~~Author's Note~~

I'm terrified to write this chapter.

If it turns out horrible, just re-write it in your minds. Imagine that I don't suck.


Chapter 22

September 12th

Green eyes opened slowly at the incessant ringing of an alarm clock. A pale hand slid out from under the covers, reaching for the source of the offending noise. Once the obnoxious noise was silenced, the girl slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She moved as though in slow motion as she dragged herself out of bed – not unusual for the girl. She wasn't a morning person, after all.

She froze momentarily as her gaze rested upon her calendar. The date – September 12th – was circled in red marker, 'BIRTHDAY' written in bold lettering across it. All previous grogginess melted away instantly, and she rushed to get dressed, a huge smile blossoming across her face. She ran a brush through her tangled violet hair - noting that it was finally starting to recover from an unfortunate scissor accident earlier that year – before racing out of her room.

Sliding down the banister like some kind of cool-kid, she sprinted into the kitchen. Her sock-clad feet caused her to skid dramatically to a stop inches away from the counter where her grandfather and sister sat.

"Goooooooood morning!" She said excitedly, sitting down next to the blue-haired girl. The two family members returned a curt greeting. "So what're we gonna do today?"

The older man glanced at her briefly before returning to the case files scattered in front of him. "We're going to be working." Emphasizing the 'we're', he nodded to Naoto.

"Yeah, a huge case just came in. Look, three jewelry stores were hit in the past month alone, and the thief always leaves behin—"

Kasumi interrupted with a heavy sigh. All traces of her good mood evaporated instantly as her shoulders sagged. "You both forgot again, didn't you." It wasn't a question. Since the day a few years ago that Naoto started working as a kid-detective, her family started paying less and less attention to her. They weren't abusive or negligent, really. She still got fed, taken to school, and given new clothes to wear. However, dinner conversations became about work, Naoto spent more time in her Grandpa's study than she did in the library with her sister, and for the past several years, they forgot the day Kasumi Shirogane was born.

Her sister looked up sharply. "Kas—"

"Of course you did. Why would I think any differently? I mean, my thirteenth birthday isn't as important as a jewel thief, I guess, but… Still." Before anyone could respond, she rose from the table, and, lacking the energy she had moments before, she slunk back upstairs.

She slammed her bedroom door with more force than necessary. With tears pricking the corner of her eyes, she collapsed face-first onto her bed.

Minutes passed in total silence, apart from Kasumi's occasional sniffles as she tried her best not to cry. A few moments later, there was a soft knock on the door. She rolled over on her side, facing away from the entry. "Go away."

"Kasumi, let me in." The younger sibling let out a sigh. "I want to apologize."

"Then do it from out there!"

"You realize that's my room, too."

"…" There was silence for a moment, and then the door creaked open slightly. Green eyes glared at gray before Kasumi shuffled back to her previous place on the bed. Naoto entered slowly and shut the door behind her. She stood awkwardly at the bed's side, rubbing her arm.

"Look, Kas… I really am sorry. It's just… I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to really think of anything else…"

The older sibling snorted. "Yeah. I noticed."

"Kasum—"

"You've been 'too busy' for four years, Nao." She sat up stiffly to face her sister. "And look. I know it's not really your fault that Grampa likes you more. You're the perfect little detective, and I'm the slacker that watches anime and hacks into his computer. It's my fault, but that doesn't mean… That doesn't mean you two can just forget about me!"

"I haven't forgotten about you!"

"Yeah? Sure looks like it from where I'm standing! When's the last time we hung out, huh? When's the last time we celebrated my birthday?!"

Naoto balled her hands into fists, getting angry as her sister's temper rose. "Would you stop trying to play the victim? Stop acting like I've got the perfect life, because I don't!"

The purple-haired girl had slid to her feet and was now glaring down at the shorter girl. "Playing the victim? I don't exactly have to pretend! You're the one literally everyone adores!"

"Do you honestly believe that's true?! I know you're not an idiot, Kasumi, so why don't you use your brain for once?"

"Why don't you suck up your pride and admit you're wrong?!"

Both were shouting now, and both looked almost ready to cry. The two had never really fought before. "I did! I came here to apologize! You're the one that attacked me!"

"Ugh! That's right! It's my fault again! You're impossible. You know what? Fine! You can stay here and play detective with Gramps all you want. I'm DONE WITH IT."

With a hurt gasp, Naoto spun on her heel. She barged out of the room without another word, slamming the door shut as she did.

Once she left, Kasumi let her tears fall. She screamed, kicked the bed, threw pillows, but nothing made her feel better.

About ten minutes after the fight, the bedroom door opened once more, and her grandfather entered the room.

"You here to yell at me, too?"

He sighed. "Kasumi, I know you're upset, but—"

"Yeah? But what?" She interrupted with a glare.

"You've really hurt Naoto's feelings. You need to apologize to her."

"…You're joking, right? I need to apologize to her?" Laughing bitterly, she turned away from the older man. "It's her fault."

"You know that isn't true. Naoto has been under a lot of stress lately, and she doesn't need her sister yelling at her for something that wasn't her fault."

She groaned. "Naoto this! Naoto that! Naoto's a delicate angel that I must protect at all costs! I'm here, too! I exist, too, damn it! Why don't you just say it? She's the favorite child, and I'm a nuisance. I get it already! And you know what? I'm done!" He tried to stop her tirade, but the teen wasn't having it. She was going to vent four years of suppressed feelings, and nothing was going to stop her. "I hate being the redheaded stepchild of the house. I hate being ignored, and I hate being told to be 'more like my sister!' Because I'm not my sister and I never will be! So I'm done! I'm leaving! I'd rather live on my own than live with people who can't be bothered to remember their own family's birthday! I'll live on the streets if I have to! Anywhere would be better than here!"


I opened my eyes with a groan, staring up blankly at my ceiling. "Happy Birthday to me." Struggling out of bed, I wiped the sleep out of my eyes. Something told me that today was going to be a miserable day, like every other September 12th had been.

To be fair, I was the only once responsible for ruining my day, but I couldn't help the bad mood I was always put in. The fight between Naoto and myself was behind us. Today was the three-year anniversary*, after all, and we'd since let it go. That doesn't mean I felt any better about that day, though. Running away from home was the single worst experience in my life. It had been difficult financially - even with the money I 'borrowed' from my grandpa - and emotionally.

"Ah, well. Might as well get today over with…"


A loud crash was heard throughout the entire dormitory, followed by several muffled curse words. Shinjiro, the only occupant of the lounge at the moment, looked up curiously. He glanced at the kitchen for a moment before shrugging and going back to his magazine.

"Agh, dammit! Why is boiling water so damn hot?!"

The senior recognized Kasumi's voice and frowned. What was she doing with boiling water? He made his way over to the kitchen, where a flour-covered, flustered Kasumi stood in a mess of cake batter. By the looks of things, she'd spilled whatever she'd been trying to bake.

"Oh! Shinjiro-senpai! Sorry, sorry. I'll clean all this up!" Her eyes widened in terror, and Shinjiro remembered what Minato had told him – that she thought he would kill her. He rolled his eyes at that.

"Go clean yourself first."

"Huh? Oh, yeah… Probably would be a good idea…"

When the girl vanished into the bathroom, Shinjiro turned his attention to the mess in front of him. He rolled his eyes again, and set to work wiping up the chocolate disaster.

A piece of paper caught his eye as he scrubbed the gooey batter off the counter. It was a recipe for a chocolate birthday cake.

He raised an eyebrow at that.


It took longer than I expected to wash the flour out of my hair. By the time I returned to the kitchen, it was already spotless, and Shinjiro was nowhere to be seen.

'Great,' I thought dully, 'now he's going to hate me even more for not helping.'

I sighed for what was probably the millionth time since I woke up. Why did I even think baking that dumb cake was a good idea? Right, because I'm a child who hasn't had a not-store bought birthday cake in years. I felt like crying, or screaming, or doing a combination of the two.

Desperate to take my mind off my depressing thoughts, I fled the dorm. I didn't really have a destination in mind, figuring I could just wander the town until I found something I wanted to do.

The sun was setting by the time I returned home. In the end, I had decided to mope around the shrine all day; a rather boring use of my time, but whatever. The sooner the day ended, the better.

When I entered the lounge, I was surprised to find everyone gathered around the dining table, chatting happily. Even Junpei wore a smile, apparently feeling better about the whole 'Chidori' thing. A delicious, chocolate-y smell permeated the room as well.

At my entrance, everyone turned to face me.

"Heeey, Kasumi-tan!" Junpei waved me over. I blinked, still trying to process what I was seeing. "We were about to start without ya!"

"I… What? Start… what, exactly?"

"Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday, Kasumi-chan?" Fuuka asked, and I nearly choked.

I whipped my head around, staring at everyone in the room in complete shock. "Wh-wh-what? How did you know?"

Chuckling, Mitsuru turned to me. "You can thank Shinjiro for that. He even prepared the cake."

And that's when I noticed the chocolate cake – the same kind I failed to create earlier – sitting in the center of the table. More importantly than that, though, was the senior that still had his back to me.

Shinjiro-senpai threw me a birthday party. Well, I guess it wasn't really a party, but still. Shinjiro Aragaki made me a birthday cake and gathered all of my friends. At that point, my brain was struggling to process all that was happening.

Without thinking, I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around the beanie-wearing boy. "Thank you so much!" Tears threatened to spill, but I somehow kept from crying. How embarrassing would that be?

"No big deal…" He mumbled, and sounded almost embarrassed. Weird.

Minato caught my gaze as I sat down, and gave me a small smirk. Something like 'I told you he didn't want to kill you.'


It was almost midnight, and I still wasn't asleep. I still had a dumb smile plastered on my face. For the first time in years, I had fun on my birthday, all thanks to Shinjiro. Maybe I could befriend him, after all.

Right as I was drifting off, my phone buzzed on my nightstand. I sat up groggily and grabbed it.

Three messages from Naoto Shirogane.

"Happy Birthday, Kasumi."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about me."


September 13th

Naoto was determined.

She'd finally figured out how to solve the case, and nothing was going to stop her. She knew that if her sister figured out her plan, there would be hell to pay, and yet she was confident. For whatever reason, she decided to place her trust in Souji Seta. She was putting her life in his hands.

If the pattern held true, Naoto would be targeted after that little stunt she pulled on the television. She needed to know if the killer was still at large, and this was the only way.

"Good morning." She glanced up when the group of teens she'd been waiting for appeared. Souji and four of his friends stood in front of her. "I've been waiting for you all. There's something I need to discuss with you regarding the case."

Yosuke, who always seemed to do the talking, answered her first. "Discuss? Dude, we'll be late if we talk too long… Hey, where's your uniform?"

She took a small breath, trying to steady her ever-increasing nerves. It wouldn't do her any good to chicken out now. "Could you please indulge my current theory on the matter?"

"What is it…?"

"First, as regards commonalities between the victims, all of them were kidnapped before they were murdered. The victims were all locals who had been the focus of recent media attention, becoming suddenly well-known… That is the most likely scenario. I don't believe there's anything intrinsically unique about the victims themselves." Staring them down, she frowned. "…Haven't you all come to the same conclusion?"

Souji nodded. "Yeah, we did."

"Then, allow me to state my point. Will you admit that a number of you fit these identical circumstances? There was a long interval between the second and third deaths in this case. But after I applied the aforementioned criteria, I discovered several similar disappearances had taken place. Yukiko Amagi. Kanji Tatsumi. Rise Kujikawa. All of you disappeared shortly after being shown on TV… Either you escaped death somehow, or you faked your own disappearances in order to divert attention from yourselves… Since some of you had ties to the victims, there came a point where I suspected one of you must be the culprit."

The brunette, Chie, spoke up with indignation. "You thought one of us was the killer?! You can't be serious!"

"This was a prior theory, since discarded. Putting together everything I've learned until this moment, I believe exactly the opposite. You aren't the culprits. You may, in fact, be the only ones with the means to pursue the true perpetrator… Seen as a joining of forces between the rescued, everything falls into place. …Of course, this is all speculation. There is in fact a flaw in the theory. It doesn't account for the third incident… Mr. Morooka's murder. He has never been broadcast on television, and neither did he ever disappear. We must also consider the condition of his corpse. The first two victims are still listed with an unknown cause of death… But Mr. Morooka died of an easily identifiable blunt force trauma to the occipital cranium." Naoto turned away from the group, a barely noticeable scowl appearing on her face. "The police have not satisfactorily resolved this discrepancy, yet they are desperate to close the case. Further action will be necessary to obtain some sort of decisive evidence."

"What do you mean?" One of them asked, but Naoto had no intention of answering.

"Well, whatever the outcome… the evidence should come to light." She began to walk away, speaking one last phrase over her shoulder. "…You said something interesting to me not long ago. This is not a game for me, either…"


September 15th

I sprawled out on the loveseat in the dorm, lazily watching the weather with the other juniors. Minato was on the chair opposite mine, Yukari and Fuuka sat on one couch, Junpei lay on the other, and Aigis stood behind Minato's chair. The news anchor kept going on and on about the typhoon that was slowly approaching Port Island, Junpei was cracking ridiculous jokes, which we had to explain to Aigis… Everything was peaceful and normal. There had been plans to go to Tartarus, but we'd gone yesterday, and no one really felt like it. So, we were doing nothing.

The peacefulness was interrupted by my cell phone's ringtone. I sighed and dug it out of my pocket, answering without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Kasumi." I stiffened at the sound of that voice, one that brought back several unpleasant memories.

"Grandpa? Well, this is a first. What's up?" Standing up so as to not disrupt my friends, I walked towards the door.

"Has Naoto spoken to you since yesterday morning?"

I frowned at that. Not surprisingly, he'd called to discuss Naoto. However, his tone worried me. He seemed almost frantic. "Um, no. I haven't heard from her. Why?"

There was silence on the other end for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"…Gramps?"

"She's disappeared."


"Good evening, everyone. I am the Detective Prince, Naoto Shirogane!" Golden eyes widened almost manically. The person gestured around the laboratory with a smirk, the sleeves of their over-large lab coat waving away. "Welcome to 'Experiment of the Century: The Genome Project.' I will be experimenter and experimentee both in a forbidden yet wonderful bodily alteration process!" Their vile smirk twisted into an ecstatic, wicked grin. "You shall witness my departure into a new realm… The moment of a new birth! From the chosen day forth, I shall walk a completely different path in life…! And I will share this glorious occasion, this memorable day, with all of you!"

The smirk was back as they narrowed their gold eyes, staring directly at the viewer. "Do stay tuned."

Souji sighed once the television went dark. "What has he gotten himself into?"


I nearly dropped the phone. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Time seemed to slow down as my grandfather continued talking, explaining that she hadn't been home since yesterday, and she wasn't answering her cell phone. The police hadn't seen her either.

I hung up without so much as a goodbye, desperately punching in Naoto's number. It rung once…

Twice…

On the third ring, her voicemail answered.

It was as though someone had pressed mute on my world. I couldn't hear anyone. I stared at the last text message Naoto had sent me a couple of days ago.

"Don't worry about me." At the time, I had thought it was strange, but didn't think anything was up when she didn't answer me back. How could I be so stupid? I should've known something was wrong.

My phone slipped from my grasp, clattering to the ground with a dull thud.

Finally, I registered the voices of my friends. "…Kasumi…? What's wrong?"

I stared, wide-eyed at them for a brief moment, barely shaking my head. "I… have to go…"


"Kasumi!" Yukari gasped.

Minato stood up when the girl dashed out of the dorm. He followed her out quickly, grabbing her wrist. She turned around to glare at him, and he realized with a jolt that there were tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were frantic.

"Let me go!" He didn't budge, staring at her without a word. "Please… It's Naoto…"

That got his attention, and his grip lessened slightly. He tilted his head in a curious motion.

"She's missing, Minato! They can't find her anywhere, and she's not answering her phone, and…" She seemed to realize something, as she began shaking even more. "That dumbass! She was so upset about the case, and I didn't even realize… She's using herself as bait, to prove that the murders are still happening! 'Don't worry about me.' That's why she sent me that… I have to go, Minato. Please."

"Tomorrow. I'll go with you."

"…Thank you."


September 16th

"The police in this town are damn useless."

"Kasumi. Calm down."

I glared at the boy next to me, about to make some angry comment, but I just sighed. I didn't have the energy to be angry at anyone – especially not Minato. "…Mitsuru is going to be angry at us for skipping school, you know."

He shook his head. "They were going to cancel."

"Oh yeah… The typhoon. Guess it was lucky timing for us, then…" Shoving my hands in my sweatshirt pocket, I sighed. "We should head back for today, I guess… Start again tomorrow."


September 17th

We were walking around the Shopping District again, asking anyone we could about Naoto, but so far, nothing… Not even the police had anything to offer us.

"This is hopeless…" A hand on my shoulder made me jump.

"Don't worry." Minato wore his usual blank expression, but his voice seemed almost warm. I cracked a small smile.

"Yeah…"

At that moment, someone cleared their throat behind us. We turned around, only to come face-to-face with the famous Souji. He tilted his head slightly in greeting. "Hey."

Glancing at Minato briefly, I turned back to him. "Um. Hey?" The boy behind me stiffened, and he seemed almost upset. Weird.

The two stared at each other for a moment while I waited for someone to speak up. Finally, Souji turned back to me. "You're Naoto Shirogane's sister, right?"

"Yeah? S-He's my brother. And you're his friend from school."

His mouth formed a small smirk. "'Friend' might be pushing it. He's hard to get close to."

Chuckling, I nodded. "You're tellin' me. …Do you know where he is?"

There was a small moment of hesitation. "…No."

"You're lying." Minato's cold voice startled me. He continued to stare blankly at Souji with that same attitude about him.

"And what makes you say that?" Crossing his arms, gray-haired boy matched Mina-kun's cold exterior.

I fidgeted nervously, not comfortable with the tension suddenly appearing in the air. "Ladies, please, you're both pretty…"


Souji didn't know why he felt uneasy around the male Gekkoukan student. Sure, he was quiet and withdrawn, but they were alike in that regard. The incident in the Velvet Room was still bothering him, though. Why was he there? What was he hiding? And why did he keep showing up?

"You know something." When Minato accused him of that, he couldn't say he was surprised. Apparently, the suspicious feeling was mutual.

"Your reasoning?"

The girl, Kasumi, frowned and asked her friend, "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

He turned to her. "Remember the club?"

At that, her eyes widened. "That's right… Then could…" After mumbling to herself for a moment, she turned to gaze evenly at Souji. Her green eyes sparked with a determination that reminded him of Naoto.

"Mister Seta. If you know anything about my brother, I'm begging you to tell me the truth."

He sighed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "We're trying to find him."

"Then you have some idea what happened to him?"

"…Well. Yes."

She raised an eyebrow. "Weeeell?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "Try us."

"…Follow me."


I stared curiously at all the people gathered around the table. Souji had escorted us to the food court without so much as an explanation, and had us join his friends. After a few greetings, Rise Kujikawa was the first to speak up.

"Um, so… We're trying to find Naoto-kun, but… I need to know more about him to do so. Do you think you could tell us, Kasumi-senpai?"

"Senpai…?" I grinned at the honorific. "Um, well… Naoto's always been stubborn about cases. He won't let it go until he's satisfied with the answer… Which is probably why he allowed himself to be kidnapped… And… He hates it when people look down on him. He can't take a joke, and he's a really caring individual once you get passed the stoic robot attitude… Is that enough?"

Rise smiled brightly at me. "Yes, thank you! I think I have a clear picture now. We should get going, Senpai." She said that to Souji, and he nodded, standing up. The other Yasogami students rose as well.

"Don't worry. We'll bring your brother back safely."

It took me a second to realize they were just going to leave us. "Whoa, hold on a second! You're taking us with you! There's no way I'm letting you guys go play the hero while we sit here and twiddle our thumbs!"

The kids glanced at each other nervously, and then turned back to us.

"Uh, yeah, that's probably not the best idea." Yosuke muttered. "Besides, you guys don't have any weapons—"

"Who says?" I pulled out the two slender objects wrapped in cloth that I had stored in my messenger bag. It had been Minato's idea to bring our swords and Evokers, saying it was better to be prepared. I included our armor and SEES armband as well, cramming them all in the bag. The swords kinda poked out the top, but they weren't that obvious.

The others were shocked, to say the least – with the exception of Souji, who just arched an eyebrow.

Yosuke stuttered awkwardly, "W-w-well, you don't have glasses, either, sooo…"

"Why would that matter—"

"Wait just a second, Yosuke-kun!" The blond-haired Teddie interrupted. "I always keep few spares lying around, just in case one of you breaks yours!"

Chie hummed in appreciation. "That's awfully smart of you, Ted."

"Yep! Sensei thought it was a good idea!"

I clapped my hands. "Then I guess you don't have an excuse! Onward, then!"

"Wai—"

Shaking his head, Minato stated matter-of-factly, "She's just going to follow you."

"Guess we have no choice, then, huh partner…?" Yosuke sighed. "This is going to go so wrong."


I glanced at Minato, and then back at the television in front of us. We had changed into our battle gear – which consisted of armor under our school uniforms – and had our SEES bands around our arms. We were ready for anything.

Except maybe being told to jump in a TV.

Sure, I'd heard what the pseudo-drunk Yukiko had told us earlier, but that didn't change the fact that it was absolutely ridiculous.

Souji had told us to get ready, and then meet him here. The others were nowhere to be found. I half expected him to ditch us here, to be honest.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be, I guess." I tightened my grip on my bag. Minato just nodded.

"Good." The next few seconds were a blur. The gray-haired boy grabbed my arm, pulled me forward, and suddenly, I was falling forward. I expected to hit the ground almost immediately, but we kept falling for at least thirty seconds. The world around me was so blurred, I couldn't tell where I was exactly.

When we hit the ground, I went sprawling forward, unprepared for the sudden impact. Minato and Souji, however, remained standing. Souji helped me stand, and I looked around in awe.

"Whoa. We actually fell through the TV…" All around us was thick fog, so thick in fact, that I could barely make out anything apart from odd structures rising around us and an odd pattern on the floor.

"Oh yeah! Here are you glasses, Kas-chan!"

I nearly fell over in shock when an animated stuffed teddy bear waved a pair of glasses in front of my face. Because of the fog, I hadn't seen the strange thing approach. The voice was familiar, though. "Uh… Teddie?"

"That's right! What do you think of my adorable true form, Kas-chan?"

Blinking, I took the glasses from his… paw. "Kas-chan…?" Once I put on the silver-framed eyewear, the world instantly cleared. The fog practically disappeared. "Wow! I can see why you said these were necessary!"

"And one for you, Minato-kun!" Teddie passed a blue pair to Minato, who seemed only mildly impressed by them, and not at all surprised by the bear costume.

"All right!" Rise pulled a determined face. "I'm gonna scan for Naoto-kun. It won't take me long, so be ready to follow me."

I realized what she was going to do moments before it happened. The word 'scan' tipped me off immediately, not to mention the fact that they'd mentioned Personas before.

Her Persona must've had the same abilities as Fuuka's, but instead of completely encasing her, the shape of the woman merely covered her eyes with a visor.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Souji watching us, apparently gauging our reaction. When we didn't freak the hell out, his eyes widened curiously.

"I found him!"


The trip through the Television World was certainly strange. However, it was not unlike wandering around Tartarus. Excluding the fog, both places felt exactly the same to me. The feeling of constantly being watched was there, along with the constant weight on your chest and feeling of impending danger.

We arrived at what looked like some kind of bunker, surrounded by trees like a secret base. The place somehow reminded me of Naoto.

"What is this place…?" Kanji looked around in wonder.

"It's all sci-fi…" said Yosuke, "Heyyy, doesn't it remind you of those secret hideouts in live action shows?"

"Oh yeah…"

The kids went of on a mini-tangent about science fiction and underground bases, while Minato and I watched on.

After a second, I cleared my throat to get their attention. "So, Naoto's in there?"

"Uh, that's right… But it's probably best if you wait out here."

I ignored Yosuke's 'advice' and marched up to the entrance. "Well? What are you waiting for, an invitation?"

Everyone stepped inside, although they looked like they had their doubts.

The moment we stepped foot inside the base, a metallic voice blared at us through invisible speakers.

"UNKNOWN INTRUDER DETECTED INSIDE FACILITY. THREAT LEVEL: YELLOW. DEPLOYING GUARDS INSIDE FACILITY. WARNING! WARNING! ATTENTION INTRUDERS! LEAVE THE FACILITY IMMEDIATELY! I REPEAT: LEAVE THE FACILITY IMMEDIATELY!"

"Intruders? When it says 'guards'…" I trailed off as something creeping along the hallway towards us caught my attention. It's shape was shockingly familiar. A Shadow.

"Kasumi, be careful!"

The thing initiated combat before I could blink.

I'd seen Shadows that looked exactly like this one wandering around Tartarus. It was a Constancy Relic – an odd-looking statuesque creature – and I knew just how to deal with it.

I grabbed my Evoker out of my bag, bringing it to my temple as I'd done so many times. The others behind me, even Souji, looked horrified. I couldn't help but smirk as I remembered the first time I'd seen Minato do the same thing. "Hestia, come!" Before I could squeeze the trigger, I felt the familiar shattering sensation, and the cloaked woman appeared before me. My Persona had manifested without being evoked. That was odd, but when I thought back, I realized Rise had done the same thing.

Hestia waved her lantern, and a blast of fire knocked the thing to the ground. I was about to run up and finish it off when I sensed another presence to my right. Before I could react, Minato summoned one of his many Persona, defeating it and the first one in a flash.

"Hah. Thanks for the assist." Storing my now unnecessary Evoker, I turned back towards the group.

"No problem."

"They're Persona-users?!" Yukiko gasped, while Yosuke glared at us.

"Why didn't you tell us?! Could've saved us a lot of stress!"

I laughed at their expressions. With the exception of Souji, who wore an 'I knew it' face, they were all thoroughly amazed. "I really wanted to see the look on your faces. Now. Let's go save my brother."

It was decided that Souji would lead one team, consisting of him, Yukiko, Chie, and Kanji, while Minato took Yosuke, Teddie, and myself. Rise would provide support to Souji's group, and Teddie would act as our support. We would split up and explore as quickly as we could. Once again, I was struck by how similar everything was to exploring Tartarus, down to the four-person teams.

The only difference was the stairs. Instead of climbing up an endless number of stairs, we climbed down each time, going deeper into the earth.

Every time we reached a new floor, the same message would play. "WARNING! WARNING! ATTENTION INTRUDERS! LEAVE THE FACILITY IMMEDIATELY! I REPEAT: LEAVE THE FACILITY IMMEDIATELY!"

When we'd reached floor B3, I sighed as the message finished playing. "That's just like Naoto, trying to push people out all the time."

We met up with the other team on floor B4, where a new message sounded.

"UNKNOWN INTRUDERS HAVE ARRIVED AT B4F. THREAT LEVEL: ORANGE. MAJOR FACILITY AREAS LOCKED. ELIMINATE THE INTRUDERS."

As the robotic voice suggested, we found a locked door that we were forced to ignore as we continued searching. We continued to descend, battling our way through the hoards of Shadows.

Yosuke and Teddie were amazed when they first witnessed Minato's Persona-Switching ability, but not for the reason I expected. According to them, Souji possessed the same power. Minato frowned at this, a pensive look covering his face. After a moment, he shook his head and ushered us onward.

We had made it to B6, after stopping for a few breaks. As we walked through the eerie green halls, I couldn't help but compare it to Tartarus again.

"Hey, Mina-kun?"

"Hm."

"This place and Tartarus have to be connected, right?" I ignored the others' question of 'what's Tartarus,' and awaited his answer.

"Most likely."

Frowning, I ran my hand along the wall. "I wonder… Maybe this is part of Tartarus… A part we haven't explored yet."

"It's a possibility."

We lapsed back into silence again. A bold Shadow tried to attack us, but it was soon destroyed.

Finally, we found our path blocked by a huge metal door that we apparently needed a 'Leader' key card to access. We spread out across the floor, searching for anything helpful.

"Hey, Kasumi." Yosuke spoke up as the two of us wandered down one hall. "I've been meaning to ask… What's up with that armband? What's SEES?"

I glanced at the red cloth around my arm. "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad! SEES for short. It's our job to defeat Shadows."

"Huh." He nodded thoughtfully, then frowned as something occurred to him, "Oh, but where do you fight them, if you don't know about the TV World? Do Shadows appear in the real world, too?" He looked rather frightened at the prospect.

"Well… There's this tower called Tartarus that appears…" I noticed Yosuke was growing more confused, and I sighed. "I'll tell all of you about it when we rescue Naoto."

"Right."


We stood in front of the door that led to the 'Research Area.' After having searched B6 high and low, our team sought out Souji's for advice. They told us they'd discovered a 'Research key card' on the 6th floor, and I suggested we try it out here.

Not surprisingly, the card unlocked the door, and the seven of us entered.

What waited for us beyond that door was rather surprising. A Shadow in the form of a giant robot stopped us, blocking our path.

The thing certainly knew how to hit. Every chance it got, it would charge up, and then hit all of us with devastating blow. I discovered that Yukiko was a talented healer, so she filled the support role. The rest of us attacked it with everything we had. Between the six of us, we weakened it quickly.

"Wow. We should start bringing more people to the Full Moon fights, too, don't'cha think, Mina?"

"It'd be helpful."

The robot stopped attacking us after a while, electing to just stand there and gaze at us coldly. Though its behavior was suspicious, we didn't relent in our attacks. I ran forward and slashed at its knees with my blade. Before I could retreat, though, I noticed that its form was shaking. "Uhhh…"

Without warning, the Shadow exploded. We were all knocked to the ground by the force of the blast, and I was seeing spots.

"Oww…"

"Is everyone okay?" Someone – I couldn't tell who – cast a healing spell over all of us. I stood up shakily.

"Well that was interesting."


September 18th

Once again, we stood in front of a locked door. The key card we'd gotten from the Dominating Machine the day before was clutched in Souji's hand.

I had fought tooth and nail against leaving yesterday, saying we couldn't possibly leave Naoto in there for another day. However, I had to admit that I was exhausted. Not only that, but the entire team was running low on juice. Minato eventually convinced me that if I wanted to save Naoto, I had to be in top form, and to do that I needed to rest.

I really hate it when he's right.

The area we entered next was called 'Classified Sector Two,' as the security system was kind enough to tell us. The Shadows were much more difficult than before. We even ran into smaller versions of that obnoxious robot.

We had two more floors to battle our way through, until we finally reached the bottom. I was getting desperate. I wanted to find my sister and make sure she was safe, and I wanted to destroy the person that tried to kidnap her.

Finally…

Finally, we reached the eighth floor.

The place looked like some kind of twisted Sci-Fi horror set. On the far wall, a demented operating table lay, with a giant buzz saw and drill hovering above it. More twisted, terrifying machinery was scattered throughout the room, but that's not what drew my attention.

My sister stood with her back towards us, glowering at… my sister. Another version of Naoto stared back at us. She had gold eyes and a wicked grin. An oversized lab coat draped her form, and the same blue hat remained perched on her head. Last night, Souji had explained the concept of Shadows that came from humans to us, so I was expecting this. It was still a shock, though.

"Naoto!" I gasped as we ran in.

"Ah, it's about time you arrived—" as she turned to greet us, she started slightly. "Kasumi, what are you… Never mind. Let's go. Dealing with this child has been quite a pain…"

The Other Naoto spoke up in a voice that was hers and yet not hers. It had the same tone, but was warped and high pitched. "No! No, no, don't go!"

My sister just glared. "It's useless speaking to you. I need to go back now."

"Why? Why're you leaving me here!? Why am I always left alone!? It's so lonely… I don't wanna be alone!" I stiffened at those words. Hearing that from Naoto, even her doppelganger, hurt. If what the others told me was true, those were Naoto's inner feelings…

"You wear the same face as me…" Our Nao balled her hands into fists. "It's as if you're implying we're one and the same. But the difference between me and you is—"

"Why delude yourself? I am you." The childish edge disappeared from the doppelganger's voice, and the playful expression morphed into a more frightening glare. "These childish gestures are no mere affectation… They're the truth. The fools all say it, don't they…? 'You're only a child,' 'Keep out of our business, kid,' and so forth. No matter how many cases you spend hours cogitating over, no matter how many crimes you solve, you're a child in their eyes. It's your brain they're interested in. The grey matter locked up in that skull. As long as they need it, you're an ace detective! But once you're done, it's back to the playpen with you. You haven't the means to deal with society's two-faced nature… You're just a lonely child, abandoned even by your dear sister."

I couldn't breathe, or move, or speak. I could only watch in horror as I listened to Naoto's Inner Self.

"I wanna be a grown-up… I wanna be a big boy right now… Then they'll see who I am… I… I want a reason for me to stay…" Again, the Shadow's voice took on a childish tone as it mocked it's double.

"That's enough." Naoto snapped, but her face held pain. "I can find my own reason for living."

"Hah… I'm telling you that's impossible. You are but a child. How can you change that essential truth?"

"S-stop it!"

The Shadow took another step forward with a malicious smile. "At your core, you admire the sort of 'strong' and 'cool' men who populate detective fiction. But in trying to emulate them, you must know that in truth, you're nothing of the sort-you're a child. There's no avoiding first principles… Admit that you're a child, and admit that there's nothing you can do about it." It continued it's slow approach, golden eyes never leaving hers. The blood drained from Naoto's face. "Now then! Our analysis is complete. Let us begin the body alteration procedure. You have no objections, do you… 'Naoto' Shirogane?"

"Stop it!"

I wanted to help her, to stop all of this, but I still couldn't move. The things I was hearing were hurting me just as much as her. All of the pain she felt, and I never understood any of it…

"'Naoto'… Such a cool, manly name! But a name doesn't change the truth. It doesn't let you cross the barrier between the sexes."

And there was the bombshell. Around me, the others let out gasps.

"How could you become an ideal man when you were never male to begin with…?"

Yosuke choked, stuttering out, "Wait, what…? Did he… Did I hear that right?!"

"H-He's not a guy?!" Kanji looked like he was losing his cool. Were they really that surprised?

"Did you know, Kasumi?!"

"Wha- Of course I knew! Why wouldn't I know?!"

Before us, Naoto was tensed up. "I won't throw a tantrum. That accomplishes nothing...!"

The Shadow laughed maniacally. "Hahahaha! How often I've heard those words from the adults. 'Throwing a tantrum won't solve anything, Naoto-kun,' and other such bilge! They made you cry, didn't they? Yet here you are, mimicking those same men. What exactly are you trying to justify?"

"What…?"

"It's all right. You needn't suffer anymore. That's why you're undergoing this body alteration procedure to begin with. You throw a tantrum, but it fails to change the situation a single bit… I can quite understand the feeling." It's gaze narrowed into a smug smirk. "After all… I am you."

"That's not true!"

"Don't say it!" Chie stepped forward slightly, but Kanji stopped her.

"It's okay… Let the kid spill the whole thing. If not, Naoto's just gonna keep hurting… We'll just do our job and kick the Shadow's ass. Yeah?" I stared at the bleach-blond boy in appreciation. He had Naoto's best interests at heart, and unlike the idiot me frozen in place, he could do something.

To my right, I felt Minato gently pat my shoulder, as if he knew what I was thinking.

The Shadow continued to laugh at us. "As if you know anything about me! You'll kick my ass, huh? Fine… Go ahead and try, you lizard-brained imbecile!"

And with that, the Shadow revealed it's true form. The creature rose from the ground as robotic wings sprouted from it's back. The entire thing shifted, grew, and changed until a giant, cyborg version of Naoto hovered before us. Even as shocked as I was, I could appreciate its mildly humorous nature.

"I am a Shadow… The True Self…" The thing taunted us as the real Naoto collapsed on the floor. I dodged an attack from the Shadow and sprinted to her side. She was barely conscious as I knelt down next to her.

"Kas…umi… What are you doing here…?"

"I wasn't going to abandon you here, you dumbass! Why didn't you tell me—"

Before I could finish, I heard someone else call my name in warning. A strong blast of something – couldn't exactly see what - hit me square in the chest, blasting me a few feet backwards. I skidded to a halt and slowly picked myself up. "Damn it… I'm gonna kill that monster."

Whatever that thing hit me with somehow sealed my Persona, so I settled on slashing it with all my strength.

The Shadow danced out of my reach and glared down at me. "No, no, that will never do. Patients must lie still for me to drill proper holes in them."

"God, just shut up!"

I wasn't surprised that the Shadow was intelligent enough to target our weaknesses – after all, it was Naoto's. Still, getting continually blasted with Garu skills was getting seriously irritating.

"Ugh… Why must you struggle so much? Why won't you lie down and die!? You children can't do anything at all!" It redoubled its efforts after we wore it down quite a bit, but in the end, we were able to bring it down. It fell as I stabbed it through the chest, reverting back to its first form.

I wasted no time in running back to Naoto's side. At some point during the battle, she'd lost consciousness, and was slowly coming to.

"So… Naoto-kun was a girl…" Chie remarked quietly. I nodded.

"Took you guys long enough to figure that out."

Naoto stirred in my arms, gray eyes slowly opening. "Ngh… Where am I…?"

"Are you awake?!" Yukiko gasped as everyone crowded around us.

"I remember you all arriving, and… That's right… You saw everything…" Sighing, she glanced at me for a moment. I gave a weak, reassuring smile. "…Kasumi and I… lost our parents in an accident ten years ago. We were still young, so our Grandfather took us in. Neither of us were adept at making friends… We spent most of our time in the library together. While Kas preferred manga or adventure stories, I read detective novels…"

A quiet, childish voice chimed in. The weakened Shadow spoke, "When I grow up… I'm gonna be an awesome, hard-boiled detective…!"

"My parents were proud of their job. I had no qualms about following in their footsteps… An inherited occupation can feel stifling to many, but I welcomed it. I yearned for the day I could be a detective myself… Perhaps I inherited that desire from them as well. …Kasumi and I both liked detective work. We helped solve one rather difficult case for our grandfather… But I received all the credit and praise from him… That drove a wedge between Kasumi and I, and she ended up running away from home a few years after…"

At that, I stiffened, staring down at the floor in shame.

"After that, I was alone... Always alone… I continued to aid my grandfather with his clients… I had earned the name Junior Detective. In the beginning, I was delighted, but as time went on… Not everything went so smoothly…"

"What was that you said about 'you're only a child…'?" Yukiko asked gently.

"Not everyone welcomes my collaboration when it comes to solving cases… My status as a 'child' was sufficient to offend many of those whom I worked with. Were that the only issue, then it would have resolved itself with time…" Carefully, Naoto began to rise. I stood along with her, helping her to her feet. She turned to stare at her Shadow. "But though I will one day change from a child to an adult, I will never change from a woman to a man…"

"Do you not like being a girl…? Is that why you always dress like a boy?"

Naoto sighed. "My sex doesn't fit my ideal image of a detective… Besides, the police department is a male-oriented society. If they had the slightest 'concrete' reason to look down on me, no one would need me anymore…"

"Hey…" Yukiko approached us. "You must know already that what you yearn for isn't to become an adult or become a boy…"

At her words, my sister froze for a moment, then a small smile appeared on her face. "…You're absolutely right." She stepped forward until she was directly in front of the Shadow. "I'm sorry… I kept ignoring you, pretending you didn't exist. But you are me… and I am you. You've always been inside me. What I should yearn for… No, what I must strive for isn't to become a man. It's to accept myself for who I really am…"

The Shadow nodded, gold eyes softening for a moment, before it was encased in a cool blue light. It changed forms again, but instead of a terrifying robot monster, a small, moth-like Persona appeared for a moment, before the blue light surrounded Naoto. It hovered around her like a halo for a few seconds, then sinking into her skin.

"Nao…" I whispered to myself, desperately holding back tears.

She turned to face all of us again. "In any event, you're a devious bunch… I can't believe you kept something like this hidden for so long… Even you two, Kasumi and Minato. Haha… No wonder the perpetrator has eluded the police. But it's apparent now… This case is far from over."

Before anyone else could speak, the tears I had tried to hold back overflowed, streaming down my face in a torrent.

"K-Kasumi, why are you crying?" Naoto stared at me worriedly. I stumbled forward and wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm so, so sorry… I'm sorry…"

"…What…"

In the background, I heard Souji say something about giving us a bit of privacy, and that we should meet them at the exit. I silently thanked him.

I moved my glasses so I could rub at my eyes, wiping away some of the tears that wouldn't stopped flowing. "I'm so sorry, Naoto…"

"Come now, Kas… There's nothing to apologize for. You rescued me, didn't you?" She gently patted my back.

"That's… That's not it…" I took a breath to steady my breathing and voice. "I've been so stupid all this time… I never listened to you, did I? Three years ago you tried to tell me how much suffering you went through, but I never listened. All these years, I only ever paid attention to how I felt. I thought I was the only one left alone, but I wasn't. I pushed you away over something so trivial… You had to deal with so much just to achieve your dream, but I yelled at you and accused you of such terrible things… You were just as lonely as me, but I just…" My hands gripped the back of her shirt as I continued to sob. Naoto returned the hug, and I realized that she had begun crying as well.

"It's not all your fault, Kasumi… I pushed you away, too… Heh, I guess we're both pretty pitiful, huh?"

After a moment, I pulled away, finally able to stop my tears. I beamed at her. "You know, it was pretty crazy, getting yourself kidnapped like this… But I should thank you. You helped me realize something that had been bothering me. When Mitsuru-senpai and the others asked me to join SEES and fight Shadows, I agreed because I wanted to protect people I cared about. Like you… But lately, I found myself wondering if that was true. I wondered if I was just bored, or if I wanted to show off. I couldn't figure out my reason for fighting."

I took a deep breath and straightened out my armband with pride. "But now I found it again. There are people like us all over the world who feel alone and abandoned. I don't want them to give in to Apathy Syndrome. I want them to know how wonderful it is to have friends that care about you. I want you to be happy, Naoto, and for everyone else to be as well. I don't want anyone to fall into despair… That's why I'm going to keep fighting…"

I couldn't explain the feeling that filled my chest at that moment. If I had to describe it, I suppose I'd call it resolve. Or maybe, hope was the better word.

Hestia, my Persona appeared between us for a moment, looking down at me with her glowing eyes. Then, she disappeared in a flash of light, and what stood before me was a young woman in a yellow-golden robe. Two shimmering white wings wrapped halfway around her form, and her short golden-brown hair floated around her serene face. The glowing eyes were the same.

The resolution in Kasumi's heart has awakened a new Persona…

Hestia has given rise to Elpis.

"Hey, Naoto. Let's get you home."


~~Author's Note~~

It's finally done… And hopefully not too terrible…

Not the best but it gets the job done.

Kas's new persona, Elpis, is the spirit of hope in Greek mythology.

Now maybe you're thinking to yourself that it's too early for the new Personae, and to that I say "naaaaaaaaah"

Aki and Ken are getting theirs next month, so ya know.

And also, that's literally the perfect opportunity. And it's one of the few plot points I carefully thought out.

Anywho. Next time they have mysteries to solve whee.

* I think I've mentioned in previous chapters that it had been 3 years since the fight. That was just rounding up, since saying it had been 2 years and a handful of months would've been awkward, and saying 2 years didn't sound right to me.