Emetophobia warning (gross vomit descriptions are in this chapter)

Chapter 37

Fuuka trembled in the dark of her family's hallway bathroom.

She sat with her back against the wall and her knees in front of her, one arm wrapped around her legs and grasping her S.E.E.S.-provided phone, while her other hand was clamped over her mouth. Her hair was a tangled mess, knotted and wildly sticking out everywhere. Staring at the closed door with too-wide eyes, she barely registered how her pajamas were sticky with sweat, cooling rapidly in the unnatural chill and making her shiver against her will. From beneath the shut door, only a sliver of the Dark Hour's vile green glow seeped into the room.

Unfortunately, the door did nothing to block out the sounds.

The floorboards in the hallway outside creaked as something moved down the hall. Fuuka had only caught a glimpse, between her blurred vision and her dizzy sprint for the hidden safety of the bathroom (though Fuuka had serious doubts about how "safe" she truly was). All she knew was something was out there. Something shambling, something not of this world, something that had torn through one of the doors in her house like it was made of tissue paper.

The floorboards creaked again, down the hallway, but relatively close - far too close. The hand Fuuka had placed over her mouth tightened, gripping her face hard as she tried to control her breath despite her pounding heart.

For several moments, there was silence.

SNAP.

Right outside of the bathroom door, a floorboard cracked sharply. Fuuka's jaw clenched painfully hard as she choked on a cry, barely stopping the noise from betraying her with the combination of her muffling hand and sheer willpower.

The small pool of green light under the door was parted by a sliver of darkness pointing straight at Fuuka. It wavered in the half-light, shimmering like a specter from beyond, before swaying forwards.

The monster was right outside.

Fuuka's legs quaked. Think, Fuuka, think! Some part of her mind screamed. You can get through this, just use your brain and think!

What was it called again… a Shadow. Those were the creatures that S.E.E.S. fought. And how did they fight them? Personas. Beings born from the user's mind and consciousness. Which were summoned via Evokers. And Fuuka had an Evoker, which-

Fuuka squeezed her eyes so tightly that she almost gave herself a headache.

Her Evoker was in her room. The very room the monster was moving towards.

Shit!

Fuuka didn't particularly enjoy cursing, but she thought this situation deserved the word.

Alright, new plan. She re-opened her eyes to see that the shadow of the monster - no, the shadow of the Shadow (god, that was going to be confusing) was continuing to move through the hall, towards her room. I'd love the evoker, but I don't think I can get to it. I don't even know how to fight with it if I did get it. So the best plan for me is to wait here until the others arrive. I already called them five… maybe ten minutes ago, so they should be here soon.

Fuuka's fist clenched tighter around her phone.

...I hope.

The Shadow's shadow slipped out of sight, though she could now faintly hear its unnatural paces on the floor. Fuuka released the grip she had on her mouth, and slowly, glacially, she inhaled through her mouth, careful to not make a whisper of noise. But just as her lungs were full of air, something shifted and churned in her gut.

It wouldn't have been a big deal, under normal circumstances. Fuuka usually had a stomach of steel (eating her cooking would do that to anyone). If she had more time to adjust to the situation, to this Dark Hour, she had a feeling she would have had no issue. But the shock and stress of waking up in this hour, combined with the lack of time to get used to the sickly air she was breathing disturbed her body.

Fuuka quickly covered her mouth again, eyes widening in horror as her stomach roiled, rebelling from within.

Oh god, please, not now, not now…!

It was no good. Despite her best efforts, Fuuka hurled.

[Emetophobia warning start]

It happened so fast, she didn't have time to react. The contents of her stomach fired up her throat and burst out of her mouth, splattering past her fingers and dousing the fronts of her pants with hot, steaming slop. She gasped on reflex, blinking fast as her vomit's stink assaulted her nose, before another violent feeling in her stomach made her twist to her side. She heaved up another round of vomit, this time onto the floor beside her, with a wet, splattering noise drumming down on the previously pristine tile covering the bathroom floor.

After that sudden, violent episode, her stomach's twisting and turning subsided. Fuuka's vision was still slightly blurred, she noticed, though she wasn't sure if it was from the vomit or the Dark Hour. Panting, her stomach curdled (though thankfully less than before) as the putrid smell grew worse, enclosed in and enveloping her small space, and she had the unfortunate pleasure of realizing the smell of her gut.

[Emetophobia warning end]

It was at that moment she had another realization. That entire episode wasn't exactly quiet.

A chill struck through her, and her heart hammered in her chest. Her eyes slowly inched back towards the door, past her filthy pajama pants, past the splatter of her own vomit, past the edge of light that stole in from the-

Any further thought was wiped from Fuuka's mind as four arms smashed through the door.

Fuuka screamed as splinters from the door flew at her, and too many hands clawed towards her, grasping violently and erratically. Panic seized her with an iron grip. Pushing herself backwards with her legs, her arms covered her torso in an X as the Shadow continued reaching for her, its arms jutting through shattered holes in the door.

After not finding its target, it began to tear away at the door, shredding it with a casual strength that made Fuuka cower further into the corner. Even as more and more of the door was destroyed, there wasn't much light filtering in. But there was enough that, even through the madness of fear that raced through her mind, Fuuka could make out the shape of the Shadow in front of her.

As the last shred of the door was ripped asunder, Fuuka saw two humanoids facing her in the doorway. Their bodies were totally dark, and they were dressed in pitch black gothic monk garb, with poison purple belts, and shawls of the same color around their shoulders. Their faces were hidden by sickly blue masks with a "V" engraved in their foreheads. The masks themselves portrayed someone frozen in horrified surprise, with shocked, empty eyes, and mouths open in an unending scream.

However, the most striking feature by far was that these two beings were bolted together, side by side. Three poles connected the two humanoids: One through their necks, one through their wrists, and one through their heels, extending several inches out on either side. Fuuka could see their limbs all trembling, as if they were in unbearable agony, or never-ending rage.

As the Shadow quivered forwards, their heads lolled back, out of sync with the rest of their body as they moved in an awkward hop, and the four arms moved upwards, finally stopping as they pointed at Fuuka.

Just at that moment, Fuuka got another odd feeling. It was almost a whisper, but it wasn't - it was truly a feeling, from somewhere deep within her, beyond her fight or flight instinct, beyond her very own mind. But it was clear as day, and it told her one thing:

Duck.

Fuuka jerked downwards, throwing herself to the ground and squelching down into the hurled remains of her dinner in the process. Her face was down, so she couldn't see what the Shadow did above her. But the hair on the nape of her neck… no, her hair everywhere rose. A fraction of a second later, there was a flash of light that momentarily blinded her, and a horrifically loud BOOM that nearly stunned her, echoing loudly in her ears.

Run.

The feeling returned and brooked no room for argument. Fuuka obeyed, even as her vision was still recovering from the bright flash of something.

(The blinding flash may have been a blessing in disguise. Fuuka would later realize that in the moment, she ran right next to the Shadow. If she was honest… she wasn't sure she would have had the courage to do so had she seen it.)

Fuuka tore out of the bathroom, arms pounding by her sides as she tried to steady her ungainly sprint. Her bare feet firmly gripped the hallway's floor as she dashed onwards, flying by the deep gashes of her parents' house, like someone had taken a huge knife and erratically slashed the walls.

She made it to her stairs (realizing belatedly that she could have gone for the evoker after all, but no time for that now, just go go go) and sprinted down them, taking them three at a time in-

Fuuka slipped.

She wasn't sure what to blame - the slick sweat, the slippery vomit, her imbalance as she was still adjusting to the Dark Hour - but for whatever reason her feet fell right out from underneath her. Yelping, she could only wince as gravity tossed her like a ragdoll. Her arm hit the flat of the steps' banister with a painful smack, followed quickly by her head ramming into something sharp (The edge of the banister? The edge of a step? She didn't know.). Stunned, the phone slipped out of her hands and she tumbled downwards, a jumble of limbs and hurt, flailing about for purchase on anything to stop her descent.

She found nothing.

At last, she hit the bottom with her heel smashing into the bare, hardwood floor as the stairs ended, and her tumble abruptly ending as her body slammed against the floor. Lying on her side, breath rasping out of her, she turned her head to the side, seeing that her arm was bruised, and (though it was hard to tell with the various fluids covering her) she was fairly certain that her head had a bleeding gash in it.

Fuuka half expected the whisper-feeling from earlier to return, but her head remained silent. So, taking matters into her own hands, Fuuka started to raise herself from the ground, crying as her bruised arm erupted in pain and slipped out from under her, and her shoulder smacked against the floor as she fell. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she tried again. This time, she put all her weight on her other hand, pushing herself into a kneeling position. Glancing up, her eyes focused on the edge of the stair's banister, and she reached up with a trembling arm (her non-bruised one) and grasped it, hauling herself back fully to her feet.

Briefly, she allowed herself a smile. She took a shaky breath, looked up the stairs… and froze.

The Shadow stood five steps above her, staring down silently, its blank eyes boring into Fuuka with paradoxical intensity. A whimper escaped her, but she remained rooted to the spot, struck dumb with a powerful horror clamping down on her, suffocating every sense of reason at her disposal.

Shadow and human didn't move for an infinite second, until the Shadow's heads lolled backwards with a sickening crack. The noise gave Fuuka just enough motivation to launch herself to the side in a dive as the Shadow flew at her, going through the spot where she had stood moments ago and embedding its arms into the wall behind her.

Fuuka didn't turn around to see what it did next. She ignored the pain from her heel as best she could, using her good arm to propel herself forwards from the floor into a shambling run, pounding down the hallway and flying for the front door. The wall creaked and moaned as the Shadow withdrew its arms from it, and Fuuka could hear her doom approaching with every passing moment, but she was just ten feet away from the front door, and if she could just make it, if she could just-!

The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

She could feel it coming. Whatever had happened earlier, with the bright light and the loud noise, it was about to happen again. She could feel it deep within her bones. Even though she didn't know if she'd be able to dodge this one, she ducked anyway, in a vain hope of avoiding the pain she knew was coming.

Then:

BOOM!

She saw it this time.

A bolt of lightning streaked past her, striking a pot of flowers next to the door and obliterating it, splinters of pottery soaring through the air with particles of dust and soil following suit, and the air still charged with electricity. Although momentarily blinded, Fuuka made it to the door, slamming her body against it and finding the handle on memory alone. Even getting a static shock from the metal door handle didn't faze her now. It was only as she flung open the door, threw herself out of it, and slammed it behind her that she had another realization.

...Did the Shadow just miss me?!

Further thought was forestalled by two other interruptions (and frankly, she was not sure how many more of these her mind could handle before it completely short-circuited).

The first was the environment. Fuuka had heard plenty of what the Dark Hour looked like from S.E.E.S., but seeing it for herself was something else entirely. She could have gaped for hours at the alien scenery, at how the whole world she knew seemed to have been transplanted into a bizarre, alternate dimension. The moon was enormous in the sky, its green light faintly illuminating her whole lawn, and she had to choke back a scared whimper as she soaked it all in.

However, there was another interruption. Something that, in the grand scheme of awakening in the Dark Hour, was not surprising that she had almost missed.

Something was moving towards Fuuka from the street. And it was moving fast.

Fuuka's shaking reached a fever pitch, and her vision blurred further. She moved to the side of the door along her front porch, away from the outer edges of the doorframe, as she tried to shrink down, making herself as small as possible. Yet as she did so, she kept looking at the approaching figure, trying to focus her vision. She couldn't be sure, but it looked like it was heading directly for her, and speeding up as it approached.

And it was here - here, among all places, at all times - it was here, at this moment, that Fuuka finally got mad.

Yes, getting mad made zero sense. Fuuka knew this. In the back of her mind, she understood that everything that had happened this night, along with her now all-but-assured death, had made her snap, and that she was being irrational. But she didn't care. She'd had enough. She wanted to be bolder. She was sick and tired of this running.

If she was going to go down, she was going to fight for once in her life.

Swallowing, Fuuka gathered the scraps of her courage. She reversed her previous wilt, throwing her shoulders back as she gripped the railing (even with her bruised arm), summoned her strength, and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Come on then, why don't you just try to kill me?!" she roared in perhaps the most uncharacteristic thing she had ever done. "I'll show you what Yamagishi Fuuka is capable of, you no good, rotten, b-bast…"

The words died in her throat as the approaching figure finally came into focus. It was familiar, but be it due to any number of factors, it took her a moment to place a name to it.

When she did, she couldn't help but blurt it out.

"...K-K-Koromaru…?"

As she stuttered, the door beside her splintered and burst open as the Shadow tore through it, ramming its way into the outside world and destroying her front door in the process. Its timing was, perhaps, less than optimal for its own survival, because Koromaru didn't even need to break stride.

Fuuka watched, completely stunned, as S.E.E.S.'s resident dog flew across her lawn. She only caught a glimpse of his face (he appeared to be holding… a kitchen knife in his mouth?) before he launched himself at the Shadow in her doorway, colliding into its midsection and sending Shadow and dog tumbling back inside the house. For a moment, only the sounds of their fighting could be heard: ripping fabric, panting, and then a flash of lightning and a BOOM!, followed by a canine growl and more scuffling.

As predicted, Fuuka's brain short-circuited.

She stood stock still, staring at the door frame, unsure of what to do (Should I help him? Will I just be in the way?) before a loud smack! resounded from within the room, and Koromaru came flying out.

He hit the ground and rolled a few times, shaking himself off and growling, stalking forwards slowly, though without a knife in his mouth now.

The Shadow also moved forwards, through the doorway and back into Fuuka's line of sight. It wobbled irregularly, sharply thrusting its limbs forward at random times as it forced itself out of the doorway, splintering it even further. Koromaru's knife was no longer in his mouth, Fuuka realized, because it was embedded in the Shadow's gut.

Fuuka wasn't sure what took hold of her - the night had already been full of so many surprises, she'd lost count. (Ok, not really. She knew exactly how many – but that's besides the point.) However, with the Shadow's focus on the immediate threat of Koromaru, it seemingly had forgotten to mark Fuuka as a threat. So, with her newfound courage still irrationally coursing through her veins, she took matters into her own hands.

Literally.

Surging forwards, nearly stumbling as she landed on her injured foot, Fuuka grasped the knife by the hilt. Both Koromaru and the Shadow stopped, probably shocked, as Fuuka ripped the knife out from the stomach of the Shadow. She reared back, channeling all of her fear, stress, and anxiety.

And with as much force as she could muster, she stabbed, her entire body swinging with the movement, ramming the knife straight through one of the mask's mouths.

Koromaru whimpered from behind her (as if saying, "Oh my GOD!") as Fuuka pushed the knife in as far as it would go. Her face was screwed up in concentration, watching with grim satisfaction as the blade sunk in deeper and deeper, and she felt the intense, freezing chill of the Shadow's face. As the knife sunk in another few centimeters, she glanced sideways at the other head.

It didn't move. But the rest of the Shadow did.

Fuuka wasn't sure how exactly it attacked - she couldn't be bothered to contemplate the logistics of physically striking someone when your arm was tied to three others. All she knew was that the blow was strong, strong enough to stun her and send her stumbling backwards, her shoulder screaming in pain. She slammed into her porch's railing with her back, still reeling from the intense blow and trying to regain her faculties as her nerves roared in anguish.

The Shadow turned to her, but Koromaru flung himself forward once more. This time, Fuuka could see the battle: Koromaru's jaws clamped down on one of the Shadow's legs as he violently shook his head back and forth, tearing away pieces of its body. The Shadow reared up with all of its arms, ready to strike, but Fuuka was apparently totally done with logic today, because she ignored the aches and pains erupting from her entire being and charged forwards.

Before the Shadow could attack, Fuuka grasped the pole connecting its heads with two hands (doing her best to ignore the throbbing coming from her bruised arm) and yanked on it, pulling it towards her. The Shadow was jerked off balance, and its arms jostled to the side, losing their striking power as its center of balance was thrown into disarray. Meanwhile, Koromaru continued ripping deeper and deeper into the leg. The Shadow, Fuuka realized, was hard pressed to throw Koromaru off because its legs were connected - every movement had to be carefully coordinated, which was especially difficult when you had an angry dog trying to tear your leg off.

So, with that in mind…

Fuuka quickly inhaled and exhaled, before changing her grip and reaching down to grasp the pole connecting the Shadow's arms, throwing herself forwards. In her new position so close to the Shadow, Fuuka noticed another opportunity, and removed one hand from the pole to grab the knife's hilt once more.

She yanked with all of her might - and instead of yanking the knife out, she yanked the Shadow.

"Koromaru!" she screamed. "Help me trip it!"

Honestly, she wasn't sure why she expected Koromaru to understand what she meant. She'd seen how smart the dog was, but… well, she still shouldn't have expected Koromaru to know what she was saying. Yet somehow, he did. Koromaru stopped his shaking for a brief moment, before letting go of the leg, and biting down hard on the pole in between its legs. He dug into the patio flooring as Fuuka yanked as hard as she could, and the Shadow began to keel over.

Within a few seconds, it toppled, smashing face first onto the patio floor. Fuuka and Koromaru leapt out of the way as the Shadow collapsed, and as it slammed into the ground, the knife jammed even further into its masked face. With the Shadow's back skyward, Koromaru took advantage of the opportunity, leaping onto the Shadow and tearing into it once more, ripping and shredding the Shadow's unprotected back. However, the Shadow itself began to shake, first starting slow, then growing faster and faster, until Koromaru leapt off it, landing awkwardly on his feet. His hackles raised and he growled, before one ear perked up and he glanced to the side.

Fuuka, however, remained entirely focused on the Shadow. She was transfixed as it rose, not using its limbs, but hovering. Hovering. It rotated itself upwards, with exactly zero limbs touching the floor, the railings, or anything, almost becoming fully upright before-

"Get away from her!"

Fuuka nearly jumped out of her skin as a yell echoed from across her lawn. Whirling around to see the source of the yell, she saw - finally! - S.E.E.S. barreling towards her. Hamuko was the one who had yelled, sprinting forth with her hand around the hilt of her sheathed blade. Minato was close on her heels, face stony, while Mitsuru and Junpei trailed behind. At the head of the pack, Akihiko tore across the lawn, easily outpacing the others in their final sprint. When he was about ten feet away, he whipped out a gun and pointed it at his head.

Even though Fuuka knew that this was an evoker, and thus could guess that this was how it was supposed to work, her heart still stopped at the sight. She didn't have time to do anything aside from widen her eyes before he pulled the trigger.

"Persona! Zio!"

Blue glass exploded from the side of Akihiko's head, and above him rose a being like nothing Fuuka had ever seen before. But that was not what held her attention.

The not-whisper from within was back, again breathing something simple to her.

No.

Fuuka would have been more confused, but the next moment a lightning bolt shot out of the being's… no, the Persona's drill, firing towards the Shadow with a sharp crackle. When it collided, it didn't sink into the Shadow, or crackle with energy around it. Instead, it ricocheted.

With a sound like two pieces of metal bouncing off each other, the bolt flew backwards, right at Akihiko. It snapped into his chest with sizzles of lightning crackling around him, and he stumbled and winced.

"Senpai!" Hamuko cried, passing him as she continued to run, though sparing a look back. "You ok?"

"Yeah," he grunted. "Just... don't do that!"

"Well… what can we do?!" Junpei yelled from the back between heavy breaths, hefting his huge blade up as they closed in.

"Use fire!" Fuuka cried.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Fuuka blinked.

Why did I say that?

Why would I even think that?

Then, a ball of fire flew past her, striking the Shadow square in its chest. It flew backwards, careening back into her house with much more intensity than it should have, given the speed of the fireball.

...Why was I right?!

"Nice going, Fuuka-chan!" Junpei cheered, lowering his gun- his evoker from its position against his temple.

Fuuka had no response, instead staring at the doorframe for the umpteenth time that night. Hamuko charged up the stairs, drawing her blade in a single fluid motion before diving into the house, chasing the downed Shadow. Akihiko soon followed, as did Mitsuru and Junpei. But as the sounds of fighting erupted once more from within Fuuka's house, someone stopped in front of her.

She glanced up as Minato, looking behind her and then out across the yard, took off his backpack and his blazer. As his backpack hit the ground, he draped the blazer over her shoulders, totally uncaring of the gore and vomit still covering Fuuka. "Is this ok?" he asked quietly.

After taking a second to comprehend him, Fuuka gave him a nod, and he tucked his blazer in tighter around her shoulders. However, as the adrenaline continued to leak out of her system, Fuuka's legs started to tremble, and she barely had the presence of mind to grasp the railing. "Easy there," Minato said, quickly helping her sit down on the ground. "Can I heal you? I've got a spell that will help."

Fuuka blinked, then slowly nodded again, crossing her legs and trying not to think too much about the insanity of the statement. (Meanwhile, Junpei roared defiantly from inside, and something within the house shattered.) Minato unclipped his… evoker from its holster on his belt. He raised it to his temple, then (with an ease that somewhat alarmed Fuuka) fired it. His head jolted sideways, and blue fragments of glass burst from the opposite side of his temple. Meanwhile, behind him rose a being just as alien as the one that came from Akihiko - this one an upside-down, angel-looking person. It gently flapped its wings, and a moment later, Fuuka gasped as a warm breeze seemed to swirl around her, and the aches and pains coming from her various injuries eased up for a few blissful seconds… before the breeze faded, and some of the pain returned, though less intense as before.

Minato repeated the action one more time before putting the evoker away, and Fuuka was left with only minor soreness. If she had any more energy left, she would have so many questions to ask Minato… but as it stood, she would have to think of them later.

A few seconds passed after Minato clipped his evoker back in its holster before Koromaru padded up beside him, looking up expectantly. Minato, slightly narrowing his eyes, eventually let out a quiet sigh and reached into his pocket.

"How are you feeling now?"

It took Fuuka a moment to realize Minato was talking to her. It took her even longer to respond as she watched him pull a dog treat out of his pocket and gently toss it to the dog. Koromaru caught it in his mouth just as Mitsuru yelled "Bufu!" from inside the house, and a blast of cold air rushed out of the open doorway.

Fuuka swallowed, reaching up to grip Minato's blazer, before looking down at her pajama pants (still stained with vomit and blood) and the bruises on her arm, now vastly faded thanks to the… healing spell.

"I've… I, uh…" She leaned back against the railing, the full impact of everything that had happened starting to come crashing down on her. Koromaru snuck away from Minato's side, still crunching and munching on his treat, and gently padded his way to Fuuka, sitting down and resting his head on top of one of her legs. Slowly, she reached out and began absently scratching his head.

"...It's a lot," Fuuka finished weakly.

Minato grunted (sympathetically) and moved over to his backpack, opening it and rummaging through its contents. After rifling through several items, he eventually pulled out an energy bar. "Have a bit," he said, tearing off the wrapper as Hamuko and Junpei concurrently yelled, "Agi!" and bright flames exploded through the doorway, making Fuuka jump and Koromaru twitch. The bar in Minato's hand stayed perfectly still.

Quiet now came from inside the house, followed shortly by sighs and grunts and groans. Fuuka reached out for the bar, and took a hesitant bite as the members of S.E.E.S. exited her house, looking a bit worse for the wear (Hamuko was missing part of her sleeve, Mitsuru's hair looked slightly more unkempt, Junpei looked like he had jumped into a dumpster fire). Thankfully, no one looked severely injured.

Hamuko was the first to exit, and as soon as she did, she glanced to her left and right before beelining for Fuuka. Minato slid over to make way as she knelt.

"Fuuka-chan." A light smile ghosted upon Hamuko's face as she made eye contact with Fuuka, though her eyes were still crinkled with worry. "How are you doing?"

Fuuka opened her mouth, before she blinked and closed it without speaking. Minato had just asked that question, but she still wasn't sure of her response. She was physically beat-up, she knew, and she was still buzzing with adrenaline (though, again, that was certainly starting to wear off), but she was emotionally stable. Which was normally a good thing, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she should really be feeling something… more.

After all, she had just woken up in an eldritch twenty-fifth hour hidden in the day. She had just successfully fought and staved off a horrific supernatural being bent on killing her, or at least sucking the emotions out of her.

And most shocking of all, she'd gotten mad. Goodness, where had that come from?

Yet despite all of these unreal events, she felt mostly… tired. Out of fuel. Like she had just run a marathon rather than fight for her life. This already felt almost normal, somehow, rather than fully life-changing.

"Fuuka-chan?"

Hamuko's worried voice broke Fuuka out of her analysis. "E-er, sorry, H-Hamuko-chan," she stuttered, glancing back up. "I'm… alright, I suppose. Mostly tired."

"...Fuuka-chan, are you really alright?"

Something about the tone of Hamuko's voice gave Fuuka pause, and she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly in thought. Then, it clicked - those were the same words that Fuuka had asked Hamuko all that time ago, in front of the gym. (Had it really only been a matter of days?)

Judging by the look on Hamuko's face, Fuuka was confident that she meant the comment genuinely, but having her own words thrown back at her made Fuuka chuckle. "I-I suppose I'm not sure. I-I most likely need some medical care, and I t-truly do feel tired more than anything else, though that may change. But that aside, I-I am fine."

"...Okay. Please let us know if it does change, alright?"

Fuuka nodded at Hamuko's comment, before Hamuko stood and turned around to the rest of S.E.E.S. "Alright, everyone. Our mission's complete." She took a deep breath, before turning back to Fuuka, a small smile on her face. "Fuuka-chan is safe and sound."

Although - obviously - everyone present was fully aware of that fact, hearing it verbalized still seemed to lighten some pressure off of S.E.E.S.'s shoulders. Everyone glanced around at another person with a smile on their face, before turning back to Hamuko… with one exception. Mitsuru's eyes were trained above Hamuko, and she had donned a frown.

Fuuka was fairly confident she knew why, as she tilted her head back to follow Mitsuru's gaze. Sure enough, Mitsuru seemed focused on Fuuka's house, which had seen better days. Smoke billowed out of the open front door and one of the windows next to it, which had been shattered at some point during the fight. The door frame itself… well, it was quite generous to call it a door frame at this point. It was more of a conveniently placed hole leading to the hallway. Ice covered part of the floor, melting and turning into… blood? (The properties of water in the Dark Hour were one serious mystery.)

Fuuka could only imagine what the inside of her house looked like. Her stomach clenched.

Hamuko, ever watchful of Fuuka this evening, followed her gaze and grimaced. "Ah…" she winced. "I'm sorry, Fuuka-chan. I'm sorry your house got so… messed up."

"I-It's quite all right," Fuuka said. "It had to be done, I think. I don't know any other way you could have dealt with the situation."

Despite her brave words, Fuuka couldn't help the sinking feeling in her chest as she spoke. Somehow - more than her near-death experience, more than any other shock of the evening - seeing the house she'd grown up in bashed and bruised hurt her heart the most.

And her parents… oh god, her parents. What were they going to think? What were they going to do?

"I also must apologize, Yamagishi." Mitsuru's face tightened as she spoke, breaking into Fuuka's thoughts. "I would have been able to reach you faster had my motorcycle not still been under repairs."

Before Fuuka could respond, a gentle hand laid itself on Fuuka's shoulder. Fuuka glanced up to find herself looking at Minato, who gave her a gentle nod before looking at Mitsuru.

"The Kirijo Group has a team for this, though, correct?" he asked quietly. Mitsuru glanced at him before looking down at Fuuka with a nod.

"Indeed. They shall handle not only explanations for this situation, but also payments to your family, Yamagishi, as well as assistance with insurance and any potential medical bills. Your family - and you, as well - will be very well taken care of."

Fuuka nodded in reply, feeling some (though not nearly all) of the fear clenched deep within her release. "Th-thank you. That… that is genuinely appreciated." Fuuka took a shaky breath. "However, I-I am still concerned about their reactions to waking up to… this."

Akihiko frowned. "I don't blame you. This is a lot of damage. It'll be tough to fix it up."

While Mitsuru took a moment to glance disapprovingly at Akihiko's bluntness, Hamuko turned to Fuuka. "I understand," she said. She looked around, bit her lip, and then nodded to herself and moved over to Fuuka, sitting down next to her. "Then… we'll wait. You don't have to explain this to them by yourself."

Fuuka stared at Hamuko, a little stunned. Then she heard a noise to her side, and turned her head to find Minato sitting down, too. He looked forwards, reaching up to brush some of his hair away from his visible eye. "I'm just making sure I get my blazer back," he said… though she could faintly see the tiny, near-invisible smile sliding onto his face as he spoke.

Junpei actually laughed as he walked over, letting his sword slide off his shoulder and hit the ground, before propping it up against the railing of Fuuka's porch. "Oh, sure thing, Minato-kun. You're only staying for the blazer, huh?"

Minato shifted his posture, ever so slightly straightening his back. "But of course."

Junpei snorted at that, but before he had a chance to respond, Hamuko pointed at something behind him - his blade. "Wait a second - if we're waiting here, we need to hide the weapons. The last thing we need are Fuuka-chan's parents seeing our Shadow fighting equipment."

Mitsuru nodded. "Excellent point, Arisato. It may be beneficial to send someone back with the weapons." She paused. "In fact, perhaps two people. There is a considerable amount of weaponry here."

"I can take things back," Akihiko said, raising his hand. He gave a sheepish smile to Fuuka. "I dunno if I'll be of much use here at this point."

Fuuka wasn't sure how to respond to that - he was likely correct - but Junpei spoke first. "Eh, I'll go too. Gotta help Akihiko-senpai here, right?" He looked at Fuuka with a smile on his face. "Plus, hey - you've got the Arisatos, Kirijo Mitsuru, and Koro-chan here. They've got you covered."

To her side, Fuuka heard Minato cough (sounding suspiciously like a laugh) at hearing Koromaru's new nickname, but Koromaru barked affirmatively before she could analyze that further, rapidly wagging his tail.

The team laughed at Koromaru's enthusiasm as Junpei and Akihiko collected weapons, evokers, and anything incriminating that was in Minato's backpack… which, turns out, was a lot. They ended up taking the whole backpack. "This thing," Junpei declared, shaking his head, "is more dangerous than the rest of S.E.E.S. put together."

Minato decidedly did not acknowledge Junpei's comment. However, Fuuka noted, he also did not deny the accusation.

Regardless, the two weapon couriers shuttled off back to the dorms several minutes before the Dark Hour ended, leaving just the five remaining S.E.E.S. members (Fuuka was now counting herself officially as one of them), with Hamuko and Minato still flanking her sides. After a few minutes, Koromaru also padded over to her feet and curled down with a big yawn in front of her.

Mitsuru, however, stayed out front, standing tall in front of the fractured remnants of the doorframe. In one hand was her normal phone, while her other hand remained tightened into a fist by her side. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes were narrowed as she stared at the doorframe and what lay within, her eyes flitting around and scanning the damage.

However, that was all while the Dark Hour was still active. The moment the Dark Hour ended, and the green light of the moon flipped back to white, and the silence of a Dark Hour night exploded into the sounds of summer, Mitsuru's posture and expression changed. Her tense jaw released, and her clenched fist eased into a neutral position. She immediately hit a number on her phone and raised it to her ear. A moment later, someone picked up.

"Hashino-san?" She said calmly. "I need a clean-up crew at the Yamagishi residence - it is at 105-0028 Tatsumi-ken, Iwatodai-Ku…"

She hesitated and turned her head to look in Fuuka's direction. But before Fuuka could respond:

"Tsubaki 4-9-5," Minato replied to her side. Fuuka twisted her head around to look at Minato, a baffled expression on her face. Minato didn't look at her.

"Tsubaki 4-9-5," Mitsuru repeated into the phone. "Yamagishi Fuuka is here, along with the Arisatos and Koromaru. Yamagishi awoke at her residence during the Dark Hour for the first time tonight, and there was a Shadow which attacked her, and caused significant damage to her residence." She swallowed, pausing before continuing. Fuuka could hear the muffled swearing of the person on the other end of the line. "Yamagishi herself has retained some injuries, though they appear to be mild to moderate, and we presume her parents to be physically uninjured. We shall all remain here along with Yamagishi, and attempt to settle the situation as best we can with her parents in the meantime," she finished.

"...Fine," Fuuka could barely hear from the person on the other end, and good lord, how could she hear the phone from so far away? "Good work handling things. I'll be on my way with a team soon."

"Thank you," Mitsuru said, before hanging up the phone and slipping it into a slim holster attached to her belt. Turning to look at Fuuka, Mitsuru subtly flattened a rumpled part of her skirt before making eye contact with her.

"Yamagishi," Mitsuru said. "Do not fear - you are a member of S.E.E.S. We shall handle everything."

An unfamiliar warmth bubbled up from within Fuuka, and she found herself automatically nodding. "O-okay. Alright."

She hesitated, then took a deep breath as she reached around her shoulders to tug Minato's blazer on even tighter, taking a second to look at everyone surrounding her.

Fuuka had made the right choice after all, when she decided to join S.E.E.S. They were an eclectic bunch, one that seemed driven by varying, vastly different motivations, and each with their own unique personality, but all moving towards the same goal. To Fuuka, nothing proved that more than tonight - when a simple phone call had brought the entire organization (hospitalized members notwithstanding) running, risking their lives for her sake. She hadn't even done anything to deserve it, and here they were.

"Th… thank you." Fuuka looked down with a tiny smile. It was a tremulous, shivery mess… but it was genuine.

"Thank you all."

Apologies for the delay today! Work and some life things got in the way.

Shout outs to:

Unlikelysnail24, TMXNana, Infinitum-Tempus, Geralt42, and Sneakytornado for following;

Unlikelysnail24, TMXNana, Epicyarn, Geralt42, and Sneakytornado for fav'ing;

Maxxus Herald and 0lcra for reviewing;

And as always, my fantastic beta Disasternoj for editing!

IMPORTANT NOTE - there will NOT be a new chapter of Lateral next week! I'm taking next week off because I'll be away on vacation. But we'll be back the week after next with a chapter coming on WEDNESDAY, rather than Tuesday!

As always, thank you for reading, and see you all in the next chapter!

[Next chapter drops 7/10/2024!]