A/N: I didn't think I'd finish this chapter so soon. O.o Then again, I actually won't have much time to update after this week, so, this is a good thing.

Thanks for reviews/faves to Deidara'sgirl19 and Rewritten Ennui. ^-^

As far as the end goes, I had thought about it for the longest time, but I thought it would be better if the three of them (Aki, Shinji, and Miki) were all at the festival. Of course, that just means it'll have to be a later chapter. Anyways, this chapter is the last one for the "1996 Arc." I'm skipping ahead by almost two years, because I think little Miki really needs to shine before you-know-what goes down. Ugh, I'm dreading it already. D:

Also, I hope I didn't make Shinji too OOC for this chapter. I know he's like, five at this point (it's still summer), but still…

I've rambled on long enough, now. Enjoy the chapter! Feedback is also my best friend.

I don't own Persona 3 or its related stuff.

Chapter 5
To the Festival?

Shinjiro was really kind of weird, Akihiko began to notice over the next couple of days.

Whenever Reiko was cooking in the kitchen, he stood there, watching her every move, measuring ingredients and making sure the rice was just the right temperature when cooking. He never once asked to help, and, oddly enough, Reiko didn't mind his presence in the least.

He actually ate all his vegetables, unlike some of the other kids who shoved theirs aside. Even Akihiko himself carefully avoided carrots if he found them.

On the way back from a trip to the store with Suoh another time, a stray dog crossed their path. The young woman shrank back in fear, but Shinjiro stepped forward, pet the animal on the head, and then tossed a ball he had in his pocket (which he picked up in the playroom when no one was looking, of course) as hard as he could.

When the dog bounded after it, Suoh grabbed the boy's hand, scolded him, and hurriedly dragged him off, leaving Akihiko to trail at their heels.

He tried talking to Shinjiro about all this, but he had just glared at him and commented, "I don't say anything about you playin' with dolls with your sister, so stop botherin' me about it. Stupid."

Well, it was true. None of the girls would play with Miki- they said she was too little to join their club, whatever they called it- so he was stuck making a teddy bear pretend to dance with Usa-kun while Masaru laughed at him. When Shinji walked by he shoved the older boy into the girls while they were having one of their pretend tea parties. The end result was loud squealing and Masaru rushing off to change his clothes, as some of the water that got on his pants made it look like he'd soiled himself.

Surprisingly, Shinji didn't get in trouble.

Miki wasn't wary around him anymore. In fact, whenever she saw him, she'd wave and call after him. The first time she did that, Shinji stared at her, looking thoroughly embarrassed, and proceeded to run up the stairs. Akihiko had never seen his expression change like that before.

Maybe she was seeing the other side of him? He didn't know.

Orphanage, 1st Floor, Dining Room - Evening

Everyone was excited about the upcoming summer festival at the Naganaki Shrine. It was probably the only time the girls and boys actually conversed on a common topic, although a lot of it turned into bickering about the best kind of mask to wear.

Akihiko wasn't really listening to them; his stomach was growling uncomfortably. For some odd reason, he'd noticed that Miki got very little food in her bowl, so he just simply handed his plate over to her, having lost his appetite once Masaru decided jokes about toilets and vomit was all people wanted to hear. The toddler was happy now that her face was half-covered in curry with grains of rice stuck on her cheeks, but Akihiko was too tired to smile back at her.

In the midst of all the anticipation and conversation, however, Shinjiro was nowhere to be seen. He usually occupied the last chair nearest the door so he was the first one to leave, but was empty this evening. He slowly lifted his head once he realized this, but a voice quickly derailed his train of thought.

"Hey, Sanada, you and your sister are coming to the festival with us."

"Eh?" He quickly turned to Mai, who sat in the middle of the room where the two tables were pushed together.

The dark-haired girl brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "You're coming with us," she repeated, her voice a bit harsher. "Suoh-san says so. This'll be the first one without your parents around, but she says she wants everyone to not worry about that and have some fun."

"Oh." Akihiko simply nodded, his attention drifting back to Shinjiro. He didn't really hear the rest of what she had to say, except something about a yukata and goldfish.

2nd Floor, Boys' Room - Evening

He found Shinjiro- or rather, his messy hair- poking out from underneath a blanket when he arrived in the boys' room later on that evening. He paused for a moment, unsure whether the boy was awake or not.

"Shinji?"

The other boy pulled off the blanket a bit and looked up at him. "Oh, it's just you, Aki." Well, he wasn't asleep after all. He shifted to a sitting position, gazing at the silver-haired boy intently.

"What are you doin' here? I didn't see you downstairs…"

"I ate and left. 'Sides, everybody's talkin' about that festival thing. I don't wanna hear it."

"Why not?" Akihiko's brow furrowed. "You're not gonna stay here, are you?"

"I don't wanna go there," the brunette huffed. "Waste of time." For some reason, he looked away from Akihiko as he said this.

The silver-haired youth was about to inquire, but his stomach growled again. Even in the dark room, he could see that Shinjiro's eyes widened for the briefest of moments before a smirk crept across his face.

Akihiko tried his best not to look embarrassed. "M-Miki didn't have much to eat, so I gave her what I had."

Shinjiro didn't respond; he had slid off his bed and pulled out a shoebox from underneath. Opening the lid, he pulled out two small rectangular objects before closing it and sliding it back underneath his bed again. He shoved one of the small objects into Akihiko's hands, muttering, "Take it. S'chocolate. Not the best thing, but it's better than nothing."

The silver-haired boy was too hungry to ask where he had gotten these from; he gratefully peeled the wrapper off the candy bar and took a bite. "Thanks, Shinji. You really are nice after all."

"M-moron!" Shinjiro sounded flustered. "Just shut up a-and eat."

1st Floor, Dining Room - Morning

The anticipation in the air was much more apparent, Akihiko noticed immediately the following day.

Suoh left with a few of the girls to go shopping after breakfast, and the rest of the children retreated to the playroom, all of them giddily discussing all of the things they expected to see and do at the festival.

Akihiko was left with Miki again- not that he minded it any, he had gotten used to it by now. His thoughts drifted back to Shinjiro for a moment, and he realized he hadn't seen the surly child all morning.

"Come on, Miki," the boy said to his sister. "We're gonna go see Shinji."

2nd Floor, Boys' Room - Daytime

"What are you doing here?"

How Shinjiro knew it was him, Akihiko couldn't even begin to make sense of it. He was sitting on his bed at the far end of the boys' room, facing the window. He hadn't even bothered to turn to face him when he spoke.

"I was just wondering where you were, Shinji," the silver-haired boy replied. "What's the… Miki, don't push!"

The toddler squeezed past him and made a beeline right for Shinjiro, much to his chagrin. The sullen boy turned to face her, his messy hair obscuring his eyes (it seriously needed to be brushed). He made no attempt to push her away or move, even when she tugged hard at his shirt sleeve with tiny hands.

"Shinji, what's the matter?" Akihiko's brows knitted together; something wasn't quite right here.

"S'nothing," Shinjiro told him indifferently. He still hadn't bothered to move, and Miki gave up tugging on him. She crossed her short arms, pouted at him, and ran back over to her older brother.

A tense silence settled upon the room. Akihiko was concerned, Miki was quietly fussing, and Shinjiro was just sitting there.

"… Hey, Aki…"

"Eh?" Akihiko cocked his head slightly, confused.

"You're a pain."

"Eh!"

"You're always trying to hang around me. You've got a sister to play with, why bother with me?"

Akihiko was taken aback by Shinjiro's words. He pointed at the boy, saying, "What's so wrong with that? You're not bad like you keep actin' like you are."

"Me? Not bad?" Shinjiro started to chuckle. "That's a good one. You hear what those other kids say about me, right?"

"So what?" Akihiko crossed his arms. "S'not like it's gonna stop me from being your friend."

What the boy just said didn't really start to sink in until Shinjiro looked up and finally turned to face him. Brown hues bore into him, scrutinizing, critical, watching for his reaction.

"Uh, um… that is… u-unless you REALLY w-wanna by all by yourself all the time." He failed miserably at trying to sound cool. In fact, he only looked more awkward than anything.

To his surprise, Shinjiro was actually smirking.

"W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I take back what I said, Aki… you're not a pain after all."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You're the dumbest kid I've ever met."

Akihiko didn't know how long he, Shinjiro, and Miki sat around in the room, talking about random things. Well, Akihiko did most of the talking, anyway, mostly about what he remembered about his old home. He talked about his mother, his father, the number of stairs leading to the second floor of the house, the sliding doors, and the two trees planted for him and Miki in the backyard there.

Shinjiro mostly nodded and hummed to himself, listening attentively. It wasn't long before Akihiko noticed that the boy's eyes held a sense of anger and sadness, the same emotions Akihiko had all but tried to bury deep inside.

Those feelings started to stir inside him yet again, but he shook his head, as though trying to shake it off. Instead, he focused his gaze on Shinjiro, who sat staring at the wall with half-closed eyes.

"Shinji."

"What?"

"How come you don't wanna go to the festival tomorrow?"

"None of your business."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Does it have something to do with your mom or dad?" Akihiko got up from the floor and moved to one of the beds, helping Miki climb on.

Shinjiro groaned in response, laying on his back and turning away from him. It was evident he had no intention of answering.

Akihiko frowned. "Okay then. If you don't wanna say so, then you should go to the festival."

"You can't make me go," Shinjiro shot back, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"Yes I can."

"Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do?"

"I'll tell the others you've been up here crying the whole time."

Shinjiro sat bolt upright. "I was not! I just had something in my eye, that's all!"

"… Both of them?"

"… Shut up! Idiot!"

While everyone else was having fun at the shrine, Akihiko, Shinjiro, and Miki were quite content sitting in the backyard, enjoying their watermelon slices to the fullest.

… They could always go to the festival next year.