Author's Note:

I took like a three hour nap today because I was bored, which means that I basically got nothing done. Oops.

This one wasn't a request, but something I really wanted to do because I just maxed out Shinji's social link on my current playthrough, which means a lot of feelings. (I still really don't know who I ship more — Akihiko/Minako or Shinjiro/Minako. Life is rough.) Once again, thank you for all of your support and reviews! :)

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

The Twenty-Second Hour

Opening Song: "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

The night before the October 4th full moon, Shinjiro took Akihiko out to eat.

It wasn't strange, especially since it was at Hagakure (a long time favorite between the two), but Akihiko sensed that it wasn't just another one of their dinners. Shinjiro looked more tired than usual, with heavy bags under his eyes, his tan face several shades lighter, and his body slack. Shinjiro was always alert, always ready to react or to take on the next thing that came, but something was different. He was more solemn, almost... sad?

"C'mon," Shinjiro grunted, noticing the way Akihiko was watching him. "Eat up. Your noodles are gonna get cold."

"Oh, ah, right." He continued to steal glances at Shinjiro out of the corner of his eye as they ate in silence. Akihiko tried to read his best friend, to understand the situation and what was going on, but Shinjiro had always been talented at keeping things hidden. Part of him had to wonder, even if he was with SEES now, if Shinjiro was still taking those pills. "The full moon is tomorrow," he said. "So another battle with one of the big Shadows is coming up. Do you think you're ready?"

"What the hell kinda question is that?" Shinjiro replied, nonplussed. "I've been goin' to Tartarus with you guys for the past month."

"I'm not questioning your strength or training," Akihiko said quickly, spotting the fire in Shinjiro's eyes. "Hey, I'm the one who pushed Minako to fit you into the line-up, didn't I? I know your power better than anyone." Shinjiro 'hmph'ed in response and shifted his attention back to the house special. "I was just wondering how you're doing... otherwise."

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Akihiko gulped, unsure of how to proceed. Obviously the pills were still a sensitive subject to them both, but it wasn't something he could ignore, especially if it was still affecting Shinjiro's health. His endurance was great considering and he could fight battle after battle in Tartarus, but Akihiko noticed that he was often panting and trying to catch his breath when they moved up in the tower. Everyone else was amazed by the way he wielded his axe (and truly it was something to admire), but Akihiko knew Shinjiro for too long to dismiss the fact that his pace wasn't as strong as it used to be. "Are you... Are you still taking those pills?"

The noodles dropped from Shinjiro's chopsticks. "I told you I was done with them," Shinjiro said, struggling to keep his tone even. "I haven't taken 'em since I came back, alright?"

"I trust you," Akihiko said. "You just..."

"I'm not fighting like the way I used to?" he concluded, to which Akihiko nodded. "It's the long term effects. I'd been takin' 'em since I left two years ago, so obviously my body's still recovering. I came off of 'em pretty quickly, too." Shinjiro coughed, which didn't help his case, but he glared at the silver-haired boxer to keep him from saying anything. "Anyway, like I said, I'm fine. To be honest, training with you guys and pushing myself probably wasn't the best idea, but you don't gotta worry about me."

"I know, but I do anyway." Though Shinjiro rolled his eyes, Akihiko smiled. Despite everything that happened — the orphanage, the fire, Miki dying, Ken's mother's death and Shinjiro's subsequent departure — they were here, together. He still wished he could find a way to ease Shinjiro's guilt (because he could still see it, especially when Ken was around), to make him see that yes the accident happened but that it didn't need to define him. Two years ago, Akihiko firmly believed that everything had changed, but tonight they were eating ramen at Hagakure like they had in the past. ("Maybe I am too attached to the past," he thought idly.)

While Akihiko was lost in his own thoughts and memories, Shinjiro finished up his dinner. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?" Akihiko asked, mouth full of noodles and broth.

Shinjiro looked mildly disgusted, but continued anyway. "You let your emotions get the better of you, you're reckless as hell, and you have this stupid problem where you act before you think."

"What the hell," Akihiko thought, deadpanning. "Did he seriously ask me to come here so that he could list all my negative qualities?"

"... need to get a better handle on how you deal with new information you don't like. Hey, are you listening to me?" Akihiko flicked his wrist at him dismissively, earning a low growl. "Damn, this is exactly what I'm talking about..." Sighing, Shinjiro leaned forward onto the counter and raised his fingers to his beanie. "You've been naggin' at me for not takin' better care of my physical health, so I'm gonna throw it right back at ya. Take care of yourself, and take care of the rest of the team, too. They all look like they're strong, especially now that there are so many of you guys, but just the smallest thing..." He winced, and Akihiko could see the memory of his Persona losing control flash behind his eyes.

"Shinji—"

"This ain't about me," Shinjiro said, cutting him off. "I want you to make sure that the rest of 'em will be alright. But... don't forget about yourself, either."

The conversation was taking a turn for the somber, which did little to ease Akihiko's earlier worries. "Okay," he replied, unsure of what else to say. "What's bringing this on? Did something bad happen?"

Shinjiro didn't answer right away, but the question added years of fatigue and weight to his already heavy shoulders. Akihiko could feel his heart pound in his chest as Shinjiro rubbed at his eyes. "You should be happy, Aki," he said, sounding old and tired. "I don't want you to look back on these days and have any regrets. Sometimes things happen beyond your control, but you gotta do what you can and roll with the punches. You're a crybaby and you piss me off most of the time, but you've always been good with that."

"Shinji..."

"And take care of Minako." The mention of their leader's name awoke something else in Akihiko, something that he couldn't quite describe. The way that Shinjiro said her name — earnest, kind, with admiration and fondness (love?) — raised questions that Akihiko wasn't ready to ask. "She's a tough one, stubborn and bull-headed as hell, like you. But she knows how to make people happy. She can make them smile without trying." Shinjiro's own smile was an answer in and of itself. "But she'll lose herself if she keeps trying to make others happy. She needs to focus on her own happiness."

"I think being with other people is what makes her happy," said Akihiko.

"And it breaks her every time she has to say goodbye." Shinjiro was alluding to the little girl who moved away, the librarian who transferred to another school, the foreign exchange student who returned to France, the terminally ill patient who died — but Akihiko had a feeling there was something more behind his statement. Shinjiro knew something, whether it had already happened or it was going to happen. "Take care of her, Aki."

"You can take care of her, too," Akihiko said, unaware of the desperation in his own voice. "You're here now, aren't you? You take responsibility, too. All of us will."

It looked painful when Shinjiro laughed. "Yeah, I'll do what I can. But I can't really make her happy. I can't really protect her. You know how Minako is; she's independent, thinks she can do anything and everything on her own. She doesn't need protection, but she deserves it. She's off leading a group of teenagers and a robot and a dog into some tower of darkness, so she can take care of herself. But she needs people, or just someone, to fall back on."

After a moment's silence, Akihiko began with, "Are you and Minako..."

But he never finished his question, and Shinjiro never pursued it.

"Sometimes we look at her like she's invincible," Shinjiro continued, as though Akihiko had never said a thing. "And sometimes I think she thinks she's invincible. But she's still just a teenager, just a student and a normal girl. We don't take advantage of that when we should, and neither does she. She's just as bad as lookin' after herself as you are. Honestly, both of you are pretty good at pissing me off."

"Sorry," Akihiko replied, merely for the sake of saying something.

"Hm. You guys are a pain." Shinjiro was still clumsy with expressing affection, but Akihiko could sense it behind his insults and harsh words. He was glad that Shinjiro was no longer alone, that he had other people to confide in other than him. For the first time in years, Shinjiro was legtimately happy. "Let's head back. The mission is tomorrow, and we don't put everyone in jeapordy because we stayed up too late and got tired."

They paid for dinner before heading back to the dorm, side by side. "It's almost done, you know," Akihiko said, as the almost-full moon hovered above them. "Everything we've been fighting for up to this point. The Dark Hour will be gone, and things'll go back to normal, the way they're supposed to be."

"The way they're supposed to be, huh? I wonder what that's like."

"Well, you'll get to find out soon."

Shinjiro directed his cough to the side, managed to keep it well hidden from Akihiko who was still rambling away about normalcy and a world without Shadows. "Yeah," he muttered, all to himself, "maybe you guys will."

Closing Song: "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

Shinjii whhHHyy!?

P.S. I remember when summer break was fun and I looked forward to it, but now I'm just bored out of my mind help save me.

xx, der kapitan