Chapter 2: Affairs

"Akihiko-senpai!" I called as he came out of the convenient store holding a bag of food on the spring night.

"Sakia-chan." He said with a smile.

"Let's walk home together." I suggested, and he nodded to me.

"So, what's up?" Akihiko asked.

"…I was wondering, senpai…" I looked down at the sidewalk. "When will I… Meet Shinjiro-senpai again?"

"Shinji? You know him?"

"He helped us out a month or two ago. And I felt he was a persona user… And that he was a lot like me."

"…I'm amazed you figured it out." He chuckled. "I'm sure he'll come around some time."

"I see." I nodded to confirm his answer. "So… The girls at school think we're going out."

"Wait, what?" He jumped back. "That was off topic!"

"They're so silly." I grinned, ignoring his jab. "You only have eyes for Mitsuru-senpai." He jumped back about 4 more paces and then gaped his mouth.

"How did you-?"

"Oh come on, senpai, it was so obvious. 'Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai aren't here, so we can't go to Tartarus tonight.' Where DO you go, senpai?" He blushed and closed his eyes.

"…Mitsuru owns… Another house near here." He looked off to the side. "It's not often used by the Kirijo group, so we go there to be alone."

"Ohoho~" I snickered. "What's so great about it?"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"…It's got a nice kitchen…"

"Uh huh…"

"A big tub…"

"Ooh~"

"And…"

"And?" I quipped, coaxing him to say the last embarrassing detail.

"…A big bed."

"YES! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AKIHIKO-SENPAI HAS JUST GIVEN THE LAST DIRTY DETAIL!" I raised my hand as if announcing something to the world. "But… Don't tell anyone, all right? If they did, we… Couldn't be together anymore." He sighed.

"Because of the Kirijo group, right? Yeah, her family might be strict." I thought it over. "I never intended to tell anyone, you know. That's for you two do do, and you two only."

"Kaori…"

"But… When Shinjiro is ready to join… Tell me, OK?" I said shyly and kicked my foot at the ground.

"All right. It's a deal."

"Please watch out!" Fuuka shouted over her persona, Lucia. By the way, nobody really knows how to pronounce her persona's name. The Japanese prounounce it "LU-KI-A". The English-speaking folk say it "LU-SI-A". And the pronounciation I use, which is the Itallian, is "LU-CHI-A". Lucia means light in Itallian, so I think it sounds prettiest that way (not to mention it's the name of a very famous mermaid).

"What's going on?" I screamed as the room at the love hotel was engulfed in white. Our entire party disappeared as we looked at that strange mirror.

"…Mm…" My fogged eyes tried to focus, but continued to flicker back to sleep. "…What's going on…?" I forced myself awake, and pressed my hand against what felt like a cushy bed. Suddenly, I heard constant drops of water. Was it… A shower? My eyes started to fog up again.

"Shinjiro-senpai…" I whispered as I saw him come into the room with only a bath towel on. He arched over me and looked into my eyes with those same, beautiful eyes that I saw when I first met him.

"Tell me… Why are you so scared…?" He whispered.

"I… I've lost everything since childhood. If I lost you, I'd just…!" I realized what I was saying. God… I thought to myself. I must really like Shinjiro-senpai… Why else would I be feeling this way…?

"It's all right. I'm here. Don't be silly." He pulled me into a sitting position and hugged me tight. Those same beautiful eyes… beautiful eyes…

Wait, what? Weren't his eyes brown? Not black… And they weren't just scary… They had that tint of sadness within them that made me want to hold him tight.

"Embrace your desires…" He spoke in monotone.

"No. Your aren't what I desire." I told him firmly. "And I will never give up my morals till the day I die." Somehow, the film from my eyes lifted, and Shinjiro-senpai's double was there no longer. Instead…

"Oh honey, it's your turn now…" A familiar, comic-relief voice spoke near my ear.

"…Eep!" I squeaked.

"…Eep?"

"KYYYYYYAAAAAAA!" I screamed and punched him away. "IT'S A GUY IT'S A GUY IT'S A GUY!" Oh dear. It seems that my secret had finally been revealed to the worst person ever… Junpei. He rubbed his cheek, his towel around his waist still in place (thank god).

"Wh-What?"

"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!"

"R-Right!" After a quick dash back to the bathroom, Fuuka's voice invaded my mind.

"Oh thank goodness I got into contact with you all! There was some great interference! Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you Fuuka!"

"The others are meeting on the second floor, so please meet them there!"

"By the way, just out of curiosity…" I brushed off my skirt as I spoke. "Was anyone… Acting strange?"

"Why yes, that's right! Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai were trapped together, and they seemed odd afterwards… Same with Yukari and Minato… I wonder what happened…" Oooh, I knew what happened.

"Why the crap did you punch me?" Junpei came out fully dressed.

"I-I'm…" I blushed and looked downwards, "Kinda… Scared of guys…"

"Wait, what?" He looked as if he might start laughing.

"Shut it!" I retaliated. "Boys aside from Minato used to avoid me or bully me, so I don't have a good feeling about them… It's become a phobia."

"Ohohoho~ That's OK, Sakia-chan~ I think that's actually pretty cute."

"Nah. Somehow when you say it, it makes me bleed inside."

"Ouch…" He looked slightly hurt as I stood up and ran towards the door.

"You heard Fuuka, right? We've gotta hurry up!"

"So… What happened to you guys?" I asked the other two pairs on the second floor.

"Nothing!" Mitsuru blushed as she denied any relationship between her and Akihiko. Yeah, OK.

"WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED?" Yukari said, over-defensive. Minato was covering his face with his hand. Poor, pure little Minato. The girl he liked just walked out with only a-

"Come on, let's go!" Yukari walked boldly ahead into halls, and we followed after her.