Disclaimer: Persona 3 Portable is owned by ATLUS.
A/N: Truthfully I based the end part of this from the next chapter, which I finished writing before I finished this. So it took me longer to update. The song is Stay Close, Don't Go by Secondhand Serenade.
I was supposed to post this chapter a few days earlier but I couldn't log in. There was an error with the image verification. I'm so glad its fixed now. I can finally update.
namine23: Thank you for your review, as always! It makes me really happy that you leave comments. And yes, I kind of like making Aki jealous. In the game, you don't really grasp much of the main character's emotion so I wanted to explore that.
If you leave me tonight
I'll wake up alone
Don't tell me I will make it on my own
Don't leave me tonight
This heart of stone will sink till it dies
If You Leave Me Tonight
December 31, 2009
He could only watch as she rises up high. Only stare in absolute helplessness as she reaches out towards Nyx.
Akihiko breathes through his mouth, crumbling against the force that pushes him, and every member of SEES, kneeling on Death's feet. Every appendage of his body is digging painfully on the pavement of Tartarus' forbidding top floor. This can't be the end, he can't accept it, after everything that they have done and this is all there is to it. Everyone wails out in desperation, calling her back, begging insufferably to her who has resigned to face Death alone. Aigis croaks out in the background, the sound of whirring engine intermixed with anguish.
He screams her name, asks her to stop, don't go. But she doesn't seem to hear him.
She looks on forward bravely, a ghost of a smile painted in her lips and a knowing look shining in her eyes, a hint of a promise stitched along with it.
He doesn't want her to go. Firmly believes she doesn't have to go alone. Everyone promised to be all in this together. And he promised to be with her always, to help her, and he doesn't intend to break his promise. But if she continues on like this, he doesn't know what might happen, what to do…
Minako floats light as a feather above them all, full of confidence, and surging with newfound power. Then she disappears into the darkness of the moon to meet the one who will destroy them all.
What would only remain in Akihiko after that moment is a warm feeling.
Don't you see I'm not the only one for you, but you're the only one for me.
…[static]…
"Can I come closer?" She says to him with such an endearing face and glittering eyes. And just the same as every time, Akihiko feels like he's falling.
"What, are you cold?"
He gestures for her to come closer and as she scoots over beside him Akihiko holds her within his arms. Minako leans her head unto him. Her ear brushes against Akihiko's cheek and it sends him a shiver that isn't brought about by winter.
"Your ears are like ice." Akihiko chuckles. Minako responds by burying herself deeper into his chest.
"You wanna come over to my room?" He asks carefully. Minako disentangles herself from his embrace and looks up to meet his eyes. Her crimson eyes are shining with mirth and anticipation, her lips curling up in a smirk. She fingers the knit scarf (the gift she gave him just a while ago) wrapped around his neck and drags her hands down to its ends.
"Sure."
…[static]…
Minako has this habit of tracing patterns on his skin across the contours of his body, starting from his face to his ears to his jaw, his neck, his collarbone, his chest, his arms, down to his navel. Then she drags her hands back up to his chest just to repeat the whole ritual.
And he enjoys it, sometimes he pretends he's asleep, sometimes he doesn't, and in turn runs his fingers on the smooth skin along the side of her breast down to her hips or her back.
…[static]…
One night he receives a text message from her, asking him to come to her room. Curious and partly excited, he cautiously makes his way up the stairs evading Mitsuru's eyes, silently thankful no one is at the second floor.
He is welcomed by an empty room. A sound of shuffling can be heard from the bathroom, then Minako's voice break out, telling him to wait for a moment and sit on the bed. So Akihiko obeys, and patiently waits for what she is about to do. The text indicated it's some sort of surprise. She always manages to surprise him, even in littlest ways.
Minako jumps out of the bathroom and shouts a 'Tada!' Then she clams her mouth shut and covers it with both hands, remembering that she isn't suppose to make weird noises when he is there or they might get caught.
He gapes at her like a fish out of water, his cheeks turning red. There she stands, in front of him, wearing a rather skimpy garment that he thinks is supposed to be a maid outfit.
"Do you like it?" She twirls.
"There were many scraps of fabric left at the Home Ec room so I decided to make this, it would be a waste throwing them away." She tells him cheerfully, too much proud of her achievement.
He grabs a hand and tugs her towards him, making her sit in his lap. Then he kisses her.
"I like it." He says.
And Akihiko knows there really weren't scraps of fabric at all, but bundles of fabric.
…[static]…
"I really liked hanging out together, I used to anyways…" He reveals it to her, feeling obliged to do so. She deserved to know after he kept on avoiding her during those times he was deeply confused and troubled because of her. He still is.
"What about now?" She asks him, concern can be seen etched in between her brows.
"But now…I feel all tense and on edge…it's the weirdest thing." He hopes Minako could see that he doesn't understand it himself.
Then she smiles, a certain shine on her eyes appearing.
"It's love." She answers him with a mischievous tone and lingering aspiration so that whatever she says might be called off as half-hearted but sincere.
L-love? This is love?...Oh!..." He stutters nervously, Akihiko's heart jumping in his throat. He is sure his face can be compared at anything red at the moment. He conditions himself to calm down, batting away at the butterflies on his stomach, and willing his tongue to stop jamming through his teeth. Akihiko decides to take this chance.
"It already slipped out, but I like to know how you feel…will you be my girl?"
Minako seems only mildly surprised as she gasps with eyes widening, as if she expected something like this, but not at that moment and not in that way from him. After the initial shock, she settles with a welcoming smile.
"Yes."
"Really!"
He can't believe it so he acts on the most immediate way his body pushed him to do. He hugs her. And thankfully, she reciprocates it.
…[static]…
She is the last to appear, wearing a humble two piece of her favorite shade that shows off her curves pleasantly. Akihiko suddenly feels conscious where to look, his cheeks turning warm. But he bravely meets her gaze, and greets her, bringing a smile to her lips. He willingly returns the gesture. And it took him a while to tear his eyes off her, and he only did, just so the others wouldn't think of him as something along the lines of Junpei's hazardous trait. Not because they might notice he only looks at her.
Later, when Junpei asks him who his type is, it doesn't take long for him to answer.
Minako
…[static]…
"Sorry there's nowhere to sit except the floor…maybe I have a cushion somewhere. Do you want something to drink?"
"I'll wear a cute swimsuit."
"…hoping for the best…"
"That's not something you need to wish to a god for. I'll be sure to make it come true."
"…wanted to walk with you…..but that's going to be a prob…"
"A future with you."
"…including you…"
"You like pancakes? I'll make you some then..."
"…with that face…"
"I'm happy to be with you."
"Are you and Junpei…?"
"You're the only one I can act this way around…would you mind calling me Aki?"
"…thought about Miki…"
"What did you wish for Aki?"
"If you don't say anything I'll have to find a different way to communicate with you, to know you're here with me."
"Don't get the wrong idea, Senpai."
"…to make you happy…"
"…alone with you…"
"…tired of losing…"
…[static]…
A blue sickly cold light comes down upon him, crawling through his bones, slithering on his spine, his chest, his head, then all over his body. And then as fast as it came it's gone. When he looks around he finds himself alone, Minako, Mitsuru, and Takeba nowhere to be found. The blood soaked floors and creepy walls of Tartarus replaced with complete darkness and silence.
All of a sudden he is surrounded by fire, which amazingly enough circles around him, as if avoiding him in purpose. Akihiko's knees buckles, his breathing coming in hard gasps. In front of him a figure of a little girl appears in the middle of the fire, hands outstretched calling him, begging for help.
Onii-chan…onii-chan…
He tries to stand up but stumbles as metal spiked vines growing from the floor twists their way to bind his legs. He shouts his sister's name but no sound comes out. He reaches for her with his arm but she's too far.
The figure vanishes while a new one appears. This time in front of him. It's Minako, smiling sadly at him.
Aki…
She mouths his name, then starts walking backwards into the fire. The metal vines climb up his waist and covers his arms. It drags him down, making him kneel as he wriggles to disentangle it. But it only keeps getting tighter as it wraps itself to his chest.
Aki… Aki…
She keeps saying it, soundless. And he is too desperate.
No. No. He keeps repeating in his head. This can't happen. Not again.
Minako
He screams her name, but there seems to be a boulder in his throat.
Minako enters the sea of fire, backwards, slowly, her arms beckoning him. The fire rises, scorching hot, enveloping Minako. The fire gathers towards her and set her ablaze, disintegrating her into nothing but ash. The fire dies along with her. Akihiko notices that he has started crying.
"No!" He shouts, this time he hears himself.
When he opens his eyes he finds Minako's face gazing worriedly at him. And without further ado he embraces her tightly, burying his face into her shoulder, afraid that she'll disappear in a moment if he let goes. He repeats her name over and over, glad to hear that he's found his voice. Minako returns the gesture, and brushes his back to comfort him.
"Aki…" She utters his name in the tone of a question.
He is grateful Mitsuru had the modesty to look away and order Yukari to heal their injuries, making the blushing junior arrange herself and turn her back on them to summon her Persona.
"I thought you were…" Akihiko starts but couldn't find it in himself to finish the sentence.
"It's alright, I'm here with you."
"I don't want to lose you…" He whispers in her ear.
"You won't, I promise."
…[static]…
"I hope you don´t mind me saying this but… you mean a lot to me…I love you."
"Minako, I love you."
"Minako…"
…love you…
Then there is nothing but the sound of static.
I'll wake up alone…
January 1, 2010
Akihiko wakes up groggily, the faint sunlight covering the horizon seeps through the gaps of the curtains of his window, making him aware that he had woken up an hour late. He checks his alarm clock, surprised and confused to find that it is turned off. His fingers seek out the other side of his bed, finding it devoid of warmth and feeling only the surface of the cool mattress. He is struck with a sudden sense of anxiety when he realizes the absence of weight on his chest and the lack of numbness on his arm. And that the bed is suddenly all too big for himself. He ponders this oddity his body is undergoing, as if it had been detached to a practice it was accustomed to.
Akihiko tries to grasp the meaning behind the sentiment but the deeper he digs within his mind the more it is lost. He steps off the bed and stretches, working the kinks out of his body all the while yawning. He wonders why he is exhausted, he doesn't remember doing anything arduous last night nor did he stay up late.
It clicks on his mind that it's New Years Day, and because he doesn't have anything to do he might as well go visit Shinji, and that he'll consider later if he would actually go to the shrine. Perhaps come by Miki's grave too. It strangely occurs to him that he could now draw up Miki into his mind and visit her without the load of remorse and guilt that usually comes along with the stir of her memory. He decides that it's quite good, to move on, and its more sound to have better thoughts about his dead sister.
And with that he has forgotten what he was trying to figure out mere minutes ago.
Akihiko performs his morning rituals immaculately, without distraction…Then he deliberates whether he had been distracted from taking a bath and brushing his teeth before to think such. After which he had put on his winter coat, he hears a knock on his door. As he moves to open it an afterimage of a girl with bright red eyes, chestnut-colored hair, and a sunny smile going inside his room flashes before his eyes. Standing still and mouth gaping with the knob half turned by his hand, he is dumbstruck for a moment. Akihiko rouses from his stupor when he becomes conscious of the lapse in his movement.
When he finally manages to pull the door open he is welcomed by Mitsuru's regal stance and unrelenting formality. After years of being friends (which he wonders how they actually came to be) she is still as distant as the reality of the gap between their importance as individuals in society. But somehow, she's the only friend he has besides Shinji and the only other girl in his life besides Miki. Isn't there someone…?
"Akihiko" Mitsuru calls for his undivided attention, which pushes the thought away, and then she gives him a refined smile.
"Happy New Year. I thought I should greet you before leaving, I'm going to visit father…and I think I'll be returning rather late."
"Ah, Happy New Year to you too. I'm visiting Shinji."
"I see. I'm sorry I can't go see him with you today."
"It's alright."
The conversation ends with the two of them nodding at each other. Mitsuru leaves with calculated footsteps and unspoken convoluted inklings. Akihiko grabs a red hand-knit scarf before he goes out of his room and proceed downstairs.
He arrives at the lounge to find it occupied by the girl who has haunted his vision earlier standing by the counter. His heart starts to beat faster with the sight of her, a warm feeling bubbling up in his chest. The girl bends and pets the dog behind his ear. Then as if she senses the bold stare he is giving her, she turns her head and meets his eyes. The girl straightens up to her full height.
She then opens her mouth, to say something, but bites her lip instead as if she caught herself committing a mistake. Afterwards, she smiles.
Akihiko has never felt so nervous as much as he does at the moment, his throat too dry and body fidgeting, he fears he'll stutter once he speaks. He frowns, unable to determine the feeling made by the presence his underclassman is giving him. Inside him, an urge to stride towards her and touch her makes his hand and chest hurt. He chases the thoughts away, and returns the girl's kind smile.
"Happy New Year, Arisato."
He greets her, the name feeling foreign in his tongue. She seems surprised for some reason, Akihiko wonders if he said something wrong. She tears her gaze away, too quickly that her neck appears like snapping. And then as if nothing happened, she looks back.
"Happy New Year to you too, senpai." She grins at him, her voice all too chirpy. He recalls it might have sounded differently.
"Ah. Going somewhere?" Akihiko asks, seeing that she looked like she's dressed up to leave. With someone perhaps?
"Yes. Yukari, Junpei, and I are going to the shrine. Maybe we'll even take Koro-chan along. How about you, senpai?"
"I'm going to visit Shinji…uh…you know Shinjiro, and my sister."
Akihiko is confused how comfortable the way he talks about his best friend and his sister to her. She only nods so he chose to continue.
"I'm thinking of going there too, but you see, I'm not really religious so…"
"Then come along with us."
She invites him. Maybe she is just being polite, or it's just her being friendly, but it doesn't matter to Akihiko what her reason is. Because he feels so compelled to go with her. And so he agrees.
Naganaki Shrine
Akihiko doesn't have anything against gods and praying so he decides to join and consequently makes a brief wish. After which, he goes to the side of the shrine to wait for the others and look around.
He is again bound by the familiar yet odd feeling when he focuses on to his red-eyed kouhai. Like him she goes to the side to let the other people go near the altar box. She glances around, and when she meets his gaze Akihiko abruptly looks away, feeling awkward and ashamed of being caught. The white Akita, Koromaru, he remembers, comes near. Akihiko pats the dog's head, distracting himself and trying to bring to mind how they have come to acquire him. He is reminded of a dark night, him passing by the shrine, and an injured Koromaru drenched in blood.
Then he hears a familiar lilting voice, calling him, and he thinks he knows that voice all too well. He turns and asks her.
"Did you call me?"
Minako Arisato only shakes her head and smile.
Review if you want me to post the next chapter immediately. (Poor me, I've resorted to blackmailing.)