The ringing he'd heard in the expanse had turned out to just be his alarm beeping at him to wake up. A smile broke out on his face as he realized what that meant. This was the first time in 2 years that he had managed to sleep up to his alarm. It was a small victory considering he'd only gotten about 5 hours of sleep overall, but it was still enormously satisfying.

He got up out of bed and actually had to rush to get ready for school. To his surprise, when he headed downstairs, Akihiko and Mitsuru were waiting for him.

"About time..." Akihiko said with a smirk as Minato walked over to them. "I thought you were never going to get up."

"Hey, I have a lot of sleep to catch up on," He replied as the three of them walked out the door. "Around 2 whole months' worth, in fact." Despite accepting the fact that he'd come to trust them, he still didn't feel ready to share that with them quite yet.

Mitsuru just nodded, concern in her eyes. "Well, you have a lot more than sleep to catch up on, I'm afraid. Your classwork has obviously suffered in the past month, and your exam score was, quite frankly, terrible. I feel that if you study for a few-"

She stopped herself after glancing at Minato. His face had darkened as he realized how big a hole had been dug in his anger-filled self-isolation. Akihiko had an incredulous look on his face, as if he were saying, "Really? Is now the time?"

"Ahem," Mitsuru said, swallowing her obvious discomfort as she started again, "Either way, it is good to see you feeling better, Arisato."

Minato nodded, his face brightening again. "I feel better than I have in years… Like I'm a new man, as clichéd as that sounds."

At that, Akihiko looked at Mitsuru, who nodded back. "Well, Minato," Akihiko started, "The two of us sort of wanted to speak to you about the past two months."

Minato's eyes fell. He had been afraid of this. "Again, I can't quite express how sorry I am about-"

"I told you last night, Arisato," Mitsuru interrupted softly, "Your apology was accepted. That's all that needs to be said on the matter. Besides, that's not exactly what we wish to discuss." At Minato's confused look, she tilted her head questioningly. "Do you remember the attack on the dorm? When you summoned that reaper Persona?"

Minato nodded. "Yeah, I collapsed after using Yukari's Evoker and somehow, that…thing…came out of me. What about it?" He was then reminded of his conversation with Pharos during his dream. "Wait, you guys don't think I somehow broke my mind by using that thing, do you?"

They turned and stared at him in surprise. He snorted and smirked in amusement. Obviously, they weren't expecting him to figure that out quite so quickly. Mitsuru had an impressed look on her face. Akihiko was simply dumbfounded.

"How?" Akihiko asked after a moment. "How could you possibly have figured that out?"

Hmm, I can't really say that I have an imaginary friend who tells me these things, can I? They just got done thinking I was crazy; I don't want to go back to that so soon.

"It makes sense," Minato said matter of factly. "Personae are obviously based off of a part of your personality, hence the name. Evokers are meant to bring that part out of you by 'breaking' your mind open, if I remember the briefing right. Therefore, if you don't have a Persona to use and you use an Evoker? Bam! Your mind just… breaks."

Mitsuru clapped lightly. "Well done. How long did it take you to figure out?

"Um… I think I only started thinking about it last night," Minato said with a shrug. "I mean, I wasn't really in the right state of mind to do it earlier..."

Akihiko shook his head in amusement. "Man, I can't believe I skipped half my training for this…"

"What?!" Minato blurted, staring in shock. Akihiko never skipped training. "You... actually skipped part of your training?! For this?!"

"…Yeah," Akihiko affirmed, obviously confused by Minato's reaction. "I mean, I thought it might give you some extra closure, let you know that, well… we don't really blame you for the past 2 months. That we understand."

Dumbstruck by Akihiko's answer, Minato felt his throat tighten. "Thank you, both of you. I'm sorry I kinda ruined your morning, Akihiko."

"It's alright," he replied with a smile. "I'll do anything to try and help, even if it's not really needed. Just make sure you remember that." He patted Minato on the back. "It's good to have you back."

Minato smiled brightly… then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Years of intuition screamed danger at him. "What did you just do?"

Akihiko shifted his gaze away suspiciously. "Nothing," he said too quickly.

With a roll of his eyes, Minato shrugged off his school jacket and looked at the back. His eyes widened in surprise. "…Really?" He said incredulously, turning to look at Akihiko who was doing his best to appear small. Mitsuru attempted to hold in her giggles as Minato yanked the sign off the back of his jacket. He held up the pathetic attempt at a prank, a sad look in his eyes. "…A 'Kick Me' sign? Really, Akihiko?"

"…What?" Akihiko said, reddening in embarrassment. "It's all I could come up with on short notice!"

Unable to resist any longer, Mitsuru finally lost control and descended into a fit of giggles. Ignoring her, Minato shook his head as he crumpled the sign up and threw it in the nearest garbage can. "Dude, that's just… Look, not only is that joke extremely clichéd, but it's just…awful."

At the look of utter dismay on Minato's face, Mitsuru began laughing harder. Sparing her an amused glance, Minato continued. "Look, if you really want to get back at me, you should try and find out more about me. The key to a good prank is first finding a weakness, and then finding a way to exploit it."

He snapped his fingers and pointed at Akihiko. "The dumpster prank I pulled on you a month ago, for example. Your fan-girl trouble was a perfect weakness for me to exploit. You made it clear in the first few moments that they bothered you. All I needed to do was think of a way to exploit that fact." He smirked. "Understand what I mean?"

"How do you know so much about pranking?" Akihiko asked, slightly awed. "You don't seem like the type."

"Ahh…" Mitsuru finally came out of her fit of giggles, sighing as she calmed down. "Well, Akihiko, he uses the same principle that you typically use for analyzing an adversary."

"Kind of," Minato replied with a nod, "But it's not just about finding a weakness and exploiting it. A good prank is about finding the right weakness. If you get too personal with it, you could end up really hurting the person." He shrugged. "Granted, sometimes that's what you want. You know, for if you really hate the person.

He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "For a friendly prank like this one, however, you want to find a weakness that is going to be annoying, but not hurtful or overly personal. That way, I won't want to kill you at an available opportunity..."

As the two teens bantered back and forth, Mitsuru simply smiled at the irony of their situation. Just yesterday, the two boys hadn't even been on speaking terms. Now it was just like they'd picked up where they'd left off. The two of them seemed to have a friendly rivalry, a simple prank having turned into a competition of who could best the other.

Still, it wasn't just Akihiko that was being affected. She slowly shook her head in amusement. She hadn't laughed that hard in… almost 2 whole years. Granted, she was rather tired right now, but seeing how offended Minato had been by Akihiko's prank had been quite hilarious. It wasn't just that, however; her heart felt like it had become almost 10 times lighter in the past 24 hours.

She hated to admit it, but she'd missed Minato during his self-imposed isolation. He probably didn't know it, but he brought a light into all of their lives, one that had been sorely missed over the past month. Now, that light was back, twice as strong as it had been before.

How is it that, without even trying, you have become such a fixture in our lives, Arisato? It must be fate…

Minato hit his head on the desk repeatedly, punctuating each word. "Oh...god...I...can't…do…any…more!" His hand felt like it was going to fall off if he wrote another word. Mitsuru had been right this morning, he realized bitterly: He did have an awful lot of classwork to catch up on.

He looked up at the clock. 11:02. He hit his head into his desk again, groaning in realization. He'd been at this for over 6 hours now. He quickly pushed himself away from the desk. "That's it! I'm done for tonight!" Right on cue, his stomach grumbled as it reminded him he hadn't eaten since lunch.

Sighing, he left his room and went downstairs to dig out some food. When he got down to the first floor however, he was surprised to see Yukari sitting at the table. She had a letter open in front of her, a sigh slipping from her lips while she read it.

"That from your mom?" Minato asked conversationally as he walked into the dining area.

"Ah!" Yukari exclaimed, jumping at the sound of his voice. She quickly closed the letter and hid it under the tablecloth. "Minato-kun! What are you still doing up? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Nope," Minato replied, grimacing as he sat down in the chair across from her. "I've been stuck doing make-up work since I got home. Turns out when you stop doing classwork for a month, you build up quite a backlog."

"Ah…" Yukari said with a nod. "I wondered why I didn't see you at dinner."

Irritated at having missed an opportunity to reconnect with everyone, Minato groaned. "God, I hate make-up work… Still, I guess this is my punishment for being an idiot." He shook his head and sighed. "So… you didn't really answer my question earlier."

Yukari tilted her head in confusion. "What question?"

He nodded at the tablecloth. "That letter, is it from your mom?"

Yukari's eyes hardened in anger. "No. It's not."

Whoops…

That was evidently a sore subject for her. Minato chose his next words carefully. "…Who is it from, if you don't mind my asking?"

She appeared to debate telling him for a moment before shrugging. "It's from my dad," She said, pulling the letter out from its hiding place. "He wrote it to be delivered after he died… It's kind of why I'm here."

Minato raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh. I see," He smiled sadly. "Well, that's a nice thing to have, I guess."

Yukari picked up on it almost immediately. "Do you have anything from your parents? I know you said you didn't remember them, but…"

He shook his head. "Nope; No memories, no keepsakes… nothing."

Yukari tilted her head in sympathy. "Do you know anything about them? I'm sure you've looked by now…"

He shook his head again. "Only their names, and that's only because they were on my birth certificate. Anything else about them beyond that doesn't exist in the public record, which doesn't make any sense. It's almost like they were wiped from existence…" He shook his head. One mystery at a time. "Anyways, that's part of why I was so obsessed with solving the mystery of the Dark Hour, to hopefully find out who they were."

Yukari frowned. "I thought that you said your grandfather raised you after your parents died. Didn't he tell you anything about them?"

"Ha!" Minato scoffed, "Hell no. My grandfather refused to even speak my father's name, and only referred to my mother once, on accident."

"Why?" Yukari asked sadly. "Why would he keep something like that from you?"

"If you knew my grandfather, that would be answer enough for you," He replied bitterly. Seeing Yukari's sad look, he shrugged. "I don't know why. He wouldn't answer my questions on the subject, and sent me away on a case for a month every time that I brought it up."

Yukari tilted her head in confusion. "Case? What do you mean?"

Whoops. Oh, well, not like it's that much of a secret. Besides, I think I can trust her.

"...My grandfather's name is Kyohei Shirogane," Minato said with a sigh. "He's a 2nd-generation independent detective. He took me in after my parents died, obviously. He did the same for my cousin a few years later." He snorted in derision. "Problem for him was that he had no idea how to raise a kid the first time, let alone the second. So, instead of raising us like normal kids, he decided to teach us the tools of his trade.

He took a deep breath. "For around 5 years after taking me in, I, and later, my cousin, were taught the different forms of deception and deduction needed to be a good detective. After our training was complete, he expected us to help him solve some of his cases, specifically ones based around schools or students." He grimaced. "By 'transferring' into schools that specific crimes were linked to, the two of us were able to blend in, gather information and infiltrate criminal groups without arousing any suspicion."

He gave a small sad smile. "It worked pretty damn well. It was fulfilling work, even if we saw the worst humanity had to offer on a daily basis. Hell, I even forgot about the Dark Hour for a while because of it." His face fell. "The last one I was involved in though…" He shook his head, clearing his memory of Haruya, "…It was about 2 years ago."

He shrugged. "Things went bad. I got hurt. More than that, I became disillusioned with the work. After that, I basically demanded that my grandfather help me figure out the Dark Hour. Now, here I am, 2 years later... You know the rest."

Yukari shook her head in surprise. "Wow…that's pretty intense... You mentioned a cousin did this with you…?"

"Yeah," Minato said with a smile. "Her name's Naoto. She's a few years younger than me. Her parents died in a car accident as well, about 8 years ago." He shook his head. "She can be a real pain in the ass, sometimes. She's practically a genius, but she's kind of introverted. She annoyed the shit out of me for the first few years, but we grew on each other after a while." He smiled brightly. "Hell, this one time, she-"

They were suddenly interrupted by Minato's stomach audibly growling in anger. Minato laughed embarrassedly and shook his head. "Well, I think I'm gonna have to cut that story short. If you want, I can just get some food and come back?"

She shook her head. "It's okay. I should probably go and get some sleep. It's almost the Dark Hour." She got up and headed for the staircase, but suddenly turned around. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"No, not at all," He said, raising his eyebrow. "Go right ahead."

She appeared to mull it over for a moment before shaking her head. "Never mind… It was a stupid question."

Minato stood up to look at her, shaking his head. "Yukari, I don't mind if it's a stupid question. Just ask."

She stared at him for a few moments before sighing. "I was wondering if you'd mind me sharing what you told me tonight with the others."

"…No, I don't mind," He said, blinking in confusion. "Why was that a stupid question?"

"Because I've seen what happens when people start digging where you don't want them to," She said bitterly, glaring at him.

His gut sank. So that's what this was about. "I'm trying not to be that guy anymore, Yukari," He said with a sigh. "I want to be open with you guys about who I really am; this is part of that, so I don't have a problem with it."

"Still," Yukari said, her tone lightening, "It's your past…"

Minato raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to share it?"

She nodded. "It was nice getting to know the real you, not just the guy who's saved my life 3 times now."

Minato rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hey, who's counting, right? And I mean, come on, it's not like it's that interesting…"

She stared at him incredulously. "You basically just told me you have been a secret agent since you were 7." She shook her head. "That's a lot more interesting than what I was doing 10 years ago."

Minato's face fell a bit. "Not all of my stories are happy ones, Yukari. The last case I was on… Well, you saw first-hand what kind of impact it had on me."

She winced, and then gave him a sympathetic smile. "I don't expect you to tell me that story. You don't have to tell me or anyone else anything about it if you don't want to." Her eyes fell to her feet. "I just… I want you to stop hiding from us."

He lowered his gaze in thought. She wasn't pressuring him to reveal anything he didn't want to, and she seemed genuinely interested in who he was.

Remember, you can trust them.

He looked up and nodded. "Alright, I suppose I could share a few old war stories. If you want, you can tell the others the same thing. I'll be happy to share…anything, I guess."

"…Ok," She said, smiling brightly. "Thank you for trusting me. I'll see you tomorrow, Minato-kun."

He smiled back. "Good night, Yukari."

June 10th, 2009

"En garde!" The referee shouted. Minato saluted his opponent and settled into his stance. His opponent did the same. The referee looked between each of them. "Are you ready?" He asked in French.

Minato nodded, as did his opponent. The referee raised his hand and shouted, "Allez!"

Minato leapt partway across the mat and thrust towards his opponent's right shoulder. His opponent parried, his riposte mirroring Minato's attack. Minato immediately caught the blade on his and circle parried, sending his opponent's blade straight past his shoulder and pulling him off-balance. Taking advantage of his opponent's mistake, he stepped forward into his opponent's space, sliding his blade forward. The blade bent as the tip dug into his opponent's right shoulder.

"Red scores!" The referee called. "It's 5 to 3. Minato wins the bout." Minato reached over with his right hand, still in its brace, to shake his opponent's hand. His opponent used his left. They both laughed as Minato switched hands.

"Must be awkward, having to fence with your left hand," Masato said as they walked off the mat. "You are still pretty good with it though."

Masato Sakeya was a fellow 3rd year student at Gekkoukan. He was one of the better fencers on the team, and had done his best to make Minato feel welcome when he'd joined the team last month. Surprisingly, rather than press Minato about why he'd been gone so long, he'd simply welcomed Minato back, even offering to be his sparring partner for the day.

"It's not as awkward as you might think," Minato replied, shaking his head. "I'm ambidextrous, so it's not too hard to switch my fighting style, but the foot work is what gets me. I can't always be as nimble with my feet when I fight left-handed."

"Understandable," Masato said with a nod. "Still, you kicked my ass. That mirror matchup is painful: my brain can't handle it." He laughed. "You know, the last time that I fenced with a lefty was back when I was still a first-year. The captain of the team at the time was a lefty, one of the best fencers I've ever seen. "

Minato raised his eyebrow. "Oh? I thought that Mitsuru-san was the best you've ever seen."

Masato nodded. "That's true now, but back then? He was. He swept the floor with me, her, and everyone else on the team." He scowled. "Still, can't say that I miss the bastard, not after what he did to-" He cut himself off as he realized what he was saying. A guilty look formed on his face. "Um… Forget I said anything."

Minato raised an eyebrow, his intuition telling him to push. "Wait, what did he do?"

Masato grimaced. "It's not really my place to tell…" He stared at Minato for a moment before tilting his head in acknowledgement. "…Well, I mean you are part of the team and all…" He looked around, making sure that no one could hear him. He bent close to whisper to Minato. "Captain Jubei was one charming bastard. Back in the day, he had a fan club pretty much as big as Akihiko-san's if you can believe that. Could honestly have had any girl he wanted."

He smirked with a hint of anger. "One day, though, he gets this fiery red head on his fencing team. She is smart, focused, has a killer body, and is a fast study. He knew he had to have her. She was pretty chilly to him in response though, damn right icy."

Minato's eyes widened as he realized who they were talking about. "Mitsuru-san?"

Masato nodded. "Yup, he fell for our fearless leader. Kirijo-san rejected his advances pretty strongly however, always threatening to 'execute' him if he didn't stop his indecency. Still, he never gave up. One day though, she took him up on his offer, probably just in order to get him to shut up." He shook his head. "And then something happened that none of us saw coming: they actually got together."

Minato's gut turned in jealousy, but he held himself back.

It's in the past, Minato. This story doesn't sound like it has a happy ending. It doesn't matter, anyways. She's not yours, and wouldn't even consider it after what you did. Not in a million years.

"A few months later and she ended up falling for him pretty hard," Masato continued. "So much so, that she went to her father to ask if he would consent to a marriage between them." Minato's eyes widened again, and Masato nodded. "She was dead serious about it."

"Wait," Minato interrupted, "How in the hell do you know she asked him that?"

Masato's lip curled in anger. "The bastard didn't really try to keep it a secret when he rejected her. Practically screamed it when she told him."

"He did what?!" Minato said, outrage burning within him.

Masato nodded, fury blazing in his eyes. "When she said that her father had agreed and that they could marry, he went ballistic. Screamed at her about how he wasn't going to marry anyone, especially her. Said that her father could go screw himself, right to her face."

"But why?" Minato asked, his face twisting in fury. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he was a coward who couldn't face reality."

If Mitsuru's tone had been any colder, she'd have frozen him to the spot. Minato winced as he turned towards her. The glare she gave him was ice cold, but there was real hurt and anger blazing underneath. "If you two are quite finished," she bit out, "Others would like to use the mat."

Masato's face twisted in fear as he backed off the mat, bowing deeply in apology. Minato just stared back at her. Anger at this man who had dared hurt her rolled through him, but regret at his own actions tempered it. "Mitsuru-san," He started, "I-"

"Save the apologies for a time when I can stand to look at you, Arisato," She said icily. "Now is not that time."

She brushed past him without another word. He felt a large amount of regret at betraying her trust again, but anger for what Mitsuru had gone through burned through it. No one should have to go through that kind of betrayal.

He shook his head as his regret swallowed his anger. Only a day had gone by and he'd already lost her trust again, only this time he didn't think he'd get it back. That kind of pain was not easy to deal with, and having someone you barely knew learn about it secondhand didn't engender trust towards them.

The thing was… he understood her pain, all too well.

A memory of Haruya flashed across his mind at the thought. Surprisingly, it didn't cause him as much pain as he expected. His story was similar, but the end result had been much different. He grimaced as regret, anger, and hatred built up in his stomach. He hated feeling like this. He just wished he could get rid of these memories…

He shook his head. No, that was the coward's way out. He knew what she had done to him. It had happened, and just because it was in the past didn't mean he could just forget it. Ignoring the pain it had given him had shaped his life and not for the better. He couldn't deny it. Now, he refused to let it dictate his life and relationships anymore.

If Mitsuru was ever going to trust him again, she needed to know he understood. In order for that to happen, he needed to break a rule he never thought he would.

He was going to share his darkest secret.

Mitsuru's hurt and anger had not dissipated much since the afternoon, still feeling betrayed by Minato. How dare he go rooting around in her past? This, after how forgiving she had been of his transgressions? After she had done her best to put everything he'd done behind them, despite every nerve in her body screaming at her not to?

She felt the acceleration of the bike calm her nerves as she rounded the corner to the dorm. Parking the bike in the alley behind the dorm, she took off her helmet and sighed. The bike really calmed her. It was like a gateway to a place where the Dark Hour didn't matter, where her obligations to others were not weighing her down. The feeling always passed after she turned it off, however. The obligations were always there, and the weight was stifling.

She felt a pang of loneliness flow through her. Sometimes, she wished she had someone to share the load with. She shook her head. No one would want that type of responsibility. Jubei hadn't, after all. She felt like she was destined to die unloved, sometimes.

She shook it off. That was a defeatist attitude, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Besides, she would be married off before too much longer, and it wouldn't matter what she thought at that point. She just hoped that she would come to love her future husband, like her mother before her.

She looked up at the dorm before sliding off the bike. It was her last year of freedom. She would enjoy it while it lasted, no matter what happened.

As she walked into the dorm, however, she saw Minato sitting in the lounge, reading a textbook. A pang of renewed anger ran through her at the sight of the blue-haired teen. "What are you doing up, Arisato?" She asked harshly, causing the teen to jump. "You should be in bed."

He put down his book, and stood up, that fire of his burning brightly in his eyes. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior today," He said confidently. "It was wrong of me to dig into your past like that, particularly since you have done me the courtesy of not digging into mine." He lowered his eyes. "Especially when I gave you cause to…" He shook his head and bowed deeply. "I'm very sorry."

She stared at the teen curiously. She had anticipated an apology, but hadn't thought she'd seriously consider accepting it. She thought about it logically. She'd known that Masato had been the one to bring it up, and Minato had simply been curious about something a classmate had said. She would hardly have been able to stop herself, given the same situation. She sighed and nodded. "…Alright. I accept your apology, Arisato."

A small smile lit up his face. "Thank you, Mitsuru-san." She nodded and turned to leave. "Um… Mitsuru-san?"

She stopped and turned back to him, eyebrow raised. His eyes were cast downward, and his fists were clenched, knuckles white with tension. "I…I know…what it's like…" He stammered out.

She tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

He finally looked up at her, the pain in his eyes as deep as an ocean. What he was trying to tell her was hard for him, that much was certain. He swallowed. "I...know what it's like…to be betrayed by someone you love."

Her eyes widened in surprise. He gave her a pleading look. "C-Can you sit with me for a moment? I…don't know if I will ever be able to get this out again, so please... just hear me out."

Stunned, she nodded and walked over to sit in the chair across from him. He sat down and leaned forward, hands in his lap. "…Has Yukari shared the story about me and my grandfather with you yet?"

She shook her head. He had told Yukari about his past? A small amount of jealousy tore through her before she quashed it.

"Ok then," He said with a nod, "The short version. My Grandfather's name is Kyohei Shirogane."

"Shirogane…" She said thoughtfully. She'd thought the name had sounded familiar, when she'd seen it on his background sheet.

"He's also known to the world by the moniker, 'The Iron Detective'.

She inhaled sharply as the pieces began to fall into place. "You're related to that Shirogane?"

"Yeah," He said with a nod. "Anyway, long story short, after taking me in, he trained me to be a detective and spy, and sent me to go undercover at schools that were connected with certain crimes, you know, to acquire information and evidence relevant to the case he'd be working on. I agreed to do this in exchange for his promise that he would help me investigate the Dark Hour, one day."

"Well, that was all up until 2 years ago." He paused a moment, taking a deep breath as he steadied himself. "…It was a serial kidnapping case. This guy had been kidnapping boys that came from rich families from private schools all around the country and ransoming them off. If the families paid, then they got the location of their kid 2 days after the money was transferred. If not…"

He shuddered. "They haven't found all of them, but they have found a few." He glanced up at her, sadness and fear in his eyes. "He just left them there to die."

She lowered her eyes in sympathy. "My god…"

Giving her a moment to process, he took a breath and continued. "Anyway, we interviewed a few of the survivors, hoping they could give us a lead. One thing stood out in all of their testimonies." He snorted derisively. "Apparently, the perp had a daughter."

"A daughter?" Mitsuru asked, eyes widening in surprise.

He nodded. "She was being forced to help her father with his schemes, or at least that's what they all said. She was the bait that lured them to him in the first place, using excuses like 'private' study groups or promising to go on dates with them, you know, shit like that. If only they really knew…"

He shook himself and continued. "So we managed to find out the girl's latest name and school by running a sketch of what she looked like through facial recognition and cross-referencing it through all of the school databases. Her latest name was Haruya Itsoko, at a small private academy located in the country. I was quickly 'transferred' in to get close to her, and help locate her father."

Mitsuru shook her head in confusion. "If you found the girl, then why didn't you just arrest her?"

He shook his head. "We would have, except we had nothing on the father except his voice. No ID, no picture, nothing. None of the witnesses ever saw him, only the daughter. Besides, she was apparently the one that took care of them, brought them food, water, blankets, even kept them company. She always expressed regret at what she had done to them, and pleaded with them to try and convince their parents to pay whenever they were allowed to talk."

He continued. "Anyway, I got there and presented myself to her as a charming young transfer student."

"I see where this is going," She said with a small smirk. "She rejected you immediately, didn't she?"

"Yup," He said, smiling lightly. "Called me a loser and walked away. Quite harsh on a 14 year old's ego."

Smirking lightly, Mitsuru tilted her head. "So what did you do?"

He shook his head. "I just kept trying. Eventually she took pity and said yes to a date."

Mitsuru paled. That sounded familiar. Minato noticed the change, leaning forward. "I'm sorry. I…"

She shook her head. "It's alright. Continue."

After a moment, he nodded. "Well, the personality that I had put together based on the previous victims in order to convince her to trust me... It wasn't working. I ended up having to improvise to get anywhere with her." He grimaced. "I… started to fuse parts of myself into my character, and she responded well to it. Eventually, after a month or so, it got to the point where it was me courting her."

Mitsuru's eyes widened. "You fell for her?"

He nodded. "Hard. She was smart, kind, everything the witnesses had said she was, and more. With every lie that fell away, I felt more and more…connected to her. I felt…alive. I'd never felt like that before. I started to view her less and less as a target, and more like a…" He trailed off, averting his eyes.

"…A lover," She stated, finishing for him.

He nodded. "Eventually, I couldn't handle trying to keep the lies straight. One night, I told her everything: my name, my objective… why I was there."

"Then she left you?"

"No," He replied, his voice cracking, "But I wish she had. No, she accepted it. She started to cry on my shoulder, saying that she was so happy, that she could rely on me to free her, and that... that she loved me."

He shook his head as his eyes teared up. "I fell for it like a fool. She and I made plans to run away; from the case, from my grandfather and her father, everything. We made a plan to meet up that night at a special place." The tears started to fall. "Her father was there waiting for me."

Mitsuru gasped. "My god…"

"I-I don't remember much from then on," He stuttered. "Time gets…kinda w-weird when you don't see the sun for a while. I do remember her, though."

He opened his eyes and looked straight at her. A furious hatred burned within, even as tears ran freely from them. "She came in and taunted me. She laughed and talked about how pathetic I looked, how easy I was to fool since, 'we were being honest with each other'. Then she told me: She was the one who came up with the idea to start kidnapping kids and holding them for ransom. She was the mastermind, not her father. He was her accomplice."

Mitsuru's eyes pricked as tears of horror formed. "Oh, god, Arisato… I'm so sorry…"

He let out a pained sob, before shaking his head and wiping his tears away. "My grandfather paid them the ransom," He said angrily. "He paid 2 million yen to them for my life. After she had gotten the money, she came in to gloat, saying that I was more valuable than any other guy at that school, and that she appreciated me seeking her out. Made it so much easier, she said. Then, she kissed me on the cheek and walked out, leaving me there."

His lip curled in anger. "I knew from the moment she left that room that I wasn't going to be found alive. The only reason she had to tell me the truth... was if I wasn't going to live to tell anyone. Sure enough, two days passed and no one showed. On the 3rd day, I resigned myself to my fate and waited to die in that room. Luckily for me, that was when the police showed up."

He wiped the tears from his eyes, and continued. "When the police found me in that room, I had been missing for a grand total of 3 weeks. I was severely dehydrated. I'd lost about 10 pounds. I had a broken hand due to an escape attempt gone wrong."

He took a shuddering breath. "When I regained consciousness a day later, I broke out of the hospital I was in. I went the house she had been staying at, and found it abandoned. I searched it for clues, but found nothing. Any semblance of sanity I still had at that point evaporated. I lost it completely. I burned the house to the ground in a fit of rage, but it did nothing to satisfy me. I just wanted to find them…to punish them… But they were long gone."

He looked at the ground. "My grandfather was pissed when I told him what happened. He told me that I was a disgrace to my mother's name, to my family's name, and that I had disappointed and failed him. I lashed out. Told him that if I disappointed him so much by acting like a person with feelings instead of the robot he wanted me to be, then I should go be with Mom and Dad after all."

Mitsuru wiped her eyes as tears fell. She leaned forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Arisato, I…"

He looked up at her, a small smile on his tear-stained face. "My grandfather slapped me, told me he would help me with the secret hour, and told me to take a sabbatical, to rest and focus on my studies. He would call me when he had something." He shook his head. "I finally got what I wanted out of him. All it took was nearly dying, I suppose. Anyways, 2 years later, he calls and says to get on a train to Iwatodai."

"What?" Mitsuru said, surprised. "How did he know?"

"I wish I knew," Minato said with a shrug, wiping his eyes. "He has an unfortunate habit of telling people only what he feels they need to be told." His smile grew. "Still, I can't complain. I was a broken man when I came here. Meeting you guys…" He snorted disbelievingly. "Somehow, you guys… fixed me."

Mitsuru stood up, walked around the coffee table and gave him a hug. "Thank you for trusting me with this."

After a moment, he pulled away, semi-reluctantly. "Hey," He said with a shrug, "I figured that I owed you for this afternoon and all."

"My pain is not nearly as bad as that, Arisato," She replied vehemently. "It's a crime to even call it close."

"I don't know about that," He said as he stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, looking straight into her eyes. "If there's one thing I know, it's that pain doesn't care how bad or inconsequential the event that caused it is; it's still pain. It still hurts. That Jubei guy hurt you, I can see that much." He smiled softly. "I just wanted to let you know that I know how it feels, and that you can trust me… like I trust you."

She stared back into his ocean-blue eyes, her heart starting to beat faster each second their eyes connected. After a long moment, he took his hand off her shoulder and shoved it into his pocket. "So, uh… yeah…" He turned his head away, breaking eye contact, and began rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Anyway, it's late. I should get to bed."

She blinked as she regained control of her faculties. "Uh… yes. O-Of course." She gave him a small smile. "Again, thank you for trusting me with this." Before he could turn away, she asked curiously, "…Why did you decide to tell me this?"

He tilted his head in thought. "…I guess I got tired of carrying that around with me wherever I went," He said after a moment. "It's been defining me a long time, dictating my life and the relationships I make. I don't want the same kind of thing that happened to me, to happen to you." He sighed. "So I guess… it was to let you know that I understood, and that I'm here for you... that you aren't alone."

He grinned at her. "After all, something like that is pretty heavy. It would be better to share the load, especially with someone who understands, right?"

Her heart stopped. She could barely breathe.

He understood. He really understood.

After a moment, he shrugged and chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Heh-heh, that sounded better in my head. Pretty corny, huh? Ah, well… Good night, Mitsuru-san."

He turned to walk upstairs. A sense of panic went through her at the sight of him retreating.

He needs to know. He needs to know how much that means to me. Right now.

"Minato-san?"

He turned back. "Yeah?"

She smiled brightly at him, a tear running down her face. "Call me Mitsuru… when it's just you and me. Ok?"

His eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he began smiling back at her, just as brightly. "…Ok," He said after another moment. "But only if you call me Minato."

"Deal," She said with a nod. A giddy, happy feeling ran through her. "Good night… Minato."

The fire in his eyes flared up at the sound of his name from her lips. "Likewise… Mitsuru."

June 11th, 2009

He was running late. Minato had been giddy and full of energy all night, his conversation with Mitsuru repeating over and over in his head. He had felt liberated, sharing that story with her. Unfortunately, that meant he had fallen asleep late, and as a consequence, had over-slept his alarm. He burst out of his dorm room to see Junpei rushing out of his room as well. Junpei turned to him, a small grimace on his face. "Oh, you're running late too, senpai? Well, let's go, the last train is coming in a few minutes!"

The two teens ran out of the dorm together. A few minutes later, they ran through the doors of the train right before they closed. The two of them sat down next to each other, panting and sweating. Junpei looked over at him. "Huh…You are…almost…never late…" He said, huffing and puffing. "What…was the deal today, Minato?"

Minato shook his head then let it hang as he tried to catch his breath. "Ugh…I…got to sleep…late…Was…thinking about…some stuff…"

Junpei swallowed air for a few moments before nodding, a strange grin on his face. "Ok, I think I get it. No need to explain further."

"What?" Minato asked confusedly before glaring at Junpei, catching his implication. "Not like that, Stupei. I just had some stuff I talked to Mitsuru-san about I was thinking about…" Junpei's grin widened at that, causing Minato's glare to intensify. "I swear to god, Junpei, if you don't get that stupid look off your face…"

After a moment, Junpei laughed. "Dude, chill out! It's ok. I know that you wouldn't do anything like that…" His tone turned suggestive. "At least not yet…"

At that, Minato looked back at Junpei, who was bouncing his eyebrows up and down suggestively. Snorting in amusement, Minato rubbed his eyes in mock exasperation. "Why? What did I do to be stuck with you on this train?"

Junpei laughed. "You slept in," He said, patting Minato on the back, "That's what you did."

"Oh, yeah…" Minato deadpanned.

A comfortable silence fell over the two for a moment before Junpei cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah… Minato?"

"Yeah, Junpei?"

Junpei's eyes became downcast. "Um, I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"What?" Minato raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What for?"

Junpei looked at the ground. "I'm sorry I treated you like crap while you were going through that rough period. You needed our help, and I just…" He shook his head. "Anyway, sorry about that."

Minato just stared back at Junpei incredulously. "…Are you an idiot or something?"

Junpei's face twisted in anger. "Wow, way to make a guy feel accepted. Good going, senpai."

"Sorry," Minato said with a chuckle. "Honestly though, you have nothing to be sorry for, Junpei! Anything that you did during that time, I deserved it. You guys were there, just waiting to help me, and I just ignored it and continued pushing you guys away and treating you like crap. Honestly, if I ever start doing that again, you have every right to come and kick my ass."

A smile crept on Junpei's face. "Really?"

"Hmm…" Minato said good-naturedly, "Well…you can certainly try."

Junpei laughed. "Alright, I'll hold you to that."

"I'm counting on it," Minato said with a smile. "Now, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Junpei nodded. "Um, sure. What's up?"

"Why did you feel like not helping me was your fault?" At that, Junpei's face fell, twisting into a combination of rage and sorrow. Minato raised his hands in surrender. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too."

After a moment, Junpei closed his eyes and sighed. "No, it's ok... It's just complicated."

A bell rung over the PA as the train pulled up to the station, the doors opening with a hiss. Junpei sighed again. "Look, I can't tell you right now, but…if you want to get some lunch together today, I'll be able to tell you then. Ok?"

"Ok…" Minato said reluctantly. He shook his head. "Junpei, you really don't have to. I'm okay with not knowing if it's too personal."

"Nah, it's ok," Junpei said with a small smile. "You showed me what happens when you keep your pain bottled up inside for too long. Maybe it's time I let someone else know."

"…Ok," Minato replied, "I'll be that someone for you."

"Great!" Junpei said as he stood up. "I'm counting on you…Boss."

Junpei started walking away, Minato staring after him for a moment... before he realized where he was. Minato barely managed to get off the train in time, sliding between the doors as they slid shut. He ran to catch up to Junpei, who started laughing at him. Minato gave him a glare and a small hit on the arm before they started walking towards the school.

He was nervous. That much would have been obvious to anyone by the way Junpei was both chewing his nails and pacing back and forth. He had never shared this part of himself with anyone. To share it with someone he had barely known for 2 months? He shook his head. He must be crazy. He turned at the sound of footsteps descending down the stairs.

It was Minato. Junpei gave him a small smile. "Hey, Senpai… Um, what do you wanna get to eat?"

Minato thought about it for a moment, then brightened. "Ooh, Takoyaki. I love me some takoyaki."

Junpei chuckled. "Ok. Sounds good."

After getting their food, they sat down under the persimmon tree in the hallway between the gym and the main building. As they ate, Junpei got more and more nervous.

Why isn't he saying anything?

After a few minutes of silence, Junpei finally couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, food forgotten, and started pacing again. Minato raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Hey, you're supposed to exercise after you eat your food, not during."

He didn't laugh, instead turning on Minato. "Why aren't you saying anything?" He said, his voice trembling. "Aren't you supposed to be asking me questions about this stuff you wanna know?"

Minato shook his head. "No. Like I said, it's up to you if you want to talk about it or not. I can't force you. It would defeat the purpose."

Junpei's jaw slackened in realization. "I see… Alright… Where to start…?" He took a deep breath. "Ok. I wanted to help you because I thought you didn't need anyone when I first met you."

At Minato's confused look, he continued. "A day after I met you, you came into Tartarus and saved our bacon… without a Persona. A week later, you basically learned how to fight without one." He smiled. "You didn't need anyone else to tell you how good you were, you just were. Then when you lost it, I just acted how I always do, instead of thinking about you. I was thinking that you still didn't need anyone. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"Wait, what did you mean, you 'acted like you always do'?" Minato asked.

His eyes widened before he sighed, shaking his head. "...My dad is an alcoholic. He just drinks and drinks… and one little thing can set him off. We fought all the time. When you lost it like that… I was reminded of him."

Minato winced in sympathy. "Oh, god, Junpei…"

Junpei laughed bitterly. "I know, right? He's a deadbeat, never doing anything except drinking. When I got invited to the dorm, I thought that I had it made. Then I met you. You were arrogant, scary, and a dick, 5 minutes after I met you. The next time I met up with you, you chewed me out. I thought to myself, 'This guy is just like my dad.'"

"Junpei, I…"

"But," Junpei interrupted, "then you came and apologized to me, and I knew immediately that you weren't like him." Junpei gave him a sad smile. "…I've never had anyone apologize to me for something like that before."

Minato's eyes widened. "Really?"

He nodded. "Everyone I know always just called me stupid or dumb whenever I messed up. I got good at hiding how much it hurt. But then you came up to me and basically said, 'You messed up, but so did I. I don't blame you for it. Make sure you do better next time. I'm counting on you.'" He shook his head. "That was the first time anyone had really done that for me."

"Look," Minato said with a smile, "I know that you probably already know this, but you are a hell of a fighter. I also think that you're smart, deceptively so. You just need someone to give you a hug and a kick in the ass… figuratively speaking, of course."

"I dunno about that," Junpei said with a chuckle, "But thanks for saying it."

Minato nodded. "You know, you still didn't answer my question. I understand feeling bad about not being able to help me, but why did you feel like it was your fault that you couldn't help with my mood problems?"

Junpei rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, it's…kinda embarrassing."

"It's ok." Minato stood up and placed a hand on Junpei's shoulder. "I promise I won't laugh."

"Uhm, I…" Junpei looked at the ground. "I… wanted to be a hero to you…like you were to me…"

"Junpei… you were." Junpei's eyes snapped up. Minato had a smirk on his face. "If you guys hadn't been around for me to realize what an asshole I was being," he explained, "I would have been lost."

"I…I was?"

Minato nodded. "Yup, and I expect you to keep it up. But not just for me or for the rest of the team… I want you to try being the hero for your dad too."

"What?" Junpei's face twisted in disgust. "Why?"

"Someone doesn't just decide to become an alcoholic, Junpei," Minato explained. "Your dad is in pain… Over what, I don't know. Either way, you should be there for him, even if he doesn't want you there. Sound familiar?"

Junpei's eyes widened before lowering them to the ground. "Yeah, I got you… Alright, I'll try."

"That's all I ask, Junpei," He said, patting Junpei's shoulder. "It doesn't have to be today, or tomorrow, but you should check up on him from time to time, let him know how things are going. If you let him know that you want him in your life, he'll get the hint eventually."

Junpei wiped a tear from his eye. "Right… Ok. I can do that for you, boss."

Minato smiled at the new nickname. "Why, 'boss?'"

"Cause you hate 'senpai'," Junpei replied with a smirk, "And 'buddy' doesn't feel right. 'Leader' is too formal and…ugh. 'Boss' sounds about right though."

"Well… thanks," Minato replied with a smile. "It means a lot, Junpei."

"No problem, boss!"

The bell for the end of Lunch rang. "Well, thanks for the talk, Boss," Junpei said with a smile. "I'll see you later." With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait, Junpei!" Minato called after him. "How does 'Bro' sound to you?"

Junpei turned around and grimaced. "God, no. Do I look like a dork?"

Minato laughed before turning to pick up their trash. On his way back to class, a smile broke out on his face.

A hero, huh? Never thought of myself that way. Well, if it makes Junpei feel better, I'll be that hero for him. I'll be that hero for all of them.

.

.

.

EDIT AN: Well, this one was interesting. I stripped out a bunch of stuff to make it flow better, and it ended up being just as long, if not longer in the total words department... ignoring what I'm writing here, of course. Hopefully the chapter feels better now. The next few chapters will start to have certain parts go missing from them as I try to improve the flow of the story as a whole. As always, if you have questions, concerns, or if you just like the chapter, send me a PM or leave a review! Hope to see you in the next chapter! - Dr. Ninja