In the back alley of Tatsumi port island that night, three figures stood by themselves It was the two members of Strega who interrupted SEES last month , and with them stood Chidori . Takaya looked at the moon above them , and remarked that it will be a full moon tomorrow and the SEES will probably try to interfere with the shadow that appear that night .
" those bastards " Jin grumbled " to think they would survive the crumbling military base ! "
" it was only a matter of time before someone would rescue them from within the base , I was mostly counting on them getting blown by the explosives or crushed below the roof . It seems we have underestimated their coordination "
" but now that they survived , they're going to fight and possibly defeat the upcoming shadow ! "
" they're vulnerable " Chidori answered
" what ?! "
" I know the SEES weakness . It's their leader , the one who kept them organized during their battle last month . Once we capture him , their coordination will be thrown in jeopardy "
" then why isn't he here ?! " Jim yelled at her " why haven't you captured him ?! "
" capturing one of them will not be easy at the moment " Takaya interrupted " they're focused on preparing for the operation , we need to strike while they're vulnerable "
" they are vulnerable " Chidori nodded " their leader wants to meet me tomorrow , I'll have him under my thumb by tomorrow evening "
" how's it going , fellow hero ! Isn't it great to be a hero ! " Junpei greeted Minato with a stupid grin on his face
" alright , Junpei " Minato groaned " where did you hit your head this time ? "
" I haven't , I just like being a hero ! "
" actually , bro bro ... " Minako whispered what happened
" what ?! " Minato turned to her with shock " you exposed our secret and the Persona and everything ?! "
" what ? No " Minako shook her head " he was just bluffing about being a leader and I went along with it , we weren't talking about the Dark Hour or anything of the sort , right , Junpei ? Junpei ? "
Junpei had left for his room while the two were discussing .
" I can't be bothered by that now " Minato sighed " I'll be in my room "
" I'm going with Yukari and Fuuka to Paulownia mall " Minako stood up
" you do realize that tomorrow is a full moon , right ? "
" of course , I'm not going anywhere hectic "
Minato watched as his sister left the dorm , just then he heard someone descending into the lounge . It was Shinjiro , who had a disgusted look on his face . Minato chose not to comment on it and just ignored him , but as he past close to him he heard him grumbling " I can't believe he's into a girl now "
" you mean Junpei ? "
" yeah ... "
" why would you think that's a bad thing ? "
" trust me , girls complicate an already complicated life "
" I don't know about that , there might be someone around the corner who will make you change your mind "
" if you say so ... " the two shrugged and walked away from each other .
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The members of SEES gathered in the lounge that night , with the exception of Junpei who was in his room after he realized nobody was interesting in his fantasies . He was probably the only enthusiastic person who was looking forward to tomorrow , and even Minako who had mentioned that the whole thing will be a breeze was still anxious of what will happen . The fact that Shinjiro is in the team made the feel much more relieved , but it was still a full moon shadow upon them . Every time one of those show up , it was always a troublesome battle for the two .
Suddenly , all the lights in the dorm and the TV were out all at the same time . Everyone was shocked at this power outage , until they heard something fall down the stairs . At first they were startled , but it turned out to be Junpei .
" the Dark Hour ? " Yukari looked around
" negative " Aigis responded " the current time is 09:23 and thirty nine seconds "
" uh ... yeah ... thanks for the detailed response "
" hold on ... I'll use my phone to ... never mind , it's dead " Minako said " can you use yours to light the room , bro—?"
" aaaahhhhh !!! Who's there!!! " Minato screamed as he felt something touching him
" s—sorry ... that's ... that's me ... " Minako nervously tried to remedy the situation
" are you okay , Minato-san? " Ken was confused
" Minato-san is—" Aigis began replying
" Aigis ... if you continue that sentence , I swear ! "
" argh ! My foot ! " Junpei suddenly screamed , causing Minato to flinch and jump in his seat
" here , I got it " Minako used Minato's phone to light the lounge and reveal that her brother was desperately clinging onto her shoulder . He immediately pulled himself away as he was met with everyone's questioning stare
" Minato-san? You're scared of darkness ? " Ken muffled his laughter
" shut up ... " Minato grumbled
" a person scared of darkness leading his comrades during the Dark Hour ... " Shinjiro shrugged " neat "
" hey , smartass ! " Minato yelled defensively " I saved those guys with my leadership from near death situation many times so far !"
" whatever you say "
" strange " Mitsuru looked through the window " the power is out from the entire city "
" even stranger , this is the third outage in one day " Akihiko thought
" did they announce any undergoing maintenance ? "
" I don't think they did " Fuuka said anxiously " I have a bad feeling about the whole situation "
The power returned to the dorm , illuminating the lounge and revealing the anxious look on their faces . To further hammer the uncertainty of their situation , the news report shifted to breaking news about a general sudden power outage in the entire city of Iwatodai and even some regions of Tokyo , Osaka , Sumaru city and Inaba . That was no ordinary power outage , and the SEES all shared the same thought . It was the full moon shadow they were going to face .
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The next day , Junpei went to the place near the station where he had been meeting Chidori for the past two days , but she was nowhere around . He stayed there and waited , but as the sun was setting and it was becoming late , he gave up and went back to the dorm . For a while he was upset that he didn't meet her and wondered if he should have waited for a longer time , but he crossed that thought away when he remembered that tonight was a full moon , and his team was up against a powerful shadow .
" you know ... now that I think about it " he murmured to himself " we're gonna fight that bigass shadow to protect the city , that includes her as well , I really do feel like a hero—"
Junpei suddenly felt something hit on the head , his vision grew blurry and quickly lost consciousness .
Midnight came , and with it the Dark Hour . Junpei was still not in the dorm . Ken went to look for him while Fuuka was scanning for shadows . The location of the powerful presence , while undeniably strong , was vague . She couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was , but she could tell it was in Paulownia mall . As Minato noticed that she was getting increasingly more tired as she kept focusing , he decided to stop her , saying that it was enough intel for them at the moment . At that moment , Ken opened the door with an anxious look on his face
" Iori-san isn't in the dorm "
" that idiot ! " Yukari groaned " he knows tonight is gonna be a difficult battle ! Where is he when you need him ?! "
" it probably isn't anything important " the chairman said with a carefree smile " he is probably hanging out somewhere , you're all still young after all ... "
" you're kidding ... " Minato glared at him
" nevertheless , we have wasted enough time " Mitsuru said sternly " we need to head to Paulownia mall for now "
" I swear when I set my eyes on that idiot ... ! " Yukari grumbled as she left the room with everyone .
" wait ... " Minako stopped her brother in place as everyone left the room , looking very anxious " Minato ... remember what I told you yesterday ? What if I ... what if I made a mistake ? "
" what do you mean ? "
" I didn't think too much about it , I thought it was just a girl that Junpei was having a talk with and wanted to make him look good in front of her , but what if I messed up and she turned out to be ... well ... "
" should the worst happen and they capture him , they won't hurt him " Minato reassured her " they'll try to stop us by threatening us with his life ... "
" then what would we do ? "
" hm ... I have a plan ... "
And so the SEES left the building , led by Minato . They made their way to Paulownia mall where the shadow was , but they still didn't know where to start , and Paulownia mall was a big place and they had already wasted enough time .
" excuse me ... let me try to find the shadow one more time " Fuuka said earnestly , and she didn't even wait for their response and immediately called Lucia and began scanning .
" hey , where's Minako ? " Yukari looked around them
" she told me she wasn't feeling so good ... some stomachache or something " Minato lied
" what ?! "
" sheesh , talk about a pain in the ass " Shinjiro groaned " first Junpei ghosts the team and then Minako quits at the last second ? What kind of a joke is—?! "
" hey , punk " Minato glared at him " I don't know how it was back when you were a member , but even Mitsuru senpai doesn't object my decisions ! If you don't like that you should just go back to the dorm while we're in the clear ! "
" Minato ! " Akihiko objected sternly
" Minako wasn't feeling well , so I asked her to stay on the sidelines , or would you prefer that she would drag us down with her condition ? "
" drop it , Aki . When he put it that way , he has a point " Shinjiro shrugged Akihiko off , before turning to Minato " you're the boss "
" Minato ... " Yukari whispered to him as Shinjiro walked away " why're you so angry over it ? "
" I'm just being sterner with Shinjiro senpai because he saw a lack of coordination on my part more than once before he joined " Minato said " I want to have him know that I'm in control "
" ... I see ... " Yukari felt bad for objecting , as at least one instance of the situations Minato mentioned had been caused by her .
" Yamagishi ... don't strain yourself " Mitsuru sighed
" please let me try , this is ... this is my only duty ... " Fuuka focused " Lucia ... tell me ... what clouds your vision ... look into the mirage ... reveal the true picture ... "
" is ... is she gonna be ... " Akihiko started
" don't break her concentration ! " Mitsuru hissed at him
" I found it ! " she gasped " the shadow ... it has possessed all the wirings of the mall ! "
" what ?! " Yukari was surprised
" I see ... now those power outages make sense " Shinjiro nodded
" but how do we take it down ?! "
" according to the records of your battles , the SEES eliminated a shadow that possessed a monorail before "
" at the time , the big shadow was situated at the end of the monorail "
" yes ... and I think I found where the main body is "
" be careful , though . If the shadow can short-circuit the entire city and some regions of Japan , it must be strong " Minato looked at the team " on that note ... Aigis and Yukari are going back to the dorm "
" I comprehend " Aigis nodded " with a shadow that could cast lightning , Yukari-san and I would be at a disadvantage "
" understand? So go back to the dorm and be with Minako "
Those who stayed with Minato went to where Fuuka found the main body of the shadow , which was underground of the mall . The wires were covering the walls , and they seemed to tangle up and twist in a messy fashion . Even though there was no tearing in the wires , they were still sparks slipping out in the corners , occasionally giving the team a jump . They eventually reached an open area , and surely the shadow was there , hanging from the ceiling with its limbs thrusted into the wires . It looked like a parasite , and the lightning that was emitting made it glow in the dim place .
" that must be the shadow ! " Fuuka communicated with them " please be careful not to get shocked ! Your Persona will only be able to sustain too much before the sparks start affecting your body ! "
" roger ! " Minato pulled his evoker " everyone ! Follow me ! "
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If you enjoyed this part , please consider voting for it , and remember to comment who you want Minato to fall in love with , and I'll see you in the next part . Stay safe .
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