CHAPTER 3 / Connections

February 9th, 2010

Dear Yukari,

I'm not even sure I can accurately describe what it was like to have that power. But it wasn't easy at all. There was a whole system I had to figure out on developing and evolving my personae. While I was able to hold so many, all of them were only effective for a few weeks at most before I needed to change again. And another side effect was how busy I always was.

How can I properly explain this? To start, my powers were linked to my emotional ties with others. Literally the relationships I had with my friends. Well, an easier way to explain it is that everyone's strength of their persona is based on their heart. The resolve and strength of your own emotions can make your persona stronger or weaker. It isn't that hard to put together really. Some research into simple psychology terminology provides the majority of the answers. However for me, it was less about my own personal emotions and more about what I shared with others.

Persona is a mask we use to deal with our day to day lives. And really everyone one of us has many that we wear depending on the situation. But the power of Persona is fundamentally different than what is described in psychology terms. After a lot of thought I think of it like this. The power of persona is specifically the mask we wear for combat. As our enemies began to strengthen and we grew more confident in our own abilities we each grew more powerful. Because that mask we needed had to be stronger. And our resolves and emotions were what fueled that growth.

The Shadows can be seen in a similar fashion. This term can also be found in psychology. It is in reference to the dark parts of a human's mind. All the things we suppress and shove deep inside ourselves for multitude of reasons we each have. Just like the human mind, the further we delved into Tartarus, the more powerful those Shadows became. After all, those were the Shadows that were meant to be buried, never to be seen. But all of us cut through all of that. We climbed the tower…the tower that was known to some as the Tower of Demise. After all, think about what awaited us at the top of the tower.

Death, the most suppressed thought in everyone's mind. In hind sight, it makes so much sense the journey that we traveled. It all started that night, April 6th. When I arrived at the dorm and I met Pharos. He was actually the one that became Ryoji. Only to eventually become the Avatar for Nyx. But he was not Nyx, just the means to prepare the way for the Goddess. He is also a Shadow.

Of course, I can never be too confidant in any of this. But from what we all went through it seems to make the most sense to me. If you think about it, we faced the suppressed feelings of countless people. I have to wonder if it really is where the shadows come from. It would explain why no matter how many times we revisited a floor, it was always repopulated with the same kinds of Shadows. It could mean that whatever the suppressed feeling was, could actually only reach a certain level in the tower, which is why it was always the same kind of Shadows.

I can understand why the Kirijo group would want to research Tartarus. There are so many things that would have fascinated any scientist. But the price for that was way too high. Especially in a world that already had Shadows. But it must have been hard to track Shadows down without a place like Tartarus. Probably scattered and everywhere in the world.

Still, even with the disappearance of Tartarus and the Dark Hour, I highly doubt that the world will lose its need for persona users. I hope that you can find happiness and that you'll never need to use your persona again. But if a time comes where you are needed, I'm sure you would rise up to it. You have such a strong sense of right and wrong, even if you don't realize it. You may believe you got involved because of your father, but I'm positive you would have never awakened as a persona user if there wasn't some sense of justice in you.

Love Always.

Arisato Minato

March 7th, 2011 / Early Morning

Yukari closed the journal. Again it was a restless night. She had slept better than the previous night, but her need to keep reading the journal was starting to become more and more overwhelming. So many things she had never known. And about just how intelligent the man she loved really had been. He was all logic, and never discounted anything. With the power of persona being a part of their lives, things that once seemed out of the ordinary and impossible, was immediately a possibility after his awakening.

He was so smart. Thinking on his feet and adjusting to every situation as he needed too. That didn't have anything to do with his ability as a persona user, or as he referred to it, the wild card. No, Minato himself, was more than capable of adapting and becoming what he needed because of his intelligence, his skill and his ability. Minato never panicked and instead was always looking for answers.

Ever since she had started to read the journal she had started to remember details that she had believed to be long forgotten. She even clearly remembered the first night that Minato had showed up. He had been at the front desk. Taking a few steps away was when she had approached. She had panicked because she had never fought a Shadow before. Not knowing what to expect she drew her evoker and called out to him. She had been stopped by Mitsuru, and Minato played it off like nothing had happened. But it had worried her so much, she didn't want to get someone involved with Shadows or what she knew if she could avoid it. She remembered how nervous she was during that time. Minato never questioned her about her actions.

No, her guess, he investigated it, but that hadn't been necessary. Only a few days later would they be attacked and he would awaken to his power. Then he slept for so long. And most likely because of his power of the wild card. Yukari couldn't help but wonder what other side effects came with holding such power. What other things did Minato have to go through? That's what she really wanted to know. She was starting to realize how much she didn't know about her boyfriends powers and what he had to do to maintain it. And what about the end of his life...

How could it happen right in front of her? Did he suffer in his last months before he died? Was he in constant pain? How much strain on his body was there in those final weeks? Why didn't she notice? Why didn't she notice that the man she loved was slowly fading away? Was she an idiot? No…no she did notice. He had been getting exhausted so much earlier than usual, no longer staying up as long as he used to. And the way he looked at her. Every time it was like he was trying to memorize every part of her. At first she thought it was because he was really just looking at her. Maybe even trying to work up the courage to say something. But most likely he was trying to memorize everything about her…knowing that there was only a limited time before he would never see her again.

What had it felt like, to be holding such a heavy burden? How did he manage to hold himself together knowing such things? What was going through his head? Yukari wanted to know so badly.

Once more she found herself in tears; she wiped them away as she heard a knock on the door. She got to her feet looking at the journal once more before making her way to the door. She cracked it open only a little bit. Standing at the door was Mitsuru.

"Oh, Mitsuru, is it time for breakfast?" Yukari asked having to push away another tear.

"Well yes, but I was hoping we could talk," Mitsuru seemed nervous.

"Sure," Yukari opened the door and Mitsuru walked in. She closed the door and then offered for the both of them to sit on the bed. The two sat in silence for a bit before Yukari finally asked. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"I have a confession to make," Mitsuru was definitely more nervous than usual. "I know that it wasn't right, but it just happened. Plus you had already been dating Minato at that time."

"Senpai…what are you trying to say?" Yukari looked at her curiously.

"I loved him as well," she said looking away.

"You mean Minato?" Yukari asked with a smile. Mitsuru in love with Minato? Well it wasn't like she could blame her. After all he was such an amazing guy.

"After my father died, I was so depressed. Minato must have seen it and asked me if I was busy. It must have been on a day you had archery, or I'm sure he would have gone with you. I mean, what reason would he want to spend time with me?" Mitsuru was uncharacteristically nervous. Yukari could understand that admitting something like this, but it wasn't like Minato hadn't explained things to her before. She remembered it very well.

"Now you aren't going to be mad if I hang out with other girls, right?" Minato seemed to be half joking but Yukari knew he was serious.

"As your girlfriend, don't I have a right to be mad about that sort of thing?" she eyed him.

He laughed, "You can be a little jealous, but you are the only girl for me. But still I have friends that are girls too. Unless I should give you the same treatment about guys. If that's how you want to be."

"Oh, so it's an eye for an eye, huh?" Yukari shook her head. "What is this really about, Minato?"

"It's Mitsuru," Minato spoke seriously. "I thought that maybe Akihiko would be the one to comfort her but, I think that it might not be what she needs. I think she needs to do things she hasn't done before. And I'm concerned that her resolve might falter."

"Or maybe you think it be the perfect chance to get a date with the most popular girl in school," Yukari teased and watched his expression. But she knew him well enough to know that he was concerned. And the only reason he was telling her this was to tell her his intention. Being seen with her had a high chance that rumors could be spread unintentionally, and a huge misunderstanding was likely.

"No way, I'm already dating the girl that is most popular with me," Minato grinned and pulled her into his arms. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do. And talking sweet to me earns you some points. But why you?" Yukari was curious why he didn't think of getting someone else to comfort her.

"I'm not sure she would be comfortable with many others. Considering I've been the battle leader for so long, and my grades are top notch. It's a starting point at any rate. Plus, I really am worried about her. She hasn't been herself lately," Minato said.

Yukari shook her head in agreement. "Well you are right, her battle skills seemed to be a little unfocused lately in Tartarus. And since you are the number one student in our year, she might be more willing to talk to you in some fashion. Still I reserve the right to be as jealous as I want, and you can't spend more time with her than with me." Yukari put her arms around Minato's neck.

"Of course, you still come first. I was only planning to go while you have archery practice. I'll just meet you back at the dorm like I usually do on those days. I just wanted you to know instead of hearing stupid rumors that might happen, because of it," Minato gave her a comforting smile.

"Thanks for telling me," Yukari smiled and kissed his cheek.

"You know they say communication is the most important thing in a relationship," Minato grinned and then pulled Yukari into a kiss.

Yukari remembered so many of their conversations. He was so caring about her and everyone around him. She knew it had only been natural for him to be concerned about Mitsuru after her father had died. And she understood and never made a big deal out of the things she did hear about it. Of course there had been rumors about the blue hair boy that was hanging around the red head who was the Student Council President and taking care of things in the Kirijo group in the stead of her father. She smiled at Mitsuru, "He worried about you. He knew you weren't handling your father's death well and wanted to do something. He thought about trying to get someone else to cheer you up, but it only made sense that it had to be him."

"It had to be him? He could have convinced Akihiko or…"

"No way, senpai. Think about it, you were being bogged down by everyone that demanded your attention for so many different things. What you needed was a change of pace. The only person that could have given you that was someone that was outside your usual social circle. And the only one you knew enough that was at the same intellectual level was our number one junior. Arisato Minato," Yukari gave a light laugh.

"Was he that worried…about me?" Mitsuru asked in a whisper. This was not like the red head at all. But Yukari had to wonder how long she had kept it inside.

"He cared about all of us," Yukari sighed and pulled the journal over, "His memories he wrote is more than just me…it is about everyone. We were the family he never had."

December 19th, 2009 / After School

Minato and Mitsuru were sitting at a table in the library. It was kind of funny in a way. This was hardly something out of the ordinary. They had been to Hagakure, Wild Duck Burger and even in Iwatodai for some takoyaki. This seemed so normal that Minato had to wonder why Mitsuru had chosen to come here. Maybe it was just a place that she found comforting. If that was so then he was more than glad that it was where they were.

"We only have a short time together like this," Mitsuru let out a deep sigh, and seemed to have her attention looking out of the window.

"You mean being in school?" Minato asked as he flipped the page of his history book.

"Yeah. I'm sure soon enough we'll be looking back nostalgically on these times," she nodded. Minato had to wonder what was putting her into a mood like this. Usually when someone talked like this it meant they were thinking about the future. That was a good sign to Minato. It meant she was finally taking steps to move forward.

"Nostalgia huh? What has you thinking about this? Did something happen?" He figured straight and direct was really the best way to go about it. After all Mitsuru was starting to open up to him before, maybe she would go further.

"I'm just tired. There's no need for you to worry," Mitsuru said that but her tone wasn't exactly making Minato think it was nothing to worry about.

"Right, so I'll just forget you being all introspective and talking about how we have such a short time together," Minato eyed her, making a point to seem more annoyed than she was.

"Okay fine, you don't have to say it like that, Arisato." She sighed for the second time. "Since my father passed away, I've been facing many difficult problems."

"Of course you are, Kirijo-senpai," Minato closed his history book. "I can't imagine how much the Kirijo Group is putting you through though."

"Well, a lot of it has to do with my inheritance, the future of the Kirijo Group and naturally the expectation of all of those involved. And most likely I won't be able to attend college or begin a profession. I will have to find another path," Mitsuru was beginning to fidget more than she had been before. Or rather just much more noticeably. "Say, Arisato. What are your thoughts on marriage?"

Minato's mind automatically thought of Yukari and imagined her in a white dress. But what did he think about it? That was a good question. So he took a couple moments to consider it before finally giving her an answer. "It's a result of love, naturally."

Mitsuru let out a nervous laugh, "You're so straight forward, I can never tell if you are serious or not."

"I'm totally serious. Who would get married without loving that person?" Minato gave her a look.

"Well I am a Kirijo. I cannot simply make a decision according to my emotions. An agreement between two parties such as marriage must be carefully considered," Mitsuru nodded as if this was fact.

"That's very businesslike. I could never get married if I didn't already love my wife to be," Minato said sitting back in his chair. "Maybe I'm just the odd one. Seems to be an unfortunate way to get married."

"Well for my parents they were arranged together for strategic reasons. But as time passed, they fell in love with each other. So, I wouldn't consider my parents unfortunate. Love comes in many different forms. Do you disagree?" Mitsuru had seemed to put her studying off as well and more engrossed in their conversation.

"It isn't like I've ever had much experience to develop an opinion either way, you know. Most of the places I lived, didn't really have many married people. Or not that I noticed anyway. I was told I probably have relatives somewhere but if they didn't care for my parents enough to look after me after their death then I didn't care to find them. I'm way off topic, sorry Kirijo-san," Minato laughed a bit scratching his head.

"Don't worry, Arisato. I'm not making you feel uncomfortable am I?" she asked.

"No. It would be uncomfortable maybe if Yukari was asking me about marriage," Minato could just imagine how red his face would get at the prospect of his girlfriend bringing up that subject.

"How is your relationship with her going anyway? That is if you don't mind telling me," Mitsuru seemed to want the conversation to steer a little off her or maybe she was just interested in Minato's answer about marriage. Either way it wasn't like he hadn't entertained the thought before.

"It's good. I mean, it feels that way to me. We are dealing with so much right now but…it is easier to bear when I'm with her. She helps me sort out my thoughts and just calms me. Does that make any sense?" Minato rubbed the back of his head and felt his cheeks heat up a bit. They argued from time to time, but it was nothing compared to the fights they had earlier in their relationship, or the one that had nearly broken the relationship for good. After that...well...they could communicate really well.

"It does. It helps everyone when you are calm. After all, you are the leader in battle. And when you are calm and collected then so is everyone else," Mitsuru smiled and noticed the clock. "I can't believe the library is almost closing. We've been here since school ended."

"Well between studying and us talking, time went by really fast," Minato started putting his books and notebooks into his bag as Mitsuru was doing the same. Although he was sure Mitsuru hadn't studied at all.

"Talking in the library, I'm not setting a very good example as Student Council President," Mitsuru looked over to Minato.

"No, everyone talks in the library. Isn't it hard to study if you can't talk with your partner," Minato got to his feet and offered a hand to help Mitsuru up from her chair.

"Thank you," she took it and got to her feet.

"As for my answer to your earlier question. I don't disagree, but I also pose a different question to you senpai," he took a moment to stand in front of her.

"Alright," Mitsuru looked at him, somewhat puzzled as to what he would ask.

"What is love to you, Mitsuru-san?" Minato asked with a smile.

March 7th, 2011 / Early Morning

Mitsuru got to her feet. "That Minato, always made me think. Maybe more than I wanted too," she shook her head and looked to Yukari. "Without realizing it, I grew to look forward to all my time with Minato. I think I even started to be jealous of when he was with you. Which I knew was wrong…you were his girlfriend and I had no right to start feeling anything for him."

"Calm down, Mitsuru-chan," Yukari said quickly. "Really, I'm not mad. And I can't really blame you for falling in love with him. It is the same man that I fell in love with. Love is hardly something you can control."

"I ended up turning down an arranged marriage because of him," Mitsuru voice was soft and still filled with guilt. "But he only ever had eyes for you. And he never really misled me in anyway. And he always talked about you. I just couldn't help falling for him. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. I would have never been able to look forward to the future. He was the one that taught me that. It's why when I think of Minato, I can't help but cry for him."

"Yeah," Yukari felt the overwhelming oppressive thoughts come to her. "After all, the future he fought for and continues to protect is the one he will never be a part of."

"And he'll never know what he left behind either," Mitsuru added with a whisper. Those words reached Yukari's ears and she immediately switched gears.

"Except what he did will never be gone. I mean, he saved the world. All of us. Every single day that we wake up and see the morning sun, it is because of him," Yukari got to her feet. "So I'm not going to try and forget him. After all, we are living in the world that he created."

"That he created huh? Yeah, you're right. As long as he stands protecting the world from Nyx, it really is his world," Mitsuru smiled. "It kinda feels better thinking of it like that."

"Hey, are you two coming down for breakfast or not?" Akihiko entered the room through the open door as both girls were on their feet. "Oh, Takeba, sorry the door to your room was open so…"

"No, its fine, senpai," Yukari yawned suddenly. "I think breakfast and maybe some good coffee might be in order."

"How goes the reading, Yukari? If you don't mind me asking," Akihiko definitely seemed like he wanted to know more about the writing that Minato left behind. And Yukari didn't blame him or any of the others. After all, everybody had cared about the blue haired young man. He had meant a great deal to everyone in SEES.

"Yeah, I was about to get to his recount of the third full moon. When we went in to save Fuuka. I think it might be good to read it for everyone," Yukari took the journal and pressed it against her chest. She knew that it was comforting to everyone in a way, to finally know how he was thinking after all this time. The mind of Arisato Minato was not a simple one. Yukari learned more about him in each entry.

The problem being, with each entry she fell in love with him over and over again…

Author's Note:

Yeah I know...this chapter is pretty short. It weighs in under 4k but that's fine because Chapter 4 is pretty hefty (weighing in at over 13k words). This is mostly filler but is meant to show how Minato affected the other girls. Or really anyone else. In the game it is more implied that the protagonist doesn't really care but obviously I wasn't going to maintain that. After all it would be ridiculous to have him devoted to one and then have him sleep with all the others regardless. That doesn't stop girls from falling in love with him.

Anyway there is some foreshadowing in this chapter about later events but you won't really see it for some chapters to come. Also I should note that this is the only time I jump ahead. Chapter 4 will go back and cover the next Full Moon and Fuuka's entrance to SEES. And maybe some Minato and Yukari fluff along the way.

Hope you are enjoying it so far. See you tomorrow with Chapter 4.