Author's Note: This 'Darkside Chapter' thing is something new I'm trying out. Let me know in your reviews if you guys want me to continue or stop doing it.

Darkside – Kazuo's Blessing

"That Narukami…" Kazuo seethed, fists clenc hed. He sat in his room at the Amagi Inn, stewing in his rage at the silverette. "Thinking he can steal my Naoto from me. I'll show him." Standing abruptly, the young man made his way to the table in the center of the room. A variety of incenses and candles had been placed there, along with an instruction sheet, and a magic circle had been drawn on the floor. Kazuo had prepared the room after his encounter with Yu and Naoto, following the directions he'd found in a moldy old tome he'd bought years ago at a secondhand store. He'd never been one for the supernatural, but seeing Naoto with another man made Kazuo desperate enough to try anything.

"Hellfire, black water, tainted earth and poisoned wind…" He began intoning, lighting each of the candles and braziers in turn. "Great father of darkness whose shadow seeks to engulf this world, I beseech thy aid." Beginning to trace the pattern of the magic circle with his steps, Kazuo continued his dread incantation. "Grant me the strength to claim that which is my right. Give me the power to destroy that bastard Narukami, and made Naoto my bride at last!" Wheeling around to face the table once more, the white-haired youth's eyes were wild and filled with a manic gaze.

"God of all things man fears, Amatsu-Mikaboshi!"

The room grew darker as the candle flames were snuffed out by an unseen force, the scent of the burning incense growing strong enough to nearly overpower Kazuo's senses. He stood his ground against the chill that pervaded the room, a grin forming on his visage as a haunting voice filled his ears. "Child of man, you seek my aid?"

Kazuo knelt at the edge of the magic circle, triumph in his face. His ritual had worked. "I ask for thy strength, so as to claim my love from one who would steal her away from me."

"And what can you offer me in return, son of man?"

The expression on Kazuo's face became even more twisted as he spoke the irrevocable words. "I offer you the soul of my foe, and myself as a conduit through which you can escape your prison, Lord Mikaboshi. All that matters to me is that Naoto is mine and mine alone; the rest of the world I gladly cede to you."

"You wish to spend eternity with your bride, and offer the rest of the world in exchange. Your bargain pleases me, son of man. I, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, hereby bestow my power upon you. Go forth and claim your bride, blessed of darkness."

The world seemed to twist around Kazuo as the god's voice filled his mind. Darkness clouded his vision, yet somehow he knew it wasn't a threat. Giving in to the shadow, Kazuo collapsed on the floor of his room, his senses leaving him.

It was nearly morning when he awoke, a sensation like electricity coursing through his body. Getting up, he lurched into the restroom, surprised at how easy the motion was, and upon looking in the mirror a smile touched his lips. The emerald eyes he'd possessed before performing his ritual were gone; in their place were eyes black as night, both sclera and pupil, with irises of bloody crimson. The mark of Amatsu-Mikaboshi, and the sign that he was indeed blessed by darkness.

Yu woke up with a start, sweat beading on his brow. He'd been startled awake by a terrible dream, one that he couldn't recall even immediately after waking. He thought he'd seen Shadows, but that was impossible. Izanami was gone; there were no more Shadows. Getting up and dressed, he headed downstairs to see Dojima and Nanako sitting in the living room. "Good morning, Dojima-san, Nanako-chan."

His uncle turned to look at him with a concerned expression, asking, "Are you alright? You don't look well." Dojima had been happy to take Yu in while he was visiting Naoto in Inaba, the bond between them unbreakable. The older man studied his nephew perceptively, trying to gauge what was wrong.

"It's nothing, Uncle. Just a nightmare." Turning to his young cousin, Yu asked, "How'd you sleep, Nanako?"

Smiling up at him, Nanako looked as happy as ever. "I slept good, big bro! There's some toast in the toaster for you, and Dad made you some coffee!"

Grinning, the detective nodded and said, "Black, just how you like it. I'm sure you'll feel refreshed after you eat."

Nodding thanks to the both of them, Yu waited for the toast to finish and ate quickly, letting the caffeine in the coffee wake him up. A sense of unease hung in the back of his mind; that hadn't seemed like an ordinary nightmare. It was too vivid, too real to be just a figment of his imagination, and on top of that he'd never dreamed of Shadows before. Something felt wrong about it, and he wanted to go over it with his friends.

After saying goodbye to Dojima and Nanako, Yu left the house and got on his scooter, kicking it into gear and heading for Junes. On the way there, however, he saw another motorcyclist coming down the road toward him. Immediately recognizing who it was, Yu pulled over and called, "Hey, Naoto!"

The girl detective slowed to a halt beside him, her face pale. "Yu, I'm glad you're here. There's something I wanted to tell you about." Upon seeing his love's face, Yu had a hunch that he couldn't help but vocalize.

"The dream about the Shadows?"

Naoto blinked with surprise, finally finding the words, "H-How did you know?"

The silverette looked serious as he got off his motorcycle, leaning against it as he studied Naoto's pale face. "I had it too. Everything was blurry except the Shadows, and this overwhelming feeling of malice."

Casting her gaze downward, Naoto nodded. "Mine was almost identical, save one point. I felt no malice in the dream, but rather an extreme sense of lust, as if something were intending to chase me to the ends of the earth. It was… disconcerting." Lifting her head to meet her love's gaze, the young woman asked, "Do you think it has something to do with Kazuo? He emanated the same aura of malice you felt, correct?"

"I can't deny it. But I don't see how he could be a threat, or how he could control our dreams. More than likely our encounter with him was so bizarre it decided to stick around in our subconscious." Yu thought for a moment, but was interrupted by a change in the sky above. It was as if the sun was blotted out, leaving the sky a mass of pure black – an extremely disconcerting sensation.

"Y-Yu, look!" Naoto pointed off into the distance, and when Yu followed her gesture, he saw that the darkness had expanded downward, almost as if…

"It's formed a dome around Inaba." The silverette commented to himself. "More than likely, it'll act as the fog did before we defeated Ameno-sagiri and Izanami. But this was so sudden… Does this mean Inaba is cut off from the outside world?" Before Naoto could answer, Yu's cell phone rang and he quickly picked it up. "Yosuke, what is it?"

Yosuke's voice sounded panicked from the other end of the line. "This is really bad, partner! There are Shadows in Inaba! I just saw one of those mouth things – think Teddie called 'em Hableries or something – come out of the darkness by Yasoinaba Station! Chie and I are here right now, and we can use our Personas, but if a bunch of Shadows start swarming in then we're in trouble!"

"Understood. I'm with Naoto right now, so we'll start patrolling the town in case there are any more. This day's getting really weird, really fast." Flicking his phone closed, Yu looked to Naoto, whose face was chalk white.

"Shadows?" The girl detective asked, receiving a nod in return. "This can't be a coincidence. You're right; we should look for any others that may have wandered into Inaba." Pulling her hat off for a moment, Naoto removed a hairpin she had hidden beneath it, allowing a curtain of navy blue hair to fall around her shoulders. Seeing Yu's surprise, she donned her hat again and smiled. "I remember you complimenting Rise on her hair when you visited the summer after we defeated Izanami, so I decided to grow it out. Do you like it?"

Yu smiled and hugged Naoto briefly, answering, "Have I ever mentioned you're beautiful?" She returned the hug with a blush forming on her cheeks, then the two of them hopped back onto their scooters and began heading for the heavily-populated areas of town, intent of searching for Shadows.