A week had gone by since the return of the Dark Hour. After Mitsuru had contacted her old SEES allies, learning about the situation with Minato, it was agreed that the members from both SEES and the Investigation Team should take time to make preparations for the upcoming investigation. They had jobs, and employers they needed to make excuses for. Of course, Minato had the means to keep their employers from gaining suspiscion.
For the past week, Minato had been staying with Yukari and Aigis for simplicity's sake. He was still technically dead, and as such couldn't own property as you can imagine. He'd have to resolve the issue when this whole mess was over and done with. "Everything okay in there?" Yukari asked, her back pressed to the bathroom door. "Aside from all the girly toiletries? Fine" Minato replied from the other side of the door. Yukari sniffed slightly, a wetness coming to her eyes. Ever since Minato had returned, she had been trying to repress alot of things. Every time she heard his voice now, she wanted to cry tears of joy, after smacking him around a little for not telling her his plan. "What's up?" Minato asked, a thin ammount of concern lacing his voice. "N-nothing!" Yukari replied indignantly. Minato sighed on his side of the door "Yukari, I can tell when you're lying. You're really bad at it. More importantly though, I know when you're crying. So what's up?".
Yukari shut her eyes tightly and moved away from the bathroom door, trying to find the right words to say. Minato emerged from the bathroom a short while later, dressed in his navy dress shirt and obsidian slacks. Yukari took a deep breath and started speaking "It's just...I've had to think alot, ever since you came back. I had buried just about everything about you except memories...And now you're back, along with the Dark Hour, and it's so much to take in again on such short notice...". Minato nodded in understanding, she and the other SEES members had every right to be confused and worried right now. "I know it's alot to take in...And if it were up to me, this wouldn't be happening at all. But this is what destiny brings us, isn't it?". Yukari smiled sadly and glanced down at her feet "I really loved you, ya know? I did some stupid things back then, sure, I was just a stupid teenager back then...And, when I realised what I'd lost when you died, it tore me up inside. I lost my dad, things were still rocky with my mom...and then I lost you, the guy who made me feel so good about myself. I was willing to tear the universe apart and fight Nyx again, just so you could be brought back..." tears were flowing down her face quite liberally now.
"Why didn't you tell us you were dying?" Yukari asked quietly, barely above a whisper. Minato moved closer and left his hands resting on her shoulders "Because, it wouldn't have changed anything. None of you had your memories at the time, and my decaying body lacked the power to restore them...Plus I...I didn't want to worry you guys. You couldn't have done anything to help me even if you knew". He cupped her chin and lifted her head to look at him "For what it's worth though, I appreciate that you'd go that far to see me again. Would've been a little peeved if you undid everything though" Minato joked, which earned a small laugh from Yukari "That's what I like to hear" Minato said, a small grin creeping on his face. Yukari wiped her eyes and spoke again "You ruined dating for me, you know that? I never met another guy who was as confident, charming and smart as you...". Minato laughed slightly in response "So, what're you saying? You uh...Wanna' go back to the way things were for us in the past?". Yukari smiled sheepishly "Maybe. I think I'll wait a little to see a little to make sure you don't do another dissapearing act".
Minato gave a mock shrug "Fair enough. Let's wake Aigis and get a move on to the Kirijo Tower, shall we?" he extended a hand out, which Yukari accepted. Despite the craziness, there was some good things coming out from all this.
Souji sat idly and silently, watching the scenery fly past the train window. This was a familiar sight to him, given how many times he had visited and left Inaba. Difference this time was he had all his friends travelling with him. Souji took a moment to look around at his close allies who had once again decided to follow him into hell. Sitting just across from his was Teddie, who was snoring his head off. In the booth opposite his, he saw Kanji and Naoto sitting side by side. Kanji was fast asleep, his face smeered against the train window. Naoto was sitting beside him reading one of those Kuzunoha detective novels she loved so much, seemingly unaware of her boyfriends oafish antics.
Slightly further down the cart Yukiko, Rise, Nanako and Chie are deep in girly conversation. Well, Chie wasn't. She was awkward on those subjects, only offering her input when she actually felt like it. Now where was Yosuke?
As if on que, Souji's closest friend plopped down in the seat beside him "Everything okay with you partner?" Yosuke asked, a brow raised up. Souji gave no real expression in response, his mouth was only a thin straight line. "You don't trust that Mitsuru woman, do you?". Souji heaved a sigh "Not entirely, no. Some of the things she said about Persona's and Shadow's didn't match up with our experiences. But..." Souji trailed off, reclining in his seat, deep in thought "Well, she and her friends seem to be the only people who have a clue about this 'Dark Hour' thing, so our only real option is to play along with them and see if they're trustworthy. Yosuke nodded in agreement "Yeah, that makes sense. That's not all that's on your mind though, is it?".
Souji sighed, somewhat annoyed that his best friend could read him so well. He glanced overtoward Nanako, who was still deep in conversation "Ah" Yosuke said, understanding the situation in an instant "You're worried about her, I get it. Only reason she's able to come along is because it's summer, and she insisted on coming because she loves her Big Bro so much". Souji nodded "Yeah...I appreciate that she cares that much, but I don't want to put her in danger. Only reason I jumpstarted her Persona like that was so she could defend herself if she had to...Dojima-san'll kill me if anything happens to her...Hell, I'd probably kill myself...". Souji almost jumped when Yosuke's hand landed on his shoulder, giving a reassuring pat "She's a strong girl. She escaped death once, remember? She's a fighter Souji, just like you". This caused a thin smile to spread across Souji's face. He adjusted his glasses and spoke up "Yeah, you've got a point there. Thanks Yosuke, glad to know I'm marching into Hell with you beside me". Yosuke gave a laugh, high-fiving Souji "Ha, you'd be lost without your trusty wingman. Admit it".
Souji smiled, thinking just how right Yosuke could be. He seemed to fluctuate wildly between Souji's 'comic foil' and his 'unstopable second in-command'. "It figures this kind of shit would happen as soon as I decide to settle down in Inaba. I wanted to finish my college courses, and get my career on track before I came back. What is it with weird shit hapening to us? Are we like, cosmic playthings?" Souji joked. He went quiet for a few moments, and spoke up again "You know, I think their leader might outclass me a little..." Souji started, earning Yosuke's curiosity "I mean...I killed a goddess...He beat a concept. Guy performed miracles and came back from the dead...Hell, the guy's Persona is even called 'Messiah'!". Yosuke snorted "Ah, you're worrying over nothing dude. Hell, Namatame thought he was some sort of Messiah...". Souji frowned "This is different Yosuke...I think this 'Minato Arisato' of theirs is the real deal" Souji looked visibly uncomfortable at the prospect.
Yosuke shrugged "Maybe, maybe not. You'll still outclass him in overall awesome-ness. I'm more worried about something else though dude. They have a frickin' robot on their team. And the coolest thing we have is..." Yosuke looked over at the still-sleeping Teddie "...That". This caused Souji to burst out laughing "Hehe, c-come on man be nice. Teddie's...cool...Kinda...I guess". The two shared a laugh and a sigh, and Yosuke followed up by saying "Come on, maybe we should rest up or something. Uh...How far is Iwatodai again?".
The Kirijo Tower was a massive shimmering obelisk on Port Island, a marvel of modern architecture that had served as the Kirjo group's headquarters for many years. On the surface, it seemed like yet another stuffy office complex. However, it was where the Kirijo group did the majority of their paranormal research ever since the 'incident' at Gekkokaun high twenty years ago. And now, it seemed an appropriate meeting place for SEES and the Investigation Team.
Akihiko sat in the Kirijo Tower's lobby, sitting with one leg crossed over the other with his jet black blazer resting on his lap his fingers idly drumming on his knee. He had only returned to Iwatodai two days ago, after organising some details back in Ayanagi. He had briefly considered asking Shin and the others for their help, but reconsidered when he remembered they had problems of their own to deal with. He decided things would go alot smoother if he didn't mention anything to Mitsuru in regards to Ayanagi, lest she badger him into dragging Shin and his friends into this sorry mess. This had all been rather sudden, the Dark Hour returning, Minato coming back from the dead, Mitsuru meeting another group of Persona-users...And Akihiko being able to sense Caesar's power again, the power he thought he'd lost after the Abyss of Time incident.
Fuuka and Mitsuru were already here before him, made sense as they both worked here, busy getting things ready in the Tower's sub-levels. Junpei arrived next, and he and Akihiko made small talk about the past and what had changed since last they met. "Yo, Akihiko-san. Sup?" Junpei looked quite the same as he did 10 years ago. Fuller looking goatee, same hat. He was better built though, if nothing else. He did want to keep his figure after he'd grown so strong from fighting Shadows. Ken and Koromaru showed up then. Koromaru was definitely larger and older, and as a result Akihiko was wary of bringing him back to the fighting. Ken looked so different now, a tall and handsome young man with a mop of scruffy brown hair atop his head. Last Akihiko heard, Ken was busy doing some pretty impressive college courses. Not surprising to anybody as, well, this was Ken. "Akihiko-san! Long time no see!".
Finally Yukari, Aigis and the recently revived Minato, I never take my hands out of my damn pockets, Arisato. Akihiko gave brief greetings to the two girls, deciding to focus most of his attention on his former leader who had miraculously come back from the dead. He wasn't willing to believe it until he saw it first hand but his leader was indeed alive, and his hands were indeed buried deep in his pockets. "It's...good to have you back, Minato" Akihiko spoke, not really sure what to say, as he shook his undead friends hand. "You too, Sanada-senpai" Minato replied, glad to see time had been kind to Akihiko.
Minato paused a moment, and looked around the lobby "I take the crew from Inaba aren't here yet?". Junpei gave a small snort "Well, duh...Hey, what do we actually know about these guys anyway?". The majority present shrugged in uncertainty. Mitsuru had been slightly vague on the details. "Well, I know Rise Kujikawa is a member of their group" Ken remarked, which earned oddly girlish squeels from Minato and Junpei "Risette? The Risette?" Minato asked enthusiastically "Oh man, I had such a crush on her when she was starting out" Junpei said, thinking back all those years. Aigis rolled her eyes before speaking up "One of them is a Shadow who gained a human personality". Minato's demeanour shifted suddenly to a more serious nature "Sounds like Ryoji...I hope that's only a coincidence tough...".
Minato stopped and looked over his shoulder, seeing the members of the Investigation Team enter. They were an intresting and mixed bunch, to say the least. SEES didn't seem much better on the surface either though. The two teams moved toward each other, offering greetings and handshakes, while Souji and Minato seemed to be silently sizing each other up. Yosuke leaned over and whispered to Kanji "Dude, something awesome's gonna' happen,just watch..." while Junpei leaned over and whispered to Akihiko "Geez, you think they're gonna start comparin' sizes or something?". After a lengthy, and somewhat tense, silence between the two old Wild Cards they gave eachother a handshake "Minato Arisato, how's it going?" "Souji Seta, heard alot about you". Yosuke facepalmed, Kanji gave a grunt in annoyance, Junpei gave a small laugh in disbelief and Akihiko just sort of...stared.
Now though, Souji was deep in thought. He remembered after his epic struggle with Margaret all those years ago, she mentioned the slumbering soul of a blue haired boy who sacrificed himself to save a world who had lost their joy in living. This man, standing before him, was the same figure Margaret alluded to? It was fascinating how intertwined their destinies were now...
Souji's thoughts were interrupted by the pinging of the elevator behind him. The door slid open, revealing Mitsuru, Fuuka and...an unknown woman who wore a few scars on her face which were partially covered by short black hair. "Oh my gosh...Rise Kujikawa!" Fuuka squeeled. Mitsuru ignored her co-workers fan girlish outburst and focused her attention on the gathered Persona-users "Ah, good to see you've all met. You'll have to get formally acquainted later I'm afraid, we're ready for you in the armoury...".
A/N: Huzzah, a new chapter. Sorry if I kept some of you waiting, suffered from a bout of writers block. Either way, even though this chapter is longer then the last few, I fear I'm making them too short. What do you all think?