Persona 3P: Two Sides of Fate
Fate is creating the path to another adventure! Now, I realize it must be a bit exhausting to go through so many explanations when this is an adventure/romance, so I thank you for bearing with me! After Chapter 2, the adventure part will begin, I promise! Until then, please enjoy!
"Aigis, we're home!" sang Kieske.
He, Mitsuru and a pale woman (with light bluish-green hair that matched her eyes) stood in front of the house with their suitcases in hand. In a matter of seconds the door opened as Aigis stepped out to greet them with a saddened smile. The woman, holding her suitcase with one hand, jumped up to hug Aigis.
"Aigis! It's been awhile! It's so good to see you again!" she exclaimed happily.
At this, a truly cheerful smile spread across the robotic maiden's face. She hugged back.
"I'm happy to see you too, Fuuka. You, Mitsuru-san and Kieske-kun all look well."
"There's no need to be so formal towards me Aigis; you know you can just call me Mitsuru." said the long-haired redhead.
"Yeah, what did we tell you last time? Oh jeez, you look neglected; don't tell me you forgot to do regular maintenance on yourself again?"
When Aigis didn't reply, he sighed.
"Well, what do you think, Fuuka?" he asked his friend as they all stepped inside with their luggage.
"It's probably just minor stuff like a few rusted bolts and such. I'll take a look and patch you up, okay?" said Fuuka as she looked at Aigis.
"Oh…thank you." replied Aigis gratefully.
"Humph, you could use it. So, is Mr. Joyful here yet?" asked Kieske as he looked around.
"Who?" asked Aigis.
Fuuka chuckled.
"He means Shinjiro-senpai."
"Oh, no; he's coming after work. He wanted me to remind you that someone should pick up Ken-kun for him, because he will be coming late." said Aigis.
"Yeah, he had told me but I just wanted to make sure. So, who's going to pick up Ken?" asked Kieske.
"I'll take care of it." said Mitsuru as she stepped into the long corridor. "After I get our things settled in our room. Kieske, the luggage."
Kieske let out the special sigh he used for these kinds of situations before grabbing the suitcases and replying:
"Yes, dear."
"Oh! Kieske-kun, watch out!" exclaimed Fuuka.
"Huh? Ah, right; sorry 'bout that, boy."
Kieske carefully put down the dog crate that had sat on top of the luggage. Fuuka opened it, welcoming a happy Koromaru that licked her face. She giggled.
"Hello, Koro-chan." said Aigis with a smile.
A few seconds later, he leaped from Fuuka's arms to Aigis' giving her the same greeting he had given to Fuuka. Aigis cuddled him, whispering:
"I'm glad to see you again as well, Koro-chan."
Kieske grinned to himself as he watched the two girls play with the dog. However, after hearing his wife's call he began dragging everything with him as fast as he could.
Don't get him wrong; he loved Mitsuru with all his being. He knew that she only called him by his last name like that because she was so used to formality. When they were in private, though, she was always call him by his first name. Two years of marriage and he still felt his insides blush every time she said "Axel". And, hey, he didn't really think she was ever the type for heavy lifting. She was a Kirijo, after all. It didn't help that he had continued to pamper her through their marriage. However, if it made her happy, weight lifting was a small price to pay.
"Which room…are we staying in?" he asked, gasping, as he reached her.
She pointed to a room that was near the end of the corridor. Seeing as he had no objections, she grabbed a bag and lead him to the room, where he dropped (carefully, of course) everything in a corner. Her eyes were scanning the entire space, probably to make sure it was an adequate choice. After a few seconds, she seemed satisfied.
"We'll unpack later. I should probably go get Amada…"
She trailed off, seeing that he was no longer there. She looked out into the hall, but there was no sign of him. Then she saw that door had been opened. She froze, staring at that direction and biting a bit of her lip. A few seconds passed before she was able to get a hold of her senses and enter the room.
Kieske was sitting on the very edge of the bed, watching Minako with sad eyes. Mitsuru closed the door behind her and was surprised to see her hands trembling when she let go. Kieske's eyes met Mitsuru's when he noticed her enter. He gave her what she knew was meant to be a reassuring smile, but in actuality seemed more broken than anything else.
"You know, you can go on ahead; I know it's hard for you to be here." he said.
"It's hard for you too. Besides, I wouldn't be much of a wife if I left you in your time of need, would I?"
"Heh, true. Eh, I can't help myself; I have to visit her personally. I mean, I know she'd want me too. At least, I'd like to think so. She's my sister, after all."
Mitsuru felt herself smile a little. Of course, she wasn't really his sister. He had given to calling her that ever since his friendship with Minako had gotten so strong, you couldn't tell they weren't siblings by the way they treated each other. Then again, Mitsuru couldn't have thought of anyone on the team who wasn't close to their dear Minako, herself included.
They were both startled by the sound of Koromaru walking over to the sleeping girl. After a nudge with his nose, he jumped on the bed and cuddled next to Minako. He raised his head and blinked up at the two, as if making sure they meant no harm. Kieske laughed.
"Man's best friend to the end, huh, boy?"
He barked.
"Well, I think she's in good hands now." said Mitsuru with a chuckle.
"Yeah, you'd better go get Ken or old Shinjiro might have a hissy fit when he gets back."
She shook her head before replying:
"I'll be back soon."
She left the room, and Kieske followed a few moments later. He looked back a moment though, and saw Koromaru gently licking Minako's face. He whined a bit, but returned to his position near her side. He put his head down on the bed and watched Kieske.
Kieske smiled and finished closing the door.
The moon was already becoming visible in the almost nighttime sky when Fuuka heard the unmistakable sound of their friend's Junpei Iori's voice coming from the outside of the house.
"Junpei-kun is here!" she exclaimed.
Ken Amada, who had been watching television, stood up excitedly. Ken had short, light brown hair that had an unusual elevation in the front. He was thirteen, and by far the smallest of everyone there. His large, brown eyes were bright with anticipation. He ran to the nearest window and yelled:
"Yukari-san and Shinjiro-san are with him too!"
Sure enough, everyone (except Aigis, who was in sleep mode due to her repairs) heard the rough voice of Shinjiro say:
"Will you calm the hell down? You're gonna knock down all the food!"
"Aw, I can't help it! I feel like a little kid again!" replied the energetic Junpei.
"That's because you're acting like one!" snapped what everyone recognized as Yukari's voice.
There was a fast and loud knocking on the door.
"Hey! Anyone there? Hellooo?"
"Of course they're there, Stupei, the lights are on." said Yukari with increased irritation.
"Come on! Open up!" yelled Junpei.
After everyone inside had finished laughing at Junpei's emotional outburst, Fuuka was finally able to reach the door and open it, allowing their friends to enter. The first person to get in was none other than Junpei, a funny-looking guy with a goatee and his favorite navy-blue baseball cap on. His eyes were also brown, but you could hardly look at them now that he was bouncing all around. He had two large metal trays of food balanced on his arms; they seemed to be on the verge of falling.
"Hey, everyone! What's up? Long time no see, huh? Man I can't tell ya how long the trip over here was with all this stuff! Err, hey, Shinjiro-san where do I put these?"
Fuuka chuckled and Ken said:
"Junpei-san, you're going to run out of breath if you talk so much at once."
The scowl had returned to Shinjiro's face as he pointed to the table while balancing three of his own containers on his arm. Junpei managed to successfully put them on the table without spilling anything.
"Doing your part, eh Yukari?" asked Kieske as he saw the plastic bags in her hands instead of trays.
"Oh, shut it, Kieske. Someone had to carry them." she answered as Shinjiro put the remaining trays on the table. "Ah! Fuuka, Mitsuru!"
Yukari squealed as she hugged her friends together. Fuuka returned the gesture along with Mitsuru (after an awkward pause out of not knowing how to react).
"Hey, what about me?" asked Junpei as he hugged all three of them together.
"Gwah! Junpei! You're not a girl!" exclaimed Yukari.
"So what?" he answered, not bothered in the least.
Meanwhile, as Ken began chatting with Junpei, Shinjiro seemed to be casually searching the ground as if looking for someone. Kieske came up to him with a smile.
"Looking for someone? A white, fluffy someone perhaps?" he asked Shinjiro.
"Maybe I am."
"Aw, I'm hurt, Shinji. Not even going to say hi to me?"
"Hey. Now where's the dog?" he replied dryly.
"Just being a good guard dog and watching over someone. But if you miss him that much…"
Kieske whistled with his two fingers. A second later, the sound of padded feet (well, paws) could be heard running down the hall. As soon as the white canine took notice of Shinjiro, he made a beeline for him. He went up to him and placed his two paws on the tall man's legs. Shinjiro smiled and scratched the back of Koromaru's ears. The little dog's tail wagged.
"Hey, there boy." said Shinjiro.
Everyone was suddenly interrupted by Junpei's loud voice saying:
"Alright! Now that we're all almost here, and Akihiko-senpai isn't coming until tomorrow, I say we dig in!"
There were many voices of agreement. Before anyone could blink twice, they were all sitting down and having a great dinner. The atmosphere was lively. Even Shinjiro had to admit to himself he felt a lot happier than he had since he had the house to himself and Aigis. (He usually also lived with Ken and Akihiko, but Akihiko had went to that match. He had gone to preparation for the last three weeks plus the match itself. Since Shinjiro himself came home late and Ken didn't want to keep Aigis away from taking care of Minako, the boy had decided to stay at a dorm until Akihiko returned.) He didn't even seem to mind the sound of Yukari's and Fuuka's giggling or Junpei's stupid comments. Okay, that's a lie, but he could live with it.
"No, Koro-chan! You can't have noodles, you'll get sick. Here, have some beef." giggled Fuuka as the dog ate it whole.
"Gosh, Fuuka; you're spoiling him too much." said Yukari, smiling.
"If you think he's spoiled now, wait till Shinjiro starts cooking for him. I almost had to buy a bigger kennel for the ride home last time." teased Kieske.
"Don't be such an idiot. He was just as skinny as when he came." snapped Shinjiro as everyone else laughed.
"And that bothers you." replied Kieske as he pointed his fork at him. "That's why he can't live here with you. You'd turn him into a big, fat spoiled house dog. I mean, he'd move even less than Minako—ah."
Before he even finished, Kieske knew he had accidently said that one thing he shouldn't have. Shinjiro quickly stood up, his chair almost falling back. Kieske stood too, trying to fix what he had said. Everyone else gave each other nervous looks.
"Hey, man, you know that's not what I-"
"Forget it, Kieske. Just don't say anything." muttered Shinjiro.
He walked out of the dining room and into his room in the hallway. Everyone heard the door slam shut. Kieske sank back down on his chair. He held his hands to his forehead.
"I'm such a dumbass…" he said.
"It was a mistake. Don't be so hard on yourself." replied Mitsuru.
"Doesn't change the fact that I ruined his night." answered Kieske.
"I'm sure you didn't do that, Kieske-kun. It must be very hard for Shinjiro-san to see Minako-chan like that every day." said Fuuka sadly.
"It's hard on all of us, though…" whispered Ken quietly.
No one knew what to say to this. Eventually, they were able to bring some cheery conversation back into the meal. Although, a feeling of sadness still lingered.
In his room, it was all Shinjiro could do not to bang his head against the wall. He felt his breathing get harder and harder. He gasped, taking off his coat and found himself grasping around under his black long-sleeved shirt until he touched the scars of his bullet wounds. One was much more bruised than the other. It was an unconscious habit of his to do so. It reminded him that he was okay and healthy. But more importantly, it reminded him that she had saved him.
He didn't know when, but eventually he went to sleep.
"Where the hell am I?"
Kieske found himself in a strange place. Everything around him was a dark blue with a hint of a lighter shade in the distance. He seemed to be walking on water, or something like it. When he walked, the ground (?) created little waves around his feet. It reminded him of the kind only raindrops emitted in ponds. He could see something in front of him, something bright and golden. If he walked a little closer, he knew he would be able to find out what it was. After a few minutes, he was right in front of it.
"What is this?!" he whispered in awe.
The first thing he noticed was a giant egg (or was it a cocoon?) being held over the ground by golden chains. But what really held his attention was what was at the end of all those chains: Minako. Her eyes were closed, she was still in her school uniform from three years ago, and her arms were crossed over her chest. There were shackles on her wrists and ankles that made Minako looked much like Yukari's old persona, Io. From what Kieske could tell, Minako seemed to be keeping the weird cocoon-egg thing at bay.
Whatever the reason she was there, something deep inside told him he needed to free her.
Not knowing how he would do it, he approached the girl and touched her cuffs to at least see how strong they were. He gasped as a burning sensation reached his fingers. His hand recoiled, but not before seeing the chains disintegrate in front of his eyes. The cocoon floated upwards until it disappeared from sight. Minako lie motionless on the floor. Before he could reach her, she began sinking into the ground itself, and Kieske could only grasp at her hand before it disappeared with the rest of her.
"No!" he gasped as he woke up in bed, covered in sweat.
"Axel, what's wrong?" asked Mitsuru, whom he had just woken up.
He told her about his dream. She seemed a bit confused about it at first, but ended up saying:
"I doubt it amounted to anything. Dreams can be very realistic sometimes. You shouldn't worry about it."
"I don't know…there was something too real about it."
"You're just worried about her." she assured him before kissing him. "Let's try to get some rest. Tomorrow, we're all going around town, remember?"
"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight, honey."
She cuddled up to him and fell back asleep, and he did too; but not before wondering just what his dream had meant.
"Are you sure you can't come the entire day, Shinjiro-san?" asked Yukari as everyone was getting ready to go, except for Shinjiro and Ken.
"Can't. Still have to work, at least until noon. We're still pretty low on staff." he replied. "Besides, I have to wait for Aki to come here too. He said he'd home around then, and he wants me to meet him before we go with you guys."
"And I wanted to greet him too." added Ken.
(Akihiko had become Ken's legal guardian shortly after he graduated from Gekkoukan, in order for Ken to be able to stay in touch with everyone.)
"Don't worry about it, Yukari; noon will come before you know it." said Kieske.
Shinjiro seemed to have not held anything against him over last night, so the atmosphere was by far lighter that morning than it was yesterday.
"What about Aigis? Are you taking her with you?" asked Shinjiro.
"No way, she still has to stay on sleep mode to recover." replied Kieske.
"She'll be pissed when she wakes up, you know." warned Shinjiro.
"Eh, whatever. Well, see you guys' later." said Kieske as he went out the door with Yukari.
Shinjiro turned his attention to Ken, who had turned on the television.
"You sure you'll be okay by yourself while I'm at work?" asked Shinjiro.
"Yes, I'll be okay; don't worry about me."
He cast a doubtful look before replying:
"Alright, but if you need anything, then call."
"Okay, I will."
After feeling satisfied, he decided to go to go visit Minako at the last minute. He entered the room just as Ken heard a commotion outside.
"Hey, come back!"
"No, Koro-chan! Get back here!"
"What's going on?" he asked before opening the door and seeing a white blur run past him.
He watched, shocked, as Koromaru ran into the room with Kieske running after him.
"Damn dog! Get back here! What the hell has gotten into you!?" yelled Kieske.
Meanwhile, a few moments before, Shinjiro sat next to Minako on the bed. He held her small, gentle hand in his. He bent over and kissed the top of her forehead gently. Then he stood up, still holding her hand. He finally let go, and was about to leave when he heard a sound from behind him. He quickly turned around, alarmed to see Minako's face scrunched up in pain and groaning.
"Minako!" he exclaimed, rushing back to her side and feeling her forehead for a temperature.
At that moment, Koromaru ran inside the room and jumped on the bed. He seemed to be trying to get to Minako. He was barking a lot for some reason. At that moment, Kieske ran in, and seeing Minako's state asked Shinjiro:
"Shinji, what the hell did you do!?"
"What? Hey, don't look at me, she just got like this!"
"Don't just feel her forehead like some retard! Get the blanket off!"
Ignoring the urge to kill Kieske for daring to call him a retard, he pulled the blanket of Minako, revealing the pretty pink and red flower print sundress she was wearing. It seemed airy enough, and her temperature was fine, so what was wrong?
"Damn it, Koromaru; shut up for a second, will you?!" snarled Shinjiro.
"What's that?" asked Kieske.
Before Shinjiro could ask, something came out of where Minako's heart was, so fast that Shinjiro could only register a weird cocoon floating away. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared. They both exchanged looks.
"Did you see that thing?" questioned Shinjiro.
"I think so…did it just come out of Minako?"
"Uh…ugh…"
Kieske and Shinjiro froze. Koromaru stopped barking and walked over to Minako, licking her face gently. Shinjiro could only watch, unable to react, as Minako began to blink her eyes open. He felt his body numb as he finally, finally saw her bright red eyes open for the first time in three years. He felt like he could faint as he heard her voice for the first time in so long…
"Koromaru…? Ah-ha, hey calm down. Hi to you too!"
"Minako?" croaked Shinjiro.
She gasped, looking straight into his eyes as she noticed him. He fell on his knees next to her, shaking and unable to think of a single thing to say. He saw an immense, almost impossible joy in her eyes.
"Shinjiro! It's really you! You're…you're alright! Oh, Shinjiro, I'm so happy!"
She began crying and hugged him as tightly as she could. He returned the gesture, laughing at the absurdity of her crying about him being alright and also just happy that she was awake. Hell, screw happy. He never felt a higher sense of joy in his entire life before, not even when he had run to see her on the roof that day. Because he knew that now she was with him. And he knew that now, he wasn't ever going to let them be apart again.
"Hey, come on, Minako. Don't cry. I'm here now. I ain't leaving again, I swear."
And he meant it.