Chapter Four: Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad

April 10, 2009, After School

Tatsumi Memorial Hospital – Yukari's POV

FRIDAY

There were certain privileges in having a hospital nearby supported by the Kirijo Group. Especially if you're part of a group backed by the same company, and the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad was one such group. The hospital knew all about SEES and our late night excursions.

"That must've been one heck of a shadow, huh?" The head doctor asked. "To be able to hurt you guys so badly."

Mitsuru, Akihiko-senpai and I sat on chairs near Minato's hospital bed. The doctor had been saying that there wasn't anything physically wrong with him except the gash on his side.

Mitsuru-senpai nodded. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He's fine. Though, he has to stay here a bit longer." The doctor replied. "Last night took a lot out of him."

"How about Akihiko?" Mitsuru-senpai asked.

"He needs to rest more. Don't go overexerting yourself, Akihiko." The doctor said, tuning to Akihiko-senpai. "No boxing for you for now."

Someone knocked at the door. "I have to get going. I'll see you later." Said the doctor. Once the doctor left, Akihiko-senpai asked a question none of could answer. "What was that last night?"

"The shadow?" I asked. "Or the thing that came out of Orpheus?"

"Orpheus?" Mitsuru-senpai asked.

"Oh, it's the name of Minato-kun's persona." I said. "I heard it when he summoned on the rooftop."

"About the creature, it clawed its way out of Orpheus, you say?" Mitsuru-senpai asked.

Akihiko-senpai nodded. "It diced the shadow up like it was nothing." He shook his head. "And about the shadow, I never saw anything like that before…"

Mitsuru-senpai sighed. "I sensed a great amount of power from the creature as well. In the very least, Arisato proved to us that he could summon a persona without any difficulty."

Unlike me… I looked at Minato. He saved us yesterday. Twice. Once he wakes up, I'm gonna tell him what he wants to know.

"At least we don't have to spy on him anymore." I said, relieved.

"That's right." Mitsuru-senpai chuckled. "In any case, we should make coming here a priority in the upcoming days."

Velvet Room – Minato's POV

Somehow, it didn't surprise me that I found myself in the room full of blue again. I was ready to believe anything after last night. Abominations climbing buildings like King Kong, shooting yourself in the head and instead of dying, another creature appears who sounds just like you. But that's not all, inside the creature that sounds like you, lies an evil dinosaur beak samurai, ready to kill anything in its path. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah, ghost boy appearing out of nowhere and telling me to shoot myself.

I was seated in the same position I was in that dream… was it even a dream? In front of me was the old man called Igor, seated behind a table.

"It's so nice to see you again." He said.

I stared at him. "Sure. Brilliant. Oh well, At least I'm not dead." I straightened. "Am I?"

"You most certainly are not, dear Minato." The girl in the flight attendant suit said. What was her name? Elizabeth? "You just lost your consciousness after summoning your Persona for the first time, your 'special power'."

"I see it was Orpheus that heeded your calling." Igor said.

Orpheus… I see. That Greek musician who went to the underworld to get Eurydice, his wife. And almost succeeded, but he didn't trust Hades to keep his word so he failed.

"That power is called a Persona." Igor said. "It is a manifestation of your psyche."

"Psyche?"

"A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli…" Igor said. "You think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships."

"Hardships. I don't think I like the sound of that…" I said.

"Scared of a little hard work?" Elizabeth chuckled. "When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. Hardships can serve to strengthen your inner resolve."

"What do you mean?" I asked, getting confused.

"The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links, your emotional ties with others." Igor said. "The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that."

"Wait. What about the other one?" I asked.

"Other one?"

"Yeah, the one with the sword and the beak-like head. The one who wanted to destroy everything, Thanatos." I said.

They were silent for a moment. Probably a moment of shock, did I say something I shouldn't have? "Thanatos. I'm sorry but there is no time to answer your questions about that. Time marches on in your world." Igor said. "I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here on your own volition. Until then…"

The blue glare of the Velvet Room softened as everything faded away.

April 17, 2009, After School

Tatsumi Memorial Hospital

FRIDAY

I twitched a little as soft sunlight shined on my closed eyelids. A dull headache from the base of my skull made me want to go to sleep again. Deciding against it, I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. Someone was sitting near my bed, near my arm. Aware of my stirring, that someone -who turned out to be Yukari- looked at me with worried eyes.

"You're awake!" She finally said, after a little while. "How do you feel?"

"Thirsty." I croaked my mouth dry. As I slowly sat up, Yukari gave me a glass of water and waited until I finished drinking. "Where am I?" I asked, looking around.

She chuckled. "Typical hospital line."

The smile faded from my face. "Hospital, what do you mean?"

"You're in Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station." Yukari answered. "I thought you were never going to wake up. We visited you every time after school, Junpei wanted to come see you but we discouraged him, and good thing we did."

'we' she said. Which means she, along with some others watched me sleep. They better have had a good reason… I don't like people watching me when I sleep.

"Every time?" I looked at her. "How long was I out?"

"A week." She said.

I scratched the back of my head. "I was really asleep for a whole week?" I laughed. "If I were you, I'd probably assume that I was in a coma."

She glared at me. "Do you have any idea how worried you made me?" Yukari looked away, still frowning. "I almost thought you were never gonna wake up…" She remained silent.

"Sorry. I-I guess you're right." I stammered. "I-I'm just not used to people showing concern for me." Yukari remained silent, for a little longer, then she said, looking at me from the corner of her eye. "Um… I'm sorry I couldn't do anything."

I waited, wondering what she meant. "I was supposed to be the one protecting you but-" She said, shifting in her seat.

"Don't worry about it, Yukari-san." I interrupted. "I probably ended up doing more harm anyway."

"But your power…" Yukari said. "It was amazing."

"Yeah?" I scratched the back of my neck, smiling sheepishly. "Speaking of which, what were those things?"

"You mean the Shadows?" She asked. "They are what we're fighting against." Yukari-san answered. "And the power you used… We call it 'Persona'."

"I see." I said. Persona huh? Igor's told me lot regarding that…

"I'm sure you're pretty confused. We'll explain everything later, Arisato-kun." Yukari-san promised.

I nodded and admired the view of the water from the window. There was a moment of silence afterwards. When I looked at Yukari at the corner of my eye, she looked uncomfortable. Her eyes were darting left to right, as if she was thinking about a decision she didn't want to make. "Oh yeah, we brought this here for you, Minato-kun." Yukari said, getting something underneath the bed. She looked as if she found a way to put off talking about the decision. "It's your sword." She said, giving me my sword with its sheath on.

I took the sword and pulled it from its sheath. I carefully examined the blade, wondering where the smudges went. It was clean, except for a crack near the handle probably from the encounter with the big Shadow.

"Mitsuru-senpai cleaned it for you. She knows a lot about fencing and swords." Yukari-san said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before…" She shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "I, uh… I wanted to tell you that… I'm sorta like you."

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, wondering what her point was.

"My dad died in an accident when I was little…" She said, looking down. "And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms… You're all alone too, right?"

"I have my grandfather, two annoying sisters... but..." I trailed off.

Yukari nodded. "To be honest, I already know about your past…" She looked away. "But, it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine…"

I looked at her, waiting for any hint that she was lying. But after a while, she seemed sincere. "I don't really remember much about the accident." I said, looking outside the window. "It was 10 years ago after all…"

"Weird as it is, my dad was caught up in some explosion the same night…" Yukari said, smirking despite the topic. "He was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group. So, I'm hoping that if I stick around long enough, I'll find out something."

After a moment, she said. "And here I am telling you all this the minute you wake up." Yukari-san said. "Sorry, I was just so bothered by keeping so much from you so I thought to myself; I've been hiding so many things from him. As soon as he wakes up, I'll tell him the truth."

"If I wake up." I said, laughing. Yukari laughed along with me. "Thanks, Yukari-san." I said as she stood up. "I know it was hard for you to share that with me. A complete stranger."

With her hand on the door, Yukari thought for a moment. "It wasn't. Once I started talking, I just couldn't stop until I poured it all out." She smiled. "Oh, and Minato-kun, feel free to call me Yukari." She opened the door. "Bye."

I leaned back against my pillow with a sigh.

Working for the Kirijo Group... Just what kind of things have they been doing?

April 18, 2009, After School

Gekkoukan High

SATURDAY

Junpei seemed excited about something this morning. But he didn't tell what it was about despite my nagging. When Yukari arrived, she told me that the Chairman wanted to talk to me at the dorm when I got back. Must be about the Shadows, and all hail the much awaited explanations about the abominations of the night! The bell rang, stopping my train of thought… and of course, signaling our dismissal from school.

I stretched in my seat talking about random things with Yukari. "Hey, man." Junpei said to me. "Why d'ya stay in bed for a week?"

Bed? What am I supposed to say, that I was attacked by a creature from your worst nightmare? "Uh…" I said, sending a look of help to Yukari. I decided to stall for time. "I'll tell you if you tell me why you were so excited this morning."

"That's unfair man!" Junpei scowled. "You know I can't say a word about that."

"Well, Minato-kun can't say a word about that either." Yukari said, laughing. "Right, Minato-kun?"

"Hmph." Junpei sulked. After a moment, he turned back to us with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But I can't help hearing some rumors, of course…"

"Rumors?" Yukari and I asked simultaneously.

"Well…" Junpei looked left and right. "There's this rumor going around, that one certain transfer student, who's name will not be revealed…" He said. "was in a hospital bed for a week."

I stared at him. Okay… That's supposed to be me.

"That transfer student had a classmate visiting him." He continued. "Now while, it's okay for a fellow student to be concerned… But isn't it excessive to visit every day, after school? Staying there until nightfall?" Junpei asked. I noticed that Yukari was starting to glare at Junpei.

Until nightfall…

He chuckled. "But there's more, they were of different genders, the transfer a boy and the classmate a girl. And when the transfer first came to school, the girl…" He coughed for a dramatic effect. "The girl was walking with the transfer." Yukari's glare had now increased by three notches. And I bet I had a confused look on my face.

"But I'm not done." Junpei said. "There's one more rumor." Yukari started fingering a page of a book. "That despite their denial…" He looked at Yukari and smiled. "The transfer and the classmate are- OW!" Junpei didn't get to finish because Yukari smacked him with the book she was holding.

"Say one more word, Stupei." She said, spitting out the word 'stupei' "And I'll slam this down your throat."

"Ow." Junpei said, massaging his smacked face. "Why are you so defensive?" He asked, laughing. "I didn't say a name did I?"

I stood, sighing as I saw the time on my wristwatch. "I have to get going." Without waiting for a reply, I exited the room, leaving the two of them arguing with each other.

Iwatodai Dorm, Evening

"The fourth floor, right?" I muttered to myself as I closed the double doors of the dorm behind me. Some sort of explanation probably, regarding the events of that night. Not to mention those monsters… what did Yukari-san call them? Shadows?

I decided to go to my room first to put my bag there then I headed to the 4th floor of the dorm. All of them were already there. The seniors, Mitsuru Kirijo and Akihiko Sanada along with Yukari, but I was surprised to see Mr. Ikutsuki.

"Ah, here he is." The Chairman greeted with a friendly smile. "You had us worried Minato-kun, after such a long stay in the hospital." He gestured to the seat he previously occupied. "Come on, sit down."

I complied. "So, what is this about?"

"Straight to the point aren't ya?" The boxer said with a smile.

"This is Akihiko Sanada." Ikutsuki said. "I must have mentioned him when we met." He continued. "Minato, would you believe me if I said that we have more than 24 hours in one day?"

"Yes." I said with a straight face. The Chairman probably wasn't expecting it, judging from his reaction.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it isn't really all that hard to believe." I explained. "I mean, the extra time you mean probably is the time when the moon glows green and most if not all machines shut down."

"That time is what we call the Dark Hour." Mitsuru-senpai stated. "That is what this meeting is about. The time period hidden between days."

"Yes. And effectively at that." Ikutsuki added. "Most people aren't aware of the Dark Hour. Only those who have the potential and a few like myself are able to experience this time period."

I guess that make sense… but still…

"You know all that of course." Akihiko-senpai told me. "But it's not that which makes the Dark Hour so interesting. It's them." He said 'them' with an ominous tone. "You met them last week. We call those abominations Shadows."

"They only appear during the Dark Hour." Yukari said. "And we're the only ones who can function during the Dark Hour so…"

"It's our job to stop them. Exciting isn't it?" Akihiko interrupted.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru reprimanded her fellow senior. "Why are you always like that? I keep telling you that this isn't a game."

She has a point. The definition of 'exciting' between these two seniors are definitely different.

"Now, now." The Chairman said. "He does his job well, Mitsuru. Given the stakes involved."

The redhead sighed. Then she faced the table and picked up a briefcase that was there the entire time. Why am I not getting good vibes from that thing? Then again, that briefcase is probably the whole point of this meeting…

"I guess you're not telling me all this just to ease my confused brain." I said, looking at the briefcase.

"Correct." The redhead confirmed, opening the briefcase. Inside was a silver pistol identical to the one Yukari had. "People with the potential are very rare, Arisato. Right now we only have three, surely not enough to fight the shadows offensively. We are asking for you to join us."

Yukari's POV

"… offensively. We are asking for you to join us." Mitsuru-senpai was convincing Minato to join the group.

I could sense his hesitation. It's easy to guess why. Who would want to risk their lives fighting monsters from a nightmare? Not only that, but we have school to balance as well. I looked at the transfer student. He was staring at the pistol, but his eyes weren't moving as it would if he were thinking. His eyes were cold and hard.

"We already prepared an Evoker for you. Will-" Mitsuru-senpai stopped talking when Minato looked at her straight in the eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Is something wrong?" He repeated as his face relaxed. "No. Nothing's wrong." A moment later he said. "Okay, I'll join you."

"Phew." I said, relieved. "I was afraid you'll say no."

"Thank you." Mitsuru-senpai said, smiling. "Oh, about your room assignment…"

"You might as well as stay in your current room." Ikutsuki explained. "It's better if all the members of the group stay in one dorm after all."

Minato however was not fooled. "Right." He smirked. "And you didn't arrange the little 'holdup' the was preventing me from transferring to a normal dorm."

The Chairman opened his mouth but Mitsuru cut him off. "We apologize for the deception. We needed recruits and…"

Minato waved his hand. "It's okay. Besides, it's not as if you have hidden cameras in every nook and cranny of the dorm after all." He said as he stood up and left. Leaving the four of us exchanging looks with one another.

Minato's Room

Minato's POV

I sat down on the edge of my bed and stared at my hands. "What on earth am I doing? Joining SEES, well... I can't say I don't have any ulterior motives." I muttered to myself.

The Dark Hour... The moon becomes two times larger, water transforms into blood, machines stop working, And... everything turns green.

Just like that night.

My memories of the night the accident happened were very unclear. Most of them came to me in the forms of flashes or terrible nightmares. But of one thing I was sure, the incident didn't happen normally. It wasn't any ordinary car accident.

For one thing, according to the files, there were no witnesses. I knew from the family business that it was impossible for such a thing to happen. The Moonlight bridge was used by many people at any given time. Except the Dark Hour.

And another, the fact that there was no other car within 2 miles. Even if you consider that the other car's driver might have escaped with the car, he/she wouldn't have gone far without dropping a few car parts or so. And no human being could have survived that kind of impact unscathed.

Lastly, there was an insane amount of destruction in the area. My family's car was overturned and burning, the floor around the area was burnt, like someone used a grenade. Or something else entirely.

But this is all just in the files. The police don't know how much information is missing. For ten years, no one has gotten a lead on the case. And my memories definitely can't be trusted because I don't have any... sigh...

Maybe this is all connected somehow. Maybe I can figure out what happened...

"Yeah... and maybe I can finally be rid of those horrible nightmares."

Author's Note: If you haven't noticed I added a little background info here ^ :D. Just my own version of what happened. And it was kinda odd to me, like why would anyone join SEES without a reason? Despite the whole HERO thing, I mean... in the game, Minato was the only one who didn't have an ulterior motive other than saving people. EVERYBODY else does. Even Koro-chan!

Please review! B)