star-crossed
Author's Note: Ryoji and FEMC and Persona 3 belong to Atlus, there are also several references to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Warning: I also included an easter egg regarding the ending of Persona 2 Innocent Sin
Ryoji's POV
- coup de foudre -
Ryoji's life before he met Minako was a blur.
In retrospect if someone would ask him what event was "life-changing" for him he would definitely say the moment him and Minako were introduced to each other on his first day at Gekkoukan High.
... or should he better say they were "reintroduced" to each other?
The feeling that he felt when seeing Minako for the first time... he at first suspected that it was some kind of coup de foudre like you see it often in movies or novels. The nostalgic and familiar feeling that he felt merely seemed to have been a bonus to his attraction to her. Since she seemed to have felt the same as him he quickly thought during their first meetings outside of school that it would be stupid not to try to get close to her and thus decided to keep flirting with her which she seemed to like.
It is not the norm that two people just see each other and feel an instant bond and attraction... and that sweet girl with the bobby pins had accepted him so unconditionally that he couldn't resist her. He couldn't blame himself for actively going after her since he didn't know yet that everything was already too late at this point.
He didn't suspect that the nostalgic feeling would come to torment both of them. He at first even thought that it was somehow cute especially since Minako if he pointed it out would get a bit flushed which made her seem extra adorable.
The more time he spent with Minako like in cafes, in clubs, in the cinema, in the city, in school, during the school trip in Kyoto that him and Minako both used to kinda open up to each other, the more he got a weird premonition though that somehow something ominous or even terrible is going to happen.
He wouldn't ever regret spending time with her... however the feeling that kept bothering became worse and worse.
Their relationship had some strong bond however it all happened extremely fast and he feared that it might crumble even faster despite their mutual affection.
- star-crossed -
In literature class they mentioned Shakespeare's Hamlet once in a lesson. After reading through the play another play by Shakespeare ended up catching his attention way more:
Romeo & Juliet.
The meeting of these two at the party somehow oddly reminded him of his and Minako's first meeting. Almost as if the world for both of them was still at the point they saw each other.
Even the warning signals that something is bound to happen were kinda the same.
Later on Ryoji would realize that the warning signals in his and Minako's case were him being bothered by his fear of the future especially regarding Minako and how Aigis continued to see him as a threat for Minako's and other's safety.
"A pair of star-crossed lovers". He researched the expression and found out that the theme of a doomed romance was far older than Romeo and Juliet even. He also read about Tristan and Yseult (and thought that it was horrible that the man was kinda between a rock and a hard place due to Yseult being his uncle's wife), Pyramus and Thisbe from Babylon and also an Asian legend about a Weaver Girl and a Cowherd who can only meet during a limited time frame.
He had hoped for a long time that his time with Minako wouldn't be cut short since she was the most precious person in his life.
- Fortune's Fool -
He ended up confessing exactly this to her on the school rooftop. That she means the world to him, that he wants her to remain be his side as long as they can be with each other.
To his joy Minako accepted his confession and said that despite his premonition that something might go wrong she didn't care. Neither did she care about his blurry past since she would rather chose a boyfriend she has intense and real feelings for despite some problem that might come up rather than merely using a reasonable or safe choice.
"Let's just try to solve this mysterious puzzle. Maybe the answer we are searching for isn't as horrible as you fear, Ryoji." If only he could return to the still rather carefree phase of their relationship...
When he visited Junpei at the dorm a couple of days later they played through the end phase of Innocent Sin. The game had a pretty downer ending in his opinion with world destruction and the death of a likeable female character.
It did not help his unnerving feeling about the future that only continued to get worse. Not wanting to worry Junpei he continued to put on a smile to lift the mood for him and his dormmates that joined them.
He hoped to see Minako so that someone can lift his mood instead and luckily she still showed up right before he had to leave. He whispered into her ear that he wanted to see her room the next time and when he left the dorm he could hear Fuuka pointing out Minako's red cheeks which did return an actual smile to his face for this evening. After Fuuka left Minako, Aigis seemed to have approached Minako and Ryoji than proceeded to get away as soon as possible since he knew for certain that Aigis would warn Minako not the get even more closer to him and that night he didn't want to hear any more warnings regarding his and Minako's bond.
- the nightingale and not the lark -
A couple of days later after school was over he asked her whether it's ok to come with her to her dorm and see her room since he wanted to talk with her there.
She smiled at him and said that today is perfect and she even wanted to suggest today herself.
He waited for her until her tennis lesson was over and they took the train to get to her dorm. It was a quiet train ride, however suddenly Minako's hand touched his. He interwined their hands since he was kinda moved that Minako wanted other people to know that he was her boyfriend.
At the dorm it was quiet despite the sun already going down. It seemed that she really wanted nobody to disturb them since she seemed glad that they were completely alone this evening.
When he entered her room he was kinda overwhelmed that he somehow seemed to have seen everything before. It triggered something just like during their meetings when Minako or himself would say something that triggered some of his past memories.
She kinda giggled and pointed out that he acted like Romeo ("Are we really this similar to this doomed teen romance?" He thought. Well he at least was able to relate to Romeo's poetic way of talking and thinking). He added that it would kinda be sweet if they would have met before, perhaps in a dream. At least he thought that this thought might perhaps seem cute to Minako however she seemed to ponder about something.
After this he opened up to her again and just let himself go completely. "Please Minako, touch me... make sure that I exist." She took his hand and hugged him and before he knew it they were kissing.
Ryoji decided to start throwing away all his worries for this night and they ended up on her bed. "Ryoji... I would like to ask you something." she said when their kisses became more passionate. "Minako go ahead...just ask me." he said and beamed a smile to her.
"Well I want to ask you whether you would like to sleep with me?" He didn't expect her to ask him something like this so boldy and his smile vanished.
"Minako are you really sure... I don't want you to regret it..." "Nonsense Ryoji I would regret if I wouldn't ask you since I feel this way and I am ready to go there... with you. The question is whether you want to, it's up to you..."
Ryoji thought that he was naive that he thought a girl with such a strong character as Minako wouldn't be sure about this. He embraced her and fulfilled her wish.
She flushed a bit when he saw her naked however he thought that it was probably not uncommon for some people still being shy when they are about to have their very first sexual encounter. "I hope that you aren't too disappointed Ryoji I know that I am not beautiful and I hate my body since I have so many flaws but I guess that..."
He interrupted her by kissing her. "Now you are talking nonsense, you are gorgeous..." His attention than wandered to her right breast. A moan escaped her when his mouth carressed the nipple. "This feels great, Ryoji!" He could see that she was enjoying it.
They positioned themselves and their eyes met. Minako was smiling at him and Ryoji felt an overwhelming love. Him and Minako truely knew each other for a long time. Some people in their class accused them to be merely two horny teenagers who several weeks ago had been literally strangers by saying stuff like "Has Mochizuki done Arisato yet?" or "Should I order an hotel room for Ryoji and Minako?" They had no idea about their solid bond; whenever they saw each other they had a total understanding for each other and sparks flew whenever they looked each other into the eyes.
That's why he decided that it was ok to sleep with her and enjoy that night with her. He also wanted to make sure that Minako's first time was a sweet memory for her... she deserved a beautiful night with a boyfriend she loved.
He asked her for consent again before he entered her, taking her maidenhead in her very own dorm room, feeling a rush of emotions for the next hours. After they reached their climax he unlike her wasn't able to close his eyes immediately but after some time he took her slender frame into an embrace and also let sleep overcome him.
When he awoke a couple of hours later he saw that she was also awake. She stroke his black hair and he noticed her happy face and felt as peaceful as he hadn't felt for quiet some time.
They did it two times again before sun rise and than took a shower together which ended up being fun since Minako and him were fooling around like children and it ended up in a laughing fit. He was grateful that they were still able to have light-hearted moments after all.
While dressing he noticed that there was a blood stain on the sheets and thought briefly that Minako will probably now always associate this bed with the night they spent together. Some actions will have consequences forever...
Ryoji was very curious how Minako felt with their relationship now being intimate - her content face relieved him. "Hey were do you think you are going my dearest Minako." He said when she briefly vanished out of his sight. "I am searching for that outfit that you have said you like on me so much..."
Minako accompanied him to the intersection and gave him a small kiss when she said goodbye. When he left to his place both of them were still turning around several times to watch the other like in the cheesiest movie scenarios. As so often he thought that their relationship really felt very movie like and overly dramatic.
- Exile -
When the robot, Aigis, attacked him on the bridge and the memories of his time he had spent with Minako as Pharos returned he could only tell her and her friends that their fate was unpreventable. Nyx would bring only despair and it is useless to fight her.
Before facing Minako and her friends he had already made up his mind: It would be better if they finish him off as soon as possible and live the rest of their lives in blissful ignorance rather than fighting this useless fight and facing only despair.
That was the last thing he could offer to her... his life so that she at least wouldn't have to suffer.
He gave them a deadline for their decision. December 31, New Years Eve, they should start the new year the way they want.
While going into hiding in December he phoned the school that he wouldn't come anymore and was totally absorbed into his own thoughts for almost an entire month. Ryoji originally faced only an odd premonition that something very bad might happen but he could have never forseen that him and Minako were not even from the same species. A human girl and a Shadow... it was now really downright impossible for them to end up happily ever after not to mention the awful catastrophe that was about to happen... the Fall.
He knew that Nyx was mentioned in Greek mythology and began devouring books about Greek myths with the hope that maybe he might find a hint that might help Minako out in some way however he just merely found many familiar names.
Tartarus... Thanatos... Hypnos... Erebos
That didn't help at all, he was a fool for even trying to consider finding a hope of defeating Nyx.
He also started to feel sick to his stomach after reading some of the stories about Greek deities.
So many stories were about male deities who target some poor random girl and end up sleeping with her only to end up leaving her (often resulting into half-deities).
While his feelings for his girlfriend were genuine he still somehow briefly subconsciously compared his situation to the stories of these deities and considered himself scum and ended up in self-hatred. Regarding their night together he also sincerely hoped that Minako was on the pill since he didn't want her to have to endure another burden due to him being in her life.
- one last try -
"The time we spent together it was nice."
On New Years Eve he followed Minako up to her room and urged her to end his life. She as expected said "no" to his offer thus he showed her his true appearance with the thin hope that maybe she felt less bad about the choice of possibly ending his life if she saw for herself that he truely wasn't human or that she kinda felt even disgusted by his appearance and now regretted giving herself to him.
She still said no and he had to respect it. He ended up thanking her for their time together and they embraced and kissed each other for a long time.
He also asked her to take care of the ring that he had bought after their date in Kyoto at a souvenir shop so that there is some proof for his short time under humans "I might be able to stand it." he said and she accepted it with a tearful smile.
"Ryoji" she said under tears "I want you to know... that it's not your fault. We are just victims of circumstances. You can not escape the Wheel of Fortune... sadly. I... don't regret our relationship... I am actually happy that destiny allowed us to have a relationship for some time and that we were able to spend a night together. I am happy that it was with you..."
He dried her tears and they returned to the main hall where he also bid his farewell to her friends. Aigis accepted his apology and he was glad to see that Junpei gave him a smile during the farewell.
"Goodbye Minako, my dearest" he whispered to Minako (he just couldn't resist saying it one last time) and left the dorm.
Both him and Minako ended up dreaming about meeting the other at an ocean that night.
Screw the stars they can't magically erase their bond despite them not being allowed to end up happily in the end. Both him and Minako swore to themselves that very night that they have no regrets about their relationship during this winter.