So, fun little fact ladies and gents: when I was originally writing this chapter, I decided to uninstall a game. Why's that important? Well… when I selected the option to delete the saves, it ended up clearing out my ENTIRE documents tabs, including this chapter and my new fic, Fallen Hero's chapters.

Moral of the story? WHY DO *I* KEEP GETTING THE TECHNICAL PROBLEMS?! THIS IS BULLSHIT!

IAmSoCleverWithMyNameLol: Sure, right after you're done swallowing one.

I'm starting to miss it just being us.

Me too. So much more order then. Hell, we hardly got reviews so we had to find something to argue about.

Good times.

RAX: Chapter 13 followed by chapter 4 and then by chapter 15. Those are the shortest chapters. It's actually the 9th shortest.

Only you would go to confirm that.

It's what I do.

Clevernameeh: he's mine for now and forever! I'll love him, take care of him, and wear him out every time we go to bed!

That, sounded so sweet, then it got so… you.

Goddamn, is she a hidden yandere or something?

Fruitlesskitty74: Well… he ain't lying. Arisato's dead, Makoto's asleep, Pharos left, the mask crumbled into pieces, and all that's left is this massive train wreck.

Also, if you guys would, I'd like your opinion on something. As I'm sure you've notice, in the past chapters I've often listed the location the characters/events are currently taking place even if it's obvious as fuck (see the entire fight between Makoto and SEES) and only using ellipses during a transition/time skip in that location. I was wondering, should I just stop doing that seeing how it's getting redundant (even a bit restrictive at times)? Not to mention that the only reason I've continued to use that format is so it matches the previous chapters of this story. Opinions on this would be nice. I'm going to write this using the same format I write Fallen Hero in, and if no one objects I'll just continue then. Cheers!


"I'm scared," Minato whispered as he continued to hold onto the redheaded girl, both because he didn't want to let go and because all of his time in the rain combined with him being ill-prepared led to his body getting cold very quickly, and Pharos wasn't around to make sure things like his body temperature stayed regulated in extreme conditions.

"Don't be," Kotone whispered, repeatedly running her hand through his hair. Minato had gotten so cold that she had to basically force him to a drier spot where their little reunion resumed. It was hard to believe that the same person who had faced off against SEES, Strega, one of Ikutsuki's pet projects, and lived with a god of death for ten years was curled up against her crying his eyes out.

Minato shifted his head so that his face was now slightly buried in her shoulder and his voice was now somewhat muffled. "He really hated you, you know. Makoto I mean," he admitted. "You're the only one, who made him doubt what he was doing, the only one who could cause a divide between him and Pharos. You're the only one he felt he loved and was loved back—and now, he's gone."

"No he's not," Kotone shook her head, nudging him off her slightly so that she could see his face again, "you're still here, aren't you?"

"I guess." Minato looked back towards the rainy city, "what do we do now?"

"How about this," Kotone pulled him back close to her so that they were now leaning against each other as they watched the rain fall, "we somehow get through the rest of high school, get jobs, get married, have tons of babies, and then live happily ever after?"

Minato frowned, her little joke doing more harm than good, "I'm serious Kotone."

"Who says I wasn't?" Kotone asked, but the frown that remained constant on his face caused her to sigh, "Minato, can't we just enjoy this moment? Are you sure that... Pharos," she struggled to call such an inhuman thing by a human name, "is gone?"

"He left soon after Makoto woke up," Minato answered, "And Makoto… just couldn't take it anymore. Just like I did after I lost my family, he just gave up. And without my other, that only left me after ten years of dormancy I guess you can call it."

"Like I said, let's just enjoy this moment while it last," Kotone turned his head and placed another long sweet kiss on his lips, "no Pharos, no dual persona, no shadows—just two idiots who are young and in love."

Minato let out a soft chuckle and smiled weakly, "oh, I'm an idiot too huh?"

"You left the dorm all by yourself didn't you?" Kotone countered, "Yup, you're a total idiot."

"Point taken," Minato nodded, reserving any questions and choosing to ignore most of what had happened the past few days. The reality of their situation was harsh and complicated—there was nothing wrong with wanting to forget for just few short moments. Today was the first day in ten years that he was in own persona again without any of his other selves conflicting or Pharos always being present.

"You know, Chidrori tried saying I was selfish," Kotone brought up an event that was still plaguing the back of her mind. Every time she thought about it, her blood began to boil as every word that girl said repeated herself in the back of her mind. After she was even willing to support Junpei's infatuation with her, she still felt like she had the right to say that to her face? "She tried saying it was selfish of me to try and bring you out again and—"

"You slapped her, didn't you?" Minato didn't even need to hear the rest of the story. Kotone put a hand to her mouth for a second when she realized that she had done a poor job of masking the rancor in her voice.

"I-I…" Kotone sighed, looking down at the ground. There was no point in lying to him, especially now when honesty was what they needed now more than ever. "Y-Yeah, I did… pretty hard too."

"Why?" Minato asked, his voice lacking any hints of anger or disappointment. It was hard for him to judge one for their actions no matter how harsh they were—he'd already done it all and worse.

"I just… got angry," Kotone answered, raising her arms slightly for a moment before lowering them again. "When you were…," she didn't want to finish that sentence, but she was the one who made the stupid mistake of bringing this up so she had to see it through, "when you were not you, I was terrified. Fighting you was easily the worst thing I've ever had to do in my life, and to have her say all those things… I just lost it for a moment."

"Heh," Minato let out a short, almost silent laugh as he continued staring off into the distance.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just," Minato shook his head for a moment before turning his head back towards Kotone. "We never did discuss us, did we?" he pointed out.

"What's there to discuss?" Kotone asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… how serious are we?" Minato asked in a sheepish voice as a faint red began to spread across his cheeks. "I-I mean I… I've never been in a—I'm not exactly familiar with the—Makoto never cared to be in—I don't…" he shook his head again after fumbling through his words for a response. Screw it, he might as well just come out and say it directly rather than beating around the bush, "Kotone, we've only known each other for about half a year, but you're my first love, my first kiss, my first, and I… I just want to know what—"

Before he could finish, his sentence was interrupted by feeling her lips on his again for what must've been the dozenth time since the two of them were reunited again. Rather than simply kissing and parting like before, Kotone slowly began to slide in her tongue catching the boy off guard as she leaned further in and laced her fingers behind the boy's head, who then in turn wrapped his arms around her hips. Minato felt her smiling against his mouth when her tongue was met with his own, both battling for control and ending in a stalemate like usual.

However, losing was the last thing that Kotone was going to let happen after all of this. Moving her hands from the back of his head and instead cupping his face while letting out a soft moan, Kotone crawled closer while unwilling to break the kiss for even moment. With her boyfriend too distracted by her lips and hormonal activity, she lowered her body so that she was now sitting on top of his lap, he contact of which causing him to let out a gasp and giving her just enough time for her to slide her tongue further in. Choosing instead to concede, Minato kept a tight grasp on the girl's hips and let her explore as much as she wanted.

Running out of air, the two eventually pulled panting. Minato let out a laugh, "Lemme guess, I'm such an idiot?"

Kotone smiled back at him, "You got that right," she giggled, brushing his fringe aside to show his face. "I play for keeps Minato, and I'm not letting you go yet," she said before her smile formed a mischievous grin, "and from what I'm feeling, it doesn't look like you're ready to either."

Minato's eyes widened for a moment before he quickly looked off to the side with a bright red face, "C-Can you… get off my lap please? We ARE still in public, remember?"

And then it was Kotone's turn for her eyes to widen as her cheeks flushed red. She was so caught up in the moment and atmosphere that she actually forgot where they were for a few moments. Suddenly feeling as if a thousand eyes were upon her, she expeditiously got off her boyfriend and scooted a few inches away just for good measure despite them being the only apparent people in the area.

The two remained silent, neither doing so much as looking at the other as they watched the rain fall from the sky onto the various surfaces and into one of the many puddles that had formed. Just a few moments ago Minato was crying his eyes out as she held onto him, and now they couldn't even look at each other. There had to be some way to salvage this…

Minato coughed, trying to break this silence lest this moment be completely ruined. When he saw he glance in his direction, he continued, "Y-You know, this reminds me of the day we became a couple."

Kotone's cheeks reddened even more and she let out a soft whine causing Minato to curse himself. First thing they did was sleep with each other, of course that wouldn't make this situation any better! What was he thinking? God, what was wrong with—

"Y-Yeah," Kotone winced as the awkwardness caused her to feel like a bag of rocks was weighing on her shoulders, "um… y-you remember that time we went out on our first official date here? You know, for the summer festival?"

"Yeah, I remember," Minato nodded, scooting just a bit closer.

"That was also the same time you shot me down," Kotone murmured, grinding Minato to a complete halt as the mood turned sour.

Minato sighed, remembering the actions of his other self. It was strange; he had seen all of the actions of his others', but it was less like experiencing them and more like watching a movie in the theater. Makoto dominantly remained in control, and perhaps as due to the feelings of pain and hopelessness from both Makoto and the original Minato himself, a sort of barrier or cage was built around the third more optimistic self. Yet, even with that, Minato still felt all the emotions and conflicts that each one of them went through, including…

"He wanted to say yes," Minato looked down, remembering the actions of someone who wasn't quite really him. "He hated you—he wanted to hate you. He hated how you smiled all the time. He hated how you never left him alone. He hated everything about you; he wanted you to just cast him off and forget about him like everyone else," he bit his lip. A sense of mourning began to build back up inside him again, but this time directed at someone else entirely.

How many times had Makoto torn himself to pieces just to get through the next day? How many times did he cry while refusing to let himself shed another tear until he'd gotten revenge for what had happened to him? How many times had he been unable to sleep at night, lest the nightmares creep their way back into his mind?

"He hated me that much, huh?" She sounded very dejected. She never really knew who it was that really loved her—the Minato she knew, the true Minato, or Makoto. It made sense in a way. Of course he hated her….

"He hated you, because he loved you." Minato clarified, looked down at his feet. "Being scorned and alone was something he knew very well and it was what he had grown accustomed to—affection was something else entirely."

"Did I…" Kotone's voice trailed off, either unwilling or unable to finish the rest of the sentence.

"Hurt him? Yeah, you did," Minato answered, unwilling to hold anything back. "Every moment with you was just a reminder of the life he could never have. Even when he chose you in the end, somewhere deep down he still knew that the life he wanted would never come into fruition…"

Minato gulped and his hands tightened their grip on his pants and his words suddenly became much more forced, "but then… then that bastard… he… he that mask took Makoto and… twisted him into something else…"

"Hey. Hey, hey…" Kotone called out to him before wrapping her arms back around him just like she had done earlier, "it's all right… it's all over now."

"I… I could hear him scream… all I could hear was him screaming!" he confessed, the horrible memories forcing their way back, "it went on and on and on until… nothing. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't Makoto anymore."

"It's okay, it's okay…" she whispered into his ear. She couldn't even imagine what Pharos did to him—she didn't even want to imagine. All she could do now was pick up the pieces that were left behind.

"I… I…" Minato choked back any tears that were threatening to spill. Not now. He wasn't going to do this now, and especially not here. "I… I wanna go home now."

Pulling back from the hug, Kotone reached out and tightly clasped onto his hand, "follow me."

"You think she'll fine him?" Yukari asked, sitting on the sofa in the longue with the rest of the team gathered around.

"I believe she won't stop until she does," Mitsuru answered, having resigned herself to trusting Kotone in finding him. In a way, the fate of Minato/Makoto had become a bit of a sore spot for her. Everything that had happened to him was because of what her grandfather did all those years ago, and yet he was the one who had been paying for it.

"Should we even be hoping she finds him?" Junpei asked, earning the stares of all of his teammates. "I mean, I feel for him but… he tried to kill all of us!"

"Can you blame him?" Ken spoke up, staring at his feet. "I was the same to in a way. After I lost Mom, all I could think about was finding the person who killed her…"

"Y-Yeah, but…"

"But nothing," surprisingly, it was Akihiko who was the one who interrupted. In a way, he could understand the self-blame and hatred he felt. Just like him, Akihiko had lost his own sister a long time ago. Only thing that made Minato's case different was that he had actually left his sister to burn alive out of fear, which only made it much worse. "It's not something you can just explain or understand."

Before Junpei respond, everyone heard the sound of the door opening and the sound of the rain falling outside. Turning towards the door, everyone saw Kotone walking back inside with numerous large droplets of water dripping from the bright red jacket she had worn to protect herself from the rain before leaving for school this morning.

"Kotone!" Everyone jumped out of their seats and ran to meet their leader who was now standing in front of the doorway, watching as her friends gathered around her, barely giving her any room to do so much as breathe.

After everyone asked copious amounts of questions asking if she was all right considering the rain storm she was in and how they were worried before she was inevitably asked, "So… did you find him?"

Kotone looked back towards the door with a smile on her face—like the one a mother would give their child on their first day of school. Heading back outside for a moment, Kotone came back hand-in-hand with the blue-haired boy with his hood up and smiling wryly for his girlfriend's sake.

"… hey," Minato spoke feebly, unable to put any force in his voice after everything.

"…" as expected, everyone was left speechless as they saw the same boy who just a few weeks ago had most of them on their knees—figuratively and literally. Even excluding that fact and blaming it all on Pharos, how can they still keep him around?

"Yuki," Mitsuru was the first to speak up and greet him.

"Not now… not anymore," Minato shook his head slowly, "He's… gone, even Pharos. I guess you could call me the genuine article."

"Are you saying you're the only personality left?" Fuuka asked.

Minato scoffed, "You just don't get it. My mind never split—my soul broke into three pieces. The one who shared my name died saving all of you, Makoto just couldn't handle it anymore, and now it's just me."

"And we're supposed to just believe that?!" Again, all eyes were on Junpei, "I mean, even if you're not lyin' to us, how do you know that it's not just hiding or something! Next thing we know, you go all evil again and kill us in your sleep."

"Why you—" Minato put his arm in front of Kotone before she could either go on a diatribe or get physical with her old friend.

"Simple—you'd be dead already," Minato gave a short and concise response, having shifted his voice into a slightly deeper pitch as his eyes focused on the capped boy, "but go ahead. Getting rid of me is quality insurance that nothing happens to you unawares."

"I-I… uh… I-I wasn't sayin'…" Junpei fumbled between his words, feeling the glares from everyone else intensify.

"Idiot," Minato thought shaking his head as he decided to change the subject before he gave Junpei anymore reason to either fear to despise him. "I don't suppose anyone knows what happened to my earphones, do they?"

"Ooh, I know," Kotone chirped, "I've been keeping your things in my room for safe keeping! Lemme go get 'em!" With that, the redhead ran up the stairs, leaving Minato alone with SEES—the very people he had spent most of the year ridiculing and the rest trying to murder.

"It's… nice to see you're back," Yukari attempted to reach out to him. It wasn't like anyone could pretend everything didn't happen, but still, he of all people deserved another chance after everything he's had to go through all alone for ten years.

"Back would imply you've seen me before," Minato's reply was short and sharp, "meet would be more appropriate."

"Still, we're happy to see you back to normal, Minato-kun," Fuuka extended her own pleasantries.

"Normal…" Minato scoffed before taking a step back and giving all of them an intense stare with his dull blue-grey eyes, "let's not kid ourselves, we all know I shouldn't be here. I'm a murderer, a liar, and Makoto was borderline sociopathic at times."

Mitsuru shook her head, "No, Arisato you're—"

"Don't write me off as some innocent little saint that got possessed," Minato cut her off with cold vehemence in his voice, "Makoto was still me in a way, so by extension, I've done more horrible things than you can even dream of. Junpei's right, the smart thing to do would be to get rid of me."

Before anyone could even say anything in response, Minato's stare softened, his posture began slightly more hunched as if to add to the look of vulnerability, and the wry smile returned on his face as Kotone descended down the steps with his MP3 player in hand.

"Here you go!" Kotone beamed at him as she handed his accessory back to him, but with a pair of unfamiliar sky-blue earphones. Seeing the confused look in his eyes, Kotone said, "Sorry, your old ones got too banged up to work anymore. But Fuuka-chan was able to make you some new ones!"

Minato turned his gaze towards the demure girl who merely gave a nod in confirmation, "… thanks."

The bluenette put the earphones around his neck again and turned back to the sole reason he came here, "the old room I stayed in is still fine, right?"

Kotone nodded, "Uh-huh! Perfect place for you to stay from now on!" taking him by the hand, she led him up the stairs, not noticing the looks of uncertainty from the rest of her teammates. Minato knew that they wouldn't kick him out—their moral code wouldn't allow it. Still, he had to keep them on their toes somehow, even if that meant they scorned him in the end.

When the two reached the same room that Minato/Makoto had stayed in during his previous stays at the dorm, Kotone stood next to the bed scratching the back of her head as he stood by the door.

"I guess I can't exactly treat this like it's your first time staying here, can I?" she asked rhetorically, letting out soft nervous laughs with a faint touch of red on her cheeks.

"I need some time alone," Minato's low voice quickly changed the mood. "Sorry, I just… need some time to think."

"O-Oh, sure!" Kotone nodded, smiling as bright as the day he first met her all the way back in April. Before she left, Kotone was sure to wrap her arms around the bluenette one more time and give him one last hug, "You know, I don't care if you're the one I fell for or not," she said resting her head on his shoulder, "it just means that I can fall for you all over again."

"I think that's why he fell for you," He looked down, his dull bluish grey eyes meeting her bright crimson ones, "you're the only one who made him feel like he still had a place somewhere."

"That's him," Kotone said, lifting her head off his shoulder and standing on her toes, "what about you?"

Minato lowered his head and press his lips against hers again in another short but sweet kiss. He didn't deserve this—any of this, but this was what made her happy and he would be damned before he hurt her any more than he already has.

Pulling back from the kiss and gently caressing her cheek with his hand, he answered, "I don't care where I go—as long as it's with you."

"You spoil me."

"Least I can do."

Kotone giggled as she left, slowly closing the door while waving goodbye. And just like that, Minato was all alone again—this time, for real.

"So, here I am." Minato thought to himself as he lied on his bed. He came here hoping to learn what really happened that set Pharos loose ten years ago, learned it, tried to kill SEES, and now he's here.

"Who are you…," He whispered to himself. He wasn't lying when he said he was the closest thing there was to the 'real' Minato, but what did that make him? That boy died on the bridge ten years ago, leaving him as nothing more than a husk—one that wasn't even so much as a shadow of who he once was.

Yet, the husk still feels everything—love, hate, emptiness, mourning, concern. If he wasn't a husk, then what was he? He wasn't the same boy who had Death sealed inside of him, yet he was. He was alive, yet dead. Everything was so simple now, yet confusing. He was at war within himself, yet a peace. Nothing made sense anymore…

He was the one who left Minako to burn…

He was the one who felt the pain of Death being sealed inside of him…

He was the one who chose to watch everything and relinquish control, unable to cope with what he had done…

Was he Makoto? Was he that other Minato? Was he himself—the so-called original Minato? Was he all of them? Was he actually none of them, left with only confusing thoughts that fooled him into thinking he's the remnants of the first Minato?

That's not even taking into account his past sins when Makoto was holding the reigns. There wasn't a single feeling that he felt that wasn't also shared/born from him is some shape or form. Does that make him responsible for everything Makoto had done before? Or was he merely a helpless bystander during it all?

So many questions—so little answers. For now, at least he had her. She was kinder and sweeter to him than a monster like him deserved, but she was the only thing he had right now. Otherwise, what was he even living for right now?

After a while, the Dark Hour began to settle in, almost as if to flaunt the fact that it still existed. Despite all of SEES' efforts, in the end they've changed nothing. Shaking his head and sighing, Minato closed his eyes and slept.

It had been several days now since he'd gotten out of the hospital, and naturally there were a lot of rumors going around school regarding his absence. Some were the rather mundane, buying the excuse that the strange incident that resulted in a large amount of the city being damaged also led to his injury, to the extreme saying that he was diagnosed with a terminal illness—probably as a means to explain his sudden passive behavior.

Whatever the case, Minato preferred to keep to himself figuratively and literally. He had a lot of things to make up for, but that was about all he was concerned about as he did his usual zoning out. Luckily for him, the rumors about him were quickly drowned out by rumors of the transfer student that had some as a complete surprise to everyone.

Speaking of which, "Nice to meet you!" The student had approached him for whatever reason.

Minato looked up from his desk to see a student around his height (maybe slightly taller) with slicked back hair, pale blue eyes, and a yellow scarf wrapped around his neck. "… Get going."

"Ouch," the boy winced and was taken aback for a few moments, "not even giving me a chance to introduce myself, huh?"

"I don't need any more friends," Minato replied, looking down at his desk again, "anyway, it's…" his name almost slipped out. No, he was only called Minato by Kotone (who passes it off as a nickname or something) or alone with SEES, "…. Makoto."

"Nice to meet you, Makoto," the new student must've been either thickskulled or pertinacious, "I'm Ryoji Mochizuki."

"Hiya," coming from the seat next to Minato was his redheaded girlfriend, "I'm Kotone Shiomi. Nice to meet you, too!"

"…" Minato only saw it for a second, but he could've sworn he saw Ryoji scowl for a moment there, though no one seemed to pay it any mind. "I better get to my seat before Toriumi yells at me," he murmured before doing just that.

"He seems nice," Kotone whispered to the bluenette.

"Yeah," Minato couldn't help but occasionally glance at the boy's direction. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something about the boy felt… strange. It felt like this odd combination of familiarity and perilousness, "right…"


This certainly took a while, didn't it? Hell, the top AN/s (and a good chunk of this chapter) were written about a month ago—sorry. Eh, at least it's out now, right? Ugh, how do people balance two fics at once?

Anyhow, I want to ask another question. Now, it's pretty clear a running gag of mine is to have some characters talk in the AN/s, commonly with heavily exaggerated personalities. It's also pretty clear that some of those responses were… cruder than others. My question is: have it taken it a bit too far as of late? I'm just wondering, 'cause it's all just supposed to be in the name of good fun. Just something I've been curious about.