"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." - Norman Cousins

April 7th, 2009

You, who wishes to safeguard the future, however limited it may be… Go forth without falter, and with your heart as your guide… Learn how to live… Teach what death truly means to those that seek it…

He jerked awake as the man on the intercom stated, "We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay, and your next stop is Iwatodai City." He held his head as he tried to focus on the dream.

That voice...What did it mean?

He shook his head to clear his blue bangs out of his eyes. No sense worrying about it now. He glanced out the window and looked out on his hometown.

Ten years. It had been ten years since he had last been here. An accident on the Moonlight Bridge had left him without parents, and without memory of the incident that had made him an orphan. Now, he was back in Iwatodai, to finish his education here at the request of his grandfather.

This is a chance to grieve… to learn. And maybe… even to find the answers that you seek…

He had said that to the teen during the brief phone call they had shared a few days previous. The old man's words still rubbed him the wrong way. It was almost like there was something he wasn't being told. He scowled and he felt his fists clench. The man had an irritating habit of telling only what he felt needed to be told.

He shook his head angrily, pushing those thoughts and feelings out of his head. It didn't matter. He would find the answers, with or without his grandfather's help. Then…he would finally find peace. He had to. It was the only way.

Turning his head back to the window, he gazed at the ocean, letting his mind go blank as he stared into the abyss.

The train pulled into the station a few minutes later, shuddering as it came to a stop. The intercom blared to life again. "We have arrived at: Iwatodai station. Please have a good day."

He quickly gathered his things, stepped off the train, and made his way through the mostly deserted train station. As he prepared to exit the station, however, the teen glanced at the clock hanging over the door.

It was almost midnight.

The teen sighed. He wouldn't make it to the dorm before the secret hour struck, after all. At the very least, it meant he didn't have to worry about being scolded for showing up so late.

Freaking trains.

The teen quickly rummaged through his bag for the directions to his new dorm, powered off his MP3 player, and waited.

3…2…1…

Almost on the instant the clock hit 12, the lights all around him snapped off and the air gained a sickly green hue. Per usual, all the people that had been moving around him were now encased in huge coffins. The puddles of leftover rainwater on the ground outside had turned to the color of blood.

He waited for his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, then shook his head in exasperation and carefully started trudging towards his new dorm.

Still creepy. Ugh, figures that this would happen on my first day back…

With the power out, the teen couldn't tell how much time had passed since he had arrived, but it felt like it had been around an hour. He wasn't that great with directions to begin with, but with no streetlights to light up the paper with the directions on it, it just compounded the problem.

"Well, this can't possibly get any worse." He said to himself as he squinted at the page for what felt like the thousandth time.

After a few wrong turns and subsequent backtracking, the teen finally located the dorm that he would be staying at; a non-descript four story building, indistinguishable from the other buildings around it. He double-checked the address, and sighed in relief. He'd finally found the dorm.

When he entered, however, that feeling of relief quickly turned to confusion.

There were still lights on in the lobby.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What the-"

"You're late."

The teen jumped at the sound of the unknown voice emanating from the reception desk to his left. A dark-blue haired kid in what looked like old prison pajamas was sitting behind the counter. He had a warm smile on his face that didn't quite reach his cold, grey, dead-looking eyes.

The kid's sudden appearance sent a chill down the teen's spine. Up until now, he had never met another who could experience the secret hour.

How the hell can he-

"I've been waiting for a long while," The kid said, interrupting his thoughts. He gestured at the desk in front of him, where a piece of paper lay. "Please sign here."

He edged over to the desk and looked down, examining the paper. It was a contract of some sort, with strange stipulations and terminology.

Time delivers us to the same end...?

The teen was simultaneously on edge and curious.

"What is this?"

"It's boring stuff, just says that you will take responsibility for your actions, that's all," The kid answered with a dismissive tone.

"Why do you want me to sign it?"

"It's…something you need to do." The kid replied hesitantly, as if even he didn't know.

That was worrying. The teen looked up at the kid again. "I need to? Do I have to sign it?"

"No," The kid said after a moment's contemplation, "But…you might regret it if you don't."

The teen sighed in frustration. His grandfather had taught him to treat everything and everyone with a sense of caution, and this was setting off giant flashing warning bells in his head. A strange contract being offered to him in the middle of a time no one else should experience? Who in their right mind would sign something like that? The kid's reluctance to give him a straight answer wasn't helping either. Still, he was curious what the kid wanted with him, and didn't want to offend him by refusing outright.

"…Can I sign it later? I'm kind of tired, and-"

"No. You need to do it now, or never." The kid said impatiently, his face twisting into a pout. "Just sign it, ok?"

A twinge of anger tore through him at this, burning away his curiosity, and all thoughts of hesitation and doubt disappeared with it. The kid's attitude and cryptic answers had made his decision easy.

In a combative tone, he replied, "No, I refuse."

The kid frowned deeply for a moment, making him think he had made the wrong choice. Before he could say anything, however, the kid's warm smile sprang back onto his face. "Very well," he said lightly, "You can make that choice, as that is what the contract states…" He lowered his eyes. "…I can only hope that you don't come to regret it later."

The kid then grabbed the folder off the counter and made it disappear with a flourish of his hand, drawing another surprised look. He smiled brightly at the teen as the darkness seemed to fold in on them.

"So it begins…"

He blinked, and instantly the kid disappeared. The lights seemed to have gone out again as well. He sighed. "What the hell was that all about…?"

"Who's there?!"

A voice startled him out of his revelry immediately. He whirled around and saw a brunette girl standing a little ways off from him. The best word he could think of to describe her was 'cute'. She had an attractive, rounded face with short, shoulder length brown hair, whose beauty was marred only by the fearful expression on her face. She was dressed in a pink wool sweater and a school skirt with a red armband. Surprisingly, she also had a white gun holster strapped to her hip, complete with a silver gun inside.

She also, clearly, and perhaps most importantly, was not in a coffin.

Another one?!

He had been back in this town for less than an hour, and already, he had seen more activity during the secret hour now than in the past ten years combined! It was astonishing to him, and more than a little exciting. Bottling his surprise and excitement, he forced his thoughts back to the present, quickly analyzing his situation.

His prognosis was grim. The girl in front of him was clearly nervous, and if prior experience had taught him anything, nervous people with firearms were generally pretty dangerous. He had no means of defending himself, and cover was few and far between in the spacious lobby. If she decided to start shooting, there wouldn't be much he could do about it.

The teen started to raise his hands in the air in a non-threatening gesture, when the girl jumped at the movement and moved to draw her gun anyway. He felt his body tense, an instinctive response to her threatening movement. His gaze seemed to swim as his perception slowed to a crawl, and his eyes swiveled around the lobby, checking his options.

The distance between him and the girl made attacking her practically suicidal. She would finish her draw and be able to kill him before his third step.

That left defense, or more specifically, taking cover as his only option. The furniture to his right was closest, but definitely unsafe. Depending on the caliber of the gun she was using, she could potentially shoot right through it. The reception counter was much farther away, comparatively, and he wasn't sure if he could make it behind the counter before she started shooting. However, it was a much more solid piece of cover, and would provide much more protection from incoming fire.

Out of all available options, that was his best shot.

The teen felt his legs tense as he prepared to-

"Takeba! Wait!"

The sudden exclamation caused both teens to jump, and the teen's entire body tensed up involuntarily, preparing for the loud reports of gunshots. Surprisingly, however, the girl followed the voice's order, her hand freezing on the butt of her gun. She quickly turned towards where the voice had come from, a set of stairs lying along the backside of the building.

He instinctively followed her gaze to the staircase, where another girl was walking down. Her face was softer and more refined than the other girl's. Her angular features were further accented by her dark crimson red hair. Her outfit was equally as enticing, as she wore a white blouse, a red bowtie, the same red armband and skirt as the brunette girl, and a gun, also holstered on her hip.

Fortunately, at that exact moment, the power came back on as the secret hour ended. When the newly powered lights highlighted the teen and his raised hands, the two girls in front of him relaxed slightly. He sighed at that, relaxing himself, and re-analyzed the situation.

They were obviously not expecting him to walk in like that during the secret hour, so he could understand the caution. What he didn't get was why they were so jumpy... Or why two high school girls were openly carrying firearms…

Eh, wouldn't be the first time though… Maybe they're new to this phenomenon… I'll ask later, when their guard is down. Alright, time to play it cool.

The teen put his hands down and shoved them back into his pockets, smiling disarmingly at the two women.

"Sorry if I startled anyone," he said, laying on his thickest charm. "Didn't think anyone would be up this late."

The red headed teen visibly relaxed at his statement and replied, "That's quite alright. I assume the trains ran late?"

The teen nodded in acknowledgement, causing the redhead to sigh and shake her head. "I'm not surprised. The night trains in Iwatodai always run late… Anyway, my name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students that lives here."

Kirijo. He recognized the name from his grandfather's files. A zaibatsu with direct ties to many different Yakuza groups, the Kirijo Group practically owned Iwatodai, controlling everything from consumer products to construction and zoning.

That made the girl in front of him a very powerful woman. He would have to be careful around her. He swallowed nervously, but his smile never wavered.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Minato Arisato."

If she noticed his nervousness, she didn't show it. Her features didn't move an inch as she gestured to the brunette to her side. "This is Yukari Takeba, another student and resident."

Yukari glanced between them nervously, then waved halfheartedly to Minato. "Hi there…" She turned to Mitsuru, a concerned look on her face. "…Is it alright for him to be here?"

Mitsuru sighed, shrugging. "We'll see. It was a last-minute decision to put him here after all."

The way the conversation turned made Minato tense. With what he had seen tonight; the kid, his contract and the armed ladies in front of him, there was obviously a lot more going on than just secret times of night. The two of them obviously could experience the secret hour, same as him, and were extremely paranoid about something. So paranoid, in fact, that they were openly carrying guns around, despite the potential legal trouble.

Was the secret hour more dangerous than he thought? What part did the Kirijo Group have to play in this, if any? More worryingly, how much of this did his grandfather know before sending him here? How much was he hiding from Minato?

"Anyway, you are probably exhausted. You should get some rest before school tomorrow." Mitsuru's voice broke through Minato's pondering, causing him to snap to attention. He could worry about his grandfather's secrets later, after getting some rest.

At his nod of approval, Mitsuru turned to Yukari. "Takeba, would you mind showing him where his room is? Second floor, end of the hall."

"Ok, no problem, Senpai. Follow me, Minato-kun." The smile Yukari regarded him with was a lot more natural now, and Minato felt himself returning the gesture almost instinctively, despite his suspicion.

Sure, I'm just gonna pretend you didn't almost just blow my head off with that hand cannon of yours…

She motioned for him to follow, and he fell into step behind her. They walked up the first flight of stairs and down the hall to the last door on the right.

"This is you. Pretty easy to remember, huh? Oh yeah, a bit of friendly advice…Don't lose your key. You won't hear the end of it."

Minato smirked and said, "That sounds like it comes from experience."

Yukari grimaced slightly. "Yeah, you could say that. Any questions?"

He mulled it over. He had a lot of questions about the abnormal things that he had seen tonight, from the gun still holstered on her hip, to the fact that they could move around during the secret hour, but thought better of it. If the Kirijo Group was involved, he had best watch his step. If they suspected he was snooping around… He shook that unpleasant thought out of his head, and settled for asking a less innocuous question.

"Does that kid live here too?"

Yukari looked at him in bewilderment. "Huh? What kid?" She didn't look like she knew what he was talking about.

Hmm, looks like things are just getting stranger and stranger. If he doesn't live here, then…where did he come from?

Yukari's confused look started to turn into worry, causing Minato to rub his eyes sleepily, playing up his exhaustion. "Sorry, guess I'm more tired than I thought. Thought I saw a kid running around out there. My mistake."

It was easier to play the question off as exhaustion than to explain what he had seen during the secret hour. He really didn't want to give her more reason to be suspicious of him.

"Yeah, I understand. You've probably had a rough day…" She then tilted her head and asked, "Hey, on your way here, did you see anything…strange?"

He shook his head, a neutral look on his face. His tone was clipped when he replied with, "Nothing out of the ordinary."

Yeah, that secret hour is pretty ordinary to me by now. If they want to obfuscate, I can do the same.

She glanced at him curiously for a moment then sighed, her expression turning neutral. "Alright… Anyway, we should probably get some rest before class tomorrow. So…Good night."

Minato nodded at Yukari. "Good night, Yukari-san."

She started to walk past, but stopped and turned to him. "I know you probably have more questions, but save them for the morning, alright?"

Yukari walked down the hall, up the stairs, and out of sight. Minato watched her go, then opened his door, and looked around his room. It was functional, if not particularly comfy. He set his bag down on the desk, and collapsed on the bed. One last thought ran through his head before he slipped into unconsciousness.

Well, I'm here. Let's see what answers this place has for me in the morning, eh?

Fire. Mom and Dad, face down in a pool of blood. Gunfire. A screech, inhuman and terrifying. Darkness.

Minato woke abruptly, feeling his grasp on the images slip as they faded from his mind.

It was the dream again. The same one he had consistently over the past 10 years.

Because of the strange nature of his amnesia, he only had fragmented memories of the 7 years before the accident. He would see flashes; a shadow of a face here, a strange unknown feeling there, all coming whenever something or someone triggered it. His psychologist had stated that not only would certain sights and sounds trigger these, they might even come out in dreams every once in a while, and it was true: He had dreamed a few memories here and there. However, the only one that he seemed to have regularly was one of terror and fear.

Despite the lingering terror in his gut, he quickly scrambled out of bed and grabbed his dream journal out of his bag. His grandfather had recommended that he start recording all the details that he remembered from his dreams, saying that the less his mind needed to construct in his dreams, the easier it would be to grasp more information from them. The memories could then be separated from the dream, separating fiction from reality.

He wasn't sure he agreed, necessarily, but the act of writing helped calm him down, at the very least. He sat down at the desk after retrieving the journal, grabbed a pen out of the cup, flipped to the next empty page, and started writing.

After transcribing his dream-memories into the journal, he looked outside. The sun was already up, and people were moving about on the street below, if only just. He glanced at the clock. It read, "6:45." School started in little over an hour.

He mulled over his options. After that dream, sleep would not be easy to find again, and it wasn't worth it to try anyway. He sighed as he stripped his bedclothes off. "Might as well get ready."

He quickly washed up, and put on his brand-new school uniform. He dug out his practice saber from his things, and started going through some techniques, as if he were fencing an invisible opponent. He was midway through his sixth bout when he heard a knock on his door.

"It's Yukari. Can I come in?"

"Sure, it's open." Minato replied.

Yukari opened the door, and her eyes widened as she noticed the sabre in his hand. "Do you fence?"

Minato nodded as he put the sabre back into his closet. "I learned from my grandfather. He said that fencing is one of the few art forms that can be practical as well. Good way to relieve stress, too."

It seemed like Yukari wanted to ask more, but she thought better of it. She gestured over her shoulder at the door. "Sorry to rush you, but Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. It's getting late, so… Are you ready to go?"

Minato raised an eyebrow. He had the directions in his bag. He could probably make his own way to school, eventually…but it looked like they wanted to keep a close eye on him.

Fair enough. I'll play along… for now.

Minato walked over to the desk, grabbed his schoolbag and slung it over his shoulder. "Yup, ready."

"Cool, let's go!"

"There it is!" Yukari said, elbowing him as the train rounded the bend in the tracks.

Minato turned and looked out on the expansive school complex. Gekkoukan was a fully enclosed school campus, with 3 separate, massive buildings for elementary, middle and high school students, respectively. It also had a massive physical education facility, with two whole soccer fields and a full track course, as well as a swimming facility and several gyms.

At least, that was what it said on the brochure, which did little to give an accurate impression of just how big the school was. Tatsumi Port Island was a man-made island, built right in the middle of the Port of Iwatodai, and the school complex had to take up at least half of the island. His eyes widened as he looked out on the complex, impressed.

After a few moments, Yukari tapped his shoulder and asked, "So, are you planning on joining the fencing team? I don't know if they are recruiting or not, but…"

Her question broke Minato out of his stupor. He shrugged as he slid back into his seat. "I honestly don't know. I've never competed before. If I can get in though…" He thought about it a moment. Joining the Fencing team would provide ample opportunity for counter-surveillance. He shrugged again. "Eh, I guess I'll think about it."

"Well, good luck if you decide to try out. Mitsuru-senpai is the team captain, and let me tell you, she is a hard one to impress."

"…Really?" Minato said, a small smirk appearing. He never was one to back down from a challenge. "Well then, I have to try now."

Yukari laughed and grabbed her things as the train began to lurch into the station. "Well, good luck with that."

They walked together in companionable silence towards the main school building after leaving the train station. Luckily for Minato, the train station deposited them practically on the campus, so he didn't have to worry so much about getting lost in the future. Despite his cold observation earlier in the morning, he was actually glad that Mitsuru had Yukari escort him to school. He didn't want to end up wandering around Iwatodai all day, after all, despite his objective.

As the two of them walked, however, Minato could feel people's stares boring into him from all directions. Yukari was a known figure, it seemed. For them to be walking together like this…

He sighed. If Gekkoukan was like any other high school, then rumors were bound to start about it. There was nothing he could do about that, unfortunately. As the new guy, rumors would start about him anyway. He'd heard a variety of them over the years between the various schools he had attended.

It was frustrating to be sure, but in the end, it didn't matter what anyone thought of him. He was here for one purpose. Once that was fulfilled… He was gone.

His thoughts turned back to his escort, causing him to look at her with detached curiosity. Yukari had an easy, friendly nature, which, combined with her looks, made it easy to see why she was so popular. As they walked, she returned pleasantries with those who passed, and smiled and waved back to passing students. He smirked momentarily at the sight. She seemed like a normal high school girl, after all…

He shook his head slightly as he dismissed that last observation. He had made the mistake of assuming that before.

You know better than anyone how far others can go to deceive you...

When the two of them reached the gate, Yukari turned to him and said, "Welcome to Gekkoukan High! Hope you like it!"

Minato smiled at her greeting. "Thanks, Yukari. I hope you guys treat me well."

Things here can't possibly turn out as bad as last time, right?

"You're okay from here, right?" Yukari asked as they walked into the main hall. "You should probably head to the faculty office and find out what your homeroom is. It's down that hall to the left." She pointed at a corridor. "Well, that concludes the tour. Any questions before I go?"

Minato mulled it over. She was connected to the strange happenings here, and she knew more about what was going on here than he did. It would be advantageous to be able to reconnect with her. Perhaps he could use his charm to elicit some information from her.

He smiled disarmingly at her. "Yeah, what class are you in? In case I need to know anything else about the school."

"I dunno… I haven't looked at the classroom assignments yet." She said, shaking her head.

Minato nodded. Of course she hadn't, they'd just gotten here. "Ah, no worries then." It was no big loss. The two of them would be living together, after all, so he'd have plenty of opportunity later. He turned to go, when Yukari put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey… About last night…Don't tell anyone what you saw, okay?"

She smiled at him, and started walking down the hall towards the stairs. She waved back at him. "See you later!"

He stared at where she had disappeared up the stairs. This was the first time that she had acknowledged what had happened the night before. Minato sighed. Who could he tell that would believe him, anyway? It seemed like everyone else knew more than he did at that moment, anyways.

Ugh…I hate being the one on the back foot here…

He quickly walked down the corridor to the faculty office and entered. A woman in a pink pantsuit noticed him enter and walked up to him. "Are you the new student?" Minato nodded. She looked down at the paper on the desk, labeled 'Student Information'.

"Hmm… Minato Arisato, 16… going on 17…No previous schooling record… 12th Grade?" She gave him a surprised look. "Ahead of the curve?"

He shrugged noncommittally, and said, "I was homeschooled for most of my life. This is where I got placed when I applied." To be fair, although it was technically a lie, it was also closest to the truth.

Since beginning his work with his grandfather, he'd never stayed in one school for too long, preferring to receive instruction from his grandfather's tutors in the months between assignments. If he'd actually cared enough about studying to try, he could probably have passed his entrance exams by now. Either way, lie or not, it was much simpler using that as an excuse than trying to explain the actual laundry list of schools he'd been enrolled in before, not to mention his patchwork education.

"I see." She smiled and went back to reading his sheet. "Hmm, let's see. In 1999, your parents…" She gasped as she presumably read what had sent him away 10 years ago. Her eyes became regretful as she attempted to apologize. "I-I'm sorry, I've been so busy that I-"

Minato waved his hand dismissively, and said, "Don't worry about it. It's a well healed wound by this point."

Hah, if only that were the truth…

She nodded, giving him a small, sad smile. "I'm Ms. Toriumi. I teach Composition. Welcome to our school."

Minato smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Toriumi." He gave a small bow for emphasis.

"So polite!" She said, her smile brightening. She turned back to the sheet in her hand. "Well, let's see… Ah, you have Mr. Ono as your homeroom teacher. That is going to be room 3-D. Now, normally, you would meet up with him right now, but the Welcoming Ceremony is about to start. I'll show you to the auditorium and where you will meet with your class."

Minato nodded and followed her out of the office.

Another semester, another school, another welcoming ceremony. Let's hope this one doesn't suck like 99% of the others.

Not many things were as boring as a person who didn't know how to give a speech. Combine that inability with someone who was extremely longwinded, and you had the perfect recipe for torture. Midway through, Minato began wondering if anyone would notice if he started banging his head against the chair in front of him. At least then, something productive and somewhat entertaining would be happening.

After the extremely long speech was finally over, Minato was shuffling to his classroom with the rest of his new class, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned and saw Mitsuru Kirijo standing behind him. He felt a chill go down his spine, and he repressed the urge to shiver. How had he missed her? It wasn't like she wasn't easy to pick out of a crowd.

He smiled at her, despite his discomfort, and said, "Hello, Kirijo-san. How are you today?"

She fell into step beside him. "I am fine. Did you get to school okay? I sent Takeba…"

He nodded. "Yeah, she showed me the way here. Thanks for that, by the way."

Because even though I had the directions, I'm not sure I would have made it on time otherwise…

"You're welcome. So, are you a senior as well?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I placed into 12th when I applied to come here."

"You didn't transfer from another school?" She asked quizzically.

"Nope, I was homeschooled." He said, shaking his head.

"You must have had an excellent teacher, then, to be placed a year ahead." She said matter of factly.

"My grandfather is a very smart man." He said, grinning slightly. That was an understatement. "I know that he only hopes he managed to beat something into my thick skull through all those years."

She smiled at his self-deprecation, and the sight sent a shiver down Minato's spine that had nothing to do with discomfort.

She has a nice smile...

He shook that thought from his head. Personal entanglements, especially with women, were not okay.

Besides, you know better. She is definitely involved in something here, and you know what happens when you get involved personally in a case.

At that point, they reached their classroom and filed in. Mitsuru went to take her seat while Minato went up to introduce himself to both the class and the teacher.

"Hello, Mr. Ono? I'm the new student."

The man turned around, appraising Minato momentarily before nodding and saying, "Ms. Toriumi gave me the important details. Give me a moment." He turned to the front. "Class? We have a new student joining us today. Go ahead and introduce yourself."

Minato turned and smiled at everyone. "Hello there, I'm Minato Arisato. Pleased to meet you all."

"Try and make him feel welcome, alright?" Mr. Ono surveyed the room for a moment, then pointed at the empty seat next to Mitsuru and said, "You can sit there. Is that alright with you, Miss Kirijo?" She nodded, and he silently took his seat as the lecture began.

After class was over, Mitsuru turned to him and said, "You should head home. You'll want to get to know the area, so you don't get lost in the future."

It was a good idea, especially given his challenge for direction. "Are you headed back too?" He asked, shoving his books into his bag. If he could get her talking, maybe he might glean something from her…

She shook her head and said, "No, I have business that I need to attend to here." As she turned to leave, however, he recalled something that Yukari had said to him on the train.

"Mitsuru-san, you are captain of the fencing team, right?"

She paused for a moment, then turned back to him, a suspicious look in her eye. "Yes, I am. What about it?"

He grinned, challengingly. "Got room for another on the team?"

Her eyes widened momentarily, before a small smile broke out on her face. "You fence?" She asked, surprised.

He nodded, which caused her smile to brighten slightly. She tilted her head, and ran her eyes up and down his frame, appraising him. After a few seconds, she nodded and said, "Well, I'll have to see for myself. I think I could squeeze you into the roster…If you are any good."

"Well, I've never competed before, but…" He smirked. "…I think that I can probably convince you."

"We'll see, Arisato." She said as she turned and left the room.

Minato's smirk widened. She had a prideful and competitive nature it seemed. He could use that to his advantage.

However, as Minato was getting up to leave a moment later, a group of angry-looking boys surrounded him, cornering him on his desk. The one standing directly in front of him was a classmate of his, and he had an angry expression on his face.

"So, here for barely a day, and you're already trying to move in on Mitsuru-san and Yukari-san." He scoffed. "You got balls thinking you can come in here and try to steal them away from the rest of us. Seniority rules, new guy." The guy then flicked Minato's chest angrily.

Minato was flabbergasted. These guys honestly thought that he was trying to get with them? On his first day, no less?

He laughed deprecatingly. "Look, you know what they say about assuming things, right? You know, 'to assume makes an ass out of you…" He paused, tilting his head in mock confusion. After a moment, he clucked his tongue. "Damn, I feel like I'm forgetting part of it…" He smiled mockingly. "Ah, but then, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

The guy's face twisted into a snarl as he grabbed Minato's shirt and raised his fist threateningly. Before the guy could say anything snide, however, a shout rang out through the classroom.

"Hey, what do you guys think you're doing?!"

The one holding Minato looked over his shoulder toward the source of the voice, then quickly let go of Minato's shirt.

"C'mon, let's go." He said to his cronies. They walked out of the classroom as a group, glaring at Minato the entire time. Minato shook his head, a slight smirk on his face.

Making friends, wherever I go…

He quickly straightened out his clothes, smoothing the wrinkles out of his uniform, then turned and looked at the guy who had saved him.

Minato's savior was a silver-haired teen with a bandage over his eye, wearing a red blazer over his school shirt, and had his school jacket slung over his shoulder. He was handsome in a plain sort of way, and was well built, with broad shoulders and defined arms. The teen came over to Minato, concern written on his face.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Minato nodded, surprised by the stranger's concern. "Yeah. Thanks for the save…uh…"

The silver haired teen held out his hand. "Akihiko Sanada. I live in the same dorm as you."

Another one, huh…?

"Minato Arisato. Nice to meet you, Akihiko-san." He said, taking Akihiko's hand.

Akihiko shook his head. "Just Akihiko is fine. What did you do to piss those guys off?"

"I really don't know," Minato said, shrugging. Granted, that wasn't exactly true, but the truth wouldn't exactly make for a great conversation starter.

Better to just play ignorant.

Whether Akihiko believed him or not didn't show on his face. The silver haired boy simply nodded and said, "Alright, well, Mitsuru sent me to see if you needed help getting home."

Minato raised an eyebrow in surprise, then nodded. "Sure, I'd love some help… and some backup in case those jerks decide they wanna jump me somewhere else."

It's not because I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag with both hands and a map. Not at all…

"That ok with you?"

Akihiko just smiled, as if the threat of getting jumped excited him. "Heh, no problem."

Minato stared at the screen on his laptop as the sun faded from sight out the window.

He and Akihiko had made it back to the dorm with no further incident. He had gotten to know a little about the silver-haired teen on their way home. He was captain of the boxing team for one, and seemed to be obsessed with working out, having spent a good portion of the conversation explaining the benefits of protein for muscle growth.

He also had offered to help train Minato, and Minato had accepted. Partially to keep an eye on Akihiko, who was obviously connected to Mitsuru, and partially because he didn't want to be caught off guard by anything, be it something in the secret hour, or crazy classmates. Akihiko had grinned maniacally at that. He said he might start tomorrow, and to be prepared.

The look in Akihiko's eyes as he said that worried Minato slightly.

After they got back to the dorm, they separated and went into their respective rooms. Minato had wanted to get a better lay of the land, and so he started to look through the recent local news on his computer.

Apparently, people around Iwatodai were suffering from a strange new disease that they were calling 'Apathy Syndrome'. It apparently stripped the person of all mental faculty and emotion, and they started wandering around the city aimlessly, abandoning their jobs, families…Everything. It sounded pretty serious already and that it was getting worse.

I've never heard of a disease that does this. Hmm, I wonder if this is connected to that hour…

Minato yawned, then looked at the clock. It was almost 11.

Well, I better get some rest. No telling what might happen tomorrow.

April 8th, 2009

Luckily for Minato, the next day went off without a hitch. He had answered a few questions during the lecture that had surprised a couple of his classmates, and drawn an impressed look from Mitsuru. The toughs from yesterday didn't reappear to harass him, and he had managed to find a new takoyaki place that he liked on the way home. Afterward, he had managed to find his way back to the dorm without getting lost.

All in all, a pretty good day.

As he walked into the dorm that evening though, he saw an unfamiliar man speaking with Yukari in the lounge. He had long brown hair, a beige suit, and round spectacles. He was rather dopey looking, all things considered. As the door closed behind him, the man and Yukari stood up.

"So, this is our new guest…" The man said as he came over to shake Minato's hand. "Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school."

Surprise surged through him. Why was the chairman of the board here, of all places?

Minato shook his hand quickly, covering his surprise with a smile. "Hello, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Minato Arisato."

Ikutsuki nodded with a slight smile on his face, pleased with Minato's politeness. "Please, have a seat."

Minato sat next to Yukari on the big sofa, and Ikutsuki started. "I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment in the public dorms. Now…" The pensive look on Minato's face drew a questioning look from Ikutsuki. "Is there something you would like to ask me about, Minato-kun?"

Minato grimaced slightly as he said, "Forgive me if this sounds impertinent, but…Why are you here?"

Ikutsuki chuckled. "Why, to welcome you, of course!" He paused at the skeptical look Minato gave him. "Well, to be honest, I do have other business here; speaking of which… Where's Mitsuru, Yukari?"

Yukari spoke up for the first time that night. "She's upstairs."

Ikutsuki shook his head in a knowing way, as though this were a regular occurrence. "As diligent as always… Although, it doesn't hurt to come down and say hello…" He turned his attention back to Minato. "Is there anything else?"

Minato was tempted to ask him about the secret hour, but banished that thought quickly. Ikutsuki was obviously connected to Mitsuru, based on his words, and that meant he couldn't be trusted. If they were using Ikutsuki to keep him at the dorm, it was probably to observe him. If so, he couldn't let them know that he was on to them. They were his only lead on the secret hour, after all.

"No, I'm good. Thank you."

Ikutsuki beamed as he said, "Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He got up to leave.

As he walked past, he put his hand on Minato's shoulder. "You are probably tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'the early bird catches the bookworm!'" Minato blanched at the lame joke.

God, I hate puns normally. Bad puns though? Pouring acid in my ears would be more enjoyable.

Oblivious, Ikutsuki chuckled to himself as he walked away.

Yukari groaned apologetically as she said, "You'll get used to his lame jokes."

"If it's all the same to you," Minato replied, grimacing, "I'd rather not. My sense of humor is rather delicate, and I'd like to keep it intact."

Yukari nodded understandingly, then smirked as she turned to him. "So, I heard that you made quite the splash on your first day. You've only been here a day or so and everyone is talking about how you are trying to get with Mitsuru-senpai."

Minato scowled behind his hand. She was attempting one of two things: Fishing for information about potential weaknesses, or, much more likely, searching for fresh gossip. Either way, it was a blatant attempt to ferret information from him.

Luckily, he was rather adept at misdirection.

His scowl turned to a lewd grin as he turned to look at her. "Well, you know, a lot of those rumors are saying that I'm trying to get with you too."

Yukari froze, a dawning look of horror appearing on her face. "What?!"

He repressed the urge to laugh and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, apparently everyone thinks that you 'escorting' me to class yesterday was a surefire sign that we are dating."

She blushed and her voice became higher pitched. "B-but that's not true!"

He put on a hurt look. "It isn't? Whoops…"

Yukari's look of horror intensified and Minato found that he couldn't hold it in anymore, breaking out into snickering laughter. She blinked in surprise for a moment then glared at him, realizing what he had done. "That wasn't funny!"

He just chuckled and stood up to start heading upstairs. As he walked past Yukari, he said, "Well, then, guess not every rumor you hear is true then, huh?"

Ikutsuki walked into the control room on the 4th floor of the dorm. There was a set of chairs and sofas set up in the middle of the room, and a bank of consoles along the wall. On the computer screen was a surveillance feed of Arisato's room. Yukari and Mitsuru both sat watching the feed.

Ikutsuki chuckled at the students' diligence. "Working hard?" Mitsuru and Yukari both turned to him, giving him their attention. "So, how's he doing?"

Mitsuru stood as she answered, "He went to bed a little while ago. He's asleep now."

Ikutsuki sat down on one of the stools behind the console, staring at the sleeping boy.

Mitsuru had a concerned look. "Mr. Chairman, do you think that he's..?"

He nodded, and said, "I think so, but it's best to wait and see. The Dark Hour is about to start."

Almost as if on cue, the world took on a familiar sickly green hue. The lights in the room all went out, but the console stayed on. The subject on the screen similarly did not change. They observed for a few more minutes, until Ikutsuki breathed out and smiled.

"See? He's not in a coffin, and they haven't attempted to prey on him yet." Mitsuru and Yukari's breath both hitched at his words. "I think he has the potential."

He could be what we've been looking for...

He shook his head in self-reproach. There was no sense counting a chicken before he hatched, after all. He repressed the urge to giggle at his own pun and said, "Either way, we should continue to monitor him for a couple more days. If he is going to show any sign of his potential, then it should be evident before too much longer."

Mitsuru nodded, but Yukari shook her head slightly. She had a downcast look on her face.

Ikutsuki frowned and asked, "Is there something wrong, Yukari?"

"I dunno…" She said with a shrug. "…I feel kinda bad, spying on him like this…"

Ikutsuki got up and put a reassuring hand on Yukari's shoulder. "Think about it this way;" He said lightly, "We are watching him for his protection. If he has the potential, he needs us to learn how to control it. If he doesn't, he needs us to protect him, right?"

She nodded in acknowledgement, but his words didn't really do anything to alleviate the guilt that settled in her stomach.

April 9th, 2009

They were nipping at his heels, their screeching growing closer and closer by the second. He saw a blue door in front of him, his only means of escape.

20 feet… 10 feet… 1 foot…

He lunged toward the door, twisted the handle and pulled with all his might.

But the door refused to open.

They were getting closer, their inhuman screeching perforating every inch of his body.

There was no escape.

"Guess he was right, after all...We all get delivered to the same end..." He said as he slumped to his knees, a sad smile forming on his face. At least he would die-

No.

The thought took him by surprise.

This is it? This is your resistance? Do you WANT to die?

Of course not! He didn't want to die at all! But what choice did he have?

You have the choice that all men do when faced with death; to fight, to flee, or to die. Since you cannot flee, you MUST fight!

…But how? How could he fight back against this?!

You ask yourself the wrong question. Instead, ask yourself this; can you let yourself die without ever having known the truth?

…No.

He couldn't.

He needed to know.

He stood up and turned around.

To know, he needed to live.

The darkness grew closer. 20 feet… 10 feet…

To live, he needed to fight.

They were right on top of him now.

He set himself, raised his hand, and screamed a word of defiance against the unending blackness.

"PERSONA!"

Minato shot out of bed like a lightning bolt, a scream dying in his throat.

What...I...What the hell?

The dream had felt so real, the terror unimaginable. He stared at the wall, panting and shivering. He willed himself to forget, pushing the sense of terror and despair out of his mind. After a few minutes, his breathing returned to normal, and his shivers had ceased.

He looked up at the clock. 4:23. He groaned and flopped back onto his pillow. 3 hours. 3 hours before he had to get up.

He wasn't getting back to sleep after that nightmare, so he turned on his light and picked up his training sabre. Maybe some practice would banish the demons from his head.

Minato ended up having a rough day. He was (understandably) exhausted when he had finally left for school, so much so that he had barely been able to pay attention in class. Then, to make matters worse, Akihiko had shown up after school was out, wanting to start his training. Not having the heart to say no after he had promised, the two of them had ended up jogging for an agonizing 3 hours until, finally, Minato admitted he couldn't handle anymore.

Fortunately, Akihiko had taken mercy on him and treated him to dinner at a place called Hagakure Ramen. The two of them had gotten to know each other a little better over a bowl of ramen, talking about their studies and classmates. They had gone back to the dorm after eating, and Minato, utterly drained, had been barely able to trudge his way up the stairs to his room before collapsing in his bed.

This exhaustion was evident on the surveillance camera watching him, as Mitsuru, Yukari, and Ikutsuki continued their observations. Mitsuru chuckled at his disheveled appearance. "It looks as though he's had a rough day. Akihiko's training is like that."

"Speaking of Akihiko, where is he?" Ikutsuki asked with a small chuckle.

"He said he was going to go out again." Mitsuru said, her smile quickly turning into a frown.

Ikutsuki shook his head exasperatedly. "One of these days, he's going to get in over his head…"

Mitsuru nodded in agreement as Ikutsuki returned his attention to the boy on the screen. "How interesting…" He pondered out loud. "Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable at first…" He stood up to look closer at the boy snoring away on the screen. "…But this subject is unique. He hasn't exhibited any of the common symptoms."

Yukari scowled. "You're treating him like a guinea pig. He's a person, just like us."

Ikutsuki turned and smiled at Yukari. "I apologize for my terminology, Yukari; I am merely speaking as a scientist. I understand your concern, but it is absolutely vital that we recruit new members." His smile grew a little wider. "I've heard he's the same age as you. Wouldn't you be more comfortable with someone the same age there, backing you up?"

"Yeah, I guess…" She conceded, "But I think-"

She was interrupted by a loud beep from the console. Someone was attempting to contact them. Mitsuru reached over and tapped a button, opening the line. "Command Room. Is that you, Akihiko?"

Akihiko's panicked voice came through the speaker. "You aren't gonna believe this! This thing is huge!" He paused, as if he were looking over his shoulder. "Crap, I don't have time to talk! It's chasing me! I wanted to let you guys know, cause I'm almost there!"

Yukari flinched as the com line snapped closed. "Does that mean he's bringing that thing here?!"

Mitsuru's eyes hardened as she stood up. She turned to Ikutsuki. "Mr. Chairman, stay here," She said, her tone hard. "We'll attempt to fight them off."

"R-right," He replied nervously. "Good luck."

The two girls went to the bookcase and accessed the secret armory behind it. Yukari quickly grabbed one of the special silver guns hanging there, as well as a backsword, forgoing her usual bow and arrow. Mitsuru grabbed a thin-bladed rapier and one of the guns as well.

They quickly ran down the stairs as they heard the front door open.

Akihiko slumped to the floor as he slammed the door closed. Fighting with that huge Shadow had completely drained him, and the injuries he had sustained didn't help. Mitsuru and Yukari rushed towards him.

"Akihiko!"

"Senpai!"

He looked up at the two of them, grinning in excitement. "Get ready! They'll be here any second!"

Mitsuru glared at him. "This is not a game, Akihiko!"

Before she could scold him further, a loud bang occurred as the building shook under a large, unknown impact. Mitsuru drew her handgun from its holster before turning to Yukari. "Takeba, go upstairs and wake Arisato up. Head for the back door."

Yukari looked at her with surprise and fear. "But… what about you two?"

"We'll stop it here." Mitsuru glanced back down to Akihiko, who was checking his injuries. "You lead it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight."

He glared up at her. "Like I had a choice!" He looked to Yukari, who was frozen, watching the exchange. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

She flinched slightly at his tone, but turned and ran up the stairs.

Minato had been sleeping semi-peacefully when a loud crash and the sensation of the building shaking woke him with a start. He wiped the bleariness from his eyes and sat up.

What the hell? Earthquake? Wait, no. It's the secret hour. Whatever it was, it sounded big. Maybe I had better go investigate.

He had barely gotten off of his bed when he heard frantic knocking on his door, Yukari's panicked voice following after.

"Wake up! Please wake up!"

"I am up!" He replied. "What's-"

"Sorry, but I'm coming in!" She replied. She unlocked his door with a key, and ran in, a frightened expression on her face. She had a sword in her hand and her gun holstered on her side. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "I don't have time to explain! Come with me!"

Well, that answers one question. What is she so scared of, though…?

"Here, take this, just in case!"

She handed him the sword she was carrying. "You can do more with it than me anyway! C'mon, let's go!" She grabbed his hand, and pulled him out into the hall.

He followed her down the stairs to the back door. A loud crash on the other side of the door made them stop, just as a loud beeping came from Yukari's pocket. She pulled a black box with a speaker and a red blinking light out of her pocket, just as Mitsuru's voice came through. "Takeba, can you read me?"

She pressed a button on the side of the box, and replied, "Y-yeah, I read you, Senpai!"

"There is more than just one!" Mitsuru warned. "The one that we're fighting isn't the one that Akihiko saw!"

As if to punctuate that statement, another loud crash sounded from the back door. The wood began to visibly warp as the thing on the other side continued to bash the door down. Yukari turned and grabbed Minato, pulling him towards the stairs. "C'mon, we'll head to the roof!"

As they passed the 3rd floor, they heard a terrific crash below them as the back door buckled and fell open. Yukari looked back at Minato in fear. He shook his head and pointed up the stairs. "Keep going!" Whatever was chasing them was obviously pretty strong if it could break down a door. They didn't want to be here when it caught up.

They frantically rushed up the remaining stairs and burst through the door to the roof. Yukari slammed the door shut behind them and quickly locked it. She sighed in relief then looked at Minato. "I think we're okay for now…"

Almost as if in response to her optimism, a loud crash shook the building again.

And again.

And again.

Minato shook his head in confusion as he stared at the door. Whatever was chasing them couldn't have made it up four flights of stairs that fast, and besides, it wouldn't shake the building if it was trying to bust down a door…

But that means…!

"It's not coming through the door!" Minato shouted as the building shook again.

"Then where is it…" Yukari said, before her eyes widened in realization. "It's crawling up the side!"

He and Yukari spun around just in time to see a multitude of hands grab the ledge of the building.

The thing that pulled itself up was…indescribable.

A blue mask peeked over the edge. It had no eyes, but he could feel it looking for them. When its unsettling gaze fell upon the two teens, it made an inhuman screeching noise and pulled itself completely onto the roof. It had many hands, connected in an amorphous blob of darkness. Many of the hands pulled out sharp silver daggers the size of machetes, and, with another screech, the horror advanced menacingly towards them.

Yukari quickly yanked the handgun out of the holster on her hip, and Minato got into a fencing stance, ready to support her.

He was surprised to see that, instead of getting ready to shoot the monster, she put the gun up to her own head.

What is she doing?! Is she that scared of this thing? That isn't the answer!

He made a move to stop her, but she cried out as she yanked the gun away from her head, unable to pull the trigger. The monster rose up at the sight of hesitation, and charged.

A strangled cry rose from Minato's throat as the monster slapped Yukari aside contemptuously. She fell to the ground a few feet away and did not move or get up. It regarded him for a second, causing Minato to tense, before it turned to advance on Yukari's unmoving form, as if to finish her off.

A wave of panic crashed into him. She was a sitting duck. He had to do something!

But what can I do? If I fight this thing, I could die! I'll never know the truth, and everything I've been through will have been for nothing!

A flash of silver on the ground drew his eye.

It was Yukari's gun.

He hesitated. He looked at Yukari. He could see her breathing, but it was labored. She was unconscious.

Defenseless.

If I don't fight this thing though... We'll both die for sure.

A memory of the terror he had felt during his dream the previous night flashed across his mind.

In the dream, at the final moment, he'd had a choice; to resist and fight against the odds, or give up and accept his death. He could feel that choice was upon him once again.

He decided what he was going to do.

"Hey! Ugly!"

The monster turned to the sound of defiance from the blue haired teen.

He had her gun in his hand, pointed straight at the monster. It froze at the sight of the weapon, as if it knew what it was.

He smirked, and said confidently, "You forgot about me, didn't you?"

The monster shrieked in response and turned to face him. He adopted a shooting stance, sighted in, and pulled the trigger, bracing himself for the recoil.

Click. Nothing happened.

He pulled the trigger again, harder this time.

Click. Same result.

He grimaced as he shook the gun in frustration. "What the hell? Why won't this thing shoot!?"

He shoved the gun into his waist band and readied himself with his sword. "This isn't exactly how I planned this…" A sense of dread filled him as the monster started its advance. "Nope, definitely not how I planned this."

Mitsuru was worried. The Shadows that had attacked the front had been weak, nothing like what Akihiko had described. That meant it was still out there, somewhere. More worryingly, she could not raise Yukari on the communicator, and had not found her, Minato, or the Shadow on the cameras yet. She and Akihiko frantically searched through the surveillance feeds until…

"There!" Akihiko pointed at the roof cameras. It showed a huge Shadow, seemingly flailing around, as though it were attempting to swat a bothersome fly.

"What is it doing?" Ikutsuki asked. His question was soon answered as Minato rolled into view, wielding a sword, doing his best to dodge, parry, and evade the Shadow's attacks.

Mitsuru and Akihiko gaped at the sight on the screen. He was going toe to toe with a Shadow, without a Persona! He could be killed! They needed to get up there immediately.

"Wait!" Ikutsuki exclaimed. They turned back to the screen to watch as Minato pulled an Evoker from his waistband. Mitsuru's breath hitched. Did he know how to use the Evoker?

He looked at it momentarily, and then tossed it off screen. Mitsuru's stomach fell as her hopes were dashed. "Come on!"

She and Akihiko quickly dashed out of the Command room and up the flight of stairs towards the roof. She hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

As bad ideas went, this one was pretty high on the list. Not only was it as if he were fighting 10 on 1, but each blow he blocked felt like he was smashing his arm into a wall. Add in his exhaustion from earlier and he was having to work pretty hard just to stay alive and out of the creature's way. He was pretty sure that if the thing hit him even once, he'd be out of the fight.

He dodged one thrust and parried another, then threw in a thrust of his own, scoring a glancing hit on one of the creatures arms. The attack just seemed to make it angrier, however. The creature howled, then attacked with all its arms, simultaneously. He quickly dodged out of the way of the attack, watching as all of the monster's blades sank into the space he had just vacated, then turned and ran, attempting to stay outside of the creature's range.

Why did the gun not work? Is there something I'm missing here?

He shook his head in frustration. The only one who would know how to use the thing was Yukari.

Speaking of Yukari…

He turned to where she lay, and was happy to see that she was stirring.

Thank god, she's not dead. Maybe I'm not alone in this fight after all.

He was quickly brought back to his senses when a sharp pain lanced through his side, causing him to stumble and fall. He looked down to see a long shallow cut along the side of his belly. The monster had missed gutting him, but only barely.

Sloppy...

He looked up to see the monster getting ready to split him in two with an overhead slice. He quickly rolled to the side as the attack whistled past him, stood up, and ran near to where Yukari was. He spun around and stood between it and her, intending to cover her as she engaged from range.

Yukari groaned as she regained consciousness. "Ugh…"

"Hey! You ok?!" Minato asked, panic and exhaustion evident in his voice.

She shook her head, and replied, "I'm fine. What…" She noticed the monster still moving towards them and screamed, scrambling to her feet. She took a few steps back, putting her back against the wall.

Minato pulled the gun from his waistband, looked at it, then turned and tossed it to her. "I can't make that thing work, so however you use it, now would be a good time to do so!"

She glanced at Minato. He was clearly exhausted, and wounded. He had fought something he had no hope of winning against in order to protect her. The thought sent shame coursing through her body. He had to be scared as hell, yet, he hadn't hesitated to fight.

What kind of person would she be if she could not return the favor?

At that thought, she put the gun against her head, and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

"Persona!"

She screamed as a burst of power emitted from her. A woman on top of a bull's head suddenly appeared in the space between the teens and the monster, glowing with power.

"Io, protect us!"

Minato was dumbstruck. She had shot herself, but instead of dying of a self-inflicted gunshot, something had come out of her. A being that was immaterial, yet so real…

Something about the being's presence resonated with something inside him, like it was familiar somehow…

He was so entranced with the feeling that he barely noticed when the monster attacked the being. The monster appeared to have been driven into a frenzy by the appearance of the feminine being, lashing out with a berserker-like intensity.

When it was hit, Yukari screamed in pain, as if she had been the one hit instead. The pain appeared to be too much, and she slid to the ground, wincing.

The being disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. Having dealt with this distraction, the monster continued to advance on the two teens. The door to the roof started to shake as something tried to get through. It was looking grimmer for them with each passing moment. Despite the feeling of horror in his stomach, the feeling that the being had brought still resonated in his head. An idea started to form…

Yukari panted, fear, pain, and shame mixing into a cocktail of despair in her stomach. Even with her Persona, she couldn't protect them. It hurt too much. She didn't want to die here. Not yet.

"I think I get the gist of how to use that thing now," Minato said, drawing her gaze. The look of determination in his eyes was…inspiring. "Can I see it?"

She almost wanted to say no, that if he tried to use it without having awakened his Persona, that it could kill him.

Instead she handed the handgun over to him without a word.

Minato didn't know if this would work. Hell, he didn't even know if he believed what he was seeing. All he knew was that they were dead if he didn't do something.

It's strange when that something happens to be trying to kill yourself.

The grip of the gun felt heavy in his trembling hand as he raised it to his head. The trigger felt like it was made of lead with how slow it moved.

In the end, though, he pulled the trigger.

Blackness consumed his vision. He felt all strength leave his body as he heard the sound of glass shattering.

April 17th, 2009

Yukari looked at the blue haired teen sleeping in the hospital bed, and was beside herself with worry. When he had immediately collapsed after pulling the trigger on her Evoker, she had been terrified that she really had just killed him.

What had happened after, though, scared her even worse.

She sighed, and shook her head. She didn't need to be afraid of him. He had done what he had needed to do to save their lives, and she was grateful to him for that. She just hoped that he would wake up soon. He had been out for the past 8 days. The doctors had said that the wounds he had sustained during the battle were not life threatening, so the cause had to be exhaustion from forcing the summoning of his Persona, before it was ready.

If you could even call that thing his Persona.

She shuddered as she remembered what had happened that night.

He pulled the trigger on her Evoker, and immediately screamed, clutching his head in pain, and collapsed unconscious.

"Minato-kun!" She shouted, panic coursing through her. She attempted to pull herself up to check on him, but noticed that the telltale blue glow of a Persona summon still emitted from his unconscious body.

She stared as a large creature with a huge katana and wings made of chained together coffins formed in front of her. It turned and screamed at the gigantic Shadow that was bearing down on them.

As opposed to when she summoned her Persona, the Shadow stopped when the roar of rage came from the strange Persona.

It was almost as if it actually… feared the Persona.

This theory was confirmed when, in the blink of an eye, the Persona effortlessly split the Shadow in two with its blade. It didn't stop there, however, continuing to slash and stab the body of the Shadow with reckless abandon.

Yukari stared in fear as the Persona savagely tore apart the Shadow, almost playfully, as if it reveled in the death of its enemies. Was this Minato's Persona? If so… what did that say about him?

When the last of the Shadow had dissolved into black goo at the Persona's feet, the Persona howled in victory. It turned back to Yukari, and she glanced into its eyes. The sight would stick with her forever.

The Persona's eyes were like staring into a black hole. It was a void, devoid of light and life, threatening to consume everything in its path.

She began shaking uncontrollably, even after the Persona had vanished and Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai had burst onto the roof. They looked at the unconscious boy and at the remnants of the destroyed Shadow in confusion. Akihiko ran over to check on Minato as Mitsuru came over to Yukari.

"Takeba, what happened?"

Yukari looked into Mitsuru's eyes. "I-I don't know."

Yukari sighed bitterly, remembering Mitsuru-senpai's lecture to her after she had debriefed her older teammates. She had been sat down for about an hour, forced to hear rebukes and warnings about not giving her Evoker away to just anyone, that it was dangerous, and that Minato could easily have died if he wasn't so lucky. It's not like she'd wanted that to happen!

I'd like to see what Little Miss Perfect would have done in that situation!

She was quickly torn away from her thoughts as she heard Minato stir next to her.

He was sitting in a chair in a black expanse. He could see nothing, feel nothing.

Then all of a sudden, there he was.

That kid from the first night, sitting right in front of him, with a smug, satisfied grin on his face.

"I hope you aren't regretting rejecting the contract now."

Minato snorted derisively. "Well, to be honest, I didn't see anything in that contract about help concerning demons trying to kill me."

The boy laughed. "No, I suppose not, but the contract was meant to make things easier for you." His grin turned to a frown. "Why did you have to make it so much harder for yourself?"

"The whole thing felt weird," Minato said with a frown. "You wouldn't give me a straight answer about it, and I wasn't going to sign something that cryptic anyway. If you had told me that it would help with that thing back there to begin with…" He sighed. "Ah, well. Doesn't much matter now, does it?"

"Yes, you're right." The boy thought about this a moment, and then smiled. "Well, I can't help you in the same way as the contract would have allowed, but I can help in a different way. I can give you access to a way to defeat those creatures. Do you accept?"

Minato thought about it a moment, then nodded, and the boy closed his eyes for a few moments. When he opened them again, he smiled brightly at Minato.

"There. I can't give you access to this power now, but when you accept that part of you that you keep hidden, this power will show itself to you."

"Accept what I keep hidden?" Minato asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. The boy just nodded, clearly not offering any more information. Taking the hint, he sighed and nodded. "Ok, thanks, I guess."

"You're most welcome," The boy said with a smile. His face turned pensive. "Does…this make us friends?"

Minato looked at the boy in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that. He mulled over the question for a moment. The kid looked pretty harmless and seemed to know what was going on with all the freaky crap that had happened recently.

That was the rub though; he knew more than he was letting on. He sighed. He had a feeling things weren't about to get any easier. Any way that he could get more help from the kid would be probably be advantageous. He nodded genially, smiling at the kid. "Why the hell not? Not like I have that many friends anyways."

The kid smiled knowingly. "You have more than you might think." He stuck out his hand to shake. "My name is…Pharos."

Minato shook Pharos' hand and smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, Pharos." As his hand left the kid's grip, he felt his vision start to swim and waver.

Pharos beamed at him. "It's time for you to wake up. Good luck!"

Minato groaned as he felt sunlight pierce through his eyelids. Why do you have to do this to me, Sun? I thought we were friends… or at least had a mutual understanding… He opened his eyes to see Yukari standing over him.

She smiled as he gazed up at her. "You're awake!"

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he said, "Huh? Where am I…?"

"Tatsumi Memorial Hospital," Yukari replied. "Mitsuru-senpai's family owns it. It's only a little while away from the train station." She exhaled nervously. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I dunno," He groaned as he sat up, "Did you get the name of the truck that hit me?"

She didn't respond immediately. Instead, she quickly threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He was… surprised, to say the least.

"I was so worried! I thought that I had killed you by handing you my Evoker!" Yukari said in a muffled voice as she spoke into his shoulder.

Minato coughed in embarrassment at the close contact, glad that the two of them were alone in the room.

Thank god Naoto isn't here, or she'd never let me here the end of it.

Yukari realized what she was doing and pulled away bashfully, a blush on her cheeks. "Sorry. I'm just really glad I didn't kill you."

He laughed away his embarrassment. "I'm the one that pulled that trigger, Yukari-san."

"But I'm the one who gave the Evoker to you, even knowing what it might do to you." She said, shaking her head. "I was supposed to protect you, and I couldn't do anything…" A downcast look came over her face as guilt wormed its way through her.

A small amount of remorse shot through him for making her worry. "Hey, it's ok. I'm alive. You're alive." He smiled. "No autopsy, no foul, right?"

She laughed for a moment, the light returning to her face. "Right… Well, I imagine you have some questions for me, huh?"

He nodded. That was an understatement. "First things first; what the hell were those things?"

"We call them Shadows. Akihiko-senpai, Mitsuru-senpai, and I fight against them."

"What about the…" He stopped suddenly as a wave of dizziness swept over him and he slumped back into the bed. Yukari stood up in alarm.

"Are you ok?"

Minato nodded, the dizziness having passed. "Yeah, I'm okay… Just dizzy…"

She waved her hand in a placating gesture. "It's okay. I promise we can answer all your questions later. We'll save this for once you get out of here." She got up to leave, but seemed to remember something she wanted to say, and stopped. "I, uh…" She hesitated, "…I… wanted to tell you that… I'm sorta like you."

Minato cocked his head in puzzlement, the question he wanted to ask evident on his face. She sighed. "…My dad died in an accident when I was little, and my mom and I aren't on good terms. You're all alone too, right?" She said, glancing furtively at him.

His eyes widened as his mind went into overdrive. They knew about his past? How long had they been watching him?

She sighed as she noticed his surprise. "To be honest, I know all about your past. It didn't seem fair though, so I wanted you to know about mine… since you saved my life and all."

"I understand." He said, nodding. He really didn't, but he needed allies in this group of theirs if he was going to get to the bottom of this, and this seemed like a good place to start.

"Thanks." She said, smiling slightly before turning sullen again. "That's not all though."

She looked at the floor, her voice tiny. "My dad was working in a lab for the Kirijo Group when he died." His eyes widened in surprise. She nodded, reading his response again. "Yeah, the same group that Mitsuru-senpai's family runs. I came here looking for answers to why he died."

Minato stared as he absorbed this new information. It appeared that he wasn't the only one looking for answers here, which he could potentially turn to his advantage. He still didn't trust any of them, but Yukari had an honest reason for being here, at least.

He could extend an olive branch, open up a little.

She smiled at him, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I've wanted to share that story with someone else for a long time. Thanks for listening."

He nodded. As she turned to leave again, he spoke up. "You know, I can help with that… if you want."

She turned back and stared at him in disbelief. "Really?"

"That's kinda the reason I'm here…" He mumbled. "I'm looking for answers too."

She smiled and nodded. "Ok, I'll be sure to take you up on that." She then glanced at the clock and said, "Well, I had better get going. I'll let everyone else know that you woke up. Be a good patient, ok?"

He groaned in dismay at the prospect of staying the night in the hospital as Yukari shut the door behind her.

These places always have the worst food, and they won't let you leave. I wonder if I can sneak out…

April 18th, 2009

He ended up being discharged that night, and was back in his own bed before midnight. He got up the next morning to find Mitsuru waiting for him in the lobby.

Well, this is a surprise…

He smiled at her as he walked over. "Good morning, Mitsuru-san. How are you?"

She nodded politely. "I am fine. How are you feeling after all that?"

Surprise shot through him at her concerned tone. He hadn't expected that, not from someone like her. He stretched his sore muscles to mask his surprise. "Eh, I'll be ok in a couple of days. Just a few cuts and bruises left."

Relief visibly swept through her expression. "Good. The doctors said that there was no permanent damage either. Still, it's good to hear you are feeling fine. The first time can be rough."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, about that-"

"Not now. We will talk about it after school though, alright?" She said, giving him a placating gesture.

He tilted his head curiously, then nodded in acknowledgement. "Ok, tonight."

It made sense. She obviously wanted to explain this on her terms, with the rest of her team there to back her up. The more people she had to help explain the strange phenomenon, the better. They knew more about the secret hour than him, and apparently there was more to it than just being creepy, if that monster was any indication. It deserved more than a rushed explanation.

"However, I could not help but notice your performance from that night." He glanced at her in surprise. She had a small smile on her face. "You seem to be a fantastic fencer, based on what I saw. Rough, but with excellent stamina and poise."

He gave a surprised chuckle. So that's what this was about. "Ah…You flatter me. I hope that, unorthodox as it might have been, you were impressed with my performance?"

"So much so, that I expect you at the next meeting on Wednesday. We meet Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, every week except finals." She tilted her head, giving him a challenging look.

He grinned confidently. "All right then. I'll be there."

She smiled back, satisfied. "Good. I've been wanting a new sparring partner. You'd better not disappoint." She then turned and walked out of the dorm, a slight spring in her step.

Minato watched as she left, feeling his eyes drawn to her involuntarily. She really was quite attractive, having a confident presence that naturally drew the eye. She was obviously competitive, which was no surprise, given where she came from. What was surprising was that, despite her family's reputation, she was apparently quite honest and caring. She seemed to care for his wellbeing, and was going to make an effort to explain what had happened.

Maybe she was different from the rest of her family?

The familiar thought caused a bolt of panic to rush through him. That was not good. The last time he thought that…

It always comes back to her, doesn't it?

He shook his head as he walked out the door, pushing the vile memories from his head. Even if Mitsuru was different, she was a means to an end, nothing more. That's all she could ever be.

He would have thought that trying to explain where he had been for the past week would have been difficult, but it seemed that an excuse had already been provided for him, courtesy of Mitsuru. Apparently, he'd taken 'ill' due to the sudden change in climate brought about by his transfer and had to spend a short stay at the hospital. As such, his teachers had been remarkably understanding, even going so far as to excuse him from the work he'd missed.

The efficiency of the lie surprised him. Apparently they'd had a lot of practice making excuses for unexplainable absences.

After school, Minato returned to the dorm with Akihiko and Mitsuru. They brought him up to the fourth floor and into the command center. Yukari and Ikutsuki already sat inside. Akihiko motioned for Minato to sit as he and Mitsuru took their seats to the left and right of Ikutsuki.

"Well, now that everyone is here, we can begin," Ikutsuki said jovially. "I am glad that you are okay, Minato-kun. Not many could have survived what you went through."

"Thank you, Chairman."

He cleared his throat. "First off, let me ask you this: Would you believe me if I said that the day consisted of more than 24 hours? That there is an extra hour past the stroke of midnight?"

Minato tilted his head back and laughed. Someone else actually admitted it existed! 10 years of searching finally paid off!

Mitsuru smiled slightly, mistaking his mirth for disbelief. "Your reaction is understandable, to say the least."

If only she knew…

"Regardless," Ikutsuki continued, "The fact of the matter is that you have been experiencing a moment of time that few others have… A 'Dark Hour', so to speak."

"Remember those things you fought a week ago?" Akihiko asked with a smile. Minato nodded. "We call 'em Shadows. They attack anyone not inside a coffin during the Dark Hour, which is why they came after us a week ago."

"More like you brought them here…" Yukari muttered.

Minato smirked at Akihiko as a thought came to him. "Guess this is why you like to train so much, huh?" He asked, drawing a surprised look. "I thought it was kinda weird at first, but now it makes sense."

"Of course! These things are a real challenge!" Akihiko replied, smiling.

Mitsuru's face twisted in anger. "You got hurt just the other day!"

Ikutsuki quickly stepped in before Akihiko could retort. "Now, now, we're getting off topic." He turned back to Minato. "Long story short, we are the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. SEES for short. On paper, we are a school club. In reality, we are a group dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader, and I am the advisor. We-"

"That's all well and good," Minato interrupted, "But why do we need to worry about defeating the Shadows?" He waved his hand dismissively. "Apart from their obvious inclination towards attempted murder, of course…"

"A Shadow feeds off the life force of the people who end up outside their coffin," Mitsuru replied. "Those victims essentially become walking corpses, forgoing all their normal activity. They abandon their jobs, families…lives, because of them."

Minato snapped his fingers as he recognized the symptoms from his own research. "You're talking about Apathy Syndrome!" That was why all of the cases seemed to be centered around Iwatodai! It was probably why it hadn't made national news yet either.

The question is; how the hell did Gramps figure all this out before me? Better yet, why didn't he tell me about it before telling me to come here?

She nodded in acknowledgement, surprise written across her face. He was surprisingly quick at putting the pieces together.

Minato nodded as he processed that information, then asked, "Ok, so what about that thing that Yukari summoned with the gun? It seemed to make that Shadow go nuts."

"There are those who can function during the Dark Hour, such as yourself," Ikutsuki explained. "Some of those rare individuals even have a rarer power that can be used to fight the Shadows. We call it… 'Persona'…" He gestured to the teens sitting around him. "Mitsuru and Akihiko have it…. Yukari has it…" Ikutsuki then pointed at him. "…And so do you."

Minato shook his head. "No, I don't. I used that Evoker thing, and it knocked me right out. Right, Yukari-san?" He looked at Yukari for confirmation, but she shifted uncomfortably, averting her eyes from his.

Ikutsuki looked at Mitsuru, who nodded and walked over to the bank of consoles on the wall. She input a string of commands and brought up the surveillance tape of the fight on the roof. He watched the tape carefully as he put the gun to his head and fired.

His eyes widened at what he saw. Even though he had slumped unconscious to the ground after pulling the trigger, the same blue flash of power that had come from Yukari started to emit from him too. He watched as the Persona burst out of him, then savagely destroyed the Shadow. He watched as it turned around, howled in victory, and disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"That came out of me?"

Akihiko smirked. "Yeah, seems like a real powerful one. Congratulations."

Minato looked down at his hands, visibly shaken at what he had seen.

There is no way that there is something that...violent inside me. I was fighting that thing to survive, to protect Yukari-san. That... monster looked like it enjoyed killing it.

A dark part of his mind snickered back at him.

Is that so bad? To enjoy destroying that which threatened to kill you? After all, haven't you felt so powerless before…? If you knew then what you do now, would you have acted any different?

Ikutsuki's voice broke through his thoughts. "Unfortunately, as powerful as it is, you appeared to have awoken it before it was ready. As such, you passed out."

Minato's face twisted in confusion. "Any idea why?"

Ikutsuki shook his head. "No, you seem to be a special case." His expression suddenly twisted into a grimace. "If you don't mind, can you explain something for me?"

Minato raised a confused eyebrow."Uh… sure."

"Most people have a violent physical reaction, similar to a panic attack, when being exposed to the Dark Hour for the first time, and express disbelief bordering on denial when the truth of the matter is explained to them." Ikutsuki's eyes narrowed. "You, on the other hand, walked from the train station to the dorm with no physical symptoms whatsoever on your first night here. Not only that, but you seem to have made some rather important leaps in logic during this debriefing, which begs the question; How?"

Minato's eyes widened. They'd figured it out?

A small smile came onto Ikutsuki's face as the trap closed. "Care to explain, Minato-kun?"

Minato's face contorted in sudden rage.

How dare they ask that? They have no right!

He caught himself before he could give voice to those thoughts. The sudden savagery of his own thoughts surprised him. This wasn't how he reacted to things like this. Apathy and sarcasm were his go-to ways of deflecting unwanted questions, but he had never reacted with outright hostility before. It was unprofessional, and more so, it worried him. He breathed in and out, calming his anger and forcing himself to think rationally.

Ok, they are showing a great deal of trust in you by confiding these truths in you. That trust needs to be two way. You need to tell them the truth.

He sighed and relaxed, defeated. "The truth is… I'd already experienced this 'Dark Hour' before coming here."

Everyone else's eyes widened. "For how long?" Ikutsuki asked hesitantly.

"10 years."

Everyone froze at Minato's words.

"…What?" Mitsuru asked, eyes wide with surprise.

Minato nodded. "I've experienced the Dark Hour every night for the past 10 years."

Everyone gaped at him for a few long moments. Akihiko was the first to recover. "You've experienced the Dark Hour every night for the past 10 years?!" He exclaimed as he shot out of his seat. "How the hell have you survived against the Shadows for this long then?"

Minato shook his head. "That night a week ago was the first time I ever saw anything like those creatures before."

"You mean…you've never seen a single Shadow in the past 10 years?"

Minato nodded in acknowledgement, which caused Akihiko to slump back down into his chair. "Dammit, I was hoping you could tell us something new…"

"How interesting…" Ikutsuki muttered.

Mitsuru stared at Minato suspiciously. She thought that he had been put here through a random act of chance, but that theory was looking less and less likely by the second.

"I don't know why I have been experiencing the Dark Hour for so long." He said reluctantly. "That mystery is the whole reason that I am here."

That drew a few confused looks. He sighed. "You all know my parents died in an accident?" He got reluctant nods from each of them. So they did know his past. He continued. "What you probably don't know, is that I have no memory of that day or of the preceding years. Psychological amnesia, they called it." He shook his head. "But I do remember what came after."

He took a deep breath. "The night after I was admitted to the hospital, at around midnight, all the power went out. Every person there…the patients… the staff… They were all in huge coffins."

Mitsuru gasped. "The Dark Hour."

He nodded. "I was certain that my missing memories and my sudden introduction to this Dark Hour weren't a coincidence. They have to be connected, somehow." Minato swallowed his discomfort and asked the question that was bugging him the most. "So, now that you know all that, why I'm here…What do you want with me?"

Ikutsuki chuckled. "Why, we want you to join us, of course."

Mitsuru turned to Ikutsuki in shock. "B-but, Mr. Chairman, we talked about this! He's not ready! He can't even use his Persona correctly yet!"

Minato's lip curled in anger. Not ready? She had been listening to him, right? How much more ready could he be?! He'd been preparing for this for 10 goddamn years!

Ikutsuki sighed. "Mitsuru, be that as it may, he is a capable fighter. We can all attest to that. He may not be able to use his Persona right now, but he has more experience in the Dark Hour than any of you."

"As good of a fighter as he is, he's still not ready to come out and fight beside us!"

Ikutsuki smirked. "Oh, but didn't I hear that you wanted him to join the Fencing club as your new sparring partner? It's a perfect opportunity!"

Mitsuru's facial expression turned from one of concern and anger to fluster and confusion. "Y-yes, but that's not what I-"

Ikutsuki continued. "You get to train him to function well as part of the team, and you get a new sparring partner in the process. It's perfect!"

She thought that it was anything but perfect. She had no qualms against Arisato as a person; he had been nothing short of a gentleman to her. But putting a person who could not safely summon Persona into the field would complicate matters.

She would not be able to guarantee his safety, and to Mitsuru, the safety of her team was paramount. This new information about him also put his mental state into question. Someone who had dealt with the Dark Hour for so long without knowledge of it could not be as well-adjusted as he seemed to be, and that told her that he was still hiding things from them.

"Listen, Kirijo," Minato said, a harsh note in his tone, "I can't say that I'll ever awaken my 'Persona', or whatever, but I do know this; I am going to follow this lead. This mystery has consumed my life for the past 10 years. I am positive that this holds the key to my memories. I am going to solve it, with or without your help."

Anger burst into Mitsuru's chest. How dare he try to co-opt this group, her group, for his own purposes? He didn't have the right!

However, Minato's outburst seemed to embolden Ikutsuki. "See? It's all the more reason to have him with us. I'd rather have him use that enthusiasm to help us do our job."

Akihiko decided to throw his opinion out as well. He turned to Minato, a slight grin on his face. "Well, I can't say that I know squat about sword-fighting, but I could help with endurance training, muscle building, the works. I can get you in fighting shape for sure."

Yukari spoke up as well. "I've seen you fight. You look like you can handle yourself, and I think that you deserve answers as well. With Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai teaching you, I think that you will be fine. And, well, I trust you."

Her friendly, determined gaze made Minato feel slightly guilty. He couldn't return the feeling. He wouldn't.

The rest of the group turned to Mitsuru. She glared angrily at Minato, causing him to glare right back. "…I don't approve of this. However, it seems that my opinion does not matter in this case." She sniffed haughtily. "I can train you. It will be hard, and brutal. I hope that you can keep up." A sickly sweet smile appeared on her face. "I'd hate for you to get hurt."

Minato grimaced internally. He'd just made an enemy of the heiress to a Yakuza empire.

I'm going to suffer for this. Probably soon.

Ikutsuki smiled ignorantly as, to him, the debate was settled. He quickly pulled a silver case out from behind his chair and laid it down in front of Minato. He opened it. Inside was a red armband which read 'S.E.E.S', and a silver handgun, also engraved with the name of the club on it. "Welcome to SEES, Minato-kun."

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(Well, that was a thing. This is the first one of these I've ever done and I really hope its ok. This is a concept that I have been kicking around in my head for a while now, and I finally feel good enough about it to put it out here for you all to read. Please review if you liked it, or if you have criticism about anything. Also, please send me a message if you have a question about anything relating to the story. Thank you for reading, and I will try to have the next chapter out before too much longer! - Dr. Ninja)

Edit: I hope that this rewrite provides a deeper insight into my MC's personality as well as greater context.

Edit 2: Oh, boy. This one was interesting. I hope this edit makes Minato's early personality a little more consistent.