A/N: I'd like to thank the unnamed Guest and Proxy Saga's continued support. Your reviews are my everything.

May 10 11:56AM Waning Gibbous

Minako was exhausted. The weird boy in her bedroom had been right. The night before had been a full moon, and the entire thing had been chaotic. A monorail had been hijacked and would've caused a gas explosion if she hadn't stopped it.

The Shadow had been large, much bigger than anything else she had ever faced. The thing she'd fought that first night she arrived was close, but her personas did most of the work that night. It was nothing compared to the monorail Shadow.

Iwatodai station was usually busy. People were walking to and fro. Couples liked to come here for movies or go into town using the train. She watched them fondly. It felt like years ago that she was on that train going to the dorm.

She listened to her internet buddy. She'd met a few girls on the volleyball team, the student council, and the library committee. The past week was spent running around school signing up for as many clubs as she could. It was tiring, but she could feel that time was moving again. Minutes, hours, days, she would count them now, trying to make the most of her time. Her parents would be proud. If only for this one year.

The station isn't crowded even though it was the weekend. Flowers are blooming in perfect squares behind her. The benches are empty except for herself and an elderly couple. Minako closes her eyes, letting the sun hit her face.

Even if nothing else went right today, she wanted to thank this person. Friends. The word still sounded shallow. The way she felt about the new people she'd met wasn't anything close to how she'd felt, about the people she loved, but maybe someday. Maybe someday she'd love her new friends as much as she'd loved the people she'd lost.

"Hey cutie." She opens her eyes only to see two strange men looking at her. One of them is average-looking, with a forgettable face and brown hair. The other is in a button-up and tie. Neither is who she's looking for.

"Hello, can I help you?" Minako could feel herself entering auto-response mode. On any other day, she might give them a semblance of her attention, for amusement if nothing else. But not today. She was too tired, and both of them were as boring as them come.

"Are you here waiting for someone? We could show you a good time." The guy with the tie sits down next to her, putting an arm behind her. Minako glances at it briefly, making a few notes. He seems fit. Not like Akihiko, but fit enough to put up a fight. It was best not to be stuck between the two should she need to break one of their arms.

She stands up, kneeing the other man's leg joints as she does so. "Sorry about that. You were just so close. I didn't mean to hurt you." She pauses for a moment, putting her hand over her mouth for that surprised damsel look. "My friend is very late, but he should be here soon. I would appreciate it if you left me alone."

Her patience for these people was wearing very thin.

I've been watching her from the train platform for about 30 minutes. I'm mostly hidden from view with my laptop but she could probably see me if she looked hard enough. I'm in my signature green jacket and everything about me fits the description I give her.

She's prettier than I could've imagined, not that I imagined her at all. Whenever I tried, I could only think of fat old men. Not the most pleasant image. My week had been spent working and trying to find her username in other locations. The entire attempt was a failure, and the more I failed, the more I was convinced, she was a bot. Not once in a million years would I have imagined a petite high school girl.

She'd arrived roughly 5 minutes after I'd set up my computer. I spotted her right away. She was right about the hair. It did look red, but only when the sun hit her at just the right angle. I took a couple pictures with my phone and checked a few databases. Most of it came up empty, but I finally found what I was looking for in a government junkyard.

I kept glancing in her direction as I dug around. Random things came up but nothing valuable.

I sigh again, closing my laptop. Was she really the girl I'd been talking to? She wasn't an old man, a spy, or some hacker who'd found out about the Dark Hour and our schemes?

Her name was one of the first things I found. Minako Arisato.

The next time I glance in her direction, she isn't alone. Two men are milling around her, one of them sitting on the bench next to her. She has a polite smile on her face, but there's something dark in her expression, as if she's not really there at all. Her eyes keep drifting to key points in her companions. Arms, legs, joints.

Looking at them made my blood boil. I almost leave my hiding spot when she abruptly stands up, knocking back the guy who is still standing. She manages to walk out from their circle, but they're still looming over her. My gut clenches at the sight. Even with the polite smile on her face, all of my hazard warnings are going off. This girl is dangerous.

She bows, before swiftly turning away. Was she leaving? I needed to follow her. My hands fumble as I try to pack up my computer into my suitcase.

"Hey!" The man's shout rings across the plaza, and I freeze in the midst of my packing. They weren't done with her. One of them reaches out to grab her arm, but she's already moved out of the way, tripping him in the process. She then proceeds to slam the heel of her sneaker onto his hand. I freeze. A normal girl wouldn't have done that. Couldn't possibly have done that. His bones are definitely broken.

The other one grabs her hair, using it as leverage as he pulls her to him. Without missing a beat, she swings herself around, throwing her elbow up perfectly under the chin. He falls back, tearing out a few long strands of her hair. She doesn't even look fazed. That had to hurt. Why wasn't she screaming? Asking for help? What the hell was going on?

Everyone stops in whatever they're doing to watch her. The first guy is crying, straddling a broken hand. The other looks like he fainted when he fell down. She'd gotten a bit of dirt and blood on her clothes, but she was mostly unharmed. There is a small, polite smile on her face. "I'm sorry to have done that. Have a nice weekend."

She ties her hair back up again, and walks away. She doesn't look back. Not even once.

Minako spends the rest of her morning talking to an elderly couple at a bookstore before returning home. They were fairly nice. The old man seemed to think she would marry his son someday. Minako didn't have the heart to remind him that their son was long gone.

When she'd made it home, she flopped onto her bed immediately, not bothering to change. Akihiko made a small attempt to try and talk to her, but she moved passed him quickly. Explaining her haphazard appearance would just tire her out even more. She was already exhausted to begin with, but battling it out with those two men had drained her beyond measure. The day had been a disaster. She looks over at her computer.

ShiroTobira.

He didn't showed up today. She stomps over to the computer before she realizes she's angry. It had been a long time since she'd felt that emotion. Things didn't faze her, so why had this? Why was she so angry? Hemelin booted up, but she didn't sign in. All of her information was ready to go; her fingers hover over the 'Enter' button.

Had their conversation been a joke to him?

Minako puts her computer back to sleep, running past Yukari to the bathroom. A shower first, and then she'd wonder what to do about him later.

I'm still processing everything that I've seen when I make it home. My mind tells me that I needed to follow the girl. I needed to know more about her. I am sure at this point that she is a spy. Either for the authorities or for Kirijo. Everything is too convenient. She is a great fighter, pretty, AND smart? That's just outrageous. A normal civilian didn't possess all three of those qualities. If she captured me, Strega would fall apart. Every step mattered from this point onward.

Both Takaya and Chidori are home and awake when I return. A surprise waiting in the kitchen. Takaya seems to be going over some notes and waves me over when I walk through the door. "Excellent. I was waiting for you to come home, Jin. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." I grab a bowl of rice from the cooker before joining Chidori at our small table. It was rare for the three of us to eat together. Our sleep schedules were too different. "What do you need?"

He shows me the plans for a large heist and then throws a stack of photos at me. "We're going to rob this house but first, I want you and Chidori to dig up as much as you can on these people.

I shuffle through them quickly before I see her: Minako Arisato. In the photo, she's at the train station with a confused look on her face and a piece of paper in her hand. She's looking over her shoulder like she's not sure where she is. The sky is green behind her. The Dark Hour. I immediately stop eating. "Who are these people?"

Takaya smiles, sitting down and pointing to a few of the photos he's taken. "Persona users like us, but they feel no pain when they activate them. I want to know everything you two can dig up about them."

Chidori nods, eyeing me briefly before grabbing the last piece of pickled tofu. Minako Arisato again. This couldn't be a coincidence. Too many things concerned her. I nod as well, stuffing my face as quickly as possible.

Takaya disappears right after dinner. Chidori leaves soon after. I do my work, looking into the photos Takuya gave me. They turn up surprising results. Minako Arisato gives me little but once I find the others, it's easy to connect the dots. All of them were students at Gekkoukan High and live in the same dorm. The oldest girl was Mitsuru Kirijo. The name sends hatred shooting through my veins. She was the heir of the Kirijo Group.

Those bastards. A bottle of pills are sitting on my desk. There were identical bottles everywhere in the apartment. Takaya made them in his room in his free time. Master of drugs and chemicals. We took them regularly. We all needed to or our personas could kill us. They could go berserk at any moment and it was all because of them: the Kirijo Group. We would all die, because of them.

I push the memories from my mind. Takaya always said that living in the past or for the future was pointless. What mattered was the here and now, and right now I needed to talk to the girl. Takaya gave me a mission, and I would get her to talk. I log onto Hemelin but she's in an Arena Match.

When she materializes in the open world, I can see a new banner above her head.

Congratulations

KotoneShiomi22 has beaten MiyoshiMusashi93 +5,789 Prestige

Rank 18 = Rank 17

MiyoshiMusashi93 has lost to KotoneShiomi22 -5,789 Prestige

Rank 3 = Rank 5

How long had she been playing? I haven't seen her on all week and then, all of a sudden, she's in the top 20 again. Before I have a chance to process what I'm seeing, she disappears from the open world. I open my friend's list instead. I have a lot of other people on it, but her name is sitting at the top. She was in Left Gammick. Waiting for me then.

"hey"

~"You didn't come."

No small talk? There wasn't an ounce of romantic tension in this girl. I liked that.

~"Why?"

"i did come. i saw you."

She doesn't answer me immediately. Probably wondering how likely it was that I was lying, or maybe wondering if she'd seen me in the crowd.

~"Where were you?"

"i saw you beat up those two dudes. you're a good fighter."

I realize how creepy and weird I sound immediately after hitting enter. There is no limit to the awkwardness of a modern hikkikomori.

~"Were you scared of me?"

"no."

~"Then you should've come over."

"next time. promise"

There would need to be a next time. The request on the Revenge Website should've been done. I beat her, but she came back. Clearly for me. As arrogant as that sounded, it also spelled the truth. If we met up offline, she'd probably stop playing, but what about Takaya? He wanted me to learn more about her, and I would do just that.

"can you meet me next week?"

~"I have exams."

"i'll help you study."

She doesn't answer, clearly surprised. I am too. Where did that come from? I don't study. I never even went to school. After a minute or two, I finally get a response.

~"Okay."

"wakatsu? i'll pay to make up for today."

~"That sounds good."

"next Sunday. noon. don't be late."

~"You better come this time, or I'll hunt you down and beat you to death."

It sounded like a joke, but after what I saw today, I wondered if she could actually do it. Probably. I guess I should've been afraid.