Persona 3: Momento Umbrae

by Slasher71

Yukari has graduated and former SEES come together to celebrate. However, the appearance of Minato's Journal causes questions as well as a discovery. Hamuko Takahashi, is found to be Minato's twin sister, and who has questions about her own past that is wrapped in mystery. As questions get answered more mysteries are uncovered...can SEES discover the truth of the Arisato family?

5. Chapter 5 - Dread

CHAPTER 5 / Dread

February 11th, 2010

Dear Yukari,

Another day passes, and I curse that time won't sit still when I am with you. Here I am trying to steal every moment I can to spend with you and it just seems that it is never enough. Time marches forward until the promised time. I think that is as far as I can manage. Then I will have to be completely devoted to being the seal.

It was sad really, when I finally made the connection for what was happening. That it was the world that was summoning Nyx and not the work of any one individual. That was why the Shadows gathered at the tower to begin with. All Kirijo Group had done was speed up the process by a few hundred years. No...Death was a wish brought forth by humanity even though they don't realize it, would never consciously be aware of it. Thoughts of suicide and death are a plague that can never truly be conquered. After all, we're only human. Our time on the world is limited no matter how you look at it. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything to live for.

I found mine. Or rather I like to believe that it found me. It was you, Yukari. And as much as I wish things had turned out differently, I can't say I regret my actions. After all I saved this wonderful world that you live in. And I could never allow for you to die. I want you to live. That was my deepest wish. When I looked into Nyx, I knew what I wanted and with all the strength I had gathered I was able to bring that wish to fruition.

I love you, Yukari. And yet I know how angry you'll be at me for this. I just hope you know that if I could I would have been with you forever. But no matter what happens, I will always be watching over you. That's a promise.

Love Always,

Arisato Minato

March 8th, 2011 / Morning

She felt constantly on the verge of her mood changing. One moment she would feel just fine, but as soon as her hand was on the journal she would almost come to tears by just the mere thoughts it gave to her. And yet, each entry that she read had her falling in love with him all over again. She was seeing his inner thoughts that he never shared for the first time. It was like they were finally completely open with each other. It had taken way too long for them to reach this point. One year, after he was declared brain dead.

However, despite him being declared brain dead, someone supposedly claiming to be from Minato's family came to the hospital with a document saying that his life support was to be maintained indefinitely. Yukari had gotten so angry at the time. There was never going to be a time when his eyes would open, Yukari just knew it at the time. When she had met that person that had claimed to be a relative it had been an older gentleman. She yelled at him, telling him how cruel it was to just leave him. He was already dead, the only left was for his body to follow. The older gentleman merely gave her a smile and said, "Fate is cruel, but he is my last hope. Even if he will never wake again, I would see this boy live even in this state."

She could say nothing else and simply left, but Yukari knew that the old man had watched her leave, his words had only baffled her. Shortly after that was when the incident in the Abyss of Time occurred at the dormitory in Iwatodai. Hope suddenly sprang into her life once more. She would have done anything to get him back. So she took the opportunity, even though it meant going against everyone. In the end she realized that she would have made the wrong choice. If she had gone back to get him, it would have undone everything he had fought for. And the world would have ended and there would have been nothing. Only her selfishness. Everyone would have died as a result of that action. So thanks to Aigis and everyone else she moved forward. But...it wasn't like the thoughts didn't linger.

Yukari could still feel how badly she wanted it back then. No, how badly she still wanted it even now. How lonely had it been in Minato's final moment? When he stared down Nyx and the realization came to him. That the truth was that Nyx had never been the enemy to begin with. No, it was life on earth and the countless beings that wished for death. That was what gave form to Erebus which longed to call for death. Forever clawing at the great seal that Minato had made by using his very life and soul to create. And yet his body was alive, if only technically, and by the whims of a relative that had never cared to take care of him when he was alive.

Still she had to admit that her anger was never gone about the necessity of Minato's sacrifice. If the world wasn't the way it was, then he would have never had to do what he did. Nyx would have never showed then. Or if only they realized that Ikutsuki had been playing them all from the start. If they had realized it sooner, then they would have been able to stop the end from ever coming. But would that have solved anything? Minato would have had to carry death with him his whole life, and the dark hour would have never gone away. But she could have been with him. It would have been a lifelong fight, and she would have willingly fought her whole life.

But Yukari knew Minato, and the truth is...something like that isn't what he would have wanted. He wanted the world to be safe, so that everyone could live their life without regret, or without having to fear the clock turning to midnight each night. But life would never be the same without him. And it was true for all of them. Akihiko had really tuned up his boxing career. Going all around the world and challenging the most powerful fighters that he could. Mitsuru had focused more research on the shadows and personae with the Kirijo group. She was not convinced that their fight would be the last against Shadows. Funny how Minato had said the same in his journal.

It wasn't just their senpai, but all of them were moving on in their own way. Yet Yukari could only move forward in small steps. She reminded herself that there was plenty of time, but she still felt like it wasn't enough. The others quickly reminded her that she had the most important job out of all of them. And yet, despite herself, she wondered if that was true. No…after everything she felt like she was barely living at all, regardless of how many times she had resolved herself to move forward. It was easy to talk about, but impossible for her to actually do. She wasn't sure if moving forward was the right thing for her to do anymore. Right now she had simply done what she needed...things had occurred in unexpected ways. Events she couldn't believe had happened at the time.

She wanted to cherish every moment that Minato had given to her, but the problem was more complex than that. If she had known that his time was limited then, would she have done things differently? Would she have spent every moment she could with him?

Yukari shook her head, "What a stupid question." Minato knew her too well...if he had told her everything then...would she have listened to him? Or would she have laughed it off as if he was joking...only to hate herself when it finally happened.

"What's a stupid question?"

Turning she looked into the eyes of Aigis and felt her cheeks get warm. Quickly Yukari looked away and out into the blue sea. The beach was beautiful today, and most of them were out here and simply relaxing. "I was just thinking about him." She said truthfully. Not like it would have been obvious either way. She was unconsciously embracing the journal against her chest this whole time. "Do you think it would be different if I had known?"

"You mean, if you had known he was going to die. If he had told you," Aigis stated as she moved next to Yukari.

"He never told you either. Yet he knew that you remembered everything," Yukari felt the all too familiar pain rising in her chest again. But she knew she had to confront all of her feelings while they were here. While she had the ability to face it.

"He was hard to talk to after the last battle," Aigis voice was softer than it was a moment ago. "And I knew that something had happened. Something in that last fight that bothered him so much. I just never imagined it could be what it was. Even with what we learned from the Abyss of Time...we don't know what was going through his head at that time."

"From what I've read it took him a long time to trust any of us. After all he spent the majority of his life alone," Yukari pressed the journal against her chest more. "His parents died on the moonlight bridge, it was the same night that you sealed death inside of him. After that he could never settle in one place. And he was sure that it was death that compelled him back here to this place. But he never blamed anyone or anything for the things that happened in his life. He just found it hard to trust anyone."

"He trusted you more than anyone else though," Aigis sat down in a seat next to Yukari. "I think he always did, right from the beginning."

"Why do you say that?"

"He told me you were honest. Minato said he knew when you were lying and when you were hiding something. But he never wanted to force anything from you because he knew that he wouldn't have to. That eventually if you had something to say, you would go right to him," Aigis was smiling. Yukari could only imagine that Minato talked to Aigis a lot in those final months. She was the only one that still remembered. Though Aigis had said he was hard to talk to after the last fight.

"That Minato…he could read me like a book right from the start," Yukari shook her head. "He knew me so well, but what did I ever know about him? That his parents died? That he was alone? I wanted him to be like me, to be someone I could relate too. Someone I could rely on that I never looked deeper than that. I never took the time to peer past the surface. Yet here he is, in my hand." She put the journal in her lap and ran her hands over it and closed her eyes. "He wrote so much about himself, his past…and then about every aspect of our struggle against the Shadows. And yet I…"

"Yukari…"

"Why? Why did it take me so long to realize? My love for him had been so shallow! I didn't know the man that I claimed to love. And now…when I finally have all of this, I can't tell him. I can't even tell him how much my love has grown for him," Yukari wiped away the tears from her face but it was a useless gesture. "He will always be the love of my life. No one can ever replace him."

She needed to keep reading the journal...she needed to learn all the things that she had missed. Answers to questions she had never bothered to asked. Only now...did she realize...just how horrible of a girlfriend she had been.

June 20th, 2009 / Evening

Shuji Ikutsuki cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Minato could think of a hundred other things he would rather be doing then be at the mercy of a potential long winded speech and bad puns that this man was known for. And for some reason something about the man just rubbed Minato the wrong way and so he avoided all interactions with him.

Anyone that was capable of experiencing the Dark Hour but didn't have a persona was grounds enough not to be trusted in Minato's opinion. Especially knowing that this Ikutsuki was a researcher. What bothered him was why he wasn't targeted by Shadows. He didn't buy the bull crap that if they fail to get you once they don't come after you again. No, it had to be something other than that. Plus it also indicated to him that there was probably a method to force someone into the Dark Hour.

"Hello everyone," he started. Minato frowned, he really didn't want to listen to this man. "I wanted to let you know how my research has been going. This concerns those Shadows that have been appearing during the full moons. I want you to listen closely. It might be hard to follow. Shadows can be divided into twelve categories, according to their characteristics. This, we've known for a while. It's like their class or order. Now I've classified the Shadows we've seen so far, and…it's simply fascinating!"

It looked like Ikutsuki was off in his own world. Minato couldn't help but wonder why. It had to go further than simple scientific reasons. It was way too…exciting of an expression. Maybe he was just that eccentric of a man. One that just continued to rub Minato the wrong way.

"And?" Yukari spoke up and broke Ikutsuki from his trance.

"Oh sorry," he cleared his throat once more. "Those four Shadows belong to categories one through four, in order of their appearance. They may have looked different from the more common ones, but the classification scheme still applies."

"Is that something we should get excited about?" Junpei asked and understandably skeptical. Minato was glad he wasn't the only one.

"Oh, I get it. There are twelve in all, so eight we haven't seen yet," Fuuka said thinking out loud for the group to hear.

"That's exactly right, Fuuka. You're quite sharp," Ikutsuki was quick on the reply. Minato could see the thread in the air and where the conversation was headed.

Minato got to his feet as the conversation continued and walked over to the computer instruments. He disregarded the others for a moment. He had already figured the majority of that out on his own. Why was the number twelve? And why were the classification related to the Arcana? It was the same with the social links. It was all tied back to the Arcana. How was that even possible? He seriously doubted it was a coincidence. Maybe it was a hint that Igor and Elizabeth were giving to him.

One could follow the Arcana down the line and form a story. It consisted of the major Arcana which there were twenty-two of. So why was the classification just the first twelve? And it didn't even include the first actual Arcana which was numbered zero, not the number one. The Fool Arcana was a representation of potential. It could also be a starting point. Maybe that was the hint. These Shadows originated from something or somewhere.

But still…why did the classification only go up to twelve? Or did it have to do with the nature of Shadows themselves?

"What about Tartarus? Why does it even exist?" Yukari's question pierced through his thoughts and back to the present. He looked back and judging by the looks no one had an answer.

"We should head to Tartarus tonight and start training. What do you think, Arisato?" It was Akihiko that broke the silence.

"Alright, that's fine," Minato said quickly enough.

"Then we'll meet up in front of the school. Until then everyone get ready," Mitsuru said and shortly after everyone dispersed. Minato eyed Ikutsuki as he left the room.

"Hey, you okay?" Yukari asked, and he realized that it was just the two of them in the command room.

"Should I be?" Minato chuckled a bit.

"Well it was a lot of information to take in," she commented. "It still feels like there is something we are missing."

"You're right. Ikutsuki seems confident in what he told us. I mean why twelve? Why that number? Because the Shadows have some sort of classification system? But wasn't it the Kirijo group that made up those classifications? It's wrong to assume we are right." Minato felt so much tension and felt like exploding at the moment.

"Minato-kun," Yukari looked at him for a moment. "I agree. There are still too many questions. We don't know why these bigger shadows are showing up, or why it has to be the full moon. Too much of the information is…"

"Yes, it's come from him. Everything we know is because of the Kirijo Group. And yet it feels like we haven't had full disclosure over everything," Minato shook his head. "Are you good to fight tonight?"

"Of course," Yukari blinked at his change in topics. "Tell me if something is wrong, Minato-kun."

"Something feels wrong. But I don't know what. Like you said, there is still too much that we don't know. And that is bothering me," Minato let out a long sigh. "I'd feel more comfortable to have you supporting me in the fighting tonight."

"Why do you say that?" she looked away from him, although Minato could see her blushing more easily this way. He let himself smile.

"I trust you, Yukari-san," Minato took a few steps towards the door. And right now, you might be the only one that I trust. He looked back at Yukari, "Let's get ready. I got some new archery catalogs that I wanted to go over with you."

March 8th, 2011 / Afternoon

Regardless of how many times she had run her hand over the journal it didn't get any less meaningful for her. Thinking about how he had sat down in his spare time to write every word just for her was more than she could ever hope to receive. And the things he remembered were so detailed compared to her own. But it was as she thought, he was so detail oriented. He had been searching for answers right from the beginning. She had been searching for her own, but hers were limited in scope by comparison to what Minato had been looking for.

She had been quite short sighted by comparison. She was so caught up in her own problems and issues that she never once considered how her boyfriend might have had to deal with. Dealing with multiple personae and she never once asked how hard it was to deal with. Yukari wondered if he would have told her everything if she had taken a moment just to ask. A part of her knew that he had been waiting for her to ask, but she never did. So he had written this journal. Divulging everything that had bothered him. Every problem he had faced, it was all here. All the answers to questions she had never taken the time to ask. She had been the worst girlfriend for him...how did he continue to love her?

"Yukari-san," came the voice of Ken Amada. He stood at her side from the beach chair she had sprawled herself on. The journal was resting on her bare stomach as she found herself in her swimsuit and down at the beach. The sounds of the ocean was a comforting background noise as she had continued to read the journal.

"Ken-kun, what's up?" she asked pushing aside her thoughts to come back to the present.

"I'm just wondering, if you're doing okay. I know that there is a lot to read through. And well, I think you should spend time to enjoy yourself too," he seemed unsure on how to approach the subject.

"Thanks, but really I am enjoying myself. Maybe it doesn't seem that way considering how much time I've spent crying since I started reading the journal. But it's because as I read it I remember things…things that he seemed to remember better than me. And the more and more I read it's like I get to fall in love with him all over again. As much pain as it brings me…its also the most real I've felt in a long time. I know that when I'm finished, as much pain as it might bring, there is a happiness that comes along with it. Does that make any sense?" Yukari tried to describe what she felt. She knew that she needed to read through the whole journal and the more she read the harder it was to put back down.

"I'm not sure I understand," Ken said honestly. "But then again I think I would do the same if I was in your position."

"Then you understand more than you realize," Yukari smiled almost motherly at him. "I have more to share with everyone tonight." Soon Ken left her alone once more and she took a moment to look out onto the beach, tears threatened to overtake her once more. "If only you could see this scene, Minato. More than anything I want you to know what you left behind."

July 7th, 2009 / Dark Hour

Minato stood against the wall of the command center and watched as Fuuka summoned her persona. The Dark Hours effect turned even the safety of the dormitory seem fragile at best. If it wasn't for the power of persona would he still be alive today? What if he hadn't actually had the potential? He gave an amused chuckle, if that was what had happened he would have died on the roof of the dorm along with Yukari. It wasn't funny, but the thought that it could have ended that way amused him.

Still he didn't like that this kind of scene became normal for all of them. High School Students gathered in a command center, about to take on a operation with hopes to save the city from any disaster that might occur. No the scale was even larger than that…it was to save the world. The Dark Hour didn't just occur locally, it was a global phenomenon. To end the Dark Hour meant they would be saving the world. No pressure.

By what Ikutsuki's research had indicated there were eight shadows remaining that they hadn't seen yet. At least that was the indication that he seemed to give. What did that even mean? That didn't make any sense. It felt like these numbers were coming out of nowhere. But one thing he did know for sure. Ikutsuki knew a hell of a lot more than he was letting on. But he had no means to question him, not directly. Or maybe it was just because Minato just didn't feel comfortable around him that made him doubt him. Still the lack of information made him uneasy if their actions were indeed the correct one. However one thing was really irritating him.

That was the behavior of the rest of the group. It was like they had already jumped to a conclusion. If there were a limited number of these shadows left, then maybe defeating them would solve it all. That would be ridiculous. The only way for that type of solution to work that would mean that these twelve were the cause of the Dark Hour and Tartarus. There was nothing at the moment that linked them together. Who was to say that any of them had truly been defeated? No nothing had been "found" out or confirmed. Minato's suspicions only grew with every passing moment. And the way Ikutsuki had said it…no, the way he had watched their reactions. That bothered him more than anything else.

"Any luck, Yamagishi?" Akihiko was the one to break the silence and to tear Minato away from his thoughts. Regardless of his doubts he still had a job to do. Leaving the Shadows alone wasn't exactly an option either.

"Just a moment," she voice spoke directly into all of their minds. Her power had been more powerful than they had realized to begin with. Her direction in combat was more precise and faster than Mitsuru's had been. She made finding out weaknesses easier, and they had flown through more levels of Tartarus at a faster rate than ever before. Plus Fuuka did all of this without the need for equipment.

More than that, with Mitsuru no longer taking scanning duties she was able to join the front lines of battle. She was experienced as a fighter. She used a rapier, and was quite adept in a fencing style of fighting which was more finesse and elegant than how Minato fought. Mitsuru's persona was also a practitioner of ice magic, quickly trumping his own ice spell in terms of power. He even went as far to drop most of his ice using personae when Mitsuru was in the battle group.

"I found it! I sense a strong presence," Fuuka broke into his thoughts. That made everyone look over to Fuuka, Minato included.

"Hey, we were right!" Junpei said excited about it.

"Or so it would seem," Shuji Ikutsuki said although it seemed to Minato that the man felt like grinning.

"It's located in Iwatodai. Inside a building on Shirakawa Boulevard," Fuuka continued with her findings.

"Hmm, Shirakawa Boulevard? They've been finding the Lost in pairs lately…now I understand why." Ikutsuki nodded to himself.

"In pairs…Oh, I get it," Mitsuru frowned. Minato already knew why.

Fuuka dismissed her persona and stepped forward, "Why? What's on Shirakawa Boulevard? I'm not familiar with that area."

"I've heard about it but…" Yukari started but Junpei was quick to interupt.

"That's where all those hotels are. That explains a lot. You've heard about them right Yamagishi? Where people go to…you know…" Junpei didn't have to go that far to get his point across but it was enough to turn Fuuka's face bright red.

"Nonsense, there no different from ordinary hotels. The rooms are just a bit fancier, that's all," Ikutsuki waved his hand as if dismissing Junpei's previous statement.

"Aw man, that's it?" Junpei clearly was disappointed.

"I don't know about this. Maybe I shouldn't go," Yukari said hesitantly. Minato couldn't blame her, each of these Shadows had somehow done something to throw them off balance in some form. The first one directly attacked the dorm. The second controlled a monorail and lured them inside to attempt and ram it into another train. And then the third and fourth Shadow ambushed the unsuspecting Mitsuru and Yukari both with the ability to switch weaknesses. If she hadn't been wearing the charm he had given her, the minor injury she received might have been more severe.

"You're just like a little kid, Yuka-tan," Junpei grinned. Minato frowned at Junpei's not needed jab at Yukari.

"Whatever! Fine. Let's go. But this time I want a piece of the action. So, who's gonna take the lead?" Yukari let herself get to wound up by what Junpei had said.

Minato still hadn't moved from his spot leaning against the wall. He just watched as everything played out in front of him. He was not comfortable speaking his mind in front of the man Shuji Ikutsuki. Everything about him just rubbed him the wrong way, even though he had no legitimate reason to feel that way. So instead he just said nothing. Mitsuru locked eyes with him for a moment and he merely shrugged.

"I don't see any reason to change leaders now. And Yamagishi, I want you to handle support during this operation," Mitsuru gave out the orders. That worked just fine for Minato, he preferred to be the one up front in battle, but here, he wanted room to think and be alone. That was something he rarely got with how busy his schedule typically was.

Akihiko came over to him, "I'll let you decide the rest of the team."

"Alright then," Minato moved from his position and walked over to the other side of the room where no one was located at, he took a moment to ease his nerves before turning around. "Tonight Sanada-san, Kirijo-san and Takeba will be the team. Junpei, I need you to stay with Yamagishi. We won't know if there isn't some trick involved. So she needs to be protected." He gripped the hilt of his sword as he had the sheathed fashioned to his waist ever since the Dark Hour had occurred. "Let's get going."

Everyone started to fan out, and they quickly left Ikutsuki behind in the command center. He almost hated the fact that he almost instantly felt more at ease with the man no longer in view.

"Ah man, I was hoping to get in on the action," Junpei muttered from next to him.

"Sorry, Junpei. But you are really the best choice to stay behind and protect Yamagishi. It isn't personal," Minato wasn't sure how else to put it, but he felt that this choice was the most efficient. No what bothered him was that they were going to head straight into enemy territory again. There was no way to know what the Shadows would do this time. But he knew that whatever it was he needed to be ready to fight it. And he worried about Yukari and how much she let Junpei's words affect her. She went from hesitation to gung-ho about it pretty damn fast. It was a good thing he had made a stop into the velvet room earlier in the day. He fused some much more powerful personae, and he hoped it was everything that he would need for the upcoming fight.

He was worried, perhaps uncharacteristically more than he ever had before. Something about this made him more cautious than before, but he wondered if it would be enough. How could he ever truly be prepared for a fight without being able to know what he would be facing? He knew more than the others, he was sure of that. It was mostly because of Pharos and what he had learned from the mysterious boy's insight onto the happenings of the full moon. But that was just it, Pharos only remembered a small part of it. Still trying to explain the reasons why Pharos or the Velvet Room to anyone else would probably be a waste of time. It wasn't like he could show them. They couldn't see the door to the Velvet Room that occupied the base room of Tartarus, and he was sure that Pharos was the same way. After all Yukari clearly hadn't seen him the day he had arrived at the dorm.

There was no time to think about that, he needed to focus on the mission ahead. They left the dorm and walked towards Shirakawa Boulevard. Mitsuru and Akihiko took the front with Fuuka and Junpei not far behind. Yukari took her time behind them as Minato brought up the rear. Maybe he should have been the one up front, but to him he only led on the battlefield. All other times the real leaders were Mitsuru and Akihiko.

His attention was focused more after walking through a puddle of blood. This was all a part of the dark hour. The full moon gleamed down the same eerie emerald color light it had in previous times…just like it had ever since the dark hour first came into existence. Whenever it started. It could have been around longer than anyone for all they knew. Just how long had humanity lived with this kind of bleakness always hiding in the time where normal people could not venture? No, Minato was sure that at the very least, Shadows had always existed. The nature of them seemed too primal…instinctual for it not to have always existed. It was a counterpoint…rather a balance that went with humanity. At least that was how it seemed to be to him. Especially after the things Elizabeth and Igor had said about Persona. He had a gut feeling that Shadows had to be tied to it in some way. Especially if they really were created by the darkness and all things people hid within their hearts.

"Is this really it?" Yukari asked as they stood in front of a hotel. And the thing was that despite the earlier assurance that this was just a regular hotel…that was not the feeling they got when they looked at it. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like a love hotel.

"I can definitely sense it inside," Fuuka confirmed it.

"Man to think there would be one here…" Junpei let out a whistle looking up at the building. "The dark hour doesn't really do any favors to this place in terms of looks."

"I doubt coffins and blood makes anything look better," Minato muttered as he took a few steps to the front door. Judging the location and the ones they had faced so far, he could make an educated guess as to what classification of Shadows would bring them to such a location. No that wasn't accurate at all. Out of these larger Shadows only three of them had actively pursued them. The first Shadow when he had arrived at the dorm most likely was the Magician Classification. That had chased Akihiko back to the dorm and attacked relentlessly. However the following full moon was different. It was classified as Priestess, but did not chase them…instead they went to it, and the Shadow had tried to trap them in several ways.

But these Shadows were targeting them specifically….it didn't stop or even acknowledge the coffins that held sleeping people with in them. The only time it had remotely been part of it was during the last full moon, where that shadows had called out to the non-persona user Moriyama Natsuki. Although she didn't remember anything about what happened during the Dark Hour, she had definitely been affected by the events that happened at that time, even if she wasn't aware of it consciously. But there was no way of ever knowing if the Shadows were able to think and strategize to that extent. The shadows had successfully ambushed them last time. And had nearly injured Yukari and Mitsuru severely. It was narrowly avoided thanks to Minato and Akihiko's quick realizations, and most of all Fuuka's much needed abilities with her persona. But so far the shadows that appeared came in order of the Arcana. It would be foolish to make assumptions at this point.

Now the problem was this situation. He stopped with in arms reach of the front doors. He looked back, "Yamagishi, where exactly is the source of the Shadow?"

Fuuka pulled out her evoker and summoned her persona. She looked so at home using it. Actually Minato felt that the only time all of them were truly themselves was on the battlefield. Or perhaps because when it was on the battlefield things were simple. Shadows were enemies and had to be defeated, there was no doubts when it came to that. At least to everyone but Minato.

"Arisato, what are your thoughts?" Mitsuru asked. Probably voicing what everyone else was wondering. He had obviously been hesitant to enter the building.

"The last time we chased the enemy to where it had been lying in wait, it had trapped us. This is definitely a trap," he said looking back to the door.

"I sense a powerful shadow on the third floor," Fuuka's voice spoke to everyone in the group by means of telepathy.

"A trap, huh?" Akihiko steps forward with a grin on his face. "That just makes things more interesting."

"There is no other way for us to move forward, regardless. But I agree with your view of the situation. Most likely we're walking right into a trap," Mitsuru put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll have to be extra careful as we approach the Shadow."

"Yeah," Minato shook his head and opened the door letting Akihiko, Mitsuru and Yukari go in before him. Yukari gave a smile as she passed him and brought her bow into her hands as she walked in. Still something felt wrong about this whole thing. It was like they all had blinders on. Couldn't they think about this more rationally? Had it even crossed any minds what would happen if they didn't defeat it? Sure after they defeated one the number of Apathy Syndrome victims miraculously recovered and the number of victims decreased, but it never stopped. It meant that there was still something missing. Something they couldn't know. Are we really doing the right thing? Isn't it too simple? Defeat the enemy and save the world? No way is it that simple, not when the enemy was shadows. He felt anger rise up in him, but he did his best to suppress it and pulled his sword out from its sheath as he walked into the hotel. The others were waiting for him to take the lead and stood in a loose defensive battle formation. Minato was irritated with the situation so without speaking a word he passed them and made his way directly up the stairs.

We know it's a trap, but we're just going to run in and spring it? We know nothing about the enemy and yet… Minato knew that none of it made sense, but rushing in like this was so reckless. Everyone was so determined to believe what Ikutsuki had told them. Only eight left. But that didn't tell them anything. So what if they knew how many more there could possibly be? How was that supposed to be a motivating factor? It was wrong. He could see it without it being spoken, they were all hoping that by defeating them all then the Dark Hour would disappear. That was what they all wanted to hear. He could feel is irritation and anger growing with every step.

The second floor stair case was blocked by Shadows. Good. He drew his evoker with his off hand and brought it up to his head, "Pale Rider! Mamudo!" A dark purple glyph appeared under the group of shadows and smoke slowly moved around them. The shadows stopped, and then the smoke and glyph exploded in a quick flash of light, and when it faded all of the shadows had disappeared as well. Minato knew better than to waste his energy on such spells because he needed all the energy he could spare for whatever the trap could be. The others said nothing at his blatant display of overkill on these shadows.

Calm down, damn it. He mentally chastised himself and took a deep breath as he traveled up the stairs up to the third floor of the hotel…and the location of their target. There was little resistance up to the door, and Fuuka once again confirmed that the enemy was waiting inside. It was way too easy to get here, he didn't like it at all. Stating his insecurities here wouldn't deter the others that were with him. Was he being overly cautious? To the point of paranoia? Maybe he was.

Minato felt incredibly aware of Yukari as he walked up to the last door in the hall. He wasn't even sure why. He wasn't glad about the fact that she had been so gung ho to be a part of the front line action. It didn't even matter that he had intended to bring her with him either way. Although his only real reason for that was that he felt that it would be the right choice. During the last full moon she could have been seriously injured, or worse. But his gut feeling had urged him to give her a gift. The memento of his mother. It had stopped an attack more by chance, but Minato wasn't sure if he believed in luck anymore. No, things seemed to happen for a reason.

"The enemy is on the other side of this door. Is everyone ready?" Mitsuru asked. Everyone gave a quick affirmation in the form of a nod. Then they all looked to Minato.

He moved passed them to the door and reached out to the door knob. This is too reckless. Why are we moving so quickly? And why can't I come up with a reason to caution them? I can't tell them it's based on a feeling. Minato rested his hand on the door knob, that feeling had settled squarely deep in his stomach to the point that he almost felt like he could be sick. "Be careful, we don't know what to expect." Turning the door knob, he knew there was no turning back. He flung the door open and quickly entered.

The Shadow was right in front of them. This room must have been one of the high class suites because it was an incredibly large room. The only thing Minato could think of was how incredibly weird this Shadow looked. It wasn't surprising to see it to be so colorful because Shadows typically were in one way or another. So to see this one covered in red, white and gold wasn't out of the ordinary. But this Shadow sat in a chair and was rather obese in stature, but what was odd was the strange skinny like creature that seemed to loom over this shadow, and Minato couldn't tell if it was part of the shadow or separate from it.

Minato didn't have time to think too much on it, he moved quickly in to attack. "Hua Po!" Minato watched as her persona emerged and let loose a fire spell that didn't seem to effect the Shadow either way.

"Watch out, its arcana is the Heirophant," Fuuka reported in.

"Can you find its weakness?" Minato asked trying to bring his demeanor back to the usual calm one he had while in battle. Just why was he finding it so hard to calm himself?

"No I can't seem to scan it at all, I can only tell what class it is. Look out! It's preparing an attack!" Fuuka let out an alarm. That had to mean that Fuuka couldn't recognize what kind of attack it was.

The Shadow began to laugh. He felt his head pulse for a moment as his vision clouded as he stood he found himself looking at a graveyard. Minato felt a chill and something unfamiliar came to him. Fear. No that wasn't true…he was well versed in what it meant to be afraid. Every time he found himself in battle he was constantly battling it. And how could you not? Battles against shadows were not a joke or a walk in the park. One miss step or bad mistake could lead to defeat…and not something you could walk away from. No, one of the more permanent kind. So was that what this Shadow was trying to wield against them? Fear?

His rational mind wanted him to give in to it. To cower and run from this fight. Wasn't that what he had been feeling all this night? Some irrational fear had already begun to grip him before he had even arrived at the hotel. This cemented the fact that the powers of these shadows could not be underestimated in the least. What was he going to do now? His body wasn't reacting the way he wanted it to. Minato felt his persona switch and he used his strength to put his evoker to his head. "Power! Me Patra!" He pulled the trigger of the evoker and felt the familiar feeling of summoning and then felt a soothing feeling come over him. His mind focused, his nerves calmed and he once again got to his feet.

"Senpai, I'll head in left, you go right. Kirijo-san, follow us up after that. Takeba-san you should have a clear shot of his mask right after that," Minato quickly ordered.

"You got it," Akihiko grinned. "You're move, Minato."

On the charge again he felt more confident than he had before and pulled his sword out with his evoker back in its holster. The Hierophant responded by sending a Zio spell his way but he side stepped it and then crossed the opposite way still in a full charge towards the Shadow. Akihiko was not far behind him. Minato slid one way and brought his sword around with power enough to slice through the front legs of the chair the Shadow was sitting on. Akihiko was there to greet it with his signature left hook and sent it reeling towards its left.

Mitsuru met it with a wall of ice. Her spell Bufula, was incredibly potent and had the Shadow wondering what direction it was heading. Minato moved and hit it from behind directing its fall. Yukari let loose and arrow as it fell in front of her. The arrow hit right into the mask of the shadow. It groaned in pain, but Mitsuru had already stepped forward and kicked the arrow deeper in and then hitting the shadow once more with Bufula. The Shadow had been defeated and it disappeared.

"Good job guys, you succeeded once again," Fuuka congratulated them.

The others relaxed but Minato didn't. His eyes were on the door they had entered the room from. The feeling he had when Shadows were nearby hadn't gone away. His body was still on full alert and he probably had good reason to continue to be. Still he approached the door put his hand on the handle and turned it. The door wouldn't open. No it didn't matter that he could turn the handle; some kind of force was keeping it sealed shut. "No good, something is holding us here."

"So it's not over yet?" Akihiko looked around back on alert.

"Yamagishi, do you sense anything?" Mitsuru communicated.

"Huh?! I still sense a shadow in that room! It's not the same one you defeated. But…where is it hiding? I can't seem to locate it," Fuuka seemed stumped. Not really the best of things to learn.

"So this was the real trap?" Minato muttered. "I wonder what else it has planned for us." All his doubts he had since the beginning of the night was starting to surface again, but this time was because of just how stupidly they had all played into the enemies hands and how instead of speaking up he had just gone with it. It was an idiotic thing for the battle leader to do. Now he was going to lose his cool again if he didn't keep himself in check.

"Is it just me, or is there something up with that mirror over there?" Yukari points over to a large mirror. Minato could feel a compulsion…he found himself moving to the mirror and then putting his hand to it. Light poured out of the mirror and clouded his vision. No it was more than that! It was as if it was penetrating himself…Minato tried to block the light and stumbled back. But it was too late, he fell backwards, and Minato never felt himself hit the ground.

March 8th, 2011 / Late Evening

Yukari found herself reading those pages over and over again. He was angry, at her. Not only her, but everyone else as well. All of them had been blinded by what they had been told before. Before then SEES had no real tangible objective other than just defeating Shadows. But Ikutsuki had presented them with something that had not been known before. There were eight shadows left. And he was right; most of them had jumped to conclusions. If they fought them all and defeated them, then obviously that would be the end, right? It was such an easy conclusion to come to. Minato had been right though…they all accepted it way too easily. Even she had, even in the midst of her trying to find out the real reason behind the Dark Hour. Even going as far as making Fuuka her accomplice in going behind Mitsuru's back. Even going behind Minato's back by not telling him about it.

No wonder Minato had been angry. Yukari had no reason to trust anything Ikutsuki had presented them. And yet she had, just like the rest of them. She had second guessed and resented Mitsuru and her own thoughts to her made it impossible to see what she had been doing. It felt like it was more than that. Minato had been disappointed in her. The mere thought of that hurt her. She had let him down when he had thought that out of everyone she would have been just as cautious as he was being.

Her hand gripped her shirt with her left hand and squeezed the charm necklace that laid hidden on her chest under the layers of clothing. "I really screwed up? Didn't I?"

"We all did," Mitsuru spoke. Yukari raised her head back seeing the rest of SEES looking back at her. "He was angry at all of us. I think he expected more of us to be cautious about the information that Ikutsuki had given us."

"He was right to be angry. We accepted it as truth so easily without ever finding out how Ikutsuki did his supposed research. When he betrayed us…Minato had already expected it," Akihiko let out a sigh.

"Why didn't he say anything? If he had just…" Junpei was quickly interrupted.

"Because we were all blinded by the thought that we could end the Dark Hour. Even though he hadn't said it yet, it was what we all thought would happen," Yukari said louder than she had intended. "It was hope. We never questioned it because we wanted it to be true."

None of them could deny it. And all of them hung their heads at the thought. All of them had let down their leader. The one that trusted them to back him up in battle, had no one to take his side outside of it. Minato must have been so angry at all of them. So much that he probably began to doubt his trust in them.

"I think we should call it a night," Fuuka spoke up.

"You're right. I think it's hard for all of us to remember him. Especially learning things from his perspective. Something I think not many of us ever took the time to learn." Mitsuru got up from her chair. "Good night, everyone." Swiftly Mitsuru quickly left. Yukari understood the need to flee at this moment. Yukari felt the same way, she wanted to cry.

"It's a good idea. I'll be turning in as well," Akihiko added as he walked away as well. Slowly one by one they each went off to their rooms.

Yukari got up as well but moved across the lobby and out into the large patio where the night air gave her a welcome chilly breeze. Oddly comforted by it she sat back down and clutching the journal to her chest. She remembered the time they had been in Yakushima before and how Minato had spent most of the night outside. An odd thing for her to remember considering how focused she had been on herself at that time. Yet she remembered seeing him out on this very patio leaning against the side and looking out into the night. His earphones firmly in place and the volume loud enough that even Yukari could hear it as she passed.

It had always looked like he was just off in his own world. Like nothing mattered outside of his music, but she had been so wrong about that. In truth it had probably been the way Minato was able to calm his thoughts and focus on what was going on. His music calmed him…it was what he used when he needed to escape from the present.

She felt herself shake, but it wasn't from the cold. No matter how it had come about…had she really been this cold to him? She never asked the simple questions that could have saved him from his fate. He saved everyone…but couldn't save himself. Where did it say that? Who said that he had to give his life? Who could be blamed for taking him away from her?

"Yukari," Aigis words caused Yukari to jerk around quickly. "You're being called for.:

"Oh, right it is getting kind of late," Yukari got to her feet.

"Is it difficult to read?" Aigis asked. It was a natural question to ask.

Yukari took a step towards the edge of the patio. "Yes, but it's like I get to take the journey of my time together with him all over again. That means taking in the tough times as well. I didn't make things easy for him. But, he never gave up on me. No matter what happened."

"I am curious, what happened after you defeated Hierophant? There was another Shadow, correct?" Aigis changed her line of questioning again.

Immediately, Yukari felt her cheeks get warm. Of course she didn't forget what had happened. In no way could she ever forget it. But there was no way in hell she was reading all of that to the others. Still she would read it tonight. She wanted to know what had gone through his head. What had the Shadow been telling him at that time? "We should hurry Aigis. Wouldn't want to keep her waiting, you know." Yukari smiled and kept the journal hugged close to her chest as she walked back inside. She doubted she would sleep tonight once she started to read again.

Author's Note:

I think I should mention to my returning readers from deviantart to try not to spoil anything for those reading this for the first time. Haha...anyway...

The story starts to really take off from here, as you'll see over the next couple days. I should also mention that I plan to make daily post until the story is fully posted. 35 Chapters in all. I think this is one of chapters where I got a good sense of where I was going with the story. And the future from here on. I made some corrections here and there from this chapter as well as dropped in more foreshadowing to future events. Anyway Chapter 6 is next and you know what that means. Things may not go exactly the way you remember. It happens to be one of my favorite chapters in the whole story.

A couple chapters away from two big reveals...I hope you will all enjoy it. As always read, review if you want. See you tomorrow with Chapter 6.