(-- --)

Chapter 13

Hell's Kitchen

Minato lay down on the stone bench. He was on the roof of Gekkoukan High during lunchtime. It was peaceful and abandoned, but beyond the gates of the school, Apathy Syndrome and Shadows roamed about. He had been thinking about his dream world that afternoon. It should be the start of the new school year now. Closing his eyes, he desperately wanted to pass out, and take a look on how everyone was doing at this time.

(-- --)

-April 5, 2007, Thursday

Adachi Middle School, Main Hall

Early Morning

The school was bustling this morning as Minato arrived through the doors. Everyone was crowded near the bulletin boards, and he knew why. It was the start of the new school year and everyone was wondering what class they were in. He could hear girls exclaiming or complaining about being in the same class as their friends.

Making his way through the crowd of people to the bulletin board, he searched for his name. After doing a quick scan, he didn't find his name. His eyes ran through the list of names again, finally spotting it. He was in Class 9-C. Minato couldn't believe he was a third year in junior high already. It was just yesterday that he was a second year. He had heard that in America, the school year was different and a lot shorter. Students there must have a lot more time to think about advancing to the next grade.

He walked up the stairs to the third floor where the classrooms for the ninth graders were located. He was built enough not to be out of breath when he reached the top, but it would get to be a little tiring to be walking up and down these stairs six days a week. He found his classroom and slid open the door, only to be greeted with a girl of slim physique throwing herself into his arms.

"We're in the same class again!" Yukari yelled happily, taking her friend by the hand and pulling him inside. "Junpei is with us, too!"

"S'up dude?" Junpei asked, nodding his head towards Minato. "No surprise we are in the same class again."

"And why is that?" Minato asked.

"The administration always groups together the same kids in each class as the years go by," Junpei explained. "I think it is based on the same level of competence that kids are always in the same class."

Yukari raised her eyebrow. "Then explain to me how you have the same level of competence to be in a class with me and Minato."

Minato laughed and said, "I never knew Junpei could use a big word like 'competence'."

The other boy sighed. "Man, why do you guys always have to be harshing the 'tards?"

The classroom door opened and closed. A girl that Minato did not recognize had stepped inside. She looked like she had a frail constitution or she was merely timid. She had sea green hair and light green eyes. She looked around the room and found her seat. She sat down, feeling out of place.

"New meat," Junpei commented staring at the new girl. "She's kind of cute, too."

Yukari rolled her eyes and said, "Get over yourself, Junpei. She won't look twice at you."

"Jeez, that's cruel."

"A lot of new kids are transferring lately." Minato commented.

"The city is becoming more popular, and it's growing," Yukari answered, "I wonder if it is by Kirijo's influence."

Junpei yawned, leaning back in his chair. "Almost everything in this city can be directed by Kirijo's influence," He pointed out.

The classroom door opened again with a slam. Students rushed to their seats as class 9-C's homeroom teacher came inside. It was a male teacher this year. He was young and Minato was sure the girls in his class were going to be attracted to him.

"Good morning class. I am Rikuto Jun, Rikuto-sensei to you. I will be your homeroom teacher and English teacher this year," Rikuto-sensei replied. Sure enough, Minato could hear some girls exclaiming how cute their teacher was. He leaned back in his seat like Junpei. This was the start of a new school year.

(-- --)

-April 5, 2007, Thursday

Adachi Middle School, Home Economics Room 3

Before Lunch

Home Economics was a new class that only the ninth years took. It was optional in high school. Yukari was very excited for this class. She loved cooking, and Minato thought her food was delicious. Junpei was sullen as he followed his friend to the classroom. He was a terrible cook, and like his orphaned friends, he lived off of instant ramen and frozen food. Once in a while, his mom would have free time at home to make him dinner. The only other time Junpei ever got something homemade was when he ate dinner at Minato's house. Minato was an average cook himself, but his seven-year-old sister surpassed him in this field. Their teacher for this class was a Mrs. Akemi Takeuchi. She was a sweet old lady, and she often reminded Minato of his grandmother on his mother's side of the family.

"Today, class, we shall be making New England Clam Chowder," Takeuchi-sensei replied, "I shall grade you on effort and how well it tastes." The teacher began diving everyone into groups of four. Minato was not very surprised when he was put together with Yukari and Junpei. The fourth person of the group was the new girl they had seen this morning.

"Um…My name is Fuuka Yamagishi," The girl replied with a short bow to her new classmates. "Pleased to meet you."

Yukari smiled and greeted with, "Nice to meet you! I'm Yukari Takeba." She pointed to Minato and Junpei and said, "And this is Minato Arisato and Junpei Iori."

Takeuchi-sensei came by their group and handed them the recipe sheet for the New England clam chowder. "Everything you need is in front of you. Now get to work." Minato looked over the ingredients on the sheet and on the table in front of them. It was all there.

"Uh, I'm not very good at cooking," Fuuka commented as she stared the recipe.

"That makes two of us, Fuuka!" Junpei replied. With a cheery grin, he saluted Minato and Yukari. "Our grade is running on your efforts, guys!"

"You're unbelievable!" Yukari exclaimed, almost hitting the boy with the ladle. She would have gotten him, too, if Minato didn't pry the silver spoon out of her hands.

"We don't have time for this. We can't cook this if only Yukari and I are working," Minato pointed out, irritation on the rise.

Leaning a little closer to Minato, Yukari whispered in his ear, "Hey, what should we have Junpei do? I don't really trust him with a flame or a knife." The boy ran his hand through his navy hair again and took a deep sigh.

Minato moved a cutting board and a knife over and set an onion on the board. "Junpei, cut the top and bottom of this onion off. Slice it in half and dice it." Then he handed a peeler to Fuuka and Yukari, setting six potatoes on the counter in front of them. "You guys can peel these." Minato got out another cutting board and knife and began chopping up bacon.

As the boy had begun to cook the small pieces of bacon in a pan on the stove, he began hearing Junpei make small sniffles. He turned to see his friend's eyes tearing up. The onions were not even halfway done. Junpei noticed Minato's amused smirk and raised eyebrow and said, "S-shut up, Minato! I can't help it!"

"I didn't say anything."

"So, Fuuka! Where did you transfer from?" Yukari asked.

Fuuka, who was peeling the potatoes rather slowly, said, "Huh? Oh, well, I transferred from Saitou Middle School." Saitou Middle School was a well off school, but of course, it didn't even come close to a school like Konata or Gekkoukan. "My family and I moved so my parents could be closer to work. (They both are doctors, and they work at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital.) This school is closer so I was transferred here."

Minato had now added Junpei's diced onions to the pan. They weren't of the best quality, but Minato couldn't judge him. It was the best he could do. He sent his friend to open up two cans of baby clams and separate the clams from the juice. Yukari took Minato's place, cooking the bacon and onions in the pan. Minato went to help Fuuka with cutting up the potatoes. He could tell she was trying her best not to mess up, but she was taking her time with "exact" strokes. The potatoes were added and Yukari and Minato regularly switched places, stirring their soup occasionally.

"You guys are so good at cooking…" Fuuka said absently, staring at Yukari and Minato's work.

"My mom taught me since I was a kid," Yukari replied.

"I had to learn how to cook. There are times when my parents work late, so I have to feed my sister and myself," Minato added.

Yukari cocked her head to the side a little. "Did your mom ever teach you how to cook?"

The new girl sighed. "Since I remember, she has been too busy to teach me. The same goes with my dad."

"Hey, Fuuka! If you want to learn how to cook, why don't you learn from Minato's mom?" Junpei asked excitedly.

"Huh?"

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Yukari replied with a smile. ("You could use a lesson or two from her, yourself, Junpei," Minato muttered under his breath.) "Minato's mom is a real good cook, and she loves it, too!"

"But…" The girl squirmed slightly. "Wouldn't I just be a burden to ask your mom for lessons?"

"It's fine," said Minato. "My mom enjoys acting like a surrogate mother to all of my friends."

"Hm…"

It was time for the next step. Minato let Fuuka do this, while watching her under close supervision. All of the clams, two cans of celery soup, heavy cream, milk, and a green herb called dill weed was added. With instruction from Yukari, Fuuka began stirring the soup together. Butter was added as the new girl continued stirring.

"That's it!" Takeuchi-sensei yelled out. The ovens were turned off and the teacher began tasting each group's clam chowder.

"I hope ours tastes good," Fuuka replied quietly, "This is our lunch as well!"

"My grade will be riding on your efforts, guys!" Junpei exclaimed again, slapping Minato and Yukari on the back.

Yukari shot him a dirty look and grabbed the ladle. She attempted to smack him with it again, but Minato hastily snatched it away. Takeuchi-sensei was nearing their pot of soup now. He handed it to her and said, "Here you go!" Takeuchi-sensei dipped the ladle in the soup and tasted it.

"This is very good. My only problem is that the potatoes need to be chopped a little smaller and the soup needs to thicken a little more," she said. "Your group gets a standard A." The group grinned at each other and nodded with satisfaction. "You may eat your soup now for the rest of class." The four of them helped themselves and began eating. They agreed that it was good, but their teacher was right that the potatoes were too big and was a little watery. They continued on eating, conversation carrying on longer and longer.

That was how Fuuka Yamagishi became part of Minato's group of friends.

(-- --)

-April 18, 2007, Wednesday

Adachi Middle School, Class 9-C

Lunchtime

It was rare that Minato and Junpei were ever seen eating lunch inside their classroom. They always brought money to buy food in the cafeteria, but today was a little different. Minato's wallet was sucked dry last Sunday when Minako forced her brother to keep giving her money until she got the Jack Frost Doll she wanted from Game Panic's crane game. Junpei's allowance ran out when he lost a fighting game to Shinjiro and was forced to treat everyone at the Wakatsu Restaurant.

But as they compared their lunches that afternoon, Junpei was stunned to see his best friend with a delicious obento lunch. He only had a chocolate cornet and milk. The only reason why he was able to get such a cheap lunch was because he constantly begged Yukari to donate to the "Feed Junpei Iori Foundation".

"Hey, you don't have any cash. How come you have a better lunch than I do?" Junpei asked, biting into the head of his chocolate cornet.

Minato chuckled and said, "Minako was the one who made my lunch."

"What a doting little sister you have," the other boy commented.

Minato snorted. "Nah. She made a huge fuss when I imposed my own death penalty on her for wasting my allowance and hers for that doll."

"So that's how it goes, huh?"

"Mi-na-to!" a voice sang softly. The boy looked up to see Yukari next to him. He raised his eyebrow at her. He knew that tone in her voice. Whenever she sang his name, emphasizing each syllable, it could only mean one thing…

"Can I borrow your math homework?" she asked sweetly.

"Borrow or copy?" Minato asked.

Junpei laughed and said, "Dude, in our world, they both mean the same thing."

"Pleeeeeease?" The girl begged. "I really hate getting scolded for not doing my work."

"Then actually do it."

"I would, but then I get distracted with the shows on TV!" Minato ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Was this the only way she saw him? Her source for unfinished homework? His look towards Yukari hardened into a dangerous glare.

"Don't give me that look, Minato," answered Yukari. The sweet tone in her voice disappeared and was replaced with a cool warning.

Not wanting to see his favorite couple in discord, Junpei withdrew his notebook and handed it to Yukari. "Here, copy my homework."

Yukari raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You mean you homework, which is probably filled with tons of mistakes?"

"Hey! I know my homework is totally correct this time! I copied it from Kaz," Junpei coughed lightly and added, "who got it from Kenji, and he got it from—"

"—me," Minato finished in a deadpan voice.

The girl's mouth fell open. She grabbed fistfuls of Minato's jacket and began shaking him back and forth. "You jerk! You give your stupid friends your homework, but you don't give it to me? You're such a stingy asshole! What does that make me?! ("You're his future girlfriend," Junpei commented quietly.) I've known you longer than anyone else here!"

"Gah! You're so annoying when you beg me for my homework!" Minato shot back angrily. Everyone in the class had now turned their attention to Minato and Yukari's argument. "You're like my sister! Everything comes out of my pocket! Money and grunt work for her, homework for you!"

"Don't compare me to your sister!"

"Well, this is a rare instance of Minato and Yukari arguing. I've known them both since middle school, and they rarely fight," a boy whispered.

"Yeah, and when they do, they fight like an old married couple," replied the boy's girlfriend.

"Man, it sucks that Yukari is already with Minato," said another classmate.

"What are you talking about? Yukari and Minato aren't dating."

"Eh! For real? You would think that they are though!"

"I know!"

Junpei sighed. Jeez. Even everyone in the school thinks they belong together. Both are so slow in getting together, he thought.

Fuuka entered the classroom, immediately hearing the heated exchange of words between two of her new friends. With the container held in her hands, she immediately stepped between them, saying hastily, "No fighting! No fighting! How about we all just make up by eating some of this curry I made!"

Both shut their mouths, but they continued to glare at each other as they sat on opposite sides of the desk. Fuuka pulled a chair over and sat down. She opened up the container and revealed the curry she had made. Junpei, Yukari, and Minato looked at it warily. It looked runny and it gave off a funny smell. It looked completely unappetizing.

"You know, I've heard that if curry is left out overnight, it will taste better!" Fuuka said happily. "So who wants to take the first bite?"

"Minato! Why don't you do us the honor?" Junpei asked with a grin.

"Oh no, that wouldn't be fair. I'd just be selfish and hogging all of the food. Why don't you and Yukari try it with me at the same time?" Minato replied with his own grin.

Mustering up all of the courage they had, the three took a small bite of Fuuka's curry, and immediately regretted their action. The food was spoiled and tasted absolutely atrocious. Fuuka continued smiling innocently, waiting for their jurisdiction. Poor girl…how were they supposed to tell her the truth without breaking her heart?

Yukari was the first to take a napkin and spit out the spoiled curry. "Fuuka, you shouldn't leave out food overnight. It'll spoil quickly. Just like this curry," she said gently. Minato and Junpei also spit out the food into a napkin. There were hints of green on their cheeks and forehead.

"You're right…" Fuuka said quietly. She gave a heavy sigh and said, "I know Mrs. Arisato taught me how to make a simple curry, and yet, I screwed it up again."

Yukari patted the girl on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it! Just keep practicing and you'll make one edible!" Minato wanted to hide under the desk from Yukari's choice of words. As if their previous row was completely forgotten, he stepped on Yukari's foot under the desk. She almost let out a laugh but quickly corrected herself with, "I mean, delicious!"

"I hope you're right…"

(-- --)

-April 21, 2007, Saturday

Adachi Middle School, Class 9-C

Lunchtime

"Minato, Junpei, will you try my curry again?" Fuuka asked. She clutched the plastic container in her hands. Both boys gave each other a quick warning glare before giving a hesitant nod. "Thank you!" She sat down at their desk and opened the container. The curry looked unappetizing again, but it looked somehow better than last time. Feeling brave, Minato reached over and took a bite. He slowly chewed it and swallowed, shuddering from its repulsive taste.

"Now, give me your most honest opinion, okay?"

"Fuuka…what did you put in the curry?" he asked.

"Well, I wanted to spice it up a bit so I added some chili, red peppers…" listed Fuuka.

It sounds normal so far, Junpei thought. But if it was, Minato wouldn't have made that face.

"And then I added some yogurt, chocolate, and oh! I added a little of this coffee milk, some cornstarch, flour, and a lot of seafood!" the girl added.

I was wrong! That is recipe for disaster! Junpei thought furiously.

"It tastes horrible, Fuuka," Minato said honestly.

"I see… Thank you for being honest."

"Fuuka, how come you are so set on cooking?" asked Junpei.

The girl smiled softly and squirmed slightly in her chair. "I want to cook something for Minato, Junpei, Yukari, and the rest of your friends."

"They're your friends now, too, Fuuka," Minato replied.

Just about after that first cooking class of the school year, Fuuka was introduced to Akihiko, Mitsuru, Shinji, and Miki on their usual walk home together. Fuuka was stunned to become acquainted with the famous daughter of Takeharu Kirijo. She soon got over it when she saw Mitsuru in her most vulnerable state: when she was at the arcade, movie theater, or fast food restaurants. She soon realized she would be contributing to the bad influence that held the red headed beauty. Fuuka was slightly intimidated by Akihiko's cool demeanor, but not really towards Shinjiro. They had a common interest in cooking, but the only difference was that Shinjiro could cook while she couldn't.

"Um… It's just that…I really want to thank everyone for welcoming me." Fuuka took her spoon and began playing around with her failed dish. She sighed again and said, "You know, I've never really had any good friends before. When I did have friends, they all ended up hurting me. So, I always spent time on my computer instead."

Minato grinned and said, "I promise you, Fuuka. I can speak for the rest of us, too. We will never hurt you."

"Yeah, that's right," agreed Junpei.

The girl smiled at her brightest and exclaimed, "Yes, that's exactly why I want to thank you all!"

"You don't need to thank us," replied Yukari, joining the three. "You're friendship is enough for all of us."

"Really?!"

Yukari laughed and said, "Yeah, silly!"

"Thank you!" said Fuuka.

"Enough of that now," Minato ordered.

Yukari slid into a nearby chair and said, "So, you guys, I was thinking that we should hit Game Panic today after school."

"Sure, if you are willing to pay for me and Minato," replied Junpei.

"What? Hell no!"

"Oh, come on! We were cheated out of our monthly allowance!"

Fuuka smiled at her new friends. She was happy now. Very, very happy, and she wouldn't have it any other way!

(-- --)

The sun beat down on Minato's face as he lay on the roof of the school. He opened his eyes. He had a nice dream – or rather, he was able to partake in nice development in the other world he was apart of. The door to the rooftop opened and Fuuka appeared.

"Ah, I thought I'd find you here," she said.

"What's up, Fuuka?" Minato sat up, his back sore from the stone bench he was lying on.

"Well, I have one more rice ball left, and I was wondering if you want it."

"Yeah, sure, I'll take it." He took the rice ball that was offered to him and bit into it. It was edible and delicious. Minato smiled and said, "Thanks, Fuuka."

I am so so so so so so sorry for my lack of updates. It's summertime. I should be able to update a lot more frequently. In any case, I am finally out of my writer's funk and able to get pass my writer's block. Also, I would like to comment on the sudden increase of reviews for this story. Thank you so much for them! I was so happy to find about thirteen review alerts in my inbox when I opened my email.

I've also been following Persona 4 closely ever since it was released. I've watched a whole bunch of videos and have a vague idea of what is going on. But I did get a translation on one part where Yukiko and Chie cook curry for Yousuke and the protagonist and they put all of this stuff in there. What they put in is exactly what Fuuka put in hers in this chapter. I thought it would be funny to add in a reference from Persona 4 since it is quite awesome. Wouldn't you agree?

Now that I done with Fuuka's introductory chapter, I can move onto the next one. I must say, the next chapter is one of my absolute favorites since it involves more bad influence over Mitsuru. How exciting! Tune in for more soon! I'll try my best to update faster!