Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Persona 3 or any of its reincarnations. If I owned it, I would've commissioned a prequel staring Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Shinjiro. All creative rights to the characters named in this story belong to Atlus and I certainly do not profit from this story.

Against my better judgment, I decided to experiment on writing in first person, so I could train myself to write emotions better. This is basically a series of chronological short stories detailing the adventures of the original SEES members, Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Shinjiro. Each chapter will be told in a different person's point of view.

This is rated T, to be safe, because of mild profanity and possible violence in later chapters. Is it possible to write a fic with Shinjiro in it without swearing? :O

Anyway, I'll start with Akihiko. Here goes~

Akihiko: First Dark Hour

Without warning, my room suddenly plunged into darkness.

I gazed at the ceiling, glaring at what I presumed to be the fluorescent lamp, willing it to come alive. What perfect timing for the electricity to give out. This was not good, as I was in the middle of cramming my math worksheets. I stared blankly at my lap, grumbling at my unfinished homework. Fortunately, my bed was right beside the window, hugging the wall, so I adjusted my eyes to the faint glow provided by the moonlight. That will have to do for now. Squinting at the papers, I can't help but feel that there was something strange going on. There was a greenish tinge to the paper that was never there before. Damn, I must be really tired. Setting aside my homework and pen on the side of the bed, I decided to take a break. I stretched my arms, shoulders cracking from being hunched for hours.

For some reason, I felt cold. Unusually cold. Laying my hands on my lap, I shivered involuntarily, wrapping the thin blanket on my lap tighter around my body. It wasn't this cold when the light was on. I also realized it was quiet. Creepily silent. The dormitory provided by the school was situated in the middle of Shirakawa Boulevard, a seedy commercial area which stayed busy until about three in the morning. I suppose this is what we get for being a bunch of students on scholarship. At this time (Was it midnight? The last time I checked the time, it was 11:30pm.), the noise level would have been respectable. Curious, I shifted uneasily from my seating position, uncrossing my legs. Ignoring the numbness of my limbs, I inched towards the window, my mattress groaning at the movement, and decided to look out the window.

The scene that greeted me made a chill run down my spine. The moon was colored a sickly green, illuminating the sky. The clouds glowed eerily, their black expanse framing the crescent moon, creating a backdrop perfect for a horror movie. Seriously, was that blood running down the side of that building?

I wasn't the type of person who scared easily, but that was enough for me to tear my eyes off the window, the back of my neck prickling. I punched the wall to wake myself up, hoping I just fell asleep in the middle of solving for x. Pain shot up my arm. Oww, that hurt, I think I just bruised my knuckles, judging by how my hand was throbbing. Smart move, Sanada, really smart, using the wall as a punching bag. The worst part is that you did it without bothering to put on hand wraps. At least you had enough sense to use your right fist instead of your left; else Coach might've killed you for damaging your Golden Left Fist of Doom.

Hugging my legs, keeping my blanket close, I checked the situation inside my room, which I shared with three other people, my best friend Shinji, some guy named Tetsuo, and a kid named Yamato. It was no better than what I saw outside, perhaps even worse. I did a double-take, sitting on the papers scattered on my bed. Damn, I hope Yumiko-sensei doesn't kill me tomorrow for submitting these crumpled worksheets. My heart almost leaped out of my throat. Instead of Tetsuo and Yamato's sleeping forms, there were two red glows on two beds across mine. For a moment, I seriously thought a red-eyed demon was staring back at me. After waiting for my heart to stop racing, I crawled to the edge of my bed to inspect the strange phenomena, gripping my blanket tightly, as if it would form some sort of shield between me and what lies unknown.

Studying the red glow, I could make out some distinct sharp edges, hexagonal in nature. Was my mind messing with me, or did I just see a coffin?

At that point, I was afraid to look at my left. Did the same fate befall Shinji? Still praying that this was just a very realistic dream, I closed my eyes, slowly turning my head to the left. Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened my eyes.

To my surprise and unending relief, he was just fast asleep. As usual, he was sleeping on his side, his dark hair disheveled, and his back towards my direction. I envied him. How can he sleep through this event? Right now, I seriously don't know how I will be able to get my six hours of sleep, and it looks like I will be turning in unfinished worksheets at school. How can I concentrate on solving linear equations when two of my roommates have been replaced with caskets? I wasn't close to them, but still, wouldn't anyone be freaked out by that sight? Although, to be honest, it was comforting to know that I wasn't alone in experiencing this event, which I already established as something that wasn't a dream.

Shinji stirred in his sleep and rolled over, facing me, his gray eyes meeting my gaze. "…Aki. Still awake huh?" he muttered groggily. "Get some rest, you can copy my homework tomorrow."

"But Shinji-" I tried to protest, but he cut me off.

"No 'buts', your coach is a total slave driver. Doesn't he know that letting you practice until seven in the evening leaves you barely any time to finish your schoolwork?" he murmured, closing his eyes once more. Then, he described my coach using a word that would've gotten my ass handed to me if I said it out loud during boxing practice. In addition, I'd probably be kicked out of the team in no time flat.

Seeing that Shinji was conscious through this ordeal, I seized that opportunity to say, "Shinji, in case you didn't notice, our roommates just turned into coffins."

It took a while for him to respond. "Good one. Now go to sleep, Aki."

"I'm serious, Shinji."

"You said the same thing during that time you thought you saw a yokai under your bed. Turns out it was just Keiko's stuffed tanuki doll."

"At our age now, do you think I would joke about something like this?" I replied in annoyance.

He finally understood that I wasn't kidding. Unsteadily, he pulled himself into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. His eyes widened in astonishment when he saw the scene painted in front of him. After the initial surprise, he plopped back on his bed.

"Good night, Aki." He pulled his blanket over his body and turned away from me.

…That's it? "Oi, Shinji. You're taking this very well. Unusually well." I emphasized the last two words.

"Is there anything we'll be able to do about it? I ain't staying up all night worrying about our roommates' mysterious transformation."

I pouted at him, even if he can't see me. "I envy you, Shinji. How can you sleep through all this?"

"Think happy thoughts," he mumbled.

"How can I think pleasantly when I'm stuck in a set reminiscent of The Twilight Zone?" I argued. Was he really serious about that? When he didn't reply, I realized that he actually fell asleep. Dammit, Shinji. I envy you and your happy thoughts mantra.

Once again, I stared at the ceiling, hoping for the light to come back. Everything else that my eyes could see was tinted green, for some reason. It reminded me of the time I played with the green cellophane in art class back in elementary school. I'd put it over my face, calling my classmates aliens and martians, much to their exasperation. Needless to say, my teacher wasn't pleased with me. Aside from taking away the film from me, she made me sit in the corner for the rest of the class.

After what seemed like eons, there was a flash of brightness that enveloped the room, temporarily blinding me. I readjusted my eyes to the light, blinking out the stars that danced in front of me. Once my vision was straightened out, I glanced despondently at my wrinkled, half-finished worksheets. Then, I diverted my attention to the wall clock hanging by the door. Upon reading the time, I blanched. It was, what, twelve in the midnight? That whole Twilight Zone affair felt like it took hours. How could that be? To be sure, I sneaked next to Tetsuo's bed. Whew, thank God he and Yamato were finally back to normal. I leaned quietly and inspected the wristwatch on his outstretched hairy arm. The display read 0:08. Amazing. Did time freeze during the span of time the lights were out?

I crept back to my bed, and attended to my homework once more. Nevertheless, my mind kept wandering back to the blackout, brooding about the ins and outs of that bizarre episode. Eventually, my mind kept on drawing a blank, on both linear equations and the incident. Also, my vision was starting to blur. The equations on the paper were starting to look like paintball stains. Or ants crawling on my table once I was through with them. I stifled a yawn. Whew, I must be exhausted. It was weird, because normally I'd have enough energy to last until two in the morning. This time, I had to throw my hands to the air in surrender. Looks like I'll be owing Shinji another favor.

After packing my stuff and switching off the lights, I laid on my bed, pondering on Shinji's words. Shifting sidewards, I stared vacantly at his back, watching his side rise and fall as he breathed in and out. Think happy thoughts. Smiling ruefully, I closed my eyes, remembering how Miki, Shinji, and I used to play hide-and-seek back in the orphanage. During the times I was 'It', I'd have a kick finding out Shinji's hiding place, while I'd feign surprise when I see Miki lurking nearby. My sister didn't really bother hiding, even if that was the concept of the game. Sweet little Miki, the first person to break the brick wall Shinji built around himself. All it took were her innocent smiles and her amazing persistence, dragging Shinji everywhere we went, much to my chagrin, at first. For some reason, she was never intimidated by the brunet who hung by a corner of the orphanage, emitting an intimidating aura, often lost in his own thoughts. She must've sensed how lonely he was, and his longing for a companion to understand him.

Man, I missed her so much. A tear threatened to come out of my eye, which I absentmindedly brushed away. So much for thinking happy thoughts.

Somehow, Shinji's advice worked, as I eventually drifted off to sleep, albeit a fitful one.

Does the title need an explanation? I've been looking through lists of famous trios, and this sandwich came up. So far, it's the one that best fit the dynamics of the Akihiko-Mitsuru-Shinjiro trio. Let's see, according to Wikipedia (which is not the most reliable source, but nonetheless for purposes of my lame title explanation will suffice), the bacon "carries" the flavor of the sandwich, the lettuce is possibly redundant, and the tomato, some people argue, is the "key ingredient". I wholeheartedly agree with this because I eat mine sans the lettuce. Overall, there are numerous variations on the sandwich, as some people would even dare to have a BLT sandwich without the bacon, lettuce, or tomato. Still, despite all the arguments about the ingredients, it's called a Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwich.

Personally, I see Akihiko as the bacon, Shinjiro as the lettuce, and Mitsuru as the tomato.

Next chapter: Mitsuru: Recruiting Akihiko. Scenario suggestions for future chapters are welcome, and as usual, I welcome feedback regarding this chapter. xD