Persona - Chaos Butterfly 8.2

Chapter 8: Return of the Fool – Part Two. (Part two)

Souji could only groan as he opened his eyes just a crack. The immense headache was killing him as he tried to shift his body to a more comfortable position. "Where am I?" He tried to move, but then discovered that his body was aching as well, which wasn't a surprise since he was lying on the ground. Gathering all his strength, Souji opened his eyes fully, blinking a few times to adjust to the light.

"So, you're finally awake," a voice sneered. "It wouldn't be fun if I continued while you were still unconscious."

The silverette tensed. He recognized that voice. "Adachi…" he snarled, trying to push himself up but grunted in dismay to find that his hands were handcuffed. As he became more aware of his surroundings, Souji felt something wet seeping through his bandages; his wounds had just reopened. He could feel his head bleeding as well.

Adachi was twirling a gun in his hand. "Don't give me such a face, Souji-kun," he said in a sweet tone. "Malice doesn't quite suit your handsome features."

Souji was furiously brainstorming on how to escape. He looked around, trying to spot anything familiar. All he saw was the tall buildings and red sky and his sword far away from him.

"Don't waste your time trying to figure things out," Adachi added. "I made sure your friends are busy fighting Shadows while I keep you here. No use resisting." He cocked the gun in Souji's face as he grinned evilly. "I'm going to have so much fun torturing you before I finish you off."

"Go to hell!" Souji spat, rage shooting from his eyes.

Furious, Adachi kicked Souji in the stomach. The silverette doubled over from the pain, his breaths becoming short wheezes. Adachi grabbed a fist-full of his hair and pointed the gun under his chin. "Of course, we can make this quick if you want…but I'm not gonna do that." He let go, leaving Souji to fall in a messy heap. "One thing I had in prison was all the time in the world. All that time to think about how to make you suffer. You know, I wasn't the only one in there to think in the same lines…" He ranted on and on.

The pain was subsiding slowly as Souji tried to filter out Adachi's ramblings. Before he could pull himself together, Adachi grabbed his neck and lifted him up. "When the hell did he get this strong?" Souji thought, trying to fight the pain of his nemesis crushing his windpipe and fingernails digging through his skin.

"You of all people know how much I hate to get my hands dirty," Adachi said, grinning evilly. He gripped Souji's injured arm and squeezed it hard, earning him a scream from the teen. "There's a first time for everything though. After I'm done with you, the twins come next." He threw him on the ground, pulled out his gun and aimed it at Souji's leg.

The sound of shattering glass was heard. "Yatagarasu, Garula!"

Before Adachi could comprehend what was going on, he was violently blown away.

Souji saw Yatagarasu hovering above him and casted Diarama. He could feel his pain receding even if his wounds weren't fully healed, and smiled at his savior. "Aneki, what are you doing here?" He asked weakly panting.

"What else, Banchou-kun? Saving your sorry behind," Minako giggled. She helped him to his knees and patted his back softly to comfort him.

"How did you get here?"

"Well, after that black gust thingy came, I noticed that it was aiming for you specifically. I acted on instinct and grabbed on to you. It must have pulled me together with you," she explained. "Now first things first, we have to get you out of those cuffs." Minako stood up and grabbed her naginata.

Souji lowered his handcuffed hands on the ground. Minako swung the blade of her naginata down and tried to slice the chains with no luck and tried again. She let out a victorious cry when it snapped in two.

Minako wasn't aware of Adachi trying to sneak up behind her. Souji was.

"Aneki, look out!"

On reflex, Minako swung her naginata around. A scream of pain indicated that she had cut something, most likely drawing blood. She narrowed her eyes dangerously at Adachi as her personality did a one-eighty. "Hurt my little brother again and I swear I will murder you ruthlessly!" she screeched.

"Damn you!" Adachi cursed, clutching his bleeding hand. He backed away out of Minako's range for fear of getting slashed again.

It was Souji's turn to sneer. "Heh, serves you right for looking down on Aneki. You always did like to underestimate women. Whatever you tried with Miss Yamano and Saki-senpai isn't going to work on her," he said, clutching his sore stomach.

A lopsided smirk appeared on Adachi's face. He picked up his gun that was lying near his feet and aimed it at the two Wild Cards. "Is that so? How much do you want to wager on that?"

Acting on instinct, Souji shot up and shoved Minako aside with his entire body. He heard the bullets whiz past his left ear after Adachi pulled the trigger. Both of them landed on the ground, a few of their limbs tangled together but otherwise they were fine.

Voices could be heard in the distance, shouting "Minako! Souji-kun!"

The former cop cursed again as the rest of the Persona-users, led by Minato, got closer and closer. He readied his gun and pointed it towards Minako who was helping Souji get up. "Come any closer and I'll shoot both of them!" he threatened.

The team stopped in their tracks, worry evident on their faces. Minato's grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles were almost white.

"Adachi, you don't have to do this!" Yosuke said, attempting to negotiate with the madman. "I mean, there must be a better way to settle this."

"Y-yeah! Let's talk about this!" Chie added nervously.

"You seriously think that's gonna work, kid?" Adachi laughed, never taking his eyes off his targets. "How can I miss a great opportunity to get rid of two Wild Cards with one bullet? I originally wanted to exterminate Dojima's brat first, but why waste this chance?" He cocked his gun at them, the index finger of his uninjured hand twitching on the trigger.

Shinjiro and Yukiko could only stand frozen in their places, the latter close to tears.

Minato looked at the ground, his eyes covered by his blue bangs. "Let. Them. Go!" he quivered, his voice barely audible.

"And what can you do, brat?" Adachi snickered, his finger slowly squeezing the trigger. Minako widened her eyes in fear as she tried to support an injured Souji. The silverette's storm grey eyes showed great fear as he hugged Minako tightly.

The emotional turmoil was too much for Minato when he finally snapped. Everyone gasped when blue smoke began to emerge from Minato's feet, and he wasn't even using his Evoker! They unconsciously backed away from him.

A Persona clad in black wearing a white helmet, holding a chain of silver coffins with butterfly carvings in one hand and a sword in the other appeared above Minato. The blue-haired teen lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at Adachi, gaze full of intense anger. He lifted his right hand and gestured to the Persona before pointing at Adachi. "Go… THANATOS!"

Thanatos roared to the sky and lunged at Adachi. He wasn't able to even blink when the Persona sent him flying, followed by a sickening crunch.

Everyone was shaken at this point. "Holy crap, what was that?!" Yosuke exclaimed, covered in cold sweat.

Yukari's knees were trembling, and so were the others. "That was Thanatos, one of Minato and Minako's dominant Personas. I've never seen him this mad before."

The Investigation Team was reminded of the incident when they were about to throw Namatame into the TV. Sure, they had seen their leader get ticked off or annoyed, but never explosive anger. It was something they never wanted to see again if they could help it. If Minato's anger could rival Souji's, they didn't want to know how Minako would fare as they had only gotten a small sample on the previous battle.

"But…how did he summon it without his Evoker?" Akihiko asked.

"He must have done it subconsciously," Fuuka answered. "Threatening his family must have caused him to snap and lose his emotional control."

Minato almost fell to his knees after Thanatos disappeared, but he didn't succumb to it and stumbled to where his siblings were, ignoring the shock of his teammates. He engulfed both of them in an embrace and didn't let go.

Both Souji and Minako melted into the hug. "Aniki…we're glad you're alright," Souji whispered.

"I'll be damned if I lose you guys again," Minato said, choking back a sob.

"Oniichan…" Minako whispered softly.

The shuffling of feet could be heard in the distance, followed by cackling. Adachi fumbled towards them, clutching his ribs, the evil grin on his face once again. His eyes fell on the Wild Card trio. "It looks like Lady Luck is on my side today," he said, pointing his gun at them. "Instead of two Wild Cards, another one falls on my lap, making it three." He chuckled at Minato's attempt to shield his siblings. "Since you're volunteering to go first, I'm happy to oblige."

Halfway of squeezing the trigger, the sound of shattering glass filled the air once more.

"Isis, Garudyne!"

"Pegasus, Garudyne!"

"Amaterasu, Agidyne!"

The combination of wind and fire created a tornado of flames, fueled by the rage of Shinjiro, Yukari and Yukiko. The moving inferno swallowed Adachi and carried him far away from the team. The three of them proceeded to help their respective counterparts.

"Oh man, Adachi would have gotten lighter punishment if he didn't manage to piss those three off…" Junpei commented to Kanji and Fuuka, his voice dropping down to a whisper.

Teddie was glad that his Sensei was fine. "Yup, love makes you do crazy things!" he chirped.

"Souji-kun, I'm so glad you're alright!" Yukiko wailed as she pulled her boyfriend in a tight hug, only letting him go when he winced in pain. "O-Oh, my goodness, sorry! You're injured again. Here, let me heal that for you!"

Yukari was in the right mind to slap Minato, but instead she buried her face in his chest and cried softly. Minato wrapped his arms around her and whispered words of comfort.

Shinjiro scanned Minako for any injuries and gave a satisfied grunt when he found none. He wasn't about to get sappy like the other two girls, especially in front of this many people. Minako only giggled at his actions.

Rise was about to tease Shinjiro when her senses tingled; Kanzeon was trying to tell her something. Rise quickly summoned her and gasped loudly. The others were startled at her sudden behavior.

Ken was the first to ask. "What's wrong, Rise-san?"

The teen idol's knees began to shake. "Guys, prepare for battle now. I sense a huge group of Shadows, bigger than the one we faced at Samegawa. And Adachi…I think we really, really pissed him off this time."

No sooner did she say that, the wind speed started to pick up. They had to shield their eyes from the dust and sand, wondering what in the world was going on. When the wind died down, they were shocked to find Adachi floating before them, Magatsu Izanagi by his side.

"What the hell!?" Shinjiro said, clutching his weapon tighter. "He survived our combined attack?!" Everyone's eyes were wide as plates.

Despite his clothes being worse for wear, Adachi didn't look like he was injured at all. He laughed hysterically at the Persona-users' reaction. "Your pathetic attacks didn't do shit to me. I'm not the same as before!" As if to demonstrate, a burst of black gust erupted from the ground, pushing the group of teenagers backwards.

"This power, it's insanely different from what he was before!" Rise said, clutching to Akihiko for support.

"Is that his Persona?" Mitsuru inquired, curious about the floating figure beside Adachi. "It looks suspiciously like the one Seta has."

"I wouldn't say it's a Persona. Adachi never really did face his other self so technically that's his Shadow, given to him by Izanami," Rise said. "But how is he able to control it, or control its power?"

"Does it really matter?" Akihiko grimaced, trying to stabilize himself. "We're going to beat him regardless."

Rise turned to her leader. "Senpai, what about those group of Shadows? They're starting to gather here because of Adachi."

"Yosuke and Yukiko, you two are with me. The rest of you will hold off the hoard of Shadows," Souji ordered his team. "Rise, you'll be our analyzer."

"If you're going in that direction, I'm going to need Mitsuru-senpai on this one," Minato stated, and gave his sister a look which said "Anything else?"

Minako shook her head. "I agree, Aniki." She looked at the rest of the team. "The seven of us will handle Adachi. Fuuka, you'll be helping the others."

"Roger!" Fuuka replied enthusiastically.

As they separated, the small team which consisted of the three Wild Cards, Yosuke, Yukiko and Mitsuru closed in on Adachi. Rise stayed close to Fuuka and summoned Kanzeon.

As the bigger group prepared themselves, a huge horde of shadows emerged, all of different types and sizes. Fuuka was frantically scanning.

"Bambino, Okina, Twins, Phantom…" Fuuka whispered. "All I can tell for now is that they're not resistant against physical attacks."

"Heh, that'll do for now." Akihiko said. "We strike them hard until we find a more effective way to deal with them. Yukari, Ken, you two act as healers and long range support. I'll hit them with debuff spells so they can't make much harm."

"Got it, Akihiko-san." Ken said while Yukari nodded.

Akihiko quickly summoned Ceasar and casted Matarunda, Marakunda and Masukunda to weaken the shadows.

Instead of being the reckless one this time, Junpei surprised his team by casting Marakukaja first before attacking. "An extra boost of armor!" He said with a grin.

"An intelligent idea, Junpei-san." Aigis said. "Athena, Matarukaja!"

A warm, orange glow enveloped everyone on the offense team. As soon as Aigis cast her spell, they instantly felt stronger. Kanji and Chie were the first ones to land an attack.

"Rokuten Maoh, Vile Assault!"

"Suzuka Gongen, Heatwave!"

Some of the Shadows screamed as Kanji and Chie's combined attack hit a group of Okina shadows. Kanji cursed when the damage done wasn't enough to take them out.

"Ceasar, Maziodyne!"

"Psyche, Bufudyne!"

"Trismegistus, Torrent Shot!"

"Pegasus, God's Hand!"

"Kamui, Mabufudyne!"

The combination of magic and physical attacks worked better than the previous attack, but it still wasn't enough to finish them all off.

One of the Phantoms casted Mabufudyne. Luckily, Aigis thought fast. "Athena, Masukukaja!"

With the casting of Masukukaja, everyone managed to evade the ice with twice the speed and managed to get out of harm's way. However, some of them managed to get hit and cut by the ice shards, but was instantly healed by Ken and Yukari.

"Tough bastards… Gonna need something bigger to take them out." Shinjiro grunted when he had an idea. "Okay, Pegasus, show me what you're made of! Evil Smile!"

Pegasus emmited an eerie blue aura that covered several shadows. They all became panicked. "Bull's eye…" Shinjiro smirked. "Now! Ghastly Wail!"

A terrifying shriek echoed across the field, reducing several shadows to puddles of black ooze.

Metis and Aigis exchanged glances and nodded. "Activating Orgia Mode!"

Both sisters unlocked their limiters and proceeded to land multiple hits on several shadows with their Athena's physical attacks and Psyche's ice and wind magic. However they soon overheated and rendered immobile in order to cool down.

The Bambino shadows that survived the onslaught tried to attack the two androids, only to be burned to a crisp by a Maragidyne attack from Koromaru.

"Time to stop fooling around." Naoto drew her revolver. "Yamato-Takeru, Megidolaon!"

As the huge Almighty attack hit, several shadows were blown to dust. However, more seemed to emerge out of nowhere. Naoto was in disbelief, but she persisted with Megidolaon. However, she soon became tired and nearly collapsed on the ground if Kanji hadn't caught her.

"They just keep coming!" Teddie said almost panicking as more and more shadows keep popping up.

"I just hope Minato-kun and the others are doing better than us…" Yukari said as she went heal Naoto.

Meanwhile…

"Alright guys, here's the plan. Minako, Souji-kun and myself will handle the offense. Mitsuru-senpai, I need you to act as our distant attacker and hit Adachi with charged-up ice spells whenever you get the chance," Minato said as they were running towards their main enemy.

"Understood," Mitsuru replied, readying her rapier.

Souji gestured to Yosuke and Yukiko. "Yosuke, you're to act as support and distant attacker because of your speed. Yukiko, you will focus on healing us unless you think it's necessary to attack."

"Got it!" they replied at the same time.

Adachi's grin grew wider when the Wild Cards were facing him. He clapped his hands. "I'll congratulate you for making it this far. As your reward, I'm going to fight you at full strength." Magatsu Izanagi began to glow as he gathered energy for an attack.

The three Wild Cards readied their stance, and prepared to summon their Personas. Mitsuru and Yosuke did the same, the latter acting first. "Go Susano-O, Masukukaja!"

A bright orange light engulfed them, making their bodies lighter and faster. Thanks to that they managed to dodge being sliced to shreds by a Vorpal Blade attack. The Wild Cards grinned; now was the perfect time to reciprocate. They weren't going to hold back either.

"Shraosha, Ziodyne!"

"Vishnu, Ziodyne!"

"Loki, Garudyne!"

The combination attack hit their target dead center, thanks to Yosuke's buffer spell. When the debris cleared, they were shocked to see Magatsu Izanagi and Adachi uninjured.

"What the…" the trio gasped.

"This can't be…" Yosuke murmured, his grip on his knives tightening.

Rise's voice echoed in their heads. "This energy reading, it's something that I've never seen. He still has the same set of skills as before, but something's not right," she said. "All I can tell is that his resistance has gotten higher…significantly higher."

Minato gritted his teeth. "Then we're going to have to keep bombarding him until he breaks. Make sure to power-up your next attack!"

Souji and Minato powered up with Power Charge while Mitsuru and Minako did the same with Mind Charge.

"Are you guys finished yet?" Adachi asked in a bored tone. "I hate waiting you know." He waved his hand and Magastsu Izanagi charged towards Souji, ready to slash him with his naginata. The teen managed to block the attack with his katana, but the impact sent him flying backwards but managed to land on his feet in a crouching position.

"Damnit, even his strength has increased. Thank goodness I powered-up my body or else I wouldn't be able to hold it." Souji remembered Adachi's vice-grip when he was choking him, and it made perfect sense. The Shadow lunged at him again, but this time Souji came prepared. "Help me, Yoshitsune!"

A samurai in red armor appeared at his master's call, blocking the attack with his double daggers. Magatsu Izanagi strikes again, and Yoshitsune parried it with his own slashes. The others couldn't help but stare in awe; it was like watching a legendary battle of ancient Japan.

Minato gestured for his sister and Mitsuru to attack Magatsu Izanagi while he was still preoccupied.

"Masakado, Tempest Slash!"

"Vishnu, Ziodyne!"

"Artemesia, Bufudyne!"

Mitsuru's giant ice block trapped the Shadow in his place, while Minako's thunder attack struck him and the ice block, cutting him with the ice shards. Minato's power charged Tempest Slash hit him twice. The onslaught of powered-up attacks seemed to have an effect as Magatsu Izanagi let out a high-pitched cry. Not far from him, Adachi was in pain as well. Some of Mitsuru's ice shards hit him and now he was bleeding everywhere.

"Now you people are starting to piss me off!" Adachi growled, his voice strained with anger and annoyance. However, he wasn't in pain for very long as his cuts started to heal at an extremely fast rate.

"What the…he didn't even cast a healing spell!" Yukiko said, shocked.

"It's passive high-speed recovery. He didn't have this skill last time," Rise informed. "No wonder he wasn't badly hurt when he was fried earlier."

"Even Shinjiro's regenerative abilities aren't that high," Mitsuru said. "How is this even possible?"

Adachi laughed again. "I told you I was serious, didn't I? Now the fun really begins!" A strong gale blew a cloud of dust around them, impairing their vision.

Minato cursed. "This isn't good. Even with our Persona's abilities, we can't hit what we can't see," he said.

Before they can say anything else, something hit them from behind. The six of them fell on the ground, hard. No matter how many times they got up and tried to fight back, they keep getting hit by attacks they couldn't see, leaving them hurt and confused. Adachi's mocking laughter wasn't making it any easier.

Frustrated, Yosuke summoned Susano-O and casted Magarudyne in different directions, being careful not to hit his teammates. Some of the dust cloud dissipated, and the air around them became clearer. Encouraged by this, Yosuke repeated his actions until their surroundings were visible. By the time he was done, Yosuke was panting heavily.

Minato, Souji and Minako were too injured to stand up. Yukiko immediately healed them and herself, aided by Mitsuru.

"Thanks Yukiko," Souji panted, standing up. "Good thinking Yosuke. You can take it easy now. We'll handle Adachi."

Minako's red eyes flashed with anger. "Now I'm pissed!" she seethed, gripping her Evoker tightly.

"Calm down Minako. We need to rethink our strategy," Minato said. "His regeneration ability is the real problem here."

"We just have to get rid of his Persona, and then he can't heal himself anymore," she retorted. "But we have to do it fast."

"She's right Aniki," Souji agreed. "Not only that, we're going to have to power up our attacks constantly to counter his high resistance." He gave Yosuke a look, which his best friend understood.

Yosuke nodded. His tarot card appeared and he slashed it. "Susano-O, Masukukaja!"

"Let's do this!"

The trio ran in three different directions, charging their attacks along the way. They took turns slashing Magatsu Izanagi with their weapons, their speed almost doubled thanks to Yosuke. Yukiko and Mitsuru were on stand-by to heal any of their injuries.

Every time Magatsu Izanagi looked like he was about to heal, they hit him relentlessly using their strongest physical attacks.

"Yoshitsune, Hassou Tobi!"

"Helel, Primal Force!"

"Bishamonten, Aeon Rain!"

But no matter how hard they tried, Magatsu Izanagi and Adachi weren't fazed at all. Despite being healed constantly, their strength and stamina were wearing thin.

Souji was already on his knees, supporting his body upright with his sword. "Damn it, at this rate we're only tiring ourselves out more!" He turned his gaze to the other group. "And the others aren't doing well either…"

"Banchou-kun is right. I don't think we have a choice but to use 'that' again," Minako panted, leaning on her naginata.

Minato cursed under his breath, but he knew both of them were right. "It is pretty risky, but if it means we can get rid of him then I don't care if we pass out after this," he grinned a bit. "Banchou-kun, have you ever heard of 'Fusion Raid'?"

The silverette looked confused. "Huh? What's that? Never heard of it before."

"By summoning two Personas at the same time, we can unleash a special attack. However, only selected pairs can be used to create Fusion Raid," Minako explained. "We're thinking of casting Shadow Hound by combining Scathatch and Cu Chulainn, but if you have a Persona of the same myth then I think we can amplify its power."

"We're about to test the power of the World Social Link," Minato said. "Are ya ready, Banchou-kun?"

A blue card floated on Souji's palm. "I think I can handle it," he smirked. "And I have just the right Persona. Whenever you guys are ready."

Not far, Adachi cracked his neck and looked at the trio in a bored expression. "Giving up already?" he asked in a mocking tone. The Wild Cards did not respond. "Oh well, I had fun while it lasted. Prepare to die!" Magatsu Izanagi was by his side, preparing to release a deadly attack.

The Wild Card trio beat him to it. They merged their energies as they called out to their Personas.

"Scathach…"

"Cu Chulainn…"

"Setanta…"

The three Personas of Irish myth appeared and started to growl…

"SHADOW HOUND!"

Magatsu Izanagi was swallowed up by an explosion before he could even move. It was so powerful the ground shook and became unsteady destroying even the shadows that the other persona users were fighting. When the shaking calmed down, Magatsu Izanagi was pretty beaten up, but just like before he started to heal himself automatically.

Before the Shadow could start however, a few more explosions engulfed him. No matter which direction he went to try and escape, the explosions would always follow him. Unable to withstand the attack, Magatsu Izanagi let out an unearthly shriek. His body started to disintegrate slowly, leaving an orb of glowing light which must have been his core. After a few seconds of just floating there, the orb also disintegrated.

The strain of unleashing such a powerful combo finally took a toll on the Wild Cards as they felt lightheaded and their vision blurred. They fell on the ground in an unceremonious fashion and passed out.

Distinct voices of their teammates could be heard approaching them.

"What the hell was that?!" Junpei hollered, followed by the rest of the Investigation Team and SEES.

"What happened here?" Akihiko questioned, making a beeline for Mitsuru.

"Sensei!" Teddie cried, running towards his leader's unconscious form. He was followed by Yukiko, Yosuke and the rest of the Investigation Team.

Shinjiro was already kneeling beside Minako. It took all of his willpower to not shout curses, even though it was to no one in particular. He gently picked her up and cradled her in his arms before embracing her tightly. "You idiot!" He whisper-scolded in her ear. "Don't ever scare me like that again! Did you know how worried I was?!"

Yukiko rushed to Souji. She knelt down beside her boyfriend and cradled his head, wanting to scold him for doing something so dangerous but thought against it. She kissed his forehead instead.

Yukari felt Minato's pulse and sighed with relief. "Why is this moron so good at scaring me? Twice in one day!" she complained half-heartedly, her eyes glazed with tears. Koromaru approached her and licked her face to comfort her.

"I don't think they had a choice," Rise said, interrupting their conversations. She turned to Fuuka. "You should have seen the amount of power Adachi had. I've never seen Senpai struggle in a fight like that before. It was an entirely new level, even for them."

"Speaking of Adachi…" Akihiko trailed off. His eyes scanned the area before him and found the fugitive curled in a ball not far away.

"Ugh…my head," said fugitive groaned, clutching his head. "What the hell happened?" He looked up and found himself surrounded by angry Persona-users. "W-why are you people looking at me like that?" he stuttered, eyes wide. "H-How did I get here?!"

Kanji lifted Adachi off his feet by his shirt collar and gave him a murderous stare. "Don't pretend to fake innocence, you little weasel!" He roared. "You were about to kill our Senpai and now we're gonna make you pay for that!"

"P-Please let me go!" Adachi whimpered, trying to break free of Kanji's iron grip. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Kanji just shook him harder.

"Kanji-kun, stop it!" Naoto demanded. "I don't think he's faking."

Yosuke pulled a face. "And what makes you so sure?"

"I agree with Naoto-san," Aigis said. "His vital signs do not indicate that he is lying." Metis nodded beside her.

"Let's just hear him out," she said calmly. "Something about all this doesn't make sense." She turned to the scared man, whom Kanji dropped. "Adachi, how did you even manage to break out of prison?"

"I…I don't remember much," he answered weakly getting into a sitting position. "All I remember was the sky turning green in the middle of the day and everyone turning into coffins. I remembered being confused about it, but then this dark figure appeared in my cell and told me he would help me escape if I succumb to my deepest, darkest desires and I could finally have my revenge. Everything was a blur after that."

Naoto frowned, deep in thought. "And why did you target Souji-senpai first instead of the twins?"

"I'm not sure myself. Sometimes there would be voices in my head telling me to go after him. They said that he was still recovering from a car accident and that made him the weakest of the three and the easiest to get rid of."

The ace detective just stared at him for some time before taking out a pair of handcuffs and gave them to Akihiko. "Please restrain him. I don't think he has anything to add. We should get out of here and send those three to the hospital."

"And just like Sensei would say: 'Let's just think about this for now'," Teddie quoted, trying to brighten the moody atmosphere.

While Akihiko helped Naoto restrain Adachi, Junpei helped Yukari lift Minato and slung his arms around their shoulders. Yosuke and Yukiko did the same with Souji. Shinjiro just carried Minako bridal-style.

Knowing that the others were safe, the Wild Card trio slipped into unconsciousness.

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Inaba Municipal Hospital…

As soon as they got back to the Real World, Naoto called the police to pick Adachi up while Mitsuru called the paramedics to take the three Wild Cards to the hospital.

It was already late evening when the group was gathered at the narrow hallway in front of the trio's room, anxiously waiting for news as their leaders weren't allowed any visitors. Mitsuru, with her family connections, and Naoto, using her ties to the Police department and representing Detective Dojima, managed to go talk with the doctors.

The silence was unbearable, especially to Yukari, Yukiko and Shinjiro.

"Sensei is gonna be okay… right?" Teddie broke the silence.

"The doctors should be able to help them, Teddie-kun." Fuuka said.

"We have to believe in them and wait for them to recover." Rise said. "The rest is up to them."

"I guess… but what about that Adachi guy?" Junpei asked.

"Shirogane said he'd be taken to a prisonal hospital for treatment and then straight back to a solitary cell." Akihiko said.

"That way he won't get near Senpai again." Kanji slammed his fist against his palm. "If he does, I'm taking him down!"

"I doubt he'd have the nerve to do that after the beating he got…" Ken said. "Something bothers me, though. Adachi mentioned someone breaking him out of prison. That means that whoever is altering the balance between both worlds must have also released him and used him in an attempt to get rid of Souji-san as well as Minato-san and Minako-san."

"Ken-kun is right… But why use Adachi? And why target them?" Chie asked.

"Souji is our leader… The strongest among us… Same applies to Minato-san and Minako-san… Without them… our teams would simply fall apart…" Yosuke said with a grim expression. "And it wouldn't be hard for Adachi to get rid of all of us…"

Everybody in the room shuddered as Yosuke really had a point. They wouldn't stand a chance against the powered up Adachi without the three Wild Cards.

"Our enemy is striking harder…" Aigis said. "We must remain vigilant."

"Until Souji-san and the others recover they'll be vulnerable…" Metis added. "We must protect them."

They all nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, Mitsuru and Naoto returned. Yukari, Yukiko and Shinjiro stood up at the same time. "Well?!" They asked in unison. "Did they find out anything?"

"The doctors believe they're only exhausted, but they can't say anything definite until they run some tests on them." Naoto said. "They decided it would be for the best that they rest here and stay in observation for tonight especially since Souji-senpai's wounds on his arm reopened."

"Tomorrow they'll run a throughout exam on them, to make sure they didn't suffer any internal wounds due the battle." Mitsuru added. "Should everything be okay, they'll be released in the afternoon of the same day before Dojima-san and Nanako-chan come home."

Everybody sighed in relief. "By the way…" Mitsuru continued. Everybody looked at her. "The doctors allowed three people to see them." She smiled gently at Yukari, Yukiko and Shinjiro. "Go see them."

"Thank you!" Both Yukiko and Yukari said before they dashed into the bedroom.

Shinjiro gave Mitsuru a nod and muttered some thanks before he followed the two girls.

Shinjiro, Yukiko and Yukari walked into the room and were greeted by a warm scene: Minato, Minako and Souji each one lied on a bed as they slept soundly. Their minor wounds patched up and they had peaceful expressions on their faces.

"You really gave me a scare back there… Thank goodness you're safe, Minato-kun…" Yukari whispered before she kissed Minato's cheek. "Sleep well, ok?"

"Souji-kun… You're so reckless at times… But so brave too…" Yukiko whispered kissing Souji's cheek. "Sweet dreams."

Shinjiro didn't want to get sappy, but since there were only them in the room and the girls were too busy with their own boyfriends, he made an exception. "You're a real piece of work, worrying me like that… But I guess that's why I fell for you, Minako…" He kissed her forehead. "Rest up, okay? You deserve it."

The three exchanged glances and left. The smiles in their sleeping counterparts' faces broadened a bit.

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Souji woke up startled. He could've sworn someone was watching him and the twins while they were asleep. He looked around the dark room but found no one. A sigh. He hoped wasn't getting paranoid with all the things that happened.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." A voice suddenly rang out.

Souji nearly fell off his bed. He thought no one was there! He turned to Minato and Minako. Both were fast asleep. "W-Who's there?" He asked quietly.

"Over here. By the window." The voice said again.

Souji looked at the window. It was open and someone was sitting on its edge. It was a boy, about the same age of him. He had midnight black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a white shirt with black overalls and pants and shoes. However, one detail caught Souji's eye: the long yellows scarf he was wearing.

"Sorry I scared you." The boy said with a gentle smile. "I just came to check on you guys."

"You… You're the guy that saved me the other day." Souji said.

"Yeah… Glad you remember me." The boy grinned as he walked up to Souji. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Ryoji Mochizuki." He held out his hand to Souji. "Nice to meet you."

"Uh… I'm Souji Seta… Nice to meet you too, Ryoji-san..." Souji awkwardly shook hands with Ryoji. "Um… Thanks for saving me…"

"Don't mention it, Souji-kun. I'm just glad you are okay." Ryoji smiled and turned his gaze to Minato and Minako. There was a nostalgic look on his face. "Minato-kun… Minako-chan… I'm so glad they're unharmed as well…"

"So you truly know Aniki and Aneki…" Souji said. "But…"

"How did I return? I'm not sure myself…" Ryoji frowned. "There's this voice in my mind that keeps telling me that I could have another chance to live as a human if I helped you and the Arisato twins. It's what my heart tells me to do…"

"Ryoji-san…" Souji whispered.

Ryoji patted Souji on his head. "Hey, don't worry about me, Souji-kun. I'm gonna be okay." He assured him. "I have to look into some stuff before I can finally reveal myself to them. In the meantime, can I ask you a favor?"

Souji cocked his head. "Sure. Go ahead."

"Please, take care of Minato-kun and Minako-chan." Ryoji said, his gaze never leaving the twins. "I know you are the sole family they have left, so I'm sure you'll protect them."

"Of course… Aniki and Aneki are really important to you too, huh?" Souji smiled. "You can count with me."

Ryoji smiled back at him. "Thanks, Souji-kun." He said walking towards to the window. Two pairs of black feathery wings started growing on his back. "I'll see you some other time. Take care."

Ryoji leapt out of the window. His wings spread out and he flew away, vanishing in the moonlit sky.  

Souji could only stare in awe "Aniki and Aneki sure have some interesting friends…" He whispered looking at them. A soft smile crossed his face when he saw that they still slept softly. A yawn. "I should talk with them tomorrow…"

With that in mind, Souji settled himself in his bed and resumed his sleep.