Disclaimer: I do not own Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, or most of the characters within this story as they belong to Atlus.

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Veluti In Speculum

Chapter 5: Cracks

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Pi, pi, pi!

Pi, pi, pi!

Pi, pi—

She picked the cell phone up and checked the caller ID before flipping it open.

"Akihiko? Did something come up?" she asked, brushing a few locks of her auburn hair behind her ear as she leaned away from her fine polished oak desk, crossing her legs. It was a habit she had been meaning to break.

"Not something to the point that requires you to leave work, but something that you could probably look up."

"Hm… just tell me what I'm looking into and I'll see what I can do," she whispered, opening her mahogany eyes calmly and sitting up straighter.

"I need you to look up… Minato's history."

She froze, staring off into the distance for a moment before replying, "Arisato's history? What for?"

"The whole thing would take too long to explain over the phone, but… this afternoon in Inaba, I met a girl. Her last name is Shirogane, but I mistaken her for Minato the moment I looked at her. It can't be a coincidence. Blue hair, gray eyes, the style… it's too much of a similarity and she's never met him before."

"… I'll see what I can find, but I can't guarantee anything Akihiko."

"Thank you, Mitsuru."

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself out there and don't let Inui get out of hand," Mitsuru sighed, smiling under her breath. Their phones disconnected and she looked at the computer on her desk. Page after page was scanning by with different numbers and messages, she touched the mouse and it stopped. The Kirijo mainframe would be enough to try and find out about Minato.

It seemed strange to be doing this at all. It had been a little more over a year since the Dark Hour, His death, and the closure of the dorm. To be digging through it all again… it felt too soon to drag it up.

She shook her head and moved forward, opening a new window and typed in her information. Ever since she began working as the CEO, she had seen so much that her father and grandfather had done to cover up the Dark Hour incidents. All the pain it caused, all the lies she had to read through, but of all of them, she never even considered looking into Minato's past. Now that she recalled, his parents had died in a car accident on Moonlight Bridge when Aigis had been gathering up the escaped shadows.

Death… the most ironic shadow to be on that bridge when his parents perished and then it lived inside him like an unnoticeable parasite, but that was beside the point right now. How exactly did they cover up the accident eleven years ago?

Mitsuru opened up one of the locked archives and began shifting through it. More information on shadows and her grandfather's studies made her cringe with disapproval as she scanned through the file. She exited it after a moment, opening the next one, looking through note after note about the thirteen major shadows and Nyx. Where could she find info on…?

Minato… no wait, this wasn't right. His photo, but… what?

She opened her internet browser and hoped that Akihiko had a computer with him in Inaba as she sent the e-mail to his address.

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"Just give me one night, eh? You will find my body is a work of art. Why don't we blow this popsicle stand and go back--"

Raidou tapped him in the shoulder with the wine bottle, but Rasputin waved him off, hissing, "Look, I won't say this again! Now get lost!" His attention was back on Tae, "I apologize. Now, as I was saying…"

Raidou tapped him in the head with the bottle now. God Rasputin was thick, but the mad Russian finally looked fed up with the Devil Summoner's insistent bumping. He slowly turned, "Geez! How many times do I…!?"

SMACK!

Naoto shook her head, but couldn't help smirking at the scene in Raidou Kuzunoha the Movie. Her room was still in repair so she was situated in the living room on the couch. Yakushiji offered his room or suggested she stay in her grandfather's room, but she just shook her head, saying it would be alright. Besides, she had wanted to watch this movie and tomorrow was Sunday. She could stay up a little later than normal and down here, she wasn't disturbing anyone except for maybe Gouto. Strangely enough, the cat seemed to be fully enticed by the movie on the screen so it didn't matter in the end. It felt like someone was actually watching the movie with her.

Turning her attention back to the movie, she frowned and hit the skip button. She never really liked the next part where Raidou's faithful cat dies, but a sad meow addressed her. She turned, noticing Gouto was staring at her and sighed, "Why do you like that part? It's too depressing."

Gouto just stared at her, his tail shifting back and forth as his green orbs bored into her. Naoto shook her head and skipped back a chapter, "Fine, you win Gouto."

The cat turned its head back to the TV, watching the scene as it played while Naoto turned her attention elsewhere. Why did she bother letting Gouto watch that scene? Why did she give into the demands of a cat more importantly? Maybe it was just because he was named after the cat in the movie.

Pushing the matter aside, she watched Raidou summon his legion of demons to help defeat the Soulless God. So much glitz and glam in the fight, but it was the best out of all of them. Naoto and Gouto leaned forward as Raidou moved for the final strike, but then was pushed aside. One of his demons saved him from a fatal blow and collapsed to the floor. Raidou cried out to it as it disappeared, but then gritted his teeth and turned on the God.

The demons cleared the path and he fired his gun three times to stun the God before rushing forward. His sword cut a burning arch in the air and he sliced through the God. Naoto and Gouto leaned closer at the ground gave out and Raidou fell through time and space back to the Taisho 20 era. He turned, spotting Kaya nearby and the demon clinging to body in an attempt to stay, but his sword flashed again, chopping the creature back.

The movie ended soon and Naoto turned the television off. Gouto meowed and Naoto shook her head, "It's bed time Gouto, you know that. It's almost midnight."

She sighed and flopped back on the couch while Gouto prowled onto the back, curling up in a ball. His green eyes blinked slowly and, half-closed, he peered around in the darkness. Naoto sighed and fluffed her pillow, staring up at the ceiling until her eyes drifted close. Gouto looked down at her for a moment, but then started drifting asleep too… almost…

Naoto opened her eyes at Gouto's low growling and sat up, confused, "Gouto? What are you hissing at?"

The feline just continued hissing, his fur rising on his back and his tail rising. He stared at a fixed spot on the floor, fangs flashing and he moved back. Naoto looked, but she didn't see anything. Upstairs, a light flickered on, "Shirogane-sama. Is there a problem?"

"I don't know Yakushiji-san. Gouto is just acting peculiar!" Naoto called back, but then jumped as Gouto yowled angrily and sprang off the couch, running out of the room, "Gouto! Come back here!"

"Ah! Shirogane-sama! I'll get him!"

Naoto had already vaulted over the couch, "I got him! Gouto! Don't run out of the house!"

She raced out of the living room and entered the dining room, spotting the cat under the table, claws swinging at something, but he bolted out of the room in a second, hissing. She ran around the table and followed him into the main hall briefly. He bolted out of the main hall after… whatever grabbed his attention. Naoto heard Yakushiji talking to the other servants, keeping them back while she raced after the cat. The feline ducked out of the cat door in the back.

"Gouto!" she hissed, tearing open the side door. She barely saw him run into the gardens, but paused when he turned around, hissing at her. She froze and Gouto disappeared into a bush, yowling as he fought against… something. Never in her life had she heard him sound so nasty, but then again, she had never heard him hiss at all. Gouto was always a collected and quiet cat, but this was abnormal, almost like it wasn't him at all.

Suddenly, the yowling stopped and the emerald leaves on the bush rustled. Gouto's black fur shimmered in the moonlight as he trotted out of the bushes, meowing calmly with something in his mouth. He padded over to Naoto and stopped, sitting down at her feet. Once more, his green eyes bore into her as he stared up, his tail sliding against the ground as he waited.

"Take it…"

"Hm?" she knelt down, never breaking eye contact with Gouto. She heard someone speak, but it wasn't the boy. It sounded older, more aged and deep with understanding. She could hear Gouto purring as he blinked evenly, the item gleaming in his teeth.

"Take this, Naoto, and hide it. It's a key to a part of you that you must keep from Yakushiji if you want to know everything."

"… I'll do my best. Trust me," Naoto whispered, raising a hand. Gouto meowed and dropped into her open palm a tube. It was metallic and at least a few inches long. The top looked unwindable, but the miniature spiked grip looked unfavorable to touch with a bare hand. A ring was at the top, but she had nothing to loop through it. She would just have to…

"Shirogane-sama! Are you out here?!"

Naoto hastily hid the tube in her shirt, wincing as the small spikes dug into her skin a bit and rose to her feet, turning around, "I found Gouto! He was just chasing a mouse!"

"Oh! Well, come back inside before you catch ill Shirogane-sama!"

"I'm coming!" she yelled back, staring at the Estate. A warm body brushed against her leg and she looked down, smiling at Gouto as he walked around her. She sighed, "Well, we'll chalk to up to strange incidents that I'll have to figure out later. Let's get some sleep now Gouto."

She walked back to the Estate, Gouto walking quietly beside her, his eyes darting around for a moment as she walked into the side door. He slipped through his cat door, pausing. Yakushiji was standing there, looking panicked, "Did anything happen, Shirogane-sama?"

"Gouto caught the mouse, but that's about it," Naoto replied coolly, but then smiled slightly, "Sorry that you were awakened by Gouto."

"Oh no. I'm use to it," Yakushiji said, smiling, "Well, good night. I'll awaken you at breakfast."

"Yes. Thank you," Naoto said.

They parted ways, Yakushiji walking up the stairs while Naoto and Gouto walked back into the living room. Gouto leapt onto the back of the couch, curling up in his spot again while Naoto made herself comfortable, lying down on the couch and pulling the tube out of her pajama top to examine it. She turned it over in her hands, curious about the object. It was familiar. She had seen it before, but nothing clicked right now. It was too late to really contemplate this tube's origin.

A weight plopped onto her stomach and she lowered the tube, blinking as Gouto curled up on her, his tail swinging lazily as he curled his paws under his body. Naoto smiled, but then tucked the tube under her pillow, letting out a sigh, "Good night Gouto…"

"… Good night, Naoto."

… Okay, she was going to have to figure that out too.

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Me: Skipping Sunday and getting back to Monday. Please review.