June 8:

"Let's go speak to Mr. Ekoda," Yu declared to Minato, Junpei, and Yukari as the bell rang for lunch.

"W-Whoa, already!?" Junpei questioned, startled by Yu's swift attitude change.

Minato arched his brow. "Someone's determined," he commented.

"Better to do this sooner rather than later, right?" Yu clarified.

Yukari rubbed the back of her head. "T-That's true, but..."

"Alright then, let's go!" Yu then immediately walked over to the door, swung it open, and began his trek to the faculty office.

"W-Wait up!" Junpei was the next one out, followed by a quiet, yet concerned, Minato.

"Geez," Yukari sighed as she trailed the three guys, closing the door behind her as she left. Up ahead, Yu was on the verge of running down the hall and down the stairs as his mind raced a mile a minute, desperate to find any sort of information to help find Fuuka.

"H-Hey, slow down, dammit!" Junpei shouted. "We've got time!" But Yu continued at his current pace, even as he powered through the main hall of the school building; it would almost certainly be funny to anyone passing by to see him power walk as the others trailed behind him like they were part of his harem. That urgency seemed to drain from his body, however, as he came to a stop in front of the office door.

"G-Goddamn," Junpei wheezed as he caught his breath. "H-How are you n-not on the track team?" He then looked up, finally realizing that Yu was a still as a statue now. "H-Hey, are you okay?"

Yu didn't flinch. "I… I don't know."

"WHAT!?" Junpei shouted in confusion. "Did you miss how fast you were moving to get here!?"

Yu shook his head. "N-No, but… It kind of feels like..."

"Like you don't know whether or not to ask?" Yukari asked.

Yu looked to her. "Y-Yeah, that's exactly it."

She nodded understandingly. "I think I get it. It's not the easiest thing to ask for help. It can be so… suffocating."

"Personal experience?" Minato asked.

Yukari nodded. "But you know what? With all of us here, it won't be so scary." Yukari then smiled. "So let's get in there and figure this all out!"

Yu nodded, then branded a smile of his own. "Then let's go!" And as they opened the door, they witnessed a sight that they weren't expecting: inside was Mitsuru, a seated Mr. Ekoda, and a crying student seated opposite from him.

"K-Kirijo-senpai?" Yu questioned as he walked. "Why are you here?"

Her gaze trailed over to the group. "The same reason as you," she replied before facing to speak to Ekoda. "Mr. Ekoda, I'm here to ask you about a student named Fuuka Yamagishi."

"NO!" The crying girl screeched, startling everyone in the room; even the often silent Minato brought himself to a fighting stance in reaction, no doubt out of instinct. The girl continued. "I-I never thought it'd turn out like this..." Yu then got a better look at the girl, and his eyes went wide as he realized who was sitting before him: the dirty orange hair, the pink lipstick, even her striking, tanned skin.

"W-Wait, aren't you…?" Before Yu could finish his question, Mitsuru's face twisted in frustration as she focused on the girl.

"What did you do to Yamagishi?" she demanded, her voice as cold and as scary as it could be. This caused the girl to start subtly shaking.

"H-Hold on, Mitsuru," Ekoda replied sternly. "This isn't an interrogation." He then faced the girl. "Natsuki, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to." He paused. "You wouldn't want to give her the wrong idea."

Yu gulped. "T-The wrong idea?" He asked, nearing his wits end. "A-About what?"

Ekoda looked back to Yu. "You stay out of this," he warned before refacing the girl named Natsuki. "Go on."

Natsuki then raised her head. "F-Fuuka," she stammered. "S-She… always looked so f-frazzled whenever I gave her a hard time."

Now Yu was starting to look visibly hurt as she spoke. "W-What did you…?"

"T-Then I realized," She continued in response, "she's an honor student, but deep down, she's j-just the same as us." Her face contorted, almost angrily. "I knew EXACTLY which buttons to push..."

Now Yu was getting enraged. "Y-You bitch!" He shouted as he attempted to lunge forward, only to be held back by Minato and Junpei as Natsuki hiccuped with fear.

"S-Stop it, man!" Junpei shouted.

"Do you want to get expelled!?" Yukari warned.

Despite the scene Yu was causing, Natsuki powered through. "W-We were just messin' with her that day, bowl cut!" she taunted before her eyes started to well with tears. "But that day, May 29th… we took Fuuka to the gym…" she paused, took a deep breath, then continued. "a-and locked the door f-from the outside..."

"WHAT!?" Junpei, Yukari, and Mitsuru exclaimed in shock.

"W-Why would you DO something like THAT!?" Yu demanded, still enraged.

She looked down to the floor. "T-That night, Maki returned to school alone. She was… afraid… afraid we'd get in trouble if Fuuka committed suicide…" She looked back up again, this time facing Yu as tears now streamed down her face. "B-But she never came back… and the next morning…" She then went to wipe the tears off her face, an action which finally calmed Yu down by a fair bit.

"...I see," he replied, still stung with hate. "I-It was her by the gate, wasn't it?"

Natsuki nodded. "I went to the gym to let Fuuka out… but t-the door was still locked!" She faced Yu once more. "A-And even when I got the door opened, she was just… gone." She sniffled, wiping her face of tears as she regained her own composure. "S-So of course, we all started freaking out. And from that night on, we went out looking for her."

"H-Huh," Yu stammered. "S-So you do have a heart..."

"Narukami!" Yukari shouted, berating him.

"N-No, it's fine, Takeba," she countered. "He may be right in some way."

Mitsuru nodded. "Please continue."

"O-Oh, right," she stammered as she got back on track. "S-So we would go out looking for her, but every night, another one of us would go missing. A-And then…"

"...they were the ones that ended up like the first," Yukari completed. Natsuki nodded in confirmation.

Mitsuru's expression changed to that of concern. "I see," she replied before facing Ekoda. "By the way, Mr. Ekoda... all this time, you've attributed Yamagishi's absences to 'illness.'" Her expression swiftly darkened. "In reality, you must have been aware that she was, in fact, missing."

"Hey, yeah," Junpei piped in. "What was that all about, teach!?"

Mr. Ekoda then spun around in his chair to face the whole group. "Why, I was thinking of the students, of course," he proclaimed, as if he were putting on a show. "You kids may not understand, but matters like these can affect the futures of everyone affected."

"In other works, Mr. Ekoda," Yu began, "you chose to keep this from the cops for 'the good of the class,' didn't you?"

Ekoda hesitated for a second. "It was in her best interest! I-I wouldn't want something like this staining her record!"

Junpei scoffed. "'Her interest' my ass!"

"B-But even her parents agreed!" Ekoda confessed meekly.

Yu walked up to him in shock. "W-What the hell kind of teacher are you!?" He argued. "Saving your own skin... by shirking your responsibilities as a teacher!? That's just… just..."

"...DESPICABLE!" Yu and Mitsuru finished in unison.

The look on Ekoda's face almost reminded Yu of a deer in headlights before the busted teacher looked back down to the ground sullenly. "I-I didn't… I mean, it was..."

"About your friends," Mitsuru continued as she walked over to Natsuki's side, "did you notice anything unusual before the incidents?"

Natsuki gasped, then bolted back up to an upright position. "N-Now that you mention it, they all mentioned hearing a voice… a creepy one, at that."

"A voice?" Yu pried.

Natsuki nodded. "It was right before each of them went missing, and they said it was calling their names."

Junpei shivered. "C-Could she mean...?"

Yukari nodded. "It can't be a coincidence!"

Mitsuru nodded. "I agree. It has to be them." She then began making her way back towards the group. "Until now, there was no way of knowing exactly why some people are conscious during the Dark Hour."

Yu then connected the pieces. "So it must be that voice that beacons them in!"

"And not only that," Mitsuru continued, "if we follow that logic, that means the Shadows are clearly targeting humans."

"That's messed up," Minato admitted.

"Stay at our dorm tonight," Mitsuru offered. "It's the safest place around."

Natsuki nodded hesitantly. "O-Okay..."

Mitsuru continued. "If you hear the voice, tell us immediately, and don't leave the room no matter what." She paused. "If you can do that much, you should be okay."

"W-Will Fuuka be okay?" Natsuki asked.

Mitsuru nodded. "I promise you, she'll be alright too." She turned to face the group again. "As for the rest of you, we'll meet after school in the Student Council room to discuss tonight's operation. Understood?"

"T-Tonight!?" Junpei questioned.

"We're going to rescue Yamagishi," Mitsuru declared. "If my guess is correct, then she's still inside the school."

Yu nodded confidently. "Then hell yeah! Let's do it!"

"Are we all set?" Yu proclaimed.

Everyone nodded in confirmation.

"Tonight," Mitsuru began, "we will infiltrate the campus in order to rescue Fuuka Yamagishi."

Hamuko raised her hand. "Buuut hold on," she interjected, "is Fuuka even in the school?"

Junpei nodded. "And even then, why at night? The school turns into..."

Mitsuru nodded. "Exactly."

"And I feel so stupid for not realizing it earlier," Yu admitted. "If she were locked inside the school at night, then once the Dark Hour commenced..."

Hamuko perked up. "...then she'd end up inside Tartarus!"

Yukari then piped in. "So she's been stuck in there ever since being locked in?"

Junpei shook his head. "But that was like ten days ago! So wouldn't she still be..."

Akihiko shook his head. "That's not necessarily the case."

Yu nodded. "Time already acts differently in the Dark Hour, after all."

"Think of it like this," Akihiko continued, "if Tartarus only exists during the Dark Hour, then what happens in it during the rest of the day?" Junpei and Hamuko scratched their heads in confusion while the others let that question simmer.

"A-Actually," Yukari began, "would it make sense to say that time only passes in there so long as the Dark Hour exists?"

"Hey, yeah," Yu agreed. "And if we follow that logic, then it's possible only 10 hours have passed for her."

"And that means she SHOULD be fine!" Hamuko finished with glee.

"It's still only a theory," Akihiko cautioned, "but that may very well be the case."

Junpei's expression remained gloomy. "Still though, the Dark Hour is pretty brutal. Would she really be able to handle TEN hours when we can barely handle a single ONE!?"

Yukari nodded. "I mean, he has a point."

"But even SO!" Yu proclaimed in anger. "Does that mean we just leave her to DEFINITELY die!?"

"N-Narukami..." Hamuko replied sadly.

Akihiko nodded. "Don't worry, man. I have an idea: how about we try entering Tartarus exactly how Fuuka did?"

Yu's eyes widened. "Y-You can't mean… waiting in the gym until midnight?"

Akihiko nodded. "That's the quickest way."

"But is it really the BEST way?" Yu countered. "R-Right, Kirijo-senpai?"

She bit her lip. "Quite honestly, I have reservations as well." She paused, as if choosing her words carefully. "After all, there is the possibility you all could end up lost in there as well."

Yu nodded while keeping his head high. "Yeah, I think we all figured that."

"B-But if there's even the slightest chance of saving her," Yukari began, "I think… we may just have to take that chance."

Akihiko nodded. "Well I'm certainly not gonna stand idly by." He looked down. "There's no way in hell I'd forgive myself if she died."

"Akihiko..." Yu sympathized, then nodded. "Then I guess I know where I stand." He then looked around to the others. "But what about you guys?"

Yukari nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"Wherever Narukami goes, I'll go too!" Hamuko proclaimed.

Junpei looked down. "W-Well... I guess I can't let y'all go in there without me."

Mitsuru nodded. "Then I guess we're in agreement," she replied. "We all know the risks, but we can't leave her in there either."

Junpei then quickly pepped up. "Then it's settled! We're sneaking into the school!" He then let out a sinister laugh. "Then I know EXACTLY what to do..."

Hamuko sighed. "He's acting scary again..."

As the group remained gathered in the control room, Mitsuru started to look displeased the longer she remained on the phone. And of course, her concerning expressions only accomplished in bringing the mood down lower and lower.

That is, until Akihiko spoke up. "Is something wrong, Mitsuru?" he asked.

She then clapped her phone shut. "I can't get a hold of the Chairman," she admitted.

"Can't we just handle it ourselves?" Yu suggested.

Mitsuru shook her head. "There's a problem with that."

"And that is?"

"Without his help, I'm not sure how exactly we can get inside the school at all."

Junpei let out a chuckle. "Never fear! I've got it all ready to go."

Yu looked to him in confusion. "Do you now?"

"Don't tell me you have an explosive?" Mitsuru questioned.

Hamuko looked to her with shock. "Okay, I know you're just messing with us on that on!"

Mitsuru chucked herself. "I only jest." She then looked back to Junpei. "I'll leave this to you then."

"Still, an explosive?" Yu questioned silently.

"We don't have any time to waste," Akihiko commanded. "Let's just get going already."

"B-But what do we do about Natsuki-chan?" Hamuko asked.

"We instructed her to stay here in the dorm," Mitsuru explained.

"Is that really enough, though?" Yu questioned. "I actually agree with Hamuko on that one. Wouldn't it be even safer if someone stayed behind to keep watch?"

Minato raised his hand. "I volunteer for that task."

Yukari looked at him with bewilderment. "A-Are you sure?"

Minato nodded. "I trust Narukami to lead you all to success."

"That's very flattering," Yu remarked.

Mitsuru nodded. "In that case, we'll be counting on you, Arisato." She then turned around and took the lead with Akihiko. "Alright, let's go!" But before taking off, though, Yukari still had a question she needed answering.

"Y-You don't have an explosive, right?" she asked Junpei.

He shook his head. "Hell no."

Yu arched his brow. "Then what did you do?"

"Okay, this is a lot simpler than I was expecting," Yu sighed in relief as Junpei opened a previously unlocked gym door he prepared for this exact moment.

"See? I'm smarter than y'all give me credit for," He reassured as he propped the door open for everyone else.

"Is that really something to brag about?" Yukari questioned.

"I'll take that over a hole in the wall," Hamuko admitted.

"Tres bien, Junpei," Mitsuru applauded as the last few people entered the building. "Now then, for this operation, we'll split up into two teams: one to go into Tartarus, and the other to stay behind as support."

Yu nodded. "I'll take charge inside Tartarus."

"I'll be going in as well," Akihiko confirmed.

Yukari looked around, then spoke up. "Umm, and I guess I'll round out the..."

"H-Hey, wait a minute!" Junpei interjected.

Hamuko groaned. "What is it now, Stupei?"

Junpei gritted his teeth, but otherwise ignored her comment. "I-I want to make up for screwing up on the monorail!" He then looked to Yu, clasped his hands, and proceeded to beg. "Let me redeem myself! Please!?"

"Oh, gimmie a break, Junpei," Yukari mocked. "You didn't 'accidentally screw up' anything! Besides..."

Yu sighed. "Ah, what the hell? So long as he doesn't pull any of that damaged pride bullshit again, I think we can give him another shot."

Akihiko nodded. "Beyond that, at least he's fully committed to this."

Junpei pumped his fist in the air. "Heck yeah!"

"Ugh," Yukari groaned.

"What's up, Yukari?" Akihiko asked her. "Not keen on staying behind with Mitsuru?"

"N-No, I didn't mean that!" she protested.

"And I think Hamuko should stay behind as well," Yu suggested.

Hamuko fumed. "What!? Why!?"

"I must agree as well," Mitsuru chimed. "I don't want to risk more people than we need to."

"B-But..."

Yu chuckled. "I know you've really proven yourself since the monorail, but I'd rather not risk you getting lost somewhere I can't save you."

"H-Huh!? D-Do you actually have..."

Yu shook his head vigorously. "I-It's not that!" He sighed. "I've already almost lost track of one person I care for. I just don't want to make it two, that's all."

"N-Narukami..."

"I hate to interject," Mitsuru interrupted, "but it's almost time."

Yu nodded. "I'll be back before you know it, okay?"

Although still hesitant, she finally relented and nodded. "A-Alright, but you BETTER make it back safe!"

Yu chuckled. "Don't worry, I don't plan on dying in there."

"Well then, everyone to their designated areas," Akihiko commanded. "I wish us all good luck."

Mitsuru nodded. "See you all on the other side."

"Huh?" Minato heard Natsuki question as he procured himself a soda from the machine. "I-I thought they said all of you were going to rescue her."

Minato nodded. "Yeah, but the plan changed. They have me on guard duty."

Natsuki started to fume. "I don't need a friggin' knight watching over me."

Minato sighed. "If only we knew that for sure." He then opened the can and proceeded to gulp his drink down.

Natsuki scoffed, then sat down on one of the nearby chairs. "So, like, what's your deal?"

Minato glanced over. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you all going through all this effort to save goody two shoes Fuuka?" At first, it seemed like Minato was blowing her off as he took another sip of his soda. "Hey, answer me, dammit!"

"… she's special," Minato finally replied.

Again, she scoffed. "Oh, she's special alright," she muttered.

"Is that why your little clique hates her?" Minato scolded.

"As if!" she snapped back. "Hate isn't even the right word for how we feel about her!" She then clenched her fists. "She's just… annoying. Yeah, that's it!"

Minato then looked over to her. "How's that?"

She remained silent, then continued. "It's like… when you poke her, even just a little, she freaks out like it's the end of the world." She then got up and paced towards the soda machines. "It's as I said before: deep down, she was just like us." She paused. "I could tell right then that she didn't belong anywhere, just like us."

"Like your friends?"

Natsuki nodded. "But what do you think Fuuka said when we started letting her hang out with us?" Minato shrugged. "'You should go home! Your family must be WORRIED SICK!'" She then laughed. "That's such bullshit! The reason I party all the time is BECAUSE I have no home!"

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

She scoffed, more agitated than before. "The point is is because of that, I knew just what to say OR do to make her hurt the most!" She burst into laugher once more. "I-Isn't that just the best!?"

Minato sighed, then faced her with cold, unflinching eyes. "You know, Narukami-san told me how excited she was to make amends with you before she went missing."

"Huh?" she questioned in a nasty tone.

"She apparantly built up so much confidence hanging out with him, that once he found out she was missing, he was devastated."

Natsuki started chuckling once more. "T-There's no chance that's what really happened!"

Minato then gave her a death glare. "How can you look at how passionate he was in the faculty office and call it all an act!?"

Natsuki was immediately taken aback. "W-Whoa, what's your damage?"

He sighed. "Sorry," he apologized as he finished up the last of his soda. "But I gotta say, after how I first thought of him, it was quite a shock to see him so worked up over the safety of a girl he barely knew for a few weeks."

This comment caught Natsuki's attention. "What do you...?"

"When I first got to know him, I'm not afraid to admit that I thought he was a bit shady. He spoke in half truths that always left the impression that he's hiding something, and he's pretty aggressive when it comes to leading our club activities. Hell, he still kind of does both." He chuckled. "But when I saw him express genuine fear for Fuuka's safety, and especially when he hurled that verbal abuse at you… well, something must've finally clicked in me."

"Uh huh… that's interesting and all, but what does that have to do with me?"

Minato took another deep breath. "I guess what I'm saying is… I think that Fuuka genuinely does cares for you."

Natsuki did a double take. "H-Huh!?"

"Of course, I have no concrete way of saying that, but I'm willing to bet that Yamagishi does genuinely care for you, in the same way Narukami cares for mine and everyone else's well being." He then proceeded to head toward the stairs.

"H-Hey, where are you going!?"

"I'm taking a leek," he admitted as he paced down the stairwell. "I'll be right back." And just like that, Natsuki was all alone with nothing but her thoughts. And after all of Minato's storytelling and posturing, she had no idea what to think anymore.

"Fuuka? Caring for me?" she questioned before scoffing the thought away. "Why the hell is she like that anyway?"

Hey, lookie there! I was so excited to keep this story line going that I managed to crank out a new chapter in only a day! I did intend to make one big chapter covering all of June 8th, but I ultimately decided to leave the "drama" stuff in one half, and all the combat stuff in the other half, which should be out by week's end depending on how things go at my job.

Again, no new social link stuff, and that should remain the same next chapter, but I do sincerely hope you continue to enjoy the story and see it through to the end!

Oh, and special thanks to users Brightwizard21 and 5074 for their recent reviews. You guys rock!

And with that, I bid you all adieu until next time!

-rjm324