Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the Persona franchise or any of it's assets. The only thing I own is the OC that will be introduced at a later point in this. Any relations to persons or events is coincidental. Please support the games. Thank you!

Chapter 1: The Return

Tick…Tick…Tick…Tick…

Aigis checked her internal clock for what must have been the umpteenth time that night. It was 12:01 A.M. It had been 13 months and 13 days since the Ex-Sees members had defeated Nyx. 12 months, 13 days since Minato had passed away whilst lying on her lap.

Things had never been the same since his death. No longer would she walk into the kitchen, just to see Minato failing at cooking when it was his turn. No longer would she wait patiently outside his door until he woke up late on days off, hear him blasting his favorite song through his headphones, or feel the warmth of his body against hers…

And then there was Minako. Poor Minako. Not only had she lost her parents in a car accident 11 years ago, but now she had also lost her twin brother. The first week after Minato had died, she carried on like normal.

She broke on the eighth day...

She spent most days in his old room, lying on his bed, crying, wishing she could have done something to save him.

Aigis clasped her hands against her chest. A familiar warm feeling flowed through her body. She had allowed Minato to touch the most precious part of her body, her Papillion Heart. That touch, the warmth that it gave her, never left. It was all that kept her going some days.

Aigis sighed. Knowing that today was her and her fellow ex members of SEES' senior graduation, she shut down, hoping her dreams would bring her solace from her sorrow...

Aigis opened her eyes. She immediately locked her gaze onto the massive object in before her. A large door towered over her, and on it, a statue stood, crucified. It was Minato. The reason he had died. The Great Seal.

Footsteps sounded from behind Aigis. She turned, and tensed, ready for battle, but then paused. It was only Elizabeth, the attendant to the Velvet Room. She passed right through Aigis, causing her to realize she was dreaming.

Elizabeth stood before the towering monolith that was the Great Seal, spreading her arms wide and skyward. She began shouting something.

"Oh mighty Philemon! Hear my humble plea! Grant unto your faithful servant one final request! Allow me to take the place of The Dark Messiah, Minato Arisato, as the Great Seal!"

Suddenly, both Minato and Elizabeth erupted in a blaze of white light, blinding Aigis. When her vision cleared, Aigis was completely shocked. She started running towards the scene, but was jarred from her dreams suddenly…

"Aigis! Wake up! We're leaving soon!" Fuuka chimed, knocking loudly on Aigis' door.

Aigis' internal functions began to work again as she activated her startup sequence. After it was complete, she moved to her closet. Not long after Minato's death, she had received an upgrade from the Kirijo group. Her body, though it still contained all of the weaponry she needed, had been greatly changed. Her body was much like a human female's, and after some experimentation with clothes, Aigis had discovered she was approximately the same clothing size as Minako and Yukari.

Scanning her wardrobe briefly, she decided what she would wear. She donned a light blue sundress, the same one she had been wearing when she met Minato after those 10 long years. She put on a pair of sandals and walked out of her room, softly closing the door behind her.

She arrived at the bottom floor of the dormitory, where everyone else was already waiting, Shinjiro included. Although the doctors thought he wouldn't be able to pull through, by some miracle, he had woken from his coma. She nodded at all of them. They nodded in return, and departed.

The group arrived about 30 minutes after their graduation at the Iwatodai cemetery. They made their way to the back corner, near a sprouting persimmon tree. One by one, they all approached the lone headstone, bowing their heads. Junpei lit some incense, and placed down a pair of headphones. Yukari came next, following suit, removing the choker from around her neck, and placing it at the base of the headstone. Next, Mitsuru went forward. She removed a SEES armband from her bag, and placed it next to the other offerings. Akihiko attached a Gekkoukan badge to the headstone.

Fuuka placed a bowl of ramen she had made that morning, having kept it in a thermos until they arrived. Koromaru brought a Kunai forth and set it down gently. Ken put a Phoenix Ranger Featherman R figurine next to it. Shinjiro and Minako walked forward. Shinji gently placed down an Evoker. Minako, barely holding back tears, knelt down and put a bundle of roses down. She got back up, tears streaming down her face. Shinji pulled her into his arms, and stroked her head, trying to console her.

Lastly, Aigis came forward. She pulled a picture from her bag, and gently set it behind all of the other offerings. All of them began to cry, silently. It was a picture of the ex SEES members, all together, smiling, like a family might, Minato in the center. They all bowed their heads one last time, turned, and walked away. They were nearly out of the clearing that Mitsuru had ordered to be prepared a year back for Minato's funeral, when they heard something.

A very distinct slurping noise.

Everyone slowly turned around, fully expecting to see some homeless person with no respect for the dead chowing down on Fuuka's offering. To say that they were shocked at what they saw would be the understatement of the century.

None other than Minato Arisato sat there, leaning against the headstone. He turned his head, noticing the other members of the group. He finished off the rest of the broth, set down the bowl, and gave a small wave of his hand.

"Yo, what's up, guys?"

Minato was suddenly tackled to the ground by Aigis. The others stood in shock once more, not able to comprehend how Aigis had managed to clear the distance that fast.

"M-Minato-kun!"

"Aigis, what's gotten into you?"

"Nothing… nothing at all…"

"Are you sure? You seem… oh gosh, are you crying Aigis? What happened? Who do I need to beat the crap out of for making you cry?"

Aigis shook her head, laughing slightly.

"No you idiot… I'm just… I'm just…"

Minato didn't realize what was going on, but did the best he could. He calmly wrapped his arms around Aigis, and began stroking her back.

Recovering from their double-dose of shock, the other members of SEES quickly gathered around, crying out of sheer happiness now. Koromaru barked excitedly, and wailed at the noonday sun, causing everyone to laugh. They all couldn't believe it.

Minato Arisato was back.