Hello, everyone!

So, this was an idea I came up with recently, where I will be writing a series of fanfics retelling specific Social Links featuring the male members of SEES. I loved how you could learn more about them in P3 Portable since they didn't have much characterization in the original port and FES.

Then again, I've only made it up until before the June Full Moon Operation in Portable, but I digress. Also, I've yet to see much of Ken's Social Link, but ugh. Whose bright idea was it to make him a freaking love interest for the female protagonist?! He's eleven!

I'm also aware that there's a similar fic like this one on Fanfiction. However, there hasn't been an update since 2016, so I'll be taking up the mantle.

Anyhow, I'm going to shut up and present this story now. I hope you guys enjoy it!

EDIT (2/28/2022): Special thanks to ThunderRemix8 and esskaid on Discord for their feedback on this chapter! I've made some additions and changes to help the story flow better!

Minato Arisato wordlessly stood up as the bell rang, signifying the end of classes. It had been over two weeks since he returned to his hometown for the first time in ten years. He never expected much to happen besides experiencing the Dark Hour since the accident, with nothing but blood (or red water?) and coffins for miles.

That was until Shadows and Personas came into the picture; he soon learned more about the phenomenon occurring at midnight. Since then, he became the field leader of SEES, leading the group to explore a towering labyrinth known as Tartarus.

But, there are other things to consider right now; figuring out how to spend the rest of his afternoon was one of them.

He was about to leave when Junpei came up to him with a grin.

"Yo, dude!" the other boy greeted, tipping back the bill of his baseball cap. "You got some time to hang out with me? There's this pretty good place I know about; it'll be my treat!"

Minato thought for a bit. He remembered how Junpei had been rather bothersome on the first day of school, especially getting too familiar for his liking. ("Personal space," Minato had told him when the latter got close to his face twice.)

On the other hand, Junpei was generally decent; aside from complaining about not being the field leader when they first entered Tartarus, he was still as carefree, if not more silly, as ever.

So, it didn't take long for Minato to respond.

"Sure."

"Sweet! Now you're talking. Come on, let's get going!"

Arriving at the Iwatodai Strip Mall, Minato and Junpei made their way to Hagakure Ramen. Upon entering, they noticed that the restaurant was unusually crowded, with many people seated at their tables with their food while the overwhelmingly pleasant smell of ramen filled the air. But the boys managed to reserve their seats at the counter as the waiter came over.

"Welcome!" he said with a smile. "What can I get you both for today?"

"Um... we'll have two specials!" Junpei replied.

"Coming right up! Two house specials!"

Minato looked at Junpei curiously. "The special?"

"Yep. The regular meals are good and all, but the special? Full of pure awesomeness. You won't regret it!"

A few minutes passed before their orders came, freshly prepared and piping hot.

"Go on, give it a try," Junpei encouraged.

Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, Minato started taking a few bites of his meal. His eyes widened; he had ramen many times before, but this was something else. The noodles blended well with the soup, ensuring they weren't too oily. And the toppings, consisting of some vegetables and an egg, added quite the flavor that was just right.

"It's delicious," he remarked.

"Haha, I told ya it'd be awesome," Junpei smirked. "Now it's time for me to dig right in too!"

He immediately followed up, momentarily screeching as the food burned his tongue.

Almost half an hour later, the boys were close to finishing their ramen when Junpei abruptly faced Minato and asked, "So, you doing okay now?"

"Hmm?" the blue-haired boy tilted his head.

"I heard that you were in the hospital for a week."

"What of it?"

Junpei hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Well, it looked like you didn't have any problems whatsoever. You acted the same as you've always been since you transferred to Gekkoukan."

"I see."

"I wasn't sure if you were accustomed to school or not since I had trouble transferring here myself. That's when I decided to try and help you feel welcome. Just so you wouldn't feel alone, you know?"

Surprise crossed Minato's face. Never did he expect Junpei to get serious out of the blue.

For the longest time since his parents died, he always pushed people away, afraid he would lose them if he got too attached. As a result, he became someone who didn't care about anything, not even death, regardless of what others might think.

And yet, here was Junpei, who still reached out to befriend him despite their rough start. He would never admit it, but to have someone show concern for him apart from Takeba felt nice.

Deciding not to stall any longer, he gave an appreciative nod and said, "Yeah. Thanks, Junpei."

The other boy was now the one surprised. Instead of Iori, Minato addressed him by his first name this time. Shaking off his shock, he only responded in return with a smile, "Anytime, man. You can count on me!"

Minato now felt he could genuinely trust Junpei with anything.

Suddenly, a flash of white crossed his vision as a tarot card emerged. It turned around, revealing an image of a pair of eyes and hands conjuring a flame, along with the Roman numeral I. That's when he heard Elizabeth's voice.

Thou art I, and I am thou.

Thou hast established a new bond.

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana.

Feeling a slight surge of power as the flash faded, Minato could only ponder, Another Social Link, huh? Would there be more of them with everyone else in SEES?

But before his thoughts could get elsewhere, he heard Junpei call out, "Hello? Earth to Minato!"

"Huh?"

"You were spacing out for a bit, dude. Now, come on, we got to finish up our ramen!"

"R-right."

Minato would certainly never forget this afternoon, that much for sure.

Minato has formed the Social Link with Junpei! It will undoubtedly be fun to write the following events because the game didn't make them feel like best friends, if at all; my apologies if some of the dialogue is paraphrased from Portable since I don't want to copy it word by word. I even wanted to keep Minato and Junpei in character, so that's how things will be for now.

Additionally, please let me know if there are any inconsistencies or errors in the story; that would be most helpful!

I will continue to create more wholesome moments for these two, so stay tuned for next time!

Also, Junpei is one of the best Persona characters. Fight me.