Description: Shinjiro has just returned to the SEES dorm for the first time in two years—and is not used to having more than two others living there…

-0o0-

Shinjiro Aragaki had to admit that it was strange to be back in the dorm again. It had been two long years since he'd even stepped foot in the door, and all of a sudden a whirlwind of things had bombarded him.

The most obvious is that now, it wasn't just him, Aki, and Mitsuru living there. They had added to the party—quite a few new additions, actually. And all of them were Persona users. That left a vile taste in his mouth…seven new persona users. It had been bad enough that there had been just him and the other two seniors…but now there were ten total.

There was the "leader" as everyone referred to her as, Arisato Hamuko. She was far too bubbly for his sanity, and was somehow able to make everyone fall for her on the spot. So far she hadn't had much luck with him. And that was the way Shinjiro preferred it to be.

Then there was Takeba Yukari, who had moved in before the leader. He didn't know much about her, and he didn't make any attempts to learn.

Iori Junpei, he noticed spent a lot of time with Arisato. Yet, when he asked Mitsuru if they two were dating—she laughed and told him; no, they weren't.

Then there was Yamagishi Fuuka. She was shy one, and spent more time on her laptop than anything. Shinjiro didn't mind her so much at first, but then she almost burned the building down in an attempt to cook a welcome dinner for him.

He was wary of Aigis, and she (it?) was wary of him. A robot who could summon a Persona? That didn't allow him to sleep any better at night, despite her reassurance that she was not dangerous. Not that he could sleep at night before he met Aigis.

Koromaru was the only resident of the Iwatodai dorm whom Shinjiro could say he liked (besides Akihiko…but he would never admit that.) The dog was a unique case, with his ability to summon a persona, and he wondered how on Earth that was fucking possible in the first place. Not that it mattered.

Lastly, there was Amada Ken. It seemed that he avoided Shinjiro with all his might, even to the point of not being able to be in the same room as him for more than the time it took for Ken to get up and go elsewhere. Shinjiro knew why the boy didn't like him—and every time they made accidental eye contact, it was awkward—to say in the least.

It was his fifth day back in the dorm where things started to spiral. A Sunday, where everyone was either sleeping in, hanging out in the many lounges, or out and about in Iwatodai. He would do his best to avoid contact with any of his new dormmates.

Shinjiro arrived on the first floor around 9, with the intention of making a quick breakfast before he went out for the day. The smell of smoke still lingered in the hall, but he would get past that in favor of eggs and rice. On school days, all of the other residents (sans Koro-Chan) would be at school, leaving him free to make breakfast for himself and the dog before going about his day.

"Hey Senpai!" a cheery male voice greeted him as he passed the dining room table. "How'd you sleep?"

Just ignore them Shinji…just go make your breakfast and ignore them. He thought to himself, making his way into the kitchen. The first red flag went up when he saw a sink full of dirty dishes and an empty pried open can of turkey chili that hadn't been there when he went to bed… Who was eating turkey chili for breakfast? He looked up and saw a sight that he never wanted to see again.

Iori and Arisato were sitting cross legged on the couch, still in their pajamas…and they were eating turkey chili from a Frisbee. A fucking Frisbee.

"I…didn't…" he started to say in response to Iori's question, who was still staring at him and waiting for a response. Arisato looked away from Shinjiro and took the Frisbee from Junpei, using the same spork to dig into the dog food like substance on the pseudo-plate. "What are you doing?"

"Eating breakfast!" Hamuko replied between bites. She held out the Frisbee to Shinjiro. "Want some?"

"Fuck no!" he practically yelled. "Are you eating turkey chili off of a Frisbee?" he asked. Junpei reached for the Frisbee and the spork.

"Don't hog it, Hamu-Tan! Give it here!" he said. Hamuko sighed and handed it over so that Junpei could have some more.

"We're out of clean dishes," Hamuko said, pointing to the sink. "So we made do."

"There is so much wrong with this, I can't even begin to fathom it…" Shinjiro scolded.

"What do you have against Turkey Chili for breakfast, man?" Junpei asked as Hamuko finished off the food. Shinjiro groaned.

"It's extremely unhealthy for one thing," he said sternly. "Two, you are sharing a spork. That is just unsanitary…" Hamuko stood up and walked over to Koromaru, who had been standing by the TV this whole time. She moved to hold out the Frisbee so that the dog could lick it clean. "Don't give that to Koromaru!" he yelled. Hamuko yelped and pulled it away right as Koromaru was about to lick the leftover bits.

"Why not? He's hungry!" Hamuko whined. Shinjiro was fuming at this point, and he walked out to the living room and snatched it from her.

"That's what we have dog food for, Arisato!" he snapped. Hamuko's expression resembled that of a kicked puppy, but Shinjiro didn't care. What she and Iori were doing was disgusting and unsanitary and overall unhealthy. Arisato's puppy dog eyes faded when she realized that he was unfazed and he sighed, walking into the kitchen to properly rinse the not-plate. If he left Iori and Arisato to it, it would end up growing mold before it got properly cleaned.

After witnessing the scene he did, Shinjiro decided that he wasn't hungry after all, and he grabbed his coat from the closet. Hamuko had retreated to the couch and was watching a cartoon with Junpei.

"Where are you going, Senpai?" Hamuko asked, seeing Shinji head for the door. Shinjiro grunted and practically pulled the front door off its hinges. He did not look at the girl.

"Somewhere where I won't die if I attempt to eat the food," he answered sternly before slamming the door behind him. Junpei and Hamuko shared a look as Shinjiro left.

"What's got him all worked up?" Junpei asked as he turned his attention back to the TV. Hamuko bit her lip and sighed, turning her attention back to the cartoon as well.

-0o0-

Shinjiro returned from his outing long after curfew. It wasn't like it mattered to him anyway, he didn't have a curfew when he lived on his own. He walked into the main hall and scrawled his name on the sign in sheet. The standing lamp was still on in the living room, and so was the TV. As he moved to turn out the lights so that electricity wasn't wasted, he noticed that someone was curled up on the couch under a blanket. He'd recognize those hairpins anywhere. It was Hamuko.

Tch. What's got her so tired? Shinji thought. As he moved to wake her so that she could go upstairs to bed, he noticed something different about the kitchen. The sink was no longer piled high with dishes. That got his attention. He moved away from the sleeping girl and into the kitchen, where the sink had been emptied, wiped down, and dried. Pots and pans sat on the drying rack to the right of the sink. When he opened the cupboard doors, there was a very clean stack of plates and bowls inside. He checked, and the silverware had been replenished in the drawer as well.

Did…Arisato do all of this? He wondered, gazing over at her. Hmph, idiot. Just then, his stomach growled. He hadn't eaten for several hours, he realized. Shinjiro moved to the fridge to see if he could wrestle up some ingredients for something simple. When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was a small bowl of fried rice with an egg on top, which had been covered in plastic wrap. And the card on top had his name on it. He reached in and removed the food, picking up the card and flipping it over…a note.

Sorry for earlier. Made this for you! Enjoy! ~Hamuko

The senior looked at the couch again. The junior who was lying there hadn't moved. He switched his gaze to the bowl of rice and egg in his hand. It didn't look toxic. If anything, it looked incredible…she had made this, for him? Shinji set the bowl quietly on the counter and walked back into the living room to wake Hamuko. She had school in the morning, and she could not be comfortable on that couch.

"Arisato…" Shinjiro whispered harshly. "Arisato, wake up…" he said, shaking her shoulder. The brunette groaned and sat up, stretching.

"Hmm? What?" she blinked the sleep from her eyes and looked at who had woken her. "Aragaki-Senpai…what? What time is it…?" she asked tiredly.

"Late. You should go upstairs to bed," he said. Hamuko threw the blanket aside and moved to get up. A look of realization dawned on her face.

"What are you still doing up, Senpai?" she asked.

"None of your business. Now go sleep in your bed, you'll be more comfortable there…" he said. Hamuko, who appeared too tired to argue nodded and started trudging off towards the stairs. "Goodnight Arisato," he said with a curt nod.

"Mhmm. Goodnight…" she said. As she was about to step on the first stair, she turned around and looked right at Shinjiro. "I did the dishes you know. You were right…it's much better to eat out of a bowl…" she nodded. "Goodnight Senpai."

Shinjiro watched as the brunette girl climbed the stairs and once she was no longer visible to him, he returned to the kitchen where the egg and rice waited for him. He scanned the note again, and then put the bowl in the microwave to heat up the meal. As he waited, he thought about Hamuko and how she had done the dishes (even if he had to yell at her and Iori for their disgusting behavior…), and how she had even left some food for him. The microwave buzzed and he removed the bowl, grabbed some chopsticks from the silverware drawer, and sat down at the table to eat.

It was delicious.