Please don't kill me! I come bearing gifts for a belated White Day...and this update!

Sorry this took so long, guys. Work-related and family-related issues had been popping up. Please leave your feedback at the end of the page to help me improve my writing!

Disclaimer: The Persona series, its characters and everything belong to Atlus. I'm merely a fan riding the hype train to P5!

Back at Naganaki shrine…

Girlish laughter echoed throughout the night as the Gekkoukan High female students moved to a quieter place to take a break, a little ways away from the people and crowds. They ended up at the highest point of the hill, near the entrance of the main temple.

Yuko bent down, settling her hands on her knees. Her ribs were still sore from the exhilaration and laughter. "I laughed so hard!" she said, still trying to reign in her giggles. "To think the student council president was this mischievous. It's surprising!"

Mitsuru blushed. "I-is…is that so? I thought this type of thing was normal." By 'normal', she meant arguing with cheapskate stall owners, nearly breaking a man's arm for copping a feel, and her lack of knowledge in common street food etiquette, which somewhat ended in hilarious disaster.

"It's pretty mischievous!" Yuko giggled again. She was cut off by her ringing phone. "Ah, I got a text."

"Is it from Miyamoto?" Rio asked. "What did he say?"

"'Did you get the candied apples yet…!?' is what it says. I totally forgot about that."

"He should have just come with you," Minako pointed out.

Yuko sighs. "He has a stomach ache, so he's staying home to sleep it off." Minako wrinkled her nose at the answer. She would have to talk to her brother about Kazushi and his baby-ish ways when they got back.

Rio nudged the dirt under her shoe. "Nishiwaki…thanks for tagging along with me," she said. The night was getting colder and the tennis player shivered a little.

"It's fine." The kendo club manager looked at her watch. "Though, I have to go home now." She turned to Rio, hand on her hips. "What are you going to do? Are you going to see that idiot Tomochika again?"

After an uncertain moment, Rio gave her answer. "I'll go home too."

"Yeah, it's completely fine to ditch him and go home early!" Yuko huffed, her righteous anger has yet to ebb away.

Rio had a melancholic expression on her face. "It'll be nice if notices one day…" She walked alongside her fellow athlete and friend, and waved to the rest. "Well then, bye! Good night."

Yuko waved as well. "See ya ~ Take care of Iori-kun!"

"Bye-bye! See you again!" Yukari, Minako and Fuuka said together.

"Be careful," Mitsuru reminded them.

Aigis bowed formally. "Have a good day."

The SEES girls watched the two athletes climb down the small hill and out of sight.

"So, what should we do now? Wanna go eat?" Yukari suggested. "But more importantly…" her voice suddenly sounded desperate, "does someone have a bandage?"

"Why?" Mitsuru asked.

"The strings on these things are so tight, I feel like my toes are about to rip off!" the brunette whined, pointing to her wooden sandals, or geta.

"Mine's already bleeding…" Minako mentioned nonchalantly.

"Hey – Tell us earlier!" Yukari reprimanded worriedly.

Fuuka reached into her purse. "I have a band-aid," she declared.

"I'll take it!" Minako and Yukari chorused.

"As expected of Fuuka!" the female leader praised.

"To be so prepared, you're so girly ~" Yukari teased.

Fuuka blushed slightly. "It was just in my purse," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"Let us find a place to sit at."

"There's a bench over there," Mitsuru pointed.

The girls happily took a seat and began addressing their wounds. A little while later, Yukari finished applying the bandage on Minako's feet. "Yosh! Treatment complete!"

"Are you okay?" Fuuka asked.

Minako beamed at them. "Yeah! My little toe hurts a little though…" She wiggled her injured toe for emphasis.

"We only need to stretch this string, correct?" Aigis asked, picking up the geta that was responsible for her charge's injury.

"Y-yeah!"

"Please leave this to me!" the android declared. Pulling on the plastic strings in hopes of stretching it, she was unaware of the strength she put into the action. Without warning, the geta string snapped in two. "It seems to have broken," she deadpanned.

"Aigis…" Yukari groaned.

"I apologize."

Minako touched her cheek. "This is troubling…"

"Shall I get you something else to wear?" Mitsuru offered.

Aigis was pumped up for some reason. "I shall take responsibility and carry you. My carrying capacity is over 300 kilos."

"No, well, we can't…" Yukari objected to the idea. "It's going to be weird."

"I'd rather not do something that could make us stand out," Mitsuru agreed.

Despite not understanding why it would be weird, Aigis relented. "That is unfortunate."

Minako stood up. "I wonder if I can walk with one geta…" she wondered, and started to skittishly walk along the path on a pair of feet with only one sandal.

"That's dangerous! You might step on glass!" Fuuka warned.

"Then…give me the other one. I think I'll be fine if I just limp with it." She hobbled slowly, trying not to let the broken geta slip off her feet. "See? I think I'll be f – Hyaaa ~ !" she yelled, and stumbled onto the grass, falling flat on her face. The broken geta slipped off and went flying.

Yukari was right by her side instantly. "Are you alright?!"

"Is it an enemy attack!?" Aigis queried seriously.

Rubbing her nose, the auburn-haired girl picked herself back up. "Owww…No, I just fell!" she replied.

Fuuka looked around for the missing sandal. "Your geta…I think it fell somewhere over there." She pointed to the stairs where they climbed to get here. "I'll go get it for you."

Aigis stopped her. "Fuuka-san , your foot…especially your little toe. It seems to have acquired a lot of damage. Therefore, I should be the one to retrieve it!"

"Well then, Aigis and I will go get it," Mitsuru said.

Aigis took the order a little too seriously. "Jet propulsion act–"

"Cease actions," Mitsuru ordered quickly. She was about to turn around and look for the missing geta until someone else appeared, climbing the stairs.

At first sight, Yukari didn't recognize them. "Huh?" She squinted her eyes, before they opened wide after recognizing who it was; the guy who saved her and her friends in the alleyway. He was a tall, young man with broad shoulders and radiated hostility. He wore a maroon pea coat over a black turtleneck, brown boots and black slacks. A black beanie covered a head of messy, unkempt brown hair.

"Aragaki…" Mitsuru muttered.

Shinjiro's eyes also widened, recognizing a few familiar faces. "Yo. It's rare seeing you here," he said, not wanting to sound rude. Minako was surprised seeing this rather polite side of him, until she realized that there wasn't a single guy in sight except himself.

"Could you be the rumored…" the words escaped Fuuka's lips when she remembered what they guys told her had happened a little while before her rescue. This man does seem to fit their description.

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow. "Rumor…?"

"I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked.

Yukari came to her rescue. "We told her about the time you saved us in that alley at Port Island!" She gave him a smile of gratitude.

"You had saved them swiftly," Aigis praised.

The young man looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "O-oh…"

"Thanks for helping us back then!" Minako said, standing up to bow at him.

Mitsuru smiled, humored by the fact that the juniors didn't realize her fellow senior (if he even bothered to attend school) was blushing slightly. "It seems that many of our students have been under your care," she told him. "Allow me to express my gratitude as well. Thank you."

"I only helped them 'cuz they were being loud." He scowled at her. Her expression remained neutral, as she was used to receiving them for a long time "Tell them to find another place to loiter around."

"Understood. I will bring that up in the next meeting." Moving away from that topic, Mitsuru vocalized her current observation. "However, this is rare. Have you…come to see the festival too?"

Shinjiro shrugged. "No. I was passing by, then I heard "Hyaaa~!" and this came flying at me." He held out a familiar wooden object and threw it on the ground, the loud 'Clonk!' resonated in the silent area.

"Ah, that geta!" Yukari pointed.

"It's mine!" Minako said.

"It's your fault again…?" The young man sighed, though he didn't seem surprised. "How did that even happen?"

The female leader's cheeks reddened. "I seem to meet your expectations…" she admitted shyly.

Yukari, Fuuka and Mitsuru silently watched the interaction between the rough delinquent and their fearless, cheerful leader. It was as if they were in their own little world. What astonished them was how gentle the taller man was behaving towards her, his words carefully chosen so as to not cause any hurt. For Mitsuru, this was a side of him she had never witnessed before.

"I wasn't expecting anything. Trying to change the weather?" he joked.

Minako gave him an indignant pout. "No! The string…came off."

"It came off?" He picked up the sandal and examined it. "Yeah, you're right. How the hell did you do this? Even some of the metal parts are twisted."

Whatever magic moment the two had, was broken by Aigis. "I had tried to stretch it, but when I pulled–"

"Aigis, shhhh!" Fuuka scolded sharply.

Shinjiro scratched his head. "Geez…'guess there's no choice…" He reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief, only to tear it in half.

"Are you sure you want to use your handkerchief?" Yukari asked.

"It's shabby anyways." The young man then began to loop the scrap cloth into the wooden sandal and tied the ends in intricate knots, securing them tightly.

The girls watch in awe. "How skillful…" Mitsuru commented.

"I see! You make a big loop, then stick it in so it won't escape through the gap," Fuuka said, understanding why he did it that way.

"It was originally designed this way." He bent down on one knee, holding out the fixed geta. "Here, put it on."

"Ah, yes!" Minako sat down on the bench, giving him her foot. He gently grabbed her ankle, slipping the sandal on. Minako's cheeks reddened even more, as she felt his warm, calloused hands on her skin. Thank goodness it was dark, and Shinjiro only stared at the ground. She may or might not have imagined his finger lingering on the band-aid between her toes before letting go of her ankle and got up.

"It won't come off, right?" he asked.

Minako stood up and started to walk around. "Yeah, it totally works!" She gave him a smile, so huge and bright that the young man had to look away. As mentioned before, it was dark, which he's glad for.

"Wow, you fixed it!" Yukari said, impressed.

"It should hold until you get back home," he told Minako.

"Thank you very much!"

Aigis nodded. "Another technique of a pro," she stated.

"It's almost reminiscent of Sugata Sanshiro…" Mitsuru said, holding her chin in thought.

"The street fighter, right?"

The brunette girl sweatdropped at the weird conversation. "Where did you get that information…?"

Not wanting to stay longer than necessary, Shinjiro turned to leave. "Well then, I'll be leaving if you're okay now." He stopped in his tracks when he heard Mitsuru chuckle. "What?" he asked irritably.

"Nothing. You were worried, weren't you? Since you heard screams, and the geta came flying. So you climbed all the way up here…"

"I just though I heard some idiots," he scoffed.

"As I though, you're really kind ~" Yukari said, teasing him a little.

"Don't be stupid." Blunt as ever. Under normal circumstances, that line would have made girls cry. Luckily, the girls took it in stride and understood that it was just him being himself.

"Thanks," Mitsuru said again.

Minako bowed again. "Thank you very much!"

Shinjiro's cheeks heated up again. "Quit repeating that."

"Oh, umm…!" Fuuka stammered. "Are you leaving without attending the festival? You came all this way…"

He waved her off. "Festivals just ain't my style. I just came to look for someone. Since people came, he probably left."

"We'll help you look!" Minako offered her help. "Are you looking for a person?"

" No…It's a dog–" Having said too much, Shinjiro cleared his throat to change the subject. "It's got nothing to do with you guys. Bye." He turns one last time to give them a word of warning. "You guys better head back too."

As usual, Aigis came up with her own reply. "No need to worry. I have switched to night vision mode. My vision is satisfactory."

"Huh?"

"Oh, umm! She means that she has good night vision!" Fuuka said, attempting to throw him off from what Aigis actually meant, literally.

Shinjiro rubbed the back of his head. "That's not what I meant! Tch, you really don't have a sense of danger, do you?"

"We seem to be causing you trouble," Mitsuru stated, her eyes alight with mirth.

Before he could really leave, Shinjiro had to know one more thing. "I'm afraid to ask, but…Has Aki…been eating proper meals?"

"Yes, as expected of an athlete, he's eating plenty of meat. If I recall right, he likes to eat at a restaurant called 'Umiushi'."

He sighed. "I was wrong for asking you." Nothing much has changed on that front.

"Do you have any messages for Akihiko?"

"Eat more vegetables."

Mitsuru chuckled. "That's very like you to say that."

"Shut up. See ya." He walked away and waved. Minako couldn't help but admire his broad back.

"See?" Yukari said to Fuuka. "He's a good person."

"Uhn! He's just a little scary though…" Fuuka replied shyly.

"I didn't think he was such a feminist," Mitsuru said.

"If you'd ask Junpei, he'll only say 'What are you trying to act so cool for?' or something like that," Yukari scoffed.

Fuuka giggled at her Junpei impersonation. "He was cool, wasn't he?"

"This is the second time he's helped us, after all," Minako said, smiling gently.

Her best friend frowned. "I feel like…we should thank him somehow."

"Thank him…huh…?" He face heated up as he conjured in her thoughts. "I wonder what we can do for him?"

"Your feelings alone are enough," Mitsuru stated. "He doesn't like it if you make a big fuss."

"Ahh, he does give that impression," Yukari nodded.

Fuuka finally remembered what he told them before. "Come to think of it, he was looking for a dog, right?" she wondered.

"Do any dogs live near here?"

"He said that he believes it went home," Aigis reminded them. "The possibility that it lives here is quite high."

Minako placed a finger on her chin, thinking. "And now it doesn't, huh?"

"Hmmm…a dog that lives at Naganaki shrine?" Fuuka tried to follow her train of thought. "Could it be…?"

The SEES girls gasped. "Koromaru?!"

Finished! Just leave a review or comment of what you think about this chapter. I'm all ears!