Warning: The following chapter contains content that explains why this fanfic is rated M for "Mm Mm Mmmm!". The paragraphs containing such content are labeled with (XXXXX), so reader's discretion is advised. But hey! I won't tell if you won't! *winky winky*

Enjoy!


Persona 3: You're Not Alone

Chapter 9: Judgement Day Together


When the end is near, can you feel it? Can you feel the presence of death of slowly coming down on you? Does it feel the fear of the inevitability of it all paralyze? Or do you find a way to keep living? Do you experience every day at its fullest? And… do you know who you'd want to spend your final moments with?

xxx

For the past tension filled month, the S.E.E.S. club has been pulling double overtime in their runs through Tartarus, making amazing progress in clearing the way to the top. With each floor they conquer, their resolve to fight grows stronger. But at the same time, their fear grows as they draw closer to their battle with the maternal being and embodiment of death. The mother of all Shadows, Nyx. There is no possible way to cast fear aside at the thought of facing something akin to a god.

Minato, however, does not fear Nyx because he has never feared death. That has always been his greatest strength since it allows him to fight with no hesitation. Even so, fear fills his heart with every day that passes. The reason? It's not his life he's concerned for. It's the lives of his friends and, most importantly, Yukari, the one he gave his heart to after she put it back together, that he worries for. No matter what it took, even his life, he has to protect them all.

xxx

It's January 30th, the day before the Promised Day, and lunchtime has just started at school. Minato rises from his desk, stretches his arms, and cracks his neck. Why the hell does my desk feel so uncomfortable today? he thinks. He feels someone tap his shoulder and turns around to see that it's Yukari.

"Oh. Hey you," he says to her with a smile. Yukari giggles.

"Hey. So, you ready to go? I actually made us boxed lunches today." Yukari holds up the plastic bag containing the boxed lunches. Minato smiles then looks around for Junpei.

"Awesome! Let's just find the others and-"

"U-Um… actually… can it just be you and me this time?" Minato turns to Yukari, who seems to be blushing.

"Huh? Aren't you worried about people seeing us?" Minato asks. Yukari shakes her head.

"Nah. There's no point today, anyway," she says. "Besides, I got over that a long time ago. I just went along because I thought you were still embarrassed."

"What?! No! I was just doing it because I thought you… still… were." The couple stare at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Aha ha ha! It seriously took us til today to figure that?!" Yukari exclaims.

"We gotta be stupid or something, right?!" Yukari rushes to Minato's side and holds his hand.

"So, to the roof?" she asks. Minato nods.

"Yeah. Let's go." The two walk out of the classroom and head for the stairs. The students around them see them and begin to converse. Yukari sneaks her left arm around Minato's waist, causing more commotion. It takes him by surprise at first, then he chuckles.

"You really don't care anymore, do you?" Minato wraps his arm around Yukari's neck, letting it hang in front of her right shoulder. Yukari giggles.

"And neither do you, apparently." They laugh at each other as they walk up the stairs, ignoring the students staring at them.

xxx

At the roof, the Mina X Yuka couple are near the fence at the edge of the roof with no one else in sight. Minato unboxes the lunch Yukari made for him and smiles.

"He he he! There's nothing in this world I love more than my girlfriend's home cooking!" he exclaims with pride. Minato pokes Yukari's cheek.

"Oh wait! Yeah, there is! The beautiful girl who made it!" Yukari giggles and blushes as she rubs the top of his head.

"Awww! You're so cute when you say stuff like that." They both laugh and Minato breaks his chopsticks apart.

"Thanks for the food!" Minato starts chowing down on the rice first. His face lit up as he slowly chewed.

"Mm hm! Knew it!" Minato exclaims. "You're cooking is awesome!" Yukari blushed and scratched her head.

"C'mon! Stop it!"

"I'm dead serious! You blew my mind with the cake, and now this!" Yukari smiles.

"Oh, you liked it?!"

"Are you kidding me?! That's the world's biggest understatement! It blew my fudge cake way out of the water!" Yukari giggles and looks towards the city on the horizon.

"Ya know… when I first got into high school, I thought honestly I'd be spending most of my time with a boyfriend," she says. Minato looks at her in surprise.

"Oh really? Wait... doesn't that kinda not work with what you said about finding a way to live happily on your own?"

"We both know I'm not always honest about how I feel," Yukari laughs. "That's one of my many serious problems." Minato puts on a big smile.

"That's also one of the many reasons why you're my girl!" Yukari shoots a sultry smile at him.

"Hey... Did you just call me "your girl"?" Minato smirks at her.

"Yes. I. Did. Deal with it." Yukari chuckles as she leans in to kiss him on his cheek, then looks up at the sky.

"Anyway, yeah. To be honest... At first I really thought that some perfect guy would just swoop in and catch my eye. Then, I'd go chasing after him and hope he'd like me back." Yukari crosses her arms and groans.

"What I didn't expect was for every guy in the school to come chasing after me and act like total Grade A pervs." She hangs her head.

"I was really into that whole idea of… finding someone to care for and loving them with everything I've got… And even if I did lose that person someday, I wanted to be able to cherish that sadness too…" She shakes her head.

"No, I wanted to really cherish being with them to the point that I won't even have time to feel sad when they're gone. I mean, no matter how sad I'll be, my memories of being with them will never disappear. Them being gone doesn't suddenly make the happiness I felt when I was with them a lie." Minato nods, setting his food aside to focus on the conversation.

"Yeah. Of course not."

"To tell you the truth, I gave up looking for anyone like that during my years in high school." Yukari giggles as she pinches Minato's cheek.

"Ha ha! At least I did… til I found you." Minato chuckles and Yukari blushes.

"Ya know, I… I-I'm really happy you're my first boyfriend," she says. Minato blushes, then looks away and scratches his head.

"U-Um… Aha ha… Hey, do you think maybe… I-I'll be your last? And… I dunno, maybe… something more?" Yukari blushes and laughs sheepishly, rubbing up and down her arm.

"Uh… D-Don't laugh, okay?" she mumbles. "I… I-I really hope so!" It's probably a bad idea to tell him about that cherry blossom wedding daydream you had that time during club practice, she thinks to herself. She sighs.

"Heh… I swore that I'd never get married a long time ago, but it's funny how my mind's suddenly changed. I never thought about stuff like that before. I didn't think it was possible for me to change that much." Yukari gently smiles as she looks down at Minato's hand.

"Sheesh, it's your fault I'm ending up like this. It's not so bad, though. I… I really love this new me. She's uh… a lot happier. E-Especially when, um… she's around you." Yukari's face turns pinker the more she talks.

"I-I didn't even know you this time last year. N-Now whenever I'm with you… my heart feels like it'll… burst out of my chest at any second. I-I… I feel really nervous and… r-really excited, but… overall…" She starts laughs nervously as the pink on her face is cranked to full brightness.

"Ahaha! I-I… f-feel… r-really happy… ya know?!" She lets out a loud whine, embarrassed about how much she's saying.

"Hngh! Come on, don't just sit there! You're making me all embarrassed, letting me say this stuff!" She turns and sees him covering his mouth and chuckling.

"H-Hey, wipe that Stupei grin off your face!"

xxx

Somewhere else… Junpei feels his pride get damaged and screams at the sky.

"Yuka-tan, stop using me as a category!"

xxx

Back at the roof, Minato shakes his head.

"S-Sorry, sorry," he says. "It's just… and you say I'm cute when I say stuff like that." At first, it looks like she's about to yell, but she laughs and gives him a playful shove.

"Aha ha ha… ha ha… Stupid." She sighs, like how a girl usually does when she's head over heels for a guy.

"You know, we never decided where we'd be going for that mountain trip, have we?" Minato asks.

"W-Well, it doesn't have to be the mountains. We could go to Destinyland… or… something…" Yukari suddenly falls silent. Minato turns to her and sees that she's frowning.

"Hey… what's wrong?" he asks. Yukari shakes her head.

"Oh, nothing. It's just… I just remembered that… this'll be the last school lunchtime we spend together." Minato wraps his arm around her.

"Whaddya mean "the last"? You make it sound like you think we'll mess up tomorrow." Yukari rubs her face.

"Hngh… I'm sorry. It's just all these people from that stupid cult talking about it! It's really started to get to me!" Yukari lets out a long, loud sigh. Minato stares at her with concern, then quickly rubs his right hand up and down her stomach, which she quickly swats away.

"Wah, hey! What're you doin'?" Minato notices her smile when he rubbed her stomach. He was never sure how sensitive she was until now. He has touched those parts of her, but was too busy with… other things at the time to notice. He nods.

"So, Yukari Takeba is ticklish… Good to know." He smiles mischievously as he vigorously rubs his hands up and down her torso. Yukari is unable to contain her laughter as he tickles her with no mercy.

"H-Ha. Ha ha. H-Hey! No! C-Cut that Ah… Ah… Aha ha ha ha!" Minato gets to the point where he starts having way too much fun and tickles her even faster.

"Ha ha ha ha! COOoochie coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie!" Yukari pushes Minato's face away as she tries to escape.

"C-C'mon! Stop it! Please!" Minato finally stops his tickle assault and laughs as Yukari catches her breath.

"There. Feel better now?" Minato asks.

"Ha… Well, you did get my mind off things," Yukari sighs. Minato rubs her back.

"Don't worry about tomorrow, alright? We're gonna give it everything we've got and make it back in one piece." Yukari stares at him, smiles, and nods.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry." Minato places his hand on hers and squeezes it tight.

"And like we said before: No matter what happens, we'll be together, right?" Yukari giggles, then quickly slides closer to Minato and sighs as she gets snuggled in, resting her head on his shoulder. Minato rests his head on hers and closes his eyes.

"Still sucks that we don't have that much more time together til then," Yukari says. Minato's eyes pop open when he comes up with an idea. He slowly makes a mental blueprint for it.

"Hmm…" Yukari looks up at him.

"What's up?" Minato shakes his head.

"Nothing… I just remembered I have to ask Mitsuru-senpai something after school."

"Really? What is it?" Minato turns to his food and smiles.

"Later. Right now, can't let this five-star food go to waste!"

xxx

Minato had worked out his whole plan, but in order for it to work, he'll need Mitsuru's permission to set it into motion. He sends Yukari home straight after school, then meets Mitsuru outside the library where she usually is. Mitsuru seems to be lost in thought as she looks up at the ceiling and doesn't notice him walk up to her.

"Looking towards tomorrow?" he asks with a line he obviously borrowed from an anime. Mitsuru jumps, turns to him, and breathes a sigh of relief. Minato laughs.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." Mitsuru shakes her head.

"It's quite alright, Arisato," she says. "Anyway, yes and no. I'm looking towards our final battle tomorrow, but also towards the years beyond. I know we can do this." Minato nods his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you need something?" Mitsuru asks him.

"Uh, yeah. Um…" Minato scratches his head.

"Well… seeing as tomorrow is our last day and all, of course I'd want to spend it with Yukari, but… I-I don't… really know if all of tomorrow will, um… How do I put this?" Mitsuru solves the puzzle of what Minato wants to ask her and smiles.

"If you and Yukari want to spend the night together," she says. "You'll have no objection from me." Minato is shocked by her answer.

"R-Really?! It's okay?!" Mitsuru nods.

"There is a strong chance that we will die tomorrow. I completely understand that you want to spend all the time you have with the one you love." Minato bows to his senpai.

"Thanks!"

"Just promise that you two won't make too much noise," Mitsuru laughs. Minato waves to her as he walks away.

"Heh! No problem!"

xxx

Minato calls Yukari from a train on it's way back to Iwatodai and tells him about his plan.

"A sleepover?!"

"Yeah. I got the okay from Mitsuru-senpai a few minutes ago," Minato says. "She just said we to be quiet about it. Ha ha ha… Or… do you not want to-"

"N-No, no! That's awesome that you got her permission," Yukari says. "I-I actually wanted to ask her myself, but I was too nervous to bring it up."

"I'm on the train ride back. You want me to stop by the store and get some snacks?"

"Uh huh! Bring something from the sweets shop too! Please?" Minato laughs.

"Alright. Get your stuff ready and I'll see ya in a couple!"

xxx

It's evening back at the dorm. Minato is waiting for Yukari in his room with his bag of treats. Nothing special. Just take-out from Wakatsu, two small bags of jumbo marshmallows, and some candy. He hears someone knocking at his door and goes to open it.

Minato smiles when he sees Yukari in her lounge wear carrying a pink bag at her side. He looks down the hall to make sure no one sees. Not to make sure they don't get in trouble, but to make sure Stupei doesn't see them and well… be Stupei. Minato, seeing that no one is coming, steps aside to let Yukari in.

"You'd better not start complaining about the treats being fattening," he says. "You have too awesome of a figure as it- Oomph!" Minato's sentence is cut off when he turns around and Yukari gives him a tight bear hug after setting her bag aside. Minato chuckles and hugs her back.

"Okay. What's this all about?" he asks her. She nuzzles her face into his chest.

"Nothing. I'm just so glad we're doing this," she says.

"Ya know, we could've just asked Senpai if we could do this for the whole month. We could've spent a lot more time together." Yukari lets go of Minato and holds his hands.

"Nah. Then it wouldn't be so special." Minato gives her a gentle smile. I love it when she gets like this, he thinks. They loving side of her only I get to see.

xxx

The two talked the night away as they watched basic television and shared the marshmallows and candy. Yukari recalls something when she sees Minato's headphones.

"Oh yeah! I completely forgot!" she exclaims. Minato turns to her.

"What's up?"

"Well, uh… you know how you're always listening to music on your free time?" Minato puts his hand on his earphones.

"I know of it."

"I-I've been meaning to ask. What kind of music do you listen to?" The question seems to have taken Minato by surprise.

"Oh, well… I, uh…" Minato scratches his head in thought.

"Let's see… my type of music… uh… hmm…" Minato sighs.

"I'm gonna be honest: I don't really have a type. The music I listen to? It's just two versions of one song." Yukari is surprised.

"Wow, really? You never listen to anything else?" Minato shrugs.

"The song I listen really rings to me for some reason… Other songs don't ring like that one does, so I wasn't really interested." Yukari leans in closer to him.

"Wow… Can I hear it?" Minato scratches his head.

"I-I doubt it's the kind of music you'd normally listen to."

"Well, what's that song called?"

"Um… it's... Burn My Dread." Yukari's eyes widen and she gulps in surprise.

"Oh… uh… Ah ha ha… I never saw you as someone who's into… heavy metal," she laughs nervously. Minato rolls his eyes.

"No, it's not heavy metal. It is kinda dark, though." Yukari smiles.

"Still, I kinda wanna hear it, if you don't mind," she says.

"Which version? Remember, there's two."

"Do you have a favorite version?"

"Yeah. It's the, um… I-It's the rap version."

"Okay, cool. Lemme hear it." Minato puts the TV on mute and puts his right headphone in his right ear and his left earphone in Yukari's left ear. He grabs his portable Mp3 player and positions his thumb over the play button.

"Hey, you don't have sensitive ears, do you?" he asks. "I always have the volume on full blast." Yukari nods.

"I know. I can take it. Hit it." Minato is a little hesitant at first. With how dark this song sounds, though not very, it kinda worries him how Yukari will react when she hears it. Then, he remembers that she's the one person that he knows he can share anything and everything he has with her. He nods and smiles. He pushes the play button and watches Yukari's face for a reaction as the song plays.

Minato never took his eyes off Yukari's face and, to his surprise, she didn't feel disturbed by the song. In fact… she was actually bouncing her head to the beat halfway through the rapping section and even mouthing "Burn My Dread" when the words came up. The song goes on repeat for while, fifteen minutes to be exact. Minato let Yukari continue listening to the song. No matter how many times she heard the lyrics, she never started finding it repetitive, but started getting more and more into it. After his awe reaches a certain point, he shuts off the Mp3 player, which surprised Yukari.

"Uh, hey! I was still listening to that!" she exclaims. Minato bursts out laughing.

"Uh… what?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You are something else, you know that?!" he exclaims. "You listened to that song for eight minutes straight!" Yukari rubs the back of her neck.

"Really? Just eight minutes? I-It felt longer than that?" That only made Minato laugh even more.

"You really like it that much?" he asks. Yukari smiles.

"Yeah! Why haven't I heard this song before?!"

"It's one of those songs that no one really knows about. The ones that are completely off the radar." Yukari takes the left earphone out of her ear and Minato takes out the right one.

"Well, I love it! It's really catchy!" Minato smiles, then Yukari's pink… ahem, "jacket", catches his attention.

"Yes, I'm going there again… that is not a jacket," he says with a narrow eyed look. "That's lingerie." Side note: Minato's objected many, many times to Yukari's "jacket" being a jacket at all because, in his own words, there's no way a jacket would be this crazy sexy. Yukari jumps from her seat.

"Oh, for God's sake!" she groans. "Look, I don't mind if you don't think it's a jacket, but it's anything but lingerie! If it was, why would I wear it around the dorm and wear it when I'm walking around town?" Minato stands up.

"Maybe you didn't see the full sign on the store you bought it from. Tell me this: if it's not lingerie, why is it so form-fitting?" Yukari blushes as she takes a good look at her "jacket".

"Uh, i-it's not that-"

"What's up with fur trim?" Her face turns redder.

"I-I… That's… um…"

"Why doesn't it cover your shoulders?" Her face is a beet at this point.

"W-Well, not all clothes cover-" Minato walks behind Yukari.

"Look, I'm telling you: It's too sexy to be a jacket. In fact, it's so sexy, I can't stop myself from doing… THIS!" Minato tickles Yukari by her waist. She escapes and turns to glare at him.

"Ack! Hey! I swear I'll smack you if you try that again!" she exclaims. Minato throws his hands up and backs away. Sorry, honey. You're not getting away that easy, he thinks. He looks at the wall behind her and groans.

"Oh, are you kidding me?!" he exclaims. "I thought I got rid of those roaches weeks ago!" Yukari turns around in a haste.

"Roach?! Where?!" Minato smiles deviously as he grabs her from behind and falls with her onto his bed, tickling her mercilessly.

"W-Whoa! What the-?!"

"Can't get away this time! Welcome to Tickle Hell!" Yukari tries to to squirm out of Minato's grip, but Minato leaves her no opening.

"H-Hey, Mina… to…! Q-Quit it…! Ah… ah… aha ha ha ha!" Minato chuckles as Yukari burst out laughing.

"Coochie-coochie-coo! Coochie-coochie-coochie-coo! Oooh! I wonder where your super tickle spot is!" Minato's hands start exploring Yukari's body, tickling it up and down.

"Is it here?! Or here?! Maybe here will drive you crazy! Coochie-coo! Coochie-coochie-coochie-coo!" The couple roll around Minato's bed in a struggle. When Minato's fingers wiggle around her belly button, Yukari lets out a shriek, much to his content. He stops his tickle assault for a second and smiles mischievously.

"Ohhhh? Look what I found~!" Yukari's heart trembles with fear as his hands close in on the center of her stomach.

"H-H-Hey, c'mon! Anywhere but there!"

"The more you tell me not to... the more I wanna do it... Coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie! OH, Coochie-coochie-coochie-coochie!" Yukari is completely at his mercy and unable to control the volume of her laughter as Minato tickles her naval mercilessly.

"Ha ha ha… U-Uncle! Uncle, uncle! C'mon, I can barely breathe! Please!" Minato decides she's had enough and lets her go. She takes a moment to catch her breath.

"You're…such a… little… kid…" she gasps.

"Well, what did you expect? I stopped being a little kid ten years ago. I didn't even finish." Yukari giggles and rolls herself on top of Minato. Minato suddenly starts feeling a bit of tension as she places her palms on his cheeks and stares at him with a sultry look in her eyes.

"That's good… cuz you're sooo cute when you act like that," she says in a sexy tone as she lowers herself in for a kiss. She pulls Minato up, allowing him to sit up, and wraps her arms around his neck as he wraps his arms around her waist to pull each other in closer. They break the kiss and allow their foreheads to touch.

"You can be a real vixen when you want to." Minato chuckles. Yukari leans back to pull Minato closer.

"Okay, so… for tonight, let's say you're right and my jacket is actually lingerie. That means…" Yukari leans in to sniff the side of Minato's hair and whisper in his ear before nibbling on it a bit.

"... You have to take it off for me…" Minato's chest tightens and his body trembles as he shuts his eyes and lets out a whimper. Her tease dealt a massive critical hit, like always.

"Hngh… Ugh… Low blow." he whines. Yukari chuckles as he gulps and takes a deep breath to calm himself. He then holds her closer and smiles mischievously.

"Total Tease Takeba… RIGHT to the very end!" Yukari shrieks and laughs as he rolls them both on the bed and laughs as he holds down her arms to pin her.

Minato tried to dive in and kiss her, but when he looks into her eyes, the mischievous intent he had completely disappears. The same thing happens to Yukari when she looks into his. The two refuse to move, refuse to escape each other's gaze, refuse to end the moment that went from devious and sexy to pure and romantic. Yukari gives Minato a gentle, innocent smile, with her eyes showing him how she felt about him. Minato uses his right hand to brush her short light brown hair back.

"Ya know... I fell for you cuz of who you are, but..." Minato says. "God, does it feel good for me to remember how beautiful you are." Yukari's cheeks turn light pink.

"Minato…" She giggles as she lightly pinches Minato's cheek with her left hand, then sneaks her right hand out of Minato's grip and wraps her arms around his neck.

"It's nice for me to remember how cute you are too." Minato smiles and she slowly pulls him down to kiss him.

XXXXX

Yukari has her eyes closed, taking deep breaths and trying her hardest not to move a millimeter, as she lays face up on Minato's bed and he moves around on top of her and kisses her all over her face and neck with them both completely in the buff, not a single moment wasted in taking in her special sweet flower scent. It was her taking the lead the first time they did this, but now that Minato's taking point, she's never felt so nervous. All of her fear has her completely paralyzed, with her body covered in sweat. The only thing she can do is stay still and let Minato do whatever he wants to her. Let him explore every single inch of her beautiful bare body. Let him take her, make her his, just like he did before.

She tenses up and whimpers as she feels her heart suddenly tighten up, like something was squeezing it, then relax. It was really painful, but unbelievably blissful at the same time.

"W-What's wrong?" Minato asks, stopping his motion. On Christmas Eve, what they did was on pure instinct. His hearing was cut off for some reason when they did this, so her whimper just now worried him. Yukari shakes her head.

"N-Nothing! I-I'm fine!" she stutters. Minato hesitates before continuing. Yukari takes a deep breath every time her heart tightens and relaxes in correspondence with Minato's movement. As the process carried on, her heart gradually began to tighten a little bit more, with a strong warmth filling her chest, and her body started to tremble. This feeling, she doesn't know what it is. All she knows that it's more than she's ever felt before… and she wants a lot more.

She instinctively wraps her arms around Minato's neck, pulling him in closer and kissing it. Minato suddenly starts moving faster, which made her heart tighten and relax and the warmth inside build up at a faster rate. Her lungs even started working weird, as if she's not getting enough air. Her deep breaths turn into brief separate gasps for air as Minato kept moving, his hands firmly grasping her soft ample breasts.

She grits her teeth and opens her eyes a bit, but she doesn't see anything. It's like her sight was cut off to enhance her feeling senses. Tears sneak out of her eyes as she shuts them again. Her chest suddenly tightens up and the warm feeling starts to burn. She lets out a big gasp to get more air after the feeling seemingly forced all she had out of her. Minato stops again, worried again.

"A-Are you okay?" Yukari nods, biting her lip.

"M-Mm hm! Mm hm!" Minato can't help but feel worried by that whine.

"Uh… s-should I stop?" Yukari shakes her head.

"Mm mm! Mm mm!" She takes a moment to catch her breath. That feeling just now was even more amazing. She doesn't care if she's being greedy. She wants all she can get. No… she wants all of it. Yukari manages to crack a little smile.

"D-Don't… stop," she whimpers. "M-More… please…!"

"You sure?" Yukari takes a couple more deep breaths before speaking.

"A-All… of it…! W-Want it…!" Minato blushes and gulps after pondering what she just said. I-I guess… I can't hold back then, he thinks. He shuts his eyes, takes his deepest breath in, and starts moving again. This time, he's giving it everything he's got.

Yukari's eyes pop open and widen, her body trembles more than it's suppose to, and she lets out a loud gasp, overwhelmed by the sudden blazing feeling that emerged in her heart from Minato's movements. The sounds that come out of her mouth now constantly switch between whimpers and gasps for air as the feeling continues to build more and more. The tears from her eyes pour down the side of her face as Minato's fierce movements continued, seemingly without end. It gets to the point when her heart is squeezed tighter than the world's tightest vice grip and her entire body was blazing up inside. It's so overwhelming that it feels like she could explode soon.

M-Minato... O-Oh... Oh God...!

Yukari shuts her eyes, wraps her arm around his back, clawing at it, and pulls him as deep as she can into a steaming hot kiss that seems unbreakable, allowing her tongue to enter his mouth and letting out muffled screams and gasps, as Minato tightly grips his bed sheets in his left hand and Yukari's hand in his right. His right hand squeezes her left hand so hard that it feels like it could break any second.

O-O-Oh God...!

More tears pour out of Yukari's eyes as the feeling builds and swells up inside like the world's biggest balloon ready to pop at any second.

Oh... OH GOD! Mm... Mm! M-Mi... M-Minato...!

Her eyes pop open and widen as wide as they can and she inhales as deep as she can as the feeling slowly reaches its climactic bursting point.

M-Minato... Minato...!

It builds and builds until, finally...

MINATOOO!

An uncontainable, unfathomable feeling erupts throughout her body. Yukari, with her lips still locked with Minato's, squeezes him as tight as she can and lets out her loudest muffled screams as the feeling explodes through her and causing her to spasm uncontrollably, feeling as though time just froze for that blazing hot, intense moment.

After a few moments of cool down time, the couple's lips finally disconnect and Yukari lies on the bed completely exhausted, as if all the energy was just sucked out of her. Weary eyed, she stares at her lover's sweaty face, his forehead resting on hers as he tries to catch his breath, and gently smiles as she places her left hand on his the side of his face and moves his bang aside to see both of his beautiful gray eyes.

"M-Mina... to..." she lightly whispers. Minato chuckles as he lowers himself down to kiss her. The last thing she sees before completely losing consciousness.

xxx

Yukari stirs for a moment, then slowly tries to open her eyes, though feeling really heavy. She can barely see anything, but she know she's laying face up, drenched in sweat, and looking towards the door. It's still night time.

"You awake?" Yukari slowly turns to her left and sees Minato snickering at her. She feels fatigue so extreme, she can't even talk right. She still tries to.

"Wuh uhh… Ugh nahh… wuh ha… Mmm…" Minato is able to understand what she's trying to say. He laughs before saying anything.

"What happened? Is that what you're trying to ask?" he chuckles. "Well, uh… you kinda… passed out after… that. Um… I-I mean, uh… Yeah, ya know what I'm trying to say!" Yukari's speech starts to be more clear.

"H-Haa… how… wun… in… ah…" Minato scratches his head.

"How long have you been out? Let's see… Uh, I'd say… about… an hour? Maybe two?" Yukari looks straight up at the ceiling and Minato laughs again.

"Was it really like that for you? I mean, I've heard a lot of things at school about how some girls who do this with their boyfriends sometimes feel things that they never felt before, and this, that, and the other, but… Man. You were out like a light."

Yukari ponders Minato's words. That extreme feeling she had an hour or two ago. It was way different from how it was on Christmas Eve. It even had her knocked out for a long time. After recovering from her fatigue, she starts to laugh.

"Ha… Ha ha… Aha ha ha! Yeah! Guess I was, huh?" she says. "Safe to say you've definitely gotten better." Minato laughs with her, then she turns to him, putting her hand on his chest.

"Hey… Let's do that again." Minato sits up.

"Seriously?! I dunno… I don't wanna make you pass out again."

"I don't mind passing out! It's totally worth it!" Yukari stretches her arms out to him.

"C'moon! Pleeease!" Minato lets out a deep sigh, not believing she's not even a little embarrassed to say that right now, then smiles as he positions himself back on top of her.

"One more time."

"Three!"

"Two."

"Deal!"

So much for pure and romantic...

xxx

It's early morning now and Yukari is alone in Minato's room, fast asleep. Minato quietly enters the room with a tray of food, wearing his usual weekend winter clothes minus the light gray jacket, and sets the tray on his desk. He kneels down next to Yukari and gives her a peck on her lips. She slowly wakes up and gives Minato a cute, blushed smile.

"Mornin'," he chuckles. "Whatcha smiling about?" Yukari sits up, covering herself with Minato's blanket, and moves a strand of her hair back as she lean closer to Minato.

"Of course your girl would smile when she wakes up and sees you, stupid," she says. "Her boy is sooo handsome, after all." She gives him a peck on his lips, then notices the breakfast platter on Minato's desk.

"Breakfast in bed? Really?" Minato shrugs.

"Eh, might as well. I mean this will our last morning, after all." Yukari shakes her head.

"No, it won't!" she giggles. "We'll beat the crap outta Nyx and have plenty more mornings together!" Minato pinches her cheek and smiles.

"See?! There ya go! That's more like it!" Yukari locates and puts on her bra and jacket as Minato hands her a plate from his desk. Minato proceeds to sit in his desk chair, but stops when he see Yukari's discarded black panties in the seat. He chuckles, picks them up, and shows them to Yukari.

"Uh… a skirt can only do so much without these." Side note: Yukari's miniskirt, black stockings, and heart choker were the only things he didn't take off. Yukari sets her plate aside.

"Well, don't just wave 'em around! Gimme!" Yukari exclaims. Minato hands her her panties and she puts them on under the sheets. She puts the plate back in her lap and examines the meal before her.

"Let's see. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and… wait, is this…?" Yukari recognizes the large slice of chocolate cake on her plate. It's a slice of the cake she made for Minato's for Christmas Eve (and his birthday).

"Yeah, every time I thought about just devouring the whole thing, I started feeling bad," Minato says. "Then I realized it's cuz it wouldn't be fair to not let you have a slice too." Yukari giggles.

"Aww… Thanks." Yukari slices off a piece of cake with her fork and puts in her mouth. She stares at the cake, then at Minato with a narrow eyed look. Minato leans back a bit in fear.

"W-What?"

"You liar!" Yukari pouts. "You said my cake blew yours out of the water! Your cake tasted way better than this!" Minato shakes his head.

"Wha-?! I-I wasn't lying! It really did blow it out of the water!"

"Then, why does your cake taste better to me?!" Minato shrugs.

"I dunno. Maybe it's because I made it for you? That's probably the same for me." Yukari thinks about it and smile.

"Okay, yeah. That makes sense." They both laugh, then Yukari looks down at her plate in deep thought. Minato notices.

"Something on your mind?" Yukari looks up at him.

"Hey, let me ask you something," she says. "Do you remember when you… started wanting me?" Minato raises one eyebrow.

"Wanting you to do what?"

"No, not wanting me to do something. Wanting me." Minato starts blushing.

"Uh… C-Can you be a little more specific?"

"When did you start having feelings for me?" Minato sighs in relief.

"Oh, that. I thought you meant in a Stupei sense."

xxx

In his room, Junpei jolts awake, feeling his pride take a hit, and screams.

"Stop using me as a category!" He falls back to sleep.

xxx

Back in his room, Minato scratches his head in thought.

"Um… let's see… I… I think it was… back at the hospital?" Yukari is surprised.

"Really?! That far back?!"

"W-Well, I wasn't really sure back then, but… I think I figured it out… at Yakushima." Yukari giggles.

"Hm… So you too, huh?" she says.

"Wait… is that when you started feeling for me?" Yukari nods and looks up at the ceiling.

"Yeah… I could never forget."

Yukari and Minato both flash back to that night in Yakushima. It was after everyone watched the doctored video of Yukari's father and Minato chased after Yukari after she ran out.

xxx

Minato was jogging through the wilderness towards the shore, looking for Yukari. He stopped and scanned the area.

"Yukari?! You out there?!" No response. He looked toward the shore and saw Yukari beyond the trees, standing alone near the water. He started walking toward her.

At the shore, Yukari looked up at the starry sky above her, shaken up after everything she just learned and not caring about the tears running down her face.

"I-I believed in him for so long," she mumbled. "This is too much…" She suddenly heard the sound of footsteps in the sand coming towards her. She turned to see Minato approaching her.

"Oh… M-Minato." She rubbed the tears off her face.

"W-What're you doing here?" she asked.

"It's almost the Dark Hour," he told her. "You shouldn't be all the way out here by yourself."

"Hmph... you came all the way out here just to tell me that?" Minato scratches his head.

"Well... no." Yukari turned back to the shore and looked out beyond the vast sea as Minato walked to her side. He turned to her.

"You alright?" he asked. Yukari sighed, shook her head, and turned to him.

"Hey… remember what I told you back at the hospital?" she asked. "How my dad died when I was little…? You understand now, right…? He died in that incident…" She looked back at the sea.

"Nobody knew the truth… so there were all sorts of rumors. Because he was in charge of the research team, people were really mean to me and my mom. We even had to move a few times." So, you were tossed around too, Minato thought, remembering how he was tossed around by foster care.

"That must have been hard for you," he said in sympathy. Yukari nodded.

"Yeah, it was… But all this time… I kept telling myself, over and over and over again, that it wasn't his fault. I loved him a lot… and I believed he'd never do anything wrong." Yukari sadly smiled.

"I received a letter back in the spring. A little while before you came along. It was from him, a time capsule letter written ten years ago when the Moonlight Bridge opened up." She laughed a little.

"It cracked me up cuz even though it said "To my family", it was pretty much all about me… That only made believe in him more." She looked at the palm of her right hand.

"When I found out I had a special power, I thought it was fate. More than anything, I was scared, but I thought if I cooperated with the Kirijo Group, I might find out what really happened. That's why I agreed to fight using my Persona…" She balled her hand into a fist, sighed, and looked up at the sky again with a tearful smile.

"But… after everything I've done, it turns out… all of that was for nothing…" Minato shook his head.

"C'mon, that's not true," he said. "Not when you came this far for him." Yukari turned to him and gave him a light push on his arm.

"Ha ha, you're just trying to make me feel better," she said. Minato wanted to object, but he stopped himself. Yukari went back to looking at the sky.

"Why does reality have to be so harsh…? I tried… so hard to fight my fear, and this is what I get." Yukari frowned and looked down at the ground.

"Maybe… maybe I'm just jealous of Mitsuru-senpai. I mean… why my father and not hers? Haha… I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" Minato glared at her.

"That's a bald-faced lie!" he yelled at her, unable to control himself after hearing her call herself a horrible person. "You're not-!" He stopped himself, balled up his hands, looked down at the ground, then looked back up at her.

"Y-You're… you're a wonderful person… You're caring, with a kind heart. You're just in pain right now and that's fine… Just… don't… don't think that about yourself…"

Minato couldn't help but speak his mind. When Yukari told him she and him were the same, it felt like someone was truly reaching out to him. She's his very first friend and best friend he's had in his entire life. He couldn't let her talk down about herself like that.

Yukari turned to Minato with a smile and a narrow eyed glare.

"Hmph! Well, you're just Mr. Perfect, aren't you?!" she laughed. Minato stepped back as Yukari slowly marched towards him one step at a time.

"Huh?"

"You heard me! Mr. Top of the class! Mr. Kendo Team Ace! Mr. Student Council! Mr. S.E.E.S. field leader! Ha, you don't even flinch when there's a chance you're gonna die!" She looked down at the ground and balls her hands into fists.

"Nothing ever fazes you… And now you've got the nerve to just stand there and try to tell me how to feel?!" Yukari glared at him again, grabbed him by his collar, and pulled his face to hers.

"You think you know me?!" she screamed. "Well, you don't! Stop acting like you have all the answers! You don't have a heart! You don't know anything!"

Yukari shoved him away and turned her back to him. Minato, still shaken up by her words, tried to reach out to her, but he stopped himself again. He really doesn't have any right to try and cheer her up. He's never been affected by anything that's been going on. Who's he to to try to make people feel better when he doesn't really feel anything? He sighed and looked at the ground.

"You… Y-You're right… I-I'm… I-I'm sorry…" Yukari, noticing the tremble in his voice, turned back to him. Her eyes widened when she saw the pained look on his face. She just called him heartless straight to his face when he was clearly worried about her and was only trying to help her. She reached out to him, shaking her head and looking like she was about to cry.

"M-Minato… N-No, I-I'm sorry. I… I-I didn't mean to…" She pulled her hand back when Minato shut his eyes. She buried her face in her hands and started to sob.

"I'm sorry! M-My… my head's just a big mess right now! I'm so scared and sad and anger and… and lost! I-I… I just don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do anymore!" She dropped to her knees, continuing to cry.

"M-Mi… Minato… please… tell me… what should I do?" Minato opened his eyes and saw Yukari crying on the ground. She just asked him what she was supposed to do now. He rubbed the back of his neck in thought, trying to think of something that would help in this situation and trying to find the right words to say it. After finally finding something, he took a deep breath and crouched down to her.

"Hey… your father… Do you… Do you still love him?" he asked. She had no problem nodding to that question.

"I-I… I wouldn't be hurting this much if I didn't!" Minato takes a deep breath.

"Then… maybe just… keep believing in him?" Yukari slowly uncovered her face to look at him.

"H-Huh?" Minato gulped before explaining.

"None of this is really over yet," he said. "So… we don't really know if we know the whole story. I mean, maybe… there's more to it than that? I don't really know. You're right when I say I don't have all the answers." Minato slowly put his hand on her shoulder.

"But… until we know for sure… I think… you should just hold onto that hope you have towards your father. There might more to what you know about what happened. How you'll find that out… that's beyond me." Minato looked down at the ground.

"It's okay not to know what to do sometimes… but…" He looked intently at Yukari.

"Never stop believing in the people you love." Yukari's eyes widened at the wisdom Minato just gave to her. She completely stopped crying.

"Never stop… believing?" she mumbled. Minato nodded, then rubbed the back of his neck.

"T-That's only what I think, though," he confessed. "I don't know if it'll really help, but…" Yukari slowly stood up and rubbed the tears from her eyes, taking deep breaths as she did so. When she finally pulled herself together, she gave Minato a gentle smile with her red, swollen eyes.

"Y-Ya know… you… you really are one-of-a-kind," she stuttered. Minato stood up as she rubbed her eyes again.

"I-I'm sorry for acting like this… and for yelling at you and calling you heartless… Honestly, I think you're the only one who could've helped me right now. I mean… you've lost your parents too." Yukari took a deep breath.

"I think… I'm alright now… I'm used to dealing with stressful situations. Anyway… thanks for listening." Minato nodded. Yukari walked up to him with a smirk on her face.

"Lemme guess… Senpai asked you to bring me back, right?" she asked. He crossed his arms and shrugged.

"Well, yeah." Yukari sighed.

"Hm. Knew it-"

"That's not why I came, though."

"Huh?" Minato scratched his head and blushed.

"I-I came cuz I wanted to. I couldn't just leave you alone when you're hurting." Yukari smiled and pinched his cheek, not noticing the bold blush on her cheeks.

"Ooooh, you're such a gentleman!" she teased. Minato's heart skipped a beat, his face glowed a radiant pink, and he quickly smacked her hand away and rubbed his cheek.

"Hngh! N-Nyah, hey, don't do that!" You can still tease, even after you just cried your eyes out? he thought as he put his hand over his heart and sighed. Yukari giggled at him.

"Thanks." Minato stared at her as she rubbed her eyes again, knowing she's still a little shook up. He and her were the same, broken up and left all alone in the world. Now that he's found her, he wants to do everything he can to melt away that loneliness, just like she did for him. His heart pounded at the thought.

Minato took a deep breath as he slowly stepped toward Yukari. Yukari blushed to see how close he was to her.

"U-Um…" Minato closed his eyes as he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close for a hug, feeling her entire body trembling. Yukari's eyes widened and her body completely froze as he embraced her tightly. Minato, smelling the scent of sweet flowers, whispers in her ear.

"You're… not… alone…" Yukari's breathing started to heavy. Then, she managed to calm herself and she slowly started to close her eyes and hug Minato back. Just as the comforting warmth and smell of each other's bodies started to take them away…

"HEY!" The two, hearing Junpei calling out to them and rushing through the forest, let out a brief scream, quickly pushed each other away, and turned away from each other before he arrived.

"NOTHING!" they screamed.

"Huh?" Junpei said as he tried catch his breath.

"Nothing! We were doing nothing," Minato said. "Just talking. Right?" Yukari quickly nodded. Junpei scratched his head in confusion.

"O-kay? So, hey… everybody's… waiting… It's almost… the Dark Hour, so you should get back." Yukari snapped out of her embarrassed trance and looked at Junpei.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's right…" Minato and Yukari looked at each other briefly, then turned away blushing. Junpei saw this.

"Hm? Um… did I miss something-" The two glared at him.

"SHUT IT, STUPEI!" they both yelled.

"Yeesh! Hold your fire, will ya?!"

xxx

Minato looks up at the ceiling with a narrow eyed look.

"Stupei, ace defective?" he says. "How about Stupei, mood destructive?" Yukari laughs, then smiles at Minato.

"Yeah… that was definitely when it started happening for me," she says. "What you told me that night… Best advice I've ever heard." Minato raised one eyebrow.

"Really? I-I honestly came up with that straight on the fly." Yukari giggles and looks down.

"That's what made it so amazing. That's the one night I don't wanna forget." Minato notices the frown on Yukari's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh… speaking of forgetting things… there's something you should know." Yukari looks to Minato.

"When we defeat Nyx, we'll finally get rid of the Dark Hour," she says. "But, think about it. Ryoji said if the Dark Hour vanishes, our memories of it would disappear, right?" Minato jumps up from his chair, realizing what she's about to say.

"Wait… A-Are saying that when we erase the Dark Hour, we…" Yukari nods.

"Might forget everything. Yeah." Minato's eyes widen. He told Ryoji that he didn't want to lose his memories of the Dark Hour and his friends, and he meant it. But now, in order to stop the Fall, he'll have to give up all of those memories, including the important ones with Yukari. He shakes his head.

"N-No way! There's no way in hell I'm gonna forget!" he yelled. "I can't!" Yukari hurries out of bed and grabs Minato's right hand.

"Hey, calm down! I said "might", didn't I?" she says. She looks at Minato's hand as she squeezes it.

"I want you to be the first one I say this to…" Yukari closes her eyes as she places Minato's palm on her face.

"Minato… so much has happened between you and me. There were a lot of really great times, and a few bad ones… the bad ones being my fault. But… not matter what happened, you never left my side. Before I knew it, I always wanted to be by yours. I… I don't think I could ever be this close to anyone else. So…" Yukari stares directly into Minato's eyes.

"I want you to know… I won't forget you. After this is all over, I'll still remember you. Even if we lose our memories of the Dark Hour, I'll still be right here with you. No matter what happens…" Yukari gives Minato her warmest smile.

"I promise… I'll still be over the moon in love with you. And after tonight… I'll say "I love you" every single day for as long as I live… til you know just how much." Minato's eyes widen.

"Yuka…" He smiles and pulls into a hug.

"Yeah… I won't forget you either. There's no way for me to just forget about the girl who means the world to me. Whatever happens… you'll still be in my heart… always." Yukari squeezes him tightly around his waist.

xxx

The hours have flown by… and evening has come. It's time for the S.E.E.S. Club's final team meeting. Minato and Yukari arrive at the fourth floor, hand in hand, and walk towards the command room. They stop in front of the door. Minato turns to Yukari.

"Hey, um… can I get a preview?" Minato asks. Yukari turns to him.

"Hm?"

"A preview of you saying… that everyday?" Yukari smiles and wraps her arms around his neck.

"Only if you give me yours too." Minato smiles, wraps his arms around her waist, and stares into her eyes. Yukari takes a deep breath and returns the looks right back as he presses his forehead against hers.

"Minato… I love you."

"Yeah… I love you too, Yuka." They pull each other into the last kiss they've have before the final battle with one thought in Minato's head.

She still smells like sweet flowers...


Chapter 9: End