Author's Note:
I've been in a bizarre mood for the past couple of days, as all of my friends have been going off to college. (Bizarre as in I'm not necessarily depressed, but I can hardly claim to be happy.) I typically run or work out when I have no control over my emotions, but since I was a retard and pulled something in my right knee whilst cliff-jumping last weekend (it was forty-feet high! :D), I can't really do that. Thus, I shall write, and party that it won't come out as shit.

Annnnywho. Due to four years of honors/AP English, I tend to overanalyze how I write and I forget that sometimes a river is just a river. The last chapter was written in first person (a point of view that I never write in) so that, as you read the rest of this story, it feels as though you're actually looking back into the past from that moment in time. Again, I put too much thought into how I write, thanks to English analyzation.

AND AGAIN - I'm sorry if the last chapter was short and incredibly mundane. I'm in a weird mood and I guess it effected my writing, ha ha. Still, thanks to WipingAllOut, caramelmilktea, Hamujiro, Liza Taylor, and The Pink Alligator for reviewing; anything you guys have to say is very much appreciated and I pretty much love your guts. :D Also, a shout out to those who read/favorited/alert'd and actually read my mid-life crisis up there.

Twenty-Five Hours
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

The Second Hour

Opening Song: "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

"You and Akihiko-senpai look like you're getting pretty close. You're not trying to get him or anything, are you? He belongs to everyone."

Honestly, Minako never really took threats or warnings seriously. Half the time they were only issued because the other party felt threatened themselves yet had no way of carrying out said threat, and the rest of the time it was some case of teenage angst that would eventually pass. She was a prime witness when it came to possessive boyfriends and insecure girlfriends; jealousy and rage just came attached to the whole high school package.

Granted, that was all before she transferred to Gekkoukan High School, began living in the Iwatodai Dorm, and befriended a guy whose legion of fangirls really meant business.

Minako had seen fangirls before; she watched Disney Channel and the Jonas Brothers, she attended J-Rock concerts, she skimmed blogs of girls who were borderline stalkers. Fangirls were just devoted fans who longed to be noticed by their subject of worship. There wasn't anything wrong with it, she supposed, so long as it didn't threaten anyone's health.

Again, this was before she transferred to Gekkoukan High, where she promptly found herself being "accidentally" knocked down a flight of stairs the morning after her first outing with Akihiko Sanada.

"Oi! Minako-tan, what happened to your arm!" Both Junpei and Yukari were gaping at the pear-sized bruise on her elbow, where she had so gracefully collided with the tile floor during break. "Did a Shadow bite'cha or something?" the male continued to inquire, wearily sizing up her wound.

"Uhhh, well…" She found herself staring at her own bruise, as though it were still something foreign to her. Honestly, she hadn't seen the girl who had pushed her, but unless Orpheus was playing mind tricks on her, she was sure she felt a pair of hands on her back before she made the tumble. "Ah ha ha, maybe?" she offered with an impish grin.

Yukari sighed hopelessly as Junpei continued to ogle at her. "You need to take care of yourself, Minako," she scolded softly. "What'd we do if our leader got really hurt?"

She figured there was no point in starting a war against five million fangirls. Sure, she could summon one hundred and seventy Personae, and sure, she could wield a naginata, and sure, she was the leader of S.E.E.S., but she'd never faced such a large group of adversaries before. Just how many girls hopelessly worshipped the feet of her senpai?

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she reassured, waving her hand dismissively. "I probably just ran into a wall or something."

Her friends exchanged a look of pure disbelief, but neither chose to pursue it and simply shook their heads. "Still, you should get that looked at," Yukari persisted. "I was hoping to go to Tartarus tonight since I got that new bow, but it won't be any good if your arm falls off. Why don't you go see Edogawa-sensei? There's still fifteen minutes left of lunch."

Minako looked down at the bruise again, which had admittedly grown since that morning, and gave in with a heavy sigh. "Fiiiine. But going to see Edogawa-sensei is just as good as being knocked into a coma," she grumbled under her breath as she slipped out of the classroom. She instantly felt as though a thousand daggers were being thrown in her direction, but managed to deflect them with her music as she put on her earphones.

"I don't think I've ever feared for my life so much before," she thought wearily as she carefully proceeded through the hallways, her eyes darting around in paranoia. She was beginning to wish that she had Fuuka's ability when she actually dove behind a pillar to avoid a group of Akihiko's fangirls. ("Where did they get those buttons with his face?") When she finally managed to make it to the Faculty Hallway, relief flooded through her - until she found that the nurse's office was locked. "Nooo!" she wailed dramatically, dropping her head against the cool metal of the door.

There was a chuckle behind her. "What are you doing?"

Whirling around and backing up against the door as though a Shadow had crept up upon her, she couldn't help but blush when Akihiko quirked a brow before laughing loudly. "Akihiko-senpai!" she squeaked in surprise, quickly pulling the earphones away from her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just talking to my teacher about my absences," he explained, nodding his head in the direction of the Faculty Lounge. "What are you doing?" he repeated, though with a small smile. "You look guilty."

"Ironic," she couldn't help but think, but quickly flashed a smile. "I wanted to catch Edogawa-sensei, but I guess he already headed off to class."

Rather than asking what had happened, Akihiko swiftly stepped forward and gently took hold of her arm, angling it so he could get a better look at the wound. Minako blinked down at him wordlessly as he examined the bruise, then suddenly felt a rush of chills run up her spine. Her Akihiko-senpai-Fangirl senses were tingling; she couldn't see them, but they were definitely around the corner. (Or all that time she was spending in Tartarus was really getting to her.)

"You didn't have this last night." It wasn't a question. She had taken him along in the party for last night's exploration, but she hadn't expected him to be so observant. They were always a little bloodied and bruised up after a night in Tartarus, so he must have been really aware.

Minako laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head with her other hand. "You know me, always being clumsy!" Her weak statement died off with another awkward laugh.

He looked at her skeptically, both of them acknowledging that that statement was the farthest thing from the truth. She was always light on her feet and had a good sense of balance; the way she carried herself in battle was evidence enough of that. As apprehensive as he looked, however, Akihiko knew better than to push it, and released her arm. "Alright, but be a little more careful, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."

She grinned up at him shamelessly and bobbed her head. "I will!"

Akihiko managed a weak smile, obviously still bothered about the whole situation, and chuckled. "Alright, come on. We should head to class before we're late." They walked side-by-side through the hallway and up the stairs, exchanging pointless but enjoyable comments. Minako forgot about the glaring girls and plotting schemers around her, instead easing into the comfort of her senpai's presence.

"Hey, are you free this afternoon?"

She had almost forgotten that it was Friday; he didn't have club today. "Hmmm, I think so," she mused aloud. "Why?"

"I was thinking of maybe going for a run after school. If you don't have anything to do, maybe you can join me." She blinked as he walked off, only offering a small wave and a smile when he disappeared around the corner.

Despite the various glares and a strangely powerful look of rage she received from one redhead, Minako couldn't help the ear-to-ear grin she bore as she skipped into class and took a seat. "Did Edogawa-sensei give you something?" Junpei whispered as Ms. Toriumi walked in.

"No, he wasn't in. I found someone else to help me, though." The hat-wearing male nodded and turned his attention to the front (thought grudgingly), allowing Minako to savor the butterflies in her stomach.

Closing Song: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

If you didn't already guess, the redhead I'm referring to in the last sentence in the girl with the bun in Minako's homeroom. I personally enjoy talking to her because… it's amusing and she stalks Akihiko and her jealousy makes me chortle? XD

I love reading interactions between the S.E.E.S. members, so most of the stories in this will contain other members, rather than just Minako and Akihiko. Annnyways, I hope you enjoyed it, and, uh, I'll try to make the next one longer? :D

With looove,
Renoh.

(P.S. Reviews make me happy. Like, a lot.)