Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or any content from the Megami Tensei series as a whole. I do not claim to own anything. All contents' right belong to their respectful owners. Once again, I do not claim to own anything.

Okay, answering a few questions for RaidEye again: Eriko is kinda like that in the game. She's some what level headed until you introduce the occult and then bam she's off to her own kinda fantasy land and its specifically stated in the game she has a deep-seated crush for the M.C., so I'm trying to roll with it the best I can. As for the different POVs, I originally wanted this to be entirely in Naoya's point of view, but I realized that some parts of the game would be better explained if I didn't. So, not everyone is going to have their own perspectives around the time when everyone becomes one group, but Naoya, Masao, Kei, and Maki will still have their own POVs because of the fact that in the game they are technically the four main protagonists. Also, its hard to express the character's personalities because P1 and P2 are a lot different than P3 and P4 in the sense that there isn't loads of dialogue and cut scenes everywhere to express all the characters, so I'm trying the best I can to do that. As for the scene in the cafeteria, I believe I said at the end of the chapter, not sure, but that whole cafeteria scene was in the manga and I thought it was a nice establishing scene for the characters Reiji Kido and Tsutomu, so I used it, but in the actual game terms: There isn't any downtime between bringing Setsuko to the school and heading off to the Police Station, but since I want to utilize all the characters into the main plot, I'm using, but putting my own tiny spins on scenes from the manga, which by the end of this chapter I won't be able to do anymore, because of there are only the beginning six chapter translated and you can't find the rest of it anywhere, so, I'll be working with my own imagination and what the game gives me. Hope that helped, dude. Like I said trying my best to use what I can and develop the characters as they should be developing.

I'd like to start off by saying the upload schedule for P: BYTM will probably be a chapter a week, on either day between Wednesday and Saturday. It all depends on my writer's block or inspiration. Now, this chapter, is a little bit of the manga mixed with my own modifications. In the manga the fight in this were Ayase's Persona awakens is taken from the Snow Queen Quest were a kid named Toro uses his Persona, Mara, to attack Ayase because she rejected him. I'm basically using that, but the attacker isn't Toro and Mara. Other than that, a little bit of character specific scenes and internal dialogue, but the main quest is basically on the edge of being on the roll. At the end of Chapter Six, it will be. With that aside, welcome to Persona: Be Your True Mind Chapter Five.

Chapter Five: Maki

Yukino quietly stepped on the tiled floor of the school in the dark. Her school blazer was hung over her shoulders. She had left the gym without anyone noticing. She found she couldn't sleep, the image of Yamaoka's death haunted her whenever she shut her eyes.

"Where's the faculty lounge? I hope Ms. Saeko is there. I need to talk to her."

Yukino's grasped the handle of the door to the lounge, sliding it inward. The room was dark, but it wasn't pitch black. She looked farther in at the coffee pot and a turned-on desk lamp. Yukino recognized the familiar blue hair and yellow coat by the coffee pot, pouring it's contents into a mug.

She entered. "Ms. Saeko?"

Saeko, who had sat by the lamp, almost let the mug fall out of her hands, startled slightly by Yukino's voice. "Oh, Yukino? What are you doing here? You should be sleeping?"

Yukino sat besides Saeko. "I can't sleep." she said.

"Why is that? What's bothering you?"

"She always acts the part of a therapist." Yukino hung her coat on the chair. "Death."

"Eh? What do you mean by death, Yukino?" Saeko had set aside her coffee, paying close attention to Yukino.

"So much happened at that hospital you wouldn't believe. It was normal, we checked in and were told to wait, but Kei's butler Yamaoka showed up."

"What next?"

"We decided to visit Maki while we waited. When we went to her room, I felt so disgusted with myself. Her mother never visits, Masao is the only one who comes to see her often, Naoya occasional, but for the most part she's there, trapped in that room, all by herself."

"Is that what's been bothering you?"

Yukino shook her head. "Sorta. The worst was yet to come by that point. Maki had to be sent to the I.C.U. An earthquake hit,"

"We felt it here too. Then the demons appeared."

"The I.C.U. disappeared and we worked our way downstairs towards a scream we heard. A nurse was being attacked by these zombies, the stench was burning my nostrils. It was everywhere."

"Was the nurse killed?"

"No, I don't think so, but Kei's butler Yamaoka he…" Yukino paused, her lips trembling. She froze, unable to finish the sentence, reliving the events in her head.

Saeko lowered her head. She understood without Yukino having to say it. She put her arm around Yukino, holding her close, the young girls head resting in the nape of her neck.

"N-now whenever I shut my eyes I smell it, the scent of death. I see the blood, the tears, Yamaoka's face, the zombies! I can't stop seeing Yamaoka's lifeless body at Kei's feet and imagining that what I would feel if it was you Ms. Saeko! I couldn't even feel sadness when Maki was sent to the I.C.U.!"

Yukino's grimaced. Saeko closed her eyes, brushing Yukino's hair with her hand. Ms. Saeko had some what of a maternal relationship with Yukino, just as Yukino had a maternal relationship with her friends. She helped Yukino with her problems, not as her teacher, not as a guidance counselor, but her friend.

"Yukino, it's okay. I'm right her. There's no need to worry."

"N-no, Ms. Saeko, I'm not worried you'll die, I'm worried that I'm a terrible person, because I couldn't feel bad for Maki and at Yamaoka's death I can see it in my head over and over, but it doesn't make me feel anything other than uneasiness. I'm afraid I'm going to be this callous and emotionless all my life."

"Yukino, no one is incapable of not feeling any emotions. You know Masao, he's a very empathic person; he feels the emotions of others, but he answers those recognized emotion with his anger. You're not a emotionless shell Yukino, your feeling the grief of a death, the sorrow that comes with it. You just don't realize or to go with the example recognize it. Just how Masao retorts the recognized emotion with his anger, you retort to it in self-judgment and loathing. You aren't a terrible person Yukino, I can see the care you have for others, the bravery you display, and maybe a little bit of a crush."

Yukino blushed, jokingly chuckling. "How'd she…?"

Persona: Be Your True Mind

Naoya splashed water onto his face. He rested his hands on the sides of grimy school bathroom sink, peering at his reflection in the mirror. He'd tossed and turned in his sleep. Not only were the mats uncomfortable, but his mind was full of questions.

"Inside of me is hundred of other selves. Is this self, Naoya Todo, me, the real self or is it another one inside of me? Is my Persona my true self, which is the real one?"

Naoya roamed the halls. He considered going back to the gym, but there wasn't a point. He wouldn't be able to sleep. He decided to go to the Infirmary, to see Setsuko.

"If she isn't awake yet I can at least stay by her side."

Naoya patiently waited by Setsuko Sonomura's side. Nurse Natsumi had fallen asleep on her desk. She wouldn't have mind either way. Setsuko's remained motionless. Naoya hunched his back forward, shutting his eyes, his mind jumbled with unanswered questions. He tried to disregard most of it for the time being, but Naoya always had at the tiniest question in the back of his head. A question Maki asked him ten years ago in his backyard when they were seven.

Maki spent her time at the Todo residence when her mother ran her work shift at S.E.B.E.C. They used to lay themselves on the cut, lush green grass, admiring the clouds in the cerulean sky, not a care in the word. Each day with Maki was like this until one afternoon where Maki asked Naoya a question he would try to find the answer to for the rest of his life.

"Nao-kun?"

"Yeah."

"What do you live for? Your reason?"

Naoya couldn't answer. He was surprised Maki asked a question. She was purely curiously. She probably didn't know her own answer to the question, but neither did Naoya. He answered with a "I don't know" and if he was asked the question again today, his answer would be different, but mean the same.

"Nao-kun."

Naoya opened his eyes, Setsuko rousing.

"Aunt Setsuko, I want to ask you something?"

Setsuko rubbed her eyes. "Go ahead, Nao-kun."

"How did you manage to escape from S.E.B.E.C. I heard they had an incredible army of SPs (Secret Police), but…"

"Yes, well. I'm more knowledgeable about the inside of the research facility. The research establishment was hidden underground for the sake of keeping it classified. It has a very complicated construction. I forged an I.D. card and unrestricted pass and escaped through an opening I saw in a connected abandoned factory's entrance gate, but…" Setsuko perspired, her head in her palms.

Naoya stood, moving close. "Aunt Setsuko?"

"Is Maki, okay, I wonder…." Her vexed skin dripped with the new sweat and tears. "With things becoming like this...by herself and with her fragile heart, I thought I could at least be with her. Oh God please let her be safe!"

Setsuko sobbed into her hands, choking on her dejection.

"Aunt Setsuko, go back to bed, I'll make sure Maki is safe." Naoya grabbed her shoulders, tucking her back under the covers. "I'll find her and stop the Deva System, I promise." Naoya gave her a reassuring smile.

"Go into the pocket of my blazer. The forged identification is there. You'll need it to access the entrance in the abandoned factory."

Setsuko returned to her sleep, relieved. She knew Naoya could take care of himself, he'd find Maki for sure, but entering into SEBEC was another story. Kandori would have each of the four floors guarded including the Deva System and his office. If she hadn't seen what the teens called Personas, she would've never let Nao go on a suicide mission.

Naoya dug into the pocket of the coat folded on the second chair. He extracted the cobalt blue piece of plastic, marked in bolded gray letters "S.E.B.E.C." on the front and a barcode on the back. The logo of the company was in the circle of an ankh. The sides of circle with curved lines resembling horns.

"I'll gather up Masao, Kei, Yukino, and Eriko in the morning. With the cardkey, we can go into the S.E.B.E.C. building without being detected. We shouldn't go in totally unarmed, with only our Personas to fight with. Eriko had a fencing rapier, maybe there's more. I'll go check and see if I can borrow one."

Persona: Be Your True Mind

"I told you, Mark, I won't say anything."

"Brown, shut up and stop fuckin' following me."

Masao snuck out of the gym with his bag of supplies, planning to leave the school via the fraction in the wall in the passage way to the gym. He was determined to go to S.E.B.E.C. and take Kandori down to find Maki and fix Mikage. Unfortunately Hidehiko tailed him.

"You can't come. I told you there are demons out there."

Hidehiko wagged his finger. "There you go again. You guys came back fine. Saying those sorts of things, you were planning on running away by yourself to a safe place, right?"

Masao held a fist back. "No, you moron. It's not like that."

"Masao, Hidehiko,"

The two turned around, seeing Kei standing tall, his arms crossed.

"Nanjo!"

"Where are you sneaking off to in the middle of the night?"

Masao eyes narrowed. "You can't stop me, Nanjo! I'm going to S.E.B.E.C. to stop the Deva System and save Maki!"

"Maki? Maki Sonomura," Hidehiko thought. "How is she involved in this?" Below his confused countenance, Hidehiko spread his cheeks in a menacing smile. "This is interesting. I can work with this. I can take the credit for saving Sonomura when in reality Masao did all the work. Her mother is suppose be an engineer at S.E.B.E.C. which means she might be loaded. I'd say a humble reward for rescuing her daughter is one billion dollars." Hidehiko had put his pinky to his lip.

"I wasn't going to stop you, Masao. Keep your voice down. If Hanya catches us, we're screwed."

"Whaddaya mean catches "us."

"I'm going with you. I have business to discuss with Takahisa Kandori."

"Shit, Kei Nanjo, is involved now. More people means more splits in the reward. Wait, Nanjo is rich, he doesn't need his share. I'll take it with my brilliant wit and charmingly good looks, like always."

Hidehiko was a conniving little snot. He wanted easy money. A modern day Tom Sawyer as he was. There was a time he actually sold a story to the school paper that Hanya and Principle Ooishi were having an affair, even supplied pictures, later proven to be doctored. That was the end of the school paper, Hidehiko never got caught, because he anonymously sent the story, the students in charge of publishing the stories took the hit, and Hidehiko had made three thousand yen (A/N: Ruffly 30 bucks) without breaking a sweat.

The three came up on the passageway, opening the door, noticing the planks of wood, cinderblocks, desks, and boxes used to plug the whole were chucked to the side. A lone figure, thumbs hooked on the outer edge of his pockets, wearing fingerless gloves, and creating the sound of rattling chain at each step casaully walked out.

Masao ran after him. "Hey, dude, wait! There's demons in the city!"

"Piss off!" Is all the figure said, continuing to walk away from the school.

"Wasn't that Reiji Kido?" Masao asked.

"What purpose does he hold for exiting the school late at night?" Kei asked to no one in particular.

"Well, let's get moving!"

"Hold it, Masao. I wish to go to the Police Station first."

"Why? You heard Eriko, the place is infested with demons."

"Perhaps we can obtain some equipment that could aid us in the raid on S.E.B.E.C."

"How do you propose we do that then, Nanjo."

"I know you and I are the complete opposites of each others personalities, but if we want to survive this mess, we'll have to work together." Kei extended his hand.

Masao scratched the back of his head, titling it to the left as Hidehiko looked on. He smacked Kei's hand and shook it.

"Okay, Nanjo, you and me."

"Now, with that settled. We head to the police station and combine our Personas abilities to clear it out."

"Right." Masao nodded. "Brown, stay here."

"Shit, have to come up with an excuse." Brown nervously grinned. "I want to go save Sonomura, like you Masao."

"Brown, you never talked to Maki."

In a normal situation with a normal person, they might've started choking on their words, but this was Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi, an tremendously odd person in an odd situation.

"You should've memorized the classic motivation by this decade Masao. Maki is the damsel in distress, the Toadstool to my Plummer. Why does the hero rescue the damsel, without any reward, because it is the right thing that the greatest, coolest, and handsomest hero does."

"Brown, you're full of shit."

"Doesn't matter Masao. Believe what you want to believe. I, the noble, debonair, and exceptional Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi will follow you till the bones of my feet are worn if I can rescue the damsel."

"Okay, Brown, you can come," Masao bit his lip. "But cut the shit about this hero crap. You ain't foolin anyone."

Kei pushed his glasses up. "If we're lucky, he'll die on the way. Then, no one will have to deal with his absurd lies ever again."

Kei legitimately loathed Hidehiko's existence. He hated his arrogance, his ego, his constant stupid jokes he'd spout during class, lunch, and after school, and his manner of taking nothing seriously unless it benefited him.

"The last thing we need during this is dead-weight."

Persona: Be Your True Mind

Eriko sat in a rickety metal chair at a wooden table in the Fencing Club's designated room. The room had posters of swords and tournament listings on the wall. Two sets of four lockers were on the sides of the room which held the equipment.

Eriko polished her sword, removing any blood left by the demons she had struck. The blood gutters on the blade were design to drain the blood, but the demon blood wasn't a full liquid form, it was a mucus-like substance that stuck to the edge and tip of the weapon. She'd spent several minutes to an hour removing the blood before it dried prior to polishing.

"The city has changed because of the Deva System. I can feel we're suppose to do something about it. As much as I appreciate the experience, this is dangerous. Without our Personas, given to us by Philemon, we would've died out there. At the start I felt a euphoria, but now it's a serious matter. Ms. Setsuko was shot for trying to stop this. What are this president Kandori's goals and how despicable does he have to be to effect Mikage to achieve them?"

Eriko sheathed her rapier, finished cleaning and polishing it. "I hadn't noticed how late it was. Thankfully no teacher seemed to notice I wasn't in the gym. Now, that I'm done with my sword, I'll be on my way to sleep."

Eriko lifted herself from the chair, attaching the scabbard in the belt she wore on the waist of the school uniform. The door to the Fencing Club's room slid open, revealing a surprised.

"Oh, Naoya, what are you doing here?" Eriko asked equally surprised.

"Aunt Setsuko woke up."

"That's wonderful, how is she."

"She's worried for Maki like the rest of us. I managed to get a card she forged to escape S.E.B.E.C." Naoya showed Eriko the blue card.

"So, we can go to S.E.B.E.C. now?"

"There's a secret entrance in an abandoned factory near the building. I was thinking in the early morning, Kei, Masao, Yukino, you, and I could go and shut down the Deva System and look for Maki. That's if you're okay with going."

Eriko hid her explosion of joy. "Of course!" she said gleefully.

Naoya smiled back. "Thanks. I also wanted to see if there were a few extra swords."

"Sorry, Nao, Hanya cleared out all the shinai's from the Kendo Team and all the rapiers. Mine is the last one."

"Damn." Naoya closed his eyes. "We shouldn't go on a raid against S.E.B.E.C. with just Personas."

Eriko pondered on a thought she had, holding her chin. She snapped her fingers. "The Archery Team might keep a few extra bows and arrows."

Naoya's sweat dropped. "I can't use a bow and arrow."

Eriko ran to Naoya's side, grabbing his hand. "It's worth a try." Eriko ran up the hallway to the Archery Team's room, Naoya being dragged like a rag doll behind her.

Persona: Be Your True Mind

Ayase leaned on a desk in a vacant classroom. Five other students in the classroom with her, were by the open window. They were smoking cigarettes and flicking the ashes and blowing their drags outside, with intent to not be discovered by Hanya or any of the other teachers.

Ayase sighed, doing up her pigtails. She wanted her beauty sleep. The normal gang of students she hung out with had woken her up so they could smoke and shoot the breeze. Ayase figured it be better to go then end up alone if she couldn't go back to sleep.

"I hate cigarettes." she thought, sighing again. "I like totally hate those idiots too."

Ayase never cared for people in general. She disliked conversations that didn't suit her interests, ironically her "friends" were in the middle of one of them now. The three boys and two girls were discussing their brand of smokes.

"Yo, Yuka! You gonna light one up?" One of the boys asked, offering her a cigarette.

Ayase half-frowned, nervously giggling. "Like, no, thanks. Not in the mood."

"Suit yourself," The boy lit the additional cigarette in his mouth. "Pussy," he whispered, causing the two girls to cackle lightly. (A/N: For the record, I personally hate smoking.)

"I heard you, asshole. It wasn't even funny." Ayase wanted to say that, but they'd be pissed, either leave or kick her out and she didn't want to be alone.

Ayase suffered from autophobia, a fear of being by herself. She often had anxieties as a child and her current years when she wasn't listened too, her parents paid attention to her, or if she wasn't in her own clique. She pretended to be a diverse person to gain entrance into one of the cliques in St. Hermelin. She fell into the popular crowd; the five so-called friends besides her that woke her up in the middle of a comfy slumber, fully aware she doesn't smoke at all hours, to drag her along to be tortured by tedious, trivial, stupid, and low-key banter.

"Assholes,"

Two desks in the front row fell over. The stomping of feet and scratching claws could be heard. A silhouetted burly figure steadily strolled in between the rows of desks, an orb-shaped head chafed against the ceiling lights, muscular limbs sending more desks to the left and right to the floor.

"Holy shit!" One student yelled, the cigarette falling out of his agape mouth.

Ayase noticed the figure, running to the wall. She saw the door to the classroom was wide open. The creature must've opened it without them noticing.

The figure breathed heavy, it's eyes glowing a feral red. "MEAT!" it grunted in a raspy, beastly voice.

"What the fuck is that?"

"How'd it get in here?"

The girls, including Ayase screamed. "HELP!"

"Fuck that! We're running!"

The demon hearing their words, grabbed a desk with it's near boulder-sized fist and chucked it forward, throwing the desk in front of him into a shower of heavy weight.

"RUN QUICK!"

The boys charged slightly to the right, trying to reach the door. Ayase tripped on the floor, the shower of desks raining almost fully on top of her. The desk essentially made a crowded fort, with Ayase stuck inside, a movement of the bottom desks could've caused the weight to fall on her.

"Nothin's better than trapped prey! HAHAHAHA!" The demon laughed wildly.

The remaining students were swiftly moving, being grazed by the desks, just away from the width of the barrage, before they fell around Ayase.

"LIKE, HELP!" Ayase yelled.

The students, paying no mind to Ayase's cries, ran as fast as their legs would allow, passed the demon, who slashed one of the boys' shoulder, almost taking his arm, and through the door, the two girls screaming.

"HAHAHA! I'm glad some dumb ass opened a hole in the wall! I couldn't be asked to work for my food! HAHAHA! I just didn't expect to sniff fresh meat so earlier into the hunt! HAHAHA!"

"How can he be laughing?" Ayase tried to move. "Shit! I'm, like, stuck! Maybe if I scream again!" Ayase inhaled a deep, deep breath. "HHHHHEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!"

Persona: Be Your True Mind

Naoya and Eriko found a lone short bow in the Archery Club's room. Beside it, in a unlocked locker was a quiver of twenty five arrows, fletched with white feathers.

"A bow's worth more than nothing." Naoya stated, holding the quiver and bow under his arm.

"Maki used to be in the Archery Club, right?" Eriko said, shutting the doors to the room after switching the lights off.

The two proceeded down the hall. "Yeah. She was accurate, too. She was forced to quit the team because of her health issues unfortunately."

"So, tomorrow at the sunrise, we go?" Eriko asked, changing the subject away from Maki.

"Uh?" Naoya tried to form an answer. It escape his mind he'd said that earlier. "Oh, yeah, of course, Eriko. I want to see what Yukino's going to do too though. Masao and Kei are positively in, but we need all the support we can get."

Eriko smacked her lips. "I understand, brave leader." Eriko jokingly said.

"B-b-brave leader," Naoya pointed his finger to himself. "Me!"

"From what Yukino told me, you were very brave at the hospital, taking charge and commanding everyone to attack."

Naoya was embarrassed. He fiddled with his earring. "Weird, it's like I wasn't myself back at the hospital. If I'm assumed to be a brave leader, why'd I let a innocent man die back there."

"HHHHHEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!"

Naoya and Eriko stopped. Naoya turned to Eriko. "That was Ayase's voice." he said.

"She's in trouble."

"We better double-time it. Her screams sound like they're around the corner in a classroom adjacent to the gym."

Yukino sipped her coffee with Ms. Saeko. Yukino explained the entire story to her in the last half-an-hour, including the Personas, S.E.B.E.C., the Deva System, and Takahisa Kandori.

"Yukino, are you done with your coffee, because I want you to go back to the gym and sleep. You're exhausted."

Yukino stood up. "Okay, Ms. Saeko, I'll see you tomorrow." Yukino grasped the door, Ms. Saeko abreast to her.

"HHHHHEEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!"

Yukino's eyes broaden. "Ayase…I'm sorry, Ms. Saeko, I'll sleep when Ayase's safe."

"No, Yukino, it's too dangerous." Ms. Saeko gripped her student's arm on the door.

"What are the chances of the others making it in time? We're the only ones in this school who can fight those demons efficiently."

Ms. Saeko sighed, shaking her head back and forth. She knew she couldn't stop Yukino when she's headstrong.

"I'll wait for you in the passageway to the gym, the one with the hole, because after this you're getting a good-night's worth of sleep, I'll explain to Hanya what happened."

"Thanks, Ms. Saeko!" Yukino burst into the hall. "This won't take long!" And with that Yukino disappeared into the darkened corridors of the school, in the direction Ms. Saeko, persistently shaking her head, would follow to the hole in the brick wall.

Naoya and Eriko arrived at the classroom in a matter of moments. They went in the classroom, hearing a crazy laugh. Eriko hit the lights, covering a gasp.

A red-skinned, burly, feral demon stood fifteen feet tall, a dome-shaped head touching the ceiling. It's eyes glowed as red as it's skin. Fangs filled a slobbering mouth.

"HAHAHA! More meat's arrived! You lucked out, girl, you get to be last!"

"LIKE, WHOEVER'S THERE, HELP! I'M STUCK UNDER THE DESKS!"

"Ayase!" Naoya instinctively wanted to run to her, but the demon growled a mixture of a human yell and a lion's roar.

"You wanna be the appetizer?"

"Be careful, Nao, that's an oni!" Eriko drew her rapier, remembering a demonic encyclopedia she read once. "Such a shame, I just cleaned this."

"A sword, huh! A fighter, I like that! HAHAHA! You'll be last!"

"LIKE HELP ME PLEASE!"

"Shut up, girl! You know what, you two stay right there, you'll be the main course! I'm gonna eat her to start!"

The oni turned it's back to Naoya's, throwing two desks off the pile on Ayase.

"No, no one else dies!" Naoya hand covered his face. "Like hell! PERSONA!"

In the velvet mist, Seimen Kongo instantly arrived, his fist balled and ready to punch.

Naoya pointed to the oni. "Seimen Kongo! Spin Kick!"

Seimen Kongo lunged forward at the demon's back, twisting his body with his extended right leg. At range of the enemy's side, Seimen Kongo untwisted, planting the spin kick into the ribs of the oni, causing him to grunt in pain. The force of the kick actually launched the oni into the chalkboard and teacher's desk, reducing the two objects to debris.

Seimen Kongo vanished.

The demon began to rise. "You're a fighter to, huh, boy? I guess I'll eat you first after all." The oni's mouth was agape. "I'll fry you up to make up for that love tap! AGI!"

At the words of the demon, a smoldering ball of fire swirled in his mouth and shot straight at Naoya and Eriko.

"Eriko watch out!" Naoya threw himself against Eriko, wrapping his arms around her, pushing her far to the left, dodging the small fireball.

The Agi spell hit the wall, leaving coal black singe marks.

Eriko and Naoya quickly recovered. "Sorry, I had to tackle ya."

"If it wasn't for that I'd be horrible burned."

"Jesus Christ! What is goin' on here?" Yukino exclaimed at the doors.

"Yukino, good thing your here. We gotta kills this thing before more shit gets out of hand."

Yukino nodded. "Where's Ayase?"

"Under the desks." Eriko informed.

"WOULD YOU GUYS HURRY IT UP!"

"Yep, that's Ayase."

"I'm a lucky demon today! I rarely ever get to chow on a four course meal! I better take my time with you! HAHA!"

"Jeez, this guy love's to laugh." Yukino's sweat dropped.

"Shit, Naoya, think! While's he distracted! Eriko said I'm a brave leader, I should act like one."

"Okay, here's the plan, we're gonna take this guys down in one fell swoop. I'll block his attacks, Eriko you lower his defenses, then Yukino you hit him hard."

"Understood, brave leader." Eriko held her rapier in her right hand by the left side of her face.

"Roger!" Yukino punched the air.

"Here, I go!" Naoya covered his face. "PERSONA! Seimen Kongo!"

"Time for more love taps!" Seimen Kongo appeared. "Try to dodge a dozen of my fireballs, boy! MARAGI!" The demon spat out of his ajar mouth, a total of twelve fireballs at once.

"You can block them, Nao! You can block them!" Naoya pointed forward. "Two can play that game, big guy! MAGARU!"

Seimen Kongo punched the air multiply times, unleashing gales of winds collided with the fireballs, the forceful spiraling winds mixing with the flurries of fire, neutralizing each other..

"Eriko now!"

"Come to me, Nike!" The goddess of victory arose, her wings folded inward. "Rakunda!" Eriko pointed her rapier at the oni. Nike unfolded her wings, casting a purplish aura over the oni.

"He's weakened, Nao!"

"Yukino, finish him!"

"Do it, Vesta!" Vesta materialized, her hands already cupped. "FREI!" The yellow energy released and bombarded the oni, creating a gray smoke cloud.

Vesta vanished as did Seimen Kongo and Nike.

"Did we kill him?" Naoya asked.

"HAHAHA! Argh!" A grunt of pain came from the oni as the smoke cleared, revealing his now red-skin melting similarly to a spent candle.

"That's disgusting! His skin's liquefied!" Yukino covered her mouth in repugnance.

"HAHAHA! Screw you kids! I'm pissed now!" The demon chucked the remaining desk backwards at the Persona Users, Ayase's head popping up. She was bawling her eyes out.

"DUCK!" The three hit the floor the desks crashing against the singed wall, destroying themselves on impact.

The demon cupped his hand around her. "HAHA! Down you go!"

"NO!" Naoya grasped the air, despair filling him. "I CAN'T LET ANOTHER PERSON LOSE THERE LIFE!"

"I LIKE DON'T WANNA DIE!" A familiar velvet mist fogged the classroom, Ayase's pigtails flurried upward. "Huh? Like what's going on!"

"Ayase, call out Persona! QUICK!" Naoya ordered.

"Like, Persona?" Ayase raised her eyebrow. A wave of blue energy shot out of Ayase, knocking the demon on his back, destroying the rest of the desks in the classroom.

Ayase's Persona, a slender, lanky, dancing woman appeared, her skin a greenish yellow color, but flawless none the less. Fire was in her hands, her hair itself was raging flames. A skirt and bikini of engulfing fire were the only pieces of "clothing" covering her form.

"Thou art I and I am thou!" Ayase's Persona spoke to her awestruck user in a cute, semi-squeaky, feminine voice. "I am a being that has emerged from the sea of your soul! I shall lend you my power! I am Hori!"

"Yikes! Huh? What the…like, what now?"

"You'll hear words, order you Persona with the words you hear!"

"Kay, like, Agilao." Ayase nonchalantly said, the fire in the upright hands of Hori expanding, swirling into a medium sized fireball, twice the size of the one the demon spat out. Hori threw her hands forward, launching the fireball into the oni, setting the beast on fire, reducing him to zilch.

Naoya helped Yukino and Eriko to their feet, Hori disappearing.

"Like, what the hell was that?" Naoya grabbed her hand. "Not enough time to explain right now. Surely Hanya or somebody heard something, we gotta get the hell outta here before he shows up."

"Go to the gym passageway! Ms. Saeko will be there." Yukino informed.

"We should also eliminated the means of how the oni entered the school."

"He, like, said he came in through a hole."

"Two birds with one stone then." Naoya said, dragging Ayase with him.

"But who unplugged the hole?" Eriko asked.

Naoya clenched his teeth harshly.

"Nao, you don't think Masao-"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking Eriko."

"That damn idiot's gonna get himself killed." Yukino punched her palm.

Persona: Be Your True Mind

Kei wafted the stench of corpses passed his nose. An overflow of zombies had exited the busted in police station, a few in civies and other's in uniform.

Brown sat on the ground, his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. "You guys weren't joking! They're demons in the city!"

"No shit, Brown! Too late now, you insisted!" Masao flipped him off.

"All right, Masao, we prepared for this situation. Let me start!" Kei swiped his hand to the right. "My move! PERSONA!"

Aizen Myouou appeared, twiddling it's stiletto fingers.

"Time to buff your power. Tarukaja!" Aizen Myouou opened it's arms, surrounding Masao in a golden aura.

Masao felt the muscles in his arms toughen.

"Now your speed. Sukukaja!" Aizen Myouou casted a green aura around Masao, mixing with the gold.

Masao could feel his legs strengthen.

"Next, use a physical skill."

Masao raised his axe in the air, one-handed. "Let's get funky! Ogun! Flurry Stab!"

His voodoo-stylized Persona appeared and relentlessly pierced the heads of the zombies with it's new found power and speed up.

"Step two, buff our magic! Matakaja!" A white aura surrounded Masao and Kei.

"Step Three, finish the strategy. Use a magical skill, the stronger version."

"Ogun! Gryva!" Ogun spun his spear, stomping the blunt end on the ground, summoning a medium-sized orb of gravity on the growing crowd of zombies, crushing them into bone dust.

"MAHAMA!" Aizen Myouou opened it's arms, summoning large talismans with a pool of light underneath he zombies feet. The talismans attaching on the corpses and disintegrating them with the light.

"We have created a clear path, Uesugi. You can relinquish your cowardice."

Brown immediately popped up off the payment, shrugging the events occurred in front of him off as best as his mind would allow.

"You guys are crazy! This whole town is crazy! I gotta be dreaming! Come on, Masao, pinch me! Pinch me! I gotta wake up from this nightmare!"

Masao turned, his axe resting on his shoulder as he usually did as of late.

"Sorry to tell the truth, Brown, this ain't a dream or nightmare. This is a fucked-up reality and thanks to your own stupid ass, you're stuck here with us."

"Masao is indeed correct, Uesugi. You lack the means of returning to the school safely, so as much as I dread another minute of you in our companion, you're stuck with us."

Masao tucked his axe in his backpack. "Plus I don't need your death on my conscious, Brown. UGH!"

A whacking sound was heard and Masao collapsed forward, his hand clutching his privates.

"Silly humans, you never saw it coming!" A nasally demonic voice exclaimed.

"Where's that voice-AH!"

Another whacking sound and Brown fell on Masao an egg-shaped bump on his head.

Two imp-like creatures, carrying spoons, hopped on Brown's back and proceeded to bounce up and down.

"We bagged two of them!"

Kei looked towards them. "What the?"

"What's the matter human, never seen an Ukobach!"

"I got an idea, let's take em all and cook em up later for everyone!"

"Good idea!"

"Little brats, freakin' cheap shot." Masao groaned.

"Can it, human! You're lunch!" One Ukobach hit Masao on the head with his spoon, hard.

Kei looked to the horizon, the sun was rising. They'd spent most of the nighttime fighting to the police station. The demons were unremitting and persistent. It took three times the normal amount to reach the police station. Perhaps it was due to the full moon.

"Hold on! I'll deal with these small fry!" Kei swiped his hand to the right. "PERSONA!" he called, but the mist wasn't conjured, the energy wasn't built or felt. Aizen Myouou didn't appear.

"W-what? My Persona? Where is it?"

"Hurry up! We gotta capture the third one and bring these two in before they recover!"

One of the Ukobachs leaped at Kei. Kei swatted the Ukobach backwards with a backhand. He slammed his foot on the demon's head.

"Get offa him, human! AGI!" The spoon the second Ukobach held was ignited with a fireball which the demon flung at Kei.

Kei hunched forward, avoiding the Agi skill by a hair. "If he's going to utilize magic skills and I can't use my Persona. I'll have to work a back-up plan up. I'll head back to the school, Todo, Kirishima, or Yukino can aid in taking the police station."

Kei started running back the way they came. "Nanjo, you bastard." Masao thought, the Ukobach whacking him into unconsciousness.

"Come on, we gotta get the human!"

"We got enough meat to separate for all of us for lunch. Let's lock em up and start the eating preparations."

Kei ran, bobbing and weaving to avoid the strikes of jumping Kappas and diving pecks of the three-talon crows know as Yata-Garasu.

"I'm exhausted. I didn't sleep at all. My body's weak, my mind is frenzied, my stomach is unfilled. Could the status of my body and mind effect my ability to summon my Persona? We used the Personas many times on the way here. Thankfully there aren't a never-ending number of demons with the sun up. I can dodge the minor ones, they use physical skills. Those Ukobachs used magical skills, without my Persona I won't stand a chance. I need to figure out the problem or else me facing Kandori is impossible."

Persona: Be Your True Mind

Naoya, Eriko, Yukino, and Ayase arrived at the passage way. The hole in the brick wall was exposed, the cinderblocks, boxes, and etc. pushed to the sides. The steadily increasing radiance of the sun shined through, illuminating the majority of the room. Ms. Saeko was hastily stacking the boxes and moving the desks back, obstructing the lower rays streaming in.

"Ms. Saeko, wait." Naoya said, putting the bow and quiver on the floor. "We're heading back out, plug it up after we leave."

"Oh, no, you're not!" she replied, her hands on her hips. "You're my students, I'm your teacher, I'm not letting you go back out there to risk your young lives. I don't care if you have these Personas."

"Ms. Saeko," Yukino approached her. "It's about Mark. We think he went to do something crazy. He's already outside. We want to bring him back so he's doesn't die." Yukino lied for the last part. Really, they wanted to leave to aid Masao before he was killed.

Naoya followed Yukino's lead. "We're the only ones who can."

Ms. Saeko shook her head.

Eriko stepped up. "Please, Ms. Saeko, I promise you we'll be back alive. I'll personally protect everyone."

Ayase sat in the corner as the others tried to cajole Ms. Saeko. She was comprehending the concept of a Persona. She remembered back to when she played Persona herself. Lightning didn't strike her, she dreamt of a yellow butterfly, but that was ages ago. So long ago she'd forgotten the game completely.

"Is Masao really, like, in trouble? Hidehiko wasn't in the gym when I left either. Nanjo was gone too. Like, I totally don't understand."

Ms. Saeko denied her students attempts to sway her, but in the back of her head, she knew what they were saying was true. Masao very well could be out there and they very well could be the only way to save him.

She let out a defeated scoff, preparing to give her permission. She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it at the creak of the door. Someone was opening it.

Who was it, Hanya, Principle Ooishi, another member of the faculty? All in the room asked themselves, the door picking up in opening speed in a instant. The wooden door flung inward on it's hinges, gently tapping the wall.

A female student, wearing her school uniform, with neck-length brown hair framing her head waltz in, causing everyone to gasp. A red ribbon, tied in a tiny bow on the pinnacle of her hair matched her rosy cheeks, and painted lips. Her chocolate brown eyes scanned the room, a smile growing across her face at the sight of each person she gazed.

"Nao-kun! Eriko-chan! Yuka-chan! Yukino-chan! Ms. Saeko! Hey, what're you guys up to?"

Naoya smacked his forehead. "M-m-maki, is that really you."

Eriko whispered close to Yukino's ear. "I thought you said she disappeared at the hospital."

"She was also in critical condition."

"Huh?" Ayase said. "Is that you, Maki?"

"C'mon, guys, of course it is. Everyone knows good ol' Maki!"

Naoya kept his eyes on her, watching her movements. "She isn't acting like Maki."

Ayase pouted.

"What's wrong, Yuka?" Maki asked.

"Woah, like, something's seriously weird with her, Naoya. There's no way Maki would be that cheerful!" Ayase was always blunt and frank, regardless of others feelings.

"Huh? Yuka?" Maki raised an eyebrow. "Hey, when did that whole show up?" Maki pointed to the partially covered hole.

"Oooh, I get it…you made it, Nao-kun. Didn't you?"

"See?" Ayase shouted. "It's totally not liker her!"

"Granted, she also was suppose to be in the hospital." Eriko added.

"I'm gonna get teed off if you guys keep saying stuff like that." Maki frowned, generally looking hurt. "Do you guys WANT me to be hospitalized?"

Naoya's face grew serious. "This isn't Maki. She may look like Maki, she may sound like Maki, but she isn't her. Maki rarely acted this merry and she won't act oblivious to being hospitalized."

"Hey, Naoya, she may be the real Maki." Yukino said.

"Like, how can you tell? I bet she's a like totally a demon or something!"

"Isn't that her favorite compact?" Yukino pointed out.

Maki lifted her hand up, an green compact with a painted full moon on the top lid. "Now, c'mon, Yuka, quit it!"

"That is her compact. Maki painted the moon on there herself." Naoya thought, keeping his guard up.

Maki placed the compact in her pocket. "Although…is something different about you guys today?"

"Eh?" Naoya replied.

"Oh, God!" Ms. Saeko ran to the hole.

Yukino turned toward the hole, her expression becoming shocked.

"KEI!" Yukino immediately sprinted to the outlet, a beaten-up Kei sprawled on a desk meant to block it.

Naoya's eyes darted back and forth to Kei and Maki. Kei's strained and weakened face and Maki's partly cheerful partly concerned face.

"As the hours go, shit just gets curiouser and curiouser."

Persona: Be Your True Mind

Holy crap, I don't understand why at all, but this took such a long time to write. In reality, the last scene and the scenes that were Ayase's and Brown's kinda establishing character inner dialogue were the hardest parts, because Ayase and Brown's characters are the hardest two character's to get a grip on for me. And the last scene, a few short pages, but the approach was sloppy to me and I didn't want it to be overly complex, because in the game the scene is like that, Maki just walks in and is like "Hey guys what's goin on?" and originally wanted to have her thoughts as it's own scene to build up to her arrival, but I couldn't really do that without, as I said making it overly complex. If I did, I'd drop a lot of foreshadowing hints and shit that would make people who haven't played the game go "what the fuck" more than they all ready would, plus in a few chapters time, hopefully the WTF moments are understandable, because the game is slow in the plot at the beginning, after we deal with the SEBEC building, it picks up. Going to be taking a small break because of needed grinding in game, I obviously run the game and play it while writing this, and I want to work on another project I've had in the back of my head for awhile, and lastly P2: Innocent Sin PSP is going to be released in roughly two weeks so I'm hyping myself of for that. Either way, I hoped you enjoyed Chapter Five of Persona: Be Your True Mind, and I'll see you next time for Chapter Six: The Police Station.