Featuring: more exposition and character development, less actual plot. Things will definitely pick up in the next chapter, though.

Also, Hiyori is the world's chew toy - but what else is new?

Everything was shrouded in white mist. Or maybe it was fog – it was hard to tell. It was a vast, white expanse, stretching out for as far as Hiyori could see.

"The cycle has begun anew," said a roaring voice, somewhere from farther up in the expanse.

Hiyori tried to take a step back, but she couldn't move. "Wh-Who's there?" she called out, her voice shaking. "What's going on?"

A shadow appeared before her, shrouded in white – a boy wearing a cap over his messy hair. "For the two thousandth time," the shadow said, "the cycle has begun anew."

"Wh-What cycle?" Hiyori stammered. There was none of the Velvet Room's serenity, Ryoji's warmth, Minato's stability – just emptiness. "I-I don't understand…"

Another shadow appeared before her, this time a girl with long, wavy hair. "We ask the mitochondria within you," she said, "have you ever pondered why humans are given life? Why the world exists?"

"Well…" Hiyori said slowly. "I… guess? I'm not sure."

Another shadow appeared – a tall boy with his bangs swept to the side. "The revolt of a single gear will merely delay time. The clock will continue to function as the other gears take the damaged gear's place."

A fourth shadow appeared, a girl with bobbed hair. "Time never waits," she said. "It delivers us all to the same end – and it will deliver you to oblivion."

And then, more and more shadows appeared behind the first floor. Hiyori couldn't make out their faces – the mist made it impossible to discern anything but the most superficial of traits. So she focused on their varying heights, their varying lengths of hair, the different ways they wore their school uniform.

And then, it hit her – they were all wearing some variation of the Gekkoukan High uniform. Every last one.

And there were hundreds of them – hundreds of shadows shrouded in white.

"Release us," they all said simultaneously.

"Wh-What are you…?"

"Release us," they said again. "Deliver us salvation from this wretched cycle."

The white mist became suffocating.

"Release us," the shadows said again. "Release us… Release us… Release us… Release us…" Their voices rose to a cacophony in Hiyori's mind, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

And then, she woke up with a shriek. The Dark Hour felt oddly comforting, even though she couldn't see the moon outside. Hiyori pulled the covers over her head and curled into herself. She was breathing too quickly, and her head hurt. It's just a nightmare, she told herself, though it felt like she hadn't woken up at all.

"Are you okay, Hiyori?" said a familiar voice from somewhere above her, sounding muffled through the blanket.

Hesitantly, she pulled the covers down from her head. Ryoji sat next to her on her bed, looking concerned. Hiyori could see the ceiling through him. She turned her head to face him, not entirely surprised at how much effort it took. "You came back…"

The smile he gave her didn't quite reach his eyes. "I thought I'd check up on you," he said. "Are you okay?"

Hiyori squeezed her eyes shut and saw white. "No…"

Ryoji took one of her hands in both of his, and it was enough to help her stop shaking. "Tell me about SEES," he said.

It wasn't the first time Ryoji had tried to distract her by changing the subject, but Hiyori was grateful for it all the same. "I don't know if I can do it," she whispered. "I can't keep up with everyone… and I think I'm getting sick. Again. I'm always getting sick. Why am I always getting sick?"

He looked to the side, and his smile became strained. "I'm sorry. It's going to be a new moon soon."

"And everyone—I'm causing trouble for them. I know I am. But they're not saying anything, and I'm just tying them down, and I don't even know why they still want me here if I can't do anything, and I can barely keep up with school since I was in the hospital for more than a week, and…" A sob cut her off mid-tirade, and when she squeezed her eyes shut again, it was her dorm mates' faces that she saw, all of them showing various degrees of disappointment – and all of them shrouded in white mist. "Why am I even here…?"

Ryoji sat down next to her on the bed, and Hiyori moved to the other side to give him room. "It's hard," he said, "but I you can do it, Hiyori. I know you can. So don't give up, okay?"

Hiyori turned onto her side so that she could face him. "Can you stay?" she asked. "Until I fall asleep."

Ryoji gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "Of course," he said, "my dearest."

Jin was furiously typing away on his laptop again.

Chidori Yoshino wasn't one to get lonely, but with only two boys for company – Takaya, who spent his days outdoors doing "business," whatever that meant, and Jin, who spent his days indoors constantly online – the silence could get stifling at times.

She didn't know the details, but apparently Jin had made a friend through that game Takaya had given him the previous week, after the Job (she could no longer bring herself to even say the girl's name).

"Jin," she said and pretended not to notice when it took him more than a minute to even react. They never talked anymore – not that they ever talked that much to begin with, but there was a certain distance between her and her so-called brothers now that wasn't there before.

But Chidori wasn't a fool – she knew that there was something wrong with the Job, and she knew that Jin had noticed it too.

"The Job," she said. "Where did you get it?"

He nudged his glasses up his nose with his wrist. "Takaya got it."

"Then where did Takaya get it?"

"I don't know."

So that was it? End of discussion?

Chidori couldn't stay silent for a moment longer.

"Something is wrong."

Jin shut his laptop, and Chidori resisted the urge to smirk. "You think I don't know that?" He massaged his temples. "If only I had the slightest clue what it was… All I know is that it was wrong to… to take that job."

She pursed her lips together. The Kirijo Group was the authority on all things Persona, if her childhood memories were anything to go by – and supposedly, there was still a Kirijo attending the local high school.

"I want to attend Gekkoukan High." It wasn't a request – there was no end to what the Kirijo Group owed them, so there would be no problem with her enrolling in the school they sponsored. All she had to do was get into contact with the Kirijo attending the school, or even Ikutsuki-san, and then they could take it from there.

"Be quiet!" Jin hissed. Chidori fell silent and listened – no footsteps echoed through the apartment, and Medea sensed nothing. "Why do you need to go?"

"I'm worried about Takaya."

"Takaya knows what he's doing."

"Does he?"

His grimace made Chidori's chest hurt. "Let's talk to him first. Everything will be okay."

And then, Chidori hugged him for the first time since they were children. Jin didn't hug her back, but he leaned into her touch. The world felt too big, and it threatened to swallow them whole – just as it had always done. "Everything will be okay," she echoed because he needed to hear it more than she did.

"So, uh…" Yuko said slowly, hesitantly. "There's… no naginata club. The prez said no."

"What?" Rio shrieked. "What did she say?"

Hiyori sat with her fellow club members – well, former club members now, even though they never really started – in an empty classroom after school on a Saturday. Yuko stood at the front of the class at the teacher's podium, looking sheepish, while Rio sat on top of a desk in the front row and Chihiro sat behind Hiyori.

"I'm sorry, Senpai," Chihiro said quietly. "I-I tried to reason with her, but…"

"She said it was because equipment's too expensive, or something," Yuko said, "but she said we could make a culture club instead."

Hiyori crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. With how enthusiastic Yuko and Rio had been about the naginatado club, she didn't have the heart to tell them that she was actually thankful that she didn't have to participate in a sports club. "What kind of culture club?" she asked.

"Classics," Yuko said. "So… research. And writing. Stuff like that. Apparently, it was a pretty huge thing back in the day, but the club advisor died in the explosion ten years ago, and no one's bothered with the club since then. And…" She hung her head. "Mr. Ekoda's kind of making me follow through with this. Because my composition grades suck."

Rio sighed irritably. "It's your own fault for turning in a blank exam that one time."

"I wouldn't mind joining a club like this," Chihiro said. "I'll stay."

"Me too," Hiyori added.

"So…" Rio said slowly. "What now?"

"Oh, right!" Yuko said, suddenly energetic again. "The prez said that the old club advisor's parents have all the old anthologies the club published for culture festivals and stuff. It's the old couple that runs that book store in the strip mall, ya know? Kitamura, I think."

"All right," Rio said, sighing. "Let's check it out next week."

"Okay," Chihiro said quietly.

They parted ways then, and Hiyori walked alone to the school gates. She didn't expect to see Mitsuru there, standing outside and looking up at the cherry blossom petals falling. "Ah, Mikage," she said as Hiyori approached her. "I'm sure you've heard about the state of your club by now."

"Yeah, I did," Hiyori said. "Um… Akihiko-senpai said…"

"I know what he said," Mitsuru said, "but there's something I need you specifically to do." She smiled serenely. "Mikage, did you know that for this school's entrance exam, the score you need to pass is lower than that of other high schools' exams?"

"Yes, I did."

"And to qualify for a partial scholarship, you need a full twenty points higher than the passing score?"

"Yes."

"Tell me Mikage," Mitsuru said, her smile widening. "What score did you receive on this school's entrance exam?"

Hiyori looked downward, her face suddenly feeling hot. "One hundred percent," she said quietly.

"This school's entrance exam is rather difficult," Mitsuru continued. "To receive such a score requires a certain eye for detail. I want you to use that eye for detail for SEES."

"Ah…" Hiyori bowed her head. "O-Okay."

"We already have one person performing research for SEES," Mitsuru said, "but he specializes on how what we do affects people on the outside. I want you to research what happens on the inside – the nature of Shadows, of Personae, and even of that dubious Velvet Room. It certainly won't be easy, but I don't think it should be much of a problem for you."

Hiyori bowed politely to her. "I'll do my best, Senpai."

Mitsuru smiled. "Good. Now, I believe you'll find Aragaki at Chagall Café. You can start there."

Nozomi Suemitsu was an honest and fair person. He really was – which was why he had absolutely no qualms about admitting that fellow classmate Shinjiro Aragaki honest-to-God scared the living daylights out of him.

A rather large reason was that Aragaki was stupidly popular, even though he had no reason to be – well, aside from hanging around Akihiko Sanada and Mitsuru Kirijo. What girls usually saw as "cool" and "mysterious," Nozomi saw as harsh and cruel.

And with that shady appearance, what reason was there to doubt Nozomi's judgment?

Aragaki sat in a booth at Chagall Café, a laptop and a wide array of papers and notebooks splayed out in front of him. Nozomi stood next to him for a good two minutes, but Aragaki didn't look up even once – didn't acknowledge his presence.

And really, guys like Aragaki had no right to be so cool, to be so popular. Hell, they didn't even have the right to exist.

Wait… Nozomi backtracked. What?

A world without Aragaki – such a world was definitely possible, and infinitely superior to a world with him. No one except Sanada and maybe Kirijo would miss him, after all. And there would be no place for Aragaki in Paradise, either.

And so, Nozomi giggled.

"Do you mind?" Aragaki muttered then, still refusing to look up at Nozomi.

Nozomi puffed his cheeks. "Wh-What's your problem?"

"You're in the way, Suemitsu."

Nozomi clenched his fists. "Y-You…"

And then, Aragaki finally looked up. But he didn't look to Nozomi – no, he looked to someone behind Nozomi. "Kirijo said you'd be coming," Aragaki said, his voice gentler.

"U-Um…" A rather short girl stepped around Nozomi and slid into the seat across from Aragaki. She wore a light pink sweater over black pants instead of the Gekkoukan High uniform, but Nozomi knew she attended his school. Her dark brown hair was tied into two loose ponytails that left a lot of loose strands hanging limply over her face. Her face was slightly pale, and there were dark circles collecting under her eyes. "Mitsuru-senpai said to help with research." She pulled an old, bulky laptop out from her bag and set it on the table in front of her.

Aragaki pushed one of the notebooks toward her. "This should be the one with the stuff Kirijo wants you to research. I got nothing."

They didn't notice when Nozomi shuffled away – no one ever did. And that girl – that girl had even less of a right to exist than Aragaki did. It was an unquestionable truth, and Nozomi didn't even need the image of a blue-haired boy he didn't recognize to tell him that.

No, there would be no place for either Aragaki or the girl in Paradise – absolutely not.

"Apathy syndrome?" Hiyori said.

"So you know Shadows supposedly feed on the mind?" Shinjiro asked. The two of them sat together at Chagall Café, laptops open and notes strewn across the table. "Apathy syndrome makes people go… catatonic? I dunno…"

She picked up one of the sheets of paper closer to his side of the table. "And the number of cases usually rises this time of the month, right?"

"Yeah." He shut his laptop and yanked the charger out of one of the sockets on the side. "What about you? You find anything?"

Hiyori sighed. She rested her elbows on the table and clasped her hands together before her. "Not really," she said. "There was something about the Persona game that kids used to play, but I'm not sure…"

She didn't expect him to smile at that. "Oh yeah, that thing. Aki and I played it back in the day." His expression was warm, gentler than she'd ever seen it. "Did you play it too?"

"Um…" Hiyori stared downward. She'd been feeling overly tired all day, but now, she felt a little feverish on top of it. It was a little disconcerting to think that she was getting sick so soon after being released from the hospital, but this had happened so often that she couldn't say she was surprised – just disappointed. "Yeah, with Yukari-chan… a long time ago." She slumped forward, her forehead falling into her hands.

"You okay?"

"Mm-hm." It was a lie – and Shinjiro didn't look all that convinced by it. Resting her head against something made her feel less dizzy, and if she stayed like that for a few more seconds, then she'd surely be able to make it back to the dorm without relying too much on him. Mitsuru had said earlier that she wanted to go to Tartarus tonight, but now there was no way Hiyori could make it through another training session without collapsing again. It was never really a good place to be – and yet Hiyori always found herself back here, causing trouble for the people she lived with.

He began packing his things into his bag, and then proceeded to pack her things as well. "Geez," he muttered irritably. "You need to speak up about these things. Don't just keep it to yourself if you're not feeling well." When he was done, he removed his red coat and tossed it to her. "Put this on."

The coat felt warmer and more comforting than any sweater she owned – probably because it wasn't hers to begin with. In a moment of wishful thinking, she wanted to forget everything and just melt into the coat. She let her eyes slip closed as she wrapped the coat even more tightly around herself.

"I'm sorry…" she said quietly.

"It' fine, it's fine," Shinjiro replied as he zipped the bags shut. "Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault." He stood up and slung both bags over his shoulder. "Can you walk?"

"I think so…" Hiyori replied slowly, hesitantly. She stood up and swayed unsteadily on her feet.

"That means you can't," Shinjiro said bluntly.

Hiyori opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't think of anything to say that would convince him that she could walk perfectly by herself – and she likely couldn't, the more she thought about it. So when Shinjiro lifted her onto his back and insisted on carrying her back to the dorm, she didn't say anything, didn't even apologize in case he reprimanded her for doing so again.

The journey back home was a slow one, as Shinjiro was trying to avoid exacerbating her condition with any sudden movements, and Hiyori let herself rest her head against him.

It felt strange, to rely on him like this without being reprimanded for it, but it wasn't a bad feeling – not at all.

"You're late," Mitsuru said as they entered the dorm together. "Did you forget that we're going to…" She trailed off when she saw Hiyori on Shinjiro's back, too weak to even slightly lift her head.

"We're not going to Tartarus," Shinjiro said bluntly as he headed for the stairs.

"What happened?" Akihiko asked. "Are you okay?"

"Nothing, and no," Shinjiro answered for her again. "She's just a little under the weather."

"Again?"

Shinjiro glowered at him before heading up the stairs. He didn't let Hiyori down from his back until they were right outside her room. "Don't sleep yet," he said. "You still need to drink medicine."

"I'm sorry," Hiyori said quietly.

"It's fine, it's fine," he said. "Just say something when you're not feeling well next time."

She handed his coat back to him, shivering once it was gone and missing its warmth, and opened the door. "I'll be back soon," he said.

"Mm," she said in response.

True to his word, he was back just a few minutes after she'd changed and climbed into bed, carrying a tray with food and medicine.

"Th-Thanks for the food," Hiyori stammered as she lifted the lid on the bowl before her. The rice porridge was warm and impossibly delicious – just like the lunch he had given her before. She didn't deserve it – not when she was causing so much trouble for everyone. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault," he said.

She was getting full, but she forced herself to keep eating – after all, she'd only barely made a dent in the rice porridge. It was a little disconcerting to think that she'd gotten sick so soon after being released from the hospital, but this had happened so often that she couldn't say she was surprised – just disappointed.

When she made it halfway through the bowl, he promptly covered the bowl with the lid. "You don't have to force yourself to eat," he said. "Just take your medicine and get some rest."

Shinjiro didn't leave even after Hiyori finished drinking the cold medicine he had brought her and lying back down. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"What did I just say?" he said in response.

"Sorry."

He sighed harshly. "Look… you're not causing us any trouble, even if you think you are." He clasped his hands together and looked down. "It's rough, being an orphan. I get it. But you don't have to worry about sucking up to us. If we didn't want you in SEES, then you wouldn't be here. And didn't Kirijo just ask you to do stuff, too?"

"But I can't do anything…" Hiyori protested weakly.

"You took down that Shadow that attacked the dorm in one go," he pointed out. "You're working hard. You're crazy smart. What else is there?"

"But I got sick again!" Hiyori exploded then, the dam bursting. "My body's really weak, and I'm always getting sick, and my stamina's awful, a-and—"

"We can't all be protein-obsessed meat tanks," Shinjiro retorted. "You can't help that stuff. Well, except the stamina thing, but that's not gonna change overnight, and you're already working hard on that." His hand landed tightly on top of her forehead, and it rested there for a few moments – a comforting presence, instead of something too large and too imposing. "So relax. Don't be so hard on yourself. The most you can do right now is get better soon. And actually say something next time you're feeling sick."

Hiyori turned onto her side so that she faced him. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and she couldn't help smiling. "Okay," she said, sighing contentedly. "Thanks, Senpai."

Takaya talked to himself a lot these days.

Talking to yourself wasn't a good thing or bad thing in and of itself – it was a Persona thing. Jin often muttered irritably to Moros as he typed code. Chidori herself had the most delightful conversations with Medea – when Medea wasn't trying to strangle her, of course.

But Takaya never talked to his Persona – not unless something was wrong.

"Is Hypnos bothering you, Takaya?"

The eerie green light of the moon illuminated the apartment, making Takaya's ensuing grin look all the more sinister. But this was Takaya, her brother in every sense if not by blood – he would never hurt her.

"Everything's fine, Chidori. Wouldn't Medea have picked up on it?"

She handed him the bottle of pills tucked into her sleeve. "You haven't been taking your medicine."

"Chidori, I'm fine. I don't need it."

"Takaya."

He gave her a familiar half-amused, half-exasperated smile. "All right, all right." He twisted open the pill bottle and shoved a small handful of pills into his mouth – they never bothered measuring the exact dosage anyway. "Happy?"

But Chidori had had enough of this constant tiptoeing around Takaya in fear of invoking his wrath. If Jin couldn't confront him, then she would. "Takaya, where did the Job come from?"

"What job?" he asked so casually, it was as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Chidori called his bluff. "You know what job."

He froze, his fingers tightening around the glass bottle. "Does it matter?" he asked in a low, dangerous whisper.

"Takaya, we almost died."

She didn't mean to raise her voice – but Takaya stood up anyway, towering over her with a sneer painted on his face. And for the first time in a long, long time, Chidori was afraid to die.

"And what is that, if not a testament to how weak you are?"

She didn't realize that she'd raised her hand until Takaya grabbed her wrist, crushing it ruthlessly. "Takaya…" His grip tightened. "Takaya, you're hurting me."

He didn't release her arm so much as throw it back at her. "And since when are you afraid of being hurt?" He sat back down, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "What's gotten into you, Chidori?"

She turned to leave the room. Don't bring Jin into this, she told herself over and over again. Don't even mention him.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said coldly. She pretended not to notice when Takaya started talking to himself again.

For the first time, Ryoji woke Hiyori just a few nights after their previous meeting. There was no nightmare he had to save her from, and nothing about the Dark Hour that forced her awake – no, he was just there, shaking her gently by the shoulder with a serious expression. "Ryoji…?"

"Sorry to wake you," he said as Hiyori rubbed her eyes. "Are you feeling better, Hiyori?"

"Yeah, it looks like it was just a one-day thing…" she mumbled.

Ryoji gave her a strained smile. "Good," he said. "Listen… a full moon is coming, and… something's going to happen."

"Really? How do you know?"

He shook his head. "I just do. I'm worried, Hiyori…"

Ryoji was always the one comforting her – it was the first time he was actually voicing his concerns, and that was reason enough to worry.

So, just like he did a few nights ago, she took his hands in her. "I'll be okay, Ryoji," she said. "I promise."

He squeezed her hands back. "Okay… Get some rest, okay? Don't overdo it."

Hiyori sighed and closed her eyes. "I'll be fine."

The following morning, she wouldn't be able to say whether she fell asleep first, or if Ryoji left first – but she was eternally grateful for his company all the same.