Author's Note: Hello again, I'm back with more! Not much to say here other than (barring significant events), I'll probably be dancing around scenes that you experience directly in the game that don't further the romance plot (i.e. bits of this chapter). Let me know if you think this makes it hard to follow, but I figure this is a nice way to present more supplementary scenes to add to the already existing plot and establish that romantic connection rather than just rehash all the things you've already seen and experienced by playing the game.

Anyway, that's it out of me! Hope you enjoy the new installment!

Chapter 2 – First Navigation

Fuuka was unable to hold back the blatant shock on her face as she watched Gekkoukan transform into Tartarus for the first time. Bathed in the sickly, green glow of the Dark Hour's moon, the building morphed and stretched, pulsated and trembled, melted and hardened, all before settling into its final shape. All to create the seemingly never-ending behemoth of a structure that now stood before her eyes.

The other members of SEES were unfazed, having grown used to the sight across the last several months, years in the cases of their senpai. But for their new navigator, witnessing such an unbelievable occurrence hadn't yet registered as the norm for this secret hour hidden between days. This hive of Shadows was unlike anything she had ever conceived of even in her worst nightmares.

Just recently, she had found herself trapped in this wretched place, too. Her first experience with the transformation had been from inside the school, not from the outside looking on. That should have made things easier on her now, but for some reason it just made her skin crawl and shivers trickled down her arms like foreign droplets of water…or rogue droplets of blood…

"You okay?"

The soft voice that broke through her fear belonged to Arisato Minato. His attention was focused squarely on her and she silently reprimanded herself for worrying their field leader so quickly on her first time out with them.

"Y-yes, I'm okay. I was just…trying to wrap my head around all this," she admitted in a tiny voice.

Arisato gave her a gentle smile, something she hadn't quite expected from the somewhat stoic young man.

"Don't worry; it took me a little while to adjust to this, too. We're just here tonight to give you a feel for the place and what you'll be doing with us. I promise we won't overwhelm you."

Fuuka smiled at his consideration and nodded with as much confidence as she could muster.

"I'm ready to do everything I can to support you all. It's the least I can do to thank you for saving my life."

Arisato shook his head, his smile unfaltering.

"You don't owe us a thing, Yamagishi-san. We saved you because it was the right thing to do, because we were the only ones who could. We didn't do it to make you feel indebted to us."

She eyed the young man in wonder. She couldn't have been more wrong in her initial assumptions about him, she had come to realize. He wasn't really a shy introvert the way she was, nor was he hiding himself away from the others around him. He was just a man of few words. The ones he chose to speak, however, carried a weight to them that she had rarely felt when interacting with others, certainly those around her own age.

He was fascinating in so many ways…and mysterious in just as many.

"Thank you," she finally managed, her own smile returning. "I'll try to remember that. I want to be a part of this team from here on out and help people, too."

"You already have. You saved our lives last time we were here."

Fuuka could only smile even more brightly in response. Arisato gave her a quick grin before gesturing to the tower entrance shining before them.

"Ready?"

Fuuka felt strangely calm after that brief conversation and gave him a strong nod, feeling steady once more.

"Ready."

"Then let's get to it."

For her first time acting as the navigator of SEES, things certainly could have gone worse for Fuuka. Before they'd left on the excursion into Tartarus that evening, Ikutsuki-san had given them all custom battle armor and special magazines for their Evokers he had called "Therugy" cartridges. Nobody really seemed to understand how they worked, but Lucia had analyzed and come to understand them during their battles that night.

The unfortunate event to lead to that discovery, though, had been when Arisato and the field team had been unexpectedly separated by the shifting nature of the tower. He, Yukari, Kirijo-senpai, and Sanada-senpai had all wound up on their own and she had nearly panicked, trying her best to route them back together swiftly and carefully. But when Yukari had been ambushed and Arisato had pushed her out of the way and taken the attack for her, Fuuka had almost lost her composure entirely.

She didn't want her new friends to be hurt at all, but especially not under her guidance.

Fortunately, Yukari had tapped into their new Therugy ability and protected their leader, annihilating the Shadow in spectacular fashion. After that, Fuuka finished guiding the group back together and they made their escape, perhaps slightly rattled, but no worse for the wear than when they had stepped into the teleporter in the lobby.

The newest member of SEES, however, wasn't in quite the same state of mind.

"I'm so sorry," Fuuka began, her face twisted with guilt and disappointment in herself. "It was my fault. I thought I was ready to be your navigator, but I let you all be scattered across a new level and ambushed by the Shadows…"

It was Kirijo-senpai who approached her, laying a steadying hand on her shoulder and shaking her head.

"Don't blame yourself, Yamagishi. We've been conducting missions in Tartarus for months now and none of us have ever seen something like that happen. It was new to everyone. You were the one who swiftly analyzed the situation and guided us back together. If I were the one supporting us, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what you did with nearly the expediency or composure that you demonstrated."

Fuuka was completely taken aback by her words. She really thought that highly of her guidance tonight?

"Kirijo-senpai is right," Arisato chimed in. "Without you, we'd have been in much more danger than we ended up being. You did amazing work tonight, Yamagishi-san."

Fuuka felt her cheeks flush a bit in response to his sincere compliment, her gaze taking shelter on the floor.

"Thank…you."

"Well," Kirijo-senpai continued, removing her hand and turning to face the entire group again. "I think it's safe to say that Yamagishi is a far more effective field navigator than I could ever hope to be. Not only is her Persona uniquely suited to the task, but her decision-making skills and quick judgment in tough situations are excellent. As such, I have no hesitations in resigning the position completely to her and returning to the front lines with you all."

"Alright!" Iori cried out, pumping his fist. "With Kirijo-senpai on the front lines, we're gonna kick all sorts of ass!"

The older girl laughed lightly.

"I hope I can live up to your expectations, Iori. It's been a while though, so I'm a bit out of practice. I hope you'll all bear with me while I break in my saber again."

Fuuka looked around at the group with wide eyes. Even after such a harrowing experience, they were all so calm. Even Yukari wore a smile and playfully mocked Iori about having to stay behind in the lobby tonight. They were in another world entirely compared to how uncomfortable the Dark Hour and Tartarus were to her still.

But with their support, maybe she could find her own place on the team. They certainly seemed to trust and believe in her. And that was enough to go on for now.

The Dark Hour had passed and the waning moon above had regained its effervescent silver glow as SEES continued their walk towards the Iwatodai Dorm together. Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai were leading the group, discussing battle tactics together as the redhead picked her friend's brain for ways to ease back into the physical strain of battle. Iori – who had insisted Fuuka call him by his given name, something she was still trying to adjust to – had made the mistake of teasingly mocking Yukari for being ambushed and was now getting an earful from the girl while Arisato gazed on in amusement. Which left Fuuka to trail a little behind them, thinking about her performance that evening.

Lucia had managed to decipher the way the Therugy cartridges functioned after Yukari had utilized hers. They seemed to resonate not only with the power of Persona but with the strength of will carried by the user. From what she could ascertain, certain emotional conditions would cause the power to become usable and it was likely a different condition for everyone, something she had conveyed to Kirijo-senpai and the rest as they left the tower. Since the others hadn't been able to try their new powers yet, it was all a guessing game until their next excursion, but that didn't stop Fuuka from trying to figure out what those conditions might be based on her observations.

Iori was aggressive and outspoken and although she'd only seen him fight on the night of Lucia's awakening, she was fairly confident in her guess that his power would resonate with a desire to embrace offense and eliminate the enemies standing before him quickly and efficiently.

Sanada-senpai was equal parts offensive and defensive in his fighting style, something he carried with him from his boxing training. There was a good chance his Therugy would respond to something that allowed him to play evenly on both fields, finding a balance between attacking Shadows with defending his teammates.

Kirijo-senpai was a strategist and a very good one. Her incredible intellect made her stellar at analyzing a situation and deciphering the best methods to destabilize her opponents, likely a result of her fencing prowess informing her fighting style in much the same way that Sanada-senpai's boxing did the same. So her power would likely respond to succeeding in that destabilization.

Since Yukari had already discovered her own resonance – a desire to protect and care for her teammates – that only left Arisato. But Fuuka couldn't get a good enough read on his personality or fighting style just yet to understand what would cause this new power to resonate with him. She wasn't worried; there was a good chance he'd figure it out for himself long before she would just based on how talented he had already proven to be.

But it did bother her that he was the only one she couldn't get a read on, even with Lucia's help. She was a little curious as to why it got under her skin.

"Feeling okay?"

Fuuka jumped at the sudden interruption, her eyes snapping up from the ground beneath her where they had fallen as her mind wandered. Arisato had slowly drifted back from his position and fallen into step beside her while Yukari continued arguing with Iori.

"O-oh! Yes, I'm okay. A little tired but nothing compared to the night we all met."

"The Dark Hour will do that to you, especially at first. Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight. You may not be on the front lines, but constantly analyzing and supporting us has to be just as exhausting as fighting, probably even more so."

Fuuka shook her head quickly.

"I'm sure you have much more to deal with out in the field, especially being the one in charge."

Arisato just gave her a smile.

"It's not always easy, I'll admit. But it's not a competition, either. We all have our own roles and they're all just as important as the rest. Besides, with you watching our backs, I felt a lot more at ease tonight."

"R…really?"

"Really. And I'm not criticizing Kirijo-senpai's previous navigation or anything; like she said, your Persona is uniquely suited for guidance and support in a way hers just isn't. I had so much less to worry about tonight thanks to you. And even though this was your first time out, you did a wonderful job supporting us. Thank you."

Fuuka felt her face flush and was glad it was dark enough that he probably hadn't noticed.

"Oh, you don't have to thank me. I'm very glad to be a part of the team and actually be able to contribute. I've…never really had that before, to be honest."

"Me neither," Arisato agreed.

"You haven't?"

"No, not really. Before I came here to Iwatodai, I had never really been part of a team before. But SEES welcomed me, too. Even without my special powers, I think they would have done it anyway."

Fuuka was finally settling into the conversation, a calm smile on her face once more.

"I feel the same way. I've never really had an opportunity like this before. But everyone here is so kind, you included of course."

Arisato gave her a surprised look for a moment, his eyes wide, before a light chuckle escaped his lips.

"You think I'm kind?"

"Of course," she insisted, her usual deferential nature disappearing for just a moment. "You saved me from Tartarus when I thought all hope was lost. You welcomed me into your group with open arms. And even now, you're looking out for my wellbeing at every turn. I think you're an incredibly kind person, Arisato-kun."

"Thank you, Yamagishi-san. I appreciate that a lot."

Arisato's voice was a lot quieter than it had been that night. Perhaps he didn't take well to direct compliments like that. Fuuka made a mental note not to make him uncomfortable like that again. But, speaking of comfortable…there was one thing she wanted to mention.

"Um…if you aren't against it, I don't mind if you call me by name the way Yukari-chan and I do. Iori…I mean, Junpei-kun has already asked me to do the same with him. I don't think we need to let formalities get in the way if we're going to be working so closely together from this point on."

Arisato gave her another smile, his previous surprise forgotten.

"That sounds great to me, Fuuka-san. Then please, feel free to call me by name, too."

Fuuka felt her cheeks heat up yet again and only hoped that the silver moonlight wasn't bright enough to betray her embarrassment.

"Okay…Minato…kun."

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, the dorm finally appearing as they rounded the last corner between themselves and home. Junpei ran back towards the two of them in an attempt to escape Yukari's wrath, but she followed him, undeterred. As Minato began to play peacemaker, Fuuka found herself giggling at the antics and friendship on display before her eyes.

It really did feel like she had met some of the most wonderful people she could ever have come across by joining SEES. And she would do her very best to support and protect them from here on out, no matter what it took.

She did have to rather deliberately force Lucia's voice out of her mind for a brief time, however – her Persona was rather aggressively trying to analyze just why Fuuka had been so embarrassed to call Minato by his given name just minutes before.

That was something to dwell on another day.

7/18/24