Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3. It belongs entirely to Atlus. This is just my attempt to improve upon my writing abilities through a story I already love.

This story is a sequel to the events of The Journey portion of Persona 3. The Answer will be completely ignored. I will, however probably be borrowing several elements from Persona 4, though I will not spoil its storyline and none of it characters will be involved. I hope you enjoy my story and I encourage you to leave reviews, as they are good for motivation. Thanks.

CHAPTER ONE

"Hey Junpei, did you hear the rumor?"

Junpei Iori raised his head up to find his friend, Amaya Nomura, staring at him. She grabbed her long, black ponytail and twisted it around her fingers in excitement.

"Kenji-kun said that he saw some new girl in the office yesterday. Apparently, they're putting her in our classroom!"

"Another one?" Junpei asked, incredulously, "That's the third this year!"

"Oh Junpei, we all came to see you," Amaya feigned, placing the back of her hand on her forehead, "Isn't that right, Kartilkeya-kun? You came all the way from India just to see Junpei?"

"Huh?" said the voice of a boy, his dark eyes raising from behind a long sheet of hair, "Oh yeah, stories of the great Junpei were told at school every day. It's such an honor to finally be in his presence."

Junpei couldn't help but grin at this. At the beginning of the year, he had been horrified to realize that none of his friend were there to talk to. Aegis was back at the lab, Fuuka had transferred in order to be with Natsuki-chan, both Mitsuru and Akihiko had graduated, and Yuka-tan was in another homeroom. Not like she was the best company anymore.

Amaya laughed suddenly as the bell rang. She turned around to face the front just as their teacher, Nanjo-sensei, entered the room with a girl their age. The young female had light brown, almost blonde hair and deep maroon eyes. Though attractive, her face had a darkness that made Junpei's eyes widen for a moment.

"Okay class, listen up," started Nanjo-sensei, after pausing to clear his throat, "This is our new student, Nanako Amano. By now, I'm sure you're all used to seeing new classmates, so I expect you to give you the same treatment to her as you gave to Amaya-san and Kartilkeya-kun."

Amaya smirked heavily and glanced over at the empty seat next to her. Though there was another one at the front of the classroom, she stood up.

"Nanako-san, come sit by us!" she yelled, waving her arms dramatically. Junpei glanced over at Kartilkeya, who was trying desperately to hold back a laugh.

"I guess," Nanako said with a sigh, glancing at the desk in the front of the room. After a moment, she tore her eyes toward Amaya and made her way to the desk next to her.

"Heeey, I'm Junpei Iori," Junpei started seductively, "If you want, I could kick Amaya-san out and you could sit by me."

To his surprise, Nanako grinned. Not the reaction he was used to.

"That's okay. I've seen what some girls will do when abandoned, and I wouldn't wish that upon you." Nanako observed, her voice quiet, yet friendly. She slid fluidly into the seat next to Amaya, and turned her eyes towards the front of the classroom.

It was at this moment that Junpei felt somewhat of a gravitational pull towards this new student. Glancing around, he could see the same feelings plastered behind the eyes of every other guy in the classroom. Sudden attraction of this level took him back to his Junior year, when Mitsuru-senpei and Minato had attracted the gaze of every student in the school. Suddenly, this memory sent a stabbing pain through his body.

"So, Nanako-chan, where are you from?" Junpei said suddenly, trying to push back the thoughts.

"Kyoto," Nanako answered, appearing to reminisce herself. Glancing up, she met Junpei's eyes.

"Really? Why'd you move?" Amaya questioned, "I'm from Kyoto too and I hated leaving."

"I'm not sure. I just wanted to," Nanako replied, her eyes falling back to her desk.

Amaya shook her head incredulously. Junpei could tell that she was dying to say something, but she somehow managed to hold her tongue.

"Kyoto is beautiful apparently," Kartilkeya observed, breaking his silence, "Or so I've heard. I've never actually been there."

"You will," Junpei answered, "Our school trip is next month."

"I know," Nanako said suddenly, "I mean, somebody at the office told me."

Confusion filled her eyes and she closed them momentarily. Once again, Junpei felt that unusual draw towards her. Just as he was about to say something else, however, Nanjo-sensei stood up and silenced the students.

Several hours later, school finally ended. As Junpei began to stride for the classroom door, a hand grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him back.

"Agh!" he yelled, spinning around to see Amaya-san. Her eyes were filled with some information that she was obviously dying to spread.

"Hey, I need to tell you something," she stated, glancing around to make sure that nobody else could hear, "You know how Nanako-san said that she's from Kyoto? I asked what school she went to and she said Raphael High, which is where I went, you know? Anyway, I looked in my yearbook from last year, and she's not in there."

"What are you talking about," Junpei whined suddenly, "Why would you bring your old yearbook to school with you?"

"I didn't," Amaya answered, rolling her eyes, "I had my brother bring it during lunch. Anyway, that's not what's important. I looked at every picture in that book and not a single Nanako Amano went to Raphael High."

END CHAPTER