Chapter 15 – Fuuka Yamagishi

June 08, 2009 – Late Night

Iwatodai Dorm, Command Room

All of us gathered in the Command Room after Mitsuru-senpai sent Natsuki Moriyama upstairs.

"This is a bit worrisome… I can't get ahold of the Chairman." She punched some buttons on her cellphone. "Without the Chairman's help, I'm not sure how we can get inside the school…"

"You don't have some sort of key?" I asked her. "I thought your family owns the school…?"

She sighed, exasperated. "My family's corporation owns the school. But even then, that doesn't mean I can just go in anytime I want to."

Huh. Why is that, I wonder?

Unfortunately, she caught my suspicious stare and glared at me. "We don't have time for this, Arisato. We need to find a way to get inside the scho-"

"Why are you guys are arguing?" Junpei chuckled –what he was chuckling about, I had no idea-. "No need to worry. I've got it all set to go."

Set… to go?

"Set to go?" Mitsuru repeated. "An explosive?" She chuckled. "Alright, I'll let you handle this." She walked away towards the dorm's exit, leaving us juniors behind.

"…An explosive? For real?" Yukari asked, awed.

"…" Junpei shrugged. "Nah. All I did was unlock a door."

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to her to pick the most dramatic entrance.

Gekkoukan High, 2nd Floor Hallway

We got in without incident as Junpei easily opened the backdoor.

"So, you unlocked it earlier… Tres bien!"

"Oui. No time for compliments. Let's go."

The two seniors hurried on ahead. "Trey Ben… we?" Junpei scratched his head. "Are those French? Lousy seniors and their lousy French…"

Yukari and I were unable to contain our snickers.

Classroom 2-F

"Can we turn on the lights…?" Yukari pleaded.

"Aww, you scared?" Junpei cooed.

"No!" Yukari glared at him. "…Stupei."

And for the first time since I heard Yukari call Junpei, Stupei, he protested to being called that.

"Quiet." Akihiko-senpai admonished the two. "It's better if we leave them off anyway. They cut the power at night."

Yukari frowned at this and looked around our classroom warily. "What're we even doing here? Fuuka's classroom is two doors away…"

"We have to find the key to the Gym." Mitsuru-senpai answered. "Akihiko and I will check the janitor's room. You three check the Faculty Office."

"Understood." I nodded and walked nearer to the door. It wasn't so hard to see since it was a full moon tonight.

Full moon? Isn't that what that Ghost Kid was telling me about?

I was interrupted by Junpei's panicked outburst. "It-it was a joke! I'd never do something like that! Haha… ha."

"All I meant by 'interesting' was that there was a higher chance of finding the key there…" Akihiko-senpai sighed.

Where?

"Iori, you're coming with us." Mitsuru-senpai said, then walked away. The other two men followed her.

"I thought Junpei was coming with us?" I asked Yukari once we were alone.

She looked at me weirdly.

I must have missed something. I sighed. "Never mind."

But really, what was it about the Full moon that that Kid was warning me about…?

Yukari and I exited our classroom as quietly as we could. I looked at both ends of the hallway. Predictably, no one else was there and the only sound we could hear was some dog howling at the moon. Yukari frowned and I followed her as she descended the stairs.

Walking ahead of me, Yukari suddenly stopped, making me stop as well. "Do you hear that?" She whispered.

I smiled. "Relax, Yukari. There's no one but us in here." I was just about to continue walking when I saw a beam of light move ahead of us. A flashlight beam. "Security!" I whispered. I ran over to the nearest pillar and dragged Yukari in front of me. She made a surprised whimper as the guard's footsteps came closer. Yukari pressed herself harder against the pillar. Unfortunately, I was in between.

This is a rather… distracting position. I gulped. I can smell her perfume…

The guard's footsteps faded away. Yukari let out the breath she was holding and I quickly let her go. I laughed feebly. "That's that then… Let's go."

Then, a cheery chime rang out. "Aah!" Yukari shrieked, making me jump as well. "M-my cellphone… Why now?!" She muttered. "S-sorry about that. It took me by surprise."

"Me too." I chuckled. "Your tenseness is contagious, Yukari."

"Ugh. Whatever." She shook her head. "Let's just go. This place is creepy at night."

Once we made sure that the security guard was gone, Yukari and I made our way to the Faculty office. The desks were as varied as the teachers who owned them, some had papers piled together neatly, some had papers piled together messily, and some had no papers at all. The decorations all varied as well.

Yukari started to sift through the nearest desk as I walked over to another. "No… no… It's so dark that I can barely read these." She muttered as she went through the keys. "What does this one say?" She handed me one of the keys.

"… Morgue?"

She glared at me. "Are you trying to scare me or something?"

I shook my head and turned over the key. "Ah. It says Gym on the other side!"

"Must be the school nurse's work." She sighed. "Let's go meet the others in the main hallway."

We found the other three already waiting at the entrance hall. "We found the key." I held it up for them to see.

"Ya know, I heard a scream that sounded familiar…" Junpei smirked.

"Huh?" Yukari reacted.

"You actually did?" Junpei laughed. "I was just kidding!"

Akihiko and I sighed. "Shut up, Stupei!" Yukari yelled.

"Keep it down." Akihiko-senpai scolded the two of them again as he helped Mitsuru-senpai prepare the equipment.

Completely ignoring the arguing juniors, Mitsuru-senpai told us to form two teams again. "Three of you will enter Tartarus, and one of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position."

"I'll go." Akihiko-senpai turned to me. "You should come too. You can take the lead as always."

"I'll be the third then-" Yukari started to say, but was interrupted by Junpei.

"W-wait a minute! Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail?" He asked.

Accidentally...?

"Gimme a chance to make up for that!"

"Alright, Junpei." Akihiko-senpai said before Yukari could butt in. "We'll give you another shot."

"Seriously…?!" Yukari protested.

"What's wrong, Yukari?" Akihiko smiled. "Don't want to be paired up with Mitsuru?"

Mitsuru cast a questioning glance at Yukari. "N-no! It's not that…" Yukari waved her hands.

I shrugged. "Now that that's settled, let's go!"

Junpei, Akihiko-senpai and I went inside the Gym and waited while the other two went outside the school. The three of us remained nervous but silent as the Dark Hour approached.

DARK HOUR

The floor rumbled and the walls rushed up to meet us as the moon outside became larger and brighter. Junpei yelled as he avoided one wall that nearly crushed him. The floor suddenly rose, making the three of us lose our footing. It suddenly became a rollercoaster of death.

The floor kept rising, and for a moment I could see the moon come closer to us. The three of us yelled as another green floor or wall creaked and sprouted beside Akihiko-senpai. We saw numerous different statues form from the shifting walls surrounding us.

After a while, the now violet coloured floor we were on stopped rising.

Junpei gasped. "Is it… is it over?"

Apparently, it wasn't.

The wall on my side vibrated. The three of us stared at it, knowing there was nothing we could do. My side of the floor suddenly crumbled and I fell through. "Minato!" I heard Junpei and Akihiko yell as the vibrating wall fell and took the place of the floor I fell through.

…

….

…..

I was still falling though.

I desperately looked around for something I could hold on to. I grabbed one statue that protruded from a golden wall and held on for dear life. I gasped as my arms held the brunt of my weight and gravity. But of course, Tartarus hated me. The statue cracked and I fell again… and the darkness claimed me.

TARTARUS, 2nd BLOCK

?th Floor

"Are you awake?" A voice said as I came to, still hugging the stupid golden statue. I shoved the statue away from me and grunted when my arms and back protested.

"This is the first time we've spoken outside of your room." The voice said. I turned to look at the speaker and saw that it was the Ghost Kid from before.

"Oh. It's you." I grunted as I tried to stand up. I am NEVER doing that again… "How… how did you get here?"

The kid chuckled. "Didn't I tell you? I'm always with you."

I finally succeeded at standing up. "What are you talking about?"

He shook his head. "We don't have much time to talk. Tonight, there is more than one ordeal you must face…"

I suddenly remembered what I was thinking about earlier. "Ordeal… and… this ordeal happens every full moon?"

"She is waiting for you." The kid said, obviously not answering my question. "You should hurry. You guys will need her."

What? Who is this… she? Does he mean Fuuka?

The kid chuckled. "We'll speak again." He said before disappearing before my eyes.

I groaned and stretched. What the heck is that kid's problem?

"…sato!... Are… alright?-" Mitsuru's voice cracked from the transceiver that was surprisingly still in my ear.

"Senpai?" I pressed the transceiver. "I was separated from the others. I don't know where they are."

"… distance… too far. … can't provi-… back up…" I couldn't hear anything else but static.

Damn it. I'm probably too far up to hear anything clearly. But without her, how am I supposed to find Yamagishi, not to mention Junpei and Akihiko-senpai…

I sighed and removed my sword from its sheath. Might as well go forward. I walked around the corner to find a shadow. It looked like a tower with three blue faces that swiveled around a common axis. I pressed the transceiver out of habit, then shook my head and took my evoker instead.

"Nekomata!" I ordered it to cleave the shadow, effectively killing the creature.

Wonder that shadow was called…

I wandered the floor killing shadow after shadow. The shadows on this floor were weaker than the ones we encountered on the way to the 40th floor. However, killing them without analysis backup was harder than I realized.

"Who's there?" A voice suddenly called out. I pressed the transceiver thinking it was Mitsuru, but nothing but static came. "…Are you human?" the voice asked.

"Hello?" I called out. "Hello?" Nothing but the echoes of my own voice answered me. As I rounded the next corner, I saw the stairs and climbed it quickly.

"What's… current location?... Reply… -mmediately."

"I'm still on the 2nd block from what I can see. The shadows here are weaker so I think I'm lower than 40…"

Although if that's the case, then why is communication breaking up? We had no problem contacting each other at the 40th floor.

"Where am I?" The voice from earlier again. "Please help…"

It's a good thing Yukari wasn't here… or she would have been jumping at every shadow. …Pun not intended.

"Hello?" I called out again. "Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?"

This time though, something answered me. A Zio attack from a Maya type shadow to be exact. I ordered Angel to use Garu in retaliation, being the Maya type shadow's weakness. The Maya type sagged and I took the chance to shove my sword in its mask.

I resumed my wandering of the floor, sometimes clutching my aching back like an old man. I sighed. I am going to feel this in the morning…

"Please resp- Can y—hear me?" Senpai.

"Please answer me. Who are you?" Voice. Probably Fuuka's.

I shook my head, knowing by now that neither of them could hear my responses. I climbed up to the next floor. I don't know how longer I can keep this up… I've already killed a lot of shadows… and I still haven't recovered from that fall.

I wandered the next floor as quickly as I could. As I rounded one corner, I was ambushed by three more Maya type shadows. The first attacked me from behind, and the other two darted away as I sent a Garu towards the first one.

Damn it.

I stood up and ran towards the other two, avoiding the Zio attacks they sent my way. I jumped to avoid an attack and shoved my sword through its mask as I landed. However, the last Maya type decided to attack me, causing me to dodge and leave my sword on the ground.

"Angel!" I sent another Garu towards the last one, effectively killing it. I bent up to retrieve my sword, but then I sensed something coming up behind me.

I quickly turned around, my sword in attack position.

"Aah!" A pale girl with short blue-green hair gasped as my sword touched her throat. Luckily, I was able to stop the momentum that would have cut her head off her shoulders. Sensing that she wasn't a threat, I sighed and crouched on the floor, exhausted by everything that happened. "S-sorry about that." I panted.

The girl shakily nodded. "I-I sensed something erasing those… creatures… A-and I…"

I stood up and laughed feebly. "It's okay." I gave her a reassuring smile. "You're Fuuka Yamagishi, correct?"

The girl nodded. "H-how do you know who I am?"

"Well… we came here to rescue you." I scratched my head. "But apparently, I'm lost."

"Did you say 'we'?"

I nodded.

"I-I think I can sense two people on the floor above us…" She looked upwards.

Sense? Is she like Mitsuru-senpai? *sigh* In any case, we should go upstairs.

"Um… Fuuka?"

She turned towards me.

"You can tell where the… creatures are can't you? Why don't you lead the way?"

"Uh… of course." She walked. She faced one way, shook her head and then walked down the opposite direction. Fuuka did this at every crossroad and she even stopped in her tracks twice, making me bump into her. Eventually, we reached the stairs without encountering a single Shadow.

"There you are!" Akihiko exclaimed as soon as we saw him and Junpei. "Oh, and is this… Fuuka Yamagishi?"

"Wow, you're alive! That's awesome!" Junpei smiled. "Never fear, Junpei's here!"

"Hello, Mitsuru?" Akihiko-senpai said to his transceiver. "Minato and Yamagishi's here. They both seem to be alright. …Hello?" He shook his head and turned to us. "All I hear is static…"

"We were worried about you, man!" Junpei slapped my shoulder. "Oh, and are you okay? You look ready to fall asleep."

I actually DO want to sleep… I sighed and waved his arm off. "I'm fine."

"Hey, Yamagishi." Akihiko-senpai was holding out an Evoker. "Take this for your safety."

Fuuka gasped.

"It's not a real gun, Fuuka-san. It's more like a… lucky charm." I told her, took my own Evoker and held it to my temple. "See here… Cadenza!"

"Ah. That feels better…" I muttered as the fusion spell soothed my aching back. Fuuka gaped at me, however.

"Show off." Junpei rolled his eyes. "That was a Persona, Fuuka-chan. We all have 'em." He laughed. "And so do you."

Fuuka only looked more confused. "Huh? P-Persona…? B-but where are we? I-I thought I was in school?"

"It's a long story." Akihiko-senpai chuckled, then he looked like he remembered something. "Oh, but how did you manage to stay here so long?"

"Apparently, she can detect where the Shadows are. She's might have the same thing Mitsuru-senpai has." I answered for her.

"Huh? Really?" Junpei beamed. "That's awesome!"

"Maybe she's even stronger." Akihiko-senpai looked impressed. "Since Mitsuru's Persona is more battle-oriented."

"Um… you keep mentioning Mitsuru…" Fuuka still looked confused… anyone would actually. "Do you mean the Student Council President?"

Akihiko smiled. "Uh huh. But we'll explain more when we get back. You're probably exhausted."

The four of us looked around until we came across an open hallway where the full moon was clearly visible. The Ordeal… The others stopped as well when they noticed me looking at the moon.

Ordeal… I suddenly remembered Yukari's comment about how creepy the moon gets when it was full. That was the night we faced the …Priestess…

"Akihiko-senpai!" I turned to him. "Was it a full moon on the day the dorm was attacked?"

"I think so." He pondered my question for a bit.

I remembered Thanatos, the persona that came out of Orpheus… The bright light from the moon made Thanatos look even more menacing… Bright light from the FULL moon…

"Damn it!" I yelled. "We have to get back to the entrance! Yukari and Mitsuru-senpai are in danger!"

"Huh? Why?" Junpei asked.

"The big shadows…" Akihiko-senpai muttered, coming to the same conclusion I did. "They all attack during the full moon!"

"W-what is this?" Fuuka interrupted, making all of us look at her. "It's much bigger than the others… and it's attacking someone!"

"We have to hurry!"

TARTARUS ENTRANCE

The four of us arrived at the Entrance to find two large shadows attacking Mitsuru and Yukari. One shadow was potbellied and held a wand or staff in its hand. The other shadow was tall and wielded a giant sword. The two girls already looked tired but it looked like the battle was just getting started for the two Shadows.

"Penthesilea!" Mitsuru sent out her Persona and sent a Bufu spell towards the sword-wielding one, making the shadow fall to its knees.

"Jack Frost!" I sent out a Bufu spell towards the same shadow, only to be surprised when the shadow shrugged off the attack. "What the heck?!"

"They… their properties change." Mitsuru-senpai panted as she tried to fight. "Nothing's working!"

Their properties change? Damn it…

"Yuka-tan, senpai! Get outta here! We'll cover you!" Junpei yelled at the two of them as he ran to my right.

"Go!" Akihiko-senpai yelled when the girls were defiant. "Fuuka, stay back!"

Fuuka was staring at the two large Shadows. She must have reached her limit for craziness tonight.

"We have to distract the shadows!" Junpei exclaimed when the slow moving creatures turned to Fuuka. "Hermes!"

Hermes flew around the two shadows effectively catching their attention. However, the tall shadow deemed Hermes an irritation and swatted it with the giant sword. "Agh!" Junpei cringed.

"Fuuka… I came to apologize…" The entrance door opened revealing Natsuki Moriyama walking as if in a trance. She didn't even blink at the two large creatures in front of her.

"What? How did she…?" Yukari questioned. "Stay back!"

"Please, get out of here! It's dangerous!" Fuuka ran over to where Moriyama was… however, she ran in the path of the two shadows.

"Orpheus!" I sent Orpheus to block the sword that was coming for Fuuka and gritted my teeth as I felt the pain through Orpheus.

The shadow with a wand sent a Zio attack towards Orpheus and since I had to keep pushing against the sword, I couldn't make Orpheus avoid. Akihiko-senpai's Caesar flew in front of the Zio attack and took the hit that was meant for Orpheus. "Thanks senpai." I said through gritted teeth.

The tall shadow soon got irritated in the lock with Orpheus and raised the sword. I ordered my persona to fade as the sword came crashing down, cracking Tartarus' floor.

"Look out!" Junpei yelled as the potbellied shadow sent a Garu spell towards Fuuka and Moriyama. He sent Hermes to take the brunt of the attack. "Agh! Dammit!"

We can't keep on the defensive much longer. But without Mitsuru-senpai's help we can't anticipate their attacks…

The taller shadow suddenly charged Junpei, Akihiko and me, causing us to scatter in order to avoid it. However, that gave the potbellied shadow a chance to attack Fuuka and Moriyama.

Fuuka put the gun to her head as the Bufu spell came hurtling towards them. "Lucia!" A persona nearly twice the size of ours emerged. It had a woman's figure but its lower body was a dome that covered Fuuka and Moriyama in it. The Bufu spell failed to penetrate the protective dome.

"I… can see their weaknesses." Fuuka's voice came from Lucia.

"Take my place, Yamagishi!" Mitsuru yelled.

"We'll take care of this." Akihiko-senpai muttered as the taller shadow untangled itself from the wall it crashed into.

Author's Note: Aand cut! Another quick update! Hm… I'm actually updating everyday… Anyways how was it? Perfect place for a cliffhanger, right? Haha.

P.S: Goodness… I can't put into words how embarrassed I am by posting the same/previous chapter twice. Ugh. I actually meant to post this one, but apparently… I made a mistake somewhere… Sorry people!