Disclaimer: No seriously, guys. I don't own Persona. Stop asking.


Chapter 8

June 22nd

Grandfather's house was exactly like I remembered it. And when I say exactly, I mean exactly. It was large, warm, and somewhat stuffy. It was possible to get lost by just by daydreaming a bit as you walked down the halls. The furniture looked like it would fit better in a twentieth or even nineteenth century plantation home or some other extreme exaggeration such as that. There were really large portraits of the ancient members of the Shirogane family lining the walls in almost every corner, and their eyes seemed to follow you. In other words, it was creepy.

The room Naoto and I once shared was also very nearly perfect in my memory. Of course, it had gone from two young girls' bedroom, to one teenage 'boy's' room, so naturally, there had been some alterations. The tiny desks that used to occupy two opposite corners had been removed, and instead, a giant bookshelf slash desk wrapped around two walls. The two beds had been taken out as well. Now there was only one - I'd be staying in the guest room for the extent of my visit. The walls were still the same pale blue they had been, and the only light came from a floor lamp by the bed.

Currently, the two of us were lazily collapsed on her bed, the early morning light just beginning to seep in through the blinds. Case files spread between us in an unorganized heap. My young sister had finally crashed after pulling an all-nighter. It wouldn't be right for me to disturb her, so I let her sleep. Instead of being productive, I let my mind wander to last night, when I first arrived at the Shirogane 'Manor,' if that was the right word.

"Kasumi." The aged man scrutinized my face, not in a quizzical way, but very critically, as if he was taking in every noticeable flaw.

"Hey, Granddad." I never had one specific term I applied to my Grandfather, meaning I flitted between 'Granddad,' 'Grandpa,' 'Gramps,' and so on. He wasn't too fond of that last one.

My voice was completely level, or at least, that's what I was going for. I prayed it wouldn't crack, giving away my nervousness. I hadn't stepped in this house for three years. It was only natural to be a little frightened.

"It's been a while." He stated simply.

"Sure has." Was my equally simplistic reply. "Can't say I'm completely thrilled to be here, though."

Eyes narrowed, Granddad held out his hand for a handshake. I placed mine in his, unlike my greeting of Naoto, where I had been more than pleased to pull the girl into a bone-crushing hug.

"Naoto tells me you're continuing your education, is that correct?" He asked, releasing my hand.

"That's right, I-" But I was interrupted.

"That means I don't have to worry about sending you support checks every month, right?" Thinking that he sounded like we were a divorced couple, I shook my head.

"No, Grandpa, I'm out of your hair, so to speak." Not that those checks helped me much…

The aforementioned Naoto cleared her throat, sensing my discomfort at the subject. "Grandfather, my sister has had a long trip. Perhaps it's time for us to retire…?" 'My sister.' As if I wasn't his granddaughter. No, I wasn't. I was a blood relative of Naoto's – the perfect detective – and a nuisance, arrived only to take up space and eat his food for a short period of time. I felt a sense of bitterness rise in my throat.

A loud thud, followed quickly by a string of curses was what made snapped me out of my daydream. Peering over the edge of the bed, I saw my sister sprawled on the floor, swearing like a sailor. Her hat had been knocked off her head by the fall, her gray eyes glaring up at me.

"No, no, don't bother helping me. I've got it." She said, with more then a tad bit of sarcasm.

I laughed. "Would you like a hand, Nao, dearest?"

The girl just glared at me. "Not a word from you…"

After the detective had righted herself on the bed and straightened out the case files, she turned to me.

"So, what do you think of Rise Kujikawa as the next victim?" She asked me, fixing her hat on her head.

"Hmm… I think you're right about that. She fits the bill. She's gotten a bunch of news attention… Which is kind of the only qualification… But still, she fits it. Course of action?" I asked. "I can go out on the field, if you want. Do what I do best; snoop." Smiling, Naoto shrugged. "If you'd be willing, her family owns a tofu shop in the Shopping District, but do you want me to go with you?"

I thought this over. Noticing how tired my sister looked, I shook my head. "I can handle myself on this, you should catch up on your rest. Read a book or something."

"Ah, well… I would feel bad sending you out like that. I invited you here with the purpose that you help me on this case, and not get sent out to do field work while I 'read a book or something.'"

I wrinkled my nose, giving Naoto a slight push. "I think I'll be fine. I'll be back before the sun sets, and we can go over whatever information I find, 'kay?"

She looked like she was about to protest, but in the end just sighed. "Go on, then."

"YAY! It's Adventure Time!"


Adachi knew that when he'd been sent to a no-name town like Inaba, he'd be stuck doing some tedious jobs, but directing traffic? That was lower than low. That was hitting rock bottom and slipping into a crack. It pissed him off to no end, yet he still plastered that innocent, rookie look on his face as he continued to wave his orange wand.

"Huh? Mr. Detective? Did something happen?" Adachi gasped, spinning around in shock, to see the group of misfits, minus the girls, that have been hanging around the crime scenes recently. The one who had spoken was the spiky-haired brunette. What was his name? The detective couldn't remember and didn't care.

"Oh, it's you guys." He said flatly. "Ai yi yi… These gawkers keep streaming in with their cars, trying to park in the middle of the shopping district."

The taller, more muscular of the two snowy haired boys piped up, looking rather intimidating in his skin tight tank top and skull tattoo. "Why's that?"

"Didn't you hear? Rise Kujikawa's here. Hey, did you guys see her already? Is she there? Which is it?" Adachi wasn't even sure himself what he was prattling about, so he knew full well that the teenagers would too be thoroughly confused.

The scarier boy spoke again, "Huh…? We're askin' why a plainclothes detective is here doing traffic control."

Adachi cleared his throat, the fear of decapitation, mutilation, death at the delinquent's hands making it hard to speak. "Oh… Uh, well… The Inaba Police Department isn't that big, and we don't have enough staff… Well, I still have work to do, so I'll see you later." With a wave, the 'plainclothes detective' took off, ignoring the fact that he had just abandoned his post, and was most likely going to be in a world of trouble. Anything was better than being around that horrifying boy.

"Eep, oh crap, sorry!" Lost in his own fears, Adachi almost didn't notice it when he ran into the girl. Bright green eyes met his own.

"Oh, no, it's my fault. I'm sorry." He apologized, stuttering, as he looked at the girl he had run over. The violet haired girl just shrugged.

"Whatever, no harm done. …Are you supposed to be directing traffic?" She asked, pointing to the orange traffic wand he still clutched.

"I'm… off duty currently." He lied, not wanting to admit that he had fled in fear from a first year student.

The girl snorted, glancing out into the chaotic streets. "Well, looks to me like you're needed out there, Sir Traffic Cop."

Traffic Cop? I'm no Traffic Cop! I'm a detective, dammit!

Continuing, the girl obviously didn't notice the detective's annoyance. "Well, anyway…" She started to leave, but Adachi stopped her.

"Wait, I haven't see you around here before, and it's a pretty small town… You'd think that…"

"You'd recognize me? Haha, you'd think that… No, actually, I'm a figment of your imagination… Wait, no, that's not right. I'm just on a business trip, per say. Don't worry about me."

Before the cop could interrogate her any more, the violet haired girl had disappeared.


"Damn, I should have left it with the whole 'figment of your imagination' thing. That would have been awesome." I hummed slightly as I skipped to the tofu shop. Yes, I did skip. I firmly believe that no day is complete without your healthy dose of insanity. I passed a group of three boys; one of whom had looks enough to scare even the bravest soul. They look strangely familiar. They were standing outside the shop, discussing different varieties of tofu for reasons unfathomable as I made my way inside.

I had not taken three steps before my phone began ringing. It wasn't Naoto's ringtone, and the Caller ID didn't show anyone familiar, so it was with some hesitance that I flipped it open and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?" I asked, walking to a tiny table just inside the shop.

"Shirogane."

"Oh… Um… H- Hi, Mitsuru. Has anyone ever told you that you have the most superb timing? Really."

"My timing? If you want to discuss timing, so we shall discuss it." I swallowed nervously. This didn't seem like a friendly call from the Kirijo. "You decided to leave town when we have precisely fifteen days left until the next full moon, when you have next to no training in combat, and on top of that, you're missing school." So the lecture continued. I was half tempted to just put the phone down and let her ramble to air, but I figured that would only create more problems then it solved. Instead, I listened with half my attention as my eyes wandered around the clean shop.

As Mitsuru lectured, the three boys from outside entered, engaging in a discussion with a young woman at the counter. On closer inspection, the woman appeared to be the one and only 'Risette.'

"Heh, what's in a name?" I quoted the play I so despised as I gazed at the girl who looked like anything a pop idol. She just looked tired with her hair in a rag, and a stained apron donning her body.

"Pardon?" Mitsuru's voice crackled.

"Oh, nothing… Nothing… Continue. You were discussing my irresponsibility."

"…There's extra tofu in there for everyone… A little thank you for worrying about me."

"Whoa, seriously? Thanks!"

"Yosuke-senpai, you can't eat tofu, right? Want me to take yours?"

"Hell no! I always eat what people give me!"

I looked up sharply. The trio had left.

Then I recognized them.

"Damn it all!" I snapped, before realizing that I was still on the phone with the Kirijo.

"Excuse me!"

"Oh, no, not you! Suspects! Victim! Rise! Death! I have to let you go, I'm sorry!" Snapping the phone shut, I was about to leap from the counter when yet again the door swung open.

Detective instinct kicking in, I ducked down underneath my table.

Yeah, real subtle, Kasumi.

Two official looking men entered, and I recognized one as the Traffic Cop from earlier. The other looked older, and had a tired expression in his eyes; similar to the one I had seen in my sister's.

There wasn't too much conversation to be heard of. They made their purchases and turned to leave, before the older man stopped.

"Uh, hang on a second. Sorry, but there's some things I'd like to ask you. You do know that there have been multiple violent cases around here lately, yeah? Have you seen anyone suspicious around?" So they were working on the Murder cases, huh? Then I was right to snoop on this dusty ground.

The pop idol shrugged, and in a flat voice said, "Not really. It's been like always."

"Like always… Well, you're an idol, so I imagine you deal with folks like fans, paparazzi and stalkers quite often. What made you take a break from showbiz?"
What? Who cares about that? Discuss the case! Throw me a bone, here! I'm hiding on the tile floor for this, jeez!

"Does it really matter? …I just needed a rest." Rise said simply, sounding defeated.

"And have you registered for school?"

I was starting to tune out this completely irrelevant chatter until I heard something of interest.

"I don't mean to alarm you… But…You do have some things in common with the recent victims. That's why… Well…" So. The police force was catching up with Naoto's deductions at last. She had told me that they had been a little slow at the get-go.

"I might be kidnapped, right? I've been told before. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

The detective I had run into earlier blinked his catlike eyes. "Huh…? Someone already told you?"

The tired idol nodded. "It was three guys. They were wearing uniforms, so I think they're high school students…" Those three kids had warned her?

"Did one of them happen to look…? How do I put it…? Did he look something like a gang member?" The older asked.

Rise contemplated this while the younger detective chimed in with, "Wait, you think it was your nephew and his friends?"

The older man hesitated, and I silently wished that I had something to record this with. "Something smells here. The recent disappearances… Between those and the two homicides, there's too many questions with no answers. To tell the truth, I followed my detective's intuition and came here to warn her. How could high school kids who know less than we do beat us to the punch…? Were they just making up an excuse to talk to a famous celebrity…? Or…"

Yes, how indeed. High school students… Could Naoto be right in her suspicions about the seemingly innocent students? But… Rise said they had come to warn her. What criminal in their right mind waltz's up to their next victim and says, "Hey, I'm going to kidnap you next Thursday. So be on the lookout for someone suspicious." Honestly.

I heard the rookie mention something about the Prefectural police coming soon, and knew they meant the people Naoto worked with. My sister wasn't officially assigned to the case yet, but I knew that they wouldn't think twice about signing the Junior Detective on immediately if they didn't think the Police Department was up to snuff. Those Prefecturals didn't screw around.

After the detective had left, and the idol was busy with her tofu, I figured it was safe for me to make a hasty retreat, and head back to Grandfather's house. It was getting dark, after all.


"The Police Department's caught up to your deductions, your suspects warned the next victim about her possible abduction, and I didn't get any tofu from that trip." I announced, plopping down on Naoto's bed.

"You don't like tofu, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Right."

"Now, repeat what you just said, but slower, and give me details."


Again, the rain came down in sheets, and the Seta boy peered out his window. The clock was ticking towards Midnight in a steady rhythm, matching with his heartbeat.

Click. Click. Click.

Thu-thump. Thu-thump. Thu-Thump.

That was the only noise in the room as Souji approached his TV. He had done this last night, too. He was used to the routine. His own reflection quickly contorted, becoming a fuzzy video of the same girl in the same swimsuit. It was easier to make out this time, and beyond a shadow of a doubt, Souji knew it was Rise Kujikawa. He glanced down at his phone, considering calling Yosuke.

He didn't have to ponder that for long, because the sleek device immediately started ringing.

"…Hello." He said into the receiver.

"Hey! We were right about it being Rise Kujikawa! The one on tonight seemed a lot creepier than the real Rise, but you could see her face clearly. There's no mistake.

Let's all get together as soon as possible tomorrow!"

Souji hung up on his friend after a quiet mutter of agreement.

He knew he should get some sleep for tomorrow, yet he felt that somewhere near his own home, another event was occurring, with just as much significance as this 'Midnight Channel.' He felt that these events weren't the only ones to be concerned with, and that somewhere, another boy was struggling with his own destiny.

That nagging thought kept the boy awake.


Minato wasn't fond of dreams.

They were exhausting, for one, keeping him from getting the decent rest he felt he deserved with all the crap he was put through.
Another, and maybe more valid reason, for the blue-haired boy's detest of dreams was that recently, they were dreams of events that were happening currently.

Just take now for example. The minute he closed his eyes, he found himself standing in the back alley of Tatsumi Port Island Station. It was the Dark Hour, and the crescent moon hung overhead like a green scratch in the inky black sky. Scattered around were coffins, and inside each coffin was some member of the dregs of society. Without warning, one of the victims of the Dark Hour retained his original shape, awakening from his Transmogrification. Minato was confused. Could people do that?

The teenager, though, was probably more confused. "…Huh… How the heck did I- What the hell is this?"

A cold voice rang out along with the sound of footsteps. "Good evening…" Three strange people appeared. And strange was probably an understatement. The first, the one who had spoken, seemed almost albino. He was almost deathly pale, with curly white hair that fell down past his shoulders. His golden eyes, however, ruined that image of an albino. He was shirtless, exposing several odd tattoos on his bare shoulders. The other boy was probably opposite. In contrast to the other's lack of color, he made up for it in plenty. His hair couldn't be described as blue, when you had Minato to compare it to, but it was an interesting hue. He also wore a neon green jacket, and blue square glasses. In one hand, he clutched a briefcase. The last member of this group was a girl. She wore a gothic style dress made of starch white fabric, and had electric red, straight hair that could have rivaled Mitsuru's.

As per norm, they walked right past Minato, as he was dreaming, when they approached the trembling teenager.

"Are you surprised?" The one who resembled an albino asked. He seemed to be the spokes person of the group. "Truth be told, we all visit this world every night."

"Wh- What are you saying? Who the hell are you?"

The boy in green stepped up. "Didn't mommy teach you any manners? You haven't introduced yourself…" He pulled out a paper from his briefcase, and Minato found himself inching forward to read the small print. "Take a look… Name, address, etcetera. This is you, right?"

The teen looked horrified. "Wha-? Where'd you get this?"

The boy pushed his glasses up, causing them to glint eerily. "Someone's got a grudge against you, and they asked us to get revenge."

"Revenge? What kind of bullshit is this? Who put you up to this?"

"Can't tell ya. We're professionals."

"'Professionals…?' Oh shit! You mean the rumors on the net are true?"

The pale, older, and obvious leader of the group stepped up, closing the distance between himself and the trembling boy before him.

He pulled out a gun.

Minato's eyes widened ever so slightly, the only way he showed his surprise. Civilians weren't supposed to have guns, so where'd he get his?

"H- Hey, wait! I haven't done anything!"

The pale man took another step forward.

"Tell me! What'd I do?"

"That is not our concern." He said in a cold voice. "Your notion of right and wrong is irrelevant. My client's wishes are all that matter. People hear what they choose to hear, and believe what they choose to believe." He raised his weapon.

"N- No! Stay away! Don't get near me!" The teen took off running.

He cocked the hammer. "You squeal so magnificently! Such raw emotion!"

He fired.

The girl in the dress took her place at his side. In a voice that was devoid of any life, she stated a simple fact. "He's not dead."

The last remaining member of the group shrugged. "Doesn't matter...we've held up our end of the bargain. Besides, tomorrow this will seem like some random crime."
"If there's nothing else…" The pale man stretched. "I'm feeling rather tired."

The trio walked off, and Minato's dream ended.


~~Author's Note~~

Guess who's not dead? ME! And without the help of the Slave Whip, I posted a chapter... . You know who you are.

High School sucks, doesn't it?

I have Junior Olympic Qualifiers coming up, meaning I'm going to be more concerned about honing my Saber skills rather than posting here, sorry. I'll do my best.

I like this chapter, honestly. It's got Kasumi, Adachi, Souji, and Minato POV's! YAY~~! If you haven't caught on, I like multiple POV's. It helps me get across the message and relay important scenes. Because honestly, how was I going to squeeze Kasumi into the Midnight Channel and Dark Hour Scene?

Jeez, a lot happens on the 22nd of June in both games. I thought I'd be able to get in the 23rd, too, but then Strega had to come along and be all like, "We make an appearance. Write it." So I made it Minato's dream.

EVERYONE. I reached 20 reviews. THIS IS A BIG DEAL, SO WE'RE GOING TO CELEBRATE. I'm having a Persona Dance Party right now! So everyone grab a partner in SEES or the IT and go crazy!

Kasumi: Minato's MINE. HISS…

My brother was Minato for Halloween…

I'm done now. Until next time!