Devon: La-De-Da here's the second chapter. I've been finishing my homework rather early so I decided to write more. Aren't you all proud of me? :)
Warning: Aigis is H-U-M-A-N HUMAN in this story. Meaning she is not an android. This is important and done on purpose. If you don't like it, bite me.
Dislcaimer: I don't own Persona 3, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 3 FEES or anything else related to the series. I only own the plot and I might throw an OC or two in there but for the moment they don't exist so...yeah.
Rating: T
Sweet Escapes in an Earthly Shop
Minako x Shinjiro/Akihiko x Mitsuru/I'm not really sure x On the other couples yet ;D
Chapter Two
Shinjiro grabbed the coffee pot behind him and made his way to the strange woman in the corner, the last customer still in the shop.
"More coffee?" He asked and for a few minutes, her dazed expression made him think his voice hadn't worked. Finally she looked down at her recently empty cup and back up at him. A slow smile warmed her features.
"Yes, please." Shinjiro gave her a curt nod in reply and filled the cup, the two of them watched the steam dance through the air slowly before disappearing. The woman grasped the cup with both hands and held it close to her face, closing her eyes to savor the warmth and strong scent of the coffee before she took a long, deep drink.
Her hair had finally dried and curled in uncontrolled ways around her face and most of the unruly locks had fallen out of her make shift pony tail-bun. Her cheeks were still a rosy pink as if she had just come in from the cold outside. The woman's coat and scarf were draped over the arm of the couch she sat on, drying as well. Shinjiro couldn't help but notice the orange, red, yellow, white and pink striped sweater fit the woman rather loosely and was obviously old. Her short tan skirt wrinkled around her thighs, over her red-orange tights.
He should have left. Walked away from the strange woman, put the coffee pot back at least. But Shinjiro couldn't pull away from the woman. She was so interesting for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom. Shinjiro sat on one of the small, wicker chairs across from the woman and tilted his head to the side to watch her. Though she noticed his staring, she stared right back at him with equally as curious eyes, she didn't seem bothered by his unwavering gaze like most. She was content simply drinking her coffee while it was still hot.
"Pretty cold out there, huh?" Shinjiro heard himself ask and couldn't believe the words coming from his mouth. He rarely ever started a conversation, even with his best friend, so why did this stranger evoke the want-the need-to speak from him? The woman shivered as if she was still out in the cold.
"It's terrible. I'm not use to this constant cold. It's hell." She replied, pulling the mug away from her face. Almost half of the dark drink was gone. Shinjiro snorted.
"Wait until it really snows." He warned her and the woman groaned, tossing her head back against the back of the couch. A lump grew in Shinjiro's throat.
"I don't want to think about that." She replied, her voice projected to the ceiling. Shinjiro didn't know what to say in response and the woman didn't seem to mind. A comfortable silence fell over the two. Somewhere in the back of the store, faint music floated through the air, too quiet for any words to be understood. The two stayed like that, Shinjiro trying to look anywhere but at the curious woman and failing, and the woman staring up at the ceiling as if trying to break some mysterious code scrawled across the wood that only she could see. Finally, after twenty minutes or so when the woman's coffee had grown cool and the coffee pot was an irritating weight in his hand, Shinjiro stood to leave.
A faint ruffling of clothes alerted the woman to his movements and she looked back at him. Her strangely colored eyes were wide and emphasized by long, dark eye lashes. Shinjiro cleared his throat nervously and shifted his weight.
"My shift is ending in a few minutes. I've got another job to go to so…" The woman blinked a few times and scrambled to her feet.
"Right. So you're um…closing? I should be heading out anyways. I was only stopping for a few minutes." The woman babbled, grabbing her coat and scarf, looking around as if she was forgetting something. Shinjiro gave her a curious look.
"A few minutes?" The woman froze with one arm in the sleeve of her coat and a horrified expression took place of her earlier, serene one.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" She asked, pushing her arm through the sleeve. She shoved a hand into her coat pocket and pulled out a small, pink cell phone that went off as if her touch had awakened it from a long sleep. The woman groaned and placed the device against her ear.
"Hello?"
Shinjiro heard a muffled, electronic voice through the other end and watched the woman's expression grow even more horrified.
"Six thirty?" She gulped. "No, I um…didn't realize the time."
The muffled voice was heard again and Shinjiro thought he saw anger light up the woman's russet eyes but her expression didn't change otherwise.
"Yes. Of course. We'll see you later…Aigis." The woman had trouble speaking the name of the caller. Before the other person could respond, the woman ended the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket.
"Thank you, for the coffee. And the company. Hopefully I'll see you around." The woman smiled brightly at the man but this smile didn't reach her eyes.
Shinjiro watched the brown haired woman leave the shop. The half empty coffee cup and the tinkling of a bell were the only signs that someone else had been in the shop with him. Shinjiro took the coffee cup to the kitchen to pour it out and wondered why he was sad to see the woman go. And why her unhappiness bothered him so much.
Minako reached the elementary school ten minutes later. A small, pale boy with dark blue hair sat on the front steps, the heavy metal doors of the school closed tightly and locked behind him. He was gently pushing small stones around with his sneaker clad feet as he waited alone. Minako bit her lip and tried not to frown as she came closer.
"Hey buddy." The little boy looked up from the stones and a large smile broke across his red cheeks.
"Mommy!" The boy flew down the steps and threw his arms around Minako in a tight hug. As Minako hugged her dark haired son she hated herself for how cold he was. How could she lose track of the time like that and forget her son? The poor boy had probably been out in the cold for an hour or more with no clue how to get home in the large, unfamiliar city.
"I'm sorry I'm so late." Minako muttered into the dark curls on the boy's head. Pharos pulled away from his mother to hold her hand and give her a toothy smile.
"It's okay. I don't mind. I had friends to keep me company." The boy swore to his mother. Minako furrowed her eye brows and looked back at the school. For a split second, splotches of red and black seemed to coat the suddenly deformed walls of the school before the image in front of her converted back to normal. Minako shook her head to erase the strange image and smiled down at her son.
"Ready to go home?" Pharos nodded, his bright blue eyes lighting up happily.
The two headed towards home, swinging their arms together, Pharos relaying his whole school day to his mother.
Minako and Pharos were greeted by Aigis when they got home. The taller woman had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, the same shade as Pharos's. Pharos avoided her eyes but waved hello before running to hide in his room. Minako and Aigis looked each other in the eye, neither willing to back down.
"Why did you forget Pharos?" Aigis finally questioned Minako, her question coming out monotonous. Minako ground her teeth together and glared at the blonde.
"I had something on my mind, alright? You weren't doing anything. You could have gotten him." Minako reminded her, marching past Aigis to reach the kitchen. She hated her brother sometimes. For his too big heart and overly sympathetic ways. Of all people, why did he have to take Aigis in?
"I was studying today." Aigis reminded Minako, following after the brunette. "And if I do recall, you didn't want me to be near him."
"Yeah well since neither you or my brother pay attention to my wishes and the two of you have made that completely impossible…" Minako tossed her coat and scarf over a chair and turned away from the blonde. "Why do I bother? It's not like you're paying attention."
"Though I don't understand why you are mad-"
"Of course you don't! When do you ever?"
"I would like you to know that Minato and I do not try and hurt or anger you on purpose." Minako turned and glared at the clueless blonde.
"Get out of my kitchen. Go study. Something, just get out. I'm making dinner." Minako demanded, pointing towards the living room. "Just get away from me."
Just as Minako finished banishing Aigis from the apartment kitchen, the door opened to reveal a tired Minato.
Replies to the Reviewers:
First of all, thank you all for reviewing:
Now then.
Twin Judge of Gemini: Yeah, I hear my chapters are always too short. I tried to make this one longer but I'm not really sure if I acomplished it. However, I didn't want the other characters to show up in the first one. I want to slowly introduce them and the relationships they may or may not have with the others. Well thank you but I'm afraid I don't know the reference. Hm...a vote on Minato's pairing. That might be a good idea as I haven't decided who I want him to be paired up with yet. I'll think about it.
kingtransformo: Haha well thank you. :)
