The week following the near-disastrous mission left SEES in a quiet mood. Minako refused to talk about the operation when questioned by Mitsuru and Yukari had to give the operation details for her. Yukari was surprised when Mitsuru forbade any exploration into Tartarus while she and Akihiko evaluated their performance. She explained that success deserved due praise but performance was another issue. It was also out of consideration for the juniors since Minako nearly died and perhaps they needed the time to calm down from that experience. Junpei was the only one among the juniors to keep a positive attitude and it was helping Minako out of her depressed state of mind. While it was a good thing, Yukari could not help but feel displeased when she tailed them one day and found out that Minako was just as much of a video game junkie as Junpei was. Only ten minutes in the arcade and she was already feeling irritated by the atmosphere and noise in the establishment. No wonder they got along so well when every other girl that had interacted with him always held him in a low opinion, herself included despite being so-called friends with him. She was sure Mitsuru did too as well if her implication that he was secretly sexist was any indication.

It was not like the success of the operation did not wield any results. Apathy Syndrome cases had dropped to a new low and some victims had seemingly recovered overnight. This was something that gave the juniors pride in their actions at least. Akihiko met Minako at the school gates during the midterm exams and informed her that he was joining them in their explorations after the exams were over. He gave her a message to pass to the other juniors to gather for a meeting on the evening of the final day of the exams.

***Break Line***

"Senpai, I heard you're fully healed!" Yukari cheered for Akihiko. After the exam week, he had gone to the hospital for one last checkup and he was finally cleared for action by the doctor that specially attended to SEES, being one of the Kirijo Group's doctors that knew about the Dark Hour.

"Congrats, man!" Junpei added to the cheer.

"I need to catch up on my training. I've slacked off for a whole month," Akihiko said.

"Shouldn't you take it easy, though? You don't wanna re-injure your arm," Yukari mentioned.

"I've already wasted precious time. Besides, we found another Persona-user."

"We did? Sweet!" Junpei was pleasantly surprised by the news before his face turned a little lewd. "Is it a girl...?"

"Actually, it is. She's a junior who goes to our school." Akihiko replied without being bothered by him. "Fuuka Yamagishi... Do you guys know her?"

Yukari recognized the name, knowing it belonged to someone in class 2-E. From what she heard, the girl got sick a lot and was not seen at school often.

"She was at the same hospital as me. That's how we found out about her. But, maybe she's not cut out for battle. I had an Evoker made for her, too..." he sighed towards the end.

"What? We're giving up on her already?" Junpei exclaimed. "I was gonna offer her some private lessons..." he said mischievously.

"What kind of lessons?" Minako asked, causing Yukari to slap her forehead and groan.

"You seriously didn't get what he was implying?" Yukari asked in exasperation.

"I thought he was offering to help her catch up on the lessons she missed."

"How can you be so... Agh!" she groaned even louder and glared at Junpei who could only scratch his cheek in embarrassment and look away. Even he noticed how Minako had completely missed his double entendre and the very obvious hidden message. Minako could only look between the both of them in confusion.

"Wh-Why're you looking at me like that? Come on... I'm a guy. What did you expect?" Junpei retorted but even he felt his defense was weak.

"One more thing," Akihiko interrupted them. "Mitsuru and I have come to the decision that on the next exploration onwards, I will take over the duties as field leader. After a month of trial and error and a major operation, none of you have come to an agreement on who is to be field leader. That's more than enough time to make a decision and still none of you did."

"We have a system in place already, Senpai," Junpei said.

"And it's about time to abolish that silly system of yours. We can't afford to keep fooling around. Can the three of you decide right here and now if I asked for a permanent field leader among you?" Akihiko challenged the juniors. Just by the way their eyes darted to one another in anxiety was enough proof for him. "I thought so. If there are no objections, I will be the field leader for future explorations in Tartarus and major operations. Any questions?" All three juniors shook their heads in synchronization. "Then there will be no more arguments about this, are we clear? If you don't like the way I handle things, then you'll just have to bear with it. You've all had your chances."

"Yes, Senpai!" the juniors answered as one.

***Break Line***

After a random school day, Minako came across Akihiko when she was about to head home. He was too and invited her out to stop somewhere first. She agreed to follow him and as they walked to the school gates, she felt all the glares from his fan girls. She felt a cold shiver crawl up her spine and turned pale when she heard the not-too-subtle threats aimed towards her. Akihiko noticed and discreetly whispered to her to ignore them. She gave a shaky nod and walked beside him with her head held high. Her pale and sweating face did not help with her image, though.

They stopped at the strip mall and had lunch at the ramen shop where Akihiko treated her to an extra-large special bowl. As they ate, he mentioned how physical strength meant everything. No matter how remarkably skilled one was, it would be of no use if they got exhausted easily. After they were done eating, Akihiko wanted to go to another restaurant but decided against that idea when Minako seemed to struggle moving. He laughed as he commented on how small her stomach was and if she did not eat right, she would never grow stronger. She glared at him, feeling like he was treating her like a little kid. He took notice of her glare and said that he was not Junpei. He would not go easy on her just because she was a girl. He told her that Mitsuru had been considering her to be the permanent field leader but after their first operation, she redacted her decision. Now that he was made the field leader, he encouraged her to do her best and do a good job. He would be relying on her to watch his back and he would watch hers as well. His concern for her sparked the beginning of the Social Link empowering the Star Arcana. Her happy mood quickly plummeted when he forced her to jog with him all the way back to the dorm.

***Break Line***

"Alright, let's get going. Don't worry, I won't push you too hard. I need to get back in the action too," Akihiko told the trio of juniors under his care. This would be their first trip into Tartarus under his leadership. They were banned from exploring Tartarus due to the exam week as well as the lack of proper leadership among the juniors. "Just like I told you guys last time, you've had your chances. I won't tolerate any complaining from you guys about how I do things unless it concerns your life and safety. Got that?"

"Yes, Senpai!" all three chorused.

As they climbed the tower, the juniors quickly learned that he preferred charging straight at a group of Shadows much like Junpei but when combat started, he quickly switched over to a more tactical approach similarly to Minako. With four active members on the field, the group got into formation quickly enough to impress Akihiko. He and Junpei were the front-liners, Minako would watch their backs for any sneak attacks as well as to defend Yukari while Yukari provided ranged support as well as in charge of healing any wounds.

When they arrived at a suspiciously empty floor, Mitsuru warned Akihiko that there was a Guardian Shadow where they were at. The juniors had encountered a few themselves before, but fortunately they were weak enough for their silly system of leadership to handle adequately. They teleported back to the ground floor to catch a short breather and to regroup. As they rested, Akihiko gave his views on how the juniors performed under him. Surprisingly, Junpei had the least amount of problems. Akihiko had studied their battle report with Mitsuru and had made plans to best utilize each of their strengths. Junpei was only suited to front-line combat and that alone. Even Hermes was extremely specialized with physical attacks with only a small pinch of Agi and support spells. There was no sense in chiding him for things outside of his specialty. In terms of non-Persona combat however, he was the least skilled. Akihiko could only advise him to work on his sword skills.

Yukari was best when it came to keeping the team healthy and her Garu spells packed a much harder punch compared to the boys' Agi and Zio spells. However, she seemed to have a problem with her given role and Akihiko picked up her displeasure at being allocated as the support member. He told her sternly that as an archer, she should not be seeking too much action. She would never be able to fight as fast as the others. He told her that if she had been the one ambushed in their first operation, she would have lasted the shortest, no questions about it. Her specialty was providing support and cover, not direct combat. Her role in the team was just as important as the combatants and it was not in any way demeaning to her. Instead of feeling like her ego was hurt, she should take pride in it. Yukari could only say she would work on accepting the role without feeling any bitterness towards it.

Minako was the biggest problem yet. In terms of non-Persona combat, she was second to Akihiko skill-wise but she could not keep up the fast pace set by him for long periods like Junpei could, which was why she was given the role as a watcher and told to act according to the situation. She would watch their backs and prevent the enemies from sneaking up to them as well as defend Yukari if she needed to make a shot or summon Io for healing. She had no problems accepting her role in the team but her extreme reluctance to summon her Persona was an issue that would grow out of control if it was not fixed as soon as possible.

"Minako, I don't have to tell you that while you perform your role in combat fine, you are still contributing the least among all of us?" Akihiko said in a questioning tone but it was clear to everyone that it was no question.

"Y-Yes..." Minako lowered her head in shame.

"I don't blame you for your reluctance to summon your Persona..." Akihiko paused as a look of pain flashed across his face before he schooled it back into a neutral expression. "But you will have to. You won't get much farther fighting as you are now."

"I understand..."

"Then summon it now," he ordered.

"W-What?" she stammered.

"Akihiko-senpai, is it really okay to force her like this?" Junpei asked, seeing the clear apprehension on Minako's face. "We're doing just fine without the firepower of Mina-tan's Persona."

"We're fine for now at least, but for how much longer? She will improve her natural fighting skills over time, we all will, but as I warned all of you: Without the help of our Persona, we are all screwed against the Shadows. This is for her sake as much as it is for ours." Neither Yukari nor Junpei could retort to his words. Akihiko was watching out for all of them but Minako had to take the first step on her own in order for SEES as a whole to progress. "Whenever you're ready, Minako," Akihiko gave her an encouraging nod. "Don't worry about your lack of control over your Persona. Mitsuru and I promised we'll help you with it."

Minako drew her Evoker from its holster and held it in her hand as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. She looked over to Mitsuru who nodded her head as well. With renewed confidence, she placed her Evoker against her temple and fired. Her vision went black as she expected but why did she hear two gunshots in rapid succession after her own?

"Senpai!" both Yukari and Junpei exclaimed in shock when Mitsuru and Akihiko suddenly summoned their Personas. Both of them had charged up a Bufu and Zio spell respectively but did not release them yet, simply aiming at the unresponsive Minako who was in the process of having her body being overtaken by her Persona.

"What is the meaning of this?" Minako asked as she raised her head. Despite her polite tone, the anger was burning clearly in her eyes. Kiyohime was now in control of the body.

"We need to talk, Kiyohime," Akihiko told her. "It would be best for you if you could quietly listen to what we have to say."

"By threatening me with violence? Have you neither shame nor grace?" she replied, glancing at Mitsuru as well.

"We would rather not have to, if not for the fact you are a danger to all of us, including Minako," Mitsuru said.

"How dare you imply I would endanger Anchin-sama with my own presence!" Kiyohime was having none of it and stood up. Seeing it as a sign of resistance, Akihiko had Polydeuces unleash its Zio spell which was quickly sidestepped. Penthesilea let loose its Bufu but before it could get close, it was vaporized with an opposing fireball.

"What's going on here!" Junpei shouted, trying to stop the fight before it could get worse.

"Senpai, stop this, please!" Yukari pleaded with the seniors to no avail. They paid the juniors no attention as all their focus was on Kiyohime who suddenly looked distracted.

"But Anchin-sama, I couldn't simply allow them to tarnish your beautiful body! If I get hurt, it is you who will suffer the injuries at the end," she said to no-one in particular, most likely to Minako's presence within her. Her face turned into a pleading look as she listened to what Minako had to say to her. "Anchin-sama, please trust in me, Kiyohime! I would never do anything to bring harm to you! But you cannot expect me to just accept undue attacks even from your friends... I do not wish to leave even a single scratch on your body while I am entrusted with it." The other SEES members watched with nervous anticipation as Kiyohime had a conversation with Minako. Her distressed look slowly turned to one of relief as time went by. "Very well, I will obey your commands, Anchin-sama. I give you my word that I will no longer bring harm to your friends intentionally. In exchange, please keep your promise to me that you will summon your Persona whenever you are in a particularly horrible situation. Please, promise me. I only ask this of you, my Master. And please, I beg of you... Don't lie to this Kiyohime. I do not wish to go through with what I did ever again..."

Everyone was surprised when Kiyo raised a dainty finger to wipe away forming tears. When the blue mist appeared around her feet, they knew Minako was taking back control.

"Can we stop for tonight, Senpai? Neither my Persona nor I are in the mood to continue exploring. Especially not after what you tried to do to her," Minako asked in a clipped tone, barely managing to keep a polite manner of speech. Akihiko knew he had stepped over the line too much and conceded to her wishes, calling it quits for the night as he dismissed his Persona and looked towards Mitsuru for the final call. Both Junpei and Yukari let out huge sighs of relief that it did not turn into infighting. Mitsuru dismissed her Persona as well and called for a stop of the exploration of Tartarus. She did not miss the apprehensive look on Junpei, the suspicious look on Yukari, and the restrained anger on Minako aimed towards her. She quietly hoped that things would get better within SEES after this night was over.

***Break Line***

On a particular day at school, seemingly every student was talking about a rumor concerning someone in class 2-E. According to Junpei, it concerned a missing girl from said class. She had mysteriously appeared in front of the school gates earlier this morning. Nobody knew what happened and she was supposedly still unconscious. He called himself as Ace Detective but Yukari immediately changed it to Ace Defective to his chagrin. She had been asking the teachers for information because she had seen the girl on her way back from club practice yesterday and she seemed completely fine then.

A week later, the SEES had a meeting over dinner at the dorm. Junpei started off by asking Yukari about the posts on the school's message boards. It was concerning the missing girl that was found at the school gate. Apparently there was a rumor that it was an angry spirit from a ghost story. Yukari got weirdly fidgety as she tried to shoot the rumor down. Unfortunately for her, Mitsuru was intrigued by the rumor and told Junpei to elaborate on it. Akihiko was interested in it as well and thus Yukari got overruled. Minako was the only one who had the apprehensive yet excited look of someone eager to hear a scary story and was prepared to be frightened. Junpei took this opportunity to take on the role of a creepy storyteller, leaning forward on the table with a flashlight he took from somewhere and shone the light upwards to his face, giving it a scary visage.

"Good evening. Welcome to 'Junpei's Believe it, or Don't'," he started talking in a mysterious voice. "There are many strange things in the world. According to one story, if you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls!" According to one of his friends simply called Shu, he saw something strange. It was the missing girl, going into the school on the night of the incident. Shu was in the same class as her and she did not seem like the kind of girl to wander outside at night. He believed the ghost must had tried to make her its dinner and that was why they found her lying on the ground by the gate. With his tale done, he switched off the flashlight and leaned back into a more natural sitting position.

Instead of being amazed or spooked, Mitsuru and Akihiko were completely unfazed by it and just deemed it worthy of investigation. Yukari on the other hand, was shaking in her seat. Junpei poked fun at her fear of ghosts and in a display of bravado, she agreed to the investigation as well. She would prove that the ghost story was just a silly urban legend. The seniors were supportive of her bravery and let the juniors take the reins of the investigation much to her chagrin. Minako had a disappointed look on her face as she complained to Junpei that it was not scary at all and took away all her hype. He could only chuckle nervously as he apologized for a lackluster performance.

Later that midnight, in the Dark Hour, Minako was awoken by the boy in prison pajamas again who greeted her. He came to her with a reminder that it was exactly a week away from the full moon. Her second ordeal would be upon her on that day and he wished her good luck and to be careful. After a sleepy nod and thanks from a groggy Minako, he bade farewell and disappeared.

***Break Line***

The juniors spent the next week investigating the rumors of the ghost story, or at least Yukari was. Junpei was not interested in the least about the investigation and was content to leave it all to her. On a day when Minako decided to do some small investigation of her own to contribute just a little bit, she ended up talking to one of the Student Council members. He was conducting an investigation of his own, hearing about a small group of students wanting to abolish the school uniform and that they were recruiting supporters. He asked about her opinion on the matter and she disagreed with the notion of abolishing the uniform, calling it pointless. He had a highly satisfied look on his face, agreeing with her stance on the subject. He said that life without any rules was ridiculous. Without rules, any organized system would collapse and the dissenters were mistaking selfishness for freedom. He quickly caught himself before he went into a rant and mentioned how he hated people without common sense and hoped she understood where he was coming from. To Minako's surprise, she felt a bond of trust coming from him and it triggered the formation of the Social Link empowering the Emperor Arcana.

When the investigation time was over and the juniors gathered in the dorm lounge, Yukari definitively deduced that there was no angry ghost involved in the rumors. The only similarity between the incident and the ghost story was the missing girl that was found on school grounds. Minako was just as clueless as Junpei about what she learned, going by their listless looks. Yukari let out a sound of displeasure as she continued explaining. The only reason the rumor spread so fast was because it was not the first time someone went missing and then found at the school gate. It was the third time. The three victims, though not connected to each other, had one thing in common: They hang out together and stayed out late. She did not think it was a mere coincidence and so, she proposed they do field research to find out what happened. There was one place where the three girls were regular visitors to. Junpei had caught on to what she was saying and was not thrilled. It was a back alley behind Port Island Station where delinquents often hung out and there were nasty rumors about that place. Yukari pointed out that was why they were going out as a group. Junpei refused to go along with her plan, claiming that they were getting in over their heads. Her argument against him was that she was tired of simply getting orders from Mitsuru and Akihiko and it did not sit right with her.

Minako pointed out that she seemed to be the only one unsatisfied with her place in SEES. Compared to them, the seniors actually knew what they were doing. The juniors did not, so Minako did not see the problem Yukari apparently had with them. Yukari argued that now was the time to prove that the juniors could do just that, convincing Junpei to at least tag along. With a majority vote, the juniors agreed to head out to the said place tomorrow night.

***Break Line***

"Alright, let's get going," Yukari said as she prepared to leave.

"What's your hurry? I still think this is a bad idea," Junpei was disgruntled.

"And why do we have to go out in our school uniforms?" Minako was just as unhappy as Junpei. "I think it's safer if we go out in anything other than this. We'll stick out like sore thumbs! We should at least dress in something less suspicious for the back alley." It was a logical statement, something she learned when she had accidentally wandered into the back alley a few days ago playing with a stray cat during the afternoon after school and was warned by a non-hostile delinquent not to come around the back alley in school uniform. She was just asking for trouble if she did.

"Not to mention, bringing two girls there is like wandering into a lion's den with steaks strapped to my face... How could you be afraid of ghosts, but not be scared of this...?"

"It's easy to get freaked out by something you can't see, don't you think?" Yukari replied.

"Actually, I'm more worried about things I can see... like bats and knifes!"

"Big deal, so it's a little dangerous and we're not dressed for the occasion..." Yukari completely brushed away their concerns. "Come on, it'll be an adventure!"

"More like a suicide mission," Junpei muttered as Yukari left the dorm.

"I'm feeling all kinds of unsafe right now..." Minako shivered in fright. "Hey, you'll protect us, won't you Junpei-kun?"

"H-Huh? Hey, you know it! Leave it to me!" Junpei bragged with a small, satisfied blush along with a smirk on his face. His manly ego was definitely stroked although Minako had not meant to do that. "Come on, let's go!"

Minako's bad feeling turned out to be true when the atmosphere immediately turned hostile the second they were spotted in the back alley. She was already using Junpei as cover, peeking over his back as she gripped his shirt tightly.

"Oh man, this is worse than I thought..." Junpei pulled his cap down lower over his face, trying to hide his own discomfort.

"Hey, you. I think you're in the wrong place," one of the delinquents said to them.

"Uh... Well, I..." he stammered in fear.

"You don't belong here, get it...? Beat it, Goatee..." It was a clear declaration for them to leave.

"G-Goatee? Oh, y-you mean me..."

"We don't need your permission to be here," Yukari spoke up, challenging the delinquent.

"H-Hey, are you nuts? Take a look around you!" Junpei warned her, trying not to escalate the situation.

"I'm not blind, you know," she groaned.

"I-I-If you d-don't mind, w-we were looking for answers a-as to why one of our f-friends ended up in h-hospital..." Minako tried to salvage what she could despite her severe stuttering, desperately hoping not to anger the various delinquents around them. The fact they could not legally bring their weapons outside during the normal 24 hours while in this situation scared her far more than the Shadows in Tartarus despite how monstrous some of them were.

"Come on, Minako! Don't be intimidated by these scum!" Yukari told her. Her declaration only made things worse as all the delinquents had angry looks on them. Minako paled harder, turning white as a sheet as she hid further behind Junpei. Some of the female delinquents poked fun at Yukari, threatening to humiliate her to the point where she wished she was never born. "These guys are the worst..."

"You ought to learn to shut that trap of yours..." the first delinquent walked towards them intimidatingly. "Man, I feel sorry for you, Goatee... This bitch is a pain in the ass, huh!" He threw a punch straight at Junpei's stomach, knocking him to the ground.

"Junpei!" both girls cried out his name. It was followed by a yelp from Minako as her arms was grabbed by the delinquent.

"Instead, you should be like this chick here, all polite. As least she knows her place." The delinquent was leering at Minako as she tried in vain to escape his grasp.

"Minako!" Yukari exclaimed, but could not move an inch to help her friend. Minako had starting crying as she leaned as far away as she could from him since she could not escape.

"Let her go...!" Junpei growled from his grounded position, just beginning to pick himself up.

"That's enough," a familiar voice spoke up. All heads turned to face the new speaker and the three juniors recognized him as Akihiko's sort-of friend. "They didn't know what they were getting into. I'll make sure they leave. Alright?" he offered a compromise to the delinquent.

"Who do you think you are, dumbass?" the delinquent would have none of it. "You want some too!" He pushed Minako away, causing her to stumble directly towards Junpei who immediately caught her and asked if she was alright and free of injuries. Akihiko's friend easily dodged the punch and returned the favor with a headbutt, knocking him back. "You just crossed the line! You think you're going home alive?"

"...Wanna give it a try?" he shot back calmly, hands still firmly in his coat pockets, having never removed them the whole time since he arrived. His casual stance coupled with his invitation rattled the delinquent's confidence, causing him to leave with the laughter from the female delinquents. The delinquent's friend remembered just who Akihiko's friend was, identifying him as Shinjiro Aragaki and a fellow student at Gekkou High.

"Oh man, senpai, that was awesome!" Junpei showered praise at Shinjiro the second all the delinquents left the back alley.

"...Shut it," he glared as Junpei who shrunk back. He witnessed the moment things had turned for the worse for the juniors, and seeing Minako crying and in danger of being harmed goaded him into action. It did not help that she looked so much like... He quickly shook away memories of the past, but the anger that surfaced from seeing Minako in peril remained. "You clowns were in Aki's room at the hospital. You idiots! Get outta here. This place isn't for you."

"Wait! We came here for a reason!" Yukari stopped him from leaving while Junpei consoled a weeping and terrified Minako.

"Did Aki tell you to come here?" he asked.

"Not exactly. He told us to investigate something but he didn't tell us to go anywhere in particular."

"Hmph. What do you wanna know? About that ghost story?"

"Um, yeah... How'd you know?" Yukari was surprised since she had not mentioned anything about their goal. Shinjiro mentioned it was a rumor commonly heard when the victims prior to their accidents came to the back alley every night to boast about the things they did to a girl named Fuuka. The juniors all recognized that name. It was the same Fuuka Yamagishi from class 2-E that Akihiko was interested in. That was why people were saying that it was Fuuka's vengeful spirit that did it. In other words, Fuuka might be dead as she had not been home for over a week. Junpei was surprised since the information they had pointed out that she was merely out sick and not missing.

Shinjiro suddenly started mumbling under his breath about Aki not being to let go of something. When Yukari asked about what he was mumbling about, he claimed it was nothing and told them that was all he knew. Yukari thanked him for the information and he warned them not to come to the back alley again. Just as he was about to leave the back alley, he was stopped by the sound a thunderous slap. He turned his head to see what happened and he saw Yukari stumbling back while Minako had just finished swinging her hand with tears streaking down her face.

"IF YOU WANT TO GET HURT THAT BADLY, THEN DO IT BY YOURSELF!" Minako screamed at her before she ran off.

"...I'm going after her. She did try to warn you about coming here in school uniform. You provoked those guys to attack us too. If not for Shinjiro-senpai, who knows what could've happened to us. Maybe you should think a little bit before you start picking fights," Junpei pulled his hat over his eyes. He did not want to antagonize Yukari but he felt she needed some harsh words, especially when she was the only one unscathed and he and Minako were the ones to get hurt due to her actions. He never met her eyes and chased after Minako.

"...So it was your idea. I thought it was his, considering how stupid you guys were acting the moment you arrived," Shinjiro spoke up. Yukari had a humiliated look on her face, unable to look at him, only holding a hand up to her red cheek. "You deserved that. The only one who should pay for your mistakes is yourself. No-one else, no-one else, should suffer as well. I would know..." he muttered the last sentence to himself. He closed his eyes in grief and sorrow. He proceeded to left Yukari alone as he too left the back alley, wallowing in misery as a certain memory once again rose to the surface of his mind.

***Break Line***

Junpei finally caught up to Minako just about to enter the club of all places. She had stopped crying at this point and told him she just wanted to stay at a place by herself without Yukari anywhere nearby. He respected her wishes and reminded her to just be back at the dorm by midnight. She gave her thanks and flashed him a grateful smile. As silly as he was, he always helped her get her mood up. Seeing her cheer up made him smile as well as he left to head back to the dorm. She looked around the club, called Club Escapade and spotted a relatively peaceful corner up on the second floor. The bartender raised an eyebrow when he saw her since she was in her school uniform. She told him she only wanted to relax on the second floor with the music with a cup of iced juice. He shrugged and accepted her excuse before giving her what she ordered. She supposed the 'fresh-from-crying' look on her face tugged some strings in his heart.

The second floor was empty and it was a therapeutic experience for her as she simply enjoyed the music and sipping her juice as she let the anger she felt towards Yukari bleed away. She did not want to hold a grudge too hard that it affected simple conversations with Yukari. She might be a little colder towards her but she did not want to outright hate her or get angry just by seeing her. That was just plain stupid. She could have went to the karaoke bar but renting a booth for just peace and quiet without even singing a song was just a waste of money. She would rather pay the over-inflated price of juice at the club instead. It was still cheaper.

Her therapy was interrupted when a elderly monk joined her on the second floor. He did not seem to have noticed her as she was tucked away in the corner. It was all fine at first until he started complaining out loud about booze he paid for but not served yet. Minako was quickly irritated by his drunken complaining and went downstairs to get his booze for him just so he could quiet down. The bartender told her she was not allowed to buy any alcoholic drinks until she mentioned that she was just picking up booze for the monk. Apparently, the bartender was bogged down by previous orders and could not prepare the booze the monk wanted. He suggested that she help him take the orders from the people who did not have drinks with them so he could concentrate on the drinks and not have his attention divided by going out and taking orders as well. She did just as requested and thanks to her help, he managed to catch up with his orders and gave her the booze the monk wanted.

"Here's your booze. Now will you please be quiet?" Minako could feel the twitch in her forced smile as she placed the bottle of booze in front of the monk. Even from downstairs she could hear him. He did quiet down thankfully and looked impressed with her for some reason. He pointed out how she was in school uniform and why the employees even let her in. As thanks for getting him his due drink, he would pretend to be her grandparent so she did not get kicked out in case the employees coming for a later shift saw her. He patted the seat next to him and told her to sit down so he would not have to strain himself to look up at her. For some reason, he started on to ramble on about how in a few more years, she would be able to go into adult establishments without any supervision and mentioned how acting like an adult made her look more like a kid. That was surprisingly good advice coming from a person about to get drunk and the monk knew it, laughing at himself.

Not wanting to be rude by staying completely silent, she asked if liquor tasted good. The monk gave a vague answer saying that some said it did but he only drank to get drunk. He misinterpreted her question as being optimistic about the future and that she should not get her hopes too high. That way, the disappointment would not hurt as much when things did not work out. It was a pessimistic statement but it did hold valuable insight. She guessed that he was finally drunk at this point, since he claimed he would remember her face and get her thrown out of the establishment the next time he saw her here. Regardless of the oddity, her gratefulness for his drunken advice formed the Social Link empowering the Tower Arcana.

***Break Line***

The next day, the juniors followed Mitsuru around at her request as she drilled the homeroom teacher of Fuuka's class as to why she went missing and was not reported to the police. One of her bullies in the same class was there trying to confess her wrongdoings to the teacher and her claims that the victims, her fellow bullies, were hearing voices just before they were 'taken' and then left unconscious at the front of the school gate. Once the interrogation by Mitsuru was done, she declared an emergency operation of Tartarus that night. They were going to rescue Fuuka and if her deduction was right, she was still stuck in the school. SEES would gather at the student council room for a meeting to discuss further details.

When the meeting started, the first course of action was to sneak into the school an hour before midnight. Junpei was still confused as to why they needed to do that and asked if Fuuka was missing in the school somewhere. Yukari was just as confused since the school turned into Tartarus at midnight. That was the exact line of thought Mitsuru had, except she followed up by stating that Fuuka was actually trapped in Tartarus and not the school proper. Junpei claimed that it had been ten days since she went missing. Akihiko told him not to jump to conclusions and think rationally. Tartarus only appeared during the Dark Hour so if his theory was correct, only ten hours had passed for Fuuka and not the ten full days. There was a chance that she was still alive. Junpei was a little pessimistic since if they, as Persona-users, could barely last an hour, how could an ordinary people last ten? Yukari agreed with him, saying that even if she was still alive, there was no guarantee they could find her either.

Akihiko lost his cool and snapped at them asking if they were fine just leaving her to die. He quickly calmed down and proceeded to explain their operation for tonight. After sneaking in the school, they would wait in the gym until midnight struck and enter Tartarus the same way Fuuka did. It was the quickest and most accurate way they could find her. Yukari remained skeptical, not confident in his plan. Mitsuru felt the same way since if anything went wrong, they could all get lost inside Tartarus too. Akihiko claimed with conviction that he would not stand by and do nothing if there was even a chance at saving her. He would never forgive himself if he did something like that. If none of the other members wanted to attempt the rescue operation, then he would do so himself. Mitsuru at least agreed with the sentiment of saving Fuuka and Yukari was finally in agreement with the plan. Junpei was more excited about sneaking into the school at night and claimed he knew just what needed to be done.

***Break Line***

They were initially going to ask for the Chairman's help for permission to enter the school during the night but he was strangely unavailable. Fortunately, Junpei had preemptively unlocked a back door to the school earlier so the operation was not jeopardized in any way. They split up into two groups and to meet up at the main hallway regardless of which group found the key. Once they gathered, it was time for step two of the operation. Two members would enter Tartarus via the gym with Akihiko while one of them would stay behind with Mitsuru while she provided outside support. Akihiko immediately wanted Minako to go with him to her apprehension but since he was the field leader, she swallowed her discomfort and nodded. She was certain that he wanted her to get over her fear of summoning her Persona as quickly as possible before it bit all of them in the butt in the future. Yukari wanted to go along but Junpei wanted in instead. He wanted to make up for his accidental mistake during their monorail operation. Yukari argued that his mistake was not accidental in any manner and it was not all about him. Minako was quick to interject and say that the mistake was hers for failing to live up to the duties of the field leader and not Junpei for having the right idea and getting angry at her hesitation.

Akihiko decided to take Junpei along much to the latter's glee. He was intuitive enough to tell that Yukari was uncomfortable being around Mitsuru and asked if that was the case. Yukari quickly denied having such discomforts and accepted her position with no further complaints. With all their roles given, it was simply time to wait for midnight to strike.

***Break Line***

Minako did not realize she had fallen unconscious until she felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes to see the boy in prison pajamas by her side in Tartarus and not in her bedroom. She asked if he had seen the boys, seeing as she was alone. He told her not to worry and she would see them soon. He told her about his premonition again, that tonight was the date for another ordeal and not just one this time. She should also hurry and find Fuuka as their group would need her. With his message delivered, he vanished.

It did not take long for her to find the boys who had met up with each other somewhere much to their relief. Junpei quickly brought up the issue of hearing voices. Just as he mentioned it, the voice sounded again, asking if they were human. The voice seemed to come from behind them and they all whirled around to see what it was. It was a girl with green hair.

"Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?" Akihiko asked. The girl looked immensely relieved as she nodded. Junpei was amazed she was still alive. He did not miss the chance to brag to her that she had no need to fear since he was here.

"Where are we...? I was at school, and then..." Fuuka was rightfully confused.

"Well... It's a long story. I'll explain after we get outta here," Junpei replied. "Oh yeah, are you hurt? Have you run into any monsters?"

"So, there are strange creatures in here, then... I've managed to avoid them so far..."

"Are you serious? How's that possible?" Akihiko exclaimed, surprised that she had avoided all the Shadows for ten hours straight. She timidly explained that she somehow was able to just tell where they were. He immediately realized she had the same power as Mitsuru, perhaps even stronger since her Persona was more battle-oriented. He handed over an extra Evoker he had on him to Fuuka, telling her to hold on to it. She was startled by its design but he told her it was not really a gun and to think of it as a lucky charm.

As they made their way around Tartarus and find a teleporter to the entrance, they passed by a hallway with a complete view of the full moon outside. Junpei was amazed at how large and bright the moon looked with Akihiko mentioning that some research indicated Shadows were affected by the phases of the moon, similarly to humans. Their very first operation still weighed on Junpei's mind heavily since he clearly remembered the full moon that day. Akihiko quickly caught on that there might be a pattern and asked Minako if there was a full moon on the day their dorm was attacked. She nodded, not clearly remembering but it was probably true. He realized then that the big Shadows only attacked during the full moon and hastily attempted to contact Mitsuru. However, they were still too far apart for clear connection and it was cut off. Fuuka instead sensed that something big, bigger than the Shadows they had avoided thanks to her, was attacking someone. He gave orders to search every nook and cranny for a teleporter. They needed to get back to the entrance as quickly as possible.

When they found one and got back, Mitsuru and Yukari were already knocked down by not one, but two giant Shadows. Akihiko quickly attracted their attention so Junpei and Minako could move the injured girls to safety. Mitsuru had a warning for them, stating that her and Yukari's attacks did not work on the Shadows. Mitsuru could not work out their weaknesses in the midst of combat, only able to gleam that the Shadow with red markings was the Emperor and the other with blue markings was the Empress. Without vital information, the girls quickly lost. Junpei and Minako quickly took up their positions but before they could start the fight, the door opened and in walked the same girl that confessed to Fuuka's bullying earlier in the morning at school. She was supposed to stay in their dorm for safety as instructed by Mitsuru but she was still lured by the voices. She had retained just enough of her senses to mumble out an apology to Fuuka in tears before falling unconscious. Seeing the Empress winding up a swing aimed at the comatose bully, Fuuka stood protectively in front of her and instinctively knew what to do. She placed the Evoker to her temple and fired, the summoning of her Persona startling the Shadow and causing it to cease its attack.

"I can see... I... I can see these monsters' weaknesses, somehow..." Fuuka said from within the safety of her Persona, standing inside a protective dome that served as its bottom half. Akihiko confidently told Mitsuru to allow Fuuka to take her place as the team's support. With that replacement, the fight was finally underway between the two giant Shadows against Akihiko, Junpei and Minako. "Give me some time. I'll find out their weaknesses," Fuuka said, her voice echoing in their heads as she stood in a prayer-like stance, focused completely on her task as support.

"Got it!" Akihiko acknowledged, barking orders at Junpei to provide defensive support until Fuuka was done identifying their weaknesses. Junpei quickly obeyed, summoning Hermes to cast Rakukaja on the team while Akihiko summoned Polydeuces and casted Tarunda on both the Shadows. Minako felt helpless as she could only watch. Kiyohime had regretfully informed her that her sole supportive ability had the demerit of increasing an enemy's offensive capabilities in exchange for lowering their defenses. In other words, the complete opposite of what Akihiko planned. With their team's increased defenses and the enemy's lowered offense, their defenses stood strong until Fuuka was done with her analysis.

"The red one... It's weak to magic!" Fuuka declared with firm confidence.

"Alright! Time to pay them back!" Junpei grinned as he summoned Hermes who conjured an Agi. Before it could connect with its target, the Empress stepped in front of its partner and the magic fire got completely nullified. "What!" he exclaimed, surprised that the Shadows were capable of smart tactics.

"The blue one... It's weak to physical attacks!" Fuuka informed them. "You have to split them up to stop them from protecting each other!"

"Got it!" Akihiko decided to go on the offense. He summoned Polydeuces and like a mirror image, they both performed a heavy straight punch. As expected, the Emperor Shadow defended its partner by completely tanking the attack. "I've been waiting for this!" he grinned savagely when he saw it attempt a counterattack. "Junpei! Now! Blast it with your magic! Minako, aid Junpei!"

"Understood!" Minako acknowledged his command and since the Emperor was weak to only magic, she had no other alternative but to summon her Persona. "Kiyohime!" she called out the name of her Persona as she felt herself fall into the water when she allowed her body to be possessed. "Let us go, Iori-san. We mustn't waste this opportunity," Kiyohime conjured her folding fan upon her summoning.

"You got it!" Junpei synced up his Agi spells with her fireballs, making the Emperor scream in ghostly pain as it was mercilessly pelted with fire. It flailed around blindly as it shrieked, trying to put out the flames spreading around its body since it was vulnerable to it. As a result, it left its partner completely open for Akihiko and his Persona to wail on the Empress with Sonic Jabs. Their All-Out Attack had to stop when the Shadows managed to regroup among their panic. Akihiko was in range of friendly fire and the Shadows now had the opportunity to cover each other again. The moment SEES backed off, they quickly performed some sort of skill where orbs of different colors started surrounding them.

"The enemy is changing!" Fuuka informed them with a small gasp. "They are changing their weaknesses!"

"Back to square one, huh?" Akihiko made an irritated sound as he had to go on the defensive again until Fuuka was done reanalyzing them. He attempted to use Zio in an attempt to stop them but the orbs surrounding the Shadows deflected the lightning magic away safely.

"I will get us that time. Please prepare for the attack," Kiyohime spoke up as blue flames started appearing around her. She molded the blue flames into the shape of a dragon before launching it towards the Shadows. "TENSHIN KASHOU ZANMAI!" The blue flame dragon completely engulfed them, trapping them in a vortex of relentless blue flames. Pleased with her work, Kiyohime daintily opened her fan and covered her mouth with it, admiring the carnage before her.

"Uh... Kiyohime-san, we can't exactly prepare when you just end them like that..." Junpei sweat-dropped at how casual the Persona was acting.

"I suppose it is better we take them out as quickly as possible. It prevents any further danger of injury," Akihiko said and dropped his boxing stance.

"No, wait! One of them is still alive!" Fuuka cried out. Kiyohime narrowed her eyes at the declaration and dispelled her blue flames with a wave of her fan. True to her words, the Emperor was the only one remaining. "It's... Oh no! It's switched its weakness to light!"

"What? Light?" Akihiko exclaimed. "None of us have that type of magic! How about physical attacks?"

"No, it's no good!"

"Damn it!"

"What do we do now?" Junpei was beginning to feel panic set in as the Emperor roared out in defiance, starting to laugh at their distressed looks. Thanks to the Empress, it was able to learn every single SEES member's elemental affinity. It was now invincible. It then charged in with reckless abandon, swinging wildly at them. However, thanks to the earlier supportive skills, none of them took a lot of damage even as they blocked the heavy blows and got swept aside. Kiyohime had been forced to dispel her fan and use Minako's naginata as a flimsy defense.

"Is there nothing we can do...?" Minako fretted from inside the water of her soul. Kiyohime referred to it as the Sea of Souls.

"...Anchin-sama, I must confess now, since we are out of options," Kiyohime replied as soon as she was no longer the current target of the Emperor. "You have a second Persona within you."

"What!" For some reason, everyone in the room had heard her words despite the chaos around them and responded as such, except for the bully and the Shadow.

"I did not wish to call upon it, as its mere presence will overwhelm your current ability to wield Persona. Anchin-sama, I am not using most of my power for your own safety. Please remember. You were unable to stay conscious the first few times you summoned me. This Persona is strong enough that simply summoning it might harm you permanently."

"I'll take that risk! Everyone is going to die if we don't!" Minako completely ignored the potential danger to her being.

"But Anchin-sama, your health will be...!"

"Please, Kiyohime! Call it! We need its help! Never mind me!"

"...If you truly insist. Please, stay safe, Anchin-sama..." Kiyohime withdrew the Evoker from the holster and unlike the extreme hesitance that Minako had, smoothly placed it to her temple and fired with hardly a flinch. An enormous wave of blue mist shot out from Minako's body, making everyone, even the Shadow, step away from her. Only Fuuka stood her ground and that was because she was encased in her Persona.

"Thou art I, and I am thou." Just the way Minako now spoke made the other SEES member straighten their backs. Whatever her new Persona was, it exuded a presence so powerful none of them could help but pay attention to it. "At your command, Master Minako." She glared at the enemy Shadow, identifying it as the enemy. When she did not move, her cool expression turned worried. "...Master?" Her worried expression then turned into one of urgency as she looked at each of the SEES members. "You there!" she singled out Fuuka. "What objectives must I accomplish?"

"T-The enemy's weakness is light! B-B-But none of us has attacks of that element!" Fuuka stammered out a response, clearly very intimidated by the Persona.

"Very well," the Persona accepted the information and returned her attention to the Emperor. "Wind..." she breathed out as wind magic attempted to gather at her hands before it dispelled violently. "I can't even summon it to my side?" she questioned herself. "I'll have to use a weaker substitute then..." This time, light particles gathered at her hands, successfully this time. An ornate golden sword appeared in a flash of light magic, raising everyone's hopes.

"I sense light magic in that sword!" Fuuka exclaimed with great relief and the Emperor stepped back in terror, realizing its one weakness was now able to be exploited.

"Sword of Selection, by your power! Cleave the wicked! CALIBURN!" Minako pointed her sword towards the Shadow and a thin beam of concentrated light magic fired from the tip too fast for it to react to. Upon impact, the beam expanded into many small explosions that covered it from head to toe, instantly vaporizing it.

"The enemy has been defeated! We... We've won!" Fuuka delivered the good news. At everyone's cheer, Minako's Persona dismissed her weapon and stood at attention a short distance away with her eyes closed while Junpei and Akihiko helped up the injured Yukari and Mitsuru. Fuuka fell unconscious immediately upon the dismissal of her Persona.

"Where did these two Shadows come from?" Akihiko asked.

"From somewhere outside Tartarus, just like before..." Mitsuru replied.

"I see..."

Yukari was quick to change the subject towards the bully, asking if anything needed to be done. Akihiko said they did not need to do anything to her, since she would not remember anything that happened during the Dark Hour, even though she was forced in it by the call of the Shadows. She lamented over the belief that the bully would forget that Fuuka saved her life but Mitsuru said it would not matter. Since the bully was already repentant even before entering the Dark Hour, she had already learned her lesson. While everyone was in high spirits after the successful rescue, their relaxed pace of packing their equipment was taking a toll on Minako's Persona's patience.

"I implore you to please hurry with your packing. The enemy may have been defeated but none of us are in a safe environment. Minako's life is falling further into danger the longer you take and the longer I stay manifested," the Persona informed them.

"What! Then dismiss yourself!" Akihiko demanded, to which Minako only shook her head.

"Minako is currently unconscious. I am remaining active because all of you are completely occupied with two unconscious girls. Another one will severely hamper your progress. Now, please hurry." Minako opened her eyes briefly to stare coldly at Akihiko who froze up for a second before leaving her alone to pass the message to pick up the pace. He did not know why he felt compelled to listen to the Persona's words. Was it a mental effect, like being Charmed? However, because he had not lost any of his reasoning, he shrugged it off. It was not until everyone minus Mitsuru boarded the van and Akihiko started driving back to the dorm that the Persona let out a breath of relief. "I'll leave Minako in your care now..." The blue mist signalling the Persona's departure appeared and Minako immediately fell forward if not for Junpei who caught her.

"Oh shit! She's burning up all of a sudden!" Junpei cried out, hastily putting Minako back into a comfortable sitting position. "Damn, that's some intense fever!" he exclaimed after briefly putting his hand on her profusely perspiring forehead.

"We're dropping Minako off at the hospital! One of you stay with her there and specially request for the Kirijo's personal doctor!" Akihiko commanded as he swiftly changed directions. Yukari looked pointedly at Junpei who nodded in acceptance. He understood it was in case Minako regained consciousness. He would be a more welcomed face than Yukari, considering what happened only a few days ago. As they waited with baited breath until they reached the hospital, the warning from Minako's newest Persona resounded very clearly in their minds. Minako's life was in critical danger again, and it severely impacted the morale of SEES. For whatever reason, the juniors noticed that Akihiko was the most distressed about Minako's safety than any of them since his driving had gotten noticeably more reckless in his haste to get to the hospital.

***End Of Chapter***

I... have no excuses. I honestly do not know why it took me this long to get even a chapter of any story I've published out. And no, it's not writer's block. But enough about my rather pathetic state of self.

The second boss fight needed next to no change, really. Their gimmick was great to begin with if you fought them completely blind and it solidified Fuuka's role as the new navigator for SEES. As with the previous boss fight, I adjusted it just enough so I had a valid reason to introduce Minako's new Persona. Because let's face it, if they truly had the ability to switch weaknesses to Light and Dark magic, literally only the MC would be capable of defeating them and even then you had to go out of your way to get the Instadeath skills via Fusion and maybe excessive grinding. To make things worse, you still have to leave it up to RNG whether it works or not.

As for who her new Persona is, it's aligned with the Emperor Arcana as previously mentioned in Chapter 2. In fact, it's her only other Persona besides Kiyohime. From now onward, Minako will be aware she can gain new Personas, thanks to Kiyohime's previously withheld information. It's identity is... Do I really need to say who it is?

One more thing. I've decided to stop asking for suggestions for Arcanas that have no Servant assigned to them yet. It was a mistake on my part when I can't even update my stories on any sort of regular time frame. I am truly ashamed of myself.

Here's the update.

Fool: Kiyohime

Magician: ?

Priestess: ?

Empress: ?

Emperor: Arturia Pendragon

Hierophant: ?

Lovers: ?

Chariot: ?

Justice: ?

Hermit: ?

Fortune: ?

Strength: ?

Hanged Man: ?

Death: ?

Temperance: ?

Devil: ?

Tower: ?

Star: ?

Moon: ?

Sun: ?

Judgement: ?

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!