A/N: Hey there reader, I was hoping to answer this early on in this chapter. In regards to Yukari, I chose her since she seemed the least terrible romance option. Aigis is a robot, Fuuka is insufferable and Mitsuru seemed to icey for my liking. And I don't give enough of a shit to even remember the names of the other two, so yeah. As for pairings in general though, they won't get that much of the spotlight. Mainly for some character developement. That's all I'm hoping to say on the matter, so what's say we leave it at that.
The Investigation Team had regrouped in the conference room, hoping to make sense of what was going on. "Okay, so for some reason, everybody in the Amagi Inn has been turned into...coffins and the moon is now glowing neon green. And no power is working. For whatever reason, we're not affected. Why?" Souji asked, looking over those present. Yosuke furrowed his brow in thought, before speaking up "Maybe...Because we're all Persona-users?". While the theory would make sense if the Investigation Team knew the truth, Souji shook his head in uncertainty "What about Nanako? She didn't have a Persona". Rise cut in "Actually, Souji-kun, ever since this weird stuff started I could feel Kanzeon's scanning ability...I don't know how, because I could never use her outside the TV world before. Nanako has the power, though it's locked deep down...".
Souji raised an eyebrow, and looked over at his distressed cousin. "Big Bro..." she whispered "Wh-when I got kidnapped...I remember Namatame turning into some weird angel thing, and you guys all started fighting him with these weird monster things...Is that what a 'Persona' is?". Souji blinked in surprise. The girl always was surprisingly perceptive, but Souji didn't think she'd have any memory ofher kidnapping. "Y-yeah, that's it exactly...". Naoto cleared her throat, gathering the attention of those present "I don't mean to distract you Souji-san, but I believe we shoud head into the TV world to see if it's somehow related. Another powerful entity might be trying to corrupt that world again". Kanji stood up quickly "W-well wait a minute...If that's what's goin' on, we can't bring Nanako along". Souji crossed his arms and thought deeply "True, but I'm not exactly keen on leaving her here in weirdo coffin-land either...Rise, you said she had a Persona right?". Rise frowned "Well...Not exactly. She has the potential, I think, but not an actual Persona".
Souji rubbed his chin in thought "Ah, I see. Well, I believe I can remedy that. Maybe". The team leader extended a hand out to Nanako "Grab on" he spoke bluntly. Nanako raised an eyebrow, but complied anyway as she trusted Souji above all else. Souji furrowed his brow, concentrating intently, and released a jolt of spirit power into Nanako's system. The shock caused both of them to breath in sharply, and left the two clutching their heads in pain. Yosuke aproached the two, helping them to regain their balances "D-dude, what did you just do?". Souji coughed up slightly and answered "I tried to give Nanako's power a jumpstart, like what Izanami did for me..." he looked up, seeing Nanako staring in awe at a floating tarot card "I think it worked...". Indeed it had, Nanako obtained the facade used to endure life's hardships, Ame-No-Uzume.
"Agh...My head's killing me..." Nanako groaned, massaging her temples. Souji laughed slightly "Heh, yeah sorry, there's no comfortable way to get a Persona...Don't worry, it'll subside in a bit". Souji turned his head to the side, seeing Yukiko examining the TV in the room. "W-wait Yuki-chan! You don't know where that TV will take us" Teddie spoke nervously. Yukiko nodded "I know, but...I'm just testing a theory here, but I don't think the TV World is related to this". She reached her hand out to see if she could enter the TV, only for her fingers to *clink* against the glass screen.
"Well...Shit..." Souji remarked, scratching his head.
Mitsuru Kirijo, the elegant and beautiful CEO of the Kirijo group, had found herself in the small town of Inaba for negotiations with a rival corporation. The rival group had chosen the Amagi Inn as a venue for their negotiations, as it was such an excellent area. And that was why Mitsuru, having finished these negotiations, was sitting in her room drinking wine and reading. 'Death's Fog by Souji Seta', an excellent read. Though Mitsuru couldn't help but notice some strangely familiar elements of the novel.
Then the Dark Hour struck, for the first time in over ten years, causing Mitsuru to gasp sharply and drop her wine glass. "No...It can't be..." Mitsuru whispered, feeling genuine fear. It was a sensation she hadn't felt since Nyx's descent. But Minato Arisato had given his life to seal Nyx, and the Dark Hour, away. Had he...Had he failed, somehow?
Mitsuru brushed those thoughts aside, this wasn't the time for wild speculation. She hastily redressed herself back into her business suit, and rooted her old Evoker from her suitcase. It was a memento of past adventures that she always had with her...And now she was being forced to use it as a weapon once again. She slowly slid her front door open and poked her head around the corner. No signs of life, but that was typical for the Dark Hour. But as she made her way further down the Amagi Inn's corridors, she couldn't help but feel as though something was off. You see, the thing that most people noticed first about the Dark Hour was how eerily quiet it was. And yet, Mitsuru could definitely hear some faint noise in the distance. Shadows? But it was so rare for them to even venture outside of Tartarus, why would there be Shadows this far out?
As Mitsuru drew closer she became aware that the sound she was hearing was not the predatorial growl of a Shadow, but rather the worried conversation of humans. Mitsuru peered into the open doorway of their room, spying at least 9 of them. A slender young man with windswept brown hair was busy adressing the group "Okay, so first of all the moon turns into a big freakin' lightbulb and all the people turn into coffins. And after that, it turns out we can use our Personas again. And then on top of that, for whatever reason we can't go back into the TV world!". Mitsuru quirked a brow. The fact that they could exist in the Dark Hour meant they were possibly Persona-users, but then they themselves confirmed it. But what was with all the talk about a TV world? "Uh guys..." a short red-haired girl began. Mitsuru recognized this girl, she was Rise Kujikawa the famous idol. She was a Persona-user? "I sense somebody outside our room...".
Mitsuru froze up, slowly reaching for her concealed Evoker. The silver-haired leader turned his gaze toward the door, a glowing tarot card spinning in his palm "Is it a shadow?" he asked, not tearing his gaze from the door. Rise shook her head "No...It's another Persona-user". This caused the leader to raise an eyebrow, before he barked out "Alright! We know you're out there, come in here slowly!". Mitsuru sighed in defeat, and entered with her arms raised. The brown-haired young man's jaw practically dropped off when he saw her enter, which earned him a dig in the ribs from a short tomboy. A short blonde young man in the group was equally impressed by her looks, and cracked a smile. "Well, helloooo..." he purred, almost sparkling in the moonlight. The tall leader raised a hand to stop his shorter friend from advancing "Hold up Ted. We don't know her intentions. Who are you? How did you get a Persona?".
Mitsuru folded her arms, looking mildly annoyed "I could ask you the same. Mitsuru Kirijo". The Inn manager, Yukiko Amagi who Mitsuru recognised from earlier, nodded "That's right...She was here for some important business meeting...". The silver-haired young man seemed mildly surprised, but he was a master at keeping a straight face "Fair enough. Doesn't explain how you got a Persona". Mitsuru seemed reluctant to speak at first, but seeing that tarot card spinning ominously in his palm did wonders at making her talk "This...Is the Dark Hour. It's a hidden hour that exists between 11:59 PM and 12:00 O'clock midnight. Only people with the potential to summon a Persona are able to exist in this time period. I was among a handful of people born with this potential". The group seemed skeptical, who wouldn't be, but they had gone through some crazy things in the past. They were willing to give Mitsuru the benefit of the doubt. She went on to explain how the Dark Hour came to be, how she and a group of her fellow students became the Specialised Extracuricular Execution Squad, how the mysterious tower known as Tartarus was creating an outbreak of Apathy Syndrome. She told them how their field leader, Minato Arisato, had the misfortune of being a vessel for death. How their efforts to end the Dark Hour only strengthened the embodiment of Death, and how the world surely would have perished from Nyx's descent upon the world were it not for Minato sacrficing his life to seal Nyx outside the reach of Earth.
Their leader whisteled slightly "That's...Quite a story Mitsuru..." the tarot card in his hand vanished, and he seemed to believe her story. "My name is Souji Seta, the leader of the Investigation Team-". Mitsuru cut him short "You're that Souji Seta? As in, the author? No wonder some of the elements in your books seemed so familiar...". Souji scratched the back of his neck, somewhat embarassed "Heh, well yeah...Anyway, these are my team mates. Yosuke Hanamura, Rise Kujikawa, Kanji Tatsumi, Naoto Shirogane, Yukiko Amagi, Chie Satonaka, Nanako Dojima and Teddie". Mitsuru raised an eyebrow "Just...Teddie?". Souji shrugged "Technically he's not even human. He's a Shadow that became human".Mitsuru seemed shocked by that revelation "A shadow that...Became human? Just like Ryoji...". Souji nodded remembering the 'Ryoji' she mentioned in her stories.
Souji went on to explain about the mysterious murders in Inaba over 10 years ago, how he and his friends discovered a world inside the TV which contained Shadows. How people who were thrown into the TV world had to face their inner-self or they would die. How their investigation into these strange events led to them defeating a copycat killer, went on to fight a man who had been fooled into thinking throwing people into the TV would save them, who had been corrupted by an insane sadistic police detective named Adachi, who was in turn being posessed by a mad deity known as Ameno-Sagiri, who was actually just a fabrication of the goddess Izanami. He finished by saying his defeat of Izanami freed the TV world, a place formed by people's hearts, from her corruption and falsehood.
"Now that is a story" Mitsuru remarked, still counting up all the twists and turns in Souji's tale. "So uh...What're we gonna' do about all this?" Kanji asked, scratching the back of his head. Souji folded his arms, deep in thought "The most logical conclusion is for us to meet up with the rest of Mitsuru's team. They have a much greater understanding of what's going on. But, since we've been dragged into this 'Dark Hour' we should do what we have to to undo this mess". The team nodded, seeing that years later trouble found a way to track them down.