So, I'm not a huge fan of this couple, but I couldn't resist starting this... o.0 Guess I'm just a spaz? I love how cute Fuuka is though... And I feel bad for Junpei a lot of the time... So there isn't any romance yet, but if I get enough response I'll write more chapters ^_^ I do not own Persona or any of the characters... Though sometimes I wish I did... hehehe... Enjoy~
Junpei kicked a rock and sighed hopelessly, as he retreated from the beach. SEES was on a summer trip to Mitsuru's father's beach home; complete with maids and butlers. The girls had all gone on a walk through the woods, so Junpei, Akihiko, and Minato went on a "mission" to pick up beach babes. Unfortunately for Junpei, everyone had succeeded except for him. 'You're such a loser, seriously.' The older women's words rung through his mind. "You're the one who keeps chasing them away with your stupidity." Akihiko lashed back. "Failed the mid-terms again, Stupei?" Yukari chuckled. Junpei clenched his fist, and broke into a run. His footing was sloppy as he tried to run in the hot sand, and he nearly fell. He ran into the woods, and didn't stop. 'I am a loser... and an idiot...' The rough earth floor cut into his feet, but he didn't care. 'I can't even pass in school...' Tears stung in his eyes as he ran further, and started breathing heavier. 'I've never even had a girlfriend... of course, who would want to be with a loser like me?' His hat flew off as he ran right by the three SEES girls. He didn't notice because of his blurred vision, and he continued straight on to nowhere.
"What the heck was that?" Yukari stood very confused, as the three stood around Junpei's favorite hat.
"He certainly seemed in a hurry." Mitsuru looked off in the direction Junpei had gone.
Yukari laughed. "He's probably just chasing women again, it is stupei after all."
Fuuka bit her lip, and picked up the hat. 'He looked upset...he was crying...' She thought worriedly. She couldn't blame the other girls for not noticing, seeing things that others could not was after all her speciality.
"Fuuka?" The two girls looked at her curiously.
Without a word, Fuuka ran off towards Junpei.
The two girls stood dumbfounded, and then looked at each other. "Do you know why...?"
"I don't think I've ever seen her run like that before, she always seems so frail." They stood looking off into the distance, but could no longer see the blue haired girl. Just the thick, dark woods.
"Why the hell am I here then huh?! I'm a NOBODY!" Junpei yelled in frustration. He stopped abruptly, and threw his hand into the trunk of a tree. The tree splintered, but didn't break. Junpei's hand, however, was not so lucky. Junpei yelled out louder this time, and grabbed at the searing pain. Blood started to seep out of the open wound, and he couldn't move his pointer finger. He could move his other fingers, though it hurt like hell. 'I messed up again, huh?' Junpei cursed himself as blood trickled down onto the ground below him. "I bet nobody would notice if I were gone anyways... Even when I'm fighting, I'm no match for Minato, or Akihiko... even the girls best me sometimes..." He looked up, and saw rays of light creeping into the thick woods. Curiously, he walked forwards and saw what most would consider a terrific view. A cliff with the ocean down below, crashing on wet rocks and smashing upon itself forever, and the blue sky, all with a strangely colored tint from the afternoon sun. But all Junpei could see was an escape; a way out. He mindlessly walked up to the edge of the cliff, and looked down. Normally he would have freaked out and jumped back, but not this time. Was it considered bravery if he wasn't afraid? He wasn't sure. Even though the water was shallow, he couldn't see the beach. It was so peaceful this deep in the woods, it was torture. The kind of quiet where you feel like you aren't connected to the world. Where estranged memories cannot help but escape the dark corners of your mind, and almost always bring tears to your eyes. 'Damn it...' He took a deep breath as he took a final step forwards. As a last resort, his subconscious spoke: "What about everyone who cares about you? Would you want to let them down?" Junpei hesitated, then yelled, "Damn it! Nobody cares about me anyways! It'd be better if I were dead!" He squeezed his eyes shut and-
"NO!" A female voice screamed from behind.
Junpei almost fell off the cliff in surprise. He didn't turn around, but he heard very heavy panting, and then something heavy hitting the earth floor. 'What in the world?' He turned around, and saw a very exhausted Fuuka collapsed on the ground, and looking up at him. "Please...don't do...anything...rash..." She coughed and wheezed, and attempted to sit up.
"F-Fuuka..." Junpei stepped closer to her, and looked down. "Why did you come here?" Using his good hand, he wiped his tears away. He looked pathetic, as usual.
Fuuka tried to regain composure, and stood up. Her legs wobbled a bit, but she held strong. Her modest bathing suit was covered in bits of sand and dirt from laying on the ground. "I saw you, running earlier..." She spoke breathlessly.
"Tch, figures everyone would see me making a fool of myself again..."
"But, you were about to...to..."
Junpei became frustrated. "To what, Fuuka? Say it."
"Junpei..." Fuuka twisted the bottom of her shirt uncomfortably.
He turned around, and looked at the sky. "I'm so sick of people like you."
Fuuka's eyes widened, as she felt a pain in her chest.
"You prance around and act like you're better than everyone else. But you don't know what it's like, to feel like you don't matter to the world. You were born smart, and pretty, and calm..." He faced Fuuka once again, and rose his voice to a yell. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTA-"
Fuuka raised her hand a smacked him across the face.
Junpei, surprised, looked down at the usual shy, quiet girl; she was crying.
Fuuka looked at Junpei angrily, tears streaming down her innocent face. "You really think, I don't understand? I spent years trying to hide from everyone, trying to be invisible! Trying my best to please everyone so they would leave me alone! But still..."
"Fuuka..."
"Still they made fun of me! They tortured me! My life was a living hell these past few years, until I met people like you! How dare you say people don't understand, when you don't even know the first thing about your so called "friends"!"
Junpei stared blankly, almost lifelessly. More than anything, hearing Fuuka cry was hurting him the most. Tearing him up inside.
"If that's all you think about people like me, then you're dumber than I thought!"
Junpei sat silently in thought, like a child being scolded by his mother.
Fuuka took a deep breath, and continued. "A few months ago, I thought I was stupid, and ugly, and that nobody wanted me around. I hated myself... That is, until I joined SEES. They made me feel like I could make a difference, like I could do something with the miserable existence that was my life. Since then... I've felt better, little by little. I feel stronger, and smarter, even a little prettier. And I've gained the confidence to know that everything you just said about me being special is true. I may be, as you say, "smart, pretty, and usually calm", but that doesn't mean I don't know what you're going through. Being strong, and good at things, those are only things that matter to ourselves. And if you want to measure you life based on yourself, well, that's just being selfish. But thinking about what you mean to other people, and measuring your importance based on that, that is what really matters."
He tried to find words, to say something, anything to stop the silence; but he couldn't think of anything. Seconds seemed like hours as the two stood beside each other. But he understood what she had said. It was not like most times, when Mitsuru or Yukari spoke to him like he was dumb; like they were better than him. Fuuka had spoke from her heart, spoke to him instead of at him. It wasn't something he was used to; someone speaking to him as an equal. He watched her bite her lip and look down, trying hard to suppress her tears. 'This girl... She's really somethin...'
Then Junpei did something neither he nor Fuuka would have expected. He wrapped his arms around her, tightly, and cried. How could he have known that this girl, who he had always thought was a weird nerd, would save his life? How could he not have noticed that what both he and Fuuka had gone through was practically the same? Right then and there, he silently vowed to never take his life for granted again.
Fuuka stood there, too surprised to react to the sudden body contact.
"Thank you...Fuuka... Junpei pulled away, wiped the tears from his eyes and chuckled. "I can't promise I'll remember everything you just said, but I'll try." He let her go, and scratched the back of his head shyly. "I think being able to make such a difference in someone's life... like you have in mine..." A brush of pink danced across his face.
"Junpei..."
"That would be worth living for." He finally met Fuuka's eyes, and gave a smile. "I'm sorry, I've been so oblivious all this time."
Fuuka smiled and threw her arms around him, holding him close. "I'm so glad, Junpei... I was really scared..."
Junpei blushed, and one last tear fell as he returned the embrace. "I won't ever scare you again."