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

Symbiosis

Chapter Sixteen

Natsuki Moriyama staggered into the lobby of Tartarus, an empty expression on her face. Dazedly, she looked around, eyes unseeing.

"Fuuka…" she said again. She sounded as if she were in a trance.

"The Shadows must have called her here!" Mitsuru stated. The furrow in her brow got deeper. "Where is the chairman? He was supposed to look after her!"

Akihiko turned back, furious. "There's no time to think about stuff like that, Mitsuru! Just focus on—dammit!"

The Arcana Emperor rushed forward as if possessed, moving with renewed speed. It uttered a low, warbling sound even as Polydeuces and Hermes flew forward to stop it in its path. With a swing of its sword, it knocked them away before resuming its course towards Natsuki, who fell to her knees.

On the other side of the room, Fuuka stood up, surprise clear on her face. "Moriyama-san?"

"Wait, Fuuka, don't…!" Yukari tried to grab hold of the girl, but she brushed away her efforts and ran to where Natsuki had fallen.

"Wait!" Akihiko shouted. "What are you doing!?"

With a thought, Minato dismissed Unicorn and brought up Zouchouten. Hurriedly, he used the Evoker and sent the Persona into the suddenly rampaging Shadow's path. It was immune to physical strikes, but at least Zouchouten was capable of more than that thanks to fusion, on top of being slightly resistant itself.

"Agi," he murmured, and his Persona followed through with a blast of fire.

The Shadow stumbled back, and his teammates were quick to follow with a slew of their own elemental attacks. Mitsuru, he noted for the first time, was capable of producing ice.

"Please, get out of here!" Fuuka was pleading her classmate behind him. "It's dangerous!"

Natsuki refused. "I… I wanted to tell you… I'm sorry…"

The Arcana Emperor roared, lashing out with its sword and sending Zouchouten flying back and Minato staggering. Then, with a dark laugh, it spun the blade clockwise in its hands and was doused in an orb of light.

Tamamo cursed. "That's not good!"

What was that? Minato asked, calling Zouchouten back to his side just in case.

"Paradigm Shift! I've never seen it used before, so I don't know what weaknesses or strengths it has now!"

Minato watched as the next few spells that hit the Shadow did no harm. Neither did the physical skills that Junpei and Akihiko followed up with.

The Shadow bellowed, resuming its single-minded course to Natsuki as SEES did its best to try and slow it down. Minato ran to insert himself in its path, Zouchouten flying up in front of him. The warrior held up both its hands to stop the Shadow in its tracks, but the Shadow pushed onward, grunting as it hit the grounded Persona. Over his shoulder, Minato shouted, "Get out of the way!"

But Natsuki was frozen, mind still trapped in the Shadow-induced trance. Beside her, Fuuka stood up. She looked down at the Evoker she held, clutched in her hands since Akihiko had handed it over.

Natsuki looked up at her movement, awareness returning. Her eyes widened when she saw the Shadow draw its sword back and knock Zouchouten away. Minato followed, flung to the side and coughing as the attack ricocheted back to his mind. He looked up with bleary eyes as the Arcana Emperor trudged closer, every attack drawn on it by their Personas bouncing harmlessly off of its form. When it loomed over her, sword arm raised high over its head, Natsuki curled up, screaming.

It was then that Fuuka moved and Minato watched, with no little amazement, as she fearlessly lifted the Evoker to her head and pulled the trigger. The pale blue light of summoning enveloped her and Natsuki beside her, and a large figure phased into existence. But unlike the Personas that the other members of SEES had, that appeared next to their users, Fuuka's Persona formed on top of her, encasing her in a transparent sphere that comprised the Persona's lower body.

The Arcana Emperor's sword swung down only to bounce violently off the sphere. The repelling force was enough to make the Shadow topple backwards.

Within the sphere, Minato saw Fuuka open her eyes. She was momentarily stunned when she saw what was around her, but then her gaze swept forward, locking onto the Shadow. "I… I can see…" Her voice was little more than a murmur, but Minato heard it clearly in his head as he pushed himself up. "I can sense this monster's weakness, somehow…"

Junpei gaped. "For real!?"

"Just as I thought," Akihiko murmured. "Mitsuru, I think she can take your place."

The red-haired president nodded. "I understand. Yamagishi, will you assist us?"

Within her Persona ("Lucia," Tamamo whispered), Fuuka nodded. A spark of determination glimmered in her eyes. "I'll do my best!"

Minato glanced back. The Shadow was getting up. Steadying his sword, he inclined his head to Fuuka. "Whenever you're ready, try to scan this thing. We need to know its new weakness." Then, to the others, he said, "Try to find a weak point, but don't compromise yourself."

As if to spite them, or perhaps understanding their intentions somehow, the Shadow twirled its sword again, emitting the same light. Paradigm Shift. Whatever they'd known from the last slew of attacks was rendered useless again.

"This guy really doesn't play fair!" Akihiko growled.

"Maybe he's pissed we killed his girlfriend," Junpei snarked.

Behind them, a wave of power emitted from Fuuka and her Persona. "This monster… It feels like a wavering flame inside… Its weakness is wind!"

"Oh, come on!" Yukari cried out off to the side.

Minato concurred. They had to end this quickly.

With hurried movements, he switched Personas once more, pulling Zouchouten from the battlefield and sending out Unicorn in his place. The beast belled out a challenge, rising onto its hind legs. Like the Arcana Empress's scepter, power gathered on the tip of its horn before blasting forward. It knocked the Shadow off its feet. Not wanting to give an inch and grant it the chance to Paradigm Shift again, Minato held his ground and commanded his Persona to use the spell again. And again. And again.

It was only when he began to stagger that he sent his Persona forward, the Shadow feebly trying to rise to its feet after the onslaught. Unicorn leapt onto the Shadow's upper body and directed its horn straight onto its mask. With a final Garu spell, it delivered the final blow.

Minato sank to one knee, breathing hard, head aching. He waved off the others when they came close, directing them to Fuuka. "I'm fine. Just… exhausted."

Assured, Mitsuru and Akihiko went to Fuuka, who apparently released her own Persona and collapsed as well. Natsuki's apologies and sobs reached his ears, though they sounded muffled, blocked by the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.

A pair of footsteps drew close and he looked up to see Junpei standing over him, returned to his usual casual stance with one hand in his pocket. "Nice job, Leader," the other boy said with a lazy grin as he crouched down to his level. "Looks like you need to work on the execution, though. You look wiped out!"

"I am," Minato admitted. An earlier conversation came to mind and he couldn't resist the smile that made its way onto his face. "Any chance of you dragging me back to the dorm?"

Junpei apparently remembered the conversation as well, for his grin widened in response. "Weeeeell…" he drawled, feigning a thoughtful pose. Minato gave him a weak punch to his shoulder and he laughed. "Yeah, sure. C'mon, gimme your arm."

As he was dragged to his feet, the other members of SEES pulled up beside them. Akihiko carried Fuuka on his back while Mitsuru escorted the worse-for-wear Yukari and distraught Natsuki. With a nod, they headed out, triumphant.

Minato, doing his best to trudge along and not drag Junpei down too much, gave a quiet sigh of relief. We saved them. We really saved them.

He felt Tamamo smile. "You guys really did," she said. "Good job."

It was three days after the rescue operation that Fuuka Yamagishi was deemed recovered enough to leave the hospital's care and SEES reconvened in the command room to discuss her possible recruitment. During the entire meeting, and during the days they were all recovering and waiting for news on her health, Minato watched as Yukari became more and more uncomfortable. He understood her feelings on the matter, but at the same time, the more pragmatic side of him knew that Fuuka would be a great boon to the squad. Not only was her analytic skill with her Persona more on point than Mitsuru's, but her communication range was wider as well. She wasn't limited by the technologies that Mitsuru had relied upon to reach them.

He wondered if it made him a bad person to feel so relieved that she agreed to join SEES, especially given the effort he and the others had put in to rescue her and bring her to safety in the first place. She wouldn't be on the front lines, true, but it was still a risk for her to be in the tower with them rather than safe at home.

Still, Yukari expressed her doubts. "Are you sure?" she pressed. "If you join, you'll have to live here."

Fuuka nodded, undeterred. "That's fine. I'd rather live here than at home anyway."

Something soft appeared in Mitsuru's expression and she dipped her head forward. "We really appreciate this. We'll have the school talk to your parents, to resolve any issues."

"Thank you," said Fuuka, and there was a truly sincere relief in her voice in those two simple words.

"Wait a minute," Yukari protested, though she seemed to realize that she wasn't going to get anywhere as she continued. "Aren't we dragging her into this a bit fast?"

The teal-haired girl looked surprised that she would be so concerned. "It's okay, really!"

Ikutsuki cleared his throat, making both girls sit back, however reluctantly. The chairman looked between them all, ensuring he had their attention, before speaking. As Minato had suspected, Akihiko had brought up the conclusion he'd made in Tartarus about the full moon and the "special Shadows". Considering that each of these odd encounters occurred on a full moon night, they had reason to expect that the next such encounter would end up on the next full moon.

As they were dismissed, Tamamo's presence unfurled in the back of his mind. "Not going to ask yet?"

Minato thought back to the promise they made, about her informing him of the full moon ordeals.

No, he decided.

"Why not?" she asked, anxious.

Because Ikutsuki is up to something, he told her, and I have a feeling that I don't want his attention on me for any reason while he's still plotting it out.

It was a thought that had bugged him throughout the meeting. The man had been too calm while explaining the discovery. And the way his eyes trailed amongst the group… Minato wasn't sure if he had only been imagining it, but he felt as though the gaze had lingered on him for a second longer than it should have. But perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised. The first of the so-called "special Shadows" had apparently shown up on the first full moon that occurred right after his arrival to the dorm. The others, or at least Mitsuru and Akihiko, implied that they'd never seen such strange Shadows outside of Tartarus before then.

He didn't know what Ikutsuki thought, if he was thinking anything at all, but he didn't like the feeling of the weight of his gaze. Maybe it was just because Ikutsuki was a scientist, as Tamamo said once before. But that still didn't make it pleasant to feel like a particularly interesting lab rat.

I wonder what he told them about Natsuki leaving under his watch, Minato thought idly, trying to rid himself of the sensation of something crawling over his skin. Or if he even said anything.

Tamamo was quiet. "…That depends on if they asked him in the first place."

The mysterious boy visited the next night and, strangely, Minato seemed to anticipate his arrival. One moment, he was asleep. The next, he woke up and found the boy phasing into existence before him.

The boy, on his part, appeared pleased that he didn't have to actively wake him this time. "Good evening."

Minato yawned. "Uh huh…" Rubbing his eye, he peered at the boy. "You seem to be coming around more often… I think? Or maybe it just seems that way… What's up?"

"I told you I would visit you again, did I not?" the boy asked, tilting his head to the side. "After your victory on the last ordeal… You've gained a valuable ally, and appear to have grown stronger yourself. Your power has changed quite a bit since you first awakened it. It's very curious…"

Minato considered the boy, but his thoughts were elsewhere. His power was certainly growing still, he knew that, but changed? In what way?

"What do you mean by change?" he decided to ask.

The boy's head tilted to the other side. It was a little funny. "I'm not… sure. The more you use it, the deeper it seems."

"Deeper?"

He nodded. "It echoes, but steadily fills. A well of power. But for what purpose does it fill?" He looked down, head bowed as if to study his striped clothes. "As I said, it's quite curious."

Minato only sighed. "Right…"

"Say…" the boy spoke, looking back up. "If you don't mind, can I be your friend?"

Blinking, his mind still not quite awake, Minato said, "You don't normally ask…" Or, at least, he didn't think anyone did these days. "Friendship just happens."

The boy looked troubled. "Is that so…?"

"Generally." When the boy's expression had yet to fade, Minato gave a small huff of exasperated amusement. "But yeah, we can be friends. It wouldn't be the first time I befriended a person that lives in my head. Hell, my best friend is the person that lives in my head, so it all works out. Somehow."

The boy's smile returned, wider than before. It even felt more genuine. "Then from now on, we'll be friends. Ah… but I would need a name, like how you call her…" He fell silent, a distant look in his blue gaze. "That night… She called me Pharos… Yes, you may call me that if you wish."

Minato nodded slowly. "All right. Pharos."

"It's getting late, so I'll go now," the newly-dubbed Pharos said. He appeared pleased nonetheless. "I'm already looking forward to our next meeting."

Watching as the boy disappeared, Minato flopped back down, arm lifting over his eyes. Then, realizing something strange, he lowered his arm, staring at his ceiling. "Hey, Tamamo?"

"Yes?"

"That was a Social Link, wasn't it?" After making a few acquaintances and being updated on the formation of Links by Tamamo, he had started to get the hang of recognizing them that he no longer needed to be told when it happened. Although each bond was inherently different from the other, based on the person he was getting to know, they had their similarities when Minato felt the thread begin to weave itself into existence. "If that's true, then why don't I have one with you?"

Tamamo hummed. Her voice was rather serious when she spoke, which made her words all the more surprising. "Maybe you haven't acquired the proper flags for me yet."

He snorted, settling back more comfortably in his bed. "I've known you for ten years. How many 'proper flags' could you have?"

"Hm… perhaps I've just lost count of them, then. Oh well!"

"Tamamo…"

Her bright laughter chased him back to sleep.

Her laughter was just fading when Pharos appeared beside her. Had it not been for an odd sense telling her that he would appear, she would have jumped.

"You gave me a warning," she stated, bemused.

Pharos tilted his head and she wondered briefly if that was his version of a shrug. "You were unaware. It seemed prudent to let you know that I wished to speak with you."

She tipped her head, acknowledging his effort to be polite. Perhaps that was what he did to rouse Minato, who easily slept through most wake-up calls. "What did you need from me, Pharos?"

"He and I have become friends, as you are well aware of," Pharos said, getting straight to the point. He peered up at her. "You both are one person and yet not… Does that mean that we are friends as well?"

Tamamo started at the question, then stared at him uncertainly. She had expected him to want to befriend Minato given that he was his host, but her as well? Or was she reading into it wrong? He was a precocious avatar of Death, and yet that question made him sound like the child he appeared to be.

Awkwardly, she lowered herself down more to his level. "Well… That depends on you, I guess. If you want to be, then we'll be friends. If not, then it's just Minato. I might live in his head, but I'm still my own person. Sort of." She sent him a sad smile. "We all share this space, actually. But I'll give you fair warning that Minato's wellbeing is my first priority."

Pharos reached out, unafraid, touching the space just below her right eye. "You have a strange way of protecting him," he commented. "There are many secrets that veil you."

Tamamo held herself very still even as she admitted, "You're right. But I have no regrets so long as Minato stays alive." Then, gathering her courage, she looked straight into his eyes. "I owe him that much."

It took Minato several days to notice that Fuuka appeared to want to speak with him. He had been so focused on giving her time and space to acclimatize herself to the dorm and establish a new routine for herself that he didn't see the strange looks that she sent him from time to time. It was only when he decided to check up on her in her class before her first official stint as their navigator in Tartarus that he became aware.

"Ah, Arisato-san," a girl greeted when he walked through the classroom door of 2-E. It was the same girl who'd informed him of Fuuka's absences before. "Thought you gave up. Yamagishi's here today." She looked over her shoulder to where the teal-haired girl sat. Before Minato could protest, she called, "Hey, Yamagishi!"

Fuuka jumped, turning swiftly in her chair. Her wide eyes fell upon her classmate first before moving to Minato. She stood, jostling the desk behind her when her hip bumped into it. With only a small wince, she made her way to where they stood. "A—Arisato-san. Hello. Did you need something…?"

Minato shook his head, though he sighed inwardly when he saw the curious looks of her classmates. "Just checking in. And to remind you that there's club activities coming up." He usually left a note on the dorm bulletin board as a reminder for a Tartarus run a few days ahead, but he was unsure if she would read it. The others did, having seen them before and coming to expect them from their generally quiet "leader".

"Ah, yes, I saw the notice. Thank you for that," she said, bowing slightly. When she straightened, she sent him a strange look, as if she wanted to speak but couldn't find the words. Minato waited her out, and eventually she said, "Actually, about the club, may I ask you something?"

He agreed and was mildly surprised when she led him out of the classroom. They walked down the halls until they were in the empty area by the staircase that led to either the first or third floor.

"Um, Arisato-san, I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but when I, er," Fuuka sent a cautious look down the hall before continuing in a quieter voice, "when I summoned my Persona, I noticed something… strange."

Wary, he asked, "What do you mean by 'strange'?"

Fuuka wrung her hands together. "Please don't be offended, but… I could sense you all in that room. At the time, I didn't really think about it. But even though some of the details are a little fuzzy now, I know that I counted eight people present, including myself. But that didn't make sense, so I thought I was just remembering wrong. There were our senpai, Takeba-san, Iori-san, you, Natsuki-chan, and me… but I know that there was one more presence I felt there."

Minato's pulse quickened. So she really could sense Tamamo?

"I'm sorry. I know this sounds crazy, but it was troubling me and I thought you should know because… Well, because that presence always felt near or on you."

She could.

He almost laughed. But he didn't because that would be rather rude.

"Yamagishi-san," he started. When she flinched, clearly nervous, he did his best to send her a reassuring smile. "I'm not offended. And I don't think it sounds crazy." This time, he was the one to look and make sure they had no eavesdroppers. "Actually, I want to test something. If you don't mind, meet me in the command room after school. You'll understand why then. Maybe."

He waited for her to agree before escorting her back to her class. When he returned to his own right next door, he couldn't help but hope that he made the right choice. But, if she could already sense his Other, then what else could he do?

"I think it'll be okay," Tamamo assured him. "She's frail and can't fight, but she agreed to help SEES on its crazy adventures. She's strong in her own way. You can trust her."

And if she freaks out?

"…We'll think of something."

As it turned out, Minato had nothing to fear.

When he met Fuuka after school, she summoned her Persona without fanfare and focused on him. It was a strange feeling, to be analyzed. He felt it like a whisper in the wind, just barely there around him. If he hadn't been looking for it, hadn't been actively expecting the power of her Persona to wash over him, he probably would have never noticed it.

"It's there…" she murmured, voice resonating within his mind. "Yes, that's the presence I sensed along with all of us that night."

Minato smiled, feeling something lighten in his chest. This was the first time someone else had ever acknowledged the existence of his Other without making derogatory statements or dismissing her as part of his imagination. It was like he was finally receiving validation that there was something more about her than a simple voice.

"She," he corrected. When Fuuka blinked at him, he gently elaborated, "'She' is the presence you felt. I wonder, can you hear her? Tamamo, say something."

"Something," his Other drawled. "I didn't think you'd actually want to test this. Though I can't deny that it may become useful later on…"

"Anything?" he asked.

Fuuka slowly shook her head. "I… There was a little blip of something. Just for an instant, but it was like hearing something from behind a thick wall… I don't think I would've noticed if you hadn't asked me to listen for, um, her."

Tamamo hummed. "A wall, huh? Let's see…" She went quiet for a moment and Minato suspected that she was trying something. Perhaps she thought it was the barrier? That was the first thing he could think of, at least.

Suddenly, Fuuka's shoulders jumped. "I—I think I heard her!" She lowered her head, closing her eyes. "Tamamo-san…?"

Minato stared. And ruthlessly squashed the dismay at being left out of their conversation. He didn't know how it was possible since Tamamo was in his head in the first place, but he wouldn't begrudge her the chance to speak with another for the first time in a decade.

It was a little awkward, though, having to wait in silence for them to stop conversing. He wondered briefly if this was how it was for others when he decided to chat with Tamamo.

"…now let's see if this works." Tamamo's voice returned after a long silence. "Fuuka, say something."

"Oh! Um… Hello?" Fuuka greeted timidly. Because of course. Telepathy was usually expected to take place in the head.

(But why his head, he would likely never know.)

"It seems that if I want to talk to Fuuka, I have to sort of 'shoot' my voice to her through the barrier," Tamamo explained for his benefit. "Otherwise she gets the wall effect, even with her ability backing her. And if we want to speak to each other simultaneously like this without one of us playing telephone, I have to make and maintain a connection manually since your mind and hers aren't naturally connected like ours are. So I have to use a different Link to simulate that connection."

That… kind of made sense. Or so Minato supposed. He wondered what made it occur to her to even use the Social Links like that, but then again, her time in his head likely made her more aware of how things worked.

"I don't know how to fully control the telepathy that Lucia lets me use just yet, so I can't speak to you or the others directly in your minds like that on my own," Fuuka added aloud. She gave a sheepish shrug. "Tamamo-san said that she can hear what you hear so I don't have to worry about addressing her unless I'm broadcasting to everyone… but she did say she'll try to help me figure out how to contact you individually. Like figuring out certain radio frequencies."

"We'll probably just use this three-way Link option if there's anything either of you would like to discuss with me and the other at once," Tamamo suggested before he could reply. "It's kind of a pain to set up and hold, but you never know when it might come in handy." She let out a sigh. "Okay, I'm going to let the connection drop now."

"Of course," Fuuka said, a worried furrow to her brow. "I hope it wasn't too draining on her…"

"Tell her there's nothing to worry about," his Other insisted. "I just have to work on it to try and make it more efficient. What I did was probably more than I had to."

Minato relayed her words and the teal-haired girl nodded, relieved. "I see. That's good." Then, smiling, she said, "Thank you for sharing this with me, Arisato-san. And, um, you as well, Tamamo-san. I can't imagine how hard it must be to… well, tell someone else about having a voice in your head."

"So you don't think I'm crazy? Or that she's some malevolent entity?" he asked, raising a brow and ignoring the light slap Tamamo gave him.

"N—No. I admit I'm curious about how you ended up together like that, but…" Fuuka sent him a strangely searching look. She shook her head. "Tamamo-san doesn't feel like a bad person to me. It's quite obvious that she cares very much about you." She paused. Then laughed.

Minato resisted the urge to laugh with her, because he was certain his Other was scolding her for saying that aloud to him. And he didn't want to direct her embarrassed anger his way. But he had to admit it felt nice to hear that. He was certainly aware of it, but it wasn't often that Tamamo admitted to anything of the sort—or that others noticed it.

"Thanks for hearing us out, then… Fuuka," he said with a barely repressed smile. "And you can call me Minato, if you want. May as well, actually."

Mirth still on her face from whatever Tamamo told her, Fuuka nodded, dismissing Lucia. "All right, Minato-kun. And it was no trouble at all."

The next time Mitsuru informed them that the chairman called a SEES meeting after school, Minato had a bad feeling.

But first, a fated encounter.

He walked home ahead of his teammates, leaving them to their socializing. He didn't know why he wanted to get to the dorm so early when Ikutsuki would only be getting to them later, but he felt that the longer he stayed out until the time came, he would just be psyching himself out. So, he returned home, intent on maybe trying to relax a little by reading or just listening to music. But when he got to the dorm, he found himself pausing by the entrance, for a peculiar sight was coming his way.

A white Shiba Inu without a collar padded slowly down the sidewalk, strolling casually along. When it got closer, Minato noticed that it had red eyes, bright like Tamamo's. It didn't behave like any stray Minato had seen before, so he couldn't help but move away from the door to watch it.

"His name's Koromaru," Tamamo supplied, amusement weaving through her voice. "Koro-chan for short. Why don't you call to him?" She snickered before singing, "I know you want to!"

He did want to.

Moving off the front steps to the dorm, Minato walked around and took measured steps to the dog. He watched as his ears twitched, red eyes swiveling his way. Once he had Koromaru's attention, he crouched and held out his hand, palm up. Koromaru padded closer, sniffing the offered hand curiously. Minato grinned when the dog licked his palm and flipped his hand over his muzzle, patting him fondly. Then, smoothing his hand over the canine's head, he scratched just behind the ears and watched, pleased, as Koromaru remained docile.

"Minato-kun?" Fuuka inquired.

Looking over his shoulder, Minato gave a small wave to Fuuka and Yukari, who evidently walked home together, with his free hand before returning his attention to Koromaru. He heard both girls approach and gave a purely mental sigh, patting Koromaru once more before withdrawing his hand.

"Oh, hello, Koro-chan!" Fuuka greeted as she knelt beside Minato. "You're here today, too, huh?" To both Yukari and Minato, she explained, "His name's Koromaru. I've seen him sitting by the steps of the shrine before, but sometimes I've noticed he comes this way."

Minato nodded before standing, leaving the two girls to play with the dog. He could always try looking for him later at the shrine (a little girl he sometimes saw playing alone there looked like she could use the company and petting dogs raised happiness or something, right?). Until then, he at least had a little happy moment before meeting with the chairman.

Even if he could still hear Tamamo giggling in the background.

Much of what Ikutsuki had to say wasn't anything new to Minato thanks to his debriefing with Tamamo before the last major battle. He knew of the twelve categories (along with their coinciding names of the first twelve arcana, which Ikutsuki neglected to mention). He also knew that the Shadows thus far were arriving in that same order.

It was the delivery of what information he gave them that truly unsettled Minato.

The smiles Minato was used to seeing from the chairman were the small, almost ditzy smiles. Dazed, in a way, like that of the carefree idiot in manga. The type that crinkled the corners of his eyes and left him looking more like an easy-going man than the respectable Chairman of the Board.

The smile Ikutsuki gave as he told the team of "his discoveries" regarding the Shadows had been downright chilling. It stretched too wide across his face, baring his teeth and stopping short of bursting open in mad laughter. And the smile had reached all the way to his eyes, adding a glint there that was more than just mere fascination.

Minato had seen such a smile before. When his grandfather took him and his younger cousin along for his work, he had seen a man smile that way when his grandfather asked too many questions.

"Obsession," his strict grandfather had identified it for him later.

If Minato hadn't been looking for it, he would have dismissed the thought entirely as Ikutsuki being overenthusiastic at the find. It was certainly important to know, giving them information now on not only when to expect the Shadows to come, but their remaining number. But the way his voice had not deviated from its usual cadence made it seem like he was still their utterly normal, defenseless advisor.

Damn, Minato thought. As horribly ignorant and open his pun-loving demeanor appeared, Ikutsuki was good at hiding whatever he wanted to hide.