Author's Notes: So, a late upload today. Kinda busy today... And by busy I mean I watched all four parts of the Persona 3 movie. Wow... It was like watching a puppet come to life and then come to terms with death... It was good, but I do have some complaints about plot execution... Namely with Junpei's romance bit... It was nice, but the setup was very poor... But anyways, time for my portrayal of Minato to face the Reapers... I don't mean to put Hamuko in the background, but... she'll get her chance eventually... Maybe... It depends... Like I said, I connect with Minato more...

~28 MAY 2009~

For the rest of that week, Minato would often be found waiting outside Ekoda's class, hoping to get a chance to speak with his anonymous friend. Before classes, during Lunch, and after school, he would lean against the wall, staring at both entrances of Classroom 2-E, but he'd never be able to meet the girl he wanted to see.

Finally Thursday rolled around and to the surprise of the girls in Ekoda's class, Minato was nowhere to be found outside their classroom. A brunette smirked at the shy teal-haired girl sitting in the back of the classroom. "Looks like the Hellhound isn't here today, Fuuka. I wonder what you did that made him want to speak with you."

Fuuka sank in her seat. "I-I didn't do a-anything," she weakly tried to say.

"Oh, but if you didn't, the Student Council's Hellhound wouldn't be so persistent, would he?" Another girl joined in on teasing her.

Soon, the rest of their friends gathered around her. "You had to have done something wrong! It's not like he could be interested in someone like Fuuka."

"Come on, Maki. You know he's already dating Arisato-san from next door. But you're right that no one would ever go out with Fuuka."

Unable to take it anymore, the teal-haired girl ran out of the classroom. She locked herself in the bathroom stall as she tried to regain her composure. She wiped her face as the tears streamed down her cheeks. The girl would have broken down completely, but she jumped when she heard someone coming into the girl's bathroom.

"Just get it taken care of, Minato! You'll get in trouble if you keep Mitsuru-senpai waiting." Fuuka recognized the voice to belong to the female transfer student next door.

"Just don't screw up my investigation of Yamagishi," Minato huffed. "I'd normally have you take care of this for the Student Council, but it looks like Senpai has a technical problem."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Just go already!" Hamuko sent the boy away before properly entering the bathroom.

Fuuka watched from the stall as the brown-haired girl splashed water onto her face. And just like before, Hamuko noticed her hiding.

"Really. You seriously don't have to hide from me," the girl smiled at her after she dried her face. Hamuko frowned at Fuuka as the stall door slowly happened. "Hey, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Fuuka looked down at the floor. "N-no, it's n-nothing."

Hamuko took her hand and led her to the sink. "You should wash up," she sympathetically suggested. "Hey, don't keep it all pent up. It's okay to tell someone if you have trouble. It doesn't have to be me, but just so you know, I get really worried when someone keeps their problems to themselves. I should know since Minato does it all the time and it just makes me worry about him even more."

"You really are close to Yuki-san," Fuuka absently muttered as she washed her face.

"Yeah, of course!" Hamuko tilted her head to the side. "The two of us are all each other have. You must have someone you can rely on too, right? Someone to listen to your problems and help you with them?"

For some reason, Fuuka thought of the times Minato and her spoke. He had always been patient with her and was genuinely considerate of her feelings and thoughts. She frowned when she realized she was also speaking to the boy's apparent girlfriend. "No, I don't," Fuuka shook her head.

"That's not good," Hamuko's smile turned into a slight frown. "My offer still stands, you know? I'm willing to lend an ear."

"Don't you have to look into a rumor for Yuki-san though?"

"Huh?" How does she…? Hamuko was slightly confused before she put two and two together. Oh, so this was Minato's 'informant'. No wonder he's getting nowhere with this. He must have intimidated her with his Hellhound tactics. Hamuko gave the brown-eyed girl a reassuring smile. "Well, if me being a part of Student Council makes you uncomfortable, this can be an off-the-books sort of talk. I won't tell even Minato."

Fuuka relaxed a little but still, something about speaking with the girl didn't seem right. The two transfer students had an odd way of making her feel at ease, but there was something different about being with Minato that made Fuuka feel safe whenever she spoke to him. "I appreciate it, but Yuki-san also offered me the same thing."

"He did?" Hamuko was surprised with how uncharacteristic it was of her brother. "Well, then you do have someone you can talk to," she smiled at the shy girl.

Hamuko's response was rather odd, but Fuuka attributed it to the two's strong bond of trust. She nervously spoke to the red-eyed girl though. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but maybe I can speak with Yuki-kun?"

Yuki-kun? The energetic junior responded with an understanding smile. "Sure," she nodded. "Just give me a message to pass onto him and I'll make sure he gets it before Lunch is over."

"Can you ask him to meet me on the roof after classes end?"

"Sure. Is that all?"

Fuuka nodded. "Th-thank you, Arisato-san."

"Hey, it's nothing," Hamuko slightly blushed. "I'm just doing whatever I can to help."

Feeling as though a weight was taken off her shoulders, Fuuka started back towards her classroom. "Still, I have to thank you. Can you please give Yuki-san my thanks, too?"

Hamuko stared at the girl as she formally referred to her brother. Did she not notice when she called him 'Yuki-kun'? The red-eyed girl continued to gently smile though. "I don't know if he'd accept it, especially from me, but I'll try." Hamuko watched her leave before frowning to herself. Nii-san… Just what are you doing roping this girl into such a dangerous investigation? She returned to her classroom and took her seat, waiting for her brother to return. "Oh!" Hamuko realized after a few minutes of eating her lunch alone. "I didn't get her name…"

"Whose name?" Finally finished with his work, Minato sat across from her and stole one of her onigiri balls.

"That cute girl with brown eyes who helped you before," Hamuko replied, pushing her bento box towards her brother. "She wanted to speak to you after school on the roof."

Minato stopped chewing as a serious expression settled over his face. "Oh?" He suddenly lost his appetite, but he managed to force himself to finish his last bite.

Sensing her brother was doing his best to not gag in front of her, Hamuko became worried about his sudden change in disposition. "Is something wrong?"

"Did she tell you what she wanted to speak with me about?"

"No," Hamuko shook her head. "Why?" Minato didn't answer her as he stood up. "Wait? What's wrong?"

The older twin was returning to his seat, but he paused as he lowered his head. "It's one of those Reapers… The ones that appear whenever people became involved with us." Hamuko's eyes went wide in shock. "I'll try to get rid of it, but it might already be too late. That's why I wanted to speak with her and Yamagishi as soon as possible."

"It's not your fault, nii-san," Hamuko tried to console him.

No, it is, Minato thought as he decided to get a head start on his daily nap.

"Well, see you at practice, man," Kaz waved goodbye as he jogged to the track field. "I'll tell the captain to start without you."

Minato nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Kaz. Don't push yourself too much." He watched the runner carefully maneuver his way down the stairs before he himself went up to the roof. He took a look around as he saw that nobody else was there so took a seat at the bench.

It didn't take long before he heard footsteps from the stairs. His informant opened the door slowly and immediately, her expression brightened when she saw Minato turn to look at her. "Yuki-san!"

The boy nodded in greeting as he scanned the space behind her. No Reaper… He stood up and offered her to take his place. "Here." The blue-eyed boy was more comfortable leaning against the fence barriers and listening. "Hamuko said you wanted to speak with me?"

Fuuka gratefully sat down and nervously looked up at the boy. "Yes, it's about what you asked me before. Is it okay for me to ask what rumor it is you're looking into?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in a position where I can freely disclose that information to anyone not involved with it."

"But what if I'm involved with what you're investigating?"

Minato's eyes flickered to the hazy shadow that was beginning to form behind her. "I won't let you get involved," the boy said without thinking.

Thinking the boy was misunderstanding her, Fuuka shook her head. "No, I mean that I'm—"

The smoke was expanding and growing darker now. Beginning to panic, Minato cut her off. "I understand your concern for your friend, but for now, please refrain from being around her until I clear this situation up. So long as you are close to her, you may get into trouble."

"Wh-what?" The girl's face filled with confusion. "Trouble? What kind of trouble?" She paused when the boy clutched his head. "Yuki-san?" She carefully approached him as he appeared sick.

Minato began coughing as the haze was reaching towards him. Even though the smoke wasn't necessarily physical, the thought of the Reaper attaching itself onto this girl was more than enough to suffocate him. "S-stop," he murmured to the shadow as his vision suddenly vanished into darkness. "D-don't get any closer."

Thinking he was addressing her, Fuuka shook her head and placed a hand on his pale forehead. The boy flinched from her warm touch. "Yuki-san, you're really cold! I should take you to the infirmary!"

Minato blinked a few times as the girl's hand on his forehead calmed him. Slowly, a bit of his vision returned and he found himself staring into the girl's worried brown eyes. He studied her face for a while before he saw the fragments of Death beginning to cling to her. Soon, he could hear the familiar ragged breathing of the Reaper. He didn't even need to see it to know it was right behind the girl, pulling her closer to its chest. "N-no," he shakily said. I seriously can't get her anymore involved. At the rate her Reaper keeps growing, she'll be dead by the end of the month if I pull her further into this.

"You're shaking. Are you cold, Yuki-san? Yuki-san!?"

"I-I'm sorry," Minato said as he backed away from the girl. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but until I meet with Yamagishi-san and clear up this problem, please… Stay away from me… I d-don't think I can guarantee your safety anymore…" He suddenly started for the door. "I-I'm sorry!" The boy didn't look back to make sure the Reaper was gone. He could only hope the girl would heed his advice and leave it alone. Somehow, deep inside of him, he knew that his wishes wouldn't come true.

"Yuki-san," Fuuka sadly watched as he escaped whatever panic he was experiencing. His words had been confusing and it gave her the impression that this investigation he was pursuing wasn't simply just about a rumor. Why would she be in danger? It definitely couldn't have been something she had done. And to top it all off, he had asked her to no longer get involved with him. The genuine fear that filled his normally steady blue eyes gave her a sadness she never experienced before. "Is this what Arisato-san meant before? Yuki-san… I wish I was able to help you…"

She sensed a cold chill behind her but shook it off. It was time for her to go home. Any later and her parents would be upset. She sadly picked up her bag and departed the rather lonely roof.

~29 MAY 2009~

Yukari noticed her blue-haired friend was acting strangely during Lunch. He would normally begin the period by walking a lap around the halls, greeting his friends and checking to see who would be free after school. Afterwards, Hamuko would find him and force him to have something to eat. On rare occasions, he'd make lunch but he'd be sure to share it with his sister before completing his daily lap. Today though, he remained rooted in his seat, with his head down on top of his folded arms.

The brunette looked around the classroom but noticed Hamuko was gone, probably eating lunch with her friends from the Volleyball Team. Junpei wasn't around either, but Yukari didn't think his presence would help their depressed leader. Deciding he could use some company, she picked up her lunch and sat in Junpei's seat. "Hey," she greeted him, hoping he'd respond.

"Go away," Minato roughly replied.

"You know, looking at you is kinda making me depressed," Yukari tried to cheer him up.

"Then sit somewhere else," he retorted. When he sensed she was still there, he turned his head to the side in order to glare at her. "What do you want?"

"I just saw you sitting here alone, so I thought I'd check to see how you were doing." Yukari gave him a concerned frown. "You don't seem okay to me, so don't even try to deny it."

Seeing she wasn't giving him a choice, Minato sank further into his seat and groaned. "Ngh..."

Yukari sighed at his petulance before staring down at her lunch tray. Hoping it would put him in a better mood, she picked up her extra melon bread and tossed it at the boy's head. "Here, eat that. Since Hamuko's not here, I might as well force you to have something."

"Not hungry," the boy muttered but his growling stomach quickly betrayed him. He heard Yukari try to stifle her laughter so shot her a nasty glare.

The brunette tensed up at his gaze, but she did her best to hold her ground. "You know, I could just call for Hamuko..." she tried to threaten him.

"And have her fuss over me? No thanks," Minato finally relented. He slowly sat up in his seat and began working on the bread's packaging.

Satisfied she managed to get him to comply, Yukari returned to her lunch and waited a minute before trying to probe him again. "So you want to tell me what's bothering you?" she asked when she was sure he wasn't going to snap back at her.

Minato stopped chewing and pensively stared at his bite marks. He swallowed before asking, "Do you think I'm doing a good job as leader?"

"Huh? Well, yeah," Yukari answered, confused as to where this question came from. "Ever since you officially took charge, all of us haven't been encountering problems with the Shadows. You haven't been getting hurt as much either so I'm glad."

"Me not getting hurt means you guys getting hurt though," Minato said as a slight frown began to form on his face.

"Hey, we can't completely get out of Tartarus unscathed," Yukari pointed out. "You always taking a hit for us scares me. It's like you don't care if you get killed in battle. Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Maybe not my own death," Minato plainly shrugged. "I'm more afraid of everyone else dying around me."

"That doesn't mean you need to be a human shield for us!" Yukari angrily scolded him.

"But I'm the leader," he sternly stated. "Everyone's life and well-being is my responsibility. If I can't throw myself into danger to save a person, I can't really say I'm properly doing my job."

The archer frowned at his stubbornness. "But you saved us," she argued. "You saved me. Twice! I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that you're doing more than enough."

Minato glared at the bread in his hand. "It's not good enough."

"Are you serious?" Yukari shook her head at him incredulously. "Why can't you see you don't have to do everything on your own? Do you know how much Hamuko worries about you? How much we all do? Can you really not see that?"

"I never asked for you guys to worry about me," Minato said through clenched teeth.

"No, but you never asked to always save us whenever we were in trouble," Yukari countered.

Minato shook his head. "But that's my job as—"

"As leader?" Yukari smirked at her friend. "You might be our leader, but we're still your team. And a team supports their leader, whether he wants us to or not."

The boy was silent as he thought things over. "Okay, how about this? Am I being too harsh as the Student Council's Hellhound?"

"Oh, so you already know about your nickname," Yukari was surprised the boy was bringing that up. "You're not embarrassed?"

Minato shook his head. "I think it sounds cool. It's a lot better than the nicknames I got in my previous schools." He stopped himself there as he was getting distracted. "So am I?"

"You're more or less the same to me," Yukari shrugged. "But that nickname doesn't even make sense. Aren't hellhounds supposed to bring death wherever they go?"

The boy brightened at a chance to share his mythology knowledge. "Actually, in most cultures they're the guards of the underworld. They aren't death bringers but rather an omen of death. Depending on the culture, staring one in the eyes or hearing its howl is a sure sign of death to come, but for the most part, a hellhound protects the secrecy of the supernatural from the natural."

Yukari rolled her eyes at his fascination with random facts. "How does that even apply to you?"

The boy shrugged. "I think people were trying to go with bloodhound since I was able to quickly solve various cases Hidetoshi gave me regarding the Disciplinary Committee. But I'm glad Hellhound picked up. It does kind of fit in a sense, if you also consider our activities during the Dark Hour," he paused to frown at himself, "But lately I feel I haven't exactly been doing well at living up to that name... My most recent investigation is what I had been hung up over before you decided to bother me."

"Hey, sorry for being worried!" Yukari scolded him, but smiled as she knew he wasn't actually serious. "Does it have to do with Fuuka?"

Minato nodded before sighing. "I'll probably have to give up on that investigation though. I think I ended up ruining all chances I had to befriend someone else while working on it. I might have also given her needless trouble with how I acted." He groaned and slammed his face into his desk. "Why is socializing so hard?"

Yukari smirked at the boy. "So you met a cute girl, huh? Don't tell Junpei about it."

"It's not like that!" Minato said, his face burning up. "I finally meet someone with the most fantastic customized camera and then I botch it up…"

"So… you're interested in her camera?" Yukari's face scrunched up in confusion. "You really aren't into people, are you?"

"Whatever," Minato narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I'm just not interested in dating considering I have a difficult time even making friends. And all the friends I do have tend to conspire against me somehow."

Yukari laughed at him. "That's because you set yourself up to be an easy target. And you let it happen."

Minato gave her a deadpan glare before picking up the empty wrapper on his desk. "Thanks for lunch, by the way. I really needed that."

"No problem," Yukari shrugged. "It's the least I could do after all you've done for me. I still owe you anyway."

"It's fine, Yukari," Minato grumbled as his face went red again. "You don't have to thank me."

"Even if you think so, I still don't," Yukari pointed out. "Hey, if you're gonna stick around after school today, after I finish Archery practice, wanna go get a Wuck burger?"

"Sorry, maybe another time," Minato shook his head. "I promised Chihiro I'd help tutor her in math, so I don't know how long I'll be. Hamuko'll be staying behind today for Student Council though, so maybe you can ask her."

"Yeah, okay. Well, I hope you feel better," Yukari eyed the boy seriously.

"No, really. I'm fine now," Minato tapped his fingers on his desk and stared at them. "Well, maybe I'm still a bit disappointed I messed up so badly with my friend. I just wanted to protect her…" He realized what he said and quickly added, "From weird rumors. A lot of it has been getting really bad lately, you know?"

Yukari felt he was still hiding something, but seeing as she just barely managed to pull him out of his moodiness, she let it go. "I'm sure you can fix it if you try, Minato. She must be really kind and patient to put up with your attitude. I'm sure if you apologize things'll get better."

"Yeah…" Minato sighed as he remembered the nameless girl's wonderfully gentle brown eyes. He shook his head as he got up and stretched. "I know it's a bit late into Lunch, but I should go see how everybody else is doing. I'll catch you later."

Yukari smiled as the boy finally left the classroom. Hamuko returned a few minutes later and waved to Yukari. "Hey!"

"Hey," Yukari nodded. "Welcome back. Are you free after Student Council today? I wanted to get a Wuck burger with your brother, but he said he's busy."

"Well, I guess it's his loss then," Hamuko smiled. She paused as she noticed the archer was sitting in Junpei's seat. "Thanks for helping him out, Yukari."

"No problem," the girl shrugged as she returned to her own seat. "I'm glad I could help."

Yukari sighed in relief as practice was finally over. "What a workout… I've gotta teach those freshmen how to clean up properly." She paused when she heard a couple of girls laughing in the outdoor corridor outside the gym. "Hm?"

A brunette laughed as she told her friend what happened. "So, I pretended to take a picture with my cell phone. She freaked out and started crying. Like it was the end of the world. You should've seen the look on her face… It was priceless."

Her friend laughed alongside her. "Oh my gawd!"

"I've never laughed so hard in all my life!" The two laughed even harder.

"They're making fun of someone…?" Yukari frowned. "Don't they have anything better to do?" If Minato were present, the Hellhound himself would have brought them into Hell, but seeing as she herself really had no authority in this situation, Yukari stayed put. She noticed when the second girl momentarily paused, as if caught in a short trance.

"Huh…? Where's that voice coming from…?"

Curious, Yukari tried to listen too but didn't notice anything. The first girl looked at her friend oddly. "What voice? I don't hear anything." Her friend didn't answer her. "What's wrong, Maki? Maki!"

The girl finally snapped out of it. "Huh?"

The brunette gave her friend a worried expression. "Are you okay!?"

"Sorry… What were we talking about?" They walked off and Yukari shook her head.

"About time they left. I can't stand girls like that…"

"Girls like what?" A boy's voice caught her attention and Yukari turned to see Minato coming towards her with Hamuko beside him. He saw the two gossiping girls walking away before quickly turning his head away to frown. "Oh… Ekoda's girls… Yeah, those two gave me trouble a few times before."

"I thought you were tutoring?" Yukari asked.

"We finished early," Minato looked away, his face turning slightly red.

The archer looked to his sister for an explanation. Hamuko laughed as she told her. "So Chihiro-chan and Minato were studying in the library before a couple next to them snuck away to a remote aisle to make out. The two had to stop as nii-san decided to report the couple to Hidetoshi."

"They were a disturbance," Minato defended himself. "Plus, they shouldn't have said what they were gonna do aloud to begin with. I would have ignored it if they didn't."

"That's because you wouldn't have known," Hamuko sighed.

The blue-haired boy paused. "That's probably true…" He shook his head as he turned back to Yukari. "Anyway, you're finished, right? Let's go."

That night, Fuuka finally looked up when she sensed something strange happen. Around her, the room she was in became draped by an eerie green light and blood began to seep from the walls. Her eyes widened in fear as she quickly got up.

"Wh-what's going on?" The ground began to rumble and Fuuka felt the gymnasium storage room suddenly rise up from the ground.

When the building stopped shaking, she carefully reached for the door only to see it melt away, revealing an endless hallway. She found herself in a labyrinth filled with strange creatures. Fuuka didn't see them, but she did sense their presence. It was similar to the chill she had sensed on the roof yesterday with Minato.

"Y-yuki-kun…" she whispered his name, hoping he'd appear to help her as he had before. "Is this the danger you were trying to warn me about?"

~B*O*N*U*S~S*C*E*N*E~

"Nii-san! I found two sets of armor for Yukari and me." Hamuko stared at the strange item she pulled out of the golden chest. "It's stronger than what we have on now. Should we change?"

"If it's stronger, sure," Minato replied into the comm.

"Hey, I just found the stairs!" Junpei called out.

"Everyone, we're going up," Minato ordered.

Yukari and Hamuko met up with each other and the red-eyed girl smiled. "Yukari! Here you go! Let's change before meeting up with the guys!"

"Huh?" Yukari looked at the strange armor. "O-okay, sure." As Yukari put it on, her face became red. "Wait… we can't wear this!"

Meanwhile, the boys patiently waited by the stairs. Junpei crossed his arms and turned to Minato. "What's taking them so long?"

Minato shrugged as he looked up towards Junpei. "Hamuko found some armor, so I guess they're changing." He turned his attention back to restringing his bow. "Just give them some time."

"D-dude…" Junpei nervously tried to get the leader's attention.

"What? Is something wrong?" Minato got to his feet and turned to see the two girls wearing extremely revealing armor. In fact, it wasn't armor. It barely covered anything. His face burned from embarrassment as he turned around. He glared at Junpei who was gawking at the two girls.

The capped boy panicked and turned around too. "W-what? I'm a guy!"

"Well, I'm an older brother!"

"Aw, I think we look nice," Hamuko sounded as if she were pouting.

"Are you kidding? I'm not wearing this!" Yukari was trying to cover herself.

Minato turned around, eyes closed and covered by a hand. His other hand pointed to the hall they just entered from. "Change back into what you had on before!"

"But this is stronger!" Hamuko argued.

"We're a team of class! Now go! Don't make me switch you out with Sanada-senpai!"

"Th-thanks," Yukari said as she quickly left.

"Killjoy," Hamuko whined.

Minato turned back to Junpei. "You have anything to say about my decision?"

Junpei shook his head. "Nah… If they kept that on, I'm pretty sure I'd be too distracted."

"Good," Minato sighed in relief. "If you said anything else, I probably would have skinned you."

"Come on, I'm not even into that sort of stuff," Junpei shrugged. "Are you?"

The blue-haired boy shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I don't really care about that sort of thing."

"Do you think Akihiko-senpai is?" Junpei smirked.

Again, the boy shrugged. "If you want to find out, you can try to convince Kirijo-senpai to wear it in front of him."

The capped boy's eyes widened. "No way… Mitsuru-senpai would kill us."

Final Notes: Ah... Battle Panties... Or High-Cut Armor... No matter what they're called, they're a thing... I don't actually mind the fanservice since I'm pretty good at ignoring it and I tend to follow numbers anyways. If it's stronger, it's stronger. I only have to put up with it until I find something better after all. But... I have a friend who refuses to use them. A team of class has standards, I suppose. Hrm... Oh... I want to mention the nickname I ended up giving Minato... I wanted to give him a title that could have been derogatory yet dignified... I ended up with Hellhound since it would be like he was Hidetoshi's lapdog, but not really. It might have been a bit too cool... but I'm gonna stick with it because why not? As for Hamuko... she doesn't really need a nickname... but if anyone's curious, I think she'd be Gekkoukan's Princess... Capable of bending the school's population to her will with just a smile...