Embrace your desire…
Water splashed on the ground like rain pouring. Allowing her body to relax at the moment of comfortable, she simply threw everything behind her mind. Only for this moment.
I am the voice of your inner self…
Shaking his head while pushing his body from the comfortable and soft bed, a moment later he again slammed onto the soft embrace of the bed. Not wanting to get up from such a relaxing moment, he closed his eyes and attempting a sleep.
Enjoy the moment…that which cannot be felt is merely a dream. The present is all we have…
A voice rang in their mind. He opened his eyes while she lifted her head. He got up from the bed, and she took a look around her, both wondering who's talking to them.
The future is but a fantasy memory, a fabrication. Let your desire free you from your shackles, such is my wish…
Again.
This time, he stood up and walked to the door at his right side. He could hear some voices coming from inside. Was there the voice coming from? Or that was merely his imagination?
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he remembered he was supposed to be outside of the hotel…and then…what happened? He tried to recall, but nothing could squeeze out from his blurred mind. Everything was faded to him.
Pleasure is what you truly want. You stand before the doorway to bliss. You cannot deny your instincts. Embrace your desire…
Why was she here? What she was doing in the place like this? She was…she was supposed to be…
She couldn't remember. Not that she didn't want. The doorway to bliss?
She felt a presence behind the door. A figure showed on the door, and strangely, she had an idea that the bliss the voice talked about was there, to the person behind the door.
She stretched out her hand and touched the door, to the person. Yet the door was a hindrance, blocking her from reaching to the person she desired. So, she knocked, louder and louder, harder and harder.
What am I doing? Calling for someone? …For what?
The person that can lead me to bliss…is it really there? Who that might be?
"…Snap out of it…"
With that, she stopped knocking the door.
Embrace your desire…come, open the door, and this is your bliss moment…
His hand almost reaching the knob, but he stopped.
No, it's not like that…!
It's no use to resist…I am your inner self…your most honest voice within…
No…I can't give up!
"Get out of my mind, you bastard!"
Panting, he tried to hold himself.
Yes, I'm Arisato Minato. I'm in the middle of operation when the three of us being dragged into the hotel.
After getting his mind clear, Minato looked to the door in front of him. Was someone inside? The knocking sound just now…was it calling for him?
I'll in bliss once I open the door? What the hell is that? Honestly…I'm curious. But it's more important to know whether it is human or shadow behind the door…
He took a look on the bed he woke up, and glad that his weapon, the one-handed sword was still right there with him. He grabbed the sword and walked back to the door. The door was locked when he tried. Minato took a few steps back, and run towards kicked it opened-
He blinked on what he saw.
The room was watery and smell of shampoo. The girl in the middle of the room was picking up her uniform. Her auburn hair was messy and wet. She only wore the white uniform shirt, and the worst was…
Her skirt had yet put up. So to mean, she was half naked.
"…Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You…"
She was, of course, blinked at the intruders.
After freed from the voice, Hamuko quickly changed back to her uniform. 'What am I doing in the time like this' and 'it's no time for bathing'…sort like this kept repeating in her mind, making her almost died from shame.
However, she never expected the door would be kicked opened, and the intruder was not other than-
"ARISATO MINATO!" She exclaimed, out of her lungs. The poor boy covered his ears before his ears went deaf.
"I-I can explain!" He quickly defended himself, but sweat dropped when he saw blue light illuminated beneath her. "Wait-"
"Execution!"
… …
"I-I finally reach you…can you hear me?"
"Yes, I hear you Fuuka."
"I'm sorry Hamuko-chan…I should have detect something was wrong before this happened."
"Don't say that Fuuka…so how about you and the others?" Sitting on the soft bed, Hamuko asked, ignoring the poor blue haired boy.
"Eh? Um…w-we're fine…I managed to get to Mitsuru-senpai and Aikihiko-senpai. They seemed alright."
"Are you alright Fuuka? You sounded…"
"I'm fine! As ever!" Now, Fuuka was like losing her cool. "Um…I'm sorry…"
"Don't worry about that Fuuka. Let's rendezvous!" Knowing something was behind Fuuka's tone, Hamuko could much guess what that was. Properly much similar to her.
"…Yes, you're right!"
Standing up, Hamuko first gave the blue haired boy a dead glare.
"…Minato-kun, this will be our only secret, you know that…right?" Her voice was soft and sweet, completely different with her expression. If not with that scary face, Minato would properly fell for her.
But Minato only felt fear rose up from his deep bottom of heart. He shivered, thinking the execution she gave him just now.
"…Of course."
He didn't think that was his fault, and she knew that too. But he did saw her half-naked body, and that's what he couldn't deny. Of course he would keep it as secret. He still wanted to live after all.
He felt relieved after knowing the one inside the bathroom was Hamuko instead of a shadow or some others else. The doorway to bliss? Hamuko was his bliss? He amused by the thought. Though he knew that that shadow was trying to manipulate their mind, he still pleased with it.
But he would not forgive this shadow for giving him a pain of execution…he sure he would make it paid! He swore to himself.
Getting out of the room, Hamuko and Minato took a walk to the nearby stair. Mitsuru and Akihiko were there waiting for them. Now with Yukari, Junpei and Fuuka left.
"Are you two alright, Tsukikage, Arisato?" Mitsuru asked with concern.
"Of course we're alright…right, Minato-kun?" Though the auburn haired girl was smiling sweet to him, Minato swore he saw the spine on her forehead.
"Yeah…" He quickly changed to topic. "What about senpai?"
"That's…"
"We're fine. Don't worry." Mitsuru cut Akihiko off and shot him an icy dead glare. Her face clearly covered with a shade of red.
My big mouth…I should have known that…
"Senpai! Arisato-kun! Hamuko-chan!"
Fuuka, Junpei and Yukari ran to them from behind, which they seemed pretty embarrassed. Hamuko could still see the wet hair of Yukari. No need to ask then…
"I'll make that damn shadow pay!" Yukari huffed. Her eyes almost looked like they're burning.
"Where's the shadow, Yamagishi?" Mitsuru asked.
"It's in the room we fought Hierophant…third floor!"
"Alright, let's go then!" Leading the team, they ran to the third floor to the big sized room they fought Hierophant before. Minato and Junpei had no idea how the room looked like, but its size was much a surprise to them.
"Man…this room is huge." Junpei grabbed Minato on shoulder, whispering timidly. "Speak it dude…what happed in your room?"
Minato rolled his eyes, knowing full well what was in the capped boy's mind.
"Nothing funny…" Despite the half naked body of Hamuko, Minato truly found nothing interesting, especially after the execution Hamuko dropped on him.
"Really? Dude, I mean, you're with Hamuko right?" The capped boy half opened his mouth, looking much an idiot.
"It's true…"
"What are you guys doing over there, Minato-kun and Junpei-kun?" Hamuko voice came from the front.
It added another fear in Minato, knowing what that might mean. He quickly pushed Junpei away, for his poor dear life.
"Nothing! We're coming!"
"Hey…don't leave me behind!"
"Ready everyone? I'll open the door now." Glancing to the team to assure they're ready as her, Hamuko grabbed the knob before getting the respond.
"Yeah! I'm waiting for this moment!" Yukari held up her bow, really pissing off.
"I'm ready." Nodding to their leader, Mitsuru remained as cool as she was. Yet a hint of furious flashed across her beautiful eyes.
"I've been waiting for this!" Like Akihiko was waiting to punch the shadow, Hamuko sensed the furious in his tone.
So everyone is waiting to get revenge…as I am. She didn't blame Minato for seeing her half naked body. The one she blamed was the damn stupid shadow. She won't let it get way before she punched it on its face!
"Alright, let's do it!"
"…Illusion is but an illusion. Yet people still love it, no matter how much they know it's fake." Looking out from the window, Haruka whispered softly, neither to herself or to the person sat on the sofa.
"Illusion, huh?" Ikutsuki smiled, seemed enjoying the cup of coffee Haruka prepared for him.
"…It's much like people know drugs are bad to health, but they still take it, for a moment of bliss."
"That's why the world has to be changed. To the better future, to the salvation."
Haruka fell in silence. She really pissed with this guy that always talked about salvation.
"…Is it your salvation, or human's salvation?" She turned to him, though her face showed no emotion, she still tried her best not to show too much on her tone, on her disgusted. "You think you're a god, to decide everything for the rest of them?"
"They desire it, after all. I just take action for all of them."
Feeling an urge to retort back, Haruka quickly turned away from Ikutsuki. Really she had no idea how long she could stand him. To avoid any arguing, she remained silence, despite how much she wanted to yell back.
"Is it my imagination or what…Haruka, you look like you're defending them…perhaps?" Hiding his smile in the darkness, Ikutsuki asked, without showing much emotion in his tone.
Her heart skipped a beat. Knowing is too risky to let this guys knew what she was thinking deep down her heart, Haruka remained her posture, not wanting to look at him in eyes.
"…You're thinking too much. We're on the same boat, though I don't like you."
"I guess. Well then." Ikutsuki simply shrugged it off. Haruka really had no idea what this guy was thinking in the moment like this.
She had to be very careful of him. One day…one day, she had to stain her hands with his bloods.
"So, how's the operation going?"
"…They're fighting Lover now."
"Good…now it's another step towards our goal."
Even the bed in the room was in king size. Hamuko was surprised by its bigness of the room when she first here in the room. There were three huge decorated mirror hanged on the wall. The first time she entered the room, she already had a feeling that the room was in strange shape.
What made it strange? She had no idea.
"Fuuka, what's the situation now!?" Yukari exclaimed while dodging the wind attack from the Lover.
As for the situation they're in, Hamuko had only one word to describe it: chaos.
"No…I don't detect Hierophant, but why?" The aqua haired girl also confused by the situation now. "Give me a minute…"
They're fighting Lover, but they're also facing Hierophant, the one they already took down before. There's no way it revived again, but how to explain the thing?
"It's impossible the Hierophant is still alive. Yamagishi, do you find anything wrong?" Mitsuru calmly scanned the shadows.
"…I only detect Lover. That Hierophant definitely was defeated!"
"Damn! This thing won't go down!" Junpei yelled, tiring on wielding the katana.
"…Hamuko, something is wrong with the mirrors in this room." After dodging the attack from Hierophant, Minato ran to Hamuko and spoke.
"Same here." Her eyes took a quick glance on the three mirrors. "Could it be…?"
The three mirrors were facing each other as if reflecting each other in their own. Of course, they were there when the team fought Hierophant. So the both of them came up a thought like this.
"I'll do it." Pointing the evoker to his temple, Minato shouted. "Orpheus!"
The master of string bashed the mirror hardly using its string. The mirror broke into pieces. The moment he thought to continue, the mirror that was broke again fixed back to its original shape, perfectly out of crack.
"Shit…"
Hamuko saw that too. While she was concentrated on the mirrors, Yukari and Akihiko were shot by Lover's attack, the Holy Arrow.
"Ahhh!"
"Dammit!"
"Takeba! Akihiko!" Mitsuru quickly cast Dia on them.
Leaving the two to Mitsuru, Hamuko called Junpei along.
"Hamuko-chan, I can sense some energies spread out from the mirror! Perhaps...!"
"Junpei-kun, Minato-kun, we'll do it together…smash the mirrors in the same time!" That's the only possibility she could think of.
"What!? Mirrors? The hell!?"
"Just do as I said!" Forcing the capped boy, Hamuko pointed the evoker to her temple. With no idea what his leader was thinking, Junpei only obliged.
"Eurydice!"
"Orpheus!"
"H-Hermes, come!"
The three mirrors smash into pieces, shattering on the ground, but no hint of fixed back again. They looked onto the battlefield; surprisingly found the Hierophant slowly disappeared, melting into the air.
"Nice!"
"The Hierophant is the illusion from the mirrors…huh? Watch out Junpei-kun!" Fuuka warned the cheered trio. However, it seemed too late as Junpei exclaimed loudly and fell to his back.
"Argh!?" Junpei felt his whole body like ripped opened. It's pain at every of his muscle. Feeling soft wind brushed against his face, his heart almost stopped from beating—knowing full well what this was meant.
"Junpei!" Minato took the Garu for him by standing in front of him. He had changed his persona to wind-resisting persona. Wind attack didn't do much damage to him. "Got up, quick!"
"Urgh!" Mitsuru withstood the Zio skill from Akihiko. "Akihiko!?"
Both Yukari and Akihiko didn't respond to them. They held up their weapons against them. Again, Akihiko pointed his evoker to summon persona.
"This is no good! Hamuko-chan, they're charmed! Use Dis-charm on them!"
Not wanting to feel the ripped opened feeling again, Junpei quickly took out a Dis-charm and used it on Yukari. But…
"Hey, what the hell!?" Yukari didn't seem to be free from the charmed state. "It's useless!"
"Impossible…how come that would be…?" Hamuko could hear the gasp from Fuuka clearly and loudly. She grabbed tight on her naginata, flipping the coming arrows.
Mitsuru blocked the punch from Akihiko using her one-handed sword. To her, she could simply use Bufu to him as he was weak against ice attack. But she didn't want to do that on him.
"Back to your usual self, Akihiko! Don't lose to it!" Ducking, Mitsuru pointed her sword straight to him. As the tip of sword almost stabbed into his chest, she stopped, hesitating on doing so.
It gave Akihiko a chance to counter back. He held up his fist, though it was blocked by Mitsuru, he quickly followed up with another punch. Unlike Mitsuru, this punch was direct, without hesitation, to her chest.
"Mitsuru-senpai!"
Not giving her any chance to rest, Akihiko already come to her front and prepared another attack. Seeing that, Hamuko summoned Eurydice to shield Mitsuru.
"Senpai, are you alright!?"
Mitsuru coughed out some blood, but still maintained her usual cool.
"…I'm fine. Leave Akihiko to me. You and Arisato finish off Lover. They will back to sense after the shadow gone."
"…Alright." Hamuko nodded. Leaving her, Mitsuru backed to hold Akihiko again.
"Whoa! W-Wait Yuka-tan!" Poor Junpei was unlucky to be picked by Yukari where his weak point was wind attack. "Hey, don't tell me you're doing this to revenge…Oh no!"
He again was knocked down. He sure Yukari was under control, but why he still sensed the furious that directly to him?
Don't tell him that she actually heard him!?
"…Garu."
"W-Wait!" Quickly got up from the ground, Junpei ran to dodge the wind attack.
Minato only sighed when he saw Junpei running around like a kid. Backing Hamuko up, he asked Fuuka at the end of the room.
"Yamagishi, is that shadow has any weakness?"
"Let see…no. I don't detect any weakness. Please be careful!"
"Come on, Hamuko." Minato muttered. "Koumokuten, Gigantic fist!"
"Yeah…come here, King Frost!"
Ice and physical attack dropped on Lover at the same time. Lover squeaked, fell to behind. It didn't seem to give up, casting Holy Arrow attempting to charm them like Yukari and Akihiko.
Of course our Wild Cards wouldn't allow that to happen. They changed their persona to charm-resisting before Lover had a chance for that. Following up, Minato again summoned Lakshmi and used Bufudyne. Hamuko on the other hand summoned Seiten Taisei to use Arrow Rain.
They kept following up the attack, not letting Lover to have its chance to counter back. However, kept summoning persona was something tiring. Slowly, their strengths came to meet their end, as if summoning persona sucks out all their power. Even maintaining their postures were something difficult now.
They knew full well this would be their last strike to take Lover down. Lover was pretty weak by this time. They had to finish them in one strike, as Mitsuru and Junpei couldn't stand against Akihiko and Yukari anymore.
Looking to each other, Minato and Hamuko exchanged a smile. Both knew what's in their mind. To finish Lover in one strike, the most suitable persona was no other than—
Holding up the evoker, they yelled the name in unison.
"Thanatos!"
Two half became one and completed. Thanatos roared, making the room shook a little. Lover squeaked a bit, seemed pretty scare to see Thanatos.
The metal faced flew toward Lover. Yelling another squeak from Lover as it back down a bit, avoiding Thanatos obviously. However, none was allowed to escape from Death. Ignoring the helpless Lover, Thanatos slashed down its sword, eyes locked on its target as if it's hunting now, sharp and piercing. It pierced through every sense of those in the room. Fuuka circled her body and knelt down, obviously she was shivering. She felt the terrible of Thanatos the most in the room, perhaps.
Thanatos first cut down its two wings, making it out of the way to float on the sky. Its four legs (or perhaps hands?) were struggling, however it wouldn't be able to support its over shaped body. At the end, Lover fell hardly on the ground.
Minato and Hamuko still were holding themselves, bracing each other. Panting silently, they gave the last order, the last one of their limit strength.
"Brave Blade!"
Inflicting one heavy slash on Lover as if cut through the space straight on Lover, Lover let out a creepy yell and shaking its body. Slowly, like the other shadows, its body melted like a jelly onto the ground, to a liquid shaped, leaving two pieces of shattered glasses on the air.
As expected, while the glasses dissolved into thin air, images started to form in Hamuko and Minato's minds. Like a movie played in front eyes, they watched it silently. Not much to say, Hamuko first felt a palm squeezed hers. She knew whose that belonged to. Silently but firmly, she squeezed back, as a respond to the person.
Hamuko felt her face was hot after seeing Akihiko tough and shirtless body. Though this was not the first time she saw it, she would blushed everytime. His body was in good shape, though looked skinny but tough in touch…wait wait wait! What she was thinking!?
The two of them fell down in unison with no more strength to left to support their bodies. Minato let out a sigh after watching the images. Hamuko wondered what he had seen. Again, she blushed remembering Akihiko's good looking feature.
"Urgh…what happened to me?"
Yukari and Akihiko finally came to senses. Junpei was clearly beat down with wounds all around his body. Mitsuru was better than she looked like.
"Everyone! I'm glad you're all alright…!" Fuuka run to them, trying to help them to get up. "I'm sorry I can't be much help in the battle…"
"Don't say that Fuuka. You help us a lot." Leaning against Minato with back to back, Hamuko smiled.
"But I…"
"Yamagishi, you did well in helping all of us. Don't blame yourself on what happened to Takeba and Akihiko. Everything could happen during the battle." Mitsuru summoned Penthesilae to heal Junpei.
After knowing what happened to them, Yukari and Akihiko also summoned their personas to help out the healing. Yukari felt sorry for Junpei, at the same time she thought she heard something from Junpei when she was under controlled.
"Nononono…I said nothing! I swear Yuka-tan!" Junpei sweat dropped.
"…Really?" Yukari raised her brows, still doubted him. I mean, how could she trust him? "You better keep this as secret…before I blow you into pieces!"
"Yeah…y-yes ma'am!"
Resting her head on Minato's shoulder, Hamuko whispered quietly.
"The same goes to you, Minato-kun."
"…Yeah…I won't tell the others…" He doubted if he would live to see the sunlight if he got the guts to do so.
Girls…are scary.
"Good job for withstanding the enemy's mental assault, Arisato and Tsukikage. You both did a great job." After getting everyone out of the hotel, Mitsuru commented.
"We did what we could…" I was almost fell into the sweet trap…Hamuko blushed again remembering the scene. Of course she wouldn't say it out loud. It's embarrassed after all. I bet they were the same as me…
Minato gave a nod on that commitment. Hamuko could see red formed on his face. Fortunately, no one noticed that due to the darkness around.
"Alright, let's call it a night."
"I'm all beat…"
"Oh Yukari-chan, about the thing you mentioned the other night…" Like remembering something, Fuuka suddenly run to Yukari's side. "I found out something…"
"Cool. Tell me later." Yukari gestured Fuuka to keep it for now. Hamuko saw it on the other side, simply tilted her head wondering what they're talking about.
Minato just shrugged it off and telling them to hurry. Out of all of them, only Junpei was left standing in front of the hotel.
"Come on Junpei. What are you doing?" Yukari called out for Junpei. The capped boy seemed spacing out. "Junpei!"
"...You two…so you're the hero again, huh?" Out of the blue, Junpei spoke, directing to Minato and Hamuko.
"Hey, why do you have to be like that? Don't tell me you're jealous…"
"Shut up!"
It shocked Yukari a bit as she jumped up. Ignoring their shocked faces, Junpei simply passed them by without saying anything. The said leaders gave each other a glance, both had an idea in mind yet they couldn't help. Letting out a sigh, they followed behind the others back to their dorm.
"You alright?" Minato asked, noticing the weak status of the auburn haired girl.
"Barely…but I still can walk. Thanks to the Dia spells." Thanks to the healing Mitsuru and the others cast on them. They managed to recover some of their strength, at least to walk back to dorm. Anyway, when Minato stretched out his hand to her, she accepted it gladly.
"Hmm?"
"What's wrong, Minato-kun?"
Minato stared at the rooftop of the opposite building which having the same height as Shirakawa Boulevard. Hamuko looked over there but found nothing. It's supposed had nothing in the time like this, especially during Dark Hour. However, in Minato's view, it wasn't.
"…Nothing." Maybe it was his illusion? "Let's go back."
"Faster than I expected." Takaya clapped his hand while saying. "That's quite a show. They've been rather busy these last few months, including their frequent forays into the tower."
From the opposite building, Strega was watching everything. Along with Jin and Chidori, they observed the fighting styles and strategies.
"Their fighting style is positively fascinating. And it seems they've gained new recruits too. Well Jin, are they our enemy?"
However, the blue haired boy didn't seem to listen to him. His eyes were staring straight to the two persons in the group, to the one he wouldn't want to believe.
"Jin?" Usually Jin would immediately answer whenever Takaya asked. But today was strange in Takaya's opinion. Chidori behind them also moved her sight to the blue haird boy.
"Uh…yeah, w-what is it, Takaya?"
"Are you alright, Jin?"
"Yeah…o-of course." He wouldn't want to worry Takaya, despite how surprised he was by the fact he saw. "We can always ask our buddy…as we'll see him soon."
"Yes, excellent idea. Considering that he shares our future, it would be prudent to see his opinion."
Clenching his fist as hard as he could so to restrain the furious built inside him, Jin almost wanted to run followed the two persons that gave him a strong hit on his chest, and gave them a punch, if possible.
"We don't have much time left…"
True, they had no time left, to the end of their life.
But before this…
We'll make them pay, for what they had done to us!