Author's Note:

I have been listening to Demi Lovato's new CD non-stop for the past week, and while that's kind of embarrassing to admit she is just so wonderful and inspirational and I love her so much. Go listen to her because she's the best.

Anyway, this is a request from TarePanda11, in which Akihiko and Minako go on a walk with Koromaru. (P.S. I love all of you for reviewing and being generally wonderful.)

Twenty-Five Hours
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

The Twenty-First Hour

Opening Song: "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

Minako was trying to find some way to reach out to Akihiko.

Something (she wasn't really sure what) had gotten in the way of their growing friendship, and after their last outing at Hagakure he wasn't very enthusiastic about spending more time with her. Whenever she approached him in the first floor laboratory hallway, he'd stutter and make up some excuse before she could even ask him if he was free. It was confusing, irritating, and pretty hurtful; she couldn't figure out for the life of her what she had done to put him off. (Maybe I shouldn't have called him charming, she thought one day. He probably had a mental breakdown or something because he couldn't decide what I meant.) But Minako was patient, because she was understanding and a leader, and leaders had to know how to deal with emotionally constipated teenagers.

Of course, that was also approximately a month ago, and her leader's patience and understanding was wearing thin.

"I'm not trying to be nosy or anything," began Yukari, in a tone that suggested she was indeed trying to be nosy, "but what's up with you and Akihiko-senpai? You guys used to hang out together a lot. Did something happen?"

Minako shrugged, trying to come off as nonchalant, as she flipped through one of Yukari's fashion magazines. "That's a good question. Why don't you ask him, hmm? I mean, one second he's telling me I shouldn't fight, then that I'm a great leader, then that watching me fight makes him nervous. He comes up to me in the hallway in the middle of lunch and asks me what I'm doing after school, but they he runs the other way when he sees me after. But nah, I don't think anything happened. No biggie." Yukari quirked an eyebrow at the the hitch in her voice.

"I feel like your sarcasm is lethal enough to take out Shadows," Yukari remarked. Minako grinned humorlessly.

Koromaru pawed over to Minako and nudged her, whining quietly. "Hmm, what's up, Koro-chan?" she asked, reaching down to scratch him behind the ears. "Ah, do you wanna go for a walk?" Koromaru was a good dog for a number of reasons (being able to summon a Persona and fight Shadows definitely made him unique), and he very rarely made a fuss. Minako noticed that he only got antsy when he'd been cooped up inside for too long or when Yukari was approaching him with burnt leftovers. "Well, I'm not gonna get any homework done tonight, so I'll go. Wanna come with, Yukari?"

"I would, but I really need to get work done on this book report," she replied, mournfully looking down at the unopened novel on the table. "I put it off for too long."

Minako stuck out her tongue. "Boo, bummer." She scanned the lounge, searching for someone to accompany her on a chilly Fall walk, until her gaze landed on one unsuspecting upperclassman. "Perfect." Minako barely concealed her grin as walked over to the couch and carefully clapped her hands down on Akihiko's shoulders. "Senpai!" she chirped, looking awfully innocent. "You don't look like you're doing much right now!"

Akihiko yelped at the contact, and as he slowly turned, he swore he was looking into the eyes of a (well-disguised) demon. "O-oh, uh, I guess so..." He looked down at his hands which were, sure enough, empty now that he'd put down his instant noodles. He gulped upon seeing the glint in her eyes (and he was ninety percent sure it wasn't due to the faulty lighting). "What are you up to right now?" he asked bravely.

"I was about to go walk Koro-chan," she said, in a way that was so sweet that he could only believe that foul play was involved. "But I don't wanna go alone."

Her comment definitely sounded like a command, and from the way Mitsuru was trying to contain her laughter, Akihiko had to acknowledge it as so. "Ah, I see," he replied, both reluctant and fearful. "Why don't you ask—"

"You should come with me." The way she said it was incredibly reminiscent of the way she gave out orders in Tartarus.

Akihiko looked around for someone to save him, but they were either too caught up in their own worlds or they were blatantly ignoring him. When Koromaru came around the couch to lightly nudge his leg, Akihiko gave in. "Yeah, alright." Though he tried to sound confident and act like he was totally doing this of his own free will, deep down he (and literally everyone else in the lounge) knew that he was acquiescing mainly due to intimidation. "She smiles like an angel, but those are the ones to watch out for," he thought as he followed her out the door.

Just before the door closed, he could clearly hear Junpei say, "Alright, who wants to make bets on if Senpai gets back alive or flayed?"

Minako didn't attack him right away, though he remained poised for defense in case she would. She barely acknowledged him as she skipped down the road, with Koromaru barking excitedly and dancing around her legs. "I bet it's nice to finally get out and get some fresh air, huh, boy?" she cooed, stopping in the middle of the road to crouch down and affectionately and scratch his neck. "It's getting all stuffy in the dorm these days." She definitely shot Akihiko a look with that last statement, though she barely gave him a second to dwell on it before she was up on her feet and back on the path. "Mmm, the shrine always looks really pretty at night."

No matter what route or path taken, Koromaru's walks always ended up at the same place: Naganaki Shrine. Despite the occasionally bad meals, Koromaru seemed to really love life at the dorm and was attached to all who lived there. Still, he was deeply loyal to the priest, even now, and they understood that.

Koromaru ran up to the prayer box, as though to pay his respects, while Minako and Akihiko remained in the playground. "Koro-chan's a really good dog," said Minako as she leaned against the jungle gym. Akihiko hummed in agreement, though he just awkwardly stood in the sandbox, silently refusing to get any closer. While deeming him more than slightly ridiculous, she also couldn't help but laugh. "How are you doing, Senpai?"

The question struck him as oddly calm for someone who was (rightfully) irritated with him. "Good," he answered. "Things are pretty busy, but I'm good. What about you? You're not feeling too pressured about school and Tartarus are you?"

"No, I'm fine." He swallowed when she smiled enigmatically at him. "It is a little hard, though, trying to juggle Tartarus and schoolwork and having a social life. Mitsuru-senpai asked me why I stopped going to Student Council meetings, and I tried to tell her I wasn't doing it on purpose, but I still think she took it personally." She sighed heavily, though he had a feeling she was trying to be theatrical. "And then there's tennis and the library committee..."

"Do you ever feel like you're doing too much?" he asked, cutting her off.

She looked legitimately taken back by his question, and when she smiled it was soft and demure — the smile that made his heart stop and run a thousand miles an hour all at once. "Sometimes," she admitted, "but I never regret it. I mean, I'll probably complain about it a lot, but I love doing all those things. It doesn't really have to do with the activity or the club, but I've made a lot of really good friends through them."

"Like Odagiri?" Akihiko scoffed.

Minako laughed. "Especially Hidetoshi-kun. He told me he liked me, you know."

Akihiko suddenly had this overwhelming urge to sneak a million cigarette butts into the boys' bathroom. "Yeah?" he asked, trying to play it cool.

"Yes, it was very sweet," she continued. "But he also said that he didn't want an answer or a response because he didn't feel like he was worthy yet. He'd ask once he became a better man." As she nudged at the sand with her foot, he noticed a fond smile on her face. "I thought it was kind of silly — the whole 'not worthy for me' thing. What does that even mean?" When Akihiko didn't answer, she went on: "People are always worrying about whether or not they're worthy enough or good enough for someone else. They're worried about their extra baggage or their past. I can kind of understand that, but is it worth throwing the relationship away?"

Akihiko began to sweat despite the cold autumn breeze. Somewhere along the course of this conversation, they'd gone from talking about self-entitled Disciplinary Committee leaders to him. "I don't think it's really throwing the relationship away," he said, surprising both of them by speaking up. "It's pretty reasonable to be held back by things like that. Maybe some people are just so used to losing things that they're afraid to lose anymore." He and Minako made strong eye contact; her gaze told him that she knew he was talking about himself, and there was a sense of understanding that made him blush and duck his head once more. "O-or in Odagiri's case, he's never had anything like that — feelings and love — so he doesn't really know what worthiness is."

"I think the concept of worthiness is stupid," Minako concluded.

Akihiko chuckled. "It's a little different when you're on the other side."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Just that... Well, you have a lot of admirers, Minako." She shrugged, neither denying nor admitting it. "And for them it's like... Well, if so many like you, who actually deserves you?"

She wrinkled her nose in distaste at the description. "You make me sound like some kind of trophy."

"Ah, sorry," he said, ears turning pink. "I just mean that they'll compare themselves to each other to try to figure out who you like and why. It's just... I don't know. Each one is trying to figure out who's worthy of you and who's not."

His reaction was a blank stare. "I still don't get it."

Koromaru, finished with the night's visit, trotted back over to the duo. "Ready to head back, Koromaru?" Akihiko asked, to which the dog nodded and nudged his heel. "Alright, alright, let's go." As they walked back to the dorm, Akihiko glanced at Minako out of the corner of his eye and noticed her pensive expression. "Don't worry about it too much," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "You have plenty of other things to juggle."

Surprisingly, she grinned. "Oh, don't worry. You cleared up a lot of things for me, Senpai."

This time he was the one blinking in confusion. "I did?"

"Mhmm." She tugged on the sleeve of his jacket before they entered the dorm, keeping him outside on the steps. "If you need some clarification, I'm right here, okay?" His breath hitched and his heart leaped as he struggled to keep eye contact. He nodded, though it was heavy, and she flashed him a million-watt smile. "Good. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings between us. Goodnight, Akihiko-senpai."

He didn't even realize she had gone inside until Koromaru barked at him. "Damn," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. "Are you having any girl trouble, Koromaru?" Koromaru barked again, though Akihiko heard the pity behind it. "Hm, lucky... Keep it that way. Your life's a lot easier without it."

Closing Song: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

Less Koromaru and more Minako/Akihiko/all the boys that love her, but that's okay.

xx, der kapitan