Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 3. And the ring in this fic was one I saw in a store and thought it looked pretty damn cool.

A/N: All right, like my other P3 fanfic, I wanted to change up the pace again between Akihiko and Mitsuru. And this is a multi-chapter story, unlike the last one. Please let me know what you think of it so far.

I'm also writing my stories in order of importance. If you want to see more of this story, please review and tell me so, or vote in the poll on my author's page. Thanks much!

\/\/\/

Divided By the Vow

Chapter One

A Lover in Captivity

\/\/\/

Akihiko couldn't find the strength to break his attention away from the store window, catching a glimpse of his face in the glass reflection from out of the corner of his eye. Bringing a hand from out his pocket, he slowly placed it against the glass, cold against his bare fingers, and traced the outline of the ring from the other side.

It was a beautiful, thick, silver band, cradled in a red box for everyone passing by to see.

But it wasn't just any ring.

It was the ring.

Engraved in the middle was a large heart with words written on both sides across the ring. Akihiko wasn't one for friendship bracelets or love charms, but this ring split apart horizontally, creating two thinner bands.

One for a man.

One for a woman.

"True love always waits," he whispered, reading the words scrawled out across the ring.

The ring probably couldn't fit him, but it would fit her perfectly. He could just wear it with a chain around his neck, he figured. It would still count. "True" was on the left side of the heart, "love" was written on the inside of the heart, and "always waits" was on the right side. He just had to decide what part of the ring he wanted—the part that separated with the heart, or the other half with the rest of the writing.

He wished that that was all he had to worry about.

Akihiko wasn't one for love charms or silly rings that were meant to be worn as one until true love was found and the other half could be given to them.

True love didn't wait for him.

He wanted to buy it, though. And he would've too, five, maybe six months ago.

But he and Mitsuru weren't together anymore.

\/\/\/

The bell to the Lucky Cat souvenir shop jiggled when the door open, singing an obnoxious little tune until the door shut behind Akihiko, who was shaking off the cold. He shuddered and reached for the first button on the collar of his thick coat. No matter how many layers he wore underneath, he couldn't escape the December chill.

"You're early, Akihiko."

The boxer turned left to where the counter was, a boy about his age sitting behind the register with his legs propped up on the countertop and his arms resting against the back of his head. The boy flashed a grin and sat up straight, swinging his legs back to the ground. Akihiko returned the smile, though it was weak, and continued into the back of the store, moving around stands and clothing racks.

He finished unbuttoning his coat and slid his arms through the sleeves, leaving him in a white dress shirt and black slacks. Sloppily folding the coat, he held it in one arm and used his free hand to push the backdoor open. Moving into the employee lunchroom, he nearly collided with a woman carrying a purse and jingling keys.

"Hey, Aki," she smiled, her painted lips parting just enough to catch a glimpse of her white teeth. Silencing the noise she was making with her keys, she used the back of her hand to brush black bangs from her eyes. The rest of her hair was pulled back by a large hair clip. Akihiko had never seen her hair down before.

Giving her the same weak smile he had shared with the boy behind the counter, he said, "Hey Suzume." Turning his back to her, Akihiko closed the door he had come from and stared up at the hanger attached to the back of the door. Letting his coat unfold, he placed it on the back of the hanger and spun around to see that she was still giving him her undivided attention. "So, has it been busy?"

"Not really," she accompanied her answer with a brief head shake, her bangs swaying from side to side. "A couple of customers, mostly rude, but nothing that Tadao and I can't handle."

The boxer gave a soft chuckle, "Sounds like it. Looks like he's working hard, too."

"Oh, he's been behind the counter all day. He said that he's been working hard at school and the boxing team all week, so he needed a break."

"Hardly," he opened the door for her, gentleman habits kicking in, and waited for her to pass through. "He's been pretty lazy during practice, too."

"I figured as much." Suzume whirled around on her heel, surprising Akihiko, and stared up at him. "But I know that I can always ask you and you'll be honest. That's what I like about you, Akihiko."

If Suzume hadn't already been his colleague, then Akihiko wouldn't have known how to take her words. But since they had been working together for a little more than three months now, he was quite used to it.

"Well, you keep Tadao in line, Suzume. That's what I like about you."

She hummed a little and tossed her head back, almost seductively. "Really? Is that all you like about me?"

He smiled and brushed past her, padding out onto the floor. He instinctively began to adjust the shirts in the glass cubes and straightened knickknacks around the store. He could hear her high heels click against the wood floor and stop halfway in the room.

"Well, I'm off. I've got to take Makoto to the physician today."

Akihiko figured that she was talking to Tadao, the boy behind the counter. His assumptions were proved to be true when he said, "What? Your little brother sick or something?"

"No, it's just his yearly checkup. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Again, her heels were clicking across the floor. The door opened and the little bell began to chime again. "Bye, Aki."

Turning his head from his position by the cubes, Akihiko gave a small wave, "Take care, Suzume. I'm closing with you tomorrow, right?"

She chuckled, her body swaying against the door. "I'm looking forward to it." Stepping outside, the door closed behind her, and Akihiko was left in an empty store with Tadao. He went back to cleaning and rearranging merchandise in the store, his mind trailing in and out of different things that were currently on his mind.

Akihiko was working part-time at Lucky Cat, and not because he had wanted to. It had all started with the breakup between him and Mitsuru, something that he still couldn't explain, even to this day. He thought that the two of them had been happy together, secretly holding hands, exchanging loving glances when the others weren't looking—it was almost like Romeo and Juliet, as silly as it sounded.

Akihiko always imagined that their relationship had been something on the forbidden side.

It wasn't like the two of them hadn't seen it coming, either. He met her in middle school and spent all of his time with her—not because he was a member of SEES or anything like that, but because he had wanted to. He had often talked about it with Mitsuru, who was always so uptight back then…maybe even more so now. But he talked about the future, careers, and, when he had found enough courage, took their conversations to a higher level.

"You ever dream of falling in love?" he asked one autumn day, when school was over, but the two of them hadn't found the will to move from their spots on the bleachers outside.

If there was one thing he could remember clearer than her response, it had been her silence.

He knew just about everything there was to Mitsuru. They talked all the time and shared secrets that the two had never shared with anyone else—even family. Though Shinjiro had joined SEES, the bond wasn't quite the same between Akihiko and him as it was for Akihiko and Mitsuru. But a strong bond had formed between the three of them nonetheless. Akihiko wondered if maybe it was because it wasn't Shinjiro that he had been in love with.

Finally she answered, "Sometimes."

And that was that.

But it wasn't just that for Akihiko. He had to know.

"Sometimes?"

"Yes. Sometimes."

He laughed, and later he realized that his laugh had been dry. "What do you mean, 'sometimes?'"

"Love just holds people back. It restrains you from releasing your full potential. That's why it's only just 'sometimes.'"

Akihiko snorted. Well, he didn't think about it only sometimes. And there were no restraints with him.

"You must be lost in some thought, Akihiko," the voice caused the boxer to jerk back, nearly dropping the object in his hand. He whirled around to find Tadao directly behind him, laughing. "You've rearranged that cube at least thirteen times in the last few minutes." Tilting his head to one side, he examined his friend more thoroughly before continuing, "Say, you look pretty worn. No wonder you didn't say much when you walked in. So what's eating you?"

"Nothing," Akihiko turned and placed the object in his hand back into the cube.

"You sound pretty dull for a little 'nothing.' You even let Suzume call you 'Aki.' Usually, you get on her case about that, and say that you don't let anyone call you that silly nickname."

Akihiko left Tadao standing there while he moved on to clean something else. His eyes spotted a wrinkled shirt in the glass cubes on the other side of the store. Akihiko moved in that direction. Kneeling down, he pulled it out and refolded it. He could hear Tadao's footsteps closing in on him.

"Come on, Captain. You seem to forget that I know everything that's happening with you. You're thinking about that Kirijo chick, aren't you?"

"It's none of your business."

"Oh hoh!" the other boy threw his head back and laughed. "Says the boy who came crying to me three months ago and begged me to tell him how to win her back. Says the boy who asked me to get him a part-time job so that he could make a little extra money. Says the same boy who used that money to buy my old car from off of me and take his driver's test with it. Yeah, but it's none of my business."

Akihiko shook his head, not feeling the slightest bit guilty for releasing one of his famous exasperated sighs—ones that let anyone else in the vicinity know that he was getting irritated, and not afraid to do anything about it.

But it was true.

Tadao was a skilled boxer in the ring and one of Akihiko's good friends, as well as teammate. When he had nowhere to turn, Akihiko had broken down in front of him, spilling all of his darkest secrets. To this day, he wasn't sure why he had done it. Akihiko was usually so composed in front of other people, especially under pressure.

It was Tadao who got him the job at Lucky Cat, and even offered to sell his old car to Akihiko so that he could afford a better one from off of the market. He had spent countless days teaching Akihiko how to drive, spending their hours driving in the more secluded parts of town during the night. It was one of the scariest things Akihiko had been forced to do, and it wasn't just the weirdoes in the dark that had frightened him.

Once, while driving, he had meant to hit the brakes in an attempt to slow down at Tadao's request. He realized quickly that the brakes were not the brakes and the poor elementary school fence had to pay for his negligence.

"Get over!" Tadao screamed, ushering Akihiko into the backseat while he hopped into the driver's seat. Completely ignoring to buckle up when several janitors had emerged from different doors around the school to see what the huge collision was, Tadao used his car to successfully perform a one-eighty and speed away from the scene of the crime.

From then on, they practiced in wide, open lots, where even if Akihiko had momentarily mistaken the gas pedal for the brakes, nothing could be damaged…too badly.

The white-haired boxer chuckled at the thought, his gloomy mood subsiding for a brief moment.

"Ha, I knew that would make you laugh." Taking a seat next to his Captain, Tadao cleared his throat and stared for a minute longer. "So, you gonna come clean? You're thinking about Mitsuru again, aren't you?"

"That obvious, huh?"

"It's pretty bad. I guess I can see why, though. Christmas is in a few weeks."

Akihiko stood up, still holding the shirt he had been working with in his hands. "I found what I wanted to give her."

"Wanted? So you're not going to?"

Mouth twisting, Akihiko averted his eyes, setting the shirt on top of the cubes. "It's a little inappropriate, seeing as we aren't together anymore."

"So I take it that you two still aren't on speaking terms?"

Akihiko opened his mouth to say 'yes,' but remembered that Tadao knew nothing of the Dark Hour or SEES. So instead, he said, "No, we're not."

Making a 'tsking' noise with his tongue, Tadao climbed to his feet. "Man, it's been about three months now, right? Since October fifth. It's December seventh now."

"Why are you keeping track?"

Jokingly, Tadao punched his friend in the shoulder, "Dude, it's a man thing, Akihiko! Every guy knows that after a certain amount of time of the chick breaking up with you without a sign of ever getting back together, it's time to move on. And it's the same for you, too."

Akihiko watched the other man's face for a long time. Tadao was smiling, which wasn't unusual, since he was the class clown outside of the boxing ring. Really, he was telling Akihiko what he truly thought. The white-haired youth turned away.

Would it really be right? To just…forget about Mitsuru? He had spent a couple years pining for her affection, then almost four years together with the woman, and now he was expected to just forget her after a few months of breaking up?

"I…guess…"

Tadao swung an arm around the other man's shoulder that he had earlier punched, and led his friend toward the window behind the counter. "Akihiko, buddy, it's time to move on. You're a fine catch, you know? Don't think we don't see how many hearts you've captivated. Being the Captain of the boxing team isn't something to be taken so lightly."

Akihiko's head turned to meet Tadao's eyes with somber ones. "It didn't help me keep Mitsuru."

Releasing his Captain's shoulders, Tadao stepped back, sighing. "That's what I'm talking about, Captain! This girl's got you so wrapped around her finger and she's constantly playing with your head, ya? That's what rich girls do, you know. They bring you up and then drop you. And they don't care because they're rich."

Akihiko's attention changed to the view outside the window. Several people were slowly making their way down the street, but what caught his eyes the quickest was the couple walking, hand in hand, behind the crowd. Tadao's words slowly reached his ears, and he thought about it for a minute.

"Mitsuru's not that kind of a rich girl."

"Well…she must be to just dump you like that. The way you get back at chicks like that is to get a new girlfriend. It shows them that they're expendable, just like how they made you feel."

"Hmmm…" Akihiko's eyes wandered back to his friend and he took a seat on the stool situated by the register.

"Look, why don't you move out of that dorm, huh? As long as you're in the same vicinity as her, you'll never heal. I've been thinking about moving out of my place, too. Say, we could get an apartment!"

Akihiko jolted slightly, the idea surprising him. "An apartment?"

"Yeah! You know, Suzume was talking to me about it, and she said that she'd even move in if you decided to come along too."

Akihiko held his breath, not responding right away. The apartment didn't sound like a bad idea, but Suzume getting involved was a different issue. It was no big secret that she had a huge crush on Akihiko and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to let him know so. He wasn't sure if she knew about his and Mitsuru's situation, or if Tadao had told her even after Akihiko had specifically told him not to, but it didn't really matter.

"Is that right?" was all he could say.

"You should be honored," Tadao laughed. "Suzume is hot, Captain. Any self-respecting guy would take her."

"Guess that that means I'm not self-respecting," Akihiko forced a grin and turned his head at the sound of the little bell on the door, interrupting their conversation. An older man and woman entered, eyes taking in the sights of the little store. "Good afternoon, folks."

"Good afternoon," the man replied.

The woman made her way to the counter, "You don't happen to have any calendars, do you? Or post cards?"

Akihiko inwardly smiled.

Tourists. And Lucky Cat was definitely a tourist shop.

"Sure thing!" Tadao put on his friendly, shopkeeper's accent and walked around from behind the counter. "Now, we have some plain ones and others that have 'Port Island' written right on them. I'll go and show you some…" the three of them disappeared to the back of the store, leaving Akihiko alone behind the register.

Drifting back into his own little world, Tadao's thoughts echoed in his mind.

Forget Mitsuru, huh?

That was going to be hard.

He had been in love with Mitsuru Kirijo for a long time.

Maybe she had loved him back, and maybe she hadn't. But every time he pushed the issue, she would change the subject.

"You're just scared," he accused at the Cultural Festival of their freshman year. "You're just scared of the way you might feel."

That whole week before the festival, the two of them had been fighting. He hadn't come right out and said it, but he wanted Mitsuru to know. He wanted her to know that there were reasons other than SEES for why he was battling the Shadows. And he knew that she had been busy helping the Student Council President prepare for the Cultural Festival, but he just couldn't sit still about his feelings any longer.

"I don't feel anything," but the shaky way she said it told him better.

"Nothing?" he had her pinned against a tree on the outskirts of the festival, where he thought no one could see them. "Not one little thing?"

He half expected her to brush him off and walk away, muttering something about having work to do. Another part of him shuddered at the thought of having to experience the rumored "executions."

But he never imagined that she would just cower before him, using the back of the tree for support, and harshly whisper, "No."

It was then that he knew the truth.

Akihiko wasn't the brightest student in his class, or a mind reader, but he knew Mitsuru Kirijo so well, he could see through her flimsy facades and tough words. She was hopelessly in love with him too, and, though she wouldn't admit it, probably enjoyed being trapped by him like this.

So when he roughly kissed her, he wasn't surprised when she started kissing him back, body trembling in fright, her arms tightly encircling his waist. He didn't care who saw them at that moment, even if it had been Takeharu Kirijo himself. This woman was his and his alone.

He pulled back long enough to stare at her, breathing hard, and whisper, "I love you."

She just smiled.

He was afraid that it would be the end of that, but when she uncharacteristically began to slide notes into his locker, asking him to meet her after school, Akihiko realized that he hadn't really known her at all. This side of Mitsuru was new to him and he dared to explore it as much as he could. So when she would silently take his hand as they walked through the park, or wasn't afraid to sit too close to him when they shared lunch together, he knew that she loved him back.

But they never told anyone, or spoke of telling anyone. Somehow, it came off as a mutual understanding that no one else needed to know. They kept up their little charade for nearly four years, and Mitsuru was more of an excellent liar than he had given her credit for.

\/\/\/

After his shift was over, Akihiko made a special trip back to the jewelry store he had visited earlier. It wasn't closing time yet, and so with the check he had cashed earlier that day, he used the money to buy that ring in the window.

"Size six, please," Akihiko told the jeweler. Mitsuru wore a six. Her fingers were long, but thin. Just another set of features that added to her never ending beauty.

"Here you are, sir," the jeweler held the ring in the palm of his hand. "That'll be sixty-eight forty-two."

"I want a silver chain too. A thick one—for men, that is."

The jeweler wordlessly left the boy at the counter, and Akihiko drummed his fingers on the countertop. He waited a minute longer before the old man returned, a silver chain draped from his hand. "This all right?"

"That's fine."

"Total comes to eighty-eight ninety-three."

Akihiko reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed the jeweler a few bills. After a moment of tinkering with the register, the boy received his change and jewelry. Turning away from the older man, he took the silver band and, making sure not to separate it into two, slid it onto the chain. Reaching up behind his head, he fumbled with the clasp.

He was certain that the older man was watching him with curiosity, but Akihiko didn't care, nor did he want to ask for his help with the chain. He tried a little bit more and smiled when he finally felt the two link together. His hand trailing down the chain, it stopped at the ring he had so desperately wanted.

Desperately wanted to give to her that was…

"True love…always waits…" he whispered.

Akihiko wondered if that was really true.

\/\/\/

Well, how did I do? Is it all right? Please review and let me know (please don't flame me)! Lol and just to let you guys know, I am female, in case the above conversation between Akihiko and Tadao was offensive. XD

ML