CHAPTER 4 / Gift
Feburary 10th, 2010
Dear Yukari,
Regardless of the time that goes by, you remain as beautiful as the first day that I met you. Maybe that is an odd thing to say considering I met you during the Dark Hour on my first day here. And you did pull out an evoker with an intention to use it on me because you thought I might be a shadow. But it really was my first thought about you. It wasn't anything else except that you were beautiful.
I was worried about you. You seemed so nervous, and you really were concerned about me. I didn't understand any of the reasons until a few days later of course. But then after the attack on the dorm and you were by my side when I woke up, I had already known that I was attracted to you. It was silly, for a lot of reasons. Considering how outrageous our situation was, how could anything ever develop out of that?
That was what I kept thinking for a long time. And things got more complicated as I discovered more about my power. It was tied to my emotional ties to others. So it made me feel like any relationship I developed was selfish. And I didn't like the fact that there was so much of everything I couldn't explain. I mean how could I properly say why I hung out with so many people? They were all my friends, but I would be lying if I didn't say I gained more power as a persona user because of it.
I'm not sure I can explain it in a way that will give it justice. I did what I had to do, and yet it still was hard for me to think that maybe I had been using people. That I was friends with all these people because I needed too, and that I really didn't care about any of them. But I know that it wasn't that way.
If I hadn't cared then I would have never been strong enough to become the Great Seal. The only reason I could was because of all those emotions I gained with everyone. And I definitely wouldn't have made it at all if I didn't have you. I love you so much Yukari. And it was you that gave me all the real strength that I needed. Thank you.
Love Always,
Arisato Minato
June 8th, 2009 / Lunchtime
The girl yelled very suddenly, "No! I never thought it would turn out like this…Fuuka." She buried her face in her hands and looked like she was trying to stop herself from crying. But she had every right to be crying, two of her friends were hospitalized, and the girl they had been bullying was still missing.
Minato didn't like the whole situation. Just two days ago they had found out the real truth from Shinjiro, but having it confirmed here didn't make him feel any better. If anything, he felt worse about the whole situation. Frustrated he walked over to the window and slammed his hand on the desk. They were in the teachers lounge but he felt justified in his anger.
"Wait, you're that girl…" Yukari spoke as she fit the pieces together.
"What did you do to Yamagishi?" Mitsuru made her presence known. And her tone was definitely one of authority. She held it like a weapon better than she probably realized.
"Hold on, Mitsuru-san. This isn't an interrogation. Natsuki-san, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. You wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong idea," It was Ekoda. One of Minato's least favorite teachers.
"Like hell, Ekoda-sensei! A student is missing!" Minato growled turning back towards the discussion but was met with a firm look from Mitsuru. But her look was not without a bit of understanding. Still he knew he shouldn't let his anger get the better of him.
Ekoda didn't have time to retaliate as Natsuki was the one that began to speak, "Fuuka, she always looked so frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time. Then, I realized she's an honor student, but deep inside, she's the same as us. I knew exactly what buttons to push. We were just messin' with her that day too. On May 29th, we took Fuuka to the gym and locked the door from the outside."
"What? You locked her in?" Junpei blurted out quickly. Mitsuru looked like she wasn't getting any happier with the actions of her kohai.
But Natsuki kept talking, "That night, Maki returned to the school alone. She was afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide. But she never came back, and the next morning…"
"…She was found lying on the ground by the gate," Yukari supplied. Minato cursed under his breath. This was just a case of bullying…how could he blame any of them for something none of them knew about? They had already known that Yamagishi Fuuka was a potential persona user, but none of them had thought something like this could happen. How could they?
Minato already made the connection when he had heard about the bullying. At his last school, he had actually fallen prey to something similar. Except it had been the sports supply room. And he had been stuck in there until the morning sports club came in the morning. Being as he was staying at his uncles at the time, no one really cared that he had been missing. Maybe it was why he was so quick to be angry. He understood what it was like to be on the receiving end of it. Minato didn't stay with his uncle for very long.
Natsuki continued to recount everything that had happened. Describing that her friends had all tried to find Fuuka. But basically because they were afraid of getting in trouble, not that they actually cared about the girl. It irritated him but he kept his mouth shut this time. But of course they wouldn't find her. After all Fuuka had the potential to be a persona user. Most likely she experienced the Dark Hour for the first time while trapped in the gym. Which meant only one thing. Fuuka was in Tartarus.
"By the way, Ekoda-sensei. All this time you've attributed all of Yamagishi's absences to illness. But in reality she has been missing. You must have been aware of that. What was your intention?" Mitsuru was finally bringing the magnifying lens of her gaze on to Ekoda. And Minato couldn't help but grin at this.
"I was thinking of the students, of course. You children may not understand, but we have to consider the future of everyone affected," Ekoda raised his hands as if it would help his case.
Minato felt his blood boiling underneath the surface. He could so easily lose his control.
"You mean you chose not to report this for the good of the class." Mitsuru's glare intensified on the teacher.
"It was in her best interest. I wouldn't want her records to be stained by something like this. Her parents agree," Ekoda refuted.
Her parents agreed? Minato blinked. Why? Why wouldn't they have every law enforcer turning over every rock and every dark spot on the whole bloody island to find her? Wasn't Fuuka their daughter? Shouldn't her safety mean more than anything else? What kind of parent is more concerned about reputation than knowing if their daughter is even still alive? Minato felt himself tremble…it was an anger he had never felt before. And he just wanted to bury his fist into Ekoda.
"So to protect your career, you ignored your responsibility as a teacher? How despicable," Mitsuru was furious but in control. Minato knew he needed to be. His fist was clenched so hard he wouldn't be surprised if he drew blood.
A hand touched his shoulder, without reason it comforted him, and when he turned he saw Yukari. She had noticed his reaction to it. And so Minato took a deep breath and let his shoulders loosen a bit. And within the span of a couple seconds Yukari had eased him into a much more reasonable state. "Thanks, Takeba." He breathed with a small smile.
"Moriyama, about your friends. Did you notice anything unusual before the incidents? Anything at all could help," Mitsuru asked diverting her attention back to Natsuki.
"They all heard a voice, a creepy voice. Right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name," Natsuki remembered it pretty well, which meant those details were definitely disturbing and unusual enough to remember.
Mitsuru moved towards the rest of them so that Natsuki and Ekoda couldn't hear them. "It's them, no doubt about it. Until now there was no way of knowing how or why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour. But it's the voice, it draws them in. It's not a random phenomenon. This whole thing has made me realize, they're clearly targeting humans. Shadows are the enemy of mankind." She took a step and spoke to Natsuki once more. "Stay at our dorm tonight. It's the safest place."
Natsuki gave a nod, she no longer seemed to trust her own voice. Minato didn't feel sorry for her, because of what she had done. But it didn't mean he didn't understand the fear she was feeling. As for Mitsuru's reasoning, he wasn't sure if he could fully agree with her conclusion. If Persona was a manifestation of your own psyche, then he figured that the Shadows could use many different ways to draw in people to the Dark Hour. And Minato wasn't convinced they even needed to be in the Dark Hour to prey on anyone. Shadows didn't simply disappear during the Dark Hour. No, they could all agree on that point. But Minato didn't know enough to come to any solid or concrete hypothesis.
Minato ignored them all for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. Tonight was the night of the full moon. And if the pattern continued then that meant there would be another appearance of a large shadow. And it would come from outside of Tartarus. So far he was the only one that could make that connection because of the boy known as Pharos. This would be the night of an ordeal. He had been warned about it. But what Pharos' connection was to the Dark Hour and those large Shadows was still unknown. But this whole incident bothered him. If he was right, then things were going to go horribly wrong.
"…We'll meet after school in the Student Council Room to discuss tonight's operation." Minato caught the tail end of what Mitsuru was saying and merely nodded his head. That was when he noticed that Yukari still had her hand on his shoulder and looking at him with concern.
"T-tonight?" Junpei seemed confused.
"We're going to rescue Yamagishi. If my guess is right…"
"Yeah," Minato interrupted her and brought his gaze up to meet hers. "She's still inside the school."
She nodded. "Don't be late." Mitsuru quickly turned and left, most likely consumed with plans to ensure that the Student Council Room would be empty and probably arrangements with Ikutsuki. Either way, they still had their afternoon classes to sit through.
"We should hurry too. The bell will ring soon," Yukari said to him softly.
In truth, Minato didn't care to spend any moment in class. So when he turned to face Yukari, it must have shown the conflicting emotions on his face. "I think I'm going to go to the roof instead."
Junpei had already left, which Minato hadn't even noticed. Still Yukari was waiting for him. She looked like she wanted to object to him skipping class but instead settled on a question, "What's really bothering you, Arisato-san?"
"I used to be bullied at my last school. And it isn't like I had parents to look after me. I didn't really get along with anyone there either. So when I went missing…" Minato shook his head. "Sorry, I can't think about class work right now. I know I'm being trouble but, could you…"
Yukari only hesitated for a moment. "Consider it done, Arisato," she smiled. "But you owe me."
"Thanks, Takeba," Minato managed a smile and left the faculty office with Yukari, but split up with her shortly after on the stairs as he continued up to the roof and she went back to class. He walked around to the other side and looked over the whole of Tatsumi Port Island.
He sighed heavily, "It happens no matter where you go. But really…her parents didn't want to get the police involved? Is there some reason behind that? Yamagishi Fuuka…if I remember correctly she was in the top five spots in our exams. They possibly have high hopes for her in a specific career, but what career path would cause a missing persons report to stain her record in a negative way? Unless her parents believe that she ran away from home."
He straightened up and turned around, leaning up against the fence that lined the whole roof. "That makes the most sense. Maybe her parents think she is nothing more than a rebellious and troublesome girl. They aren't even considering that she might be in real danger. Especially if they heard about the girls and how they had been bullying her." Well, that made some sense to Minato but it didn't really excuse the carelessness of her parents handling of it. Fuuka had been missing for ten days counting today. That was more than just her running away from bullying.
"Do any parents care for their children?" Minato muttered as he kicked a small rock that was on the roof.
"Who knows?" another voice added from next to him. He looked over to see Junpei. He was leaning up against the fence just like he was. "Hey, I guess that whole thing with Fuuka's parents is what is bothering you."
"Still, a normal parent may not concern themselves for a day, maybe two at the most. But to think that is been ten days and they haven't cared to report it? It makes me think that something is wrong in that household. It's just that this incident is bringing some glaring attention to it. But it won't matter if we can't rescue her," Minato shook his head. "Junpei-kun, it isn't like that in your family is it?"
"Mine? Well it isn't like I come from the ideal family. But I'm sure even the drunken old man would call the police if I was didn't come home for a couple of days," Junpei shook his head. "And I'm sure my Mother probably would have called if I didn't show up at home like four hours after I said I would."
"Sounds nice," Minato smiled. "Well I have a feeling you aren't so found of your old man though."
"Yeah, well he is a violent man. There was a few times where he took it out on me and well…you can imagine I wouldn't think much of him," Junpei shrugged. "You're really shaken up by all this, aren't you?"
"I just can't forgive parents that do that," Minato was definitely angry. "How can anyone just neglect their own children? I mean it was their decision right? Who in the hell would have a child and then just leave them to fend for themselves? I know for a fact, that my parents never wanted that."
"Whoa, Minato-kun. I didn't mean to spur up bad memories," Junpei rose his hands up trying to ease him.
"It isn't you, Junpei. It's all I've been able to think about. At the very least I know I would be different. I would treasure my child and always be worried and responsible…I wouldn't just turn my back on a situation because of presumptions or refusal to see the truth. I'd fight tooth and nail until I had my kid back!" Minato was nearly yelling as he looked off into the distance.
March 7th, 2011 / Morning
Yukari lost the strength in her hands and the journal fell from her hands and made a heavy thud sound as it hit the ground. Everyone in the room was silent, but each held a shocked expression on their face. "No, Minato…Minato!" She couldn't stay standing up. She slid to the ground, using her hands to stop from hitting the ground. Tears emerged from her eyes in an overwhelming way it hadn't before. He wouldn't know. He wouldn't know the truth of what happened after he was gone. If he had known…he would have been…
"He was a passionate guy," Junpei was the one to speak. And maybe it was for the best, because everyone turned to him. After all he was a part of the passage that Yukari had been reading before she fell apart. No one had even realized what Minato had been fighting at that time, only Junpei. "I think out of everyone, he never faltered. He had a reason for fighting from the beginning. And he believed in it so strongly. It took me a long time to find a good reason to fight. Minato...truly wanted to protect all of us. I guess that's obvious since what he eventually did."
"You're right," Akihiko nodded. "It's easy to see now. But I was so wrapped up in my own emotions that I never tried to understand our leaders motivations. Arisato trained hard and studied hard. The way he managed his time and kept on top of all the events going around him was amazing. I should have realized that there had to be something driving him to have such determination."
"There must be more than that. More that really drove him to go that extra mile in everything he did," Ken was the one that spoke. "There must be more that explains it."
"Ken's right," Yukari said pushing the tears away. All of this showed just how little they really knew of Minato, about how much each of them had been so wrapped up in themselves and their own problems that they didn't see Minato's struggles. "He kept so much to himself. Plus in the last few entries he has been describing the nature of his power of the wild card. His ability to switch personae."
"What does it say? Maybe Aigis can compare it to how it was when she temporarily gained that power," Akihiko suggested.
"Yes, I am curious as well. I lost that ability when I merged with Metis back to my original self. I can only use Athena now," Aigis commented. "And my short time with that power, I know I still couldn't have compared to Minato-kun's skill."
"He wrote, that it was based on his emotional ties with others," Yukari picked up the journal back from the ground and held it to herself as she sat on the couch and clutched it against her chest. "His relationships were what fueled his ability. He said that the closer he was with someone the more power he could draw from that link. He eventually started to refer to it as Social Links."
"Social links? And that was how he gained more power? That's why he was always so busy," Junpei shook his head. "Man, I gotta wonder how he managed to keep any of it straight in his head."
"Yeah, and it was more than that. Apparently his links were tied to the major Arcana." Yukari sighed. "Twenty-two in total."
"That's crazy, so he had to develop and nurture that many relationships to continually develop his powers?" Akihiko was looking out the large window that was in the lounge area of the Yakushima resort. "Then he must have had a link with all of us."
"We were all linked as a group. He wrote it all down. The Fool Arcana was everyone a part of SEES. But we all showed up again in another Arcana," Yukari opened the journal and flipped it to those notes Minato had written describing it. "The Judgement Arcana."
"Why would it change?" Ken shook his head. "I don't get it."
"The situation changed," Fuuka supplied as it must have clicked quickly in her head. "That last month when we fought to get to the top of the tower. We were no longer searching for answers."
"She's right. Judgement could have only been us, because of our decision to fight against Nyx," Mitsuru was looking away from the group. "We were unified in our decision and because of that it drew us all closer together. Wouldn't that mean it gave him even more power?"
"That is what he says. And there is something else he wrote. That four of us had an additional Social Link with him. Separately than the others. He had one with Fuuka, and her link was that of the Priestess. Another with Aigis, her link was named Aeon," Yukari looked from Fuuka to Aigis and both seemed at a loss for words.
"Aeon? What is that?" Junpei asked.
"Actually in some versions of arcana, Aeon would also be another form of Judgement," Fuuka said softly.
"The last two was with Mitsuru, who was the Empress. And then there was me," Yukari looked down into the journal at his handwriting. Her name printed neatly and underlined. Compared to how it all had been written, her name was always written with care and an obvious affection. Minato…
"Your link was the Lovers, wasn't it?" Aigis was next to Yukari and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"The thing he writes the most about in the journal stems from the nature of his wild card ability," she hung her head. "And how horribly conflicted he was with it."
"But why would he…" Junpei shook his head trying to figure it out.
"That's easy, Junpei." Akihiko was the one that stepped forward. "He was most likely second guessing his relationships with everyone. Since it was directly related to the growth in his persona ability."
"So he was thinking that maybe he didn't feel anything for anyone, and that it was just a means for him to gain more power," Ken said and then suddenly got to his feet. "No way! Arisato-san would have never been like that."
"Of course he wasn't," Mitsuru held a soft smile on her lips as the attention came to her. "Which is exactly why he was so concerned about it. It bothered him that it felt to him like he had been using us for his power."
"At the same time, he knew he needed it. So despite his reservations about the source of his power, he continued to develop and hone it. After all, if he didn't then he might not be strong enough when the time came for his abilities to really be used," Yukari hugged the journal to her chest once more. "So he didn't hesitate, and poured all his energy in the task that was ahead of them."
"That meant, he never had a day off," Akihiko was suddenly angry. "He was fighting the moment he showed up to Tatsumi Port Island."
"We pushed so many responsibilities onto him," Mitsuru sounded the same as Akihiko. "How could we do something like that to our kohai? He was supposed to depend on us, but it ended up being the other way around."
Yukari wondered if she should have told them, but she felt that it was the right thing to do. They all cared greatly for Minato, and all of them were just beginning to realize the burden he carried. One that had been heavier than any of them. She knew exactly what feeling was being shared in the group. Guilt. Everyone felt guilty for having been so worried about their own problems that none of them had noticed how much their leader had been struggling. But for Yukari, that wasn't what she was struggling with. Her mind was focused on the words he had on the roof with Junpei that day. Those words haunted her.
June 8th, 2009 / After School
Minato was sitting up against the window and looking out towards the sports fields. The track team was currently out running. And he saw that the Tennis club was out as well. It was a pretty nice day so it would definitely be a good day for practice. A part of him wished he could be at kendo practice, but that was strongly over written by his need to rescue Yamagishi. And he would rescue her, one way or another.
The last one to enter was Yukari, and she locked the door of the Student Council Room. "All set," she said to Mitsuru. The red head was standing at her usual spot where she usually addressed the Student Council. Akihiko was just to her left and Junpei was casually sitting on one of the tables. Minato would be the odd one out as he was way in the back looking out the window.
"Tonight, we will infiltrate the campus. Our goal is to rescue Yamagishi Fuuka." Mitsuru was more than loud enough for Minato to hear. The Student Council Room wasn't very big to begin with. But he didn't bother looking in their direction.
"Um, I don't get it. Is Fuuka inside the school somewhere?" Junpei asked.
"And why at night? At midnight this place turns into…"
"Exactly," Mitsuru finished and it quickly dawned on Junpei and Yukari what that meant. "That's how Yamigishi wandered into Tartarus."
That was the part that really bothered Minato. A week ago they had actually been inside Tartarus. She would have been trapped inside already. It had to mean she was on a higher level they couldn't get to. After all they had reached the barricade already. They couldn't get any higher than what they had already achieved. No…that meant direct entry from the inside of the school might propel you higher than was normally possible.
"Then, ever since she was locked in the gym she's been stuck there?" Yukari asked and Mitsuru merely nodded in response. Minato looked to see both Yukari and Junpei come to a different decision. They automatically were thinking that Fuuka was already dead.
"That was ten days ago. That means…" he fell silent. Yeah, Minato could understand that way of thinking. But Fuuka was trapped in the Dark Hour…specifically Tartarus. She may have been in the school when it started, but there was no way to really know what happened after she was in Tartarus.
"Not necessarily. We can't jump to conclusions. Tartarus only appears during the dark hour. So what about the rest of the day?" Akihiko posed this question. And finally Minato moved from his spot and towards the others.
"I agree with Akihiko-senpai. She's still alive," Minato's expression had everyone looking at him for a moment.
"Now that you mention it," Yukari thought about it for a moment but Akihiko stepped in.
"This is only a theory, but I think time may function differently with respect to Tartarus. So, even though ten days have passed for us, perhaps only ten hours have passed for her. It's possible she is still alive," Akihiko was definitely gung ho about this operation, Minato could tell. But he was probably ready for a different reason than him.
There was no reason to think it wasn't possible based on what Akihiko had stated before. When they found out about Fuuka, he had been in the hospital and somehow came across her. They figured out that she had the potential to be a persona user. But what Akihiko said was what interested him. Fuuka was not built to be a fighter. She had health problems and was often at the hospital. And a thought had crossed his mind a few times since he learned about that. What if Fuuka's persona was not combat oriented? What if it was something specifically meant for a support position. He'd heard it already, but Mitsuru's was really a combat style persona but also had scanning abilities. It would be an incredible asset to gain someone where scanning was the main abilities and not a secondary one. Mitsuru was having trouble scanning the higher up they got up, and was most likely only going to become less effective as they went. In reality they needed that dedicated persona. And everything Minato felt told him he was right.
"Are you just gonna let her die then!?" Akihiko yelled suddenly and it brought Minato's thoughts back to the present. "I have an idea. Let's try and enter Tartarus exactly how Fuuka did. We'll go to the gym, and wait for midnight. That's the quickest way."
"Is that really going to work?" Yukari definitely sounded like she thought it was a bad idea.
Mitsuru shook her head, "Honestly, I have reservations. If something goes wrong, you all could end up lost in Tartarus too."
"No, it's the only way," Minato said looking at Akihiko. "She's been gone ten days. Think about it. We last went to Tartarus seven days ago and we climbed up as far as we could. There is no way we could have missed her. It means she has to be in a part of Tartarus we can't reach."
"I won't stand by and do nothing if there is a chance we can save her. I'd never forgive myself. You're in, right Minato?" Akihiko looked to him, already knowing his answer.
"Even if we have to do it alone," Minato said resolutely.
The red headed girl crossed her arms and let out a sigh, "Alright. We're aware of the risk, but we can't just leave her there. And like what Arisato said. It is likely our only way to get to her at this point."
"I agree. And we won't know until we try," Yukari moved next to Minato, standing close enough that her shoulder touched his. It was a movement that he didn't miss. She was still worried about him. And probably more so after what he had said. Or maybe Junpei had given a hint of their discussion on the roof. But having her cover for him in class was a legitimate reason for her to worry about him anyway.
Junpei grinned, "Cool, we get to sneak into the school. In that case, I know just what to do."
"We'll meet at the meeting room in the dorm tonight. We'll decide more then. Everyone should prepare until then," Mitsuru said and then made her way to the door, unlocked it and was the first to leave. Akihiko exited next, but stopped to give Minato an approving nod and disappearing. Junpei left next to do whatever it was to prepare for the nights operation.
"Arisato, are you okay?" Yukari turned to him.
He looked at her for a moment as he saw Junpei closing the door to the Student Council Room behind him. They were both completely alone now. "No. I can't help but be angry at all the adults in this situation. Ekoda-sensei and the Yamagishi's. I don't understand why they are just pretending nothing is wrong."
"I know what you mean. It makes me angry too, but I'm surprised how much it got you riled up," she admitted.
"Should it really be surprising? We are the same, you know," Minato muttered as he turned towards the window and slowly walked towards it.
"I know," Yukari noticed that the sun was starting to go down. "Hey, um, Arisato, do you want to go to Hagakure with me?"
Minato quickly looked back at her and saw the concerned expression on her face. "Yeah, we should definitely get a good meal in before tonight." He took a couple steps towards the door and then looked at her again. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why?" Yukari looked confused at his question.
"Well they still have rumors circling us from just walking to school together that first day. I don't want to complicate your social life by having any misunderstanding happen," Minato watched as a smile appeared.
"Those rumors only happened because you were the new transfer student then. Plus the majority of our classmates have already gone home. And rumors don't really bother me that much, we're seen together a lot anyway," Yukari playfully poked his arm. "Besides I want to make sure you actually eat something before tonight."
Minato shook his head, "Yeah, I guess eating hadn't even crossed my mind."
"I knew it. How are you supposed to lead the team if you aren't eating properly? What would happen if you passed out in the middle of an important fight?" Yukari led him out of the Student Council Room and the two slowly made their way towards the stairs.
"You're right, of course," Minato sighed.
"Is there a reason you don't want to tell me what is bothering you?" Yukari asked with a soft voice.
He stopped walking and felt his gaze go to the ground. "Yeah, but it has nothing to do with you," Minato said as he started moving again and heading down the stairs. Yukari followed close behind him. "I'll tell you, but can you wait?"
"Yeah, I can," Yukari said as they approached the shoe lockers. "Don't try and take it all on alone, Arisato. You don't have too. I can be a good listener."
Yukari disappeared another row to retrieve her shoes as Minato did the same, "You're right, but the truth is I can't do anything alone. That's not how it works. And maybe one day, I'll be able to tell you what I mean."
June 8th 2009 / Late Night
The door swung open with ease and the group took steps inside. Once again Minato found himself standing in the school. It had only been a few hours ago since he and Yukari left to go eat before returning to the dorm…only to return back to the school.
The chairman, Ikutsuki couldn't be contacted so Mitsuru had worried about how they would get back in. But Junpei had already taken care of that. Of course all he had done was assure that the emergency exit was open so they could easily slip back in. Mitsuru was pretty impressed by it, even though Minato wondered why. Then again maybe a high caliber girl like her would have never experienced something like this.
"See? We got in no problem. Man, I'm a genius," he grinned.
Minato couldn't help but stare at him incredulously as Yukari spoke what had already crossed his mind, "Is that really something to brag about?"
"So you unlocked it earlier? Tres bien," Mitsuru took a few steps forward and Akihiko quickly reminded them of their task and pushed onward into the dark school.
"What's the big deal, anyway?" Yukari commented as she started walking as well. Junpei took a moment to look at Minato.
"Tray Ben? What's that even mean? That's not English is it?" Junpei asked.
"It's french and she was giving you a compliment on a good job. But we need to hurry Junpei-kun," Minato followed the others as they made their way into a classroom.
"Hey, can we turn on the lights?" Yukari asked and taking the moment to move next to Minato when he entered.
"Aww, you scared?" Junpei asked in a ridiculous childish voice.
"No!" Yukari answered way too quickly. And she had taken another step towards Minato and might as well have just grabbed his arm. "…Stupei."
"Stop calling me that," Junpei muttered.
Akihiko tossed his jacket over his shoulder, "Quiet. It's better if we leave them off. They cut the power at night anyway."
"Yeah, plus we don't need security finding us in here before midnight," Minato added.
"I don't like sneaking around," Yukari said from next to Minato.
Mitsuru looked at them before speaking, "First, we have to find the key to the gym. Akihiko and I will check the janitor's room. You three check the Faculty Office. After that we'll meet in the main hallway. Got it?"
"The Faculty Office, huh? Hey, maybe we'll find some test questions," Junpei said, and grinning. Minato simply shook his head.
"Maybe I should go to the Faculty Office too. It sounds interesting," Akihiko apparently had joined the Junpei team for a moment. And Minato had to fight the urge to smack his head at the two of them. Yeah nothing was really happening right now, but it was kind of more important than the next test.
Naturally, Mitsuru was quick to put out this small fire, "Are you planning to do something unscrupulous under my supervision? If so, then expect to be severely punished."
"It was a joke! I'd never do something like that," Junpei quickly responded. Minato was pretty sure he heard Yukari mutter "Yeah right" under her breath. Which made him give a slight chuckle. And he noticed that Akihiko hadn't missed a beat behind him.
"Come on, Mitsuru. Lighten up a little," Akihiko didn't really stand a chance against Mitsuru but she did ease up a little.
"Fine. Let's head over to the janitor's room. Iori, you're coming with us." Mitsuru leaves, followed by Akihiko. Junpei takes a moment looking at Minato and Yukari before following behind them.
Minato found himself wondering how things always seemed to work this way. Once again he found himself alone with Yukari for a second time on one day. "They could at least act like they are serious about this." Minato muttered and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yukari, are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, albeit tentatively.
He pulled out something from his pocket and took Yukari's hand and placed the object in it. "Here, keep this with you."
"What is it?" she said trying to get a look at it. Minato had already moved towards the door that was still open and looking out into the dark hallway.
"Something that will keep you safe. A charm and a memento," Minato said as he saw the light from the full moon was making it a lot easier to see than it normally would. A full moon, he was more worried about tonight than he cared to admit. And mostly because he had a bad feeling. Something was going to go wrong today.
"Momento?" Yukari found that it was on a chain and put it around her neck
"Yeah, from my Mother," Minato said it quickly. It was the only thing he had of his parents...or rather all that he was allowed to have from what his parents owned. Everything else had been seized by relatives...although they had wanted nothing to do with Minato himself. Soon enough he had been placed in foster care. He shook those thoughts off and focused back on the moment. "Just hold onto it for me tonight."
She looked at it for a moment before she tucked it under her shirt so it wouldn't get in her way, and said nothing in response to him, "Alright, let's get this over with."
She stayed close to him, and the two made their way down the hallway and towards the stairs that led down to the main hall. The only light to speak of was the moon light from the full moon. But there weren't any windows around the stairs so it got dark real fast. Moving down the stairs was difficult and he went slowly and the two of them did their best not to make any noise. They finally reached the main hallway. And loud footsteps could be heard.
"Do you hear that?" Yukari whispered.
"Quick, over here," Minato lightly grabbed her arm as they both moved behind the pillar. He put his back against the pillar and Yukari stood close to him with her arms on both sides of him on the pillar. Minato had his head to one side trying to see who the source was. The footsteps got louder as someone came through the front door of the school. A flashlight made a sweep of the surroundings. As the light came past them, Yukari pushed herself closer against Minato and grabbed the front of his shirt. Minato could tell that he focused on the pillar longer than anywhere else. An agonizing moment passed and then the flashlight moved away and the footsteps were walking away. After that the front door to the school was closed and immediately locked. Yukari didn't immediately move from him.
Eventually, Yukari eased and stepped away from Minato but did so cautiously and peered around the pillar. After a moment she sighed, "It's just a security guard."
"We should hurry either way," Minato said as he moved from his spot. He was trying to act under control, but feeling Yukari so close had definitely had an effect on him. His heart was still racing and could still smell the perfume she was wearing.
A loud ring came from Yukari's phone that made her jump, "Ahh! My cell phone? Why now?"
Minato frowned. What would be the point in even bringing your cell phone anyway? They all had a more reliable way of communicating. And it wasn't like cell phones functioned during the Dark Hour. Then again he still didn't know Yukari that well, perhaps she just was accustomed to always having it with her. Maybe Minato was the odd one in this regard. He always had his phone off unless he was outside school...or not going on a SEES rescue mission or Tartarus run.
"Figures, its spam. Sorry about that, it took me by surprise," Yukari explained, even though Minato didn't really care either way.
"We shouldn't linger, I think that security guard had some suspicion that someone is in here. He might come back," Minato said looking to Yukari. She was more concerned with convincing Minato that she wasn't scared. He wasn't about to spread it around that she totally was. And there was nothing wrong with being scared of the dark. After all, they knew better than anyone what was lurking there.
"Right, let's hurry up then," Yukari said and the two of them made their way to the Faculty Office hallway and then quickly into the Office.
The moonlight lit up this room quite well, but the shadows of the room didn't make it any more welcoming. But still, Minato always seemed to find himself comfortable in the dark. Perhaps because he had been alone for all his life. Something about it just put him at ease. "I think the keys are along the wall here."
Yukari and Minato felt there way around in what was the darkest part of the Office and opened one of the cupboards. She pulled out a few keys and then turned to Minato, "It's way too dark, can you read these?"
He took the first one, he didn't really have a problem with it. The first one wasn't it that was for the archery club. It wasn't the second one, it was for the music room. The third one was definitely it and so he grabbed it, "This is it."
"Alright, let's head back to the main hallway. We're supposed to meet the others there," Yukari was the first to head to the door. Minato took a moment staring at the key.
Was this really the right way? Either way they didn't have a choice. And he wasn't about to let his bad feelings stop him. But he was in no way going to dismiss them. Still, he'd rather have Yukari not a part of the action this time. After a moment he was following Yukari as they walked back into the main hallway. Minato walked over and leaned against the pillar. Close to where the pair of them had been earlier.
"Did you find the key?" Mitsuru asked as the other group approached Minato and Yukari.
"Sure did," Yukari said pointing to Minato. He held it up in his hand but didn't hand it over.
"Ya know, I heard a scream that seemed kinda familiar," Junpei was already going back to teasing Yukari.
Yukari took a couple steps towards Minato and deliberately looked away from Junpei.
"What, you actually did? I was just kidding," Junpei couldn't help but chuckle.
"You wanna make something of it?" Yukari suddenly got angry, but Minato could tell she was blushing. This was why he didn't want her to get hurt. She was more self-conscious than she realized. He wasn't convinced that tonight was a night she should be involved with the fight. Today she had been so concerned about him, even going as far as to take him out for dinner. Minato didn't have time to ponder about any of that though.
"Keep it down," Akihiko was the one that intervened.
"We'll divide into teams again. Three of you will enter Tartarus, and one of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position." Mitsuru made it sound so easy. Minato was unconvinced it would be anything so easy. There was no way to know if Fuuka had awakened as a persona user. And even if she had, it was possible that she had a unique signature that differed from the rest of them. It would make her harder to find this way.
"I'll go," Akihiko looked to Minato. "You should come, too. You can take the lead as always."
"Naturally but who is going to be the third?" Minato looked over to Junpei.
"Um, then I'll be the third," Yukari said, but Junpei cut in.
"Wait a second. Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail? Gimme a chance to make up for that," Junpei was pleading to Mitsuru.
"Oh come on. It isn't always about you. Besides you didn't accidentally screw up," Yukari sounded angry but was probably just irritated that he had been teasing her all night.
Akihiko made eye contact with Minato and gave him a nod towards Junpei. He probably wanted to know his opinion more because Minato was the leader. And despite Junpei's brashness and going against orders last time, it had probably really saved them unintentionally. Plus Minato didn't want Yukari to be in the gym when the school turned to Tartarus. Junpei was fine in close quarters combat, so if something happened he would be fine alone. Yukari was a long range fighter. If she didn't have someone there to keep her enemy at a distance she would be in trouble real quick. And there was no guarantee that something wouldn't happen. So Minato gave an affirming nod to Akihiko.
"Alright, Junpei, we'll give you another shot," he spoke firmly and Junpei automatically smiled in response.
Minato brought his gaze to Yukari. She definitely wasn't happy about it. But if he had to guess, it wasn't for any reason that he could figure out. He noticed the chain showing on the back of her neck. She was wearing the charm he gave to her. He folded his arms and leaned more fully against the pillar looking away. He didn't even know anything about his mother. He was a mere six years old at the time. He didn't have much of his parents. They had an estate in the area that he was reluctant to go to. Apparently his uncle still paid for the upkeep using Minato's inheritance. He couldn't actually claim it until he was eighteen. But apparently a stipulation made by his Grandfather was that the estate on Tatsumi Port Island be left as it was for Minato. For when he was old enough.
What Yukari wore, was a charm meant for good luck. Specifically in love. It was something that apparently his Father had given to his Mother when they were just in High School. Something that was meant to be a joke, but it had led to the two of them getting together. The reason he gave it to her now was that he placed another charm inside of it for protection and it was actually another metal chain inside of it. He's not sure why he made such a decision but if felt like the right one to make.
"It's almost time," Mitsuru said looking at her watch.
"Right, let's head to the gym," Minato pushed off the pillar as they went to split up in different directions. He passed by Yukari, she reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked over at her. She was grabbing her shirt, more specifically his charm she was wearing under it.
"Arisato, I should give this…"
"No, please continue to wear it," Minato turned away from her. "I feel more comfortable if it is with you."
"Alright. Be careful," Yukari said as she let him go.
"I will, but you too. Don't let your guard down," Minato brought up his short sword that had been sheathed on him from the beginning. "I have a bad feeling about all this."
March 7th, 2011 / Afternoon
She broke through the surface of the water and felt an overwhelming feeling of refreshment. Her mind was much clearer now than it had been this morning. Yukari was learning so much about Minato. Including his charm…the one she still wore. Well, when she wasn't swimming anyway. She wore it the same way she always had since that night. Underneath her shirt, right against her skin. It had been one of her closest links to him until now. The journal revealed more about him than she had ever thought it could.
Yukari was wearing something similar to what she had worn the other time she had been to Yakushima. A two piece suit that was pink, but this one was much more modest than the one she had worn then. At that time, she hadn't even been sure why she picked one like that. But it was obvious to her now. Although she had never wanted to admit it back then, she had been attracted to Minato from the beginning. She had spent a lot of time actually resisting that attraction.
Things didn't work out that way, of course. When everything came to a head when she learned part of the truth about her Father at Yakushima. She had been able to successfully keep any emotions in check until that time. There was no way she could have stopped herself as the wall she had crafted had been ripped painfully away by that video of her Father. And Minato had been there to comfort her. She was the only one that she felt she could trust at that time. And with all her well-built walls torn down, she couldn't run from the feelings that she had for him.
After Yakushima she couldn't stop herself and pretend what happened there had been nothing. So she did something unthinkable. She called him up to the roof. She convinced herself it was only to apologize to him about the stupid things she had said to him in Yakushima. Minato had been so right about her. She still remembered his words to her. "You act on your emotions. It makes you powerful but it also has a tendency to blind you." Yukari had been mad at him at first, but she realized just how right he had been.
Every time her anger rose to a certain point it had been Minato there to calm her down. Even if sometimes he did the opposite to get to her. He had been watching over her since the beginning. And the journal only reaffirmed that fact.
Yukari swam back to shore as the sun shined brightly onto the beach. Everyone else was there as well. Not many people came in March. But still it was strangely warm for this time of the year. It was usually a couple months later when it would really be warm enough for this. But an odd shift in weather brought on a front of hot weather. It had all worked out somehow.
"Hey, Yuka-tan. How's the water?" Junpei asked from under the large umbrella where he was spread out and playing some portable gaming device.
"It's good, but are you actually planning to go in?" She asked and walked over to the table and picked up her towel and wrapped it around herself after drying her hair a little bit.
"Well maybe not. I think this is good and relaxing as I am," Junpei certainly did look comfortable. It wasn't like there was a reason for her to argue a reason like that, but usually he would have been the first one to rush down onto the beach. Then again he had never seen him at a beach since then.
Perhaps Junpei associated this beach with his own time with Minato. After all the two of them also bonded at Yakushima if she remembered correctly. A lot of things changed at that time, so it was a rough time for everybody. She hadn't read that far in the journal though. She was slowly getting to it though.
She sat down on a chair next to the table and reached into her bag where the journal was. She planned to read the rest of the entry of the third full moon tonight at dinner. All of them were surprised at how much Minato had figured out on his own. And Mitsuru had surmised the reason why he had never spoken about it. Most likely he had no proof to go with his theory and had no reason to believe any of them would believe him. He spent most of his time alone, or it just seemed that way. In reality Minato was always out with someone, but never in a group.
Before they had all just assumed he just didn't care for big groups, but now that Yukari knew about the Social Links it might have meant he had to do it that way. There must have been certain ways that they had to work. Or maybe he really didn't care for big groups.
Now that she thought about it he was always so secluded from the others whenever they were in a big group. Only in important junctions would he even say anything to them. Minato was always the one standing against the wall and watching all of them. Yukari never really noticed at first but then found that he was always observing, never really going out of his way to participate.
"Junpei-kun, I'm heading up for a shower. I'll see you at dinner," she said gathering up her bag and heading off as Junpei said a quick goodbye. She waved to the others but enjoyed the peaceful walk back to the resort. She needed to read more of the journal.
June 8th, 2009 / Minutes before the Dark Hour
Minato leaned with his back against the wall in the gym. His arms were crossed but his left hand held the sheath that held his short sword. He looked at his wrist watch. Still four minutes until the Dark Hour. He wondered how Yukari was doing. She didn't look that enthusiastic to be spending time with Mitsuru. There was something about the relationship between the two, but it felt to Minato to be one sided. Something about Mitsuru rubbed Yukari the wrong way. He felt it was more than likely a misunderstanding because the two weren't really friends. It really wasn't his business though. He just didn't want it to drive a wedge on what was really important. The team.
It seemed to him that Akihiko was the only one to talk reason with Mitsuru, but she wasn't going to throw out what anyone said that quickly either. It was much too early to really know everything that was going on. If he was right, it took an event for everyone to awaken to their persona. It wasn't just something that happened to gifted individuals. The ones they had referred to as to having the potential. He wasn't sure believed that. There had to be specific reasons as to why people awakened.
Glancing at his watch again, two minutes left. He looked over to see Junpei pulling his sword out and looking over the blade. Akihiko pulled out bladed gloves and slipped them over his hand. One minute left.
"Be ready for battle as soon as the Dark Hour hits," Minato said looking out the gym doors that led outside. The light from the full moon was bright, and it would be incredibly unsettling when the Dark Hour came. Fifteen seconds. He leaned his head back against the wall. Time moved slowly and then the time hit. Looking up at the ceiling as the Dark Hour crept its way in. "It's here."
There was no way to know what to expect at this moment, but it was too late to be worried about that now. The walls, ground and ceiling began to distort and move and Minato felt another effect. His grabbed his head with his right hand and clenched his hand on his sheath harder as he felt his consciousness fading. And then he fell forward and didn't feel a thing.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed but he found himself waking up again. Opening his eyes it took a moment before he could focus.
"Are you awake?" asked a familiar voice. Looking up, it could be mistaken for no one else.
"Pharos, isn't this an odd place for you to be?" Minato rubbed his head and sat up to gather himself before attempting to stand. Standing too soon might be a little disorienting.
"I guess this has been the first time we have spoken outside of your room," Pharos seemed amused by Minato.
"So why are you here anyway?" Minato took a moment and carefully got to his feet.
"Haven't I told you before? I'm always with you. But we don't have time to talk. Tonight there will be more than one ordeal for you to face. You should hurry. She's waiting for you. You guys will need her. Okay then, I hope we can speak again." Pharos gave me a smile before disappearing as he always did.
"Of course we'll speak again," Minato shook his head. "After all I plan to see this to the very end."
He looked around for the first time since he had woken up. He was definitely in Tartarus and probably at a lot higher level than they had been. He hoped the new personae he had fused would be good enough for now. Except he was definitely alone. If he had to wager a guess, it didn't matter where you were in the building. If you were somewhere on school property it would most likely warp you to a part somewhere in Tartarus. It wasn't like Tartarus used real materials to generate the tower. So it didn't follow any real rules. Sometimes the fact that science couldn't really be applied bothered Minato.
Minato took a moment to try and contact Mitsuru, "Kirijo-san, can you hear me?"
Surprisingly she did respond but it was so broken he couldn't make out much. It didn't matter too much, he'd just have to move forward and figure things out as he went. There was really no other option. Minato double checked his evoker and strapped his sheath to his belt and then pulled out the blade. Without Mitsuru for backup it would be a lot harder, especially being alone.
He needed to move quickly but cautiously. It was around the first corner he was attacked by Shadows. Three of them, and a type he had faced before. He brought his sword up as the first came towards him. It was a gigantic hand that had appeared in several forms in the climb of the tower. And if he remembered correctly it was typically weak against fire. He switched to the most apt fire using persona in his current selection. Pyro Jack.
Swapping his sword into his off hand, he pulled out his evoker. An ice attack came towards him but using the sword he sliced through it, missing him completely and then brought the evoker to his head in the same motion. "Agilao," he muttered and pulled the trigger. This fire spell was more potent than what anyone else could use. And it had been a surprise to him when he had done the fusion. Too bad for the Shadow, as the flame quickly dispatched all of them as he released one after the other.
He couldn't take any chances with trying to conserve. If needed he had brought some items to revitalize himself if he called on his persona too much. There was no telling on how long it would be before he could regroup with the others. But turning the next corner he found the stairs leading up. There was no other path to go. This floor was the smallest he had ever been on. It seemed odd. There was never time to think about anything.
Reaching the next level his communicator buzzed, "Akihiko and….aren't…this floor." It was Mitsuru, she was trying to get him intel. She must have been able to locate the other two but they were out of range. Or maybe out of the normal range of Tartarus.
Minato couldn't go down floors, which meant Akihiko and Junpei were actually above him. If that was the case he should avoid fights and get to the next floor.
His communicator buzzed but a different voice came over it, and it was much clearer this time. "Who's there? Are you human?"
"Hello? Who is this? Hello?" Minato quickly replied, but no one responded. He holstered his evoker and put his sword back in his right hand as he started running down the hall, keeping his eyes as alert as he could. Turning a corner he ran past a Shadow as it attempted to attack him. He slid as another approached and then popped up using his momentum to propel him into the air. As the Shadow moved to strike he caught it in its arm and wrapped around it avoiding the strike and then propelling himself once again by jumping off of the Shadow. He took off in a dead sprint as the stairs heading to the next floor came into view.
This time he pulled out the evoker with his off hand by reaching across his body to get it. "Pyro Jack," And with that he lit the ground ablaze and made the Shadows stop in their tracks. The fire wouldn't last their long but he would be up on the next level before the Shadows would realize where he went. Shadows weren't really that intelligent. At least not these ones.
The next floor was much like the last. Again Mitsuru tried to contact him but the connection failed. Mitsuru was getting worried. Minato wondered if Yukari was as well. There was no way for him to know. He just had to hurry for now. After all he could feel that his bad feeling was getting stronger. He hoped that Yukari and Mitsuru were okay. At least for now he could assume they were if Mitsuru was focusing on trying to contact them.
What was more concerning was the other voice. If he was right, then that was the person they were searching for.
He quickened his pace and ran up the next flight of stairs. Then turning the corner he found Akihiko and Junpei as they finished off a couple of Shadows.
"Hey, here he is. Man, we were worried about you," Junpei grinned as he slung his sword on his shoulder.
"I'm hardly worth worrying about," Minato muttered. "Either way it's better that we've regrouped."
"I don't think we should enter Tartarus this way again," Akihiko gave a sigh.
"That's putting it pretty lightly," Minato sheathed his sword and evoker.
"Say, did you guys hear a voice while you were in here? Uh, kinda like…"
"Who is this? Are you human?" the voice interrupted Junpei as if on cue.
"That's it! That's the voice. It sounded like it came from behind us," Junpei turned along with Akihiko.
Minato already knew without having to confirm it. But the girl in question that they had come in to save popped up from around the corner.
"Are you Yamagishi Fuuka?" Akihiko asked.
Upon realization that they were in fact human, she came running out and directly towards them. Minato took a moment to look down the hallway that Fuuka had come from. It seemed that the layout for this floor was also rather small in comparison to the usual levels. Was this a result of how they had all entered Tartarus? If that was true then they might actually be in a different part of the tower that couldn't be accessed except by entering in the fashion they had.
"Oh yeah, are you hurt? Have you run into any monsters?" Junpei's question brought Minato back to the current problem.
"So, there are strange creatures in here. I've managed to avoid them so far," Fuuka replied somewhat timidly. No it was more than that, she was tired, incredibly exhausted. No doubt from the fact she had been in here for ten hours. But still Minato couldn't help but grin, he had been right. Her ability was in scanning.
Was this what Pharos was referring to? That Fuuka had been the one waiting and that she was the one that they would need?
"She has the same power as Mitsuru. Maybe even stronger, since Mitsuru's Persona is more battle oriented," Akihiko thought out loud. To Minato there was no maybe about it. Fuuka's strength was specifically in scanning. It was also why she was able to talk to them without ever meeting them. She was able to use her power to communicate with them just as Mitsuru could. But she had most likely been tracking all of their movements and after observing all of them for a while decided that they had to be human and approached them. Akihiko stepped forward and pulled out a spare evoker and handed it to Fuuka. "Hold onto this."
She took it but then took in a deep breath after looking at it, "This is…"
"Think of it as a lucky charm. It's not really a gun," Akhiko gave her a comforting look but he was only adding more questions for Fuuka. Still there was no time to properly explain things to her. Minato didn't like that but he was more concerned on getting back to the others. "Let's get outta here."
It had been too long since he had last heard from Mitsuru and Yukari. Well he hadn't heard from Yukari at all since the whole event had started. And it really bothered him that he didn't know. As they continued on they walked by something that was incredibly rare in Tartarus. A long set of windows that showed the full moon in all its glory of the Dark Hour. His expression dropped as he felt a sense of panic coming over him. They needed to get back soon.
"Whoa, check out the moon. I've never seen it so bright," Junpei commented.
"You have a short memory then," Minato muttered under his breath as he took a few more steps while the others seemed to have stopped.
"Some research indicates that the Shadows are affected by the phases of the moon. Then again the same thing could be said about humans," Akihiko comment made Minato stop.
So if Akihiko knew that, then there was research and information that they had access to? When exactly were the rest of them going to be brought up to speed with stuff like that? Even if it was only theory anything could be considered helpful.
"That would explain Yuka-tan's mood swings," Junpei then looked over to Minato. "Hey, wasn't it a full moon the night we went to the monorail?"
"Was it?" Akihiko suddenly became interested.
"I think so, why?" Junpei went somewhat defensive but Akihiko ignored him and instead moved to Minato.
"Did you see the moon the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?" he looked at him for an answer.
"Yeah, it was full," Minato already knew all that but it wasn't surprising that Akihiko would be the first one in their group to make that connection. Actually he thought that Mitsuru would have but he was wrong about that. But as predicted Akihiko immediately tried to contact Mitsuru again.
"Mitsuru, are you there?"
"Akihiko? Shadows…" It wasn't good; she was still breaking up too much. Still Akihiko kept trying to contact her. Minato moved to Fuuka.
"Yamagishi, do you sense anything. It would be down, I'd say somewhere between sixty and seventy floors. It should be something big, like those creatures and another thing," Minato dropped his voice to a whisper. "It should come from outside of this place."
She shook her head and focused for a moment. Her eyes widened suddenly, "What is this thing? It's much bigger than the others. And it's attacking someone."
"Dammit!" Akihiko started running. All of them fell in step behind him.
"What's going on?" Junpei demanded.
"It's one of them. If my guess is right, they come every full moon. We have to hurry,"
Minato ran ahead of them as he saw the exit coming up. Hold on Yukari. I'll be there soon. He went through the exit without checking with the others and the next instant he was back in the lobby of Tartarus. Yukari was falling to the ground…and Mitsuru is being held up in the air in the Shadow's grip. There were two of them. One large and thin with a long sword, and the other short and round with what seemed like a wand or small club.
He made a line straight to Yukari and pulled out his sword. He jumped over her and deflected an oncoming fire attack on her with ease. "Are you okay?" Minato looked back at her. She was breathing heavily and part of her clothing was ripped.
"I don't get it. What's going on? Nothing's working on them," Yukari managed between breaths. Then she gasped as a pain hit her. Minato was at her side in a moment looking over her.
"Where did you get hit?" Minato didn't see any blood.
"It's fine," Yukari pulled the long chain from under her shirt and showed the charm he had given to her. "Seems like you made the right choice in leaving it with me."
"I told you I felt more comfortable if it's with you," Minato stated. He looked over at the Shadows but they weren't attacking. Mitsuru looked to be holding in the pain, and Akihiko was trying to figure a way to get her away from the Shadow. Then someone new entered into the lobby of Tartarus. Natsuki.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Akihiko was the only voice that Minato could make out.
Minato took a moment to check Yukari's pulse. It was strong, and even though he wanted to make sure she had no more injuries he didn't really have a right too. "Are you sure you are okay?"
"Why don't you ask me that after the immediate danger is gone?" she pushed him away. Knowing he needed to refocus his energy to the two giant shadows. And the fact that they had the person they had tried to protect by keeping in the dorm wandering into Tartarus. Well it wasn't like there had been anyone at the dorm to ensure she stayed there.
"Moriyama-san?" Fuuka ran right over to the other girl. Minato was ready to move. "Please get out of here. It's dangerous." Minato stopped, despite what they had heard Fuuka had been bullied by this girl and yet was going to run out into an unfamiliar situation to save her. Minato definitely liked Fuuka already.
"I wanted to tell you. I'm sorry," Natuski cried.
One of the shadows started to move towards Fuuka. Minato took a few steps forward but saw Fuuka pull out the evoker that Akihiko just given her.
"Wait! That isn't a weapon!" Akihiko warned.
"I know," said Fuuka. But it was different than a way people normally spoke…instead it was more like she had spoken directly to their minds. Slowly she raised the evoker to her head. And as the Shadow brought the sword down to strike her she fired. In an instant her Persona appeared, but it wasn't like a normal persona and instead it covered both Fuuka and Natsuki. The strike harmlessly reflected off causing the Shadow to fall back and Mitsuru to fall from its grip.
Akihiko was there to catch her. He quickly retreated to give them space and Minato moved forward in case one of them tried to follow up with an attack.
"I'm alright," Mitsuru was breathing heavy but there wasn't much time to see if her statement was true. "Be careful, normal attacks don't work on these Shadows. And all of our instruments have been destroyed."
"I can see them," Fuuka's voice could be heard by all of them. She was speaking with them telepathically. Minato figured that was the real power she had. She could actually link them together. She was able to connect and scan. She was the tactical point. "I can sense these monsters' weaknesses, somehow."
"Just as I thought. Mitsuru, let her take your place," Akihiko grinned.
"I get it now. Yamagishi, can you assist the others?" Mitsuru asked.
"I'll do my best," Fuuka replied.
"Arisato is the leader. Relay information to him. He'll determine the actions from there," Akihiko quickly pointed out.
Minato rushed up front alongside Akihiko and Junpei. They had a good amount of room to fight in, but they couldn't lose ground. All of the girls behind them were vulnerable at the moment. And there was no way he was going to let anything get to them. His sword was loosely held in his right hand, ready to move into an appropriate position as needed. He hated this whole situation, why was all of this even happening? His world had changed the moment he had arrived in Tatsumi Port Island. Why was this all happening?
His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword, "Yamagishi-san, what can you tell be about these two?" His voice was calm and controlled despite the turmoil he was feeling inside of him.
"I can sense…both have multiple weaknesses but, they are…my goodness," Fuuka's voice was taken aback.
"What is it Yamagishi-san?" Minato asked as the shadows looked like they were prepping an attack.
"They can switch their weaknesses between physical and magical attacks. But it seems they swap weaknesses. I can see some sort of…classification?" Fuuka didn't seem confident.
"No you're not seeing things, it's accurate. Shadows are classified in the different arcana," Minato switched the persona in his mind to Valkyrie. "What are they?"
"Empress and Emperor," Fuuka supplied.
"You guys focus on the Emperor. I'll deal with the Empress," Minato looked to Akihiko and Junpei. Akihiko was quick to not his affirmation, but Junpei seemed to hesitate a moment. "Yamagishi-san, focus your scanning on the Emperor. Keep them advised on what attacks are effective. You just need to inform me when their weaknesses are switched."
"Be careful, Arisato-san," Fuuka said quickly.
Minato charged in at the Empress as Akihiko and Junpei made a line towards the Emperor. Careful huh? I don't have room to be careful. I have to take on this towering Shadow alone. My only goal is to defeat it, regardless of the cost. The Empress targeted him immediately and he felt the air around him suddenly start to cool. A split second decision had his persona switch to Jack Frost. His persona absorbed the majority of the attack but he definitely felt its effects trying to slow his charge.
It was no use as the Empress flung spells at him. He switched personae again and again as he dodged and gradually closed the gap to the Empress. Minato put his blade in his off hand and took out his evoker. He had no doubts that the weaknesses were about to change.
"The Emperor is weak to physical attacks!" Fuuka declared to the group.
"Jack Frost!" Minato yelled as he fired the evoker and the blue white persona erupted from him. "Bufula!" More powerful than the regular bufu spell, it created a wall of ice around the Empress before an icicle erupted from its center. The Empress wailed in pain and fell onto its back. Minato was quickly approaching the Empress. He jumped into the air and switched his persona to Hua Po. "Persona!" His evoker fired again.
"It's switched!" Fuuka yelled.
It was too late. Minato had already fired off the spell. Worse was he had switched away from Hua Po back to Jack Frost. His fire attack bounced harmlessly off the Empress and came pounding back into him. His momentum was completely halted and he was launched back and onto the ground. He could feel the searing heat even as he switched to Hua Po again to ease the pain. That had hurt more than he cared to admit. His body didn't want to get back up. Still he dragged himself to his feet. The Empress was now charging him this time, surprisingly attacking him with the wand the Empress had. He instinctively brought his blade up and used his evoker to support the blade as the powerful attack came down onto him. The force was enough that it forced Minato to go onto one knee.
He automatically switched to Valkyrie and with the extra strength from the persona he got back to his feet and with a massive push knocked the Empress back. Quickly he brought his evoker to his temple and fired. Valkyrie charged forward and struck the Empress hard, creating the opening he wanted. Minato was back in the air and landed where the Valkyrie had just struck and stabbed his blade into the crack that Valkyrie had created. He then jumped and kicked hard on the blade plunging it deeper into the Empress. Then he jumped backwards off the hilt of the blade, only having his evoker.
"The weaknesses have switched again!" Fuuka informed the group.
The Empress struggled to get to its feet. Now the weakness was magic. Minato switched to High Pixie, one of his newest personae as the Empress finally recovered, but his blade still deeply embedded in the shadow. "I don't know why all of this is happening. I don't know why I have the ability to switch and acquire more personae and no one else can. But I…" Minato felt like it was something he needed to say, to get off of his mind. "I will never forgive anything or anyone that attacks my friends! High Pixie!" A lightning blast came from his newly summoned persona and it struck home on the sword he had embedded into the Empress. He poured all his energy into this attack. And the light show that displayed as the lightning cut through that distance must have been impressive as it stuck true and enveloped the Empress.
Minato stood up long enough to see the Empress erupt into nothing. Leaving his sword harmlessly in the ground. Though he doubt that sword would ever see another battle after the abuse he had given it. His strength gave way and he collapsed to his knees on the ground. He felt as if his chest was burning again. And at the same time he felt somewhat cold. He looked down to see that the majority of his clothes were burned to a crisp. As a matter of fact he had about half a shirt and pants that were more appropriate to call shorts. He laughed, it seemed right considering.
"Arisato!" Yukari came rushing over to him. Her evoker came to her and without hesitation she summoned it and Minato could feel the warmth and comfort that he had always felt when her healing spells landed on him. His laugh turned into a slight chuckle. The pain passed but he was still drained of energy. "This isn't funny."
"I dunno, it's kind of funny. I look like I just ran through a bon fire," he couldn't really keep himself upright. And so he collapsed onto the floor. But Yukari grabbed him and eased his head onto her lap.
"No, no it's not," Yukari spoke softly, words that were meant for him alone.
"Sorry, Takeba-san," Minato whispered. "I just couldn't risk it getting past me so…"
"Don't say you're sorry. You saved my life again. I just…" Yukari didn't seem to be able to find the words she wanted to say to him. "Just shut up for a bit, um…Minato-kun."
He felt his face heat up and suddenly his proximity to her was made very aware to him. But he did as instructed and shut up. It was the first time Yukari had spoken his first name. Even if she had said it to get him to shut up, it was too late to take it back. Minato looked up to see that Yukari incredibly flustered. It just reminded him of how much he didn't know about this girl, and that his desire to do so seemed even more important to him. But he would never push it.
"Don't worry, it's over," Akihiko's voice broke Minato's thoughts.
However as he attempted to look around Yukari's hands came down onto his forehead and forced him to stay where he was. "Rest for now, please."
"Yeah, okay," was all he could manage before he felt the wave of warmth and comfort as Yukari used a spell on him once again. His eyes felt really heavy suddenly as he realized just how much of his strength he had used in that fight. "You're so warm, Yukari-san…" His world was enveloped in darkness as the world of dreams welcomed him to a well-deserved rest.
March 7th, 2011 / Late Evening
The cool nights air brought a form of comfort to Yukari. She clutched the journal against her chest as she sat out on the balcony of her room that looked out to the beach. She remembered that night. The full moon and yet another battle against a shadow. Shadows that her Father had purposely let out into the world. In order to protect the world. It was on that very night of the third full moon that Minato had first called her by her first name.
She remembered how hard her heart had beat when he had rushed directly to her side. He had saved her once again. But he always did. He saved her again and again. And what had she done for him? In the end he had given up not only his life, but his soul to protect her and the rest of the world. She had wasted so much time that could have been made to be with him. How could she ever hope to forgive herself?
Tears threatened to consumer her once more, but no amount of will power could stop them from coming. The words he had so lovingly wrote onto this journal were filled with everything that he was. She felt as though he was there with her as she read. So as much as the journal brought memories of sorrow, it brought a sense of calm and happiness that she had all but forgotten about.
"Even after you're gone, you still come swooping in to save me, don't you?" Yukari looked up to the moon. "Is it lonely there? Do you dream? Why did you have to give up so much? Was there really no other way?" She felt herself start to shake. It wasn't the cold but instead she felt an immense need to be touched, to be held. The void that only Minato could ever fill. She wrapped her arms around herself but could hardly see anything as her tears made it impossible to do so. She felt herself slip to the cold ground. "You always accomplished the impossible. So why…why couldn't you stay here with me?"
Author's Note:
I think there was never enough anger in this part of the game. Minato has personal reasons as to why he gets so angry, and Yukari's reaction to learning about Junpei and Minato's conversation is foreshadowing to a future reveal. But honestly...Minato is pretty angry about the whole situation...Fuuka has been missing for quite a long time and yet her parents don't seem to care either way. And the way the teachers handle it is just as bad. Like they are sweeping it under the rug as if she was just being rebellious when in truth no one has any idea. Minato's past is what makes him so passionate about it.
It's about this time in the Fan Fiction where I feel like I started to understand what I wanted out of it, and when I got a feel about who Minato really was. And you'll start to see more divergences from the script here...and notice that as SEES is recounting it...what they know and what they are reading aren't exactly matching up 1 to 1. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
As always leave a review with questions, comments or whatever. And if you like what you see here...maybe spread the love to some others? lol Anyway see you tomorrow with Chapter 5.