Author's Note:
AU, some poorly written smut thrown in there every now and again.
Akihiko is in his third year of college, he and Mitsuru have been dating for 4 months.
FeMC goes by the name of Minako Arisato
A few different pairings will be thrown around:
Akihiko/Mitsuru, Akihiko/FeMC, FeMC/Shinjiro
But this is ultimately an Aki/FeMC fic.
Disclaimer:
I don't own Persona or any of its characters.
Chapter One: Loser.
Evening – October 12 (FRI)
By the time Akihiko left the gym that night the moon was high and the wind cut through his clothes like a knife. It might not have been so bad if he wasn't still drenched in sweat. He couldn't help but think it was too cold for October… Then again, Akihiko couldn't remember the last time he was out this late at night. High school, maybe?
He dismissed himself with a sigh, it's not like it really mattered anyway. All he could bring himself to think about was the loss he'd suffered just a few hours ago. He had only been knocked out for a few seconds, but it was enough for the ref to declare his defeat. A defeat so pathetic that he made himself stay at the gym for an extra 2 hours, beating the sandbag until he couldn't feel his fingers anymore.
Fighting a shiver, Akihiko shoved his hands into his jacket pocket and began his trek across campus to the junior dorms. Mitsuru undoubtedly would have left him several messages since this morning despite the fact that she knew Aki never brought his cell phone to the gym with him. It was too distracting and apparently he needed all the concentration he could get nowadays.
Aki pursed his lips—ignoring the faint taste of blood as he did so—and debated whether or not he'd return Mitsuru's calls… He knew she'd ask about the match. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it. Rather… He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it with her.
Akihiko picked up the pace as another gust of wind blew through him and grimaced at the pain he felt through his rib cage and face. He hadn't looked in the mirror yet, in fact he'd made a point not to, but he was certain that the evidence of his defeat tonight was anything but pretty. He felt swollen already, particularly around his left eye. He couldn't open it all the way and it stung each time he blinked. The icy air was only serving to irritate it more. Aki pushed himself forward with yet another sigh and forced himself to stop tonguing the swollen cut on the inside of his cheek when he started to taste the blood again.
It wasn't as if he'd never taken a beating before. It wasn't like he'd never lost a match… But recently that's all he was doing. Losing. Over and over again. And he hadn't realized until now just how much of a sore loser he actually was.
Akihiko glanced at his familiar surroundings as he walked through the deserted quad and passed by the darkened windows of the library; most of the greenery was dead, the trees were stripped bare of their leaves, the campus looked nothing like it did during the entrance ceremony two years ago. But it was still beautiful in its own way. Almost every place on campus held one memory or another, and most of them were pleasant up until this past April, when he'd started his junior year…
He walked silently down the sidewalk, ahead of him was the entrance to the dormitories… which just reminded him of Mitsuru. He'd pass by her room when he walked up the four flights of stairs to get to his own. For a second he wondered if he should knock on her door when he got there…
But he dismissed the thought. He was hardly in the mood for company after all, and he was sure he'd just be a downer. Lately his redheaded girlfriend had been really pushy when it came to school. She was the only reason he'd even enrolled this year. He knew he couldn't really hold it against her though, she was obviously worried about his education. There weren't many juniors who still hadn't settled on a major.
In the back of his mind though, Aki knew he resented her a little bit for pushing him into it even if it had ultimately been his decision. It was stupid and selfish and unbelievably juvenile to hold it against her, but it still lurked in the depths of his thoughts anyway. He knew he was just trying to shift the blame away from himself, he'd been too much of a coward to drop everything and do what he really wanted… To do the only thing that seemed to make him really feel alive. He wanted to ignore all his classes and responsibilities and just box—to feel the thrill of improvement from training each and every day, to push his limits and those of his opponents, to taste the sweet adrenaline when he stepped into the ring… Just the thought of it all made the corners of Akihiko's mouth twitch into a grin.
He winced as the pain shot through him again and ran his tongue over his lip, feeling the split in the center. It tasted like iron. Like wasted time.
Lately he hardly had time to train at all between matches, the sandbag in his room was collecting dust. Between classes and homework, Mitsuru and his part-time job, he felt like he was drowning, like he was collapsing in on himself.
Akihiko glanced back at the full moon and readjusted the gym bag on his shoulder before opening the door and entering the lounge to the junior dorms.
He didn't even glance at the stairwell, his usual route, before stepping into an unoccupied elevator and pressing "4".
Early Morning – October 13 (SAT)
Akihiko woke up before the sun to the sound of his phone going off on his nightstand. He glared at it for a moment before picking it up and answering it.
"Hello?" He asked, grogginess evident in his voice.
A familiar voice—and usually one of bad news—greeted him. He got the feeling he wasn't going to be enjoying his day off. "Aki? Hey, it's me. I need you to cover my shift at the café today."
"Shinji, I don't know… I was going to go to the gym today and—" Akihiko rolled over and groaned as the pain from his match woke him with a jolt. There was no way he could train in this condition. "Ugh… yeah, alright then. What time?"
He heard Shinjiro chuckled on the other end, "At seven. I guess there's some new girl starting today or something. I'm no good at training, you know? Seems like a real pain. Anyway, I owe you one, Aki. Talk to you later."
Akihiko suddenly regretted getting Shinji a job at all as he hung up his phone and flung his head back into his pillow. New girl, huh? He shook his head, hadn't he just been complaining the night before that he hardly ever found time to himself? Looks like I bring it upon myself. He thought with a grumble, pushing himself from his mattress onto the wooden floor. As he stretched he realized just how sore he was, his muscles ached more than they had in months, his face hurt—
"Oh, shit." He half yelled, remembering the haymaker that had put him on his ass the night before. He ran to the mirror and frowned at his reflection. "I forgot…" Aki mumbled. He'd promised Shinji he'd take his shift but… He wondered if his manager would even let him work looking like this.
His left eye was pretty swollen, although thankfully it felt much worse than it looked. His lip was split open almost directly in the middle and he could feel the bruise on his chin from the uppercut that had made him spit his mouth guard across the ring. There were a couple yellowish, green bruises splotched along his left temple and jaw line, but honestly he'd looked worse after some of his fights in high school.
Akihiko chuckled as he remembered a particularly brutal fight from his boxing club back at Gekkoukan High, if he would have won it would have been his 30th consecutive victory, he would have made school history. It was just a few weeks before graduation, his last formal match as a high schooler… all his friends had come to cheer him on, he'd been a little embarrassed that they'd turned it into such a spectacle…
He shook his head and grinned at the memory. The fight itself was a bit fuzzy in his mind but he remembered waking up in the infirmary…
Akihiko blinked a few times, the orange glow of the setting sun was shining through the glass and a soft breeze blew through an open window, cooling the wet cloth on his forehead.
For a second he couldn't remember why he was there but as he regained consciousness, pieces started flooding back. He laughed quietly and couldn't help but smile despite the loss. It had been a good fight. He tilted his head toward the window where auburn hair blew softly in the breeze.
"Senpai!" She exhaled in relief, smoothing her bangs into place, "How are you feeling?"
Akihiko only nodded in response, admiring the breathtaking view he saw before him. Her ruby eyes gleamed in the sunlight, it's like her skin was glowing.
She furrowed her brow, delicate eyebrows knit in concern, "Senpai… What's your name?"
Akihiko laughed and then cleared his throat, embarrassed and a little loopy. He averted his eyes, and ignored the heat rising on his cheeks under her watchful gaze. With a frown he said, "You don't know my name?" He still felt a little dizzy.
It was her turn to laugh this time, Akihiko couldn't help but stare some more—she was radiating. It was deliriously captivating. "I just want to make sure you know your name." She clarified, removing the cloth from his forehead. Her lips curved into a smile. "So…?"
"A-Akihiko… Sanada…" He managed. He was lightheaded.
She nodded, seemingly please. "I'm glad you're awake now, Senpai—"
"Aki." He interrupted, his mind growing hazy. Her ruby eyes were wide as she stared back at him, lips parted slightly. "Call me, Aki… I want to hear you say it." He couldn't help but savor the image in front of him as color rose to her cheeks. "I want to hear what it sounds like in your voice."
She stared back at him for a moment, blushing furiously. "A-A… Aki… Senpai." As the words left her mouth, she seemed to gather her resolve. She stood up abruptly and slammed her hands onto the edge of his bed, her eyes downcast, and fingers trembling. "Aki-Senpai!" She says it again, her mouth hanging open, fighting for her voice. "I…! I've wanted to tell you for a long time that I… I…!" Her cheeks were nearly as red as her eyes and Akihiko only stared at her in wonder as she struggled to find the right words. "Aki-Senpai… I've always… I've always…" Finally she sighed, and shook her head, giving him a sad smile. "Turns out I can't say it, after all…" She mumbled, "S-Senpai?!"
In that moment, Akihiko's eyelids became too heavy to keep open any longer, his head swimming in a sea of white light, and his head sank slowly back into his pillow.
Author's Note:
Well there's chapter one. I had more than this written but I decided to save the smut for later. (Mostly because it's Akihiko/Mitsuru, and I don't know if I want to leave it in or take it out)…
Well, anyway… review?