June 23rd, 2009

With a loud gurgle and groan, Minato's stomach painfully reminded him of just how empty it currently was. He scowled as he walked towards the strip mall and, more importantly to him, Hagakure Ramen. Why had he agreed to be Mitsuru's deputy again? If he'd known that joining Student Council would have meant skipping lunch and staying late after school, he might have just left Mitsuru hanging that day.

Ugh, who am I kidding? I'd have done it again in a heartbeat, especially seeing how far we've come these past few weeks… Still, it doesn't change the fact that she made me skip lunch to go to that damn meeting Odagiri called. Ugh, I'm so whipped and I'm not even dating her…

As Minato approached the entrance to Hagakure Ramen still lamenting the state of his love life, he suddenly saw a familiar head of silver hair duck inside. His eyebrow rose in confusion. What was Akihiko doing out this late? Was he that hungry for ramen? Curious, he stepped up to the door and opened it a crack. Looking inside, he saw Akihiko sit down next to a scowling guy with a beanie and a red trench coat, who had evidently already been eating there.

The other guy looked familiar. He racked his brain for a moment, trying to remember where he'd seen him… Minato's eyes widened. It was the guy who had been in Akihiko's hospital room that day they'd gone to visit him! His eyebrow furrowed. Why was Akihiko meeting him here? He put his ear next to the crack in the door, hoping he'd be able to hear their conversation.

"How can you eat the same thing all the time without getting sick of it?" Akihiko asked his companion, his voice thankfully carrying through the mostly empty ramen bar. Minato snorted quietly at that comment.

Says the protein freak…

"Shut up," the guy replied, giving Akihiko a glare. "You always eat that protein shit, so my taste for ramen is tame in comparison." Minato's eyes widened. Either the guy was psychic or he must have known Akihiko for quite a while. No one Akihiko was simply acquainted with could talk to him like that and not get their front teeth knocked in… plus his comment about Akihiko's protein addiction had been on point.

Further proving his point, Akihiko simply smirked at the rude comment. "Hmph… Fair enough…"

At that point, the chef brought Akihiko a bowl of steaming hot ramen. Minato's stomach growled loudly at the sight, making him recoil away from the door for fear of being heard. He sighed under his breath.

This is why you don't eavesdrop on an empty stomach…

As Minato turned back to continue his eavesdropping, Akihiko took a few bites of his food, causing Minato's mouth to water. A burning temptation to simply step through the door and order some of that delicious looking food ran through him, but he resisted… barely.

Thankfully, Akihiko stopped eating and turned to look at his friend at that point, sparing Minato's sanity. "So, you still haven't made up your mind?"

His friend scowled. "Is that what this is about? Goddamn it, Aki…" He shook his head. "Just once, I'd like to eat with you without you bringing it up."

Akihiko scowled right back, un-cowed by his friend's gruff demeanor. "We've got four new members. Four. Things have changed quite a bit since you left. We're more aggressive now, and-"

"I'm not interested," His friend interrupted. "So save the sales pitch."

Akihiko shook his head, undeterred. "Come on… please think about it, Shinji. Don't let your power go to waste."

Wait, he was a Persona-user? He knew about SEES too… The thought made Minato think back to what Mitsuru had told him right after they'd fought the first time. SEES had had a previous member who had lost control of his Persona. It was because of him that they'd trained him so hard to fight without a Persona instead of relying on one that was potentially unstable. Was this him?

'Shinji's' response all but confirmed his identity. "…My power?" He asked with a scoff. "It ain't worth shit…"

Akihiko's face twisted in anger. "Shinji…!"

Shinji just looked at Akihiko, similarly un-cowed by Akihiko's anger. "I made up my mind a long time ago, Aki. I ain't going back. Not now, not ever."

"You have to let the past go, Shinji," Akihiko said, shaking his head. "What's done is done. It's time you moved on. How long are you gonna waste your life, wishing things were different?"

Shinji's face twisted with pain and anger for a moment, then settled into a scowl. "…You're one to talk," He muttered as he leant into his food.

"What?" Akihiko looked like he had been punched in the gut.

"Face it, Aki… You're no different than me." A second later, Shinji finished his food with a loud slurp and stood up. He looked at Akihiko with a withering glare. "I'll keep doing my penance my way, not yours."

With that, Shinji started walking towards the door. Minato quickly stepped away to pretend to look at the menu. The door slid open a second later as Shinji walked out. He glanced at Minato before doing a double take, appearing to recognize him. "Hey, you."

Shit, did he see me?

"…I remember you," Shinji said with a smirk. "You showed up and saved those friends of Aki's a couple of weeks back. Came in and ripped out one of those asshole's piercings if I remember right." He gave Minato an impressed look. "Good work, by the way. It was great not having those pricks around for a while."

"Uh, thanks… I guess."

"So…" Shinji looked from side to side before leaning in. "You know about the Dark Hour, right?" Minato nodded, earning another smirk from Shinji. "In that case, take care of Aki for me, would you? The idiot tends to get in over his head sometimes."

Minato smirked. "Yeah, he does get a bit overexcited during fights." He held out his hand. "Minato Arisato."

He took Minato's hand and shook. "Shinjiro Aragaki. See you around."

With introductions done, Shinjiro turned and walked away without another word, Minato watching him go. He shook his head as the trench-coated teen disappeared into the stairwell.

What happened to you, Shinjiro? Why do you hate your power so much?

His stomach growled again, providing him both a way to find out and to satiate his voracious hunger. He quickly opened the door to Hagakure Ramen and stepped inside. Akihiko was still sitting, staring into his bowl of ramen intently, deep in thought. Minato walked over and sat down in Shinjiro's vacated seat. "Mind if I sit here?"

Akihiko jumped. "Oh, Minato… I didn't see you come in. Why are you out so late?"

"I'll have a house special please, thanks Boss." He said before turning back to Akihiko. "Freaking Student Council... Odagiri's going nuts trying to find this bathroom smoker, and we've had to do damage control for the past week." He laid his head on the countertop. "If I have to address one more goddamn complaint about that guy, I'm gonna kill him myself…"

"…I don't think I've ever been so glad to reject an offer from Mitsuru in my life before now," Akihiko said with a smirk. "Student Council seems to agree with you though, if Mitsuru's word is anything to go by."

"Oh?" Minato asked with feigned disinterest.

He nodded. "She's been really impressed by how much you've taken to the role, despite the difficulties you've already faced. She's upset she didn't try harder to get you in sooner."

He smiled at that for a moment before his stomach reminded him of how much it had cost him. "Ugh, praise aside, I still can't believe I agreed to this…" He shook his head. "Oh well, no sense crying over spilt milk…" With a snort, Akihiko returned to his eating, ending the conversation before Minato could broach the topic of Shinjiro. How should he approach this?

"So," Minato said lightly, "I met Shinjiro, outside."

"Wuh?!" Akihiko said through a mouthful of noodles, nearly doing a spit take. He swallowed and put down his chopsticks before turning and looking at Minato. "You did? What did he say to you?"

Minato smirked. "Just told me to take care of you, make sure you didn't do anything reckless."

"Yeah," Akihiko said, his shoulders relaxing, "Sounds like Shinji alright."

At that moment, Minato's food came, and he dug into his food like he hadn't eaten in days. The broth and the noodles were like pure heaven in his mouth. He ate voraciously for a few moments before stating, "He's the former member, isn't he? The one Mitsuru-san told me about."

"She told you about that?" Minato nodded, causing Akihiko to sigh. "…Shinji and I have been best friends since the orphanage. He and I grew up together, along with my sister, Miki."

Minato's eyes widened. "You have a sister?"

"…Had," Akihiko said with a wince. "…She died in the fire that destroyed the orphanage."

Minato closed his eyes regretfully. "I'm sorry, Akihiko…"

Akihiko shook his head. "It's ok. Anyway, Shinji and I were always together after that. We got recruited into SEES pretty soon after it formed, 2 years ago."

"What exactly happened?" Minato asked. "Mitsuru-san mentioned something about his Persona being uncontrollable…?"

"Yeah, you could say that…" Akihiko said with a grimace. "During one of our last missions to cleanse the city of Shadows, we found a group of them attacking a woman and her kid in an alleyway. Long story short, we managed to defeat them, but Shinji suddenly lost control. His Persona went berserk, and it… killed the woman."

"Oh, god…" Minato said with a grimace. He could only imagine what that must have been like… The thought sent a shiver up his spine.

Akihiko shook his head regretfully. "…It broke him. He quit the group and started going to that place behind the train station to live. What he does nowadays, no one knows…"

"That's…" Minato started before shaking his head. "This makes Mitsuru-san's behavior back then a lot more understandable."

Akihiko raised an eyebrow in confusion. Minato gave him a smirk. "She put me through that endurance training with you that morning after my recruitment, remember? After that particular brand of torture, she took me up on the roof and made me spar against her." He shook his head. "Long story short, all of that crap she put me through was to try and make me quit SEES. Later, she told me it was because she didn't want me to use my Persona if it was going to end up like Shinjiro's."

"Ah, so that's why…" Akihiko shook his head, smiling. "Sounds like something she would do."

With that, the two fell into an awkward silence. Both chose to focus on their food as they pondered what they had learned. After a minute, Minato finished his food and smiled at Akihiko. "Thanks for sharing that with me, Akihiko. It really puts things into perspective."

Akihiko nodded absentmindedly, still deep in thought. "Yeah…"

"You know," Minato said lightly, "I could try talking to Shinjiro, next time I see him. I don't know exactly what it's like, but I do know a bit about what he's going through."

He appeared to give it some thought before grinning exasperatedly. "…Why not? Maybe he'll listen to you."

"Ok, but in return? I want you to lay off on the recruitment shit, ok?" Akihiko turned and gave him a surprised look. Minato just smirked. "Of course I was eavesdropping: I'm a detective, after all. So, the next time the two of you meet up, I want you to just sit down and eat with him. No Dark Hour, no Persona, nothing like that… Just be the friend that he needs you to be."

Akihiko's face contorted with anger for a second before settling into a small grin. "…Heh, I guess I have been nagging him a bit hard. I can't even remember the last time I just sat down and talked with him either…"

"It's all I ask, Akihiko," Minato said lightly. "Shouldn't be too difficult, I think."

"…You're right," Akihiko said with a nod. "…Thanks, Minato."

Minato shrugged. "It's what I'm here for. I'll see you back at the dorm."

Akihiko nodded and turned back to his food as Minato walked back out into the warm June night.

Takeda shuddered as he felt himself awaken. First thing he noticed: his head hurt something awful, as if he'd just woken up after going on a 2-day bender. He shook his head to clear his mind then gasped as he looked around. There were no lights anywhere. The puddles of rainwater around the courtyard had all turned the color of blood, and the moon had become a bright, bright yellow. He shook his head again, hoping it would turn the world right again. "What the hell is this?!"

A voice sounded out behind him. "Good evening."

Takeda whirled towards the originator of the voice. He saw 3 people standing off to his side: two women and one male. The woman in front, a tall brunette with bright blue eyes and a pretty face came walking up to him. The others, a blue haired teen with a scowling face and a red haired girl in a white gothic sundress, spread out and began looking around the alley.

"W-who are you?" He stammered out.

The brunette chuckled. "Surprised? I certainly was, the first time I came here. Turns out that this has been here the whole time… A secret hour for people like me to do naughty things in the night."

Takeda's eyes widened. He chuckled nervously. "Eh-heh… L-Listen, lady, you're cute and all, but I really just wanna go home right now and-"

"What?" She said, disappointed. "You can't go home right now, silly! We haven't played our game yet. Jin!"

The scowling blue haired teen, Jin, walked over to him and pulled out a piece of paper, holding it up to the moonlight so Takeda could see. "This is you, right?" He asked curtly. "Name, age, address, etc…?"

Fear rising in his belly, Takeda looked at the paper closely. A moment later, he gasped. They had everything! His name, his age, even the names of his friends! "What the hell?" He shouted, backing away from Jin. "Who the hell are you guys?"

Jin smirked, a nasty look on his face as he stuffed the paper back into his green windbreaker. "Sorry, can't tell you. We're professionals. But I can tell you this: Someone has your number, buddy."

Takeda's eyes widened. He had heard rumors from some of his friends about a revenge website, one run by a group of professionals who would take revenge on anyone for whoever would hire them. "No way… the rumors were true?"

The brunette laughed. "Ah, he's heard of us. Good. That makes the next part so much more enjoyable!" A knife suddenly appeared in her hands before she flew across the space between them. He felt pain burst out through his abdomen as the knife entered and twisted. Takeda fell to his knees, clutching his side, blood pouring out between his fingers. He screamed for a moment before her knife flashed out again, the blade cutting his throat, silencing his cries. Grasping his throat, he slid to the ground.

The brunette laughed again as she began cleaning the blood off of her knife and hands. "Ah, I love the sound they make when the knife goes in. Such an amazing sound of anguish…"

Jin shook his head. "You know, professionals aren't supposed to take so much joy in their work, Inari."

The brunette, Inari, laughed and stepped over to Jin, kissing him passionately. After a moment, she pulled away. "Aw, Jin…" She said, a hint of disappointment in her tone, "Why do you always have to go and rain on my parade? You know I don't like that."

Dazed, he just shook his head, collecting himself. "…Someone has to try and rein you in, sometimes."

Inari giggled. "Ooh, do you promise me?"

The red haired girl stood over Takeda as his vision faded. She felt the life leave him as the light faded from his eyes. "He's dead," She said, her voice cold and regretful.

Inari just gave her a predatory smile. "Good, job's done. Let's head back then before the boss gets worried." She glanced at Jin, giving him a teasing look. "Someone needs to 'rein' me in anyways."

Blushing, Jin glanced at the red haired girl, who looked askance back at him after Inari's implication. He shrugged at her unspoken question and followed Inari down the alleyway, sighing. Someday, she was going to be the death of him.

Somehow, he was alright with that.

June 30th, 2009

Minato sighed as he neared the dorm. It had been a long few weeks. Odagiri had finally caught the smoker, having eased off his investigation at Minato and Mitsuru's insistence. The culprit had turned himself in, and Odagiri had shown remarkable maturity in his punishment, making the culprit clean the bathrooms for a few days instead of the expulsion he had promised at the beginning. Thus, a ton of paperwork had needed to be done, and he was just getting home because of it.

As he neared the dorm, he saw Yukari and Fuuka just outside crowded around a grey-haired Shiba Inu. He raised his eyebrows in amusement and walked over to them. "Hey ladies, what's up? What's with the dog?"

"Koro-chan, go say hi to Minato-san," Fuuka said with a smile.

The dog barked in acknowledgement and walked over to Minato, sitting down in front of him before barking happily up at him. Minato smiled and bent down to pet him. "Hello there, little buddy. What's your name?"

"His name is Koromaru," Yukari said with a smile. "He used to belong to the priest who ran the Naganaki shrine. A couple of months ago, the priest was hit by a car and died. Koromaru mostly stays by the site of the accident now, but he always goes on daily walks around the city, like he used to with the priest."

Minato's smile dampened at the sad story, but he continued to pet the Shiba Inu. "You are a strong little guy, aren't you? I'm sorry for your loss." Koromaru barked and whined a little, then licked Minato's palm. After petting the dog for a few more seconds, Minato stood up and looked at Yukari. "So how did you know all of that?"

"A lady walking by told us."

"Ah, ok," Minato said with a nod. "I was kind of hoping for a surprising revelation, like you can suddenly talk to dogs or something."

Yukari laughed. "Hah! I wish."

"So, Fuuka, what's…" He stopped. Fuuka appeared to be deep in thought, staring intently at Koromaru as the dog began walking away. Raising an eyebrow, Minato waved his hand in front of her face, and she shook awake.

"Huh, what?" She asked, confused.

Minato smirked. "You ok, Fuuka? You were out of it there for a second."

"I thought that I felt…" Fuuka turned and stared after Koromaru again before shaking her head. "No, it can't be. Never mind…"

Minato raised an eyebrow. "I thought for a second you were gonna tell me you could talk to dogs. I was about to freak out."

"Unfortunately not," She said with a smirk. "It would be nice, but Lucia can't do that… yet."

He stared at her in surprise. She simply smiled in response. "What? I can't make jokes?"

He just laughed.

The first thing he noticed when he appeared in the expanse was the increasingly familiar weight of a small person wrapped around his waist. He looked down and Pharos was latched onto him in a hug. He smirked as he heard Jehuty chuffing in laughter behind him.

When Pharos let go of him a second later, he turned around, glaring at his Persona. "Laugh it up, birdbrain."

"Hello, Minato," Pharos said, smiling brightly, "How are you doing? I missed you."

Minato laughed. "I noticed. What occasions the hug?"

"It's only a week before the next full moon," He said, his smile dampened. "The last few times have been close for you, so… I just wanted to see that you are well."

Minato smiled. "Thanks for the concern buddy, but I have a good feeling about this one. The team has never been closer, and we are expecting them this time."

"Nevertheless, don't underestimate your opponent," Pharos said, shaking his head. "They have other ways of harming you than just physical, you know."

Minato shrugged. "Well, we'll deal with that when it comes around, alright?"

"Of course… I have faith in you and your friends."

Minato reached out and hugged Pharos back. "Thanks buddy. I'll do my best to keep my ass intact."

"Good," Jehuty said with a nod, "I'd hate for Mitsuru to have to execute us for ruining your best physical feature."

Minato froze. He spun around to look at his Persona, a blush burning on his cheeks. "W-What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like!" Jehuty replied, his shoulders shaking in amusement.

Feeling his connection to the world slipping, Minato swore loudly as he heard Jehuty's cackling get farther and farther away.

He woke up and immediately facepalmed. "Ok, even my frigging subconscious is making fun of me and my love life. What has the world come to?"

July 7th, 2009

Tonight was the night of the full moon. Anxiety had run rampant through the team all day. Hell, Minato had barely been able to pay attention during class, he was so on edge. He practically ran back to the dorm as soon as class was over. Once he got there, however, he had taken to pacing up and down the stairs for the rest of the day, just to burn the nervous energy. The rest of the group had not been much better, each of them doing different activities to calm their nerves. The only one who didn't seem to be anxious was Akihiko, but he was always on edge.

Once the Dark Hour struck, he and the rest of SEES including the Chairman filed into the 4th floor command room. Fuuka summoned her Persona and began scanning the city for the Shadow. After a few minutes passed, Mitsuru sighed. "Do you have a location yet, Yamagishi?"

"Almost got it…" She said before her eyes snapped open. "I found it! It's in a building on Shirakawa Boulevard!"

Ikutsuki made a choked noise. Mitsuru glanced at him. "You know the place, Ikutsuki-san?"

Ikutsuki rubbed the back of his head, a blush on his face. "Erm…in a manner of speaking…" At Mitsuru's questioning glance, he shook his head. "Well, they've been finding the Lost in pairs, recently, and… now it makes sense."

"Wait, you don't mean…!?" Minato made a choking noise himself as he recognized the implication. "Why the hell would it pick a place like that?"

Junpei tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? Shirakawa Boulevard is where- Oh!" His eyes widened. "I get it now. It's where those hotels are."

"…Thanks, Junpei, why don't you spell it out for the rest of us?" Minato asked sarcastically. "It definitely wasn't awkward enough as is."

"Sorry, boss," Junpei said, laughing awkwardly and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I just… Yeah…"

"Ugh…" Yukari groaned, grimacing at the implication. "Maybe I shouldn't go…"

"You're just like a little kid, Yuka-tan," Junpei said with a smirk. "Heh heh…"

Yukari turned and glared at Junpei before looking at Minato concernedly. His eyes widened as he realized why she was so uncomfortable. If what she'd told him was true, her mom had probably been to a few of these hotels before…

"Lay off, Junpei," Minato said harshly. "I understand her concern."

"…Got you, Boss." Junpei gave Yukari a regretful look. "Sorry, Yuka-tan."

She shook her head. "It's ok, Junpei…" She stepped forward, giving Minato a serious look. "I want a piece of the action this time, Minato-kun. Take me with you."

His eyes widened in surprise. At his insistence, Yukari had not been a part of the last few expeditions to Tartarus. Instead, she had opted to take the time to get to know Fuuka better. Her mood had improved significantly since speaking with Minato a few weeks ago, and it now seemed as though she wanted to conquer her fears. He smiled.

It takes guts to willingly go into danger again like this, especially considering what happened last time… and then add a place that has all this baggage for you, on top of that…? Good luck, Yukari. I'll do what I can to help.

He nodded before looking at Mitsuru and Junpei. "Ok, you two are up as well. Get ready."

Akihiko shook his head in disappointment. "I never get to do anything…"

Minato turned and gaped at him. "You've been on every expedition into Tartarus this past month, Akihiko!" He was like a little kid being told he couldn't have ice cream after eating half a box of chocolate bars. "Let the others have this one, and the next full moon is yours, I promise."

Akihiko grumbled disappointedly, but nodded. "…Alright."

He sighed heavily. Being leader was like herding cats sometimes. "Ok, let's head down there. Fuuka, lead the way."

When they got to the hotel Fuuka had mentioned, Minato was convinced that he needed a shower as soon as he got back to the dorm. Shirakawa Boulevard was evidently in an already bad part of town, and the building that Fuuka had stopped in front of had not convinced him that it was any different. He mentally sighed as he was unpleasantly reminded of Pharos' warnings a week ago.

Well, nothing he could have said would really have prepared me for this…

After stopping in front of the building, Fuuka had summoned her Persona and said she was ready to go. Yukari, Junpei, Minato, and Mitsuru quickly checked their weapons then walked inside. The lobby was a grimy mess, the Dark Hour not doing any favors to the shabby interior. Yukari shuddered at the sight then caught herself. Minato nodded in approval. Now wasn't the time to be thinking on the past.

They began moving carefully throughout the building. "Fuuka, any sign of contact?" Minato whispered as they started up the stairs to the second floor.

"Negative," she replied over the link. "I don't see anything apart from the Full Moon on the top floor. Still, be careful."

"Of course…" Minato replied with a smirk, "I'm always careful."

"Keep telling yourself that, Senpai…"

Fuuka's intel was good, as always. When SEES finally got to the suite where the Full Moon Shadow was a few minutes later, they still had not faced a single Shadow. Minato grimaced. It didn't sit right with him, not at all. Pharos might have been right after all.

"Ok," He said, turning and addressing the team. "We go in full force and we take this thing down as quickly as possible. This could be a trap, and if we're gonna end up springing it, we make sure that thing dies instead of us. Got it?" His team nodded back to him, and a wave of affirmation came from Fuuka. "Alright, on the count of 3…"

Taking positions on either side of the door, Minato held up 3 fingers. "Three… two… one!" With explosive action, they opened the door to the suite and rushed in, weapons at the ready.

The Shadow seemed to consist of two entities tied as one: A large overweight man sitting in a chair and a womanish figure draped over his shoulders. The Shadow roared in reaction to their intrusion and the door slammed shut behind them. Sure enough, it was a trap.

"It's a Hierophant, so watch out!" Fuuka called out. "Its head is its weak point, but it seems to be resistant to most elements. It repels Dark as well, so be careful, Minato-senpai!"

That could be a problem for this team. Resistances to magic meant that in order to finish this fight quickly, they'd have to physically get close to the Shadow to attack, since all of their Personae were magic-based. Suddenly he wished he'd actually brought Akihiko for this fight.

Not gonna let him know that though… He'd be insufferable otherwise.

Turning his thoughts back to the task at hand, Minato quickly surveyed the state of the battlefield. It was a very large room with a oval-shaped bed in the middle, surrounded by four pillars. It had a glass door on the side of the room, presumably leading to a shower room, and a large mirror on the right hand wall.

The Shadow was currently sitting in front of the bed, with two of the pillars protecting it on its left and right flank. He cursed internally. That made it hard for them to surround the target, and forced them to funnel into a relatively small arc to attack. This would be tough. Still, he had confidence.

In one practiced motion, Minato put his hand-gun to his head and fired. "Jehuty! Matarukaja!" Jehuty appeared behind him and crooned as red energy emitted from his body, enveloping his fellow members. With that done, Minato signaled for his team to close distance. As they attempted to get close enough to the Shadow to attack however, a wave of fear suddenly enveloped them. The more they tried to push through it, the harder it hit, eventually forcing them to retreat.

Panting as the fear slowly wore off, Minato shook his head. He didn't understand it. He knew that it was irrational, but it appeared they couldn't get close without retreating in terror. As much as he hated it, they needed to change their strategy. It would be a gamble, but it looked to be their only choice.

"This isn't working!" He yelled. "Attack from range, guys! Pour it on!" He then put his hand-gun up to his head and summoned Jehuty. "Marakunda!" He saw the Shadow wilt a little as its skin and resistances weakened and became more susceptible to their attacks. Junpei summoned Hermes to keep the Shadow panicked. "Agilao!"

A burst of flame caused the male Shadow to become engulfed. The female Shadow attempted to pat out the flames, but she found her arms assaulted by spikes of ice as Mitsuru's Persona entered the fight. The creature wailed, and a burst of energy expanded from it. The flames went out and the spikes fell out of its arms as it overcame the weakness Jehuty had inflicted. It screamed in anger and pain as lightning seemed to gather around it.

Minato grimaced. That was a bigger lightning spell than anything that Akihiko had been able to conjure thus far, and was unsure of how to avoid it. He was about to order a retreat to cover when he glanced over at Yukari. She had her bow pulled taught and ready, arrow trained on the Shadow's head. After a tense uncertain moment, she let her arrow fly.

It impacted the male Shadow right in its head, causing it to snap back with the recoil. The feminine half froze as if she had been hit as well, and, after a tense, quiet moment, they both melted into a puddle of Shadowy gore.

Yukari smirked. "Take that, you son of a bitch…"

Minato felt stunned. The past few times they had gone up against these types of Shadows, they had nearly lost their lives. In comparison, they had hardly broken a sweat this time. Yukari had taken one incredible shot, and ended a fight that was turning out to have been a nightmare.

He smirked incredulously as Junpei excitedly ran over to Yukari. "Yuka-tan, that was one of the coolest things I have ever seen!" He said enthusiastically, practically bouncing up and down with excitement. "I mean, you looked just like one of those Featherman Rangers, all calm and collected, and then… Wham! One shot, one dead Shadow! Oh, man… And with a one-liner too! Good job!" He held up his hand for a high-five.

Yukari blushed in embarrassment before high-fiving him awkwardly, a meek smile on her face. "Well, it was just… That thing was pissing me off."

"Well, you sure made short work of it!" He said with a wild grin. "…Man, that felt easy! Do we kick ass or what!?"

Minato nodded. They had come a long way as a team these past few weeks. He felt proud to be a part of them. "Fuuka," he said over the link, "One Shadow dead and gone. Call the cleanup crew… if we have one."

"Roger that," She said, sending a wave of relief through the link. "Good job, guys."

"Well, guys," Minato said, turning back to the team with a grin on his face, "I'm buying the food tonight. That was kick-ass work, all of you. Good job."

"Well said, Arisato," Mitsuru said with a nod. "I couldn't agree more."

The four of them took one last look around the room, a sense of satisfied accomplishment falling over them before turning to leave. That sense of accomplishment lasted right until they discovered that they couldn't open the door.

"What the hell?" Junpei said as he jiggled the handle, trying to get it unstuck. "This piece of crap lock won't budge!"

Minato frowned. They had killed the Shadow, so why wouldn't the door open? Unless… He gasped in realization. This was the trap! "Fuuka, run a scan on this room right now!"

Fuuka's panicked voice came back a second later. "I sense another Shadow in the room with you!"

The four of them immediately leapt together, forming a circle and readying for an attack. Mitsuru immediately drew her rapier and got back into her battle stance, taking position behind Minato. "I knew that felt too easy."

"I was kind of hoping it would be that easy," Minato said with a grimace. "That's what I get for being optimistic, I guess."

He scanned the room, eyes open for any sign of danger. After a few tense moments, he frowned. "If it has us trapped," He murmured, "Then why hasn't it attacked yet?"

Mitsuru shook her head. "I don't know. Perhaps it's hiding."

"Not for long it's not," Minato growled angrily. "Let's find this thing, kill it, and go home. I'm tired of this crap."

The four of them spread out cautiously and began searching the room. After a few minutes of them practically tearing the room apart, Minato was ready to tear his hair out in frustration. "Where in the hell could it possibly be?! Fuuka, are you-"

"I'm still getting a reading in that room," she said exasperatedly. "I know it's in there!"

Pursing his lips, he scanned the room one final time. This time, his eyes settled on the mirror on the wall. Normally, he wouldn't have looked twice at it, except for this time, he noticed a peculiar defect. He narrowed his eyes.

Last time I checked, I wasn't a vampire...

He whistled sharply and the other members turned to him. He pointed at the mirror and, one by one, they saw what had caught his eye.

Junpei shook his head in confusion. "Uh, where are our reflections?"

"I don't know…" Minato said as he slowly walked over to the mirror. Nothing jumped out at him once he drew closer however, causing his brow to furrow in frustration again. Curious, he warily began giving the mirror a closer inspection. Strangely, the mirror reflected everything perfectly except for the people. Maybe it was just a trick of the Dark Hour?

He shook his head. "I dunno, it's an interesting trick, but I don't think its danger…ous…" He put his hand on his head to steady himself, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. "What…the…?"

He glanced into the mirror again before being knocked to the floor as a flash of light burst out of the mirror. The last thing he saw before falling unconscious was a red, pulsing mass float out of the mirror.

He woke up slowly. The first thing he noticed was how comfortable he was. There weren't many things better than waking up on a comfortable bed, after all. He sighed, feeling a small sense of disappointment form in his belly. That was strange. Why would he feel so disappointed about being so comfortable? Such a strange feeling… A thought came to him, and he smiled as he realized why he was disappointed.

What is the point of being on a bed this comfy if you aren't sharing it with someone?

Raising his head slightly to gain his bearings, he noticed what sounded like running water coming from the shower room to his left. He turned and saw that the shower was running and that someone was inside it. He smiled. A familiar tone of red shone through the glass, and he felt overwhelming desire build up in his gut.

Oh, she must have felt that a shower was in order… Maybe I should join her…

He shook that thought out of his head. The bed was too comfy right now and he could wait… but not for too long.

I think I've waited long enough for this already.

The sound of water suddenly ceased, causing anticipation and adrenaline to rush through his body. He sat up slowly, gazing at the door intensely. A moment later, the woman who haunted both his dreams and waking hours equally walked out, clad in nothing but a towel.

Mitsuru smiled as she stared back at him through half-lidded eyes, lust burning brightly inside of them. "Were you waiting out here for me, Mina-kun?" She said in a tone he'd never heard before. She'd been playful with him a couple of times before, but now…

The sultry passion in her voice caused his own to desert him. "I…I…"

She laughed at his stammering, her voice thick with arousal. "I never thought I'd see you speechless, Mina-kun. Is that because of me?" He nodded, and she smiled wider. "Well, don't you know just what to say to make a girl feel good?"

He smirked and suddenly found his voice again. "...Not just what to say…"

She laughed again, and this time, he felt the sound strike him in the gut, stirring his arousal. "Well, we'll see about that, won't we?" She quickly strode over to him and sat across his lap, facing him. They stared at each other for a moment before she smirked and gave him a challenging look. "Well?" She asked aggressively. "I'm waiting, Mina-kun…"

He couldn't take it anymore.

His hands shot forward to grasp her face between them as he leaned in and kissed her passionately.

He almost couldn't believe how good she tasted. She tasted just like she smelled, a fragrant mix of some kind of expensive perfume and her own natural scent, plus something that was different, yet so quintessentially her that it had his head spinning. A moment later, she moaned into his mouth and began kissing him back with almost equal intensity.

He didn't know how long they sat there, plundering each other's mouths. After what felt like hours, he finally pulled away, gasping for breath as his lungs screamed for air. Mitsuru seemed to be in the same state as him, chest rising and falling as she panted for breath. A moment later, however, she grabbed his shirt aggressively and stared lustfully into his eyes, noses centimeters from each other. "We…aren't done yet," She growled at him.

This time, she kissed him. A mix of joy and arousal soared through him at the fulfillment of his heart's desire. It was heavenly. He knew at that moment that he was addicted to her. He wanted her so badly. She'd already become a huge part of his life, and now he wanted her in every other part of it too. He wanted to tell her all of his secrets, his pain, his fears, his hopes and dreams…

He wanted to share himself with her completely. He was prepared to give her the world, if she asked him.

After what felt like another hour, they broke for air again. Minato felt sudden strength enter his limbs as he picked her up and practically threw her on the bed under him, hovering over her. She looked up at him, coy smile on her face, eyes burning with lust and affection. He leaned in and started to kiss down the side of her throat. A wave of pleasure shot through him as he heard her moan in response. She ran her hands through his hair as she moaned, "Oh, Minato, please…"

Hearing his name was like having a bucket of cold water poured on his head. The memories of what they had been there to do rushed through him all at once. He froze immediately as he realized what it was he was doing. He pushed off of the bed, horror at himself stealing his breath away.

Oh, god... I kissed her. I kissed Mitsuru, and I would have done more if she hadn't…

Panic and disgust at himself shot through his body. She was going to kill him for this. Hell, he wasn't sure that he even wanted to stop her.

Still under the spell, Mitsuru groaned in frustration at the lack of physical contact. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him, disappointment written on her face. "Come back, Mina-kun. I'm not done with you yet." He forced himself to turn away as that familiar feeling of blind arousal shot through him again. He fought the urge to turn back as hard as he could. He could hardly breathe. He needed her to snap out of it now, before he fell under the spell again.

How though?! How do I…?

Her name. He needed to say her name. He turned around, looked her straight in the eyes and said, in as level a voice as he could muster, "Mitsuru… I need you to wake up. Please…"

Her eyes fluttered as she overcame the spell that had been cast on her. Dawning horror appeared on her face as she slowly realized what had happened, what she'd been doing. His eyes pricked as tears began to form. He couldn't watch this. He turned away again, closing his eyes in pain. "Um, Mitsuru…?" He asked nervously. "A-are you awake now?"

"Y-yes…" she replied, her voice as nervous as his. "Min- Arisato… I-I don't know…w-what to say…"

He swallowed. That wasn't a good sign. "Um, well," He said as lightly as he could, "The Shadow that did this is probably still out there. So, uh… I'll wait out in the hall while you… dress…" He walked towards the door as fast as he could, fear and shame rolling throughout his body.

"Wait, Minato?!"

He stopped and grimaced. "Yes, Mitsuru…?"

"D-did we…?" She asked hesitantly, voice full of emotion.

He shook his head quickly. "No," He answered with conviction. "It…It was close though…" He hung his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for this."

She said nothing in response, so he stepped out into the hall, fear gripping his heart as he felt it break into a million tiny pieces.

Mitsuru stepped outside a few minutes later. She felt awful. A voice in the back of her mind had been yelling at her to stop the whole time they'd been… well. It had been yelling that this wasn't what he wanted, that she was betraying his trust. She refused to listen to it for some reason, too caught up in the feelings of warmth, care, and affection she felt for him.

She was disgusted with herself. She knew that she liked him a lot, perhaps even as more than a friend, but that had been going too far. He had just started to come to terms with Haruya's betrayal a month ago. She shook her head. He wouldn't forgive her for this, not in a million years.

Hearing the door close, Minato glanced up at Mitsuru out of the corner of his eye as she stepped forward. She looked angry. He didn't blame her. He hadn't even considered what it was he was doing at the time: He had just taken what he had wanted from her, selfishly.

He was disgusted with himself. Even knowing her past and how she'd been betrayed, he had let himself be swept up in the hungry attraction and warm affection that he felt for her. He knew that he wanted to be with her, but that? That was going too far.

He had taken advantage of her to fulfill his heart's secret desire, and he knew she would never forgive him for that.

Minato nodded to her after a moment, avoiding her eyes, and started walking towards the stairs. Before he could start up the stairs however, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, stopping him. He turned around to see Mitsuru with a vulnerable expression on her face. His eyes widened in surprise. Where he'd expected cold rage, he'd gotten… fear?

"I… feel as if we should talk about this, Minato… Tonight, I mean," She said hesitantly. She shook her head. "I… We need to talk about what just happened in there."

Minato felt the cold grip of fear on his heart loosen just a bit at her words. Maybe she would take a small amount of mercy on him after all, and just ask that they forget it happened. He nodded, smiling just a tiny bit at her, trying to put her at ease. "Ok… Right now though, I think we should focus on destroying the thing that thinks our emotions are its personal play things."

Mitsuru smiled a bit as well, cold rage rising in her eyes. "Yes, I believe we owe it an execution, don't you?"

He nodded, letting his own rage build in his gut. "Agreed… Let's find the others."

As the two teens began walking up the stairs, a familiar voice popped into their heads. "Mitsuru-senpai! Minato-senpai! You're okay!"

"Yeah, we're fine, Fuuka." Minato said with fake optimism, hoping that his voice wouldn't betray him. "Where are the others?"

"Just up the stairs, but… what happened to you two? You both just disappeared!" Fuuka's voice betrayed her concern. "I thought-"

"It doesn't matter what happened, Yamagishi," Mitsuru said curtly. "We're both fine, and that's all you need to be concerned about."

"…U-Understood, Senpai," Fuuka replied, reproached. "The others are just up ahead. I'll let them know you're coming." With that, she connected to the other two. "Junpei-kun, Yukari-chan, I found them! They're okay and heading up the stairs towards you now."

A sudden thought came to Minato as they climbed the next flight of stairs, causing him to grimace. "Do…Do you think the same thing happened to them?" He asked nervously. "Cause that's gonna get real awkward if it did…"

After a moment of thought, Mitsuru pursed her lips. "…If so, we may need to make use of your healing abilities. I doubt Takeba will have been as understanding as I have."

Glancing at her in surprise for a moment, Minato snorted. "Especially with Junpei…"

Luckily, as they finished the walk up the stairs, Junpei came into view on the landing, looking none the worse for wear. "Boss, Senpai!" He exclaimed, sighing in relief. "Thank god. Are you two…?" He trailed off as he took in their obviously disheveled state. He frowned. "What the hell happened to you?"

"It's not important, and I'd rather not talk about it," Minato said, giving him a pointed look. Junpei's eyes narrowed for a moment before he nodded, making Minato sigh inwardly. That was one crisis averted. "Where's Yukari?"

"She's down that way," He said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder, pointing down the corridor. "She went looking for you a few min-"

At that moment, Yukari came around the corner at the end of the hall, sighing in relief at the sight of them. "Thank god. We couldn't find you guys on this floor, and we were starting to worry. Are you guys ok?" As she walked closer, she noticed their disheveled state, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh, uh…" She stammered. "Well, you guys look…fine… Um…"

Well, she obviously figured out what happened. He needed to change the subject before Junpei could begin to put the pieces together as well. "…We're fine, Yukari," he said, clearing his throat. "How're you two holding up?"

"Well, I'm fine," Yukari said hastily. "I woke up on a bed in one of those rooms, which was my first clue that something was wrong. So I got up, looked around the room, and it was like…something snapped. Everything that happened came rushing back to me, and I panicked. I started searching through all of the rooms, looking for you guys, and found this dork taking a nap."

Junpei rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I was tired. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"I see…" Minato said, eyes widening. Turning away for a moment, he frowned. The Shadow had manipulated their emotions, that much had been obvious, but it obviously couldn't manipulate emotions that didn't exist. Otherwise, Yukari and Junpei would have been in the same compromising position as them.

Does that mean Mitsuru…?

He shook his head. There was no way, absolutely no way… right?

Mitsuru barely heard Yukari's words as she took in all the evidence in front of her. Judging by the way that Iori still had his head intact and was not bleeding from every orifice due to blunt force trauma meant that the two junior members had not been in the same compromising position as she and Minato had been. That meant that, although the Shadow could obviously manipulate emotions, it could not, in fact, create them.

This must mean…

She shook her head. That was not what mattered right now. The Shadow came first, then…her personal life.

Mitsuru spoke up. "We have to find this bastard and send it straight to Hell. Yamagishi, can you pinpoint its location?"

Fuuka's voice rang out. "No need, Senpai. It's still in the same room. However, the door is sealed shut still. It's being held shut by some kind of power. Now, I can feel the power sources in a couple of different rooms throughout the hotel, but I have no idea what they look like however. You'll have to find it once I guide you there. Also, the Shadow called for reinforcements while you guys were out. Akihiko-senpai and I are fine, and he took out as many as he could, but a large amount still escaped into the hotel. You'll have to be careful this time."

"Alright," Mitsuru said with a nod. "Good work, Yamagishi."

Fuuka send a wave of gratitude through the link. "Now, the first one is…"

Despite Fuuka's warning, their pace had actually increased the second time around. The Shadows came in droves, but Minato and Mitsuru's mutual humiliation and anger at their… circumstance gave them strength, enabling them to drive them back. By the time the group had reached the first power source, Minato and Mitsuru had both killed a vast majority of their attackers, leaving Junpei and Yukari stunned.

Sheathing his rapier, Minato looked around the room. It looked identical to every other room in the hotel, albeit much smaller: A shower door on one wall, a bed in the middle, and a mirror-

He smiled in realization. "Fuuka, I think I've found it…"

He stepped up to the mirror and stared into it. He felt a now familiar tug on his mind, a mounting feeling of relaxation growing over him. Unfortunately, he knew what the Shadow's influence felt like now. He quickly whipped his rapier out of its sheath and smashed the mirror with the blunt handle. A small crack appeared where he's struck it. A moment later, the crack grew in size until the mirror suddenly looked more like a spider's web. Black smoke began to leak from the cracks.

"That was it!" Fuuka confirmed a moment later. "I can sense a drop in energy levels surrounding the door!"

"Got you now, you sonofa…" He turned to the team. "The mirrors are the power source. We break 'em, gain access to the honeymoon suite, kill this damn thing, and then go home." He smirked grimly. "Let's go guys."

The team found and destroyed the other power sources within a couple of minutes and made their way back to the Honeymoon suite. As they stood in front of the door however, Minato stopped and looked at Mitsuru with a slight grin on his face. "Do you mind if I cause a bit of gratuitous destruction as a farewell present for this wonderful place?"

"Normally I would have to say yes, I would mind… but in this case, I'm inclined to agree." She smiled a bit. "What did you have in mind?"

He smirked and raised his hand-gun to his head and fired. "Jehuty!"

Jehuty shimmered into view in front of the door to the honeymoon suite and raised his hand. An unseen force impacted the door, blowing the double doors off their hinges and sent them careening into the room. Minato managed to see part of one of the doors slam into the Shadow floating towards the back of the room, tipping it slightly. As he gazed up at the Shadow, he had no problems guessing its Arcana classification. It was a giant, floating, transparent heart. Inside, it had the symbol for male and female constantly swirling around in a dance-like motion. It also had a set of tendril-like wings, flapping away, keeping it suspended off the ground.

Well, if that wasn't a big enough clue…

"I've analyzed it! It's the Lovers Arcana!"

Of course she did. She just had to add insult to injury. Typical with how this night was going so far. "I think we could tell, thanks, Fuuka," Minato said, shaking his head as he and the team moved into the room to surround the heart-shaped Shadow.

Fuuka just sent a wave of exasperation back at him through the link in response. "Anyways, it's extremely weak to physical, but immune to all forms of Magic. You need to get close."

As if the Shadow had overheard them, it suddenly screeched. The black muck that preceded the arrival of Shadows started to drip from the ceiling and walls as the Shadow called in reinforcements. Minato grimaced. This was going to be a tough fight if they got overwhelmed. As much as he hated it, he needed to divide his team's efforts. He looked at Junpei and Yukari. "You two, focus on the little ones! If we get overrun, we're all dead!"

"Got it, Boss!" Junpei said with a smirk. "Leave it to me!" He quickly ran to the right side of the room and hacked a half-formed Shadow in half with his katana. He crooned excitedly as the Shadow fell apart. "Ooh, that had to hurt!"

Turning to him, Yukari nodded at Minato. "I got his back. You guys kill that damn thing." She then pulled out an arrow and shot it past Junpei, hitting a Shadow that had been about to fall on him. The Shadow fell apart when the arrow struck it, drenching Junpei in Shadow gore.

"What the hell, Yuka-tan?" He said, sputtering as he shook the etheric goo off of him. "You couldn't have waited until I got out of the way before doing that?"

She sighed and shook her head as she ran over to support him. "This is what happens when just you rush in like that, you idiot…"

Their flank secured, Minato turned to Mitsuru and looked her in the eyes for the first time since they'd… woken up. Determination and rage at the Shadow burned in them. He smiled at her. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Ready."

They quickly pulled out their rapiers and rushed towards the Lovers Shadow. In response, the Shadow started to shoot blasts of fire at them like a machine gun. Reacting quickly, Minato took cover behind one of the pillars near the bed, Mitsuru taking the other one. He grimaced. They couldn't get much closer to it without it frying them. They weren't fast enough to get out of the way of its fire before… He mentally smacked himself. Jehuty had an ability that he rarely used, because of how draining it was on not only him, but the others as well.

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Minato summoned Jehuty, shouting, "Masukukaja!" A yellow wave flowed out of Jehuty, enveloping his team in a yellow barrier. Time slowed as their reaction times sped up. Their muscles tightened with increased strength. He heard Junpei shout in exhilaration as the unexpected wave of strength passed through him. He looked to Mitsuru. She nodded, and held up 3 fingers. He mentally counted to 3 then burst out of cover in unison with her.

A fireball streaked toward him, but it was too slow. He pirouetted around it and took a step forward. Another fireball was there to take its place, and there was no room to dodge this one. He decided to do something daring. He quickly slashed upwards with his rapier, cutting the fireball in half. It came apart at the seams, bursting into a wave of flames at the point of contact. The flames washed around him, only causing minor damage. Fortunately, the action had created an opening for him and had left him ready to take action.

He jumped and thrust forward, feeling his blade make contact. It sank straight into the Shadow's flesh merely a second before Mitsuru's rapier joined his. The heart-shaped Shadow screeched in agony, acting like a great balloon. It seemed to deflate slightly as the two teens withdrew their weapons from the Shadow's body before disintegrating into a pile of black gore on the bed.

He panted in exhaustion. He was tired, scared, angry, and happy, all at the same time. He looked at Mitsuru and smiled. Surprise lit up her face for a moment before she settled into a satisfied grin. They saluted each other with their blades before sheathing them, and chuckling in exhilaration.

Junpei walked over to them, still dripping with Shadow gore, a grin on his face. "Is that it? Are we done now?"

Minato shrugged. "I dunno. Fuuka?"

Fuuka's voice came through, relief evident. "All Shadows neutralized... for real this time. I can't sense anymore in the immediate area. Good job, everyone."

"Thank god," Yukari said with a sigh. "Can we leave now?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes. I've had enough of this place myself."

"Well, gonna have to take a rain check on the food, guys," Minato said, drawing a disappointed groan from Junpei. "I just want to sleep when I get home, after a nice long shower. This place gives me the creeps."

Minato had only been sort of lying. He did want to sleep, but not until he had discussed the events of the night with Mitsuru. After they were sure that everyone else had all gone to bed, he and Mitsuru had walked up to the roof where they could discuss the night's events in private.

Mitsuru locked the door behind them before walking over and leaning against one of the ventilation units. "So, how are you feeling?" She asked lightly, her tone nervous.

He shrugged. "I'm ok. The shower helped with the exhaustion somewhat, and no real bad burns from that fireball, so it wasn't too painful."

She nodded. "Good. Good." She stood up and walked further onto the roof, obviously having trouble deciding on how to start this conversation. He sighed under his breath, willing his anxiety away as he waited for her to start. After a few moments, she turned around and looked him in the eyes. Regret burned within them. "I'm sorry."

What? He hadn't been expecting that. He had been expecting icy rage or burning fury, not…this. He shook his head in confusion. "You're sorry? Sorry for what?"

She shook her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I-I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but I just couldn't…stop myself. I mean, I've never been that good at controlling how I feel, as you well know, and I just… Well, I…"

Minato's heart stopped. She knew what she had been doing? For how long, though? He had to know. He held up a hand to stop her and she froze, inhaling sharply. He took a moment to collect himself and noticed that she was staring at him with a fearful look in her eyes.

His brow furrowed. She was scared? Why was she scared? His expression softened a moment later as he realized why: She was afraid he was angry with her. But why would he be angry at her, especially for that? If it was true… then, maybe…

"How long did you know for?" He asked quietly. "How long did you know that…that it was real?"

She swallowed nervously. "A-A second after you…" She shook her head. "…Most of it."

His heart started beating so fast, he thought it might explode. A million different emotions ran through him: Fear, Lust, Disbelief, Joy, Happiness… Was this really happening? She continued to stare at him, fear written plainly on her features. He had to know.

"So you knew you were doing all that… with me… a second after I kissed you?" Minato asked bluntly, a blush forming on his face. She nodded hesitantly. His breath hitched. "S-So, if you knew, why didn't you stop…?"

"I-I…I…" She stammered, a blush forming on her face as well. "I… I suppose…" She looked down at the ground, her blush darkening. When she looked back up at him a moment later, she gave him a small, timid smile. "I suppose I-It's because… I wanted to..."

His eyes widened in surprise before a bright smile formed on his face. He walked forward to stand in front of her and took one of her hands in his. She looked down at their connected hands then back up at him, eyes wide.

"That's all I wanted to hear," He said softly. With that, he gently reached up, took her chin in his hand, and slowly pulled her forward.

He felt his eyes close as her lips softly melded with his.

This kiss felt much different.

The others they had shared tonight had been urgent, filled with lust and abandon, fueled by the Shadow's foul influence. This one they shared now was tender, soft, and full of affection and wonder, the culmination of several months of flirting and fighting with each other, of truths shared and secrets told.

This was them showing the other how they truly felt, the pains of their past providing not a barrier, but a window to each other's heart, letting them see that they were not alone, letting them know that they were understood.

After what felt like an eternity, Minato pulled away slowly, a huge smile on his face. Mitsuru's eyes fluttered as she attempted to recover herself from the unexpected kiss. "I had the same feeling, you know…" He said, chuckling as she stared at him with both confusion and hope in her eyes. "I could feel that it was real, but…I didn't want to stop."

Her face lit up, a growing smile on lips. "Oh?"

He nodded. "If I'm going to be completely honest with you, I've wanted to do that for a very long time now."

"Oh, really?" She said as her smile brightened and a mischievous look formed in her eyes. "Then, why did you wait until after you almost saw me naked?"

"What?!" He exclaimed, blushing a bright red. "I-I assure you that I wasn't-"

She put a finger on his lips to silence him before laughing in exhilaration and pulling him in for another kiss. His protests died away as her tender lips covered his, and time no longer seemed to matter for the two teens.

After the two of them had calmed down enough, they sat down to talk about their newly discovered feelings for each other. "You know, as happy as I am about this…development," Mitsuru said with a frown, "I can't help but feel that I am not... well, the best choice to receive your affections."

He sighed. He'd felt that this was coming. He knew that she had a lot of things to consider before even thinking about jumping into a relationship with him. Not only was she constantly busy with school and clubs, but she had the team to worry about, as well as any obligations that her family might expect of her. That wouldn't really leave a lot of private time for the two of them.

As he thought about it though, he found that he didn't really care about that. After all, he saw her every day in class, and in all of the Student Council meetings she made him go to, and when they went to Tartarus. Hell, the two of them even shared dinner often enough already due to late Student Council work. None of that other shit mattered. They could figure that out as they went.

He just knew that he wanted to be with her, no matter what.

"Why is that exactly?" He asked lightly. "Do you feel that I will abandon you for another woman if I can't see you every day?"

She flinched at his words. "No, you deserve someone who can be what you expect of a girlfriend! Someone who can spend her time with you, exploring and experiencing life together... Not waiting hopelessly for an end, drowning in obligations to others…"

He shook his head, a smile on his face. "I didn't realize that there were expectations of what a girlfriend should be like. There certainly don't seem to be as many restrictions on boyfriends. After all, I did tell you what I did for a living before coming here, right?"

She turned on him angrily, ready for a fight, but stopped when she saw the smile on his face. "Look, Mitsuru," He said, raising his hands placatively, "What I'm trying to say is that I don't expect you to change anything about yourself for me. You aren't suddenly obligated to be on my arm at every opportunity just because we start seeing each other, due to some non-existent expectation I might have." She turned away at this, unable to speak. He reached down and grasped her hand in his. "Honestly, I could just catch a glimpse of you once a month now and be happy with that. All that I want from you, Mitsuru…is you."

She smiled, tears of joy springing into her eyes. "I…can't say that I will always be the best girlfriend…"

He laughed. "I definitely can't promise I'll be the best boyfriend."

She glared at him lightly before continuing."…But, if you are willing to try, even knowing the difficulties…then I am too."

"Ok," He said, smiling brightly, "Glad we sorted that out."

She sighed exasperatedly. "Why did I expect any kind of serious response from you right now?"

"I blame you. You bring out my inner smartass," He said with a chuckle. "…You know, after Haruya, I thought that I would never feel like this again." She gave him a questioning look. He sighed. "Feeling this connected to someone, I mean. I feel so at ease with you… So much so that, all the pain I've felt?" He smiled at her. "...It doesn't feel so painful anymore."

She smiled back at him. "For me either… I never thought I would find someone I could trust this way again. To think, I nearly ran you out of my life a few short months ago…"

"You know," Minato said with a grimace, "Since we're being honest right now… Do you remember when you asked me to join Student Council the first time?" She nodded. "Remember how you said then that you needed someone you trusted in the position?"

She nodded again. "What about it?"

"It was quite a shock at the time," He said with a shrug. "You trusted me, after a week before, you attempted to get me to quit the group. I thought, 'How could she possibly trust me that quickly?' I didn't think it at the time, but I probably thought that you were just saying that to try and get something out of me."

"I was," she said with a smirk. "I was trying to get you to lessen my work load."

"Well, I know that now," He replied sarcastically, "But you couldn't have just said that could you? Anyways, I wanted to tell you no right then and there, to tell you to find somebody else. But you know what I found?" He shook his head. "I couldn't. Not that I wouldn't, but I couldn't." She inhaled sharply. He looked up at her, regret in his eyes. "I panicked. I knew what that meant. It had happened once before, with Haruya. I did the only thing I knew how to deal with that realization."

She nodded, pain written on her face. "You hid away from me, from us…" She shook her head. "Minato, I'm so sorry. I-"

"It's not your fault," He said with a sigh. "I was already on the downward slide by that point anyways. That was just the final kick off the cliff. Don't blame yourself."

She pursed her lips angrily. "Still, I'm the reason you-"

"No," He said harshly, looking straight into her eyes. "You aren't. If you're going to blame anyone for that, blame me… or better yet, Haruya. She's the reason I was that fucked up to begin with." He grasped her hand tighter. "You saved me, understand? You helped bring me back from that place, you and the others."

She gazed at him disbelievingly for a few moments before nodding. He smiled. "Good." He shook his head as a memory came to him. "You know, if I hadn't met my Shadow in Tartarus that day, I would probably still be running away from my feelings. Despite not understanding why he was there… I can't help but feel grateful he came to me." Affection shone in his eyes as he looked at her. "Now I'm here with you. Happier than I've ever been."

She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. "Well, as long as we're being honest with each other…"

They spent a long while on the roof just talking. When the sun started to rise, they kissed one last time before unlocking the door and walking down with hands held. Reluctantly, they separated, each entering their rooms and collapsing on their beds, their hearts content and happy as they drifted off to sleep.

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Edit AN: Not gonna lie, this one was a hard one. The original chapter had a lot of multiple perspectives per scene, something that I've actively been trying to cut down on in these rewrites. Trying to rewrite the scenes so that it not only conveyed the emotions and character development that I wanted it to, but also confined the scene to a single person's perspective was difficult, which is why this chapter took a few days. Luckily, I think this is really the only chapter that had this much of this problem, so, hopefully, the other chapters go much smoother from here. Additionally, I rewrote the ending scene between our two lovebirds. The original one felt like they just jumped into it too fast. I felt there was too much assumption on either character's part, so I added a bit more to it. Now (I hope) it feels like a more natural character shift, a sudden unexpected event pushing them towards a result both of them had wanted but had been too scared to attempt. In addition, the scene afterwards where he tells her what set him down his path of self-destruction a few months before should have been more of a shock to her, I feel. Now it is. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed what I did with this chapter and I hope to see you in the next one! As always, please send me a PM or leave a review if you have any questions or concerns about the chapter or story in general! – Dr. Ninja