Author's Notes: I need your guys' opinion on this chapter. Normally I don't get too involved but this felt strangely emotional to write and I'm afraid I became to close to it to edit properly. Any thoughts you have would be great. Otherwise, I will be on vacation next week. If you happen to be in Baltimore for Otacon, you might see me around.

Anna Gaskill- Thank you for pointing that out. I will address the issue when I come back from vacation.

everyone- don't hate me for bringing the sad back in this chapter. :D

Warnings: This story contains end of game spoilers for the female version (for the first play through not new game +), character death, adult themes like suicide, sex, and violence. Pairings include (so far as I know): Shinji/Mina, Aki/Mina, Junpei/Chidori, and a little bit of one sided Ken/Mina, Mitsuru/Aki, and Yukari/Junpei. That last group really is not a theme or focus.

Chapter Nine

I never could get over how amazing Mina looked. It never mattered that we had raced all the way to the dorm and I was covered in sweat, she looked perfect. Now she stood before me and I realized how stupid it was to take her to my room. I had pulled out most of the normal furniture in favor of workout equipment. I knew I couldn't just let her sit on the floor so I franticly started looking for a cushion.

Her soft giggle permeated the air and forced a smile to my lips. When she laughed it reminded me of wind chimes in the spring. I could write all day about her mannerisms but I could never speak them to her. She would probably think I was foolish. We talked for a short time and I couldn't get over the fact that Mina, my angel, was in my room. She was the first girl I had let anywhere near there.

I had been thinking for a long time about the fact that she still called me Senpai. It didn't bother me; nothing she had ever done bothered me. Still, something didn't feel right. I wanted her to call me Aki. Like Miki and Shinji did. Part of me felt nervous that she wouldn't, like she would feel offended by my informality. Then another said that she never seemed to get offended by anything that ever happened. I was at war with myself. Finally I managed to force the request out but I was nervous and only felt like more of a fool when I heard the fear in my voice.

She smiled that warm smile and leaned in closer. "Aki." She pronounced each letter carefully as our eyes meet. I felt like I could see somehow threw the ruby red that was there and into something deeper. When she said my name like that my whole body relaxed. It felt right.

I wanted to tell her how much I liked to hear her say it. I wanted to tell her how much it made me feel like I was floating but before I had the chance she scooted closer to me so her hand rested on my chest. I could feel heat spread over my whole body and less than pure thoughts ran threw my head. "Aki." The second time she spoke it her voice was raspy and dripped with some kind of desire.

At first I thought it must have been in my imagination. There's no way someone like Mina would look at me like she was or talk to me like she was. I wasn't the type to be desired, not by girls like her. Then she leaned in further, her eyes closed. She was going to kiss me! My heart was pounding as if it wanted to touch her hand. I needed to do something. Slowly, of their own accord, my arms snaked around her waist.

Instinct took over. I pulled her close and that intoxicating smell entered my nose. It was sweet but had that hint of spice that was just enough to make it so she didn't smell like those oppressive girls following me around. A jolt went through my body and my head tilted to the side in preparation of our lips meeting.

I woke with a sudden jolt right before my lips touched hers. I could still feel her warmth around me. Even the weight of her hand on my heart as she leaned forward felt dangerously real. I didn't even remember falling asleep. I glanced over to see the nurse that had been with me was transmogrified. I'd missed the coming of the dark hour.

"C-chi…chi?"

I immediately recognized the voice and turned. I expected to see the boy in pajamas like before. I had so many questions and now I had a name to his face, Ichiro.

Instead of what I was expecting I turned to see the small boy battered and bruised. His striped pajamas were torn in various places and his pale skin was littered with scratches. At first I was angry. I had no idea who had hurt him but someone had. I wanted to kill whoever did it. The desire to protect my son was intense, probably the most intense thing I had ever felt. Then I saw the tears in his eyes.

God he looked so much like Mina.

My anger melted away to something I couldn't understand or explain. Without thinking twice about it, I wanted to pick him up and hold him, but with the cast it was impossible. "Ichi…it'll be alright. I'm here now. Come on." I extended my good hand out to him to invite him up to my bed.

Just before he started to cry he managed to pull himself up and collapse into my chest. His tiny body trembled every time he sobbed and I could feel my hospital gown getting wet with his tears. I wrapped my casted arm around him to hold him close and used my good hand to gently stroke his light colored hair. The motion disturbed the port and sent tiny pulses of pain through my hand, but I didn't care. This was far more important.

I don't remember what I said. Small words of comfort that lost their meaning the instant they left my lips. I repeated things like 'it's alright' and 'you're safe' over and over. I knew somehow that none of this would truly calm him. If he was anything like me then he would need to stop on his own.

Finally he started to speak, though it didn't give me any of the information I needed. "I ripped Oji-chan's clothes…"

He had mentioned an uncle before. I figured he had to mean Shinji after I learned his identity, but I knew Shinji didn't have any clothes that would fit a child, much less these kinds of clothes. "…If he's your uncle then he won't be angry. I'm sure he'll understand. Tell me what happened, Ichi."

"He's Haha's friend. They were very close a long time ago. He used to wear these clothes when he visited her so he let me have 'em." I could tell from the tone in his voice that he was still crying. He was trying hard to stop though.

Carefully I pushed a bit of his hair away from his face. My hand encountered something hard and cold that sent chills threw me. Upon further investigation it was a bit of ice that had hardened on the strands and formed a tangle. It was slowly melting away from my body heat. It only raised more questions. "Please, Ichi, tell me what happened."

"I only wanted to help!" The sudden tone of anger and sadness hit me hard. He was suffering terribly. "They've been watching everyone. They've been so worried. They thought that since the Dark Hour was gone and everyone was safe you guys would be happy. But no one's happy."

His sobs came out harder and his tiny fists clung to my clothes in desperation. "I didn't want them to cry watching you all any more. I thought…I thought if things went back to how they were when everyone was happy then Haha wouldn't have to cry anymore. Everyone hates me now!"

I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from my chest so I could see his face. Tears streamed down and his ruby red eyes shown brightly in the creepy moonlight. I made sure he was looking at me. "I will never hate you. I love you, Ichiro." The words came from a place that I had never spoken from before. It wasn't something I had to come up with in my head or force out. It wasn't something that I over thought and became muddled in my awkwardness. This was from somewhere deeper within me. I meant every word, ever sentiment, from my heart.

Immediately his tears stopped. I felt my heart lighten slightly in that at least I had calmed him. At least I had helped. "I love you too, Chichi. You're the best daddy in the world." He clung to me again, but I didn't mind. His words lifted my spirit more. I knew it was a lie, at least in my mind. There was no way I was, but if he thought that then maybe I had handled this situation correctly. I didn't know, I had nothing to compare it to.

"Ichi, this is very important. Who hurt you? What happened?"

"I just wanted to talk. I explained to some why I was there and why they needed me. They didn't like me either. The hat-man told me to go away and he didn't want me to come back. The quiet-lady told me I was wrong and I shouldn't have done it. I went to see someone else today, the pretty-lady. At least I thought she was the pretty-lady, but she wasn't. She's just mean. She said that she would stop me and that she would take me for questioning but I didn't want to go with her. If I went with her I couldn't see the other people and I couldn't see you. She sent the mean persona after me. It was cold."

There was no question in my mind he was talking about Mitsuru. After what Fuuka had said and seeing the ice there was no one else it could have been. Somehow I was able to contain my anger and remain passively calm for his sake. I didn't need for him to see me upset, not when he was counting on me to be strong. "I didn't know what else to do. I…I did something bad then. Don't be mad at me, Chichi…"

"What did you do?" I knew it didn't matter what he answered, the likelihood that I'd ever be mad at him was gone the moment I learned he was my son.

"I stole from the mean-lady." He reached into the waist band of his pants and pulled out a small wrapped bundle. "I brought it for you. She didn't see me take it."

I unwrapped it hesitantly. I should have told him that stealing was wrong, but I didn't care. It was just Mitsuru and at that point I would have rather never talked about her again. The gift was a sleek looking pistol shining as if it were brand new. S.E.E.S. was printed in delicate letters on the side. It was warm and light to hold, not like a real pistol at all. "Ceaser…"

Ichiro nodded with a slightly smile. It was the first look of happiness since he arrived. At least he was able to ignore the pain of his minor wounds. "If mean-lady comes after me…I wouldn't know what to do…"

I focused my mind on healing diahran. "Ceaser!" It felt so much better than the real pistol had. I felt Ceaser's presence fill me then spill out. He appeared next to the bed, rose his arm and I watched Ichiro get enveloped in light. As Ceaser receded back within me all of the cuts on the little child disappeared into nothingness. "I wouldn't let her. Ceaser and I will protect you, always."

He snuggled back against me with a happy sigh. Somehow everything was alright again. I felt better as the loneliness in my heart disappeared. "Thank you, Chichi. You're the best…but…I have to go now."

"Go? Why?"

"I can only come during my time. Don't worry. I'll come back tomorrow. There's a full moon…"

Just like that he was gone. The nurse was back to normal and small light on my phone was back on. At first I was worried that I had just awoken from another dream, but the envoker in my hands was proof enough. I shoved it under my pillow before it was seen, no one would be happy about me having a gun like object.

Full moon or not, I knew what I had to do now. I'd be willing to protect my son with my life and if it meant turning against Mitsuru, then so be it.