Next day, I got up early. Stupidly early in fact.

Well, I went to bed early specifically so I could carry out this scheme, so I guess that makes me stupid like a FOX!

Junpei, on the other hand, was barely coherent. "Buh… Whugh..? Mi-mina-*yawn*-o-gune, whussuhp?"

"Up. Dressed. Five minutes. Now." I stated in short bursts. "Go back to sleep and I go all medieval on your arse."

"Right…sleep…that sounds…" Junpei began snoring.

Sighing, I walked over to the corner where he kept the sword from last night. Picking it up by the scabbard, I rammed the handle right where I warned him I would.

"GAAHH!" Junpei shouted, smacking the pole out of my hand and his end as he rolled over. "DUDE WHAT THE HELL!"

"Dressed, downstairs, Four Minutes. NOW." I didn't shout, but it was clear that he got the point.

Butt hey, he was ass-king for it.

That pun was awful, sorry about that.

Junpei met me in the lounge in three minutes. "What the hell man, it's *yawn* five in the freakin' morning!"

"I know." I told him. "Come on, we're going out."

"The hell?" he snapped. "Dude, I 'ain't even *yawn* showered yet."

"That's fine, you can do it when we get back." I told him, guiding his sorry arse out the door.

"Riight, and when will that be exactly?" he asked.

"Around seven." I said. Truthfully,

It wasn't a lie at least, in fact it was technically correct – the best kind of correct.

"Damn man, what do you need me for that needs to be done so early?"

An hour later we got off the train, near some fields.

Watching the train leave, Junpei said "Dude, we'd better be fast if we're gonna be *yawn* home in an hour."

"We're not." I told him, grabbing some stuff in the gift shop.

"EH?" Junpei turned to face me. "But you *yawn* said we'd be back by seven!"

"In the evening." I clarified as I paid for the goods. Is he going to yawn every time he speaks? He's been up for an hour by now!

Junpei stared at me in disbelief. "Dude, you're insane." Junpei said as he yawned again. "I'm taking the next train *yawn* home!"

"It's in twelve hours." I told him, coming out of the shop. His yawning makes me want to yawn too. C'mon, focus...

"…Eh?"

I pushed Junpei through the turnstiles. Following him, I showed him the tickets I bought back at Iwatodai Station. They had reserved seats on the 6:00AM out bound and the 6:00PM inbound.

"Damn… No wonder the seats were so *yawn* cushy." he grinned, reaching for his pocket. "But hey, I have my-"

Fight that urge to yawn, Minato my boy. "Your student pass doesn't work outside the city." I told him, having looked up the limits beforehand. "Also, I moved the money from your wallet to your sock drawer, and there isn't a single cash machine for miles." I started to walk away from him, into the fields. "You're stuck here with me for the next twelve hours."

Junpei was shocked at this. "…Why..?"

I turned to him. "It's for family outings and suchlike. Come on!" I shouted, setting to jog.

Junpei sighed, and started to jog after me. "Dammit Man, you're such an *yawn* asshole."

I smirked intentionally, and bit back a yawn. "English." I told him. "We all them Arseholes."

After a few minutes walk I told Junpei what we were doing here.

It was clear that Junpei had no combat experience, nor sword training, so I was going to provide him with both.

"Alright, then why so *Yawn* early?" he asked.

"Because you aren't used to either the dark hour OR sleep deprivation." I told him, twirling a bokken from the gift shop in my hand. "I woke you up early and didn't let you sleep on the train to deprive you of sleep, and fighting for twelve hours straight will tire you out as you get more alert and get some combat instict." I tossed him a wooden sword and grabbed one of the several spares for myself.

"Okay man." Junpei said, holding the bokken gingerly. "You are now officially batshi- GAH!"

I pushed slightly harder. Yeah, his ribs are fine.

I withdrew as Junpei clutched his side. "THE HELL MAN! I WASN'T READY!"

I flicked his non-existent blood from my blunt blade. "You think a Shadow will wait for you to get ready?" I asked him.

That got his attention. "…Huh?"

"I don't want you to die. Akihiko and Mitsuru-senpai have been doing this for years, and Yukari fights from a distance." I reversed the grip on the wooden weapon and lowered my stance. "I've been in street fights for ages, so that puts you at the most risk. Especially since…" I paused for dramatic event. "…Ikutsuki wants us to fight tomorrow."

"Eh?" Junpei asked, gripping his weapon in two hands. "He wants us to fight each other? Us two?"

"No, we're going with Yukari and Mitsuru-senpai to fight the Shadows." I told him. "Tomorrow night."

"Oh, I thought you meant with each other…" Junpei laughed, before registering what I just said. "Wait, what?"

"You heard." I told him. "This is our last chance to get you ready for battle before tomorrow. I'm going to attack now."

"Woah, Hold on!" he protested. "I'm not-UGH!"

Six hours later, Junpei was starting to improve. Fighting for six hours straight without food, water, or rest had significantly improved his endurance already. He was already keeping up to my blows, but still hadn't managed to land a successful hit. I'm worried that I might be turning him bitter, but as long as I'm keeping him among the living, it's worth it.

He certainly cheered up when I showed him lunch. Leftover Steak Pasta Bake. If that doesn't sound much, then you haven't eaten leftover pasta bake, and certainly wasn't as hungry as Junpei.

Thing with Pasta Bakes is that if you leave it in the fridge overnight, it sets into a compressed form, so it fills you up twice as fast, and gives double the flavour. The slow-release energy from the pasta mixed with the muscle-building proteins from the steak made for a perfect combination for what we were doing.

"Alright man." Junpei told me, tossing his empty water bottle into the grass. "Let's go."

I was surprised, "Thought you wanted a break."

"We had one." he laughed, getting to his feet with bokken in hand, waving his fingers at me Morpheus style. "Come on, I'll kick your ass!"

I smiled, "Fine then," I responded, putting down my bowl. "Your arse is mine."

Seven hours later, we were both back at the dorm, covered in bruises. After the last Bokken broke, we went at it with our fists. Junpei learnt to use his long reach to his advantage, and the quicker pace of fist fighting forced his reactions to go overdrive. I had to admit, he wasn't bad for a beginner.

All things considered, he had good chance of not getting slaughtered within seconds. Could be fun to see how good he gets.

Yukari was shocked at the state we were in when we came through the door. "What kind of fishing were you doing?"

Yeah, I could tell she didn't believe the 'Gone Fishin' note I left, but I humoured her. "A big one."

"Yeah," Junpei nodded, grinning. "It was THIS BIG!" He added, stretching his arms as wide as he could. "But it got away…"

"My fish was bigger"

"Mine was stronger."

We both laughed and went to get washed up. We'd eaten some more of lunch on the train, so after the shower I went straight to bed.

Of course, there's no rest for the wicked.

"Hi, How are you?"

Okay, Up. Surroundings? Green. Not velvet room then. Eyes focus. My room, dark hour. Someone sitting on my bed. Creepy kid from before. He chuckled as I sat up.

"Oh." I told him. "Hey. 'Sup?"

"It's good to see you." the kid chuckled, before turning serious. "Soon, The End will come. I remembered, so I thought that I should tell you."

"The End?" I asked. As in The End with capitals?

"Of everything." he said. That sucks. "But to be honest, I really don't know what it is…" he admitted.

"I see…" I mused. "That complicates things…"

The boy nodded, then smiled. "Oh, looks like you've awakened to your power, and what an unusual power it is…"

I leant back in bed. "The power of Persona, I know."

The boy shook his head. "Yours is different." he said. "A power that takes many forms, but is bound by none… It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up."

I took a stab in the dark. "Did you summon Thanatos?" I asked.

The boy laughed. "Very good, I'm impressed."

"So that means you're in my head." I deducted.

The boy smiled. "I'm always with you."

"Really." I doubted him. "If that was the case, how come I've never spoken to you outside of the dark hour? Or the fact that this is only the third or fourth time we've met?"

The boy stood. Looking at him, he couldn't be older than ten. "I awoke once you returned here." he told me. "But I've since thought it to be rude to intrude on your waking life. You do remember when we first met, right?"

I nodded. "I intend to honour that agreement."

That impressed him. "Good. I'll always be watching you," he began, walking for the door, "Even if you forget about me…"

That was odd. How the hell did he expect me to forget about him?

"Feel free to stop by any time."

This seemed to surprise the boy, "You don't mind?"

I shook my head. "I'd probably be dead if you hadn't summoned Thanatos back then. Plus, you're the only person who hasn't tried to hide anything from me since I got here, so you're ranked fairly high in my book."

The boy laughed at this. "Well, thank you. I'll be seeing you again…", as he opened the door. "Good night…" he said stepping through the door.

"Good night yourself."

I could swear I saw a genuine smile as the door closed behind him; not the childish smiles he normally has, but that familiar smile of loneliness I've come to see all over this country.

It wasn't tough to get back to sleep after that.