DISCLAIMER: I do not own IS nor do I own Persona 3. All rights go to their respective owners and creators.

It was worse than he had imagined.

Sure, Minato had an idea of what a classroom filled with nothing but females would look like as he was briefed to the fact earlier while still recovering a bit from his battle with the black IS he had known as "The Magician".

Sure, he was prepared for having to blend in with the students even if he were of the opposite sex. He could live with that, something at the back of his mind whispered to him.

Well, shit.

Standing by the platform from where the teacher would usually impart knowledge regarding the Infinite Stratos and whatnot, he could feel the predatory glare of more than 30 female students digging into every inch of his body. Sweeping a gaze over the group, he could've sworn some of them were practically drooling, and their eyes seemed to have this blood-red color that stood out in bright daylight. The situation was akin to throwing a piece of meat into a den of hungry lions, the lad surmised.

Try guessing who that piece of meat was.

"Alright, like I said, he'll be a new transferee here at IS Academy. He's in the same situation as Ichika Orimura of the first years, so you all know what that means."

Chifuyu stood by the teacher's desk, and her posture alone oozed demand for attention. The IS instructor, who was supposed to be handling the SHR of Ichika's class, had volunteered to the administration to also include in her schedule the managing of Minato's class.

The bluenette knew that this was all for surveillance purposes, as it still wasn't clear as to what was his true affiliation and origin. The Japanese government was more than happy to receive another "anomaly" and have him study under IS Academy, but for the moment all the rudimentary knowledge about the lad had been . . . doctored with the help of a certain individual. Since there were records pertaining to Minato's date of birth, bloodline, and general existence, said individual volunteered to "manage" the problem regarding his supposed non-existence. And by the way he read the said individual's eyes that time back at the infirmary; he could tell that she had been up to something.

Not to mention, said individual had been sitting in front of him all this time.

Her fan was placed beside her desk, and her face had this certain cat-like theme to it in the sense that she wore mischief, enjoyment, and curiosity on her face. Ruby orbs complimented the sky blue locks atop her, and her lips were curved into sly yet seductive kind of smile.

Though Minato was 17, Tatenashi Sarashiki had insisted that he be a student in her class, since if he were to be with the third years, he would barely recognize anyone there. He had to admit, the logic was sound, but deep down it boiled down again to surveillance.

He had gladly accepted the current situation; albeit with a grain of salt. Finding out that he was an amnesiac and his non-existent situation had put some clouds of ambiguity gathering by the back of his mind. Who was he? Where did he come from? Why was he here? Why did he only remember his name and age? All the questions gave him a headache. Fortunately, Tatenashi had been the kinder individual again, and offered him the opportunity of allowing him to dig up here and there about his identity while within the walls of the Academy under hers and Chifuyu's eyes.

Of course, he accepted the chance. He had nowhere to go right now, and possibly had no one to ask for help—the nearest thing to aid was the offers he was presented at the Academy.

His eyes darted and focused on Tatenashi; playful, scarlet eyes meeting stern, obsidian orbs of steel. There was a quality in her expression that the lad felt familiar, but wasn't even nearing the tip of his tongue. If one were to take the idiom further, he would say the answer was still by his throat. And it was quite stuck, without the chance of even reaching his tongue.

"Go on. Introduce yourself." He nodded to Chifuyu, and moved towards the middle of the platform. Though some sort of holographic panel had appeared behind him and was now displayed on the blackboard-eqsue monitor, he still went on with the formalities.

"My name is Minato Arisato. I will be in your care from today onwards. I hope to get along well with you all."

. . .

Cue the screaming fangirls in a wasteland that has seen no male.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

There we go.

"OH MY GOD! WE'VE GOT A HOTTIE IN OUR ROOM!"

"H-he's got a slender body that's totally not for guys!"

"His voice gets me hot and bothered!"

"B-bishounen . . . guehehehehehehe!*drools*"

"Is he into yaoi?! Is he?! God, let him make out with Ichika! Kyaaaaaa!"

Minato palmed at the last bit, and swallowed down the bile that wanted out of his system. Shivers ran down his spine as he thought of the horrors that he had just unleashed out of Pandora's Box. A yell from near him indicated that Chifuyu had gotten annoyed at the display.

"Quiet!"

. . . . .

"Alright, for the rest of the morning, we'll be having a review about the types of Equalizer Packages and the tips and tricks for CQC and LRC. Arisato, take the empty seat beside Sarashiki. We'll be starting the lesson. No chitchats, am I clear?"

"YES MA'AM!"

"Good. Now, Equalizer Packages differ from unit to unit depending on their compatibility . . ."

The day seemed to have dragged on. Even if the lesson had been captivating due to his lack of knowledge regarding the Infinite Stratos, Minato had found himself drowsier and drowsier somewhere in the middle of the lecture. The sleepiness had been brought by his constant bouts of waking up in the middle of the night and getting antsy about his whole ordeal and trying to even think of the possibilities that likely may have occurred before he gained consciousness during the day he fought the black IS.

He tried fighting the urge to take a nap while Chifuyu taught, as he'd already heard rumors about the terrors Ichika had faced one time he fell asleep under the watchful eye of his teacher/older sister. Nevertheless, the boy had found himself succumbing to the sweet world of dreamland, and finally began snoozing on his desk.

Where . . . is this place?

The dark sky was littered with twinkling gems, and a few tufts of cumulus littered the nightscape. A cool, evening breeze blew by Minato, gently caressing him with its movement.

The lad switched his gaze left and right, and found that he was standing on some sort of bridge that seemed to have span forever. Car and other vehicle wreckages were present all around him, and the body of water visible from the bridge strangely resembled that of blood. His surrounding was lit by an eerie emerald hue, and the large yellow moon above in its full glory seemed larger than what he'd normally see of the Earth's natural satellite.

"You still don't remember, right?"

Minato turned, and found that behind him stood an auburn-haired girl, looking to be a teenager. Lush, red eyes lightened up from her pale complexion and brought a kind of energetic vibe from the girl. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, with silver barrettes clipped on by the side to her left that oddly looked like the Roman numerals for the number 22.

Her outfit consisted of a red scarf tied around her neck, with her top outfitted with a tangerine sweater. Her look was completed by a red plaid skirt, black leggings, and boots the similar shade of red that her skirt was.

The girl was a few inches shorter than Minato. She then looked at the still confused lad, chuckling at him good-naturedly.

"You know, we're not supposed to meet yet."

Minato blinked. "What . . . do you mean? Who are you exactly?" The girl did nothing but continue smiling at him. For some odd reason, he could sense faint . . . affection from the lass that was in front of him.

"I can't tell you . . . yet. You'll know soon enough. In the meantime, make friends okay? I don't want you getting lonely—no one deserves to be alone forever, after all."

Before the bluenette could ask anything else, the girl waved at him goodbye and the scenery began to melt into the white light that suddenly engulfed everything. Though questions swirled in his mind, the lad failed to find any kind of answer from the disappearing place.

*Thwack!*

*Thwack!*

*Thwack!*

"Why won't you . . ."

*Thwack!*

*Thwack!*

". . . wake up?!"

Chifuyu Orimura was irked.

*Thwack!*

She had lost count already at how many times she'd struck Minato Arisato's head in an attempt to violently wake the lad from his deep slumber while in class; keyword being "violently".

*Thwack!*

For some reason, the lad wouldn't wake even if hit by her signature move reserved in class for the inappropriate displays of misconduct. It seemed that her . . . power was clearly not yet enough for this boy.

*Thwack!*

And that was pissing her off, goddamit!

". . . Sarashiki."

Minato's neighbor turned to Chifuyu, while her lips curved into a playful smile. "Oh, do you perhaps need that textbook distributed for assigned reading?"

". . . Yes, that thick book. Allow me to borrow your copy for a moment."

The textbook was the size of a 12-inch laptop, with its thickness supplied with by its more than one thousand pages of IS history, design, use, types, controls, and et cetera. It was usually given to students upon their entrance to the Academy so as to acclimate themselves with the basics and already possess a preliminary grasp of an IS unit. And now, said book was in the possession of a certain teacher who had found a way to utilize the book for other . . . meaningful purposes, to say the least.

Like waking up a goddamn stubborn student, for example!

"Wake up, you idiot! Class is still in session!" Chifuyu exclaimed, as she brought down the lethal weapon to bring about divine punishment upon the insolent.

*Crash!*

Minato Arisato's desk had been broken into two. Apparently, the lad had leapt away from the last second before the blunt objected connected with his cranium. He now stood a few feet away, completely positioned in a battle-ready stance.

"Hoho. Finally awake, aren't we?" Chifuyu slowly spoke, giving emphasis on each word that sent chills down the spines of the rest of the student body within the classroom. Minato carefully eyed the book in her hand, and calmly assessed the situation.

Oh yeah, I fell asleep.

Minato then stood up properly and abandoned his fighting stance that seemed to have come forth reflexively (although he had no idea how). He rubbed the back of his head, and then walked towards the still fuming teacher.

Standing short of a few steps from Chifuyu, Minato bowed in front of her much to her and the class's surprise.

"I'm sorry for my misconduct."

". . ."

His apology was greeted by silence. Minato did not make any other move and remained bowing. He could feel the stares of the many students around him, and out of the corner of an open right eye, he spotted Tatenashi giving him a look of curiosity and . . . was that enjoyment?

After what seemed like eternities of stillness, Chifuyu sighed and answered the lad. ". . . This doesn't mean you're off the hook, got it Arisato? You get detention after classes. Report to Ms. Yamada later."

"Yes, Ms. Orimura."

"I'm not done, Arisato."

*THWACK!*

Before collapsing and losing consciousness from the strike, Minato briefly wondered if he had just heard the symphony of the death of a thousand brain cells.

Or maybe it was just the alarm bell for lunch.

And that was a short chapter to start up Minato's new life at IS Academy. Short, yes, because I just wanted to open up for the nearing events.

The poll will be closed on the 24th, which is my target date for the next update. Keep voting until then, dear readers!

And for a short spoiler . . . Social Links will be back next chapter! And it won't be your usual Social Link. I've done a lot of tweaking with how I'll import Persona 3 elements and integrate them into the IS-verse, so keep on reading and waiting for what comes next!

Also, a shoutout to these guys:

Angel of light darkness, Law77, Nunas The No Name, and evildude66.

Thanks for dropping a line and giving some ideas here and there! I appreciate the effort and time you have given.

I'm also happy about the hype with the fic, and I'm glad you guys are enjoying this as much as I am.

So, how'd I do? Read, review, and feel free to drop some ideas in my inbox. Until then guys. See you next chapter, which I believe will be longer.