Save her? Shinjiro's heart leapt at the prospect of seeing Minako again, that was true. But she was dead. How could he save what was already lost?
Once again, Igor seemed to know what was on his mind before he even opened his mouth. "Our guest may have encountered a great obstacle on the path to her destiny, but with help, obstacles can be removed. And with your Persona, it would appear that you are just the man for the job."
Igor gave a nod to Theodore, who returned the gesture and pulled out a card. Shining in the air, it floated upwards and away, coming to a rest in front of Shinjiro, who stared at it, mesmerized.
"What you see before you is known as a Skill Card," Igor stated, breaking Shinjiro out of his single-minded fascination with the object. "Skill Cards can be used to impart a variety of skills to Personas, but this one is unique indeed. No Persona thus far has been able to use it, but yours seems to be different."
"Cut the crap. You keep dancing around telling me what this is and how I can save her. Just tell me straight out." Shinjiro knew he was being rude, but he was overwhelmed with emotions. Sorrow at losing Minako, anger at the delinquent who'd killed her, confusion at this whole Velvet Room situation. And now... hope? "...Please." He'd swallow his pride for this - for her. "If I really can save her, just please, tell me how. I'll do whatever it takes."
"Very well." Igor didn't seem offended, at least. "This skill card is known as Reset. It has no use in battle, but its true power is greater than any attack. Reset grants its user the ability to manipulate time itself. In practice, this allows for the user to repeat the past, and set right what once went wrong."
Realization dawned on Shinjiro. "I can go back. I can go back, and I can stop her from ever dying in the first place." A million possibilities played out across his mind: talking Junpei and Yukari out of their fool's mission to collect information in the back alleys in the first place, warning Minako of the danger that lurked behind her, arriving in time to beat the ever-loving crap out of that punk with the knife. It was all possible.
"Precisely." Igor seemed satisfied that he'd reached that conclusion on his own. "I must warn you, though: the road you set out on will not be simple. The price you shall pay to set our current guest on her true path is not to be underestimated, nor the dangers you shall face. Knowing this, if you accept this power, you need only sign the contract."
Just as the words were spoken, the document appeared.
"I chooseth this fate of mine own free will."
Not a single doubt crossed his mind as he scrawled his name across the bottom. The name "Shinjiro Aragaki" glowed for a moment, and the contract vanished. He reached out to the card in front of him, his trembling fingers the only sign of his nerves. As his hand made contact, the card exploded into a shower of blue light. Castor appeared before him. No use waiting. He had a job to do.
RESET
Instantly, he was on the streets of Port Island. Had the Velvet Room been some kind of weird hallucination? He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Middle of March, 1 P.M.
It worked. He'd gone back in time.
"Shinji!"
And there was Aki, right on time. He knew this day; knew what his best friend was going to ask him. No use beating around the bush, he supposed. So instead of arguing, he went straight to the answer he knew he would eventually give.
"Look, Shinji. I'm not telling you what to do, but just consider living in the dorm with us this year, okay? We found a new Persona user, a junior girl. I think we might finally be able to make some real progress and figure this Shadow stuff out."
"Fine. I'll do it."
"Wait, really? I mean-"
"I'll do it, Aki. I'll head over tonight."
A grin broke out across Akihiko's face. "Great! It'll be worth it, Shinji, I promise. You won't regret it!"
But Shinjiro didn't need him to say it. There was no way he could regret something like this.
He spent his first weeks in the dorm counting down the days until the beginning of the semester.
Counting down to the day she arrived.
The day finally came, and he could barely contain his excitement. At last, it was the day she would show up at the dorm. Soon, he'd finally be able to see her again, alive and well. The minutes felt like years as time ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace.
"I have some news for everyone," Mitsuru announced as she walked down the stairs that morning. "It appears that a new student has been assigned to our dorm."
"New student?" Akihiko seemed shocked. Well, of course he would. Unlike Shinjiro, he didn't know about this in advance. "Is she already a Persona user?"
Mitsuru shook her head. "It doesn't appear so. If there is something unusual with her, we don't know about it."
"Then why put her here? Isn't this dorm just for SEES members?" Yukari asked, putting down her cup of tea.
"She's a transfer student. Officially, they run out of rooms in the other dorms, and had to put her here until one opens up. There's more to it than that, though. We're watching her for signs of the potential, and if she has it, she's staying with us. She's a junior like you, Yukari. Her name is..." She glanced down at a sheet of paper in her hand. "Minako Arisato."
The sound of her name after so long felt like finding the last piece to a puzzle long left unfinished. It clicked into place and everything was real. She was real. He really was going to see her again, and this time, he'd be able to make everything happen the way it should. He wouldn't put up his tough guy facade - at least, not any more than he could help. He'd do his best to be kind and friendly from the moment he saw her. He'd be the perfect boyfriend; the kind she deserved.
This time, he'd make sure she was safe.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! Sorry that this chapter was kind of late. I got caught up with finals. Now that they're over, I should (hopefully) be able to update more frequently. This chapter was originally going to be a little longer - I split it in half to rework some stuff towards the end. So, if it seems like it cut off a little abruptly, that's why.
I really didn't expect how many people from other countries would read this, wow! It's incredible how you can put a story online now and have people reading it halfway across the world. Special shout out to my international readers, and especially to all my German readers out there, because apparently there's quite a few of you! :)
Reviews are always appreciated!