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Coming to a halt, there was a tiny gasp as the blonde girl fell to her knees. As she struggled to catch her breath, she looked back at her companion. Somehow, Reiji still stood strong, unphased by the numerous injuries peppering his skin. Granted, the bags under his eyes were much worse than hers, but he looked much more alert than she was. And of course, he wasn't the one currently on the ground.

He knelt down to Mineri, offering her a hand. She took it gratefully, making an effort to pull herself up, but her legs wouldn't budge. She let go of his hand, shaking her head. [color=skyblue]"I think--I think this is where you leave me,"[/color] She told him. [color=skyblue]"My legs won't move anymore. I can maybe buy you a little time, but...this is it for me."[/color]

His eyes widened considerably, though he made sure to take her hand again as he stood. [color=firebrick]"We're getting out of here,"[/color] He said firmly, pulling her up. [color=firebrick]"Come on, Ikeru. Lean on me."[/color]

[color=skyblue]"I can't,"[/color] Her voice cracked as she shook her head. [color=skyblue]"I couldn't save anyone else, but...you can go find Emi and that boy. If you just drag me along, she's going to catch up to us."[/color]

Reiji ignored her as he heaved her up as best as he could. [color=firebrick]"And if Lilith catches you, she's going to get stronger,"[/color] He muttered, forcing the girl to go along with him. [color=firebrick]"Come on, stop it with that sort of thinking. You have to fight it."[/color]

[color=skyblue]"Reiji--"[/color] Her protest died in her throat as her eye turned yellow, letting out a cry of pain as she clutched her head. 

As Reiji was about to pull her up again, a haunting melody filled the halls, causing the pair to freeze. Without a moment's hesitation, the boy knelt down and scooped the girl up, breaking into a sprint. He ignored her protests as he ran, following the thin, glowing white line on the floor. The girl's vision was swimming, the pain in her eye spreading to her head. Was this how it felt like for Hanami, too? They didn't know what to do for her at the time, their spells useless. Admittedly, her guilt wasn't helping things, and she could feel her body slowly losing what little energy she had left.

They came to a halt, with Reiji buckling down and hitting the floor. Before she could question it, she noticed the tendril wrapped around his leg. [color=skyblue]"No--no--no--Reiji!"[/color] She tried to get up, her arms shaking. However, before she could do anything, her body froze as both her eyes shined yellow, causing her to clutch her head. 

Reiji slammed his sword into the ground, hanging on to prevent himself from getting dragged away. [color=firebrick]"Ikeru! Ikeru, can you hear me?!"[/color] He yelled, unable to reach the writhing girl. Unfortunately, he knew it was over now--his own grip was weakening, and even if he miraculously held on, he was pretty sure the demon would catch up with them any moment now. 

He looked over to his left, the mirror shining at him. He couldn't help but feel it was mocking them at this point. But he'd be damned if he was going to let Makoto's sacrifice be in vain. With his free hand, he held his palm out, a flame forming a blue card in his hand. [color=firebrick]"Masamune!"[/color] He called, a figure clad in samurai armor appearing. [color=firebrick]"Get her through the mirror!"[/color]

The Persona sheathed its blade, following its command without hesitation. As it picked up the writhing girl, the tendril wrapped itself around Reiji's chest, pulling him harder. That demon really did love to play with its prey, didn't it? He wasn't going to go down without a fight, but he made sure to keep all his focus on Masamune. As it stopped before the mirror, he could see Mineri open her eyes, looking at him. She said something he couldn't catch, but there wasn't time for clarification as Masamune dropped her through.

The white line on the floor faded as the mirror blackened, and with a flash, it disappeared. Masamune came and cut him loose, waiting as Reiji got to his feet. The mirror disappeared just like it did when Ueno was pushed through. The rules must change whenever Lilith was around. That, or she had some sort of power that prevented them from leaving. Either way, Mineri was through, and he had nothing that would slow him down. He beckoned to his Persona, and together, the pair left the way they came.[/indent][hr][indent]
Clapping her hands as she walked into the classroom, the homeroom teacher of class 2-A had presented herself. A soft, kind woman, she dressed conservatively with a yellow turtleneck and a pair of slacks, her brown hair in two braids. She stopped at the side of the smartboard, turning it on and revealing a name already written in.

[color=gold]"Good morning and welcome, everyone,"[/color] She greeted them all warmly, placing a laptop on the small podium. [color=gold]"I am Momoji Aya, and I'll be your homeroom teacher this morning. I'm very excited to meet each and every one of you today. Now, I know we have a new transfer student here, so we'll give him a chance to introduce himself once I take attendance. Today will be easy, but tomorrow the real work begins!"[/color] [/indent][hr][indent]
The chattering in the third year classroom all but died down the second a clicking pair of heels was heard. The teacher strode in without looking at anyone, focused more on settling herself in first. Her long, wavy hair pointed in nearly every direction but she didn't seem to care. She was sharply dressed, a pair of glasses adorning her face. Once she deemed herself ready, she turned on the smartboard and took a dry erase marker in hand, writing her name down.

[color=gold]"I'm Suzuki Keiko. As you are all third years, I expect few issues here,"[/color] She stated, leveling a look on the class. [color=gold]"Don't go tripping over the finish line."[/color][/indent][hr][center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjgwLmZmODg4OC5UbUZyWVc1dklGTmhhM1Y1WVEuMA/gloria-beauty-demo.regular.png[/img][hr][/center][indent]The first day of class went off without a hitch. Considering a majority of the material was introductory, it was easy to let the mind wander. Once the dismissal bell rang, however, the school's mood quickly turned lively. Students were eager to catch up with one another, already changing out of their shoes and leaving. The more dedicated club members had decided to get a jump on recruitment, and an assortment of flyers already hanging on the school's bulletin board with promises of fun. Principal Wada stood near the board, his usual grouchy scowl on his face, though he returned most students' greetings cordially enough.

Sakuya herself already had a task, choosing to keep her head down for most of the day. She was still in disbelief that people actually [I]believed[/i] that writing--if she was a self-conscious person, the constant staring might have actually bothered her. But she wasn't about to let some dumb rumor get in the way of her duties. While she had already informed both Naomi and Ueno of the meeting, she ended up enlisting the help of another student to find Kinoshita for her while she hurried to the transfer student's homeroom. An introduction and casual offer for help would be satisfactory; it wasn't like he was some helpless child. Unless he was, then that would make things more complicated.

Among the class of second years, only one stood out as unknown to her. This would make her job easier at least. Approaching the second year, Sakuya stopped next to his desk. [color=salmon]"Are you Hoshino?"[/color] She asked him. [color=salmon]"My name is Nakano Sakuya, I'm a third-year here. I thought it'd be a good idea to introduce myself to you just in case you had any questions or needed help with anything."[/color]

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