Sorry for the delay, again. You know... New Year and all that.

Also, happy belated New Year! 2021 isn't looking too good in my country, but hey, I still have fanfictions, so who cares XD

Enjoy!


Chapter Twelve: Blood Moon

"…So, my birthday starts with a Dark Hour. Should I really be happy about this?"

"I mean, why not?" Ryoji says, hands behind his head, like usual. His posture betrays the fact that he just single-handedly killed a few dozen Shadows with a finger snap (what was it called in that meme again? Thanos snap or something?). "We got something to work with and all, not to mention that you get to try out that sword."

Makoto looks down at the blade in his hand, well-crafted, not too heavy, not too light. The shop they stumbled upon, Untouchable Airsoft, really is a gem trove. It did take a bit of convincing to get the shop owner to really give them the catalogues, though.

"Well, that's true. But there's school tomorrow."

"Today," Ryoji corrects him with a grin. "And it's not like you're going to be awake in classes anyways."

"…Tch," He clicks his tongue, knowing full well that yes, Ryoji is right. He's not planning on staying awake in classes he already has studied… so that really hit the nail in the head. "That's just rude."

"But it's true."

"Not like you're doing better. You didn't pay any attention yesterday," He comments, adjusting his holster a bit before hooking his thumb on the belt. This thing doesn't feel like the ones SEES handed out, but it'll have to do. "Have you finished that book yet? What was it, Metamorphosis?"

"Yep," He confirms. "Kafka's Metamorphosis. It's been a while since I've read any English –"

"Anything at all, rather –"

"– so that takes a bit of time. Maybe today I'll manage two more."

"I just wanna play some MMOs," Makoto laments with a sigh. The old MMOs he knows, to no one's surprise, are all closed. He wonders if anything's going to catch his eyes, or if he's going to have the time to play at all. "What the fuck ever, I'll just stick with sleeping and MMAs instead, then."

"Speaking of MMAs," Ryoji begins with a smirk. Oh shit, Makoto knows where this is going.

"Don't even begin saying that name –"

"I wonder why we're called Terror Twins?"

"God-fucking-damnit," He groans. He tries to get used to it, but one day isn't going to be enough, and he doubts that a few more days (or months) is going to make a difference. He just rolls his eyes, thinking back to their spar sessions.

…He then winces.

"Maybe because we literally tore apart a few of their sand bags?" Makoto says. "That's probably it."

"With how hard you tried to kick me, I'm not surprised," Ryoji replies, shrugging.

"Only because you ask me to."

"But you're the one who's really eager about it."

Right, he's not going to win this debate. Makoto just lets out a huff before suddenly stopping as his eyes catch the anomaly in the sky, causing Ryoji to almost collide into him. The taller boy is about to protest, but Makoto just points upward.

"Did the moon look like that last time?"

The sky's the same color, except for the moon. Instead of yellow-green tint, it's blood red, shining ominously above their heads. He tilts his head to the side and crosses his arms.

Ryoji does the exact same thing he did. He hums, thinking. "I… haven't really looked. Last time we just kinda try our hardest to kick that Reaper back to where it came from."

"Tonight's full moon, too," He comments at the state of the moon. Full moon is something Makoto has already associated with some shits going down, some large shadows appearing, or both. This Dark Hour being different than the one years ago doesn't mean it won't have things in common. It still is the Dark Hour, after all. "That's not eerie at all."

"You really need to tone down your sarcasm, Makoto," Ryoji comments with a small chuckle. But his smile vanishes as soon as it comes. "But yeah… this looks like a prelude to something bad."

"So, where's our destination?" He asks. The Shadows are… not many, and they haven't been attacked since Ryoji wiped those first batch off the face of the earth, so at least they can proceed a bit faster than they had first planned

"I think… that way," He points. "I sense something like a… it's not a large Shadow, but a congregation of many? Way too many for comfort for me."

"Then that's where we'll check first," Makoto mutters. "I hope this night's not gonna be tiring."

.

He really shouldn't have jinxed anything. As if the first two times isn't enough of an indication.

That's it, everything Makoto said he hoped wouldn't happen, happened anyways.

For fuck's sake.

"Makoto, why're you mad?" Ryoji asks as he drops from the large Shadow that he had just ripped its face off (that's just gross) and lands before him. Makoto blindly stabs the Shadow behind him and just waves his sword around.

"Because apparently, everything I said got jinxed to hell and back," He growls, panting slightly. He hadn't really used Ifrit yet (no need to, and doesn't want to) and all the swinging and dodging are tiring him out quicker than comfort.

"Then can you just say that you hope we got ambushed or something?" Ryoji says. "Maybe then we wouldn't, if your jinxing curse is strong enough."

"Right," He nods. That might work. "I hope we get ambushed."

As soon as he said that, there were more Shadows jumping out from the buildings. Makoto just stares at them, mouth agape, while Ryoji starts laughing uncontrollably.

"Wow, you sure can curse everything to your disadvantage, Makoto!"

"Shut up."


The moon's color is as ominous as it can get.

And Ren doesn't like it.

"I just realized that the air's surprisingly chilly here," Someone says from behind him. Ren turns to see Narukami walking out of Leblanc, hands rubbing his arms slightly. Ren just nods as his gaze turns back to the blood moon. "What's that?"

"I don't know, but Oracle's looking into it," He replies. While Kujikawa's ability is unrivaled in terms of combat analysis, environmental analysis is Oracle's specialty. Al Azif proves to be quite useful in terms of scanning and surveying the surroundings. "She said it might take a while, so you could rest, for now."

"I could say the same to you," The older man points out. "But I understand. As a leader and all that… you feel responsible."

"You can say that again," Ren murmurs with a deep sigh. "Well, at least the Shadows aren't as aggressive this time around. If a Reaper comes up my stairs like last time, I'm going to be so, so pissed."

Narukami laughs slightly at that. "I bet."

"Oh yeah, one thing I haven't mentioned before," Ren says before Narukami could turn back to the café, causing the older man to stop in his tract. "After some digging, coupled with your Adachi Tohru being released, we got ourselves a name."

"Oh?" Narukami hums. "Who is it?"

"Kirijou Mitsuru, current head of the Kirijou Group," He says. After Oracle dug around the internet, the deep web, through some secured network at a national level, and a few other places, she finally made the connection.

The money, as it turned out, came from one of the many accounts that belonged to a person who worked at that group. And with Narukami's story of a certain murderer being released on parole, even though his sentenced had only begun a few years prior, Oracle had managed to weasel herself into the police reports and found the name.

"Ah. I don't know her personally, but I've heard that name," He says, crossing his arms and looking up at the sky. "She's this Artemisia then, I'd presume?"

"Most likely," Ren nods. "And that means she's a Persona User."

"Can she be trusted?"

"I don't know," He replies truthfully. Of course, he doesn't know; sending them guns and money and nothing else is kind of a dick move, if Ren had a say in it. But at the same time, her warnings make them act, and make them realize that something's wrong earlier than if she hadn't. "We'll have to see."

"I guess so."

"What are you two brooding over about?"

Crow walks up from behind them and stands a bit away from Ren, his eyes following theirs until he sees the orb in the sky. Ren just shrugs. "About Kirijou Mitsuru."

"Ah, of course," He sniffs. "That can wait. What about the moon?"

"Let Oracle handle it, Crow. Don't be so pushy," He says flatly. Whenever Crow's in his black mask, he's a lot harder to handle. He means, he's glad Crow survives the Shido Palace shenanigans and all that (he still doesn't know how, but hey, who cares), but this guy's attitude sometimes take a deep plunge, and it gives him headaches.

"She's slow," He just says. Ren is about to punch him when Narukami's hand is on his shoulder and pulling him back slightly. Crow's eyes turn to the older male. "Won't you agree, Narukami-san?"

"I get you, I really do," He says, putting up a hand and trying to pacify them. "She's working slowly, sure, but at least she can do that. Can you?"

Crow jolts slightly, as if shocked by lightning. Narukami can be brutally honest when he wants to, Ren notes mentally. He turns to Crow, who sighs again and groans. "…Fine, I can't. I get your point now."

"That's good," The older man says with a smile. Ren reminds himself to not trust that façade – he can be really scary when he wants to, and he's not eager to be on the receiving end of his ire anytime soon. "I think we should wait patiently and prepare ourselves for battle – that's the only things we can do right now."

"Yeah," Ren says. "Well, let's get back inside. While most of the appliances are not functioning, we still have some canned coffee stowed away in the cooler."

"Do you have black?" Crow and Narukami ask simultaneously.

He smiles. "We do."

.

After he checks with everyone, he finds himself alone at the furthest corner of the café. Everyone's on a bit of an edge to day, and it's not hard to imagine why.

Only the first day of school and it's already going to be hectic, huh.

"Can I sit here?"

He looks up to see Narukami again, this time with a can in his hand. He nods and the others slide into the seat opposite from him. He pops the cap and takes a few sips with a satisfied face.

"You look lost in thoughts, Joker," The older man says, pointing at him. "Wanna talk about it?"

"…Maybe," He admits. "If you talk about yours, too."

"Then it's a deal," Narukami says with a smile.

After the two take some more moments to enjoy their drinks and put the can down onto the table, Narukami is the first to speak up, his eyes glancing towards his peers.

"I'm worried," He says, brows furrowed slightly. "Unlike you, our schedules have a bit more freedom, a bit more wiggle room… but we thought the fighting days are behind us, you know. I dunno what the others think, but I myself am a bit… bothered by all of this."

"I know," Ren says. "I thought our fight is over, too."

"And this Dark Hour thing," He begins again. "After your first encounter with the suicidal man, I met a few people who just… walk around aimlessly. They didn't even bother to wipe their drools. I think this is the first time that I've seen the real world being affected this fast."

"I've noticed more and more of people like that, too, though not enough to be a public concern… just yet," He stresses the last word, hands tightening around the can. "I'm scared."

"Me too," Narukami whispers.

The records of the Apathy Syndrome and their findings point to the return of said disease, and the idea scares him. The idea that whatever is happening is causing people to have something similar to mental shutdown is… horrifying. The threat this time is as real as last year, and definitely harder to fight against. They didn't even have a solid clue.

"And we still have to find this Aeon-turned-Fool person," Narukami mutters. "But at least, with the name Kirijou Mitsuru, we might be able to contact this person sooner than we thought."

"You think he or she will give off the same vibe we do?" He asks. "If so, I can use Morgana to try and identify her."

"Maybe," He shrugs. "But… seriously? You're considering using your cat as a radar?"

"Yes, and he said he's not a cat," Ren says automatically. He pauses for a second before chuckling to himself. Narukami smiles. "But… yeah, I think that might be the only way, unless you think we'd fare better?"

"Well… actually, no, I don't think we will," The older man says, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Then once this thing's over, let's get to work with that."

"Yeah."

"Guys!" Oracle suddenly calls, drawing the attentions of the two Wild Cards. Ren stands up first and walks out of the café, looking up at the floating Al Azif.

"Did you find something?" He asks. As they've discussed before, only a few selected would be going to investigate, since larger group would be too cumbersome to move. He nods at his team as they come to join him.

"Yes!" She says. "A congregation of Shadows at a church two kilometers from here! And you need to hurry, there's already two signals of one strong Shadow and one of unknown origin heading that way!"

Two strong entities? He quickly exchanges a look with Narukami before the older man starts barking the order. "We're moving out! Try to save your Personas and use them only when necessary!"

"Let's go," He says to the older man, who nods firmly.

"We are going to get some answers this time, I'm sure."

"I hope so."


Makoto isn't sure if he should be feeling this or not.

But he's having fun.

"Makoto! Stop grinning!" Ryoji yells at him, having reverted back to his human form because the church is a bit cramped and he just can't fly freely in there, especially not with this behemoth amalgamation of Shadows slamming its misshapen fists all over the place.

"I can't help it!" He says truthfully, ducking around a corner. Ifrit is no use, either. If he uses that thing here, then they're roasted meat. He really doesn't know what Personas he can call — while his bonds seem to have really transcend time, just as Igor had said, his connections to all of his old Personas were severed.

No surprise there, really (since he was dead for what, seven years?), and it seems like Orpheus and Messiah and those whole bunch are now in another person's possession.

If he had to guess, it might be one of the SEES.

Who? He doesn't know.

But now he really, really, really needs someone or something that could fight while being boxed in, and Ryoji's hands and his sword aren't going to be enough.

Although… to be frank, this is… fun, he guesses? The challenges of the fight itself is quite an experience. Running around and spitting insults at the Shadows to lure them to him, dodging and attacking, the adrenaline rushes — it feels refreshing. He doesn't dislike it, maybe even enjoy it a little. Or maybe a lot.

That might be the wrong thing to feel, although he has to wonder why he's only started feeling it now.

But… he doesn't think that it is that bad a thing…?

"Behind you!"

He doesn't turn around, trusting Ryoji enough to duck away as soon as the words reach his ears. He then crawls (a bit hurriedly) out of the way as an arm composed with dozens of human-like Shadows slams into the ground, shattering the granite. He feels a chill crawling up his spine, as well as the adrenaline. He's feeling wide awake right now, and he finds it exhilarating.

Huh. So, is this what Sanada calls adrenaline rush?

I see you're enjoying the fight, little pup.

A voice calls to him, growling like a beast, haughty, yet kind. He doesn't turn around – he doesn't need to. He knows where this voice comes from. The only thing that surprises him is that it doesn't come with an earth-shattering headache, like when Ifrit first visits him.

He jumps over a fallen pillar and stabs the thing's arm. It rears back and roars, revealing a white mask under its supposed head. He squints – it looks unfamiliar to the any of the Greater Shadow's mask from his days in SEES. Something nags at him, and he lets his body does whatever it wants.

Before he knows it, he's already thrown his sword at the mask and grazes it, causing the amalgamation of Shadows to rear back and let out another pained bellow.

"What did you just do?" Ryoji asks when he reaches Makoto, shirt and hair a bit disorderly (it seems even the Nyx Avatar isn't immune to being exhausted and looking messy, Makoto muses) and he's panting like he's run a mile (or rather, a long while).

"I hit its mask," He says, pointing at wherever he just threw his sword at. Ryoji's eyes follow, and the other boy does a double take.

"There's a mask under that blob of a head?"

"Yep. That surprised me, too," Makoto remarks, stretching his arms up above his head. "And I think I've found a way to get us out of this bind."

Ryoji looks at him questioningly. He just smiles slightly and puts a finger on his lips.

Joy in fighting, joy in killing… it's the nature of man and beast alike.

They watch as the Shadow screeches and stumbles, crooked arms flailing without purpose. Makoto looks down at his Evoker and pulls it out of the holster, then take a good look at it before lifting it up and pointing it to his temple. Ryoji looks like he's about to protest, but stops upon seeing a look on Makoto's face.

He isn't sure what kind of face he's making right now, but he thinks he's grinning.

Being entertained while fighting and struggling is not such a bad thing in and of itself… it is but an inner beast, the hidden side of you, that you've never realized you have.

You fight to protect others – a noble goal, an end worth fighting for… but what's wrong with a bit of fun while doing so?

"There's nothing wrong, really," He says, puzzling Ryoji harder. But the other seems to actually notice something after a few more seconds, and then his shadow gives him a grin.

"That's right," Ryoji says with a huff of laughter. "Fighting is fun, sometimes. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the moment, even if something big is at stake. It's human nature – it's our nature."

Then, it's time to release your beastly instinct, pup.

He smiles and looks up at the Shadow, unflinching. The growl of the beast, rather than oppressing or terrifying, is quiet and calm. The growl turns into a howl, and the oath begins;

I am Thou, Thou art I.

There's no shame in the joy of fighting. No matter who you are, this is your primal instinct.

Embrace it, reign it in, and use it for your own ends!

Call my name, and let the hunt begin!

"Amarok!"

He pulls the trigger, and instead of blinding pain and burning sensation, he feels the kind of rush he had never felt before. His grins widen as he feels his inner beast manifests behind him, towering, growling. In one swift motion, the Shadow's reaching arm is severed, follows by a haughty roar that could shatter someone's ears.

Amarok, with its towering, half-man half-wolf form, stands before him, clawed hands outstretched as it let out another howl. Its whole body seems to be made of metal, with its arms, legs and heads clad in black metallic fur. Each fibers of its muscles are steel, silver with luster that makes its body shines in the bloody moonlight.

It turns it black, armored head to them, its eyes bright blue. A voice echoes in his mind.

I am Amarok, the Great Wolf. My fangs and claws are yours to command!

"You ready, Ryoji?" He says, catching his blade as Amarok throws it to him with his tail. He points the blade forward as Ryoji throws his head back and lets out a laugh.

"Of course! Now that you have a new Persona, let's see how this is going to turn out!"


"…The Shadow is destroyed."

Aigis reports. She has arrived a bit too late to catch the two entities that seemed to have intercepted and destroyed the amalgamation of Shadows. Her optic sensors try to adjust themselves through the thick smoke, but nothing seems to work.

"I see. Did you catch a glimpse of the other two?" Mitsuru says through the link.

"Positive," She responds. And from Juno's ability, she could discern where they were heading, as well. "Should I give chase, Mitsuru-san?"

"No. They're too dangerous for you alone to handle," The other immediately denies. "For now, keep observing. Yamagishi said a small group of Persona Users are heading that way. Probably to investigate, just like us."

"Understood," Aigis confirms.

She keeps watch, thinking back to the thing that had downed the goliath before it dissipates. It has a feeling all too familiar to her, but she doesn't know why. The wolf even looks up at her – it saw her – before disappearing. And immediately after that, the two strange entities start running.

From her computing and analysis, she thinks her chance of winning against those two, whatever they are, are close to zero.

Even with her Wild Card abilities and Messiah, her chance of winning is almost zero.

This doesn't bold very well.

She then sees the group Mitsuru mentions. Two formally-dressed humans, one tall male with silver bowl-cut hair, and another with fawn-colored hair. She immediately identifies two of the four as Narukami Yu and Hanamura Yosuke.

The two in strange outfits take a bit of time, but she manages to identify them as Amamiya Ren and Akechi Goro. She gives herself a mental note to bring this up to Mitsuru later, but for now she just observes them, adjusting her hearing range to cover whatever they are saying.

Her eyes then look up at the sky.

Only a moment after that, the moon turns yellow.

"Mitsuru-san, the moon changes color, from red to its normal Dark Hour one," She immediately reports while observing the party on the ground. They notice this change as well. "It might have been due to the death of the Shadow."

"I see. Good work, Aigis. Observe them for a little more, and we'll discuss when to actually make contact with them later. Hopefully soon," Mitsuru instructs.

"Understood."

Things are starting to get a bit out of hand, and Aigis doesn't like where the events are leading them to.


Introduction! Amarok: Inuit mythology, Greenland, a great wolf that hunts down any hunters foolish enough to stalk the woods by himself. Unlike wolves that hunt in packs, Amarok hunts alone.

To be honest, I feel like this chapter is a bit under my standard ._. but but but! I promise I'll try my best to get better for you folks!

I also have another longfic with a bit of a difference in terms of progression than this one in mind. Or rather, the first two chapters are already done with. I'll see when I posted that lmao, and hopefully I won't mix things up.

Take care, and see you again next time!