Author's Notes: Nothing much to say here. Well... at least not about the chapter. I'm more kinda just obsessed with the new PV released for Digimon Adventure tri for the song "Boku ni Totte" by Knife of Day. Stupid angsty Yamato... but that Yamato is the best Yamato... I really like the song and I've been listening to it at least every other hour...

~9 JUNE 2009~

Minato yawned as he followed Hamuko to school. The younger twin frowned at him. "You were really worried about her, weren't you, nii-san? You didn't come back from the hospital until nearly two in the morning."

"Senpai thought I should get a check-up too," Minato rubbed his eyes. "Blood work, chest examination… The usual stuff. The results were good though. My hematocrit levels are normal and lungs are clear."

"That's good," Hamuko nodded. "You haven't been fainting as much this year," she noticed.

"Maybe it's because I'm getting a more regular sleeping schedule," he stifled another yawn. "Oh, I'm going to be visiting the hospital again after class today. It's a follow-up exam."

"Alright. Just don't cause the doctor too much trouble," Hamuko reminded him. She smiled as Yukari met them at the gate. "Morning!"

"Hey," she greeted them. She frowned as she considered last night. "I was thinking… Do you think Mitsuru-senpai saved Fuuka because it was the right thing to do? Or was it just because she's a Persona-user and we need her…?"

The twins looked to each other before Hamuko answered. "For the right reasons."

"I-I guess so," Yukari looked towards Minato and saw that he couldn't come up with an answer. "So, you think so too?"

Minato frowned to himself. "It doesn't matter what I think. It only matters that Yamagishi-san is safe and we did what we could. What happens afterwards isn't up to us."

Yukari nodded. "Well, whether or not she joins is up to her… Sorry to bring this up out of the blue."

"It's alright," Hamuko reassured her. "We're all still thinking about last night."

"Yeah," Minato pensively frowned. "It'd be great if Yamagishi-san did join us though. I..." he paused for a moment before quickly correcting himself, "We need her."

Minato buttoned up his shirt as he got the doctor's clearance. Mitsuru nodded to him as she was there to observe the results herself. "Very well. It seems that I'll be able to allow you to continue leading SEES after all."

"Thanks," Minato nodded to her while straightening out his uniform. "Oh, by the way, Senpai... Would it possible for me to check on Yamagishi-san?"

"She hasn't woken yet, but I've already given the nurse a list of contacts permitted into Yamagishi's room. As field leader, I added your name to the visiting list just in case." Mitsuru looked down at all of the various charts she just received. "I intend to drop by later, but you're welcome to do so now if you wish."

"If you'll excuse me then, Senpai," the boy bowed before heading to the Fuuka's room. He lightly knocked to let whoever was inside to know he was entering and after waiting a few seconds, he let himself in. "Sorry to intrude," he politely said out of habit. He hadn't really expected anyone to be awake in the room, but he paused when he noticed Natsuki was present in the bed right next to Fuuka's.

Hearing the boy's voice, Natsuki looked up from her magazine in surprise. "Oh, you're..."

"Minato Yuki," the boy introduced himself with a curt bow. "I'm from Class 2-F."

"Right, you're the Hellhound." She awkwardly looked away.

"That's one way to see me," Minato shifted as he too focused on something else. He cleared his throat before looking back at the brunette. "Are you doing well?"

"Y-yeah," Natsuki looked at him, a bit surprised. "The nurse says I'll be discharged soon, but I wanted to stay a little longer." She glanced over to Fuuka beside her. "Um…"

Minato shook his head. "Don't worry. She's fine. It's okay for you to leave early. I'll be here to watch over her."

The girl gave him a dubious expression. "I want to stay…" Natsuki paused and smiled at Fuuka. "I don't really remember what happened last night, but I feel like I owe her something. It feels a bit like a dream where I know something happened, but I can't seem to recall it."

"That's okay," Minato shrugged. "Even if you can't remember in your mind, I'm sure your heart remembers. That's why you feel this way."

"You think so?"

"I know it," the boy said with a certain nod. "If your heart didn't remember, I don't think we'd be having this conversation."

Natsuki stared at the boy's serious face. "You're not one to beat around the bush, huh?"

"If I sounded rude, I apologize," the blue-haired boy frowned.

"No, it's fine. I thought you were just a by-the-book gumshoe-wannabe, but you're actually pretty nice. You helped Fuuka a few times before too…"

"What are you getting at?" the boy tilted his head to the side.

"Nothing," the girl giggled to herself. "I guess I'll go home then," Natsuki smiled. "I wanted to be here when Fuuka wakes up, but I guess I'll wait for her at school. I really want to apologize to her too but I'm not quite sure how to go about that quite yet."

"Just be her friend," Minato absently answered. He didn't quite know what it was that he wanted to say, but he understood how the girl felt. It was exactly the same as how he felt too after all, so even amidst his uncertainty, he did his best to find the words to help. "If you reach out to her," he seriously frowned while staring at Fuuka's form, "I'm sure it'll be fine. Yamagishi-san will forgive you. I'm sure of it."

Natsuki frowned at the boy's awkward attempt at giving her advice, but judging by how he was looking at Fuuka, she figured he must have had something he had to apologize for too. "Yeah," Natsuki nodded as she got up from the hospital bed. "I guess I should go then. I was ready for a while…" She slipped on her shoes as she grabbed her personal items. "I guess I'll leave Fuuka to you then."

"Take care of yourself, Moriyama-san," Minato nodded, lifting his gaze towards her.

"Um…" The girl paused as she looked back at the blue-eyed boy. "Thanks. I'm sure Fuuka would be a lot happier to see you when she wakes up too." The boy gave her a confused look which made her giggle. "N-never mind. I'll see you around school."

Minato waved goodbye before returning his attention to the sleeping girl. He gently smiled as he slipped his headphones on. He searched through his tracklist for a random song and sat back in his seat. He relaxed a little as he decided to take a pseudo-nap as he hummed along to the music.

"Like a song of spring~ Loud and clear~ Ringing in my ears~ The beating of my heart~" With his eyes closed, Minato didn't notice the girl slightly stir as he continued to softly hum to himself. "But whatever it said~ I'd always joke that this winter's made for a lifetime~" Fuuka slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room. She was surprised to see the blue-haired boy, sitting beside her as he intently listened to his headphones. "Heard another heart~," Minato mumbled to himself, "Sing of spring~" He gently smiled as he opened his eyes, hoping he wasn't disturbing the sleeping patient. When he noticed Fuuka staring back at him, his face went red. "Oh!" He pulled his headphones down. "Um… Sorry. Were you awake long?"

Fuuka giggled a bit. "No, I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Oh, no… I thought I was disturbing you," Minato nervously chuckled to himself. The two sat in awkward silence for a while before the boy shook his head. "Um… Are you all right? You've been asleep since last night. When Hamuko and I awoke to our Personas, we were out for a week. Do you need more rest?"

The teal-haired girl shook her head. "No, I feel fine." She curiously tilted her head to side. "What's a Persona?"

Minato peered outside the room before reaching into his bag and pulling out his Evoker. "It's what you summoned last night. A Persona is a mask of sorts, one you put on during hardships. It's like a manifestation of your psyche," he recalled Igor telling him. "Yours is Lucia, Christian patron saint of the blind. Despite being blinded for her faith, she was still able to see and prophesy. I guess that's similar to what you did last night, helping us fight those Shadows. You really got us out of a tough situation."

Fuuka blushed and shook her head. "No, I wasn't that amazing. You were the one to defeat those creatures—Shadows—after all."

"No, really, Yamagishi-san," the blue-eyed boy looked into her eyes with a serious gaze. "I wouldn't have been able to fight those two without your help. You even saved me in Tartarus itself when I got lost," He gratefully nodded his head. "So thank you."

"Yuki-kun…" Fuuka lost herself in the depth of his blue eyes. She nodded as she accepted his praise. After a while though, she noticed his expression change to one of sadness and regret as he turned his head away from her.

"That being said, I suppose I also should apologize for dragging you into this mess," he hung his head. "That day on the roof, I wanted to see how you were doing. I really wanted to speak with you about joining SEES, but I panicked when I saw…" He faltered a bit before shaking his head. "No… I shouldn't say what I saw. It's not a very pleasant topic for me to discuss, but what I saw made me scared. It made me think I put you in danger so my only thought then was to escape from there. Maybe if I got far enough away, you'd be safe. It turns out I was only selfishly running away and because of that, you were locked in Tartarus for ten days without me knowing. For that, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Yuki-kun!" Fuuka didn't like the dark expression he wore. "I… I shouldn't have run away when you first asked to meet with me on the day the exam results were released." The girl smiled sadly at him. "I had been afraid you had wanted to speak to me about something else."

"You were trying to tell me on the roof though, right?" Minato slowly lifted his gaze. "You wanted to introduce yourself to me." The girl nodded to him and the boy wryly smirked to himself. "Yeah, we never did properly introduce ourselves." He stood to his feet and extended his hand. "I'm Minato Yuki from Class 2-F. It's nice to finally meet you."

Fuuka smiled as she shook it. "I'm Fuuka Yamagishi from Class 2-E. Nice to meet you too, Yuki-kun."

Finally satisfied that he properly introduced himself, Minato slipped his hands into his pockets. "You don't have to be so formal with me, Yamagishi-san. It's okay for you to call me by my first name."

"Alright, Minato-kun," Fuuka smiled as she found herself saying his name with ease. "It wouldn't feel right to have you be formal to me in return though, so please, call me Fuuka."

"If you insist, Fuuka," Minato smiled as her name rolled off his tongue. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I really do like your name. It suits you."

The girl's face went red. "Huh? I-it's just a name!"

The boy tilted his head to the side. "It's simple, but there's a lot that can be interpreted from such a name. Much better than Minato Yuki." He nodded as if agreeing with himself.

"Really? What are the characters for your name?" Fuuka curiously asked.

"Harbor of courage," he replied with frown. "It really doesn't suit me."

"I think it does," the girl ended up saying. She became embarrassed, but she didn't retract her statement.

"Huh?" Minato stared at her oddly before his cheeks became warm. "Well, sometimes I don't think so, but thanks…" The two enjoyed each other's company before the boy sensed his phone vibrating in his pocket. His ringtone began to play and he checked to see who it was. "It's Hamuko," he said to Fuuka as he gave her an apologetic smile. "I'd better take this."

"Of course," Fuuka said, hiding her frown from the boy as he slightly turned away.

"Hello?" Minato looked out the window. "I'm still at the hospital. No, my checkup finished a while ago. Kirijo-senpai was there to ensure I sat through it all. Well, I decided to…" His face slightly became red as he looked over to Fuuka. "Hey, it's not like that. I just wanted to check on her. Y-yeah, she's awake. We were just talking." The boy sighed as he rolled his eyes. "No, I don't want you coming over. If you do, it's just going to give me a headache." He groaned as massaged the bridge of his nose. "No, we're fine. Stop worrying so much. Even if I do collapse, I'm in a hospital, remember?" Minato winced as he pulled his phone away from his ear. "I-it was a joke! Sort of… Besides, Senpai just gave me the all-clear and you think I'm going to just faint? Well, if Sanada-senpai is also coming over later, you and Junpei had better not get into trouble in the dorm. Right. I'll let her know. See you later." The blue-haired boy let out a sigh as he hung up. He gave Fuuka a smile. "Hamuko says hi and to tell you to take good care of me for her." The boy shook his head and sighed. "Honestly... she knows I can take care of myself, so what's with the outlandish request?"

Fuuka was a bit jealous of the red-eyed girl. "She's just worried. Your girlfriend must care about you a lot."

"Girlfriend?" Minato knit his eyebrows together. "Is that rumor still going around? Hamuko's my sister. We're twins."

"Oh! I d-didn't know!" Fuuka was surprised by that, but for some reason, she was also relieved. Confused about something, the girl studied the boy as he crossed his arms. "Minato-kun?" He nodded to her. "Why don't you have the same last names?"

Not expecting the question, Minato's hand reached for the back of his head. "That's a bit complicated…"

"Oh, I didn't mean to pry," Fuuka tensed up in alarm. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

He shook his head. "No, it's fine. I don't actually mind answering. It's just... rare for people to ask." He tried to come up with a suitable place to begin. "Hamuko and I lost our parents in a car accident when we were little." He frowned at the hazy memory because although it felt true, he didn't quite think it was exactly correct. "Our living arrangements were rather strange because our father's family wanted us to return to them, but I was extremely sickly and a hospital that could properly treat me was difficult to find. As for our mother's side, she was also an orphan who had been adopted by the Arisato family. We were originally supposed to live with our grandfather, but since I was always being moved around, Hamuko insisted on always coming with me. We lived with the Arisato for a while and they quickly took my sister in, changing her name in the progress, but we've never stayed in one place for more than a year so when we were shuffled to another relative, Hamuko never bothered to change her last name back. As for me, Grandfather is extremely superstitious so as a sign of respect for our late mother, he had me take on her maiden name Yuki so that I'd become stronger."

"Oh, I know that superstition!" Fuuka nodded at the boy. "By giving you a strong name, you'd eventually grow into it."

"That's right," Minato smiled. "To tie it back to what we were discussing before, it's another reason I like your name so much. It's simple, but has a sort of refined elegance to it. Much like Kirijo-senpai's name."

"Am I interrupting something, Yuki?" The boy tensed as the mentioned redhead entered the room.

"Senpai!" Minato straightened up. "Not at all. Fuuka and I were just having a conversation of names."

"Ah, so you are awake," Mitsuru nodded towards the girl in bed. "Akihiko will be here soon," she said to Minato. "If you feel the need to return to the dorm, you may do so."

"No, I would like to stay," Minato nodded. "I should be here to help explain SEES to her. I already told her a little about Personas and Shadows."

"Excellent. This will make things go a bit faster."

Fuuka became worried but Minato gave her a reassuring smile. "Sorry you have to go through this right after you woke up. But this is what I wanted to speak to you about before your disappearance. Don't worry. I'll be here if you need me."

The girl gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Minato-kun."

Akihiko closed the door as he came in. "Alright, we're set. I managed to get the doctor to contact your parents," he nodded at Fuuka. "What we're about to discuss here is confidential though, so you won't be able to see them until tomorrow. I hope you're okay with that."

"No, that's fine," Fuuka shook her head.

"Then let's begin," Mitsuru nodded.

~11 JUNE 2009~

Hamuko saw less and less of her brother that week. In the morning, she'd wake up to find him gone, already on his way to the hospital to visit Fuuka before heading to school. During the Lunch break, he'd immediately head over to the Faculty Office to help Mitsuru sort out Fuuka's files. Sometimes, she'd find him sternly speaking with Ekoda as he delivered messages to him from the Student Council President herself. After school, he'd quickly leave without another word, not even hiding the fact that we was once again on his way to the hospital.

The red-eyed girl smiled at his obvious crush. The boy might not have realized it, but there's no way the introverted twin would ever go this far for just anybody. Even if it were Yukari or Mitsuru or even Hamuko in the hospital instead of Fuuka, Minato would have been more covert. "Subtlety," he once told her, "is something you need more of, Hamuko. You'll wear yourself out always worrying about others. Especially with the way you're always bouncing around, trying to fix everyone's problems."

"But it's better than keeping it pent up like you, nii-san," she would scold him in return.

"Hey, you're lucky I'm around in case you overexert yourself. You worrying about me just makes me more worried about you," he shook his head.

"That almost made no sense," Hamuko smiled at him. "But I get what you're saying."

"Good, that's one less thing for me to worry about," he sighed.

Hamuko laughed fondly at that memory. "What would nii-san say now, I wonder?"

Yukari turned to her. "Huh? About what?"

"Nothing, just remembering something we used to argue about," the red-eyed girl shook her head.

"Where is your brother anyways?" Junpei asked, noticing that his seating partner was gone. "We've barely hung out all week."

"Probably at the hospital," Hamuko shrugged. "He's been visiting Fuuka everyday for the past week."

"What?" Junpei frowned. "That sneaky—" He shook his head and let it go. "Well, I guess he has his reasons."

"He's just worried about her," Yukari sighed. "Plus, Mitsuru-senpai okayed his visits since Fuuka seems completely at ease around him. It's best if he were the one explaining things to her anyway." She paused when their phones chimed at the same time. "Huh?"

Hamuko took hers out and noticed a new text from Akihiko. "Fuuka is being released from the hospital. We'll talk to her this evening. Come to the command room as soon as you get back."

She looked to the other two juniors with a smile. "Well, I guess it's finally our chance to see how she's doing!"

"Hey, take it easy," Minato gently smiled at Fuuka as she was beginning to get worried over the thought of meeting all of the SEES members. "Everyone will be happy to see you."

"Minato's right," Ikutsuki said as he entered. "Just take a deep breath."

Minato shifted in discomfort as he watched the man move about the room and Fuuka noticed. "Minato-kun? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no," the boy shook his head. "It's n-nothing." He heard the skeleton-faced joker laugh at him.

When everyone was finally present, Ikutsuki nodded to Fuuka. "You're Fuuka Yamagishi, right?"

The girl quickly stood up and bowed to the team. "Y-yes."

The man chuckled. "Relax, there's no need to be nervous. Why don't you have a seat?" She gratefully smiled and sat back down. The Chairman turned to the rest of the team with a nod. "Everyone, you did an excellent job uncovering the truth. I also wanted to let you know… The three girls have all regained consciousness."

"What a relief…" Fuuka sighed.

"From what I understand," Ikutsuki continued, "they each came to school around midnight and waited for the security guard to leave. They were attacked by Shadows near the gate, as the Dark Hour began… However, the facts became twisted because of rumors concerning a ghost story."

Yukari nodded as she crossed her arms. "I knew right from the beginning that it wasn't a ghost."

"I told you," Minato rolled his eyes and groaned, "That was obvious from the beginning."

Beside him, he noticed Fuuka sadly look down. "It's all my fault."

Yukari looked at her in surprise. "Are you kidding!? You were the victim!"

"But, I made so many people worry…"

Hamuko sternly glanced at her brother and his face burned a bit. Yukari placed a hand on Fuuka's shoulder. "Hey, don't think like that…"

Mitsuru stood before the teal-haired girl. "We could have lost that fight if you weren't there. You saved our lives. You should feel good about yourself. You have a special power that you can use to help others."

"A special power…?" The junior looked up to her senior before she realized the redhead was referring to the ability she used.

"We call it 'Persona'," Mitsuru nodded. "You could be a tremendous help to us. Will you lend us your strength?"

Fuuka looked at the other students in the room before settling on the boy beside her. Minato's calm gaze helped to put her at ease as she cautiously turned back to Mitsuru. "Are you asking me to join you…?" The senior nodded. "Mitsuru-senpai…" Fuuka looked over to Akihiko standing behind the redhead and the boy also nodded.

"You know," Yukari nervously spoke up. "We're not trying to pressure you, so if you need some time to think about it…"

Fuuka shook her head and stood up. "I'll do it. I'll help you!"

Surprised by how quickly she made her decision, Yukari looked at her oddly. "A-are you sure!? If you join, you'll have to live here…"

"That's fine," Fuuka nodded. "I'd rather live here than at home anyway…" She wryly smiled at Minato who only responded with a confused frown.

Mitsuru slowly exhaled the breath she had been holding. "We really appreciate this. We'll have the school talk to your parents, to resolve any issues, although Yuki already took care of most of it."

Surprised, the teal-haired girl smiled at Minato. "Thank you."

The blue-eyed boy turned away out of embarrassment. "I just wanted things to go smoothly. That's all."

Yukari shook her head. "Wait a minute. Aren't we dragging her into this a bit fast?"

"Um, it's okay, really…" Fuuka tried to convince the brunette. "I mean… it'll be nice to have two other girls in my grade around, too…" Fuuka smiled at both her and Hamuko.

The red-eyed girl smirked. "Remember—I'm your senpai!"

Fuuka's eyes widened. "Huh? Oh, that's right! I'm sorry, I…"

Minato groaned. "Hey, give her a break, Hamuko."

Yukari wore a small smile. "Um, she was kidding…"

Satisfied that everything was taken care of, Ikutsuki redirected their conversation to their second order of business. "Now, then… Those special Shadows showed up again. We still don't know where they're coming from. But Akihiko is right about one thing… Their appearances seem to coincide with the full moon. We'll take that into consideration from now on."

Junpei smirked at that. "So, they're kinda like werewolves then, huh?"

Akihiko pressed his fists together. "It's a big advantage for us to know when to expect them. Now, on the day of the fight, we'll be ready to get in the ring."

Yukari frowned to herself as she and the twins gave each other a look of concern. The blue-haired junior straightened up in his seat as he checked the time. "Well, if that's all," he nodded his head towards their newest member, "I guess we should get you home, Fuuka."

Mitsuru nodded. "Akihiko and I will accompany you. As I said before, the school will speak with them to resolve any issues, but we must speak to your parents about the situation itself."

"Yeah, normal people don't know about the Dark Hour, but we'll have to try to convince them to let Fuuka to stay with us," Akihiko nodded.

"Will you be coming along, Yuki?" The redhead asked the junior, although she guessed that he would.

"Of course," Minato nodded.

"It's settled then," Ikutsuki said with his usual smile. "We'll let the three of them take care of things. For the rest of you, this meeting is over. Good work, everyone."

Junpei and Yukari left the room as the two seniors began discussing something with Chairman. Hamuko looked to the remaining juniors worriedly but Fuuka simply gave the brunette a shy smile. "Hello, Arisato-san. You and Minato-kun have done so much for me."

The younger twin lightly laughed. "Hey, it's not right if you're formal with me but not my brother. Hamuko's fine." She tilted her head towards her older brother. "It's actually weird for my brother to be this active though."

"Logistics is my specialty," Minato frowned as he crossed his arms. "Besides, I never properly thanked Fuuka for helping me when I collapsed."

The girl blushed. "No, it's completely fine. You saved me in Tartarus."

"But..." Minato's face also grew pink. "You did the same for me too when I got lost," he mumbled.

Fuuka tilted her head to the side in confusion as she didn't make out what he said, but Hamuko simply smirked as she tried to make her brother become even more embarrassed. "Well, please continue to take care of my brother, Fuuka-chan!" the younger twin cheerily exclaimed. Her smirk only grew when Minato and Fuuka quickly looked away from each other, both wearing the same shy smile on their faces.

Fuuka lowered her gaze as she felt her father's angry gaze on her. Gathering up a bit of courage, she lifted her eyes towards her mother but saw the woman just frown at her. The girl tried to shrink into herself, but Minato's unwavering presence beside her urged her to go forward.

Before them, Mitsuru politely bowed her head. "Good evening, Mr. Yamagishi. I am Mitsuru Kirijo, the Student Council President of Gekkoukan." She looked over to the white-haired boy beside her. "This is Akihiko Sanada, another senior." She turned and nodded to the junior behind her. "And this is Minato Yuki, a junior. The three of us belong to Iwatodai Dormitory and we have important business to discuss with you regarding your daughter."

The man's dark brown eyes narrowed on his daughter as he let the students into his home. "Please, come in."

As he entered the building, Minato studied the house curiously and noticed the various potted plants decorating the entrance. Each room had at least two flower arrangements decorating them and they gave the home a rather sweet floral scent. It wasn't too overwhelming and Minato felt himself relax a bit.

He continued to follow the others into the dining room where they were directed to the long table. As everyone settled into their seats, Mr. Yamagishi immediately looked to Fuuka. "Get our guests something to drink," he roughly told her.

The girl obediently nodded and stood up. Minato made a face as he made a move to help her, but Mitsuru sternly frowned at him to ensure the boy stayed put. He was a guest here after all and it wasn't his place to get involved with their family dynamic, no matter how he felt about the situation. The blue-eyed boy noticed the older girl shared his discomfort too though as Fuuka and her mother set out tea for them.

After giving his guests a few seconds to make themselves comfortable, Mr. Yamagishi put on a serious frown before addressing Mitsuru. "So what kind of trouble did my daughter bring that warrants your involvement, Miss Kirijo?"

"As you know," Mitsuru began, not at all intimidated by the task at hand, "your daughter had been missing since the 29th of May. I already spoke with Ekoda, and it seems that you agreed to not report her disappearance to the police."

"Ekoda-san had told us that in doing so, this incident would have been marked into her school records. As her father, I could not allow such an event ruin her chances of going to a good university after she graduates. I was sure she'd return eventually. After all, she selfishly ran off on her own."

Minato shook his head. "I think you are mistaken, sir," he calmly stated. Remembering the cover story Mitsuru setup for them before they arrived, he made sure to avoid the topic of Shadows and the Dark Hour. "Fuuka had been the victim of bullying at school. An incident occurred between her and her tormentors that directly led into her disappearance. After an extensive investigation, we were able to locate her whereabouts."

"An investigation?" Fuuka's mother eyed the blue-haired boy oddly.

Akihiko nodded his head. "This brings us to why Minato and I are here. As you can guess, Iwatodai Dorm isn't like the normal dormitories. For one thing, it's co-ed. Another unique point is that all of us belong to the club known to the school as the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad—otherwise known as SEES for short."

"SEES?" The lady finally took her seat and Minato noticed how much she resembled the girl beside him. "I don't think I'm familiar with such a school club."

"I'm not surprised as our activities extend beyond the school campus itself," Mitsuru explained. "The club exists to uphold the school's reputation with the city by aiding law enforcement, public health officials, and doing whatever else we must to protect our students. Our operations range from performing investigations to checking up on troubled students. Our members have unique skill sets that are imperative for our work. In fact, it was thanks to both Yuki and Akihiko that we were able to locate your daughter's whereabouts."

"I see," the man studied Minato's calm face. "Well, thank you for your hard work."

"We were just doing our job," Minato nodded. "But during our investigation, we noticed Fuuka display an ability we currently lack but imperatively need. For this reason, we wish to have her join us."

"What?" The woman across from him looked at her daughter in alarm. "Will this mean she will be moving into the dorm?"

"Yes," Mitsuru nodded. "By keeping the members together, we are all given the chance to build upon our teamwork and minimize delays to our deployment, ensuring our operations and investigations go smoothly. I understand if you have concerns, but being a co-ed dorm, we have tighter regulations compared to other buildings. The boys are restricted to the second floor while the girls live on the third. There is a shared kitchen and dining area on the first floor so you needn't worry about that."

"I assume most of your activities occur at night?" The brown-eyed man frowned at Akihiko.

"Yes," the boxer nodded. "That's the time we are all free to get together and have the greatest possible mobility around the city. City officials are aware of our movements so we have already been given special pardons for our nightly activities."

"Won't that get in the way of her studies?" Mrs. Yamagishi frowned at Minato as the boy didn't seem very studious.

Misturu shook her head and reassured her. "As the one in charge of the club, I set the schedule for when activities are allowed. Of course, we are all students first and foremost so I ensure everyone has enough time for their studies, especially when exams are imminent. In fact, I understand that Yamagishi herself is an honor student. This is an excellent chance for her to meet with others in her grade to study together. And if she needs it, as seniors, Akihiko and I are available to give them aid. If you doubt our abilities, here are the results of the first Midterm." She took out a folder and pulled out a paper and handed it to both adults. "I have highlighted the names of our members. Although we number only a few, I assure you, we are all quite capable."

Fuuka was able to see all of the neon markings from her seat and quickly spotted Minato's name at the top of the list, followed by Hamuko's. She frowned as she knew her name wasn't even in the top ten but hopefully her parents would trust her enough to move into the dorm. Anything would be better than the suffocating atmosphere of her home.

"If you are also concerned over expenses," Mitsuru added, "it's already been covered. All students at the dorm have been given a scholarship from the Kirijo Group. As you can see, you have nothing to lose from accepting this proposal. The only stipulation is that some of our activities are completely confidential so there may be some topics we are not allowed to speak about to those outside of SEES." She took out a pamphlet and laid it on the table. "If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I will, to the best of my abilities, provide an answer."

Mr. Yamagishi took it and frowned. After a while, he finally turned to her daughter to get her opinion. "So? What do you think?"

"I'd like to join," the girl honestly answered, hoping her parents could sense her earnest desire. "They need my help."

Her mother knit her eyebrows together. "What can you bring to this club that they don't already have?"

Minato grew a bit annoyed at the woman's lack of faith in Fuuka, but he managed to hide it. "Ma'am, I don't know if you're aware, but Fuuka displays a keen eye for detail as well as skilled hands required for handling complex machinery," he said, making it up on the spot. "Not all of our operations require an extensive physical prowess. We have a control room used to monitor our activity and that serves as our headquarters. So far, Kirijo-senpai has been serving as our navigator and intelligence gatherer, but the amount of technical skill needed is more than she can currently handle right now. Fuuka's abilities are exactly what we've been looking for to aid Senpai."

Akihiko nodded in agreement. "During our discovery of Fuuka's whereabouts, another incident occurred and she was able to quickly get a grasp over the situation. It was thanks to her that we were able to save another student who was caught up in that second operation."

"Just how are these operations structured?" Mrs. Yamagishi looked between the two boys. Neither looked remotely responsible compared to the Student Council President sitting before her.

"As the one currently handling navigation and central command, I remain in the headquarters, directing our field leader Yuki." She nodded at the blue-haired boy as she distracted them from the lady's actual question. It seemed to have work as both adults turned their attention towards Minato, surprise clearly written on their face that this junior was the one in charge of missions. "Earlier this year, Akihiko had been injured due to his position as Captain of the Gekkoukan Boxing Team but Yuki quickly proved himself to be a capable leader for onsite investigations and operations. He caught our attention and was recruited when he revealed his valuable deduction skills to us during his activities in Student Council. Despite his appearances, he has an extremely sharp mind with reflexes to match."

Minato shifted due to embarrassment but Fuuka's father continued to eye the blue-haired delinquent. "Really? So what exactly do you do during these operations then?"

"I ensure the team is on task and lead them as necessary," Minato vaguely answered. "Whether we check on students bordering on delinquency or assist local law enforcement with their investigations regarding our school, I am there, along with the co-leader, to ensure every operation results in perfection." Minato inwardly beamed at his boldfaced lie.

"I understand if you need time to reach a decision," Mitsuru nodded before finishing her tea. "If you would like, we are willing to give you the rest of this week before asking for an answer. I am sure you only wish the best for your daughter, but think of this as an opportunity for the future. This is a one-of-a-kind club with very specific goals. Our connections are rather expansive and I'm sure Yamagishi will benefit from this in the future." She signaled to the two boys that it was time they left. "Thank you for your time this evening."

Akihiko nodded to Mr. Yamagishi. "Yes, we look forward to hearing from you soon."

Minato politely bowed to Fuuka's parents. "Thank you for the tea. I hope you have a good night."

"Fuuka, please see them out," her father said as he flipped through the pamphlet.

"Of course," his daughter sheepishly answered as the three started towards the front door. She let out a deep breath, glad the meeting was over.

"Is something wrong?" Minato gave her a worried glance.

"Will they really accept your offer?" The girl frowned as she didn't think her parent would be easily swayed.

Akihiko smirked at her. "Hey, have some faith. With the way Mitsuru spun it, there's no way they'd decline."

Mitsuru smiled at the boxer's praise. "While I appreciate the comment, Akihiko, we cannot say for sure until they do accept."

They stepped out of the home and the seniors started off, discussing alternatives if the offer was declined. Minato stood on the porch for a while longer before turning to Fuuka. "You will be fine, right?" he asked, concerned. "I know they're your parents, but… I didn't like the atmosphere in there."

"I'll be okay, Minato-kun," the girl tried to give him a reassuring smile.

The blue-eyed boy noticed the stress in her eyes. "Hey, I'll meet you at Port Island Station tomorrow morning. We can walk to school together."

"You don't have to, Minato-kun!" Fuuka's eyes went wide. "I wouldn't want to take up anymore of your time."

"Don't worry about it." The boy looked away in embarrassment. "I just thought that you'd like some company as you returned to campus."

"That sounds nice actually," the girl smiled at him gratefully.

"Well, then," Minato smirked back at her. "I'd better catch up to Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai before I get myself lost. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Fuuka watched the blue-haired junior head down the direction opposite of the seniors. "W-wait, Minato-kun! They went the other way!" she called out. Minato waved to her in thanks as he quickly doubled backwards. Once she was certain he had caught up to the seniors, Fuuka smiled as she returned indoors. Minato-kun's very kind, she thought, looking forward to seeing him again in the morning. She frowned though as she heard her parents arguing about whether to let her join. She carefully passed the kitchen to try avoiding their attention, but her father soon noticed her so cleared his throat. "Yes?" Fuuka cautiously turned to face her parents.

"Are you certain you want to join such a suspicious organization?" The man eyed her seriously.

The girl took a deep breath and tried to envision Minato standing beside her, giving her courage and strength. The brown-eyed girl nodded with determination before answering her father with as much conviction as she could. "I've made up my mind on this."

The man harrumphed before returning to the living room. "So long as your grades don't fall, do whatever you want."

Fuuka wasn't surprised that he didn't care, but she noticed his answer still stung a little. Even if they had managed to keep the truth hidden, she had thought her parents would be somewhat worried about the thought of Fuuka moving into the dorm. They didn't even show their concern when she returned after days of being missing. I guess I expected too much from them, Fuuka glumly thought as she silently returned to her room. Still, she looked at the bright side as it wouldn't be too long before she would be free from this place.

~12 JUNE 2009~

Hamuko walked to school with Yukari the next morning. Her older brother stayed behind at the train station as he promised Fuuka that he'd walk to school with her. Yukari and Hamuko looked to each other with a smirk before teasing him. After a while, the archer gave him a serious expression.

"Hey, Minato. What do you think about Fuuka?"

The boy rolled his eyes as he thought his friend was still teasing him. "She's cute," he answered with a straight face.

"That's not what I meant," Yukari frowned at him.

"She's very helpful," Minato shrugged. "But she is cute. Even Hamuko would agree," he looked over to his sister.

"Yeah, she is!" The girl brightly smiled.

"You think so?" Yukari ignored their comments as she considered something for herself. "I mean, yeah, her Persona ability is great n' all, but… Doesn't it kinda seem like she was forced into joining us?" Minato frowned and looked away. "I hope she'll be okay…"

"She'll be fine," the boy said, eyebrows knitting together. "It's her decision after all."

"Nii-san, is something wrong?" Hamuko noticed his strange expression. It was the one he normally got whenever he was worried but had no idea what to do to get rid of it.

"I'll be fine. You two go on ahead."

After leaving him, Hamuko giggled to herself. "This is the first time nii-san's been so flustered over a girl. I'd spread a rumor about him, but I wouldn't want to give Fuuka-chan any trouble."

"Wouldn't that be going a bit too far?" Yukari asked the girl. "Teasing him is fun and all, but Fuuka is a recent victim of the school's rumor mill."

"Yeah," the red-eyed girl nodded. They past Ekoda's classroom and heard a few girls gossiping about their teacher's recent trouble. She frowned as these girls built their livelihood around badmouthing others. At least Hamuko's own rumors were harmless fun considering her brother was secure enough in himself to let most of it slide. The two girls went into their classroom and spoke for a while before Hamuko glanced up at the clock. It was almost class but Minato still hadn't arrived. "Hey, I'm going to look for nii-san."

"Yeah, he's pretty late. I'll come with you." The two exited the classroom and bumped into Junpei. Yukari glared at him before shaking her head. "Hey, have you seen Minato?"

"Huh?" The capped boy pointed to the boy behind him. "He's right there. He's been there with Fuuka for a while now. Apparently he's talking her into going in."

The girls looked up and saw as Fuuka took a deep breath. Minato gave her an encouraging nod as she finally went inside. The boy noticed his friends watching so approached them. "Hey," he shrugged.

"You're late," Hamuko scolded him.

"This took precedence," the boy shook his head. From where he was standing he could still see Fuuka, so he leaned back against the wall and watched for a while.

Inside the classroom, the girls who had been talking about Ekoda suddenly stopped as they noticed Fuuka come in. "Hey, look… It's the ghost girl."

Fuuka tensed up as another girl spoke up. "Quiet, she can hear you!"

Fuuka looked around the classroom for some support but frowned. "Um…" It was a shame Minato was in the class next door because she felt a bit lost about what to do now.

It was then Natsuki came into the classroom from behind her. "Fuuka, you in here?"

Fuuka turned around, surprised the girl was speaking to her. "Moriyama-san…?"

"I heard you started living in the dorms," she smiled.

"Y-yeah," the teal-haired girl nodded.

"You seem so depressed… Let me know if you need someone to talk to," Natsuki offered. "You could probably use a friend, huh?"

"Moriyama-san…" Fuuka's face brightened at her words.

"Oh, come on," the brunette smiled. "Just call me Natsuki."

"Thank you…" Fuuka returned a smile and noticed a blue-haired boy in the hall turn into his own classroom. Thank you too, Minato-kun.

Outside, Yukari called out towards Minato. "Hey, she'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded with certainty.

Junpei frowned at him. "How can you be so sure?"

The blue-eyed boy looked towards Hamuko expectantly and the girl chuckled to herself as she knew his answer. "C'mon, nii-san. If I say it, it wouldn't sound as impressive."

The other two juniors looked at him expectantly as Minato's face slightly turned pink. "It's because Fuuka has us…"

Junpei and Yukari looked to each other as they didn't expect their quiet friend to say such a thing. They both brightly smiled at each other before teasing him. "That's a sweet thing for you to say, Minato," Yukari smirked.

"Yeah, dude. Who knew you were such a softie?"

"You'd be surprised at how sensitive nii-san is," Hamuko laughed.

"Whatever," Minato crossed his arms, but even he couldn't hide the small smile on his face.

That evening, all of the girls in the dorm were busy clearing out an empty bedroom to prepare for Fuuka's move-in. None of the boys were allowed up but when a cockroach resulted in Yukari knocking out the lights of the entire third floor, Minato was called up to fix it. Akihiko and Junpei gave him a sympathetic look as the blue-haired handyman trudged up the stairs, toolbox in hand.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru's voice came down the stairs. "We may need your assistance if we find another cockroach."

Junpei snickered at that only to hear Hamuko calling down for him too. "Actually, depending on how bad it gets, Junpei might need to come up too…"

"Ah, come on!" The junior tugged on the bill of his cap.

Luckily for the two other boys, Minato was able to take care of everything himself. The work took a lot longer than he thought and he barely had the strength to stand at the end of it. Seeing as the boys already retired for the night, Mitsuru let Minato spend the night in Hamuko's room.

So here he was, passed out on a futon his sister laid out for him. Some chuckling quickly woke him up though in the middle of the night. He slowly sat up as he rubbed his eyes. "Hamuko? Did you say something?"

His sister stirred as she sensed someone sit on her bed. "Nii-san… Go back to your futon." She rolled over.

"I'm in the futon," he said, looking over to the bed. "Oh… it's you."

Hamuko sat up too and noticed the strange blue-eyed boy sitting beside her, smiling at them both. He chuckled once more. "You've prevailed yet again. Do you remember what I said before? About everything coming to an end? Well, I recalled something else… I'm fairly sure that the end is inevitable." He tilted his head at Minato. "But, it's funny… It doesn't seem so certain, considering the vast potentials within you. As a matter of fact, your powers seem to have changed quite a bit." He smiled as he walked towards Minato. "Hey, if you don't mind, can I be your friend? I'm very curious about you… Is that okay?"

Still tired, Minato laid back down. "Yeah, whatever."

The boy chuckled at him. "I see your point. You haven't had much say in the matter." He looked up at Hamuko for her response.

She smiled back at him. "Aren't we friends already?"

He lightly laughed. "You're right. I didn't really need to bring it up, did I? After all, I've been with you two from the beginning…" Minato turned over to stare at the boy. "My name is… Pharos. You may call me that if you wish." The two saw the Death Arcana flash before their eyes as the boy looked towards the window. "It's getting late, so I'll go now. I'm already looking forward to our next meeting. Bye-bye."

Minato groaned as he rolled over again. "Night, Pharos, Hamuko."

Hamuko smiled as the boy disappeared. "Good night, Pharos. Good night, nii-san."

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

Fuuka looked around the kitchen, slightly confused about what to do. "Um…" On the counter, she laid out all of the materials for a basic miso soup. "Miso, tofu, and seaweed," the girl muttered as she frowned at what next to do. "Do I use water?" She looked through the cabinets and quickly found a pot. As she filled it with water, she heard someone rapidly coming down the stairs.

"Hamuko! Gragh!" Minato tumbled down the second floor.

Concerned, Fuuka quickly rushed to the stairs, only to duck out of the way when Hamuko quickly launched herself down from the fifth step. She triumphantly landed on both feet, her arms in the air. "I win! Nii-san, you're cooking dinner, breakfast, and lunch!"

Fuuka looked up to see Minato pick himself up and make his way slowly down the stairs. "I was going to cook anyways!" he scolded his younger twin. "Ow!" He gingerly placed a hand on his head.

"Are you okay, Minato-kun?" Fuuka examined him carefully.

"I'll be fine," the boy tried to convince her.

"I'm making miso soup," she informed him. "Maybe you'd like some?"

"Aw," Hamuko pouted. "But nii-san needs to be punished for losing. Fuuka-chan, you're spoiling him."

"Maybe if he helped me? This is actually my first time cooking," the shy girl blushed.

"Miso soup?" Minato frowned. "Seems simple enough. Alright, I'll help."

"Okay, but this means you need to make Fuuka-chan breakfast and lunch tomorrow too," Hamuko shrugged.

"What's with you working me like a slave?" He glared at his sister only to have her stick her tongue out at him. He shook his head as he looked at the ingredients on the counter. "Let's see…"

"Please instruct me well, Minato-kun," Fuuka smiled at him as she followed his lead. Hamuko watched them carefully, noticing Fuuka was completely lost at what Minato was doing.

"H-hey, Fuuka-chan?" Hamuko nervously watched as black smoke began billowing from the pot of water the teal-haired girl set to boil. "So you've never had cooking experience before?"

Fuuka and Minato both had their backs to the observer as they cut the tofu and seaweed. The shy girl paused as the boy carefully took over as she turned to answer the girl. "That's right." She noticed the smoke and let out a yelp.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Minato's eyes went wide at what he saw. "Hey!" Somehow the pot caught fire and he quickly grabbed it with a towel. "Hot, hot, HOT! Ow!" He dropped the water into the sink and turned on the faucet. The fire alarms suddenly went off as the three quickly evacuated the kitchen area.

The brown-eyed girl nervously laughed. "Um…"

Hamuko shook her head as she couldn't believe what just happened. "What now?"

"How about we just eat out tonight?" Minato suggested. "I'll deal with breakfast and lunch tomorrow…"

His sister exchanged a glance with Fuuka before nodding to her brother. "Yeah, good plan. You're paying for all of us, right?"

"Huh!?"

The red-eyed girl laughed as she pick pocketed her brother. "Never mind, I've got it."

"Hey, but that's my wallet!"

"Let's go, Fuuka-chan!" Hamuko dodged her brother's arm and pulled the teal-haired girl behind her.

Fuuka yelped again. "B-but shouldn't we help Minato-kun clear the kitchen first?"

Final Notes: You know, I have mixed feelings about the Persona 3 movies, but I still love their songs. "More Than One Heart" is probably my favorite theme of the four movies though. My favorite single would have to be "My Testimony" because of the future arrange for "Burn My Dread -Final Battle-". Hrm... After an operation, things tend to slow down for a while... It can't be helped, I guess... In Portable, I find it really easy to climb Tartarus in one night, but I usually make a few extra visits to finish all of Elizabeth's requests and save the poor pathetic souls who get trapped in the tower... Seriously... what kind of person wanders up 200-something floors on their own? The height could be attributed to Tartarus shifting, but whatever...