[IC] Welcome to the Dark Hour

[Midorimacchi]

Midorimacchi & Azalea

+SHINJI+ Shinji still had connections with the mafia. "Show me what you've got." demanded the young man, and the gentlemen behind the counter took the cigarette out of his mouth. He looked at Shinji for a moment, wondering why a high schooler needed so many weapons. But, like all Mafioso that dealed with his business, the kid swore an oath never to harm him, the great weapons dealer Yamamoto. So as long as he was safe, what did he care what this kid did with the stuff he sold...? "I'll take that sword." asked Shinji, staring at one behind the counter. "That halberd, too." This was another reason why Yamamoto didn't mind doing business with this kid: he usually asked for weapons nobody else wanted. While Yamomoto thought to himself, Shinji didn't know why this adult was moving so slow. "Old man!" he addressed to the 35-year old, "What the hell are you waiting for, do you want my damn business or not?" He was getting irritated at Yamamoto for silently thinking to himself for the past five minutes. +SUNAKO+ Sunako flipped through channels of the tv in the lounge, with Shinji's Pikachu robot sitting next to her. He usually left it behind whenever he went to go pick up weapons from who knows where. Her favorite drama already finished and it was getting pretty late, but Sunako wanted to stay up and wait for the new roommate to arrive. She thought about putting on her "cat earphones" and listen to music, but then she might not here them knock. "Hm...It’s almost twelve." she mumbled, worried. The new guy nor Shinji had arrived yet. 💔 💔 💔 💔 💔 💔 💔 💔 +FLEANCE+ Fleance's taxi stopped right infront of the dorm he was supposed to be staying at. He climbed out of the car and stared up at the four story dorm. From what it said on his welcome letter, there were only a few other kids staying here. So why was it so big? But Fleance wasn't complaining; he liked large houses. It reminded him of home.....ah...home. Fleance pushed those emo thoughts away as he shook his head, pulling his suitcase out of the taxi. By this time, the driver had already gotten out and was opening the trunk for the rest of his luggage. It wasn't like he had a lot of clothes; it was all of his mangas really. The school he would be attending had uniforms, so it wasn't like he needed an abundant of clothes. So it gave him the perfect excuse to bring his mangas along with him. Fleance thanked the man in the best Japanese he knew and took hold of all of his luggage, wondering how he would get all of the cases up the steps leading to the dorm's doors.Five minutes later, all four bags were sitting on the floor infront of the door with a very tired Fleance leaning against them. He needed to work out more. That was for sure. Once he recovered, he lightly tapped on the door, suddenly feeling nervous. +MOMO+ Momo watched Sunako from afar, making sure to keep out of sight. He tried not to make a sound because as far as she and that damned robot pikachu knew, he was fast asleep in his bed like the twins were. He watched silently as she flipped through the channels. With Shinji gone and the twins asleep, this was Momo's perfect chance to strike up a conversation with her. And he was almost going to do it too! But as soon as he cleared his throat and stepped out of his hiding place, a knock came from the door and Sunako rose to answer it. " Damn it," He muttered, closing his eyes and dropping his head. Would the heavens ever allow him to be happy?

[Azalea]

+SUNAKO+ Sunako felt relieved when she heard a knock on the door. She patted Pikachu on the head and rose from the couch. As she walked towards the door, the Pikachu stared down the hallway. Oh, it may look like darkness, but Pikachu was a robot. He could see Momo and his defeated expression. "Piiiika, pika pika!"giggled the Pikachu and it jumped down from the couch and ran on all fours towards Momo. Now, you see...Pikachu loved messing up his chances at Sunako. Sunako didn't notice Pikachu leave and answered the door. "Hello."she greeted. In front of her was an emo kid with four bags, but she didn't mind. "You must be Fleance! Come in." +SHINJI+ Shinji, walking back home with a bunch of weapons hidden in his bag, noticed a change of scenery. The sky became green and the drugdealers in the corner turned into coffins. Unphased by the sudden transformation of the world into the Dark Hour, Shinji walked towards the dorm.

[Midorimacchi]

+FLEANCE+ Fleance blinked when the door opened, the sudden light hurting his eyes. Before the door had opened, the sky had been so dark. It was night time and all, but Fleance couldn't help but feel...like something was different. He was greeted by a girl at the door, his eyebrow raising. This was a co-ed dorm eh? " Lance." He corrected her, cringing a little at the sound of his name. He was never fond of his name. It was so Shakespearean. He picked up two of his bags and placed them inside, dragging the other two in shortly. Once in the dorm, he looked around. As he did so, he swore he could see someone in the darkness of the hall, but he convinced himself that his mind was playing tricks on him. +MOMO+ Momo cursed as Shinji's pikachu came running towards him. Was that thing stupid?! He was going to get caught if Sunako saw where the pikachu was going. But to his luck, she was still busy with the door. " Get away from me!" He whispered at the pikachu, his voice full of bitterness. If it wasn't for the fact that Shinji would skin him alive, Momo would've beaten him with a hammer or atleast deactivated him. But alas, Pikachu and Shinji were connected at the hip, so it was impossible. Before Sunako or the new kid had the chance to catch a glimpse of him, Momo silently tiptoed up the stairs, trying not to make a sound. He just prayed that Pikachu wouldn't blow his cover. +KIMIKO+ Kimiko was just getting back from spending the day at her friend's house. Normally, she would walk the streets at night, but now that she was a persona user, she felt invincible. And the heavens must have been smiling on her, because just as she turned the corner, she saw Shinji ahead of her. So with her most flirtatious smile, she increased her speed until she caught up with her sempai. " Hello Shinji~," she giggled, not noticing that the world around her was slowly getting darker and more evil. Right now, Shinji was all she saw. " I'm heading back to the dorm. Are you? If so, we should walk together." Out of all the guys at the house, Shinji was the most attractive. Plus, he was rich and had connections in the right places. With a man like that, what could go wrong?

[Azalea]

+KIMIKO+ Kimiko was just getting back from spending the day at her friend's house. Normally, she would walk the streets at night, but now that she was a persona user, she felt invincible. And the heavens must have been smiling on her, because just as she turned the corner, she saw Shinji ahead of her. So with her most flirtatious smile, she increased her speed until she caught up with her sempai. " Hello Shinji~," she giggled, not noticing that the world around her was slowly getting darker and more evil. Right now, Shinji was all she saw. " I'm heading back to the dorm. Are you? If so, we should walk together." Out of all the guys at the house, Shinji was the most attractive. Plus, he was rich and had connections in the right places. With a man like that, what could go wrong? _________ +SUNAKO+ "Oh, Lance then."she corrected, making a mental note to remember his nickname. "I'm Sunako." Suddenly, the light that hurt Lance's eyes earlier went out. The entire dorm existed in darkness, and Sunako knew that it was now the Dark Hour. All electricity stop, with the exception of Pikachu, and normal people turned into coffins. "Lance?"she called, wondering if he still retained his form. "Pika!"yelled out the robot, electric sparks coming out of his cheeks. The glow lit up almost the entire first floor, giving everyone a clear look of their surroundings. Sunako could see Lance in the illuminated room, but she had to close her eyes in order to adjust to the light. "Oh, Lance, I'm sorry about this."she apologized, rubbing her eyes. She didn't notice Momo, luckily for him. Sunako wanted to introduce Pikachu to her new dormmate, but she had a feeling it would be wise to wait for Shinji to grant her permission to show a stranger his precious robot Pikachu. "The power will return in a bit...the longest is an hour."explained Sunako, confirming that Lance did indeed possess the 'Potential.' "I'll just show you to your room, follow me please." +KENJI+ Kenji stirred a bit in his bed, waking up to some noise downstairs made by Pikachu and a knock on the door. In reality, there wasn't really any ridiculously loud sounds, but the young man had excellent hearing. Kenji could easily hear the tiptoeing coming up the stairs. Wait...tiptoeing? The green eyed boy looked over at his twin; he was fast asleep. But the atmosphere felt heavy...that could only mean... "The Dark Hour!"he gasped, a chill crawling down his spine. Kenji immediately grabbed his pillow and held it like a shield. He cautiously motioned towards the door and paused once he grabbed the doornob. "One..."he whispered, the steps becoming louder. "Two..."he said, twisting the knob. "THREE!"he yelled, shoving the door open and accidently hitting whatever was walking up the stairs. "SHADOOOOW!"he cried, hitting Momo with his fluffy pillow. "Shadow! Shadow, die!"he screamed, continuously whacking the 'Shadow' that walked up the stairs. You see, Kenji did not have his own weapon yet. That's why Shinji made a trip to a weapon specialist: to retrieve a weapon for Kenji and Fleance, in case he had the potential. "Kenji?" The boy immediately stop blindly attacking when a soft, gentle voice familiar to his ears called out to him. "S-Su-Sunako?"he stuttered, somewhat out of breath. +SHINJI+ Kimiko appeared out of nowhere. For a moment Shinji wondered if a powerful shadow took on the guise of Kimiko to deceive him, but her giggling convinced him otherwise. "What the hell are you doing out here? It's the Dark Hour."he asked in a calm manner. He sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. Yeah, let's go."The new weapons strapped to his back, Shinji began to head towards the dorm. "Keep up."he demanded.

[Midorimacchi]

+FLEANCE+ Lance only nodded in acknowledgement, his emo bangs falling over his eyes. He wasn't a huge talker, so he often used body movements to convey what he wanted to say. Suddenly, the lights in the door went out, making Lance look around in confusion. He heard Sunako call out his name in the darkness and he was going to answer, but he was stopped when light suddenly filled the room. But it wasn't the normal light like the ones that were on before. No. This was more like a thundershock. It surprised him. He was more interested in the strange yellow mouse then why the lights had gone out. Sadly, his attention was brought back to Sunako, the girl who answered the door when she explained that the lights would return in an hour. " Oh." Was all he said, turning back to find the pikachu, but when he did, the strange thing was gone. " Okay." He said when Sunako mentioned his room. Though he was eager to see his new living quarters, he was even more eager to find that yellow mouse thing. What was he anyway? A dog? A mouse? Lance picked up one of his bags and followed Sunako up the stairs. He would come back for the rest later. Maybe when the lights turned on. +MOMO+ Momo was almost free. He had successfully made it up the stairs without being seen; even when the dark hour happened right in the middle of it. He breathed a sigh of relief when his feet reached the top of the stairs and onto the second floor. Just as he did, he saw a spark of light from the first floor, probably Shinji's pikachu. Hey, maybe it was useful afterall. Momo decided to go back to his room and sleep the dark hour and the rest of the night away since it was obvious they weren't going to the tarturus tonight. But as he passed the first door of the second hallway, or better known as the twin's room, he was suddenly attacked. Not by a shadow, but by something much different. A pillow. " Ah! What the hel-" He yelled, trying to shield himself with his arms from the soft blows of the pillow. He tried to tell Kenji that it was him and not a shadow, but the kid was yelling at him to die so it was useless. It was only when Sunako, his unlikely savior, called his name did he stop hitting him. Momo snatched the pillow away from Kenji before he had the chance to attack him again, " Jesus Kenji, stop doing these kinds of things!" He lectured. Yeah, this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. He would've gone on more, but Sunako was standing right there, so he directed all of his attention on her, " U-Uh, hey, Sunako. Ah, um, is that the new guy?" He asked though it was obvious that it was. +KIMIKO+ Kimiko was used to Shinji's apprehensiveness so his cold words did not effect her. She just kept the same happy smile on her face, " Okay~" To her, Shinji was like a chestnut. She just needed to crack his outer shell to get to the good part inside. And since she was just waiting to graduate, which was a while away, she had nothing but time on her hands. This way, if she managed to get him to like her before graduation, they would be able to create a life together afterwards. And with Shinji came money! On their way to the dorm, Kimiko finally noticed the changed around her. " Ohhhhh~" she whistled, holder her hands behind her back, " Do you think the new guy is like us?" +HIKARU+ Hikaru was fast asleep in his room.

[Azalea]

+MICHAEL+ "MICHAEL, WHERE ARE MY TEA AND BISCUITS?" That yell echoed throughout the Velvet Room and Michael almost dropped the tray in his hands. He kicked open the door and powerwalked over to Milton. "Here you are Master."he smiled, placing the tray down on the table. "Thank you."replied Milton, his voice back to normal. He took a sip a smiled, satisfied with the taste of the tea. "Ah, as wonderful as always." With his hand over his heart, Michael bowed. "Such a compliment is wasted on me, Master."he answered, his eyes still glued to the ground. Milton turned in his seat and chuckled, placing his finger underneath Michael's chin. He lifted up the man's face, their eyes locking. "Nonsense. A good master should compliment a good servant. Am I right, Michael?"asked Milton. "Well, you aren't wrong."replied Michael, straightening his back. Now standing over Milton, Michael smiled. "Do you need anything else?" "The next chance you have, summon our next guest." +SHINJI+ Shinji didn't even look at Kimiko. "Probably, Jonathon doesn't like normal people taking up space in the dorm."he said. Shinji normally didn't call adults by their first name, but Jonathon's last name Takeba was waaaay too close to Takaba. Takaba was the name of his homeroom teacher; Shinji hated all teachers. A sudden sound in the distance made Shinji stop walking and glance around his surroundings with caution. He didn't see anything, but he warned Kimiko anyways. "Did you hear that? Get over here and stay close to me." +SUNAKO+ "Yes."she replied, wondering what had happened. She decided to ask later and turned to Lance instead. "This is Momo."she introduced with a friendly smile. "And the one with the pillow is Kenji. It might be hard to see them right now..." As she said those words, Pikachu ran up the stairs on all fours. "CHU!"he cried, lighting up the second floor. "Oh, well, thank you Pikachu!"she thanked as she walked to the end of the hallways. Sunako looked back towards the three boys near the stairs. "This is your room, Lance."she informed, her finger on his nameplate. +SOUSUKE & KENJI+ Kenji felt relieved that the thing he attacked was actually Momo and not a shadow. Or Shinji. "I-I'm sorry!" Kenji looked back up at Momo, tears about to form in his green eyes. His nose felt stuffy and he truly felt bad for his actions. "Please forgive me!"he pleaded. He felt extra scared because last time this occurred, the one Kenji attacked was Shinji. Kenji was scarred for life now. "I'M SORRY, SORRY, SORRY SORRY, SORR-" whack "Calm down, Kenji." The sleepy Sousuke had stumbled out of their room with stealth and smacked his twin over the head. Then he grabbed his twin's hand and pulled his brother close to him. "It's okay, brother, nothing here will harm you."he soothed, Kenji's face buried in Sousuke's chest. Sousuke was actually half asleep at the moment, but he did this all the time because when they were little Kenji had frequent nightmares. Kenji hugged his brother for a moment before pulling away, silently thanking him. They were still holding hands. "Uh-huh, now go to Hikaru's room for the rest of the night."suggested Sousuke, who didn't even wait for Kenji to reply. He opened Hikaru's room and literally shoved him in there before shutting the door. Sousuke was probably the only person who noticed that Kenji always slept soundly whenever he was with Hikaru. Now fully awake, Sousuke looked over at the unfamiliar person in the hallway. "I'm sorry you had to see this."

[Midorimacchi]

+FLEANCE+ Lance squinted in the darkness. He could make out two bodies infront of him. One was holding a pillow and the other looked...kinda frightened. He wasn't paying attention earlier, so he didn't know that Momo had almost been beaten to death with a pillow. " Oh." He nodded, though he couldn't see their faces. And as if it was summoned, the strange yellow mouse appeared, lighting up the second floor like it did the first. Again, Lance was more interested in the robot then the members of the dorm. Because of this, he didn't witness the brotherly love happening before him and kept his eye solely on Pikachu. When Sousuke talked to him, Lance looked up and blinked. " You weren't blonde a minute ago." He stated the obvious, oblivious to the switch that had happened with the twins. He followed Sunako to his room and bowed formally, " Thank you." +MOMO+ Momo on the other hand was very much aware of what was going on. He said, " Nice to meet you," As politely as he could to the new guy, but was ignored. The damn kid was looking at the Pikachu instead of him! Damn punk! But Momo kept the smile on his face because Sunako was still in the room. He opened his mouth to talk to her, but was interrupted by idiot twin number one; " I-I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I'M SORRY, SORRY, SORRY SORRY, SORR-" If Sousuke hadn't appeared when he did and whacked Kenji on the head, Momo believed that he would've done it if Kenji had continued. But this way was better. This way, he didn't have to suffer the wrath of Sousuke for hurting his precious brother. It seemed like Kenji was very well liked in this place....of course he had Sousuke, his twin, and Hikaru, his boyfriend, but the kid seemed well liked by everyone else in the dorm. Except for Shinji and himself, for they had both been victims of his vicious pillow attacks. Sighing, Momo rubbed his forehead, " Eh, this is too much. It's way to late anyway, we have school in the morning." And with that, Momo walked to his room that was on the other side of the twin's room and opened it, bidding Sousuke, Sunako and the new kid goodnight. +KIMIKO+ Kimiko did not have as good as hearing as Shinji but trusted his words. She was not usually so helpless in these kinds of situations, but she would jump at any chances given to her to get close to Shinji." Do you think it's one of them?" She asked, keeping her voice low. She took hold of Shinji's sleeve and pressed her body against it, " What if it's one of the big ones? There is only two of us! Could we beat them?" Hell yeah she was gonna play the damsel in distress in a time like this. Shinji could be her knight in shining armor anyday! +HIKARU+ Hikaru was sleeping soundly in his bed until he heard his door open. Almost immediately, his eyes shot open, but he didn't sit up. If it was a rapist, he would wait until he came closer so he could take him down with the element of surprise. But then again, if it was a murderer, an immediate attack would be best. But as he contemplated different strategies to killing whoever just entered his room, he recognized the useless sniffling that was coming from the person. With a deep sigh, Hikaru sat up and rubbed his eyes. The room was dark, but because of the dark hour, everything had a green tinge, making it easier to see things. But he did not need this to know who the person was in his room. No one ever came in his room apart from that one person. " Did you have a nightmare again?" He asked Kenji softly, moving over to make room in his bed. Just like Sousuke, he was used to Kenji coming into his room at different hours of the night. He pushed back the cover and motioned for Kenji to join him, " C'mon, you'll get cold just standing there."

[Azalea]

+KENJI+ Kenji slowly slipped into Hikaru's bed, nuzzling up close to him. "No nightmare this time..."he said softly, happily gazing into his love's eyes. He spoke with a sweet voice, almost like a cute...I don't know but Kenji's tone of voice sounded adorable. He had a strange affect on people sometimes; if you just looked at him, you get the feeling you get when you see puppies doing something cute. This usually doesn't happen to straight guys like Shinji and Momo, unfortunately. "I woke up to quiet footsteps coming up the stairs and assumed it was a shadow. So, I grabbed my pillow and attacked it but it was just Momo."he whispered. Kenji's smile could be seen through the darkness and his voice started to become a little louder. "I panicked because I remembered how angry Shinji became when I beat him with the pillow. But! Brother helped me and told me to be with you~~ ♥" +SUNAKO+ Sunako smiled and bid Lance goodnight before she shut the door to his room. "I hope he sleeps alright, he must have had a rough day." He was scheduled to arrive hours ago, but Sunako figured there must have been a delay or something. She smiled and was about to go back to her room when she remembered Momo. "Oh!"she gasped, walking over to his door. "Momo?"she knocked softly, as to not disturb the other males on the floor. Sunako wanted to make sure he didn't get hurt or anything; you never know...a feather sticking out of the pillow sometimes hurt if it scratched your skin. "Hmmm...maybe he went to sleep already."she concluded after only a few seconds. Sunako shrugged her shoulders and began walking back downstairs to wait for Shinji. Pikachu probably went back downstairs. +PIKACHU+ PIKACHU WAS NOT DOWNSTAIRS. The sneaky robot was in Momo's room. He slipped inside when Momo had opened the door like a stealthy ninja. "Pika!"he called out to Momo happily. Pikachu was sitting on a notebook that belonged to Momo. He glanced down for a moment, able to see normally even though it was the Dark Hour, and flipped open the cover. "Pikachu! Pikapika~!" For some reason, Pikachu was laughing at the teen. +SHINJI+ Shinji nodded and used his free arm to dig through his pocket. He pulled out a remote with a design of a small lightning bolt marked at the top. "I have a plan in case we end up in deep shit."he reassured calmly, staring at the device. "One of us will need to press the red button in the top right corner of this remote. Pikachu's cheeks will light up and he'll alert the others to get over here." A large thud caught Shinji's attention and he turned his head to the right, spotting nothing. He turned to the left but still saw nothing. "Hmm...Kimiko, do you have your weapon and evoker with you?"he asked.

[Midorimacchi]

+HIKARU+ Hikaru felt the bed incline when Kenji got in and he placed the blanket over his body. He didn't normally like Kenji in his bed because it would get too hot with both of them in there, especially in summer, but he made exceptions when Kenji had nightmares or whenever he asked him. Hikaru found it hard to say no to Kenji sometimes. It was if he had a spell on him or something. Hikaru pushed the covers off him but left them on Kenji, propping his head in his hand, his body turned sideways," I see." He smiled in the darkness, brushing his fingers through Kenji's black hair, " At least it wasn't Shinji this time." He had warned Kenji about being so brash about things, but it seemed like his words had gone to waste. " Ah, we have school tomorrow so get some sleep. You'll be tired in the morning." He patted his head affectionately, laying back into the bed. Hikaru hadn't realized that it was the dark hour because his attention had all been on Kenji, but something in the back of his mind told him to be careful. " Goodnight Kenji," +FLEANCE+ Once in the safety of his own room, Lance looked around. The lights were still out so he couldn't examine his room properly. But from what he could see, there was just a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf. Pretty simple. Plain. But he liked it. Back at home in England, he lived in a giant mansion, but his room was kind of like this one. It made him feel like home. Making his way through the darkened room, Lance reached his bed without hurting himself and sat down, taking a deep sigh. He had heard the guy in the hallway say that there was school the next morning, so sleep seemed like the best choice. Lance shrugged out of his jacket and placed it onto of his suitcase. He would get the other two that were downstairs later. He didn't want to heave them up the stairs in the darkness. Still wearing his shirt and pants, Lance settled down in his bed and closed his eyes. His Ipod was never too far from him and just happened to be in his pocket, so he turned it on and put in his headphones. The first song was a rap song. Lance might not look it, but he enjoyed all ranges of music. He closed his eyes and prepared for sleep. +MOMO+ Because Momo wasn't paying attention, he didn't notice Pikachu entering his room. He had gotten dressed with his back turned to the robot so seeing it was impossible. He also had headphone in and was listening to music, thus he couldn't hear Pikachu either. Also because of this, he did not hear Sunako when she knocked on his door. Momo laid there listening to Lady Gaga's 'bad romance', moving his foot back and forth to the rhythm. When the song ended, he was just about to close his eyes when he heard something move around in his room. Instantly on guard, Momo sat up and clenched his fists, ready to punch out a shadow if it got near him. But to his surprise, the rustling was coming from the floor. He peaked over his bed, ready to find a shadow waiting there, but found Pikachu instead. And the reason for the rustling was there too. The damn thing was looking through his journal!! He had been in math class, not paying attention, and had written Sunako's name over and over again, sometimes with hearts, sometimes with stars surrounding her name. " Damn pest!" He yelled, reaching down and grabbing Pikachu by the tail. " I'll teach you a lesson once and for all!" He got out of bed and stomped to the window, still holding the robot by the tail. He managed to open the window with one hand and held Pikachu outside of it, dangling in the air two stories high. " Yeah, don't like that, do you?" He snickered, shaking his hand to make Pikachu sway in the air. +KIMIKO+ Kimiko looked down at the remote, wondering what it was for. The top looked like Pikachu's tail, so she assumed the two were connected. Trust Shinji to be two steps ahead of everyone else! Her assumptions were right as he explained what it was for, " O-okay." Kimiko jumped a little when a sound came from their right, her head immediately snapping to the side to see what had caused it. But nothing was there. Her grip on Shinji's sleeve tightened, " I don't have my weapon, but i have my evoker..." she said uncertainly, not a hundred precent sure if she had brought it with her or not.

[Azalea]

+SHINJI+ Shinji spoke smoothly, without any hints of fear in his voice. "Get out your evoker."he instructed seriously. "I don't know where it is' but I know there's definitely something out here."he warned, his eyes narrowing. Shinji looked even meaner than usual and he pressed the button to summon his beloved Pikachu. I don't have time for this crap. he thought bitterly to himself. My fucking pre-cal test is tomorrow. He shoved the remote back into his pant pocket and brought out his evoker. Shinji pressed the fake gun to his head, hesitating a bit before pulling the trigger. Some huge creepy persona appeared in front of the two teenagers. Shinji was growing tired of just standing around feeling worried. "Now, where the hell is that shadow...?"he asked nobody in particular, ready to beat some ass. +PIKACHU+ "Pika, Pikachu!!!"yelled the poor robot, wishing that Shinji would show up. He could have just shocked Momo but then Pikachu might fall and break into pieces. He glared at Momo, his little feet trying their best to kick him. Sadly all of Pikachu's attempts failed and he didn't even come close to hitting him. "Pika..."he muttered coldly, about to consider activating one of his other modes when all of a sudden...his red cheeks began glowing and blinking. +SUNAKO+ Sunako didn't have any clue where Pikachu was. She thought about simply calling out his name, but then she might wake up the others. She frowned as she plopped on the couch, laying on her back. "Such bad luck tonight..." +KENJI+ "You're right." Kenji smiled, getting under the covers. "Goodnight..."he mumbled, already beginning to fall asleep. The man looked peaceful and felt serene, what more could he want than sleeping next to his wonderful Hikaru? Kenji slowly grabbed Hikaru's hand, locking their fingers together. +CLEAFEN+ "YES, my love is finally in bed."comment Cleafen. The young child appeared out of nowhere beside Fleance's bed. "My dearest Lance..."he whispered, his finger tracing the male's cheek. He grinned as he caressed his skin, adoring how soft it felt.

[Midorimacchi]

+HIKARU+ Hikaru smiled when Kenji laced their fingers together. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep next to his boyfriend like this.....but he couldn't. Now that he was awake and alert, he could tell that something was off. It was the dark hour, he could tell, and that was making him uneasy. Kenji was a persona user but lacked a weapon. Hikaru would do anything to protect him. So he waited until Kenji was fast asleep to break their hands apart and he slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake Kenji up. Once he was out, Hikaru slipped on his black jacket and tiptoed out of his room, shutting his door softly behind him. +FLEANCE+ Fleance was right on the boarder of sleep, just about to enter a dream, when something brushed against his cheek. His eyes shot open and he quickly sat up, turning beside him. There stood a young boy, making Lance blink. His first thought was ' who is this guy?', but then he guessed he was another resident of the dorm. "What are you doing in my room?" He asked calmly, reaching up to touch his own cheek where the finger had stroked it. +KIMIKO+ Momo laughed evilly as Pikachu continue to dangle over the concrete below. He really wasn't going to drop the robot; he knew Shinji would kill him. He just wanted to ruffle the robot up a bit. Momo smirked in amusement as he watched Pikachu try to kick him. His short legs would never reach him! "Haha, silly rat!" He laughed, stopping when he saw Pikachu's cheeks begin to blink. He and the other members of the house had been warned that when that happened, Shinji was in some serious shit. Momo tried to remember when he saw Shinji last...Oh! That's right! He went out to get some weapons! Maybe he had ran into a shadow! Momo quickly put Pikachu down and crouched down, "C'mon Pikachu, show me where he is!" He told the robot, reaching over to grab his evoker. Beside it was his weapon, a simple baseball bat. He went to the door and opened it, allowing Pikachu to leave the room and run down the hall. Momo followed quickly, his evoker tucked into his pants. When he got to the stairs, he found Hikaru already standing there. He slowed down only enough to tell Hikaru what happened. "All right, I'll go with you." Hikaru nodded, pulling his evoker from his jacket pocket. The two ran down the stairs, following Pikachu to Shinji's location. +KIMIKO+ Kimiko brought out her evoker from her purse, holding it uncertainly. Her hand shook a little. No matter how many times she fought shadows, she couldn't get used to it. And from the sounds she was hearing, this shadow wasn't as small as the other ones had been. Instead of summoning her persona like Shinji, Kimiko waited for the shadow to show up. +MOMO+ Because Shinji and Kimiko were not too far from the dorm, Momo and Hikaru reached Shinji and Kimiko in a short amount of time. "Hey!" Momo called out, waving his hand so they could see them in the distance. "H-has one showed up?" He breathed, "Pikachu's cheeks lit up." he explained.

[Azalea]

+ CLEAFEN + "I am here to be with you, my darling dearest Lance~♥" Cleafen smiled at the confused teenager, never once breaking eye contact. "My love, I'm always with you even when you can't see me."he continued, happy that he finally had the chance to speak to Fleance. "So never worry...I will always protect you. You are going to face many trials soon..." ++ SHINJI + "Zionga."ordered Shinji as his persona shot electricity into a nearby alleyway. The cry of a shadow confirmed that he was right; they were in danger after all. The persona vanished at the end of the attack. Shinji knelt down and removed the backpack around his shoulder, quickly placing it on the ground. He unzipped and, like a clown car, pulled out a sword and another weapon called a naginata. Shinji placed the naginata beside Kimiko's feet and took the sword for himself. These weapons were supposed to be given to Fleance and Kenji, but right now they needed it more than they did. Shinji's weapon was Pikachu, who could either fight for him separately like a Pokemon trainer or transform into a gun that shot electrically charged bullets. "Pikachu should be bringing help, so don't worry Kimiko."he reassured after noticing she was shaking, though his voice was still devoid of warmth. Right on cue, Momoru, Hikaru, and Pikachu arrived from the dorm. "Yeah."answered Shiji as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder. "It's in that alleyway." Suddenly, Shinji noticed that the giant Shadow was crawling out of the alleyway. "Damn..."he said slightly surprised, a grin appearing on his face as he glanced over at Pikachu. "You ready?"he asked, placing the evoker to his head. "PIKA!" ++ SUNAKO ++ "Wake up, wake up!"pleaded Sunako as she tried to shake Kenji awake. She didn't understand his sleeping patterns sometimes...how could he wake up to Momoru's footsteps and not her yelling at him? Maybe it was because she was a girl and he tuned out girls, or something? Whatever...she needed to get to supporting the others. "Can you hear me?"asked Sunako, speaking through telepathy. Momoru and Hikaru warned her about Pikachu's flashing cheeks as they ran out the dorm. Sunako usually would have joined them in such a situation, but Fleance, Sousuke, and Kenji would be unprotected and have no idea what was going on. Yeah, they were both guys who were older than her, but both Fleance and Sousuke had no persona. Kenji was sleeping like a log. "Wow...that Shadow is powerful. Shinji, give me a moment to scan for it's weakness." "Alright."he answered, knowing the other three Persona users could hear her as well. Pikachu had strapped onto Shinji's arm like Ben 10's watch, except it was a gun. He moved closer to the huge Shadow, shooting it twice.

[Midorimacchi]

+FLEANCE+ Fleance narrowed his eyes slightly at the strange kid. Ah....so he was here for strange reasons. Unconsciously, Fleance gripped the sheets a little tighter and pulled them closer to him. If he yelled, would the other members of the dorm hear him or were they all asleep? But if worst came to worse, Lance could always defend himself with his fists... " What do you mean?" He asked the kid when he spoke about the trails he was going to face. Maybe this guy was like an angel! Here to warn him of great evil! Or maybe he was here to impregnate him....like Mary and that one angel! Again, Lance clutched the blankets closer to him though his face never changed in expression. +KIMIKO+ Not even Shinji's words could comfort Kimiko at a time like this. Maybe if there were more people, just maybe she would have enough courage to put the gun to her head and pull the trigger, but there wasn't! There was only two of them there, how could they possibly beat this huge shadow by themselves?! But when Shinji placed the naginata by her feet, she wasted no time in picking it up. She had more faith in the weapon then with her persona. "Do you think they'll be here in time?" She whispered, trying to keep her voice low in case the shadow had super awesome hearing. But Shinji didn't have the time to answer because the backup arrived, consisting of Pikachu, Momo and Hikaru. Kimiko frowned. When Shinji had said 'help', she was expecting everyone to come, meaning Sunako and Kenji as well. Oh well, four was better than two! And plus, Shinji always fought better with Pikachu. With slightly more confidence, Kimiko held the blade in front of her, watching as Shinji shot at the shadow. +MOMO+ Momo watched Shinji shoot at the shadow, his evoker griped tightly in his hand. He brought it to his head and took a deep breath, taking another second to pull the trigger. A naked man with only a peice of cloth wrapped around his private regions appeared, a solemn expression on his face. " MAGARU!" He yelled, the beautiful persona lifting his arms and inflicting damage on the shadow. It seemed to have no effect on it what-so-ever. " Dammit. How are we gonna beat this thing?!" He yelled out to Shinji, his persona disappearing quickly after the attack. +HIKARU+ Hikaru stood beside Kimiko, biting his lower lip. He didn't have his weapon on him, but he had his evoker. " We should move the shadow away from here." He told Kimiko. They were only a few blocks away from the dorm and if things got out of hand, Hikaru didn't want the shadow anywhere near the dorm where his beloved slept. So there was only two options. Killing the shadow, or moving it away. Shinji's and Momo's attack looked like they had no effect, so Hikaru decided to see it the same was true for him. Bringing his evoker to the side of his forehead, he wasted no time in pulling the trigger, releasing his badass persona. " Kafkaesque!" He summoned his persona from inside his soul. Despite his small stature, Hikaru's persona was quite large, dominating in both height and power. He hardly used it though because it took a lot out of him to control it, and mostly stuck to his weapon. The demonic looked persona was taller then the shadow and it's illuminated eyes stared deeply at the shadow, Kafkaesque's hands balling up into fists." Attack!" Hikaru ordered the persona, Kafkaesque pulling his arm back and punching the shadow with tremendous force. Although it looked like it was a knock out, the shadow only tumbled backwards instead of dying. Hikaru frowned. This was not going to end up well.

[Azalea]

++ CLEAFEN ++ "It's just as I said, my dear. You are going to face many trials soon: danger will follow you like your shadow. It will always be with you." Cleafen nodded after this statement, but he gave Fleance a friendly smile. He stepped towards the other male and jumped onto the bed. Fortunately for Fleance, Cleafen didn't get close to him. "But if danger is nearby, I will appear before you my love." ++ SHINJI ++ "We beat this thing by beating the shit out of it until it dies."answered Shinji, who was feeling slightly angry that most of their attacks failed. So electricity and wind didn't work...both Shinji and Momo would need to rely on something else to fight with. The leader hoped that Hikaru's persona might be able to defeat it, but sadly the demon's punch didn't do much either. Then, a glimpse of hope arrived. Sunako's word felt angelic and Shinji listened as she explained the shadow's weakness. ++ SUNAKO ++ "Magic won't do you any good, Shinji. You need to damage the shadow with a lot of attack."she explained. "But you can't hit it just anywhere, it's body is like armor." Sunako continued pounding on Kenji's door but ended up waking Sousuke instead. ++ SOUSUKE ++ Sousuke listen to the worried Sunako as she informed him of the situation. "I'll get Kenji; you get the new guy."he suggested. After Sunako left to go get Fleance, Sousuke took a deep breath. Wondering why Sunako just didn't open the door, he welcomed himself into the room his twin was sleeping in.

[Midorimacchi]

+FLEANCE+

Fleance's frown deepened when the strange kid jumped on his bed. He scooted backwards until his back touched the wall to expand the space between them. The last thing he wanted was that kid touching him..............

His attention was pulled away from the kid when he heard Sunako banging against someone's door, yelling for someone to wake up. Was she talking to him? " Excuse me." He told the guy on his bed, moving around him and off the bed to go to the door. If this guy were to attack him, Sunako would surely help him! He opened it quickly and was greeted with Sunako's face right infront of his door. " What's wrong?" He asked calmly. He wanted to know what was going on more then he wanted to know who the strange kid was. It sounded urgent.

+MOMO+

" Shit." Momo cursed, gripping his evoker. His persona sucked ass when it came to physical attacks, everyone knew that! He was as good as useless in this battle now. Of course, Shinji and Kimiko's personas centered around magic as well, but at least they had weapons! Unlike him.....Dammit, why had he left his bat in his room? Such a stupid move.....

+HIKARU+

" I can do that." Hikaru said to Shinji, getting ready to activate his persona again. Kafkaesque had powerful physical attacks so this wouldn't be a challenge for him, but the strain that the behemoth persona placed on him was. It was more then a handful to keep the giant demon under control and he usually received headaches after summoning it repeatedly. But if it meant that Kenji would be safe, Hikaru would summon Kafkaesque as much as needed.

Placing the gun like object against his head, he pulled the trigger and he felt his soul unlock. A dark pool formed beside him and a black arm shot out from it and grabbed the side of the hole, pulling itself up from the pits of darkness. Kafkaesque towered over the humans and the shadow and looked at Hikaru, probably surprised to be summon twice in one battle. " Attack." Hikaru pointed to the shadow. The dark demon obeyed and sent another fist flying towards the shadow, breaking the mask it had been wearing. It stumbled backwards again, granting Hikaru's wish to get it away from the dorm. But as Kafkaesque disappeared, Hikaru's vision blurred and he too stumbled backwards, landing on his behind non too gracefully. How many hits was it going to take to kill this thing?!

[Azalea]

++ SHINJI ++

Shinji tossed the sword in his hand to Momo and immediately ran towards Hikaru. The leader barely managed to arrive in time to prevent the stumbling persona user from falling. "Thank you."he muttered to Hikaru, watching the shadow's mask break into pieces. Sunako, the armor is destroyed!

You guys should be able to use magic now.

The words echoed throughout the minds of all the persona users in the battle. While all of this occured, the shadow angrily yelled an ugly screech and glared at Hikaru. The shadow sent out some sort of black evil looking beam towards the young male, but Shinji did not want Hikaru to be harmed any further. He was going to try and move him out of the way, but Shinji wasn't fast enough, so he got hit by the shadow's attack. Hikaru was mostly unharmed, but Shinji felt his ribs crack. "Fuck."

++ SUNAKO ++

Sunako was anxious to get him out of here. "Okaysowe'reindangerofbeingkilledbyamonstersoyoune edtocomewithmeandtheotherguyssowecangettosafety!"she 'explained' as she grabbed his hand and led him out the door. "To the roof!"she commanded, noticing that Sousuke was already in the hallway. Kenji was still asleep, carried on Sousuke's shoulders, but she could see that Sousuke was thoughtful and brought his brother's evoker.
As they ran up the stairs, Sunako heard Shinji's voice.

Sunako, the armor is destroyed!

You guys should be able to use magic now.

[Midorimacchi]

+HIKARU+

With his vision obscured and the nauseating feeling in his stomach, Hikaru was practically helpless. If Shinji hadn't stepped in when he did, then the young persona user would probably be dead. He was brought back to reality when he felt Shinji try to move him out of the way and then fall back into him when he was hit with the beam. Before he even knew what was happening, he grabbed hold of Shinji's shoulders to steady him, although he felt like falling over himself. " Shinji!" He had no clue what was going on but his best bet would be that the shadow had attacked him.

He could hear Kimiko's worried voice beside him and it sounded like shit was getting real. Sunako had informed them that the shadow's armor was weak now and although the others could take care of the shadow, Hikaru felt like he needed to help some more.

+MOMO+

" Fuck!" Momo, like the others, went to Shinji's side, the grip on his new weapon tightening. While Hikaru and Kimiko were at Shinji's side, Momo stood infront of him, just incase the shadow tried to attack again. He held the sword out infront of him , ready to attack if needed, but Sunako's words rang throughout his head. He could use magic!

Bringing his evoker up to his head, he pulled the trigger and the girlish man appeared once more. " Magaru!" He ordered the persona. Narcissus lifted his hands and summoned wind, attacking the shadow like before, but this time it worked. The shadow let out a shriek and backed off, it's amorphic body heading towards the dorm.

With the shadow gone, Momo turned behind him to his fallen friend. " Hey, you okay?" he asked, looking Shinji over. He was awake and conscious, but Momo knew that something was off. " Where does it hurt?"

+HIKARU+

By then, Hikaru's vision had cleared up some and he was finally able to understand what was going on. " You going to be okay?" He asked Shinji, guilt filling his mind. He knew that Shinji had gotten hurt because of him and knowing that hurt him alot more then if he was the one who had gotten hit. When Momo joined them, he looked up. " Where's the shadow?" Momo then explained and Hikaru turned around in an instant- maybe too fast because he felt all the blood drain from his face - and looked towards the dorm. If that shadow was going to the dorm with only Sunako and Kenji to protect it, he knew that things would end up bad. " Stay here with Shinji, I'll send Sunako to help when I'm finished." He told Momo and Kimiko.

With a shaky hand, Hikaru pushed the evoker against his head and summoned his persona. The demon appeared for the third time and it reached down, picking his redhaired master up and headed towards the dorm. The persona was apart of him, so it understood where Hikaru wanted to be. " Just hold on Kenji, I'm coming." He muttered, the persona quickening it's pace to the dorm.

+FLEANCE+

" Wait, what?" Fleance asked, unable to make sense of Sunako's words. But he didn't get an explanation because she grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him upstairs. " Ah..." He looked back to his room, uneasy about leaving that weird kid in his room alone, but he couldn't say anything because Sunako was too busy moving them up to the roof. The eccentric kid from earlier was there, sleeping on the shoulders of his....clone? Hm. Twins.

When they were finally on the roof, Lance broke free from Sunako's hold and looked up at the moon. He never saw the moon that color before. It might have just been his eyes...but was it red? How strange.....

His stargazing was cut short when something came out of the darkness. It was like a giant blob of darkness, a shadow maybe. Instead of feeling fear from seeing such a monstrosity, Lance only kept staring at it, trying to think things through.

As if out of instinct, Lance grabbed the gun from the sleeping kid's pocket, bringing it up to his forehead. He didn't know why he was doing this, he didn't want to die, but it just felt....right. With nothing but pure confidence, he pulled the trigger and he felt a urge of power rush through his body. Instead of a bullet entering his brain, power circulated through his body and he felt something within him unlock. Before him, a small brown bear appeared. It resembled a stuffed bear that he had had as a child and for some reason, Lance knew that it would protect him.

Without needing a command, the bear's eyes narrowed at the shadow and it unleashed a powerful magic attack. The shadow screamed in pain and slowly began to turn into dust, floating off into the night sky.

After it was over, Lance dropped the gun and the teddy bear disappeared. His legs gave way from beneath him and he fell to the ground. What just happened?

[Azalea]

++ CLEAFEN ++

Cleafen smiled, fading away into the dark as Sunako pulled Fleance from the room.And so it begins...

++ PIKACHU ++

"Pika!"cried the yellow robot. Pikachu nudged Shinji's shoulder to keep him conscious, but he couldn't do anything to help him medically. "Pikachu..."

++ SHINJI ++

"Ugh, my damn ribs hurt."muttered Shinji, laying on the ground next to Kimiko and Momo. He layed his eyes on the two persona users and angrily whispered to them, "Why isn't one of you helping Hikaru go after the shadow?! Ah..."

Silenced by the excruciating pain, Shinji took shallow breaths and closed his eyes. Usually a few broken bones wouldn't stop him, but this attack he endured was different somehow...

"Why are you two just standing here, helping me?"he asked Kimiko and Momo in a low voice, though his eyes did not open. "Everyone else is in danger, aid Hikaru and leave me here!"

++ JONATHON ++

Conveniently, Jonathon Takeba arrived in front of the three persona users and Pikachu. His hair was messed up and he was breathing heavy from running. "I saw the Shadow and got here as fast as I could!"he announced to the teenagers. He noticed Shinji laying on the ground and immediately ran towards him. "I'll take care of him, go help the others!"

++ SUNAKO ++

Sunako could not believe her eyes; Fleance used Kenji's evoker to summon a teddy bear! "Oh my..."she mummbled, standing with Sousuke and the sleeping Kenji as they watched the battle. That teddy bear massacred the dangerous shadow that was giving Shinji and the others so much trouble. Sunako ran towards Fleance when he collapsed. "Fleance?!"

Everyone, the shadow has been destroyed, come back to the dorm!

++ SOUSUKE ++

Sousuke felt Kenji stir and looked at his brother, who was finally beginning to wake up. "Huh?"mummbled the sleepy Kenji. Sousuke sighed, then noticed Hikaru arriving on the roof on his persona.

++ MICHAEL && MILTON ++

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."greeted a white haired gentlemen in a suit, standing next to a brown haired man sitting down at a table. That same brown haired man smiled and pointed to the chair in front of the table. "You may sit, if you wish. I have summoned you to this room as my guest. I am Milton, and this is my attendant Michael."he informed.

"A pleasure to meet you, guest."said Michael, though he did not smile and look at Fleance with a friendly glance like Milton did. "My master would like you to sign this contract."he stated, and like magic a piece of paper appeared. He placed it on the table next to a pen. "It states that you will be responsible for every choice you make."

[Midorimacchi]

+KIMIKO+

" B-but, " Kimiko stuttered, propping Shinji's head in her hands, " I can't leave you!" Though the people at the dorm wereimportant too, her number one priority, even in battle, was taking care of Shinji and making sure he was okay. She couldn't just leave him there in the middle of the street!

+MOMO+

Momo felt the same way. He would've jumped on the chance to beat that shadow to a pulp, but he would've felt like a douche if he just left Shinji here. Hearing a voice behind him, Momo turned to find Jonathon running towards them, explaining why he was there. Great, now that he was here, Momo would be able to go on and help out. " Don't die okay." He told Shinji, narrowing his eyes. He tried to be all nonchalant about it, but a worried tone somehow found their way in his words. Shinij had been his best friend after all.

Giving the team one last look, Momo took off towards the dorm, praying that his legs could get him there in time.

Kimiko smiled when Jonathon came. He was only a couple years older then her, but now that he was here, she felt like everything was going to be okay. " I'm staying here." She stated determinedly, tightening her grip on Shinji.

+HIKARU+

Hikaru arrived just in time to see the shadow disappear. He was about ten steps from the dorm and relief washed over him when he saw the shadow's frame dissolve into the wind. He didn't know what happened or who had defeated it, but the threat was over and he could relax now that Kenji was safe. But it was like a double sided sword. Now that the shadow was gone, the adrenaline that was flowing through his veins stopped. But that adrenaline was the only thing fueling his persona and without it, Kafkaesque abruptly vanished. Hikaru, who had been only a few feet away from dorm's roof, dropped like a sack of potatoes. Luckily for him, he was unconscious by then, but still, he was falling to the cement below at a dangerous speed.

+MOMO+

Momo witnessed everything from a distance and by the time he was at the gate to the dorm, the battle was over. He, like everyone else, felt at ease now that the battle was over. He slowed his running down to a jog and wiped the sweat from his brow, leaning against the gate. He looked up at Hikaru's persona and was about to yell to him that the battle was over, but right as he opened his mouth, the persona vanished. At first he didn't think anything about it, but then he saw a bundle of red hair falling to the ground. " Shit!" He pushed himself off the gate and broke out into a run. He barely managed to get there before Hikaru hit the ground, his arms outstretched and he caught him before he could land on the unforgiving concrete. But the catch hadn't been perfect. He had dived to save him and when the red head landed in his arms, he felt the rugged cement run across his chest, breaking through his t-shirt and cutting his skin. The same went for Hikaru who had been falling head first, the left side of his face hitting the concrete, the hit lessened by Momo's catch, but as they skidded to a halt, Hikaru's face was already scarred and bruised.

When they finally stopped moving, only afew inches from the stairs, Momo got to his knees, ignoring the pain across his chest and shook Hikaru, " Hey, wake up!" He tried again, but there was no luck.

+FLEANCE+

Fleance didn't know what was happening. One moment he was on the rooftop of the dorm, being protect by a teddy bear, and the next moment waking up in some elevator with two strange men. " Huh?" He asked, scratching his head, looking over to the chair. Slowly, he went over to the chair and sat down, taking in his surroundings. There wasn't a door in this elevator so that meant there was no escape. Great.

His attention was brought back when the man infont of him began to speak. He looked down at the 'contract' and rose an eyebrow. He was responsible.....? Lance was faintly reminded of a program that his school back in England had. It was a program about saying no to drugs and at the end, they had to sign a contract like this one saying they wouldn't do drugs. Maybe this was just a dream and he was reliving his past? With that in mind, Lance picked up the pen and signed the contract. He didn't like drugs anyway.

[Azalea]

++ MILTON ++

Milton smiled, watching the boy sign the contract. "You mean you don't have any questions?"he asked somewhat happily, glad that there was less work for him.

"Anyways, the giant teddy bear that protected you is called a persona. If you create strong bonds with other people, I can help your persona evolve. Basically, like all of those childrens' shows in your realm, the power of friendship will give you the power to stop evil. And there is a lot of evil in your world right now. Or if you ever need your fortune told, I'll do that too~♥"

Michael then added, "The next time you enter this room will be of your own free will. Until then, guest, my master and I bid you farewell."

The master of the velvet room then proceeded to snap his fingers, and a bright light enveloped the entire room. When it died down, the chair Fleance had been sitting in was empty.

------- 2 WEEK TIME SKIP --------

++ SHINJI ++

Shinji should have been hospitalized for at least one week, but he was a hard ass, so he wanted to leave the hospital after two days. One of his mafioso cousins 'convinced' a weak-willed doctor to do the paperwork that released Shinji, as well as a note saying that he needed to be excused from all of his exams.

With one less thing to worry about, Shinji spent a week and a half in his room adding extra features to his robot Pikachu. He didn't want to send half of the team to the hospital after a battle ever again, so he made damn sure that he could take out any fucking shadow that tried to hurt his team ever again. Unfortunately, his ribs werent completely healed. Shinji needed to appoint another leader until he could kick ass at his full strength.

After he finished installing grenades and other dangerous things a high school student shouldn't be able to get ahold of, he activated Pikachu. "Hello friend..."he smiled. Shinji left the room, allowing Pikachu to go wherever he wanted, and headed towards Kimiko's room. He knocked on the door, intending on asking her a favor.

++ KENJI ++

Kenji felt depressed. Sousuke left the country to visit an old friend of his a few days after the shadow attack. He was going to be in America, getting fat from their fast food. He sighed and began watching abridged series on the Internet to cheer himself up. Eventually he was reduced to watching abridged series snippets like this about dying brothers or something. No...no foreshadowing here...

++ ETC..... ++
Everyone else was...doing something productive these two weeks. Except Avido, he's been sleeping and trolling on anime forums.