Author's Note:

Ironically, I ended up not going to class all that much last week. I decided to just not go to school on Thursday (I only have one class), but that was the day we had a quiz (which we cannot make up) and the day we were assigned our first essay. I just lol'd at my luck. Then I skipped US History lecture Wednesday morning just because I felt like it? And now I have two weeks worth of reading and I'M GONNA DIE. YEAH. :D

So I'm super sorry for not updating in a while, but, as always, you readers make my day. :D Special thanks go to caramelmilktea, Ryfee, xLeeny, Liza Taylor, and FrizFroz for reviewing~ I'll be answering your reviews at the bottom of le chapter.

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

The Fifth Hour

Opening Song: "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

Akihiko had never been to an amusement park before.

His parents had died when he and Miki were still young, and the orphanage didn't have enough money to take all the kids into the park. He, Shinjiro, and Miki had walked by it one day during one of their walks around town; the way his sister's eyes lit up at the sight of the amusement park made his heart drop. He'd made a promise to himself that day that he'd become something, that he'd make all kinds of money so that he and Miki could go on rides all day and eat cotton candy until they were sick. After the fire, he'd avoided even walking by the amusement park, even if it meant taking the longer route.

After joining SEES, Akihiko had found himself being forced to confront many things he'd rather avoid. This, unfortunately, had to be one of them.

"This is the longest line ever!" Junpei whined, actually flailing his arms.

"Shut up, Stupei," Yukari snapped, though obviously irritated with their current situation as well. "You slept in and you hogged the boys' shower and you had to eat everything in sight for breakfast, so you are the reason why we were late and got caught in the rush." The brunette angrily wiped a line of sweat from her brow, lowly cursing the summer heat. "And you even forgot the umbrella!"

"Who wants to walk around an amusement park with an umbrella?" Junpei replied with a scowl. "Hey, Aigis is a robot, right? Doesn't she have a cooling system or something?"

"Um, I don't think she works like that," Fuuka commented. As she fanned herself with one of her hands, though, she couldn't help but wish the Anti-Shadow weapon had fans built in to her. "Yukari-chan is right, though… It is pretty hot. I didn't think it would be this bad so early in the afternoon. Maybe we should just postpone this to another day?"

Just as Akihiko opened his mouth to agree with the teal-haired female, Mitsuru responded with a firm, "No. We've been standing in line for the past twenty minutes. It'd be shameful to leave after spending so much time waiting." Despite her typically cool disposition, Akihiko couldn't help but notice that even Mitsuru was beginning to feel the heat. "Though, even I'll admit that I'd like some shade…"

"What I'd give to be a kid again," Junpei sighed mournfully as he enviously glared at Ken, who stood in the shadow of Akihiko. "C'mon, Ken, switch places with me, won't you? I've been a good senpai to you, haven't I?"

"God, you're such a kid," Yukari grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

"It's only bad 'cause you guys keep complaining about it," Minako said good-naturedly, bearing a small grin. "It's all psychological."

Junpei's face fell even further, Yukari and Fuuka laughed, Ken and Akihiko exchanged a look, Aigis blinked, and Mitsuru simply smiled. "I… don't think it works quite like that," Akihiko said eventually. "Thanks for the attempt, though."

She shrugged and shifted her attention elsewhere, completely unaffected by the temperature. "Maybe it is all psychological," they all thought as they watched their leader, who didn't look the least bit perturbed by the scathing rays of the sun. Unfortunately for them, it was too late to attempt to adapt to her mind set, and it took another fifteen minutes before they could all purchase their tickets and actually make it inside the park. The moment they did, though, a rush was made for the nearest source of shade, which happened to be an already crowded large umbrella.

"I don't really know how effective this is," Akihiko mumbled, uncomfortably noting the close proximity of twenty other bodies.

"C'mon, we gotta get in line if we wanna ride anything!" Minako chided, standing in the sun with both hands on her hips. "The lines for the rides are just as long as the line in." A round of groans sounded from the other members of SEES (save for Mitsuru, who merely frowned) and Minako pouted. "It's not like any of you haven't been to an amusement park before."

Both Akihiko and Mitsuru raised their hands, the latter more abashedly than the former. Minako's eyes widened. "What! I mean, I can kinda understand Mitsuru-senpai, but Akihiko-senpai? You've never been to an amusement park before?"

He shrugged as though it were nothing. "I've never really had the time." It was half the truth.

"Okay. This is unacceptable. We have no time to waste!" Shimmying her way under the umbrella, she proceeded to push the SEES members out, completely ignoring their protests. "Hmm… The egg tilt has a kinda short line, so we're going there first." Not wanting to wait in another agonizingly long line, the others agreed without protest.

"So… How exactly does this work?" Akihiko asked as Minako pulled down the bar over his, Ken's, and her lap.

"Just hold on tight!" she replied with a bright grin.

Five minutes of endless spinning and various cries later, the members of SEES stood around Junpei as the teen proceeded to throw up the five course lunch he had just an hour before. "I don't think I feel that great either," Ken mumbled, resting his hands on his restless tummy.

As a wailing Minako hugged the youngest member of their dorm and apologized, Mitsuru and Akihiko shared a weary look. "If that was a preview for the rest of the park, I don't feel like I've been missing out on much," Akihiko murmured. The redhead bobbed her head ever-so-slightly and winced as Junpei made another rather unpleasant sound. "Hey, maybe you two should sit the next one out," he advised. Without arguing, Junpei and Kent took a seat on the bench.

"Why don't we try something easier on the stomach?" Yukari offered. "It looks like the line for the roller coaster has gotten shorter. Wanna try it?"

Akihiko had never heard Mitsuru scream before - and after that catastrophe, he never wanted to again. After being flipped upside down dozens of times and being forced into endless loops, the boxer could count ten nail marks in his skin from where his classmate had gripped him so hard. Yukari and Fuuka were pretty relentless in their screaming, too; Minako was cheering and yelling excitedly while Aigis just remained as stoic as ever. He wished he had enough sense to sit with someone who had never been on a thrill ride before in her life.

"I… I'm going to get some lemonade." Mitsuru stalked away, pale as a sheet.

"I'll go with her," Fuuka offered, looking a little sick herself. "We'll meet you by the bench with Junpei-kun and Ken-kun."

"And then there were four?" Minako looked genuinely depressed at the sudden drop in their ranks and, feeling guilty for some reason, Akihiko pointed to a decent-looking boat ride.

"What about that one? It doesn't look all that dangerous and there's practically no line." He offered a weak smile along with his lame recommendation, but the way her face lit up almost made his heart skip a beat.

Ten minutes later, while they were on the ride, his heart literally did skip a beat.

He and Minako shared a boat, while Yukari and Aigis shared one. Upon passing a Minotaur ("What a bizarre theme," he couldn't help but think), Aigis's Shadow instincts instantly picked up and she jumped up, shooting at the foam monster. The sudden shift in weight and her actions resulted in the boat tipping over violently, resulting in a surprised robot and a livid archer. Fortunately, they were the only four on the ride at the time, though they ran after getting off in order to avoid unnecessary conflict with the park wonders.

"Ugh! I'm soaked!" Yukari cried angrily, fruitlessly wringing out her pink spaghetti strap. "What were you doing!"

"I sensed a Shadow," Aigis replied stoically, simply blinking at the sundress that clung to her body.

Akihiko slapped a hand to his face and Minako poorly concealed her giggle. "Maybe you two should dry off," she advised. "And it's a good thing you're waterproof, Aigis." Aigis nodded in reply, but an enraged Yukari grabbed the blonde by the wrist and dragged her off into the sun. "Hmmm, should we wait for the others? Or should we just go on?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."

Her smile dipped into a frown, and she cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong, Akihiko-senpai?" He refused to look at her for a moment but, feeling her eyes upon him, he forced himself to lock eyes with her. A look of concern graced her features, though she seemed unsure of what to do or say. "You don't seem happy. You don't like it here?"

"It's not that. It's just…" He pulled his gaze away from her imploring eyes, unable to keep the almost intimate connection.

Her hand was on his arm, causing him to flinch, but she didn't seem offended. As always, she just smiled at him in that understanding way. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to - if you can't."

Akihiko shook his head, a bizarre clash of emotions stirring within him again. It had been weeks since they had gone out, just the two of them. After their last outing in Hagakure, some feeling of uncertainty washed over him, and he simply couldn't bring himself to look at her. She'd tried to talk to him, but he denied her, always hesitant and always unsure. Whenever he looked at her, something tied in his stomach uncomfortably and his heart felt as though it were stuck in his throat. But every time he rejected her or came up with some excuse, she just smiled and nodded, as though she understood, as though she were saying she'd wait for him.

"I…"

"Don't worry about it, Senpai. It's okay." Even if he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes, he could tell she was beaming up at him. They stood in silence for a moment, with him feeling thoroughly uncomfortable and her simply being there.

Both were surprised when he was the first to speak. "Hey… Can we get some cotton candy?"

She was grinning up at him with the brightest grin he'd ever seen, and his stomach did another flop. "Definitely! I love cotton candy!" Minako skipped merrily alongside him, chatting absently with him over meaningless topics, as though knowing to delve deeper. He felt a small smile crawl onto his lips as his younger classmate cheerfully told him about whatever happened in school, her conversation going in no particular direction.

"Thanks," was what he said when he handed her a huge bag of pink cotton candy.

She blinked at him in confusion. "Thanks? But you're the one who bought it. I should be thanking you."

"You probably won't be thanking me when you get sick from eating all that," he teased lightly.

"Oh please. My stomach is made of steel," she announced proudly, marching forward while shoving large fluffs of candy into her mouth.

He chuckled, a ghost of a smile floating over his lips as he looked down at her warmly. "One day. One day I'll tell you."

Closing Song: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

During my first playthrough I was incredibly depressed when Akihiko's Social Link stopped at Level 7 until October… something. Mostly because I tried to max it out instantly and hate to wait mooooonths. So, here's a little episode for that awkward in between. :)

So I've been kinda contemplating writing a multi-chaptered AU for P3P, but I wanna get further into this before I start that. I need to really form a concrete idea on top of that.

caramelmilktea: A ha ha, thank you! I personally find Akihiko's awkwardness totally endearing, though it's not all that present in this chapter… I'm glad you liked it, though. :D I'm really not all that fond of Justin Beiber, but… now I know? XD

Ryfee: Nyaaah, I love fluff (kinda). I always saw Minako as being kinda pushy, but mostly super extroverted and whatnot, which kinda makes her aggressive. But, as you said, every author portrays her differently. :3 I LURVE SHINJI. I almost like ShinjixMinako more than AkixMinako, but… Grrruuh, I dunno. D:

xLeeny: Lololol, can't you totally see Fuuka doing that and ruining cookies for everyone? XD But thank you~ Again, I'm glad that people approve of my characterization of him. :)

Liza Taylor: Gruh, I know, college can be such a pain. I've been putting off my homework which is why I have time, but… that's gonna kick me in the butt. Anyways, thanks! :D

FrizFroz: What's funny is that I'm typically not a fluff writer. I'm personally too awkward myself to be able to write it properly, but I'm glad you like it! :D Gruuuh, I hate going back and catching nasty grammatical errors. D: Thanks so much!

Always with love,

Renoh.