Persona Series 1. Chapter 1: Home Again

_Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new story!_

_Dual Journey… well… it just seemed too much like 'Follow the Leader', you know? Everyone's doing a P3 retelling these days, and Dual Journey (and by extension, Green Midnight) was just too chaotic, jumbled, and unoriginal. (Except for Jester, that is; she was awesome and I hope to find another use for her someday…) Therefore, I teamed up with my girlfriend, Lady Starwing, (Writer of Guiding Light) to write a much more unique Persona 3 story that we hope will really stand out from the others._

_With that aside, I hope you enjoy this unique take on Persona 3 with Wild Fool._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>_ Home Again

"So… I'm back in Inaba…"

A young man stepped off a train onto the platform and took a look at the quaint town. He was dressed in black slacks, a grey wool coat, black loafers, and had on a pair of headphones, listening to his music. Swinging his duffel bag over his shoulder and brushing his blue hair out of his eyes, he walked off the platform onto the parking lot.

"Oi! You Arisato?"

The young man looked up to see an older woman walking towards him. She was dressed in a grey pencil skirt, purple blouse, grey overcoat, and black heels. She carried herself in a professional manner, a stern, yet kind look on her face.

"Yeah, I am," the boy nodded to her. "And you are?"

"My name is Dojima Chisato," the woman introduced herself. "Chief of police for this town."

"Arisato Minato," the boy held out his hand. "I was told to expect you."

"Ah, good to know that," the woman, Chisato, shook his hand. "Your grandfather wanted his assistant to meet you here, but he's busy, so he called in a favor to get me here. I'll also be keeping an eye on you during your stay here, so no funny business, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am," Minato nodded. "So, are you taking me straight there?"

"Seeing as how it's still early, I figured I'd show you around town. That okay with you?" Chisato offered, brushing her long brown hair out of her face.

"I don't see why not," Minato shrugged, removing his headphones. "Would you mind if we stopped for a bite to eat first? The train didn't offer any meals."

"Sure," Chisato smiled. "I know this fine place in the shopping district. I can show you around there as well."

"Sounds like a plan," Minato nodded as he followed Chisato to her car.

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><p>After arriving in the Shopping District, Minato followed Chisato to a place called Aiya. Going inside, he joined her at the bar, where she ordered a meat bowl for each of them. As the bowl was placed in front of him, Minato felt his eye twitching.<p>

_'There's so much meat!'_ he felt himself panic. _'It's like a gateway to a world of meat!'_

"You might want to hurry up and get started on that," Chisato was attacking her bowl with a vengeance. "It gets harder to eat after it goes cold."

_'How on earth is she eating that?'_ Minato gawked. _'And where is it going? She's skinnier than me!'_

"I thought you were hungry. Aren't you going to eat?" Chisato asked, a piece of meat drooping from her mouth.

"Uh… yeah…" Minato bit his lip and dove headfirst into the sea of meat before him.

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><p>"Ugh…" Minato moaned as he and Chisato walked throughout the Shopping District. "So… full…"<p>

"Suck it up, Arisato; you're a man, aren't you?" Chisato playfully glared at him.

"Yeah, but a man was never meant to eat a whole cow…" he uttered a groan.

"Don't worry; it'll settle by bedtime, but beware the frequent runs to the bathroom you'll be making in the middle of the night," Chisato laughed.

"Perfect…" Minato slapped his forehead.

"Oh, relax, would you?" she smirked at him. "Anyways, I want you to check this place out."

"What place?" Minato asked.

"That place," Chisato pointed to a set of stone stairs nearby. "It leads to Tatsuhime Shrine. Come on," she took off up the stairs.

_'Dammit, how in the world does she have so much energy…?'_ Minato groaned as he followed. At the top of the stairs, Minato stopped to catch his breath. As he did, he took a look. It was a small shrine, but it was well kept and gave off a tranquil feeling that made Minato relax. Walking around, he came up to the offertory box and looked in. "People come here often, it looks like."

"Yup. And the summer festival here is a riot too." Chisato gave a nod of agreement, walking up to stand next to Minato. "It's a lot smaller than something they'd throw in a big city, but well … this is Inaba; we like it small and simple." Chuckling, she glanced around as well. "Hmm, that's odd; there's normally at least one person hanging around the shrine at this time of day. I wonder where they're all at …" A quiet ringing noise from the inside of her coat pocket made Chisato pause. "Oh, excuse me for a moment Arisato."

Minato nodded, looking around the shrine box more as Chisato walked a small distance away, answering her phone call. Curious, Minato began to walk around the box when something batted at his ankle. "?" Confused, he looked down. "… There's nothing here …" Shrugging, he went to step forward again, only to yelp when something caught onto his pant leg. Looking again, he found himself staring at a small fox, its teeth digging into the denim of his jeans.

It … didn't seem rabid. It just didn't seem to want him to walk around the box. Curious, Minato took a step backwards so that he was standing behind the offertory box again; the fox let go of his pant leg, but still held him in a glare. "Is your home past there, Kitsune-san?" Minato asked it, kneeling down to come face to face with it. The fox met his gaze without blinking, its tail swishing behind it. "I'm sorry that I went to look back there, Kitsune-san. I won't disturb it again."

"Yip!" The fox nodded its head in response, bounding behind the box and vanishing from sight. Checking to see that the fox hadn't nipped at any skin – his leg was unmarked, so now he really doubted the fox was rabid – Minato straightened as Chisato walked over, stowing her phone away.

"Sorry about that, Arisato." She nodded in apology. "That was my husband just now. He wanted to ask if I could pick up our daughter from the day care center right now; he'd do it normally, but he got saddled with a great deal of work for this afternoon." Shaking her head for some reason, Chisato nodded to Minato. "It's getting late as it is; I'll swing by and pick up Nanako before dropping you off at your grandfather's place. That sound good?"

Minato nodded with a smile. "That's fine with me." Chisato gave him a nod and a small smile as they walked down the steps of the shrine. Tucking his hands in his pockets, Minato continued to glance around, grateful that the trip down the stairs of the shrine was a lot less taxing than the walk UP them. Chisato was a few feet in front of him, stepping into the street to get to her car across the way.

It was due to his habit of looking around that allowed Minato to spot the car barreling down the road towards them. "Chisato-san, look out!" Reaching out, Minato grabbed the back of her overcoat and hauled the woman backwards in the nick of time. Falling backwards from the effort, Minato blinked when he heard a pair of gunshots. Looking up, he saw that Chisato had drawn a handgun from _somewhere _and had fired it at the speeding car.

"WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD, AMERICAN BASTARD!" She snapped when the car's rear tires blew out, pulling out a radio and clearly transitioning to Police Chief Mode as the car took a right turn out of the shopping district. "This is Chief Dojima radioing in, and I'm reporting a white American Sedan speeding and on the wrong side of the street. It just took a right onto South Mitaka Street! Cut them off and put them in cuffs before they get out of town! Let me know as soon as they're in there, because I have a few choice words to say to them! And you can bet your asses none of them are well-wishes! Now MOVE YOUR ASSES INTO GEAR!"

Minato just sat there, staring with wide eyes. _'She wasn't kidding when she said I better not cause any trouble.' _He mentally noted. _'I piss her off, things won't end well.' _Shaking his head, he stood up and brushed the seat of his pants off, not knowing if he should talk to Chiasto for fear of getting his head bitten off or not.

She seemed to have calmed down a fraction, because she turned to Minato and gave a nod. "Sorry about that, but it's part of my job." At that, she gave him a smile. "But thanks; if you hadn't pulled me out of the way then, I would have a very poor chance of surviving. That jackass was going too fast as a whole. I bet they're drunk off their ass to boot." Shaking her head, she gestured to Minato as she stowed her gun back inside her coat's inner pocket. "Come on, let's go get Nanako and get you dropped off." Minato nodded, following her across the street.

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><p>"And we're here…" Chisato pulled into the driveway of an elegant manor. "I hope you've enjoyed your day so far."<p>

"I have, thank you," Minato nodded.

"A shame you couldn't say hello to my daughter," Chisato gestured to the sleeping four-year-old in the booster seat next to Minato. "She apparently had a big day."

"That's fine; I'm sure I'll have another chance." Minato laughed as he got out of the car.

"You've got my address and my cell phone number," said Chisato as she got out of the call. "If you need anything, feel free to call anytime, or visit me at home or the police station."

"Yes, ma'am," Minato nodded as he got his bag out of the car.

"Good, now let's get you inside," Chisato walked towards the front door. Minato followed her to the door, where a servant met them.

"Well, this is it. I'll see around, Arisato. Thanks for earlier." Chisato gave him a playful slap on the back.

"Same here," Minato gave her a nod. "Take care." Chisato then left him at the doorstep, the servant waiting until her car was out of sight before speaking up.

"Minato-sama, we have your room prepared. I suggest getting yourself settled and the cook will prepare a snack for you. I also suggest turning in early, for tomorrow is your first day of school," the servant advised him.

"I understand. Thank you. Would you please take me to my room?" Minato asked.

"It would be my pleasure," the servant took Minato's bag and led him inside.

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><p>An itchy, parched throat was the first thing Minato registered as he woke up. "Damn, I'm thirsty," he rubbed his eyes. As he opened his eyes, he saw that an eerie green light had enveloped the entire room, the pale green moon hovering outside his window. Blood was also dripping down the walls, like they were holding back a reservoir's worth of it. "Drat… I had to wake up at THIS time," Minato groaned. "All the water's gonna be blood."<p>

"Once the Dark Hour fades, you'll be able to ease your throat."

"Huh? Who said that?" Minato quickly looked around.

"I did."

Minato looked to the foot of the bed and say a young boy in black and white striped pajamas. He had a greasy smile that made Minato sick to his stomach. "Who are you?" Minato asked. "You a kid of one of the servants?"

"No, I'm not," the kid shook his head. "I'm here for a… different reason."

"And what's that reason?" Minato eyed him.

"This," the boy snapped his fingers, and a roll of parchment appeared in Minato's lap.

"What is this?" Minato took the parchment in hand.

"It's a contract. Signing it will grant you untold power; in exchange, all you have to do is accept the consequences of any and all of your actions that you may do," the kid whispered to him.

"Are you kidding me?" Minato began looking all over the room. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I assure you that this is no joke, Arisato Minato," the boy shook his head as he held out a quill pen. "Sign this contract, and you'll be on a journey like no other."

"And why should I? I should just go back to sleep." Minato shot back.

"You could, and you'll wake up remembering none of this. But, sign this contract… and I promise you that the emptiness you feel will be filled, that question of 'What am I doing here?' will be answered, and so much more…" the boy promised.

"Really?" Minato asked, to which the boy nodded. "Well… even if this is a hoax, what's the worst that can happen?" With that, Minato took the quill pen and signed the parchment the boy had given him. The boy took both in hand and threw them up into the air, vanishing as quickly as they appeared.

"And so it begins…" the boy nodded, retreating into the shadows. "The truth cannot be hidden forever. The light of hope will always unearth it and make the truth know. The question is: Can you accept that truth and use its power? We shall see…"

At that moment, the green hue vanished, replaced with the normal colors of the night, the boy disappearing along with it.

"Damn… Just what the hell was that?" Minato asked. "Whatever, I'm gonna go get my water…"

And so it begins…

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><p><em>Not like any P3 story you've ever read before, have you? Well, here's hoping it keeps your attention.<em>

_And now for bios!_

**Dojima Chisato:** The Police Chief of Yasoinaba. A wife and mother, she does her job with a stern but fair hand, despite her youth. She is on professional terms with the police force in Iwatodai and with the Kuzunoha detective family, and knows who owes her favors, and who she owes in return. An overall caring person with a big heart, but not someone you would want angry with you. Has a good hand with shotguns and rifles, and isn't afraid to use a gun if she is forced to do so.

_Anyways, feel free to subscribe and review. Starwing and I will be back with a new chapter soon._


	2. Chapter 2: Chance Encounters

_**Chapter 2:**_ _Chance Encounters_

The next morning started as calmly as Minato had been expecting it to. Sitting up in bed, he stretched, glad that the walls had gone back to normal. "That time only seems to last for an hour, but it's still so unnerving …" Yawning, he stood up and walked over to his closet, going to pull out his school uniform. "Second year of high school, here I come." After pulling on the white polo shirt and school jacket, Minato paused, and then slung his headphones and MP3 player on around his neck.

A knock came at his bedroom door. "Minato-san, are you awake yet?" One of the servants opened the door. "The cook managed to prepare you breakfast for the day, but you should come down and eat it soon. It is a trip from here to Yasogami High School, and it would be bad for you to be late on your first day of school."

"I'll be down in a minute then." Minato nodded, smiling to himself. The servant nodded his head and closed the door behind him, and Minato walked over to his desk. "Let's see … ah, good, I do have everything in my bag that I need." Nodding to himself, Minato picked up the bag and wandered downstairs. "… I do wonder when Ojii-san is getting back from his latest field assignment …" Shaking his head, Minato wandered downstairs.

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><p>The bus ride wasn't as long as he thought it would be, and Minato found himself walking through part of the shopping district on his way to school. It really was a small town, but Minato didn't mind it. Smiling to himself, he turned on his music, covering his ears with his headphones as he passed by the nearby liquor store.<p>

Only for a smaller, slimmer body to accidentally run into him the moment he was a few feet away from it. "Oomph! I'm sorry, sir!" Puzzled by the girl's voice – the collision had made one of his earphones fall off – Minato turned around and found himself looking at a girl a year or so younger than him with wavy brown hair. Blinking equally brown eyes, she backed up a few feet and looked Minato over. "I'm sorry for that, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, and I tripped over the doorstop …" Tapering off, the girl caught sight of Minato's collar, spotting the gold 'II' that marked him as a second year student. "!"

"… Uh … it's okay?" Minato offered weakly, slightly confused by the girl's sudden shock. Taking another look, Minato saw that she wore the girl's uniform for Yasogami High School. _'Ah, a first year._' It clicked in his head, and he shook his head. "It's fine, I promise. No need for you to panic over accidentally running into me." Smiling shyly at the girl, Minato watched as she visibly relaxed.

"Still, it was rude of me …" Turning her head, the girl spotted who were apparently some of her friends. "Ah! Excuse me, senpai. I'll see you around school." Nodding her head, the girl darted off towards her friends, leaving Minato standing there and blinking for a few moments. Shrugging, he put his headphone back in and continued walking in silence, watching the other students jostle around him on their way to school.

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><p>Upon reaching Yasogami High School, Minato examined it for a moment; it was a good-sized high school, and at the same time wasn't overwhelmingly large. <em>'I hope I can find my class alright …<em>' Walking in through the main gate, Minato saw the shed nearby for bicycles, making him chuckle. _'They really support getting the students active here … I wonder what sort of sports teams they have.'_ It was a passing thought as he took off his headphones and wandered into the faculty office, going to ask which class he was in.

When he entered, he found himself face to face with a man in a blue suit and tacky yellow tie, who glared at the boy like he'd done something wrong. His upper teeth hung down over his lip, and Minato had to fight the urge to stare at them. _'A … are those TEETH?'_ he wondered, but forced himself to pay attention to the man as he gave a disdainful sniff.

"Hmph. So you're the new kid, eh?" He scowled, looking Minato over. "Well, I don't recognize your mug. Don't think that means you're gonna get away with anything here, got that?" Turning to go see what class Minato was in, the short man continued to rant, making Minato wish that he WASN'T in his class. "Hmph! Kids these days, always trying to see what they can and can't get away with in the classroom! What happened to the days when students _respected _the teachers? I had to confiscate three of those damn new-fangled COMP things last term!" Seemingly finding Minato's file, the man turned back around and was about to snap at him again when a new voice cut him off.

"Oh, there you are, Arisato-san." Another teacher, a woman wearing an Egyptian headdress and carrying a ceremonial crook walked up. "I was wondering if you'd just try and go straight up to the classroom, but … ah, Mooroka, thank you for tending to Arisato-san while I was busy clearing things up with the Principal." Taking the file from the scowling man – who Minato swore had a vein pulsing from the female teacher's intervention – she nodded. "You may go about your business now; Arisato's in my class, not yours."

"Hrmph, good luck there. You'll need it with who all you're getting." Turning away, Mooroka stalked off to a different part of the office, and Minato couldn't help but sigh in relief. The female teacher seemed amused at that.

"I'm sorry about that, Arisato-san. Mooroka takes great pleasure in unnerving and infuriating the student body." She apologized, flipping through his file. "Fortunately, his class was filled up before we had even received your name as an incoming student, so there wasn't a chance of you being placed in there. My name, by the way, is Sofue Takara, but you may call me Sofue-sensei. I'll be your homeroom and world history teacher for this year." Relaxing fully, Minato gave Sofue a respectful bow.

"Thank you, Sofue-sensei." He nodded, standing back up. "I think that I'll be fine." Sofue chuckled at that, putting his file back into place in the filing cabinet.

"I've already flipped through your papers, so it's probably a good idea I managed to get out here when I did. If Mooroka had seen what happened to your parents, I don't think he'd ever drop the subject." Shaking her head with a scowl, she nodded her head. "Let's go to class then, before the bell rings." Minato nodded and followed her, wondering vaguely how she managed to keep cool with the headdress on all the time.

'_It looks heavy, not to mention the fact that it __**might**__ be gold …'_ Pondering this was what kept Minato occupied until they reached the 2-C classroom, which he assumed was to be his homeroom class. Nodding when Sofue told him to wait while she got his classmates under order, Minato couldn't help but peep into the room before the door closed. _'… That looks like a good sized class.'_ Swallowing a lump in his throat, Minato listened until he heard the teacher call him into the room.

"Alright, class, this is Arisato Minato; he'll be joining us after being homeschooled, so please welcome him." Sofue looked around the classroom as she spoke. "We don't want to scare him away on the first day, now do we?" A couple chuckles and a snort of amusement answered her, so she was clearly a teacher the students respected or even liked. "Go ahead and introduce yourself, Arisato." She turned to Minato, who gave her a nervous look before facing the class.

"H … Hello, everyone." He greeted, nodding and trying to give the class a smile, albeit shakily. He could hear a lot of whispers going around the room, and it was impossible for him to track them all. However, nobody seemed particularly opposed to his presence. _'Well, that's a good sign at least.'_ He thought, relieved.

"Alright then, Arisato, go ahead and take a seat there behind Tekomara." Sofue pointed to an empty seat in the middle of the classroom with the crook. Minato nodded and went to sit down, fiddling with one of his headphones. Once she was certain that he was seated, the teacher went on with her lessons, and Minato found himself slipping into the routine.

'_I guess this can't be too bad …'_

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><p>The class passed in a daze, and when the final bell rang, Minato had to blink once or twice to register the sound. <em>'… Class is over already?<em>' he realized with a jolt, shaking his head and going to pack up his school books. _'That went by a lot faster than I thought it would …'_ Looking up from putting one book away, Minato found himself being stared at by a pair of inquisitive red eyes. "Gah!" Leaping out of his seat, Minato stared as the owner of the red eyes let out a nervous laugh.

"Sorry about that; I was wondering if you were still awake." It was an auburn haired girl who was talking to him, her smile and eyes positively radiating warmth. While she wore the regulation seifuku, her undershirt was a pale orange instead of white, a plaid orange ribbon tied off left center around her neck, and white socks that came up past her knee to leave a few inches between her skirt and socks bare. "So, you're the new student then? We'd heard a week ago that we'd possibly be getting a couple new ones this term." She smiled at Minato as she continued talking, brushing some of her hair behind an ear.

"Yeah, that would be me." Minato chuckled, unable but to help giving the girl a responding smile. "I'm Arisato Minato, in case you didn't catch Sofue-sensei's introduction." He gave a weak chuckle, offering the girl his hand.

"Heh, I'm Kujikawa Hamuko." The girl responded as she shook his hand. As Minato lodged her name into his memory, Hamuko gave him another laugh. "I live with my grandmother in the shopping district, so if you ever need to know anything about 'downtown' Inaba, you can ask me." At this, she noticed his headphones and MP3 player. "Oh? You listen to music?" She asked the question with a shocking amount of interest, making Minato nod.

"Y – yes, actually …" He began, and was about to continue when he saw someone come up to stand behind Hamuko, and the color drained from his face.

The newcomer was another male student, but taller than Minato, with a stronger build. He wore a black turtleneck under his uniform jacket, and his dusty brown hair hung down to his shoulders. He loomed behind Hamuko, his hands tucked into his pockets as he watched her and Minato with a pair of sharp, almost colorless eyes.

'_Dear GOD, who __**is **__that?'_ Minato wondered, feeling himself growing smaller as the newcomer looked him over. Upon closer inspection – which was little more than a quick peek – Minato saw that his eyes weren't colorless, but rather a very washed out shade of grey-brown. Seemingly unfazed by the blue-haired boy's reaction, the brunet let out a snort.

"Hamuko, you know you're not supposed to traumatize the transfer students." He commented, voice every bit as rough as his appearance. Hamuko seemed completely unbothered, however, because she rolled her eyes and turned to look at the newcomer.

Propping her hands on her hips, Hamuko tilted her head slightly to look at the boy in the eye. "I'm _not _traumatizing him, Shinjiro." She retorted. "That's your job anyway, and you do that so well that you scare half the _teachers_." Arching a slim eyebrow at the other boy – who Minato figured was named Shinjiro – Hamuko tilted her head to one side. "What are you doing here anyway? You've normally either left for the shop or are haunting the Practice Building by now."

"I'm reminding you that your grandmother needs your help in the tofu shop today." Shinjiro shook his head, although Minato noticed his voice seemed slightly warmer when talking with the auburn haired girl. "You're bad at forgetting that sort of detail if something distracts you, and we both know it. Oh, and the captain of the volleyball team wanted to see you before you left. I think she's been trying to get your attention for a couple weeks now." Hamuko huffed and stuck out her tongue at Shinjiro for that, but picked up her school bag all the same and turned to Minato again.

"Sorry about having to dash off like this, Minato-kun, but …" Giving a weak shrug and a giggle, Hamuko walked towards the door. "Shinjiro, don't scare Minato-kun too much!" She called over her shoulder, slipping out of the room before Shinjiro could retort.

Rolling his eyes again, Shinjiro turned his focus onto the slightly less nervous Minato. "Sorry if she was yakking your ear off there; Hamuko could talk anyone to death if she set her mind on it." He stated, and Minato decided to try his luck with talking to the taller boy.

"She … certainly seems to have a lot of energy." He offered, and was rewarded with an amused snort.

"That's an understatement; that girl could be bottled and sold as an energy drink, I swear …" Shaking his head, Shinjiro nodded at Minato. "The name's Aragaki Shinjiro; we're probably going to be talking like this a lot throughout the year, especially if Hamuko has any say in it."

"You and Hamuko-san are good friends?" Minato questioned, having noticed immediately that the two used no honorifics when speaking with one another. Shinjiro gave Minato a sharp look at that, and it took all his will not to flinch away and hide under his desk. Minato didn't know if Shinjiro knew it or not, but if it was possible to injure someone with a look, the taller boy would be a master at it.

"… I guess you could say that." Shinjiro said after a long moment, clearly skating around something. "That, and I work for her grandmother part time, so I've been around her longer." At this, the older boy seemed to reach for something out of habit, only to stop himself and scowl before looking at the clock. "Speaking of that, I should probably go and help her get the back part of the kitchen cleaned out before Hamuko gets there; it'll never get done otherwise." Going to leave, Shinjiro gave Minato a nod. "… See you tomorrow, then."

"Y – Yeah, see you tomorrow, Aragaki-san." Minato nodded his head, standing up and grabbing his books. "I probably should get home anyway …"

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><p>"Leave me alone, you damn enigma!"<p>

"Oh come on, Konishi. Won't you give us a chance to solve the greatest riddle of all?"

The sounds of loud arguing caught Minato's attention as he walked through the Shopping District. Standing in front of the stairs to the shrine were two Yasogami students in the middle of an argument. One of them was the girl Minato had run into earlier; the other was a student he didn't recognize. He was tanned, standing not much taller than the girl. He also had a large afro that made his head look twice as big. The gold 'I' on his collar glinted in the sunlight as he glared the girl down through his sunglasses with a confident grin.

"I don't care how many times you ask, I'm not going to go on a date with you." the girl scowled.

"Shot through the heart, you're to blame; you give love a bad name~" the boy sang out as he clutched his heart.

"Oh, shut up you damn melodramatic fool!" the girl smacked him in the back of the head. "And why the hell would you quote a Western rock band? That's just stupid!"

"Your wounds wound me more than any blade, dearest Konishi-hime…" the boy bowed. "But I know when to retreat; I shall pull back for now, but I shall try again. Until next time…" The boy spun on his heels and marched away from the girl, his face not looking anything like the face of a rejected boy.

"Stupid boy," the girl huffed as she leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "Who does he think he is?"

"Honestly, I think he's a bit wacky, but I think he means well," said Minato as he walked up to her, hands in his pockets.

"Oh! Senpai!" the girl shot up, blushing profusely. "I… uh… I didn't notice you there."

"I tend to blend in." Minato shrugged, leaning on the wall next to her.

"So… uh…" the girl rubbed the back of her head. "How much did you hear?"

"More or less everything after 'you damn enigma'." Minato chuckled.

"Hehe… Sorry about that. It's just that he constantly asks me out. We're best friends and he can't seem to get that I only want to remain friends with him," the girl sighed. "Sometimes, I can't help but think that he's joking."

"Then perhaps you two should sit down and seriously discuss it, without the flowery language, or the violence." Minato advised her.

"Yeah, maybe…" the girl sighed. "Anyways, who are you? You're clearly my senpai, but I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Ah, yes. My apologies," Minato nodded. "Anyways, my name is Arisato Minato. I just transferred to Yasogami after being homeschooled my whole life."

"Konishi Saki," the girl offered her hand to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Konishi-san," Minato shook her hand.

"Oh, please. Konishi-san is my father; Saki-san will do, Arisato-senpai." Saki replied.

"And I'd prefer Minato-senpai, Saki-san." Minato nodded.

"Deal." the two let out a couple of giggles.

"So, enjoy your first day here?" Saki asked him.

"I did. I met a couple of people; Kujikawa-san and Aragaki-san," Minato replied.

"Figures Kujikawa-senpai would greet you first; she's like that." Saki shook her head. "And you met Aragaki-senpai and lived? Do you know how scary that man is?"

"You're telling me," Minato sighed. "It was like seeing the head of the Yakuza."

"At least he's a nice guy, according to Kujikawa-senpai; apparently she's the only one who sees his good side." said Saki.

"Oh?" Minato was intrigued. "Does that mean that those two are…"

"No one knows," Saki shrugged. "They live together, work together, have the same classes and stuff. It's near impossible to see one without the other; if nothing else, the two are close friends."

"I see…" Minato nodded.

"Oh!" Saki's attention went to her wristwatch. "Crap! I need to get to the shop; my shift's about to start! I'm sorry Minato-senpai, but I need to get going! I'll see you around, okay?"

"Sure. I'll see you around." Minato waved to her as she ran off.

* * *

><p>As the sun was going down, Minato was lying down on his bed, listening to his music and reading a book. As he turned the page, there was a knock at the door. "Minato-sama, your grandfather is on the phone," a servant called out from the other side. "Would you be so kind as to answer?"<p>

"Sure, one second!" Minato called out as he shut off his music and picked up a phone that was on his nightstand. "Hello?"

"_**Hello! Minato! Good to hear you!"**_ a voice answered him.

"Same here, Shigeru-jii," Minato smiled. "What's up?"

"_**I wanted to check in and see how your first day was at Yasaogami,"**_ Shigeru answered. _**"Did you make any friends?"**_

"Well, I didn't make any friends per say, but I did meet some interesting characters." Minato replied.

"_**Like who?"**_

"Their names were Kujikawa Hamuko, Aragaki Shinjiro, and Konishi Saki," Minato listed off their names. "They seem like overall nice people, although Aragaki-san is kinda scary."

"_**Ah, so you ran into the granddaughter of Marukyu Tofu's owner, the daughter of Konishi Liquor's owner, and the vagabond kid who's always around Kujikawa-san."**_ said Shigeru.

"How on earth did you know all that? I didn't even know all that!" Minato gasped.

"_**Did you forget I'm a detective?"**_ Shigeru laughed. _**"I suppose it's a good thing Naoto's my apprentice and not you, no?"**_

"True, true," Minato chuckled. "She's way better suited for that life then I can ever be."

"_**So, who is your homeroom teacher? I honestly hope it's not Mooroka. I dealt with a rookie who had him for his teacher and he wouldn't stop yapping about him."**_ Shigeru sighed.

"No, no," Minato shook his head. "My main teacher is Sofue-sensei."

"_**Ah, Neteret Takara, eh?"**_ Shigeru recognized the name. _**"She's the leading expert on Egyptology in the whole country; you're lucky to have a sensei of her caliber teaching you."**_

"If she's so well renowned, why's she at a small town high school then?" Minato asked.

"_**No one knows; not even I,"**_ responded the detective. _**"Why don't you try finding out? If you do, there might be some hope for you yet in joining the family business."**_

"Hahaha, very funny, Shigeru-jii." Minato replied with sarcasm.

"_**Hey. I had to try. You know your parents would've loved it,"**_ Shigeru sadly sighed.

"Yeah, I know," Minato nodded. "But I'm doing what I can."

"_**That's good to hear. Anyways, I'm glad you're doing fine. I'll check in whenever I can with you and your sister. And we both should be back soon, I hope. When I do get back, I'll treat all your new friends to a meal."**_ Shigeru promised.

"I'll hold you to that," Minato vowed.

"_**Good. Then I'll see you around; I'll call again when I have more free time. Good luck with school."**_ the conversation ended there as Shigeru hung up.

"Just like him; hanging up without ever saying goodbye …" Minato sighed as he lied back down.

* * *

><p>The world had turned green again, blood staining the roads in a grim light. The faint fog that had formed from seemingly nowhere was thin, and did little to deter anyone from walking around. Not that many were present to walk around at this time of day; instead of human life, coffins littered the streets and buildings. It was utterly silent out, making any stray sound uncannily loud when caused.<p>

Shinjiro _hated_ this time of day. Sighing heavily, the teen hunkered down quietly in the room he had been given two years ago, waiting with tight nerves for the darkness to pass. He hadn't seen any of _them _ever since arriving in Inaba, but still … there was a chance for them to be out there, waiting and biding their time … It was the only thing that made him stay up until the light had returned to normal; he highly doubted anyone else in town could use 'that' power …

So, it was to his great shock that he saw someone else outside, walking around. Blinking, he watched in interest at the person – a woman, perhaps? It was hard to tell from this angle – continued to walk through the abandoned shopping district, wavy grey-white hair disturbed by her private breeze.

Unaware of her watcher, the woman continued to walk, stopping when she stood in front of the Tatsuhime Shrine. "… Hmm ... how curious." She murmured to herself, trailing her finger around a loose curl of fog. "The mist is densest here … almost as if it is guarding something …" Blinking red eyes, she gave a faint smile. "Such an unholy time, one that was never meant to be … and yet … I can't help but feel intrigued."

Pondering, a strange sensation prickled at the back of her neck. "Oho? What's this that I'm sensing?" She asked, turning around as she tried to locate the strange sensation. "… Hmm … it feels like … someone awakened an internal power source." Stepping out of the mist, she turned and began to look around some more. "It's potent and rich, and yet heavy and foreboding at the same time …" Tilting her head off to one side, she smirked. "Ah … the tofu shop …" Turning, she began walking towards it, smirking.

Shinjiro was about to look away from the window when the sensation hit him; death. Creeping, rotting, horrifying, _smothering_ … He jerked away from the window as fast as he could, forcing himself to remain calm as he tried to get the oppressive feeling _away _from him …! Where had it come from in the first place? He could feel himself rejecting the oppressive weight, mentally screaming warnings and threats that whatever was coming towards him was something he _did not want_ to be around.

And then, just as suddenly as it had been there, the sensation was gone, and the world went back to its natural color.

After waiting in silence for a few more moments, to see if the sensation would return, Shinjiro fully relaxed. Whatever it was, it had left with the Dark Hour, and he could get some sleep now. Smothering the yawn that was trying to escape him, he settled the silver gun he'd been holding the entire time back into the hidden pocket of his pea coat before collapsing onto his futon.

Outside, the woman smirked to herself; he'd reacted to her presence in a most … interesting way. Most humans thought she was a tad eccentric, but none of them had so much as sensed her true form … "I'll have to hide myself better the next time I come around here. Who knows? Perhaps I can persuade this young man to come out and … explain this power to me …" Smirking, she brushed her hair from her face, the skin on her hands paper white. "But for now, I should back off; I have to open up the gas station in a couple of hours, after all."

Chuckling to herself, the pale haired woman walked slowly down towards the Moel Gas station, completely unbothered by the light rain that began to fall around her.

* * *

><p>The light rain continued unperturbed the next morning, nearly putting Minato to sleep during class when Mooroka's grating voice caught his attention. Thankfully, the teacher wasn't talking to him, but instead was just ranting on in general. 'His voice <em>really <em>grates on my nerves …' Minato sighed, thinking wistfully of being able to drown out the philosophy teacher whenever he could. However, it gave him the very sinking feeling that the teacher would instantly latch onto such behavior, and he didn't want a bad mark on his second day of class.

It seemed that this sort of ranting was par for the course in the class, because nobody else seemed to be taking notes, but were instead just paying attention to the man with the tooth moustache for fear of him snapping at them. After he had left due to the herald of the lunch bell, the entire class let out a relieved sigh before bustling about to get food. Minato was about to quietly pull out his bento when a slim hand gripped his elbow and pulled him up. "Gah!" Squirming, he went to pull away when he realized it was Hamuko. "K … Kujikawa-san?"

"You're not going to feel any more comfortable here if you just sulk in the corner." Hamuko cut him off, smiling brightly. "And it's Hamuko-chan, Minato-kun." Before Minato could object one way or another, she had pulled him up by the elbow and up to the roof of the building. While Minato was blinking to get used to the sudden change of location – it had thankfully stopped raining by this point, allowing a faint mist to curl around the building – Hamuko continued to haul him over towards a raised part of the roof near the solar panels, where Shinjiro already sat.

The older boy gave the girl an exasperated look. "... Did you have to _haul _the poor guy up here, Hamuko? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you brought a rabbit out to lunch with a fox." Minato had to agree with Shinjiro's comment, if only distantly; seeing him and Hamuko in the same area seemed to distill the unusual sense of fright Shinjiro seemed to exude, like the girl was a pacifier of some sort.

"Hmph; I'm not that bad, am I Minato-kun?" Hamuko huffed, giving the blue haired boy a bright smile. "I just didn't think it would be fair for him to eat alone when everyone else in class bustled off somewhere."

She was being sincere, Minato realized with a jolt. Most people paid attention to the new kids simply because they were the new kid, but rarely tried to make genuine friends with them. Hamuko, however, didn't seem like that kind of girl; true, from a distance she had an appearance that just screamed 'stereotypical popular girl', but actually seeing her made Minato doubt that. Giving her a small smile, he nodded. "Th … that's very nice of you, Kujikawa-san."

"Please, it's Hamuko-chan." Hamuko laughed at that, sitting down next to Shinjiro. "Kujikawa-san makes me feel like somebody important or old ... or both." Shinjiro let out a snort at that, handing Hamuko a bento from beside him. "Ooo, tempura!" Grinning madly, Hamuko pulled out a pair of chopsticks and dug into the meal with vigor as Minato settled himself kiddy corner from the two. Seeing this Shinjiro nodded towards the sole girl with a grim nod.

"You better go with it; she'll pester you to death if you keep calling her 'Kujikawa'." He explained, ignoring or not caring about Hamuko kicking him in the leg for saying such. "And in that vein, I don't respond to my last name either." Taking a bite of his own lunch – which Minato thought was store bought at first - Shinjiro added, "Don't just sit there staring. If you have lunch, eat it." Jolted back into reality, Minato dug out his own bento and went to eat it when he saw that Hamuko had already finished, smiling in contentment.

"How did … I – I mean, when did …" blinking, Minato shook his head and went back to eating his own lunch. Shinjiro just shook his head, and the three ate in silence for a while before Minato decided to talk again. "Uh, Araga – I – I mean, Shinjiro-san, where did you manage to get a bento like that?" He asked, nodding to the mostly eaten box in the older boy's hand. Hamuko – who had pulled a stash of cookies out of _somewhere _– giggled a bit over his statement while Shinjiro gave them both a blank look.

"… I made this myself …" He muttered after a moment, and if Minato had known any better, he would have sounded embarrassed. Fortunately, Shinjiro changed the topic when he saw the cookies piled next to Hamuko. "Hey, what have I told you about eating that many sweets in one sitting before? You know you're gonna bloat up if you keep eating like that!" He scolded, to which Hamuko stuck out her tongue.

"I'm not going to eat them all at once, _Dad_." She responded, putting emphasis on the word 'Dad'. From there, the two seemed to settle into a playful argument that Minato watched with much amusement, finishing his bento. He had to admit, the two of them were quite entertaining to be around, and were trying to welcome him to Inaba in their own unique way. It was comforting, if a bit bizarre.

"Uh, excuse me?" Minato finally asked, breaking up the brief 'argument' to make Hamuko and Shinjiro look at him, Shinjiro holding Hamuko's cookies hostage. "I was wondering if the two of you would mind showing me around town some more after class is up; I'm still trying to remember where everything is and trying to figure out what's changed."

Hamuko's face brightened. "Sure, Minato-kun! That's no trouble at all!" The tone of her voice was frighteningly cheerful, and a glance at Shinjiro showed Minato that he was probably going to regret asking this question within a day or two.

* * *

><p><em>Not much to say this chapter. Just tell us what you think, okay? Enjoy!<em>

_Also, a bio on Minato's grandfather._

_**Shirogane Shigeru:** Minato and Naoto's maternal grandfather, and Raidou Kuzunoha the XVI. Having raised Minato and Naoto ever since the accident ten years previously, he is relatively protective of the two, but does not smother either sibling. Often away on Raidou business, he does what he can, and often calls Minato when he can; Naoto is his protégé and the successor of the title, since Minato politely declined inheriting it._


	3. Chapter 3: Start of the Lunacy

_**Chapter 3:** Start of the Lunacy_

The full moon made Minato nervous for some reason as he walked to school the next day. For him, it wasn't all that often he saw the moon in the daytime; most times, he would see it sickly green at midnight. But to see it pale blue, hovering opposite the sun…

"Oi!" Minato was snapped out of his daze as Shinjiro ran up to him.

"Shinjiro-san," Minato nodded to him. "Good morning."

"Morning to you too," Shinjiro nodded back. "What's up?"

"Well, I guess the moon." Minato pointed to it.

"Ah yes," Shinjiro glared at it. "Out here, you can see the moon clearly even in daylight, unlike the city…"

"The city? You used to live in one?" Minato asked.

"Tch… it was a long time ago, Arisato." Shinjiro growled.

Taking the feral sound as a sign to drop the subject, Minato decided to bring up a new topic. "So… you and Hamuko-san. How long have you known each other?" he asked.

"Tch. We've known each other for about two years now, but it feels like forever to me," Shinjiro replied, smirking a little.

"Oh? Then you two are close," Minato nodded.

"Hm… I guess you can say that," Shinjiro shrugged.

"Then are you two… well… dating?" Minato bit the bullet.

To Minato's complete and utter shock, Shinjiro was blushing. The intimidating man who could make most thugs crap their pants was blushing! At the mention of a girl!

"Heh… It's not like that. We're close… but we're too incompatible to be a couple," Shinjiro sighed, honestly sounding sad about what he had said.

"What do you mean?" Minato wondered.

"We're… just different," Shinjiro clammed up, unwilling to say more.

"Sorry…" Minato apologized.

"Tch, it's alright," Shinjiro's mood softened a little. "The girl's an attention grabber; it's only natural you'd be curious. So, Arisato, how about you tell me about the girls in your life?"

"Uh… well…" Minato could've sworn Shinji's blush jumped ship over to him.

* * *

><p>"Now, where is that crook?" Minato carefully scanned the treasure room for the one item he was searching for. For some bizarre reason, he was dressed in clothing best fit for an archeological dig, including a broad brimmed hat and a bullwhip to one side. Normally, he would have questioned why he was dressed like this, and who had gotten him drunk enough to give the okay for it, but right now, he was on a hunt.<p>

He was on a hunt for the fabled Crook of Hamatutan, which was said to grant immortality and the wealth of ten kings to whoever took it from its resting place in the clutches of the thief who stole it centuries ago.

It had been a long, tiring trip, and the others who had been after the Crook as well had been particularly vicious about it. If it weren't for the Ruby Gyspy and her moonstone-eyed bodyguard, Minato would have been dead and dropped in a well too early on for it to be comfortable. As it was, he could hear the screams of pain from the bodyguard's victims, and the Gypsy herself was sitting on the feet of a giant statue, playing some silly song or another. If he listened, he could swear she was saying something about biting the dust, but he was too preoccupied to care.

"Ah! There it is!" At long last, Minato spotted the blue and white cane he desired sitting on top of a mountain of gold coins. Heading towards it, he ignored the faint tremor that passed beneath his feet. "Come to daddy," he smirked as he climbed the coins for his prize.

As he reached for the crook, he felt the coins collapse beneath him. "No!" he cried out as he fell further and further and further…

* * *

><p>"Arisato, wake up!"<p>

Minato jolted awake by the sound of something heavy hitting his desk. He looked up to see Sofue-sensei looking none too pleased at him.

"Am I really that boring, Arisato?" she asked.

"No, no, Sensei," Minato shook his head. "It's just that… I always fall asleep in class; I can't help it."

"I see…" Sofue nodded. "I'll guess I'll just have to have a pot of coffee ready for you at all times in my class." The class let out various degrees of snickers as Sofue returned to the front of the class.

"Anyways, Arisato, since you're now up, how about you answer the question," Sofue ordered.

"Uh… What was the question, sensei?" Minato asked.

"The question was 'In ancient times, what is the name given to rulers of Ancient Egypt?'" Sofue repeated her question.

"That would be the Pharaoh, sensei," Minato answered.

"Very good, Arisato," Sofue nodded. "Now then, as the rulers of Ancient Egypt, the pharaohs would…"

As she began lecturing again, Minato's gaze shifted around the room, where he spotted Hamuko flashing him a thumbs up. Minato slightly nodded to her in thanks, to which she winked back at him before focusing on the lecture.

_'Uh… what did that wink mean?'_ Minato wondered. _'Does she… nah. I've only known her two days.'_

* * *

><p>"Ugh… long day…" Minato sighed as he crawled into bed. After school, Minato had been gang-pressed by the family servants to do some paperwork for his grandfather. Resigned to the task, it took up all his free time and now he was ready for bed. "Even if that freaky green event gives me extra sleep, I could live without the paperwork…" Minato mumbled as he pulled the covers over him, ready to embrace sleep.<p>

**TAP TAP**

"Who the hell wants my attention now…" Minato grumbled as he turned around in bed.

**TAP TAP**

_"Psst… Psst…"_

"Meh… Whoever it is, go away…" Minato tossed around in bed. "I'm sleeping."

**TAP TAP**

_"Psst… Psst…"_

"I don't care what it is, Yuriko-san, it can wait until morning," Minato pulled the covers over his head to drown out the sound.

**WHAP!**

"Gah!" Minato shot up, his head throbbing in pain. "What the hell just hit me?" Taking a quick look around the bed, Minato found a reddish-brown boot lying amongst the covers. "The hell?" Minato held the boot up and examined it. "A woman's boot? But where…"

"Do I FINALLY have your attention now?" Minato whipped around to find Hamuko sitting on the windowsill. Instead of her usual school uniform, she was wearing a tan-orange sweater, a bright orange scarf, a plaid orange-red skirt, black nylons, and a single reddish-brown boot.

"…Hamuko-san?" Minato looked at her, completely puzzled by her arrival.

"That's my name; don't wear it out," she winked at him. "Anyways, about damn time I got you up; was afraid I'd have to chuck my other boot at you. Last thing you need is a double boot to the head."

"Gee, thanks," Minato chucked her boot back at her. "And just how the hell did you slip by security? This place is sealed up tight."

"Well, that's easy," Hamuko slid her boot back on, hopping off the windowsill. "Your window is completely blocked by a tree. That tree is the last in a line of trees that extend off the property."

"…Are you telling me you went all ninja and hopped from tree to tree to get here?" Minato eyed her warily.

"Of course I did," Hamuko giggled. "It was the easiest way for me to get in here unnoticed."

"Great… And I just HAD to leave my window unlocked too…" Minato sighed, palm connecting with forehead. "But what exactly brings you here at this time of night?"

"Wanted to take you out for a night on the town." Hamuko offered. "You in?"

"I dunno… I'm so drained right now," Minato sighed. "I'd rather go back to bed and hope in the morning your bootprint is not on my forehead."

"At least it wasn't covered in dog shit," Hamuko stuck her tongue out at him as she grabbed his arm. "Come on; it'll be fun."

"Do I have to?" Minato whined, desperately wanting to go back to bed.

"If you don't, I'll go downstairs and alert those servants of yours that you had a girl in your room." Hamuko smirked.

"Oh crap!" Minato paled. "Don't do that! My grandfather would kill me!"

"Then come on!" Hamuko tugged his arm again.

"Uh… Alright, but can I get changed first?" Minato gestured to himself, showing he was only in sweats.

"Whoops!" Hamuko gasped. "Hehe, alright. You've got ten minutes to get ready. I'll be waiting." she plopped out on the bed.

"Just wonderful," Minato grumbled as he picked up some clothes and went into the adjacent bathroom.

* * *

><p>"And here is the park!" Hamuko lead Minato around, gnawing on a steak kabob.<p>

"I'd say I love the view, but it's pitch black out here, Hamuko-san," Minato joked, eating his own steak kabob. "And I can't believe there's a kabob place open this late."

"They're not; the owner is good friends with my grandma and lets me come around at the end of the night sometimes and take some of the excess food at a discount," Hamuko smiled as she pulled the last bit of meat off her kabob.

"Ah, I see…" Minato finished off his kabob as well.

"And over there is the Samegawa River," Hamuko pointed off in the distance. "Right on the other side of the road. Great place to fish; not such a great place to swim."

"You don't say," Minato began walking towards the river. "What kind of fish do they have in the river?"

"You don't know?" Hamuko asked him, trailing right behind him.

"Not really; before starting school here, I didn't stay in Inaba often," Minato shook his head.

"Ah, then you probably don't know the legend of the Samegawa Guardian." Hamuko walked up to the edge of the river.

"What's that?" Minato wondered.

"It's this legendary giant fish that's said to inhabit this very river. Some say its meat will bestow magical abilities to those who eat it. It was last seen fifty years ago, caught by the best fisherman in town, but since then… No one has caught it. Rumors of its appearances have popped up now and again, but there's never been any proof." Hamuko told him of the legend.

"Sounds like the yeti or the Loch Ness Monster." Minato nodded.

"You can say that," Hamuko shrugged. "It's such a nice night out."

"Yeah it is. It's rather… What are you doing?" Minato eyed Hamuko, who was kicking off her boots.

"I'm gonna wade in the water, of course." Hamuko reached under her skirt and started rolling down her leggings.

"Uh… you're not gonna get naked, are you?" Minato felt the heat rising in his face and his pants.

"Of course not, silly." Hamuko stuck her tongue out at him as she slipped her feet out of her leggings and stuffed them into one of her boots before kicking them away from the shore. "I'm only gonna get my feet wet."

"But it's April; won't it be cold?" Minato questioned her.

"That's what makes it so much fun." Hamuko inched towards the water, slowly dipping a foot in. "Whoa! It's cold, but it's fun!" she kicked some of the water into the air. "Join me, Minato-kun!"

"Um… I think I'll pass…" Minato walked closer to the shore, gathering Hamuko's boots for her.

"Aw… come on, Minato-kun? For me?" Hamuko stuck out her lower lip, giving him the puppy-dog eyes.

"Dammit…" Minato growled, unable to look away._ 'Is she… is she really interested in me, or is she just that friendly?'_

"Pwease?" Hamuko held her hands up in a begging position before kicking some water in his direction.

"Hey!" Minato leapt out of the way of the attack. "Watch it!"

"Pwease?" Hamuko begged again.

"Ugh… fine…" Minato put Hamuko's boots down as he kicked off his own boots. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Shinjiro says that all the time." Hamuko laughed.

"I wonder why…" Minato rolled his eyes as he slid off his socks, stuffing them into his boots and rolled up his pant legs.

"Hurry up!" Hamuko waved him over.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Minato wandered towards the shore. "Are… Are you sure it's okay?"

"It's cold at first, but then you come to enjoy it," Hamuko smiled at him, holding out a hand.

"I… okay," Minato took her hand and stepped into the water. "Whoa!"  
>"Warned you about that," Hamuko giggled. "You'll adjust in a moment."<p>

"Hm… Once you get past the shock, it's not so bad." Minato adjusted to the water.

"I knew you'd like," Hamuko kicked some water into the air. "C'mon. You do it too!"

Shaking his head in amusement, Minato mirrored Hamuko's actions, sending some water into the air. "Hey, this is kinda fun!" Minato laughed.

"See if you can keep up!" Hamuko began quickly kicking water into the air.

"You betcha!" Minato quickly matched her pace.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Shinjiro was roaming the streets of Inaba, a scowl that could freeze time itself stuck on his face as he continued to walk around. He'd gone to ask Hamuko something about a bit of homework, only to find that not only was the girl not in her room, her boots and scarf weren't hanging up in the hall anymore.<p>

"Dammit, Hamuko. How many times have I told you not to go out at night?" he growled to himself, looking around for the girl. "You never know what might happen…" All of a sudden, the night turned sickly green and Shinjiro's face paled. "SHIT!" he cursed to himself. "I hope to God she's in a coffin or…"

A familiar chill ran up his spine; a chill he hadn't felt in two years, yet instantly recognized and knew what it meant. "No… don't tell me… Not now!" He gritted his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an axe in the display window of the metalworks. "Dammit, I really hope things don't go to shit…" Shinjiro thumbed the gun in his coat before breaking the window and stealing the axe. Casting his head around, he made a run for the Flood Plain; hopefully Hamuko was safe, or the thing that was attacking was easy to beat so he could look for her some more …

* * *

><p>"That was fun, wasn't it, Minato-kun?" Hamuko asked him as the two lay on the grass near the river, pulling her leggings back on.<p>

"Yeah, I suppose it was," Minato nodded as he pulled his socks back on. "I can't believe you got me to do that."

"I'm that good," Hamuko smirked, pulling her boots back on.

"I have no idea how to take that." Minato laughed as he pulled back on his boots.

"You're not the first to say that." Hamuko laughed.

"I'm not surprised." Minato laughed as well.

As the both laughed, a green light blanketed the environment, changing it drastically. "No …" Minato gasped as he shot up, instantly on his guard. "I forgot about the time!"

"Minato-kun, what's going on?" Minato whipped around to see Hamuko standing next to him, quaking in fear as she stared at the river of blood in front of them.

"What the? How are you…? Why aren't you in a coffin?" he gawked at her.

"Huh? What?" Hamuko looked at him confused. "Minato-kun, what's going on?"

Something surfaced out of the river of blood with a loud splash, and loomed over the two teens. It was a long, black creature resembling a snake. Flicking out its forked tongue, it stared them down.

"Wh-what the hell is that?" Hamuko hid behind Minato.

"One of them…" he growled out.

As if confirming his answer, the snake lowered its head, showing that, on top of it, a porcelain mask engraved with the Roman numeral for 'one' rested there. The brilliant blue of the mask glowed in the dim lighting, and when the full moon finally appeared again from behind a set of clouds, the green light illuminated it farther.

It was mostly black, but thin veins of acid green raced down its sides in a sickly pattern, one that pulsed and undulated as if it was alive as well. A thin pair of slits revealed themselves to be the thing's 'eyes', burning acid as the tongue flickered out again, tasting the air. A feeling of darkness wafted over Minato and Hamuko as they stood on the beach, and Minato's instincts all screamed at him to run.

"M … Minato-kun … what the hell _is_ that thing?" Hamuko whispered in Minato's ear, sound far more frightened that Minato had ever thought possible. Opening his mouth to speak, Minato froze when the snake whipped its head over to look at them. Letting out a loud hiss, it reared back and opened its maw, revealing immense teeth that dripped with venom.

"Move!" Panicking, Minato grabbed onto Hamuko's arm and leaped out of the way in time to dodge from the snake's lunge. Ignoring the mild crash it made, the blue-haired boy was on his feet and running away. Before he could get to the steps, however, the tail lifted up and slammed down in front of him, totaling a part of the cement dock in the way of its attack. "W – whoa!" Skidding, Minato began to look around, trying to find an exit. 'If this thing hits me, I'm a dead man!' at that, Minato's eyes widened, and he looked around again. "Hamuko-chan!"

Looking for the auburn, Minato saw her cowering behind an embankment of sand and stone, clearly scared for her life. Minato couldn't honestly blame her, but if she stayed in one spot … "Hamuko-chan, you've got to keep moving!" He called out, running over to where she hid. "Come on, don't sit there! This thing'll eat you if you do that!" Grabbing onto her shoulders and shaking her, Minato saw that she seemed to hear him.

"B … but how the hell are we going to get away from that thing?" Hamuko finally got out, voice a shrill whine. "It's big, it's fast, and I think it wants one of us for dinner!" at her words, the snake lunged right at the embankment, making Minato knock Hamuko over to one side to get away from the attack. Even then, he felt one of the bottom fangs rip open a gash in his breast coat.

_'Shit …'_ Looking up as the snake reared back again, Minato closed his eyes and swore to himself; there was no way that they were going to get away from the attack in time …

A gun sounded, making Minato pause. Why was he hearing a gun? Modern technology didn't work during this hour …

The next noise he heard was a solid crash as something rammed into the snake, making it reel backwards before crashing into the river of blood. Looking up, Minato barely caught a glimpse of a black, skeletal horse as it faded away. About ready to get up and run, he stopped when he heard something sliding down the embankment behind them. Horrified that it might be another creature, Minato whirled around, only to stare in shock as Shinjiro appeared, wearing a maroon peacoat with a black beanie, a battle axe in hand.

"S – Shinjiro-san?" Minato blinked, completely confused; how was _he _awake now?

The older boy looked Minato over briefly, and despite what Minato felt was an undercurrent of rage in those sharp eyes, there was also concern and worry there. "Good, you're in one piece." He muttered gruffly, helping Minato back up onto his feet and handing him a length of lead pipe. "Hold onto this and defend yourself if it goes after you while I get Hamuko back up."

"B – but I -! How are you awake?" Minato stammered as he stood aside, letting Shinjiro get to Hamuko. "And what the hell knocked that snake back? Why did I hear a gunshot? And … and where the hell did you get a battle axe?"

"Don't have the time to answer questions right now, Arisato!" Shinjiro snapped back, shaking Hamuko to get her out of her trance. When the auburn girl looked at him, he let out a sigh. "Hamuko, listen to me; don't let the snake get you." Nodding towards a set of barrels, he added, "Hide back there until you see a clearing to run, okay? When one comes, GO."

"B … what?" Hamuko objected, and would have added more if the snake hadn't managed to recover itself. "Shinjiro! It's up again!" Shinjiro let out a curse and turned around, his left hand diving into a pocket of his peacoat. Before either Minato or Hamuko could ask what he was doing, the older boy had drawn out a gun. "! Shinjiro, what the hell are you doing?" Hamuko seemed more frightened of the gun in her friend's hand than the snake that was attacking them.

"Shinjiro-san!" Minato echoed her, and then paled when the older boy put the barrel of the gun to his head. "Shinjiro-san, what the hell are you doing? Shinjiro-san!" The older boy ignored them both, eyes focused on the snake as he went to pull the trigger. Waiting until the thing was directly in front of him, Shinjiro drew a deep breath.

"… Let's do this! Castor!"

The gun went off with a bang, and Minato found himself unable to look away. Instead of blood, however, shards of what appeared to be glass and blue dust appeared, swirling up and around in a whirlwind that played with Shinjiro's coat and hair. Above him, the black shape from before reappeared, but this time, Minato was able to focus on it more. The skeletal, black horse was still there, but now he could see it had a rider. The figure seemed to wear black armor, and had a bronze sword impaling him through the chest.

"W … what the …" Minato felt his eyes go wide as he stumbled back, utterly floored.

The horse let out a neigh and charged the snake, ramming into it head on and canceling out the attack. Not waiting for the thing to get its balance back, Shinjiro lunged in and swung at it with the battle axe in his hand. The blade scored a wound on the snake's hide, cutting through black scales to let something green and acidic spray outward.

"Tch, this bastard's tough …" Shinjiro growled, watching the snake as it lunged for him again before ducking away and swinging the axe once more. The snake _shrieked_ before lunging at him again, one fang coming dangerously close to his arm and ripped a small gash open in the sleeve of his coat. "Oi!" growling, the brunet slapped the snake on the nose with the flat of the axe before pulling the gun out again. "Castor!"

Again the black horse and rider appeared. This time, however, the rider drew the sword out of his chest and slashed at the snake. Sparks flashed in the air from the cut as the snake let out another shriek, retreating for a moment. The large wound at the base of its neck seemed to bubble for a moment, hissing and spitting out more green liquid as the skin around it began to twitch and bulge.

Seconds later, a second head erupted from the wound, which healed.

"… Fuck." Was all Shinjiro could bring himself to say before attacking again.

Minato felt himself pale, knees threatening to give out. _'H – how? I've never seen this sort of creature do THIS before!'_ He thought to himself, watching in shock and amazement as Shinjiro continued to dodge and attack at both of the heads, the black horse and rider – he shouted Castor on occasion, so Minato assumed that was what the rider was named – appearing whenever he put the silver gun to his head. 'What's going on!'

_"Aren't you going to help him?" _Minato blinked and went wide-eyed, turning around to look at the strange boy in striped pajamas. He simply gave Minato another unsettling smile, and spoke again. _"Your friend is going to be in danger soon … he'll need all the help he can get." _Before Minato could ask the boy what he meant, a faint pulse went through Minato's body.

_'Wh … what the …' _

"Gah!" Jerking back into reality, Minato's eyes went wide when he saw the snake's tail swing, knocking Shinjiro's feet out from under him. The older boy went down with a thud, the gun knocked out of his hand. The twin heads both let out shrieks, taking turns lunging down at the teen as he rolled and dodged, trying to get the gun back.

A second burst of energy went through Minato, and something stirred in the back of his head. "!" Gritting his teeth, Minato began trying to rub his head. 'W … what the …?' he thought, unable to look away from the battle taking place in front of him. 'Why did I get a headache all of a sudden?'

_'Thou art I …' _a voice responded somewhere between his ears and brain, making Minato's eyes widen. _'And I art thou …' _Stumbling, Minato tried to keep his footing as he shook his head, trying to get the voice to shut up. The energy was filling him up from head to toe, and it felt like it was burning him from the inside out …!

Opening his mouth to go to scream, Minato felt the burning energy solidify and center itself. A name sprung to the forefront of his mind, and Minato let out a sigh before closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. Would it just come out if he called out the name?

"… O … ORPHEUS!"

Glass shattered, and the energy flew out of Minato in a rush to form the same whirlwind of glass and blue light that appeared when Castor appeared. Both of the snake's heads, Shinjiro, and Hamuko all focused on Minato as they watched, in various stages of shock. After a moment though, Shinjiro let out a sardonic chuckle.

"Well … I'll be damned."

Minato looked above him as the light began to condense, revealing a figure that slowly began to solidify. "_Thou art I … and I art thou …" _The voice that boomed in the air was distinctly male, and the figure began to become more solid and visible. _"From the sea of thy soul I come forth ... I am Orpheus, master of strings …" _While the voice continued to boom in the air, the figure became fully visible. It was a male marionette of silver and white, a set of speakers installed in his chest. White hair mimicked Minato's effortlessly, falling into a dark skinned face with bright red eyes. A red scarf wrapped around his head and neck, and a large lyre was strapped to his back.

Letting out a noise best labeled as a roar, the marionette unhitched the lyre and swung it, nailing the snake's second head to send it crashing into the first. While the snake reeled, Shinjiro managed to grab the gun again and summoned Castor once more. As the bronze sword nearly cut off the second head, the older boy managed to get over to Minato, who was now staring at a card in his hand.

"Wh … what did I just do?" Minato asked after a moment, knowing he probably sounded completely and utterly petrified. "I – how did I -? How did you -?" Seeing that Minato wasn't going to be able to talk sense without help, Shinjiro whapped him upside the back of the head.

"Chill out for a moment, Arisato." He glowered when Minato went to rub the back of his head from the slap. "I can't explain everything now, but as long as you can fight with that thing, it should be easier for us to beat this snake into leather." Standing up, he hefted his axe again and nodded. "All I'll say right now is that you can use something called a Persona, and believe me, it's a good thing in this situation." Before Minato could ask him anything else, he'd taken off again, going to beat the snake into a pulp.

Deciding that his questions had to wait, Minato sighed and stood up, looking at the snake before looking at Orpheus again. _'I don't think the lead pipe will do much damage against that, so I'll have to stick to this Orpheus character …' _Sighing, Minato let go of the card, which began to hover and glow a pale blue. Not knowing what else to do, he slapped it with the pipe; the card shattered, and Orpheus appeared again. Unhitching the lyre again, the marionette strummed the instrument, causing a small burst of red fire to temporarily blind the two heads. While they were hissing and shrieking, trying to clear their vision, Shinjiro struck again and severed the second head.

It landed next to Hamuko, who shrieked and fell backwards away from it with wide eyes. Watching the head as it twitched and writhed on the ground, she noticed that while the head was nearly identical to the one still on the head, it lacked the mask. "Shinjiro! Minato-kun! Get the other head off the snake!" She called out from the sidelines "Get the one with the mask!"

"That's easier said than done right now, Hamuko!" Shinjiro called out, ducking away from a tail swipe. "Arisato! Get up here and help somehow; it doesn't look like the fire's hurting it!" Minato nodded and raced in closer, smashing the snake on the nose with the pipe. It actually seemed to do some sort of damage, because the snake hissed and recoiled. The empty stump where the other snake's head had been was bubbling and twitching, which Minato noticed almost instantly.

"Crap! It's trying to regenerate the second head!" He called out, trying to summon Orpheus again to cauterize the wound. Once again, the fire did little more than temporarily blind the actual head, and the stump started to twitch and bulge. "Shinjiro-san, we need to hurry and get the other head!"

"I know that, I know that! It's using its goddamn tail too!" Shinjiro responded, summoning Castor to attack the snake's rear. He wouldn't admit it, but he was getting tired dangerously fast. "Shadows are relatively intelligent, and this one seems to be especially so!" Waiting for the tail to come in closer again, Shinjiro slashed a gaping wound in one side, making the limb painful to use as a whip.

The snake didn't take kindly to this, and it seemed to somehow slow down the regeneration of the second head. Panting, Minato watched it of a moment. _'Crap … we need to seal off that wound somehow …'_ He thought, limbs trembling. _'But how? It isn't affected by fire, and the only thing that can burn without fire is …!'_ "Shinjiro-san, do you know any lightning magic or whatever the hell you call it?" He asked, whapping at the snake to keep it distracted.

"Unfortunately, no, I don't." Shinjiro ground out, clearly frustrated about something. "Dammit, of all the time for me to be missing Aki …" He muttered bitterly, but before Minato could ask him what he meant by that, the snake seemed to change its tactics. Instead of lunging for one of the boys again, it let out a shriek and dove for Hamuko, who had managed to get up and move a few feet. "! Shit! Hamuko, get the hell out of here!" Shinjiro yelled out, running for her beneath the snake. Minato followed in a second, wondering why Shinjiro's voice had sounded almost scared there, for a second.

Hamuko just stood there, fists clenched as she watched the snake dive towards her. "I'm not leaving!" She shouted, shaking her head. "I'm not selfish enough to leave my friends behind!" At her words, something shifted, and Minato heard glass shatter seconds before a blue aura shot up around her. The snake hit it and recoiled a few feet, sparks lacing between it and the aura as a feminine figure appeared above the shocked girl.

"Did she just -?" Minato realized with a jolt that she'd done the same thing as him, but her 'Persona' – at least, that was what Shinjiro had called Orpheus – was clearly feminine in nature. It eventually settled into a young woman with long, star colored hair held in place with a diamond-covered circlet. Her form hugging dress was low cut and a deep red, the split skirt flowing in the breeze. However, almost as if completely contradicting the dress, the figure wore armor on her arms and lower legs, a curved scimitar in her right hand.

_ "I am Ishtar, the morning star … may my light guide you well." _With that, the woman raised her sword, and lightning struck the bleeding stump of the snake's neck. Letting out a shriek, the serpent recoiled before it could get hit again, but the lightning had done the job it had been needed for; the second head had stopped regenerating.

"… Well, we've got lightning now." Shinjiro deadpanned, shaking his head. A card had appeared in Hamuko's hand, glowing like Orpheus's card did whenever Minato summoned him. "Now we just need to get the head away from the body, eh? I hope that's all we need to do; this thing's wiping me out."

"Hold on, I'll see if I can stun it …" Concentrating on the card in her hand, Hamuko simply threw it towards the snake. It shattered halfway there, and Ishtar reappeared. Pointing her sword towards the heavens, the Persona summoned more lightning, but instead of hitting the snake directly, aimed for the river of blood. The instant it hit it, the whole lake seemed to light up, catching the still mostly submerged snake in several chains of lightning.

Letting out a hiss, it slumped towards the ground, stunned. "Get it while it's down!" Shinjiro and Minato charged at it, vanishing in between small bursts of lightning and the dust that the snake's collapse had kicked up. Somehow, the head was severed, and the snake let out one last shriek before dissolving, the blue mask slipping into the lake of blood.

The three hesitated, as if expecting the snake to reappear, but eventually relaxed and sat down heavily. "Damn … never thought a Shadow like that bastard before." Shinjiro panted, leaning on the battle-axe for support.

"A … Shadow?" Minato questioned, lying down and rubbing a bruise on his forehead. "Is … is that what you called that sort of thing? I thought they were some sort of demonic beast …" Glancing at the taller boy, who seemed to know the most about what was going on, Minato paused when he saw the battle axe again. ".. and where did you get that?"

"In town." Shinjiro shrugged. "I'll have to pay Daidara for it and the window I broke to get it." Hamuko latched onto that.

"You did WHAT?" She demanded, red eyes alert. Shinjiro seemed to edge away from her, giving a weak laugh up until Hamuko grabbed his ear and pulled him back towards her. "Shinjiro Isamu Aragaki, you know that Dojima-san's not going to go easy on you if you screw up one more time!" Hamuko began to lecture the older boy, who Minato was amused to see reacted in a very cowed expression come across Shinjiro's face.

_'Heh, even if they aren't dating, he clearly likes her.' _Minato thought to himself, rubbing his head again. The pounding headache from when he'd first summoned Orpheus had returned, only this time without the surging fore of the Persona's energy. _'Ugh, why does my head hurt so much?'_

"Hey, you alright there Minato-kun?" Hamuko asked, worry spreading across her face as she caught sight of him. Minato shook his head before groaning and blacking out, making both Hamuko and Shinjiro start. "Ah! Minato-kun!" She gasped, and went to get up when she felt her head get a bit light. "W – whoa …"

"Sit down before you fall, Hamuko." Shinjiro pulled on her arm lightly, checking Minato's pulse. "He's still alive; it was probably just the strain from summoning for the first time that made him pass out like this." Standing up, Shinjiro pulled Minato over one shoulder, still managing to keep a grip on his battle axe in spite of that. "Let's get this guy home, alright? I'll explain everything when he wakes up." Hamuko nodded and went to help lead the way back to Minato's house, the green lighting slowly fading away behind them.

* * *

><p><em>And now the adventure begins and the first enemy has been beaten... Or has it? Stay tuned for more!<br>_


	4. Chapter 4: A New Bond

**Chapter 4: **_A New Bond_

"Huh, that's interesting … there's two more with that power now, but it's not like the first …"

The pale haired woman stood at the Moel Gas Station, hands propped on her hips as she looked towards the Samegawa Flood Plain. Tilting her head to one side, she let a thin smile cross her lips. "The big guy didn't sense me as he rushed past; he must get a single minded focus on what matters most to him at times like this."

Drumming her fingers, she bit her lower lip in contemplation. "His aura's dark in color and feel, but it's not evil or malicious. If anything, I'd say it's self-loathing somehow, with very little hope in his good qualities. It seems brightest when he's with that auburn girl from the tofu shop." Smirking again, her red eyes danced in amusement. "She also shares that power, but hers seems to crackle with light and energy, and yet it seems soothing all the same … no wonder she eases her large friend's soul."

Still drumming her fingers, the pale woman let out an amused chuckle as another thought crossed her head. "But the third … his powers are _very _interesting … I've heard of open minded, but he seems almost like a completely blank slate. His only thoughts are interactions based on who he's dealing with, and yet the sheer amount of the _power_ … it's almost endless."

Now fully intrigued, she smiled and chuckled to herself. "I'll have to keep watch on those three during this time, then; it promises to be a most interesting and educational show …"

* * *

><p>"Nanashi, will you please tend to our guest? It appears he's waking up."<p>

"Of course, Master."

The sound of a piano playing flowed into Minato's ears, causing him to stir. "Ugh…" Minato held his head as he woke up. "Where the hell am I?"

"Ah, I am glad to see you're finally awake."

As Minato opened his eyes, he found himself in a lounge with a blue velvet theme. To his right, a blindfolded man was playing the piano. To his left, he found a young woman, whose hair completely covered her ears, smoothing out her dress behind a microphone. In front of him, behind a table, sat a balding man with the longest nose ever seen. 'Holy crap, his nose is longer than Pinnochio's!' Minato's eyes widened.

"Welcome… to the Velvet Room," the man greeted him. "I am Igor and it is a pleasure to meet you, my dear young man."

"Uh… same here?" Minato replied, somewhat lost.

"I am sure you are lost as you can be right now." Igor nodded. "I'll do my best to explain what has happened to you."

"Yeah… thanks… So what is going on here, what happened there, and where the heck am I?" Minato shot off question after question.

"Relax, young man," Igor held up his hands. "A calm mind is more suited for processing information."

"Yeah… you're right," Minato took some deep breaths. "Alright…"

"The best place for me to start is to explain where we are right now; we are in a place called the Velvet Room. It is a place between dreams and reality, life and death, new and old, and so on…" Igor explained.

"So, limbo?" Minato quirked his head to the side.

"In a sense," Igor nodded. "I suppose a better way to put it is that this place is in the center of all things that is, was, and what will be."

"I see…" Minato attempted to process it. "I guess that makes sense."

_'Dreamless dorm… ticking clock… I walk away… from the soundless room…'_

Minato turned and saw that the woman had begun to sing in tune with the blindfolded man's piano playing. "…Burn My Dread?" Minato recognized the song.

"You know your songs well," Igor smiled. "Oh, forgive me for being so rude; I should introduce you to everyone. To your left, the woman singing is Belladonna."

_'…My ghostly shadow to the lukewarm gloom…'_ Belladonna sang out as she waved to Minato.

"And the man to your right is known as Nanashi," Igor introduced the other guy.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Minato," Nanashi nodded as he continued to play.

"Uh… same here," Minato replied, not sure whether to make a gesture or not, since Nanashi was blindfolded.

"Now then… to explain why you're here," Igor got his attention. "I'm sure you recall the battle you were just in, correct? The one with the snake."

"Yeah… That was… one hell of an experience…" Minato slumped in his chair.

"The power you awoke to… We call it 'Persona'." Igor explained. "It is a manifestation of your psyche, formed into a mask that you use to protect yourself from the troubles of everyday life. Only Personas have the power to stand against the Shadows, the very beings you've been seeing for a long time during the hour of twilight."

"That's what they're called? Shadows?" Minato went over the info in his head.

"That is correct. Using the power of Persona, it's the job of Persona-users, such as you, to drive the Shadows back. And you are a very special Persona-user; you are what we call a 'Wild Card'." Igor smiled.

"A Wild Card? You mean like the Joker?" Minato asked.

"In a sense, you can call it that. But in reality, it's more like the number zero; empty, but full of infinite possibilities. Yet…" Igor gave him a smile that could make glass crack. "Right now, that power is weak."

"Weak? Weak how?" Igor's words just got more and more confusing to Minato.

"All Persona-users, especially those of the Wild Card, must channel their inner strength to use their power. However, right now, your inner strength is quite weak." Igor sighed, "You must build your inner strength by forging bonds with those around you: Social Links. The stronger your Social Links are, the stronger your ability with Personas will become."

"It… will?" Minato just found himself unable to follow anymore.

"It will; do not worry, for you will make sense of it soon enough," Igor assured him. "Anyways, time marches on… You should return now to your world. Please, take this."

Igor snapped his fingers and a blue key appeared in front of Minato. Minato reached forward and took the key in-hand. "What is this for?" he asked, thumbing the key.

"This'll allow you come back here," Igor nodded. "Until next time…"

Minato's vision went white and it was the last thing he knew as he passed out.

* * *

><p>"You awake, Sleeping Beauty?"<p>

"Hamuko, that's _not_ something you call a guy…"

Minato felt the sun on his face burning through his eyelids, sending pain through his eyes. "Turn off the goddamn lights; it hurts," Minato moaned out, shielding his still closed eyes from the light.

"Well, I be damned; it worked, Hamuko."

"Of course it did; it's how I wake you up in the morning, you dummy."

"The hell?" Minato uttered. "Shinjiro-san? Hamuko-san?"

"You called, Sleeping Beauty?" Hamuko giggled.

"Again, Hamuko, that's not something you should call someone…" Shinjiro sighed, the distinct sound of palm hitting forehead echoing in the room.

"Ugh…" Minato slowly opened his eyes, finding Hamuko and Shinjiro sitting in chairs next to his bed. "What are you two doing here?"

"Well, we were worried about you!" Hamuko scooted closer to you. "You just blacked out and you've been asleep for well over a day now!"

"A day?" Minato's face had a blank expression.

"Kid, you've been out for about 36 hours." Shinjiro clarified Hamuko's claim.

"But how?" Minato asked.

"Probably because you used so much of your power," Shinjiro nodded. "Hamuko didn't use as much, so she was only out until the following morning."

"I… I see…" Minato gripped his bed sheets. "Wh-what did you tell everyone?"

"We told the staff that the three of us had gone out to run late night errands for Marukyu when we ran into some thugs that wanted you, Arisasto. We fended them off, but not before you got hit in the head pretty hard, knocking you out."

"M-Makes sense…" Minato nodded. "My family's work has created many enemies over the years. I can imagine security's gonna get tightened around here now… But wait. They saw me come in; how did you get past that?"

"Told them we called you over the phone and you went out the back door." Shinjiro shrugged, seemingly confident he had everything covered.

"And what about me being knocked out? There's no injury there," Minato questioned.

"There is, right behind your right ear; that's where I whopped you to make it look real." At this, he paused. "In retrospect, that might've been why you were out so long," Shinjiro chuckled.

Minato's hand flew to the side of his head, wincing the moment his hand made contact."Ow…" he moaned. "Damn, that stings…"

"Tch, you shouldn't have gone and done that; it's gonna sting for a few days." Shinjiro chastised him.

"Oh, lay off, would you!" Hamuko elbowed him in the gut. "He had it rough out there and I was partly to blame for that."

"Yeah, by frigging dragging him to Samegawa just to skip in the water," Shinjiro groaned out.

"Yeah, and I loved it; the cold water was awesome on my feet," Hamuko smiled, shrugging off Shinjiro's sarcasm. "You remember when I first took you to the river to do the same thing, Shinjiro?"

"Yeah, I remember; you were on a kung-fu kick and I tried to warn you to stop when you got crazy and did a jump kick right into my mouth. Thank GOD I didn't lose any teeth from that, and you foot tasted disgusting." Shinjiro shuddered from the memory.

"Oh, shut up, unless you want a repeat of that, you doofus." Hamuko glared at him, her leg twitching like it was ready to follow up on her threat.

"Tch, no thanks," Shinjiro shook his head and looked back to Minato, who was confused as hell. "Uh… sorry about that, Arisato. She gets like this sometimes."

"Me? You do too, thank you," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hamuko…" Shinjiro sighed. "Can you at least focus long enough for Arisato to get caught up? When we get home, we can continue this."

"Fine," she stuck her tongue out at him again. "But you're making me some of that delicious soup of yours."

"Tch, whatever," Shinjiro merely shook his head.

Minato just stared at the two people like it was the most devastating train wreck ever. "Uh… are you two done?"

"For now," Shinjiro nodded. "Sorry about that. Again."

"So um… Yeah… About last night… What the hell happened?" Minato asked.

"I've been trying to get him to tell me too, Minato-kun! But he wouldn't say a thing, only saying he'll tell me when you wake up." Hamuko pouted.

"Tch, is whining the only thing you're gonna do today, Hamuko?" Shinji groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "It's giving me a damn headache."

"Good," she huffed, obviously proud of what she had accomplished.

"Anyways…" Shinjiro rolled his eyes, although it was obvious he wasn't angry. "Where the hell should I start?"

"How about what the hell that was you did out there?" Minato demanded to know. "I kinda know about the green night, but I've never seen that snake before, nor that horseman."

"I haven't seen a Shadow in the shape of a snake before either, and I've been stuck in the Dark Hour for a few years now." Shinjiro responded, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees. "As for the horseman? That was my Persona, Castor, so that's why you didn't see him until I summoned him."

"Persona?" Hamuko asked, tilting her head to one side in confusion. "Is that what Ishtar was? And that puppet Minato-kun summoned?" Minato nodded, wanting to hear Shinjiro's explanation for this as well. "Speaking of that, how were you able to fight so well? And why did you summon by shooting yourself in the head?" Hamuko stood up and practically shouted the last question, forcing Minato to silence her before turning to the other boy.

Shinjiro's face went through several emotions all at once; pain, reminiscence, anger, heartbreak … they were all there one moment and gone the next, faster than Minato could comprehend. "… I was part of a group of Persona-users back in my home city. We all summoned with Evokers like that." His voice hinted at there being more to the story than that, but Minato didn't want to pry for fear of Shinjiro losing his temper. It seemed Shinjiro didn't want to talk of it more, because he shook his head. "But yeah, it seems you two can use that power too. I honestly didn't see that coming, but now that you two have my power as well, I'm gonna have to whip you both into shape so that you two can defend yourselves."

"Defend ourselves? From that snake?" Hamuko asked.

"Oh, there's a lot more out there than just that snake, Hamuko," Shinjiro grit his teeth. "There's so many of them out there, it's bullshit…"

"What are 'they', Shinjiro-san?" Minato asked. "Is that snake part of something more?"

"Yes," he nodded. "That snake was one of many creatures we refer to as the 'Shadows'. Shadows are creatures that haunt the Dark Hour. You know, when the green light washed over everything and the water turned to blood. It takes place every night at midnight, kind a like a hidden hour of sorts. During that time, most are asleep in their coffins, blissfully protected and unaware of the Dark Hour; the Shadows track down anyone who's not in a coffin and eat their souls. Usually, these people are easy pickings for the Shadows, but some people with 'the potential' are able to resist the Shadows and are able to summon Personas to help fight as well."

"Well, that'd explain why I was often alone during that time…" Minato nodded. "But why wasn't I attacked at all until tonight?"

"Your 'potential' most likely masked you from the Shadows or they perceived you as someone better off alone, but when you and Hamuko came together, the Snake Shadow probably grew worried from two people with 'the potential' coming together and attacked out instinct." Shinjiro nodded, not entirely sure of what he just said.

"That's probably right…" Minato agreed with him.

"So, does this kinda make us like superheroes or something?" Hamuko asked.

"I guess, in a sense, you can say that." Shinjiro shrugged.

"SO. AWESOME!" Hamuko squealed. "When do I get a morpher? Do I get a catch phrase? Do I get a transformation sequence? Do I get to make the awesome poses?"

"Tch, goddammmit Hamuko, this ain't a fucking Sentai show or Sailor Moon." Shinji's hand slapped his forehead.

"Aw…" Hamuko pouted. "But then, how do we fight?"

"Well…" Shinji reached into his coat and pulled out his silver gun. "I fight with my axe and use this device, called an Evoker, to summon my Persona." Minato looked at the gun when Shinjiro pulled it out, noticing the letters 'S.E.E.S.' were engraved into the barrel.

"But we didn't do that; we had cards…" Hamuko frowned a little. "Would we need that 'Evoker' to fight as well?"

"From what I observed, I don't think so," Shinjiro shook his head. "I don't know why, but you two are able to freely summon your Personas, unlike me; I think all you two have to do is use those cards."

"But how do we call upon them?" Hamuko wondered. "Do we just wave our hand and just will it into existence?" At that very moment she waved her hand, a blue card appeared in her hand. "Wow, didn't expect that."

"Tch, figures," Shinjiro grumbled, sulking into his chair some. "You could probably even summon them now, for all I know."

"Well, then perhaps…" Hamuko tossed the card into the air. The card shattered in midair and Ishtar appeared, floating in the air for a moment before disappearing.

"Lucky punks got it easy…" Shinjiro mumbles, a faint hint of jealousy emitting from him.

"Then maybe I can…" Minato waved his hand and another blue card appeared. "Sweet…" He crushed the card and Orpheus appeared above him, eerily looking on at them before vanishing.

"Alright you two, quit showing off," Shinjiro snapped at them, obviously jealous.

"Hehehe… Sorry, Shinji." Hamuko leaned over and pecked Shinji on the cheek. "That make it feel better?"

"Uh… Yeah… I guess…" Shinjiro's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

Minato's eye twitched at the sight, finding that he was clenching his fists. He found himself wanting to scream for some reason, but fought it down, not thinking it to be right.

"So… what happens now?" Hamuko asked the question on everyone's minds.

"Well…" Shinjiro sighed. "I guess I should teach you two how to fight. Now that one Shadow has appeared, odds are, more are going to show up; you'll need to know how to defend yourselves."

"Aw… but you'll protect me, Shinji." Hamuko smiled at him.

"I'll try my best, but if I can't, you'll need to hold your own." Shinjiro stared at her. "You too, Arisato."

"Does that mean you'll be leading us, Shinjiro-san?" Minato asked. "After all, you're the one who's fought them before and you're the only one with experience."

"Tch, I'm no leader," Shinjiro crossed his arms. "I'm the last guy you want leading you, and with Hamuko too much of a wild child, I guess that means you'll be leading Arisato."

"Hey! I can be leader too, you know!" Hamuko argued.

"Tch, says the one who can't even choose which pair of shoes to buy at the store." Shinjiro sneered at her.

"I couldn't choose between the boots or the sandals; they were both cute." Hamuko argued. "You're a guy; you wouldn't get it."

"Good for me." Shinjiro smirked. "But you know you can't be a leader."

"Humph. Fine," Hamuko leered at her friend.

"Well, Arisato? You gonna be leader?" Shinjiro turned his attention back to Minato.

"But I…" Minato sighed.

"Don't worry, Arisato; I'll be helping you along both on the frontlines and advising you as well." Shinjiro assured him.

"Well, I…" Minato bit his lip, thinking it over. "I guess…"

"You guess what?" Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I'll do it," Minato nodded. "Not like I have a choice, do I?"

"Probably not," Shinjiro shook his head.

"Sweet! I get to kick ass with two awesome guys!" Hamuko cheered, wrapping her arms around them. Minato found himself blushing when he was pulled tight against Hamuko's chest, stuck in the embrace.

"Just go with it, Arisato," Shinjiro merely shook his head. "It's easier and less painful."

"Hahaha, thanks," Minato rolled his eyes as he allowed himself to enjoy the hug.

**SMASH!**

Time froze and everyone took on darker hues. A card appeared not unlike the one he used to summon Orpheus appeared, its back to Minato. It flipped around to reveal a picture of a man holding a stick, a bag tied to one end of it, as he walked towards a cliff edge. A dog was following behind him. Below the picture was the number zero.

_**"Thou are I… And I am thou… Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to thy destiny. Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana…"**_

The card shattered into blue dust as it scatted over the group.

'_What the heck was that…?'_ Minato wondered.

The group stayed in the hug for a few moments, until Hamuko broke it and looked at the two of them. "So … why did we get what Personas we did?" She asked, a look of mild confusion on her face. "I doubt they were just randomly given out, and I know the name Ishtar sounds familiar from somewhere …"

"And Orpheus rang a bell with me, as did Castor." Minato nodded his agreement, sitting up. "Can you hand me my laptop, Hamuko-chan? I'll try and look the stuff up online." As Hamuko handed over the slim computer, he shifted so that the two could look over his shoulder to see what he was doing. "It's certainly interesting that our Personas come from mythology … Ah, there we go." Smiling when his computer booted up, Minato felt the bed dip to allow Hamuko to sit next to him.

Blushing faintly from the closeness, Minato began to look up the information. "Hmmm … Ishtar, Ishtar …" He muttered, and then let out a satisfied noise when he saw an article on her. "There we go, let's see … Hmm … 'Ishtar was the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, and twin sister to Ereshkigal, the goddess of death. She was associated with the planet Venus, which is known as the Morning Star in almost all ancient records. She was mainly associated with love and general sexuality (Minato felt his face heating up the more he read about this goddess), but she was fickle with her lovers, and often left them heartbroken in the end. Giglamesh, the only man or god to have ever spurned her, lost his best friend Enkidu to her wrath. The only god or goddess to ever get the better of her is her twin sister Ereshkigal."

"W – what does that say about me?" Hamuko's face was even redder than Minato's, and she seemed somewhere between horrified and embarrassed. "I – I'm not like that!"

"It's not you as a whole, Hamuko." Shinjiro spoke up, putting a comforting hand on her arm. "It's only part of you, and think of it this way; there could be worse goddesses you got for a Persona." Relaxing at that, Hamuko nodded, but she was still flushed in the face. Minato relaxed as well, and then turned to his Persona Orpheus.

"… So that's why Orpheus sounded familiar! I've read the myth of Orpehus and Eurydice before." Now fully focusing on the myth, Minato read aloud, "Orpheus was a son of Apollo and a talented musician, with his favored instrument being the lyre. He soon married a nymph named Eurydice, but their marriage didn't last; a day after the wedding, Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Grief-stricken, Orpheus began to venture into the underworld to get her back, charming even the mighty Cerberus with his mournful songs and melodies. Even the hearts of Hades and his queen Persephone were softened, and he was allowed to take Eurydice back. However, he wasn't allowed to look at her until they had reached the surface. Just before they reached there, however, Orpheus glanced back in fright, but all he saw was Eurydice being whisked back to the underworld, a look of sorrow on her face. Heartbroken, Orpheus wandered the land, but was eventually castrated and killed by the Maenads in one of their drunken frenzies."

"What, getting his dick chopped off wasn't enough?" Shinjiro winced, clearly not pleased by that part of the story. "That is _not _a pleasant way for a man to go."

"Well, the Maenads _were _followers of Dionysus, and they did that to any male animal or human they came across when in a drunken frenzy." Minato added, coughing. "It's still unpleasant, I agree, but that happened in Ancient Greece with alarming frequency. Until it was outlawed during the Crusades, if I'm remembering the story correctly." Shaking his head, he looked at Shinjiro again. "Your Persona was Castor, right?" The older boy nodded, face slowly growing grim.

"Hey, I gotta go run some errands for the shop, okay?" He said, standing up suddenly. "I'll see you at home, Hamuko. It's good to see you up and about again, Arisato." Before either Minato or Hamuko could protest, he turned around and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Hamuko stared at his back in worry while Minato typed in the name of the elder's Persona.

"… I did the errand running earlier today." She stated, confused. "What's got him wanting to get out of the room?"

"… I think I know why." Minato poked her in the arm, making her look at the computer screen. "… Castor and Pollux – or Polydecus to the Romans – were the twins of the Gemini; brothers to Helen of Sparta and her twin sister Clytmnestra. While the accounts of which two are fathered by Zeus and the other two by King Tyndareus vary from myth to myth, most place Castor as the mortal twin, and Pollux as the immortal. They went on several adventures together, including becoming Argonauts and accompanying Jasson on his hunt for the Golden Fleece of Aries. Although the two were close, one day, an argument broke out between the two and a pair of cousins, resulting in Castor's death. Not wanting to leave his twin alone in the afterlife, Pollux pleaded to let Castor share his immortality, and the two were placed in the sky as the constellation Gemini."

"That … that's almost more upsetting than what happened with Orpheus and Eurydice …" Hamuko tapered off, as if thinking about something. Minato let her be, confused by this information as well. Why did Shinjiro have one twin, and yet neither he nor Hamuko had the other half? Was there more to the gruff man's past than first meets the eye?

Closing the search, Minato sighed and rubbed his forehead, feeling the spot behind his ear throb in pain again. "Agh … listen, Hamuko-chan?" Minato asked, blushing. "I'm going to go ahead and sleep for a bit. I'll see you in school tomorrow." Hamuko smiled and nodded at that, standing up. "… Will Shinjiro-san be better?"

"Yeah, it's best to leave him alone for a few hours when this sort of thing happens." Hamuko sighed. "If he's not back home by dinnertime, I'll go looking for him." Smiling brightly, Hamuko waved to Minato as she walked out of his room. "See you tomorrow, Minato-kun! Be careful with the bump on your head!" Minato waved at that and rolled onto his side, falling asleep almost instantly; he'd do his late homework when he woke up.

* * *

><p>"… Dammit, I didn't want this to happen anymore …" Sighing and skipping a rock out over the Samegawa River, Shinjiro found himself at war with himself. "I left because I wasn't strong enough to fight the Shadows when it mattered most, and now they're attacking <em>here <em>… are they following me or something?"

Sighing and skipping another rock, Shinjiro felt a familiar pain shoot through him. "… I can't screw up again. If I lost Hamuko too … I'd really have nothing else to live for." Glancing around, he sat down on the remains of the dock, still staring out over the water as the memory of flames and black smoke danced in front of his eyes. The wail of an ambulance's sirens rang in his ears, a haunting memory that sent him back into thoughts he didn't want. "… Shit …" Sighing, his fingers subconsciously began to trace a pair of scars on the underside of his wrist.

"… That damn snake … none of this should have happened." Shaking his head again, he glared at the water. "But, now that it has … I ain't gonna be a coward and run away." … Still staring into the pale blue river, Shinjiro felt another shock of pain go through him. "… I … I've still got to live up to _her _name for me … Leoncito …" Blinking when he felt tears stinging at his eyes, the brunet rubbed at his face, mouth set in a grim line. "I've lost too many people … I ain't gonna be adding these two to the list …"

"… Aki … are you safe?" He whispered. "You're in danger, but … even if you can fight back, you're in such trouble …" A hand reached down to his pocket, pausing when he remembered nothing was in it. "Dammit … be safe, please …" Sighing, Shinjiro stood up slowly, eyes spotting a raven feather floating on the water. Not thinking, he stooped down and picked it up, sticking it in his pocket. "… I should get home before Hamuko gets worried about me." Walking away from the Flood Plain, Shinjiro paused one last time, looking towards the water.

"… Leoncito … I hope I can live up to that name …"

* * *

><p>The next day of school was eventful; Sofue-sensei had been grateful to see him back, especially after seeing that he hadn't skipped over doing any work. "It's good to see you up and about again, Arisato-san. I hope that Aragaki gave those thugs a sound beating." Minato nodded and left for his seat after that, relieved to find both Hamuko and Shinjiro there. Giving them a shy wave, Minato sat down in his chest, feeling the bump on his head ache slightly.<p>

It was calm until Mooroka came in for philosophy. Spotting Minato back in his seat, the man with the tooth moustache glared. "So, finally decided to show back up, didn't ya?" He snapped, and several of the students gave Minato apologetic looks. "I don't care what the other teachers think, getting beat up by a bunch of hooligans? Bullshit; why the hell would anyone want to terrorize a skinny little punk like you?"

Minato felt his temper – hard to stir – slowly rising as Mooroka continued, but before he could say anything, an annoyed Shinjiro beat him to it. "Oh, just shut it, will you?" The older boy muttered, sounding kind of tired. Glancing back, Minato saw that he looked like Shinjiro had just woken up from a nap – it was right after lunch and his seat was by the window – and was glaring death at the teacher. "You interrupted my nap."

That only seemed to infuriate Mooroka more. "You good-for-nothing piece of shit! What the hell are you even doing in school if you're going to sleep through it?"

"It kills the free time I have when I'm not working." Minato and the rest of the class had gone dead silent, just watching the exchange with wide eyes. Hamuko was clearly trying to hold in laughter at Shinjiro's last statement. Propping his chin on a hand, Shinjiro cocked an eyebrow at Mooroka. "Besides, you ain't actually teaching _shit. _If you would actually get your head out of your ass, I'd probably stay awake … although that might be partially due to it being after lunch."

Mooroka's face went redder than Minato had previously thought possible. "What the hell do you know about being a teacher? You're just some stuck-up city-slicker who wandered in out of nowhere and conned an old woman into giving you a job, are actually _living _with Kujikawa next to you like the perverted slimeball you are!"

Shinjiro didn't seem fazed, if the way he just cocked his eyebrow was any clue.

Mooroka seemed to get angrier, and Minato figured out why Hamuko was having a hard time fighting off laughter; the man looked almost comical when thoroughly enraged, hopping up and down with fury. His stream of insults were also losing steam, and Minato half suspected that Shinjiro was going to just put his head down and nap again.

However, that wasn't what happened.

Instead, Shinjiro just rolled his eyes and gave Mooroka the one-fingered salute. "Hasta la tuya, cabrón grasa."

Silence reigned in the classroom; Mooroka and most of the class clearly didn't understand a word of what Shinjiro had just said, not even Hamuko. Minato himself had only understood a couple of words. _'… Shinjiro-san can speak Spanish?'_ he realized when he finally managed to register the language. '_Where did he pick that up?_' Giving the older boy a closer look, he realized that while it was subtle, Shinjiro's skin had a brownish tint to it.

Mooroka wasn't able to recover before the bell rang, and the teacher stormed out of the classroom. Once he was out of earshot, Shinjiro grinned. "It's times like this where being bilingual is badass." Hamuko lost it, laughing and shaking her head. The rest of the class just looked at one another, confused and trying to figure out what Shinjiro had said. Minato merely gave the older boy a grateful look, to which Shinjiro nodded.

Needless to say, Ono-sensei was confused by the way the class was acting when he entered the room.

* * *

><p>As the lunch period came to an end, Minato wandered out from the bathroom, desperately needing to go after drinking too many ranmues with his bento. Outside the classroom door, Shinjiro leaned against the wall.<p>

"Yo," he called to him.

"Yeah?" Minato wondered what he wanted.

"Meet me and Hamuko at Tatsuhime Shrine a half-hour before the Dark Hour, got it?" Shinjiro all but ordered him.

"Yeah, I got it," Minato nodded in agreement.

"Good; don't be late," Shinjiro sulked into the classroom.

"I don't think I'm gonna like this," Minato sighed, not liking it one bit.

* * *

><p><strong><em>And here we are at the end of chapter four. :) Everything is starting to fall into place. You think you can figure out what's going on? Well, good luck with that.<em>**

**_As for what Shinji was saying, he said "up yours, you fat bastard"_**

**_Also, yes, we're using Nanashi/Nameless and Belladonna from the earlier Persona games; about time they got some love on the site._**


End file.

Persona Series, Adventure, Mystery