AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here's another story I've been working on! And unlike my previous story, I actually had a good idea of where I was going with this, so in my opinion, this story turned out much better. It's the holidays, so I had a lot more time to work on this too.
This one-shot was partially inspired by the stories Kimi no Kioku, Itsumademo by Yami No Majou077 and Sorry by Blu Rose! You can read them before or after you read my story. Either way, go check them out!
This story, of course, takes place in an alternate universe where both the male and female protagonist exist and interact with each other.
Disclaimer: I don't own Persona or Atlus.
With a sorrowful expression on her face, Hamuko quietly shut the door to Minato's hospital room. She took soft steps, careful not to disturb the unconscious figure resting on the bed.
Even though she knew full well he would not be waking up any time soon.
"Hey," She greeted softly. The blue-haired boy didn't respond, and her eyes became downcast upon realizing this again. A few days had passed since he had awakened to his "Persona." Ever since then he was lying comatose in a hospital bed.
To the surprise of Hamuko, the doctors seemed to be familiar with his condition and were aware of how to treat it. She didn't mention anything about what happened on the night of April 9th, but they seemed to read her mind and simply reassured her, saying there was nothing to worry about and that he would awake soon enough.
Though, she couldn't help but doubt herself even after hearing this. She had witnessed Minato's power on display; seeing him writhing in pain during the time and suddenly collapsing afterwards was very alarming to her. As if the brutal and gory massacre of the Shadow wasn't already gut-wrenching enough.
She wondered if she was capable of possessing the same power Minato possessed. Fighting for your life against monsters only you could fight, in the hidden hour of the day… It was a fantasy many people in the world wished they could live, but the reality of it was already nightmarish from what she had seen. Despite this, she wanted so desperately to fight alongside Minato, the friend who she had grown so close to during their childhood years. If he were to die out there and she wasn't there to save him…
Hamuko shook her head despondently and solemnly sat down in the chair beside his bed. She wouldn't be able to bear it if he were to die. He was her companion throughout all their hardships, the ones they had faced together and ones that they would continue to face together. Now that she was alone, she felt helpless. Vulnerable. Even forlorn, as if Minato had left her for some indefinite period of time. It was cruel of him to abandon a friend of his, especially knowing how much they relied on each other. For how long she had known him, she never knew him to be that kind of person inside.
"Though, I guess you couldn't help it, huh?" She thought dejectedly, allowing herself one small chuckle. "You were fighting for your life and protecting Yukari-san and I. It hurt me seeing you go through so much pain…"
Hamuko slowly leaned over and began to affectionately brush away the hair in front of Minato's face. "You always liked to sleep, didn't you?" She began. "Sleeping in class, sleeping at the orphanage… I always had to wake you up for school when you slept in." She smiled nostalgically, eyes watering slightly. "Now… Seeing you like this is painful. No matter how much I do something or what I try to do, you won't wake up. Do you remember? When you slept in, I used to yell in your ear or try to take away your blanket. One time I even got a bucket of muddy water from outside and dumped it on your head. We were yelled at some much for that…" Hamuko laughed softly. "It wasn't even your fault, but I got you in trouble anyway…"
She turned her head up to the sound of a sliding door and a female nurse coming in. "Oh… Um, and you are…?" The nurse inquired.
The auburn-haired girl explained that she was simply visiting and she would be leaving soon anyway. The nurse nodded and left.
"If only I was going to be leaving with you…" She silently listened to the sound of Minato's breathing, watching the rising and lowering of his chest and the way his face seemed to be so peaceful.
She suddenly felt her heart ache and her face heat up. She held a hand over her chest and tried to calm down herself down. "What was… that?" She muttered to herself. "When I looked at him…"
She tried to shake the feeling she just experienced. It wasn't the first time she felt it, but it happened whenever her thoughts happened to drift towards Minato. She couldn't understand it, especially the fact that she felt it now of all times and it was more intense than usual. And because of it, seeing Minato like this made her even more anxious. She didn't know when he would wake up, or if he even would wake up. The ill omen made Hamuko shiver in fear. What would happen if he were to never wake up? What if the grim reaper chose to prey on his soul while he was blissfully asleep? Given how difficult it was for Hamuko to wake him up sometimes, her mind often drifted to the possibility that something was wrong with him. He could be unconscious; or perhaps even worse. Though she could always wake him up eventually, the circumstances weren't the same here, and she didn't know what could happen to him.
She had always heard of stories of people dying in their sleep. They were perfectly healthy and happy people who went to bed one night, only to fade away the following morning. Instead of waking up and going on with their daily lives, their mattress was to become their deathbed. The potential deadliness of sleep was certainly something not to be taken lightly, and Minato was one of many especially vulnerable.
The auburn-haired girl at his bedside began to tremble. No. Minato would be fine, wouldn't he? There was no medical reason for him to perish in that way; he was one of the healthiest people she had ever known.
Then again, it wasn't a matter of medicine at this point, and she had seen enough of Minato's Persona to know of the unpredictability and the radical nature of its power. There was no way of knowing for sure.
"W-What's the chance that he could die, right…? He should be fine, he's always been fine before. You'll be okay, right?! There's no way you could die, right?!" Hamuko desperately tried to convince herself as tears began streaming out of her eyes. "No, no. I won't believe it if you die. I'll be the one sleeping, and I'll just wake up from it, like it was a bad dream. You'll be beside me, smiling and comforting me. We'll just continue living our lives together, without a care in the world! But I can't live on without you! You can't-" She broke into hysterical sobs and buried her face in Minato's sheets, clutching them in her hands.
"You can't die, Minato… Please don't leave me…" She plead in between her sobs, shaking her head. The blanket was slowly being stained with tears as she continued to cry.
Minato continued to breathe slowly and peacefully, oblivious to the world around him and Hamuko crying at his bedside.
The nurse who had previously left opened the door once again. "Ah, Arisato-san, I'm afraid I need you to-" She began, but stopped herself after seeing the state Hamuko was in. With pursed lips, she quietly stepped out of the room and left her alone. Hamuko could barely hear a group of people mumbling in concern and sympathy outside, as well as mentions of her name. There were also questions of whether or not she had any other friends or family. They were followed by sad "no's."
"You're all I have left now…" She whimpered. "Please wake up, Minato…" He didn't respond.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I contemplated adding a bit of morbid humor in where Hamuko hopes his bedside doesn't become his deathbedside, but I guess it'd ruin the mood, huh?
Sort of short, but I think I have what I was going for in my idea for this. There are a few things that weren't made explicitly clear but were implied in the story, so I'll list them here just for clarification:
-These two aren't siblings (I'm not into incest, sorry); they are, in fact, childhood friends who were both presumably involved in the Shadow attack on the Moonlight Bridge ten years from when Persona 3 is set. They are both orphans, and have been by each other's side since their parents died.
-Hamuko has the potential, but her Persona hasn't been awakened yet. Minato is the one with Death sealed inside of him.
-The idea of dying in your sleep did come from the first of the mentioned stories in the author's note before the story. I thought it'd be interesting to elaborate on that idea more in this fanfiction, and that's where I got my initial inspiration!
-The whole idea of Hamuko thinking/speaking to a comatose Minato came from the second of the mentioned stories. The idea of that seemed very romantic to me, a woman pining over a love who is ridden in a hospital bed, practically dead to the world already.
Anyway, that wraps this up! I have a few more ideas in mind for other one-shots, so stay tuned for some new stories in the future! Please leave a critical review if you found anything I could have done better on here, I'm always looking to improve my writing!
Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!