Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There are many things Akihiko would prefer to forget about October 4th, 2007, but there's one thing he's never forgotten.

This fateful day was the one where his closest friend, Shinjiro Aragaki, chose to put his evoker and axe down. Castor, the towering, chess-piece like knight riding a single-hoofed horse, aimed to strike down a transmogrified person rather than the shadow before it. The horn atop the steed's head only stopped short from an unexpected interruption.

The blade-like horn was halted by bronze, knife-like feathers catching it on both sides, the metals screaming into the vacant night. A humanoid figure stood before the Persona, vacant, petal-like vacancies within a silver visor, an orange hood over its head and wing-like silver plumes protruding from the backside of the hood, which billowed out around its torso, stubby, shielded hands with black fingers, where the metal gloves would reach the wrists was empty, instead tar-like fluid bubbled upward and down like a lava lamp's wax. The legs were the same way, the departure from the spear boots rippling with shadow-like sludge. The blades were connected at the hilts with more of this tar, flowing from the backsides of the hands to the base of the feet, one arm raised to fend off Castor.

It was a Shadow, one like none other.

It extended its free arm outward, shoving the Persona back from the coffin, watching idly as it vanished. Once both he and Mitsuru managed to dispatch the remaining Shadows that'd ventured beyond Tartarus, all attention had turned to the sudden visitor, which only held a defensive stance until the fight was most certainly concluded, turning back to face the coffin, a child, eyes wide with tear-filled fear, poking out from behind the container. He let out a gasp, hiding once more, peeking one eye out as the Shadow started to move forward.

"Hey- Don't you dare-!" Akihiko barked, raising his evoker to his head once again, only being stopped as Mitsuru placed a hand against it. Said Shadow lowered itself to the kid's level, reaching a hand out to carefully wipe his tears away, brushing his brown hair to the side. It then righted itself once more, glancing back at the party, where yellow shining eyes could be seen within the visor…

And then it took off.

Into the skies, where it vanished above the buildings, out of sight, but certainly not out of mind.

They had no answer to what it was as Mitsuru went to speak to the elementary-aged child, who they soon found out was Ken Amada, who'd been out late at night alongside his mother.

Had that Shadow not intervened, he would've most certainly been orphaned.

Answers to what exactly that Shadow was were sparse if not nonexistent, Mitsuru's attempts at leveraging her status to inspect Kirijo documents on the ephemeral yet ethereal forces that plague them were fruitless, as documentation on the Shadows themselves were sparse, and no information within the files seemed like it traced back to that figure.

Sanada's own attempts to encounter the monster were also cut short, with Aragaki understandably no longer willing to wield his Persona after the incident, Mitsuru insisted that he didn't face the Dark Hour alone.

A year and five months had passed, only a single sighting of the strange Shadow had been made, and had it not been for Mitsuru and Shinji's corroboration about its intervention, Akihiko would've probably passed it off as Dark Hour-induced delirium. At this time a new face arrived at the dormitory, Yukari Takeba, a fresh second-year, moved in onto the third floor, the Chairman supporting the dorm, Shuji Ikutsuki, explaining that she bore the same potential that he, Mitsuru, and Shinji had.

Despite everything that had transpired, Shinji remained in the dorms, taking leave from schooling for a time to recuperate, oftentimes lingering outside the dorm until late at night, returning only minutes before the Dark Hour descended. Akihiko knew he always stayed out at the outskirts of Port Island, the times he'd try to approach and speak with his close friend were met with silence or annoyance typically.

It disheartened him.

Not too long after Takeba's arrival was that of yet another with the same potential. Makoto Yuuki, an azure-haired boy the same age as Yukari. His eyes held a certain level of pertinent exhaustion, his flat expression holding the edges to sadness, pulled away to hide as much as possible, but just barely present.

As though being in this area added a weight to his back.

The uptick in Apathy Syndrome cases was raising urgency in trying to curb the presence of Shadows, Akihiko himself being antsy about staying still for so long. Mitsuru had finally relented, giving him permission to exit during the Dark Hour, though even without her permission he probably would've done so regardless.

Soon it was yet another day he won't forget, April 9th, 2009. Like most Dark Hour nights he'd left the dorm to strike down as many Shadows as he could run into beyond Tartarus.

He'd never seen one this large, though. Its hulking, expressionless blue mask, staring directly into his soul, dozens of hands propping itself up, one facing the mask towards him. Merely the false face it held was the size of him. He raised his iron-knuckled fists, ready to fend for his life, but barely keeping on his feet as one of its large hands slammed into him from the front, staggering as it drew a needle-like sword, thrusting it forth as it sliced straight into his shoulder. He exclaimed loudly, managing to pry himself off its blade, backing away as quickly as his feet could take him, holding his shoulder tight as he placed his evoker to his head, Polydeuces' rocket like arm pointed towards the damaged joint, the wound's bleeding ceasing for the moment.

He wouldn't be able to defeat this thing, as much as he wished he could. He whipped around to flee, the heavy pattering of the Shadows' hands slamming against the street, jostling the ground beneath his feet, barreling for him.

A sickeningly wet slap echoed out from behind him as he nearly tripped over debris, glancing back to see one of the monster's many hands writhing on the ground. The assailant… That Shadow from almost two years ago.

"You again-!" He called out, stopped as it pointed its other winged arm to the road behind it, garbled, sludgy static gurgling from its shape, small whines and whistles just barely coming to the startings of human speech, slicing its active wing through yet another arm and it took off the other way, the large shadow following after it. It was right, he needed to alert the others. As he sprinted back towards the dorm, he could hear the beast's many hands crashing onto the asphalt behind him. Seems that other Shadow couldn't keep its attention for long, and it was back after him once more.

"Mitsuru, can you hear me?!" He called out as he reached for the radio on his side.

"I can, what's going on?"

"This thing's huge! You got a read on it, right?"

"I did, it's after you?"

"Yeah, I'm just down the street, it did a good number on me, but- I'll explain once it's not trying to kill me!"

He barely made it through the door, frantically slamming it shut as he slid to the ground, Polydeuces' healing no longer holding the bleeding back.

"Akihiko!"

He weakly turned his attention up towards Mitsuru, noticing Shinji had also come to aid with his old axe in hand, despite his hesitance to fight after everything. A tired smile raised on his lips. "It's gonna be here any minute."

Mitsuru gave him a brief look before her eyes went to the wound and she turned to Shinjiro. "Take care of him best you can, just stop the bleeding."

He nodded, moving over to Akihiko's side as he tried to find something in the pockets of his maroon peacoat to hold against the injury, eventually grimacing and tearing the beanie off his head to push against the wound.

"Takeba, get Yuuki from his room." Mitsuru and Yukari staggered as the floor quaked. "You need to get him out of here."

"Okay!" She took off up the stairs as Mitsuru quickly came to Shinji's aid to get Akihiko's wound under control.

"I'll get you a new hat at some point…" He managed out as Shinjiro rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about that, dumbass."

"There, it should be-" The door to the front of the dorm jostled, and the three of them drew back, Akihiko still seething through the pain. "You brought them here, you'll need to lend a hand."

"I'm aware! Most I'm gonna be able to do is get Polydeuces to help."

"That's all I ask for." Mitsuru looked over at Shinji. "Shinjir-"

"I'll do what I can." He replied. "I grabbed one of those new models."

There were only a few small shadows that'd joined the bigger one in converging on the dorm, which were quickly dispatched by the original SEES team.

"Where's that big ass one you mentioned?"

"It was-"

"Takeba, can you read me?"

"Loud and clear!"

"Be careful, the large one is still nearby. There might be others in the area too."

"Got it, I- Ah! The back door's compromised, where do we go now? Upstairs's the only option, let's go!"

As much as Akihiko wished to also charge his way up to the rooftop to Yukari and Makoto's aid, he wasn't in the condition to do so, his shoulder barely held together to the point of a mere thread of stability. Shinji had to help him up to the upper floor, where the Chairman, Shuji Ikutsuki, watched the perimeter of the building with its abnormally plentiful cameras.

"Go on without me," He pressed, dropping down into a chair with his evoker loosely grasped in his good arm, "They're going to-"

"Wait."

Ikutsuki's stern order gave them all pause, turning back to the camera, aimed down at the rooftop.

The large Shadow ascended the wall of the dormitory, coming face-to-face with the two barely even Persona-users, charging straight for them with murderous intent. Despite Yukari's understandably yet unfortunately lackluster attempt at summoning her Persona, she was easily swatted away like a mosquito, her Evoker sliding over to Makoto's side.

"Don't move." Ikutsuki pressed again as Shinjiro started to make his way over to the stairwell.

"What, do you want them to get fuckin' killed?!" He barked, ignoring the Chairman's request to sprint his way up.

Akihiko could see why he didn't want them getting in the way, as when the rooftop door opened, the new resident picked the Evoker up with no hesitation, setting the barrel to his head and uttering the summoning word without fear.

The force of the summoning slammed the door shut, Shinjiro cursing up a storm as it hit him straight in the nose.

Orpheus, master of strings, summoned to the side of the music-loving resident, but the awe of the summoning was cut short as both Persona and master grasped for their heads in pain, a bellow of complete agony distorting Orpheus as he writhed and pulsated as though there were something within clawing to the surface.

And clawed it did, thin, white-gloved hands pulled Orpheus' face back, his body ripping into rags as yet another humanoid Persona emerged, face a silver, lizard-like, razor-toothed mask, underneath it being a human head covered completely in cloth with no features whatsoever, a cape of coffins connected by chains flared upward like its own moon, a long katana drawn from a scabbard on its side. It shrieked loudly, rocketing at the massive Shadow, slicing incoming hands as though it were tender meat, grabbing the mask it held and sending the blade straight through it, like a sharp knife being tested on paper.

It was slain in mere moments, becoming tar on the rooftop, the Persona flickering back to Orpheus in the blink of an eye. The door to the roof opened back up as Shinjiro approached Yukari's side.

"Be careful, I'm still reading Shadows around you. I'm coming up-"

Mitsusu turned and ran for the rooftop as well, Akihiko only really able to watch as the severed Shadow reformed into five smaller ones, one pointing a hand at Makoto's hand while he attempted to summon Orpheus once more, the Evoker flying off the rooftop from a concentrated blast of Agi. Two of the shadows had started for the newbie Persona user, the other three slinking towards Mitsuru, Yukari and Shinjiro, but they were easily disintegrated, their masks shredded. Mitsuru's attention shot up towards the source of the attack, though it escaped sight.

Shinjiro pushed up to his feet after grasping Yukari's shoulders as the attack had sent a whirlwind to either side, ready to charge to Makoto's aid, but stopped as the sludge that made up the three slain shadows started to pull towards the new Persona-user, drawing up his right arm.

"What the hell..?"

Makoto's eyes widened as the Shadow substance continued up his arm and he attempted to throw it off, but it made it up to his shoulder. It shaped and morphed, regaining color, becoming pretty much an exact replica of Orpheus' own arm.

It was as though something clicked for Makoto, and the remaining Shadow muck changed shape into the Persona's harp as he picked it up, charging at one of the remaining two Shadows, slamming the harp into them relentlessly. Akihiko had to look away from the screen, the lightness in his head and nausea in his stomach making the images of the brutal beatdown more perturbing than they would be otherwise. Despite this, however, before he allowed his eyes to close, he could see the expression of horror and shock in Ikutsuki's face within the reflection of the monitor.

Chapter Text

The next thing Akihiko knew he was awake in a hospital bed, the clock at his bedside indicating it was the next day. His shoulder was wrapped in bandages, pulsating in pain, and he winced, sitting himself up.

"Oh, you're awake!"

The door had slid open, Yukari's head poked in before she fully stepped in.

"Good, Mitsuru asked me to-"

"Damn dude, how'd you get your shoulder all messed up?"

Akihiko perked up, squinting in confusion as another person entered behind her, the student's expression becoming aggravated as she shot a glare at the shaven-headed boy, the navy blue cap on his head poking upwards, the rim circling the upper portion of his face, the look in his eyes held slight mischief, but clear sympathy.

"Who're you?"

"Ugh, sorry senpai, Junpei here insisted on joining me." She rolled her eyes, setting a schoolbag on a nearby chair. "As I was saying, Mitsuru asked me to bring this to you. Notes for the classes you missed and the homework."

"Oh- thanks. And, it's fine." He turned his attention to Junpei, squinting at him. "I got jumped yesterday. Make sure you don't go out too late, things have been getting sketchy lately."

Junpei squinted at him in kind. "…What?"

"Oh, nothin' sorry. I'm surprised mister boxing captain and multiple competition winner Akihiko Sanada got jumped like that."

"Well when someone's got a knife it's a bit different than an equal fistfight."

"Fair." Junpei shrugged, taking a seat on another chair. "What about that other guy? Makoto Yuuki, yeah?"

"Separate situation." Akihiko responded, looking over at Yukari. "I don't know what happened."

Her eyes widened as she crossed her arms. "I heard it was appendicitis."

"Oh yikes! I heard that sneaks up on ya fast."

The three of them continued to speak as the doctor entered, checking his wound over, giving him the thumbs up to leave for the dorm, with orders to get the wound's dressings changed nightly.

Junpei eagerly snatched up the schoolbag to lend him a hand as the three of them departed for the dorm. As soon as they made their way into the lobby, Akihiko was surprised to see Shinjiro seated in one of the chairs around the coffee table, perking up at the doors opening.

"I'm surprised you're here rather than lingering over at the station." Akihiko joked as Shinjiro's expression became a glare.

"Shut it." His attention moved to Junpei, giving the visitor a nod as he grinned and grasped his hat. "You know we aren't allowed visitors here."

"Nah, it should be okay. I'm getting outta your hair, I was just carrying Senpai's bag over." He walked over and set it on the table. "See ya guys tomorrow!" He turned tail and left, Akihiko's attention moving back to Yukari as she spoke up.

"Do you guys know each other?"

"Not really." Shinjiro replied, "He asked me a few months ago to help him get back in his house."

"You knew it was his place?"

"Of course I did- I wouldn't have just picked a random ass lock-" Shinjiro's slight offense washed away in mere moments. "It was fuckin' cold that night, I wasn't about to just keep the kid stuck in the cold weather like that." He crossed his arms. "I'm surprised someone his age lives alone but… You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess."

Yukari's expression softened at that statement, Akihiko also pausing at the words.

There were a multitude of reasons a person could be living alone like that. A recent death in the family, or being orphaned, the second of which sending pangs of sympathy through his chest.

After a few more minutes of conversation, Yukari left for her room, leaving Akihiko and Shinjiro alone in the lobby.

"You had me worried." Shinjiro admitted, leaning on his knees. "That was… A lot of blood."

"I still need to get you a new hat-"

"I don't give a shit about that-" He snapped back, straightening up with his hands in his pockets. "I'll get a new one later. It's getting too warm for 'em anyhow." His eyes hovered to the door as Mitsuru made her way in. "Good timing."

"I take it we're debriefing?"

"Seems like a good time to."

Fragrant green tea was poured out for the three of them, Mitsuru taking a seat on one of the couches, Akihiko claiming the opposite chair. He took a drink of the cup he'd been offered, flinching slightly.

"I'm still not sure how you two enjoy this." He admitted as he set it down, looking to Mitsuru as she gave him a smile.

"A difference in taste." She replied, "I appreciate you giving it a try."

"Anyways, about yesterday." Shinjiro cut straight to the matter at heart. "A lot happened."

"Obviously. The huge Shadow, whatever happened with Makoto, that knight Shadow saving my ass-"

"What?" Mitsuru blinked, "That's news to me."

"Oh, right. Didn't get a chance to talk about that." Akihiko straightened himself up, wincing as his bad shoulder shifted. "That thing showed up and distracted that Shadow."

"And whatever killed those ones that went after us on the rooftop…"

"Probably it too."

"Did it talk to you? Did you hear it?" Shinjiro pressed, and the boxer gave him a look.

"It tried to, sounded like sludge, radio static and vague human noises."

The insistence in Shinji's expression changed to disappointment at that answer. The night after the incident in 2007 he arrived home after the Dark Hour started, that Shadow having walked the entire way back with him, and he insists it's able to talk. It tried to speak to him and Mitsuru, but the sounds it made were anything but human, and it fled soon after.

"Even if it can't speak, these three incidents give me enough confidence to assume we share a similar goal." Mitsuru broke the silence. "It probably wants to get rid of Shadows like we do."

"But why? It's a Shadow itself."

"Maybe it isn't." Mitsuru suggested, crossing her legs, hands to her lap. "I don't know what it could be, but it stopped Castor from accidentally harming someone, it helped Shinjiro home the night after, and it protected you and the rest of us just last night. I think calling it a Shadow would be an insult to it."

"It sure thought of it as an insult back then." Shinjiro quipped, piquing Akihiko's curiosity.

"What did you two even talk about?"

October 5th, 2007. Midnight.

The day in and of itself had been a mere blur, he'd kept himself to his room for the majority of the time, afraid that if he were to step out into public something would happen yet again. He did eventually make his way out the door, but over to a part of the city he probably wouldn't be seen in by the other two.

The Tatsumi Port Island Station outskirts, somewhere the sketchier residents of the city would linger. The deadly, dry stare he'd give any person who'd dare approach gave him needed and wanted distance as he dwelled on the flashing memories from the day before, but his focus had been way out, as he'd easily lost track of the time during his dissociation, noticing all too late that the sky turned green and those around him were coffins once more.

A situation far more dire than it would typically seem, as Shadows indeed lingered outside of Tartarus, that's how Apathy Syndrome came to be, after all. And he was unarmed and un-evoker-ed. Staying at the station until the hour was up would be dangerous, but so would leaving.

As he fought to come up with a plan of action in his trauma-hazed and sleep-deprived mind, a shadow was cast overhead, and metal clinked against concrete on the steps behind him. He slowly turned to see the Shadow from yesterday once again.

"Are you back to finish the job?" He calmly asked, noticing the figure tilting its head, the long back to the hood dangling down as it did so. "I nearly killed someone, you stopped me. It'd only be fair if you came to make sure I couldn't do it."

The Shadow loudly huffed, putting its hands to its nonexistent hips. It seemed, disappointed, in his statement, the gesture itself feeling way too human for a monster like it.

"Come onnnnnnn, I was gonna walk you home! The electricity's gone and you're out here in the green of night without that big axe of yours or that little gun thingy. It's super dangerous to stay out here like that, yeah?"

Shinjiro quickly stood from his seat on a crate, turning to the figure, eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh now you can hear me. Why couldn't you before??? Oh, whatever. Come on, you should probably get home before your friends get worried about you."

He grimaced as he knew this thing was right. "Fine. I get to ask you a few questions, though."

"That's fine! The walk's gonna be boring anyways."

The two of them soon started back to the dorm. It would certainly be fastest and easiest to just bypass the station and walk on the railway to get home, the creature even suggested that, but it'd be risky if they ended up stumbling upon Shadows, not to mention they'd be miles away from anything but water.

So, they started towards the mall, traveling sidewalks to do so, for a portion of the distance his non-human traveling compatriot mimicked walking, its spear-feet clinking away at the sidewalk, before it gave up and glided alongside him.

"What are you?" He soon asked, and it shrugged.

"Beats me!" It quipped back, looking on ahead.

"You… Don't know."

"Nope! I know as much about me as you do. Zero, zilch, nada."

"…Do you have a name?"

"Yep! Don't wanna tell you though."

"…Why's that?"

"I dunno if you and your buddies wanna kill me! I don't want you knowing me either."

"Then why are you helping me?"

"Because I don't wanna leave you to get hurt. You guys don't seem like bad people. You want those things you call Shadows dead too."

"That's your goal?"

"Mmhm! They're trying to hurt people. They're succeeding, I don't want them to succeed. I dunno why I want them dead, it's kinda just instinct, you know?"

"The others think you're a shadow."

"I take offense to that!"

The conversation died down for a bit while Shinji took in the exchange, finding more questions to try to take advantage of this chance.

"…Do you know why I can understand you?"

"Not at all. Not sure what changed between yesterday and today, but it's convenient at least."

"And that kid, do you know if he's doing okay?" Shinjiro quietly asked, hands in his pockets as the figure stopped.

"He's doing great actually! His mom's fine."

"There's… That at least."

"Hey…" The figure caught up to him, swinging around to face him. "That whole thing wasn't your fault."

Shinjiro scowled, hands still in his pockets. "And how the hell do you know?"

"I don't. I don't really, but I mean, has it ever done that before?"

"It'd acted out before, but not like that."

"Because of that gun thingy, right?"

Shinjiro fell silent, stopping to stare at the creature standing in his path. He hadn't even registered it at the time, but Ikutsuki had explicitly lamented the instability of that model of Evoker after the incident was discussed.

He continued forward after that, the figure falling back into line after. The conversation had run dry after that, not like there weren't other things he wanted to ask, but he was certain half of the answers would be either "I don't know" or "I don't want to tell you".

It took another twenty minutes before they made it to the street the dorm was on, Mitsuru and Akihiko both running to his side before slowing to a stop at the sight of the Shadow.

"And as much as I insisted to you guys that it was talking and I could understand it, you just brushed it off."

Mitsuru looked away, "Given how sleep deprived you'd been, what you were experiencing, and everything else surrounding the events, I had assumed it was just delirium."

"I don't blame you." Shinjiro retorted. "Had it been me on your end of the situation, I'd think so too. I don't think I was mad at you guys, I don't know what I was mad at but it wasn't you."

"…And that brings us to Makoto, right?"

The two of them nodded.

"I tried to ask the Chairman about it but he told me he had no clue." Mitsuru frowned, "It's as new of a situation to him as it is to us. It was as though he'd partly become his Persona."

"And his Persona ripping apart into another one?"

"No idea on that either." Mitsuru shook her head. "It could've been a loss of control, it could've been something different. With how strange the situation is I doubt we can throw any options out. And we don't have anyone to turn to with questions."

"And our only option is probably just as clueless as we are."

"Unfortunately." She bemused, finishing her cup of tea. "Maybe encountering it again will be our only option."

Shinjiro glanced to Mitsuru as he straightened up again. "You mean I encounter it again."

"Most likely. You're the only one who can communicate with it." She started to collect the articles for the tea, the cups clinking against one another as she gathered them together. "If you wish to do so, I can navigate for you. Just let me know."

Shinjiro let out a hesitant grunt in reply, pushing to his feet. "Now's a bad time, with the new kid in the hospital, n' Aki as beat up as he is. That new girl isn't up to snuff either. It'll take time for her to get her bearings." He started off for the door. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be off."

"He still hasn't woken up?"

It was April 16th now, Mitsuru, with Shinji accompanying her, having just returned from checking in at Tatsumi. Akihiko (begrudgingly) went straight home after classes, waiting for their return.

"No, he hasn't." She responded with a frown, moving over to the dining area where Akihiko was cleaning up his dishware. "The doctor's scratching his head over it."

"They said his vitals are just fine, and he should be recovered, bloodwork came back normal too." Shinjiro added, arms crossed. "He did open his eyes and shift a bit but he wasn't even awake for a minute."

"Did the chairman have any ideas?" Akihiko moved off into the kitchen, moving to wash his things, attention still on those who arrived.

"His only suggestion is that summoning his persona was just that exhausting, which I suppose I agree with, but I can't help but be concerned."

Unfortunately all that could be done is wait for Makoto to wake up from this extended rest, or take a turn for the worse, both just as likely as one another. The evening crawled by slowly but surely as Akihiko spent some time, with Yukari's assistance and advice, mending the rips in the shoulder of one of his school uniforms.

"Honestly you might just want to throw it out…" Yukari commented, "Sure we can put it together, but I'm not sure if we can get the bloodstains out. It might just be more of a biohazard than we want to deal with."

Time continued to pass until night fell, and the Dark Hour returned as it always did.

Makoto's eyes weakly cracked open to the silent and dark room, along with the typical grumble of his stomach there was… A deeper, itchy emptiness in his chest. Not a hunger per se, but some sense of off-ness that he couldn't ignore. It felt like the inner cavity of his chest, beneath the skin and muscle, itched, a sensation that couldn't be satiated, and just a couple minutes of it was maddening.

But he was briefly distracted from the feeling by a rain-trickle like rapping against one of the hospital windows, his attention moving to see a vacant suit of armor staring through directly at him. The itch was replaced with a pit of dread briefly, as Makoto scrambled to try to escape the bed, but the different pieces of equipment set to monitor his condition made escape as easy as trying to free himself from a man-sized spider web.

Black oil slipped through the bottom of the window, dripping onto the ground before reforming into an armored hand, floating upward to crank the window open as the figure awkwardly slid its way through the gap, its steel-bladed feet softly clicking against the floor like a pair of stilettos. The beast and man stared at one another for what felt like ages, the other hand of the creature dripping with shadow residue and a split in half mask between its stubby fingers.

But then it waved awkwardly at him.

"Hey, I got you something."

Makoto blinked as it slowly and carefully danced around the wires and equipment, offering the fistful of Shadow ichor to him. Despite the disturbance and mild disgust swirling in his stomach, the itch was pulling to the forefront, and he extended a hand out to the muck, the substance reaching up to his hand as though it were magnetic putty to a magnet, disappearing as it made contact, the itch deep in himself fading just as quickly.

"How did you-"

"Huh. You don't eat it?" The figure tilted its head as it lowered its hand. "How are you feeling?"

He couldn't deny that he wasn't feeling a little less maddened with that unreachable itch gone, but the confusion he felt surmounted it. He opened his mouth again, but a loud growl interrupted his words.

"Oh! Okay, I uh, got a protein bar? Will that help?"

The figure reached underneath its cloak with one hand, moving it as though digging through a satchel full of items, pulling out a knife, pair of keys "Oh that's where that went!" a gamekid, and finally the wrapped protein bar. "Sorry, got deep pockets. Here you go."

Makoto hesitantly accepted the bar, checking it over for suitable expiry or tampering, and opened it once satisfied, taking a bite. "You eat those things?" He asked between small bites. As much as he wished to scarf the entire bar down in a few bites, he knew if he didn't pace himself he'd just cause himself more pain.

"Yeah? What do you think I'd do with em?"

"I don't know- I don't even know you."

"Fair, fair. You're gonna need to do that sometimes, else that itchiness is gonna come back."

"What was that feeling? I… I've never felt anything like it."

The figure looked around, tapping its feet awkwardly. "I don't got a lotta time cus that lady probably noticed me if she can reach that far, but it's like a soul hunger that makes you tired and drives you mad after a bit."

The figure started to move as Makoto sat back carefully. "Wait, I have a question."

It turned back to him.

"…What do those things taste like?"

The figure's shoulders shook after a brief moment as it barked out a surprised laugh, "That's what you want to know? I… Hoo, I never thought about that. I dunno, but I can tell you that it feels like… Um, pudding? I guess?"

"Huh." Makoto stared down at the empty wrapper in his hand, lightly grasping it as it crinkled. "…Can I have a name?"

"Call me Knight- a kid calls me that already." It then started to climb out the window. "Anyways, I'll come back sometime next week with more for you, hopefully sometime I can show you how to hunt." Knight waved before its hand pulled the window shut as it vanished into the sky, only minutes later the sky returned to normal midnight, the sounds of the hospital ambiance returning.

The exhaustion Makoto felt was gone, but he couldn't sleep anymore. He laid his head back, closing his eyes, trying to wait for the day to come.

Chapter Text

I'm still working on the next chapter, it's about halfway written, but as many of you know it's the holiday season and with that season is a lot of business. Thank you for your patience. :)

Chapter Text

"Shinjiro!"

A loud knock jolted the slumbering teen from his bed, his messy, short hair twisting on his head as he rubbed his face.

"What??" He called out in reply, getting up to yank the door open, only to see Mitsuru, alongside Akihiko, completely dressed to enter the night.

"I detected shadows near Tatsumi." She quickly explained, "With Yuuki in as questionable condition there as he is, I don't want to take any risks."

"The Dark Hour's almost over, isn't it?" He asked before sighing, "Lemme get a shirt on, at least-"

Aragaki was correct, by the time Mitsuru had started her detection exercises that night the Dark Hour was almost up, and by the time they set foot in the hospital the hour was gone, the hospital humming to life as it always should've been. He and Akihiko made their way up to Makoto's room as Mitsuru went to get the doctor.

Shinjiro held the door's handle as he drew a sharp breath, bracing himself for what he might see on the other side, opening it to see Makoto bolting up in bed at the sound.

"H-hey! It's okay, it's just me n' Aki." He chided, motioning for the sick student to ease up. "You're awake, at least."

"…Why are you here?" He questioned as he settled back down, laying back in the bed.

"Mitsuru thought she sensed a Shadow over here, so we came as fast as we could, though doesn't seem like it was fast enough." Akihiko frowned, turning back to the door as Mitsuru rushed her way in, her stern expression briefly losing composure into one of relief before she settled again. "He's okay, and if anything better than before."

"I can see that." Mitsuru responded, giving Makoto a small smile. "I'm relieved to see you awake. I- I have to ask," Her expression returned to seriousness, "Did you see anything up here before we arrived?"

Tell the truth?

Yes

>No

Before Makoto could really even open his mouth, she shook her head, "Oh who am I kidding, you were probably asleep this whole time, and we just startled you awake."

"Seemed like it." Shinjiro commented and Mitsuru glared over at him.

"I apologize for interrupting your extended rest- It's just…"

"How long has it been?" Makoto squinted, tilting his head at her.

"Practically a week since the incident, if you remember that. We were all… Concerned about you."

"I'm flattered." He calmly replied, "When can I get discharged? This IV's getting annoying to work around."

"Relatively soon, I hope." The doctor stepped into the room. "I'm glad to see that you've returned to the realm of the living, mister Yuuki."

The doctor did as he needed, checking the boy's vitals and health as was done earlier that day, soon giving him a complete bill of clean health so he could get going home. Suggestions to start easing back into movement with stretches and stationary exercise was among the statements the man gave, Akihiko telling him that he'd be happy to coach him through the motions if he'd need. A week isn't so much time that the body would atrophy significantly, but it's still going to be rather stiff and weak regardless.

As they left the hospital, Shinjiro glanced off the opposite way from where they were headed, and he swore he saw someone in the school uniform taking off down that way. He quickly shook the note off however, focusing on making sure Makoto was firm in his footing.

There was absolutely no way Makoto was going to be able to sleep. Seven days of lethargy and exhaustion and near-constant sleep meant he's probably caught up on well over two weeks worth of sleep, maybe even more. After a few more minutes of tossing and turning he let out an aggrieved sigh, sitting back up and wandering his way out to the second floor communal space, quietly sitting on a chair, grabbing his headphones and media player, flipping through the options and eventually settling on Mass Destruction. He tapped his foot to the beat, bobbing his head as he closed his eyes, slowly opening them as he realized…

I've been out for a week…

He sighed, "I bet I already have a mountain of homework…"

"Thankfully, it's pretty light right now."

Makoto jolted up at the voice barely heard above his music, eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh!" The owner of the voice, Yukari, backed up in surprise. She wore a matching set of mauve pajamas, pulling her hands behind her back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

He shook his head, taking his headphones off, setting his MP3 player to the side. "I wasn't expecting anyone else to be up, it's… Half past midnight."

"Yeah, um… I heard the others rush out of here earlier. Mitsuru told me you woke up. So… I wanted to check on you."

"I'm fine." He replied, hands against his lap. "I don't know if I can go to sleep though."

"You've been asleep for a whole week, I'd be more worried if you could fall back asleep." She made her way around the other side of the coffee table, taking a seat. "I was really worried about you, you know."

"Were you?"

"Mmhm." She looked away, "I mean, I was supposed to protect you, not the other way around. I failed you there."

"…What happened to me?"

"Iiiiii think we'll talk about that tomorrow." She drew out the first word as she narrowed her eyes. "Though I'll be honest and say the others don't really know either."

"My arm turned into a robot arm, then I was able to bash the hell out of those monsters," He recapped, "and just a little bit ago something that looked like a winged knight came in my room and gave me some of that sludge."

"Hold on… What do you mean?"

"I wasn't feeling good, but that thing came around and gave me some of that goop from those monsters." He traced lines against the sleeves of his shirt. "I reached out and it… Absorbed into me and I felt better."

Yukari remained silent, blankly staring at the table before looking back up at him. "I mean, if you're feeling better, that's all that matters, huh?"

Makoto's head raised back to her at that, and she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I was going to say something with your power, but I guess it's not right."

"That is?"

"I was going to say that I'm like you. We have the same power. I guess it's still halfway true…"

"You can summon one of those?"

"Supposedly, I haven't been able to yet. That's what I was trying to do before." She lowered her head, "It's terrifying to try to do, I mean it's a gun, who wouldn't be afraid putting that to their own head?" She contemplated for a moment, shaking a little. "Well, apparently you aren't."

She placed her hands back in her lap. "I um… I actually know a ton about you already."

He tilted his head.

"Do you know about the accident that happened around here? You know, that big explosion?" She continued as he nodded, "My dad died in that accident. I was little but even then it caused a rift between my mom and I." She stared over at the stairs, "I don't know what happened, but I know he worked at a research facility ran by the Kirijo group. I've been hoping to uncover more about the accident, going to this school, dealing with monsters… But you can tell how worthless I can be in a fight. That was-"

"You weren't useless." Makoto protested, causing her to jump, "…You probably weren't ready for this, I know I wasn't."

She watched curiously as he straightened his back. "I don't know what came over me, but I should've been paralyzed myself. Something else came over me that bypassed that." He made eye contact with her, "It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe you're right, but I still feel guilty." She started to stand back up, "Anyways, I should probably get back to sleep." Her slippers scuffed against the carpeted floor as she made her way over to the staircase, turning back to him. "Oh, I don't know if Mitsuru told you, but you're excused from class today, so take the time to readjust and unpack if you still have to do that. Goodnight."

He waved lightly in reply, lifting his headphones back to his ears as he occupied himself during the silent hours of the night.

It was the Dark Hour once more, the green night coming in to bring all its horrors with it. With that Aragaki felt comfortable enough to roam the streets on the secondary mission he now had, hoping it may give him time to readjust for battle once they inevitably enter Tartarus.

"Careful, Shinjiro. I'm detecting two presences nearby."

He stopped in his tracks, propping the neck of his axe against his shoulder.

"I'm not sure what they are."

"Still having trouble reading the differences between people and shadows?" He asked as he started moving again, his attention being mentally pointed down the street towards a nearby convienience store, the gesture, of which was Mitsuru's persona's doing, feeling almost like an involuntary turn to his neck, an invisible but perceptible finger pointing.

"It's-" She started, but was halted by a sudden, loud crash as black ichor splattered against the front window of the shop, causing Shinjiro to tense and almost immediately sprint towards the door, shouldering it open.

The remains of the shadow sloughed down the wall, slapping against an upturned grocery shelf before melting into the ground, its mask fractured into dozens of pieces from the center. He almost audibly questioned before halting, hearing panting from just down the aisle. Propping his axe up ready to strike, he poked his head around the rack, witnessing a familiar face. His left leg was raised up, reared back as if ready to deliver a hefty front-facing kick if anything lunged at him, the heel of his shoe had some of the ichor still sticking to it, and the boy lowered his leg and straightened up as he made eye contact with the formerly-beanie wearing delinquent.

"You?" He quipped in mild but light pitched surprise as the two of them stared each other over.

"Oh! Senpai! Why are you-"

"It's a person, Mitsuru." Shinjiro interrupted, and spoke, to what seemed to the other student like no one in particular. "And the remains of a shadow."

"…Remains?"

"Did you kick the shit out of that thing?"

"Um-" His eyes widened in surprise and fear as he backpedaled while Aragaki approached, raising his hands up slightly.

"Who is it? Is it someone we're familiar with?"

Relaying visual information was somewhat irritating for Shinjiro, but well understood. Mitsuru's persona was equipped for combat primarily, and navigation secondarily. It could read signatures and identify life with the help of special Kirijo equipment, but wasn't able to easily identify the difference between people and Shadows, not unless Mitsuru was actively aware of the identities behind the energy she detects.

"It's Junpei." He set his axe down, the weapon's clink making Junpei jump a little more, eyes almost as wide as the moon above. "What're you even out here for?"

"Food?" Junpei spluttered, backing up even more. "Why the hell do you have a real-life battleaxe??"

"Self-defense." He bluntly replied, tilting his head as he picked up Mitsuru's voice again.

"Keep Iori there, I'm on my way."

The attention pulled away from the other student was enough time for Shinjiro to look back and see that he'd disappeared from the aisle. "Junpei-!" He barked, picking his axe back up and blocking the doorway, surprising him. "Don't fucking move."

"Why? You're scarin' the shit out of me, dude! I just wanna get home."

"I'll be taking you home, it's not safe for you to just wander out there."

"Why, cus of those thugs that beat up Sanada-san?"

"What- No! I don't even know where you got that from! Do you see anything weird right now?"

"No! No I don't it's just-" Shinjiro pointed just behind the student to a coffin standing before the drink coolers. "…Oh."

"Oh." Shinjiro repeated with a slight tone, turning his head as a motorcycle roared by, stopping in front of the store.

"Is he doing alright?" She quickly asked as he moved to let her through.

"Not sure if he's disoriented or stupid, but he didn't notice the coffin until I pointed it out."

"Considering Yuuki also didn't notice the strangeness outside when he first arrived, I'd wager it's disorientation."

"Uh…" Both of their attentions turned to Junpei, who was squinting at them, "Can I get my stuff?"

A shake of the head deflated him, "No, we're taking you home. Your card isn't going to work here, neither will the cash register. Come back tomorrow and get some food." Her eyes hovered over to the tipped over shelf, "…Maybe not this store."

Junpei relented quickly, setting the few things he'd basketed back where they went (as easily as he could without as much light as would be preferred), and he followed after the two of them.

"Where do you live?"

"Just down the street."

"Did you lock yourself out again?" Shijiro flatly asked and Junpei fervently shook his head.

"No! I just found it yesterday! I just wanted some late night junk."

"In the future I'd advise against going out around midnight for your safety." Mitsuru instructed. "And don't speak of what you've seen here to anyone."

The rest of the walk was rather quiet, Junpei himself seeming a bit tired, presumably from the Dark Hour itself. He fished around for his keys and unlocked the door to his house, turning back around to the two of them. "I guess this is-"

"Hold on a moment, I have a request." Mitsuru interrupted, having propped her motorcycle against the sidewalk, approaching with paper in her pocket. "Provide me with your number, if you don't mind. I'm not sure how well you'll remember tonight, but I'd like to speak with you tomorrow. I'll reach out to arrange a time."

Junpei accepted the pen and paper quietly, furiously writing on it with a flush on his cheeks.

"This isn't a request for a date." The flush almost immediately died with that, but he relinquished his phone number. Mitsuru wrote on her own page, handing it back to the student. "The co-ed dorm where we live is accepting more students. At this second it's not the best time to speak logistics, but we can talk tomorrow."

"Okay." He softly replied as he stuffed the note away, pulling back through the door, but opened it again awkwardly. "Um, thanks for the walk."

"It's no issue, Iori. Have a good night."

The door clicked shut after a pause, and Mitsuru turned to Aragaki.

"He has the potential," She concluded, and he nodded, "I'll contact the Chairman as soon as the hour's up. Did you notice anything? I heard something about-"

"-Kicking the shit out of a shadow? Yeah, I think I walked in on the aftermath of it. If he could kill it that easily, I don't doubt he's got it."