~ Happy New Year ~
The lounge was empty, the dormitory silent.
Minato's decision was, to say the least, earth-shaking. And none of the members of SEES wanted to talk much about what happened between Minato and Ryoji – or Pharos – that night. It was the thirty-first of December, and all of them knew they ought to be celebrating after a successful year, but for each of them, the successes and triumphs were deemed nothing that very night. Minato let Ryoji live, and that was what Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Yukari, Ken, Fuuka and Aigis wanted (and perhaps their pet dog Koromaru, as well), but the consequences of that matter were groundbreaking. They knew that the world will end. Ryoji spoke of it as if it was set in stone, and perhaps it was, for Nyx's descent was something even the Persona users couldn't reverse. Would it have been better if they gave way to Ryoji's wishes and eliminated him instead, taking the knowledge of the world's end with him? Everyone pondered over that point, but none more intensely than the acting leader of SEES, Mitsuru Kirijo.
The weight of the world seemed to settle uncomfortably on Mitsuru's shoulders, and her conscience was heavy. Everything wrong was, after all, her family's doing. Although she didn't have any direct connection with the appearance of Shadows – her grandfather was the leader of the shady project – guilt shadowed her every step as she lived with the fact that her bloodline had unleashed something so sinister upon mankind. And thus, ever since her Persona was forced out of her, she resolved to end the lives of the monstrous Shadows.
Only to find out that their slow and steady elimination had an effect opposite of what she and her friends expected. The killing of the twelve larger and more powerful Shadows (that so inconveniently roamed the city of Iwatodai during the Dark Hour instead of staying in Tartarus) brought about the resurrection of the goddess Nyx – a being who Ikutsuki claimed will purge the world of all wrong and bring about a fresh new start. A claim with no credibility, Mitsuru believed. But her fear – that Nyx won't be defeated – never left her.
Mitsuru sat silently in her room, the hum of the airconditioner being the only sound that filled her ears. It was welcoming, though. Much more welcome than the deafening silence that could have wrapped her and sent her thoughts careening through the open space, imagination wild, conjuring up unlikely scenarios involving SEES and Tartarus and Nyx, all ending up in their inevitable deaths.
Death is unwelcome, she thought to herself as she sank into the warm, white sheets of her large bed. It wasn't the thought or event of death that had her troubled, though. It was the thought of dying even before she had lived her life to the fullest.
Indeed, she had not met everything she needed to meet to satisfy her greatest desires in life. Desires that were, of the moment, strangers to her. But she knew well that losing the world early on would mean losing the promises and dreams she had for herself. Promises and dreams that were already left unfulfilled because of her heritage. She would be willing to die if her soul was at peace.
But it wasn't. Not with so many things left unsaid and undone.
Mitsuru sat up, quite startled by the loud raps on her bedroom door. She swung her legs off the bed and called, "come in". The door creaked open slightly and a pair of eyes peeked in, before Yukari pushed open the door fully and entered the room.
"Takeba," Mitsuru said, somewhat surprised but pleased all the same. Ever since their talk in Kyoto, Yukari Takeba had come close to being her best friend, if she wasn't already in that position. Yukari closed the door and narrowed her eyes at Mitsuru, noticing how she addressed the junior.
"Yukari," Mitsuru corrected herself, giggling. Their recently-found closeness brought about a difference in how they treated each other, both in private and in public. And although they would refer to each other as Takeba and senpai, when they were by themselves, they called each other with their first names. Something the both of them were still trying to get used to. Yukari shrugged and laughed, and took a seat beside her friend.
"What brings you here?" Mitsuru asked, facing the other girl.
"I couldn't sleep," Yukari replied. Indeed, she couldn't. Even she had matters on her mind – matters almost as troubling as those weighing Mitsuru down. Yukari's father, Eiichiro Takeba, was the lead researcher in Mitsuru's grandfather's project regarding the Shadows, and he had tried to warn Yukari through a video – which was a unfortunately tampered with by Shuji Ikutsuki, SEES's misleading "chairman", who died on Tartarus the night he attempted to harness the powers of Nyx. Perhaps, even Yukari felt guilt. Perhaps she needed company.
"Neither could I," Mitsuru admitted, thoughts putting too much pressure on her that she kept awake. She was aware of the time – it was almost the Dark Hour, and the sounds of people drunk and celebrating outside the dormitory and in the streets of Iwatodai permeated through the closed and curtained windows, waiting for the coming of the New Year. She could blame it on that, but her blame was put solely on Ryoji.
"Do you believe it, Mitsuru?" Yukari asked, voice wavering at the mention of Mitsuru's name without the customary 'senpai'.
"Believe what?"
"Everything Ryoji said. Nyx's descent, the inevitable end of the world, our inability to defeat Nyx…" Yukari's voice trailed off, as she watched Mitsuru cast her gaze down to her feet, slightly shaking her head. "Is that a no?"
"I'm not completely certain, Ta—Yukari. Ryoji's words seem to be credible the way he said them, but part of me believes that all he has said are half-truths. There is something more to it, I feel."
This wasn't completely true. Mitsuru felt it true as much as she hoped it as true. She sighed. "I don't want the world to end. There is still so much more I can do."
"So much more we can do," Yukari said, voicing her agreement. She had never opened up to someone as much as she did to Mitsuru, thinking that her own personal experiences could help Mitsuru through her predicament – her father's death. And it very well did, for Yukari's admission of her feelings about her own father's death opened a way for the two of them to tread on common ground, inevitably leading to the two of them being closer than they thought they would ever be.
"Are you afraid, Mitsuru-senpai?" Yukari asked, subconsciously adding 'senpai' but making no move to correct her slight mistake as she noticed how Mitsuru let her fault slip.
"Truthfully, Yukari, I am," she answered. Afraid of the world ending, but it wasn't exactly that that she was afraid of. Mitsuru took a deep breath, having only one prime fear at the very moment.
Yukari smiled. "But aren't we all? Afraid of the world ending, having knowledge of it?"
Mitsuru shook her head. "It's not that, Yukari. Although perhaps it could further give me reason to fear the coming month."
"Then what is it?"
"It…" It was something Mitsuru couldn't voice out well enough. The idea, however, translated well in her mind. She wasn't completely afraid of the world ending. She was, in truth, afraid of losing someone at world's end. Someone who had just recently become quite a pivotal, important part of her life. Someone who had helped her through much. Someone she never dared to call her friend until just a few months ago. Her fear was so real, so principal that even the thought of it struck so much horror into her heart.
"I'm afraid of losing someone very important," she said. Yukari stared at her for a moment, even coldly and insensitively thinking that Mitsuru had no one else to lose anymore now that her father had died. She paused her thoughts for a moment, though, considering Mitsuru's options and who she could have meant by someone very important. Perhaps it was Akihiko, with whom Mitsuru had, until recently, spent so much time with. Yes, perhaps it was him.
"Someone very important? Who would that be, then?" Yukari asked, even teasing her friend, oblivious to the idea that she might be the one Mitsuru was referring to.
Mitsuru locked her eyes with Yukari and smiled. Never before had she had a friend like Yukari, and her eyes told as much. There was Akihiko, with whom Mitsuru was once completely in love with, but the realization that she couldn't have him that early (especially since Aki was dedicated to his late best friend Shinjiro Aragaki) had pushed her to wait for him. Wait long enough for her feelings to wane. And then she found such a friend in Yukari – someone she could call her best friend, even her sister. Perhaps she could even die for Yukari.
Yukari was uncertain, of course, of what Mitsuru meant by the smile, but she figured out as much and smiled as well. "Really, Mitsuru-senpai?"
"I believe you to be the most important person to me at the moment, Yukari," Mitsuru explained, never exactly having voiced out her real feelings to anyone before. She came close to Akihiko, but her words came out as an intangible string of unintelligible phrases, not able to convey her true emotions to the one she thought she loved. But with Yukari, it seemed most natural. Perhaps it was because of the thought that Yukari cared as much for her as Mitsuru did for she. Or perhaps it was that, no matter what happens, Yukari would never have the heart to leave her, as she would never have the heart to leave any of her friends. It was something of the mutual sort that made Mitsuru comfortable enough to speak to Yukari about such. "And that, truly, in my times of need you were noble enough to be there in my aid."
Yukari smiled warmly, knowing and recognizing the sincerity in Mitsuru's voice. She wasn't exactly sure if she could appreciate Mitsuru as much as she appreciated her, but she knew that, despite the many friends that surrounded her at school and even outside of it, Mitsuru was one of the most serious of them all. Her dedication – which Yukari knew all too well – was impressive, and when Mitsuru would get attached to something, she would stand by it until the end. Her passion to protect those she loved the most was outstanding, and Yukari felt lucky indeed.
Normally, Yukari would have initiated a heartfelt hug, but it was Mitsuru, caught up by the moment and the urgency of her need to actually show that she meant her words well, moved in closer and wrapped her arms around her best friend. Her sister. The warmth of their bodies melded together, doing enough to alleviate the shudders that issued through Yukari's spine, brought about by the airconditioning. Or perhaps something else.
In the midst of their hug, the lights flickered off, the humming of the airconditioning stopped, the noise of the celebrating people outside died down and the world fell silent. Despite the terrible implications of such signs (the Dark Hour had approached then, they knew, and those awake in the dorm were doubtless aware of it as well), they didn't flinch, or made a move to separate.
And in the deafening silence, Yukari spoke.
"Happy New Year."
A/N: First fanfic in a looooong, long time. I kept putting off writing a P3 FF, mostly because I wanted to time it for the holidays, but I forgot about writing one for Christmas so here's one for the New Year. :D It's a Yukari/Mitsuru one. I've noticed the glaring lack of Yukari/Mitsuru fanfics around here - or in the internet, for that matter - and decided to put up one myself, just like what I did for Alfred/Alexia. Anyway, yeah, so here it is and I hope you guys enjoy this. :D