Chapter 7: Silence

A/N: Started this two weeks after the last chapter was submitted. Had to, because Kimi no Kioku is the greatest credits song to ever come out of a video game. 'When we meet again in heaven anew, I promise I will never leave you.'

-RRR-

It was a bright and sunny morning. Unfortunately, it was rather ruined for Hamuko when she had to wake up an extra hour earlier just to visit the hospital for a final check-up. After confirming that yes, everything was fine and her legs were still attached to her torso (she could've told them that!), the brunette was forced to put said appendages to the test by running all the way to school to make it on time before the bell. Fun.

Which was why Hamuko was once again slumped over her desk. From exhaustion rather than depression this time, of course.

Well, fine, maybe it was mixed with a teeny bit of depression. It was the teacher's fault really. The first period turned out to be History, taught by Ono-sensei, the samurai helmet wearing man she had seen on her first day of school. Although she had been rather keen on the subject at first seeing as it was her first class with him, her interest quickly dropped to sub-zero levels the moment Ono-sensei began his lesson.

"The Stone Age was a period of time that lasted for approximately 3.4 million years and ended between 6000 BC and 2000 BC with the advent of..."

He was simply reading the textbook out loud!

Thus, the reason for her state of mild depression.

"...of the tools they used were fashioned mostly out of stone, while others were..." He droned on, in perhaps the most unenthused voice she had ever heard come out of a human being.

"Fossils were found that supported the evidence of..." With every sentence, Hamuko could feel her zest for becoming a model student dying, bit by bit. Fighting back a sigh, she decided to just read the textbook on her own to make up for the topics she had missed during her hiatus from school. Starting from the Paleolithic period...

Hmm... the earliest species to have controlled fire was the Homo Erectus.

The first bow and arrow appeared during the Jomon period. Interesting.

Within half an hour, she had covered everything up to the Yayoi period. Feeling rather accomplished, she set her book down to relax for the rest of the lecture. She snuck a glance at her three friends.

Yukari was bored. Minato was sleeping, as usual. Junpei was once again doodling on a notebook... was that the main character from the popular anime Sasuke?

Huh, okay, so maybe Junpei was a pretty good artist. She'd have to ask to see his works later.

All her friends were as they should be, so all was right in Hamuko's world.

"...were big, woolly elephants that went extinct 15,000 to 9,000 years ago in multiple continents across the world, namely Asia, Europe, North America... and that's it for the Mammoths." Ono-sensei finished. "I don't see the big deal about them. They're just huge, hairy elephants."

Hamuko couldn't help but agree.

"And that's about it for the Paleolithic period of the Stone Age. Next up, the Jomon period..." The man sighed. "I'm tired of lessons about stones. I wanna talk about the Sengoku Era!"

Hamuko couldn't believe how animated the teacher became with just those two words.

"The clash of powers, the intense wars and strategy! The clamouring to unify Japan! That period was the true beginning of the spirit of Japan!"

Unfortunately, this passionate version of Ono-sensei didn't last very long.

"I'm paid to do this though, so I've gotta." He sighed, and all his energy seemed to vanish with the air in his lungs. "...It's tough being an adult."

He snapped his textbook shut. "I'm sure everyone's bored. I'll just ask a question at random and call it a day."

The teacher's eyes narrowed at his students, and picked out the only doodling artist in class. "Junpei!"

Said boy jumped out his seat and snapped to attention. "H-Hai!"

"What was the style of the houses in the Jomon period called?"

"Uh... uhhh..." Junpei began to panic.

Taking pity on the boy, Hamuko quickly scribbled down the answer on a piece of paper and placed it on her open textbook. She then lifted the textbook as if she was reading it.

Junpei, in his desperate state, was already looking to her for the answer. Quickly realizing her intentions, he barely managed to decipher her rather messy and rushed pen strokes.

"Um... mud huts?" He ventured.

Ono-sensei's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "That's correct. Mud huts were originally built by digging a hole in the ground and supporting the roof. I'm surprised you knew this, Junpei."

Learning his lesson from last time, Junpei kept silent. Ono-sensei continued on, explaining more about mud huts before desolately going limp.

"...It's no use. I can't get into it at all." The dejected man lamented. "Ugh, I wanna get into the age of katanas. Everything else is just so dull."

The teacher stopped, before getting rather excited again. "Speaking of which, I actually have perfect replica of the Ishikiri [Stone-Cutter] at home. I should bring it to class so we can cut the Stone Age into half with one clean slash!"

It was a pretty good joke, and Hamuko couldn't help but let out a... well, it wasn't quite laughter, seeing as her voice hadn't returned yet, but it was close enough.

Only to realize that she was the only one in the room who seemed to find it amusing. And why was Yukari giving her the stink eye?

-RRR-

"Whew, savin' my sorry ass on your first day back!" Junpei exclaimed, having commandeered the seat in front of Hamuko during lunch.

'Someone has to. I doubt anyone else would.' She quickly wrote into her 'talking' notebook and held up, with a smirk.

"Ooh, you wound me, madam!" He grabbed his chest exaggeratedly. "I'll have you know all the ladies're clamorin' for a piece of the great Junpei! Especially the ass."

'Only if they want to kick it.' Hamuko scribbled and fired back.

"I think my heart just broke, a little." Junpei chuckled. "So anyway, what's up with the writing? Yuka-tan said you were sick. Didja have a sore throat or somethin'?

'Or something.' Hamuko scribbled, nodding her head. 'It's a bit hard to explain, but I was unconscious for about a week and a half.'

Junpei's eyes widened. "Woah, like a coma?"

'Something like that.' She shrugged. 'I won't be able to talk for a few more days.'

"Damn." He gave a low whistle. "That sucks. So you all better now?"

'Yep!'

"Sheesh, you sure have a lot of energy today, Junpei." Another voice entered the conversation. Yukari's voice, to be specific.

"Hey, it's Yuka-tan!" Junpei greeted her cheerfully. "How's it hangin'?"

"Uh... alright, I guess?" The brunette replied. "Anyway, Hamuko-chan, Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today, so go to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, 'kay?"

Hamuko nodded and gave a thumbs up in response.

"Who's Ikuki-san?" Junpei interjected.

"Ikutsuki-san, Junpei. And geez, he's the Chief Director of our school! Shouldn't you know that?" Yukari said.

"Well, excuuuuse me for not knowing." Junpei replied. "I've never met him before anyways, so how would I know?"

"Oh, and speaking of Ikutsuki-san, you'd better not make any stupid puns later, Hamuko-chan. Ono-sensei's joke was bad enough."

'No promises. I can't talk anyway.'

"You guys are too loud." Minato's sleepy voice called out from two desks beside Hamuko's.

'I'm not even talking!' Hamuko wrote furiously, before pouting.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Yukari said. "Had a nice nap?"

"It wasn't too bad." He yawned and stretched, before scratching his head. "So what's new?"

"Nothing, really. Oh, and Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you at the dorm too, Senpai." Yukari told him.

"Kirijo-san already told me this morning. Thanks." He nodded.

"Anyways, I gotta do some stuff for the Archery Club again. I'll be right back." The club secretary sighed irritably. "I swear, they're dumping all the work onto me."

"Laters, Yuka-tan!"

"See ya."

'Bye.'

Waving farewell, she left. There was a rather strange silence that Hamuko longed to fill, but her voice (or lack thereof) didn't help very much.

"So!" Junpei started, doing away with the awkwardness. "The dorm, eh? Actually... Oh, wait, never mind. I'm not supposed to say anything."

'Oooh, a secret? What is it?' Hamuko scribbled rapidly and raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.

"Forget about it, Hamu-chii! You'll find out sooner or later anyways."

Said girl had already prepared a response in her usual scrawl. 'Hamu-chii?'

Junpei flushed a little. "Well, it sounds better than Hamu-tan."

Not particularly caring about how she was addressed, Hamuko shrugged. 'Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Anyway, Jun-kun, new rule!'

"Jun-kun?"

'It's easier to write than Junpei-kun.'

"Touché." He laughed, his cheeks still tinted with a slight pink.

'Back to the point! New rule. Every time I save your ass in class, you owe me lunch!'

"What?!" Junpei panicked. "But... my wallet! My money!"

'All the more motivation for you to do better in class then.' Hamuko smirked.

"You're heartless! A monster! A devil in disguise!" Junpei then paused, before yelling out and pointing at her. "A cross-dresser!"

Hamuko froze and became stock still. Her eyes flashed at the offending teen, levelling him a glare that, if looks could kill, would be classified as a murder weapon.

"Uh..." Junpei started to sweat. The air around him suddenly seemed to feel heavier.

The angry stare was unrelenting, and it was quickly evident that its target was going to crumble.

"C'mon, quit starin' already!" Junpei shifted, clearly uncomfortable.

If anything, the glare intensified.

"A-alright, alright! I'm sorry for bringin' the whole cross-dressing thing up. There, ya happy?" He caved.

'Yep!' Hamuko smiled and gave another thumbs up, and the suffocating aura vanished. 'Besides, Jun-kun,' She scribbled, 'This lunch thing is for your own good. Maybe you'll actually pay attention from now on."

"Gah, whatever..." Junpei said, before turning to Minato. "You know, you two are way too alike sometimes."

The two Arisatos exchanged a glance at each other, before shrugging and giving the same deadpan expression.

'Not related.' She quickly scrawled and pressed her notebook to Junpei's face.

"Not related." Her hasty sentence was accompanied by a completely monotonous voice.

"See?"

-RRR-

Seeing as the Chairman had called for a meeting, Hamuko, Yukari and Minato left together after classes came to a close. It was a rather quiet trip back to the dorm, if only because Hamuko found it rather tiresome to walk and write at the same time. Upon reaching the residence, the three of them immediately went to the 4th floor and entered the Command Room.

As they walked in, Hamuko was amazed at the sheer amount of machinery that met the eye. Multiple monitors, sophisticated-looking computers and a big square... thing that she was honestly clueless about were littered across the floor. Or strategically placed. She wasn't really sure how they worked, anyway. Wait, was the black wall above the monitors a huge, LCD TV?

She swallowed, wondering how much the whole assortment cost.

The Student Council President was fiddling with the Big Square Thing (which she accordingly dubbed BST), pressing a few buttons while murmuring something under her breath. On the other side of the room, sitting on a rather comfortable-looking armchair, was Ikutsuki-san, looking rather busy with a few sheets of papers in front of him, along with a silver briefcase.

"We're here." Yukari called out, garnering the two's attention.

Looking up from his work, the Chairman greeted them. "Ah, there you are. Please, have a seat."

The three of them moved to do so, and out of the corner of her eye, Hamuko spied Minato hesitating, as if deciding which seat to take, before settling down on the seat on Ikutsuki-san's right. She mentally shrugged and plopped herself down next to him, while Yukari sat opposite her.

"We're waiting on one more, so please, be patient." The Chairman told them, before returning to his documents.

The following silence was rather uncomfortable, so Hamuko decided to distract herself by preparing common answers in advance in her communication notebook. Things like 'Yes', 'No', 'I don't know' and 'Maybe'. It seemed to be a more efficient way of doing things.

While she was thinking of more conversation staples, her two classmates decided to follow her lead and do their own thing.

Yukari had a bunch of papers spread across her lap and sofa, sorting them out and occasionally signing a few. It occurred to Hamuko, from the amount of paperwork the Club Secretary had been given, that her complaints were well-founded. She had more paperwork than Ikutsuki-san, for goodness' sake!

Minato, on the other hand, had defaulted to his earphones, as usual. His feet was tapping every so often to an unheard rhythm, while his fingers seemed to dance as if he was playing the piano.

Wait, could he play the piano?

Her musings were interrupted when Minato suddenly rose to his feet and walked towards Mitsuru, who seemed to be getting rather frustrated with the BST. Taking an earphone off, he asked her, "Anything I can help with?"

As her two seniors (by age at least) discussed the BST, which Hamuko learned was actually a high-powered processor, the temporarily mute brunette turned back to her answer preparation. Adding 'I can't talk', 'Thank you', 'Sorry' and 'Excuse me' to the list, she tried to think of more phrases that she commonly used.

Coming up with said phrases were a lot harder than one would think it would be when they weren't used reflexively.

Thus, it was six minutes and twenty-one phrases later that a teenage gray-haired boy entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late." He apologized, closing the door.

"No need to apologize." Ikutsuki-san said, putting away his paperwork. Yukari was quickly doing the same.

"Welcome back, Akihiko." Mitsuru turned and greeted. "So did he agree to help?"

"Yeah. He said he'll be here tomorrow." He responded with a nod.

"That's good." Mitsuru smiled, seeming somewhat relieved.

"I think I've got it, Kirijo-san." Minato said from behind her, flicking a switch. The processor immediately whirred to life.

"How did you-?" The redhead spun back to ask, before shaking her head in disbelief.

"The second processor core was burned out, cutting off the circuit. I removed it, put the first one in its place and rerouted the wires to power it."

"The core itself was damaged?" Mitsuru was surprised. "I wouldn't have expected that to be the problem."

"I know. I was surprised too, seeing as it's a state-of-the-art model, but I decided to check just in case. Everything else seemed to be fine." The blue-haired boy held out a square object with a hole that Hamuko couldn't really identify.

"It's burnt through." Mitsuru observed, her eyebrows rising in surprise. Akihiko had walked behind her, giving a low whistle at the damage.

"Yeah. Must've been a huge power surge." He turned to look back at the processor. "I'd recommend getting a replacement core if you're using it for extremely intensive tasks. Other than that, it's probably fine for everything else."

"I understand. My thanks, Arisato."

Hamuko's ears perked up reflexively at being addressed, before remembering that Minato-san had the same surname too. Ugh, this would take some getting used to.

"No problem."

Also, she quickly jotted down 'No problem' as her thirtieth phrase. Yay for progress!

"Anyway, now that we're all here, shall we get the meeting underway?" Ikutsuki-san suggested from his seat.

"Of course, Mr. Chairman." Mitsuru complied, and those still standing moved to the table and sat down. Hamuko had already written down 'Of course', of course, and she was rather proud of herself for thinking of it.

Minato, having reclaimed his seat next to the older gentleman, fully removed his earphones and hung them around his neck. Everything seemed to be in perfect order to begin a serious meeting.

"Firstly, I'm glad that you're okay." The Chairman began, gesturing towards Hamuko. "I wouldn't know what I'd do if something had happened to you."

Hamuko flipped to the fifth page of her notebook and held it up. 'Thank you.'

"Ah, I see that you're still unable to speak." Ikutsuki-san said. "That's rather unfortunate. I assume you'll make a full recovery?"

Opening up to the first page, Hamuko presented a perfectly written 'Yes'. It was in an elaborate artistic design, and Hamuko was rather proud of it.

He chuckled. "That's good. Now, before we begin, I believe Mitsuru mentioned him earlier, but this is Akihiko Sanada."

The Chairman gestured to the gray-haired teen, who gave a quick wave and greeted her. "How ya' doin?"

Hamuko flipped through her notebook for an appropriate response. Finding none, she silently swore and opened to a new page, writing a quick 'Hi.'

Pausing, she flipped to the next page and wrote, 'Nice to meet you.'

On the other open page, she wrote, 'This sucks.', and held it up with an annoyed pout.

The other inhabitants of the room broke out into a light laughter, immediately easing the tension. When everyone had settled down, Ikutsuki-san immediately took the lead again.

"Okay, let me begin by asking you this," He started. "Would you believe me if I told you that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"

Hamuko thought about the Weird Green Moon Shadow Coffin Time nodded, and flipped a few pages back to show an 'Of course.'

"Good, that will make things go along quicker." Mitsuru said, pleased. "Do you remember the night you came here? You had to have noticed the signs. The streetlights went out, nothing was working, there were coffins everywhere... Didn't it feel like a different time?"

Hamuko nodded at each of the aforementioned subjects.

"That's the Dark Hour. A time period hidden between one day and the next."

'Hidden?' Hamuko quickly jotted. She was beginning to think her pre-prepared answers were rather worthless.

"I guess it's something that most people aren't aware of." Ikutsuki-san clarified. "But it does exist. You've already experienced it first hand. It happens each night at midnight. It'll happen again tonight, and every night to come."

"Normal people don't realize it, since they're all sleeping inside their coffins." Akihiko cut in. "But that's not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting."

He stood up and smirked. "You saw those creatures. We call 'em Shadows. They only appear during the Dark Hour and attack anyone not in a coffin."

He threw a mock jab with his uninjured arm. "It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting, huh?"

"This isn't a game, Akihiko. You just got hurt the other day!" Mitsuru reprimanded him. "Why are you always like that?!"

"Now, now. He does his work well." The Chairman interjected, trying to prevent an argument from occurring.

"We'll talk about this later, Akihiko." Mitsuru seemed rather adamant about the subject, her eyes promising a scolding.

"Long story short..." Ikutsuki-san tried to change the subject. "We're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or SEES for short."

He continued his explanation. "On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows." He gestured to the redhead. "Mitsuru is the Club President. I'm the Club Advisor."

'And Akihiko-san?' Hamuko wrote, curious.

He chuckled sheepishly. "I'm actually the Vice-President. Before Yukari came along there wasn't anyone else in the club, after all."

Hamuko perked up, seeing an opportunity to use a pre-prepared phrase. She flipped to a page and held it up proudly, only for everyone to start snickering.

Not seeing the joke, she looked at the notebook only to realize her intended message was facing her. She quickly took a peek at the other side.

'My condolences.'

Turning red, she quickly held the book the right-side out to display what she had meant. 'I see.' It only made the group burst out in laughter.

Face flaming and wondering how she had managed to convince herself that 'My condolences.' was used in everyday conversations, she quickly turned to the last page and scribbled. 'This stupid pre-prepared answer thing is more trouble than it's worth. I'm going back to writing my responses.'

"Perhaps that's for the best." The Chairman, being the last to recover from his laughing fit, agreed.

"Back to the topic at hand." Mitsuru returned to the subject, causing the mood to sombre. "A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; its victims become a living corpse."

She closed her eyes, seeming rather tired. "They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them."

The red-eyed brunette recalled hearing a rumour a while back about something similar. Something about not going to school and staring at walls.

'If that's the case, how do you fight them?' Hamuko wrote, remembering the impossibly strong monster from the roof. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, but it didn't hurt to confirm things.

"Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows."

'Persona?'

The eyebrows of the current members of SEES shot up, clearly surprised. Mitsuru frowned. "How do you know that term?"

Hamuko shrugged and wrote. 'I dunno. It just came to mind when I used that Evoker thingy.'

"Interesting." Ikutsuki-san noted, before resuming his explanation. "Shadows can only be fought by Persona-users, which means that both you and Minato-kun fall into that category."

Minato, being addressed for the first time since the meeting started, nodded his head in acceptance.

"What's he's trying to say is we want both of you to join us." Mitsuru took over, opening the silver briefcase that Hamuko had noticed when she entered the room.

Inside the briefcase was a pair of silver handguns, similar to the one she had used the other night. Both had a stylish SEES logo carved into their barrels.

For some reason, the placement of the Evokers seemed rather significant to Hamuko. They lied opposite one another, facing opposite directions. She instinctively knew which one was hers. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Minato staring at the pair of Evokers rather intensely as well.

"We've already prepared and Evoker for both of you." Mitsuru's voice rang out, shattering her trance. "We'd like for you to lend us your strength."

"I'm still observing." Minato told the redhead without hesitation, to which Mitsuru sighed and nodded her head rather disappointedly. She then turned to Hamuko.

"What about you? Will you join us?" She asked.

It wasn't much of a choice in her eyes, really. Her moral compass wouldn't allow her to say no, even if she might experience the same excruciating pain she did ten days back. Which Igor said shouldn't happen again, at any rate.

'Of course.' She penned with a nod.

The change of atmosphere was immediate. Akihiko, Mitsuru and the Chairman seemed to sag in relief, while Yukari released a breath she had clearly been holding for a while.

"I was afraid you'd say no..." Yukari admitted, before sending a huge smile her way. "Welcome aboard!"

Mitsuru was immediately business again, however. "While I'm glad you've decided to join us, we need to make certain one thing. Do you think you can handle using an Evoker again? What happened last time must've been agonizing, after all." Her brow was knit with worry. "To be honest, I was momentarily connected with that strange monstrosity as well, so I know just how much you must have gone through."

Hamuko's eyes were wide, realizing that Mitsuru must have felt the same kind of pain she did. She decided to respond honestly.

'To be honest, I'm still a little scared... I think I went insane at some point.' She wrote, causing the others to look at her in concern. 'But that should've been a one-time thing, right? So I guess I can try again. Minato-san can handle it if it goes wrong again, after all.'

Sparing a glance at Minato, who nodded, Mitsuru closed her eyes and smiled. "You're braver than I'd imagined. I doubt I could do the same."

Taking the compliment in stride, Hamuko smiled, stood up and lifted the Evoker from the case. Her Evoker, the one she'd had her eye on earlier.

She lifted it to her head.

Memory of the excruciating pain returned.

Her hand started to shake.

Beads of sweat started to form on her forehead.

Flashes of white, black and red played in her mind.

She could hear her heartbeat throbbing through her ears once again.

She steadied her breathing. It was now, or never.

Her mouth moved on its own.

"Per..."

No sound escaped from her throat.

"So..."

The last syllable formed on her lips anyway.

"Na."

She pulled the trigger.

And once again, Orpheus sang, her glorious aria echoing around the room.

Filled once again with the feeling of power, Hamuko grinned.

"Feeling fine?" Akihiko asked, wisely cautious.

"Never better." Hamuko opened her mouth to speak, only to realize that even with all the power she now had, she still couldn't form proper sentences with her voice.

Grumbling to herself and reaching for her pen and notebook while the others chuckled, she quickly wrote down her what she had just tried to say.

"That's good." Mitsuru said, reading her hasty scrawl.

'There's no static or any of the pain I felt the first time around.' Hamuko wrote, while Orpheus hovered behind her.

"Static?" Mitsuru questioned.

'There was some strange static in my vision, then everything grew kinda hazy. Things got kinda crazy after that.' Hamuko wrote.

"I see. If there's any sign of it happening again, stop immediately and dismiss your Persona, understand?" The redhead ordered. "There's no point in you getting hurt. You may not recover the second time."

Hamuko nodded, sufficiently cowed, before attempting to dismiss her Persona. Orpheus seemed to just fade away on a mental command.

Huh. That was useful. She was rather winded now that the power had worn off, though.

"I'm glad to see that that was a success." The Chairman said, smiling. "Congratulations on summoning your Persona without any complications."

Hamuko smiled back in response, a little too tired to write a response. Thankfully, she had a pre-prepared response (still useful, she guessed) and flipped open to the fifth page of her notebook. 'Thank you.'

"Oh, I almost forgot..." He mentioned with a smile so fake even a paper bag would know it wasn't real. "About your room assignment. Why don't you just stay here, in your current room? I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it worked out in the end!" He let out a weird chuckle.

He was such a bad liar that Hamuko felt sorry for the man. While it did bother her a little that they had pulled some strings to get her assigned to this dorm, she understood why it was a necessary move, especially if she had the potential.

"Holdup? But wasn't that..." Yukari started in disbelief, but stopped when Mitsuru shot her a look. "Oh, never mind..."

CRASH

Thou art I, and I am thou...

Thou hast established a new bond...

Thou shalt be blessed when creating a Persona of the Fool Arcana.

Clearly not expecting it, Hamuko nearly shrieked when time seemed to freeze again. The card that appeared in her mind, The Fool, obviously, had the image of a figure embarking on a Journey with a knapsack on his back. The voice calling out, however, was much different from the distinctly female voice from before. Instead, this voice was much more gender-ambiguous, and had a rather mischievous undertone to it.

Hamuko blinked, and once again time resumed its normal pace.

"Arisato, this is your Evoker." Mitsuru said, causing Hamuko to snap to attention before realizing that the Student Council President was addressing Minato once again. "Keep it with you at all times, even if you decide not to join the group. I think you can be trusted with it."

The blue-haired boy nodded, taking the other Evoker from the case and pocketing it.

"Well, this was a fruitful meeting!" Ikutsuki-san concluded.

Seeing an opportunity, Hamuko just couldn't resist writing her response down.

'Yeah, just peachy!'

Collective groans sounded from every relatively normal individual in the room. And abrupt laughter from the other abnormal one.

-RRR-

Yukari was once again amazed by Hamuko. And a little bitter, if she were to admit to herself.

Her classmate had been dealt with a worse hand in life than she had. She, at least, still had her mom, even if the relationship was a bit strained. Hamuko was completely orphaned at seven. Despite the sympathy she felt for her, Yukari couldn't help but admire her friend's tenacity and zest for life.

It was surreal how incredibly brave she was. Just ten minutes ago, Mitsuru, the school valedictorian, Miss Perfect herself, had admitted that she likely didn't have the same amount of courage as the transfer student. And if the Mitsuru Kirijo couldn't measure up, then how on earth could Yukari Takeba ever do so?

So in spite of herself, even if she knew it was unfair to Hamuko, a drop of envy for the other brunette welled up in one of the darker corners of her heart.

She felt a light nudge on her arm before a piece of paper was shoved to her face.

'Something wrong, Yukarin?'

Yukari shook her head. "It's nothing."

The meeting had ended, and the two girls were walking back to their rooms together. Even now, Hamuko, who was slightly drooping from what Yukari presumed to be fatigue, still seemed to bounce with every step. Shrugging at Yukari's dismissal, the red-eyed brunette resumed her gait towards her room.

Yukari didn't really fathom how the other girl was so strong. As they parted to their respective rooms, her need for understanding overwhelming her reserve.

"How'd you do it?" She blurted out, unable to keep it to herself. "How do you just pull the trigger like that? I mean, weren't you scared?"

Hamuko looked at Yukari quizzically, her hand frozen on the doorknob to her room. After a few long seconds passed in which Yukari felt as if her friend was staring into her soul, the other girl gave her an unbelievably gentle smile and started writing.

'Sometimes, you just have to take the leap, Yukarin. Especially when you're scared.' Hamuko tore the page out and passed it to her. 'If you don't, you won't be able to experience the best things in life.'

With that, the transfer student flashed a quick grin at her, waved goodnight and entered her room.

The pink-wearing girl stared at the piece of paper in her hand. Feeling rather strange, she entered her own room and sat on her bed. Leaning back against the wall, she closed her eyes and released a troubled sigh.

"Take the leap, huh...?" She murmured, opening her eyes to stare aimlessly at the ceiling.

Her hand moved toward the familiar weight strapped onto her hip. Her fingers brushed the familiar grip of the weapon she had often tried, but never dared to use.

She drew the Evoker in one smooth motion, pointing it at her head.

"On the count of three." She told herself resolutely.

Take the leap.

"Three."

It was at that precise moment that Yukari Takeba at long last discovered her Persona.

-RRR-

Recognizing the surge of power in the air as Io, Yukari's initial Persona, a certain blue-haired boy wondered what had caused this particular change.

It was a minor alteration, but it could have a noticeable impact in the long run. A more emotionally secure Yukari. He chuckled wryly. That would be interesting to watch.

His plan, well, not so much as a plan as a single important action, had gone smoothly without a hitch this time. His staunch declaration to continue observation had spurred Mitsuru to ensure that the other SEES recruit would be able to contribute in the field without posing any harm.

He had initially worried about Hamuko being too traumatized with the whole fiasco to even attempt summoning her Persona, but the odds had been heavily in his favour. After all, no incarnation of him would back down from doing what needed to be done. It was the very definition of their existence.

The girl had performed above and beyond, however. In five minutes, she had displayed a leader's disposition, the courage to face her fears, and most importantly, that she knew how to identify the signs of another Persona mishap. The last one had likely convinced Mitsuru of her dependability, and the first two had pushed her to the forefront of the list of potential leaders.

Minato gave himself and his female counterpart a mental pat on the back.

However, he now had to focus on the Chairman. The blue-haired boy was stuck on how to approach the not-yet traitor. He doubted a real conversation could be struck with bad puns, as much as the man loved them. But it could be a useful tool to break the ice.

It was frustrating. The blue-haired boy hadn't really had to force any of his friendships last year. They had happened rather naturally, whether he was put into a situation that allowed him to befriend them, like Bunkichi and Mitsuko, or his curiosity of them had led him to approach them, like Mutatsu and Mamoru.

Besides, there was an underlying tension between him and Ikutsuki, and he was sure the Chairman could sense it as well. Minato would tense up when he saw the man and adopt a slightly guarded stance.

Of course, he knew all this from studying his own behaviour, but just because he knew it didn't mean that half the battle was over.

It had to happen naturally. That was his only conclusion. Besides, he wasn't trying to be friends with the traitor. He was simply trying to discern and hopefully alter his world view.

It sounded a lot easier when he first thought up the idea.

There was also the fact that Ikutsuki really seemed to bear no ill will towards SEES whatsoever. Not a hint of manipulation. It was driving him crazy, since it didn't make any sense.

Deciding to just play his side-mission by ear, he put the whole issue aside and decided to just focus his efforts on Hamuko. Ikutsuki didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, anyway. Strega had been a much bigger obstacle to overcome towards the end.

Speaking of Strega, Takaya, Jun and Chidori had only made their debut after Aigis, if he remembered correctly. Maybe he could solve that issue before it even came up.

It was all very headache-inducing, and Minato found himself yet again at a loss of what to do.

He hated being a Wild Card sometimes.

No, he had to take things one step at a time. Leave Strega for later. Let Ikutsuki happen on its own. Deal with Hamuko first.

Speaking of which, if he remembered correctly, the very first Tartarus trip would be tomorrow night. If all goes well, Hamuko should be nominated by Akihiko to be leader. Speaking of which, he would need to actively keep himself from issuing any commands and following Hamuko's orders.

He very nearly slapped himself when he remembered that Hamuko was also currently mute. Meaning no voice, which meant no words, which meant no orders, which meant she wouldn't be picked to lead anyone anywhere.

Which meant she was due for an instantaneous miraculous recovery by tomorrow.

It was a good thing that a quick Salvation could provide said miracle.

Chuckling briefly at his little joke, he quickly made plans to sneak into Hamuko's room later that night. It should be rather simple. Past the Dark Hour, of course, in case Mitsuru or the Chairman decided to monitor them tonight. Hamuko's door would hopefully be unlocked. Even if it was locked, there was a master key to the dormitory kept on the 4th Floor anyways, so that would not pose too much of a problem. Summon Messiah without his Evoker to avoid the loud noises and heal Hamuko's throat. Sneak out, head back to the 4th Floor and replace the video feeds with a loop of last night's recordings, and voila, job done! A perfectly healthy, talkative Hamuko ready and available to lead.

He leaned back and sighed, massaging his temples tiredly. If only the rest of his problems were that simple.

-RRR-

It all started with Yukari asking her out for ice cream. Hamuko had readily agreed and proceeded to dehydrate her portable Nekomobile. Summoning Orpheus, who agreed to drive them to the Mall, they passed by a golden statue of Minato on the way to the Ice Cream store. Hamuko wryly wondered who would revere her classmate so much.

They arrived there within a minute and quickly ordered their respective flavours. Strawberry for Yukari and vanilla for her, of course. As they waited for their dessert, they spotted Junpei sitting with a strange crimson-haired Gothic Lolita chick, who's dress Hamuko absolutely adored. It had the most gorgeous cut, appearing large but not too poofy. It seemed rather heavy though, and Hamuko wished she could try on something in that style someday.

The waiter then delivered their order. He was kinda cute, actually, with a really nice yellow scarf, and his eyes were amazingly blue. He joined them at the table and looked straight into her eyes before giving an innocent smile and greeted her.

"Hi, how are you?"

And with that, Hamuko jolted awake, because she was sure she had heard those last few words out loud. Just like she was sure there was someone else in her room.

She spied with her rather drowsy, half-lidded eyes a strange looking boy of about ten years sitting on the edge of her bed.

Rubbing her eyes, she tried again, because the previous sentence seemed rather farfetched, even after that strange dream she had.

There was a green tinge to the moonlight that dimly illuminated her room, and Hamuko quickly came to the conclusion that the Dark Hour was currently taking place.

Turning her attention back to the real anomaly at the moment, she recognized the intruder as the strange boy in the prison outfit she had met on her first day on the dorm. The one who had presented her with the contract that enabled her to enter the Velvet Room.

Not really knowing how to react, she simply waved her greeting at the boy. He gave a light chuckle in return and disappeared from her bed, only to fade back into view at her window, glancing out into the night.

"Soon, the end will come." He stated, rather solemnly. "I remembered, so I thought I should tell you."

Reaching for the notebook and pen she had placed on her nightstand for such an occasion, she quickly wrote, 'The end of what?'

"Everything." He replied before turning back to her, a despondent expression on his face. "...But to be honest, I don't really know what it is."

Hamuko was confused, and if she was being honest, rather spooked out at how he could read what she wrote without turning around.

Not at the whole disappearing and reappearing act, of course. Most ghosts could do that anyway. Not that she had met any other ghost before.

As she moved to sit up, her eyes fixated on her Evoker that she had also decided to keep on her nightstand in case of emergencies. Could the boy be a Shadow?

She reached for the Evoker, just in case. The very moment her fingers brushed the Evoker, the ghost-boy-thing suddenly materialized in front of her, their noses on the verge of touching.

"Oh, it looks like you've awakened to your power... and an unusual power it is."

Hamuko, like anyone else would in her position, leapt back in surprise and a bit of fear, before forcing herself to calm down. A large part of her wondered whether the boy had any sense of personal space whatsoever.

"A power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none." The mysterious boy mused quietly, his eyes never leaving her own. "It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, before reopening them once more. They locked against her own once more, a piercing shade of blue.

"Do you remember when we first met?"

Hamuko nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"I expect you to honour your commitment." His voice was both hesitant and hopeful at the same time.

The red-eyed brunette nodded again. 'My own free will.'

"Good." The boy seemed relieved, before giving her a smile. "I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me."

Despite his cheerful expression, Hamuko thought that he sounded rather lonely. 'Don't worry, I won't.'

She caught a look of surprise appearing on his face as he faded away.

And now she was alone in the room once more, riddled with questions.

Who was the boy?

Was he a Shadow?

What did he mean by the end of everything?

And he doesn't know what it is?

Does he watch her even in the shower?

As she was tired and sleepy and that last question had been rather off-kilter (though a legitimate concern), Hamuko decided that everything would make more sense in the morning, so she promptly went back to bed.

Within seconds, she was asleep once again.

She never so much as twitched when a certain blue-haired boy sneaking into her room three hours later.

-RRR-

With the first half of his task complete, Minato snuck into the Command Room on the 4th Floor to doctor the security video only to find the lights on and Mitsuru asleep by the main console. Thankfully, the monitors weren't currently displaying the security feeds from the rooms or corridors, so she wouldn't have noticed his sneaking around even if she had been awake.

He resisted to urge to both chuckle and sigh at the sight of the sleeping redhead. Judging by the familiar complex-looking analytical program that was running on the main LCD TV, she had clearly been exhausting herself during the Dark Hour monitoring Shadow activity in the city.

In the end, the latter action won out and he sighed rather heavily. Mitsuru was a person who saw everything to be her responsibility. She hardly ever realized she was often going above and beyond the call of duty, as she assumed that she it was the least she could do. It was an attitude that Minato both respected in her, and yet loathed as well, as she often disregarded her own wellbeing in the process.

This was just one example of the many he could name. It was well-past three in the morning, and she had obviously resumed her studies after the Dark Hour, judging from the numerous heavyset books on the chair beside her and two sheaves of paper lying by her head.

He noted her sleeping posture and knew that if she slept in this position for the rest of the night, her back would be in for it in the morning.

And with that concerned thought in mind, he tapped gently on her shoulder to wake her up.

"Kirijo-san." He called softly.

She stirred slightly before her eyes squeezed and fluttered open. Shielding them from the light with her hand, she pushed herself up slowly into a proper sitting position and immediately checked her phone with the other.

"It's three in the morning. I suppose you have a good reason for being up here so late?" The redhead asked, though rather tiredly.

Quickly thinking up an excuse, Minato nodded. "Left my headphones up here during the meeting. I came to get them."

"I see. I suppose I should thank you for waking me." Mitsuru said. "There are still plenty of things for me to do."

Shaking his head in disbelief at her stubbornness, he asked, "Couldn't they wait till the morning? You should be getting some rest."

"I... Well, some can." She admitted, sighing heavily before indicating at the two sheaves of paper. "But I do need to have some response to these by the morning."

"Is there anything I can do?" Minato offered. "Many hands make light work."

"Thanks for the offer, but unless you know anything about applied statistics or psychoanalytical psychology, I'm afraid you won't be able to help."

"I can't say much about statistics, but I've done some extensive research on Jungian Psychology and the like." To say the redhead was surprised was a severe understatement. It had been compulsory knowledge really, what with Personae being the manifestation of one's psyche.

"That's rather convenient. Read the first few pages and see if you understand it." Mitsuru handed him the smaller of the two sheaves and began working through the other.

The pair set about their respective tasks in silence. Minato was leafing through the collection, which turned out to be a theorem of sorts. Moreover, it dealt with Carl Jung's primary hypothesis on the persona, while also referencing further research by Myers, Berne, Erikson, Briggs and one or two Minato hadn't really heard of.

The most interesting thing about it however, was what the theorem proposed. It stated that natural Shadows were born from the repressed or hidden side of the collective human conscience. Which he already knew to be true, of course.

"Is this one of Ikutsuki-san's theories?" He broke the silence to ask.

"Not quite. It was written ten years ago by one of his colleagues. It was recently recovered a few days ago from an old laboratory that was shut down." Mitsuru answered, not looking up.

"The idea makes sense to some degree, although its unsupported by anything besides pure hypothesis. It assumes a lot of things that we can't confirm or deny. I'm not sure if it's completely valid."

Mitsuru nodded. "Those were my thoughts as well. It matches what we know of the Shadows to some extent, but we can't say for sure."

"It also doesn't tell us anything about Apathy Syndrome or how the Dark Hour formed." Minato added.

"That's because the Dark Hour didn't exist at the time." Came the reply.

"I see. The theorem also mentions natural Shadows and manufactured Shadows. I assume that the Shadows we encounter are, in fact, manufactured?"

Mitsuru shook her head, her eyes not letting up from her own stack of papers. "We can't be certain, but as far as we know, Shadows cannot actually be artificially manufactured. They can be gathered and merged, however, if they are of a similar Arcana."

Which, to Minato, was further proof of the theorem's accuracy. Shadows bore remarkable similarities to Personae, such as the ability to fuse to form a single entity and its natural attraction to the human mind.

"It seems to me that the theory is sound, and is surprisingly backed up by Freud's psychodynamic approach as well, to some extent. Particularly the three-stage development of the human mind."

"The id, ego and superego?" Mitsuru finally looked up from her own sheaf, looking rather interested.

"Yes. It would explain Apathy Syndrome to some extent, as the superego of the majority may not be developed enough and thus cannot hold off the repressed desires of the shadow characteristics when a natural Shadow encounters its prey, and thus the id of the human mind is replaced by those of the Shadow."

"Which would be a form of apathy?" The redhead inferred, frowning. "It is strange though, considering the majority of people repress their want for something rather than their indifference to the world."

"On the contrary, humanity has become rather indifferent to the world as a whole." Minato argued. "Take a modern man driving to work in heavy traffic. If an accident occurs, it's almost certain that the most he will do is call an ambulance and then forget about the whole incident."

"Hmm." Mitsuru was deep in thought. "Has humanity really fallen so far?"

"Society has become more compartmentalized than before." Minato corrected her. "While we do care for the rights of others to some extent, we now rarely choose to become involved unless we are personally motivated to do so. The Bystander Effect at its finest."

"Which explains the repressed id of the collective human conscience being apathy." Mitsuru concluded, her eyes lighting up in understanding. "So the thesis does hold water."

"I would say so. It doesn't contradict any knowledge you have on the Shadows, does it?" Minato asked, more to avoid appearing too knowledgeable than actually needing the answer.

"No, it doesn't." Mitsuru said, before proceeding to jot down the main points of their conversation. "My thanks, Arisato. You've been a great help."

"Anytime, Kirijo-san."

While there wasn't anything left for him to help her with, he decided to keep her company while she studied the other stack of papers, which he learnt covered the fundamentals of actuarial science. By the time she was done with drafting both responses, it was nearing four in the morning and the chirping of an errant bird could be heard outside the window. He had stifled a few yawns, as had Mitsuru, but he wasn't too concerned with his own lack of sleep. That was what classes were there for, after all.

The tired redhead had graced him a grateful smile when they bid each other goodnight at the landing of the third floor as they separated.

When he entered his room, the first thing the blue-haired boy did was crash onto his bed, not having expected so much time to have passed.

It was so late that Minato had, with a long-suffering groan, almost forgotten to sneak back into the Command Room afterwards to fulfil his original goal of editing the feeds.

Almost.

-RRR-

A/N: Well, that's done. Not sure how I feel about the chapter. Seemed a little forced here and there at times. Do let me know. Nothing much to say this time around. Cheers.

Edit: It also occurred to me that not everyone might understand the terminology used during the Psychology scene. Here's the basic rundown of what these things are. While I have studied some Psychology, I'm unsure if it makes perfect sense. If anyone who knows the subject sees a major flaw, feel free to drop me a PM or something. I'm not trying to crowd you with random bits of knowledge, but the following explanation might be helpful if you wish to understand how it all works. It's not required to enjoy the story, but I may use the terms rather sparingly at a later point, so here it is.

SKIP TO THE NEXT CHAPTER IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED.

-Jungian Psychology (or Analytical Psychology) is what the entire game of Persona is based on. Personas (for these are not Personae), are pretty well explained in the game. They are the masks that every human being presents to the world. They generally serve a second purpose as well; protecting parts that we wish to protect.

-The id, ego, and superego originated from Freudian Psychology (or the Psychodynamic Approach). Generally, Sigmund Freud thought that the development of the mind centered around these three things. The id is the part of our mind that fuels our desire for something. It is effectively the the instinctual drive of the human mind. The ego is the rational part of our minds, and it mediates between our id and reality. It seeks to fulfil the desires of the id realistically in the long-term rather than just an instant gratification and tons of grief afterwards.

-The superego, however, is our conscience. It develops based on culture and the norms of society, and strives for perfection. It can also be said to be the inner critic that guilts and prohibits us from getting what we want versus what we should do in the eyes of society.

These are not entirely accurate nor complete, but they should serve as general guidelines of what they are. Jungian Psychology on the whole is much, much more, but these are explanations of the terms I used above.

Now, the theorem the scientist proposed isn't entirely explained because it would take up way too much time. Suffice to say, the theory enforces the belief that Personae are born from the facade its users use in day to day life. It also neatly coincides with the fact that Shadows devour the minds of their victims, and those unfortunate ones have their id, which represents our instincts and desires, replaced with the repressed collective conscience of humanity, ergo the Shadows. This perfectly explains Apathy Syndrome in P3, rather than death via antenna in P4.

Natural Persona users who have the potential all seem to have a great deal of conscience of what is acceptable and what isn't in society. Furthermore, they all have their ideals. Plus, it seems to me that the superego is the key to even having a facade in the first place. Thus, it's logical that the potential for having a Persona is based on having a developed superego.

Note that Persona 3 constantly uses the word 'potential', and not Personae, to describe someone who has a Persona. This is further supported by the fact that all the members of SEES require an Evoker to summon their Personae, while the members of the Investigation Team in P4 don't. The members of SEES have to effectively force out their Personae with the Evoker because they have not accepted every facet of themselves, which is a requirement. So the members of SEES all have the natural potential to summon a Personae, but they haven't completed the crucial step to summon them naturally. The Evoker bypasses this step. However, because of this, there is a probability of the Personae to go berserk, like with Shinji, and Hamuko, in this fic.

Now, entry to the Dark Hour is independent from having the potential. If it wasn't, everyone who enters the Dark Hour should have the potential. The game states this very clearly with Ikutsuki.

Strega, on the other hand, are Artificial Persona users. They do not have the same developed superego, and yet have a Persona forced out from them. Using Persona 4 as a reference, where Personae are formed from individual Shadows, this means that Strega are in fact forcing their Shadows out, not their Personae, as there is no superego to keep the id in check. It would explain them needing the Suppressants to keep their Personae from killing them.

While I realize Atlus may not have specifically stated such things, it goes hand-in-hand with what we have been given thus far. I think I'm reading them correctly. Then again... maybe they haven't put that much thought into it, and it just coincidentally fits so well. Who knows?

Myers, Berne, Erikson and Briggs are some people who followed up on Jungian Psychology. They aren't the most prominent, but they're some of the more well-known ones.

The Bystander Effect is a theory that has been proven to be true. Interestingly, it is also known as Bystander Apathy. When everything just fits so perfectly, how could I NOT implement it?

It is a social psychological phenomenon where individuals are less inclined to help a victim when there are other people present. There are many reasons for this. If you're interested, a quick Google-Wikipedia combo should explain it perfectly to you.

I hope you found my mini-lecture on Psychology and Persona Theory interesting enough. If you fell asleep in class, I'm sure you feel Great now.

So. Yeah. I'm worried I may be navel gazing. AKA filler flinging. It's not exactly fillers, because Persona just has a ridiculous amount of plot slammed into the first hour of the game, but I think it's getting ridiculous that I've written nearly 50,000 words and I'm still in that same hour, albeit drawing to the end of it. Once you get past the first hour, however, Persona only slips in a few plot points between full moons, while the major plot event happens then. However, the pacing and getting there is a problem, because unlike anime, books and movies where we only see the things they need us to see, Persona as a series fleshes out so much more by showing us the day-to-day activities of our characters. These stop being just the daily lives of the characters, and instead become major points for individual character development. Dropping them would be pretty disastrous as a whole.

The main reason I'm worried about navel gazing is because Minato has to do something new while Hamuko has to go through the motions of the game. That would stretch out the writing much longer than normal lengths. That's why I suppose I have to ask you guys to bear with the length. I'll try to complete the fic, but it's honestly looking to be really, REALLY long. I'm approximating around the million word mark, if this continues on.

Here's to hoping that I'll still manage to be entertaining and come up with decent banter and jokes that will entertain and amuse over the course of 20 times the fic's current length. This is also a really long edit, so I'm ending it right here. Cheers, everyone.