Guiding Star
Written by Aiyumi
Disclaimer: Persona and all related characters are property of Atlus. Any trademarks that may be referenced in this fan fiction are properties of their respective owners. I am just a fan and do not have any relations to said people/companies.
Chapter 10: School Trip
That Dark Hour, Pharos visited Minako just as he had said he would. The first few minutes passed with him trying to sing snippets of the songs he heard everyone sing near the karaoke machine that afternoon. Minako found his action funny, and was unable to suppress her laugh. Pharos felt embarrassed, but in the end he laughed with her.
Their laughing fit subsided, and everything was silent for a while. Pharos and Minako sat side by side on the bed.
A yawn from Minako broke the silence. Despite having been fun, that day had also been tiring. Not to mention that the Kirijo mansion's bed was quite inviting...
"Are you going to sleep now?" Pharos suddenly asked.
Minako shook her head. "Pharos-kun, I'm fine. We can talk for a bit longer."
"No, it's okay..." Pharos laughed nervously. "Yesterday we talked until the Dark Hour ended, but today there's still time. So, I want to sleep here too! This bed seems so nice to sleep on!"
Minako's first impulse was to say that they couldn't sleep together, but she remembered he had already gotten his way that day he snuck into her bed. Then, she had practically given up on reprimanding him after he said he could only have dreams if he slept during the Dark Hour, and she ended up letting him sleep on her bed one more time. He didn't cause any trouble, either, so, why not? They would only be lying side by side, nothing more than that.
"Alright," Minako said.
Pharos took his tennis shoes off. He waited until Minako had taken her position at the far end of the bed, then lay next to her.
"It's even more comfortable than the bed in the dorm." Pharos observed. "And there's this sweet aroma coming from it, too..."
"Oh, yeah, probably the softener they used to wash the bedsheets and covers," Minako said.
"Hmm, isn't the aroma different from the one yesterday?"
"Huh?" Minako did an intake of air to check. "Yeah, maybe... The bedsheets looked the same from yesterday, and I didn't notice anything. But now that you mention it... maybe they replace the bedsheets with newly washed ones every day."
"It must be a lot of work..." Pharos said in wonder.
"It's a lot of work for sure. But again, it must be hard to maintain a mansion like this one. No wonder why they have so many maids around."
Pharos sighed heavily. "I think this sweet aroma induces sleep, too... good night."
"Good night, Pharos-kun."
... ... ... ... ...
Pharos awoke around half an hour later. He didn't recall dreaming this time, but sure enough, the bed was nice to sleep on.
He quietly put his tennis shoes on and got up. The Dark Hour was nearing its end, but he was tempted to take a quick walk outside. He didn't want to waste this opportunity. After having watched Minako and her friends at the beach for two days, he wanted to go to the beach too!
Pharos vanished from the room and appeared at the beach outside the mansion, only to be greeted by the sight of a green night, and a huge expanse of red where the sea should have been. That scenery felt totally wrong. The sea had seemed so lively during the day, with its waves gently moving the sand around. But now, there were no waves, no movement, no life. Only a huge expanse of a liquid in an eerie tone of red that seemed to stretch towards the infinite. This wasn't what Pharos had wanted to see. Even though the Dark Hour was supposed to be natural to him, the more the days passed, the more he thought it felt wrong.
With a sigh, Pharos turned his back to the twisted sea and vanished into the darkness.
... ... ... ... ...
The following day flew by as Pharos watched Minako and her friends enjoy their time at the beach. Everyone swam and splashed water at each other without a care in the world. Even the robot girl, Aigis, had joined in.
Speaking of Aigis, Pharos couldn't help but think that she somehow seemed familiar.
"I've finally found you." The moment the robot girl uttered those words and firmly held Minako to prevent her from falling off that small hill, Pharos had a strange feeling. It was as though the girl had actually addressed him rather than Minako, and if he had been in a physical form, this would have sent chills down his spine. Whenever the girl gazed at Minako, she seemed to be trying to look through her to reach him. It was quite unsettling.
Pharos watched the images of Minako's life and tried to distract himself, but the thoughts about the robot girl kept nagging at him during the whole day.
That Dark Hour, Pharos visited Minako again.
"And the last day of our trip is already gone..." Minako lamented. "The days flew by too fast. This is my only complaint, though. The trip overall was great!"
"Yeah, it was." Pharos nodded. "Even though I couldn't join the activities directly, I had a lot of fun. I'm glad I was able to come here." He gently placed his left hand on top of Minako's right hand that had been resting on her lap, and gave a slight bow of his head. "Minako, thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit this place." He removed his hand from hers and glanced behind at the window. "I only wish I could see the sky and sea in their natural states instead of this twisted scenery from the Dark Hour, though..."
"I have an idea. I'll ask Mitsuru-senpai to bring us here again next year."
"Next year...?"
"Yeah, and you can come with us. I'm sure you'll be free by then." Only after Minako had said this, it occurred to her that he would probably not be with them the following year. Even if he managed to stop the Fall, he would most likely be forced into a deep slumber until the time the Fall was truly needed, like how it had happened in the other timeline. However, Pharos had nodded with hope at hearing her words, and it was too late to take them back.
Pharos didn't want to waste his last opportunity of sleeping on that nice bed that year. He joined Minako on the bed, closed his eyes, and allowed the sweet aroma of the newly washed covers to soothe him. He drifted to sleep a couple of minutes later. However, this time, his dream wasn't a pleasant one.
X:X:X:X:X
To start off, it was Dark Hour. Not only that, but the moon was full. Pharos found himself on a huge bridge with wreckage everywhere around him. Then, he noticed a small figure running desperately in the distance. When it came closer, he could see that it was a little child, no more than seven years old. A girl, to be more exact. She stopped running, frightened and tired. He caught a glimpse of her features, and immediately knew who she was. He had been following that girl's growth since as far back as he could remember, and would have recognized her anywhere.
Minako, he tried to say, but her name came out only as a thought.
Yes, it was her for sure. But why was she little again?
The little Minako's legs gave way and she fell to a sitting position on the ground. "Mom, dad, I'm w-waiting. Please g-get out of the car soon..." With her eyes closed, she joined her hands and prayed in a low voice, with tears rolling down her face.
Pharos' first impulse was to go there and help her, but his body didn't obey his commands. He only stood there and stared. Minako reluctantly opened her eyes and raised her head. Then, their eyes met. The moment Minako saw him, she paled, fear appeared all over her face, then she fainted.
Pharos was shocked. It was painful to see Minako look at him with so much fear.
He was still staring at the fainted little Minako when a lot of the wreckage exploded outwards and Aigis jumped out from it. The robot girl's expression was blank. Lifeless. The very opposite of the expressions Pharos saw on her face at the forest, the karaoke and the beach. She passed by Minako and didn't so much as glance at her. Aigis came closer to him. She stared straight at him, but her expression remained blank.
"Persona summoning sequence." She uttered in a mechanical tone. "Palladion."
The Persona appeared in front of the robot girl and seemed ready to attack him.
What are you doing?! Pharos tried to snap at her, but once again his words failed and came out only as a thought. Can't you see that she's suffering? Hadn't you said it was important that you stayed close to her? You helped her climb a small hill, even though you probably didn't need to. And now that she's suffering, you don't so much as look at her?! She fainted and needs help! Why don't you go help her?! Pharos desperately shouted in his mind, but the words didn't sound, and Aigis showed no signs that she had heard him, either.
As desperate as he was, he wouldn't have attacked Aigis. He was more worried about Minako. However, his body disobeyed his command once more and shot furiously towards the robot girl.
Noooooo! Pharos screamed in his mind. Then, he woke up.
X:X:X:X:X
Pharos awoke with a start. The first thing he did was look to his left to check up on Minako. She had her eyes closed. He hoped she was just sleeping, and not unconscious.
"Minako..." He called her name.
To his relief, it turned out that she was only sleeping. She stirred and her eyes opened. Minako glanced in his direction, and their eyes met. For a moment, Pharos was sure she would look at him with fear and faint just like in the dream, and he felt a strong pain in his chest.
Minako suddenly awoke to Pharos calling her name.
"Minako..." His voice was low but urgent.
Minako turned her head in his direction.
"Huh, Pharos-kun...?" Minako muttered groggily.
"Minako, Minako..." Pharos was clearly in panic, and kept uttering her name in a strained voice.
Minako sat up as she breathed deeply and tried to calm her racing heart. "Pharos-kun, calm down. I'm here."
"Aaaaaah!" Pharos sat up, then threw himself at her in a desperate hug. He seemed as though he was going to cry... no, he actually seemed like he was crying already, but tears didn't leave his eyes, and whatever he was trying to release refused to come out.
"What happened? Was it a nightmare?"
Pharos didn't answer. He only clung to her tightly in desperation. His chest was pressed to Minako's body. From the thumps she felt from it, she could tell that his heart was also racing.
Minako held him close and tried to comfort him by stroking his hair. "Everything's okay. It was just a dream. Come on, Pharos-kun. Take a deep breath, and calm down."
Pharos wordlessly tried to do as instructed. He gradually calmed down and loosened his grip on her. Minako kept holding him until he fell asleep right there in her arms. She carefully laid him back on the bed, then went back to sleep herself.
... ... ... ... ...
The SEES members took a ship to Port Island in the morning, and arrived back at the dorm in the afternoon. They were exhausted from the trip, and decided to turn in early that night. Ikutsuki instructed Aigis to stay on standby in the command room while everyone slept, but she insisted that she wanted a room on the third floor assigned to her.
"This is odd..." Ikutsuki commented while Yukari and Mitsuru went upstairs to prepare Aigis' new room. "We did some tests later that day, but nothing seemed to be wrong with her. She isn't supposed to be this demanding, either. How intriguing..."
No one replied to his comment, but Minako noticed that Aigis looked annoyed at hearing it, as though she were saying, "I am here, you know..."
... ... ... ... ...
The following day was Friday, July 24th. Exam results were posted. Minako scored slightly below the top ten in her class.
She spent the afternoon with some of her Social Links, then went back to the dorm.
"Welcome back." Aigis greeted her when she entered the lounge.
"Hi, Ai-chan." Minako answered her greeting. No one else seemed to be home. "Where are the others?"
"Yukari-san and Fuuka-san went grocery-shopping. Junpei-san said he'd head to the manga cafe. Mitsuru-san didn't inform me where she went. Sanada-san is not back from school yet. Probably still training. And Amada-sa... uh, never mind."
Minako noticed how Ken's surname had slipped from Aigis' mouth even though he wasn't even in the dorm yet. This served as a reminder that she had intended to see if Aigis remembered anything else from the other timeline. Minako sat down on the couch and beckoned Aigis to join her. "Ai-chan, there's something I want to ask. You said you've seen an elevator where everything inside is blue."
"Yes."
"Did you remember anything else about it?"
"... I think I recall being among a small-sized group seated around a table, but I do not recall anyone's faces."
Minako smiled. Aigis could only be speaking of them. "You know? I've seen that place too. It was in a dream."
"A dream..." Aigis repeated. "In my case, could it have been a dream as well? I am a machine. Can machines dream?"
"You can even use a Persona. I'm sure you can dream, too! Anyway, are you sure you don't remember anything else about it?" Minako insisted.
Aigis took a few seconds to think. "Sorry. I do not remember."
Minako decided to give a few hints. "I remember discussing things with a group around a table, too. Then, I took a book full of cards and pulled a random one from it."
"A card..." Aigis muttered. "Why do I have the impression that I am forgetting something important? Someone important..."
Minako concluded she wouldn't be getting anything out of her robot friend anytime soon. Aigis didn't seem likely to remember much at this point. "It's okay. If it's important, you'll remember eventually."
... ... ... ... ...
That Dark Hour, Pharos visited her for the first time since the last day of the trip to Yakushima.
"It's too bad you didn't get the top score this time..." He commented.
"The score I got is good enough to me."
"But you studied so much!" Pharos protested. "You deserved more! This isn't fair..."
"My score would've been much worse if I hadn't studied this much." Minako argued. "The exams are getting harder, and I'm not smart enough to keep up. So, as long as my scores are on the upper part of the list, I won't worry too much."
"Hmm..." Pharos still seemed unsatisfied, but didn't press it.
Minako changed the subject. "Anyway, what about you, Pharos-kun? How have you been? I got worried. That nightmare must have been horrible."
"I've been doing fine," he said. "Maybe I've been thinking too much about our recent talks... you know, about what happened to your parents. I think this is what made me dream about weird stuff." Pharos forced a smile. "It was bad at the time, but now that I think about it, some things in the dream didn't make much sense. So, I decided I won't worry about it." Then, he became embarrassed. "Um, I caused you trouble that night, didn't I?"
"No, it was no trouble." Minako waved it off. "I'm relieved that you're okay."
"Really?" Pharos' face lit up. "... Then, is it okay if I continue sleeping with you?"
"Huh? ..." Again, why not? "Yeah, sure."
Pharos smiled radiantly and produced a lot of imaginary music notes.
And the Death Social Link ranked up to level 5.
... ... ... ... ...
On July 28th, Ken moved to the dorm, where he would stay during summer break as arranged by Ikutsuki. He finished unpacking his things and came downstairs.
"Hmm...?" He stopped at the bottom, then stared curiously at the wall behind the counter where they kept the sign in sheet.
"What is it?" Akihiko asked, confused.
"Um, wasn't there a door over there...?" Ken shook his head. "Uh, never mind. When I passed by, I thought I had seen a door on that wall. I must be imagining things..."
Akihiko followed the boy's gaze. "No, we never had a door there. But now that you mention it... it kind of feels like a door would fit there. Weird, huh?"
Aigis also began staring at the empty wall with interest, followed by Junpei, then Fuuka, then Mitsuru... and Minako was totally clueless as to why everyone was making such a big deal out of that wall...
... ... ... ... ...
During the Dark Hour of the following day, July 29th, Fuuka detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus, and everyone left the dorm to investigate. They arrived at Naganaki Shrine and found out that Koromaru had defeated a Shadow on his own. The SEES members concluded that Koromaru could use a Persona, and that Aigis could understand him. The dog was a bit less hurt than how Minako remembered from the other timeline, but still needed to be tended to. Yukari cast some healing spells on him, and as soon as the Dark Hour ended, they took him to the vet.
"We'll leave now. Bye, Koro-chan." Fuuka said to the dog.
"Arf arf." Koromaru barked.
"He says he is grateful for our help, and that he wishes to return the favor and lend us his strength." Aigis translated.
"Lend us his strength? Does it mean he wants to join us? Cool!" Junpei liked the idea.
Mitsuru's eyebrows rose. "This was unexpected. I will consult the chairman about this."
"I'm sure he'll agree." Fuuka seemed excited. "I mean, why wouldn't he? This sounds so amazing! We'd be happy to have you with us, Koro-chan. We'll be waiting. So, get well soon, okay?"
"A dog that can use a Persona, huh?" Akihiko mused on the way back to the dorm.
"For sure, there are many mysteries in this world..." Junpei said. "We already have a girl that can use multiple Personas, a robot that can use a Persona... and understand dogs! ... And we've just run into a dog that can use a Persona. What are we still missing?"
Minako said the first thing that popped up in her mind. "Um, maybe a Shadow that can use a Persona...?"
"Huh?" Junpei rolled his eyes. "But Personas defeat Shadows! There's no way that a Shadow could have a Persona... is there?"
"Huh?" Minako laughed. "I don't know. Just saying. But I thought it'd be interesting."
"... I recall fighting a Shadow that could use a Persona." Aigis began uncertainly. Everyone stared at her with apprehension. She added, probably in an attempt to minimize the tension, "Well, my memories about that fight are fuzzy at best, and I am not sure if it really had a Persona of its own. The impression I had was that it was copying the Personas from my group."
"Personas, plural?" Mitsuru asked. "Do you mean it used more than one?!"
"Yes."
"You mentioned you were fighting in a group." Mitsuru continued. "Was it a group of other anti-Shadow weapons?"
"... I do not remember."
Mitsuru seemed worried. "Where did it happen? Was it related to the incident from ten years ago? If it were related, then we might be in for much more trouble than we had imagined."
Aigis took a few seconds to think. "... Even though I do not remember much, I believe it was unrelated to the incident. The Shadow didn't seem to possess much intelligence. It might even have been a simulation using data from our own Personas to test our abilities. I do not believe it to be a reason for worry."
"Hey, Ai-chan. Don't scare us like that!" Junpei sighed in relief. "You too, Mina-tan! How can you say it'd be interesting to have Shadows with Personas? We'd be in a lot of trouble if we had to face things like those!"
"Er, actually, I meant it'd be interesting if we could get one on our side," Minako said awkwardly. "At the rate our group goes, who knows who, or what, might join next..." When Minako had suggested a Persona-wielding Shadow, she had only been joking and hadn't put much thought into it. It just seemed to be the kind of individual with unusual traits, a perfect candidate to join their odd group. Now that she thought about it, though, she had to admit that the notion of Pharos developing a Persona was too interesting to ignore.
"On our side? Shadows are the bad monsters!" Even though it seemed like Junpei would continue arguing, he added, "But since we're talking 'bout a big 'what if' here, if there were actually a 'good Shadow...' yeah, it'd be kinda cool."
... ... ... ... ...
July 30. Dark Hour. Pharos came to visit.
"Guess what I'm here to tell you about!" Pharos was standing while Minako was seated on the bed.
"Is it the full moon?" Minako asked.
"Yeah! You're still keeping track. Good!" Pharos hopped on his feet. "I was worried my frequent visits might have been distracting you from the more important stuff, and I thought I should remind you. By the way, it's becoming quite lively around you, isn't it?" He seemed happy, but then he became serious. "Just one thing I thought you should know, though. I heard the talk with your friends yesterday. I don't want to disappoint you, but I've remembered a bit about Shadows, and I can say for sure that good Shadows don't exist."
"Huh?" Minako was surprised that Pharos had decided to bring that up.
"Shadows are born from humans' negative emotions." Pharos explained. "This means that they're bad by nature, and in theory, there's no way for good Shadows to exist."
"In theory?" Minako was curious whether he meant anything else by that.
"...!" Pharos tensed and his gaze intensified. "In practice too!" He took a step closer to the bed. "Look, I'm telling you this because I don't want you lowering your guard in the big tower and playing around with the creatures to try to find out if they're good."
"Pharos-kun, don't give me ideas," Minako's tone was playful, but voicing that comment proved to be a mistake.
Pharos stared at her directly in the eye, and caused her to flinch. "No, Minako! It's pointless, and it's dangerous! It might cost your life. So, please, don't do that!"
Minako tried her best to hold his gaze. "H-hey, I was just kidding!"
However, Pharos wasn't convinced. He kept staring intently at her.
Minako had no reason to blindly search for "good Shadows" in Tartarus, since the Shadow she wanted to befriend was right in front of her. She tried not to falter under Pharos' intense gaze, and smiled at him. "Don't worry. I was just kidding. I won't do anything stupid. I promise." Minako reached for him and gently stroked his hair.
This definitely made Pharos lose his composure. His gaze lost its intensity, his face relaxed, and a light shade of pink tinged his cheeks. "... O-okay. I know you a-aren't one to break promises, s-so..."
... ... ... ... ...
Saturday, August 1st. Minako and the tennis club were waiting for the train that would take them to a countryside town called Inaba, where they would take part in a school fellowship between Gekkoukan and the town's school, Yasogami High. To both Minako and Rio's surprise, Yuko, the team manager of Gekkoukan's track team, was also there with Kazushi Miyamoto, seated on a bench while they waited for the train.
"Yuko!?" Rio walked towards the duo, with Minako following her. "I didn't know you'd be here. Is the track team coming too?"
"No, just Kaz and me. We've heard the hot springs there have healing properties. Maybe it can heal Kaz's knee!" Yuko chuckled. "Well, this was what I told Ms. Kanou anyway. I said it as a joke, but she took it seriously, and now I'll have to accompany him!"
Rio made a face at the mention of Ms. Kanou. It was the name of the teacher responsible for the tennis club, but had no interest in the club whatsoever. However, Minako had known this wasn't the reason for Rio's displeasure. Both in the other timeline and this one, Rio had admitted her feelings for Kenji. The problem was that Kenji was only attracted to older women, and it just so happened that he had his eyes on Ms. Kanou.
"She went as far as to assign me to the same room as Kaz at the inn. Can you believe that?" Yuko went on with her rambling.
"You sure don't sound like you're complaining..." Rio said bitterly.
"Well, since I'll have to go anyway, I might as well make the most of the trip, right?" Yuko tried to justify herself. "Besides, the atmosphere from the countryside might actually do Kaz some good and make his knee heal faster..."
"Yuko can mumble all she wants, but she can't deny that she's pretty worried about Kazushi." Rio whispered to Minako, who nodded.
When the train arrived, the tennis club members entered, followed by Yuko who helped Kazushi inside.
... ... ... ... ...
They arrived in Inaba and went to Yasogami High School. Together with the school's tennis club, they engaged in a strict practice routine, courtesy of Rio, of course.
After practice, Minako and her club headed to the Amagi Inn, where they would stay the night. Yukiko Amagi, the daughter of the inn's owner, came to get them.
After a relaxing bath in the inn's trademark hot springs, as well as a simple but delicious meal, everyone went to their assigned rooms... except Yuko, who came to Minako and Rio's room to talk to them. They sat on their futon and talked about random subjects until they began discussing boyfriends.
"So, Arisato-san." Yuko called Minako to get her attention. "Even though you transferred to our school just recently, you're already quite popular! I've heard that you've turned down a lot of people!" Yuko laughed. "It reminds me. You live in the same dorm as Takeba-san, don't you? Both of you are getting quite famous because no one was ever able to date either of you! So, did you already find that special someone?"
"Huh? Me? No, not yet."
"What?!" Yuko seemed incredulous. "I can't believe someone as popular as you doesn't have anyone yet! And you live in the same dorm as Sanada-senpai, too. So...?"
"So... what?" Minako gave Yuko a blank look.
Yuko rolled her eyes. "You know what I'm talking about! He's very popular too. Since you live in the same dorm as him, you have an advantage over every other girl from school. So, why don't you date him?"
"You're suggesting I go after him just because he's popular?" Minako asked incredulously. "I wouldn't do that! I see him only as a friend. I can't imagine anything happening between us!" Not to mention that, since the other timeline, Minako had the suspicion that Mitsuru actually had feelings for him.
"H-hey, calm down! That's not what I meant!" Yuko raised her hands. "What I meant to say was that, assuming you were interested in him, you could go after him easily since you already live with him and have an edge over all the other girls. But if you aren't interested, then it's a whole different story..."
"Ah, okay..." Minako relaxed.
Their talk went on. At some point, Yuko heavily implied that she had feelings for Kazushi, but still denied that she liked him. Rio teased her for it, to which Yuko responded by teasing Rio for not confessing to Kenji. This resulted in Rio changing the subject and threatening to tell scary stories. Yuko was frightened and dragged Kazushi into the room even though it was the girls' room.
Rio proceeded to tell creepy rumors about monsters, ghosts and haunted hotels. To Minako, those were nothing compared to the Dark Hour and fights against Shadows in Tartarus. Yuko, on the other hand, was frightened.
"Aaah, st-stop!" Yuko interrupted one of Rio's scary tales. "A-Arisato-san, how can you stay so calm?!"
"It's because I've seen much worse," Minako said nonchalantly. The mood asked for scary stories, and Minako chose to contribute to their talk with a scary story of her own. She didn't even need to make one up as she just had the perfect one. "For example, the day I arrived at Iwatodai, the train was delayed and it got very late. I was on the street on the way to the dorm, when the clock struck midnight. Then, the lights went out, and a lot of weird stuff happened. I swear the sky turned green, the moon looked much bigger than normal, and all pools of water turned into pools of blood. I hurried to the dorm. When I arrived there, everything was dark, and the lights didn't work. Then, a little boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked me to sign a paper, and..."
"Aaaaaaaah!" Yuko yelped and clung to Kazushi in fright.
"You're making this up, right?" Rio was disbelieving, but the seriousness on Minako's face managed to put her on edge as well. "Uh, how about we go to sleep? It's getting late."
"It's almost midnight, actually." Minako added.
"M-midnight?!" This made Yuko shut her eyes and cling to Kazushi even tighter.
"Hey...!" He protested, but Yuko didn't budge.
Rio and Minako bid their good nights and lay on their futon, but Yuko remained sitting and holding Kaz tightly, with her eyes closed and her head resting on his shoulder.
When midnight struck, all lights went out, the sky turned green, and the moon outside looked much bigger than normal...
Minako found herself in the room with two coffins where her schoolmates should have been. There were two coffins instead of three, because Yuko and Kaz couldn't be separated from each other to be put in one coffin each, which resulted in a single huge coffin enveloping both of them.
After ten minutes or so, Minako felt a familiar shift in the room.
"Hi, Minako..."
It was Pharos. After his visit on Yakushima, Minako figured she should expect him to come during the Dark Hour wherever she happened to stay at.
"Hi, Pharos-kun." She greeted him back and sat up on her futon.
Pharos approached and sat down on the futon beside her. "I know you need to sleep, but I really wanted to come. Your friends from school are here." He gestured at the two coffins. "Okay, they're unconscious, but this doesn't change the fact that they're here, and it means that I'm here in the same room as you and them. For now, I guess this is the closest I'll get to spending time with you and your friends." Pharos seemed to be trying to hide that he felt left out. He forced a chuckle. "Kind of funny how those two ended up stuck together." He pointed at Yuko and Kaz's coffin.
"Uh, yeah..." Minako had to agree.
"Why was she so scared? Normal people have never seen the Dark Hour, and I can imagine it must be weird to experience it for the first time. But you didn't tell them about the boxes that encase people." He made another gesture towards the coffins. "And you didn't get to talk about the really dangerous stuff. Like how your school turns into a tower so tall that no one knows how many stories it has, and the creatures you fight inside it. You only gave a simple description. Was she supposed to get so scared?"
"I don't know. I didn't think she'd get so scared. I only thought the story about how I arrived in Iwatodai was appropriate for the mood. The actual Dark Hour is really scary, though. It's totally different from everything we see during the normal hours. The atmosphere is unsettling and feels dangerous."
"Were you scared when you experienced the Dark Hour for the first time? It looks like you don't mind it much now."
"I was." Minako nodded. If she took his question literally, when she experienced the Dark Hour for the first time, she had been really scared. Her body kept shaking and her legs had threatened to fail dozens of times while she desperately tried to get to the dorm. "Now, I'm somewhat at ease during the Dark Hour only because I know I have my Personas if something hap-" Minako balked as she realized something important. "... Oh no! I didn't bring my Evoker! I can't call my Personas..."
Pharos moved closer to her and whispered in her ear. "I'm here. If something happens, I'll protect you."
The way in which he had said it was actually more creepy rather than assuring. A chill ran down Minako's body, and she backed away a little. "... Uh, th-thanks."
Pharos chuckled, glad to hear Minako's thanks. "Don't worry about anything and just go to sleep." He proceeded to speak in his normal tone, much to Minako's relief.
"Okay..."
Minako lay back on the futon. Pharos mimicked her and lay to her right.
"I've never slept on a futon before!" He commented. "But I can't sleep now. I'm here to protect you, and have to keep a sharp lookout for anything dangerous."
For a few minutes, they remained in silence, which Pharos broke.
"Hmm... shouldn't sleep... I've... stay alert..." He mumbled.
Minako chuckled. She could tell from his breathing that he was already asleep. Pharos responded by snuggling closer to her and leaning his head against her shoulder. Minako couldn't help but smile. That little Shadow was just too adorable. Minako found her body relaxing at the feeling of the warm presence at her side, and she didn't take long to drift to sleep herself.
Minako awoke when she felt Pharos move away from her.
"Minako... um, I'm sorry." He spoke, still lying on the futon. "I ended up falling asleep... I was supposed to stay awake to protect you!"
"It's okay. It was safe. I mean, if you had sensed any danger, you wouldn't have relaxed enough to fall asleep, right?"
"Uh, yeah, maybe..."
"I felt safe. Thanks, Pharos-kun."
Pharos let out a relieved sigh. He sat up. "I'll go now. The Dark Hour will end in a few minutes. Good night, Minako." He patted her head before he got up to leave.
Minako fell asleep again, only to wake up to a yelp from Yuko when the Dark Hour ended and the scenery returned to normal.
"Aaaaah!" Yuko screamed. "Mi-midnight...!" She held Kaz tighter and stayed unmoving for a few seconds, then let out her breath. "Phew, nothing... happened..."
"Um, actually, something happened." Minako spoke. "Remember that I said a little boy suddenly appeared and asked me to sign a paper? He appeared here, too. He had been at my side until just a while ago..."
"Aaaaaaaaah!" Yuko screamed again. "Why did we have to start with this scary stories thing?! Uh... I had enough of this! Come on Kaz, let's go back to our room." She helped Kazushi up and left with him.
... ... ... ... ...
The following morning, Minako had some free time before she would have to take the train back to Iwatodai. She was about to exit the inn when she ran into the daughter of the inn's manager.
"Good morning!" Minako greeted the girl casually.
"Oh, good morning, um... you're one of the students from Gekkoukan, right?"
"Yeah, I am. My name's Minako Arisato."
"My name is Yukiko Amagi. Uh, okay, maybe you'd already known this..." The girl shuffled nervously, and tried to regain her composure. "A-anyway, I hope you have enjoyed your stay at the inn."
"I have." Minako nodded. "It's a nice inn. If I come to Inaba again, I'll be sure to stay here!"
"It will be a pleasure to have you with us again, Arisato-san." The girl flashed a business-like smile and bowed her head slightly. "Are you already leaving town?"
"No, the train will leave in the afternoon. Since I still have some free time, I wanted to take a walk around. Yesterday we went straight to the school and then to the inn, and didn't have any chance to see anything."
"Um, I'm heading to town to run some errands for the inn right now. Inaba is small and doesn't have much, but I can show you around, if you'd like..." Yukiko offered.
"Sure!"
... ... ... ... ...
Yukiko showed Minako around the shopping district. They passed by a few stores and entered Tatsumi Textiles, which was one of the places Yukiko needed to stop at.
Minako took a look around while she waited for Yukiko to finish her business. A pouch with pink flower patterns left haphazardly on one of the counters caught her attention. Her immediate thought was that Yukari would love one of those. Minako approached, but resisted the urge to touch it. A glance around didn't show any similar product on display, and it might be someone's belonging for all she knew.
Yukiko was finished and came from the back of the store, joined by Mrs. Tatsumi.
"Oh, did that pouch catch your eye?" Mrs. Tatsumi noticed Minako staring at the item.
"Yeah. Is it for sale?" Minako asked.
"I don't know. My son made it. You should ask him. Wait here a moment while I go get him." The woman returned to the back of the store. Shortly later, she came back with a blond boy following her. "This is Kanji, my son. He's the one who made that pouch."
Minako looked at him. The boy seemed to be a few years younger than her. He looked back at her with a mixture of annoyance and apprehension. He seemed very unfriendly, the kind of person that liked to pick fights. To find that he was the one who made that cute pouch was quite surprising.
"Uh, this pouch is really cute." Minako began hesitantly. "Is it for sale?"
"No." He answered dryly.
"Oh..." Minako's gaze fell, but she refused to give up. "Too bad... I have a friend that likes pink flowers. Do you have another pouch like this one for sale? I'm sure she'd love something like this."
He waved in a bored manner. "Just take it then. I don't care."
"Huh?" Minako blinked.
He also seemed a bit uncomfortable. "... I said you can have it. It's made outta leftovers and boredom, and is worth nothin'. That's why I can't sell it."
Minako was dumbfounded. How could he say the pouch was worth nothing? She finally closed her hands around the item, and took some time to inspect it. It was really well-made. She looked at the boy again. "I can't just take it like this! It's so cute and well-made... here." She tried to hand him some money.
He shook his head vehemently and refused. "No, I can't! I already said it's made outta leftovers!"
"It's not so much because of the materials, but because of the quality of your work!" Minako shoved the money into his hand.
"I didn't do anything special!" He shoved the money back towards her.
"The pouch is really nice." Yukiko came to Minako's defense. "You should value your work more, Kanji-kun."
"Yeah, you should." Minako nodded. "I insist on paying you because I liked your work. So, please." She pushed the money towards him again. "Just use it to buy lunch or something."
Kanji's eyes glistened for a second, but he still refused.
"Alright! I have an idea. How about the three of us have lunch together?" Minako suggested. "Yukiko-chan, what do you think?"
"Uh, sure. It's about lunchtime, too, so..." Yukiko was reluctant, but a glance at Kanji seemed to change her mind.
Kanji hadn't given his answer yet, but the numbers were in Minako's favor. Two was greater than one.
"Okay, let's go." Minako beamed. "Oh, I still hadn't introduced myself, had I? I'm Minako Arisato. Nice to meet you, Kanji-kun."
He nodded awkwardly. "Uh... Kanji Tatsumi. Nice to meetcha."
They went to the Chinese food restaurant Aiya, on the northern part of the shopping district. Yukiko didn't eat much, but Kanji had three huge servings, triple of what Minako ordered for herself. He only realized how much he had eaten when it was time to pay the bill, and he found out he had forgotten to bring his money. Minako paid his bill, which was what she had intended to do in the first place.
"Er, Arisato-san, I'm sorry." Kanji seemed as though he wanted to bury his head into the ground.
"It's no problem." Minako shrugged. It ended up becoming a bit expensive, but she could afford that much once in a while. "If you enjoyed the food, it's what matters."
They headed back to the textile shop and Minako said goodbye to the two Tatsumis.
"My mother and I have always come here to buy things from them." Yukiko commented once they were back on the street. "I've known Kanji-kun since I was little. Despite his looks, he's rather nice."
"Yeah, he is." Minako agreed.
The two chatted casually while they walked. Minako was glad that Yukiko seemed to be getting more comfortable and dropping the business cordialities around her.
Minako stopped at Souzai Daigaku and tried their steak croquette. It was good. Too bad that the taste would probably change too much once the croquettes cooled off. She couldn't take a bunch of them back to Iwatodai and expect them to taste good.
Minako bought a few different kinds of tofu from the Marukyuu Tofu shop, as well as a few drinks from the vending machines, since she was sure those could survive a few hours without a fridge.
... ... ... ... ...
In the afternoon, Minako joined her schoolmates to take the train back to Iwatodai, and Yukiko came to see them off.
It was night time when Minako arrived back in the dorm. Despite being tired from the trip, she made sure to prepare a tofu-rich dinner for everyone.
After dinner, Minako gave the pouch to Yukari, and sure enough, she loved it. When Junpei complained that only Yukari got a present, Minako took some of the Inaba vending machine drinks she had bought and gave them to the others.
Minako reserved a can of TaP Soda for Pharos and brought it to her room. She left the can on her desk and plopped onto her bed to take a nap. She hoped she would wake up before Dark Hour. Since she was tired from the trip, she fell asleep instantly.
When Minako awoke, she realized it was already Dark Hour. She stood up with a gasp and turned the special lamp on. "Pharos-kun, come here please!"
Pharos answered to her call and appeared in the room. He seemed concerned. "Minako! What happened?"
"I overslept! How many minutes into the Dark Hour are we?"
"Around 35 minutes."
Minako heaved a sigh. "Ah, okay. We have some time then."
"Did something happen?" Pharos still looked worried. "You seemed alarmed."
"Huh? ... Oh, no, nothing. I had been meaning to see you today, but I overslept, and it was already Dark Hour when I woke up. That was all."
"Oh." Pharos smiled in relief. "I'm glad that nothing bad happened. For a moment, I thought you had had a bad dream or something."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." Minako stood up. She retrieved the drink from her desk and handed it to him. "I just wanted to give you this. It's one of the drinks I bought in Inaba."
"Oh, thanks!" Pharos gladly accepted the drink. He fumbled with the can for a bit until he managed to open it. Pharos sat down on the bed at Minako's side and began sipping his drink. "Hey, this is good."
"I also wanted to bring some steak croquettes, but I don't think they'd taste very good once cooled off."
Pharos took another sip of his drink, and his eyes lit up with expectation. "Would you visit that town next year, too?"
"Next year?"
"Yeah. You said you'd go to the beach next year, and that I could come with you. What about the town? I want to go there too! It seemed to be a nice place."
Minako finally understood what he meant. Then she recalled saying she would ask Mitsuru to take them to Yakushima next year. That day, she had forgotten to consider that Pharos - or Ryoji - probably wouldn't be with them anymore the following year. Minako felt guilty about having gotten his hopes up by suggesting something she likely wouldn't be able to follow through, but she didn't want to disappoint him, either. "Yeah, it's a nice place. I'd like to visit it again," she simply said, and Pharos seemed satisfied with her answer.
Pharos emptied his TaP Soda can in silence. He stood up, threw the empty can in the trash bin, then sat back on Minako's bed.
"Hmm... Minako?"
"What is it?"
"These talks about next year got me wondering... about the future."
"The future?" Minako repeated.
"Yeah. My future, to be exact. We're always talking about what we can do once I'm freed from the Dark Hour. But I realized there's something I had never stopped to think about. Once I'm free, where do I go? It's been so long... will I still have a place to return to? Will anyone be waiting for me? Did I even have a place to begin with? I've been under the assumption that once I'm freed, I'll remember everything about myself and will know everything that I need to know. But what if it isn't enough? What if it turns out I don't have anywhere to go? What should I do?" Pharos seemed scared. "If I don't have a place to call home... is it okay if I stay with you?"
It was a good question. Now that Minako thought about it, she had no idea where Ryoji had stayed when he was supposed to be at "home," nor where he disappeared to after he gave them time to decide whether or not to "kill" him. This time, maybe they could find a way to make him stay with them in the dorm.
"Hmm, I could see if my friends would let you live here..." Minako offered.
"Here in the dorm, with everyone?" Pharos seemed to like the suggestion. "Um, but only Persona users can live here, right? ... Oh, I have an idea!" He clasped his hands. "If I learn to use a Persona, maybe they'll let me stay! ... But... do I even have a Persona? I don't know. Hmm, I've never stopped to think about this, either..."
Minako also wondered about that. It led back to her idea of a good Shadow wielding a Persona. Or rather, Pharos wielding a Persona... "Tell me if you find anything out. I'm curious too."
"Okay." Pharos nodded. "What about school? Do you think I can go to school, too?"
"I don't see why not."
"Do you think I'd fit in okay?"
"You're smart and learn fast. I'm sure you'd be just fine."
Pharos smiled and let out a lot of music notes. He stood up. "Sorry for talking so much. I know you're tired from the trip. I'll let you rest."
"Aren't you going to stay?"
Pharos seemed to like hearing that question, but shook his head. "I'd like to, but the Dark Hour will end soon, and I don't know if I'll have time to even fall asleep! So, until next time. Good night."
"Good night." Minako smiled and closed her eyes to allow him to disappear.
A/n: memories about "The Answer" are leaking from the SEES members.
Poor Pharos, having nightmares about Aigis. :(
And Persona 4 cameos. Writing the Inaba part was fun. I haven't played P3P, but I read up on the trip to Inaba. Not much seems to happen in the game's version of the event, though.
Scary stories... this reminds me that (at the moment of this writing) October is coming to an end, and the scary stories part is fitting for Halloween. So, happy Halloween, I guess :P .