I'm still here. Don't worry.
Time for Reviews!
MKTerra- Me too. It's hilarious, isn't it?
Miss Hanamura- HA! You have fallen into my trap, madam! Now that your heart has been reduced to naught but a puddle of mush, I shall STEAL it! For under this carefree guise of mine lurks the twirly moustache and top hat of a villian! HAHA!
HAHAHAHAHA!
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
...
What were we talking about again?
Oh, right.
I do not own Persona 3.
Sincerely,
-Funny.
Minato shuffled under his covers, attempting, vainly, to shove off the shores of reality and cast away and off to dreamland. He grumbled as the springs of the standard-issue dorm bed dug into his side, his cold somehow amplifying the pain twofold. It would have been fivefold, had it not been for Yukari though.
However, neither thinking about Yukari's self-sacrificing attitude or the self-assurances that he would buy one of those foam mattress pads changed certain facts. It was the dead of night. The wind and rain were loud and annoying. He couldn't sleep.
And worst of all, he was alone.
He sighed. Whenever it was daytime, there was always some reason, some excuse to check up on him, to keep him company. In the dead of night, it was different. The lights were off, and only the dim glow of the streetlights and the occasional flash of lightning kept his sight an existent and present factor. The only noise in the room was the discordant howl of the ever-present wind.
Worst of all, there was nobody around. No Junpei coming by to lighten the atmosphere. No Mitsuru or Yukari coming by to make sure he had taken his medicine. No Akihiko coming by to make sure he wasn't bored. No Ken to watch TV with. No Aigis to talk to. No Shinjiro or Fuuka, getting him to eat whatever they had cooked up for him.
He growled and tried to shut his eyes again. His eyelids were heavy, but though they remained closed, his mind flared with activity. His imagination ran wild, and he felt his mind's pace, the frantic buzz of his own thoughts seeming to blur into a chaotic clamor.
He sighed and opened his eyes again. Still dark. Of course, that didn't mean much around here, now. The level of outside light never varied. Always the same, thick, dark clouds blocking the warm, familiar light of the sun.
He groaned at everything. He could take the cold, sure. During the day, he could put on a brave face, at least. Then, he had people to talk to.
But at night, he was alone.
Scratch, scratch!
Minato jolted upright, his eyelids not so heavy anymore. He stared at the door, where the sound had come from. Suddenly, the doorknob turned slightly, and the wooden door flew open.
To reveal Koromaru.
Minato smiled at the snow-white dog plodding up to the bed.
"Clever boy. Did you get the door all by yourself?"
Koromaru let out a very pleased sounding huff.
"Good boy." He reached out his hand, and scratched Koro behind the ears.
Minato hummed, and looked at the windows, and the rain hammering against them.
"You'd better get going, boy." Minato sighed, sorry to send away his only company. "It's gonna be a long, night, and I wouldn't want to-"
Mid-sentence, Koromaru's muscles tensed, and he bounded up onto the bed. He turned around three times, and laid down next to Minato.
Minato started to protest, when his eyelids started to droop. He could feel something lulling him to sleep, what he had wanted.
In his final, bleary thoughts, he realized what it was. Koromaru. A friend. Somebody who would be there. No matter what.
He yawned, and finally settled in. The springs felt better. The wind wasn't as loud. And his mind had settled along with him.
Good boy, Koro-chan.
The final thing he was aware of before sleep took him was the warmth of a friend by his side. A deep, soothing warmth, radiating through him.
And with that, he finally found sleep.
Mitsuru decended down the steps, carefully, knowing the time, and how most of the inhabitants of the second floor would still be fast asleep.
Or at least, one or two of them would be. Akihiko would probably be working out. As per usual.
She sighed, and took a mental note to have a word with him about his sleep schedule.
She kept walking along the balls of her feet, careful not to make a sound. Really, she was beginning to wonder if giving him the room at the end of the hall was such a good ide-
His door was open.
Immediately, Mitsuru accelerated her pace, moving toward the opened door with a new sense of urgency. She didn't know who had opened it, and was concerned for their team leader's safety.
She turned into the doorway, and froze.
There, laying on the bed, was Koromaru, curled up next to Minato, who had a perfectly contented smile on his face.
She sighed in relief and smiled at the scene. The both of them looked…
Peaceful.
She let a quiet chuckle escape her lips as she quietly pulled the door shut.
"Man's best friend indeed."
The door clicked quietly as it shut, disturbing nobody's sleep.
Stop looking at me like that! I just have something in my eyes, that's all!
Please review.
Sincerely,
-Funny.