O2.

Igniting the Flame

Panting, Shinjiro hurdled from the second floor to the first, his neck craning back behind him. A wild, blazing roar sounded, and the beginnings of bright, bursting flames erupted from the walls. His dark eyes wide, Shinjiro skirted around the border of the kitchen to skid to a halt in the center of the lounge, staring at his company with terror.

"What are you doing?" he shouted at a tall, slender redhead. "Get out! The fire's coming!"

Merely smiling at him, the woman picked up her things and then walked away, moving directly towards the now smoking flame of the staircase.

Before Shinjiro could stop her, a heavy hand took a blow at his temple. Dazed, he stumbled and saw Akihiko flash an impish grin at him. The boxer also moved towards the fire.

"Aki! What the hell!"

"Shut up, Shinji," he scoffed, taking Mitsuru's hand. "We were all meant to die, and we're simply answering our calling. We're going to see Miki again."

Colors swirled and images blurred, and Shinjiro was left squinting in terror as his two roommates stepped into the raging mass of orange destruction.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Nightmares like that dragged.

Awaking with a shudder, Shinjiro stared up at the ceiling and then felt around his surroundings. He was entangled in his cold, sweat-infested bed sheets, and everything was still intact. The fire never happened.

Dreams like that had grown to be more and more common for Shinjiro. And since he first went to Tartarus on the day after his arrival, he had become subject to severe, pounding headaches. They'd hit him out of nowhere, and they'd stay for hours at a time. And for some reason, Shinjiro knew it wasn't just a Persona user thing.

He found himself drained and less interested in anything not related to killing shadows. To Miss Kirijo's dismay, he'd often skip school. And more often than not, that would cause quite the disturbance, like during his twelfth day living at the dorms.

Dripping with perspiration and reeking of alcohol, Shinjiro burst open the door and barged into the lounge, a loud burp reverberating from the core of his stomach. He managed to jimmy the door shut, and he then wobbled over to the couches, practically falling out of his coat and boots.

After a little over a week with his persona and his excruciating side effects, Shinjiro had decided he had enough. Skipping school that Saturday morning, he traveled over to the alley behind Port Station, and when they started to serve beer and booze, he bullied his way into getting some.

When he drank, he felt better. That was evident and expected. Castor settled down, and his mind made the familiar, pleasurable jump from aching and worried to relaxed and amused. Only this time, it took away the migraines, and it would probably stop the nightmares.

But as he collapsed on the nearest couch after a day of drinking with the intentions of letting go and letting loose, that didn't happen. Not with Mitsuru there.

"…Where have you been?" It was a simple question, but the way she said it, it sounded like the most intense of interrogations.

"Out," Shinjiro slurred, not bothering to look up.

"I noticed that you weren't at school today," she replied. Shinjiro heard the soft spring of the couch. When she spoke again, her voice was closer. "And I also notice that you are in no way capable of going to Tartarus tonight."

"Whatever," he grunted, trying to block her out and catch some sleep. His mind was still lulled by the alcohol, and he really wanted to see if they would stop the nightmares.

But as he let out a slight sigh, he felt a hand roughly grab the roots of his hair. Screeching, Shinjiro pushed himself up to look into the furious porcelain face of his companion.

"Hey, lay of –"

"We have rules beneath the roof of this dorm, Aragaki."

"Yeah, but why do'ya gotta –"

"No popping pills, no doing drugs, and no drinking alcohol."

"You don't under –"

"Oh, but I do understand, Aragaki." He stopped, staring up at her. "You're finding it hard to adjust to the life of a persona user. You're having nightmares, experiencing pain, finding yourself groggy and exhausted."

Did it happen to her too, Shinjiro wondered? But all he could do was continue to gaze into the pits of her amber-brown eyes.

"Things like that are going to happen," she continued, her tone softening. "It's not an easy way of life, and we didn't expect you to magically adapt. But this is not the way to go about it. You must be strong, and you must resist temptation."

The way she spoke sent shivers down Shinjiro's spine. She was so articulate, so motivating, so moving; so sincere. And most importantly, she smelled simply exquisite. Like lilacs. And her face, beautiful and natural, was inches away from his own. He was really letting the alcohol get to him.

"So what do I do?" he finally asked, his voice thick and heavy.

"You turn yourself around," she answered, moving to take his arm and prop him up. "We get you to a cold shower and then put you to bed. You take tomorrow off, and then you go to school and to Tartarus on Monday."

"So you're going to take a shower with me?" He couldn't help it, and in turn, he felt a boyish grin spread across his face. And to his surprise, he saw a slight grin enter Mitsuru's.

"Washing you shall be Akihiko's job," she said, helping him up to a standing position. "I will monitor your progress from the moment you have clothes on."

Turning to look at Akihiko, who seemed to have entered the room on cue, Shinjiro again smiled at her, feeling all warm and slightly sensuous. He knew that alcohol screwed with his mind, but he didn't know it'd be like this.

"I'll call you when I'm changing," he slurred, letting the boxer half drag him over to the boy's bathroom. Taking one final look at her, Shinjiro saw Mitsuru's trademark worry and focus blend with slight amusement. He felt a throb in an area that he shouldn't have.

And as Akihiko threw him in the shower and turned on the water, leaving Shinjiro to undress and sober up, he was actually happy.

Someone in the world besides Akihiko actually cared about him. And from the way his intoxicated mind and body were acting, perhaps he cared about her, too.

Disclaimer: The Persona Series belongs to Atlus.

Again, thank you for reading! Hope it wasn't too bad :) have a nice day!