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: Avatar NIX: Funny you should mention the team formation. There's a (very) brief mention of that in this chapter, actually!

arcticGlaciologist: Well, I wouldn't say "patient" since I'm jumping straight to Shirakawa here, haha! But the wait between these two operations is the least eventful, so to avoid as much unnecessary padding as possible, this chapter jumps straight to it. I considered the idea of adding more Social Link-type scenes in as a sort of balance, but I kind of want to avoid that particular snare of Persona fanfics as much as I can. So, the pacing gets thrown off from time to time like this in order to get back to the important pieces. Hope it doesn't throw you or anyone else off too much, but do let me know so I can work on it!

Symbiosis

Chapter Eighteen

The days to the next full moon were counting down and Minato found that he wasn't alone as he waited for the night to finally arrive. Whenever he set foot in the dorm, he was surrounded by the nervous energy that the others helped contribute to, and when he spoke to his teammates, they were always quick to remind him of the impending date. As if he wouldn't remember on his own or something.

"It's just nerves," Tamamo soothed when his annoyance spiked. He hadn't even gotten two feet into the dorm before Fuuka was telling him to be prepared! "You're their field leader, so they want to make sure that you're ready to lead them."

I don't see why no one else can take the reins, Minato thought sourly. Akihiko's been back a while and Mitsuru's a natural leader. Why can't they do it?

"Maybe they're just worried that changing it up now will cause an imbalance." Tamamo shrugged. "Besides, like you and the guys mentioned, there's some tension in the air between Yukari and Mitsuru right now. If Mitsuru did take over, how long do you think it would take for Yukari to snap and let loose whatever's been bothering her?"

He grimaced. Not long, if he was reading the brunette right. She seemed to have calmed down a bit once July started, making him think that maybe she had pushed aside her thoughts. But up until that point, she had hounded him (and Junpei, if the other teen noticing her odd behavior said anything) about their upperclassmen, Mitsuru especially, keeping secrets from them.

She was biding her time, he felt. Waiting for the right opportunity to reach out and strike at the first weak point available to her.

"…Minato, she's a teenaged girl, not a snake."

And her Persona is a girl who was turned into a cow.

"I…" Tamamo trailed off, clearly lost. "Um. Okay then."

Satisfied, Minato retreated to his room, where he proceeded to try to channel Junpei and ignore the atmosphere charging the entire dorm.

Despite his best efforts, he didn't really succeed.

One day to the full moon, Minato couldn't take it anymore.

It was Monday, so he was distracted at least part of the day by school. Yukari and Junpei were similarly distracted by class (or, in the latter's case, not so much distracted but focused on drowning it out), so there was no worry of feeling the date looming oppressively over their heads. Temporarily, anyway.

During lunch, Minato excused himself to eat lunch on the roof, enjoying the summer breeze and the view of the bay. Fuuka and Natsuki came up partway through the lunch period, but other than a brief greeting left him alone to his thoughts (Natsuki actually seemed rather intimidated by him, which he found vaguely funny). Grateful, he kept his mind on other things and tried not to listen too much to their conversation, even if they did nothing to conceal their words from him.

When school ended, Minato headed over to the Iwatodai Strip Mall, stopping by the Bookworms Used Bookstore. He supposed it was the memories of his childhood that made the quiet little shop so comforting to him. The shop's owners, an elderly couple by the names of Bunkichi and Mitsuko, were so endearing and treated him kindly, almost as though he were one of their own, pressing snacks and tea into his hands before he could even think to refuse. His heart went out to them whenever they shared the story of their deceased son—he supposed it was that mutual loss of family that made him seek out the bookstore from time to time, taking solace in its shelves of books.

"Ah, welcome," Bunkichi greeted, his wife busily straightening out their wares behind him, when he entered the store. The old man blinked behind his glasses as he strode closer to the counter. "Hm? Say, what's your name, son?"

Minato smiled when Mitsuko turned and, upon seeing him, scolded her husband, "That's Minato-chan, dear! Honestly…"

The old man chortled. "Of course, of course. I remember!" He sent Minato a grin that made him look strangely younger. "I was just joking, Minato-chan. Of course I wouldn't forget you."

"I'm glad," Minato said. "How are you, Bunkichi-san? Mitsuko-san? There hasn't been any news on the persimmon tree, I'm afraid, but at least that means any plans to possibly cut it down haven't gone through."

"Oh, thank goodness," Mitsuko said, a withered hand on her chest. "And thank you, Minato-chan, for keeping an ear out for us. We've been doing just fine." She smiled warmly at him. He committed the image to memory, wondering if this was what it was like to have a grandmother. Both of his had died when he was relatively young, so he'd never met them. Mitsuko felt like a grandmother, popped straight out of a storybook.

"So, what are you here for?" Bunkichi asked. "Looking for a specific book?"

"No, not really," Minato replied. He looked at the shelves, filled with used books both old and relatively new. "I just… wanted a place to hang out, that's all. Do you have a shelf for mythology?"

Mitsuko said they did and led him to it, prompting him to ask her or her husband whenever he needed help finding anything else before leaving him to his devices. But even as he stuck around, looking through a few dusty texts, she would always check in on him to see how he was doing, if he found anything he liked, and would he like some tea, maybe?

He didn't think this was quite how store owners and customers should act, but he didn't have the heart to start distancing himself to lay out that line more clearly. He merely declined what he could and bought more books than he knew what to do with. When it came time to clear out his room at the dorm, he would probably have to buy a few boxes more just to hold his growing collection.

At the end of the day, as the elderly couple shooed him out so as not to get caught out when it was dark, Minato returned to the dorm, feeling much better than he had the day before. The air was still crackling with nervous tension when he arrived, but as he breezed past the front doors, he felt at ease.

The next day, just like when they were preparing to rescue Fuuka, the members of SEES returned straight to the dorm after school in order to be fully rested for the ordeal ahead. Minato traveled back in a group with his fellow juniors, leaving class 2-F and stopping briefly by 2-E so they could grab Fuuka and leave. They shared small conversations on the way back, but they were quick to die. They were all preoccupied thinking of the battle to come.

At the dorm, Minato waited the hours out in his room. He spoke with Tamamo as before, to glean any information he could about the tasks ahead, but found that the details were scarce this time around.

"I don't remember it much," she said, frustration pouring through her voice. "I just know there are two Shadows again, but not both at once. Oh, and it'll be held in a love hotel." She glanced up, and Minato's face must have conveyed his disgust quite well, for she nodded wisely. "Yeah. Be sure to shower when you get back."

He sighed. "If it's really in order, then the next two of the arcana to show will be the Hierophant and the Lovers. Which, if we are going to a love hotel, makes sense." Shuddering, he scowled. "I should've known something was weird when those rumor girls started talking about the Lost showing up in pairs…"

"In some cases it is better to trust your instincts," Tamamo agreed. "Hierophant will be first up, but I don't think the battle will be that hard… You never know of course, but I think you just pummel it down. Try to do it quickly and efficiently, though, since you'll have another battle ahead and you can't be tired for that. As for the Arcana Lovers… um…"

Minato kept quiet as she thought, trying to summon up the memories of her past life. She'd told him in bits and pieces after their little campfire bonding with Pharos that her knowledge of Shadows and the Dark Hour came from fiction. She told him that what Elizabeth had said was not the Velvet Room attendant waxing lyrical about her situation, but basically the plain truth. Her soul was from a different reality than where he was, and the events and information of his life had shown up in a story, of sorts, in hers.

It was both a blessing and a curse, she'd told him, because the story had been rather dense and even after ten years of trying to hold on to them, the memories degraded. She remembered important pieces regarding some things, but the rest had been reduced to some horrible mess.

His Other let out a frustrated sound, arms crossed over her chest. "I can't remember," she bit out, looking as though the admission physically pained her. "You'll get trapped after Hierophant's defeat. You'll have to find a way out and the Shadow will try to trick you. I'll do what I can to keep your mind protected, but after that, I don't remember what else you have to do or if it's just straight back to the fight."

Minato lifted a hand, batting at the pink hair of her ponytail to distract her and noting, with no small amount of surprise, that he was taller than his Other by a good few inches. Strange how he had never realized that before… "That's good enough. I'm sure we can handle whatever else the Shadows might throw our way."

"And I'll help," she muttered, hands raising to stop her hair from swinging. She slapped his hand away when he faked an attempt to swat it again. "Stop it!"

He chuckled, lowering his hand. "I'm sure you will. Just don't throw yourself into it." He sent her a stern glare when she pointedly looked away. "Don't."

She gave him a dull look. "You've gotten a lot bossier. And I'm older than you, you know."

Amused by her sulking, he shrugged. "If you count your time in your reality, maybe. But you were technically reborn here with me, so you're really only as old as I am."

Tamamo snorted. "Your logic is flawed." When he only shrugged again, she pushed his shoulder. "Oh, get going already, would you? Talk with your teammates, make battle plans… I've already given you what little I know, so make the most of it."

Nodding, Minato faded out of his mind and returned to reality, taking in the sight of his room before standing up. It was still late afternoon, early evening, so they wouldn't be gathering in the command room yet. Anyone too restless to stay cooped up in their room would most likely be down in the lounge.

Destination set, he left his room to hunt down his teammates.

Spending time together and cobbling up some intermediate plans made the time fly by, and soon enough Mitsuru was calling them into the command room. The field operatives made way for Fuuka to pass through first, much to her embarrassment, and they followed quickly after.

With a nod from Mitsuru to get started, Fuuka pulled out her Evoker and summoned Lucia in a corner of the room, and within moments of being encased in her Persona, she set to work. Eyes closed, she was the picture of concentration as she searched for abnormal Shadow signatures outside of Tartarus's walls.

Minato dreaded her announcement, hoping in vain that perhaps Tamamo was wrong about the location.

"I found one," Fuuka announced, eyes blinking open. "It's a strong presence… I believe that's what we're looking for."

"So we were right!" Junpei exclaimed.

Ikutsuki adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Or so it would seem."

After a few moments of pinpoint the presence down, Fuuka gave them the information. "It's located in Iwatodai… inside a building on Shirakawa Boulevard."

Something in Minato cringed at the knowledge, Tamamo's flippant comment to remember to bathe afterwards ringing in his ears. "Shadows have no shame," he muttered under the flow of conversation.

"Why?" Fuuka asked with an inquisitive, and utterly innocent, tilt of her head. "What's on Shirakawa Boulevard? I'm not familiar with that area."

Yukari, at least, looked just as leery as Minato felt. "I've heard about it, but…"

Junpei, on the other hand, was laughing, a wide grin stretching over his face. "That's where all those hotels are. That explains a lot!" He waggled his eyebrows at Fuuka. "You've heard about 'em, right, Fuuka? Where people go to… y'know."

It took a moment to register, but once it did, their navigator flushed bright red.

The chairman chuckled at their antics. "Oh, nonsense. They're no different from ordinary hotels. The rooms are a bit fancier, that's all!"

"What? That's it?" Junpei whined.

Yukari shifted uncomfortably. "I—I don't know about this. Maybe I shouldn't go for this one…"

Shaking his dismay at Ikutsuki's supposed reveal off quickly, Junpei laughed. "Really? You're backing out 'cause of a little love hotel? You're like a little kid, Yuka-tan!"

"What!?" This time, it was Yukari who flushed. Only this one was in anger. "As if you can talk, Stupei!"

"Hey!"

"You know what? Fine!" The brunette stamped her foot. "I'm going. And I'm gonna fight, too!" She planted her hands on her hips in a haughty manner, head tilted so she looked anyone who would dare protest down her nose. "So? Who else is coming?"

The remaining members looked amongst one another. Mitsuru spoke first, "Arisato, as he will be leading this operation as before."

"As before…" Junpei repeated, sullen.

"Otherwise, it will be his call," the student council president finished. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

It had been an early rule of the squad's that not everyone was allowed to go in at once, whether on a run through Tartarus or on an operation. While the firepower could be useful, Mitsuru stressed that battles could very easily go wrong. If they did, they had to have at least one person on standby in the case that backup or a retrieval was necessary. Before, Mitsuru had played both their outside support and potential backup, but with Fuuka around they had a little more leeway as to who went and who remained behind. Regardless, Minato tried to alternate between the members as much as he could so that no one was left behind in terms of training.

Now, looking amongst their expectant faces, he warily shook his head. "Not really. Can I have some time to think about it?"

Mitsuru inclined her head. "Very well. You can make your final decision when we arrive." She looked to Fuuka, who twitched slightly at the sudden attention. "Yamagishi, please lead us there."

Minato, seeing that Yukari was most definitely tagging along and that the stubborn set to her jaw meant she wouldn't take no for an answer, let out a deep breath. They haven't even begun the operation yet and already there were problems.

Fuuka led them down the road, occasionally pausing to check that they were closing in on the presence she felt, until they stood outside the walls of one Hotel Champs de Fleurs. Minato stared at its walls, his mouth little more than a grim slash on his face. Yukari stood beside him, but while her expression looked unimpressed, the way her arms crossed tightly in front of her spoke of her inner revulsion.

"Well, Arisato? Who will you be taking on the mission?" Mitsuru asked as they gathered around. On the side, Fuuka summoned Lucia once more, prepared to lend her support to the team going inside.

"Junpei," Minato said after a few seconds of thought. "And Akihiko-senpai."

The two other teenagers stepped up after checking their gear, nodding once they were ready. Yukari, too, shouldered her bow and quiver, stepping up to the entrance and waiting for Minato's signal.

"I will remain here on standby, then, and to ensure Yamagishi's safety," Mitsuru agreed. "Proceed with caution, all of you."

Minato took his place at the head of the team, and, with one last glance to the Kirijo heiress and Fuuka on the sidelines, led the way in. He ignored the front desk to the side where a lone coffin stood upright behind it, slipping down the short hall to where the rooms were located. As he neared the intersection, the familiar feeling of Fuuka's power scanning the path ahead washed over him.

"…If what I'm sensing is correct, the Shadow should be on the third floor!" she stated. "It feels like it's in a large room… a suite, maybe?"

"Do places like these even have suites?" Yukari wondered dryly. "Seems too sleazy to me."

"Well, at least it gives us an idea of where it's at," Junpei remarked. "It's probably gonna look all special on the outside, so we can avoid the normal rooms."

Akihiko looked mildly surprised. "That's… actually pretty sound thinking, Junpei."

The other teen shrugged one shoulder. "Eh, that's how it works it games."

So spoken, Minato hurried them through the halls, cursing the lack of working electricity during the Dark Hour for making them take the stairs. Though they'd certainly run through much longer halls and climbed higher than the meager stairwells of the hotel, it definitely did not mean he preferred it.

Still, once on the third floor, he quickly looked around for any special-looking door and found one at the end of the hall. He even stopped in front of it, staring at the grand design that clearly marked it apart from all the others.

"Is this it, Fuuka?" Minato called, still staring. If he concentrated, he thought he could feel the Shadow waiting for them. But he left it to the professional to confirm it.

"Yes," she answered only a moment later. "It should be just beyond that door. Please, be careful!"

"Everyone ready?" he asked, not looking over his shoulder. When he received a chorus of affirmatives in reply, he reached out for the handle. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door, pushing it all the way and letting his party stream into the room behind him.

An almost comically obese figure seated upon a chair greeted them as they entered the room, a white cross swaying on either side of it. From behind its head, the off-white torso of a female sprouted, morbidly headless save for what looked like a bent six-barred cross. The female shape had its hands placed delicately around the Shadow's round head, and it seemed to peer down at them in sync with the main body.

And then it laughed, a combination of a shrill, feminine voice and the guttural sound that was universal to almost all Shadows—and lightning rained down from above.

They had little time to dodge. Though Akihiko was only mildly affected, protected by Polydeuces's resistance, and Junpei managed to jump out of the way in time, Yukari shrieked as she was struck, collapsing to her knees. It was a lucky chance that it was only Mazio, if Minato read the attack correctly.

As it was, Akihiko helped Yukari back to her feet. "You okay?"

"Y—Yeah," she stammered. "That just… caught me by surprise."

"Stay back for this and focus on healing," Minato ordered. Inwardly, he cursed the irony of fate. The last full moon, Yukari had been weakened early on, when she was resistant to the wind the Arcana Empress used and could have lent her magic when the Arcana Emperor had ended up weak to only Garu spells. Now, when it would have been better for her to not be in the fight, she was insistent on going and healthy enough to not be dissuaded. "Leave the fighting to us."

There was a stubborn press of her mouth at the order, but she nodded. "Understood."

The one in the most danger taken care of, Minato then gave a slew of orders, "Fuuka, please scan the Shadow."

"I'll do my best!"

"Akihiko-senpai, your Persona can weaken an enemy, right? Please prioritize that."

"You got it."

"Junpei, go wild."

"No problem!"

"But not too wild."

"Oh, come on, man!"

Tamamo, don't use your shield yet. Save it.

"Fine by me."

With a twirl of his Evoker, Minato summoned Fortuna, and she cast a protective spell over Yukari, Rakukaja, in case the Shadow targeted her and she couldn't defend for whatever reason. Then, with the Persona hovering at his shoulder, he darted forward, running interference around the Shadow's chair. In the back he could see that Junpei was ready, Hermes prepared to execute his command and waiting only for Akihiko and Polydeuces to finish debilitating their foe.

The Arcana Hierophant laughed again and Minato staggered when the lightning bolt connected, running straight through his body and setting his nerves on fire. He choked out a gasp, Fortuna wavering beside him, her body surrounded by flashes of static. The damn thing had Zionga!

"Minato-kun!" Fuuka's voice shouted through their heads. "Whatever you do, don't use electricity! That's not only its strength, but it can repel it!"

"Good to know," he grounded out with difficulty as he stood, the light of a healing spell washing over him. "Now, let's try this again."

Hermes zoomed in, tackling one of the odd, talisman-like crosses situated by the Shadow and flinging it into the opposite wall. When the Shadow made to laugh again, the pale arm of the female shape moving to its ladder-like head in a noblewoman's gesture, Polydeuces prevented it from doing so with a Sonic Punch to the Shadow's face.

"Minato."

A little busy! he thought as he switched Personas. Fortuna disappeared in a blink and with another pull of the trigger, she was replaced by Gurr. The eagle monster took flight shortly after being summoned, following Minato's will and joining Hermes in an almost synchronized formation, swooping down to attack the Shadow before pulling out of range. Both Personas remained in motion to escape the myriad bolts of electricity it sent their way in retaliation. Every so often, when the Shadow least expected it, Polydeuces would take advantage of whatever side it left open.

No longer laughing, both male and female pieces of the Shadow screeched in rage. Minato just barely felt Tamamo move when the Mazionga lit up the air around the room, crashing heavily down. When the attack finished, he felt no change. His teammates let out varying exclamations when they found that they were similarly unscathed, even though they had seen they were clearly in the spell's path of destruction.

His Other coughed out a laugh. "I always did work best under pressure."

Are you okay!?

"I'm fine. A little tingly, though I think that's more glee at successfully shielding you all in a major battle. But now that you're listening, don't prolong the battle! You guys will need your energy!"

Minato clicked his tongue. If you hadn't noticed, this thing's a bit of a wall.

"Yeah… the big ones usually are." She frowned. "Well, when in doubt, go for the mask!"

Easier said than done, Minato thought. But she had a point. If they spent too long on this fight, they ran the risk of being caught tired and susceptible to the Shadow that showed up next.

Deciding he needed a better look at what they could do to gain an advantage, he backed away, Akihiko and Junpei surging in to cover him. When he was a sufficient distance behind them, looking over the Shadow from a new angle, he stopped. "Fuuka, any chance of you being able to tell how to stun this thing long enough so that we can break its mask?"

They could try to simply pierce it through by simply raining down attacks, but the cost would be too high. And anyway, even when they did—Gurr dove dangerously close to the Shadow's head, claws swiping at its chest—the female part drove them away with a vicious strike of its delicate-looking hands.

"U—Um…!" Fuuka stuttered, clearly caught off guard by the request. He'd never had to ask for a strategy before, so he supposed that was a natural reaction. "Let me…"

Her power swept through the room, concentrating on the stout Shadow.

"…the legs," she said eventually. "Of its throne. If you could knock out maybe one side of those legs somehow, it could leave it off-balanced enough to be vulnerable. Separating the two figures seems like it would help, too, as they seem to work together."

"Did you hear that, Junpei? Akihiko-senpai?"

"Loud and clear!" Junpei declared. "Leave the legs to me and Hermes!"

"Then we'll focus on breaking the mask, Senpai," Minato said. "Get ready."

"No problem."

Minato directed Gurr to capture the Arcana Hierophant's attention, the Persona swooping in close and stopping before the Shadow's face. The female half screeched and made to strike at it. Minato let the attack hit, wincing as it resonated back to him, but kept Gurr hovering close to block the Shadow's view with its wings. It was only when he saw the black and gold blur that was Hermes that he commanded his Persona to move away, just in time for Hermes to slice through the two legs on the Shadow's right side.

The Arcana Hierophant fell heavily. Minato felt the floor of the hotel reverberate under its weight.

He forced himself to ignore it. "Now, Senpai!"

Polydeuces was shooting forward before the words even left his mouth, needle-like arm piercing through the head and the woman's torso. The Shadow wailed as the Persona ripped its arm away, jumping back before it could be struck by a brilliant bolt of electricity.

When it faded, Gurr moved in, wickedly sharp talons digging into the cracks in the mask, wings beating the woman's arms away when it flailed and tried to dislodge it. Another bolt of lightning fell just as the mask shattered, the sound echoing in the large room as the Shadow was engulfed in black mist.

Minato dismissed his Persona, panting. Vaguely, he heard Yukari command Io to heal them and felt the healing spell sweep over him, but his limbs still ached with dull pain.

"Are you all right?" Fuuka's voice inquired, worried.

In an undertone, Minato heard his Other say, "I told her about the other Shadow. She's scanning the building now."

"Fine," Minato replied belatedly after hearing his teammates give her their status. "Is the area clear, Fuuka?"

"I'm looking now," she said for the others' benefit. Shortly after, she gasped, making them all tense. "There's another presence in that room!"

"What!?" Yukari looked around wildly. "Is it not dead yet!? I could've sworn we beat it!"

"It's a different Shadow!" Fuuka informed them. "I just… I can feel it in there with you, but I don't know where it is…"

The field team immediately turned to inspect the room, keeping an eye on each other's backs. Minato, facing the middle, let his eyes roam across the ceiling and the back of the room, to the transparent windows that looked into the shower. Nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at him, but then again he'd never been to one of these hotels before (and never would again), so he had little idea of what was considered ordinary.

Stepping forward, he instructed the others to search for where the Shadow could be hiding. "Be careful," he warned them. "Trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, tell us so we can all check it together."

They agreed and cautiously meandered about the room, each taking a different corner. Minato headed to the far side, opening the door to the shower and peeking in. Nothing stood out to him and, more importantly, nothing jumped out at him. He wondered if there would be any merit to throwing something to see if it garnered a reaction or summoning a Persona to check it out for him.

"Um… guys?" Yukari called from her corner.

Minato abandoned his train of thought immediately, looking to where she was.

"What is it, Yukari?" Akihiko asked.

Yukari pointed to the large mirror hanging on the wall. "Why doesn't that mirror show our reflections…?"

Sharing a look with the others, Minato went to stand in front of it with them, taking his place in front while they fell into formation behind him. Sure enough, though they were clearly standing in front of the reflective surface, their images were absent from the room.

With one last glance to make sure they were all ready, he took a step forward, sword in hand, and reached to touch the surface of the mirror.

There was a pulse of power, and before Minato could open his mouth to warn the others, he felt it sweep over him. His heart leapt into his throat when the world went dark, floor disappearing beneath his feet.

And then his Other growled, voice darker than he'd ever heard her speak before, "I don't think so, you son of a bitch. This is my territory."