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He was late. He was supposed to make it earlier, so he could introduce himself to whoever ran the dorm… There was a vague sense of familiarity with showing up late, however, as if he'd done this time and time again. Odd…

The teenager walked down the street, the moon large and green in the sky. He felt like he'd seen this before too… He shook his head and kept walking. He needed to make it to the dorm… That was right, the vague feeling of familiarity didn't mean anything. He just needed to focus on making it to the dorm.

Finally, he made it to the dorm. He could just pretend this hadn't happened, ignore thse vague feelings, and go in. He'd talk to someone, and then go to bed.

“You're late, I've been waiting a long time for you.”

He had thought he was alone, but the voice of a little boy showed him he was wrong to think that. Blue eyes stared into him, a small smile on the boy's face.

“I'm sorry...?” "He didn't understand, what was going on? Was this little boy a resident of the dorm...?"

The boy didn't seem to care about the confusion, as a red book appeared on the counter and his smile continued. “Now if you want to proceed, please sign your name there. It's a contract. Don't worry, all it says is that you'll accept full responsibility for your actions. You know, the usual stuff.”

He felt that tinge of familiarity again as he took the book and opened it. He didn't have much of a choice and...he felt this needed to be done.

“No one can escape time. It delivers us all to the same end. You can't plug your ears and cover your eyes.” The boy took the contract from Minato, smiling at him once again, the contract disappeared. There was no way that that kid was a human…

Though that led to a new question. What was he and why had he appeared in the dorm...?

“And so it begins…” Before he had a chance to question him further, the boy faded away... Yeah, that cemented it. This kid wasn't human…

“Who’s there?”

The teenager turned at the sound of a voice. Standing there was a girl dressed in a...somewhat modified Gekkoukan High uniform. She looked on edge, as if she was already trying to sort something out. Maybe she was confused by the odd...look of everything? The eerie green was hard to stomach.

He frowned. “I’m sorry…”

“N-no way, it’s--!” The girl’s eyes were wide as another girl ran into the room, red hair flowing behind her.

“Yukari, what’s--” She saw him and took a step back, “W-what?! How is...?”

“I-I don't know! I woke up and heard noises.” The first girl shook her head. “I came to investigate and... M-Mitsuru-senpai did we do something wrong?”

Mitsuru frowned, holding her arm with a death grip . “I don’t know…”

The teenager wasn't sure what was going on, but he really needed to find out. Would it be rude to cut into the conversation...?

“Do I know you two…?”

Yukari looked more than a bit shocked at the sudden question. “Uh…”

Mitsuru seemed to regain her composure at that point, looking at him. “Oh, my apologies… You must be tired after your long trip.”

She turned to face the other girl, Yukari was it? Minato was pretty sure that's what he'd heard… “Yukari, could you take him to his room?”

“Mitsuru-senpai…” Yukari glanced at him. “A-alright.”

She turned to fully
look at Minato, her face looking somber. He really felt that he was missing something here. “You’re the transfer student, correct? I’ll take you to your room now.”

He nodded a bit. “Alright…”

He was still curious about all of this. They had acted like they knew him... But now they were acting like it wasn't the case? What was going on here?

“This way.” He followed her up the stairs as she walked to the end of the hall on the second floor. She looked tense as she turned to look at him again. “Well, here we are. Your room…”

Yukari looked like she wanted to say something else, like something was weighing on her mind... The teenager wanted to ask about that, but… “Who was that little boy?”

Yukari bit her lip and shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, no children live at these dorms.”

He frowned. “I see…”

“Well, you should get some sleep. You’re starting on school tomorrow, right?” She gave a small, forced smile, before walking down that hall. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“See you…” He nodded a bit, looking around. When he hadn’t been paying attention the lights had come back on and the green tinge had left. He needed to learn to pay better attention to what was going on around him.

For now, though, he was tired. He needed to try and get some sleep. He could mull all this weird stuff over tomorrow, after all. Things weren’t going to way he expected, but he was sure it’d be alright in the end…

--

“Akihiko, Yukari…” Mitsuru frowned, gripping her arms tightly. “I think you’ve noticed that something’s wrong.”

“Where is everyone else?” Akihiko frowned, crossing his legs. “Junpei, Ken, Fuuka, Koromaru, Aigis…”

Yukari frowned. “Metis… None of them are around, but he is.”

“I thought we agreed to move on…” Akihiko rubbed his temples, grimacing. “We agreed it’d be the best, what he was doing...We were going to support him in our own ways.”

“We know that!” Yukari seemed more than a little upset. “We were going to keep going forward, but…”

Mitsuru sighed, looking between the two of them. “We’re just going to have to try and figure out how this all happened. Akihiko, try to get in contact with Amada and Koromaru.”

He nodded, frowning. “Do you think Shinji’s around again too…?”

“I..It’s possible.” Mitsuru frowned and looked at the other girl. “Yukari, I trust you can speak with Iori and Yamagishi?”

“Yeah, it shouldn’t be too hard. I just hope they remember this too…” Yukari bit her lip, looking away.

Mitsuru sighed. “And I’ll contact the lab, see if there’s any sign of Aigis. I don’t know what we’ll do about Metis, however…”

“If there’s one thing we learned about her, it’s that she’s probably with Aigis.” Akihiko frowned, shaking his head. “You’ll find her if you find Aigis.”

“You’re probably correct in that thinking.” Mitsuru stood up and frowned. “For now, though, we should focus on getting some rest. This is sure to take quite the toll on all of us, and I don’t want anyone collapsing.”

“Got it.”

“Alright…” Yukari frowned as she stood up. “I just have a question for you guys.”

“What is it?”

The two older teenagers looked at her, frowns on their faces. She seemed to be bracing herself for what she was about to ask. Was she that worried about their reactions when she finally asked about it…?

“Are we really ready to see this all happen again?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After Yukari got the boy to school, she let out a sigh. This was all too confusing to him, but she couldn’t just stop now. She needed to find Fuuka and Junpei, see what they had to say. There was no way they hadn’t noticed this, right? It wasn’t like she, along with Mitsuru and Akihiko, were going to be the only ones who didn’t reset. The real question was who should she talk to about this first?

After a few moments, she decided on Junpei. He’d been calm when SEES split apart and started fighting, but she was sure he’d be emotional right now. He might say something stupid and get them all in trouble. Yukari had to do her best to make sure that didn’t happen.

Wasting no time she headed for the classroom. If she was right, he would be there while their future (or maybe past?) leader was busy talking to Ms. Toriumi about his transfer. Looked like that was a good choice, there he was, head down on the desk. She could feel him freaking out from here…

“Junpei.” She wasted no time making her way over to him. “I need to talk to you.”

His head snapped up. “Yuka-tan...Do you know what the hell’s going on?!”

She sighed, yeah, he was freaking out. She made the right choice coming to find him first. “Not exactly, but come on.”

Wasting no more time, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the room. She heard others in the class whispering, probably confused about what she was doing, but she didn’t care. This was too important to worry about a few dumb rumors starting, anyway..

“How the hell are we back here? We shouldn’t be juniors anymore, we…We were supposed to move on, right?” Junpei looked more than a little concerned.

“We were, but something went wrong, I guess… We’re going through it all again.” She bit her lip. “Junpei, just being back here isn’t the worst of it. He’s...he’s back.”

Junpei’s eyes widened. “N-no way! That means we’re gonna have to fight Nyx again?! O-or are we just gonna leave the Shadows.”

“They’ll cause way too much damage if we leave them be, Junpei!” She grit her teeth a bit. “We won’t have a choice but to fight…”

“Shit…” Junpei shook his head. “This is all way too much. We’re gonna have to go through all that again? Lose Shinjiro-senpai, Chidorita, and him again?”

Yukari opened her mouth, only to shut it and shake her head. “I don’t know… I-I don’t think there’s a way to avoid losing him, but the other two? Maybe there’s something we can do.”

Junpei covered his face and shook his head as well. “I’m not so sure… But alright, I’ll bite.”

“Just...be quiet about it and keep an eye out for an invite to the dorm, okay?” She pat his shoulder and made her way for the classroom. “That’s about all we can do.”

“...Got it.”

--

When he saw Yukari with a boy in a baseball cap, he had to be curious. He’d heard Yukari was popular, so maybe that was one of her friends? Then again, his vague feelings told him something about this was happening too soon. He didn’t have much time to think about it, though. Right after getting a glance of that, Ms. Toriumi carted him off to the entrance ceremony.

He sat down and did his best to fight down the feeling of this being familiar. He’d heard this speech before… He knew everything that was going to be said and he knew he was going to be tapped on the shoulder. He
knew he’d turn around and see a boy looking at him.

“Psst...Hey…” He turned as expected. “You came to school with Yukari this morning, right? I saw you two walking together.”

He felt he knew what was coming next, but rose an eyebrow anyway. “Hm?”

“Hey, I have a question. Do you know if she has a boyfriend?”

He wasn’t sure, honestly. He felt answering like that would be too expected, though. He wracked his brain, did he ever get the vague feeling she’d dated someone…? Well, kind of. So it wouldn’t hurt if he just…

“She does.”

His classmate sighed. “Man, I knew it… I mean, why wouldn’t she?” He paused. “Wait, how well do you know her.”

Before he could think of a lie or tell him he’d been joking, a teacher looked over towards where they sat. “I hear talking. I believe it’s someone in Ms. Toriumi’s class…”

“Shhh!” Ms. Toriumi glared at them, a finger to her mouth. “Be quiet! You’re going to get me in trouble.”

He faced forward again, the classmate leaning back. He swore he heard a lot of kids talking, though. Why was it him who got called out on it…? It didn’t really make a lot of sense to him. No matter how familiar it was, he wasn’t sure.

--

Yukari made her way to Fuuka’s class during lunch and sighed in relief when the girl jumped up and met her halfway. She knew Fuuka would be more level-headed about this (she was almost always level-headed, though not to the level Aigis was). The fact she was smiling nervously, however, told her something was wrong.

“Fuuka-chan, let’s go talk in the hall.” She took her by the arm and led her out. “You realized something’s up, right?”

“Uh-huh, I had a feeling last night, when I was back at my parents house…” Fuuka sighed. “It was for sure when I saw I was marked as a junior and that Natsuki-chan is here. Are we...repeating the year?”

“Seems like it, yeah.” She frowned a bit, crossing her arms. “Mitsuru-senpai and I met him again last night.”

“H-he’s…?” Fuuka blinked a few times before frowning. “That makes what I saw even more confusing.”

“What did you see?”

Fuuka glanced at the door. “Well, we got a new student today too. If he wasn’t here, I would just think it’s a glitch, but…”

Yukari furrowed her brow. “But what? Fuuka-chan, what’s up with this new student.”

“Well, she doesn’t look anything like him. Her hair's brown and her eyes are red, t-though not as red as Metis’!” She was rambling out of nerves, wasn’t she. “B-but there was something that stood out to me.”

“What’s that.”

“She has the same last name as him.” Fuuka frowned and shook her head. “That’s not all. She said she’s here to try and find her twin.”

“Are you saying some girl who wasn’t part of this before is here? And that she has something to do with this?” Yukari frowned. “That sounds weird…”

“Isn’t it already kind of weird, though? I mean, we all remember what happened, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Metis is around still too.” Fuuka moved some hair out of her face and sighed. “I mean, it wouldn’t be that weird if there’s a few more things off.”

“It’s like fate itself doesn’t want us to be able to figure this all out…” Yukari frowned and shook her head. “I didn’t know he had a twin--”

“Yamagishi-chan!” A girl stuck her head out of the classroom and, if Yukari had to guess, she had to be the twin. “Class is about to start up again!”

“O-oh, one second…. Bye Yukari-chan!” And off Fuuka went, following the girl back into the classroom.

“This isn’t going to go well, is it?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The night of the first day (of school, at least), Mitsuru sat on the couch, reading as she had the first time this all happened. She was still trying to calm her nerves, the lab hadn’t picked up any of her calls and when she asked her father (seeing him alive was such a shock…), he said he couldn’t explain what was happening currently.

She was just about to give up and go to bed for the time being when Akihiko approached, a frown on his face. “Ken and I talked today. He should be on his way to the dorms as soon as possible.”

“I’ll make the arrangements, thank you, Akihiko.” She closed the book and set it to the side. “Have you been able to find Koromaru yet?”

“Not yet, I’m going out tonight to try and find him.” He rolled his shoulders and made his way for the door.

“Akihiko, wait.” He paused and looked back to her.

“What is it, Mitsuru?”

“Have you thought of contacting Aragaki? I’m wondering if there’s...something we can do if we contact him early.” She paused and scanned his face for a reaction.

Akihiko sighed, hand on the door handle. “I’ll go see if I can find him tonight. I don’t know if that’ll change anything, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Mitsuru nodded and turned away as Akihiko left, slamming the door behind him. He seemed to be angry, dammit. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to bring that up, then… She should’ve waited until they at least faced the first large Shadow. Now he was going to be out most of the night, most likely. He’d be working overtime…

She looked over to her phone and picked it up. She could try to get in contact with the lab one more time. She dialled the number again, placing the phone to her ear. Soon enough, it was actually picked up. It was almost worrying, seeing as how late it was.

“Hello?”

She blinked a few times as the voice on the other line. “M-Metis?”

--

Akihiko now had a dog by his side, and fear in his heart. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was afraid to see Shinjiro again. They’d been through so much and now? Shinjiro wasn’t going to remember any of it. If anything, that was going to make the divide between the two of them larger.

Koromaru, as if sensing his thoughts, barked and wagged his tail excitedly. It was as if he was trying to calm Akihiko down a bit and he couldn’t help but appreciate it. He bent down and pet the dog a few times, a smile on his face.

“Good boy…”

“What’re you doing out here, Aki?” He tensed when he heard Shinjrio’s voice. He’d been right about where he’d find him, at least… “And where’d you find the dog?”

“This is Koromaru, he used to live at the shrine.” He stood up and turned to look at his old friend. “We recently discovered he has a Persona.”

“You’re going to make a dog fight, really?” Shinjiro frowned, and Akihiko couldn’t blame him.

“He seems to want to, we’re not going to deny him that.”

Shinjiro sighed and leaned again a nearby box. “Why’re you here, anyway? Out to train more?”

“I wanted to see if you’d come back, actually.” Akihiko did his best to stay calm as he said this. He felt his heart ripping in two just as he asked…

“Tch, you know I’m not going back to that.” He shook his head.

“We’ve found a good group, though. I think it might be good for you, Shinji.” Akihiko knew he didn’t agree, but he had to try. “Living like this isn’t good for you.”

The glare he got told him all he needed to know. “I’m not coming back.”

“I had a feeling you’d say that.” He sighed and shook his head. “Well, the offer is always open.”

“And the answer isn’t gonna change.”

Akihiko wanted to say something else, but he knew better. Arguing anymore right now would be meaningless. He instead turned on his heel, whistling for Koromaru to follow after him. This was as far as he was going to get tonight, he’d just have to try again later… Or just leave him be.

--

“Metis, how did you get a hold of the lab’s phone?” Mitsuru was still in shock about this. How…?

“It’s not that hard, honestly. If you’re quiet you can get around the guards.” Metis sounded so sure. “Sister told me she did it before, too.”

“How did...how did everyone react to you?” As far as she knew, Aigis was supposed to be the last Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. She could only imagine the panic at the lab.

“They were confused, said there was no file of me.” Metis sighed. “They said I look like I should be from the 5th generation because of my face, but my body is 7th generation.”

“Anything else?” Mitsuru couldn’t help but be worried.

“They insisted they wanted to do tests on me and put me in a room. Apparently my readings are off, too. They’re making no sense.”

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “This is bad… The upgrades on Aigis must be causing issues too.”

“Actually...When Sister and I came to, they were gone.” Metis sounded more than a little worried. “They said it’s 2009…”

“It is, it seems everyone who was here for the time...reverted physically and not mentally.” Mitsuru frowned, how did Metis fit into that? “I ask that you have Aigis request you both be moved to Gekkoukan High.”

“Where’d that come from?” Metis sounded sort of peeved at the sudden change of subject.

“The sooner you’re here, the better. We can discuss what to do next when all reunited.” She paused. “Besides, I doubt you want to be stuck at the lab for long, hm?”

“Ugh, you have a point. They’ve already discovered parts that are easily detachable, and I’d rather they not go for my arms or legs next.”

Mitsuru couldn’t help but smile a bit. Hearing Metis talk about something other than the Abyss of Time or Aigis was nice, in a way. She sounded more at ease, almost? Being out of a near-death scenario could do that to a person, though. She knew it likely had that effect on at least a few other members of SEES.

“Feel free to try and stop them, but Metis?”

She heard the android sigh. “What?”

“Don’t go attacking them like you did us on our first meeting, hm?” She chuckled a bit when she heard Metis scoff.

“I wasn’t planning on it! I don’t know where my weapon went, anyway…”

“Are you implying you’d attack if you had it?” She rose an eyebrow.

“No! W-we’re done here. Goodbye.” And without another word, Mitsuru was hung up on.

“This is going to be interesting…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After a day of listening to rumors and saving Junpei ( guy he’d met the first day in the most awkward way possible) from embarrassment in class, Minato was ready to sleep. It wasn’t like there was going to be much else for him to do, anyway. The weirdest thing to happen was the dog that apparently moved into the dorms, and, well, that wasn’t enough to keep him up.

He opened the door and saw Yukari, sitting nervously near a man with glasses. The man seemed to be pretty sophisticated, and there was a smile on his face. He seemed to be chatting Yukari’s ear off, but she didn’t seem that receptive to it all. Was he not well liked, then.

“Oh, he’s back!” She seemed almost too relieved to see Minato in that moment.

The man smiled and looked to him. “So, this is our new guest…”

The two of them stood up as the man approached him and smiled. Yukari stood behind him again, looking worried. Minato didn’t know why, but this all felt off to him for some reason, he just couldn’t put his finger on why…

“Good Evening.” The man laughed a bit. “My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I’m the Chairman of the Board for your school.”

Minato scrunched his face up and confusion for a moment, but nodded. He’d expected this, but it seemed weird to introduce himself to a random student like him despite that.

““Ikutsuki”... Hard to say, isn’t it? That’s why I don’t like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes…” It seemed to him that Ikutsuki misinterpreted the look on his face. “Please, have a seat.”

The man took his previous seat as did Yukari. Minato shrugged a bit and sat as well, hands in his pockets. Felt to him like things were back on the track he expected, at the very least. He didn’t know why, but that was actually almost relieving.

Minato looked between the two. “So…”

“I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations.” There was a confusion? “However, it may take a while longer before you receive a proper room assignment. Is there anything you’d like to ask?”

Minato was confused about a few things, but Ikutsuki set off warning bells of some sort. “No, I’m good.”

Ikutsuki smiled. “Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

He stood up and made his way towards the door. “You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say “The early bird catches the bookworm!” ...Please forgive the bad pun.” He chuckled before heading out the door.

Yukari, seeming somewhat relieved, but still uncomfortable, gave him a frown. “You’ll...get used to his lame jokes.”

He nodded and gave her a small smile, trying to calm her down. “Thanks, I should go to bed, though.”

He swore it looked like Yukari was blushing, but she just nodded. “Y-yeah, sleep well.”

--

As Minato finally fell into a deep sleep, he dreamed of a door. It seemed to have a blue glow coming from it, and he opened it. Behind it was a blue room, one that seemed to be of an elevator moving up. A clock sat on the wall, the hands moving endlessly.

He took a seat, across from him being a long nosed man. Behind him were two, somewhat average looking people. This was almost all as he’d expected, besides one of the people behind the long nosed man. He’d known the woman would be there, but the man…?

“Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man.” He stretched out a hand to Minato. “My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance. These two are Elizabeth and Theodore. They are residents here, like myself.”

Minato nodded a bit and paused. He felt he knew the names Igor and Elizabeth, but… Theodore seemed to be new.

“While Elizabeth will directly assist you, Theodore will play a role as well.” Igor smiled at Minato. “Do not worry, for now, focus on becoming acquainted with them.”

Theodore smiled at him. “Feel free to call me Theo. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleased to see you again.” Elizabeth smiled, only to drop it when Theodore elbowed her. “I mean, pleased to meet you!”

Igor seemed to ignore the actions completely as he looked to Minato again. “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… It’s been years since we’ve had a guest.”

With a flourish of his hand, the red notebook Minato had signed his name into appeared in front of him. The little boy had said something about it being a contract, right…? So this room was going to be linked to that in some way. That was almost creepy…

“Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place… Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room.” Igor continued on, ignoring the look of confusion Minato had. “You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return… that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices that you make.”

Minato’s head was reeling as Igor, Elizabeth, and Theodore watched him. Despite the vague sense of familiarity, this was almost too much for him to handle. The fact Theodore threw everything off made it even worse, in a way. He felt he would handle this and understand this better if he wasn’t there…

He gripped his head, this wasn’t right. There had to be a reason for that. “Is this a dream?”

“Precisely…” Igor gave a nod and chuckled a bit. “You are fast asleep in the real world as we speak. This visit is merely a dream. However, you will come here of your own accord, sooner or later.”

Minato nodded a bit. He felt he’d heard that before, and it bothered him. So many things had a sense of familiarity, but there was just enough he didn’t know to make him uncomfortable. He needed to find out the cause for this. Would he be able to ask Igor about this?

“I--”

Igor produced a blue key and held it out to Minato. “Hold on to this…”

Minato took it and frowned. It felt light, lighter than he was expecting. It was just as blue as the room, and in a way, had the same odd blue glow he’d seen from the door. It almost made too much sense for it to come from this room. He couldn’t keep thinking of that, as his vision began to fade. Was his dream almost over.

Igor gestured to him, almost as a farewell. “‘Til we meet again…”

And shortly after that, everything fully faded from sight.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Fuuka had been keeping an eye on Minako since the first day of school. She hadn’t been in her class before, and, well… She was trying to figure out why she was here. If this was a part of the time loop SEES had been stuck in, there’d be no reason for someone new to appear. It was almost as if there was a glitch in time…

Minako didn’t know any of what was going on, though. That much was more than obvious. She was always smiling, laughing with others. She’d ask about someone else with the last name Arisato, but it didn’t seem like anyone had gotten to know Minato yet. They’d all just reply with something about knowing her.

Fuuka was always tempted to tell her about Minato, but there was too much of a chance of that making something go wrong. If there was even a small chance that Minato and Minako meeting would lead to something breaking… She couldn’t be the one who caused that. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself.

So for now, she would just watch Minako, make sure nothing weird happened. She might even try to make sure she and Minato didn’t meet, at least not until she could discuss this with Mitsuru. If there was any chance it was a bad thing, she needed to be careful. Hopefully Mitsuru would know what to do about it…

This was just too much for her, in the worst possible way. To make matters worse, tonight was the night of the Full Moon. With what she’d heard from Yukari… Well, to put it lightly, Minato awakening to his Persona had been more than a little painful. Enough so that he ended up in the hospital for a week.

Now she couldn’t help but worry about Minato on top of Minako. What if her meeting him before his awakening caused issues? She at least wanted that to go smoothly. Well, as smoothly as that could go. Any extra issues could just make things messier…

“Fuuka-chan!” She jumped a bit when Minako moved to stand in front of her, hands slamming against the desk. “Want to go somewhere after school?”

“H-huh? Me?”

“Yeah! Natsuki-chan is coming too and, well…” Minako glanced at the other girl. “I think the three of us hanging out could help with that bullying issue you’ve been dealing with.”

“Oh, Arisato-chan--”

“Minako! Call me Minako! If I call you your first name, you do the same!” Minako smiled at her and laughed. “Come on, you’ve looked kinda depressed today. It could be good for you!”

Fuuka thought for a moment. Would it be alright for her to go have fun with Minako and Natsuki right now? Minato was about to go through hell and she was going to go have fun with Natsuki and Minako… Well, she was sure this would be what the Minato she knew would’ve wanted. For her to enjoy herself.

“Alright, sure.”

Minako giggled at her and grinned. “Awesome!”

--

When Akihiko came running into the dorm that night, Mitsuru and Yukari knew what was happening. This time, however, he didn’t seem as injured, experience from last time keeping him safe. He looked at the two of them, serious as could be.

“Get ready… It’ll be here any second.”

Ikutuski, as confused as could be, walked up behind them. “It’s one of them, Akihiko?”

Akihiko frowned, but nodded. “It’s not an ordinary one, it’s big.”

Mitsuru pulled out her evoker as the building began to shake. “Mr. Chairman, please go to the control room! Yukari--”

“I know what you’re going to tell me, but no!” Yukari shook her head. “We should go together, get him out of here!”

Akihiko nodded and he moved next to Yukari. “You know fighting from here isn’t going to do much good, Mitsuru. We only have one choice.”

“What are you all talking about…?”

Mitsuru turned to look at Ikutsuki. “Please don’t worry about it. We’ll handle this, please just get to safety.”

As Ikutsuki nodded and made his way to the control room, Akihiko rushed forward, heading for the second floor. If they could deal with this quickly they could allow Minato to awaken to her Persona more naturally, after all. That had to be what he was thinking.

“Wake up!” Yukari began knocking on the door before Akihiko pushed it open.

“We’re coming in!” Akihiko made his way to Minato quickly, grabbing him by the arm. “We don’t have time to wait around, come on!”

Minato frowned. “What’s going on…?” He seemed to groggy to fully register what Akihiko was saying.

“Here, take this!” Mitsuru pushed a sword into his hands and made her way for the stairs. “We’re heading for the roof.”

Soon enough, they’d made it to the top of the dorms, Minato still out of it. The three who understood fully what was happening took a step forward, ready to strike. The Shadow was sure to appear soon and they needed to deal with it.

Soon enough the creature appeared, its arms moving it forward. Akihiko and Mitsuru already had their evokers to their heads, only to both be slapped away quickly, the monster stronger than Yukari remembered it being.

“Those monsters… We call them Shadows…” Yukari pulled out her evoker and held it to her head, shaking. She hadn’t been this scared to summon her Persona in a long time…

Before she could do anything, however, the Shadow slapped her across the rooftop as well and everything went black for a moment.

--

Minato reached for the gun Yukari had dropped, looking at it closely. He felt he could see the little boy from before, smiling at him, telling him to go on… He put the gun to his temple, his breathing heavy. He barely registered the three others yelling at him to stop.

He calmed himself and, with a deep breath, pulled the trigger.

“Persona…”

Soon enough, a creature was behind him. He felt like he’d seen it before, that he had a link to the creature that one couldn’t break…

Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh. I am Orpheus, master of strings…

It was then a headache hit Minato. He screamed out in pain as Orpheus began to convulse. Soon enough, out of the creature came another. It was a creature more terrifying, more blood thirsty. It wasted no time rushing forward and, in a flurry, destroyed the large Shadow as if it was nothing.

Soon enough, the creature had returned to the original form of Orpheus and Minato felt
himself slowly losing consciousness. Before he knew it, Yukari and the boy were at his side as Mitsuru defeated the smaller Shadows.

Seeing that it seemed safe, Minato felt his vision go hazy and he collapsed into the other boy as Yukari gasped.

“Are you okay!? Come on…!” She grabbed his hand as Akihiko supported him, his vision going. “Say something!”

And it all went black.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Minato saw the Velvet Room’s door again and couldn’t help but feel he should approach it. Opening it, he found himself in the chair from before yet again. Igor sat in front of him, Elizabeth and Theodore on either side of the man. It was similar to last time, though Minato wasn’t sure this was as pleasant as last time.

“It’s so nice to see you again. You became unconscious after awakening to your “power.” ...It’s nothing to worry about, though.” He said that as if he could see the discomfort and confusion on Minato’s face. “So, just relax.”

Minato nodded as Igor continued. “By the way… I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. That power is called a Persona… It is a manifestation of your psyche.”

He felt he’d heard this before, that Orpheus had come from his soul in the past… Why did this all seem familiar. “I don’t understand.”

“It may take time to fully comprehend. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli…” Igor paused as Minato watched him carefully. “You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. That being said, your power is still weak…”

He understood that mentally he felt weak, but his body… He felt more than strong, like he could keep going for a long time if the mental stress wasn’t bad enough… “You lost me.”

“When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links -- your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links, the more powerful your Persona ability. Please remember that.”

Ignore paused for a moment, as if thinking of something. Minato was just about to ask what the look on his face was for when he began to speak again.

“Now, then… Time marches on in your world. I shouldn’t keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you will come here of your own accord.” Igor let his hand fly out in a flourish. “Until then… Farewell.”

At that moment, Minato’s vision once again faded to black.

--

When Minato started to open his eyes, he wasn’t sure how long he’d been out of it. All he could tell was there were two people at his bed, Yukari and a girl with teal hair. He wasn’t exactly surprised to see Yukari, but who was the other girl…?

Yukari looked over, her eyes going wide. “Fuuka, he’s awake, go get the others!”

The other girl, Fuuka, nodded and stood up, running out of the room, leaving Minato with Yukari. Yukari looked more than a little worried, her face pale as if she wasn’t expecting Minato to wake up. He couldn’t blame her, he hadn’t expected to awaken either.

“Um, how do you feel?”

Minato looked around, he could tell this was a hospital, but… “Where am I…?”

“Thank goodness. You finally came to…” Yukari bit her lip as she sighed. “It’s been a whole week! …I was so worried about you…”

She looked away for a moment and wiped at her eyes before looking back. “...O-oh yeah, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It’s just a short walk from the station.”

Minato nodded a bit. “What’s wrong with me, then?”

“The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with you…” As she said this, her voice caught in her throat as if that statement hurt her to say. “He said you were just exhausted… But you kept sleeping and sleeping. You know how worried I was?”

“Sorry…” He was a quiet, but Yukari heard this and flinched a bit.

“Um… I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything… Even though I was supposed to protect you, I…” Her eyes went a bit hazy as she spoke, like remembering a distant memory. “But you power… It was amazing.”

“...What were those things?” He’d heard Igor call his power a Persona, but nothing about the enemies… Maybe he’d been told before, he wasn’t sure...

“You mean the Shadows? They’re what we’re fighting against. And the power you used… We call it “Persona.”” Yukari paused before sighing. “We’ll explain everything later. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before… I, uh...
I wanted to tell you that… I’m sorta like you.”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “What do you mean?”

“My dad died in an accident when I was little… And my mom and I weren’t-- aren’t exactly on good terms… You’re all alone too, right?” Yukari looked at him, sadness in her eyes. “To be honest, I already know about your past… But it didn’t seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine.”

“Takeba-san…”

“It was back in ‘99… There was a big explosion in the area. My dad died that day…” She shook her head. “He was working in a lab run by the Kirijo Group.”

“Does Kirijo-senpai have a link to that group?” He frowned a bit.

“Yeah, the school has a link to the group, that’s why I initially transferred here…” Yukari looked away. “Well, uh--”

“He’s really up!” Yukari was cut off when Akihiko walked up next to Minato and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We were starting to worry you wouldn’t come to.” Mitsuru said this with a smile, but he noticed the way it made Yukari and Akihiko flinch.

“Dude! When I heard what happened, I rushed right over!” There was Junpei, but no. He shouldn’t be here... Now that he thought about it, shouldn’t only Yukari be there?

Fuuka walked in behind Junpei and smiled. “Nice to meet you, though I wish it hadn’t happened in the hospital…”

“Yeah…” He sat up fully with a flinch, he hadn’t moved in a week, yet his muscles still seemed to be sore…

“Be careful, don’t force yourself…” Akihiko moved his hand from Minato’s shoulder to his back as Junpei and Fuuka made it to the bedside.

“Arisato, these two are going to be dormmates of your starting tomorrow.” Mitsuru gestured to Junpei and Fuuka. “I know this is confusing, but I thought meeting them ahead of time might do you some good.”

“I see…” He frowned a bit, should Junpei or Fuuka be moving into the dorms at this point…? He wasn’t so sure.

“Sorry we’re throwing so much onto you so quickly…” Yukari sighed a bit and moved some hair behind her ear. “I can only imagine how you’ll react to Koromaru…”

“Who’s that?” Why did the name give him the impression of a dog?

“That’s enough for now.” Akihiko’s hand on Minato’s back seemed to press into it a bit too firmly. “We should just let him rest, he’ll probably need to come back starting tomorrow, anyway.”

“Oh, you’re right, sorry…” Yukari bit her lip as she stood and everyone started for the door.

Just before she and Akihiko exited, Yukari turned to glance back at him. “...Bye.”

Akihiko glanced back as well. “Get a little more rest before you come back to the dorms, alright? You’ll need it.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the eighteenth when Minato was able to make it to school again. He wasn’t exactly happy about that, a week in the hospital? He’d almost hoped that it’d been a huge lie that it’d taken that long… There was no way he hadn’t missed a lot in the small amount of time, after all.

“Mornin’. You seem to be doin’ pretty well.” Yukari approached him, bag behind her back.

“Not really…” He still kind of ached all over. Too much moving after all that laying around.

Yukari’s eyes widened a bit. “Do you feel sick?”

“No, just achey…” Minato frowned, odd question. “Why do you ask?”

“N-no reason.” Yukari shook her head. “I was just...wondering, and getting sick in the hospital would be almost too ironic, you know?”

Minato could feel the tension coming off her and the panic. She was trying to hide something from him and he didn’t like it. Was there a reason she felt the need to keep whatever it was from him?

“A-anyway. Sorry to add this to your worries, but… Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today. Junpei and Fuuka-chan too. Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don’t forget.”

He nodded a bit. “Got it, that shouldn’t be too hard to remember.”

“If you could help make sure Junpei does, that’d be great.” Yukari sighed. “He’s...not the best at remembering to do things sometimes.”

“That so?” He shook his head a bit. Junpei did seem that type, after all. “Well, I’ll be there and try to remind him.”

“Try?”

“I’m pretty quiet, he might not hear me.”

Yukari let out a snort and shook her head. “Alright, fair enough… But come on, we don’t wanna be late.”

--

As Takeharu looked Aigis and Metis over, the former did her best to stand firm. She had requested a movement to Gekkoukan High as Mitsuru has requested and she was going to stick with it. Things were off and she needed to find out what was going on. She might… see him again, might relive the pain of fighting her regrets… But she had to do it.

“You wish to be moved to SEES?” Takeharu frowned. “Where did you hear of that?”

“It was a term overheard in a conversation between two scientists.” She had rehearsed this possibility a number of times in her head.

“Both of you, though?” He glanced at Metis, standing quietly next to her sister. “...We don’t even know where your sister unit came from.”

“I understand, but--”

“Please don’t separate me from my sister…!” Metis’ voice came out, cutting off Aigis. “I-I know I’ve been bratty, but I promise I can help! I can fight Shadows too!”

“Can you now?” Takeharu didn’t seem to be buying it, not yet.

“She can, I have confirmed she has the use of a Persona.” Aigis nodded surely. “Complete control over it as well.”

“What sister said! I promise I can help, I-I--”

Takeharu held up a hand and sighed. He seemed to be starting to come around to the idea of letting them both go. Good, Aigis could only imagine what would happen if he refused Metis… She didn’t want to have to make her little sister promise to not attack Mitsuru’s father on top of her current promise.

“I suppose we can allow that, but you will be under supervision.” Takeharu looked at them both carefully. “If you can agree to that, I’ll allow the transfer.”

“Yes, I’m sure we will prove ourselves trustworthy.” Aigis did her best to give a smile. It felt forced, more than she would like to admit.

“I see…” Takeharu sighed and turned away. “You’re free to go, then. I’ll tell the scientists I approved of the request.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, uh, yes! Thank you very much!” Metis jumped a bit and turned as her sister did.

As they left, Aigis heard Takeharu let out a sigh. “I hope that one really has full control. We don’t need to be seeing a repeat of the 031 case.”

--

When Minato made it back to the dorms, he frowned a bit. Junpei and Fuuka had apparently arrived at the same time (he’d totally forgotten to remind Junpei, oops). That wasn’t right, he should be here alone. Junpei and Fuuka shouldn’t be here… Not yet.

“Dude, you’re here!” Junpei grinned at him. “I was starting to worry you forgot.”

“I don’t forget easily.”

“Good to know…” Junpei’s grin turned into a somewhat pained smile as he turned to Fuuka. “Fourth floor, right?”

“Ah, yes!” Fuuka nodded and started for the stairs, Junpei close behind. With a shrug, Minato followed after.

Soon enough, they were at the fourth floor and there stood Yukari, apparently waiting for them. “Oh! There you three are!”

She gestured to them to follow and walked into the closest room, Minato making sure he was the last to enter. Sitting there was Ikutsuki, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and… A boy? Not to mention a dog, growling at Ikutsuki. There were way too many bodies in this room… It was making Minato sick.

“Ah, there you are.” Ikutsuki turned his gaze to Minato. “I’m glad that you’re okay. The reason I ask you here, all of you, is because I needed to talk to you. Please, have a seat.”

Minato nodded and took a seat, Fuuka and Junpei sitting on either side of him.

“Oh, before that, you all do know Akihiko, correct?” He gestured to the teenager, who flashed them all a smile.

“Glad to see you up and moving, Arisato.”

“Ah, yeah…” He gave him a half hearted smile, still doing his best to stay calm. He felt so dizzy.

Ikutsuki cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. “Okay, let me start off by asking you all this… Would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?”

“Um…” Fuuka twiddled with her skirt hem.

“Well…” Junpei rubbed the back of his head.

“...Excuse me?” Minato rose an eyebrow.

Mitsuru let out a chuckle. “I’m not surprised by your reactions. However, all of you have experienced this truth first hand.”

Ikutsuki chuckled. “Isn’t it amazing? Three, no five, at one time…”

“Er, yes, chairman…” Mitsuru bit her lip before regaining herself. “Do you remember the night you came here, Arisato? You had to have noticed the signs… The streetlights went out… Nothing was working… There were coffins everywhere… Didn’t it feel like you were in a different time…?”

“I guess so…” Did that mean Fuuka and Junpei had seen that stuff too? What about the kid sitting there, or the dog?

“That’s the Dark Hour--a time period hidden between one day and the next.”

Minato rose an eyebrow. “Between?”

“It occurs each night, as the clock strikes twelve.” Ikutsuki jumped in. “It’ll happen tonight, and every night to come.”

Everyone went quiet at that point and Minato sighed. That wasn’t right, but… He would work with it. “Those things, the Shadows were they? Would we fight those with things like Orpheus?”

Ikutsuki smiled. “Ahead of the game, I see! Well then--”

“Do you want my help fighting them or something…?”

They all paused, the teenagers and boy looking shocked and worried, the dog whimpering. Ikutsuki, however, just smiled. “Oh, so very ahead of the game.”

He opened a briefcase that was sitting on the table, revealing the guns that Minato had seen the others with. The thing that’d brought Orpheus from the sea of his soul.

“We want you to join us.” Mitsuru moved to look at all three of them. “We’ve prepared evokers for all of you. We’d like for you to all lend us your strength.”

“Alright.” He nodded and watched as Junpei and Fuuka did the same thing.

“Then it looks like it’s official, you’ll be joining us aga--against all odds.” Akihiko smiled at him and turned to the boy. “By the way, this is Ken. He has the potential as well and’ll be living here.”

“Nice to meet you.” He nodded a bit.

“Is that Koromaru I see?” Junpei smiled at the dog. “He’s gotta Persona too? Awesome!”

“You’re quick to jump to conclusions, Junpei, but yeah… He does.” Yukari nodded and crossed her arms. “Well, guess that’s all settled.”

“Good to know…” Minato smiled, he felt as if this was one of the Social Links Igor had mentioned before… “But can I excuse myself now?”

“Hm? Is something the matter?” Ikutsuki rose an eyebrow.

“I feel like I’m about to throw up.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After a conversation with that mysterious little boy the night before and an uneventful day at school, Minato wasn’t sure what to expect. It wasn’t for Akihiko to walk in, looking perturbed about something, though. It looked like he had a lot to say, but didn’t know where to start.

“Something the matter, senpai?”

“Arisato…!” He jumped a bit and shook his head. “No, um… Everyone, there’s a few people I’d like you to meet.”

“Oh?” Minato noticed a glint in Mitsuru’s eye. “Then bring them in.”

“Got it…” He stuck his head out the door and sighed. “Come on you two.”

In walked to girls, both wearing what seemed to be sundresses. There was something about them that screamed

not human

to Minato, though he couldn’t say he knew why. It didn’t help that the one in the blue sundress felt familiar, while the one in the pink pulled up nothing but a blank.

The latter was now glaring at him. “Is there a reason you’re staring at me?”

“Oh, uh, sorry…” Minato looked away and frowned. This was all too weird.

“Metis, no need for that…” Aigis looked at him and smiled before moving to him and hugging him. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Huh…?”

“H-hey, Ai--” Yukari bit her lip. “You!”

“Aigis...I know you’re excited, but now isn’t the time for that.” Akihiko walked up to her and pulled her back gently.

“I apologize, I just…” Aigis bit her lip and looked away. “...Nevermind.”

Ken was sitting there, staring at Metis. He didn’t seem to be comfortable around her in the least. Was there a reason for that…? It was kind of hard to tell, honestly. Maybe it was just her demeanor. Minato could see it, maybe.

“Um, Aigis-san…” Ken looked away from Metis. “You don’t need to say sorry.”

“Oh, thank you…” She smiled at him and sighed a bit. “But I suppose I was moving too quickly.”

Yukari sighed and stood up. “Now isn’t the time for that. We should be figuring out where to put you both… Is there enough room in the dorms?”

“There should be, yes.” Mitsuru nodded as she stood up. “Come on then, I’ll take you where you two will be staying.”

“I’ll help as well.” Fuuka stood up, messing with the hem of her skirt again.

“Oh, thank you, Yamagishi.” Mitsuru smiled and Fuuka blushed a bit.

“N-not a problem, Mitsuru-senpai.”

As the four walked off, Minato noted the fact that Metis looked back again and glared at him. What’d he done to make Metis so angry at him? He’d just been sitting here since they walked in, after all. He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

--

After a somewhat average day, with Mitsuru asking him as well as Yukari and Junpei to come back to the dorms right away, Minato simply shrugged and went along with it. He felt this was right, but… Then he remembered she probably told Fuuka the same thing. And that Ken, Koromaru, and the two androids would be at the dorm when he got back. This all felt so off, so wrong.

Upon making it to the dorms, he followed Yukari and Junpei to the room in the fourth floor. Everyone was there and Minato was starting to feel sick again. There were too many people around and every moment he spent near Ikutsuki, the more uncomfortable he became with the man.

“Okay, everybody’s here. I’d like your undivided attention.” Ikutsuki seemed serious. “For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But, that number recently jumped to nine. Therefore… Starting tonight at 12:00 AM, I’d like to commence exploration of Tartarus.”

“Tartarus?” Minato tilted his head to the side. It sounded familiar, but he wasn’t sure.

“You haven’t seen it, Minato-kun?” Yukari frowned as she looked at him.

“No…”

“It’s no surprise…” Ikutsuki shook his head. “Since it only appears during the Dark Hour.”

“It’s the nesting ground of the Shadows.” Mitsuru jumped in, looking at everyone. “I’m sure you all know what the Dark Hour is, and what Shadows are as I briefed you before.”

“I guess we do…” Metis looked away, a frown on her face.

“The ones that attacked the dorms aren’t the usual.” Akihiko added on with a nod. “Usually, that’s where you go. It’s the perfect place to train.”

“Well, I doubt you’ll go too far tonight, so I’m not sure how much training you’ll get in.” Ikutsuki laughed. “I’ll be staying here. As you know, I can’t summon a Persona…”

--

After making it to Tartarus (which ended up being the school) and everyone deciding quickly that Minato was going to be in charge, he was being stared down by Mitsuru.

“Arisato. You’re going to be in charge of deciding who goes with you. I suggest a rotation of everyone, but what you do is your choice.”

“I see…” He looked around, a frown on his face. There were a lot to choose from and he felt Junpei and Yukari would be right. However, he wanted to see what would happen if he chose differently.

“Yukari-san, Akihiko-senpai, and Aigis-san…” She paused before nodding. “That seems like a good team.”

“Then let’s go.” Yukari nodded and started for the stairs, Akihiko and Aigis following. Minato started to as well, when he paused due to a door.

It was the door to that Velvet Room, wasn’t it? He didn’t know why, but he felt he should visit it, just once… To see what was going on. Maybe there was a reason it appeared to him in that moment. Glancing to the group, he took a step forward and used the key given to him to enter the room.

He opened his eyes and once again he stood in front of the chair again. Igor sat at the table and once again, on either side of him, were Elizabeth and Theodore. It was the same scene as before and he felt he would be seeing this often.

“I’ve been waiting for you. The time has come for you wield your power. The tower that you are about to venture into… How did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist?” Igor paused for a moment as Minato scrunched up his face. “Regrettably, you are not yet capable of answering these questions. That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power.”

“Well, about that door... “ He glanced back.

“It leads here, and while another can see it, I doubt she will pay us a visit for a while.” Igor shook his head. “She must find her own answer.”

“She…?” Was one of the girls in the group able to enter this room too?

Igor seemed to ignore that. “
Your power is unique. It's like the number zero... It's empty, but at the same time holds infinite possibilities. You, my boy, are able to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed.”

He paused and Minato nodded before the man continued. “And when you have defeated your enemies, you will see the faces of possibility before you. There may be times when they are difficult to grasp... But, do not fear. Seize what you have earned. Your power will grow accordingly... Be sure to keep that in mind. My spare time will soon be scarce.”

“Then what am I--”

“But, please come again of your own accord. I'll tell you then about my true role... the manner in which I can best assist you. Until then... Farewell.”

With that, the room faded again and he was standing in front of it. Looking around, he noticed that Aigis was staring at him with wide eyes. No, it wasn’t him he was staring at. It was the

door.

“Minato-san, we should get going.”

“I… Yeah.” He nodded and followed after her. He would wonder about this later. For now, they should get started.

“Ready to go then?” Yukari looked at him, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“...This is it?” Minato looked around the area. Aigis and Akihiko seemed to barely be reacting and Yukari looked nervous. Was there something he was missing, then?

“I-I hope I don’t get lost…” Yukari looked to the ground when she caught Minato looking at her. That sounded so forced…

“Can you all hear me?” Fuuka’s voice came through the transceiver attached to his ear and he frowned. Why did he feel like it should be Mitsuru instead, though…?

“Fuuka-san, you will be accompanying us verbally, will you not?” Aigis spoke next, not at all phased.

“That’s right. My Persona isn’t much good in a fight, but Lu--Juno allows me to see what’s going on in there. MItsuru-senpai says Tartarus changes every day, so help from a Persona like mine is needed.”

“Juno…?” Akihiko grimaced, crossing his arms. “W-well, thanks, Yamagishi.”

“Of course. Be ready though, I sense enemies nearby, you could run into them at any second.” Fuuka sounded worried. “Since our leader...and the rest of us are new to this, you should try to focus on eliminating the Shadows on this floor for now.”

Minato nodded a bit. “Got it.”

He saw a Shadow moving along, slowly. It was creepy to see, but… Well he needed to deal with it. This was going to be what he did for the rest of his time with SEES, right? Fight Shadows and make it to the top… He ran forward, throwing out an attack with his sword and it connected.

As it did, the form broke into multiple beings, the group spreading out around them. It looked like they were going to get the first hits in. Minato thought about doing it himself, but… Someone told him he needed to see the others Personas.

He pulled his sword in front of his face. “I’m not sure I know what to do.”

“Leader…!”

“I guess I’ll give it a go, then.” Akihiko put his evoker to his forehead. “Don’t fail me now…!”

Behind him appeared a humanoid figure, in one hand a globe and the other a sword. It struck out at an enemy, easily destroying it, as if it was nothing compared to Akihiko. That wasn’t right… Shouldn’t his Persona have blonde hair…?

Yukari moved next, evoker at the ready. “We’ll make it through this…!”

Behind her a figure appeared. It looked as if a human head rested within one of a bull (or maybe a cow), wings on either side. It lacked legs, but the powerful wind attack it shot out destroyed all but one Shadow. No, she should be able to do that yet...and there should be legs…

Aigis moved forward next, fear in her eyes. Was she...afraid to use her Persona then? That made no sense, though. She was made to do that, right? She should have no issues doing it… Why was she hesitating.

“Please, heed my cry…!” Aigis seemed to have steeled herself, arms outstretched as her internal evoker activated.

Behind her was what Minato would describe as a Greek Goddess. A rotating shield seemed to protect her, her brown tendrils of hair hidden under a helmet, and a white dress flowing from her body. No, that looked too.. Human for what Aigis should have to begin with.

And that didn’t even begin to explain why Yukari, Akihiko, and even Aigis seemed so shocked as the Persona destroyed the last of the Shadows.

--

At the same moment of the summoning of Athena, Metis fell to her knees, grasping at her chest. She didn’t know why, but there was a pain there. It felt as if a part of her was being ripped away in that moment…

Junpei and Mitsuru wasted no time making it to Metis’ side, each placing a hand on her back.

“Metis, are you alright?”

Metis was shaking. “I don’t know.”

“Come on lil sis, you aren’t going dysfunctional on us…” Junpei rubbed her back awkwardly. “Come on…”

Ken frowned and made his way over to them, evoker in hand. “Are...are you injured.”

“No, yes… I…” Metis was clinging to her chest. She let out a scream of pain.

“It must be getting worse…” Mitsuru frowned and turned to Ken. “Amada, I don’t know if it’ll help, but you--”

“I’m fine!” She pushed Mitsuru and Junpei away, getting to her feet.

Koromaru began barking and ran over to Metis, running around her legs. She didn’t seem very happy about it.

“I’m fine, you stupid dog!” Metis was frowning. “Nothing--”

She let out another scream and fell to her knees. She was gripping her chest again, though this time it looked like she was about to try and rip the Papillion Heart out. She was sweating too, it was as if something was making it more and more unbearable as time went on.

Ken panicked a bit and brought his evoker to his head. It didn’t look like he was going to listen to what Metis had to say. Soon enough, Kala-Nemi had appeared and Ken was trying to do something, anything about Metis and her pain.

At first, it didn’t seem to be doing much, but then Metis’ breathing began to even. Kala-Nemi disappeared and before Mitsuru or Junpei could react, Ken and Koromaru were next to Metis. It was almost shocking to see Ken act this way, so so much care for something other than his mother. At least with what time of year it was… October had not yet come to pass.

“We’re back--” Aigis’ voice hit their ears as she made her way to Metis. “What happened?”

“We were told we needed to come back, Fuuka said their was something bad happening…” Yukari made her way over to Mitsuru, arms crossed. “Is...Is Metis okay?”

Junpei frowned. “We’re not sure, she just started acting kinda...weird.” Junpei rubbed the back of his head as Minato and Akihiko joined the group. “She was like… in pain or something.”

“Will that affect her performance do you think?” Minato tilted his head to the side with a frown. Metis was a complete mystery…

“...Unless this is something new, no.”

“What was that?” He looked at Akihiko, who just shook his head. Maybe Minato wasn’t supposed to hear that, then?

“...Maybe we should just go back to the dorms today.” Mitsuru stood up with a frown as Akihiko moved to help Aigis carry Metis back.

“Good idea.” Minato nodded and frowned. So, they’d stayed on one floor for exploration as he expected, but for different reasons…

This was all too much.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As homeroom began Minato felt something was very off. Aigis shouldn’t be standing in front of the class, hands clasped in front of her. This was happening too early and she seemed almost too ready for all of this. As if she had practiced...Or done this before.

“Class, we have a new student who will be joining us. She just transferred here...” She gestured at Aigis before turning to look at her. “Please introduce yourself.”

“My name is Aigis. I am pleased to meet you all…” Aigis gave a small, awkward smile. “Please treat me well, and if you meet my sister Metis please do the same for her.”

“Aigis, Metis… What strange names…” Ms. Toriumi mumbled to herself, tapping her foot.. “I wonder if she and her sister were born overseas. Let’s see… Anything else I should know?”

She began to look at the file of Aigis and Minato was pretty sure he knew what was going to be written. “Hm? ...Humanoid Tactical Weapon? What on Earth…?”

Yeah, there it was. And next she was going to….

“...Clearly, that’s a mistake.” She closed the folder and shook her head. “It just goes to show, you can’t believe everything you read.”

Act as if it couldn’t be real. He felt like he knew his homeroom teacher almost too well. It was almost making him uncomfortable.

Toriumi seemed to have moved on, looking around the room. “You can sit…” She pointed at an empty seat next to Minato. “Right over there, in that empty seat.”

Junpei rose his hand. “Um, Ms. Toriumi, that spots already taken. He’s just playin’ hookey.”

She frowned at him, eyes narrowing. “...Which means he’s not here. So it’s free to be used, right?”

Aigis nodded and quickly moved to sit in the seat, smiling at Minato. She seemed to be conflicted, despite how quick she had moved. “This spot will be perfect… Because I will protect him this time.”

This time?

Before Minato could question what she meant, Yukari had stood up, anger clear on her face. “Aigis!”

Aigis’ eyes went wide as if she realized she said something she shouldn’t have. “Yukari-san...I didn’t…”

Another classmate cleared their throat and frowned. “...Um, Yukari, why’re you standing up?”

“Huh? I--”

Aigis shook her head. “No, it’s nothing--”

“My, aren’t we full of drama today?” Toriumi frowned and shook her head. “Do me a favor and save the antics for after school.”

Yukari frowned and sat down. “Sorry…”

“Very sorry, ma’am.”

--

As Mr. Ekoda entered the room, Fuuka sighed in relief. Metis was following him quietly and actually kind of looked human. The black turtleneck that made her neck blend in just enough that they wouldn’t realize it was the same color, the matching black tights… Metis was covered head to toe and no one was going to be able to tell she was a weapon.

“Alright, settle down everyone.” Ekoda gestured at Metis. “We have a new student today. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

Metis seemed to take a few moments to realize it was her he was talking to and she cleared her throat. “I’m Metis…”

“Whoa, someone doesn’t know what she’s doing.” Natsuki snorted, a grin on her face. Fuuka frowned, reminding herself Natsuki hadn’t gone through everything and become her friend. She was still a bully of sorts right now…

“Metis… Do you happen to be from overseas?” Ekoda rose an eyebrow. “Your name is almost too unique for someone from Japan.”

“...Yes I am from overseas. Can I sit down now?”

“Oh, yes…” Ekoda looked across the class. “There’s an empty seat next to Arisato.”

Metis followed the finger and moved to sit next to Minako. As soon as she was in her seat, she looked out the window, a pout on her face. Mitsuru had told Fuuka and Yukari that she was worried Metis would be totally asocial…

“Hi there, Metis-chan!” Well, Minako didn’t seem to notice that behavior. “I’m Minako Arisato! Do you have your textbooks yet?”

“No.”

“Well, then I can share my textbooks with you today! I doubt you want to miss more than you have to, right?”

Fuuka watched as Metis sent her a glare. “I don’t need your help. I’ll figure it out on my own.”

“Oh come on, no need to be a grump!” Fuuka was starting to worry about what was going to happen Minako now… “I know!”

Metis sighed and shook her head. “You know what?”

“We should hang out!” Minako nodded, seemingly sure of what she was saying. “You don’t have plans after school, do you?”

“...Not really, no.”

“Then we should hang out!”

“I need to find my sister.”

“Oh?” Minako tilted her head to the side. “Then she can come hang out with us too!”

“I--”

Minako looked around and gave Fuuka a small wave. “Oh, oh! Fuuka-chan too!”

“I don’t want to hang out with you, Arisato!” Metis stood up, chair falling back and slamming into the ground. “Just leave me alone!”

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize the new student was like that…” Maki sniggered a bit as she leaned towards Natsuki.

“I know right? Arisato might be overwhelmingly annoying sometimes, but screaming at her in class?” Natsuki grinned and shook her head. “Damn.”

Fuuka frowned, this was bad. Metis might be making herself a target… If she was made a target, she might fight back. If she fought back… Well, there might be a few students that ended up in the hospital…

She made a note to talk to Mitsuru about finding a healthy outlet for Metis and her frustration.

--

Minato had tried to hang around to talk to everyone, but a text message from Akihiko had him heading for the school gate. He didn’t know what his senpai needed from him, but he wasn’t about to say no. Maybe it was something about gear…? The police station…?

He finally walked up to where Akihiko was standing and he turned to look at him. “...There you are. There’s something I have to do, and I want you to come with me.”

“Alright…” He nodded a bit. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to get someone… An old member. You won’t know him, but… I think you being there could help.” Akihiko looked away, biting at his lip.

Minato put a hand on his shoulder and gave an awkward half-smile. “Let’s go then, senpai.”

Akihiko nodded and Minato followed after him, barely remembering the journey. Soon enough, they were at the strip mall, outside the ramen shop. It felt weird being here now, of all times. But at the same time, it should happen when Aigis starts school… So it was half right, half wrong?

A boy that Minato felt he should know walked out of the shop and stopped when he saw Akihiko. “This better not be what I think it is.”

“The situation has changed. I can’t let you say no anymore.” Akihiko held out the briefcase Minato had barely noticed him carrying, his face firm. “By the way, Shinji. This is Minato Arisato, a new member of SEES and our field leader.”

“Like I care.” Shinji… No, Shinjiro, scoffed and looked away. “Why’re you still holding it out at me, Aki?”

“This belongs to you and…” Akihiko swallowed hard as if afraid to say what he wanted to next. “Ken Amada has joined SEES.”

Shinjiro suddenly tensed, the shock clear on his face. “What the hell are you talking about?!”

“He has the potential, and Ikutsuki-san has okayed it. He’s a Persona-User now, a talented one at that.” Akihiko still had the briefcase in front of him and determination in his eyes. Minato just felt out of place, like he wasn’t doing much for this.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Shinjiro put a hand to his head and shook it. “Let me ask you one thing… Was it his decision to join SEES?”

“Yeah. He volunteered.”

“...I see.” Shinjiro seemed to be deep in thought. “...Then count me in.”

Shinjiro must care for Ken… That seemed to make sense in Minato’s head, even with the uneven and jagged puzzle pieces he had to work with. It made sense and helped smooth out one of the pieces. Maybe one day he’d have a full image in his head.

“So, you’re the one leading the operation now, huh?” Shinjiro’s voice pulled Minato out of his stupor. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you fighting for?”

He frowned. He had just started fighting yesterday really… What could he say? “To protect someone.” That felt right.

“Is that so?” Shinjiro let out a small sigh. “Well, you do your thing; I’ll do mine.”

“Got it.” Minato nodded and frowned. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he should do something to actually go against what he said. Maybe speak to Shinjiro more…

Shinjiro seemed to be fine with that answer as he turned back to Akihiko and took the briefcase from him. “Is my room still vacant.”

Akihiko gave a nod and gestured for Minato to follow him. The three of them started for the dorms and Minato let his mind wander again. There were so many things happening so quickly… He just didn’t know what to do anymore.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“So, our second time in Tartarus…” Metis frowned as she looked around the lobby, arms crossed against her chest. “Who’s going to go with you this time?”

“...We didn’t get far last time, did we?” Minato frowned and tapped his foot against the ground. “So I’ll take Aigis-san, Akihiko-senpai, and Yukari-san again.”

“You’re going to take Sister with those two again…?!” Metis seemed about ready to say something else when Ken grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“I’m sure we’ll all get a chance, Metis-san.”

“You will.” Minato nodded. “After Shinjiro-senpai’s better I’ll try to use all of you when I can.”

“...Fine.” Metis looked away and moved to stand off to the side. “This is stupid…”

“Isn’t it better this way, though, lil sis?”Junpei moved to stand next to her. “I mean… You know… After last time it might not be good for you to be out with those guys.”

“Iori’s right, it’s better for you to be down here, where we can keep an eye on you.”

“You mean that pain in her chest?” Minato tilted his head to the side.

“...Ah, yes. I think it may be a malfunction and would like her to stay here for today. Please, go ahead.” Mitsuru nodded a bit before turning back to Metis. “Don’t worry about us, really.”

Minato frowned, but nodded and made for the entrance of the actual Shadow nest. The three he’d decided on were behind him, ready to go. They seemed to be uncomfortable, silent as could be. Well… He needed to go in, there was no avoiding it now.

Upon stepping in, Minato cracked his neck and looked around. The layout had changed like he was told it would, but… He hadn’t expected it to be so extreme. It almost seemed like it should be a different floor… This was going to make this all a lot harder than he wanted to admit.

“Come on…” He started along, the three following after him. He planned on getting as far as he could before someone tired out. Even if he didn’t expect to make it far…

“This is…” Yukari sighed a bit and shook her head. “Weird.”

“You’ll get used to it aga--” Akihiko cleared his throat. “To it soon. It won’t be that bad.”

“I know, but…” Yukari looked at Minato and bit her lip. “No, nevermind. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yukari-san, Akihiko-san…” Aigis looked at her hand and shook her head. “No, we should focus on making our way to the top. That is our goal, correct?”

“Yeah, you’re right Aigis…” Yukari nodded a bit and started forward again. “Come on, let’s go Leader!”

“You got it…” He nodded and stared ahead. “There are the stairs, let’s go.”

Soon enough, they emerged on the second floor and Minato started to look around. He had a feeling he should try to at least get to the fifth floor. Then he could try and head down before….facing a bigger foe? He didn’t know why, but he felt that that made sense.

Fighting through Shadows, all seeming to be too easy for everyone besides Minato. Orpheus just didn’t seem to have the same amount of power as the others’ Personas… Even if he could physically keep up with them all. Was he just not as mentally strong?

At least they made it to the fifth floor and Minato was able to activate the transportation pad as Fuuka asked him to. He went back down to make sure everyone was doing alright (Metis had been gripping her chest, but insisting she was alright) and to make sure his team was ready for this. When they all seemed to be in good condition, so up they went.

He frowned when he saw three birds in the middle of the floor. He didn’t know why, but he felt they might be called… Venus Eagles? That and that their best bet was either ice or maybe piercing damage like Yukari’s bows and Aigis’ guns… It was hard to tell.

He closed his eyes as the battle started, opening his heart to another Persona he’d gained along the way below. “Asparas!”

The Bufu hit one of the birds and didn’t seem to do much. Well, then it had to be pierce attacks.

Yukari bit her lip as she aimed her bow at one of the enemies. “Please don’t miss…!”

The attack indeed hit and knocked the Eagle to the ground. As Yukari prepared for a second hit, Akihiko gave her a smile. “Good job, Takeba!”

Taking a deep breath, Yukari used her bow to knock down the remaining two enemies. Now that they were on the ground, couldn’t they all…?

“Here’s our chance for all All-Out Attack!” Yukari looked at him, eyes expectant.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

Soon enough, all four of them were upon the Eagles, wasting no time dealing as much damage as they could. It seemed to go well enough, and they were almost ready to die. As long as they got hits in before the Shadows did, it should go just fine…

And thankfully, Aigis was able to get an attack out before the creatures had time to react. Soon enough, thanks to Athena, they creatures were all dealt with.

“Alright…” Yukari sighed and moved some hair behind her ear and looked around. “What now?”

“...There’s some treasures. Let’s grab those and head out.”

“Got it.” Akihiko nodded and cracked his neck. “Let’s do this.”

--

Minato was tired the next day, enough so that his classmate, Kenji, talking to him kind of pissed him off. He just wanted to be able to rest and Kenji just wouldn’t leave him alone. He knew the guy was probably just trying to be friendly, but damn if it didn’t make him want to punch him.

Now that Kenji was standing in front of his desk and inviting him out for ramen? He was just ready to scream.

“Why are you asking?”

“No reason, really.” He shook his head. “I just don’t have anything to do later… and I thought we could finish our conversation from this morning. So whaddya say, man? Let’s go get some ramen and talk.”

He knew Igor would likely encourage him to accept it, for the chance of a Social Link… But no. He refused to spend time with someone like Kenji when he was so tired. “I think I need to go rest before I get sick, actually.”

“Oh, I get it man. Maybe we can hang out tomorrow then.” Kenji smiled and laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

“Um…”

“Hey dude!” Junpei leaned over to Minato. “Wanna go grab some ramen today?”

“Oh, sure.”

Kenji blinked a few times. “H-hey, wait! You just said you needed to go rest.”

“...If I fall asleep hanging out with Junpei he can take me back to the dorm.”

“Whoa, someone’s being brutal…”

Minato shrugged as he stood up. “Come on, Junpei, let’s go.”

Junpei, seemingly still reeling from Minato’s cold shoulder towards Kenji, finally stood up and followed after him. Soon enough, they were at the ramen shop “Hagakure” and eating in silence. That was weird, Minato had expected him to say at least a few things.

“So...You’re a special kind of person, aren’t you?” Junpei finally spoke, frowning as he stared at his ramen. “I don’t know if I should be jealous or happy I’m not you…”

Minato frowned. “Do you mean the whole...multiple Personas thing? I never thought it was that impressive.”

“O-oh, yeah. That’s what I meant…” Junpei almost choked on his ramen while he spoke. “But, like… It must be nice, a lot of weaknesses you can exploit, right? But having to keep track of what could hurt you can’t be fun, yeah…”

Minato didn’t know why, but that sounded like Junpei was covering up. Did he mean something else by he didn’t know if he should be jealous or not? “Junpei, is there something bothering you?”

“No, no man! Thanks for hanging out today, though… I feel like I needed this.” Junpei gave him a smile and stood up. “This is on me, so let’s get heading back, alright?”

Minato stood with a nod and gave an awkward smile of his own. “Sure…”

He felt like he’d just found the first of the Social Links Igor had told him about.

--

The next day, Minato decided against joining a Sports Club just yet, but that didn’t matter. In fact, it seemed someone else with a strikingly similar name was planning on just that, only not with the intention of doing it alone.

“Metis-chaaaan!” She hadn’t given up on the other girl after yesterday, then? “You should join a club with me!”

“Wha-- No! I don’t want to!” Metis shook her head. “There’s no reason for me to join a club!”

“Actually…” Fuuka walked up next to them and sighed. “I was talking to Mitsuru-senpai and she thinks sports could be a good way for you to get out your aggression…”

“W-what?”

“That means you should come with me!” Minako smiled and grabbed her by the hands. “Come on, Metis-chan, please?”

“But I don’t want to…!”

“Um… I’m pretty sure Mitsuru-senpai might push you into it if you don’t do it on your own…” Fuuka fiddled her fingers in front of her. “It might be good for you to do it on your own. Better standing with her and all that…”

“Why should I care what she thinks of me?” Metis frowned, shaking her head. “I don’t want to--”

“Pleaseeeee Metis-chan! I won’t even force you to come to practice everyday! Just once a week with me, okay?”

“...I’m not getting a choice in this, am I?”

“Nope!” Minako smiled. “I’ll even let you choose what we do!”

“...Fine.”

“Woo!” Minako too her hand and, with a giggle, started towards the club rooms.

When they got there, they both started to look around. Looked like 3 clubs were accepting students... For the boys, at least. There was no female swim team, so the pool meant nothing to do them. Instead, they could join Tennis or Volleyball.

“What do you think, Metis-chan? Which do you want to join up with?” Minako smiled at Metis, head tilted to the side.

“...Um… I guess Volleyball.” She didn’t know anything about sports. How was she supposed to pick?

“Sounds good to me!” Minako grabbed her hand and dragged in. Soon enough, the advisor had them set up to join the club.

“So, you have two new teammates…” Ms. Kanou moved some hair behind her ear and gave them all a smile. “They’re from Class 2-E. Everybody be nice to them, okay?”

“Nice to meet you all!” Minako smiled and jabbed Metis in the side, only to yelp a bit when she felt how hard her side was. “Metis-chan has rock hard abs!”

“Oh, uh… Nice to meet you.” That was what that jab meant, right?

“Nice to meet you too!” The club members were giggling, probably at Minako’s second comment.

They seemed nice, welcoming too. They weren’t turning up their noses at Minako or Metis as the very least. That was a good sign! Not like the club was going to bully them out within a day or anything…

“Um, who was the leader for the juniors?” Ms. Kanou scratched the side of her cheek with a pout.

“That would be me.” A stern looking student took a step forward and gave a nod. Her black ponytail bounced a bit as she did so, arms crossed.

“Oh, good. I’ll leave the rest to you. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do here anyway.” Ms. Kanou finished with a giggle before stepping off to the side.

The girl who’d stepped forward nodded. “...All right.”

“How immature…”

“Metis-chan, that’s not nice--”

A mocking voice cut Minako off. “I don’t really know anything Tee-hee!”

A tanned member laughed. “That sounds exactly like her. She’s too old to try to act cute like that.”

The girl in front of the two frowned and looked back at the girls laughing. “...C’mon, let’s get back to practice!”

The two new members shared a look. Was this normal, then?

“You’re Minako-san and Metis-san, right? I’m Rio Iwasaki, a junior like you.” She’d turned back to them at that point, not noticing their looks. “I’m in charge of the juniors in the club, so don’t hesitate to ask me anything. This club meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting next week. We don’t meet for a few days before exams, so keep that in mind.”

“Thanks.” Minako smiled and nodded. “That info really comes in handy!”

“Yeah… Thanks.”

“Well, then, we’re gonna focus on doing basic exercises today, so come on and join in. Just keep up as much as you can.”

“The basics again…?” The first club member who’d mocked the advisor frowned.

Rio sighed. “I keep telling you all that the fundamentals are important! Let’s start off with some running.”

The club members all seemed upset. “Alright…”

“Minako, you stand in this line, and Metis you stand in this one.” Rio moved them to the correct lines, standing between them. “If you start getting worn out, just keep your mind focused and you’ll be able to pull through.”

“I’ll be alright! And I’m sure Metis-chan’ll be alright too!”

Metis scoffed a bit. “This’ll be easy…”

Rio gave a small laugh. “You both sound promising…” She glanced at Metis. “I guess.”

Rio seemed to take this all seriously, that was for sure. Looked like this club was going to be a lot more serious than either girl had planned for, but, well… Maybe that would be a good thing for both of them.

--

After a night of Yukari asking Minato if he’d joined a club yet, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to join one. After looking around, he finally decided on the kendo team. That might let him learn more sword techniques or something…

Upon entering the room with the coach he put his hands in his pockets again. “This is Minato Arisato. He’ll be joining the team.” He gestured to a girl. “This is Yuko, our manager.”

“Hello, I’m Yuko Nishiwaki. Nice to meet you.” She gave him a small wave. “You’re a junior, right? Since we’re in the same year, you can just call me “Yuko.””

The coach seemed to be scanning the athletes. “...Hey! Kazushi!”

The boy he was looking at took a step forward. “Yessir!”

“This is the future captain of this team. He’s a great athlete and scores well in competitions.” The coach looked between the two. “You two are in the same class, right? Kazushi, keep an eye on the new guy here, okay?”

“You got it.” Kazushi gave a nod before turning to Minato. “You’re the guy who went out with Yukari Takeba on the first day of school, right? You’re practically famous.”

“I wouldn’t say that…”

“I’m Kazushi Miyamoto. You’ve seen me around, right?”

“Yeah.” Minato gave a small nod. He’d seen him the first day, actually…

“Then, long story short: from now on, you’re mine after school.”

“Whoa…” Minato blinked a few times. “Aren’t you moving a little fast?”

Kazushi scrunched his face in confusion. “What…? Anyway, just because you joined mid-season, don’t think I’ll go easy on you!”

Minato blinked a few times as a feeling rang through him. This was the second one, the second one of those Social Links Igor had been talking about. Though… This one felt more familiar than he’d been expecting.

“Since today is your first practice, just have a look around and then call it a day.” Yuko spoke up again with a hum. “I’ll make sure your uniform is ready for next time.”

Minato nodded. Looked like he had another thing to look into doing after school now.