Holy shit, getting blasted by 50 reviews is the best thing ever. Thank you little miss banana head and everyone else that reviewed. Can't explain the rush and motivation I get when I read your opinions, thanks a lot!
So, big chapter. Wrote this on my old laptop with bad keys because my current one got fried... yyyeah...
Wuteven : Nah, he alive, don't worry.
Passingby : Hahaha, I base a lot of the next chapter on the reviews as well so thanks for that.
oldreader : Hey, always nice to see an old reader. Sorry for the abrupt hiatus, I stopped shipping them so I lost interest in the story and shoot, can't believe I haven't mentioned it before but if you want to thank someone, thank Steven Cold, if it wasn't for him, bloodlust would have died. Yes, a lot happened, this went from mostly fluff to the horror you see now and I'm glad you are still reading. Thank you for reading and reviewing, cheers!
Someone : You mean if Minato was still gaga on Hamuko? He would have survived the battle but would have died because pills.
Onto the big chapter.
Minato could still hear Junpei sobbing upstairs, locked inside his room. After what he went through, Minato couldn't blame him. "Poor guy..." he released a short sigh and leaned back on the couch. Chidori had revived him but she died shortly after that, leading to Junpei breaking down in tears. "I hope he'll be okay..."
"Um, should I check on him?" Fuuka asked, concerned as always.
"Give him some time," Minato replied. "He won't respond well to anyone right now..."
"What a crazy night," Yukari muttered. They were woken up Fuuka and then came face to face with Strega for the last time. There was no battle, aside from a short scuffle between Chidori an Junpei and yet, the group of rouge persona users was no more. One of them died saving Junpei while the other two were killed in the most brutal way possible. "What just happened...?"
"One thing for sure," Akihiko spoke. "Takaya wasn't behind the killing of the guy who pushed Minato... that was for sure..."
"It all happened so fast," Ken muttered.
"And that laugh afterwards..." Hamuko added, shivering slightly. She had gotten over her demons but that haunting laugh managed to shake her, much like everyone else. "That was startling..."
"I agree," Mitsuru agreed. "Terrified me, I'll be honest..." the rest nodded their heads, agreeing with her.
Another cry of pain came from upstairs and Minato rubbed his neck, feeling a little bit of pressure weighing down. He shrugged it off and rubbed his chin, still trying to think of answers.
What was the thing that killed Takaya and Jin?
Why wasn't that thing showing up?
Why was that thing so devoted to Minato? First the punk and now Strega...
What on earth was that thing?! Everything started and came to an end on the same question that was swirling in everyone's mind.
"Don't stress it, darling," Hamuko said. "Your face is turning red from all the thinking."
"Uh, sorry," Minato said. "It's a little strange... Like Ken said, it happened so fast... and without a reason."
"Should we really be stressing over this?" Sho spoke up. "I mean, the two assholes are dead, wasn't that what you wanted all along?"
"You might be right," Akihiko said. "But being left in the dark is never a good thing..."
"We need to protect Minato-san," Aigis spoke, starting intently at the injured blunet. "Especially with this new foe... We cannot leave him alone for a second."
"I was thinking about that too," Mitsuru stood up.
"Aww come on," Minato whined. "I'm 17 years old now..."
"Sorry but we care too much," Mitsuru smiled. "You will not head out after evening. If you must, you have to take someone else with you, either Sho or Hamuko."
"Seconded!" Hamuko nodded. "Don't jump down the windows anymore!" she blurted.
"Oh crap!" Minato slapped his forehead and immediately regretted doing so because pain. "Ow..."
"You what?!" Mitsuru and Akihiko stood up. Akihiko was glaring at Minato for doing something so reckless but Mitsuru took a step further and grabbed a hold of his shirt. "What was that, Minato!?" she demanded.
"Ooops," Hamuko gulped.
"Are you insane?" Akihiko spat. "We have rules for a reason!"
Minato swallowed and tried to come up with a reason. "Uh-I... um... eh..."
"Idiot!" Yukari spat.
"Even I am not that childish!" Ken said.
"Minato-san, don't make us tie you up again..." Aigis said.
"You should be more careful, Minato-kun!" Fuuka exclaimed.
Sho snickered. The whole scene was a little amusing... Truthfully, he was a little pissed at Minato too. Pissed about his recklessness and worried about his safety...
"If you ever do that again, I'll..." Mitsuru inched her head closer. "Execute you..." she spat harshly and Minato shivered at the cold tone. Mitsuru released the hold around his shirt and crossed her arms. "If something happened to you, I don't what we'll do... Please understand that you mean a lot to the rest of us, as well..."
Minato bowed his head. "I'm sorry..." he recalled almost getting mugged and sighed. "I won't do it again, I promise."
"Better not," Akihiko said. "Or else..."
Minato glanced at Hamuko who gave a nervous giggle and looked away. "Ooops." the redhead repeated, rubbing the back of her head.
"To the rest of you, stay on your guard at all times," Mitsuru ordered. "If anything happens to Minato, I'll hold the rest of you accountable!" with that, the meeting was over but something was missing, namely, Minato's signature quote at the end.
Hamuko looked at him, edging him to talk. It was almost a tradition by now...
"Shove your head back into your asses!"
Minato cringed at the memory. Instead, he bowed down and wished everyone a goodnight. "Sweet dreams!" he said and then trotted up the steps, leaving the others a little empty, especially Hamuko who looked at the ground sadly.
"My psycho..." she sniffed.
"Well, that was underwhelming but I was kinda hoping he'd say something..." Akihiko admitted.
"My beloved psychopath!" Hamuko shouted and ran up the steps.
"Meeting dismissed. Fuck off!" Sho spat and left for his room.
...
The next day, Minato walked to school alone. Mitsuru was busy with paperwork in the dorm and while she was okay with doing it later, Minato declined her offer and went to school by himself. In the monorail, he was bullied and mocked for his look and condition and since he was alone, nobody spoke up for him. As soon as he stepped out from the monorail, he was on the verge of tears. "I deserve that..." he muttered, dragging himself towards the school gates, trying his best to ignore the taunting and laughing around him.
"Minato!" as soon as stepped in the campus, someone cried out to him and Minato faced the direction of the voice. Next second, Ryoji came up in his personal space to his surprise, threw his arms around the blunet, hugging him tightly, much to the shock of Minato and well, everyone else around him.
"Ryoji?" Minato was surprised at how Ryoji was clutching him. A bit too tightly, like he was scared of letting go. "Are you okay?" he was in hell due to the stiff hug but he couldn't push Ryoji away, or else he'd get upset. That wasn't a guess, more of a fact.
Ryoji pulled back and smiled at him. "Excuse me, I was just waiting for you, my best friend."
Minato smirked. "Yeah, I'm here now."
Ryoji widened his smile until it dissolved into a frown. "What the fuck are you bitches looking at!?" he thundered at the nearby students. "Huh!?" he looked back at Minato and noticed his misty eyes. "Who bullied you this time?" he demanded to know. "Tell me so I can-"
"Let it go man," Minato patted his back. "Let's talk about something else... I need some cheering up."
"As you say, Minato," Ryoji nodded at him. Surprisingly, he took Minato's backpack and started walking beside him. "Want to eat something after school? I'm sure ramen will cheer you up, right?"
"Sure, sounds goods," Minato agreed. "Let's head to game panic after that, okay?"
"Go easy on me though," Ryoji muttered. "I'm still learning."
The two laughed and made their way inside the homeroom. Hamuko and Yukari arrived later and both of the females smiled at Minato and Ryoji talking and laughing with each other. Especially Hamuko who greeted Ryoji with a smile, having forgotten about the hot springs incident.
"Where is your other friend?" Ryoji asked. "Junpei, I mean?"
Minato paled. He looked down and sighed, not sure how to answer that. "He lost someone..."
"Oh..." Ryoji replied nonchalantly, not really caring about his loss.
"Don't say anything to him, please," Minato pleaded.
"You got it, Minato," Ryoji promised and went back to writing the notes, something he never did before. "We'll photocopy these later, okay?"
"Thanks!" Minato smiled.
From the other seat, Hamuko stared at the two suspiciously. "Is my Minato turning..." she asked herself. "Nope, can't be!" she laughed to herself and shook her head, going back to the lecture.
After school was done, Minato told Hamuko that he would be hanging around with Ryoji. She accepted and gave him permission but Minato did see her staring at the two of them somewhat suspiciously for some reason. "Eh..." he shrugged it off and hung around the island with Ryoji until evening.
"Take care, friend," Ryoji dropped Minato home and bid him farewell. "See you on Monday but keep your phone open, if you're free, let's hang out, okay?"
"Sure," Minato waved. "Be careful."
Ryoji smirked and walked off. Minato sighed and stepped inside the dorm, closing the door shut.
"Minato!"
As soon as he stepped in, Hamuko bolted from the kitchen and came to a stop in front of him. "Darling!" she cooed and giggled, holding out her arms. "Can I squish your cheeks?"
Minato blinked.
"Want to cuddle on the couch?" she asked again, getting closer to him.
"Um..." Minato wanted to say 'hell yes' but...
Minato gulped. "Um, wounds and... stitches..."
Hamuko lowered her hands and frowned at him, with the same skeptical gaze. "Okay then..."
An awkward silence passed on until Minato broke it. He wanted her to do so much more but his broken body couldn't handle cuddling or snuggling anymore, all thanks to Makoto. "Um, how are you?" Minato smiled, trying to cheer her up.
Hamuko appreciated his efforts and chirped. "I've been good!" she exclaimed until her shoulders fell and a sad sigh escaped her lips. "Junpei on the other hand..." she started walking towards the steps and Minato followed her.
"He's been locked up inside his room ever since last night," Hamuko said, coming to a stop near the steps.
Minato followed her up. "I see..."
"Everyone tried to reach him but he didn't open the door," the redhead groaned. "He hasn't eaten anything in a while, I'm worried Minato..."
Minato walked over to the end of the hall and Hamuko followed him. They stood outside Junpei's room and waited for a while until Minato knocked twice. "Junpei? It's me, Minato..." he said quietly but he was sure his voice reached the capped teen inside of the room.
"He won't open-" Hamuko was proven wrong when the door creaked open, just enough for Minato to step inside. The blunet passed Hamuko a smile, telling her that he would handle it and with that, he stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him.
Hamuko blinked for a few seconds until a smile settled on her face. "Wild Card... huh?" she laughed to herself. At last someone had reached Junpei. She turned on her heels and skipped towards her own room, however...
...
"..."
"They're in the same room..." Hamuko mused on the fact and paled. "No, no, no!" she yelled out loud and ran up the steps, slamming her own door shut.
"I'm just imagining things!" she laughed to herself. "Her ribs really are broken!"
"His tongue is cut up!"
"His legs are fractured!"
"His hormones are okay!"
"... Right?" she looked herself in the mirror. There was this lingering suspicion that Makoto ended up punching the hormones outta Minato's body.
"Should have castrated him..." Hamuko said darkly and went ahead to do her homework. "Dammit, I wanted a cuddle..."
Hamuko's vulnerable mind drifted to places...
Wonder what Minato and Junpei were doing in the room...?
"AAAAAHHHHH!" she threw her book away and forced herself to sleep.
...
The days passed slowly with not a lot happening. Winter was pretty brutal, especially for Minato who stayed in for much of the day. His body wasn't reacting well to the cold and it only brought him more pain. After the senseless slaughter at the hands of Makoto, Minato had to change, or rather, he had to be more careful. His body was not the same anymore, it was more chubby and nowhere near as tough as before and for that reason, he couldn't even take a shower properly because whether hot or cold, the water always pained him.
Every single day, he could feel a bit of pressure building around his neck, like someone was always holding onto his throat. He didn't pay much mind to it but sometimes it got a little painful. He never told anyone else and most of his time inside the dorm was spent consoling Junpei who was slowly getting better. Minato was the only one whom Junpei talked to on a regular basis.
Back in school, his friendship with Ryoji was going smoothly. After the scuffle in the hot springs, Ryoji never lifted a hand. He would always greet Minato with a smile or even hug him at times whenever he came into the campus. Minato was a little confused at first but he really started enjoying Ryoji's company, while he was sure it was a co-incidence and while nobody could take Pharos' place, Ryoji reminded him so much of his little brother.
There was some concern though, namely whenever Aigis and Ryoji were in the same room which was often because they were in the same class. A number of heated interactions had happened and while Minato always managed to calm them down, he was puzzled, why on earth did Aigis dislike someone whom she had recently met? Made no sense.
Hamuko was behaving a little strange around him.
"Kiss me!" Hamuko whined, clasping her hands at her back and closing her eyes with a smile on her face. Minato wasn't able to resist a cute face like that but...
"Um..." Minato knew his mouth was full of blood... the cuts on the inside of his mouth never healed.
"Come on!" Hamuko pressed, pursing her lips together for a smooch. "I'm waiting!" she sang.
Minato wanted to do something else but in the end, he ended up kissing her on the forehead as a goodnight kiss.
"Ah..." Hamuko hummed, thinking he was going to continue down but he ended up pulling away abruptly. "Wha...?"
"Goodnight," Minato bid her farewell and brushed past her, cursing Makoto for ruining his love life.
Hamuko watched him depart with another frown. "I think I'm pretty cute..." she pouted. "What's up?" she wondered and went back to her own room.
The pressure around his neck kept increasing day by day, unnerving the blunet but still never told anyone. They were already treating him like a kid with Mitsuru playing the mom and Akihiko playing dad. They had their own issues and Minato didn't intend to trouble them further.
And one day, Mitsuru called Junpei down for a 'special delivery' and of course, Minato had to call him down and after some persuasion, the capped teen came down, still shaken up but after the long talks with Minato, he was feeling a little better, enough that he could come down and face the rest.
"She left you this..." Mitsuru said, passing him a familiar sketchbook.
Junpei shakily opened up the sketchbook and broke down again, flipping the pages over to see various portraits of himself. Every page was dedicated to him and from the detail on his pictures, he was sure Chidori had spent a lot of time thinking about him.
"Chidori..." Junpei gave another sob.
"Cute," Hamuko smiled. "You look real good, Bropie!"
"You have to snap out of this, Junpei," Akihiko urged. "She doesn't want you like that..."
"Someone has told me that..." Junpei finally smiled through the tears, closing up the sketchbook. He took a deep breath and faced his friends. "Enough crying. I'm coming back to fighting and kicking ass starting tomorrow!"
"Yes!" Yukari cheered. "Happy to hear that, can't believe I'm saying this but I missed your jokes!"
Junpei caught Minato smiling at him and he coughed. "There is someone who has helped me a lot..." he looked over at Minato and held out his hand towards the blunet.
"Thanks man," Junpei remembered the long talks, all the time Minato spent with him, trying to cheer him up and make him see the bigger picture. "Thanks a lot..."
Minato shook his hand firmly and Junpei pulled him into a hug which surprised Minato for a few seconds until he hugged him back, slapping him on the back in a friendly manner. "Come on, Junpei!" the blunet consoled as Junpei was still crying a little on his shoulder but Minato knew these were the last tears he had in him.
"You're my bro now," Junpei declared with another muffled sob against his shoulder. "I'm so sorry..."
"Dude, come on," Minato shook his head.
"I'm so sorry for my insecurity and stupidity," Junpei confessed. "I've wished death on someone like you for most of the time we were together, I'm so sorry!"
"..."
"Without knowing the hell you were going through," Junpei continued. "If something happens to you, I'll blame myself now..."
"I ain't going anywhere," Minato promised, giving Junpei his hanky. "Don't worry. I have my apologies too. Let's forget about that and look forward, right?"
"You're right man," Junpei pulled back, knowing he had made a fool out of himself but he didn't regret it. He didn't how Minato looked, to him, Minato was the perfect friend now. "I'm going to end the Dark Hour for your sake, just you watch!"
Hamuko widened her smile. For once, she wasn't bothered that Minato had hugged Junpei while he hadn't gotten one in days. "Awesome..." she fist-pumped, overjoyed to see Junpei smiling again.
"You punks are something else," Sho snickered. "Really, especially you, Minato..." he admitted out loud.
"We're a kick ass team, that's all!" Hamuko cheered, fist pumping again. "Nothing is going to break us apart. On the count of 3, go SEES!"
1
2
3
"Go SEES!" the members shouted in unison, even Mitsuru and Sho joined in. They followed Hamuko and pumped their fists into the air, smiling at each other.
"Can't believe I did that..." Sho muttered with a blush on his face. "Fuck!" he cried.
The night ended on a laugh on the expense of Sho.
...
The next day, Yukari requested Minato to follow her and the blunet did so, following her to the rooftop. The popular brunette didn't bat an eye at the rumors as the two walked up together and stepped onto the roof. Minato cringed at the chilly breeze and rubbed his sides to ease the pain.
"I can give you my jacket if you want," Yukari chuckled.
"I'm good," Minato laughed. "Do you need something?"
"Um," Yukari's ears turned pink and she looked away from Minato. "Uh, I think... Um, we never really had a chance to talk, have we?"
"True," Minato walked ahead and looked down at the campus from the rooftop, clasping the ice cold railings. "I never had a chance to talk to anyone, really..."
"I have my apologies in order too," Yukari recalled. "Like Junpei, I wished death on you too..." she admitted and then winced. "I even prayed that you'd die horribly at the hands of Strega or the shadows..."
"I don't blame you," Minato said as Yukari came to a stop beside him. "After all that I did to you..." he recalled his sins and bowed his head. "I should be apologizing to you..."
"That wasn't you," Yukari added. "All this time, I was cursing a victim..."
"Victim..." Minato repeated the word.
Yukari kept quiet for a few more seconds until she spoke again. "I just want to let you know, everything is forgiven and I hope the same goes for you. I don't want your scorn, Minato..."
"Truth be told," Minato smiled. "I considered you a friend the moment you helped me in the streets..."
The brunette blinked. "R-Really?"
"Yeah," Minato nodded. "I'm aware I wasn't a good friend or acted like one but after Hamuko, you were my first friend in the team."
Yukari recalled certain memories. When Takaya had attacked them in the dorm. Minato came over to her first, patched up her wounds and helped her to the room. He never scowled during his work, he even threw a blanket over her and wished her a speedy recovery.
Yukari giggled. "I believe you..."
A comfortable silence passed on between the two.
"Minato? Remember when you told me to keep believing?" Yukari widened her smile.
"Yes?"
"Fuuka gave me a disk that she hacked from Ikutsuki's computer," Yukari recalled the recording and then looked Minato directly in the eye. "What you said was true. Ikutsuki had doctored the video. My dad was innocent all along..."
Minato brightened up. Oh God, that was like the first good deed he had done while under the influence. "Really? I'm happy to hear that!"
"Yup!" Yukari grinned. "When I saw that, I made up my mind. I promised to myself, I would do anything to see you get better, anything at all." she admitted with a blush. She had seen the video when Minato was lifeless on his bed and from that moment, she swore that she would face Makoto and protect Minato for he was the reason she kept fighting and was able to see the true video. If she had stopped believing, she would have killed herself sooner or later...
"Thanks," Minato blushed and looked down. "I appreciate it Yukari..."
Yukari went closer and hugged him tightly. Minato returned the hug, still hurting but he couldn't say no to her. She needed some closure and so did he, after the rivalry of sorts, both of them needed to get the emotions off their chest.
"I never thought I would cry over a guy," Yukari spat, glaring at him for all the times he made her cry. "And hell, we aren't even dating!"
"That happens between good friends," Minato kissed her on the forehead and pulled back, looking down to see a number of pointing at the two. "Um, rumors..."
"Don't care," Yukari said with a light blush on her cheeks. "Okay, at one time I wouldn't have hugged you but I was pretty stupid back then... I had some maturing to do."
"Me too," Minato patted her on the back and smiled. "Best friends now, okay?"
"Pleasure," Yukari giggled again.
...
"Haaah, haaah, haaah!" Minato stumbled into his room and locked the door shut. His neck was killing him, it really felt like someone was choking him. "Ugh!" he dragged himself over to the bed and dropped down. "Dammit..." he couldn't believe he was doing it again but he reached for some sleep pills and gulped them down, desperately wanting to sleep for some relief from the ungodly pain.
He was hot and cold at the same time. He could feel his weight but at the same time, he felt weightless, he felt terrible, sick and just about done. "Haaah..." Minato breathed out, looking up at the ceiling as black dots dominated his vision and he started slipping.
"What a shitty life..." a stray tear ran down his face, stinging the wounds already present. He wanted something to happen. The pain and pressure was getting unbearable. Everything was falling apart.
"I'm weak,"
"I'm pathetic,"
"I'm disgusting,"
"I..." he trailed off and gritted his teeth. "Worthless..." without that demon inside him, he was indeed worthless. He was no longer the charming, badass genius that he was in the past. He had lost everything, he had his friends but that only made him feel more terrible because he was sure he was nothing but a burden to them.
With a pained whimper, Minato fell into a trouble sleep and his masks finally cracked under all the guilt and depression.
Jupei bolted up straight and jumped out of bed upon hearing a pained cry coming from the room opposite to him. "Minato!" the sleep was knocked out of his eyes and Junpei quickly hurried out of his room. A number of shouts coming from Minato's room made him cringe but as he tried to enter, he found out that the door was locked from the inside.
"Minato!" he shouted, hoping for an answer but only got more screaming in response, also a bit of coughing. It sounded like someone was choking Minato inside his room...
Junpei didn't give a crap about the costs and tackled the door a few times until he smashed it open and quickly stepped inside, ready to kick the crap out of anyone who tried to harm Minato-
"Huh!?"
To his surprise, no one else was there but the shouting continued. Minato was on the ground, rolling back and forth with his hands on his own throat. Junpei wondered if he was choking himself but upon closer inspection, he was rubbing his own neck, trying to ease the pressure and force some air down his throat.
"Dude!" Junpei hurried over and and shook him. "What's going on!?"
"Guys!" Junpei shouted on the top of his lungs. "Minato is in trouble!" it only took a few seconds and the rest arrived. Akihiko came first and crouched down next to Minato, trying to do something to help but he wasn't sure what the heck was going on!
"Minato?" the senior kept shaking him and Minato kept coughing and screaming in agony, his limbs twisting and turning due to the pain around his neck. He couldn't breathe at all and the grip around his throat was beyond suffocating.
"UGH!" Minato cried out again, thrashing around wildly to
Minato hacked out blood and saliva and cried out in pain, his face turning purple due to the lack of air. Soon enough, the females arrived and so did Sho, all of them worried and confused about Minato's condition.
"Minato, snap out of it!" Hamuko cried but her voice didn't reach him and he only responded with more coughing and screaming. Hamuko glanced at his neck and it was constricting by every passing second, like someone was choking the life outta him.
"What's happening!?" Yukari cried. "Minato, say something!"
"His personas are in a frenzy," Fuuka winced, feeling the pressure and hostility from the Gods inside of his psyche. "T-They're choking him!"
"W-What?" Mitsuru gaped.
"Minato, switch your persona!" Hamuko commanded, shaking him again. "Switch your persona now!" she pleaded.
"Come on man," Junpei widened his eyes. Minato was slipping. His face was completely blue at this point.
"Don't slip!" Sho spat. "Come on man, snap out of it!"
Minato only gave another cry of pain and his limbs started twisting and turning, eyes rolling to the back of his head as the oxygen lessened second by second. Blood came out of his mouth, horrifying his friends. Hamuko tried to keep calm but it was difficult, Minato was slipping before her very eyes-
"Come on! Don't leave us!" Hamuko pleaded.
"Here!" Akihiko came rushing back with a few pills in his palm. The suppressants that Shinjiro took before.
"T-These...?" Hamuko shivered, dreading to think of the consequences.
"Just give it to him!" Mitsuru shouted. "He's going to die right now!"
Hamuko clenched her jaw and shoved a few pills down Minato's throat and started rubbing his back. "Swallow!" she pleaded as the rest of her friends brought some water which they forced down Minato's throat, leading him to cough and wheeze some more but after a while, Minato calmed down somewhat as the pain lessened around his neck. He pushed himself away from the embrace and fell down to the floor, struggling to get his breath out.
"Ugh..." he glanced at the teenagers standing over him with tears in their eyes, relieved that he was still alive. More blood dripped down the corner of his lips and Minato threw up a little inside his mouth, absolutely sick to his stomach due to the blood and the despair...
"Thank God," Hamuko breathed out and crouched down on her knees, stroking his head.
"You scared us," Junpei patted his back, picking Minato up and resting him back on his bed.
Minato was still, not moving or talking. His only eye was devoid of will and completely vacant because he knew what had happened. "D-Dammit..." he cursed, breaking down as tears ran down his face. He rubbed his single eye and cried out in a mixture of pain and worthlessness. He had truly lost everything...
"It'll be alright," Mitsuru assured, squeezing his hand.
"Minato-san," Aigis stroked his head, wiping away the tears from his cheeks.
"When was the last time he cried?" Fuuka winced, coming at his side to comfort him along with the rest. "Rest easy, Minato-kun."
Akihiko cursed himself for giving him the pills but he knew it was essential. Shinji had kept some in his drawer and while they helped him now, the boxer knew they shortened his lifespan by a bit due to the side effects.
Minato cried even harder when a number of voices echoed inside of his head. He knew where they came from, before, they used to praise him but now, they were cursing him...
"My personas..." Minato pulled on his fringe, still sobbing.
"They have rebelled..."
He was afraid to even summon one now. They were repeating taunting and mocking him for being weak and worthless, a shell of his former self.
"Let go of them!" Hamuko demanded. "You can do it, let go of every single persona right now!"
Minato looked at her and bit his lip. "Discard...?" he muttered, more pain building inside of his chest. He wasn't even worthy to summon a persona now.
"For God sake!" Hamuko spat. "Discard your personas, just let them go!"
"... What good am I?" Minato wondered, looking around the group of persona users, they were special and while he was the strongest before, he couldn't handle the weakest one that he had now. "I'm worthless..."
"I'm begging you," Hamuko clasped her hands together and everyone followed her, begging him to discard the personas. "Please, don't leave us... Discard..."
Minato shut his eye and listened. He thanked his personas one last time and discarded them from the sea of his soul. He heard their voices fading away slowly and a couple of moments later, the sea was empty, no God or demon inside.
Minato opened his single eye and cursed his existence. "Worthless..." he muttered, falling unconscious after all that had happened.
"I wish Makoto comes back..." Hamuko growled, hugging Minato's head. "I want to kill him again. That goddamn bastard!" she tightened the hold around his head and scowled. "He ruined Minato!"
Nobody disagreed with that. Makoto had taken everything away from him and while they had saved him in the final battle, Makoto left him crippled and sent him into a downward spiral, a fall from grace which he couldn't recover from.
"It's alright," Mitsuru glanced at his pain stricken face and squeezed his hand again. "We won't let anything touch him..."
The team looked outside at the moon.
"The full moon is near..." Aigis spoke. While they had defeated the shadows... she was sure something terrible was going to happen.
...
Minato didn't speak much in the next few days and the others heard him crying inside of his room all night for a number of days, nonstop. He kept himself shut and barely came out of his room, except for food or for small talk. They could see why he was so broken, Minato went from the strongest to the weakest as much as they hated to admit it, he had a bad future ahead of him...
"Easy," Mitsuru guided him to the campus, holding his hand. His single eye was puffy red due to the crying. "Don't say a word..." Mitsuru warned the nearby students with a harsh tone, not playing around like last time. "One word and I will do something horrible. Do not test my patience."
After Mitsuru, Ryoji took over and snapped at everyone who even looked at Minato funny. The blunet barely kept his focus and passed the day like a zombie, still distraught about what happened a few nights ago.
Another muffled sob later, Minato buried his head into arms and drifted to sleep on the desk.
Hamuko and Junpei took him back home and the silence unnerved them. Both of them were deathly afraid of Minato doing something to himself in his current state. Hamuko kept his door open and watched over him for a few days and thankfully, he didn't do anything reckless.
Tick...
Tock...
Tick...
Tock...
Aigis glanced at the clock and then at the calendar. Tomorrow was the full moon...
"Um..." Minato groaned.
"Minato!" Hamuko hovered over him. "Something you need?"
"..."
"I need closure," Minato whispered. "I've had enough... I need closure now..."
"..."
"I need the truth," he cried. "I can't take it any longer!"
Hamuko looked out the window, unsure of what to say.
"Ugh," Ryoji cleaned his clothes from the blood and looked at the moon from the window of Tartarus. "What the fuck am I?"
"I need the truth," Ryoji spat, punching the wall next to him. "I can't take this shit any longer!"
...
The next day, something was destined to go wrong. Ryoji barely talked and just glared everyone who approached him. Minato talk much either. Aigis flew out the door the moment school ended and Ryoji followed without meeting up with Minato like he usually did.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." Hamuko said. "Come on Minato, you need to rest."
Minato nodded curtly and followed her out of the school.
11 : 57
11 : 58
11 : 59
12 : 00
The Dark Hour took over the world.
"Huh?" Ryoji stood up and started walking towards the bridge.
"Hm?" the damaged circuits inside Aigis started working again and the android stood up. "The bridge..."
...
Ryoji stood alone on the bridge, directly under the yellow moon. "Hm..." he glanced around the puddles of blood and smiled. He always liked this time of the day, less people, more blood and coffins and freedom to do whatever he wanted.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Ryoji frowned and turned around to see a familiar android walking towards him slowly. Much like Ryoji, Aigis was frowning as well. She came to a stop a couple of yards from Ryoji and stared him down.
"Fuck off," Ryoji spat. "Don't ruin my mood. I might just kill you this time..."
Aigis didn't budge and only took a step forward. "Have you forgotten?"
"Forgotten what, bitch?" Ryoji hissed. "What do you mean?"
Aigis studied him for a few more seconds and nodded. "Now I understand..."
"You better talk," Ryoji threatened.
"We've meet before," Aigis recalled the encounter ten years ago. "As adversaries..."
"Ten years ago...?" Ryoji blinked. He didn't remember any of that. Hell, he could only recall the past few months, before that... everything was blank. It was like he was born a few months ago. "What do you mean?"
Ryoji looked up at the yellow moon again and the memories came rushing into his distorted psyche.
"You are not good..."
Ryoji widened his eyes.
"You are..." Aigis took a step forward and then crouched slightly, taking her stance. "You are the shadow I sealed away ten years ago..."
The vivid memory flashed before his eyes and Ryoji finally recalled the reason for his existence. A painful silence prevailed on the bridge for a few seconds until Ryoji looked down and glanced at his hands. "I was born with the devil whispering into my head..."
"Now I know who that devil is..." Ryoji took a step forward, giving a vacant stare to Aigis. "I know who I am... What I am..."
Aigis hesitated.
"Tremble and despair," Ryoji held out his hands. "Death has come to this world!"
"P-Palladio-"
Ryoji cut her off with a horrifying roar which was followed by an explosion of dense darkness that blew the railings off the bridge and sent the vehicles flying to the other side of the bridge. The distorted shout echoed for miles and the dense darkness started spreading on the bridge, freezing Aigis in her tracks.
"Y-You!" Aigis started shivering, just like ten years ago.
"Come on," Ryoji beckoned her over. "I have waited so long to reduce you to scraps..."
"This is for Minato-san..." Aigis swallowed the fear and while she knew that resistance was futile, the android summoned her persona and bolted towards Ryoji-
Ryoji faded into black mist and he shot forward at blinding speed, colliding into Aigis who struggled momentarily but the force behind the mist was ungodly and a few seconds later, Ryoji overpowered her and Aigis lost the mobility in her body.
"Minato-san!" Aigis cried out.
The mist tore a hole into her stomach and passed through.
Blue eyes widened and the light started leaving.
Her system started shutting down.
"I'm scared..." Aigis muttered, collapsing to the ground with her eyes wide in guilt and fear.
Ryoji formed from the mist and walked over to Aigis. "No miracle this time..." he picked her up by the back of her head and stared directly into her eyes. "Time to die, you stupid machine!"
Aigis was slipping but the last word that left her mouth managed to surprise Ryoji.
"Minato-san..."
Ryoji blinked. He lessened the hold around Aigis and she fell to the ground, with the shadow standing over her.
"Minato...?" Ryoji thought to a certain blunet and more memories came rushing back to him. He looked down at Aigis and she was gone, forced to shut down due to the damage from the massive hole in the middle of her stomach.
...
Minato woke up in the Velvet room but something was strange. Unlike the previous times, the room was somewhat unstable, flickering constantly. He managed to see Aigis and Igor standing in the same spot but their faces were blurred.
"It has begun..." Igor spoke and Minato managed to catch what he said.
"The truth you have waited for is here is here," Elizabeth said.
"W-What?" Minato strained his ear to listen because their voices were distorting.
"Head to the place where it all began," Igor said. "Make haste, or else you will regret it-" with that, Minato was pushed away from the Velvet Room and he woke up in his own room, panting hard.
"T-The truth?" he got up, only to collapse back to the ground as his body protested. Not caring that he was still in his uniform, he got up from the ground and cried. "Hamuko!"
Nobody answered.
"Mitsuru!?" Minato stumbled his way outside his room, knocking on Junpei's door but like before, there was no response.
Nobody was in the dorm. "Ugh..." Minato dragged himself down the steps and panted. "The truth..." he didn't bother waiting and quickly ran out of the dorm, desperate for the truth.
...
Hamuko and her team ran towards the bridge and the moment they stepped foot on the structure, a certain fear latched onto them, burning the oxygen in the air. "Come on..." the redhead ordered the rest. They ran for a while until Hamuko found Aigis lying on the cold ground, with a gaping hole in the middle of her stomach.
"Oh God!" Fuuka cried, rushing over to the android. She tried shaking Aigis awake but the mechanical maiden didn't budge.
"Who did this!?" Akihiko shouted.
"Come out whoever you are!" Junpei followed. "We've had enough of this!"
"Fools..." the cold voice made everyone shiver and from the shadows, a very familiar student stepped out, surprising everyone because nobody expected him there.
"Y-You?" Hamuko got up and took a step forward. "Did you do this...?"
Ryoji didn't respond and kept his stare on the ground. "Filthy humans..." he looked up and glared at them, freezing everybody in place as the dreadful fear lingering in the air grew denser.
"What is he!?" Sho gaped, unable to handle the fear that was creeping up his soul.
"Get ready to die!" Ryoji spat. "I will reduce you to fucking pieces!" the hostility in his voice was clear and Hamuko knew for a fact now, Ryoji was not human and he was the one who had damaged Aigis so badly.
"Get ready to fight-" Hamuko's order was cut short when another explosion of dark energy smashed into their bodies, followed by darkness flooding into their vision.
...
"Ugh," Hamuko came to after a short while and rubbed her head. The pain was still coursing through her body and the darkness was still present on the bridge. "What on earth was that...?" she wondered, looking ahead to see Ryoji standing at the same spot as before.
Sho powered back to his feet and gulped, knowing this battle was far different. "There is something wrong with that guy..."
Hamuko looked back at Ryoji and shivered. While he still looked normal, there was something far darker about him. A glance at him was enough for the team to loose their senses in cold fear. They couldn't put the dread to words, despite having come across it so many times in their fights but this time, the was only fear, no hope...
The rest of the team stood back on their feet, broken from the single attack.
"W-Who are you?" Mitsuru questioned.
Ryoji held out his hand and another wave of energy surged out from within, forcing the team to the ground again with a sharp increase in gravity. "Keep your mouth shut..." the black haired teen cracked his neck and then turned it around, horrifying the teenagers.
"What are you!?" Akihiko demanded.
Ryoji frowned and the pressure increased on their bodies, gluing them to the ground. Nobody was able to move an inch, not even Hamuko or Sho. "Time to die..." he walked over and stood next to Hamuko, glancing down at her remorselessly. "First you."
"Ugh," Hamuko barely looked up to glance at his face and when she did, her own face paled. The fear was familiar, she had experienced it before...
"Y-You..." Hamuko hissed through clenched teeth, anger surging when she connected the pieces of the puzzle. "I-I hate you..."
Ryoji gave a sadistic smirk and held his hand up for the killing shot. "Rest in peace-"
"HEY!"
Ryoji blinked and the rest gaped in horror upon recognizing the familiar voice.
"God no..." Hamuko murmured, wishing everything was a dream.
Ryoji looked directly ahead and took a step forward, staring hard at the figure on the other side of the bridge.
Minato was panting, his legs were giving him hell due to the run all the way from the dorm to the bridge. His face was red due to the lack of breath and while he was hideously deformed, Ryoji recognized him instantly.
"Minato..." Ryoji snapped out of the trance and walked forward.
"W-What is going on here?" Minato asked, limping his way forward.
Ryoji shook off the spell and the others were finally freed. They slowly got up but nobody dared got between Ryoji who had his sights firmly set on Minato.
"Ryoji...?" Minato murmured, dragging his broken body along the ground.
Ryoji winced as he looked at him from head to toe. What had happened to him...?
"We meet again..." Ryoji came to a stop and his eyes softened. "Brother..."
Minato widened his single eye. "Brother...?" he repeated the word. It sounded so familiar, sounded so similar to a boy Minato considered his family. "P-Pharos...?" the blunet said softly, finally smiling a little. "Is that really you...?"
"Yes," Ryoji nodded. "Pharos, that's what you called me, right brother...?"
Minato widened his smile, tear welling up in his eye. "I-I missed you-" his smile twisted into a horrified expression when he saw Aigis lying on the ground with a massive hole in the middle. His senses were rattled briefly and Minato nearly collapsed to his knees. struggling to stay awake. "W-What...?"
"I missed you too, brother..." Ryoji bit his lip, trembling from the inside. "I-I care about you so I will give you the truth..."
"What truth?" Minato started shaking.
Hamuko winced as well, thinking back to the blasted night years ago. "What truth?" she wondered, glancing at Ryoji who was still staring at Minato, remorse and sorrow evident in his gaze.
"We meet 10 years ago," Ryoji announced.
"10 years..." Hamuko whispered.
"On this very bridge..."
Hamuko widened her eyes.
"I was sealed into you 10 years ago..."
"Death..." Hamuko whispered, shaking in fear and anger as she glared at Ryoji's back. At last, she finally came across the entity that had caused them so much pain and sorrow but at the same time... "Why...?" she bit her lip, knowing that Minato was getting eaten alive by the despair inside of him.
"No..." Minato took a step back. Sealed into him? That meant Pharos was-
"I resided within you for the past ten years..." Ryoji's lower lip started bleeding but instead of the crimson liquid, ichor ran down his chin.
Minato had no time to dwell on numerous questions popping inside his head. His stony nerves were greatly weakened due to all that he went through and the shock was enough to shake his nervous system badly. "Pharos..." Minato's senses started leaving him and soon enough, he fainted due to the shock and fell.
"Minato-" Hamuko cried but as soon as she said that, Ryoji bolted towards Minato, catching the blunet before he could fall.
Ryoji sighed bitterly. The reality was just too cruel. "Brother..." he hoisted Minato, picking him up with no problem. He glanced at his badly deformed face and cringed. "What happened to you, my brother...?" he wondered, concern and pain flooding into his chest. "Who did this to you...?" he scowled, still glancing at the unconscious blunet in his arms.
His face and body was badly mutilated. He had only one eye working. There were a number of dry tears etched onto his face.
Without a word, Ryoji started walking his way back to the dorm, ignoring the cries of the others behind him. He never removed his eyes from Minato's face but when he reached the dorm, he looked up and saw the yellow moon glowing eerily.
"Nyx..."
Well, a lot of stuff happened. Remember to review, like I said, I get a rush. I'm really hoping to finish this before septemeber because after that, updating anything will be hard and I mean, hell hard.
All I can say for now, get ready for hell on earth. We finally made it here, a couple of chapters left now and this will turn into a horror movie. Cheers!