Author's Note:

I love college in that I don't actually have to go to college. Granted, I haven't missed a class yet, but I've never really been given the gift of being able to lay in bed for fifteen minutes to decide if I actually wanted/needed to go to class or not. But… I guess that's just saying that I'm lazy.

A super huuuuge thanks goes out to those who favorites, read, and alerted within the last chapter. You guys rock and ich liebe dich. :D A special thanks goes out to Ombre Rose, PochamaShadowClone, and xLeeny, to whom this chapter is dedicated, for reviewing. Your comments keep me going and fuel the fire to my AkixMinako love.

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

The Fourth Hour

Opening Song: "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

Minako was thirteen when she had her first kiss.

She'd been living in Paris, France for six months, the longest she and her parents had stayed in one place in years. She attended a small private school, composed of both an elementary and middle school. The population was fairly small, probably three hundred altogether from Kindergarten to the eighth grade, and she knew everyone in her grade. There were more girls than boys, so there was always this bizarre competition between the adolescent females, though the sought after males didn't seem to mind it too much. Honestly, though, Minako wasn't interested; all of the boys were still going through puberty and she wasn't particularly attracted to any of them anyway.

Her friend Adelaide was hosting a Halloween party - the first coed party she'd been to since she was five - and they were playing spin the bottle. Minako figured there wasn't any harm in sitting in the circle; there were twenty of them total and what were the chances of the bottle landing on her?

Despite the 1:12 chances working in her favor, the old Coca Cola bottle pointed towards her when Nihel Boulanger spun. Minako couldn't remember much, and her first kiss wasn't as magnificent as all the girls around her had claimed it would be. She could recall some cheering and whistles, along with how Nihel had been so nervous that he nearly broke her nose in the process, but otherwise the details were blurry.

She had a couple more kisses after that, when she moved to San Diego, California and Munich in Germany. They were all small kisses, though, usually a spur of the moment thing on the boy's part and simply a surprise on hers. She'd never really been in a romantic relationship, and most of the kisses were awkward because she didn't seek anything beyond a platonic relationship, but she didn't mind. A kiss was just a kiss.

"Junpei told me it's a really good movie." The senior and his girlfriend stood in front of the Port Island movie theater, both skimming over and rating the titles posted on the marquee. It was the beginning of December, so winter was upon them, and despite being dressed in a scarf and sweater Minako used this as an excuse to cling to Akihiko's arm for warmth. "Although… The last time I took advice based on one of his reviews, I had to sit through another superhero movie." Akihiko visibly winced at the memory.

"Well, honestly, I don't know how willing I am to see another Bruce Lee movie. Cool kung fu moves and a poor plot gets old after a while." She looked up at him in a jokingly accusatory manner, to which he replied with an impish grin. "Can't we watch one of my movies today?" she inquired, sticking out her lower lip in a pout.

He cringed automatically, and though he tried to cover it up, she caught it and scowled. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "I just…" He paused, searching for the right words as to not offend her. "Chick flicks are hard to watch." She continued to give him "that look." "Oh come on, don't glare at me. You like action movies, and you even said you like Bruce Lee. I mean… It's just not okay for guys to watch chick flicks."

"But a good boyfriend is always willing to watch chick flicks with his girlfrieeeend!" she persisted. While she looked up at him with large, innocent eyes, her grip around his arm tightened to a point where he began to feel it go numb. There was no way he was going to win this argument.

His eyebrows knitted upwards and his lips released a heavy sigh, but he nodded in defeat. "Alright, alright, fine… Just… Please don't tell the others about this. Especially not Junpei." With a cheerful (and victorious) giggle, Minako tugged her reluctant senpai along, with the latter purchasing their tickets before took refuge inside. They took their seats towards the back of the semi-filled theater, in a row all to themselves, just as the lights began to dim and the previews started playing.

Halfway through the first preview, which Minako would later excitedly report to Junpei as being the next Harry Potter movie, the before mentioned brunette felt gloved hand rest on top of hers. She twisted her neck to the side to look at her partner, whose eyes were directed on the screen, though he wore a small, familiar smile. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled back, then wiggled her smaller hand so that their fingers were interlaced.

Sanada Akihiko was socially awkward, that Minako could tell simply from observing him. He was popular, no doubt, but the way he responded and reacted to that popularity was uncomfortable even to watch. Girls flocked to him, yet he rejected all of them as though they were no better than flies. Girls sought out his companionship, yet he abrasively informed them he'd rather train. Akihiko was intelligent and powerful, but he couldn't smooth talk his way out of a paper bag. Honestly, Minako thought it was endearing.

But, at the same time, it made their romantic endeavors… well, awkward. He seemed to be rather fond of hugging her (though he always pulled back with a red face), and though it took some getting used to, they could now hold hands in public without him jumping back at the initial contact. They'd been officially dating for a little over a month now, and while they had grown considerably more comfortable with displays of affection, something struck her.

He still hadn't kissed her yet.

She'd tried a couple of times their first week together, by batting her eyes or leaning towards him, but he always either leaned away and tried to change the topic or he just pulled her into a hug. She doubted it wasn't because he didn't like her anymore (if that were the case, he probably would have said so, as he'd always been fairly blunt), but it was still a little disheartening. She tried asking Yukari about it the other day, but the brunette had been so preoccupied with her bow and arrow that Minako was afraid of being impaled; when she tried asking Fuuka, the latter female ended up pouring vinegar into their cookies; and when she tried asking Mitsuru, she became so overwhelmed with embarrassment that she immediately ran back out of the room.

The leader of SEES found herself constantly glancing at her senpai out of the corner of her eyes, and each time she found her stomach twisting in nervousness. Partway through the movie, at a point where the female lead was crooning over her attractive boss, Akihiko noticed and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Y-yeah!" she replied quickly, bearing a large, too-tight grin. "I, uh, just need something to drink." He instantly reached for his wallet, but she shook her head as she stood up, pointing to her own purse. "No, I got it," she reassured, then shimmied across him and out of the theater.

"Gruuuuh, I'm over thinking it," she wailed inwardly, actually grimacing as she hand the cashier her money. The heavily pimpled teen quirked a brow at her almost insulting expression, assuming that it had something to do with the movie theater's product, though she paid no mind to him and took the large orange soda with a mumbled, "Thank you." Feeling slightly better with her caffeinated companion, Minako slid back into the movie and retook her seat by a dying Akihiko. "What'd I miss?" she asked, her grin in her voice.

"Sexual tension and a horrible plot," the silver-haired male grumbled in reply.

"Sounds like my~ kinda movie!" she chirped teasingly, and though he glared at her apprehensively out of the corner of his eyes, he held her hand again. She felt the butterflies flutter around in her stomach and she unintentionally leaned against him. She paused, glancing at him to see his reaction, but though he stiffened for a moment he quickly relaxed against her, looking more content than before. Sensing this as a good thing, she rested her head on his shoulder, and he in turn inclined his head against hers.

It was about an hour into the movie, and it seemed to be wrapping up. Minako had lost sense of what was happening about a half hour ago, and she could tell Akihiko was uncomfortable with all the kissing scenes. Simply out of curiosity, or maybe it was boredom, she shifted her head and neck so that she could look at him. At that exact moment, he had looked at her, and their gazes locked. She managed a small, shy smile, one that resulted in his obvious confusion, though she left no room for question as she leaned in towards him. Akihiko swallowed thickly, his eyes widening as the spaces between their faces closed. Just as she could feel his breath on her face, he quickly lurched backwards, causing her to fall forward and, consequently, land in the orange soda between them.

"GYAH!"

"AH!"

"Hey, keep it down!"

"We're watching a movie here!"

Minako was the first to rush out of theater, face burning with embarrassment, and an equally flustered Akihiko followed after her. They both took refuge in a niche beside the theater they were just in, with Minako trying to wring out the orange soda in her favorite sweater and Akihiko looking at the ground. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, looking mournfully at the stain.

She refused to look him in the eye, and she felt as though her cheeks were about to burn off. It wasn't so much the fact that she'd fallen in a huge cup of orange soda or the fact that she'd probably never be able to wear this sweater again (though it did have a small part), but more so that he had turned her away so adamantly. She knew he awkward and that public and physical displays of affection weren't really his thing, but come on! She was his girlfriend! "It's fine," she said, grinning up at him in that pleasant way that completed contradicted her feelings.

He knew better, though. He could read her like an open book. "No it's not, I… I'm really sorry, Minako," he offered again, even hanging his head.

Despite herself, she smiled and shook her head, moving towards him to take his larger hand in hers. "It's okay, Senpai." He looked down at her, still appearing apologetic, but found himself smiling as well; hers was too contagious. "I don't like movies anyways," she concluded cheerfully, propping herself up on her toes to quickly peck his cheek. "Come on, let's get some tea." She moved into the hall, meaning to pull him along, but with a sudden tug of her hand she was only inches away from him. "Huh? Senpai…?"

"I told you to call me Aki, didn't I?" he asked, a kind tone in his scolding. She had only a second to flash a smile before his lips briefly captured hers in a short kiss. When he pulled away, his face mirrored her redness, though both were smiling shyly. Unable to hold herself back, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

Closing Song: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

Okay, so I knooooow that the duo "spend time together" at the end of their Social Link, but I always thought it was cute how Akihiko always hugged you tightly and I bet he'd be awkward when it came to kissing. Trufax.

Thanks for reading~

Love,

Renoh.