WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS TO MOMENTO UMBRAE!

This is one of the few times I'll preface the chapter but this is just so everyone has fair warning. There are huge spoilers that are main plot points for my Persona 3 Fan Fiction Momento Umbrae. Which you can find through my Profile here on fan fiction. So if this spoiler warning isn't enough, you will start seeing characters from Persona 3, and they will be from a direct continuation from the end of Momento Umbrae. So if you haven't read it and don't want to be spoiled then this is your chance to go catch up. I don't think you'll be too lost if you keep reading, but again...Spoilers ahead! Still here? Alright, lets get moving to the chapter!


Chapter 29 / Start

February 25th, 2012 / Daytime
Takura Productions Studio, Tokyo

I drummed my hand on the table as the stage was being set again for the next wave of auditions. I had several sets of notes on the performers that we had seen so far. This had been part of my own requirements for it all to work for Rise and I. Something she and Mom had agreed on. I needed a real band to play behind the two of us. But we couldn't have just anyone playing with us. We wanted to keep it all a somewhat cohesive look for all members. Not to mention we had also been trying to think of a decent name for our group. A name that would go well with us and the music we wanted to sing. Well we had a little bit of time, but marketing wanted a name sooner than later to be able and start working on ideas for the Love Meets Bonds Festival, that was scheduled as our first concert. There was still a long road in order to get there. Not to mention a ton of work that needed to get done between now and then.

Rise took a seat next to me and placed a can of green tea on the table in front of me, "So any luck so far?"

I shook my head, "Plenty of talent but I don't know, nothing about them seems to click right with the sound we're looking for. Maybe I'm just too picky. I mean there is a reason I requested that applicants pick their audition piece and so far, I haven't really heard one that I like." A lot of them were too simple. Sure they all performed it flawlessly for the most part but if you weren't going to do something that was complicated or more challenging then what was the point? No, that was just me pushing my own expectations onto them, but because of that I have scratched off the majority of the list so far.

She giggled next to me, "I see why Nanase-san wanted you to be here to oversee this. She knew you'd be critical on everyone that went through." It wasn't like I was more critical than Mom was, but I had the better idea of the complexity of the music.

I sighed, "I just have high standards when it comes to music. I'm not sure if that is good or bad." I pushed the recent notes aside as it looked like the next one auditioning was coming up. Still I need to make a decision today. Well, along with Rise. I looked to my list. We had several spots that needed to be filled. A guitarist, bassist, drummer and a backup pianist. Naturally I wanted to play the piano for the majority of the time, but a few of the songs I was the primary singer and so I needed to not be behind a piano at some times. And some locations may not do well to have me playing an instrument. Well, we could figure out those details later. Most of it was so that Rise and I could be front and center for some performances. There was a lot to consider when doing this.

The next one coming up to audition was a guy named Osagawa Taro. He came onto the stage with his own guitar. He plugged into the amplifier and simply started playing. Immediately I liked his approach of just getting on stage and starting, because that's what I would have done. He had dark hair, either dark brown or black, but it was hard to tell because stage lights were hard to trust. His guitar was tuned differently than the people before, it felt much clearer to me. Also I didn't recognize what he was playing, but definitely went into a wide variety of notes. Proof that he could handle changes in beats and tone in quick fashion. He was incredibly talented. I circled his name.

I should mention that Rise and I are in a private booth so that no one can see us. Only people that cleared the audition would be able to meet us. After which they had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before seeing us face to face. Mostly because we were doing or best to hide everything before the announcement which we had set for March 27th. Things were only going to speed up from here on out. I picked up a walkie talkie and clicked the side of it.

"Kay-chan, are we done with guitarist then?" came the voice of my Mother. She likely knew upon hearing the audition that I would select it...or at the very least strong suspected it. After all she had done the initial tryouts.

"Yeah, let's move on. Whatever you have lined up next. We do have more to get to after this part, so we should try and get through it by noon," I said only half paying attention as I shoved the rest of the guitarist applications off to a different pile and pulled up my list.

"You got it. I do have one couple that requested to audition together, I told them it would be fine," Mom told me.

"Sounds good, have them come up next. What is their names?" I replied back.

"You'll know when you see them," Mom seemed to giggle a bit before cutting out. So...what I knew them?

Only a few minutes later I saw a pair of young women come out onto the stage. My eyes widened as I realized who they were. My classmates, Ichide Tsubasa was playing the bass, and Mitsuragi Saya was playing the piano. The two of them had been talking to me quite regularly now but, I had no idea they played instruments. Then again I didn't know them, how could I when most of the time its just small talk? I guess that just showed how much I didn't know. And these were people I had been in the same class with for quite a long time.

"Wait, I know them, they're your classmates. They were the only ones that even really knew anything about you," Rise commented from next to me. I didn't say anything as the girls on stage started to play. I was immediately impressed with the fact that the piece they chose showed difficulty and wide range, starting soft, and then moving louder. More than that, the two looked good as a unit. And Saya looked right at home on the piano. It seemed we all shared hobbies to a certain extent. Still, I wonder why the two had never mentioned that they did music. Their music selection was impressive.

"They're still the only ones that even talk to me in my class," I commented and circle their names on my list.

"It'll be good to have more people you know in the band. I guess all that leaves is the drummer," Rise said, apparently agreeing with my decision, although the two of them were still playing on the stage. "Here I'll contact your Mom. We're almost done with the first half of our day."

Rise picked up the radio and talked with Mom a bit. Soon we were going through the last of auditions and we had filled out who we wanted. The ones selected were informed and told we'd meet back up after we had lunch. We needed a bit of a break before we switched gears to the real work. I split with Rise for a bit as I headed to one of the break rooms for a moment and sat down to get away from the hotter part of the studio. This break room was a bit cooler.

I sat in a chair for a moment as I considered the way the day had been so far. Generally it takes a long time to go through auditions, but this had not been an open audition. This was actually an invite only audition. Mom had first round Audition about a month ago, shortly after the contract negotiation. It was an audition for a new group but the details of it were not told even to the ones auditioning. So no one even had a clue who or what the band was they would be apart of. Definitely not a typical audition practice. However, the first audition was simply to cut it down to a manageable size and bring it down to a list that Mom felt fit the image and sound of Rise and I. From there she would let me and Rise make the final decision. But most of it had been left to me with Rise giving her comments but mostly agreed, because she felt that my opinion on our music held a greater weight than hers. We'd be meeting with those we selected soon enough.

"Kana, stop messing with your hair, its fine, okay?" a voice made me turn to see three young women behind me. Well they looked a year or so probably older than I was. But one of them kept fussing with her black hair that was in a braid.

"It feels weird," the girl with black hair frowned. "Like someone is holding my head or something."

The one next to her had auburn colored hair and shifted something in her arms, "Of course it feels weird, you recently dyed your hair black and you've only ever worn your hair in a pony tail up to this point, so yes a braid is going to feel weird. You'll get used to it I promise." It took me a moment to realize that she was holding a kid in her arms. The kid looked over a year old, but I wasn't exactly the best at knowing that kind of information, but the kid had blue hair growing in.

"Thanks, you two for coming," the brown haired young woman smiled. "And thanks for always looking after Kokoro, Hamuko-chan."

"Of course, why wouldn't I look after my cute niece? I'm more surprised how Kana got offered a part just by us coming onto set. Well her eyes are definitely unique," Hamuko giggled, as I couldn't help but glanced back to the black haired girl who was named Kana. She was right, Kana had incredibly distinctive gold eyes. Gold eyes, that immediately made me think about Shadows. But that was a coincidence, right?

"That might be true. Don't worry, I'll take care of Kana-chan," the brown haired young woman said and took the hand of Kana.

"Yukari-chan, I'm not sure this is..."

"Don't worry, Kana-chan. This will be fun, I promise," The woman named Yukari dragged Kana off and left the break room. I'm not sure why I had listened to them but for a few moments it had pulled my thoughts away from the mess that was the auditions. I tried to relax a bit but after a moment the auburn haired young woman named Hamuko sat down across from me with the kid fussing in her arms.

"Sorry about that, we were kind of loud," she offered as she looked to me with a kind smile.

I shook my head, "No, its fine. It was a different kind of distraction but a distraction was what I had been looking for." I have no idea why but I felt incredibly comfortable talking to her. It definitely struck me as odd.

"So do you work here then?" she asked, a logical question.

I shrugged, "Yes and No. I'm here for work, but I don't really work here. Guess you could say I'm contracted." Answering but not answering, not really something I cared to get better at but likely would unintentionally. Well at the very least I wasn't lying to her.

"Can't tell me huh?" she smiled seemingly amused by my answer. And seemed like she had seen right through me. "Well Mister Secretive. I'm Takahashi Hamuko. This little bundle of joy I'm holding is Arisato Kokoro. My beautiful niece."

"I'm Ikakure Kayane," I gave a slight bow, which might look weird considering I was sitting down. "How old is she?"

"A year and four months now. Her Mom is a model, Takeba Yukari. Well for now," Hamuko giggled a bit. I guess there was a reason for that last bit. "Anyway, I usually end up taking care of her a lot," She smiled as she pulled the young Kokoro close to her. I couldn't help but notice the inconsistency in what she said though.

"Wait her Mother's name is Takeba but she has the name Arisato?" It was kinda confusing or was that why she had been giggling?

"Yeah, the whole situation was kind of a mess. My Brother died while he was a junior, and got his girlfriend pregnant," She shook her head. "That's really vague and doesn't properly describe what was really going on at the time. I mean I didn't even know I had a brother then. I didn't know till nearly a year ago, so even I'm still trying to understand everything. They really did love each other though but circumstances made it hard for them. And so one night they made sure they didn't have any regrets. He died some time after that. When Kokoro was born, she decided to list her as an Arisato. And Yukari-chan is looking to see if she can be married to Minato, my brother, and change her name as well. I was adopted when I was young which is why I have a different last name."

"That does sound like quite a mess and I'm still confused," I chuckled. It wasn't right for me to ask more when it might bring up bad memories. I'm surprised she told me that much, but likely she was used to having to explain it to others. "But I'm sorry to hear your brother isn't around. It must be even more confusing for someone that is learning all about it after the fact."

"I certainly didn't believe them for a while," she added with a nod. She looked to me for a moment, "Say could you watch Kokoro for like just a minute? I need to use the restroom really fast."

I nodded, "Yeah, sure." Hamuko got to her feet and crossed to me and gently placed Kokoro into my arms. Kokoro seemed to hesitate at first, protesting but after a moment she was looking up at me and grasping for my free hand.

"Alright, be right back," Hamuko quickly ran off.

I certainly never saw myself ever getting into a situation like this. Her hair was blue in color, something that was definitely not normal. But it was dark...likely as she grew up the blue would be less and less noticeable. But Kokoro's eyes were a striking color of blue as well. And as I was making these observations, Kokoro saw fit to grab my nose. "Uhh, what you do that for?" my voice coming out weird as she had covered my nose. I pulled her hand away and found myself looking into a smiling baby who was now seemingly entertaining herself by grabbing different parts of my face. "You think you're funny don't you? Don't you?"

Kokoro was an apt name for a baby girl. She definitely could be the heart for someone. I'm pretty sure there was a saying in relation to something like that. I found myself sighing as I looked at the baby girl and her continued attempts to grab my nose or lower lip. Growing up with a working Mother and where your Father was already gone. That would be rough. I had never known my own parents. Never even knowing a whisper about what might have happened to them. The brief moments I remembered trying to ask about them was met with a quick they're dead from my Uncle. And my Uncle was hardly a Father figure, so I'm not even sure what Kokoro would miss by not having a Father around. Still, if what Hamuko said was true, and Yukari was going to marry Minato post humorously then obviously she didn't intend of attempting to date ever again. Being a single parent would be hard. But she seemed to have some people she relied on. With Hamuko and Kana around at the very least.

I wonder if there would ever be a reason for me to try and find out who my parents had been. Maybe find out what they had done for a living. Likely it would be pointless to find out. It isn't like knowing that would actually change anything for me. Kokoro would definitely have a decent childhood compared to my own. If mine really even registered as a childhood. I think I spent most of it talking to doctors, counselors and therapists. Well, and anyone else that felt they could properly diagnose me. Many of them issued by the court as a means to determine the severity of my mental trauma. All so they could put an appropriate amount of years on my Uncle. Mom had been vocally against it the whole way. "Do yourself a favor, Kokoro-chan. If you ever find something you cherish. Protect it with all you can. Don't be like me," I whispered under my breath just before Kokoro grabbed my nose again.

"Looks like she really likes you," Hamuko said as she re-entered the room. "She gets really grabby for people she likes. Thanks again for watching her. I owe you one. Between Kokoro, Kana and Yukari, I feel like I've been holding it in far too long." Hamuko moved next to me and took Kokoro, although she resisted a bit and clutched my nose in response." Hamuko couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry about that."

I rubbed my nose and chuckled, "No its fine. She's a cute girl." I looked at the clock that was on the wall. "I do need to head back though. It was a pleasure to meet you, Takahashi-san. And Kokoro-chan, of course."

"Good luck with your secret project, Ikakure-san," Hamuko gave me a smile before I left the break room.

All of it felt incredibly surreal. I didn't know why, but something felt important about what had just happened. Still, there was more I had to do right now. So I went to refocus...but something had felt very...familiar with both Hamuko and Kokoro, I just had no way of knowing why I felt that way. I just had to push those thoughts off for now. Now it was time to meet the band.


February 25th, 2012 / Daytime
Takura Productions Studio

RISE'S POINT OF VIEW

It had been an odd experience being back in Takura Studio when I wasn't under contract with them anymore. At the same time, it felt great. It was a sense of freedom. Both Kayane and I were here to personally select or band members. Something I would have never been able to do as an Idol. Most of the time I didn't know who was even in the band until I was on stage with them. I always hated that. People had learned to play my songs and we never even got time to properly rehearse as a group. Kayane was being unrelenting on wanting more of a band type set up. While Kayane and I would be the faces of the group, the band would stick together. Most of the time as an Idol there were set bands but you never got to know them very well.

Kayane stood next to me, looking a lot more at ease than he had been before. I couldn't help but smile. Despite everything, music was like home to him. Keeping him focused on the task was actually the easiest way to keep him focused. He had only very mild anxiety that would crop up, but so far has been very manageable. I was still keeping a close eye on him just in case though. This would likely be one of the hardest parts of this whole process. Meeting the band. I grabbed his hand and he glanced at me for a moment.

"I'm fine," he tried to assure me.

I shook my head, "Liar. You're nervous. That's fine. I'm here with you too."

He took a deep breath, "So should we say anything about us to them?"

"They'll find out eventually. Plus they'll have to deal with people asking about our relationship either way. It isn't something we can really avoid," I leaned up against him, and half rested my head on his shoulder. "Besides we want them to trust us, right? Keeping them in the dark probably isn't the best way to do that."

He chuckled, "You're right. I'm thinking way too hard about all of this. Like you said, just nervous. Alright, I guess this is it."

We were standing in front of the door that led to the stage area where our new band mates were waiting. I stepped away from Kayane and held the handle of the door and looking back to him. "Only thing to do is move forward, Kayane. And this is how we start." I stopped and instead moved towards him. "Just one more thing," I quickly captured his lips with my own and took a moment to enjoy not only his taste but the texture and softness of his lips. I slowly pulled away. "I love you, Kayane. I know we can do this."

"As long as I'm with you," he whispered with a smile. "I love you too, Rise. Let's not make them wait."

I smiled as I turned and opened the doors. We walked out and onto the studio floor. As we approached the four members stood up. Their reactions were varied but definitely in line with what I had expected.

"Risette? And Ikakure-san!" Tsubasa, who was one of Kayane's classmates, seemed absolutely shocked. Saya, who was standing next to her seemed equally as surprised, but I think she was also relieved.

"Oh my, does this mean the rumors are actually true about you two?" The other girl spoke.

"Let's start with introductions," Tsukio Nanase was standing between us and the four joining the band. "Kay-chan, why don't you start?"

I turned and he seemed to be keeping his expression calm. "I'm Ikakure Kayane, pianist, song writer and singer."

"I'm Kujikawa Rise, singer," I said simply and stayed close to Kayane. I could tell he was nervous. I wonder how much he was trying to keep himself from shaking. I hoped being close to him was helpful.

"I'm Osagawa Taro, guitarist," the only other guy besides Kayane, he had short hair. I think it was brown, but it was so short that I could be wrong. Still he was wearing mostly dark clothing and he didn't seem the type that spoke that often.

"I'm Ichide Tsubasa, bassist," she gave a slight bow.

"Oh, um, I'm Mitsuragi Saya. I'm a pianist," Saya did a full bow to the group.

"I'm Aizawa Reiko! Drummer," she was definitely up beat. She had a big smile on her face. Her hair was maroon in color and made her stand out a bit more.

"And I'm Tsukio Nanase. Your manager from this point on. There is a few things I want to go over. From now until the day of your first performance we'll say absolutely nothing to the media as to how Risette is involved. We'll let our first performance on stage do all the talking. We'll hold rehearsal here a couple times a week, but Kay-chan will give you all the music you need to learn in order to practice on your own time. Rehearsal's will be used for refinement and will be run by Kay-chan," She was certainly getting to the heart of it immensely quickly. "Kay-chan you want to run through some of the facts for them?"

Kayane shrugged from next to me, "As you are aware, Risette is a known pop idol. So while our music will sound a bit different it will definitely be pop. I guess pop rock would be closer to what our sound is. The album will have sixteen tracks when its finished, four of which are re-makes of Rise's previous work. Three tracks where I am the singer, then three where it is just Rise, then four songs where it is the two of us. Though the remakes all involve the both of us. So overall I'd say its a good balance. There is only a couple tracks I haven't quite completed writing yet."

"Whoa, you wrote all the tracks? Did you do the remixes of Risette's old work too?" Reiko definitely sounded impressed. Kayane just nodded. "That is so awesome!"

"Thanks, I guess," Kayane scratched the back of his head.

"That's why Kayane runs practices, he's the one who writes the music. Just a warning, he can be a real slave driver in practice," I couldn't help but giggle.

"Maybe if you didn't get so distracted when we're practicing," Kayane commented, to which just made me grin and couldn't help myself as I grabbed his arm.

"I can't help it if you just look so good when you're playing," I wasn't about to let him avoid addressing the main elephant in the room. "We should go over a couple things. Kayane and I, are dating, but that can't leave this room. Well we don't intend to always hide the status of our relationship, but to start we will."

"I get it. The public not knowing will help attract more attention from the media, which means more publicity for us," Tsubasa grinned. "Still I didn't think you'd go for someone older to be honest."

"Kayane is only a year and few months ahead of me. Just the timing of everything put him two grades ahead," I explained quickly.

"Age aside, we're all here to play music. I think it could have been really easy for us to go the same route as Idol's and just let someone else deal with all of that. However, we wanted to have a band. One that is with us from the beginning. However, we also have a limited time before our first performance, so we couldn't have just anyone fill these spots. That's why there was two different auditions along the way," Kayane moved right back to business. I frowned a bit but I could feel his arm shaking as I was holding it. His anxiety was starting to affect him, so he was trying to focus.

"Wait, when is the performance?" Reiko was quick to ask.

"Currently it is scheduled for June, but the Producer says it may be pushed back a month, so it isn't set in stone. It still only leaves you all a couple months to practice," Nanase supplied the answer this time.

"Rehearsal's will be here on Wednesday's and Sunday's for the time being. Our first practice being next Wednesday," Kayane commented. "But our first few practices will be more focused on us getting to know each other. For one, Ichide and Mitsuragi are actually my classmates, and I had no idea the two of them even played instruments."

"It's not like we hid it. We are in the Band Club you know," Tsubasa giggled a bit. "Then again you've always kind of been in your own world as long as we've known you. To which I'd like to add we've been in the same class as Ikakure since Middle school And now were only a couple weeks away from our graduation from Yasogami High School. And really we only started to become friends with him a month or so ago."

I found myself giggling at the scene, "Guess you have some lost time to make up for."

"I'll be graduating from Machida High School along with Taro-kun!" Reiko was next to Osagawa Taro and he looked somewhat annoyed. "The two of us have been in Band Club forever. Though he just thinks I'm annoying." Well she was certainly energetic. I didn't realize the two of them would know each other though.

"Yes, I suppose she'll continue to torture me into this band," Taro shook his head. "I've been playing guitar since I was able to when I was little. And honestly, I was hesitant to try out because I thought it was just an Idol band, which get no attention. Either way I wanted the experience, and didn't think I would make the cut. There were clearly other guitarist that were better than me that auditioned before me."

"Maybe," Kayane shrugged. "I was looking for a specific play style and someone that wasn't going to use the same thing that other people played for their audition. You not only brought something I had never heard before but the range in what you played was more varied than the others. Even if the others played something flawlessly, you did something more difficult and was far more impressive as a result."

Taro looked at Kayane, as if he didn't believe what was said to him. "You, really know your stuff huh? I suppose you would if you are the one writing the music." Taro stepped forward and offered his hand, "I wasn't sure what to think of this to be honest. But if your planning to make this a group effort, then I'm all in."

Kayane took his hand with a slight smile, "Of course, what I've written is only a starting point. I'm sure as we play together we'll figure out what works and what doesn't."

"I'm getting super pumped guys!" Reiko jumped between the two guys and put her own hands on top of theirs. "For new beginnings and the start of new friendships!"

"Totally," Tsubasa stepped forward.

"Yes, me too," Saya put her hand in along with Tsubasa.

"Oh you guys are amazing. We're going to nail this, for sure," I stepped in and eagerly put my hands on top of all the others. "What do you say Kayane?"

He chuckled, "To new beginnings. And this is important for all of us. So let's do all we can to make this work."

"Ooo, lets all say hip hip hooray!" Reiko said. "Come on! On three, one, two, three!"

"HIP HIP HOORAY!" we all said, and threw our hands into the air and then followed by us immediately going into laughter.

"I have a feeling these girls are going to be hard to keep up with," Kayane said shaking his head.

"I'm sure Reiko-san is going to have us all going crazy by the time we get to the concert," Taro said.

"Hey! You're just trying to hide how happy you are to get into the band with me, right?" Reiko was now grabbing Taro's arm.

"And here I thought I wouldn't have to deal with you after we graduated," Taro grumbled.

I giggled and settled in next to Kayane. These four individuals were the ones that would be helping us reach our own dreams. No, the dream would become all of our dreams and goal. There was so much for us to cover still, but we had some time to get to know each other. It was strange that soon we would stop seeing the members of the Investigation Team as an everyday part of our lives. Things would change, but I always knew it was coming. This life with Kayane was what I wanted, what I dreamed about. After almost losing him to that coma, I had decided then that if he came back I would spend the rest of my life with him. He had been more realistic about the whole ordeal as a whole

He knew there was a chance that despite what we went through, there was a chance we would end up incompatible. If that was true then we were really jumping into the deep end of the pool. Yeah, there was a lot of things that could wrong. But those seemed to pale in comparison to the Shadows and actual monsters we had faced up to this point. I pulled his arm close to me as I finally spoke. "So, who likes skiing?"


February 26th, 2012 / Daytime
Ski Slopes

One day your deciding who will make up the band, and then the next you are all out skiing? It was a little way out there for Reiko and Taro but they didn't seem to mind it at all. Apparently Reiko had been wanting to go but hadn't had the chance and Taro liked the idea of spending more time with everyone in the band. Saya and Tsubasa had definitely jumped at the chance when Rise had brought it up. I mean it wasn't like I was against getting to know the band, but it just went fast compared to everything else. We didn't have much time to really get to know them I suppose. Well, time just seemed limited in what we were setting out to do.

True enough the actual performance was months away but Rise and I already had other appearances we would be making before hand. Our first job was an acting job. We were going to be in a TV special, but nobody was going to know about it until the episode aired. Shortly after that would be the announcement of our first appearance. Which is why today we needed to determine something very important. The name of the band.

I had a few ideas but nothing really sounded right. Rise and I had discussed a lot of options before we had considered having a band, and in the end we didn't want names to be the thing people primarily talked about when it came to us. Names implied ownership, which greatly reduced any recognition for anyone else that contributed to the music. And while it was a bit different as an Idol, we didn't want it to be focused that way. No, instead we wanted to make sure it was about the group, not about us. Naturally we had accepted the fact that the media would likely focus on the two of us. That didn't mean we couldn't try and pull the others in the group into the spotlight. Maybe that wasn't the way to phrase it, but we really wanted to make sure they got credit for what they contribute to the band.

Despite how Taro acted, him and Reiko seemed close. I say seemed because I'm pretty sure if there was ever anyone that could get the wrong idea about a relationship it would be me. I mean I had to have things spelled out to me by Rise for me to really understand what was going on. Rise claimed she was just determined to make sure we remained honest and clear with each other. I guess I understood that. I think with everything that had happened had made both of us afraid to lose the other. And I think there was a different fear that was there underneath all of this. That there was always a possibility that something else could happen. A threat of Shadows was just there all the time. Plus the looming thoughts that there was a trial that the two us had to face. It was the whole reason Miyuki was a attendant of the Velvet room. Man, things felt like it was only getting more complicated even though there was no murder mystery to solve any more.

"Saya! Come on, it'll be fine. Besides Kujikawa and I will be next to you the whole time," Tsubasa's voice grabbed my attention as I turned to see both Tsubasa and Rise on either side of Saya, but Saya looked terrified as she looked down the slope. "You're the one that wanted to do this right? We'll be here to help."

"Mitsuragi, trust me it'll be fine. You can do this. Oh I know! Kayane, you want to head to the bottom and be her target? Plus you can catch her if she gets out of control," Rise turned to me and smiled. Well, I'm glad she was getting along with all of them.

"Yeah I can do that. Nothing to worry about Mitsuragi, just relax and try to enjoy yourself. We'll be there if you start to fall," I tried to ease her nerves a bit and offered a smile. She looked at me for a moment and then to Tsubasa and Rise.

"Okay," Saya nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you guys at the bottom," I turned and pulled down my goggles and headed down the slope. This was the beginner slope so it wasn't anywhere near as difficult as what I usually did. I got to the bottom and stopped, turning to look back up the slope. Saya was a soft spoken girl that had gone through her own problems as a child, although I only knew what she had briefly told me. Her own Uncle had hit her, but there was probably more to it that she was admitting. I would say she dealt with her own problems much differently than I ever had. It seemed like she had known Tsubasa for a long time, possibly even since she was a child. It was always Tsubasa that was there to push her.

They were starting down the hill now, with Tsubasa and Rise staying at her side as she went down. Saya seemed to be doing okay at first and then she started speeding up. I couldn't get a great look so I pulled up my goggles as she was getting closer. She was panicking. I quickly disconnected my ski's and moved to try and catch her. The ski's would have definitely made more of a mess. Rise and Tsubasa couldn't stop her now without getting pulled into the mess themselves, fortunately it wasn't a steeper incline. The problem with something like this was I needed to catch her and also, not fall, because her own skis could cause her injury in the process. Well I had a bit of an idea.

"Ikakure!" Saya was calling out in a panic as she was rushing in close. She was swinging the poles in her hand a bit wildly but as she came in close. I stepped off to the side and crossed my right arm across her upper body and under her arm and then pulled hard as the resistance of her movement came to me. I managed to stop the majority of her momentum and as I did this I pulled her to me and turned her to her side so that her ski's wouldn't get caught upright in the snow as I stopped her. I managed to stop her but my footing slipped and I fell along with Saya to the ground. I had pulled her into my arms on reflex as we collapsed into the snow.

After a moment I relaxed my grip and laughed a bit, "You alright, Mitsuragi?"

"Yeah," She said as she moved to get up. "Thank you."

Rise and Tsubasa were next to us after a moment. They both helped Saya back to her feet.

"That wasn't too bad right? You only lost control at the end there," Tsubasa immediately was going to try and alleviate any misgivings about what happened. "We just need to work on what we do at the end."

"Sorry, it was my fault. I started to panic when I was going faster," Saya was still trying to catch her breath.

"No fair, Kayane, you have to catch me next," Rise pouted as she helped me to my feet.

"You do realize you're the one that asked me to come down here and catch her if needed, right?" I figured she was just playing but I went along with it anyway. "Hope you stick with it, Mitsuragi. It's fun when you get a hang of it. I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

She nodded, "Yes, thank you Ikakure. For helping me, I mean." Was she nervous or something? It wasn't like I did anything that special.

"Anyway, maybe you guys should go for the small practice hills before you try this one again," I turned to Rise. "I'm gonna head back to the lodge for a bit before I head back out."

"Alright," She quickly kissed my cheek before turning to the other girls. "Okay, girls. Our goal is to get Mitsuragi down this hill on her own by the end of the day!"

"Oh yeah, lets do it!" Tsubasa quickly added in her agreement, and I could tell that Saya was definitely hesitating but didn't really resist the two girls as they starting dragging her off.

I chuckled as I gathered up my ski gear and started to head up to the lodge. As soon as I got to the main path I got a different surprise.

"Kay-chan!" I turned to see a familiar young girl bouncing up to me and hugging me at my waist.

"Whoa, Nanako-chan? I didn't know you'd be here today," I looked up to see Yu and rest of the Investigation Team behind him. "Looks like you brought a lot of people with you."

"We heard a rumor you'd be here today," Yu said with a slight grin.

I shook my head, "That source wouldn't happen to be named Rise would it?" I looked back down to Nanako, "Doesn't matter. I'm glad you got a chance to come up here, Nanako-chan. Say, do you know how to ski?"

She nodded happily, "You bet. Big bro has been teaching me."

"Oh? Been doing some secret training?" I chuckled.

"Yep! That way I can show everyone how good I've gotten," Nanako was boasting, it was a nice change of pace I guess. "Why are you up here, Kay-chan?"

Well I had no intentions of hiding it from Nanako, and I could trust the Investigation Team with my life, so it wasn't like I had a reason to hide anything from them. "Remember how I told you that Rise and I were going to have a music career together?" She nodded as I spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Rise and I took a trip into Tokyo yesterday and saw a lot of people and we made our band. So today we all came here to get to know each other better."

"Wait, you guys made a band? That's where you guys were yesterday? No wonder you weren't at school," Yosuke seemed impressed.

I shrugged, "Finals are over, there isn't much for us to do at school with Graduation coming so soon. I mean there is still things we can do, but its more or less shifted to looking to the future. But we're kind of on a strict time line with our first appearance only a few months down the road."

"Is there gonna be a concert?" Nanako asked.

"Yeah, a big one, but we don't know much about it right now. I'll let you know all about it when I get it all figured out, alright?" I smiled at Nanako and she seemed to be happy about that.

"That's so cool! I want to go!" Nanako beamed.

Yu laughed as he approached, "She's going to be one of your biggest fans you know."

"Well wouldn't she be Senpai's first fan, considering he told Nanako-chan about what Kujikawa and him were planning before anyone else," Kanji pointed out.

"Should we make a fan group before anyone else?" Yu suggested.

"Oo, I want to do it!" Nanako said separating from me to look at Yu. "You'll help right?"

"Of course, I wouldn't want it any other way," Yu chuckled before looking back to me. "So where is everyone? I thought you were all supposed to be getting to know each other better."

"They're around. We're supposed to meet up for dinner at the lodge. Rise is with Ichide and Mitsuragi, teaching Mitsuragi how to ski a bit better. Oh Ichide and Mitsuragi are actually classmates of mine. So you might have saw them around Yasogami at some point," I quickly supplied. "Well if you guys want to meet them I have no problems introducing them to you later. If you guys are going to be around."

"Oo, oo! I want to meet them!" Nanako was pleading with Yu. I'm guessing he hadn't planned to stay that late because he had taken Nanako here.

"How about I call your Dad and ask what he thinks?" Yu assured Nanako and pulled his phone out to step away.

"Anyway, we're meeting up at the lodge at about seven if you guys can make it. I need to run up to the lodge real quick, so I'll meet up with you guys later," I quickly said.

"Alright, I'll let Yu know. Later, Senpai," Yukiko stepped forward as I turned and made my way up the trail to the lodge.

"What a wonderful bunch of people you have managed to gather all together. No doubt they are all wondering if we can pull off this whole music career business," My Shadow appeared next to me as I was walking. "My bet is they think we're going to fall. Oh but don't worry I'm sure they also plan to be there when it happens. That way they can express their constant pity over us. Too bad, Kayane. I'm sure they'll say something like that."

"They aren't like that," I resolutely denied him.

"That's a load of shit and you know it. The first time you told them the truth about your suicide attempt, don't you remember the look on their faces? Or how about the look when Rise found out you still cut yourself," My Shadow laughed as I couldn't help but see those images come up in my mind. "What would Rise think if she knew that you cut yourself this morning?"

My eyes widened and looked over at him, but he was gone. Once more only leaving an echo of a laugh behind in his wake.


A/N:

Well Hamuko, Kana and Yukari's appearance is more of a cameo at this point, but they will be back in a important capacity when we get to Arena and Ultimax, as long as other Persona 3 cast members as you can imagine. Anyway, I'm not going to go in to details but obviously you can expect to see them in the future. And if you don't know who Kana is, you can always catch up with my other Fan Fiction Momento Umbrae. When we finally get to the Arena arc I will be acting under the assumption that people are somewhat familiar with it. Although if not I will cover the basic plot points over the Arena arc so I don't think you'll be completely in the dark. At any rate...moving on...

Introduction of more OC's to join the band. I usually don't like introducing so many characters but I didn't have much of a choice. Although I did technically introduce both Tsubasa and Saya in an earlier chapter, so it wasn't a complete blindside. Well mostly. That was quite a number of chapters ago. Well foreshadowing being what it is and all that. Naturally this is more slowly setting up for the Dancing All Night section of the story. And all this and we haven't quite finished the main story line from Persona 4 yet. But something had to go here as the game skips a month and well, I couldn't really do that. Plus we have Kayane's Graduation coming up before then.

And well, looks like Kayane's Shadow isn't going to let him relax either. I guess we're slowly making our way into the next story arc of Last Symphony. Maybe eventually we'll get to why the title is the way it is. Maybe.

Anyway, let me know what you think of what happened this chapter and I'll see you all next week with the next one!