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

Warning: Spoilers for Devil Summoner within chapter.

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Veluti In Speculum

Chapter 13: Break

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Nanako and Namatame…

Dojima and Adachi…

Souji…

Chie…

Naoto opened her eyes to the training hall, frowning. Yosuke had disappeared before her eyes and Rise not too long after. The peculiar pattern of how everyone was disappearing troubled her greatly. Not only that, but now only Yukiko and Kanji remained. Was the town just slowly disappearing into some unknown void? She inhaled sharply, feeling a pulse rush through her body and the image of Yukiko shrieking flashed before her eyes. So now it was just down to herself and Kanji. What could possibly be taking Gouto so long?

A hurried knock drew her mind out of the dim training hall and she looked up. The moonlight was spilling into the room via the grate, but a dark shadow was looming beyond it. Evening… wasn't it a little late for someone to be here?

"Naoto…! Oui! Naoto!"

"Kanji-kun, what are you doing here? It's late and if my grampa or anyone catches you…" she trailed as she got to her feet and walked over to the grate. It was difficult for her to make out the boy's face, but she could sense his anxiety. She climbed on the stool she had fashioned out of a few buckets and old boxes filled with cleaning supplies. "You need to get out of here," she whispered, looking at him, but also glancing around, "You can't get caught."

"You're worrying about your gramps, but that's not it. Whatever caught senpai might come here! It got Yukiko-senpai just a while ago!"

"Keep your voice down! And how do you know that?" she asked.

"It ain't that late and it's Saturday! I was takin' something to the Amagi Inn an' then she disappeared right at the door!" Kanji hissed, "You're a sitting duck in there!"

"You're not helping by coming here and making yourself a target," Naoto replied calmly, "I'll be fine."

"I'm not leaving you in here," Kanji said quietly, "There has to be some way to get ya out."

Okay, Kanji was freaking out over the other disappearances. There was definitely no talking him out of this, but there was no way out of this room either. The door was locked on the other side and Gouto…

"… Kanji-kun, do you think you could get Gouto out of the room he's locked in? If you get him, I think there's a way I can escape this room," she whispered. It was a long shot, but she had wasted enough time. She wasn't going to break under her grandfather's punishment; not when she had come this far in learning everything.

"Uh… I guess I could try…" he said, sounding a little unsure. He rose to his feet and moved away. Naoto watched, gripping the grate. At least he was wearing his winter clothes. Those were hard to make out, but his hair stood out, a blaring contrast to the darkness. He was looking around for something, but then disappeared from view. Her eyes widened when she heard the front doorbell ring and the front door open. She heard some of the conversation fade in and out, but it was over as soon as it started. Someone walked past the basement door and walked upstairs. He had gotten into the house somehow? But how could he…? Oh wait… she had borrowed a few sewing tools from him to make something so maybe that was his excuse to get in. She had to admit; that was clever.

Padded feet landed softly on the ground and trotted over to the grate.

"What a helpful boy. Naoto, are you still in there?"

"Unfortunately."

"Hmph… Alright. You need to go back to the training hall and listen closely to the chanting. Those words your ancestors are saying will help you escape."

She nodded and got down, walking over to her normal spot. Gouto sat down outside of the grate and watched patiently as she closed her eyes. Her grandfather had taught her basic meditation before as a method of calming herself down, but now, it brought her to the shrine. The closing door to the Estate was a quiet click as she started listening to the chanting. It was long and ten minutes had passed before she even started whispering it under her breath, following their voices.

She repeated it over and over again, not registering the voices dying down. A hand rested on her shoulder and she jumped, opening her eyes. Minato was looking down at her, smiling, "Let's bust you out then."

Naoto nodded and rose to her feet, moving slowly. The training hall disappeared as her hand slipped into her pocket and she withdrew the tube. There was something different about it; probably the blue tinge around it now, but she closed her eyes, holding it before her as she chanted the same words, bowing her head. The tube shook in her hand and the top started to twist, squeaking as it unscrewed. It lifted, a blinding green light flooding the basement. She snapped her eyes opened and flicked her wrist. The green light shot out of the tube and a miniature explosion made her squint. When she opened her eyes fully, she was surprised to see Sukuna-Hikona floating before her, his glowing blade in hand and butterfly wing-like coat flared behind his back.

"Your orders, summoner?" Sukuna-Hikona asked, yellow eyes staring at her. Naoto was silent. This was weird, but… wow. She shook her head, blinking and looked over at the door. Her grandfather could always get a new one.

"Break the door down if you can," she ordered while slipping the empty tube back into her pocket. The insect boy turned his head, looking at the door and then nodded.

"Naoto, be ready to run."

"Got it," she replied, just in time too. Sukuna-Hikona's winged coat flared before he bolted forward, swinging his blade and busting down the door with a resounding bang. She raced up the stairs, not at all surprised to see Yakushiji stop nearby, shocked at the destruction and her escape.

"Shirogane-sama!"

"Sorry, Yakushiji-san. I have a case I must look into," she said coolly. She turned on her heel and dashed forward, running out of the front door with Sukuna-Hikona by her side. It was nice to be outside again at her own decision instead of forcibly incarcerated in her basement. A black shadow out of the corner of her eye approached and she looked down to see the green eyes of Gouto looking back.

"Good job, Naoto. You are quite the prodigy. Now, let's go to a place that I can tell you everything without being disturbed."

"Naoto! Your gramps's comin'!" Kanji exclaimed his sewing supplies in hand. Oh, he wasn't lying about getting those back. He ran towards her as she looked past him. Her grandfather was running towards the front door. Like hell she was about to get caught.

"This is not my normal detective behavior…"

"Detectives must escape after being captured too. Don't feel too bad."

"Right…" she sighed and ran into the darkness after Kanji. Her grandfather's shouts were inaudible as they disappeared into the night.

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By the time they stopped, they were far in the grassland outskirts of Inaba. Naoto sat down, letting out heavy breath, "I thought we would never get away."

"Damn. Your gramps called the police in like- what- fifteen seconds and they chased us all over the freaking town," Kanji panted, sitting down too. She looked at him for a moment, but then felt her left shoulder get weighed down. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sukuna-Hikona sitting there, quite pleased with his actions. Gouto leapt into her lap and curled up, silent.

"I think this is an adequate place."

She didn't say a word, looking down at the black cat. He looked up at her, green eyes flashing.

"There's much that you aren't aware of Naoto… How far did you get in your father's journal?"

"… Oh, the entry where mother met 'Mokoi' and 'Jack Frost'," Naoto replied. Kanji raised an eyebrow, wondering who the hell she was talking to.

"Ah, Mokoi. I remember that evening… Mokoi had a habit of climbing out of his tube and going into the fridge for orange juice. Toshihiro finally just started leaving a bottle on the bottom shelf for him with juice in it. As for Jack Frost, it was summer… he usually craves ice to help him get through the heat."

"But what are a 'Mokoi' and a 'Jack Frost'? Why could I summon Sukuna-Hikona outside of the TV world?" she asked, completely ignoring that fact Kanji was looking at her like she had gone crazy. Gouto purred.

"That movie is not as fictional as people believe today. This world is plagued by demons, some friends, some not. Few people in the world still keep the peace between them and us, but it's because they look to us, one the oldest clans in the world."

"But the Shirogane name is…"

"Five generations… I've said before, that was a recent turn of the century idea. In truth, it is another clan… MY clan… the Kuzunoha Clan of Devil Summoners."

"K-Kuzunoha? W-Wait, what?!" Naoto exclaimed. Kanji's eyes widened.

"Your father was Raidou Kuzunoha the 18th. Your brother would've been the 19th had your father and grandfather not have gotten on bad terms because of the Kirijo Group's experiment. Hm… you'll be the first female to take the title of Raidou Kuzunoha…"

She didn't respond, silence in shock. The Shirogane title… was an alias for the Kuzunoha clan? Demons? This all seemed too fantastical.

"Naoto, you okay?"

"Huh?!"

She just remembered Kanji's presence and his confused expression. "Kuzunoha? Are we talking about that movie? It seems a bit… off topic?"

"… Forgive me. I just found out some… startling information," she replied, still mulling over the news. Actually, it did make sense… the tube, the claw marks when the room and garden were destroyed, the training hall… bad terms, what the hell did that--?

"Naoto, something's here!" Sukuna-Hikona exclaimed suddenly, jumping into the air. Gouto started hissing and leapt off of Naoto's lap. The young detective rose to her feet, confused, but blinked as Kanji rubbed his head.

"Kanji-kun, are you alright?"

"Huh? Y-Yea… I'm… fine. Just a headache or somethin'…" he muttered, but then grimaced. "Tch! Do you hear a high pitch noise like a whistle? It's starting to bug the shit outta me."

"…!! A whistling!?" Naoto exclaimed.

Kanji nodded and then clutched his head harder, "Shit! It's starting to get louder!"

"Get up, Kanji-kun! We can't stay here!" Naoto yelled, grabbing his arm to pull him to his feet, but something caught her upside the head, knocking her away. She stumbled to keep her balance and rubbed her chin, glaring behind Kanji, but nothing was there. "Gouto, what just attacked me?"

"It's not what attacked you. It's what's keeping you back… He's in the clutches of a demon."

"You can't be serious! There has to be something we can do…!" she gasped as Kanji yelled suddenly and disappeared in the same manner the others had. "Kanji-kun? Kanji-kun! Gouto! Where did the demon take him?" she demanded, looking at the cat.

"The Dark Realm… Think of it as a reflection of this world except the occupants are demons instead of humans. Usually, demons will not harm humans, but some are aggressive and will take people into their world."

"… There must be a way to get there," Naoto murmured, looking back at the spot Kanji had been. Geez, she really couldn't save anyone right now, could she?

"We need to ride to Shinoda the moment the train starts running tomorrow. There is a place we must go in order to enter the Dark Realm that is also important to the Kuzunoha clan. If you're going to be a summoner, we would have to go there sooner or later."

Naoto stared at Gouto, silent, but then looked down at her watch. Wow, it was really late after everything that happened. "… We should go rest at the station. It will be a few hours until the station opens, but too much time has passed," she said calmly, "Nanako-chan, Dojima-san, Adachi-san, Senpai and the others… they're all in danger. Hopefully, no one is injured."

"Stay positive. Your friends are careful. They probably tried finding each other."

"Hopefully… Sukuna-Hikona, come," she said as she started walking back towards town. The insect boy landed on her shoulder, his wings folding shut and sword disappearing. Gouto padded at her heels.

"The police will still be around…"

"I know and I have a way of getting around. Just worry about showing me this 'place' in Shinoda."

"Of course…"

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Me: Hm… one demon won't be enough in the Dark Realm…. Oh well, my next post will be at 54 reviews or more.