CHAPTER 3: A voice from the dark
05/11/09
"KONA-CHAAAAAAN!!"
The Kagayaku girls were walking together beyond the school entrance. They all felt rejuvenated after resting the whole Sunday right after the hard operation. They all turned in the direction of the gates, where the screaming male voice came from. Before Konata could say anything, she found herself being literally glomped by Junpei.
"Oh, Kona-Chan! Kona-Chan! So glad to see you! So good being alive!!" He joyfully said as he squeezed his senpai so tightly she could barely breathe. With a great effort, she lifted her head up to face her schoolmate who, for some reason, looked even more cheerful than usual, if possible. Confused, she asked what happened.
"Aww, you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you… but you can believe me when I say this: I thought I was a goner just a couple of days ago!"
Konata was about to ask more as she tried and set herself free from the lad's grasp, but Yukari came and interrupted both of them. "Jeeze, Stupei! That's not the way of addressing to a junior!"
Immediately he released Konata from his grasp and faced his classmate with sad puppy eyes. "That's so mean, Yuka-Tan… I told you to not call me like that!"
"Besides" Konata added, a bit annoyed. "I am a SENIOR, OK?"
Embarrassed, Yukari blushed as she pulled Junpei next to her, annoyance on her face. "ANYway… the only reason I call you Stupei, it's because you act stupid 24/7. What's with this outburst of energy?"
"What you talkin' about?! I'm always full of energy!" He replied, his smile broadening.
"…then I guess you wouldn't mind using some of that energy to study. Do I have to remind you we have EXAMS the next week?"
Junpei's shoulders sunk as his happy face turned into a sad frown. "…you just HAD to remind me, didn't ya?" he muttered as he walked upstairs, followed by his classmate. Once both were gone, Konata let out a sigh.
"He thought he was a goner? Hmm… wonder if it's related to the monorail incident the news were reporting about… if you think about it, it makes sense… since one of those shadows appeared there…" Kumiko mused.
Konata shook her head. "Geeze, what's her problem?...she's even more a nag than Kagamin here!"
"Yeah, she's a bit annoying" Kagami nodded. Then, realizing Konata was mocking her she spat back: "It's not me who's a nag, it's you who never work hard in anything!! Anyway, she has a point, you know… we're having exams soon… have you people been studying at all?" Konata faced her with a playful smile, about to say something, but before she could open her mouth, the pigtailed girl sighed and shook her head. "Why do I even bother asking YOU?"
Tsukasa pushed her fingertips together as she blushed. "I…I did try and study, but… I can't seem to be able to follow my schedule for a reason or another…"
"I don't have time for this stuff…" Kumiko simply shrugged, causing Kagami to drop her head in disbelief.
05/18/09
The first day of the 1st semester midterm exams. All Kagayaku members struggled the whole week in order to balance the Tartarus exploration and study sessions, so they all were unsure about the outcome… maybe except for Kagami who skipped Tartarus the whole week and Miyuki who has been studying her whole spare time.
As the girls were discussing before the exams, they saw Shinn and Athrun walking closer to them. The latter was taking them as entry exams so to be admitted within the school. Although an unusual procedure, this was only possible due to Rei talking directly to the principal. Unlike Shinn, who didn't look like being able to sleep much, Athrun looked quite relaxed and confident.
"If I manage to get the highest grades in my homeroom" he said, approaching to Miyuki "I want you to go out with me."
The lad moved an arm to Miyuki but before getting to touch her, he felt something hitting the rear of his head as he fell, face-first, on the floor. Shinn could barely stifle a laugh as he saw Athrun being literally booted to the head and wished he had a camera to record the whole scene.
Then the school bell rang. "Move out, you'll be late!" Shinn said, walking over Athrun, who was still on the floor and running to the school gates.
05/23/09
Exams were finally over.
"Are you OK, Kumi-Chan?" Tsukasa asked her classmate, whose head was leaning on the Kotobuki Hotel lobby table. The girl didn't reply, she simply let go a long and weak moan. "Wow… I've never seen Kumi-Chan like that…"
"Geeze, give her a break…" Shinn muttered, resting his chin on the table. "I think we're all exhausted after that stuff…"
"Mine went smoothly… I'm positive I had a great score." Athrun nodded, proud. "But I didn't find them so hard to be as devastated as you are, Kumiko…"
"It's not just exams…" Kumiko said, slowly lifting her head. "I also had to put up with Sanada-Kun and his rambling… he told me he has found another Persona-user to join their team."
Kagami cupped her chin, doubtful. "Is it OK for him to tell YOU about this?"
"Kagayaku and SEES don't work together, but that doesn't make us enemies or rivals… we simply are two groups doing things their own way, working their own way to fix this mess." The girl in blue explained.
"You said a new Persona-user? Is this user another student of our school?" Miyuki asked.
Kumiko nodded. "So it seems… but I don't know her very well… if I recall, her name was… Fuuka Yamagishi."
Shinn jolted as soon as he heard the name. The girl named Fuuka was one of his classmates; although he rarely saw her at school, he remembered her as a frail and inward girl who was often sick. Definitely not the kind of girl you'd see into a battle. That wasn't all: he also remembered of one time he protected her from a group of other classmates who were teasing and bullying her. He remembered the helpless look in her eyes, which melted his heart. But… letting such a girl as Fuuka to get involved into this mess… what is SEES thinking?
"So she isn't just a cute girl, but also one with the potential, huh…" Rei remarked as he walked downstairs, a luggage in his hand.
"Ah, Kuro-Sensei!" Athrun said, freezing as the teacher faced him with an ice-cold gaze.
"That's KUROHAGANE-Sensei to you." Then, to Kumiko. "I have to go for a couple of weeks because of… um… some business with the RK… I'm leaving the hotel and Kagayaku business to you. I'm sure you'll have no problem managing everything… I mean, you had no problems so far."
"HUH?! But Sens-"
"See you in two weeks!" He said with a slight smile as he shut the hotel door. Frustrated, Kumiko dropped her head back on the table.
05/25/09
"HEY, THE RESULTS ARE POSTED!" One of the students said aloud as he rushed inside the classrooms during lunchtime. Immediately, all the other students went and check the results of their own exams.
As to be expected, Miyuki scored among the highest in the school; Kagami scored quite high; even Konata managed to do well, although she didn't really study much, while Tsukasa's score was about average.
Noticing that Kumiko wasn't looking at the results, Miyuki asked her if she wanted her to look instead; the girl in blue shook her head and after hesitating, she looked at the board, sighing in relief when she saw that her score was above average.
"Hey, what about Shinn-Kun?" Tsukasa then asked, checking the board once more. After realizing she was looking at the seniors' scores, she moved to check the juniors' ones. It took her a while but she finally found Shinn's score: slightly above average.
"Yeah, it's not much…" he said nonchalantly "…but I wasn't planning to get a high score. That's the only reason."
Then, they all heard a scream. Immediately the turned around to see Akihiko, who was checking the seniors' scored, his finger shakily pointing a particular name.
Kagami placed both hands at her own waist and smirked. "What's wrong, Sanada? You failed?"
"Hah! Just for you to know, I scored well, thank you." He replied, narrow-eyed.
"Then what are you…"
"Look at THIS!" he pointed at Athrun's name. "Who IS this Zala guy? I never saw him around and here he pops out, getting the highest score!"
"Well, what do you know…" Konata remarked as she saw it herself. "He wasn't bluffing then…". She then pushed Akihiko away to shield him from a swarm of girls dashing to Athrun, who just arrived to check the scores.
"Aww, Zala-Senpai! You're so smart!" A girl said.
"Smart and handsome… you're perfect!" Another one added.
"Zala-Kun… would you mind going out with me?" A third girl asked.
Akihiko didn't look too pleased by that show. "Tch… what a show-off…" he muttered.
"What? I thought you weren't interested in girls!" Konata said with a smart smile.
"That's not the point. I don't like the fact of being overshadowed by the last newcomer…" Athrun Zala…I accept your challenge! We'll see which one of us will be the last standing on the ring!
The commotion in the hall suddenly stopped as Mitsuru stepped in the crowd of students and walked to Athrun. "Zala, isn't it?" she asked. "You're just arrived in this school and already your performance is remarkable. I am mostly impressed."
Immediately Athrun started observing the red-haired girl thoroughly. Her incredibly good looks caused him to smile, satisfied. "Why, thank you, my dear" he replied as he approached her and placed a hand around her shoulders. "You performed greatly yourself… I'm sure we have a lot in common…"
Kumiko was about to react and stop him, but Mitsuru was quicker than her and immediately stabbed him with her rapier, leaving him bleeding on the floor as she walked away. "Forgive me, but I have to take care of a few matters for the student council. Adieu." She coldly said as she walked away while the others carried him to the nurse's office.
05/29/09
Kumiko was heading towards the sport clubs in order to attend her training with the swim team. Once she was in the backyard, she met with Yukari, but the two of them didn't really talk to each other, not going beyond greeting each other. As they walked to the clubs, they both spotted two girls talking in an annoyingly cheerful way: one was a very tall tanned brunette wearing a black vest over her white school uniform shirt; the other one had short pigtails and wore some black and white striped stockings. Both were laughing noisily.
"So" the brunette started to tell, quite amused "I pretended to take a picture with my cell phone… then she freaked out and started to cry as if it was the end of the world! It was SO fun to watch!"
"Oh my GAWD!" The other girl remarked.
The brunette continued, laughing. "I never laughed so hard in all my life!" then both started laughing even harder.
"Are they making fun of someone?" Yukari asked more herself than Kumiko.
"So it appears…" Kumiko answered. Although she looked cold, she was quite irate, since she hated that kind of stuff.
Suddenly, the brunette's friend stopped laughing, claiming she heard a voice as her stare got lost into the void.
"Hey? Maki! What's wrong?!" The brunette called her friend back to reality and the two of them resumed their annoying chat.
05/30/09
A pack of students gathered together to discuss about something which looked quite important.
"Hey, did you hear it?"
"Yeah, it appears a girl from 2-E…"
"Quite sinister…"
"Wonder what happened…"
As they were talking about that, even the Kagayaku girls were gathered around a desk, talking.
"Geeze, rumors are really fast spreading… especially in schools!" Kagami said, scratching the rear of her back.
"What rumor?" Tsukasa quietly tilted her head in an interrogative way
"Didn't you hear it, Tsukasa?" Konata said, her face darkening. Then, in a sinister tone: "Well they say… a girl from 2-E mysteriously disappeared last night… and this morning… they found her right at the school entrance, unconscious!"
Tsukasa shuddered. "Oh dear…! I've heard that when a rumor spreads so fast, some sort of curse makes it become true…"
Konata shook her head. "No, that's Innocent Sin Online."
"Maybe we should do something about it…" Miyuki said to Kumiko, concerned, as she fixed her glasses on her nose.
Kumiko kept on sketching, as if she didn't care. "Is this really something we seniors should worry about?" she asked, coldly, not lifting her head from her sketches.
Miyuki placed both hands on Kumiko's desk. Although quiet-looking, there were something about her hinting she was getting angry. "This could be related to the shadows somehow! If that's the case, then we HAVE to do something… and besides… 2-E is Asuka-San's homeroom! We can't just ignore it… Please, Fukuyama-San…"
Kumuko shrugged. "Maybe we could let SEES to handle things. It's THEIR job taking care of the shadows, not ours... but on something you're right… if that girl's from 2-E… I doubt Shinn will sit and watch… (Troublesome kid…)"
As Kumiko was uttering these words, Shinn rushed inside their classroom and to the quintet, saying he had important news. When they asked what that was about he answered: "I talked to one of my teachers and I came to know something about my missing classmate, and – Now that's the craziest part! – she's one of those annoying girls who have fun bullying another classmate of mine. Coincidence? I don't think so…"
06/02/09
Shinn was getting out of his classroom to get some crab bread for lunch. As he was about to walk downstairs, his attention was caught by someone calling him. Immediately, he turned around to face Yukari.
"You a 2-E student, right?" she asked, serious.
Shinn simply nodded, although he seemed a bit confused.
"I think you know this, but my name is Yukari Takeba. I'm currently investigating on the ghost rumor. I wondered if, as a 2-E student, you knew anything about it…"
Shinn glanced at her and then started walking downstairs. Yukari rushed to him, trying to stop him. He graced him with an impudent smile. "A ghost rumor is nothing more than a ghost rumor… you shouldn't fret about it. It's childish." He remarked as he kept on walking, causing the girl to violently blush.
Immediately she stepped in front of him, almost causing him to fall off the stairs. "Listen! Don't you wanna know what happened to your missing classmate?"
Shinn shook his head, annoyed. "Why should I care about someone like her, who has fun picking on those weaker? Ah, for the record, since you seem so desperate about it… it's not just her who disappeared… I DID made some researches…it was her and two more girls… That's all I know. Satisfied? Now will you let me go get something to eat?" He said as he walked past Yukari.
"Wait!" She called for him again. "Did those girls have something in common?"
Instantly, Shinn stopped on his tracks and started reflecting about the matter. Come to think… those girls… all of them were among the ones bullying that girl… can't be just a coincidence… and… come to think… I wonder what happened to that girl… I haven't seen here since… hope she's OK… "Yukari… was it? I think I changed my mind… I want to know the truth about it."
Yukari clasped both her hands together. "Perfect! We'll search for news separately… then, in a three days, we'll put all of our information together!" Although confident, Yukari looked quite upset about the whole matter… Shinn wondered if she was really believing it was a ghost.
06/05/09
Konata was just back from the Book On bookstore, accompanied by Kumiko, Kagami, Tsukasa and Miyuki. They saw Shinn tinkering with a laptop on the Kotobuki Hotel lobby table. When he was asked what he was doing, the lad answered. "I'm putting together all the info I gathered so far about this ghost and the disappearance of my classmate. Later, I'll discuss it with that Yukari girl, since we're cooperating on the investigation…"
"You sure take this ghost nonsense seriously…" Kagami shrugged.
"I'm not doing it for that missing bitch! I want to know what happened to the girl she was bullying, that's all."
"So? What did you find out, Asuka-San?" Miyuki asked, approaching to the computer.
"Well according to all my researches so far, the girl everyone were talking about as this rumor started wasn't the only one. It was actually three of them. All of these girls were hospitalized and this must have caused quite a stir. Now, only the girl named Maki was from 2-E… the other ones were from other classes… but they had something in common: all of them used to hang out together! I guess there's no need for me to say they didn't exactly hang around with good companies, but…well, you get the idea."
"Wow… you sure gathered a lot of info in these few days…" Kumiko remarked, as she crossed her arms.
Shinn nodded proudly. Then his cell phone started ringing and he immediately answered the call. After less than a minute he was done and faced the rest of the Kagayaku crew. "It was Yukari. She said we should do some field investigation to get more clues."
"Where to?" Tsukasa asked.
"According to Yukari, those girls used to be regulars in a certain place: it's a back alley behind the Port Island Station."
Both Kumiko and Kagami jolted. "Are you saying you're going THERE?! By NIGHT?!" Kagami asked, upset.
"Kagami's right… that place is no good… don't you know that's where all the thugs and punks gather together? Besides, just you and Takeba are planning to go there…!" Kumiko added.
"Well, I just said I would have gone, so I can't take it back." Shinn puffed.
Kumiko shook her head. "Well I can't allow you to go there by yourself… I don't care about this ghost business, but if I allowed you to get in some sort of trouble… it's my responsibility as the team leader to prevent this… I'm coming with you."
Konata raised a hand. "Me too! This whole story sounds so exciting..."
Kagami shook her head. "Well don't count on me… I won't have nothing to do with punks, thank you!" she said as both Miyuki and Tsukasa shyly nodded.
06/06/09
Yukari and Shinn decided that was the day for their field research. Both groups agreed to meet each other in front of the Iwatodai dorm. As Shinn and the others walked to the dorm, they noticed Yukari wasn't alone; in fact, she was accompanied by Kenji and Junpei.
"Oh, so you're coming too?" she said. "Well, the more the merrier."
"Please, Kumiko-Senpai…" Junpei pleaded. "You too, Kona-Chan… please talk her out of this! This CAN'T end well, I just know!"
Yukari sighed. "Will you stop whining? OK, it's a little 'dangerous'… it will be an adventure!"
"Sounds more like a suicide mission to me…" Junpei remarked, scratching the rear of his head.
Konata chuckled. "Aw, you're such a worrier. It's alright! We have so many people…"
With that, the six of them headed to the back alley in Port Island Station. Once they arrived, they were greeted by the strong smell of booze, smoke and some other dirty thing I'd rather not write about. A bunch of punks, both male and female, faced them with their not-reassuring smirks.
"Check out those rags… they're from Gekko High!" one of the punks said. "You're in the wrong place, kids…"
"Yeah!" another punk added, looking at Junpei. "You don't belong in here. So beat it, Goatee!"
"We don't need your permission to stay here!" Yukari declared. And then, when Junpei tried to hush her: "I won't get intimidated by this scum!"
"Scum, huh?" a tough-looking girl said as she smoked more of her cigarette. "Well you'll see… we'll post some pics of you that will make your daddy cry! You'll regret to be born!"
Then one of the punks moved to punch Junpei into the stomach, but he was promptly stopped by Konata. He tried to attack her, but she was quicker and delivered a Shoryuken-ish uppercut to him, causing him to fall on his back.
"You little bitch… I'll make ya pay for that…" He said wiping a streak of blood off his chin as the other punks approached the group.
Kumiko muttered something unintelligible, throwing an ice-cold stare to the closest punk. Kenji did the same as he braced himself.
Then a deep voice from behind the punks. "That's enough.". Everyone faced in the direction the voice came from and saw a familiar-looking guy wearing a red coat and a dark beanie, walking slowly to the group, both hands in his pockets. "They didn't know what they were getting into. I'll make sure they'll leave, alright?"
The punk Konata punched angrily spat at him. "Dammit! Who do you think you are, dumbass?! You want some too?!"
The shady person sighed as he pierced through the punk with his stare. "…I guess being pummelled by that little girl isn't enough of an humiliation to you…"
With that, the punk charged to the newcomer, who promptly countered with a violent head butt, causing him to fall down, again.
"Dammit, Shinjiro! It's because you're from Gekko High yourself?! I thought you were one of us!" Another punk cried, causing Kumiko to wince. Shinjiro… Aragaki…?! So it's REALLY him… she thought.
Shinjiro didn't reply. He simply glanced at the punk: a scary, piercing glance. Immediately, the punk ran away spitting empty threats as his other companions followed him.
Meanwhile the six teenagers were still in awe. Seeing that no one was reacting, Kumiko decided to talk, hoping she could lift her doubts about this Aragaki person. "Um… I…"
"Are you stupid or something?!" He angrily said at her before starting to leave. "Why did you bother bringing these people here?... go home, this is no place for you."
"This WASN'T my idea!" she spat back. "If we came here, there IS a reason!"
Shinjiro stopped on his tracks and examined the bunch. "You… were at the hospital… did Aki tell you to come here?"
Shinn shook his head. "We came here of our own will."
"Speak for yerself…" Junpei muttered.
"…it's about the ghost, isn't it?" Aragaki asked, sitting down on the stairs as Yukari asked about how he knew about it. "It's a rumor. The girls who wound up in the hospital came here every night… talking shit about how they messed with this girl named Fuuka."
"Fuuka!" Junpei's mind snapped as he looked at Shinn. "She's from 2-E, right? Your classroom… did you know about her being bullied?"
Shinn nodded as he clenched his fists. "But what is this about… the disappearance of the girls and Fuuka…?!"
"That's why they say it was all done by Fuuka's spirit… it's all over the net too." Shinjiro continued.
"…you don't mean…" Kumiko frowned.
"That's right. That Fuuka girl might be dead by now."
This last remark caused everyone to gasp. It was followed by some seconds of silence, which was broken by Shinn. "I REFUSE to believe it!! How… how can you say such a thing?! Quit joking around, you…" he couldn't finish the phrase, since Shinjiro threw a piercing stare at him from under his beanie, literally freezing him.
"…aren't you her classmate? How can you NOT know this?! She's been gone since over a week. Didn't you even wonder?" the shady lad asked Shinn.
Shinn lowered his head, biting his lower lip. "It's true… I know nothing of this whole story… this is why I wanna know! I HAVE to know what happened to Fuuka!"
"Isn't Mr. Ekoda your homeroom teacher?" Yukari asked. "Maybe he could know something. Ask him, Shinn…"
With that, Shinjiro stood up and prepared to leave, saying it was everything he knew. All and six of them bowed to thank him.
"You were of great help… thanks, Aragaki-Kun…" Kumiko said with a slight smile.
Shinjiro quietly nodded. "Don't come back again.". Then he watched the six students walking back home. Once they were far enough, he lifted his head to face the moon. I get it, Aki… you're still trying to make up for the past… and you say it's me who can't let it go…
Shinjiro Aragaki: Seemingly a student from Gekkoukan High School who became some sort of a street punk for some unknown reason. Although looking scary, he doesn't seem like being a bad person. The fact he can move within the Dark Hour hints he might be a Persona-user, but his powers still remain a mystery. His name seems to remind Kumiko of someone she knew. He also seems like being friends (Yeah, just FRIENDS. Sorry, Yaoi fangirls) with Akihiko.
06/08/09
During lunchtime, Shinn decided as first thing to go and talk directly to Mr. Ekoda, his homeroom teacher, so he walked downstairs to the faculty office as soon as he went out of the classroom. As he opened the office's door, he noticed he wasn't alone: alongside with the teacher, he could see Athrun, Mitsuru and the juniors he went to the back alley two nights earlier. He also saw another one of his classmates: a tall, tanned brunette. Immediately, Shinn approached the group.
"What are you doing here?" He asked to Athrun.
"Well, some girls I hung around with lately were begging me to do something about this whole ghost business, so… after hearing about your adventure, I decided to take action. When Mitsuru told me she was going to talk directly to the girl's teacher, I came here with her. She'd better appreciate…" The blue-haired senior replied as he placed a hand in his hair as Mitsuru shook her head.
Then, Shinn turned to face the brunette. Immediately, he frowned. "Moriyama? I should have known you had something to do with this mess…"
"NO!" The girl named Moriyama cried, covering her head. "I… I didn't want things to go this way… Fuuka…!"
Mitsuru stepped forward, asking her what she have done with Yamagishi, but Ekoda hushed her. "This isn't an interrogation. Natsuki, you don't have to talk if you don't want to. You wouldn't want to give her the wrong impression…"
Natsuki's body was shaking violently, her eyes staring at the floor. "Fuuka… she always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time… then I realized… she might be a honor student but she's like us after all… I knew exactly what buttons to push… that day too… it was May 29th… we locked Fuuka inside the gym…" she started to talk, shakily.
As soon as he heard about Fuuka being locked in the gym, Shinn spat: "You did WHAT?!"
"Quiet! I'll handle her!" Athrun said as he looked at him, strict. Then he faced Natsuki with softer eyes. "What happened then?"
Natsuki continued her story: "That night, Maki went back to school… she was afraid Fuuka would have committed suicide, putting all of us in trouble… she never came back… and the next morning…"
"… she was found unconscious by the school gates." Yukari ended her phrase.
Natsuki nodded. After taking some breath, she continued: "I went to the gym to let Fuuka out, but the door was still locked, so I opened… when I went inside… Fuuka wasn't there… we all freaked out and so, we decided to search for her… starting that night… but… every night… another one of us went missing… ending up just like Maki!"
After hearing the story, Shinn softened a bit. Yeah, he was mad at Natsuki and her friend for making such a bad thing to Fuuka… but now, this girl looked like feeling bad about everything, feeling guilty.
Mitsuru nodded and then faced the teacher, a cold light in her eyes. "By the way, Mr. Ekoda… you must have been aware that Yamagishi wasn't simply ill… that she was actually missing… what was your intention?"
Ekoda rose his head, upset. "I was thinking of the students, of course! Maybe you kids wouldn't understand, but we have to think about the future of everyone involved!"
"…so you choose to not report the police for the 'good of the class'?"
Ekoda started sweating, his eyes shifting from place to place. "I…it was in her best interest as well! We couldn't allow her records to be stained by something like that!"
Shinn couldn't stand this any longer. He felt rage and disgust due to what his own homeroom teacher did. He couldn't help but let his feelings go out. "I… I can't believe it! Are you saying you willingly ignored the whole matter so to cover your ass?! You didn't raise a finger to help one of YOUR PUPILS just to have your career protected?! YOU…!!" He angrily spat.
Mitsuru halted the youth with a gesture of her hand, as she kept on looking at the teacher, her eyes as piercing as an ice needle. "Calm down, Asuka. Don't worry: I'll make sure such a despicable behaviour won't pass unpunished…" then, she asked Natsuki if she noticed something strange about her missing friends.
"Yes…" Natsuki stuttered. "They said they heard a voice… a creepy voice…calling out their names… right before they went missing…"
Mitsuru took by part Kenji, Yukari and Junpei, talking in a very low, almost impossible to hear voice. Shinn could still hear, though. "It's 'them', no doubt about it… there was no way to tell how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour so far, but… it's no random phenomenon, the voice lures them in. It's clear: 'they' are targeting humans. Shadows are mankind's enemies." After that, she told Natsuki to stay in their dorm, so she would have been safe, telling everyone else to meet in the student council room to talk about the matter.
As everyone else was going out of the faculty office, Shinn called out Mitsuru, who stopped to face him. "Asuka… I know you're concerned about Yamagishi… please don't be: she'll be fine."
Shinn shook his head and stared into the girls' eyes. "That's not what I meant… I… you're going to rescue Fuuka, right? Please, let me come with you!"
Athrun gasped."That's not possible, I'm afraid." Mitsuru calmly answered, shaking her head. "This is not a simple matter, there's not much you can do about it."
"B…but there IS!" Shinn cried, clenching his fists. "I know about you… and shadows… and everything! Kumiko told me everything about it! It's because… I'm just like you myself!"
Next to him, Athrun was frantically gesturing him to stop talking. Are you crazy?! That's not part of our…
"Me and Kumiko… and other people here… we have our own group of Persona-users! I'm sure they'll be willing to help if I ask them… so please…"
Mitsuru didn't reply immediately: she kept on looking at Shinn and thinking. He looked desperate enough to rise a hell about the whole situation, and she was also wondering about the nature of this second group of Persona-users… but she knew Kumiko: although she acted like a loner who doesn't take crap from anybody, she was a trustworthy ally and helped SEES in some occasions. After a few seconds of reflection, she answered: "…we'll meet in the student council room after school. Be sure to tell Fukuyama and the others…" Then she walked away.
Once Mitsuru was gone, Athrun grabbed both Shinn's shoulders. "Shinn, are you gone insane?!" He hissed. "Revealing about our group to SEES…!!"
"Didn't you hear what Kumiko said earlier?! He said SEES and Kagayaku aren't enemies! Why fretting about both teams working together?!"
"But that's not part of our duty! Our orders are to act independently from SEES, we can't get involved in their business!"
Meanwhile, Kumiko was walking closer to them.
"So…" Shinn replied, raising his voice, gradually. "…it's OK letting a girl in trouble as long as you follow orders?! Sorry, but I don't buy it! I can't…"
"Something wrong?" Kumiko asked, walking to the group.
"Ah, Kumiko!" Athrun released his grasp on Shinn's shoulders to face the girl. "Please, talk Make him reason! He's gone insane! He just proposed SEES and Kagayaku to work together in this whole thing! I'm sure there will be consequences…"
Shinn angrily glanced at Athrun. "You'd rather let Fuuka…?!"
"Whoa, whoa! You're making no sense…" Kumiko frantically waved both hands. "Start from the beginning!"
With that, both started telling her about the bullies, Fuuka and the shadows being involved… and how Shinn proposed to let Kagayaku help SEES in solving the mystery and rescuing Fuuka. After hearing the whole story, Kumiko rested her head on a hand and sighed. After a few seconds, she glanced as Shinn. "You realize, of course… that you're involving the whole team because of your own problem, don't you?"
Shinn hesitated for a moment. "Yes, but…"
Kumiko hushed him with a hand. "…but I recognize that we could get some extra info for OUR mission as well… and I have to admit I'm worried about this Fuuka girl myself… and… yeah, I said we're not enemies, so… I don't see why we shouldn't lend those kids a hand."
"But Kumiko…" Athrun interrupted. "What about Kurohagane-Sensei?"
Kumiko shrugged. "He's not here, right? He put me in charge of things, remember? So, Shinn… where do we have to meet them?"
Shinn smiled with a slight blush. "Y…yes! The student council room, after school! I'll go fetch the others!" He merrily said before walking upstairs.
"…you're the leader so I won't discuss your orders… I just hope you know what you're doing." Athrun muttered as he walked the opposite way.
Once both were gone Kumiko leaned her head on the closest wall, letting out a very deep sigh of frustration. Dammit, Rei-Sensei! Thanks for putting all the burden on MY shoulders… Thanks a lot!… what do you expect me to do?!
Natsuki Moriyama: A student from 2-E. She's one of Shinn's classmates and one of the girls who had fun bullying Fuuka. She and Shinn don't get much along because of this, but she seems like feeling bad about what she did to Fuuka.
--
"Whoa! So THIS is your group, Shinn??" Junpei gasped as soon as all the Kagayaku members entered inside the student council room. "Holy shit, dude! You got all the nicest girls in your group! Kona-Chan, Miyuki-Senpai, Kumiko-Senpai… MAN, I wanna switch teams!!"
"No one's preventing you from leaving… come on, go! Good riddance…" Yukari muttered, bitter.
"Aww, you jealous?" Both him and Konata said with a playful smile.
"You GOTTA be KIDDING!" The girl in pink cried.
"Well I'll be…" Akihiko mumbled, scratching his cheek. "To think I had Persona-users right under my nose… most of them are classmates of mine!... but I didn't expect THEM…"
Kagami angrily glanced at him. "What, you think we're not tough enough for this?!"
"Well… er…"
Mitsuru clapped hands several times to call everyone to attention. The last ones to stop talking were Tsukasa and Kenji who, a few seconds later, faced the girl letting out an embarrassed chuckle.
"Tonight, we'll infiltrate the campus to save Fuuka Yamagishi." Mitsuru proclaimed.
"You mean Fuuka is inside the school?" Junpei asked.
Kumiko nodded. "Quite probable. But there's a problem: chances are she was stuck in the gym the whole night… and you know what happens to this school by midnight… she'll probably stuck somewhere inside Tartarus now."
"But it's been ten days ago! That means…" Junpei gasped.
"Let's not assume the worst." Akihiko shook his head. "Tartarus appears only in the Dark Hour, right? What about the rest of the day? Now, this is just a theory… but… time might work in a different way inside Tartarus…"
Miyuki's mind snapped. "You mean…it was just ten hours inside Tartarus instead of ten days?"
He nodded. "If I'm right, then she's still alive… somewhere in there."
"Kenji-Kun? Do you understand?" Tsukasa asked, clearly confused.
Kenji scratched a cheek, perplexed. "Er… nope." He whispered back.
"But the Dark Hour is pretty brutal…" Junpei said, thoughtful. "We can barely handle one hour, how could she last TEN?"
"And supposedly she IS still alive" Yukari added "We might not be able to get to her…"
What happened next was quite unexpected and cause everyone in the room to gasp, not expecting such a reaction: Akihiko faced both Junpei and Yukari and angrily spat: "Are you just gonna let her die then?!" Sanada-Kun…?! Kagami thought. She never saw him getting that upset and that left her astonished.
"He's right!" Shinn cried. "We can't know for sure unless we try!!"
After calming down a bit, Akihiko added: "…I have an idea. Let's try and enter Tartarus from where Fuuka did. We go to the gym and wait for midnight."
"Is it really gonna work?" Yukari asked, doubtful.
"It is risky… if something goes wrong, you could end up lost in Tartarus yourselves…" Mitsuru mused, cupping her chin.
"We HAVE to risk!" Akihiko replied, decisive. "I… I could never forgive myself if I didn't take a chance to save her, even when as slim as this. If you guys won't come, then I'll go by myself."
For an instance, Shinn could feel as if this SEES member was similar to him: he looked like having the very same feelings motivating him to help Fuuka, and wondered about him having lost someone dear himself. Decisive, he nodded and stepped next to his silver-haired Senpai. "You can count of me. I, too, wouldn't forgive myself should something happen to Fuuka…"
"You guys…" Kagami started, confused, not knowing how to end the phrase. What's wrong with them?! They're so serious about rescuing the girl…
Mitsuru sighed. "…alright. We know the risks but… we can't just abandon her. What's your opinion, Fukuyama?"
Kumiko crossed her arms with a smirk. "Heh… I have no objections… besides, this whole operation looks more thrilling than I expected… I can feel it."
"OK, OK, it's all cool and all" Kagami interrupted as she shrugged. "…but seriously, how are we going to sneak inside the school by night?"
Junpei rubbed under his nose as he left out a smart cackle. "Just leave that to me! I know the right stuff!..."
"Alright then…" Tsukasa nodded, although he still didn't sound positive.
Kumiko shook her head. "Sorry, Tsukasa, you're not coming with us… we need someone to watch over that girl named Moriyama back to the dorm… I don't exactly feel comfortable letting her alone… Is that OK with you?"
"I don't see why not…" Mitsuru replied.
"But Hiiragi… all by herself…" Akihiko said, cupping his chin.
"That's why I want Athrun to stay back with her… we don't have enough men in the team and Shinn looks like wanting to take part to the rescue mission." Kumiko said, a hand on her side. "Could you please escort the two of them to the dorm?"
As everyone started walking outside, Kagami called her sister and put a hand on her shoulder, saying: "Tsukasa… please be very, very careful… and DON'T let a certain someone to get too close to you…"
"Hey, I wouldn't fret about it…" Athrun puffed. "I'm not interested in flat-chested girls… OUCH!" he said as Konata kicked him in the shin, causing him to cower on the ground.
--
It was past 11 pm when both SEES and Kagayaku met inside the school. Sneaking inside the school was pretty easy, due to Junpei unlocking the door beforehand, which caused Mitsuru to compliment with him, although he didn't really understand the meaning of the expression "Tres bien". Later, both groups gathered inside a classroom.
"Can't we turn the lights on?" Yukari asked, tense.
"Aw, You scared, Yuka-Tan?" Junpei asked in a mocking tone.
"Shut up, Stupei!" She said frantically waving her arms.
Konata glanced at her, gracing her with an incredibly playful smile. "Yep. She's scared alright."
Yukari looked even more upset. "I… I'M TELLING YOU, I'M NOT!! I…I just don't like sneaking around…"
The small, blue-haired girl started to chuckle. "You oughta see the look on your face… it's priceless! You know, I think you're even funnier to tease than Kagamin!"
"Keep quiet, Konata! They'll hear us out!" Kagami whispered, annoyed.
As first thing, everyone decided to split up so to find the gym keys: the seniors to the janitor's room and the juniors to the faculty office… then Mitsuru realized that Junpei could plan something unscrupulous as looking for the test answers and decided to take him along.
After finding the key to the gym, everyone met downstairs. Mitsuru said they would have split in two groups again: first thing first, once inside Tartarus, Kagayaku and SEES would have searched for Fuuka individually, as Mitsuru, Miyuki and another SEES member would have stayed outside at the entrance for support, so to determine Fuuka's exact position.
"Alright then…" Akihiko thought aloud, counting on his fingertips. "That makes me… Kenji, of course, since he's the leader… and…"
Yukari was about to propose herself but Junpei came before her. "Oh, me! Me! Gimme the chance to make up for the monorail!"
"Hey, it's not just about YOU!" Yukari complained.
"It's not just about YOU neither, princess…" Konata mumbled with a smart expression.
"What is it, Yukari?" Akihiko asked with a slight smile. "You don't want to stay out with Mitsuru?"
"I think she's jealous…" Konata nodded.
--
It was the Dark Hour by then. Athrun and Tsukasa were both sitting on the couch within the dorm's lounge. Tsukasa left out a worried sigh.
"Don't worry so much, Tsukasa… your sister and the others are no pushovers…" Athrun reassured her as he sipped his hot coffee. Although it was the Dark Hour, he looked quite calm. "If ever, you should worry about Shinn putting everyone in danger..."
Tsukasa quietly shook her head. "I'm not worried… I trust sis and the others…it's just so spooky in this dorm during the Dark Hour… looks like a ghost story… it creeps me."
Athrun put his cup down and rose on his feet. "Don't worry. I'm here, so nothing's going to hurt you!"
"T…thanks…" she blushed.
Then both's attention was caught by a noise and they faced towards the staircases: they saw Natsuki, slowly walking away.
"Ah, Natsuki-Chan! You shouldn't leave your room!" Tsukasa said, walking to her.
"Wait… something's not right…" he refrained her.
Natsuki didn't reply. She stared upwards, her eyes lost into the nothingness.
"Fuu…ka.. must… meet… tell… her… story…" she mumbled, as if she was possessed by something.
Feeling something dangerous about her, the blue-haired young man immediately put himself between the two girls so to shield Tsukasa. As Natsuki looked in their direction, they felt a strong gust of wind knocking them towards the farthest wall. Immediately, Athrun held the girls' body and shielded her from the impact, taking it instead. As both remained stunned on the floor, Natsuki kept on walking outside.
A minute passed. With a great effort, Tsukasa pushed Athrun's away and examined him: it appeared the impact knocked him down! Oh… oh! Oh no!! what am I to do now?! Natsuki is gone and now Athrun… what am I to do?!
--
It took her a while, but Kagami finally managed to reopen her eyes. Still light-headed, she rose up in a sitting position and passed a hand over her eyes and looked around. This is… inside Tartarus…? All she remembered was everything turning black as soon as the Dark Hour arrived. And here she was, inside Tartarus… but… WHERE inside Tartarus? And… where was everyone else?
Immediately, she reached for her transceiver, calling out Miyuki. But her voice was soon covered by another one she never heard, asking she was either human or not. What could that be? Kagami looked all around herself to see if there was no one there. Then she saw someone, unconscious, on the floor, a few meters away from her. Immediately, she rushed to the person, gasping when she realized it was Akihiko! Immediately she bent over him and softly shook him to wake him up.
"Sanada-Kun? Sanada-Kun! Come on, wake up!" she called out as she kept on shaking him. At first, he left out a moan and then his eyes snapped open as he immediately sat on the floor. "Phew… I thought you weren't going to wake up… Don't make me worry that way again!" She yelled at him; although she sounded angry, her eyes could tell she was relieved.
"Hiiragi? W…what are you doing here? And… where are Iori, Shugo and the others?" He asked, resting his head on a hand.
She shook her head. "I don't know… I guess we got separated when the Dark Hour occurred… I also tried to contact Miyuki-San, but… for some reason, I couldn't…"
"…I see…" He mumbled as he stood up, looking outside. Well it didn't exactly go as I expected, but hey! It worked, didn't it? He then turned around to Kagami, who looked quite worried. But… now I have endangered her… I was careless. "H…hey, don't worry about a thing, Hiiragi! If we're safe, then everyone else must be."
Kagami didn't reply. She simply nodded.
Akihiko sighed, as he faced the opposite direction, where the path forked. "…say, I'm sorry about this incident… it was because of me that this mess happened… I didn't want to get you and your friends involved… nor I'll blame you if you're mad at me… but…"
"Sanada-Kun…" Kagami slightly blushed.
"I won't allow anything to happen to you… not as long as you are close to me… I'll protect you!"
This last statement caused both to gasp and look at each other. Immediately, both swayed their gazes and blushed violently, with him wondering about what he just said and why.
"May I ask you something?" Kagami asked, breaking the silence.
"Huh? Sure."
"I never saw you acting like that before… you looked so desperate for this whole matter… I wondered why…"
Akihiko walked a little farther, without meeting her gaze and lowered his head. After a few seconds, he started to talk: "…there was someone important to me who died, and I didn't have enough power to help her… I won't make the same mistake. I'll do everything to prevent it from happening again!"
Then he violently shook his head and walked forward. "Come on now… let's go look for everyone!"
"Wah…wait for me!" Kagami cried as she ran after him.
--
"Hello…?"
He didn't react.
"Hellooo??"
No reaction again.
"WAKE UP!!"
As if he just woke up from a long dream, Kenji rubbed his own eyes and looked around, still groggy. "Ugh… where…where…where am I?" he mumbled, still half-asleep.
"Are you awake?" The voice was light yet piercing like a hiss. Instantly, the lad turned around to face its owner: a pale kid with black hair, two bizarre blue eyes and a mole under his left eye, wearing something like a black and white-striped pajamas.
"Ah, hello weird kid only I can see and who appears to me now and then!" He said with a completely neutral face.
"This is the first time we meet each other outside your room…" the boy said with a know-it-all smile. "But now there's no time to chitchat! There's more than an ordeal waiting for you!"
Kenji paused for a moment and then scratched his head, confused. "Oh right… you've been telling me about those, but… I don't really get it…"
"Anyway, you should hurry… 'she' is waiting." He said as he started to disappear.
"Hold on a sec! Who's this 'she'?"
"Oh, she's someone who's essential to you and your friends… well then… till our next meeting." With that he disappeared. Aw…Kenji thought. I forgot to ask him what "essential" means!
"KENJI-KUN!" Kumiko's voiced echoed a bit farther. Immediately Kenji rushed in that direction. It was then that he was halted by a shadow appearing before him, a few distance away from Kumiko. Immediately he slashed it with his sword, killing it with a single blow.
"I don't have time for you!!" He shouted as it vanished. Then he saw Kumiko and Shinn and ran to them. Unfortunately, he missed the pace and fell on the ground, face-first.
"H…hey… you OK?" Kumiko asked, kneeling over Kenji. Immediately he lifted his head and nodded, without changing his expression.
"Is this guy for real?" Shinn asked. "Kinda clumsy for a leader… why did they appoint you of all people?"
Kenji dusted himself and shrugged. "Actually I don't know… they say my potential is different from the others… but to tell the truth, I'm not exactly sure of what it means. But, I can summon more than just a Persona… probably that's why."
"Anyway, we gotta contact everyone… I tried contacting Miyuki but it won't do…" Kumiko said, crossing her arms. "And we'd better hurry out of this floor, or else we'll never end fighting these small fries…"
--
At the Tartarus entrance, Mitsuru was doing her best to set the radio on her bike, so to be able to contact everyone, but no matter what, it just didn't work.
"No use… I tried every frequency, even at the highest transceiver sensitivity… it's as if it was broken… I guess that's the limitation to what my Penthesilea can do…even in the latest explorations, it couldn't do much…" she mumbled, more to herself than to Miyuki or Yukari. Then, to Miyuki: "Any luck, Takara?"
Miyuki, who was focusing on Personomicon, reopened her eyes as the book-shaped Persona faded. The pink-haired girl sadly shook her head. "I'm sorry… it's so strange… I can detect them but, for some reason, I can't seem to reach them… it's as if there was some… interference of sorts, making us incommunicado!"
"I should have seen it coming…" Yukari muttered.
"Did you say something, Takeba-San?" Miyuki asked, as she fixed her glasses.
"Er… I was just wondering… about that Moriyama girl… will she be OK at the dorm?" She lied to Miyuki.
Mitsuru shook her head. "Actually, no one is safe within the Dark Hour."
Miyuki smiled. "Don't be concerned about her, Takeba-San, Kirijo-San. I'm sure she's fine. Besides, Zala-San and Hiiragi-San are with h- AH?!" Immediately, she refocused on Personomicon, closing her eyes. "Izumi-San? Is it you…?"
Konata's voice came broken and quite hard to hear. "Mi…ki… got… sep…ted!... I'm… with J… but……………"
"Ah! I…Izumi-san?! Izumi-San!!" She started to fret.
Then she heard a new voice, one she couldn't recognize.
"Who's…there? Is it… a human?"
--
"What was that?" Kenji asked, looking around. "Did you guys heard that?"
"Yeah… it was a voice…" Kumiko mused. "But… I don't think it's a shadow…"
"Strange… I think I've heard that voice somewhere…" Shinn added.
"Shhh! Someone's coming!" Kumiko said as she braced herself, as Kenji did the same. "Wait till it's closer… then attack…"
After a few instances, something came out of the darkness. "NOW!" She screamed as she threw one of her chakrams to it and Kenji rushed to attack. He stopped on his track as he heard someone moaning in pain as the chakram hit him to the head.
"I told you to duck!" A tiny, female voice said in the same direction. Kenji, Shinn and Kumiko walked in that direction and were surprised to see it was both Konata and Junpei.
"Oh, it's just Iori-Kun and Konata." Kumiko coldly stated as she recovered her chakram.
"JUST Iori-Kun?! I resent that, Senpai!" Junpei cried as he rubbed his aching head. "After all the trouble we had to find you…"
Konata laughed in a confident way. "Hah! Those shadows were no match for the super Konpei team!"
"KONPEI? Sounds like a cheesy fan fiction pairing!" A female voice came from Konata's back. The small girl turned around to see Kagami and Akihiko, the first resting her machinegun on her shoulder.
"Ah, wonderful! Now everyone's here!" Kenji nodded.
"Did you guys find anything as you came here?" Kumiko asked.
Konata shrugged, looking behind her. "Aside from those critters? Not much…"
"Well I did find something out" Kagami said with a slight smile, both hands on her side. "Going inside Tartarus this way is no good."
"Then I'm a step ahead of you, Hiiragi…" Akihiko replied with the same slight smile.
"Well whose fault is it?!" She cried.
"Hey! I DID tell you I'm sorry!" He spat back.
"OK, OK!" Kumiko tried and called them back to order. "Enough love quarrels! This is neither the time nor the place for them!"
"Anyway" Junpei interrupted them all. "Didn't you guys hear a voice as you came here?"
Shinn nodded. "Yeah… didn't it sound like-"
Before he could imitate the voice, it actually spoke. This time it came from behind a corner.
"Who's there? Are you… human?"
Everyone faced the direction the voice came from; they saw a girl shyly popping out of the corner: she wore a light blue shirt under the Gekkoukan High School uniform, which lacked its typical red bow; she also wore white stockings and black loafers; she had short blue-green hair and two deep eyes of a similar hue. The girl slowly walked away from the hall to the group.
Shinn looked amazed in seeing the girl. "…Fuuka…?" Then he rubbed his eyes to be sure it wasn't a dream. As he could state he wasn't dreaming, he immediately rushed to her. "Fuuka!! Oh, thank goodness… you're alive!"
"Shinn…Kun? Is it really you?" She asked, still a bit confused.
"Yes, it's me!" He answered aloud, his eyes watering, causing them to sting. "It's me, I have come to get you out of here!"
"Hey, sorry for spoiling the romance… but it's not just you…" Akihiko said at their back, frowning.
"Ah… who are you?" Fuuka asked.
"We're the Cavalry, and we come to rescue you… and what a surprise! You sure are moe!" Konata declared, raising a finger.
Nodding, Kumiko stepped a little farther and tried to contact Miyuki. Fortunately, she heard no interference this time. "Miyuki? Can you hear me? We had some trouble, but now it's alright. We found her!"
"I'm glad, but…" Miyuki's voice sounded concerned about something.
"Huh? Something wrong?"
"Please, come here immediately… I… I have a terrible bad feeling…"
"Don't move from, there, we'll be there soon!" Then, to Fuuka. "Ok, we're going out… Are you hurt? Have you ran into some weird monsters?"
Fuuka jolted. "So there ARE creatures here! But I somehow managed to avoid them… you see, for some reason, I can perfectly sense where they are…"
"Now I see…" Konata mused, as she scratched the rear of her head. "This girl… must have a power which is similar to Yuki-Chan's! And maybe their powers resonated, making us incommunicado!"
"Probable." Akihiko nodded, as he took a gun-shaped Evoker out and gave it to Fuuka, who was startled in receiving it. "I trust you have no objection, Fukuyama. After all, you don't seem to lack a good navigator…" then, to Fuuka. "It's no real gun. Think of it of a luck charm."
With that, the eight of them walked together, looking for an exit. As they walked, they spotted a giant window and instinctively stopped to see through it: the moon was full and huge, shining of his spectral, pale green light.
"Whoa! I never seen it so bright!" Junpei commented in awe.
"Some researches indicate that moon phases affect the shadows, just like they do with humans." Akihiko explained.
"I guess that would explain Yuka-Tan's mood changes!" The capped one chuckled as Konata nodded.
"Come to think… wasn't it a full moon when the dorm was attacked?" Kagami asked.
"Can't remember…" Kenji frowned.
"I'm pretty sure of it…" Akihiko nodded. "And it was also a full moon when the shadow appeared at the monorail, last month!"
Kumiko walked to the window and stared at the moon with a slight smile. "…that's right. That's when 'they' appear… during the full moon nights." Then her mind snapped as she reached for her transceiver again.
"F…Fukuyama-San!! Please come here now!!"
"Is it one them?!"
"It's… it's two of them! Takeba-San and Kirijo-San… we can't-!" She interrupted herself as some strong noises were heard.
"Miyuki!!" All she could hear from the transceiver was Miyuki screaming. "Darn… why here of all places?!"
Immediately she rushed ahead, telling the rest of the group to move out.
Fuuka Yamagishi: A student from 2-E and a Persona-user. Although reported as sick, she disappeared inside Tartarus after being locked inside the gym by Natsuki, Maki and their other friends. She's a quiet, timid and impressively cute girl whose power is similar to Miyuki's, making her a valuable support asset. She's also Shinn's classmate and he seems like being very protective when it comes to her.
--
Exhausted, Tsukasa stopped for a moment to catch some breath. She was just done crossing the railroad track connecting Iwatodai Station to the Port Island Station, a task not easy as it is, let alone doing it while carrying an unconscious person on your back. Still, she couldn't stand leaving Athrun behind, thinking that could be dangerous.
"It's… it's OK, Athrun-San… it will be fine…" she said between the light breaths as she looked around. "We're almost there… I think…?"
After a few minutes break, she fixed Athrun back on her back and resumed her lonely journey to find Tartarus. Then, a squishy noise caught her attention as she saw a shadow moving towards the two of them. Panicking, she jumped back; In the hurry, she forgot to take her crossbow and Evoker along! The shadow was already on her…
Immediately she squeezed her eyes shut and left out a long, scared scream.
As Tsukasa kept on screaming, she didn't notice a red-dressed figure rushing in front of her and one-killing the shadow with a single blow of his big, heavy-looking axe. As soon as all noises stopped, Tsukasa stopped screaming and reopened her eyes, surprised to not see the shadow anymore. "Wow!" she giggled. "I didn't think I had THAT MUCH power!"
A voice to her left: "You alright?"
Tsukasa jolted and looked at her right, seeing the same person she and everyone else met to the hospital when they came checking on Akihiko. "Ah, it's you!" she smiled.
Shinjiro dropped his axe. "…one of Aki's classmates… what you doing here?! I thought I told your friends to not come here again!"
Immediately, Tsukasa swiftly told him about how she ended up in that situation, how she stayed behind as everyone was looking for Fuuka, Natsuki's escape and Athrun being knocked down to protect her and how she meant to catch up with everyone, although he had to ask here now and then to talk a bit slowly because of some parts a bit hard to understand due to her mincing words. Once the story was over, he nodded and glanced at Athrun. "…just tell me: WHY did you bother bringing this deadbeat around? He's those things' perfect target."
"THAT's why I brought him along! If I left him behind, no one would have been able to watch over him!"
Shinjiro sighed. "Whatever… and where are your friends now?"
Tsukasa stayed thoughtful for a few seconds, a finger over her mouth, then she faced him with a sheepish smile. "…I don't remember!"
The shady one didn't reply: he simply tilted his head. Then he turned his back at the girl, saying: "…can't help ya, then. How the hell am I supposed to know WHERE you need to go?"
Mumbling, the cute-looking girl looked around. Then she saw it, huge, pale-green, standing high in the horizon. "AH, THERE!!" She proclaimed, pointing her finger to Tartarus.
"…must be kidding! That place is…" Shinjiro grimaced.
Tsukasa grasped the guy's right arm (Momentarily forgetting about Athrun, who fell on the floor, limp…), asking him to help her get there. He wasn't completely sure, but eventually agreed, saying he would have only escorted her till in front of the tower. With that, he picked Athrun up from the floor and carried him on his back as both started walking toward Tartarus.
--
Mitsuru was trying hard to keep both the gigantic shadows at bay, her shining sword clashing with the king-looking one. No good! She thought as she saw that her attacks weren't ineffective.
"Ah, Kirijo-San! Physical attacks are ineffective against that one! Only skills can damage him!" Miyuki yelled shakily, while covering up her own head, on her knees.
"…you're not making it easy…!" Mitsuru thought aloud as she tried to dodge the queen-shaped shadow's attack.
Seeing that Yukari was just standing there, her bow in her hands, Miyuki cried: "Takeba-San! Please, support Kirijo-San!"
Yukari didn't move. She kept on looking at the battle, paralyzed with fear. I…I can't… they're too fast… and… if I miss, I could hit Mitsuru-Senpai…
"Takeba-San!!" The girl with glassed cried louder. As if it heard her voice, one of the two shadows, the queen-looking one, hit both her and Yukari with a blizzard-like gust, causing both to be knocked behind, causing Miyuki to be knocked down by the shock.
Mitsuru called out both girl's names, momentarily lowering her guard and making so that the king-shaped shadow vigorously grabbed her with his huge hand, lifting her over the ground.
The red-haired girl felt her consciousness slowly fading away as the hand painfully squeezed her, crushing her…
"Mitsuru!!" A familiar male voice echoed in the room.
Reopening her eyes, Mitsuru could only see a red, white and black blur dashing to the shadow holding her. Once it jumped over the shadow, she recognized it as Akihiko, as he took out his Evoker, pointing it to his forehead.
"POLYDEUCES!!" He shouted as he pulled the trigger, blue energy irradiating from his body, changing into a white humanoid being with long golden hair and a syringe-like weapon on one of his arms. The Persona used his weapon to attack the queen-shaped shadow, knocking it down. Akihiko took advantage of this to make Polydeuces use his electric skills on the other one, which immediately fell on the ground, letting Mitsuru go, which the silver-haired boxer caught.
"Man, you're such a show-off!" Kagami puffed as she ran by Miyuki's side, followed by Konata. "You OK, Miyuki-San?!"
Miyuki painfully reopened her eyes and smiled to her friends. "I'm sorry… I tried helping, but… in the end… I couldn't do anything…"
"That's not true, Miyuki." Kumiko said, shaking her head. "What happened here anyway?"
"Yes… they appeared from nowhere… I couldn't make a full analysis…" Miyuki kept on apologizing as she fixed her glasses back on her nose.
"Don't worry, Yuki-Chan! We'll take care of'em!" Konata said, nodding with a confident smile.
As if something caught her attention, Kumiko glanced at the tower's entrance, gasping as she saw Natsuki there, a weird shadow in her eyes. "Dammit! What is she doing here?!"
As she heard her voice, the brunette's mind snapped, as if she just woke up and fell on her knees. Immediately, Fuuka rushed to her classmate, while Kagami was starting to worry about her twin sister.
"Moriyama-San?!" Fuuka cried, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.
Natsuki slowly lifted her head. "F…Fuuka?"
"Please, get out of here, it's too dangerous!"
"I… I wanted to apologize with y-"
Before Natsuki had the chance to finish her sentence, the king-shaped shadow quickly moving towards the two girls, ready to attack. Fuuka felt as if time was slowing down to her, as she kept on staring at the Evoker Akihiko gave to her. Her eyes then switched to the two shadows as she looked more determined, her grasp on the pseudo-gun tightening.
"F…Fuuka…?!" Shinn stuttered as he made a step forward, tightly holding his weapon. "No!! Stay back!! That isn't just a gun!!"
Fuuka quietly nodded as she brought the Evoker near her temple. "I know…!" she said.
It all happened as fast as a flash of light. The king-shaped shadow moved to attack Fuuka and Natsuki, the latter cowering in fear. Without hesitating, the short-haired girl pulled the Evoker's trigger as the energy around her took shape of a blindfolded lady with long flowing hair and a pink dress, a water-like space inside her shirt where Fuuka and Natsuki stood.
"I can see…" Fuuka calmly proclaimed, her voice echoing through everyone's mind. "I clearly see… these creatures' weaknesses…"
"So… so that's her power…" Miyuki said, getting up on her feet. "This girl's power… akin to mine…"
"Don't strain yourself, Miyuki…" Kagami placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, but she gently put it away.
"No… I want to be of help too…" Then, to Fuuka. "Can you hear me, Yamagishi-San? I'll support Asuka-San, Fukuyama-San, Izumi-San and Hiiragi-San by closely analyze one of the shadows… can you please handle support for Shugo-San, Iori-San and Sanada-San by analyzing the other one?"
"Yes… I'll do my best!" Fuuka nodded.
"Hmm… a better strategist than I expected, that Miyuki…" Kumiko thought aloud with a smirk as she flipped her chakram up in the air, catching it back as it fell down. "You heard that? We'll take care of the shadow to the right… you can have the other one."
"Aww, you're so kind, Kumiko-Senpai!" Junpei replied in a playful way.
Although it looked at the beginning, the battle turned out much easier than expected, thanks to the combined efforts of Kagayaku and SEES and the latter's new navigator. Both shadows were easily defeated in a matter of a few minutes. Once the two dark beings faded away, both Fuuka's and Miyuki's Persona disappeared. Feeling dizzy, the girl with long pink hair stumbled for a moment, but Konata swiftly caught her before she fell, while Fuuka was checking to make sure Natsuki was unharmed. Seeing that she was, Fuuka sighed in relief as her mind slowly blacked-out and her body collapsed on the floor. Shinn immediately rushed to her classmates as Natsuki stood there, shocked.
The lad tried and shook Fuuka's body so to wake her up, but she didn't move. Kagami and Mitsuru walked to the trio.
"I…I don't care what happens to me!" Shinn shouted, on the verge of tears. "I only want Fuuka to be fine! I…!!"
Immediately Mitsuru bent down to check on Fuuka. "She's fine. She's just exhausted."
"Anyway… what are we going to do about Natsuki? She saw shadows, and…" Yukari asked.
"Don't worry" Akihiko answered. "She's not like us… she'll eventually forget everything."
"Doesn't it mean she'll also forget about Fuuka saving her life?" Kagami asked, lowering her head. "It just sounds so… unfair…"
Kenji walked to her and looked at the three 2-E students, a smile on her face. "You think? I don't think it would matter. I'm sure they all will be alright."
Immediately, Kagami faced Natsuki and Shinn: both were weeping next to Fuuka's unconscious body.
"Fuuka…" Natsuki sobbed. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!"
"She's fine…" Shinn cried. "That's all that matters… I'm… I'm so glad you're fine, Fuuka!..."
Both Mitsuru and Kumiko smiled to each other as they nodded.
"I really appreciate what you and the others did for us, Fukuyama. It would have been hard without your help."
"Heh… just don't get used to it! From now on, Kagayaku will handle things their way."
"Of course…"
The noise of the gate opening from outside caught the two girls attention, as they both saw Tsukasa popping out of the doorway, Athrun on her back. Exhausted, the girl sunk on her knees as she dropped the young man on the floor. Immediately her twin sister rushed to her. "Tsukasa?! What happened?! Don't tell me you came here all by yourself…"
Once she had enough breath to talk, she looked at Kagami. "Sis! It's terrible!! Natsuki-Chan escaped and… and… what??" Looking around, she was amazed to see Natsuki there, in the middle of the room, weeping as she embraced Fuuka.
In the same moment, Athrun regained consciousness and immediately got up, bracing himself. "Where did she go?! Where?! Huh…?" He practically had the same reaction Tsukasa had just a few seconds earlier, causing both SEES and Kagayaku members to chuckle.
Then Shinn got up, drying up his eyes with his uniform's sleeve and faced the two of them with a smile. "Cool it, you two! As you can see, the show's over!"
Tsukasa tilted her head, confused. Kumiko patted her shoulder and gestured everyone to go back to the hotel, as Shinn stayed with Fuuka a little bit more, alongside the rest of SEES and Natsuki.
NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW!!
Konata: Next, on PERUSURI…
Kagami: Don't you ever get tired to say the same thing at each preview?
Konata: Nope!
Rei: I hope things weren't too hard when I was gone, everyone.
Shinn: Nn…nooooo! (Nervous cackle)
Rei: Good, because I have an important mission for you.
Shinn: Argh, aren't there breaks?!
Rei: Kagayaku will have to investigate on that mysterious revenge request service on the internet.
Kumiko: That's new to me…
Shinjiro: Don't you know anything? It's a website accepting to accomplish revenge requests the users post there…
Kumiko: OK… but what does it have to do with everything we're doing so far?
Rei: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Kumiko: …you don't know, don't you?
Fuuka: This and more in the next chapter of Shin Megami Tensei: PeruSuri!
Junpei: (In a dark and sinister voice)"Silent Revenge".
Athrun: Read and review!... reviews from girls are especially appreciated… Gets booted to the head OW!! AGAIN?!
Rei: Hmph!
BLUE VELVET: The PeruSuri trivia channel: Ep.3
Elizabeth: Welcome back to Blue Velvet, my dear readers.
Maxwell: Readers? Why, do we actually have readers? I think this fic's number of readers is mostly calculated in imaginary numbers…
Elizabeth: …I'd appreciate you'd keep your mouth shut… unless you want me to set your whole book on fire!
Maxwell: (With sad, puppy eyes) I…I'll be good!
Elizabeth: Good. Ahem…For all of you new readers around here I'll introduce myself again. I am Elizabeth, elevator operator inside this Velvet Room… and this here is my loyal servant.
Maxwell: Maxwell, the Demon Artist.
Elizabeth: Wasn't it 'Demon Painter'?
Maxwell: Painter, artist… it's the same!
Elizabeth: Anyway…for today's episode of Blue Velvet, we'd like to show you a few scenes the authoress thought for the main chapter, but she didn't put in so to not disrupt or slow down the whole story flow, its dramatic level or… simply because she thought those only were good outtakes and omake. But first… Maxwell?
Maxwell: Yes, ma'am!
Elizabeth: Could you please go get your mistress something to drink?
Maxwell: Sure! What do you want? Ouran Soda? 1Up?
Elizabeth: I'd like to try some Hydra Humour, thank you… I've heard that has incredibly healing properties…
Maxwell: (Facevaults) …but… in order to get that, I'll have to search for a real HYDRA!
Elizabeth: So?
Maxwell: It lives in another dimension!
Elizabeth: So?
Maxwell: And I'll also have to kill her! Do you know how big and strong it is?!
Elizabeth: I do… so?
Maxwell: …no offense, but your requests are getting more absurd with each passing day…
Elizabeth: …maybe.
Maxwell leaves the room, sighing.
Elizabeth: I sure hope he won't take too much… anyway… VIDEO!
Chapter 3 outtakes 1 – Shinn's Pimpsmack video: Kumiko and Miyuki are approaching Shinn, who's busy on his laptop in the Kotobuki Hotel lobby.
"What are you doing, Shinn?" Kumiko asks
"Well, remember this morning when Athrun was trying to hit on Miyuki in the computer room and Kuro-Sensei getting pissed off and bashing him? Well, I recorded everything with my digital camera on my cell phone and then I'm using a video editor to add several sound effects and music to it… I uploaded it on the net and I'm checking how it's going!"
"Isn't that MyCube?" Kumiko asks as she sits next to him. "Can't believe it! It had as many views as my latest Super Robot Wars parody!"
Meanwhile, in the Iwatodai Dorm lounge, Akihiko is sitting in front of the computer, trying hard to stifle a chuckle as he sinks his head under his arms.
Seeing that, Mitsuru walks to him. "Akihiko? What's happening?"
He lifts his head: he laughed so hard he now has tears in his eyes. "Ah… you have to see this video named 'Pimpsmack', it's too much!"
"A MyCube video? What can it have of so sp-" She freezes herself as soon as she gets to the part with the "Boot to the Head" soundclips. "Excuse me." She says as she runs inside the women's room, locking her door. Kenji, who was passing by, shrugs, thinking he just head Mitsuru-Senpai laughing from behind the door.
Chapter 3 outtakes 2 – Konata SHOWS HER MUVZ Part 1 (Mostly inspired by KajetoKun's comics with Bright Noah punching Kira Yamato) !!: Shinn, Yukari, Junpei, Kenji, Kumiko and Konata are in the Port Island Station back alley, surrounded by punks. "I feel sorry for you, Goatee. This bitch is a pain in the ass…" One of them says to Junpei, preparing to punch him into the stomach. The punch is promptly parried by Konata.
"You call that a punch?" The girl smirks.
"Shaddup you brat!" He spits. "Go back to your momma if you don't wanna get hurt, shrimp!"
Konata doesn't reply… she simply gestures Junpei to give her something. Nodding, he gives her a red helmet with a golden, bird-shaped crest over the visor. The girls put it on yelling: "YES!" Then, shouting "PAUUUNCH!!", she punches the punk incredibly hard, causing him to fly, making a hole into the staircase railing. She then approaches the punk as the rest of the scum fly away and declares: "SHOW ME YOU MUVZ!" As Shinjiro, hiding behind the garbage can, can't help but snickering.
Chapter 3 outtakes 2 – Konata SHOWS HER MUVZ Part 2: SEES and Kagayaku are discussing the strategy for the Fuuka rescue operation and Kumiko orders Tsukasa and Athrun to stay back and watch over Natsuki. Kagami warns Tsukasa to be careful to Athrun and he remarks he's not interested in flat-chested girls. Once again, Konata asks Junpei to give her that red helmet and, shouting "FALCON KICK!!", she kicks Athrun in the shin, causing him to fly to the farthest wall, outside the room. Naturally, Shinn doesn't miss the chance to record this on your cell phone, while saying. "Hey, I don't even need to edit this!"
Elizabeth: I think we just had the proof the authoress' mind is slowly degenerating… maybe I should ask for another job! Now… where's my Humour?
Maxwell arrives, out of breath, a weird-colored liquid in the glass he's holding
Maxwell: H…here it is… (Gasps)
Elizabeth: So this is a Hydra Humour, huh… thanks Maxwell, I'll taste it later.
Maxwell: I… I knew you would have said that… ugh… (Collapses)
Elizabeth: So… you know what they say… "Time is a tyrant". I bid you all farewell for now… but no fear, we'll meet again. Later days!
Maxwell: (Still on the floor) H… hold on!
Elizabeth: What?
Maxwell: What about my reward? You always give rewards for this kind of stuff!
Elizabeth: I never said I had a reward ready for you…
Maxwell: (Drops his head, sobbing)