AN: Sorry about long wait peeps. I've had serious writer's block. Thanks for the reviews though! ^_^

This is a short chapter because I wanted to get it out quickly, the next chapter should be longer (finally back to long chappies!)

Chapter 3: First Full Moon Shadow Reloaded

Date: 4 - 8 - 2009

This isn't good between Junpei's injury and Yukari's sudden moodiness I'm completely thrown off. This butterfly effect is more of a hindrance than a boon at this point. What's changed to screw up with the timeline so much? As I leave the class with a frown on my face I notice Shinjiro standing right outside.

"Shinjiro-senpai!" I smile at him it's nice to see him, even if he's broody.

"Aki told me a bit about you Arisato. You wanted to see the kitten right?"

"Yes." The butterfly effect made it so I met Shinjiro earlier and Junpei later…why I wonder? "Thanks for meeting me here."

"If I hadn't you probably would've crashed into me again. Let's go." I followed Shinjiro out of the school and while we were walking he stopped and gave me an odd look. "So...you're just gonna follow me…and not bother to make sure to tell anyone? That's not exactly safe you know."

I smile at him. "Oh I think you're trustworthy."

"I'm trustworthy huh? I take it you're used to taking risks. You should be more careful."

I shrug. "If you know Mitsuru and Akihiko well enough to be on a first name basis you can't be that bad."

He shakes his head. "Way too trusting. For all you know I could be lying about knowing Aki and Mitsuru. As a girl you really shouldn't be following unknown men to unknown places. It's not safe."

I chuckle "Oh I can take care of myself." Shinjiro gives me a dubious look before shaking his head. "Besides I told Yukari I met you yesterday. I'm pretty sure if you were bad news I would've gotten lectured before I left the dorm today by Mitsuru."

We continue walking until we're near another rather rundown apartment. "Well she wouldn't be happy to learn I had you here." Shinjiro opens the apartment door and lets me inside.

I shrug "Better than wandering around on my own getting lost right?"

He frowns at that "What about Takeba? Wasn't she with you? And aren't you two in the same class?"

"She's…she has her own things to worry about. I rather not bother her. She's been pretty stressed since I got here."

"I see. Why didn't you bother asking Aki or Mitsuru then?"

I can't very well tell him it's because I wanted to spend time with him so I shrug. "Mitsuru always seems busy and I rarely see Akihiko." He sighs slightly so I continue. "Plus I don't really know my way around. It's nice to just explore and get used to the town." I give him a warm smile "Thanks for leading me around yesterday."

"No problem. If I didn't you'd probably have wandered somewhere and gotten yourself hurt." His eyes soften slightly. "Well come in. He's in the living room." Shinjiro's house is unsurprisingly tidy there are cooking magazines and books on the desk but I bypass them to see Shin lying down on a kitten bed.

"So cute!" I gently scratch him behind the ears. "How much did the food and stuff cost?"

"Huh?"

I bite my lip. "Well I kind of forced him on you. It's not fair to make you pay for everything."

Shinjiro looks at the kitten before shaking his head. "I'd have done this regardless. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Senpai." I continue playing with the kitten for a while. I wonder…should I ask him about Mitsuru and Akihiko? I never did learn much about them other than them being the original SEES. "Shinjiro-senpai…"

"Yeah?"

"Have you Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai known each other long?"

"You're pretty nosy you know that?" Whoops…despite his words though he merely looks amused. "Yeah we've known each other since we were little."

"Oh." I don't know how much time passes us with us sitting their quietly when Shin gives a little cry. "I think he's hungry…" no sooner than I finish than does my own stomach growls. I blush. "I haven't had anything to eat other than a sandwich…." I mistakenly assumed Yukari would be taking me out to eat this evening…blasted butterfly effect.

"I'll make you both something. It shouldn't take long." Yay Shinji's cooking! It's been a while since I've had any good home cooked food with that he heads towards the kitchen I suppose.

"Thanks Shinjiro-senpai!" I rub Shin's belly. He still looks a bit worn out but he's much more energetic than yesterday. He stops halfway there and turns to me.

"There anything you can't eat?"

"Nope!" I give him a bright smile while continuing to rub Shin's belly gently. I'm not sure how long I sit there playing with Shin while Shinji prepares the food. Once he's done he comes back with a hot plate and gives it to me. It looks like beef, broccoli and potatoes…that's a rather unexpected dish. I look at him curiously.

"What? You expected me to make noodles or something?"

"Not exactly…I just didn't expect you to make Western food."

"I figured that's the kind of food you're used to. It's healthy too. Plus there's nothing wrong with a bit of variety."

I chuckle but before he can sulk give him the brightest smile I can muster. "It's perfect. Thanks Shinjiro-senpai." He mumbles lowly and looks away a slight blush on his cheeks. I dig into my plate it's nice this feeling. "It's really good! Thanks." I make sure to swallow my food before speaking. He takes Shin into his arms and starts feeding him some heated milk from a bottle. This peace…it's so soothing even more so than the music box. It's enough to make me forget about Erebus…about everything, even if it's only for a little while I'm not afraid. Shinjiro and I sit in his living room feeding Shin and eating for a while I don't know how long but it seems all too short when Shinjiro looks up at the clock and frowns.

"You should head back to the dorm. It's getting late."

Ah it's almost 10. The Dark Hour will be soon. Mitsuru will probably be upset, I'm pretty sure she expected me to come back right after school. Ah well.

I stand and grab my bag. "Thanks for the meal Shinjiro-senpai-" before I can turn to leave he interrupts.

"Wait. I'll walk you to the dorm. You shouldn't be wandering around by yourself this late."

"I'll be fine-"

"…do you even know how to get back to your dorm from here?"

"Uh…" I really didn't. I had never been here sure if I could find the main road I might be able to get back but there was a good chance I'd take so long I'd be out during the Dark Hour. That wouldn't be good. "…not really."

"Give me a second then." I waited as Shinjiro put Shin back in his bed and the two of us started walking to the dorm.

He looked at me curiously. "So…you've seen nothing strange?"

I frown at him. "Strange as in what?" Keeping up this charade is already wearing on me.

"…you'll see soon enough. I hope you have an easier time of it than I did." Ah…he's talking about the accident that killed Ken's mom because he lost control. Ken…how am I going to get the two of them to reconcile…heck how am I gonna stop that bastard Takaya? No use stressing over it now…but with the timeline warping like this I can't help but worry. Does this mean Ken and Shinjiro will meet earlier as well? I hope not this time fixing business isn't anywhere as simple as I originally thought it would be. The last thing I need is more complications. While I'm musing we reach the dorm.

"Thanks Shinjiro-senpai." I smile warmly to him.

"No problem." He gives me a nod before turning and walking off. Huh. He was a lot more abrasive the first time I met him…then again I wasn't pretty much a helpless lamb (well to his knowledge anyway) when we first met before. I walk inside the dorm and close the door behind me.

"Arisato!" Mitsuru actually looks kind of frazzled. "What were you doing out so late?"

"I was talking with someone-"

"She was with Shinjiro Mitsuru. It's fine." Akihiko comes down the stairs. "He just walked her to the dorm."

"I see." She calmed down considerably after hearing that. "He didn't-"

"No. He said that was on us." Mitsuru nods briefly before turning to me. I suppose they're talking about Shinjiro telling me about the Dark Hour and Shadows.

"Good. Arisato try not to be so late coming back to the dorm. It's not safe out at night." More like you don't want me experiencing the Dark Hour somewhere outside your supervision.

"Understood Mitsuru-senpai." I quickly head back to the dorm. Ah it's about 10:30. I quickly wash and climb into bed around 11. I should be sleep by the time the Dark Hour hits.

Velvet Room

Ah…I look up and there's Igor smiling at me. "It isn't what you expected is it?"

"No it's not. Exactly how am I supposed to change things for the better when events are warping around like this?"

He just gives me one of those creepy smiles. "Major events will fall on the same dates. You might meet your friends in a different order and place though. But it is nothing to be concerned about. In the end most things will occur in a similar if not the same manner." Most things he says. "Well…with a few outliners of course."

Shifty old bugger, if he hadn't helped me stop Nyx the first time I'd wonder if I wasn't being played in some evil scheme. He certainly looked the part. "You still have the Velvet Key. Use it when you need to speak to me again." With that he gives me a creepy smile and I find myself fading into darkness.

Date: 4 - 9 - 2009

My eyes flutter open with the buzzing of the alarm. … The velvet key is on a necklace around my neck…not that it's surprising. I sit up and stretch. Today is the day the BFS shows up and Thanatos frees himself from me. I'm not looking forward to this again.

Again there's no sign of either Yukari or Junpei. Junpei must be still in the hospital but where did Yukari go? When I leave the classroom Shinjiro's not waiting for me…not surprising but still it kind of sucks being all by my lonesome. I got so used to all of them being around when I was here. Plus…the screaming is at its loudest when I'm alone. I start walking through the halls and I hear a few girls giggling and whispering to each other while looking in my direction the only word I bother catching is "delinquent" uncaring I continue through the hall I don't recognize anyone so I head out into town it wouldn't hurt to visit the theater or anything.

I get tickets to some horror movie marathon. Hard to me scared of that CG when you've seen far more real things for who only knows how long. It'll end at around 8 so I settle in and start watching, I'm not sure why but my body feels heavy…before I know it it's hard to keep my eyes open.

...

Oh shit! What time is it! I sit up in my chair and crap crap crap! I check my watch. It's 11:30! Mitsuru is gonna kill me! How could I let this happen? I scramble to get my things and run out of the theater as fast as I can. Damn it! Even if I had a car it would take me at least 45 minutes to get to the dorm from here! The Shadow…gah! I start running to the dorm maybe I'll get their quicker if I take a shortcut through that alleyway. It's not exactly safe but I shouldn't have any trouble. I head through and...well my luck is just horrible today. There's Shinjiro sitting on the stoop.

"Arisato? Kind of late for you to be wandering around don't you think?"

I cringe. "I fell asleep at the theater. I only woke up a few minutes ago."

"Huh? Hey Aragaki! Who's that broad?" Ugh. I glare at the bleached blond who spoke.

"I'm not a broad-!"

"Sit down. I'm calling Aki so he can pick you up. Mind your own business Renji." I'm guessing Renji's the blond? Shinjiro takes out a phone and dials Akihiko's number there's a short conversation before he gives Akihiko the address. "Hurry up. It'll be time soon."

This isn't going to go well. That Shadow is supposed to follow Akihiko is it not? It doesn't take long before Akihiko comes into the alleyway. Well…this isn't good. It'll be the dark hour in about 10 minutes.

"Didn't Mitsuru ask-" Akihiko starts up but I interrupt smoothly.

"It wasn't on purpose! I fell asleep during a movie. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was." That sleep though…something about it didn't sit right with me. I never slept that deeply…not anymore.

"You need to take her back to the dorm Aki. Fast. It's not safe for her out here."

"Yeah. Come on Minako-chan."

"I'll go with you just in case."

"What are you two so concerned about?" I have to ask this or it'll be plain suspicious.

"Nothing, let's just get back to the dorm." As we're walking I freeze. What on earth is Hidetoshi doing here? He's mumbling angrily as he starts walking quickly as soon as he passes me I guess he's too frustrated to recognize us but not a second later the Dark Hour hits.

Akihiko immediately turns to me and I can't fake surprise. I'm far too used to the Dark Hour to be surprised when everything turns green and there are caskets everywhere.

"AIIEEEEEEEEEE!" Hidetoshi's scream nearly splits my ears.

…There's just no way. You've gots to be kidding me.

Akihiko and Shinjiro look as stunned as I am.

"What…what!" Hidetoshi starts hyperventilating. "This is a nightmare…this is a nightmare…"

"Yeah that's not good." Shinjiro looks over Hidetoshi carefully he then looks back at me "…you're not screaming." He looks a bit surprised.

"…This isn't the first time I've seen this. What surprises me is that you two aren't in coffins."

Shinjiro frowns. "What do you mean this isn't the first time you've seen this?"

It's probably best if I tell mostly the truth. "I've been seeing this," I gesture to the surroundings "since I was about 6. I'm not sure why but I'm used to it. Though…why you two aren't in coffins I don't understand. Are you like me?"

"Somewhat." Akihiko looks stunned. "So…you've been aware of the Dark Hour all along?"

Hidetoshi whimpers and Akihiko turns back to him carefully placing his hands on Hidetoshi's shoulders while Shinji and I look on. "Listen to me Hidetoshi-kun. You'll be fine. Just…relax. Take a deep breathe. You're not in any danger-"

"Shit! Aki there's a Shadow! A big one and it's coming right at us!" Shinjiro grabs my arm. So much for no danger. "We need to run to the dorm now! We can't take that thing out if we have to protect these two as well!"

"I'll buy you all some-"

"No!" I say immediately. Akihiko turns to me. "It'll kill you! Look at all those knives! We should all hide and wait for it to go away!"

"I'm not going to hide!"

"WHAT IS THAT?" Hidetoshi is staring at the shadow in complete horror. "It's coming for us!"

"Shit! Move back Hidetoshi!" Shinjiro grabs Hidetoshi's arm and forces him next to me before throwing us both behind him.

"You have nothing to kill it with!"

Akihiko gives me a half grin. "That's where you'd be wrong. Shinji…"

"I've got it." Akihiko takes out his evoker. Damn it Akihiko! That's not gonna work!

"A gun? What…why aren't you pointing it at the...the thing!" Hidetoshi stammers as Akihiko holds the evoker to his own head. "Are you crazy?" Least I'm not the only one who thought so.

"POLYDEUCES!" He uses Zio but the Shadow easily shakes it off and in outrage attacks him with a powerful fire blast. I cringe as Akihiko goes sailing and hits the nearest car with a hard thud. Knew that wasn't gonna work.

"What…what the…" Hidetoshi stares at where Polydeuces appeared before turning back to the Shadow that's still coming for us.

"Aki!" Shinjiro swears and pushes me behind him. Akihiko's evoker lies at his feet. The Shadow shrieks and begins coming towards us. "Son of a bitch. I guess I have to finish it. Looks like Akihiko'll get his wish since I don't really have much choice in the matter do I?" Shinjiro grabs Akihiko's evoker. "PERSONA!"

Castor triumphantly appears. "Take THIS!" A strong attack but like Akihiko's the shadow shakes it off.

"Damn it! It's still standing?"

"Ugh…" I look back and Akihiko is grabbing his ribs. Huh. Apparently that's something that's not going to change. The Shadow blasts Shinjiro with a flame blast as well but Shinjiro only takes a few steps back. "PERSONA!" another attack from Castor that's shaken off and the Shadow gives a creepy laugh. Now this is just fantastic. I know how to kill it…but if I just grab the evoker from Shinjiro that's…yeah that'll blow my cover. The Shadow finally (I guess it got tired of playing with Shinjiro) attacks him with the full brunt of its power and Shinjiro too is pushed back. The evoker is lying at my feet now and I reach down and pick it up. Hidetoshi is standing next to me shivering. I have to protect him cover or no.

"Wait...what are you doing? STOP!" Shinjiro is too weak to stop me though and I can see Pharos smiling at me. "You can do it can't you?" he holds his fingers to his head and mimics pulling a trigger. "Go on…do it."

I hold the evoker to my head and take a deep breath…I've missed this. "PERSONA!" I feel the hot searing pain as Orpheus and Thanatos come out but it's nothing compared to what Erebus put me through. I finish off the small chunks of the shadows that remain as well.

"Incredible…" Akihiko manages to limp his way over to me. "I've never seen a Persona like that." I slump and the ground starts spinning. "Hey! Are you okay?"

"Nngh." The ground reaches up to meet me but I don't hit it. I feel something warm catch me…Hidetoshi? I can't see his face to clearly before my vision goes completely black.

Velvet Room

I open my eyes and I'm sitting across from the table from Igor who has that creepy smile on his face as always. "Interesting turn of events don't you think?" Interesting he says. "Time is a fickle mistress. A small change in events can cause a ripple that changes the scenery completely." Didn't you just finish saying that things would mostly remain the same? "But those changes are sometimes for the better. After all if you follow the script to the letter you'll end up in exactly the same place won't you?" …How is Hidetoshi becoming a member of SEES things mostly remaining the same?

What? I'm very very confused. He's saying I should try to change events? That's it I'm getting a headache. "I'm…not sure what to do Igor." Maybe he'll give me a hint or something?

Instead his smile if possible grows larger. "Don't worry. You'll figure it out once the time comes." Bah. That's really helpful. As in not helpful at all! "Do enjoy your rest." Wait not another 10 day rest! Come on! My vision darkens again. "Oh and one more thing, your social links they have stayed with you but they will as you have changed in some matter." Yeah I totally would've never figured that out by Hidetoshi becoming a Persona user. As I plunge into darkness his chuckle follows me.

Date: 4 - 20 - 2009

Ugh I feel filthy. Damn it Igor. I open my eyes and look towards the chair expecting Yukari or maybe Mitsuru. Instead Hidetoshi's there with his eyes shut. He's sleeping? He looks fine. He looks a lot warmer and younger when he's sleeping. As if sensing my scrutinization his eyes flutter open.

"Hi." I give him a tired smile. "Is Shinjiro-senpai and Akihiko-senpai okay? And how are you?"

"I'm fine. Akihiko-senpai has a few broken ribs and his arm is damaged but according to the doctor's he'll recover. Shinjiro-senpai is fine as well. I don't think the Shadow hurt him too much…you were out for more than a week though. Do you know what you did?" It's odd…why is he the one explaining this to me? Shouldn't it be Mitsuru? Or Yukari like before?

I shake my head. "I just copied what Akihiko-senpai and Shinjiro-senpai were doing." Ugh I hate lying like this. "I thought it might help…"

"It did. You defeated that Shadow and saved me…all of us really." He twists his hands nervously. "That's what those things are called, Shadows. While you were in here Mitsuru and the others told me about them. The creature you summoned is called a Persona. Though Mitsuru said she never heard of someone being able to shift between Personas like you did." He looked away for a moment. "It's been over a week and it still hasn't completely sunk in yet. Thank you…I don't know what would've happened if I'd met that Shadow on my own."

You would've become one of the Lost is what would've happened…if it didn't manage to kill you outright.

"Anyway Personas…they're what we use to combat the Shadows. According to Mitsuru the Shadows come out during the dark hour to wreak havoc. The dorm you were in…the club is called SEES and dedicated to stopping the Shadows." He looks thoughtful about this.

"Are you okay Hidetoshi? I know that couldn't have been easy to go through."

He shakes his head slightly. "I'm fine. Even if you're faring a lot better than I did. Besides," his voice softens "given what happened it's probably better this way." Hm? What happened?

"What happened-" the tale tell sound of Mitsuru's heels come down the hall and it's not long before she reaches the room.

"I remember asking you to come in before late night did I not Arisato?" She's furious.

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to fall asleep." Nor into such a heavy one, Mitsuru still doesn't look pleased but she sighs instead.

"We'll explain everything to you this evening. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"It must have simply been exhaustion from using your Persona then." Mitsuru looks me over quickly. "We have a meeting this evening. I'll see you there. With that she turns to Hidetoshi. "You can check her out and see that she gets to the dorm safely can't you? "

"Of course Mitsuru-senpai." With that she turns and walks smoothly away. Huh. I forgot how icy she was in the beginning.

I sit up in bed. Ugh. Hospital gown. "So…we should get going now huh?"

Hidetoshi nods and walks toward the door. "I'll wait for you to get dressed. I'll be waiting in the lobby."

"Alright." He leaves with that and it doesn't take me long to get dressed as I'm leaving though Shinjiro walks up to the door.

"Oh. Hi Shinjiro-senpai." He frowns as he looks over me. "Is something wrong?"

"You were out for a while. Are you feeling better?"

"I feel fine. That rest must've been just what I needed."

"Come on. I'm heading back to the dorm. We might as well go back together." …wait what? He's going back to the dorm?

"Um…you're going to the dorm?"

"Yeah. Akihiko and Mitsuru decided to gang up on me and…well after what happened I wouldn't feel right letting you go off on your own. You're still a girl."

Bah. "I could kick your ass if I wanted too." I deadpan.

"That so?"

You have no idea Shinjiro so I smirk cockily at him. "Yup. Easily."

He scoffs. "Yeah well let's get going. I'm not about to fight a girl anyway."

"Hidetoshi's waiting downstairs for me. I guess we all should head back then."

As Shinjiro starts heading downstairs I frown. What the hell is going on?

End Chapter 4