Everyone was on full alert, knowing that there was another person who wielded the wild card was heavy information. It could mean a huge step in the right direction, or a horrible crash into oblivion.

Aigis was so wrapped up in trying to scan the class for a possible candidate that she missed most of what was being said by the teacher, "... so please be kind and give a warm welcome to our new student, Shuko Fujiriki"

From the door, a very loud 'thump' could be heard, followed by a fall. Shortly afterward, the door was opened by a boy with black hair and bandages over his eyes. He wasn't particularly tall or muscular, but he didn't look entirely scrawny or weak. He put his hand on the back of his head, "Sorry, I'm not used to the school's layout yet. Nice to meet you all!"

His smile seemed kind enough, but Aigis decided that he wasn't worth her undivided attention, so she continued to scan the room. Shuko slowly made his way to a seat next to Labrys, who looked him over, "You alright? Sounds like ya' conked ya' noggin' a second ago"

Shuko sighed, "You heard that, huh? I'm fine, thanks for asking. What's your name?"

"Call me Labrys"

"Nice to meet you Labrys. I don't want to bother you, but would you mind showing me around the school later? Not to sightsee, obviously, but I'd like to just walk around"

"Sure thing"

"Thanks"

Haruhi looked at the mess in front of her, "What the...?"

In the middle of the piles of tables and the mass amount of food that had been thrown all over the place laid a boy with his foot less than ten centimeters from his head, "Um... a little help?"

Haruhi admired the impossibility of the chances he'd gotten stuck in exactly this fashion, "How did you get here?"

The ebony-haired boy smiled nervously, "Well, I came here to have lunch, but it looks like I was late, and I tripped over a chair... it looks like there was a few leftovers on the tables from the staff eating lunch..."

"Well, you're right about being late, it's been an hour since lunch ended. I just came here because I heard a huge crash"

She somehow managed to pop him out of the mess, "Thanks!"

"Don't mention it. I'm Haruhi, by the way"

"Shuko"

Hikaru and Kaoru kicked the doors open, "We heard the crash, what's going on in here?!", they spotted Shuko and proceeded to grab his collar, "Did you do this?! Were you attacking Haruhi?!"

Shuko pinched both of their hands with two fingers, effectively causing them to try to retract their hand in pain, "I tripped, Haruhi helped me get unstuck. Don't accuse people of doing things they didn't do, it hurts their feelings"

The twins nodded, "Okay, got it! We won't forget! Please let our hands go!"

Shuko let go, then started walking towards the door... only to slip and face plant into a steak, "Ugh... not again..."

Chie walked into the room, "Hey, is everything alright in here? I heard a loud noise... is that steak?!"

Shuko wiped his face clean of the meat juice, "Yeah... you can have it if you want, but would you mind helping me get to my next class after?"

Chie swallowed the steak in one gulp, "Sure! What class do you have right now?"

"Music. According to my teacher, I'm supposed to head to the third music room"

The doors to the room swung open, revealing a tropical setting, with every host dressed in as little clothing as possible, trying to stave off the heat of the sun, "Welcome!"

Shuko was a little shocked, "Um... I hear a lot of people... are you sure this is the music room?"

Chie sweated, "This is music room three, alright..."

"Well... where's the teacher? Is a miss Houshakuji in here?"

Laughter was heard as the floor opened up, the brunnette sitting atop the platform holding her teacup ever so delicately, "Ah, ha ha ha ha ha! Now, my genius will soar to new heights in my quest to perfect the host club! Behold, the great Shuko Fujiriki!"

Shuko started to sweat as Tamaki looked over Renge's shoulder, "Um... Renge... we already have a ton of new members..."

"That's true, but we're missing something, and I wasn't able to put my finger on it until I heard that Shuko Fujiriki was transferring to our school! I figured out what we were missing!"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow, "Missing?"

"Yes! We need... music! This host club needs a good soundtrack to accommodate loyal customers!"

"... So why is he here...?"

"I convinced the principal to let me have him come here during school hours, since all the other electives were filled up anyway! He's going to be our lead singer!"

"Lead singer...?"

"Yes! He isn't very well-know, but I've heard him sing, and the boy has a voice that would make angels jealous!"

Shuko crossed his arms, "I'm not going to sing for money"

Kyoya patted Shuko on the shoulder, "Excuse me, Mr. Fujiriki, but this isn't about money"

"Then what is it about?"

"The sole purpose of this club is to bring happiness to young women. That's the only reason we do everything that we do here at the host club"

Shuko didn't uncross his arms, "... Your target audience is girls, like, teenage girls?"

"Yes"

"... And they'll listen to it? Like, on headphones and stuff?"

"Absolutely"

"... Just how far across the globe will these CD's be sold?"

Haruhi sweated, "I'm pretty sure it'll only be sold here-"

Kyoya pushed up his glasses, "Of, course, like all our other merchandise it will be available all over the world"

"He sells this stuff all over the world...?"

Shuko uncrossed his arms and nodded, "I'll do it!"

"That was a surprisingly fast change of mind!"

"When do we start recording?!"

Renge stood up and smiled, "Recording starts tomorrow, the second we get the song written up and composed"

Shuko shook his head, "Not soon enough! I'm gonna write it all up by the end of school today! You just tell me what instruments we're using and it'll be ready to go right after school!"

Kyoya shrugged his shoulders, "Here, I'll take you to the recording studio now, if you'd like to get started as soon as possible"

"Wait! Before that, I need to ask you something. Who here knows most of the girls in this school?"

Tamaki jumped forward, "That would be me, Tamaki Soeh, at your service"

Shuko pointed at him, "Are there any girls in this school that wear headphones?"

"Headphones?"

"Yeah, like, really big ones, they'd look kind of like earmuffs! Please tell me you have!"

Tamaki rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry... not really, no"

Shuko hung his head in disappointment, "... Are you sure?"

"Hm... yes, I don't really remember anyone like that"

"...*sigh*... Not anyone? Anyone at all? She'd probably be shy and wouldn't talk to anyone"

Honey jumped up from the table he was eating cake at, "Were they bunny headphones?"

"Yes! White bunny headphones! You saw her?!"

"I did see a girl who was wearing big, fluffy bunny headphones... but she didn't tell me her name. I was sad, because I wanted to share some cake with her..."

"Please! Tell me where you saw this girl!"

Honey touched his finger to his lips, "... Sorry, I don't remember what class it was"

"... We can go run and check the classrooms! Follow me and tell me when you see her!", he grabbed Honey's hand, "C'mon, let's go, there's no-"

Shuko was cut off by the wall he ran into at full speed. Honey looked at him, "Uh oh... is he going to be okay?"

Mori looked down at him, "We should take him to the infirmary"

The twins grinned evilly, "Why? We have markers"

Labrys walked into the room, "Hey, any of ya' seen a kid with bandages on his eyes? I promised I would show 'em 'round the school"

Haruhi pointed at him, "He's over there"

"Why does he look like he just got a hammer to the noggin'?"

"Because he ran into the door going full-force by accident. Would you mind taking him to the nurse's office?"

Labrys slung him over her shoulder, "No problem! See ya' later!"

Shuko sat up, very confused. The last thing he remembered was running at full speed, and now his head hurt... badly. He felt his forehead and realized from the bruise that he must've run into a wall, "Ow... hey! Is anyone here?"

Labrys chuckled, "You had me worried there for a second, thought you smashed your brains up"

He sighed, "Sorry... thank you, Labrys. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble"

"Not really, you should be thanking Rina here. She's the one who bandaged up the gash in your forehead"

"Oh, well, thank you, Rina, wherever you are"

"Um... Rina's deaf, actually, so she can't hear you..."

"Really? Why didn't you say so? Here, I know a little sign language", Shuko made some motions with his hands. Labrys looked to the girl who was still holding the wrapping tape. Her green eyes were wide as they watched him continue to make motions. Once he'd finished, he checked, "Um... does she look like I just screwed up saying 'thank you for fixing up my forehead'?"

Labrys looked at the Rina, "Uh... I dunno... she's just standing there"

Rina set down the bandages and walked over to Shuko, opening his hand and tapping it several times. Shuko looked relieved, "Oh! That's cool!"

"What?"

"She knows braille!", Shuko placed his hand above hers and began tapping into her palm, "She just said that it was her job, since she was the nurse's aid this period"

"What did you say?"

"All the same, I'm happy that she took the time to help me"

"Oh, cool. You still want to take a walk around the school?"

"Yeah, here, I'll ask Rina if she wants to come with us!", he tapped her palm rapidly, then she tapped his, "Oh, don't be like that!", he tapped her palm again.

"She want to go?"

"I'm trying to convince her that if she can see, she should see all of this beautiful school!", she tapped his hand again, "Yes! Alright! She'll come with us! And... she'll lead me so I don't crash into a wall again"

Labrys smiled, "That sounds like a plan"

Tamaki looked at the window, a smile on his face, "...*sigh*..."

Haruhi was a little confused, "Tamaki-senpai... you seem deep in thought... are you all right?"

"It's just so funny..."

Haruhi looked out the window, "Hey... isn't that Shuko? And who's he with?"

Tamaki smiled knowingly, "That is the love of his life"

"How can you tell?"

"Look at her, what do you see?"

"... Big headphones...?"

"So you noticed! And what color are they?"

"White... is that a bunny on it?"

"Precisely! And as a new member of the club, we owe it to him that he finds out!"

"... So... you're just going to tell him?"

"What?! No! That is the love of his life! We must do this perfectly, or it'll be pointless! Hikaru, Koaru!"

The twins popped up, "Yeah, boss?"

"Quickly! Get the emergency kidnapping bag! Honey-senpai!"

Honey bounced to his side, "Yes?"

"Get the private police's spare transportation van!"

"You got it!"

"Mori-senpai!"

Mori raised an eyebrow, "..."

"... Make sure there's gas in the van and get some ski masks!"

Mori nodded, "Done"

"Kyoya!"

"I want no part of this"

"Just tell us where he lives?"

"No"

"Please?"

"No"

"You can keep my share of profits for the next month!"

"Mailing address or home address?"

"Don't care! Write them down for Mori! Haruhi!"

Haruhi wasn't going to bend at all, "No"

"Please! Just-"

"No"

"But-"

"No"

As Tamaki started to crawl into the corner, Yu put his hand on Haruhi's shoulder, "Haruhi, Shuko might be the one"

"Seriously?"

"I can't say for sure, but I do feel something with his presence"

"Okay, so why-"

"We need to help kidnap him"

"What?!"

"If he's at the school, alone, at night, that would be the perfect time to extract his shadow"

"Why does everyone find it easy to kidnap strangers...?"

"Hey, Tamaki, I'll help out"

Tamaki looked at Yu, "Really? Thanks, I'm sure the twins could use an extra pair of hands..."

Haruhi sighed, "... Fine, what do you want me to do?"

Tamaki perked up, "Haruhi, I need you to go get the rope to tie the bag with!"

"That's all?!"

"I suck at tying knots..."

Naoto sighed, "You'll need to formulate a plan to deal with possible security, as well"

Kanji held his fist up, "Alright, I'm pumped, let's do this!"

Teddy gasped, "This all sounds bear-y cool! Can I bear any of the load?!"

Yosuke sweated, "Great... now we're kidnappers..."

Shuko smiled as he sat on his bed, for the first time in a long time, he really was happy. After having struggled with losing hope for so long, now he had found a new way to continue his search. He felt a little stupid for having never thought of it before, but once again, he found his singing voice was worth more than he gave it credit for.

Then there was Rina... someone who understood what it felt like to be stuck with a bad situation, and now she was his friend. He ran his fingers over his bandages, "Soon... just a little bit longer..."

In the back of his mind, he remembered how many times he'd told himself that before, but then he shook it off. He was taking a global step forward, so he had to work hard to make sure it went through. As he continued to scribble on the paper, he became oblivious to the world around him. It wasn't until he heard the window crash open that his guard came back up, but by then, it was too late.

He was stuffed into the bag with little resistance, as he was overtaken by several people. Once inside the bag, his brain went wild with terrible thoughts, "It's happening... you're going back... and you can't stop it"

He tried to fight back the thoughts as he started hyperventilating, "No, no you aren't. These are just regular kidnappers, all they want is money! Money! You can deal with them, you can deal with them, just keep calm and whatever you do, don't let yourself lose it"

The vehicle he could hear running came to a stop with a thud. In a matter of minutes, he felt his wrists and ankles become bound to a chair. He took a deep breath in, "Alright, you obviously know what you are doing. How much money do you want?"

A voice spoke through a voice distorter, "We don't want money"

Shuko tried to remain calm, "... Then what do you want?"

"Not what we want, what you need"

Shuko swallowed as he began sweating, "... I d-don't know what you're talking about"

The room became ten degrees cooler and he felt the footsteps of several people, and a voice he didn't recognize, "It's time you awakened your inner power"

Shuko felt a wave of fear shoot through his entire body, "No... no... s-stay away from me!"

He heard the voice of Labrys gently speak to him, "Shuko, we just want to help you"

Shuko felt a wave of anger wash over him, "You... You're with them? Damn it... Damn it all!", the restraints on his body were ripped to shreds as he stood, breaking the chair as he did, "I trusted you! Not anymore! All of you get away from me!"

Junpei was a little freaked out, "Hey, what's going on? Is there a breeze in here?"

Fuuka shook her head, "No, it's coming from him, look!"

Sure enough, Shuko was surrounded by violent winds, "Never again! You ruined my life once, I won't let you do it again!"

Labrys stood in front of the winds, "Shuko! What are you doing?! It's me, Labrys!"

"I know what your name is! You're with them, aren't you?! You came to take me back! Sorry to disappoint, but I won't go! Not over my dead body!"

Mitsuru pulled out her trigger, "Persona! Shield them!"

Her persona jumped forward to shield everyone from the gale-force winds with a barrier made of ice. Shuko began breathing faster, "Y-You really are a part of them... you fight just like them... No, I won't fail this time!"

His hands were lit as he shot balls of fire at the barrier. Mitsuru looked to Haruhi, "Fujioka! Extraction!"

Haruhi nodded, "Got it! Cheri!"

The maiden persona placed her hands on Shuko, who began to tremble, "NO! NEVER AGAIN!"

His body became engulfed in shadows, then they all scattered across the room, leaving it pitch black. Once the light returned, everyone saw the same thing: two Shuko's, facing each other with their eyes bandaged. The one on the left stood up, "So... it's you people again, huh? Guess the last thrashing wasn't enough"

The one on the right was confused, "I-I won't let you confuse me by imitating my voice!"

"They aren't, because this isn't an imitation, I am you"

"Ha, ha, very funny"

"Seriously. I know exactly how you've felt for the last five years, while your parents have made things a little better on you, you still live in fear that this day would come. Now that it has, you're ready to show them what they deserve to see. And you're damn well not gonna let them get away or die without giving you some answers first"

"T-That's not true..."

"Oh, really? Living every day of your life feeling just a little more miserable and depressed every day doesn't mean anything? You haven't had those nagging thoughts in the back of your mind, like, 'I'll never find her', or, 'They know where she is', or, my personal favorite, 'If I go out and torture it out of them, I'll know for sure'. Am I missing anything?"

Shuko was trembling even worse now, "N-No.. I-I mean yes..."

He grabbed his shoulders, "Don't worry, I'm here to do it for you. You just sit back, I'm the part of you that's willing to do it, so just sit back and relax. I'll take care of them, they'll be dead in just a minute, or at least, most of them. That traitor is going to suffer for at least half an hour before I let her die"

"S-Stop! That's not what I want!"

"Of course it is, I would know, I'm you, after all"

"No! You're not! You can't be me!"

The one on the left removed the bandages to reveal yellow eyes, "No... now, I'm so much more"

Shuko stood up, "Don't screw with me!"

He clapped his hands together, and a bolt of lightning shot forward, only to be intercepted by his shadow, which now was coated in a sharp, black armor that he used to crush the bolt, "I won't, I am a shadow, the true self! I'll kill you quickly, now die!"

Shuko was pinned to the wall by spikes the shadow shot at him, "Hey! What is this?!"

The shadow chuckled, "Oh, don't worry, you'll see it in just a moment"

Shuko shook his head as he felt fingers tug on his bandages, "No... No! Don't, please!"

The shadow ripped away the bandages, then laughed, "Think keeping your eyes shut will help? I can fix that"

Shuko was waiting in fear for the fingers to pry his eyes open when he was whisked away, "Izanagi!"

Shuko felt his feet touch the floor as someone grabbed his hand, then he heard Labrys yell at him, "Don't just stand there, c'mon on!"

As they raced into the hallway, the twins and Kanji held the door shut. Shuko was holding his hands over his eyes, "P-Please... who are you people?"

Mitsuru crossed her arms, "I am Mitsuru Kirijo, we came here to defend you from... what just happened"

"W-Wait, Kirijo? As in, the Kirijo group?"

"Yes"

He ran his hands through his hair, "I'm an idiot... I'm sorry, I thought you were... someone else"

"In case you haven't noticed, your situation isn't one we can tackle without all of the facts. Who are you afraid of, why, and how did you perform those feats before?"

Shuko swallowed hard, "I... was part of the telekinetic experiment performed by the Hagirashi group. It... wasn't pleasant. I was saved by the Kirijo group after I'd been floating in the ocean for nearly two weeks. I didn't get there because I was a failure, I was there because I refused to be their 'success'. I tried to escape... and someone was supposed to escape with me... I don't even know if she's alive, but I've been searching for her for almost five years now"

"That would explain your desire to get revenge on them, as well as your drive to force an answer out of someone. You want closure, but the hope that may be crushed has been weighing down your heart for years. That thing in there is your emotions gone wild, your pain brought to life. It may not be all of you, but it is definitely a part of you. Why was it targeting your eyes?"

Haruhi looked at Shuko, "According to your medical file, you have twenty-twenty vision"

Shuko turned away from them, "... My eyes... see so much more than that"

Yukiko cocked her head to the side, "What does that mean?"

"... As a kid... I didn't have any friends. Any time I would look at another person, I would see, a light in them, and it would amaze me. I would just stare, until they looked at me, and then the light would go out, and become a horrifying shadow. When they saw how I stared, they changed, shut me out and treated me like a freak. I could see it coming every time, literally"

"I imagine this is why you refuse to open your eyes", Naoto speculated.

"No, I'm not afraid to look, but I made a promise, one I've been trying to keep for so long now"

"Which was what?"

"... I would wait for her, so that the first thing I saw, having been freed from that darkness, would be her light"

Chie felt ready to cry, "That's so sweet..."

"She promised me that when we got off the island, she would listen to me sing again"

Haruhi put her fist in her palm, "That's why you were so willing to make the soundtrack for the club when you heard it would be sold globally"

Shuko nodded, "If she could hear me sing, she'd know I was still alive, and looking for her"

Yosuke was a little impressed, "Not a bad idea"

Yu smiled, "Oh, by the way, there's something you should know"

Shuko raised his eyebrow, "What is it?"

Yukari, being the hopeless romantic she was, had to blurt it out, "We're pretty sure the girl you're looking for is right outside!"

"What?!"

Labrys nodded, "Acordin' to the description you gave us of her, she's the girl that was showing you around yesterday"

"Rina... but you said she was deaf, my Rina wasn't deaf"

"I said that 'cause she had honkin' headphones coverin' her ears!"

"She did?!"

"Yeah!"

"Then... I need to go see her!"

"Hold it, pal. You still gotta deal with that monster in that room first"

Rise frowned as she looked with her persona, "Hm... this doesn't look good. It's invulnerable to all types of attack, and it's got a weakness counter, so we can't nullify it's defenses"

"No weaknesses...?"

"If there is one, I can't find it. It's like this thing was made to be impervious to attacks"

Shuko stood up, "I know how to take it down, can somebody guide me to the door?"

Labrys stood him in front of the doorway, "You sure about this?"

"I'm sure, just open the door when I say to"

Kanji and the twins could barely keep it shut, "That can't be much longer!"

Shuko breathed slowly as a warm light began to coat his skin, "Okay... now!"

Everyone dove out of the way, the shadow bursting through the door, as Shuko opened his eyes. Everyone was stunned at they saw his yellow eyes while he shouted, "Healing Light!"

Once the light had settled, everyone could see the two Shukos, both with yellow eyes. The original smiled as he looked down at the shadow, "I've been bad to you, haven't I"

The shadow looked up with anger, "I'll say! Five years, and I've been repressed the whole time!"

"What you needed wasn't more pain, or suffering. It was healing, acceptance", he pulled the shadow to it's feet, "It was so wrong of me to do that to you, especially since I know what that feels like. I should've just accepted you for who you were, no, who you are. You are me..."

The shadow hugged the original with tears in it's eyes, "Maybe now... we can look for her together"

"That would be wonderful", the shadow faded from his arms, appearing above him as a priest with a staff of steel.

The persona's mask was in the shape of a smile, "You and me, we're gonna do big things..."

Shuko fell to his knees as his persona fadded, "... *pant, pant*... That was tiring... but Rina's outside, right?", he picked up his bandages and put them back on, "Take me back to the chair..."

As they strapped him back in, the twins looked at their watches, "Hurry up, we only got five minutes left!"

Haruhi was getting mad, "Shut up! If you want me to hurry up, then why don't you help me tie him up?!"

Mitsuru waved, "Our mission was a success. Narukami, don't forget to give him his trigger and his phone for contacting us"

Yu nodded, "Got it"

Akihiko waved as they left, "Ciao"

The Dark Hour came to a close, returning the room to it's initial state and freeing the other members of the host club from the coffins. Tamaki continued to speak through the voice distorter, "You don't need to sweat the details, all you have to do is sing"

Shuko pretended to still be frightened, "S-Sing?"

"Yes. But not yet...", Tamaki waited until he saw Rina walk through the door, "... okay, now, now you will sing"

"What should I sing?"

"Anything! Just sing!"

Shuko cleared his throat, then started to sing, just as Mori swiped Rina's headphones off her ears,

"~That sunrise... baby, it's got nothing on your eyes.

It's true, but you'd disagree, that's just like you.

The light in your heart, keeps me warm when we're apart.

Girl, you walked right into my world, and turned it upside-down,

I'm wrapped around your finger, I live so you won't frown.

Your dreams, I can see them in your smile,

so powerful, I'm blown away, to see it from over a mile.

The day I live for is when I see, you right here, right next to me,

then I read those words right on your lips, freshly wrote, after another kiss,

the ones you say, that make me feel alive and true, they're 'I love you'.~"

Rina gasped, "S-S-Shuko? I-Is that... really you?"

Shuko felt his heart skip a beat, "R-Rina?! It's me! Help me take these bandages off!"

Rina took the wrap off of his eyes, so that they could see each other, fully and truly. Rina was crying tears of joy, "It's... really you!"

Shuko couldn't help but cry with equal joy as he hugged her, "I was working so hard to look for you, I couldn't see you right in front of me... I'm so glad... I was so worried I'd never find you"

Tamaki smiled, "Now that is a picture perfect scene"

Yu tapped Haruhi on the shoulder, "I got more news"

Haruhi sweated, "What is it now?"

"I don't know how to describe it... but I think Rina already has her persona"

"How can you tell?"

"Well, normally, being around someone who's dragged down by a shadow will cause your own shadow to react. Her's didn't"

"Hey... you're right"

"We'll have to get both of them to come by tonight after this is all over"

Haruhi sighed as she watched them, "I have to admit... even though this makes us all criminals... it is a touching moment"

Yu smiled, "Yeah, Tamaki did a good job"

"Don't tell him that"

"Of course not, then he'd do it again"

Shuko and Rina listened as Mitsuru finished explaining the situation, "... and that's the overall short version"

Rina nodded, "Okay. So... you want us to help you?"

Shuko tilted his head to one side, "This 'persona' would explain that figure that grabbed you that day"

"When I was falling, that thing that saved my life, you think it was my persona?"

"It might be, I mean, you did accept things about yourself that day that you denied for a long time"

Mitsuru held out a trigger, "Care to test that theory?"

Rina held it to her head, "Here goes nothing... persona!", a huge Valkyrie in dazzling white armor appeared for a second.

Shuko nodded, "That's the same figure. You mastered your persona without even realizing it"

"Sounds like you had a harder time with it"

"I lived"

Mitsuru rubbed her chin, "That reminds me, you said you were part of a telekinesis experiment, what all exactly can you do?"

"Move very tiny things with my mind. Like slowing water molecules in the air down to the point they form a solid, or moving particles fast enough to make fire. Or moving positive and negatively charged particles to make an electric current, that kind of stuff"

"So, you can't move any large physical objects?"

"No. The most I can move is the wind... and that takes a lot of effort"

"I see. Well, seeing as both of you now seem to have a firm grasp of the situation, I would like for both of you to join our team. Fujiriki, you and Rina will have to share a trigger, we will provide one for you soon, it's just that this rapid expansion was unaccounted for initially. Once the new trigger is made, we will give it to you"

"It's fine, I don't need one"

Mitsuru felt caught off-guard, "What?"

"I can summon my persona without it"

Mitsuru fell silent, but Yosuke couldn't keep his mouth shut in shock, "What?! No way! Is that even possible?!"

Akihiko was a little surprised, too, "In theory... I've never seen it done before without one"

Shuko stood up and held a floating card in his hand, "Come... Sans Borne!", as he crushed the card in his hand, the persona appeared behind him, then it spoke, "Hey people, what's up? I miss something?"

Everyone was stunned, Yukiko especially, "It can talk!"

Sans Borne's mask changed to the shape of a frown, "That hurts. I'm a 'he' not an 'it'. I have feelings, you know"

Shuko raised his eyebrow, "What? Can't you guys hear your persona's voice? It's a part of you, all you have to do is listen"

"Well, the odds you'd be a better listener than them is a little higher, considering all you could do was listen for five years"

"That makes sense. Hey, Rina, what's your persona like? I never really got to meet her"

Rina held her hands up defensively, "I don't think we should do that here. Besides, I wanna talk to your persona!"

Sans Borne's mask transformed back into a smile, "Thank you! It feels good to be noticed"

Shuko looked at him, "Hey, speaking of good, you wanna test out that ability that Igor guy told us about?"

Aigis snapped her attention to Shuko, "You have been to the velvet room?"

"That blue room? Yeah, why?"

Narukami leaned forward to look Shuko in the eye, "What did Igor say? What did he tell you about the contract?"

"Um... he said something about 'taking responsability for my actions'. He also told me that in the coming days, I would need to play the hand I was dealt by fate carefully, otherwise, I'd lose everything. But, that was just a dream, wasn't it?"

Yu put his hands on Shuko's shoulders, "That was no dream. That was real. You are a wild card user, and the second you signed that contract, you put the fate of the world in your hands"

Sans Borne sighed, "Great... anyone want get pancakes?"

Teddy jumped up, "That sounds bear-y yummy!"

Shuko stood up, "Okay, let's make pancakes!"

Chie was a little shocked, "He's so calm!"

Kanji was rubbing his forehead, "Seriously, dude, pancakes?"

Naoto sweated, "It seems all wild card weilders are inclined to be exceedingly calm... no matter the circumstances"

The twins jumped up, "We want chocolate chip pancakes!"

Mitsuru accepted the situation, "If you don't mind, I'd like strawberry, thank you very much"

Junpei held his fist up, "I vote chocolate!"

Sans Borne held his thumb up, "I'm good with either one"

Rise held her fist up, "I'm with the strawberry group!"

Kanji shrugged, "I vote strawberry"

Yukiko smiled, "I say... chocolate!"

Chie held her fist up, "Me too!"

Labrys got excited, "Chocolate, for sure!"

Akihiko shrugged, "Why not? I'm up for whatever"

Yosuke smiled, "Chocolate chip, all the way!"

Yu nodded, "I'll help you cook"

Shuko smiled, "Then let's get to it!"

Everyone happily chowed down on their pancakes. Chie was the first to take a bite, "Wow! This is really good!"

Teddy wolfed his down, "This is so yummy!"

While everyone else was chomping down on their pancakes, Shuko held Rina as they laid together on the couch, "I still can't believe you were right in front of me."

She smiled, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

Mitsuru leaned over them, "I hope I'm not interrupting something."

Shuko frowned, "Just everything."

"I hate to spoil the moment, but there's an urgent matter that requires both of you."

They sat up, "What's that?"

Minato appeared beside Mitsuru, "Since you hold the wild card, I need to ask you two a favor. I need you to leave and fight shadows elsewhere."

Shuko raised his eyebrow, "What? Why?"

"The threat here is under control, but there are many other places around the world that could still use your help. I know it's sudden, but somebody has to do it, someone who has the power of the wild card while still in contract. Will you do it?"

Rina leaned forward, "Can I come with him?"

Minato nodded, "Of course."

Shuko smiled, "Then I don't see why not!"

Mitsuru handed them a file, "This contains plane tickets and your new location. I wish you the best of luck."

Teddy frowned, "Aw... Shuko-kun and Rina-chan are leaving already?"

Shuko flashed him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about us, Teddy! We'll kick some shadow butt and be back before you know it!"

Haruhi sighed as they left, "It's weird that they're leaving the moment they got here..."

Minato smiled, "They'll be fine. Those two have a bond that's too strong for them to fail."

Yu looked up from his pancakes, "What was that?"

Rise looked up from hers, "I felt it too... I'll scan for a shadow."

Fuuka stood up, "I'll scan, too."

Aegis stood up, "Immense shadow detected. Scanners are showing no nearby signs. Power must be judged as very high."

Rise gasped, "I can see it! It's the biggest shadow I've ever seen!"

Fuuka was in shock, "It's more powerful than Nyx was!"

Mitsuru started to sweat, "How is this possible?!

Teddy shook, "I can smell it from here!"

Haruhi received a text, "... It's from Kyoya..." She opened it and read it, "What the...?"

Chie sat next to her, "What is it?"

"Kyoya just texted me... that Tamaki's acting weird."

"Weird how?"

"... He says that Tamaki just bought a hundred pounds of freshly-caught tuna."

Rise held her hand up, "I got it! It's coming from... a blonde kid with blue eyes?"

Naoto nodded, "That clinches it. Tamaki is our next target."

Minato squinted, "This is going to be the big one. I could feel the flow of shadows here before, but now they've all centralized around the one person who's the most involved with others."

Junpei raised an eyebrow, "Involved with others?"

Minato nodded, "Yeah. Most often, it's the people that smile all the time who really feel the saddest. This will without a doubt be the biggest fight any of you have ever faced."

Akihiko's eyes went wide, "If you're saying that..."

Haruhi sweated as she checked another text, "Tamaki just invited me to come visit him this weekend..."

The twins got mad, "That devious, cheating king! Let's go get him!"

Kanji smiled, "I don't know anything about cheating, but let's go kick some major ass!"