(March 31, 2010)
It was a sunny day, fitting for a day in the middle of spring break. Many students were wandering about the streets of Tatsumi Port Island and the city of Iwatodai, enjoying the break before the next term of schooling began. Iori Junpei looked up at the clear blue sky with a soft sigh, adjusting the baseball cap he always wore. "Hard to believe it's almost been a month already ..." He muttered to himself, getting off of the quick trolley that had taken him to Paulwiona Mall. "Heh, Luna-tan and I were looking forward to this, but ..."

Junpei shook his head, trying not to think about it. Had it already been that long since they had lost her? Tsukio Hamuko had passed away on March 5th, and nobody could figure out exactly why. It had hurt just about everyone in S.E.E.S, with some of them taking it especially hard. "Maybe if we knew what exactly made her go, the rest of us would probably be okay enough to move on." Muttering that to himself again, Junpei shook his head and kept walking, trying to focus on something happier. Like that he was going to pick up a new game.

Reaching the gaming store, however, Junpei paused. Standing outside of the store, staring at a poster … Wait, was that …? "Yuka-tan?!" He called out, jogging towards the store. The person he was calling to seemed to jump a bit, turning around to reveal a pink sweater with skinny jeans and boots. Yes, it was Yukari, and she seemed quite embarrassed. "What're you doing out here?"

"W -well ..." Yukari blushed a bit, hazel eyes glancing aside. "I remember you and Hamuko-chan were talking about some sort of Pocket Monsters game coming out a couple weeks ago, but with her gone ..." A sad smile crossed the girl's face. "Well, I figured I'd get it for her instead; it wouldn't be fair to just let it go to waste … even if I haven't played since Yellow version due to that being a gift from Daddy."

Junpei let out a chuckle at that. "Hehe, I wondered why that was the one thing you'd never tease me an' Luna-tan about~" Nodding, Junpei looked up at the store. "Well, the games themselves came out last year for us, but Luna-tan saw how bad my English grades were getting, so she suggested getting the games in English. Both to practice conversational English and stuff without me falling asleep, but well? Also as a reward for getting the Shadows taken care of."

"Hehe, you two were such dorks." Yukari let out a quiet laugh at that, shaking her head. "But that sounds like Hamuko-chan's type of logic. And … well?" The brunet girl gave a small laugh, "my English could always use some work too, so it's a good plan."

"Well, I got both of the games; was gonna give her Soul Silver for her birthday, so you should probably focus on getting the system yourself. With the paychecks we were getting from taking care of the Shadows, it won't be too pricey at all." Looking in the window, Junpei gave a nod. "Seems rather empty, so I wouldn't worry about getting stared at." Straightening a bit, he nodded and shifted his hat a bit. "Don't forget, Mitsuru-senpai wanted us to all meet up at the dorm later on tonight for some reason."

"Oh yeah!" Yukari gave a nod. "I told my friends I'd be at cram school, so they can't pull me away. What do you think it's about? She was rather vague on the phone."

"Got me." Shrugging, Junpei pushed open the door to let Yukari in first. "But did you hear? Ekoda-sensei got canned!"

"Oh yeah! I heard about that!" Yukari gave a nod as she stepped inside. "Apparently stuff went down with Hasegawa-chan in January, and on top of the stunt he pulled with Fuuka-chan last year, the principal decided his track record wasn't shaping up to good, so he was let go after finals this year." Twiddling with her hair a bit as she looked around the store, Yukari nodded. "I wonder who'll be filling in for the classic literature teacher after spring break then..."

"They've gotta be better than Ekoda-sensei was. I don't think it's possible to be worse." Junpei gave a quiet groan as he headed up to the counter. Yukari gave a fellow groan in agreement, looking at the handheld system that was needed.

'Oh dear, so many color choices; we're gonna be here a while …' Yukari sighed internally. 'it's not like I can get one to go with every outfit I have …'

(Dorm, Afternoon)
Mitsuru sighed as she hung up her phone, disappointed. She had been trying for the past half hour to get a hold of Akihiko, to no avail. The heiress was all but certain that he was ignoring her, but this wasn't exactly something any of them could put off. "I'd rather not have to go and drag him here ..." Sighing as she picked up her cell phone again, she began checking the messages after seeing a notice. A text from Yukari; she and Junpei would be at the dorms in a few moments.

Relieved – at least that was something – Mitsuru stowed her phone away after sending Yukari a quick message of 'I'll see you two then'. Drawing a deep breath, the heiress stepped out of her room, looking down the hallway. It felt so odd, having to leave this dorm after so many years; graduation meant she couldn't stay here, and with S.E.E.S disbanding, the others would be out of place for a few weeks while the dorm was gutted and cleared out of all the equipment, so the general public could use it as well.

Shaking her head as the thought passed, she sighed and headed up the stairs to the fourth floor, a small sense of nostalgia hitting her as she realized this would be the last time she ever made such a trip. '… I never thought I would miss it.' Giving a bitter smile as she shook her head, Mitsuru paused outside of the large double doors for a moment before stepping inside.

"Oh! Mitsuru-senpai!" the call of her name made Mitsuru look up, smiling softly. Fuuka, Ken, and Koromaru were already there, all of them waiting for the rest. Fuuka was smiling softly, sitting in one of the chairs with her laptop on her knees. "Shinjiro-senpai called me a moment ago; he's on his way back from the hospital and should be here soon."

Mitsuru gave a relieved sigh at that; everyone in S.E.E.S had been shocked to see the brunet male awake on Graduation Day. A later call to the hospital revealed that he had been awake since the first day of February, stubbornly terrorizing the staff as he recovered slowly from being shot with a weapon that should have blown him in half back in October. His left wrist had also been damaged, and the bones hadn't set right in his coma; he had left earlier in the day to get it checked out.

"That shall be a relief; I want to make sure the uniform I ordered him fits correctly." Brushing her bangs out of her face as she spoke, Mitsuru chuckled at the sight of the confused looks she was getting. "He has to repeat his senior year due to his absences, and the uniform he used to wear is much too small now."

"I wonder if he'll be more willing to attend this year." Ken spoke up, his voice quiet as he started scratching Koromaru behind the ears. "Hamuko-san isn't here anymore to keep him from skipping, after all."

At the mention of the name, the room fell silent, Mitsuru chewing on her lip. Hamuko had been a sore spot for everyone ever since her death, and for a good reason; it had come out of absolutely nowhere, and the other members of S.E.E.S had barely regained their memories in time to get up to the roof and say goodbye to her as the pink-haired girl had rested in Shinjiro's arms, Aigis nearby.

Sighing as she shook her head, Mitsuru paused as the door opened once again. Turning, she relaxed to see Aigis entering, caring an Evoker in her hands. The blonde robot seemed just as subdued, but she gave everyone a soft smile at the same time. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to find it again." She explained, holding up the Evoker. "It was hers, after all. I wanted to keep a hold on it for safe keeping."

"Hamuko-chan's Evoker ..." Fuuka gave a sad smile, looking the worn metal over with her teal eyes as Aigis set it down on the table in the middle of the room. "I was thinking we would have it buried with her, somehow."

"That would have caused too much trouble when it came to the funeral home." Mitsuru gave a sad smile herself. "Besides, it would be best if they were kept somewhere safe and hidden. I'll have to get on Akihiko's case about it if he doesn't show up sooner or later." Sighing in annoyance, she tugged on the curl that kept falling over her left shoulder. "I already have Shinjiro's Evoker in storage, so he's more coming for the party than anything."

At that moment, the sound of footsteps coming made everyone turn to the doors again. A pair of voices could be heard – meaning that it was most likely Yukari and Junpei- could be heard, steadily coming closer.

"A Hinoarashi? Really?" Junpei seemed surprised about something.

"Oh hush, I thought it was cute." Yukari huffed back, although she didn't sound as upset as she could have been. "You're the one who named your Chicorita after you girlfriend, after all."

"H-Hey!"

Puzzled, Mitsuru opened the door, and blinked when she saw what lay beyond the door as Yukari and Junpei both seemed to jump a bit. Both of the juniors held game systems in their hands – Junpei's was a slick onyx color with a pair of dragons on the front, while Yukari's was pale pink – and seemed to be heatedly discussing something that was going on within the systems.

Judging from the music playing, it was Pocket Monsters.

Mitsuru arched an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting.

"Uhh … hi." Yukari gave a weak laugh as she closed the system up, sticking it into her purse. "Sorry we're late, but ah ..."

"It's alright." Mitsuru nodded, eyes soft. "I'm just glad you two were coming at all; Akihiko's refusing to pick up his phone again ..."

"Damn." Junpei let out an agreeing sigh, closing his gaming system as well. "What about Shinjiro-senpai? Is he gonna be making it here?"

"Yes, actually." Nodding, the redhead stood aside to let the two juniors into the meeting room. "He just went to the hospital to see about getting his wrist set; Yamagishi got a call from him a few moments ago saying that he'd be heading here shortly. I've already ordered dinner for us all, seeing as how it would be unfair of me to assume he can cook without hearing the verdict from the doctors."

"Makes sense; it looked pretty bad at graduation ..." Yukari sighed as she walked into the room, sitting down. Her hazel eyes turned to the table, blinking. "... Why are all the Evokers …?"

"Since the Dark Hour is gone, there is no need for us to use our Personas." Aigis spoke up, her voice soft. "Therefore … it is best to put the Evokers storage where I can watch after them and make sure there are no attempts to steal them."

"Hehe, Aigis, how're you going to look after them from school?" Junpei asked as he sat down as well, adjusting his cap. Aigis's blue eyes dulled, and she stared at the ground instead of replying. "... Aigis?"

"... Aigis won't be returning to Gekkoukan next month." Mitsuru sighed, arms crossing over her chest as she counted the Evokers laid out; like she had thought, now they were only missing the two from Junpei and Yukari along with Akihiko's. It would be simple enough for the other two to give her theirs later on in the evening, but Akihiko was a concern. She knew the silver-haired man was on the emotional side, and while the Evokers were harmless for the most part, she had made them in that shape to get his attention, so who knew what would happen …

At that thought, Mitsuru blinked and glanced at Ken. The grade schooler had been quiet the entire time, hugging his knees to his chest as he stared at seemingly nothing. Koromaru sat next to him, concern in the albino dog's eyes as he tried to nudge a pet or two out of the brunet boy. His quiet was disconcerting; the last time Mitsuru recalled Ken being this quiet was right before October Fourth … Letting the rest of the juniors talk to Aigis about her choice, the redhead walked over to the youngest member of the group.

"... Is something wrong, Ken-san?" She asked quietly, kneeling in front of him. Ken seemed to blink a bit, as if coming out of a trance, before looking at Mitsuru. There was something … odd … in his hazel eyes, but Mitsuru couldn't quite tell what at this point.

"... Nothing, really." Ken's voice was quiet. "I guess I'm just wondering where I'll be going after today; Mom's family doesn't want anything to do with me, really." The redhead felt a pang of sympathy at that; SEES had all but become the boy's family, and now they were splitting up …

"What about your father's family?"

"Never met him." Ken admitted after a moment, sighing. "Mom didn't keep a lot of pictures of him around either that I can remember … IT was just her and me for the most part."

"I see." Sighing, Mitsuru put a hand on top of Ken's head. "... Well, until things get sorted out, I'm sure I can have a spare room set aside for you." Ken seemed to smile at that, nodding in agreement, but fell quiet once again. Koromaru whined at him for a moment before perking his head up, having heard something. A second later, the white dog was racing down the stairs, barking the whole way.

"... I guess Shinjiro-senpai's here, then." Yukari commented after a moment, laughing. "Koro-chan seemed too excited for it to be anyone else." The rest of the juniors gave noises of agreement, and began to walk downstairs after the dog. Mitsuru stood up at that, giving Ken a worried look; the boy had flinched when Yukari had said the male senior's name. Eyes softening, she put another hand on Ken's shoulder.

"... He's not mad at you, Ken-san." She reassured the child as he looked up at her. "I don't think he ever was." Seeing that it wasn't helping him too much, the redhead sighed and offered him her hand. "Here; I'll stay beside you if that'll give you any comfort."

"Okay." Ken gave a nod after a long moment, standing up and clinging to Mitsuru's arm as she headed down the stairs as well. Even though he did his best to hide it, she could feel the tremors of nervousness in his small body, and it was painful to look at. He'd acted like this around Hamuko for weeks after October Fourth too … Sighing a bit, the redhead walked downstairs, smiling a bit at the sight of Shinjiro talking with the juniors, holding Koromaru while the dog licked his cheek.

He seemed … well, to Mitsuru's eyes, he seemed more like what she remembered from her first meeting with him their last year of middle school. The exhaustion and anger that had been inside of him the past couple of years was gone, replaced by a sort of warm, if still distant, kindness, one that was still a touch offset by his gruff way of speaking. And was his hair longer …? Her thoughts were cut off as Shinjiro spotted her.

"Ah, hey Mitsuru." He gave a nod, a wry grin on his face. "Turns out that I really got my wrist screwed up; can't do much more than cook with it." As he spoke, he held up his left arm. A plain black and grey brace now covered his wrist and palm, keeping it relatively immobile. "They're saying I'm just lucky it wasn't my dominant hand."

"I agree with them." Nodding a bit, Mitsuru walked closer, sighing when she felt Ken let go of her hand to linger behind. "But the new uniform I ordered is here; I'd like you to try it on at some point this evening to make sure it fits right."

"Fine, Fine …" the brunet chuckled a bit, seeing the looks everyone else was sending him. "What?" He asked after a moment. "When you're stuck in the boundary of life and death for a half a year on top of having a shit attendance record, you kinda have to repeat a year of school. You guys are stuck with me for senior year."

Mitsuru's question about what he meant by stuck in limbo was drowned out by Junpei's anguished screaming, and Shinjiro's replying laugh at the noise. Sighing, the redhead settled for chuckling as she made a mental note to hear Shinjiro's story at a later point in time. Being stuck in a border between living and dying wasn't exactly a common occurrence. "Don't worry, he's nowhere near as adamant about maintaining your grades as I am." She added once Junpei's mutters of 'why, oh dear lord why' had ceased. "... As long as it's not home economics class; I have a few horror stories from first year home economics class with him."

"So I stopped you from nearly blowing a hole in the classroom wall. You'll get over it." Shinjiro countered, setting Koromaru down on the ground. "I'll go try on the uniform then, so it's done and out of the way." Pausing, he gave Mitsuru another look as he headed towards the stairs. "Any luck getting a hold of Aki?"

"... Unfortunately, no ..." The redhead let out a sigh, looking down. Shinjiro grimaced at that, muttering something inaudible as he headed up the stairs. Ken moved past him in record time, earning a confused and worried look from the elder brunet. Shinjiro kept his mouth shut, however, and continued walking up the stairs to the second floor.

"He's … oddly calm." Yukari commented after a moment. "Like … I don't even feel that I'm talking to the same person anymore."

"Shinjiro was like that in middle school, actually." Mitsuru admitted, eyes soft. "it's a great relief to see him like that once again."

"If we all get into the same class I'm going to laugh so damn hard ..." Junpei admitted after a moment, making Aigis look aside. The robot didn't comment though, and Mitsuru just shook her head. "In the meantime, when's the food going to be getting here?"

"In about twenty minutes." She added, eyes soft. "Take time to relax, but if you two could kindly go and fetch the Evokers for me at some point tonight, that will be a great help." Yukari let out an affirmative noise and darted up the stairs to do so, whereas Fuuka challenged Junpei to some sort of game with the system hooked up to the dorm's main television. The dark haired male agreed, and the two went over to the main part of the lounge. Ken followed them after a moment, whereas Koromaru whined and darted towards the stairs and hopped up them; he most likely missed Shinjiro.

Aigis, however, stood there. "Is something wrong?" Mitsuru asked her, making the robot look up.

"Ah, no ..." She smiled. "I'm just turning on my recording devices so I can reflect upon my last day with my friends while I am in storage." Giving a small nod, Mitsuru reached out and let a hand rest on her shoulder before going to watch Junpei and Fuuka play their game; it was fairly entertaining to watch, and even Ken had wandered over to go sit and observe.

Smiling a bit, Aigis let her eyes slip shut as she called up her programming.

…

[Observation Protocol Engaged.

Storage space for memory, 50%.

Enough room is available to record events for download to a separate software at a later date.

Beginning recording.]

(Aigis's PoV)

It is … strange. I haven't used this protocol since my days in the laboratory with my sisters. It was always useful to have engaged during training sessions, at least. But … I don't want to forget this time with everyone, or almost everyone. I don't know if Akihiko-senpai will show up, or if he'll still refuse to join us … He took losing Hamuko-san so hard.

That's inaccurate; we all took losing her hard, and it was a tough adjustment. I've gotten so used to waking her up for school that I still stop by her room in the morning … She looked so tired on the Fifth, I couldn't help but worry that something was wrong … She just smiled at me like she always did, even as she kept tripping on our way up to the roof. It got so bad that I had to carry here there after a certain distance, and she just felt so light.

I wasn't expecting Shinjiro-senpai to be there waiting for us, either. How he managed to sneak out of the hospital, I don't know, but he was there, and Hamuko-san was so happy to see him … I let him hold her until she fell asleep, and I sat next to them and listened for our friends to arrive. The only thing he said that stood out to me was what he said to her right at the end.

"I'm glad I met you."

I almost wondered what he meant … but at that point our friends had arrived, and Hamuko-san was gone.

I sighed again, shaking my head as I decided to head upstairs for a bit; Junpei-san's shouting seemed to indicate that he was losing already, and I wanted to do one last go-around of Hamuko-san's room. However, I was distracted on the second floor by Koromaru's barking.

"Yeah, yeah, I know; ain't the regulation undershirt, but dammit Koro, getting that shit on over a brace is hard." Shinjiro-senpai was talking to Koromaru-san, and … I don't know what came over me, but I headed towards his bedroom door. He had left it open a crack, and there was a soft light coming from in there … Keeping as quiet as I could, I poked my head in … and froze.

His back was turned to me at first, and Koromaru was seated on his bed, so I wasn't in his immediate line of sight either. What I was seeing though … I think I understand why Hamuko-san stared at him all the time. I do not know how he managed it with being comatose for four months, but Shinjiro-senpai is distractingly attractive when one pays attention.

Or perhaps the fact that he was shirtless was addling my thought process. I can't tell.

He was actually trying on the uniform like Mitsuru-senpai had requested of him, judging by the slacks. The button down shirt had been discarded however, but from his prior statement, the buttoned sleeves weren't easy to pull on over his injured wrist. That left his torso bare, and I could see several scars across his back … including one the size of my hand, left over from where he had been shot protecting Ken-kun. The doctors had said that was one scar that would remain for his life, due to the sheer size of it.

I couldn't see his face clearly, but he turned to one side a fraction to pull on a black shirt, one that didn't help my situation any as it proved to be one of those skin-tight ones. He grumbled something about static electricity, and pulled his hair back into a loose pony tail … and exposed a scar that ran along the entire circumference of his neck from what I could tell. It looked raw, but he didn't seem bothered by it too much. "Dammit, I wonder if I should bandage this up so people don't sta … Aigis?"

He had noticed me at that point, turning around to stare at me fully. I was aware of my systems heating up in what felt like it should have been a blush, and he seemed equally embarrassed.

"I … I'm sorry." I looked down after a moment, focusing on the rather plain floor of his room. "I just heard you speaking with Koromaru-san, and I was curious..."

"Ah." Was his response, rubbing the scar around his neck – it really did circle the whole thing – as he looked away as well. I focused on it again, and my mouth worked before my processors could stop it.

"What happened to your neck, Senpai …?"

"First off, I'm repeating senior year." He chuckled. "No need to call me 'senpai' anymore." After I gave him a nod, Shinjiro-san put his hand to his neck again. "As for this? Got it from a bad run-in with the Reaper when Aki and I were first starting out. Looks worse than it feels, really, but I started wearing that turtleneck to keep people from staring like it was a fuckin suicide attempt."

"I see ..." My brain called up an old piece of information, and I gave him a shaky smile. "... Hamuko-san had something planned for you for Christmas, I believe." I spoke up, trying to give him a soft smile. "I was planning on going around her bedroom one last time … Do you want me to find it for you?"

Shinjiro-san winced at that, making me feel bad for bringing it up. They did seem genuinely happy when they spent time together, and when things had gone so wrong they couldn't spend their one Christmas together ... "I'm sorry … that was insensitive." My voice dropped as I spoke, sighing.

".. Don't feel bad." Shinjiro-san shook his head at that. "No use dwelling on the past, especially if it's recent enough to be that fuckin painful. Sides, she'd kick my ass if she knew I was moping about again." At that, he gave a weak laugh, shaking his head once more. "Just didn't expect the goof to get me anything for Christmas, really."

"O-oh ..." I gave a nod after a moment, not knowing how to respond.

Shinjiro-san … is odd. Even though he was just as upset as the rest of us were at losing Hamuko-san, he didn't linger on it for too long aside from her funeral. For the most part, he seemed to focus on the rest of us, making sure we were keeping ourselves going … even if Ken-kun avoids him as much as possible. Between that, and his frequent visits to the hospital to help make sure his body isn't in any more danger of poisoning from the suppressants, I am still somewhat amazed he didn't have a mental meltdown at all. He just … kept on living. To be fair, he had spent the most time talking with Hamuko-san's grave, but he never seemed to mourn her … at least not in public.

It's almost as if he had an epiphany while comatose.

"But yeah, I'd like to see what she got me." Shinjiro-san's comment made me break out of my mild trance again, looking at him as he pulled on the uniform blazer. "So fuckin glad these things unzip ..." He muttered as he attended to the left sleeve, loosening it. "The doctors had to re-break my wrist and then set it again it was so fucked up, which is why it took me so damn long to get here despite going in so early in the morning. They had me under enough anesthetic to drop a horse." He explained as he walked towards me, seeing my confused look. "Whatever fuckin gun that shitstain had, I hope it got confiscated."

At that, my memory scanners went searching; they pulled up a memory of the gun for the 'shitstain' in question, and once they had, began searching for an image to match it. I was alarmed at how fast it was as we headed up the stairs. "... According to my databanks, Takaya had what is known as a Smith and Wesson 500."

"... Okay, stop right there, that alone is a fuckin bad sign; that company makes a ton of hunting guns from what I heard on the streets." Shinjiro-san's face turned agitated, and I was surprised to realize his eyes were gray, not brown like I had originally assumed. Then again, it was hard to tell with his hat on … "But that explains why I fuckin dropped after one shot from the thing."

After a quick mental reading of the specs, I understood his sentiments all too clearly. "Yes, it does." I nodded as we reached the third floor. "If I had realized it was so dangerous, I would have confiscated it posthaste."

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty. Don't beat yourself up too much." Shinjiro-san let out a chuckle at that, shaking his head. I didn't say too much, but part of that was due to us reaching Hamuko-san's room. "... Haven't been in here since the typhoon, actually. Since she was an idiot and got herself sick." He gave a laugh. "The idiot had told me a few days beforehand that she … well, that she wanted me to stay around her. I was doin just that, even if she made the funniest face when I wound up having to feed her soup because she was so damn sick."

The way he called her an idiot … I don't know why, but the affection behind it made me smile a bit. It wasn't the same tone he took on when he was referring to Akihiko-senpai as an idiot, at least, and I could see the smile on his face. I … really wish they had gotten more time together, but like he had said, hindsight – whatever that was – was twenty-twenty.

After a moment, we both entered the room; everything … felt so barren. Most of her things had been taken and put into storage by Mitsuru-senpai at her house, finding it cruel to just throw it out. And Hamuko-san had no family left, so there was nobody else to give it to … Thankfully, the decently sized package that had Shinjiro-san's name on it was left out as I stopped, looking around. It just felt wrong leaving it empty like this, but Mitsuru-senpai had said that her room in particular would be well maintained, even if nobody ever took up residence in this room again.

"Hehe … that sap." Shinjiro-san's comment made me turn, and I blinked; he was holding up the gift Hamuko-san had made for him. It was a scarf; simple, deep red like his old coat, and I think I saw black birds on the ends of them. "Shouldn't have told her I like ravens so much ..." Even as he said that, he was wrapping the scarf around his neck, fingers gripping it like he never planned on letting it go. "Ah, she used the soft wool too … That girl was too damn good for me."

Something in me stirred at that, right from the Papillon Heart that gave me life. I … wanted to shake him, to tell him he was being stubborn and thinking lower of himself than he should be. None of that came out though, just a simple compliment. "It suits you well. I'm sure Hamuko-san put all her hard work and love into it for you."

"Yeah. I know ..." Shinjiro-san let out a sigh, holding some of the scarf up over his face. "Heh … Nice and soft. I wonder what all she used to make this ..."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. He seemed to scowl and blush at my observation, but he didn't pull the scarf away from his face right away. I do not know if he had no shame – highly probably – or if he simply didn't care what I thought of him – which was equally probable, too.

"Heh … Guess I should go show Mitsuru, eh?" He stated after a long moment. "The uniform, I mean; she can gripe at me all she wants about the missing undershirt, but I wasn't getting it on over the brace." Holding up his wrist again, he gave me a wry grin that was somewhere between amused and annoyed. I nodded in response to his question, walking with him down the stairs.

Mitsuru-senpai didn't have any objections about the uniform, impressively enough, and she complimented the handiwork of Hamuko-san's scarf. I suspect she knew why Shinjiro-san was wearing it, otherwise I'm certain she would have asked to have viewed it up close. Yukari-san and Fuuka-san couldn't stop staring either, but I suspect it was for the same reason I found myself staring earlier.

Hamuko-san was very smart to approach him first …

I'm sorry, I should stop lingering on that, shouldn't I? It will probably take up most of my memory to focus on him like that.

When the food arrived, it was delicious; Mitsuru-senpai had even managed to get something for Koromaru, and he was eagerly chowing down along side us for dinner, almost as if he was racing Junpei-san to see who could eat the most. Shinjiro-san spotted a face Ken-san was making while drinking milk, and had offered him a glass of soy milk instead. It seemed to work, as the younger one didn't seem as likely to be ill after drinking it. Yukari-san, Fuuka-san, and Mitsuru-senpai all talked quietly, and the television in the corner droned on about how the cases of Apathy Syndrome were starting to disappear.

Akihiko-senpai never arrived …

"Wow, fifteen minutes to midnight." Junpei-san spoke up after a while, turning to the television's news broadcast near the end of the evening. "It's been ages since I was up this late just doing nothing."

"Yes, it is a strange feeling." Mitsuru-senpai gave a nod of agreement, clearing away the dirty dishes that we had all used. "But … it was a peaceful evening. I don't know how many of these we will be getting in the future."

"Let's stay awake until midnight, just for old time's sake." Fuuka-san gave a small smile, settling deeper into her spot on the sofa. "Just … I know the Dark Hour's gone, but I feel a lot more comfortable staying awake until midnight has gone past." Yukari-san gave a nod from where she sat, having pulled out the gaming system she had arrived playing. After a moment, Junpei-san followed suit, pulling out his own system as the two continued playing. Ken-san appeared to have fallen asleep, Koromaru-san curled up with him.

"I understand, Yamagishi." Mitsuru-senpai gave a nod, eyes soft. "I think that isn't something that'll go away for any of us for a long time." It was at that point that I realized Shinjiro-san was helping her with the dishes, even with Mitsuru-senpai taking care not to stress his injured wrist too much. "Besides .. who knows when we'll see each other again. I'd like to enjoy everyone's company for a little longer."

I gave an agreeing nod, settling in and watching the broadcast. Even though it hadn't happened for a month, I kept expecting to hear the doors open with a crash, Hamuko-san singing along to her music as she walked over to see if we would be up for a run through Tartarus or not. The doors remained closed, even as Mitsuru-senpai and Shinjiro-san rejoined the group, talking with Fuuka-san a bit as Shinjiro-san handed her a small cookbook.

[This has been the weather. At the tone, the time will be midnight, April First.]

All of us looked to the television at that, apart from the still asleep Ken-san. I think we were all anxious, and watched as the timer on the television slowly counted towards midnight. It had reached 23.59.59 when …

I heard a loud cracking noise, and something that seemed blue flashed in my vision. It seemed I wasn't the only one who heard the noise, at least, as everyone else proceeded to get onto their feet, Ken-san waking up with a start. "W-what was-?!" He asked, looking at the rest of us in confusion.

"I … I don't know." Mitsuru-senpai admitted after a moment, looking around. "Just … sounded like a crash of thunder inside of my head ..." As she spoke, Koromaru-san's ears went flat against his skull, and he leaped off of the sofa and started barking non-stop.

"Hey, Koro, what the hell?" Shinjiro-san knelt after a moment, scooping the dog up. "Yeah, I know that was fuckin weird, but what's got you so damn agitated in the kitchen?" Koromaru-san just answered him with an agitated growl, but he didn't try to escape the hold Shinjiro-san had on him.

[Welcome to the Bunbunmaru News Broadcast. Today is March 31st, 2010!]

Once again, all of us turned to the television as the familiar, somewhat annoying early-morning newscaster's voice came on. "Wait, did she just …?" Yukari-san blinked, shaking her head. "She just said it was still March! Did that birdbrain finally crack her head on something?" Junpei blinked for a moment before fiddling with his game system.

"Uhhh … Yuka-tan … Check your phone or DS." He said after a moment, holding up his game station to her. "I do keep this thing set on time, and well ..."

"It's still saying the 31st?" Yukari-san pulled out her phone after a moment, prompting all of us to turn to her. After a moment, she let out a distressed noise, eyes widening. "What the … my phone's still the 31st too ..."

"Okay … Whatever is going on, I don't think it's good; between three different things saying it's still March, that weird sound, and Koro wigging the fuck out, I don't think things are normal anymore." Shinjiro-san let out an annoyed growl at that, hugging Koromaru-san tighter. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I think we should watch our backs tonight." Frowning, he glanced at the doorway to the dorm once again. "Mitsuru, try calling Aki again; my phone's dead."

"A-alright ..." Mitsuru-senpai gave a nod at that, pulling out her phone. I stood up at that, feeling fatigue of a strange short wash over me.

Odd … I haven't needed to sleep since she died …

"I am going upstairs for a bit." I spoke up, giving a sigh. "My batteries need to be charged, and I feel oddly tired ..." A few concerned looks were sent my way, even as Mitsuru-senpai walked off a ways to try and get a hold of Akihiko-senpai again.

"A … alright." Fuuka-san gave a nod, her eyes worried. "I'll come and get you if anything goes wrong, Aigis." I smiled at her as well before heading up the stairs; perhaps I could download this part of my recording while my batteries charged. Perhaps something that would require me to record more information is coming up …

I had drifted off for about ten minutes or so, the previous recording fully downloaded, when something let out a dull crashing noise on the first floor. Startled awake, I disengaged myself from my chair – batteries weren't as low as I feared, so I was able to fully charge relatively fast. That only made my earlier fatigue more confusing – and began to search for a pair of full magazines when I heard a frantic hammering on my door.

"A-Aigis!" Fuuka-san's voice was frightened, and I rushed to open it once I had sufficient artillery on me. She stood outside of my door, hair a mess – had she raced up the stairs? - and her teal eyes frantic. "I – so – something's come up from the basement!" She stammered, hands wringing as she began pacing back and forth. "I – it's attacking a – and I …!"

"Don't worry; I'll go see what's going on." I frowned; none of the others had weapons or their Evokers on them. Whatever was attacking was most likely causing quite the damage … I raced down the steps, hearing shouting and something crashing heavily when I reached the first floor. Fuuka was a flight or so behind me, meaning I was alone when I reached the scene of the chaos. "HALT!"

As I spoke, the attacker turned to me, and I froze.

It looked like one of my 'sisters' …

An Anti-Shadow Unit, her ball-jointed body black apart from her right arm, with several gold and red accents that reminded me of a butterfly stood there, a golden mace in her hand. The back half of her head was covered by a golden dome – a helmet, perhaps? - and her visor covered her face; it too resembled a butterfly. I could just barely see the black hair that would have framed her face with her visor up.

Behind her, I could see the damage; she had burst out of the basement door, and the crash had been her knocking the table onto its side. Several broken chairs laid scattered about, and a glance showed that the now bruised up Junpei-san had attempted to fight back with one as a weapon. Yukari-san and Mitsuru-senpai were both battered as well, the latter actually lying on the floor in pain. Ken-san was in hiding behind the bar, Koromaru-san standing guard between him and the newcomer. I couldn't find Shinjiro-san …

"You!" The Anti-Shadow Unit pointed her mace at me, her voice angry and accusing. "You're the reason this happened!"

"I – I beg your pardon?" I was caught off guard by that, going on guard.

"The Abyss wasn't meant to wake up!" Her voice continued to grow angrier, and a brilliant pink aura began to swirl around her. Wait, that aura … Hamuko-san used that when she …! "So you guys have to be destroyed!" As I readied myself to attack, the pink aura exploded … and a Persona was above her.

The face looked like it was a large butterfly, the wings a deep scarlet trimmed in mahogany. The rest of the body appeared to be a dressmaker's wire stand, free-floating gloves serving as hands while a white gown with roses at the waistline covered the wire body. I didn't have too much time to focus, however, as I was soon under attack from a Garula spell.

"!" Bracing myself, I let the wind disperse a bit before calling up Athena. Much to my relief, the Persona responded without a delay, appearing and throwing her spear at the strange black robot. It seemed to do a decent amount of damage, and I had enough of an opening to begin shooting.

Landing from my normal leap for shooting proved to be a problem, however, as she raced up and hit me in the chest with her mace.

Reeling for a moment as stars flashed in my eyes, I only recovered a second before her Persona barreled into me, forcing me to duck as it crashed through the doorway to the girl's bathroom. Scowling, I attacked again, Athena crashing into the strange Persona with resolve. While they kept one another occupied, the black robot charged me again, leaping up – wait, I've seen this …! Dodging to one side, I shot as she came down, managing to score a direct hit and sending her flying backwards, hitting the already broken table with a crash of her own.

I paused, still on guard as both Personae vanished; she was up soon after. "I see … So that's how it's gonna be, eh?" She spoke, and that brilliant pink aura returned. "Guess I'm gonna have to pull out all the stops!" To my horror, the aura began to radiate around her, and a pair of brilliant butterfly wings appeared as a swarm of pink butterflies began circling her.

That was Orgia-!

My thought was cut off as she crashed into me with more than enough power to send me to the floor, flying several feet. I watched as she turned to the group that was trying to stand up and flee, and charged again, swinging that mace. It crashed into Mitsuru-senpai and threw her into Yukari-san, sending them both to the floor with several cries of pain. As I forced myself up, I could hear the howl and crashing of glass that meant Koromaru-san was summoning Cerberus, and I think I heard shouting coming from upstairs …

All I could do was stare, fear of losing my comrades taking over me …!

[Error! Error! Error 375!

Orgia Mode Engaged! Limiters Disabled!

Recorded Data lost from activation of Orgia Mode until Emergency Shutdown.]

(Regular PoV)
Fuuka didn't know what on earth to make of what was going on, even as she did her best to try and call up Juno. The Persona didn't respond, no matter how frantically she called to the Persona; the strange robot had activated what had to be her Orgia mode, and had sent Aigis crashing to the ground before turning and attacking the others. Koromaru had managed to summon Cerberus, but the gigantic burst of fire didn't seem to deter the robot at all. Aigis was slowly standing up, but with the damage done to her, would she be able to ..?

"Fuuka, get down!" Shinjiro pulled the teal-haired girl to one side as a sudden blue card flashed into existence for a moment, only to disappear as the brunet male moved his good arm as if to throw something. "OI!" the shout seemed to distract the robot enough to stall her, and to Fuuka's shock – and most likely everyone else's as well – a flare of black fire appeared with the Mudoon rune within it, crashing into the robot. It didn't appear to damage her, but Aigis was on her feet, a blinding blue aura surrounding her.

"NO!"

The shockingly human shout made everyone look to Aigis as Athena appeared, the Persona glowing white as it began charging.

"I won't loose anyone else!" Aigis's shout seemed to have a strange echo on it, and as everyone watched, Athena began to crack and morph, the white light turning into a halo that the Persona entered on one side …

And out of the other side came something nobody had ever expected.

It was a marionette, a male one, but the resemblance to Hamuko's stating Persona Eurydice was strong. Instead of the bright gold torso, the body was silver throughout, and the lyre wasn't heart-shaped. The hair was now far shorter and white and framed a black face, but the red eyes and scarf that Eurydice possessed were still present. Letting out a roar as the black robot stared at it, the new marionette unhitched its lyre and swung, making a direct contact and sending her flying into the wall with enough force to cause a massive crack.

As she slid down the wall to the floor, her visor lifted, revealing a face that was almost paper white against her black hair and body. What made everyone pause, however, was what they saw when she lifted her head to stare at Aigis.

Her eyes were a hauntingly familiar scarlet ...

"How …?" Her voice seemed scared now, and she wasn't able to speak much before the damage she had taken caught up with her, making her black out. She wasn't the only one, however, as Aigis soon fell to the floor face first, the bright aura from her Orgia mode vanishing with a pale flicker.

Tori's Note: I regret absolutely nothing.

This has nothing to do with Soul Survivor, actually. I Just like the name of "Tsukio Hamuko" too much. And yes, this story will actually be told through Aigis's PoV, just because I need to work on telling things from the first-person perspective.

There's some strings I'm pulling with the way Aigis is viewing things; let's just say having someone poke your Papillon Heart will probably leave an effect on the way you perceive some things, seeing as that's where a ASU's emotional core is implied to be. This'll also manifest in Metis for various reasons ...

-Hinoarashi=Cyndaquil, for those who were wondering. I tend to use the Japanese name for Pokemon when I refer to the Persona cast playing them.