Persona Series 1. Chapter 1

I do not own Persona 3 or any Shin Megami Tensei Game. This story is fan made. It was stuck in my head for a long time and would like to write about it. Please leave a good review. X3

**1999**

"Himeko…Himeko"

I heard the faint calling of my name as I opened my eyes to see that it was my mother in the passenger seat notifying me that we are almost home. I smiled to say that I was happy that we were almost to the place I longed for. Although I was seven, my family traveled around the world. I guess it was on their bucket list.

"Look," said Father, "We're gliding over the water." I sat up and saw that we were on big bridge over what seemed to be a river. I loved this feeling. Nothing in my life was messed up. Only me and my loving parents, going home to finally rest, until that same day.

It was an hour to midnight. My Mother gasped when a grown man in his thirties walked in front of our car. Is he committing suicide or something! I thought. My Father didn't want to hit him so he turned the car and swerved out of control crashing into another car behind us. I thought we were going to fall off of the bridge crashing into the shallow river. I was wondering if I had died but when I opened my eyes to see that I was still alive, I saw to bodies stretched out under the stars covered in blood. As I ran up to them to help them out from under the crushed car my mother said, "Himeko…? I'm glad you're safe…." She struggled with each word that came out of her mouth. "H-himeko….live l-life with a smile….." Those were her last words. I was paralyzed with fear but I held in my tears because I knew crying wouldn't help them.

I had almost forgot about the car we crashed into. There was a sound coming from it as if someone was getting out of it. I got up and ran over the help them. It was a blue haired boy about my age who was trying to get out from under the wreck. I quickly helped by grabbing the car parts and throwing them behind me. He had a few scratches. "Are you okay…?" I asked. He looked up at me and nodded then he looked behind him where his parent's bodies were. I gasped noticing that his parents were victims of this accident. "I-I'm so sorry…" I apologized knowing that he would probably not have forgiven me. I was on the urge of crying. He got up and put his hand on my shoulder. Worried, he asked, "And you're parents?" I looked at him not knowing what to say then I looked down hiding my face. "They…also-" My voice broke. Then he pulled me into a hug and said, "It's okay to cry." Closing my eyes, I quietly cried into his chest. I didn't know if he was crying, though.

An hour passed and we were still on the bridge waiting for someone to come because we both didn't really know where to go. It was midnight. The boy looked up and saw that everything was an eerie green and there was blood in random parts on the road. I opened my irritated eyes from crying and noticed my tears were blood red. Not only my tears but the whole river. All liquids were red. "What's…." I stopped when I saw a robot girl fighting a monster not too far away from us. She caught a glimpse of us then looked back at the monster. She said something but we were to far away to hear her. Then everything went black.

I woke up in the hospital the next day. I didn't remember anything that happened during midnight. All I remembered was the boy and my dead parents. I didn't even ask his name...

For ten years I lived with distant relatives and my life has changed ever since that night.

(Sorry for the long flashback! I always get so descriptive so the parts that are meant to be short are long…Well anyways, I hope you liked it! Please leave a good review! Until next chapter! XD)


	2. Chapter 2

**2009**

_Time never waits._

_ It delivers all equally to the same end._

_You, who wish to safeguard the future, _

_ however limited it may be…_

_You will be given one year:_

_go forth without falter,_

_ with your heart as your guide…_

_PA "Attention Passengers, We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay. Next stop is Iwatodai."_

_' Dreamless Dorm _

_Ticking clock_

_I walk away from the soundless room_ '

_'They better be sorry' _I thought as I was listening to my headphones. I looked up to look out the window when I noticed a boy about my age in the same school uniform as me and listening to the same headphones as mine except different color. He was in front of the door, staring at nothing. I was in the seat next to the door. '_Was he standing there the whole time?' _ We managed to catch a glimpse of each other. After a moment I looked away quickly. Awkward.

' _Windless night_

_Moonlight Melts_

_My Ghostly Shadow in the lukewarm gloom '_

_PA "Iwatodai, Iwatodai. This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island"_

I stand up from my seat and get my things. The boy walks out before me slowly then stops after a couple feet. I look up the clock on the wall. It's 11:59. I take out the school's brochure and stop next to the boy. He has one in his hands, too.

' _Nightly Dance of Bleeding Swords_

_Reminds me that, I still live._ '

"You going to Iwatodai Dorm?" He asks randomly. I smile and nod. It's amazing how I can still hear people even with my headphones on.

_' I will_

_Burn my Dread'_

_I once run away from the god of fear and he chained me to despair '_

The time is now midnight. My music suddenly stopped playing. "Huh?" we both say at the same time? "The batteries must have run out?" he said while he took off his headphones. _'Yea…at the same time?'_ All the lights in the sation…no in the city were out. "Blackout?" I said. We both walked until we reached the dorms. '_The lights are on? Hm…They must have their own generator?' _When we got inside we put our bags down in front of us. I looked around. There was no one in sight.

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you two." The voice came out of nowhere. Then we turned to our left slowly to see a young boy in a striped costume. "If you want to proceed, sign your name there." He pointed to a small notebook at the check-in desk. "Don't be afraid, it's just a contract. All it says is that from here on out, you'll accept full responsibility for your decisions. You know, the usual stuff." We both signed our names on the dotted lines. I looked at his name, Minato Arisato, then I looked back at him. He also lifted his head staring straight ahead then at me. His eyes locked on mine. I turned away as fast as I could. _'Why is he so familiar….'_

"No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes," the little boys said, "And so, it begins." He disappeared into the darkness. '_WTF!_' We both thought.

"WHO'S THERE!" A girl in a knitted pink sweater and skirt appeared from the stairs. I jumped. _'She startled me.' _The girl started panting and sweating. She was reaching for something. _'What the-A GUN?' _I froze. She grabbed the gun when another person came out and yelled, "Takeba, Wait!" A few moments passed.

_'_ _Burn my Dread_

_I'll break and run till I see the sunlight again._

_I'll lift my face and run to the sunlight.' _

The lights came back on again. _'The same song?'_ I turned my eyes to his mp3 player. He glanced at me then looked back. '_Did he just smile…?' _"I didn't think you'd arrive so late." Another girl with red hair came out of the shadows. "My name's Misturu Kirijou. I'm one of the students living in this dorm." My heart was pounding hard from the scene with the gun. "Who're they?" The girl in the pink sweater said. "They are 'transfer' students. It was a last minute decision to assign them here. They'll eventually be moved to a place in the normal dorms." Misturu explained. We both stood there dumbfounded not knowing what the situation was.

"Is it okay for them to be here?" "I guess we'll see?"

"This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring just like you guys." "Uh, I'm Takeba." She stared at us with doubtful eyes and an aura of distrust emerging from her. We didn't know what we did to deserve this… "Nice to meet you" We said at the said time. "Ah, y-yea. That was out of character for me…! Nice to meet you too." Yukari bowed. "Let me show you to your room." She smiled at me. She grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the stairs. I looked back at Minato and waved with my free hand.

"You're room is on the third floor. Pretty easy to remember since it's at the end of the hall, huh? So…um, do you have any questions?" Yukari just kept talking. "Not really. I'm so tired." I said, smiling. "Um…I want to ask you something." she sad. _'Hey, I'm tired.' _I thought still smiling, trying to not be rude. "On the way here from the station, was everything okay?" Now that I thought about it, I really didn't notice anything because I was so focused on the brochure. "Yeah." I answered. I actually did notice some things… "Oh and what about that kid and the contract. Does he live here or something?" I asked curious about him. "Huh? What kid? And what's this about a contract?" she said not knowing what I was talking about. "Never mind" I said yawning. "Hey, I'm sure you still have other questions, but we'll have to save them for later." Yukari walked away. I opened the door to my room and stretched out onto my new bed. "Seriously, I've got nothing but questions…" After this crazy day I couldn't get any rest.


	3. Chapter 3

**April 7, 2009 Tuesday**

RING!

I tried hitting my alarm clock but the button was stuck. Great. I grabbed it and threw it against the floor. "Stupid alarm clock." I was never good in the morning especially since I didn't get any sleep last night.

After getting ready I sat down on my bed and decided to nap for a few minutes. When I laid down on my bed someone knocked on the door causing me to fall off my bed in shock. "Hey. It's me, Yukari. Misturu-senpai told me to take you to school. You ready?" I got up and brushed my self off and grabbed my bag. "Yeah."

We went to the second floor to get Minato and we headed to the station. "So that's it." Yukari was finally finished explaining everything. "Oh! This is my favorite part. When we're gliding over the sea." She looked out the sea the ocean. The sad memory of my last moments with my parents came to me with that very line. I put my headphones on while looking down to hide my face. The music was set on high to block out voices. The problem was my voice wouldn't go away. I could feel someone staring at me while I faced down. An awkward stare. Minato's stare. "Look, there it is." Gekkoukan High School came in sight when the train turned. It was indeed a big school.

When we got to the gates everything was loud. So many students speaking and yelling. What a rotten morning. My head starting hurting._ 'Well I guess I have to get used to it…' _ Many students said good morning to Yukari. She sure was popular. There were also some other people staring at me and Minato. "Do I have something on my face?" I asked Minato. "No…why?" He asked as if I were crazy or something. "No reason…" I answered. "Well, this is it. Gekkoukan High School. You're gonna love it here." Yukari seemed pretty optimistic.

We reached the shoe lockers when Yukari said, "Don't tell anyone about the things you saw last night, ok?" I nodded. I feel so many stares on my back. Is it always like this here. We went to the faculty office to get our class assignment."Hi, I'm Ms. Toriumi. You must be the new transfer students. Ok, you both are in the same class, 2-F. That's my class. Now in your folders…let's see. Minato…In 1999….that's ten years ago, your parents-" She gasped, "I-I'm sorry. I've been so busy I didn't get a chance to read these." "That's fine." Minato said in a normal, quiet tone. I looked at him. _'His parents too?' _

There was a ceremony in the auditorium and the principal kept going on about…stuff I didn't really listen to. When we sat down with our class there were so many rumors. "Hey, you two the new transfer students?" A random guy whispered from behind us. We both nodded. "So you came to school with Yukari, right? D-do you know if she has a boyfriend?" "No" came out of our mouths with a hint of annoyed. "I hear someone talking and it's coming from Ms. Toriumi's class." a teacher said. "SHH! You're going to get in trouble." She warned.

Class was really tiring. I sat next to Minato, though, which made things quiet. I could've learned something in class but I slept through the whole thing. It was lunch time and I decided to go on to the roof. Luckily, there wasn't anyone there. I didn't really feel like eating anything so I put my headphones on and looked out to the city. I could see everything…including that bridge…."I should really smile instead of being reminded of my past," I whispered to myself. There were footsteps in the distance but they were faint because of my music so I ignored it. But when I felt a tap on my shoulder, I jumped. I get spooked easily. "EH! Oh, it's just you…" Minato stood there like he was just a background character. "Oh sorry..I didn't mean it like you weren't important…haha" I laughed. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Huh? Just reminiscing…" I said quietly. "About your parents?" he seemed curious. "y-" My voice broke so I just nodded. "It's okay to cry." he said. My eyes widened. "What did you say…?" "I said: It's okay to cry." he repeated. I continued to stare at him. My eyes couldn't leave his. _'Could it be….no way…but' _Tears rolled down my cheeks. I tried to stop them but they just kept coming. I covered my face. "D-do you usually make girls cry." I joked. "N-no..!" he said turning red. In ten years he was the first person to make me laugh.

**After school**

**Minato**

"Sup DUDE!" "?" I dozed off again. "Hey! Don't look so surprised!" He yelled. "Uhh?" Who is he. "Oh, me? I'm Junpei Iori. Just Junpei is fine. I transferred here too, in 8th grade. I know how tough it is being the new kid. So I wanted to say 'HEY'. See what a nice guy I am?" He sure is a loud guy I guess. "At it again huh…" "OH! It's Yuka-tan!" "Overly friendly with everyone you meet..did you ever think you might be bothering someone?" she said. "Hey now…I was just being friendly." He was just being annoying that's what. "Uh-huh. If you say so. OH! What a coincidence. We're in the same homeroom." she completely ignored Junpei. "Yeah…" _'I'm sleepy' _"HEY! I'm in your class, too! Why the different treatment? Though, I totally have a serious question. Is it true you two came together all comfy-like?" Junpei was everywhere and what's with the stupid questions. "HUH!" Yukari turned redder than a tomato. "Hey, cut that out! We live in the same dorm! You're making a way too big of a deal out of this! Besides we weren't walking alone! Himeko was with us too!" Yukari pointed to Himeko who had her head down on her desk right next to me. I poked her head while Junpei and Yukari argued over stupid things like children. "Oh really? She wasn't in the rumor…" Junpei sounded disappointed.

**Himeko**

I heard so much screaming through my headphones and felt someone poke me. I turned my head to see who it was and saw that Minato's face was really close to mine. I felt my face get red. "W-what do you want..?" Minato just continued poking my head. I guess he couldn't stop because he was tired. "Hey, you have a second?" Yukari pulled Minato away from me. I put my head back down again and heard them whispering. "You haven't told anyone about you know what, did you?" she asked. "I didn't" he answered as if he were annoyed. "Ok, good." she got in between us to tell us something secretly. "Seriously, don't say anything about last night…." I nodded in my sleep and I felt the poking of my head again. Junpei came out of nowhere. "L-last night…DUDE?" Obviously Junpei thought that Yukari was talking only to Minato. I laughed a bit. "G-get your mind out of the gutter!" Yukari yelled for the whole class to hear.

Minato didn't even care since he was too busy falling asleep next to me. _'Why won't he sleep on his own desk?' _You tried pushing him to his own desk but it was his head was glued to my desk. I sighed and gave up. "You have good taste in music." he whispered under his arms. _'Was he trying to hear my music..?' _"Thanks." I replied. Yukari and Junpei were arguing in the background for about an hour. Then we decided to go back to the dorm.


	4. Chapter 4

**April 4, 2009 Wednesday**

After a long day of school Minato and I headed back to the dorm. We opened the doors to see an older man sitting in sofa. "Oh…They're back." Yukari got up from her seat. "I see…so those two are the ones." The older man signaled for us to sit. We both sat down next to each other. Minato staring at nothing with a blank expression and me, well I was too tired so I put my head down on the sofa's arm. No one seemed to care so I closed my eyes. I would still listen to what they had to say.

"My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the chairman of the board for your school. Ikutsuki. …Rather hard to say isn't it? That's why I don't like introducing myself…" _'Ok…no one cares, old man…' _I just wanted him to get to the point. "I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations. It may take a little while longer before you receive the proper assignment. Well then, is there anything you'd like to ask me?" I sat straight up wondering about questions but I thought they were better saved for later. I was quiet for a few moments. "Not really…" Minato answered. "….Are you sure?" The Chairman had an eerie look on his face. I didn't feel safe around this guy. Something about him is messed up. We both gulped, frozen in fear. "Very well. Now if I must excuse myself. You must be tired having transferred in. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'The early bird catches the bookworm'" He laughed at himself. That wasn't funny. "Forgive my bad pun." He then walked out the door. "Sorry about that….you'll get used to his lame jokes." Yukari sighed then walked upstairs.

After I entered my room I changed into my pajamas and dropped my body onto my bed.

**Meanwhile in a strange room with many monitors.**

**Yukari**

"Did Sanada-senpai go out alone again tonight?" I asked Mitsuru. "Yes…I hope nothing happens." She sounded scared. _'I don't like this…' _I thought. "Good work, you two." The Chairman came out of nowhere. "So, how are '_they_' doing?" He asked as he sat down. "They went to bed a little while ago. They're both asleep now." Mitsuru gave an update. "Mr. Chairman," I asked, "Do you think they both are…." "Well…let's wait and see for now. It's almost the _'Dark Hour_'." He stated.

The clock reached 12.

"Hmm…still sleeping calmly?" the Chairman observed, "Every night at midnight, t becomes the '_Dark Hour' _-A hidden time so to speak. Normal people transmogrify into what looks like a coffin but don't notice anything that happens during this time." He explained. "Then they are…" Mitsuru said, curious. "As we can see, they haven't transmogrified. They're sleeping…but right now they both are experiencing the Dark Hour. All that's left is to see if he has the 'potential'." He explained. "Perhaps I should say they must have it…if not, they would have become 'their' prey by now." I shivered at the word. _'Prey…'_ "Hiding this from them. It feels a little awkward…" I confessed.

**Himeko**

A room. A room with black and white checkered tiles and doors covered. I sat in a love seat sofa. I turned to my left to see Minato sitting there also looking confused. '_Where am I and why is Minato here..?' _I turned forward again and saw a man with a big nose that made him look like a penguin and scary eyes. "Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear you guests. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place." Minato and I stared blankly at the strange man. "Hence forth, you are welcome here in the Velvet Room. Honored guests," He took out a small notebook and opened it. '_My signature from the lounge…'_ I look to see that we're moving upward. Are we in an elevator? "You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will required my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return, that you abide by the contract, assume responsibility for the choices you make." He said with his eerie voice. We both nodded and said "Understood." "Hold on to this." Igor gave us a key. "Till we meet again."

With that I woke up confused, looking at my hand with no key. "Was that for real…?" I got ready for school and headed out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**April 8, 2009 Wednesday**

The whole day felt awkward as if someone kept watching me. In class, at lunch. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. In the hallway I stopped and turned to see Yukari the only one behind me acting 'natural'. _'?' _Was she keeping an eye on me or something? I decided to forget about it. Turns out the day went by normally minus the eyes watching me….

**Yukari **

I was glad nothing bad happened. It's tiresome keeping an eye on those two. They move around so much to. Who knew…

We were back in the command room keeping an eye on them once again. "What's their status?" the Chairman asked. "The same as last night…." Mitsuru sounded disappointed. "Hmmm…As expected, they are very interesting. They have the 'potential' in the Dark Hour, but most are much more unstable. They have memory loss, or suffer confusion. They're quite different than the others. This is really an exceptional case." The Chairman sounded happy. "But….this is…treating them like guinea pigs." I said. "No need to see it that way. They are your classmates, right? If a fellow classmate could do it wouldn't your resolve be strengthened? We need power by any means necessary." He explained. "That's..I understand, but…" I hesitated.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Akihiko. What's wrong?" Mitsuru said. "I found a big one! I've never seen anything like it! Sorry, but it's chasing me. I wanted to warn you, I'll be there soon." With that Akihiko signed off. "You mean…" I said, "He's bringing that thing HERE!" We rushed downstairs to the lounge as fast as we could. Akihiko opened the doors struggling to get inside. His arm was bleeding real bad. "Akihiko! A-Are you alrught!" I couldn't calm down. There was a pounding sound behind the main doors. "Worse than this is coming. You're in for a surprise." He said laughing. "Do you think this is the time to be amused?" Mitsuru yelled. "Takeba, wake those two up and escape out the back! We'll try to hold it back here! Akihiko! You're the one who brought here, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight!" Mitsuru ordered. "I guess I have no choice, then. What are you waiting for, Yukari? Go!" He said. "Got it!" I ran up the stairs to fetch them.

**Minato**

It's awfully big. It's a full moon, huh?

KNOCK KNOCK

"WAKE UP!" Yukari's voice was on the other side of the door, panicking. I changed into my school uniform a while ago to check what was going on. "Sorry, but I'm coming in!" She slammed the door open. "I woke up from the noise. What is it?" I asked. "Sorry, there's no time to explain. Right now we have to get Himeko and get out of here!" She yelled in my ear. I followed her up the stairs to Himeko's room.

**Himeko**

I couldn't sleep with all the noise and was about to check downstairs. When I walked out my room I saw Yukari and Minato rushing to me. "Oh good your changed! We gotta go!" She grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the stairs. "Oh! Here for your safety, take this!" Yukari handed Minato a knife and a gun-like object to me. "Wait this isn't a real gun.." I told her. "I know! But you might need it for something else!" "_Takeba, can you hear me?" _"Yes." "_Be careful, there's more than one of them. It's real form…is somewhere else!" _"Are you serious?" Yukari looked around.

BAM BAM BAM

There was an annoying pounding coming from the other side of the back door. "W-We should pull back!" Yukari ran up the stairs. Every time she passed a window she kept shrieking. Me and Minato looked at each other not knowing what was going on. When we reached the top Yukari unlocked the door to the dorm's roof top. Outside made me feel worse. It was all green and the moon felt like it was closer to the Earth.

Minato was also looking around then at me. I noticed his shirt was half buttoned up. I felt my face turn hot. "P-please button your shirt correctly….." I said covering my eyes with my hands. He did as he was told. After a few seconds were heard something climbing on up the wall behind us. I turned and there was nothing but the dorm's rooftop then I turned back. Yukari froze and started panting. We all turned around quickly and saw millions of hands from behind the railing. Then more hands came up with knives and holding a blue mask looking around. It then started crawling towards us quickly. '_What…is that?' _I stood staring at the incoming monster.

Yukari went in front of us. "Those monsters…We call them Shadows! Oh, yeah I have to fight." She then took out her gun which resembled the one she gave me. '_What is she doing…!'_ I thought. She pointed the gun at her head and took a deep breath. The Shadow came towards her and attacked which caused the gun to fly out of her hand and land in front of Minato. She lay on the floor panting and sweating. I looked at the gun in my hands. '_Go on' _A voice in my head ringed.Minato picked the gun up and looked at it. The voice in my head kept telling me to pull the trigger. Then at the same time we both pointed the gun at each other's head and both whispered,

"Persona!"

I could hear the shattering if glass as we pulled the trigger. "Thou art I and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I come from I am Orpheus, Master of Strings." Two figures appeared above us. (boy version and girl version of orpheus) A loud noise came from them. Yukari covered her ears in pain as we both had a crazy smile on our face. All of a sudden my head started hurting like hell. "A-AHHHHHH!" I yelled in pain. My head felt as though it were about to explode. I fell to the ground on my knees.

**Minato**

I saw that Himeko was in trouble. _'What's happ-'_ My head began to hurt really bad. I put my hands on my head and screamed. I couldn't bear the pain. It was a pain like I had never had before.

**Yukari**

Both Minato and Himeko fell to the ground yelling in horror. I looked up to their persona's seeing that they both transformed into one scary looking persona. The persona yelled as it ran to the shadow slashing it to pieces. It looked as if the persona was eating the shadow. I was frozen with fear. It starting panting and then in a blink of an eye the horrifying persona turned back into the two personas that belonged the Minato and Himeko.

After a minute I heard two thuds coming from beside me. The two students lay on the ground unconscious. I ran up to them. "Hey! Are you okay! Answer me!"


	6. Chapter 6

**April 17, 2009 Friday**

I had a strange dream…about that boy in the striped clothing talking about the end…

I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a hospital room. I turned to my side and saw Minato sleeping in the bed next to mine. _'Why are we in the same hospital room!' _I blushed real hard and hid under my covers. "Oh, you're awake. How're you feeling? I'm so glad you finally woke up. Really how long were you planning on sleeping? You've been asleep for a week." Yukari sat down in a chair next to my bed and sighed. "I was really worried. Oh, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. I put you two in the same room to keep an eye on you two. Sorry if you were freaked out. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything at the time…Senpai told me to protect you two, but…." She was quiet. "It's okay" Minato was already awake I see. "I was so surprised! You two were amazing!" She said. "I'm so sorry but I'll explain everything properly later." Yukari changed the subject and told us how we three were alike. Her father died in the explosion ten years ago near this area. It looked like she was about to cry. "H-hey, it's not your fault." I said smiling trying to lighten the mood. She wiped her eyes and nodded, "Anyway thanks for listening. I should get going to tell everyone you've woken up." With that she left the room.

I looked down and quietly went back under my covers to hide my face. I was always such a crybaby but I held in my emotions every time I heard things that reminded me of my parents.

**Minato**

After Yukari left I saw Himeko lie down and hide under her covers as if she were about to cry. "Hey. You okay?" I asked. She didn't move. I got up from my bed and walked over to hers. I sat down next to her and shook her shoulder. "Hey" Still no answer. I lifted the covers that were hiding her face. She was on her side with her hands covering her eyes and was biting her lip trying hard not cry.

**Himeko**

I was hiding under the covers when I felt someone next to me uncover my face. It was Minato. "W-what do you want?" I asked sitting up quickly still hiding my red eyes. "I-i don't like talking about my parents. That's all." I explained. I sounded as if I were about to burst out crying. Then I felt him grabbed my wrist revealing my face. "Hey.." I said. He then embraced me saying, "It's okay to cry, you know." I didn't hesitate. I began crying. "Why is it that I can cry in front of you and not around anyone else…." I asked. He hugged me tighter and said nothing.

(I like emotional things okay…don't laugh)

**April 18, 2009 Saturday**

I walked in the faculty office with Minato because we were absent for atlas a week. "You finally came? Geez, I was getting worried about you two." Ms. Toriumi greeted us. "I heard it was from exhaustion. I guess it has something to do with your move, huh?" I was still really tired even from that whole week of rest. "I'm worried about your health…but right now your studies are quite a problem too. Missing a week of school at this time of year is going to be rough." "Okay…" I didn't really care. "This might be fine and dandy for you, but it's more of a problem for me." She sighed. "Oh well." She patted our shoulder with a determined face. "Leave it to me. My reputation depends on it." "Thanks…" Minato said.

When we returned to the classroom I sat down to take a small nap.

**Minato**

Right when I sat down Junpei popped out of nowhere. "'Sup? I'm Junpei, remember me? Taking a week off to kick-start your transfer, huh? You got nerve! and what's also weird is that Himeko was absent the same time as you…hehehe so what's goi-" "JUNPEI!" He was cut off by Yukari. "He's recovering from being sick!" She yelled. "Hey, Yukari…do you have some notes I could borrow?" Himeko woke up from her nap. "HEY! Himeko-san! Do you remember me…" Junpei asked. She stood quiet. "Do any of you remember me…." He was sparkling with confidence. "Eh? Who are you?" We said. Junpei turned white as a sheet and sat shaking in a corner. "What's wrong with him?" I asked. "Come on, guys." Yukari told us. We walked away leaving Junpei in his sad corner.

**Command Room**

**Himeko**

We walked in the command room and saw Mitsuru and the Chairman waiting. "Sanada-senpai's not here yet?" Yukari asked. "No. Akihiko has gone to pick up another one with 'potential'" Mitsuru answered "REALLY!" Yukari seemed happy. Minato sat down on one of those small seats and he looked sleepy. I watched him to see what he would do. His head kept going down then when he gave up he fell off the seat onto the floor sleeping. I panicked a bit and checked if anyone noticed him but they were all too busy talking about the new member. *Anime sweat drop* I dragged him onto the sofa making him look natural.

"Sorry I'm late. this one took a while with his luggage." Akihiko opened the door and revealed that the new member would be "JUNPEI!" Yukari was disappointed. When everyone was talking to Junpei I shook Minato as hard as I could to wake him up. I slapped him lightly but those hurt too…He woke up immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I whispered. Every one was so distracted. "That hurt.." He said rubbing his cheek. I laughed a bit then covered my mouth. He smiled, happy to see that I was laughing. I blushed.

"Why are you here…!..Huh! This is some kind of a joke isn't it?" Yukari was trying to find a reasonable solution. "Heheh…I'll be living here from now on. I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya guys." Junpei looked right at me and ran over to me, "HIMEKO-SAN!" He had hearts in his eyes, "I guess we'll be neighbors, eh?" Minato pulled him away from me a little. Junpei backed off because he was a little scared of Minato's stare. "?" I didn't know….

Everyone sat down in the command room. The Chairman started to explain everything, finally. "I know this is sudden but…a day is actually more than 24 hours long!" Every one look lost, especially Junpei. "If I said that, would you believe me?" the Chairman asked. "Understandable…however you have already experienced this. Disappearing lights. Machines shutting off. Coffin like objects lining the streets…" Mitsuru said. Then Junpei suddenly stood up and yelled, "TOTALLY! Here I was stepping inside the convenience store, and suddenly all the lights go off and people are turning into coffins! And then there were these weird shadowy-thingies crawling around! I don't really remember, but from what Sanada-san said, I'd been crying, and he saw….omigosh this is so EMBARRASSING!" "Junpei, Shut up." Yukari demanded.

"I'm sure you all have noticed somewhere inside…that you'd gone through an 'abnormal time frame'…" Mitsuru continued ignoring Junpei's outburst. He shivered. "That's the 'Dark Hour'…A hidden time between one day and the next." She said. "Tonight and all the other nights ahead. It happens every night at midnight." "We defeat the shadows so they don't hurt anyone else! Isn't it exciting!" Akihiko stood up. "AKIHIKO! Why are you always….! You've seen the results of your recklessness!" Mitsuru yelled at him. "No need to fret…he does fight diligently…" The Chairman was scared. "Let me conclude this. We are the 'Special Extracurricular Execute Sector' SEES for short. To the general public, we're just a school club..but in reality we are a group of people chosen to fight 'shadows'!" The Chairman acted all cool when he really actually just FAILED. "That power we call 'Persona' is the only thing that can defeat the shadows. You know, the same power you used." Akihiko pointed to me and Minato. "Without it your screwed." He said. "We've had evoker prepared especially for you three. In other words: I'm asking you to lend us your strength." Mitsuru opened a case with three evokers. "I'll do it! We're like heroes! That's so cool!" Junpei quickly accepted. Me and Minato were hesitating. He looked at me with confused eyes. "Ok. I'll join." I said. It took a while for Minato to say something then, "Alright then." "Good now we can finally get started. We can now give 'that place' a try with so many people now." The Chairman said. "We can do it later. Right now we need to rest." Mitsuru ordered.


	7. Chapter 7

**April 20, 2009 Monday **

After school….

SLIDE

Mitsuru charged in the classroom, "I have news!" Yukari seemed interested, Junpei was focusing on a fly around his head, and Minato dozed off thinking about cute little woodland creatures. Most of these were just guesses.. "Do you remember what I said before? About "that"?" Mitsuru lowered her voice. "I have preparations to complete. We will meet at the front gates of the school before twelve midnight." We all nodded except for Junpei who had a stupid face on. "I didn't really understand what you said, but leave it ALL to me!" Junpei seemed confident. "Very well. That is all." Mitsuru quickly walked out the classroom, slamming the door behind her. "Wow…she just said what she needed to say then left." Junpei was shocked. "She's probably busy with everything…unlike us." Yukari scoffed. "Oh..do you not like Mituru-senpai, Yukari?" Junpei asked. "! Well..no…It's not that I don't like her or anything…just…" she went quiet.

We did as we were told and met up with Mitsuru and Akihiko at the school's gate. "Alright, it looks like everyone's here. So what is this?" Junpei was too excited. "Where is it? Everyone's here! Don't we need to get going somewhere?" Junpei started swinging his arms around and whining like a little kid. "GEEZ! Why won't you learn how to calm down! Learn something from these two , Junpei!" Yukari yelled at him. Honestly I wasn't calm I was just tired. "It's almost time." Akihiko had his phone out to check the time. When it reached twelve his phone died.

SCRATCH RUSTLE SCRATCH SCRAPE CRACK (sound effects)

"WHOA!" Junpei was amazed. A few seconds later I noticed it after dozing off and said "Oh! Right uh yup that a big tower…" I was amused but too lazy to show it. "Hey look it has a small water fall." I smiled. "Uh that blood looking like it's overflowing in the tower…" Minato pointed out. "Is that so..meh..either way that is a good feature." It was. "This…is the 'maze that appears only during the Dark hour…Tartarus." "That sounds like toothpaste! XD" Junpei stated. Sweat drop. "Wait! What the hell is going on!" He snapped back to reality. "Our school! Where did it go!" Calm down Junpei… "Once the Dark Hour passes, it'll return to its original shape." Mitsuru said. "But that makes no sense!" Junpei, _you_ don't make sense…"How come this only happens to our school!" "I don't know." she said. "Well let's head inside."

"Wow, it's pretty cool on the inside too." Junpei said looking around. "This is only the entrance. The labyrinth is up the stairs and beyond that door. We'll leave the exploring to you four." "Huh! Only the four of us! ALONE!" Yukari said. "We're not asking for you to go very far. I'll be providing audio backup from here." Mitsuru explained. "We need to pick out a team leader who will keep the team organized." "Oooo! Me me me me! Pick me!" "Should we choose both of them or…." Akihiko looked at Minato then at me. I walked away from Minato because I didn't want to be leader. Too tiring. "Ok, you two will be the leaders so if one of you gets sick the other could fill in." It was decided. Dang it… "Why them! They don't even look like leaders!" Junpei pointed at us, dozing off. "…You know they already have experienced a fight with shadows already." Yukari pointed out. "WH- you serious!" Junpei didn't like the idea. "Junpei, Yukari! Can you summon your persona without difficulty like they did?" Akihiko asked. "I guess so.." She answered. "Well you two," Akihiko looked at us, "You up for it?" "Alright then just for now." Straight answer! "THAT AGAIN!" Junpei said in the background. We received holsters for our evokers, some potions, radio transmitter and some weapons for us. "COOL!" Junpei swung his sword around. Yukari got a bow with some arrows and we just got swords. (I like swords…) "Well…Let us begin." Mitsuru said.

It was like one of those abstract paintings when we got inside. "It's so creepy…are we gonna get lost?" Junpei said._ 'Can you hear me?' _"Senpai? Oh! Can you tell what it's like in here?" '_It's one of my Persona's skills. You all have to stay together and support each other, so don't get separated….HEY! WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU!' _Junpei wandered off…"Hm? Senpai…" Junpei scratched his head. '_I'm sending the other three there now! Don't move, understand!' _"I know, I know…" a shadow appeared in front Junpei. _'Iori! Retreat!' _"I can do it myself!" He yelled. He brought his evoker up to his head and yelled, "HERMES!" The Persona appeared and destroyed the shadow. "Heheh…hehe..n-not bad…" He sat down trembling. We ran to Junpei as soon as we saw him. "Are you ok?" Yukari asked. "Y-ye-!" Junpei noticed a shadow flying above us about to attack Yukari. "Yukari!" he yelled. Yukari turned around and froze in her place. Then Minato got in the shadow's way and got his shoulder scratched. In his moment of epicness he tripped on a pebble…? "Ah." He whispered and fell flat on his face. Nice.. The shadow came back around. Yukari grabbed her evoker and took a deep breath. "IO!" She used a gar attack on it but that was it's strength. "…." She stood speechless. "I just healed the enemy didn't I?" She smiled in embarrassment. "Either way you had courage to summon your persona." I smiled forgetting about the shadow. It came towards me now almost killing me. I dodge the final blow but got hit on my forehead. I was annoyed and killed it in one slash. "Ugh…my head hurts." I said quietly trying to cover my wound so no one would notice it.

**Minato**

"Minato…it's all my fault…" Yukari said. _'I'm not hurt that badly…but I don't wanna get up…' _I thought. Then I felt my wound heal. "Whoa, Yukari…" Junpei whispered. "This..is my….power…I'm so glad." She smiled. "Cool power, Yukari." Himeko said. We all looked at her with the side of her face covered with blood yet she was smiling. "!" Everyone stared at her wound. "What?" she asked. "Oh…wow it wasn't bleeding this bad." Why was she smiling? Didn't it hurt. "HIMEKO! Y-you're losing so much blood!" Junpei and Yukari freaked. "Calm down guys..I'm not gonna die…" She said calmly.


	8. Chapter 8

**(Thank you soooo much for the reviews! Your kind words make me want to do my very best on these stories!)**

**Himeko**

'_In a week it'll be a full moon. Be careful. Another trial is coming your way…' _"A trial?" '_Another one of "them." I'll come see you again once it's over.' _ I turned around quickly opening my mouth to say something but he was already gone. "…?"

**May 9, 2009 Saturday Dark Hour**

**Mitsuru**

"Huh..You're still at it?" Akihiko asked. I was sitting in front of the radio checking if there were any shadows lurking around in the city. "We never know when the next enemy will attack." I said. "I thought you were;t able to scan that well outside of Tartarus." He pointed out. "To be honest I lack the power…maybe this is the best that my Penthesilea can do in terms of data gathering. Penthesilea was not originally meant for enemy scouting."

BEEEP

"It's a shadow!" I yelled. "What! You actually found one!" "Wait, the reading's not right…it's too big, the only other one like this was….!" I looked at Akihiko. We sounded the alarm in the dorm and called everyone up to the command room.

**Himeko**

The alarm sounded which meant that there was a shadow somewhere out of Tartarus. I fell out of bed and said, "WTF…can't I get any sleep?" I quickly changed and ran up to the command room. Mitsuru and Akihiko were waiting there. It took a few minutes for Junpei to come up stairs. "We've detected a shadow outside of Tartarus! There's a high chance it's another big one like last month. We have to eliminate any enemy that's not within Tartarus. The Dark Hour doesn't exist for most people. However it will cause a huge problem if half the city is destroyed." Mitsuru explained. "Then we'll just kick it's ass like normal." Junpei said. "You two will be in charge again." Akihiko told us. "We're counting on you to handle it. It's been two weeks since your first battle. You've been doing an excellent job as leader." Mitsuru said. "Lucky you, easy to be praised when you're the one in charge." Junpei sighed. "Alright then! You guys go on ahead and wait for me. I'll be there once I have everything ready." Mitsuru walked off.

When we got there we waited for a few minutes and sat down on the stairs. I decided to take a nap but the problem was I didn't want to sleep on the bloody floor. I tried to keep my head up but I was so tired. Minato noticed and pulled me towards him. "Lay your head on my shoulder."

**Minato**

Himeko looked so tired. I pulled her to my shoulder without even thinking. I told her to sleep. She didn't hesitate. We sat there quietly waiting. I noticed that Yukari was staring at us the whole time. I tried to ignore it.

**Himeko**

After a few minutes of napping I woke up from the sound of a motorcycle. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Mitsuru took off her helmet. "Y-your bike…amazing…" Yukari said. "I'll be baking you up from here. The shadow is on the monorail not far from the station. You'll have to walk to get there." She said. "On the tracks..! Isn't that dangerous?" Yukari didn't like this. "Don't worry all electronic equipment stops working during the Dark Hour." "Wait…but your bike.." "Hmm? It's 'special'."She smiled. "Aside from that, I'll be keeping you updated if the situation changes. I'll appoint you leader from now on." She looked at us.

**Junpei**

_'I hate to say it but I can see why senpai keeps making them leader. You can never tell what they're thinking. They just look zoned out…but something about their aura feels "different". They aren't normal students like me…Dammit….'_

**Minato**

'_I'm sleepy…maybe I should've taken a nap, too…' _Junpei was staring at me for some reason. It looked like he was thinking real hard. When we got to the train everything seemed calm. '_Can you hear me?' _"Yeah, loud and clear. We just reached the train but I don't see anything out of the ordinary about it." Yukari gave an update. '_The signal is definitely coming from inside. Stay together and search it with caution.' _ Yukari started to climb when she said, "Don't look up!" "….." We both looked at Himeko who was next to climb. "No..I'm going last…."

**Himeko**

They both stared at me. "No…I'm going last…" I said. I didn't really trust these guys. "But what if you get trapped out here and eaten!" Junpei insisted. I shook my head. Minato got in front of me and threw me over his shoulder. "H-hey! W-w-what are you doing?" He climbed up to the monorail with me over his shoulder. "You're really light…" He said. "T-thanks…" I started blushing. This was so embarrassing. He put me down when we reached the top. Junpei was the last one to get in when the doors slammed on his finger. "Shit! They won't open! Dammit! They got us! And my finger too!" He tried to pry his finger out. "LOOK! They're all jacked up!" He showed us his messed up finger.

'_What's wrong? Did something happen?' _"Yeah, my fingers…" Yukari smacked Junpei, "Somehow..we've been trapped inside." '_It's definitely the work of the Shadow. It must have noticed your presence. We don't what else could happen. Proceed with extreme caution.' _

"They're here." Minato said. We look and see a shadow disappearing. "Hey, get back here!" Junpei prepared to chase it. '_WAIT! t's acting strange. I have a bad feeling about this! Leader, what do you think?' _"I think we should stay together and be careful." Minato said. '_I agree. This is not the time to b taking reckless actions.' _"What the hell! If we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it! We can defeat that thing! We don't need your fucking permission for everything!" He ran off to kill the shadow. "HEY! JUNPEI!" _'Watch out, behind you!' _Before Yukari could turn around Minato already killed it. "Wow." Yukari said. The train suddenly started moving. "What! I thought this thing wasn't supposed to move!" Yukari held on to something._ 'It seems the monorail is indoor the shadow's control….' _"Are we going to be okay?" I asked. '_This is bad…if it continues to pick up speed. It's only a matter of minutes before it crashes into to the next train!' _"CRASH!" Yukari panicked. '_Calm down. Just hurry up and run towards the front of the train and defeat the shadow. Meanwhile I'll calculate the time.' _We started running and kept attacking shadows in our way. '_I just got a calculation! The time left until you hit the other train is 3 minutes!' _With that we ran even faster searching for Junpei. We heard him calling out his persona. He was surrounded and hurt. Yukari summoned her persona and killed some. I slashed my way through them and got to Junpei. We had two minutes left. "I could've finished them off." He got up. "We have to hurry." I said. We started running.

We reached the front of the train and found a huge shadow. It looked disturbing….Minato looked at the shadow and froze. We had exactly one minute left. "It's coming!" Yukari yelled. We started attacking but it's attacks were too powerful. It used bufu a lot too. Minato's arm was frozen. I called my Persona as fast as I could to heal him. When I pulled the trigger it was a different persona. Pixie. She used Dia on him. "! You're persona, Himeko! It's different!" Yukari seemed surprised. Minato got up quickly and we both ran towards the shadow. 29 seconds left. We slashed the shadow and killed it. "THEY DID IT!" She rejoiced. Something was wrong the train wouldn't stop. "We have to hit the brake! NOW!" I ran towards the control panel and looked around. I pulled a random brake. "AHHHH!" Yukari screamed.

The train stopped really hard causing everyone to fall. I thought it would hurt when I fell but something broke my fall. I turned my head and saw that I landed on Minato. 'Oh crap. I killed Minato….' I thought. "Owww…" he groaned in pained. "Oh good you're alive. I didn't want to be responsible for your death.." He stared at me. "You knew which one was the break?" Junpei asked. "No. I guessed." I said. "…" Silence filled the air. "Ah man, I don't care anymore…let's get something to eat!" He sighed.


	9. Chapter 9

**May 23, 2009 Saturday**

"MMM, glad that's over." Yukari stretched her arms. "So how'd you do on the exams?" Junpei lay on his desk with his life drained. "Guess, I don't need to ask you. What about you guys?" Minato gave a thumbs up with no expression. "I did fairly good though I didn't even study." I smiled scratching my head. "Wow, hahahaha maybe Junpei needs some of your luck." She laughed. "Oh, yeah, I guess today is Akihiko-senpai's last checkup." "YEAH! He also asked me to bring him the class roster! Yup, he needs my help!" Junpei bragged. "I see your done mourning…" I said. "Hey I'll go. I don't have practice anyway." Yukari said. She also invited us along too. Junpei sighed. "But he asked _me_…"

"Geez, Junpei. We're just stopping by to say congrats." She said. "Akihiko-senpai, congrats on re-…." When she opened the door a student in a dark coat who was talking to Akihiko turned around with a dark glare. "covering…." Yukari backed up slowly. "Is that it, Aki?" The scary guy asked. "Yeah. Thanks for the info." "Tch. I don't have time for all your games." He turned around to walk out the door. He then stopped and stared at me and Minato. "You….nevermind…" He slammed the door behind him. _'What's the deal with everyone staring at us!' _I thought. "So how did exams go?" Akihiko asked. Junpei turned gloom. "Should…I not ask? Oh by the way do you know a Fuuka Yamagishi?" "Meh, I don't anyone…" I said. "Isn't she in 2-E. She doesn't come to school much because she's always sick, from what I've heard." Yukari explained. "Well, she has the 'potential'" He said. "!" "But even if she had the ability she might not be cut out for battle…"

**May 30, 2009 Saturday**

"Hey, morning" Junpei walked in. "Have you heard already? The story's spread all over the school since morning. Just listen. A girl from 2-E went 'missing' last night. This morning, they found her collapsed by the school gate! Nobody knows what happened, but rumor has it she's still unconscious. This case is a tough one, even for me….Junpei Iori, Ace Detective." Junpei acted all cool but wasted his breath. Minato was asleep the whole time. "Wow….that's the dumbest ghost story ever." I said. "Ace Detective? What are you an idiot?" "Oh, hey Yuka-tan." "You are an idiot aren't you?" she said. "I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!" Junpei snapped. "So, where've you been?" "Talking to a teacher. You know about the girl from this morning? I saw her yesterday on my way back from practice." Flashback time. "I overheard her saying some unpleasant things..They were talking about bullying someone and she was in on it, I guess. it's just I thought the two might be related.."

It was evening and we were all sitting at the table in the lounge. Junpei wanted to tell a ghost story. It was pretty lame, though… "So basically the 2-E girl shoo dropped by the gate might of been a victim of this ghost story. Everyone was talking about it on the school message boards." Junpei said. Yukari covered her ears and stood up from her chair, "Can we cut it out with this talk of ghosts please? It's obviously fake!" "What but I love ghost stories." I laughed. No really I did. "Wow, Yuka-tan. You're actually afraid of ghosts. That's kinda funny." "Who thinks it's funny!" Yukari turned red. I raised my hand. "S-shut up!" She said. "Fine, let's investigate this stupid story and figure out the truth! We have until the end of the week to gather up information. I'll prove this ghost story is just some joke!" No one really listened to her. Mitsuru was already walking away, Akihiko went to the kitchen to eat something, Minato was passed out on the table sleeping, and Junpei laughed at Yukari.

**Minato**

'_Good evening. I came to see you again.' _I forced my eyes open to see the little boy. '_You seem busy with things, but soon the moon will be full again.' _I rolled over trying to get some sleep. '_And the new trial will be..Hey, hello? Are you listening. Alright, fine then…' _He got up ready to leave. "'Night." I said. He smiled, '_Good Night.'_

**A week later**

**Himeko**

"HERE WE ARE! It's time to piece together all the info we've learned. What di you find out Arisato-kun?" Yukari asked him. He sighed and said, "The first incident happened May 30th. Soon after, two more almost identical incidents occurred. They shared the same circumstances as the ghost story, and all three girls have been hospitalized, which created, which created all the talk that's spread." Yukari nodded soaking up the info then she looked at me. "All three victims were known to have met while hanging out in the streets over night. Because they all were found in the same situation, it's believed there was some link between them." I said. "Man…you guys found out a lot…" Junpei didn't seem like he had something to share. "I knew this case had nothing to do with ghosts or spirits. And so, to get closer to the truth, I've decided we're goin to do some field research." "Y-you don't mean, the back-streets of Port Island?" Junpei shivered. "Oh so you know about it. Great then that makes things easy." "NO WAY! That place is bad news. Seriously, it's like sin city back there and we don't we really need to go do we!" Junpei burst. "Uh…don't we get a say in this?" I asked. "Okay, we're set." She said, completely ignoring my question. "How can you be afraid of ghosts but not this?" Junpei asked. "You can't back out now. Everyone's of things they can't see." She said. "Don't speak for everyone else…" I told her. "NOT ME! I'm more afraid of things i can see! Like bats and knives!" '_Shut up….'_

The back streets were a mess. I could barely breath with the smell of smoke in the air. "We're pretty far away from the station.." Junpei stated. "Stop freaking out." Yukari kept walking. "Hey, I think some kids got lost on the way to the playground." A group of gangsters surrounded us. "You babies don't belong here. Get lost, goatee." One guy said. "Goatee..o-oh you mean me…" Junpei shook. "We don't need your permission to be here!" Yukari yelled. "Yukari…it's best not to talk back to them…." I whispered to her. "Ouch, who's the bitch? I feel sorry for you, Goatee, hanging out with this lippy bitch must be a pain in the ass.." He then punched Junpei in the stomach just for fun. "Junpei!" Yukari froze. "And what about this chick over here?" He looked at me. I kept a calm expression on my face when I really freaked out inside. He grabbed my arm. "So..aren't going to say anything? Tch..how annoying." He grip tighten causing me to flinch. Minato grabbed his shoulder. "What's with that look, pretty boy…? You gotta problem then speak up!" He didn't say anything. "Yeah? You wanna die!" "That's enough…" A familiar voice came out of nowhere. "They didn't know what they were getting into…I'll make sure they leave…alright?" He walked out of the shadows. It was the same guy who was in the hospital room when we went to see Akihiko. "Who the fuck do you think you are, Aragaki! You think just because you're one of us you can order me around!" "Gimme a break.." He threw one of the gang members to the ground. "Ugh…" He struggled to get up. "You just bought your death warrant..you think you're going home alive!" "Huh?" Aragaki gave him a major death glare. The gang member put his hands up shaking, "…Yes of course you are…." They all ran away quickly.

"Go home. This place isn't for you." He was about to walk away. "W-wait! We came here for information." Yukari stopped him. "..You guys. I saw you in Aki's hospital room..did he tell you to come here?" "No..not really…" I said quietly. "You wanted info on that 'ghost story', right? It was rumor. Those girls used to come around here and talk about random shit.." What is with the language… "About how they were screwing with this girl named Yamagashi. So the story spread saying that the culprit is Yamagishi's ghost." Yukari gulped, "W-why do they say it's her..ghost?" He looked up. "You don't know? Apparently she hasn't been home in over a week. They say she might be dead." It suddenly turned quiet. "That's all I know." He said. "Ah, yes. Thank you for the help and thank you very much for saving us." We all bowed. "You're very kind aren't you?" Yukari smiled at him. We all froze in terror at what she said. He glared at us with hatred. "N-nevermind…." We walked away. What a weird day.


	10. Chapter 10

**6/8/09 Monday**

We spent half of the morning interrogating one of the girls that bullied Fuuka Yamagishi. We got some useful facts and decided to meet in the student council room after school. After an hour of planning we finally managed to create a good plan. I would tell you the details but I am too lazy to so….

When it got dark out we snuck into the school. "See? We got in with no problem." Junpei said proudly. "So you unlocked it earlier? Tres Bien!" Mitsuru walked off to the classroom. "C-can we turn the lights on?" Yukari said getting closer to Minato. "Aww…you scared?" Junpei teased. "No…Stupei…" "Okay, first we have to find the key to the gym. Akihiko and I will check the janitor's room. Yukari and Junpei check in the locker room next to the gym. Minato and Himeko check the Faculty Office." Mitsuru ordered. "B-but shouldn't I go with Minato?" Yukari insisted. "Why?" Junpei asked. "! Uh, well…" She was thinking hard for a good answer. "Enough. You go with Junpei since you two fight all the time." Mitsuru laughed. Yukari sighed. "But I hate sneaking around like this…especially in the dark…" Yukari scooted even closer to Minato. '_WTF is she doing?' _I thought. Minato walked away casually pretending not to notice Yukari's odd actions. "Let's go."

We both walked down to the lobby and heard footsteps. They were getting closer. Minato grabbed my arm quickly and pulled me towards behind the column to hide. I sighed in releif, "Oh…it was just a security guard..haha" I turned to smile when his face was very close to mine. "That was close.." He said. It's a good thing it was dark or else he would've noticed my red face. "Uh…yeah…" I turned away quickly heading towards the hallway where the office was. We entered the room full of papers and other junk. This was going to be tough…but then I noticed the cabinet labeled 'KEYS'. It could be there. We rummaged through the small drawers and Minato gave up. "I guess it's not here.." He sighed. "Uhhh…Minato.." I grabbed the key labeled 'gym'. "No..let's just go…" I whacked his head. "Listen to me! It's right here…" I showed him the key. "Ohh…great job." He gave me a thumbs up._ 'Now you're happy…' _We walked to the lobby and found the others waiting. "Did you find the key?" Mitsuru asked. "Yup, right here." I held up the key. "You know Yuka-tan, you kept shrieking overtime you heard something." Junpei grinned. Yukari turned red. "Keep it down." Akihiko ordered. "We'll divide into teams again. The leaders and two more will go into Tartarus and one of you outside with me." Mitsuru said. "I'll go." Akihiko volunteered. Yukari quickly volunteered too. "Wait a second! Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail Gimme a chance to make up for that!" Junpei begged. "Oh come on! It isn't always about YOU! Besides, you didn't accidentally screw up." Yukari hoped for Junpei to stay behind. "Alright, Junpei. We'll give you another shot." Akihiko said without permission. Junpei rejoiced. "It's almost time."

DARK HOUR XD

I open my eyes and was in Tartarus. I didn't know what floor I was on. I noticed someone next to me. "Minato!" I looked around and we were the only ones here. "H-hey. Wake up." I shook him. Minato opened his eyes and sat up. "What happened?" He asked. "Were we separated from the others?" "Ya think." I said. "How did we manage to stay together?" I asked. He looked down at our hands. "You held my hand the whole time?" '_How could I miss that?' _"Just when the Dark Hour came. You were the only one next to me…" He looked away.

"_Hello." _A voice came out of nowhere. We saw the mysterious boy who visits my room every now and then. "_This is the first time we've spoken outside of your room." _"Why are you here?" I asked. He chuckled. _"I told you, remember? I'm always with you. But..I don't have much time to speak. Tonight, there is more than one ordeal you must face…You should hurry…She is waiting for you two. You guys will need her. Okay, then…I hope we can speak again." _He smiled and disappeared. We got ready to go and find the others. Communication is breaking up though. 'Are…you…alri-?' Mitsuru tried reaching us. '….dis-to far. …..can't provid-….back up.' "Dang..it's lost…." I sighed. A voice came to my head. "Where am I? Why am I here? Please answer me…." Minato looked at me. "We gotta hurry." He nodded.

We went to the next floor and met up with Akihiko and Junpei. "Hey! There they are! Man, were we worried about you." Junpei said relieved. "I don't think we should enter Tartarus this way again…." Akihiko said. "Oh yeah! Did you hear a voice while you were in here? Uh…kinda like-" Junpei stopped when the voice appeared. "Who is this..? Are you human?" We all turned around and saw a pale girl with blue hair hiding behind a pillar. "Wow, you're alive! That's awesome!" Junpei was glad. "Where are we..? I was at school and then…" Fuuka turned quiet. "Well….it's a long story. I'll explain after get outta here." Junpei said. "Have you run into any monsters?" he asked. "Well, I've managed to avoid them so far…it's hard to describe, but….I can sort of tell where they are…" She explained. "She has the same power as Mitsuru…maybe even stronger." Akihiko said. He walked over to her and handed her an evoker. "Here hang on to this." He said. She gasped, "B-but, this is…!" "Think of it as a lucky charm. It's not really a gun." In a nutshell. "Let's get out of here." We started walking.

We reached a hallway with huge windows. I stopped and stared at the huge moon. "What…Whoa look at the moon…I've never seen it so bright." Junpei said. "Full moon…" I whispered. "Some research indicates that the Shadows are affected by the phases of the moon. Of course, the same can be said for humans." Akihiko explained. "Hey, wasn't it full moon the night we went to the monorail?" Junpei asked. "Was it?" Akihiko seemed surprised. "Hey," He turned to me. "Did you see the moon on the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?" I turned away from the moon and nodded, "It was full." Static came from the radios. "Mitsuru, you there?" 'Akihiko-Shadows…!' "Mitsuru, can you hear me? Mitsuru, come in! Mitsuru! Mitsuru!" The connection was lost. "….What is this thing…?" Fuuka put her hands on her head. "It's much bigger than the others…and it's attacking someone…" "DAMMIT! COME ON!" We started running looking for a portal back to the entrance.

Yukari was laying on the ground and Mitsuru was in battle with two large shadows. Time for battle. "Polydeuces!" Akihiko's Persona attacked one, paralyzing it. He managed to drag Mitsuru out of battle. Fuuka looked at the evoker and pull the trigger. "I can sense the enemy's weakness…I don't know why…but I can." "Can we count on you then?" Mitsuru asked. "I'll do my best." She said. We started attacking, buying some time for Fuuka to determine it's weakness when, "Moriyama-san!" Fuuka yelled. The girl stood in the entrance, standing with a blank expression. "Fuuka…" She whispered. One shadow approached her. It charged up for an attack. I ran towards the girl and pushed her out of the way so she wouldn't get hurt. I felt a searing pain in my shoulder and looked at it. It was covered in blood. I looked at the girl to make sure she was okay. She was behind Fuuka's persona. "Himeko!" Yukari ran over to me. I checked to see if the girl was alright. "She's fine." Yukari said. She healed my shoulder and we ran off to battle. Fuuka told us their weakness and we managed to win the battle.

It wasn't easy but we were able to find Fuuka and figure out how the phases of the moon work with shadows. I was glad we were finally able to sleep after a long night. '_Do you remember what I told you. Everything will end. That's what I said. I kinda remembered that from somewhere. Maybe…the END is unavoidable….but it's strange. How you see it is completely opposite. I can feel a lot of possibilities from and your partner.' _ I opened my eyes quickly and sat up. "What do you mean partner?" I blushed "We're just friends." He laughed. '_Hey, I'm glad…that we became friends. I'm very interested in you.' _ "Your name…what's your name?" I asked yawning. '_Oh, a name. I need a name. My name is….Pharos. It's Pharos.' _He held out his hand. When I touched his hand I saw something that looked like a huge dark monster. I was shocked. When I let go of his hand he returned back to normal and smiled. '_Well, it's time for me to return now. I'm glad we became friends today..I'll come again soon..It'll be from now on.' _ He disappeared. I sat there shocked at what I just saw.


	11. Chapter 11

(This Chapter will be a random story about days before the next full moon. XD Oh and sorry for the short battles in the other chapters. I will try my best :D Oh and Theodore is in this chapter. Sorry I forgot to introduce Theo and Elizabeth)

As I walked to school I overheard a conversation. "Yesterday I went on a date with my boyfriend and he headed to Shirakawa Boulevard." "EW! I knew what was on his mind!" "Yeah…I recently started dating him and he's starting to freak me out. And I don't want to end up like those apathy syndrome pairs…" "HAHAHA I can totally see that!" The warning bell rang and I headed off to class. I sat down in my desk next to Minato and waited for classes to start with a bored look on my face. "Wow. Look those two." "Yeah. They're always together, it makes me jealous." "Mhm. I wanted to date Arisato-kun. But I'm no match for Himeko-san's beauty." "Not true! You could've gotten him if you had the chance!" "You're right! Besides, maybe they aren't dating. They could just be best friends." "Yup, you still have a chance!" "Then again they do live in the same dorm…." "Thank you for ruining my moment…."

LATER THAT SAME DAY XD

"So this is Paulownia Mall…" Theodore eyes were bright. "What is that?" He pointed to the fountain. "An aqua duct at such a place…? The residents of this world tend to be thirsty a lot." "Um…that's not it…" I said. "I-I know! It's for….washing your hands!" He guessed. "That's….right…" I didn't want to spoil his fun. He was amazed. "Just as I expected." He looked up. "Hm? What is this facility here?" He points to the police station. "Most wanted… Reward…? The are subjugation requests here too….?" He asked. "Yeah…sure…" He has a wild imagination. "That means, you still need to bring a piece of body." Theodore nodded with a self-satisfied look. "If there are more skillful hunters here then I should put my requests here too….Ah, no. I would say you are the best client. All I need is you and our other guest." Would he really put requests out here? "Umm..what's that?" He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the club Escapade. "Is this the rumored 'club'…?" "Rumored?" I asked. "Err..I heard different things about it…" Awkward silence. "Dancers, dictated by the sway of one's inner passions… A subterranean garden of uninhibited spectacle… This is the first time I get to see one…." He's very descriptive. "…It's closed…!" Theodore was shocked. "I guess I will have to come back later…" His eyes were slightly teary. "Ah…um…Hey look at the arcade!" He stared at the crane game in front of the arcade. "These prizes look more like stuffed animals made of cloth…" He was thinking hard. "Ah…Excuse me. There seems to be another aqua duct on this side as well." He walks over to the fountain and stands there. He looks around and then he suddenly puts his hand in the water. "8 degrees." "Wow. You're amazing." I smiled. He looked proud. "Well, isn't it obvious?"

I heard whispers coming from two girls. "Hey, that guy is hot." "But who's that stupid looking girl?" Theodore put his arm around me and tells the girls, "She is my date for the evening. Could you kindly not speak badly about her?" The girls were blushing and giggling. All they did was nod and walk away. "Does this usually happen to you?" He smiled. "Uh…well…" I thought about the times I walked with Minato, Junpei or Akihiko. "Yes." I laughed. After exploring Paulownia Mall we walked back to the Velvet Room.

(I am sorry for the short and boring chapter. I have a lot of things to do before school comes and I sort of have writer's block. If you can, can you leave any ideas of what my character can do on these boring days or free days. Something appropriate, too please!)


	12. Chapter 12

**7/7/09 Dark Hour Full Moon**

"Any luck, Fuuka?" Akihiko asked. "Yes. It's located in Iwatodai..inside a building on Shirakawa Boulevard." She said. "Hmm…Shirakawa Boulevard. They've been finding the Lost in pairs lately.. Now I understand why." The Chairman said. "In pairs...huh…Oh, I get it." Mitsuru turned silent. Fuuka dismissed her Persona. "Why what's on Shirakawa Boulevard? I'm not familiar with that area." "That's where all THOSE hotels are. That explains a lot." Junpei grinned. "You've heard about them, right Fuuka. Where people go to…ya know.." "Oh…" "Nonsense," The chairman said, "The rooms are a bit fancier, that's all." "I-I don't know about this maybe I shouldn't go." Yukari hesitated. Then she turned to Minato and blushed. "W-whatever! Fine. Let's go! But this time I want a piece of the action!" "What about you, Himeko? Are you okay with this?"Yukari asked. I shrugged, "I really couldn't care less…" Yukari looked at me quickly. "A-are you sure? I mean no one wants you to be uncomfortable…" It was like she wanted me to back off. "I'm fine." I answered. "Okay then. Pick your team members." Mitsuru said. We picked Junpei and Yukari and got ready to go. "Oh! And before you go." Mitsuru took my sword and handed me a scythe with chains around it. "I figured it would be easier for you to use. It also matches you." I don't know if I should be offended or not. "Uh…thank you?" I said. "Wow. It does match you." Yukari smiled. "…."

We were in front of the hotel and I noticed Yukari acting nervous. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Eh! Oh yeah! I'm great. But what about you two? You're acting so calm…" She pointed at me and Minato. We shrugged. "You guys ready?" Fuuka asked. I nodded. We entered the very gaudy hotel and waited for Fuuka to scan it. '_Got it! I sense something on the third floor!' _ We started running up the stairs trying to avoid the shadows. But thanks to Yukari's slow actions she got caught several times. We reached the third floor and we were surprised that there weren't any shadows here. _'I sense a large shadow behind that door. Please be careful!' _This door was very flashy…my head hurt just looking at it. I opened the door carefully. A shadow that looked like a fat man and a woman stood in the middle of the room. "This thing's the boss? Huh..it's more normal-looking than I expected." Yukari laughed. _'Get ready, everyone! It's coming!' _I quickly used Tarunda on the enemy and we entered battle. Yukari shot an arrow at it with her Toy bow and Akihiko used Sonic Punch causing the enemy to go down. It used Zionga on Junpei causing little damage. I asked Fuuka to scan the target and I used Agi on it. Yukari performed Garu. It started to use a powerful attack on all of us. We took a lot of damage which made me fall to my knees. I was dizzy and trying to calm down. When I looked up everything started to turn black. "Tch…" I ignored the pain and stood up again. I used a Soma quickly and attacked it with my scythe. Minato ran up to it and used Bufu with Jack Frost. "We did it!" Yukari rejoiced. "That was easy!" She said. '_Good Job! You succeeded once again. I'll be waiting outside.' _We happily walked up to the door and I tried to open it. "What are you waiting for? Let's get out of here." Junpei said. "Uhh…" I tried once more. "It won't open…" Minato gave it a try and turned around. "We're locked in." He said coldly. o_O "WHAT!" Yukari yelled. "Well I was starting to think why that shadow was too easy…" I said. '_HUH! I still sense a shadow in that room. It's not the same one you defeated!' _We turned around and looked everywhere. I walked over to the mirror to check something near it and when I looked up I noticed something odd. "Is it me or is there something strange about this mirror." I asked. Everyone came around it and all of a sudden a bright light surrounded us.

I woke up lying in a bed. My mind was foggy. '_Why am I here?' _I thought. '_I feel like I need to do something important…' 'Embrace your desire..' _A strange voice ringed inside my head. _'I am the voice of your inner self.. Enjoy the moment… That which cannot be felt merely a dream… The present is all we have.' _"That's not true…" I murmured. '_The future is but a fantasy, memory a fabrication… Let your desire free you from you shackles… Such is my wish.' "_I can't give in…" '_Pleasure is what you truly want. You stand before the doorway to bliss. You cannot deny your instincts… Embrace your desire…' _"Not now…" My mind began to clear up. I tried to get up from the bed when something held my waist tightly. I turned and saw Minato's sleeping face next to me. I held my breath. His eyes opened and stared at mine. He pulled me closer to him. "Minato…Minato. Get a hold of your self. Come on. Let me go." I tried to talk to him but it seemed like he was listening to the shadow's thoughts. "Hey! Your mind is clouded. Minato!" As I yelled his face got closer to mine. He was about to kiss me when he opened his eyes and said, "Huh? Himeko?" I was dizzy from all the heat rising up in my body. '_Can you two hear me?' _"Y-yeah…." I was about to explode. '_I'm sorry I couldn't contact you sooner…The shadow was interfering with your thoughts… And you all got separated… The enemy is still in the same room.' _We both were quiet in the same position. '_Um…did something happen?' _"N-no…Not at all…." I said. '_Ok. Please find the others. There on the floor above you.' _I tried to get up and was still caught by Minato. "Y-you could let go now." I looked at him. He was quiet for a moment staring at my eyes. "O-ok…" He then let go.

(OK! I know what you are thinking! BUT nothing…Adultish…happened OK! So don't get any weird ideas cuz I don't write stories or like anything like that….ok…)

We walked out of the room acting like nothing happened and run up the stairs meeting up with Yukari and Junpei. "There you are." Junpei said. "HUH! You two are together!" Yukari yelled. "Are you guys okay?" Junpei asked looking at my flushed face. "Fine…let's go." I said trying to act calm. Yukari glared at me. '_I got it the mirrors! They are giving off the same energy as the Shadow. Maybe the seal will vanish if you break the mirrors.' _We ran into the rooms looking for mirrors that seemed strange to us. "Oh!" Lightbulb above my head! "The mirror that you don't see yourself." "That's gotta be it!" Junpei began running into each of the rooms. "No luck…" He said panting. Sweatdrop… I opened the door to the room next to me. Junpei forgot about this one. I looked at the mirror and saw nothing. I kicked the mirror causing it to break. '_You've weakened the seal! There's another one on the floor above you.' _We checked most of the rooms. I ran to room 304 and and found it. '_You should be able to fight the Shadow now!' _We ran up to the Hierophant's Chamber and Yukari kicked open the door. "It wasn't locked….." Junpei said. "I know." Yukari said acting cool. A heart shaped Shadow floated in the middle of the room. "How dare you bring me to this place! I hope you're ready to die!" Yukari yelled. "You insisted on coming…." The three of us laughed quietly. We ran into battle. This Shadow was stronger than the last one we killed. Junpei gave his all trying to be the first one to kill it but it backfired. He kept using cleave which took up most of his HP. Yukari's arcana was the same as the Shadow's so the attacks she had didn't work. She also ended up getting to close to it that she became exhausted. Minato and I were also exhausted from using our Personas too much. The pain from the last shadow came back to me causing me to fall. Everyone was beat. The Shadow was getting ready to attack. I started to think hard and looked around. I saw my evoker a few feet away from me. I panicked and ran up to grab my evoker. I knew using my Persona in this condition might kill me but I had no choice. "Hey! What are you doing!" Junpei yelled. "No! You'll die!" Yukari said. I ignored them and held the evoker up to my head. "PERSONA!" I yelled. I kept my eyes open to see the Shadow die and I smiled. After that everything went black.

**Minato**

Himeko killed the Shadow successfully. After she saw it's death she fainted. I caught her before she could hit the ground. "Is she okay?" Junpei ran up to us. "Yeah. She's just unconscious." I answered. '_I'm glad. Please come outside so we can return.' _ I held her bridal style and we all walked out of the hotel. "Great job everybody!" Fuuka rejoiced. "We were able to defeat those shadows and succeed." Mitsuru said. "Let's go back." Akihiko and Mitsuru walked away. Himeko woke up and asked, "Is everyone ok?" I nodded. "Hey…" She asked. "Why are you holding me bridal style?" "….Would you like to stay in the hotel then." I teased. She blushed hard. "S-shut up!" I laughed. "Hey, Himeko, why are you trying so hard?" Junpei asked with a sullen tone. "Are you worried or something…." She asked. "Nevermind…it's nothing…" He sighed. "Dude, what's the matter with you?" Yukari laughed. "Are you gonna keep sulking because she killed the Shadow?" "Shut up!" Junpei ran off quickly. Yukari ignored Junpei and kept staring at us. "What?" I asked. "N-nothing…let's get going." She walked off. "You can let me go now…" Himeko asked. "Nope." I said as I started walking off with Himeko in my arms.

**MEANWHILE!**

**Takaya**

"They've gained new recruits and their fighting style is absolutely marvelous. Well, Jin? Are they our enemy?" I asked. "Why don't we ask our 'buddy'? We'll be seeing him real soon." "Yes, that's an excellent idea. Considering that he shares our fate, it would be prudent to seek his opinion. We don't have much time left…"

(YAY! I have finished with this chapter! OH! And remember to leave an idea on what to do on our hero's free days! Cuz I got writers block and school is almost coming up…I have a lot of ma plate….summer reading and summer homework….and getting school supplies…so please leave a good review too! XD)


	13. Chapter 13

**7/11/09 Saturday**

We were in the command room. "The reason for today's meeting is-" I'm sorry," He was interrupted by Yukari, "Before we go on, I'd like to ask Mitsuru-senpai something." "Me?" "Since I joined, so many things have happened…I went along with without understanding what was going on…but now, I need to know. I'm gonna ask you straight out.. You've been hiding something from us, haven't you, Senpai? You act like you don't know anything about the Dark Hour and Tartarus…but they're related to that accident ten years ago, aren't they?" "What accident?" Junpei asked. "Y-Yukari-chan…" Fuuka mumbled. "There was an explosion near our school and a lot of people died… It must've been big news back then You know about it, don't you?" Yukari stared Mitsuru. "…Yes." Then Yukari went on, "Luckily, no students were injured. But…around the same time a large number of students were recorded as absent.. Seems like more than just a coincidence." "What do you mean?" Mitsuru looked confused. "I dug up some school records and found something interesting." '_WTF! Is she desperate or something….' _I thought. "The students who were absent… They all collapsed suddenly and were hospitalized. Sound familiar? You know like the girls who bullied Fuuka…" Mitsuru sat quietly. "There has to be an explanation!" Yukari yelled. "C-calm down…" I said. "What really happened on the day of that accident?" Yukari asked. "Tell me the truth!" "I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. It just never seemed relevant. But.." Mitsuru explained. "It's okay it's not your fault." the Chairman butted in. "Alright." Mitsuru went on. "I'll tell you the whole story.." Flashback.

"The shadows have many mysterious abilities. Some research indicates that they can even affect time and space. We think of them as our enemies, but what if we could somehow use them to our advantage? They would be a source of unimaginable power, wouldn't they?" "What..?" Yukari said. "Fourteen years ago, one man pursued that line of thinking. He was the former leader of the Kirijou Group, Kouetsu Kirijou… My grandfather." Silence. "My grandfather was obsessed with the Shadows… He wanted to harness their power for something extraordinary. He assembled a team of top scientists, and over several years, he put together an impressive collection of Shadows." "He what? Damn that's freaking' crazy!" Junpei said. "However, ten years ago, during the final stages of the experiment, they lost control of the Shadows' power. And in the process, the very nature of the world was altered." "Do you mean…?" I asked. "Yes… Tartarus and the Dark Hour. By their account, the mass of Shadows they collected split into several large ones that then dispersed. These are the Shadows we've been encountering on nights when the moon is full." "Is that why they've appeared in different places?" Fuuka asked. "Wait a minute.." Yukari asked. "If what you say is true, then, why did our school turn into Tartarus?" She gasped. "Don't tell me… That's where they conducted the experiment!" Mitsuru nodded. "Then the hospitalized students…" "I'm afraid it's just as you're thinking." Mitsuru sighed. "Port Island must have been an ideal location for them. It was a highly populated area, and the Kirijou Group had influence there. They could do as they pleased… As you guessed, the experiment ten years ago was conducted at Gekkoukan High School." "Does that mean….all we've been doing is cleaning up their mess!" Yukari was throwing a fit. "You lied to us? You knew too, didn't you Senpai!" She looked at Akihiko. "They've just been using us! Or do you not care as long as you get to fight?" "I never said anything like that! I have my reasons…" Akihiko stood quiet. "Yukari, calm down." I said. "Don't blame them." "OH! And since you're the leader with Minato, you defend them? Just because they nominated you as leader!" Yukari was having major mood swings. It didn't bother me though. "You just wanted to play leader, huh?" "That's enough, Yukari." I said coldly. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. No one had ever seen me so EVIL. (Yup right there she looked EVIL.) She glared at me.

"Think what you'd like.. It was my decision not to share that information. I'm sorry. I never intended to deceive you. Only we-with our Personas-can fight the Shadows." Mitsuru said. "How could you..!" Yukari yelled. "Yukari, the past is the past. We're all in the same boat here. What if I told you that those twelve Shadows are the cause of everything? And if we defeat them Tartarus will disappear." Yukari sat quietly.

"I guess we can't go to Tartarus since everyone's down.. Besides I have to review with Junpei about what's going on…" Fuuka said. "What just happened?" Junpei asked. Sweatdrop.

**7/13/09 Monday**

We all sat at the table in the lounge. The atmosphere was very awkward. "Uh..Anyone hungry?" Akihiko asked. I shook my head. "So anyone have any plans for summer?" Fuuka asked. Junpei sighed, "I wanted to go to the beach! Hang lose and fun…" "Me too. I wanna go somewhere famous for their beaches. Like Okinawa." Fuuka said. "Well it's no Okinawa but what about Yakushima?" "Mr. Chairman! I didn't know you were here." Mitsuru said. "I just happened to be in the neighborhood. Anyway, Mitsuru, your father will be visiting Yakushima. Why won't you pay him a visit?" He suggested. "Uh..I hate to interrupt his vacation." She said. "Nonsense. What kind of father wouldn't be happy to see his daughter whole traveled so far to see him?" "Please, Senpai!" Junpei begged. "Ok. I guess everyone needs a break once in a while." "YEAH!" Junpei jumped up and down. "I need to buy a swimsuit." Fuuka said. "Oh, don't worry. I have an extra." Junpei teased. "Yeah right." Akihiko laughed. After all the loud conversation in the lounge I went upstairs and decided to study. Too bad I fell asleep before I touched my notes.

**7/18/09 Saturday**

**Last Day of Exams**

I woke up early in the morning to get ready for the exams. Now that I think of the exams, I probably should've studied. I walked to school and overheard a conversation. "Summer's hear! Beaches, ocean, sun. But first we've got exams to worry about." the girl sighed. When I entered the classroom Junpei looked sad. "You're not confident are you?" I asked. He shook his head. "I've been thinking about Yakushima the whole time…." "Is that so?" I sat down in my seat. "Hey Minato did you stu-" I turned and he was fast asleep. Junpei sighed and left.

When the exam began I was worrying that I might fail but when I looked at these questions I felt pretty confident.

**Junpei**

'_Holy Crap! I don't know any of this! Pan? WTF the Pan mean! Maybe the answer is Pi….? Well that' was easy! Why would they put math in an english test? Yakushima here I come!' _

After the exam I shot up from my chair and rejoiced. "I'm done baby! The dark days of testing are finally over! The sun is shining bright!" "So how'd you do?" Yukari asked. "Hey, check it out! I aced P.E.!" I yelled.

**Himeko**

"Hey, I don't have practice today, so do you wanna do something?" Yukari walked over to Minato. "Sounds good. Where are we going?" Junpei butted in. Yukari sighed and glared at Junpei. "If you need to buy a swimsuit, I'd be happy to help!" "Ugh. As if." Yukari seemed disappointed. "Whatever. I'll invite Fuuka, too." She walked off. Junpei walked over to me. "Hey, I know I've been a jerk latetly..but we're still cool, right?" He asked. "Of course." I smiled. "Thanks, dude. Alright, let's go."

Junpei ran out the doors of the school and rejoiced. "Hey, what are you doing here, Akihiko?" He asked. "Ikutsuki-san called me. I think he wants to talk about a new candidate." He explained. "Does that mean another persona is going to join?" Yukari asked. "Ya think…" I mumbled. "Is it a girl!" Junpei asked. Sweatdrop. "Fuuka!" "What's the matter, Natuski-san?" Fuuka asked. "Do you think you can stay with me after school. I have this mandatory study session and there's like no one go-Oh, you're going back to your 'home' home today, huh? That's okay." As she began to turn around Fuuka stopped her. "No, wait. It's okay. Let's go." She turned around. "Sorry, I'll see you guys later at the dorm." They walked off. "Ah, friendship…. How beautiful." A voice came behind me and I jumped behind Minato. "Ah…it's just the Chairman…" Minato said. "Haha. I just stopped by to pick someone up. Let me introduce him to you." An elementary student walked up and greeted us. Akihiko looked surprised. "This is Ken. He doesn't leave during the break because of his…circumstances." The Chairman explained. "It was only me and my mom, but she died in an accident two years ago…" Ken said. "Staying in the elementary school dorm all by himself isn't proper for his age so he'll be staying with us. Besides he has the potential." Everyone staid quiet in the awkward atmosphere. "Are you..Sanada-senpai. You haven't lost a boxing match yet." Ken admired Akihiko.

BACK AT THE DORM

"I'm stoked! YAKUSHIMA YAKUSHIMA YAKUSHIMA!" Junpei started dancing. "I'm gonna go pack!" He ran up the stairs. "Um don't we leave on Monday?" I asked. "You wanna tell him that?" Yukari said.

**7/20/10 Monday**

The trip for Yakushima was today and I woke up from Junpei's voice screaming through out the halls. "Come on let's go! Let's go!" Then I heard someone hitting his head.

On our way to Yakushima Junpei danced around. "HAHA! THIS IS AWESOME! OH! THERE IT IS! YA-KU-SHI-MA!" He turned around to look at us. Unfortunately the atmosphere was terrible. Fuuka was in between Mitsuru and Yukari who didn't seem to speak for a few days. Me and Minato stood next to each other hearing our music and Akihiko just stood there.

The mansion we stayed at was huge. "What are we in? The Lifestyles of the Rich and Fabulous?" Junpei looked around. "Welcome back, milady." Two maids greeted us. "MAIDS 3" Junpei's eyes were hearts. We walked up the hall and met up with a man wearing an eye patch. "PIRATE! This place has everything!" Junpei laughed. Sweatdrop. "Was that her father?" Fuuka asked. "Scary. Is he gonna make us walk the plank?" "Don't be stupid!" Akihiko waked Junpei's head. "Make yourself at home." Mitsuru chuckled. "SWEET! This is gonna rock! HEY! Wanna go to the beach it's right there!" "What, already!" Yukari complained. She was ready to go to her room when she accidentally bumped into Minato. Her face turned redder than a tomato. "I mean, sure, but let me get changed first!" She ran off.

(Okay if there are any mistakes in here like the last chapter with Akihiko, please tell me.)


	14. Chapter 14

(O my goodness i haven't written in a long time! Sorry guys its cuz of school new grade new schedule (graduating this year next year i'll be a freshman!) more f***ing drama! my friends wont talk to each other and stuff…. must be T.O.M. lol get it anyway! im also reading a lot of shoujo manga and i keep crying cuz of how romantic it is! i'm a girl! its what we do! well some of us…um o well on to the story!)

SAME DAY!

**Minato**

As soon as we changed Junpei grabbed his beach gear and ran across the beach. "SUMMER'S HERE!" "Darn… There's nothing I could use as a marker. I was hoping for a good swim…" Akihiko said. "STUPID! You come all the way to the beach and all you wanna do is train?" Junpei laughed. "You got a better idea." "DAMN RIGHT, I DO! It's summertime at the beach! I've got the perfect activity!" Junpei stopped when he saw Yukari coming. "Contestant No. 1, Yukari Takeba! As you can see, she has chosen a bold design. Quite unexpected. It takes a lot of confidence to pull off a swimsuit like that!" Junpei was in his happy place. "Akihiko….isn't that swimsuit a little small…" She asked. "What? It reduces water resistance and-" "No that's okay!" She said. Fuuka walked up wearing a blue swimsuit. "No. 2! Fuuka Yamagishi! ….WOW, Fuuka. I had no idea you were so….. I mean, you should wear a swimsuit more often!" Fuuka turned red and hid behind Yukari. "Nothing to be embarrassed about!" A creepy laugh came from Junpei as through he were going to molest them. "Stop that! YOU PERV!" Yukari yelled. "Contestant No. 4! Mitsuru Kirijou!" Mitsuru walked up. "Wow! You look beautiful!" Fuuka said. "Yeah! You're skin is flawless! Did you already put on sunscreen?" Yukari asked. "No…" She answered. They both ran up to her asking her for tips about skin perfection. "Oh. My. God." Junpei froze when he saw Himeko walking this way. She wore a white bikini with a pink cherry blossom pattern and had shorts on. Even Akihiko and I stood there staring at her. "What?" She asked. "You look….amazing! Now I can see those curves you've been hiding under you clothes. But what bra size are you, A?" Junpei asked. Akihiko and I stepped on his back choking him with the sand. "Stupid!" Akihiko yelled. She sighed and walked off. Junpei jumped up behind me and whispered, "So… Which one's your type?"

**Yukari**

I saw Junpei and Minato whispering right after they saw Himeko. Then Junpei started whining about something that Minato had said. "Not fair, not fair, not fair!" He yelled. Minato quietly sneaked away from him. After a few seconds Junpei stopped whining. "Man! I'm in heaven! How 'bout a swim!" Junpei ran in the water and Akihiko followed. "Hey! Come on in! The water's great!" Junpei started splashing me and Fuuka. "HEY!" I ran after him.

**Himeko**

Yukari was chasing Junpei. "What are guys doing? Playing tag?" Akihiko sighed. Junpei stopped. "We should play soccer!" He had a soccer ball in his hands. "Where'd you get that soccer ball?" I asked. "Girls against boys!" He yelled. "I'll watch." Mitsuru sat down under the umbrella. "You guys any good?" Yukari asked. I nodded but Fuuka seemed unsure. The ball rolled over to me and Junpei yelled, "We will win for sure!" He was gloating when the ball almost smashed his face. "What the hell! Who did that!" I smiled and scratched my head. "She's a little scary…" He whimpered. "Game Start!" Yukari yelled. Akihiko quickly passed the ball to Junpei. He ran past Fuuka who was dumbfounded. I ran next to him get closer to the ball and ready to take it from him when he yelled, "Minato, now!" "What?" I felt someone grab my wrist and put their arm around my neck. "Eh?" It was Minato. "Hey that's cheating! Not fair!" Yukari stomped her feet on the ground. "Hey! Let me go!" I tried to escape his grasp but he put the arm that was around my neck around my waist so I couldn't move. He was just standing there not even flinching when I tried to run. Yukari managed to stop Junpei from making a goal. "HAH! You're plan didn't work! It turns out it was useless!" Yukari laughed. Junpei then kicked the ball and made a goal. "YES! HAHA! You shouldn't let your guard down!" He danced around. "Minato! Let her go!" Yukari demanded. He did as he was told and let me go. "Are you okay!" She asked. I nodded with shame. "I'm sorry…I let my guard down…" I said. "It's okay! Stupei cheated so it doesn't count." She smiled. "WHAT!" He came out of nowhere. "It does too count!" He complained.

Yukari whispered something to me, "Ne ne, Himeko can you help me with something?"

"Um well it depends on what it is…"

"Help me with Minato." She giggled.

My eyes widened. "W-what..?" I looked down and hid my eyes under the shadow of my hair. "Yeah. You know, hook me up with him." I looked up at Yukari who was staring at Minato. "I really think he's interested in me." She sounded confident. Could I really help her? I hesitated for a bit and decided on an answer. I forced myself to smile.

"Sure."

**Mitsuru**

"It's been a while." I told my father who was walking up the hallway. "I'm glad that you're in good health." "Our guests are residents of the dorm, I presume." He said right away." "I'm sorry for bringing such a crowd…" "..I heard you told them about the incident..Why did you hide it so long?" He asked. "…I wasn't hiding it…" "I've told you time and again, none of the blame is yours." Silence filled the air along with Father's cigar. "Bring them here. All of them. I had no intention of concealing the truth from them. I've made preparations to disclose everything. There's a girl named Takeba in your group, right?" I nodded. "It must be fate…for her to awaken to her power…" "Father….?" He walked toward the doors and went inside. I sighed and went to fetch them.

**Himeko**

"Hey! Since we're just sitting here…uh….so Himeko what'd you do when you were little?" Junpei asked trying to start a conversation. "Well…I traveled around Europe and America with my parents." "Hmm…so what happened to your parents?" "Junpei!" Yukari whispered at him. "Um…no its okay…" My voice started to break. I stood up quietly and said, "I'm gonna get some air…"

The ocean was so calm at night. My mind was messed up, fogged by so many thoughts. I went and sat down behind a boulder and leaned on it. "So Yukari really likes him huh?" I whispered to myself and let out a small sigh. "I can't do it…" I hugged my knees and put my head in between them.

"You remember at the hospital. What I told you?" I heard Yukari's faint voice. I looked over the boulder and saw Yukari standing close to the water and Minato behind her a few yards away from me. _What is going on? _"My dad died when I was little. It was too much for me. Too hard for me. I had a harder time than my mom." It sounded like she was trying to make him feel sorry for her. What kind of idiot-! "That must have been awful…" Minato used sarcasm. "Oh gee! Mr. Perfect, huh? Well you don't know anything!" She snapped then sighed trying to calm down. "I'm guessing Mitsuru sent you here?" "Yeah." "Well, are you sure you didn't come here because you wanted to?" Yukari walked up to him and looked up to see his face and wrapped her arms around him. I let out a small gasp and covered my mouth. Tears suddenly started rolling down my cheeks. _What? Why am I crying? It's just a hug… No…I can't fall for him… I just can't… _Yukari's face was getting closer to Minato's when,"HEY!" Junpei came running up to them. Yukari immediately let go of him. "It's almost the Dark Hour. Mitsuru told me to get you guys." Silence filled the air. "What's going on?" Junpei panted. Yukari glared at Junpei and then walked away. "Whatever…let's go. " Junpei ran off after her.

When I was just about ready to get up and leave a figure sneaked up behind me. I held my breathe while I turned to see who it was.

Minato.

I froze in my position and stared at his grey eyes. At least I thought they were grey. I don't know. "What are you doing here?" He asked in a soft tone. "Oh-uh…" I stuttered trying to pull the words out of my mouth. _Oh shit! What am I gonna do? If Yukari comes back and sees us here she'll hate me! Or worse kill me! _I slapped my self. What was wrong with me?

Minato stepped closer to me. "Uh, h-hey! What's u-" I stopped when he pulled me into a hug. "Eh? Uh..Minato?" What was going on! He mumbled something into my shoulder. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. What'd you say?" He pulled away from the hug and searched for my eyes. His hand reached up to my face to wipe away the tears that were still coming from looking at Yukari's surprise hug.

Minato placed his hand on my cheek and the other around my waist, pulling my body close to his. I could feel my body burning up as he leaned in getting closer to my lips. His eyes were closed with some of his hair covering his right eye.

He then stopped when we heard Yukari and Junpei's voices. "Man, we lost him! And Himeko!" Junpei panicked. When Minato opened his eyes I stared at him, shocked and scared. I had to get away from here or Yukari will… "HELLO! MINATO!" She yelled.

I silently pushed Minato away gently and stood up from the sand. I didn't want to see his face or show him my face that was overflowing with tears. When I heard the footsteps coming towards the boulder we were hiding behind I sneaked away to the mansion. On the way the tears wouldn't stop coming. "W-what ju-just happened…?" I ran into my room and cried silently under the covers.

**I AM SO SORRY! I took so long I hate myself! Anyway, I have made things more interesting if you can see. XD I haven't updated in like 4 weeks! Well, I will try my best okay! I am not giving on this story! Oh! and as I said before I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS JUST HIMEKO! I DO NOT OWN THE GAME OR ANYTHING! ^^ (i've got the magic in me! song stuck in my head)**


	15. Chapter 15

Fuuka took out the thermometer from under my tongue and inspected it. "Hmm…You don't have a fever. Are you sure you don't feel well?" I nodded hiding under the covers. I couldn't show my face to Minato today or even look at Yukari without having to say something. I didn't know why but that bothered me for some reason. "Ok…if you need us, we'll be taking a walk." Fuuka said before she left my room.

Tears were begging to come out when I pictured last night in my head. I took a breath and got up from the bed. "I need air…." I threw some random clothes on and ran out the door. The fresh morning air blew on my face and hair. My eyes began to sting when the sun beamed down on my face. Without even noticing, I walked into a forest and looked around. I didn't know where I was going but I kept walking forward up the forest. Everything was quiet. So quiet that it made my ears start ringing. A few seconds later the sound of cicadas and the birds chirping filled the air. I closed my eyes and kept walking to who knows where. The only thing I could see was the inside of my eyelids until they grew bright red with the sun. As eye opened my eyes there was a small shrine in the middle of the small opening in the forest. I looked around and sucked in some air. I turned around bumped into a person with something blue on. I take a good look at her and she is very pretty. She was staring at me though which made me kind of uncomfortable. Her blonde short hair blew in the wind. Footsteps were approaching from behind her. She turned to the person who came running. "It is you." She said with relief. When I looked to see who it was I froze in my place. Just when I found a spot to get away from everyone _he _has to show up.

Minato. What luck..

Why the hell was he wearing his bathing suit in the forest? He walked up to us slowly and was about to say something when the strange blonde girl grabbed our hands and made Minato's and mine intertwine. We both stood facing each other looking at our hands being held together by the girl's hands. I looked to away from Minato and tried hard not to look. "I have found you," she said looking at the both of us. Minato was just as confused as I was. What was she talking about? Then she suddenly embraced us and said, "My highest priority is to be with you."

"Who's that?" A very familiar voice came from behind me. I turned around to see Junpei, Yukari, Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Akihiko walking towards us. "There she is.. Um, what's going on here?" Junpei yelled. Yukari was eyeing our intertwined hands and I quickly broke free from Minato's grasp. I backed away pretending like nothing happened. "Why was she hugging you?" Yukari glared at me then the blonde girl.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your vacation but we need to go get our battle gear." Mitsuru ordered. "No need. We've found what we were looking for." Ikutsuki appeared out of nowhere and pointed to the mysterious girl. "You know you don't have permission to leave the lab on your own, Aigis." She nodded. "…I know."

Later we were all in the living room waiting for Ikutsuki.

"I apologize for all the trouble. Everything is under control now," He said as he walked in. "So what happened to capturing the tank?" Fuuka asked. He nodded and answered, "Oh, that's been taken care of. Come here, Aigis." He signaled for her to come in. As she walked in everyone had a bit of shock. "This is Aigis. As you can see, she's a 'mechanical maiden.' " Aigis nodded, "I am Aigis. My mission is to destroy Shadows. I have been assigned to SEES, effective immediately." Yukari seemed the most surprised. "No way… It's like she's… alive." _'No shit Sherlock.' _I had a mental laugh. "She's so cute, but… she's a robot.." Junpei sighed with disappointment. Everyone had sweat drops. '_Oh Junpei… If only you would get off that subject…' _

Ikutsuki began to explain. "Anti-Shadow weapons were created ten years ago to combat uncontrollable Shadows. Aigis was the last to be made… and she's the only one that still remains today." Misturu stood up straight and said, "An anti-Shadow weapon… Does that mean she…?" Aigis turned to her, "Yes, I am capable of operating the Persona 'Palladion.' " Everyone stared at Aigis with widened eyes. "She suffered major damage in combat and has remained in the lab ever since. It's still unclear as to why she suddenly reactivated herself this morning…" Ikutsuki said with a farewell and walked off. Fuuka ran up to the machine and couldn't believe her eyes. Yukari then quickly looked at Aigis and asked, "When I saw you earlier, it seemed like you knew him…" Completely forgetting about me… Nice Yukari. "Yes, it is very important for me to be by his side. Even hers." She pointed at me. Yukari seemed frustrated.

Junpei groaned as he set his beach gear down on the sand. "It's too bad we have to go home tomorrow… I'd totally stay longer..if I could." Then his eyes brightened up a bit. "Can't complain, though. A lot of cool things happened." With that he ran off. Akihiko sighed. "…How can he be so full of energy? We were up so lat-" He was cut off by the sight of us coming over to their spot. We were wearing different bathing suits this time. (Yes I changed it buahaha) This time my bathing suit was a crimson red bikini with some black lace ribbons and black shorts on top of the bottom part of the swimsuit. "She's so pale, it's cute.." Akihiko whispered to himself. I was walking towards the shade and sat down next to Akihiko. I couldn't sit down next to Minato. That would makes things awkward. Unfortunately things became even more awkward than I imagined.

"Do we have a mission at the beach today?" Aigis asked Junpei. "Nah, we just came here to have some fun." Fuuka walked up to her and asked, "Do you understand what it means to 'have fun' Aigis?" She said it slowly. Aigis turned to her and said, "Of course. Recreation is the refreshment of one's mind and body." Junpei nodded then yelled, "Let's all take one last dip before we leave!" He ran over to the ocean and Aigis followed behind. "Is it okay for her to go in the ocean?" Fuuka seemed worried. "I'm sure she's waterproof." Yukari said.

Aigis came up to Fuuka. "It is best that we all engage in this activity together." Yukari nodded, "Yeah come on guys!" I shook my head, "Um, I'm not in the mood…" Yukari looked over at Minato who also shook his head. I stiffened at his refusal. Yukari let out a sigh and walked off. I secretly looked over at Minato who was sitting in the other chair. His eyes looked up and I quickly looked away. _So awkward…! _

**Minato**

Himeko was staring at nothing. Her gaze empty. "The other night…" She said, "What happened?" She looked up with pleading eyes. I hesitated to answer when Junpei yelled, "Aigis wait! That's not what 'water gun' means!" He shrieked for help. "Hahaha Junpei is down! Let's get him!" "AAACCKK!" Junpei was being drowned and attacked. All of the noise made it harder to tell her.

**Himeko**

Minato seemed annoyed for some reason then he suddenly grabbed my hands and helped me up. "What's wrong?" I asked. He then gripped my wrist and pulled me along with him. He was headed to where there were big rocks next to the pier. _Not the 'hiding behind a rock' again, please… _Minato stopped and turned to face me. He sighed then held my hands. I stared at his amethyst eyes. They always turned different shades of gray.

"I'm sorry… I… thought you were still troubled by your parents because you were crying when I saw you." I was a bit shocked. "You're not alone." That caught my attention. His eyes began to become empty when tears begged to come out of mine. I wrapped my arm around him and hid my face in his chest. I didn't want him to see me cry again, that would just hurt him. "I'm sorry, too, for avoiding you…" I felt his arms wrap around me and his face bury into my hair. All was quiet except for the waves crashing on the shore until Aigis found us and told us her highest priority.

**I am soooooooo sorry! I haven't updated in MONTHS! I also have writer's block! I hope you all had a happy HOLIDAY! :D and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2011! YEAH!**


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Persona Series, Fantasy, Romance