Author's Note:

Oof, long time no see. Writing has been a little difficult for me lately because I've been swamped with a bunch of other things, but I always appreciate your patience and support. :) This one's a request from our Guest and someone else who I can't really remember off the top of my head…? Anyway, it's with Shinjiro.

Well, kind of.

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

The Seventeenth Hour

Opening Song: "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

Today marked three weeks since the shooting.

Minako was smiling more — genuinely, too — which encouraged and brought up the other members of SEES. It was hard to see their leader, strong and bright and full of life, so broken. Even if she tried to keep herself together, it was the small glimpses of sadness (staring at the watch, pacing aimlessly in the kitchen, hovering outside his room) that showed how torn apart she really was. Minako always seemed so invincible, but now they knew for certain that she was just as human as the rest of them.

She visited Shinjiro in the hospital about two times a week. Sometimes she'd bring her homework and ask him questions about the math assignment, other times she'd sit down with two bowls of the house special from Hagakure. Mitsuru had gone in one day while Minako was there; the brunette was chattering away, eating noodles and laughing like he was actually replying. Mitsuru saw the tears, but she said nothing and let the two have their time.

It was different for Akihiko. He went to the hospital once, the day after Shinjiro was shot, and that was it. No one was sure what happened, but he'd left the dorm that morning looking worse for wear, and he came back with his shoulders pulled back and his head held high.

Akihiko saw the way her shoulders slumped when she thought no one was watching. The others were upset of course, but he doubted any of them felt the remorse and pain Minako was feeling. They knew him as a strong, silent fighter — she had become his friend. Akihiko still didn't know how she did it, how she got Shinji to open up to her, but the silver-haired male knew that it had given him another reason to keep living. He was in a coma and barely breathing, but he was still alive, and Akihiko was sure that wouldn't be the case if it weren't for Minako.

One night he caught her lingering outside Shinjiro's door — again.

"Hey," he greeted, his voice soft.

She jumped despite the hallway being completely lit and the fact that he was right in front of her. She'd been pulled deep into her thoughts, a state she was usually in these days. "Oh, hey," she replied. The corners of her lips quirked upwards, but in a way that felt forced. Akihiko could easily distinguish her smiles now. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"My room's on this floor," he said. Both of their eyes darted towards the closed door that had his name plate nailed onto it. "I was thinking about getting some studying done. Tests will be coming up soon, you know. You should probably hit the books, too."

"Yeah, you're right." She laughed, though it was shrill and incredibly uncomfortable. "I guess I just…" She tried to find some excuse, but it was pointless; both of them fully knew why she was here. Minako gave in with a sigh, her body slumping and her eyes closing, looking incredibly tired. Akihiko had never seen her look so defeated or vulnerable. It gave his heart a painful tug. "Sorry."

He stepped towards her, closing the space between them. She didn't take a step back like he expected her to. Contrarily, Minako stood completely still, desperately wanting and needing someone who understood. Akihiko understood better than anyone else; he was (is, she reminded herself) Shinjiro's best friend.

"Don't apologize," Akihiko said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Immediately he felt the tense muscle underneath her jacket. "Why are you saying sorry?"

"I shouldn't be acting like this. It's not…" She bit down on her lip before shaking her head. "It's not right."

"Why? Because you're the leader?"

"Yeah."

Everyone loved Minako, on the team, at school, and around the city. She was vibrant and cheerful and sociable, and everyone wanted to spend time with her. Akihiko had to wonder, though, how much they knew about her as a person. She helped out others and listened to their problems, but what about her? What did she feel every day? What were her problems? Maybe if she hadn't been put in this leadership position, more people would know. Maybe she's been suppressing everything because she's been terrified of letting everyone down.

What a rough way to live, he thought.

Akihiko brought his free hand up to her other shoulder and squeezed both softly. "You don't have to do that with me. We can be honest with each other, right?" The sharp look she gave him was momentary, but strong enough to make him wince. He hadn't been honest with her for months since their last outing, so maybe he wasn't in the position to be giving her this talk. "I mean…"

Minako smiled softly. "I know, Senpai. … Thanks."

He nodded, realized the nearly intimate position they were in, and quickly retraced his hands. (He could have sworn he saw her giggling.) Akihiko noticed, after a short period of silence, that her attention had shifted to Shinjiro's door once more. "Have you gone in?" he asked after a moment of deliberation.

She shook her head. "No. I've been too scared to." She reached up and played with the ends of her hair, a nervous habit of hers he'd picked up on. "I mean, I see him at the hospital a lot, but… it's kinda different, you know? It just feels so much more final. Like… Like I'm cleaning up and he's never coming back."

"Maybe you've been over thinking it," he suggested.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "You think?"

"Yeah. You're looking at it like it's closure. But Shinji's alive, Minako," he said, like it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. "And I know he'd be angry if he knew any of us were skirting around his room 'cause we were afraid. You also have to remember that it's just stuff. Shinji's alive; that's enough."

Minako's lower lip started to quiver, and for a moment Akihiko feared that she was going to cry. "You're right," she said, weak and shaky. "You're totally right. Shinjiro-senpai would totally say that." Her laugh sounded more pained than joyful. "I can just imagine him looking at me all pissed off… You know, that way he always glares at everyone? I tried to copy it once, but I'm pretty sure I just looked constipated…"

He didn't know why he did it — maybe it was because she was rambling and he was scared or because he saw that she was trying so hard to be okay — but his hand reached out and took hers. She looked up at him in mild shock. "Let's go," he said.

"Go…?" Minako took in a deep breath, and he felt her fingers squeeze his. "Okay."

Akihiko pushed open the door, but both of them walked through at once. He noticed that she remained close to his side the further they walked into Shinjiro's room. "It's still the same, basically," she murmured. He wanted to ask how she knew what it was like before, but Akihiko was smart enough to know that neither his heart nor his head could take it, so he remained silent. "Like he didn't even really move in."

"I don't think he was expecting to stay as long as he did."

"Yeah."

She led the way towards Shinjiro's desk. On it was a simple cardboard box, filled with his armor and weapons. Shinjiro was never a much-y person, so it didn't surprise Minako or Akihiko that they didn't find any photographs or anything.

"What should we do with it?" Minako asked. Her eyes were glued to the large axe that he wielded in battle. "I mean…" She bit down on her lip as she held back the first thought that ran through her mind: He doesn't need it.

"Maybe we could sell it."

Minako's jaw dropped open, and she nearly whacked Akihiko for the suggestion. "Sell it!?"

"These are just things, Minako," he repeated, quietly. "Things that take up space."

"But…" But Akihiko was right. She could never use anything as heavy as the axe, and aside from Junpei (who was deeply attached to his swords), no one else on the team used heavy weapons. Still, if she could just keep it, like in her room or something…

Things that take up space.

She'd just be filling a hole with things. They were things that would remind of Shinjiro, but they'd always just be things; they would never live up to the original. They would never actually be Shinjiro — who was alive. He didn't need the axe or the armor, and neither did she.

"Minako?"

Akihiko's voice drew her from her thoughts once more. She held his fingers tighter in response, then offered the most sincere smile he had seen all night. "You're right," she said, sounding stronger and confident. "I'll take these down to the police station tomorrow and see how much I can get for them. Besides, I think Shinjiro-senpai was saying the blade was getting rusty anyway."

He chuckled. "Yeah, he was always throwing that thing around like nobody's business."

They settled into a comfortable silence, neither quite wanting to share memories about Shinjiro just yet. Doing that seemed inappropriate, especially since he was still technically alive.

Then, Minako gave his hand a slight tug, and he looked down into her bright red eyes. "Thank you, Akihiko-senpai. I really needed this and I, um… I'm just really glad it was you," she said. (He managed to convince himself that she wasn't blushing and that his heart wasn't pounding painfully against his rib cage.)

"Y-yeah," he replied, "of course. I… We can be honest with each other. About anything."

The way she looked at him made him want to fall over. "Right," she said, this time grinning cheekily. "Anything."

Closing Song: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

I am purposefully being ambiguous about Shinji and Minako's relationship because 1) I am an ass and 2) I don't need anymore unnecessary and painful feels.

xx, der kapitan