"Shadow/Higher being"

Chapter 28

Souji got home that night after having to deal with some guy who feared cats. Trust the fox to set him up with strange requests. Nanako seemed to have gone to bed already since he didn't hear her usual greeting. His uncle was still up however, turning pages of a binder. He seemed to be muttering angrily to himself as he looked through the pages.

"Oh, hey you're home…" Dojima said, looking to Souji. "Did you hear that? Sorry, I wasn't talking about you, though."

'Well, I didn't hear anything either way…' "Can I help you out with something?" Souji asked. Souji still remembered that disastrous night between him, Dojima, and Nanako, so the least he could do was try and make up for it.

"No… it's okay. Don't worry about it." He seemed appreciative of the gesture, though. "I was trying to find an old newspaper article… it was falling apart so I made a copy, but that copy seems to have gone missing." He let out a sigh. "There's a certain case where we don't have a suspect yet and since the trail is going cold, it's about to get buried under newer cases." He looked back to his papers. "But I can't just give up on this one. Ever…"

Souji wanted to know more, but he knew that this was a serious issue with his Uncle so he left it be for now. Just then, Nanako came into the room with a pained expression on her face.

Dojima's face turned from a serious expression to a concerned one when he saw Nanako. "What's wrong?"

"My stomach hurts…" Nanako said painfully, holding her stomach.

Dojima stood up from the table and ran over to Nanako. Souji did as well. "Was it something you ate?"

"It feels like a sharp pain below my stomach." Nanako continued painfully. Souji steadied her as Dojima looked her over. He seemed to be in a slight panic as he tried to remember if he had any medicine for this situation. Suddenly, a phone call rang out.

"Dammit! Who's calling at this time of night…?" Dojima seemed to be talking with Adachi about some kind of letter. It seemed important since Dojima rushed out the door telling Souji to look for the medicine.

"Uncle Dojima! Is that really more important than your daughter right now?" Souji yelled after his Uncle. "Geez…" Whether he heard or not, it didn't matter since he didn't come back.

"Sit down for little bit, Nanako-chan…" Souji said softly, guiding her to the couch. He ran to the cabinet where he looked for medicine. He administered the medicine to her and soon she was feeling somewhat better. He then sent her off to bed. He went to his own room afterwards and sat down to read, but he soon grew tired of that. He didn't have any game systems on him so he just watched TV for a couple hours waiting for Dojima to return. Souji heard a car pull in and went downstairs to sit until Dojima entered.

Souji was ready to reprimand him a little, despite Dojima being his uncle. Souji could tell that his uncle was in a bad mood as soon as he entered the household. "Souji… you're still up? It's late. Go to sleep." He ordered.

"But you…" Souji started. "Nanako wanted you to help her. If I wasn't here today to help, you probably would've abandoned her to get your letter anyways!"

"Shut up…" Dojima replied angrily. He seemed regret it afterward and let out a sigh. "…Sorry. You're probably right… How's Nanako…?"

"She's alright now and she should be sleeping, but…"

"You've been a great help here." Dojima continued cutting Souji off. Souji felt their bond grow stronger before Dojima sent him off to bed.

With all the family drama going on Souji had forgotten to study for the exams that were today. The last time he had studied was at the library with Yukiko and that was quite awhile back. He woke up early and crammed what he could into his head and then maybe he'd have a good chance at getting a top ten score. He rushed out the door with his breakfast while bidding Nanako a hasty goodbye. He left the house early and headed directly to school hoping to find somebody who he could study with. Luckily for him, he saw Yukiko entering the school grounds.

"Yukiko!" Souji ran up to her, out of breath.

Yukiko looked slightly startled to see Souji run up to her. "Hm? Souji-kun? What's wrong?"

"Ha… you see… Well, I didn't get to study or something like that and I'm in need of help… So please help me?" Souji pleaded.

"Um… yeah, of course. I'm always willing to help you out should you need it… Souji-kun."

"Thank you! I owe you for this." And so the two of them headed to the library where they also saw a lot of last minute crammers working together to find a means of passing the exam. The two of them somehow found a secluded area that was relatively quiet to study in.

"So, what is there first?" Souji asked, getting a few books out.

"Well I made this study sheet of everything we went over in class. It's not very specific though… I used mainly to remind myself of the subject we should be studying, but nothing specific." Yukiko said, pointing at various subjects on the paper.

"Hey, anything will help. I can't believe I forgot to study… agh!"

"It's okay. It's not like I've always studied for every exam. I forget from time to time as well. Chie and I always used to try and cram-study together whenever that happens." She gave a short laugh. "But you know, I think she really has been trying to study lately. Ever since this new year started she hasn't asked me once to cram together at the last minute. In a way, I feel at a lost about that, but it's great that she's become more independent."

"You two are best friends, and if anything our adventures together have made you two closer."

"Yes, you're right, but that's why you are the leader."

"Geez… I'm not that much of a leader. Yosuke has potential to be a great leader as well. I… just don't understand what you all see in me as a leader to be honest."

"I don't know either. It's just you, I guess. There's something about you…" She turned red slightly though Souji didn't notice.

"You know Chie told me something similar after she had gotten her Persona. I still don't understand what this quality of me is that you all seem drawn to…" Souji gave off a sigh.

"Is something the matter Souji-kun?" Yukiko asked concerned.

"…I feel a lot… angrier lately…" Souji muttered. He didn't mean to mutter it, but he wasn't sure if this was something he wanted to talk about at the moment.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear that."

"Heh, it doesn't matter. We're getting a little off subject here. Let's do what we came to do here in the first place."

The last minute studying continued until the bell rang. Souji felt he learned a bit more then he would have studying alone. The two of them headed to class where Yosuke and Chie were there talking about the exams.

"Yo, where have you two been?" Yosuke asked.

"…Studying." Souji replied simply. "I had forgotten to study so Yukiko helped me out of a jam.

"Oh?" Yosuke smirked. Souji rolled his eyes. Class began a moment later and soon the exams commenced.

The days following his encounter with Aigis, Ken, and Koromaru were probably some of the best days Minato ever had. He felt… normal to be with friends, go to school, and not having to worry about rescuing people whenever rainy days approached. Because of his character however, he knew that no matter how much he preferred his life now, he had a duty to help his friends back in Inaba in any way he could while he was away. He had gotten an update from Yosuke about the situation. He had learned that Rise had joined the team and that, despite having saved Rise, someone else had died. The investigation team was completely perplexed with this new development and honestly Minato was too. It just didn't make sense. They thought they had figured out the pattern and the commonality between the victims, but this new death had even Minato confused.

Minato had reacquainted himself with Ken and they seem to have gotten along quite well. Chihiro had been a great help at school as he struggled to keep up with school events, activities, and just the work in general. Shimizu-sensei did the same as well. He spent his free time with Aigis, Ken, Koromaru, or all three of them together.

That night the three of them went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant. It was a joyous meal as the three of them continued to reminisce over the past. Minato enjoyed these quite a bit as they helped him learn about himself and what kind of person he was or still is.

As they walked back, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere. Everyone's eyes widened as felt a familiar change in the atmosphere. Everything around them turned dark as the green moon loomed over them ominously.

"This feeling…" Ken murmured.

"…Remember me?" The man ahead sneered. To Minato's horror, it was Shakku. He looked the same as ever except for the fact that he looked like a complete mess. His hair was a bit wild and his clothes were slightly askew. Overall, he had the appearance of a very serious-looking madman.

"What do you want…?" Minato asked, glaring at Shakku.

"Because of you… I went through hell! I lost everything!" He shouted angrily.

"Tch… I didn't do anything. You attacking me first is what caused you to lose everything."

During this entire exchange, Aigis and Ken watched in curiosity until Aigis tugged on Minato's sleeve. "What's going on, Minato-san?"

"This guy is very dangerous. He has powers that seem to stretch beyond that of Persona…" Minato replied. "Damn, I don't have my Evoker or Compendium on me…" Minato muttered to Ken and Aigis.

"Minato-san… take Ken-san and find your things and Koromaru-san as well. I'll stay here to distract him." Aigis said, taking a step forward.

"Aigis…"

"Go… out of all us here at the moment, I am the only one capable of summoning my Persona."

"Be careful Aigis. Let's go Ken." Minato grabbed Ken and dragged him into an alley way.

"Oh hell no!" Shakku began to run after Minato and Ken, holding a knife in his hand with a murderous intent. Aigis stepped in front of him; her hands outstretched. She fired a few shots stopping Shakku in his tracks. "What the hell…? Get out of my way!"

"I will not!"

Minato and Ken had run part of the ways through the dark alley before Minato suddenly stopped.

"Ken… you do realize that I can't just turn my back on Aigis, right?"

"What?" Ken looked confused.

"I can't just run away while she fights that guy alone. Ken, I want you to continue on, get my things, and bring Koromaru here. I'll go back and help Aigis in any way possible."

"But you said he had a Persona. How're you supposed to fight him?"

Minato smirked a little. "A Persona is nothing without its partner. They must exist together to bring forth true potential. Aigis can handle the Persona. I'll take out Shakku. Ken, I need you to go and get our stuff just to be safe. He commands power that I still do not understand and I want to take every precaution if possible."

"…" Ken didn't really know what to say. "How are you going to fight him then?"

Minato took a quick look around the area. He picked up a trashcan lid and tested its feel. "Ah this should do fine."

"Are you serious? It's not even a proper weapon."

"Hey, anything can be a good weapon if you have no other choice. I remember when my other friends had to use wrenches and a golf club to fend off the Shadows… ah, good times… but I digress. It'll be fine Ken. I'm counting on you to get our stuff alright? I'll see you later then." And with that, Minato ran back in the direction towards Aigis.

Minato entered the scene carrying a trash lid to see Taranis and Athena clashing weapons. From the current situation it seemed like Athena had the upper hand and was pushing Taranis back. Shakku was gritting his teeth as he waved his knife in anger.

Something about Taranis was different. It was his appearance mostly. The mask on his face and the wheel he held were cracked, his robes were tattered and his sword had a rusted look about it. The most notable thing was that Taranis had many unnatural… wounds. They looked like wounds, but at the same time; they just looked like randomly placed openings on his body. Whatever the case, Minato doubted that Aigis was the cause of Taranis' state of being.

"Minato-san! What are you doing here? You were supposed to go back to the dorm with Ken-san." Aigis shouted, looking slightly panicked.

"Sorry, but no matter how I was before, the me now says I shouldn't abandon my friend to fight alone."

"Aw… so the brat comes back to be a hero. Well you can di-OW!" Minato smacked Shakku on the head with a trash lid. "What the hell? Did you just smack me with a trash lid?"

"Yeah…"

…

…

…

"Fine whatever…" Shakku stabbed at Minato with his knife which he blocked with the lid. Minato moved back to put some distance between himself and Shakku. Taranis appeared behind Minato with his sword held high and stabbed downwards.

Minato couldn't move, but he didn't have to. He was pushed to the side and he watched as the sword was plunged straight through Aigis. She lay there unmoving.

"No…"

Oh man! Another late chapter… Sorry about that, but it happens.

Betaed by RionAgrias! As always, thanks!