9/20 - Stormy Weather

It was another day in the Dorms for the SEES members. They were all stuck inside, like the day before, and very bored.

Their leader, Makoto, had slept through the entire storm the day prior, though that was mostly due to his condition. Thankfully, he had been feeling a lot better today, though still not quite back up-to-speed.

"How are you feeling, Yuki?" Mitsuru asked as the boy walked down the stairs. He gave a simple thumbs up as he walked towards the table and sat down.

As they were talking, Mitsuru heard a small sigh escape the mouth of the shy girl sitting next to her. Following her line of sight, she noticed that the television was emitting nothing but static.

"Worry not, Yamagishi." Mitsuru reassured. "There are plenty of other activities to distract yourself with."

Fuuka stood up, walking towards the table in the dining area. "Yeah..." She mumbled underneath her breath.

Makoto turned to face the two; now holding a cup in his hand. "You could always try practising your cooking." He suggested.

Fuuka grabbed a cup on the other side of the table and sat down next to the boy. "No, it's fine..." She paused. "I don't want to make your condition any worse now, do I?" She said, in a joking yet weak tone.

The blue-haired boy examined the empty cup in his hand for a few seconds. "I guess." He simply replied.

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of shouting coming from the stairs. Junpei came strolling down while scratching the back of his head.

"Will ya quit doing that, Yuka-tan?!" Junpei shouted up the stairs, sounding annoyed. "You're getting upset over nothing!"

"Nuh-uh!" Yukari's voice could be heard. "Just wait until Mitsuru hears about this!"

"Takeba?"

Yukari stomped down the stairs slowly. "You're about to be in for a world of hurt, Junpei!"

"Takeba, Iori! Stop it now, both of you!" Mitsuru snapped before the argument could de-escalate further. "We're stuck here for a day longer, so let's try not to tick each other off too much."

"But-!" Yukari tried objecting.

"No." Mitsuru glared at the two. They both immediately backed away from the topic.

"Ugh, what a pain..." Junpei sighed.

Just as the energy in the room start to dissipate, the sound of familiar robotic movements could be heard approaching.

Aigis arrived at the lobby, guns already primed. "I heard a commotion." She scanned around the room.

Fuuka stood up, startled by the arrival of their friend. "Aigis! Please don't worry, everything is fine!"

"What's going on here?" Akihiko had asked, apparently having walked down while no-one was looking.

"There's nothing happening, don't worry!" Fuuka clarified.

"You sure?" Akihiko seemed almost surprised. "No arguments?"

"Is there something wrong, Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked. "You seem to be thinking about something."

Akihiko looked down at his hands. "Yeah. The vending machine on the 2nd floor of the dorms is missing." He looked back up. "I'm amazed you didn't talk about it."

"WHAT?" Almost everyone in the room had exclaimed.

"Oh, I didn't notice." A blue haired boy commented.

...ALMOST, everyone.

"I, too, also didn't notice it." A mechanical voice added.

...almost... everyone?

"That's what I was gonna say! Junpei was the one who took it!"

...on second thought, maybe not every-

"Whaddya mean?! I didn't take it!" Junpei shouted defensively. "Why would I need that hunk of junk in my room anyways? It's right outside my room!"

"And that's exactly WHY you stole it!" Yukari shouted in her usual tone towards Junpei. "It was the boys vending machine that was taken, and out of all the boys here, you're the only one that would feel the need to actually do that!"

"You could check my room right now! It's not in there!"

Yukari scoffed. "No way am I going in your room ever."

Junpei just sighed. "Quit complaining then."

Fortunately for Junpei, she would! But not for the reason he'd expect.

"That's enough from all of you." Mitsuru sternly shouted. "I implore whoever did this to confess - if you wish to avoid what comes next."

Everyone became quiet and looked around at one another. Nothing. No words were spoken.

"Hmm. This is certainly a dilemma." She murmured underneath her breath.

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "It can't be THAT big of a deal, right?"

Glossing over the fact that he heard her, Mitsuru shook her head. "It doesn't seem like much, but it cost a fortune to set up. Any damage to them is ill-advised."

Once again, the room fell silent. Glances were being shot everywhere but no-one had anything to announce, seemingly.

Fuuka coughed for a minute to draw some attention. "Why don't we just... check everyone's rooms?" She suggested, not wanting to stand around in silence for much longer.

"A most efficient plan. This is the most logical course of action." Aigis responded praisingly. "I shall show you my room first - an exhibition of my personal collection."

Akihiko chuckled slightly. "Sorry Aigis, but we don't need to check your room. You don't drink anything."

The robot frowned and lowered her head. "I see..." She hummed sadly.


The first person to have their room checked was Junpei, much to the dismay of Yukari. There was all sorts of things lying around. Magazines, books, posters… no vending machine though.

"I told you! Why would it be here?!" Junpei shouted, insisting on everyone leaving as fast as they could.

Up next was Makoto. Just one look at his room was enough to tell you it wasn't here. His room was empty, barren, ordinary…

"It's so boring in here." Yukari commented.

"I think it's a different taste from the rest of us." Fuuka optimistically remarked.

"Regardless, it's not here." Akihiko said as he left for his room.

…it wasn't here either. There was a treadmill, sure. But not much else.

As for the girls rooms… they didn't let any of the boys in. They each checked each other's rooms and came to the conclusion that it wasn't in any of them.

Yukari pondered for a minute. "Well, what now?"

"Is it possible that someone broke in and stole it?" Mitsuru asked.

"Why would they do that?" Junpei questioned her thought. "Even if they steal it, they still have to pay for the drinks inside."

"Well… if they got the drinks inside without paying for them… then that would mean they would get the drinks for free. Then they could drink them or…" Fuuka trailed off.

Makoto stepped in. "Sell them. Free drinks or free money. Win-win." He blankly explained.

"That's it!" Mitsuru shouted. "I can't stand the thought of someone stealing from THIS dorm!"

Everyone fell silent upon hearing her voice.

"I'm issuing a search-party to investigate Iwatodai. Until we find it, this matter is dismissed!"


9/21 - Rainy Weather

"This topic is too far gone…" Aigis quietly spoke to herself in the comforts of her room. "I only wanted to see if I could consume the drinks… it does not bod well for me if they were to find out."

Waiting until it was midnight, she dragged the vending machine out of the room and picked it up - hoping to silently return it to its spot. Thankfully, it was just a floor below her. Since her room was just next to the stairs too, it wasn't a long walk.

In the dark midst of the dorm at night, all that could be heard were quiet, mechanical whirring noises along with the pitter-pattering noises of the rain - hitting against the window down the hallway.

As she approached the stairs, a flashlight from above shined on her.

"Who goes-?!"

"So…" Ikutsuki remarked - his tone sounding rather amused. "You were the thief? Can't say I was expecting that.

The robot girl set down the vending machine. "No, I am not a thief." Aigis defended. "I was just… this is just…"

Her processor wasn't helping her formulate a plan out of this.

To make matters worse; the commotion had been heard by everyone. At this point, Mitsuru had turned on the lights and Ikutsuki had turned his flashlight off. Most of the boys had walked upstairs too, blocking her escape.

"What's going on here?"

Ikutsuki pointed at Aigis. "If I may explain, I believe I have found-"

"Excuse me." Aigis interrupted. "I found the vending machine in the Chairman's office."

"What?!" The boy with a hat shouted. "He had it the whole time?!"

"I beg your pardon?" Shuji's eyes widened upon hearing this accusation. From his own robot, no less.

"Chairman." Mitsuru exclaimed coldly. "We need to have a chat. Now." She grabbed him and dragged him up the stairs.

Everyone watched in silence as this happened. "That was interesting." Akihiko commented.

"Yeah… at least we have the vending machine back now… all thanks to Aigis." Yukari added, tiredly.

Fuuka rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Speaking of Aigis… where is she?"

Everyone looked over to see that Aigis had vanished - along with the vending machine.


In the brief time everyone was focusing on Mitsuru and the Chairman, Aigis had swiftly and stealthily grabbed the vending machine and made her way past the boys blocking the stairs; who had moved away from their positions at some point.

The hallway on the boys floor was still dark - the lights hadn't been turned on. Despite this, she didn't see anyone around.

Just before she could place the vending machine back in its spot, she heard a voice.

"You stole the vending machine?"

She looked over at the hallway.

Makoto.

He hadn't rushed over to the stairs like everyone else when the commotion happened - instead opting to sleep a bit longer. It was only until he heard Mitsuru shouting that he decided to check it out.

"I am sorry for stealing. I just wanted to try and taste them."

Due to the hallway being so dark, she couldn't make out his face or his expression. He hasn't moved an inch from his position. His pose remained the same too.

"Cool." His voice sounded a bit strained. He was still sick after all.

Then he moved. He walked over to where Aigis was.

"Hey, can you put that down?"

The robot immediately did as she was asked. She placed the vending machine down at it's original spot and backed up.

Makoto walked over to it, inserted a coin and selected a drink. It quietly dispensed a can of Mad Bull. He took a sip of it.

"…it's warm."

He then silently walked back towards his room with the drink in his hands. Aigis watched him as he opened the door to his room and closed it behind him.

What a strange boy.


The end.


This short story was made to celebrate the release of Persona 3, 4 and 5 on modern consoles along with Xbox!

Hopefully you enjoyed reading it and I highly recommend checking the series out if you haven't already.