...13/09/2009 Sunday, Midday...
The day spread over Tatsumi Port Island, tinting everything with the golden light of the sun that reflected in the clear sky.
The wind carried the gentle warmth of summer, but the sounds of the streets were not peaceful.
Machines worked incessantly. Hammers, jackhammers, and cranes moved between scaffolding and barriers.
Entire blocks were under reconstruction — buildings rising again, fresh asphalt covering holes and cracks along the main avenue leading to Moonlight Bridge.
On big screens and radios, the same narrative repeated with rehearsed confidence: "The damage was caused by a large-scale gas pipeline accident, attributed to the actions of extremist groups."
It was enough to reassure. Enough to keep questions to a minimum.
No one knew.
None of the people hurrying by with shopping bags, looking at their phones, or waiting for the next bus knew of the Dark Hour.
The hidden hour between one day and the next.
The time the world refused to witness — when S.E.E.S. fought monsters only they could see.
On the rooftop of the Iwatodai dorm, Minato leaned against the railing, the wind playing with his blue hair.
The view from there encompassed the distant buildings, some wrapped in scaffolding, others reflecting the sun like shattered mirrors.
But his gaze wasn't there.
It was somewhere else.
The conversation with Pharos still burned in his mind.
A tightness in his chest, as real as the wind on his face.
The memory of that figure surrounded by a white aura, knocking down every member of S.E.E.S. as if they were discarded dolls, was impossible to ignore.
His fingers closed against the cold metal of the railing.
His eyes drifted toward the horizon, heavy with doubt.
And then the scene came back.
The team members lying on the ground — battered bodies, labored breaths, some unconscious from the effort.
But he saw someone.
Yukari.
One of the few still awake.
Her body trembling, yet trying to remain steady. Her arm extended toward him.
Her face… marked by fear.
Desperation mixed with sadness.
"I'm sorry…" her voice echoed in his mind, trembling, broken by sobs. "But he's too strong…"
Minato took a deep breath, the fresh rooftop air filling his lungs.
His hand instinctively slid to the chain of his MP3 player.
His fingers traced the cold surface of the device, as if they could extract a bit of stability from it — a small ritual he carried everywhere.
But the comfort was fragile.
The shadow of depression, always lurking, began to creep in again.
An old, corrosive pain.
The memory came, too vivid to ignore: the accident.
The smell of smoke, muffled screams, vision blurred by confusion.
And then… silence.
Silence and the absence of his parents.
Even now, surrounded by friends, the thought pulsed like an open wound: they too could disappear at any moment.
"What are the chances?…" his voice was low, almost swallowed by the wind. "…of one of them being…"
The soft creak of the rooftop door opening cut off his thoughts.
Slow footsteps echoed on the floor, drawing closer.
Minato didn't turn.
He already had an idea of who it was.
The presence stopped just a few steps behind him.
"Hiro… can you come talk to me later? I'm not in the mood to—" he said, voice cold, almost cutting.
"It's me, Minato." A feminine voice, laden with concern, broke his assumption.
He blinked, surprised — he hadn't expected that voice — and turned.
He saw Yukari, a few steps away, her face lit by the sun but marked with worry.
Since yesterday, after he collapsed, she hadn't been able to shake off the concern.
"Oh… it's you, Yukari." He let the MP3 drop back against his chest, his voice softening slightly. "Sorry, thought you were Hiro."
"Are you okay? Since you woke up, you haven't spoken to any of us," Yukari asked, scanning every detail of Minato.
Minato averted his eyes, staring at the horizon.
He knew Yukari always worried about him, maybe more than she admitted.
He leaned back on the railing again, his expression closing off once more.
"I'm fine… you don't need to worry," he replied, tone cold as before.
Her fist tightened.
In a quick step, Yukari reached for his shoulder and turned him slightly, forcing him to face her.
But Minato didn't look at her, keeping his eyes on the street.
"Don't come with that," Yukari said, her voice firm and tinged with irritation. "It's obvious you're not fine. You collapsed out of nowhere after screaming like you were dying!"
Minato stayed silent, his face turned away from her.
Inside, an uncomfortable pressure squeezed his chest, as if every heartbeat was shoving more anxiety into him.
Part of him wanted to hide the truth — that vision, that premonition.
The other part… knew that speaking it out loud would plant fear in the others.
And he didn't want to see any of them die.
"Stop playing the perfect guy and listen to me," Yukari said, her voice calmer now, but still firm. "You can't just pretend nothing happened after yesterday."
Minato's gaze shifted slightly, catching hers from the corner of his eye.
That worried expression of hers… he knew it well.
And in that instant, the memory hit like a blow.
Yukari's face — pale and bruised.
Her body lying across his legs.
Her trembling hand reaching out to him… and her eyes, full of fear.
The air in Minato's lungs grew heavy.
He drew in a deep breath and lowered his head, as if that was the signal for his decision.
When he raised his eyes again, his voice came out cold.
"I'm fine, Yukari… but I'm worried."
The slight impact of those words made her eyes widen a little.
She knew Minato's distant tone, but there was something different about it now — heavier, more serious.
"Worried… about what?" she asked, the tension clear in her eyes.
Minato ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly, as if searching for the words were a physical act.
The wind on the rooftop blew steadily, but it didn't carry away the weight in his throat.
He looked up at Yukari and, for a moment, his chest begged him to say everything.
But Pharos… there was no way to explain that. No one would understand.
So, he chose another path.
"I had a dream…" he said, his voice heavy with a dry weariness. "…where everyone was on the ground. Injured after a fight."
Yukari frowned in confusion. "Us? But why?"
He simply shook his head.
"I don't know. You were there, Aigis, Ken… everyone. The only ones I didn't see were Aragaki and Hiro."
Her gaze faltered. A dull, pulsing unease began to tighten in her chest, but the words didn't come. As if something in the air told her to wait.
Without saying anything, she let go of his shoulder and leaned against the railing beside him.
The silence between them was broken only by the distant sounds of the city.
"We were at the Tartarus entrance," Minato continued, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "There was some kind of strange fog… but that doesn't matter. And then… a man, I think… fought against S.E.E.S."
His fingers brushed his own neck, as if massaging it could ease the discomfort of the memory.
"He didn't seem normal. Took down Akihiko like it was nothing. And he defeated all of us… without any effort at all."
Yukari swallowed hard.
"Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?"
"No. It felt way too real." His eyes narrowed, then turned toward Yukari. "And I think it was the Devil's Herald. I only had this dream… and then I blacked out after hearing about him."
Yukari's eyes narrowed as well, her expression tightening.
"You're right… the same thing happened to Hiro, back in the middle of the year. Before we got our suits."
"Did you guys find out anything about what he is?" Minato's curiosity came out low, almost cautious.
"No…" she scratched her head, her gaze distant. "After you passed out, Hiro and Aigis took you to your room. Kirijo-senpai and Shinkai-san searched through the archives with President Shuji… but they found nothing."
Minato studied her for a few seconds before turning his eyes back to the city.
The weight in his chest tightened even further.
Who — or what — is the Devil's Herald?
Minato lifted his gaze to the sky.
The clouds drifted lazily, white against the calm blue.
But when he blinked, the peace shattered.
The blue was devoured by a sickly, viscous green, as if the atmosphere itself had rotted.
The world became still and macabre — the color of the Dark Hour.
When he blinked again, everything was back to normal.
White clouds. Blue sky.
As if nothing had happened.
Three Shadow Arcanas.
Just three, and the Dark Hour would disappear forever.
But… until then, could they hold out?
"The Herald is somewhere…" Minato said, his voice as cold as his expression. "but will he find us first? Or will we manage to kill the Shadow Arcanas before that?"
His eyes turned to Yukari, and there was a different weight in his tone when he continued:
"Tell me, Yukari. Are you afraid that someone might die? It's only a matter of time before one of us falls."
A chill ran down Yukari's spine.
She wasn't prepared for that question.
Her gaze drifted to the horizon, and recent memories began to overlap:
The traitor hiding among them.
The Noir, still an absolute mystery.
The desperate fight against the horde of Shadows in Tartarus.
The structures trembling as the Void Shadow emerged.
Mitsuru nearly dying after freezing the Void Shadow.
The crushing exhaustion after that hellish battle.
If Minato was right… someone would inevitably fall.
After all, that was the cycle of life. And death… death was inevitable.
"Yes…" she replied, almost in a whisper. "Hiro passed out twice… we almost lost Kirijo-senpai. And there are still the Strega… with that Evoker from the Project kuma."
She turned to face Minato.
The leader she admired, always there to take care of S.E.E.S.
And yet, in that moment, the air between them felt more fragile than ever.
Her heart raced, and for a second, the nervousness threatened to suffocate her.
But she took a deep breath, pushing the feeling away.
"I don't want to think that any of us will die," she murmured, her voice breaking. "But… I can't lie. I'm scared something will happen to someone from S.E.E.S."
The cold wind swept across the rooftop, making Minato lightly press the mp3 player pendant resting against his chest.
He held it carefully, bringing it up before his face, as if that small object contained an answer.
That familiar weight settled on his chest again — silent, but suffocating.
That old pain, not from physical wounds, but from the emptiness that depression and loss leave behind.
"I can't lie…" his voice was low, almost as if speaking to himself. "I feel the same way."
Yukari blinked, surprised. "So… you mean…"
He nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. "It's not exactly fear… but I'm worried."
His gaze returned to the pendant, his fingers brushing lightly over its cold surface.
"Worried that something will happen to one of you."
When he looked back at her, his expression was firm, almost stern. "I don't care if something happens to me… but none of you can die."
The words fell over Yukari like a weight, tightening her chest.
She didn't like that thought — that he discarded himself, that he saw his own life as secondary. But at the same time, that was what defined him. Minato always put himself ahead of everyone else to protect them.
Without saying anything, she took a step closer. Slowly, she tilted her head until it rested on his shoulder.
Her heart pounded so hard it seemed to echo in her ears. Heat rose to her face, but she took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.
Minato's eyes widened in surprise, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "Yukari?"
"It's fine." She looked away, her voice slightly shaky. "I just want to say… you don't have to worry. We're by your side."
She closed her eyes, her breathing steadying. "Just don't think anyone's going to die… because we're not."
He blinked a few times, as if processing her words slowly. Then, a rare smile formed on his face.
Gently, he moved his arm, wrapping it around her shoulders and pulling her closer.
Yukari's face turned crimson. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out, and she had to hide her face against his shoulder.
"I'll try not to think about it." His voice was softer now. "Thanks, Yukari."
"You're welcome…" her voice came out muffled against the fabric of his shirt. "I just want you to be okay."
The breeze passed again, brushing through both of their hair.
Yukari glanced at him from the corner of her eye, seeing him look out at the horizon with a faint smile, as if the worry had lifted.
She placed a hand over her own chest, feeling her heart calm, and let a small, shy smile escape.
The view from the rooftop spread out before them — buildings once destroyed now beginning to be rebuilt, the city slowly recovering from the Shadows' horde.
"Can we… stay like this for a while?" she asked, her voice hesitant but more confident.
"Hmm? Are you sure?" He glanced sideways at her, curious.
"I'm sure…" Yukari nodded. "Just promise me that when we leave here, you'll talk to the others. They're worried about you."
"Alright." He nodded with a smile, turning his gaze back to the city.
And so they stayed — side by side, sharing the silence.
There was something different between them in that moment, as if their souls were drawing closer, finding safety in each other's presence.
Something that went beyond simple friendship.