Story so far:

She found herself back in the past...

Hoping to change their fates, Minako took on the identity of a mysterious masked Persona-user, Crimson.

And upon the arrival of the second full moon, events which never happened occurred... Casualties were almost made if not for Crimson's help...

Because of the incident, there was a slight conflict within the group, but again, with her actions, it was resolved...

Now, the next full moon is fast approaching...

Chapter 12: Hierophant Part I

6/08/09-Monday

"Junpei, why him? Am I not enough as a brother? Junpei, she was with that guy. Him of all people... Junpei, what should I do...?" The usually silent male spoke in a cold, lifeless tone.

He said everything with his usual blank expression... No, not his usual blankness. It was more accurate to say that his expression was more blank than usual. This time, his silver eyes seemed to be sucked dry of any and all life, his face was pale and his hair was a mess, as if he hadn't had the chance to clean up for days. Junpei slowly slid away from his friend with a frightened look on his face.

"Dude! Stop it... You're scaring me!" He answered, rubbing his arms and feeling strange chills.

Minato didn't reply to his barb as he continued on mumbling something under his breath. The cap-wearing boy sighed and shot Yukari a glance, who merely answered with a shake of her head.

6/05/09-Friday

The auburn-haired girl had just returned home, laughing with her silver-haired senior, and the first thing that appeared in her sight was the meeting between the members of Yukari's investigation team. Junpei looked rather lax and Minato was the same as he always was... Her senpai went ahead of her, heading up to his room after waving her goodbye, which she reciprocated. Attention now fully captured by the group, Minako smirked and quietly snuck up on the group...

"Why did the rumor spread so fast if this was the first time it happened?" Yukari asked the two.

Minato seemed bored... Most likely, when they had first formed the team, his mind had been drifting off to who-knows-where again. As for the capped one, he was most likely too lazy to actually investigate the matter. Well, it was either that or he wasn't really interested in it.

"Because this is not the first time~" The group turned to the cheerful voice.

Minako plopped herself down beside Minato, who, in turn, immediately straightened up. His sleepy eyes were suddenly filled with life as a faint smile formed on his lips.

"It's the third!" She added with a smile.

Yukari smiled back and turned to the boys with a glare on her face. Junpei flinched and scratched his head, Minato shrugged.

"I didn't even ask Minako-chan and yet she knows! Geez... I can't really count on you boys..." Yukari sighed.

"So, can I join this? I'm into ghost stories! Bet you didn't know huh?" The red-eyed girl smirked. Of course, she didn't really investigate since she knew it to begin with.

Minato's silver eyes lit up upon hearing her words. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth, catching everyone's attention.

"The three 'victims' of these 'ghost stories' hung out with each other. They were often seen in the bad parts of the city. Apparently, all of them were hospitalized with the same circumstances. Because of this, people think these incidents are linked together, thus, the rumor immediately spread. Also, there's a rumor about the girl's bathroom where it-" Before he could finish, Yukari jumped in and covered his mouth with her hand, effectively muffling his words.

"O-Okay, Minato-kun... That's enough..." She laughed wryly.

Minako stared at the two, her twin in particular. The female finally let go of the boy's mouth and sighed in relief when he stayed quiet.

"Minato-kun... Where'd you learn that?" His female counterpart asked curiously in a soft whisper.

The boy shrugged and flashed her a light grin.

"It's a wonder what you'd learn from sleeping." He whispered in a mysterious voice.

Minako raised a brow and tilted her head, to which the boy responded by ruffling her hair.

"I'll tell you someday..." He mumbled.

In the end, the four decided to go investigate the site the next day. Junpei had protested but, with Yukari's persistence, Minako's excitement and Minato's complex, he was outvoted, much to his dismay...

6/06/09-Saturday

The back alley was exactly as she had remembered it and not as scary as Junpei had proclaimed... Although, technically, that may be because it wasn't her first time here, and she had seen worse. Still, it did look very different when compared to the time she had ended up there during that morning... Regardless, how the girl felt about it and how she was acting were two completely opposite things.

Minako clung tightly to her brother's arm, cowering in 'fear' for the sake of keeping up her act. Her male counterpart, however, was enjoying her closeness. However, like the girl, he was also acting, pretending that he was trying to be vigilant when, in fact, he was grinning like an idiot deep inside. For a moment there, you'd think he agreed to their little 'adventure' just so his sister would cling to him like that... As for Junpei, he was genuinely intimidated... Meanwhile, Yukari was... being Yukari.

Suddenly, a group of punks that usually hung out in the area approached the four. Yup, just as she remembered. The blue-haired boy scowled at this and pushed his sister behind him, taking on a protective stance in front of her.

"Hey, I think you're in the wrong place." One of them spoke in a rough tone.

The man had slightly long, light-brown hair and multiple piercings in his ears. Junpei froze upon hearing the man's words as Minako continued to hide behind her brother, making her almost impossible to spot.

"Uh... Well, I..." The capped teenager stuttered, unsure of how to proceed.

Before he could speak normally, the punk continued.

"You don't belong here... Get it? Beat it, goatee!"

The red-eyed girl peeked out from behind her brother, watching the familiar scene... Hey... How did they get off the hook again? As the girl drifted off in an attempt to remember, Yukari began speaking without thinking first, easily provoking the man. If they ever end up in any more situations like this, she'd probably lead them into a deathtrap.

"This bitch is a pain in the ass... huh!"

Minako snapped back from her thoughts and watched the familiar scene unfold. Minato's eye twitched before he suddenly ran to his frozen friend, much to his twin's confusion.

Finally, the punk's patience snapped and he threw a punch at the capped teenager. Junpei whimpered and closed his eyes to brace himself when, to his surprise, he was suddenly jerked backwards with a single, powerful tug from behind. No sign of pain though. He looked back and saw the blue-haired boy's scowling face as well as the other's hand on his collar. From the looks of it, Minato had pulled the Junpei towards his direction, making the attack miss.

The girls sighed in relief and the punk's companions seemed rather amused by their little stunt. As for the one who threw the punch, he was infuriated. He clenched his fist and targeted the calm male. Minato didn't budge. Minako couldn't help but close her eyes in fear at the sudden turn of events...

"That's enough."

Her heart jumped upon hearing the familiarly gruff voice.

'Onii-san!' She smiled brightly as she opened her eyes to take in the sight.

The beanie-wearing fellow had caught the man's second attack. Shinjiro tightened his grip on the punk's fist and threw him onto the ground. The man snarled at him, but Shinjiro countered it with a powerful glare, making him flinch away. Defeated, he cursed under his breath and ran off with his friends following quickly behind.

"Hey, I remember you... You clowns wer-...!"

"Onii-san!" The excited girl jumped out from behind her twin brother and clung to the older male's arm before he could even react.

"Son of a...! W-Why are you here!? Didn't I tell you not to come again?!" The male shouted as his face flushed red.

Junpei and Yukari could only stare in confusion as the red-eyed girl let go of his arm and pouted cutely. His expression held a mixture of anger, fear and something else that they couldn't recognize.

"Oh, come on! You saved us anyway right?" She grinned.

"Tch. Such a kid... You were lucky I was passing by." He sighed, poking her head.

"Am not! Besides, I knew you'd come." She answered back, puffing out her cheeks.

"Yeah... Right." Shinjiro replied sarcastically.

While the two bantered, the other resident punks of the area couldn't help but stare at them. Some snickered, others had dropped their jaws while the rest made it look like they didn't care. Regardless, everyone seemed amused to see THE Shinjiro Aragaki that they knew and heard of was actually bickering with a girl–a cute one at that.

"Man... I knew Mi-chan was scary and had a way with people, but to befriend someone like him...?" Junpei whispered to Yukari, wide-eyed.

The girl could only nod silently and she watched the two. Morbidly, the capped boy took a deep breath and slowly turned to Minato. Just what kind of carnage would he see this time? After all, the young man was rather protective of his sister. When Junpei had spoken to her for the first time, he had been intimidating enough. How much more would it be with a random male delinquent whom she must have randomly encountered in the streets?

'H-Here he... is...?' Junpei blinked in surprise.

The silver-eyed male didn't hold any of the expected expression he had in mind. Had his expression been as blank as always, it wouldn't have been so surprising, but... it wasn't. Heck, it wasn't even a scary glare nor was it even an invincible, terrifying aura. Yet, this one was scary in its own way. Given that Minato looked as if life was sucked out his body, with his pupils shrunk in horror and his lips parted wider than usual, it was as if he was suddenly struck with Apathy Syndrome...

Before the bickering two finished their warm exchange of 'greetings', Yukari cut in to gather their much needed information, to which their savior hesitatingly provided, eyeing Minako's companions during the process–especially Minato, who kept staring at him with his blank silver eyes. In fact, the young man seemed as though he wasn't listening at all... As for the auburn-haired female, she just stood innocently in a corner.

After the events in the back alley, Minato remained silent, still wearing that lifeless expression of his from earlier. His eyes were on Minako the whole time, up until they reached their dormitory and split up for bed...

6/08/09-Monday, Dark Hour

The female clad in crimson picked up the sleek naginata from the floor and scanned the room. Aside from the bedroom furnishings and the troublesome mirror, there was nothing of interest inside. At least, there was no sign of any Shadows abound. She glanced at the door and sighed before turning back.

'Looks like the Hierophant is not striking this full moon huh?' The masked female shook her head in dismay.

That day, as per a part of her contract, Minako lost her memories again. Nothing major happened, though Minato seemed rather... strange. Stranger than usual anyway. Everyone else in the dorm was quite fidgety as well so, in the end, she ended up hanging out with Rio.

Even before the dawn of the Dark Hour, all members of SEES had left on their way to Gekkoukan High. The only ones left back at the dorm were Natsuki and Minako. That did not last for long though, since Minako went off on her own as soon as the dreaded hour came, heading straight to the so-called love hotel at Shirakawa Boulevard. She didn't find what she had expected to though, so the only choice was to turn back...

'That was a waste of time...'

"Here you go... Are you sure this is all that you'll be taking?" A male voice spoke.

Upon hearing it, Crimson immediately stopped in her tracks and followed the source, leading her into the familiar back alley. She hid behind a building wall.

"Yeah. I still have a lot." Another one spoke.

The female slowly peeked out from behind the wall, finally spotting four figures.

'Onii-san...? And... Strega?' She eyed them suspiciously, especially Shinjiro who had stashed a strange looking bottle inside his pocket. She clenched her fist and gulped upon seeing them. 'Why are they... Why is he with them?'

The girl turned away from the four after watching Shinjiro go off on his own, leaving them behind. 'T-Those must be... the Suppressants!' She exclaimed in her thoughts. 'Ugh... Speaking of that... He was getting it from THEM? So... it was true then...' She shook her head and sighed, ready to go back.

"...!"

In front of her stood a female with long, bright red hair. The sight of her almost made the current-blonde jump but, luckily, she managed to keep calm and turned to the other direction. To her dismay, she was faced with Takaya on her left and Jin on her right. Behind her was the wall. She was surrounded.

"What is your purpose here?" Takaya's cold voice rang in her ears.

"And who are you?" Jin added in a gruff tone.

She bit her lip. Crimson couldn't bear to look at Takaya directly so she averted her gaze from him and decided to answer Jin first.

"Crimson." She answered flatly.

Well, that answers Jin... But for Takaya's question, she felt uneasy. It's not like she could tell them straight out that she was eavesdropping... Or that she was there in an attempt to kill the fifth Full Moon Shadow.

"That's..." She paused, thinking up of an excuse.

If there were only two of them, then she could probably take them down, but they were a complete group. Speaking of which, she had never fought Strega with all three of them as opponents... Still, it was possible that they're more powerful together... If that's the case, then fighting them head on now would be a grave mistake. It would be better to just go with the flow for now.

"I... want some Suppressants..." The girl finally blurted out.

Jin sent her a suspicious look, but Takaya gave off a nasty grin. Chidori, on the other hand, just stared blankly at the female. Minako could've sworn her attention was on her red dress rather than her.

"I see... " He nodded. "Jin!" Takaya called out to the boy.

He looked rather surprised, halting his glare at the masked female. For a second, Jin hesitated but, in the end, he nodded and pulled out a half-filled bottle of strange-looking pills. Crimson secretly sighed in relief and stretched out her hand, reaching for the bottle, but Jin immediately pulled it away from her.

"We couldn't possibly give it to you for nothing... What do you have for us?" Takaya leered.

The masked female almost snarled, silently cursing at him from under her breath.

'Takaya... You bastard... I'd so love to kill you...' She doesn't really need them... but she can't really turn back now.

"Information. I'll give you information." Her voice trembled a bit as she spoke but it wasn't evident thanks to the mask as it muffled her voice. Takaya raised a brow and smirked. Jin glared, showing distrust. Chidori just stared with an uncaring look.

"Go on." Their leader spoke.

Crimson took a deep breath. "There's a group of Persona-users who wish to end the Dark Hour..." Each word came out slowly. The two males listened: Takaya with an unreadable expression, Jin with suspicion–one that had been worn on his face since her appearance.

"They don't know how to do it yet though... but they're getting close." She added. The two didn't budge as if waiting for more. She sighed. Giving any more might be harmful but... "... The one behind them is Iku-" She swallowed, tightening her grip on the naginata before uttering her next words. "Shuji Ikutsuki."

At those words, Jin's face suddenly contorted, Chidori flinched and Takaya's eyes widened. He released a rather creepy laugh afterward which calmed his two companions and puzzled their captive.

Without any word, Jin threw the bottle to the girl, which she almost missed to catch. The masked female still felt confused. What did she just do? Other than the fact that Strega only knew Ikutsuki by name, she didn't know what he was to them. Sure he was the one of the researchers who experimented on children, creating 'artificial Persona users'... But how do they feel about him? Hate? Anger? Or perhaps... Gratitude?

There was a short moment of silence before she snapped back from her daze. The three still had her cornered, but the atmosphere was less tense. Crimson sighed. It felt like an hour had passed when, in fact, it had only been a few seconds. Finally, Takaya and the other two moved aside as if telling her she's free to go now. As she turned toward Takaya's way, her body felt chills of anger and annoyance. Her blood boiled at the mere sight of him. So, she turned to Chidori's side... She felt awkward... After all... there's the subject about Junpei... In the end, her gaze fell upon Jin's path. He was okay, if not for his Takaya-fetish anyway.

'I'll go through this way then...' She thought, approaching Jin's side.

She leaned closer to the boy in an attempt to get through.

"What do you want?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

The female rolled her eyes at his attitude before smirking under her mask.

"Hey... You're kinda cute." She teased, staring at the blue-haired boy.

He immediately flinched and backed off.

"W-What are you...?" He sweatdropped, confused, as if forgetting about the tension earlier.

The masked female shrugged and waved her hand once, running through the opening he made.

"Until next time!" She added before disappearing into the green night, leaving behind the three Persona-users in the dark alley...

'That was a close call...'

Crimson sighed as she sprinted her way back to the dormitory. It was still quite far... But there was enough time to get back before the Dark Hour ended.

After the encounter with Strega, she couldn't help but feel rather fidgety. That aside, there was also the problem with the Full Moon Shadows... The Hierophant wasn't in the love hotel... but maybe it'll appear on the next full moon? Speaking of which, why did the Emperor and the Empress attack in the first place? It was as if they were provoking SEES, or something... Wait... Provoking? The Priestess did the same thing... in a way, by taking over the monorail. And so did the Magician... climbing up the building to get at them... The 12 Shadows were once a part of Death and, according to Ryoji, it was because she had made contact with them that Death was able to become one again. If that was the case, then...

'The Shadows are after Minato-kun!' Her bright red eyes widened at the realization.

Immediately, the masked female picked up her pace and changed directions, heading towards Tartarus.

'I hope I'm not too late...!'

So, to make things clear... First scene (6/08/09-Monday) occurs a few minutes before the Dark Hour, next one is some sort of flash back (6/06/09-Saturday & 6/06/09-Saturday) and last one (6/08/09-Monday) happens during the Dark Hour... So... There... ^^"

Umm... so I should have mentioned this earlier... but it's advisable to be attentive of the dates XD

-None of Persona 3 or SMT series belong to me-