This fic is a manifestation of my hopes and wishes. Don't get me wrong, I love the male protagonist as much as the next guy, but I feel rather…attached to the female protagonist. Maybe it is through her eyes that I can feel that I'm actually a part of the Persona 3 world.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Persona Series.

Check Yes, Juliet

Prologue

Death—something that draws an end to a man's journey, and is something that a living being cannot escape; for the very sole purpose of living was: to die. People die everyday, that's for sure. So let me ask you one simple question:

Are you afraid of death?

No? Well, that's a brave thing to say. I'm proud of you.

And for those who did not answer the question, I'm guessing you are afraid of dying. That's a common thing to say, and you're right, so don't be offended. It's only natural to fear something as inevitable as death. So, no, I'm not going to call you a coward.

What about me, you ask? Well, the answer's simple:

No.

I am not afraid of death.

Why should I fear death? It's only natural for living things to die, anyway. And no matter how hard we try, since death is inevitable, we can never escape. So I gave up my fear of dying long ago. But there's also another reason as to why I'm not afraid of dying: because I live every second of my life knowing when I'm going to die.

That's why I want to live my life apart from others. I don't want to make any 'attachments'; if I do become attached to people, I'm only going to make them sad because I'm destined to live a short life.

So why bother?

I can never hurt people.

That's why I swore since long ago to never have attachments to anybody—even my parents. I'm just going to live my life and quietly disappear; as if I never even existed in the first place.

My mind was made. It may be sad, living alone and apart from the others. But, I'm not going to let that get to me. I will never hurt anybody. I will never develop a bond with them. I will never smile to my parents. I will stay apart from the others. And I…will slowly disappear from everybody's minds.

It hurt me to isolate myself from my parents and treating them like complete strangers. It hurt me so, so much that I shed a tear every night, all cuddled up in my warm blanket. Albeit this pain, I don't dare to make attachments to my parents, for they will be even sadder when I die if I'm closely attached to them. I know this. I know that this is the only thing I could do. I know that, and yet, why am I still wishing for something else? Why am I wishing for something I could never have?

The only answer to that question is that because I'm human. Humans are greedy—they always crave for more and more, not even thinking about how blessed they already are.

Yeah. That's why. That's why I'm wishing for this emotion I could never even think of laying my fingers upon:

Happiness.

Chapter One: Odd Kids

April 15th, 2007

Wednesdays.

Oh, how I dread these days.

As you may have guessed, Wednesdays are the days when I get to get my usual checkup in the hospital my mother works in. And yes, I do hate going to the hospital. It's just that no matter where I go, I could see people dying right before my eyes. The thought of me not being able to do anything to help them is just unbearable. I always feel my fingers twitch from wanting to help them; give them water, give moral supports, clasp their hands with mine and give them smiles of encouragement.

But then, I'm always reminded of my motto to 'never ever be attached to people'. Whenever that motto pops up in my head, it always leaves me sad and frustrated as I let my hands fall down to my sides and reluctantly turn my back on them.

And then there are needles.

The most loathsome thing in the world. For me, that is.

I hate it whenever a doctor or a nurse stick needles in me. Not only does it hurt, but it makes me paranoid. I mean what if the needles aren't clean? What if the nurse forgets to change the needles? What if it contains some kind of new disease that—

Okay, stop.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Yeah, this is what usually happens to me whenever I get nervous and/or scared.

But don't get me wrong. I'm not afraid of dying. It's just that I'm afraid of getting sick. If I'm sick, I wouldn't be able to do anything, and if I couldn't do anything, my parents will be forced to take care of me. This is the thing that I try to avoid at all costs. They're such busy parents that I don't have the heart to make them worry too much about me. Having this so-called 'incurable' disease is already making my parents worry.

I sigh. Why do I have to suffer all this misery?

"Hey, Minako-chan," a voice calls out eagerly from behind me, "wanna grab a bite?"

I feel my body jump and tense. That voice is just too damn familiar…

"Don't talk to me," I say while biting my lip.

Hearing no response whatsoever, I take a step forward. "Please," I add.

The owner of the voice isn't giving up, though. He hastily catches up and stops right in front of me, effectively blocking my way.

"Junpei, move," I say through gritted teeth. If I'm mean to everybody, they'll give up any efforts to be friends with me.

The teenage boy fixes his crooked hat and gives me a toothy grin. "Would you look at that? The cool Minako-chan actually spoke to me!" he says with a hint of sarcasm.

There is a sudden urge to roll my eyes and walk around him. But I think the better of it and decide for the latter.

"Going to the hospital for a checkup?" Junpei says when he manages to catch up with me. "You do that every Wednesdays, right?"

I know that I made myself clear when I said 'don't talk to me', but what he just said startles me and I couldn't resist the urge to widen my eyes.

"W-were you," I whisper in an are-you-kidding-me tone, "stalking me?"

"W-what?" Junpei says as color starts to dust his cheeks. "No! It's just that every Wednesday you leave school early, so I have my suspicions. And I heard that you're sick so…"

And then something hit me.

"Wait. So what are you doing leaving school early?" I ask suspiciously.

Oh, you should really see Junpei's expression. It's completely priceless. He looks like a deer in headlights.

When he says nothing in return, possibly because he's thinking of a good enough lie to tell, I take it as my chance and run away as fast as I can.

"W-wait! Minako—"

But by then, his voice is already out of earshot.

God. I know I must've looked really pathetic back then. Running away like that… I mean, what was I thinking?

I shake my head to clear the thoughts away.

No, what I did was the right thing to do. I don't want to involve anymore people in my life, remember? But yeah, I might've looked really weird, running away from a conversation like that. I just don't want to talk to anybody, unless necessary, that is. And I always make sure to keep my distance from people. So why was this Junpei trying so hard to get my attention? What is it that he wants from me? Or is it because he's curious about my disease? Heck, I don't even know what my disease is. My parents only told me that it's incurable and that's it.

It's quite odd, though. That odd kid just keeps on coming closer and closer to me, trying to get my attention, while the other students barely even know I exist.

I sigh for the second time today. I should really stop talking to him. Ignoring him is the best thing to do.

But I've got to admit, that guy really doesn't give up easily. I had to make a lot of sudden turns in order to shake him off. And because there were so many sudden turns that I made, I really didn't think I'd ever get to the hospital. Yet, without realizing, here I am now.

"I-I'm Arisato Minako," I stutter breathlessly to the nurse, "and I'm h-here for my usual checkup." Man, all that running is really tiring. Seeing that I have a limited stamina, it really isn't my fault that I'm stuttering right now.

"Ah, certainly Miss Arisato," the nurse replies. "Please wait in the waiting room."

"Y-yeah," I say, "thanks."

What will my mother say when she sees me like this? She's my assigned doctor, if you ask. I hope she doesn't inject me with a steroid. But then, if I don't get my steroid shot, will I be tired for the rest of the day? No…I'll probably just sleep it off.

Making eye contact with strangers is kind of awkward, don't you think? That's why whenever I enter the waiting room, I always avert m eyes and look down. Yet, even though I look down, I could still feel people's eyes on me. God, they're making me feel all self-conscious.

Gulping, I walk across the room and sit on a chair at the far-east corner. This way, I could at least avoid the unneeded attention. After sitting down, not knowing what else to do, I fix my gaze on the television, listening to the news report.

"–11:55 yesterday night, a fire burnt away a local resident's house. There are only 2 survivors out of the 4 living there. The names of the victims are—"

A fire? That's terrible… And to think that the fire ate away those people's house… I… can't help but feel sorry for them. To lose the only place where you can turn to… that's something that I can't imagine myself. I wish I could help, but, really, what do I do? What can I do? In the end, I'm just the kind of person who sits back while watching others suffer before my eyes.

"Miss Arisato?" a nurse calls out from the entrance of the waiting room. "The doctor is ready to see you."

"Ah!" I stand up and grab my school bag. "C-coming!"

"This way, please." The nurse gives me a warm-hearted smile.

On the way to meet my doctor, I keep on looking down, trying not to make eye contact with strangers. It'll be even more awkward if I accidentally make eye contact with a person that seems like he or she really need help, because my hands will always tremble whenever I see a person like that.

But apparently, my effort isn't enough—the noises coming from the room ahead of me are just too loud to ignore.

Curiosity gets the best of me, and as I peek to my right, I find myself staring at an injured silver-headed boy that, no matter how weird it is, is trying to get out of his bed with his leg badly injured.

"—calm down Sanada-kun!" one of the nurses says frantically, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Your sister is alright, I assure you!"

"You're lying!" the Sanada boy shouts, shrugging the nurse's hand off. "I saw Miki myself and she did not look fine to me! So let me see her already!"

"You can't, Sanada-kun!" another nurse says. "You're badly hurt! Don't even try to get up—"

"Shut up!" Sanada shouts rudely back. He drags one of his injured feet off the bed. "I don't care! I'm going to see my sister!"

Is that boy out of his mind? I mean, just look at how badly injured he is! He can't even stand properly! I can't believe his childishness. He's really causing a ruckus. At times like these, people who do that usually gets a—

And before I even finish my sentence, a nurse takes out a needle and aims for Sanada's shoulder.

T-that boy's going to be injected! I should help—wait. People get injected all the time, right? This isn't even a big deal to begin with. Besides, what about my staying away from people? A situation like this isn't going to make any difference.

…right?

"Miss Arisato?" the nurse in front of me says. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah, n-no," I stutter as I shake my head. I need to take my attention away from this boy. If I could ignore my classmates, it should be really easy for me to ignore a stranger.

I think.

Ah, never mind. I'll just have to distract my mind. Think about puppies. Yeah, cute little puppies. The ones that always wag their tails whenever they're happy—

Wait. Hold on. A disturbing thought pops up in my mind.

If that nurse is trying to give that boy an injection while he's thrashing around like that, wouldn't she miss? What if she hit his face instead? Or worse, what if she accidentally injected his eye—

"Wait!" I shout as I run to Sanada's room.

It seems I arrive just in the nick of time.

That needle is just a few centimeters away from Sanada's face. I knew she'll miss if that boy thrashes around like that.

"A…Arisato-san?" the nurse who's holding the needle says. Apparently, she recognizes my face. That's natural, because I always come to this hospital every Wednesdays. "What is it?"

"Please don't give that stupid boy an injection while he's thrashing around like a madman!" Oops. The words 'stupid' and 'madman' slipped away from my mouth.

"Stupid…?" Sanada says out of confusion. "Madman…?"

"See there!" I add while pointing to the needle that's about to hit Sanada right in the face. "You could've missed and poked his face instead!"

The nurse glances to her right hand and quickly pulls it away from Sanada. "Y-you're right! That was stupid of me."

"No," I say, "you're not stupid. He is." Well, there goes my principle of never talking to people unless necessary. He's just so unbearably stupid that I become annoyed.

"M-me?" Sanada stutters while pointing towards himself. "You're saying I'm stupid?"

Seriously, does this guy even care about himself? How can he even try to get out of the bed badly injured like that?

I glance towards the nurses and give them a smile. "It's okay, I got this. Please leave. He might cause you even more trouble, you know."

The three women glance at each other before slowly nodding and hastily leaving the room; leaving me and 'Sanada-kun' alone.

Maybe I'll talk to him a little bit more and snap him out of his stupidity. Then I won't talk to him ever again. I swear.

I walk slowly towards Sanada. "You know, that was really rude of you."

Sanada averts his brown eyes. "…They were the ones who stopped me from seeing her."

"Mm-hm. And that gives you the permission to shout like a little kid back then?"

The silver-headed boy suddenly snaps and glares at me. "What the heck was I supposed to do? They wouldn't let me see her for god's sake!"

I glare back. "But you could've asked nicely."

"Yeah, I did. And the only thing they did was shower me with bullshit."

My, what language. "What kind of bullshit?"

"The, 'oh she's going to be fine' and 'you really don't need to worry about her, just get some fucking sleep already' kind of bullshit," he says as I feel his brown eyes becoming hard and cold. I can see how this frustration is really getting to him.

"Then tell me," I say, holding back the laughter that's slowly creeping up my throat. "What are you so pissed about?"

There's a moment of silence before he slowly answers, "…Pity."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

"Pity," he repeats. "They know that my sister's not going to be okay, so they pity me and give me crappy lies."

"How do you know that they were lying?"

"…How can I not?" he snaps back. "I saw her myself. She was badly burnt! She—"

Sanada shuts his eyes and clasps his lips shut.

Wait a minute. Badly burnt? Oh no, don't tell me…

"…So you're…one of the survivors of the fire that happened last night?" I ask carefully.

He doesn't answer, but the look in his eyes gives me all the answer I need.

"Whatever," he says. Once again, he tries to drag his feet to the cold-tiled floor. "I need to see her."

"Wait!" I catch his shoulders in order to stop him.

"This is none of your business!" The silver-headed boy slaps away both of my hands. "Why do you even care anyway?"

…That's right. Why do I even care? He's a stranger. Moreover, I have a principle that strictly forbids me from ever talking and socializing with strangers. So why do I even try to butt into his problems? Was it because…I feel pity for him?

"I don't need your pity," he says through gritted teeth.

No. Why would I even pity this stubborn idiot? No matter what he does, he always manages to piss me off.

What I feel isn't pity. It's…

"Who said I pitied you?" I retort. "Look. You're really hurt, so don't even bother standing up. You'll fall right away."

…remorse.

Remorse over not being able to do anything for the past 14 years of my life. Now, somebody really, really needs my help—and it's this idiot.

"I won't fall." And yet, right after he said that, he stumbles and falls to the floor with a great thump.

I can't help it. I really can't. I tried to stifle it, mind you, but it just blurts out of my mouth—laughter. I'm laughing like a fool.

"S-stop laughing!" he says. I can see a little bit of color on his cheeks.

I help him up to his bed. "Wanna try again?"

Sanada snatches his arm away from my grip and tries to stand up.

And of course, he falls right away.

"Again?" I say with an amused smile.

He falls once again.

I snort and help him up. "You still want to try?"

He tries again.

Yet he miserably fails.

I sigh, an exhausted smile on my face. This is getting tiring. "Do you want to try until you ruin your face? That could happen since you always fall face-first."

He mutters something inaudible. But I'm pretty sure he's saying, 'Fine, fine. I'll stop.'

The silver-headed boy sits back in his bed while frowning. "I can't stand. You were right. Happy?"

"Hmm," I say, placing an index finger on my chin, "not really. I'm not really happy by the way you said that you can't stand."

"…What?"

"I meant what I said," I repeat. "You can stand. But not yet."

There's nothing Sanada could do but stare back.

"Don't worry about it." I give him a smile. "Well anyway, I'm going to see your sister in your stead. What's her name?" This is the only thing I could do to satisfy him.

"…Sanada Miki," he says while avoiding eye contact. Is my help wounding his pride? I hope so.

"Sanada Miki. Got it." I stand up and head outside. Before closing the door, I turn around and say, "Sorry for calling you an idiot."

There is a moment of silence before I finally add, "…And madman," and close the door.

"Seriously, what am I going to do with you?" the doctor—ah, no, Mother says. "Running around and tiring yourself out isn't a smart thing to do, Minako-chan."

I bite my bottom lip and fix my gaze down. "…I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I promise."

"You better keep that promise." Mother takes out an injection needle. Crap. This doesn't look good. "This is for your stamina. Now, be a good girl and don't scream like last time."

I nod. It wasn't my fault that I screamed last time. The needle was bigger than the needles I've seen all my life. Naturally, I panicked and screamed. And Mother hadn't even given me my shot.

I gulp and curl my fingers into a fist. I could feel Mother rubbing a patch of skin on my shoulder with cotton and position the needle right above it. Alright, here goes…

…And done.

It stings a little, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

"Alright, you're set," Mother says. "Your checkup's done, and, thankfully, nothing's wrong with you. Just don't tire yourself out, okay, Minako-chan? "

I give a nod again and mutter a soft, "Thank you."

I couldn't see my mother's face, but I'm pretty sure that she's sad because I always treat my parents like this. She, of course, knew the reason behind it all.

"Ah, Mother, do you happen to know Sanada Miki?" I ask.

"Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

"I… I want to know what room she's in, please."

"But," Mother says in a soft voice, "she...she's in no condition to speak. You may be able to speak to her, but I won't guarantee that she'll answer you."

I shake my head. "No, it's fine. I just…want to see her."

"Well okay then. She's in room number 203."

"Thank you," I say as I turn my back. "Bye—"

"Wait, Minako-chan," Mother calls out. "…Why do you want to see her? I mean, you don't even know her, right?"

"…Probably. But really, I'm just doing someone a favor," I answer and turn the knob.

The only thing I could hear before the door is completely shut is, "Don't get too close to Sanada-kun, Minako-chan!"

Don't worry, Mother. I don't intend to get too close to him anyway. I'm just doing him a simple favor, so he'll stop trying to ruin his face.

"Ah excuse me," I say to a nearby nurse. "What floor is room number 203 in?"

Sanada Miki is beautiful, even if she is just a little kid.

She has long silver hair just like her brother's, minus the long part I suppose, and long eyelashes with bandages covering her left eye and most of her face. The only problem is that she has a very pale complexion; the kind of pale that a dying person has. Also, her lips have a tint of blue in them and she has an oxygen mask covering the lower half of her petite face.

Oddly enough, she seems to be hanging in there. Her whole body is wrapped up in bandages, and the only thing that's indicating she's alive is the constant beeping of a machine and the life lines that keeps on going up and down, up and down.

My job is to see her in Sanada's stead, right? Now that I've seen her, what am I supposed to do? Should I talk to her? But, of course, what's the whole point of it if she doesn't answer me back? And it really doesn't feel right just staring at her and go back to Sanada. I can't just go back there and say, "Hey, your sister's fine. Bye." Besides… she doesn't really look 'fine' to me. She's alive, yes, that's for sure, but…she's dying.

I peek at Miki's face. Maybe I should try talking to her. Just a little bit, I guess.

"Um, hey," I say softly to her, afraid that my voice will wake her up from her deep slumber. That is, however, impossible. "I'm Arisato Minako and I'm here in your brother's stead."

…What am I doing?

"And I, uh," I play with the hem of my skirt out of nervousness, "I'm here to check up on you."

I let my crimson orbs fall to gaze upon Miki's face. There's no response, so I figure I'll just keep blabbering to my heart's contents.

"I think…you look fine." Not good. I'm lying to her. "With your current condition, I think you'll be out of the hospital in no time—"

No, I can't do this. I can't lie to her. She may not hear me, but I feel guilty over lying to her so idiotically.

"—Ugh. I'm sorry, Miki," I say, biting my lip, "but I think…you could look better. I think you're really in pain."

That's better. The truth may hurt, but it's better knowing the truth than drowning in a life full of lies.

"But," I hastily add, "I think you're very strong! You look like you're hanging in there, so keep up the good work!"

Wait. Why am I giving mental support to somebody who can't even give a response? This is getting out of hand.

"By the way," I say with a smile, "your brother is very worried about you. But don't worry. I've stopped him from ruining his face, and I also have, hopefully, wounded his pride."

Well, I think I've talked enough, so I may as well be on my way.

"So…yeah. I'll be going now. Bye."

As I turn on my heel and take a step forward, I feel a slight tug on my school blazer.

I turn around skeptically, not knowing what else to do. I thought I accidentally managed to get my blazer stuck on something, yet, I see Miki's pale fingers clutching onto my blazer weakly.

S-she was awake the whole time? So does that mean she heard my embarrassing unneeded introduction? More importantly, why is she awake in the first place?

…Well, Mother did say she's in no condition to speak, but she didn't say anything about Miki being unconscious.

"…So you were awake the whole time, huh, Miki?" I ask, streaks of red coloring my cheeks. "I guess you heard my unneeded introduction as well then."

I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me, but, I swear, Miki's lips tug upwards a little bit. Miki's smiling.

"…So," I say, "can…can I go now?"

Miki tightens her fingers on my school blazer. I'm guessing that's a 'no'.

"…I see." If I can't go, what am I supposed to do? Just stare at her until she lets go? Why is she grabbing my blazer in the first place, anyway? Is there something she's trying to—?

And then the answer hits me square in the face.

"Miki," I lean over her small figure, "is there something you want to tell me?"

Her grip tightens. This time, obviously, she's saying, 'yes'.

Remembering that she's in no condition to speak, I grab my forgotten school bag lying on the floor. I open the zip soundly, hastily, as if my life depends on it; or rather, as if Miki's life depends on it. And now, that may just be the case.

"Pen, paper, pen, paper, pen, paper," I chant continuously as I rummage through my school books. Seriously, I should really start cleaning up my bag.

After a few moments of rummaging through my heap of things, I manage to find a pen and a slightly crumpled paper.

"Found them!" I say out loud, holding the two things high in the air, treating them like some kind of treasure.

Since Miki can't sit up straight, I let her grab the pen with all the energy she has, while I hold onto the paper, placing my palm behind it.

I wait patiently as Miki scribbled lines onto the paper. I can't help but notice how shaky her hand seems to be.

After a few seconds, Miki drops the pen to the floor. I don't blame her, though, because she looks like she strained herself too much when writing. I think she's not even supposed to move yet.

"Done?" I take the pen from the floor and take a look at the paper.

Here I am, hoping for some kind of private message that only she and her brother can understand. Yet, I can barely understand her writing at all. The lines she stroke looks like dead worms. But, I guess she did pretty well, considering how badly injured she is.

"Let's see," I say as I try my best to comprehend her writing, "I…w…want…t…to…566…my…hacker?"

"You want to 566 your hacker?" I ask with confusion written all over my face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

This time, I'm sure, my eyes are not playing tricks on me. Miki rolls her eyes, although the only one visible to me is her right eye. She gives me that kind of look-at-it-again look.

I glance towards the paper. Squinting, I try to read the words more carefully this time. Oh. I see. The 556 is actually, 'see', and the hacker is, 'brother'. That's obvious. I should've known.

What she wrote in the paper is:

'I want to see my brother.'

Author's Note: So that's the first chapter. Sorry if it's a little too long. :]