Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3—or any version of the Persona series, really. I just own this rather shameless piece of work.

Other Notes: Fun Fact 1: There is a reason why Tamamo has been unsuccessful in overwriting her appearance outside of repairing broken pieces. Pharos's giggling is also related to this reason.

Fun Fact 2: There is also a small reason why Minato briefly ties his hair back during these early days of summer. And it's actually a very easily guessed reason, too. It's nothing big, though, so don't worry about it if you don't know why, haha.

Fun Fact 3: Before the idea of Tamamo being stuck in Minato's head came about, the original direction of this story revolved around a traditional reincarnation SI, in which Tamamo would be born in place of Yukari Takeba. It was only when I started joking about reincarnation not mixing well with the Wild Card ability that my living soundboard mentioned sounded like a more interesting story. And then, well, here we are.

Symbiosis

Chapter Twelve

That evening, Minato was working on his class work at the dining table when Yukari joined him, looking frustrated. He knew the feeling. Tensions seemed to be at an all-time high that day, whether in the student council room, where Hidetoshi Odagiri of the disciplinary committee faced the ire of his fellow council members, or amongst the regular student body, who were strung up from all the rumors.

"Everywhere I go, people are just spouting the same things," she grumbled. "'Ghost' this, 'vengeful spirit' that… I thought our school was supposed to be full of smart people."

"Nope," Minato said, distracted from his current work problem but trying hard to concentrate on it, "just rich."

Yukari huffed. "Either way, it's stupid. The more I hear, the more outlandish the rumors get. Oh, but Fuuka's apparently being kept at home. I talked to her homeroom teacher, Mr. Ekoda, and he said her parents called to say she'd be out a while due to illness."

Minato glanced up when he heard a book shut from the direction of the lounge. Mitsuru and Akihiko had been sitting there when he arrived back from club practice, talking in low tones. But now they rose from the couches and were heading in their direction.

"Hey, you guys talking about Yamagishi?" Akihiko asked as they approached. Both seniors took a seat at the table.

Yukari straightened. "Huh? Oh, y—yeah. Minato-kun was looking for her earlier—" casually throwing him under the bus, "—but couldn't get any answers from her classmates, so I went to see her teacher."

"And he said she's just sick, huh?" The rhetorical question was left alone as Akihiko shared a glance with Mitsuru. Then, his gray eyes went to Minato, who lowered his pen from his notebook. "Why the curiosity about Yamagishi, Arisato?"

"I like to think my instincts are on point," Minato replied, calm as you please despite them interrupting his homework session. "I've never seen her, but she's been out since that other girl was found… Rumors have a way of taking pieces of the truth and distorting them, so I just think it's suspicious." He paused for a beat. "And the way some of her classmates talk about her just rubs me the wrong way."

Okay, that last bit was somewhat of a lie, as Minato had only heard one girl talk in such a way. But he knew that high school girls tended to act in packs. If there was one with such a view, chances were there were at least two or three more.

The two upperclassmen looked thoughtful at his words, but before they could speak the dorm's front entrance burst open.

"Hey, Yuka-tan, Minato! Have you guys—oh, you're all here. Sweet!" Junpei hurried in, throwing his bag on one of the couches before going to the dining table to sit down with them. "Anyway, have you guys seen the posts on the student message board? Latest rumor's that it was an angry spirit from this one ghost story that got the girl last week."

Yukari paled, but Mitsuru and Akihiko looked highly interested. Minato started putting away his notebooks, giving studying up as a lost cause.

"What is this ghost story about?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah, I'm curious," Akihiko added, "Tell us."

Junpei looked pleased that they were taking him seriously, and as Yukari appeared to brace herself in her chair, he recited the tale. He even whipped out a flashlight from his back pocket (though why he even had a flashlight, Minato didn't know) and shined it up on his face for effect.

"Good evening. Welcome to 'Junpei's Believe It or Don't'," Junpei began in a dramatic tone that made Tamamo snerk. "There are many strange things in this world… According to one story, if you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls! The other day, this friend of mine—let's call him Shu… He said to me, 'Junpei, I saw something strange.' He sounded serious, so I asked him what he'd seen. He said it was about the girl in 2-E… He claims he saw her go into the school on the night of the incident…"

Minato blinked, even as Junpei continued on with his dramatic retelling. The girl went into the school at night? But wouldn't she have gotten caught by the guards? Then again, if she was alone and could somehow slip by, then it was possible she could've snuck in.

But then…

If it was late enough and she was in the school building when midnight struck… She would've been caught in Tartarus, wouldn't she? Even if she transmogrified into a coffin. And depending on where she entered from, who knew where she could have ended up in the labyrinth's halls.

"Arisato?"

Looking up, he found his teammates looking at him expectantly.

"You look like you were deep in thought," Akihiko said, amused. "Anything to add or were you just making plans for this investigation?"

Investigation? Minato shook his head. Focus. "Hey, Junpei… Did your friend or any of the posts say what time at night they saw that girl head into the school?"

He was staring at Junpei, but could see Mitsuru and Akihiko straighten in the corner of his eyes. They seemed to understand what he was trying to ask. Good.

"Uh, not that I know," Junpei replied. "Just said it was late…" His eyes widened and not a second later, Yukari gasped. "Wait, you don't think…?"

"You think she ran into Tartarus?" Yukari asked.

"That's certainly a possibility if she truly managed to sneak in," Mitsuru murmured. "And since she does not have the potential, she would have transmogrified and been preyed on by the Shadows…"

"That would explain why she was found unconscious like that," Akihiko concluded grimly. "Seems like a more serious case than the usual Apathy Syndrome victims, though. And it makes you wonder why she was attacked like that when the night guards at the school haven't been."

"Which means we're missing information." Mitsuru stood, stance regal and authoritative. Her sharp gaze landed on the three juniors, who straightened instinctively. "You three, do what you can to gather more information about these rumors and those involved—eye witnesses, relatives of the victim, anything at all. Akihiko and I will do our own investigating. If Shadows are truly involved with this, then it will be up to us to deal with it."

They agreed and Mitsuru strode away, heading up the stairs. Akihiko stood to grab his bag from his previous seat on the couch before heading up after her.

"Whoa, looks like we stumbled on something big," Junpei said, awed. A large grin made its way onto his face. "Awesome! This is getting exciting! We're gonna be doing some real detective work here!"

"Seems like it." Minato picked up his bag, intent on going to his room where he could study (and make investigation plans) in peace. "I feel tired just thinking about it."

"I knew it wasn't a ghost," Yukari muttered.

Junpei snickered. "So that's what you found important about all this, Yuka-tan? Didn't think you'd be so scared of ghost stories."

"Oh, shut up, Junpei!" she snapped. "Anyways, I'm leaving. We'll all be investigating this, right? We should all take a few days to gather as much information as we can. Then we'll meet again and pool what we found out together. You guy's had better not slack off!"

She stood and, with a final glare, stomped away.

Junpei shook his head. "Every day, Yuka-tan feels more and more like a nanny." He sent Minato a side-glance. "This is pretty serious, though. D'ya really think it could be Shadows?"

"The vaguer stories fit when you apply the Dark Hour in instead of ghosts." Minato shrugged. "But until we have all the details, there's no way to know for sure."

"True… Well then!" The baseball-capped teen stood, striking a heroic pose straight out of Phoenix Ranger Featherman R. "Looks like this is a case for Junpei, Ace Detective! I'm gonna give this my all!"

Years of practice helped Minato keep his face straight even as Tamamo started cackling like a hyena. "Good luck."

That night, Minato woke during the Dark Hour to find the strange boy sitting by his legs again. He wondered what it said about his life that he was starting to expect it.

"Evening," he muttered as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

The boy smiled up at him. Had it been any other child, Minato supposed he would be beaming. "I came to see you again, as I promised. How are you?"

"As well as I can be, I guess," Minato sleepily replied. "And you?"

The return question was asked more out of courtesy and habit than anything, but the boy looked so honestly surprised that it kind of hurt to see.

"I…" The boy trailed off. His calm never broke, but he was clearly affected. "I am fine…"

It sounded like a question, like he wasn't entirely certain, but Minato nodded anyway, repressing the urge to reach out and pat the boy's head. Tamamo was a bad influence at times. "That's good." Now more awake, he tried to peer at his calendar, but the light was too dim in his room to read it clearly. "Are you here to tell me about the next full moon?"

Grasping at the line Minato provided him, the boy nodded. "Indeed. In another week, the moon will be full again and the next ordeal will be upon you." He peered up at Minato, clear blue eyes standing out against the green-hued world. "Please be careful."

He then faded from sight, only to reappear, standing at the foot of the bed. His smile was back. "I'll come visit again."

Minato waited until he vanished completely before flopping down on his bed. He'd been counting down days to each full moon after both the boy's and Tamamo's warning, but these recurring visits made the deadlines seem all the more real. And as much as he anticipated their coming, he dreaded them. This time even more so.

"Tamamo," he called aloud.

A questioning hum was his reply.

"This ordeal… it's going to involve Fuuka Yamagishi, isn't it?"

It was strange how he could think so much about the girl when he hadn't even properly met her yet. But with everything that was going on, about vengeful spirits and her being out sick for more than a week, he couldn't help but feel suspicious. Especially since it had been planned that she would possibly join the team in the future, ill reputation or not.

"Yes," Tamamo replied. "I think I have the pieces together now… would you like to hear it?"

It was tempting, really, to have the answers before anyone else did.

But.

"No. I want to do this on my own, like the others," he stated, the words feeling more truthful as he spoke them. Beyond his strange power, he had to know he was capable of the same things they were.

"I see…" Tamamo murmured, and he worried briefly that he had hurt her. Her knowledge was her pride, after all, and she had always been glad to impart what information she could to help him. She laughed, however, and he relaxed when her voice came out light and teasing, "You're always growing, it seems, when I least expect it. It makes me feel a little lonely!"

Which sounded pretty silly to him since she was always with him and vice versa.

"You can always let me know if I'm on the right track," he suggested, so that she didn't feel left out. "I'll do my best, but my best won't be worth anything if I get it all wrong."

"It's a deal."

As Minato fell back asleep, Tamamo lamented.

He truly was growing. More than she had ever expected. It would be a lie if she said she didn't feel like she was being left behind. She really did. But, at the same time, she felt proud, privileged, to be able to witness his growth. Even if she honestly hadn't believed he would develop so much, and in so little time.

His lifestyle up until that year was rather predictable, after all. He had been an introvert and preferred to keep away from people, at first because he didn't want to bother getting close to anyone and then later because he found them too tiring to be around. His books and his music had been all he needed to keep entertained, and her company was enough to fill his human need for "contact".

But now, in this new environment, his viewpoint was slowly shifting. He still didn't go out much and he still drowned the world out to the heavy beats of Lotus Juice and lilting melodies of Yumi Kawamura, but he was changing. The new bonds he had with people outside of Tamamo were showing him what he'd been missing out on over the years, and his experience leading SEES told him what he was capable of.

Through his Social Links, he was being taught his capacity to care. To love.

Tamamo laughed.

It sounded sappy when she put it that way, but wasn't that what the Social Links in the game had been about? Video Game Caring Potential, or whatever that trope had been called?

Stepping through Minato's mindscape, Tamamo reached for the glowing strings that represented his bonds. Ever since Igor had mentioned it, they had steadily begun to manifest in Minato's mind. Some were still not much more than spider silk, but others, like his bond to SEES or with Junpei and Yukari, had grown steadily brighter over time.

And they were so warm…

Delicately, Tamamo rearranged the Social Links, taking care not to tangle them up in one another as she threaded them around.

She supposed that if she had been in Minato's place, could feel those bonds supporting him each day directly, connected to their warmth… Maybe she could have managed to grow as well. Even with the ending that awaited him.

…His ending.

No. No, please, don't think about—

"Oh, god…" She crumpled, a familiar feeling of fear and despair winding its way around her thoughts. It happened each time she thought deeply about Minato's ultimate end, the fate that was left to him even after he fought Nyx alongside everyone, but it still managed to cripple her every time.

What was this twisted life that he lived, to develop such strong bonds only for death to be his answer? Sure, it was implied that his soul lived on, but to stay forever as the Great Seal? Protecting humanity from its own desire for death? Protecting only the scarce few lives that knew and understood his sacrifice while the rest remained oblivious? When they died, what would be left to him then?

And where would that leave her, in the end? She had accepted her death, as much as she could have. Ten years was a long time to come to terms with things when all she could do was think, after all. Would she join him in the Seal? Or would she be forced to leave him alone, too, useless to the very end?

"Philemon, you bastard," she growled, for lack of a better target for her ire. "You and Nyarlathotep, both. Your bet is one sick game!"

Forcing herself to stand, Tamamo nudged her foot against the surface she stood on, the solid yet liquid-like layer that led to Minato's deeper subconscious and, below that, the sea of his soul.

"You, too," she said, voice accusing. "Don't be a bastard and just play to their whims like that, you hear me?" She kicked her foot, because otherwise she would probably cry. "Or mine, y'know? I'm worse than they are. I'm letting you go down this path. To be some stone statue hidden away at the end of time or whatever. God, you're such an idiot. Why the hell do you trust me?"

There was no response. She stopped scuffing her foot and glowered.

"I'm probably the worst parasite ever," she declared. "Not only am I basically plotting the demise of my host, but I'm also actively encouraging him to help bring about the end of the world. What the hell is my life?"

Then, she snorted. "Oh. Right. I don't actually have one anymore. Goddammit!"

Huffing, Tamamo stormed away to find Orpheus or some other Persona to bug to help channel her frustration to more productive means.

Angst fests never failed to make her angry, but at least they gave her the energy to do things to escape them.

Day 1 of investigation proved rather useless.

Interestingly, Yukari had been right. The entire student body truly did seem focused on "ghost story" this and "angry spirit" that. Minato thought that the rumors would have tapered off, but that was about all he heard (and would continue to hear) throughout the campus. Mr. Ekoda, in his Classic Literature class, had even ranted a bit in the middle of his lecture about how the students were so ready to share those stories but not the material he was going over.

"Hey, I read those ghost stories that were being spread around school on the Internet," one student he overheard talking to a friend said. "You know, the ones about those students who died, became ghosts, and ate humans… Wait, how would anybody know they ate humans? There wouldn't be any remains."

That was a less-than fruitful conversation to listen to, so Minato went on his way.

"I heard Fuuka-san fainted again, and she's taking days off from school," said a girl in his classroom's hallway. The familiar name made him stop to listen. "I wonder if she's okay… She doesn't look very strong."

Her friend agreed as Minato strode up to them.

"Excuse me," he greeted, "sorry, but I heard you mention Yamagishi-san. Have you seen her recently?"

The two girls blinked at him. "No… Wait, are you the boy who was asking for her a few days ago? She still hasn't come back… Maybe she's in the hospital…"

He sincerely doubted it, but thanked the girls anyway.

When he returned to the dorm that evening, Mitsuru was out and the others were gathered in the lounge, chatting about the investigation. Akihiko apparently had little luck gathering further information himself, as his fellow seniors knew only what circulated in the rumors.

"Can't say I didn't expect it," he admitted, "since the victim is a junior like you guys. No one in my class knew her, so there wasn't much to learn."

"And Mitsuru-senpai's questioning the faculty," Yukari revealed. She looked a little odd, like she had indigestion, at the idea.

Junpei whistled. "Wow. I wouldn't want to be any of the teachers right now, that's for sure!"

Thankfully, Day 2 of investigation provided a little more information.

"That girl who collapsed is in my class," a girl he spoke to in the lunch line mentioned. "I heard she would run away from home and spend the entire night out. That's probably why she ended up like that."

A girl nearby chimed in. Minato vaguely recognized her face from the back rows of his class. "One of the students who collapsed was in my sister's class, too! Maybe she was running from home?"

The first girl frowned. "I dunno. Did she hang around that place? The girl in my class did. Something definitely must've happened there."

"Ooh, scary!"

Minato latched on to the conversation thread before they could get more off-topic. "What place?" And, backtracking a bit, he added, "There was more than one victim?"

Both girls looked at him oddly. "'Victim'? Erm… Well, there were three of them… haven't you heard?"

He shook his head.

"Huh. I thought that was common knowledge by now." She shrugged. "Anyway, yeah. She hung out at this place behind Port Island Station. All these thugs and punks hang around there… It's a really shady place. Makes you wonder what she must've gotten up to before all this happened."

Evening at the dorm found Akihiko lying on the couch, groaning about migraines and squealing females. He had apparently tried to be more proactive in gathering information and tried to question his groupies.

Suffice to say, it ended badly for him.

Minato uttered a quick prayer for health for the boxer before hightailing it to his room, leaving him in relative peace.

June 4th, Day 3, Minato finally pieced it all together.

"I heard that those students who were sent to the hospital were bullying other students," was the first catalyzing phrase.

"Fuuka-san is absent today, too," was the second.

During lunch, Minato barged into 2-E from the door at the front of the classroom, asking once more if anyone had seen Fuuka Yamagishi. He knew she wasn't there, but he wanted to see their reactions. A bullied student was often kept hushed up to avoid attracting the teachers' attention, but if his hunch was correct, then there was no way anyone involved could be unaffected. Not when she'd been absent so long.

(His assumption also relied on her bullies being from her class, which wasn't necessarily always the case. But Tamamo didn't steer him any other way when he brought it up, so he was going on the thought that he was at least partially correct.)

"Arisato-san," a girl near the front greeted him. She was the mousy girl who'd answered him the first time he went to their room. She apparently went to the trouble of learning his identity. "Yamagishi's not in today either. It must be important if you keep stopping by for her every day. Have you checked the hospital?"

In the middle of the room, Minato caught sight of a girl as she flinched violently.

"No," he said slowly. He tried not to look too obvious as he scanned the classroom, but his gaze fell on the girl sitting in the middle, second row from the front.

It was hard to miss her. She stood out from her classmates with her hair and skin color, as well as her make-up. Ganguro? Or was it gyaru? Either way, Minato recognized the trend, but felt a strange sort of pity for her. Her looks certainly made her stand apart now, and that made it much easier to see her tremble and shake in her chair, eyes riveted to her desk.

"Actually, would you happen to know where your teacher is? It's been so long, I think I'll just try to get her contact information from him," he said, keeping the girl in the corner of his eyes. And, because names meant something in the world, he added, "And I live in the same dorm and attend the same club as Kirijo-senpai. I guess she was getting concerned, as Yamagishi-san is a... recruit, so she asked me and my dormmates to keep an eye out."

Not quite a lie, but not the whole truth either.

"Natsuki-chan?" he heard someone ask as the girl he was talking to gave him Mr. Ekoda's location. "Are you okay?"

"I—I…" The orange-haired girl—Natsuki—stammered. She let out a strangled gasp, standing so abruptly that her desk screeched against the tiled floor. "I gotta go!"

She ran out, giving him a wide berth as she left. Her classmates could only stare at her departure in confusion.

"Thanks," Minato said absently as he gazed at the door Natsuki left through. Quietly and with hardly as much fanfare, he walked out after her.

To the faculty office, he supposed.

But first, a stop to the student council room.

It wasn't often that Mitsuru was in the room itself, always preoccupied with some other task she set upon herself, but the room was bustling even during lunch and she was prudent enough to tell them of where to find her in case of emergency. To save time and effort spent trying to find her before he went to try to ask anything of Mr. Ekoda, Minato went there to see what the council members knew.

"A—Ah, Minato-san," Chihiro Fushimi, the council's treasurer, greeted him timidly when he entered.

"Chihiro-san," Minato returned, bobbing his head in a nod. He cast his gaze about the room. "The president isn't here?"

"Not at the moment," Hidetoshi replied from near the blackboard. Minato took a moment to look him over. The disciplinary committee leader seemed better rested than the last few times he saw him. That was good. "Did you want to speak with her, Minato-kun? She informed us that she would be back later."

"And later is now," Mitsuru announced as she slid the door open. She strode into the room, commanding the attention of the entire student council immediately upon entering. Waving them off to continue their work, she approached him. "What is it, Arisato?"

Minato gave her a quick but thorough run-through of the information he found, including his suspicions of Fuuka Yamagishi's disappearance. He knew he was being pretty stubborn about her absences being related to the case at hand, to the point of bullheadedness, but Tamamo had yet to correct him on his assumptions. So he had a strong feeling that he was right.

Mitsuru seemed almost amused, perhaps noticing his obstinacy as well. "Is this your instinct at work again?" But as quick as her smile showed, it just as quickly faded into stern determination. "Very well. Ekoda's continued excuses for Yamagishi's absences struck me as rather odd as well, especially since there were no further notices beyond 'illness'. I will go to deal with him."

Minato nodded, tilting his head when she gave him an assessing look. "…What?"

The student council president folded her arms over her chest. "You mentioned something in your report… That the three students that fell unconscious hung out in a place behind the station and that their friends were thugs…" She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I want you to gather Akihiko and Iori and go to this place after school. There may be someone there who can give us even more information that can't be found amongst the other students… Akihiko should know where to find him."

Agreeing, Minato turned to leave before stopping. "What about that Natsuki girl?"

Mitsuru only gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. "Leave that to me, Arisato."

With nothing left to lose, Minato left with a brief farewell to Chihiro and Hidetoshi—the only council members he could honestly stand—and returned to class.