Shin Megami Tensei

Persona 3: RES

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Persona 3, SMT, or any characters within. I wish I did, but they belong to Atlus.

Chapter IX: Aigis's Story

My purpose is to defeat you…

"Bearing One-Two-Five! Also Bearing Two-Seven-Zero! Targets will arrive at designated area at 13:00 Hours! One target is confirmed in area currently!"

"Hold off operations until all targets are within the designated area. Our intelligence was able to successfully capture one, but only after extreme surveillance and monitoring. The other targets are on the move, I want a clean operation! Don't let this be another stain on our record!"

OSAKA

"Sister, look!"

Aigis had taken leave to Osaka upon hearing rumors on the S.E.E.S. DataNet that there was an escaped assault robot on the loose within the civilian population. Her original mission was to capture the robot alive and return to S.E.E.S. headquarters in Yakushima, but…

"Very good, Metis! That's very pretty!" Aigis said.

The robot's name was "Metis", and apparently, was somehow the same series as Aigis. She had only been activated recently, so she still had the personality of a child, but, despite the hard work keeping Metis out of trouble, it was fun. Aigis had originally decided to stay in Osaka for a short period of time to take care of Metis until backup arrived from S.E.E.S. She had sent in requests to both the S.E.E.S. headquarters and the dorm in Iwatodai multiple times, but, she had no luck. Aigis then told herself that, so long as she may live, she would not let anyone else die who was under her protection.

And that is how Aigis got stuck in Osaka. Of course, Metis aside, there was also the fact that Aigis lacked adequate transportation, supplies, and equipment to make it back to Yakushima, but this was a pretty good living in and of itself.

Aigis had found a job as a mechanic at a small garage that specialized with motorcycle augmentation and repair. She had found the job…interesting. She never knew humans who shared such passion for machines.

And as for Metis…she had requested to be enrolled in a school. For whatever reasons, Aigis didn't know, but she had agreed. Right now, Aigis was wearing her mechanic's overalls and was 

walking Metis home from school. Spring break was over, and today was Metis's first day in high school, so, unlike Aigis, she was able to blend into the school fairly well as just another unassuming first-year.

"So what do you want to do today, sister?" Metis asked in an innocent tone.

"Sorry, Metis. I have to work tonight…" Aigis said.

"Aww, but sister," Metis began to whine. Aigis knew this would happen, luckily, she had been scouting the around them for someplace quiet and peaceful. A place where Metis could be entertained until Aigis's shift…

'Oh, Boy, Osaka! Family Restaurant'

Aigis spotted this quant little diner from the corner of her eye. They were family, right? Aigis and Metis? She had once read that a restaurant was a place where people ate and talked in a soothing atmosphere under very quiet conditions.

Perfect! If Aigis took Metis to a restaurant, then surely she would quiet down!

"And all the friends you used to talk about have such wonderful memories of you and why can't I – "

"Metis, dear sister?"

"Yes!" Metis's face instantly gleamed when Aigis called her name and she almost dropped her bag raising her hands to her face in glee.

"How about we go to a restaurant. I think you'll like it there," Aigis said. She would take Metis either way, but things would be so much easier if she agreed.

"Okay! Anywhere with you, sister!"

Success! She waited for the light to turn red before taking Metis's hand and crossing the road to the restaurant.

It was a nice place, with comfortable looking booths by the windows and some spinning chairs by the counter. A menu above the counter sold everything from fish and chips to bite-sized hamburgers.

"What is this place, sister?" Metis asked, before Aigis led them to a booth by one of the windows. When they sat down, they saw steam coming from behind the counter along with a delicious smell, and one woman with long reddish-brown hair in a maid uniform taking orders from some teenagers just a few booths away…



"Welcome to Oh Boy, Osaka! Family Restaurant. Are you ready to order?" Aigis could hear the waitress asking. Why did her voice sound familiar?

"Yeah, I'll have one order of you, babe. Hehe," replied one of the teenagers.

"Ahem. Let me try this again. Are you ready to order?" asked the waitress again.

"So how 'bout it babe, wanna' ditch this joint and come home with me and my buddies here?"

!!

It was then that the waitress picked the boy up by his throat and held him in the air.

"Listen, punk! If I ask you if you're ready to order, you say 'yes', and you don't gimme' any shit, okay!" she shouted.

"Yukari-san!" Aigis shouted, before Yukari threw the boy on the ground, while his friends cowered back into the booth.

"A – Aigis? Is that really you? What are you doing in Osaka? And – what's with the clothes?" Yukari asked about Aigis's grease stained overalls.

"I could ask the same about you," Aigis laughed.

"Zip it," Yukari deadpanned, before noticing Metis watching them from the back of the booth, "who's that?" she asked.

"That's my sister, Meti – Oh! Yukari-san, please, can you take care of her!? I need to get to work and…"

"Sorry, Aigis, but I've got my hands full here," she replied, Aigis's eyes fell, before the short, fat, bald man came out again.

"Not anymore you're not. This is a family restaurant for God sake's, Takeba! You don't pull that crap in here! You're fired! Smokin' and cussin' and fightin', what's the world gone to…" he muttered as he stammered away from the two girls and back into the kitchen.

Yukari simply sighed, before turning back to Metis, looking her over, and turning back to Aigis again.

"What time will you pick her up?" she asked.

"Around eleven o'clock. Oh, thank you, Yukari!" Aigis hugged Yukari, which sent Yukari's arms flailing as she struggled to breathe.

"Oh! Sorry, Yukari-san!"

"Meh, it's okay," she said, gasping for air. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket and wrote her address.

"Here's my address. I'll take care of your sister until you pick her up, okay?"

"Yes, thank you!" she was about to hug Yukari again, before she ducked out of the way and raised her hands as if to surrender.

"Oops, sorry…Hey, Metis?"

"Yes, sister!" Metis replied cheerfully.

"I have to go to work soon, so Aunt Takeba…"

Yukari choked when she heard that, covering it up by stealing some bread from the counter.

"Ahem. Aunt Takeba will take care of you until I get back, okay?"

"B – But, sister!" Metis whined, but Yukari walked over and cheered her up.

"Hey, it's fine. See this maid outfit? I have a whole story behind it. I have a lot of stories actually, and a lot of them have Aigis as a hero! They're totally true, too. Right Aigis?" she winked at Aigis, who winked back and started walking out the door.

Apparently, the temptation of hearing Aigis battling evil demons in an evil time period called the 'Dark Hour' was too much for Metis to handle, and she gladly said goodbye to Aigis as they went their separate ways on the road.

Aigis was happy. She had someone to take care of. Someone to protect. Someone to work for, and all the while she had a good friend to back her up when she needed it. What more could she want?

She walked to the bus stop to wait for the next bus uptown…but the bus never came.

That was when…