need you."
"Senpai, we're nothing without you," Ken pleaded. "We need you."
"Despite everything, you have carried this team on your back for day one," Fuuka said. "I can't count the number of times you've saved us…"
"You have saved countless lives, Minato-san," Aigis said. "From Strega, from the shadows…."
"…" Minato looked up to see Yukari smiling at him.
"Those blood, sweat and tears that you spilled," Yukari said. "Don't tell me you for them…."
Hamuko pulled Makoto backwards and dug a knee up his back. The shadow screeched and punched her, making Hamuko backtrack a tad but she shook her head and laughed. "You're weakening…"
"Grrr," Makoto growled. He held out his hand and unleashed a massive wave of dark energy that Hamuko endured easily due to her resistance. "You bitch!"
"I told you, you pissed off the wrong one," Hamuko smirked, breaking through the attack and stepping forward to mock him some more. "Your punches don't hurt as much more…"
"Minato will be back…" Hamuko said proudly. "He'll be back…"
"Never ever!" Makoto directed his attention to SEES and fired off a blob of darkness that exploded next to their feet, crushing their bodies and breaking the circle around Makoto.
"You piece of shit!" Hamuko ran ahead to punch that but Makoto the punch and grinned in her face. His working eye shined with a malicious glint and the shadow ducked low to stab Hamuko on her already wounded gut.
"Ugh," Hamuko spat out blood and the darkened teenager easily lifted her up before brutally smashing her backwards to the ground which cracked open. Hamuko struggled to her hands and looked ahead at Minato who was obviously getting colder after Makoto had separated him from SEES.
"Prepare yourself for death," Makoto picked up the sword again and ran for Minato.
"Minato!" Hamuko pushed her off the ground and ran behind him.
Minato looked up and Makoto was running at him. He closed his eyes and hung his head low. Yeah, he probably deserved this…
He heard a cry of pain and opened his eyes to see Hamuko taking a blade in her shoulder, saving him once again.
"Why?" Minato whispered.
Hamuko pulled the blade out and fired another side-kick to create distance. "You want to be like this, fine, I'll keep fighting and I won't stop, I promise, I'll fight to my death."
"…"
Makoto stumbled again, his power wavering.
"That was a cheap shot," Junpei powered back to his feet, glaring at the shadow.
"He's mine to finish," Hamuko warned.
Makoto could only watch on as the other persona users stood up and gathered around Minato again, encouraging him to move on and forgive himself. He growled in pain and charged for him again but Hamuko intercepted him mid-way and blocked his way, holding him there as the others kept talking to Minato.
"Ugh," Makoto cringed and to his surprise, Hamuko shakily lifted him up and tossed him far away. The shadow slowly stood up and eyed the group again.
"Keep throwing those attacks, this time we won't move," Yukari promised. "Throw everything you got, we are not leaving his side!"
"Come on, like I said, we fight till one of us drops dead," Hamuko reminded, taking her stance with another smile.
Makoto stood up and looked around. "…"
"You know it, Minato is clawing towards the light," Hamuko said.
Makoto said nothing and just closed the distance with another slash with Hamuko blocked yet again, resulting in more sparks that danced around their weapons.
"Come on man," Junpei pleaded. "Get up, I swear I'll cry if you don't get up and kick his ass."
"…"
"I've never cried over a guy, dammit, don't make me!"
Minato looked up to see the tears in the corner of his eyes. "Huh…" he was actually going to cry. Junpei crying over him, someone who had exploited his past demons, someone who had beaten him down so many times before…
"Come back!" Junpei cried.
SMASH!
Magician Arcana Rank 10.
"Huh…" Minato blinked. He remembered himself leaning on Junpei when Hamuko was shot by Takaya, Junpei apologizing to him, praising Minato as his teacher and thanking him for saving his life.
Hamuko felt the surge of warmth from Minato and smiled.
"SHIT!" Makoto growled in pain as a good chunk of his power burned away. He tried to make a mad dash for Minato but Hamuko held him back by his hair. "Oh no, you don't…"
"Stupei is right," Yukari choked out. "I'm going to cry if you keep this up any longer…"
Minato recognized that voice too. Yukari, she had taken so much abuse form his hands and mouth. He had disrespected his dead father, insulted and mocked her in every way, he even left her to die in Tartarus so why…?
"Don't you dare break the heart of my best friend and mine!"
SMASH!
Lovers Arcana Rank 10.
No, that wasn't quite right. Minato remembered the words he gave to Yukari that helped her move on from the fake video that Ikutsuki had doctored.
"You helped me move on, if it wasn't for you, I would have killed myself, you saved me!"
Hamuko struggled but eventually she forced Makoto to his knees, overpowering the shadow. "For every wound…"
"I've always admired you," Akihiko started. "You are my junior and it was my duty to help you but you are the one who has saved me, helped me so many times."
"Really…"
"If you hadn't knocked some sense into me, I would have killed myself over Shinji's memory; I would have spat on his sacrifice, thank you!" Akihiko cried. "You even gave me a memento, I will never forget that."
SMASH!
Star Arcana Rank 10.
Minato started to move as the memories; the forgotten memories came rushing back to him. Unlike the ones he had encountered in the past few weeks, these were warm…
Hamuko stabbed the blade into his back again, worsening the already hideous wound on. "Which number are we up to now…?" she asked coldly.
Makoto pushed himself forward but Hamuko sent him back to the ground with another kick. "Fuck…" the shadow cried out in pain, his frame flickering due to the hope that was flaring within Minato.
"We were up to the double digits," Hamuko gave a smirk and jumped on top of Makoto with a yell.
"You were always my leader, you carried this entire team on your back, even when you were on your death bed," Fuuka clasped her hands together. "I can't count the times you've saved my life, the life of my friends and even the life of my best friend, Natsuki… Thank you Minato-kun…"
"…" Minato slowly turned his head to stare at her and she was crying for him.
"Please, come back to us!"
SMASH!
Priestess Arcana Rank 10.
Hamuko started stabbing the damn thing over his chest, arms and neck, doing so with a sick smile on her face which reminded Makoto of the old Minato. The old Minato had scared him, that had beaten him to death in his dreams.
"You're just a fake," Hamuko sneered, holding the blade up again. She repeated the exact same words that Minato had told him in his dreams.
Makoto sucked in a deep breath and Hamuko went back to the slaughter.
"I always idolized you, senpai," Ken said. "You avenged Shinjiro-san, you took care of me despite what I had done. Thank you!"
"Ugh," Minato started moving again, looking back at the kid who was bowing at him.
"You will always be my senpai,"
SMASH!
Justice Arcana Rank 10.
Hamuko stabbed a number of holes on Makoto's body, just like the holes he had punctured on Minato. "Your power is wavering…." Hamuko whispered, giving him another cruel smile. "You should know, Makoto…"
"We always win…"
"…"
"You should know that, Minato always wins…"
"I told you before," Mitsuru said. "After everything I've done to you, you ended up saving my father, giving him more time to live…"
"I did…" Minato remembered.
"You reached out to me when I was at my lowest," Mitsuru said.
"I remember," Minato confirmed. "I-I ended up avenging your father…"
"Thank you," Mitsuru bowed her head. "You are not a junior or team mate to my anymore, you are my friend and I want you to come back."
SMASH!
Empress Arcana Rank 10.
Hamuko stepped away from Makoto's mangled body and kicked him on the face to force him to see the direction in which Minato was. "I told you…"
"The bonds of friendship will save him…"
Makoto started crawling over to the group but his legs were too busted up and Hamuko had damaged him beyond repair. "No Minato…" he muttered. "Don't listen to them…!"
"My friends…" Minato blinked. The warm feeling his chest, it wasn't fake, that warmth made him choke but it also brought a small smile to his face. "Friends…" after all that he had done, he had friends…?
Aigis crouched down and hugged Minato tightly. "Minato-san…"
"Forgive me for what I have done to you," Aigis choked, pulling him closer. Despite being a robot, Minato felt the same warmth from him too. He sighed in her embrace.
"…" Aigis said nothing but the same phenomena happened over again and this time, Minato sucked in a deep breath as a violent light flashed before his eyes.
I couldn't even sob over the dead bodies of my parents that were burned and charred beyond recognition. Mom… Why did you push me away? Why did you save me so I could die all alone, why?
The car was so badly damaged and crushed that a child like me couldn't even dream of removing the remains of my parents from beneath. I tried my hardest to pull and push; I screamed my soul out to anyone who could come here and at least get me a goddamn memento of my parents!
Nobody came. Nobody heard me because I was alone on the bridge, right above the blood-red sea and right under the yellow moon which appeared out of nowhere and the moment it did, my life went straight to hell….
I will remember this forever…
In my grave…
I briefly thought of hurling myself off the bridge or stab my neck with a glass shard but no… those thoughts were stopped when I heard a shrill scream and repeated yells coming from the other side.
What could that be…? It sounded like a girl in trouble. Well, might as well try to be a hero and then kill myself. With those thoughts, I sucked up the pain and limped my way over to the other side of the bridge, going through a number of totaled cars and wreckage.
Just what caused this…?
"What on earth…." what the heck was going on there? I came here looking to be a hero but the dread, the evil in the area was so powerful and the whole scene was just unreal. I had never seen anything like this in real life.
The girl I heard was crying out to the skies as something akin to black mist was tearing a hole through her chest, going into her body. What the heck was that…? She's crying in pain and horror, still begging someone to save her.
I clench my fist. My life was already over a few minutes ago. She probably had a family. I should save her but this fear… this ungodly fear and dread was forcing second thoughts into my head.
"Help me!" she cried out again and I bit my lip. Her limbs were twisting and turning, blood was gushing out of her mouth, and her eyes were wide open, almost like they were about to pop out.
"No," nobody will remember this but at least I can face my parents and give them a good reason for my suicide. I need to do this. I must do this!
Without caring for the dread, I rushed forward and closed my eyes. I collided into the girl and pushed her away from the mist, breaking the ritual but this demon…. This evil energy is.
UGH!
I felt a sharp pain across my soul which crossed over to my body, making me yell out to the skies. This was unreal, the pain and evil was unparalleled, this feeling was out of this word, what the fuck had I gotten myself into-
Those thoughts stopped when I managed to see the girl from the corner of my eye. She had red hair and red eyes. "Ugh…"she's holding her hands together and bowing down at me…
…. She's bowing at me?
For saving her?
"T-Thank you…"
"I will never forget you…" she choked out with the tears streaming down her face. I had momentarily forgotten about all about the pain I was going through but it came back and snapped me out of the trance I was in.
I can feel my senses crumbing as the evil grabbed a hold of my heart and seeped into my soul. Bloodlust, rage and insanity flooded into my head and heart. I'm… slipping…
Slipping into a void….
"HEY!"
"I will repay you!"
"Thank you!"
I heard her one last time before the cruel world blackened around me and I fell into the darkness with something new in my body, heart and soul. Something so malicious and evil….it came really close to killing me but I survived it somehow….
This is not me…
This evil does not define me….
THIS IS NOT ME.
THIS IS NOT ME!
"This is not me…" Minato spoke after snapping out of the vision.
SMASH!
Aeon Arcana Rank 10.
Minato sucked in a deep breath as the despair inside him started lessening. That vision, it was lost to time but that had happened. He had saved a life on the bridge years ago and now he knew that life belonged to Hamuko.
Aigis gasped when Minato pulled her close and hugged her tightly. "Aigis…" he muttered with a soft voice that made the others look at him with wide eyes.
"Everyone…" Minato muttered, slowly standing up to full height. He faced his friends and all of them were crying out in joy at the sight of their leader returning from the void. "That was my past but this; you and Hamuko are my present and future…"
"Minato…" another voice made the others look back to see someone else emerging from the shadows, a very familiar redheaded male who had battled him countless times before, some who had forged a bond with Minato through fighting and competition.
Someone who the team thought had died a few weeks ago.
Minato turned around to see Sho staring at him with a smile. His eyes were blue and that nasty scar on his face was glowing blue, along with his eyes which were shinning with respect for the battered blunet. "You changed my mind…"
"Sho…" Minato muttered.
"You pulled me out of the darkness," Sho said. "You promised me something and don't you dare forget it."
SMASH!
Sun Arcana Rank 10.
Minato finally smiled after weeks of suffering and torment.
"I'm glad to see you again," Junpe said to Sho who stood beside him. "Can't believe I said that."
"Don't milk it," Sho warned. "I came here for Minato, I clinged onto life for Minato and no one else."
"…"
"Minato, I owe you one," Sho said. "Finish this already, I need to see you over his dead body."
Minato looked ahead and his friends separated to give him room to walk. The pain sucked but he shrugged it off and marched off to put an end to the pain and suffering that he and his friends had to endure.
Especially the suffering Hamuko had to endure.
Makoto got to his knees and Hamuko allowed him to stand. She had mercilessly ripped his body open just like he had done to Minato. "Y-You'll pay for this…"
Hamuko gave another sick smile in return which made Makoto back off slowly.
Thud.
He stopped moving backwards when his back collided against someone. Makoto shivered and quickly turned around to see Minato giving him a broken smile.
"Minato…" Hamuko blinked. He was up. Minato was standing on his own two feet with a smile on his face. "Y-You're up…"
"You're up," Makoto spat. "How dare you keep breathing after what you have done?"
"Give it up," Minato said. "I'm done. Be happy for me."
"I will never let it go!" Makoto swore and punched Minato as hard as he could on the face. "…" the punch did nothing and Minato merely turned his face against the force, surprising Makoto who pulled back and started moving backwards again. "Y-You…"
"I consider myself saved," Minato said. "You've tormented them long enough, come back to my shadows where you belong."
"Never!" Makoto scowled but he kept walking backwards, deathly afraid because he knew the end was coming. His frame was rapidly flickering in and out of existence and the hope inside Minato was only increasing by the second.
"Minato," Hamuko stopped over to the blunet and touched his cheek. "You remembered, didn't you?"
"I did," Minato smiled back at her. "We finally met again, didn't we?"
Hamuko clasped her hands together and bowed at him, tears streaming down her just like that night. "T-Thank you…"
SMASH!
Death Arcana Rank 10.
"No, thank you," Minato pulled her close and cleaned her tears away. "We saved each other…"
Hamuko breathed out and the two slowly turned around to face Makoto who looked ready to charge at them again.
"Time to finish this," Minato said, tightly gripping the evoker in his grip.
"Yes, time to look forward to the future, together…" Hamuko said, pulling out the evoker from her holster again.
Slowly, they switched personae, raised the device to each other's temples and with a deep breath and one final smile, fired the devices in their hands to finish the despair once and for all.
BANG.
Helel and Satan emerged from behind the two and they looked ahead to see Makoto who was shaking under the might of the two powerful personae.
"Today marks the night. This is the start of atonement," Minato said as the ground beneath them cracked open and the heat escaped the fissures, halting Makoto who was just about to charge.
"Together," Hamuko repeated.
"Suffer!" Makoto yelled for the last time.
"Armageddon!" the two shouted in unison, causing a surge of blue flames from the fissures that eventually tore through the ground and swallowed Makoto whole before reaching out to the skies, blazing and burning with ungodly amount of power.
The temperature sky-rocketed to inhumane temperatures but the two endured it and kept staring at the mass of darkness burning under the heat with unblinking eyes.
Minato heard one final, demonic screech from his creation before everything fell silent.
"It is done…" Minato muttered, putting his evoker away.
"Yes…" Hamuko waited for a few more seconds as the flames withered away, leaving behind a gigantic hole in the ground. "Welcome back, Minato."
"Thank you," Minato breathed out.
"Minato!" the blunet turned around and Yukari ran right into him, hugging him tightly and sobbing against his chest. "You're back!"
The others eventually followed and Junpei threw himself onto Minato, hugging him much like Yukari did. "I missed you, man."
"We all missed you," Mitsuru smiled, walking over and pulling Minato in a hug which surprised him for a few moments. "Never leave the team again; we need you, as a member and as a friend."
"I won't," Minato hugged her back and promised. "And I won't let you guys leave either."
Eventually, everyone gathered into a group hug under the blood-red moon. They shared a smile together and another voice made warmth bubble in Minato's chest.
SMASH!
Fool Arcana Rank 10.
"Thank you guys…" Minato said. "For everything you've done so far…." he looked ahead and saw Sho standing alone at the side, sneaking glances at the group hug every now and then.
"Sho," Minato broke free from the hug and walked towards him. The two former rivals stared each other down until Minato held out his hand for a shake because he knew Sho wasn't going to hug him.
"Thank you," Minato bowed his head. "You saved me."
"I did what I had to do," Sho shook his head and gave his usual, cheeky smirk. "I couldn't let a warrior like you die like that."
"Would you like to join us?" Minato asked.
"Huh?" Sho blinked. That came out of nowhere.
"Come and stay with us," Minato said. "You don't need to be alone anymore, stay in the dorm, with us…"
"Eh…" Sho said, looking over to the ground of goody two shoes.
"Come on man," Minato said. "At least let me repay you."
Sho looked Minato in the eye and opening his mouth to curse at him but… "Baah…" he blew a raspberry and then sighed in annoyance. "Alright fine, I'll join you guys…"
"Thanks," Minato grinned at him and Sho returned it. "Welcome to our team."
"This is awesome," Junpei cried. "We got our leader back and a new member!"
"Don't get your hopes up," Sho spat. "I'm joining just for Minato and nobody else! Stay the fuck outta my way."
"Hahaha," Hamuko laughed. "We all see through you Sho, drop this bad boy act."
"Shut up!" Sho spat out.
Minato chuckled and held out his hand. "To a better future, for all of us."
"For sure," Hamuko said, placing her hand on top of Minato's.
Everyone followed and Sho placed his hand at the top. He gave a lopsided smile and shrugged. "Ah well, you can't beat em then join em."
The Dark Hour ended and the group set off towards the dorm with their new team mate.
…
Minato sat back on his bed and looked down. "Ah man, I gotta change the sheets…" he muttered. The current ones were caked in his blood and they smelled.
Minato leaned back and thought to all that had happened. Those past few weeks were painful to endure. He was okay with the pain but there was this guilt, that he had caused his friends a lot more trouble than he was worth.
"That demon…" Minato thought back to that one night that he finally remembered after so many years. "What was that…?" how could something so evil exist in the world? It had turned him into a monster and as he thought back to the past months, a lot of things began to make sense.
His obsession with Hamuko which vanished after a certain point.
Igor saying that he was being controlled by a higher entity.
The near constant surge of bloodlust in his psyche.
His superior wild card and summoning.
Minato looked up at the ceiling. A lot of the questions were left unanswered but he knew he'd get the answers eventually. What was the thing? Where did it come from? What did it want from him? And finally, who was the fourth person on the bridge?
He rubbed his face and calmed down. "No, not the time to think…." he winced from the pain. "I need to relax for now, relax and take care of this fatigue…"
Just before he was about to sleep, the door to his room was smashed open and Minato jolted up straight on his bed to see the redhead standing at the doorway. "Hamuko?"
Hamuko wailed and ran for him, hugging him tightly. "Are you okay?" the blunet asked, a little surprised. Hamuko was shaking against him and she was clutching him like she was a little kid who was lost and then found. "What happened?" he forced her to look up. "Come on, tell me."
"I'm sorry!" Hamuko cried out, looking up at him.
"What for?" Minato asked softly. "I need to be sorry…"
"I'm sorry for the pain I allowed," Hamuko bit her lip, brushing his bangs to the side and exposing his injured eye. "I-I allowed this to happen. I'm so sorry Minato…."
"You'll n-n-ever be the same again, all because of me," Hamuko bowed her head. "I-I couldn't hold it any longer."
"Oh Hamuko," Minato sighed, hugging her back and rubbing her head. "You didn't cry and remained strong because of me, didn't you?"
Hamuko nodded into his chest. "I'm sorry!"
"You pulled me out of the darkness again, you picked up the life I gave up on," Minato cleaned her tears and smiled again. "I'm glad to be alive…. So thank you for saving me."
"…"
"Besides," Minato blew his fringe up. "Joke's on him, he picked the wrong eye."
Hamuko gigged slightly. "Geez, how can you make me smile in a time like this?"
"So can you," Minato responded, stroking her hair. "Stop crying. I think I've cried enough for the both of us."
"That's right," Hamuko said, cleaning her face on his shirt with a cheeky grin. A few seconds of silence passed as Hamuko calmed down and the two looked up at the ceiling again. "Fates don't really like us, huh Minato?"
"You got that right but like you said before, our bond is stronger than before," Minato said. "Not only that, I have a bond with my other team mates as well and I just know, together we will end the Dark Hour, together."
"And remain together till the end," Hamuko added.
"No doubt," Minato said but then his stomach growled, making Hamuko wince.
"You haven't eaten for weeks," she recalled and made him stand up. "Come on, let's cook something."
Minato nodded. "Alright, let me get my apron…"
"HEY!" Hamuko yelled. "I'll cook something. Do you doubt my skills?"
Minato rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "Well, I've never ever tasted your cooking because uh… You say that all the time and end up bullying me into cooking in the end…"
"This is the new Hamuko too," she grabbed his hand and dragged him out. "I'll cook something for you but I'll be bored all alone so just sit there and talk to me, alright?"
Minato chuckled. "Sure, we always go by what you say."
"We have a lot of catching up to do," Hamuko said as Minato sat on the counter. She was actually cooking herself which came as a surprise to Minato. "So let's talk the whole night!"
"Yeah, we deserve this moment," Minato chucked again. "Let's enjoy the calm before the storm."
And done. Man, we are finally at the last arc of this story. I think 15-20 more chapters before blood lust finally ends, after like 4 fucking years. Great point by clevernameeh, everyone has feared the duo but this time, they are up against THE demon of this fic, they are finally on a collision course aginast Death, the ancient evil from greek myths. Like I said, he is THE demon in the fic, nobody compares.
As always, just review and send me your thoughts, it can be anything, praise or criticism because that's the closest thing we get to profit in writing. :P Hang with me because like I said, this is finally going to end now. Damn, my writing career is gonna end soon but I'm glad you guys hung around. I promise a good ride, it will be painful but it will be entertaining.
Cheers! Thank you so fucking much for the support over the years.