Guiding Star

Written by Aiyumi

Disclaimer: Persona and all related characters are property of Atlus, Inc. Any trademarks that may be referenced in this fan fiction are properties of their respective owners. I am just a fan and do not have any relations to said people/companies.

Chapter 14: Forgiveness

September came, and summer break was over. Classes started again, and Aigis enrolled in school, just like it had happened in the previous timeline. But unlike the first time, this time Junpei had done his homework and surprised everyone. His answers to the exercises weren't all necessarily correct, though.

After school, Minako, Junpei, Kenji and Aigis went to the arcade in Paulownia Mall. There, a familiar figure was furiously ramming on the buttons on the controller.

"Rio...!" Kenji exclaimed in surprise. "Wha-what are you doing here?!"

"Can't you see it?" Rio answered without taking her eyes from the screen.

"Y-yeah, but... I thought you didn't like to come to the arcade! Remember? When we were little..."

"Of course I didn't! You got completely engrossed in the games and wouldn't even look at me! I tried my hand at the games so that I could play them with you, but I was so bad at them that you always made fun of me. It was so embarrassing and frustrating! Of course I didn't like that! But a lot of time passed, and things have changed. During all these years, I've been honing my arcade abilities so that you won't keep making fun of me!"

Rio's match ended and a results screen appeared. With the exception of Aigis, everyone gaped at her insane amount of points.

"Wha-what kind of crazy score is that!?" Kenji expressed his disbelief.

Rio finally released the controller. She furiously shoved coins into the arcade machine and raised her hand defiantly. "Kenji, I challenge you to a match!"

"O... uh..." Kenji gulped nervously and took another controller. "A-alright!" He tried to keep his cool, without much success. "I-if it's a challenge you want, a challenge you'll get!"

However, in the end, Rio didn't get a challenge at all. Kenji didn't even know what hit him, and lost horribly to her.

"What!? You've got to be kidding me! How am I supposed to even keep up with a playing like that!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Rio mocked him. "See what it's like to be humiliated at the games and then get made fun of? It took more than ten years, but I finally got my revenge!"

"Ugh, Rio, you're a monster..." Kenji grumbled.

"Repeat that!" Rio seemed to have sparks coming out of her eyes. "Say that again if you dare!"

"Hey, Mina-tan." Junpei whispered. "I've heard that she loves him. Is that true?" He got a nod as response. "Whoa. Then, I don't want to imagine what could happen if she hated him..."

Minako, Aigis and Rio played against Junpei and Kenji. Both Minako and Aigis were quite good at the game as well, and the boys suffered a humiliating defeat.

"Ugh, these girls scare me..." Kenji commented to Junpei once they had called it a day.

"Yeah. Better to have them on our side rather than against us, huh?"

... ... ... ... ...

That Dark Hour, Minako and Pharos talked while seated on the bed like usual.

"School has just started again, and I already learned something cool!" Pharos sounded excited as though he had gone to school himself, and witnessed a lecture for the first time in his life. "I really liked that thing your teacher said!"

"What thing?" Minako hadn't found any "cool" thing in her first day of classes after summer vacation.

"Remember when he asked you what zero electrical resistance was, and you answered it was superconductivity? Then he said he had confessed his love to someone by saying, 'My love for you is superconductive.' That sounds so cool! Love with no resistance. So heartwarming... I'll make sure to remember this line!"

Oh no. Those pickup lines again, Minako thought and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You don't need to memorize that kind of stuff!"

Pharos seemed dejected. "These kinds of lines are so beautiful... I don't understand why you dislike them so much."

Minako sighed. "It's not just me. Many others dislike this kind of lines, too. These lines are overused. People tend to throw them around without meaning what they're saying, and the lines' message lose their weight to the point we can't take them seriously anymore."

"Ah. So, people dislike these lines because they're overused? Hmm. Then... if I come up with my own lines, is it okay?"

Minako deadpanned. Pharos sure didn't want to give up on those lines... "Uh, well... it's better than copying overused lines, I guess..."

Pharos closed his eyes in concentration and remained silent for a while. Then he opened his eyes and looked expectantly at Minako. "So, how about this one? ... 'Only you can heal all the wounds in my heart. You're the Diarahan in my life.'"

Minako sweatdropped. "Huh? Diarahan...?"

"Not good? Hmm..." Pharos thought a bit more. "And this one? 'For you, I'd pull off a crazy stunt at the top of Tartarus.'"

Minako sighed. "Pharos-kun... I doubt you'd get your message across with lines like those."

"Huh, why?"

"Only Persona users would understand those messages. Normal people don't know anything about Tartarus, much less what Diarahan is." If not for the other timeline, not even Minako herself would have known what Diarahan is. By September, the highest level healing skill SEES had in their arsenal was still Mediarama.

"Oh. You're right. This is harder than I thought..." Pharos sighed in disappointment.

... ... ... ... ...

On September 2nd, Shinjiro joined SEES.

"Welcome back to the dorm, Aragaki-senpai." Minako opened the door for him.

"This place doesn't ever change, huh?" Shinjiro commented upon entering the dorm.

Ken, who was seated on a chair in the kitchen and had just finished drinking a glass of milk, froze at the sound of Shinjiro's voice. He lost his grip on the empty glass, and it shattered to pieces onto the ground.

"Amada!" Akihiko hurried to his side.

So did Shinjiro. "Hey! You okay, kid?"

The boy didn't respond. He seemed to be in a daze. He only moved again when Shinjiro ran to retrieve a broom to wipe the glass shards on the ground. Ken stood up from the chair he was seated and scrambled after Shinjiro. "A-Aragaki-san, you don't need to do that! I created the mess. I-I'll clean it myself... ugh!" Ken seemed dizzy and almost lost his balance, but Shinjiro caught him.

"You don't look very well, kid." Shinjiro placed a hand on Ken's forehead and turned to Akihiko. "Aki, I think he has a fever. Let's help him to his room."

Ken seemed about to protest, but gave up. "Uh, Aragaki-san, um, welcome back to the dorm. Y-you've just arrived and..." He pointed at the broken glass on the ground. "Uh, sorry for the trouble."

Shinjiro waved it off. "Nah. Don't sweat it. Just go to sleep."

Akihiko and Shinjiro took Ken to the second floor, and returned minutes later.

"How is he?" Mitsuru asked.

"He has a low fever. He'll be fine after some sleep." Shinjiro informed and left for the kitchen to wipe the broken glass from the ground.

... ... ... ... ...

At night, Minako met up with Ken when they were about to head downstairs to have dinner in the living room.

"Amada-kun, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Everything crashed down at once, and my head was spinning until a short while ago. But it stopped spinning. I'm okay now." He stared straight at her. "Minako-san... today I want to talk to everyone about... the stuff I told you the other day. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Amada-kun. I know you can do it." Minako encouraged him.

Ken nodded gratefully, and both of them proceeded to walk to the living room.

Everyone seemed surprised that Shinjiro had been the one to cook dinner. But before he could bring the food, Ken walked to the center of the room and called everyone to attention.

"I have something really important to say."

Junpei and Yukari were clueless and didn't react, while Mitsuru and Akihiko seemed apprehensive. Minako was also a bit nervous. Shinjiro seemed to be trying to look disinterested, but Minako could tell that deep down he was anxious as well.

Once Ken was sure that he had everyone's attention, he began his speech. "Some of you may already know about this story, uh... about how my mother died." The air thickened. "To the police it was a car accident, but in truth, it wasn't. It was a Persona accident, during the Dark Hour." To which Shinjiro gritted his teeth. "I saw everything when it happened, and I know whose Persona it was. It was Aragaki-san's Persona."

Color drained from Shinjiro's face.

"Is... is this true?" Yukari asked apprehensively.

"... Yes." Mitsuru was the only one brave enough to answer. "It happened two years ago. Right after Aragaki awakened to his Persona, he joined SEES. One night, I detected Shadows preying on people outside of Tartarus and sent Sanada and Aragaki to investigate. They managed to eliminate the Shadows, but Aragaki's Persona went berserk, and..."

"Yeah, it's true..." Shinjiro had lost his composure completely. "It went outta my control. In the end, Aki's Persona managed to hold it off, but... it was already too late. Castor destroyed that house, and... Amada's mom...!" Shinjiro let out a curse. "I failed to protect a life again, like that time in the orphanage... no, this time it was worse. I was the one who took a life...! After that, all I've wanted was to forget. But my body never forgets, and when I realize it, I'm loitering around Port Island Station again, the place where it happened..."

"Shinji..." Akihiko whispered his friend's name with concern.

"Amada... yeah, it was me. I know apologizin' won't change anythin'. What I did is unforgivable. Your life was ruined, and it's my fault. Now you got roped into this Dark Hour stuff too..."

"A-Aragaki-san..." A few teardrops began running down Ken's face. "N-no, it wasn't ruined. At first, I had thought my life wasn't worth living anymore. I was very sad, very angry, a-and... thought all sorts of bad stuff... but now, I'm here with everyone. It's so lively and nice here in the dorm. And now I have this power to help protect others. Well, there's a lot of dangerous stuff, too. Just the other day we were talking about Personas going berserk, and then I had a nightmare where my Persona went out of control and almost... k-killed everyone. It was horrible. Now I think I understand what you must be feeling, and I'm not angry at you anymore. I... I forgive you, Aragaki-san."

"A-Amada..." Shinjiro's voice almost didn't come out.

"Amada-kun..." Minako was touched as well. "You know? Aragaki-san joined us again especially because of you. He was against the idea of joining, but when Sanada-senpai said that you were in the group, Aragaki-senpai jumped in right away!"

"H-hey!" Shinjiro protested, but Minako's words were already out.

"Aragaki-senpai's really kind..." Fuuka commented.

"Aragaki-san... th-thank you...!" Tears leaked out of Ken's eyes with more intensity. "A-and welcome back. The Dark Hour stuff is dangerous and scary, b-but we have this power to f-fight against it. I'm sure that if all of us join forces, we can put an end to it!" Ken smiled triumphantly through his tears. "Spring mornings are pleasant, and I'm sure we'll get rid of the Dark Hour and get to enjoy many springs in our lives! Yes!"

Minako and Ken traded a quick glance, and both of them knew they were on the same page.

"Thou art I... ... and I am thou..." Everything froze and the Justice Tarot card invaded Minako's vision. "Thou hast recovered a previously established bond. A bond thou hast forged that cannot be broken." And just like what had happened with Strength, the Justice Social Link formed and shot straight up to level 10.

Ken remembered. He remembered...! Minako wanted to jump in joy.

"Arf arf!" Koromaru barked cheerfully.

"'Well put, Amada-san,' was what Koromaru-san said." Aigis translated.

"Hahaha, that was kinda cheesy, Amada boy." Junpei grinned at Ken.

Ken looked disappointed that the others didn't seem to have gotten his message. Minako, however, nodded knowingly at him and flashed a wide smile.

... ... ... ... ...

The full moon came, and Junpei wasn't present, just like the other time. Minako suggested looking around the dorm's surroundings, but unlike in the other timeline, Junpei wasn't there, much to her panic. They carried out the operation while Fuuka tried to split her efforts into both the full moon Shadow and locating Junpei.

After the battle, they finally found Junpei. He was with Chidori again, but farther from the dorm. They subdued Chidori, and the night ended with her in the hospital.

In the morning, Minako, Mitsuru, Akihiko and Junpei went to check up on Chidori in the hospital. Chidori refused to talk to Mitsuru and Akihiko, but spoke to Junpei.

"Iori." Mitsuru called Junpei to attention on the way back from the hospital. "That Chidori girl seems to react differently when you are around. What happened between you two?"

Junpei sighed. "I ran into her a few times during summer break. I got curious about her drawings, and we began talking. I'd have never guessed that she was from Strega! She asked me what made me feel alive, and I ended up mentioning fighting monsters during a time no one else is awake. I thought she wouldn't believe it, because no one would... I felt like showing off, and blurted out more stupid stuff... she thought I had more influence in the group. That's why she decided to kidnap me, I guess."

Minako and Akihiko said nothing.

Mitsuru stared critically at Junpei for a while. "Either way, I believe this means that Strega lost their support Persona user, which is an advantage for us. And she apparently trusts you more than any of us. Iori, I will leave her check ups up to you."

"Huh? ... Thanks, Mitsuru-senpai."

Minako noticed that Junpei didn't seem as enthusiastic as he normally would upon hearing that he could keep visiting Chidori.

They returned to the dorm, but Minako left soon after. It was Sunday, and she chose to spend time with Akinari. When she got back to the dorm later, she learned that Junpei had spent the rest of his day locked in his room.

... ... ... ... ...

X:X:X:X:X

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

"Huh?" Minako's eyes were closed, but she realized Igor had summoned her to the Velvet Room during her sleep that night.

"The Shadow you carry cannot hear you in here. Since you might have things from the previous timeline to discuss, I have summoned all of you here."

"All of us...? Ah!" Minako finally opened her eyes, and saw that she had company. Two more chairs were occupied. Ken sat on one, while a crestfallen Junpei sat on the other, and Koromaru sat on the ground next to Junpei. "A-Amada-kun, Koro-chan and... J-Junpei?!"

"Your friends' acceptance of the deal to go back in time serves as their contract to enter the Velvet Room." Igor clarified.

"Wait, does this mean..."

Junpei nodded. "Yeah. I remembered. When Chidori subdued me yesterday, everything clicked... but it's too late, right? The first thought that popped into my mind was, 'I screwed up again.' I couldn't take part in the full moon battle, and Chidori is in the hospital, exactly like the first time. I'm the worst... why did I have to do exactly the same thing as last time? If nothing changed, then what's the point?"

Ken spoke. "Junpei-san, doesn't this mean that Strega lost their support Persona user and can't track us anymore? Then, isn't this good for us?"

Minako nodded. "Yeah, Mitsuru-senpai also said the same thing. It's fine this way, Junpei. You just have to take good care of Chidori-san, and we have to make sure Strega doesn't get to her. We can still save her. And things are changing."

"Arf!" Koromaru was also optimistic.

And so was Ken. "Yeah, and we'll save Aragaki-san, too. Rest assured that I won't do anything stupid this time. In the next full moon battle, I'll be there like I should. October 4th brings me sad memories. First because it's the day my mom died, and also because it's the day I screwed up and Aragaki-san died in the other timeline. I want to override these memories, and in the future I want to remember this date as the day Aragaki-san was saved."

"You're very strong, Amada boy. And you've been saying a lot of deep stuff lately..." Junpei raised his head and cracked a weak smile. "I was so frustrated because I repeated the same mess-ups, and kept thinking that everything was happening the same way with Chidori and worrying that she'd die again exactly like the other time, and I wasn't seeing anything else around me. But yeah, all of you are right. We still have a chance. That reminds me, Mina-tan, how's the plan going? I mean, about Ryoji."

"Oh, yeah, everything is going well so far. As for Pharos-kun... uh, I mean Ryoji-kun's child form. I've talked a lot more to him this time around. He's actually very nice. I'm pretty confident that we can count on him to help us!"

"Hmm, cool. You sound so optimistic that it lifts my mood, too!" A grin broke into Junpei's face. "So, how does that work? He talks to you during the Dark Hour? Do you think other people can see him?"

"I'm also curious," Ken said. "I hadn't talked much to Ryoji-san, but he seemed to be a good person. It'd be nice if I could talk to him more this time around. And his previous form, too."

"Pharos-kun is really curious to meet everyone." Minako answered. "He can interact with the environment just fine. So, I think other people can see him, but I don't know how to explain his presence to the others. Maybe we could arrange to have everyone meet him if they remember everything in time."

"Did anyone else remember?" Ken asked. "It was kinda disappointing that no one seemed to catch the meaning when I said the passphrase..."

"No." Minako answered. "It looks like Ai-chan is almost there, though. She's been acting very differently from the way she did when we met in the other timeline. She lets a lot of stuff slip, too, like what had been happening to you. The others also show some signs from time to time."

Ken smiled. "You know? Minako-san, I'm very happy to see both you and Aragaki-san alive again. I hope the others remember soon, and that we can be here to see a lot more spring mornings. Yeah, I really mean it."

"Me too." Minako giggled with hope in her eyes.

"Haha! Quite cheesy, but I also agree!" Junpei's mood was already better. "Mina-tan, count on me, too!"

Minako smiled. "Of course I will! I'm always counting on you, Junpei."

"Wow, thanks." Junpei was genuinely touched. He soon got into his usual cheerful and cocky self. "Alright! I'll also do my best. No more slacking around. It's level up time! Junpei Iori 2.0... or is it 3.0? ... Nah. Junpei Iori 4.0 is coming!"

Minako chuckled at Junpei's restored enthusiasm. She heard the shattering glass sound, and like it had happened to the Strength and Justice Social Links, the Magician Social Link also skipped ranks and went straight to level 10.

X:X:X:X:X

... ... ... ... ...

The following day, Junpei paid attention in class for once and answered one of the teacher's questions correctly. During lunch break, Minako heard gossip about the culture festival.

"Hey, Mina-tan. Think the typhoon will hit like the other time?"

"I wish it wouldn't, but it probably will."

"Dang. I want the culture festival! I wanna see Yuka-tan in a maid costume..."

Yukari was passing by right at that moment, and color drained from her face. "W-what? H-how do you already know about that!"

It was info from the previous timeline, but Junpei 4.0 fortunately didn't skip a beat. He grinned mischievously. "Word travels fast, heheh."

Yukari looked downwards in utter embarrassment. "Oh no. I sincerely hope the typhoon hits..."

... ... ... ... ...

A few days later.

"Minako-chan, today I joined music club!" Fuuka told Minako at the dorm.

"Oh. So, Hiraga-senpai got to start the club? He had told me he had been considering starting it, and asked if I'd like to join. He said I didn't need to be able to play any instrument, and I thought it'd be interesting, but I'm part of too many clubs already. Fuuka-chan, do you play any instrument?"

"No, but I like audio engineering. I can give advice about equipment, and about positioning the players to get a balanced sound. By the way, I mentioned you to Hiraga-senpai, and he told me he had been looking for you. He asked me to give you this." Fuuka handed a DVD to Minako. "It's a recording of the previous music club's performance."

"Oh, thanks." Minako had an idea. "We could watch it together. I mean, everyone together. It looks like the typhoon's going to hit. If the festival gets canceled, we could get everyone together in the weekend and watch it."

"Nice idea." Fuuka approved of it. "If we don't have the festival, I have plans to go to the movies with Natsuki-chan, but that's on Saturday. I'll be free on Sunday."

"Great! I'll talk to the others and see what they think."

... ... ... ... ...

Minako began talking to Shinjiro, and the Moon Social Link started. It was one of the Social Links she hadn't maxed in the other timeline, which was really bad, considering what had happened to Shinjiro. But Minako was confident that it wouldn't happen this time.

Like expected, the typhoon hit on Friday, September 18th. This time, Minako ran home as early as she could, and wasn't caught unprepared. Yet, it was still very cold at night, and Minako wasn't feeling very well. She trembled beneath the covers and had trouble to sleep.

The Dark Hour started, and the wind was even more chilling.

Pharos appeared and climbed onto the bed.

"Minako..." Pharos spoke gently. "You taught me what warmth is. You put the blanket over me and held me to make me feel warm. Now, it's my turn to warm you."

Pharos hugged Minako and tightly held the blanket that was draped around her body. A few minutes passed. The eerie sound of the Dark Hour typhoon wind was the only thing that could be heard. It should have been cold and scary, but Pharos held Minako protectively and managed to give her warmth. Soon, Minako stopped trembling inside the blanket.

"Pharos... kun..." Her eyes opened slightly, and she mumbled.

"I hope you're feeling better. Good night." Pharos gently whispered to her, and Minako's eyes slowly closed again.

... ... ... ... ...

Minako still felt a bit sick on Saturday, but on Sunday she was feeling better.

"Grrr! Why these recipes have to use these weird metrics!" Shinjiro growled at the recipe notes in front of him. "0.35 pounds? What the hell!? How much a pound is supposed to weigh, anyway?!"

"One pound should be 453.59237 grams," Aigis said. "0.35 pounds should be equivalent to 158.75732 grams."

"Huh!" Shinjiro made a disgruntled face. "Do we even have a scale to weigh this stuff?"

"No, we don't." Mitsuru informed. "We have never cooked anything out of the usual, and never had the need for a scale."

"No problem. I can weigh the ingredients for you, Aragaki-san." Aigis offered.

Shinjiro stared dumbfounded at Aigis. "What? Is it okay for you to mess around with ingredients in the kitchen? You're a Shadow-slaying robot!"

"I want to be useful to everyone in the dorm, not just in battle. As long as my abilities are useful, I'll use them as I see fit."

Shinjiro glanced at Mitsuru, but she didn't show any sign of objection. She seemed curious, in fact. So, Shinjiro reluctantly agreed.

Aigis took over the kitchen utensils and handled them surprisingly gently. She weighed the ingredients from the recipe notes and separated each one into a pot. Shinjiro and Mitsuru were amazed watching the robot girl work.

"I believe you should be fine from here, Aragaki-san." And Aigis left.

... ... ... ... ...

In the afternoon, everyone from SEES gathered in Mitsuru's luxurious bedroom to watch the concert recording on her huge TV. Everyone except Minako, that is.

"Shouldn't Mina-tan be here already? I mean, she's the one who invited us... I wonder what's taking her so lo-"

The door opened and interrupted Junpei.

"Everyone, good afternoon and welcome to Cafe SEES!" Minako entered with a cheerful smile... wearing a maid uniform, and carrying a tray with slices of cake and some drinks.

"W-whoa..." Junpei was taken aback by Minako's sudden entrance.

"In just a few minutes, you will watch a recorded performance by our many talented senpai from Gekkoukan High School's previous music club. To add to this pleasing experience this afternoon, you may enjoy the magical sounds of the music along with the magical taste of this cake prepared specially for this occasion by our great chef, Mr. Shinjiro Aragaki. Make yourselves comfortable, and have a nice afternoon!"

Minako walked over to the stunned SEES members and served them the cake and drinks one by one. Even Koromaru got a slice of cake. Shinjiro looked like he would protest against giving cake to the dog, but in the end he apparently decided to not ruin the mood and let Minako have her way.

Aside from Mitsuru, the others didn't usually listen to orchestral music, and listening to that recording was a nice change of pace for them. Both the recording and the equipment in Mitsuru's room were good, and provided a pleasing experience. The SEES members spent an enjoyable afternoon watching and listening to the recording, with memorable moments like Junpei startling at a sudden rise in volume in the song and almost spilling his drink. Yes, despite having gotten an upgrade, Junpei Iori 4.0 still wasn't invincible.

Once everything was over, Minako changed back into usual clothes and returned the maid costume Yukari had been forced to rent for the festival that ended up not happening. "Thanks for lending me this, Yukari-chan."

"Minako-chan, I still can't believe you had the courage to wear it!"

"Hahaha. Probably because it was only among us. If I were to have to wear these clothes at the school's festival, I don't know whether I'd have felt brave enough."

Yukari smiled. "You never cease to amaze me. You were awesome, Leader."

Minako felt a bit embarrassed. "Uh, thanks..."

Later at night, Minako was talking to Shinjiro.

"Today was... weird," Shinjiro said. "Not in a bad way, though. A lot of unusual stuff happened. First, that robot girl weighed the ingredients in the kitchen. Then, you barged into Mitsuru's room dressed like that. Then, classical music. That's not my kinda music, but it was... nice, I guess. And the weirdest thing of all. I haven't felt this relaxed in a long while."

"That's the 'SEES Effect' for you. Now that you're here with us, you can't escape it!" Minako threw him a cheerful grin. "That being said, all of us are glad that you're here with us. Especially Sanada-senpai."

"Aki... I think the last time I felt this at ease was back in the orphanage when Aki and I were still small kids. Yeah, it was that long ago. Aki, his little sister Miki and I were always playing together. Other kids kept picking on Aki and Miki, and I always had to save those two from trouble. Then there was a fire, the orphanage burned to ashes and I couldn't protect Miki!" Shinjiro did his best to shake the distress off. "Aki was reckless and was always getting in trouble. Miki was cheerful and did some unexpected stuff at times. Kinda like you, I guess."

"Sanada-senpai's also compared me to his sister a few times. And I think you're like an older brother to us."

"Whatever." Shinjiro tried to hide his embarrassment and resumed his musings. "... Back then, when Miki was still around and we were out of trouble were the moments I had the most fun. What I felt today reminded me of that time. I guess I'll talk to Aki and see what he thinks."

Minako smiled. "Yeah, you should totally do that!" Shinjiro was about to leave, but Minako stopped him. "Oh, and Aragaki-senpai, thanks for the cake! It was delicious! Today's 'event' wouldn't have been the same without it!"

"Hmph." Shinjiro turned around and walked away to look for Akihiko.

Despite Shinjiro's reaction, Minako could tell that he had enjoyed the compliment. Shinjiro had been softening once Ken had forgiven him, and it was getting harder for him to hide his feelings.

Then, the Moon Social Link ranked up.

... ... ... ... ...

And of course Minako had made sure to reserve a slice of cake for Pharos.

"This is very good. But now I also want the music!"

"Hahahaha!" Minako laughed. "We could do an event like today's again, once you're outside the Dark Hour. Or... better yet! You said you want to enroll at school. Now that Hiraga-senpai started a music club, the club members might perform live at school, and it might happen while you're around, who knows?"

Pharos liked the idea. "That'd be great!" He looked at Minako expectantly. "Minako, if an event like that were to happen while I'm around, would you come watch it with me?"

Minako didn't think twice. "Of course I would. Why wouldn't I?"

"Thanks!" Pharos' face lit up with excitement, and the Death Social Link ranked up to level 7.

... ... ... ... ...

One week later, Minako went to the shrine to see Akinari.

"Have you ever gone to watch a concert?" She asked him.

"No. I'd like to, but I can't go to crowded places. If I don't feel well and keep coughing, it would disturb the event as well."

"Then, let's do the next best thing." Minako opened her laptop. "This is a recording of a performance by my school's previous music club." She selected the recording and plugged her MP3 player's earphones into the laptop. "Here."

Akinari put the earphones on and proceeded to watch the performance. Since only he had earphones, Minako couldn't hear the music, but she could tell that he seemed entranced by it.

Akinari had a calm smile after the recording had ended. "Thank you, Arisato-san." He handed her earphones back. "This was quite enjoyable. I think this recording captured the ambient's mood perfectly, and I even felt as though I were there in the audience. I felt I've entered a whole different world without having moved at all. The kind of feeling I have when I read a good book. Speaking of which, I believe this music inspired me to write my own book. I have been mulling over this story idea for some time. It's about a pink alligator."

"Oh. A pink alligator?" Minako couldn't imagine how a story about a pink alligator might play out.

"Unusual, right? And this is the problem. The pink alligator suffers a lot because he is different. He has no friends, since the other animals in the forest discriminate him due to his odd coloration. And he has trouble getting food because his prey spot his color easily and run away. One day, he finally makes a friend, who is also different from the norm. A bird that cannot fly. And this is all I have for the story so far. I believe I got inspiration to continue the story now. Would you like to listen to it when I finish it?"

"Sure!" The story sounded interesting, and Minako was curious as to how it would play out.

The Sun Social Link ranked up to level 6.

... ... ... ... ...

That same day marked one week before the full moon, and of course Pharos came to remind Minako about it.

"The moon will be full in just one week," Pharos said.

"Yeah..." In one week, it would be October 4th, that fateful date from the other timeline. Minako hoped it would be the opposite this time.

"This is not all that I wanted to say, though. I have good news. Remember the poisonous flower from your group I had told you about? It's been a while since I haven't been feeling danger coming from your group anymore. I believe it's safe to say that something changed and no one from your group will cause trouble."

That was a relief. It meant that Minako's suspicion that Ken was the "fourth flower" had been right. "Great to hear. Thanks!"

"As always, be careful. I wish you luck."

And considering that the next full moon Shadows would include the Fortune Arcana, Minako really would need it...

... ... ... ... ...

During that week before the full moon, Minako managed to max her Social Link with Shinjiro, and found the wristwatch he had lost.

On the full moon operation, all SEES members were present. Then, the most annoying Arcana Shadow battle began. The Fortune Shadow kept using its signature move, Wheel of Fortune, which was a roulette that granted either positive or negative effects depending on where it stopped. SEES managed to defeat the Strength Shadow, and were almost defeating Fortune when a bad stroke of luck hit them. The roulette stopped on the Enrage status effect, which hit Shinjiro.

"Aaaaaaaaargh!" Shinjiro screamed. His face contorted in agony, and Castor came forth, totally out of control.

The infuriated Persona dealt the final blow to the Fortune Arcana Shadow, but didn't stop there. Castor began trashing about and attacking everyone indiscriminately.

"No... just like the other time... no!" Shinjiro shouted. "First I failed to save Miki in the orphanage..."

"It's not your fault, Shinji!" Akihiko jumped aside to avoid one of Castor's deadly blows. "You know I was upset, too. You know I also kept blaming myself, but deep down we know that it's not our fault. We did everything we could!"

Shinjiro didn't seem to pay any mind to his friend's words. "Then I couldn't save Amada's mom. Then... aaaaaaah!"

"I've already said that I forgive you!" Ken shouted. "And I'll say it again. I forgive you, Aragaki-san!"

This caused Castor to slow down enough for Yukari to hit him with an arrow.

Shinjiro shook uncontrollably in rage. "... But I don't! I -don't forgive myself!"

"What do you get by not forgiving yourself?" It was Akihiko again. "It's no use mulling over it now! What's done is done, and all we can do now is move on! You have a whole life ahead! You can't be trapped in the past like this! Just let it go, Shinji!"

Ken decided to change plans. "Sanada-san, the next time we see an opening, we attack together."

Akihiko nodded, and they kept frantically dodging attacks and trying to find an opening.

Mitsuru had her Persona shoot a pillar of ice on Castor's path to try to slow him down, but it wasn't enough to deter him.

"Haaa!" Minako had Kingu cast Heat Wave, and hit Castor from behind. It was a critical hit, and Castor was knocked down.

"Now!" Akihiko commanded. He and Ken put their Evokers to their heads and shouted in unison. "Persona!"

In a flash of light and with sounds of shattering glass, both their Personas appeared. However, to everyone's surprise, the Personas that manifested weren't Polydeuces nor Nemesis. They were in fact Caesar and Kala-Nemi!

The newly awakened Personas simultaneously cast Zionga and hit Castor in full. Castor contorted and roared in agony before disappearing back into Shinjiro, who fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

"Shinji!" Akihiko hurried over to his friend, soon followed by the others. He checked Shinjiro's pulse. "He's alive. Just unconscious. But he's alive! He'll be fine... He'll be fine...!" Akihiko kept repeating this, as though to convince himself.

"... Thank goodness!" Minako uttered in relief, and let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. October 4th had been a traumatizing day in the other timeline, and she was glad that they were able to change the outcome this time around.

"Once the Dark Hour ends, we will take him to the hospital," Mitsuru said.

Yukari cast healing spells on everyone, including Shinjiro. Then, they carried Shinjiro back to the dorm to wait for the Dark Hour to end.

After the Dark Hour, they took Shinjiro to Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, where the medics were hired by the Kirijo Group and had experience in treating Dark Hour-related cases. The SEES members waited for around an hour while the medics examined Shinjiro. Everyone was relieved when the doctor said that Shinjiro was fine, and that all they could do now was wait for him to wake up.

They had done it. They had saved Shinjiro. This time there was no betrayal, and no interference from Strega. This was a huge victory. Minako relaxed, sure that she would be able to sleep peacefully tonight.

The doctor let everyone enter Shinjiro's hospital room, which they gladly did. All the SEES members had relieved expressions on their faces.

Akihiko approached his friend's hospital bed in slow steps. "Shinji. Don't dare give up on us. We won't let you do that! As I said earlier, you have a long way ahead. If it depends on us, we'll make sure you'll live. Spring mornings are pleasant, and we want you to be here to see many of them, for many years to come."

Those who were aware of the passphrase snapped to attention immediately and turned their heads toward Akihiko. Minako's eyes met Akihiko's, and he nodded to her. Then, the Star Social Link shot straight to level 10.

A/n: wow, three people remembered in just one chapter. Most of the SEES members are up to speed now.