CHAPTER 15 / Contemplation

February 19th, 2010

Dear Yukari,

We went out for Karaoke today. Kenji and his childhood friend Rio came with us. She certainly seemed like a nice girl, but I didn't even realize we had a tennis club. Then again I probably didn't notice a lot of the things that were actually offered at the school because of how occupied we always were. I think there were really only a handful of times I actually got fully involved in school activities. Well the kendo tournament obviously, I ran around a lot in prep for the cultural festival but I ended up just getting sick and that tsunami canceled the festival anyway. This is a shame because I'm sure I heard you were going to be in a maid outfit.

Although…I wonder if you would wear it for me if I had asked? Actually I'm sure you'd just get mad at me saying it doesn't look that good or something. Except I think you look cute in anything. Well maybe not everything, but you know what I mean.

You sang a duet with me today at Karaoke. Singing with you next to me is one of the most comforting things I've ever experienced. Your voice is so beautiful, I wonder if you could have been famous if your life had gone a different route away from all the tragedy that kept you from being happy. But you're strong and I know you can overcome anything that you put your mind to.

I think tomorrow I'll try and hang out with Junpei, but if he's busy maybe I will go watch Akihiko at his boxing club. Then again I can always go to Student Council and make sure Mitsuru is alright. I have so much I want to do to make sure that I know that everyone will be alright but I have faith in all of you that I know it won't be a problem.

I love you, Yukari. I hope that if nothing else, you are strongly aware of this fact. No one can ever replace you in the space you hold in my heart. Keep smiling, my love.

Love Always,

Arisato Minato

March 13th, 2011 / Pseudo Dark Hour

It was the same as the abandoned Hospital. This was the Dark Hour. Hamuko wanted to avert her eyes from seeing this truth. But if that was true then that meant Sayane and Akira were probably in danger. She entered the dorm and saw many coffins lining the entrance. It was just like what she had been told. During the Dark Hour people who did not experience it turned into coffins. To them the changing from midnight to the next minute was as normal as any other day. It was like the Dark Hour happened within the span of a second maybe not even that long. But if Shadows had the capacity to affect time and space the possibility of it could not be denied.

Her brother had written about it in the journal, The Dark Hour most likely was one of the original goals in the Kirijo Groups research. While it wasn't capable of traveling through time, if they could somehow initiate the Dark Hour when they wished they could manipulate the present with terrifying consequences. Hamuko knew that her brother was right, while it may not have been a true time manipulation device it could have easily led to something that could get them the results they wanted, although maybe not as much as a device where they could travel through time could get them. Still just the fact that something like the Dark Hour was even possible was crazy.

Someone must have brought an item capable of producing the Pseudo Dark Hour here. She needed to run down her priority list. First she would run up to her dorm room on the third floor and grab her Naginata. Well it wasn't a real one but Akira had once bought her a display one that while it was not a real weapon it was sharp and would be better for her to have than nothing. After that she could focus on finding Sayane and Akira. Then after they were secured she could find the item that was projecting the Pseudo Dark Hour.

She needed to be cautious. She could summon her Persona but if a shadow got too close she had no way to defend herself...It had become obvious why they all used a weapon of sorts. Fighting Shadows was already rough and only possible because the power of Persona. But you couldn't prevent them from getting up close and personal with you. After all some were incredibly fast and closed the gap in very quick fashion.

Hamuko made her way to the stairs. It was strange how the Dark Hour highlighted the dark long corridors with its green hue light so well. While the place felt and looked dark she had no difficulty finding her way around. The stairs was at the end of the lounge hallway and she took care with every step as to not make a sound. The fact that the place was silent meant it would be advantageous to her if she could hear the Shadows before they heard her.

Reaching the stairs, she knew this would be the hardest part. The stairs were made of wood and had a characteristic noise on some of the steps. Hamuko knew she needed to keep her steps light and avoid the steps that she knew were the worst offenders of creaking. Deciding that being too slow was not the best of ideas she started up the stairs taking care to plan each of her next steps. While it took her significantly longer she dramatically cut down the noise by slowly moving her weight from one foot to the other as she slowly crept up the stairs. She reached the second floor. She peaked around to see even more coffins in the hall. No doubt things had occurred during the usual evening bustle of activity.

Shadows were in fact wandering the second floor but they seemed to be a ways away from the stair case. To be safe she quietly waited for all the Shadows to be looking elsewhere before she finally took the chance to go up the stairs. She had to move faster than she cared to but still took careful steps and avoided the spots she knew were culprits of creaking. She felt more at ease when the stair wrapped around and the Shadows would no longer have a line of sight on her. She took a moment to take a deep breath and ease her nerves. Sneaking around wasn't easy, especially when it was against things that could attack so viciously. Plus she knew that once the fighting started it wouldn't be easy to stop it. If she could hold off on it even just a little bit, then things would most certainly go better for her.

Hamuko reached the third floor landing. From here she had to head down the right hall way. Her room was the last door on the right. She took care with each step and moved to a wall; placing her back against it she moved close to the corner and then carefully stuck her head out to look around it. After taking a quick look she hid once again and let out a sigh. There were two shadows on the way to her room. Without knowing the weakness or strengths of the Shadows it wouldn't be a good idea to engage them. But if she wanted to avoid them, then there was only one way she could get to her room.

Her eyes traveled to the window that was to the left of her. There was a significantly large ledge that wrapped around the third floor. It was by no means a great way to get to her room but it might be the safest way. Deciding it was more than likely the correct action to take she moved over to the window and unlatched the lock. She then slid the window up as quietly as possible until it locked into place. Hamuko looked around to make sure she hadn't alerted any Shadows. After a moment she was satisfied and carefully stepped out onto the ledge and hugged the building as much as she could as she did so.

Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down…she repeated in her head over and over becoming a new mantra as she began to make her way around the side of the building. This was three stories up; while she was sure a fall from here probably wouldn't kill her…it didn't mean she would enjoy the consequences of it. The dormitory was actually eight stories high. It was a combined dormitory and held students' from the High School and Elementary School as well.

She somehow managed to keep her calm the entire path; even though she felt she only grew more nervous when she moved window to window. As the windows extended out onto the ledge a bit so she had to adjust herself to get past them. Still she had something tangible to grab onto so she didn't completely lose it. Eventually she finally came to her dorm window. She maneuvered herself so that her back was on one side of the window frame and steadied herself with her left hand on the frame across from her. Hamuko always left her window open because the room had particularly bad air circulation and the only way to keep the air in her room from feeling stagnant was to keep it open all the time. Her right hand came down and lifted the window open until it locked into place. Then carefully and quietly she stepped through the window and onto her bed that was under the window frame.

Hamuko sat down on her bed and closed her eyes for a moment. Her nerves were shot, she wasn't exactly afraid of heights but her body was well aware of the possibility of injury that would occur if she had fallen. Exasperated, she took in a few long deep breaths before getting up on her feet again. After a few moments she felt calm and ready to move on to her main mission for coming here. She crossed to the corner next to her desk and smiled seeing the Naginata ready for service. She grabbed it and instantly felt better about the whole situation. The blade on it was sharp but it wasn't especially durable as it wasn't really designed for combat. Speaking of which she wasn't exactly in the best clothes suited for combat either.

This whole time she had been in jeans, while that may not seem very constrictive, these were a tighter pair of jeans. She wore them because she liked how she looked in them but her legs would definitely be constricted trying to use her Naginata. She looked to the wall and saw that she had her high school uniform hanging in front of her mirror. The skirt was short enough that it wouldn't slow her movements and the outfit as a whole wouldn't be bad to move in. Well she had even gotten into a few fights in that uniform so she already knew it would be a good choice. The uniform was mostly blue. Hamuko had added a red ribbon to add a little bit more color, plus it matched her eyes.

She put down the Naginata and stripped off her shoes, pants and shirt and walked over and picked up the uniform from the mirror. Hamuko looked into the mirror. "It's gotta look weird changing during the Dark Hour. I wonder how Onii-chan dealt with it every night," Hamuko whispered to herself as she suddenly noticed something change in the mirror which had her jumping back.

"Nee-chan?" the voice she hardly knew was coming from the visage of the boy with blue hair in her mirror. He had appeared literally out of nowhere, but...

"Onii-chan? How are you here?" Hamuko's shock temporarily made her forget her state of undress. The question seemed much more important than anything else.

"I'm not," he said simply, shaking his head slightly. "The effects of the Dark Hour reach their way to the sea of unconscious. That is originally how so many Shadows were able to leave here and arrive there. However, I can only manage this for a short time. I have to know, why is the Dark Hour active?"

Hamuko tossed her uniform on her bed and crossed her arms over her chest. Even this action didn't seem to alert her of that fact she was just standing in her underwear, but the discussion was much more important than that, "It seems there are objects capable of invoking a Pseudo Dark Hour. You got rid of the real Dark Hour, Onii-chan. This is something else."

Minato's image frowned, "I see, so this is deliberate. Be cautious, Nee-chan. Something is stirring up unrest within the sea of unconscious. And if you're there it might have the intention of drawing you in specifically."

That made her a little confused, "Why do you think that?"

"It's only a theory but the person behind this might be the one that originally stole you away in the hospital when we were born. Whatever experiment he was planning might have been considered a bust. But think about what new information that individual likely has gotten lately," Minato quickly gave out his theory.

Hamuko thought for a moment looking at her brother in the mirror, and it suddenly clicked what he was saying. "They want to see if I have the same potential you had," she whispered and walked up to the mirror. "Onii-chan, if that's true then he has my friends. He's using them as bait." Her hands went up the mirror. Her brother mimicked her and put his hands up to the mirror as well.

"Find out the truth, Nee-chan. Stay focused and believe in your abilities," Minato held a sad smile on his face as he spoke this. "Only you can do this. Somehow I feel this is the beginning of your journey, but it won't be your only one. At the end of your path you will be presented a choice. I'm not sure what it will be but I feel like this is the truth."

Hamuko couldn't help but giggle, "Once again with the fortune teller talk. You're about as vague as Igor-sama is."

Minato let out his own chuckle, "I'm not surprised you've met him. And I suppose he might have rubbed off on me a little bit. Although I'm not confined like he is to stay on the sidelines. However, I'm limited in the way I can help. There is something I want to try and give you."

A card floated down in front of Hamuko. She moved her hands around the card and felt as another presence entered her mind. "Onii-chan…this is…"

"A Persona that served me well for a long time. He's name is Tam Lin. He has no weaknesses and I have crafted him to help you. You're Persona ability is still weak, but I know you will grow strong. He has fire and lightning skills as well as three different physical attacks that vary from slashing, striking or piercing. Also he has an advanced healing spell that you normally wouldn't be able to get yet. Do not rely on him, remember that all you're Persona are aspects of yourself and you should take care of them all so they grow accordingly. I'm sure you know all this. This is all I can do for now. Be careful, Nee-chan. And promise me that you will see this through to conclusion, no matter what," Minato smiled and slowly began to disappear starting from his legs.

"I promise. I'll find out what's going on. But please don't go yet…I…" Hamuko had her hand on the mirror, wishing she could reach through and touch her brother.

"You'll do fine. I believe in you, Nee-chan. And don't worry, I'm sure we will see each other again," his voice drifted off to nothing and once again Hamuko found herself looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Hamuko felt conflicted for a moment. The joy of seeing her brother had quickly been replaced by the reality that he was not even alive. And each day her brother's spot in her heart grew exponentially. She wanted to know so much more about the guy who had risked so much, given up so much to save the world and the ones he loved. More than that, she wanted to be loved by him, to have the loving and caring twin brother she always should have had. Maybe then the two of them wouldn't have had to suffer like they had in their lives. But yet…she knew things could not be changed. All that she was left was a warm feeling in her heart and the Persona that her twin had painstakingly crafted for her use. Her brother must have believed that the enemies may be far more powerful than she was ready for. Should it even be possible for him to gift her with a Persona? Then again...maybe his existence now was more like that of Igor and Theodore. There was so many questions...but no real way to answer any of them.

She still needed to change into her uniform. Now that she thought about it…she had been standing in front of her brother in just her bra and panties! Hamuko felt her head heat up at the thought and her face must have equally reflected it by turning a new shade of red. "Stupid, Hamuko. Now you're brother might think you're shameless," she muttered to herself. She quickly slapped her cheeks and quickly moved over to her bed and finally got into her uniform.

Standing in front of the mirror once she had her uniform on, Hamuko double checked that her clothes were fastened good enough so they wouldn't somehow come undone during a fight. Maybe she was being a little over conscious of it now that she had realized she'd been standing before her brother in just her underwear. She still couldn't believe she had done that. Had she just been more concerned about seeing him? If she had taken time to be conscious of that and had taken time to get dressed...would she...there was no telling how limited of time she had to talk to him. If he helped her…did that mean that the strength of the seal would weaken each time? She couldn't risk that; she needed to be able to stand on her own two feet. Although the part of her craved to be spoiled by her brother. It was something she wanted to experience.

She closed her eyes for a moment focusing on the Persona her brother had given to her. "Tam Lin," Hamuko whispered to no one. The fact that Minato had crafted something with her in mind was not lost to her. Still how had he been able to give her a Persona anyway? If it was a facet of ones psyche then technically it wouldn't be possible right? She shook her head. Except Minato was her twin, maybe that did something to affect that. She had no way of knowing on her own. Again it might also be that the nature of his existence was just different now.

Hamuko unconsciously did her hair as if it was a school morning. Moving over to her desk she pulled out her bobby pins and placed them in her hair. XXII was what she put up in her hair. She grasped her Naginata in her hand once more and turned towards her door. Even if just for show it would have to do.

She promised her brother to see it through to the end. Hamuko wanted to find out why all of this was happening now. And most of all she wanted to find out if her brother's suspicions were right. It could be related to the person that had taken her away from her real family at birth. And it might all be in an attempt to see how much of her power could grow. That was probably why her brother had been so concerned. Either way she had made a promise, and she was going to keep it.

Opening the door she stepped out into the hall. If she wanted to be strong, then she would have to face things head on. Regardless of how she had been in the past, she had to change. Her brother believed in her, had entrusted her with this task. As the first and only thing she had ever been asked by her brother there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she would succeed.

"Onii-chan, just watch," Hamuko her mind rest on a Persona. The arcana card came floating down in front of her as the Shadows in the hall finally noticed her and began to head towards her. "Persona!" She yelled shattering the card in front of her.

September 18th, 2009 /After School

It had been a couple weeks since the last full moon. Well thirteen days if you wanted to be specific about it. He found out quite a bit about the parts he didn't know. Junpei had apparently been meeting up with Chidori for quite some time before the full moon happen. At some point Junpei was feeling down in the dumps and decided to tell a white lie about what he liked to do to Chidori. Of course it was just a creative reworking about the Dark Hour and how they hunted Shadows in Tartarus. Junpei had been searching for someone to be able to talk to. Minato couldn't blame him for that, especially since the likely hood that the Gothic Lolita that he had started to fall for had just happened to be a member of Strega isn't something you'd normally have to worry about. At that point in time we only knew of two members with no real evidence to support their being another. All Minato had was a suspicion that there was more.

After then Junpei kept Minato in the loop about his constant visits with Chidori. Minato listened; he knew that Junpei needed someone he could just tell these things to. Obviously Junpei had fallen in love with Chidori but it wasn't for Minato to say that. Still he wished Junpei for the best, even if his target of affection had at one point been intent on killing Minato and the rest of SEES. Honestly, Minato saw Chidori simply as misguided. The one known as Takaya seemed to have the talent of the silver tongue. He probably worded it in such a way that she felt like she had no choice but to go with him.

Other details that Junpei had said bothered him to. Chidori hated hospitals, because all she really remembered of when she was young was being surrounded by white. Considering it had already been confirmed that the Kirijo Group had experimented on people before Minato wasn't about to cross off the chance that a portion of the Kirijo Group had continued to do so without the knowledge of the rest of the company. Some scientist would do crazy stuff for the sake of their research.

Minato sighed looking out the window of the classroom. There was no way he was going to make it back to the dorm on time. Not only that but it seems Yukari, Fuuka, Junpei and all the rest of SEES had already left to get back to the dorm. He looked to the sky; those dark lingering clouds seemed to be waiting for him to leave before letting the downpour begin. It looked like the typhoon was going to be on top of Iwatodai and Tatsumi Port Island within minutes.

"I suppose I should leave my bag and school stuff here. It will just get ruined if I bring it," Minato moved away from the window and towards the door. He allowed himself to be too swallowed up in his thoughts. If he had been a little more attentive he could have walked home with Yukari. "I guess the culture festival is going to be a no go."

He left the class room and made his way down the hall and down the stairs. How many times had he walked this path ever since he had been here? It was such a simple thing, but he really had gotten used to this place. Not only that but he had so many memories that filled the halls of the school already. He had spent a lot of time with Kaz in Kendo, which often led to him walking home with Yuko the team manager many times. He had many friends around the school now. A couple from Student Council, the photography club and even the fashion club. That didn't include all the people he had met outside of school, including the little girl named Maiko.

"What's happened to me?" Minato muttered as he approached the front door of the school. He stopped and turned back looking at the open space of the main hall of the school. Right now it was empty. It didn't seem that long ago that SEES had infiltrated the school in order to save Fuuka. He remembered Yukari being really jumpy that night, and also how worried he had been. It was also the night he had given her the necklace that held the memento of his mother inside it.

He wondered if the change within him was directly related to his power with Persona and his Social Links. It made sense because if Persona's were essentially aspects of himself then the growth between himself, Persona and Social links would manifest not just physically but emotionally as well. He sighed once again as he opened the door and finally left the school. It was already starting to rain, although it was only a light sprinkle at the moment. His melancholy state wasn't doing him any favors because he had no desire to rush back to the dorm...but his logical side began to push him forward.

Minato ran quickly towards Port Island Station, and each step seemed to cause the rain come down harder and harder. Luckily it didn't take him long to get to the station and boarded the train just as it was about to pull out. He sat down and realized he was already incredibly wet. Not only that but he was cold as hell. "Way to go Minato. Next time let's just get in a full tub and drop in a toaster and put yourself out of your misery." He shook his head and was quickly having his whole body began shake involuntarily by itself. That was definitely not a good thing.

After arriving at Iwatodai he departed and gave caution to the wind and instead made a full sprint to the dormitory. He swore as the rain had turned into a torrential downpour. It was actually beginning to hurt as the rain hit him. The dorm wasn't even that far from the station but by the time he had arrived he was not just soaked all the way through he felt as if he wasn't wearing anything at all. It felt as if the rain was smashing down hard against his skin. However he didn't notice just how bad it had become for him.

Minato finally got to the dorm and quickly went inside. The sudden relief from no longer being pelted by the rain was enough that he found himself collapsing not more than five feet from the entrance. Not realizing how little strength he even had left in him.

"Oh my god, Minato," it was Yukari. She came running up to him and didn't even hesitate to kneel down next to him. She placed her hand on his cheek. "You're cold as ice and soaked to the skin. Why are you only now getting back?"

He was shivering; Minato could barely feel any part of his body because he felt like he had just gone ten rounds with Akihiko. He wasn't even sure what he should do, his mind was completely unfocused. And he was incapable of giving an answer to Yukari.

"Looks like someone wasn't quick enough," Junpei laughed as he approached.

"Shut up, Stupei. We need to get you into the bath. Fuuka, can you go get the bath ready?" Yukari was giving out order quickly. Minato had to wonder how bad he really looked.

"I'm on it," Fuuka ran off.

Yukari peeled off Minato's jacket and then helped him up to his feet. He didn't have the strength to fight her and instead he focused on not making it harder for her. "Just what the hell is wrong with you? You could have called me and we could have figured something out instead of you just running through all that," Yukari was definitely angry. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I-I-I'm S-s-sor-r-ry. I-I fo-orgot m-m-my pho-one i-in m-my r-r-room t-t-today," Minato's teeth were chattering so badly from how cold he was. It seemed to get worse with every passing moment.

Yukari sighed, "I swear you have the worst luck in the world."

Actually Minato was sure that there was at least one omnipotent being that had a magnifying glass over his life, and wanted to see just how bad he could screw up someone's life without actually killing them. It would just figure that his whole life had been nothing more than the Gods way of making themselves feel better by completely ruining Minato's.

"Whoa, Yuka-tan, what are you doing?" Junpei asked.

Minato hadn't exactly been paying attention to where Yukari was leading him, and honestly he didn't care she could take him anywhere as long as it got him warmer than he was. He trusted her with whatever she was going to do.

"I'm taking him into the bathroom so I can get these clothes off him and get him into the bath. The longer he stays in this the worse it's going to be for him. And besides I don't think you or Sanada-senpai are comfortable enough with Minato to do this. Plus he's my boyfriend," Yukari laid out the facts of the situation. Minato had suspected that was her plan but wouldn't Mitsuru be a little concerned about the details? Maybe he himself should have been more concerned about the details. However, with the way he currently felt he'd go along with anything Yukari did. He was amazed that he hadn't realized how bad he felt until collapsing inside the dorm. He had no strength to fight the subject, nor did he have the capacity to think clearly at the moment.

"Iori, perhaps you could fetch some clean clothes for Arisato as Takeba takes care of him. He looks terrible, should I call a doctor?" Mitsuru was surprisingly close but Minato hadn't noticed. He really was out of sorts.

"I think that's a good idea. After I get him out of the bath we can at the very least see if he has a fever or something, but I have a feeling he's made himself pretty sick this time," Yukari was making decisions for him. Minato actually felt happy about that for some reason. That was stupid; he knew exactly why it made him happy.

"The bath is ready," Fuuka opened the door to the bathroom that was for the girls but Yukari didn't hesitate in taking him inside.

"Will you need assistance Takeba?" Mitsuru asked.

"No, please let me take care of him," Yukari led him to the middle of the room and had him lean against the counter for support as she moved away from him. He looked over to see Junpei by the door handing Yukari his pajamas as well as a change of underwear. Normally he would be incredibly embarrassed about it but he knew he needed the help and Yukari was right, neither Junpei nor Akihiko were that comfortable with him to help him bathe and get warmed up.

Still wouldn't this be way too early? The two of them haven't been dating all that long. Yet she was going to help him this much?

Yukari closed and locked the door to the bathroom and came back placing his clothes down on the counter. She then eased him back away from the counter which he had been using as a crutch and led him closer to the bath area. Stopping him she moved in front of him and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Use me to help you stand, okay? I'm going to take your shirt off."

Her voice was full of affection and care as she carefully undid the buttons of his shirt. Unbuttoning the last one she pulled the sopping wet shirt off and discarded it onto the tile floor. Minato was shaking more now, he felt like there was no way he would ever be warm again, but it did feel better to have his shirt off. "Can you stand by yourself?"

Minato shook his head, he knew that the only reason he hadn't fallen over is because of Yukari supporting him. She led him over more and slid open the glass door that went into the room with the bath. Minato began to felt it tingling on his bare chest from the air. It was obviously much warmer in here as steam was coming from the bath water.

"I'm going to sit you down next to the bath okay?" Yukari said and carefully led him to the edge of the bath and helped him sit on the ledge. She unbuckled his pants and pulled off his belt, Yukari made sure he was stabilized before kneeling down and untying his shoes and pulling them off, followed by his socks. "Minato, can you manage to take your pants and underwear off on your own?"

Minato wish his mind was more capable at this moment. He only shook his head. To Yukari's credit she believed him and helped him up to his feet for a moment. It was incredibly strange feeling because Minato whole body was numb. So he literally did not feel it when Yukari undid his pants and pulled them off of him. As well as his underwear. It was about this time where Minato realized something else. Yukari was taking off her own clothes. At this point it didn't matter. Even though their relationship was still only a few weeks old...it wasn't like they hadn't been close to being in one for a while. Plus...he honestly had no problems with Yukari seeing him like this after all they've been through together so far.

"Just a second and I can help you in the bath, okay?" Yukari helped him back on to the edge of the bath and closed his eyes. Minato heard Yukari gather up his clothing and take it out of the bath area. He most certainly heard her taking off her own clothes. She was back again and came over to one side and stepped into the bath. The bath was actually bigger than a normal one since the dorm was meant to accommodate several occupants. There were two baths on the bottom floor and two more on the fourth floor. So girls could bath together if they wanted to, but considering there wasn't really much need to do so it didn't happen. But the extra space was certainly being incredibly handy at this moment.

"It's probably going to sting a lot when you get in. But I'll be right here with you the whole time," Yukari said as she helped Minato put his legs first into the bath. It didn't just sting, it actually hurt. Minato bit his lip to hold in the sudden pain and was assaulted with more as Yukari brought him into the bath until he was sitting in it with the water coming up to just under his shoulders.

It was only after a few moments when the pain began to dull that he realized that Yukari was sitting behind him with her arms wrapped around him and her legs on each side of his body. His teeth chattered continuously for a long time and eventually feeling started to come back through his whole body. Minato became more increasingly aware of Yukari as he felt her. Her hand went up and checked his forehead.

"I guess I won't be able to tell if you have a fever until after then," Yukari sighed.

Actually Minato realized that he felt horrible. He really had gotten himself sick this time. They sat there for a long time without anything being said. "I'm sorry," Minato was finally able to talk normally but he had a massive headache. And was probably a lot more serious than that. "I messed up big time."

"Well I'm sorry too; I should have brought you home with me. I was too occupied with an errand I had to do for Archery club that I figured you had already headed back," Yukari pulled him close. "You still feel cold to me."

Minato could feel her breast against his back. In fact he was especially aware of any point of contact that Yukari had with his body at this moment. He was sure he hadn't done anything to deserve this kind of treatment. "Why did you go this far? I mean we haven't been dating that long and…"

"Is it really that surprising?" Yukari spoke in an affectionate tone. "You've saved my life so many times now. And yet I am never given a chance to do the same for you. At the very least I can do this much to make sure you don't get any sicker than you are. How are you feeling?"

"Awful. My head feels like it's in a vice and my body feels like it had been used as a punching bag for the boxing team," Minato groaned. "Every time I move I feel like one of my nerves is being ripped out."

Yukari sat back a bit, Minato only realized it because the contact that had been there was gone. Only to be renewed by Yukari's fingers tracing something on his lower back. Minato felt cold all over again but for a completely different reason. "Minato…what are these?"

"Scars from a long time ago," Minato said simply. Usually he could hide the scars well enough. Like Akihiko he had worn a shirt at Yakushima, and no one had said anything about it even though he had swam in it. Even Yukari didn't say anything. And even if he hadn't you would have to look closely to actually see them. A mere glance wouldn't point it out. After all they were from years ago...from a time in his life he wish he could forget...along with the faces that went along with it.

"There is so many of them. Minato, who did this to you?" Yukari's voice was full of concern but also shock.

"Please don't ask that," Minato whispered. "Let's just leave it that things weren't always as good as they are now."

Yukari didn't want to drop it, and he knew that. However, Minato wasn't in the best place to describe everything that had happened during that time in his life. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her.

"I'll tell you eventually. I promise but not while the two of us are in here," Minato said. "Plus if we stay in here too long I'm sure Kirijo-san might have a few choice words for the both of us."

"You're right," Yukari said as the situation finally dawned on her. "You should wash up while we're in here. It'll make you feel better when you get out."

"Yukari, there is no one else here I would ever show these scars to. So please just wait a little longer okay?" Minato looked back at her and smiled. Yukari instantly eased up.

"I don't want any secrets between us, Minato. I've had enough people lie to me in my life. I don't want you to be one of them," Yukari was really worried about him. Minato knew that. And he wanted to tell her about all the things that had happened in his life. About the abusive foster parents…being out casted at school because of a misunderstanding and how he had just given up on people.

"I don't want any secrets between us either, Yukari," he whispered back. Although there had been things he did say to her, he had never lied to her. He wanted to disclose all his thoughts to her. "Maybe when I'm better we'll have to sit down and really talk."

"I'd like that," Yukari pulled him back into her arms and kissed his cheek.

Minato felt his social link had increased with her again and it made him feel worse. When he felt like he could finally forget all of that it had its way of showing back up.

"Let me wash your back Minato. And we should probably hurry. I'm sure Mitsuru will have a doctor here in record time," Yukari said with a laugh.

"Yes being the daughter of the Kirijo Group certainly gives her that kind of effect on people," Minato chuckled which was followed up by a series of coughs. "I hope he brings something that knocks me out…"

Well Minato supposed that in the end, his horrible luck could be considered offset by Yukari. She had not even given a second thought to what she had to do to help him. He wasn't sure he deserved it but Yukari assured him that he was. Who was he to argue with her? After all she was his girlfriend and possibly the most selfish act he had ever done in his life was agreeing to go out with her. He only hoped that he could be someone worthy of Yukari.

March 13th, 2011 / Pseudo Dark Hour

Yukari released another arrow piercing the mask of the Shadow causing it to rapidly disappear. She held the bow with her left hand and took her evoker from its holster. She put it to her forehead and pulled the trigger, "Isis!" A burst of wind tore apart another Shadow as Yukari holstered the evoker and continued down the hall. Ahead of her was the entrance to the roof of the building. She wasted no time in opening the door and rushing out. She stopped and pulled out another arrow from her quiver and drew it back as she looked at the scene in front of her.

"Hamuko-chan!" Yukari yelled. She drew the arrow back. "Duck!" Letting it loose the arrow passed through the space where Hamuko had just been and pierced through an attacking Shadow. Hamuko spun around with her weapon and cut through it as well. The Shadow disappeared and Yukari quickly ran up to Hamuko.

"Yukari-san?" Hamuko looked back at her. She was exhausted but her eyes held a fire and determination that Yukari known so well. They really were so much alike. "It'll have to wait." She stood battle ready and looked to the other side of the roof.

Following Hamuko's gaze, Yukari saw that Sayane and Akira were tied up and gagged. A man with an amused grin was standing next to them. He started laughing.

"It's better than I could have ever dreamed. To think that your awakening and the rate of your growth is simply astounding. That Minato's twin sister would hold the same ability to hold multiple Persona. This could mean that heritage could have a strong effect on individual power," the man talked as if there was no one else there, as if he was merely watching things as a spectator.

"It was you? Wasn't it? You're the one that took me away from my family," Hamuko put out her accusation. Yukari couldn't believe her ears. Was it possible?

The other members of SEES quickly appeared on the roof, moving behind to support Hamuko. The man simply looked amused by the current situation and not concerned at the least by his obvious disadvantage.

"Kirijo-sama was a great man. Only he understood what the potential the Dark Hour and the Fall truly meant. Yet his son could not understand. So he ordered my research to be stopped. The arrogance of that brat; to think that he believed to be in the right. I took many children to develop my research, but none were as brilliant as you Takahashi. The Shadows were enthralled by you, but never wanted to harm you. It was a completely different reaction from every other child. You were unique," the man's grin grew wider.

Mitsuru stepped forward, "You're Yoshimitsu, correct?"

"Ah, the young heiress of the Kirijo Group. It seems you've taken your Fathers place in being a thorn in my side," despite his words he laughed. "However, my experiment shall continue. Show me how much you can grow Takahashi."

The man called Yoshimitsu walked to the edge of the roof and snapped his fingers. "Do not disappoint me." The man then disappeared from the roof. Yukari wasn't sure if he had jumped or not but there was no time for that.

Dropping from the sky a gigantic Shadow fell onto the roof. Everyone jumped back, all except Hamuko.

"All this…to get to me? Because of what Onii-chan was able to do?" Hamuko hesitation quickly turned to a resolve of steel. Yukari could see the anger and frustration in her face...there was a lot to consider...but one thing at a time. "Fine. I'll show you what it means to be an Arisato!"

"Don't worry, Minato," Yukari readied her bow as Hamuko prepared to charge the Shadow. "I'll watch over her in your place."

Author's Note:

The main focus at the front is Hamuko and her charge to save Sayane and Akira. She finds herself in the Pseudo Dark Hour again and figures out some more...plus a little appearance from Minato as well. Plot is picking up in both the present and in the journal. Not to mention we get to meet the antagonist of the present story line. Things are going to pick up, slowly but surely over the next few chapters as we explore more about Hamuko's past.

Next Chapter is the Fortune and Strength Full Moon fight. And you all know what that means.

- The Soldier of Hope - I've never heard of WattPad. The only other place this story is at is on Deviantart. If you see it somewhere else, it was not posted by me.

As always thanks for reading and I hope you are all enjoying it. See you tomorrow with Chapter 16.