A/N: Hello helloo. This chapter took me time to finish it T_T I've been busy with college since it started. But here it is! Enjoy!

I don't own the picture of Miki's Persona nor the music.

The music is by Atlus.

The drawings are drawn by me.

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The next morning, the gang woke up to go to school.

Makoto had a hangover from yesterday, but he managed to handle it and hide it from the others. He went downstairs to the lounge after he got dressed to go to his high school.

He saw the others were awake too except Miki wasn't there. Everyone was quiet and they couldn't face each other because of what happened yesterday.

Yukari blushed and narrowed her eyebrows after seeing Makoto. her face was red from embarrassment, "Y-you better forget about yesterday, okay?" She didn't want to hear anything from him to make things less embarrassing between them. "And I can't believe Junpei was there too.." She mumbled as she frowned more. She couldn't accept the fact that Junpei saw all that.

"U-um.. I am sorry about yesterday.. I can't believe that happened." Fuuka faced the ground while her face was red too.

Mitsuru sighed, "Just be careful next time, so we can avoid those situations. Anyway, we are going to be late for school if we don't get going now. Where is Miki?" She asked. 

Akihiko looked around as he hadn't seen her yet too, "Yeah, I didn't see her."

"Why don't you go and check, Yuki?" Mitsuru looked at Makoto as he nodded and made his way upstairs.

Meanwhile, Miki was already awake. She was making her way to the command room before she could go to school. Ikutsuki was there looking at some notes that were related to his job.

She opened the door as she was holding a cup of coffee. It was her first time making one, but she didn't mess up while making it. She made sure it was okay to drink.

"Good morning, Mr. Ikutsuki." She said, placing the cup down on the table that was close to him as she stood close to his chair too. "Um, I made coffee for you as an apology for what I did yesterday." She said, looking down while holding her own hands together tightly. "I won't misbehave again." She bit her bottom lip still feeling guilty while a worried expression was on her face. She didn't dare to make him upset. 

Ikutsuki turned to look at Miki when she walked in. He gave her a smile.

"It's totally fine, Miki. I believe you. I know you are not capable of disobeying. After all, you are nothing but an empty shell." He said it as if it was a normal thing.

"At least they are beginning to trust you.."

Miki's eyes widened and became dark and lifeless after hearing his words. She looked down at her hands and clenched her fists. He was right, she was nothing but an empty shell. Nothing without him. 

"Wh-why would I disobey you?" The pink-haired girl smiled painfully, "You saved me, I guess... Without you, I couldn't have joined the S.E.E.S." She kept looking down, not daring to look at him this time. 

Suddenly, the door was opened as Makoto was standing there at the door seeing the two talking with each other alone. He noticed Miki's expression as she didn't look okay. That alone gave him a strange feeling. 

"Um, sorry to interrupt..I was looking for you, Miki. We are going to be late for school." 

"Ah, good morning Yuki-kun" Ikutsuki said with a smile then got up to get ready to leave too. "You all have a good day at school. I will be heading to my own duties now too." 

"Oh! Leader! Heyy haha, don't worry about it. I am coming!" Miki's cheerful and bright smile was back once Makoto came. 

"Well then Mr. Ikutsuki, do you need anything before we go?" Miki placed her hands behind her back and tilted her head to the side with a cute smile on her face. 

"I need nothing else. Uh, I may not be back tonight before tartarus, but make sure to go tonight. The next full moon is not far." He said before grabbing his documents and walking out of the room leaving Makoto and Miki alone.

"Okai!~ We will! We are going to practice for real this time. I won't let you down again! Have a nice day, Mr. Ikutsuki!" Miki grinned and waved at him as she saw him leaving. She noticed he didn't drink the coffee she made for him, not even a sip. 

He didn't even drink my coffee...

She looked down and puffed her cheeks.

Makoto looked at her and spoke as he was standing beside her, "Are you okay? You didn't look very well a minute ago." 

"Huh?" Miki blinked and looked back at him. She looked surprised. "Uh, yeah I am fine!" She gave him a wide bright smile. 

"Come on, let's go to school together! I am looking forward to my second day of school." She said as she took his hand to go downstairs together. 

"Um.." Makoto saw her holding his hand, but he didn't say anything. 

The two went to the lounge as everyone was there. "Good morning everyone!" Miki waved, then looked at Akihiko. Her face changed once she did, she became worried suddenly about what happened yesterday. 

"Um, hey Aki-senpai!" 

"Hey, good morning." Akihiko said as he was drinking protein in his bottle. "Feeling better?" 

Miki smiled at him and nodded, "Yup." 

"Are you all ready? Let's go, we shouldn't be late." Mitsuru said as she went outside first. She was still thinking about what happened, but she was trying to forget about it. 

After they all went out and went by train. They were walking towards the school's building.

Miki looked at Akihiko's back as he was walking in front of her. She got close and tapped on his shoulder while blushing. She still wanted to apologize to him just in case he was still mad.

"Um senpai, I apologize again for what happened yesterday.. You know, the bathroom thing. I hope you are still not mad..I feel like I have to do something for you as an apology.." She looked down. 

"Eh? No really, no need to. I am not mad." Akihiko shook his head. 

Miki's eyes lit up, "Really? Still, I am thinking about making something for you. Like something sweet." She smiled.

Akihiko widened his eyes as he started to sweat nervously, "U-uh no no. No need to do anything for me.." His heart started to beat fast from being anxious. "Besides, I don't really like sweet things.. I don't have a sweet tooth." 

As the two were walking, a group of girls were watching them. 

"Hey, isn't that the new girl?" 

"She lives in the same dorm as Akihiko-senpai's??" 

"How dare she talk to Akihiko-senpai like that!" 

The fangirls got jealous seeing Miki walking close beside Akihiko while laughing and smiling. 

One of the girls that were watching them was one of Akihiko's biggest fans. She was jealous and burning on the inside for seeing Miki close to her idol. 

"Oh hell no! What if she stole our Senpai!? I won't allow that!" The obsessed fan said while her face was red from anger. She was going to step in Miki's way to stop her before it's too late.

The group of fangirls stepped in their way, calling Akihiko's name over and over while approaching him. 

"Akihiko-senpai!~" 

"You look handsome as always~" 

"Want to hang out with us after school?~" 

Since the group of girls approached him, it made Miki step away.

"Ugh, please give me some space..." Akihiko groaned in annoyance.

"It was only a matter of time before these girls showed up." Yukari sighed then looked at Miki, "Sanada-senpai has a huge fan base."

"Oh yeah, I know that already, haha.." Miki laughed nervously as she watched them surrounding him which made her feel concerned about him. 

She frowned, determined to save him. She wanted to prove to him that she wasn't one of them. 

She took Akihiko's hand and smiled, "Sorry girls, but we are going to be late for class~ So, gooodbyeee~" She started to run away with him, pulling him away from the crazy fangirls to save him. She was fast, too fast.

"H-hey, wait!" Junpei said, widening his eyes as the gang followed. 

"D-did she just-" One of the girls widened her eyes in shock. 

"...Touch his hand!?" The other girl continued the sentence.

After they were away from them, Miki let go of his hand. "Phew, that was close. You are free now, Senpai." She giggled. 

Akihiko blinked, surprised by her saving him. "Thanks... You saved me back there." He sighed. "They are always too much.." 

"Don't thank me. I am just glad you are okay, Senpai. That's what's important." Miki sighed in relief. 

"I usually just ignore them. But let me know if they ever try to mess with you. I hate bullies." Akihiko said.

"Give it up and leave Sanada-senpai alone. He doesn't like it." Yukari frowned at the girls for being nosy. 

"Shut up Yukari, you are lucky he only treats you like a friend. But that girl is getting too close. AKIHIKO-SENPAI BELONGS TO EVERYONE." The crazed fan said as the other girls nodded.

Yukari rolled her eyes and went to catch up with the others. 

"Gosh, these girls are scary. Now I don't envy Akihiko-senpai anymore for having girls around him." Junpei said, terrified of his fangirls. 

Mitsuru gave the girls an icy stare for speaking to her teammates so rudely.

After seeing her stare, the girls didn't dare to speak again. They didn't want to mess with Mitsuru Kirijo after all. No one at school would, she could expel them as they left. But that didn't mean they gave up.

"Ignore them. Let's go." Mitsuru continued to walk inside the school's building. 

"Mitsuru-senpai's stare is scary too.." Junpei mumbled but not enough to not let Mitsuru hear. 

"I heard you." 

"Sorry!" 

After they went inside the building, the bell rang announcing that classes started. 

"Well, I will be off to class. I will see you soon then." Akihiko said then walked away to head to his own classroom. 

"B-bye! See you!" Miki blushed while smiling and waving. She imagined Akihiko saving her from bad people which made her heart beat fast.

The gang waved at each other and said goodbye before every one of them went to their own class. 

Before Miki went to her classroom, she took out her secret special book. It was her fan book for Akihiko.

"Akihiko-senpai had accepted my apology and said he would protect me from the bullies. This is the happiest day of my life!" She wrote that down with the time and date before sighing deeply with a smile. 

She closed the book then looked around her, checking no one was seeing as she put the book back inside her school bag then ran to her class. 

Before the teacher could come, Katsu walked inside the classroom, seeing Akihiko there in his seat. 

"Good morning, Sanada-san." He greeted him with a smile. "How are you today?" 

"Oh good morning, Saito. I am well. I have a bit of a headache. I may go to see Mr. Edogawa, but I will try to hold off." Akihiko said and sighed. He was having a headache of course from that obsessed fangirl.

"Headache?" Katsu looked at him concerned, "Do you need my help? Want me to go with you?" He asked as he was worried and wanted to help.

"Eh? Oh no, I am alright. You don't need to worry about me. What about you, how was your night?" Akihiko asked. 

"It was okay. Busy, but it's not something new to me." Katsu sat down on his own seat, still facing him. Akihiko could see he looked tired since he stayed awake the whole night being busy with his work. "I am used to being awake at night, so it's not a problem for me. Though, I am surprised I didn't oversleep this morning." He laughed. 

"You should not overwork yourself. I know what it's like to avoid sleep and stay up all night. It makes you sick. But if you get some sleep and do some training after waking up, you will feel energized." Akihiko said, giving him his advice. 

Katsu blinked. He was kinda surprised to hear him say that to someone he had met not long ago. "Haha, don't worry it's something I can't change. I have to do this, I am doing this for myself after all. To live." He said, "Thanks for your concern though." He smiled. 

"Well, I just hope you take care of yourself." Akihiko said, taking out his books.

"Thank you, I will." Katsu smiled and nodded then looked down quietly for a moment before speaking again.

"Hey, about the boxing match you've mentioned before, I know it's just for fun, but I would like to do a match with you." 

Akihiko looked back at him, "Hm? So you agreed at the end? Then, it's settled." He smirked excitedly. "You don't know, you might have hidden boxing talent. Besides, you haven't joined any club yet, right? We have a meeting tomorrow so we can do it." 

"So, it's tomorrow? Okay, I will keep that in mind." Katsu replied. 

The whole class, especially the fangirls, got excited after hearing there would be a boxing match.

"We have to cheer tomorrow, girls!" The fangirls squealed. 

"Okay okay, students. Sorry for breaking your hype, but the class has begun." The teacher banged on the desk after walking inside the classroom. 

______Time Skip, Lunchtime_____

Miki was standing at her locker as she was putting some of her stuff inside.

While doing so, a group of girls approached her. They were Akihiko's fangirls, the same ones that saw her walking with him this morning.

"We saw what you were trying to do this morning." One of the girls frowned and crossed her arms.

"You are trying to steal Akihiko-senpai! We saw how you were talking to him. You are dating him aren't you!?" The other one said angrily. 

Miki blinked surprisingly, "Dating? You get it all wrong, it's not that. We are only friends.." She shook her head. 

"Then what do you call it, huh? Don't try to fool us, stop lying. Listen, senpai is not yours and he would never be. Give up." 

"...."

Miki looked down without saying anything.

"And if you do anything to him, we are going to stop you." The girl surrounded her, making her stand against the locker, not letting her escape as she was trapped. 

"Yo Sanada-san, heard about your match tomorrow. Can't wait to see it." One of Akihiko's classmates said, walking up to him as they were leaving the classroom. 

"Haha, it's just to test strength, it's not really a match. Well, I gotta go, see you." Akihiko said then walked away.

As he was walking, he spotted Miki being surrounded by a group of girls as she looked uncomfortable. He frowned and hurried over, "Hey, give her some space will you! Is this how you treat a new student?" He glared. 

"Senpai!" The girl that was blocking Miki's way turned around quickly then ran up to him as the other girls did the same. "What are you talking about, senpai~ We aren't doing anything to her." 

They were surrounding him too. "Please Senpai, why don't you go out with us? You will be having so much fun with us. We love you so much." 

"We are your fans. Do you really want to make us upset?" The girl looked at him sadly.

Miki blinked standing there behind them as she then frowned. She didn't like seeing Akihiko being forced to do something for someone. "If he doesn't want to go out with you, you shouldn't force him. Forcing someone is not good. If you are truly his fan you have to understand and respect him." 

The girls were taken aback after hearing her words as they bit their cheeks and stayed still not saying anything anymore. 

Akihiko ignored the girls and grabbed Miki's shoulder, "Let's go, no need to waste anymore time here." He then walked away with Miki as he pulled her along with him. 

The girls saw the two walking away as they were shaking in jealousy.

"What's so special about her..? Just because she lives in the same dorm as him?" 

"Let's not give up, girls!" 

After the two got away from the girls,

Akihiko let out a sigh. "I seriously dislike girls like that. Like, I can't even hang out with my teammates in peace." 

"Yeah, I think it's best to just ignore them. Don't let these types of fans ruin your life. I mean, don't be bothered by them, this is your life and you can live it however you want. I am sure you are already doing that which is great." Miki smiled worriedly. She hoped he wouldn't get hurt by them. 

"Anywayyy~" She smiled and blushed while placing her two hands behind her back, "Thank you for saving me. It feels nice to be saved by Senpai from the bad guys. It makes Miki happy!" 

There's a light blush on Akihiko's cheeks as he spoke,"Oh uh... no problem." He said. He felt strange whenever he talked with her.

No...I shouldn't think that.

He shook his head to stop the thoughts in his head.

"Hm?" Miki tilted her head, seeing him shaking his head. "Are you alright Senpai? Oh! Are you hungry? We can eat lunch together-" 

He cut her off as he shut his eyes tightly. He was nervous. "U-uh, thanks for the offer, but I am busy right now. Um so, see you later." He said as he walked away not giving her a chance to reply.

"Eh?" Miki blinked in confusion, seeing him in a hurry, but then a smile appeared on her face while waving at him. "Okay! Don't overwork yourself, Senpai!" 

She smiled one more time to herself then she walked in the opposite direction. 

______Time Skip, After School_____

After the school bell rang announcing that class was over, the blue-haired boy packed his stuff then got up as he was ready to leave. 

He walked out of his classroom with his hand in his pocket and the other holding the school bag. Until suddenly, a familiar voice called him from behind. 

"Senpai!" 

From the tone, he knew who that could be without turning around.

"Hm?" Makoto looked at Miki, giving her a questioned look.

Miki stopped running then panted. Obviously, she was running from her classroom up to Makoto's classroom to meet up with him. 

"Phew, it's good that I found you. I thought I wouldn't catch up with you on time." 

"Is there something?" Makoto asked, seeing her in a hurry.

"Huh? Oh no no, it's not an emergency or anything like that." She chuckled, "I am here to hang out with you of course! It's because-" She paused, kicking the ground with her foot as she was embarrassed to say it. "A-anyway, would you say yes or no?" She asked. 

"Hmm, okay." Makoto shrugged. He didn't have anything to do after school anyway. Besides, that would be an opportunity to get to know more about his new teammate. 

"Great! Maybe we can go to that ramen shop? I heard they serve the best ramen there and I would like to try it with you." 

Makoto accepted her suggestion as the two walked out of the school's building and made their way to the ramen shop together.

__Iwatodai Strip Mall, Hagakure Ramen___

The two made their way to the ramen shop then found their seats.

"Two extra large ramen bowls please. Oh, and I want mine to be very spicy with extra meat and eggs." Miki ordered then looked at Makoto who was sitting beside her as she waited for him to order what he wanted for his ramen. 

She couldn't help but keep looking at him. She didn't notice herself staring at his face while smiling. 

"I will take the same as her." Makoto ordered after her then leaned back to his seat, staying quiet. He then turned his head to the side, noticing Miki staring at him. 

"...Is there something on my face?" He asked. 

Miki blushed then shook her head quickly, noticing herself looking at him after he spoke.

"N-no! There's nothing! It's just.. you look.. nice today!" She paused then continued to speak, "... Your skin looks soft. What cream do you use?" She laughed, throwing that random question instead of saying he actually looked handsome. 

Makoto blinked, "Cream? I don't use cream. I didn't know you needed products for the face. Do you use them?" 

Miki shook her head again, "No. I was just curious, that's all." She continued to laugh, then she raised her eyebrows and blushed more as she placed her hand on her face, "D-do I need one?" 

"I don't think so. I don't know about girl beauty so.." He shrugged, "I think it's best to just be yourself." 

"Haha, that's true. That's why I enjoy being with you." Miki suddenly said with a smile. 

Just then, their ramen bowls were finished and placed in front of them.

"Thank you for waiting. Enjoy your ramen." The chef said.

"Thanks." Makoto pulled the bowl close to him before grabbing the chopsticks and breaking them in half to begin eating.

"Oooh! This looks so delicious!" Miki's eyes shined while looking at the bowl of ramen. She was almost drooling. "Let's dig in!" She held her chopsticks too to start eating.

However, she didn't know how to properly hold them.

These are so hard to use for eating..

She gulped nervously then looked at Makoto for a moment not wanting to get caught for not knowing how to hold them. She still tried to manage using them.

She held the chopsticks incorrectly and took a bite, "Mmm! So delicious! Right, senpai?" She looked at him and smiled seeing him slurping the noodles heartily. "Hehe, it looks like you are enjoying this. Is ramen your favorite food?" She asked, "For me, I like eating so I am not picky. I can eat everything!" 

"I am not picky too. I eat anything." Makoto replied then looked back at her, noticing she was struggling with the chopsticks.

"You don't know how to use chopsticks?"

Miki blushed and chuckled shyly, "Yeah, I struggle a bit. Is that weird?" She tilted her head and scratched it.

"Are you a foreign? I am just surprised." Makoto said.

"Um." Miki suddenly became nervous as she didn't know what to answer him.

She looked down as her bangs hid her eyes, "Yeah, I believe I wasn't born here, so everything here is new to me." She looked back at him and smiled again, "But I don't hate it here. I like it here already, I guess it's all thanks to you guys I am learning a lot of things. And I am looking forward to experiencing more with you all."

"You don't believe? Where are you from? The place you were before this." He asked again as he was curious.

"It was a long time ago. I don't remember, but I was born outside Japan. You see, I don't remember my childhood that much. I said I don't have a strong memory, remember?" She chuckled sadly. "You may think it's stupid, it's fine." She said then looked down again. 

"Hey Senpai, do I look strange to you?" She suddenly asked as she sounded serious. 

Makoto replied, noticing her serious tone, "Not really. You look like a regular person to me... Why do you ask that?" 

"Oh, nothing. It was just a normal question." She shook her head. She was surprised by his answer since she was thinking the opposite. She wasn't seeing herself as a normal person for some unknown reason. 

"I am just glad you see me as a normal person and not weird." She said smilingly.

Makoto looked down at his ramen bowl as he stared at it, "... I would be lying if I said we, the S.E.E.S, are not a little weird. We all fight Shadows every night. You, me and everyone else, why were we chosen and given such a power, having to sacrifice our lives every time we pull the trigger of our evokers." He closed his eyes and continued to speak, "I am glad to save lives, but it's such a mystery why. Sorry, it must be weird of me to have such thoughts.. I guess I haven't found my answer yet." 

"Your answer.." Miki looked up and thought then she smiled. "It's totally okay to think this way, I can understand. I guess it's something you didn't expect to happen to you. For me, I think it's cool we gotta fight to save the world. And it's awesome! I never expected I would be one of you." She said then asked. 

"By the way, how did you get your Persona power?" She tilted her head, "Do you remember? Was it a long time ago?" She asked curiously.

"It was when I first came here. I didn't know anything about this power, it just happened suddenly." He replied to her question. "About the others, I don't know how. But I heard from Akihiko-senpai that he and Mitsuru-senpai were chosen by a group called the Kirijo Group. They were trained by them until they gained control of their Personas." 

Miki held her chin, thinking, "I see. You said that you don't know why you were chosen to fight, but for Mitsuru-senpai and Aki-senpai, is it because they were meant to be chosen by that group or something like that?" She asked 

Makoto kept staring down, "Maybe. I heard at school that Mitsuru-senpai is the daughter of the chairman of that group, so that's probably why she was chosen. But for Akihiko-senpai, I am not sure. You can ask him when you see him." He then continued to eat his ramen before it got cold.

Seeing him staring down at his bowl, Miki looked at him concerned, "I am sure there's a reason why you were chosen, but you haven't found it yet. The same thing for me and the others. Someday, you will find your answer. We are in this together!" She smiled widely.

She paused for a moment as she kept looking at him quietly, then she spoke again,"Senpai, I want to know more about your past." She suddenly said,

"My past?" He was kinda surprised by hearing that from her. "I don't know right now.. Let's just enjoy our time.." He lowered his head and clenched his fist a bit.

Miki raised her eyebrows seeing his reaction, then she smiled sadly and nodded, thinking that probably he didn't want to talk about it at that moment. And she didn't want to bother him so she didn't bring it up again 

"Sure."

She continued eating her ramen. She was fast at eating so she finished it all in minutes.

"That was a good meal~" She placed the chopsticks down and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"You know why I brought you here, right?" Miki got up and placed the money down, paying for both of them. "I hope you enjoyed your meal too." She smiled.

Makoto got up too, "Yeah, I feel like we have gotten closer and it will be my treat so don't worry about paying-" As he was going to return the money, Miki stopped him as she shook her head and looked at him seriously. 

"No no. It's my treat as an apology for what I did yesterday, remember? So, please accept it or I will be upset~" She puffed her cheeks as she gave him no chance to pay for her treat.

Makoto sighed as he didn't want to upset her, "Fine. But it will be my treat next time then." 

"Does that mean you accept my apology? I am glad!" Miki giggled. She felt they had gotten closer too, so she was happy to hear the same from Makoto. 

Makoto nodded, "We should head back. You are going to need to pick a weapon for Tartarus." 

"Yup, let's go. Thank you for coming with me. I really enjoyed my time with you! Let's go to many places together in the future." She grinned then walked out of the shop with him, making their way back to the dorms. 

She couldn't stop smiling while walking with him. She was too happy to be with the person she was very interested in.

"I am so happy.." She mumbled smilingly.

_____Iwatodai Dormitory____

Makoto and Miki arrived as they walked inside the dorms.

"We are back!" Miki said, smiling.

"Waiit a sec, where were you two?" Junpei asked the blue-haired boy and the pink-haired girl as he gave them a questioned look.

"We were out having ramen." Miki replied.

"Ooooh! So my hunch was right! You two were on a date. Makoto, that's not fair, you got a girl already?" Junpei sighed as he seemed depressed about relationships.

"Junpei, stop saying nonsense!" Yukari frowned at him. "O-or is it true..?" She looked at the both. 

Makoto closed his eyes and sighed, "I was just getting to know Miki as a teammate. That's all." 

"Y-yes, that's it! It's not like what you think, Junpei-senpai!" Miki shook her head and waved her hands quickly as a no. Her face turned red, then she looked down and looked at Makoto slowly.

"....." 

"Though, a girl and a boy going out alone together doesn't look normal to me." Junpei shrugged. 

"It doesn't have to be a romantic date if you go out with the opposite gender, idiot. It could be a friend or a sibling." Akihiko huffed while crossing his arms.

The door was suddenly opened as Mitsuru came back after having a long day. "You all are here. Good." 

"Welcome back, Senpai. I heard you had a Student Council meeting. How was it?" Yukari asked, seeing her walking in.

Mitsuru sat down on the couch and sighed deeply. She could finally take a little break before going to Tartarus. "It was long and tiring as usual. But I am managing to do my job, so nothing to worry about. Where is Mr. Chairman?" She asked. 

"He said he won't be coming tonight. Looks like he is busy with something." Miki said. 

"We should prepare ourselves for tonight. Remember, we have to practice. The next full moon is soon. Miki, are you ready to fight tonight? Did you get a weapon?" Mitsuru asked

"Um, no." Miki shook her head no.

"What type of weapon do you think will suit you, miki?" Akihiko asked her. 

"Do you feel you are better at long distance or short distance?" Fuuka looked at her. 

"Um." Miki looked at Akihiko and Fuuka hearing their questions. She wasn't sure what to pick. She didn't know anything about weapons. "It's fine, I don't need one." She smiled nervously.

"It's not as easy as you think, Miki. Of course you need a weapon to fight." Mitsuru told her as Fuuka nodded, "Yeah, some enemies are weak against physical attacks, so it's best to have a weapon." 

"Uh." Miki looked down, thinking. 

"U-um, no offense to you Miki, but you are short so you need something long." Junpei said.

"Ah, like a spear. That could be good." Akihiko nodded. 

"A spear?" Miki tilted her head. 

"Exactly! That would be perfect for you, Miki. Makoto, do you have one for her? We left the weapons to you." Junpei looked at Makoto, but Miki interrupted. 

"Wait, what's a spear?" Miki asked, having no idea what that is.

"A spear is a long stick with a blade for a tip. I think Yuki-san can give you one if he has it." Fuuka replied. 

"There's also bow and arrows, swords, axes. I use a bow. It's easy once you get used to it." Yukari said. 

"Oooh! Cool! I want to use all of them!" Miki said, amazed. "I would like to see all your weapons in Tartarus tonight. And your Personas too!" 

"Only when we are in Tartarus, Miki. Those are dangerous weapons." Mitsuru warned her. 

"Hehe, yes ma'am." Miki smiled. 

"I think I have one to give it to Miki," Makoto said as he went upstairs to head to his room. 

Seeing him going upstairs, Miki spoke, "Ehh wait, I am coming with you!" She said, following him upstairs. 

"But there's something I am curious about. Why is Miki attached to Yuki-san?" Fuuka asked, seeing Miki following Makoto. "It's like a duckling following the mom."

"I can clearly see that Miki is interested in Makoto. I bet they went on a date today, but they are trying to deny it. It's like they are in a relationship but secretly." Junpei said, holding his chin as he was acting like a detective solving a case. 

"They literally said it wasn't a date. Why would they deny that." Yukari sighed. 

Makoto opened the door to his room and walked inside after turning on the lights. 

"Woah, this is the first time coming to your room." Miki smiled and looked around the room in awe.

"It's not that big of a deal.." Makoto mumbled, then approached his closet before opening it. There were many new weapons he bought for his teammates inside it. 

"Woow, so many weapons." Miki blinked surprisingly as she stood beside him to have a view inside.

Makoto took a spear and gave it to her, "Here's a new one for you." 

Miki smiled widely and took the spear from him, "Woah, it's so long. How do I use it? Like this?" She started to swing it around fast with her hands. 

Makoto widened his eyes and stepped back immediately, "Don't swing it here, you may slice someone's head off. You can try it in Tartarus." He let out a sigh. "We should start preparing and heading to school." 

Miki stopped immediately as she remembered Mitsuru's words. "Haha, sorry." She laughed and blushed while scratching the back of her head. "Thank you, leader! You are so kind~" She said, coming close and hugging him. 

She then pulled away, breaking the hug and nodded, "Yup, I am ready!" 

Makoto froze as he was surprised by her hug, but he decided to not say anything about it. "Uh.. yeah. Let's go." He said then went downstairs together. 

Mitsuru stood up looking at the clock, "It's almost midnight. We should get ready." 

After the group prepared everything, they made their way to the school just before the midnight stroke. 

Once they arrived, they were all standing in front of the school's gate. 

"You are about to be shocked." Akihiko told Miki as she looked at him then smiled nervously.

Miki knew about Tartarus from Ikutsuki, but she didn't know what it looked like. She was ready, but at the same time she was nervous. She took a deep breath then frowned.

Makoto looked at the time as midnight began, "Here we go." 

Once it started, the sky and the moon changed their color and the school's building started to transform into a huge tower in front of their eyes. 

"Ah!" Miki widened her eyes as she looked up at the tower with a shocked face. She was lost for words. "That thing sure is huge! I have never seen anything like this in my life before. Soo, how are we going to enter it? By climbing up or something?" 

Yukari huffed smilingly, "Of course not. There's an entrance." She said as the group walked inside the tower.

"Leader, have you decided on the group you want to take tonight other than Miki?" Mitsuru looked at him and asked. 

"I am gonna take you, Yukari and Miki with me tonight." Makoto replied as he was ready for battle. 

"I am ready." Yukari held her bow tighter. 

"Me too!" Miki raised her fist up. 

"I will be providing support and analyzing Shadows from the entrance as usual." Fuuka said as she summoned her Persona. 

"Woah!" Miki's eyes shined seeing her Persona. She got close to get a better look of it.

"The rest of us will take the lower floors." Akihiko said.

"Good luck. Let's continue where we left off last time." Mitsuru looked at Makoto as he nodded.

"Let's go." He said then climbed up the stairs first.

The girls followed along with their leader as they went inside to explore Tartarus.

"Junpei and I will get moving too. Yamagishi, we will be leaving you from here." Akihiko said as he climbed up the stairs too with Junpei to take on the lower floors while Makoto and his group were up.

"So, where did you leave off?" Miki asked while running in one of Tartarus' hallways. 

"On the 15th floor, two powerful Shadows are guarding the area and we need to take them down so we can explore the next floor." Yukari replied while panting from running.

"Two powerful.. what!?" Miki wasn't sure if she could do it since she was still a beginner.

"Be careful! There are Shadows coming your way!" Fuuka warned them. 

Suddenly, a bunch of Shadows were blocking their way, making them stop moving forward.

"Don't worry. We know this is your first fight, so we have your back." Mitsuru told Miki, seeing her nervous. Then, stopped after noticing the Shadows and pulled out her evoker. 

"As you can see, we use our evokers to summon our Personas."

"Persona!" 

Makoto and Yukari summoned their Personas to fight the Shadows that were in their way. 

Miki stood there seeing them fighting the Shadows. Something came over her after seeing them fighting with their Personas. It sent goosebumps all over her body as she stood there shaking in fear. 

"Every one of us has only one Persona, but leader is special. He can use multiple Personas. We trust him as our leader, he hasn't let us down once." Mitsuru continued to explain to Miki, "Summoning a Persona can be scary after all. You risk your life each time you do it, but if you hesitate when you summon your Persona, you will die." 

Mitsuru put the evoker up to her head and pulled the trigger, summoning her Persona to aid in battle.

"Die..?" Miki faced the ground, hearing her words. She kept standing there in the back, not making a move. Makoto noticed that as he asked. 

"What's wrong, Miki?" 

Miki didn't answer nor looked back at him. She was like a statue. 

"Hey, are you listening?" Makoto walked up to her and waved his hand in front of her face to make her get back to her senses. "It's fine, we got your back." He said, noticing her terrified expression. "We got you an evoker, just pull the trigger on your head." He said, trying to help her to overcome her fear.

"Miki. Hey, Miki-" Makoto called her name over and over as Miki lifted her head to look at him. A light gasp escaped her lips as she started to see another figure instead of Makoto's. She saw a little boy instead, his reflection showed in her pupils. 

"Go on, do it. Don't hesitate. You don't want your dear leader and friends to die, right?" The boy spoke with his mischievous smile. 

"....!"

Miki widened her eyes and shook her head, "No! Of course I don't want them to die!" She yelled.

Makoto looked at her in confusion, hearing her yelling all of the sudden. "Huh?" 

Seeing Makoto again instead of the boy, Miki came back to her senses. She looked at her teammates fighting in the back. She didn't like seeing her friends getting hurt and hearing what that boy she saw seconds ago said made her more brave to summon her Persona and fight. She took her evoker and pulled up to her head.

"I can do it, I can do it. I can fight.." She closed her eyes and breathed heavily. 

"Yes you can. You were chosen to be one of us." Her leader said, encouraging her. 

"The shadows are calling for more reinforcements. Be careful guys!" Fuuka warned them again.

"Don't worry. We will kill every one of them!" Yukari said, aiming the arrow before throwing it towards the Shadow.

"Come on." Makoto said as he summoned another one of his Personas and attacked with the two. 

Miki's hands were shaking a bit, but she wanted to summon her Persona and fight with her teammates. She finally pulled the trigger and shouted. 

"Come, Ceres!" 

A bright blue energy came out of her then surrounded her. That energy created a huge figure behind her, Persona

Ceres waved her fan as she attacked the Shadows, beating them up with a fire attack. Her attacks were strong.

Yukari was taken aback by Miki's strength.

Her power..The strength reminds me of Makoto-kun's

Mitsuru looked at Miki too after she summoned her Persona. She watched her fighting the Shadows, seeing her power.

Hm, her powers are as strong as leader's..

They watched as the Shadows hardly attacked her back and scurry away from her power.

Miki's Persona disappeared after the Shadows were all taken care of.

"Phew." She sighed in relief. It wasn't too bad like she thought it was. 

"Humph, the real fight will be with the guardian up ahead." Yukari said.

"I will analyze as soon as you come in contact." Fuuka spoke. 

"Okay. Let's move on." Makoto said as they all went to the next floor where the two powerful Shadows were there. The group kept running until they saw two huge Shadows standing in the middle as they were blocking their way. 

"There they are. Let's take them out before the reaper comes." Mitsuru said as she got in position while holding her rapier.

"Use fire attacks, it's their weakness. And they are strong against electricity attacks." Fuuka spoke again. 

"Okay, got it." Makoto said, summoning Orpheus this time to use a fire attack. 

Miki was amazed watching Makoto summoning different Personas, "Woah, your special power is so cool, leader!" 

"Don't get distracted, Miki" Mitsuru said as she was doing her job to take out the Shadows too.

Miki laughed while scratching the back of her head, "Hehe, sorry. So, we have to use fire attacks. Okay!" She called out her Persona "Ceres!" She hit them with Agidyne as she fought with her teammates.

They were much stronger than the previous Shadows they fought. However, the fire attacks were effective. 

"These um.. Shadows are much stronger." Miki panted. 

Meanwhile, Yukari was worried because she was weak to electricity. "Io!" She attacked, using a wind attack to lower the Shadows' health.

Suddenly, the Shadows attacked all four of them with electricity magic. 

"Ugh!" Yukari groaned as she got hurt the most. The other three were able to handle the attack as Makoto fought back, hitting them with a fire attack using Orpheus.

Seeing Yukari on the ground, they looked at her worriedly. "Yukari!" They all called her as Makoto ran to her to make sure she was okay while Miki and Mitsuru continued to fight to take the Shadows out.

"Are you okay?" Makoto helped her get up, "Right, you are weak to electricity attacks. Are you sure you will be fine?" 

"Y-yeah, I am okay." Yukari stood back up, "I have some healing magic." 

"Let's try for an all out attack." Mitsuru suggested. 

Everyone nodded as they did an all out attack. It was super effective as the Shadows' health lowered and were almost dead. 

After taking out one Shadow, it was time to defeat the other one. 

Miki took deep breaths. It was such hard work. "Okay, only one and it's over!" She stretched her body and got hyped to take it out. 

"Let's do this, leader." Mitsuru said as she summoned her Persona and was ready to attack too. 

"You can do it guys!" Fuuka cheered for them.

They went towards the last Shadow and fought it with all they got. It's been awhile since they have been fighting that Shadow. It ended with Makoto's powerful fire attack.

After the Shadow disappeared, Miki exhaled deeply. "It's over? It's over!" She jumped happily. It was a long battle, she didn't believe it was finally over.

Makoto sighed in relief then smiled lightly, "It wouldn't have been over without you all.."

"Looks like the next area is blocked off until the next full moon. Great job guys, you can head back. I will update the others." Fuuka said.

After they were back to the entrance, Akihiko and Junpei were there too, waiting for them. 

"You fought the two main Shadows. Good job." Akihiko smiled as Mitsuru nodded, then looked at Miki, "How was your experience in Tartarus?" She asked.

"At first, I was actually.. feeling a bit of fear, but then I was brave enough to fight. It's all thanks to the leader and my teammates! And um..." Miki paused as she suddenly started to look around. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"I didn't know there's someone other than us here." She said, remembering the young boy she saw.

"Huh? What are you talking about? There's no one here but us." Junpei scratched the back of his head. 

"Oh..." Miki felt strange as she looked down then shook her head. "... Nothing then, forget it. I guess I was just imagining things." 

"Hm, okay then." Mitsuru held her chin then looked at Makoto instead. "Leader, what do you think of Miki as a teammate?" 

"She is good." Makoto replied.

"Her powers are as strong as Makoto- kun's.." Yukari mentioned that.

"Ehh, nooo. This is too much, Yukari- senpai." Miki laughed and blushed, feeling embarrassed to be praised by her teammates that much. 

"It's true she is strong. I think with good training she will be a natural." Mitsuru smiled proudly. 

"Awesome. I would've loved to see first hand just how powerful you are, Miki. We should duel some other time." Akihiko nodded and smirked. 

"Oooh! I would love this! How about tomorrow me and you go to Tartarus and fight together~" Miki smiled excitedly.

Mitsuru chucked, "You two can't go alone. We only come here as a group. And without the leader, we can't come." 

"Aww." Miki puffed her cheeks and looked down while fiddling with her fingers. 

Mitsuru sighed as she didn't want to upset her, "If you really want to fight with Akihiko next time, the leader can put you two as a group with him. If he doesn't mind." 

"Sure, I don't care." Makoto shrugged.

"Yayy! Thanks Mitsuru-senpai, thanks leader!" Miki took Akihiko's arm and hugged it while rubbing her cheek against it. 

"Puppy... " Yukari mumbled, watching Miki hugging Akihiko's arm.

Fuuka laughed, "Yeah, it kinda reminds me of a puppy and its owner. It's cute." 

Akihiko blushed lightly from Miki's actions as he looked away and stayed quiet.

"...." 

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow, watching those two. She thought there could be something between them, but it was none of her business after all. However, she couldn't help but smile. "Okay, let's get back." 

_____Iwatodai Dormitory____

"Woah, that was a long practice, haha." Miki stretched once they walked inside the dorms. She wasn't feeling tired though. "Hey guys, let's do something." 

"Right now!? But aren't you exhausted from all that fight?" Yukari asked while walking tiredly. 

"No. Am I supposed to?" Miki blinked. 

"Well, tomorrow is Friday, we can do something after school. But we should rest for tonight." Fuuka said.

"Yeah and the Dark Hour is too dangerous to be out at night. That's why more people are getting Apathy Syndrome." Yukari said, "I feel bad for those people caught up in this crazy mess.." 

"What's Apathy Syndrome?" Miki asked.

"Those who have Apathy Syndrome are Shadow victims. People who have Persona powers like us can't have it, so don't worry." Mitsuru explained. "We have school tomorrow. Let's go to sleep and rest." 

Miki sighed, "Fiiine, mom." 

"What?" 

"...Mitsuru-senpai." Miki smiled. 

The group went to sleep after a long practice of exploring Tartarus and rested throughout the night.

...........

Meanwhile, the Dark Hour was still not over. In a back alley of a street in the town, there were coffins around the place. But one magically disappeared and the person that was inside it appeared instead of it.

"Huh..?" The person was a random teenager as he looked around him in confusion after he was awake. "How the heck did I-" He couldn't remember why he was there. Seeing the coffins around him caused him to panic, "Wh-what the hell is this!?" 

"Good evening." 

An unfamiliar voice could be heard as the teenager quickly turned around to see who was speaking to him. He saw four strange-looking people walking up to him.

"Are you surprised?" A pale young man spoke with a smirk on his face, "Truth be told, we all visit this world every night." 

"Wh-what are you saying? Who the hell are you?" The teenager looked at them in both fear and confusion.

A smart-looking guy with glasses was standing beside the pale young man. He walked close to the teenager, "Didn't mommy teach you any manners? You haven't introduced yourself.." He mocked him. "Take a look." He took out a paper and showed it to him.

"Name, address, age, etc... This is you, right?" 

"Wha-!? Where did you get this!?" The teenager widened his eyes in shock after seeing what was written on the paper. 

"Somebody's got a grudge against you, and they asked us to get revenge." Another one said, wearing a black uniform and mask. 

"Revenge!? What kinda bullshit is this!? Who put you up to this!?" 

"Can't tell ya. We are professionals." 

"Professionals..? Oh shit.. You mean, the rumors on the net are true!?" 

The pale young man grabbed his gun and walked close to the teenager as he stepped back in fear, "Hey... w-wait... I haven't done anything!" He begged them to not hurt him. "Why me!? What'd I do!?" 

"That's not our concern. My client's wishes are all that matter." The one with the mask said then pointed his gun at the teenager to shoot him too. He was standing in the middle beside the pale young man. "Don't move or we will shoot you." He threatened.

"N-no.. Stay away.." The teenager kept stepping back then turned around to run away to save his life. "Get away from me!!" He yelled in fear.

"You squeal most magnificently! Such raw emotion! You will get us a lot of money." The pale young man smirked evilly then pulled the trigger, killing the guy as he got down onto the ground and started to bleed. He kept shooting the guy repeatedly. 

A female wearing a dress walked close to where the pale young man was standing, "You are over killing.. " She said with a bored tone and no expression on her face as she looked at the dead guy.

"That's enough. He is dead." The guy with the mask made him stop. He then walked over to the victim's dead body and took everything from his pockets, even his ID.

"Doesn't matter.." The guy with glasses replied, "We've held up our end of the bargain. Besides, tomorrow this will just seem like some random crime." 

"That was easy.." The female said.

"Tch, you guys are so boring. This is our territory, the Dark Hour is where we shine. If the Shadows play in blood, let us play too." The pale young man said creepily.

"I agree." The guy with glasses said. 

"I have no interest in that.." The female spoke next.

"You are not wrong, but not for tonight. I gotta rest." The one with the mask said, putting the gun back in the gun holster belt. "If there's nothing else... I am feeling rather tired." He said then began to walk away. The three followed their leader as they left the area with the guy dead there.