Author's Note: Hello everyone! As I said before, I welcome you back to the world of GTBW as it will be named into Glad To Be Together. There will be lots of surprises, new couples, and new drama. I, Noelle Strife, present to you...

Glad To Be Together
By Noelle Strife

Chapter One
Sit Back, Relax, and-? What The Hell?!

~0~0~

April 6th, 2010

Tatsumi Port Island

Early Morning

"What the fu-?! Minako, slow down!" Shinjiro's usual cold and broad voice instantly turned into a shout as he hanged on for dear life while Minako drove her motorcycle up to the sixth gear she and her brother installed. The brunette didn't say anything; all she could manage to do is to hold down her fit of giggles as she sped up down the highway.

"Slow down, dammnit! The police might catch you!"

"Oh, don't worry. They wouldn't dare lay a finger on Mitsuru-senpai's motorcycle."

Indeed that motorcycle belonged to their friend and graduated senpai, Mitsuru Kirjo, the heir of the Kirijo Group. She's away for the time being, mostly because of her studies and work, so she entrusted her precious bike to the twins (Minato just handed her the keys without as much as a glance) for safekeeping. But in Shinjiro's case, none of this is safe at all. He wanted to prod her head with his knuckles, but that would distract her and would cause some damage. So, on the way to school, Shinjiro did nothing but seethe on her reckless driving skills.

"Come on, Shinji," Minako turned to look at him as she put down her helmet, her soft brown locks cascaded from it. "You used to teach me how to a ride a bike, why are you so uptight?" She said while the young man scoffed. "I taught you how to ride a bike, not a motorcycle! God, why did Mitsuru even do such a stupid thing?" He face palmed just as the girl giggled cheerfully at him.

"Hehe, because senpai thinks I'm a pretty good driver!" She said triumphantly, puffing out her chest as she settled her bag. Shinjiro rolled his eyes as he pulled on his beanie and loosened his tie. It was the first day of their senior year, and Shinjiro promised, or to be exact, was forced to attend and repeat his last year by Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Minako. He can't even believe that he got forced to attend.

'Well, at least she's here with me…' He grinned as he thought to himself. 'Everyday she will be by my side…' Suddenly the brunette giggled at him. "What?" He asked, annoyed. Minako continued to laugh until she mustered enough courage to point at his hair. "Your hair has leaves..!" Then she burst out laughing. While she's on fours on the parking lot's gravel ground, Shinjiro finally noticed his hair. There are long green leaves sticking out of its beanie while some got into the scruff of his collar and shoulder sleeves. He hastily brushed it off, deeply embarrassed and confused to know how it got there. Then, the sudden realization hit him hard as he groaned. 'Oh yeah, got smacked at a branch coz' I wasn't holding onto her…' After releasing her laugh, Minako stood up and helped him get rid of the leaves.

"That's why you should always hold on to me." She smiled at him warmly, causing the young man to blush. Nonetheless, he didn't say anything as he continued to pick it off.

"I've always tried…" He whispered to himself as he finally got rid of the plant thingies from his hair. He took his bag and slung it over his shoulder, all the while placing his other hand in his pocket. The brunette turned off the ignition and placed the keys inside her bag.

"Ready?"

"Like hell I would be…"

"The next stop is Port Island Station."

The monorail Anehazaru is full of students and workers alike. Some are just finishing breakfast, others chatting with their friends, and a few were sleeping with their heads lolling on about. By the monorail's doors stood a blue haired senior who is listening to music while bopping his head to the beat. He has silver metal eyes and skinny form; his school bag tucked under his arm while his hands are placed in his pockets. Minato Arisato was rarely seen going to school without his sister. His reason for that matter is because he slept out late. He was partly thankful for his friend and dorm mate (Junpei) for if he would have not yelled things like 'I'm not going to school!' or 'Spring break why did you leave me?!' he would have not woken up at the last minute.

Minato turned to look at the blue ocean; one which reminded him of the blue eyes of a friend he knew was away. The waves are calm and the sky dotted with the casual clouds. A beautiful day for the start of the term for him as a senior. A promise he made to his friends and to his senpai, that he would guide the school as student council president. A small wish kept in a box and then broke itself out to fulfill. He stared at the birds flying in a v-formation high up in the sky and thought of the many adventures waiting for him for this school year.

"What ya lookin at dude?" Junpei yawned as he too turned to look at the sky. Sitting across them is Yukari and Fuuka, both trying to finish their Takoyakis faster, despite how extremely hot it is.

The bluette shrugged as he bowed his head to check his music. Oddly enough, it seemed that he downloaded a few things that he's absolutely sure he didn't download it. Most of the music he's got is full of oddballs such as techno-raps by Lotus Juice and a few mellows from Yumi Kawamura, but he didn't know such things from them like 'Brand New Days' or 'Heaven's Tower Remix' so he thought that maybe he got them while he was subconscious during the sealing of Nyx period. However, he's a little ticked off that he let himself got the weirdest music of all time.

"I'm thinking about Ako-chan and senpai's motorcycle." He said in monotone, checking out the fish jump up and down from below. Junpei let out a snort and pained face, "Oh, that. Well, just let her be. I was wondering why Mitsuru-senpai even had the thought of letting her borrow that damn bike." He said as he yawned again and stretched his arms.

"Besides, why the hell did you guys drag me to go back to school? I needed sleep too, you know." He shot heatedly at them, especially to the brunette girl wearing her pink cardigan over her school uniform, who looked away at the right time. "If you hadn't watched TV that late then you wouldn't be complaining. And I bet that wasn't even your excuse for not wanting to go to school!" Yukari hissed angrily, putting a small piece of Takoyaki inside her mouth as the baseball capped young man rolled his eyes.

"I know that. But I can't believe you even ordered Aigis to break down my door!"

"We don't have the spare key with us so we have no choice!"

"Don't start a fight here, guys." Fuuka said timidly, eating the last pieces of her Takoyaki as she tried to calm down the two. Their argument reached the attention of the other passengers, but thankfully they're about to drop off.

"Port Island." The driver spoke professionally through the speakers as all the commuters got off the monorail. The four seniors began walking towards the road to their school, Gekkoukan High. Yukari and Junpei are obviously in a bad mood today while Fuuka was afraid to speak up or not. Minato turned off his music and walked with Yukari, mildly noticing the faint blush at her cheeks. "Sorry to have him ruin your day." Minato offered his encouragement, greeting a fellow student on the way. The brunette smiled, happy that he finally noticed her this morning, since he did slept in late because of the Feather Men R night shows. It was kinda cute for him to be watching that, she thought to herself.

"Hmph, I sure hope that I won't be in the same class as him again." She let out feigned, annoyed sigh as they continued to walk. Several students greeted each other a 'welcome back' at the entrance while most seemed delighted to have been acknowledged. Gekkoukan didn't change much, except for the fact that it was once Tartarus, a shadow infested nest. Minato shook the notion away; he didn't want him and Minako to have any kind of nightmare about it.

His mind stopped abruptly. That's right. He said to himself. I slept in late not only because of the TV, but because of the nightmares. It was unexplainable and disturbing to him. When he found out that even his own sister is experiencing the same thing, he reflected that it may be a side effect of their subconscious sealing-Nyx period. But then they just kept on coming, until he decided that they should sleep together.

He blushed a little as he remembered that night where they slept together for the first time in a year. They always stay together, even when they're kids and young teens. That time where they thought they had nothing else in the world except each one's company made them think like one, complete person. Well, that broke up when they moved into the dorm because of their vast potential as a Persona-user.

"Don't worry about the classroom arrangements; I'm sure the school knows what its doing."

Actually, it turned out pretty worse.

Well, that's for Yukari.

But it's pretty good for Minako!

The brunette giggled as she looked at the names listed in her class. Class 3-A. Everyone, including her friends, are there. Her brother, Ato-nii, Yukari, Junpei, Fuuka, even Aigis and Shinjiro. There's also Rio, her team-mate in Tennis, Yuko, the manager of Minato's Kendo club, Kenji, Junpei's friend who favors older women, Kazushi, her brother's team-mate at his club, Saori, her older and mature friend from the school health committee, even Hidetoshi, her fellow student council member, is her classmate. She wiped away the tears of joy and wanted to thank Mitsuru-senpai, for completely going all out to have them all in one class for the twins. She must've talked to the principal about this. She thought to herself, walking her way upstairs to her new classroom. Shinjiro went on ahead to the Faculty Office, obviously to acquire as a returning student. He didn't want her to escort him there, since he said he knew his way around. She chuckled when she pouted at him and pretended to feel alone when he properly apologized and gave her a small hug before he sauntered off to see their unknown teacher.

Minako opened up her phone and texted Minato to know where he is. His reply came in quickly in seconds, saying that he's on his way to the main campus. The brunette simply stared at the little pink letters in the screen, silently thinking about the recent nightmares they've been having. It scared her, making her remember that dark corner where she used to be imprisoned.

Her own dark memories.

When she was told about her and her brother's Shadow Self, she was horrified that they were beings and outcomes of Death itself. Whenever she thought about the pain and suffering they've caused to them, it made her feel weak and helpless. 'But my friends were there, including Shinjiro.' She said to herself, climbing the last set of stairs. 'They still helped us, even knowing that failure means-'

"Minako-chan!"

"Oy you!"

"Hey, good to see you Minako!"

"Welcome back, Minako-chan."

The brunette looked ahead and to her delight, she saw Yuko, Rio, Kenji, and Saori, all standing outside of Class 3A. Yuko got to her first and threw a large, bear hug on her. Seconds later, Rio and Saori joined in, happy to see their friend back. Kenji just laid back, watching the girls getting it on with their happy reunion with a grin at his face. "Ahaha, good morning to you guys too!" Minako heartily returned the hugs, glad to see her friends again.

"We're worried that you might not be attending the last year here, so obviously we're happy!" Yuko wiped a hidden tear while Saori smiled lightly. "It's been a while since we last talked. My parents allowed me to study back here for the last time." She said, clasping her hand. Kenji came over to the girl group and placed an arm over Rio's shoulder, the two acknowledging blushes at each other. Minako eyed the two and sneakily added, "Hmm, what were you up to since spring break, Rio-chan? You and Kenji now, huh?" She poked her ribs with her elbows as Rio flushed in embarrassment.

"I-I-I-It's not like that M-Minako!" She hid her face with her hands while Kenji smirked. "Yeah, we're together now." The mere sentence made the brunette squeal, like, fan-girl-squeal. "I knew it!" She cheered as she pumped up a fist as Rio recovered and smiled at her cheerfulness. As expected from the Captain of the Tennis Club.

"By the way," Yuko ceased hugging and gazed at her fixedly. "Isn't it too much of a coincidence that we're in the same class as you and Minato-kun?" She asked as her brows furrowed in suspicion. The brown haired girl deadpanned. If any of them knew that Mitsuru-senpai actually forced the head of this school to put them in the same class, she and Ato-nii will have a field day. 'They're not supposed to know about the Dark Hour anyway…'

Minako just shook her head, a little too vigorously as she unknowingly added another drop of doubt as she replied, "O-oh! That's just a coincidence, Yuko-chan! Ahaha…" Still the tanned girl stared at her weirdly, which broke off by another tanned young man, who was wearing their P.E. uniform. "Morning, guys! It's a great day for a jog!" Kazushi said enthusiastically, grinning ear to ear. Yuko broke her gaze at her and turned her attention to him. "Kaz! What the hell are you doing in your P.E. uniform on the first day of school, again?!" She yelled at him as an angry chip appeared at the side of her face.

"It was such a nice day for a jog today…"

"Not that excuse again!"

Minako giggled as she watched them bicker. Saori was doing so the same. "How was your spring break, Minako-chan?" She asked the laughing brunette who waved it off with a smile. "Fine. We went to senpai's mansion at Yakushima for a farewell party because," She shrugged as she gazed with a faraway look. "Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai are leaving for university at the city. Mitsuru will take business while Aki will study law enforcement."

"You seem to get along quite well with them, especially after all the rumors about you and Sanada."

"Yeah, they're just rumors. You didn't believe in them, right?"

"I would never betray a friend."

"Thank you Saori." Minako liked her friend's manner of speaking. They got along fine when they first met at the Health Committee. It's like a best-friends-forever–fated-meeting or something. "So, how about you? Did you made amends with your parents?" She asked softly, so that the two of them could hear. Saori's smile grew wider as she laughed offhandedly, "You could say that. It was harder than the last time, but they let me study here. Other than that, I'm not allowed to see my uncle for the time being."

"You mean, the one you had your first love?"

"Yes…"

Minako grimaced, knowing the feeling of punishment from someone so harsh (A/N: Take a guess XD) when the mature student placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's alright; I learned something valuable from you, Minako. So I'm fine with my decision." Her reply made her feel completely assured, also one of the things she liked about her so much.

Kenji looked over the heads of the crowd and made himself smirk. "Look who finally decided to show up."

The group stopped talking as they turned their heads to see what Kenji was talking about. And then Kazushi cracked up a grin.

"Yo! Captain!"

The bluette waved back at them, calmly smiling as he tried to make his way towards them. Minako's face lit up at the sight of him. "Ato-nii! Over here!" She flourished her hands to come quickly. Seeing that his sister made to school safe and sound from their senpai's motorcycle made Minato very glad. Not that he didn't trust Shinjiro, but the fact that she's too energetic made him a little worried that they may get an accident while on the road. But he trusted his twin, and she trusted him back. They're not called the 'Super Twins' for nothing.

"Hey, guys." He said casually, smiling at them, most especially to his sister and to the girls. Being the most Charismatic person in the school, he can't miss out a girl. Well, as long as Yukari didn't notice it. Oblivious to his peripheral, Yuko inwardly blushed while Saori has a pink tinge at her face. Rio was unfazed since she's unaware that this is actually called 'flirting'. Beside Minato is Junpei, yapping because of lack of sleep. On the other side of him is Yukari and Fuuka, the two of the girls chatting with the blonde and blue-eyed girl, Aigis. They too spotted them outside class and greeted each other.

"Wassup, Junpei?"

"Damn good man! Heard you hooked up with Rio-chan now!"

"H-hey! Kenji and I are not hooking up!"

~0~0~

"Hello Fuuka-chan!"

"Hi, Yuko-san…"

"No need to be shy over here, Fuuka-chan! We're classmates now!"

"Y-yeah…" *giggles*

~0~0~

"Good morning Aigis-chan."

"It's nice to be your acquaintance, Hasagawa-san."

"Oh, stop. No need to be so formal."

"..?"

~0~0~

"So, have you fixed your leg yet?"

"It's doing fine. Why is everyone asking about it?! I even won the league with this!"

"Humph."

"Don't 'humph' me, Takeba-san!"

"Whatever, Kaz-kun…"

~0~0~

"How was the ride?" Minato asked her, anxious to know her reply. Minako shrugged in response. "Well, Shinji got hit by a branch on the way here." At this, Minato let out a laugh, a true, beautiful laugh, one which the girl has not heard for a long time. 'He laughs like this when it was actually funny…'

"What's so funny?" She asked him, pouting into a cute, puppy dog-style. The bluette let out a few more laughs until he landed his hand on her brown locked head. "It's just that… Senpai's too cool to be hit by a branch just like that." And it's just that; he fell to the floor and laughed on all-fours, just like what Minako did earlier to him. The brunette stared at him as she too broke into a fit of giggles. 'Is he that cool?' She thought, happily thinking that her brother is so cute when he's as childish as she.

School Auditorium

Morning

"My dear students! There's only one thing I wanted to say," The school principal looked fat and more portly than ever. "Welcome back to another year of Gekkoukan!" Most of the students sweat dropped.

"He said only one thing, but that's a bucket load of words…"

"I'm kinda hoping his speech won't drag me to boredom..."

"Guess again, man. Nothing changed for him…"

Shinjiro pretended he didn't hear those words. He was trying to get his sleep here (which came by unnoticed by the teachers since he pulled down his beanie to hide it) and yet the whispers around him are making his head ache. His homeroom teacher is a woman called Toriumi or something. He wasn't paying any damn attention to her or to Ekoda, who was very kind to give him a good lecture for being a hooligan or whatever.

"Hey, heard we got two new transfer students!" Shinjiro groaned at the source from behind. Obviously, the gossips going around this school is much worse than those going around at the back alley of Port Island Station.

"Yeah, saw them walking in to the Faculty Office. Don't you think the other one is too 'old' to be a high schooler at this time of age?"

"How so?"

"I hear talking!" Ekoda's furious rant reached the senior's ears, which he completely ignored since he's already half-sleeping. "I believe it's someone from Ms. Toriumi's class." He said arrogantly, leering on the edge of his seat. The woman in question rolled her eyes and told the students off. In Shinjiro's mind, he really, really wanted to sleep… The bench on the rooftop would be an ideal place. If not for Minako, he wouldn't have come to school at all.

'That's why you should always hold on to me.'

He slowly smiled to himself, imagining her sitting close to him, her head on his shoulder as she, too, slept at a boring time like this. Then, his arm would be around her as he would slumber onto her. He could practically feel his stomach doing back flips over here!

"That concludes the main portion of the opening ceremony. Next, a word from the student council…"

He grunted in his seat and caught on sleep.

Class 3-A

Morning

"Class, we have a returning student." Toriumi-sensei's voice snapped Minako from her daydream. She's sitting near the window, at the front of Minato. Next to her is an empty seat which she especially reserved for Shinjiro. Speaking of Shinjiro, the man in question stood at the front of the class, hands in his pockets, beanie slipped down and tie loosened that made it look like it was dangling from his neck.

"Please, re-introduce yourself." Ms. Toriumi spoke to him in a bored manner, as if she wanted to sit down at any moment. Shinjiro narrowed his eyes at her as he cleared his throat, "Hey, my name's Shinjiro Aragaki." He said in monotone, avoiding the students' eye contact. Minako secretly snickered as their classmates began muttering to themselves.

"Wait, isn't he-?"

"-the comatose guy? Yep…"

"So, he's our new classmate then, eh?"

"He does look kinda hot..!"

"Probably just another hooligan…"

The tittle-tattles are making his head ache, for the third time now. Toriumi's now looking into his student record. "Anything I need to know..? Hmm… Master of Culinary Arts? Oh, really?" At this, Shinjiro quickly glanced back at her to know if he heard that right. Whatever it is, he surely did not place that in the student sheet at the faculty this morning. Although, he did have this slightly annoyed feeling that it was either Kirijo, Aki, or even Minako who swiped the information.

"Is that so, Aragaki? Well, whenever you get in trouble with me, I expect you to bring a nice cake along with that decided punishment on you. That's my rule. Other than else, you can do whatever you damn kids want." The teacher let out a stifled yawn, who looked as tired as Junpei while the young man thought she didn't get much sleep. 'What kind of a teacher is she?!' He face palmed as he maneuvered his way to a seat next to his girlfriend.

'Yeah, I said that right. My girlfriend…' Shinjiro's face cracked up a furtive grin as he sat down next to her, pulling his beanie lower. Toriumi's talking something about two new transfer students but he didn't pay attention. 'She's mine and no one else's. I love her-'

His mind seemed to have stopped working as Shinjiro felt his jaw drop, as do everyone else's, at the sight of the so called, 'transferees'.

A gangly young man stood in front of them, his indigo black hair slicked up in an odd fashion while bangs covered his bespectacled brown eyes. He is wearing his uniform in a slightly informal way, very much like Shinjiro's, except that he isn't wearing a hat. Instead of a leather school bag, he's carrying a metallic suitcase with a seal at the front. His gaze is cold and unfriendly; a very familiar icy aura seeped out from him. "Jin Sekomoto."

Another young man stood erect next to him. He has blonde white hair, tousled neatly and recently combed into a carefree way. His golden cat-like eyes were brilliant and heart melting as he gazed at each female respectively. His uniform is crisp and neatly ironed; something a normal high schooler would raise an eyebrow at. A worn book with lettering at the cover was latched at his right hand while his brown valise is slung over his left shoulder. He smiled, truly ignoring the men inside the room, at the female population charmingly. "And I am Theodore Velvet. But please, call me Theo."

Shinjiro decided to move his head 180 degrees left to see Minako and winced at what he saw. She stared at the two young men in front of them with her mouth gaping and her eyes were bulging from their sockets.

And yet, it was Junpei who first reacted. "What the hell?!"

Author's Note: And how's that?! Honestly, I'm so happy that I have found time to make the sequel. I am truly busy with summer chores and it is so freaking hot in the Philippines! XC Oh, well… Guess I gotta stick with it. What's your reaction, guys?!

Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 3 nor P3P. They belong to ATLUS. If I do, I have made Shinjiro and Minako married.

Well, that's that with the disclaimer and all! My guest partners from now on are usually Shinji, Jin, or Theo. Aki will be less involved anyway.

So, read and review? :DDD

Thanks for reading Chapter One of Glad To Be Together! Many more chaps to come guys! (If I'm ever in the mood…) So review to read some more XDDD

~Noelle Strife