A/N: Soooooooo Here you go. Another update, just for my fans. :3 This one is short. Like, 'don't blink' kind of short. As in 'I don't have time to make a big chapter so just deal with this'. I'd like to mention now: I don't care if you don't like slash. I DO. And my Minato is a bisexual polygamist, so he can do whatever he wants. If you don't like it, tough deal yo. It's not like it's going to return in the next chappie, so man up.

Otherwise. Enjoy this brief, last chapter involving the SEES crew.

-------Soji---------

"Welcome back," Mitsuru greeted as the weary team stumbled through the TV. Soji managed a nod and Minato moved to her, sleepy and worn. Yosuke grinned, looking through the window.

"The sun still hasn't risen. YES! We'll get some shut eye!" he cheered, and Chie tossed him an annoyed look but said nothing. There was a moment of silence between the two groups, one that the two wild card boys failed to notice while they settled in on the couch and moaned. Minato instinctively moved and snuggled into Soji, and though Soji felt a shudder pass through him, he smiled vaguely and moved an arm around Minato's shoulder. It was his good arm; one that hadn't been beat by punks earlier on in the night. Had that seriously only been during that night? Ridiculous.

Most of the SEES group had migrated upstairs, in anxious return of the crew, Soji could only estimate, and now the SEES members stared down their successors, the Investigation Squad. Minato peeked open his tired gray eyes long enough to see them sizing each other up, and Soji watched warily. It wasn't awkward, no more than it was anxious. Soji wondered if it was because they were judging each other or if it was because they were in awe of each other.

"Junpei," Minato voiced, surprising Soji. This surprised most of everyone else as well, for they turned to him with surprise. Junpei pointed to himself questioningly. Minato nodded, shifting closer to Soji. Soji didn't react to it; Minato was weaker than he was, and if he was seeking a form of warmth or comfort or something from him, Soji sure as hell was going to give it to him. Minato was his senpai. That was something he needed to learn to admire, not be envious of. "Yosuke, like you, is of the Magician Arcana. He's like you and Kenji put into a blender."

Yosuke looked to Minato, then up at Junpei, who definitely had some height on him. After a moment more of that odd silence, they cracked grins and jerked their heads back. "Sweet, dude," they said in unison, and the two broke up into laughter. "I am sure glad you're going to be taking my place. Comic relief / best friend is one hard role," Junpei added, snorting.

"Which you failed miserably at," Yukari sniped, and Rise giggled.

Minato smiled at that. "Rise, Yukari…you're both of the Lovers."

"Rise. THE Rise?" Junpei said suddenly, turning to look at her. "Risette. As in--"

Soji defensively stood from the blue, moved to Rise, and gave Junpei a fast wry grin. "Yes. Risette," he said, and kissed Rise. The rush he got from that was unbelievable. Being released from his jealousy and bad feelings toward his parents had given him the boost he needed to establish contact with Rise randomly. Junpei let out a gargled noise of sadness.

"Noooooooo, Risetteeeee!" the male cried, tugging on his earring sadly. "Do you have any idea how much cooler I am over him? I saved the world you know."

Minato laughed at this and Junpei unsuccessfully threw the empty foam cup he had been drinking coffee from while the Investigation Squad had been inside the TV. Soji pulled Rise with him back to the couch and sat back down by Minato. Rise settled on his lap and Minato curled up tiredly into his side. It was nice to be needed. Soji had to admit that by now. Minato took a quiet breath, before looking over the group again. "Fuuka…You and Yukiko are Priestess. Akihiko, you and Kanji are Emperor--I thought I'd mention that my old boyfriend Hide-kun is too."

"Boyfriend?" Kanji repeated, as did Soji and Yosuke. Mitsuru chuckled, and Aigis smiled.

"Minato is a bisexual polygamist," Aigis shared factually. Minato looked puzzled at the words, and Soji wondered if it was because he just didn't know the words for what he was. Perhaps he didn't like to labvel himself, either. Soji didn't know. There was a lot Soji didn't know. Amongst that was also the fact that Minato was a bisexual polygamist, not just being labeled as such.

Yosuke looked confused too, trying to wrestle out of Junpei's grip. However, Teddie asked for him, "A bi-whassit now?"

"Bisexual polygamist," Mitsuru continued for Aigis. "Someone who dates many people at once, boy and girl. Ken-kun and Koromaru may be the only two who have not gone on some dates with Minato." There was a pause, and a vivid rush of heat appeared in most of the SEES members cheeks.

"Shinjiro," Minato whispered, eyes shutting. "I'll say we had the best se--"

"Ooooh, Kanji's getting all pumped up," Yosuke teased, and Kanji applied a severe beat down that left most of the more masculine minds howling with laughter. Even Minato and Soji chuckled, despite their tired silence. Yukiko was giggling a control giggle. Teddie was pink with humor.

Fuuka turned to Minato, moving to him and crouching down to take his hand. "Minato-kun," she said softly. "Thank you very much for seeing us one last time. If…If you want, perhaps you can stay here, in the Dorm, with Koromaru and Aigis and Ken-kun?" The offer made Minato open his eyes and sit up a bit, looking past her to the SEES group. Ken's eyes were wide and Koromaru was at his heels, whining softly. None of the other's changed expression. No one begged or pleaded, from either the SEES group or the Investigation Squad.

Soji reached and gently squeezed Minato's wrist, and Minato looked to him.

"It's okay," he said softly. "I'm sure Ig--"

"No," Minato said flatly, much to most of their surprise. It wasn't necessarily the message that surprised them; it was the delivery. "No. I want to return to Inaba with Soji-kun." The addition of 'kun' to his name embarrassed Soji a bit and he looked to Rise with a vague smile. Maybe bonding with this kid was going to be easier than previously thought. "I'm done here in Iwatodai, just like you guys. When I leave, this will be a dream to you guys. Not a memory. Because memories can hurt, but dreams can not."

"Minato," Akihiko said softly, fondly. "Are you sure? Hell, I can keep you up at my dorm. I'm sure Hidetoshi would love to see you. You know how crazy he was for you."

"No," Minato repeated. "No…Don't tell Hide-kun or Yuko or anyone else I'm alive, if you haven't already. Definitely don't contact Tanaka. I don't want Soji's cousin waking up to dead rats nailed to our door." Everyone looked to him in alarm, especially Soji, but Minato continued unaffected by their stares. "I don't belong here anymore. I don't belong anywhere. So I should be where I am supposed to be…and that is away from you. I love you all…But I must go."

"Of course," Aigis agreed instantly, and Minato stood. The Investigation Squad moved to put back their borrowed equipment and they started to bid farewells to leave themselves. Soji and Rise lingered back to wait for Minato while he said his goodbyes. Tears started to show up, and Soji looked to Rise with a faintness of sadness.

"If I died," he said quietly, and Rise put a finger to his lip. She shook her head.

"No. You won't die. Because we need you, and you need us. Dying would upset that balance," she told him in reply. She kissed him gently, which morphed into something a bit more intimate, but they broke off when they heard Minato speak.

The boy was standing before all of his old friends. He was holding himself tiredly, but when he looked up, he smiled shyly and quietly. He hugged himself tighter. "…I…I'm going to miss you all. Th…Thank you. For everything. I didn't get a chance to say anything…before."

"Aw, dude…" Junpei said softly. "Don't do this. I…We all cried hard enough last time."

"Cry? I've never cried," Ken whispered hoarsely, and the group laughed nervously. Minato moved to each member, one at a time, and though he said nothing aloud, he spoke paragraphs with his motions. Minato hugged Ken tightly, and then gave Koromaru a very nice scratching here and there. Then he turned to Aigis, pulled her close into his arms, and kissed her. Soji was shellshocked for a moment, watching Minato move from one person to the next, hugging and kissing them all in their own unique way. Mitsuru's was brief and professional, Yukari's was intense and quite wet with tears, Fuuka's was sentimental and gentle, and Aigis' was the most similar to that seen in a movie. It was romantic and human.

With the boys, Soji looked away with a bit of a playful face, making Rise smack him to behave during the tender moment. Minato was rough with Akihiko, almost wanting to leave a mark on him, while with Junpei's it was so awkward it was almost stupid. Each action was intentional. And it was very final.

"I'll let Shinjiro know how you guys are," Minato whispered as he sided Soji and Rise, shy and looking very oddly open. It wasn't an act. They were seeing a very real side to Minato.

"I thought I'd never kiss a dude again, but there we go," Junpei mused. "You break a lot of friggin' rules."

"Akihiko," Mitsuru said almost hauntingly. Aki flinched. "Let us not forget who your girlfriend now is."

Aki turned to protest, but Mitsuru laughed, and then she crossed her arms, watching Minato bow, thank them again, and bid a final farewell.

Soji gave Minato a look as they moved through the Dorm. "So. Kissing a guy. What's it like?"

"Fantastic. Girls really know what the good stuff is," Minato commented quietly, sounding faintly hurt and miserable…but if he was willing to play around a bit, Soji knew he'd recover okay. They almost reached the door when something came following at their heels. Koromaru whined and looked up at them expectantly. Soji looked to Minato, who looked to the dog sadly. Aigis had followed the dog.

"He wants to go with you," Aigis said quietly. "Is it possible, Minato-kun?"

Minato looked to Soji, who bit his lip and looked down in thought. Rise nodded out of the blue. "Of course it is! He can stay with me. We'll have Teddie bring Koromaru home. Good doggie," she added, crouching down and petting Koro-chan. Soji was surprised, but he smiled and looked to Minato, who looked pleased.

"He has his own Persona," Minato added randomly. "He can help too."

Soji was dumbfounded. A dog? A dog had a Persona? How hard was it to get a Persona back in the day? He smiled weakly to himself, nudged Minato, and as a group, the four of them caught up with the others and started back toward the hotel.