AN: I own absolutely nothing by ATLUS or Criware, and most definitely do not own any of the characters, plotlines, or lines spoken and described except for anything that was not written down or performed originally. This is merely a one shot between two characters created by the said companies above. I got the idea from a piece of fan art I saw, and while the fic is not very long.

The Dream of You

A P3P One Shot

It was dark; this much I knew, and I've been asking myself the question so many times while I've been here; is this hell? I ask out, and yet, no one answers, and for some reason, I get that feeling this is hell. I don't understand, and yet, I come to this conclusion. I lost track of time here, and I've been asking over and over if I'm dead, and again, no answers. Perhaps this was death; that night where I was shot by that bastard, October 4th was the last known date that I remember. He shot me the first time, yet the second bullet was not intended for me; no, I didn't want him to die. That kid, Ken Amada… I killed his mother, and though I regret it, I wanted him to kill me just out of the hatred he had towards me. Two years of having to suffer… yet, I couldn't get it in my system to kill myself, and so, I made plans to meet him in the alley where I killed her, so he could kill me.

"Shin…" I heard a voice speak out eventually, and I watched that in the darkness, I can make out a figure. But they were too far away for me to describe any features, and I couldn't approach, as the strength to walk towards them wasn't possible. It was as if I was strapped in a bed that I couldn't get off of, no matter how hard I tried. Yet, I can see they were approaching, the image becoming clearer, and another being was there as well; something larger was fighting the figure.

I can hear voices… familiar ones, ring out in echo, "No, I won't let her die!" This voice came from someone I recognize; a full year younger than I was, and steadily as I approached, I was shocked to be able to recognize the figure who was being attacked by the larger being; it was her; the one who had spent the nights with me, just to provide me with company. There was no doubt about it; it was her, Minako Arisato, but she was having troubles fighting against some creature unrecognizable, and some egg-like shape looming above, glowing brightly. She was having troubles withstanding the creature's assaults, which seem to be powerful explosions. Oddly enough, I can feel the same pressure that she's going through.

With everyone urging her on, not all of it was enough, still taking blow after blow from those shadowed arms hanging from above. No, she needs my aid as well. Even though she looked focused on the being in front of her, even so, she never seemed to realize I was there. No, this is happening for real, but my life is merely a spirit that was drawn here, I realized. This is the being that must control the Dark Hour, and she needs all available aid to have any chance. Minako's power has grown the last time I fought alongside her, but she seemed to be lacking the confidence to unleash it at this… thing. There's no backing down. I somehow had broken free from the restraints as I found myself walking towards her, just within feet of her.

"All right… let's do this!" I spoke out, and she appeared to have heard my voice, she seemed to be looking around for the source, but she still could not see me, even as she looked towards me. I could feel myself become a little weak, some of my powers were released upon my words being spoken. I urged them to go to her, and soon enough, the powers, which have taken form of a small flicker of light, joined two more similar glimmers, which seemed to combine with Minako. I look at her one more time, watching as she dropped the naginata that she was using, and around her she was starting to be surrounded with a bright light. I watched as she slowly raised her hand, holding it up while looking at the thing she was fighting.

I was blinded by this said light, eventually losing sight of where I was now. What I knew now, was that I was lying down once again, but nothing was restraining me; nothing was holding me back.

"Shin…" I heard the same voice… her voice once again, echo out towards me in this light filled world. My eyes eventually open up, and at first saw nothing, but then looked to the side, and laying there beside me, was the brunette middle-class high school student that was Minako. I was about to say something to her, but I felt her press her finger against my lips; only now did I notice that she appeared rather tired.

"Shinji-senpai… I… I'm aware of what you did there…" I heard her speak, her voice soft, like that of an angel. I never thought I'd hear it again, to feel her hold my hand again… all this, I never would've dreamed to experience.

"I was really down… when you… But, I thought then, the last thing you said to us was, "This is how it should be…" I thought you wanted to be dead. Shinji, you are on the brink of death as of now, in the Tatsumi hospital… I can feel your heartbeat at a slow pace, as I hold your hand as such…" I heard her speak, and I was confused by the bombardments she was throwing on me. I… wasn't killed in that incident? Yet, what could explain where I am now?

"You were the last one to reach out to me in that final battle… I… never would've expected to hear your voice there… That is why I asked the Universe to see you, at least one more time… And to see you recover as well…" I heard her speak slowly, while my eyes were looking on hers, her hand grasping my hand tightly. Ask the universe? What did she mean by that? She can always see me recover in the hospital, if that's really where I am. And what was with the "one more time" she explained?

"Shinjro… I'll never forget you, of all those things you've done for me, and more especially the things I've done for you… Promise me that, no matter what happens, you'll never forget me… please?" I heard her ask of me, slowly removing the finger from my mouth while her tired eyes looked at me, waiting for an answer. With those eyes, how can I refuse her to promise her of something that important.

"I… promise that I'll keep thinking of you. It's because I want to be with you now; to embrace you in my arms, to know that you're really there, and not like some kind of torturous dream." I spoke to her, and she appeared a little surprised by the second sentence, but she gave a smile all the same, her two hands clasping the one hand of my own tightly. Why wasn't she moving closer; why was she that distanced from me? I saw her then close her eyes, and released my hand slowly. Confused, I looked at her, and I only sat up when she was already on her feet, looking at me.

"The others… are calling for me… I can hear them… Shinjiro, I promise that I'll come to see you every day until the day you recover. I want to see you healthy, so don't be surprised if you see more of me in this dream-like state. I am… truly grateful to have looked upon you with my own eyes now, one more time when you're healthy. Now, there's nothing I can regret…" I heard her speak, before she turned around, her back towards me. She began to walk away, towards a doorway of sorts. "Good-bye… Shinjiro-senpai… If, you should come around before then, go to Gekkoukan's rooftop on Graduation Day, March fifth…" Were her last words before she walked into the doorway, leaving me blinded and yelling out for her to come back.

I found myself waking up all of a sudden, breathing in and out deeply as everything around me was a blur. The sun was shining in through the window, which didn't help with the blindness curing at all. The blurs began to fade, which were good, and I slowly began to be aware of my surroundings; a hospital room? It was just as Minako said where I'd be. But, I was shot twice by that bastard; how could I have survived? I looked around, in hopes to find some answers, and then, on the desk just beside me, I saw the pocket watch. The glass, face and hands were warped from the bullet's strike, and then I looked down to my torso where it was supposed to hit; my heart. There was a little penetration into my chest, but I didn't see it going any deeper; in fact, it never even reached my rib cage.

The pocket watch that she had taken the time to find… the one I never wanted to see was the one that had truly saved my life. Minako… wanted to see me recover, even if the recovery was just whenever I was sleeping, and now, here I was. I wanted to know the time; I knew it was day, but when I looked around, I found a calendar, and the month showed it was March, with the days up and including the fourth were crossed out, which was enough for me to know that today was the fifth. Was I really out that long? Practically half a year, I was laying on this very bed, and yet, I could feel something was missing from my mind. Something very important, and yet, when I reached out, my head began to hurt, causing me to cough slightly. Well, if it was important, I would've known what it was, so perhaps, just maybe, it wasn't as important as I believed. But still… I could remember all the important things I've done with Minako; the times I've spent with her, and the times where she was unable to stand her own ground, even though she was as strong physically as she was mentally. She was on the girl's tennis team, after all.

I know that there's still time for me to recover, but she said to head to the school on Graduation Day… And that actually wasn't too far away as I took the time to remember. It was around this time, actually, that it was going on. She wanted to see me one more time… no, I wanted to see her again; for her sake, I'll… My mind was flooded with many thoughts at once, too much in fact as I found myself getting out of the bed and getting dressed despite my pained health. Despite the wounds, I managed to get myself completely dressed, and putting the toque on my head for the final touch of my outfit, consisting of a heavy pea coat, long-sleeved shirt, baggy jeans and some western-styled boots, I was at the door. I opened it, and began to run; the doctors and nurses were shocked and kept telling me to stop, but there was no chance I'd listen to them. I had to see her again; I had to make sure that I wasn't too late…!

Getting out of the building required me to use the elevator, and even when brought to floor level, the security that awaited for me didn't do much to hold me back. I refused to be pinned down, pushing the few individuals off of me as I left the hospital. From here, the school wasn't too far away; Gekkoukan, the school I haven't gone to for the past two years. As I ran along the sidewalks, I began to think about how I'd get her to stay, and sure enough, the only idea that came to mind was to attend school again. Ken may have had it tough, and I may have been the reason that caused him so much pain, I know that he's tough.

As I ran to the school, I began to recollect on the people of S.E.E.S; it began with Aki, a classmate and basically, a childhood friend of mine since we both knew each other back in the orphanage. He was looking after his little sister then, before the whole fire incident… He swore he'd become stronger for not only his own sake, but for anyone he wished to protect. While he is arrogant and fixed on training, I know he intends well and has quite the life ahead of him.

Mitsuru Kirijo was the second individual I came to know, and was the one who taught me how to use and awaken my Persona, Castor. Not only is she strong in her own terms, she's also selfless and looks out for the people around her. She tried to comfort me after Castor went berserk, but back then, I couldn't let go of my past, and felt that the only way I can be forgiven is to be killed at the hands of Ken, the son of the woman that I ended up killing, along with a shadow escaped from Tartarus.

While I don't know them nearly as much as Aki and Mitsuru, I came to understand Junpei Iori, who was a bit of a clown and an ice breaker, Yukari Takeba, who was caring but, at the same time, harsh with her words. Fuuka… well, I tried to give her advice in cooking, and I hope that she has improved during these past few months. Aigis, while a machine, still had confidence to speak freely of what was on her mind, and would understand what Koromaru, the dog in the group, had to say. And Ken… he kept to himself most of the time, but after hearing he would take his own life after he'd kill me… I knew he was stronger than that.

And now, just arriving at the school, I looked up at the roof, but from where I was, I didn't see anything, and I just hoped that I wasn't too late. "I'll be there, just you wait…!" I spoke, and it was the only voice that could be heard around here. It was too quiet, so I assumed that today was Graduation day. I ran in through the front doors, and while it took me a moment to collect my thoughts, I remembered the layout of the building. I climbed the stairway in the main hall, and rushed through the second floor, and resumed up the stairs until I eventually bust through the door to the roof.

I was breathing deeply, trying to catch my breath from all that running, even coughed a few times in the process because of my condition. All of that didn't matter the moment I looked up, watching Aigis step away from the girl I wanted to see. And to see her expression told me that she was glad I arrived.

"Minako… Don't make a sick guy push himself so hard. It's pretty pathetic of me to forget the way I did…" I had to keep in character, but… considering the situation, it was a little difficult to hide how I really felt, and I couldn't help but smirk a little at her. "But even then, my feelings for you were the same as always. Haha… I got one thick skull, huh? The girl I saw in my dreams… It was you. You were crying and laughing like usual… Haha." As I said this, I approached Minako, who stood up and, within moments, I wrapped my arms around her, holding her in a tight embrace. It was confirmed for me…

"Yeah, this ain't a dream… You're really here…" I trailed off, slowly feeling Minako return the embrace I had given her; I noticed that her hold wasn't very strong, but at this point, to be with her again… I really couldn't care as long as we were together. Even so, I could hear footsteps and voices calling out in our direction, and I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Man, those guys sure know how to ruin a moment…" I couldn't help but say, yet despite it, the fact that I'm here with Minako right now, because of everything she had done and the time she spent with me… She was stubborn, but in the end, she was able to see my true colors towards her.

I then began to note on how Minako was having a hard time trying to stay awake; considering what day it was today, I actually wasn't that surprised. She was probably too excited last night to get some proper sleep, yet eventually, she couldn't push herself much further, and she closed her eyes. I wouldn't push Minako anymore, and decided to let her doze off, but before her eyes closed completely, I felt an urge to tell her something…

"I'm glad I met you…" My expressed words came out and travelled with the wind on this spring morning…