This is a short little story that, after playing Persona 3 FES for the second time, I just could not get out of my head. Ergo, from the chaos of my mind I have spawned this little story. There isn't any point to reading this without having played Persona 3, but those who do I hope you enjoy it!

Confessions

"YAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWN…"

The sound erupted furiously and without warning, drawing stares from everyone in the classroom.

"Minato-kun, shh! If you're gonna doze off, mister genius, do it more quietly!" Yukari hissed in his general direction as kindly as she could manage at that volume. Ms. Toriumi, their composition teacher, sighed and continued her lecture as if nothing had happened though, in reality, this was an everyday occurrence for her and every other of Arisato Minato's teachers.

"Honestly…" Yukari muttered, a small grin gracing her pretty features despite her mild indignation at her boyfriend who was just now leaning his head forward. She could almost imagine the little Z's rising into their air.

I wonder what he dreams about… wait, something's not right today, she realized suddenly. And indeed it wasn't. Where Minato's back would usually rise and fall with his gentle breathing, today they shuffled and ruffled, as if he was wresting with something under the table.

While she was occupied, something touched her foot. Reacting with honed precision, she jerked her foot away and peered as inconspicuously downward as she could.

There, just barely under her desk, was a small folded piece of paper. Pretending to cough, Yukari leaned down and snatched it up, absentmindedly noticing that Minato was now fast asleep. Unfolding the letter she read:

Meet me on the roof after school.

Minato

Yukari blushed. He probably wanted to hang out somewhere private again. Honestly… she thought, feeling like a giggly school girl, and then realizing the irony actually giggled softly. She brought her gaze back to the sentence Ms. Toriumi was writing on the board, though her mind and heart were elsewhere…

Soon class ended, and they all rose to stretch and chat for a bit until the next class period began. Minato reached for the ceiling, stretching out a sore shoulder, the result of the previous night's trip to Tartarus.

"Hey man, you feelin' all right? That was one helluva blow you whacked that Shadow!" Junpei exulted.

"Yeah, it'll be cool by this evening. Oh, and come to the roof after school, I need to talk to you," Minato deadpanned with his usual straightface.

Junpei sighed. "You're so weird, man. But sure, I'll come." And that was that.

The next teacher came and went. Minato stayed awake; he always did for Ekoda-sensei's lectures on the history of magic. As soon as the lecture was over, however, Minato leapt from his seat and booked out of the classroom, hooking a hard left.

"Where's he off to in such a hurry?" Junpei commented. Yukari shrugged.

"I don't know. But it's strange; when Minato wants to 'hang out,' he usually just asks after school. This is unusual for him," Aigis commented in a troubled manner.

Yukari stiffened.

"Hey, you too? Yeah, I thought somethin' was up. Minato usually just hangs with me and Akihiko randomly," Junpei interjected.

Yukari sighed. "Alright, what the hell is going on here?" she asked of no one in particular.

Meanwhile, Minato was cruising down the hall. Spotting his prey, he moved in for the kill who was standing by the notice board looking at a technology ad.

"Hey Fuuka. Meet me on the roof after school?" he asked suddenly.

Fuuka started, looking at him curiously. "Are you okay, Minato-kun? You look pale… are you sick again?"

Minato gulped. This was getting harder the closer he got to the end. "Yeah, it's just… can you?"

Fuuka nodded hesitantly. "Sure, but why-"

But he was already gone, running for the stairs for his last prey.

He found her by the downstairs message board posting some official looking document that Minato vaguely remembered photocopying for her.

"Afternoon, Misturu-chan," Minato drawled as he approached.

"Don't use that name unless it's just us, Min-Arisato-kun," Mitsuru shot back without missing a beat.

"Meet me on the roof after school," and here Minato leaned in close to breathe in her ear: "Mitsuru-chan."

The refined redhead shuddered almost invisibly, and when she turned to face Minato he was gone, a flash of blue hair ascending the staircase the last thing he saw.

Damn him… she thought, shaking her head furiously and glaring at some freshman (who squealed and bolted for their classrooms) to relieve some tension.

Finally the promised hour arose and the last class concluded for the day. Minato arose from his seat, now visibly sweating, and nodded once to Junpei, Yukari, and Aigis, and made for the exit at the back of the classroom. After sharing a confused glance, the three followed in their wake.

As they rose to the roof, a surprised sound made them turn. Behind them were Misturu and Fuuka, both of whom were just as surprised as Minato's classmates.

Realizing that words between them would reveal nothing, they opened the door to the roof to reveal their grey-eyed friend who had altered their lives irrevocably sitting on one of the benches around the flowers. He looked up as they arrived, smiling nervously and motioning at the benches.

When they were all seated he turned to face them, taking a huge swallow. Then:

"So, Yukari, Aigis, Fuuka… do you wanna know where the rest of the cameras are?" he asked suddenly.

The three aforementioned girls looked at him puzzledly, and then their jaws dropped in unison at the reference to a conversation Minato was never a part of.

"You… how… you did… you heard… how…" Fuuka stammered in shock.

Yukari's face was just about the right temperature for frying eggs. To that end she was rather speechless.

Aigis said nothing, only stared at him.

"Mitsuru-chan asked me to check out the command equipment one night because it was acting up and no one could make heads or tails of it… and there was this beeping red light and I… it was a recording! And I just couldn't not… and month after month there were simply more and more problems and it always turned out to be a recording… and…" Minato paused, then turned suddenly to Fuuka and began speaking rapidly.

"Fuuka-chan! You once bought a waist-slimmer from Tanaka's Amazing Commodities and was reduced to a helpless tickling fit in that bikini from summer vacation!"

Fuuka eeped and buried her face into her hands, but Minato was already moving to Junpei.

"Junpei! You once left your room so messy that Mitsuru-chan called the police over a break-in!"

Junpei paled. "Dude, that's…."

"Arisato!" Mitsuru stammered. But he shook his head.

"Mitsuru-chan, one recording was of you after a shower – in a towel! – reading a fashion magazine and catching a cold!" Minato exploded, turning slightly red, though he paled – literally – in comparison to Mitsuru, who like Yukari was about to melt.

"And Yukari, you… you look really really cute in a maid uniform…" Minato trailed off, now definitely blushing as deeply as Yukari.

"And Aigis, you… thank you for watching over me when I was ill a few months ago. I really… really appreciate it," Minato added, now not making eye contact with everyone.

Yukari's eye was now twitching, her love for the young man warring with an intense desire to beat him senseless.

Mitsuru stood shakily. "Well,… thank you, Minato-kun…" she breathed. "I… am glad that you told us this, I… will remove the cameras immediately…"

She turned and staggered more than walked to the exit, fumbling at the latch and shutting it quietly behind her.

Rising, Fuuka nodded once, meeting Minato's eyes briefly as he caught a glimpse of… relief? Either way, the girl rushed for exit before he could confirm.

Sighing, Yukari's inner battle was resolved and she stamped on Minato's foot hard, and then leaned in to peck him on the cheek and whisper, "thanks for the compliment," before walking for the exit.

Aigis had yet to move. Minato watched her closely. Then:

The corners of her mouth twitched, then began to slowly and deliberately turn upwards. Two tears forged trails down her cheeks to be caught by her smile.

"I am glad that you were able to find out. I came every night, even though it made Yukari-san very angry," Aigis explained. "I-"

But her words were cut off by Minato as he leaned over and gave her a hug. Then he stood up with a soft smile.

"Let's go home."

Aigis smiled and got up to walk side-by-side with Minato. The door clicked quietly behind them, and the flowers blew in the wind.

And there you have it!