*Ahem* Since someone brought it up... so as I've said long before, school has started and I'll be starting my thesis, so... I can't really work on this until it's all over ;^;

But I do plan to finish this fic, no matter how long it takes... so, just expect ridiculously slow releases ^^"

I was supposed to release this much earlier, but I had to keep editing since my lappy somehow crashes when I finish... and I had to re-do this for like... three times cause it kept happening D:

Oh, and no, I'm not being pressured... just saying that there won't be an update for the next two to three months... :P

That aside... onto Chapter 16~ :D

Chapter 16: Crimson's Day Off

6/13/09-Saturday

"Okay... They're all good. Thanks for the help Theo!" the girl smiled, picking up the crimson-colored mask on the table. "Oh, and you too Igor" she added before standing up.

"It's always a pleasure to serve our guest..." Igor answered as he watched the girl leave for the door.

As for the younger resident, he just stared at her awkwardly, as if he was trying to hold himself from doing something. He bit his lip and tightened his fist. She was almost out when he finally decided to call out her attention.

"... Master Minako, why do you wear your battle attire?" he spoke curiously, eyeing on her dress.

The girl paused and turned to him with a rather surprised expression. Theodore almost flinched, and raised his brows. Was she mad again? He prepared himself for another one of her scolding, when the girl suddenly approached him with a rather bright demeanor.

"I'm glad you actually cared about it~" she giggled, "for a moment there, I thought you didn't notice."

At those words, the man cleared his throat and gave her an apologetic look.

"Ah... My apologies I-"

"Sheesh... No need for that Theo! I was just teasing you... You're trying too much..." She pouted.

Minako donned her mask and bent down, picking up a blue paper bag. Inside it were clothes. Ordinary, casual clothing unlike the eye-catching crimson dress she was currently wearing. The girl paused and sighed before opening her mouth again.

"Minato-nii might come in here anytime, I can't risk him seeing 'Minako' in the Velvet Room now can I? It's safer if he sees Crimson" she answered matter-of-factly.

"I see" Theo finally answered with a straight face.

He smiled with satisfaction after hearing her answer. From the moment Minako entered the room, his eyes had been on her, inspecting her appearance from top to bottom. His actions were actually pretty obvious, the curious look on his face, the way he stared... in fact, she was just waiting the whole time for him to make a reaction, just like that time she decided to create that you-know-what-never-to-be-named Persona of the Tower Arcana, or that time she decided to wear her swimsuit for Tartarus.

Seeing that he was finally relieved of the burden his curiosity put him through, Crimson grinned and grabbed the door knob. She waved the two residents good-bye, but before doing so, she left some final words to her 'friend'.

"... You can always voice out what's truly on your mind y'know..." She smiled bitterly before closing the door behind her.

'That's why I'm still mad at you...'

Unwanted attention.

That was what she received from the people right after she had left the Velvet room. Obviously, her outfit stood out like 'a deer in headlights' as Junpei would put it.

That morning, she left to get some things settled in the Velvet Room. The next full moon was fast approaching, so she had to make sure that she was at top shape... though honestly speaking, it was expected to be a breeze if nothing unexpected occurs... After all, she was stronger than she used to be.

Minako was wearing her casual attire when she left the dorm, she just brought her outfit and changed on her way. At that time, there wasn't much people, so the attention she garnered were minimal... but now... people stared at her as if she was some sort of museum display. Others took pictures, while some tried to ignore her, but were obviously curious themselves, seeing that they kept trying to give her a quick glance.

'... I guess it was stupid to think that wearing it in Tartarus and here would be the same huh? It's a wonder how Chidori could roam around casually like that...' She groaned, her cheeks were rather red from embarrassment as she attempted to walk as fast as she could. The girl paused on that thought, 'Then again, that was the reason Junpei took interest in her in the first place...' She giggled, trying to ignore the prying eyes, but in turn, she strayed away her attention where she was going...

*bump*

"Ugh..!" She almost fell flat on the ground.

Lucky for her, the was a nearby railing that she was able to hold on to. Crimson lifted her head to see what, or who in the world did she bump into now. But before anything else, her attention turned to the round stuff on the floor, then to her dress which was now splattered with what seemed to be some sort of sauce.

"Ah...! My takoyaki...! Hey, you're-" The figure in front of her groaned, but stopped midway through his words.

Minako raised her head, ready to bicker with the man, but instead, her eyes widened and she instinctively pointed her finger on the guy. He, in turn, backed off a bit and stared at her in disbelief.

"Jin?! Why are you here...!?"

"You?! W-why're you here!?"

The two exclaimed in unison. Again, people stared at them, it was the female who first noticed the attention they were garnering. She gulped, worried that things might go a turn for the worse than it already was. Without thinking, she pulled the boy in a more secluded area. At first, he resisted, but immediately submitted to her after noticing their situation. In the end, Minako was back where she was, in front of the Velvet door.

Minako, or rather, Crimson placed her free hand on her waist and sighed at the boy. As for Jin, he crossed his arms, while holding a rather 'full' looking plastic bag. The two stood across each other in silence before they finally had the chance to speak up. It was the female who opened her mouth first.

"So? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the alleys or something...?" She sulked.

The girl didn't know what came to her, but dragging him with her wasn't so smart now was it? Especially now that she didn't really bring her naginata or any weapon for that matter. She could've just escaped on her own, but she just had to pull him with her... Must be her instinct... At least that's what she thought.

"Tch. Is there a problem with that? I was just running some errands." He answered in a forced tone.

For some reason, he had been averting his gaze from her. Crimson shrugged and eyed at the white plastic back he was carrying. She tilted her head, feeling that it looked somewhat-familiar. Suddenly, her mind clicked. She immediately recognized it from one of the convenience stores in the area. Then, that would mean he was...

"Shopping for Takaya huh? Smooth. Real smooth... I never imagined you doing such things..." She snickered, though, she was obviously suppressing her laughter. Jin eyed her with annoyance.

"Yeah, whatever, I'm outta here" He finally rolled his eyes, turning his back on the girl.

Before he was able to go any further, Jin felt a weak tug on his arm. The boy turned back at the girl. She seemed to have gotten over her 'giggles', and now, she glared at him with her one visible eye.

"What?" He sneered.

"You still owe me" She said flatly, crossing her arms across her chest.

"... I don't. Now, if you want to waste my time, just-"

The girl pointed on her dress as he spoke, making him trail off midway of his sentence. She was pointing on a brownish sauce stain on her dress.

"You have to pay for the cleaners got it? You stained my dress. It's my only one!" She complained, finally releasing his arm. The boy scratched his head in annoyance and groaned.

"It's none of my business alright? It was your fault for not looking!" He answered.

Crimson merely glared at him without a word...

"You should have just said yes in the first place if you were going to do it anyway~" She chuckled, walking by his side.

In her 16 years of living, she had always made sure that she gets what she wanted from others.

This time was no exception.

The duo stood in front of a laundromat. The golden-haired female still had her crimson mask on, but this time, she was wearing casual attire composed of a pink shirt, a white tank top and skirt. As for the paper bag which once held the clothes she's now wearing, it's back inside the building where she left her dress to get washed up.

"Can I go now? You have acquired what you wanted, right?" Jin sighed under his breath sounding rather worn out.

Crimson just smiled at him (though he can't really tell since she was wearing a mask) as if harboring a malicious intent, making the boy feel rather uneasy.

"No. You do realize that I still have to wait for it, cause I can't go home without bringing that back y'know" She said in a rather playful tone, pulling Jin by the hand. He blushed.

"W-what? Do it yourself!" He answered nervously.

She just continued staring at him with pleading eyes... Or rather, eye, thanks to her mask.

Other than Chidori, she's practically the only girl who got that close to him. He couldn't really understand the situation. First, she called him cute, then she made fun of him, pushed him into paying for her dress (despite the fact that it was obviously her fault), and now, she's acting all friendly with him? Chidori never did such thing... well okay, maybe she does, but it was still different. The red head, when ordering him around would taunt him with her axe... but this one... this Crimson was a whole different thing. She was simply loud, pushy and annoying.

'I guess that guy was right. Girls only complicate things... but this one's definitely a weirdo...' he thought.

Though... this was a good chance to learn more about this 'Crimson'... Was she with those hypocrites? Or was she acting alone? He contemplated on those ideas before he made it to a decision.

"Fine! I'll be wasting more time if I keep this up." He finally answered, with the purpose collecting information on the mysterious girl in mind. Crimson. For one, she's certainly not how he imagined her to be.

"Let's go then!" the so-called weirdo exclaimed, pulling him off against his will.

'Shit... what have I got myself into? Is it too late to back out?' the boy thought as he sweatdropped...

"Two, please." The blue-haired male spoke as he reached out for his wallet.

Apparently, she pulled him everywhere without thinking about a proper destination. In the end, she complained about being tired and hungry, thus, in front of the Takoyaki shop was where they somehow found themselves at.

Crimson was sitting on a nearby bench, waiting for her treat. Some people couldn't help but spare her a quick glance thanks to the strange mask, but unlike before where she had her whole attire, the attention she received wasn't as much. Despite being strange, such kind of mask can easily be bought in the area, especially in the arcades, so, it was really no big deal...

"My... You have such a strange girlfriend! Haha~" The old woman chuckled as she handed him two orders of takoyaki.

Jin blushed as he paid his bill in return.

"She's nothing like that...!" He answered defensively, though he just made the woman chuckle at his words. Jin scoffed as he returned by Crimson's side.

The girl stood up at the sight of the piping hot octopus balls, looking rather pleased, she snatched one from his hand and plopped down again afterward. He took a seat beside her, though he made sure to keep distance. His companion didn't seem to have noticed though, seeing that she was too busy with her special treat.

"I thought you were a jerk, but you're pretty nice after all!" She laughed, turning to him.

Jin swallowed a piece and almost choked. He took out a bottle of water from the plastic bag and washed the food down before answering back.

"... The hell are you saying? You forced me into this remember?!" He snarled with a frustrated tone as he wiped the water and sauce on his face. A second later, Jin have calmed down a bit, turned to her and pointed at her mask. "Hey. Aren't you planning to take that off?"

Crimson shrugged. She just pointed at the other half of her face which wasn't covered by the mask. Indeed, she could eat with that 'free' half.

"... Never mind." he sighed, sounding a bit disappointed.

He took his bottled water and began chugging.

Suddenly, a smile crept up her face.

"Ohoho~ So you want to see my face that badly huh?" She said in a singsong voice.

This time, he ended up making a spit-take.

"Huh? NO! What would I gain from that?!" Jin protested, returning to his meal. "Besides, you're probably wearing that for a REASON." he added in a sarcastic tone.

At those words, the girl pouted and furrowed her brows.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" she whined, but the boy ignored her.

The girl continued on pestering him before finally getting tired, and resumed eating...

"You're practically the only normal guy in your group aren't you? If Takaya enters the mall half naked like that, or Chidori in her outfit, I can just imagine what'll happen!" The girl laughed. She imagined the scene, and began snickering like an idiot. "I kinda feel sorry for you now... I bet you're their errand boy..." She added.

"Don't talk about them like that!" The bespectacled boy suddenly responded in an annoyed tone. "Besides... it's my honor to serve Takaya." He continued in a soft voice.

The girl stared at him and smiled. He looked sincere as he said those words. There was a strange hint of happiness in his face...

Again, there was an awkward silence. The two just sat together and watched as people passed by.

"... I never imagined there's someone else who survived besides us." Jin suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

The girl stared at him in confusion and raised a brow. A short moment later, she realized what he meant...

"Huh? You're mistaken... I-I'm not one of you guys... I wasn't involved with the Kirijo Group..." She answered apologetically, without a thought.

Jin stared at her this time in surprise.

"What? Then how did you know about us? And Ikutsuki? You even knew Takaya's name!" He continued in a confused tone.

The girl flinched... Maybe it was better if she just went with him huh? Looks like he mistook her as one of the artificial Persona users. It would make sense that way though, since she asked for Suppressants... and she even knew about Ikutsuki's involvement...

"... I couldn't tell you about that... I'm sorry for misleading you though..." She continued with a frown.

Jin shook his head and remained silent.

"Umm... Well... Guess that's it for today, an thanks for the company..." The blonde smiled. Now, she was carrying the paper bag, this time, it contained her crimson dress. The two were back in front of the laundromat again after picking up her attire. "I'll be going now... and I'm sorry for dragging you around all day, I guess I got carried away..." She spoke awkwardly before turning her back on him.

"Hey!" This time, before she could have gotten farther, Jin ran toward her.

Crimson turned to him with a quizzical look on her face behind the mask. He rummaged through his pocket and handed her some sort of card. It looked like some sort of business card... Written on it was an e-mail address, a url and the words 'Revenge Request Website'.

"What is this for...?" She gave him a puzzled look as she looked back and forth on the card, then to him..."There's no way I'm commissioning you guys... I'm broke!"

'Does that mean you will if you weren't?' he stared at her hopelessly, before letting out another word. "... Contact. You can e-mail me there." He answered awkwardly.

He was, again, averting his gaze. Crimson gave him a suspicious look in return.

"... Y-You owe me for the takoyaki, got it?!" He added.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rung in her head, rendering her speechless.

Thou art I... And I am thou...

Thou hast established a new bond...

Thou shalt be blessed when creating

Personas of the Art Arcana...

At the same time, an image appeared in front of her which made freeze. It was an unfamiliar card with a drawing of a large golden cup at the bottom. Right above it, there are two smaller silver cups pouring some sort of liquid, with the one on the left pouring a white liquid and the one on the right with a red liquid, though, generally, the whole background of the card was quite colorful.

'W-what...? Did I just...?' she chuckled in her mind. 'A bond... with HIM...? Heh. Who would've known...?'

She smiled and turned back to him, continuing the conversation as if nothing happened.

"Cheapskate! Fine... I'll contact you one of these days... okay?" She rolled her eyes and tucked the card in her pocket. "I admit though, today was quite fun..." She added with a smile, waving to him as she disappeared in the midst of the crowd.

"... They must be waiting... I bet Takaya and Chidori haven't eaten yet..." He muttered to himself as he stared blankly at the bag. 'Crimson huh? She's... not bad...' He paused to look up, '... just annoying.'

Jin took in a deep breath before walking back...

"Oh, you're back. Where were you?" Minato set down the book he was reading as soon as his sister entered the lounge.

Her mask was safely tucked inside the bag, along with her dress. She squeezed it closer to herself in order to avoid revealing its contents.

"Oh... I just played outside..." She answered with an awkward smile.

Her twin's eye twitched at her answer. Could she be with that guy again? Normally, he wouldn't ask... but after that incident, he'd better not let his guard down.

"It's not Shinjiro-senpai is it...?" He continued in a low, nervous tone.

"No... he's umm..." she paused trying to think up of the right words to use, "the one I was with was an old acquaintance..." Minako scratched her head with her voice wavering at every word, Minato almost shot up from his seat. His twin somehow sensed the atmosphere and tried to pick her words carefully. "Don't worry, he's definitely not the type of guy I'd date, so you don't have to worry about that part. He only treated me some food, and it's not like we'd see each other again any time soon."

At those words, Minato clenched his fist. It was another guy? But hearing her say that they won't meet regularly was a relief... Kind of. He tried to keep calm as he watched Minako climb the stairs.

"If you say so... but be careful of strangers..." He spoke in a flat tone as she went up.

The girl stopped and turned to him.

"Yeah sure... You're the one to talk, but you hang out with random strangers yourself don't you~? Don't worry! I can handle myself!" She continued before heading back to her room.

Minato sighed as he watched her back disappear into the halls. He shook his head, picked up the book and continued where he left off...

'As long as it's not him... Who could be worse than Shinjiro-senpai...?'

"Jin, where are those octopus ball I asked of you?" the long-haired man called out as he rummaged through the plastic bag. The boy didn't reply, instead, he just blankly stared at the bright screen of his laptop.

'... Tch. Still zero? She knows how to send a mail, right?'

What's this? A whole new S. Link? O_O

Yes. Yes it is... Remember the Hierophant arc when Crimson called him 'cute'? That was a... flag ;)

And no. I didn't make up Art Arcana.

It's actually the same as Temperance Arcana in the Thoth tarot deck just as how Aeon replaces Judgement and Lust replaces Strength :D

I know I could've used a more canon Arcana like Lust, but as I look at how their relationship builds... I don't really feel like that Arcana fits ^^"

Coincidentally enough, when I read about Art Arcana, it fits in pretty well... so yeah. I picked it even though it sounds kinda lame XD

He only appeared for like... Five times in the game or something. So, why not give him a bit of the spotlight? Though, cause of that, I'm not sure how he's supposed to act like. Other than his Takaya fetish and 'genius', I know nothing bout' him... so sorry if he's ooc... I just thought he'd act that way, being a 'Hermit'. I imagine he's not used to 'normal' girls. Yeah, I know it's a fic, and I can do anything with them and whatnot, but I'm not comfortable with OOCness ^^". So, if you have any thoughts or suggestions to get them in character (especially those with very minor appearance), then don't be afraid to share~

But hey, between the three of them, who's the most likely to do the errands? Who else but the most normally dressed member/shot

Anyway, in case you didn't pick it up, in the first scene, Minako was in the Velvet Room to change her line of Personas :)

Coming up next:

"Alright. I'll be expecting from you two."

"It's alright. I like the company."

"Oh, were not like that... she's just... a friend."

-None of Persona 3 or SMT series belong to me-