Chapter 8 – Learning The Basics

"Hi, how are you?"

Though that sudden introduction was quietly spoken, it was enough to rouse Akane from her slumber. Truth be told, she was not getting a good night's sleep after the events earlier that evening. All manner of thoughts were running around her head trying to figure out the meaning of Sakuya's refusal to join SEES. She, like Ikutsuki, was disappointed and saddened by his refusal, but on a more personal level for her as she had previously vowed to help him regain face at school.

Everyone else, on the other hand treated as an insult. Despite the bumpy start they had with the blue-haired Persona-user, they were willing to give him a go and attempt to better their relationships with him, only to get a face full of egg at the end. The three original members were outraged at the way he brushed off all attempts to reach out to him, plus how they were referred to as liars with ulterior motives. Yukari, in particular, was angered by his eavesdropping on a subject she only intended to share with Akane at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. That invasion of privacy was a step too far for her, and she took it as a personal insult. It was needless to say that the next day of school would be an ugly experience.

Because of all those thought-provoking events, it was not easy for Akane to go to sleep. Heck, she only started to drop off the moment the Dark Hour hit. And that is why the speaker was able to rouse her from her sleep so easily. Expecting Sakuya to be standing in her bedroom once more, she braced herself for a shock before turning around.

But to her surprise, a young boy was standing where she expected the grey-eyed vagabond.

The boy, about ten years of age with short black-hair and two-tone blue and teal eyes, dressed in striped pyjamas reminiscent of a stereotypical prison uniform, was no stranger to Akane. She met him twice before, both instances were also in the Dark Hour. The first was when she made it to the dorm just before the first day of school. He was the one who handed her the Contract that, when she signed it, allowed her to access the Velvet Room and form Social Links with others. The second was on the night the dorm was attacked, where he encouraged her to pull the trigger on the Evoker and summon Orpheus. And now, it seemed he came around for a third visit.

"Hi." Akane replied wearily. "How did you get in here?"

"That's easy." The boy gave her a knowing smile. "I'm always with you, even when you don't notice me."

Akane tried (and failed) to hide her aversion to that statement. "Okay… That's, uh… useful to know."

The boy chuckled. His face then assumed a solemn expression as he got to the point. "I just remembered that the end is coming soon, and thought I should let you know."

"The end?"

"The end of everything."

"…Do you know anything else other than that?"

The boy shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. That's all I remember."

Before she could ask any more, Akane almost yelped in surprise when, all of a sudden, he was closer to her than he was before. It was as though he teleported a few feet closer within a split-second. "Is this boy's factory setting permanently on "creepy"?"

"I see that you've awakened to your power." He casually changed the subject, his multicoloured eyes peering deeply into hers. "And what an unusual power it is. One that takes many different forms and appearances, yet is bound by none. It may prove to be your salvation… depending on where you end up. Even so, I expect you to honour your commitment, as per the contract."

"Yep." The red-eyed girl confirmed in her mind. "He is stuck on the creepy setting."

Once again, the boy teleported, he ended up at the foot of Akane's bed. This time she could see that his entire body quickly faded out whenever he moved, then fading back in where he wanted to appear next. The experience was a lot less jarring this time around since Akane was, understandably, more awake than she was a few seconds ago.

"Oh, and be careful about that blue-haired boy." He added, much to Akane's surprise. "I don't know the details, but I know he shares the same nightmares as you, seeing them from a different perspective. There's no telling how he would react when he finds out the truth behind those visions. It may be childish, but he might end up killing you when he finds out."

"Killing me…?" An eager Akane repeated, visibly disturbed by what the young boy said. "But… despite all he did up 'til now, I don't think he actually wants to harm anyone." She then rubbed her face with her hands while muttering; "What should I do?"

"That's up to you, but I'd stay away from him. I get an uneasy feeling from that boy. Something… familiar…" The boy's explanation trailed off, as if he were trying to remember why he knew such a feeling. Finding nothing, he shook his head and turned back to Akane with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anymore. But I'll try to let you know if I figure something out. And don't worry; I'll be watching you. Even if you forget about me. Goodbye."

Though her head was still swimming with questions that needed answering, Akane decided to leave them be since she saw that the young boy genuinely couldn't do any more for her. She didn't know why, but she trusted what he said without question, as if she knew the boy for a long time and understood his feelings. So, with a smile of her own, she bade the boy in the striped pyjamas farewell, and he melted into the shadows once more.

With a sigh, Akane lay down on her bed once more and stared at the ceiling while her mind processed the new information it was given. At the time, she was glad that her friends had held back on the information while she was in hospital, but she regretted not learning more then. It would've evened up the information load she got in this one evening.

"Oh, I'm not going to get any sleep tonight, am I?" She groaned, before turning around and burying her face in her pillow. "I seriously hope I don't get another one of those dreams right now, or I'm gonna go crazy…"

Tempting fate like that may not have been a good idea, but thanks to the extra time granted by the Dark Hour, she was able to fall asleep at last. Her haunting dreams did not appear tonight.

But there was no guarantee that they wouldn't return at a later date.

For Yukari Takeba, the day that followed Akane's recruitment wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Last night with Sakuya was a train wreck as far as everyone was concerned; his straight refusal to help along with the comments he made put him at the top of everyone's blacklist. Except for Akane, which was understandable because she didn't experience the events that first put the two parties at odds with each other, and Ikutsuki, who seemed to treat everything with a pinch of salt. How that guy could stay so calm no matter the situation was beyond the blonde-haired girl…

But as for their encounters with Sakuya at school the next day, just about nothing significant happened. When she got there, Yukari found a note from him taped to the front of her shoe locker. Akane had one as well, along with Mitsuru and Akihiko from what she found out later. The letter was, basically, the closest thing to an apology Sakuya made to the group. He wrote that he understood how they felt from the way he handled last night and promised to give them some space by staying out of their way for the rest of the day. And stay out of their way he did. Barring a few looks, the occasional a polite nod and one "hello", not once did the blue-haired rascal interact with the members of SEES. He didn't bat an eyelid when Mitsuru marched into 2-F to remind the girls to meet up at the longue when they got back, even after being met with scowls, glares and scrutinous looks from the three girls, he kept true to his word and didn't grieve them once. That didn't change Yukari's low opinion of him, but it did genuinely surprise her.

But on another note, there was an additional apology added as a postscript at the end of the letters addressed to the three girls only. The recent interactions he had with them made their respective admirers nervous. Also, it didn't help that some blabbermouth read the letters before them and let everyone else find out that Sakuya had been staying in the same dorm as them. It was understandable that people would be jealous of a cool, suave and eccentric guy like him interacting in a familiar manner with three of the school's popular girls on a day-to-day basis. But these people? They immediately jumped at the chance to make their feelings known when the letters were made known, and so all three of the girls had their shoe lockers filled to the brim with love letters. Sakuya would have shared the same fate as them, if he didn't tape a notice to his locker saying: "Sorry, not accepting ANY messages until midterms are over." That explained the few dejected girls Yukari saw around the school, who most likely had the same idea as the boys in regards to Sakuya. Still, even though he did apologise for the consequences of his actions, it didn't stop the SEES girls from feeling a little annoyed by the situation.

"Ah well, guess it could've gone worse." Yukari thought as she made her way upstairs to the dorm's longue with Akane in tow.

"Hey, welcome back!" Akihiko greeted as the two girls entered.

"Hey there, senpai." Yukari replied plainly.

"Hi, Akihiko-senpai!" Akane cheerfully greeted.

Akihiko smiled slightly at Akane's response as he closed the door behind them. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

When the girls turned around to meet whomever Akihiko was going to introduce, they found the person in question was hiding behind the door as they came in. Akane was somewhat startled to see him standing there, though pleasantly surprised nonetheless. Yukari, on the other hand, was staring at him in complete and utter disbelief. He was leaning casually against the wall with a cheesy grin on his face and one of his hands in his untidy uniform's pockets; the other one was straightening the blue baseball cap over his short, fuzzy hair.

"Wazzup, dudes?"

"Junpei-kun?" Akane asked calmly.

"JUNPEI!?" Yukari shouted as her fears were confirmed. "What are YOU doing here?"

"I see you three have met before." Akihiko interjected, turning around to face the two girls. "Iori-kouhai is going to be staying with us in this dorm from now on."

"HE'S staying HERE!?" Echoed the girl in pink, still not pleased with the situation. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

The white-haired senior nodded, deciding to ignore Yukari's frustration. "I found him out on patrol last night. He has the potential, which he only awakened to recently. I told him about us and what we do, and he agreed to join."

"Seriously? YOU have the potential?"

Junpei looked to the side in mild embarrassment. "Yeah… He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store surrounded by pools of blood and a bunch o' coffins." He then looked back with a sheepish grin on his face. "I was confused and I don't remember that much, though I sure feel embarrassed by what I do remember. But, all of that's supposed to happen the first time you awaken, right?"

Akane, who was secretly enjoying the dramatic way Yukari reacted to Junpei, quickly recomposed herself when she realised that the question was directed at her. "Eh, I'm afraid I can't say, Junpei-kun. I was perfectly fine the first time I experienced all this."

"Really?" Junpei looked somewhat dumbfounded by what he heard, before brushing it off with a wave of his hand. "Ah, well it happened to me, anyway. But seriously… I was surprised when I heard about you guys. Still, I'm glad I'm not the only one with this power; it could get kinda lonely, y'know. Bet you're stoked at me joining, right?"

"Huh!? Uh… sure." Yukari muttered. "Better you than him, anyway…"

"Hm? You say something, Yuka-tan?"

"Eh? Uh… no…" She replied unconvincingly, glancing Akane as if asking indirectly for her help in avoiding that topic.

Fortunately for her, Akane was attentive. Upon hearing a noise behind her, the red-eyed girl turned to see Mitsuru walking out of Ikutsuki's office at the back of the room. She greeted her quickly before Junpei could say anything else. "Oh, Mitsuru-senpai! You wanted to talk to us about something?"

"Indeed, Arisato." She replied. "I bought you all here because the Chairman has an announcement to make, so please take your seats, everyone."

Almost too quickly, Yukari moved to take her seat, quietly muttering her thanks as she went. Akane quietly muttered: "Later", to a confused Junpei, before deciding to sit between him and Yukari around the table. She wondered if this was going to be a trend, her acting as a buffer between her friend and people she dislikes. But she dismissed the notion once she saw the somewhat humorous sight of an upbeat Ikutsuki as he strode over to his seat with a spring in his step and a somewhat childishly gleeful look on his face. He was excited at what he was going to announce, and promptly made himself comfortable before gladly declaring his intentions aloud.

"Everyone, I'd like your undivided attention. For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But now our numbers have recently jumped to five. It could've been six, but that wasn't meant to be…" He muttered that last line under his breath, somewhat disappointed that they couldn't have done this sooner, but then promptly shook his head and got to the point with a smile. "Therefore, starting tonight at 12PM, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."

This news evoked varying reactions from the gathered members. Mitsuru, Akihiko and Yukari all knew of the existence of the hellish tower that spawns in the Dark Hour, and could only guess of the horrors that lay within the ever-changing labyrinth's walls. They knew this day would come sooner or later, yet that didn't stop the underlying sense of dread that lingered in their minds. The newest members, on the other hand…

"Tartarus…? What's that?" Junpei summed up. "Sounds like a toothpaste brand."

"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" Asked Yukari.

Akane glanced at the still-confused face of their new teammate, who naturally had no idea what she was talking about. "Biiiiit of a stupid question, Yukari."

"Well it's no surprise, given how it, like the Shadows, only appears in the Dark Hour." Ikutsuki clarified.

"Yeah," Akihiko added with a scratch of his head, "the two of us were looking the other way last night. But Tartarus is basically the Shadow's nest. A lot of the weaker ones spawn there, making it the perfect place for us to train."

"But senpai, what about your injury?" Yukari asked.

"Since Akihiko's ribcage hasn't mended itself yet, he'll only be coming as far as the entrance." Mitsuru answered for him, to which the boxer begrudgingly agreed.

"Ah, alright…"

"Re-lax!" Junpei eagerly affirmed. "I've got your backs."

"I'm not sure though…" An uneasy Yukari voiced her mind. "After seeing what happened to Sakuya after he went in…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out." The class clown gestured for a recap, not quite believing what he heard. "Sakuya? As in Sakuya Shiomi? HE was a part of your group?"

"Not really." Answered Akihiko with a disgruntled look on his face. "He flat-out refused to join."

"WHAT!?" Junpei did not comprehend. "Why the hell would he turn down working with you guys, or the chance to live with the most popular dudes in school? Still, I s'pose it explains what he wrote in those letters…"

"So it WAS you!" Yukari bellowed, getting up from her seat and storming right up to Junpei's face as she blasted anger at him. "YOU read the letters and blurted it out to everyone!"

"H-hey, calm down, Yuka-tan." The uncomfortably nervous Junpei tried to explain in the face of her wrath. "I was just curious, y'know? It's rare to see a transfer student postin' notes this early in the school year, 'specially after what he's been up to recently…"

"But did you have to blurt it out to everyone you met!?" The girl in pink pointed accusingly for emphasis as she continued. "I couldn't even get my shoes out of my locker without tripping over all the letters stuffed in there!"

"Well… look on the bright side! So many people wanting you shows that you haven't grown too ugly…"

"WHY YOU LITTLE…!"

"That's enough, you two." Mitsuru interjected strictly before any blood was shed. "We all have a busy night ahead of us, so we should take this chance to prepare ourselves."

Junpei breathed a sigh of relief as Yukari backed down and walked away…

"That being said, I would like a word with you about the same subject at a later date, Iori."

…only to instantly tense up once more when Mitsuru stated her intentions.

With that subject and the main one cleared, Ikutsuki cleared his throat. "Since I'm unable to summon a Persona, I'll be staying here. Though I do wish you the best of luck in your endeavours."

"Of course, Mr Chairman." Mitsuru affirmed. "We'll be careful."

With the meeting adjourned, the members of SEES went about their business until it would be time to move out. Junpei had to leave his luggage in the foyer of the dorm since it was too heavy to lug upstairs by himself, he didn't want to trouble the injured Akihiko by asking him to help carry it to his room, and because he wanted to make his reveal as the new member a surprise. Akane volunteered to help, much to his and Yukari's surprise. They didn't think she would be the type for manual labour. After moving Junpei's stuff up the stairs, though, she made it clear that she did it in order to talk to Junpei about the situation at SEES regarding Sakuya, and to make it known that, although she took it better than the others, she wasn't entirely pleased about the Love Letter incident. The way she made it known was by smiling and talking in a polite manner, with a threatening undertone in her voice before calmly walking away. Scared by her delivery and swift departure, Junpei made a mental note never to mess with Akane.

Mitsuru got her equipment together and loaded up her white bike parked in the alleyway outside. She went ahead of the others in order to save time transporting the equipment to the base of the hellish tower they were finally venturing into. After Junpei was done with his luggage, Akihiko took him to the equipment storage room in order to issue him his armband, Evoker and weapon. After much trial and error, the class clown settled on a two-handed broadsword, which he swung around like a baseball bat. Akihiko sighed in exasperation at Junpei's lack of technique, but then told himself that they were going to Tartarus in order to train, so it wouldn't be so bad.

As for Yukari, she had nothing better to do than wait and play with her cell phone. Her thoughts about entering a place she only viewed from afar and knew from hearsay courtesy of her two seniors did nothing to ease her apprehension of that place. Nor did the fact that Sakuya, someone who had actual combat experience and was better at using a Persona than any of the members of SEES, almost ended up dead just by entering there. Though this evening would only be a trial run, just thinking about what they may experience was terrifying for Yukari.

Who knows what terrible ordeals they would face within the ever-changing walls of Tartarus…?

"…I'm tellin' you, you're holding it wrong!" Junpei insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Akane asked. "I don't have any problems with the way I grasp it."

"Look, something this long needs to be handled with the tip upwards! You ain't gonna do much by grabbin' it the other way 'round."

Akane shrugged. "It worked well against the Shadows we met a few seconds ago."

"Who cares what those things think about it!?" The frustrated class clown kept insisting. "You're gonna to tire yourself out a lot faster by…"

"Takeba… what exactly are those two talking about?" A confused, and somewhat flustered Mitsuru asked over the psychic link.

"Ugh, nothing important. Junpei has a problem with Akane holding her naginata upside-down and facing away from the enemy, instead of at the front with the blade up like most people would." Yukari replied in despair at the sheer amount of innuendos being thrown about.

"Ah. I see…" Mitsuru said in relief as she regained her composure. "Is there any impact on her performance because of her stance?"

"Oh, not you too!" She complained under her breath, while her more audible response came through clenched teeth. "No Mitsuru-senpai, she can fight the Shadows without any problems at all."

Despite the risqué use of language, things have been going well for SEES. They made it to the entrance of Gekkoukan High just in time to see Tartarus ride the moment the Dark Hour fell. The group watched in awe, surprise and dread as their school suddenly extended upwards and outwards, growing to an immense height while various additions and strange screw-like structures grew out of the side like cancerous mutations. The process only lasted a minute, but that's all it took for the large, distorted tower to complete its "construction". SEES ventured in to the large, spacious first floor not long after a brief explanation by Mitsuru about the basic facts about the tower's appearance.

Inside, they talked about adventuring upstairs through the clock-shaped door. The two seniors stayed behind to work as support while the three underclassmen would explore the second floor only and fight the Shadows in order to get a feel for the environment. Akane was appointed as the field leader because of her power and her combat experience. Junpei, who eagerly wanted to be the leader, was not too pleased with that decision at first because Akane was a girl, but then quickly retracted that statement when he realised he was outnumbered as all three of the female members glared at him.

Before they ventured up, Akane saw a familiar blue door and walked up to it, using her Velvet Key to gain entry. Inside the familiar room, she was greeted by Igor who informed her that this was the time for her to use her powers, about the "faces of possibility" that appeared after each battle was won and, finally, to introduce his assistant. The door to Igor's left opened, and out stepped a tall man with blonde hair and yellow eyes wearing a blue elevator attendant's uniform. He introduced himself as Theodore, or Theo for short. After bidding the two farewell, Akane exited to find out that barely a millisecond had passed when she entered the room and no one else saw the door. Brushing of any concerns from her teammates, Akane took charge and led them upstairs to face the challenges beyond the threshold of the clock-like door.

And now, after dealing with the first group of Shadows they managed to encounter, we arrive back at the innuendo-laden argument Junpei and Akane are having, just after they defeated the last group of Shadows.

"But how're you gonna protect yourself if you keep it at that angle?" Continued Junpei, still confused at the field leader's reasoning.

"Like this." To demonstrate, Akane adopted her fighting pose, then swiftly twisted her body around and held up the naginata in front of her defensively. "See? A simple twist is all it takes."

"But wouldn't it save more time to…"

"AAAGH! Enough already, you two!" Shouted Yukari in anguish, causing both of them to stop in their tracks at her sudden outburst. "Can we please save this debate for another time and search the rest of the damn floor!?"

"Right, sorry Yukari-chan." Akane immediately apologised before continuing down the corridor.

As Yukari followed suit, Junpei held his ground for a few seconds to give the last word on the debate. "You know I'm right!"

"How'd you think they're doing so far?" Akihiko asked as he leaned against the parked bike, trying to relieve the boredom that came with being unable to participate.

Mitsuru, crouched over her scanning equipment, turned her head so he could hear while keeping an eye on the device at the same time. "Not too bad. They seem to be handling themselves well, so far. None of the Shadows seem to pose any threat to them. Speaking of which, I don't detect any more than three extra groups of Shadows on the floor they are exploring."

"Heh, lucky them." The boxer chuckled. "It's not often we manage to catch a break like this."

"Indeed. I am glad that our underclassmen could start at a beginner's level. It should help them prepare for the various trials yet to come…"

PING!

Mitsuru's full attention snapped back to her scanner. That particular sound plays whenever a new presence is detected by her power and the system working in tandem. The colour of the light accompanying the sound was amber, a sign that the presence could not be identified by the machinery.

"Hold on…" She ordered over the psychic link to the field team. "I'm detecting a new presence on your floor."

"Okay, Senpai." Replied Akane. "Everyone, hold up a sec."

Mitsuru's hands flew across the controls, trying to lock on to the signal she detected so the team would know what it was and, if it was a threat, where it would be coming from. But no matter what settings she used, she couldn't locate the source of the signal. Not wasting any time, she got her Evoker out of its holster, pressed it against her temple and pulled the trigger.

"Penthesilea!"

BANG!

The shards of glass flowed out of the "hole" made by the gunshot, blowing Mitsuru's hair about as they swirled around her, before finally coalescing into the form of a woman clad in conforming blue battle armour with a face-covering helmet, a gold crown atop her head, a rapier in her left hand and an ornate cinqueda in her right. Penthesilea, Mitsuru's Persona, twirled around once in the air before raising her cinqueda upwards, an action that boosted the power of the psychic scanning ability the leader of SEES possessed. With the extra power, Mitsuru conducted a more thorough scan of the second floor. And this time, she managed to detect it. The signal was faint, meaning that she couldn't discern what the subject was, but she could tell that it was ahead of the field group, close to the staircase leading to the next floor.

And then, it vanished completely.

"What…?" Mitsuru couldn't believe what she was sensing. "How could it disappear just like that?"

"Senpai?" A concerned Akane asked over the link. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, what gives, Mitsuru?" Akihiko echoed, who was now standing next to her. "Your power works best in Tartarus, how could you lose something just like that?"

After running the scan again and finding nothing, Mitsuru sighed and dismissed her Persona. She then answered both parties with an uneasy voice. "I detect nothing, it was probably an error on my equipment's part. But even so, I'd like you to keep your eyes open for anything strange as you continue."

"Uh… sure. We'll keep our eyes peeled." Yukari responded in Akane's stead.

"Alright then…" Focusing once again on the task of training the newest operatives, Mitsuru refocused her scan around the vicinity of the party in order to direct them. "The next group of Shadows hasn't detected you yet. Try to get the advantage with a surprise attack…"

Despite the paranoia fostered by the disappearing signal, nothing seemed to happen after the glitch was reported. They encountered the remaining Shadow groups, learned how to fight effectively as a team, learned about elemental properties, got the hang of navigating as a group and splitting up to cover more ground. Yukari and Junpei managed to summon their Personae for the first time and bonded with them enough to improve their base powers, while Akane learned the meaning behind the "faces of possibility" Igor mentioned: a chance to reap extra benefits from each battle. This session in Tartarus earned Akane two new Personae; Pixie and Apsaras, some pocket change and a glimpse of what else could be available to her next time.

After all their equipment was packed up (barring their weapons and Evokers in case of a surprise Shadow attack), they waited outside the gates of the school for the Dark Hour to end. The reasons for this were because; 1) they didn't know what would happen if someone stayed in Tartarus when it compressed back down to the Gekkoukan High building, and 2) it was needless to speak of the problems that would be caused if anyone passing by saw a group of students hanging outside the gates disappear within a split-second. When the Dark Hour ended, Mitsuru rode back to the dorm on her bike while the others took the monorail. And now, ten minutes after the Dark Hour ended, the group of four was wearily walking back to the dorm from the train station.

"Home's on the horizon, amigos!" Junpei perked up as he saw the dorm came into view. "Oh, I hear my comfy, comfy bed callin' for me…"

"Do you have to be so melodramatic, Junpei?" Yukari replied, before yawning loudly. "Though I don't blame you, I feel like I can fall asleep the moment my head touches the pillow."

"Yeah, I hear ya, Yuka-tan…" The class clown's gaze then turned to Akane, who appeared to be more awake in comparison to him and Yukari as they practically dragged themselves back. "How come you're not so tired, Akane-chan?"

"Hm?" Akane pulled her left headphone off, filling the immediate vicinity with the hushed sounds of a J-pop track. "Oh, I slept before we left for the school. I usually just sleep through the Dark Hour, so I wanted to make up for the extra hour I usually get in bed."

"Heh, good to hear that you plan ahead." Akihiko chimed in. "You'll get used to fighting in the Dark Hour eventually, and the extra exercise will help you drop off afterwards, too."

Akane yawned. "Still, I bet I'll have bags under my eyes for a long time after today."

"Ugh, great. Permanent eye-shadow." Yukari groaned. "We'll end up lookin' like Junpei at this rate."

"H-hey, what're you talkin' about…!" Came the indignant response. "I always go to bed by ten at the latest!"

"Yeah. Ten in the morning."

"Oh come on! I can't help it if Mr Ekoda's teaching first period!"

Akane giggled at the exchange "Don't worry Yukari-chan, I'm sure we could get some makeup or some health cream to tone down our tired eyes."

"Or," added Akihiko, "you could follow Mitsuru's example and use a thin layer of eye-shadow to mask it."

"That's right!" The red-haired girl snapped her fingers. "Mitsuru-senpai's been at this for longer than us. We could ask her for fashion tips, or raid her makeup bag when she isn't looking."

"I… wouldn't recommend that last one." Akihiko warned.

"Speaking from experience, senpai?"

"Well I… Hey, wait just a minute…!"

Laughter erupted from the boxer's awkward response. The tired members' spirits were lifted by that small joke, giving them enough energy to make it to the front door of the dormitory. Looking away awkwardly, Akihiko cleared his throat and decided to brush off the humorous quip seeing as it was a long night and the juniors could do with some cheering up. He then turned to open the door for his underclassmen, but paused when he caught a glimpse of someone walking past them. Someone wearing a black school uniform, a pair of familiar blue steel-toe-capped boots, a familiar pair of grey headphones on his ears, carrying a familiar duffel bag and had an all-too familiar head of blue hair.

"Shiomi!" Exclaimed Akihiko, causing the young man to stop in his tracks and all eyes to turn towards the subject in question in surprise.

In response, Sakuya calmly paused his music player, took off his headphones and turned towards the group with a neutral look on his face. As he turned to face them, it became apparent that he was wearing a modified version of the Gekkoukan uniform. The school's badge was replaced with a blue crescent moon with a white outline; he was wearing a plain white crew neck t-shirt with a blue neckline in place of a dress shirt, and his usual grey belt was replaced with a brown leather web belt.

"Fancy bumping into you at this time of night." He said innocently.

"Don't give us that!" Spat Yukari, looking towards Sakuya with ire. "You've been following us, haven't you?"

He pointed down the street with his left hand. "In case you've forgotten, my apartment is but a few blocks away. I have to walk past here if I'm to make it to the monorail in time for school."

"That doesn't explain what you're doing out here at this time of night, though." Akihiko interjected.

"Same reason you were out. I was training at Tartarus."

"Wha…! So you WERE following us!" Yukari shouted accusingly.

"No no no, not at all." He said sincerely, holding up a hand as he explained. "I was being true to my word earlier and simply stayed out of your way."

"But… that's impossible! You couldn't have gone to Tartarus!" A confused Akihiko said. "We were there since the beginning of the Dark Hour and were outside until it ended. How did you manage to get in without us noticing?"

"Were you looking at the front door the entire time?"

Everyone held their tongues as they realised that none of them gave the entrance their full attention. They only looked up at the tower as it appeared, and amongst each other as Mitsuru and Akihiko gave the basic facts before unlocking the gate and stepping inside. And after the field group went upstairs, Mitsuru was busy with her equipment and even though Akihiko was supposed to be keeping a lookout, most of the time he was trying to find a way to relieve his boredom. There was a big enough window for him to run inside without being noticed by the others if he timed it right, and Akihiko suspected that he did because of the solo missions he reportedly went on back at Sumaru City, some of which would require a good knowledge of stealth to accomplish.

"Huh, got us there…" Junpei said before changing the subject. "But what I wanna know is, what the hell did ya do to your uniform? The teachers are gonna freak if they see that!"

"Oh, this?" Sakuya said a she gestured to his outfit. "It's a spare one I had modified. One thing I noticed about school uniforms in this country is that they're light, flexible and provide enough ventilation while keeping the chill at bay. Handy qualities when you're fighting in this cold place, building up heat whilst in combat. So I decided to follow your example and wear a uniform on my midnight outings. It's a good tactical choice, well done you lot."

"Actually…" Akane confessed. "We're only wearing our uniforms because Mitsuru-senpai said that the school requires all club attendees to wear their uniforms during club activities."

There was a long pause as Sakuya's smile faded and he looked at the group in disbelief, and then sighed while shaking his head before making his departure. "Ah, forget I said anything. I'm going home now. All this fighting takes its toll, even if it is my third hour in Tartarus…"

"Wait, your third hour?" Akihiko exclaimed, causing the blue-haired one to stop mid-step. "You only went in twice, the first time was when you got bought to us and we kept you under surveillance for two weeks! How could you…"

Akihiko cut his rant short when a worrying thought struck him, something that he cursed himself for not seeing sooner. From what he heard from Mitsuru and Yukari, Sakuya somehow disappeared from his room to warn Akane of the impending Shadow attack on the dorm, despite being seen on the footage a few seconds ago. Sakuya admitted to being in Tartarus this night, and Mitsuru's equipment coincidentally developed a glitch. Putting two and two together, Akihiko came up with a troubling answer.

"…You caused the glitch on Mitsuru's scanner. You've been screwing with our equipment before you left the dorm."

Sakuya did nothing to affirm or disprove that accusation, despite the various looks that were boring their way through the back of his head. Instead, he did his signature three-fingered gesture of way of waving goodbye before walking away. "I'll see you later."

Akihiko cursed under his breath before dashing inside, the juniors following behind as they noticed him take off. Quick as his injuries would allow, he dashed up to the control room, bursting in and startling Mitsuru and Ikutsuki who were busy inspecting the partially dismantled scanner to try and find what the problem was.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru exclaimed in surprise. "What's wro…?"

"We need to double-check the security footage." He said as he gasped for breath. "Right now!"

"Aaaaand once again, you leave me clueless as to why ya didn't even attack them." King Leo sighed as Sakuya made his way up the apartment block's stairs. "You could've easily offed them the moment the glitch was detected, but you just kept on climbing the damned tower. Come on, I thought your job was to kill those guys."

"That's where you're wrong, King." Sakuya countered, causing the spectre to lean in closer for an intimidating glare (that was promptly ignored). "In case you've forgotten, The Reaper said my job was to "stand in their path". He didn't say a word about killing them."

"Don't pull that "exact words" trash on me. BOY." He said with a jab of his finger for emphasis. "You and I both know that the best way to stop someone from doing something is to kill them. All you've gotta do is slash their throats while their backs are turned."

Sakuya shook his head. "I'm afraid the boss seems to have other plans for them. Because, if you were listening closely, ol' Quick-Draw McGraw also said that they were to die after letting them wallow in despair for a bit. Sure, that would be the case if they found out the meaning behind Tartarus, whatever the heck that is. But it sounds to me that the boss wants them to suffer. If so, why not torment them now?"

With a reluctant growl, King Leo stood up straight once more as he "walked" with Sakuya. "You've got one thing right, the big guy gets off on people's misery. But I wouldn't forget that this goes both ways if I were you, I have first-hand experience. All those voices in my brain… Ugh…" He shivered in revulsion. "Just get with the program next time, or you'll get something along the lines of that drinking game as further punishment."

Sakuya paused mid-step, turning slowly towards his ghostly chaperone. "You mean to tell me that night of humiliation before I started high school was his doing?"

"What, you didn't think those nightmares were the only thing you had to put up with, did you?" King Leo chuckled, before gradually fading back into Sakuya's subconsciousness with a final warning: "Don't come crying to me if you end up passed out in your boxers again!"

With a shiver of revulsion, Sakuya dug his apartment key out of his pocket before opening the door. "Oh man," he sighed, "I don't even want to imagine what would happen if I get drunk around the age of 18."

The apartment Sakuya rented was small and basic. On the other side of the front door was a short corridor with sliding-door wardrobe for shoes and coats, which lead into the main body of the apartment. On the immediate left from the entrance was a kitchenette with a bar-style table, on the right were the doors leading to the bathroom and twin bedroom, and directly ahead was the lounge of the flat, which had a couch against the right wall with a widescreen TV on the wall opposite and a small coffee table in-between. And it was on that couch where Sakuya's roommate was reading a book while reclining. The moment she heard the door close, she looked over her shoulder to greet Sakuya.

"Oh?" She said. "You're back sooner than I expected."

"You're up later than I expected." He countered as he substituted his shoes for his slippers. "I thought you started a new unit in your college class tomorrow. Shouldn't you get some sleep to prepare for that?"

His roommate swung around on the couch so she was facing Sakuya as she replied with the reason in question in her hands. "I would, but I was simply too engrossed in trying to figure out this romance novel I was reading. The narrative seems to be all over the place, and the main driving force in the relationship seems to be based on lust. It is unlike any other story that I've read before."

"That's because it's a bad story." Sakuya replied as he slung his duffel bag through the door into the bedroom before heading over to the kitchenette for a cup of water. "Sometimes amateur-written garbage slips through the net, so you have to be careful what you pick lest you end up with something bad. That goes for all books, no matter the genre."

"I see." His roommate replied. "I didn't know that they fished for novels before displaying them in book stores."

"…What!?" A confused Sakuya paused as he made for the twin bedroom, almost spilling his cup as he stopped. "No, no, they don't literally fish for novels, not unless there's a flood anyway. I was just using a figure of speech. What I meant was that sometime bad material makes it through to people who… Argh… never mind. I'm too tired, I'll explain it to you tomorrow."

"Very well, I'll go to bed myself later. There are still a few plot points that perplexes my train of thought."

Sakuya could've sworn that she said the word "fought" instead of "thought", but decided to let it go. The two words sounded similar enough, and trying to correct her would only confuse her further, in his experience. So with a nod, he said goodnight before stepped into the bedroom. "Sure thing. 'Night, Elizabeth."

"Good night to you too, Sakuya." The yellow-eyed young lady politely replied before swinging back around onto the couch as she turned her attention back to the book, a disturbingly perverse smile on her face. "Sleep well."

Author's Note

Sometimes I hate the way my brain works. Trying to write this chapter ended up with three, that's right, THREE different versions including this one. Getting bombarded with loads of ideas is the worst, but at least I've settled on Sakuya's Dark Hour outfit…

Anyhow, I'm glad I managed to get this out. Now I can focus on the more in-depth battle scenes starting next chapter.