When Minato arrived back at the dorm later that evening, he was surprised to see Fuuka in the lobby, speaking to Akihiko and Mitsuru. "So, no abnormalities or issues?" Mitsuru asked conversationally.

Fuuka shook her head at Mitsuru's question. "No. The d-doctors couldn't find anything wrong, apart from exhaustion a-and minor dehydration."

"Good." Akihiko said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad. No one has ever been in there for that long before. We didn't know what to expect."

At that point, Mitsuru noticed Minato and waved him over. Walking over to them, Minato nodded to Akihiko and smiled at Fuuka. "Hello Fuuka-san. I'm glad to see you're ok. I'm Minato Arisato."

"H-Hello Minato-san," Fuuka replied timidly, "I am glad to see you alright as well. H-How's your arm?"

He showed her the brace on his right hand. "The arm's fine, just sore, but my wrist was sprained. I have to wear this thing for another couple of days, but then I should be good as new."

"That's good…" She said, her smile disappearing as she looked down at the ground, seemingly troubled by something.

Minato frowned. "What's wrong, Fuuka-san?"

She shuffled her feet nervously. "U-Um…In that lobby, when you showed up… there were two of you…?"

Minato froze for a second. He'd forgotten about that. That was going to be a bitch to explain. "Yeah…" he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously, "About that…"

"I have questions about that myself," Mitsuru jumped in, "but we can save that for the meeting tonight."

Minato looked at her in confusion. "We're meeting tonight?" He then looked at Fuuka before snapping his fingers in realization. "Oh, right!"

"Well, the rest should be here soon," Mitsuru said, shaking her head in amusement. "Shall we adjourn to the 4th floor?"

The three teens nodded in agreement and started up the stairs together. Minato's gut twisted anxiously as he pondered how he was possibly going to tell them about his Shadow.

Fuuka's gonna have a hard enough time dealing with the revelations about the Dark Hour and the Shadows; I hate to think what my issue is gonna do on top of that. Still…

He glanced over at the teal haired girl. Despite her natural timidity when speaking, she actually seemed rather strong-willed. She'd survived over 10 hours in Tartarus with no backup and with no way to defend herself. She appeared to have known what to do with an Evoker instinctually, summoning her Persona without any difficulties whatsoever. She had been instrumental in providing victory during the fight after, as well.

There was also the way she'd dealt with her bully. When Natsuki had broken down in front of her, she had forgiven Natsuki without a second thought, showing a quiet strength. Even now, she appeared to be taking the things she'd learned that night in stride, not once letting it slow her down.

Hmm, on second thought, maybe she'll be ok…

Once the four teens had settled into the command room with Ikutsuki, the rest of SEES had showed up fairly quickly, Junpei being the last one in. He had a sad expression on his face, but when he saw Minato staring at him, he gave him a small smile and a thumbs up.

Did he go to see his dad? Is that why he's like this? I guess when he gets his mind set on something…

Suddenly, Ikutsuki started, shaking him from his thoughts. "So, this delightful young lady is Fuuka Yamagishi?" He asked as he looked at Fuuka. "A pleasure to meet you, my dear; My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm chairman of the board for Gekkoukan High, and I am also 'their' advisor on 'club' matters."

Fuuka blushed at the extravagant greeting and stood up to bow. "H-hello, Ikutsuki-san."

Ikutsuki chuckled. "There is no need to be so formal, my dear. I'd hate to bow to any expectations with you."

Minato groaned and rubbed his hand down his face in exasperation. He remembered why he had skipped the last couple of meetings.

"And it's good to see you as well, Minato-kun," Ikutsuki said with a chuckle. "I was worried about you when you didn't show up to the last few meetings. Akihiko said something about being sick…?"

Minato tilted his head in confusion. Sick? He looked at Akihiko, who looked at him pointedly. He quickly understood his meaning: they'd covered for him. If they'd told Ikutsuki the real reason they hadn't been to Tartarus in 2 months, the Chairman probably wouldn't have hesitated to kick him off the team. He smiled. Even in the midst of his tantrum, they hadn't given up on him.

"Minato-kun?"

Shaking his head, he quickly nodded to Ikutsuki. "Uh, yes… It was a stomach virus. I'm fine now though. Thanks for the concern."

"Of course. I'm glad you're feeling better," He replied before clearing his throat. "Now then, I've read Mitsuru's report on the situation, and I would like to formally apologize to you all for being indisposed during your last operation. A complication came up and I had to leave rather urgently."

He gave them all a wide smile. "However, I am glad that you all were able to accomplish your objective in spite of this and that you are all ok." He glanced at Minato's brace. "Well… relatively speaking. Now, before we debrief on the operation, there one last issue we must discuss: The recruitment of a potential new member."

Mitsuru nodded, and stood up. Before she could speak, however, Minato raised his hand. She looked at him amusedly. "Yes, Arisato?"

"Can I do the speech this time?" He asked childishly. "Pretty please?"

She chuckled and sighed as she sat back down. "…Alright."

Minato smiled at her before he turned and looked at Fuuka. "So, Fuuka-san… Would you believe me if I told you that there is a secret 25th hour of the day, hidden at the stroke of midnight?"

To her credit, she simply looked at him, confused. "Um…Yes?"

"Thought so," He said, smiling at her reaction. "What next…? Hmm, well, you kind of already experienced the party piece of the Dark Hour, and the problem that it poses…"

She frowned. "You mean that strange tower, and those creatures that almost killed us?"

"As well as the power that you have within you," He said with a nod, "The same power that let you stand up to those monsters."

"You mean…Lucia?"

"Exactly," he said, impressed. She was quick. "We call that power Persona. It is a part of you, and it is something that our enemy fears."

Fuuka frowned again at the mention of an enemy. "Those creatures…"

He nodded. "We call them Shadows. They seek to feed on human emotion. If you are caught in the Dark Hour and you don't have a Persona? They hunt you down and feast on your mind. If you don't believe me, you can see the effects of their predation first hand."

He pointed to the newspaper that Ikutsuki had brought with him. A picture of an Apathy Syndrome sufferer was on the front page, and the headline read; "Lost continue to grow in number; scientists stumped as to cause."

She gasped in realization. "…The Lost? These Shadows… they're what's affecting them?"

"Exactly," Minato said with a nod. "Now, as for who we are: We are the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or SEES for short, a 'school club' investigating the Dark Hour. We are investigating why the Shadows are hunting humans, and how to get rid of them permanently. We are also looking into the origins of Tartarus, the tower that we found you in."

"Ok…" She said with a nod. "I think I understand. Why tell me all this, though? Do you want me to join you?"

Minato began to nod, but Yukari jumped in. "Well, yeah, but we don't want to pressure you. We understand if it's too much right-"

"I'll do it," Fuuka said confidently. "I'll join."

Yukari frowned. "But-"

Fuuka cut her off again. "I want to help, Yukari-san. What you all do is extremely dangerous; I saw as much. If I can help prevent that kind of thing from happening to you guys again, then I'll gladly join." She looked around at all of the SEES members. "You all came looking for me, when none of you even knew who I was." She looked down at the ground. "I want to help repay the favor…"

After a moment, Yukari shook her head. "You know, if you join, you'll have to live here at the dorm with us. You won't be able to stay at home."

Surprisingly, Fuuka brightened a bit at that news. "That's fine. I'd rather live here than at home anyway."

Having been shot down at every turn, Yukari's face tightened in frustration. Minato glanced at her in concern. This was strange. She hadn't brought up any of these concerns at his meeting. She seemed determined to deter Fuuka from joining any way she could.

Something is definitely bothering her.

Oblivious to Yukari's frustration, Mitsuru smiled and pulled out a silver case from the side of the sofa. "Welcome to SEES, Yamagishi," She said, placing the case down in front of her and opening it. "I'll have the school talk to your parents and make the arrangements for your move to the dorm."

Fuuka glanced down at the Evoker and the armband inside the case before looking up and nodding at Mitsuru. "Thank you, Mitsuru-senpai. I'll do my best."

"Welcome to the team, Fuuka-chan," Ikutsuki said with a smile. "Now, for the debriefing: Mitsuru's report on the operation was…interesting, to say the least." He turned to Akihiko. "She mentioned that you had a theory about these powerful Shadows?"

"If I remember correctly, you said that the research showed that the Shadows can be affected by the phases of the moon," Akihiko said matter-of-factly. "Something that I've noticed is that all of the attacks of these powerful Shadows… they all coincided with a full moon."

"Hmm…" Ikutsuki nodded in thought. "That is interesting…"

Junpei smirked. "Kinda makes 'em like werewolves then, huh?"

"Yeah," Minato replied with a chuckle, "Except werewolves don't try to stab you with 18 different knives or smash you into paste. They just try to give you a couple of love bites." He shrugged. "They're like big puppy dogs in comparison."

"Well, it's an interesting theory you have, to say the least…" Ikutsuki said, interrupting their banter, "One definitely worth investigating. As a wise man I knew once said to me; 'once is an occasion, twice is a coincidence-'"

"…Thrice is a pattern." Minato finished instinctually. All went quiet as Minato turned and glared at Ikutsuki, the man freezing in realization of what he had just revealed.

"So, how is my grandfather doing, Ikutsuki-san?" Minato bit out after a moment. "Has told you why he won't return my calls?"

All eyes turned to Ikutsuki as he floundered for words. Eventually, he muttered, "He…worries about you… occasionally."

"Is that so?" Minato snarled as he stood up. "Then he could have the goddamn decency to tell me himself!" All was quiet as Minato stared at Ikutsuki, chest heaving angrily.

He knew Ikutsuki, before sending me here. Did Grandfather reach out to him about the Dark Hour? Is that why he knew to send me here? It would make sense... But, if that's true, why didn't he tell me Ikutsuki was an ally? If I knew that there was someone here who knew…

He shook his head, calming himself. It didn't matter. It was done. Right now, they had more important things to worry about. Besides, he had only wanted to contact his grandfather to relay the information he'd found, but his efforts appeared to be pointless in the first place.

As he sat down a moment later, Minato glared icily at Ikutsuki. "I expect answers on this subject… eventually."

To Minato's surprise, Mitsuru also started glaring at Ikutsuki, her intensity matching his own. "So do I."

Akihiko cleared his throat, obviously trying to get the conversation back on track. "Either way, we know when to expect those Shadows now. That gives us a huge advantage."

"Agreed," Ikutsuki said hastily, taking the lifeline. "A-anyway, Mitsuru also mentioned that you apparently gained your Persona, Minato-kun. Not only that, but you can apparently summon it without an Evoker? How is that possible?"

Anger mollified, Minato sighed. "Well, after we got separated when the Dark Hour occurred, I woke up in a room with a person who was my twin." He felt their curious gazes on him as he continued. "Well, as I'm sure you can imagine, I was pretty confused. He wasn't an exact copy, however: He had bright yellow eyes instead of my blue. Other than that, he looked exactly the same as me. I asked him who he was and he replied that he was me… or rather, he was my Shadow, to be exact."

"What?" Mitsuru and Ikutsuki said simultaneously.

"Yeah…" Minato replied. "A physical manifestation of all the emotions that I denied existing, all wrapped up into a creepy identical-looking package. I didn't believe him at first…" He chuckled. "I mean, who would? …But then he started mentioning things that only I would know."

Yukari tilted her head in confusion. "Like what?"

Minato's breath deserted him. Instinctively, he looked at Mitsuru, who inhaled sharply in realization. After a moment, she gave him a small smile and shook her head slightly, causing him to inhale deeply. "Well…" He said after collecting himself, "He had intimate knowledge of a traumatic event that I had experienced in the past; one I'd rather not go into detail right now, if that's alright with you?"

Eyes widening in realization, Yukari nodded, regret in her eyes. "…Yeah, sure. Sorry, Minato-kun."

He shook his head. "Its fine, Yukari; you didn't know. Anyways, after that, he made me feel every emotion that I had ever repressed or lied to myself about feeling. I realized then that he was telling the truth."

He felt the collective wince from the other SEES members as they all tried to imagine what something like that must have felt like. Fuuka shook her head in sympathy. "That must have been awful."

"Not as much as you might think," He replied lightly. "After all, it was everything good and bad I had denied feeling. It was just intense… Eye-opening even. Anyways, after that, he said that he felt that you guys were in trouble."

"What?" Akihiko asked with a frown. "How could it have known that?"

Minato shook his head. "I don't know. He said it was because he was also a Shadow, but I dunno how true that is. Anyways, with that he teleported us back down to the lobby, and… well…that's when you guys saw the rest."

"The report mentioned that your twin was there one second, but gone the next," Ikutsuki stated. "What happened?"

Minato grimaced. "After my surprise attack failed, and I saw all you guys about to be killed..." He swallowed. "…I remember losing all hope. Then all of a sudden, time just… stopped. My twin walked up to me, and told me what he wanted. He said that I could save you all if I did just one thing for him: Accept him for who he was. Acknowledge that he…was me."

"Well," Junpei said with a smirk, "You obviously accepted."

"It wasn't as easy as just saying, 'Yes, I accept.'" He said with a shake of his head. "It was a bit more complicated than that. I had to truly accept everything that he represented, good and bad. Anyway, once I did that, that's when he disappeared. Time resumed for me, and I could…feel it. The power was there, just waiting to be called, like it had been there all along, but this was my first time noticing." All the other Persona users nodded at this, including Fuuka. They had all experienced it as well.

Ikutsuki smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you resolved that. It sounds like it was pretty intense. I'm still fuzzy on how you summoned your Persona without an Evoker, though…"

"Well, I can't really help you there," Minato said with a shrug. "I just…can, I guess. I just knew I could do it."

Ikutsuki shook his head in disappointment. "Oh well, I can't expect you to have all the answers. It is a good thing, however. You were a formidable force without your Persona, and now, I have a feeling that we will be even stronger with it."

"Well, I'm eager to help," Minato said with a nod.

"Good. Now I have noticed that you all haven't been exploring Tartarus much lately," Ikutsuki said reproachfully. "Remember that we need to keep our strength up, and that the Shadows aren't going to wait for us to be ready. You all barely made it through that last fight after all."

Minato felt a large amount of guilt settle on his shoulders. That had been his fault. However, the SEES members gave various noises of acknowledgement to the Chairman, citing school and clubs as their reasons, still covering for him. Mitsuru gave a regretful smile as she said, "We'll continue our exploration soon, Mr. Chairman."

"…Very well," Ikutsuki replied, satisfied. "In the meantime, I am going to research all I can about these Shadows and their connection to the full moon. I'll let Mitsuru know when I've found something." With that, Ikutsuki got up to leave. He walked to the door and opened it, but turned back before stepping through. "Minato-kun?"

Minato turned to look at him. "Yes?"

Ikutsuki looked at the ground regretfully. "I am sorry for deceiving you."

After a moment, Minato shook his head. "It's alright, Ikutsuki-san. I'm not angry at you." Minato's face tightened in anger. "…My grandfather, on the other hand…"

Ikutsuki nodded sadly. "I understand your frustration with him, but he does honestly worry about you. Try not to be too harsh on him when you see him next, ok?"

Minato just shrugged. "No promises."

Sensing that was all Minato had to say on the subject, Ikutsuki nodded wordlessly, turned and left.

After the door closed behind Ikutsuki, Yukari looked straight at Minato. "What the hell was that all about?"

Minato gave a derisive snort. "Well, I have been trying to contact my grandfather for a couple of months now, trying to relay information on what I've found here. Turns out I needn't have bothered, cause Ikutsuki-san has probably been feeding him information the whole time, perhaps even before my arrival."

"What?!" Yukari exclaimed.

He nodded. "Well, as most of you know, I have been a witness to the Dark Hour for the past ten years, and he's a detective. If anyone could help me make sense of it, it was him. Still…" He looked down at the ground. "He didn't tell me a damn thing about the Shadows, or Apathy Syndrome, or Ikutsuki-san, or any of it prior to coming here. He had to have gotten information concerning the Dark Hour prior to sending me here, but until now, I had no idea how."

"You did say he likes to keep things to himself…" Yukari said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Minato replied with a snort, "That doesn't mean it doesn't still piss me off…"

"No offense, boss," Junpei jumped in, "But your grandpa sounds like a dick."

Glancing at Junpei in surprise, Minato laughed. He'd had taken the wind right out of his sails with that comment. "Yeah, he is one sometimes… Other times, he's a good enough man." He looked over at Mitsuru, who had been just as surprised as he was. "I take it then that you didn't know either, Mitsuru-san?"

"No," She said, shaking her head in barely contained anger. "He kept that particular piece of information to himself, it seems. It makes sense. He was the one who ran the background checks, who gave us the dossier on you. That's probably why it was doctored to leave out your familial connections, something that should have been obvious." She growled under her breath. "…if he does something like that again..."

"I had wondered about that," Minato said lightly. "I mean, it's not like it's that big of a secret. Just looking up my grandfather's name on the internet would get you over two dozen news articles written about him over the past 20 years."

Yukari shook her head. "What else could Ikutsuki be hiding from us?"

Minato noticed Mitsuru tense a small amount at Yukari's words. He was suddenly reminded of her reaction to Junpei's question when they had first seen Tartarus, and when he'd 'presented' his findings on the Kirijo lab accident to her. All of her reactions had all been similar: evasive, nervous, and even angry. Thrice is a pattern…

He shook his head. Now definitely wasn't the time to bring it up. Confronting her could break the team's cohesion, which was already very precarious. They had a deadline to prepare for, after all. With the next full moon in a couple of weeks, they needed to be at full strength and ready to fight, not potentially at each other's throats. He smiled in an attempt to defuse the situation. "Eh, probably just a secret cache of those horrible puns he keeps subjecting us to."

"I know, right?" Junpei said with a laugh, taking the bait. "He's the worst. I mean, I like puns as much as the next guy, but Ikutsuki's? They make me cringe so hard, I can feel my teeth grinding."

Yukari frowned a little at the hijacking of her question, but quickly smiled despite herself. "Seriously, how does he keep coming up with them? I thought that he would have at least one good one, but-"

"They're consistently bad," Minato finished. "It's honestly kind of terrifying."

"Yeah, it's kind of strange now that I think about it." Akihiko added. "His puns have always been this bad. You'd think with as much practice as he gets, he would get better at it."

Mitsuru's mouth tilted upward into a smile. "Well, I suppose you can say that these puns are bad for morale."

"Oh god no!" Minato exclaimed as he turned and stared in shock and horror at the red haired girl. "Not you too!"

Mitsuru just laughed. "Well, I find wordplay of all forms to be enjoyable, don't you?"

"But that can hardly be considered wordplay!" Minato replied, a growing look of horror on his face. "It's just…Ugh!"

She laughed again at the look of horror and stupefaction on his face. "You make a fair point. However, not all of us can be as quick with irony and wit like others."

He grumbled in acquiescence to her point. "Doesn't mean they shouldn't try…"

Taking advantage of the break in the conversation, Minato turned and looked at their newest member. Fuuka seemed out of place and uncomfortable, almost like she didn't know if she belonged here or not. Apparently, she was nervous about stepping on toes.

Well, now. We can't have a member feel out of place here. After all, she's got probably the most important job of all now. Time to throw her into the deep end, metaphorically speaking…

"So Fuuka," Minato said suddenly, causing the girl to jump, "What did you think of Ikutsuki-san?"

She looked at him in surprise for a moment then smiled timidly. "U-um, He's pretty nice, I suppose. His pun was rather horrible, though. How long have you known him for?"

"Only a couple of months," He said lightly. "This stuff with my grandfather is new though."

"I see…W-What was that phrase he said, the one you recognized…? '"

He smiled as he recited from memory. "'Once is an occasion, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a pattern.' It's one of the first rules my grandfather taught me about investigating: Look for patterns, and you will typically find clues. Follow the clues, and you can solve the case."

"I see. That does make sense…" Broken out of her shell, Fuuka continued to ask him and the others questions about the group, the Shadows, the Dark Hour, and anything else she could think of. By doing so, she gradually opened up, little by little. She started smiling more and laughing occasionally, usually at some comment of Junpei's. After they had broken for the evening, he smiled inwardly.

All it takes is a single step to be brave, Fuuka. You taught me that. The rest is easy, comparatively.

Both Pharos and Jehuty were waiting for him in the expanse, both nodding simultaneously to Minato as he approached.

"Ok, that was kinda creepy," He said with a smirk. "Don't do that again."

Pharos smiled while Jehuty chuffed in laughter. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, it was Jehuty's idea."

Minato glanced at the Persona before shaking his head. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. He is me, after all," He sighed. "So, what occasions the visit, guys? More earth shattering information, or a grave prediction about my future, perhaps?"

"Neither," Pharos replied, drawing a confused glance. "The two of us have been conversing about your past and mine, and how they relate. As we were speaking, I made a startling realization. If the first thing that both of us remember is your parents' death…" Pharos paused and looked away for a moment. When he turned back, he looked…worried. "Minato, if I had a role in your parent's death, would you be able to forgive me?"

He thought the question over for a moment before sighing. "Honestly, I don't think I could. But…" He stepped closer to the boy. "…I don't think you did, Pharos. I don't get that kind of vibe from you. You don't seem like someone who would kill like that."

"How can you know that?" Pharos asked angrily, recoiling away from him. "You can't remember, I can't remember, and no one seems to want to give us any answers! The only thing I can remember is that night…!"

"Hey." Minato walked over to the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. If no one wants to give you an answer to your questions…"

After a moment, Pharos looked up at him and gave a small smile. "Sometimes, you have to find them for yourself... Thank you, Minato."

"Yes, thank you, Master. The little one here was becoming rather upset." Jehuty tilted his head. "It was becoming…distressing."

"You know," Minato said with a smile, "You guys don't have to be the only ones giving advice around here. I could take a shot at giving it, myself."

Pharos smiled sadly. "Of course… Thank you again for believing in me."

"Pharos, you believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself," Minato said genially. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't return the favor?"

"…Of course…" Pharos said, light returning to his eyes. "You're right."

"I'm always right," Minato said confidently, drawing a snort of amusement from both his Persona and his friend. After a silent moment, Minato coughed. "So, was that it…or…?" His question was answered by the fading of the expanse from his mind, as the two entities drifted farther and farther away from his view.

June 12th, 2009

"Arisato, I'm taking that rain check today."

"Huh? What rain check?" Minato replied as his hand full of soba bread paused halfway to his mouth. He squinted up at Mitsuru from his usual hiding place under the persimmon tree. She was standing right in front of him with her arms crossed, tapping her foot expectantly.

He took a moment to rack his brain about what she meant before his eyes widened in realization: she was referring to the time he asked her out to lunch… 2 months ago. "You remembered that…? Wait, you want to take it now?" He gestured to the bread in his hand. "B-But I already bought lunch for the day."

"I can see that," Mitsuru replied, a small smirk on her face. "However, I have something I must do for Student Council in a few minutes, so your money won't go to waste."

"Oh, ok…" Minato replied, confused. "Wait, so if we aren't getting lunch together today… Why say you're taking the rain check?"

"Because, as my lunch hours are usually occupied with Student Council work," She explained, "Having lunch together is simply unfeasible. However, I propose a compromise: We get dinner together instead."

Minato had never been so glad to be hiding in shade before that moment. His blush felt like it was radioactive. "W-Wait, dinner…? Together?"

She nodded. "Yes. Surprisingly, my evening tonight is open, and so I wish to take you up on your offer this way." She frowned slightly. "Is that not okay?"

"No! No, its fine," He said perhaps a bit too hastily. "It's just…surprising is all…"

"I understand," She said with a nod. "I know that it's a bit short notice…"

"Like I said, it's fine… Mitsuru," Minato said, using her first name-sans-honorific for the first time since that night. It had the opposite effect he'd hoped it would. A blush suddenly appeared on Mitsuru's face, her obviously not expecting him to be so familiar in such a public setting. She started rubbing her arm nervously and her eyes darted from side to side, searching for hidden eavesdroppers.

Crap, you idiot! You completely derailed the conversation by doing that… Quick, try to bring it back!

"So, uh… did you have a place in mind that you wanted to go?" he asked, hoping to clear the awkward air that had settled over them.

The question shook Mitsuru from her nervousness, and, after taking a moment to collect herself, she nodded. "…Akihiko mentioned a place called 'Hagakure Ramen' that he said he enjoyed eating at. I've never had ramen before, but I heard-"

"What!?" Minato cried, startling Mitsuru. "How is that-" He raised a finger to stop himself. "No, this… travesty must be rectified as soon as possible." Mitsuru stared at him as if he had gone crazy. His gaze snapped to her, an intense look in his eyes. "It is a punishment bordering on a crime that you've never had ramen before." He nodded. "That settles it: You, me, Hagakure, tonight. When do you want to go?"

"U-Uh…" Mitsuru blinked in confusion, having lost track of the conversation. "I-I was planning on eating right after school…"

"Perfect," Minato said, eyes burning brightly with passion. He quickly wrapped up his soba bread and put it in his bag before throwing said bag over his shoulder. "If we're eating right after school, I don't want to ruin my appetite," He explained before walking away from Mitsuru, leaving her stunned. Before heading to the library, he took one last look at her, a small smile on his face. He definitely hadn't been expecting this would happen.

Tonight was going be interesting.

The final bell rang, and, after putting his things in his bag, Minato turned to look at Mitsuru. She looked back at him after a moment, a faint blush on her face. "…I have something I have to do for Student Council before heading out," She murmured with a slight frown. "It won't take too long however, so why don't you wait for me by the gate?"

"Ok," Minato said with a nod. He narrowed his eyes. "10 minutes, or I'm going without you."

She smirked. "Hmm… Better work quickly then."

He chuckled as he stood up and made his way downstairs, exiting the school building and walking over to wait by the gate. As he waited, Junpei walked by on his way out. "Hey, Boss, what's up?"

"Not much," Minato replied, "Just waiting for someone."

"Oh… is that so?" Junpei said, a suggestive smirk crawling onto his face. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"Like I'd tell you, blabbermouth," Minato said with a smirk. "I tell you, next thing I know, it's all over the school."

"Ugh! I'm hurt and offended by that, Boss," Junpei replied with mock hurt. "I would never betray your confidence!" Turning serious, he smiled. "But seriously, good luck tonight, man."

"Thanks, Junpei," Minato said genuinely, "But it's not like that: we're just friends."

"Ha! Yeah, right. You may say that…" Junpei said before he turned and started walking away. "Just make sure you came prepared!" He said over his shoulder, missing the rude gesture Minato made at his retreating back. With a small chuckle and a shake of his head at his friend's antics, Minato returned to his waiting.

Sure enough, 10 minutes passed and there was still no sign of Mitsuru. He was starting to draw attention, standing there by himself. Several girls had already walked by having made no effort to conceal their stares. He started to pace nervously. What if her thing for Student Council had been more serious than she'd thought? What if something had come up with the Kirijo Group, taking away her free time this evening?

What if she'd gotten cold feet?

He pursed his lips nervously. Maybe he should just go. They could meet up another-

"10 minutes on the dot, as promised."

He spun around, smiling at Mitsuru. "You made it."

"I hope you weren't thinking of leaving without me?" She replied, returning his smile. "I apologize for the wait, something urgent needed to be-"

"Mitsuru-san! Where do you think you're going!?"

Mitsuru's eyes widened as she turned around to face whoever was calling her name. The boy had swept-back black hair and black eyes, the yellow Student Council armband tied tightly around his left arm. He regarded Mitsuru with a steady glare as he walked up to her. "You can't just cut me off and storm away like that. I'm dealing with a very serious matter here and as Student Council president, it's your job to-"

"I understand your concerns, Odagiri," Mitsuru said with a sigh of exasperation, "And I apologize for being so curt with you earlier. I simply had a prior engagement that I wished to be on time for, which is why I said we'd discuss this tomorrow. Now, if you'll please excuse me-"

"You had a prior engagement… with him?" Odagiri interrupted, pointing at Minato. "Who is he, exactly?" A devilish smirk appeared on his face. "…Your boyfriend?"

Mitsuru froze. "I… he's…"

His smirk grew as Mitsuru floundered for words. "Because, you know, dereliction of duty is something that cannot be tolerated-"

"I'm her new deputy on Student Council." Minato said suddenly, stepping around her and sticking out his hand. "Minato Arisato, nice to meet you."

"…This is your new deputy?" Stunned, Odagiri just stared at him for a moment before looking at Mitsuru. "Is this true?"

Mitsuru stared at Minato incredulously for a moment before adapting, nodding as she squared her shoulders confidently. "…Yes, he is. I had intended to introduce him to all of you earlier, but-"

"-But I'm a transfer student," Minato explained, "So I wanted to take some time to acclimatize to the new area and my work load before starting my duties. I feel that I've got a good grip on things now, so Mitsuru-san was just going to spend some time with me today to explain what my duties will entail." He smirked. "You understand, right?"

"…I suppose…" Odagiri said after a moment, his eyes narrowing. "Still, why didn't you run this through the Student Council, Mitsuru-san? It's not going to look good for us if you just elect someone without consulting anyone…"

"I need someone I can trust in the position, Odagiri," Mitsuru said, her tone becoming cold. "If anyone wants to criticize me for it, they're welcome to. It won't change my decision."

Odagiri sighed. "Of course it won't…" With that, he finally shook Minato's proffered hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Arisato-san. I'm Hidetoshi Odagiri, the Disciplinary Committee supervisor. I suppose we'll be working together from now on."

"I'm looking forward to it, Odagiri-san," Minato replied politely. His grip tightened, causing the other boy to wince slightly. "I trust that this kind of misunderstanding won't happen again?"

"O-Of course," Odagiri said with a nod. Minato let go of his hand, and the boy rubbed it gingerly for a moment. He turned back to Mitsuru. "Mitsuru-san, I apologize for-"

"Don't let it happen again, Odagiri," Mitsuru said icily. She turned to Minato. "Come, we can discuss the details of your new job over something to eat."

Minato smirked as he fell into step beside her. "Perhaps… Hagakure Ramen?"

"Of course, that sounds excellent," She replied. With that, the two of them walked off, leaving a stunned Odagiri staring after them. Once Odagiri was out of earshot, Minato inhaled deeply to calm the vicious anger that had built up in his chest at the boy's insubordination. Mitsuru glanced at him, a small, genuine smile on her face. "…Thank you for stepping in like that. When he said… that, I… I didn't really know what to say."

"I couldn't just let him do that to you," He replied, a hint of anger in his tone. "He actually tried to accuse you of dereliction of duty, which even I know is a load of bullshit. You work harder than most adults I've met, so I think he was just fishing for an excuse to find something wrong with you."

Mitsuru sighed. "Sadly, you're probably right. Odagiri thinks I'm being too lax when it comes to disciplinary matters. The argument you were drawn into was just one of many of these conversations."

"So, is he why you have no free time at lunch?" Minato said with a small smirk. "If you want, I know of a few harmless ways to make him disappear for a few days…"

She laughed. "As tempting as that is, Odagiri is just doing his job; I can hardly fault him for that. Speaking of which…" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I take it this means you've accepted my offer?"

Minato snorted. "I've already introduced myself as your deputy to one of your council members. I think I'm stuck with the job now."

"You won't hear my complaint," Mitsuru said as a smile appeared on her face. "Of course, you do realize that I am going to have to explain what it is you'll be doing as my deputy now?"

"Of course you are…" Minato said with a sigh. "Oh, well, not like I had anything better to do this evening… besides this of course."

The two walked the rest of the way to the train station in comfortable silence, a faint blush on both their faces.

"This is where Akihiko eats so often?" Mitsuru asked, gazing wide eyed around her at the small ramen shop. "It's so… so…"

Minato winced. She'd never been to a ramen bar before, so it probably was a bit of a culture shock to her. "Dingy? Dirty?"

"...small!" She said with a chuckle. "I never realized you could pack so many people in so small a space."

"True…" Minato said as he glanced around. It was rather busy this evening, with almost every available seat taken by salarymen or vendors just getting off work. Luckily, the two teens had managed to snag a couple of seats at the far-end of the bar, enabling them to converse without being overheard. "So," He said with a flourish at the menu, "What'll you have?"

She stared up at the menu for a few moments before turning back to him with a challenging smirk on her face. "What would you recommend, since you were so offended by my ramen inexperience earlier?"

Minato smirked devilishly before shouting over the counter, "Two Shoyu-styles, Boss!"

The chef pointed at him, acknowledging his order. "Two classics, coming right up!"

"…If you're gonna spend your first time with me, then you're going to do it old school." Minato said, turning back to her with a smile. Mitsuru just stared back at him, causing Minato to shift uncomfortably. "What, did I say something wrong?"

"You just… yell your order over the counter?" She said incredulously. "What if the chef gets your order wrong?"

"I never get my orders wrong, lady!" The chef suddenly said over his shoulder, causing her to jump. "What do you think this is? A restaurant? Please, I have more class than that!"

"I-I'm so sorry," Mitsuru stammered, "I-"

"This is her first time having ramen, Boss, so be nice to her!" Minato said, interrupting with a small smirk on his face.

"Her first time!?" The chef said incredulously, turning to gaze at her with wide eyes before walking over to the counter in front of her. She shrank under his steady gaze before blinking in confusion as he smiled brightly at her. "I'm honored that you are experiencing the delights of ramen for the first time in my shop," He said with a slight bow. "What's your name, young lady?"

"M-Mitsuru Kirijo…" She said nervously.

The chef's eyes brightened even more. "…A Kirijo in my store, eating ramen for the first time!?" He inhaled sharply, drawing himself up to his full height. "I'm gonna make the best damn ramen you'll ever taste, Miss Kirijo, just you watch!" With that, the chef returned to cooking, a slight zip in all of his movements as he began putting together their order.

"…I think you just made his night," Minato said with a chuckle.

Mitsuru's mouth just opened and closed again for a few moments before she shook her head clear of her confusion. "What… What just happened?"

Seeing Mitsuru's complete and utter confusion caused Minato's chuckle to turn into a full-on belly laugh. She stared at him blankly for a few moments before his laughter infected her too, causing both teens to double over giggling. Once their laughing fit was over, Minato turned to her, a large smile on his face. "That was… totally worth it."

Wiping her eyes, Mitsuru turned and glared at him, but there was no fire in it. "I'm glad you found my discomfort so amusing."

"Hey, I've never seen you look that out of place before," Minato said with a defensive shrug. "You can't blame me for finding it funny."

"I suppose. Still," she looked over at the chef, "I don't really understand what just happened, but…" She smiled lightly. "…That's not entirely a bad thing."

Drawn by the light in her voice, he turned and looked at her, fully taking in who she was at that moment. For as long as he'd known Mitsuru, she'd always had this… heavy air around her, like she had a burden that only she could feel hanging over her head. At this moment, however… that air was gone, evaporated during their little laughing fit.

Somehow, she was more beautiful in that moment then she'd ever been before.

His stomach lurched as his heart began to beat faster.

Oh, god, I've got it bad.

"Two classics," The chef said as he placed the bowls full of ramen in front of the two teens, the sound breaking him from his thoughts. "Bon Appétit, Miss Kirijo."

"Merci beaucoup," Mitsuru replied instantly, drawing a surprised eyebrow from Minato.

"You know French?" He asked lightly.

"Oui, I've been studying since I was a little girl," She said with a smile. "Do you know any languages?"

"Japanese, barely," He said with a smirk, drawing a chuckle from Mitsuru. "No, I know a bit of German and Spanish (don't ask), as well as Mandarin and English."

"Ah, I see," She said with a nod. "Part of your detective training, I assume?"

"Some of it," He replied as he pulled his chopsticks out of their sleeve, "mostly the Mandarin and English."

"Why the other two though?" She asked lightly. "Why Spanish and German?"

"Didn't I just say 'don't ask'?" He said harshly before staring down at his food with a scowl. He hadn't meant to snap at her. After a moment, he sighed. "…Haruya was taking Spanish and German when I met her. I was part of those classes too, so I picked up a bit from them…"

Mitsuru's face fell. "Minato, I'm so sorry for bringing that up…"

His eyes widened, his scowl disappearing immediately. A smile started to creep its way onto his face. "…Thanks…"

Her eyebrow furrowed in confusion. "…For what?"

"…For using my name," He replied lightly.

She blinked rapidly at the realization, surprised at how easily she'd said it. After a moment, a small smile appeared on her face as well. "…Well, consider this payback for earlier."

"Deal," He said, pulling apart his chopsticks. "Come on, we should eat before it gets cold." He started to lean in to begin eating when Mitsuru tapped him on the shoulder.

"Um… Minato…" She said lightly, her use of his name sending a shiver down his spine.

"Yes, Mitsuru?" He replied with a smirk. Two could play at that game.

She looked between her bowl and the chopsticks in her hand with a confused look on her face. "…How exactly am I supposed to eat this? Is there a specific etiquette, or way or…?"

His howls of laughter could be heard all the way to the street outside.

June 20th, 2009

The past week had been a busy one for Minato. That's why he was currently trying to resist falling asleep in the middle of class.

Right, of course... It's not that you know this stuff like the back of your hand and Ono's being boring. Again.

He liked history and mythology, he really did, but Mr. Ono somehow managed to make listening to tales of gods and monsters extremely boring. It was almost like he didn't care about anything but Japanese history. Minato yawned for what felt like the nth time that day and closed his eyes for a second as he went back over the past week.

First, he had been surprised during their foray into Tartarus the evening after his and Mitsuru's kinda-sorta-maybe date, because Mitsuru had wanted him to lead again. He believed that he had screwed up so monumentally during the train op that he should be permanently out of consideration. He expressed this opinion to her, and she had not been impressed, to say the least.

He smirked as he remembered the conversation.

Minato raised an eyebrow at her. "You're kidding, right?"

"If you don't want to do it…"Akihiko said with a smirk.

Mitsuru glared at Akihiko for a moment before turning her glare back to him. "No, I am dead serious. I want you to pick your team, and I will observe personally your behavior during this operation. If you meet my expectations, then I will move to have you take over as field leader permanently. If not, Akihiko will lead."

"Wait, why don't you lead?" Minato said with a scowl. "You don't have to stay behind anymore as the guide, and you are our leader, at least in writing."

"Yes," She acknowledged with a nod, "But I have not been in the field for quite some time. I need a little time to get used to the flow of things again. As for why, I believe that you are the best choice for field leader out of the group that we have, not me."

"What?" Minato looked at her like she was crazy. "I lead once before, and look at what happened afterward! We didn't do anything concerning Tartarus for 2 months!"

Mitsuru smirked. "Then, you won't mind if you make up for that by doing this one thing for me, will you?"

He looked at her incredulously. He had wondered how he was going to make up for being the reason they were so behind. He had to admit, it was a good play. She had him, but he wasn't going to let her know that. He turned away petulantly. "Well… I still think it's a bad idea."

Mitsuru smiled and leaned in to whisper to him. "I trust you…Minato. The rest do too. Trust me."

Hearing her say his name still sent a chill down his spine. He hoped that his shudder wasn't that noticeable as he turned back to her and nodded. "…Alright, I'll do my best. Yukari, Akihiko, you two get to be the other sacrificial lambs for this."

Junpei groaned in disappointment, but Minato turned and smiled at him. "I got you for next time, Junpei. We'll come back tomorrow too."

He nodded at Minato. "Alright… I'll hold you to that, Boss."

Fuuka smiled at them timidly as they walked to the foot of the stairs. "G-good luck, you guys. I'll be watching out for you in there."

He had ended up leading them expertly, like Mitsuru said he would.

He deferred to his team when they had ideas better than his, and was able to develop strategies that incorporated his team's strengths and weaknesses on the fly. He had been surprised by how much easier it was to fight when he had a Persona. Jehuty seemed to fortify his natural strength and stamina simply by existing. As for his powers, it seemed that he focused on strengthening his team and weakening their enemies, improving their cohesion through sheer force of will.

On their first foray into Tartarus a few months ago, they had been surprised by a strong Shadow and were almost been killed by it. This time, with Fuuka's sensory powers, they quickly found out that those kinds of Shadows were a regular occurrence on every couple of levels or so. It had made it much safer knowing what was coming and when, allowing them to breeze through what would have been several tough fights because of her and Minato's guidance.

After they had stopped for the night, Mitsuru had said how impressed she had been with his ability, and had signed off on making him the official Field Leader for SEES, becoming the one who would lead the team on every expedition into the heart of Tartarus from then on.

The night after that, they had made blistering progress up the tower, mostly thanks to Fuuka. Due to her enhanced sensory powers, they had been able to go through 40 floors, killing over a hundred Shadows by the end of their 2nd night. Her abilities gave them all confidence, including her. She said afterward that she felt as though she was becoming valuable to the team. The other team members had been quick to reaffirm this thought, Mitsuru even going so far as to call her invaluable.

As good as they all felt however, they had found out that they were not superhuman, Personae or not. They still needed to sleep, to rest and recover from the absolutely soul-crushing oppressiveness of Tartarus. They had quickly decided that 3 nights in a row was too hard on them, as they had all been too tired to do much the following day. They all vowed not to do that again unless absolutely necessary.

Apart from Tartarus, his school obligations were growing more and more complex as well. After they had finished their dinner the other night and returned to the dorm, Mitsuru had sat down with him and explained what he would be doing as her deputy on the Student Council. Essentially, he would be her proxy, acting with her authority in matters that she could not be present for. That revelation had caused him to have a minor panic attack. With this one appointment, he'd gone from being practically nobody to being the second-most powerful student on campus.

The day after, she had introduced him to her cabinet, and, Odagiri excluded, they had all been surprisingly pleasant to him. They all obviously respected Mitsuru, and seemed to quickly pick up on the respect she had for him. Wasting no time, they had often come to him for advice over the next couple of days, and he had been surprised at how much he enjoyed it.

He liked feeling like people relied on him, he found. Before, at other schools he had been to, he had always been so focused on his end goals that he never really stood out, and was never the center of attention. If he had, he would have been doing his job wrong, after all. Here, he was quickly becoming a known figure in the school, and it was gradually becoming less and less horrifying to him.

In addition to finally joining Student Council, the Fencing Team had been keeping him rather busy as well. Mitsuru had been pushing the Fencing Team rather hard, attempting to get them all ready for the largest tournament in the country. She believed that they had a good chance at sweeping the saber category, and would do well in epee and foil. The two of them had been sparring regularly as well.

He and Mitsuru had been using his ambidextrous nature to their mutual advantage during their sparring. Mitsuru had been able to practice against a left-handed fencer, enabling her to work through her weakness and banish some of her demons. Minato got the chance to practice against the best fencer he had ever seen, and to use that to get better with his left-handed fencing, giving him a potential advantage. The team had been impressed with their bouts, calling them, "The Crimson Sea." They had been told it was because of their hair colors, not because they expected that the two of them would destroy all who stood against them, forming an ocean of blood.

He only sort-of believed them.

On the other hand, he had started to acquire other problems because of his new-found fame. The toughs that had shown up on his first day had finally come back, wondering what he had done to Mitsuru to get her to pick him up as her deputy in Student Council. 'Any of us would do a better job than you', they had said. He had considered telling them that he hadn't wanted the job in the first place, but decided against it. In the end, they didn't care about what he thought, so he ignored them. In addition, to Akihiko's great amusement, he had also apparently started collecting a small fan club of girls, chief among them the girls who had been staring at him as he waited for Mitsuru.

He had thought it funny when it had happened to others, but now? He had a new found sympathy for their plight.

Still, it didn't matter. He and Mitsuru had shared dinner a few more times since that night, their conversations ranging between Student Council matters and classwork to silly anecdotes from their pasts. A smile formed on his face as he began remembering one of their conversations…

"Well, now, I think Minato-kun is right for this question, don't you think, class?"

Minato's eyes tore open at the sound of his name. He'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he'd fallen asleep. He quickly shot up out of his chair, and apologized. "Sorry about that, Mr. Ono."

Mr. Ono's eyes never left him, amusement burning in them. "Well, I'll forgive you if you can answer this question: Who were the two gods that stood on either side of Ra's boat as it passed into the Underworld?"

He sighed in relief. Egyptian Mythology. "Simple: The god Thoth or Jehuty, if you want to get literal, and Ma'at, his feminine counterpart."

Mr. Ono smiled. "Oh-ho, if you think it's that simple then please explain what Ma'at is to the class."

"Which Ma'at would you like me to explain, the concept or the goddess?" Minato asked with a smirk.

His classmates oohed, impressed. Mr. Ono laughed. "Good answer! The concept, please."

Minato nodded. "Ma'at is the Egyptian concept of truth and balance. It was said that when souls entered the Underworld, their hearts were judged by Anubis on a set of scales using a 'Feather of Ma'at' as the counter balance. This 'judgement' would determine if the souls would reach the underworld intact or not."

Mr. Ono nodded. "Good to see you are paying attention, and reading ahead. It certainly makes up for your lack of sleep. Now, Ma'at is something that we all can take a lesson from about balance…"

Minato sat down. That was too close. If it hadn't been a subject he knew a lot about…

He turned and saw Mitsuru giving him an amused look. He smiled back at her for a moment then turned to the page they were on. He wanted to get this down. He was going to ace his exams this time, since Mitsuru found it funny to tease him about it whenever she had the opportunity.

After five more minutes however, he yawned again. He shook his head in exasperation.

Not again…

After class was over, Mitsuru came up to him, a serious look in her eyes. "I just got word from the Chairman: He has news for us. Can you go down and tell the 2nd years for me? Odagiri has something he needs me to take a look at in reference to his case, and I can't get down there before they leave."

Minato nodded, eyebrows raised at the implication. "You think he's figured it out? The pattern, I mean."

She shook her head. "We won't know until tonight. I'll see you then, Minato."

He smiled at her, catching her use of his name. "Ahem…"

She blushed lightly at her slip. "I-I mean, Arisato."

His grin widened as her blush deepened. She shook her head in exasperation at his amusement. "…Oh, shut up."

She turned and stormed out of the classroom, face burning red. That made him a little proud. He could make the 'Ice Queen of Gekkoukan' embarrassed with little to no effort on his part! He would probably pay for it on the training mat, of course, but that was a small price to pay for stroking one's ego sometimes.

He walked down the steps to the 2nd floor hallway, heading for 2-E first. He walked in to see Fuuka chatting amiably with Natsuki, of all people. Fuuka seemed to be having a good time and Natsuki seemed to be a bit more at ease around her as well. Minato walked up to them, causing Fuuka to smile at him, while Natsuki got a small panicked look in her eyes.

"Hello, Minato-senpai," Fuuka said lightly, "What's up?"

Minato smiled disarmingly, having sensed Natsuki's distress. "Not much. We have a meeting at the dorm tonight: club activities."

"Alright," Fuuka said with a nod, "I'll head out before too much longer."

"Ok, good," Minato said before turning to Natsuki. "…It's good to see you again, Natsuki-san."

Natsuki nodded back at him timidly. "Y-yes, it's good to see you too, Senpai."

Minato stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder before leaning in and whispering, "It's alright, Natsuki. You are making up for it by being there for her now. Keep it up."

He pulled away from her and smiled brightly. She smiled back, put at ease by his words. "Well, ladies, it's been nice talking with you both, but I have a couple more stops to make. I'll see you later, Natsuki-san, and I'll see you back at the dorm, Fuuka."

Both girls smiled and nodded to him.

"Ok, Minato-senpai."

"Later, Senpai.

With that, he left the class and walked across the hall to 2-F. He found his two friends in the midst of laughing with another classmate of theirs. He came up to them, and they both smiled brightly at him. Yukari spoke first. "Hey, Minato-kun. What's up?"

"Yeah, what occasions the visit, bossman?" Junpei said casually, a smirk on his face.

Minato shook his head in amusement. "You just keep coming up with new ways to try and embarrass me, huh, Junpei? One would think you didn't have any time on your hands with all the different variations of that you've come up with."

Junpei laughed. "Well, I wouldn't say that they come naturally to me, but…Hey, I'd be lying. So what's up, man? You don't typically come down here just to chat."

Minato nodded. "Yeah, the Chairman is calling a meeting tonight. We think he's got something for us."

"Yeah, alright!" Junpei said, jumping out of his seat in excitement. "Some real info!"

Yukari grimaced at her classmate's childlike actions. "Ugh, don't you ever get serious, Junpei? This could be important."

"Course I'm serious, Yuka-tan! I'm just excited is all. We're finally making real progress!"

Minato nodded in agreement. "I can't say that I'm not excited either. Maybe now we can finally start to get some answers."

"Right…" Yukari simply nodded, a frown on her face.

Minato glanced at his brunette friend. He had never gotten the opportunity to ask her what was bothering her, and it appeared to still be doing so. He would have to make room for her in his schedule, and soon: she seemed to grow more and more suspicious and aggravated by the day and it worried him.

He shook his head. He'd deal with it later. "Anyways, I have some stuff I have to take care of for Fencing. I'll see you guys back at the dorm."

Junpei smiled at Minato. "Ok, catch ya later, boss!"

Yukari gave him a weary smile. "Yeah, see ya…"

He shook his head as he stepped out of the room. He was worried about her, but he didn't know what to do. His instincts screamed at him to just sit Makoto down and force her to tell him-

Yukari. Her name is Yukari, not Makoto. Get that straight right now.

Despite himself, his mind always tried to associate Yukari with Makoto. He had to consistently make sure to call her by the right name and to not overstep his bounds as a friend. He wasn't her brother, no matter how much she might act like his sister.

Regardless, Yukari had told him that she wanted him to stop hiding from them, yet seemed to have no intention of asking the same of herself. Therein lie the heart of the problem. He trusted her more than she trusted him it seemed, (ironic considering their situations) and it was beginning to rankle his feathers.

Well, just because she isn't my sister doesn't mean I can't treat her like it…

Ikutsuki came into the 4th floor lounge with a large grin on his face. "Everyone's here?" He asked, surveying the room as he sat down. "Good. First off, congratulations on how well you all have been doing in regards to Tartarus. I see that you all have been making up for lost time." He gave a small bow. "Thank you. I understand it must be hard, but remember to-"

"The team is really well-balanced, Ikutsuki-san." Minato interrupted. "We watch out for each other, and we feel it when the other gets hurt. We know our boundaries and we won't overdo it."

After regarding Minato for a moment, Ikutsuki nodded approvingly. "Good. Knowing your limits will make it easier to pace yourselves. Also, congratulations on the 'promotion', Minato-kun. I hear nothing but good things from Mitsuru."

Mitsuru and Minato both blushed at that. Minato rubbed the back of his head. "Eh, I do what I can. The job's pretty simple though. Everyone knows their part, making it really easy to command; Go here, kill that." He shrugged. "Like I said, pretty simple."

Junpei scoffed. "You are selling yourself short, boss. You do a damn good job, keeping us alive out there." The other SEES members nodded in agreement with Junpei's statement.

Minato smiled at their confidence in him. "…Thanks, guys."

"Good to see you all getting along," Ikutsuki said with a smile. "Well, to the matter at hand. I have come to share some of the fruits of my labor with you all." He cleared his throat as he began. "As you may know, we classify the Shadows on a scale of 1 through 12. It's in the style of the Tarot Arcana, with each Shadow belonging to a specific arcana. What is fascinating is that, while I was classifying the full moon Shadows, I began to notice a pattern."

His face lit up in a bright smile. "Based on order of appearance, the Shadows have all appeared based on their place in the scale. The April attack was Category 1: Magician. The Monorail attack was Category 2: Priestess. The two you faced in Tartarus, Categories 3 and 4: Empress and Emperor." He looked around at all of them. "You see, they are appearing in order of their place on the Arcana!"

Minato pursed his lips in thought. Their appearance wasn't random at all. The numbering also seemed to suggest…"They're counting down to something," He murmured under his breath. "What could it be?"

Junpei shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it. Why is this important?"

"The full moon Shadows are appearing in order of their classification," Minato explained. "We've already killed 4 of them, and, if what Ikutsuki's theory is correct, there are 12 in total. This means that there are potentially 8 more of those Shadows left." He shook his head. "What I don't get is, why? What is the purpose? We still don't know what the Shadows as a whole are. What their purpose is."

Ikutsuki frowned. "It's a good question. I'm still trying to work that out."

"That doesn't matter," Akihiko said, clenching his fist, "We still have to stop them. We know when they come, and how many are left! I'd say that's a pretty good thing to know, don't you guys?"

Mitsuru nodded, as did Junpei and Fuuka. Minato still had his reservations, however.

Yukari shook her head. "I don't get it. What about Tartarus? Where does it fit in to all of this?"

Once again, Mitsuru tensed as someone mentioned Tartarus' origins. Minato glanced at her.

There it is again. Yukari has to have noticed by now, cause, she isn't being that subtle about it.

If Yukari had noticed, she didn't show it. "Oh well," She said with a shake of her head, "Like Akihiko-senpai said, it doesn't matter right now. We know how many of those big ones we have left to kill now. That's the important thing."

"Exactly," Ikutsuki said with a nod. "The answers to Tartarus are probably within the tower itself. Continue your expeditions and I'm sure you'll find the answer." He cleared his throat. "Well, that's all I had for you all tonight. I hope you have a nice rest of your evening, everyone. I'll continue my research, and hopefully have more answers for you next time we meet."

Ikutsuki then stood up and left. The meeting adjourned, Mitsuru and Akihiko yawned and said that they were going to bed. Fuuka and Junpei nodded in agreement, and followed them out, leaving Minato and Yukari alone in the command room.

Minato looked over at Yukari, who glanced at him evasively. She looked like she wanted to ask him something. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she set herself. "So, uh…" She said nervously, "…You saw it too, didn't you?"

"Saw what?"

She scowled. "You know what. Mitsuru-senpai has been tensing up every time that you, or I, or anyone else mentions Tartarus' origins. What was it your grandfather says? 'Thrice is a pattern?'"

"…Yeah, I've noticed it." He said reluctantly. "What about it?"

She scoffed. "…You don't care. You are too busy sucking up to her, making yourself look like her knight in shining armor. …I should have known that you wouldn't listen."

She got up to leave, but he stood up, blocking her path. "Now hold on," He said icily, "You need to back up and explain what you just said, cause I didn't realize that what I do with my friends determined whether I'll listen to you or not."

She shook her head in anger. "How can you not care that she's hiding something from us?! We're risking our lives, day in and day out, on nothing but her word! Don't you want to know the truth?"

Her words began stoking the anger at her that had been burning since this afternoon. He tensed and narrowed his eyes at her. "Of course I do. What do you think I did for those 2 months, sat on my hands, and raged at the world? No, I've been investigating the Kirijo Group since I got here. Hell, I even found something interesting a month back."

Yukari stared at him in shock. "What?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it made Mitsuru-san angry that I found it, too." He shrugged. "I still haven't gotten an explanation for it, but I figure that if it's important, she'll tell us."

She just looked at him in disbelief. "You've been hiding this from me? From us? Why?!"

Her naked distrust finally stoked his anger into a bonfire. "For the same damn reason you're acting this way!" He exploded. "It would divide the team! Have us at each other's throats! If Ikutsuki's right about these full moon Shadows, we need to trust one another to watch each other's backs, not constantly wondering who's going to shank whom next!"

She shrunk in the face of his anger, causing regret to douse his anger. He wasn't wrong; things were only going to get more dangerous, and the team needed to be united to survive. Still, as much as he didn't like it, she had a point. She began backing away from him slowly, causing him to sigh. "…Look, Yukari. If it's that important to you, I can bring it up at the next meeting." Her eyes widened in surprise. "We'll get some answers from her, together."

She looked at him dumbly for a moment before she shook her head in confusion. "Why? You were right."

He sighed. "…Because I'm still curious, dammit. And I think that we can't keep dancing around it for long, anyway. She's not exactly being subtle about it, and someone's gonna ask sooner or later." He gave her a half-smirk. "…Might as well be sooner."

She nodded and smiled regretfully at him. "Thank you. Um, I'm sorry I said those things to you. They were out of line. It's not my place to comment on who you decide to go after... romantically." He glanced up at her in shock. She smiled at him. "What, did you think I wouldn't notice? The way you keep dancing around her is really cute."

He floundered for words. "That's…I…She…"

She laughed. "I've knocked Minato Arisato speechless. A cold day in Hell is coming, I can feel it."

His blush was burning so hard his face felt like it was on fire. "Well, you had better believe it," He said, finally regaining control of his mouth, "Because you are going to Tartarus in nothing but your underwear next time."

She blushed furiously. "What?!" She sputtered at him. "No way!"

A vindictive grin appeared on his face. "Good, now you know the consequences for if you tell anyone. Anyone."

She glared at him for a moment then smiled. "Ok, you win. I won't say anything."

"Good." She tried to step past him, and he stopped her. She looked up at him in confusion, and he stared back, concern written on his face. "Look, I think we need to talk about whatever is bothering you."

She smiled at him unconvincingly. "Nothing's wrong with me, Minato-kun. I'm fine."

"No, you aren't," He said, shaking his head, "I can see that you aren't yourself, and you haven't been since the Rescue operation." He smiled at her. "You once tried to talk to me about what was bothering me, and I pushed you away. Don't make the same mistake I did."

She glanced at him in surprise then looked away. After a moment, she closed her eyes as she nodded.

"Alright, I'll tell you."

She sat back down in her chair, and he sat down across from her.

"I... guess that almost dying tends to put things in perspective, huh?" He raised an eyebrow as she continued. "When we almost died there, a few weeks ago…" She shuddered, and started again. "I told you that I wasn't on good terms with my mom, and that's true. But when I was there in the lobby, about to die, I couldn't stop thinking about what it would do to her."

She sighed. "She never got over Dad's death. She goes out and hangs around with all these different men, and…" She blew air out of her mouth in frustration. "It pisses me off. It's like she's forgotten about Dad, pretending like he didn't exist, all because she couldn't deal with the fact that he loved her and never came back. Now…" She shook her head. "Anyway, I thought, before I came here, 'If I find out what happened to Dad, for real, she'll stop being so flaky, and finally move on.'"

He smiled at her warmly. "You can't stand your mother, but you care an awful lot about her… It says a lot about you."

She smirked at his words. "Thanks. But like I was saying before, if I died, here and now… I won't have found out anything about the truth of his death. In addition, my mom would probably crumble completely from the loss. That's why I want to know the truth, now."

He smiled in sympathy. "You're scared."

She nodded, a tear running down her face. "..So much. And to know that these things are just going to keep getting stronger…" She started to break down, a sob of fear breaking out. "I'm so scared, dammit!"

He quickly walked over to her, and put his arms around her. She cried into his shoulder as he rocked her back and forth. "It's ok, Yukari. It's ok. It's ok, little sis…"

She held on to him until her fears had been calmed. When she had collected herself, she smiled at him. "D-did you call me… little sis?"

He froze for a second before smiling bashfully, a blush of embarrassment on his face. "Slip of the tongue, honest. Sorry."

She smiled at him again. "No, it's ok. I… kind of like it. I never had a brother before, but if I did… I'd want him to be like you." He smiled brightly at that. She tilted her head. "Do you remember anything about Makoto?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "You remember her name?"

She nodded. "She was important to you, of course I'd remember."

He shrugged. "Well, like I said before, it's only bits and pieces. I remember… I called her my little sister, but she was only younger than me by a few minutes. She was a pain to deal with sometimes, but she was always kind to those that deserved it. She had a great sense of humor, even at the end. I remember that she told me a joke just before she died, making the pain hurt just a little bit less."

She smiled sadly. "She sounded like a great girl. I'm sorry for your loss again."

He nodded, returning her smile. "…Doesn't feel like she's gone sometimes…" He murmured.

She smiled brightly at that, then suddenly yawned. "Well, it's late," She said after yawning. "I should head to bed. Good night, Minato-kun."

"Good night, Yukari…" He replied, watching her leave the room looking like she was 5 pounds lighter. With that dealt with, he headed to bed himself. It looked like things were going to get interesting during the next meeting. He sighed.

I just hope that we're ready for it. What could possibly so bad, that you won't tell us Mitsuru?

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Edit AN: Whew, that was a fun chapter to do. The whole kinda-sorta-maybe date with Mitsuru that I added to this was born out of a desire to show their relationship deepening before the events that happen later in the story. I had a lot of fun writing that scene, making me look forward to doing more with the two of them in the future. As for the rest of the chapter, it's pretty much the same, just edited and rearranged. As always, please send me a PM or write a review if you have any questions, concerns or if you just liked the chapter. Hope to see you in the next one! – Dr. Ninja