Akihiko purposely stayed out of Minako's sight as he trailed her as discreetly as he could the moment she left the dorm for school. He pretended to notice her when they got off the station, making small talk in order to gauge how she was faring. He asked if she was feeling confused about the area, having recently transferred not too long ago. She said she was before falling silent. It was a bit of a relief to see she was fine even if she had been looking down since the day started. To keep her mind off her troubles, he informed her that since he was unable to participate in exploration, the juniors would have to decide among themselves who would be the field leader. He told her to pass the message to Yukari and Junpei before parting ways.

***Break Line***

At morning assembly, Mitsuru had been elected as the new student president of the student council. Yukari commented that it was expected since Mitsuru was the most popular girl in school. Junpei mentioned that he felt she had some kind of aura around her. Once Mitsuru took the podium, she gave a speech that radiated charisma, earning her a huge round of applause from students and teachers alike.

"Hey, did you understand what she was talking about?" Junpei asked Minako when the speech was over.

"A little. I wish she would've use easier words," Minako replied while shaking her head.

"I didn't get anything. Sure didn't sound like anything a high schooler would say. If it was anyone else, we'd be laughing our asses off." His commentary brought out the first smile of the day for Minako. With her mood lifted, school did not seem so tiring anymore like she first thought when she left the dorm because of their trip to Tartarus the previous day. Since Yukari had club activities after school, Minako and Junpei came across a commotion at the front gate of the school. They spotted a group of girls screaming and crowding around Akihiko.

"Man, would you look at that? I hear they're always swarming Akihiko-senpai like that," Junpei told Minako. "I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but... I mean, come on! You don't even see girls flock like that on TV!"

"I'm suddenly getting worried about being seen talking to Akihiko-senpai in school now..." Minako shivered from the sudden chill that ran up her spine.

"You worry too much! I'm sure he'll protect you if anybody bothers you while he's around. Oh, he's heading towards us."

"Hey, are you guys free this afternoon?" Akihiko asked when he came up to them.

"I... guess so...?" Junpei answered uncertainly for both of them. They had been planning to drop by the arcade later.

"I want the two of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You know where it is, right?" he looked at Minako who nodded at his question. "I'll be at the police station. See you there."

"Th-The police station?" Junpei exclaimed.

"I didn't do anything!" Minako immediately pleaded innocence and was slowly shifting behind Junpei.

"You're not going to be arrested. It's for club business," Akihiko clarified.

"Oh," both Junpei and Minako echoed.

"I'm heading out first. ...Don't keep me waiting." As Akihiko left the school, the group of girls were squealing at obnoxiously high pitches about how cool he looked and how they wished he was more friendly towards them.

"I bet Akihiko-senpei doesn't know even one of their names," Minako said.

"How can he not know their names? I mean, seriously! Just look at them!" Junpei replied. They stared at the girls who began squealing among themselves about how Akihiko was this and that. "Well, I guess we gotta go... Sheesh, talk about putting a damper on a guy's afternoon."

"Make that double for me," she agreed.

When they arrived at the police station, Akihiko was there talking to the police officer at the counter who he introduced as Kurosawa. He handed each of them an envelope of money from Ikutsuki. It was for them to pick out and buy their favored weapon. Imagine their surprise to learn the police officer actually had connections to obtain illegal things to sell to SEES. He claimed he was just an ordinary officer but it did not take a genius to know something strange was going on in Tatsumi Port Island, namely the Apathy Syndrome. He claimed he was only doing what he thought was right since while he did not know the specifics of what SEES did, he knew they were helping keep the peace, hence his cooperation to supply them equipment. He did warn them if there was any sort of crime scene that appeared to be caused by what he sold them...

By how quickly the both of them bolted from the police station without even looking at his wares, they clearly got the message. Akihiko chuckled before promising Kurosawa he would get them to look at the weapons at another time. The police officer grumbled in acceptance before telling Akihiko that their little group better be regular 'customers' since he was playing the middleman and had to buy the weapons from his connections first before being able to sell to them. Akihiko nodded and updated him on what sort of weapons their group needed. Other than modified knuckle dusters and rapiers, the weapon selection would soon include naginatas, two-handed swords, bows and arrows.

***Break Line***

Their troubles were far from over since the moment they got back to the dorm, Mitsuru was already there and waiting. She asked if the juniors had decided on a field leader yet, and Minako answered no. They had not discussed about it yet. When Yukari returned from club activities later in the afternoon, the three of them sat down to discuss about who should be leader. Naturally, Junpei voted for himself. Yukari immediately shot him down since she had a feeling all he would do was charge straight ahead without thinking. She accused him of just wanting the position of field leader but not the responsibilities that came with it. Junpei had no explanation to convince her otherwise, so that left either Minako and Yukari herself. When Yukari suggested Minako be leader, Minako refused despite Junpei being okay with it although he looked sour when he said that. Her reason was the same as when Akihiko voted for her during their first exploration. Without proper control of her Persona, she was the most unreliable member when it came to fighting. It was either fight without using her Persona at all, or use it and have no control over what her Persona would do and jeopardizing the team. The only option left was Yukari who shifted uncomfortably when the other two looked at her expectantly for some sort of response. Junpei shrugged in a non-committal manner when she asked if they would accept her as leader. Minako was fine with either Yukari or Junpei as leader. Feeling a pressure that suddenly hit her, Yukari backed out from accepting the position and instead suggested that each of them had one go at being the field leader and after that, they would finally decide. Minako and Junpei exchanged glances before agreeing with Yukari. The three of them then informed Mitsuru of their plans. She accepted their course of action but advised them to reach a solid agreement before they lost control of any future situations.

***Break Line***

Yukari's plan of having all the juniors be field leader once was not going as well as they hoped. Yukari had the first shot at having the position and by the end of that exploration Junpei was almost stomping off in complete frustration. She was so quick to criticize him when he did not do exactly as she had told him or when he did do so, he did not perform to her satisfaction. She even did so during combat, shouting at him and trying to direct his every move. At the end, he was frustrated by her attitude of 'her way or no way' according to him. Even Minako was not unscathed by it. Yukari had ordered her numerous times to summon her Persona when it was already established beforehand she would not do so as long as she could keep up with the Shadows without its aid. It could even be said that Minako was the start of the breakdown of this particular formation. She refused repeatedly, even snapping back at Yukari to lay off the demands of wanting her to summon her Persona. That resulted in silent treatment from Yukari for the rest of the night while she vented her anger on Junpei until he could not stand it any longer.

It was Junpei's turn to be field leader a week later to let all three of them cool off their tempers and potential grudges. It was too bad that it just got renewed again on Junpei's turn. Minako had no problems playing second fiddle to Junpei's reckless approach when it came to Shadows since they were both close-range fighters. While he was more willing to listen to his teammates' suggestions and compromise with them than Yukari did, she ended up having a major beef with him. She had already expected him to act like a hot-heated child and stupidly charge at Shadows head-on, so that was not a problem for her to adjust to. What the huge problem was because she felt he ignored the team's well-being. She had no place in Junpei's plan of attack, being relegated to do nothing except being a lookout and summoning Io to heal them. She felt it was demeaning to her. Junpei did say to watch their backs while they fought but it was pointless when Minako was already doing so while fighting with him. Even when they encountered airborne Shadows, Junpei would summon Hermes to use Agi, sometimes wastefully, rather than tell her to shoot their targets down. He did not seem to care that Minako was getting more tired trying to keep up with him, instead just shouting out encouragements that she had more fight left in her. At the end of their exploration, Junpei's clothes had scratches all over but most were just grazes. Minako, on the other hand, had her clothes torn all over from being too tired to continue fighting effectively and suffering numerous non-lethal hits. It was a miracle her uniform was still in one piece. Another small tear here or there would have started exposing her undergarments. To Junpei's credit, he did notice her growing fatigue and did his best to cover for her without once ordering her to summon her Persona. However, he still had her fight in the front lines with him and still did not call on Yukari to take her place. When they were back at the safety of the entrance, Yukari confronted Junpei over his lousy formation which he claimed was strategy on his part. He asked her what problem she had with the role he had given her while Minako had no complaints about her role despite being pushed so much harder than Yukari was. He then gave an apology to Minako who just waved it off, too tired to even talk as she laid spread eagle on the floor. It was clear to them she had no problems with his so-called strategy.

The kicker came when she demanded to know why he felt that the formation he used was a good idea. He shrugged and replied that it worked in video games. He added that he was looking out for both Yukari and Minako and did not treat their fights with the Shadows exactly like video games. Yukari blew her top off at his admission, yelling at him that she would never accept him as leader ever again and if anybody tried to force her, she would simply not participate in their exploration as long as he was leading the team. She was extremely livid at the fact he treated the team like characters in a video game. They were not fictional characters that had a save point they could return to if anything happened to any of them! They only had one life each and he was treating them so carelessly! She turned her glare towards Minako and tried to get her to side with her against Junpei. Minako managed to regain some of her breath and answered that while she was angry that Junpei had viewed them like characters in a video game, she would give him the benefit of the doubt because he took each and every fight seriously. Even though the strategy he used was plucked from a game, it still worked. As long as he did not forget about reality when it came to their safety, she was fine with his game-inspired strategies. Yukari was in complete disbelief that Minako was still fine and accepting of the nonsense Junpei pulled after his admission. With her mind in such a mess, Yukari's anger vanished into thin air and left her with a painful headache. She could only muster out a 'whatever' to them and left with the statement that she would never follow Junpei's lead again. When it was Minako's turn and if she pulled the same thing he did, she would not follow her either. That was a promise, and they had better remember it.

A few days later, it was Minako's turn. Before even stepping into the labyrinth of Tartarus, Yukari and Junpei could see she was completely uncomfortable with being the field leader. It showed in her strategy of trying to avoid every Shadow possible with Mitsuru's aid, even if that meant backtracking and taking the long way around. When they had no choice but to confront Shadows, she normally had Yukari take a potshot first before Minako and Junpei rushed in together. If Mitsuru warned her of their presence around a corner, she would have Junpei pounce on them for a surprise first attack and they tried to end the fight before any remaining Shadows could recover. If they spotted a Shadow from behind with no way around it, Minako would sneakily run up and thrust her naginata into the back of her target's head before having the other two back her up. After a few such ambushes, Junpei joked that Minako had talent for fighting dirty. An embarrassed Minako slapped his arm none too gently as she vehemently denied having such a talent and that she was just taking the safest method. She could fight on the front lines too, just not as well as he did. At the end of the exploration, neither Yukari nor Junpei had any big problems with Minako being the leader except that she made them do the heavy work. She tried to contribute as well but without summoning her Persona, she very clearly contributed the least. Just knowing that made her tell them that she did not want to be the field leader again if that was all she could do.

And so the juniors were back at square one again. An argument broke out between Yukari and Junpei again since they both refused to follow the other's lead. Minako suggested that during combat situations only, she would lead. Yukari's main problem with Junpei laid there, so she agreed with her, redacting her promise of not following Junpei's lead again. Junpei agreed as well since Yukari would not be yelling at him so much anymore if that was the case. Both were still troubled by their own experiences as field leader and were no longer eager to be holding that position again. They added the condition that Minako had to be field leader sometimes as well and Minako reluctantly agreed to it since if she was only leading the fights, she would be the one contributing the least for every exploration. Yukari suggested they take turns being field leader but Junpei disagreed, saying that since all of them were uncomfortable with it, it would put pressure on the person who was next and that may affect their performance. He suggested playing janken (AN: Rock, Paper, Scissors) before each exploration to prevent said pressure, even if it meant one of them had to be the field leader more than once in a row. Yukari argued against it, saying that it prevented any sort of proper preparation from the person who would be the field leader on any given exploration. Minako did not have a problem with either of their suggestions and they had to settle it between themselves. Junpei wanted to get the discussion over and done with already and gave an ultimatum to settle it with a single round of janken. Whoever won would have their idea carried out. Yukari agreed to it, just as tired as he was. Her bad mood got worse when Junpei won but she did not lash out when he did not look the least bit happy about it. He muttered out a sarcastic and tired cheer and immediately excused himself to his room. Seeing him wanting it to be over just as badly as she did was enough to stop herself from criticizing him.

As days passed, the juniors found methods to improve on Junpei's idea, the simplest one being to decide earlier in the evening who would get the role of leader with janken if they decided to explore Tartarus so the 'winner' had time to prepare. With Minako in the role of combat leader, the friction between Yukari and Junpei was greatly reduced. They did squabble over minor disagreements but generally did not fight against each other's orders and both of them had their confidence as field leader restored again.

***Break Line***

Minako decided to join a school club for once much to Junpei's disappointment since he was left alone in the go-home club. He cheered up when she claimed she would only be attending once a week when the club met three times a week, leaving the other five school days to hang out with him if he wanted to. She did not mention it to Junpei but the warm reception from the junior's leader, Rio Iwasaki, and her dedication to the club impressed Minako that it formed the Social Link empowering the Chariot Arcana. To celebrate, he invited her out for lunch. As they enjoyed their food, he mentioned that SEES starting the exploration of Tartarus when she had just awoken from her ten-day coma had him feeling worried. Minako was touched by his concern and that triggered the formation of the Social Link empowering the Magician Arcana. He immediately spoiled the mood she was feeling by joking about guys and girls living in the same dorm and implying certain things might happen. When she asked what he meant, he mentioned that he would not drag love into their work. Then again, he could not guarantee that he would not fall for one of them. Minako joked back that the same might happen for the girls too. There was no guarantee one of them would not fall for him or Akihiko. Junpei could only sputter in embarrassment, causing her to laugh. He quickly got over himself and joined in the laughter.

***Break Line***

Both Yukari and Junpei were keeping a wide berth from Minako who was fuming on her desk after an argument nearly broke out between her and Mitsuru of all people in their own classroom after school was over. It was actually one-sided since Mitsuru kept her cool against Minako's rising anger. It started peacefully at first, with Mitsuru coming in and requesting Minako to join the student council. When Minako asked if this was the special request Mitsuru wanted earlier in the day, she nodded. Mitsuru reassured that she would not burden her with every activity and that she could attend whenever she had time. She just wanted her presence in the council. Being the president was time-consuming and she liked to have additional help in case of emergencies. Minako replied that she would have to take a look at the schedules first before she agreed. Mitsuru advised her not to take too long since she had made an appointment in advance with the faculty adviser. That was where communications broke down. Minako went from calm to angry in an instant. She angrily told Mitsuru she was forcing her to say yes and she had no right to do that. If she wanted help, she could just ask instead of forcing someone to help by removing their choices. This was like the boy in prison pajamas, Igor and the Velvet Room all over again and Minako would not stand for it. Before Mitsuru could respond, she told her that she was not going to help with the student council if this was how the president operated. Mitsuru apologized for making such preparations without her permission but she hoped Minako would understand the position she was in. Minako's answer was still no. Mitsuru stared for a moment before turning around sharply and apologized for wasting her time. The whole classroom was completely silent after that.

"You remember the time when I tried to explain something about Mitsuru-senpai and couldn't find the correct words? Well, this is kind of what I mean," Yukari was the first to break the silence.

"I'm certainly not liking Mitsuru-senpai right now," Minako muttered. "I'll get over this eventually."

"I don't wanna say anything that might upset you further..." Junpei hesitated for a second. "But it kinda seemed like Mitsuru-senpai expected you to say yes and prepared things early. It didn't look like she considered how you might feel about it."

"Yeah, that's it! That's the feeling!" Yukari was surprised Junpei of all people managed to properly put her feelings to words. "Mitsuru-senpai's confidence is the kind that inspires people, so it's not that. But the way she just expects everything to go her way no matter what other people feel is the problem."

"Ugh... How am I supposed to make all this anger go away...?" Minako groaned, her anger slowly turning into misery.

"Wanna shoot some zombies in 'The Home Of The Dead 4' to vent?" Junpei suggested.

"Alright, let's go!" Minako immediately perked up with a happy expression. The other two juniors could have sworn they saw sparkles around her face with how happy she was.

"No, she won't! You're corrupting her!" Yukari stopped their plans by stepping in between the two.

"Don't stop our fun, Yuka-tan," Junpei complained as he tried to sidestep her but she insisted in getting in his way. "What do you mean, I corrupted her?"

"The both of you are spending all your share of the money we find in Tar-" Yukari coughed awkwardly to stop herself from revealing their secret activities to their classmates. "I mean, that place. The both of you are spending your share of the money all on games! What about your equipment? What if they break in the middle of the exploration and you don't have any extras?"

"Oh, come on. The police station is just feet away from the arcade. We're not going to forget about getting replacements when we're being reminded each time we go there," he brushed aside her concerns.

"Well, I have something important to talk about with Minako in private and I want to do it today. What do you say, Minako?" Yukari asked. She almost blurted out that she would refuse on Minako's behalf. With what just happened with Mitsuru, forcing Minako to do anything today was a very bad idea.

"Fine," Minako agreed with a sigh. "Sorry, Junpei-kun. Another day, then."

"Okay... Later," he replied and left by himself, clearly disappointed at the turn of events.

Yukari and Minako headed to a cafe in Paulownia Mall to have their talk. After ordering their drinks, Yukari opened up about how she assumed the both of them were the same. She apologized for that since she lost her father while Minako lost her entire family. Their situations were not the same but they were relatable. The difference was how each of them reacted to their tragedy. She apologized for maybe saying some unfair things to Minako when she had just woken up from her coma and wanted to give a proper apology. She went on to say how distant she felt to the other students because they could complain about their parents scolding them for whatever reason. She was jealous of that and in turn felt lonely until Minako came around.

Minako wanted to point out a slight error in her thinking about assuming every single other student other than them still had both their parents around but withheld herself. She understood Yukari wanted to get this topic off her chest and simply listened politely. Yukari did admit that she sounded pretty selfish after everything was said and laughed about it. At the very least, Yukari was relieved that she had someone to relate to in some degree. Minako's acknowledgement of that provided the Social Link empowering the Lovers Arcana.

***Break Line***

Junpei announced proudly to the two girls that Akihiko trusted him with a SEES-related task. Yukari said that he only asked him because he always had nothing to do after school. Out of curiosity, Minako asked what the task was about. Junpei told her Akihiko wanted him to bring the class roster for 2-E, the classroom opposite theirs. He was to bring it to the hospital since Akihiko had a checkup there for his ribs. Yukari butted her way in and volunteered to go with him. She asked if Minako wanted to come along too. Minako asked Junpei to show a little consideration to him since it was his task to begin with. He groaned in complaint but allowed her to come too.

When they arrived at the hospital and entered Akihiko's room, they found someone else instead. Yukari stared hard at Junpei, silently accusing him of getting the wrong room. He double-checked the message on his phone and it was the correct one. With no other choice, Junpei mustered his courage and asked the menacing stranger wearing a maroon coat and a beanie if this was Akihiko's room. The flat stare from the man intimidated him enough that he stepped back to his original position. Fortunately, Akihiko entered the room to save him from the man's stare and asked why everyone was here when he only asked Junpei. Minako replied she was only following Junpei and Yukari. The stranger asked 'Aki' if that was it, clearly referring to Akihiko. Akihiko gave his thanks to the man. The man grumbled about not having time for whatever Akihiko had him do before leaving. Just as he slid open the door, he stopped and stared at Minako.

"You..." he muttered under his breath, his voice almost inflecting familiarity as he continued to look at her. He noticed he was starting to stare too long and excused himself.

"Who was that?" Junpei asked the question in all the juniors' heads.

"A friend from school... sort of," Akihiko answered. He explained that his friend knew a few people suffering from Apathy Syndrome and was asking him about it. "Hey Junpei, did you bring what I asked?"

"Of course, senpai," Junpei grinned and handed over the class roster. Akihiko eagerly accepted it and flexed his arm, causing the juniors to worriedly tell him to stop. He said he was fine and needed to get back into his training. Yukari asked why he chose boxing as his choice of fighting against the Shadows. He answered that he did not particularly like boxing and that he just wanted to learn how to fight. His face fell into a depressed look as he said he knew how it felt to be powerless and did not want to feel that way again. When he noticed he was making the atmosphere uncomfortable, he immediately erased it by joking about how he considered it a game against himself. Junpei tried to follow up with the joke but he failed to understand the context and ruined it much to Yukari's annoyance.

***Break Line***

"Hi, how have you been?" Minako was awoken from her sleep by a familiar voice. She opened her eyes to see a green ceiling, meaning it was during the Dark Hour. She turned her head and saw the boy in prison pajamas at the side of her bed. "One week from now, there will be a full moon..." he informed her. "Be careful. A new ordeal awaits you..."

"What kind of ordeal?" Minako asked as calmly as she could as she sat up to properly speak with him. She bit down on her rising anger at his appearance as consideration for him since he was talking with her cordially.

"You will encounter one of them," he emphasized. "You must prepare for the ordeal, but time is of the essence... I'm sure you're aware of that, of course."

"Exactly who or what are 'them' that you're referring to?"

"All I remember is that they are a group. I'm sorry, but that's all I can say. Other details about them is unclear to me..." he said sadly before clearing it away. "I'll come see you again when it's over. Goodbye for now."

"Hold it!" Minako reached out and grabbed his hand before he could disappear into the shadows again. She shivered involuntarily at how cold he was to the touch but got over it quickly. "Before you go..." she stopped him so she could say what she wanted to say. "You wanted me to help you, right? Can you tell me what you need help with?"

"...It's my memory," he hesitantly answered. "I don't remember anything about myself, and the things I do remember are very vague. The only things clear to me are the key to my memories is in the Dark Hour and that only you can help me find it through ordeals that I can sense when they will appear. I can't speak to you outside of the Dark Hour either. Can you help me? ...Please?"

"I'll do what I can. I'll help you remember who you are, I promise," Minako made a sincere promise to the boy. She felt terrible for him, not remembering anything about himself and stuck with a literal stranger, forced to rely solely on their goodwill. She could no longer hold onto her grudge against him for tricking her into awakening her power. Igor was a completely different story. She felt he took advantage of the boy for his own needs since he knew of the boy's presence but not the other way around. "You're stuck with me, right? So until you remember everything about yourself, I'll help you."

"You really will?" he dared to hope.

"Yes. You can count on me," she ruffled his hair in an affectionate manner.

"Thank you, Minako," the boy said happily but his somewhat flat tone was not properly portraying his gratitude.

"You're welcome..." Minako paused, suddenly remembering something. "What's your name, by the way?"

"My name? I don't have one. ...Or at least, I don't remember it," he replied. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I can wait until you remember."

"Okay. Goodnight, Minako."

"Goodnight." She watched him disappear into the walls again and circled the date on her calendar which he had pointed out as the day of the ordeal. She double-checked again to account for the Dark Hour and once she was satisfied she had the correct date, she went back to sleep.

***Break Line***

Minako's treasured free time after school was further shortened when she found out from Ms. Toriumi that joining a committee was compulsory for students. She reluctantly joined the library committee, hoping that it was more lenient when it came to workload compared to the health committee. She was placed under the care of Saori Hasegawa, a junior that even the seniors were polite towards. That was because she was two years older than the normal age of juniors because she studied abroad and took time off from school hence being the oldest student in the school. She was uncomfortable being spoken to politely because of that and requested Minako to try and be informal with her. When Minako agreed to do so, Saori's relief at that formed the Social Link empowering the Hermit Arcana.

***Break Line***

The day the boy prophesized an ordeal would happen was today. Minako excused herself from all her school activities including hanging out with Junpei and Yukari and headed to the police station to sell her damaged naginata for a small discount for a brand new naginata. She took an evening nap to refresh herself for the Dark Hour. She awoke five minutes before the Dark Hour and washed up, dressed in her school uniform and waited on standby. True to the boy's word, an alarm rang throughout the dorm and Akihiko ordered the juniors to wake up and assemble at the command room in their combat gear through the PA system. Minako, having expected an emergency to happen, waited outside the command room for Junpei and Yukari before entering with them.

"We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus. We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one," Mitsuru informed them of the situation. "We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible. Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"In other words, we need to kick some ass, right? Well, count me in!" Junpei simplified what Mitsuru said while sounding excited.

"Junpei..." Yukari sighed in frustration at his attitude.

Mitsuru was quick to shoot down any chances of Akihiko joining the fight, ordering him to take charge of the command room and wait for the chairman who was on his way. He protested against it but Mitsuru told him the juniors would fare better than he would currently and that he should have faith in them because they were ready. Her impression of the juniors was slightly ruined when the seniors witnessed the juniors seemingly fooling around and playing janken with each other with Junpei as the winner.

"Relax! I've got it covered!" Junpei stepped up to take the role of field leader while Minako and Yukari stepped back in deference to him. Akihiko could only look at the juniors in disappointment and shook his head.

"I guess I've got no choice... Minako, you're in charge," Akihiko immediately called for a role switch, much to the shock of the juniors.

"But Akihiko-senpai, we've already decided that Junpei is the leader for tonight," Yukari spoke up.

"Through janken? Are you guys taking this seriously?" Akihiko asked sternly.

"We are, honest, but this seemed like the best idea..." Minako answered timidly. It was not often the juniors saw Akihiko mad or upset, but when he did just like on their very first exploration when they messed up, he was really scary.

"We're counting on you," Mitsuru supported Akihiko's choice, looking squarely at Minako.

"If I can help out, then..." she gave up resistance and reluctantly took the role away from Junpei.

"I know you can do this," Akihiko gave his support to her. It was clear now that the seniors preferred Minako as the leader.

"Guess it's pretty much decided you're our leader, huh...?" Junpei grouched.

"The responsibility of leader falls to those who have the gift of leadership," Mitsuru said. "I did not forget how you spoke to Minako on your first exploration. So let me add, if you say or do anything to condescend her just because she's a girl..." she left the remaining unsaid. Junpei immediately denied having any such thoughts like that. Akihiko cut them off by telling the juniors to head to the station and wait for Mitsuru there. As they waited at the meeting spot, Yukari commented on the full moon and how creepy it looked during the Dark Hour. The sound of an engine startled them as they looked around. They soon saw someone riding a large motorcycle with bulky equipment attached to it. It turned out the rider was Mitsuru and she had a specialized motorcycle just like the van Akihiko drove them home in whenever they wanted to do an exploration. Mitsuru got down to business in an instant, telling them that the Shadow was currently located in a monorail not far from the station and they had to walk on the tracks to get to it. She assured them it was safe since it was during the Dark Hour. If circumstances changed, she would inform them by the usual method. All of the juniors exchanged uneasy looks with each other before acknowledging there was no other way and made their way onto the tracks.

Mitsuru contacted them to test their mental connection just as they reached the specified monorail. She told them to proceed with caution and to stick together. Yukari was the first to climb the foothold and warned Junpei not to look up her skirt. He made no promises and denied any fault of his own if he happened to catch a glimpse. She coldly suggested for Minako to bury him where they stood and leave him behind. Minako politely refused and said that she should hurry up and finish climbing instead of hanging in the middle and trying to tempt Junpei. Junpei let out a muffled snort of amusement as he turned away quickly to hide his smirking face. Yukari grumbled about girls having to stick together on something like this and Minako not doing so. Junpei climbed up second while Minako took a look at the monorail from the outside. She briefly wondered why all the doors were open when electronics were supposed to be unable to function in the Dark Hour. She found it weird but did not question it further and followed her friends up, thinking it was a safety function of the monorail to open its doors automatically so that passengers would not be stuck inside if there happened to be a power outage that took out the monorail system. The moment she entered, all the doors suddenly shut themselves. Mitsuru heard Yukari's gasp of surprise and asked what happened. Yukari filled her in and Mitsuru told them to proceed with extreme caution because it was likely the Shadow's doing and it knew they were there.

"What do we do, leader?" Yukari asked.

"There's only one way to go. We just have to keep moving forward until we find the Shadow," Minako replied. There was an uncomfortable lack of Shadows as they walked past the first three cars. When one did appear, it turned around and fled into the car further ahead of them.

"Hey, get back here!" Junpei began to give chase when Mitsuru's warning stopped him. That particular Shadow was acting strange and it seemed suspicious to her. "But if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!"

"Minako, you're in command there. What do you think?" Mitsuru asked Minako about her course of action.

"We should chase after it! We're going in its direction, after all!" Minako had a similar mindset to Junpei with more rationality behind her decision.

"But, why did it retreat after revealing itself? It doesn't make sense. Think about it," Mitsuru encouraged her to think about her decision again. That caused Minako to hesitate as she looked between Yukari and Junpei for help. "Be careful."

"...Fine, I'll go myself," Junpei had enough of pussyfooting around the danger when there was clearly only one way to go. "You guys take your time thinking it over and watch me beat it all by myself!"

"Junpei! Wait!" Yukari called for him to stop when he ran off on his own. She was startled by two warnings coming from both Minako and Mitsuru telling her to watch out behind her. She turned around and stumbled back just as Minako stepped in front of her and took out the Shadow attempting to strike her from behind. "Th-Thanks, Minako..." Yukari breathed out, releasing the sudden panic inside her. With her nerves calmed, she took out the other Shadow that was coming towards them. "This is just what the enemy wanted..." she groaned.

"Junpei-kun and I had the right idea! I shouldn't have hesitated on my decision to chase after that Shadow! We wouldn't have been separated like this!" Minako blamed herself in frustration.

"We have no choice. You have to go after him, or you'll be picked off one by one," Mitsuru told them.

"Damn it, Stupei! What are you thinking?" Yukari was irritated at Junpei's selfish behavior.

"From what I can tell, he's only a few cars ahead."

"Let's go!" Minako urged.

"He should know it's too dangerous to go alone... Don't you think he's acting weird? Did you say something to upset him, Minako?" Yukari asked as they ran through the cars in front of them. "Well, we can ask him once we've caught up to him!" A few cars ahead, they finally caught sight of him. "There he is! Shoot! He's surrounded! We've gotta help him!"

Junpei was having trouble with swinging his weapon in the tight space of a monorail car. He was getting increasingly frustrated by constantly getting attacked while trying to mind his own attacks so as not to damage the monorail in any way.

"Junpei!" he heard Yukari call his name just as an arrow found itself in one of the Shadows and breaking its mask, disintegrating it.

"...I've got it under control!" he insisted, but he clearly was not. Minako quickly joined him and fought off the remaining Shadows with him as Yukari summoned Io and healed Junpei of his accumulated injuries. With the group together again, the Shadows were easily dispatched.

"See! That's what happens when you don't listen!" Yukari scolded him once the battle was over. "...So, are you alright?"

"O-Of course I am..." Junpei was breathing heavily, not convincing the girls at all. "I was doing just fine..."

"Excuse me!" she snapped at him angrily.

"That's enough, Yukari!" Minako got in between the both of them before any argument could happen. "As leader, it's my fault. Junpei-kun had the right idea and I agreed to it as well. It was my fault I turned back on my decision and made him angry which lead to this. Stop blaming him."

"Be careful, you three!" Mitsuru's voice interrupted them. "I don't detect any movement, but stay alert!"

The three of them stood still as they surveyed the car they were in, looking for any hiding Shadows. They were just about to relax when the monorail started moving by itself. Mitsuru was quick to point out, a little too calmly, that it seemed the monorail was under the Shadow's control. Yukari exclaimed by asking why Mitsuru thought that 'it seemed' was a good way to describe their situation. Mitsuru ignored her and urged them to hurry and take down the main Shadow or the monorail will crash into the one ahead of it.

"Oh god! What are we gonna do?" Yukari was in complete panic. Mitsuru told her to calm down and listen, because she sensed the main Shadow was residing in the front car. They had to defeat it to stop the monorail. They all rushed to the front car and encountered said Shadow.

"What the hell? ...Is this the frigging boss?" Junpei was extremely uncomfortable with how the very large female Shadow looked like and the position she was sitting in.

"I have never seen anything like this..." Mitsuru whispered through their mental connection. "The Shadow belongs to the Priestess Arcana. I'm sorry, but that's all I am able to sense from it." Upon seeing SEES, the Priestess summoned two smaller Shadows to her aid. "Reinforcements! How annoying...!" she clicked her tongue in said annoyance. The Priestess was clearly buying time for herself. The longer she was alive, the more danger everybody in the monorail was in.

"Eat this!" Junpei raised his Evoker to his head and fired, summoning Hermes. That was good except Hermes had nowhere to go since it was too big to do more than stand still in the monorail. It could not even fly to dodge when the Priestess sent her sharp hair to strike at it, causing it to forcefully disappear and damaging Junpei from the feedback.

"Junpei!" Yukari cried out worriedly as Junpei fell to one knee and clutched his head in pain. She summoned Io who quickly healed Junpei before casting Garu at the Priestess. Unfortunately, her minions used themselves as meat shields and protected her at the cost of their lives. That was of little concern to her, since she just re-summoned them again. Minako tried going for a direct attack but the hair moved on its own to protect its owner before repelling Minako back.

"We can't get close...!" Minako was beginning to panic as well. She watched Junpei and Yukari summon their Personas again to cast their magic spells but the smaller Shadows kept on taking the hits for the Priestess. "I'll take the smaller ones! You two, throw spells at the main one!" she yelled out an order. With their new strategy, things finally began to turn in their favor. With Minako on guard for the smaller Shadows, they could not go to the defense of their master. The Priestess was getting hit by either an Agi or a Garu even as she tried blocking with her hair and was beginning to wear down. That was until she had enough and stopped summoning her minions, instead going for a spell that none of the juniors were prepared for.

"Take cover! It's a Mabufu spell!" Mitsuru warned but it was too late. She knew none of the juniors had ever seen the signs of a Bufu spell, but she did. Hermes and Io were forcefully dispelled upon being hit, leaving Junpei and Yukari with feedback damage as they clutched their heads while shouting and screaming in pain. Minako, on the other hand, was frozen in ice from her waist down. She frantically tried to break the ice with her naginata but was only managing to chip it. "Look out!" Mitsuru exclaimed and Minako looked at the Priestess to see one of her hair strands draw back, telegraphing its attack and who its target was. Minako paled drastically at seeing the preparation and turned back to look at Junpei and Yukari who were just recovering from their feedback damage.

"Junpei-kun! Yukari! Help me...!" Minako pleaded as fear finally set in her and tears involuntarily escaped from her eyes. She could not even attempt to summon her Persona because her Evoker was in the block of ice.

"Junpei, hurry! Melt the ice before it attacks!" Yukari screamed in full-blown panic at Junpei.

"I can't...! The headache is stopping me from summoning my Persona!" he yelled back, one hand still clutching his head. Yukari could not fault him since she was under the same dilemma as he was. The only reason he got over his previous feedback damage so quickly was because Io was healing him. They heard Minako scream out in absolute fear as the hair strand dived straight at her.

"Minako!" they both screamed for her safety. They could only watch in horror as her naginata was snapped right in half from a desperate block. It seemed like time had slowed down for them as they saw the force of the attack break Minako free from the ice holding her in place and sent her flying down the middle of the car. She landed with a loud thud in between them, her hair covering her eyes and a pool of blood slowly appearing around her body. "Minako!" their second scream returned time back to its normal speed as they ran to her side.

"Oh no, oh no...! I have to heal her...!" Yukari was in tears as she fumbled with her Evoker. When she fired it, nothing was summoned. "Why? Why now!" she screamed. She was at her emotional limit from not being able to summon Io.

"Takeba, you have to calm down! You're in too much panic to concentrate enough to summon your Persona!" Mitsuru advised her. "Iori, guard them as best as you can until Takeba has calmed down enough to start healing Minako!"

"On it!" Junpei was beginning to let anger consume his thoughts but forced himself to focus on defending Yukari and Minako. The Priestess had summoned her minions again and let out a haunting laugh, not even bothering to attack him. He knew why and it infuriated him. She did not need to kill them herself. Time would do it for her. There was no need to attack, and she knew he could not get to her alone even with Hermes. "Pull yourself together, Yukari! Minako needs you!" he glanced back to see Yukari taking hasty breathing exercises to get her emotions under control.

"Persona..." Yukari attempted another summoning and this time it was successful. "Please, Io! Heal Minako!" she begged her Persona who quickly worked on healing the laceration on Minako's abdomen where all the blood was leaking from. Upon seeing Io, the Priestess finally moved on the attack, gesturing for her minions to charge.

"No, you don't!" Junpei rushed in to prevent the minions from stopping the healing. He had to endure hearing the Priestess laugh at him as he tussled with her minions who were re-summoned each time he destroyed them.

"Minako, you're awake! Thank goodness!" Yukari cried out in relief. Junpei could finally allow a smile to appear on his face.

"Yukari... Thank you..." Minako sounded really weak and Junpei retreated to her side and helped her sit up.

"Glad to have you back," he tried to lift her spirits even with a weak grin.

"Are you still hurting? Are you still bleeding anywhere?" Yukari looked over Minako worriedly and was ordering Io to continuously heal her friend, not willing to take any chances.

"Minako, you're alright! What a relief!" Mitsuru's voice rang out in her head. "If you're capable of still fighting, join Takeba and Iori! You have to stop the Shadow! The lives of everyone in the monorail depends on you, including your own!"

"Understood..." Minako replied and stood up with the help of her friends.

"Your weapon got broken. I know what Mitsuru-senpai said, but leave the rest to us," Junpei told her.

"I still have a weapon..." she said and drew her Evoker. She placed the nozzle to her temple and fired without any hesitance. "Persona!" The blue mist appeared and swirled around her body for a moment before dispersing. With its dispersal came a feeling of unbridled fury emanating from her.

"How dare you! How dare you harm Anchin-sama!" Minako let out a scream reminiscent of a banshee. "I will burn you to the point not even your own destruction will save you from my wrath!" As if her rage supplied her with additional power, blue flames were being emitted from her feet and swirled around her body.

"Ow, ow, ow! Hey! Watch your flames!" Junpei sputtered as he stumbled away from her. While Hermes granted him some resistance towards Agi spells, it did not do much for actual rising temperatures. He was still susceptible to heat because it was not inherently magic compared to the Agi spells. Minako paid no heed to him as the swirling flames expanded around her. She did not bat an eye either when her flames licked towards Yukari who had not gotten enough distance from her yet. Io moved to protect her summoner and ended up dispelled as she was destroyed by the unrelenting magic fire, causing Yukari feedback damage. "Hey, hey! Calm down, Persona-san! You're hurting your allies!" Junpei shouted as he quickly pulled the suffering Yukari further back. His shouting managed to get through to Minako this time as the flames disappeared.

"You people are to blame for Anchin-sama's injury as well with your lack of aptitude!" Minako snapped her head in his direction, scaring him in place with the sheer anger and hatred in her eyes. Junpei ducked for cover at the last second when a large fireball was sent his way, clearly meant to attack him. The fan had appeared in her hand and another fireball was already floating on top of its opened horizontal position. "Burn to ashes!" she screamed as she pulled her arm back to send it forward.

"...p! Stop! Please stop!" Minako froze when she heard a voice ring in her head. It was not like the annoying buzzing when Mitsuru was trying to contact her and she refused to pick up the 'call'.

"Anchin-sama...? Is that you, Anchin-sama?" Minako's fury was suddenly replaced by immense bliss as she smiled happily. "Oh, how I've long wished to hear your voice, Anchin-sama!" She spun in place with her hands clasped together like a love-struck maiden.

"Don't hurt my friends! Destroy the enemy Shadow, please! We don't have any more time!" Minako pleaded from inside her own head. This was the first time she was conscious while her Persona was in command of her body. She was suspended inside what appeared to be clear, breathable water and she was viewing what her Persona was seeing from a screen that was not distorted by the water. When she heard her Persona yell at Junpei, she thought it was simple misdirected anger for her own safety. It was only after she attacked him that she tried to establish a connection with her Persona. It took screaming at the screen like a complete fool for a few seconds before her Persona started hearing her.

"As you wish, Anchin-sama! I, Kiyohime, will fulfill your every command!" her Persona declared with utmost faith before her delighted look shifted into one of seriousness. "I will eliminate all enemies that impede your path!" With a twirl, she slapped the prepared fireball with her fan and flung it in the other direction, taking the Priestess by complete surprise. Her fireball scored a direct hit on her, making her let out a haunting scream of pain. "You will find I am not as easy to deal with like the others." With another swing of her fan, three fireballs shot out from it and each found their mark on the Priestess and her minions. The minions were destroyed in a single hit and although the Priestess defended herself with her hair, it was not enough to prevent recoil from guarding and left her open to a direct hit from yet another fireball. She screamed in rage and pain. She retaliated by sending her hair strands forward but because Kiyohime was not hindered by size like Hermes and Io was, she easily dodged the attacks and returned fire with unerring accuracy. From the way the Priestess was slumped after receiving the counterattack, she was close to being defeated.

"Here's our chance for an All-Out Attack!" Yukari had recovered from the feedback damage and saw the chance for victory. Junpei did not need any further encouragement as he charged in with his sword raised like a madman, even screaming like one as he hacked and slashed as hard and fast as he could. She summoned Io again and ordered it to assault the Priestness with multiple Garu spells while she took careful aim with her bow and arrows. Kiyohime watched them for a moment before conjuring a blue flame and held it steady until Junpei backed off. When he did, she dealt the final blow that destroyed the boss Shadow. With the threat gone, Kiyohime receded control of the body back at Minako's request who informed her friends of her return.

"Did we make it in time?" Junpei asked, alert for any remaining Shadows. While none appeared, something else caught his attention. "...Hey! Why're we still moving!"

"We're going too fast! We have to put on the brakes or else...!" Yukari replied in just as much as panic as him. Natural loss of momentum would not help avert a collision and she knew that.

"What are you waiting for? There's a train up ahead!" Mitsuru scolded them for taking away precious time for their panicking. They rushed to open the door to the conductor's area and fortunately, the electronic lock keeping passengers out was disabled due to the Dark Hour. But even then, none of them knew how to operate the controls.

"Damn it! I don't know how to stop this thing!" Junpei screamed.

"Junpei-kun! Pull that lever on your right!" Minako shouted at him and pointed out the said lever. "It's like the game we played in the arcade! It should be that one!" It had to be the same lever, or else they would all die. Yukari could only scream as she got on her knees and covered her head.

"It's all or nothing now!" he prayed as he slammed the lever down. The sound of metal screeching against metal never sounded so pleasant as it did in that moment. "D-Did we stop?" he asked when no collision happened. The monorail ahead of them was mere meters in front of them. They almost did not make it.

"I-I think so..." Yukari replied as she stood up with shaking knees.

"Is everybody alright?" Mitsuru asked.

"Uh, y-yeah, we're okay," she replied and laughed awkwardly. "My knees are shaking..."

"Dude... I'm like drenched in sweat..." Junpei said.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." Mitsuru sighed in relief. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end. I don't detect any more Shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home."

"Hey, are you okay, Minako-tan?" Junpei asked when Minako remained completely silent. Instead of giving a reply, she sat against the wall and hugged her legs tightly before she broke out crying.

"I'm sorry! This is all my fault...!" Minako wept.

"Oh, crap... Hey, hey, don't cry! Where'd I put my handkerchief?" he tried to comfort her as he searched his pockets.

"I thought it was strange when I saw the doors open and I didn't say anything! Then we all got caught in the Shadow's trap, I hesitated in making an important decision and because of my own cowardice, I nearly cost us all our lives and everyone in here by not summoning my Persona until it was almost too late! And even then, it tried to attack the both of you! I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

Neither Yukari nor Junpei said anything as they quietly sat down next to Minako and comforted her. Yukari rubbed circles on her back while Junpei just made himself known by sitting close enough for their shoulders to touch so she knew he was there with her. The support they were showing Minako strengthened the Social Link for the Fool Arcana which she quickly banished from her mind. She did not need a reminder linked to the Velvet Room right now. She just wanted to let her guilt and sorrow out.

"How did you know which one was the brake?" Yukari asked Junpei.

"The arcade. Minako remembered this train conductor game we played a few days back. She told me the lever for the brake looked the same so we bet on it," Junpei replied and huffed in amusement. "We would have been finished if she didn't remember that. Imagine that. The knowledge of an arcade game saving our lives."

"Seriously?" Yukari did not know whether to feel impressed or insulted at that. To prevent a migraine from appearing, she decided not to think about it any further and simply accepted it. "We'd better get going. We shouldn't keep Mitsuru-senpai waiting."

"Yeah. You ready to go, Minako-tan?" Junpei asked Minako who only nodded. He helped her up and handed her his handkerchief so she could wipe away her tears and clean her face. He figured it was wise to not mention that it had already been used to wipe away sweat earlier in the day. He did give a mental apology for that and hoped she did not find out. The trip back to the station was silent except for Minako's hiccups from her heavy crying. When they saw Mitsuru, Yukari was quick to explain to her that Minako had taken the close call of the operation really hard and saving the questions as to what happened in detail for another day would be greatly appreciated.

"Very well. But first, I have to let you know that my connection to Minako was lost sometime during the battle with the Shadow and I only reconnected with her after it. Did she summon her Persona?" Mitsuru asked.

"She did. Her Persona was furious that Minako suffered a serious injury and turned on us for a bit because of that," Yukari explained. "Minako did manage to stay conscious after summoning it and I guess she managed to calm it down enough and direct it towards the enemy. I think that's about the only good thing that came out of this."

"Don't sell yourselves short. All of you did a tremendous job."

"Thanks, Mitsuru-senpai."

"Did you manage to get the identity of Minako's Persona? Akihiko wanted to know."

"Akihiko-senpai does?"

"He has a theory on how to help Minako control her Persona. Because it's sentient, it has a personality of its own. If we have its identity, then we might have a way to approach the problem. Personas are based on historical figures, myths and legends. We can get a rough idea of its personality based on stories about them."

"I'm more surprised none of us figured out until now with the way Minako's Persona kept referring to her as Anchin-sama. If I heard correctly, her Persona introduced itself as Kiyohime."

"Just like the folklore?"

"Yes. That makes me even more worried for Minako. If how the story goes is true..."

"Kiyohime kills Anchin. And if her Persona views Minako herself as Anchin, it may very well attempt to kill her too."

***End Of Chapter***

First boss fight is done! You know that time limit that is given to you? It's way too long to the point that the scene following the boss fight doesn't feel right. It would be fine if it wasn't there to begin with so the feeling of the last second save actually fits. In the game, we got the only boss fight with absolutely no gimmicks to it except it can summon and has a time limit. But said summons aren't dangerous, can be completely ignored and the time limit is way too long, making the gimmicks moot. If the time limit had to be there, I feel it would fit more if the Priestess actually fought with the goal of stalling for time, which is what I made her do in this fanfic. And her minions are actually not useless.

Minako's Persona has been revealed and I spiced up the boss fight to make the overall scene hopefully more enjoyable to read. The days leading up to the boss fight are used to develop the relationship between the juniors as well as jotting down the activated Social Links for Minako. A change from canon is that Minako does not join the student council and has not activated the Social Link for the Emperor Arcana.

Thank you very much to the reviewers who sent in their suggestions. Rest assured they are in consideration and I'm checking to see if I'm satisfied with the alignment to the Arcana as well as if I'm capable and comfortable enough to write a given character and not get them wrong to the point it becomes out of character.

Here's the update.

Fool: Kiyohime

Magician: ? (Already decided)

Priestess: ? (Already decided)

Empress: ?

Emperor: Unnamed

Hierophant: ? (Recently decided for myself)

Lovers: ?

Chariot: ? (Already decided)

Justice: ?

Hermit: ?

Fortune: ?

Strength: ?

Hanged Man: ?

Death: ? (Already decided)

Temperance: ?

Devil: ?

Tower: ?

Star: ?

Moon: ?

Sun: ? (Suggestion accepted)

Judgement: ?

Suggestions for the free slots are still welcome for future chapters until everything has been filled out.

I look forward to getting more readers who like this story! Do Follow/Favorite/Review this story, and big thanks to those who are kind enough to do so!