Akihiko And Shinjiro

Four Years Later

After four years of Mitsuru's training, Minato was nearing close to her skill. Of course, that had come from having intense training that made him nearly want to give up, making him never doubt her warning. But she would try to give him encouragement...in her own way but it was more like harshness in his eyes. So, now they were in the gym about to do his final lesson and that was a duel.

Mitsuru smiles, "Now for your final lesson...We shall duel." "Ah yes! It is about time for one!"

Minato looks at her confused that she just wanted to duel when they had throughout the years, "But we fought before? What's so different about this?" "I have a feeling that she's been holding back during our training..."

She nods, "You are correct, Aeolus. But that's not the only thing, we are not wearing our fencing outfits." "They shouldn't hurt that much. It is not like they are sharp."

He sighs knowing that this was going to be rough, "Alright then." He gets into the stance, "I am ready!" "Good luck kid!"

She smiles and gets into position too, "En garde!" "Be prepared!" Once Mitsuru says that, she rushes towards him and goes for the attack.

But when she does, he swiftly parries it, "Are you sure you're giving it your..."

That's when she instantly recovers and starts attacking him relentlessly instead of giving him time to recover like usual, "I don't lie Minato! When I say I'll give it my all! I mean it!" "Be a man! Fight with everything you got!"

It was a good thing that Mitsuru's training got him prepared for this, "Y-You weren't kidding!" He was able to dodge and parry most of it but she was starting to get too fast for him, "Alright! Alright! You win!" "Uh...I don't think that she's going to stop kid!"

"He's right! The shadows won't stop because you give up!" "There is no giving up in war! You'll just end up looking at death's door!"

"Fine then!" He then trips her and since she wasn't expecting him to trip him, she wasn't able to recover in time. He then stands over her and aims the end of the rapier to her throat, "I'm guessing you weren't expecting that?" "Uh...That glare can kill anyone..."

She was indeed glaring at him but then chuckles, "Even though I don't condone underhanded tactics...Shadows don't care about rules." "Well done Minato, when it comes to war, you have to do whatever you can to win."

He lets out a sigh of relief and helps her up, "That's good...I was expecting you to kill me..." "Don't give her the idea!"

She smiles, "It is perfectly fine, you were able to keep up with me at my best." "You are truly becoming a warrior now, Minato."

He smiles at her praise, "Well I'm glad that I get both of your praises and between your training and our persona training. I'm sure we will be no match for the shadows!" "I can't wait till we start fighting the shadows!"

She sighs, "Speaking of shadows...It's been four years and we haven't made any progress in finding more persona-users as well as not getting anywhere with the shadows." "I agree Aeolus, I want to go back into battle."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Mitsuru."

Mitsuru and Minato turn to the voice seeing Takeharu, "Oh father! What do you mean?" "It might mean that they could have found more persona-users!"

Takeharu gives them a small smile, "Yes Minato, they may have the potential. Their names are Akihiko Sanada and Shinjiro Aragaki."

Minato smiles, "Alright! So how do we find them?"

He chuckles, "That's another thing that I wanted to talk about. You two will be going to junior high school. Which they are at."

Minato smiles, "Really!? Alright!" "Junior High School? What is that?"

Mitsuru looks at her father in confusion about why they had to go to school instead of just bringing to this island, "Why do we have to school to recruit them? We are supposed to train them here, correct?" "I know of school but not of a Junior High School. Is it a smaller school?"

"Well I want you two to go out into the world because I want you two try and experience being teenagers." He was scared at first to let Mitsuru to go to public school but it felt wrong for him to keep them here, "You will be staying at a dorm in Iwatodai with Shuji. He is actually the Chairman of the School Board."

Minato groans internally not liking the idea that he had to live in the same building as Shuji, "Alright then."

Mitsuru nods, "Then when will we be leaving?"

Takeharu smiles, "You will be leaving in about a week. So, get your things pack and I will make sure your accommodations are well-suited for you."

"Thank you, Father." "Yeah, thanks, Takeharu!"

"You're welcome, you two." He then leaves.

Minato cheers when he leaves, "Alright! I get to go back to school!" "I would never had thought I would hear a child say that they would want to go back to school."

Mitsuru smiles, "It is nice to see how happy you are but I am glad that we might have found more persona-users." "Hmm, I wonder what their personas are like."

He sighs from her constantly thinking about shadows, "You have to take a break from thinking about our mission. It will just drive you up the wall." "He's right! I've seen it happen to a man's crew when they became greedy. It was disastrous."

Her smile quickly turns into a frown, "I told you this before. I will not rest till we finish this." She turns around, "I am going to go get packed. I will see you when we have our training tonight." She walks away

Minato groans forgetting that whenever he says that she thinks too much about shadows, she gets upset, "Well that was a failure...I just want her to see there's more than just trying to fight shadows." "It will be hard. She is one determined young lady." "Yeah...I just hope she becomes less determined..."

One Week Later

Iwatodai Dorms

Mitsuru and Minato were currently in the front of the dorm waiting for Shuji Ikutsuki, whom was making checking in for them.

Minato groans, "Man, where is he? It's been almost an hour." "It shouldn't take this long to check you guys' in."

"Yes...I didn't think it would take this long either." "I thought he was supposed to be Chairman? It would seem that he should automatically be able to check us in."

Minato looks up and down seeing how big the dorm is compared to the others, "I can't believe I missed this when I would walk down here..." "Well you were having some bad thoughts at the time, kid."

That's when they hear tires screeching and they look to see Shuji parking his bike, "I am sorry that I have stolen your time, I didn't mean to take it." Ikutsuki says, laughing at his own joke.

"I swear I'm going to kill him" Minato thinks, "I've had to hear it all day during the trip back on the boat!" "Maybe you can make it look like an accident..."

Mitsuru ignores his joke, "Can you please just open the door?" "This man is the most insufferable man I've ever heard..."

Shuji nods and unlocks the front door then gestures inside, "Please come in."

Once Minato walks in, he looks around, "Whoa...This place is pretty nice and kind of big!" "You can say that again! Who needs this much space!?"

"Yes, it is, I didn't expect it to be this big either." Mitsuru says amused. "I'd say...But it is fit for an Empress like you."

"Well, since we're planning to have more persona users, we need to accommodate for them. Now, your stuff is already in the room and here are your keys to your rooms." Shuji hands them their respective keys, "Mitsuru, your room is up on the third floor on the left side in the middle of the three doors and Minato yours is on the second floor at the end of the hallway to the left." They both nod and head to the staircase.

Minato sighs, "Why do I have the feeling he doesn't really care about us?" "I had that feeling as well. Like he's forcing this who joking and kindness thing."

"I don't know, I had rarely ever seen him even during my trips to Yakushima. This is the most I have ever seen him." "Well I think it is because your father and him are making progress since he found Minato."

"Maybe that's a good thing; I was ready to kill him on the boat with his terrible puns and jokes. I'm sure you would have killed him after just a few hours." "That is true. Maybe Minato is one of those special kids that brings everyone together.

Mitsuru nods because if that happened, she would have asked father if she could practice fencing on him, "Didn't he say that he likes puns and jokes when you first met him?" "I do not know...But Minato does seem like a people person."

"Yeah but I thought that was just a warning; like if I ever upset him, I would have to hear them for a whole day. I would rather get beat by my dad again." "Whoa there, kid! That is something that I don't agree with!"

Mitsuru glares at him, "That isn't something that you should be joking about." "I agree with Empress, abuse is no joke."

He chuckles, "Oh relax you two! I'm over it. Besides, if it didn't happen, I wouldn't be a persona-user and got the taste of the fancy life! Just got to look at the bright-side of things!"

Mitsuru sighs but then chuckles, "I guess you are correct."

They make it to the second floor which had a smaller set up of the living room on the other side, "Well, this is my stop; I'll see you on the fourth floor then." He heads to his room. "Laters, Penthesilea!"

Mitsuru nods and heads upstairs, "He is completely different from when I first met him." "It's like his father never even abused him." "Regardless, it will now be easier to recruit persona-users since he is able to talk to people easily."

Iwatodai Dorm, Command Room

Minato was standing outside the large double door leading to the room waiting for Mitsuru, "I wonder what's taking her so long?"

"Maybe trying to find the perfect outfit for you?"

One of Minato's eyebrow's goes up in confusion from what he said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, let me ask you this, do you think you could see Mitsuru in another light besides friendship?

"In another light? So, you mean..." His eyes go wide, "Oh...I-I'm not so sure about that..." He honestly didn't think about that.

"Well you should try think about it. You have known each other for about four years after all."

"Uh...Okay. I guess?" He starts thinking about it but then sees Mitsuru walk upstairs, "Oh, hey Mitsuru!"

Once she walks up the last step, she walks to him, "My apologies for making you wait. Apparently, my father thought I needed a living room as a dorm room." "I think it looks magnificent!"

"What!? All I got was a bed and a computer desk as furniture!" "Hey! Don't complain. You're staying in this big house and you're complaining about your room being basic!"

Mitsuru chuckles, "Well you aren't the one for fancy things anyways. But I don't understand why I would need a couch in my room. I have no reason to invite anyone to my room." "Now calm down Aeolus, I think his reasoning is reasonable."

They make it up the 4th floor and see Shuji standing in front of a bunch of monitors and a map of the whole city and Island. He turns to them when he hears them enter, "Ah, there you two are, this is the command room. This is where we'll be monitoring for shadow activities and where we'll be having our meetings."

Minato looks at the monitors, "So you have hidden cameras everywhere…are there any in this dorm?"

"Yes, but they are only activated when someone activates them. So that's why I'm locking the door, which is why only Mitsuru and I will have the keys to this room. Anyway, tomorrow you two will be starting school and do not worry, you will be in the same classes together."

Mitsuru nods, "Are we allowed to recruit Sanada and Aragaki right away?"

He shakes his head, "We don't want you two to cast any suspicion. So, you'll be like regular students till we deem that it will be safe to recruit. Which will be about a year."

She sighs because she has to wait longer to get more persona-users, "That seems reasonable..."

Shuji looks at her, "Don't worry, Mitsuru. We may have two more persona-users and that means we will be able to explore Tartarus."

Minato smiles at her, "See! So, I'm sure that will be worth the wait!"

She sighs but then smiles, "You are correct. Then let us hope that they do join us."

One Year Later

A teenage boy with short grey hair with bandages on his nose and above his eyebrow was walking through the hallway.

"Akihiko-senpai!" "Akihiko-kun!" A group of girls suddenly yell out to him

"Oh great…" The boy that was called Akihiko turns around and sees a group of girls walking to him. He then starts walking a little bit quicker but sees another group of girls walking to him, "Great...now, I'm trapped."

Minato laughs seeing the what was unfolding, "Well, looks like the boxing captain needs help. Just like we hoped." "I'm sure this is every guy's dream but he doesn't seem to care."

"It seems so. Then let us proceed with your plan then." "Maybe he's not into girls? Or maybe he's just dense?" "Remember, you are not to talk till they are recruited." "Yes, Empress."

"Let's go over it again, I'm going to pretend that I have an envelope of pictures of him in a locker room. Once they come to me, you convince him to join us by going after his love of training. You ready?" Once Mitsuru nods, he walks through the crowd of girls to get to the other side of the hallway. He stands on a table then takes out an envelope, "Attention girls! I have pictures of our star boxing captain Akihiko Sanada while he's in the locker room!" He yells out and to no one's surprise, all of the girls quickly spin around and rush Minato.

Once Mitsuru sees that the first part of the plan worked, she proceeds towards Akihiko, who had a confused look on his face from what had just transpired, "Akihiko Sanada, I presume?"

Akihiko turns to her now confused about her talking to him, "Uh, yeah, who's asking?"

"Mitsuru Kirijo." She looks over at Minato, "And he is Minato Arisato."

He looks behind him at Minato seeing him waving the envelope, "Does he really have pictures of me?"

"No." She decides to just get straight to the point, "Anyway, there's a reason for why we need to talk to you. Have you experienced an "other world" at midnight?"

His eyes going wide from shock, "How do you know that?"

She shakes her head, "Nevermind that, we have enemies that aren't human who need to be defeated, and we can use your skills since you won't be bound by rules against them. Not only that, this will make you even stronger."

At first, he looks at her confused but once she said that it will make him stronger, his eyes light up, "I'm in"

She was surprised from how easy it was, "Just like that? You're not going to question me?"

He nods, "From what you said, I can get stronger from fighting your 'enemies' and I won't be bound by rules, that's all I need to hear."

She smiles, "Well you're going to need this then" She hands him a small suitcase.

He grabs the suitcase and opens it revealing an evoker, "Why are you giving me a gun?"

"It technically isn't but you will need it to summon "something" that will help you fight them."

He smiles and closes the suitcase then lets it hang to his side, "I have a friend who experiences the "otherworld" as well."

"Good, go to the dorms and look for the tallest building, after you talk to your friend." Mitsuru looks behind him, "You better go, Minato just handed one of the girls the envelope."

Akihiko nods and quickly rushes around the corner. That's when Minato quickly walks up to Mitsuru, "Hey! So, were you able to recruit him?"

She nods, "Yes, even though it was oddly easy, I didn't even have to give him more reasons. Not only that, he has a friend who can help us too, it must be Shinjiro Aragaki."

"Well that's good...But I got to go just in case I get attacked! So, I'll see you at the dorm!" He quickly runs away just as the girls start looking at the pictures.

"What!? This isn't Akihiko! It's just a drawing of a stick figure that says it's Akihiko in the locker room!" All the girls groan.

Mitsuru chuckles hearing that, "Well technically, he isn't wrong." "Unfortunately, I don't think the girls feel the same way. But it was funny, nonetheless."

Hagakure Ramen

Akihiko and Shinjiro were sitting at a restaurant counter eating ramen. Shinjiro looks at Akihiko like he grew a second head after hearing what happened, "And you believe this shit that she was saying?"

"Yeah, why would she give me a gun with no clip in it? Besides, she knows about the 'otherworld'."

"Tch, you'll do anything if it involves becoming stronger, you need to let go of the past, that fire wasn't your fault."

"I know that Shinji but I need to get stronger to protect what's precious to me."

"You do realize that I don't need your protection, I can take of myself, and you're just using this obsession to training as a way to escape from your past."

Akihiko scoffs, "Whatever...So are you coming with me to the dorms?"

"You're actually going over then?" Shinjiro sighs, "Fine, I'll go with you but I still find this shit crazy though." They both pay for their meal and head to the dorm.

Iwatodai Dorm

The two teens make it to the dorm that Mitsuru described to Akihiko. Shinjiro looks up, "So, this is the place? What's the point of having something this big for two teenagers?"

Akihiko shrugs, "Maybe they have some lab that studies the 'otherworld'?"

Shinjiro shivers thinking about the place, "That place still gives me the creeps."

"Let's just knock on the door" Akihiko walks up the steps and knocks on the door.

The door soon opens and Minato appears with a smile seeing the two, "Hey guys! Come on in." They walk inside then he closes the door, "Name's Minato Arisato, nice to meet both of you."

Akihiko smiles, "Yeah, nice to meet you too." He nods towards Shinjiro, "This is a good friend of mine, Shinjiro Aragaki."

Shinjiro scoffs, "I can say my own name. Anyway, what's with this whole secretive shit? You're supposed to be some kind of secret organization?"

Minato laughs, "I guess you can say that, but if you two would follow me to the fourth floor. The Chairman can explain it to you more." They both nod and followed Minato to the fourth floor.

As they were going up, Akihiko forgot to thank him for getting him away from the girls, "By the way, thanks for your help with those girls."

he looks back at Akihiko, "So, are you always surrounded by girls?

He groans, "I don't know why they're always bothering me. Ever since I became a captain, the always been around me. It's annoying."

Shinjiro shakes his head, "You really attract the weird ones, Aki."

He chuckles, "That's probably why we're friends, Shinji."

Minato smiles guessing that they must have been friends for a long time hearing their nicknames for each other, "So, how long have you two known each other, if you don't mind me asking?"

Akihiko smiles, "We've been friends since we were kids, we met at an orphanage."

"So, they're both orphans, it's good that they found friendship there though." Minato thinks

They soon make it to the fourth floor and precede into the command room, Mitsuru was sitting on the sofa while Ikutsuki was on the sofa chair, talking.

Shuji smiles seeing the two new recruits, "Ah, there you three are, come and sit down." Minato sits next to Mitsuru while Akihiko and Shinjiro sit on the couch on the opposite side, "So, you must be Akihiko Sanada and Shinjiro Aragaki, I presume?"

Akihiko nods but Shinjiro eyes them suspiciously, "First off, how in the hell did you even know we experience that world?"

Shuji nods, "He then tells them about the Dark Hour and Tartarus. Explaining that it was Mitsuru's grandfather that was the cause of it. That's why they needed more users.

Minato looks at her in pity seeing her look down in sadness knowing that it was affecting her, "Mitsuru..."

Akihiko had a confused look on his face, "So the Kirijo group was the cause of the Dark Hour and the reason for the tower is because the lab was at the High School?"

Shuji nods, "Yes, that is correct"

"And we just have to beat those twelve shadows then? Sounds easy."

Shinjiro wasn't as enthralled, "So we're just going to be fixing a family's dumbass curiosity?"

Shuji looks at him, "Unfortunately, that is correct as well. Though it seems like you don't want to be a part of this"

"We need more people, Chairman" Mitsuru says.

Shinjiro shrugs, "If what you said is true about this whole persona thing and that it could destroy this world. Then I shouldn't waste this power then, I guess I'm in."

Shuji hands him a case just like Ahihiko, "Then you'll need this."

He looks at it and then opens the case, "This is the same type of gun you gave to Aki."

Mitsuru nods, "Yes, it's called an evoker, you'll use it to summon your persona."

He looks at her, "So we're just supposed to shoot yourself in the head? What kind of crap is that?"

Shuji looks at him, "To summon a persona, you will need to be in extreme stress. So, I'll ask you this, have you ever tried to kill yourself?"

He looks at him in shock from how he says that bluntly, "Hell no! Why the hell would I want to do that!?"

"Exactly. If you have a gun pointed at your head and you don't want to die. You will be under extreme stress."

Shinjiro shakes his head not believe what he was hearing, "This sounds like some kind of occult shit..."

Minato nods, "Honestly I would have thought the same if I heard it now but it's true." He looks at his watch and it's an hour till midnight, "Well I guess we'll show you at midnight."

Shuji nods towards him, "Then would you kindly show them to their rooms." He takes out two room keys.

He nods and grabs the keys from him then looks at the other two, "So, you guys ready?" They nod and they head downstairs.

An Hour Later

Command Room, Dark Hour

Minato and Misuru were waiting for the other two with Shuji.

Minato looks over at her, "So what do you think of them?"

Mitsuru holds her chin, "Akihiko already sounds like a good asset since just wants to fight. But Shinjiro sounds like a he will walk away when he finds something he doesn't like, which could be bad."

He nods, "That's does sound about right. I think they're pretty cool, maybe I should start training with Akihiko. Make sure that I'm in top shape."

Her face turns into confusion, "We train already. Do you need more training that doesn't work with what we do?"

"Well we don't really do cardio. I mean, yeah, we dodge our persona attacks and we do train but that's about it."

"Hmm, that is true. Then I agree, you should train with him then."

"Well why don't you join us then?"

She shakes her head, "I think what we are doing now is sufficient enough."

He nods even though he would have liked her to come along, "I kind of hoped you would like to come along..."

Soon, Akihiko and Shinjiro come into the room, Shuji looks over at Minato and Mitsuru, "Alright you two, summon your personas." He says getting straight to the point.

Mitsuru and Minato get up then put their evokers to their and then head pulls the trigger and the two newcomers see glass shatter from the other side of their heads and that's when they see Penthesilea and Aeolus appear behind them.

Aeolus waves, "Hey! How's it going?"

Penthesilea bows, "It is a pleasure to meet both of you."

Both Akihiko and Shinjiro look at the both of the personas with their eyes wide, "What the hell!?" "So, you three weren't bullshitting..."

Minato laughs, "Yeah that was what we were expecting your reactions to be." "Well, we could have told you earlier but we weren't allowed to!"

Mitsuru nods, "We had to make sure that we don't frighten you when you hear a voice in our heads." "It was a lot harder than I had anticipated..."

Akihiko shakes his head out of the shock, "Okay...If they can talk then why don't we hear ours talk?"

Minato shrugs, "I'm not sure maybe because you haven't awakened to them?"

Shinjiro also shakes his out of shock, "Alright! How did you two even know that you were persona-users if you were the first ones!?"

Mitsuru sighs, "Ours were summoned when we were under a lot of stress...I'll leave it at that." "Empress..."

"Nevermind that." Shuji looks at the close friends, "Now will you two try to summon yours?"

Akihiko nods and grabs his evoker then points it at his but what was surprising to him was that his hand was shaking. He then takes a deep breath and thinks about seeing the orphanage burning and everyone stopping him from rushing in and trying to save his little sister. That's when a calmness surrounds him and then his eyes start glowing and he hears a voice in his head.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh for I am Polydeuces, Denizen of Mount Olympus!

That's when he pulls the trigger and glass shatters like the other two and a giant muscular man in a silver outfit and a vest appears behind him, "Greetings to the four of you, I am Polydeuces. I hope that we can start training as soon as possible."

Shinjiro shakes his head hearing Polydeuces, "You're so addicted to training that even your persona is obsessed with it. But I guess it's my turn then?" Seeing how easy was for his friend, he takes out his evoker and aims it at his head but he didn't feel calmness it was more like rage was surrounding him making him clench his teeth in pain.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh for I am Castor, Denizen of Hades!"

But once Shinjiro pulls the trigger and the glass breaks, he drops the evoker and holds his head in pain and a giant floating black horse with a man that looked like Polydeuces riding it with a cannon coming out of his torso, "I am reborn..." He then sees his brother, "You...You took your father's offer and left me to Hades!" He roars. That's when Shinjiro screams out in pain holding his head because of Castor's outburst.

Akihiko ran up to him "Shinji! Hey man, you alright?" "B-Brother...!"

Shinjiro got up still holding his head, "I'm fine...my head feels like it's going to split open though." Castor calms down when he sees his summoner was in pain, "I am sorry sir...But it pains me to see my disgraceful brother reborn as well..."

Minato looks at Mitsuru in worriment, "This didn't happen to us or Akihiko." "It looks like he's filled with rage."

"Yes, it looks like he has trouble controlling his persona." "Based off of what he said, they're brothers and Polydeuces left him in Hades while he became stayed in Mount Olympus. So that is what seems to be the cause..."

Shuji walks up to Shinjiro, "You should go get some rest and if it gets worst tomorrow. Come and see me."

Akihiko puts Shinjiro's arm around his shoulder which earns him a glare, "I know you don't like help but you can't even walk." "I'm sorry brother..."

Shinjiro scoffs, "Whatever..." "Do not dare call me brother..."

Once they both leave, Shuji looks at them, "We are going to monitor Shinjiro and if things get worst. Then we'll have to look for another user.

Minato sighs, "That's good, I was hoping that you would say that." "I just hope nothing bad happens..." "Don't say that!"

[End Notes: So, in Polydeuces' and Castor's mythology, they are brothers. But when Castor dies, Polydeuces father was Zeus so he offers him a choice to either stay in Mount Olympus forever or give up half is immortality to his brother so they can live together. In it, Polydeuces chooses to share is immortality but in this story, he chooses the opposite. So. his brother was stuck in Hades and tormented. Hence why, when Shinjiro summons Castor. He experiences pain but it goes even further when Castor goes into rage. Oh and one more thing, only people that are in the Dark Hour or have the potential can hear personas. So that's why Shuji and Takeharu can't hear them outside the Dark Hour.]