Yoro was completely in the zone, planning and executing complex combination attacks with his Persona. However, he didn't see the large bolt of lightning crash down on him until it was too late. His arms and legs gave out. He was completely numb. With a soft cry, he fell forward. Yoro could smell his burned clothes and hair. "Rrrngh..." With an immense amount of effort, he pulled himself up. He took many deep breaths and shook out his muscles. The second Shadow followed up with a ball of fire, but as the attack was charging up, Inugami hit the Shadow with a bolt of lightining. This gave Yoro enough time to react. Yoro held his hand out to Ares and shouted a single word; "Change!" Ares was enveloped in a white light. After a few seconds, the light faded. In the place Ares once stood was a glowing blue ball levitating six feet off the ground. Yoro formed a fist with his hand and shouted again. "Pyro Jack!" The ball exploded in a brilliant blue light, revealing a tiny sprite dressed in a black robe. A witch's hat sat on its round pumpkin head. In its hand, it clutched a black lantern with an orange flame burning within. The little Persona raised the lantern casually as the fireball grew nearer. It didn't even make it to Yoro. In an instant, the attack was absorbed into Pyro Jack's lantern.

"Go, Pyro Jack!" Yoro pointed to the Shadow that had fired off a lightning attack. Pyro Jack raised the lantern a little more aggressively this time. The dancing flame grew to a roaring inferno. Somehow, Pyro Jack flung a fireball out of the lantern, aimed directly at the Shadow. It tried to block with the papers around it, but the fireball tore right through its defenses and sent it flying into the door directly behind it. The Shadow laid there, its shield burning around it. "One more!" Pyro Jack repeated the attack at the other Shadow. It tried to dodge, but failed miserably, meeting the same fate as the other Shadow. It collapsed to the ground. Yoro turned to Youhei and it was then when he realized he was injured. But first thing's first...

Yoro turned to Youhei, giving him a friendly smile. "You take the one against the door, i'll take the other one?" Yoro didn't wait for an answer. "GO!" Pyro Jack showered the Shadow with searing hot flames. The Shadow screamed in agony... well... Yoro thought it screamed. It continued to burn until it finally materialized into black goo, evaporating the second it hit the ground. Breathing heavily, Yoro dismissed his Persona, the collapsed to the ground. Youhei would be able to faintly hear him say, "So... exhausted..." Yoro was used to the Dark Hour; he had been experiencing it for ten years after all. But forcing himself to fight that desperately against so many enemies pushed him to his limit. But he couldn't rest now. They had a mission. He would complete it himself if he had to. No... that was the way he preferred it.

((Can't edit my post for some reason. o-o))

Yoro struggled to stand up. "Grr..." The Shadow was still alive. Yoro walked over to it and quickly stabbed down on it with his epee. The Shadow let out what sounded like a whimper before evaporating into the air. Yoro then turned his attention to Youhei. He quickly walked over to him. "How badly are you hurt? Can you still fight?" This question might seem rather insensitive to some. It was as if Yoro was only concerned about Youhei's well-being only if it affected his combat ability. Yoro sighed and turned towards the door. "I don't think the others are coming. And Takahiro isn't responding to me. Looks like we're on our own." He paused, placing his Evoker in its holster and doing the same with his epee. "If my guess is correct, our target is one or two cars down. Maybe three." Just as Yoro spoke, an awful screeching filled the car. Then, they began to move. The train then lurched forward, speeding up quickly. "Son of a..." He offered Youhei his hand. "Quickly, we have to beat that Shadow. I think it's controlling the train. I would prefer we beat it BEFORE we crash into someone and die." Once Youhei took Yoro's hand or stood up, Yoro would run through the door. The Shadow they were looking for wasn't there, but two more were. From the Shadows they had managed to categorize, they appeared to be of the "Maya" type. They were the weakest. Yoro drew his epee, striking out at any Shadow that got too close. With Youhei hopefully behind him, he entered the front car. Yoro began to sweat. This Shadow was HUGE... it looked almost human too. It took on the appearance of a woman in white robes. Yoro drew his Evoker. "Ares!" He pulled the trigger, Ares materializing behind him. It was a little too late though. The Priestess let out a twisted giggle and raied her hand, tracing something in the air with her finger before pointing at Ares. Just then, a giant bolt of lightning struck Ares, causing master and Persona to cry out in agony before falling to one knee.

At least his support was helping Kirijo a little; Youhei wasn't sure he could even walk right now and for the first time since the fight with Stega, began to take the possibility of his own death quite seriously. It was clear that the cavalry was not coming and the two of them would have to complete this mission alone... A deeply weary sigh escaped him as Youhei thought about things could have been, if the former members of SEES hadn't left them; three proven fighters, three extra pairs of eyes and of course, three friends.
Nothing new there of course... every fucker left in the end, one way or another.

A sudden flash of heat and light brought him back to the present with a guilty flinch and Youhei was puzzled to see Ares gone, replaced with a... floating pumpkin witch. Wtf..? Pyro Jack, as the apparition was apparently called, did quite an admirable job of manipulating the flames directed at it's master and it's response had quite a kick to it too. Only two more Shadows remained; touch wood, even in his injured state Youhei should be able to take one. He concentrated, envisioning a looping path around the Shadow which Inugami quickly moved to follow; the Persona's seemingly random movements held the blob in a confused daze long enough for Inugami to slip behind. The Shadow died amid slashing claws and snapping jaws, the last one in the train car. To his confusion, Youhei saw something fall to the floor by the late Shadow's... feet? As Inugami retrieved the mystery item, Kirijo sat down heavily, clearly exhausted. Youhei was about to enter a witty comment about how the SEES leader had looked more scared on the phone earlier than when fighting Shadows, but Kirijo quickly jumped back up to finish his prey, leaving Youhei to examine the phial his Persona brought him. Despite his inability to read kanji, he was able to partly decipher the name of the potion; Muscle Drink... A stupid compulsion took him, the sort of thing parents try to beat out of toddlers who have just drunk from the vinegar bottle. He downed it, treating the foul-tasting liquid like a triple Jager.

Somehow he had managed to pull himself upright by the time Kirijo checked on him. 'Yeah. I feel... good, strangely good.' Youhei barely even registered the business-like tone, so confused was he by the lack of pain. One arm still felt weak and blood flowed from a dozen minor wounds, but he felt fantastic. He briefly entertained the notion that the Muscle Drink was some form of occult narcotic, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth; he was functional now, which was what Kirijo needed. 'Just you and me, eh... So long as it's not like the roof or Tartarus, I'm sure we'll be fine... hopefully.' As the two of them set off, the engines started up and the train started to move. 'Oh for the love of...' Youhei opened his comms once more, sending an update to the others. 'To any SEES members, the train is, uh... moving. I don't think you'll be able to help us anymore, so.... um. Wish us luck.' After a moment's thought he spoke again, this time in English; there should be a communicator somewhere in the dorm common room, hopefully their new American recruit would hear him. 'And Leo, if you're hearing this go to my room; there's a pistol on my table. Take it and go with Ikeda, she'll look after you. Do whatever she does, you hear me?' He didn't expect a response and charged forward with Kirijo, battering aside any Shadow that got too close.

The two of them finally broke through into the front car, unsure of what to expect. The Shadow before them gave them both pause; a masked, emaciated woman in a... somewhat suggestive position... Youhei might have been somewhat intrigued had it not suddenly blasted Kirijo to the floor next to him. 'Shiiiiiiit!' Inugami swung around to block Ares and it's master off from further attacks, fairly safe in it's ability to resist electricity, and Youhei set his stance. When he had a good two-handed grip on his hammer, Youhei charged, barely ducking under a swiping arm to deliver a heavy blow to the Shadow's kneecap.

It seemed that despite Akira's efforts to haul ass to the train station had been for naught, and her eyes widened as she pressed her finger against the earpiece before listening. She could hear Youhei loud and clear now, but it was becoming distorted with every word he spoke. So, the train was now moving? How the hell was she supposed to help them now? The auburn haired girl tried her best to stifle the despair washing over her, and she tightened her grip on Shirogane's wrist as frustration began to ebb at the edge of her mind.

"They're gonna be okay..." she began to choke out before attempting to clear her throat. "They have to..." She then looked back to Shirogane, her eyes watering as she struggled to hold back her tears. Guilt began to flood her mind as well, and she couldn't help the tightness in her chest as she berated herself. If only she'd left earlier, if only she didn't forget where she hid her evoker. Akira was slowly beginning to crack as the reality of the situation began to slam into her system. "I...I'm scared, Shiro. W...what if..?" she trailed off before looking away, noting that the train station was within sight. Her grip on Shirogane's wrist loosened, and instead she was now gripping his hand. Of course, she was too distracted to notice and instead her mind was muddled with anxious thoughts of what could happen. She had no idea if her companions, the new ones to be exact, had followed, but she couldn't find it in her heart to care. The only ones she could focus on now was the boy beside her, and the two on the train now fighting for their lives.

The girl came back, and dragged the guy who was on the floor having a nervous breakdown out of the room. Leo rubbed the back of his head nervously for a second before shrugging his shoulders. Right at the moment, a familiar voice rang out. The voice belonged to Youhei, and it was coming from an electronic device that looked like a cell phone. He told them to go to his room and take the pistol that was there, and go after everyone else. Leo couldn't exactly respond to that, so he nodded, grabbed the device, and went upstairs. He went into the only room with the door that was slightly ajar. The boy went in, and sure enough, there was a pistol on the table. Without hesitation, Leo grabbed it, and took off.

After quite a bit of running, Leo finally managed to catch up with the others. They were at what appeared to be some sort of empty train station. "Hey guys! Guys! Guess what?! I've got one of those gun things too!" He exclaimed swinging the pistol around for all to see. He then thought about how Taka had used this thing earlier. Leo took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and pointed the gun to his temple. Even though he knew this wouldn't hurt him, it wasn't loaded anyway, it was still a nerve-racking experience pointing a gun to your own hand, and pull the trigger. His hand shivered as he pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang sound, and a bright flash of light. Once Leo opened his eyes, there was now a firey bird of prey hovering in front of him. Leo's eyes widened excitedly, and a huge grin formed on his face. "AWSOME!" He shouted while clapping his hands. "Looks like I'm one of you guys now."

The train station. Any sense of purpose had left Shirogane a while ago, back at the dorms with that traumatic experience of having his own mind intruded upon. Now he was little more than deadweight to a very distraught Ikeda. You're hurting me... For a moment his attention flickered to the real world when she held tight to his wrist, but trapped in his own world built out of fear and filled with resentment he couldn't understand what she must be feeling. Instead he just stood there silently, hanging his head.

Lenaya said "I...I'm scared, Shiro. W...what if..?"

With his hand clasped in hers standing in the vacant train station, his heart barely skipped a beat, but he finally looked up from under his bangs. She's just using me, right? Its not like it matters to her who's hand it is anyway...still.... There was some urging barely starting to surface, almost like he wanted to resist her or start a fight. These feelings were encumbering and he felt like his life would be easier without them. Still... So what if they were too late? So what if Yoro and Youhei were gone? People died. It had happened around him before. Shirogane had always been alone because of that, but so what if he was alone? Even if he did feel lonely, he had never wanted these feelings anyway and wishing couldn't bring the dead back to life. In fact, it was better to get lost in a dream. He had lived his life like that up until now, even tried to delude himself into thinking this whole business with SEES was nothing more than a bad dream or embrace the fact he was chosen for it--destiny one might say--and look how he'd wound up. Even so, I don't want her to stop calling me like that. Shaking off her hand he let it go and embraced her instead.

"Would you cut it out? You're making me depressed... And personally, I wouldn't want to see you cry either, because..."

In that moment he didn't notice Leo run up until he started shouting, blocking out whatever he said next. Shirogane left Ikeda and turned to him instead.

There was something to be said for living in a dream. It wasn't so bad. There were times when it could come in handy. Right now for instance. "Oi, quit showing off, brat." Something about Leo not speaking the language gave Shirogane enough confidence to ignore his own social awkwardness and completely disregard the usual formalities. "Ah, crap...evoker...evoker..." He'd forgotten it was strapped into its holster on his thigh with all the soul-searching he'd been doing up until this moment. He drew it once he realized his own stupidity. "You should take the backseat and let your senior's handle this properly. And you" pointing to Ikeda with a smug look on his face "People who get too close to me always lose something precious. Besides that I hate clingy women." He was in full Loveless mode as he pulled the trigger. Then, Nekomata appeared beside him, her eyes scanning the scene and a faint trace of annoyance coming across their mental link. Her tail flicked as she fixed a tired gaze on her master "Uhh, despite everything I just said...mind telling me where the enemy is exactly?"

When Shirogane shook off her hand after glaring up at her from behind his bangs, Akira couldn't help but feel like she'd done something wrong. Oh god, what if she offended him? It was way out of line to hold his hand, though she'd done it to have something to grab on. Everything around her seemed unreal, and at that moment Shiro was the only thing that she could reach out and touch, but here he was pulling away from her and she just--

Wait, what? Her face instantly flushed and her eyes widened as Shiro pulled her against him. Her heart started beating harder than before, and she felt like she couldn't breath. Ohmygosh, ohgod he's hugging me, oh god oh godwhatdoido. The last time she'd had a boy hug her was...wow, she couldn't honestly remember. But as Shiro murmered awkwardly comforting words into her ear, she felt like she was going to melt from all the embarrassment she felt. She should...be happy? How did one act after such a random act--no, how did one act with this madness going on? Being hugged was nothing in comparison to the field of coffins they'd ran through, and here she was freaking out at the most normal thing of her night. The moment didn't last long as she heard the english boy come up on them, waving what looked like an evoker--no, it couldn't be an evoker-- over his head like it was some sort of toy. Whatever Shirogane was going to tell her had been deafened, but she couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed.

However, she did focus a sharp glare at Shiro when he commented on "clingy women". "A-as if I should be afraid of you! I had to tug you along because I..I didn't want to go alone! And...and you promised!" she was becoming a stuttery mess as she suppressed the urge to punch her friend in the arm, and instead she stepped away before she placed her own evoker to her temple. After firing the trigger, she felt a soft rush of energy as Unicorn appeared in front of her, and in response the beast pawed at the ground with a snort. "Oh, stop acting so annoyed. I...just wanted to make sure you were rested, we had to do alot of work the last time you were with me." Unicorn gave another soft huff as he pushed his nose into her open palm, and with that he dissipated.

After overhearing Shirogane's question to his own persona, Akira quipped, "Well, that's easy, they're on the train. The question is how far away they are...and...oh god, what if the train crashes?!" Another look of horror passed her face, and she finally took a moment to look upon the boy named Leo, who currently had some large bird above his head. "W..what?! where did he get that evoker? And a persona?! And..wha......?" Nope, no point in questioning anything that was going on this night. She just needed to focus on making sure everyone was ok and get everyone home safe.

...Although, I don't mind a tsundere, but you'll have to try harder than that. His internal thought never missed a beat in their dialogue, even while Shirogane muttered "I had thought he might have a real handgun, but I wouldn't have been bothered even if it were real...." As Loveless he could be--at the same time--irresistibly charming and an intolerable douche. "No point in questioning it now. There's nothing we can do. If it would make you feel better, we could pray." He suggested with the same sort of flippancy that a non-believer might sarcastically suggest prayer. "Before that though, lend me your phone? I seem to have dropped mine..." Conveniently forgetting that the reason he didn't have his phone on him currently is entirely because of his recent mindfuck, while he held an open palm out toward Ikeda.

The nerve of this guy! Had she hit some sort of personality switch on accident when he hugged her? Even with him acting like a total jerk, she still couldn't help but find him slightly charming...no! With a small, irritated glare she stared up at him. "Oh Shiro-kun, if you wanted to get me on my knees all you had to do was ask." The devilish look in her hazel eyes only added to the sarcastic, teasing nature of what'd she just said, and she figured she might as well give him a taste of his own medicine. The line? Probably something she'd skimmed over in one of her romance novels, but even so she fumbled as she took her phone from her bag and dropped it in his hand. "I threw yours because I couldn't get it to stop beeping, so yes, you can use mine." she grumbled. She found her attention focused on Leo, who seemed so childishly oblivious to all that was happening that she couldn't help but envy him. Hopefully nothing too disastrous would happen to ruin that sort of innocence...

"T-thank you..." Shiro replied with a wavering expression as he received Ikeda's phone. If not for years of practice he probably would have broken character at the moment she used that line. He wasn't even aware she was capable of saying those kinds of things. Quickly turning his back on her and dismissing whatever...urges...she'd stirred up in him, he dialed Tak. This group was definitely in need of a sit-rep if for no other reason than to confirm whether there was anything they could do at this point or if they were just as well heading back to base. Besides that, Tak's intrusion had been most unpleasant and if he wanted to come unwelcome into Shiro's mind he was going to give Tak a piece of it.

Tak's phone would ring for quite awhile. Eventually, someone answered. Not Tak, but someone else. A suave, velvet voice came through the phone. "Good evening. I'm afraid our dear Takahiro is... indisposed at the moment."

---

The Shadow let out a small scream as its kneecap was struck by the hammer. But once again, that twisted giggle escaped the Shadow's lips and it reached down fast as lightning and grabbed Youhei by his throat. It didn't have him for long though. Ares dashed forward, striking out at the Shadow's hand. The blade cut through the Shadow's hand, which materialized in a split second. Youhei would fall to the floor just in time to see Yoro stab the Shadow a couple of times before grabbing Ares's hand. The Persona threw him up into the air. Yoro landed on the Shadow's back and began to strike its head over and over.

With all his weight behind the strike, Youhei was certain he had given the Shadow a solid hit; sadly, it seemed that he had overestimated his own strength. The creature grabbed him by the throat, leaving just enough time for a strangled 'Motherfu-!' to escape his lips before it's strong grip silenced Youhei. Fortunately Kirijo and Ares stepped in fast enough to stop the Shadow from strangling him; unfortunately, he was suspended a good few metres off the ground when they severed the arm. 'Shi-!' The landing probably did more damage than the Shadow's efforts... He lay there for a moment, wondering what in the world he had done to deserve this abuse. Over the course of the last hour he had been roasted, impaled, eviscerated, concussed, healed back up to normal, choked and then dropped on his head. Overall, Youhei was having a fucking marvelous evening. He willed himself to his feet, swearing under his breath as he did. The two of them knew that the cavalry wasn't coming and the enemy was probably more than they could handle, but Hell... If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing in style. Youhei took a heavy step forward, brought his warhammer up like a baseball bat and charged. The Shadow was sufficiently distracted by Kirijo's rodeo antics for Youhei to get under it's guard and swing his weapon up between it's legs. Hard. 'Cunt punt, motherfucker!'

Dafuq? Who does this guy think he is?? The seemingly suave Loveless was more than a little pissed off by the same act coming through the other end of the line. It was not who he was expecting, meant more bad news, and most importantly meant giving Tak a piece of his mind would be delayed. An irked twitch of his eyebrow was the only crack in his cool expression as he replied "Well do you think you could have him back to us soon? I don't remember letting you borrow him, and it is quite late. You'll understand its past his bedtime. Also, that thing you did, using 'our' like that...lumping me in together with whoever you are--don't do that." Visibly shaking his head while on the phone.

Meanwhile he squatted down and began making a crude drawing in the dirt. There was Tak, tied to a chair sitting inside a heart while surrounded by a bunch of mean-faced stick figures. He made sure to draw Nekomata roasting a few randoms as well as a very colorful depiction of unicorn impaling one of the bad guys before indicating it to Leo and Ikeda.

An amused chuckle came through the phone. "He's right. You kids are going to be so much fun. I'll be sure to give Takahiro your regards. If you wish to find him, use your heads and keep your eyes open. Goodnight." The line went dead.

---

The Shadow let out a scream of agony as it slumped over, not dead, but severely weakened. Yoro slid off of its head and brought his epee up. "Let's finish this. Are you ready?" Soon, with or without Youhei, Yoro would charge in, giving the Shadow everything he had. After the onslaught of attacks by Yoro (and maybe Youhei?), the Shadow let out a feeble cry before disintegrating into black goo, then evaporating the second it hit the ground.

"Someone is begging for their just desserts, and I haven't even begun to serve the main course." Shirogane inhaled deeply after saying that, his tone full of irritation. His anger was a strange type of anger befitting the kind of character he played at; the type a well-dressed gent with a stick up his ass might show. It didn't show in his expression or tone so much as it was a palpable wrath swelling inside him, like his every muscle was tensing up, or how you might notice a certain vein throbbing or a twitch of the brow that belied his hidden frustration.
He tucked his phone away before filling in Ikeda and the rest, "Tak's been captured...I assume by Strega...unless they're bluffing we should probably go rescue him, but of course we're playing right into their hands if we do that. I don't see how we have very much choice in the matter, so...off we go. Or I would say that except he didn't give me much information other than 'we have your friend, kukukukuku....' Although he did say 'keep your eyes open and use your heads'...any idea what that means? Besides the obvious..."

Once the Shadow was defeated and the monorail stopped, Yoro and Youhei found themselves outside the station. Yoro, ready to rip Tak a new one for not providing support during combat, was more than a little surprised when Takahiro wasn't there. It was clear he HAD been there. His favorite energy drink was tipped over and spilled out over the pavement and a half eaten sandwich was on the ground, still in plastic wrap. It looked like it had been stepped on.

---

Drip drip drip...

The dripping woke Takahiro up. He sat up and looked around. The room he was in was dark and stuffy. The only light came from above. It illuminated Takahiro and an area about a foot around him. "What the hell...? Where am I...?" Just then, a voice came through the darkness.

"Fuck this bullshit. I never asked for that son of a bitch to come back into my life."

"Who's there?" Takahiro reached for his knife, but wasn't surprised to find it missing.

"I preferred to believe he was dead. A car accident, just like mom said." The voice seemed to come from everywhere. It was as if whoever was talking was talking right in Takahiro's ear. Tak no longer responded, but just listened to what the voice said. "After thirteen years, that bastard has the balls to show his face around me? Fuck him!" The voice was growing visibly angry. "And this power... this power is useless! I want the power to destroy! To annihilate anyone who gets in my way! How ironic that my power is only useful to help others when no one ever helps me!" Takahiro could barely see a silhouette of a person in the darkness. The person was getting closer. Finally, many lights from above came on, lighting up the room. It looked like he was in a night club. A... twisted night club. The chairs were all at least six feet tall. The legs were twisted around, making chairs sit upside down or slanted or in other weird positions. The tables were covered in blood and knives were stuck in them. That was when he saw the bodies; rotting forms of people who looked like they had been dead for a few days. Among this unsettling scene was a boy about Takahiro's height and weight... in fact, he looked exactly like Takahiro, albeit with yellow eyes. He wore a twisted smile and carried a kitchen knife in his hand.

"Who.. who are you?" Takahiro mumbled. The copy laughed a maniacal laugh.

"Who am I?" The grin on the copy's face grew. "I am a Shadow. The true self."

There was no finesse in the way Youhei helped finish the Shadow off. Again and again he swung his hammer with all his strength, like a lumberjack with an axe, until finally the creature lay still, its form becoming indistinct as it dissolved away. The two of them stood in exhausted silence as the train slowed to a halt, saying nothing as they made their way back to the station. Tired though he was, Youhei was overcome with a giddy rush of exhilaration; he and Kirijo had taken on such a powerful enemy, even stronger than the arm-monster-thing they had encountered on the roof, without support and actually won. It was a level of pride and accomplishment he never knew existed and damn, did it feel good. By the time they found the others near the station however, his fatigue and injuries had started to catch up with Youhei and he slid down the wall to the ground, grinning widely. 'Hiya kids, nice of you to join us. Ikeda, can I trouble you for some first aid? This hole in my gut would probably be a good start...' Now that Youhei took a good look at his wounds, he was amazed that he hadn't keeled over already; the gash across his belly was deep enough that he could actually see his own intestines... Fascinating, in a morbid kind of way.

He hadn't noticed Kirijo's growing concern for Takahiro, nor registered that the lad was even missing. After their little argument the other week, he wouldn't have put it past Takahiro to get conveniently lost when he needed support... 'Kiri... Yoromatsu. I feel we should have some form of celebratory drink; how does a Hot Toddy sound?' Now that he focused his attention, Youhei finally twigged on to what the SEES leader was thinking and his expression slowly turned grave. 'Hang on... Aren't we missing a few people..?'

"Wait, what?!" Akira exclaimed after Shirogane finished relaying the abstract of the conversation he'd just held. Apparently someone had kidnapped Takahiro, and it was some sort of...creep? Yeah, creepy guy who had way too many suspense-type movie quotes at his arsenal. "Oh god, what do we do? We can't even get to the other two because they're still on the train, and there's no telling whether or not they're dead!" she exclaimed, obviously back into her frazzled state.

Seriously, she couldn't ever take a job with this amount of stress, and to her relief she heard Youhei's voice ring out behind her. "You...you're both alive! Thank god, you're both alive, I was so worried--" Upon looking at Youhei's tattered body that was resting against the station wall, her eyes widened and she let out a gasp before summoning her persona. She directed the beast to heal both Yoromatsu and Youhei, restoring them to almost tip-top shape, but it left her winded, sweating, and gasping for air. She let herself sink into a sitting position with her knees folded underneath her as she struggled to catch her breath, and she couldn't believe the amount of injuries both of them had. Just what exactly had they gotten themselves into a fight with? Nonetheless, she was immensely impressed with both of her teammates, but as she heard Youhei's comment on missing people, she struggled to relay what Shirogane's strange call had told them.

"Kidnapped....they.....phone.." Akira realized she wasn't making any sense and that she'd be better off focusing on breathing. After a few moments of gasping and cooling herself down, she finally caught her breath. "Someone called Shirogane saying they kidnapped our "friend". I...Shiro, can you explain..?" she requested as she looked back to him, noting his silly drawing in the dirt. This entire night was crazy, but at least everyone was alive...and almost everyone was safe. She couldn't even begin to fathom what Yoro would say to all of them once they got back to the dorm though, and judging by the stormy look on his face it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Right." Shiro acknowledged Ikeda's short-of-breath request, before turning to face the two warriors returning alive. "But first, let me say I share the lady's sentiment...jolly good the both of you. You can rest up while the rest of us collect our dear friend, and Ikeda its best if you stay with these two. Its clear you've exhausted yourself pulling them back from the brink, and our little white mage is no good if she's used up all her MP." Of course, Shiro didn't want to leave her behind and in a way he was breaking his promise to protect her, but as 'Loveless' he simply couldn't admit his feelings without breaking character. This is best he tried reassuring himself, thinking realistically. "Now if you don't mind I grow restless and I am sure you want to give me my lumps for skipping out earlier, but allow me to pay you back by rescuing Takahiro-san. I definitely will not fail." He paused momentarily confident with his declaration of intent before realizing he'd skipped the explanation. "Oh. Takahiro's been kidnapped by the way. By whom? No idea. Where is he being held? No clue."

Yoro mumbled a "thank you" to Akira and a "sounds good" to Youhei as he wordlessly began to look for clues. After some time, he approached the group. "Takahiro is missing. Judging by what i've seen and what Shirogane tells me, it's clear that he has been kidnapped." He sighed, frustrated. "Let's head back to the dorm for now. We can discuss Takahiro's rescue and... the matter of your punishment tomorrow after school. Attending this meeting is optional for Youhei-san, as he will not be punished, however I do recommend you attend so that you may be briefed on our potential rescue mission." Just as Yoro prepared to walk back to the dorm, the Dark Hour ended. The group got a few strange stares from passersby. "Thank god." Yoro mumbled, staggering back up to the station. With that, the group headed back to the dorm.

---

5/10/2009
-After School-
Everyone got a text message from Yoromatsu to meet on the fourth floor immediately after school.