Chapter 9: Fate is in Our Hands

Author's Notes: Hello and welcome to Chapter 9 of P3: Our Time Together. It's been a while (over a year, to be exact) since I've updated this story. But who cares? Regardless, I'm back and better than ever (kind of). Anyways, I hope you enjoy. This chapter starts from no particular POV.

11:30 PM; 30 Minutes before the Dark Hour

Having gathered all their gear, the group made their way back to the roof of Gekkoukan High. The trip back to the dorm was as uneventful as the return trip, as they all remained in their own thoughts. As they headed up they headed back up the stairs that leads to the roof a question stuck out in Mitsuru's mind.

"Where's Iori?" she asked aloud.

Yukari made a slight laugh and admitted, "I kinda left him on the roof, y'know… 'cause he kinda deserved it."

Though it wasn't completely out of her own morals, Mitsuru still scolded the brunette, though admittedly she was "lighter" on the punishment. With that out of the way, Mitsuru led the group through the door of the roof, largely unsurprised with what they saw.

They saw Junpei laid out on one of the benches, with his sleeve covering his eyes. If one listened closely and could mute out the strong wind that was blowing that night, you might detect the despondent snivels coming from the student.

"Iori! Quit your crying and get up!" yelled Mitsuru.

At the sound of her voice, Junpei jumped up immediately and defiantly protested that he was not crying.

"Yeah yeah, listen Junpei… I'm sorry I left you on the roof," Yukari apologized, though halfheartedly.

After closing the distance between him and the rest of the group, with only a few sniffles he finally responded, "Ya' mean it?"

"Sure… whatever you say," she answered, not wanting to dwell on the situation more than needed.

"Alright!" Junpei exclaimed, shocking the group with his quick reversal in emotion. "So what happens now?"

"We wait for midnight, and hope everything goes fine," Mitsuru explained calmly.

"Wha-!? Midnight! But, I… we got class in the morning! I'm barely managing to stay awake in class as it is! Besides, I needs* my beauty rest," he finished, with a wink directed at Yukari, who could only manage to gag in disgust.

"Mitsuru, isn't it dangerous to bring him along? Because, you know: Tartarus and the Dark Hour?" inquired Akihiko.

"Yeah! Besides what the Hell is tartar sauce and the Dark Hour!?" Junpei added.

"Tartarus, idiot," Yukari corrected.

"Pft, whatever. None of this makes a lick of sense to me!" he replied.

Mitsuru looked at her watch and concluded, "There's no time to explain, we're a minute away from the Dark Hour. If you happen to survive, we'll explain everything. That is, if you're still conscious."

Wow… she does not care for anyone's safety… unless it's Yuki-kun, thought Yukari.

"Why can't you just let me lea—" Junpei had tried to say.

The Dark Hour had just begun, and the group was scattered throughout the maze of a tower.

Makoto's POV

I could feel myself being dragged across the floor, as I faded in and out of consciousness. Though I was moving at a decent pace, I could hear exhausted feminine grunts coming from behind me.

"Geez, Yuki… why are you so heavy?" she asked aloud, unaware that I was regaining my ability to think coherently.

"Maybe, I'm not that heavy… maybe you're just weak," I quipped with a chuckle.

Fuuka immediately dropped me on my back as she let out a shriek, "Damn it, Yuki! Don't scare me like that!"

I feigned extreme pain in my back, an attempt to garner sympathy from the teal-haired girl.

"Hmph, you deserved that anyway," she responded, crossing her arms and looking in the opposite direction.

My attempt had failed, I thought humorously to myself.

"Huh? Maybe I did... especially after single-handedly fending away those monster."

As I said that, I decided to take in my surroundings. We were at the end of a hallway, though I was completely unaware of what floor we were on.

That's Tartarus for ya.

Continuing my analysis, I noticed a teleporter lying dormant at the end of the hallway. My eyes widened at the potential escape route.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean… that," she trailed off, taking note of where my eyes had wandered.

"What is that?" she decided to ask.

"That, my dear Fuuka, is a teleporter. Also known as our way out of this hellhole," I answered.

I attempted to stand up, in hopes of activating the teleporter… except I couldn't feel my legs.

"What the…?" I asked to no one in particular.

"You must be beyond exhausted, if your legs can't even move," Fuuka explained. "Let me try to activate it."

Unfortunately for both of us, Fuuka had no clue how to activate it.

Tartarus: Floor ?

Yukari's POV

Ugh, my head, I thought as I awoke from my temporary slumber.

Looking around I could make out three other figures. There was Sanada-san, Aragaki-san, and… ugh, why's Stupei with us? Hey… Stupei is kinda funny, I thought as I giggled at my internal joke.

Speaking of which, he began to wake up as well.

"WHAT THE HELL!" he exclaimed louder than necessary.

"Damn, man… keep it down," a groggy Shinjiro whispered loudly, as he grabbed his head.

"Yeah, dude: it's too early in the morning for that," Akihiko agreed.

"Why should I!? How can you all be so calm!? We were on the roof a second ago and now we're… we're… I don't even know where the hell we are!" Junpei shot off.

"Calm down, Stupei. This is Tartarus, y'know, the thing we were talking about earlier," I explained. "And seeing that you're more than able to comprehend the situation, I'd go out on a limb and say you have the 'potential'."

"Yeah, man! If she's right, you might be able to join our Shadow-busting group!" Akihiko added excitedly.

"Shadow-busting… group? As cool at that sounds, I just want to get the hell out of here!" Junpei admitted.

"Stupei is right, we need to find an exit and fast. We also look for Kirijo, seeing as how she's not with us," Shinjiro said, laying out our current plans. "It'd be wise to avoid Shadows as much as possible, seeing that we don't have our two strongest members with us right now."

"Shinji's right, we oughta move out of here as fast as we can. We don't want to endanger Stupei, since he's totally unarmed," Akhiko added.

"Right. Ok guys, let's move! You too, Stupei," I ordered.

We began to move forward, unknown of what awaits us. Everyone but Junpei.

"C'mon guys! Stop calling me that! Hey… don't leave me behind!" he yelled as tried to catch up with us.

Tartarus: Floor ?

Mitsuru's POV

I have no idea where I am, I admitted to myself.

The walls of Tartarus gave no clear indication as to what floor I'm on, or what level. What I did know, was that I was completely alone.

No Sanada, Aragaki, or Iori. Hell I'd settle for Takeba at this point, I thought.

Letting out a huge sigh, I began to explore this floor of Tartarus. From what Penthesilea could deduce, there were absolutely no shadows on this floor.

Strange, I thought to myself.

However, upon closer inspection, I began to notice a lot of charred marks littered on the floor, walls, and ceiling. There was also plenty of muck around; leading me to believe someone had defeated plenty of Shadows on this floor.

The burns and the immense destruction left… there's only one explanation: Makoto!

Just the thought of finding him strengthened my resolve, as I hastily explored every part of the floor as I could.

This floor is bigger than I thought, I admitted.

I was becoming exhausted and my time spent in Tartarus was taking its toll on me. I summoned Penthesilea once more to scan the floor once again. This time, she picked up three figures that she hadn't picked up before. Two of them appeared not to be Shadows, instead their signatures resembled more of a human. However, the third being was most definitely a Shadow and this one sent shivers down my spine. There was only one word I could use to describe this presence: Death.

I gulped heavily, as my hands began to shake. It was imperative that I find those two humans and get the Hell out of here. The thought that one of them could be Makoto, further solidified my purpose for finding them. With that in mind, I headed to the far side of the floor; which, until now, had been left unexplored.

When I finally reached the other side of the floor, Penthesilea notified me that I was not only close to the two humans, but a teleporter as well. She also mentioned that the Shadow was at a comfortable distance away.

I breathed a sigh of relief and continued my trek towards the teleporter. However, as I drew near I begun to hear two voices.

"No Fuuka, you just…"

"It's fine, I know what I'm doing," the voice of Fuuka assured, though without much confidence.

It was undeniable; the other voice had belonged to my Mako-chan. He sounded just fine, if not a bit tired.

"If you know what you were doing, we'd be out of here by now. Just drag me over there, and I'll activate it," Makoto suggested.

"Nonono, I don't want you to get hurt any more than you already are. Besides, I'm a smart girl."

Makoto is hurt? My heart broke at the thought that he was hurt even more. How long have you been fighting Mako-chan?

"Whatever you say, Fuuka…" he groaned.

I couldn't stand not seeing him anymore.

"MAKOTO!" I yelled as I rounded the corner, tears in my eye.

The first thing I noticed was Makoto. He was lying on the ground, uniform nearly completely ruined. There was a lot of ash on his face accompanied by a small amount of blood. His uniform, had tons of tears in it, obviously I'll have to stich it back up for him. Next to him, was his Evoker. A wave of relief shot over me, knowing he had the ability to defend himself, followed by a sense of anger, knowing he had brought it to school that day. However, I was more relieved that he was fine.

Then I noticed a small, teal-haired girl trying to work the teleporter. She wore the Gekkoukan High uniform, making it clear to me that she was the Fuuka that Makoto had mentioned.

She's kinda cute, I guess…

With that a wave of jealousy and other incoherent thoughts started up.

What's their relationship? How long have they known each other? Why is he calling her by her first name? Are they closer than friends? DID THEY KISS?

As I closed the gap between Makoto and I, his eyes widened in shock.

"Mit-Mitsuru?!" he asked, bewildered.

I slid on the ground and connected with him for a long, overdue embrace. Tears continued to stream down my face, tears of sadness and joy.

"Makoto," I started, "I'm so glad you're alive. How're you feeling?"

"I-I'm fine. Just a little bruised," he stated, clearly an understatement.

We held one another in each other's arms for a while, until we were interrupted by a small voice.

"Uhm, hi…?" said the voice.

I quickly ended the embrace and looked to the source of the voice, "Ahem, excuse me. Forgive my rudeness, I'm—"

"Mitsuru," she answered. "Makoto has told me so much about you. My name is Fuuka Yamagishi; it's a pleasure to meet you."

Hmm, she's nicer than I expected. Perhaps she knows to lay off of him… no, the possibility is still there…

"Uh, Mitsuru… You ok?" Makoto asked, snapping me away from my thoughts.

"Oh! Yes, I'm doing quite fine. Fuuka, the pleasure is mine. But enough formalities, we need to get out of here, fast."

"We'd already be gone, if Fuuka could just activate the teleporter."

"I swear I almost got it, a few more minutes and it'd be up and running."

The way they banter back and forth, maybe there is something going on?

"Regardless, we must escape now. Something is coming and—" the sound of rattling chains cut me off.

I turned around in horror, as I took in the sight before me. In front of me stood a large Shadow, dressed in a large, black cloak. However, the being was overshadowed by the massive revolvers it held in both hands.

I froze in fear, unable to move. I heard nothing, as I stood at the toes of such a foe. Dread washed over me, as my eyes widened in fear. Before I knew it, I was yanked backwards by an unknown force.

It was Yamagishi who pulled me back. I landed on the ground next to Makoto and watched on as Fuuka bravely stood toe to toe with the monster.

I noticed Makoto begin to look around in a frenzy, "My Evoker! Where…"

Yamagishi managed to grab his Evoker, without him noticing. She looked back with a dreary smile, "Mitsuru-san, please get Makoto-kun out of here. I'll… do what I can."

"But Fuuka! You don't even…" Makoto began to cry out, before Fuuka interrupted.

"I've seen you do it enough, besides how hard can it be," though she tried to sound strong, the fear in her voice was apparent. "Go on! Get out of here!"

My body began to move on its own, as I bolted to the teleporter. It was mere seconds before I finally activated it, a green aura emanating from it. I rushed to Makoto and began to drag him towards our escape.

"STOP! Let go of me!" he pleaded. "Fuuka, you don't have to do this."

Being as exhausted as he was, he could do nothing to prevent his fate. I reluctantly dragged him towards the teleporter, as he raised his hand up, weakly, trying to reach out to Fuuka.

"PLEASE STOP THIS!" he cried out, as I finally managed to drag him into the teleporter.

The last sight we saw was Fuuka successfully pulling the trigger on the Evoker, but the result of the it remained a mystery.

Tartarus: First Floor

Makoto and I both landed on the hard floor, after escaping through the teleporter. My arms were still wrapped around his chest, as we both lied on the cold floor. Moments later, he began to try to wriggle from my grasp. He moved his body left and right, before managing to break free. He landed unceremoniously on the ground next to me.

"Makoto," I could only say his name.

He looked at me with an anger I've never seen. The blood and ash, combining together from the tears that fell from his eyes scared me like never before.

"Why!" he yelled. "Why didn't you let me save her?! Why didn't you let me…"

His voice stopped him as he began to sob even more.

"Makoto… I…"

"YOU! You did absolutely NOTHING!" he accused. "If it wasn't for you… if you hadn't led that… that thing to us, we'd be just fine!"

I knew he was emotionally unstable at the moment, but something in me could not tolerate the blame.

"ME!" I raised my voice. "For your information, I did not lead that thing to you! I only tried to help you two! If you're too stupid to realize that, then why don't you go back into Tartarus!"

Of course, I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't intend to say such vile things, yet here I was, screaming at my only love.

His eyes widened into shock and fear. I'd never used that tone with him. I never yelled at him, at least not to that degree. I hardly ever insulted him either, fearing he would disassociate himself with me. I immediately regretted every word I'd said to him.

The look on his face shifted from terror to anger. The venom in his eyes was enough to send any normal human being running. I watched as his eyes narrowed and the world around me muted and I saw the words form on his mouth. Words I never wished to hear, words totally opposite to what I dreamed of.

Though I couldn't hear them, he clearly said, "I hate you."

I stood there, shocked out of my mind. My chest fell heavy as looked back at his face, to see if he'd made a mistake. Nope. He continued to look at me with those eyes that could kill a man. My mouth quivered as I blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears from falling. I'd never felt this way, I've never felt such sadness. My attempts were futile as my tears cascaded down my face and I let out a cry that I'd never cried since before we met.

Little did I know, there were four other people there with us. Of course, I ignored them and continued to cry. They made no move, standing there unsure of how to react. It wasn't until Makoto- no Yuki - decided to try to crawl back to the teleporter, that Sanada and Aragaki made some movement.

"That's enough, Yuki! Don't do this," Sanada tried to persuade, as the two men held Yuki down.

"Exactly, dude. If you knew what we went through to get you back, you'd stop being such an asshole," Aragaki added.

"Let go of me! Let go of me! Let go of me!" Yuki repeated, hatred spewing out hatred with each word.

"Listen man! Don't you realize how much you've hurt Kirijo-san over these last few days?! Especially just now! Do you even care about her?!" Akihiko yelled, trying to persuade the blue-haired boy.

"I SAID LET GO OF ME!" was his only reply.

After that statement, the tears stopped flowing. Something within me found the courage to stand up and steel myself. I stood up straight, lifted my head, wiped my tears, and said, "Let him do what he wants, let him get himself get killed, let him leave. From this point on, his actions are his own and are of no consequence to me."

Afterward, I spun on my heel and began to exit the Tower of Demise. Yukari caught up with me and walked behind me, occasionally throwing a glance at the guys.

"Mitsuru… I mean, Kirijo-san, you can't possibly mean that? Right?" she questioned.

"I meant what I said. If he lives, so be it. If he dies… he'll get no tears from me."

Yukari merely nodded at my statement.

Meanwhile, a bunch of commotion was happening between the guys.

"I'm boughta knock his ass out!" Sanada said, as Yuki continued to struggle underneath him.

"Just do it. For his sake and ours," Aragaki instructed.

With that, a loud strike echoed throughout Tartarus. Following the strike, Shinjiro slumped Yuki over his shoulders and began to carry him out of the tower, as well.

Iori who had no clue what was going on asked, "Hey! What about me?"

Sanada replied," You did well. Expect to hear from us in the following days."

With Iori in tow, the group finally exited Tartarus: after a long, rough night.

Author's Note: And that concludes Chapter 9. After writing this chapter, I remembered how fun it is to write, so expect a new update sooner than later. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the story thus far, sorry if I saddened anyone by that last part! We'll get there eventually! Just trust me! Plus, if you find any mistakes, in any of the chapters, feel free to let me know.

*"needs" was intentional

Shout outs to:

Anonymous1009

Kingster16

Kodel2012

Nightlyy

And last, but certainly not least: Kirijo Senpai