Piecing the Fragments

Chapter 35: Friends with Friends

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Original Concept: Persona 3 Portable

Created by: Atlus

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Game Spoilers Galore, Readers be warned.

Author's Notes: Thank you, Wolf's Honour For looking through this for me. R&R please~

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Exams are coming. That was one thing that Minako had neglected a little as she made her way to school together with her two friends, both of them commenting about the exact same topic that reminded her that she hadn't studied that much, really.

'…'

Sensing Minako's anxiety, Yukari turned to her friend and placed one hand on her shoulder.

'Hey... Minako-chan... you have been studying... right?'

She asked hopefully while Minako put up a brave face and nodded. Yes, she had been studying, a little, perhaps paying attention in class and all that but she really hadn't quite really revised the question in private. She was busy!

'Don't come up with any excuses, Minako-chan.'

Yukari was stern and Minako wilted a little under those accusing eyes. Sure, she had gotten great results in her old school and she had probably done well in previous time lines but this time she hadn't prepared for it at all.

She had work, the late night exploration of Tartarus, the many dramas in her life once she decided to go for broke to achieve the 'perfect ending'.

But those are all excuses, all excuses and Minako shrugged weakly as she said that she'll manage, somehow.

'…'

Looking at her in a displeased fashion, Yukari reminded Minako that Mitsuru-sempai obviously had high expectations for them to score well in the exam.

'Kirijo-sempai has the highest expectations from you, Minako-chan... so don't disappoint her, or me... and if you get lower scores than Junpei...'

Yukari warned in a not so serious tone, but Minako took the warning seriously as well. She will probably never score below Junpei... a genius of hardwork can't compare to a true genius like her, at least in studies any way and even if Junpei was trying hard and really studying, it would take more than a week worth of revision to get everything he missed crammed into his head.

Well, that was what Minako hoped anyway.

'Let's study together than, today, after school.'

Minako suggested and the both of them, Yukari and Junpei agreed to that.

'Great, it's a study date, I'll call Rio!'

'I'll call Kenji then, the two of them will invite themselves anyway!'

Junpei added but he stopped when Minako said that she would like to invite another person to join them too.

'Let me invite Bebe too!'

'Bebe? Is that a drink?'

'No silly, it's the transfer student! He helped me out a while ago with my English so I owe him. I help him with his Japanese from time to time too.'

The two of them couldn't really say no to her eager smile, even if they might have a little reservations about meeting someone like that.

There have been many idle talk and rumours that have been going around about the transfer student but then again, they were all idle talk. If Minako could be friends with him, he couldn't be a bad sort, right?

'Sure, If it's Minako's friends, they are my friends too.'

Junpei said out loud, as if to convince himself too while Yukari nodded.

'Great!~ I'll talk to him during lunch then!'

And so her day was decided before they even stepped into the school.

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'Me? Study with you?'

Looking shocked as Minako cornered Bebe during lunch, finding the boy heading to the home economics room all by himself and she dragged him out of the room and down the hallway, ignoring the looks given to her by the people who recognized her and those who didn't as she told him about their study date after school today. Sure, it was probably a little too late and that means that they'll have to miss out on some free time after school, but why not?

'Yep~ it's a little late and perhaps we should have done so early, but hey, studying is studying! Help me with English and I'll help you with Japanese, kay?'

Minako smiled cheerfully as she brought Bebe up to the rooftop where the others were waiting for her.

'Oh, so this is the friend you were talking about.'

Yukari recovered first and she bowed to Bebe politely.

'I'm Takeba Yukari, Yoroshiku!'

Yukari smiled weakly as she introduced herself to the bewildered transfer student.

'My name eez Andre Laurent Jean Geraux... you can call me Bebe. It is nice to meet you, Takeba-san.'

Being extremely polite, Bebe smiled uneasily as Junpei waved from his seat at the other end along with Kenji.

'Yo! Iori Junpei! This is Tomochika Kenji here, sup bro!'

'Hi, like he said, Tomochika Kenji, but feel free to call me Kenji, and him as Junpei.'

The two of them grinned at Bebe while the last person smiled at him too, actually offering a hand, an odd gesture for a girl but then again, when was Rio really a typical teenage girl of her age anyway.

'I'm Iwasaki Rio, Yoroshiku, Bebe-san.'

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Settling into the rhythm of things, one can say that Minako's friends were all used to Minako having lots of friends, even those who might be called outcasts and they had to admit that was one of Minako's greatest selling and charm points.

The girl accepted everyone, no matter who they were and she got along with everyone and she would help and do anything if one would seek her for help. One wouldn't want to say they are taking advantage of her, but there were times that her friends felt that Minako was really... doing too much for all of them, putting themselves above her own self.

However, the more they knew Minako, the more they were surprised by her actions. Every one of them seemed so easy to her but to them, it felt like it was something momentous, like breaking new ground in the story of their life.

To her it might be something simple, something achievable, but it was something difficult to do something different, to accept and ignore the bias that they have perhaps built up over the years.

But, if she can do it... why can't they do it too?

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'Thank you everyone... all of you are Minako-chan's friends?'

Seeing at how they looked at Minako in confusion, Minako explained that she allowed him to call her like that.

'We aren't really in a special relationship or anything...'

Minako bit her lip even as Bebe nodded his head too.

'Yes, that is right, Minako-chan and I are just friends, Tomodachi!'

He smiled disarmingly and all of them seemed more relaxed as they nodded, inviting him to sit with them.

'We're having lunch together but Minako said that it'll be nice to meet you before the study date after school . So why don't you join us for lunch too, Bebe~'

'It's Andre!'

Minako pouted but the transfer student shook his head as he explained to the rest of them.

'No, it's okay to call me Bebe. It's a pet-name from my family and... I like others to use it as I feel that one would get closer to another with a pet-name.'

He smiled disarmingly again as he sat down beside Minako and pulled out his lunch, which was a couple of sandwiches that he prepared in his lunch box.

'We can share some if you like, Andre.'

Taking out her share of the lunch that she prepared between the three of them, Minako passed Bebe her chopsticks and asked him to taste some of her food while Kenji teased Junpei about that fact.

'Hey, Minako really does like that transfer student huh? Would she feed him too?'

'Hmmm...'

Rubbing his chin as the boys gossiped, Rio was speaking to Yukari about the same thing. The girls were not as accommodating to Bebe as the boys as they viewed Bebe as different, someone that they couldn't really accept so easily.

Boys were simple in a way, they share common topics like girls, sports or perhaps the newest gadgets and games in town but girls... each of them can be said to be different and although one might think that girls have a large pool of friends, they do of course but they would have a smaller inner circle that they always hang out with.

For boys it's different, everyone and anyone can be a good friend if they knew the other guy can be trusted. Sure, they have their very good pals and all but they treat other guys in generally the same way, especially if they earned or were respected in the same way.

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Thus, the boys spent no time at all chatting with Bebe, teasing him about him and Minako, causing the two of them to turn a little red before the transfer student declared that they were just friends, causing Kenji to get fired up and lamenting about how the foreigners get all the girls and more rubbish.

It was their way to get closer to the delicate boy and Minako smiled at their attempts, grateful in them getting Bebe to talk more about himself and his homeland as Bebe started to tell them more about chivalry and what not, such an odd topic for the three of them to talk about, making Minako giggle quite a bit at the questions fielded.

She knew that the boy didn't quite like his home and that he would return home eventually after his grandmother died... perhaps one day Minako could meet his grandmother and to tell him how strong Bebe would be after her passing, she was sure that Bebe's grandmother would like that.

She was sure that would be a relief to her too to find out that her grandson had found so many friends in this country.

'Hey, Bebe-san, what club are you currently in?'

Rio suddenly butted in, elbowing Kenji who was asking Bebe about what type of girls he liked, Rio nodded in understanding as he explained that he was in the Fashion Club and seemed quite interested when he explained what the club was about, nodding her head and asking questions about it.

'Minako-chan eez in the same club too! Though we don't meet up often, it is always nice to have company.'

Bebe smiled and put on a brave face as Rio frowned and prodded further, making Minako break out in cold sweat all of a sudden. Why was Rio so adamant to know about that?

'In the same club? Does that mean the two of you are the only members?'

She asked in concern as she crossed her arms, listening to Bebe explain that he got permission from one of the teachers to do that.

'I see... well, you need some members too right? Let us join too!'

Rio smiled as she pulled Kenji and Junpei in, explaining that the Student Council might want to close some clubs in the school due to lack of funds but as there aren't a limit to how many clubs people can join, she can help out with that.

'We need at least 5 members to sustain a club and for it to get funds! So... with the three of us you can get some funds and a real clubroom right?'

Ignoring how Bebe tried to explain or to argue that he liked the Home Economics Room and that he didn't want to force them to join, Rio smiled as Yukari joined in as well.

'It's not fair to leave us out! So you can put my name in there too, Bebe-san!'

'B-but, I don't really need the funds...'

'You need the classroom desho?'

Yukari added with a smile as Bebe nodded slowly. It wasn't something very amazing, but they wanted to do something to help him too. Watching him interact with the boys showed how lonely and isolated he was, something that Rio and Yukari can relate with a little and thus, they offered their help even if Bebe never asked them for it.

Minako had offered her hand when they were in trouble and it was only logical for them to help others too... as with Good Karma, they should pass it on to others to do the same.

If Bebe lost that one small haven in school, it'll probably be hard for him to deal with all the teasing he got from his class, he was probably the buttmonkey and the target of jokes in the class he was in after all, hence those rumours and unkind stories told of him.

But they boy still had a positive outlook in life and never failed to smile, even in front of strangers. That was what made the two girls want to help him, just a little.

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'Hai, thank you for your help then, Takeba-san, Iwasaki-san.'

Struggling to come up with the right words, the girls just laughed as they told him to call them by their names, Yukari and Rio.

'We'll make sure these two will help out two, instead of just being ghost-members.'

Yukari grinned as Minako nodded enthusiastically as well, finding that to be quite fun too.

'Junpei could help out too right?'

'Hey, wait a minute! We never said that we'll join the club! We never said that we'll even apply to the club!'

Kenji protested and was immediately rewarded with his ears being pulled and he yelped in pain as Rio lectured him.

'So... what do you say, Junpei?'

Breaking out in cold sweat as the other boy watched Minako and Yukari smile unnaturally sweetly at him, the boy just groaned and just nodded.

'After exams... I'll drop by a while, AFTER THE EXAMS!'

He shouted out loud, causing everyone to laugh at his outburst and comment.

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'Hey, Rio, Yukari-chan... Thanks.'

Minako smiled at her two good friends, pulling them back to speak with them as the boys left first, going down the staircase first while the girls hung back.

'Hmm? Oh, you mean about the club thing... Ahaha, it's nothing much. I was going to talk to Minako about that too...'

Rio lowered her head, biting her lip as Yukari blinked in confusion even as Minako immediately realized what was bugging Rio. If the situation at the club went on, they might not even be a volleyball club at the end of the semester, that was her reason for suddenly suggesting that. Was Rio giving up so easily? Or was she just prepared for the worst?

'Ah... I'll see what I can do about that... don't worry, Rio.'

Minako smiled reassuringly at the girl while petting her shoulders and Minako explained to Yukari that it was 'club problems'.

'Oh... I see...'

Yukari seemed to think that it was better not to pry, something which made Minako thankful and she fell silent even as the girls went back to class.

'Don't worry, Rio.'

Yukari suddenly spoke out and the girls stopped as they reached the landing to the second floor, where their classes were.

'If Minako-chan says it's okay, it'll be okay, so don't worry~'

Yukari winked while pulling Minako to do a victorious pose along with her.

'H-hey, Yukari-chan!'

Blushing madly, Minako tried to pull Yukari off her while Rio laughed in agreement.

'I know, I know right? I believe in you, Minako... but I'll do my best to... it'll be hard... but I want... to try to believe too, that I'm not wrong.'

Minako wondered if that was the right motivation at all but she kept quiet and just nodded her head, wondering what would happen if the teacher did not intervene. In any rate, she decided to go to have a talk with the teacher in charge, Ms Kanou was it, at the end of the day.

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'Arisato-kun.'

Hearing someone calling her, Minako turned around to see no one else but Odagiri Hidetoshi, the Emperor Social Link walking towards her and she greeted him politely with a smile, asking him if there was something wrong.

'Oh, nothing in particular, I was simply surprised to see you still in school, lessons have ended have they not? Exams are around the corner, if you are not prepared you should be studying, not loitering around in the school.'

Although his words seemed brash and rude, Minako knew he meant well and was just reminding her about the exams and Minako replied that she was ready but was going to study with her friends anyway.

'And it's rude not to greet someone, eve if they are your friends, Hidetoshi-kun.'

'Ah, that's right. Good afternoon, Arisato-kun.'

He smiled in apology and he scratched his head when Minako reminded him to call her 'Minako-san', instead.

'But that's alright, I know you'll get used to it. Are you hitting on me today, Hidetoshi-kun?'

Minako giggled as they walked towards the Faculty Room together, teasing Hidetoshi while they chatted about the upcoming exams as well as some disciplinary committee matters. Minako was feeling a little guilty that she hadn't been helping as much as she wanted to due to various reasons.

Of course, she had been helping out with gathering and preparing leaflets and posters about the updating of new school rules and new guidelines but other than that, she hadn't really been helping out.

'Nonsense, you are contributing in your own way. Of course I would hope that you would attend more sessions with us... The President have been asking on your progress after all.'

Hidetoshi grinned, making Minako feel a little uncomfortable and she reassured him that she would be more active after the exams.

'I'm looking forward to it then, Minako-san. By the way, there is another thing that I wish to raise.'

Minako blinked in surprise when Hideotoshi pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and passed it to her.

'I promised to help look for likely candidates to start up a culinary club before... however, this is the only person who applied for a similar club.'

Frowning in apology, Minako looked at the piece of the paper and to her great relief and glee, the name Yamagashi Fuuka was written there.

So it was just as planned... Minako couldn't help but give a bright smile as she thanked Hidetoshi for his help.

'Mm? No, it is really nothing... I've spoken to Yamagashi-san and she seemed willing to join in.'

Minako smiled as she thanked Hideotoshi again, causing the boy to look really awkward as he straighten his collar while telling her not to keep doing that.

'But I'm really thankful, really, thank you, Hideotoshi-kun.'

She even gave him a thank you hug, causing the normally stoic and steadfast Hideotoshi to be rendered speechless for a few moments as Minako just giggled teasingly.

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'Oh, isn't this... Arisato?'

From the faculty room came the one person that Minako was looking for and she spoke to Ms Kanou briefly till Hidetoshi excused himself, a slight red tinge on his face as he walked off.

'Now now, Arisato, it's not nice to tease him like that you know?'

Smiling in a knowing fashion at Minako, Ms Kanou leaned against the wall while watching the boy disappear from sight, walking in a little faster pace than usual while commenting casually to her.

'Although it's good to tease them a little, it's not a good idea to keep them hanging like that.'

Ms Kanou smiled in a shrewd kind of way while listening to Minako about the state of matters in the volleyball club, causing the teacher to get quite flustered at the state of affairs.

'I see... thank you for telling me this, Arisato, I'll definitely look into this... oh dearie dearie me... and I thought it would be easy to manage a bunch of girls instead of boys... Oh well.'

She shrugged a little, causing Minako to raise an eyebrow in confusion when all hell broke loose when she heard a voice calling out to the two of them.

'Hey, Minako-chan! Ms Kanou!'

It was Kenji and Minao turned around faster than she thought possible, looking at him in shock and confusion. Wasn't he supposed to be with the rest of her friends? She said she had to deal with something first and excused herself for a while... so why was Kenji here?

'Oh you came to speak with Ms Kanou? I have something that I wish to talk to her too... so...'

Coughing and clearing his throat, Kenji winked at Minako and the girl nodded her head before retreating from the scene.

So that was what's going on... huh? A secret rendezvous between the two of them?

Rio would be so hurt if she saw this, even if she might not know why she felt this way at the start.

'Well, I'll be heading back then...'

Minako left quickly while trying not to overhear what the two of them are talking about, probably about dinner plans or whatever that they do for dates... ugh, it's making even Minako feel a bit sick just thinking about it.

..

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'Hmm? What happened to you, Minako?'

Junpei asked in concern as the Wild Card made her way back to her friends, all of them in the library to do some last minute cramming. It was funny to see Bebe teach Yukari English but Minako admitted that Bebe had a better grasp of the language then she did and it was a good thing to have him around.

'N-nothing much... I think I'm just a little hungry.'

She smiled weakly but she paled a little more when Junpei asked if she did saw Kenji as he left in a hurry after getting a phone call.

'…'

Rio seemed to be distracted as well, checking her phone repeatedly while her hands were flipping the book she had brought quickly without even looking at the contents. Did Rio caught sight of what was on Kenji's phone earlier?

'No, I didn't, I saw him come down to the first floor though... perhaps he went to get a drink or something?'

Minako gave a small white lie while settling down beside Rio, squeezing the girl's hands in comfort, causing the girl to look up in surprise before smiling bitterly as a reply.

Rio might not understand what Minako was trying to say with her actions but at least Minako knew that she appreciated her effort.

'Well then, let's get to studying then~'

Minako tried to get an enthusiastic cheer from the few of them that they were here but they were quickly shushed by Hasegawa Saori, who blinked as she recognized Minako and subsequently smiled and waved at her before going back to her duties as the librarian.

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It was all in all, not quite an exciting day as she would have hoped it would be, a day where she formed a few more friendships and perhaps found the link to another one, to the Priestess Social Link.

What with Bebe's tutoring of English, Junpei's surprising seriousness towards studies as well as Kenji's need to crack jokes every few minutes to lighten the atmosphere, Minako was sad to report that they really didn't get much studying done.

But at least she was able to get Rio's thoughts away from the matter of their club and she seemed much happier after laughing at Kenji's lame jokes or Junpei's unrelenting retorts to him...

It was not an unforgettable day, it was a kinda normal, anti-climatic kinda day... but it suited her fine, it was nice to have a change of pace from time to time, right?

..

Now all she needed to do, was to focus on her studies and to get Mitsuru to pay attention to her more.

Author's Notes: Updates will be sparse as I concentrate on TWOGK instead. Thank you for understanding!