38 now? Christ, how long is this fic gonna be?

Shouldn't you know? You're the author!

I'm shit at guessing! You knows this!

Anyone remember when it was just 2 people in the AN/s with an occasional guest? I don't.

How have we all not tried to kill each other yet?

blahblahblech: Nope, I inherited an abnormally high metabolism from both of my parents... Seriously, I can eat pizza for a week and barely gain a thing.

Must be nice.

Yeah, but actually maintaining a healthy amount of weight is also a bitch because of it.

Nightlyy: Like I could resist the urge to make references. I saw a chance, and I went for it.

Tortured by chaos itself? Fuck you...

Didn't he repeatedly heal and gouge out that eye other me stabbed?

Yeah, thanks for the reminder... It fucking hurt.

Did it hurt more than cracking your ribs?

Fuck off.

Raze Olympus: Aren't lunatics so much fun? Well, except one...

Fuck you, too.

Insulting you never gets old.

Yeah, yeah, insult the dead guy.

I think they were doing that anyway.

Someone get me out of this nightmare.

clevernameeh: She was off fighting shadows in Tartarus.

Aw... B-B-But... He was so badass.

... You've got issues.

Only issue I have is that he's not in my bed right now.

HE WILL NEVER SHARE A BED WITH YOU!

NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT! Just you wait!

*sigh* There's no escape for me.


School

After several weeks, Summer break finally reached its end and everyone now had to go to the complete waste of time that was school. Yesterday had been filled with the usual groans and complaints that usually came.

However, today when Makoto had arrived as school he noticed something that angered him to no end.

"Hey, Makoto-kun!" Kotone greeted with her usual warm smile while Yukari dismissively rolled her eyes at the sight of the boy. One again, the latter showed that she along with the majority of SEES as a whole had a strong disliking towards the boy.

The moment he heard Kotone's voice he began to feel the pain of a throbbing headache seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hey, Kotone..." He returned the greeting as he tried to regain focus, "What's going on with- Oh, what the hell is this?!" he asked loudly as he spotted one of things he hated most in this world glaring at him. Dressing in leggings and the school's uniform was Aigis.

"You are dangerous..." Aigis repeated the same line she had used almost every time she saw Makoto, although somewhat quieter given their location.

"Right... Uh... Y-You see..." Kotone struggled to find the words to explain this unexpected turn on events.

"I uh... said it to Mitsuru-senpai as a joke, and the chairman heard and..." Yukari tried to explain, feeling the tension build faster than it took Junpei to fail a test. Maybe it was a worse idea than she thought to bring Aigis here too.

I am going to fucking butcher you, Ikutsuki... Makoto thought as he exchanged glares at the android in front of him. As if tolerating her existence and knowing she was at the dorm wasn't enough, now he was going to have to deal with her standing there mocking him almost every day of the week.

The boy began to experience light tremors in anger. How? How was he supposed to live with the idea of seeing her every day now? One of the two things in this world he hated most...

Don't you dare... Minato whispered, unwilling to let Makoto's extreme ire to show... especially near her. He normally dominated personality tried taking over, but Makoto's rage also acted as a sort of anchor that prevented him from receding to the same prison that Minato usually stayed in.

The blue-haired boy was now in a complete limbo. Minato was unwilling to let Makoto lash out near her of all people, and Makoto's anger was keeping him anchored and prevented him from completely forfeiting control like he usually did.

Minato's/Makoto's face took an expression that seemed to be a sort of mixture of both of them. It was easier and more relaxed than Makoto's, but also sharper and somewhat sterner than Minato's.

Suddenly, Aigis felt her identification systems begin to act strangely again. There seemed to be something... strange about the boy.

It wasn't like previous times where he seemed to be a normal boy, but she was still sensing something either about or within the boy. It wasn't reaching levels of extreme danger like previous times either, but it was still present...

No wait... This was important! Very important! She didn't know why, but this boy was very important!

Seemingly for no reason, Aigis tightly grasped the boy by the shoulders and looked him the eye "My highest priority is to be with you!"

"W-W-What?!" Kotone squeaked out at the sight of Aigis hugging Makoto. It wasn't just that someone was hugging Makoto, but it was Aigis hugging Makoto.

"A-A-Aigis!" Yukari followed up just as shocked as Kotone was. Even Junpei who'd been sitting at his desk and flipping his pen was looking at the scene in shock.

As a knee-jerk reaction, Minato/Makoto pushed Aigis off him as he continued to clutch his head in pain, every time he heart pounded it felt like his head was getting hit with a hammer over and over.

"I-I..." Unable to form an actual sentence, Minato/Makoto dashed out of the room and - if one decided to look out window - one could see a blue-haired boy running away from school grounds.

"What the hell?!" Junpei was the first member of SEES to say something as the rest of the class began murmuring in the background.

"A-Aigis, what's going on with you?" Yukari asked her robotic friend who seemed even more confused.

"I do not know why, but it is very important that I remain by his side." Aigis answered, seemingly not understanding the several things wrong with this scenario "Requesting permission to follow."

"Denied..." Kotone answered with a sigh as she facepalmed. Needless to say, Aigis' first day of school was already a disaster, never mind whatever the hell just happened to Minato/Makoto.

To top everything off, the full moon was coming this week so she had to spend all of her time preparing. She might've asked him what was going on in school, only he stopped showing for the next few days as well. Whatever was going on in his head was going to have to wait. Here's hoping that it wasn't anything serious.


Home

Tonight was the night of a full moon. If the pattern continued, then tonight is the night that a shadow representing the reverse Hermit Arcana would appear somewhere in this cursed city.

SEES had no doubt spent their time preparing for their operation that'd be taking place the moment the Dark Hour manifested later. Must've felt nice having the infinite resources of the Kirijo group, along with having a bright future ahead of them... At least, they would've if Makoto hadn't dedicated his life to just one single purpose.

A part of him did feel bad about the actions he would have to partake in the future. He may have been a monster in quite a few ways, but he still possessed his humanity which told him right from wrong. Mitsuru hadn't been involved in what had happened and she was doing whatever it took to correct it. Indeed, she was bearing the full weight for the actions of others whose only connection to her was nothing more but blood.

But whatever guilt or mixed feelings he may have had were completely overshadowed by his hatred. Even if Mitsuru wasn't the one who caused anything, her father was supposedly the sole survivor of the incident ten years ago meaning he was involved somehow.

If that was the case, then he was going to suffer just as Makoto had suffered; he was going to know what it was like to lose everything he'd cherished close, and there was no better target than his own daughter and her flock.

No doubt one would defend her by saying that she was innocent. If not that, then they'd say that he'd be an even greater monster if he went through with this. To hell with what anyone else thought, Makoto couldn't care less.

Innocent? So were they and they're dead and buried with their only crime being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As far as monsters go, he became one the second his foundation committed the unforgivable sin that lead to Makoto's birth.

Of course, now he had Inheritor to deal with almost twenty-four seven. Without a doubt, anyone with a working brain would consider him to be the best personality. And who could blame them for it?

It was almost amusing for him to see a mirror image of himself like that. It was almost a complete one-eighty from how Makoto usually acted in almost every situation. Sometimes it was hard for even Makoto to believe that they were based off the same person with just one key difference; One suffered after his parents died, and the other one didn't.

Although as amusing as it was, it was also starting to cause complications. That day with Aigis...

While he was willing to admit that his shock and extreme anger were about to make him do something he'd regret, the fact of the matter was that he wasn't able to keep control. More than that, neither of them could gain a foothold leaving control left to no one but... him. This wasn't boding well for the future.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Time always passed by so quickly when he sat in his chair doing nothing but bleeding out his arm. His harmless little habit seemed to be progressing as recently he's been deciding to forgo slitting his wrist and instead cuts from his wrist all the way up until he reaches his elbow. Perhaps due to the mental stress that's been building up in his mind?

As his friend continued to drain himself, Pharos stared out the window idly until the Dark Hour set in. It was a mystery to even himself as to why he felt the need for the shadows to be destroyed, nor did he know why he could feel where they were during every full moon. All that he knew was that something within him wanted those shadows destroyed and Makoto was more than eager to grant his friend's wish.

"Where to?" Makoto asked as he slowly stood himself up, strangely enough the extreme loss of blood and sudden resupply didn't seem to be bothering him much anymore. Maybe after all the fighting and training that he'd been doing in Tartarus, Pharos has also gotten a bit better at healing too?

Pharos closed his eyes as he focused all of his senses to locate the shadow. After a few moments of focusing in on the location, Pharos turned around and looked at his friend and answered "Paulownia Mall."


Paulownia Mall

Makoto made his way through the deserted streets of Iwatodai until he reached the mall. Just like the rest of the world, the entire of atmosphere of Paulownia had been completely warped the second the Dark Hour took hold.

Just like everywhere else, almost the entirety of the walls were coated in a dark red ichor that continued to pour from an unknown source. The moon continued to glow an unsettling green causing everything illuminated by it to gain the same tint. Interesting enough, the water from the many fountains of Paulownia were also red from the Dark Hour.

Standing in the center of the mall, Makoto looked down and closed his eyes. Even from here, he could faintly feel the shadow's presence.

Wait...

The shadow felt as if he was everywhere! Spread out going from end to end like a spider's web. It made no sense, the shadow was everywhere yet nowhere at the exact same time!

Hmm, trick one are we? Makoto thought to himself as he began to put the pieces together in his head.

The shadow that was appearing tonight was Arcana Hermit. A hermit was someone living and/or seeking to live in solitude.

Hermit seemed to be completely spread out. Whatever web it was using, it completely covered every end of the mall. The web was underground, in the walls, and even a few spots of the ceiling that wasn't glass but instead next to ceiling lights...

Lights...

Lights! Makoto exclaimed in his mind as everything suddenly made sense in his mind. What could be described as a modern hermit is someone who spends all of their time inside typically while spending their time of things such as games or social media. In the case, the hermit would be connected to electronics and electrical cables no doubt covered this entire mall!

But where's the source? Makoto thought as he tried to figure out another mystery. While he may have known the ins and outs of the public area of the mall, he hadn't spent much time in areas that'd be restricted such as a power room.

Makoto's chain of thought was disrupted as he heard footsteps approaching the area, these belonged to SEES no doubt.

Taking advantage of one of the open stores, Makoto hid himself inside as Pharos silently listened in on the exchange between the Kirijo puppets.

"Well..?" Makoto whispered, curious as to what his friend was both seeing and hearing.

"Fuuka is trying to locate the shadow's exact whereabouts..." Pharos answered before making a humming sound

"There are two others..." The little point noted as he carefully looked at the two new members "That coated boy, Shinjiro is here."

"And the other?" Makoto asked as Pharos' boy began to trail off as if he was searching his memories. Still, it was a little surprising to see Shinjiro here too. Considering his previous dealings with Strega and the fact they seemed completely out of the loop, it was clear he didn't want to be involved with them. What brought about that change?

"That boy... Ken, I think his name was." Pharos gave an answer that surprised him even more.

"Him too?" Makoto whispered to himself. Kirijo was taking in child soldiers now?! What sort of justification did she have that could possibly excuse that of all things?

"Hmm... Wait a minute..." Pharos said before mumbling numbers as he counted the members of SEES in the area "Junpei is missing."

"Is he?" Makoto thought out loud. Come to think of it, he had seen Chidori interacting with Junpei during one of his visits to the mall during the past few weeks, could this be related? Seems like there were going to be some interesting things to look into later.

"Wait, Shinjiro just mentioned something!" Pharos shouted, his voice being nonexistent to anyone other than Makoto who heard it as if it were a train on a railroad track, "There was an issue with the power in the mall's club! That might be where the main body of the shadow is residing!"

"Nice one, little bro." Makoto complimented his little friend before a thought stuck him "In that case, the area is too small for a full team; Who's Kotone taking with her?"

"Let's see..." Pharos' voice trailed off as he listened and watched patiently as Kotone picked her team "... Shinjiro, Ken, and Akihiko."

With her team picked, Kotone and her small team of persona users made their way into the club to face the shadow. Wanting to see what was going on with his own eyes, Makoto slowly peaked his head out and saw them...

Right there...

RIGHT THERE!

Standing by the fountain was the person he hated most with the thing he hated most. All he'd have to do is use Thanatos to crush the damn bucket of bolts and then burn the heiress just like they burned.

The only ones that could get in his way was the dog who could easily be incapacitated, Fuuka whose persona couldn't fight, and that annoying pink archer, Yukari. It wouldn't be hard, nor would it be long... He could end it all right here and now...

If the team was recalled from a sudden attack, they could all go just as quick! The junkie, that albino boxer, and it'd be simple to knock the brat's lights out. And all that would be left was... was...

Kotone... what to do with her? Not too long ago in a panicked state he was willing, but now... Could he really? It was as if his already unstable mind had be fragmented even further the more and more he pondered the idea.

Screw it! It wouldn't be hard to destroy that thing and Kirijo before bailing... All he'd have to do is...

Makoto's homicidal thoughts continued to build until Fuuka let out a loud surprised gasp "Be careful! The shadow is charging up for an attack!"

She could be in trouble... Minato whispered, completely breaking whatever thoughts were building in his mind.

"Hmm..." Makoto softly hummed to himself as he took a good look at all of them. They were too distracted looking at Fuuka who was giving support to Kotone to notice Makoto quickly and quietly moving into the club from the shadows.

...

...

The entire area was dark from the lack of artificial lighting due to the lack of electricity in the Dark Hour. Speaking of which, cables were scattered everywhere in throughout the room to an extent it was clear that the majority of them exist solely due to the shadow rather than co-existing in reality as well.

The shadow itself was at the center if the room where all the mass of cables met. In fact, the main body was made up of the countless cables that surrounded the area. What little light there was came from the blue sparks of electricity from Arcana Hermit.

In front of Hermit were the four member of SEES with their personas, Cu Chulainn for Kotone, Castor for Shinjiro, Nemesis for Ken, and Polydeuces for Akihiko.

Makoto remained in the shadows as the four of them continued to battle Hermit. He couldn't help but find himself curious about the personas of them sans Kotone who could change.

Persona's could be called the 'Strength of the heart' meaning that they were a sort of mirror into one's true self. Nemesis was the goddess of retribution, so did that mean that's what Ken sought? Why? How curious...

Castor and Polydeuces were brothers in myths, so that probably meant that their users had a sort of brotherly bond. Though, Polydeuces was immortal and Castor died... Did that mean anything?

Suddenly, Makoto's chain of thought was broken when Hermit unleashed pure hell in the form of electricity which it had spent several minutes building up. The attack had enough force behind it to knock everyone down which also forced their personas to retreat.

With everyone knocked down, Hermit began to attack with the cables that covered the area almost as if it was a part of all of them.

Sighing, Makoto took a step forward "Guess I have to-" he was stopped when Pharos stuck out his arm signalling him to stop.

"No... Not yet." Pharos said as he glared at the redheaded girl in particular. Because of her his friend was confused and suffering... Maybe if he told Makoto to wait and she dies, he'll just realize the error of his ways and simply not care if she dies?

First, Hermit sent cables directed at the youngest of the group who had been acting as the healer of the group since Yukari was weak to electricity.

Before they could reach him, Shinjiro moved as quickly as he could and severed several of the cables with a single swing of his axe that seemed far too big to hold with one hand, the rest he allowed to graze his flesh in place of the young boy's.

Do something! Minato screamed loud enough that his words might've even caused Makoto's ears to ring if they were physical.

I-I... I can't... Makoto responded, if it was something that Pharos wanted then he couldn't say no... But Hermit was about to...

Akihiko was about to summon Polydeuces to attack Hermit with some sort of physical attack, but the shadow reacted quickly and used another mass of cables to hit the boxer hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

He might've died had Kotone not immediately severe the cables before they could tear him apart which seemed to anger the shadow greatly.

Please! Minato seemed to be begging now.

Makoto had stopped responding and instead took notice of a single cable that was beginning to slowly position itself behind SEES' leader. The boy bit his lip as he closed his eyes as tightly as he could and tilted his head downward while clenching his fist.

We can do something, Makoto! Don't let it be like...

"Just a little bit more..." Pharos continued as he also took note of the cable. Just a little more and...

A sound of a lyre being played could be heard which was followed by a mini-inferno which engulfed the majority of the cables, including the one that had begun moving to kill Kotone.

"I don't take orders from you, you little brat." Pharos' eyes widened as he turned around and saw that his fears had been realized. Minato was now standing in control and glaring at him, "Mediarahan." He order Orpheus who immediately healed all of SEES' members who were weary from battle.

Next, it was SEES' turn to look back in surprise of the bluenette's sudden appearance. How did he get here and why didn't Fuuka say anything?

Hermit screamed in pain from the surprise attack which made Kotone realize her opportunity. Firing her Evoker and summoning Cu Chulainn again, the persona plunged his spear into the large red spot that seemed to serve as an eye which caused the shadow to let out one last cry before fading away in a black mist.

With the shadow gone, the members of SEES decided to retreat back to the fountain while their leader focused on one thing...

"How and why the hell are you here?!" Kotone was the first to ask as she rubbed her eyes, almost completely unable to believe that the boy just suddenly reappeared after days of nothing.

Minato, however, could only blink in response "... Reasons." was the best answer he could come up with.

Nice one... Makoto jabbed and he'd likely have rolled his eyes if he could. Unlike himself, Minato hadn't had years of practice of lying to be all that convincing.

"Cute..." Kotone deadpanned as she glared at him sternly "Answer. Now."

Uh... It was only now that Minato realized the situation he put himself in.

If he could've Makoto would've sighed Do what I say.

"I was... Well, I was asleep in the cafe." Minato scratched the back of his head as he spoke the lies Makoto told him to "... And then I saw you guys go here and... yeah, that's about it."

"And Fuuka never noticed you because...?" Kotone let her voice drag on as a signal for him to continue

"Uh... She mentioned something about the shadow charging an attack while everyone was lookin' at her." Minato continued to relay more half-lies "Maybe they were too distracted to notice?"

"And why wouldn't you talk to them?!" She yelled, her frustration over Minato's seemingly complete lack of logic growing.

Minato couldn't do anything but blink again "... I dunno." Not even Makoto had a response to that one.

Kotone facepalmed immediately "God, you're such an idiot." And to think, she not only spent the night with him, but also almost spent the night with this guy.

"So... Where's Junpei?" Minato asked as he did the habit him and his other self shared which was tilting their head "I mean, I didn't see him out there either."

Kotone shrugged "No one knows. He was at school, and then he up and vanished." she explained what she knew, or rather what she didn't know.

Come to think of it, didn't Chidori use a trick similar to Fuuka's? Makoto shared his thoughts with his other self, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. If Chidori could sense people like Fuuka could, did that mean she could hide herself too?

"Kotone-chan!" Fuuka's voice could be heard, even Minato's since she didn't bother to discriminate "I found Junpei-kun! He's at the dorm on the roof."

"What's he doing there?" Kotone thought out loud, before shaking her head "Alright, I'll be there in a minute."

"Uh... Mind if I tag along?" Minato asked, if Makoto was right then things were probably about to get complicated "Just... got a funny feeling."

"Not like I could stop you." Kotone answered with a disguised 'yes'.


Dorm

The moment they opened the door leading to the roof of the dorm, everyone was greeted to the sight of Chidori standing by Junpei who was currently restrained.

"You all!" Chidori said surprised at everyone's sudden entrance. Was she too distracted by something Junpei said or something?

The gothic girl immediately reached for her Evoker "Come! Med-" She was cut off when Junpei broke free from the bonds that restrained him pushed her down from behind followed by grabbing her arms to restrain her.

"How did she-?" Even Ikutsuki was shocked by the girls appearance "I didn't have a single clue she was here!"

As SEES continued to talk amongst themselves, Minato picked up and inspected Chidori's Evoker which had landed near his feet.

Pardon the fact that SEES' Evokers had the group's name engraved into them, there was almost no way to tell the two apart. It was pretty clear that what Ikutsuki said about them being failed Kirijo projects was very true given the identical craftsmanship.

Deciding it'd be best to leave SEES to their own devices, Minato made his way down the stairs following Ikutsuki who needed to make arrangements for whatever they're going to do with Chidori.

However, that also meant one thing.

There was nothing left to keep him anchored there.

The moment he stepped down the stairs and made it to SEES' command room, Minato's head dropped as Makoto took over again.

The bluenette groaned as he regained control of the boy that had been his for the past ten years. Yet, in the past few months all the control he had was now falling apart more and more... Ever since he met-

"Hey!" Following him, Kotone quickly descended down the stairs to meet up with the boy before he left.

"Yes, Kotone?" He returned, his voice making it clear who was in control now. Was he about to get probed again?

"So while I do believe what you told me was bullshit..." She smiled softly "Thanks. I mean, that shadow definitely caught us off guard and if you didn't I might've-"

"You'd have been fine." Makoto cut her off "Told you before, you're not bad at what you do. Give yourself some damn credit, would ya?"

"W-Well uh..." That alone caused he cheeks to slightly redden "Gee, didn't I tell you what compliments do to me?"

"As long as you don't claim to love me because of them alone, then there's nothing wrong with compliments." Makoto clarified, something in the back of his head was telling him to stop talking but he just couldn't for some reason "Anything else?"

"Yeah, uh..." The girl's cheeks began to redden more "I-I know I said I wanted to figure out my feelings, a-a-and that's true! But I was wondering if we could still..?"

"A-Are... are you..?" Makoto blinked rapidly almost as in complete disbelief. Even after everything, was she asking him on another date?

"Well, you said I don't really know you." She reminded him of his words during the day she'll never forget for the rest of her life "Can't do it if I'm away from you."

"I-I..." Makoto stuttered, unsure of what to say.

You know what you want to say Minato said, not even needing to beg at this point. He knew that that's what his other self wanted to, even if he didn't want to admit it to anyone or himself.

But, we shouldn't-

If you won't, I will. Minato gave the one threat that held any meaning towards Makoto. Ether way, he wasn't going to be able to say no.

"Uh... Sure, I guess." Makoto agreed as awkwardly as he sounded "I mean... Asking when a strange girl is upstairs where you sleep? What're your priorities?"

"What am I supposed to do when the rest of my team is up there?" She asked, outstretching her arms slightly for emphases "Stand there watching like everyone else when she's been completely disarmed and restrained?"

"Pretty much." Makoto answered as he looked up where he came "Just... humor me, okay?"

"Fine, fine..." Kotone agreed as she went the stairs to rejoin the rest of her team.

Makoto sighed again, now he had that to deal with... On the bright side, as far as bad things go at least it wasn't all that bad. After all, what else could happen?

"Minato..." Pharos weakly called out to his friend with an uneasy look on his face "Enough fragments of my memory returned to make sense of something... You're... You're not going to like it."

"Can't be that bad." Makoto said as he reached out his hand which was followed by Pharos holding it as several pieces of memories that weren't his began to flood into his brain. Most of it was incomprehensible nonsense, but there was one thing that came clear as day to him.

Makoto's blood turned to ice from disbelief which quickly became pure self-hatred as it all made sense in his brain. How many? How many chances had he had before and he just let him go? Most importantly, what should he do?

Makoto slowly turned his head and saw Ikutsuki on the phone, the Dark Hour having ended a few moments ago.

Not even bothering to say a word, Makoto began to walk home with his head down as his eyes changed to a bright yellow from his anger.

Ikutsuki, you just signed your death warrant.


Fucking DONE! God, I had a serious lack of motivation for this chapter, so I hope you all are happy with this chapter. Not much of a fight, but I gave you one last chapter (and these boss fights are hard to write for).

NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!

Yes he WILL! And he'll whisper my name just like I'll whisper his...

No! He will never touch something like you!

*sighs* Someone kill me again... Permanently this time.

Got let out of school early today so... there's that. Thank you mother nature. In related news, I'm also going to be taking my behind-the-wheel driving test soon! Meaning: If you read/hear about a terrible car accident from a student driver... Please pray it's not me. This is (hopefully) my last chapter with me using Word Pad, so... Here's hoping next chapter won't be nothing but code (almost happened once too)