Author's Notes: Okay, final stretch of chapters. After this there will only be 3 more to conclude the twins' Journey. As such, starting Wednesday, I'll be releasing them day by day to go along with Thanksgiving weekend. It was fun playing through the game again and writing this but everything must come to an end... Ahaha... It's a bit too early for me to go on about that right now, but all right. Let the third and final month of the game begin.

~8 JANUARY 2010~

Minato let out a sigh of relief when classes finally ended. He sank into his desk and frowned as the new semester was off to a strange start. Rumors were flying around about a doomsday cult. The entire school was abuzz with the news and a few students were passing out flyers to advertise the coming of Nyx. It didn't take much for the Hellhound to figure this was probably Strega's doing, but he didn't expect the whole city to be affected. This was most definitely going to become a headache for the entire Student Council and SEES to deal with.

Well, Minato wryly thought to himself, looks like my work is cut out for me this semester. He looked up when he sensed someone approaching his desk. "Junpei," he nodded at the capped boy smirking at him.

"Hey," Junpei greeted him, "you busy?" Minato looked around the empty classroom and shook his head. "Could you come with me for a sec?"

"Sure," the shorter junior nodded, getting up from his seat. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's no big deal…" the usually boisterous junior looked away from him. "Come on, man. It'll just take a few minutes." He turned towards the door. "Let's go to the rooftop."

Minato blinked at his friend before curiously following him out. They stood side by side as they looked out over the city together. After a few minutes of silence, Minato glanced over towards Junpei. "So what's up?"

Junpei wryly smiled at him. "We've never really had a chance to talk, have we?"

The blue-haired boy chuckled at that. "Well… I do tend to keep to myself." Minato frowned to himself as he remembered something. "But there was that one time we talked about girl problems… Did that not count?"

"Not really," the capped boy smirked, "considering I didn't really have much to say to you back then." Junpei shook his head. "You know, you're not as easy to talk to as your sister…" A frown suddenly appeared on his face. "But I can't blame it all on that. I was always a bit jealous of you to ever want to talk to you like this…"

"You were?" Minato blinked at him.

"You never noticed?" Junpei raised an eyebrow at him.

The shorter junior shook his head. "There's really nothing about me to be jealous of… I'm just a coward in the end…"

"A coward? Are you serious?" Junpei smirked at him. "Good grades, Track star, Photography Club President, Gekkoukan Hellhound, leader of SEES… There's really nothing you can't do, huh?" The blue-haired boy frowned at himself. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that," the capped boy quickly shook his head. "I'm just… I don't know… I just wanted to tell you that's how I used to see you." Junpei noticed Minato was still pretty quiet so decided to change the topic. "It's almost Coming of Age Day, ya know. I used to think of it as a day off… But now, I wonder if I'm even gonna live long enough to celebrate it…"

"You worry too much," Minato shook his head.

Junpei laughed at that. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He studied the city for a moment and frowned when he noticed flyers littering the streets. "It's been pretty weird around here lately… People have been passing out, others have gone missing… Dude, it's crazy. Senpai said it's because there are too many Shadow victims and the memory revision can't keep up." He clenched his fists. "It's all gotta be because of this Nyx. Oh, and have you heard about that doomsday cult? They've been running around town telling everyone they see that the end of the world is coming…" He looked back towards Minato. "Man, we need to do something, and quick."

"People are just scared," Minato shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess they can somehow sense what's going to happen." Junpei narrowed his eyes as he considered something else. "But, it's not just Nyx, ya know… Two members of Strega are still alive. They haven't done anything yet, but I know they've gotta be planning something. And we need to take care of them, too."

Minato scowled as he thought of how much misery Strega put them through. "We'll definitely bring them down. I can trust you to watch my back when we do, right?"

"I'll be counting on you too." Junpei smiled as he nodded. He paused as he considered his own words. "Wow… Becoming such good friends that I'd trust you with my life…" He laughed a bit. "I never would've imagined that happening last spring. But then again, I never thought it would come to this. Ya know, I don't think it's completely hit me yet… It's just all so hard to believe… But, that doesn't mean we should just sit around and wait for it to happen."

"Of course not," Minato told him. "Our lives are the culmination of our choices, so we have to take whatever opportunity that comes our way. It just so happens we've all been given the chance to fight Death."

"You're pretty cool, man." Junpei stared at him in awe. "That thing was inside you for ten years, and you harnessed its power and made it your own…" The capped boy smirked at the blue-haired junior. "I'm glad I met you." The tall boy pulled his cap down as he could feel himself blushing. "It's embarrassing to say it, but… that's really how I feel."

"You're really not jealous anymore?" the SEES leader tentatively asked.

The taller junior shook his head. "Actually, I don't think anyone else could have done what you did. Ryoji said you used to sense when people were gonna die, right? With that ability, you were always doing your best to look out for all of us. You were worried about Chidori dying but you also wouldn't let me give up on her… Because of that…" Junpei placed a hand over his heart as he sensed Trismegistus's power inside him. "You ended up helping us both. When I think about it like that, there's no way I can hold anything against you. I mean… You've always had my back, even when I didn't deserve it." Junpei extended his arm towards Minato. "We'll always be friends, right? I mean, after this is all over?"

Minato smirked as he accepted his handshake. "Yeah," he nodded. "Together to the end."

"Cool," Junpei smiled. "Hey, one more thing?"

"What is it?" Minato asked, letting go of the boy's hand.

"Are you going out with Fuuka?"

Minato tensed up at that and his face went red. He hadn't quite expected this question from his classmate and he contemplated whether or not to reply. In the end, he let out a sheepish answer. "Yes…"

"C'mon, dude!" the taller boy winked. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about! I'm happy for you, man." He suddenly became serious as he stared into Minato's blue eyes. "She's a good girl," Junpei patted the other boy's shoulder, "so treat her right."

The blue-haired junior knit his eyebrows together. "You know I will…"

"Good," Junpei nodded in approval. "Because if anything happens to her, you know the entire dorm will kill you."

"Glad to know how you all feel about our relationship," Minato sighed.

"Hey, lighten up, dude!" Junpei laughed as he threw his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. "How 'bout some ramen? It's on me today!" He didn't even bother waiting for the slow boy to respond and instead pulled him along behind him. Minato smirked and shook his head as he went along with the excitable Magician.

Hamuko put down her violin when she noticed Junpei returning to the dorm with her brother. "Huh? It's rare to see you both hanging out," she greeted them.

"Is it?" Minato tiled his head at her.

"Yeah," the brunette frowned at them suspiciously. "Is something up?"

Junpei laughed. "Nah, it's nothing to be worried about. We were just having some guy talk today. Just the two of us."

"Really?" Hamuko smiled at them. "Any chance I can join in too?"

"No," her brother bluntly replied. "What part of 'guy talk' makes you think you'd be allowed?"

"Says the boy who butts into all of my 'girl talk' with Fuuka-chan and Yukari," the red-eyed girl pouted. "Anyway," she used her violin bow to poke her brother in the chest. "Mitsuru-senpai wants you upstairs for a strategy meeting."

Minato straightened up at that. "Don't tell me she's worried about the cult…" He quickly dug through his schoolbag for his notes. "Who else is there?"

"Aki-nii, Fuuka-chan, and Ai-chan," Hamuko nodded.

"What about you?" Junpei blinked at her. "You're our co-leader…"

"Investigating isn't really my forte and this has more to do with figuring out what to do about Strega than it does against Nyx." She shrugged before pointing to the stairs behind her. "Get going," she told her brother.

"On it," the blue-haired boy nodded, but he glanced over towards their friend. "Sorry, Junpei…"

"No worries," the capped junior smirked. "You're our leader and the Gekkoukan Hellhound!" He laughed and winked at the shorter boy. "We're counting on you."

Hamuko watched as Minato smirked back before taking off upstairs. The brunette looked over to her best friend and chuckled. "So… you had a heart-to-heart with Minato?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Junpei shrugged as he took a seat on the couch. "He's actually pretty cool…"

"Took you long enough to figure that out," his best friend rolled her eyes. Hamuko set her bow down and began examining her violin strings. "So what'd you talk about?"

"Hey, it's a guy talk," the capped boy smirked.

"Aw… But we're best friends," Hamuko curiously pressed him, "and best friends don't really hide things from each other."

"It wasn't much," Junpei tried telling her. "We just talked about stuff… You know, things like Coming of Age Day."

"Like you'd both celebrate it," the brunette giggled.

"What," Junpei smirked, "you think we're not ever gonna mature or something?"

"Oh, you've both matured plenty, but you're still both boys," Hamuko stated. "And girls mature way faster than boys. That's a scientific fact!"

"Hm… You might have a point there," the tall junior crossed his arms. "Sometimes I feel like I haven't changed all that much, at least not compared to say Yuka-tan or Fuuka." Hamuko looked up from her instrument as she noticed he was being uncharacteristically serious. "Hey… I know I've run my mouth a lot, since the day we met… And yeah, maybe I called you 'cutie' a couple of times, and you mighta thought I was making fun of you… But I'm totally serious when I tell you I'd trust you and your brother with my life."

Hamuko softly smiled at that. "You know that goes both ways, right? You're my first real best friend. That much hasn't changed."

"Best friends…" Junpei remembered the first time she had called him that. As he recalled, she had slapped him for insulting her brother, but she still continued to believe in him anyway. "Yeah… I'm really glad to hear you say that. I didn't used to think so before, but it really means a lot to me to know you count on me that much. Thanks…"

"Well, if you ever doubt yourself, I can always slap you again," Hamuko teased him.

"Hey!" Junpei shook his head at her. "You won't ever have to do that again. I promise… I've got your backs whenever you need me. You can count on it," he said with a determined nod.

Mitsuru crossed her arms as she looked to the SEES field leader expectantly. "What do you think, Yuki?"

Minato intently stared at the command console and frowned to himself. "Still no sign of them, Fuuka?" he asked his trusty navigator.

"Sorry, but no," Fuuka shook her head. "They're pretty high up in Tartarus… I'm pretty sure it's past the blockade so even if you do try to go after them, you wouldn't be able to get far."

"The longer we leave them alone, the more out of hand the cult will be though," the leader sighed.

"You believe they're behind the cult?" Akihiko asked.

"I do, but as usual, I lack definitive evidence," the Hellhound let out a frustrated growl. "I do have a lot of circumstantial evidence though." He pulled out a flyer for the cult and pointed at the symbol on the middle of the page. "Like this… If you take a good look at the marking you can make out the letters 'N', 'X', and 'Y'. Rearrange the last two letters and they spell…"

"Nyx," Aigis frowned. "So Strega must already know about the Fall…"

"The question is how much do they know…" Minato nodded. "Their positions are quite clear as they're recruiting more and more people to prepare for her arrival."

"They must know about Tartarus then," Mitsuru said, looking out the window and towards their school. "They were the ones who called it the 'Tower of Demise' after all. Besides using it to escape us, they must be biding their time until Nyx's coming."

Fuuka worriedly stared at Minato. "Do you think they know about you and Hamuko-chan?"

"About us carrying Death?" Minato tilted his head at her. She nodded and he quickly dispelled her concerns. "No… Well… At least… I don't think they knew about Hamuko. Me though… Takaya did want me to join Strega…" He thought back to the beginning of summer. "I had summoned Ryoji's Shadow form against him, sparking his interest in me."

"So he knows about Ryoji-kun!?" the teal-haired girl asked in surprise.

"No, probably not," Akihiko shook his head. "Ryoji was a special case. He only ever interacted with those connected with the school. Mitsuru pulled up his files and there was really nothing on his home life. Unless he was on a date, at school, or with friends, he pretty much didn't exist."

"That sounds about right," Minato smirked. "He is my Shadow after all…"

"That's not very funny, Minato-san," Aigis shook her head at him.

"I wasn't trying to be funny," the blue-haired boy frowned. "I'm just saying… that's how I used to live too. You know… minus the whole friends and dating thing…"

"Minato-kun…" Fuuka sighed at him.

"But going back to Strega," Mitsuru sternly brought the juniors back on topic, "what can we assume they know?"

"It's kind of hard to guess since we barely know a thing about them," Minato shook his head. "Let's see… Tartarus, Nyx, and my relationship with Death aside, there really isn't much else for us to go on." He crossed his arms as he tried to consider another angle to attack the problem. "Oh!" He looked up towards the red-haired senior. "We should consider where they're getting their information. Ikutsuki is dead after all… You don't think there's another mole, do you?"

"No," the senior shook her head. "The ex-Chairman didn't have anyone close to him within the Group besides my father…"

"Scary…" Fuuka shivered. "He hid his true self from us so well…"

"Yes," Aigis nodded as she frowned. "He even kept his guard up around me… Ikutsuki seemed to have been a very prudent person when it came to his true intentions with the Dark Hour."

Minato wore a painful scowl. "I was the only person who suspected him, but I said nothing…" He began shaking as he remembered the jester-like Reaper. "He always had Death following him and it kept laughing at me… But even I didn't think he'd be so dead inside as to warrant something like the Fall." He crossed his arms and forced himself to calm down. "B-but anyway… If Ikutsuki didn't have anyone else within the Group to help him, then he must be the sole source of Strega's knowledge about the Dark Hour, the Fall, and Nyx."

"We'll need to look into his files further then," Mitsuru frowned. She looked up towards Fuuka and Minato expectantly. "I trust that you'll both get this done?"

"Of course," Minato haughtily straightened up.

"We'll do our best!" Fuuka nodded. The two juniors smirked to each other at a chance to investigate together. The teal-haired girl's eyes shone as she came up with an idea. "I've been meaning to test something with Juno. It's a little bit based off of what Chidori was able to do with Medea, but I think it might be able to work!"

"How curious," the blue-haired boy smirked. "We should try it as soon as I set up my laptop. It should be ready by tomorrow so on nights we don't go to Tartarus, let's work on this!" He brought a hand up to his face as he considered an important question. "Now should we work in your room or mine?" He paused as all eyes turned to him. "W-what?" he nervously asked. "It's a legitimate question…"

"Minato-kun…" Fuuka shook her head but smiled at him all the same.

~12 JANUARY 2010~

Transitioning into the final semester of the school year proved to be rather difficult considering the strange mood around town. However, as SEES decided to face Death head-on, one truth remained and that was life continues on, whether they wanted it to or not, and of course they wanted it. With a little over half a month left, everyone needed to undergo extensive training to raise the strength of their Personas. Well, everyone except the twins, that is.

As a part of their contract with Death, they still needed to fulfill their remaining few Social Links. The first of which was for their Temperance Link with Bebe. He was a rather unique friend of theirs, able to quickly balance both twin's distinct personalities into a style that reflected Minato's pragmatic traditionalism with Hamuko's more modern approach to Japanese culture. The two found it difficult to grasp themselves, but were surprised when Bebe managed to create a kimono based off of their aesthetics.

The blonde foreign transfer student had been ecstatic to show it off to them, but of course, he realized with the completion of the beautiful kimono, he would have to return to his home country. Using the material leftover, he created two money pouches, fitted to either twin's tastes. "It eez a sign of our friendship!" he told them as they accepted it. "Onegaishimasu… Please… Wait for my return, Minato-sama, Hamuko-sama. My favorite memories from Nihon… are all ze times we hung out togezer."

Hamuko smiled at the boy as she sensed he wanted to burst into tears. "We'll be waiting."

"We wish you luck," Minato nodded, admiring the craftsmanship of the pouch.

Bebe looked between the kind twins and nodded. "Z-zank you so—" he ended up bawling out of happiness, but his resolve was clear. He'd definitely return to make more memories with his friends in the country he loved. There was still so much for them to teach him after all. "Kanashii… It makes me sad, but… Tomorrow, I must go… Sayonara!"

The two siblings saw him off before smirking at each other. Minato shook his head as he put his pouch away. "We have to win now, you know," he stated. "We have to make sure there's a place for him to return to."

Hamuko agreed. "It's not a 'goodbye', but more of a 'see you again'."

But of course, that didn't hold true for all of their Social Links. As much as they were defying fate, they couldn't escape Death that easily. They've always known that, but things were different now. They had the will to live and it brightly burned within them. Akinari sensed that from them and that was why he was attracted to them, but his life was fated to be brief and there was nothing he could do about it. Still, it was thanks to the twins that he was able to come to terms with his tragically short destiny. He was able to make some sense of the meaning of life and he wanted to share his story and what he had learned with the twins before he passed on.

"Even though the alligator did not find meaning in his life, the residents of the forest did," the depressing author smiled to his dear friends. "They just didn't realize it…" he shook his head. "Because… the meaning of my life is not something I should worry about. It's really what others think of my life or what I was able to do for them. So…" he steadily gazed at the twins' calm faces, "for me, or you, or anyone… the meaning of our lives is something that we make but don't see. People can't survive without help from others. We all depend on one another." Akinari wryly smiled to himself. "I don't know if that made sense, but… Do you kind of get what I'm saying?"

Minato nodded as he agreed with the sickly boy's views of the world. "Yeah, I understand."

"I'm glad," Akinari gratefully sighed in relief.

Hamuko however shook her head at their slightly pessimistic perspectives. "I still don't get it."

Her brother only gave her a sympathetic smile as Akinari gladly tried to explain it to her. "That's just what I've found to be the meaning of life," the grey-haired boy stated. "Maybe you, or other people, will have different ideas about it. But… hopefully you can understand my point of view as well."

"Even if I do understand, it's still difficult to accept…" the brunette frowned. "You've written such a depressing yet beautiful story too..."

"Such is life," her older brother solemnly nodded.

"Well said," Akinari smiled at the understanding junior. He looked down at his lap and held up the Worn Notebook to Minato. "This is the notebook… I wrote my story in. It's all I have to leave behind. I want you to have something… since you shared my last moments."

"Wait…" Minato stared at it with wide blue eyes. "Can you really give this to us?"

"Don't leave us!" Hamuko cried, standing up from the bench. "You're… an important friend…" she sadly muttered.

Akinari studied the twins once more before struggling to stand up on his own. Minato tried to help him, but the grey-haired boy shook his head. He managed to get to his feet just fine without their aid. He stared down at his weak body with a serene smile on his face. "My… body feels lighter…" he said, happiness brimming his voice. "Thank you for everything…" he told the two siblings as he took a few steps past them. "Coming to see me, talking… even discussing the meaning of life… I…" He looked back once more to imprint their images into his mind. "I can be glad that I was born…" Although he didn't wish to part from them, Akinari forced himself to look towards the shrine entrance. "I have to go now…" he sadly stated. "Maybe… someday… I hope… we meet again." He disappeared into the light as the twins hung their heads.

Minato tightly gripped the notebook as Hamuko hugged herself. She looked up to her brother as tears filled her eyes. "Minato… why couldn't we save him too?" she asked in a meek whisper.

Her brother shook his head. "We did save him, Hamuko," he responded, fondly flipping through the notebook to reread Akinari's story. "We gave him his reason for living… He lived and that's what mattered…" He wore a resolute smile as he shut the notebook. "When we finally meet again, I want to be able to proudly tell him the meaning of our lives so until then… we need to keep living…"

Hamuko smiled as she knew her brother was right. Life continued on regardless of circumstance and there was no point in being stuck in the past. Even if Akinari was going on ahead of them, it was best they continued on their own path or else they'd be left behind by everyone else. It was a lesson Hamuko found herself teaching to Ken one night.

The young brunet frowned at Hamuko as he contemplated what it really meant to be 'left behind'. "Sometimes I think that my mother must've had regrets. She…" He lowered his gaze sadly. "She died, and left a kid behind, after all. But I have a lot of good memories of her. My mother left them for me… All those memories…" Ken reached into his pocket for a silver key. "They're in this key to the house I used to live in with her." He hesitantly held it up for older girl he considered his sister. "Um… I wanted to give this to you, Hamuko-san."

Hamuko blinked at the key that was now in her hand. "Ken-kun, I can't accept this. It's what you have left of your family…"

The boy shook his head. "But you and the rest of SEES are my family now," he said with a smile. "I'll always have memories of my mom, but I want to be able to make new memories too with all of you." His face grew warm as he stared at Hamuko. "Um… I really look up to you and Yuki-san… You're both very good older siblings, always watching out for me. That's why… I want to repay the favor and be a good younger brother for you!" The boy bowed his head to her. "Would that be alright with you?"

"You know, you don't have to be so formal around your family," Hamuko smirked at him. "I'm sure Minato wouldn't mind having a younger brother to care for either… Oh, but be careful around him. He's a very strict older brother."

"That's funny," Ken chuckled. "Yuki-san said for me to be careful around you since you love embarrassing him in front of the others." The brunet blinked. "And you have been teasing Sanada-san a lot more…" He suddenly became worried. "You're not going to do the same with me, are you?"

"Minato and Aki-nii are my older brothers," Hamuko laughed. "It's my job as a younger sister to keep them on their toes. You'll help me, right? You're my little brother after all."

"Um…" Ken tried not to crack a smile, but failed. "Will that really be alright…?" The child may have had his qualms at first, but at Hamuko's prompting, he took to trying to be less formal with Minato.

To no one's surprise, the blue-haired leader was uncomfortable by Ken's new nickname for him. "Did you seriously just call me 'Yuki-nii', Ken?" he sternly frowned.

"Um… It was Hamuko-san's idea…" the brunet nervously pointed at the snickering girl.

"I told you to be wary of her, didn't I?" Minato sighed as he shook his head. "Well… carry on." Relieved he wasn't in trouble, Ken quickly went about his business but the same couldn't have been said about Hamuko. The SEES leader frowned at his twin. "Why does it feel like I'm everyone's older brother?"

"Because you sort of are," Hamuko smirked at him.

"I wonder if this is how Mamoru feels," the blue-haired boy mused. "But, I guess it's not so bad. I do have a responsibility to protect everyone after all."

It was a responsibility Minato gladly accepted and Mamoru was impressed with how the blue-haired boy always handled himself. Even if the track star didn't attend Gekkoukan, he knew of the famed Hellhound's hectic activities around town. Even more amazing was the fact that Minato never complained about his work. Sure, the introverted junior didn't smile much, but Mamoru never sensed any resentment from him.

"You helped me realize a lot of stuff, y'know?" the tan boy smirked at the Gekkoukan student. "I always blamed school or my family for everything. I didn't want to face the fact that I was responsible… I really lucked out, y'know? If we hadn't met, I'd still be a jerk."

"So you're really moving away for that job?" Minato asked him with a wry smile. "It'll be hard, you know."

"Yeah, I know," Mamoru smirked. "But this is what I decided. I want to support my family, just like you've been supporting me." He took out a car key and offered it to the blue-haired junior. "Hey, Minato. You can have this. It's my father's key. I've been keeping it for good luck. Sometimes I get pretty pissed…" he frowned to himself, "that he's not around anymore. My life wouldn't have had to be so complicated, y'know? I could've enjoyed Track Team more… Could have been a normal kid. But blaming Dad like that, it's just another way to run away from my problems. I want you to keep this. I don't want to risk coming to rely on it again. As long as you have the key, I'll be able to stand on my own feet. So," he looked the blue-haired boy in the eyes, "next time we meet, I can still be proud of myself."

"No more running away, huh?" Minato smirked as he accepted the key. "I think I can understand that. Take care of yourself, okay? You can't help your family if you don't help yourself first."

Mamoru blinked at the boy but smiled as he understood. "Thanks, Minato." They shook hands before the athlete departed. "Later."

Minato saw him off and smiled as he sensed Helel emerge before him. He hadn't seen Hamuko use Helel yet as they were still unable to handle the Persona's power, but the great angel watched over them, awaiting the day they'd be strong enough to wield its strength. That was fine though as Minato still had another Social Link to complete.

After an entire year of going out to eat at the various restaurants Iwatodai had to offer, Minato still wasn't quite familiar with all of the secret dishes and specials scattered throughout the city. He had somehow been taken under the senior Nozomi's wing and the older boy had come to acknowledge Minato as a younger brother. Minato found it odd, but he didn't quite question it as he sensed Nozomi needed someone to look after him.

His worries weren't completely unfounded as he discovered the overweight boy had been roped into a cult-based scam. The situation spiraled out of control when Nozomi tried to recruit others to join the cult, but even though Minato had been completely rejected for trying to help, the younger boy saved the senior from a pair of ruffians threatening to assault him.

Nozomi didn't expect Minato to come to his aid after all he said to him, but the blue-haired boy shrugged it off. "You're the one who took me in as your little brother," the junior sighed. "I had an older brother once, but… I couldn't protect him…" Minato frowned as he thought of Shinjiro. "There's no way I'd let myself fail again…"

"Your brother died too…?" Nozomi frowned at the thin boy. "Hey… L-let's go to Hagakure!" He didn't even wait for the other boy to respond before dragging him to the ramen restaurant. As usual, the older boy ordered for them both, but instead of lecturing Minato about the menu while they ate, Nozomi remained silent. After a while, the older boy finally spoke up. "My younger brother and I were twins, but not the kind that look the same."

"Fraternal?" Minato asked. "Yeah, I have a fraternal twin too…"

"That's right. You have a sister…" Nozomi remembered the junior hanging out with his sister sometimes. "Well, my brother… He was the better looking one." He sighed as he put his chopsticks down. "Everyone compared me to my brother, and I was never able to surpass him. Not at anything. For a while I'd hit him for no reason, but he always treated me like a brother." Minato frowned at that and Nozomi sensed his disapproval. "We did always enjoy eating together…" he fondly remembered. "But, when I was in 8th grade, he got food poisoning. I guess it was undercooked or something… But I couldn't even cry," he shook his head. "I was relieved, because I finally didn't have to measure up. I felt free."

"That's terrible," Minato whispered as he tried to imagine that happening to him and Hamuko.

"Nobody should feel happy when their little brother dies!" Nozomi exclaimed. "I'm such a… I'm a…" He shook his head as he couldn't even acknowledge himself as a brother. "At first, I tried to be like my brother. I went to cram schools and did martial arts and everything… but I was never as good as my brother had been, so I started to feel like people were laughing at me. When I eat, all I need to focus on is the table in front of me… everything else disappears." He frowned at the bowl of ramen in front of him. "See? That's what the Gourmet King is really made of… I only ate to make the voices in my head shut up. But, if I keep going like this… I'll never be anything like my brother, will I?"

Minato lifted his head and steadily stared at the older boy. "Then shouldn't you just be yourself?"

"I guess," Nozomi took a moment to consider it. "So, I should only worry about being myself…?" He seemed surprised at that. "That might be true…" After a few more seconds of thinking about it, he straightened up in his seat. "You're right!" His sudden exclamation surprised Minato as the blue-haired boy was trying to drink his soup. "Of course, Minato! I can never be like my brother! We're two different people!" He laughed as the boy beside him was trying to cough the broth out of his lungs. "How could I miss something so obvious?"

"I don't know. You're you. How can you be anyone else other than you?" Minato asked with a shrug.

"Thank you, Minato… I really owe you," Nozomi smiled at him. He took out a laminated badge and handed it to his friend. "By the way, you can no longer be a follower of the Gourmet King," he proclaimed, "because you're the new king. All hail Gourmet King the 2nd!"

"Really?" The junior stared at the Gourmet License in surprise. "What is this anyway?"

"The restaurants in the strip mall gave that to me because of how often I eat here," the boy proudly stated but he faltered a bit. "I feel like I've been a fake all this time though… But, I will become the true Gourmet King one day!"

"How so?" Minato asked.

"I will become a food critic," Nozomi decided. "It will be my job to eat… And I will master it!" He blushed as he nodded to himself. "Then, once I die and go to the afterlife, I can face my brother… And he'll be impressed by the fact that I was able to master something, all by myself! Hold onto that until I achieve my ultimate destiny, okay?" Minato nodded in understanding, resulting in the older boy smirking at him. "I may have lost my position, but once I educate myself in the ways of the culinary arts, I shall reclaim it! That's my promise to you… and to my little brother."

"Then I'll hold you to it," Minato stated with a smile.

With another set of Social Links done, Minato and Hamuko were caught up to each other in terms of which Arcana they both completed. They were surprised though when a new Arcana for a Social Link appeared through Aigis under a card Minato didn't believe to be in the standard Rider-Waite deck. The Aeon Arcana was different from the others, but it seemed to work in the same way as every other Social Link they had previously encountered. This also marked their 22nd Social Link, a full set of the Major Arcana.

It took a while for it to sink in but the twins slowly came to notice all of the people they had come to meet and befriend in just that one year. Minato couldn't really believe it himself as he never expected such a thing to happen. Hamuko was surprised too, but less so. She was much happier knowing that for the first time, she had made friends she could really connect with. Friends they never wanted to leave behind. When Nyx came, the two would fight for their bonds because they knew they were almost at the end of their journey.

Minato stopped walking as he considered something. "The end of our journey…"

Hamuko turned to him and noticed his pensive expression. "Thinking about your investigation?"

"No," he shook his head as he took a few steps to catch up to her side. "Just remembering a lecture from a long time ago… I think… we're at the Moon?" He knit his eyebrows together. "If we beat Nyx, that would put us at the Sun…"

"What are you talking about?" the brunette frowned at him.

"I'm just thinking of the Arcana," Minato told her. "Also… it's strange, don't you think? We've managed to evoke Personas for every Arcana, even Aeon, but none are under the World Arcana. And there's not a World Social Link either."

"We're probably not strong enough to handle that Arcana," Hamuko shrugged. "Or it might not exist in the first place. Besides, that classification system for Personas is arbitrary, isn't it? Since the Aeon Arcana exists, it probably doesn't strictly follow the Rider-Waite deck. In place of the World, we have Aeon."

"You might be right," Minato crossed his arms. He smirked as he considered their Arcana. "It's hard to imagine that we're still Fools after all that we've gone through. It's even harder to believe that we're Death…"

"We're also Judgment," Hamuko smirked. "It's too bad we don't have Personas to show for that Arcana though."

"Thanatos is enough," her brother stated. "We can't summon him separately after all." He considered the bloodthirsty Persona's arsenal. "Ragnarok, Niflheim, Thunder Reign, Panta Rhei, Die For Me!, Mahamaon, and Morning Star… He's complete overkill, isn't he?"

"He's the embodiment of Death helping us bring Judgment to the Shadows," the brunette laughed. "Of course, he is."

"Still a bit unsettling…" the taller junior pointed out as a shiver went down his spine. "Man… Why couldn't we have gotten some other cool Greek God? Like Zeus," Minato smirked as he thumped his fist on his chest, "the King of the Gods."

"Also known as Jupiter, Juno's husband," Hamuko teased her brother.

"Um… You know they were siblings too, right?" Minato frowned at her.

"I wonder what that says about you, picking a god like that," the brunette smirked at him. "Oh," she suddenly became serious, "speaking of Juno, Fuuka-chan's okay, right?"

"She's fine," Minato nodded. "It was pretty ingenious of her to use her Persona to partially hack past Ikutsuki's firewall, but even I can tell it's a bit too much for her." He ran a hand through his blue hair. "Nearly 170 Personas in our repertoire and I can't use any of them to help her…" The boy worriedly groaned. "I wonder if she's not overdoing it…"

"I think you both are," Hamuko gave her brother a concerned frown. "I mean, you two have been looking pretty tired lately. Between juggling the investigation and Tartarus explorations, I'm surprised you haven't collapsed out of exhaustion."

"We're making you all worry, huh?" Minato sighed. "Sorry… I should probably tell Fuuka to take it easy tonight… But we can't help it if we want to do all that we can right now…"

"Nii-san, your health is more important. We can't fight Nyx without our leader and navigator." The red-eyed girl sternly looked into his eyes. "As co-leader, I'm ordering you both to rest. The investigation can wait until…" she considered the current date. "Well, I guess until Thursday."

"So you're giving us all of tonight and tomorrow," Minato mulled it over as he searched for his keys. "Fair enough… It's not like anything will happen between now and—" As he unlocked the door to the dorm, Junpei jumped up to greet them.

"Oh, there you are," the capped junior smirked. "We're all going to Hagakure. Wanna come?"

Hamuko was about to refuse as she wanted her brother to rest but she heard Minato's stomach growling. She sighed to herself as she should have known better to think Minato could have refused a trip to Hagakure. "Sure," she smirked.

The blue-haired boy eagerly nodded. "Definitely!"

"Wow," Junpei stared at them both oddly, "that was easy." He shook his head before nudging Minato with his elbow. "Anyways, Akihiko-san's buying. You remember that bet we made in Yakushima?" The blue-eyed boy blinked at him. "Oh, you probably forgot all about it by now," Junpei frowned. "Well, you won in the end… even if it was Aigis."

"A bet?" Hamuko looked between both boys. "What bet?"

Minato groaned as he remembered that dreaded day on the beach. "The three of us had a little competition with each other, but I'm not going into details. Technically, you won too even though you didn't even know you were a part of it."

"Well, can't look a gift horse in the mouth," Hamuko smirked at the thought of free food.

"Yup," Junpei smiled at her. "But anyways, Akihiko-san still lost, right?" he asked Minato. "It took me like six months to make him accept that fact…"

"Didn't you lose too?" Minato frowned. "Then again… Akihiko-san was the one worst off that day… and you did already treat me to ramen a few days ago…"

"Now I'm even more curious as to what happened," Hamuko smirked.

Junpei nervously chuckled to himself. "Enough talk," he said as he pushed the twins back out the door after they threw their schoolbags towards the couch. "The entire dorm already left, so we gotta jet!"

"Wait, he's treating everyone!?" Minato didn't remember that being a part of the bet. Oh well… it's a good thing I won then.

The three juniors quickly arrived at the restaurant and noticed their dormmates split between two tables. Akihiko shook his head at the twins. "You're late," he sternly frowned at them.

"Sorry," Hamuko smiled as she sat across from him and Mitsuru. "Thanks for the meal, Aki-nii."

"Did you guys order yet?" Minato asked Fuuka as he joined her at the other table.

"Not yet," she shook her head. "We were waiting for you to arrive."

Yukari flagged the waiter to notify him they were ready. She looked to everyone in their party. "Is the special okay for everyone?"

"Sounds good to me," Minato nodded.

"Yep, order one for me too!" Hamuko brightly smiled.

Mitsuru frowned. "The special? Well, if everyone else is ordering the same thing, I suppose I will go along with it."

"Okay, nine specials, please!" Yukari called out.

Junpei ecstatically shook in his seat. "Man, this is awesome!" He looked up towards the boxer. "Akihiko-san's NEVER treated us all to ramen before."

"Hey," the white-haired senior frowned, "why do I have to treat everyone? My bet was only with Junpei and Minato…"

"Tch, not this again…" Junpei shook his head. "Come on, Akihiko-san, a bet's a bet. Pay up!"

"You need to properly honor your word, Senpai," Minato pointed out. "Can't set a bad example for Ken now, can you?"

Ken wryly smiled at the boxer. "S-sorry, Sanada-san…"

Akihiko quickly shook his head as Minato's tactics weren't very fair. "Alright, alright! I never said I wouldn't." He noticed the robot sitting across from him beginning to frown. "What's wrong, Aigis? You doubting me too?"

The blonde looked up at him in surprise. "No, but…" She pointed at the counter. "Have you seen the magazine on that counter? There's an article in it that looks highly disturbing…"

"Which magazine?" Yukari glanced towards the direction the robot was pointing in.

Aigis quickly got up and grabbed it for them. "It's this one… 'Emergence of a Messiah: The Charismatic One Speaks'." She handed it over to Akihiko.

"What an interesting title," Mitsuru stated with a frown as the boy beside her flipped through the pages.

"It must be about that doomsday cult," Yukari said, turning around in her seat to look over the white-haired boy's shoulder.

Fuuka worriedly frowned. "They're all over the Internet, too."

Minato sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. Something tells me Strega's involved... He watched as Akihiko slightly tensed up.

"Hey," the boxer lifted his gaze and passed the magazine around, "look at the photo in this! Check out the so-called 'Messiah'…!"

Yukari shook her head in disbelief. "Hey… that's…"

Junpei's eyes widened. "Wh-what the!? I-is that Takaya!?"

Akihiko frowned. "I thought something was up. So, Strega's behind that cult…"

Mitsuru glanced towards Minato and Fuuka. "It seems your suspicions were right, Yuki."

"Tch," Ken scowled. "I've lost my appetite."

Eventually, the magazine made its way back to Aigis and she decided to read the article aloud for them. "Listen to what he says…"

"Mankind is currently imprisoned by the sins of hate and anger. But soon, a savior will descend upon this world to break the chains that bind us, and lift us to new heights. This great being is Nyx. I have beheld her glory, and she has blessed me with power beyond belief. In Nyx there is no pain… no suffering…"

"How the hell does he know about Nyx!?" Junpei asked.

Yukari shook her head. "Wait, he's saying that Nyx will save the world!? That's not true!"

"I don't think he really means what he's saying," Akihiko tried to calm both juniors. "This is all just a game to him."

"That son of a bitch…" Junpei grumbled as he pulled his cap down.

"Aigis," Fuuka looked towards the android. "What else does he say?"

The blonde robot flipped the page to continue. "But, there are those who do not understand this truth, even though they have also been blessed by her. They have acquired the same power as I; yet they abuse it, using it for their own personal gain." Minato let out an audible scoff. "These miscreants are the ones to blame for the recent tragedies that have been plaguing our streets."

"Wait," Junpei frowned, "is he talking about us!?"

Yukari shushed him. "Not so loud!"

"Oh, sorry," Junpei looked around the restaurant carefully before lowering his voice. "Hey, what's up with them calling him the 'charismatic one'? How'd he get so popular all of a sudden!?"

Fuuka quickly answered that. "I've seen the screen name Jin online before," she stated, garnering everyone's looks of surprise. "He's very popular, and has a lot of support from his followers. He's a very charismatic figure." The navigator frowned. "I can't believe he's the same Jin as the one from Strega."

"Well, he seems pretty good at stirring up trouble," Akihiko growled.

"Yeah," Yukari nodded. "I bet he orchestrated Takaya's rise to fame… Ugh, those two make me sick…"

"Is there more to the article?" Mitsuru asked. "We need to put together just how much Strega knows about Nyx and what they're feeding to the public. Now is the good time as any to come up with a proper counter against them."

Aigis nodded in understanding. "Brothers and sisters, I shall go forth to make preparations for Nyx's arrival… But, do not fear those evildoers who desecrate their gifts. Nyx shall right their wrongs. May your hearts be filled with peace as you await your salvation. Blessed are those who take joy in the coming of Nyx. The revolution is here!"

"Well, if he wants a revolution…" Hamuko made to get up from her seat.

"Hamuko-san, please calm down!" Ken nervously pulled on her sleeve. He flinched when Junpei suddenly stood up too.

"Revolution!?" he cried. "People can't seriously be buying this crap, can they?" He blinked when he noticed he was making a scene. He carefully sat back down and all of SEES waited a moment before resuming their conversation.

Aigis frowned. "Throughout history, those who have changed the future have often been highly charismatic…" She tossed the magazine back towards the counter. "That's the end of the article. It appears after the interview, Jin and Takaya disappeared again."

"Well," Akihiko crossed his arms before looking over towards Fuuka, "there's only one place they could've gone—Tartarus."

"They must've been planning this all along," the navigator shook her head. "And yet… there's nothing we can do about it."

"Takaya's words have changed the mood of the entire city," Aigis stated. "Even though they won't admit it, they are all afraid…"

"Yeah…" Yukari sighed. "I mean, why else would people believe this nonsense Takaya's preaching?"

Akihiko clenched his fists. "I guess people just need something to believe in."

Mitsuru nodded in agreement as he grabbed her own arm. "Not everyone can find the strength to stand up to their fear, especially if it's towards Death. In fact, had we not found our resolve to fight, we would have most likely given into despair much in the same way as the rest of the city."

"Well, no wonder there's a sense of doom in the air…" Junpei sighed. "We're all gonna die."

"But, is that so surprising?" Aigis asked.

Ken frowned. "Don't tell me you agree with Strega, Aigis-san…"

The robot shook her head. "The fact that all life ends one day has nothing to do with Nyx," she explained. "Death is a natural occurrence in the cycle of life. Don't all humans realize this?"

"I guess…" Yukari frowned to herself.

"It's not a matter of realizing it or not, Aigis," Minato shook his head. "It's a bitter fact everyone must face sooner or later."

Hamuko nodded in agreement. "Most people would rather deal with it later," she softly stated. "And it's not like we were given a choice on when we were to face it ourselves."

"To tell you the truth," Junpei sighed, "I never even would've thought about my own death if none of this had happened. But since we've made up our minds," he looked up at the depressed team, "why don't we just leave it at that?" he asked with a smirk. "Our objective is Nyx. If Strega gets in our way, we'll just have to deal with them too."

Akihiko nodded. "I agree. We'll probably run into them at Tartarus anyways…"

"Not anytime soon though," Mitsuru frowned, "given they're beyond our current reach."

"But however you look at it," the boxer looked towards her, "we're the obstacle standing in their way."

"And this time we won't let them succeed," Ken nodded.

"The promised day will soon be here…" Yukari frowned.

"We'll do what we can," Hamuko smirked.

"Yeah, you're right," Akihiko smiled at her.

"Alright," Junpei was in a cheery mood once again, "and if that's the case, then we're gonna need lots of energy! Let's eat!"

Fuuka smiled as their orders were finally ready. "We do need to keep our strengths up."

"Yeah," Minato nodded. "Oh, by the way, Hamuko's banning us from working tonight. The two of us are under strict orders to rest and recover."

"Actually, that goes to the rest of the team too," the brunette frowned. "We've been training nonstop anyway." She quickly finished her first bowl. "Eat up, everyone! Waiter! Another special, please!"

"I'd like an extra large Dan Dan Dan!" Minato raised his hand as soon as he was done. He looked over towards his girlfriend. "Do you want something else too, Fuuka?"

"But I'm not even a quarter of the way done with this bowl!" the girl blinked at him in surprise.

"Excuse me!" Junpei called out. "I'd like to order a Hagakure Bowl!" He nervously chuckled as he turned towards the boxer footing their entire bill. "You don't mind, do you, Akihiko-san?"

Yukari sighed at the three juniors' voracious appetites. "Junpei, don't forget you're having half of Aigis's food too. And you two need to settle down!" she scolded the twins as she noticed Minato trying to steal the egg in her bowl, prompting her to use her chopsticks to strike the leader's hand.

"Oh, don't worry," Junpei laughed. "We're just starving."

"You just better eat it all," Akihiko groaned.

"No worries, Aki-nii," Hamuko smirked as a new bowl was placed before her. "Anything anyone doesn't finish will be polished off by me and nii-san!"

Mitsuru smiled at the hungry brunette. "I can see why you'd order another bowl," the senior nodded. "It's so good that it'd be a shame to not try something else. What would you recommend, Akihiko?"

"Not you too…" the boxer sighed. He noticed Ken was staring at the menu longingly. "Ken… you want another serving?"

The child wore a shy smile. "Well… I am a growing boy…"

"Order up!" Hamuko happily called out. "Another special for the growing boy! Ai-chan, you should get something too!"

The robot nodded before raising her hand. "I would like to try the black garlic tonkotsu ramen."

"Aigis, you don't eat!" Akihiko shook his head as he hoped he saved enough money during Tartarus explorations to pay off the check.

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

"Easy, Thanatos," Minato muttered to himself as he patted his heart. "Just a while longer…"

Hamuko twirled her new naginata, Vel Vel Muruga, out of boredom. After a while, she studied the beautiful rainbow-colored feather adorning the blade of her weapon. "You sure this will work, Minato?"

"Not really, but if Elizabeth and Theo want us to face Death, we'll face Death," Minato wryly smirked.

"Be careful, I sense Death!" Fuuka warned them.

"Call everyone back towards us now!" Minato told her as he stood up from the foot of the stairs.

"Finally!" Hamuko eagerly started down the hall. "Time to go hunting!"

"Please be careful, Minato-kun," Fuuka sighed. "It's still a very powerful enemy! Don't push yourself too hard…"

"At the first sign of danger, we'll Trafuri out of the battle. After that, you can Escape Route us out of here," Minato reassured her. "But we'll be fine. We're a lot stronger than we were before." He paused for a moment. "You're okay by yourself down there?"

"Of course! You need the entire team for this!" Fuuka argued. "And I'm always connected to you, so it's not like I'm alone either…"

"Will you two stop flirting?" Hamuko smirked at her brother. "We've got company!"

"Ah shit!" Junpei ran towards them with the Reaper Shadow hot on his trail. "Are we heading up or what!?" he cried as he spotted the stairs further down the hall, past the twins.

"Ready, Hamuko?" Minato prepared his blade.

"As ready as I'll ever be," the brunette's red eyes eagerly gleamed.

Ken caught up to the twins too and frowned. "Wait… Don't tell me we're…!"

"You can't be serious!?" Yukari groaned as she watched the siblings engage the powerful enemy.

"Where's Aki-nii and Ai-chan?" Hamuko asked their navigator.

"I'll call for everyone else right away!"

Mitsuru sighed as she wondered what the two siblings were thinking. "I hope you both have a strategy in mind against such a opponent." She frowned as the Reaper removed her resistance to ice attacks.

The twins wore maniacal smirks as they lifted their Evokers. "Thanatos!" Their Reaper-like Persona roared as it emerged from them. The bloodthirsty God of Death charged into the Shadow before unleashing a powerful electrical blast.

Akihiko slowed down as he noticed the Reaper was immediately knocked down by Koromaru. "Way to hang in there," he smirked as he joined the team for an All-Out Attack.

Aigis sighed in relief as she summoned Athena to raise everyone's defenses. "I've finally caught up with you."

"Everyone's all here!" Fuuka notified Minato.

"Keep knocking it down!" the blue-haired boy ordered the team. "Don't give it a chance to attack!"

"That's easier said than done," Yukari frowned as the Reaper dodged her arrow. Her brown eyes widened. "It's getting back up!"

"Guards up now!" Hamuko cried as the Reaper unleashed a powerful Megidoloan spell.

"Everyone!" Fuuka worriedly frowned as the blast nearly wiped them out. "Minato-kun! Use a Trafuri Gem now!"

The blue-haired swordsman had managed to remain standing after the attack so chuckled as he calmly put his Evoker to his head. "You're going to Hell," he smirked at the Reaper.

"Hamuko-chan! Get everyone out of there!"

The brunette didn't seem to hear either as she copied her brother's movements. "To think you'd hunt the masters of Shadows and Tartarus…"

Minato pulled his trigger first. "Satan!"

"Helel!" Hamuko cried.

"Fusion Spell: Armageddon!" Their eyes glowed ecstatically as a bright explosion erupted from the Reaper. Everyone flinched from the amazing power of their resident Wild Cards. When it was all over, they stared at the twins in awed silence.

"You two…" Fuuka let out a relieved breath as that had been close. At least they were all safe though. "I can sense your determination, but don't do that again!" The navigator sighed as the twins were too busy cheering at their newfound strength to pay attention. "Are either of you even listening to me?"

"Did you see us, Fuuka!?" Minato ecstatically yelled into his headset. "We were awesome!" The blue-haired boy jumped into the air and mimicked an explosion. "Armageddon!"

"What a rush!" Hamuko agreed. "Even Thanatos is happy!"

They eagerly turned towards each other. "Let's do that aga—!" the twins paused before falling over, completely drained of their stamina.

"What reckless behavior," Mitsuru frowned at them disapprovingly. She took out her own communicator. "Yamagishi, bring us all back. We're done for tonight."

"Of course!" Fuuka focused Juno's powers and the team were surrounded by a warm light. The teal-haired girl rushed towards them. "Are you all okay?" she asked as she noticed everyone was gathered around their leaders.

"W-we're fine," Hamuko tried to say with a smile.

"J-just give us a moment to get the feeling back in our limbs," Minato groaned as they lied on the ground. "W-whoo!" he weakly cheered. "Armageddon!"

"We're all returning to the dorm," Akihiko shook his head.

"You are both fatigued," Aigis said in worry.

"But Thanatos hungers for Death!" Hamuko complained.

"Armageddon!" Minato adamantly shouted as he raised his arms above his head.

"Dude, if you yell that one more time, I'm knocking you out and dragging you back myself," Junpei threatened him.

"But what we did was awesome!" the blue-haired junior exclaimed. He wryly smiled when the entire team glared at him. "O-okay… After a quick stop to the Velvet Room, we'll head back home… Hamuko and I need to cash in on the Reaper's Bloody Button." He looked over at his sister. "You cut it off his coat, right?"

"I thought you did…" Hamuko turned her head towards him.

The entire team's faces went pale as their blue-haired leader sat up and shook his head. "Nope…"

"Well, then we'll have to do it once more," the red-eyed brunette got up too. Everyone groaned as they were forced back up Tartarus to try again.

Final Notes: So the moveset I gave Thanatos might be extremely difficult to prepare... but it's possible! I think... I mean... the moveset he shares with Elizabeth in Arena and Ultimax consists of the Ma-dyne versions of every element, Mamudoon, Mahamaon, and Mediarahan. Hell, even her KO is Megidoloan. If Minato or Hamuko were playable, I'd expect their moveset to be the ultimate elemental spells, Die For Me!, Samsara, and Salvation. Their KO would be Armageddon because... why the hell would it be Great Seal? Despite having the lowest health, Elizabeth is pretty broken in my opinion since her fast attacks easily wipe out the enemy before she can get a scratch. For the twins, I'd say their damage output, health, and defenses are pretty high, but it would be offset by their slower speed. But... I'm not a fighting game expert... so I wouldn't really know how to go about balancing them. After all, I'm only basing this off of personal preferences and experience, like the fact that even though Yu is supposed to be the most basic character to wield, I find it much easier to play as Yosuke because he's faster.