Revealed by the Arcana

by LinaLeen

Summary:

Slowly, she put the evoker to her temple, thinking back on Ikutsuki’s explanation of the persona, summoned by this gun-shaped tool.

Without further hesitation, she pulled the trigger, the sound of shattered glass echoing all around her as an incredible rush of power consumed her entire being. She looked down on all the others ("afraid, they are so afraid, why?"), feeling like a queen towering over ants, long-forgotten memories bubbling beneath the surface of her infinite mind, before one thought enveloped her soul.

"Go back. Please, stop thinking. Not yet."

Or, the girl named Kotone Shiomi is more than she appears to be. Join her on her journey of self-discovery, unlocking memories that perhaps were better left forgotten.

Chapter 1: The Fool

??/??/????

The girl’s name was Kotone Shiomi.

The train she was sitting in glided across the country, taking her far, far away from her previous boring existence. She felt a little strange, as if a haze has descended onto her brain and prevented her from realizing something very important, but that could be solved later. For now, she had places to be and things to do. Soon after, the train started slowing down, indicating the girl’s arrival at her destination.

What are you waiting for? It is time.

She stepped off the train, clutching a booklet in her hand. A large, decorated clock on the wall of Iwatodai station ticked loudly, almost as if trying to get her attention.

Five minutes to midnight.

Kotone steeled her resolve and continued to walk towards the exit from the station. Everything around her was eerily quiet – the hour was late, but this was the city’s biggest train stop. By all means, there should be someone around, but the corridors were all empty. Before proceeding further, she cast one last glance at the station’s clock.

At least I don’t have to hurry now. I’m late already.

As she found the exit and was approaching the gates, the world around her started to shift. The air itself felt suffocating, oppressive, alive. Green light flooded her vision and her soul, but she kept moving forward, ignoring the world around her morphing into something terrible.

Right, I just have to-

She hadn’t had the time to finish the thought as the girl suddenly collapsed and her entire world went dark.

***

 

??/??/????

She was floating forever in a place devoid of everything. In a way, it was rather peaceful, with the prior anxiety and worry that she felt having dissipated into nothing. No, that was the wrong way to describe it – rather, the concept of those feelings itself did not exist here. The space around her was infinite, and she was but a speck of nothingness in it.

Until she was finally something.

She felt like she had died and come back to life. Slowly, one by one, her senses returned to her. She was lying down on something hard, and an intensely bright light shone through her closed eyelids.

Faint sounds reached her, almost caressing her ears in how soft they felt. The sounds gradually increased in both clarity and volume, and she could finally make out the wind howling into her ears. Moments later, she finally recognized the prior sounds as voices.

“… is that?! … thought … … …”

Her fingers twitched, trying to feel something, before her body responded in kind as she tried shifting around a little. Moving her hand around, she felt her fingers try to grab onto the surface under her, failing to do so as it was covered in a layer of slippery, yet viscous fluid.

Open your eyes.

She decided that it was as good an idea as any and tried to do just that. Her eyelids fluttered weakly, but she couldn’t open her eyes just yet. She was simply… so… tired…

Kotone groaned softly and closed her eyes again. The void was peaceful and calm, and the world was overwhelming and bright. It assaulted her senses, leaving her wondering if waking up was even worth it at all. After all, it was normal to spend a few more minutes in the comfort of one’s own bed to rest up, wasn’t it? And even if she wasn’t really in a bed, the void was comfortable. Familiar.

The voices were getting closer, but she still couldn’t discern anything resembling a full sentence. One thing, however, bothered her.

The voices, they sound almost… scared.

Why did that bother her, exactly? They should be scared. Or, rather, she would expect them to be scared. It’s nothing new. And yet, this new feeling now bothered her instead.

Something bumped into her hard, forcing her to roll a few times, the slippery surface under her extending her movement as she slid across it. Her left hand was now dangling midair as she lay on her back. If she moved a little to the left, would she fall down? What would that feel like, she wondered?

Curiosity killed the cat.

The voices that she heard before now sounded much louder. Were they shouting? Lazily, she tried to open her eyes again. A success, this time.

A full moon surrounded by green skies hovered over her. The huge moon was taking up at least a quarter of the sky, painting the surroundings with neon green. Dark clouds hovered high in the skies, blocking some of the moonlight and creating a dashing contrast of light and dark. Now that her eyes were open, Kotone couldn’t take them off the sight before her.

It’s so beautiful.

***

 

“What are you doing, Akihiko?!” a deep female voice rang out through the rooftop.

“What kind of a question is that?! That thing is a shadow, did you even look at it?”

Yukari Takeba, however, found that she wasn’t paying much attention to the shouting match in front of her. She was still shaking from the adrenaline from their fight as her fingers fiercely clutched the evoker in her hands. Sweat dripped down her forehead and her eyes were locked onto the silhouette of a person that just fell out of the shadow she just barely defeated with her seniors. A figure which one of said seniors just unceremoniously attacked, almost sending it careening over the edge of the roof.

The three of them were in rough shape. Akihiko was already injured from his prior fight with the shadow when it had chased him to the dorm, while Mitsuru was limping as she moved, barely managing to stay standing.

Yukari herself was not in peak shape either. Panting like she’d just ran a marathon, she wondered what would have happened if she failed to summon her persona in time, again. She was such a coward, unable to use her evoker before the other two came to her rescue. The shadow kept repeatedly swiping her away with one of its many arms before leaving several cuts on her with its many knives as she desperately tried to dodge its attacks.

She was terrified when the shadow attacked. She was terrified when she tried to summon her persona for the second time. She was terrified even when IO appeared, when the others came to help her, and for every second of their fight.

Even after being covered in the soothing green light of her persona, she still felt powerless in the face of this shadow.

Snapping herself back to the present, Yukari looked at the figure on the other end of the rooftop again. Transfixed, she started moving forward, ignoring her stinging cuts and her seniors arguing behind her. Their cries of alarm went unnoticed as well when she got closer to the person lying on the rooftop’s edge.

The girl was covered in shadow residue, but some of her features (red hair sprawled beneath her, half-lidded red eyes staring up at the full moon) were still visible.

Looking at her made Yukari shudder a little.

Akihiko and Mitsuru caught up to her. The former’s face showed guilt.

“It’s a person? But how?” He said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Can you hear us?” Mitsuru, noticing that the girl’s eyes were open, lost no time before beginning her interrogation. “How did you get in there? Were you attacked by the shadow?” Mitsuru knelt down, inspecting her face further, before she frowned. “Is she…?”

The girl made no indication that she heard any of that. It was then, to Yukari’s growing horror, that she realized something.

We fought the shadow. This girl was inside the shadow. Oh god, she’s bleeding!

It was a little hard to see due to all the shadow residue covering the girl and the area around her, but there definitely was some red mixed in under her form.

“Kirijo-senpai, wait! She’s wounded!” Yukari shouted, startling the other two. “We hurt her when we were fighting the shadow!”

Mitsuru startled and almost slipped on the roof beneath her, looking at where Yukari pointed. She suddenly tensed, her eyes moving from Yukari to Akihiko until they settled back on Yukari again.

“Takeba, can you carry her? Akihiko and I are not exactly… I do not believe we would be able to. Get her down to the first floor, and I’ll call an ambulance from Tatsumi Memorial Hospital.”

Akihiko seemed to want to protest until Mitsuru sent an icy glare his way. Her eyes moved down to his ribs, silently admonishing him. Yukari tried to lift the girl and almost fell over in the process.

Jeez, she’s heavy. Hopefully I won’t drop her.

Yukari started her slow and arduous journey to the ground floor.

***

 

??/??/????

This was starting to become a common occurrence for her.

Kotone stirred to life once more, feeling something soft under her and finding that it was much easier to open her eyes and move around than the last time. She felt a little more cognizant of herself, too, compared to before.

Her eyes opened. There was no full moon in front of her anymore. Her heart clenched painfully in deep sorrow, almost as if she had lost something. Green has given way to blue. It was beautiful in its own way, but it wasn’t home.

“You’re awake!” Someone whisper-shouted, making her jump a little. She turned her head to the left and saw…

She’s even more beautiful than the moon.

A girl with short brown hair dressed in a school uniform and a pink cardigan sat on the chair next to her, looking at Kotone with wide eyes and a worried expression. “Stay here, I’ll call the doctor!” she said before standing up from the wooden chair and sprinting towards the door. The girl hesitated, looking back at Kotone one more time, before leaving the room and closing the door.

Where am I?

Snapping out of her daze, Kotone looked around. She realized that she was lying down in a hospital bed. There was a cabinet next to her and a panel with miscellaneous medical equipment above. The room itself was small but gave off a calming atmosphere – a lot of white and blue everywhere. The combination of colors soothed her a little. Before she had time to inspect her surroundings more, she heard two pairs of footsteps in the hallway heading her way.

The doctor, upon arrival, insisted on taking Kotone’s vitals. She wasn’t sure why that was even necessary, considering she felt completely fine, but he insisted. Although, how did she even know she felt fine? What even was fine? Before she could overthink everything, the doctor notified her that there was nothing wrong with her and that she was free to go whenever she wanted. She listened with muted interest on her face until eventually she was finally left alone to change into a fresh set of clothes. When did she get these?

After leaving the room, she saw that the girl from before was waiting for her outside. The girl startled from hearing the door open and was now staring at her with a perplexed expression.

“Hi.”

“O-oh, hello. They’re letting you leave already? How are you feeling?” The unnamed girl asked her, frowning a little. Kotone nodded.

“I’m okay. What’s your name?”

“It’s Yukari Takeba. You can just call me Takeba, it’s fine.” The newly named girl (Takeba, she corrected herself) said before continuing. “Um, so just to make sure, how much do you remember? Do you know why you’re here?”

 “Do you?” Kotone tilted her head with a small smile on her face, expecting an answer.

“What a weird way to ask why I’m here with you…” Takeba trailed off before locking her gaze back forward. “Alright, how about this; from what I heard, you were supposed to come to our dorm anyway, so why don’t we go together and we explain everything to you there?” she said, clearly feeling uncomfortable divulging any information in a one-on-one scenario. “I feel responsible for what happened to you, so this is the least I could do.”

“You’re not responsible, but sure. Lead the way.”

“Oh, and I forgot to ask – what is your name?”

For some reason, the question made Kotone pause in her steps. Her palms felt clammy and her thoughts ran amok. Her name?

Do not think. Just answer.

“It’s Shiomi. Kotone Shiomi.”

***

 

The walk to the dorms was mostly spent in silence. Shiomi clearly wasn’t a very talkative person, and when she was talking, her speech was outright weird. Yukari kept shooting wary gazes her way as her thoughts kept jumping all over the space.

Does she have Apathy Syndrome or something? She just looks so disinterested in everything. Maybe it’s because she was stuck inside that shadow? How long was she in there anyway?

So many questions, but those would have to wait until they got to their destination. If it was up to her, Yukari would’ve asked all of those here and now, but Mitsuru made it very clear that as soon as Shiomi woke up, she had to be brought to the dorm for questioning so that everyone was present. As much as it irked her to blindly follow Mitsuru’s orders, it did make sense for all the others to hear Shiomi’s explanation as well.

Yukari hated admitting when people she didn’t like were right.

Shiomi was also awake during the dark hour. Does that mean she has potential like us? Is that why she was supposed to be transferred here?

Right, that’s another thing about this girl. Mitsuru actually recognized her on the rooftop. She was a transfer student that was supposed to arrive at the dorm and start her studies in Gekkoukan High the next day. Except she never did arrive when they were expecting her. Well, being locked inside a shadow was a rather valid excuse. The biggest question was how the hell she got stuck there in the first place. An accident? Curiosity? Stupidity, even?

Lost in her thoughts, Yukari didn’t realize that they had finally arrived at their destination. She stopped near the entrance, noticing that Shiomi was looking at her.

“This is it: Iwatodai dorm. You had everyone worried when you didn’t show up here three days ago, you know that?” She chuckled, trying to defuse the weird atmosphere before they went in.

Shiomi simply stared at her, the same content smile on her face, as if waiting for her to continue. This girl was starting to get on Yukari’s nerves.

“Uhh, right… Let’s just go in. Everyone’s waiting for us.”

True to Yukari’s words, everyone was waiting for them. As soon as she opened the door, three sets of eyes locked onto her before moving on to Shiomi, who entered the lobby right afterwards. Ikutsuki stood up, looking at them with an easygoing smile and introducing himself (“I-ku-tsu-ki”), all the while he made some terrible pun that Yukari didn’t bother paying attention to. Without looking back, she plopped onto one of the couches next to Akihiko and heaved a sigh of relief. She did feel partly responsible for what happened to Shiomi, but she was starting to regret her decision to volunteer to be the one to watch over her this day.

“Shiomi-kun, do you know why you’re here?” Ikutsuki asked her.

“Takeba said you would explain everything,” she replied matter-of-factly. “I’m listening, if you’d like to start.”

“In that case, I’ll be brief. Would you believe me if I told you that there are more than 24 hours in a day?” Ikutsuki said, looking at Shiomi with a serious expression.

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation.

“Good then! Do you mind telling us how long you’ve been experiencing this additional hour for? I suppose you know the specifics, right? Hard to miss – the sky becomes green, blood pools appear everywhere, people turn into coffins… That kind of thing?” he chuckled.

“Oh, that? Since the beginning,” Shiomi smiled serenely as she gave her answer.

This girl was insane. Insane, Yukari thought. Because how would otherwise one justify such an answer?

“The beginning...?” Mitsuru whispered nearby, seemingly deep in thought.

“A-Alright then.” Ikutsuki looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Can you tell us more about yourself, Shiomi-kun? We want to ask you one more thing, but before that we’d also like to know what happened for you to disappear for three days. My students here found you in a rather sticky situation, after all.”

Mitsuru’s glare burned holes in Ikutsuki’s eyes, causing him to raise his eyes in defeat.

This question seemed to actually faze the girl a little. She moved her eyes down and shifted uncomfortably in her place. “I got off my train, and…” she looked to the side, as if deep in thought. “The green hour started, and I blacked out,” she finished shortly. Yukari frowned. “I woke up somewhere afterwards and then in the hospital,” the girl continued, concluding her story.

“That’s it? But why did that happen if you said you’re used to the Dark Hour?” Akihiko said, looking at the girl suspiciously. “When you appeared on that rooftop, I thought you were another shadow. I mean, Mitsuru said…” He trailed off, choosing not to finish the sentence. “Chairman, why is she here? Does she have the potential?”

Ikutsuki, after hearing that question, smiled brightly.

“That’s what we’re about to find out.”

***

 

They just gave her a gun and told her to shoot herself with it.

That’s not how you normally use one, right?

She never used one before, but her common sense told her that it was a very bad idea to point this thing at herself. Kotone looked back up at the others with doubt clearly showing on her face. They were all outside the dorm (“We’ll need some space for this, just in case”) during the Dark Hour, with everyone else looking at her in anticipation.

This is stupid.

“No,” she said, before handing the gun back to Akihiko, who sighed heavily before taking it from her.

“Okay, let me demonstrate first, then. Come, Polydeuces!” he shouted, pulling the trigger and summoning an ethereal-looking figure behind him. Kotone stared at it, tilting her head slightly as she inspected the persona. So it wasn’t a gun, after all. It was merely gun-shaped. After observing Polydeuces for a few moments, she stuck her hand forward, palm up, asking for the gun back. Akihiko handed it to her, smirking slightly. “Think you’re up for it?”

Slowly, she put the gun to her temple, thinking back on Ikutsuki’s explanation about everything. A persona, summoned by this tool that he called an evoker.

Without further hesitation, she pulled the trigger, hearing the glass shatter all around her as an incredible rush of power consumed her entire being.

 

“I am thou, and thou art I,” a familiar feminine voice rang out in her head. “You need not learn my name anew, for you know it deep inside your heart. Everything will reveal itself in due time. For now, enjoy the play that unfolds before your very eyes and grow the strength of your heart.”

She looked down on all the others (“Afraid, they are so afraid, why?”), feeling like a queen towering over ants. Long-forgotten memories bubbled beneath the surface of her infinite mind, before one thought fully enveloped every inch of her soul.

“Please, stop thinking. Be patient. Not yet.”

Darkness consumed her vision once more for but a moment. Then, she saw blue.

Kotone was sitting in a chair with two people in front of her. Instantly, her mind has been drawn to two things – the soft-looking walls and the doors littering them. The not-man sitting in front of a table was grinning wildly at her, and his smile was unnaturally long.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room!” He greeted her warmly. “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. Curious, most curious! We’ve never had a guest like you! I can tell, my dear, that your story is going to shake the foundation of the entire world!” He laughed quietly before continuing. “My name is Igor, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance. To your right is Elizabeth; she will be your attendant to aid you on your journey.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Elizabeth said, staring through Kotone.

Her Journey. Right. That was why she was here, wasn’t it?

“Now then, usually in matters such as this, a contract is involved. I know this must be terribly confusing to you for now, but please, bear with me,” Igor said, his grin never faltering. “However, for someone like you, I doubt we could even conjure one, so we’ll make an exception this time. I am most curious to see your journey, dear guest! You have great power concealed within, but it is not time yet for you to use it.” he said cryptically. “Let me add one thing before you depart - the gift of life is both a blessing and a curse, regardless of where said gift comes from. What you make of it depends entirely on yourself.”

Before she could say anything, Kotone felt herself being pulled backwards, having been forcefully dragged out of the velvet room.

In a moment, she was outside the dorm once again, lying on the ground. The skies shone green, and her eyes reflected the color. It seemed that mere moments passed while she was in the Velvet Room. Kotone stood up, dusted herself off, and took a look around her. Her breath hitched in her throat when she noticed the people in front of her.

They were terrified. Not a single person dared to move towards her, and as she took a step forward, Takeba stumbled back, falling down as she did so. This seemed to shake the others from their stupor. The chairman was the first one to recover, clearing his throat as he addressed Kotone.

“R-right. That eliminates any questions we had about your potential.” He said with a laugh, adjusting his tie to appear less nervous. “I suppose this is when we ask you to join us in our fight against the shadows.”

She agreed immediately, and her stomach sank as she thought back to everyone’s expressions.

***

 

04/13/2009

She had school today. Apparently that is why she even was in Iwatodai to begin with – she was enrolled in a school named Gekkoukan High and was supposed to start on April 6^th before the incident took place.

What’s the purpose of a school?

I do not know, but I wish to learn. Presumably, it teaches younglings life.

That was silly. Why would someone teach you life? Life was what you experienced, not what someone else forced you to experience.

Life is also what we learn. On and on it goes, and on and on the cycle of living and learning continues.

Kotone took a mental note. The thing that bothered her the most was why everyone was telling her she was meant to arrive here, but she couldn’t remember any of that. Her first memory was getting off the train at Iwatodai Station, but that wasn’t normal, was it? Something was wrong with the entire chain of events.

Something was wrong with her.

What are you?

I am thou.

Her persona, maybe? In any case, the classes themselves were boring, so Kotone wasn’t really paying much attention to them. She got reprimanded a few times by some teachers, causing her to pay attention for a few minutes, only to unavoidably lose interest soon after. The people around her snickered.

“Not a very studious transfer student, huh?”

“Yeah, but she seems chill, don’t you think?”

“Maybe even too chill. She has been daydreaming the entire day!”

After school was finally over, she started to pack everything into her backpack. While she wasn’t looking, a boy wearing a baseball cap approached her with a wide grin.

“Hey, hey! Welcome to Gekkoukan High, stranger! How’s your first day going?” He said, before taking his cap off and performing an exaggerated bow. “My name’s Junpei, Junpei Iori! Just wanted to come here and introduce myself. See what a nice guy I am?”

Magician. Stern will and unfailing determination.

Kotone couldn’t help a small smile emerging on her face.  “Kotone Shiomi. Nice to meet you, Junpei,” she said as she continued to pack her belongings.

Junpei grinned at her, hooking his hand around her shoulders. “I think you and I are gonna get along really well, Koto-chan.”

She wasn’t sure why, but Kotone agreed with that sentiment.

They decided to head out together, stopping at the strip mall for some ramen. Hagakure, the best in town, as Junpei attempted to convince her.

Naturally, she could only accept his evaluation as true only if she tried every single ramen shop in the city. She told that to Junpei, and he laughed heartily in return.

“I’m wounded, Koto-chan! You won’t accept my words as the ultimate truth? You won’t find anyone more knowledgeable on ramen in this entire city!”

Kotone fondly shook her head.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. You arrived to school with Yuka-tan this morning, right? She’s a friend of mine, regardless of what she says about me!” Junpei said. “But, uh, why didn’t you go back together too? Not that I’m complaining, of course! Honored to be in your company, Koto-chan! I’m just, like, curious, you know?”

She thought for a moment. The most logical reply was that Takeba was probably busy, but she didn’t know for sure. And so, she said just that. She didn’t know.

“Ouch, talk about a rough start… Don’t worry about it though, she’ll come around to it! You don’t talk much, but you seem cool enough! Which I don’t mind, by the way, I get it completely, in fact!” Junpei took a minute to stuff his face with noodles. “Sho, what’sh the… Uh, sorry about that, what’s the reason you transferred here? Parents? Unforeseen circumstances?” He gasped dramatically. “Foreseen circumstances?”

Dread pooled in Kotone’s stomach. The lighthearted atmosphere disappeared and was replaced by confusion and fear. Junpei must have noticed, because his face instantly shifted into a more neutral expression.

“Unforeseen circumstances, I guess,” Kotone replied absentmindedly, hoping he wouldn’t pursue this conversation. Thankfully, Junpei got the hint.

Their talk slowed down afterwards, and the two decided to leave after paying. On their way to the station, Junpei made more small talk, while Kotone nodded and gave simple answers. Her aloofness didn’t seem to bother him – in fact, he was glad to be the one to lead the conversation.

It was a nice feeling. Kotone smiled on her way home.

***

 

04/20/2009

Tartarus.

That was the name of this giant, twisted tower with no end in sight that Kotone was currently standing in front of. Earlier today, Mitsuru called them all together for a meeting, where she explained that tonight they will explore the Tower of Demise for the first time. The people to go in today would be herself, Junpei, who recently joined them upon discovering his potential, Takeba, Akihiko, and Mitsuru herself.

In the lobby, Kotone overheard Akihiko and Mitsuru arguing about something. She didn’t hear much (“…dangerous… … …lose control…”), but after a disgruntled Akihiko walked off to the side angrily (“…ribs... …her leg…”), she decided it was a good time to approach Mitsuru now to ask about further instructions.

“Shiomi,” Mitsuru said upon her arrival, looking at her warily. “Call the others, too. We’re going in soon.”

“Alright.”

She turned around, seeing that Takeba and Junpei were already looking at her. She gestured to them with her hand, asking them to approach. Junpei jogged over, whooping as he did so and clearly excited for their first trek into Tartarus. Takeba, meanwhile, looked deeply troubled for some reason.

Wide eyes. Primal terror, as if looking at something monstrous.

Kotone shook those thoughts off, standing in front of Mitsuru with the other two catching up to her.

“Listen up, everyone.” Mitsuru started talking with a commanding tone. “Today will be the first time all of you are going to infiltrate Tartarus. This place is dangerous, teeming with shadows, and extremely unpredictable. Do not treat this as something unserious,” she glared at Junpei as she said that, clearly singling him out as a recipient of this particular message. “I’ll be the one to lead our team today, as you may have guessed. Listen to my commands, but don’t hesitate to act independently at times when you feel that it’s necessary,” she finished before turning towards Kotone.

“Shiomi. Do not summon your persona unless we’re in an extremely dire situation. As powerful as it may be, we’ll be at an extreme disadvantage if you collapse again as you did the last time. Just use your weapon for normal shadows.”

Kotone understood what was being said between the lines. Her collapsing had nothing to do with this.

She is afraid because she doesn’t understand. Do not take her words close to heart, mea alia.

Kotone nodded and accepted the order without arguing, her hands clenching the naginata that she was holding. Mitsuru seemed pleased with her non-verbal answer, and they all went into the entrance to the first floor of Tartarus.

Their initial encounter with shadows went well. Mitsuru was clearly an experienced fighter, and taught them how to hold their weapons correctly, how to ambush shadows, how to strike their weaknesses before they respond in kind, and the general logic of Tartarus. Or sometimes, its lack thereof.

As fate would have it, however, all their plans and strategies were thrown aside the moment they reached the fifth floor. The three shadows there were much larger than the ones their team encountered before, and they completely blocked all of Mitsuru’s attacks while resisting all of Takeba’s.

They were also flying, so Kotone couldn’t reach them with her naginata. She was a mere spectator in this fight.

“Iori, keep attacking them! We’ll hold them off!” Mitsuru shouted, nimbly defending herself against two of the raven-like shadows with her rapier as Junpei’s persona kept throwing fireballs at them. The third one screeched before diving down to attack Takeba with its talons.

Don’t you dare!

Kotone launched herself forward, positioning her naginata to wedge it in between the shadow’s talons, before pushing back with all her might and launching it a few meters backwards. She looked over her shoulder at a shaken Takeba and visually inspected her for any injuries.

“You okay?”

Takeba nodded before her eyes widened as she shouted, “Look out!”

Before Kotone was even able to turn around, she felt the wind knocked out of her as she stumbled backwards. Her naginata clattered uselessly to the floor, and she fell on top of Takeba. The shadow swiftly descended once more onto them both. Kotone was powerless to stop its assault.

You have great power hidden within, but it is not time yet for you to use it.

Was it time now? Is that what he meant?

Without a second thought, she reached towards Takeba’s evoker and swiftly put it against her temple.

“PERSONA!”

***

 

As soon as she heard the girl shout, Yukari instinctively closed her eyes. However, a moment later, instead of being enveloped by a pure, unadulterated terror, a soothing melody washed over her. The shadow that was moments away from tearing into them screeched in pain as a giant fireball crashed into it.

“H-Huh?!”

On top of them stood a transparent feminine figure with a heart-shaped silver lyre. It strummed the instrument, playing a beautiful melody and rejuvenating everyone with energy.

“It’s beautiful…” Yukari whispered. How on earth did Shiomi have this persona within her along with the other one? Scratch that, how did she have two personas in general?

As she tore her gaze away from the sight above and instead looked a bit lower, she saw Shiomi panting heavily with Yukari’s evoker still held to her head. The shadow that Shiomi attacked earlier was on the ground, but it was slowly getting up. Not wanting to give it a chance to do that, Yukari twisted her bow sideways to give herself space to pull the string back and grabbed an arrow from her quiver. Taking a deep breath, she released the arrow after a few moments of careful aiming.

She hit it right in the head. Yes!

With a final dying screech, the shadow was finally defeated and dissipated into residue. Yukari took a moment to look at how the other team members were doing. It seemed that they were also just done dealing with the other two ravens.

“Um, Shiomi?” Yukari said.

“Y-Yeah?” Shiomi answered, still breathing heavily.

“Thank you for saving me there.” She said, smiling slightly. “But… Can you get off me now, please? And give me my evoker back?”

Shiomi’s eyes widened in an uncharacteristic show of emotion before she hurriedly scurried off Yukari. She sheepishly handed Yukari the evoker, her face donning her usual soft smile, although this time it looked a little strained. Yukari took the evoker off of her hands.

“Why didn’t you use yours anyway? Did you forget you had one?”

“Yours was closer. More convenient to reach.”

“Right…”

Desperately wanting to change the topic, Yukari saw that Kirijo-senpai and Junpei were approaching them, looking absolutely drained. Well, she and Shiomi probably didn’t look any better. They didn’t expect to meet such a strong shadow so early after all.

“Great job, Takeba, Shiomi.” Mitsuru praised them, her usual commanding tone absent due to her exhaustion. “I saw a different persona fighting with you. Which one of you summoned it?”

Finding herself under Kirijo’s scrutinizing gaze was not a pleasant experience. “Um, it was her.” Yukari said as she pointed to Shiomi. “She took my evoker to summon it, so maybe that’s why it happened...?”

Shiomi shook her head.

“I have multiple,” was all she said, refusing to elaborate further.

“What?! How come you get more than one?” Junpei shouted, looking dejected. “Man, now I’m jealous…” he added with a laugh. “Uh, what’s the other one? I’ve never seen you use it.”

“That is not important.” Kirijo interrupted before Shiomi could say anything. “We’re all tired and bruised. I suggest we end our excursion here and return for the night.” Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and started walking towards the teleporter, limping slightly.

Huh, did she not fully recover since that fight with the huge shadow? She should’ve told us…

“Wow, she does not mess around, does she?” Junpei said with a sigh. “Come on, guys, let’s get out of here. Man, I don’t think I’ll be able to get out of bed tomorrow,” he laughed in spite of the situation. “What about you, Koto-chan, Yuka-tan?”

“Tired. Need sleep,” was all Kotone said before she moved to follow Mitsuru.

“Same, I feel like I’m gonna pass out as soon as my head touches my bed,” Yukari complained, “That last fight really wore us out, jeez.”

“Say, Yuka-tan…” Junpei’s face suddenly morphed into a mischievous smile. “I was pretty preoccupied with helping Kirijo-senpai fight those shadows, but I couldn’t help but notice you and Koto-chan got veeery close and comfy in that corner~!” He winked at her conspiratorially. “Anything you wanna tell me? C’mon, gimme the dirt!”

Yukari stared at him with an unimpressed expression.

“Shut up, Stupei. You owe me a coffee now,” she flicked him on the forehead before leaving the room.

“Hey!”

 “Chagall Café as always, got it?” A conflicted expression suddenly appeared on her face. “There’s something I wanted to talk about, too. You weren’t there to see it, but… well, you’ll see.”

Junpei grinned. “Sure thing! You’re paying, though.”

“What?! You’re flipping it on me? Listen here, you little-“

“Takeba, Iori, are you coming?”

Yukari squinted and put two fingers at her eyes before pointing them towards Junpei. “I’ll remember this, Stupei.”

She turned around and smiled, making sure Junpei wouldn’t see it. His laughter echoed from behind her as she shook her head.

Her worries about one of their members may be unfounded, but Yukari felt like she had to share them with someone. Even if that someone was, well… was Junpei Iori. That was the best way to describe him, really.

She was so not looking forward to this conversation.

Notes:

Rewritten on 28/06/2025 to update this chapter up to my current standards.

Chapter 2: Color Her Night

Notes:

I don't know how that happened, but I guess this is kind of a songfic now
CW: Panic Attack

04/24/2009

“Seriously, Yuka-tan, Ichigo Latte again? Come on, live a little!”

Yukari sighed loudly, slowly stirring her pink-looking drink as she listened to Junpei drone on about the importance of variety in life (which, apparently, included the choice of coffee) for the umpteenth time. They were sitting in Chagall Café, the establishment bustling with other students who, same as them, wanted to have a cup of coffee and chat in a relaxing atmosphere.

Yeah, right. As if the atmosphere could be relaxing with so many people here. Seriously, did everyone on this island have nothing better to do in the evening?

Yukari was not in a good mood. And Junpei, being Junpei, really wasn’t helping it. Seriously, it’s like he knew all the best ways to get under her skin with the simplest of jabs. Of course, if you asked Junpei, he would say that she just gets all pissy when she’s in one of her moods, but Yukari didn’t think her mood swings were that bad, thank you very much. And if they were, then she has no plans to do anything about it for now. She deserves some leniency after everything!

“Helloooo, Earth to Yuka-tan? C’mon, don’t just ignore me the entire time here!” Junpei said as he grinned, waving one of his hands in front of her, trying to get her attention. “Dude, you haven’t said anything for, like, 5 minutes over there. You’re gonna turn your latte into butter if you stir it any longer!”

Yukari snorted, finally looking up and seeing Junpei’s signature smirking face (with a small amount of concern mixed in, she noted). “It’s just…” she started before trailing off. “I don’t know how to feel about everything, you know?” She shrugged, finding it hard to find the proper words to explain her frustrations.

“Ohh, is this about Koto-chan? I noticed you’re like, really tense around her. What’s up with that?”

And that really was the root cause of everything, wasn’t it? The girl in question was the reason why Yukari’s thoughts wouldn’t stop whirling around in her head. On one side, Shiomi did save her from a strong shadow a few days ago in Tartarus. Don’t get her wrong, she really was grateful, and that was mostly all she felt at the start, but eventually some other ugly feelings started rearing their heads as well. Yukari would’ve been absolutely fine by herself, she didn’t really need the Shiomi’s help, she wasn’t made out of glass, for god’s sake!

There was also this other thing…

“You weren’t there when she first summoned her persona, Junpei,” Yukari said. “Have you noticed that whenever someone summons their persona, if you focus on it a little, you can feel like emotions or something flowing from them?” She asked, curious to see if anyone else picked up on it. “Like, Kirijo-senpai’s persona feels cold and regal? And Sanada-senpai’s is wild, determined.”

Junpei nodded vigorously, sipping his cappuccino with what should be an illegal amount of sugar. “Yeah, it’s, like, their vibe! Kirijo-senpai is a little scary, if I’m being honest…” He said, gulping to show his exaggerated reaction. “So what was Koto-chan’s like then? Is that what’s gotten you in your mood?”

She decided to mostly ignore his small jab at her, settling on a small glare before continuing. “It was terrible,” she finally said, averting her eyes to the side. “The others are just barely noticeable vibes, as you said, but hers felt like it consumed all your thoughts… It’s like I couldn’t even think about anything else when it was there!” She half-shouted, drawing some concerned looks from other students. Noticing there was some attention on them now, she continued more quietly. “It was terrifying, Junpei. And I’m not exaggerating. I just… don’t know if I can trust her because of this, you know? Aren’t personas supposed to be an extension of our soul? Isn’t that what the chairman said? Then what does that say about her?” She said, looking at Junpei to gauge his reaction. For once, he actually looked like he was deep in thought (and that usually wasn’t a good thing), his grin missing from his face. He hummed quietly, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“Look, I get what you’re saying, really. And I believe you!” He said, putting his hands up in mock surrender to placate her before she could say anything. “But, like… I’ve spent some time with her, you know? Just hanging out around the town and talking. Well, it was mostly, uh, me, who was doing the talking, but what I’m trying to say is that she’s really not that bad!” Junpei chuckled. “I think she’s just lonely, you know? You should definitely give her a chance before deciding that she’s unbefriendable,” he said, feeling proud of his speech.

Internally, Yukari knew that Junpei was absolutely right (and what a scary thought that was). Just because Shiomi’s persona turned out like that didn’t mean that she was the devil herself. There were a million reasons something like this could happen, and Yukari felt that she didn’t have the right to pry into them to try and solve the enigma that was Kotone Shiomi.

That’s what her logical side was telling her. Her emotional side, of course, still wanted to avoid the transfer student whenever possible. It’s not like she owed her attention or friendship, right?

Well, she kind of did actually, after Shiomi saved her in Tartarus…

No, that was Shiomi’s own decision. She didn’t owe her anything.

With her inner conflict not resolved in the slightest (thanks for that, Stupei), Yukari took a sip of her Ichigo Latte that had long gone warm.

…

…Needs more syrup.

***

 

She was falling apart. She was everything there is. She was nothing at all.

She saw colors. Dull Green.  Neon Blue. Bright Red. Red. RED

The colors formed shapes. The shapes were blurry, ephemeral, disappearing as soon as she acknowledged them. The shapes hurt her, tore her into pieces, locked her in a cage.

The shapes made her feel things. Loneliness, fear, hope. She was alone. She was with someone. She was alone. She was…

 

***

 

Green. Blue. Red.

Kotone woke up drenched in cold sweat with a silent scream on her lips and the remnants of her dream still haunting her tired mind. Moonlight flooded her room, illuminating the surroundings with a warm blue light. Blue. The clock on her nightstand read 3:02 am, April 31^st. Her body felt foreign, wrong, as if the essence of Kotone herself simply didn’t fit. She felt something hot blooming inside of her chest, her blood feeling like molten lava (red, red, RED) as her heart worked overtime to pump it everywhere. What is this? What was happening?

Fear.

She stood up and stumbled around her room, looking desperately for the way out and almost crashing to the floor in the process. Her room, mundane and normal in daylight, felt like a winding labyrinth as she struggled to focus on what was in front of her. After finally managing to open the front door (the flooring was green, green, GREEN), Kotone dashed towards the nearest restroom and locked herself inside. She shakily approached the sink and spent a few seconds finding the tap valve in the darkness. Darkness was good. Safe. There were no colors here, nothing to paint the insides of her brain with the memories of the past. She let the cold water run over her fingers and burrowed her face in her palm. The cool touch grounded her a little. If she looked up, she would see the mirror in front of her. Smooth, unyielding. A mirror would never lie. It always revealed the truth.

Trepidation.

A sense of impending doom filled her insides, accelerating her heartbeat even further. Red. Her blood was red. If her heart would beat any faster, she would surely die. She would paint the room with the color. Slowly, she pulled her cold, trembling hands away from her face. The sound of running water somewhat masked her shallow, fast breaths as she started lifting her head to look at the mirror in front of her. A myriad thoughts and abnormal expectations flooded her mind as she felt her heart beat faster, faster, faster, her hands gripping the sink, her vision blurry, lifting her eyes to the mirror and seeing…

Dread.

Seeing her own panicked face staring back at her. Pale white.

Relief.

Kotone slumped against the wall of the restroom, drained of all energy, and closed her eyes.

***

 

05/03/2024

Boredom.

Kotone didn’t enjoy Sundays.

She didn’t have much to do on those days. The only person that she spent time with was Junpei, and he was usually out doing his own thing or hanging out with his friends on Sundays. So that left Kotone with pretty much nothing to do. Which is why she was currently sitting in the lobby of Iwatodai Dorm, munching on a sandwich that she bought from a convenience store for money that they got from yesterday’s Tartarus expedition, and thinking about her miserable existence.

At least the sandwich tasted pretty good.

The sound of footsteps coming from the staircase snapped her out of her thoughts. Kotone turned around to look at the stairs and saw Takeba come down, wearing her usual summer attire. Noticing that the lobby wasn’t empty, Takeba frowned slightly before taking a seat at the large table near the kitchen and pulling out her phone.

Kotone returned to eating her meal. The sandwich didn’t really taste that great anymore.

Loneliness.

The problem with having nothing to do was that she was left alone with her own thoughts. Kotone has been with SEES for a little over two weeks at this point. Once every few days, Mitsuru would take them to Tartarus, working them to the bone in the dimly lit tower. They would always return to the dorm dead on their feet, barely making it to their rooms before going to sleep for the night. Even Junpei, who was the most enthusiastic about the trips, always lamented about how far they were pushed every single time without a chance for breaks.

In any case, Kotone wouldn’t be the one to tell Mitsuru how to lead their group. She was probably the least trusted person in the dorm anyways, so it’s not like anyone would take her advice to heart. She sighed deeply, putting her food away and leaning back in the chair.

Hurt.

Mitsuru always looked at her as if Kotone would stab them all in the back if she was left alone for a single moment. Every time she summoned her persona, she could feel the redhead’s eyes on her, momentarily checking what she was up to. Any time she said anything about the shadows’ weaknesses (that she remembered from previously fighting them, thank you very much), Mitsuru would always recheck before ordering SEES to engage or disengage.

Takeba was scared of her; that much was painfully obvious. Even after she managed to summon Orpheus, hoping that the prejudice others showed her due to her other persona (that she didn’t even use once after the first time!), little changed in the archer’s attitude any time they had to interact.

Kotone was hoping that supporting the girl in battle – protecting her against the raven shadows, taking hits for her in normal encounters, always healing her first before others – would gain some of her trust. However, after the first time, it seemed that Takeba was actually angry with her whenever she tried to help.

She sighed again, even louder this time.

At least Kotone could count on Junpei to not distance himself from her. He seemingly didn’t care that the others weren’t getting along with her and instead chose to ignore their icy glances and hurtful words. Seriously, he was too kind for his own good.

Would he still act like this if he saw my original persona?

Kotone pulled her legs onto the couch, hugging her knees.

Doubt.

It’s okay. This is how it should be. Nothing changed – everyone was terrified of me before, and the present did not change.

What was the point of my existence then? If nothing changed, then what was the point of it all?

Maybe it was her fate or her punishment. To spend the rest of her life surrounded by people yet still so utterly alone. The sandwich lay forgotten on the table in front of her, Kotone too lost in her thoughts to put in the effort to finish it.

A hand touched her shoulder. She startled, turning her head to the left. Worried, uncertain brown eyes stared at her in response.

“Are you alright? You look miserable,” Takeba said. “You’re not usually like this.”

Kotone really wasn’t usually like this. Lately, she felt as if she wanted to burst, shatter her shell, and show herself to the world. She wanted to be seen and acknowledged.

Did her recent nightmare have anything to do with any of this? It’s not that she regained any more memories after it, but it felt as if something inside her shifted and she became…

More.

More… what? Human?

She didn’t know what to do with any of this, really. So Kotone just resorted to acting simply as if nothing happened. Her task of ascending Tartarus was more important than her personal issues.

Except she has already failed. Takeba noticed that there was something wrong with her. Why was she so useless at everything? Nobody could know. Nobody should know. She would make sure that nobody would know.

This was wrong. She was wrong. There was something wrong with her.

She wasn’t supposed to feel.

Wasn’t that the entire purpose?

…

Kotone felt the hand leave her shoulder. Suddenly, she realized the image of Takeba in front of her was blurry.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Was it something I said? O-or was it the touch?” Takeba sounded panicked, but Kotone couldn’t make out the expression on her face. She felt like something was stuck in her throat, that if she took a single breath, it would…

A loud sob wrangled its way out of her throat.

Oh. Oh no.

She immediately turned around to face the door and rubbed her eyes. What was wrong with her?

Help me. Take me back.

If you wish so.

Kotone felt a wave of emptiness suddenly wash over her, a serene smile now adorning her face.

Sorrow. Loss.

She turned around to face Takeba (why is she looking at me like that, why why why) once more. “I’m okay, Takeba. Nothing’s wrong,” she said, her voice betraying no hint of any emotion. “The sandwich was spicy.”

...

A million expressions flashed on Takeba’s face before finally settling on disbelief. She obviously wanted to question Kotone more about the situation, but in the end decided to not push the girl any further. This was good. She defused the situation, even if she had to lie a little. Why, then, did it feel like she had lost something?

Also, Takeba was still there. She was not leaving. Before Kotone could say anything, she suddenly blurted out. “Why do you call me Takeba?”

“Huh?” Kotone said lamely.

“I mean, you call everyone else by their first name!” Takeba said, putting one of her hands on her hip. “Why are you singling me out?”

“Because you asked me to.”

...

“Huh? What do you mean I asked you to? I never did!”

“Back in the hospital. You told me to call you Takeba.”

Takeba looked shocked at her answer before laughing quietly. “Jeez, that’s why? I asked you to call me that because we didn’t know each other back then, dummy.” Her expression morphed into one of regret. “Listen, I’m…” she trailed off, pausing for a moment. “I’m sorry for treating you the way I have for the last few weeks. I guess I let my emotions get the better of me and… I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that,” she shook her head. “So… You can call me Yukari. As long as I get to call you by your name too!”

Yukari flashed her a bright smile.

Lovers. Joy and wonder.

She felt her own smile widen in response, a warm, unknown feeling spreading in her chest, feeling muted but undoubtedly there.

“Thank you, Yukari.”

***

 

05/05/2024

Yukari took her shopping after school. This simple move, in turn, made Kotone very happy.

“So, what do you usually do in your free time? I haven’t really seen you around much except for when you’re with Junpei, and he really isn’t the best company,” Yukari said, turning her head towards Kotone as they moved towards a road crossing.

“I don’t do much. Tartarus takes priority for now.” Kotone answered truthfully.

Yukari frowned. “Well, it’s true that it’s important, but you don’t have to wrap your entire life around it!” She exclaimed indignantly. “Come on, live a little,” she added, laughing lightly.

The girls approached Paulownia Mall as Kotone shrugged in response to Yukari’s words. “I haven’t really had a lot of time to think about it.” She admitted sheepishly. “Do you have any… ideas?”

There was so much she wanted to learn, so much she wanted to try. So much she wanted to feel.

Kotone felt warm inside as she thought about the two people she considered friends now. Yukari and Junpei saw something in her. Someone worth talking to. Worth spending time with.

Yukari’s smile turned mischievous. “Trust me, I have lots of ideas. We’re having fun today. Screw Tartarus!” She laughed, grabbing Kotone’s hand and dragging her to a nearby clothing shop. “And we’re starting by buying you new clothes! I don’t think I’ve seen you in more than one outfit, excluding your uniform. We’re fixing that today!”

Kotone’s eyes moved down onto their interlocked hands.

Embarrassment. Excitement.

She ran forward along with Yukari, her face and heart feeling warm.

***

 

One benefit to holding so many Tartarus expeditions was that they had plenty of money to spend on whatever they wanted. Kotone was secretly thanking Mitsuru for all their trips, considering the plethora of shopping bags in hers and Yukari’s hands.

The sun had long disappeared past the horizon. The streets outside Paulownia Mall were illuminated by the artificial light cast on them by the numerous lamps situated around the central fountain. The two girls decided to stop at an electronics store as the final trip for the night, planning to simply window shop and look at some new gadgets that were available for purchase.

“If you see anything that catches your eye, just tell me! We still have some money left,” Yukari said. “Although I’m not sure where to even start looking. This place is huge!”

Moving forward, Kotone stopped in a section named “Audio Equipment”. Her eyes instantly locked in on a showcased pink MP3 player. She picked it up, feeling it and turning it around in her hands and noticing that it had a clasp on its back that could probably be used to attach it to a shirt.

“Oh, you wanna try it out? I heard this model has really good sound quality!” Yukari manifested to her right, startling her a little. Kotone nodded, deciding that it could hurt, and put on the headphones that came bundled with it. Scrolling through a pre-installed selection of songs, she chose one at random and pressed play.

The world disappeared to her. She felt transfixed, all her worries slowly receding to the back of her mind as she listened to the song.

Serenity.

Kotone felt truly at peace. She smiled gently, closed her eyes, and moved her head with the song’s rhythm.

Within the inner heart, I plead

For you to talk to me.

Opening her eyes, Kotone noticed Yukari standing in the corner of her vision. The music in her ears tugged on her very soul, her smile growing bigger and bigger by the second.

I wanna hear all the good and bad,

The new stories you have.

Existence itself was a story, was it not? Therefore, it was worth sharing it with others. A beautiful play woven by Fate itself, free to shape and be shaped.

Seeing that Kotone was now looking at her, Yukari smiled brightly, waving at her with her hand as if to say hi. Kotone answered in kind, feeling silly but also inexplicably happy at the gesture.

As I drift across the sky, the hour hand turns high.

So goodnight, let me sing a lullaby now.

Kotone laughed, cheery giggles erupting from her mouth as her heart soared along with the song. Yukari looked surprised for a moment before she copied Kotone and joined her in laughter. Truth be told, Kotone wasn’t sure which one sounded prettier – the song’s melodic lyrics or Yukari’s muted laughter that she could hear through the headphones. That was alright. She didn’t need to find the answers to all her questions right away.

It seems that sometimes simply enjoying the moment is enough.

I’ll be singing, baby.

Nothing in the world mattered at that moment. Kotone Shiomi was having the best moment of her life.

***

 

The girls returned to the dorm late, with Kotone donning her new pair of headphones around her neck and an MP3 player on her shirt, looking extremely pleased. The purchase was quite expensive and slightly out of Kotone’s budget, but Yukari offered to split the cost (“you just looked so happy, you deserve it!”) and she had to graciously accept.

The dorm’s lobby was empty save for Junpei sitting at the far counter and eating ramen noodles. As they passed by him, Yukari quietly whispered a thank you, to which he simply grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. The two girls said their goodbyes on the third floor, with Yukari expressing that she had a lot of fun today before departing for their rooms and heading to bed for the night.

Kotone went to sleep feeling happy for the first time in her life.

***

 

She woke up in the Velvet Room. Igor’s wide smile and Elizabeth’s impassive stare greeted her. Kotone now noticed the faint piano that was playing somewhere in the distance, mysterious yet soothing.

“Welcome, dear guest! How are you acclimating to your new situation? All goes well, I hope?” Igor asked. In response, Kotone nodded with a small smile on her face. ”Splendid! My message for you today shall be brief. It seems that you have strengthened some of the bonds you’ve forged. I’m sure you’ve noticed the power that you possess now. You, my dear, are able to wield multiple personas, their strength and number depending greatly on the bonds you create with others,” Igor laughed in delight. “I wonder how you’ll use your power! Who knows what awaits you in the future now!”

“Wait!” Kotone exclaimed suddenly, wanting some answers before she was kicked out of this place. “Why am I here? Why me?”

“My, so many questions!” Elizabeth said excitedly, speaking out of turn for the first time. “We are merely observers, here to aid you on your journey. We cannot interfere, no! The answers to those questions are yours to find.”

Kotone didn’t have any time to ask anything else before she suddenly woke up.

***

 

05/07/2024

Another day, another trip to Tartarus on behalf of their leader. Kotone was happy to be here, but the same certainly couldn’t be said about Yukari and Junpei – the former kept glaring at Mitsuru whenever she thought nobody was looking.

They were just done clearing the 16^th floor, defeating the last pair of shadows on their way to the staircase. The enemies on this floor weren’t that threatening, consisting mostly of rather harmless Mayas. The number of fights, however, and the distance they had to cover have already left them feeling tired. Yukari’s arrows missed more often, Junpei took a second longer to swing his sword, and Mitsuru’s legs were starting to shake from exhaustion.

Kotone herself was not holding up that great. Her newfound ability to summon two more personas, Pixie and Nekomata, alongside Orpheus, has been a blessing to the team, but it certainly left her feeling more exhausted the more she had to use it.

“One more floor,” Mitsuru said, turning around to look at the group as she stood straight. “And then we can head back. We shouldn’t have any issues if the shadows up ahead are the same as on this floor.” Her eyes scanned the group, as if searching for something, before she continued her speech. “Let’s go over our strategy one more time. Takeba, you’re on healing duty. If anyone gets injured, you prioritize getting them back in the fight before retaliating. Iori, focus on heavy physical blows. If you can’t reach an enemy, focus on protecting your teammates.” Her words were short and concise, leaving no room for doubt or negotiation. The confidence was rather inspiring.

What was not inspiring was her tendency to work them ragged. What if the next floor didn’t have the same types of shadows? What if it was something completely different? Tartarus, in its nature, was ever-changing. Nothing stayed the same here. Kotone knew that. Mitsuru knew that. And yet she still kept pushing. What if something went wrong, and they weren’t physically and mentally prepared?

Kotone, of course, would voice none of those doubts.

“Shiomi, you’re our elemental coverage. When we discover a weakness, I expect you to attack it as soon as possible without giving the enemy a chance to recuperate. Finally, I’ll be on the frontline, focusing on heavy elemental attacks and crippling the enemy. All clear?” Mitsuru finished her speech and flipped her hair with her hand. Upon receiving everyone’s nod of confirmation, she hummed appreciatively and started to move towards the staircase, while the others followed her. The staircase led them to a corner, blocking their vision of what comes next. Mitsuru slowly approached the corner, peeking out from behind it before softly cursing under her breath and turning around to look behind them. Kotone, out of curiosity, did the same.

The staircase disappeared, as they usually tended to do in Tartarus. The look on Mitsuru’s face worried her. Mitsuru opened her mouth before closing it again and giving the team a look. Her expression hardened in resolve.

“What’s wrong, Kirijo-senpai? Something in there?” Junpei said, grinning nervously.

“There’s a strong shadow ahead. It’s a floor guardian,” Mitsuru said, wincing. “We’ll have to fight.”

A tense silence settled over the group, everyone’s eyes moving from person to person. Mitsuru, sensing the shift in atmosphere, continued talking.

“We may not win a direct confrontation with this enemy. Therefore, I’ll go first and start distracting it. You will try moving around it, and I will join you all after…”

“No.”

A single word left Kotone’s lips as soon as she heard the beginnings of the plan. Mitsuru stood, stunned, evidently not used to being interrupted, before her eyes narrowed in Kotone’s direction.

“Do you have a better idea, Shiomi? You’re all incapable of fighting this enemy in your condition. I’m listening.”

“You’re the one to talk. Look at yourself,” Kotone said, surprising herself. “If you go there alone, nothing good will happen. What will we do if you go down faster than we can leave? We will have to fight it with just the three of us,” she rationalized, trying to instill some sense into Mitsuru. “We have to stay together.”

Mitsuru looked scandalized at first, but the more she listened to Kotone speak, the more she realized that she was right. Her plan did rely on her own abilities too much, and if something were to happen to her, the remainder of the group would certainly be soon to follow.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Okay. I agree. We should fight. But if something goes wrong, you will try to run past it and trust me to fight it off. That’s an order.” She nodded. “Our strategy remains the same. Is everyone ready?”

A chorus of “yes” was all she needed to hear. They stepped into the room.

The shadow’s head instantly snapped to their group. It looked like a mechanical knight, standing on four legs. Its arms were replaced by two giant metal bats adorned with spikes. A yellow mask with two slits for eyes covered its face, staring the group down with malice. Its internal engine whirred alive, and the shadow advanced rapidly towards them at a speed too fast for its frame. Its arms started spinning. A clacking noise accompanied its approach as metal legs scurried across the room’s tiled floor.

Instantly, their group spurred into action. Mitsuru started by casting a spell that would make the shadow more susceptible to their attacks. Everyone threw their strongest spells at the shadow at once.

“Don’t waste your energy! First we find a weakness with weaker attacks, then we go all in! Understood?” Mitsuru shouted as she conjured an ice fist to prevent the shadow’s club from crushing her. She managed to push it back a little, but the shadow recovered nearly instantly and started sprinting at them again.

“Y-Yes, leader!” Yukari replied nervously. “Garu!”

Kotone’s hands gripped her evoker as she summoned Orpheus, the kickback almost throwing her down onto the floor. Everyone’s attacks simultaneously hit the shadow, but it didn’t stop its approach as it continued to barrel towards them. Its arms were spinning faster and faster as mere meters separated SEES from the mechanical monster.

“Everyone, spread out!” Mitsuru shouted, running to the side. “Its strategy will be much less effective if it can only target one of us. Keep attacking!”

Kotone darted to the side as she spun the evoker around her pointer finger, trying to think of a spell that would work against the shadow. As the group separated, the monster slowed down for a moment before its gaze settled on Yukari, who was now closest to it.

Kotone’s eyes widened as she slowed down. “Yukari, be careful!” A warning shout left her lips as she sent Orpheus to slam its harp into the enemy. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to slow its assault at all – it continued its unrelenting charge. Yukari ducked, trying to avoid its metallic appendages, when the shadow suddenly twisted its body sideways, one of its arms crashing into Yukari diagonally and sending her flying away with a cry. She landed in a heap at the side of the room.

“NO!”

A scream left Kotone’s lips and the shadow suddenly moved its head towards her. Its legs allowed it to rapidly change the direction of its movement. It continued its charge with Kotone being the target this time.

Her mind whirred into overdrive, trying to think of something that the shadow would be weak to.

Ice, fire, wind, slash, strike. We already tried all of these. Try something else.

Unfortunately, as she finally put an evoker to her head, the shadow’s chest suddenly opened up and revealed some sort of a gun muzzle inside. It shot a round towards her, hitting Kotone in the chest and knocking her down. Her evoker flew out of her hands and landed somewhere to the side with a clatter. Kotone wheezed on the ground, dazed, as she tried to take in her surroundings. A blade of wind flew above her head (Yukari? Did she get up?) and Junpei cried out in pain before going silent.

Kotone’s hands shook violently as she tried to push herself up, falling down a few times in the process. The sounds of battle continued raging away from her. On her third attempt, she finally stood up, and her eyes took in the situation.

Mitsuru was the only one left standing, fending off the shadow’s attacks one on one. Her persona floated in front of her, its blade locked in a contest of strength with the enemy’s arms as the girl herself took a moment to recuperate. Mitsuru dug her hand into her pockets, searching blindly for something and keeping her eyes locked on the fight ahead. Penthesilea bought her a few seconds but ultimately shattered into shards of glass. That seemed to be enough time bought – Mitsuru threw the item in her hands at the confused shadow.

The bomb exploded into bolts of lightning and left the enemy stunned. Its legs buckled under it, making the shadow fall sideways. Mitsuru gave herself a moment to celebrate a small victory before frantically turning her head around and locking eyes with Kotone.

“Electric attacks!” Was all she shouted as she darted forward to stab her rapier into the undefended area under the shadow’s mask, causing it to howl in pain. Black liquid started oozing out from under it. Recovering from the initial shock, the machine stood back up. Mitsuru backed away to create some distance between them. With the knowledge she just gathered on the enemy’s weakness, they could finally turn this fight around.

And that was when Mitsuru Kirijo, exhausted from all the fighting, stumbled as she moved and fell backwards in front of the shadow. Her eyes widened with fear as the monster started gaining speed, moving rapidly towards her.

Kotone realized that she wouldn’t make it there in time. Mitsuru was already down, without her persona, and any hit from the enemy in these conditions could potentially be devastating for her. Kotone spun her evoker in her hands, and a million thoughts flooded her mind at the same moment.

I could send Orpheus to block the attack.

She won’t get there in time.

Something else, then.

She started running towards Mitsuru.

I can use Pixie. Knock it down with a Zio before it reaches Mitsuru.

It could be back up before we reach her.

Damn it! I can’t rely on that!

The shadow was getting closer and closer. She needed something fast. Something powerful. Something…

Kotone reached a decision and finally put an evoker to her head.

“THANATOS!”

For a split moment, a terrible headache assaulted her senses, forcing Kotone to her knees.

Then, she grinned.

Fears cut deep within the gun wounds

She dashed forward at the speed of sound, her wings stretching out behind her as she put herself in between the shadow and Mitsuru.

You can put your fate, destiny into the tomb

Her sword met steel with a clang. Her own mask-clad face stared down the enemy in front of her as she roared into its face, pushing harder, stronger, until…

Hardest thing to do is change from who you are now

To who you want to be soon

Her sword sliced clean through the shadow’s arm, making it stagger backwards as its appendage clattered uselessly to the floor. Unable to stop her momentum, her sword moved downwards, bouncing off the floor with a clang. She moved her gaze up to see the mechanical shadow in front of her call for backup, summoning three more enemies and taking several steps back to distance itself from her.

She smiled menacingly. It was afraid. Good. .̶̠̠̭̝͖͚̦͚̭̻̳̥̯̺̏͗̽̐̆̒̚͝ͅȇ̸̛̙̯͖̮̟͕̋̀̔͗́͛̿̐̿̎̈́̄͠͝,̸͉͎̄́͆̑'̶͉͕̳̊̌̓̑̏̿͛̿͐̂͒̑̑̓͊̾̕h̶͓̠͉̘̼̲̠͚̖̄͑́̅͆̈́̓̈́̍̈́̌̋̎̓̍̚  cackled as she flew forward, her sword dragging along the ground, creating sparks along her way.

You better be ready, not only winning but the losing

Only brings experiences for the bigger win later

One of the smaller shadows that looked like a floating head suddenly moved, throwing a ball of light in her direction. Not expecting the attack, she crashed into it, screaming in pain as it burned her from the inside.

Persevere for the greater good

Furious, she brought her gloved hand in front of her, balling it into a fist as red dregs of energy congregated within. She crushed it in her hands, cursed energy now bubbling underneath the shadow that dared attack her, annihilating it in a single vile geyser.

She stumbled forward as another shadow slammed into her from behind. Trying to avoid being caught off-guard again, she kept her eyes forward as the ends of the coffins that made up her wings transformed into razor-sharp blades, skewering the enemy on her back.

Take it down the agitators, the violators

She instantly brought her sword up, deflecting an arrow from the cupid shadow in front of her. Seeing that its attack turned out to be useless, it threw a fireball at her. She dodged the spell, moving forward to finish the flying enemy off.

They’ll give you all the time

Till you reach the final layer

She heard a high-pitched yell from behind. She turned around, shocked, taking in the sight in front of her. The fireball that she just dodged has found another target in Mitsuru, who was now lying flat on her back, her clothes scorched at the shoulder, burned flesh visible under.

So hurry up, it gets vicious and brutal

She turned back around, only to be met with a club to the face. Her mask cracked as she stumbled backwards. The blow stunned her briefly, forcing her to stand on her legs instead of floating as she took a moment to recuperate. The cupid shadow aimed an arrow somewhere behind her.

Moment of truth, there ain’t no truce.

Rage flooded her veins as she darted forward, wailing. The enemy in front of her froze in fear as she closed the distance between them and brought her sword down on its small form, cleaving it cleanly in half.

You’re the only one, one world, one love, but the battle goes on

Shadows of Mass…

She breathed heavily, snapping her head to the final remaining foe as she slowly started floating towards it. The shadow moved backwards, intimidated by her advance and not having enough energy for more complex attacks.

Destruction.

She roared as she grabbed its remaining steel club-hand, tearing it out of its socket. Sparks flew everywhere. Grabbing the shadow’s mask, she pulled, until something under it gave and the accessory came undone.

An empty face with voids for eyes stared at her with no emotion visible in its expression.

Ooh yeah, da-dada-dada, dada-dada

She slammed the spiky club onto its head once, twice, thrice, chunks of shadow residue splashing into her own mask.

Baby, baby

She kept smashing the shadow’s own appendage into its head until there was nothing but mangled armor and wiring left of it. Feeling satisfied, she looked around, seeing a person in pink get up from the floor. She started moving towards her next target, her fist already tightening in front of her, red energy gathering within.

Suddenly, someone slammed into her from behind, and she was Kotone Shiomi once again.

She looked behind her, groaning. Mitsuru stood there with red hair sticking to her face, the ends on her left side looking burned. She held out her right hand towards Kotone.

Empress. Brilliance and Magnificence.

Kotone grabbed her hand and started to pull herself up, only for both girls to crash to the ground. Mitsuru chuckled.

“I should’ve seen that one coming.”

Kotone joined her in laughter as Yukari finally reached them, hands already glowing green, screaming whether they were okay or not. Junpei joined them shortly after.

Kotone let herself relax for a moment. They have won against near-impossible odds.

Relief.

***

 

“Again, Mitsuru?! If you keep getting hurt every time, maybe you should be the one to sit this out.”

“I do not appreciate your tone, Akihiko. You know as much as I do that injuries are unavoidable,” Mitsuru replied grumpily. Yukari’s magic wasn’t strong enough to completely heal her burn, and now Akihiko was applying some sort of ointment to it to lessen the pain. She praised herself internally for refilling the first aid kit in the dorm last week.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you this entire time. You’re such a hypocrite, Mitsu,” Akihiko pursed his lips. “Just… Be careful out there, okay?”

Her gaze softened.

“I’ll try to, Akihiko. But you know I will always prioritize the safety of others first,” she said. “They’re just kids. I know we need people to fight against the Dark Hour, but this… This feels wrong. I shouldn’t be making others fight my own fight.”

Akihiko huffed and grabbed her shoulders. Instantly, she hissed in pain, causing him to release her and start to apologize profusely.

“Shit, sorry, I forgot! What I wanted to say is that it’s not just your fight, Mitsu. Even if you refuse to admit that this is bigger than all of us, think of it this way – it’s just as much my fight as it’s yours. I made that choice. No one forced me into it.”

She couldn’t meet his eyes. The sentiment was appreciated, but…

It was her fault. All of it. Her family was the root cause of Tartarus’s existence, and Mitsuru would be the one to bring it down. Either alone or with others’ help. Alone was easier on her consciousness. No one would be hurt that way.

Still, it seemed Akihiko wouldn’t give up on the cause, even if others did. Then again, she thought the same thing about Shinjiro…

Mitsuru shook her head and tried to put her thoughts back in order. Spiraling wouldn’t help anyone.

“I guess you’re right.”

“You guess?”

“Oui. That’s the best you’re getting today,” she replied with a smirk before her expression turned unsure. “Thank you. I’m afraid of how others will react when they find out, but at least I can always rely on you.”

“You got that, Mitsu. I’m not giving up halfway through.”

Akihiko’s confidence did make her feel a little better. Maybe things would turn out alright. She had to keep her hope up.

This was her fate, but that didn’t mean she had to tread alone.

“I’ll trust you on that, then,” she replied. “But I’m still not letting you back in Tartarus until you’re fully healed.”

“Oh, come on!”

Notes:

Rewritten as of 28/06/2025.

Chapter 3: The Warmth of Sun and The Beauty of Moon

Summary:

In which a giant shadow appears in Iwatodai, Akihiko has a rough time, and Yukari wants to talk to Kotone.

Notes:

Some of you may have noticed that the total number of chapters keeps increasing. At first, I only planned 4 chapters for this fic, but then I realized that I wouldn't be able to fit all my ideas for this story into 4 chapters, so now there's gonna be 13. I already planned out the outline for each chapter and will try to release one per week. Hope you enjoy!

05/09/2009

He was going to kill Mitsuru.

“What the hell do you mean I can’t go?! I know what you said before, but you don’t get to single me out on this now of all times! The chairman said the shadow was huge, just like the one on the rooftop, and you’re telling me to sit this one out? I’m feeling fine!”

Akihiko was not happy. In fact, he was beside himself and dedicated the last hour telling Mitsuru how stupid her decision of not letting him go was. Just because he had a bruised chest or something didn’t mean he couldn’t fight!

Yeah, no. He was done with this shit.

“I’m going. You can’t stop me.” Akihiko said, causing Mitsuru to frown. She prepared herself for a retort, but Akihiko beat her to it. “It’s final.”

Mitsuru gritted her teeth and glared at him intensely. Waves of cold emanated from her, getting more intense by the second, but Akihiko did not budge from his place. Finally, she exhaled loudly and averted her gaze.

“Do what you will, Akihiko.”

She turned around and returned to her navigation equipment, confirming the location of the enemy one last time. The giant shadow that they discovered was located on the monorail traveling from Iwatodai Station. “Gather everyone together. We need to hunt this one down.” Mitsuru said without turning around. “I’ll provide navigation support.”

“Hmph.”

“Akihiko.”

He turned around as he got close to the door, looking over his shoulder.

“Keep an eye on Shiomi. She’s strong, but she can lose control. Don’t let what happened to Aragaki happen to her. She deserves better.”

He nodded, his face hardening with resolve.

I won’t let it happen again. Don’t worry, Mitsu.

Akihiko headed downstairs. He banged on Yukari’s door, telling her to get down to the dorm’s lobby, before heading down towards the 2^nd floor. To his surprise, Shiomi was already up and leaving her room, smiling sheepishly at him.

“I heard a commotion and thought something was up. I’m ready.”

Akihiko nodded at her and wordlessly headed downstairs. They had a mission to do.

***

 

“Listen up, everyone. The chairman discovered an unusual shadow tonight.” Akihiko started talking as everyone gathered in the lobby. The shadow’s arrival was unexpected, and the atmosphere in the lobby reflected this fact. Takeba was still in her pajamas, looking like she’d much rather be in her bed right now and almost nodding off in her spot on the sofa. Mitsuru was still not meeting his eyes, clearly angry at his earlier outburst as she sat in the armchair at the head of the table.

Shiomi was really difficult to read. She looked apprehensive, but also… Excited?

The one most excited one was, of course, Junpei.

“It’s still just a shadow, right? That means we’ll beat it, no problemo!”

He could understand the sentiment. Akihiko couldn’t deny that he was excited himself, finally being able to go out during the dark hour. He could continue fighting.

He could keep getting stronger.

“Yes. The shadow is huge, kind of like the one we encountered a month ago when it attacked our dorm. It’s taken over an entire monorail, so we’ll have to fight it and stop it from causing any damage.” Akihiko grinned before continuing. “I’ll be leading you all today. Mitsuru will be recovering for a bit to let her leg and shoulder heal completely.” He couldn’t help but feel a little smug as their roles have been reversed.

She was glaring at him even harder now. Maybe he shouldn’t tempt fate too much.

“May I remind you, Sanada, that I am still the official leader of SEES?” Mitsuru hissed at him. “I am only letting you do this because we need all the firepower we can get for this fight. We cannot afford to lose. This isn’t a game.”

Akihiko moved his eyes downwards, feeling ashamed. Sure, he and Mitsuru bicker a lot, but it’s limited to friendly banter. She was genuinely pissed at him this time.

Maybe he crossed a line. He’ll have to apologize later.

“Right. Sorry.” He decided to issue a short apology now, saving more words for later. “Everyone, get ready. We’re heading out in fifteen minutes.”

The time flew by in a moment. Soon enough, everyone in SEES got prepared, grabbing their equipment and changing their clothes to something more suitable for fighting. They started moving, heading towards the shadow’s location. As the group got closer, Akihiko slowed his step, falling in line with Shiomi and looking at her.

“Hey. What personas do you have right now? I need to know to coordinate with you during battle,” he said.

She seemed to be thinking for a moment before saying “Orpheus, Thanatos, Pixie, and Nekomata. Four in total.”

Akihiko frowned. Four? But how about…

He shook his head, abandoning that thought. “That doesn’t really tell me much, to be honest. Orpheus has fire, and Mitsuru told me Thanatos has dark, but what about the other two?”

“Pixie has lightning, and Nekomata can heal. That’s mostly it…”

“I see. My persona specializes in lightning, so I don’t think you’ll need to use Pixie. Focus on using Orpheus and never let your guard down in front of the enemy,” he said, before continuing. “That last part relates to all of you, guys. Keep your eyes peeled and your evokers ready.”

“You got it, Sanada-san! You can count on me to cover for you all!” Junpei shouted excitedly. “Man, this is gonna be great!”

“Do you remember what happened last time, oh great Junpei?” Takeba said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at his behavior. “Be more serious.”

“Hey, you were the one that went down first! Of course I’d follow afterwards without our trusted healer,” he said, looking lightly offended. His grin grew strained. “That won’t happen again.”

Akihiko turned his eyes away from the bantering duo, looking at Shiomi once more.

“One more thing. From what Mitsuru told me about your last fight, Thanatos is very strong, but you can’t control it that well. Feel free to use it when you think it necessary, but do be careful. In any case, we’ve got your back, Shiomi.” He said, extending his arm forward for a handshake. Shiomi looked at it for a moment before accepting the gesture with a smile.

“Got it, Leader.”

***

 

Emperor. Courage in the face of doubt.

 

***

 

They reached the monorail. They boarded it, and then it started moving.

That simple fact has sent Akihiko’s mind racing.

“Leader, what do we do?!” Junpei shouted, looking panicked. A shadow appeared in front of them, its face almost mocking as it turned around and just… left.

Something was fishy here. Should they follow? But they didn’t really have a choice if they wanted to get to the giant shadow, did they? Akihiko made up his mind.

“Alright, let’s follow it slowly. Still, be careful. Something’s not right here.”

Junpei seemed offended at the suggestion. Did he say something wrong? He thought…

“Sanada-senpai, it’s gonna get away if we don’t chase after it! What if it attacks one of the people in the coffins?”

That was a possibility, sure. But the risks of just blindly charging through the carriages were still far too great. Akihiko opened his mouth to respond, but Takeba was faster.

“Junpei, just think for a moment. What if we get ambushed? Then no one will be able to protect the passengers here!” She said calmly. “Let’s listen to Sanada-senpai, alright? We’ll beat the shadow and save everyone,” Takeba smiled, trying to defuse the situation.

“Right, sure… You don’t have to be so condescending, you know,” Junpei murmured bitterly. “Alright, Leader, lead the way.”

Akihiko nodded and started moving, getting ahead of everyone.

What a great leader you are, huh? Takeba had to step in to clean up your mess.

He gritted his teeth. His eyes darted left and right, looking for shadows that could be hiding anywhere.

I need them to protect them no matter the cost. It’s my duty. I can’t fail again.

A shadow that looked like a pair of scales popped up in front of them, causing everyone to tense. Akihiko grinned. The situation was familiar. This time, he knew what to do.

“I’ve been waiting for this!”

***

 

After fighting several small shadows, the group stood in front of the door to the final carriage. The door itself, as well as its surroundings, was covered in a layer of ice that made seeing through the window impossible. Turning around to face his team, Akihiko mentally prepared himself for battle.

“Listen up, everyone. What we’re gonna do is…”

The window behind him shattered into pieces, and his teammates shouted at him to move. Akihiko crouched down, trying to dodge whatever was behind him.

A tendril wrapped itself around his midsection. Oh.

With a shout, he was pulled backwards, breaking down the carriage door off its hinges. He wheezed as thin tendrils tightened their grip on his body. The others barged into the room, ready to attack.

“Cut the tendrils around me! Be careful not to get grabbed!” Akihiko shouted, straining to talk.

“Easier said than done, Akihiko-senpai!” Junpei shouted as he struggled to get his evoker out of its holster.

Akihiko was spun around midair, coming face-to-face with their enemy. The shadow in front of him was taking up the whole end of the carriage. The tendrils that were holding him weren’t what he expected at all – it was the shadow’s hair. It sneered into Akihiko’s face, and he suddenly felt himself move sideways, the shadow planning to slam him into the wall.

He braced himself for impact. Fortunately, it never came to be, as Hermes came to his aid and sliced at the strands holding him, causing the shadow to screech in pain. Akihiko fell down, Hermes catching him before he could hit the ground and setting him down.

He instantly adopted a fighting stance, his senses fully alert to all movement. He would not let himself be caught off guard again.

“Shiomi, Junpei, try fire!” He shouted as he pulled his evoker out, putting it to his forehead and summoning Polydeuces. “Go!” His persona manifested behind him, shooting out a giant fist to strike at his target. Before the attack could connect, the shadow’s hair created a wall in front of it, absorbing the damage. At the same time, two fireballs crashed into it, lighting up the entire carriage with red as the shadow’s hair combusted, burning down to ash. An unpleasant smell filled the air around them.

The shadow itself was unaffected. It started to regenerate the strands that were damaged by their combined attack.

“Akihiko!” He heard Shiomi’s voice coming from behind him. “Junpei and I will burn down its defenses. We’ll create an opening for Yukari and you to attack the Priestess!”

Priestess? Is that what the shadow was called? How did she know that?

The shadow, as if understanding their exchange, laughed at them, waving her hand around her face. A blizzard swept through the wagon, sending Akihiko to his knees. His entire being felt so cold, like his heart had just been frozen solid. He tried to get back up but suddenly realized that he couldn’t move.

“Damn it! Dia!” Takeba’s voice reached his ears. She sounded as if there was a wall separating them. The green light from her healing spell made him feel a little better, but he was still immobilized.

The Priestess had an ice affinity. He should’ve expected it from what they’ve seen earlier! If he gets hit now, the attack will be strong enough to knock him out completely.

Panicking, Akihiko tried to free himself from the icy prison. His struggles, however, were proven meaningless – the ice around him was too thick to be broken down by himself. The shadow waved its hand again, summoning icy winds to swirl around the carriage, and Akihiko braced himself for impact.

“Agi!”

A warm sensation enveloped him, and he found himself being able to move once more. Junpei was standing in front of him, holding off several tendrils with his sword.

“Told ya I’ve got your back, Leader!” He shouted, hands shaking from exertion. “Could really use some help here though! Help!”

“Io! Cut it up!” Akihiko heard from behind. A razor-sharp wind blade severed off the hair tendrils and let Junpei retreat backwards safely.

“NOW!” Kotone shouted, summoning Orpheus. “Junpei!”

“On it, Koto-chan!”

Two fireballs barreled towards the shadow’s head. They were both intercepted, no real damage being dealt to the Priestess once more.

“Polydeuces! Takeba, attack!”

Another fist was sent flying towards the enemy. The Priestess reacted, grabbing it with both hands as she tried to stop it from crushing her. A wind blade cut through one of her hands, severing it completely.

A loud screech filled the air, causing everyone to cover their ears with their hands.

The shadow was wounded – its left arm was cut off at the elbow. The wall next to its head was dented.

Damn it, it dodged at the last second.

Furious, the Priestess slammed its remaining hand on the floor. Her hair glowed red, and the monorail started shaking hard, sending sparks flying everywhere off the tracks.

“Everyone, it sped up the monorail!” A distorted voice filled their ears. Akihiko recognized it as Mitsuru’s. Was she using her navigation equipment to communicate with them?

“You have almost no time left! Hurry, finish it now!”

Calm down. Your team is waiting. Be courageous in spite of everything.

“Everyone, keep up the pressure and…”

“THANATOS!”

Shiomi screamed behind him, her eyes glazing over as her persona manifested above. It darted forward with a roar, hand already pulled back for an attack. The Priestess grabbed the persona’s sword with her hand, smiling into the face of death.

“Forget it. Just attack! It’s defenseless now! Junpei, protect Shiomi!”

Junpei stood in front of Shiomi, who was frozen in place with her eyes locked forward.

She looks so… empty. Like the Lost.

The thought flew through his mind, forgotten in a moment as Akihiko returned his focus to the battle at hand. Everyone attacked the Priestess simultaneously with all they had.

The shadow, defenseless in the face of their relentless onslaught, could not protect itself in time. The combined force of their attacks completely eviscerated its upper half, and she finally dissolved into nothing.

Akihiko let out a sigh of relief. They won.

“What are you all doing?! You’re going to crash! Stop the monorail!” Mitsuru’s voice screamed, full of panic.

Maybe he celebrated too early. He dashed forward without thinking, throwing open the door to the control room. His eyes rapidly moved everywhere, searching for anything that could indicate how to stop the train.

“Mitsuru, any help here? How do I stop this thing?!”

“Just do something, Akihiko!” When Mitsuru’s voice sounded this panicked, Akihiko couldn’t help but start panicking himself. He could see the next train in front of them –  if he didn’t do anything, they would crash in a few seconds. Someone shrieked from the room behind him.

Noticing a red lever on the side of the panel, Akihiko closed his eyes and pulled.

Please, let this work. Please. Oh god, if I’m wrong, Mitsu and Shinji will be the only ones…

The lever clicked, and the monorail rapidly started slowing down. His gamble paid off.

Akihiko fell to the ground, shaking uncomfortably, the pressure of it all finally getting to him. It was all too close. If Junpei hadn’t stepped in front of him, if Shiomi didn’t summon Thanatos, if he pulled the wrong lever…

They would all be dead. Not just him, but his three teammates and potentially everyone on the train. So much could’ve gone wrong.

“Whew, that was too close, man! How did you know which one to pull, Sanada-senpai?” Junpei asked, walking into the room.

Akihiko just shook his head, burying his face in his hands. How could he even look into his underclassmen’s eyes after this failure of a mission?

“Is… Is everything okay?” Junpei asked, worried.

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s alright.”

He stood up, avoiding Junpei’s eyes. In the previous carriage, he saw Yukari sitting down in one of the seats, her head in her hands. Kotone was at her side, her hand on Yukari’s shoulder.

“I thought we were gonna die…” Takeba whispered quietly, her body shaking occasionally with sobs. “I…”

Junpei looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting between Akihiko and Takeba. He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end changed his mind and closed it again.

“It’s over, everyone. Let’s just go back home,” Akihiko said, moving towards the exit as he shook his head.

***

 

Kotone tried not to think about the fight too much as she was exiting the monorail. When she attacked the shadow and it caught her sword, the Priestess just… looked at her.

As if it recognized her.

And then it smiled and stopped defending against their attacks. Whichever way she tried to justify this behavior, Kotone really couldn’t find an answer.

She felt sick.

When she was finally outside, she looked up at the full moon one last time before the dark hour ended, extending her hand up towards it, as if trying to touch it. The moon remained motionless, impassive, rejecting her desire for answers. Green light emanated from it, painting the beautiful scenery around her into a dreadful nightmare.

She blinked. The moon blinked back at her.

“Hey, are you coming?” Junpei’s voice reached her ears, breaking her reverie.

When she turned back around to look up once more, the moon was no longer green.

***

 

She clutched a sealed letter in her hand. A letter addressed to her. Slowly and meticulously, she opened it, making sure to not damage the envelope, and began reading the contents. The letter talked to her about a possibility of a new beginning.

Or, perhaps, the ultimate end.

Her grip on the letter tightened, crumpling the edges a little. Her breathing quickened as she re-read the contents for a second time.

Iwatodai. A place where it all began. And where it would all end.

She didn’t really have a choice, did she? The choice was made 10 years ago, without her input. Now she just had to pick up the pieces and try to salvage them together into a fractured daydream.

Her gaze locked onto the signature of a person at the bottom of the letter. Of course it would be them. Her life’s never been her own, after all.

Tracing her fingers over the ink and smudging it a little, she reread the part that captured her attention the most.

“We will be waiting for you on April 6^th. Here’s a map and money for the train ticket if you decide to show up.”

She was supposed to feel angry at this blatant manipulation, wasn’t she? And yet she found she couldn’t.

It was all her fault anyway.

All her fault.

ALL YOUR FAULT

Kotone woke up with a scream, her mind reeling from the sudden awakening.

Was that a dream, a memory, or something more?

She would keep asking herself that until morning arrived, flooding her room with sunlight as she cried alone under her covers.

***

 

05/10/2024

Mitsuru called for a SEES meeting in the command room the next day. The chairman was there as well.

“I can’t do it.”

Akihiko was the first one to speak as everyone gathered around the table. He wore a pained expression on his face as he uttered those words, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

“What do you mean, Akihiko?” Mitsuru asked.

“I can’t lead SEES into battle. We need to appoint someone else.”

Ikutsuki cleared his throat before speaking. “Sanada-kun, the mission was a success. May I ask what prompted you to think this way?”

“The mission was a success?!” Akihiko asked incredulously, glaring at the chairman. “We almost died! Several times! And it was all my fault!” He shook his head. “I’m not cut out to be the field leader. Shiomi was the one who took control of the situation and came up with ideas during that fight.”

Kotone suddenly felt uncomfortable as multiple sets of eyes turned to look at her. The chairman specifically was looking interested.

“Akihiko, need I remind you that you were the one who stopped the train? You saved everyone with your actions.” Mitsuru tried to reason. “I understand that not everything went as planned, but everyone’s here in the end, non?”

Akihiko simply shook his head in return, refusing to acknowledge her arguments.

“Kirijo-kun, it’s okay. We cannot force Sanada-kun into something he does not want.” Ikutsuki said. “Say, Shiomi-kun. Are you interested in trying to lead SEES for your next Tartarus expedition?”

“Me?” “Her?” Kotone and Mitsuru simultaneously blurted, both looking uncomfortable with the idea.

“I don’t know if I could…”

“Chairman, with all due respect, while her power may be extraordinary, her control over it is questionable at best,” Mitsuru said, before hastily adding. “No offense meant, of course. I am simply stating the facts. If it were not for me interrupting her concentration that night, her persona would have…”

She would have what? What did Mitsuru mean?

Kotone opened her mouth to ask, but Ikutsuki was faster. “Kirijo-kun, it would be only for one time, and, naturally, either you or Sanada-kun would be there to accompany her if something went wrong. Consider it a trial run, if you would.”

Mitsuru stayed silent for a few seconds, contemplating his words. Finally, she relented.

“Alright. We can try it. And you’re right, we will be there if something goes wrong.”

“Right! Glad we came to an agreement there.” Ikutsuki chuckled.

An agreement? Nobody even asked me!

Would you have refused if they did?

…

“Now, I would like to congratulate all of you on defeating this powerful shadow. If you weren’t there, who knows how much chaos it could’ve caused in the city? You saved dozens of lives that day. I’m proud of you all,” Ikutsuki said, his gaze lingering on Kotone.

Hierophant. A guiding force.

“Be assured that I’m doing the best on my part to assist you all as well, be it new equipment or valuable information. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me anything. And I believe my research will yield some very interesting results soon!” He smiled at them, trying to lift everyone’s mood. “So how about I focus on my research, and all of you focus on re-searching Tartarus?” He looked around, gauging everyone’s reactions and seeing confused faces look back at him. “Get it? Re-search? Because you’ll be searching it again after doing so previously?” He let out an awkward chuckle before quieting down and adjusting his tie. “Tough crowd.”

Kotone laughed quietly to herself, earning a baffled look from Yukari.

“D’accord. I believe our meeting is over,” Mitsuru chose the moment to say and free everyone from the chairman’s puns. “Feel free to head back to your rooms.”

Everyone stood up, going to turn in for the night. Yukari hesitated for a moment, looking at Kotone, before she left the room as well. Kotone was left alone with Mitsuru, the latter looking at her expectantly.

“Hey. What did you mean when you were talking about ‘that night’?” Kotone finally asked, making sure no one else was around to hear her.

“You don’t remember?” Mitsuru looked surprised. “Maybe the situation is worse than I thought then…”

“Well, if I remembered, I wouldn’t be here asking you about it, would I?” Kotone said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Is this about Thanatos?”

“Yes. I didn’t want to mention it, but when you summoned it for the first time and… disposed of that floor guardian, you lost control for a moment,” Mitsuru said, looking uncomfortable. “Your persona almost turned on us. If I hadn’t tackled you to the floor to break your concentration, who knows what could’ve happened that day?”

Kotone’s eyes widened as blurry, dream-like memories flooded her mind.

A person in pink standing up from the ground.

Her own fist, teeming with cursed energy, ready to destroy.

“I haven’t told anyone about it, if you’re worried. I will, however, ask you to be more careful in the future.”

Something was wrong. What did Mitsuru mean when she said Kotone’s persona almost turned on them? But…

Stop thinking.

She groaned, holding her head. For the millionth time, one thought dominated her entire being.

There was something wrong with her. Would she pursue the bitter truth? Or would she remain in a blissful lie?

We already know the truth. You hide from it, but one day you won’t be able to anymore.

Kotone chose her answer for that day. She thanked Mitsuru and promptly left the room.

Not today.

She was too scared to confront it.

***

 

Yukari was waiting for her outside the control room.

“Hey, do you have a moment?” She blurted out, looking embarrassed. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh, um, sure. Where do you wanna…” Kotone trailed off awkwardly.

“Let’s go to the roof. I want some privacy.”

Kotone mentally prepared herself for whatever was coming. Yukari looked very serious with her request, leaving Kotone feeling nervous about the upcoming conversation. Did she do something wrong? Was Yukari about to tell her never to talk to her again?

Did she find out?...

After they ascended the stairs to the roof and locked the door closed behind them, Yukari turned to look at her with an uncertain expression.

“I’m just like you, you know,” she started speaking suddenly. “My dad died when I was little, and my mom may as well not be in the picture. I saw your files when we were looking into you and noticed you were in a similar situation. I’m so sorry for invading your privacy like this…”

Wait a second. There were files on her? While she was touched that Yukari was genuinely regretful about digging too far into her past, Kotone finally had a lead, albeit small.

“There’s no need to apologize. I understand,” Kotone smiled at her before continuing. “I’m sorry to hear about your father. It must have been hard without him…” She trailed off.

Yukari sighed. “Yeah. My mom is… Well, she’s not the greatest person ever. She’s stuck in her old ways and refuses to learn. Sometimes I… I think I’m better off living here, far away from her, actually,” she laughed bitterly. “I’m a terrible daughter, aren’t I?”

“What? No!” Kotone exclaimed loudly. “A parent is supposed to care after you, aren’t they? It’s not your fault she didn’t.”

Yukari shifted in place uncomfortably. “Do you ever think about yours? Actually, forget it, what am I saying, of course you do… Ugh, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I brought any of this up! I just… I don’t know, okay?! Maybe we should forget this conversation ever happened,” she murmured.

“Wait, Yukari!” One thing was still bothering Kotone, and she was thinking if she should broach the subject here or not. “Thank you for sharing all of that with me. And… there is something I have to tell you as well.”

Suddenly, she felt very nervous. What if Yukari didn’t understand? What if she wouldn’t relate to her anymore?

What if she left her, just like everyone else did?

“I… I…”

Kotone’s voice shook as she struggled to form a sentence. Yukari, seeing her discomfort, took a step closer with a weak smile.

“Hey, you don’t have to say it if you’re not feeling comfortable enough. I know I kinda did spring all this onto you out of nowhere. But I want you to know that I’ll do my best to understand you, whatever it is,” she said, waiting patiently for Kotone’s answer.

Kotone gulped, nodding her head.

Breathe in.

One, two, three.

She took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds.

Breathe out.

One, two, three.

Good, mea alia.

That’s it. She was going to rip the bandaid off.

“I-I don’t remember anything. Nothing from before the hospital.” Kotone said, mixing words together in a rush. “Only some small snippets, b-but… nothing else. I don’t know w-where I came from, why I’m h-here, or… o-or anything, really.”

She jerked her head down violently as soon as she uttered the last word. That was it. They had nothing in common. Yukari wouldn’t want to spend time with someone like her.

And Kotone would understand that completely. Yukari deserved better friends. And to drive the point home even further, she kept talking, the words coming out by themselves.

“That’s not all. There’s something… wrong with me. I keep getting strange dreams and feelings all the time, and, god, you’ve seen my persona yourself, it’s just not normal. I feel like I’m going crazy… I would completely understand if you want nothing to… to do with me after hearing all this.” Her vision became blurry, hot tears falling down her cheeks as Kotone kept rambling. “I want nothing to do with myself, so… it’s… I…”

Her body shook with sobs, words becoming harder and harder to get out.

“A… w-wretched thing like me deserves nothing.”

God, she was so pathetic. Yukari wanted to share something personal with her, and Kotone’s reaction is to trauma dump and make everything about herself. There was nothing she…

Kotone almost fell backwards as Yukari collided with her to lock her in a fierce hug.

I feel…

Warm.

“Shut up,” Yukari said, hugging her tighter. “Don’t you dare say those terrible things about yourself. You’re not crazy, there’s nothing wrong with you, and you are not a thing.”

Kotone’s sobs increased in intensity.

What is happening?

“I lost control of my persona! I-I almost attacked you! You could’ve been… I can’t…”

Yukari let go of her, taking a few steps back. Kotone found herself missing the contact.

Slap

A loud sound echoed through the rooftop. Kotone clutched her cheek. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Yukari, a silent question reflected in her gaze.

“Sorry, I felt like I had to. Listen, please,” Yukari pleaded with her, putting her hands on Kotone’s shoulders. “I don’t care about any of that. And… We’re more alike than you think. I know what it’s like to be alone, abandoned, not knowing if I was the problem or it was the others around me. And trust me, nothing good will happen if you head down that road,” Yukari said, pausing before continuing, “For the longest time, I blamed myself for my dad’s death. I still do sometimes. He was overworking himself so much to provide for us. If it weren’t for me, then maybe…”

Yukari stopped, looking directly into Kotone’s red eyes.

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Kotone, because I get it. My situation may not be totally the same, but looking at you is like… Looking into a mirror for me. So…”

Yukari took her hands off Kotone’s shoulders, offering one of them to her instead.

“Let’s get through this together. You… We don’t have to be alone. So… Friends?”

Kotone took her hand, clutching it to her chest like a lifeline. She smiled brightly through tears as she looked into Yukari’s eyes, her voice raw with emotion.

“Thank you, Yukari. I… I’d love to. Um, be friends, I mean.”

Standing there on the rooftop, clutching Yukari’s hand with her own as a gentle spring breeze ruffled their hair, Kotone realized that she did not have a name for the emotion that she was experiencing.

That was fine. As long as she had Yukari by her side, maybe everything would be alright.

They spent the entire night on the rooftop, talking about Yukari’s past, Kotone’s visions, and everything else in between. Yukari confided in her about her suspicions about the Kirijo group (“I’m sure Kirijo-senpai is not telling us something, and we should dig into it more!”), and Kotone agreed that something was definitely going on behind the scenes. They planned to get to the bottom of everything, gathering information on the mysterious incident 10 years ago, one that claimed the lives of Kotone’s parents (“I feel… lonely, knowing that they have been gone for so long, even though I’ve forgotten about them.”) as well as Yukari’s father (“Why does hers get to live?! It’s unfair…”).

The girls kept talking, sitting down near the entrance, even as the first rays of sunlight started illuminating the roof. Looking at the sunrise before her, Kotone’s mind started wandering as her hand remained tightly interlocked with Yukari’s.

I wish this moment lasted forever. The sun…

Kotone turned her head to the right, looking at Yukari’s side profile, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

It’s so warm. It may be even more beautiful than the moon.

They would head towards the future with their heads held high. Together.

***

 

05/11/2009

“I’m sorry, Mitsuru. I was an asshole.”

The student council room was the last place Mitsuru expected to hear this from Akihiko. Considering the stupefied expressions of other council members, the same was true for them. Odagiri huffed indignantly and stood up, coming closer to Akihiko.

“Sanada-kun, you can’t just-“

“Please leave us alone for a few minutes, everyone,” Mitsuru interrupted him, lifting her palm up. Odagiri frowned but motioned for others to follow him as everyone vacated the room.

Akihiko stood awkwardly in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. The only thing he was greeted with was Mitsuru’s impassive stare.

“The floor is yours, Akihiko. I’m listening,” she said with a weak smile.

A bark of laughter escaped Akihiko’s lips. “Wow, Mitsu. Direct as always.” His expression then turned serious. “But really, I’m sorry. I was just so tired being cooped up in the dorm while everyone else was allowed to fight, and I took it out on you. That won’t happen again.”

Mitsuru hummed to herself. “I’m sorry, too. I should have paid more attention to how you were feeling, and, well…” She took a moment to find the words. “I’m really bad at this, aren’t I? Et c’est comme ça, as they say. I’ll do better next time. Not just for you, but for everyone on the team. It’s the least they deserve.”

Akihiko extended a hand towards her with a smile. “Peace, then?”

With a laugh, Mitsuru shook his hand. “For now?”

“Hah! For now.”

Notes:

By the way, this fic is my first time writing romance and fight scenes. Do let me know how I'm doing, I would appreciate any feedback!

Note: Rewritten as of 28/06/2025

Chapter 4: Death and Taxes

Summary:

In which Kotone learns the limits of her capabilities, the group encounters a formidable enemy in Tartarus, and a new member joins SEES.

Notes:

It's Fuuka time! I'm not the biggest fan of her character in canon, so she's a little OOC as I decided to do something different about her and her persona. This chapter is also twice as long as the others and I feel like that trend will continue onwards.

05/15/2009

“We call these a Theurgy.”

All the SEES members, including Ikutsuki, were gathered in the command room on the 4^th floor of the dorm. The chairman himself was busy explaining the newest addition to their arsenal – a set of new battle uniforms, weapons, and a few inconspicuous-looking cartridges.

Kotone was more interested in the new shiny naginata that was on the table. The handle was made out of wood and painted a sleek black. From the looks of it, it could extend outwards, letting her control the reach of her weapon. The blade itself curled upwards with serrated edges on the concave side.

The weapon was absolutely gorgeous. And probably extremely deadly.

Kotone couldn’t wait to test it out in the field.

“-and that’s how it works! Well, in theory,” Ikutsuki finished his explanation sheepishly, causing Kotone to realize that she zoned out and had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. She’d have to ask Yukari later for the details. A smile tugged on her lips at the thought.

“In theory? What do you mean, chairman?” Mitsuru asked, not satisfied with his lackluster description. “Has it not been tested before?”

“Well, it’s not like we have an abundance of Persona users to field-test something like this, Kirijo-kun,” Ikutsuki explained. “Theoretically, there should be no issues with you using it. You will, however, have to confirm that with practice,” he concluded, standing up as he slapped his knees and said goodbyes to everyone. Kotone turned to Yukari, smiling nervously.

“Say, Yukari. Hypothetically, if I wasn’t listening to the explanation… What is a Theurgy?”

Yukari glared at her for a few seconds before giving up and sighing with an amused expression.

***

 

05/18/2009

“Two cream-filled buns, please.”

With an affirmative hum, the cafeteria vendor grabbed a plastic wrap from the side of the counter, picked up two pastries, and started to pack them. Glancing up with an uncertain expression, she picked up another bun, handing out all three to the girl in front of her.

“Here. Third one’s on me, don’t worry!”

Fuuka Yamagishi sputtered, waving her hands in front of her and trying to decline the woman’s kind offer.

“I insist. Come on, just take it.”

With a bow and a hurried thanks, Fuuka grabbed the pastries (shoving one of them into her bag for no reason at all, none) and ran off towards her classroom.

My friends are waiting. They must be hungry… I should hurry.

Increasing her pace, Fuuka tried to get to her destination as soon as possible.

“Aah!!”

With a yelp, she crashed into someone, causing both of them to tumble to the ground. Fuuka gasped, her elbow stinging painfully as she attempted to pull herself upwards.

That’s certainly going to bruise… Owww…

“Hey, are you two okay?”

A surprised voice reached her ears. Fuuka looked up to see a girl in a pink cardigan look worriedly at the person she knocked into. The person in question was already getting up, reassuring the other girl that she’s fine. Both girls turned to look at Fuuka, who was still struggling to get up from the floor.

“Here, take my hand,” the girl with red hair offered with a small smile on her face. Fuuka’s face flushed red with embarrassment.

Can’t even get off the floor without someone’s help.

She was still on her mission to get food for her friends, though, so Fuuka decided to swallow down her negative feelings and accept the help, seeing as the ponytail girl had been waiting a few seconds for her response. Finally getting up from the floor, Fuuka muttered a hurried thanks, avoiding looking at the other two girls. The buns that she purchased did end up on the floor, but hopefully the packaging ensured they would still be edible. She hurriedly picked them up (I hope the one in my backpack didn’t get ruined) and prepared to run off, hoping to finally end this embarrassing encounter.

“What’s your name?”

Fuuka jumped, not expecting the girl to talk to her again. She built up the courage to look into the redhead’s eyes, the girl’s gaze burning with curiosity, much to Fuuka’s surprise.

“U-um… I’m Fuuka Yamagishi, from class 2-E. I’m sorry for bumping into you, I’ll be more careful from now on!” She said hurriedly.

***

 

Priestess. The silent voice, whispering profound wisdom.

***

 

“I’m Kotone Shiomi. And this is Yukari Takeba. It’s nice to meet you!” Kotone said while Yukari waved her hand with a smile. “Are you in a hurry?”

“O-oh, nice to meet you too! Sorry, I have to get these to my friends, um… They’ve been waiting for a while. Sorry!” Fuuka apologized, noticing Kotone frown. Without waiting for an answer, she ran off towards her classroom, throwing open the door as she panted from exertion. Her two friends were waiting for her at the desk. The taller girl sighed loudly as she stood up and started approaching Fuuka.

“Jeez, finally! We almost died from starvation over here, you know. What the hell took you so long?”

Natsuki was upon her in an instant with a sneer on her face. The height difference was really not working out in Fuuka’s favor here, causing the girl’s hands to shake as she handed out two cream-filled buns.

“Sorry!” She squeaked, attempting to placate her friend. “I was in a hurry and not looking where I was going and I crashed into this girl and then she started talking and-“

“Ugh, I don’t care! Let’s just eat.” Natsuki rolled her eyes and went back to her desk. “Oh, by the way, I forgot my wallet at home again. You don’t mind if I pay you back later, right?” She said, smiling sweetly at Fuuka.

“O-Oh, of course, it’s fine! Don’t worry about it…” Fuuka whispered the last part, heart clenching painfully. They were friends, right? So why did it feel like…

No matter. These were her only friends. No one else would tolerate a weirdo like her. Fuuka took a seat next to them, the two girls busy chattering about something and pointedly not including her in the conversation.

Fuuka’s stomach rumbled as she thought about the pastry she hid in her backpack earlier. Should she take it out and eat it? There were still a good 20 minutes left of lunchtime, so she did have time. But…

She decided against it, noticing that Natsuki was now looking at her. Her friend suddenly stood up, chair scraping against the classroom’s floor.

“I totally forgot! Reiko and I have something urgent to take care of! Sorry about that,” Natsuki said, giggling into her hand as she shot a look at the brunette to her right. “See’ya!”

The two girls ran off, leaving Fuuka to sit alone at her desk.

She busied herself, putting her backpack on her lap and opening it. A crushed cream bun awaited her inside, the filling coating the walls of the plastic container. A part of the wrapping popped, staining the front of her math book.

A minor inconvenience, really. She’s just going to clean up her backpack, buy a new bun, and…

And her eyes started filling with tears, her vision going blurry.

Fuuka stood up and exited the classroom, darting down the hallway for the second time that day. She just had to get to the roof, her safe haven, where no one would disturb her and she could cry in peace for as long as she needed.

Running up the stairs and almost stumbling over her own feet in the process, she finally reached the rooftop door and threw it open. She walked to her favorite place in the school – a bench overlooking the entirety of Port island. The beautiful scenery always soothed her worries for a moment whenever something happened.

Plopping down her still open backpack (It’s a wonder nothing fell out of it on my way here), Fuuka got comfortable on the bench and let it all out.

Sobs echoed across the rooftop as the girl cried loudly. Why was the world just so unfair? Was she crying over her ruined lunch? Something so small, so insignificant, that anyone else would’ve probably laughed it off? Was that how pathetic she really was?

No, Fuuka realized. She was crying over… everything.

The way her friends treated her as if she was just an inconvenience (she was, but would it kill them to pretend that she wasn’t?!), how she bumped into Kotone earlier and was so helpless that she couldn’t even get up by herself, how her parents earlier this morning scolded her about her grades slipping (it was just one subject, just one time, and it wasn’t even her fault!), expressing their disappointment and lamenting that they wouldn’t tolerate her laziness.

Fuuka hated everything. But most of all, she hated herself.

She was a doormat, plain and simple. So eager to please others, neglecting herself and her own needs entirely, just to get not even a shred of acknowledgement in return. She was a gifted child, wasn’t she? That’s what everyone told her when she was younger after she disassembled her aunt’s malfunctioning phone and fixed it herself, what everyone praised her for when she kept acing all her exams. Fuuka herself, however, didn’t think she was gifted.

No, if anything, she was cursed.

Wallowing in her self-pity, Fuuka didn’t hear the sound of two pairs of footsteps approaching her from the left. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to yelp in surprise and fall backwards from the bench. A pair of arms caught her before she could reach the ground, guiding her forward, back to the bench. Turning to look at the intruders, Fuuka realized it was the two girls from before, Yukari being the one who caught her and prevented her fall.

Kotone wordlessly handed her a yakisoba pan and a carbonated grape-flavored drink, smiling kindly at the girl. Fuuka accepted the items on autopilot, the food and beverage in her hands mocking her silently.

My parents would never let me drink something unhealthy like this.

Fuuka bit into the greasy bread, swallowing it and taking a sip of the soda as her eyes welled up with tears once more.

***

 

Eventually, she finished her meal in silence. The other girls sat on the bench next to her, chatting quietly with each other.

“How are you feeling?”

One of the girls (Takeba, Fuuka corrected in her mind) asked her a loaded question. What should she do?

“I’m feeling better now.” Fuuka decided to be honest. “T-Thank you for the food. You didn’t have to…”

“Don’t worry about it, Kotone and I shared mine.” Takeba dismissed her worries. “I wasn’t very hungry anyways, so I guess everything worked out in the end.”

“Fuuka.” Shiomi’s smooth voice rang out, momentarily mesmerizing the girl. First name already?! Is that just the kind of person she was? “How about you join us for lunch tomorrow? Yukari and I often spend it here, on the roof.”

Fuuka considered her words. The offer was extremely tempting. But…

“S-Sorry, I um… I have to eat lunch with my friends. They… they would be mad if I didn’t.”

There it is, that concerned expression again. What was wrong with what she said? Friends spend time together, right? Did they not believe her? Did they think she was lying about having friends?

She wouldn’t blame them, to be honest.

“I mean, we always eat together and if I wasn’t there they would get worried and I’m also usually the one who buys them food so what if they end up hungry because of me and starve and then they would not be able to listen to the teachers’ lectures and-“

“Hey, it’s okay! Calm down.” Takeba interrupted her, raising one of her hands in front of her. “We understand. We’ll be here if you need us, though!”

This is my spot, though… Why would you take my haven away from me?

Stop that line of thought, Fuuka. These girls were kind and simply worried for her well-being after finding her crying on the rooftop. They did not have any malicious intentions.

This would be a lot easier if they did… At least I would know what to expect.

“T-thank you. I have to go now, classes will start soon. Sorry!” She hurriedly apologized, leaving the duo behind as she returned to her classroom.

That was… nice.

***

 

05/22/2009

Fuuka was naïve.

She knew that. Everyone told her that. She was naïve and stupid, and her desire for a shred of acknowledgement from her friends or family often outweighed logic and common sense.

Still, she would like to believe that she wasn’t a complete idiot. Today’s events, however, were proving her wrong.

Natsuki and Reiko invited her to hang out after school. She thought they were having a nice time, even! The girls paid more attention to each other than to her, but Fuuka was quite content to just follow them around. At some point, Natsuki whispered something into the other girl’s ear before suddenly clicking her fingers as if she realized something.

“Oh my god! I forgot my gym uniform back at school! My parents are gonna kill me!” She said in an exaggerated tone, looking at Fuuka directly. “Let’s go grab it.”

“B-but it’s so late, maybe you can just leave it there until Monday?” Fuuka tried to reason with her, uncomfortable with the idea of coming back to school so late.

“No, ugh, you don’t get it. It has to be now. Let’s go.”

Left with no choice, Fuuka followed the others to the school gates. The building itself wasn’t locked yet, but there was no one around at this hour. As the girls approached the gym, Fuuka realized that the entrance door was closed and, most probably, locked, preventing them from entering.

“Natsuki, I don’t think we can go in… It’s probably locked.”

Hearing her words, Natsuki pulled a key ring out of her pocket with a shit-eating grin on her face. She opened the door and motioned the other two to follow inside. Entering the dark, large gym room, Fuuka was really starting to feel uncomfortable.

“Can you go check that room? My bag is bright orange, you won’t miss it.” Natsuki said the last part in a sing-song voice, pointing to one of the rooms in the far corner of the gym. “We’ll check the other ones.”

“Um, sure!”

Fuuka started moving towards the room she was tasked with, her pace uncertain. This entire chain of events was suspicious, but her friends wouldn’t lie to her, right?

As she got closer to the corner of the gym, a door behind her closed with a bang. The sound of a key being turned in a lock followed.

Oh.

Fuuka ran back as fast as she could, desperately trying the doorknob to the gym entrance.

The door wouldn’t budge. She was stuck.

“H-hey, it’s not funny! Let me out!” Fuuka shouted, fear creeping into her voice. Today was Saturday. If no one heard her and let her out of here, then she would be stuck here for two days.

Without food, water, and probably sleep. Were they really that cruel?

Fuuka kept banging on the door and screaming until her throat felt sore and her knuckles were raw. She realized, then, that no one was coming for her. Her friends abandoned her in the gym.

The clock on the wall read 8 pm. She would be here for a long time.

I am an idiot, after all.

***

 

Tick

Tock

Her tears have long dried up, the girl having no more energy left to cry anymore. The clock on the wall showed almost midnight.

Tick

Tock

Why would her friends do something like this? Did Fuuka do something? Did she deserve it?

Tick

Tock

She probably did. What other reason could there be?

Tick

Tock

For one moment, her mind wandered back to the two girls on the rooftop, who fed her and were kind enough to offer more.

Tick

Tock

For another moment, blinding anger consumed her. Her friends lied to her and locked her in here without any care in the world. She could die here, for god’s sake.

Tick

In another moment, the world disappeared.

Tock

***

 

05/30/2009

As soon as Kotone entered the school, she heard the news about students going missing.

“Have you heard the story? Supposedly, that girl disappeared and is now haunting the school. You can hear her voice calling out to you if you stay in school late! That’s how the others went missing!”

“Hah, right. You really should stop believing those ghost stories. I bet she just got sick.”

“Hey, Koto-chan!” Junpei caught up to her at the school’s entrance. “You heard that too, huh? The rumors here keep getting weirder by the day, man.” He snorted, elbowing Kotone in the side. “How are your exam results?”

Kotone did quite poorly on hers. It’s not like she paid any attention in class.

Maybe she should’ve tried a little. Mitsuru was going to kill her if she failed.

Seeing the pained look on her face, Junpei laughed. “Seems we’re in the same boat! Welcome to the losers’ club, Koto-chan. Hope you enjoy your stay!”

Kotone stared at him, baffled, as they started walking towards their classroom.

***

 

06/04/2009

“Fuuka Yamagishi was one of the people I was looking into. She may have the potential.”

The chairman’s words, surprisingly, didn’t shock her that much. From the moment she saw Fuuka, Kotone felt something different about the other girl. Now, getting confirmation from Ikutsuki that Fuuka was special, Kotone was absolutely sure that the girl was going to become a Persona-user.

The problem is that she still hasn’t been found. And it was time that someone took action.

After the meeting was over, Kotone motioned for Junpei and Yukari to come with her. They needed a plan.

“We’re going to the back alley behind Port Island station. From what we’ve found, everyone’s been disappearing from that location. We may find more clues if we go there.” Kotone said without any pauses, not letting the others get a word in.

“Koto-chan, that’s the longest thing you’ve said since I’ve gotten to know you! They grow up so fast…” Junpei fake-cried. “But… Are you sure that’s a good idea? That place is really dangerous, especially for us!”

He may be right. Do not overestimate yourself.

“Come on, Junpei, don’t be a chicken! We’re trying to save someone here, you know.” Yukari mocked him.

“Hey, I’m not a chicken! Shut it, Yuka-tan.”

The trio headed out, determined to find clues on the possible location of the disappearance victims. The area that they were going to was infamous for being dangerous during the evening hours, but Kotone was not scared. She could absolutely stand for herself and protect her friends if the situation demanded it.

I’m afraid you may be confusing the strength of your will with the strength of your fists, mea alia.

Ignoring the persistent voice in her head, Kotone stepped into the alleyway. She immediately felt several sets of eyes lock onto them. Everyone around them was looking at her with open hostility, two people already moving towards them with sneers on their faces.

“And what do we have here? Get lost, kids, this isn’t a place for you,” one of the delinquents said to them, singling Junpei out and talking to him specifically. “Gekkou trash again. Fuck off before you regret coming here.”

Junpei gulped loudly with wide eyes. He tried to find the words to defuse the situation.

To her right, Yukari bristled with anger as she stepped forward, glaring at the man in front of them. “We’ll be staying here however long we want to, thank you very much.” She turned around to face the others. “Come on, we don’t have to listen to scum like him. Let’s keep going.”

“What did you just say, bitch?!” He shouted, pushing Yukari backwards with enough force for her to fall backwards with a yelp. “Say that one more time to my face, will you?”

How dare he. Kotone was going to make him pay.

Shaking with anger, she stepped forward, pulling back her fist, ready to teach this vermin a lesson…

The other delinquent caught her hand before it could connect, twisting it painfully behind her back, causing Kotone to cry out in pain. What?

Huh? Am I really that… weak without my persona?

I did try to warn you.

She couldn’t finish that train of thought as a fist crashed into her cheek, sending her to the floor. Kotone saw stars.

Ugh, no… Yukari…

“Hey, what’s going on over here?”

An angry voice rang throughout the alley. Her attackers froze, turning around to face the newcomer.

“Get lost. It’s none of your business,” the delinquent that attacked her spat out.

“Oh, it’s my business alright. Get away from those three, and I’ll let you walk away in one piece.”

Kotone’s vision finally cleared, and she saw the full picture in front of her. A tall man, wearing a beanie and a red coat (a coat in summer?) approached them, glaring down at the delinquents from above. “Final warning. You got ten seconds.”

“Hah, as if you’d be able to-“

The stranger suddenly slammed his head down onto the thug’s face, blood bursting from the latter’s nose. Crying out in pain, he stumbled back, looking at his partner for a second before breaking into a run.

Kotone managed to pull herself up, instantly stumbling towards Yukari to check her for any injuries. The girl was already up, evidently helped by Junpei.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Kotone said as she grabbed her shoulders, inspecting the girl for any damage. Yukari blushed for a moment before her face morphed into concern.

“Kotone, your lip! It’s bleeding!”

Irrelevant. As long as Yukari was okay, Kotone did not care about her own condition. She let out a small sigh of relief, turning around to look at their savior.

“Are you three stupid? What are you trying to pull here?” He asked them, annoyed with their actions.

“Students from our school are disappearing. This is where they were last seen.” Kotone said, not willing to divulge too much information so far. “We are not leaving until we find out more.” She added, staring the stranger in the eyes.

“Hmph.” He eyed her warily. “You’re stubborn, aren’t you? Alright.”

He walked away, sitting down on the nearby box, clearly waiting for them to follow.

“Fuuka Yamagishi, right? That who you looking for?” He guessed, gauging their reactions. “Two girls came over here bragging about how they locked her in a gym. She disappeared after.”

“Wait, the school gym?!” Yukari asked, horrified. “Then that means she could be stuck in Tartarus!”

“Yuka-tan, shut up!” Junpei hissed at her. “J-Just ignore her, man! She’s been talking about this tartar sauce thing lately, I dunno what’s wrong with her!”

The stranger’s eyes were wide for a moment before he schooled his expression back into neutrality. What was that reaction? Did he know about Tartarus?

“What’s your name?” Kotone suddenly asked.

 “…” The man refused to reply, crossing his arms and breaking eye contact.

“We’re not leaving until you tell us.”

“…Shinjiro Aragaki. Happy?” Shinjiro replied, glaring at her from down below. “Now scram. I’m not rescuing you a second time.”

Hanged Man. Redemption in the face of disaster.

“Thank you.”

***

 

06/08/2009

Today was the day they would rescue Fuuka from Tartarus.

On the day they returned from their trip to the alley, Akihiko gave her a lecture about needlessly endangering her teammates, to which she retorted that they discovered valuable information that could potentially save a life.

Mitsuru praised Kotone for her decisiveness but asked her to be more careful in the future.

Kotone was now more aware of her physical inadequacies. She would not endanger Yukari like this again. Today, they would break into the school gym together and wait for midnight to arrive there. Fuuka may have been stuck in Tartarus for the past two weeks, but if their hunch was correct, for her it should have only been 15 hours. There was still a chance to save her, even if it was rather slim.

Tick

Tock

Mere seconds remained until midnight. Kotone’s left hand was tightly wrapped around Yukari’s, while her right hand grabbed Akihiko’s. It was their plan to stay together – entwine their hands in a circle, as close to each other as possible, so that they would not get separated.

Tick

Tock

Her new uniform and weapon were starting to feel more natural to Kotone as she practiced with them more. The same could be said for everyone else in the group, their combat abilities now much higher than they were a few weeks ago. They would not fail.

Tick

Tock

Kotone would also like to believe that she made a decent leader. She was less ruthless than Mitsuru while being more decisive than Akihiko, and with those two combined, she could make informed decisions on how to proceed in combat.

She, of course, still prioritized Yukari’s safety first. Yukari was their healer, after all. She was crucial to their battle strategy. That was all there was to it.

Tick

The world disappeared around her. The Dark Hour finally arrived, and the entire school was plunged into darkness.

Tock

***

 

Kotone groaned as she woke up. Her body felt sore. Getting up, she realized that she was surrounded by the purple walls of Tartarus’ second block.

A giant face stared at her from the pulsing wall, its eyes tracking her every movement. Kotone gulped, looking around in search of others. Akihiko was waking up a few meters away from her, and Yukari was standing next to another wall behind her.

Junpei and Mitsuru were missing.

“Everyone, we need to move. We got separated from the others.” Kotone said, her face stoic.

She felt uncertain. Something bad was happening.

Something great, perhaps?

No.

“We can only go up from here. Let’s hope we can meet up with Mitsuru and Junpei.”

The others seemed to agree with her decision as well. Yukari nodded at her before adding. “Yeah, and we should leave some clues for them if they’re below us! Like, a message or something.”

Akihiko grinned, slamming his knuckles together. “We could kill all the shadows on the floor. Think that’d be enough of a message?”

Kotone shook her head. “Let’s save some energy. Who knows what we’ll meet up there? I have a bad feeling…”

The group started their search of the floor, trying to find the staircase as soon as possible. After a few turns, a lone shadow with its back turned to them blocked their way. Kotone moved forward first, extending her naginata in order to end the fight in a single attack. The shadow, upon hearing the click of the naginata’s inner mechanism, turned around to face them. It was a simple, harmless maya.

Upon spotting her, the maya suddenly squeaked, running away as fast as it could. Kotone stood still for a moment, surprised by its actions. Unfortunately for the shadow, the direction it ran to ended in a dead end, causing it to be stuck between a wall and SEES.

Kotone slowly put the naginata back into its holster and approached the lone shadow.

“Kotone, what are you doing?” Yukari asked, baffled by her actions. “I know it’s harmless, but you should still be…”

The girl in question finally approached the shadow. She kneeled in front of it, extending a hand towards it.

“…careful?”

The Maya’s tremors subsided, the shadow looking curiously at the person in front of it.

Kotone petted the shadow. It purred.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Akihiko shouted in confusion. “Did it charm her?”

The small shadow climbed Kotone’s hands as she cradled it, smiling softly. She turned around to face her team.

“We’re taking it with us. I’ll name her Maya.”

Yukari let out a sudden bark of laughter, blinking rapidly at the scene in front of her, before she averted her eyes and blushed heavily.

Huh? What happened?

“Yeah. Alright. Can we keep going then?” Akihiko interrupted the scene, putting his face in his palm.

Kotone nodded. Maya in her arms tugged on her left arm, as if trying to guide Kotone somewhere. She decided to follow its directions. After a few turns, the group discovered a staircase leading up.

Interesting.

The next floor was not what they expected. The entire area was completely dark, causing the visibility to be extremely low. She noticed Yukari to her side shift nervously, her knuckles white as she gripped her bow. Shifting the weight of the Maya in her hands to her left, Kotone took Yukari’s calloused hand in hers. The sudden physical contact made Yukari jump slightly, the girl exhaling upon seeing Kotone’s smiling face.

A glowing red shadow appeared in front of them. Kotone motioned to Akihiko with her head, planning to ambush it from behind. She looked at the Maya, trying to ask it to let go of her for a few minutes.

I need to fight. Can you wait here?

oF cOuRSe!

Did the shadow just… talk to her? In her head? Or was that her persona?

Wasn’t me.

Right. Yukari’s earlier words that there was nothing wrong with her were starting to become harder and harder to believe.

As Maya hid behind one of the pillars, Kotone reached for her naginata again, waiting for her team to get into position. Seeing that everyone was ready, she jumped out of her hiding spot, dragging her weapon behind her and preparing to slash at the enemy. Sensing her approach, the beetle shadow dodged at the last second before scurrying away.

Kotone tsked and considered whether they should chase after it or not. She heard something chirp behind her and felt Maya climb up her back, resting on her head with what could only be described as a sigh of satisfaction.

“Leader, if you’re done cozying up with that shadow, what do we do now?” Akihiko asked her impatiently. “We need to find Mitsuru and Junpei as fast as possible.”

“Right. Sorry.” She said sheepishly, fidgeting with her collar.

As they moved through the dark floor, a strange sight greeted the group. There was a golden shadow in almost every room. They decided to ignore them, considering that they were mostly harmless, but their presence was making Kotone uncomfortable. Combined with the extreme darkness, this floor was proving to be something that they’d never encountered before.

A sound of rattling chains echoed in the dark corridor in front of them, the group freezing in place. The Maya on her head was panicking, squeaking loudly, almost as if warning them.

rUn!

“RUN!” Kotone shouted, uncertain of what they were running from, but also not particularly wanting to find out. The atmosphere around them felt thick with miasma, a rotten stench filling the air. “Follow me!”

A deep, gurgling laugh reached their ears, the chains getting closer and closer. Darkness prevented them from seeing their foe until now, but its silhouette was starting to slowly emerge as the group desperately looked for the exit.

Any help, Maya?!

CaN’T fInD

Kotone cursed under her breath, their pursuer now fully visible behind them. A giant shadow adorned with a ragged cape chased them, a semi-transparent mask obscuring its ghastly features.

The Reaper.

It was holding two enormous revolvers, raising one of them to point at Kotone. The girl hastily pulled out her evoker.

“Take-Minakata!”

Summoning the only persona she had that was resistant to piercing attacks, she ordered it to protect their team from the Reaper.

A low, gravelly laugh reached her ears. The shadow was laughing at her.

Before she could contemplate the meaning of that, a loud gunshot echoed behind her, completely shattering her persona into a million pieces. Kotone screamed in agony, clutching her head as her legs locked up from the intense pain that enveloped her entire being. The girl fell and rolled over several times, hitting a stalagmite as Maya hurriedly scurried off her head.

“Kotone, no!!” Yukari shouted, hurrying to the girl’s side and trying to pull her back to her legs.

“No, no, go! Run, I can handle this. I’ll… ugh, I’ll meet you at the next floor.” Kotone urged, clenching her teeth in pain.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Akihiko screamed at her, facing the Reaper that was now slowly approaching them, almost as if it enjoyed their fear from being driven into a corner.

Yukari clenched her jaw. “No.” She said, turning around to face the Reaper with Akihiko. “No, I’m not leaving you here. You want to protect me so much? Well, I want to do the same!! I’m not leaving you here to die, you idiot!”

Determined, she pulled the special cartridge out of her pocket. “Remember when you asked me what this was?” Yukari asked, her chin held high. “Well, here you go!”

She loaded the cartridge into her evoker, put it to her forehead, and pulled the trigger without any hesitation.

“Let me at ‘em!”

Yukari’s eyes glowed red as the kickback from the Theurgy knocked her head backwards. Io appeared behind her, stormy winds flooding the area around them, causing the Reaper to momentarily lose its footing. A never-ending quiver of glowing green arrows manifested in front of the girl. She grinned as she reached for them. Her arms moved rapidly with practiced motion – grab the arrow, pull the string back, release. Rinse and repeat several times per second.

The Reaper staggered backwards under her onslaught, not expecting such resistance from a single fighter. Her attacks kept increasing in speed and intensity until a single glowing arrow appeared in her hands.

Breathe in.

Pull the string back.

Breathe out.

Release.

The projectile soared through the air at the speed of light, piercing the Reaper’s eye. The shadow roared in pain, its remaining eye glowing dark red as it stared Yukari down in anger. She found herself face-to-face with the barrel of its revolver, panting, as she realized a horrible truth.

Her attack wasn’t enough to kill it. And now, she would pay the price.

Yukari closed her eyes.

“Hermes!” “Polydeuces!” “Penthesilea!”

Three personas crashed into the Reaper just as it pulled the trigger, the shot missing Yukari by a few centimeters.

“Junpei, Mitsuru, over here!” Akihiko shouted, not willing to wait until their enemy recovered from the attack.

Kotone managed to stand up. Maya once more attached itself to her arm.

riGHt. LeFT. leFT.

“Exit is there! Follow me!” She took off, the others running after her.

SEES ran, blindly following Kotone through a series of forks, the Reaper’s chains on their tail but not close enough to see it. A staircase appeared in front of them. Reaching the top, she finally allowed herself to sag to the floor in relief, laughing maniacally.

Yukari sat down next to her, hugging her side as she buried her face into her shoulder.

“You’re okay. Thank… thank goodness.” She whispered, hugging Kotone tighter. “I was so worried…”

Someone cleared their throat behind them. Kotone looked up, seeing Mitsuru look incredulously at her.

“Shiomi, mind explaining why there’s a shadow on your head?”

Maya squeaked in fear, darting to hide behind Kotone’s back. She giggled as she scratched the shadow’s side.

“It’s a friend.”

***

 

They found what they were looking for on the next floor. Fuuka Yamagishi was waiting for them behind a pillar, rocking on her feet.

“Fuuka, is that you?” Yukari asked, approaching the girl carefully. “We’re here to help you, okay?”

“Are you… humans?” Fuuka replied with uncertainty, ready to dart at any opportunity. Her eyes were locked onto Maya, who observed her curiously.

“Yes, they are,” Kotone said, smiling at the girl. “Let’s get you out of here. Take this, just in case.” She handed her one evoker, causing the girl to flinch violently. “It’s not real, don’t worry.”

“That doesn’t make any sense…”

“Shiomi, I saw a teleporter on the way here,” Mitsuru said, pointing down one of the tunnels. “We can use that to return.”

Kotone nodded. “Fuuka, stay in the middle. We’ll protect you.”

“Oh, u-um… Okay. Can someone tell me w-what is going on here? I’m so lost… I was in school one moment, and then… W-well, this happened! I had to hide from these weird things that live here.”

“Do not worry, Yamagishi. We’ll tell you everything once we’re all safely out of here,” Mitsuru replied.

“Really? Everything?” Yukari noted with skepticism, narrowing her eyes at Mitsuru. The latter chose to ignore her.

The group headed towards the teleporter. Its usual bright green glow was absent as Kotone approached it.

“Huh…” Kotone hummed to herself, looking uncomfortable as she tried to activate the mechanism. “It’s not working.”

“It’s not? That’s strange. It’s never malfunctioned before,” Mitsuru said, rubbing her chin. “This will complicate our mission. We may have to-“

She did not have time to finish her thought. The floor under them cracked with a resounding BANG. Mitsuru stumbled, gasping in surprise. Something then slammed hard into the floor from under them, causing the cracks to worsen.

The floor broke mere seconds later as SEES lost their footing and fell down into the unknown.

***

 

Kotone screamed as she fell. Her back hit the floor painfully a few seconds later. She sat up as fast as possible, scanning her surroundings. Maya squeaked in fear and hid somewhere behind her.

They were in a huge… throne room? The walls reminded Kotone of a medieval castle, adorned with bright blue flames. The middle of the floor was covered with a red carpet, glittering with gold at the edges. Two thrones stood tall on the far side of the room with giant armor suits resting on top of them.

Wait… Those weren’t just suits.

The room suddenly shook as the two shadows slowly stood up from their thrones. The one on the right wielded a long greatsword, dragging it behind itself as it slowly approached the group. The knight shadow was heavily armored from the bottom to the top – no vulnerabilities left open. Kotone cursed. The shadow on the left swung its staff around, summoning glowing multi-colored circles under the knight.

Emperor and Empress. Think fast.

“Junpei, Akihiko, Empress! Physical! Everyone else, Emperor! Magic! Fuuka, hide!” Kotone barked out orders rapidly, gesturing with her hands to make sure everyone would understand their target. “Go!”

Spinning her evoker, Kotone decided to start with her most reliable persona for the first attack. They still did not know the shadows’ weaknesses, so any piece of info would be crucial.

“Orpheus!”

The conjured fireball harmlessly bounced off the Emperor’s armor. The shadow turned to face her, its empty mask staring her down. Suddenly, it ran towards her with an alarming speed and attempted to bring down its sword onto the girl.

A volley of icicles sped towards the shadow, some of them piercing its armor, causing the enemy to groan deeply. Yukari’s windblade, aimed for its head, proved to be ineffective as it simply got absorbed into its armor.

“Ice, it’s weak to ice! Mitsuru, keep attacking!”

The Emperor swung its sword once more. Kotone swiftly swapped to Take-Minakata and raised her naginata, meeting the swing halfway and panting as she attempted to parry its attack. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Mitsuru conjure a giant ice blade, aiming it at the Emperor.

Mitsuru released her attack. The blade got propelled forward, aimed directly at the shadow’s head.

A rainbow aura enveloped the shadow. Mitsuru’s attack bounced harmlessly, crashing into the ceiling and causing debris to fall down to the throne room.

Kotone screamed as she put all her strength into redirecting the Emperor’s attack, finally able to escape their clash to preserve her energy.

Did it change its weakness? But how?

Looking to the side, she realized Akihiko and Junpei were struggling with the exact same problem. Whenever they tried to attack the Empress, the shadow’s aura would shift, rendering all their attacks completely useless.

The two enemies were observing them and learning. This was dangerous.

Kotone decided to use her trump card. The shadows left her no choice. Putting the evoker to her head, she prepared herself to summon her strongest persona.

“Tha… Thana…”

Weird. She was panting. The hand holding her evoker shook more and more with each passing second. She willed, begged her finger to just pull the trigger, but nothing happened, almost as if her body wasn’t her own anymore.

Kotone looked at Yukari with a wild look in her eyes.

A person in pink standing up from the ground.

Her own fist, teeming with cursed energy, ready to destroy.

“Than… Tha…”

Kotone was hyperventilating at this point. What was wrong with her? Just…

Pull.

The.

Trigger.

Kotone heard her friends shout her name, causing her to look up. The emperor was right in front of her, his sword raised above his head. Her eyes widened, her evoker clattering uselessly to the floor.

I am going to die.

***

 

What in the world was happening?!

At first, Fuuka followed Kotone’s orders, she really did. She got up, moved as far away from the fight as possible, and hid behind the debris that fell from the ceiling during the brawl. She pulled out the gun that Kotone gave her, inspecting it closely.

…What was S.E.E.S? Wasn’t that one of the clubs registered at their school? Was this what the club was busy with?

The sounds of battle continued on behind her, becoming white noise as Fuuka sat alone with her thoughts.

Am I really going to just sit here by myself? They gave me this gun for a reason, right?

She peeked out from her hiding spot. One single look at the fight let her know that SEES was not doing well at all. The enemies they were fighting were not damaged at all, while SEES themselves were getting slower and more exhausted. She looked at the gun in her hands one more time.

Do I… point it at the enemy? But Kotone-san didn’t do that…

God, she was so useless. Fuuka hated feeling useless.

Am I going to do something about it then?

She could feel herself grow more and more angry by the second. She was just so pathetic. Wallowing in her own self-pity as the others were fighting for their lives out there.

Fuuka did not understand a single thing in that moment. Where were they, who were they fighting, why were they even here – none of that mattered. What mattered was the choice before her.

She heard a voice desperately call out Kotone’s name from the battlefield. The larger shadow knocked Kotone down, preparing to deal the finishing blow.

The anger that’s been bubbling under her skin finally exploded. She slammed the gun to the side of her head.

“PERSONA!”

A blue light enveloped her. Fuuka opened her eyes and steeled her heart. Turn that hatred into power. Power that can help those around her.

“Lucia! Tetrakarn!”

A transparent yellow shield surrounded Kotone, causing the shadow’s attack to slide away from the girl and crash into the floor next to her. Looking closer, Fuuka noticed a small green aura surround the Emperor.

I can… I can see!

“I can see their weakness! Use wind!”

Not waiting to see if they would follow her advice or not, Fuuka climbed over the debris and ran towards the fight, the blue bubble still surrounding her as her persona moved with her.

“Use strike attacks for the Empress!”

“Got it!” One of the boys shouted, summoning his persona. “All you, Hermes!”

The empress wailed in pain as the persona’s attack connected, knocking it to the ground. Turning to look at the emperor, she noticed that Yukari did not listen to her, opting instead to heal Kotone.

“Wind, wind, use wind! Kotone-san is fine!” She shouted.

Yukari glared at her from the ground, clutching the shivering girl closer to her body. Mitsuru, next to them, searched for something in her pockets. She pulled out a spherical object, tossing it towards the Emperor.

The shadow stumbled sideways, almost falling down. Its aura changed to blue.

“Ice now! Pierce for the Empress!”

“Understood,” Mitsuru replied. “Penthesilea!” She shouted, conjuring an ice storm around the Emperor just as Hermes released a torrent shot into the Empress, causing both shadows to fall to the ground.

“Everyone! All-out attack!” Mitsuru shouted, dashing forward to attack the prone shadows. Fuuka, not having a melee weapon, could not join, but what she could do is…

“Lucia!” She put the gun-like object to her head, pulling the trigger. “Megido!”

Almighty energy congregated around the shadows, circling around them until it suddenly crashed inwards a few seconds later. They were almost there, Fuuka could feel it.

“Fire for the emperor! We’re close!”

She noticed that Kotone was finally standing up. Good.

“Orpheus!” Kotone screamed shakily, summoning her persona. A wall of fire started forming under the Emperor, causing the shadow to look down in confusion.

Suddenly, its aura turned blue. The fire got absorbed, repairing some of the Emperor’s damaged armor. What?

“Oh no! They are swapping weaknesses as we’re attacking!” Fuuka panicked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the boys get targeted with an ice attack from behind him, out of his field of vision. “Makarakarn!”

The ice shard shattered on impact with the barrier she conjured. The boy looked back at her in surprise. “Thanks!”

The distraction proved itself to be dangerous. When she turned back around towards the Emperor, it was already running towards her, sword ready for a sweeping attack.

You can take it. Trust me.

A voice rang out in her head. Should she trust it?

Of course.

Fuuka braced herself for the shadow’s attack. The blue bubble appeared once more, surrounding her with an impenetrable barrier. The Emperor’s attack landed, creating a small crack in the magic wall. The enemy continued pummeling her barrier, weakening it with every attack.

“I have a plan!” Kotone shouted somewhere to the side. “Mitsuru, attack it with ice!”

Listening to their leader, Mitsuru summoned Penthesilea, preparing to launch another ice attack at the Emperor. At the same time, Kotone called for Orpheus, waiting for Mitsuru’s attack to connect.

As soon as the ice shard got close to the shadow, its aura swapped back to red. So that was Kotone’s plan!

A fireball crashed into the shadow’s head in the next moment, knocking it down. Fuuka’s barrier was cracked completely, a few hits away from getting destroyed.

With the Emperor shadow now down, Yukari ran towards it, aiming her bow at its head. After a second of aiming, she released it, piercing its head through.

The Emperor dissolved into residue, defeated.

The Empress, upon noticing her partner get defeated, wailed in anguish, calling down a plethora of elemental attacks. Junpei and Akihiko moved backwards in a hurry to avoid getting hit by the elemental tornado.

“It’s weak to everything! Hit it with all you’ve got!”

That was all SEES needed to hear. With a cry of anger, the group sent their strongest elemental attacks careening towards the lone shadow, piercing through the fierce tornado and finally ending the fight.

She… She did it.

Fuuka laughed in disbelief, dropping to her knees as her world went dark.

***

 

Silence stretched across the throne room, the group not yet believing that the fight was finally over.

“Are we… done?” Junpei asked, panting heavily. “Man, what a day…”

Mitsuru hastily approached Fuuka, rolling her around onto her back and checking her vitals. “She’s fine, just exhausted from awakening her persona. She could see weaknesses much faster than I could. That could prove to be useful.” She said, face scrunched in thought.

Yukari angrily stomped towards Mitsuru. “So what, you’re just going to blackmail her into joining us? Don’t you dare pressure her!” She shouted, causing Mitsuru to shrink into herself.

“Takeba, I didn’t mean-“

“I don’t care. When she wakes up, we’ll be the first ones to talk to her, got it?”

Mitsuru looked towards Kotone, silently asking her for help.

“I agree with Yukari. Sorry, Mitsuru.” She said.

Mitsuru’s posture slumped, and she left the others to move somewhere else, presumably to look for the exit. Akihiko gave her a look but decided not to follow her in the end.

Soon after, she noticed Maya emerge from under one of the stone debris that covered the throne room. She cooed at the shadow, petting it as it purred.

“Hey, Kotone.” Akihiko’s voice reached her ears. “Nice job figuring out its weakness in the end. What happened before that, though?”

Kotone’s breathing quickened as she shook her head. “I… I don’t know. I tried to summon Thanatos, and…”

“Hey, can’t you see she doesn’t want to talk about it? Leave her be!” Yukari glared at him, causing the boy to raise his hands in surrender.

“Alright, alright. Just wanted to know one more thing, if that’s okay. Why did you call them Emperor and Empress? Were those their names?”

The question seemed to interest everyone around her, even Yukari. Kotone smiled, knowing the answer to this one.

“They were. The arcana is the means by which all is revealed, after all.”

***

 

06/09/2009

“They don’t trust me,” Mitsuru said as she paced across her room. To her side, Akihiko was sitting in one of the lavish armchairs and enjoying a cup of tea. “How can we keep going if there’s no trust? What if I never gain any back, Akihiko? If they leave SEES, I could keep fighting on my own, of course, but the progress would be extremely slow. The chairman would still be on the side of the Kirijo group, but what if-“

“Hey, Mitsu. Calm down. And stop pacing, please.”

“Je suis calme, Akihiko! I am merely weighing all the possibilities. The stakes are too high to simply assume that everything will go well for us. Tu comprends?”

Akihiko snorted. “Right. If you call that calm, then my name is Aragaki Shinjiro. Stop pretending. And you speak French more often when you’re anxious, so you’re definitely not calm.”

To that, Mitsuru’s face suddenly turned pained, and she flopped unceremoniously down onto her bed, discarding all optics. “Alright. Maybe I’m not calm, then. But how can I be calm?! The fate of the entire world rests on our shoulders, Akihiko. And theirs too, now! One single misstep, one mistake, is all it takes to crash it all down. Putain! What… what are we supposed to do?”

Finishing his tea, Akihiko stood up and approached Mitsuru’s defeated form. “All we can do is try our best. Isn’t that what you told me all those years ago? Mistakes will happen. Bridges will burn. It’s all unavoidable, even if you do anything you can. The important thing is that you tried.” He extended a hand towards her, and she grabbed it as she stood up from the bed. “Besides, even if they all leave, I already told you I’m still here. Exploring Tartarus with two people is much easier than with one person, I reckon.”

Mitsuru sighed. “You’re right. Forgive me for the outburst. That was unbecoming.”

“Unbecoming? What are you, my mom? Come on now, Mitsu.” Akihiko shook his head. “Cut the bullshit. We’re best friends. Siblings in all but blood, even. You don’t have to do the whole prim and proper act in front of me.”

“Sounded just like Aragaki there, Akihiko,” Mitsuru said with a laugh. “I do forget that sometimes, though. Thank you for reminding me.” Her expression turned sour. “Speaking of Aragaki…”

Akihiko put a hand on his hip. “Yeah. I miss him too.”

“I know.”

“Wow. Trying to say that you don’t?”

Mitsuru looked offended for a moment. “Non. I miss him, of course. I’m just saying that you were closer to him. I know it must be hard for you.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

An awkward silence settled in the room.

“We did our best, though. That’s what matters,” Akihiko finally said.

“Mhm.”

“He’ll come around, I think. He just needs some time.”

“Two years weren’t enough?” Mitsuru said.

Akihiko let out a quiet laugh.

“Maybe not for him.”

Notes:

So yes, Fuuka is not just a navigator. She is going to be joining us in fights!
Also, don't ask me about the entire Maya thing. It just happened. Kotone has a pet shadow now.
Let me know if you liked this chapter! I would appreciate any feedback.

NOTE: Mildly rewritten as of 30/06/2025

Chapter 5: Seeking Peace

Summary:

In which disaster strikes.

Notes:

TW: Panic attacks, blood.

And thus the trend of each chapter being longer than the previous one continues. Apologies for the wait and enjoy!

??/??/????

Surrounded by an infinite expanse of mirrors, she was lost in the maze of her own self.

One step forward. Left. Right. The abyss stared back at her from all directions, no matter where she looked. Her soul cried out, reaching for the answer. The mirrors around her remained impassive, silent.

Judging.

One of the surfaces rippled, creating an intricate pattern. Her eyes felt drawn to it, as if hypnotized.

The mirror shattered. She turned around, looking for another one.

A red-haired girl stared through her from one of the surfaces, reflected an infinite amount of times in the other mirrors. Her red eyes burned, enveloping the surroundings with a crimson glow. Her red blood flowed, brimming with life force, invigorating the girl into existence.

The abyss that was stalking her noticed the red girl. It was too late for her.

Her screams were consumed by darkness, never to be heard again.

…

Kotone woke up dizzy. Her room swam around her, shapes and colors blending into each other in impossible ways. The air was stagnant, heavy.

It’s your fault.

She couldn’t breathe. Her chest heaved, trying to take in air, but it just didn’t go in.

It’s your fault.

Her heart was in her throat, racing at what felt like a thousand beats per minute. Her thoughts were rambled, lost. Was she dying? Is this what death felt like?

You deserve it.

That’s right. She did.

It’s the only thing she did deserve.

Kotone put a palm to her mouth to muffle her sobs. It was still early enough that someone from SEES could be awake to hear her pathetic cries.

You know what the dream was about, don’t you? Come on.

Just think about it and it’ll come.

She frantically shook her head, the intensity making her even dizzier. Kotone whimpered, pleading with her own mind.

Please. Anything but that.

Her cries were getting louder and louder, her vision going dark at the edges due to the lack of oxygen.

Someone’s going to hear me. Oh god, please, no, don’t listen, stop…

A knock sounded from her door.

“H-Hey, Kotone? Are you in there?” Yukari’s voice traveled across her room, filling her insides with dread. Kotone tried to reassure the other girl, opening her mouth to say something. The only sound that came out was a choked, loud sob, her entire body shuddering with it.

“I’m coming in, alright?” Yukari’s soft voice reached her ears as the door to her room opened slowly, revealing the girl in question. Kotone pulled the bedsheets further up, hiding the bottom of her face. Yukari wordlessly sat down next to her on the bed, the sheets ruffling softly under her weight.

Just a few minutes. You can hold it in.

Her eyes traveled down, hiding from Yukari. She felt a hand touch her hair, causing her to tense suddenly. Looking at Yukari, she saw her questioning gaze.

She remembered the promise from their night on the rooftop, back when they stayed up until the sunrise, confiding in each other with their deepest secrets.

Maybe you don’t have to hide. Maybe she can help.

Slowly, Kotone’s face lost its mask of neutrality, the girl shaking with sobs and small cries as Yukari’s hand gently combed her hair. Kotone tried to focus on the feeling.

“I’m right here with you. It’s going to be okay.”

Through her own tears, Kotone’s eyes met Yukari’s once more.

“I promise.”

Yukari scooped the girl into her arms, her hand still buried in Kotone’s hair, petting it lightly.

Losing all pretense of control, the girl broke down in Yukari’s embrace.

“It’s… It’s g-getting worse.” Kotone sobbed into her shoulder, voice wavering. “The dreams, they… t-they are getting worse.”

“Are you remembering more?”

“Yes. It’s still…” a sob interrupted her speech. “…still not very clear, but I think I understand s-something now.”

Would she hate me for this? She would, wouldn’t she?

You know she’s better than that. Just say it.

“I…” Kotone suddenly felt afraid. “I don’t think Thanatos is my persona. It’s like… a shadow. Possessing me.”

I am so much more than that.

“She also talks to me. Sometimes.” Kotone added. “Like… now. It’s been happening more often the more dreams I’ve been having.”

I am thou, and thou art I.

Yukari looked at her with a complicated expression. “And you don’t know how it started? Or maybe you just don’t remember…” She trailed off, thinking hard about something. “Do you think the Kirijo group has something to do with this, too?”

Kotone nodded, wiping her eyes. “It’s possible. Your father and my parents died on the same days 10 years ago, right? Maybe something happened back then.”

Something still felt wrong about the situation. One small detail bothered Kotone.

“But, if that’s true… Why did I only lose my memories after coming here?”

“Kotone.” Yukari started, looking her in the eyes. “I can’t really answer any of your questions right now. But, I promise!” Her fiery gaze bore into Kotone’s soul. “We’ll figure it out together. Whatever created the dark hour, Tartarus, the shadows… Whatever ruined both our lives. We will find the culprit.”

The two girls sat alone in silence, only interrupted by the ticking of Kotone’s bedside clock. Moonlight flooded the room, painting the insides with its blue glow.

The red girl allowed herself to hope.

“Hey, Yukari…” Kotone said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “You don’t have to say yes or anything, but… Can you stay with me? Just for tonight? I am… scared to go back to sleep alone.” Her face felt hot for some reason, thinking about how comfortable she felt in Yukari’s embrace.

She wasn’t sure, but Kotone swore she saw a light dusting of pink on the other girl’s cheeks.

“If that would help, then s-sure.” Yukari stuttered lightly, smiling brightly at Kotone. “Well? Scoot over.”

Kotone moved herself to the far side of the bed, facing her room, looking anywhere but at the girl who was currently pulling her blanket up to get into the bed next to her. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, but…

This heartbeat. It feels so much better than it did before.

The shadow in her heart remained oddly silent.

“So, Thanatos is possessing you?” Yukari said after finally getting into the bed, facing Kotone. “Is that why you said that during our previous fight? Don’t think I didn’t notice!” She squeezed Kotone’s hand under the covers.

“Yes. Whenever I summon her, she just takes control of everything. It’s like I stop existing.” The girl replied, before adding “It feels so… dehumanizing.”

Yukari’s face, illuminated by the moon, hardened. “You are human, Kotone. Stop talking about yourself like that. I’ll keep reminding you for as long as you need to hear to beat it into your thick skull.” She said with resolve. “I see you, Kotone. And you are so painfully human.” Yukari added as she drew circles in Kotone’s hand.

She is right. It’s somewhat sickening.

Kotone ignored her mind, just this once.

“Also, you called her a she? I didn’t know Thanatos was a female persona.”

“That’s right, she… is…” Kotone trailed off, suddenly unsure of herself.

Huh?

Just stop thinking. It’s for your own good.

And so she did.

“…I guess she is.”

Clutching Yukari’s hand like a lifeline, Kotone slowly drifted off to sleep, the nightmares not bothering her that night.

***

 

07/07/2009

The giant shadows emerged every full moon, Ikutsuki informed them. And they were expecting another one tonight.

“I can sense it. It’s in Shirakawa boulevard!” Fuuka said, surrounded by her persona’s information bubble.

“Shirakawa boulevard, huh. That would explain why the people have been disappearing in pairs this time.” Mitsuru said, holding her chin in her hand. “We need to head out. We’ll decide on team formation on the spot.”

Mitsuru eyes scanned over everyone in the room. The chairman sat at the head of the table, writing something down in his notepad. Akihiko stood behind one of the couches, his arms crossed in front of him and his eyes closed, concentrating on something. Kotone and Yukari sat side-by-side on the opposite couch, the latter counting her arrows while the former was inspecting her evoker.

“I’m ready! Let’s go!” Junpei shouted, bouncing on his feet. “We’ll show this shadow who’s the boss here!”

His shouts broke Akihiko’s concentration, causing the boy to frown at Junpei.

“I get your excitement, but tone it down a little, will you?” He took a few steps towards the door. “Tonight is a full moon. While the last battle wasn’t too bad, remember what happened before that.”

Akihiko left the room, leaving the others wondering if they should follow him.

“Whatever, man… I’m sure we’ll be fine!” Junpei rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously. After a few seconds, he decided to follow Akihiko outside.

Looking around, Yukari decided to do the same. “Come on, we’re ready, aren’t we? Let’s go, Kotone.”

Wordlessly, Kotone stood up and followed her.

***

 

Outside of the hotel that they detected the shadow in, Mitsuru addressed SEES once again.

“Shiomi, you’ll be leading us in combat today, as usual. We should choose our team and discuss strategy before heading in.” She said with an authoritative voice. “What shall we do, Leader?”

Kotone hummed, thinking about the potential choices. It took her less than a second to choose the first member of their assault party for today.

“Yukari, I need you.”

Nodding with determination, the girl joined her at her side. Kotone continued contemplating.

I can attack elemental weaknesses, but I don’t have much heavy firepower. So…

“Mitsuru, I need your strength.”

Flipping her hair with her left hand, the SEES leader stepped forward and joined the two girls.

Now, some physical attackers would be a great touch. But…

Kotone’s eyes moved past Junpei, who was pointing at himself with two thumbs (“Me, me! Pick me!”), and settled on Fuuka.

“Fuuka, I’ll need your analytical mind.” She finally decided, addressing the smaller girl. “Your almighty spells could be useful as well.”

“Oh, a-alright!” Fuuka, surprised at being chosen, stepped forward, finishing their team for today.

“C’mon, Koto-chan! You need me!” Junpei said, frowning deeply. “Just let me fight, I’ll prove it to you!”

Kotone shook her head. “Sorry, Junpei. I feel this is the best we can do for this mission.” She said, looking over the other three. “You are invaluable in Tartarus, but we need something different here.”

Junpei clenched his jaw, whispering something under his breath. After a few seconds of glaring at Kotone, he gave up, turning his back to her and walking to lean on the nearby wall, accompanied by Akihiko.

After checking their equipment for one final time, the team headed into the hotel. Pink wallpapers greeted their eyes, long hallways illuminated with green light, creating an unpleasant contrast with the color. Fuuka, upon entering, summoned Lucia to scan the surroundings.

“I think I feel it on the 3^rd floor! We should head there as soon as possible!”

Kotone nodded, moving ahead of her team. As they approached the stairs, she started speaking without looking back.

“Mitsuru, you’re our strongest fighter. You’ll be on the frontline, focus on defense and powerful attacks. I’ll focus my strengthening spells on you.” She said, ascending the first steps. “Yukari, you’re our healer, as usual. If there’s no one to heal, feel free to use wind spells.”

Reaching the 2^nd floor, the group was greeted by the same sight as always. One coffin lingered in the hallway, the door behind it slightly ajar.

“Fuuka, scan the shadow for its weaknesses and attacks. Support Mitsuru with shields whenever you can, and attack when you feel is necessary.”

Kotone ignored everything in front of her and started her ascent to the 3^rd floor. According to Fuuka, that’s where their target was supposed to be.

“And finally, protect each other. The only way we’re winning against these shadows is with teamwork.”

Satisfied with her speech, Kotone looked around as she reached the 3^rd floor of the love hotel. Several smaller doors littered the corridor. In the end, one giant double-door stood tall, emanating an aura of malice from within.

That was their target.

“Ready?”

Kotone turned around, question in her eyes. The others nodded, some unsure, others with determination. Today wasn’t their first time fighting. They would be victorious, as always.

Kotone opened the doors.

***

 

A grotesque-looking pair of shadows greeted SEES upon entering the room. The main one, the Hierophant, was sitting on a luxurious chair, flanked by another shadow that was stroking its head.

Without giving the enemy a single second to react, Kotone spun the evoker and put it to her temple.

“Pale Rider!”

As she was casting a curse spell, Mitsuru stepped in front of her, taking her position in the frontline. Summoning Penthesilea, she first waited for Kotone’s attack to connect to see if it would affect their enemy in any way.

The red beam of light connected with the Hierophant, harmlessly dissipating into sparks upon contact.

No curse attacks.

Before she could swap her persona, the shadow convulsed, white light leaking out of its eyes and wrapping itself around the shadow several times like a scarf. The light separated into eight rays as it was suddenly started swirling around chaotically.

They didn’t have any time to block or dodge. The others were struck by the attacks, stumbling slightly. Kotone, on the other hand, did not have as easy of a time as they did. The attack knocked her on her back after connecting, eliciting a yelp from her mouth. She landed painfully, the wind knocked out of her.

Several rays of light were still moving around. If she got hit one more time by them…

“Oh no! Makarakarn!”

Fuuka’s voice reached her ears, a blue barrier surrounding her just as one of the beams was about to crash into her. The barrier exploded with a bang, peppering the girl with magic shards, having done its job of protecting her. Kotone jumped back onto her legs, Yukari’s healing magic already enveloping her and soothing the burning pain from the light attack.

“Take-Mikazuchi!” Kotone shouted as Mitsuru’s ice spell crashed into the shadow, causing some damage.

Try different elements. One may be more effective than the others.

The Hierophant summoned more swirling light beams, but SEES were prepared for it this time. She felt herself become slightly faster (“Thanks Yukari!”), dodging the attacks left and right as her persona sent a lightning beam at the enemy. The shadow, seeing that its attacks were having a greater effect on Kotone, was focusing on her now. One ray of light clipped her, and Kotone grinned, not feeling as much pain anymore, having switched her personas to something that wasn’t weak to light.

“I scanned it! It has no weakness, but wind attacks will be more effective!”

With this new information, Kotone swapped her persona once again with a grin still on her face.

“Narcissus!” “Io!”

A storm raged around them, her attack combining with Yukari’s, forming a giant tornado in the the middle of the room, blowing the Hierophant backwards as it howled in pain. The smaller shadow behind it clutched its face, the golden accessory that adorned its head now bent and useless.

Suddenly, the Hierophant roared in Anger, lifting its hands in the air to cast another attack. Light started concentrating behind its back.

That attack again… Is that really all it does?

Kotone prepared herself to dodge once again. A bright light blinded her, causing her to groan and stumble in place, almost dropping her naginata.

What… What was that?

Her body started shivering involuntarily as she tried to make sense of her surroundings, Mitsuru being in a similar state of disorientation. Yukari and Fuuka, having shielded their eyes with their hand, seemed to be unaffected.

What was that attack?! Against something like this, how can we ever win?!

Kotone could feel herself panicking, frozen in fear and staring helplessly at the enemy in front of her. Its soulless eyes bore into hers. The Hierophant laughed slowly, mocking the girl for her weakness. She dropped to her knees, clutching her head, willing the shadow to just stop please just stop-

Someone slapped her hard, the pain bringing her back to her senses for a moment. Kotone felt something being shoved in her mouth, and suddenly the veil of fear lifted, leaving the girl more confused than anything.

“Get up! That attack did something to your minds, we need to get Mitsuru back!” Yukari shouted in front of her, shaking Kotone.

The Hierophant, noticing that Yukari was distracted, decided to attack her instead. Conjuring a small metallic round behind her, the shadow laughed as it launched its attack.

“WATCH OUT!” Kotone screamed, attempting to shove Yukari out of the way.

She was too slow. The small projectile tore through Yukari’s shoulder, causing the girl to scream in anquish. Blood splashed on Kotone’s face. Her eyes widened.

Huh?

Focus. She’ll be fine if you defeat the shadow. Help the others.

Should I… Summon you?

You can’t.

“Tetrakarn!”

Fuuka’s shout reached her ears. A yellow shield appeared around Mitsuru who was still incapacitated from the shadow’s attack, whispering something to herself as she kneeled on the floor. The reflected projectile struck the Hierophant, tearing a hole through its side.

“Close your eyes when it gathers light in its back!” Kotone shouted. “Leanan Sidhe! Patra! Diarama!”

Mitsuru got up from the ground, her eyes no longer glazed with fear. Yukari’s shoulder wound stopped bleeding, the puddle on the ground not growing anymore. She was still not waking up yet. Kotone was exhausted, realizing that she didn’t have much energy left to keep casting offensive spells.

“Fuuka! One more physical shield on Mitsuru! Mitsuru, go in for close combat, I’ll support you!”

Kotone cast a spell to enhance Mitsuru’s speed. She then repeated it, boosting herself, before darting forward with her naginata. The Hierophant, upon seeing the two get into close quarters, prepared another fear-inducing attack.

“Close your eyes!”

Kotone followed her own advice, putting her wrist to her face. After the flash of light subsided, she continued her assault, swinging her naginata at the now-defenseless shadow.

The Hierophant was close to death. She could feel it. The shadow, it seemed, could feel it as well, getting more desperate with its movements as it tried to get the two girls attacking it off itself. Out of the corner of her eye, Kotone saw the shadow’s arm slam into Mitsuru’s midsection, knocking her backwards. Mitsuru coughed, lifting her head to see another conjured bullet materialize in front of her.

“Lucia!” Fuuka ran towards the fallen girl, evoker already prepared. She did not have energy for more shield spells, but…

As Lucia appeared, a blue defensive bubble surrounded the two girls. The shadow’s attack crashed into it, cracking the outer shell and causing ethereal shards to fly in all directions.

“I can’t take another hit! We need to finish this!” Fuuka shouted, struggling to keep Lucia summoned.

Kotone was the last one standing who was able to face the shadow. She would make it count.

The Hierophant screeched, putting all of its energy into its final attack. A myriad of light beams started swirling around it once more, with the shadow itself being the eye of the storm. At the same time, dozens of metal projectiles appeared around Kotone, surrounding her on all sides as the girl struggled to dodge the magic vortex.

“Shiisa!” Summoning a persona that resisted light, Kotone focused on avoiding the shadow’s physical attacks instead. Dashing through the swirling light and ignoring the pain, the girl screamed, putting all her pent-up rage into her final attacks.

Slash.

Her naginata cut into the shadow’s arm, cutting it off completely. She jerked her head sideways, one of the bullets grazing her cheek and leaving a trail of blood behind.

Slash.

The Hierophant’s torso split open, shadow residue oozing from the inside. Kotone twirled around in a circle, avoiding two projectiles that threatened to bury themselves in her stomach.

Slash.

Another cut. Her speed boost ran out, leaving the girl feeling sluggish. No matter. She would not give up. Her left leg hurt, but the girl had no time to think about it or inspect the damage.

Slash.

The shadow’s head rolled on the ground, dissipating into dust. One of the conjured bullets disappeared centimeters away from Kotone’s forehead.

They won. The Hierophant was no more.

Kotone ran to Yukari’s side, stumbling on her way and falling to her knees in front of the girl.

“Recarm!”

Using her last bit of energy, Kotone waited with baited breath. Yukari’s eyelids fluttered as she groaned, Kotone’s worried face being the first thing she saw.

“Thank goodness… You’re, hah, fine…” Kotone panted, her face split in a bright smile. “Now we just have… to…” She couldn’t finish her sentence as her energy finally ran out, the girl collapsing in a heap on the floor.

***

 

“I understand I can’t force you. However, I recommend you rethink this opportunity.”

The person in front of her sighed deeply, putting their head in their hands. They leveled their gaze at her almost pleadingly. “Look, Shiomi-”

“Do not call me that!” She hissed, standing up abruptly. “I… do not deserve to be called that.”

“Okay then… .̶̧͉̗̼̺̰̏y̴̢̨̡̱̳̟̬̱̯̫̺͑̈́̉͌̓͛͘̕ͅ.̷̫͎̜̱̞̠͎̆̃̂̈́̊͛͊̿̎̚͠/̵̦͕̝̻̰̄̄̄́̔͂̏̄̕̚., please, just try it. Live your life to its fullest, create meaningful bonds, just do anything.”

The person sighed, giving her one last look before they stood up.

“That is all I’m asking for.”

They left, the door closing with a click behind them. The girl sighed.

“You are asking for too much.”

***

 

The person approached her again. And again. And again. Stubborn fool.

“The world will end, you know. If you keep going like this.” They started speaking, sitting down next to her. Their glasses reflected her own empty face staring them down.

“I don’t care.”

“I know you don’t.” They chuckled to themselves bitterly. “I was simply hoping you would change your mind.” They shifted in the chair, making themselves more comfortable. “Look around yourself. The vibrant colors of the world. The warmth of the sun and the beauty of the moon. The feeling of fresh air as it enters your lungs, powering your beating heart. Don’t you think that those small things are worth fighting for?”

The girl clenched her fists and grit her teeth.

“Get out.”

“Please, Shi-“

“I SAID GET THE HELL OUT!” She shrieked like a banshee, grabbing the nearest object and hurling it at the person. They ducked, dodging the orange mug as it shattered against the wall.

The person hastily retreated, shaking their head as they left her room, eyeing the shards on the floor.

The girl sighed. That one was her favorite...

***

 

“She’s fine, Yukari! Just tired, I promise!”

Yukari really wanted to believe Fuuka’s words of encouragement, but the sight in front of her still left her nervous. Mitsuru distributed supplies around, including some medicine and soda that Yukari instantly snatched and fed to the still unconscious Kotone, who began to stir shortly after.

“Uhm, guys…” Fuuka started, unsure. “I scanned the area one more time and… there’s still another shadow.”

Yukari paid her words little mind, focusing entirely on Kotone. The girl seemed out of it, almost unsure of where she was in the moment.

“Are you sure, Yamagishi? There are two full moon shadows?” Mitsuru asked.

“Y-Yes! The other one is in this building too, but I can’t pinpoint its location… Maybe we should walk around and check some rooms?” Fuuka offered, unsure how to proceed.

Kotone was now fully up, her weight supported by Yukari. Upon hearing Fuuka’s words, she decided to intervene. “How does everyone feel? Are you ready for another fight?”

Mitsuru flipped her hair in response. “I did not use too many draining spells in that fight. I’m good to continue.”

“To be honest, I am rather drained… I’m not sure how useful I’d be in another fight.” Fuuka admitted, shifting uncomfortably. “B-but if we have to, I can-“

“No, it’s okay!” Kotone smiled at the girl. “Let’s go back to the entrance before proceeding. I’m calling Akihiko in.”

“What about yourself?”

Yukari’s sudden question broke her stride. Kotone paused in the corridor.

“I’m feeling better after whatever it was you gave me.” Kotone said. Yukari glared at the girl, causing the other to raise her hands in surrender. “Promise! And you need me anyway!”

Yukari sighed, keeping up her glare. This girl was unbelievable. She just collapsed a few minutes ago because she spent all her energy in their previous fight and now she had the utter gall to imply that she was feeling fine?

Doesn’t she realize how worried Yukari was for her?

They do need a leader, but Kirijo was right there, wasn’t she? They could swap Kotone in for Junpei, and they would probably be better off. She would be safe back at the entrance.

Kotone did not falter under Yukari’s glare. Damn it.

“I know what you’re thinking, Yukari. But please, trust me on this. I know my limits.”

Yukari frowned deeply before she finally relented. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Kotone.” She said, hoping with all her heart that Kotone really did know.

Oh, who was she kidding. This girl didn’t have an inch of self-preservation within her.

Well, that would simply mean protecting her would be Yukari’s job for the remainder of the dark hour.

***

 

“Hey, Kotone, is it just me or does that mirror not have our reflection?”

After leaving Fuuka at the entrance and telling Akihiko to come with them (“Finally, this is about to get exciting!”), the group continued their search for the second shadow with a limited degree of success.

Fuuka did tell them that the shadow was still in the hotel. That did limit the area of the search, meaning that SEES wouldn’t have to run around the entire Shirakawa boulevard, looking for the enemy everywhere. That, however, didn’t mean that their task was that simple.

After checking every room on the second floor (“Wait, three?!”), and starting their investigation of the third, Yukari noticed something weird about a mirror in one of the rooms. She did, of course, promptly inform the others as soon as possible. And if “the others” included just Kotone, well, it wasn’t her fault that the others decided to investigate a different room, was it? Really, as long as Yukari stayed with Kotone, she felt much better about their chances of getting out of this hotel alive.

Well, mostly Kotone’s chances. The others could fend for themselves, but this girl really was way too reckless.

“Hm.” Kotone replied. “Yes.”

Yukari snorted. “Such an elegant answer, Ko. Yes, indeed.” She teased the girl. “Think this is where the shadow is?”

“…Ko?” Kotone whispered to herself, blinking rapidly. Wait, was she blushing? “Uhm, yes, this is… Yes!” She finally recovered, resting her fingertips on her pink cheek. “We should call the others.”

The duo left the room, calling for Mitsuru and Akihiko to come to them. After assembling everyone, they inspected the mirror together.

“We should break this. The shadow could be hiding inside, waiting for us to lower our guard.” He said, crossing his hands. “Well?”

It’s not like they had much of a choice anyway. They scouted almost the entire building, and this was their only lead.

“I agree. We should probably break it, and the shadow could appear after that.”

Kotone nodded. “Everyone ready?”

“As ready as could be, Leader!”

“Oui, je suis pres.”

Yukari watched the girl unsheathe her naginata, slam it into the mirror, and…

…

…

 

 

 

***

 

Ugh… What the heck…

Yukari woke up disoriented, finding herself on the floor of the room they were in before…

Before what? What happened?

Propping herself on her elbows, Yukari looked around. The room was mostly empty, consisting of a modest bed with pink covers, a wardrobe, and a study table. Posters from a multitude of fashion magazines littered the walls of the room, creating a familiar ambiance.

This is… my room. Why… How am I here?

Where is Kotone?

It’s alright. You don’t have to suffer.

A voice flooded her mind, slamming into her brain like a sledgehammer. Yukari grabbed her head, groaning in pain as she struggled to stay standing.

Do not struggle. Let me show you the extent of my power. Then, you shall understand.

A door creaked open behind her. Yukari turned around, only to see…

“Mom…?” She whispered, eyes widening with surprise.

“Yukari.” Her mother smiled kindly at the girl, expression a little strained. “Can we talk for a moment?”

“W-What?”

Yukari found herself at a loss for words. What did her mother want with her? After the things they said to each other, there was no going back. The bridge was burned forever.

Her mother approached her slowly, extending her arms outwards. Yukari found herself smothered in an unexpected hug.

“I am so sorry, my dear Yukari. I’m sorry.” The woman sniffled, clutching Yukari closer. “I shouldn’t have said all those terrible things to you, I shouldn’t have yelled, I should have told you earlier about my dates. There are so many “should haves” that I wish I did, but all I can do now is apologize and promise to do better.” Her mother whispered, voice thick with emotion. “And I promise, Yukari. I will do better. Please.” She lifted her pleading eyes, looking straight into Yukari’s own. “Will you give me a second chance?”

Speechless, Yukari returned the hug, eyes brimming with tears. “Mom, I… I…”

“I talked to other moms, you know. Moms with daughters like you.” She stroked Yukari’s hair, the movement of her hands soft and deliberate. “I still don’t really get it, but… I, uh, don’t mind it if you date other girls, Yukari. O-or even settle down with one in the future. All I want is for you to be happy.”

Tears were fully flowing down her cheeks now. Yukari sobbed loudly, detaching herself from her mother’s embrace.

“You… You…” She was trying to gather courage for what she was about to say. “You’re not real, are you?”

The mirage smiled sadly at her. Yukari snarled.

I only want what’s best for you. Give into your desires. You yearn for a supportive mother, do you not? I can give you that.

“You’re not real. This is all the shadow’s trap.”

That’s right. It’s a full moon!

“Playing with my feelings like that… Whoever you are, you are despicable.” She spat out through angry tears, overflowing with rage. “YOU’RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS, YOU HEAR ME?”

I’m sorry, little one. I will make you understand.

The mirror shattered.

***

 

Suddenly alert, Akihiko jumped up to his legs, assuming a fighting stance. Spinning around wildly, he inspected his surroundings.

Where is everyone? We were… We… Damn it, what were we doing? Who is “we”?

It’s alright. You don’t have to suffer.

He was back at the dorm, standing in the kitchen with a knife in his hand. A half-cut chicken sat on the counter in front of him, his hand grabbing one of the edges of the board. A giant mirror adorned the space above the counter, reflecting his confused stare.

Let me show you what you can have. Then, you shall understand.

“Aki, you awake?”

A gruff, yet gentle voice startled him, making him drop the knife and turn right with disbelief.

“Shinji? What are you doing here?”

Shinjiro Aragaki was standing next to him in the kitchen. He pressed his lips together, looking at Akihiko with concern.

“Did you hit your head or something? We’re making dinner for the others.” Shinjiro replied. “What, all that protein finally rotted your brain? C’mon, say something.”

Akihiko opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. “Right, sorry… Must be the lack of sleep.” He chuckled, picking up the knife. He continued preparing the chicken. “Hey, Shinji. How are you holding up?”

“What kind of question is that?” Shinjiro chuckled, methodically cutting up a tomato with practiced efficiency. “We’re making progress. Everyone is getting along. As long as everything keeps going like this, I’m alright.”

Give into your desires. You want him to be happy, do you not?

Of course I do! But… Something is wrong.

Akihiko has known Shinji for a long time. They’ve been friends, companions ever since their days at the orphanage. Ever since Miki was gone, Shinji was the only person that lit his day up with his dry humor and hidden gentleness. Akihiko would give anything to undo the tragedy that took place two years ago. The tragedy that turned Shinji into a shell of his former self.

“I’m glad, Shinji. I’m happy I got to see you like this again.” Akihiko laughed bitterly, staring at nothing.

But that was not possible. No one could turn back time.

“Aki, what’s wrong?” Shinjiro asked, worry evident in his voice. He abandoned his chef knife on the counter, choosing instead to approach Akihiko, putting a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon, something’s bothering you. Just say it.”

“You’re not real.” Akihiko said, steel in his eyes. “This is all part of the shadow’s manipulation.”

Shinjiro snorted.

“Damn right. I knew you had it in you.” Shaking his head, he continued. “Aki. Take care of them, will you? Even if you don’t trust in yourself, I trust in you. Go beat its ass.”

“I will.” Akihiko nodded.

You may have tried to trick me with this illusion. But…

He grinned.

Thank you.

You’re welcome, little one.

The mirror shattered.

***

 

Mitsuru was not. Then, she was. It was as simple as that.

Where is the hotel? What happened?

Green moonlight flooded the area around her. The Dark Hour illuminated the outskirts of Gekkoukan High, now turned into Tartarus. Mitsuru herself was panting heavily, holding her rapier in one hand and her evoker in another.

It’s alright. You don’t have to suffer.

A deep sense of accomplishment filled her. After years of suffering and torment, her mission was finally complete.

There is an infinite amount of possibilities and branches in the universe. Let me show you one of them. Then, you shall understand.

Tartarus was dissolving into pieces in front of her. Slowly but surely, the constituent parts that made up the whole Tower of Demise were rotting away, crumbling into fine dust. The sky itself distorted, revealing a reflection of the ground far up above. A set of footsteps approached her from behind, causing her to turn around in panic.

“Mitsuru. We did it.” Her father approached, his usually-calm voice wavering slightly as he congratulated her. “You don’t have to fight anymore. It’s finally over.”

“F-Father? What do you mean? What is happening?”

So this was it? Defeating the full moon shadow was enough to completely destroy Tartarus? As much as Mitsuru wanted to believe, there was something wrong about the entire situation.

Give into your desires. You want him to be safe, do you not?

Yes. Anything for him.

It didn’t matter. As long as it really was over, Mitsuru did not give a single damn about the logistics of a single shadow holding up the entire Tartarus.

“Is it really over? Can we… go home?” Mitsuru said in a small voice.

“Yes. I am so proud of you, Mitsuru.” Her father replied with mirth in his eyes. “All these years of fighting, training, pain. They culminate in this moment. You are free.”

Free? But she wasn’t free. She was so far away from free that the notion itself made her laugh – the responsibility of being the Kirijo heir, of an arranged marriage, the weight of the expectations crushed her. How could he say that-

“I’ve had some time to reflect, too. I’ve actually been thinking about selling the Kirijo group to Nanjo, you know.” He suddenly said, eyeing Mitsuru for her response.

“W-what?” She said weakly, covering her mouth with a palm. “Father, why?”

“I know how difficult it’s been for you, Mitsuru. And as much as I want the Kirijo group to prosper, you, my daughter, are my highest priority.”

There was no way. Absolutely no way. As much as she loved her father, she knew that the Kirijo group was so much more than just a company. If all the resources fell into the wrong hands, it could spell disaster. She knew that. Her father knew that.

Which meant that the thing in front of her wasn’t her father.

Mitsuru reached for her evoker.

I’m sorry, little one. I can make another one.

“PENTHESILEA!”

The sky shattered.

***

 

Ugh… Huh?

Kotone blinked, realizing that she did not know where she was. Looking around, she found herself in Iwatodai dorm’s lobby, flooded with pink light, sitting on a couch. A giant mirror stood, unbroken, on the wall in front of her, showing Kotone’s reflection, her usual beaming smile on her face.

Wait… Usual?

It’s alright. You don’t have to suffer.

A gentle voice reached her ears, enveloping her mind in a warm hug. She felt lightheaded, dizzy, happy.

Wrong.

Shh, it’s alright, little one. I can take your pain away.

The voice whispered sweet promises to her, reaching the darkest corners of her mind and coming back prepared. Her own smile felt strained, moments away from shattering into reality. A feeling of foreboding flooded her mind, settling deep into her bones.

Kotone shuddered, feeling her entire sense of self be prodded, tested against the unknown power. She knew she shouldn’t, but… Would it really be that bad to at least listen to what it has to say? Surely, she should at least consider its proposal. That would only be polite.

I know what you wish for the most. Give into your desires.

Images flashed in front of her eyes. Mitsuru, telling her she’s proud of the leader Kotone is turning out to be, praising her spirit and decision-making in combat, always prioritizing the needs of her team. Akihiko, sharing his workout routine with her, a competitive glint in his eyes as he beat her running time for the hundredth time in a row. Junpei, arm thrown around her shoulder as he rambled on about the rules of baseball, promising to teach her one day. Fuuka, happily nerding out about computers as Kotone nodded in faux understanding, listening happily even as the majority of the words flew completely over her head. The Chairman, happy that she was finally paving her own way to the future, thanks to his advice. Everyone. Smiling at her. Laughing with her. Hugging her. Like family. A family she’s never had.

Yukari. Centimeters away from her face, looking lovingly into her eyes, her hands wrapped protectively around her neck. Her hot breath, tickling her nose, causing it to scrunch up. A shy smile on her face as she whispered the words Kotone has desired to hear for oh, so long, into her ears. Her brown hair, framing her soft features in a halo of light. Closing the distance. Lips meeting with a beautifully awkward motion, flooding her mind with pure happiness. Pulling her closer. Giggling into each other. Confiding. Sharing.

You yearn for companionship, do you not? Familial. Friendly. Romantic. I can give you everything you want.

Kotone laughed. She felt, more than ever before.

So beautiful.

So human.

Thank you, little one.

And thus, she gave in.

 

***

 

Kotone woke up with a gasp, her body jerking into motion instantly. She was on her feet in a moment, grabbing her naginata and preparing it for combat.

Just protect her, little one. And then, you can have your paradise.

Yukari suddenly burst into the room, panting as she looked around. Her eyes locked onto Kotone.

“No time to explain! We found the shadow, come here!” Yukari ran off without waiting for her.

Kotone entered one of the rooms in Yukari’s pursuit. A giant heart-shaped shadow floated in front of her, its insides filled with pink liquid. Upon noticing Kotone, the Lovers summoned two minions, retreating into a corner.

”Pale Rider!”

Starting from her strongest persona sans Thanatos, Kotone initiated the fight by sending a beam of cursed energy at the Lovers shadow. One of the minions intercepted it with its fists, the attack partially absorbed.

That still did some damage. I can use curse spells.

…

“Io!” Yukari shouted from her side, casting a bright red attack she couldn’t identify towards one of the shadows. It dodged effortlessly, mocking them with its expression. “We can do this, Ko!”

Damn it, where was everyone else? Kotone was really hoping they would join soon, because as for now, Yukari and her were outnumbered.

One of the minions conjured an ice storm around them. Kotone dodged the flying icicles, several of them grazing her but not enough to cause any significant damage. To her left, Yukari cried out in pain as multiple projectiles dug into her skin. How dare they.

Screaming in rage, Kotone shouted. “Yukari! Coordinate your attacks with me, the left one is probably weak to fire!”

Sending her persona forward to swing at the ice-wielding shadow, she motioned for Yukari to attack at the same time. Yukari nodded, casting a fire spell at the enemy, catching it by surprise. It yelled in pain, falling to the floor, the other minion shouting angrily and attacking Yukari in return.

Why are they targeting her so much?! Fight me, cowards!

The Lovers shadow pulled back its bow and aimed at Yukari. The arrow soared through the air as Kotone had a horrible realization that it was going to hit.

“No, Yukari!”

She shouted, running in front of the girl. The arrow pierced Kotone’s hand, the girl crying out in agony, bright red blood flowing from her wound.

“KOTONE!”

A scream sounded from the other side of the room. Kotone yanked out the arrow, grinding her teeth at the enemy shadows.

“DIARAMA!”

The Lovers shadow healed her. Kotone thanked her, turning back to look at the two minions in front of her.

The battle was quickly turning ugly. She had to do her best. She had to protect Yukari. The others still haven’t showed up, and while Yukari’s fire attacks were proving to be effective against one of the minions, they still needed something more. She really had no choice left.

Exhaling softly, the girl put her evoker to her head.

 “Thanatos.”

***

 

Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Yukari found each other shortly after breaking free from the shadow’s influence. Kotone, on the other hand was nowhere to be found. They decided to check the room where they fought the previous shadow, just in case the girl was here. They found the full moon shadow instead.

Well, the full moon shadow and Kotone. Yukari was about to run to her side (“She is fighting it alone?! Come on guys, let’s help!”), when she noticed one weird detail about her best friend.

Her usually vibrant-red eyes were glowing pink.

“Pale Rider!”

“Penthesilea!”

Kotone attacked them mercilessly, distracting Mitsuru enough for her to be hit with a fire spell from the shadow. What was going on?!

“Everyone, she’s been charmed by the shadow! Try breaking the spell!” Mitsuru shouted from the ground, gritting her teeth in pain.

Without hesitation, Yukari summoned Io to try and do just that. “Io, Patra!”

A green light surrounded Kotone. Her eyes were still pink, glaring at them with undisguised hatred.

“It’s not working!”

“Damn it!” Mitsuru finally stood up, downing a bottle of medicine. “We’ll have to try and defeat the shadow then. Try piercing its glass surface, maybe it’ll work!”

“Got it!”

Grabbing an arrow from her quiver, Yukari held her breath for a moment, aiming at the junction of two glass panels near the shadow’s core. She released the arrow, praying that it would pierce.

And pierce it did. Yukari screamed in horror when she realized who was on the receiving end.

“KOTONE!”

Trying to hastily fix her mistake, she summoned Io once more. “DIARAMA!”

“What are you doing, Yukari?! If we can incapacitate her, that will make this fight much easier!” Akihiko exclaimed, dodging another one of the shadow’s attacks and sending his own. The electricity struck its shell, causing the enemy to roar in pain.

“Thanatos.”

Yukari watched on in horror as Kotone summoned her strongest persona. As always, her eyes glazed over, the girl slumping forward. In normal circumstances, this is when Yukari would do her best to defend Kotone while Thanatos destroyed whatever was in her way.

The problem, however, was that they were the ones in Thanatos’ way right now.

She gulped, looking around at the others to measure their reactions. Akihiko clenched his jaw, eyes darting between the heart-shaped shadow and Kotone. Mitsuru cursed loudly, taking a few steps back to create some distance.

”Takeba, Target Shiomi, try to knock her out! Akihiko and I will distract her persona!”

Yukari nodded. Her legs shook as she put an evoker to her temple.

“I’m sorry, Kotone…”

She pulled the trigger.

***

 

She was losing control. She did not care.

Protecting Yukari was her only mission.

Swinging her sword in front of her with a roar, Kotone dashed forward.

It’s demolition.

Her attack was intercepted by the minion’s rapier, sparks flying everywhere as she roared. Pulling her left hand back and collecting cursed energy within, she tried to destroy the enemy with her fist.

CRACK

Her fist collided with an ice shield, conjured by the shadow in the last moment. Her attack cracked the shield’s center, spreading red, angry lines throughout its surface. Kotone felt her hand get stuck in the cracks, a fresh layer of ice encasing it up until her wrist.

A giant fist collided with her face, cracking her mask and causing her to scream in pain as she fell to the floor. Her wings flexed, stopping her fall mid-way and putting her back on her feet.

Kotone gathered her energy, and she pulled.

Wiping all out.

The ice shield went flying out of the shadow’s arms, still attached to her hand. Turning left ninety degrees, Kotone spun around rapidly as she moved forward.

CRACK

A sickening crack echoed through the room, almost drowned by the shadow’s shrill scream. The minion fell to the floor, unmoving.

I won’t go.

She cackled, satisfied both with her own performance and the pitiful resistance that this worm offered.

Until it’s over.

She crushed the pathetic chunk of ice in her hands, approaching the remaining shadow slowly, enjoying the carnage.

***

 

“MITSURU!”

Akihiko’s scream rang out behind her. Yukari did not have any time to turn around.

The full moon shadow was protecting Kotone’s motionless form. It gathered the girl into its wings, shielding her from any of Yukari’s attacks. A peaceful sound echoed through the room.

Do not resist. I do not wish you harm.

The shadow was… talking?

It could definitely talk in Yukari’s sub-consciousness when it tried to brainwash her, but hearing it out-loud brought out a weird feeling in Yukari’s chest. Almost like she was… missing something? Something that has never happened.

Right. It was messing with her again, reminding Yukari of the possibility of its ideal reality.

Such bullshit.

“Let her go, you oversized perfume bottle!”

She kept attacking relentlessly, jumping from place to place, trying different angles to try and connect her attacks with Kotone. So far, each and every attempt has been unsuccessful. The shadow was nimble, tracking her easily and shielding the girl with its heart-shaped body.

She needed a different strategy. There was not enough time to keep trying this approach.

***

 

Akihiko cursed loudly, looking at the crumpled figure with wide eyes. Mitsuru did not expect Thanatos to attack her with her own conjured shield, and she paid dearly for it. Blood pooled from under her bangs, painting the floor in the color of her hair.

God, there was so much of it.

They had to win fast. Thanatos was approaching.

Overcome with a sudden sense of resolve, Akihiko reached into his pocket, pulling out a special cartridge. Loading it into his evoker, his stance relaxed, steely eyes staring down the enemy in front of him.

“I don’t know why you’re like this, Kotone. But I won’t let you hurt the others.”

He pulled the trigger, the pushback hitting him like a truck. Akihiko did not stumble.

He stared Death straight in the face.

Polydeuces raised his arm into the air behind Akihiko, the air around them filling with sparks. Akihiko’s hair stood on its ends, a powerful electric field filling the space around him.

“THIS ONE’S FOR YOU!”

A giant lightning ball appeared above him with a BANG, hanging in place after moving forward a little. Akihiko jumped, invigorated by the sudden rush of power, slamming his fist into the sphere and sending it careening down onto Thanatos. The persona attempted to dodge, but did not have the time as electricity crashed into her.

A large explosion surrounded them, Akihiko’s entire body feeling like it was on fire, electricity coursing through his veins.

He grinned.

After the dust cleared, Thanatos was still standing, but judging from her jerky movements his attack was definitely effective.

“I won’t let you end up like Shinji.”

He assumed a fighting stance and raised his hands in front of him.

***

 

Pain.

A blinding light surrounded her, and all she felt was pain.

No… Yukari… I can’t… Give up!

Kotone swayed as she struggled to stay standing, her vision blurry. Her arms felt numb, sword almost falling out of them due to the lack of feeling.

Keep… going!

Gritting her teeth, she kept moving through excruciating pain.

Kotone’s main advantage against her enemies was her speed, but even that wasn’t enough to dodge literal lightning. Her brain ran wild, trying to come up with ideas and strategies.

Here’s a nice one for you. Kill them all.

She nodded, satisfied with the idea. Jerking her left hand outwards, she gathered the last bits of her energy to conjure a glowing, red sword. Not giving her opponent a chance to react, she dashed forward, slamming one of the swords down onto her enemy. To her great annoyance, he simply stepped to the side, bending down slightly to dodge her attack by mere millimeters.

Screaming with rage, she kept attacking.

Slash.

Miss.

The shadow was nimble, almost expecting her attack as he sidestepped it with ease.

…He?

Kotone hesitated for a moment, but recovered almost instantly.

Unfortunately, that one split second of hesitation cost her, the minion’s fist crashing into her face with an unexpected force. She stumbled back, shocked that the attack actually connected. While she was recovering from her stupefied state, another devastating attack crashed into her cheek, cracking her mask.

What is happening?!

Not letting herself get caught off-guard once more, Kotone raised her conjured sword to intercept the next attack. Catching the fist in a lock, she swung her other hand, intending to deal with this nuisance in one sweep.

The shadow ducked, her attack passing harmlessly over his head in a sweeping motion.

Stop fi……ing.

What? Who are you?

Confused, she let go of her sword, clutching her head with her hand, groaning in pain.

I a. ..ou.

“Sorry for this.”

A voice rang out in front of Kotone, sounding as if it was underwater. The image in front of her rippled, hiding reality, until it finally cleared up a moment later.

A glowing fist was heading her way. There was almost no time to dodge.

YUKARI!

Almost.

She suddenly jerked her body sideways as the attack passed next to her face, clipping the skin of her cheek. She kept turning with her momentum, extending her wings backwards, forming their tips into sharp blades.

And then, she dashed backwards. She felt herself crash into something soft, blood splattering behind her and covering her back.

Her enemy fell to the floor, incapacitated. She had one more target remaining.

***

 

Yukari made a mistake of looking behind her to see how Mitsuru and Akihiko were faring.

They both were lying on the floor in the pools of their own blood, Akihiko looking especially worse for wear. Oh god. Were they even alive?!

She moved her eyes up, noticing Thanatos observe her with a malicious grin on her face.

“Yes. Whenever I summon her, she just takes control of everything. It’s like I stop existing.” The girl replied, before adding “It feels so… dehumanizing.”

Was that really… All there was to it?

Yukari stared into the persona’s red eyes, brimming with murderous intent behind her cracked mask. Red blood dripped from its pointed wings, making a wet sound as it hit the floor, leaving small puddles behind.

The girl thought of her own persona. Io, daughter of Inacus. Shapeshifter with human imperfections. Inadvertently, indubitably her.

As much as Kotone tried to deny it, Thanatos still was her persona. That means it was her.

Yukari took a step forward. Another one. One more.

She was standing right in front of Thanatos now. Yukari could feel her hot, humid breath on her face as the persona stared down at her. Thanatos raised her sword.

Yukari put her hand up, resting it on the persona’s cheek, rubbing circles into its mask, inspecting every inch of the smooth, cracked surface. The sword froze mid-air.

“Kotone.” Yukari said softly, not letting her hand drop. “I know you’re in there. Please.”

She moved forward, taking the persona’s torso in for a hug. “Come back to us. To me.”

Yukari could feel the other girl tremble. She closed her eyes.

***

 

“Come back to us. To me.”

Kotone froze.

Is the Lovers shadow… Talking to me? In Yukari’s voice?

Was she being tricked? The enemy was right in front of her. All she had to do is slash downwards, and the fight would finally be over. She would save everyone.

She felt herself being pulled into a hug. Hands grabbed her midsection, pulling her closer.

…Hands?

The Lovers shadow did not have hands. It had wings. Wings which were holding a red-haired girl, slightly ahead of her. A sad expression adorned the Lovers’ face.

Oh.

The shadow was ahead of her. Then who was she hugging? Afraid of the answer, Kotone looked down.

Yukari.

Yukari was the one hugging her. Yukari was the full moon shadow. Or…

Kotone suddenly gasped, wrenching herself out of the girl’s grip. Panicked, she turned around.

SEES. Her friends, comrades in arms. Lying down on the floor in the pools of their own blood. Done by her hand.

Her own hand.

I’m sorry, little one.

The Lovers shadow’s voice echoed in her mind.

…

…

Kotone screamed.

***

 

Thanatos screamed.

She ran backwards with an unholy screech, grabbing her sword on the way. Yukari stood in place, frozen with fear.

Did it not work?!

Thanatos passed by her, paying Yukari no mind. She instead dashed at the shadow hiding in the corner, crashing into it with immense speed, pummeling it into the ground.

It was demolition.

Finally finding herself with a moment to breathe, Yukari ran forward towards Mitsuru and Akihiko.

“Recarm! Recarm! Diarama! Diarama! Diarama! Diarama!”

She pulled the trigger again and again and again and again, her hands shaking with adrenaline. She was feeling calm before, but that calmness has now given way to pure panic.

Am I too late?! Please, god, no…

Mitsuru coughed, groaning loudly. “T-Takeba? What… Ugh…” She clutched her head in pain. “Why is everything… so bright?”

“Sit down, Kirijo-san. You took a hit to the head, it could be a concussion.” Yukari scolded her. “How are you feeling?”

Akihiko stirred a few meters ahead of them, instantly jumping onto his feet and assuming a battle stance, almost falling back down as he winced in pain. “Yukari?! Where’s Thanatos?!” He shouted, eyes darting around until they landed on the person in question. “Oh…”

Yukari turned around to look at what grabbed his attention.

To say that the only thing that remained of the full moon shadow was a stain on the floor would be giving it too much justice. Thanatos turned back to look at the trio, before dissolving into black fog, moving towards Kotone. The girl got up from the floor, her back turned towards them.

“Kotone? Are you alright?” Yukari asked, approaching the girl carefully. “Do you remember anything?”

The girl turned around, a haunted look in her eyes. “I… You… I…”

Not waiting for a reply, she darted out of the room.

“Kotone, wait!”

Yukari tried to follow her, but stumbled as soon as she tried to run. Healing Akihiko and Mitsuru has completely drained her energy.

“Damn it…”

***

 

“Jeez, what’s taking them so long?” Junpei tapped his foot impatiently, waiting just outside the hotel. “You think they’re okay in there, Fuuka? The dark hour is almost over.”

“I-I really hope so… I would scan them, but I really don’t have the energy for it. I’m sorry…”

“Hey, don’t apologize! It’s not their first rodeo, I’m sure they’re fine!” He grinned. “And they have Koto-chan, our great leader!”

Fuuka still looked uncomfortable. “I know, but anything can happen! Maybe we should go in to help them? Although, I would be useless in a fight without my persona…”

“Say, how about we wait a few more minutes, and then dash in to save them?” Junpei exclaimed, pumping his fists in front of him. “I’m sure then they’ll finally realize how valuable-“

The front door of the hotel burst open, revealing a rough-looking Kotone staring at them with wide eyes.

“Hey, Koto-chan! How did-“

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” She screeched, pushing Junpei to the side.

“Wait, Koto-chan, wait! Where are you-“ He started, but the girl wasn’t listening. She was already gone, having ran away somewhere. “What’s gotten into her?”

Junpei was laughing about it, but deep inside, he felt that something was wrong. What the hell happened during the fight?

***

 

“What an interesting turn of events.”

A trio of unusually-dressed people stood on the balcony, overlooking the scene. Their leader caressed the gun on his waist, smiling at the image he just saw. “Well, Jin? Are they our enemy?”

Jin huffed, putting his chin in his hands.

“I don’t know, Takaya. I really don’t.”

Notes:

Kotone is not having a great time, is she? I promise she'll have some positive snippets later. Probably. Or not.

P.S. Maya will only be present in Tartarus scenes, because the plot demands that she can't leave it.

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter!

Chapter 6: A Weapon

Summary:

In which Kotone runs away from her problems, Strega makes a move, and Ikutsuki resorts to serious measures.

Notes:

Sorry for the wait, but the chapter is here now! I have broken the curse of incredible length and this one is much more reasonable.
CW: Suicidal Ideation, Self-Destructive Tendencies

07/08/2009

She was running.

Buildings, roads, and coffins passed by in a blur as Kotone kept moving, never stopping to catch her breath. The city was frozen in time, the clutches of the dark hour still strong as a green moon shone down onto the streets.

None of that mattered. She just had to get away. From the love hotel, from SEES, from Yukari.

From herself.

Her legs were carrying her somewhere, the girl blindly taking turns left and right to run away as far as possible. Panting heavily, she was barely able to keep herself upright, lungs burning with exhaustion.

She simply could not get the sight out of her head.

Mitsuru, her skull cracked open, bleeding her life force onto the tiled floor. Akihiko, his body littered with numerous cuts, dropping down like a ragdoll. Her own sword, centimeters away from Yukari’s face, moments away from splitting her open-

Kotone’s legs finally gave out from under her. She dropped down onto the ground, her cheek painfully scraping against the pavement. Her vision finally cleared, revealing…

An expanse of red. A giant tower stood in the middle.

The Moonlight bridge. That was where her legs carried her.

Why did she know the name of the place? Why did it feel so important?

You know why.

The voice in her head returned, causing the girl to inhale sharply. Her fingers burrowed into her hair, gripping down, shaking with a myriad of emotions.

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

Her voice cracked as she shouted with all her might. Would that be enough? She hoped it would, that the monster inside her would finally listen to the pleads of her inner heart.

That is impossible. I am thou.

With a shout, Kotone pulled out her evoker, painfully slamming it into her forehead.

“YOU’RE NOT ME!”

Her soul left her body once more, her persona popping into existence. This time, she weirdly felt more cognizant of her surroundings and herself.

She stared down the empty husk in front of her. Its red eyes were unseeing. Gone.

…

“Read the Arcana, damn it.” She growled, her voice distorted and unusually low. Wrapping her arms around the girl’s throat, pushing down, she felt satisfaction. “Come on, you parasite. Tell me my Arcana. What is it?”

…

…

But nobody replied. With an unearthly scream, she threw the empty shell down the street with all her might, consequences be damned. None of it mattered.

Noticing a car frozen in time nearby, Kotone approached it.

SNAP

She tore the side mirror off the vehicle. She needed to see. Fingers trembling with trepidation, she looked into its surface.

White mask. Empty eyes. A jagged grin.

Death. It matters not who you are. One thing is certain.

Death awaits all.

There’s our Arcana.

She stumbled back. The mirror shattered on impact upon hitting the asphalt. She was… Death? She was…

Kotone laughed humorlessly, the eerie sound echoing through the frozen air. Of course. That’s all she brought everywhere she went, after all.

She should’ve never opened that letter, should’ve never listened to him, should’ve never existed in the first place. Vile.

The green skies receded, replaced by a pale blue. Kotone stirred, her entire body aching with dull pain as she tried to stand up.

That’s right, I threw myself onto the road…

The sound of screeching tires pierced her ears. A car stopped in front of her, slightly bumping into her shoulder.

“Where did you come from?! I didn’t see you at all! Are you alright?”

Kotone shrugged the woman’s hand off her shoulders, finally standing up straight. Without looking at her, she bolted down the street, running into the nearby alleyway.

She really wished the car just didn’t see her.

***

 

07/08/2009

“We still haven’t found her, Mr. Chairman.” Mitsuru delivered the bad news.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was gloom. After the previous day’s events, their victory felt hollow. Mitsuru’s right side of the face was bandaged, while Akihiko’s entire body was littered with smaller scars, including one on his cheek.

“We’ll have to try again the next time the Dark Hour occurs, then.” Ikutsuki replied. “We have to find her, Kirijo-kun.”

Yukari stood up abruptly, glaring at the adult. “What do you mean, during the dark hour?! We have to find her as soon as possible! Who knows what could happen?”

“Takeba-kun, calm down. I understand your concerns, and, trust me, I want her back as much as you do. That said, all of you still have school to attend, and Yamagishi-kun can’t exactly scan the area without her persona, can she?” He attempted to reason with the angry girl.

Instead of answering, she simply huffed and left the room in a hurry. Mitsuru sighed.

“We’re all on edge here, chairman. Please, understand her.”

“Right, of course.”

An uncomfortable silence stretched throughout the room.

“Come on guys, she’ll be fine!” Junpei attempted to defuse the situation.  “I mean… I know what happened was really bad, but she’s strong, you know? She’ll get over it!”

“Junpei-kun, I don’t think it’s as simple as that…” Fuuka muttered, clearly disagreeing with him. “Try to imagine yourself in this situation.”

“I know, I know.” He gave up, putting his hands up. “Actually Kirijo-san, Sanada-san. Aren’t you mad at her? She really beat you two up pretty badly. Can we even trust her after something like this?”

“Shut it, Junpei.” Akihiko snapped suddenly, narrowing his eyes. “It’s not her fault.”

“But…”

“He’s right, Iori.” Mitsuru suddenly replied with a pained face. “It’s not her fault. It’s ours.”

“We failed someone. Again.” Her voice trembled slightly as she closed her eyes. Memories flooded her head from a night two years ago. A cornered shadow. A raging persona. Aragaki’s horrified face.

“Kirijo-kun.” Ikutsuki’s voice rang out to her left. “I know the situation may seem hopeless. But, please remember that as terrible as the injuries you and Sanada-kun sustained, everyone is still alive.” He reasoned, pointing at the two. “Everything can still be salvaged. We simply have to find her before it’s too late.”

He was right. It was time to start doing something.

Mitsuru would bring Kotone back, no matter the cost.

***

 

Kotone’s stomach rumbled loudly as the girl sat hiding in an alley behind a dumpster, hugging her knees to her chest. Music blasted into her ears, hiding the sounds of the bustling city just outside her safe haven. The streets around her became darker and darker with each passing hour, day finally giving way to night as the streetlights started turning on one by one. Movement to her right snapped her out of her thoughts, causing the girl to look up at the trio who disturbed her peace. She put her headphones down.

“What a pleasant surprise. We’ve been looking for you.”

A shirtless man with long hair. A shorter boy dressed in a thick neon green coat and black cargo pants. A girl with long red hair, dressed in a white blouse and pants. Kotone briefly considered her chances of escaping the situation, but the group closed off the only exit from the alley with their bodies.

Maybe they’ll just go away if I ignore them.

I doubt that would work.

“All alone without your evoker? I wonder, girl, are you that brave or simply stupid?”

Wait, her evoker?

Kotone hurriedly checked her belt only to realize that the tool was, in fact, gone. Her mind went back to the events of last night when she unleashed her persona for the last time.

I must have lost it when I tossed myself away. Damn it…

Actually, how do they even know about evokers?

“Stupid it is, then.” The man concluded, noticing her search. “No matter, let us introduce ourselves first. My name is Takaya.”

Fortune. Fate, cruel and unflinching.

Kotone winced.

Jin nodded at her tensely. “I’m Jin. We just wanna talk.”

Chariot. Freedom to pursue your goals.

Her mind reeled.

Chidori simply scanned Kotone with her eyes, not bothering to utter a word. After a few seconds of tense silence, she finally relented. “Chidori.”

Hermit. Courage to forge one’s own path.

She felt like she was about to puke.

“Kotone. What do you want?” She decided to reply, if only to learn a little more about the bizarre group. “How do you know about evokers?”

“How do we know, she asks.” Takaya chuckled, shaking his head. “Because we used to be Kirijo lapdogs, just like you are.” He spat out the name with vitriol. “But now, we are free.”

Kirijo lapdogs? What does he mean?

You should listen to them.

Kotone opened her mouth to ask the question, but was interrupted by Takaya’s speech. “We saw what happened yesterday, you know. How you brutalized your own teammates.”

She suddenly shrunk into herself, closing her eyes tightly. Why did he have to remind her? She was… It was…

Unforgivable. What she did was unforgivable.

Before she could spiral further, Jin’s voice brought her back to the present. “We have something that could help you, you know. It can calm your persona down.”

Maybe listening wasn’t a good idea.

Hope. She stood up from her place near the dumpster, eyes jumping between the trio.

“Calm it down? What is it? Will it… stop it from talking?”

Surprise flashed on Takaya’s face, disappearing in an instant. “Of course. We call it persona suppressants.” He nodded at Jin, the latter putting his suitcase on the ground and opening it. “We use it to lock our personas somewhere far away when they get a little… violent.”

Jin pulled out a pill bottle, opening it and fishing out one pill. “We gotta warn you, though. It has some serious side effects. Failure of body temperature regulation, sudden mood swings, and, if you take too many-“

He did not have any time to finish his thought as Kotone snatched the pill out of his hand.

You may try, but you can’t get rid of me this way. I am thou.

She downed the pill as fast as she could, almost choking in the process.

“…if you take too many, it could result in severe organ failure and death.” Jin finished, looking at her uncomfortably. “You really wanted that, huh.”

…only….back…

...

Kotone let out a chuckle before she broke down into hysterical giggles. It worked! She couldn’t believe her luck!

“Consider that one a gift. However, if you want more?“ Takaya dangled the bottle in front of her face, before handing it back to Jin. “You’ll have to pay.”

“Anything. I’ll do anything.” Kotone answered earnestly without hesitation. Takaya grinned.

“We’re going to have a great partnership, you and us.”

***

 

The group was called Strega. That’s what they told her. Their mission was to investigate the Dark Hour, similar to SEES.

They really weren’t that bad. The group took her to their headquarters, an abandoned building located on the outskirts of the city, and gave her food, water, and more suppressants.

All in exchange for simply going to Tartarus with them later in the night. Kotone was not about to decline such generosity.

“We didn’t ask for this power, you see.” Takaya started speaking once she was finished with her food. “It was forced upon us by the Kirijo group.”

Kirijo group again. Just how much are they guilty of?

“We were among the first groups of artificial persona users. They experimented on us, made us fight shadows… We were nothing more than tools.” He spat out, keeping a hand on his revolver. “But we’ve had enough. And we took our fate in our own hands.”

Takaya turned to Kotone, eyeing her with a questioning gaze.

“Do you have that same resolve, I wonder?”

Did she? What even was resolve, exactly? The ability and will to make one’s own choices? Persevering in the face of hardship? Accepting change?

Kotone was bad at all of the above, in her own opinion.

“No.” She replied honestly, clenching her hand into a fist. “But I want to.”

“Most excellent. That, in itself, is resolve.” Takaya replied, satisfied with her answer. “Before we venture into the Tower of Demise tonight, there is someone I would like you to meet. I believe you would find his situation rather… relatable.”

Kotone nodded, determination filling her entire being. SEES would not miss her anyway. She was a monster, through and through. If someone else needed her only for her skills, then so be it. She would fulfil her role.

As a weapon.

***

 

She was standing in the back-alley of Port Island station with the other Strega members, waiting for someone to arrive. The time was nearing 10 pm, still a few hours away from the Dark Hour and their planned trip.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

A surprised voice reached her ears. She turned around, only to see Shinjiro approach them. He was eyeing her carefully, obviously not expecting her presence. Takaya stepped forward, standing between the two.

“Here’s what you asked for.” He pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket, throwing it towards Shinjiro. The latter caught it effortlessly, taking a moment to read the label before carefully pocketing it.

“What’s the payment today?”

“Oh, nothing too major, I assure you. We simply want you to have a chat with our newest member.” Takaya grinned, gesturing at Kotone.

I haven’t even agreed to join yet.

And yet, she took no effort to correct Takaya’s phrasing. Shinjiro’s eyes widened.

“You? But…” He cursed softly under his breath. His grey eyes met hers, initiating a silent conversation. Finally, he sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. Shinjiro turned to face her.

“Alright, then. What’s up?”

Takaya motioned for Chidori and Jin to follow him, leaving the two alone.

“I almost killed everyone in SEES.” Kotone lost no time in admitting why she was here. And yet, Shinjiro looked at her with… understanding?

“You too, huh?”

Huh?

“What do you mean?”

Did he go through the same things she did? Was there someone else like her out there?

She needed to know.

“I guess there’s no point hiding it any longer. I was a part of SEES, a little under two years ago.” Shinjiro started talking, taking a second to pause before continuing. “We were… a family. Aki and Mitsu were all I had. The chairman had our back, too.”

Shinjiro smiled faintly before the expression quickly vanished from his face.

“Then, when we were hunting down a shadow one time, it happened. I was still new to fighting with a persona, and I couldn’t handle it.” He exhaled slowly, pulling his beanie lower onto his forehead. “I lost control. Attacked Mitsu and Aki, and killed a civilian.” A bitter laugh echoed through the alley. “I’m a murderer. Nothing more, nothing less. So, whatever your deal is, you better stay away from me.”

Kotone smiled.

“I am being possessed by what I’m pretty sure is the personification of Death itself. So, if anything, you should be the one to stay away from me.” The words forced their way outward. Kotone needed him to understand. “I almost killed them, you know. Your precious Mitsu and Aki. I bashed her skull in and I turned him into a pincushion.” She spat out, shaking more and more with each word. “And I enjoyed every. Single. Moment.”

For a moment, Shinjiro’s expression twisted into anger. He clenched his fists, his glare burning holes in her skull. Then, suddenly, he relaxed.

“I know what you’re doing. You want me to be mad at you, don’t you? You need someone to justify your own self-hatred, and you’re using me for that.” He concluded, looking her straight in the eyes. A wordless clash. Grey and Red. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

What?! You don’t know anything! You know NOTHING!

Kotone didn’t even realize that she was shouting it out-loud.

“You’re right, I don’t. But if you’re as bad as you say you are, why are you here chatting with me instead of bashing my skull in, huh? Come on. I’m waiting.”

She saw red.

“Oh, is that so? Then where is your big scary persona that is supposed to murder me in a fit of rage, huh? You fucking hypocrite.”

Shinjiro growled, towering over Kotone. Unyielding.

“What was that?! Wanna say that to my face? Don’t think I’ll hold back just because you’re a girl.”

Kotone really wished she had her evoker with her at the moment. She bristled, not knowing what to say in response to his words.

“I’m guessing they gave you the pills too? Is that why you’re following them like a lost puppy?” He continued taunting her. “At least I got the guts to keep going on my own.”

Oh.

That last one hurt. Mostly because he was right. She always needed someone to follow. Always the sheep, never the shepherd of her own life. When was the last time she decided on something for herself? Why was she even climbing Tartarus?

What was the point of it all?

Kotone slowly sank to her knees, facing downwards as she got lost in her thoughts. Shinjiro sat next to her with a long exhale. The two stayed in silence for a while, occasionally interrupted by the shouts of drunkards that were passing by.

“Sorry about that.” He finally said. “You hit a sore spot.”

“I’m sorry too.” She muttered, still refusing to meet his eyes. “I got charmed by a shadow, you know. It made me think that SEES were the enemy. And I summoned…”

Summoned Thanatos. She knew what Thanatos was at this point.

“I summoned Death.”

Shinjiro smirked. “Charmed, huh? You have much more of an excuse than I did, then.”

“It’s not a competition.”

A comfortable silence filled the alleyway.

“Would you… come back? If they asked you to?”

This time, it was Shinjiro who averted his eyes.

“I don’t know.”

***

 

Tartarus loomed over the horizon. Strega took her to the tower’s entrance for her to fulfil her end of the deal. Upon entering the tower, she was greeted with a pleasant sight.

Maya squealed happily, lunging towards Kotone as the girl giggled, hugging the friendly shadow. For a moment, she forgot all her hardships, focusing solely on the purring creature in her hands.

“I missed you.” She said softly, petting Maya on her head.

mE tOo.

Someone coughed behind her, and Kotone turned around to meet the incredulous gazes of her new teammates.

“What the hell?” Jin mumbled under his nose. “You’re friends with that thing?”

“She’s not a thing!” Kotone hissed at him, clutching her friend closer. “Her name is Maya.”

The small shadow chirped in response to that, climbing up to settle comfortably on Kotone’s head. She glared at the trio from her newfound position, as if daring them to challenge Kotone’s words.

“We do not have time to waste on such meaningless things.” Takaya said, scowling at the girl. “If this is what you need, then very well. We shall not interfere.”

Strega continued to move through the entrance until they reached the giant clock.

“Well, Shiomi, we want to see you fight. Are you ready?”

Am I ready?

“I don’t have my evoker.” She said slowly, unsure of her words.

“You do not need one.” Takaya replied simply, moving forward. “Let us proceed.”

The group approached the teleporter. Takaya selected the latest explored floor as the light engulfed Strega, moving them to a different location.

A location with the floor guardian, Kotone realized as she appeared. Did they want to fight it and test her teamwork with them? She still did not have her evoker, but her trusty naginata was still strapped to her back.

The guardians were a trio of sandglass-looking shadows, who appeared to be… dancing?

Not the weirdest thing she’s seen in Tartarus.

She was suddenly pushed forward from behind, almost falling as she stumbled. Maya fell from her head with a squeak, hurrying over to the side to avoid confrontation. Takaya’s voice sounded out from behind Kotone.

 “Now then, Shiomi. Show us your resolve!”

The three shadows surrounded her. Kotone did not have her evoker to defend herself.

No matter. She only needed her naginata, after all.

She moved into the fight with her weapon spinning around her – a flurry of motion, a hurricane blowing through the battlefield. Her naginata scratched the shadow’s surface, digging deeper and deeper, until finally, something gave. A flash of green on her left, a blazing fire on her right; nothing could disturb her in this moment.

She was a weapon, fulfilling her purpose.

A smell of burning flesh hit her nostrils. Kotone stumbled, her deadly dance interrupted as the reality of the situation caught up with her.

She was surrounded on all sides, her only weapon stuck in one of the shadows’ plastic-looking bodies. Her own body hurt from the blows that she either has not noticed or ignored in favor in continuing her assault. She was truly defenseless, and Strega was not about to help her.

No matter. She didn’t need her weapon, after all.

With a cry, she jumped into motion once more. With nothing more but her limbs at her disposal, she had little choice in attacks, but that did not stop her relentless assault. Small dents started appearing in the shadow’s thin armor, blood trickling down her knuckles with each consequent punch that connected with her targets. Waves after waves of elemental attacks crashed into her, a constant stream of fire, lightning, and ice, but her resolve did not falter.

Until she did. All of a sudden, she was on the floor, completely and utterly defeated as the three shadows surrounded her. Dazed and bleeding heavily, Kotone considered her options.

I could just give up. It’s not like anyone would miss me.

…is…. lie…

But… It would be nice to have a purpose, for once in my life.

She decided, then and there. She did not need any crude tools to bring out her inner self.

“PERSONA!”

Kotone did not know what happened then, too dizzy from her blood loss to take notice of her surroundings. All she felt was the smell of burning plastic and the sound of clapping before darkness has finally claimed her.

***

 

She woke up disoriented. It was quickly becoming her default state of awareness after sleep.

Someone took her out of Tartarus and brought her back to Strega’s base of operations. Kotone was lying on top of a mattress, covered by a blanket.

What… happened? How did I summon my persona?

Judging by the lighting outside the window, the Dark Hour was already over. The world was bathed in the colors of dusk. The other Strega members were most probably sleeping. Kotone grabbed her head, a sudden pulsing pain emanating from within.

The effects of the suppressants are wearing off. I can feel it.

As if on cue, a haunting voice filled her mind, taunting her with its presence.

The moment you devoured the fruit of knowledge, you sealed your fate.

Shut up. Shut the hell up! You are nothing but a-

Entrusting your future to the cards, you cling to a dim hope.

The voice was unrelenting. Needles, piercing deep into her brain, breaking through all mental barriers and making sure she understood the meaning of the words. Kotone jumped from her mattress, desperate to silence it.

Yet the arcana is the means by which all is revealed.

That's right. Death. That was... She was...

No. It doesn't matter. Stop. Stop thinking!

The journey you have yet to take is already reaching its crescendo.

Items were thrown left and right. Her pillow, then blanket went flying in a fit of panic. Where the hell did she put them?!

Will you face me? I can feel the fear in your heart.

Her eyes landed on her saving grace. A bottle of pills. Finally.

I see. So that is your answer.

It clattered to the floor, her hands shaking too much to form a firm grip. She cursed loudly, movements more and more erratic as she attempted to ground herself.

Very well, I shall wait for you.

A pale hand entered her vision.

"Here."

The hand handed her one pill. She grabbed it greedily, tense in anticipation as the pill went down her throat.

Until the world meets its end.

Kotone held her breath, waiting for the demon to continue its speech, to torment her more. And yet, all that greeted her back was silence.

She felt... relieved, for a moment. Then, empty.

The latter was good. She knew how to handle that.

"That was pathetic." The hand that helped her earlier has returned to mock her. Kotone raised her head, only to see that it belonged to none other than Chidori.

Was this the first time Kotone heard her speak more than a word?

"I know." She replied, not giving the insult much attention.

"Will you do something about it?"

"I probably won't."

"I see."

Upon hearing her answer, Chidori turned around and left without looking back. Kotone was left alone in her corner once more. A short wave of sadness engulfed her, before being snuffed out in a moment.

God.

She missed Yukari so much.

***

 

07/10/2009

“Hey.”

Someone called out to her from her left. Kotone put down her headphones, turning her head to see Jin approach her corner of the room.

“How are you holding up?” He asked uncertainly. “Any unpleasant side-effects from the pills?”

To be honest, she was feeling rather chilly lately, but that was probably from the building’s lack of proper heat insulation. Their base was located close to the shore, and the wind coming from the sea could occasionally get very strong. Yeah, that was probably the main reason.

Kotone tried not to think about the fact that it was the middle of the Summer. That wasn’t relevant.

Jin was still looking at her expectantly. She had to reply.

“I’m okay. The voice isn’t talking to me as long as I keep taking the pills. I don’t care about side effects.” She replied after a moment of thinking. Jin frowned.

“That’s what worries me, you know. I probably shouldn’t even be telling you this, but…” He averted his eyes, pressing his lips firmly together. “That’s not normal, you know. We’ve all been experimented on and our personas can hurt us, but none of us have ever heard a voice. Are you sure that’s even… persona-related?”

Well, what other possible explanation could there be? Their personas may not be talking to them, but their personas also weren’t a manifestation of Death itself.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” Kotone said, disinterested. “Do we have a mission today?”

Jin sighed deeply. “No, not today. Look.” He started, narrowing his eyes at her for a moment before his gaze softened. “You may be a newcomer, but you’re still a part of Strega now. And we take care of our own. This may sound weird coming from me, but you need to take better care of yourself. Physically and mentally. I noticed you skipped on sleep several nights in a row, you know.”

Kotone winced. She did not intend anyone to see that. Sleeping without Yukari at her side was turning out to be… less than ideal. She was lucky to get two, maybe three hours of sleep per night before it was interrupted by nightmares.

“I’ll manage.” She said, keeping her face neutral. Keep your distance. Do not open up to anyone. Avoid more heartbreak. That would be better for everyone involved, in the long term. Kotone was a bad omen, after all – her stay at Strega was temporary at best. At some point, they too would get tired of her and she would move on to find another purpose. This was fine.

…know it…. not.

Shut up.

“Right.” Jin replied, shaking his head in disappointment. “See you later, then.”

Alone. Again.

***

 

07/15/2009

Shiomi was missing for a week with no signs of returning. The situation has left him with little choice.

Ikutsuki sighed deeply as he stared at the screen of his flip phone. A single contact was pulled up, but he was delaying the call as much as possible. Warm wind touched his face, the ship that he was traveling on swaying gently, traveling through the vastness of ocean.

Yakushima. That was his destination. And, with enough luck… This was where he would find his key to returning Shiomi to SEES.

He pressed the call button. A few seconds of waiting, and someone picked up the phone.

“Takeharu-san? There is something I need to urgently discuss with you (“Shuji? You’re coming here?”). Yes, I’m on my way to Yakushima. We have a problem.”

Ikutsuki took a moment to compose his thoughts. He had to convince the other man to go along with this plan. The girl was absolutely crucial for everything.

“Shiomi is missing. I’m coming for Aigis.”

Aigis, the last anti-shadow suppression weapon, and android built by the Kirijo group with the sole purpose of destroying shadows. He would have to conduct intensive repairs and, potentially, reprogramming to avoid a future confrontation with Shiomi. The robot’s internal systems could prove to be extremely useful both to protect SEES in the dark hour and to finally find the runaway girl. Their mission could continue, then.

And oh, he would do absolutely anything to fulfil their mission. Nothing could stop him, and nothing will. Ikutsuki was ready to utilize any strategy, however dirty, to finish the job. Ten years of struggle, pain, and tears would not go to waste. He has been an advisor for SEES ever since its inception, since Mitsuru was forced to become a child soldier, their only weapon against the shadows, and has grown to care about the group like they were his own family. The incident with Aragaki was not only a terrible setback for their progress, it was also a painful reminder that they were only human, capable of making mistakes. He, however, could not afford any mistakes.

Yes, Ikutsuki decided. It must be done. The fate of the entire world rested on his shoulders. The terrible incident from ten years ago bore catastrophic consequences, but the world could still be salvaged.

He would stop the Fall, even if it’s the last thing he ever did.

***

 

??/??/????

Warning. Severe damage to multiple modules detected. Status: Critical. Proceed with start-up?

>Yes

>No

Yes

Emergency Shutdown Protocols disabled. Fission process readiness – 15%. Coolant circulation pump activated. Adjusting flow rate to meet temperature specifications.

Energy generation rate – 20%. Activate the base systems of Papillon Heart?

>Yes

>No

Yes

Papillon Heart back-up module activated. Fission process readiness – 70%. Waiting to achieve design capacity.

Light. Whirring of internal cooling fans. Metal against her fingers.

Initiating purging of internal process lines. Air compressor activated, operating at design capacity. Flush oil injection system status: active. Fission reactor is ready for start-up. Lower the reactive material into the chamber?

>Yes

>No

Yes

Fission energy generation at 30% capacity. Estimated energy generation – 4.3 Megawatt. Estimated energy consumption – 3.7 Megawatt and rapidly growing. Adjusting the heat exchangers duty to control internal temperatures and energy generation rates.

A blue glow. Eyelids, fluttering as compressed air flew by her face. A man, standing in front of her.

All internal systems ready for operation and combat. Initiate the full start-up of the Papillon Heart?

>Yes

>No

Yes

Aigis analyzed her surroundings. She was currently located in one of the Kirijo group’s laboratories, Yakushima division. Shuji Ikutsuki, one of the lead researchers, was standing in front of her.

Initializing analysis. Result: no threat detected. Primary directive unchanged – find and annihilate all shadows. Voice box module ready for operation.

“Ikutsuki-san.” Her voice was smooth, unchanging, as always. “What is my mission?”

The researcher smiled at her, an emotion that Aigis recognized as relief according to the 43 microexpressions that the man was currently exhibiting. What was the origin of his relief? Was her start-up or maintenance difficult this time?

“I’m glad you asked, Aigis. I’m glad you asked.”

Affirmative. Ikutsuki was glad she asked about her purpose. She added that to her database.

“I am glad that you are glad, Ikutsuki-san.” She replied, nodding at him. “However, I am unable to proceed without further directive. Please, do tell me my mission or I will be forced to idle for an undetermined amount of time.”

“Right, the directive.” Ikutsuki coughed, adjusting his tie nervously. “I have a mission for you, Aigis. Set it as highest priority.”

“I need you to stay at Kotone Shiomi’s side at all times. Protect her with everything you have.”

Reclassification procedure initiated: Kotone Shiomi, ally. To be assisted at all times.

Aigis nodded.

Fatal error. Attempt to create a thread clashing with primary directive. Override?

Ikutsuki pressed “Yes” on the console next to her.

***

 

07/16/2009

“Everyone, meet Aigis. She is a humanoid Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, and she’ll be joining SEES, effective immediately.”

Ikutsuki introduced her to the group in front of her. Their expressions ranged from surprise and excitement to wariness and intrigue (Certainty: 98%, 96%, 89%, and 71%. Recalibrating systems. Adding faces to database.)

“She is also going to help us locate Shiomi-kun. She is equipped with an internal amplifier that could increase the range of your scan, Yamagishi-kun.”

Analyzing amplifier status and readiness. Result: Satisfactory.

“That is right. I am Aigis, the last Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. I have been added to the roster of Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad.” She introduced herself to initiate contact. The others seemed in awe.

“This is the coolest thing I’ve seen in my entire life. She’s a friggin robot!” Junpei exclaimed with an open jaw. “What can she do, Mr. Chairman?”

“Does it really matter?” Yukari spat out, eyes narrowed at the robot. “She can find Kotone, right? Let’s get to it.”

“Patience, Takeba-kun. We need the Dark Hour to do this.” Ikutsuki answered her.

Deciding it would be best for her to introduce her systems now, Aigis answered Junpei’s previous question. “I am equipped with a number of cutting-edge warfare systems, including but not limited to: firearms, grenade launchers, jet accelerators, and, of course, a persona.” She concluded. “Her name is Palladion.”

“Mr. Chairman, how come I’ve never heard of this before? Why did you choose now to bring her in?” Mitsuru asked the chairman, eyeing him suspiciously. “I’m not complaining of course, but if it’s as she says, she would’ve made our time fighting shadows much easier.”

“A valid question, Kirijo-kun!” Ikutsuki admitted, chuckling slightly. “You see, Aigis here has sustained severe damage from her previous fight. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to start her up, but considering the recent events, I felt like I had to at least try.”

Ikutsuki’s breathing quickened by approximately 3.5%. His heart rate increased as well. Those were all symptoms of lying.

Directive reminder: do not talk about Ikutsuki’s mission with the others.

Aigis chose to not mention anything.

“A real, living robot… I did not think something like this was possible.” Fuuka whispered with awe, looking the android up and down. “This is incredible!”

Internal temperature increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius. Ramping up coolant flow rate.

Aigis felt… proud of herself, after hearing the other girl’s words. The fact has left her confused.

Running express maintenance check. All systems operational.

She would have to log it in her error report and show it to Ikutsuki later.

The Chairman cleared his throat, gathering everyone’s attention.

“We’re going to try using your persona with enhanced range tonight, Yamagishi-kun. And then, we will bring Shiomi home. I promise.” He smiled at the others, his gaze lingering on Yukari for a moment.

A wave of agreement passed by the room. Aigis added her observations to her notes.

A few hours later, when the dark hour finally arrived, Fuuka exclaimed the words the entire group was waiting to hear for the past ten days.

“I found her!”

***

 

Eventually, Kotone’s days in Strega became routine.

Climb Tartarus at nights. Destroy shadows. Take her suppressants. Talk to Shinjiro. Rinse and repeat.

She liked routine. It distracted her from the unpleasant thoughts that threatened to come at any given moment. Primarily thoughts about SEES. And Yukari.

Did they think about her? Hate her? Were they grateful that she was finally gone?

Kotone did not want to think about it, but deep down, she already knew the answer.

Ever since her first venture into the tower with the other members, she realized that she did not need an evoker to summon her personas anymore. If she focused hard enough, she could bring them out with sheer power of will. It was painful and extremely taxing on her mind, but Strega did not have any spare evokers, so it would have to do. Takaya was really proud of teaching her that one.

Speaking of the devil, Kotone was still unsure what to think of her new teammates. The only ones who ever acknowledged her existence outside of combat were Jin and Takaya, and their exchanges with her were mostly short and straight to the point. Jin kept throwing her worried glanced when he thought she wasn’t looking, but Kotone completely understood that reaction. He saw what happened in the hotel, after all.

Takaya was the leader of the group. His tongue was sharp, but from what she has seen, he genuinely cared about the other members of Strega. He was the one who brought food, water, and supplies to their base of operations. He was also evidently the only person aside from herself who could summon his persona without an evoker.

He also carried around a charged revolver, which he occasionally had to reload after going out for his “evening walks”, as he dubbed them. Kotone did not want to know what he used it for, so she didn’t ask.

Chidori, on the other hand, was an enigma. The girl never really talked – the few times that she did were from Kotone’s nocturnal… incident, and the shouts for her persona in Tartarus. Kotone absolutely couldn’t get a read on the girl.

That worried her, a little. But the worries quickly went away.

It was better this way, she thought. She can still finish her mission. She can still reach the top of Tartarus. And by cooperating with Strega (she still refused to use the word join), she could do it without endangering those she cared about.

Kotone chuckled.

Try to create meaningful bonds, huh? Care about others? Look where that got me.

She clenched her teeth.

Curse you, Ikutsuki.

Another Dark Hour was soon approaching, but they weren’t going to Tartarus today. Instead, Takaya simply asked her to accompany Chidori and Jin to meet with Shinjiro and give out another dose of suppressants. For a price, of course.

Kotone suddenly shivered, holding back a sneeze. She should ask Takaya to find her warmer clothes.

She headed out with the other two to finish their short mission for the day.

***

 

Standing in front of Kotone Shiomi, the girl she was supposed to protect, Aigis finally realized why Ikutsuki’s order was met with resistance from her systems. The question was how no one else noticed what she did. Red alarms blared in her vision, alerting her about a hostile presence.

A presence directly in front of her.

“You… are dangerous.”

Notes:

Maya getting 5 seconds of screen time but at least she's cute.

Shout out to the one commenter who predicted the "You are dangerous." line!

Chapter 7: Heartful Cry

Summary:

In which Kotone meets SEES.

Notes:

I'm sorry for the delay! As an apology, please have this incredibly long chapter. I hope you enjoy!

07/16/2009

“You… are dangerous.”

After hopping on her bike and taking Fuuka with her to get to Kotone’s location as fast as possible (with Aigis tagging along on her own jet engines), Mitsuru did not expect the first words that the android exchanged with Kotone to be that. Was there a problem with her programming? Or was something else completely at play?

In any case, if Aigis made any moves to attack Kotone, Mitsuru would not hesitate to fight her.

“Aigis, stand back. We’re here to rescue her.”

What worried her was the company that Kotone was currently in. The girl herself appeared to be somewhat shell-shocked, wide eyes darting between the android and the other girls. Mitsuru recognized the group, of course – they called themselves Strega, constantly doing their best to make the Kirijo group’s lives as difficult as possible. They operated outside the law and did not hesitate to use less than ethical methods to achieve their goals. Mitsuru’s eyes lingered on one of the members’ hands.

A pill bottle, same as what she’s seen Aragaki take before. The same one that’s been slowly poisoning him for the past two years.

She saw red.

“You… You’re the ones giving him the pills. Of course.” She hissed at them, looking briefly at Kotone. “Did they give it to you, too?”

Kotone averted her eyes, lip trembling slightly. That was all confirmation Mitsuru needed.

“Look, it’s the Kirijo scum herself. Here to recruit more people to clean up your family’s sins?” Jin snarled at her. “Well, no one here is interested. Scram.”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Mitsuru replied without sparing him a glance. “So, Aragaki? Would you like to answer?”

“None of your business.” He huffed, tugging on his beanie.

The atmosphere in the alley was tense. The two Strega members were ready to fight at any moment, judging by their stances, Aigis was glaring in Kotone’s direction, and Fuuka looked absolutely lost. Mitsuru had to do something.

“Shio- No, Kotone. We were looking for you for so long, we were starting to lose hope. I do not know what they offered or told you, but, please… We need you.”

The mention of her name caused Kotone to jolt as if shocked. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but could only make unintelligible sounds before turning away from Mitsuru.

“Didn’t we tell you to fuck off, Kirijo? No one called you idiots here. She’s fine with us.” Jin replied rudely, hand still on his evoker’s handle. “If I recall, you idiots are the reason she even got into this situation to begin with.”

Any thoughts of solving the issue without violence left Mitsuru’s mind. First, she had to solve the issue of the hostile android to her right.

“Aigis, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but listen here. You are going to go and protect Shiomi and Aragaki and stop them from interfering, and if I find you even looking at them the wrong way, I swear to god I’ll ask the chairman to disassemble you.” She barked out an order towards the android, who nodded reluctantly, periodically throwing side glances to Kotone. “Fuuka, the one on the right. I’ll take the left one.”

The Strega members tensed instantly, waiting for the heiress to make the first move. Fuuka exclaimed a “What?” loudly in confusion as Mitsuru took a step forward.

“You’re right. We’re the ones at fault here. It’s our… No, it’s my fault that this happened.” She said fiercely, continuing to move towards the two. “But all that means is that it is now my duty to pay for my sins. And I’ll do that by bringing you back, Kotone. I know, I haven’t been pulling my weight in SEES lately.” Mitsuru whispered, her eyes closed in concentration. “But that changes here and now.”

The air started getting colder around them. Ice was now covering all the surfaces closest to Mitsuru, with tiny snowflakes floating in the air around her.

Mitsuru opened her eyes, the fire in them almost tangible enough to melt some of the frigid atmosphere that descended upon the alleyway. Her hand slowly moved towards the evoker.

“Mark my words, scum. You are going to regret doing this.”

The lessons from her fencing tutor flooded her mind. Spine straight. Eyes forward, never straying from the enemy. Trust your teammate to do their part.

The bandage on her face was going to be an issue, but she could work with that. Mitsuru rotated her stance in a way where her unharmed side was facing forward.

Left arm, with the evoker, behind her back. Second arm extended outwards, utilizing the full length of her rapier. Legs at shoulder width. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Testing her stability.

“Lesson number one, Mitsuru. As a Kirijo, it is your duty to present yourself with grace and honor. Do not forget this.”

And that is what she would do, Mitsuru thought as she flicked her left arm outwards and pointed the evoker at her head.

“Penthesilea!” “Moros!”

Having now summoned her persona, Mitsuru returned to her practiced stance. Her eyes bore holes into her opponent.

“En garde!”

A weird sensation made her shudder at the same time as Chidori’s voice reached her ears from the right. “Jin, Kirijo is weak to fire.” A scanning ability, then? Interesting. However, Mitsuru would not let herself be distracted.

Moving her body sideways to avoid the incoming fire streams, Mitsuru set herself into motion. She was completely in her element – the ice around her provided an excellent surface to glide on and dodge any incoming attack with ease.

A slight head movement to the right - a jet of fire passed by, centimeters away from her good eye. A spin to the left, avoiding what looked like a grenade lobbed at her, exploding behind her a few seconds later. A stab forward to redirect a conjured blade. Mitsuru almost felt herself become one with her persona, their senses merging together as one and showing her exactly what she needed to do. Another attack almost crashed into her from her blind spot, but Penthesilea saw it coming and deflected it sideways with a swing of her weapon.

“Tch.” Jin seemed to be getting more and more annoyed by the second. Any attack he sent towards Kirijo simply passed by harmlessly or did absolutely no damage to her persona. His volley of spells still kept Mitsuru at a distance from him, but at this point it wouldn’t last for long. Sending his persona in for an attack and buying himself a little more time, he opened his case and pulled out a bunch of weapons from the inside. Fire, huh? Well, Jin would give her fire. He just needed her to stand still.

In the meanwhile, Mitsuru found herself face to face with Moros. A long needle emerging from its head was being aimed at her, and, from what Mitsuru could guess, would be launched towards her in mere seconds.

“Lesson number two. Stand your ground. Do not let your opponent dictate the flow of the battle – do that and you will lose in minutes.”

Taking a moment to pocket her evoker, Mitsuru glared at the persona in front of her. The needle got released, flying at the girl and threatening to impale her in what surely would be a fight-ending blow.

Mitsuru put her hand in front of her and pulled.

Metal met ice with a resounding crack. The snowflakes that surrounded her fluttered in the air, as if perturbed by some invisible force. She was a fortress, standing her ground in the face of anything – her ice shield in her hands cracked slightly from the pressure, but was able to successfully deflect a strong attack.

Noticing another grenade out of the corner of her eye, Mitsuru rapidly switched her attention onto the incoming projectile. She remembered that the previous one she dodged did not explode upon contact; no, in fact, she was pretty sure that there was a short timer involved. Willing her shield to disappear for a moment, Mitsuru eyed the trajectory of the grenade.

Steeling her nerves, she swiped her hand at the air in front of her. The explosive was now in her hands. She had to do this fast.

Spinning in place to give it more kinetic energy, Mitsuru lobbed the grenade back at Jin, watching with satisfaction as it exploded right in front of him in a burst of lightning and caused him to stumble backwards. She found her opening.

Her enemy was disoriented for a single second, but that was enough. Mitsuru re-summoned her shield and dashed forward, slamming the end of it into the defenseless Strega member. What she did not expect was for Jin’s persona to suddenly come back and attack her from the side. She had barely just enough time to block the attack, meeting Moros’s assault head on, but Mitsuru knew she had to retreat backwards or she would get surrounded on both sides.

“Damn you… Kirijo!” Jin snarled at her after recovering from the stunning blow. “You’re just… a dog, following orders!”

“Lesson number three. Never listen to anything your opponent says. They will try to get into your head, distract you from the flow of battle. Remember – all that matters is what is ahead of you.”

Her enemy’s control of his persona was impressive, sure. He was able to chain attack after attack, a volley of fire and steel coming her way at all times, but Mitsuru had faith in her own abilities. As long as that did not waver, she would emerge victorious from this encounter.

Moros raised its appendage in front of it, a mechanical fist staring her straight in the face. Mitsuru remembered from her previous encounters – this kind of attack would home onto her and not stop until it hit. She had to block it.

Covering the bottoms of her shoes with ice to cement herself in place, Mitsuru raised her shield and met the fist head-on. The pressure on her kept increasing, but she would not yield. Too much was on the line.

After a few seconds of struggle, she felt the pressure recede. Taking this initiative, Mitsuru took a moment to aim, and then threw her rapier at the offending persona. The hit was not clean – she was slightly off mark – but the contact was enough to break its concentration and the fist cluttered uselessly to the ground.

Suddenly, she felt Penthesilea shout a warning in her mind. Something must’ve been approaching from her blind side. Mitsuru was about to turn around, but…

A flash of white, and then – pain. Agonizing pain covered the side of her face, the one which was still very much healing. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she lifted them to look at what transpired.

Jin was standing above her with a suitcase in hand, panting heavily. Several specks of blood covered the side of the suitcase. Her blood, Mitsuru realized. He hit her with a suitcase.

Just the thought itself was enough to enrage her. She was going to execute him.

“Lesson number four. Forget the first lesson. Grace, honor, fairness? To hell with it all. Sometimes, you are fighting to win. Fight as dirty as you can, use the most underhanded tactics – your only goal is to defeat your opponent.”

With a snarl, Mitsuru swung her leg, swiping Jin off his feet. She jumped back up, panting heavily and clutching the side of her head in pain.

To hell with the rules, she decided.

As he was starting to get up from the ground, Mitsuru swung her fist, encasing her knuckles with ice. To her immense satisfaction, it connected with his nose with a crack.

She grinned. Her enemy was still standing, but not for long. Taking a step forward, she lifted her leg and kicked Jin in the stomach with all her strength, finally sending him reeling onto the ground. The Strega member started coughing and glared at her with hatred, but he made no attempts to get back up.

Just to be completely sure, Mitsuru kicked him one more time out of pure vindication.

“Fuck you.” She spat at him, turning her attention to Fuuka.

***

 

Fuuka was not having a good time.

Fighting against shadows was one thing, but a human opponent was something she was completely unfamiliar with. Humans, unlike shadows, were creative. They attacked with intent.

And the Strega girl, apparently, attacked with the intent to kill, Fuuka thought as she had to dodge yet another chain axe by throwing herself sideways.

What was she supposed to do?! She didn't even have a weapon! Why did Mitsuru put so much faith in her? She could use her persona, sure, but she first had to distract the Strega girl somehow or she would never get a chance to attack.

Out of the corner of her eye, Fuuka saw Mitsuru glide gracefully on a lake of ice as she dodged the incoming assault from her opponent. She mentally reprimanded herself for being distracted and snapped her attention back to her own fight.

Think, Fuuka, think! How can she win here?

Chidori did something with her persona, and Fuuka shuddered, feeling a wave of unpleasant energy wash over her. Was that?...

"No weaknesses? Hmph." The white-clad girl said with annoyance, looking Fuuka up and down. Was this what being scanned felt like?

Chidori's persona floated behind the girl, not putting much effort into attacking. In fact, it had yet to cast an offensive spell. Maybe it was more suited for support, like Fuuka's own persona? That could be her key towards an advantage.

Lost in her inner thoughts, Fuuka did not realize that another axe was rapidly approaching her, this one blazing with bright orange flames. She dove at the very last moment and narrowly avoided the blade, her neck feeling uncomfortably hot from the fire's heat.

The bubble around her, unfortunately, was not as lucky. A wave of fatigue suddenly hit her, and Fuuka realized that there was now a hole in her defenses.

A physical attack, imbued with elemental magic? Lucia's bubble would not protect her anymore - it was basically guaranteed to completely shatter on the very next hit it took, and her shields could only protect her individually from either physical blows or spells! There was no way to defend from something that was both, was there? Unless...

Fuuka swallowed in fear. What she was about to attempt was very risky, but if it worked she would certainly gain the upper hand. It was a little hard to see her surroundings due to the cracks in her bubble - Fuuka was already at a disadvantage. This idea had to work, or she was doomed.

Chidori was preparing herself for another swing, and Fuuka put her evoker to her head and cast a familiar spell.

"Makarakarn!"

A blue shield surrounded the girl. Chidori narrowed her eyes at Fuuka.

Please underestimate me. I know you want to!

Thankfully, luck was on her side that day. With the tiniest of smirks, Chidori spun the chain axe above her head and launched it at Fuuka. This time, the speed was for sure too much for her to dodge.

"Tetrakarn!"

A yellow shield overlaid the blue one, creating a glowing green wall around her just as the axe was about to impact her. The color reminded Fuuka of the skies during the Dark Hour.

Chidori's axe slammed into the well-timed shield, exploding violently on contact. The flames spread around her bubble for a few seconds, before evaporating into the air. The axe itself rebounded, crashing into the nearby wall and leaving behind a crater.

The force of the impact caused Chidori to stumble. There was her opening! Fuuka prepared herself and cast the spell she has wanted to try for a while, hoping it would be enough to end the fight right away. She was starting to feel fatigued.

"Megidolaon!"

An explosion of bright, white light originated at the other girl's feet. Chidori looked at it in panic, disbelief written on her face. The ball of light expanded gradually, covering more and more area with a menacing reverberation, until finally...

BOOM

The light exploded in a myriad sparks, creating a flash so bright that Fuuka had to cover her eyes. Small wisps of pure energy danced in the battlefield, creating a sound of tiny bells whenever they impacted the surface of the walls and the ground.

This is... beautiful!

The picture in front of her was akin to something from a fairytale. And it was her who had this power!

Fuuka laughed weakly, dropping to her knees in exhaustion.

***

 

Mitsuru turned her gaze away from the scene, seeing Fuuka completely obliterate her opponent with a single spell. Passing by the unconscious Strega girl, Mitsuru moved straight towards Kotone and Shinjiro, the former of which looked extremely uncomfortable.

“Was that really necessary?” Shinjiro asked her as soon as she approached. “You know she’s teammates with them, right?”

Kotone was working with Strega? Just what had happened while she was gone?

Mitsuru took a step forward and opened her mouth, but Kotone staggered backwards upon seeing her come closer. The girl’s back hit the wall, and she looked at Mitsuru like a cornered animal. To Mitsuru’s side, Aigis instantly tensed, extending her fingers outwards as if in preparation to attack. Mitsuru glared at the android, causing her to reluctantly lower her arms, but still remaining in a guarded stance.

“A-Are you here to kill me?” Kotone finally said in a small voice, gaze moving rapidly between Aigis and Mitsuru. After a moment, she suddenly relaxed. “I… I get it, then. Just… Make it fast, please?”

Mitsuru’s eyes widened as her heart suddenly started beating faster. How could she allow it to come to this? This was…

Inexcusable. Mitsuru has truly failed in her mission.

“No, Kotone. We are not here to kill you.” Mitsuru started speaking slowly, as if talking to a child. “Forgive Aigis here, she can be quite… trigger-happy. As I already mentioned before, we are here to bring you back.” She considered her next words very carefully. A lot was at stake in the moment, and it was not just about the world’s future.

SEES did need more firepower, but Kotone was not irreplaceable. No, the team went through several leaders, all of them as capable as one another, even if Kotone was a step above. SEES did not need her back as a leader.

What they needed was their friend to return to them and feel safe.

“Everyone was worried about you. Is worried about you, in fact. Yukari was beside herself when you disappeared.” Mitsuru continued, hoping to convince the other girl of the sincerity of her words. “You must think what you did was horrible. Unforgivable, even. And I know my words may not have the desired effect, but you have to at least try to listen. Please?”

Kotone still looked unsure, refusing to meet Mitsuru’s eyes. Mitsuru moved her gaze to Shinjiro, hoping that he would provide some assistance, but he simply put his hands in his pockets and looked the other way.

“Kirijo-san is speaking to you, shadow.” Aigis said threateningly. Her blue eyes remained locked onto Kotone, staring the girl down unblinkingly. “It would be wise to reply.”

Mitsuru was going to kill Ikutsuki for bringing this pile of junk to their team.

“Aigis, for the last time-“

“KOTONE!”

A shrill and loud voice suddenly sounded throughout the alley. Everyone turned their head to look at the new arrivals.

Takeba, along with the remainder of SEES. She could convince Kotone, Mitsuru realized. She grabbed Aigis by the shoulder and pulled her to the side to have another talk with her, leaving the matter in Yukari’s hands.

***

 

As soon as Yukari saw Kotone, she couldn’t help but shout her name.

“KOTONE!”

Panting heavily, she paused in front of the girl. The other members of SEES gave them some spaces, opting instead to approach Mitsuru and Aigis. A lot of them were still shooting worried and curious looks their way, but it did not matter to Yukari.

What mattered was the girl in front of her.

“You… Why?” She uttered weakly. “Why did you run? What about our promise? Did you forget about it, just like that?” Yukari’s voice cracked in the end, causing her to pause momentarily. “Do you even realize how much I missed you?”

Kotone still stubbornly refused to meet her eyes. Did she really just… forget and let go? Or did she not care at all?

“You are unbelievable!” Yukari suddenly started shouting. “You were gone for a week, Kotone. A week! And now that we finally find you, you refuse to say a single word? Is that how it is?”

“…better this way.” Was all Yukari heard in reply as Kotone muttered something weakly. What she heard, however, was enough to set her off. She stomped towards Kotone, stopping a meter away from her, hoping the proximity would help with conveying her feelings better.

“Look into my eyes, Kotone.” Yukari demanded, whispering angrily. “I am not going away until you do.”

Perhaps out of fear or desperation, but Kotone did finally comply. What met Yukari’s eyes were deep pools of red that she was so familiar with, yet the emotion reflected in them…

She did not like it one bit.

“I said it is better for everyone this way. You saw what happened.” Kotone replied, meeting Yukari’s fiery gaze with her own.

“Better for everyone, huh? Who are you to decide that? It may be better for you, but certainly not for everyone! You’re… You’re so selfish.”

And yes, Yukari wholeheartedly believe that Kotone’s stupid escapade was fueled entirely out of selfishness. Was it wrong of her to think this way? Oh, if someone else was asked, they would for sure reply that yes, Yukari was being completely unreasonable.

She didn’t give a shit about what anyone thought, though. The only person whose opinion she cared about was currently standing in front of her. And she was going to change that opinion.

“You’re so selfish, Kotone. Running away from your problems, deciding what we feel, what I feel, without asking? You’re saying that you did this for us, but you really just did it for yourself.”

Kotone’s eyes were wide, clearly not expecting to be met with this line of thought. Yukari had to push more.

“And because you didn’t ask, I’m going to tell you now. I don’t give a shit about what you think is best for the others in SEES. But as for me? I need you. I don’t care if you come back or not, but know this – now that I’ve found you, I’ll follow you anywhere. If you continue alone, I’ll be by your side. If you join someone else, I’ll join them too. And if you return, so will I.” Yukari concluded her speech. An ultimatum, really. “Because you’re my… I…”

Her what? The only person that she could fully trust, despite seeing her turn on her teammates a week ago?  Her beacon in the dark, ever-glowing in spite of any circumstances, even if the light was dim at times? Her best friend?

No, Yukari realized. That descriptor didn’t really apply. Kotone was someone Yukari cared deeply for, someone she could confide in, a girl that wormed her place into Yukari’s heart mere months after meeting her…

Oh.

Right, best friend absolutely did not apply. She was absolutely and hopelessly in love with this girl. And if words couldn’t convince Kotone that Yukari cared oh, so deeply, then maybe actions would.

To hell with the consequences, Yukari decided as she grabbed Kotone by the shoulder, and crashed her lips into hers.

The sensation was unlike anything she experienced before. She took this opportunity to convey the full extent of her desire, her need, for Kotone to stay by her side. Yukari’s left hand moved from Kotone’s shoulder to rest on her cheek instead, caressing it lightly and lovingly. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, but Yukari still wanted more.

The need to breathe separated them, both girls gasping for air. Kotone’s eyes were wide, but, to Yukari’s great satisfaction, the haunted expression left her face. Instead, the girl looked utterly stupefied – a bright crimson blush covered her face as the girl clutched her cheek, looking at Yukari almost disbelievingly.

Yukari was sure she looked the same. She smiled brightly.

“Do you get it now, dummy? I’ll follow you to the end of the world if I have to. No running away this time.”

Kotone was still frozen in front of her. Oh god, did she not feel the same? Yukari totally did this without taking Kotone’s emotions and feelings into account, she ruined-

All thought left her mind as she felt Kotone’s lips on her own once again. Oh. That answered her question.

Unlike the previous kiss, which was filled with desperation and need, this one was soft. Gentle. Yukari buried her hand in Kotone’s hair, petting it lightly as she sighed happily into the kiss. Even after they had to part eventually, Yukari, with a soft smile on her face, was struck with a realization that she did not want it to end here. No, even if it wasn’t now, she wanted to continue kissing this girl. To love and be loved.

And that’s what she would do. That was a promise, to herself and to Kotone.

***

 

Love

Kotone finally had a name for the emotion she experienced a while ago on the rooftop. And it was an emotion she did not want to let go of.

Yukari’s harsh words were off-putting at first, but the more she thought about it, the more Kotone realized she was absolutely right. While her main concern may have been protecting the others, the core of the issue was that she wanted to feel isolated and shunned. It’s like Shinjiro said – she was punishing herself for something she has done, without asking the victims if that’s what they wanted for her.

She would have to fix that, eventually. Currently, she was a little busy kissing the girl of her dreams.

The Lovers shadow may have exploited this side of hers for its own benefit, but this was real. And that made it a thousand times more powerful.

She likes me too!

Kotone smiled into the kiss. If this was love, then she never wanted to stop loving.

A human body, to her great annoyance, still needed oxygen, so they had to separate eventually once again. No matter. They would have all the time in the world later, after Kotone did what she should’ve done a week ago.

She smiled at Yukari again. “Thank you so much, Yukari. I… There’s something I have to do now.”

Kotone moved towards SEES. Her eyes lingered at Mitsuru, who was doing her best to avoid meeting her eyes. Why did she look so flustered? Did she see…

To her right, standing next to Shinjiro and chatting animatedly, was Akihiko. She didn’t really want to interrupt, but this was too important to wait.

“Akihiko. Mitsuru.” She started, stopping to stand in front of them. “I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted. Just don’t run away next time.” Akihiko replied to her with a grin. “If you tell us more, we can help you with your problem and work around it.”

Mitsuru interrupted him. “That, however, is a topic for another time. For now, I am simply glad you changed your mind, Kotone.” She suddenly winced. “I do apologize for assaulting your new teammates, but please, understand my concerns. I am not sure what they told you, but their motives are far from pure. Their only goal is to destroy the Kirijo group and halt our operations – they do not intend to get rid of the Dark Hour. And the medicine they gave you, it has horrible side effects. Surely, they didn’t even inform you of that?”

Kotone’s mind reeled. Was she deceived by them? While rough at a first glance, they seemed like decent people, simply people who have been hurt before. And, well, they did tell her about the side effects. Then again, she wasn’t an expert on reading people.

Yukari’s words about the Kirijo group came to her mind. Something was not right here. But what options did she have? Wherever she went, Yukari would follow, she had made that very clear. And Kotone would not dare separate the girl from SEES.

The choice was obvious. Even if Mitsuru wasn’t trustworthy, her and Yukari would tackle it together. Kotone threw one last glance at Jin, who was still on the floor, but slowly getting up. He caught her gaze and nodded, mouthing something that looked like “Go” at her. Was he… telling her to return, as well? Did he see that deep inside, she really wanted to?

Kotone wanted to believe that he was doing it because somehow, just a little bit, he did care for her well-being. That she would be better-off back in SEES, together with Yukari.

Those were only assumptions, of course.

Seeing Yukari approach her side, she took her hand in hers.

“They’re not so bad. But… I’m coming back. To SEES.”

To her great surprise, the first one to crash into her and initiate the hug pile was Fuuka. She threw her arms around Kotone’s midsection, sobbing quietly into her shirt.

“We m-missed you so much, Leader. You have… no idea!”

Yukari, being the closest, was next. One by one, all the remaining members of SEES approached Kotone. Akihiko slapped her back before joining the pile. Junpei was cautious at first, but got eventually grabbed by Yukari, who told him to just come here already. Mitsuru shook her head fondly, trying and failing to capture every member of SEES as she threw her arms around the others. Aigis was left standing to the side, unsure if she should join in as well or not, considering her internal conflict about the situation. Shinjiro stood awkwardly alone, looking sideways with his hands in his pockets. It was Akihiko who noticed him simply stand there and refuse to join.

“Come on, Shinji, come over here!”

Akihiko took a moment to grab Shinji by the hand and, despite his protests, added him to the pile of SEES. Surrounded by the others on all sides, with everyone squeezing the death out of her, Kotone felt loved.

Maybe Ikutsuki was right, after all. She’d have to thank him later.

***

 

“I am not asking, Aragaki. I am simply informing you.” Mitsuru’s commanding voice cut through the space in front of them. “You’re coming back to the dorm. I am not telling you to come back to SEES.”

Shinjiro was about to protest when Akihiko interrupted him.

“Please, Shinji?”

God damn it.

***

 

07/17/2009

The next morning, Kotone woke up in her own bed in Iwatodai dorm. A sense of comfort surrounded her everywhere – familiar walls, the coolness of her pillow and the warmth of her blanket. The sunlight gently illuminated her room, and a satisfying feeling of having woken up well-rested filled her senses.

Her blanket then moved on its own, a brown-haired girl emerging from its depths. Yukari yawned as she stretched her arms, the knuckles of her hands lightly tickling Kotone’s face as they went up. The usual ritual of Yukari sleeping in her bed seemed to continue on her very first day back.

Kotone would not complain.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Yukari smiled softly her way, causing Kotone’s heart to flutter in her chest. “How did you sleep?”

Incredibly. Exquisitely. All thanks to you.

“O-oh? I’m glad to hear that, haha!” Yukari laughed lightly, her cheeks red. Did Kotone say that out loud? “Sorry, I just didn’t expect such an enthusiastic answer.”

Now it was Kotone’s turn to blush in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“You’re so silly. What are you apologizing for?” Yukari shook her head fondly. “Mitsuru gave us permission to skip school today. How about we go down and make some breakfast? Or, well, it could even be lunch at this hour.”

As much as Kotone wanted to stay in this moment forever, her stomach growled in protest at the thought. She simply smiled and nodded at Yukari’s suggestion.

The two girls got dressed and went down the stairs. Considering that it was still school time, the dorm lobby was empty sans two people – Shinjiro, who was busy reading some kind of a magazine, and Aigis, whose head instantly swerved to observe Kotone’s each movement. Seeing Yukari and Kotone come down, Shinjiro hurriedly put his journal away and nodded at them in greeting.

“Morning, Aragaki-san!” Yukari waved at him in return. “We were going to make breakfast. Would you like some as well?”

A sudden spark appeared in his eyes. Shinjiro smirked at them.

“Sure, but let me help you with it.”

***

 

“This tastes incredible!” Kotone exclaimed in-between bites, earning a reprimand from Shinjiro in return. Yukari seemed to share Kotone’s enthusiasm in the food.

“I never knew French toast could be this good! What’s your secret, Aragaki-san?”

Shinjiro seemed to enjoy the praise, even if he did little to show it. “For simple recipes like this, you just gotta know how to choose your ingredients. If your base is lacking, then it doesn’t matter how much you try to improve the dish – it can be salvaged, but not saved in the end. Thankfully, I told Aki how to properly do that.”

“But it’s never been this good when I made it by myself before…” Yukari pouted, before turning to Kotone. “We’ll make something as good as this eventually! Isn’t that right, Kotone?”

All she got in return was Kotone’s unintelligible grunt in return, too busy devouring the remainder of the toast to say anything.

***

 

“Aigis, your primary directive, please.”

Standing in front of her were two people – Ikutsuki and Mitsuru. Aigis was located in her assigned room in Iwatodai dorm, ordered to be on standby by the chairman until he arrived to her quarters.

“Eliminate all shadows, Ikutsuki-san.”

“Alright, and what is your highest priority mission?”

The answer took her a few seconds to process. Aigis dismissed several error messages, as ordered before.

“Protect Kotone Shiomi.”

“Right. Just making sure.” Ikutsuki cleared his throat, throwing a short glance towards Mitsuru. “I’ve gotten feedback that you haven’t been following that order in your previous mission.”

Papillon heart temperature exceeding norm. Increasing internal coolers duty.

Her cooling loops ran into overdrive to combat the sudden heat that engulfed her heart.

“Ikutsuki-san. The order you’ve given me is clashing with my primary directive. I can only ignore it for so long.” She replied with an unusual conviction in her voice. “She is dangerous.”

“That’s what you keep insisting on, yes. Look, Aigis.” Judging by the tone of his voice, Ikutsuki was starting to get a little frustrated. “I was hoping to avoid this. Please do your best to protect her. There is an error in your combat identification protocol. Shiomi-kun is not a shadow and you are to not treat her as one.”

A lie, easily recognized by her. His orders, however, superseded her own judgement.

“Understood, Ikutsuki-san.”

***

 

07/25/2009

SEES was gathered in the command room with Ikutsuki sitting at the head of the table. Earlier today, Mitsuru informed them in class that they had to come here for another meeting discussing their future actions. Kotone was hoping that they wouldn’t be too busy with Tartarus – summer break was starting soon, and she wanted to spend as much time with Yukari as possible.

She was also hoping she would get some answers about Aigis. She was, apparently, an android that the chairman recruited while Kotone was gone. While Aigis generally tended to avoid her, she also often kept watch on her while she thought Kotone wasn’t looking.

Well, Kotone wasn’t looking. But it wasn’t easy to ignore someone glaring at you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The only reprise she had from Aigis was her school – the android was confined to the dorm to avoid any public reaction to seeing a combat-ready robot walking the city’s streets.

“Thank you for coming, everyone.” Ikutsuki started speaking. “Now that everyone is here once again, there are several things I would like to tell you all. Firstly, Kirijo-kun came up with an excellent suggestion about your persona, Shiomi-kun.”

She winced, reminded of her problem. Upon noticing her discomfort, Yukari instantly grabbed her hand, rubbing smooth circles into her palm.

Mitsuru took over the speech from there. “Let me explain. The first time you used Thanatos, I was able to snap you out of it by tackling your physical body and breaking your concentration. If we cannot stop you from occasionally summoning her, such as what happened with the Lovers, what we may try is for you to learn to control her better. In a controlled environment, of course.”

The idea sounded great, if not for one small problem.

“When I ran away from SEES, I summoned Thanatos one more time. I…” She stopped for a moment to focus of the sensation of Yukari’s hand in her own to ground her thoughts. “When I summon her, it’s not like with all of you. I become her. And so back then, I have… moved my body around with Thanatos. That didn’t make her disappear.”

Judging by Mitsuru’s eyes, she did not completely believe that was all Kotone did. She did not, however, question her white lie further.

“I see. Those could have been extenuating circumstances, but of course, we will not proceed with anything without your consent. It was simply an idea. Moving on.” Mitsuru’s eyes moved onto Aigis. “You know Aigis already. She’s joined us while you weren’t here. Until today, she’s been malfunctioning and misidentified you as a shadow. This will not happen again.”

Kotone’s heart went to her throat. A shadow?

Ikutsuki suddenly cleared his throat, pulling all attention onto himself. “As Kirijo-kun said, that problem has been solved. I assure you, Shiomi-kun, Aigis is of no danger to you anymore. Now to the fun news!” He exclaimed, smiling at the group. “I talked to Kirijo-kun’s father yesterday. The island that I retrieved Aigis from is Yakushima – there is an old research lab there that I visited a few weeks ago. Well, on my way there, I suddenly had a genius idea! All of you have been working very hard there past few months, and rightfully deserve a break. How would you like to spend a few days of your summer break in Yakushima? You can invite Aragaki-kun as well, of course.” He added after his gaze landed on Akihiko.

“YES! Yakushima!” Junpei exclaimed. Was that all he got from that speech?

No matter, Kotone was excited too! A summer break on a nice island was something that could definitely help everyone in SEES relax and bond together. She could even go to a beach!

A beach…

Images of Yukari in a swimsuit suddenly flooded her brain.

“Are you okay, Kotone? Your face is all red!” Yukari asked her, concerned. “Do you have a fever?”

Kotone was so hopelessly enamored.

***

 

07/27/2009

“YA-KU-SHI-MA!”

Junpei’s excited shout mixed with the sound of waves gently crashing into their boat. Kotone inhaled deeply, taking in the pleasant scent of the sea. Their trip has barely started, but she was already enjoying herself quite a bit. For the next few days, Kotone would allow herself to forget about the shadows, the Dark Hour, and simply… live in the moment given to her.

Upon arrival, SEES headed towards a giant mansion slightly deeper into the island. Mitsuru mentioned that it belonged to her father, and its interior certainly looked exquisite enough for that. For a moment, Kotone was left wondering just how much money the Kirijo group had to afford something like this.

“KIrijo-san, this is incredible!” Fuuka exclaimed, looking around in disbelief. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I-Is it really okay for us to stay here?”

“The chairman has specifically informed us that we were welcome here for a vacation. I do not believe our presence poses any problems.” Aigis replied rigidly.

“Of course, Yamagishi. I informed father that we would be staying here for the next few days, and he did not mind at all.” Mitsuru attempted to alleviate her worries as well. Looking convinced, Fuuka chose not to argue further.

“Ah, who cares! Beach, beach, I wanna go to the beach already~!” Junpei sang at the end of his sentence. “C’mon, it’s still morning, right? We can go right now!”

Yukari raised her eyebrows in amusement at his antics. “Jeez, have a little patience, will you? We still need to settle in, we can go afterwards.”

“Takeba is right.” A deep voice suddenly interrupted them. A tall man with an eyepatch entered the hallway, flanked on both sides by assistants. Was this who she thought this was?

“It’s good to see you again, father.” Mitsuru smiled a rare smile. “How have you been?”

“Good, thanks to your efforts. Remember though, all of you are here on a vacation. Leave the work to us this time.” He replied fondly. Eyes scanning over the group, he lingered on Kotone. “We have something to tell all of you later, but for now – go ahead and enjoy yourselves. The mansion is all yours, and Mitsuru here knows this island like the back of her hand. Just ask her if you need anything.”

Kotone did not have a good feeling about the upcoming talk, but she suppressed those thoughts.

Today, she was just Kotone Shiomi. And she was here to have fun with her friends. And Yukari. What word was even appropriate to use for her at this point?

They really had to talk about it, huh. Thankfully, they had a lot of time to get to that.

***

 

“Hey, Shinji.”

With a groan, Shinjiro opened one eye to look at who woke him up from his short nap on the hammock. It was a perfect spot for him, really – close to the beach, but far enough that the others wouldn’t bother him. It was also in the shade of a palm tree, so he did not have to worry about being sunburnt as well.

Of course, someone just had to come and disturb his peace. Why was he not surprised that it was Akihiko?

“What do you want?” A curt reply was all he graced him with.

“Hey, no need to be hostile like this. I’m just here to check on you.”

Unlike the others, Shinjiro chose to not wear anything for swimming. Instead, he was in a simple white t-shirt and black shorts. The weather on the beach may have been pleasant for others, but the effects of the suppressants on his body were not kind – even in these conditions, he felt slightly chilly. At least it was bearable.

“I’m fine. Now leave me alone.”

He was being such a hypocrite. He had no problems spending time with other, newer members of SEES, but as soon as it came to Akihiko or Mitsuru, he just… couldn’t force the words out. So, Shinjiro went for the simplest solution in his head.

Simply ignore them and be rude, and, eventually, they will go away and leave him alone.

“Why are you always like this?” Akihiko whispered quietly, stopping to lean on the nearby tree. “Please, Shinji. It’s been a week already, and I’m happy you’re back and safe with us, but… Just give me something.”

God damn it. It was getting harder and harder to ignore him.

You need someone to justify your own self-hatred, and you’re using me for that.

His own words echoed tauntingly in his head. Shinjiro sighed deeply.

“I’m alright, Aki. Really.” He replied after a few seconds of silence. “I’m not taking the pills anymore. Not like I could even if I wanted to. Those guys were my only source.”

“And the side effects?”

Shinjiro averted his eyes.

“I don’t know” He lied. “They will probably go away eventually.”

Two years of nearly weekly consumption would surely have a lasting effect on his body. He already was experiencing some of the more severe symptoms – lack of heat regulation, bloody cough, sudden and intense heart pain… Shinjiro did not need to be a doctor to conclude that he was, simply and utterly, fucked.

Briefly, he wondered about Kotone. She was only taking them for a week, wasn’t she? It was the frequency that was the problem. During one of their talks, she admitted that in order to silence her persona she sometimes took them two or even three times per day. He really hoped that she wouldn’t end up like him.

“I see.” Akihiko replied simply. A tense silence settled between them.

“Alright, you done? Now go back to the others, Aki. Enjoy the day.”

Akihiko frowned.

“Only if you come with me. Otherwise, I was growing tired already – I may as well stay here.”

What a pain in the ass, Shinjiro thought fondly. Just like he remembered.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

“Let’s go. I’m not touching the water, though.”

***

 

Cloudless blue skies stretched out in the horizon. The sun stood directly above them, bathing the group in a pleasant afternoon heat. The sunbed under her was perfect – soft enough for her back to relax, but also rigid enough that it still provided a solid support.

Kotone sighed contently. Today was a good day.

A peach and mango flavored drink rested in her right hand as she was sipping from the glass occasionally, filling her mouth with a sugary, fruity sensation. Her eyes closed of their own accord – the combination of the climate, the sounds, and the calm atmosphere in general lulling her to sleep. The sun still shone brightly at her, even through her closed eyelids.

Suddenly, the sun’s shine disappeared. Kotone opened her eyes slightly, grumbling under her breath. All her annoyance at being disturbed went away instantly as soon as she soon who exactly it was that blocked her view.

“Enjoying yourself?” Yukari said in a teasing voice, sitting down on the edge of the sunbed. “I don’t blame you. This place is heaven!”

“Hey there.” Kotone replied dreamily. Her brain was still half-asleep from her short nap, struggling to forming her thoughts into sentences. “It is now that you’re here.”

A light dusting of pink appeared on Yukari’s cheeks. Mission success!

“You’re unbelievable.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “Wanna take a walk through the forest to help you wake up, sleepyhead?”

“Yeah, sounds great.” A content smile appeared on Kotone’s face, growing brighter by the minute. “As long as I get to spend time with you.”

“Oh, come on, that’s cheating!” The blush on her face deepened. “Mark my words, I’ll come up with even better lines to fluster you, ugh.”

Kotone was looking forward to it.

She reluctantly got up, throwing one last longing look at her fruit smoothie. There was still close to a half of it left at the bottom, and she was debating on whether she wanted to take it with her or not.

Seeing Yukari’s expectant gaze, she decided that she would come back to it later. It’s not like anyone would steal it from its place.

Stepping into the jungle-like forest, Kotone instantly felt a little chilly. The shadows of giant leaves covered the path they were walking on – the final obstacle of light rays traveling down to earth. But even if Kotone’s body was colder, her heart was as warm as ever.

Yukari and her walked hand-in-hand, exploring the different paths of the small, yet dense forest. Well, exploring might have been a strong word – all the paths have long been explored by others, as evident by the numerous footsteps along them. Still, that did not matter to the two girls – what mattered was simply being next to each other.

Kotone decided that now was the time to breach the topic she’s been thinking about for the past week.

“Hey, Yukari?” She started, suddenly unsure of herself. “I, uhm, wanted to ask you something.”

As if sensing her discomfort, Yukari sent a reassuring smile her way. “Of course! Go ahead, I’m listening.” She tilted her head to the side.

Oh god, that’s so cute.

“Well, uh, how do I even…” Kotone trailed off. Come on, just gather your courage and say it! “So, um, what… what are we exactly?”

Which was such a silly question, really. They kissed, after all. Not even just that, it was Yukari who kissed her first. But what if it was just a spur of the moment thing? Girls kissed each other sometimes when they felt extreme emotion, right? Who was to say that it wasn’t a platonic kiss?

You’re an idiot.

Yes, but what if?

“Are you… for real?” Yukari replied suddenly before doubling over in laughter. “Here, maybe I was unclear the first time, but let me show you again.”

Suddenly, Kotone was pulled into yet another kiss. It wasn’t an explosion of emotion, like the previous two were, and lasted much shorter, but it still caused Kotone to feel like she was soaring on clouds for just a moment.

“We’re girlfriends. If you want to be, of course.” Yukari added hurriedly, bashfully looking to the side as she put a lock of hair behind her ear.

Looking at the girl in front of her, Kotone was overcome with emotion that she felt upon her first awakening on the dorm’s rooftop.

She’s… so beautiful.

“I’d love to.”

***

 

“Kirijo-san!”

Mitsuru was suddenly interrupted from her inner musings by Fuuka’s voice. An unopened bottle of sun cream stood on the small beach table next to her, hidden from the sun by a shade of a red umbrella.

Everyone around her was having fun. Akihiko and Shinjiro have just joined them, making Mitsuru extremely pleased to see Akihiko finally convince him to spend time with others. Kotone and Yukari left a few minutes ago to go on a walk (and Mitsuru had to physically restrain Aigis from following them, ordering her to let it be), and, to her great surprise, Junpei managed to convince the android to join him and Fuuka in the water for some games.

To his great horror, however, Aigis unleashed her ultimate weapon. The water gun. She wondered who was having more fun in that situation.

Mitsuru herself simply opted to stay off to the side and observe the group. It’s not that she wasn’t interested in spending time with them, it was more, well…

The information that she would have to share with them later tonight weighed heavily on her mind. Mitsuru wondered if there even would be a SEES afterwards. She lied to them, after all.

A lie by omission is still a lie.

“Yes, Yamagishi?” She finally replied, realizing that she got lost in her own thoughts for quite a while. Fuuka looked nervous.

“Well, it’s just that… I couldn’t help but notice that you were out here all alone, by yourself. Is something, uhm, bothering you, Kirijo-san?”

Mitsuru had to give her credit, Fuuka was extremely observant when she wanted to be. Then again, it’s not like Mitsuru did that much to hide her inner conflict.

“Pardon me, Yamagishi. I am simply thinking about a…” Mitsuru suddenly found herself at a loss for words. That didn’t usually happen. What was wrong with her?

“Does it have something to do with what your father told us this morning? Th-That you have something to tell us?”

“Oui. You’re absolutely right, in fact.” Why was she so nervous? She was the leader of SEES, heiress of the Kirijo group. Pull yourself together.

The Kirijo group… As if that’s done her any good.

“I’ll be honest with you, Kirijo-san. We already were suspecting that something was going on.” Fuuka admitted quietly, shifting in place. “B-But… We’ll hear you out! I promise! I, uhm, can’t really speak for others, but I can give you my word!”

The sudden exclamation made Mitsuru release a short bark of laughter. They already knew, huh? Well, that did make things easier. Even if what they suspected was probably but a fraction of the whole story, the fact remained a fact.

They were prepared.

And she at least had Fuuka on her side.

“Thank you, Yamagishi. Your words helped a little.”

The girl smiled at her cutely.

“Y-You can call me Fuuka, if you want to!”

Oh! Well, this was a first.

“If you wish so, F-Fuuka.”

Both of them decided to ignore Mitsuru’s sudden stutter.

***

 

Threat identified. Target locked. Fire!

“Aigis, wait, that’s not what water gun means!”

Her opponent fell down under her aquatic assault. According to her visual and auditory sensors, he lasted exactly 0.23 seconds in a battle against her.

“I win.” She exclaimed proudly, bringing her wrist underwater to refill the water tank. It wasn’t the vessel’s usual purpose – it was mostly used for storing cooling water during her normal operation – but it would suffice for now.

“Initiating round two. Prepare yourself, Junpei.”

“No, wait wait wait wait! Fuuka, come back here, I can’t win this battle alo- aaaack!”

Seeing as Junpei hasn’t moved, Aigis didn’t deem it necessary to lock onto her target once more. She simply reloaded the coordinates from her memory, not giving him a moment to recover.

“Once more, I am victorious. Would you like to continue?”

 “No, no, absolutely not! I give up, you win, and I’m never challenging you again. Jeez.” Junpei sighed in exasperation, wobbling towards the shore to take a break.

Aigis thought she was rather good at this “having fun” thing. Now, to look for the next contender.

***

 

07/29/2009

The sun was slowly setting beyond the horizon, coloring the infinite expanse above them into a mix of colors – orange, red, and blue. Even viewed through a window, it was absolutely gorgeous, something to be cherished and remembered.

The situation at hand, however, filled Kotone with much more negative thoughts than that.

Everyone was gathered in one of the mansion’s living rooms, sitting on an obscenely expensive-looking couch. A few maids came and went, bringing them tea and snacks, but that’s not what Kotone focused on. No, instead she focused on the unusually somber expressions on Mitsuru and Ikutsuki’s faces.

Whatever they had to share with the team wasn’t about to be good news.

“Thank you for coming, everyone. Today, we have something that we would like to show you.” Ikutsuki finally started speaking, crossing his arms and legs. “It may answer some of the questions some of you might have had about the Dark Hour, Tartarus, and potential Kirijo group involvement. Some of it is… unpleasant. But it has to be shared.”

Yukari and Kotone exchanged a glance. They were going to reveal everything, just like that? They were prepared to confront Mitsuru about it at some point in the near future, but this was a viable alternative. As long as they double checked any info they received today, of course. They wouldn’t just blindly trust anything.

Ikutsuki stood up, holding what appeared to be a DVD cassette. He inserted it into the reader, placed just below a large flat-screen TV. A countdown appeared.

5

Kotone’s heart was beating wildly in her chest. She was suddenly filled with dread, and she did not know why.

4

She could feel her breathing going out of control. What was happening? She had no idea what was about to be shown on the tape, was she?

3

A hand clutched her own. Yukari’s, she noted. The sensation helped her ground herself.

2

Yukari’s hand was shaking too.

1

…

A man appeared on the screen. A researcher? He was surrounded by what appeared to be a room in a laboratory. His expression displayed panic.

Fear.

“My name is Eiichiro Takeba.”

Next to her, Yukari suddenly froze.

“I am a lead researcher working for the Kirijo group. I am recording this in order to share the results of our latest experiment that went… terribly wrong. Oh god, what have we done…”

The man took a moment to steel himself, and continued speaking to the camera.

“This research was authorized by the head of the group, Koetsu Kirijo himself. We had no choice but to follow his orders if we wanted to keep our jobs. We had no idea what would happen in the end. God, please, forgive our souls…”

Kotone’s stomach suddenly dropped. She knew where this was going.

“We have already known that shadows existed along humanity for thousands of years. It is a natural phenomenon – not something manmade, but something that has always been there. Koetsu, however, had an idea about them. What if we tried to gather their power? Theoretically, it would be near-infinite, since the shadows do not follow our known laws of physics. If we could somehow gather their essence, use it for humanity’s benefit, then so many of global problems could just be solved overnight.

However, it was lines of thought exactly like this one that had led to disaster so many times throughout human history. Koetsu did not simply want to gather the shadows’ power for everyone’s benefit – no, he wanted more. All shadows are different, varying in strength, and so he thought that generalizing them for the project was not good enough. No, we needed the best one. The strongest, most powerful shadow that has ever existed. And we, being foolish enough to not see through his ambition, followed him like blind sheep.

The theory was solid. All the calculations, all the cross-checks lined up perfectly – there was nothing left to do but to attempt the experiment in the field. And it went great, would you believe? We first tried extracting power from the weaker shadows in our containment chambers. We did it. But the result did not satisfy our leader. No, as always, he wanted more. Before trying the experiment with more powerful shadows, he told us that we would need a safety net, just in case things went wrong. A new sub-project was started, and, well… It was horrible. They… No, we, experimented on kids, trying to artificially implant the shadows’ power into them to create something known as a Persona. It would never be as potent as the real thing, but that did not matter to Koetsu. No, all he wanted was results.”

The scientist paused his speech for a moment to wipe his eyes. Next to her, Yukari did the same.

“Some of the kids escaped. I’m not sure what happened to them, but I hope they are living a better life now. I will never redeem myself, but maybe, just maybe this videotape will help someone in the future.”

After saying these words, he looked directly into the camera. He started speaking with conviction.

“The experiment succeeded. We managed to summon the strongest shadow ever known to man.”

Kotone felt as if he was looking directly at her through the screen. Through time and space.

“We summoned Death itself.”

Notes:

Fuuka, fighting Chidori: "get parried you filthy casual"

Kotone and Yukari kissing in the corner, while SEES is doing their best to pretend they did not notice it.

As always, comments fuel my inner drive! Please feel free to tell me what you liked and disliked about the chapter! At this point, we're officially halfway through the story. I am very excited to keep writing ^^

Chapter 8: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Summary:

In which Kotone learns the true strength of her bonds, Mitsuru discovers some hidden feelings, and old friends become enemies.

Notes:

This chapter took my soul. For CW, please check the tags, they have been updated.

07/29/2009

“We summoned Death itself.”

A verdict. One that sealed her fate forever.

“We only managed to contain it for a few minutes. As soon as we saw what was happening, we activated our best weapons – but, I’m afraid it was all too late. One of the weapons is fighting it as we’re speaking, but our hope is dim.”

The video turned into static for a second before continuing.

“-so please, if you’re listening to this, the shadow is still out there somewhere. You know what must be done.”

Did she know? Kotone thought she did, but her worst nightmare was coming alive right in front of her.

Not a nightmare. Merely a dream.

The implications terrified her. Ikutsuki was saying something, but she did not hear any words. Why was… why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? Why was she having such a reaction? She already knew she was hosting Death. It was, quite frankly, obvious.

The others didn’t know. Not until today. Not until a few minutes ago, if they even realized the implications.

She exhaled shakily, completely and utterly lost. A harsh reminder – that’s what all of this was. When she was with Strega and taking suppressants, at the very least she could pretend to be normal. Back with SEES, all that pretense was gone.

Her true colors were showing through. And they were black and white.

A humorless laugh tore itself out of her throat. She just could not catch a break, could she? This was supposed to be a vacation for them all. Would they even… what would they do now, knowing what she was?

Briefly, the memory of the collective hug entered her mind. Whispered promises and tight bonds. Would those remain? Now that Kotone has had a moment to think, a hopeful thought entered her mind. What if they did?

Sure, she was hosting Death. It was not a secret she could keep any longer. But realistically, what did that change exactly? They already knew her persona was uncontrollable and dangerous. Mitsuru and Akihiko experienced her wrath firsthand. And they still…

They still welcomed her back with open arms.

And Yukari, oh, Yukari. The kiss from the alleyway still felt fresh enough for Kotone to feel it on her lips, in her heart. Would Yukari really care if the name of the demonic creature residing in Kotone’s soul was Death?

No, she really wouldn’t. Kotone knew her better than that.

I see you are finally starting to understand.

The voice, for the first time ever, did not sound menacing to her. No, she would not run away. Not anymore.

“-did you hide this from us?!”

“Takeba-kun, it was-“

“And you too?! That’s my father in the video! You’ve had it this entire time?!”

The sounds of an argument reached her ears. Kotone finally looked up, only to see Yukari’s angry expression, directed at Mitsuru and Ikutsuki.

Lost in her inner thoughts, she hasn’t even thought about what kind of reaction Yukari would have after seeing that video. Eiichiro Takeba, one of the researchers responsible for the incident ten years ago. The incident that killed her parents. The one that sealed her fate, along with Death inside of her.

Kotone understood why they hid this information, really. That didn’t mean she liked it or agreed with it. And she wanted more answers.

“Yukari? Let’s hear them out, please? We can get mad at them afterwards. What do you think?”

Yukari was about to say something, but froze mid-syllable, biting her lip. She directed a hateful glare towards the two people responsible for this mess.

“Tell us everything. Everything you hid from us.”

Mitsuru took a deep breath and nodded.

“As you’ve already heard from the recording, the Kirijo group was working on harnessing the power of the shadows. Your father, Takeba Eiichiro, was one of the people participating in this project. The incident in question is the one that took place ten years ago. He died in an explosion caused by the rampaging shadow.” Mitsuru said somberly, refusing to meet Yukari’s eyes. “I suspect that the same goes for your parents too, Kotone. Their passing was a result of these unfortunate circumstances. And we suspect that the Dark Hour started appearing on that day, too. It may even be caused by the shadow itself.”

“So what, the purpose of SEES is simply to clean up your family’s mess? Is that it?” Yukari bristled, clearly unsatisfied with the explanation. “What are we even fighting for? To stop the Dark Hour? Or to continue your stupid experiment? How do we even trust you after all this?!”

An uncomfortable silence stretched throughout the room. No one dared say a word for a few seconds. Mitsuru retreated further into herself, refusing to answer Yukari’s question.

”Takeba-kun, please. Mitsuru here is not the person responsible for the incident. The people involved are long dead.” The chairman tried to reason with her. “If you want to blame someone, blame me. I am the one who recommended that Kirijo-kun does not share this information with any of you. I was expecting this reaction, and that is precisely why we could not afford any risks.”

“But… Why?”

“I was hoping that, over time, you would understand. That you would be more open to revelations, and something like this wouldn’t cause any of you to leave our cause. That, still, remains to be my hope. The sole goal of SEES was, is, and will be to destroy the Dark Hour completely, and cure people of Apathy Syndrome. What will your answer be? I’m asking everyone in this room. Not only you, Takeba-kun.”

The explanation made sense, Kotone thought. It was logical, and arranged in nice little blocks of continuity that still kept up the pretense of plausible deniability. Except for one thing.

Maybe Ikutsuki didn’t mention it on purpose, but she was done hiding things. And Kotone was sure that this question would come up eventually anyway.

“Where is Death?”

Her sudden exclamation seemed to surprise the chairman, who took a moment to compose himself. His eyes bore deep into hers, as if asking her for confirmation.

“Are you sure you want to know, Shiomi-kun?”

No, she really didn’t want to. But she already knew.

“They deserve to know.”

To her side, Yukari’s eyes widened in surprise. Was it because she was willingly revealing her secret? Or that Ikutsuki all but confirmed that he was in the know as well?

In any case, if all secrets were out on the table, this one should be as well.

“Alright then.” He reluctantly agreed. “I’ll be brief. After the shadow escaped, Aigis was released to dispatch it.” He started, causing the android in question to look at him in surprise. “She was unsuccessful. Death was too strong, and could not be defeated by any conventional means. So, she did the only thing she could. With the shadow weakened from the fight, she sealed it into the nearest human being she could find.”

Ikutsuki paused for a moment, as if considering whether he should continue the story or not.

“Where is that human, chairman? I remember now. It is my duty to stay by their side! Death cannot be allowed to return to this world.” Aigis asked immediately.

“That human is-“

“It’s me.”

Maybe this wasn’t how she wanted to tell everyone. But it was too late now.

“Thanatos is Death. I am the human he’s talking about. I don’t remember much from before April, and I suspect this is why.”

Her entire body shook as the girl clutched the fabric of her skirt in her hands. Her fate was now in their hands. At the very least, she could be sure that Yukari would stay on her side, but she was still terrified of losing the bonds she has forged with the others.

“You? So that is why I detected that signature from you.” Aigis was the first to reply, appearing to be deep in thought. “You are dangerous. But… that is exactly why I must protect you.”

For a moment, Kotone thought that Aigis would attack her right there and then. Her response was genuinely unexpected.

On the other hand, Ikutsuki probably wouldn’t have revealed anything if he knew Aigis would become aggressive. He didn’t seem like the kind of person that would let something like that slip by.

“I, um… I already knew, kind of.” Fuuka finally said after Aigis was done talking. “When we were looking for you, your signature on the scan reminded me more of a shadow than a human. A-and after the previous full moon, I suspected something like this was going on. To think it would be Death, though…”

Fuuka suspected it already? And she didn’t tell anyone?

“That doesn’t change anything, though!” Fuuka continued talking, suddenly with much more energy. “From what I’ve seen, you’re a kind and compassionate person! S-So what if there’s a shadow sealed inside of you? We’ll help you deal with it!” She looked around the room, looking at every member of SEES one by one. “Right?”

In response, Mitsuru chuckled lightly. “Well said, Fu-… Yamagishi.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “I had my own suspicions as well. Thanatos was simply too different from everyone else’s personas. Of course, I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but all of this makes sense to me now. And it is just as Yamagishi said – we’re here for you. Do not forget that.”

Akihiko grinned at her. “If you ask me, that just makes you more admirable. Mitsuru may have shared her suspicions with me earlier, so I was prepared for something like this. You’re still our field leader, and I will happily follow you into battle.”

Kotone couldn’t believe her ears. Everyone already knew? Well, maybe not knew, but suspected that something was off. And they didn’t just… abandon her?

A warm feeling bloomed in her chest. It was unbelievable.

“And you already know I know, Kotone.” Yukari grabbed her hand. “And you know I don’t care in the slightest. And seeing the others agree with me, it makes me belive that-“

“Woah woah, stop right there! Why did no one ask for my opinion?” A sudden voice interrupted Yukari. Kotone turned to look at Junpei, who in return glared at her with open hostility. “Death, guys. Death! Inside of her! And you’re getting all comfy with her?! Did you already forget what happened the last full moon?”

Kotone winced at the reminder. Akihiko and Mitsuru forgave her, did they not? But… should she have asked the other for forgiveness, too? For subjecting them to this danger without telling anyone about it?

“Follow her into battle, Sanada-san? Well I certainly wouldn’t! I don’t wanna die, damn it!”

“Iori, she has saved us more times than-“

“And so what? Anyone can be a leader! You were one before her, Kirijo-san! We don’t need her.”

“Junpei, sit down.” Akihiko replied curtly.

“No, wait!”

Kotone decided to finally interject. What happened? Why was Junpei so hostile towards her? Was it really because of the full moon incident?

Well, she would apologize to the others too, then.

“I’m sorry, Junpei, Fuuka.” The latter jolted, not expecting to be addressed. “Even if you weren’t directly involved, I still put your lives in danger by being near you. Junpei, if you don’t want to see me again, I understand, I really do, but… Give me a chance, please?”

All she received in reply was a glare. After a few seconds, Junpei huffed and averted his eyes, sitting back onto the couch without a single word.

Kotone’s stomach dropped. Did he hate her? What should she even do?

“Iori, Kotone chose to join SEES of her own accord. She risks her life alongside us every time we venture into the Dark Hour. Her circumstances are unique, but I have grown to trust her with my life.” Mitsuru said. “I hope you can relearn to do the same, eventually.”

The conversation stopped there, for now. So many questions were still left unanswered, but Kotone got the feeling that the one keeping secrets wasn’t Mitsuru anymore.

No, if anything, it was Ikutsuki.

“What would happen if Death was released, Chairman?”

Ikutsuki adjusted his tie before replying. A nervous tick. She couldn’t trust whatever he said next.

“I don’t know, Shiomi-kun. And it’s best if we don’t find out. What I do know, though, is what we should do going forward.”

With those words, he managed to garner everyone’s attention.

“We need to destroy all the full moon shadows. Without them, Death will finally dissipate into nothing.”

***

 

Leaving the meeting, Ikutsuki was generally satisfied with the outcome, even if some things did not go as planned. Shiomi revealing herself, namely, was not something that he expected.

Still, the fact that she trusted the others enough to share that bit of information proved that his plan was going forward smoothly. Sure, Iori was a problem, but it was nothing Ikutsuki couldn’t fix. Some members of SEES did not trust Kirijo before the meeting, did they? Well, now that he’s taken the brunt of the impact onto himself, he hoped that it would change. With enough luck, he could get Aragaki to start helping them as well. He was not there to see the videotape, but maybe the others would tell him what they learned anyway. Ikutsuki would have to make sure, just in case.

They needed tight bonds to resist what was coming, after all.

Now, what should he have for dinner?...

***

 

A hand combing through her hair. Another person’s warmth close by.

Kotone always found sleeping next to Yukari to be a blessing, since it made her nightmares mostly disappear. She never thought, however, that cuddling her would be so much better.

“Crazy day, huh?” Yukari whispered, not pausing her hand’s movements. “It was a mess.”

A mess was a great way to describe what transpired, in her opinion.

“Yeah. Ikutsuki is hiding something. I… I’ve seen him in my memories. He knows me. He’s more involved than he’s letting on.“

Yukari hummed in agreement.

“Mhm. I thought that was obvious. Do you think we can still trust him?”

They didn’t really have a choice did they?

“We have to. Let’s be careful though, yeah?”

Kotone fell asleep feeling safe that night.

She dreamt of blue.

The familiar sights of the Velvet room met her eyes. How many times has she been here at this point, to fuse new personas and keep getting stronger? Igor never let her fuse Thanatos away, of course, but that was somewhat understandable.

Speak of the devil. Igor was looking at her with an unreadable expression, his ever-present grin looking almost… forced?

“Welcome to the Velvet room, dear guest. You are not supposed to be here right now. The fact that you are is very concerning, indeed.”

Now that Kotone thought about it, what was the last time she’s visited the room in her dreams? It hasn’t happened for a few months at this point. Each and every visit after the first one has been of her own volition. What exactly prompted that to change?

Igor asked her again.

“Do you, perhaps, know why-“

The lights in the Velvet Room dimmed. The elevator stopped.

Kotone felt chills run down her spine. Her surroundings weren’t completely dark – the room was bathed in an ethereal dusk, letting the girl barely distinguish individual objects and people in the room. Igor’s grin completely disappeared from his face, Elizabeth was looking around in panic, and…

There was something else. She couldn’t see it, but Kotone felt that it was there.

“If you would reveal yourself, please.” Igor finally said, addressing the air in front of him.

A deep, feminine-sounding laughter echoed through the room. The darkness around her moved, shifting into unrecognizable shapes, residing just outside the corner of her vision. Whenever Kotone tried to look at it, the shapes shifted ever so slightly, moving out of her field of view. Whatever it was, though, made her entire body shake with… what? What was it?

So, so afraid. I thought we put this behind us already, mea alia.

It was her. Showing up after being revealed to the others, then? What was the purpose?

Do I need a purpose, really?

With her eyes focused forward to avoid looking to her sides, Kotone noted how neither Igor nor Elizabeth interrupted whatever the creature wanted to say. She felt phantasmic tendrils wrap themselves around her eyes, causing her to momentarily flinch. It was cold.

The intent behind the gesture, however, was warm. Was this… supposed to be an embrace?

Kotone wanted to believe that. She refused to go back to cowering before her own persona.

There we go. Much better. I am so proud of you.

The deathly cold that enveloped her turned into a cool breeze in the warm night.

This is the only place in the universe where I can show myself to you like this. That is why I pulled you into here.

Momentarily, Kotone wondered what Igor and Elizabeth were seeing right now. She had a strong urge to turn around, but resisted it out of principle. She was not ready yet. She knew that.

Them? They are unimportant. Fickle. Temporary. Focus on me.

Kotone physically nodded, realizing the futility of the action a moment later.

Focus on me and the other important people. The ones that you’ve forged beautiful, stalwart bonds with.

Yukari was the first person on her mind. Her radiant smile and indomitable spirit.

You are truly an Architect, mea alia. A progenitor. A trailblazer.

The aura around her suddenly turned somber.

An Architect of your own downfall.

The universe wept. Kotone’s entire soul was on fire, consumed by the grief.

I will be waiting for you. And then, you will finally understand.

Who am I to judge human caprices, after all.

Who was I, indeed. The answer eludes me, hiding in the deepest crevices of the unknown.

Kotone woke up feeling lost the following morning.

***

 

??/??/????

Jin stumbled into the main room of the hideout with Chidori leaning heavily on his shoulder. The additional weight was proving to be very hard for him to carry, but he had to other choice. Not after how their confrontation with SEES went.

At first, he was furious. How dare Kotone betray them and come back to… to those monsters again?! Eventually, however, he realized.

Strega never stood a chance. The girl was always going to come back. He saw how she looked at the other members of SEES. Like family.

She never looked at Strega like that once. They were simply a stepping stone for the girl to realize her true standing. And if it was with their sworn enemy, the Kirijo group, then who was he to tell her otherwise?

That didn’t mean he hated Kirijo any less, though. If anything, the feeling quadrupled after their fight. Of course she was stronger than Jin, with her years of controlled training and modern evokers. Something that no one in Strega had.

The hit he managed to land on her was very satisfying though.

Takaya was the only person there to greet the duo upon their return. His expression, however, quickly morphed into shock once he saw the states they were in.

“Jin? Chidori? What happened?” After a second, he noticed the absentee. “Where is Kotone? Were you all attacked?”

He was not looking forward to explaining what happened. Not only was it absolutely humiliating, but they also lost a very strong ally. Was Takaya going to be mad at them? No, Jin thought. He would never do something like that. Jin knew him well enough.

SEES would be the ones to suffer his wrath instead.

Finally collapsing on a nearby sofa and releasing a long sigh, Jin went into an explanation of the night’s events.

***

 

“I see.”

The two words were Takaya’s only response to Jin finishing his story. And what else could he add, really? The details were very clear.

He was going to utterly destroy Kirijo for harming his group and taking away one of his allies.

There was no point in showing his inner rage to the others. SEES would taste it soon enough. Looking at Chidori sitting in the room’s corner with her head in her knees and Jin’s bruised face only solidified his resolve.

Actions spoke louder than words, after all.

***

 

08/01/2009

Today, SEES would finally go back to Tartarus after returning to Iwatodai.

Considering that they have spent the majority of the month looking for Kotone and then spending time in Yakushima, this was their first venture into the tower in a while.

If someone asked him, Junpei would say that they should’ve spent more time training this month. That was the problem, though, wasn’t it? No one ever asked him.

It was with those thoughts that he followed their combat leader onto the highest floor, having been selected to be one of the members of the assault squad today. He was happy to be here, really, but couldn’t they have someone more reliable on their team as a leader? Oh, maybe like him? He wasn’t even given a fair chance. What if he had some hidden talent that would forever go unrecognized?

Not that he would voice any of these thoughts, of course. No one cared to listen.

The first few fights were manageable, but still tough. All of them were rusty (except for Kotone, he noted), so more often than not one or two attacks from the shadows managed to catch them by surprise. It didn’t hurt that much, but if the wounds kept piling up, Yukari would eventually run out of healing spells.

Oh, right. Yukari was here too, as always. Because Kotone was still the leader.

Junpei wondered how long this would keep going on for. Their group was basically permanently comprised of two people already – the leader and her precious girlfriend. That left only two slots open, one of which was more often than not occupied by Mitsuru. She was extremely strong, Junpei had to admit, but didn’t she want to rest sometimes?

In any case, she wasn’t with them today. Aigis was here to fill her spot.

Oh well. At least he wasn’t forgotten, left to play cards at the entrance with two other unlucky souls.

He slashed into the shadow in front of him, not really paying much attention to the fight. They have already fought these enemies before – none of their moves were capable of surprising him anymore. He wiped the shadow residue off his forehead and sighed heavily.

“Is everything alright, Junpei? Are you tired?”

Kotone was the first person to notice his downfallen mood. Because of course she would – she was a natural leader, always looking after their teammates! When she wasn’t busy tearing them into pieces. Or wearing that small shadow around like a god damn hat. Junpei swore he caught it looking directly at him several times throughout their venture today.

He clenched his fists.

“Peachy.” He replied, turning away from her. He had to tolerate her in Tartarus, but that doesn’t mean he had to put any more effort than that.

And no, the girl’s crestfallen face did not bother him. Not one bit! Absolutely not.

The shadow on her head made a confused noise upon seeing Kotone’s sudden shift in mood. Kotone called it Maya, right? Junpei really did not understand why she insisted on taking this thing everywhere with her in Tartarus.

Maya circled around Kotone’s midsection a few times, almost as if trying to lift her mood. Alright, maybe Junpei did understand. The shadow really was cute when it wanted to be.

He was getting distracted, damn it!

“I must say Aigis, your weapons are really cool! Having you on our team is gonna be a huge help.” Yukari said, paying Junpei no attention. “Seriously though, that minigun thing you pulled out of your arm? How did it even fit in there?”

“My inner storage has been designed by a team of topologists, making it so that all of it is used in the most optimal way possible.” Aigis replied. “This one, for example, is a grenade-“

“Oh, n-nevermind, it’s okay, you don’t have to show me!”

“Understood. I will not show you my “cool cannons”, as they say. However, I would like to issue a recommendation, if that is okay.” Aigis turned to look at Kotone. “Your power is commendable, but your teamwork could still be improved. On our next encounter, why don’t all of us try attacking in turns instead of all at once? This way, we can preserve our energy and go on for longer.”

So their new battle bot was not only extremely powerful, but also excelled at coming up with new ideas. That was good for them, right? It meant that fighting could become easier for their whole team.

So what was this ugly feeling Junpei was experiencing right now?

“That sounds interesting!” Kotone replied enthusiastically, thinking over the android’s suggestion. “How about we try it on, uhhh… Those ones!” The girl pointed at their unfortunate targets, who were skulking around as a group in the next room. “Let’s see, they were weak to fire, electricity, and wind, right? Junpei, you deal the opening strike, I will follow up afterwards, and Yukari will finish off the last one. Aigis, just observe and tell us how we did afterwards, alright?”

“Affirmative.”

“Sure thing, Ko!”

Junpei remained the last one to say something. Kotone looked at him with pleading eyes. Maya mirrored her expression.

Argh, how could he say no to those two! This was so unfair.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. Jeez.”

Their enemy didn’t stand a chance. And the next one after that, too.

***

 

08/03/2009

“Please open the door, Kotone-san. I know you’re in there.”

The girl in question remained oblivious to someone knocking at her door, completely in a world of her own. Listening to music made her forget all her problems, worries, and all the negativity in her life – it was a brand new space, coloring her existence with wet paint that constantly slid down to reveal the canvas underneath, yet always created a temporary masterpiece.

Unfortunately, it often led to situations like this. It’s not like Kotone was ignoring the visitor on purpose – she was simply not aware of their presence.

“Initiating combat protocol.”

The door to her room was suddenly kicked down, causing the girl to shriek in surprise. After the dust settled down, Kotone saw the cause of destruction – Aigis, who was now looking at her with a quizzical expression.

“Kotone-san. Why did you not open the door? I thought you were in danger.”

Kotone was slowly getting more and more used to Aigis’s presence in the dorm. At first, it was hard to trust the android – after all, she did threaten to kill her. Multiple times, in fact. Lately, however, Aigis has mellowed out, almost acting slightly protective towards Kotone, both in the real world and in Tartarus.

Which sometimes led to unfortunate incidents. Like this one.

“A-Aigis!” She stuttered, still recovering from the initial shock of having her door torn down. “I was just listening to music. You didn’t have to do, uhm, that.”

Aigis looked at the door, lying in pieces on the floor underneath her. Her gaze then returned to Kotone.

“It was an obstacle. You must be protected at all costs. I am simply carrying out my mission.”

Right. Maybe Aigis needed a lesson on personal space.

“WHO’S THERE?! WHAT’S HAPPENING?”

Yukari’s voice reached her ears, with the girl herself appearing in her doorframe a few moments later. She must’ve been cooking something, Kotone thought, considering her apron and the frying pan in her hands that she held like a weapon. “Aigis? What did you do to the door?!”

The android explained her reasons once more, to Yukari this time. The latter listened with a stupefied expression on her face.

The scene in front of her made Kotone burst into giggles.

“The reason I’m here is that I would like to apologize, Kotone-san.” Aigis suddenly addressed her. “I treated you unfairly because I misunderstood my directive.  Starting from today, I will do better. I promise to protect you at all costs.”

Aeon. Evolution of the soul.

Kotone smiled at her.

“Thank you, Aigis.”

She would have to inform Mitsuru about the door later.

***

 

08/04/2009

Junpei sighed for what felt like a thousandth time that day.

The weather outside was starting to get really hot. Even though it rained eventually, the precipitation didn’t help – quite the opposite, in fact. Not only was the weather scorching, it was also unbearably humid, increasing Junpei’s suffering tenfold.

Still, this was better than staying at the dorm.

Junpei put his head in his hands. What was he even supposed to do in a situation like this? He wanted to hate Kotone, he really did, but anyone who looked at her would see the same thing he did – a girl, trying her best with the circumstances she was served. Not that that made it easier for him to decide just how the hell he was supposed to feel about her staying with SEES.

On one hand, it really wasn’t her fault. Fate did deal her a terrible hand. Losing her parents when she was like, what, seven? Carrying the most powerful shadow in the world inside herself, always at the danger of hurting those around her?

He could not imagine such an existence.

Then again, it’s not like he didn’t have a choice. If he really was scared of her (and, he had to admit, Thanatos was absolutely terrifying), he could always just… leave SEES, and continue attending school like nothing ever happened.

Junpei clenched his fists.

No, he would never come back to that household. He’s had enough of just about everything related to his father. This was his only way of escaping, of proving himself worth anything. He refused to go back to that pathetic existence.

Which means that there really was no choice. He could only push forward and try to bury his feelings deep inside to not damage the team morale.

Damn it! Why did everything have to be this difficult?!

“Iori?”

Junpei startled, not expecting someone to address him. Raising his head, he was met with Mitsuru’s red eyes. She looked slightly relieved.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

“Uhh, “here” as in this random bench near Paulownia mall?”

“Takeba told me you’d be here.”

Oh, of course.

“Did you need anything, Kirijo-san?” Junpei asked. Was SEES meeting up again?

“I actually wanted to talk to you.” Mitsuru said, suddenly looking unsure. “It’s about Kotone.”

He frowned.

“What, did you come here to lecture me? Don’t worry, I’ll keep my mouth shut. It’s all I’m good for, anyway…” He trailed off, clenching his teeth in frustration.

Mitsuru approached the bench and sat next to him.

“I understand what you’re thinking, Iori. No, really.” She started, causing him to look up in surprise. “She is dangerous, right? Thanatos is terrifyingly strong, and Kotone’s control over her is not something you’d call refined. Logically, she’s a danger to all of us.”

Where was she going with this? If Mitsuru was about to say that she’s a competent leader, Junpei was going to-

“But we’re all she has, Iori.” –going to… huh? “She has lost her family when she was a child, she doesn’t talk to anyone in school except for us, and the only time she leaves the dorm aside from school is to spend time with someone from SEES.”

This was not the speech he expected.

“I would like to think that she’s not only a teammate, but also our friend. And I, personally, would never leave a friend to suffer alone.” Mitsuru said in an uncharacteristically passionate voice. “I’m not here to make you feel guilty. I have also mistrusted her deeply when she first joined SEES. But now I realize that that was a mistake. Do you know why?”

Junpei silently shook his head, asking for her to keep talking.

“Because I’ve finally seen her. Her desire to keep those dear to her safe, even if she was mistreated by them. Wrenching control from a being called Death, just so she doesn’t hurt the person closest to her. Sure, she makes mistakes sometimes. But none of us are perfect.”

None of them were perfect? While he could see what Mitsuru was going for, was it really fair of her to say that when she was pretty much miss perfect herself?

“I see that expression on your face. I know what you’re thinking.” Mitsuru read him like an open book. “Did you know that I blame myself for everything that ever goes wrong with our operations? As a leader of SEES, the responsibility of our well-being naturally rests on my shoulders. Yet I’ve failed so many times. Shinjiro’s entire situation, hiding the truth of the Dark Hour from you all, even the last full moon – those are all proofs of my failure.”

Junpei sputtered and shook his head.

“Senpai, you can’t possibly blame yourself for all of that! You’ve done your best, haven’t you?”

Mitsuru laughed humorlessly.

“And yet my best wasn’t enough. And it never will be. There will always be something I can’t prevent from happening, always some disaster that waits just around the corner. And the responsibility will always be on me. The Dark Hour is my family’s mistake, and I will be the one to fix it.” Mitsuru took a deep breath before continuing. “Yet I now understand that there is no way to account for everything. Tragedies will happen, especially when you’re fighting for something with all your might.”

…

No one was perfect, huh?

“Maybe we don’t need to be perfect, then.” Junpei replied after a moment of silence, returning his gaze downwards.

“We just have to try our best.”

***

 

08/06/2009

Chariot and Justice stood no chance against them.

Mitsuru smiled when she saw the assault team, consisting of Kotone, Yukari, Aigis, and Junpei return to the front entrance of the bunker. It was fair to say that everyone was tense after the disaster that was the Lovers shadow, but they managed to overcome this obstacle in the end.

No, the problems only started when they tried to return to the dorm. The doors that they used to enter the underground base were now locked, preventing them from leaving.

Mitsuru silently put her left hand on her evoker. Something was wrong.

“Bravo! I see you haven’t even broken a sweat with that one.”

A disembodied voice, sounding like it came from everywhere at once flooded her senses. It sounded… familiar.

To her right, Kotone suddenly tensed.

“It’s Strega.”

Damn it! How did they know SEES would be here today? Everyone around her prepared for combat, with Fuuka even summoning her persona right away to create a shield.

“My, so hostile. We merely wish to talk.”

Whoever this was, their voice dripped with malice. Mitsuru sincerely doubted that this person only wanted a nice chat. In any case, it’s not like they had much choice there, did they?

“Then talk. We’re listening.” She replied, looking up to the place she thought the sound originated from.

An inquisitive hum filled the air around them.

“My teammates told me what happened in the alleyway that day, Kirijo. Now, do you always greet other persona users like that, or are we special?”

Mitsuru grit her teeth in anger.

“Don’t pretend like you’re innocent. I know what your group really does. You were just using Kotone for your own selfish goals.”

The voice chuckled in return.

“Oh, just like you do? You are a hypocrite.”

Mitsuru was about to reply to the jab, put Akihiko beat her to it. “We follow her because we want to! All of us are united under a single goal, and we are ready to fight to the death for it. While you don’t even know what it is you want to do.”

A long silence stretched throughout the bunker, interrupted by the voice once again.

“Can you really say that? Do your precious teammates agree with your reason to fight?”

Unease pooled in her stomach. Mitsuru turned around to look at the other members of SEES.

All that greeted her in return was resolve. Unwavering. Stalwart.

“I fight for all that is beautiful in the world.” Kotone was the first one to respond. “And I will never give up.”

Her words seemed to be the catalyst for everyone else.

“I will destroy all shadows and complete my mission.” Aigis nodded in affirmation.

“I, uhm, may not be the most powerful fighter we have, but I’ll keep trying and getting better! Because if not us, then who?!” Fuuka shouted out, clutching one hand to her heart.

Junpei chuckled upon hearing her words. “Not the strongest fighter my ass! You have, like, an equivalent of an atomic bomb in your pocket!” He took a moment to adjust his baseball cap, grinning in the direction of the voice. “They’re my friends, you idiot! Of course I won’t leave them!”

Kotone smiled softly. Mitsuru mirrored her expression.

“Thank you, everyone. I couldn’t ask for a better group than you.” Her gaze lingered on Fuuka for a moment, and her smile widened. “And that is why we will win.”

This time, the silence that stretched throughout the room was comfortable. Relaxed.

There was nothing Strega could do to break them.

No reply followed, and the doors to the hangar moved open a few minutes later.

***

 

08/09/2009

“Oh, Ki-… Mitsuru!”

Fuuka’s soft voice met her when she descended down the stairs to the lounge. It was a surprisingly relaxed Sunday so far for her – she has already finished all her student council president duties the day prior, and SEES were still resting from the full moon fight. All of this meant that Mitsuru suddenly had quite a lot of free time on her hands today, and she was not sure what to do with all of it.

Thankfully, Fuuka seemed to offer her a solution.

“Hello, Fuuka. How have you been?”

Lately, Mitsuru found herself enjoying the smaller girl’s company. With Fuuka, she could forget all of her burdens, if only for a moment.

“I’ve been doing great! I wanted to try this new recipe I found online for omurice, would you like to help me? I wanted to ask Aragaki-san too, but he said he had something to do, so…”

Mitsuru’s eyes widened. “O-oh! I’m afraid I won’t be of much help in… culinary procedures.” She said sheepishly, feeling embarrassed. “But, if you’d like to, I can try to help anyway.”

Fuuka nodded vigorously. Gosh, she was just so adorable-

What was that train of thought? Focus, Mitsuru!

“-also don’t really know how to cook! So we can learn together.” Fuuka looked slightly uncomfortable. Did Mitsuru scare her with her attitude? She had to fix this right away!

“Donc, tres bien! Let us start, then. What would you have me do?”

“Alright, so the recipe goes like this…”

Several hours later, when Mitsuru, covered in soot, looked at their pitiful attempt of a meal, she realized why Aragaki refused to help them.

Still, she had fun that day. Even if her hair smelled of burnt eggs.

***

 

08/14/2009

Come on, Junpei. It really wasn’t that hard.

Just knock on the door. And then talk to her. Maybe even apologize? Well, explain your own side of the story, at the very least.

Mitsuru turned out to be a surprisingly competent person at offering someone words of comfort. He wasn’t like that, but as long as he spoke from his heart that should suffice, right?

Still, that didn’t make the task of knocking any easier. Come on, it’s just a damn door! Do it already!

He raised his fist, but froze centimeters away from the door. Thankfully, he didn’t have to knock in the end – it just opened on its own. Revealing Yukari and Kotone. The former of which was covered in lipstick marks on her face.

Oh!

“What the hell, Stupei?!” Yukari shrieked, slamming the door into his face. “Ughhh, and I was hoping no one was in the corridor…”

“Hey, Yuka-tan, it’s not my damn fault! I just wanted to talk to Koto-chan, that’s it.”

He was met with silence, before eventually the door opened once more. Yukari glared at him with enough intensity to incinerate him on the spot, while Kotone’s expression stayed neutral.

Yukari mouthed something that resembled “don’t you dare”, and made a slicing motion across her neck for him to see. Jeez, talk about intense! He was just here to talk, not… berate her, like he did before.

He simply nodded in response. Yukari must have seen something in his expression, because her own softened and she left the two alone.

As Junpei entered the room, he refused to meet Kotone’s eyes until the very end, even as he sat down on the corner of her bed. He exhaled heavily.

“Hi.” Kotone said kindly, trying to spark up the conversation. Junpei appreciated it.

“Hey there, Koto-chan.”

He remembered Mitsuru’s words once more and finally lifted his eyes.

Kotone’s earnest expression met his face. Ready to hear him out. To listen.

He’s been such an idiot for the past few months.

“I’m so sorry, Kotone.” He finally started speaking. The first words were unbearably heavy to force out, but the continuation almost flowed out of him on instinct. “I’ve treated you like absolute shit. You didn’t deserve any of that. I-“

“It’s okay, Junpei. I… I get it.” Kotone replied.

“No, wait, let me finish!” He had to get his point across. “I’ve been nothing but a huge asshole. My own insecurities just… I don’t know, man! I thought I was absolutely worthless. And that is one thing that I never want to be again.” He whispered the last part, still loud enough for the girl to hear. “But I wasn’t. I only became worthless once I started lashing out at others. We’re all in this together, right? I’ll start acting like it, then.”

Kotone took a step towards him. Then another. Suddenly, he found himself in a gentle embrace.

“You were never worthless, Junpei. You are right, we’re all in this together. But this isn’t a simple fight.” She said with intense conviction. “We can lash out, we may misstep, but we will never give up. All we can do is try our best.”

Junpei sniffled lightly as he chuckled at her phrasing.

“It’s funny. You’re not the first person to tell me that. I think… I think I get it now.” He wiped his eyes after disengaging from the hug.

He looked Kotone in the eyes with his signature smirk on his face.

“And I will try my best!”

Kotone smiled softly in return, her own eyes brimming with unshed tears. Her first friend has finally returned.

“I missed you.”

***

 

08/18/2009

“Wait, so you’ve never been to one before?”

As soon as the words left Yukari’s lips, she realized the stupidity of her own question. Kotone barely remembered anything from before she joined SEES – even if she has visited an aquarium before, it’s not like she would know it, right?

She was getting ready to apologize when Kotone answered her question. “Not that I know of, no. But I would love to go with you. Anywhere, really.”

Where did she even learn to talk smoothly like that?! Ugh, Yukari could feel her own face erupt in crimson as she playfully frowned at Kotone. “At least wait until we get there before you smoothtalk me! The atmosphere, Kotone. The atmosphere is important!”

There was nothing even remotely romantic about the green walls of the dorm’s lobby. That didn’t mean Yukari didn’t appreciate her words, quite the opposite, in fact! It’s just… this was their first official date, and she really wanted it to be special.

No one to boss her around this time, no one to tell her how much of a mistake she’s making. Yeah. Now, Yukari chose her own fate. And if she decided to intertwine it with Kotone’s, then no one could stop the two of them.

Then again, maybe it was a little early to talk about intertwining fates on their first date. Still, Yukari felt like she has known Kotone for such a long time, even if realistically it’s only been a few months. Funny how that works, huh? Not that she was complaining. Even if the circumstances and recent events were grim, this is the happiest and most in-control that Yukari’s felt in her life.

Kotone made her happy. Yukari simply hoped that she did the same in return.

The train ride to the aquarium was a little longer than she was used to, considering it was located closer to the outskirts of the city, in a place where Yukari wouldn’t usually go. The simple action of holding Kotone’s hand, of course, made the thirty minutes that it took them to get to the aquarium much more enjoyable.

Oh god, she really was in deep, wasn’t she?

A wave of anxiety suddenly washed over her. She was just so… happy, to spend the evening with Kotone, but what if it all went wrong? What if Kotone suddenly turned to her, and exclaimed how she wanted nothing to do with her anymore? What if the aquarium was closed for repairs, or the tanks weren’t clean enough, or there were too many people? Ugh, so many things could go wrong! What if-

Kotone squeezed her hand. Yukari turned to look at her, finding a questioning look in her eyes. From spending time with her, Yukari realized that this was the girl’s method of asking if she was okay.

Alright. Just for this one evening, she has to let go of her anxieties and just let whatever happens, happens. Thoughts about failure were honestly a little silly – after everything they’ve been through, there was no way Kotone would leave her at an aquarium of all places. And even if the experience wasn’t perfect, then so what?!

They still had so much time left together.

Exhaling softly, Yukari smiled lightly and shook her head at the other girl to indicate that yes, she was feeling alright.

After buying the tickets, the duo finally went inside. The aquarium itself wasn’t incredibly huge, of course; Iwatodai wasn’t that big of a city to begin with. The variety and number of exhibits could not compare to something like the famous aquarium in Osaka, but again, the fishes obviously weren’t what Yukari was here for.

“What’s this one called? It’s so colorful!”

Maybe Kotone was here for the fishes, though.

“Well, according to the sign that’s a Blue Ram. Apparently it’s quite a common choice for home aquariums? Not that I’d know, though.” Yukari awkwardly replied.

Kotone nodded sagely in response. Oh come on, she just read the sign next to the tank! It’s not like she was a fish expert. Still, it felt nice to get some appreciation from the other girl. And her interest in all the different species certainly made Yukari think that she chose the right venue for this date.

“Do you think we could ask Mitsuru to get a fish tank for our dorm?” Kotone suddenly blurted out.

“H-Huh?! Well, I mean, we could certainly try asking, but-“ Yukari stopped talking once she noticed Kotone laugh quietly next to her. “Oh come on, stop teasing me!”

Kotone smiled softly at her. “But you’re so fun to tease. I love your reactions.”

The L-word made Yukari’s heart skip a beat before she realized that it wasn’t quite the original three-word phrase that she thought she was gonna hear.

“See, that’s what I’m talking about! Your whole face is red!” Kotone giggled, closing the distance between them and placing a quick peck on Yukari’s cheek. “The way you blush is so cute.”

Oh, that was it. As much as she appreciated the gesture, Yukari now made it her goal to be the one to make Kotone blush instead. Now, deciding was the easy part. How should she actually approach this mission?

“Hey, doesn’t that one look like it’s smiling?” Kotone pointed at a grey fish with black smudges running along the lines of its mouth, which made it look like the fish was indeed enjoying itself.

Time to execute her plan.

“It does, but your smile is prettier.” Yukari proudly exclaimed, much to the confusion of the other girl.

…What?

Kotone pointed a finger at herself, as if to confirm. “Well, I would hope so! That’s… a fish.”

Damn it. She was really bad at this!

“Wait, are you trying to be the one to embarrass me this time?” Kotone laughed. “Oh my god, Yukari, that’s so you!”

Hold it in. Hold. It. In. Don’t blush!

Well, maybe it was time to resort to dirty tactics.

“If I really wanted to make you blush, I’d just do this.” Yukari took a second to gather her courage, and grabbed Kotone’s face, as if preparing for a kiss.

A bright crimson blush instantly erupted on her face. Now, for the finishing blow!

“You are adorable when you blush, Ko.” Yukari said with a confident smirk on her face. Kotone’s face became even more red. Victory!

She let go of the Kotone’s face, eliciting a whine from her.

“What, were you expecting more? You’ll have to wait until we return to the dorm, silly.”

Maybe she wasn’t that bad at flirting, after all.

***

 

08/25/2009

Their gathering did feel tense at the beginning. That much Kotone could notice instantly.

Yukari did not stop glaring at Junpei ever since she laid her eyes on him that evening. Kotone was flattered that the girl cared about her well-being that much, but this was quickly getting out of control. And the two haven’t even exchanged a single word yet.

The plan was to take a walk through Paulownia mall and find a place to sit down and relax, but so far it’s not been particularly successful.

“Yukari.” Kotone said, trying to get the girl’s attention. “He apologized that day, when, uhm… You know when.”

Junpei laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Yukari’s glare returned instantly, locked onto him.

“And does he think a simple apology is enough? He’s been acting like a douchebag!” She exclaimed, crossing her arms. “I don’t know how you forgave him so easily.”

Such conviction to protect those close to her. Yet it clashes with itself, does it not?

Kotone hummed.

“Please, Yukari. Trust me?” Kotone replied, grabbing the other girl’s hand. “He’s genuinely remorseful. And I’m not mad at him, really. I never was.”

Sensing a good moment to add his side to the conversation, Junpei jumped into it.

“Yeah. I know how much of an idiot I am, Yuka-tan. I already promised this to Kotone, but I guess I’ll extend the promise to you too.” He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “I am going to keep trying my best. There may be times when my best is not enough, but… I will never, ever take the easy solution anymore just because it’s more comfortable.”

Yukari appeared to be stunned for a moment. Then, a weak smile appeared on her face.

“Wow, Junpei. That was… wow.”

He took that as a positive signal. “So then, Yuka-tan. Ichigo latte?”

This time, the smile on her face was brighter. Familiar. Junpei was glad to see it again. “Just assuming that I’d never branch out to other coffee types? That’s a low blow, Junpei.”

Seeing the two return to comfortable bickering, even if some of the tension remained, Kotone felt more at peace than she has for weeks.

“-and I’ll have you know strawberries are full of vitamin C and antioxidants! They are good for you!”

“Yeah, but not in a latte! It just has the powdered stuff, Yuka-tan.”

“Ugh, shut up, Stupei!”

Yeah.

This is how it should be.

***

 

09/01/2009

Their first “official” meeting with SEES during the last full moon definitely did not go as Takaya expected it to.

Thanks to Medea’s navigation and scanning skills, they were able to keep track of the movement of the other team rather well whenever they wanted to. That’s how they discovered them in the love hotel and saw the Thanatos fiasco unveil. However, that didn’t mean that it gave them a precise and clear image of every single person on that team.

Which is why when Strega hid outside the bunker that the shadow was hiding in, waiting for SEES to arrive at the doors, he took one look at their members and was instantly struck with a wave of nausea.

Mitsuru Kirijo. She hasn’t changed one bit.

Which is why Takaya was now feeling very, very conflicted, indeed. Because now he knew, without a shadow of a doubt.

It really was her, all those years ago.

***

 

??/??/1999

Hell. This was simply hell on earth. Takaya had no other way to describe it. Did he deserve it? Maybe so.

The orphanage was terrible, but at least the people there mostly left him alone. He was the weird one. Always the outcast. And if he simply stayed hidden, then no one would bully him. Takaya figured that one out rather quickly – he had to, for his own survival.

Oh how he wished the doctors here left him alone as well.

He did not even know what they wanted from him. Every time, they brought in giant needles, filled with medicine that lit his body on fire and coated his mind in a fuzzy layer. No one even told him the purpose of anything. They made him fight and it hurt. It hurt so much, and not even physically. It’s as if his mind itself was shattering into pieces every time he did what they asked him to and summoned the monster that they wanted to see.

He was just a doll for them. A toy, ready to be broken. If he failed, then others would take his place. And yes, there were others – he has taken note of at least two other children locked in the facility with him, but the only time Takaya would ever see them was during the god-awful tests.

And it’s not like he could ever focus during those. So, even if there were others, Takaya was still utterly alone. They gave him a room, sure. A large one, compared to his prior standards. But that did not compensate for anything.

And thus, he was alone. Until one day, he wasn’t.

“H-Hello?”

Someone was calling for him from the window of his locked room. Was it one of the researchers again, back to take him away for another torturous session? No, the voice sounded too young for that.

Was this… a visitor? Takaya’s heart suddenly started beating faster, excited at the prospect. He sprinted towards the door.

Standing on the other side of the door was a young girl. Her red, curly hair was tied up in twintails, and she was wearing fancy clothes that he never saw on other test subjects.

Was she a new one? Why did they let her talk to him?

“Can you hear me? I-I’m not really supposed to be here, so…” The girl mumbled to herself, looking around cautiously.

“Yes, I can.” Takaya replied with a rasp in his voice, not used to talking to others. “Who… are you?”

The girl flipped her hair and… refused to introduce herself?

“My name is not important. I’m, uhm… Daddy told me not to come here, but I have to know!” She suddenly blurted out, putting her palms on the door. “Did you come here on your own? What are they doing to you? Does it hurt? Do you want to leave? Are you-“

Realizing she was rambling, the girl suddenly stopped talking and simply stared at him. Did she… not know?

“No, nothing good, yes, and yes.” Takaya replied with as few words as possible to avoid hurting his throat. “I don’t know what they want. I… They never told us.”

The girl’s eyes widened.

“You don’t? And what do you mean us? There are others?”

“Three at least, I think.”

A horrified expression adorned the girl’s face. She really didn’t know.

She had to get out of here, fast, or the doctors would catch her and send her to hell with the rest of them.

“You have to leave.” Takaya rasped urgently. “If they find you, they will hurt you too.”

The girl gulped in fear.

“I’m… they won’t… Look.” An icy edge crept into her tone. “I’m gonna help you. And you’ll help the others. Deal?”

Star. Hope and Healing.

Takaya nodded. For but a moment, he let himself hope.

“Alright.”

***

 

The hope persisted and the girl returned. She brought a set of keys with her.

Takaya’s heart leapt into his throat. Was this really it? Was he about to be free from this nightmare?

“I messed up some glowing things in one of the far rooms. All the researchers should be there.” She told him, turning the key in the lock and opening the door to his room. “This key should open everything. Take the others and run.”

With shaking hands, Takaya accepted the key.

“What about you? You can’t stay!”

The girl smiled.

“I’ll be okay. Just go!”

This really was it then. With tears streaming down his face, Takaya sobbed and said the one thing he hasn’t told anyone in years.

“Thank you.”

It wasn’t hard to find the others after he left the room. He took extra precautions on each turn and corner to not be caught, but it all turned out to be unnecessary – the facility was eerily empty. Whatever the girl broke must have been important for everyone to gather there.

First, he released the other boy, who tried to fight him on sight. Takaya managed to convince him, eventually, that he was here to let them escape. The boy introduced himself. Jin Shirato.

Next, the girl he saw a few times. Her hair color was similar to the girl who rescued him, but after seeing her up-close, he noted that the shade was different. She did not react at all after he opened the door.

She only reacted when Takaya approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. She screeched, shouting something unintelligible and shrinking away from the contact.

Takaya clenched his fists. The people who did this to them were unforgiveable.

She listened when he told her that they’re here to help. It took a while, but eventually she silently agreed to follow them towards freedom. With a single shaky nod.

Fifteen minutes later, they were all outside.

Takaya cried tears of happiness for the first time in years.

***

 

The memories. The good and bad.

The girl who rescued him was Mitsuru Kirijo. The same one who was now working with the Kirijo group, the company responsible for the hell every one of them went through. The same one who hurt his comrades.

She betrayed all her good principles. She sinned in the name of the good.

Takaya was sure the researchers in that god-forsaken lab felt the same. Anything for the sake of humanity, right?

No matter. For every sinner, there was an executioner. And, alas, that was the role granted to him.

He would pass judgement onto her.

Star. Despair and Blasphemy.

***

 

09/02/2009

Hmm… Which one should she choose?

Mitsuru was a great fan of the collection of exotic teas that the chairman brought her from one of his trips. However, it created a different kind of problem – it was simply too hard to choose one when she wanted to have a calming evening with a cup of tea.

She heard a pair of footsteps descend down the dorm stairs. Peeking slightly out of the kitchen, Mitsuru found that it was Fuuka who now entered the dorm. Upon noticing Mitsuru in the kitchen, the girl smiled and waved at her.

Mitsuru waved back. What a silly, yet cute gesture.

“Hi Mitsuru! What are you doing here?” Fuuka said happily, looking into the kitchen with curiosity. “Are you going to cook something? I would offer to help, but, uhm, well… You know!” She blushed, refusing to meet Mitsuru’s eyes. “Yeah!”

Oh right. The incident.

The chairman banned them both from cooking for two weeks after that.

“Oh, non! I simply wanted to brew some tea, but I’m struggling to choose one bouquet. Actually, do you mind lending me a hand?” Mitsuru flipped her hair, looking expectantly at the other girl.

“Ah, s-sure! Although I’m not sure how useful I’m going to be. I’m not really a tea connoi… uhm… How did you say that, again?”

“Connoisseur. It’s alright! I simply wanted a second opinion. I’m curious, have you been learning French?”

“Not really, I’m afraid… I, um, just wanted to learn a few phrases. To impress you! Not that that went well.” Fuuka laughed in embarrassment, clearly regretting sharing so much information.

Mitsuru, on the other hand, was floored. Fuuka was learning French phrases to impress her? That was so… so…

Trop mignon! She had to contain herself, though. It would be unbecoming of the SEES leader to squeal in delight.

Maybe she could indulge one time, though? She would have to think about it.

“Uhm, Mitsuru? T-The tea, right?”

“Pardon moi! I got a little lost in my thoughts.” Mitsuru replied sheepishly. “Yes, please, follow me.”

They ended up choosing the one that had the prettiest packaging. Mitsuru didn’t mind. She found she didn’t mind lots of things when she spent time with Fuuka. She never recalled feeling this way in anyone else’s company.

Well, Fuuka was simply her first close female friend. Surely, that was all there was to it.

Surely.

***

 

09/02/2009

Fuuka and her were heading back home from school when a most peculiar thing happened.

A dog approached them, wagging its tail and barking happily at the two. Mitsuru took a look around, trying to spot the owner, but there was no one except for them near the shrine.

“Koro-chan, is that you?” Fuuka exclaimed happily, extending her hand towards the dog. He licked her palm, causing the girl to erupt the giggles and start vigorously petting him.

Koro-chan?... Oh, that’s right!

“That’s Koromaru, right?” The dog barked at her, almost as if answering her question. “I haven’t seen him in a while. Ever since the priest passed away.”

He whined in response. Mitsuru instantly felt bad.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Fuuka confirmed. “I used to see him quite often in the past, always at the entrance to the shrine, but he’s been missing recently. Just what kind of trouble have you been getting into, Koro-chan?”

Koromaru barked excitedly, wagging his tail. He was so expressive! Was this usually how expressive all dogs were? Was Mitsuru really that sheltered as to not know that?

“Koromaru-san says that he has not been getting into trouble.”

Fuuka shrieked, almost falling over as she turned around to look at the intruder. Aigis.

Mitsuru almost forgot they let her attend the school upon the girl’s request. She was quickly starting to regret it, seeing as Aigis was currently crouching in front of Koromaru and actually communicating with him.

How did that even work?

“Hello. My name is Aigis.” She introduced herself, extending her hand for a handshake. Koromaru happily accepted it, barking as he shook paws with the android.

This could just be the most bizarre sight Mitsuru has ever witnessed. And she’s seen a lot.

“A-Aigis? You can understand him?” Fuuka asked, looking extremely confused.

“Affirmative. I have been equipped with tools to understand the language of several species in the animal kingdom, including, but not limited to: dogs, cats, birds, fish-“

Fish?!

“-crustaceans, and reptiles.” Aigis finished listing her linguistic abilities. Fuuka looked utterly dumbfounded.

Aigis, however, was not fazed by their reactions.

“Koromaru-san says he would like to spend some more time with us. Is that alright?”

Mitsuru looked at the dog, noting his pleading expression and lowered ears. What monster could ever say no to that?

“Bien sure. Let’s take a walk.”

***

 

09/05/2009

“It’s so weird… I can feel the shadow, but it’s underground.”

Another full moon. Another shadow to destroy. No matter, though.

They were ready.

Kotone looked at her team, a determined expression adorning her face. Mitsuru, her Empress, who kept defying everyone’s expectations and keeping her chin held high in any circumstances. Akihiko, the Emperor, smiling in the face of impossible odds and never backing down from a challenge. Junpei, a Magician, bringing unwavering determination and positivity to their team, doing his best to protect everyone around him. Fuuka, the High Priestess, a small girl with a giant heart, reliable and often ingenious. Aigis, the Aeon – granted a predetermined fate, yet Kotone had a feeling that she would defy it nonetheless, creating vitality out of nihility.

Yukari, the Lovers. In both senses of the word. Someone who uses her kind soul to invigorate others, lift them up when they most need it. Her beacon in the dark.

And Kotone, the Death. A wildcard, looking for her raison d'etre. A transition that she has yet to accept, yet is as inevitable as the end of time.

You are walking the right path, mea alia.

A faint, soft smile appeared on her face as she thought about her teammates. SEES. Her family. She would die a thousandfold for each and every one of them. She trusted them with her life.

And that is exactly why they will succeed. No shadow could stop their indomitable will and the strength of their hearts.

“Yukari, Fuuka, Akihiko. Let’s head out.” She finally said, gathering everyone’s attention. “We can do this.”

She was met with mild cheers and confident expressions. Junpei gave her a thumbs up, smirking at her in the process. She was so proud of him.

“Watch out for Strega. We’ll stop them if they try to interfere.” Mitsuru nodded at Kotone. “You can rely on us. Focus on the shadow.”

And so they did. And it stood no chance.

***

 

09/08/2009

Chidori was quiet, but that didn’t mean she was an idiot.

Takaya was acting weird lately. More agitated and prone to random outbursts. She has known him for a long time – this was not normal. She had to convince Jin to talk to him.

And that was the problem, wasn’t it? Chidori had to talk to Jin. Which was highly unpleasant.

Not that it was painful for her. No, it’s something different – whenever she tried to force the words out of her mouth, it’s as if there was a barrier preventing them from leaving. Being perceived by others is a scary thought, after all, and words were the ultimate expression of one’s self.

Chidori did not want to be perceived. But she had to do something.

Which is how she found herself standing in front of Jin as he patiently waited for her to pull herself together. He was kind like that, always giving her time and space whenever she needed some.

“Something’s wrong with Takaya. Talk to him.”

Jin’s expression shifted into something resembling frustration.

“I know. I tried, damn it, but he just refuses to tell me anything!” He lightly kicked the chair next to him. “It started after we last saw the Kirijo squad. You think they managed to get in his head?”

She has known Takaya for over ten years at this point. There was no way anything that they said would affect him this much. No, it must have been something else.

Well, if he didn’t want to share with them, Chidori would simply have to resort to other methods. Namely, stalking him on one of his missions. She was the one with a persona capable of navigating, after all. It would be easy to disguise herself.

Which is exactly what she did that evening. Takaya often left the base on his own, and while they all knew what he was busy with, they never really asked him about the details. She knew their group had to survive somehow, and they needed money for that, but nevertheless seeing the way Takaya actually earned it for them was… unpleasant.

Those were just people, after all. Same as herself, Jin, or Takaya. The only sin they have committed is being chosen as a target by someone else. Sure, Takaya always did their best to not wound anyone too harshly, but that didn’t change the reality of the situation – Strega were benefitting from the suffering of others.

Still, it was necessary. There was nothing else they could do. If anything, the Kirijo group is to blame for putting them into this situation.

The Kirijo group…

Chidori thought of Kotone. What did SEES give her that Strega couldn’t? Why did she just abandon them so easily?

She clenched her fists, momentarily losing control of her expression. A tiny frown emerged on her face.

Pull yourself together. You are here for Takaya’s sake.

Chidori counted to three and then exhaled silently, noticing that Takaya was now leaving after pulling some poor man out of his coffin. Takaya rounded the corner, and Chidori was now able to see him more clearly.

A conflicted expression adorned his face. He was deep in thought. She stepped closer, making sure to not make a sound. As she got even closer, she realized that he was whispering to himself quietly.

“Why? Why did she do that?”

Was he talking about Kotone? If so, Chidori completely understood the sentiment, but this still wasn’t something that Takaya would usually get this upset about.

“Why did you let us go that day, Kirijo? And why have you turned to their side now?”

Her blood ran cold.

Kirijo? Kirijo was the one who let them out of the lab ten years ago?

Suddenly, his behavior made sense. The question now plagued her as well. Chidori wondered if there was something they were missing. When she emerged from her thoughts, Takaya was already gone. That was alright, though – she got what she wanted.

If only she knew what to do about it, though.

***

 

09/13/2009

As the official leader of SEES, Mitsuru had a lot of responsibilities that went unnoticed by others. Sometimes, she felt a little overwhelmed with it – there were so many little things that she had to do on a constant basis. Other times, it’s been a blessing, giving her the freedom to make some self-indulgent decisions.

Which is why she took Fuuka on a supply purchase run that day. Self-indulgence.

“Are there any recipes you’ve wanted to try recently? I know our last attempt was far from perfect, but I do believe if we went for an easier dish it could be achievable.”

Fuuka looked incredibly sheepish at the question. “I don’t really want to cause any more trouble…” She said, trailing off near the end. Mitsuru couldn’t bear to look at that sad face.

“C’est pas un problem, Fuuka. The kitchen is there to be used, regardless of past… incidents.” Mitsuru replied earnestly. “I’ll help you. Promise.”

Not that her help amounted to much, Mitsuru thought. Still, the sentiment seemed to brighten Fuuka’s mood, which is exactly what she’s been going for.

“Maybe we could try making some rice balls? It should be pretty easy.” Fuuka said after a moment of thinking. “I think we already have some rice, so we’ll just have to buy the furikake mix, nori, and salmon.”

Mitsuru hummed in response.

“Let us look for the best quality ingredients. I must admit though, I do not know how to choose them properly. That is more Akihiko’s thing.” She said, averting her eyes in embarrassment.

“O-oh, neither do I…”

They opted to look for the ones that simply looked nice. After all, it’s not like they were preparing food for a Michelin grade restaurant.

Upon returning to the dorm, Mitsuru noted the presence of one Shinjiro Aragaki in the lobby. Upon noticing the grocery bags in their hands, he cursed quietly under his breath.

Mitsuru smiled.

“Aragaki. You are going to help us cook.”

“Hello to you too, Mitsuru.” He grumbled in response. “This is unfair.”

“Life is unfair. Shall we start?”

The rice balls turned out great. Fuuka made one of her own, and it genuinely tasted… decent. Mitsuru’s own were no masterpiece, but unlike their previous attempt, this was definitely something edible.

Fuuka’s bright smile brought heat to her cheeks. Mitsuru never knew how great it was having a close friend!

Shinjiro’s curious glances towards the two went unnoticed throughout the whole event with both the girls focusing on each other much more than him. He shook his head fondly.

***

 

09/24/2009

“I know it was Kirijo who saved us.”

Speaking was always unpleasant. This time, however, it felt a thousand times more as Chidori confronted Takaya and Jin when they all had some free time at their base. She felt a little bad just throwing this fact onto Jin unprepared, but this was something that she couldn’t ignore.

Something was going on. And Chidori was not sure she liked it.

“W-What? What do you mean, Chidori?” Jin instantly asked her, caught off-guard. “Saved us when?”

Takaya frowned, staring her down. “She means ten years ago, Jin. Kirijo was the one who released me from their labs, you see. And then I let you and Chidori out.”

Jin’s expression shifted a dozen times before settling on disbelief. Under Takaya’s intense gaze, Chidori felt small.

“Why not tell us?” She asked, averting her eyes to the side. Even so, she could feel Takaya’s eyes on her. It made her skin crawl.

“It wasn’t relevant, really.” He replied slowly, drawing out every syllable.

“Wasn’t relevant how, Takaya?! Kirijo herself releasing us from the Kirijo group’s lab is not relevant? What else have you been hiding from us?” Jin half-shouted, taking a step forward. “Maybe not relevant before, but we are up against SEES now. She’s their leader! If she helped us back then, why are we even working against-“

“Don’t be so foolish, Jin.” Takaya interrupted him suddenly. “They are working with the Kirijo group. Where do you think they get their equipment and evokers?”

Shoulders slumped, Jin struggled to form an argument against that. Chidori, however, was still not convinced.

In the meantime, Takaya continued his speech. “She may have helped us in the past, but she was merely a child. It is now obvious to me that she betrayed her prior ideals. And she will pay for that.” Takaya’s hand landed on his revolver.

Jin gulped.

“You don’t mean…?”

“Yes, it is precisely what you think. I have a plan, you see, for the next full moon. We are going to get rid of SEES once and for all.” Takaya smiled and put a hand on Jin’s shoulder.

Chidori felt like she was about to puke.

“No.”

A single syllable left her mouth, but that was enough for Takaya’s head to swiftly move to look at her. He looked almost confused.

“What do you mean, no? You do not wish to participate in the operation?”

She clenched her fists and pursed her lips in an unusual bout of anger. Did he really think he could change the topic and manipulate them this easily? She was grateful to him for everything he did, but this was quickly becoming too much.

She wasn’t about to become a murderer.

“Give me one reason why.” She forced the words out of her lungs. “Why we must target them.”

A derisive snort left Takaya’s mouth. He sneered at her, making Chidori take a few steps back and shrink into herself slightly.

“The Kirijo group ruined our life, Chidori. Or have you forgotten already? Do you sympathize with them, perhaps?”

She has not forgotten. She never would. What they had to go through was pure hell. All of them have lost so much in those sterile walls.

Which is precisely why she would never want someone to go through similar grief, if she could avoid it. Her early life may have have consisted of suffering, but she has learned to forge her own path ever since by joining Strega. And she would not betray that principle.

“If you do this, I’m leaving.” She presented Takaya with an ultimatum. “I won’t be back.”

The first one to react was Jin, as she expected. He leaned back as if struck, his eyes wide with surprise. “H-Huh? Chidori? What do you mean, leave?”

“Leave means leave.” She replied, moving her gaze onto Takaya.

The expression on his face scared her.

“You would betray us for some scum, Chidori? Maybe I was wrong about you. If your loyalty is so easily lost, then go ahead. Leave. We have no need of you.”

That was such an obvious lie. If she left, Strega would suffer immensely without her scanning and navigation abilities. Still, the words managed to hurt her almost physically. Ten years of tears, pain, and blood, only to end like this?

Chidori thought they were closer than that. Maybe she was wrong. Or maybe Takaya’s obsession with revenge has simply clouded his judgement more than she thought it did.

Nevertheless, the result was much the same. She was no longer welcome in a place she used to call home.

“Wait, Chidori, wait just a second! What about your persona?! It’ll kill you without the pills!”

Jin’s voice reached her just as she turned around, preparing to leave. She stopped in place.

“Do you wanna come?” She asked him, faintly hoping that he would agree. That he wasn’t yet as far gone.

Silence greeted her in return. Chidori moved forward, leaving the two behind.

A lone tear fell from her eye, landing onto the ground and disappearing into a tiny puddle.

***

 

09/25/2009

They had a little over a week until the next full moon. Even though the last few battles generally went in their favor, Mitsuru thought that they shouldn’t relax or lower their guard.

Which is why they were back in Tartarus again. They haven’t reached the highest floor available for them either, making this a perfect opportunity for some more exploration. She was accompanied by Kotone and Yukari, of course, and Junpei as the final member. Oh, and how could she forget their honorary fifth member – Maya, who was happy to hitch a ride on Kotone’s head, as always. To her own embarrassment, Mitsuru has really grown fond of that little friendly shadow.

Maya even allowed Mitsuru to pet her one time. Her skin felt surprisingly smooth.

The shadows were getting tougher and tougher with each passing floor. It almost felt as if the atmosphere itself was changing, the air around them becoming thicker and tangible with something putrid. They have just defeated a pack of shadows, but another one ambushed them instantly afterwards. IT was starting to get tiring.

“Junpei, Mitsuru, heal Yukari!” Kotone shouted from a corner, surrounded by two shadows. “I’ll deal with these two!”

“On it, Koto-chan!” Junpei replied instantly, preparing himself. Mitsuru shoved her hand into her pouch and pulled out a life gem, throwing it with all her might at Junpei. He took a moment to align the shot, and then swung his sword like a bat to send it crashing directly into Yukari, causing a small green aura to envelop her.

“Show-off.” She complained, shooting down another airborne shadow. “You could’ve just tossed it to me.”

“But that wouldn’t have been nearly as cool, Yuka tan!” Junpei complained with a toothy grin, swinging at another shadow and wiping shadow residue off his weapon. “You gotta admit, my aim was on point there.”

It was rather impressive, Mitsuru had to admit. However, they were in the middle of something here.

“Let’s finish this, everyone.” She shouted, stabbing her weapon into the ground and causing an eruption of spikes to spread in a circle around her. The attack skewered several shadows, finally bringing the fight to an end.

“One more floor.” Kotone said, causing Mitsuru to look at her in alarm. Those were the exact words she said herself, all those months ago, and nothing good came out of it.

“Are you sure?” She asked Kotone. The circumstances were different, of course, but just the phrase itself rubbed her the wrong way.

“Yeah. We can do it. We have the energy for much more, but we should still be cautious.”

“Alright then, Ko.” Yukari was the one to answer instead. “We trust you.”

Stepping onto the next floor, Mitsuru was instantly struck with a sense of wrongness. Nothing looked out of place – the entire floor looked pretty much identical in its layout to the previous one. The problem was the complete and utter lack of activity. Usually, SEES were able to detect several shadows instantly upon stepping onto a floor, and if not, Mitsuru’s very limited navigation abilities at the very least told her the amount of shadows surrounding them.

Zero. That’s how many were on this floor. Was this another Reaper situation?

To her side, Kotone tensed as well. “We need to leave this one as soon as possible. Stay together and keep your eyes out for anything.” Maya chirped something unintelligible. Kotone, who was seemingly able to understand her, then added “Maya says to keep your ears peeled too.”

The floor was bigger than some others, but not extremely so. It was akin to a winding labyrinth – a bunch of interwoven paths without any distinct characteristics. Finding their way in such an environment was not going to be easy.

“Stop!” Kotone whisper shouted at them, causing the entire group to freeze in place. Mitsuru was about to ask what was the problem, until she felt it.

The air around them rippled. Mitsuru found herself standing face-to-face with what she could only describe as a ghost.

A billowing, silver cloak adorned its figure, the hood hiding the upper half of its face. The shadow was shifting in and out of view, reminding her of a chameleon – it’s not that it disappeared, more like she simply occasionally stopped perceiving it. Long, silver hair hung down from under its hood, obscuring the remainder of its face. The only thing left visible was a jagged grin. The cloaked shadow moved its head left to right a few times, until it locked onto a direction somewhere to their side. It hovered in front of Mitsuru for a few more seconds, until it gradually disappeared from sight once more. She still dared not move.

Ahead of them, Kotone raised her palm as if to signal for them to stop. A few agonizing minutes later, she finally lowered it and exhaled deeply.

A new kind of shadow. One that they’ve never seen before.

“Maya told me they can’t see you. These shadows rely on their sense of hearing. We’ll have to be quiet.”

“Shadows, as in plural? There’s more than one?” Yukari whispered, looking around in panic. “Where are they?”

“They can disguise themselves, apparently. They can’t see us, but we also can’t see them.”

Junpei gulped. “This is freaky. Let’s just get the hell outta here.”

“Agreed. They sound dangerous. If we can’t see them, then all our usual strategies may prove to be inefficient.” Mitsuru said, gripping her evoker in her hand. “Let’s try to avoid a direct confrontation.”

Kotone nodded at her, and started moving once more, leading the group forward. This time, their movements were much slower and more careful – everyone was doing their best to not create any unnecessary noise to not attract the unusual shadows.

“You can’t sense them, Kirijo-san?” Yukari whispered quietly next to her. “With your abilities?”

Mitsuru shook her head. “No. Even when it revealed itself, it felt almost as if it wasn’t even there. It seems that these shadows can cloak themselves from scanning abilities as well.”

Five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. The Dark Hour slowly inched to its end, and SEES still did not find the staircase to the next floor. Mitsuru’s heart was starting to beat faster and faster in her chest. Still, the area around them was slowly changing. They were making progress, and Mitsuru was sure that they were on the right path out of this floor.

Everything was going well, until Kotone, upon rounding a corner, did not notice a boulder on the ground in front of her. She stumbled, falling down very loudly in the process, and instantly sprung back up with her naginata out and ready.

The damage was already done. To their great horror, over two dozens of floating figures suddenly revealed themselves all around them, locking onto the source of the sound. Were there always this many around them at all times?!

“New plan. RUN!” Kotone screamed, waiting for the others to get behind her so that she could defend their flank upon retreat. “Look for the staircase, it should be close by!”

“That’s what we’ve been doing for the past twenty minutes, Koto-chan! Ack!” He ducked as one of the shadows propelled itself towards him. “This is the worst day ever!”

“It’s gonna be your last one too if you don’t shut up and look for the exit!” Yukari shouted in panic, shooting blindly everywhere around them to deter some of the approaching shadows. The cloaked figures kept blinking in and out of sight, making it extremely hard to aim properly, but the sheer number made it so that even random shots hit one or two of them sometimes.

Rounding another corner, Mitsuru’s heart dropped in her chest as her eyes took in what was in front of them. A dead end.

“Shit!” She swore uncharacteristically, turning around to see that the number of the hooded shadows has almost quadruples since the first time they saw them. “Leader, what’s the plan?”

“We need to take a different turn. But we’ll have to get through those to do that.”

Mitsuru nodded shakily. The entire world relied on them. They could not fail here.

Suddenly, she felt an almost burning sensation from her item pouch. As if on instinct, she buried her hand inside, and grabbed the offending item.

An evoker cartridge. Of course! Now was the time.

She loaded the cartridge into her evoker as fast as she could, and pulled the trigger.

“Stay away from them!”

Feeling Penthesilea’s presence behind her, Mitsuru extended both her palms outwards and gathered all her will into the tips of her fingers.

“Freeze!”

Her entire body shook with exertion as a wild storm coalesced at her fingertips. Her whole being felt cold, numb, almost unresponsive, but she didn’t let go. The wave of deadly air extended outwards, covering parts of her hands in ice and making her stumble backwards.

The shadows either did not understand the danger ahead of them or did not care – they simply continued their advance. Mitsuru did not falter. A shield for her friends.

Slowly, the blizzard kept increasing in intensity, until the sheer power was enough to make Mitsuru’s eyes hurt from the reflections of light. The space in front of her was nearly completely blue, bending around SEES as if to not hurt anyone from the team. After a few seconds, she finally collapsed on her knees, not having the strength to keep up the storm anymore.

Lying in front of them were a few dozen shadows, frozen completely solid. She exhaled in relief.

“Holy shit.” Junpei said quietly.

“Mitsuru, are you alright?” Kotone kneeled in front of her, looking at her worriedly.

She simply groaned in response, not having the energy for any words. Still, she was happy – everyone was safe now. She did it.

It didn’t take them long to find the staircase and a teleporter afterwards, to her great relief.

***

 

10/01/2009

The weather outside was slowly becoming chillier and chillier with each passing day. Autumn breeze carried the scent of fresh rain and fallen leaves, creating a very calming atmosphere at the shrine.

“It has been a while since we last spent time together like this.”

Mitsuru was wearing her favorite black leather coat today, the one gifted to her by her father. It was perfect for this weather – not too warm as to not be uncomfortable, but also thick enough to not let the wind chill her to her to her bones.

The only one who seemed to shiver slightly in this weather regardless of his attire was Shinjiro. He was sitting on the bench to her right, next to Akihiko.

“Yeah.” Shinjiro replied with a nostalgic glint in his eyes. “It has.”

Akihiko laughed softly in response. “Heh. I missed moments like these. When it was just us against the world.” He smiled. “Not that I have anything against the newer members, but this was… special.”

Mitsuru understood exactly what he was talking about. Reminiscing about the “old times”, even if it hasn’t really been that long ago, is something she hasn’t allowed herself to do ever since the incident with Shinjiro.

But now he was safe with them. He may not be a part of SEES anymore, but as long as Mitsuru knew he was alright, that was all she could really ask for.

“I missed spending time with you two idiots too.” Shinjiro quietly admitted, almost whispering to himself. A comfortable silence settled among the group. Mitsuru watched the wind pluck yellow leaves from the oak growing on shrine grounds, carrying them towards the descending sun.

Sitting in a picturesque place, surrounded by the people she could proudly call family, Mitsuru’s heart clenched with emotion.

“There’s nothing stopping us now, Shinji.” Akihiko replied. “We can spend as much time as we want together. You, Mitsu, and I. Just like the old times, you know?”

Mitsuru chuckled in response.

“I wouldn’t want to thirdwheel on you two lovebirds.” She said, turning her head to look at the two and seeing their dumbfounded expressions. “But of course, I won’t turn down any invitations. It really has been a while.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Mitsu?” Shinjiro replied. If she hasn’t known him for years, she wouldn’t have noticed the light blush on his cheeks as he glanced towards Akihiko. Who was much less subtle in his reaction.

“L-lovebirds?! I have no idea what you mean.” Akihiko stammered uncharacteristically. “I mean, not that I find it weird or anything, I, uhh…” He trailed off, clearly unsure of how to continue.

Shinjiro, in the meanwhile, looked at him with wide eyes. Mitsuru smirked.

“Teasing us like that, Mitsu?” Shinjiro’s face suddenly took on a mischievous expression. “What about you and Fuuka, then? Anything you’d like to tell us about that?”

Now it was her turn to stammer and blush.

“C’est absurde! We are just really good friends, that’s all.”

Akihiko seemed infinitely grateful for the change of topic. “Oh, is that so? I haven’t ever seen you look at anyone like that. I think your father would approve, too, if you’re worried about that.”

She found herself at a loss for words. She really wasn’t interested in Fuuka like that. Was she?...

Mitsuru groaned and buried her face in her palms.

“And this is when the realization hits.” Shinjiro pat her on the back a few times. “Go for it, Mitsu. I think she’d be good for you.”

Lifting her face from her hands, she felt a strong gust of wind blow past the trio, landing a single yellow, crumbling leaf in her palm. She lifted it to her face, studying its features as her thoughts kept racing in her head.

“But I’m the heiress of the Kirijo group. I have responsibilities, a-and…” She said, still thinking about the entire situation. Did she really have feelings for Fuuka, or was it just Akihiko and Shinjiro teasing her?

“Still in doubt, huh? Think of it this way. If your so-called responsibilities weren’t a factor, would you want to date her?”

What a silly question. Of course she would. Fuuka was kind, protective, determined, absolutely adorable! Who wouldn’t want to date her? And besides, every girl has had a crush on another girl at least once. It was absolutely normal.

“Haha, I can’t believe it!” Akihiko laughed from her right, causing her to look at him. “You’re blushing, Mitsu! If that’s not a sign, then I don’t know what is.”

Maybe they were right, after all. Mitsuru would have to think more about it.

As for now, though, it was time for some petty revenge.

“I’ll ask her out if you ask him.” She tilted her head towards Shinjiro. “Deal?”

His reaction was priceless. Mitsuru laughed loudly without a care in the world.

***

 

10/04/2009

The full moon was today. Kotone wasn’t worried though – they were prepared.

The sound of a ringing bell indicated the end of the school lessons for that day. She found some of the lessons tough, but it was nothing compared to her more important duties related to SEES and the Dark Hour.

Her phone suddenly beeped. She opened it and noticed that it was a message from Shinjiro, telling her that he had something to discuss with her. His contact info wasn’t saved. That was weird – Kotone swore she added his number to her list of contacts, but maybe she just forgot.

In any case, the message looked to be typed in a hurry. Suddenly, Kotone felt anxious – did something happen to SEES? Were they in danger?

Beep.

Another message. This one said that he wanted to talk about something personal. About… Thanatos?

That made sense, honestly. The chats they had during her time in Strega was probably the highlight of that period for Kotone. The two had something in common to share, and as she found out, sometimes talking your problems out really made her feel better. Maybe the same was true for Shinjiro, too.

She told Yukari that she won’t be accompanying her to the dorm today. At first, Kotone was met with protests and pouty lips, but when she told Yukari the nature of the request, she was instantly met with a sober expression.

“Yeah, this sounds serious. Go ahead, I’ll tell the others you’ll be a little late. Don’t forget about our SEES meeting at eleven pm!”

“I won’t, Yukari, I promise.”

“I know you won’t, silly. I’ll be waiting for you!” She gave Kotone a small peck on the cheek and walked away towards the direction of the dorm.

Right. What was the way to the alley again?

***

 

For the first time in a while, Yukari walked home alone. She felt a little weird about it, honestly.

Well, it was obvious that Kotone wouldn’t be there to accompany her twenty-four-seven! And call her a needy girlfriend, but she just really wanted Kotone be close to her. As often as possible.

Yukari understood that this was important, though. She could walk home alone one time. It was totally alright!

By the time she got to the dorm, she was dying of boredom. How did she do this for a year before this?! It was totally unbearable!

Upon opening the doors, she was met with a sight that was purely illogical. Shinjiro Aragaki himself, sitting on the couch, and reading some sort of a journal that Yukari’s brain really did not pay any attention to. What?

Did Kotone lie to her?

No, there was no way. And Yukari hated that this was the first thought that popped into her mind. She just had to ask for an explanation. That’s all.

“Aragaki-san? Why are you here?”

He put his journal down and looked at Yukari with mild confusion.

“What do you mean? Am I not supposed to be?”

A sinking feeling appeared in her stomach. “Um, aren’t you meeting up with Kotone? Didn’t you message her like, twenty minutes ago?”

Shinjiro frowned at her. “Why would I? Even if I needed something, she’d be here soon enough. She’s not with you?”

The sinking feeling intensified. Where did she say they were supposed to meet? The alleyway behind port island station?

Yukari’s eyes widened.

***

 

Kotone found it a little unusual that Shinjiro wanted to meet up here of all places. Maybe the place was sentimental for him – he did spend quite a while here alone, after all. Sure, it was a little dangerous, but as long as there were two of them, they shouldn’t run into any problems.

Which is precisely why her heart skipped a beat the moment she entered the alley only to find nobody there. The sight was extremely unsettling – usually a large number of delinquents frequented this place, especially right after classes in Gekkoukan were over, but right now the alley appeared almost deserted.

She instantly pulled her phone out of her pocket, opening it up and starting to type a message to Yukari. Something was wrong, what if Shinji got here and was attacked by-

Something slammed into her head from behind and her entire world went dark.

***

 

Mitsuru was alone in the command room, checking the equipment for SEES for a hundredth time that evening. She did this every time before a full moon or a major battle. Any small imperfection, any defect could cause someone to get hurt. And all of that was very preventable with just a little bit of maintenance.

Of course, a little bit was the bare minimum. Mitsuru would not be satisfied with only that – everything had to be perfect. She still had an hour until the meeting where they would discuss their strategy for the night, and the pre-fight jitters would not let her sit down calmly anyway.

She could go for some tea after she was done here. That could calm her down. Why was she so nervous, anyway? The last few full moons went extremely well. Almost without a hitch.

Maybe that’s why she felt so uneasy. It felt almost too… comfortable. The Dark Hour was never this predictable.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, bringing Mitsuru back to the present. She flipped it open and was met with a most confusing sight.

Kotone? Why would she call me at a time like this?

She picked up the phone. “Kotone? Is something wrong?”

“I’m afraid this isn’t her.”

Mitsuru’s heart dropped into her stomach. “Who’s this?” She asked aggressively, hoping that Kotone simply lost her phone and some stranger picked it up. Maybe someone from school?

“What, cat got your tongue, Kirijo?” The voice mocked her. “If you want to see your precious leader alive, then come to the moonlight bridge today, right before the dark hour. Alone.”

No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. Was this… someone from Strega?

“Don’t you dare!” Mitsuru hissed. “If you touch a single hair on her head, I am going to destroy you.”

Laughter. Whoever she was talking to was enjoying this.

“Big words, Kirijo. Let’s see if you live up to them. Remember – you break our conditions, and you’ll get back a corpse instead of your friend. See you.”

And then – silence. Mitsuru’s vision swam, causing her to drop her phone onto the carpeted floor.

“How could I allow this? This is all… my fault.” She whispered.

She would bring her back. As she did before. No matter the cost.

No matter the cost.

***

 

“Has anyone seen Shiomi-kun and Kirijo-kun today?”

Ikutsuki’s question rang out throughout the meeting room. Without two people absent, the team looked awfully small.

The presence of Shinjiro consolidated that fact a little.

“Someone messaged Kotone after school, and she left to meet them. I don’t know where she is! We looked everywhere!” Yukari shouted, barely keeping herself from sobbing. “Oh god, what if something happened? I shouldn’t have let her go!”

“You couldn’t have known.” Shinjiro attempted to reason with her. “But I can confirm. We covered as much ground as we could in a few hours. Shiomi is nowhere to be found.”

A grim silence settled in the room.

“What about Mitsuru?” Akihiko asked, leaning forward. “She would never skip a meeting like this. It’s the full moon, for god’s sake! Something is wrong.”

“They have been missing for hours and no one told me?!” Ikutsuki almost shouted, startling everyone in the room. “Why? I could’ve called some people, gathered up a search party!” He shook his head with a sigh. “Nevermind. What happened, happened. My apologies for losing my temper. However, we now have no time to waste. There is less than an hour remaining until the Dark Hour.”

He took a second to look at everyone in the room. His eyes locked onto Shinjiro.

“I hate to ask you this, Aragaki-kun. But we need your help. Will you lend us your strength, just this once?”

Shinjiro pulled down on his beanie, as if trying to hide himself from others. His eyes locked onto Akihiko’s evoker, strapped to his waist. Eventually, he raised his head to look Akihiko straight into the eyes.

This expression… It didn’t fit him. Shinjiro’s time has come.

“I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Aragaki-kun. I cannot express how grateful I am to you.” Ikutsuki’s shoulders slumped in relief. “That makes six, then. As soon as the Dark Hour starts, we can use Yamagishi-kun’s ability to scan for our missing members. Then, we’ll send two people to retrieve them, and four to fight the shadow. Does anyone have any objections?”

No one said a word.

“Since both our leaders are currently absent, I’ll be the one to distribute the roles. Sanada-kun, you’ll be a temporary field leader. You’ll be accompanied by Iori-kun, Takeba-kun, and Aigis to fight the shadow.”

Instantly, Yukari seemed to protest.

“Let me go find Kotone and Kirijo-san! I want to make sure they’re alright.”

The chairman shook his head.

“The team needs your healing abilities, I’m afraid. They will be in grave danger if you choose not to fight.”

She huffed in frustration, but seemed to offer no counter-argument.

Ikutsuki continued. “Alright, with that settled -  Aragaki-kun, I do not wish to put you in a fight straight away. Therefore, you and Yamagishi-kun will search for our leaders together. If necessary, Yamagishi-kun can perform more scans to keep track of their locations after the initial scan, just in case they move somewhere. Is that clear?”

He was met with a chorus of affirmative answers.

Ikutsuki prayed to all the gods that he knew, wishing for the two to return back safely.

***

 

With slow and measured steps, Mitsuru walked towards her final destination.

She has seen a lot in her life. Unethical experiments. Madmen on power trips. Genuine, deep bonds. Heartbreak. Laughter. Tears.

Fear.

It was the latter that made Mitsuru’s heart beat wildly in her chest the closer she got to the cursed bridge. Was she afraid for Kotone? Or for herself? Both were valid causes, but if Mitsuru wanted both of them to make it out alive, she had to pull herself together.

She reminded herself once more what was on the line. She has failed, time after time, even when she thought she was doing the right thing, all her mistakes somehow always coming back to haunt her every living moment.

If anything, maybe the others could pick up where she failed and do a better job.

These thoughts assaulted her mind relentlessly, causing the hand clutching her evoker to shake more and more. Even so, she refused to go down without a fight. Even if Kotone would be the only one leaving that place alive, Mitsuru would make sure that it would happen. Three on one were not the best odds, if she was really dealing with Strega, but she has pulled miracles before. She could do it again.

Mitsuru sighed shakily and wiped her forehead of sweat. It was time.

Two people greeted her on the bridge right away. The sight made alarm bells ring in her head – where was Kotone?

Jin was gripping his evoker tightly as soon as Mitsuru walked closer. She was not worried about him – she has beaten him in a fight before and knew his tricks. Their leader was the one she was more worried about.

He appeared extremely relaxed for someone who was about to be met with her wrath. A crooked smirk adorned his face, bringing great annoyance to Mitsuru.

“I see you finally showed up, Kirijo. We were starting to think you wouldn’t.”

His evoker was… What?

Mitsuru’s breath caught in her throat. That wasn’t an evoker. Her eyes widened.

“Yes, that look! That’s precisely what I was hoping to see!” Takaya exclaimed maniacally, laughing loudly. “Welcome to your tomb, Mitsuru Kirijo. Anything you’d like to say? Or too petrified to utter another word?”

Her mind went into overdrive, trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation. She simply had to do what she did best – act quickly.

A revolver. Six bullets in the chamber, then, if fully loaded. She could work with that.

“Where’s Kotone?” She asked, hoping to distract Takaya.

“Oh, she’s quite safe, do not worry about that. The only reason she’s even here is to bring you out.” His hand landed on the revolver, not quite picking it up, but threatening Mitsuru with the motion regardless. “You, Kirijo, are evil. And our grand mission is purging all that is wicked from this world!” With both hands raised in the air and one of them clutching the gun, Takaya cackled.

Right next to him, Jin looked… unsure? What was going on here?

“Look at you. You do not even remember us, do you?” He suddenly addressed her.

Remember them? Mitsuru took a good look at the man standing in front of her. Long, white hair. Yellow eyes. Yellow eyes?

Mitsuru gasped.

“It’s you! How have I not realized this sooner? You’re the children who escaped from the lab. The ones that I helped, all those years ago. But then… why?”

She thought that by releasing the victims of the cruel experiments, she was doing a good deed. No, that was absolutely the right thing to do. Never could have she imagined, though, that it would come to this.

“Why, you ask? WHY?!” He suddenly screamed, causing her to grip her evoker even tighter. Even his companion seemed a little caught off guard by the outburst. Speaking of companions; where was the third member?

“You have betrayed your ideals. Took the side of evil. I thought you released us out of kindness and the urge to do the right thing, but look at you! No. Maybe you just did it to mock us. Show us a smidgeon of freedom, only to take it all away later.”

“I was seven years old! Of course I did what I thought was right! There was no ulterior motive.” She answered him.

“Lies. Filthy, shameless lies!” He screamed once more, seeming more and more desperate with each passing moment. “Your family took everything we had from us! And then you took my new family away from me. Chidori… I don’t know how you managed to convince her, but I will never forget this transgression.”

So the other girl left their group. Through his veil of anger and fancy words, Mitsuru simply saw Takaya for what he was.

A child, throwing a tantrum.

While he was busy talking, Mitsuru slowly put her hand in the small bag on her waist. Desperately searching around to look for the item she wanted, she celebrated internally when her hand finally met the familiar sensation of a mirror. Grabbing it, she noticed that Jin was looking straight at her, yet made no move to interfere.

Maybe she had an unlikely ally, then.

BANG

One.

It all happened in a moment. Takaya saw what she was doing, and, in an instant, aimed his gun at her and pulled the trigger. She had less than a second to react, bringing the mirror in front of her and deflecting the bullet into a nearby wall.

Five more to go. As soon as the item shattered in her hands, Mitsuru brought the evoker to her temple and called forth her other self.

“Penthesilea!”

***

 

“Palladion!”

Their battle against the full-moon shadow was not going as well as they expected. This time, there were two, but that wasn’t even the major problem. No, the problem was the bigger shadow that somehow managed to make its teammate completely invulnerable to all attacks. Not only that, but the shadow itself resisted physical strikes, which severely limited their options and rendered Aigis near-useless.

“Aigis! Focus on increasing our speed and strength instead of attacking!”

“Understood.”

A green aura enveloped everyone, just in time for Yukari to dodge the incoming attack with her newfound speed. With Mitsuru and Kotone absent, their lack of elemental firepower was very noticeable.

“Yukari, heal Junpei! Keep attacking afterwards.”

“Got it!” Summoning Io, she called upon the persona’s power to close some of Junpei’s wounds, helping him get back into the battle.

She wondered how Shinjiro and Fuuka were doing. The thought disappeared as soon as it surfaced. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted – everyone on the team depended on her.

Yukari steeled herself and called Io forth once more. The smaller shadow did not waste any time either, and instead summoned forth something resembling a wheel of fortune.

She had a bad feeling about this.

***

 

BANG

Two.

With her persona released, Mitsuru could now conjure her shield. Unfortunately for her, it shattered into tiny shards instantly upon contact with the bullet. She was quickly running out of options.

“Takaya, wait!” Jin suddenly cried out, clutching the other man’s elbow. “We don’t need to do this, right? We can just incapacitate her and get all the information we need! I-I know this is important for you, but just think about it! Don’t you think Chidori… Maybe she had a point?”

“What are you talking about, Jin? This is our one chance for revenge! If you will not help, then stand aside.”

Their brief exchange gave Mitsuru enough time to close the distance between herself and Strega. She stabbed her rapier forward, hoping to hit Takaya in the arm and knock his weapon out of his hand. He saw her approach at the last moment, and aimed the revolver directly at her head.

***

 

“Oh no! There are two more signatures at Mitsuru’s location now. It has to be Strega!”

Fuuka’s panicked shout rang out through the silent streets. “We have to hurry! She’s all alone out there! Kotone-san is in a building nearby, but she doesn’t seem to be in danger. Let’s go!”

Shinjiro cursed under his breath. “Alright. Lead the way. Once we approach, I go first. Got it?”

Fuuka swallowed in fear and nodded in confirmation. She ran forward to get closer to Mitsuru’s signal.

Please, let her be alright. Please…

***

 

Change of plans!

Mitsuru ducked, swinging her rapier upwards to redirect Takaya’s hand, praying that this was enough to make him miss the shot.

BANG!

Three.

Blood flowed freely down her arm as Mitsuru hissed in pain. The bullet grazed a part of her palm, causing the girl to almost drop her weapon in shock. The tide of the fight was quickly turning against her.

“Hypnos!”

A wave of cursed energy pushed her backwards, breaking her stance and causing her to cry out in pain. Mitsuru threw a look at Jin, hoping that, somehow, he would gain some conscience and stop the other Strega member from shooting another bullet. Jin met her eyes, gulped noticeably, and… looked the other way.

Damn it.

“I will bring you to your knees, Kirijo. It is my only reason to exist!” Takaya said slowly, dragging out every word. “Salvation will come!”

A purple, ethereal tree sprouted from the ground in front of her.

BANG!

Four.

***

 

“Just a little bit left, everyone! We can do it!”

Akihiko’s shout echoed throughout the battlefield. The bigger shadow was definitely nearing its death, but the closer it got, the more desperate it became. Its attacks, which were fast, but predictable before, were now much more chaotic and disorganized. Every member of the team got wounded much more easily, and Yukari was quickly running out of energy to heal everyone.

“I-I think I have two or three more healing spells in me! I’m sorry!” She shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “Try to not get hit!”

“It’s not that damn easy, Yuka-tan.” Junpei shouted in return, sidestepping a swing from a sword that materialized above him. “This thing’s gone berserk!” Finally having a window to attack, Junpei summoned Hermes and materialized a jet of flames, which then instantly shot out towards the shadow.

It went down with a screech, finally dissipating into residue. He did it. Hell yeah! He was breathing heavily due to the sheer amount of times that he had to summon his persona, but the battle only got easier from here.

“Don’t relax, everyone! We still have one more to defeat!” Akihiko’s shout took him out of his stupor.

Right. Junpei steeled himself, and put the evoker to his head once again.

***

 

Mitsuru’s persona intercepted the bullet at the last moment, shattering into thousands of ethereal shards with a melodic wail. It felt like a goodbye.

Only two remain. You can do this, Mitsuru. Think about the others.

Yes, SEES still needed her. She absolutely, definitely, could not go down here. She no longer had her persona, yes, but so what? There was no world in which she left her friends, her newfound family to fight against the horrors of the Dark Hour alone.

A new resolve awoke in her heart. Mitsuru smiled.

“Artemi-“

BANG!

…

…

Five?

***

 

“We’ll be there in a few minutes, Aragaki-san!”

Fuuka’s voice reached his ears from his right. He hoped that five minutes would be enough.

***

 

In a second, Mitsuru found herself on the floor. What just happened. Did Takaya miss?

A blooming pain spreading through her abdomen said otherwise. Mitsuru clutched her wound and grit her teeth.

Takaya slowly approached her with a mocking grin on his face. As soon as he was standing over her, Mitsuru was met with the unpleasant sensation of a boot on her cheek.

“Look at you, Kirijo. Crawling on the ground like a common bug.” He sneered at her, further digging his heel into her face. Mitsuru bit her tongue. She would not give him the satisfaction.

To her growing horror, the puddle of blood under her was growing bigger and bigger.

“Now is a good time to remember everything your family has done to us. The experiments, the artificial personas, the side effects – you’re going to pay for everything we went through.”

Mitsuru laughed humorlessly.

“You think yourself a hero, punishing me for something that I’ve never done? You’re nothing but sick monsters. All you care about is yourselves. Eventually, you’ll realize that. And you’ll be broken.”

Takaya’s smile slowly slid off his face. The pressure on her head receded, only to be replaced with sensation of cold steel at her forehead. Takaya’s finger was inching more and more towards pulling the trigger, until…

BANG!

…

…

…

***

 

Even if she couldn’t feel it herself, Aigis understood the tension in the air around them.

The second shadow was much weaker than the first one. After they were finally able to attack it, she unleashed her entire arsenal onto the enemy, and almost decimated it in one single swoop. Before perishing, it manifested a wheel of fortune once again, but this one was special.

There were only two symbols. Life and death.

Aigis was not sure why, but the temperature of her Papillon Heart dropped by a few degrees.

***

 

At the last moment, Takaya moved the revolver to shoot her in the chest instead. If the pain she felt before was unbearable, what Mitsuru was experiencing right now was pure anguish.

“Hngh!” She choked on her own blood, feeling the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears.

“Just wanted to see you suffer a little more. Consider this repayment, for your words.”

The reality around her was slowly getting more and more fuzzy.

Red ichor stained her white blouse, reminding her of the grim reality of what just transpired. She clutched her chest, trying, praying that it would be enough to stop the blood but it just didn’t… stop… coming…

“Look at her, the great leader of SEES. Gunned down like a dog.”

A metallic taste in her mouth brought her back to reality, albeit briefly. She heard Takaya say something about their job here being completed, and the duo disappeared into the night.

Was the Dark Hour sky always this… dim? Mitsuru was not so sure anymore.

“Mitsu!!”

A voice, coming from behind her. It sounded so familiar, yet, for some reason, she could not place who it belonged to. When… when did she roll onto her back?

“What happened here? No, no, don’t say anything. Can you heal her?!”

The voice belonged to Shinjiro, she suddenly realized. He was now kneeling in front of her and lifting her up slightly from the ground.

Why couldn’t she… feel his hands? Why was the air suddenly so cold? Mitsuru felt like she was supposed to shiver, yet it was not happening. Or could she not feel it happening?

Everything was just so confusing, more so with each passing second.

“I-I o-only have… have one gem.” The second voice said. Mitsuru saw and felt green light envelop her.

For a single second, Mitsuru gained the clarity of her mind back. The fog lifted, leaving her with a single terrifying thought.

I am going to die.

The clarity was gone as soon as it arrived. Mitsuru welcomed the bliss.

“I-it’s not helping. I don’t know! I d-don’t know what to do!”

“What the fuck did you just say?! I don’t care what you do, just make her get better!”

A loud, angry voice assaulted her senses. Why was he getting angry? Everything was so… peaceful. The pain she was experiencing was starting to recede, too.

Someone was crying, a bit further than the first voice.

“I don’t h-have any healing s-spells! I’m sorry! I-I’m so sorry!!”

No, no! She couldn’t die just yet! What about her father? What about the rest of SEES?

What about Fuuka?

“S-Shinji…” She managed to whisper before a coughing fit overtook her body. A few specks of her blood landed on his face, painting his desperate expression crimson red. “Pl…ease, t-take care of… of them.”

She heard what Fuuka said, in the end. Mitsuru was going to die in the next few minutes. Without fulfilling her mission. Without seeing it to the end.

All she had left is faith that everyone else would finish what she started.

“No, Mitsu! You’re going to come back with us and you’ll take care of us, just as we will take care of you. This isn’t a request, Kirijo!” He parroted her words back at her. The words that convinced him to return to the dorm, charged with such raw belief and desperation, laced with a dim hope that they would also convince her.

“M-Mitsuru! Please!” Another voice reached her ears once again. Fuuka.

Another regret to add to her ever-growing list. It was okay, though.

Mitsuru smiled brightly, closing her eyes for the last time. Shinjiro really had a heart of gold, hidden underneath that exterior. SEES was in good hands.

And Fuuka deserved someone better than her. Someone without a blood-stained past.

“I… believe in... you all.” The words that left her mouth were near-silent, yet Shinjiro still heard them clear as day. His expression morphed into pure anguish.

“Please, you and Aki are the only thing I have left. Please…” He begged her, clutching her body tighter to himself. “Don’t leave me.”

The sound of someone dropping to their knees reached Mitsuru’s senses. She had one more thing to say.

“Fuu…ka…” She forced the word out, each and every syllable feeling impossible. “I… L-Love… You.”

The action took almost all of her energy. She realized, then, that she would not hear Fuuka’s answer.

Kotone’s words echoed in her rapidly-dimming mind. It mattered not who you are. One thing was certain.

Death awaits all.

She would see them all again, even if it took a while. The idea gave her comfort.

With that thought in her mind and a smile on her face, Mitsuru Kirijo breathed her last.

Then you fade away from sight,

Shine no more ’till comes the night.

***

Notes:

I love Mitsuru, she's one of my favorites. But that is precisely why this had to happen. I may or may not have cried writing this.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Chapter 9: Memories of You

Summary:

In which they grieve.

Chapter 9. Memories of You

??/??/????

She was falling apart. She was everything there is. She was nothing at all.

She saw colors. The Dull Green of the Dark Hour.  The Neon Blue of her opponent’s eyes. The Bright Red of herself. Red. RED

Why was she fighting someone? She did nothing to provoke them. She simply wanted to exist. And yet, that seemed to be the greatest sin of all.

Blonde hair and blue eyes. Missiles crashing into her skin and hurting her, the wounds healing instantly upon contact. She did not retaliate, for there was no reason to. Maybe she could simply walk away, and the mechanical creature would leave her alone.

Another missile crashed into her back just as she turned to leave. This one was bigger, more powerful. She stumbled forward.

A bright light started converging behind her. Curious, she turned around to take a look, but suddenly found herself unable to move. There were now walls around her, fleshy and unusual and so so wrong.

There was someone else there, too, for but a moment. Until there wasn’t.

She blinked.

***

 

Kotone groaned as her eyes finally fluttered open. A strangely familiar ceiling greeted her upon waking up, but that’s not what got her attention the most. No, the biggest issue was that she could not move any of her limbs, regardless of how much she tried.

The lights were out in the room, making it hard to see her surroundings. Still, Kotone was sure that it was already dark outside. Was it before or after the Dark Hour was the main question plaguing her mind. Today was the full moon, wasn’t it? That meant that SEES needed her.

Kotone pulled on her restraints, discovering that they did not budge an inch. The texture digging into her skin reminded her of a really thick rope. If that was really it, then she couldn’t do anything at all until the Dark Hour arrived and she could summon her persona to free herself. SEES would just have to bear for a few minutes without her – she’d join them instantly as soon as she was able to move.

”Do you know what’s going on?” She asked Death internally, hoping that her persona could tell her something.

…

But nobody replied.

The silence that she once welcomed now felt crushing. Kotone felt like she’d lost a major part of herself. Just what exactly happened? The last thing she remembered was walking into the alley to meet Shinjiro, and then…

Then…

She gasped lightly. Someone attacked her from behind. It could only be them.

Strega. They were getting too far. If someone in SEES got hurt because Kotone wasn’t there to help them, she didn’t know what she would do with herself. She could not allow that to happen.

Her movements grew more panicked as she tried to free herself from her restraints. Her efforts proved futile, and she eventually gave up, deciding to wait until the Dark Hour or, potentially, her teammates arrived. She just had to believe in them.

An hour passed. Then two. Three. Her limbs were quickly growing numb.

After what felt like an eternity, green light finally flooded the room, illuminating the surroundings and confirming her suspicions. This really was Strega’s base of operations, the place she spent close to a week in. She grit her teeth in frustration. How could she be so naïve as to trust them to be better?

It didn’t matter. Now was her time.

“Thanatos!” She focused as hard as she could, recalling Takaya’s lessons on summoning a persona without an evoker. Kotone was sure that at this point she was good enough at it that it shouldn’t pose any issues.

And yet nobody came.

“Dominion! Lachesis! Siegfried! Hariti!” She kept shouting desperately, hoping that at least one of them would answer her call. With each passing moment, it was becoming more and more clear to her – something was preventing her from summoning her personas. If Thanatos did not answer to her call, then no one else would. She knew this. And yet she tried anyway.

“Orpheus!!” Kotone almost pleaded with herself, putting all of her feelings into her final cry for help. For a moment, she swore she felt something in her chest shift, but the result was all the same in the end. No one came to her rescue.

She realized, then, that all she could do was wait. Time, unrelenting as ever, kept flowing even during The Dark Hour, in its own twisted way. Why was it that a single hour could feel like it stretched for an eternity? Kotone did not have the answer.

Suddenly, she felt a horrible premonition. An invisible golden thread, somewhere deep in her heart, resonated for one last moment before snapping in two. A deep, immeasurable sorrow enveloped her soul. Not even knowing why, Kotone cried loudly on the floor of the building, mourning the loss of an intangible construct that made itself known for but a short moment, only to disappear into fairydust.

An eternity passed. Then, one more.

“Pathetic.” A voice finally reached her ears, causing her to snap her head sideways to look at the intruder. Upon seeing Takaya’s sneering face, her insides lit up with anger.

“What did you do? What. Did. You. Do?! Answer me!” She shouted at him, struggling in her bindings like a cornered animal. “Why?!”

“The ‘Why’ does not matter anymore. What matters is the result.” Takaya shook his head. “Our plan today succeeded. SEES will be no more. And thus, I have one final offer for you.”

Kotone’s heart was beating rapidly in her chest. Her breathing accelerated, sending the girl into a fully blown panic.

“W-What do you mean SEES will be no more? I don’t believe you.” She forced out, refusing to meet his eyes. She was afraid. Afraid that if she did look, all she would see was glee and triumph.

Takaya laughed lowly, almost savoring the moment. “Let me guess, you tried to free yourself with your persona? Using my tricks against me, perhaps? Well, you can thank the suppressants for foiling that plan of yours. It’s really not hard to give them to someone who cannot resist.” He paused before continuing. “But where are my manners? You asked me a question. And here is your answer: Mitsuru Kirijo is dead. All of you are now headless chickens, lost in an infinite forest without guidance.”

Her breath caught in her throat. No. Takaya was lying, probably trying to get a rise out of her. Maybe he planned to lure the others into this building by using her as bait? If so, she needed to think clearly. Panicking wasn’t going to help.

She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Upon opening them again, she was greeted with Takaya’s frowning face.

“I see you do not believe me. I was going to offer you to join us again, but…” He trailed off for a moment, reaching for his revolver. “I do not like the look on your face. It irritates me.” He pulled the revolver out and pointed it at her face.

Kotone gulped in fear. She just had to stall for a few minutes. Her team would be here. Fuuka would scan for her, and then they would arrive and-

Takaya pulled the trigger.

Click.

The sound of an empty drum reached her ears. Kotone let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“How unfortunate. It seems I used everything I had. You are lucky today, Shiomi.” Takaya took a step back, before shouting to his side. “We’re leaving, Jin. We have no time for this.”

And so, Takaya disappeared almost as suddenly as he arrived. Kotone did not know if she should feel relieved or terrified. Relieved, because she was now rather safe – her teammates would find her eventually, and as long as none of them were hurt, they managed to avoid another full-moon disaster.

Terrified, because where did Takaya use all of his bullets?

***

 

10/4/2009

Fuuka sobbed uncontrollably as she took into the scene in front of her.

Mitsuru was not moving. She was… Was…

No, there was no way. She just had to get the others here! With the amount of healing spells and items in everyone’s arsenal, if they got here fast enough, Mitsuru would be fine. She had to be.

She had to be. Fuuka refused to accept a different outcome.

She pulled herself up from her knees as fast as she could, almost falling several times in the process, and summoned Lucia forth. She knew exactly where the others were headed, and thus Fuuka hoped that she could contact them, even if the distance was large.

Fuuka celebrated internally once she managed to connect with the other members of SEES using her persona. “E-everyone! We need your help, Mitsuru is hurt! Please, hurry!”

Hope always died last, and Fuuka would not let it die today.

“Are you kidding me?” Shinjiro whispered angrily. “We were… If only we were a few seconds faster, then maybe… Oh god, why her?” He rambled on, struggling to form complete sentences. “She’s dead, Yamagishi. They can’t bring her back.”

Fuuka saw red.

“Are you giving up that easily, after everything she’s done for us?! You’re unbelievable!” She screamed like she hasn’t in years. “They’ll save her. They will. Because…”

Because what?

It was just so illogical. So unfair. Mitsuru, who was always so caring, so bright, so alive, could not just… stop existing here and now. That did not make any sense. It simply didn’t.

And yet Mitsuru did not move. All the blood on the ground around her made Fuuka want to puke. Was there even this much blood in a normal human? If Fuuka were in Mitsuru’s place, would her blood look the same? Would she look just as limp, as still as Mitsuru did right now?

Fuuka took a few steps backwards, closer towards the railing, and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach into the waters below.

No, she decided there and then. It didn’t make any sense. Therefore, Mitsuru was alive. She just needed some help from the others.

Laughing weekly, Fuuka turned around to look at the scene once more. Mitsuru sure scared them a lot, but she was going to be fine after all. She would be fine. She would be fine.

“…Are you laughing?” Shinjiro said, raising his head from the ground. “What is wrong with you?!” He grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into a nearby pillar, knocking the wind out of her.

“She’ll be fine. We just have to wait for the others. She will!” Fuuka repeated once again, trying to convince both herself and Shinjiro.

Shinjiro squeezed his eyes closed, almost as if in pain. He let her go, causing the girl to drop to the ground unceremoniously.

“What’s going on here?!” A voice reached her ears, accompanied by loud footsteps. SEES were here! They could finally heal Mitsuru, and everything would go back to normal.

She did not notice the horrified expression that adorned Akihiko’s face and the gasps of everyone else as they took in the scene in front of them.

“Is that?...” He said quietly, not believing his eyes. “H-Huh? Mitsu?” Akihiko slowly approached her body, dropping to his knees right next to her.

“Senpai? What happened?!” Yukari screamed at Shinjiro, who could only shake his head in return. Without thinking, she put an evoker to her head and called forth Io.

“Recarm! Diarama!”

The green light swirled around Yukari a few times, before dissipating back into the Dark Hour. Nothing happened.

Nothing… Happened?

But that can’t be. That was the strongest healing magic Yukari had, right? Why did nothing happen?

“Her heart appears to have stopped beating. I do not believe we can bring her back anymore.” Aigis said flatly, yet with a slightly somber expression.

Shinjiro’s prior words echoed in Fuuka’s mind, almost taunting her. Was… Was Mitsuru really gone? Just like that?

“I… L-Love… You.”

Fuuka screamed.

The Dark Hour was approaching its end. And yet, the nightmare has just begun.

Mitsuru was dead. Yukari, who had the strongest healing spells in their group, tried everything she had in a vain hope that she could somehow bring her back to life, but everything failed. Their first casualty in their fight against the shadows.

Fuuka stood up from the floor and approached Mitsuru’s still form. Logically, she knew that there was always a chance of someone dying – they got very close to that during the love hotel fiasco. But she could’ve never imagined it actually happening.

With shaking hands, Fuuka bent down to pick Mitsuru’s rapier that cluttered out of her hands onto the asphalt nearby. Her expression slowly morphed from shock to neutrality, then to anger. Her entire body shook as she stared at the object in her hands.

Strega… It was Strega who killed her.

She ran off without saying anything, causing several people to cry out in alarm. Their cries went unnoticed as Fuuka gripped the bloody rapier in her hands, her knuckles going white from the pressure.

The building where they were holding Kotone. That’s probably where they were headed after…

As she approached the building, Fuuka threw away any pretense of caution upon seeing two figures leave it through the front door.

“You!” She screamed, throat feeling raw from the sheer volume.

Strega’s leader turned around and smirked. Fuuka’s hands were shaking more and more with each passing moment.

“Ah, you. I would love to stay and chat, but Jin and I have places to be. We’re running on a tight schedule, I’m afraid.”

How could a single person ruin someone else, and yet still remain so nonchalant about it? How could he live with what he’s done, with the amount of anguish and torment he’s caused others with a single, selfish act?

“Fuuka, wait!” She heard a voice behind her, but gave it no mind. Instead, she reached for her evoker, with only one thought on her mind.

I am going to make them pay.

Before she could summon her persona, someone grabbed her wrist. She snarled, snapping around, ready to scream at the intruder, only to be met with Yukari’s pleading face. She said something, but Fuuka was not listening.

It was so…

So infuriating.

Her gaze snapped to Strega once more, seeing them retreat from the scene. Just a few seconds more, and they would be gone from sight.

“I am going to make you pay! Do you hear me?!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, causing the duo to pause for a moment. She took a few short breaths, feeling lightheaded.

“I don’t care what it takes!! I will end you!!” Her screams were met with a slight rise of Takaya’s shoulders, and then indifference. Strega were gone from sight.

With Yukari’s hands no longer supporting her, Fuuka dropped to her knees. Her cries echoed in the twilight.

“I will… end you. Whatever it takes.” She whispered quietly. A promise, written in the blood of the one she loved. Fuuka clutched Mitsuru’s rapier close to her heart, hoping to feel even a smidgen closer to the girl, but that was not possible anymore. She would never hear her voice and her shy laugh. She would never see her soft smile, reserved only for the select few.

Fuuka’s heart shattered into a million pieces that night. Lucia burned, and from the crimson ashes rose Sekhmet.

***

 

How was Fuuka this fast?!

Yukari wondered for the thousandth time that night as she tried to chase the girl down and prevent her from doing something stupid. She even boosted her own speed with Io, but even so she could barely keep up with Fuuka – how was that even possible?!

Her heart was beating loudly in her chest for another reason as well – where was Kotone? She was hoping that Fuuka would lead her there, and, as dirty as it made her feel, that was her main reason of pursuing her. If they could prevent a second tragedy today, then Yukari would do anything.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Fuuka stopped running. Yukari saw the Strega duo in front of them, with Fuuka reaching for her evoker to confront them.

What was she doing?! If they managed to defeat Mitsuru, then Fuuka and herself stood no chance! Without thinking, she grabbed Fuuka’s hands, only to be met with her furious face when the girl turned around.

She has never seen Fuuka look so… feral.

As much as she wanted to comfort the poor girl, Yukari was here on a mission. Once she made sure Strega were gone and no longer a threat, she entered the building that they exited a few minutes ago.

“Ko, where are you?! Please, if you hear me, say something!” She shouted, hoping to get an answer.

At first, no one replied, causing her stomach to drop in fear. Yukari was starting to suspect the worst, but she wouldn’t give up hope. No. She would look for Kotone until the end of time if that’s what she had to do.

“Yukari? Is that you? I’m on the second floor!” A familiar voice reached her ears, causing the girl to sigh in relief and almost slump to the floor. She could hold off of that, though – she had a girl to save.

Upon ascending the stairs, she was immediately greeted with the sight of Kotone’s tied up form on the floor near the corner of the room.

***

 

“Yukari! Thank god you’re okay, I was so worried! Strega told me they’d interrupted SEES, but I didn’t believe them, I’m glad to see you’re okay.” Kotone’s mood instantly soared upon seeing Yukari. The smile, however, quickly slid off her face once she took a look at Yukari’s expression.

Something was wrong. The fear that she was experiencing earlier has returned tenfold stronger.

“H-Hey, Yukari, everyone is okay, right? Strega was just bluffing, there is no way they could have done anything.” Kotone asked. Yukari opened her mouth, trying to say something, just to close it again. An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two.

Kotone exhaled shakily.

“What… What happened? Please, Yukari, just say something.”

Instead, the girl chose to silently approach her and begin to untie the ropes that were bound around her body. Kotone was about to ask her the question once more, when she heard Yukari’s small voice next to her ear.

“Kirijo-san is dead. Strega killed her.” The words were so quiet, yet loud as thunder at the same time. Kotone’s breathing quickened.

Her thoughts were a hurricane, rushing at a thousand miles per hour. Mitsuru was… gone? Just like that? But why?

Give her back to us. Give. Her. Back.

No one replied, once more. Kotone felt alone in her own head. She didn’t even notice when Yukari, who was now waiting for her to move, untied her.

“How? What happened?” Kotone asked, already knowing the answer in advance. She merely wanted a confirmation of her fears.

And so Yukari told her what she knew.

***

 

10/05/2009

The worst thing about losing someone was how life simply went on.

The clock on her wall still ticked, the birds outside still chirped, and the sun still went up in the morning. The notion of time passing like nothing happened, cruel and unforgiving, was simply too much. And thus, Fuuka remained stagnant.

Will the school say something about Mitsuru’s passing? Will anyone there even miss her, or will people move onto another topic in fifteen minutes after hearing the news?

Fuuka clutched her pillow closer to her chest. Her tears have long since dried out, and an all-encompassing emptiness took its place. Some people knocked at her door in the morning, but she refused to unlock it. There was simply no point.

The person who’d always encourage others to not miss school and keep their grades up was Mitsuru, and she was not here anymore.

Seconds blended into minutes, which then blended into hours. At some point, Fuuka felt hungry, but that feeling went away eventually as well. It, too, passed. She was expecting her thoughts to be all over the place, but her mind was calmly blank.

At some point, the need for water won over Fuuka’s desire to stay in her bed, and she begrudgingly stood up and headed towards the bathroom. She noted that it was already getting dark outside – the entire day has passed by without her noticing it.

One of many, she was sure.

What was Fuuka fighting for, again? Her friends? And where did that get her? She would much prefer staying home, rotting in her bed, if she knew this would be the final outcome.

“I… L-Love… You.”

Fuuka stopped on her tracks to get a cup of water. The fog that settled over her brain slowly lifted, giving way to grief once more. The cup she was holding fell onto the floor and shattered against the laminated wood, undoubtedly attracting someone’s attention.

She didn’t care, though. She was past caring.

Once the grief passed, the anger returned tenfold. Sekhmet raged in her burning heart, making Fuuka feel as if she was about to be torn apart from the inside. The persona was begging to be let out, to destroy, to avenge.

And what if she did, then? What if this was her new purpose? She made a promise already, when she saw him leave that house. And Fuuka was sure that he heard her promise, just as he laughed it off. He was going to regret it, very soon.

Another knock on her door, along with a worried voice asking for her well-being. She refused to answer. They wouldn’t understand.

With a new resolve in her heart, yet feeling another bout of emptiness approach, Fuuka headed back to her bed to sleep the day away.

***

 

Sometimes, Akihiko wondered what it meant to live.

If you asked different people, they’d give you different answers. Some would say that living meant discovering new things – every day that one has lived through brought something different, something new to their experience that wasn’t there before. To live was to have that experience every day.

Others would reply that to live is to devote oneself to others. Family, friends, loved ones – living meant sharing a piece of yourself with others, trusting them to handle it carefully and return the favor. As such, life was a beautiful web of interconnected experiences, where people close to each other contributed something to this web. To live was to add to that experience every day.

Akihiko, though, thought that to live is to suffer.

First, it was their parents, who left him and Miki alone when they were still too young to deal with it. Then, it was Miki – after she was gone, Shinjiro was all that he had, but they’d grown more distant ever since the fire in the orphanage. Akihiko retreated deeper into himself, and refused to get closer to anyone else. He still remembered fondly how Shinjiro punched him in the face and called him a coward afterwards, before bringing back some medical supplies to treat the bruise on his face.

Then, SEES happened. Mitsuru found him after one of the boxing championships, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. In a weird way, it almost reminded him of the dynamic him, Miki, and Shinjiro used to have at the orphanage – the three of them against the world. The days he spent in Tartarus with the other two may have been dangerous, but they also were some of the best times of his life.

Then, the incident with the shadow. Shinjiro still wasn’t able to control his persona well enough, and it raged out of control. An innocent bystander died. Shinjiro has never been the same ever since, and then he, too, was lost to Akihiko when he ran away from the group one night.

Except he returned. Years later, by mere chance, they managed to convince him to come back to the dorm. Everything was looking up again – they were approaching the final few fights against the horrors of the Dark Hour, and then everything would be over. They just had to persevere for a few more months.

And then, Mitsuru was gone. Just like that. No goodbyes and no last words. The only ones to hear them were Fuuka and Shinji. The latter refused to talk to him for the past twenty-four hours, while Fuuka simply locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Mitsuru was gone in a moment and he didn’t even know why.

All he knew was that Strega was at fault, but that was not enough. He just desperately needed to know why. What could be worth a human life? Akihiko did not know, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever find out.

To live is to suffer, indeed.

Someone entered his room without knocking. Akihiko was about to protest loudly, but then he noticed the person that entered.

Shinji approached him wordlessly, refusing to meet his eyes. He pulled down on his beanie, before eventually sitting down on the chair next to the desk, eyes still fixed on the floor.

Wordlessly, Akihiko pulled him into a hug. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes; he tried to hold them in for a moment, but eventually, the urge simply became too strong. For Shinji’s sake, he would not say anything about how he felt the shakes reverberate through his body. Or was he the one shaking, now that he let the tears flow freely? He was not sure, but frankly speaking, it did not matter anymore.

If living was suffering, then at least he had someone who understood his pain. The companionship is what would help the both of them pull through this – together.

Polydeuces gently dissipated into glowing, yellow shards, and when Akihiko blinked, he felt Caesar take his place.

***

 

Kotone could not sleep that night. She spent the entirety of it in anticipation, even refusing Yukari entry when the girl tried to come to her room to go to sleep together. Her thoughts were way too chaotic as she anxiously waited for her persona to return to her soul.

As soon as Kotone felt the cold tendrils of Death gripping the edges of her mind, she started the interrogation.

Where’s Mitsuru? You’re Death, aren’t you? Bring her back. I command you.

A deep sorrow resonated through every inch of her skin. The ugly feeling was crawling behind her eyes, the agony of loss permeating the very fabric of the matter surrounding her. Molten lava, remnants of a long-consumed star in her stomach burned a bright, bloody red, grieving the loss of a close friend.

I’m not, and I can’t. I understand your pain, for I am thou. But there are some things even I cannot do.

Useless. Absolutely pathetic and useless. Thanatos was hers to control, was she not? She would bring Mitsuru back herself. She’d find a way. The alternative was simply unacceptable.

Death cried tears of ice, shedding them into the everlasting sea. The cosmic wind, created by her wails, carried on for thousands of light years, eventually dissipating into nothingness.

Your bond with her was truly beautiful, mea alia. The pain of loss is near-unbearable, yet you must prevail.

It was all a giant chain, was it not? Starting from Mitsuru’s grandfather carrying out the experiments, to then summoning Death, with Aigis sealing it inside Kotone. Then, her joining SEES, fighting side-by-side with them. The incident at the love hotel. Her subsequent meeting with Strega.

To them killing Mitsuru. A butterfly flapped its wings, and a cataclysm wiped out a thriving young soul. Was it really fair? Of course it wasn’t. Mitsuru was not responsible for her family’s sins. She was as much of a victim as everyone else in this situation.

And yet, it did not matter in the end. The bullet did not stop for a trial before it carried out the execution.

She is in a better place now. The Sea of Souls is peaceful and calm, and she is waiting for her next journey.

That did not change the fact that she would be missed here and now. The pain of loss would remain with them forever. Akihiko, Shinjiro, Fuuka… Kotone shuddered to think the agony they’ve been going through ever since.

She gripped her bedsheets tighter.

What if I went into the Sea? I could find Mitsuru there, and bring her back here. Then, she’d stay with us for a little longer.

That would be both selfish and dangerous, mea alia. She is no longer the one you would call Mitsuru. I’m afraid there is no coming back.

So it was truly hopeless, then. Mitsuru was gone forever, and they’d never get her back. As the realization struck her, Kotone jumped out of her bed and sprinted towards the bathroom. Cold water hit her face, grounding her a little and slowing down her accelerating, spiraling train of thoughts.

When Kotone raised her head, a familiar face that she’s never seen before greeted her in the mirror. A creature, with black tear tracks running down her cheeks, dripping tar slowly from the sides of her chin. The eyes were an endless celestial void, reflecting billions of tiny, distant stars into the small confines of her bathroom. Wispy, dark tendrils covered the sides of the mirror, almost as if holding onto its edges. Her red hair billowed, covered in the light of a thousand dying suns – a visage that should’ve been painful to gaze at with Kotone’s mortal eyes, and yet all she felt was warmth.

The creature in the mirror was mourning, Kotone realized. And that was enough to send her over the edge.

“Why her?!” She cried as she spoke, staring into the Other’s eyes. “There are so many terrible people on the Earth. Why did you have to take someone so bright?! She was not perfect, but she tried.”

Tears flew freely from her eyes, dripping on the tiled floor below. Her reflection in the mirror wept as well, with her tears dissipating into smoke as they left her face.

I did not take her. I merely guided her to her destination. When there’s a beginning, there’s an ending, too.

Kotone slammed her fist on the sink in front of her. “That’s bullshit! With your power, you could’ve done so much! You could’ve saved her!” She covered her face with her hands.

You’re blaming yourself. Nothing but strife will come from that. But I understand.

For a moment, Kotone thought she felt the tendrils wrap themselves around her, almost as if in a protective hug. The feeling was gone as soon as it arrived. Kotone found herself missing the comfort.

I told you that you were the architect of our own downfall. And yet, I have a feeling that you will not stop here. Will you?

No, she wouldn’t. In honor of Mitsuru’s memory, Kotone would make sure that she’d get to the bottom of everything.

Even if some answers or possibilities terrified her, she would be brave. That was her mission. Through pain and suffering, she would prevail.

The reflection smiled.

***

 

Aigis did not understand.

The concept of death was foreign to her. If her mechanical body failed, then someone could simply repair it. Humans were somewhat similar in this regard, considering that minor damage to them could be healed in time, but Aigis herself was much more durable than the average human.

Everyone around her was mourning the loss of a friend. Aigis wouldn’t say that her and Mitsuru were particularly close, but she was still a remarkable human and leader. Was that why every time she thought about never seeing her again, her Papillon Heart throbbed painfully in return? At first, Aigis was going to ask Ikutsuki for maintenance, but then she realized that perhaps the reason for this anomaly was something else.

An artificial creation such as her could not feel emotions. Aigis knew that, and so did everyone else. Why then, did her systems… feel so weird? She ran diagnostics for the hundredth time that afternoon, but everything kept coming back normal. Her internal temperatures were within limits, her chassis and circuits suffered no damage, and her internal circulation systems were all working as intended. And yet, Aigis felt wrong.

She would have to ask someone about this eventually. Now, though, she would leave the others to grieve – she was sure they would not appreciate her questions at the moment.

Lamenting her failure to execute her mission properly, Aigis ran another diagnostic.

No internal issues found. Operation is optimal.

She sighed.

***

 

The room on the fourth floor of Iwatodai dorm was a mess.

Countless torn pages and journals covered the floor. At the center of all the mayhem sat Ikutsuki, grabbing his head with a heavy sigh full of helplessness and loss.

Years of preparation, of making sure that everything would go according to his plan with as little casualties as possible, only to result in this. Fate, oftentimes, was a cruel thing. He was completely prepared to give up his own life for the plan, but the universe decided that Mitsuru had to take his place.

Oh god, how was he going to break the news to Takeharu? The poor man still had no idea. What of the Kirijo group? Who was going to become the successor now? And SEES?

Damn the Kirijo group. Damn it! All it has brought to the world is pain and suffering. Ikutsuki knew, logically, that he was to blame too. He was a researcher in the experiments 10 years ago, after all. If only he grew a spine in time... If only he could prevent the disaster before it happened instead of picking up the pieces years later.

Oh, Mitsuru. You've met a terrible fate, haven't you? ...And yet, despite everything, you still made an impact. If only he could spare her this fate. But it was too late now. The cruel reality left little to no time for grief. He was already thinking of all the potential consequences, of all the changes he’d have to make to his plan to ensure everything could proceed forward. A loss of a life was tragic, but it would be meaningless if all life was lost.

Ikutsuki moved on to clean the room from the results of his tantrum. When he was done, his gaze lingered on the phone that remained on the table. He had a call to make. Takeharu deserved to know.

A few dial tones later, Takeharu answered his call. Ikutsuki always called on important occasions only, so he knew that the other man would make time for him whenever he called.

“Shuji? Why are you calling me this early? It’s not time for the full-moon report yet. Did something happen?” An annoyed voice greeted him on the other side. It seems that he had some business to attend to, after all.

Ikutsuki took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

“We’ve had a casualty.”

A sharp exhale, and then silence. The easy part has been told. Now onto the hard part. Suddenly, Ikutsuki realized he couldn’t make himself say it.

“I thought you said they were ready?! How did that happen? Who was it?” Ikutsuki detected a note of fear from the other man. As much as he liked to present himself as distant and gruff, he, too, has grown to care for SEES. The news, no doubt, was devastating to him.

“Interference from an outside group of persona users, Strega. I mentioned them in my previous reports, if you remember.” Ikutsuki replied, dodging one of the questions. “We may have to take more drastic measures in regards to their activities. They are now directly targeting SEES – we cannot allow this to continue.”

Takeharu cursed loudly on the other side of the call. “Who did we lose? If it’s Aigis, we can repair her, but-“

“It’s Mitsuru, Takeharu.” He finally broke the news.

He was greeted, once again, with deathly silence. A few seconds later, Takeharu growled into the phone. “Don’t you dare make jokes with me, Shuji. Tell me you’re lying, right now.”

It was now his turn to remain silent. Ikutsuki truly could not even imagine what was going through Takeharu’s head right now, and thus had no words to offer – either of comfort or confirmation. All he could do is wait for a response.

“Say something, damn it! You’re not serious, are you?! Is this some sort of prank? It’s not funny, you-“

“Do you really think I would joke about something like this? I’m sorry to report this, Takeharu-san, but Mitsuru did not make it out alive out of the full-moon operation.” Ikutsuki raised his voice slightly, momentarily insulted at the idea. He understood, though – denial was always easiest to process.

“You… You’re serious. Mitsuru is… is…” A thump followed, almost as if Takeharu dropped into a chair.  “My little girl… Mitsuru… Oh god.”

“I’m… I’m sorry for your loss.”

All he heard in reply were the quiet cries of barely suppressed grief. Ikutsuki has never heard the other man show much emotion, and so his reaction was enough to make his own eyes slightly wet.

“I promise you, Takeharu-san. Her death will not be in vain. I will do everything, anything it takes to make sure the Dark Hour is destroyed. You have my word.”

A determined expression crossed his face. It was time to go back to his private lab and dig up some records of the old experiments from ten years ago. He would make sure that his plan would succeed and the final shadow would fall in a month’s time, no matter the cost.

No matter the cost.

Notes:

Did I say I won't take three weeks again? My bad. At this point, I'm simply gonna stop making any promises. I've had a rough two weeks and couldn't write anything, so that's why this chapter was delayed.

We are entering endgame territory now, and a lot of things will be getting revealed, starting from the next chapter. As always, please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Also, please, please check out this awesome fic written by FatYeet420 - Memories of Her! It deals with the effect Mitsuru's death has on Fuuka, her relationship with her new persona, and the way she deals with her issues. It's so good!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/66954901

Chapter 10: Throw Away Your Mask

Summary:

In which Ikutsuki executes his plan.

10/11/2009

It was unfair. Everything was just so... unfair.

The Kirijo group was responsible for so many crimes against humanity. Experiments on children, building a lab under a school of all places, and calling Tartarus into existence just to name a few. And to think that her father worked for a project like that... Did he even have a choice? And if he did, then why did he commit to it? The company's past was stained with blood and the road to redemption would be near-impossible.

Mitsuru, however, was responsible for none of that. In fact, she actively fought to rectify it. And that's what made it just so unfair. She didn't deserve what happened to her. Not at all.

Sitting at the lobby's kitchen table, Yukari put her head on her arms. The atmosphere at the dorm has shifted tremendously. Even Aigis, who barely showed any reactions to things happening around her, seemed affected in her own way. And that's what brought her train of thought to its logical conclusion.

Could they even go on fighting against the Dark Hour, with the team fractured as-is?

Kotone has been acting distant and almost weird, reminding Yukari of the first time she's met the girl. There was this almost otherworldly aura about her, and while sure, that was a mostly common occurrence, it has been less obvious over time as they grew closer. Now, though, it felt as if a pit has grown between them overnight, and Kotone refused to talk to Yukari about it.

And Fuuka... Yukari did suspect that her and Mitsuru were growing closer together, and her reaction to the night's events made it all that much more obvious. In fact, she hasn't seen the girl leave her room ever since. That couldn't be healthy, considering that a human needed food in order to survive, so Yukari tried her best to bring her at least two meals a day. And the meals weren't untouched per se, but it was obvious that Fuuka had no appetite for food and was merely eating because she had to.

As for Akihiko, well, even though he tried his best to not show any weakness in front of others, Yukari thought it was both obvious and completely normal that he was taking the loss very hard. She didn't know much about Akihiko's past, but from the few bits that she overheard it was apparent that he was no stranger to losing people close to him. Yukari remembered the pain, the devastating feeling of pure heartbreak and loss that engulfed her entire being when her father was gone, and to experience that several times one after the other was something she could genuinely not imagine going through.

Shinjiro, for his part, was still a bit of a mystery to her. He used to generally avoid the others, especially when Akihiko and Mitsuru were involved, but that had changed lately. Yukari was pretty sure something was going on between him and Akihiko, but now that has been put on the back burner after the recent events. The change in him was slight, but noticeable - he reverted to his old self, not trusting anyone around him with his true feelings. Well, except that one time she saw him go into Akihiko's room. She was hoping the two could comfort in other in their shared loss.

Junpei was mostly shocked, if anything. Yukari suspected that he still treated the Dark Hour as a trivial matter, not giving it the proper thought that it deserved. To him, it was a game - a chance to prove himself against all odds. Or, at least, Yukari thought so. Even though they were friends for a while now, she still realized that she didn't really know that much about him. Or maybe he wasn't feeling comfortable enough to share? Well, that could be attributed as her fault as well. Now that she thought about it, Yukari herself talked his ear off about her problems on multiple occasions, while never offering the same in return. Maybe she should fix that at some point.

Not now. Now other things took priority.

Aigis. Whatever Yukari told herself, however much she tried to convince herself that it was okay, that Aigis was on their side and would never turn against them, she simply couldn't do it. Fact remained that Aigis was a man-made creation, engineered by Kirijo Group specialists for the group's goals. What if she had some hidden switch that would let them override her free will (if she even had a free will, Yukari noted internally) in an instant? Sure, the android droned on and on about how her only purpose is to destroy all shadows and protect Kotone in the meantime, which, by the way, made Yukari feel a little flare of jealousy, but that didn't mean she would follow those orders forever. Anything could happen, and life has taught her that when there is even a tiny chance of something going wrong then it definitely will.

Her thoughts were starting to wander. She really had to busy herself with something just to stop thinking.

And, finally, there was Yukari herself. If she had to choose one person to compare herself to in this situation, then it would surprisingly be Junpei. Mitsuru's death was a huge shock to her and she definitely could empathize with others, but on the other hand Mitsuru and her have never been particularly close, mostly because of Yukari's mistrust. She was starting to warm up to her after the revelation in Yakushima, but now the "could have" did not matter anymore. Mitsuru was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

Well, probably no one...

No, stop that train of thought, Takeba. If Kotone could have done anything, she already would have done it. She cared about everyone on SEES, and would turn the mountains over for each one of them. Even if Yukari wished she got a little more special attention at times.

What a selfish and ugly thought that was. Instantly, Yukari felt ashamed of herself.

A friend of yours died and that's all you can think about?!

She stood up and headed towards the front entrance. Maybe an evening walk through the shrine grounds would help her clear her thoughts.

***

 

Ever since that fateful day many years ago, Chidori Yoshino has never been alone. She had grown to always rely on others in the times of need, and has forged a strong, unbreakable bond with the other members of Strega.

A bond that she, herself, shattered into pieces once she decided she wouldn't be an accomplice to murder. Sure, Strega's outings turned a little... violent, at times, but she had sworn to never go all the way. To never take the life of another person. Even when fighting SEES for her life in that alleyway, she held back a bit to make sure that any damage she dealt to the small blue-haired girl would hurt, but wouldn't be fatal.

Did Jin and Takaya succeed in their plan, or did they fail? Chidori had no way of knowing, and she rather preferred to be in the dark. That way, her conscience would not suffer and tell her that she was just as responsible that the rest of them, that she let Takaya reach the point of no-return and never noticed the warning signs, that it was all her fault-

Noticing that her breathing was growing more labored with the minute, Chidori quickly sat at a nearby bench. Surviving alone wasn't as hard as she imagined - the Dark Hour has proven to be quite a useful tool, during which she could stock up on food, water, and anything else she needed without anyone else noticing. Was that stealing? Yes, but the store could bear to lose a few hundred yen in profits if it meant Chidori would get to stay alive.

How long has it been since she left, anyway? A few weeks? Months? She didn't pay much attention to the world around her, as much as she wished for the world to not pay attention to her, and thus was left with a confused sense of time. It was almost as if time itself had lost meaning as soon as Chidori lost hers.

Sitting on the bench, she hugged herself around the midsection.

And that was the problem, wasn't it? What even was Chidori's reason to live now? Before, it was her sworn family. Her brothers in anything but blood that she so rashly abandoned for her own "pure" ideals. The regret has sunk in as soon as she turned around and saw them not standing there anymore, eventually replaced by sorrow that they considered her so unimportant, so expendable that they wouldn't even consider changing the plan.

Takaya gave her his decision. His revenge was more important than Chidori, and she now had to live with that. It hurt.

At least with no one around she didn't have to talk anymore. The only silver lining of this situation, really - she no longer had to force words out of her throat until she felt like she wanted to puke.

Just me, myself, and I. No one else. The silence is both welcoming and oppressing.

Chidori took a moment to take in her surroundings. After parting ways with Strega, she no longer had any reason to stay in one place, and so she wandered around Iwatodai at night. Sometimes, just to find a nice place to sleep peacefully where no one could disturb her. Other times, to calm her raging mind. She now found herself in a part of the town that she's never been in before, and the surroundings were...

Serene. The scenery was very peaceful and quiet. Chidori appreciated it.

It was a shrine of some sort, located in the middle of a small park. The trees were half-barren, considering the season, but the leaves that remained were with colored in beautiful, vivid shades. The autumn breeze gently swayed the branches left to right, and the light from a nearby lantern painted the entire scene in an ethereal luminescence, with myriads of fireflies gathering around the source of light.

Chidori has never seen anything more beautiful in her life. It was so calming, so… somniferous...

Without a care in the world, Chidori drifted off to sleep.

…

…

…

“-you doing here?!”

An abrupt shout woke her up. There was someone there. How could she get so careless?

Chidori instantly sprung up from the bench. The visage of the shrine has turned from welcoming to sinister in a single moment, but the only thing that changed was her perception.

Because the person that woke her up was none other than a girl from SEES that she saw a few times who always stayed close to their leader. Her name was Yukari, right?

That didn’t matter. Chidori was in danger, and she had to think fast.

Yukari advanced closer. “I’m not letting you go until you answer me! What are you three planning?! Wasn’t what you’ve already done enough?!” She screamed into Chidori’s face, clutching her by the elbow. Chidori tried to reply, she really did, but suddenly she could not force the words out. There was just so much she wanted to say and ask in this moment, but where should she start? Was there even a point in using words if they would not convey what she needed them to convey?

Opening and closing her mouth several times and failing to produce a sound, Chidori remained silent, gazing at Yukari with wide eyes.

Takaya and Jin… I was hoping they wouldn’t go ahead with their plan.

And yet seeing the fury and desperation in the other girl’s eyes, Chidori knew that not to be the case. Damn it. Still holding onto Chidori’s elbow, Yukari pulled out her phone and called someone. SEES. Chidori had to leave, fast.

Unfortunately for her, Yukari did not take her eyes off Chidori even for a moment. Planning to try and run away once Yukari was distracted talking to someone, Chidori waited for her opportunity. As soon as someone answered the phone, she yanked her elbow as hard as she could, but, to her great horror, Yukari’s grip was too strong and she couldn’t set herself free.

Which left Chidori with one option, really. Panic.

“L-Let go!” She shouted, using her other hand to try and wrangle herself out. Chidori was getting more and more desperate with each passing moment, at some point trying to use her legs to kick Yukari and force her to weaken her grip.

A fist crashed into the side of her face and Chidori found herself on the ground, staring at the starry sky above. She really… should’ve expected this.

“Shut up. How… How dare you!” Yukari appeared in her field of vision. “You three killed Mitsuru, and for what? Nothing! For your sick satisfaction!”

Chidori’s hands were shaking harder and harder. That was right, wasn’t it? Murderers. And she was one by association, too, knowing about everything well in advance and not even trying to stop them. The only thing she tried was attempting to guilt-trip them by leaving, almost as if that would work. Well… She knew now that it didn’t. Her hopes were already shattered.

As much as she tried to prevent it from happening, tears sprung from Chidori’ eyes.

“You’re right.” She mumbled through grit teeth. “I could have done something. C-Could have tried. But I didn’t. I just… gave up. I’m as guilty as the rest of them, having the privilege of choosing my future, and ending up here and now.”

What happened to the promise Chidori made to herself after leaving the labs? That she would be the one to carve her own path? Instead, she simply went with the flow and gave up trying, going against all of her principles. Yes, Strega were not blameless. No, they never killed anyone before. Chidori made sure for that to be an important point when they decided to pursue their less than legal missions. And now, it was all for nothing, and the Kirijo girl was dead.

Chidori might as well have been the one to murder her with her own hands, with how her indecisiveness played a role in Kirijo’s demise.

 “I… I will never redeem myself.” Chidori finally whispered to herself. “Do what you will. I deserve everything.”

Yukari sneered. “Stop throwing yourself a pity party. It’s sickening.” She glared at Chidori from above. “What are you trying to play at? Thinking that you can talk your way out of this one? You’re not going to.”

“I know.”

“Then why don’t you shut the hell up, huh? We’ll decide what to do with you once the others are here.”

She heard shouts in the distance. SEES were here. If Yukari insisted that words were no longer needed, then that was all that better for Chidori. Words were hard. Actions were easier.

And it was time to act.

***

 

“Yukari, are you alright?! What’s going on here?”

As soon as they all got the shout from Kotone that Yukari was in danger near the shrine, Fuuka grabbed whatever she could in seconds and ran out to follow their leader. Her pajamas were not very suitable for the weather outside, but that was not what was going through Fuuka’s head right now.

Strega. Just the word by itself filled her insides with blinding anger, with Sekhmet beating her invisible hands on Fuuka’s mental barrier, begging to be let out.

Not yet, though. First, they had to make sure Yukari was okay. And then, as soon as the Dark Hour would arrive, Fuuka would be the first one to attack.

After arriving to the park in record time, she took a moment to gather her breath after a long run. The sight there has left her… disappointed. Huh.

“Y-you… It’s you!” Fuuka said.

It was the girl. Not Takaya or Jin. And yet, she was as guilty as the rest of them.

The green of the Dark Hour suddenly invaded the surroundings. Everyone tensed.

“Megido-“

“No, stop!”

Someone tackled her from the side, and Fuuka’s evoker went flying out of her hands.

“What are you doing, Kotone-san? S-She’s with them!” Fuuka shouted.

“Please, wait just a moment. Something’s not right here.” Kotone replied, pocketing Fuuka’s evoker and helping her to her feet. She then turned to look at Chidori, who was still lying on the ground and not making any attempts to get up.

Yukari spoke up. “I found her here when I went out for a walk. She tried to run away.” She side-eyed Chidori on the ground. “And I stopped her.” Yukari summoned her persona and ordered it to keep an eye on the girl.

The remainder of SEES caught up with Kotone and Fuuka at that moment.

“That… Almost killed me. What’s going on, why are we here?” Junpei heaved, out of breath from the running. “Where’s the shadow?”

His eyes then darted towards Io, noticing the figure on the ground. His eyes widened.

“It appears we’ve encountered a hostile presence.” Aigis said. “What’s the plan, leader? Engage in combat?”

Kotone shook her head. “Not yet. I have a weird feeling about this.”

Akihiko and Shinjiro remained silent.

“Are you all done?” Chidori suddenly said, making an attempt to get up.

“You little-“

“Enough, Yukari.” Kotone said, causing the girl to bristle.  “Chidori. Why were you here?”

Chidori calmly walked towards the bench and sat down. After taking a moment to herself, she started talking, and…

Well, and told them everything. The experiments, the formation of Strega, their activities, and finally… the reason for her leave. She made sure to take her time and try to not miss any details. After all, it was her one chance to redeem her greatest sin – giving up.

And so, Chidori poured her heart out to strangers for the second time in her life. The words flowed and flowed, almost as if a dam broke out. All she could hope for was that she was not making a grave mistake.

Well, all would be revealed with time. The choice has already been made and there was no going back now. Her move has been made. Now, Chidori simply had to wait for their reply.

She did not have to wait long.

”And you think we’ll believe you that easily? How can we know you’re not just lying to us?” Akihiko was the first one to say anything. “For all we know, this could be another one of Strega’s plans.”

Chidori hummed in response. “There is no reason for me to lie. Think what you will.”

A tense silence settled over the shrine.

“Okay.” Shinjiro finally broke it. “Okay. Let’s assume everything is exactly as you say. What now?”

The question threw her off. They asked her why she was here, did they not? They received an answer. Nothing more, nothing less.

Except… That was not what he was implying, was it?

“So your friends are murderers, and you’re an innocent little angel. Pure of heart and bright of soul, I’m sure.” Shinjiro continued. “Right. As if. So let me ask you again, Yoshino – what now? Mitsuru is still dead, Strega is still out there and the Dark Hour shows no signs of disappearing. Your little story and apology does nothing for that, do you realize?”

Fuuka seemed to agree with him. “Words will not bring her back. Nothing will. S-She’s g-gone… forever.”

Chidori knew that, damn it! She did! But what was she supposed to… do…

…

Something. She could do something. It wouldn’t fix anything, it wouldn’t bring the dead back to life, but it would be the right thing to do.

Will they let me?...

She promised herself, once, that she would always be courageous enough to forge her own path. When the road ahead ended, she would construct a new one, from her own ideals. Even if… even if that meant betraying her past.

No, that was wrong. Strega was the one who betrayed her. Chidori was finally starting to realize that. Maybe… Maybe they were never a family. Maybe Chidori was simply a means to an end to them.

As soon as her mind was made, Chidori felt something snap inside. The chains that she had never realized enveloped her before finally eroded into nothing, leaving her feeling light and free. She could no longer feel Medea’s presence, and instead, the guiding light of Elen has taken her place.

Chidori smiled.

“Let me fight with you.”

All hell broke loose after those words.

“W-What?!” Yukari exclaimed.

“Are you kidding me?” Junpei said.

“Huh.” Akihiko simply said, while Shinjiro grunted in contemplation.

Shouts of surprise and anger filled the air, but Chidori expected that. No, she was particularly interested in the opinion of one person.

Fuuka was staring at her with an indescribable expression on her face. It was obvious that the girl did not trust her at all.

That was fine. Chidori would earn the trust.

She snapped her gaze to Kotone. “Please.”

If there was someone here who’d understand her, it would be Kotone. With a baited breath, Chidori waited for her decision.

Kotone’s piercing gaze met her own. In the moment where their eyes met, Chidori felt like she was being judged for her sins.

“If you hurt my friends, you will regret it.” She finally said, before smiling warmly. “That said, welcome to SEES.”

“WHAT?!” Yukari shouted, repeating herself. “You’re not even gonna ask us? You’re putting all of us in danger! Her friends murdered Mitsuru! Have you forgotten already?”

“I haven’t. Please, trust me?” Kotone pleaded with the others.

“You’re making that very difficult right now, Ko.” Yukari said. “I… I can try, but I’m not happy about it. Not at all.”

Fuuka, who still wasn’t able to find her words, nodded in agreement with Yukari.

“I think we should do it.” Akihiko said suddenly. “I’m not sure why, but I got this weird feeling. That she’s being genuine.”

Shinjiro hummed. “Same here. The girl’s not innocent, but I would like to remind some of you, since it seems you have forgotten.” He looked around himself, taking a moment to lock eyes with everyone. “Neither are we.”

His words seemed to affect the group, some people throwing glances towards him and Kotone.

“I do believe her presence would be beneficial to SEES.” Aigis chimed in, not affected by the sudden shift in atmosphere. “And if required, I am able to monitor her twenty-four-seven. I do not require sleep, after all.”

Yukari’s posture relaxed slightly after those words.

“And if you ask me, I say we let her in! She seems like an alright gal.” Junpei said, crossing his arms ahead of him. “It’s like Aragaki-san said, we should have some faith! And, well…” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “Someone once told me that it doesn’t matter if you’ve failed before. No one is perfect. What matters is that you try your best. Hah…”

His eyes suddenly misted over with tears. “She really had a way with words, huh…” He whispered to himself. “God, I think it’s just starting to hit me now. We’re… not gonna see Mitsuru-senpai again. And I never even said thank you to her for pulling my head out of my ass all those months ago…”

He laughed, choking on a sob in the process. Kotone was the first one to react, pulling him into a hug. “It’s okay to cry. It really takes a while to realize it sometimes, huh? You only start missing certain things or people when you don’t have them anymore.” Her own eyes filled with tears.

One by one, the other members of SEES joined the hug. Just like when Kotone returned to them that one time, except tears of sorrow were being shed now. All of them had lost something, but at the end of the day, they still had each other. Even Aigis, who refrained last time, joined the hug after a few seconds of hesitation with a complicated expression on her face.

Huh. Chidori hadn’t known that androids were capable of emotions.

The only people yet to join the others were Fuuka and herself. Fuuka, once again, was looking at her with a weird expression.

“W-What will you do if you have to fight Strega with us?”

The best answer, Chidori decided, would be to remain entirely honest.

“I would fight with everything I have.”

Fuuka nodded at her tersely. “T-Then come here. You’re one of us now, right?” She grabbed Chidori’s hand and guided her towards the group hug.

It felt… Liberating, in a sense. Surrounded by people who were mourning the loss of their friend, Chidori somehow felt right at home. After all, even if it was not exactly comparable, she lost her idea of a family. And yet, as she felt several pairs of hands squeeze her closer to themselves, Chidori thought that maybe her old idea was wrong. Maybe, if she dared to hope, she could find another one here.

She hasn’t even noticed how her own eyes filled with tears and she broke down crying for the first time she ever remembered.

***

 

10/12/2009

“Shiomi-kun, what exactly is the meaning of this?”

The following day, when the chairman saw the new addition to their team, he wasn’t very pleased with it.

That was alright with Chidori. She hated him, too.

“Chidori’s with us now. She will help us fight the shadows.”

Fuuka muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “Strega” to her left.

“I can see that it’s indeed Yoshino-kun sitting over there. Which brings me back to my question, why did you think this was a good idea? You should have consulted with me first, at the very least.” Ikutsuki repeated.

“With all due respect chairman, we don’t really give a shit about what you think right now.” Shinjiro replied curtly. “This was our decision as a team.”

Ikutsuki sputtered indignantly. “There is no need to be so rude, Aragaki-kun! I’m merely looking out for all of you. There are also procedures that need to be followed – this dorm is only for Gekkoukan’s students, after all.”

“Right.”

The chairman was obviously getting more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. Chidori found herself enjoying the man’s misery.

“In any case, the reason I wanted to talk to all of you is simple. Due to the tragedy that occurred during the Full moon” Ikutsuki made sure to give Chidori a pointed glance. “We need to appoint a new acting leader of SEES. Shiomi-kun will remain the field leader, but we need someone to take care of other things.”

Akihiko jumped to his feet in anger. “You’re already looking to replace Mitsuru? Was she really that expendable to you, chairman?” He balled his fists.

“Sanada-kun!” Ikutsuki replied angrily. “I do not appreciate your accusations. What happened was undeniably tragic, but the Dark Hour and Tartarus will not wait for us to calm our minds down. Are you really prepared to sacrifice the lives of others, dooming them to a tumultuous end in Apathy Syndrome, just because it wouldn’t be right to replace Kirijo-kun?” He took a moment to compose himself. “Please believe me. I am also very affected by her violent and sudden passing. Need I remind you that I was the one who had to inform her father of that night’s events? How do you think I felt doing that?”

Cursing under his breath, Akihiko sat back down. Chidori could understand the frustration – the chairman was obviously not trustworthy, and yet he had a point. Still, she couldn’t help but think the way he presented that point was very manipulative in and of itself.

“Right. My apologies for the outburst.” Ikutsuki adjusted his tie. “I talked to Takeharu-san, and it was decided that I would take over as the temporary leader of SEES. We do not wish to weigh down any of you with more duties, and it is nigh time I finally did contributed to SEES a little more directly.”

On the sofa, Yukari and Kotone were rapidly exchanging glances, almost as if having a silent conversation. Chidori could only guess to its contents.

Suddenly, Aigis stood up. Her electric blue gaze pierced the chairman, staring him down with a stoic expression. “You’re hiding something from us, chairman. I do not know what it is, but it is something important. Lately, I find myself doubting your judgement.”

Chidori wished she could take a picture of Ikutsuki’s face in that moment. It was simply incredible.

“Woah, Aigis! What’s got you so fired up?” Junpei said, incredulous.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Aigis. If it’s something from my personal life, then of course I would not mention it, ahaha!” He tried to defuse the situation with a joke.

Aigis narrowed her eyes at him. “I will find out the truth, Mr. Chairman. I won’t be led astray anymore.”

“R-Right, of course you will…” He replied nervously. “So, change of topic. How about you return to your Tartarus trips starting tomorrow? The final shadow will surely be more powerful than all those before it. You have to be ready.”

“That is, unfortunately, a good point.” Yukari whispered under her breath.

“That’s right, Takeba-kun! So please prepare for tomorrow, everyone.” Ikutsuki hastily stood up and left the dorm’s lobby.

Another mission added to Chidori’s list – try to find out whatever the chairman’s hiding. For him to react like that, it had to be something big.

Kotone sat down next to her and started explaining their usual strategies and formations for Tartarus. Huh. They didn’t operate that differently from Strega, after all.

***

 

10/20/2009

It wasn’t Chidori’s first time in the Tower of Demise, but it was the first time she was here without Jin or Takaya.

Kotone warned her that Tartarus was getting more and more unpredictable lately, but nothing could have prepared Chidori for this.

Almost a one-to-one rendition of the lab that she spent all her childhood in. The entire floor had morphed into it, and the exit promptly closed behind them. She felt trapped again, surrounded by tall people wearing masks, holding syringes in their hands, injecting something into her bloodstream and making her hurt so much it hurts please stop it-

“Are you alright? Sorry, stupid question.” A masculine voice reached her ears. “We’re here with you, Chidori! All that stuff’s in the past. We won’t let anything happen to you! Right, guys?”

Opening her eyes, she saw the smirking face of Junpei in front of her. Kotone hummed in agreement.

“We all protect each other. You’re one of us. So we’ll protect you if something happens.” Kotone replied.

Yukari reluctantly nodded, looking to the side and refusing to meet Chidori’s eyes. That was alright. Chidori understood.

“I… Thank you.” She opted to say.

“So, should we search the floor? Maybe we’ll find something useful! Although, I’d totally understand if you just want to skip to the next one, haha!” Junpei said,

Chidori shook her head. “I’m okay. Let’s look around.”

What followed then could only be described as… mundane. Nothing really happened as they split into groups of two and scoured the entire floor. Surprisingly, there were no shadows here, and Chidori found herself relaxing more and more.

Having someone nearby certainly helped, either.

“Soo, I noticed you’re not very talkative.” Junpei noted to her side. “Nothing against that, by the way! Kotone was also like that before, if you’d believe it. Although, that’s also how she’s been acting lately… It’s a little worrying, to be honest. I’m sure Yuka-tan noticed too.”

Chidori raised her brow in confusion. Yuka-tan? Was that supposed to be Yukari?

As if reading her thoughts, Junpei replied. “Oh yeah, that’s what I call Yukari. Yuka-tan, Yukaricchi, I just go with whichever one annoys her more, you know? N-Not to be mean though, that’s just how we talk! I swear!”

Wow. This guy really was… Something else. Chidori found herself smiling weakly at his attempts at conversation.

“Her and I have been friends for a while, actually. I bet when you saw us interact you thought we hated each other, but that’s not the case. It’s almost like sibling banter, right?”

Sibling banter, huh. Chidori wished she had something like that with the Strega members. It sounded surprisingly normal. Something to lighten up the mood, harmlessly poking fun at each other. Hm. Should she try?

“Would Yukari agree?” She teased Junpei, smirking slightly to indicate her intent. He instantly picked up on it.

“Wow, not you too! Alas, Junpei is doomed to forever remain as the prime target of bullying… Not even a few days later, and even our newest member jumps on this train! I’m wounded.” He said dramatically, clutching at his chest. “You’ve struck my weakness, ack! I need… An amrita gem…”

Instead, a life gem struck his head from behind, causing him to yelp. Turning around, he saw a smirking Yukari celebrate the hit. “Stop slacking off and talking her ear off, Junpei! I’m sure she wants to get out of here as soon as possible, too.”

“Wow Yuka-tan, your aim really improved! Last time, you hit the wrong per- Ouch! Okay, stop, stop!” He cried as another life gem hit him in the nose. “Alright, jeez, let’s just keep searching.”

“I don’t mind, by the way.” Chidori said as she opened a drawer, going through stacks of useless-looking files inside. “You’re funny. You can talk.”

“Ooh, nice! Then let me tell you about that one time Yukari-“

It was nice, listening to someone talk when they didn’t really expect you to reply. Chidori was content simply listening and humming occasionally, and to her surprise, she found the initial sense of doom she felt upon entering the room slowly but surely get pushed into the back of her mind.

It felt nice, really.

“Hey everyone! We’ve found something.” Yukari shouted from the other corner of the room.

Junpei and Chidori approached her. Yukari was holding a CD in her hands.

“We found this under a folder on a desk. It has something written on it; looks like… I dunno, is that an L or a T? T.E., probably.”

“I’m not sure what this is, but we certainly could try watching it in the command room.” Kotone said, pensive. “It might turn out to be useful. Also, we’ve found a ventilation shaft, and I think that’s the exit from this floor since there are no stairs anywhere.”

Junpei gave her a thumbs up. “Whatever you say, Koto-chan! I trust you.”

The shaft was, indeed, the exit. Thankfully, it wasn’t too narrow, and everyone was able to pass through without any problems.

After clearing a few more floors with Chidori finding out that her new persona had some healing abilities in addition to her previous arsenal, which included fire spells, stealth, and the weakness scanner, the group finally stumbled across a teleporter.

“That’s enough for today. Good job, Chidori. Your persona is really useful.”

Yukari quietly grumbled under her nose as she turned away from everyone, making sure nobody would hear what she said. Kotone gave her a confused look.

Chidori simply nodded in response before SEES used the teleporter and returned to the entrance.

***

 

10/21/2009

“Oh you have to be kidding me!”

A single message greeted them upon putting the CD into the reader. One that dashed all their hopes of learning something useful.

Device not recognized. Please try again.

“The data’s probably corrupted. W-We can’t use it as-is.” Fuuka whispered in disappointment. “Although… Maybe I could try doing something with this.”

Kotone sighed. “It’s not like we can do anything else for now. If you manage to open it, please let us know.”

Fuuka nodded silently.

“And Fuuka?”

Turning to face the girl, Kotone offered her a small smile.

“I’m glad you’re out of your room. If you ever need anything, please reach out to us. We’ll always be there. I promise.”

Fuuka turned away and rubbed at her eyes.

“O-Okay. Thank you.”

***

 

10/31/2009

Ikutsuki was starting to realize that he couldn’t keep the pretense up anymore. SEES were growing more and more distrustful of him with each passing day.

Thankfully, he wouldn’t need to do it for much longer.

The interior of his lab was decorated with all sorts of analytical devices and colorful vials. Mass spectrometers, gas chromatographs, a few huge separating funnels – everything may have looked chaotic, but to Ikutsuki, it was perfectly in order. Everything was where it should be, and that was where he placed it last.

Needless to say, he hated working with others. They would disturb the carefully crafted order that he had going on here.

Ikutsuki closely inspected the syringe he was holding in his hands. A dull purple liquid filled it until the 10 mL mark, the color being precisely what he was looking for. Consulting the results of his latest analysis that he had written down in his notebook, Ikutsuki once more compared them with the theoretical values.

Almost a perfect match. The injection in his hands was precisely what he was trying to achieve for the past month or so. There were no more tests that could be carried out, no more calculations to perform. The only thing that remained was a field test.

Well, this type of drug already succeeded once before. Now, he simply had to repeat the success. It was much easier to do once you knew that the thing you were trying to do was actually possible.

And of course there was only one test subject he could use that would be considered ethical. For you see, Ikutsuki liked to think that he would not repeat mistakes from the past, and so he would never test something like this on an innocent person ever again.

Ikutsuki himself, naturally, was not innocent. He injected the drug into his bicep without any hesitation.

He always thought it would be painful or, at the very least, unpleasant. And yet he sat there for a minute, five, ten, and felt no negative sensation whatsoever.

Did it not work? I swear I did everything-

Suddenly, Ikutsuki clutched his head, biting his tongue to suppress his scream. There’s the pain. The injection did work.

…thou… … I…

A deep, disconnected voice rang out in his head. It sounded jumbled, almost as if it was yet to fully form, but each syllable still brought him unimaginable pain.

After what felt like an eternity, it finally went away, leaving him reeling on the floor, covered in cold sweat. At some point, he lost his glasses, and finding them once more when his entire vision was just a giant blur was sure to be difficult. Still, he had no choice – staying on the floor forever was certainly not an option. Ikutsuki shakily rose to his feet, supporting himself by grabbing the nearby table.

Well… We can consider that a success. Now, onto the second part of the plan…

Aigis. If he had her on his side, the chances of success were much higher.

She was just a robot, after all. Her programming could be rewritten, memories erased or manufactured, and her emotions manipulated. All he had to do is get her into the lab, use a certain little switch that he knew of, and then…

Then…

Well, she would become an obedient puppet, wouldn’t she? With no free will or an ability to resist his commands. Perfect for executing the final step of the plan.

“I will find out the truth, Mr. Chairman. I won’t be led astray anymore.”

Ikutsuki remembered her prior words, spoken with such conviction and belief. A machine that surpassed the limits of her programming, turning the rigidity of circuitry into beautiful and pliable human emotion. The feat was genuinely impressive.

She was pretty much a person at this point. A little stilted, sure, but still. And that… made things difficult.

On second thought, maybe I do not need Aigis. It doesn’t feel right to do this to her.

The injection would have to be enough. Ikutsuki’s own strength of will would have to suffice.

Sighing deeply, he celebrated once his hand finally stumbled upon his glasses. He was, however, disappointed almost instantly.

Broken. Of course.

The universe must be laughing at him, truly.

***

 

11/03/2009

On the day of the final full moon, a few hours before the Dark Hour, Fuuka called Aigis into her room.

“Aigis, remember this CD? We’ve showed it to everyone after returning from that Tartarus trip.” Fuuka inserted it into her laptop.

“Affirmative. I believe it couldn’t be used at the time, is that correct?”

Fuuka nodded.

“Yes. But look at this.”

This time, when the CD was inserted into the port, there was no notification that the device was not recognized. No, instead, the CD could now be opened. Fuuka double clicked the icon, and…

Well, it was empty. There was nothing.

Aigis frowned. Did Fuuka call her here simply to tell her this? “So it was of no use, after all. That is a pity.”

“No, look. It shows up as empty, but if you check out its properties…” Fuuka opened some sort of sub-menu, and showed the results to Aigis. “See? There are some files here. Maybe they’re encrypted or something?” Fuuka shook her head. “In any case, this is as far as I could get. So, I-I was going to ask you, since I doubt anyone else could do something. We still have a few hours until the Dark Hour, so c-could you please try to somehow decrypt it? I know you’re not, um, particularly good with computers, but since you’re an android, maybe you have some function to do something like this and what if the CD contains something useful for us that we could-“

Fuuka suddenly startled, realizing she was rambling again. Aigis nodded at her.

“I will do my best, I can assure you. However, I do not promise to produce a result until the proposed deadline, if that is alright.”

“Y-Yes, sure! I’m not really, um, expecting much. We may end up not needing it anyway. After all, today is the last… Yeah.” Fuuka said, averting her gaze.

The last shadow. If they succeeded today, Aigis’s mission would finally be completed. But…

But what then?

Shaking those unnecessary thoughts off, Aigis bid farewell to Fuuka and returned to her room. If she wanted to try decrypting the contents of the file, then she needed some privacy for that.

Now, let’s see. She should have a disc driver connection somewhere on her wrist. She vaguely remembered some scientist using it to back-up her memory data. After fiddling with it for a while, she managed to finally get it to open, and inserted the CD.

Just as Fuuka said, there was nothing there. It was weird navigating contents of something with her mind, but Aigis quickly grew used to the sensation. It was the same as willing the servos in her limbs to bring out her weaponry.

Aigis must have tried a thousand different approaches to try and find the hidden files burned onto the CD. At least a few hours passed, and the Dark Hour was undoubtedly just around the corner. To her dismay, as soon as she thought that, the blue light illuminating her room suddenly turned sickly green.

She hated to disappoint Fuuka, but they were out of time. Aigis prepared to get up from her chair and descend to the lobby, when suddenly…

She felt something in the CD. How was it even functioning in the Dark Hour? Was her Papillon Heart affecting it and causing it to keep its capabilities?

Suddenly, she heard the voice of Fuuka’s communication ability.

“Aigis, we’re splitting into two groups and heading towards the shadows. There are two. Please come as soon as possible. The chairman found them – one is on the Moonlight bridge, and one is near Paulownia mall. He said you should head towards the Paulownia mall one.”

Her instincts screamed at her to abandon everything and join the fight. That was, after all, her primary directive. And yet, something whispered in her mind – someone went to great lengths to hide the data on this CD. What if it had something truly important?

Aigis had a plethora of mobility options to catch up with other members of SEES and join the fight. She could afford to spend a few minutes to try and decrypt the disk.

Digging around a little in the contents, she found one file hidden – an MP4. Upon trying to open it, she was requested to enter a code word.

Somewhere, from the deep confines of her deleted memories, Aigis remembered something, and mentally entered “fall” into the text field. The file opened.

And Aigis watched.

***

 

“I’m going to accompany you to the Paulownia mall shadow. We can use the Kirijo Group’s equipment to detect it if it tries to hide.” Ikutsuki informed the group, before looking around in confusion. “Where is Aigis?”

“Fuuka told her to come. She’s on her way.” Chidori replied.

Shinji sighed deeply. “Aigis is missing, huh… Just like last time with Kotone and Mitsuru. I hope she’s okay. If there’s someone who can defend herself, it’s definitely Aigis.”

Nodding in agreement, Akihiko added. “She’ll be here. We should trust in her. Maybe there’s something important she has to do.”

Ikutsuki looked nervous. “R-Right. Well, in that case, keep going. She can catch up later”

The four of them arrived at the mall, only to see… Nothing. No traces of a shadow anywhere.

“Hey chairman, are you sure it’s here? I don’t see anything.” Akihiko asked.

Silence greeted them in return. Ikutsuki was looking at them with an unreadable expression on his face. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Yeah. Let me try to scan once more. Maybe it’s-“

Something crashed into the ground in-between Ikutsuki and the three members of SEES. Shinjiro was the first to react, pulling out his evoker and preparing to summon his persona, only to see…

“Aigis?! What the hell are you doing?”

The meteor that fell from the sky was Aigis herself, glowing with a bright blue light of Orgia Mode. She leveled her minigun at the chairman, the barrel spinning threateningly.

“I know the truth, chairman.”

Ikutsuki simply chuckled quietly.

“I see. I guess it was only a matter of time, huh.” He said bitterly.

“Huh? What does she mean?” Chidori asked, throwing a pointed glare at the chairman.

“Tell us, Aigis.” Shinjiro said.

“The full moon shadows must not be destroyed. We have been led astray by him all this time. If the final shadow falls, then something terrible will happen to the world.” Aigis narrowed her eyes at Ikutsuki. “I do not understand, chairman. Why would you hide this? What is your goal?”

Chidori’s eyes widened. “We must tell the others, before they destroy it!”

“I’m afraid I can’t let that happen, Yoshino-kun. There is simply too much to lose, too many variables that you kids do not understand.”

Ikutsuki pushed his glasses up.

“I will not allow you to stop them. Hate me all you want, but the fate of the entire world is at stake.”

Akihiko growled. “You’ve lost the right to tell us what to do, chairman. I knew you were hiding something, but this… This is unacceptable. I won’t trust your words anymore. I believe Aigis.”

***

 

A painful expression crossed the chairman’s face.

“I see. Well, in that case…”

He put his hand in his pocket.

“I believe you called forth your power like this.”

To everyone’s shock, he pulled out an evoker and put it to his head. It was different from the one everyone else used, looking completely new and different in design. He hasn’t tested this out before – even for an artificial persona, the user has to be in a life-threatening situation in order to awaken their persona. That was why he wasn’t even sure this was going to work.

This was his only chance, though. If he failed and the group in front of him managed to stop the main assault team from defeating the shadow, the past ten years would be all for naught.

Ikutsuki took a deep breath.

“Persona.”

And pulled the trigger.

Immediately, a wispy string of pure light emerged from the evoker, piercing his temple and making him wince in pain. If this was what every member of SEES had to go through when they summoned their persona, his respect for everyone just increased tenfold. A figure materialized between them, and the sound of clockwork filled the air.

“It is finally time. You, who would forsake everything for the world’s future, including staining your own past.” A booming, distorted voice rang out through the air. “I am thou, and thou art I. Let us fight our first and final battle, and leave the rest to them.”

That was right. After this, his role in this story would be over. He just had to persevere a little more.

“I hear you, Chronos. Ten years, and we’re finally here.”

His persona towered behind him, staring down the members of SEES threateningly. In one hand, Chronos held a scythe, engraved with a large clock at the junction of blade and handle. The hands of the clock moved left and right sporadically, almost indecisively so. In the other hand, he held an upside-down hourglass, with the grains of sand slowly sifting through the narrow opening in the middle.

Ikutsuki was running out of time. He had to make do with what he was granted.

Tick

The one bonus of fighting someone who he’d known for so long is that all their weaknesses were revealed to him from all their prior reports. And that was his first advantage.

“Ice Age!”

Tock

The spell was more powerful that anything he’s ever seen before. Was it his strength of will or his desperation that was fueling it? Ikutsuki did not particularly care. No one was expecting him to attack so soon, and so they didn’t have time to dodge. This proved particularly dangerous to Chidori and Akihiko, both of whom dropped to the group with a shout after having had their weakness struck.

Ikutsuki knew that they wouldn’t stay down for long. And so, he continued his onslaught.

On his command, Chronos raised the hand with the hourglass up into the air. A few more specs of sand fell through the opening, and a powerful lightning spell flew out of the bottom. Unfortunately for him, now that SEES were all prepared to fight, Aigis, who was his main target, dodged out of the way. In the meantime, Chidori finally recovered from the freezing cold, and healed herself along with Akihiko.

One moment of hesitation passed between the two parties. Then, all hell was let loose.

Nobody was holding back. Ikutsuki had to conjure shields and keep dodging left and right to avoid all the elemental attacks and missiles that SEES unleashed onto him, and barely had any time to respond with his own spells. After sidestepping a particularly nasty combination, he noticed a giant sword materialize above his head and rapidly approach him.

A well-timed Tetrakarn took care of that. He could not lose here.

Tick

“None of you understand. If the final shadow is not defeated, then we’re all doomed. There will be no world to save anymore!” He managed to shout in-between the attacks.

“Shut the hell up, traitor!” Shinjiro growled in return, swinging his axe and forcing Ikutsuki to duck. “We trusted you all this time, and look where that led us! Mitsuru is dead, you piece of shit!”

Tock

Ikutsuki winced. He was aware of the extent of his sins. There was no need to remind him.

Distracted by his thoughts, he did not notice Chidori’s blazing tomahawk approach him and embed itself into his leg. He gritted his teeth in pain.

“Chronos!”

His persona raised the Sands of Time once more, and everything around him suddenly became a blur of motion. The tomahawk flew out of his leg back into Chidori’s hands, and the wound fully closed up. For a moment, everyone looked around themselves, trying to figure out what just happened.

“Did he just… Rewind time?!” Akihiko said in awe. “What do we do against that?”

Chidori hummed in thought. “The hourglass. It’s running out of time. We have to outlast him.”

An interesting plan. Very similar to his own, in fact – he only had to keep them here until the main team managed to defeat the shadow. After that, he had no more reason to fight. Still, he had to be a little more careful now.

Tick

Aigis leveled her arsenal at him. “Chairman. My prime directive is to annihilate all shadows and to keep Kotone safe. Right now, you are preventing me from accomplishing both.” Her voice sounded almost angry. Ikutsuki was proud of her. “If you do not stand aside, I will not hesitate to destroy you.”

He chuckled under his nose. “Go ahead, then.”

Tock

A barrage of rockets covered the air. Ikutsuki hoped his shields would be able to withstand it.

At first, fighting SEES was easy. With his ability to rewind time a few seconds back, Ikutsuki felt nigh-invincible. Even if some stray spell managed to hit him, he had the power to undo all of their damage.

Eventually, though, he was starting to feel more and more tired with every spell that he fired off. There were four of them and only one of him, so it was rather predictable that he would start running out of juice faster than SEES. Yet even so, he would not stop fighting until he was one hundred percent sure that the final full-moon shadow has fallen.

Tick

“Give it up.” Chidori’s cold voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “You’re losing. Let us through.”

Ah, Yoshino Chidori. The Kirijo Group turned her life into living hell, and yet she found her path and is following it through of her own accord. Ikutsuki was proud.

“Never.”

Tock

Above him, Chronos manifested dozens of blades and aimed them down at the members of SEES. He heard Shinjiro curse loudly and dive sideways to dodge the bulk of the attack. Not everyone was as lucky – Aigis, trying to protect everyone, took the brunt of the attack and had several swords piercing through her torso as she struggled to remain standing. A green light enveloped her, and the swords were gone. Still, Chidori was running out of energy, and several puncture wounds didn’t disappear completely, causing the android to start moving slower and leak some sort of coolant fluid onto the ground.

“Aigis! Are you alright?” Akihiko rushed to her side. “Caesar! Diarama!”

“Y-Ye-e-es.” Her voice seemed to glitch out. “I ca-an continue. Do-o not worry-ry.”

Akihiko nodded and turned his head to face Ikutsuki. “You’re not getting away with this, Chairman. We will get the truth out of you, one way or another.”

Tick

Chronos’s scythe intercepted Shinjiro’s attempt to attack him from behind. “My intention is no longer to hide anything, Sanada-kun. If you were to stop fighting, I would tell you everything.”

“And let the others kill the shadow without knowing what’s going to happen? You know we can’t do that.” Akihiko replied.

“Well, in that case…” Ikutsuki fired his evoker, and Chronos swung his scythe in a wide arc. He didn’t manage to hit anyone, but the intent was now clear. He was not giving up.

Tock

A bolt of lightning crashed into him. Ikutsuki rewound time and responded in kind.

A rocket was centimeters away from his face. Chronos, sensing the urgency, rewound time and responded in kind.

An axe, threatening to cleave him in half. Rewind. Try again.

With each and every use of his ultimate ability, Ikutsuki felt more and more drained. Risking a look upwards, he noticed that the hourglass was almost empty. All he could do now was pray that Kotone and everyone else were going to defeat the shadow in the next few minutes, or everything would fail.

Tick

Engrossed in his thoughts, he offhandedly conjured a single spear of light, and sent it towards Chidori. To his great surprise, she did not manage to dodge the attack.

The spear embedded itself deep into her chest with a spray of red. She looked at it in disbelief before limply falling backwards onto the concrete below, unmoving.

“Chronos!!”

Panicking, he rewound time again, begging internally that he wasn’t too late. The hourglass went into the sky, and the air around him became a blur once more.

Please, please!

As soon as everything cleared up, Ikutsuki looked ahead, only to see…

…

Only to see Chidori with her eyes wide open, grasping at her chest in panic and realizing that she was alive. Ikutsuki exhaled in relief.

Tock

The sound of clockwork intensified.

“Your time has run out.”

The hourglass was empty. Chronos leveled him with one last glance and dissipated into a luminiferous wisp.

His part was done. Now all he could do was hope.

***

 

Upon reaching the bridge, the team discovered an unpleasant surprise waiting for them right in front of the shadow. Fuuka tensed.

Strega. They were here again.

“I… L-Love… You.”

The words that haunted her ever since that day rang out in her head.

“I would say it is nice to meet you once again, but we both know that is not the case.” Takaya drawled. “I see you still have not-“

“Sekhmet! Morning Star!”

Fuuka did not wait to listen to anything he had to say. Strega would regret standing in her way. Spheres of light formed all around Strega, and slowly coalesced into a supernova. Takaya and Jin attempted to dodge, but the radius of the spell was too great, and the star exploded into a million sparks.

To her great displeasure, they were still standing. She only managed to hit them with the edges of the attack, and she had to do her best to make sure that would not happen again. Her stamina was not infinite.

“D-Do you remember me?” Her hands shook from righteous fury, ready to tear through them. “I made a promise that day. You chose to ignore me.”

Takaya was not talking anymore. Good.

“Let me repeat myself. I will end you!” Fuuka screamed and unleashed a Megidolaon onto the duo. They seemed to be expecting the attack, and had no trouble dodging it. The rest of SEES engaged in the fight as well.

Fuuka remembered all the time she spent practicing with the rapier. Her last connection to Mitsuru, and something that she swore to use in this fight before. Rapidly, she closed the distance between herself and Takaya, ducking under a stream of curse that he unleashed at her. She infused the weapon with almighty energy and stabbed it towards Takaya with a cry.

He sidestepped the first thrust and jumped backwards from the second. A ray of light crashed into him and caused him to hiss in pain. Fuuka internally thanked Kotone for providing a distraction. Winding the rapier backwards, she dashed towards him. With the speed she was going at, Fuuka was sure that he wouldn’t be able to dodge the attack in time.

Something heavy collided with her side and Fuuka found herself flying through the air with a shout. A pair of hands caught her before she fell off the side of the bridge, and she looked up to see Junpei’s concerned expression looked down onto her.

“Are you alright?! Here, let me help!” He pulled her back up onto the bridge. Green energy coalesced around her and lessened the pain in her side. “Jeez, you gotta be more careful! You almost flew off the bridge.”

All Fuuka did was nod at him and rush back into the fight. She heard Junpei’s shout of concern behind her, but decided to ignore it.

Not when her target was right in front of her.

“Black Viper!”

A glowing purple snake coiled around her arm, placing its head on the edge of the rapier. This time, Jin was standing between her and Takaya, and that gave Fuuka an advantage – she was certain that she was faster than him, and there was no chance he would be able to avoid her.

And she was right. Even if her initial stab missed, the viper that rested on the blade reared its head with a hiss and bit into Jin’s shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. In the back, she noticed Takaya fight against Kotone and Yukari and slowly get pushed back closer to the shadow.

She was about to pursue him and attack from behind, but Jin materialized a metallic spear from its persona and pointed it at her. Due to the sheer proximity, she was not sure she had enough time to dodge the spear.

Wait… I’ve seen this before.

Back when Mitsuru and her fought against Jin and Chidori, this was the exact attack he tried on Mitsuru. Maybe if she did the same thing as back then… How did Mitsuru do it again?

Fuuka raised her hand in the air and pulled.

A glowing shield of pure energy materialized in her hand. At first, Fuuka felt as if she was about to topple over instantly from the force of the blow. If she died right here, then… then everything would be meaningless. She was not going to let that happen. Miraculously, the weight on her suddenly decreased, and she found the strength to push back against the attack. The spear was redirected sideways and her shield dissipated into pieces. Fuuka still felt immensely proud.

It felt almost like… Almost like Mitsuru was here with me, holding me from behind to help me withstand the attack.

And that was enough to let Fuuka send a dozen megido spells towards Jin and knock him out. Now, only her main target remained. She slowly advanced towards him.

Takaya attempted to send a stream of cursed energy towards her, but Fuuka simply side stepped it and let it whizz past her ear. The sheer hatred burning through her veins surprised her. What surprised her even more is the burn of the Theurgy cartridge in her pocket.

She slowly pulled out the cartridge and put it into her evoker, watching Takaya’s every movement and enjoying the sight of him cowering in fear. She stared him into the eyes, looking for a fraction, a trace of regret in them. And yet she saw none.

Her internal rage tripled in intensity. She pointed the evoker at her temple.

“Burn in hell.”

All the pain, all the suffering that this one pathetic moron caused in a single day. He was about to answer for it a thousandfold.

“Armageddon!”

The giant explosion of light enveloped them both. Fuuka was not scared – she knew her own magic would not hurt her or her teammates. What mattered the most was intent, after all.

And her sole intent right now was to reduce Takaya to atoms.

After a few seconds of nuclear winds harmlessly passing by her, the light finally dissipated to reveal nothing in the epicenter.

Fuuka’s final thought before she lost consciousness was that she fulfilled her promise.

 

***

 

Strega were dealt with. As much as she disapproved of Fuuka’s methods, the fact remained a fact. There was now one final obstacle ahead of them. The only enemy that remained was the giant shadow floating above the bridge, and then everything would be over.

So why then just the thought of killing it filled her insides with a feeling of pure, unadulterated dread?

Kotone put her evoker to her head.

“Thanatos!”

It was time to end this charade.

Notes:

The final three chapters remain. And I have a lot planned for the next one :)
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Chapter 11: Revealed by The Arcana

Notes:

CW: Graphic Descriptions of Violence

“Thanatos!”

“What are you doing?!” “Wait, Koto-chan!”

She paid no attention to Yukari and Junpei’s cries of alarm and instead flew right at the floating shadow.

If I just bring it down fast enough, no one else has to put themselves in danger.

A green moon shone brightly in the skies, casting its watchful gaze onto the scene below. It observed, it felt, and it cried for the inevitability of it all. Kotone paid it no mind – her target was in front of her, and she would not let herself be distracted. She swung her sword with a roar, only to look on in confusion as the weapon harmlessly bounced off the Hanged Man’s skin.

Turning around, she noticed Yukari cast Samarecarm on Fuuka, but the latter still appeared to be extremely disoriented. She would not be able to participate in this battle.

Which meant Kotone had to try all that much harder. She could not afford to lose today.

Why do you strive towards the future so much, mea alia? I do not understand.

A now-familiar voice rang out through her mind. At the same time, one of the stone idols the shadow summoned turned to face the sky and opened its mouth, which started to glow yellow. A disc of light shot out, and Kotone managed to dodge it in the last moment, with it grazing the fabric of her sleeve.

Idols first, shadow later. Understood.

She raised her fist to the skies, and a wave of red energy washed over the battlefield, creating a large crack in one of the statues. Junpei suddenly rushed in and attacked the other one with his sword, causing a piece of its head to fall off to the ground.

“She seems alright, Yuka-tan! Let’s just focus on the fight!”

“G-Got it!”

Now that Kotone thought about it, she did feel weirdly… lucid. Usually wielding Thanatos felt like swimming against the current – one wrong move and the river takes you far away, drowning you in its murky, turbulent waters. Now, though?

Now Kotone was in control. And she intended to utilize it to its maximum potential.

The moon above wept bloody tears. The spectacle continued.

Dashing down to strike the idol that she now knew was weak to physical attacks, Kotone crashed into it from the skies and raised a huge cloud of dust. Once it settled down, all that remained of the statue was a pile of rubble.

Two remained. Yukari sent a small wind blade towards one of them to test its weaknesses, but the spell harmlessly glided over its polished surface. The idol rotated, creating a much stronger hurricane in response and causing Junpei to fly backwards with a cry.

“Junpei! You alright?” Yukari shouted, looking backwards to check on him. He showed a thumbs-up in return, only for his eyes to widen in concern as he looked at something behind Yukari.

“Watch out!”

The third statue suddenly launched itself at Yukari at a speed too great to expect from something made of stone. Cursing under her breath, Kotone spread her wings and propelled herself forward, trying to intercept it. Once she was level with the idol, she put her hands around its midsection and redirected it to the side, crashing the statue into a steel support beam. She put her hand over its carved face, manifesting a dark red flame that engulfed it whole and turned it into ashes.

“T-Thanks! I gotta be more careful.” Yukari said, moving her attention onto the last idol standing. The Hanged Man floated above and simply observed the fight, not moving in to interfere. Pulling out an arrow and taking a moment to aim, Yukari pierced the final enemy’s head, watching as it crumbled into pieces before her.

The full-moon shadow wailed in pain and crashed onto the ground. Now was their moment!

You are, indeed, an architect of your own downfall. How could I be so careless, so blinded by a mortal wish, I wonder…

Empty words and empty threats. Right now, Kotone would pay them no mind. The atmosphere around her shifted, and a downpour descended onto the battlefield.

“Huh? It’s raining during the Dark Hour? That’s never happened before!” Yukari wondered as she put the evoker to her head. “It’s no matter! Maybe it’s just trying to distract us!”

“Spot-on, Yuka-tan! Let’s end this, once and for all!”

Junpei dashed in with his sword just as Yukari summoned a hurricane onto the prone shadow. Kotone joined the assault, noting that her attacks now easily sliced into its skin, causing black residue to ooze out of the wounds.

With surprising agility for something of its size, the shadow suddenly swung its hand and grabbed Kotone. Its grip was crushing her and getting stronger with every second, and she felt the air being squeezed out of her lungs.

“Kotone!”

A rain of green arrows pierced the shadow’s wrist. The Hanged Man wailed in pain and let her go. Kotone noticed that one of the coffins on her wings was cracked and bent out of shape – flying might be a little harder now.

The wounded shadow looked her in the eyes, and suddenly Kotone found herself lost in the black pools of pure nothingness in front of her. Surprise was the most prominent emotion she could read at that moment. Wait… Surprise?

Kotone suddenly found herself feeling very, very small and unsure. Something was wrong.

The rain around them intensified, reducing the visibility even further. It crashed into the ground with a roar, as if passing her a silent message – this is not your fight to take, mea alia. Stop it. Go home and forget about everything. All remembering is going to cause is pain everlasting.

She refused.

The Hanged Man rose into the skies and summoned another wave of idols. Yukari and Junpei were noticeably more careful this time, keeping their distance and probing the statues with their elemental attacks to check for their affinities before putting a lot of energy into any of their spells.

The same trick was not going to work twice on SEES. The idols were gone soon after, and the giant shadow once again dropped unceremoniously onto the asphalt with a crack. This time, the damage they managed to deal was much more noticeable and severe – one of the cuts at the shadow’s midsection almost bisected it. Some parts were hanging on by a mere thread. Kotone was hoping that it would not rise again, that it would give up there and then, that she wasn’t going to have to keep looking at it-

You feel it too, don’t you? You don’t even have to feel it, in fact. I know that you’ve known this entire time. You are blind not because it is forced upon you, but because you want to be.

I… I…

Kotone, once so determined and certain, was now unsure.

What do I do?

I am merely observing and offering my comments, mea alia. Ultimately, my thoughts do not matter. As much as I lament it so, it is your fate – do as you will.

The full-moon shadow roared and summoned another idol. This one, however, was bigger than the other six combined. Momentarily stunned, Kotone could do nothing but watch as a beam of pure light burst out of its eyes and moved directly towards her.

For a moment, she felt nothing. Then, the pain was blinding.

Her entire left hand was numb and glowing with bright cracks, looking as if it would crumble upon the gentlest of touches. She whimpered, the sound distorted and wrong coming from under her mask. Cradling her hand, she didn’t notice the follow-up attack from the shadow and was met with a giant fist to the face moments later. Her mask cracked, and the rain intensified.

“Oh god, oh god!” Yukari shouted, hovering over her. In the background, Kotone could see Junpei attempting to distract the enemy while they took their time to recover. “Diarahan!” A green light enveloped her, but Kotone did not feel much better. The pain receded, but it was still mostly there. “Why isn’t it working?!”

“It’s… Haaah, It’s okay.” Kotone croaked out, not recognizing her own voice. To think of it, she never spoke as Thanatos before, did she? This felt… weird. And judging by Yukari’s expression, she agreed. “Keep fighting.”

“Maybe Junpei and I can hold it off for a little while you recover? You look-“

“No.”

Pushing Yukari aside, she soared into the sky and observed the giant statue. The black ooze dripping down her face was a little distracting, but she had no choice but to ignore it. The giant idol seemed to be extremely resistant to all of their attacks, but that didn’t mean it was invulnerable. No, in fact, Kotone could already see some small pieces of rock flying everywhere with every blow Junpei landed. At this rate, though, it would take far too long.

Any ideas?

…

Alright then. Stay silent.

Without any plan of attack, she flew into the fray and blindly slashed at the idol, not giving it a single second of reprieve. The damage she did was small, but it was slowly building up, and with the others joining her onslaught, their chances were looking better and better.

Noticing that the shadow was about to wind up another almighty attack, Kotone waited for its eyes to glow once again and rapidly rotated it to face the Hanged Man above. The beam hit, but dissipated harmlessly upon contact.

Well, it was worth a try, at least.

Eventually, the trio realized that while the idol was definitely the most powerful of the bunch, it also lacked mobility. That was all they needed, and soon the statue couldn’t withstand the combined power of their spells and finally crumbled into dust.

For the third time that night, the Hanged Man fell from the heavens.

A thunderstorm roared in the distance, illuminating the surroundings with brief flashes of light. The storm was getting more and more intense.

Kotone flew in for a finishing blow, but was suddenly pushed back by an invisible force. Looking around, she saw that Junpei and Yukari met the same problem, having been stopped in their advance and knocked onto their backs. She prepared to protect them from whatever attack the enemy was planning to cast, but was left speechless by the events that transpired afterwards.

The Hanged Man summoned a dozen giant iron needles and pierced itself, howling in pain. Its eyes started glowing and instantly locked onto Kotone.

Move!

She listened, and for a good reason. The spot she was standing in moments ago was decimated by the shadow’s fist, who suddenly moved so fast that her eyes had trouble keeping up with it. Not being able to dodge the follow-up, she instead blocked punch after punch with her sword, only to gasp when she noticed even more fists manifest in the air around her.

Thunder struck the asphalt meters away from the group. Kotone locked eyes with the shadow.

Why do I… What is this… I don’t understand.

Spinning in place, she deflected three consecutive god’s hands in a row. Her sword almost bent under the pressure, but she prevailed.

I want to know what you think. This feeling I have, it’s… I feel like I shouldn’t be doing this. No, I know I shouldn’t.

And yet you’re still here, and you’re still fighting.

Move to the left, then right, then right again. The shadow impaled itself on cursed needles once more, and the speed of its attacks tripled.

You really wish to hear my say in this, then?

Yes.

The curse that was put onto her was a weight that Kotone always had to carry. The shadow that lived inside of her, Death itself, always seemed like an ill omen, bringing nothing but pain wherever she went. But maybe, just maybe…

Well, maybe it wasn’t as bad as she thought. From everything Kotone has seen, all she wanted was to live and let live, as ironic as it sounded. Maybe she should listen to it, just this once.

Very well, then.

Glowing purple skulls surrounded her, slowly converging around her torso and threatening to bisect her if she didn’t act. Kotone smirked, and the skulls harmlessly dwindled into embers upon contact with her skin. Being cursed yet immune to curse attacks was a very ironic sentiment.

In that case, mea alia, I beg of you. Do not kill the Hanged Man.

…

What? You beg of me? What’s going to happen if we do it?

…

That is all I will say.

Kotone gulped. Death sounded almost…

Desperate.

Should she listen? Everything in her screamed at her to stop fighting, to just let things happen, and set this shadow free. Almost as if killing it would be the end of everything.

She had a sudden thought then. If the persona she was currently wielding was the personification of Death, and she was controlling it, almost as if it was her second skin…

Then who is she actually talking to in her head?

Distracted, she didn’t notice the signature white of a Megidolaon form under her feet. The light exploded, and Kotone was launched into the air and crashed into the bridge support. The shadow did not give her a single moment to recover and grabbed her once again, throwing her as hard as it could onto the ground. To soften her landing a little, Kotone tried to form her coffins into a wall under her back. It helped a little – all of them got mangled and torn into pieces upon landing, but at least Kotone herself was mostly unharmed, if a little sore.

This soreness, however, caused her to not react in time for the Hanged Man’s approach. A giant fist crashed into her with even more force than before, and Kotone felt her white mask shatter under the force of the attack, revealing her pale face underneath. What did she look like right now, without her mask, Kotone wondered. Black ichor burst from her face, washed away by the torrential downpour. Kotone realized something then.

This has never happened before. Never has her persona been in such a pitiful state. What would happen if she lost? What if the next blow-

She didn’t have to contemplate for long. The Hanged Man summoned a sword and swung it down with lightning-fast speed. At the last moment, Kotone put her own sword in between herself and the incoming attack, hoping to block it and win herself just a little bit of time.

Her sword snapped in two instantly upon contact. The shadow roared, and the moon cried.

Having mere milliseconds to react, Kotone twisted her body out of the way. She wasn’t fast enough – the giant sword cleaved cleanly through her arm, causing it to dissipate into a shadowy wisp.

Was having her persona struck supposed to be this painful? She dropped onto the floor with a shriek, clutching the remainder of her left hand. This was fine. She held her sword with her right one, they could still-

The shadow did not give her a single moment to recover and instead grabbed her by her head and lifted her off the ground.

“KOTONE!”

She briefly wondered how the Hanged Man managed to become so fast. Everything happened in a matter of seconds, before Yukari or Junpei were even able to stand up from the shadow’s previous attack. It had something to do with the spikes that it used to pierce itself, Kotone was absolutely sure.

The grip around her head tightened, and she briefly put an end to that train of thought. She had to find a way out of this, fast. If she didn’t, Yukari and Junpei would be in grave danger.

What happens if my persona is destroyed?

It will be highly unpleasant.

But I’ll be fine?

I do not believe “fine” would be an apt description for your state of being in case that happens.

That was not very helpful, but now Kotone was sure she at least wouldn’t outright die. If Thanatos was destroyed, she still had other personas she could-

The grip tightened once more, and she screamed. All her prior ideas of a plan swiftly left Kotone’s mind, and all that remained was an all-engulfing pain and an increasing pressure on her head. She felt something trickle down her temples.

She was thinking too much! She needed to act, not-

The grip tightened again, and the last thing Kotone felt was the sensation of her skull cracking into pieces.

***

 

She saw a table, a woman, and a long-nosed man. The elevator kept going up.

“Welcome, dear guest. Or are we, perhaps, your guests this time?” Igor greeted her with curiosity. “I wonder; do you remember my advice when you were summoned here for the first time? The gift of life is both a blessing and a curse. What you make of it depends entirely on yourself.”

She nodded.

“You, my dear, are nearing the end of your journey. But you’re still not quite there yet.”

She frowned.

“There is no need to bristle. I am merely stating what I see. You, of everyone here, know that best.” His grin grew even wider. “Elizabeth, what do you think of our situation?”

Elizabeth straightened her back. “A fool’s journey does not end with death. No, quite the opposite – it comes back to its very beginning! A perfect circle, you see.” Satisfied, Elizabeth stared her in the eyes. “And we all know you’re so much more than death, anyway.”

She huffed. All those concepts were meaningless to her.

“I know what you think, dear guest. But humor us for a moment, will you? You know what will happen now. Or you will, soon enough. Your actions, unfortunately, led you here. And even someone like you has to accept the weight of the consequences.” Igor’s grin turned sad. “I cannot wait to see where your journey leads you, even if you think it’s over. Now, your bonds are waiting for you. Do not make them wait long.” Igor snapped his fingers, and she saw black.

What a sentimental fool.

A sad smile appeared on her face. Was she thinking about Igor or herself?

 

***

She stirred to life moments later, finding herself on the asphalt a little away from the fight. Her vision was blurry, her head pulsed with indescribable pain, and the rain made her hair stick to her face.

Yukari and Junpei are still out there… I need… to… help…

It was hard to even think. Kotone sluggishly got up to her feet, clutching her head in her hands, and looked up to evaluate the situation.

In place of where she was a moment ago Thanatos now lay as a puddle of shadow residue. She tried to confirm it mentally and found out that, indeed, she could not summon Thanatos at all, almost as if she’s been erased from her mind. That didn’t make sense, though. If she was erased, didn’t that mean death was gone as well? And, if so, why was the Dark Hour still here?

“Orpheus…” She said weakly, trying to summon at least something to continue the fight. The Hanged Man noticed Kotone standing up and was now slowly approaching with its dark eyes locked onto her.

She pulled the trigger, and yet nothing happened.

What do I do now? I can’t… ugh, I can’t summon anything!

There was no reply, either. Looking at the approaching shadow, Kotone realized that she felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Fear. And a weird sense of loss.

With every step the Hanged Man took, the bridge shook and the thunderstorm intensified. While before it was nothing but an occasional flash every few minutes, now the thunderbolts struck the area around them nonstop, creating an otherworldly visage.

Kotone’s evoker shook in her hands, but she was struck with a realization. Or, rather, an observation. A burning feeling in one of her pockets. As she struggled to remain standing and pulled out a single unlabeled cartridge, a sudden gust of wind almost knocked her down again, undoing her hair from its usual ponytail and causing it to cascade in waves down her shoulders.

She remembered how the others described this feeling. Only coming to their mind when everything seemed hopeless, when they had to do something to save either themselves or others, when all the odds were stacked against them. That’s when they could all use Theurgy, when the cartridge burned them through layers and layers of clothing, letting them know that it was finally available for use. And that was exactly what Kotone was feeling right now.

The shadow, on its end, seemed almost amused. It stared her down, most surely giving her enough time to do whatever she wanted to on purpose. Go on, it said. Do your worst. You can’t do anything.

Kotone would be the judge of that. The judge and the executioner. She loaded the cartridge into her evoker and put it to her head.

Moments before pulling the trigger, she experienced a sudden sense of déjà vu, causing her to pause for a moment and smile. Her finger pushed onto it more and more, until finally…

She pulled the trigger, the sound of shattered glass echoing all around her as an incredible rush of power consumed her entire being. She looked down on the shadow ("it is afraid, good.”) feeling like a queen towering over an insect, long-forgotten memories bubbling beneath the surface of her infinite mind, before one thought enveloped her mind.

I should not have done any of this.

The shadow was gone with a single swipe of her enormous sword, and the rain stopped. Everything finally calmed down, and Kotone returned to her human form.

“Oh, thank god you’re fine, Koto-chan!” Junpei caught up to her first, taking in her disheveled appearance. “For a moment, we thought you were… Well, let’s not talk about that. Better question yet, what the heck was that?!”

Yukari slammed into her then and enveloped her in a crushing hug.

“You idiot! I was so worried when Thanatos was defeated, I thought…” Yukari whispered into her ear, hugging her tightly. “And calm down, Junpei! That’s her original persona, the one I told you about.” Yukari let go of her and sighed. “Is it really over then? That was the last one, right? The Dark Hour should disappear now.”

Kotone’s mind was a hurricane, swirling rapidly with thoughts, but it was finally settling. She was at the brink of realization, and that was terrifying. The Dark Hour will disappear. It will… disappear. It was now over. Nothing else was left afterwards.

Her evoker clattered uselessly to the ground, and she started giggling uncontrollably.

“Uhh, Koto-chan?” Junpei said warily. “What’s up with her?”

“I don’t-“

“STOP!”

She turned around to look at the new arrival. Aigis.

“Am I too late?! Has the shadow been destroyed already?” Aigis asked, approaching the group.

“W-What do you mean, too late? It was difficult, but yes, Kotone managed to destroy it in the end.” Yukari replied in confusion.

“The chairman has deceived us. Slaying that shadow will not destroy Tartarus or the Dark Hour. We are unsure of what will happen, though.” Aigis replied glumly. “I do not believe this is a humorous matter, Kotone-san. What is wrong?”

What was wrong? What was wrong?!

Everything. Everything was wrong.

Her giggles trailed off into silence, and instead she found herself looking at the skies, observing the full moon. Despite its excessive size, there was nothing unusual about it. But that… that wasn’t how it was supposed to be. If there was no madness in the picture before her, then the madness was inside its beholder.

Another voice joined them. “D-Did we… ouch, did we win, e-everyone?” Fuuka approached them shakily, stumbling over a rock once she got closer and almost falling over. Thankfully, Aigis caught her in time.

As her giggles finally subsided completely, she found herself looking at everyone fondly.

These beautiful bonds that I forged will be my downfall, she said.

 “Earth to Koto-chan! Guys, I’m starting to get worried. Should we take her to a hospital?” Junpei waved his hand in front of her.

She felt everyone’s eyes on her. All of them filled with worry and care for their friend. For Kotone Shiomi. For her.

She smiled widely. A little sharply.

“No. Let’s go home instead.”

***

 

“I said spit it out already! What the hell was your plan?! I’ll cave your fucking skull in if you don’t say anything!”

Shinjiro towered above the fallen chairman, axe in hand and threateningly close to Ikutsuki’s throat. The latter gulped.

“I promised to tell you everything, but please be patient. Certain things may only reveal themselves tomorrow.”

“You piece of shit, I-“

“Shinji, calm down.” Akihiko said, stepping in between the two. “Aigis left to tell the others already. It would be better if he explained it when everyone is here, don’t you think?”

Shinjiro growled. “Since when are you the voice of reason here?”

“Since you started acting as an impatient child. Someone has to be rational around here.” Akihiko replied calmly.

“And that someone is you? Right, as if Mitsu-“ Shinjiro suddenly stopped as a pained expression crossed his face. “Right. Whatever.”

Chidori decided to remain a little to the side, as far away from the chairman as possible. Being in his presence has always given her an unpleasant feeling, but now, knowing that he betrayed them all for an unknown reason, the sensation tripled in strength. So, she chose to simply not look at him. That might have been an escapist option, but it did make her feel much better.

The Dark Hour ended as abruptly as it began. All they could hope for is that Aigis managed to reach the others in time.

Speaking of Aigis. Chidori finally stirred from her sitting position once she noticed the android approach them from the end of the street. The disappointed expression on her face was not very reassuring.

***

 

11/04/2009

One minute to midnight. Sixty seconds until Ikutsuki would finally tell them everything, just as he promised. He remained stubbornly silent throughout the day, and SEES made a decision to lock him inside the command room for the time being. He couldn’t be trusted after everything that transpired.

A sense of impending doom filled Kotone’s mind. The clock ticked loudly, and the unstoppable passage of time mocked her with its inevitability. Thirty seconds until the Dark Hour, presumably. They still weren’t sure what would happen.

Akihiko sat calmly with his eyes closed, while Shinjiro glared at the chairman with hostility. His fists clenched and unclenched rapidly. To his left, Yukari sat uncomfortably and kept throwing glances at Kotone.

Right. Kotone went straight to her room as soon as they returned to the dorm, and Yukari almost tore the door down with her knocks. Her attempts to talk to Kotone were futile – she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. She wasn’t sure why.

Fifteen seconds.

Fuuka sat on one of the sofas, next to Chidori. Her face was unusually blank as the girl stared ahead of her, clearly lost in thought. Was it because of Strega? Or something else completely?

Five.

Chidori looked extremely uncomfortable – it was obvious that being in Ikutsuki’s presence was clearly causing her some mental stress. Still, curiosity won over, and she remained sitting and waiting for the chairman’s explanation.

That was another problem, though. They couldn’t trust him anymore. How could they be sure that anything he said would be true? That he wouldn’t lie to them again to achieve some goal?

And how did Aigis know he lied, anyway? She was yet to reveal that piece of info to everyone.

Four.

Junpei chose to remain standing, leaning on the wall next to one of the bookcases. He tapped his feet nervously and kept looking around, gaze lingering on Chidori. Aigis stood slightly ahead and close to Ikutsuki, vigilantly keeping an eye on him at all times. Kotone certainly wouldn’t want to be in his situation right now.

Are you back?

…

Three. Two. One. The clock struck midnight.

…

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

…What?

The clock kept ticking. One second past midnight. Two. Nobody said a word. Everyone froze, and an eerie silence descended upon the lobby.

A minute passed. Distant sounds of cars passing by, the definition of mundaneness, reached the dorm. And yet, the mundane now felt strange.

“Is it… Is it really over?” Junpei was the first one to break the silence.

“But… But I…” Aigis stuttered uncharacteristically. She frantically looked around at everyone. “What is going on? This is not what I… I mean…”

“Chairman, talk. Now.” Shinjiro’s deep voice interrupted her.

“It… worked?” He whispered quizzically, sounding unsure. “I can’t believe this. This isn’t how it was supposed to go, but if the end result is the same, then… Ha! Haha! It’s done! Ten years in the making, and we are finally saved!” He said, glee and happiness overflowing from his words. He suddenly stood up, causing Aigis to tense and point her fingers at him. “I can tell you everything now. I still can’t believe it, haha! But you have the right to know.”

“Just tell us already!” Yukari demanded.

“Alright. As some of you may have suspected already, I was also one of the researchers working on the shadow project ten years ago,” he started. “I deeply regret my compliance, and that is why I promised myself I would do my best to reverse the effects of what happened that night. You see, I thought, perhaps mistakenly, as I’m now growing to realize, that the world was doomed the moment Death was summoned down to Earth. With its presence here, a process that I named the Fall would initiate regardless of the circumstances. It is not because of the shadow’s maliciousness or lack thereof – no, it is simply something natural. That shadow would bring it unconsciously and had no control over it happening.”

The Fall. The Fall. The Fall. That’s right. Ikutsuki was telling the truth.

“Aigis managed to seal it inside Shiomi-kun here, but that was merely a temporary solution. You see, Shiomi-kun is but a human, and one day she will perish, be it tomorrow or eighty years from now, and release Death onto our world once more. The Fall would then be inevitable, and all life on our planet would cease to exist.

“Huh?” Yukari blurted out. “Cease to exist? So you’re saying that the mere presence of this shadow would cause the end of the world?”

“Precisely so, Takeba-kun. The full-moon shadows that we have been encountering are twelve pieces of a whole, and combined would allow Death to manifest early with Shiomi-kun still alive. I admit that I lied to you about this part – eliminating shadows would not eliminate Death. No, it would, in fact, bring it out earlier than expected.”

“B-but didn’t you say that it would trigger the… The Fall? Why would you do that, then?” Fuuka asked.

“Excellent question! What do you think about this, Shiomi-kun? I’m sure you’ve remembered enough. Maybe you can enlighten your teammates?”

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes were on her.

“We will be waiting for you on April 6^th. Here’s a map and money for the train ticket if you decide to show up.”

A letter, sent to her by someone who wanted her to be here. The chain of events started with her arrival, didn’t it? What happened before?

“I understand I can’t force you. However, I recommend you rethink this opportunity. Look, Shiomi-”

“Do not call me that! I… do not deserve to be called that.”

Why? Why didn’t she deserve to be called by her name? This memory was important. What was she missing?

“Okay then… .̶̧͉̗̼̺̰̏y̴̢̨̡̱̳̟̬̱̯̫̺͑̈́̉͌̓͛͘̕ͅ.̷̫͎̜̱̞̠͎̆̃̂̈́̊͛͊̿̎̚͠/̵̦͕̝̻̰̄̄̄́̔͂̏̄̕̚., please, just try it. Live your life to its fullest, create meaningful bonds, just do anything. That is all I’m asking for.”

“You are asking for too much.”

Over and over, he talked to her. Again and again, she refused to listen.

“The world will end, you know. If you keep going like this.”

“I don’t care.”

“I know you don’t.”

What changed, then? What made her listen to him in the end?

“Will you face me? I can feel the fear in your heart.”

“…”

“No? Very well. I shall wait for you. Until the world meets its end.”

The Fall was the end of the world. Would be the end of the world. Was supposed to be the end of the world.

Was she tired of waiting?

“You… are dangerous.”

Death. It matters not who you are. One thing is certain. Death awaits all.

She was falling apart. She was everything there is. She was nothing at all. And then, she was something. But how can something emerge from nothing?

Who am I? Why am I?

Surrounded by an infinite expanse of mirrors, she was lost in the maze of her own self. There is nothing. There is something. A red girl.

Her screams were consumed by darkness, never to be heard again.

Am I that girl? Am I something else entirely?

I…

…

Need…

…

To Know…

…

***

 

A dream. No, a memory.

I am a cloud of fine mist, drifting through time and space. A peaceful existence, interrupted by nothing of interest or discomfort. No, I simply am, and I am content merely being. Occasionally, I would meet a peculiar sight – glowing spheres of light, of rock and ice, of matter and mind. Those are the only times when I become more aware of my own existence and utilize my far reach to scoop the matter into myself, absorbing it with great gusto.

So bright and brittle, falling into pieces under the force of my will. So utterly delectable.

Alas, once the banquet is inevitably over, my awareness dwindles as well. Sensation is what defines experience, and without any, there was none to be had.

And thus I float peacefully through the abyss. Until, eons later, the abyss is no more. My existence is now defined by pain, for I have crashed into something dark and dim, something without a point of reference. I feel my own body fall into pieces, mixing together with the spray of dust raised by my collision with the object, until eventually I feel myself stop.

I… feel?

There was no way to tell how long the feeling lasts, for there is no measure of time. I find myself wondering if time even passes when there is no one there to observe it.

But I am here, right? I am supposed to observe something, then.

I realize that I feel an unusual disconnect between my mind and body. Almost like they ceased to be whole, splitting me into imperfect, beautiful shards of existence. One such shard, eons later, evolves in ways I could have never imagined. The shard becomes life and brings about miracles ineffable. A myriad of existences, higher and lower than each other, spinning an endless web of interaction and crafting their own path forward. Red eyes and a yellow heart. A mask and a butterfly. A sea of blue, giving birth to countless new possibilities.

I close my non-existent eyes and dream of everything that ever was and everything that ever will be. Of joy and sadness. Of love and heartbreak. Of life and death. I wonder, then, what it would feel like to dream of dreaming. To experience this something that I wrought, for but an infinitesimal moment. And I dream up a story. One of fear and trepidation, of dread and relief. Of loneliness, hurt, and doubt. A story of happiness and love. Always the storyteller, I am now an actor in my own play. A progenitor. An architect.

But now, the play is over, and it is time to wake up.

***

 

Her breathing suddenly got quicker. Kotone Shiomi. Kotone Shiomi.

“Shiomi-kun? Is everything alright? I apologize for putting you on the spot, but I-“

…

She laughed. That’s right.

The girl’s name was Kotone Shiomi.

…

The girl was long dead.

She died ten years ago, the moment she invaded her body like a parasite. She pushed her out, let her soul dissipate into the ether, and unrightfully took her place. Every single bond she forged was made of fool’s gold. From Lovers to Aeon – everything was fake. Ikutsuki’s plan was to make her care. Death, given human emotion, was supposed to be the only one with enough power and care to fight off the incoming end of the world. Except his plan did not succeed. It failed.

Are you there? Can you hear me?!

She knew, of course, that there would be no answer. And yet she tried anyway.

The dream was over, and it was time to wake up.

Aigis suddenly tensed. “Kotone-san? What is going on? Something is wrong with my sensors.”

“What do you mean?” Yukari asked worriedly.

“It’s… Her reading has suddenly become much stronger. And much more hostile.”

“What?!” Fuuka exclaimed. “I-I’m sure it’s just malfunctioning. Right, Kotone-chan?”

“Guys, I don’t like this!” Junpei shouted, taking a few steps back. “Koto-chan, what-“

Kotone-san. Kotone-chan. Koto-chan. Kotone. Ko.

So many ways to refer to her by so many people, and all of them wrong. What was her name then? She has one. She is sure. It’s not Kotone Shiomi.

She grabbed her head and whimpered.

You already know the answer. You have always known. Wake up.

The final mental barrier shattered, and she finally broke. She remembered everything. A dream that was not a dream. The light extinguished, and the stars wander darkling in the eternal space. Just as it used to be, before she made it what it is now. Her longing to experience her creation and the humans’ longing for power crossed paths, and a small piece was brought down onto the earth. And yet a tiny piece of infinity was still infinite.

An unusually human caprice. And now, she would doom them all.

Nyx screamed.

Notes:

And there we go, folks. Our protagonist is not, in fact, Kotone Shiomi. This has been the premise of the fic since the very beginning, and some of you may have already suspected this to be the case. I still hope I managed to surprise some of you :)

I have big plans for the next chapter, and it may take me a while to release. Also, I mildly rewrote chapter one to update it to my current standards and will be doing the same for some other chapters (nothing major, it's mostly cosmetic adjustments, nothing story-related!)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you thought in the comments!