Zypher: And here we are with another rp-inspired story for MegaTen. This time it's Junpei and Akihiko. This will end up being quite the interesting me thanks to me[Akihiko] and my friend[Junpei]. So like my other one, I hope you'll enjoy this one as well.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything from Persona 3 except the game. Characters and plot line belongs to Atlus.
Summary: A boxing captain and an ordinary student. Two people that have their differences and similarities. Follow Akihiko and Junpei as they advance from acquaintances, to friends, to lovers as they battle Shadows during the Dark Hour as well as their own hidden feelings.
Warning: Slight AU of P3 plot but still follows and a bit of ooc between Aki and Junpei. Also the less than seen oc, Kunda. Don't worry too much about her.
Hidden Secrets
Chapter 1
Did you ever have the moment when you feel that nothing is right? That you're missing something in life? I have, many times. I thought I found the solution when I met Chidori...but I was wrong. I felt bad when she died, giving her life for mine, but then I realized, that she just wasn't the one. The person that I really aimed for was there beside me all along. My partner in battle and the only one that made me feel much happier. We both lost something important to us, that might be why we were drawn to one another.
I will never leave him, just as he wouldn't leave me. My senpai...Akihiko Sanada.
- A year ago before the Fall-
Junpei sighed, pushing his books away as he lied on his back on his bed. He was trying hard to study for the midterms that were coming up but he never was good at keeping himself focused on one thing. 'I never was good at this studying thing.' he thought to himself before sitting up and reached over to his side table to grab his PSP, taking it off the charger before turning it on and playing a few minutes of the game before he tired of that. He sighed once more, flopping back on the bed before deciding a little air would do him some good. "A trip to the manga cafe should clear up my mind." he muttered to himself as he left his room and started making his way downstairs. When he got there, he saw that Akihiko was at the table, books laden around him as he studied for his own midterms.
"Yo, Akihiko-senpai." he greeted. The fighter looked up and nodded to him. "Hey, Junpei. Where are you heading off to?" he asked.
"Just to the manga cafe. All this studying is giving me a headache." he replied, rubbing the back of his head lightly. "Just couldn't focus."
"I see. Well, as far as I know it, you aren't really the type for studying, that's all. And with Minato keeping up with his studies instead of heading off to Tartarus, you really don't have much else to do but study if you want to at least get a salvageable grade for the midterms."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But right now, I just need some time to clear my mind first." he said before heading out. Akihiko watched him before giving a sigh. "If you need help, all you have to do is ask." Akihiko murmured to himself before going back to studying.
Walking over to the strip mall, he headed up the first set of stairs and headed into the manga cafe on the second floor, sitting down after getting himself something to munch on. He looked around to a few of the others that were in there, seeing a few came from Gekkoukan as well. 'Guess they're ditching their studies too for a little while...' he thought, taking another sip of SoBay as he leaned back in the beanbag chair and relaxed, letting the time fly. When he was finally nudged to awareness by one of the employees, telling him that it was getting late, he thanked him before heading out to return back to the dorm.
When he got there, Yukari greeted him, asking where he was. "Just stopped over at the manga cafe. I needed a break from all this studying."
"You and that manga cafe." she said, shaking her head but was smiling. Junpei laughed to himself before heading back upstairs to make the attempt to study. He noticed just a split second before heading upstairs that Akihiko wasn't at the table which signaled he was either out or in his room. His question was confirmed when he crossed Akihiko's room and heard the faint thuds of fists meeting with weighted pleather. 'Well, this is the only training he'll be gaining until midterms are over.' he thought to himself before heading into his room.
The days went by with lectures of what will be on the midterms and soon, the week arrived for their midterms. Junpei sighed deeply as he walked into the classroom, taking his regular seat and listened to the teacher as she spoke before handing out the section of the midterm dealing with what she taught. He sighed softly once more before he got to work, answering the questions as best as he could. This tactic for him went on for the rest of the week and once the end of the day for Saturday rolled around, he smiled as he stretched. "Finally! They're over!" he said happily as Minato and Yukari gathered around his desk.
"So, how'd you think you did?" Yukari asked.
"Horrible as always. Studying's just not my thing. It isn't like Minato. If he does well, he get something nice from Mitsuru. I'm not getting anything like that so why should I work my hardest when I can just try my damned hardest to at least get a salvageable grade?" he pointed out as he stood, grabbing his backpack and left out the room with them. "But you should still try a little harder, Junpei. Stop focusing on what Minato does and start doing your own thing. Maybe that'll help." Yukari spoke. "Yeah, maybe..." he murmured. Minato frowned slightly as he followed them. He knew the other at some intervals felt jealous about what he had and he really hated seeing Junpei that way. Maybe he could talk to someone about it.
Junpei sighed as he tossed his bag into a corner, flopping down on his messy bed with PSP in hand. At least he didn't have to worry about anymore school now and with that, he could stay in his room all day and get somewhere on Dissidia. But a knock interrupted him and he sighed, pausing the game. "Come in!" he called before focusing back on his game. Akihiko walked in and looked to him. "Distracted by your games as always, Junpei?" Said teen jumped and looked to his senpai, not expecting him of all people. "Uh, Akihiko-senpai...what are you doing here?"
"Minato was worried about you. He said you looked kinda down and wanted me to talk to you. He thought that if he came, you might snap at him."
"I...I wouldn't..."
"That hesitation in your voice says otherwise. Why are you so jealous of him, Junpei?" Akihiko questioned as he worked his way through the disaster that was Junpei's floor and sat down on the bed beside the other teen. Junpei tried to ignore him by focusing on the game but when you have an imposing figure like Gekkoukan's Golden Boy right next to you, it's hard not to take notice. With a sigh, he paused the game again as he looked to Akihiko.
"Well...I know I shouldn't be jealous of him but he just seems to get all the luck. Don't get me wrong, he's a great friend and all but ever since we got involved into this Tartarus mess, he's been appointed leader and all. I know he had experience fighting shadows but...I just want a little recognition, you know? I want to be more helpful than just a backup fighter." he whispered, sitting up and crossing his legs.
"I see..." Akihiko murmured before smiling to him. "Don't worry about that, Junpei. Minato may be leader but that doesn't change the fact that with your help, we'll be saving a bunch of people and not just the populace of Port Island." he said. Junpei looked to him, not saying a word before giving his signature grin. "You're right!" Akihiko nodded and stood, heading over to the door.
"Hey, senpai..." Akihiko turned back to looked to Junpei. The boy gave him a heartfelt smile. "Thanks for that. Guess I really needed a talking to. Get my head on straight." Akihiko nodded, feeling a stirring in his heart from seeing that smile and left the room, closing the door behind him. "What was that feeling...?" he murmured, placing a hand over his heart before shaking it off and headed off towards his room.
With midterms a thing of the past, the group continued on with their studying as well as last night visits into Tartarus. Junpei was pumped more than ever, being there for Minato and always had his back when fighting shadows. Yukari smiled at the turn of events, happy that Junpei wasn't letting his jealousy get the best of him. Days passed before something terrible befell one of the students of Gekkoukan. It all started when Yukari was walking by two girls, hearing in just barely on their conversation about teasing another. She sighed as she walked on. "Bullying? That's low even for them." she murmured as she walked on. But it didn't end there for the next day, Minato started hearing rumors about a girl from grade 11 that was found outside the school unconscious.
"This is getting out of hand..." he murmured when he was in class with Junpei and Yukari gathered around his desk. "Yeah, rumors are already spearing around like wildfire." Yukari added.
"Hmm, this seems to be a hard case to crack. But this will be solved by Junpei, ace detective." Junpei announced, putting on a pose for effect, making Minato chuckle and Yukari sigh.
"Ace detective? More like Stupei, ace defective." she replied and Junpei pouted. "Man, that's cold..."
"But all in all, we still need to be focused at the matter at hand. Don't let that rumor steer you away from that." Minato said, although he did have his suspicions about the whole rumor mill.
A couple more days went by and the rumor was still going strong, now having mentions of a ghost being involved. With how fast and long this rumor was going on started to raise more suspicion among the SEES group. "Hey, Yuka-tan. Seen the student posting board lately? The rumors are still going on and now they're adding ghosts into the mix. Say there's an angry spirit involved now." Junpei spoke.
"H-hey! There's no such thing!" she nearly squeaked. "B-besides, n-no one believes in that stuff...r-right?" she questioned, looking to the others at the table.
"Hmm, what is this ghost story about, Iori? I'm quite curious." Mitsuru spoke.
"Me too." Akihiko added. Yukari groaned and Junpei smirked. "Good enough for me." he said as he cut off the lights in the lobby and brought out a flashlight, shining it over his face to give himself the eerie storyteller look. He started on his own little segment; "Junpei's Believe it or Don't", telling them all about the story of the spirit that supposedly haunts the school now, adding in about the girl from 2-E that ended up outside after disappearing for a short amount of time. When the lights came back on, Akihiko leaned back in his seat, looking over to Mitsuru. "So...what do you think?" he questioned.
"Hmm, I think this is something worth investigating into." she concluded.
"W-what? You two actually believe this? Alright, fine! We'll investigate! We'll spend this entire week gathering information and prove whether this is really the work of a spirit or not." Yukari said, finally giving in. They all nodded in agreement to that and were soon off to bed.
The rest of the week was spent gathering information per Yukari's suggestion, each getting mixed stories but all still connected in some way. When Friday rolled around, after school, they all met in the lounge to discuss what they found. "So, did you guys do as I asked?" Yukari questioned.
"Yep, we gathered about as much info as we could." Junpei said, Minato nodding in agreement. "Great. I got a pretty good amount of info myself but there's one thing I can prove right now, no ghosts were involved." she said smugly.
"Alright, alright. You don't have to rub it in." Junpei muttered.
"Alright, so let's start on the first thing. How the rumor got started. It began when the girl was found on school ground, so that led to the similarity of the ghost story. But then why did the rumor spread so fast?"
"Because there was more than one victim." Minato pointed out. "From what I got, there were three of them that were hospitalized after being found."
"Exactly. But the thing is, they're all were in different classes so there was nothing in common there. So that led me to my next question, while there was nothing in common with them being in different classes, what could be the only other option?"
"What is this, a quiz show now? I thought we were supposed to be figuring out something about this mystery." Junpei mumbled.
"I'm getting to that. How about answering and show me what you've found." she demanded. "Uh...um..." Junpei stumbled. "Just as I thought. Minato, any ideas?"
"They hung out together?"
"Right! But the thing is, they've been hanging around a bad crowd and always staying out late. So I suggest we do some field research!" she concluded. "Well, that all well and good but where exactly are we heading?" Junpei questioned.
"The only bad place in Port Island." Junpei's eyes widened. "Oh no. You're not getting me into the back alley behind Port Island station. No way! There are nasty rumors about that place! We'll die if we go in there!"
"I have to admit, he is right." Akihiko added and Junpei gave him a thankful grin. "But if we're going to solve this, then we'll have to go back there. Right, Minato?" Minato shrugged. "I guess. I want this to be done with, really." he murmured and Junpei gaped. "Well, if anything, I'll allow it, just be careful you three." Mitsuru said and they nodded although Junpei wasn't looking forward to going into the back alley.
But when they got there the next day after school, they were nearly assaulted by the thugs that were there until the mysterious teen that Junpei remembered from when Akihiko when to get a checkup helped them out. After sending them packing with a few choice words, Shinjiro turned to them. "What are you guys doing here? Don't you know how dangerous it is?"
"Yeah, that's what I was telling them but they dragged me along." Junpei muttered. Shinjiro tsked. "You're going to worry Aki like that..." he muttered and Junpei looked to him. "Wha-"
"It's nothing. So, why are you all back here anyway? I'm sure this isn't some 'find a new meeting place' leisure trip." Yukari shook her head. "No, we're trying to find out something and we were hoping to get information from here." Shinjiro nodded, sitting on the stairs. "I see. That ghost story rumor going around, I take it?"
"Yes, but how'd you..."
"Those girls that were hospitalized always came back here talking shit. Saying they were having so much fun teasing some girl named Fuuka." Shinjiro spoke and Minato gasped. "This whole entire time they were teasing Fuuka from 2-E?" Shinjiro nodded. "And now the rumors say that it's her spirit is haunting them. Says it's all over the net too." he added. They all sighed. "If the teasing wasn't bad enough." Yukari murmured. "But it doesn't end there. Some believe that she might be dead, seeing as she hasn't come back home in over a week."
"Wait, she's been missing for a week!" Junpei exclaimed and Shinjiro nodded, standing and shoving his hands into his coat pocket. "Well, if that's all, get out of here." he murmured and they nodded, thanking Shinjiro for his help before returning back to the dorm. When they returned, Minato told them of what they found out. "I see. So Fuuka's missing and is believed to be dead. We'll have to see Mr. Ekoda about this." Mitsuru spoke and they nodded.
When the group decided to talk to the homeroom teacher for 2-E, they saw Mitsuru was already there along with a brunette girl that Yukari remembered seeing from somewhere. As they asked about Fuuka did the girl, now known as Natsuki, tell them about what she and her friends did and what Maki tried to accomplish before being found outside of the school the next day. She continued to tell them of what happened before Mitsuru grilled on Mr. Ekoda for his lack of finesse in the matter. After making the teacher feel guiltier than he already was, she looked to Natsuki. "Did you encounter any unusual before the accidents?" she asked.
"Yeah...we all heard a voice...a creepy voice right before each of them went missing. They said it was calling their name." Natsuki murmured. Mitsuru nodded before pulling the others away from Natsuki. "Well, you heard her. That is apparently viable information that shadows are clearly targeting humans. The voice draws those that are able to stay conscious through the Dark Hour." They nodded before she turned back to look to Natsuki. "You will stay in our dorm tonight. If you heard the voice, by whatever means, don't heed to it." she said and Natsuki nodded before they excused themselves and left the faculty office. "Alright everyone, we'll meet in the Student Council room today to discuss tonight's operation."
"Wait...tonight's operation!" Junpei squeaked.
"Yes, we're going to stay in the very same place they locked Fuuka in and save her." Mitsuru said.
"But its been 10 days...do you really think she's still alive?" Yukari questioned. "Let's not get our hopes up too quickly." Mitsuru replied and they nodded before heading off to their classes.
After discussing it over with Akihiko, Yukari and Junpei still having doubt about Fuuka still being alive within Tartarus, they scheduled the infiltration. Junpei, being the genius he claims to be, had left a door unlocked in the school so they could get in. They split up, leaving Minato and Yukari to get the gym key from the faculty office. Once they claimed it, they met back in the hall and headed towards the gym to start the operation once the Dark Hour fell. "You all remember what to do, right?" They nodded. When the Dark Hour came, Mitsuru and Yukari were in the lobby of Tartarus while the boys were inside. Mitsuru was trying hard to make a connection to them and was able to get to Akihiko only to lose signal.
"They're higher up than I've expected." Mitsuru murmured softly and Yukari started to worry for them while Mitsuru tried countless time to get a signal with any of them. Sure, they could handle themselves but who knows how strong the shadows were at whatever levels they ended up on.
"Damn, can't get a connection with Mitsuru." he muttered before looking around. He was alone and had no idea where Minato or Junpei could be. So he started to wander off, unaware of what was following right behind him.
Minato wandered around the floor he was on himself, advancing to higher floors and trying to make out the fuzzy messages Mitsuru was trying to give to him. He encountered Junpei along the way. They heard a voice and continued to follow it, soon coming across Fuuka who, thankfully, was alive still, saying that she was able to sense where the shadows were and avoid them. They headed back down to where the others waited and Mitsuru smiled. "Good, at least we know she's safe now." she murmured.
"Hey...where's Akihiko?" Yukari questioned.
"I didn't find him." Minato answered.
"Me neither." Junpei added. Mitsuru gasped. "You didn't come across him at all, Minato?" she asked and he shook his head. "This is bad...he's strong but who knows what awaits him up there. And because he's so high up, I will barely get a connection with him." she said, crossing her arms as she looked down. "Um...excuse me..." Fuuka whispered and they looked to her. "Maybe...I could be of some help...I don't know what it is but I think I can sense where those monsters are. That's how I was able to avoid them for so long. Maybe I can find him." Mitsuru nodded. "It's worth a shot." Fuuka nodded as she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few minutes, she was able to get something. "I think I found him. He's on a high floor but this evil aura...it's stronger than the regular ones I've encountered. And there's two!" she said, worried for the other and Yukari gasped.
"Do you think...?"
"It must be one of those big ones again! And there's two of them this time! Akihiko won't survive!" Junpei said in shock.
"Then we must hurry! We need to find him and fast." They nodded and once they were ready, Minato, Yukari and Junpei took the terminal up to their recent floor and used Fuuka's guidance to find Akihiko. 'Senpai...please...please be alive...' Junpei thought.
Zypher: And that's it for the first chapter. Sorry for the long windedness of it but since I didn't want to have a huge time skip between mid-terms and to when they have to save Fuuka and encountering Emperor and Empress [since those two were a key into what's about to happen next chapter], I decided to bring out some of the key points as the days go by up until the rescue. Well, hope you at least enjoyed this chapter and if you want to see more, just drop a review and I'll give you more.