Hello Everyone! UltimateEzel back again, with a Persona 3 Story this time. This is a story I've been wanting to write for a long time. P3 is my favorite game of all time, and I've wondered what might have happened had the protagonist gotten the chance to speak to his friends before his death. Part of why The Answer happened was the lack of closure that SEES had with the protagonist's death, and now they have a chance to obtain it. I hope you enjoy!

March 5, 2010

Gekkoukan High School Rooftop

Minato Arisato was content, his head in Aigis' lap, as he felt the spring breeze upon his face. He did it, he was able to make it to graduation day to fulfill the promise that everyone made before going into Tartarus on the Promised Day. Now, he could let go without regrets, to the fate that he chose for himself on that day.

"You must be tired. Please, get some rest. I will stay here with you." Aigis smiled at him, happy that she found her purpose. Minato was glad for her, seeing the life in her eyes and hearing the emotion in her voice in a way that was unthinkable when they first had met. He could hear the others beginning to reach them, Junpei's voice being as loud as ever.

"Soon, all of our friends will be here by your side," Aigis reminds him. Minato starts to feel tired, and feels that it is time to go now.

"Don't worry. I will always be by your side, protecting you." It was those words from Aigis that gave a jolt to Minato, and his eyes opened wide.

She doesn't know. She doesn't know that I will be leaving her, leaving everyone, just as they are all remembering everything we went through. All of the trials that brought us closer together, forging our unbreakable bond. And I am about to leave them, without any warning or explanation. Is...is it right for me to do that? Minato knew his time was up, and that he would not live beyond this day. This, and along with the fact that the others could not remember anything about their struggles from the past year, caused him to make the decision to come here alone to die, without having to witness their sadness. Aigis foiled that plan when she found him at the dorm and now it seems that everyone else regained their memories. And right as that happened, he was dying and there wasn't anything that could be done about it.

No. I won't leave them like this. They deserve to know the full truth before that. I made it this far already. I can hold on a little longer to tell them everything. That resolve gave a bit more life to Minato's lethargic body, and he gained the strength to stand up from his position in Aigis' lap.

"Minato-san? Are you not going to rest? I can tell you are very tired. The others will understand if you are not awake to greet them right away…"

"No, Aigis. I cannot rest yet. There is something I still need to do."

That was all that was said when the door to the roof opened and the other members of SEES burst out onto the rooftop. Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Fuuka, even Ken and Koromaru were able to sneak in somehow. And finally...Yukari, the love of his life, rushing in ahead of all of them, face distraught and elated at the same time. Seeing him, Yukari ran into his arms.

"Minato...I finally remember everything! I remember you…! We weren't just boyfriend and girlfriend...You're much, much more important to me than that...You changed my life...I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" Yukari embraced Minato tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.

"It's okay, Yukari. It's not your fault" Minato could do nothing but put his arms around her and try to gently reassure her.

"Heeeey, Yuka-tan, not to spoil your emotional reunion or anything, but have you forgotten that other people want to greet our fearless leader as well?" Junpei, reliable as ever for killing a moment, interjected, with the others either facepalming or shaking their heads, an amused smile on their faces nevertheless. Yukari's face reddened while Minato was as unflappable as ever.

"Shut up, Stupei! You always open your mouth at the worst possible time! Is it really too much to ask for you to wait at least 10 seconds?"

"Hey, cut me some slack here, I'm just excited to have the grand reunion now that we all remember!"

"Yeah, Junpei, all of us are excited, but maybe you should have let the two of them have their moment before you kill the mood completely," Akihiko, always ready to shoot down Junpei whenever he has a "Junpei"-moment, chimes in.

"Perhaps Iori would want us to intrude upon his reunion with Chidori if this is the kind of respect he gives to such occasions," Mitsuru, who has lightened up quite a bit since their initial meeting to the point where she can dish out lighthearted teasing, joins in on heckling Junpei.

"Hey, hey, hey! I resent that, I'm not embarrassed by you guys, you can witness any moment between Chidori and myself!" He says that, but the panicked look on Junpei's face says otherwise. Heh, same old Junpei.

"If that is the case, Junpei-san, perhaps I should accompany you the next time you visit the hospital. Seeing your interactions would prove most intuitive in understanding the emotion called love," Aigis delivers in a deadpan voice that would not have been out of place when she first joined SEES in July, but here, the mischievous look in her eyes shows she isn't serious. She is starting to get the hang of telling jokes.

"Oh, come on! You too, Ai-chan? Geez, kill the mood just one time, and all of a sudden, everyone on earth gets on your case…" Junpei grumbles, his face red from the heckling.

"Now, now. I believe Junpei-kun has been chastised enough. We do not need to put him through any more embarrassment than he has already caused himself," Fuuka giggled, and the high school students of the group had a good laugh at the incident, including Junpei. Ken and Koromaru were standing to the side, looking confused more than anything.

"I really don't understand what just happened with all of them, Koromaru. Adults are really weird. You think I'll act like that when I'm their age?" Ken asks Koromaru, the Shiba Inu making a noise as if he were shrugging.

Minato viewed all of them feeling elation and relief. They were all here, they remembered everything, they were bickering and laughing with the same sense of joy that he felt now. Except…

I hate to do this now, but I need to tell them while I have the chance. I might not make it in time if I delay any more.

"Hey, guys? There is something really important that I need to tell all of you…" Minato's face sobered as he spoke the damning words. The others turned to him when they heard the serious tone of voice.

"What's wrong, Minato? You know you don't have to hesitate to tell us anything?" Yukari's concerned voice rang in his ears, probably from seeing his face, but Minato kept speaking.

"I don't want to talk about it here. Let's go back to the dorm." Minato moved forward, but stumbled and nearly fell to his knees before Junpei caught him and kept him upright.

"Hey, Minato, you don't look so well. Maybe you should rest and you can tell us what you have on your mind later…"

"No. It has to be now."

"Minato, you can't be serious! You look like you are about to drop. You really look like you need to rest, none of us really mind waiting-"

"No, Yukari! It absolutely needs to be now! If I wait any longer it will be too late!"

Those words shocked the group, their happy expressions starting to be replaced with confusion and a bit of fear. But none of the group's expressions tore at his heart like Aigis'. The sheer horror on her face at your words and their implications made Minato hate himself for what he was about to do, just after she declared that she wished to live for his sake. But it had to be done. The alternative was just that much worse.

"Look, I'm sorry I got short with you all. But this is important. Please, let's go back to the dorm. I promise, I will explain everything when we get there."

The rest of the group could do nothing but agree, trepidation in their hearts for what they are about to hear...

And that does it for the first chapter! I really wanted this to be a one-shot, but I couldn't get the actual confession scene to come together by today, and I really wanted to publish this story today, as it is March 5th, the day the protagonist died. So I decided to publish the reunion for one chapter and finish the confession to post later. I promise, I will have it ready before the end of the month (the day that kept repeating). Until then, I hope you enjoy, and leave your reviews!