A/N: Well, here we are at chapter 12. I am still trying my best to write the story and hoping to weave more things in with the coming chapters. S.E.E.S. finally gets its first taste of Tartarus and a lot of interaction between those involved will impact stuff down the line. Hmm, I miss two of my favorite reviewers wherever they may be… (sillyfudgemonkeys and DeathChaos25). That's enough self-promotion for now though! This chapter turned a bit too introspective for my tastes, but it has its purpose. I'll see you all next time!

Thanks to rEpose for continuing to beta!

Inevitable Update Placeholder 1: Fixed the 2 awkward lines noticed by DeathChaos25! Good to see you again!

Formatting Update: 7/6/14

Reader Reviews:

ChilledKitsune: Thanks, Junpei is pretty underappreciated in the game for a long time. He isn't just a class clown after all with him having multiple layers. I think it was Ikutsuki who said that line, but I'm not totally sure. Regardless, Minato just has a lot of doubt right now and as you said is not usually the support type, which really feeds into this chapter. Thanks for reviewing again.

titanpmedusawitch: I have a similar problem with Ikutsuki. so we're in the same boat. Glad to see that you are continuing to read!

Chapter 12: Doubt

April 19th, Sunday (Iwatodai Dorm, Late Evening)

Hamuko P.O.V.

"Hamuko, can you come downstairs?" It sounded like Yukari, and Hamuko wondered what she could want at this late hour. Hamuko closed the textbook she had been studying from with a soft clatter and found her neon orange flip-flops, which had been strewn across the room. As Hamuko proceeded to go down the flights of stairs, she heard a small commotion from the lobby and wondered what was going on.

It was Yukari that had called Hamuko downstairs, as a frazzled looking Minato and an excited Akihiko were also present.

"Hey, Hamuko," Yukari offered, looking her over a bit. "Okay, Akihiko-senpai, everyone is here now. So, what's this all about?"

"There's someone I want to introduce to you guys," Akihiko replied triumphantly, turning his gaze toward the main door.

"Oh, is it another member to join our group, senpai?" Hamuko inquired. Adding someone else would definitely spice things up a bit in S.E.E.S., in Hamuko's opinion.

"Yeah, good guess," he answered, a bit deflated. "You can come in now."

"Hold your horses… This is freaking heavy," a muffled voice said as the lobby doors opened.

From the darkness of the night, Hamuko could make out a lanky figure that had a trolley and carried multiple sagging bags that looked close to bursting.

Yukari's shrill voice rang out. "J-Junpei?! Is this some kind of joke?!" she stammered, with a stupefied expression on her face.

"Hey, what kind of greeting is that, Yuka-tan?" The mischievous junior dropped his bags and looked around at everyone, cracking a smile at seeing so many familiar faces. "Sup, Hamuko! Nice to see you too, Minato!"

"Hi, Junpei," Minato replied, who seemed asleep while standing up.

"Wow, didn't expect to see you here, Junpei!" Hamuko replied, in earnest.

"Well, it seems we don't really need introductions, but this is Junpei Iori from class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today." Akihiko seemed to have trouble keeping his face straight at Yukari's expression.

"Seriously? He's staying here, from now on?!" Yukari seemed to have some serious issues with Junpei staying in the same dorm. "Why?!"

"I bumped into him earlier today during the Dark Hour and he definitely has the potential, though he only awakened to it recently," Akihiko said. "I told him about us, and he agreed to help."

"I can't believe that you guys didn't tell me before." Junpei scowled comically, looking at his three classmates. "This is the best club ever. I get to hang out with my buds and a bunch of cuties!"

"You wouldn't have believed us even if we told you, Junpei," Hamuko said, laughing. "Still, I guess no one has said it yet, so welcome to the dorm."

"Thanks, Hamuko! I'm sure it's gonna be a blast!" Junpei seemed pretty jazzed up. "Akihiko-san found me at the convenience store surrounded by coffins! I was pretty scared, but I'm glad I'm not the only one. Otherwise, it would've been pretty lonely, ya know? You guys must be stoked at having me join. Am I right, or am I right?"

"Uh… yeah. How can he have the potential?" Yukari said, trying not to sound too sarcastic. "Just try to not to get any funny ideas, Junpei," while looking over in Hamuko's direction.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Junpei didn't understand what Yukari was hinting at.

Hamuko looked over at Minato since he hadn't offered any sort of reaction with Junpei's arrival. Yukari was Yukari and Hamuko somewhat surprised in a good way, but Minato seemed really apathetic. Maybe he wasn't really crazy about Junpei, just like Yukari.

"Can I go back to bed now?" Minato asked, already taking a couple of steps towards the direction of the stairs.

"Wait up a second, Minato." Akihiko looked like he wanted to say something to everyone. Yukari and Junpei stopped bickering with each other as Akihiko said, "I think we're about ready with this many people in the group now."

Yukari seemed like the only one that made any indication to this announcement. She suddenly tensed up and seemed rather uncomfortable.

"You mean… Tartarus? Don't you, senpai?"

"Exactly, we couldn't properly explore it before, but now I'm sure that we can manage and find the reason for the Dark Hour."

"Whoa, that sounds pretty important from a place that sounds like toothpaste, Akihiko-san," Junpei replied, while staring between Akihiko and Yukari.

"If only it were, Junpei. Tartarus is where we believe all the Shadows come from."

That last line from Akihiko really caught Hamuko's attention. This Tartarus place was where all the Shadows originated from? This seemed almost too convenient of an excuse.

"The Chairman will give us the details tomorrow, so be ready. You guys can go back to bed now." Akihiko bid goodnight to the girls and helped Junpei carry his bags up.

April 20th, Monday (Gekkoukan High Entrance, Early Morning)

Minato P.O.V.

Another day of school was about to commence and Minato casually strode toward the school gates, ignoring the chatter of students talking about a variety of topics in their day-to-day lives. It would be nice to just think about normal things, but frankly that was impossible. Minato's mind had problems trying to remember everything so far. He began to wonder if he would be close to useless for the entire school year when it came to fighting Shadows. He didn't have a support Persona, so he wondered what kind of support he could provide…

It had been so easy to laugh at everyone else's futility when they met a Shadow that they were weak to, while he could easily change Persona to avoid such problems. Now he would struggle just like any other member of the team and he hated that. Losing power and any semblance of control wasn't good for someone who wanted to change the future. What was the point of running around in the past if he lacked the ability to do so?

Minato felt like he had lost what had made him special, and while he was aware of this for a while, it hadn't really hit home until Akihiko had mentioned Tartarus. He wouldn't even be part of the exploration team, let alone lead it due to his injury. Was he doomed to keep Inugami, forever? The mere thought caused his skin to crawl and grow envious of Hamuko and Elizabeth, as they could both use multiple Personas, or would be able to anyways. Margaret probably had the same ability as well.

"Noooo! Why are women so much stronger than I am?" Minato said out loud, shaking his head in dismay.

"Well, of course they are silly," a cooing voice said. "Good morning to you." It was Hamuko, with a rather smug look on her face.

"Morning, Hamuko." Minato had a hard time locking eyes with her because he didn't want her to hassle him about what he had just said, but that's exactly what she did.

"So, you realized a universal truth, huh?" She seemed rather pleased today for some reason, stretching out her arms to the sky.

"Haha, if you say so," Minato replied. "Not like I'll be there to prove you wrong when we go to that place." This comment seemed to give Hamuko pause and she gave him a calculated response.

"Yeah, that's too bad. Heal up quick, okay?" She gave him a smile, but it didn't really feel all too warm. "You know, it's really hard to get a read on you, Minato. I just wonder sometimes what's going on in that head of yours."

Minato tried to offer a vanilla answer in response.

"Why? There's hardly anything in here," Minato pointed toward his own head.

"You know what I mean," she replied. "Everyone else buys your act and the fact that you seem asleep most of the living day, but I don't."

Minato just scratched his head at this. Just what did this girl wanted exactly? "Well, you could tell me what you want to know, Hamuko."

"And you'll answer without lies or sarcasm?" Her eyes seemed to scald him, and he took back a step or two involuntarily.

"Err…" She had an uncanny ability to fluster him it seemed even though he was usually calm and collected. Was it because he had never dealt with her before? Well, that wasn't completely true, but she had only been a child and under chaotic circumstances the first time they had met.

"See, this is exactly what I mean. That hesitation; I just want to see what you're like unfiltered without the whole façade. Well, that's selling you a bit short, I suppose. I can see pieces of who you really are, but you really hold stuff close to the vest. Am I right?"

Minato didn't respond to the question.

Hamuko cocked her head to the side before taking a step forward and invading Minato's personal space.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with you, but I'm going to make it my personal pet project to drag out your true self. Haha, you're even blushing!" she teased.

It was involuntary, since Minato had not expected Hamuko's cuteness to increase at close proximity. Not to mention he was having a hard time not enjoying the scent wafting from her hair.

"Hey, guys! Sup?" Junpei hollered at them and Minato quickly created some space between Hamuko and himself. "We should really get to class."

Minato could see that Hamuko wasn't the only one in a good mood as the first bell rang in the background.

(Gekkoukan High, Lunchtime)

Hamuko P.O.V.

Yukari rose from her seat and stretched, staring down the classwork assigned just before the lunch break.

"I thought I was gonna fall asleep in there. Honestly, when are we going to get all of this work done?"

"Beats me, Yuka-tan," Junpei said succinctly, groaning as he opened his book to take a look at how many parts each question had.

"Well, I don't think it'll be too bad," Hamuko replied. "We're allowed to work in pairs, right?"

"Yeah, why don't we work together then, Hamuko?" Junpei asked as fast as the words could get out of his mouth."

"Whoa, Junpei. I think Hamuko would rather work with me," Yukari interjected. "She'd have to work harder if she had to work with you."

"Actually, I want to work with Minato if that's okay with you guys," Hamuko offered in a small voice, and met with murderous stares from Yukari and Junpei.

Minato who hadn't said anything to this point merely shrugged at the suggestion. He seemed content to blend in with the classroom. Before Yukari and Junpei could say anything else, the sliding door to the classroom opened and Mitsuru entered. Hamuko could see that Yukari's face hardened ever so slightly at the redhead's approach and other students were simply stunned.

Hamuko wondered if she could pull off the same effect just by walking into a classroom. Mitsuru walked toward the quartet of juniors and began to speak quickly.

"Can I have a minute? Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone."

"Oh, are we having that talk?" Junpei asked. He seemed a lot more excited than he was a second ago.

"I'll save the details for later. See you there." Mitsuru ended her rather one-sided conversation and left as quickly as she came.

"Hmm, does everyone act like this around Mitsuru-senpai?" Hamuko offered up to the group.

"What, you mean how she's always acting like she owns the place and is always busy?" Yukari answered in a rather harsh fashion.

"Well, that's not exactly what I asked, but I guess you answered it anyhow."

"Whoa, Yuka-tan! Do I sense some hostility towards Mitsuru-senpai?" Junpei seemed a bit surprised by Yukari's reaction.

"Well, it's not that I don't like her. It's sort of hard to explain."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side then Yuka-tan," Junpei intoned while looking over at the clock. "Man, break is almost over already and I didn't get anything to eat!"

"Done." Hamuko looked for the source of the voice and figured out it was Minato who had made this declaration.

"Huh, what're you done with?" she asked him.

"I'm done with the classwork. Can one of you guys just wake me up when class is over? Thanks." With that Minato pulled out his headphones and began to snooze on his blue bag, which nearly camouflaged his head.

"There's no way anyone could have finished already," Yukari said while grabbing the notebook Minato had presumably written some nonsense on. However, her expression began to change to one of disbelief. She showed the notebook to Junpei and Hamuko, and it was their turn to gawk. Minato had finished all the work and it covered multiple pages front and back in tiny, neat handwriting.

(Iwatodai Dorm, Evening)

Hamuko P.O.V.

"Hey, do you want some tea to carry on the way up?" Hamuko asked to Minato as the latter entered the dormitory.

"Sure, thanks a bunch, Hamuko," Minato replied, while entering the kitchen and picking up a tea-cup, pouring out some of the Japanese green tea that Hamuko had prepared.

Both of them slowly ascended the stairs, careful not to spill any of the tea which was still boiling hot, and entered the control room on the 4th floor.

"Okay, everybody's here now," Ikutsuki declared after the Arisatos had entered and taken their seats with Minato sitting next to Mitsuru and Hamuko at the end of the sofa. Junpei seemed to mouth something to Minato, but Hamuko couldn't tell what it was. Ikutsuki let out a small cough to bring order and said, "I'd like your undivided attention."

"For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had," Ikutsuki said, and he continued to rambled on, about how S.E.E.S now had enough members to form a competent team and other aspects of Tartarus.

This made Hamuko wonder how Ikutsuki seemed to know so much about the Dark Hour, yet couldn't even defend himself properly if push came to shove. Everyone else in this room could summon a Persona it seemed. She felt a bit sorry for him, but not too much, probably due to his weird sense of humor and style. Still, it perturbed Hamuko that no one had supposedly explored the tower yet Ikutsuki and Mitsuru knew a lot more than they let on.

"Anyhow, before going to Tartarus, I think everyone should decide what weapon they're going to use." Akihiko seemed to have been waiting for this moment to come, as he seemed ready for it with a large black bag of what Hamuko presumed were weapons.

"Akihiko, did you have to carry them here so haphazardly?" Mitsuru said while looking at him a bit disapprovingly.

"Well, it was the way Officer Kurosawa suggested to not bring too much attention to myself." Akihiko laid out a small assortment of weapons that lit up Junpei's eyes.

"Sweet, can we pick whatever we want, senpai?"

"Go ahead, just make sure to carefully consider the strengths and weaknesses of each type of weapon," Mitsuru added. But even before she finished Junpei had already picked up a katana and tried swinging it around wildly in the confined room.

"Um, I want to ask something, Mitsuru-senpai," Hamuko ventured to ask.

"Yes?"

"Why do we have to use physical weapons to fight the Shadows? Isn't there anything more modern like a gun or something?" Hamuko only bothered to ask because some of these weapons looked really flimsy.

"Unfortunately, there are no ways to defeat a Shadow except by channeling a Persona or using a weapon imbued with their power. This is the best we could do on short notice." Was Hamuko imagining it, or did Akihiko try to motion her to stop talking?

"Junpei! You could take someone's eye out doing that!" Yukari yelled suddenly, while trying to not sound too exasperated.

"Sorry, Yuka-tan, I just can't help it," he said and stopped swinging to study the handle of the katana. "Hey, this isn't even real, is it?"

"You need to practice before we trust you with real weapons," Akihiko said, trying not to laugh at Junpei's disappointment. "Besides, we're only going for a test run today."

"So, I'm guessing Akihiko and Mitsuru-senpai have already chosen their weapons then?" Hamuko asked, while trying to decide what to pick.

"Yes, I will use a rapier, while Akihiko will use his boxing gloves," Mitsuru had a hard time hiding her feelings about Akihiko's weapon choice.

Yukari chose a bow because she was already an adept archer from club at school. That only left Hamuko and Minato to make their choices between a naginata and a short sword.

"I think I'll take the short sword then," Hamuko said as she liked the feel of the weapon in her hand.

"I won't be able to participate, but I'll be okay trying to learn the naginata," Minato duly said. Hamuko noted how he seemed to have an evil twinkle in his eyes when everyone tried to pick what weapons they wanted to use in Tartarus.

"Okay, I think that's everyone. Chairman, is there anything else you wanted to add?" Akihiko questioned, while fastening his boxing gloves.

"I think that's all. Good luck to you all. I will stay here, as I cannot be of much use in Tartarus." The Chairman resigned himself to seeing the group out and Hamuko started to get excited for the trip even though it was close to midnight.

They were off to Tartarus for the first time, wherever it actually was.

On the walk to Tartarus, Junpei asked a question that had nagged Hamuko for a while. It was odd enough that they were going close to midnight with a bunch of weapons hidden in their clothing and bags. Hamuko wondered how they appeared to other people who would see them, maybe a bunch of teenage punks looking to cause trouble. She chuckled at the thought.

"Akihiko-senpai, where exactly is Tartarus anyways?"

"You'll see soon enough," he replied. After a short walk they arrived at the gates of Gekkoukan High.

"Senpai, you do know we're at school, right?" Yukari asked, while looking over at Mitsuru to see what her reaction was.

"Just wait a couple of minutes, it's almost midnight…"

Soon enough, the world around the teenagers began to warp with the sky changing to that eerily green glow. Hamuko could feel it again, this was the Dark Hour. More shocking was what was happening to the school, with its walls disassembling and combining in a weird shape. It was like a master puppeteer had the various pieces of the school on a string in an odd, rhythmic dance swaying before their eyes. Suddenly, all the pieces topped moving and Hamuko saw a tower in place of their school, which seemed to spiral endlessly into the sky.

(Tartarus, Dark Hour)

Hamuko P.O.V.

"What the heck happened to our school?!" Junpei shouted at the top of his lungs with an incredulous look on his face.

"Calm, down Iori." Mitsuru quietly said and went on to say, "This is Tartarus, the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."

"A labyrinth?" Junpei asked. "What's that?"

"She means that it's a maze, Junpei, though I don't see how we plan on exploring something so huge," Hamuko answered, though she did like how Junpei always seemed willing to ask the questions that other people had, but weren't willing to ask. She noticed the entrance of the tower seemed to have a large, golden clock with the time stuck at midnight. It let off a soft light that made it feel like an invitation to enter.

"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal," Mitsuru continued on.

"But, why'd our school turn into a giant tower in the first place?! It doesn't make any sense!" Junpei answered, clearly agitated.

Mitsuru looked away and didn't say anything in return.

"Guess no one knows then," Junpei said.

"Who cares anyways? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting." Hamuko could feel that Yukari wasn't exactly telling the truth either, but couldn't really figure out why. There just seemed a bit of uneasiness between her and Mitsuru for whatever reason. Not like it was really Hamuko's business anyways.

Akihiko seemed to think on a similar wavelength as Hamuko and tried to change the subject slightly as he said, "Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek; this will be our first time exploring it, and I'm rather excited about that, so let's get going."

The team walked in audaciously, unaware of what lied before them. Mitsuru and Akihiko led the group since they had at least taken a peek beforehand. Hamuko didn't really know what to expect, but the ground floor of the tower was definitely not what she had imagined it would be like with the same soft light from before illuminating the immediate area. This feeling of peace was not something Hamuko would have associated with a place continually called a Shadow nest by her seniors. It seemed like they were on some type of daïs etched with a strange pattern in dark hues.

"Whoa, it's just as cool on the inside," Junpei said.

Numerous opaque columns of varying heights and widths surrounded them, somehow supporting the massive weight of the tower. An indigo-colored rug stretched from the entrance all the way up a staircase leading to another clock that had a recess in it that looked like it could fit a couple of people at a time. The clock itself caught Hamuko's attention with the delicate machinery powering the timepiece in action, but oddly staying at midnight just like before.

"So, it's like time stops during the Dark Hour except for places like here?" Hamuko said to Mitsuru.

"In a way, yes. That's partly why we believe that there are answers to why the Dark Hour exists, as well as a method to eliminate it." Mitsuru sounded rather optimistic in her reply. "As you can all see this is only the entrance with the rest of the labyrinth lying beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs."

"I'm ready to try this bad boy out, how many Shadows are we gonna meet?" Junpei seemed rather anxious, clutching his katana.

"Don't worry, we won't go far today. It's just a chance for you guys to get your feet wet," Akihiko reassured him. "By the way, are you guys alright with your weapon choices? I'm not really worried about Yukari, since she already has experience with archery at school."

"I'm fine, no sweat, senpai," Junpei immediately answered.

"I'll figure it out as we go," Hamuko replied. Though she wasn't telling the complete truth. It felt like the sword lacked cutting power in her opinion.

"Hamuko, are you sure you don't want to take the naginata instead? It might be a better fit for you," Minato said out of the blue.

"And why would I want to use the naginata?"

"Uh, it could help compensate for your height and weight…"

He had clearly said the wrong answer as Mitsuru, Yukari, and Hamuko were on him like a hive of angry bees berating him about being sexist and that women were equal to men.

Afterwards, Hamuko still tried out the naginata and found that she did like it better.

"Thanks, Minato I do like this a bit better."

"Don't mention it," he replied from far across the room, wearily eyeing the girls.

"Akihiko, I assume you'll take the lead role for this mission," Mitsuru motioned to him.

"Yeah, I'll try not to interfere too much so the rookies can get some good training in there. It'll be a good way to see if you guys can summon your Persona at will. Shadows aren't going to show you any mercy, so without your Persona, you're toast." Akihiko pointed his evoker at his head just to demonstrate the point.

"I'm aware of that," Yukari answered defensively and scoffed at Akihiko who didn't seem to completely believe her.

As everyone was was about to go up the stairs Hamuko's eye caught a twinkling of something. She turned to her left and saw a peculiar door that she hadn't noticed before, and as if magnetically attracted to it, began walking in a beeline for it. The door appeared to not be connected to anything as there was space behind it, yet Hamuko could clearly feel that there was something behind it. A small keyhole was barely visible beneath the brass doorknob and she instinctively pulled out the Velvet Key and inserted it. A white light engulfed her vision, and after treading forward carefully, she was back in the Velvet Room.

"I've been waiting for you; please have a seat." Igor quickly waved her over to sit down. "The time has come for you to wield your power. The tower that you are about to enter necessitates that you begin to utilize your power in earnest."

"Wait, you guys can see what I'm up to right now when I'm not in the Velvet Room? Does that mean you watch what I do all the time?" Hamuko felt a bit aghast at this prospect. Elizabeth only provided a wry smile and Igor continued.

"As I have said, you are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed. Your power is still weak, but the possibilities are infinite. When you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. They may be difficult to grasp, but seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly; be sure to keep that in mind."

"So, when I defeat my enemies, which I'm guessing are Shadows. I'll get stronger? Well, that sort of makes sense I guess." Hamuko could tell that Igor would soon tell her that time ran short and knew that it was better not to ask too many questions for now. Elizabeth gave her a small, affirmative nod in response.

"I will tell you next time about my true role in assisting you in this journey. Until then, farewell my young lady."

At least this time, the Velvet Room didn't vanish suddenly. Hamuko simply walked out to the door that was behind her, taking one last peek at Igor and Elizabeth. Elizabeth didn't really seem like a talkative type, but ah well. After getting engulfed in that white light again Hamuko was back in Tartarus, staring at the Velvet Room door like she never left in the first place. Junpei and Yukari quickly walked up behind her and had worried looks on their faces.

"Hey, are you alright?" Yukari asked in concern. I guess not much time passed outside the Velvet Room Hamuko thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Yukari." Hamuko had definitely gone to the Velvet Room, but no one else had noticed, or more probably couldn't see the door.

"You had us worried for a while, and you look like a zombie," Junpei added.

"I'm fine, let's get going. I don't want to spend all night in this place." Hamuko briskly walked towards Akihiko who had a befuddled look on his face at the top of the stairs.

Minato P.O.V.

It had been a short time since everyone except Minato and Mitsuru had entered the first floor of the first block of Tartarus, called Thebel. Minato took the sword Hamuko had left and chuckled a bit to himself. This practice sword wasn't really good for anything, but it did feel innately familiar to him even though he couldn't use his dominant arm. It was like a long lost friend who had returned to him after a long time. He stood up and took a couple of swings and felt the air trailing where the blade had just been. Since Akihiko was with the others there wasn't really much reason to worry. With Mitsuru too busy providing support to pay him much mind Minato just tried his best to not get too bored.

Am I going to do something about this? I really need to get this arm fixed faster somehow, Minato thought. He tried to not get too down on himself, but he just felt like dead weight to the group. The problem was that no level of Dia spell could heal an injury that required a visit to the hospital. Only one person he knew of could revert injuries as if they had never occurred, but she wasn't exactly someone easy to become friends with as Junpei's relationship with her attested. And it didn't help that he had no idea where she would be this early in the school year. It would be a worth a shot to find Chidori Yoshino, he decided.

(Inside Tartarus 1st Floor, Dark Hour)

Yukari P.O.V.

Hamuko let out another torrent of Agi spells with Orpheus, quickly frying the Cowardly Mayas into oblivion.

"Hey, I wanted to do that!" Junpei bellowed, who had been too slow to pull the trigger on his evoker to summon Hermes.

"Well, you should've summoned your Persona quicker then, Junpei," Akihiko said mildly. "The Shadows from here on out are only going to get stronger, so you should get a faster trigger finger."

Yukari smirked as this immediately shut down anything else Junpei wanted to say. Still, it was rather remarkable how quickly Hamuko increased in strength. She even revealed multiple new Persona that easily pinpointed on the weaknesses of the various Shadows they had encountered so far. While none of the Persona were as terrifying as the mechanical menace during the full moon, Hamuko's ability to change Persona during fights was almost unfair. At least she's on our side, Yukari thought.

Akihiko didn't say anything, but his actions revealed quite a bit. When Hamuko had been a bit reckless dashing into an onslaught of Shadows he was quick to protect her blindside and the two were quick in winning, leaving Junpei and Yukari to stare at Shadow corpses. It wasn't that Yukari felt jealous, but definitely didn't feel too warmly toward Hamuko either. Yukari awakened to her Persona only slightly before Hamuko, yet she was so far behind now. Was it because of the special power Hamuko had? Even Junpei seemed to learn pretty fast and Yukari felt winded even though the group had just passed the first floor. Was she weak?

Even through all of this introspection Yukari spotted a strange device that lit up when she got close.

"Hey, I found the access point guys!" she yelled so that everyone could hear her.

"Good job, Yukari!" Hamuko told her patting her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I think you guys have had enough for one night. Right, Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked on the transmitter.

Everyone made it safely back to the beginning with only a couple of bumps and bruises to note. Mitsuru and Minato had waited for them to reappear and stood by the base of the stairs.

"Welcome back," Mitsuru told them.

"We kicked some ass back there, but boy I'm beat!" Junpei answered. His language seemed to draw the ire of Mitsuru, but it wasn't like Junpei was wrong. Yukari felt pretty tired too even though they had gone through two floors of the tower and didn't seem remotely close to reaching the top. Still Yukari couldn't resist teasing Junpei a bit.

"That's because you were bouncing around like a little kid," she said.

"You look pretty tired yourself, Yuka-tan," he countered, wheezing a bit.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to catch my breath," she conceded putting a hand to her chest. Her heart thumped rhythmically faster than usual.

"That's the effect of the Dark Hour; you'll get fatigued more easily. Don't worry, as your bodies will adapt to it, and I must say that you all did better than I expected." Mitsuru said all of this a bit too knowingly for Yukari's taste, but she let it pass for now. She was too tired to think clearly now.

Hamuko had been unusually quiet and had that glassy look on her face again near the same spot from earlier.

"Hamuko, are you still there?!" Yukari said.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just a bit out of it too," she replied, looking at everyone else and giving an exaggerated yawn.