A/N: And we're back... We are finally on April 9th, the first full moon! There's a bit more P.O.V switching than I would like near the latter half of the chapter, but then again that is how the game flowed. So, it is what it is, aha! I was pretty excited about getting to this point, but executing my writing to match that initial excitement was harder to do… ah, bad Mitsuru pun. I am being pretty liberal with the text, so don't worry about it not matching the in-game text. I am trying to weave it in a bit better so that the story meshes better. I think that's it… we're rolling along. I really appreciate the people who have given multiple reviews. Here's a personal thanks. Next chapter, may be slightly delayed... maybe it will be in 2 weeks? Depends on how bad school gets.

Thanks to rEpose for beta reading.

Inevitable Update 1 Placeholder: Yay, for confidence. Ha, here is the inevitable update. Fused some sentences together for better flow and fixed the part about Minato not actually being in cooking club, but more being a guinea pig there. I got confused, since I am watching both P3P and P3FES videos, at the same time. Thanks for finding places I could improve sillyfudgemonkeys!

Final Update: Added in my beta reader's edits

Formatting Changes: 7/6/14

Reader Reviews:

DeathChaos25: I wouldn't be doing this if I weren't enthusiastic haha. I'm glad it's rubbing off on you and thanks for continuing to read this. Yeah, Minato's best-laid plans seem to fail at one point or another. But then again, I think that's the case for most people. Especially, since he no longer seems to know what everyone wants to hear. Also, partly because it's really hard to keep a large secret, like he has. Things leak out here and there. As for your question, it's a yes to both… but mostly yes to the first one. What I mean is that he will tread along the Hanged Man path for the longest time. It's just a good realization tool for him, in my opinion. The Fool's first journey was one about powering up social links if I may be slightly sarcastic. Hopefully, the Hanged Man's journey is one where he is caught without the Wild Card to guide him in his interactions… and becomes a true path of self-discovery. When he reaches the apex of that path… well that's near the end.

sillyfudgemonkeys: Thanks again, for finding more awkwardness in my previous chapter. I do enjoy making the updates, as soon as I can. Honest! Yeap, plus one for the character portraits, the pebble manga reference, Persona 4 Anime reference, and the cut-scene reference as well. I tried to figure out what Hamuko would do when she met Pharos. On one hand, he appeared out of nowhere and is like a ghost. But her curiosity was at an all-time high at that point and perhaps out of impulse she signed the contract. It always struck me as odd in the game how easily Minato and Hamuko signed their contracts the first time. So many references, yet you keep finding them. Good job! I lose track of them sometimes too. I'm not sold on if and how I want to include Theo. Time will tell. For your theories, Chidori would seem to make sense for Minato to get info on Strega. I need to figure out what to include in the days between… whoops almost a spoiler. I definitely did enjoy The Fool's Tournament, but will veer in a different direction. I am banking on Minato having to have no social links at all. Well, almost none at all. Igor told him in the previous chapter to remember the end result before acting. And it's only natural he will become quite a bit jealous. That's a great idea about Hamuko not existing in Minato's world. I will try to work that in at some point. I think that's all of your questions/theories. Sorry, if I was a bit indirect with some of the responses.

aaronvang69: He will eventually switch Personas. It would be pretty hard to write if he only had Inugami ahaha. Yes, Elizabeth is back, which will probably cause some issues the next time Minato visits the Velvet Room. In his current state, he cannot perform a seal and will not be able to by conventional means. His power is ill-suited for that now since the reversed Hanged Man is the polar opposite of the martyr, save humanity type. Don't worry about Maiko! She will play a role with Minato. It is possible for Minato to be Hamuko's Hanged Man social link.

arkbar22: Minato is a bit clueless at times. He means well, but between wondering what the heck he should do and uncertain about how to respond to people. He was always reserved and laid-back, but was able to make amends easily because he knew what buttons to push with the Wild Card power. Haha, thanks for the input about Ikutsuki and thanks for the luck. I would say at this point, it is impossible for Minato to have his normal powers back since Hamuko has them. That doesn't mean he won't find another way.

Chapter 8: Consternation

April 9th, Thursday (Gekkoukan High, Morning)

Hamuko P.O.V.

Hamuko was still muttering to herself about that dream she had last night. She remembered meeting an old man and his female assistant. They had mentioned something about her unique ability, whatever that meant. Hamuko wouldn't have given it much thought, if she hadn't found the Velvet Key in her pocket when she woke up. Regardless, she would figure out the truth about what was going on in the dormitory. The only problem was that she had no idea how to get back to the Velvet Room. Whatever happened to that boy she met the other day, anyways?

Hamuko walked toward the school gates and someone called her over.

"Morning, Hamuko!" a voice cheerily said. It was Junpei.

"Hey, Junpei. How're you today?"

"Pretty tired; I didn't get enough sleep last night." Junpei yawned and didn't even bother to cover his mouth.

"Well, I'm sure you'll make up the difference in class," Hamuko said. "Though, you shouldn't really be sleeping in class Junpei."

"Whaaaat? Why do you have to be all serious? It's okay to take it easy, now and then."

"Except you do it all the time." Hamuko couldn't help smirking at Junpei's expression. "I can't bail you out every time, you know. Let's get to class. I heard Ekoda is crazy about students that are late to his class."

The class settled down, as Hamuko and Junpei took their usual seats.

"Ahem… I'm Mr. Ekoda, I'll be teaching you Classic Literature." Ekoda started to ramble on about how important his class was and complained that no one appreciated the material like he did.

Hamuko wasn't sure what to make of Ekoda, but continued to take notes. He seemed mildly incompetent, as he kept on referring back to his syllabus. It didn't help that his use of clichés bored most of the class to tears. Mercifully, the lecture ended and the bell rung. The classrooms began emptying of students.

"Hey, Hamuko." Yukari waved towards Hamuko from the shoe boxes. "Do you want to go to the mall with me? You haven't been there yet, right?"

"I don't really have much money to spend, Yukari, but I'll go with you anyways."

The two girls arrived at Paulownia Mall. A majestic water fountain stood in the center of the mall where Hamuko could see some children dropping some coins in for good luck.

"There's all sorts of stuff to do here," Yukari said. "A lot of Gekkoukan students come here after school. There's a karaoke box, a CD shop, and a really great café too!"

"What about that store at the far left, Yukari?"

"You mean Club Escapade? That's a nightclub. We aren't old enough for it, yet." Yukari seemed slightly taken aback. "You haven't already been to a nightclub, right?"

"Of course not, Yukari." Hamuko was trying to decide what she wanted to do. "Let's go listen to some music. I want to hear what kind of music you're into."

(Iwatodai Dorm, Evening)

Minato P.O.V.

Minato saw Hamuko and Yukari signing in their names at the sign-in sheet. He was sitting on the couch opposite of Mitsuru.

"Welcome back," Mitsuru told the two girls. "The moon is beautiful tonight. It might be nice to read a book by moonlight once in a while."

That is, if you can read a book while fighting a full moon Shadow, Minato thought darkly.

"Glad to see you two survived Ekoda's sermon today," Minato said.

This produced a reproachful look from Mitsuru.

"It wouldn't have been so bad if he at least knew what he was talking about," Hamuko replied. She grabbed a seat next to Minato while Yukari sat next to Mitsuru.

"Tell me about it," Yukari said. "I think I've had enough classic lit for the entire school year already."

Yukari's stomach gave a low growl after she said this, and her embarrassed expression only exacerbated the situation. Mitsuru gave a soft chuckle.

"Ugh, I'm so hungry. I wish the dorm mother were still here. It'd be great if we still had somebody doing stuff like that for us."

"There was a dorm mother here?" Hamuko responded. "How come we don't have one anymore?"

"Because there were only three students in this dormitory until recently," Mitsuru said. "It wasn't really necessary to have one anymore."

As Yukari went to the kitchen, trying to find something to eat, she replied "I mean, I'm not a good cook, and Mitsuru-senpai just doesn't do things like that. You know, Hamuko, if you're handy around the kitchen, I bet you could really do something with this place!"

Hamuko shook her head.

"Sorry, Yukari. I'm not really a good cook. I mean, I'm not terrible, but I don't want to risk burning the dorm down either." Yukari seemed deflated.

"Looks like instant ramen again," she sighed, pulling a pan out to boil some tap water.

"Do we even go grocery shopping?" Minato asked.

"Not often," Yukari said. "The only thing in the fridge is some mystery meat and potatoes that look spoiled."

It looked like Minato had to come to the rescue.

"It's probably too late to go the supermarket now. So, we'll just have to make do with what we have. Yukari, find me a knife so I can cut off the parts of the spoiled potatoes. Hamuko, take the mystery meat out of the freezer and defrost it."

The girls followed Minato's directions with Mitsuru watching as a curious spectator. Minato was glad that his physical skills were still intact, unlike his social links. He diced the potatoes, meat, and added some instant rice he found in the cupboard. Thanks to the numerous hours he had spent sampling Fuuka's food, Minato was able to produce something half-decent. The smell of the concoction wafted throughout the dorm. Thinking it was probably done, Minato decided to sample a spoonful and found it to his liking.

"Wow that smells good!" Hamuko said. "I had no idea you knew how to cook, Minato." She and Yukari set up the dining table, eagerly awaiting for Minato to finish. Even Akihiko, who had been in his room up to that point, came downstairs wondering what the source of the smell was.

"Did we order take out again?" he said. "It smells pretty good."

"Nope. Minato made it from scratch, senpai," Hamuko replied. "Why don't you grab a seat?"

"Don't mind if I do. Mitsuru, aren't you going to join us?" Akihiko asked.

"Come on, Mitsuru-senpai. We should all eat together!" Hamuko added. Minato thought Hamuko's enthusiasm was very adorable, but caught himself from saying anything.

"Well, if you insist," she replied, taking a seat.

With that, the five members of the dorm enjoyed the food Minato had prepared, and got to know each other a little better. Minato was glad with the results of his impromptu cooking. The only time they had eaten together like this was after the battle against the Hanged Man Shadow. Regardless, Minato knew that they were in for a long night with the full moon.

The table cleaned and the dishes washed, Minato wondered what he should do. Minato's main reason for preparing dinner for everyone was so that Mitsuru and Yukari would go to the control room a little later than usual. There wasn't much time left before Akihiko would go out and presumably meet the first full moon Shadow. Was there any guarantee that everything would occur, just as it had before? What were the consequences in meddling in an event as major as this one? In his room, Minato silently paced back and forth, waiting patiently for Akihiko to leave.

Finally, Minato heard a clicking noise and knew that Akihiko had just locked his door and about to go. It was time. Minato made sure that no one was around and silently walked out of the dorm. He could see Akihiko walking down the sidewalk in the gleam of the moonlight. The Dark Hour arrived and Minato saw Akihiko pull out his evoker from his pocket. Minato did the same with his Arcana card. They had walked a considerable distance from the dorm, when Akihiko began moving cautiously toward a street corner that was mostly deserted, except a few transmogrified coffins.

Minato sensed the Shadow, before he could physically see it. Akihiko was completely unaware of the danger lurking around the corner. Abandoning all judgment, Minato began running at a full sprint and pushed Akihiko out of the way. Minato had thought they had avoided danger, but then he felt a numb pain in his right shoulder. A sword blade had slashed his shoulder. The Magician Shadow appeared in front of them, its arms writhing monstrously with an equal amount of blades.

"What the?" Akihiko stood back up and looked quickly between the Magician Shadow and Minato. "Polydeuces!"

The wild-haired, muscular Persona appeared and tried landing Zio on the Magician Shadow, to no avail.

"Minato, what are you doing here? It's dangerous!" Akihiko yelled. The senior, grunted in pain as Polydeuces took a blow.

"Persona!" Minato summoned Inugami and attempted a Poisma spell that was easily dodged by the Shadow. The two Personas faltered, as they could not match the brute force of the Magician Shadow.

"Senpai, we need to go back. This isn't a Shadow we can handle on our own," Minato quickly said. It was just then, that Akihiko noticed the trail of blood that was coming from Minato's shoulder.

"Crap, I didn't know you were hurt."

"You can save the apologies for later, senpai."

With that, Akihiko and Minato ran as fast as their feet could carry them, back towards the dormitory. The Magician Shadow was in hot pursuit of them, destroying anything along its path.

(Control Room, Late Evening)

Mitsuru P.O.V.

"That meal was quite delicious," Mitsuru remarked as she and Yukari entered the control room.

"Yeah, I hope Minato cooks for us all the time," Yukari said happily.

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Takeba."

The central console showed Hamuko quietly sleeping through the Dark Hour. On the other hand, the camera in Minato's room showed an empty bed.

"Has Arisato-kun said anything about not liking his bedroom?" Mitsuru said.

"Not that I know of, senpai. It seems a bit odd that he hasn't slept in his bed. You don't think that he knows that we're watching him, do you?" Yukari looked a bit ashamed at this prospect.

Before Mitsuru could respond, Ikutsuki entered the room.

"It seems like Minato is not in his room again." Ikutsuki keenly said while looking at the bank of consoles. Mitsuru chose not to respond to this, as she had reasonable suspicion Minato had managed to figure out that there was a secret camera in his room.

"How is Hamuko?" Ikutsuki added.

"The same as last night," Mitsuru replied.

"Very interesting, as she hasn't exhibited any of the normal symptoms." Ikutsuki said in a somber tone. "I think that she definitely has the potential, considering how stable she has been."

"I feel sort of bad though. We're spying on her," Yukari said. "Like, she's a guinea pig."

"We need all the team members we can obtain," Mitsuru responded. "It's not an ideal situation, by any means."

The Chairman seemed more reserved than his usual self and didn't add anything else to the conversation. He seemed lost in thought.

Suddenly, an alarm went off and the console began to ping. The emergency signal was active.

"Command room, is that you Akihiko?" Mitsuru said.

"Mitsuru, there's a huge Shadow chasing us back towards the dorm."

"What? What do you mean by us?" Mitsuru demanded.

"Minato is with me and he's injured. There's no time to explain, we're almost there."

Everyone in the control room exchanged looks of surprise.

"They're bringing that thing, here?!" Yukari exclaimed. Her eyes were wide in panic.

"Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observation for now. We'll prepare for battle!" Mitsuru knew that she had to take charge of the situation.

"R-Right, be careful," Ikutsuki stammered.

Mitsuru, Yukari, and the Chairman rushed downstairs and then the doors slammed open.

"Arisato-kun!" Mitsuru said alarmingly. She could see that there was a deep gash on his right arm and his face was drained of color. It was difficult to discern the depth of the wound in the poorly lit lobby. The doors closed automatically as the dorm entered lockdown.

"I'm fine, senpai," Minato said unconvincingly. He was breathing hard. Mitsuru couldn't tell whether if it was due to the wound or running back to the dorm.

"It's my fault," Akihiko said, while hanging his head in shame. "I was overconfident and Minato saved me from that thing that was chasing us. It'll be here any moment now."

"Is it one of them, Akihiko?" Ikutsuki asked.

"Yes, but not an ordinary one. It's far stronger than anything we've seen before."

The dorm shook violently. Mitsuru thought that it felt like a minor earthquake. She could hear a loud thud hit the main doors.

"What the?! You've gotta be kidding me!" Yukari said, in a shrill tone. She threw her arms up in the air, maybe expecting the roof to cave in.

"Mr. Chairman, please head for the command room! Takeba, go upstairs and wake Hamuko up! Then, escape out the back." Mitsuru's voice could be heard above the chaos.

"But, what about you three? Will you be alright?" Yukari asked, in concern.

"We'll stop it here," Mitsuru replied calmly. "Don't worry about us, just focus on escaping safely."

"You want Minato to fight?" Yukari said incredulously.

"I understand your concern, but he is more than capable."

"What're you waiting for, Yukari? Go!" Akihiko yelled, turning to face the front door.

"Okay, okay. I'm going."

"You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm sure you want to fight," Mitsuru chided.

"As if there were any question, Mitsuru. I have to redeem myself for getting Minato hurt back there. Just stay behind us, Minato, and help with what you can."

"Be careful, Arisato-kun," Mitsuru said worriedly. She hoped that he wouldn't have to exert himself too much.

"Thanks, I'll try to do what I can."

(Hamuko's Room, Dark Hour)

Hamuko P.O.V.

Hamuko was feeling groggy, having just woken up by the noise of multiple people going down the stairs. As she tried to go back to sleep, but she found it impossible. The entire dormitory was shaking for some reason. Maybe it was an earthquake, she thought. Just as Hamuko was about to leave her room, Yukari came running up the stairs.

"Good, you're awake. I don't have time to explain. We have to get out of here, right now!" Hamuko had never seen Yukari this agitated before and quickly nodded her head.

"We'll leave through the back door." Yukari handed a naginata from a closet at the end of the hallway, to Hamuko, who wondered why there were actual weapons in the dorm.

"Okay, let's keep going!" Yukari shouted. The two girls reached the first floor, at the rear entrance. Hamuko could hear the sounds of battle going on from outside the dorm.

"Who's fighting outside, Yukari? I want to help." Hamuko asked as she gripped her naginata tightly.

"Our senpais and Minato are out there fighting the Shadows. We need to get somewhere safe!"

"What's a Shadow?"

Mitsuru's voice cut off Hamuko's question.

"Takeba, do you read me?!"

"Y-yes, I hear you, senpai!"

"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The ones we're fighting don't include the one Akihiko was fighting earlier-!"

"Senpai, watch out! It's an Agi spell!" A voice, that sounded like Minato had cut off Mitsuru and Yukari could only hear static.

"What?!" Yukari nearly fumbled the receiver to the ground.

Suddenly, Hamuko heard a loud thumping noise from the rear entrance.

"Let's pull back, Hamuko!"

Yukari and Hamuko ran up the stairs, not daring to look back at what was chasing them. At last, they reached the rooftop and Yukari locked the door behind them.

"We should be safe now," she sighed.

Without warning, Hamuko saw Yukari's face twist in fear, as the moonlight revealed a black arm appear near the edge of the rooftop. Next, another arm with a mask appeared. It was almost as if the mask could see the two girls on the opposite side of the rooftop. The rest of the monster's body was suddenly illuminated in the moonlight, each hand carrying a blade. Hamuko thought it looked like a disgusting spider.

"You gotta be kidding me! It climbed up the wall?!" Yukari said, in shock.

(Control Room, Dark Hour)

Mitsuru P.O.V.

"There they are! On the rooftop!" Akihiko said. "That's the Shadow that I was talking about!" The Magician Shadow was so large that it filled the entire monitor in the control room.

"That gigantic Shadow… Just what are we dealing with?!" Mitsuru commented, as she worked on Minato's wound, which was worse than when he arrived with Akihiko. Just what had Minato been thinking?

A Shadow had crept up behind Mitsuru and unleashed a fire spell, but Minato had intervened, using his body as a shield. It was a noble and stupid act Mitsuru thought. The thing that nagged Mitsuru was that Minato had not only yelled at her that a Shadow was behind her, but also, seemed to know that she was weak against fire spells. How much did he really know about her? This wasn't the time for her ruminations, however. She needed to focus on healing him the best she could. Like it or not, he had willingly protected both her and Akihiko in the same night. He was lying down in the control room with Mitsuru using Dia on him. It was a slow and tiring process for her because this wasn't her specialty.

Unexpectedly, as if sensing her thoughts Minato reached and gently grabbed Mitsuru's right hand. This shocked Mitsuru so much that she nearly fell out of her chair at the unexpected touch. Ikutsuki and Akihiko were too preoccupied by the Magician Shadow to notice. Minato smiled, and closed his eyes without saying anything.

"I need to go help them!" Akihiko snarled, which broke Mitsuru out of her reverie. She was still trying to understand what had just happened. Mitsuru could see that the Shadow was closing in on the two girls.

"Wait!" Ikutsuki interjected. "Look!"

(Rooftop, Dark Hour)

Hamuko P.O.V.

"That's the thing that attacked the dorm. We call them Shadows. I-I, have to fight. I can summon mine… no problem," Yukari stammered. She pulled out the same gun that she had nearly pulled on Hamuko and Minato, the night they had first come to the dorm. Yukari pointed the gun directly at her own forehead.

Hamuko could already tell that Yukari struggled with pulling the trigger on the gun. Yukari's hands were shaking uncontrollably. Why would Yukari be trying to commit suicide, all of a sudden?! Even before Hamuko could tell her to stop the Shadow monster clobbered Yukari, sending her flying.

In the process, she dropped her gun on the floor and it slid towards Hamuko. Fear gripped Hamuko as the Shadow turned its attention towards her. The gun on the ground was her only chance, but what was she supposed to do?! She picked it up and pressed it on the right side of her head. Yukari had meant to pull the trigger. Was Hamuko about to shoot herself in the head? There was no time left! The Shadow was nearly upon her!

A voice filled Hamuko's head and she saw the mysterious boy in weird clothing again. He was standing in front of her mind's eye.

"Go on," he said, "Don't be afraid." Easy for him to say Hamuko thought.

Hamuko closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. She pulled the trigger and for an unknown reason whispered, "Persona." Her head tilted to the left, due to the impact of whatever had been in the gun.

Instead of a bullet, sounds of shattering glass filled Hamuko's ears. Around her a distinct blue aura was quickly expanding. It seemed to catch the Shadow by surprise and it temporarily retreated. Behind her, a humanoid figure floated with long brown hair, golden torso, crimson eyes, and a lyre.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. I am Orpheus, master of strings."

There was a strange resonance between Hamuko and Orpheus. Nothing could have prepared Hamuko for what was coming next. A searing headache consumed her and Hamuko fell to her knees, making her wish that she would simply die. Orpheus seemed to experience the same pain and vanished in a sea of bloody gore. An ominous figure carrying eight caskets on its back appeared and let out a guttural roar. Hamuko's screams of agony filled the air and she began to twitch convulsively. Yukari had recovered from her fall and could only watch helplessly as Hamuko suffered.

Hamuko's new Persona lunged for the Shadow and destroyed it without mercy. The air was filled with the pungent odor of the decaying Shadow's corpse. The Persona was gone, as quickly as it came. Hamuko's screams stopped and her body fell limply to the ground. Yukari rushed over to her, but there was no response.

"Wake up! Please, wake up!" Yukari tried in vain to get Hamuko to say something.

Hamuko never heard the rapid footsteps ascending to the rooftop, about to take her to the hospital.

(The Velvet Room)

Hamuko P.O.V.

"It's so nice to see you again," Igor said. Hamuko was slightly perturbed at how enthusiastic Igor sounded. She barely had time to adjust to her senses before registering the fact that she was back in the Velvet Room. Igor and Elizabeth were looking at her carefully.

"You became unconscious after awakening to your power. I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your call," Igor intoned. "You now wield the power of Persona, which is a manifestation of your psyche."

"So, that was a Persona, Igor? Am I still unconscious in the real world?" Hamuko asked. "I thought you said I would come here of my own free will last time." So, Hamuko had done it. Instead of committing suicide she had summoned a Persona for the first time. Yukari must have tried to summon her Persona. Hamuko felt uneasy that Yukari was that nervous even though she knew the gun wouldn't kill her. Maybe, both girls just needed some practice… shooting themselves in the head.

"Yes, it has only been a short period of time since you summoned Orpheus. Unfortunately, there were some complications with the external stimuli that you experienced. You will not awaken for some time. I thought it was pertinent to summon you again after your ordeal because I was certain you had questions."

Hamuko grabbed the edge of her seat and let out a sigh. It was good that she hadn't been hurt, but annoyed that she wasn't strong enough to withstand summoning a Persona for the first time.

"It is not a question of physical strength that caused you to fall unconscious. When an individual summons a Persona for the first time, they experience significant mental stress." Igor seemed to have a rather disturbing ability to read Hamuko's mind. Though, this did cheer her up a bit.

"When using a Persona, you must channel your inner strength. Currently, your ability to do so is very weak. However, that can change. The ability evolves as you develop your social links… your emotional ties with others. The stronger your social links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Do not forget this!"

The last part caused Hamuko to jump. Then, Hamuko remembered the second Persona she summoned. It was so different from the first one, Orpheus. The second Persona, was full of malice and blood lust.

"Igor, what was the second Persona that appeared out of Orpheus?"

"That I cannot answer for certain. But, remember that a Persona is a mask that will protect you from many hardships. Perhaps, that second mask was in response to dire hardship. Your ability is malleable and will conform, as necessary."

"How come I haven't been able to already establish some social links, Igor?" Hamuko thought she had interacted enough with some people at the dorm already.

"That is because you had not fully awakened to your power until now," Elizabeth explained, to her.

"Our time here is limited. It is in your best interest to rest and return to the Velvet Room when it is the right time. Until then. Farewell."