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Chapter Text

3/5/2010 - Gekkoukan High - Morning

She remembered. She remembered everything. The Promised Day. Minato fighting as hard as he could, more than anyone else did that day. She remembered him flying into the moon, and worried her nightmare would come true...

It explained everything. Why he was so tired. She never saw anyone fight like that, not even him. He summoned two Personae at one point, and fused them mid battle. He fought alone when no one else could.

She was the first to run out the auditorium doors. She didn't care about seeing if the others were coming with her. She just wanted to see him. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could, and she could hear more footsteps behind her. They all remembered too.

She made it to the door to the roof, and she pushed it open as hard as she could. And in front of her was everything she hoped. He was lying on the bench with one arm hanging down. He had his eyes on the cherry blossoms falling from the sky. Aigis was sky next to him, and Mitsuru could tell she had been crying.

She couldn't hold it in. "MINATO!!!"

She sprinted towards him, and wordlessly, Aigis got up and moved away, letting her be alone with him. She sat down next to him, and gently moved his head onto her lap, and slowly stroked his soft hair.

"I remember... I remember everything... You fought so hard that day, and it took so much out of you... and we didn't even know..."

She couldn't truly put to words how guilty she felt. He was struggling, and she couldn't even remember why.

"I... I'll never forgive myself for allowing myself... to forget what we have been through. But when I remembered on that stage, there was nothing more I wanted than to see you. And I knew you were stubborn, so you fought to come up here, as tired as you are."

She couldn't stop her tears at all. Her happy tears fell from his face onto his. She would normally apologise, but it seemed like Minato just wanted to close his eyes. He looked so happy to see her here.

"You must be so tired, coming up here... Rest now, Mina. Come what may... we'll always be together..."

Mitsuru saw him smile. "I love you, Mitsuru..."

She had never smiled so brightly before. "I love you too, Minato. Now and always."

She heard everyone running up to them, all of them as happy as she was. She saw Minato close his eyes, still with a smile on his face.

Rest your eyes, Mina. You deserve it.

He looked so peaceful, sleeping on her lap like this.

Everyone stopped next to them, and they were all panting at how much they ran.

"We... we remembered." Yukari said between breaths.

"Goddamn.... Remind me to never run up those stairs again." Junpei chuckled.

Everything was perfect. They all remembered their promise. They all smiled and laughed, and admired the beauty of the cherry blossoms. They made it to spring.

Minato was still soundly sleeping, and Mitsuru couldn't help but love at how adorable he looked on her lap like this.

"Wait..." Fuuka muttered, and everyone looked at her. She had a look on her face that worried Mitsuru. "Something's wrong..."

Mitsuru's heart began to quicken. "What do you mean 'something's wrong'?"

Fuuka held a hand to her mouth. "I... I can barely feel Minato-kun's energy! Something's wrong!"

Everyone stopped smiling immediately. A cloud of absolute dread fell onto them all.

Mitsuru's mind just stopped. She couldn't think. She couldn't even breathe.

"Yukari! Call an ambulance! Junpei! Help me get him!" Akihiko immediately took charge.

The word 'ambulance' brought her back to reality. But this didn't feel like reality.

Akihiko grabbed Minato by the shoulders, and Junpei grabbed his legs. They lifted him off of Mitsuru and placed him on the ground. Akihiko knelt down and placed an ear over his mouth and nose.

"He's not breathing!" He immediately moved his hands to his chest, and began pressing down hard and in rhythm. Mitsuru heard Yukari shouting down her phone, begging the operator to get an ambulance down as quick as they could.

"Mitsuru! I need you to breathe into his mouth when I say!" Akihiko ordered, and she immediately rushed down to Minato's side. Akihiko soon stopped giving him compressions. "Now!"

Despite the absolute terror building in her, she did as he ordered, and breathed into him. His lips felt so cold...

Akihiko went back to compressions, and he began to look even more desperate.

"Come on, Minato... COME ON!!!" Akihiko had tears coming out of his eyes.

Everyone just stared in horror. Yukari, Fuuka, Ken, and Aigis had tears falling down their faces, and Junpei was just stood in complete shock.

Mitsuru couldn't accept it. She wouldn't accept it. Only when she hears-

"He's... he's gone..." Her voice was below even a whisper.

No... no no no no...

He promised he wouldn't...

He said our engagement was a promise...

I can't lose you...

I already lost my father...

I can't...

"GODDAMMIT!" Akihiko punched the ground hard, almost cracking the floor beneath him, before succumbing to his tears.

Mitsuru's movements were slow. She moved her hands up to his face. His skin was ice cold. She picked him up enough so that she could rest his head on her chest, just like how he loved to be held.

She hadn't breathed once. His body felt empty. Hollow.

Her mind went completely blank. She lost all sense of being. She couldn't hear anyone now. She wasn't sure if the others were talking or sobbing.

She lost everything. She lost her father not even half a year ago. And now she lost the love of her life.

Maybe this is what he meant. How Death takes everything you love.

She felt Artemisia cry in pain. It was the most emotion she had ever felt coming from her Persona.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't his. She doesn't want to feel the touch of anyone if it wasn't his. And she wasn't going to feel it anymore.

She wasn't going to feel anything from him anymore. She wasn't going to see his smile. Hear his voice. Feel his touch.

He was gone.

She let out a heart-shattering sob. A sob she'd never made before. Not even when she lost her father. Minato made her experience love for the first time. And now that was gone.

He was gone.

The sound of an ambulance got closer. The sound of more footsteps got closer. She didn't want to let him go. She wanted to be with him. But she had to.

The paramedics checked his pulse, and tried to resuscitate him. She knew it wouldn't matter. Fuuka had already said enough. She couldn't make out much, apart from something that rung out like a bell in her ears. They pronounced him dead at the scene, at 9:42am. She knew he was gone, yet hearing that made her sob all over again.

The school had them all go home early. Some of the teachers offered their condolences, but whenever she heard them, she started sobbing all over again, so Akihiko had to stop people from approaching her. She didn't want to hear them. What good would condolences do?

She wasn't sure how she got back to the dorm. Time had felt all over the place. She somehow stopped crying, but only because she had no more tears left in her. She probably would've never stopped crying if her body allowed her to. When they walked through the doors, no one said a single word. Mitsuru wanted to go straight to her room and just disappear. But a part of her also wanted to go to his room and do the same in there. She didn't feel ready for that though. She wasn't sure if she ever would be.

Akihiko said he would handle any paperwork that was necessary. She tried to thank him for that, but the words wouldn't come out. She wasn't sure if she wanted to speak if the person who loved her voice the most wasn't here to hear it anymore.

Mitsuru saw everyone sitting in the lounge, but she couldn't bring herself to join them. She may have heard them speak, but she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of much of anything. Each step she took to her room felt worse and worse. When she made it up the first flight of stairs, she looked down the hallway and saw his door. Her emotions began to get the better of her again before she ran up the rest of the stairs, sprinting to her room. The tears began to breach her eyes, so she ran straight to her bed and sunk her head into her pillow, letting out a muffled scream.

She couldn't stop thinking about his promise. The paramedics took his body, but they gave her his ring. She still had it in her hand as she bawled her eyes out, and she didn't know if she wanted to clutch onto it tight and never let it go or hide it away forever. He broke their promise. He broke her heart. What is the point in living if all the people she loved died?

Maybe this is how he felt ten years ago.

Akihiko's fist was throbbing in pain. He tried. He goddamn tried to save him.

He noticed him getting worse, yet he did nothing. He just assumed he was burned out. Mitsuru told him he supposedly was burned out. He had no reason to doubt her. What kind of friend was he? He was mere metres away from him at times, not even knowing he was dying.

Akihiko stepped up to cover any paperwork, since he knew Mitsuru would not be able to handle it. Her father was one thing, but her dead fiancé was another thing entirely.

He was sat in the lounge, with everyone barring Mitsuru silent around him. He saw her rush up the stairs, and he knew what was the reason why.

He saw Ken hugging Koromaru tight in his arms, and the girls were all wiping their eyes from the tears. Junpei looked completely shell-shocked.

"I... I can't believe this is happening..." Junpei murmured. "Minato... he's..." He looked away and covered his mouth with his hand.

"He was dying... he wasn't burned out... he was dying and we didn't do anything..." Yukari muttered, almost on the verge of tears.

Koromaru whimpered on Ken's lap. "I can't believe he's gone..."

Everyone was sat in silence again for another moment before Fuuka spoke. "Is... is Mitsuru-senpai handling..." She trailed off halfway through, probably not even wanting to comprehend the reality around them.

Akihiko shook his head. "No, I'm handling everything. I don't think Mitsuru can handle it."

Fuuka nodded, seemingly accepting that answer.

He hoped Mitsuru would try to take care of herself.

But he doubted it.

3/6/2010 - Iwatodai Dorm - Morning

Mitsuru woke up in what used to be the comfort of her bed. But it wasn't comfortable anymore. She didn't feel his warmth next to her. She didn't feel his arms around her as she slept. She didn't want to wake up knowing he wasn't here to make her feel safe. To make her feel loved.

She didn't bother with her morning routine. She didn't really feel like leaving her room today. The ring on her finger felt tight, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to keep it on. Her pain was overwhelming, and she just couldn't get over the fact that he promised her.

She tried to close her eyes, but she felt the tears coming again. She wasn't going to see him anymore. She wasn't going to hear him anymore. She wasn't going to feel him anymore.

There was a knock at her door, and then she heard Akihiko's voice on the other side.

"Mitsuru, are you..." There was a pause for a moment. "Are you okay to talk?"

She wasn't, but she figured she had to. She pushed herself out of bed, noticing how much weaker she already felt. She didn't eat at all yesterday, and if she was being honest, she didn't see herself eating today either. She opened the door, and was met with Akihiko's downturned eyes.

"Akihiko..." Mitsuru greeted him quietly.

"Hey, Mitsuru..." He paused, and Mitsuru could see the pain in his eyes. "The hospital called. They, um... they said if you want to see him one more time, then you should head there today."

She immediately felt sick hearing those words, and everything in her wanted to say no, shut the door and sob. But even with that voice screaming in her head, she needed to see him one last time.

"Okay, I... I'll get ready then." Her voice was hoarse, and Akihiko simply nodded before leaving to head back downstairs.

Mitsuru swallowed the bile forming in her throat and closed the bedroom door. She walked over to her closet, and put on a simple outfit. She tried to make herself as presentable as she could.

Soon, she left her room and went down to the lobby, and saw everyone standing at the door. The sight of them all almost brought her to tears again.

"We all wanted to see him." Yukari said somberly. "But Aigis..."

Her surprise could be seen on her face. And Yukari was right. Aigis wasnt stood with them all. Mitsuru was confused, but also incredibly hurt. She understood her and Minato's... complicated at best dynamic, but by the end, she was even with him during his final moments. But that she wasn't going to see him one last time?

She didn't want to dwell on it now. She needed to keep herself together.

"Thank you... all of you. I know... I know he would appreciate it." Her voice began to crack at the end, but she kept her composure as best she could.

They all made their way to the hospital, but none of them said a word. It felt too painful to be making these steps, but she had to. They eventually made it, and Mitsuru's nausea felt even more powerful, but she had to keep it within herself. She couldn't break infront of them all. Not after yesterday...

Akihiko started to walk over to the reception counter, but Mitsuru stopped him, saying that she could do it. She had to.

When she asked the receptionist of where he was, the look she gave Mitsuru spelled pity, or at least that's what she thought. She called over a nurse who began to direct them to a hospital room.

The nurse silently stood outside, waiting for whoever was going to make the first step.

"I think Mitsuru-senpai should go first." Yukari suggested.

No one disagreed, but Mitsuru was dreading being in there alone. She wasn't sure if she could ever leave his side if it was just her.

"Could you... could you come with me, Yukari?" She asked, and Yukari looked at her with widened eyes, but she didn't deny her request.

The nurse led them in, and Mitsuru's first sight was a body covered by a white sheet. She felt sick looking at it, just knowing it was him under that sheet. The nurse gently removed the sheet from his face, and she felt the vomit begin to come up. She forced it down as best as she could, but the tears began to fall. She couldn't keep herself together.

She slowly walked over to the head of the bed, and kneeled down at his side. That sick sense of deja vu hit her hard. It reminded her back when he saved her life from the Reaper. The reason they even got together. She could see the top of his scar as it extended past the shirt he wore.

His skin was so pale. His lips were chapped and his hair looked messy. Her hand began to shake as she ran her fingers through his deep blue hair. She heard Yukari quietly sob behind her, and it was hard to not do the same. Her tears didn't stop, and she wondered if they ever would. This was the cost of saving the world. She lost him for the world.

And frankly, it wasn't worth it.

Chapter Text

3/6/2010 – Tatsumi Memorial Hospital – Afternoon

Yukari stood behind Mitsuru, unable to hold back her tears. Seeing her senpai, crying at the side of her dead fiancé, just broke something in her. She was honestly terrified of what Mitsuru would do to herself now. Her father and her fiancé? Only within 4 months of each other?

Minato saved everyone here. He saved Yukari the first night he awoke to his power. He saved Mitsuru’s life in Tartarus against the Reaper. He saved them all from Nyx. He saved the world from Nyx. But despite all of that, he couldn’t live the life he wanted; the life he deserved.

He never had it easy, Yukari thought. Lost his parents and his sister the day after his 7th birthday; abused for a near decade to the point of near suicide; corrupted by the power of a god that almost drove him to his death. And he died to save the world. Did the gods really hate him that much where they made him suffer as much as he did?

She wanted him to come with her when she reunited with her mom. She even said the day before he died. He and Mitsuru were supposed to come with her. But now he is gone. And Yukari doubted Mitsuru would do anything now. Not without him.

Yukari took a few more steps closer to Mitsuru, who was still kneeling at his side. The sobs she was making hurt Yukari even more. She crouched down to her level and put a hand on Mitsuru’s shoulder, but she felt it tense up. She pulled away slightly, and just looked at her with pure sorrow. Seeing Mitsuru, so utterly broken, scared her. She has only seen her somewhat like this before, and that was with the death of her father. This feels different though. Yukari heard in their conversations about a promise, maybe it had something to do with that?

Yukari wanted to be there for Mitsuru, but she wasn’t sure how. She wasn’t sure if she even could. She was trying to be strong for her, but it was hard. She just wanted to go to her room and cry. She wanted to break down. Minato was one of her closest friends, and he was gone.

She looked over at Mitsuru again, who had stopped crying for the time being.

“I love you…” Yukari heard her whisper before she leaned towards his forehead, and planted a long kiss. When she pulled away, she saw Mitsuru’s lips quiver, and another tear fell from her eye. They both stood up straight and looked at each other.

“I think we should let the others come in…” Mitsuru said, but she clearly looked conflicted, probably wanting to never leave his side.

“Are you sure?” Yukari asked. “Everyone will understand if you want to be here a bit longer.”

Mitsuru nodded. “Yes…”                 

Yukari wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t going to push her. She was the first to leave the room, and when she walked into the hallway, she looked back, and saw Mitsuru looking at him one last time, which only broke her heart even more. But she did leave the room, wiping at her eyes to hide the tears.

Mitsuru looked up to everyone, who was looking at her with both sympathy and sorrow. “If any of you w-would like to see him, you may.” Her words cracked slightly before she sat on a chair to the side.

Yukari wasn’t sure how anyone was going to be okay after this. She definitely wasn’t. And Mitsuru…

She wasn’t sure if anything could help her.

Akihiko led everyone else in, and upon seeing Minato lying still in the hospital bed, he couldn’t help but see Shinjiro in the same way. He couldn’t save either of them, just like he couldn’t save Miki. He tried to resuscitate him, but it didn’t work. It seemed like nothing he did would ever work.

He saw Ken look at Minato for only a few seconds before turning away, quietly crying in sorrow. Fuuka couldn’t keep her tears in either, as she too cried.

“I feel nothing from him… he’s just… gone…” Fuuka barely made out before succumbing to her tears again.

Akihiko looked over at Junpei, who just stood looking over at Minato, with barely an expression on his face. He knew it wasn’t because he didn’t care. They all cared. If Akihiko had to guess, it was just out of disbelief more than anything.

Koromaru walked past the group, stopping right at Minato’s side. He leaped up slightly, just so he could try to position his hand over his nose. When he didn’t get a response, Koromaru whined, which only made everything feel even worse.

What was the point in getting so strong if he couldn’t save anyone? He couldn’t save Miki. He couldn’t save Shinjiro. He couldn’t save Minato. It just all seemed pointless.

Suddenly, Akihiko felt his phone vibrate, and upon opening it up, he saw the phone number from the funeral service. He knew he had to take this. They mentioned yesterday that they would need someone who was a relative of his, or at the very least, someone who had a close relationship with him in order to finalise everything. He wasn’t fond of having to give Mitsuru the reins over this, but maybe it could help. Or maybe it could break her even more.

He walked to Minato’s side, and gave him a light pat on his shoulder.

“You fought hard, Minato.” His own tears began to fall. “You were the strongest of us all.”

Junpei watched as Akihiko left the room, leaving him, Fuuka, Ken, and Koromaru with Minato. He stared at the lifeless body in front of him. His best friend. The friend who helped him out of his put when he was mourning Chidori. The friend who helped him get over his jealousy. His best friend.

It didn’t feel real. He remembered picking him up off of Mitsuru’s lap and laying him on the ground, and that’s about it. He just kind of spaced out. When Chidori died, he stayed holed up in his room, in a pit of depression. Now… now he just felt empty. God… how did Mitsuru feel?

He was planning on seeing Chidori yesterday, but then it all happened. He couldn’t see himself going today either.

Why didn’t Aigis come? She should’ve come with them. Minato saved their goddamn lives, and she didn’t have the decency to say goodbye. What if she didn’t even come to his funeral? He was their friend. He saved the world, and she didn’t come.

Junpei knew something was wrong with Minato. Every time he fell asleep in class; every time he had to help him up the stairs, it screamed that something was wrong. But he trusted him. He trusted that he was just ill. Did he maybe know he was dying?

Maybe he wasn’t as good of a friend as he thought. He should’ve known his friend was dying. He should’ve done more.

3/10/2010 – Iwatodai Dorm – Afternoon

Mitsuru woke up only an hour after midday. The only reason she ended up going to sleep was because exhaustion took a hold of her, and she couldn’t stay awake. She hated sleeping more and more every day. Not feeling his warmth, or his arms around her, was suffocating. She was only left with isolation and agony.

The funeral service contacted Akihiko a few days ago, but they needed her to finalise some details and decisions. Mainly, where he was going to be buried. Mitsuru thought the only decision would be for him to be buried with his family, so that they would be reunited in body and spirit. It didn’t hurt any less to have to make that decision, though.

It was happening in three days. The Group was funding the whole thing, mainly out of condolence for Mitsuru. Yukari and Junpei were primarily handling the invites around school, as they knew who Minato hung out with more than her.

The board members of the Group were ‘sympathetic’, but she knew the more traditional members would want to look for another for her to marry, only for the sake for the Group. She would guess the bastards probably already had a line up for her. But she would say no to them all, board members be damned.

Artemisia had been completely silent the past couple days. It wasn’t unusual for her to not have anything to say, but this silence was different. Mitsuru could feel her anguish, but she refused to speak. The silence was deafening.

Some of his clothes were still in her room. She didn’t want to touch them, in fear of tampering with anything. She still couldn’t even consider going into his room. She wanted to. She really did. But the pain was still raw. Maybe until after the funeral. But she again was not sure. She might need someone to come with her, to prevent her from completely breaking down.

Mitsuru wanted to just go back to sleep, ironically enough. She just wanted to get through the days now, not wanting to interact with anything or anyone. But not only was his absence preventing her from doing so; it was also due to her reoccurring nightmares. Every night since that horrific day, she would see herself back on that roof. She would see him standing, looking out at the water. She would cry, she would sob, she would break down at the sight of him. He would turn around, and she would see his perfect steel eyes. She would run up to him, as fast as she could, wanting to escape this reality. But as soon as she was about to make contact with him, he would vanish into a cloud of Sakura petals. Then the grief would start all over again. The denial, the anger, the bargaining, and the depression. But she didn’t want to accept that this was her life now. She couldn’t accept that he was gone.

But she was forced to.

3/13/2010 – Naganaki Shrine – Noon

Today was the day. The day she wished would never come. The day before White Day, because she knew she would be completely unable to function tomorrow. He was supposed to show his love for her, and do all of the things that make her happy. Yet all she will feel is pure dread.

Mitsuru was stood to the side, next to Akihiko as he played his role of emotional support. There were more people than she expected. Mitsuru recognised some faces from Gekkoukan, but there were some new ones. She saw an old couple, and a child who barely even looked nine. She recalled him saying some people he knew, saying they were some of his ‘bonds’, and they matched the description perfectly. Not just them, there were also many adults she didn’t recognise. She was told by the Group that they did extend invites to his relatives, but from what Mitsuru was told by him, they didn’t care much about his wellbeing.

There was so much black. Mitsuru hated seeing them all here. Because she knew what they were here for. Who they were here for. She saw Yukari, Junpei and Fuuka talking to some of their other classmates, whereas Ken and Koromaru, were silently sat in their seats. She could make out tears in so many people’s eyes, and it both warmed her heart and hurt it even more to know that he touched so many people’s lives.

The monk asked for everyone to take their seats, and she even recognised him as another one of his ‘bonds’. He introduced himself as Mutatsu, and once everyone had sat down, he began his speech.

“Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Mutatsu, and this… this is probably the hardest service I have ever had to make.”

Mitsuru could see the old monk begin to cry, and she saw him pull out a handkerchief to wipe his eyes.

“This young man… Minato Arisato… he helped me when I was in a very low point in my life. I was living a life of sadness and debauchery, drowning my sorrows with a bottle of sake in the nightclub. This young man, he noticed me, and every time he saw me, he took time out of his day to talk to me. I was rude at first, telling him to scram and to stay out of a place like that. But he continued to come, and he continued to talk to me. He listened to me drunkenly ramble about my problems, and he gave me the courage to contact my wife and son again. Because of him, I was able to get my life back together, and I wanted to repay him in whatever way I could. But this… this was not what I wanted. This young man had so much life, just for it to be snuffed out so early.”

The monk’s voice began to crack, and he didn’t go anything to hide it.

“It… it’s amazing to see so many people here, who felt the same way I did when it came to this young man. I have been told there are many of you who would like to speak, so please approach the front.”

A lot of people stood up, mostly those who were his classmates. Each speech was filled with love and respect for the man he was. Where he would always go out of his way to talk with them, to listen to their problems, and to help them when they felt down. Mitsuru saw the young girl try to go up, but she broke down before making it to the front, and was taken back by assumingly her mother.

And now it was everyone who lived in the dorm left. They all stood up, but the one thing that Mitsuru specifically noticed was that Aigis didn’t come.

She didn’t want to focus on that now. She needed all of her strength to do this. She couldn’t turn away.

Fuuka was first. “Minato-kun… was someone who saved my life. I was in danger, and he was one of the people who saved me. Not only that, but he helped me in finding out my own place in life. I was so anxious before, but every time he listened to me, he helped me in being more confident. But now… he’s gone. I was there when he…” Fuuka stopped for a moment, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “He meant a lot to me. And I… I’m going to miss him…”

Her tears continued to fall as she stood down from the front, and after her was Ken. He made a sniffle before he began to speak, but he had to pause multiple times due to his uncontrollable tears.

“Minato-senpai saved me… from losing myself… after Shinjiro-senpai died. I thought it was my fault… but he assured me that it wasn’t. He understood… my pain. Out of everyone I knew… I related to him the most. I’m going to miss him… so much. And I know Koromaru will too.”

There was a whimper from Koromaru next to him, and he too left the front and sat next to Fuuka. Once he had taken his seat, he sobbed as Fuuka held him and tried her best to comfort him.

After him was Akihiko. “I, um… this was really hard for me to make. Minato… I thought of him like a younger brother. He was strong, hard-willed, and he fought so hard his whole life. When Shinji died, I didn’t think I’d have to go through this again for a long time. But now it’s happening. I tried to save him. I tried everything I could in the moment, and it didn’t matter. I watched him grow a life here. I even saw him kiss Mitsuru.” He made a flat chuckle, but it didn’t stop the tears falling. “And the gods still weren’t done with him. He was someone… everyone should aspire to be. Because I sure as hell do.”

Akihiko stepped down and wiped his tears away with his sleeve, and Mitsuru could here faint crying coming from him.

Next up was Junpei. “I never…” He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. “I never thought I would be doing this. I… I was jealous of him at first. When I first got to know him, I thought that this guy… was so damn perfect. He had the looks, he had the smarts, and he had the confidence. He even got the girl of his dreams. He was everything I wished I was. I lashed out at him. I let my pettiness grow and I didn’t do a damn thing for so long. But then… something bad happened to me. And instead of doing what I thought was his ‘I don’t care’ routine like he did when I first met him, he got me up and gave me an outlet. And I learned that under all of that good he had, there was… a lot of bad too. Learning all of that… made me feel like such a douche. I resented him for so long, when in reality, I should have been there for him. I wish I was there for him sooner.”

He didn’t have his cap to hide his face, and his tears fell down from his eyes as he walked to his seat.

Now it was Yukari. “The first time… I met Minato-kun… I was scared. He came into the dorm late and all I saw was him just standing at the end of the hall, and I freaked out. He didn’t react at all, which only freaked me out even more. But barely even two days later, he saved my life. He barely knew who I was, yet he put himself in danger to save me. That’s… that’s when I knew he was a good person. He comforted me when I learned the truth about my dad. He was there for me when I spoke about my mom. I was even planning for him and Mitsuru to come with me to meet her again after so long. But now I can’t do that. He was one of my best friends. And when I saw him looking worse for a whole month, he still reassured me that he was going to be okay. But he wasn’t… he wasn’t okay. He was like a brother to me… and now he’s gone. And we aren’t going to see him again.”

She quickly made her way to her seat before succumbing to her tears, and now all that was left was Mitsuru. She took a few steps to the front, and all she could feel was nausea and agony.

She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out at first. Her tears began to fall, but she had to still try. She owed him that much.

“When… when I first met Minato… I didn’t have much of a strong opinion at first. But over time, I got to know him, and I learnt so much about him. His past, his fears, the things he liked, his taste in music.” She smiled slightly at the memories, but it quickly faded. “And I fell in love with him.”

She looked away, up at the hill behind them with the lone wooden bench.

“We had our first kiss up there. During the summer festival last year. And every day, my love for him only grew. He let himself be vulnerable with me. He let me comfort him when he was in a bad place. And he did the same with me when my… when my father passed.”

The tears fell even harder, but she couldn’t stop now. She had to finish.

“That same hill… was where he proposed to me. And I remember feeling like the luckiest woman in the world knowing that he wanted to be my husband. He took me to see his family for the first time, and I knew how hard it must have been for him. But he did it because he knew he needed to. And I felt honoured that he took me with him.”

This next part was going to be the hardest, and Mitsuru wasn’t sure if she could make it through.

“I remember… on Graduation Day… seeing him lying on the bench on the roof of our school. He was looking up at the Sakura trees, and I remembered him saying how they reminded him of me. He said it was because they were beautiful, precious, and what he would be happy with if it was the last thing he saw…”

Her tears wouldn’t stop, and she was close to full on sobbing. But she had to finish.

“His last words… his last words were ‘I love you, Mitsuru’. I remember feeling so happy hearing those words from him, like I always did whenever he would say it. My last words to him were the same: ‘I love you too, Minato, now and always’. I hope… I hope he heard me say those words. And I m-mean them too. I will always l-love him. There… there is a part of me that will forever be for h-him.”

Chapter Text

3/20/2010 – Iwatodai Dorm – Midnight

Mitsuru had been holed in her room for a whole week. The only times she would open the door is when someone, assumingly Fuuka, would leave her food to eat. The Group was growing increasingly irritated with her grief, and wanted her to assume her role again. But she just could not find the will to do so. He was supposed to run the Group at her side. They were supposed to live their lives together. But that was now impossible.

She hears chatter outside her room sometimes. Sometimes it was Akihiko talking with Yukari, wanting to know about how Mitsuru was doing. Sometimes Fuuka was there too. But she could not see herself ever really wanting to leave her room.

The funeral had happened a week ago, and ever since, her feelings of despair have only worsened. It only solidified the fact that he was gone.

And he was never coming back.

She tried to close her eyes, but she was unable to force herself to sleep. The fear of her nightmares constantly appearing in her head had kept her from even considering rest. Right now, though, there was one thing plaguing her mind.

His room.

She wanted to go to his room. Despite not wanting to leave her own room, she wanted to be in his. She wanted to feel his presence in whatever way she could. And for the first time, that urge had won.

Mitsuru pushed herself off of her bed, not wanting to think about how much effort it actually took, and slowly walked to her door. She reached out to the door handle, but she hesitated. She was scared. She didn’t know how she would react. But if she was going to break apart, she would not have to worry about anyone seeing her.

Her hesitation ended, and she tightly gripped the doorknob, slowly twisting it and opening the door. She took her first step out into the darkness of the hallway, and as she continued to walk, her steps grew heavier and heavier. She descended the stairs to the boys’ floor, and she saw his door at the end of the hall. Her eyes began to well with tears, but it did not stop her. She silently approached his door, and stood still when faced with it. It was just one door away.

She was too far in to stop now. She just wanted to be with him in any way she could.

Her hand trembled as it reached towards the door handle, but she soon had gripped it tight. And after what felt like an eternity, she opened the door as slowly as possible.

It was strangely clean. Like no one had even lived in here. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The most important person in her life had lived here.

She saw his most treasured possession on his desk. His music player and earphones. In the darkness, she saw a single note next to it.

‘Play me’

Mitsuru paused as the sight of it. Had he planned for this day to come?

She took in an incredibly deep breath, and took a step inside, heading towards the desk. But she continued to feel empty with each step she took. There was no remaining presence in his room. Next to the music player, there was a stack of letters, and when reading the handwriting as best as she could, since it was barely legible, she could see the names of everyone in the dorm written on the envelopes.

Her lips trembled and her hand shook as she reached out to the earphones, and when she felt it on her hands, it felt like an immense weight was in her palm. Her breathing was uneven, and her head began to spin, so in order to ground herself as best she could, she sat on his bed. She brought the earphones up to her ears, placing them gently and carefully.

The MP3 player remained in her hand, but there was something preventing her from pressing play. Was it fear of her reaction? Fear of what he would say?

The cold metal of the player was all she could feel in her hand, and her thumb was grazing over the play button. The hesitation was eating at her, and she couldn’t deal with the feeling any longer. Her thumb pressed hard on the button, and she held her breath.

“Hey, uh… I don’t know who’s listening to this right now.” Mitsuru heard his quiet and hoarse voice, and immediately was overwhelmed with tears. “If whoever is listening isn’t Mitsuru Kirijo, could you… could you give this to her?”

There was a slight pause, and internally, Mitsuru was begging to hear his voice again.

“If this is Mitsuru listening… then I know I have a lot to apologise for. I’ve… I’ve broken your heart so many times, and this… this is something I won’t be able to fix. I know I broke our promise. It was the only thing I thought about when I was facing Nyx. I heard all of your voices… and it broke my heart hearing yours.”

Mitsuru’s tears fell, and she hoped no one heard her quiet sobs.

“I was supposed to die that day. But… but the promise we all made kept me going. And surprisingly enough, Ryoji is trying to save me. It… it isn’t looking great, but he is trying.”

She didn’t want this recording to stop. She wanted to have this recording forever playing so that she would never forget his voice.

“I… I didn’t have a choice. Everything in me wanted to live. But there was no other way. It was my life for the world.”

She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to think that the only possible outcome was losing him.

“I know… I know there’s nothing I can do to make up for this. Right now, I have about three weeks left to live… and I feel like I’m not living past Graduation Day. I…” He stopped talking, but because he had to cough, which only broke Mitsuru’s heart more. “I really wish I could live.”

In her blurry vision, she could see that the recording was almost over. She prayed, she begged, she pleaded that it wouldn’t end.

“Something… something I’ve said to myself these past couple weeks, is what makes me feel okay about this choice. You guys gave me life. You, and all of my friends, gave me a reason to live. You were my first and only love. After all this time, you guys made me live again. And if it was that life that was needed in order to save the world, then I’m okay with that.”

Please. Please don’t stop talking. I beg of you.

“I hope the others can read the letters. My, uh… my handwriting has gotten a lot worse… There’s one for you too. There’s something… there’s something I want to ask of you. Lean on the others. Please. Don’t let my death break you. I know… I know moving on will be hard. But I want you to try. I want you to live a life you can be happy with. Because for the last year of mine, I was happy. And that was thanks to you.”

She was sure the others could probably hear her now, but she just couldn’t find the will to keep herself together.

“I love you, Mitsuru. And I always will.”

The recording ended, and when the silence hit her ears, she broke apart all over again. Hearing his voice. His soft, warm, loving voice sound so broken made her feel a pain she may never recover from. She clutched the player close to her chest as her sobs continued.

“Please… please… don’t go…” She said between her cries.

But he was gone. He would forever be gone.

She didn’t leave his room that night, and she could never see her putting herself back together.

3/24/2010 – Naganaki Shrine – Afternoon

“I can’t believe you’re gone, man.”

Junpei was stood at Minato’s headstone, and next to it, he can see three others, all with the same family name.

“It’s almost been three weeks, and I just… I can’t believe it. You didn’t deserve it. You deserved it the least out of all of us. But… I’m glad you’re with your family now. The stuff you told us that happened after they died… I hope they’re taking care of you now.”

He sighed, and looked up to the trees ahead of him. The same trees that reminded him of that fateful day.

“Chidori… she’s doing okay. I saw her for the first time in a while a couple days ago. She still doesn’t remember who I am, but the doctors say it’s lookin’ promising. She even asked why I looked so sad, and I told her about you. She… she tried to comfort me. Didn’t do much, though.”

He paused for a moment, and the silence from the grave was not comforting in the slightest.

“Kirijo-senpai… she’s not… she’s not doing good. I think I heard her in your room a few days ago. She gave me a letter from you too, but… it was obvious she was crying before that. That letter actually got me to come visit you. I mean… you knew how much of an ass I was. But the stuff you wrote? God man… you really don’t make it easy to not cry, huh?”

Junpei chuckled a little, but it immediately left his face, and was replaced with the same sadness as what he came with.

“I’ll try to visit you more. I dunno what’s gonna happen in my life… but I wish you were here to see it, man.”

He left the headstone, and slowly made his way back to the dorm. Ever since the Dark Hour ended, the night felt… empty. There was no ominous green light, no blood pools on the roads, no coffins in the street. It felt… wrong.

Trismegistus was mainly quiet the past few weeks, but after seeing the grave, Junpei could feel him sombrely give some noise of acknowledgement. That he was strong.

He got back to the dorm, and was greeted with a sight he hadn’t seen in weeks. Aigis was stood in the lounge. He was happy to see her for only a moment, but then it was replaced with some sort of resentment. She completely missed so many important things. She didn’t see Minato in the hospital. She didn’t come to his funeral. He wanted to know why, but if she was down here, then it must be important, so it’ll have to wait.

And the first thing he heard was Yukari shouting, immediately alarming Junpei. “You’re seriously going to just go back?!”

“It is the only logical decision.” Aigis responded, and Junpei realised her voice was extremely monotone, like when she first joined. “My mission… my mission is over.”

“Your mission?! Your mission to protect Minato-kun?!” Yukari pressed.

“Yes. And now, I will return to the Kirijo Group.” Aigis responded.

“Did Mitsuru-senpai agree to this?!” Yukari questioned.

“I did not have to speak to her. I contacted the Group directly.”

Yukari looked like her anger was boiling over. “So, you’re just going to leave?! After all we’ve done, after everything that has happened to us, you’re just going to leave?!”

“I have no purpose; therefore, my new directive is to return to the Group.”

Yukari had no response, so she just scoffed at her and made her way upstairs. Junpei just stood in the doorway, stunned at the encounter. But what he heard made his feelings turn to anger.

“Aigis… you’re… leaving?” Junpei said in shock.

She turned to face him, and for a second, Junpei could see some semblance of sadness on her face. “Yes, Junpei-san. I no longer have use here.”

“But you’re our friend! You… you can’t leave!” He protested.

Junpei saw a flash of guilt from Aigis, but it quickly faded. “I… I have no more purpose. It is only logical for me to return to the Kirijo Group.”

Junpei stood still with nothing to say, and Aigis turned away and left to the stairs, assumingly heading back to her room. Once he assumed he was alone, he sighed, and wiped his face with both of his hands.

“I just can’t believe she’s actually going to leave.” Yukari’s voice startled him slightly, and when he looked up, he saw her crossing her arms.

After recomposing himself, he responded. “Yeah. I mean, things are… shit. But her leaving? That just rubs me the wrong way.”

Yukari agreed. “Yeah. And the fact she went over Mitsuru-senpai’s head too?”

Junpei wanted to believe Aigis did that to not put Mitsuru under any more grief, but with how robotic she was acting, he couldn’t be sure.

He was not sure how their lives would be like now that Minato was gone. Mitsuru was completely cutting herself off from the world. Yukari has grown angry. Akihiko looked like he was completely lost. Ken was going through the grief cycle all over again. Fuuka was retreating from everyone.

And Junpei? He couldn’t explain what he was feeling.

3/31/2010 – Iwatodai Dorm – Afternoon

Today was the final day Mitsuru would be staying in this dorm. She had graduated from Gekkoukan High, and now she was going to college in Tokyo. But she couldn’t say she was happy about any of it. This past year has been both the best and the worst year of her life. She found the man she loved. She ended the Dark Hour with him. But she lost him in the process. She lost her father in the process. Continuing her life just seemed… pointless. Why should she if the people she loved were gone?

Everything in her room was packed. She was taking all of Minato’s things with her too. She couldn’t even consider storing them somewhere. She didn’t want to be separated with the only things that reminded her of him.

On her table was her SEES armband and Evoker. She had no need for them anymore. That part of her life was done. That part of her life took the most important things from her. That was something she wanted to be rid of forever.

She took them from her table and mindlessly went downstairs to the lounge. She noticed everyone (barring Aigis) down there too, also with their Evokers and armbands too. It seems they must have all had the same idea too.

“We, uh… since you and Akihiko-senpai are leaving, we figured we’d get rid of all of this. It’s all over anyways…” Junpei trailed off.

She saw the looks on all of their faces, and they all spelled the same thing. Grief. Grief and pain. All of what they went through was now over, but all they were left with was just pain.

They all stood up from the sofas and walked over to the dining table. Akihiko carried a box with him and set it on the table, and immediately threw his Evoker and armband in it. Everyone else followed suit. They took their armbands and Evokers and placed them in the box, and the only person left to do it was Mitsuru.

The Dark Hour took a part of her whole life. And now that it was gone, whilst taking everything she loved from her, she wasn’t sure where she would go from this. But she wanted to be done with it. It took so much from her. She didn’t want to even think about it anymore.

She heartlessly threw in her armband and Evoker, and now it was done.

“It feels… strange.” Fuuka commented.

Junpei nodded. “Yeah… yeah it is.”

But that moment of solidarity was short lived, since as soon as Junpei finished that sentence, a large shockwave blew into the room, knocking everyone off of their feet. Mitsuru fell to the floor, and in her confusion, she saw a blur of black and red walking towards her, and in its hand, there was a flash of gold. The gold blur was raised high, and Mitsuru thought this may be her end. And the only thing that scared her was that she was completely okay with it.

But her end was not coming, as that figure was pushed away, and she could make out that red sleeveless sweater standing over her.

That got Mitsuru out of her state, and she stood next to him, and when her vision returned to normal, she was able to fully analyse her opponent in front of her.

And its physical stature was very similar to Aigis. The joints, the body, the headgear. It all looked just like the Kirijo Group made it. But she knew every one of the Anti-Shadow Weapons. And this android was not one of them.

Something inside of her was calling for her Evoker. She thought she was living it all behind today. But she was forced to return to it.

And it seems Akihiko had that same feeling, as he already had his Evoker in his hand.

“CAESAR!” Akihiko yelled, and the Roman Emperor appeared. It fired a bolt of lightning, and the first thing Mitsuru noticed was that very bolt of lightning was weak.

It flew towards the android, but before it connected, it summoned a Persona of its own. It looked similar to Aigis’ old persona, Palladium. But this one was white, and had a large red butterfly as a face. It completely took the full force of the attack, and in return it flew all the way to Caesar and sliced through it completely, causing it to disappear.

This android was strong. Too strong. Stronger than all of them, that was for sure.

The android dashed forward, and the Persona followed behind it. Together, they gain the upper hand with ease, and once again, everyone was on the floor at its mercy.

It took its gold hammer and raised it high again, planning on finishing Mitsuru off. And she couldn’t bring herself to fight back.

“PERSONA!”

The android was pushed back once again, and when Mitsuru looked at where the attack came from, everything in her wanted to vomit.

The blue and white colours. The lyre. The white hair. His face.

And behind it, Aigis stood, aiming her guns directly at the android.

Mitsuru wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted something to tell her why. Why.

Why did she have Orpheus?

Chapter Text

3/31/2010 - Iwatodai Dorm - Afternoon

Aigis was stood silent, and the darkness of her room was swallowing her whole. For the past month, she had only left her room once. And that one time was to tell Yukari and Junpei that she was returning to the Group. She had no use here. There was no reason to remain where she had no purpose.

Athena was quiet, never really saying a word to Aigis. Granted, it never had much to say before, but this silence was more of a depressive silence than one of choice.

All those things she said to Minato. How she would be by his side to protect him. How she would make up for all the hurt and pain she caused him. He still forgave her, but she had to do more. And now she couldn't.

The ammo boxes around her room took so much space, that some would be concerned for what she did. But obviously, the members of the dorm knew of her real identity, so if they were to ever come in, they wouldn't question her. Although nowadays, that became increasingly unlikely.

She knew some members of the dorm were upset with her. Yukari and Junpei most of all. After learning of her plan to leave, Yukari stormed off in anger. Aigis did feel a pang of guilt, but she found it pointless to dwell on it. Junpei looked more hurt than angry, which did affect her more, but her decision was final.

Everything was prepared to leave with her tomorrow. The Group would arrive and she would be gone. Whatever they planned on doing with her was a mystery, but she just wanted to go.

Whatever life, whatever humanity Aigis may have had, died with him.

As she was about to shut herself off for the day, she heard a loud bang downstairs. Any instinct she had that would've kept her in her room was overridden by her built-in protocols. If any of them were in danger, she had to help. She couldn't allow any of them to die.

She dashed out of her door and sprinted down the stairs as fast as she could. She could hear lightning crackle, but it was not as loud as a Ziodyne should be.

She jumped down the last few steps down to the lounge, but before she could meet her foe, she was blinded by a flash of pain in her head. It was nothing she had experienced before, and she felt like she was being pushed around time and space itself.

When the pain subsided, she was met with an overwhelming amount of blue. The ground felt like it was forever moving downwards, and upon scanning her surroundings, she could tell she was in an elevator, but it was larger than anything that was in her records.

Infront of her were two people, one of them being an old man with an absurdly large nose, hunched over a desk tapping his fingers together, and the other being a tall blonde woman in a blue dress, and topped off with a blue cap.

"Ah, it seems we have a new guest." The man speaks first. "My name is Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room."

"The... Velvet Room?" Aigis repeated. "Minato-san mentioned this place..."

"Ah, yes, the young master was indeed a guest of the Velvet Room before you. This here is Elizabeth." He motioned his hand to the woman next to her, who clearly had a less than happy expression on her face. "She was the young man's attendant before his journey ended, and now she will be yours."

"I... do not understand..." Aigis wasn't sure of what the old man was implying.

"You, our guest, have awoken to the power of the wild card. Your understanding of it must be adept already after witnessing its power."

The... wild card? You mean...

"Yes, you have the potential to wield multiple Personas. Your role as the wild card will allow you to find the Answer to Life." Igor said, as if he was reading Aigis' mind.

"The... Answer to Life? Ryoji-san mentioned that after Nyx..."

"Ah, yes, the young master found his Answer to Life on that fateful day." Igor casually says as if he was explaining the weather, and not the death of someone everyone in the dorm held dear. "Now, it is time for you to return to your world." Igor waved his hand, and a blue key appeared infront of Aigis. "This key will allow you to return to the Velvet Room whenever you please. It belonged to the young master before you."

Upon hearing that, Aigis hesitated to go for the key, but she reached for it in the end. She felt a hum in her chest, and soon, her vision went white, and she was returned to the dorm lounge.

She was barely able to see her opponent before an unfamiliar voice made itself known in her head. It was nothing like Athena, who still hadn't said a word. It was a male voice, one that she could not mistake.

It was his.

"I am Orpheus, Master of Strings. My master's power was given to you. So go forth, and make a melody worthy of his name."

Her core vibrated, and Orpheus' power was within reach. All that was left was to make it known.

"PERSONA!"

Orpheus answered her call, and appeared ahead of her, and she wasn't capable of processing all of this just yet. She had to protect her friends.

Orpheus charged forward, grabbing its lyre from its back, and slammed down hard on the Persona ahead of her. It struggled against the red butterfly head, before igniting it by strumming the strings during the struggle. Her opponent faltered, falling down to one knee. Aigis dashed forward and jumped, and with a single swift but powerful kick, she was victorious. She fell to one knee, exhausted after the awakening, but she only just realised she'll have to explain why she has his power.

And it seems they were already thinking it too, as when they all recovered, Yukari spoke first.

"Aigis... you... summoned Orpheus?" She said, almost speechless.

"I... I am unsure why I can. Before the fight, I was summoned to the Velvet Room." Aigis tried to rationalise it as best she could in her head, but even she found it unbelievable.

"The Velvet Room?" Fuuka repeated. "You mean where Minato-kun gained his power?"

Aigis nodded, and she saw the confusion and shock on everyone's faces. Worst of all, she saw Mitsuru's, and she was not sure if it spelt utter sadness or pure hatred. In Mitsuru's defence, she did summon the Persona that belonged to her beloved. She was actively avoiding eye contact with Aigis too.

"Holy shit... Aigis..." Junpei was stunned, and when Aigis saw where he was looking, she saw Orpheus floating right infront of Mitsuru. It went down to her level, almost eye to eye, then kneeled to her, before disappearing again. Mitsuru turned away from everyone with a hand over her mouth, and Aigis saw her shaking her head, assumingly trying to fight back the tears.

Why did she have the wild card? It just felt like she was hurting her friends all over again.

Akihiko broke her out of her thoughts. "This girl... she looks like you, Aigis."

Aigis turned to her opponent, who laid still on the floor. The body and joints looked exactly like hers, but out of all the Anti-Shadow weapons that were made, she did not recognise this one at all.

"Why did she attack us?" Yukari questioned.

No one really had an answer, but before they could investigate any further, her eyes opened, showing her bright red iris'.

Akihiko wasted no time and began the questioning. "Who are you and why did you attack us?"

The girl remained silent, glaring at everyone around her, before settling her eyes on Aigis.

"Hey, the silent treatment isn't helping." Junpei scowled.

That got the girl to speak. "I am Metis. I attacked you because you were a threat to Aigis. My sister."

Yukari was first to question the obvious. "Your... sister?"

"Yeah, my sister. She's in danger, thanks to you guys."

"Danger? What do you mean?" Ken asked, confused.

"Are you being dense?" Metis snapped. "You've noticed that time has stopped, right? Yesterday was March 31st, today is March 31st, and tomorrow will be March 31st. You will be trapped here forever, due to the Abyss of Time below us."

"What the hell is the Abyss of Time?" Yukari snapped back, already tired of her.

"You're telling me you don't know? You all caused it to exist." Metis revealed.

Everyone shared glances with each other, all confused as to how they all caused this 'Abyss of Time' to appear, whatever it even meant. Aigis noted how detached Mitsuru was from the group, barely making eye contact with anyone, especially her.

"What do you mean 'we caused it'?" Fuuka asked.

"You're all Persona-users, right?" Metis asked. Everyone nodded. "So you know that Shadows are brought about by humanity's emotions? The same applies to your Personas. They are brought about by your emotions. So if you feel so strongly about something, you can call on a higher power, just like humanity has done before."

"What are you trying to say?!" Yukari's anger grew.

Metis dismissed her outburst. "Your wishes have caused time to stop."

"Hold on," Akihiko interrupted. "Do you have any proof of this?"

"I... no. It's only a feeling I have. But it makes sense!"

"I don't understand." Fuuka interjected. "Why would we wish for time to stop?"

It's only then that it clicks for everyone. The looks on their faces spell the obvious. No one has really done any sort of moving on. Now they're trapped in this hell.

Junpei speaks up. "So what do you want us to do about it?"

"You have two options." Metis says, oddly calmly. "We can go into the Abyss and find what's causing the distortion, or I can eliminate you, and end the emotions that are causing this."

Yukari jumps in immediately. "You're not going to eliminate us!"

"Then it's clear what we need to do." Metis reasoned.

Mitsuru, after all this time, finally spoke up, but still avoided eye contact with Aigis. "Everyone, get your gear and prepare." She then left the group and went upstairs, leaving everyone else in the lounge.

Akihiko sighed. "Alright. You all heard Mitsuru. We'll meet back here." He then also left to head up the stairs, and everyone followed to do the same and prepare for this nightmare.

The second Mitsuru entered her room, she slammed her door hard and leaned on it. Her eyesight began to go blurry and her breathing started to hasten. She could taste the bile forming in her throat. It was obvious what was happening, as she had seen it with him before, but she didn't know how to handle it. Not on her own. She imagined him immediately rushing to her side and holding her gently, guiding her breathing to slow down. All this did was cause tears to fall down her face.

Why?

Why did she have Orpheus?

Why did you have to die?

Why?

A knock on her door broke her out of her spell, so she tried to gather herself as best as she could, and wiped her eyes clear of the tears before opening it. Akihiko stood on the other side of the doorway, with a clear look of sympathy on his face.

"Mitsuru, are you okay?" He asked softly.

Mitsuru dismissed his concerns. "Yes, Akihiko. I'm fine."

It was clear he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t push. "Okay. I think... for the sake of the team, I'll lead. I'm not going to budge on that."

She knew why he was proposing this. But if she was being honest, she wasn't sure she was capable of leading the team well in this state, especially if she had to see her using Orpheus.

"I... think that would be best." She conceded.

Akihiko gave her a soft smile. "Okay. If you need to talk about anything, I'm here." He then turned away and went back downstairs, presumably towards the lounge.

She doubted she would talk to him.

3/31/2010 - Iwatodai Dorm - Afternoon (Loop One)

The Shadows they fought proved to be more difficult than they expected. It was less due to them being stronger, but moreso the team being weaker. There wasn't an obvious explanation that could be given, except the topic everyone avoided.

Akihiko led the team well, Mitsuru thought. He was doing better than she had originally thought, probably because he understood the severity of the situation. It was probably better than if she led the team.

One thing she noticed is he always had Aigis on the front line. The logical explanation was because she had the wild card, but that same explanation infuriated her. That power was his, and every time she summoned Orpheus to fight, she had to resist every urge to scream.

Metis' Persona, Psyche, had a lot of physical based attacks, many of them reminding Mitsuru of Castor. It was unfair that they lost so much yet they had to keep fighting.

And their reward for clearing a bunch of floors full of Shadows was a door.

"What... what are we supposed to do?" Fuuka asked.

"Open it." Metis stated simply.

Aigis was the one to reach out first, and upon opening the door, they were greeted by a flash of white. It felt as if they were disconnected from their bodies, but were unsure why.

"What's going on?" Akihiko asked, concerned.

"I believe we are going to experience a memory." Metis tried to explain.

"A... memory? Whose will it be?" Junpei raised an eyebrow.

Metis shrugged. "How should I know?"

Yukari grunted at her response, but the team did not have to wait much longer, as they were transported to a bedroom. They watched as Ken opened the door sluggishly, looking tired and disheveled as he closed the door behind him and shuffled to his bed.

"This... this is my memory." Ken stated.

"When was this?" Yukari asked.

"March seventh..."

Mitsuru clutched her arm. She couldn't be surprised. It was obvious what this was all about by now. But something inside of her hoped that it didn’t have to involve something so hard, so personal to her.

Past Ken threw his bag down onto his floor and went straight for his bed, curling into a ball. He remained like that for a few minutes, not saying anything or moving. It was weird, seeing his room, since the only rooms Mitsuru had properly been in were her own and his.

Past Ken eventually moved again, looking towards the SEES gear in his room. Mitsuru thought back to the times they fought together, the moments of joy and happiness. She didn’t appreciate those memories, because all they did was remind her of everything she lost.

"You did this so we could live, didn’t you Minato-san?" Past Ken sniffled, and a few tears fell from his eyes. "Everything you did... it was for us. It... doesn’t feel real to know that you're gone." He wiped his eyes, and made a small sobbing noise. "You wanted us all to live. It... it's going to be hard, but I'm going to try."

The light flashed again, and their next vision was in Tartarus. Based on their surroundings, it must have been in January, not too long before the Promised Day. The second Mitsuru saw his blue hair, she almost began to cry all over again. Seeing his face, so full of life, hurt her in her soul.

She saw Minato stand next to Ken with a soft smile on his face. "You've been doing good, Ken. You've gotten through this with a lot more maturity than people twice your age." He patted his junior on the shoulder. "A lot of people would have given up. But you never did, and I admire that about you."

Ken seemed stunned. "You... admire me?"

Minato raised an eyebrow in response. "Are you surprised?"

Ken stumbled on his words slightly. "It's just... you are probably the strongest person I've ever met. Why would you admire me?"

Minato chuckled slightly. "You saw how I was like the past year. What happened with Shinji reminded me a lot of my family, then what happened on the bridge after Ikutsuki... and then everything Ryoji said. You saw how broken I was. But you did the opposite. You didn't break. So... that's why I admire you."

That seemed to only made Ken struggle even more. "I..." He stopped stammering on his words. "I want to be like you when I grow up, Minato-san."

Minato shook his head, but still smiled. "You don't want to be like me, Ken. Just be like yourself."

The scene ended, and everyone's vision went back to Ken's room.

"I still have no idea what you meant by that, Minato-san. But... I'll figure it out. Because I know that's what you would want for me."

There was a final white flash, and everyone was back in the Abyss of Time.

"That..." Akihiko whispered.

"That was my memory." Ken looked down at his feet. "When... when he died, I had no idea what to think. I couldn't understand it. But I knew he did. So when I saw him go up to Nyx, I was scared, but I knew he wouldn't do it if he wasn't sure. I remember thinking about what he told me in Tartarus, and I held onto that memory."

Ken turned away, unable to say anything more. No one else said anything. Mitsuru was still in shock, seeing Minato again, seeing his smile, it hurt more than she could ever anticipate.

"So what was the point? Why show us Ken's memory?" Yukari snapped quite harshly.

Metis frowned back at her. "Obviously, this is the root of the emotions that you all share. The loss of 'Minato-san' clearly hurt."

Mitsuru couldn't help but scowl away, angry at her being so simple about it.

Yukari wasn't pleased. "Okay, great. So are we done?"

"No, of course not. That was only his memory." Metis pointed towards Ken. "It was fairly weak, so there are others here that are causing more damage."

"There... are others?" Fuuka repeated. Metis nodded.

"I... I guess it makes sense. I mean, Ken seemed to have handled it fairly well. I know I didn't when Chidori died." Junpei tried to rationalise.

Mitsuru's first thought was the fact that Chidori came back, when Minato won't.

"So we have to see more now?" Akihiko asked.

Metis nodded again.

Aigis clearly was not certain. "I... am not sure. I do not want to invade your memories."

Yukari clearly didn’t care. "I just want to get this over with."

"Yeah. Let's keep going." Akihiko agreed with Yukari, and everyone kept moving forward.

Fuuka could feel the tension as clear as day. Akihiko was trying to hold in everything as best as he could, but it was clear he is not suited for the role. Ken was a lot more withdrawn after seeing his memories, using Koromaru as a safety net. Yukari was growing more and more irritated by the minute, and Aigis hadn't said much of anything recently. Worst of all, Fuuka couldn't entirely get a hold on Mitsuru's emotions. It just felt like a whirlwind, where she could be full of sadness in one moment, then pure rage in the next. But she hadn't said a single word ever since entering the Abyss of Time.

Junpei was the only one who seemed relatively stable out of everyone. Perhaps what happened with Chidori helped put things into perspective for him. He did say he visited his grave, so that must be helping somewhat.

She notices bitter looks from Mitsuru towards Aigis every now and then, but she cannot be fully surprised, especially whenever Orpheus is used.

It took a long time, but they made it to another door. Metis told Aigis to reach for the door, and that made her receive more distasteful looks from Mitsuru and Yukari. She opened the door, that was followed by a flash of white. They ended up in the dorms kitchen, and Minato is there with his blue apron on. Fuuka could sense a flicker of happiness from everyone, especially Mitsuru, before it quickly faded. Next to him, Koromaru was sat patiently.

When Minato finished whatever he was cooking, he poured some meat into a bowl. Koromaru quickly jumped up at the opportunity, but Minato pulled it back with a chuckle. "You gotta wait a couple minutes for it to cool down, Koro."

Koro barked in response, and Minato chuckled again, kneeling down to pet his head. The scene shifts slightly, and now they were sat on the couch. Minato watched Koromaru eat with a soft smile, one that Fuuka could feel both joy and pain from.

Aigis then entered the room, and immediately started translating for Koromaru. "Koromaru-san is very pleased with your food, Minato-san."

Fuuka could feel the conflict in Minato's heart, all the hurt. But he held it back, giving her a small smile in response. He turns back to Koromaru and scratches at his ears. "It's no problem, Koro."

Aigis then turned around and left, leaving them alone again.

"Hey, Koro. Can you keep a secret for me?" Minato asked.

He barked in response, but everyone knew it was a promise to not tell anyone.

"I'm going to assume you said yes." He chuckled slightly, but his face changed to a frown. "I... I don't know if I'm going to live through this Koro. Something in me... something in me says that I won't survive past the Promised Day."

Koromaru whined in response.

"I know, Koro. But I'm going to try no matter what. I don't want to leave you guys, not after everything you've done for me."

Koromaru whined again, and Fuuka could tell Minato was hurting for having to keep that to himself.

Soon, though, Minato gave the dog a smile. "How about this. If things go well and we all survive, how would you feel about living with me once this is over?"

Koromaru's ears perked up upon hearing that.

"I'll have to run it by Mitsuru, obviously, but something in me says she'll say yes. You, me, and her can all live together. How does that sound, huh?"

Koromaru gave multiple resounding barks in response.

Minato laughed and smiled at his enthusiasm. "I'll take that as a yes."

The scene fades, and the team is taken to Koromaru sitting still, looking up at a bedroom door. It takes a moment before it clicks in everyone's heads who's door it belonged to.

Koromaru whined, lowering its head to the floor. There were footsteps coming to his right, and when he looked over, it was Junpei giving him the same expression he had.

"Hey, Koro." He knelt down and gave the dog a few head scratches. "You miss him?"

Koromaru whined, and turned his head back to Minato's door.

"Yeah. I miss him too buddy."

The scene ended, and everyone was transported back to the Abyss again. Koromaru whined and turned away from the team.

"Koromaru says... he says he thought of Minato like his old master from the shrine. But like the old master, he wants to live with his memory." Aigis translated.

"That's not so bad either. Are we sure it's about... him?" Junpei questioned.

"If it wasn't, we wouldn't be getting memories about him, would we?" Yukari snapped back, quite irritated. Junpei remained silent.

Even if Fuuka couldn't sense emotions, she could feel Yukari's anger from here. Mitsuru's emotions almost paralleled hers. Her anger, at everything, almost peaked.

It seemed it may never truly end.

Chapter Text

3/31/2010 - Abyss of Time (Loop 2)

Akihiko was struggling. Leading the team had been proving to be more challenging than he thought. He's made strategic mistakes more times in one battle than Minato did for the entire time he acted as the leader.

Why couldn’t he be stronger? What was the point in getting stronger if he would just keep messing up? If he couldn’t protect his friends?

If I couldn't save him...

He's worried about his memories. What were they even going to show? Was it going to show his breakdown after his death? The days of despair after? Watching his closest friend completely fall apart, and never reaching out for help? He said Mitsuru can talk to him, that she can reach out for help if she needs it, but she never did. He saw her breaking every time Aigis would summon a different Persona, because all it did was remind her of him.

He noticed Yukari getting angrier and angrier. Snapping at the team more, especially Aigis, and being a lot more volatile in battle. The only person who has been spared from her anger is Mitsuru, but probably because she could relate to her feelings.

After some time, which was passed by wiping many floors of Shadows, they were greeted by another door. Aigis reached out to the door, but she hesitated before opening it.

"Open it." Yukari snapped.

Aigis relented, and opened the door to the memory. Everyone was enveloped by a flash of white, and they were given a scene of the dorm. Fuuka had her hands deep in the sink, washing the dishes after a meal, one that could still be smelled. Minato walked in, wearing his blue apron over a black jumper and a warm smile.

"You didn't need to wash the dishes, Fuuka." Minato said.

"You and Aragaki-senpai cooked, and you made the food a lot better than I could have. It's the least I could do, Minato-kun." Fuuka responded, and the mention of Shinjiro hurt Akihiko in his soul. The man he could call his brother.

"You know, I could teach you if you want? I'm definitely not as good as Aragaki-senpai, but I do know my way around a kitchen." Minato suggested.

Fuuka happily smiled. "You would do that?"

Minato nodded. "Yeah, of course. Besides, I'm out of practice. I need to get back into it if I want to impress Mitsuru."

"Thank you, Minato-kun. I promise I won't disappoint you." Fuuka happily accepted his offer.

The scene faded, and another appeared. They were still in the dorm, but the time of when this happened was still unclear. Minato was stood in a hallway, and had just knocked on a bedroom door. It opened, and Fuuka was standing on the other side, and seemed visibly surprised seeing him.

"Minato-kun? Is everything okay?" Fuuka asked, with concern on her face.

Minato's face wasn’t like it was in the other memories. It had a small frown, and his eyes were looking to the floor. "Yeah, yeah everything's okay. I just... I wanted to thank you personally."

"I... There's no need. I didn't do anything more than the others." Fuuka tried to reassure. Akihiko was confused for a moment, wondering what they were talking about.

Minato shook his head. "You noticed what was wrong with me long before the others. If it wasn't for you telling Mitsuru and the others, I... I'm not sure I'd still be here."

That made something click in Akihiko's head. This was after what happened on the Moonlight Bridge.

Fuuka had remained speechless, so Minato continued talking.

"I know you think you don't contribute much to the team. But after everything that's happened, it couldn't be further from the truth. You're vital to us, Fuuka. Without you, this team would be nowhere."

"I... thank you, Minato-kun." Fuuka responded, rendered speechless at Minato's speech.

"You shouldn't thank me, Fuuka. I'm the one who's supposed to thank you." Minato gave her a small smile.

The scene went white, and one more was shown to the team. Fuuka was sat on the couch alone, and by the look on her face, she had recently been crying. Akihiko didn't have to guess why.

"Fuuka-chan?" Junpei said, after coming down the stairs. "You okay?"

Fuuka quickly wiped her eyes. "Oh, y-yes Junpei-kun. Thank you."

Junpei presumably didn’t believe her, as he went towards the couch and sat next to her. "You sure? 'Cos you don't look it."

Fuuka hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I... I just don't understand why this happened. He... he just..." She stopped speaking, trying to prevent herself from crying again.

"I know. And I don't understand either." Junpei said.

Fuuka sighed. "How... how did you feel when Chidori passed?"

Junpei looked away for a moment. "I... I felt lost. Hollow. I didn't know what the hell to do. But... it was him that got me out of that. He reminded me that I had to keep going for her. To keep her memory going. So... if you're struggling, just think about that, you know?"

Fuuka smiled at him. "You're... you're right. Thank you, Junpei-kun."

Junpei smiled back. "Don't mention it."

Everything faded, and they were all back in the Abyss. Fuuka seemed to have shed a few tears.

"I... I struggled to really understand why it all happened. It didn’t seem fair that we didn't even know why he... passed. But I realised that I shouldn't focus on that. That I should be focusing on how I can keep going for him."

Fuuka turned to Ken and Koromaru, who also were recovering from their memories being shown, and smiled.

"Alright, great, can we keep moving?" Yukari said harshly. Akihiko noticed Junpei glare at her for a moment before moving on.

Akihiko didn't know how much more he could take, and something inside him was telling him he was next.

Junpei was growing sick and tired of Yukari's attitude. Yeah, she's grieving, so she is going to be angry. Angry at a lot of things. But they were all grieving too. They all lost someone too. He was getting annoyed everytime she snapped at someone.

He didn’t know what his memories would show. He couldn't say he'd fully processed how he feels about it all. But he did make progress. He visited his grave, and he's been trying to help the others. Maybe it was atonement? For how he treated Minato?

They made it to another door after leagues of Shadow-fighting. Aigis went for the door, as her 'sister' Metis always insisted she do it. Maybe it was because she had the wild card. Akihiko always relented, even though he was the leader. Honestly, it was seeming like Aigis was leading more and more after each door they open. And some people in the group were not pleased about it.

After the door was fully opened, a white light filled their vision. When it cleared, they were placed on the street of Iwatodai, not so far from the dorm. Akihiko stood next to Minato, chugging down on a protein shake he made.

"How do you drink so many of those?" Minato chuckled.

Akihiko wiped the residue shake off of his mouth. "I've got to keep bulking. Everything is an opportunity to work out. To get stronger."

Minato's smile faded. "Why do you want to get so much stronger?"

Akihiko's face went to a more glum expression. "That's... that's a story for another time."

Minato seemed to accept that. "Okay. I won't push. But if you need to talk about it, I'll listen."

Akihiko smiled again at him. "Thanks, Arisato."

Based on the use of his surname, this must have been only a few months into him joining SEES. Maybe late August?

In the corner of Akihiko's eye, he saw a group of guys surrounding two girls. Instantly, he runs over to them and shouts.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Akihiko demanded.

"What's it to you, huh? We're just going to show these girls a good time." The leader sleazily suggested.

"You won't be doing anything." Minato walks up next to Akihiko. His fists were clenched at his sides.

"The fuck is your problem? You really think you stand a chance against the five of us?" The leader bragged.

Minato chuckled, which angered the thugs even more. "Five of you? Would you like me to put my hand behind my back? Make things easier for you?"

The leader snarled, and raised his fists. "You piece of shit! That's it!"

They all circled around Akihiko and Minato. Akihiko had his fists raised in a boxing stance, yet Minato kept his down at his sides.

The thugs rushed in, and the scene faded. When it appeared again, they were back in the dorm, looking down at a cardboard box.

"You think those guys followed us back here?" Akihiko asked.

Minato shook his head. "Not a chance. After what we did to them, I doubt they'd try anything."

Akihiko chuckled for a moment, but it faded. "You asked earlier... about why I wanted to get stronger."

Minato didn't respond. Akihiko opened the cardboard box, revealing an assortment of things.

"Before I was adopted by my parents... I had a younger sister. Miki. Me and her were inseparable in the orphanage. Whenever there were potential parents coming, we said it was both of us or neither of us."

Akihiko reached into the bag, and moved around a few items, before pulling out a handmade medal.

"She made this for me. Saying how she was always thankful to call me her brother."

It was hard to keep the tears in, but Akihiko persisted as best as he could.

"One day... there was a fire at the orphanage. Miki... she didn't make it out."

A few tears fell down Akihiko's face. But he kept going.

"I wasn't strong enough to go back in. To get her out... I promised myself I'd never let that happen again. I'd get stronger, so I could save the people I cared about."

"I'm... I'm really sorry, senpai." Minato sympathised. "I... I know how that feels. I wasn't strong enough to save my sister."

Akihiko gave him a smile as thanks, then looked down at the medal again. "I haven't worn this since. I always thought I failed her..."

Minato shook his head at that. "You didn't fail her, senpai. If anything... I think she'd be proud of the person you are now." He reached for the medal, and Akihiko let him take it for a moment. "And I think she'd agree with me when I say you deserve this."

He pinned the medal to Akihiko's sweater. He could feel his eyes beginning to water. "You might be right..." He looked down at his chest, and held a hand over the medal. "I did it, Miki..."

Minato smiled at him. "You did it."

Akihiko smiled back. "Hey, could you maybe not tell Mitsuru about today? I don't think she'd approve of what happened."

Minato chuckled. "I'll take it to the grave, senpai."

Everything faded, and the team was taken to a final scene with Akihiko sat alone in his bedroom, looking down at the medal his sister made.

"You really took it to the grave, huh?"

He ran his fingers along the design, feeling a pang in his heart.

"You knew the reason why I tried to get stronger. So I could protect everyone I cared about. So why couldn't I protect you? Why couldn't I save you?"

He closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears from coming out.

"You were the strongest out of us. You didn't even have to try."

He let out a deep breath, one he didn't even know he was holding in.

"You said to me you thought Miki would be proud of the person I am. I hope... I hope you can be proud too."

The bedroom faded from view, and upon returning to the Abyss, Junpei saw Akihiko looking away from the group.

"I thought I failed him. I thought that all my strength was pointless if I couldn't save him." Akihiko's voice was quiet.

Junpei walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder. "You know that ain't true, man. It was like what he said about... about your sister. You didn't fail her. So you didn't fail him."

Akihiko smiled at him. "Who could have guessed you'd be good at comforting?"

Junpei, seeing the opportunity, tried to make light of the situation. "Hey! I, as a matter of fact, am great at comforting."

From behind him, he heard a scoff, and he immediately knew who it came from. He turned around and saw Yukari, glaring at him with angry eyes.

"What's your problem, Yukari?" Junpei snapped, tired of her constant irritation.

"What's my problem?! I could be asking you the same thing! Do you even understand why we are even here?!" Yukari shot back.

"Yeah, I do! But right now, I'm trying to help people come to terms with all of this!" Junpei shouted.

"What, you think just because Chidori died for a couple months, that all of a sudden makes you an expert on this stuff?! You aren't the king of grief counselling?! Chidori came back! Minato-kun is gone!" Yukari yelled.

"You think I knew she would come back?!"

"Why are you all of a sudden acting like you cared about him?! Weren't you an asshole to him for almost the entire year?!"

"You take that back!"

"ENOUGH!" Mitsuru's voice echoed in the Abyss. Hearing her speak for the first time ever since entering this place made everyone tense in fear. "I want to be done with this. So put an end to your arguing!"

Both Junpei and Yukari remained silent, not wanting to provoke Mitsuru any more.

He knew Yukari was grieving, just like everyone else.

He knew.

Junpei had no right acting like he cared all of a sudden. Yukari saw how he treated him. The jealousy. The night he lashed out at him in December. He had no right.

She was getting increasingly irritated every time there was another door. She had to guess there were four more to open. Junpei, Mitsuru, Aigis, and her own.

They made it to another door after even more Shadow fighting. Yukari was close to snapping at Aigis again to open the goddamn door. It seemed she took the hint and opened it without hesitation though.

The first thing they see was the arcade in Paulownia Mall. Junpei was stood next to Minato infront of one of the machines.

"Dude, I can't believe these powers we have! This is gonna be so cool!" Junpei said with his normal enthusiasm.

Minato shrugged. Based on his extremely cold face, this must have been right when he joined. Maybe April.

"Come on, man. You're telling me you aren't at least a little excited?" Junpei asked.

"I don't really care." Minato said, with his old apathetic tone.

Junpei seemed to disregard what he said. "Hey, how would you feel making me leader from time to time?"

Minato immediately shook his head. "No. We're doing fine with me as leader. We don't need to change."

Junpei frowned at him. "Man, you really know how to suck the fun out of this, huh?"

Minato looked confused. "What fun?"

Junpei looked caught for a moment. "Ah, I mean... nevermind."

The arcade faded away, followed by Junpei sat in presumably his bedroom, which was extremely messy. Junpei was sat on his bed, looking extremely upset. Or perhaps guilty?

"God... why did I say that? Am I that much of an asshole? He didn't do anything. I just... I screamed at him."

Yukari knew what she was talking about. This was after that night in December after Ryoji's revelation. She knew what happened next in this memory.

There was a knock on the door, and when Junpei went to open it, Yukari was stood on the other side.

"Hey, Yuka-tan." Junpei greeted her. Hearing Junpei say that name made Present Yukari realise something that happened during their argument.

He didn't use that name for her. He must've been extremely angry at her.

Yukari was frowning at him. "Hey, Junpei. I... I just want to apologise for earlier. I shouldn't have made fun of you like that."

Junpei shook his head. "You shouldn't apologise. I shouldn't have lashed out like that."

A moment of silence hung between the two before Junpei spoke again.

"Is... is he doing okay?" Junpei asked.

Yukari shook her head. "I don't think so. What you said... struck a nerve. It was personal for him."

Present Yukari heard Junpei's thoughts.

Shit... the incident...

"I... really fucked things up. Is... is Kirijo-senpai okay?"

Yukari sighed at that. "No. I tried talking to her, but she asked me to please leave her alone."

Hearing that made Junpei fear the worst. If he really caused a breakup between them, he'd never forgive himself. They were supposed to be tied together. If he caused it, then...

"I'm going to speak to her tomorrow." Yukari mentioned.

"Yeah. That sounds good. I'm going to apologise to Minato tomorrow too."

Yukari agreed. "Yeah. You should."

The scene faded, and after a flash of light, the team was shown the roof of Gekkoukan, with Junpei looking over the fence at the water. There were footsteps coming from behind him.

"Yukari said you wanted to talk to me?" It was Minato's voice.

Junpei turned around, and looked Minato straight in the eye. "Yeah. I... I just wanted to apologise for that night."

Minato shrugged. "You already did. You don't have to do it again."

Junpei shook his head at that. "No. I do. I seriously fucked up back then, and I hurt you. I know what I said was personal to you. And I caused your breakup with-"

"No. You didn’t. That was all my fault. You hurt me, yeah, but you didn’t cause my breakup with Mitsuru. That was me. And besides, it worked out in the end. So don't put yourself down about that." Minato interjected.

Junpei pursed his lips. "Alright. But honestly, man. I really am sorry for what I said. I was scared out of my mind, but you didn’t deserve anything that I said."

Minato smiled. "Thanks, Junpei." He walked up to the fence, and looked out to the water alongside Junpei. "You know, I'm scared too."

"Really?" Junpei said, bewildered. "You're doing a good job at hiding it."

Minato let out a half hearted chuckle. "Yeah. I mean it's like you said. We could be facing the God of Death. Of course I'm scared."

"Then... why don't you show it?" Junpei asked.

Minato sighed. "Because I'm the leader. You guys look to me for guidance. If I showed I was scared, then you guys might think I'm doubting us."

"Do you? Doubt us, I mean."

Minato shook his head. "No. I doubt myself. I'm worried I don't have what it takes."

Junpei put an arm on his shoulder, and he didn't feel any tension from it. "Trust me, man. If anyone has what it takes, it's you."

Minato smiled at him. "Thanks, Junpei. You've really changed."

Junpei reciprocated the smile. "It's thanks to you, man. I used to be jealous of you because I wanted to be you. But now, I want to be like you, but still also be myself, if that makes sense?"

Minato chuckled again. "Yeah. I get you, Junpei. Sounds like best man material from you."

Junpei raised both of his fists in the air. "Yes! I'm da best man!"

The scene ended with them laughing. Yukari thought that would be it, but it shifted again to a hospital room. Junpei was sat next to a bed, and next to him on that very bed was Chidori.

"I was supposed to be his best man." Junpei said with not a single ounce of a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, Junpei. It really seemed like he cared about you." Chidori tried to comfort him as best as she could.

"Yeah. He did. Even after all that shit I put him through. I didn't deserve to be his friend after all of that."

Chidori shook her head. "You're wrong. From what you've told me, you did deserve to be his friend. You admitted your faults. You shouldn't live with those regrets."

"I... I just wish I hadn't done all of that. I wish I was better to him." Junpei looked to the floor in shame.

"Don't think about how you wish you were better to him back then. Think about how the time when you were better. There's no point in thinking about your regrets now."

Junpei sighed. "Maybe. It still doesn't change the fact that I was an asshole to him."

He continued to look to the floor, until he saw a hand reach for his. He looked up, and saw Chidori looking straight at him.

"Then let him be proud of the person you are now."

He couldn't help but smile at her, and the scene faded. Yukari looked towards Junpei, who has his face towards the ground. She could make out a few tears falling.

"You didn't deserve it, man. Me, your death, none of it. But... I'm gonna make you proud."

Maybe she was harsh to him. He was grieving too. They just... went in different directions on how to handle it.

"Let's go." She heard Junpei say. "We've only got a few more."

She knew her memories would be ugly. The question is can she handle seeing them?

Chapter Text

Aigis was slowly growing accustomed to this new power, but it was a struggle. All of the new voices in her head was becoming hard to keep track of. Every battle won brought a new Persona, which would be followed by her going to the Velvet Room to fuse new ones. Although, her attendant Elizabeth seemed cold and distant, unlike what she expected. Was this what Minato had to deal with for the past year?

She could tell Mitsuru was not pleased with the fact she was given the wild card. Everytime Aigis summoned a new Persona, she noticed her giving a horrible glare. Yukari would do the same, and she felt guilty every time she had to.

She wasn't sure if seeing everyone's memories was a good idea. It just felt like it was hurting more than it helped. Would she even have memories of him?

She still couldn't wrap her head around Metis. Aigis knew of other Anti-Shadow weapons, but Metis was not one of them. Everything in her data files never mentioned a 'Metis'. But despite that, she still couldn't doubt that connection she felt with her. It seemed she was in her corner no matter what, always ready to defend her.

The team eventually, after more battles with Shadows, made it to another memory. The hesitation was eating at her, but she had to relent, and find out the cause of this nightmare. She could feel the anger from behind her whenever she paused.

The door was opened, and when the white light passed, the memory began on a beach. Yukari was stood, looking towards the ocean.

"Why... why, dad?" Yukari sobbed. "Why did you do this... why did you leave us?"

Her tears fell as she kept looking out to the water. From behind, she heard footsteps coming closer to her. She turned around, and saw Minato stood at the foot of the pier.

"Let me guess," Yukari said, wiping her tears. "Kirijo-senpai sent you?"

Minato shook his head. "No, she didn't. I wanted to come and see if you were okay."

Yukari let out a flat chuckle. "Well, I'm not. My dad... he's the reason why we are doing all of this. He caused the incident. He..."

Minato took a few steps closer. "Yeah. But he was doing what he thought was right. He saw what Kouetsu Kirijo wanted to do. He wanted to put a stop to it."

Yukari shook her head at that. "But he still released the Shadows! I looked up to him, and now I find out he did all of this?! He..."

"If he didn't do what he did, the world may have been doomed. He chose the best option possible." Minato stood next to her, and looked out to the ocean alongside her. "Sure, we can look back and say that we are fighting because of him. But... maybe we can look at it like we are finishing what he started. He wanted to stop the Group's plan with the Shadows. And that now falls on us."

"You sound like you're trying to comfort me." Yukari said sombrely, before gripping her arm in anger. "Do you really think you know?!"

Minato stood silent next to her, not responding.

Yukari sighed. "I... I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I just... I looked up to him. When he died, I... I might as well have lost my whole family. My mom never cared for me after that. She'd bring home guys every other night. I... I hate her for that. But I still missed my dad. I always thought he was a good person. But now? I don't know..."

"He still was a good person. Yeah, he made poor choices. But he did it with you in mind. He wanted to take care of you. And when it came to releasing the Shadows... he probably did it to save you." Minato responded.

Yukari smiled. "Yeah... maybe." She looked towards Minato. "Thank you, Minato-kun."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it."

The beach faded from view, and the next scene appeared, with Yukari and Minato walking together in the mall.

"So. You and Kirijo-senpai?" Yukari teased. Based on that, this must have happened right after the festival.

Minato smiled and looked away. "Yeah. Uh... well... you saw what happened at the festival."

"You can blame Aigis for that. When she couldn't find you after we dragged her off, she was going haywire. She wouldn't stop until she found you." Yukari chuckled.

"Thanks for that, by the way. I don't think the night would have gone as well as it did if she didn't leave us alone." Minato said.

"Don't mention it. Besides, I saw the way you two were looking at each other. If it didn't happen then, it would've happened sooner or later."

Minato chuckled at that. "Yeah. You're probably right."

Yukari's bag buzzed, so she reached inside for her phone. Upon seeing the contact, her rage instantly flared up.

"Sorry, I need to take this." Yukari said.

Minato shrugged. "Go ahead. I'll wait here."

Yukari walked away, hopefully out of earshot, and answered the call.

"What do you want?" She immediately answered with anger.

"Yukari... I... I wanted to let you know that... I'm getting married." Her mother was on the other end, and was very passive in her tone.

Yukari's blood ran cold. "You... what?"

Her mother immediately tried to explain. "I met this guy, and-"

"Save it!" Yukari interrupted. "If you think I'm going to be okay with you casually throwing dad away, then you're wrong! Did you ever even love him?!"

"Yukari, please. I-"

"I'm hanging up. Goodbye, mom." She angrily threw her phone back in her bag before heading back to Minato, who had a worried expression on his face. "Did... did you hear all of that?"

Minato looked guilty. "I didn't mean to."

Yukari shook her head. "It's okay, don't worry." She looked to her feet. "That was my mom."

Minato didn't say anything, just intending to listen.

"You remember, back in Yakushima, I told you about my mom? How she would get with any guy she came across?"

Minato nodded.

"She... she told me she's getting married. I haven't even seen the guy, yet she's marrying him. Did she even care about my dad?"

Minato decided to speak up. "Grief... people handle grief differently. When it came to my family, I just... shut down. Never allowed myself to really process it, because every time I did... it was too much. Maybe... maybe the same can be said about your mom. She didn't know how to process the death of her husband, but instead of shutting down like I did, she tried to run from it."

Yukari remained silent, unsure of how to respond.

"It doesn't justify how she treated you. Neglecting you when you lost your dad is wrong. But it could explain it. Could help you at least get closure."

She looked back up at him. "She's been trying to get me to come see her. Every time she asks, I tell her I'm busy. Does... does that make me a bad person?"

Minato shook his head. "No. You needed space from her. And you needed to heal. But... I don't know if I can give you good advice about going to see her again. I know if I had the opportunity to see my mom again, I'd take it without even thinking. But... we had different experiences."

"Yeah, you're right about that. I... I don't know if I'm ready just yet to see her." Yukari admitted.

"That's okay. It'll take time. You have the right to choose if you want to see her or not."

Yukari smiled. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Minato-kun."

He smiled back. "It's no problem, Yukari."

The mall faded away, and the next thing the team saw was the school rooftop. The atmosphere looked bleak, dull. It had to have happened in January.

Yukari opened the door to the roof, and saw Minato and Mitsuru sat together, shoulder to shoulder.

She walked to them, feeling nerves up and down her spine. "Hey guys, um... can I talk to you about something?"

Minato looked at her, slightly confused, before Mitsuru spoke up. "Of course. Do you want to speak to one of us?"

Yukari shook her head. "No, I want to talk to both of you." She clasped her hands together. "So... you two are my closest friends. And you know about me and my mom..."

Minato spoke up. "Is everything okay?"

Yukari immediately eased his worries. "Yeah! Yeah, everything's fine. I just... I want you guys to meet her."

They both widened their eyes in surprise.

"We were talking earlier, and she said she didn’t want to marry that guy if I didn't want her to. And I realised... I was stopping her from being happy. And that kind of wanted me to go see her."

"That's good. I'm happy for you, Yukari." Mitsuru said.

"Thanks. Well... I want you guys to come with me. If I'm being honest... I don't know how I would be if it was just me going to see her. But... if you guys came with me, I know I'll be okay."

The couple looked at each other for a moment, before looking back at Yukari, smiling. "Of course, Yukari." Minato said with a smile.

The scene faded, and it turned to Minato and Yukari sitting together in class. Immediately, Aigis noticed Minato's pale skin and knew exactly when this was.

This was when he was dying.

Yukari had a deeply concerned expression on her face. It was clear she could tell something was wrong.

"Minato-kun... you really don't look well." Yukari admitted.

"I'm okay, Yukari. I... I probably just caught something." Minato tried to reassure her.

"This doesn't look normal, though. This... seems serious." Yukari wasn't convinced.

"I'll be fine, trust me." Minato smiled, doing his hardest to convince her.

Yukari pursed her lips, but decided to relent. "Okay. But you better get better, you understand?"

Minato smiled, but Aigis could sense that it wasn't genuine. Because he knew.

The scene faded once again, and a final memory was shown of Yukari, curled up on her bed.

"You... you told me to trust you. Why... why did you have to die? Why does everyone I care about have to die?"

She started sobbing, and the scene faded away. The team ended up back at the Abyss, and Yukari was kneeling down at the floor, shaking her head to try and stop the tears.

"He said he was okay... he was like a brother to me. He told me he was okay, and I trusted him... I trusted him and did nothing! And now he's gone!"

She began to sob again, and when Aigis looked over to Mitsuru, she too was crying next to her. But, to Aigis' surprise, Mitsuru kneeled down to Yukari, and held her as they both let out a few tears. It was the most she'd seen Mitsuru show in terms of emotion for the entire time they've been descending into the Abyss.

The crying stopped, and when Yukari and Mitsuru stood up, Junpei walked up to her.

"Hey, Yuka-tan? I'm sorry for earlier. I just... I really miss him."

She wiped her eyes clear of the tears. "I'm... I'm sorry too, Junpei."

Mitsuru could feel everything in her breaking. Memory after memory, seeing his face, hearing his voice, was becoming too much to bear. Seeing Yukari's memory almost broke the dam. That scene of her and Minato together, leaning on each other, made her miss that touch he gave her. That touch she would never feel again.

Everything in her was hating Aigis more and more. The more she acted like him. How she fought like him. Nothing that she had belonged to her. She didn't see him in the hospital. She didn't go to his funeral. She doesn't deserve his power.

If Mitsuru had to guess, there were two more memories to see. Aigis' and her own. She wasn't sure if seeing her memories would do anything to help. If anything, it'll just make her miss him even more.

The next door was in view, and Aigis hesitated long before opening. It seemed like there was something inside herself preventing her from opening the door.

"Open. It." Mitsuru hissed. She couldn't stand waiting.

Aigis finally reached for the door, and opened it wide. There was a flash of white, and immediately, Mitsuru could feel immense heat covering her. When she could finally see, there was fire and smoke everywhere. And it clicked in her head where they were.

We are on the bridge...

She saw Aigis sprint across the bridge, letting loose gunfire from all angles to the Shadow ahead of her. The way it looked, the Shadow resembled Minato's dark Persona, Thanatos.

That made Mitsuru remember, that despite all of the Shadows they have fought, she hadn't seen Aigis summon Thanatos once. Perhaps she couldn't, or maybe she was scared of its nature.

They traded blows, and it seemed like whatever attack Aigis threw at the Shadow, it just absorbed it.

Aigis' core heated up, and Mitsuru could see she was ready for a battle. She unleashed Orgia Mode, and her speed increased tenfold. She kicked, punched, and fired bullets, but the Shadow just wouldn't go down.

But Mitsuru could sense Aigis had one more trick up her sleeve. One more last ditch attempt. Aigis locked her legs, and charged her core. Her flames turned from blue to red, and in the blink of an eye, she launched herself straight at the Shadow. She tackled it to the floor and raised her hand up high, enveloping the area in an ominous red glow. Lightning crackled from her hand, and she brought it down hard, smashing the Shadows skull. It squirmed and writhed, but it eventually stopped. But Aigis knew it wasn't finished. The red lightning pulled out the dark soul within, and she held a small purple flame in her hand.

But she couldn't keep it contained like this for long. She needed a host.

She scanned the area for any signs of life. She chose this spot for the least potential casualties, but she still needed a host to contain the threat.

Each second Aigis spent holding this flame, the danger grew more and more. But every human life around her had been ended during their fight. They were either burned, stabbed, slashed, or shot. But then a flash of life made itself known. She heard distant sobs, so she dashed towards the noise. When she came to the source of the crying, she saw a small boy holding the body of a girl. His blue hair was covered in blood, and his clothes were singed, revealing skin that had been burned. He continued to cry, not even looking up at Aigis.

Mitsuru could feel Aigis' cold, unfeeling stare, even if she wasn't on the receiving end.

Aigis revealed the flame in her hand, and reached the other out to his shoulder to hold him still. When he felt the touch, he flinched and looked up, and Aigis saw the pure fear in his eyes.

She pressed the flame deep into his chest, and the last thing everyone heard were his screams.

Mitsuru knew the second this memory ended, she would have to do everything in her power to not unleash hell on Aigis. She couldn't entirely focus on the memory now. Her anger, her rage, it was unbridled after what she just witnessed her do.

This memory was different to the others. Instead of focusing on a single moment, it would constantly shift between certain moments, all of them involved her watching him from a distance. Yakushima, the summer festival, every excursion in Tartarus. Her eyes were always focused on him.

The fast shifting ended, and her next memory was something Mitsuru did not want to witness. She saw the sakura trees, and knew exactly what moment this was. She was there in his last moments, sat next to him as he lied down on the bench. Every word she said, it all felt hollow to Mitsuru at this point.

After her words ended, the doors to the roof swung open, and the memory ended. She was internally glad it stopped. She wasn't sure if she could witness it all again.

The scene went away, and her last memory was Aigis in her room. She was stood perfectly still. She could hear Yukari and Junpei outside of her room.

"I... I can't believe she skipped his funeral." She heard Junpei say.

"She didn't go see him in the hospital, and now this. I... I can't believe her." Yukari complained. "I thought she was our friend."

"Me too." Junpei said, clearly upset.

Aigis remained still in the cold darkness of her room, and the memory ended. The Abyss was around them once again, and everyone stood, looking at Aigis in shock.

"Aigis... you..." Junpei was rendered near speechless.

"I... my protocols forced me to. I didn't have a choice..." Aigis admitted.

"He... he looked so scared." Fuuka said.

Everyone stood in silence for a moment, not sure of what else to say after what they had just witness, until Yukari spoke what everyone had on their mind.

"Aigis... why didn't you come see him in the hospital? Why didn't you go to his funeral?" She said quietly.

Aigis hesitated for a moment. "I... I believed I was undeserving of going. I was the reason of his pain. I caused all the torment in his life. It didn't seem like I deserved to go after all of that."

Yukari didn't respond to that, although it looked like she wanted to. But Mitsuru, after so long of keeping it bottled up, finally let out something, because she was tired of holding it in.

"You're right. You didn't."

Her voice, despite it being more of a muttered growl, was heard by everyone.

"Mitsuru?" Akihiko said, with concern growing on his face.

She didn't respond to him directly. "Let's go."

No one spoke about that small outburst from her for the entire journey to the final door. What was concerning was how little Shadows there were.

The final door was within arms length, and Aigis didn't hesitate this time. Mitsuru was glad she finally understood how everyone wanted this done.

Everyone was blinded by a white light, and when the memory began, it was Mitsuru sat alone in her room. She was sat on her desk, and in her hands was a file. On the name, it read 'Arisato, Minato'. She scanned through the file, which documented his life and potential candidacy for SEES:

Arisato, Minato

16 Y/O

Male

Background: Arisato was orphaned at 7 years old during the Moonlight Bridge incident. Hospital reports from the days following the incident highlight several injuries suffered, and his persistent refusal in talking in those days indicates mental trauma. Arisato was then placed into foster care, and had several foster families over the years. The reasons why he had moved into several homes is varied, but a common factor is typically abuse from either one or both parents.

Normally, this would be a candidate that would not be considered due to the potential risks coming from recruiting him. However, hospital reports imply that he experienced the Dark Hour for the length of its existence. Doctors have written comments from several nurses, detailing how he is typically in his room before midnight, but as soon as the next day follows, he was somewhere else in the hospital.

The Group understands the risk when it comes to recruiting him, but it is reasonably believed that he would be a prime fit for the Special Extracurricular Execution Squad. We suggest enrolling him into Gekkoukan High School into the upcoming second year. Regarding excursions into Tartarus, the Group highly recommends leadership be careful, due to his volatility.

Mitsuru read through the file completely, understanding the risks it came to recruiting him. However, with four members, they may be able to make progress in Tartarus.

However, when she remembered his background, she realised something that made her feel a pang of emotion. The reason he was orphaned. They died because of her grandfather. Her family name. Then everything that followed? Abuse from the families he was placed in? The Kirijos were the cause of that.

Recruiting him would be tactically advantageous, that she could not deny. But something she would only admit to herself was that she could atone. Atone for what her family did to this boy.

The scene faded, and whilst the white light had disappeared, the walls around her were still paneled a cream colour. The window let sunlight into the room she was sat in. She was unsure of where or when this memory was set at first, but the giveaway was the sound of an EKG machine, pinging records of a heart rate, and the quiet sound of a ventilator.

This was after he almost died...

After I almost died...

Minato's body lay still on the bed, and the tube coming out of his mouth made her nauseous with guilt. Despite the hospital robes he wore, Mitsuru could picture that large scar that extended across is torso and abdomen, clear as day. The scar he took for her.

That selfless boy. Selfless to the point where he would easily sacrifice himself for her safety. She couldn't help but admire him for that level of care for his teammates. But at the same time, she wished he would just care about himself for once. But she couldn't blame him for that. His life, his trauma, everything he was put through conditioned him to not value himself at all.

Her own injuries were healing, after the powerful Agidyne she took, but her muscles were stiff. Akihiko wanted her to rest back at the dorm, but she did not want to leave Minato lying here alone. She knew his less than pleasant feelings about hospitals. Even if he was in a coma, she didn't want him to go through it alone. Not after what he did for her.

She kneeled down to his side, and brushed the dry hair that covered his eye. She could never imagine herself doing this for anyone else. She couldn't entirely believe she was doing it right now. But right now, something felt different about him.

I will do whatever I can to make it up to you. To make you care for yourself the way you care for others.

I promise.

The hospital room faded away, and Present Mitsuru had to hold her tears in as hard as she could. Every memory she saw of him broke another piece of her soul. It just reminded her that he was gone, and there was nothing she could do to bring him back. Nothing to feel his touch on her skin, to hear his voice in her ears, to see his perfect eyes with her own.

The next memory was not long after that. It was the summer festival. She could recount every feeling she had that night. She was nervous, excited, scared. But she was sure it was what she wanted. She remembered seeing his face, and she could tell he had been feeling the same way she was. The games they played, the food they ate. Everything they did filled her with joy.

And then what topped it all off, the kiss on the hill. But when it felt like the best time of her life back then, it only filled her with sorrow now. She would never feel his lips on hers ever again.

The memory faded after, and the next one began with Mitsuru sleeping soundly in her bed. She felt a rustle next to her, and it was Minato, sat with his back bent on the side of the bed. With how Minato presumably looked, something bad must have recently happened. If this memory happened after the festival, then it was after either one of two events, neither of them did Mitsuru want to particularly relive.

The moonlight shined into her room, and Minato was sat looking at the floor. Mitsuru sat up and reached over for his shoulder. She felt it tense slightly, but it calmed after a second.

"Minato, what happened?" Mitsuru gently asked.

"Another nightmare." Minato simply responded without looking back.

Mitsuru paused for a moment, looking sympathetically towards him. "Was it..."

Minato nodded, already answering her question. "This was the worst one. I... killed everyone."

Mitsuru, albeit carefully, rushed to his side and sat next to him. She saw streaks of tears that had previously fallen. She was about to say something before Minato beat her to it.

"It felt so real. Back on the bridge, I... I didn't stop. I killed them all. But it was like I couldn't even control myself. I just watched as my body just... tore them apart." His voice began to crack, so Mitsuru held him with both of her arms around her.

That made it click in Present Mitsuru's head. This was after what happened on the bridge in November. Where she wasn't able to be there after her father's passing.

"Mina, you know you would never do that." Mitsuru tried to reassure.

"That wasn't the end of it. I... I killed you too. I stabbed you, and I just watched as you..." He couldn't keep going, as he let out a quiet sob. "I... I can't trust myself."

"I trust you, Mina. You didn't do those things." She slowly rubbed his shoulder, down to his bicep.

"But what if-"

"No, there is no what if. You didn't." Mitsuru interrupted, but it wasn't out of annoyance or malice, but out of care. "The Minato I know would never want to hurt his friends."

"But what if I'm not the Minato you know?"

"You are." She turned his face to hers. "You are the Minato I fell in love with. And you always will be."

She planted a soft kiss on his forehead, and saw his smile, before everything flashed white. They memory still was not finished, as the next one was Mitsuru alone in her room, curled up on her bed, quietly sobbing. Her first thought was this being set after that day.

But then she could hear her past self's thoughts.

Why... why couldn't he listen...

Now he doesn't want anything to do with me...

And he says... it's all his fault...

It wasn't after then. It was after the night he said she shouldn't be with her, all because he believed he brought death to everyone. He didn't. He never did. But because of Junpei planting that thought in his head, it'll never leave.

She doesn't want to lose him. She couldn't think of a life without him. She would do anything in her power to bring that smile back.

The memory faded with her tears being the last thing heard. But it was not over. And judging by what it was, her memories were nearing its end.

They were at the peak of Tartarus. Messiah floated above their heads, after the monumental clash with the avatar.

But then that cosmic weight was pushed on her shoulders, and nothing she did lessened the burden of that weight. But Minato wasn't struggling. He stood straight, despite her body still incapable of doing the same.

He walked to the edge of the tower. She heard everyone shouting out to him, pleading to him. She did the same as them all, screaming at him to come back.

She saw him look back at her, and she could see the sadness in his eyes. She made out the words 'I'm sorry', and she dreaded the worst. Her screams became mixed with her tears as she begged him not to leave, but he did. He lifted off of the tower, directly into the moon. She thought she would never see him again. That his last words to her were an apology.

The moon soon shattered, and Mitsuru can recount the next show of events perfectly in her head. Stood in the endless void of stars, falling to her knees as she let out a sob. Being sent back to the school, and watching Tartarus fall.

And then seeing his eyes again erased all that sadness like it didn't even exist.

But now it was all she could feel. Sorrow, dread, and emptiness were the only things she knew now.

Mitsuru could feel it coming. She knew it had to. She only got the start of it during Aigis' memory, and that immediately wanted her to sob. She would have to hear her past self say all of those words.

And she was right. She saw a glimpse of those sakura trees once again. Minato was lying on her lap with a fading smile on his face, and the light in his eyes were beginning to dim.

And the worst of it all, she heard his last words once more.

"I love you, Mitsuru."

Those were the last things that were said before the memory faded. The Abyss came into view, and Mitsuru kept her face looking away from everyone, not wanting them to see all of her tears falling. Her knees felt weak, but she kept herself standing.

"Mitsuru... are you okay?" Akihiko gently asked.

She didn't respond for a moment, but she wiped her eyes clean of tears. "Don't worry about me." She turned around to face Metis. "What now?"

"We haven't reached the pit of the Abyss. We should head there." Metis suggested.

She was not wrong. There were more floors left over to cover. The Shadows on these floors were the strongest they had faced yet.

The killed one final Shadow and began to descend the final stairs.

"This... this is the bottom of the Abyss." Fuuka warned.

They all reached the bottom of the stairs, and one thing that surprised them all was another door.

"There's another door? We've seen everyone's memories, though..." Ken muttered.

"This must be the source of everything in the Abyss. What your grief surrounds." Metis explained.

"Wait... what our grief surrounds... are you saying this is Minato-kun's memories?" Fuuka's eyes widened.

"That's what I assume."

Mitsuru was extremely torn if this was right. Seeing his memories could give them the key to leaving this place. But at the same time, these were the memories of a dead person, and worse, her dead fiancé. She knew of the things that were done to him. But there's a difference between him telling her, and her forcefully seeing them for herself.

And it seems she wasn't the only one who was conflicted, as surprisingly, Aigis spoke up. "I... I do not know if we should do this. These are Minato-san's memories. I... I do not believe if it's right to see them."

"I don't think you should have an opinion, Aigis. Not after what you did." Yukari snapped.

"Yeah... but if it's our only chance of getting out, then we have to go, right?" Junpei reasoned, trying to ease the tension.

"I don't think we have much of a choice." Akihiko added. "I don't like it any more than any of you, but I think we have to."

Junpei, in response, shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if the leader says so."

And that does it. The team was going to see the memories of their deceased leader. Aigis stepped forward, and Mitsuru only then began to question why she was the one to open it by default.

"Aigis, wait." Yukari spoke up, assumingly thinking the same as Mitsuru. "Mitsuru-senpai should open this one. This... this is personal more to her than to us."

Aigis, who stood still for a moment, relented. She turned back to the rest of the group, and Mitsuru took a few steps forward to the final door. The doorknob was cold when she gripped it, and her hand shook even when she had her hands on it. She steeled her nerves, took a deep breath, and opened the door wide.

Minato ran down the stairs, the joy radiating off of every footstep he made. The smell of eggs filled his nose as he ran towards the kitchen. He burst through the door, in a fashion typical of a energetic six-year-old. His mother, a calm woman with long blue hair, stood by the stove, spatula in hand. She turned around with a warm smile on her face.

"Good morning, Minato." She said with a gentle voice.

"Morning, mom!" Minato said back with a grin.

His mother giggled. "Someone must be excited for his birthday."

Minato nodded profusely.

"If it weren't for you two being brother and sister, I wouldn't tell you and Minako apart." His mother's smile grew wider.

As soon as she was mentioned, his sister burst through the kitchen doors with even more energy than he did.

"We're turning seven next week!" Minako bubbily jumped up and down, grabbing onto Minato as she does so.

"Minako..." Her brother groaned.

"Alright, Minako. Let your brother go." Their mother calmly chided. Minako relented, letting her brother go, not without pouting in the process. They both sat down at the table, getting ready for their breakfast.

"Your father has already gone to work, but he wanted me to ask you what you wanted to do for your birthday next week." Their mother said, placing the eggs onto their plates.

"I want to go see Nana and Papa!" Minato suggested.

"Yeah! Nana will give us lots of presents!" Minako added.

Their mother laughed as she set the plates down. "Alright. We'll go see Nana and Papa. I'm sure they'll be happy seeing you two."

The memory faded, but unlike the ones before, everyone was stood in a void of white once it ended, with another door placed ahead of them.

"That was Minato... and his mom and sister..." Akihiko muttered.

"They looked so happy. That... I've never seen Minato-kun so... happy." Yukari said to no one in particular.

Mitsuru could say she had, on the night they got engaged. But she didn't want to have that joy of the memory be ripped away when she came back to reality.

It didn't matter now. She walked over to the next door and opened it, with significantly less hesitation than before.

He could barely see anything. The smoke burned his eyes, and when he tried to open them, the blurriness made everything so hard to tell apart. But he couldn't mistake the fire around them. And his family, all still. His arms were hanging over his head, meaning they had been flipped.

His father was leaned on the steering wheel, his glasses completely shattered. A piece of metal went through his abdomen completely.

Minato breathed faster and faster, unable to look away from the horror in front of him. There were noises going on outside, but all he could see were flashes of blue and purple.

His mother was turned to him, her eyes still open. He could hear her barely draw breath as the blood trickled down her face.

"M-Mom?" Minato said only one word, as that alone made a jolt of pain run through him.

He heard his mother groan and mumble, struggling to get her words out. She was fading, and she either couldn't say what she wanted to say, or Minato could not understand her at all.

But two words came out perfectly to him.

"Minato... live..."

The light fully faded from her eyes after those last two words.

"M-Mom? W-Wake up..." The more words he spoke, the more pain he felt, but he pleaded for his mother to wake up. But she never did.

The fire grew around them, and it began to consume his parents. His breathing sped up even faster, as he completely froze.

Until he heard a cough to his left. He turned his neck, ignoring how stiff it was, and he saw his sister. Alive. Bleeding, but alive.

The freeze in him ended as soon as he heard it. He forced through the pain as he reached to unbuckle his seatbelt. When it unlocked, he fell to the roof of the car, hitting his head hard on the shattered glass. But it did not stop him.

He pushed himself over where Minako was hanging, keeping himself aligned to the window that he was sat next to, since it was their only way to escape. The other one was completely blocked by debris. He unbuckled her seatbelt, letting her fall on his chest. It hurt, a lot, but he had to push through. The glass cut all across his skin, and he once he made it to the window, it was still covered by the glass. He elbowed it twice, and it shattered, but the fire blazed in. Minato instinctively covered his sister, but he was forced to feel the fires burn his skin. His tears fell, but he couldn't stop moving.

He pushed through the fire, but it continued to physically plague his skin, spreading across him. When after what felt like an eternity, he and Minako made it out together. He threw his jacket and shirt off, getting the fire off of him. He hoisted Minako's arm over his shoulders and dragged her away, but was knocked off his feet by the car's explosion.

Minako was sent off of his shoulders, and Minato was down on his stomach. He looked up, and his sister wasn't moving.

He got back to his feet as fast as he could, and ran to her, pain be damned. He held her in his arms, and her body felt limp.

"'Nako... please... wake up..." Minato pleaded. "Please..."

She didn't wake up, despite all of Minato's pleading. He sobbed and sobbed over her body, laying lifeless in his arms.

There were noises going on around them, but he couldn't focus on them. He lost everything.

It felt like time completely stopped, but he heard footsteps coming up to him. He looked up, and saw a white figure with blue wings, like he was looking up at an angel. But instead of saving him, it clutched his shoulder tight, and held him still. The fear he felt peaked at this moment, as a flicker of purple appeared in its hand. It pushed hard against his chest, and the last thing he remembered was the pain and his screams.

It was worse than Mitsuru could have imagined. She saw Aigis' point of view, and it was bad enough already. But she watched him happy with his family one moment, and lose them all the next.

It didn't get better for long. Each memory after that was a series of events, much like what was described in the file she read almost a whole year ago. The hospital. The Dark Hour. All of those families that abused him. That beat him mercilessly.

The worst moments were the quiet ones, where he was the only one in view. She could hear his thoughts, and all that was in there was just the pain he felt after all those years. She saw the moments where he cut himself. Those moments that he told her when he was the most vulnerable. The times where he was just a step before entering high speed traffic, or off of a bridge. The times where he was an inch from hitting an artery.

Mitsuru could literally feel his pain, like it was her own. And something that scared her was that it wasn't so far from how she felt already. Every time she allowed herself to feel those emotions, it became too much. Before the 'Abyss of Time', she would just shut down completely. Now, she couldn't emotionally detach herself. Because every time she did, another memory would latch onto her feelings again.

But then she began to recognise Iwatodai again. The pain still lingered, but then there was the hope of things getting better. She felt his happiness in the summer festival. His despair after Shinjiro, Ikutsuki's betrayal, and Ryoji's revelation. His pure joy after proposing to her, reminiscent of his childhood days. She felt all of his love. She felt the sorrow in him on the Promised Day after going to face Nyx alone. The pain that happened everyday after.

Then March fifth. During his funeral not so long after that day, Mitsuru said she wished he heard her final words to him.

And she had her wish granted. She heard her final words through his ears. That granted her some solace, knowing that she knew her love for him, right until the end.

But seeing all of this only affirmed the truth. That he was gone. All that love he felt for her was gone forever. They were taken back to the Abyss, all stunned in horror.

"Dear god... that... was worse than I thought. I had shitty parents... but nothing like that..." Junpei muttered to himself.

"That... was awful..." Fuuka commented, covering her mouth with her hands.

Mitsuru looked to her side, and she saw Aigis looking away from the group. Maybe in shame.

But frankly, Mitsuru didn't care.

"This is all your fault, Aigis." Mitsuru hissed her name. "Everything that happened to him was because of you!"

"Mitsuru..." Akihiko stood to the side, looking at her almost speechless.

"You caused the crash on the bridge! You caused his family to die! You forced that power on him! All of that abuse he suffered was because of you! He died because of you!"

Aigis stood still, but Metis came up to her defence. "My sister had nothing to do with that!"

"Shut it, Metis!" Yukari snapped.

"You were right not to come to the hospital, or the funeral! You didn't deserve to! But what's worse is you didn't just take everything from him, you took the one thing that made him special unlike the rest of us! You forced that power onto him, then you took it for yourself! You don't deserve it!"

A rumble went off in the Abyss, as if it reacted to Mitsuru's screams. She turned around to the door they came out of, and it swung open wide, letting out black smoke and a dark red aura.

A figure slowly emerged from the smoke. Its skin and clothes were a mix of grey and black, but she recognised who it was meant to be. The face. The hair swept over his eye. It gave it away. But instead of a cold, steel iris, it was blazing red.

The horror Mitsuru felt could not be described. Its as if her pain had come back to haunt her in the worst way possible.

"Wait... is that Minato-kun?!" Yukari shouted, pulling out her bow instinctively.

Metis did the same, unsheathing her golden hammer. "It's the source of your grief taken form!"

A sword appeared in his hand from red flames, and an evoker in his left.

"I-It's preparing to fight!" Fuuka stammered, and summoned Juno.

Mitsuru couldn't accept this. She knew it wasn't him. She knew.

But it was not going to make this any easier whatsoever.

Chapter Text

???/???/??? - Abyss of Time

"No... no no no. This... this cannot be real..." Mitsuru muttered to herself. The shadow of her beloved stared at her with his lifeless red eyes.

"Everyone! Get ready for a fight!" Akihiko yelled, but Mitsuru couldn't bring herself to draw her rapier. Even if this thing wasn't truly him, she couldn't bring herself to harm it.

But it did not feel the same. It flashed forward, with a sword that resembled Thanatos' blade, and was ready to end her in one strike.

But she heard the call of Caesar, and it shot a bolt of lightning right in between them. The shadow retreated back, and Mitsuru couldn't keep her eyes focused.

"It... it's changing affinities! His weaknesses are changing!" Fuuka yelled from their backline.

"Then we gotta keep up with it!" Junpei raised his evoker to his head. Trismegistus emerged when he pulled the trigger, and dashed forward. It readied the blades on its arms for a swift strike, but as it advanced, the Shadow pulled out an evoker of its own.

It pulled the trigger, and another Trismegistus emerged. It charged forward, and the two Personas clashed together, with its blades intertwined.

"It... it has Trismegistus..." Junpei murmured, and he clenched his fists. "You bastard! You can't use him!"

Each move that Junpei's Trismegistus used was mirrored perfectly. The shadow dashed past the clash and swerved around each of the team members, going straight for Junpei. It swung down hard, but Junpei was barely able to block it. He tried to go for a counter attack, but the shadow effortlessly dodged the swing, and upon seeing the opening, slashed at Junpei's legs, crippling him. He let out a painful yell, and was given a powerful punch right into his chest, sending him far out of the fight.

"Junpei!" Yukari yelled. She ran as fast as she could towards him, but the shadow was faster. It attempted to intercept her, but Aigis ran in its path, letting loose enough bullets to make it fall back.

Mitsuru saw him grimace as his wounds healed, which finally made her understand the seriousness of this fight. She didn't want to fight. She didn't think she could. But she had to.

With shaky hands, she drew her rapier and pointed its edge at the shadow.

"Whatever you are, you aren't him." Mitsuru said, fighting back her tears.

Black smoke emanated from its left hand, and it raised it high, before clenching it into a fist and bringing it back down. A shockwave shook the room, and more shadows began to ooze into the arena.

"A-Aigis! Focus on the main target!" Mitsuru could see hesitation on his face. "Mitsuru, Metis, Yukari! You join her! We will focus on the other shadows!"

Mitsuru knew he couldn't tell the true animosity between the four of them. That or he forgot about it during battle. Yukari gave her a knowing look, showing she felt the same.

It didn't matter right now.

The shadow fired its evoker again, and Athena answered its call. It charged forward, but Metis summoned Psyche to prevent its attack.

"We need to overwhelm it! It cannot summon multiple Personas!" Aigis commanded. "Yukari-san! Mitsuru-san! Use your magic skills! Metis and I will focus on getting close to it."

Mitsuru could feel her anger grow with every order she was given.

Aigis called to Rakshasa, and it slashed at the shadow, but its deft footwork made it miss. Yukari and Mitsuru both used a mix of wind and ice attacks, trapping the shadow. Psyche and Athena charged together at the shadow, causing a large explosion.

When the dust settled, the shadow had fallen to one knee. Mitsuru's muscles relaxed, thinking this torment was finally over.

But it stood up again, and red flames began to grow.

It grabbed at its face, and Mitsuru knew what was coming next. His darkness made manifest, Thanatos, answered the shadow's call.

Aigis was frozen still, unable to move. Perhaps she was swallowed by fear, remembering the fight on the bridge.

And that freeze spelled her defeat, as in an instant, Thanatos dashed forward. It cleaved through Athena and Psyche with ease, and with its free hand, it slammed Aigis with a curse imbued punch, sending her flying.

"SISTER!" Metis shouted. In a fit of anger, she summoned Psyche again, and sent it straight towards Thanatos. It tried to slam into it, but its face was caught by Thanatos' hand. Its grip tightened, and Psyche's head was crushed. Metis fell to a knee, indirectly harmed by that attack, which gave the shadow the perfect opportunity to dash forward, slashing twice at her torso, before finishing its combo with a curse blast.

It stood still, silently staring at Yukari and Mitsuru. Her nerves were at an all time high.

She let out a deep breath. "Are you with me, Yukari?" She muttered.

"Always, senpai." She responded, nocking an arrow in her bow.

Thanatos stepped forward slowly, like it was approaching prey, until a yellow flash struck it hard.

Akihiko, Koromaru and Junpei approached the girls from the side, whilst Ken remained back to focus on healing the androids. The boxer shouted. "We got Thanatos! You two focus on the shadow!"

Thanatos roared, and charged at the three new fighters. Yukari and Mitsuru took the opportunity and began their attack.

Yukari fired an arrow at the shadow, causing it to dodge, but giving an opening for Mitsuru to fire a Bufudyne. It stumbled, but recovered fast. It dashed forward again, preparing a horizontal slash on Yukari, but Artemisia blocked the attack by wrapping its whip around the shadows blade. It lost its grip, and Yukari used the opportunity to fire a few more arrows, forcing it to let go and retreat.

"Yukari! Combine your attack with mine!" Mitsuru shouted.

"Got it!" Yukari unholstered her evoker, raising it to her temple, and Mitsuru did the same.

"Isis! Panta Rhei!"

"Artemisia! Diamond Dust!"

Their magic spells transformed and fused together, letting loose a powerful hailstorm at the shadow. An explosion of torrential wind and biting cold filled the arena, and when everything calmed, the shadow was on its last legs.

Yukari fired another arrow, but this time, it his its target, right in the shadows shoulder. Mitsuru charged forward with her rapier in hand, and sorrow in her heart.

I'm sorry.

She forced it through his chest. Black ooze was leaking through the wound. A calm settled in the arena, and all that was left was her pain. She couldn't move her hands, and she couldn't pull the rapier out. Not because it was stuck, but because she couldn't force her body to move.

The shadow looked up into her eyes, and despite the angry red looking into her soul, she could swear she saw sadness.

The red flames turned into a blue flicker, and the shadow faded away. The last thing she saw was his smile.

Her tears breached her eyes, and she fell to her knees. She couldn't hold it in any longer. It was just too much. It was his face. Even if it wasn't truly him, it was enough to break her all over again. Her sobs grew louder, becoming the only thing heard in the whole room.

"Why... why?! Why did you have to die?! Why do I have to keep living when everyone I love is gone?!" Her cries grew even louder as she clutched at her heart. "YOU PROMISED ME! YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE ME!"

She couldn't talk any more, as her sobs were the only things left in her. She heard footsteps coming up to her, and when she heard the quiet sobs, she knew it was Yukari. She went down to her level, and held her as they both let out their pain.

"I miss him too. It's not fair..." She heard Yukari whisper in the middle of her tears.

In the midst of their tears, the room was covered by a flash of white. When they could all see again, two keys were floating in front of her and Yukari. When she turned around to everyone else, a key was floating next to them too.

"What's with the keys?" Junpei questioned, immediately looking towards Metis.

"You overcame the Shadow, and now..." She paused. "Now you must make a choice. With the keys, you can leave the Abyss of Time."

Yukari stood up, and so did Mitsuru. The younger of them spoke. "Good. I want to get out of here."

"It's not as simple as you think." Metis cryptically said. "In order to use the keys, you need to decide on the destination. You can use the keys, and end up at April first. Or, you could go to a different time altogether. You could-"

"Go to a time before the Promised Day..." Ken muttered.

Mitsuru could feel her heart tighten.

We can go back... we... we can actually go back...

"So." Akihiko said, trying to understand everything Metis said. "We... we can either go to the present, or go to the past."

"Yes. Those are your choices. But you must choose soon." Metis warned.

No one spoke, but Mitsuru knew everyone had to be thinking the same thing. They could bring him back. They could prevent his death.

"Let's head back to the dorm. This sounds like something we gotta discuss." Junpei spoke up, and Mitsuru looked at him confused.

"Yeah. Let's go." Akihiko led them back to the dorm, but Mitsuru couldn't help but think.

What is there to talk about?

Iwatodai Dorm - ???

Mitsuru took a seat on the couch, and watched as everyone else nervously took their seats. Yukari sat next to her, and Mitsuru was internally glad. Metis stood next to Aigis, and she kept her eyes shifting between her 'sister' and Mitsuru.

"So, uh... no one is actually thinking about going to the past, right?" Junpei started off, and Mitsuru immediately looked at him, assuming she heard wrong.

Ken was next to speak. "I mean... we never understood why he died, right?"

Mitsuru might have an answer to that, and hoped that explaining it would make things clearer to everyone, and so that they can understand what they need to do in order to change the past. "I think I do. When I... when I went to his room a couple weeks ago, he left a recording on his MP3 player to me. He... it sounded like he used his power to stop Nyx."

But the look in Ken's eyes said otherwise. "Then... I don't think we should change that. It's what he wanted. It doesn't seem right to go back and undo that."

Akihiko looked to him. "I agree. We've seen what it took to stop Nyx. There's nothing telling us that we can change that."

They... they cannot be serious...

Yukari must have noticed the distress on Mitsuru's face, as she asked her a question. "What do you want to do, Mitsuru-senpai? You have the highest stake in this."

She looked to the ground, and gripped her arm tight. "I want to go back. To before the Promised Day. It wasn't fair for him to die, and if we have even a chance at changing that, I am taking it. I do not care if it doesn't seem right to undo it. But it absolutely is not right to just allow him to stay dead."

Akihiko looked like he had been slapped in the face. "So... you just want to give up? You think that's what he wanted?"

The anger she felt in that moment was perhaps the worst she had ever felt. "How dare you say I am giving up. That is what you want to do! You want to throw away our only chance at saving him!" She stood up and walked to stand over him, looking directly into his eyes. "And don't you dare act like you know what he wanted."

He looked personally offended. "Then why stop there then?! We can go back to the day of the incident and stop Yukari's father from releasing the shadows, or stop your grandfather from even finding the shadows in the first place!"

"Don't you dare talk about my dad!" Yukari shot up from her seat. "You know that isn't the same thing!"

"Everyone... please calm down. We... we shouldn't be fighting like this." Aigis' voice was cracking.

"You of all people shouldn't have an input in this, Aigis." Mitsuru scowled at her. "Not after everything you did to him." She turned to Ken and Akihiko. "I am going to go back. You cannot say you know what he wanted, because you don't. You cannot say you care about him if you're okay with letting him stay dead."

"That's not true!" Ken shouted.

"Please. Stop fighting." Fuuka murmured.

"You two don't know what I have lost. I hope you never know what I have lost. But the fact you two are okay with just allowing this to happen... it just shows me that you two are cowards." Mitsuru hissed.

Akihiko clenched his fist in anger. "We just don't want to keep clinging onto the past! He died! We have to move on!"

"I was wrong calling Junpei the king of grief counselling, because you take the fucking crown." Yukari scoffed. "It's like she said. You don't know what it's like to lose the person you love. So don't go acting like you do."

"Guys." Junpei cut in. "I think Aigis should have a say."

Yukari glared at him. "Why the hell should she?!"

"Because she's got the wild card, right? If Minato was a guest before her, then clearly she in involved in this somehow. I think we gotta listen to her."

Mitsuru wanted to object, but she figured she wanted to hear what Aigis had to say first.

"You said you wanted to protect him, right?!" Yukari shouted. "We can fix this!"

"None of us know that." Ken said, shrinking into his seat. "We can't say we know what he wanted."

"Both of you, shut up." Junpei said harshly. "I want to hear what Aigis has to say."

"I... I don't know what is the right choice." Aigis says, looking away.

Mitsuru lets out a scoff of anger. "I knew you shouldn't have an input. All you've done is just hurt him more and more. You never deserved his power." She walked directly up to her. "You are pathetic."

"I..." Aigis was lost for words.

"So we aren't in agreement. What else can we do?" Akihiko turned to Metis, frustrated.

"You don't all need to come to an agreement. The keys need to be unified in order to be used, but it does not matter how those keys are unified. Force is an op-"

"Hell no." Junpei interrupted. "No one is going to use force."

"I disagree." Mitsuru stood back to her spot, looking at everyone. "If this is our only chance at making things right, then I will use force."

"You know he never would have wanted that!" Akihiko yelled.

"Neither do I! But if it means I get him back; if it means I can save him, then I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

"Everyone, please don't do this!" Fuuka pleaded.

"Beg to them, Fuuka. They're being unreasonable." Yukari said coldly.

"Listen." Akihiko said calmly, a contrast to earlier. "You are consumed by grief. I get it. I do. But you can't go back. I can't let you." He looked to the floor. "If it means I have to fight you so you can understand that, then that's what I'll do."

"You don't get it, Akihiko." Mitsuru responded. "You never will."

"I... I'm with Akihiko-senpai. If I have to fight, then I will." Ken stood next to him.

Yukari walked over and stood straight with Mitsuru. "I'm with Mitsuru-senpai. I know for a fact that if you guys had the chance to bring back Aragaki-senpai, you would take it. So don't go acting like you have the moral high ground."

Mitsuru turned to her, and looked to her with thankful eyes. Yukari returned them, and they both looked back to Akihiko and Ken.

"You guys cannot be serious!" Junpei shouted.

"Pick your side!" Yukari demanded.

"I'm not picking a side! I'm not helping you guys fight each other!"

Fuuka walked to Junpei's side. "I agree. I... I can't help any of you fight each other."

Koromaru did the same, and sat next to Junpei's feet, letting out a whine in the process.

"Koromaru-san refuses to fight... he does not want to hurt any of you." Aigis translated.

"Are you going to join them, Aigis?! Or are you going to actually do something good for once?!" Yukari continued to provoke her.

"I... I don't think either choice is right."

"There is no other choice." Mitsuru said. "This is not like Nyx. It's either you stand with us, or you stand against Minato."

"We aren't standing against him!" Ken protested.

"We aren't the ones who are okay with letting him stay dead!" Yukari yelled back.

Mitsuru turned to Aigis. "This is your one chance to do something right for him. To help make up for all of the hurt you caused him."

Aigis hesitated for a moment. "I... I don't think that is the right course of action."

"Then you are against us. And I promise you this, Aigis. I will return all of the hurt you caused for him. Because that is the only thing you deserve."

Metis stepped forward. "I will not allow you to harm my sister."

Mitsuru glared at her coldly. "Then you will receive the same treatment."

"Are you guys serious about this?!" Junpei cried.

"This is our only chance, Junpei! We have to take it!" Yukari said back.

"I will take us to a suitable arena. There, we will settle things." Metis walked away, and everyone but Mitsuru and Yukari followed.

Mitsuru turned to her junior, repeating the same words she said earlier. "Are you with me, Yukari?"

She had a look of pure determination in her eyes. "Always, senpai."

They followed the group, and Mitsuru was ready to do whatever it took to bring him back.

I will get you back, Minato.

No matter what.

Chapter Text

???/???/???

The walk to the arena was pure silence. Too much had been said already for things to just magically be okay. Mitsuru was hurt. Deeply hurt. And she hurt them. But she just couldn't understand why the others wouldn't take this chance. They have a chance to bring him back. Why would they just not take it?

When Metis stopped, Mitsuru took note of her surroundings, trying to notice any sort of advantages she could take. But there were none. The room they were in was vast, with no walls in sight. No places to take cover, or to manipulate said cover into weakpoints. This was to be a fight purely of strength.

Yukari looked as steeled as she was. Mitsuru was glad she had an ally with her. And they had the most battle chemistry out of the pairs. Minato preferred having the both of them plus a rotating fourth teammate when it came to Tartarus excursions. Her high potential in damage combined with Yukari's support was proven to be effective in combat.

Mitsuru had an edge over Akihiko, due to his innate ice weakness, but he was dangerous to Yukari for the same reason. She would need to pull his attention away from her. Ken was not too much of a threat because of his less experience in close combat, but his spear could complicate things. The strategy there would be either closing the distance or having Yukari immobilise him from afar.

Aigis and Metis were the main problems. Metis had no weaknesses to exploit, and Aigis could rotate hers at will. But she was still inexperienced to the wild card's power. Mitsuru would have to take the chance that she would make a mistake.

"Yukari," Mitsuru whispered to her. "Focus on Amada and Metis. You have the better chance against them."

"Got it." She whispered back. "We've got this."

Mitsuru nodded. "We will bring him back."

Junpei, Fuuka, and Koromaru were stood off to the side, next to the stairs. "Are you guys serious about this?" He cried out.

"Yes." Mitsuru coldly responded.

"Mitsuru, please." Akihiko pleaded. "Don't make me do this."

"It's too late for that, Akihiko. You've shown me you don't care about saving him." Mitsuru drew her rapier.

Everyone had their weapons ready, and were stood still, ready for the first one to attack. All Mitsuru could hear was her and Yukari's breathing.

Mitsuru heard Yukari take a sharp breath through her teeth, and she saw her swing her bow right to Metis. She let off a shot that grazed her abdomen, and in an instant, everyone ran straight towards each other.

Mitsuru had her rapier in one hand, and her evoker in the other. She dashed straight towards Akihiko, aiming to neutralise him quickly. Her heart was pounding with purpose. She couldn't waste this chance.

"Artemisia!" She pulled the trigger, and let out a blast of ice in Akihiko's direction. He sidestepped it quickly, but Mitsuru was prepared for this, and prepared a powerful thrust directly at him.

He was caught off guard, and Mitsuru thiught she could get this battle finished quickly, so she could move onto Aigis. But he caught her blade in his glove. It punctured the glove, but missed his hand. He threw a couple jabs to her face, and she made a miscalculation with the path he took. She suffered a blow below her eye, and almost lost her footing. He stepped back quickly, and raised his own evoker to his head.

"Caesar!" The Roman Emperor appeared and fired a bolt of lightning, but a torrent of wind blocked it. Mitsuru turned around, and saw she had found a moment of respite whilst Ken and Metis fought.

She wondered where Aigis had gone for a moment, but that thought was short lived. Akihiko dashed forward with his fist pulled back. He threw a powerful hook, but Mitsuru swerved her head to the side, and countered it with her own jab with the hand that was clenched on her blade. He stumbled back, and she saw his nose begin to bleed.

He groaned in pain for a moment before firing his evoker again. Caesar charged forward this time, raising its sword high. Mitsuru did the same, and Artemisia stood tall, blocking the attack and letting off a shockwave from the clash.

Akihiko dashed forward again, and prepared another hook. Mitsuru pushed forward and readied herself to stop his attack with her blade and body.

They collided hard, pushing against each other with all the strength they have.

"Mitsuru, you need to move... on!" Akihiko shouted.

"You cannot tell me to move on! You... don't know how it feels to lose someone you love!" Mitsuru pushed even harder against him.

"I lost Miki! I lost Shinji! Don't tell me I haven't lost someone I love!"

Mitsuru scowled. "That isn't the same!" Her fury grew, and it fueled her resolve. She found the strength to push through his defences, and she saw an opportunity for a strike. She thrusted her sword to his thigh, and it penetrated through. He yelled in pain, and stumbled back. Mitsuru saw the final blow that was needed.

"Artemisia! Diamond Dust!" Her Persona materialised, and fired a pure beam of ice. It smashed into Akihiko, and he tumbled across the floor. He was finished.

She walked over to him as he laid on the floor. He groaned and grunted in pain, and Mitsuru knew he had no fight left in him.

"Mitsuru... he wouldn't want this." Akihiko held a hand at his side in pain.

"You don't know what he wanted. He told me he wanted to live. I am making that happen." She threw a Bead down to him. "I did not want to fight you, Aki. But you forced my hand. I will be coming for your key when I am finished with Aigis."

She turned away, and she saw Yukari standing over Ken. His spear was snapped in half, and he was holding his body in the fetal position.

"Aigis hasn't fought yet." Yukari informed her as they both walked to each other. "It doesn't look like she wants to."

"Then we can use that. She will hold back. We will not."

Yukari pulled the trigger of her evoker, and summoned Isis. A green light surrounded the two of them, and Mitsuru could feel her pain leave.

"Metis tried to get the upper hand on me, but Ken-kun stopped her from getting any good hits." She tightened the string on her bow whilst Mitsuru looked at the two androids. She saw Metis still had the graze in her side, and a few more cuts. If Mitsuru had to guess, Aigis didn't have a healing Persona. Healing was always left to Yukari and Ken when they delved into the Abyss, so she probably never considered having one. And she never had time to go to the Velvet Room when they came to the arena to grab one.

"So what's the plan with them?" Yukari asked.

Mitsuru did not have many strategies that would guarantee their victory. There was no surefire way of exploiting vulnerabilities and weaknesses, since Aigis could swap them when she needed to, and Metis had none. They can cover both ranges, with Aigis coming into close range if she needed to. But Mitsuru didn't think she would use Orgia Mode if she was holding back.

"Metis is going to try to go for you. So focus on her, and I'll help in moments when I can. If you need to heal, heal both of us together. When you finish with Metis, you support me." Her eyes were locked onto Aigis. "But Aigis is mine."

Yukari could see the rage on Mitsuru's face. And she was going to let it all out on that android.

"Mitsuru-san, Yukari-san!" Aigis shouted. "Please! We shouldn't fight!"

"You didn't even have the heart to choose a side! We know what we want! And we want to bring Minato-kun back!" Yukari yelled back.

Yukari took that opportunity to fire off a shot at Metis, but this one was blocked by her hammer. The red and black android began to run, and Mitsuru did the same. Metis tried to take a swing at her as she ran past, but Yukari intercepted it with a blast of wind.

Mitsuru got even closer to Aigis, and it didn't look like she was going to fight. But she raised her guns in Mitsuru's direction. Mitsuru already saw this coming, which is why she had her evoker in her hand. She pulled the trigger, and Artemisia ran directly infront of her, deflecting all of the incoming bullets with her whip. They both advanced together, and Mitsuru ran to its side, ready to attack together.

"Athena!" Her main Persona appeared, and clashed with Artemisia. Mitsuru could feel her Persona burning with anger, and it energised her. She leaped forward, going straight for the critical strike, but Aigis blocked it with her guns.

"You made his life hell!" She pushed Aigis away and went for more strikes, but each one was getting blocked. "You forced that power onto him, and when he died, you stole it back!"

Each strike from Mitsuru was more powerful than the last, and Aigis' stance was faltering.

"You did nothing but torture him! Your presence did nothing but cause pain!"

Artemisia was not holding back. Her ice blasts were cutting into Athena's armor, and her whip was hitting it at unorthodox angles, making it harder for Athena's shield to block.

"And now you stand here with his power! The power that proved he was special! The power that gave him a chance at a life! The power he used to save the world!"

Sparks were flying, and Mitsuru was trying to find that opening, but she couldn't get it just yet. Aigis tried to kick her stomach, but Mitsuru sidestepped it in a flash, and threw another stab that struck at her shoulder. Aigis let out a yell in pain, and Mitsuru couldn't help but smile. She never let up on her assault, and neither did Artemisia, so Aigis could not possibly try to change her Persona.

"You hurt him, so now I will hurt you! You killed him, so now I will kill you! And when we go back in time, I will make sure you stay as far as possible from him!"

Mitsuru aimed her rapier straight at Aigis' eye, and thrusted her arm forward. She could see her victory, and she could see her and Minato being reunited again.

Until Metis came up and parried the attack, knocking Mitsuru out of balance.

She saw Yukari in the corner of her eye, holding her stomach as she fell to her knees. She fell, but Metis was deeply wounded. She did her best.

And now Mitsuru had to finish it.

She gripped her evoker so hard that her hand began to bleed. She raised it to her head with fire in her eyes. She felt an unsung power coursing in her veins.

"ARTEMISIA!" She yelled. "DEATHLY CHILL!"

Artemisia surrounded herself with a storm of ice, but at her feet, purple flames began to rise. She raised her left hand high, and an orb of cold energy appeared in her grasp, and it began to grow. The purple flames shined brighter, and Mitsuru could feel the unbridled fury begin to overflow. She mimicked Artemisia's movements, and brought her left hand over her heart, and her Persona did the same. Behind Artemisia, a shadow of the God of Death emerged, and Mitsuru knew it was time to end the fight.

"YOU... WILL NOT STAND IN MY WAY!" She and Artemisia pushed their hands forward, and a beam of ice and violet fire flew right at the androids, releasing a massive explosion. The shockwave that followed would have caused anyone else to fall off balance, but not her.

When the dust settled, Metis was lying still on the floor, defeated. Aigis was still standing, but barely holding on to life. Her components were falling apart, and there was nothing she could do to stop Mitsuru from winning.

Mitsuru sprinted forward, ignoring the numbness in every limb. One more strike was all that was needed.

Aigis looked up at her and barely muttered one word that could have extinguished Mitsuru's will to fight.

"Orpheus..."

The Master of Strings floated high, but it didn't move. Maybe Aigis didn't give it a command, or it refused to fight Mitsuru.

Her nerves took hold for but a moment, but it was quickly replaced by unstoppable rage.

She jumped high, aiming to put all of her strength into this final attack.

"HOW DARE YOU USE THAT PERSONA ON ME!" She screamed, and plunged her rapier deep into Aigis' chest.

She won. She actually won. And now she can get him back.

Mitsuru pulled the rapier out of Aigis' chest, and she yelled in horrible pain. She pointed the edge directly at her eye, and did not blink once.

"I could just take your key from you." She muttered. "But all you have done is hurt. You refused to bring him back even after everything you did to him."

She pulled her arm back, ready for the final thrust.

"This is for Minato."

She was poised for the blow, and there was nothing in her stopping it from happening.

She took a sharp, deep breath, and-

"I don't think you should do that."

The voice was soft. Not as soft as his, but close to it. It was a voice she recognised.

She turned her head to her right, and all she needed to see was the yellow scarf.

"M...Mochizuki?" She breathed out, and it was then she noticed how exhausted she was.

He nodded. "Yeah. It's me. And I know why you're doing this."

She scowled. "Then you know I need to do this. This is the only way I can get him back."

His face was solemn. Sympathetic. "There's more you should see. And... like Aigis said earlier, there is a third way."

Mitsuru looked to Aigis, who laid down flat on the floor. She was right there. She could pay her back for all the pain she caused.

But despite all of that anger and hatred fueling her, there had to be a reason for Ryoji to be here.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her hand hard, before throwing her rapier far away from her. She fell to her knees, letting out a heartwrenching sob.

"I... I just want him back! Is that so wrong?! Is it so wrong to want the love of my life back?!"

Her cries grew louder, but she didn't care. She heard footsteps coming closer to her, but she didn't care.

"None of you know how it feels! To lose someone you knew you would spend the rest of your life with! I'm forced to continue living when I don't want to!"

She still had his ring with her, and every time she looked at it, everything in her wanted to see him again, one way or another. It was unhealthy, but what else could she do?

"I was finally given a chance to see him again! I finally had a chance to get the one person I loved in this world back! But you think I'm wrong for wanting that!"

"None of us think you're wrong for wanting that, Mitsuru." Akihiko said from behind her. "We just... we don't think literally reversing time to change that is a good idea."

Mitsuru took her key out and held it close to her heart. It was her only chance at saving him, and now she's throwing it away. Her only guaranteed chance at saving him.

She felt like she was drowning, and there was nothing that could pull her back up to the surface. Each moment made her sink deeper and deeper. She thought she could finally breathe again when she was told she could see him again, but that chance was now gone.

Metis and Aigis stood up, barely able to hold their bodies together after the damage they suffered. The bystanders to the fight had also joined the group, and they were all looking at Mitsuru with different expressions. Some were sympathetic, Akihiko in particular looked somewhat bitter.

"Let's head back to the dorm. You guys need to rest." Junpei noted with no emotion on his face. Mitsuru had to agree. That attack was like nothing she had done before. She couldn't even stand up on her own.

"Here, Mitsuru-senpai." Yukari held out a hand to her. "You can lean on me."

Mitsuru hesitated for a moment, but she took her hand. She couldn't even feel her legs as she got on both feet.

She wanted this nightmare to end.

She wanted everything to end.

Iwatodai Dorm - ???

Ryoji considered himself lucky that he found SEES in time. It was after that attack Mitsuru used that he had their position pinpointed. It was like she had tapped into the power of Death, much like Minato's own power. Perhaps their connection allowed her to have a connection to it, albeit briefly.

Everyone that was involved in the battle had gone to their rooms to rest, and Ryoji could sense the tension between all of them. No one really said a word to him, which did surprise him a little. It wasn't everyday you see the physical embodiment of your dead friend's power.

He was sat on the couch, and everyone left was sat around him.

"So... what are you doing here, Ryoji?" Junpei asked.

He pursed his lips. "It's... not easy to explain. I think it's best if we wait for everyone else."

Junpei sighed. "It's never goddamn easy with this shit."

Ryoji had a solemn expression on his face. "I... I am sorry for all that has happened."

Junpei looked away. "Thanks."

They remained silent whilst they waited for everyone else to finish resting after the fight. One by one, they descended the stairs into the lounge, finished by Mitsuru, who walked in with her eyes to the floor. When she sat down on an empty seat, Ryoji was ready to explain.

Akihiko, however, already started with the questioning. "What are you doing here, Mochizuki?"

Ryoji sighed. "I've... been in this realm for a long time. In your world, it has been around two months. In the Abyss... time flows differently."

"That doesn't explain why you are here, though." Akihiko pressed.

Ryoji understood the aggression. "My original purpose since coming here was to take Minato's place, saving him from his fate."

He heard Mitsuru mutter under her breath. "So that's why he mentioned you in the recording..."

"You... you can do that, Ryoji-kun?" Fuuka asked.

Ryoji looked to the floor in shame. "At first, I thought I could. It made sense in my head. We both possess the same power of Death. I thought I could take his place, and prevent his death."

"Obviously, that didn't work." Yukari said coldly.

"The Abyss was covered with a fog when I first explored here, and it had the same aura as our power. It was impossible to find, until it was too late..." Ryoji paused for a moment. "When Minato died, the fog cleared... and I found him."

Mitsuru looked at him with utter horror. "You... found him?"

Ryoji looked into her soul, and all he could see was a vast pit of emptiness, lit by only a flickering flame, so close to dying out.

"Yes... but... not how you think. When I found him, I thought that if I wasn't able to save him when he was alive, I could still try to at least take his burden, so that I could ease his soul."

"What do you mean, 'ease his soul'?" Aigis asked.

Ryoji hesitated, unsure if what he was about to say next was the right thing to say. But it had to be done. "When he died, his soul wasn't taken to the afterlife. It was taken to the Seal, which is where he will forever stand as the sole defence for mankind against calamity."

"You... you mean he never even got to see his family? That he's trapped, completely alone?" Mitsuru's eyes looked like they were being pricked at with tears.

Ryoji nodded slowly. "Yes... I'm sorry."

A lull fell in the room, and everyone took in the true meaning of what Ryoji revealed. Minato was never granted the mercy of seeing his family again, even after death. When Ryoji found him, he knew his soul was forever trapped, isolated and alone.

"What..." Mitsuru rubbed her eyes. "What did you mean by 'a third option'?"

"There's something down there with him. I... I haven't seen it myself. My power isn't like what it used to be, and I knew if I tried to find out what it was, it would spell my own death."

Ryoji could see something shifting inside of her. The conflicting thoughts were pushing their way to the forefront of her mind.

But then, she stood up. "Take me to him."

"Mitsuru?" Akihiko looked at her, confused.

"I gave up what I thought was my one chance to save him. I... I have to do this." She turned away from the whole group. "And I'll do it alone."

"Like hell you are!" Akihiko shot up from his seat. "You aren't going there alone! It'd be suicide!"

"I've caused enough pain already, Akihiko!" Mitsuru shouted. "I... I'm going to end this. And if it means I can join him, then so be it."

"Mitsuru-senpai... this is not a good idea." Yukari slowly rose from her seat, approaching her with more care. "I know you're hurting, and that you would do anything to see him again. But... going there alone? Akihiko-senpai's right. It would be suicide."

Mitsuru looked away from her junior, deeply ashamed. "Then it would at least end my pain."

"I... you don't mean..." Yukari stammered, completely at a loss for words.

"Every day that has passed since he died has only strengthened my pain." Mitsuru said in an eerily calm voice, but her voice was cracking. "I lost my other half... the one I was prepared to spend my life with. I... I can't find the strength to continue any longer. I don't want to live in a world where he is gone, and I am left alone with the broken pieces."

She turned back to face them all, but her focus was on Aigis. "And I have done too much to hurt you all. Even if I wanted to live, I don't deserve to."

The room was filled with a deafening silence. Ryoji could see that flame in Mitsuru slowly shrink, like it was mere moments away from being forever extinguished.

"Mitsuru..." Akihiko took a step forward to her. "None of us can truly know your pain. You were right. We haven't lost someone like that. But he did mean something to all of us. Even if he meant more to you than he did to the rest of us, we still lost the same person in our lives. And we all can at least help each other in trying to keep going."

The tears began to fall down her face, and Ryoji could only feel sympathy for her.

"We know you feel guilty for what happened. But what you did... it wasn't truly out of malice." Aigis stood up too, and approached her too. "However... I was still afraid. I don't know if I would still be here had Ryoji-san not interfered. I understand that you do miss him. We all do. But you were still ready to go to such lengths to get him back. If we cannot save him here... I am worried that things may revert back to how it was."

The dam was cracking again, and Mitsuru covered her mouth, trying to mask the choked up sobs. Akihiko, who Ryoji knew as wildly emotionally unintelligent before, wrapped his arms around her in comfort. Her sobs grew a little louder, but she did not wrap her arms around him.

"I..." Mitsuru pulled away from the embrace. "I am sorry, Aigis. I do not deserve your forgiveness, I know. I just... I don't know what to do anymore without him. It's why I have to do this. Either we can save him... or I join him."

Another silence followed, but it wasn't just out of tension or shock, it was more like in solidarity, where they all finally understood the true pain she felt.

"You aren't going down alone, Mitsuru." Akihiko said softly. "We're in this together."

Yukari nodded. "Yeah. We're going to end this."

"Hear hear." Junpei calmly said, as he stood up with a sombre smile.

"It seems I have your answer." Ryoji said, mimicking the words he used back on New Years Eve. "I'll take you to where he is. Just... prepare yourself."

He knew this was not going to be easy for them to see. It wasn't easy for him, and he was the avatar of a god at one point.

But he could see the looks on their faces, and past all of that pain, there was something in them that knew that if they could at least try to ease the burden in some way, they'll do it.

And Ryoji could do nothing but admire that.

Chapter Text

???/???/??? - Abyss of Time

Aigis could not put a finger on what everyone was feeling at this time. Was it hope? Fear? Ryoji was very cryptic, saying that he didn't know what they were going to face, but Aigis knew it would be best for her to bolster her Persona repertoire. After the fight with the rest of SEES, she knew she needed to get more powerful.

She saw a door to the Velvet Room, but one thing she did take note of was the fact that Elizabeth was not stood next to it. She reached out to the door, and when it swung open, her consciousness was transported to the realm where Igor waited.

"Ah, welcome." Igor greeted. "What can I do for you?"

Aigis wanted to view the compendium, but Elizabeth was not here. She was not stood next to Igor like she usually did.

"You must be wondering where your attendant has gone." Igor said, once again like he was reading Aigis' mind. "She... has been banished for trying to interfere with the previous guest's fate."

"Banished?" Aigis questioned. "Wait... she wanted to save Minato-san?"

"I am not at liberty to reveal any more than that. If you want to view the compendium, I can show it to you."

Aigis was unsure of the implications of that. Elizabeth getting banished from the Velvet Room? To interfere with Minato's fate?

It confused her, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it now. She had a task to do.

She would do whatever she could to put his soul to rest.

Mitsuru could feel her heart pounding. She wasn't sure what she was going to see. She was told she was going to see Minato, and before she was sure it was what she wanted.

Her fingers were twitching in nervousness, and her breathing was uneven. Ryoji led them all down into the deepest pits of the Abyss, further than they previously explored. When they all stopped, they were in a vast, golden realm, with small blue waves of some sort of power flowing all around them.

"Where... are we?" Yukari asked.

"This is the Sea of Souls. Where every living thing that has passed rests. Also referred to as the afterlife." Ryoji explained.

"It's... beautiful..." Fuuka commented.

It was. But it was also harrowing to know that Minato was not among one of these souls. That he was forever bound to guard them, and no one would ever know.

"Where are we going?" Mitsuru asked in a curt manner.

Ryoji looked like he understood the abrasiveness. "Follow me. We'll be heading to the edge of the realm."

The walk was fairly long, and Mitsuru could not keep her eyes off of the blue waves around her. She wondered if her father was here, watching her. Her mother, too. Would they be ashamed of her actions?

Was everyone destined to end up here when they die? What did it look like to those who passed? Was it like their ideal afterlife? Or were they even sentient of their surroundings?

"We're here." Ryoji said, with sadness in his voice.

Her attention was drawn back to what was in front of her, and it was perhaps the worst thing she could have imagined. It was him. Chained to a large, golden door. His hair was exactly like how he wore it, with it covering his right eye. And on top of all of that, he was smiling.

She couldn't keep it in. She collapsed to her knees, and despite all of her efforts to stop, she vomited on the floor. It was too much for her. She coughed as it all came out, and she hated all of it. It all felt so wrong.

It was him, and he was dead. Strung up on that door, like a trophy. It was just too much. She saw his body once already, and that alone was a harrowing sight. This... this was him paraded like some sort of keepsake for the gods.

When it all left her body, she couldn't stop herself from crying again. It was so painful. Why was she forced to live whilst he remained like this? Both of them forever destined to be separated, and not able to see each other, even in death?

"Why... why?!" She screamed. "This isn't fair! Why is he forced to be like this?! Why is he always the one who has to shoulder the burden?!"

The inside of her mouth still burned, but she just couldn't keep her emotions in. She heard someone kneel down to her level, and a handkerchief was extended to her. She turned her head, and saw it was Yukari handing it to her. She wasn't going to ask where she had it, but she was thankful.

"Thank you..." Mitsuru took it and wiped her mouth clean. When she wanted to look back at him, every muscle, every fibre of her being screamed at her not to.

But Mitsuru didn't listen. She saw his smiling face, one that he would always give to her, and it reminded her of all of those joyful memories they shared. She took a few steps forward, and when she came up close to it, she reached a hand up to his cheek. It was hard, like solid metal, but it was still him.

Mitsuru shook her head. "You didn't deserve this, Mina." She whispered.

When she lowered her hand, the whole realm shook, almost knocking everyone off balance. There were distant screams around her, and the sound was getting closer.

"It's coming..." Ryoji muttered.

"Everyone! Get ready!" Akihiko shouted. Everyone readied their weapons, and Mitsuru reluctantly joined them. She pulled her rapier out of its sheath, and prepared to kill whatever was tormenting him, so that his soul may finally rest.

"Guys... this... this feeling I'm getting." Fuuka said with a chilling voice. "It isn't a Shadow... it's like Nyx..."

Mitsuru thought she heard Fuuka wrong. Like Nyx? The same god that they could only defeat because of Minato's sacrifice? Did they even stand a chance this time?

The ground rumbled, and in the distance, a gigantic beast ran closer and closer towards them. It looked like it came straight out of hell.

"What... the hell is that?!" Junpei shouted.

"Erebus..." Ryoji muttered.

"Who is Erebus?!" Akihiko demanded an explanation.

The beast was getting even closer, and everyone readied their weapons. Even Ryoji took a stance, with purple flames emitting from his hands.

"There's no time to explain! We have to defeat it!" He stretched his arm out, and a sword appeared in his hand. Mitsuru tried her hardest not to think of Minato in him, but it was nigh impossible.

The beast stopped a few metres away from the team. It looked like a giant lion, with another head at its rear end. It had large demonic horns and blazing red eyes, with a visible skeleton as its body.

"Everyone! Let's end this!" Akihiko rallied everyone with him, and pulled the trigger on his evoker. Caesar immediately fired out a bolt of lightning, and it crashed into the beast's face. But it didn't even flinch. It roared, piercing everyone's ears, before charging straight at Akihiko. It raised its claw, aiming to strike down hard on him, but he dodged it before it landed.

"It nullifies Light and Dark!" Fuuka relayed from the backline. "It also resists all elemental attacks!"

Aigis immediately went to ordering the team. "Ken-san, focus only on supporting the team! Koromaru-san, defend Fuuka-san!"

They both nodded, and retreated to Fuuka's position.

"Mitsuru-san! Yukari-san! Conserve your strength and attack when you see openings! We will prioritise the offense!" Aigis looked to the two girls, and Mitsuru knew she was expecting reluctance. But she had already accepted what had to be done.

"Got it!" Yukari responded, keeping an arrow nocked in her bow.

Mitsuru had no real opportunities to use Artemisia. The beast was abnormally fast for its size, and the fact her damage was not going to hurt as much as the others infuriated her. This god tormented Minato's soul. And she was powerless to do anything about it. Each attack it tried to use targeted everyone on the battlefield. She had no real chance.

Until the beast had its focus on Aigis. This was her chance. Her chance to really hurt it.

"ARTEMISIA!" Her Persona appeared and charged a powerful beam of ice. She let it fly, and when it crashed into the beast, she was sure she did some real damage to it.

Until she saw the dust clear out, and the beast looked like it didn't even get it at all.

The beast roared again, and fire began to erupt from around them. Mitsuru tried to avoid each blast, but she couldn't dodge them all. She saw fire begin to explode at her feet for a moment, and everything went black the next.

"Mitsuru-senpai got hit! It's bad!" Yukari shouted to the rest of the team.

"Crap!" Akihiko yelled as he fired off another Ziodyne. "Take her out of here, Yukari!"

She followed his order, and Aigis saw Mitsuru get carried away. She turned back to Erebus, and its attention was being caught by Ryoji, who was firing off beams of darkness, that somehow still did damage despite its immunity.

"Metis-san! Combine your attack with mine!" Aigis turned to her sister and saw the determination in her eyes. Metis summoned Psyche, and Aigis chose to summon Masakado. Both of their Personas charged their power as Erebus' attention was drawn to the rest of the group. Their Personas charged forward as fast as they could run, and they caught the beast off guard. Masakado sliced into it a thousand times in a split second, and Psyche slammed it's entire body into the beast, causing a massive explosion that almost knocked everyone off their feet.

The beast began to stumble, and the tide looked like it was turning. The beast roared once again, and a malicious red aura emanated around it.

"It's getting stronger!" Fuuka informed them all from her position at the back.

The roar the beast made would have shattered her eardrums, if she had any. The aura grew brighter, and the blue waves around them looked like they were fleeing.

"Junpei-kun! Watch ou-"

Fuuka's warning came a second too late, as Erebus had already somehow made it directly in front of Junpei. Trismegistus tried to slice at its face with its arm blades, but it did completely nothing. Erebus jumped high, and slammed all four of its claws into the ground, trigging a shake in the ground that almost reflected an earthquake. Junpei stumbled, falling to one knee, and that sealed his fate. The beast swiped with one of its paws, and sent him flying out of the battle.

"JUNPEI!" Yukari screamed from behind, sprinting as fast as she could to his unconscious body.

But Erebus was faster. It was already stood ahead of Junpei by the time Yukari got to him, and had a powerful lightning bolt charged in its mouth. Aigis could see the pure fear on her face for a second, before she was blasted away.

It all fell apart after that. Erebus was too fast for the team to communicate effectively. One after another, everyone fell to its attacks. Akihiko was hit by a chilling beam of ice, and Ryoji was consumed by a pure attack of light. Aigis and Metis tried to stand tall, synchronising their attacks, but it still didn't matter. Erebus caused them to separate, and when they weren't focused on one point to attack, it rendered everything else pointless. It roared loud, debilitating Metis and causing her to fall to her knees, and crushed her with both of its claws.

Aigis was the only one left standing. How could she possibly stand to defeat this god alone? She wasn't like Minato. She didn't have some otherworldly power. She was just an Anti-Shadow weapon. And this was not a Shadow. It was a hungry, malicious god. It said no words, but she was sure it was taunting them all, promising to destroy everything.

She had nothing left to do. None of her Personas could do any effective damage alone. It was over. They... lost.

Erebus stood at a distance, but even though there was a large space between them, there was nowhere for Aigis to run. Nowhere for her to strategise or plan. She was finished. It was pointless to continue.

Erebus roared once again, and its claw glowed red. It swiped one through the space in front of it, and a sharp blade of air sped towards her. It was too large to dodge. She readied her guard, and summoned Chi You to defend against the attack as best as it could.

It towered ahead of her, and she couldn't see when the attack would hit. She would just have to hope and-

"ARTEMISIA!"

Aigis saw a bloodied and battered Mitsuru sprint past her, standing tall ahead of Chi You. She heard the attack slice through something. It even hit Chi You, but it took the attack enough so that it didn’t push through. She dematerialised the Persona, and saw perhaps one of the worst outcomes she could have predicted.

Mitsuru was stood still, holding a hand at her abdomen. Trickles of blood fell from her body, and a dark red patch was appearing from her back. A pool of blood was forming at her feet, and after a cough, even more filled the puddle.

Mitsuru turned her head to Aigis, and she saw a look of guilt on her face. She saw the light begin to fade from her eyes, and she fell hard onto the floor.

Aigis ran to her, flipping her around to get a look at her face. It was covered in blood, and a huge slash extended from her collarbone to her waist.

Aigis summoned Cybele immediately, and rushed to heal her as fast as she could. She completely disregarded the god in front of her, and put as much energy as she could into restoring her.

"Mitsuru-san... why?" Aigis whispered, and somehow, she could feel tears in her eyes.

"It's... what he... would have done." Mitsuru coughed more blood out of her mouth. "I wanted... my final act to be something... I did not regret."

Aigis tried to put even more power into healing her, but she had no idea if it was even working.

"Please... let his soul rest..." She turned her head to the side, and did something that utterly bewildered Aigis.

She smiled.

Aigis didn't know if her healing worked. She didn't know if Mitsuru had passed out, or if she died.

Two people she couldn't save. Two people died in front of her eyes.

Why...

Why can't I protect my friends...

Why...

Why...

WHY?!

The one thing Aigis used to be certain of, was that Anti-Shadow weapons could not feel any negative emotions.

But she now had evidence that proved otherwise.

She felt sorrow. And anger.

Erebus stood still ahead of her, still not attacking. Was it toying with her? Was it so sure of its victory?

Aigis stood up from her kneeling position, and walked around the body that, despite everything that was done, was her friend.

She gripped her hands tight. Had they been organic, she was sure she would have drawn blood. What she thought were tears fell from her eyes, and she looked up at the god in front of her.

The god that she was going to kill.

Aigis felt the temperature of her core rising. Rising to a heat unheard of. Orgia Mode wasn't going to be enough. She needed to push her frame to its absolute limit.

She reminded herself of the form she took against the Death Shadow on the Moonlight Bridge. Where instead of the lustrous blue flames that surrounded her, it was an angry red.

She planted her feet hard into the ground, and sent her core into overdrive. She felt all of her Personae push to the front of her mind, begging to be let out.

The pain was unreal. She was lighting herself on fire, and the voices in her head wanted to fight.

She was going to end this.

"INITIATE ORGIA MODE: OVERDRIVE!" Her voice boomed in the Abyss, and a pillar of red light shined at her position. Her body was engulfed in red flames that sprouted out like wings.

Her head grew quiet. There were no Personae waiting to be let out to fight.

Because they were all behind her.

She knew all the names of the deities that stood ready.

Lucifer and Helel, the Morning Stars.

Metatron, the divine archangel.

Chi You, the Chinese god of war.

Satan, the King of Hell.

Masakado, the infamous Heian samurai.

Cybele, the Great Mother.

Odin, the Norse All-Father.

And Orpheus, the Master of Strings.

They all stood behind her, glaring at the god. The red fires around her blazed. She was the last one standing, and she would not fall until this god fell first.

Erebus roared its loudest roar yet, but Aigis stood firm. Masakado, Chi You, and Metatron charged forward, readying their weapons for a powerful strike.

Masakado and Metatron sliced at both of its faces, whilst Chi You slammed its back with the power of the sun. Erebus roared again, but Aigis could tell this one was not out of aggravation or intent, but out of pain.

Cybele, Odin, and Satan all stood together, charging wind, electric, and ice attacks to unleash together with enough destructive force to destroy entire buildings. They all let off a beam each, and they all merged together, causing an explosion that rocked the whole realm side to side.

Lucifer and Helel both flew side by side, and readied an ultimate almighty blast. They forced their attacks together, leaving everything around them being consumed in a bright light of devastation.

Erebus was on its last legs. Aigis could tell. It was hanging its heads low, and its attacks were a lot slower.

She and Orpheus dashed forward for the final blow. Out of desperation, Erebus roared for the last time, trying to blow Aigis back. But she didn't stop running.

Orpheus flew up high and strummed its lyre with purpose, and Aigis could feel her heart growing stronger. She jumped right into its face, and in a final gambit, fired off a thousand jabs directly into its skull, finishing it off with a hook that sent it flying.

She won. She... actually won. It was brilliant timing too, because all of her servos locked up, and she was frozen in place. She never pushed her body as hard as she did before, and it probably came with severe repercussions she will have to scan for later.

Erebus, however, wasn't dead just yet. It was down, yes, but not dead. It was crawling across the ground, trying to reach Aigis with all of its leftover strength.

Aigis could do nothing but stand still and watch as it got closer. It got dangerously close, and Aigis began to reconsider her victory.

But from behind her, she heard calm, quiet footsteps. To her right, she saw a blue glove extend past her, with a tarot card in its hand. A small Pixie appeared, and Aigis couldn't process what she was seeing. That wasn't a Persona she was using.

But then she saw the Pixie fire off a beam of energy so powerful that there was nothing left of Erebus to be concerned about.

"You fought hard, Aigis-sama." It was Elizabeth's voice. Even though Aigis could not turn her head, it was unmistakable.

Her servos soon unlocked, and she collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. She breathed hard and deep, which in her head was astounding, because she didn't have lungs.

She heard more footsteps coming to them, and when she built enough energy to see who they were coming from, she saw Ken, Koromaru, and Fuuka sprinting their way to her. They must have retreated to ensure they didn't fall too.

"Please... check Mitsuru-san..." She breathed out, barely able to say anything at all.

"She's alive!" Fuuka shouted. "Her energy is faint, but she's alive!"

She saw Elizabeth smile. "Your healing saved her, Aigis-sama." She extended a hand out to her, which Aigis took.

"Elizabeth-san... what are you doing here?" Aigis asked.

Elizabeth just gave her a smile. "We both have the same goal, Aigis-sama." She looked over at the seal, and her smile faded. "Arisato-sama did not deserve this fate. And I believe I have found a way to release him from it."

Aigis' eyes widened. "You... found a way to save him?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes." She turned her head, towards the rest of the team, who were all trying to recover from their wounds. "And I'll need help from all of you."

I wanted... my final act to be something... I didn't regret...

Please... let his soul rest...

Mitsuru didn't expect the afterlife to feel so comfortable, yet so painful at the same time. Like she was lying on a bed whilst her body was on fire.

Wait... a bed?

She barely had control of her muscles, but she had enough energy to force her eyes open. She recognised the pink walls around her, and the large bed she was on.

I'm in... my room?

"Senpai..." She heard a voice next to her. She turned her head, ignoring how stiff her neck felt, and she saw a bruised Yukari sitting on a chair next to her.

"Yukari... what... happened?" It was hard for Mitsuru to even talk.

Yukari took a deep breath. "That Erebus guy... it almost beat us. You were knocked out pretty early, and after that... it all fell apart. Then when it was just Aigis left, you ran in front of her..."

She remembered that. She saw Aigis stood alone against the beast, and she knew there was no hope. Aigis had the most potential, and if she went down, it would have been over. So she ran in front of the attack. It was the only way she could ensure that everyone else would have a chance.

"Did you... did you know you would survive that attack, senpai?" Yukari looked incredibly nervous, and Mitsuru couldn't blame her.

And if she was honest, she didn't. She ran in front of the attack with the full assumption that she wouldn't survive. She put her full faith in Aigis to end the fight, and let Minato's soul rest, so that they could unite once again.

And she couldn't lie to her. "I... no."

She saw tears in Yukari's eyes. "Senpai... why?"

Mitsuru looked away in shame. "I've lost so much, Yukari. I lost my father. I lost Minato. I... I cannot act like I am ever going to be okay. And I've done too much to you all... I..."

I was so hellbent on getting him back at all costs...

I... I've become my grandfather...

Realising that harrowing fact broke something in her. The man responsible for all of the pain everyone had gone through, who was so dead set into achieving his goals. And she was just like him.

First it was small tears, but then it devolved into full on sobbing. She became the one person whose legacy she vowed to end. How could she even live with herself at this point?

Yukari held her as she let out her tears, and she felt so pathetic. She had become a shell of her former self, so broken and devoid of life.

She fought her friends. She almost killed one of them. All so that she might have a chance at getting him back.

"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Yukari didn't say anything. She just held Mitsuru as she let out all of her tears. When they finally ended, she felt so empty.

"The attack you got hit by... it's going to leave permanent damage. Elizabeth told us when we got you back up here." Yukari explained, and Mitsuru's sadness turned straight to confusion.

"Elizabeth? She's... here?" Mitsuru widened her eyes.

Yukari nodded. "She says she might have a way to save him. But she wants all of us to be there for it. And she's going to explain... everything."

Mitsuru felt something in her heart, but she refused to let herself be controlled by it. She couldn't hope.

She tried to stand up from her bed, but when she stood straight, all the blood in her head was completely drained, and she almost fell back to the floor were it not for Yukari intervening.

"I'll leave so you can get changed, then we can both head down." Yukari said as she turned around to leave Mitsuru's room.

"Yukari?" Mitsuru called out to her friend, who stopped and turned back at her. "Thank you."

Yukari smiled at her. "It's no problem, Mitsuru-senpai."

She left the bedroom, and Mitsuru pushed herself to change out of her tattered clothes. When she took off her shirt, she examined the scar that was left from the fight, and upon seeing its shape, she couldn't help but be reminded of Minato's scar in the same place, which coincidentally enough, was earned in the same manner.

She put on another set of her gear, thinking she would probably need it, and left her room. Yukari was waiting outside for her, and they both went down to the lounge together.

And she learned that Yukari was not lying. Elizabeth was indeed here. She only saw her once, when Minato was showing her around the school, but the attire she wore was unforgettable.

"Ah, the Empress." Elizabeth looked at her with sympathy. "I... am truly sorry for all that has happened. Arisato-sama did not want to leave you like this."

"Thank you, Elizabeth." Mitsuru took a seat on the couch, and everyone in SEES, plus Metis and Ryoji, were all sat together.

"So... I guess we should start off with what just happened." Junpei suggested.

Elizabeth simply nodded. "Yes. That deity you all fought was Erebus. Nyx's brother. He is a god born of chaos, and is the reason why Shadows have been appearing."

Akihiko raised an eyebrow at that. "Wait. I thought that was Nyx?"

Elizabeth looked over to Metis. "I believe the anomaly has an answer for your question."

The... anomaly?

"Nyx... isn't inherently evil." Metis started off with, and Mitsuru was immediately thrown off. "Humanity's nihilistic wishes did not call for her. But they called for Erebus, who used Nyx as a catalyst to bring forth the catastrophe known as 'the Fall'."

"Hold on. What did you mean by calling Metis 'the anomaly'?" Yukari asked.

Elizabeth looked over to Metis again, who in turn was looking at the floor. "I... I am not a real entity."

Aigis looked absolutely shocked at Metis' revelation, but she continued.

"When I saw Elizabeth, it reminded me of what my origin was." She looked to her sister. "I am not your sister. I am you, in a way."

"What... what do you mean?" Aigis questioned.

Metis looked over to Ryoji. "When Ryoji-san mentioned the Sea of Souls to us, and how all living things are connected to that sea, it was like it unlocked a part of my memory, but not enough. Seeing Elizabeth made me realise the truth." She turned back to Aigis. "Your heart is connected to that sea. When Minato died, you wished to return to a full machine. I... represent that emotional side that was torn from you."

"I... do not understand. I... I am not human." Aigis breathed out.

"That's bullshit." Junpei laughed. "You're as human as any of us, Ai-chan."

"I agree." Fuuka smiled. "You have emotions, Aigis-chan. You laugh, you cry. In the fight with Erebus, I saw anger. Those are feelings that we all have. And you care."

There was a pause in the conversation, where Mitsuru saw Aigis trying to process everything she had been told.

"When... when we fought, I was angry." Mitsuru spoke up in a hushed voice. "I thought you didn't care about him. That not wanting to save him meant you were okay with letting him stay dead. But that wasn't what you wanted, was it? You did want to save him, but you just didn't know how."

Aigis didn't say anything. She just looked at Mitsuru with sorrow.

"I realise the person I have become. I've... become my grandfather. I was so... so hellbent in trying to get him back, that I was willing to do anything. No matter what. I became the one person I vowed never to be."

"No, Mitsuru. You aren't like your grandfather." Akihiko interrupted. "He didn't care about anything, just power. You loved Minato. You wanted him back, more than anything."

"The reason behind why doesn't make it any less true, Akihiko. I... I am truly sorry for my actions." Mitsuru looked to the floor in shame. "I jumped in front of Aigis because I didn't want anyone else to suffer because of my selfish actions. And... I put all my faith in Aigis so that he would be freed, and that I could see him again.

"And you will." Elizabeth chimed in. "Properly."

Mitsuru looked up at her in confusion. "What do you mean, properly?"

She smiled at her. "I believe I have found a way to bring Arisato-sama back to the living. To the present."

There had to be a catch. There had to be. Mitsuru knew far too well now that things could not end in a fairytale ending now.

"How... how did you find it?" Aigis asked.

"My master has his own master. He embodies the creative potential of humanity and its actions. He has a hand over the souls of everything and everyone. I... risked my entire existence, but I went to his realm to find a method to replace the Seal."

"You... actually did that?" Akihiko looked stunned.

"I did. I... was caught, however. But instead of erasing me, he chuckled, and even gave me the method I needed. He said how even my master does not know everything, but as a consequence, I was... banished from the Velvet Room. I kept my powers, but I am forbidden from returning, and seeing any of my siblings." She looked sad for a moment, but looked back up with a smile.

"I... I'm sorry, Elizabeth." Mitsuru said.

"Thank you, Empress. But I do not regret my actions. If it meant allowing Arisato-sama to live his life, then I would do it all over again." Elizabeth smiled.

"Wait... do we even need to replace the Seal? Erebus is dead." Junpei assumed.

But Elizabeth shook her head. "Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Gods... cannot be killed. It is why the Seal was necessary. It blocks Erebus from getting to Nyx. Erebus will return, and he will try again. But the Seal will hold."

"So... what do we need to do to replace the Seal?" Yukari asked.

"I... will need a fragment of all of your souls. With that, I can take out enough of Arisato-sama's soul, and bring him back to the living by replacing what I took out with what you give." Elizabeth explained.

Ryoji had remained silent for the entire explanation, but now he decided to speak up. "Is there no other way? Is there no way for me to take his place fully?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Unfortunately not. Arisato-sama's unique composition is bound to the seal, but that means only a fragment of his soul is needed." She turned to the rest of SEES. "The reason I ask you all is due to your connection with him. Bonds have the power that shape reality. He learned that when he ascended to Nyx."

"What... what would happen if we did what you ask?" Akihiko looked like he needed more information. And if Mitsuru was honest, she did too.

"In regards to how you live, nothing. Only Arisato-sama would feel the Seal be tampered with, on account of it using his unique power." Elizabeth's demeanor changed. "But when you all die... you will not enter the Sea of Souls. You will not see your family or your friends in the afterlife. You will be bound to the Seal with him, for eternity."

A silence fell in the room. She was asking everyone to give up a piece of their soul to join him. Sounds simple enough at first, but then when they die, they will not see any of their loved ones. No friends, no family, just them being eternally bound to the Seal for the rest of time.

But Mitsuru didn't need to question herself.

"I'll do it." She stood up. "Minato... he's in there alone. Isolated from everyone he loved. He's forced to carry the burden alone. If it means I can share that burden alongside him, then I will do it. I will do it a thousand times over and never regret it."

"Are you sure about this, Mitsuru?" Akihiko looked concerned. "You'll never get to see your father again."

Mitsuru nodded. "I am."

Akihiko looked to Elizabeth. "You need all of us to agree in order to do this?"

Elizabeth silently nodded, and Akihiko made a deep breath. "Then I'm doing it too. If I can help him defend humanity from that god, then I think that's a price worth paying."

One by one, everyone stood up. Yukari, Junpei, Fuuka, Ken, Koromaru, and Aigis. They all stood together.

"He did this for us. It's our turn to do something for him." Yukari reasoned.

"Hell yeah. I wouldn't be okay with myself if I just walked away." Junpei looked to be full of pride.

"We all fought together. It only makes sense that we stand together in the end." Fuuka made a warm smile.

"He told me that I wasn't alone. That I had all of you to lean on. I don't want him to be alone either." Ken said with a maturity beyond his years.

Koromaru barked loudly, and Aigis went to translate. "Koromaru-san says he would be glad to stand beside you all." She then held a hand to her heart. "And I... you all gave me life. Minato-san gave us all a chance to live our lives. It's only fair that we do the same for him."

Ryoji and Metis stood side by side, smiling at them all.

"Your connection with one another is truly astounding." Her smile reached her ears. "When we all return to the Seal, I will perform the ritual. You will all return to reality on April first. And hopefully... Arisato-sama will too."

It all didn't feel real. But it was truly happening. They were bringing him back.

Elizabeth walked forward, ready to lead everyone to the Seal, but Aigis began to speak first.

"Ryoji-san... thank you. For trying to save him. I know he would always be grateful for that."

Ryoji smiled. "I know he is. I... just wish I could do more."

Mitsuru chimed in. "You did what you could, Mochizuki. And it was enough."

He smiled at her, and Aigis then turned to Metis.

"Metis... I understand what you meant by you being a fragment of myself. But regardless of that... you will always be my sister."

Metis had a warm smile. "I will always be a part of you, sister. I hope you live a life you are proud of."

They all walked together to the Seal for the final time, ready to bring him home.

Chapter Text

???/???/??? - Realm of Consciousness

Elizabeth was risking everything doing this. She was risking Minato's fate, and her very existence, to try and find a way to bring him back.

The realm... it was like a library that spanned to infinity. Books lined every shelf around her, and each book described a single person's lifetime. There must be billions of books all around her. How was she supposed to find his?

Her best assumption was to try to focus on any books that radiated the energy of a Persona user. That should filter the population around her significantly.

And it was like the library knew what she was looking for, as the shelves shifted around her. Soon, she was put in front of a single shelf, with maybe a few dozen books. Some of them were about past Persona users, some of them were about future ones too.

But there were two with the same name.

M. Arisato.

Elizabeth immediately understood what it meant. His sister was destined to be a Persona user too. But her life was cut short.

She reached out for the thicker book, and-

"It's sad. Isn't it?" A male voice came from her side. She turned her head and saw a figure basked in golden light. "These lives... cut short so soon."

Her master's master. She knew this was him, even without knowing the name.

"Pardon me, where are my manners? I am Philemon. And I'm sure you know a lot about me, Elizabeth." Philemon's voice was quiet, yet it still boomed in the library.

"I..." Elizabeth was stunned. She knew there was a risk in running into him, but being in front of him like this still rendered her speechless.

He chuckled. "I know what you are here for, Elizabeth." A book materialised in his hand. "And I believe this has your answer."

He extended the book out to her, but Elizabeth hesitated to grab it. It all seemed too easy.

"Why... why are you giving this to me?" She asked.

Even though she couldn't see his face, she was sure he was smiling. "I, too, feel sadness whenever a life is ended far too soon. Were it up to me, I would ensure all of humanity would be able to live long, happy lives."

"Do you... not control the fate of humanity?" She continued to question.

Philemon shook his head. "I do not. My counterpart, Nyarlathotep, and I both agreed recently that despite our feud, we would not directly alter the fate of humanity. I know the fate of every living thing, yet I do not control them. Your master does not know everything."

"Then... aren't you breaking that agreement by giving this to me?"

He chuckled again. "Yes. I suppose I am. But I am sure that doing this would help avert the future calamity he would surely try to bring."

Elizabeth slowly reached for the book, yet Philemon pulled it back for a second. "You do understand what this means for you? The rules of the Velvet Room cannot be changed. You will be banished. You may never see your siblings again."

Elizabeth paused for a moment, but then she laid a hand on the book. "I do."

She heard another chuckle. "I admire your tenacity." He let go of the book and took a step back. "I am sure we will meet again, Elizabeth."

The library faded away, and Elizabeth found herself in the Abyss, book in hand.

She had her key to bringing him back. She could feel the thunderous roars of Erebus coming from afar. It was time to bring this nightmare to a close.

4/1/2010 - Gekkoukan High - Morning

The cool spring breeze brushed on his face, waving his bangs aside. The rustling of his hair broke him out of his slumber, only to find himself on the rooftop.

What...?

I... should be dead...

What happened...?

His muscles were as stiff as logs, yet Minato still found whatever energy he had to pull himself up. Minato noticed the uniform he was wearing was slightly creased and rumpled.

He noticed there was no one around him. The last thing he remembered was his friends running towards him.

Mitsuru...

Aigis...

He slowly moved towards the door and pushed on it, but it wouldn't budge.

Shit...

With all the energy he could muster, he barged into the door as hard as he could, eventually breaking it off its hinges. He took one step at a time, taking account of his fatigue. Roaming the empty halls of his school filled him with unease.

Am I dreaming?

He finally approached the front entrance to the school, only to find it locked. He assumed the key would be in the faculty office, much like the key for the gym was back in June last year. And his intuition was correct.

He unlocked the doors to the school and left the premises at a snail's pace, approaching the streets of Tatsumi Port Island.

I should head to the dorm...

Everything looked the same to Minato, except the cherry blossoms had already fallen. There were no cases of Apathy Syndrome around him, nor were there any posters for the Nyx cult.

Did something happen...? Did SEES do something?

The seal...

What happened to the seal?!

His heart began to race as he realised how much danger everyone was in due to his presence. There was no one holding Nyx back. She would return.

His surroundings began to spin as his breath became shorter. 

Was my sacrifice for nothing? Am I just a ghost?

People were walking past him, giving Minato strange looks as he stumbled past them all. Nausea was building up in his stomach, and he felt powerless to stop himself. He ran to the nearby alley, and despite the effort it took to hold it in, he vomited on the ground and received even more looks from the strangers around him.

I guess that means I'm not dead...

But considering what that means, it's worse that I'm alive...

His heart refused to slow, and his breath did not get longer. He felt like collapsing then and there. Maybe by doing so, he would return to the seal.

He left the alleyway, still fumbling around like a drunken fool. He somehow made it to Paulownia Mall, and for some reason, a memory of his Christmas date with Mitsuru came into his mind. The day he proposed.

His heart rate hadn't slowed at all. He fell onto a nearby bench, his muscles and bones yelling various profanities.

He couldn't hear anything, nor could he see anything.

All he could think about was Nyx.

She will return...

And everyone will die...

Minato failed. He always did. He wished for this nightmare to end, so he could return to the seal, completely unaware of what was happening due to his sacrifice.

He wanted to die. Until he heard a voice.

"It has been a while, Arisato-sama."

Minato focused his hazy vision to see a blonde woman dressed in blue, with bright yellow eyes.

Elizabeth...?!

"I would not recommend you move just yet, Arisato-sama. You're weak as it is." Her voice was eerily calming. His heart began to slow.

"E... Elizabeth? What... happened?" Minato spoke through deep breaths.

"You sacrificed your life on January 31st, but through sheer will, you lived until March 5th, where you died in your lover's arms."

"So... I am dead then?" Minato questioned.

"No, Arisato-sama. You are alive. Today is April first."

What?!

"But the Seal! What happened to the Se-"

"Your questions will be answered in due time, Arisato-sama; however, I recommend you find your friends. They are waiting for you." Elizabeth interrupted.

"They... what?"

"The power of bonds is a truly wonderful thing. Without it, none of this would be possible." Elizabeth cryptically said. "I will return shortly to explain more. But for now, go to your friends."

My friends... will they even want to see me?

I died to save them... all of them...

Mitsuru... I broke our promise...

Will she even forgive me...?

"I can see that you are unsure about returning to them." Elizabeth deduced from Minato's expressions.

"I died, Liz. I said to them I would fight to be there. I promised Mitsuru that I would never leave her. Why would they want to see me after I lied to them? After I hurt them?" Minato could feel tears in his eyes, yet he didn't wipe them away.

"You may have lied to them, yes. But something tells me they won't be as upset as you think." She smiled.

"I guess you won't tell me why?" Minato chuckled slightly, to which Elizabeth shook her head in response. "I guess... I have no choice then." Minato pulled himself up from the bench. "Thank you, Elizabeth."

"No. Thank you, Arisato-sama." She curtseyed before beginning to walk away, but Minato had one more question.

"Liz, wait." She turned around to his voice. "Does... does anyone else remember me? Do they know I died?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Only those with the power of Persona know the truth. Everyone else will believe you fell into a coma, but that you recovered."

She turned back and disappeared completely from view.

No more running now.

The walk was long, to the point where the sun was setting. Minato had no money on him, so taking any mode of transport was out of the question. He passed the shrine on the way, and a couple of memories came to mind: his first date with Mitsuru, and finally visiting his parents' graves with her.

Where he ended up proposing to her.

She really changed me.

But she'll probably hate me.

After many hours, Minato had finally made it to Iwatodai Dorm. Even when standing outside, he could feel the atmosphere that was radiating from it. A mixture of pain, hurt, and regret.

He approached the door handle, and slowly turned it.

"Minato-kun...?"

He stopped after recognising his name being called. He turned around to see Fuuka behind him, covering her mouth with her hands.

He couldn't say anything to her. Only look at her in deep sadness.

She dropped the bags and rushed towards him, tightly hugging him whilst sobbing into his shoulder.

"You're... back. You're... really back!" Her sobs grew louder as Minato accepted the hug.

Soon, she pulled away from him, tears still falling down her face.

"Fuuka... what happened? Why... why am I here? Why am I alive?" He softly spoke.

"I'll... I'll explain everything once... everyone returns." She choked on her words, holding back the urge to cry again.

She eventually composed herself and unlocked the door to the dorm, and when Minato followed her in, she pulled out her phone for a moment and typed something.

Minato looks around the dorm and notices a few differences. Namely, there is a hole in the wall by the couch.

Akihiko must've done that. Don't need to guess why.

Neither Fuuka or Minato spoke to each other. Minato felt ashamed, and he assumed Fuuka was angry.

Soon, the silence was broken by the door swinging open, revealing everyone else.

Everyone, apart from Mitsuru.

How poetic.

"Holy shit, you... you weren't lying." Junpei's face went pale as if he saw a ghost.

"Sen... pai?" Ken was trembling standing beside Akihiko, holding Koromaru for support.

"You're actually here..." Akihiko's fist was shaking.

"It's... really you..." Yukari held her hand over her mouth to stop herself from sobbing.

"Minato-san..." Aigis had many tears falling down her face.

Minato could do nothing except look at his feet in shame. He hurt them. All of them.

Judging by their reactions, Mitsuru is gonna be worse...

They all rushed towards him and hugged him together, with noises ranging from sniffling to full blown wails coming from all of them.

"I..." Minato couldn't speak. He couldn't feel anything but guilt.

After a long time, they all released their grip on him, and as if on cue, a few distant footsteps grew louder before stopping outside the dorm. The double doors flew open.

And she ran in.

She stopped when she entered the lounge and saw him, stood between everyone.

The sight of her immediately brought tears to his eyes. He couldn't imagine the pain he put her through. She lost her father and her love so close to each other.

Tears began to fall from his face as she took steps towards him. She stopped mere inches from his face, as if she was about to kiss him.

But she didn't.

A sharp pain appeared on Minato's cheek.

Mitsuru slapped him.

Hard.

I... deserve that.

She couldn't hold in her own tears anymore before she started sobbing herself. Minato didn't know whether he should comfort her or not.

His question was answered however, as she rushed into his arms, crying her heart out.

"I'm so sorry, Mitsuru. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He couldn't stop the tears from coming anymore as he began to sob as well.

They stood their for a solid minute, continuing to cry. Eventually, once they had expended whatever tears they had, they gazed into each others eyes, both of them emitting a sense of pain.

But the feeling of his touch, the sight of his face.

It made her smile.

And he smiled back at her.

"I thought... I lost you forever..." Her smile almost faltered as tears began to build up again.

"I know. I'm sorry." He pulled her in close as he stroked her hair, calming her emotions.

He turned to his friends. "I'll tell you everything I can, but I need you guys to tell me why I am here."

They all sat at the couches, with Mitsuru resting on his shoulder. It was her favourite thing about him: how a simple rest on his shoulder can ease her pain.

Once everyone was sat, Minato began to speak. "Okay. I'm not sure of what you know, but I'll tell you everything anyways. On the Promised Day, I had a vision of a place called the Velvet Room-"

"We know what it is. Aigis gave us a rundown." Yukari interrupted.

"What? I-" Aigis has been to the Velvet Room?! "You know what, I'll ask when you guys tell your part of the story."

Mitsuru shuffled slightly but remained on his shoulder, so Minato gave her arm a few rubs to sooth her.

Since they know of the Velvet Room, it means I don't have to explain it.

"Anyway, I had a vision with Igor and he said how my bonds with everyone I knew gave me the power of the Universe. But he said to me that Nyx could not be defeated, only sealed. And that seal came with a cost."

He noticed a tight grip on his sleeve.

"I should've died then, but I made sure to stay alive to Graduation Day to fulfill our promise. When I did die, I became the seal."

Akihiko spoke first. "We were told all of that too. By a woman named Elizabeth."

Elizabeth, huh? I guess that makes sense.

"When you died, we kinda fell apart. In different ways at least. Ken, Fuuka and Akihiko-senpai were able to accept it, whilst Junpei and I were struggling. Aigis was broken, and I don't think I need to tell you how bad Mitsuru-senpai was." Yukari gripped her skirt.

He felt another tight clutch on his arm, so in response, he pulled her in closer.

"Aigis' 'sister', Metis, came here to kill us because our grief was causin' all kinds of weird shit. Something called the Abyss of Time appeared, which basically meant we were trapped on March 31st." Junpei took his cap off and rubbed his forehead with his arm.

Huh? Aigis has a sister? The Abyss of Time? Trapped?

What the fuck happened?

"We went into the Abyss of Time, and were told we had to confront our grief through seeing each other's memories. We saw all of them before we... were presented with your memories." Fuuka looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

"Wait... you saw my memories? How was that possible?" Minato asked.

"You were what our grief surrounded, so the Abyss reflected that." Akihiko explained.

"What... what did you see?" Minato carefully questioned.

None of them answered immediately, which told Minato enough already. He... wasn't mad. They all knew of it already. It... didn't feel easy knowing they saw it happen, though.

"We saw a bit of your life before... before the Moonlight Bridge. Your mom and sister were there." Yukari began. "Then... things got bad. It showed us the incident, and... what your foster parents did. It... even showed us the times where you..."

"That's enough." Minato interjected. He really didn't want to think about any of that. The single mention of his family brought tears into his eyes too.

"Right, sorry." Yukari apologised. "When we finished watching your memories, a... shadow version of you showed up, and tried to fight us. We won, and were each given a key..."

The conversation continued on, where they explained in loose terms that they fought one another for the keys, and they specifically did not reveal who had won. Minato didn't want to fear the worst, but it was hard not to. They explained that Ryoji showed up, and told them that he had been trying to save him this entire time, but a god stopped him. They all went down to kill it, but Minato already knew they couldn't. Which confused him a little because how were they still here?

"The battle got... bad. Mitsuru got hit early on and had to get taken back, and it all fell apart from there. Aigis was the last left standing, and when she was about to be taken out... Mitsuru stepped in at the last minute and took the attack. She... almost died."

Minato's eyes shot open in fear, but he knew it all turned out fine, because she was in his arms. She was okay.

"Ai-chan did not like that at all, and she summoned all of her Personas to fight the thing alone." Junpei had a proud smile on his face, but one word in particular stumped Minato.

Personas?

"Aigis... you have multiple Personas?" Minato said, almost speechless.

Aigis nodded. "I... awoke to the wild card when Metis attacked the dorm."

"That reminds me. Do you still have the wild card?" Akihiko asked Minato.

As far as he knew, he still did. He could still hear Messiah clearly, and every other Persona he had answered his call.

They continued to explain, saying how Aigis fought the thing alone, and then Elizabeth showed up to defeat it. She took them all back, and she revealed the true way to bring Minato back.

And Minato felt crushed hearing what they did. They sacrificed their lives in the afterlife just to bring him back.

"You... you didn't..." Minato was speechless. "Why?! Why did you do that?!"

Mitsuru, who was silent the entire time, chose this time to speak up.

"Because we refused to let you shoulder the burden alone!" He looked into her eyes, and could see she was deeply hurt, more than anything. "You sacrificed your life to save us. You wanted us to live our lives however we can. But what about what we want? Because I want you! I need you!"

She was right, in a way. He didn't consider what they would want. But he didn’t want them to suffer for a choice he had to make. It was his choice that led them down this path.

"I... I just don't want you guys to suffer because of me..." Minato looked to the floor in shame. "I... I'm sorry."

"Minato-senpai, you told me that I have people to rely on when I need them. You do too. We wanted to share the burden with you. You gave us the opportunity to live, and we wanted to do the same for you." Ken smiled.

Minato couldn't help but do the same. "Yeah, I uh... I guess you have a point."

Minato looked down to rough, scarred hands, full of memories that he thought had ended.

I... I really am alive...

He didn't want this moment to end. This moment of happiness, knowing he could live out his dreams.

But he had one thing left to do before he can truly accept his place again. He leaned down to Mitsuru's ear and whispered.

"Can we talk? In private?"

She silently nodded and got up from her seat where she was nestled in Minato's arms. He wanted to say they were fine, but there was still some unspoken tension between the two. Again, he couldn't blame her. He left her alone. Broke her more than words could describe. They could say they were okay, but deep down, neither of them were.

Minato got up too, ready to follow Mitsuru. But before he ascended the steps, he turned around to his friends who were all stealing a look at the two of them.

"Hey, guys?" Minato smiled. "Thank you. For everything."

Those words did crack the dam in a few of his friends, as he could see some get misty eyed, and others with tears beginning to fall.

He turned back to Mitsuru, who had already gone halfway up the stairs. He couldn't quite discern the look she had. It was a new expression she had never worn before. Her heart might still be broken, and bringing him back may have only put a bandage over the wound, rather than fixing it completely.

He followed her up the stairs, and they didn't stop on the boys floor, where he assumed they might go for the small privacy next to the bookcase. They kept going up, and Mitsuru stopped ascending the stairs when she reached the girls floor, walking over to her bedroom door.

Minato was scared. He knew she was upset. This was never going to be fixed in one day. It would need to take a lot of trust being rebuilt.

If she even wanted to put in that effort anymore.

She will probably scream at me. Say how I hurt her more than anyone ever did. She... she might even reconsider our engagement.

I... I don't know what I would do if she did.

She opened her door, and took a few steps in. Minato hesitated for a moment, trying to swallow his nerves as best as possible, before taking a couple steps in himself.

Her room wasn't the same. It was... clean, when compared to Junpei's room, but not to the standard she would normally keep it. There were a couple clothes scattered in the corner, and dust was collecting in the other corners. He saw her reach into her skirt pocket, and saw a shimmer of blue when she pulled it out.

That's... my ring...

She kept it gripped in her palm, and didn't turn to face him. "What... what did you want to talk about?"

Minato could already feel his tears coming. "I... I don't think sorry is going to make up for what I've done. I... I broke our promise. Leaving you was the absolute last thing I wanted, but I had no choice. I... I couldn't live with myself if I didn't give you a chance to live, even if I couldn't be there with you."

Minato saw her fiddle with her own engagement ring, twisting it slightly from side to side. He didn't want to do this. He wanted anything but this.

"I... I broke your heart worse than anyone could ever do." His tears began to fall, and he didn't stop them. His voice was shaking, and he could see her shoulders shake too. "I... I understand if you realise you don't want anything to do with me now. Just know that... that everything I did... I did for you."

He heard her sniffle, and when she turned around, he saw her tears freely flowing down her face.

"I... you are right. After you... died, I lost myself. I lost my will to continue going. I cried... I screamed... I... I wished for death to take me too."

Minato couldn't hide his shock hearing that. He hurt her even worse than he thought he did.

"When everything happened with the Abyss of Time, I... I was bitter. Cold. I wanted to be done with it, because seeing you in everyone's memories just made my pain even worse. I lashed out at the others... especially Aigis. When I saw what happened to you because of her... I only felt hatred for her."

She looked down to the floor in shame. "Then... then Aigis' sister told us about the keys, and how we could use them to bring you back. They said we all fought each other for the keys... but there was more to it."

Minato, unsure of what was the best decision to make, took a few steps closer to her.

"Yukari and I... we wanted to bring you back. We wanted to go back in time and stop you from sacrificing yourself. Akihiko and Amada, they wanted to move forward, whilst Aigis and Metis were unsure. I... I almost killed Aigis. I was so... consumed by hatred, that I almost killed her."

"I... I'm so sorry..." Minato responded, his voice laden with sympathy.

"When we fought Erebus, and I saw Aigis about to be attacked... I jumped in front of it. I... I put all of my faith in her so that she could set you free, and that I... could finally see you again..."

Minato couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't upset at her, though. He was upset at himself. This was all his doing. He caused all of this... pain for her, and now he's back like nothing ever happened to him.

"I would have given anything to see you again, Minato. And... as you know... I did. My soul is forever bound to yours, whether you like it or not. I thought when I finally could see you again, I... I would be so happy that I would forget everything that happened. But... I can't. I still remember holding you after you..."

She couldn't continue further, as her voice broke, and the dam flooded. Minato, following his instincts, pulled her into his embrace for comfort, and she did not make any attempt to pull away.

"I'm so sorry, Mitsuru. I'm so, so sorry." His tears fell into her hair as he cried with her.

She didn't pull away from him when she began to speak again. "I... I am not fully sure that this is real. It... it still doesn't feel real."

He pulled away only slightly, so that he could gaze into her eyes.

"I... I am real. And I can prove it."

He slowly brushed his lips against her own, and for a brisk moment, they met together. It only lasted for a moment because Mitsuru broke down again in his arms.

"I thought I'd never get to kiss you again..." She whispered.

He pressed his lips together hard, trying to quell his nerves. "I know there is... so much I need to do in order to earn your trust back after this. But I swear on everything I know and love... I will do whatever it takes, if you want me to."

She pulled away for a small moment, her eyes glistening under the light above them. "Do you... do you promise?"

He knew what his next words were going to be before she even asked.

"I promise."