-Minato has just recently joined SEES (4/18/09) after getting discharged from the hospital (4/10/09-4/18/09) after the Magician's full moon (4/9/09).
-Joined clubs.
-Minato was hospitalized (5/10/09-5/17/09) after the Priestess full moon (5/9/09).
-Exams (5/18/09-5/23/09).
-Again, Minato is hospitalized (6/08/09-6/10/09) for the Hierophant incident (6/08/09).
-Depressed Minato (6/06/09-6/11/09).
-Since this hasn't been updated for a long time, it's advisable to revisit the previous chapters of this arc TAT"
Chapter 20: Their Justice
7/03/09-Friday
"Chihiro, Hidetoshi!" she called out to the pair.
The two flinched upon hearing the cheerful voice. They turned around to see the auburn-haired student, with her twin brother quietly following from behind.
Ever since that incident in the faculty room just a couple of days ago, the two council members had agreed upon each other to avoid the twins. So, hearing the familiar voice, they immediately decided to scurry off the school hallway.
It was the best way they could think of until they can figure out a way to get out of the mess they were in, without involving the two.
"Whoa- leaving so soon?" Minako smiled, grabbing Chihiro's shoulder.
"U-um... y-yes... s-sorry-" the bespectacled female replied weakly as she held her books under her arms.
"C'mon Chihiro, we have to go" Hidetoshi added, though his tone sounded forced.
"It's about the rumors again isn't it?" Minato sighed quietly.
The pair flinched.
"Don't worry bout' it! We'll make sure it ends today!" His female counterpart grinned, "we just came here to tell you guys that!"
The two blinked, unable to catch what she meant.
"... You'll understand later. Come to the tennis court after school, you'll know what we mean." Minato added, giving the bespectacled girl's shoulder a gentle pat.
Hidetoshi and Chihiro can only watch as the two returned to their class...
The halls were strangely quiet. Even though classes were over at a time like that, students would still chat around and loiter in the halls. This time however, he didn't bump into a single soul on his way to a certain 'meeting'.
"...'s... -ere..." A female voice came from the room.
Shaking his head, he slid the classroom door open.
"Sensei, glad you didn't forget!" the auburn-haired girl greeted with a warm smile.
Indeed, it was him- their P.E. teacher.
He stood tall, his height being almost more than twice that of the girl's. The male was around his mid 30s, had big burly muscles and was wearing a red and white tracksuit. His skin was quite tanned, perhaps due to hours of working out under the sun. He also had a naturally black flat-top hair cut which made him look a bit like some military man.
She was sitting on her usual place in the classroom.
"... Only you? Where's that brother of yours?" he grunted before sliding the door close and stepping in the room.
The man looked around, though everything seemed to be in place.
"... And I heard you talking earlier, who were you talking to?" he added, recalling hearing her voice just a while back.
Only the girl was present in the room though. He continued to walk toward her, looking vigilant, when she finally replied.
"Don't worry, we're the only ones here!" she chuckled. "Onii-chan has to do some errands, so he might not make it, he told me over the phone. That's what you must have heard."
"Hmph, really now?" he snorted bitterly, "You won't get anything out of me, because those friends of yours are guilty."
"Guilty of what?" she tilted her head.
"... Forget it. Just tell me what you need" he replied, suddenly sounding quite uneasy.
The smile on her face was starting to really creep him out.
"Well then!" Minako clapped her hands together before pulling out what seemed to be a piece of paper from her bag.
Upon closer inspection, it was a picture of her, along with other girls. All of them were wearing their P.E. uniform... it was the same one she confiscated from Junpei not long ago.
Minako slammed her palm on her desk, "Sensei, this picture, was taken during P.E. class... You know what that means?"
The man was taken aback. That was... out of nowhere...
It took a few seconds before he shifted his expression of surprise to an irritated glare. "This is..." he groaned, "First your friends stupidly accuse me of stealing... don't tell me you're accusing me of perversion this time...?"
"I never said anything like that" the girl casually replied, "If that was it, then these pictures wouldn't just circulate around school..." she paused, "Onii-chan and I did a bit of digging up, and we learned that someone's been selling them..."
"...And think it's me? You think I take pictures of my own students to sell them?" he rolled his eyes, "Let me tell you- you have an active imagination Arisato-san. I've never even heard about this. Just because I'm strict doesn't mean nothing would get past me" he shook his head arrogantly before continuing, "I was careless. I let some boy at his puberty slip through in my class. Don't worry, I'll make sure to get that perpetrator."
"I see..." she muttered to herself.
Minako grinned.
"Oh, then Sensei wasn't the one who took the pictures?"
"Yes, I told you already!" he replied, sounding annoyed.
"... Are you sure?" the girl pressed.
"I told you, it's some boy in your year!"
"Then, doesn't that mean you knew who did it?"
"Of course I don't-"
"You sounded so specific about that boy..." she cut his words short , speaking before he could finish. "This picture could have been taken by a girl... you even knew he was in our year no less" Minako crossed her arms over her chest, and as if thinking, she looked up the ceiling.
"Not to mention... haven't you only 'heard about this now'...? Pretty strange how fast you made those assumptions" she continued. "So... probably, you knew who's been doing it, but you're just letting it go...?" She paused, turning her eyes back to the man, "Ergo, you gave him permission to do it."
The man froze.
Before he managed to retract his statement, the girl suddenly cut in once more.
"Oh, by the way, we caught that guy yesterday, so I can confirm that he's really a second year" the girl said out loud.
"Hold it! I..." that man paused. For a moment, he looked as if he was about to break down, when a small trace of confidence suddenly drained back on his face.
"...Alright, I admit, I gave him permission... But it was because he told me he needed it for his schoolwork!" The man then planted his fist on his palm, "I'll make sure that student learns his lesson!"
"But in any way you look at it, allowing someone to take our pictures is wrong!" she pointed out. "Also, I should point out that you just lied about not knowing about it, yet you actually knew about it. If you had no ill intentions from the start, then you wouldn't have hidden it in the first place!"
"Well... I... He... Ngghh..." he wasn't able to give a retort.
Again, the girl slammed her palm on her desk, and with her other hand, she pointed at the man.
"This is your motive for your 'crimes'!"
"W-what?!" the man almost jumped in surprise from her sudden outburst.
"Early of May, Onii-chan started gaining a certain reputation in school... for 'threatening' those who as much as glance at me-" she sighed, as if remembering those moments. Admittedly, she's in no way proud of those... She shook those thoughts off her head before finally continuing, "-now, with that in consideration... what happens if he learns that someone's selling pictures of me around school? Definitely, he'd poke his nose around it... and given his connections with Mitsuru-senpai... then it would pose danger for you... am I right?"
The man simply clicked his tongue upon hearing her argument. He was about to speak, when she continued.
"At first, you just complained to Hidetoshi-kun about it... about how he 'bullies' other students, but he got away from it pretty quick- Which then led to the cigarette butt incident- I heard you talk about it when I was passing by the faculty room. You were trying to pin that on Onii-chan weren't you?"
He raised his brows, "Hah... I wasn't trying to pin that on him. I was sure he was the culprit given the facts!"
Minako rubbed her chin, "in the end, it wasn't him. The culprit revealed himself to Hidetoshi-kun with the promise to change."
"...?!" the adult who was sweating bullets was now left speechless.
Of course, he didn't know that the real culprit had admitted to his doings since Hidetoshi only spoke about it to Minato.
The adult lowered his head, "...what are you implying here?" he shot her a sharp glance. "I'll have you know, I could get you suspended- or even expelled for this."
"But I'm not breaking any rules that equal to suspension, or expulsion" she stated as a matter-of-factly. "We're just having a simple chat, aren't we?"
With a growl, he turned his back on the girl. He knew he had to get out before she manages to poke any more holes on him. Definitely, he didn't like where their conversation was going... and that look on her face... it seemed as if she was up to something...
"There's no way I'll go to all that trouble for something as small as those 'pictures'." he paused, "I don't know what you're up to, but you're doing this because you want something don't you?"
For sometime, she remained silent.
"... You were right. We didn't have evidence" suddenly, her tone sounded rather serious. "We can't prove that you received that money-fee from Chihiro that day... but to top it off, you wanted to involve me, Hidetoshi and Nii-chan, didn't you?"
"Haha... As suspected. So it all boils down to this..." The man sneered upon hearing her reply.
"We won't tell anyone about this as long as you admit to what you've done, return the money fee and promise that you won't touch Chihiro and Hidetoshi anymore."
For some reason, he looked rather confident as opposed to how he was earlier.
"..."
"So... you were eavesdropping that day..." The man bit his lip. "Arisato-san, I'm warning you, going against me may be the worst mistake of your life-"
Balling up his fist, he closed up to the girl and slammed it on her desk. Minako fell from her seat... A *clack* also followed.
"Owww... Ah!" the girl was rubbing her sore spot when she noticed her phone fell out of her pocket. She was about to pick it up, when the adult swiped it off.
"Huh? What's this?" he stared at her phone... "What's the meaning of this?!" he continued, pointing at the girl.
"Oh uhhm... I forgot to uhh... end my call-...!"
Before she finished, the man pulled her up by the wrist. Minako cringed in pain from his grip. Indeed, those muscles weren't just for show.
"I don't care if you're a girl...! DON'T SCREW WITH ME!"
"Stop-! Let Minako go!"
Their attention immediately turned toward the door. The auburn-haired girl also took the opportunity to pull away from the man.
"Sensei, please just admit it!" the newcomer continued.
"Chi-Chihiro...?" Minako stared at her wide-eyed.
The girl stood firm and straight. Her eyes were burning with determination as she stepped inside the room.
"Minako-san, I'm sorry you and Minato-kun had to go through with this just for us..." the bespectacled girl bowed her head, before turning back to the older man. "Sensei, I clearly remember what happened on that day. I handed the fee money to you directly! Stop pretending it didn't happen!"
Suddenly, silence.
Both Minako and the man were silenced by her sudden outburst... definitely, it was surprising coming from her.
"That's enough."
At that moment, the deafening silence broke, as everyone's attention turned toward the one who spoke... she stood by the door, arms crossed... and definitely not pleased.
"K-kirijo...?" the teacher stared wide-eyed, surprised by her sudden appearance. He then turned to the other two girls, then back to Mitsuru, now with a smirk on his face. "Kirijo, wonderful timing! These two, they-"
"I am very disappointed in you!" she suddenly cut him off, "There's no use making up excuses, I've heard everything."
The man froze- her mere presence was intimidating, and what's more was that her evident anger seemed to be aimed at him. Even though she was a student herself, Mitsuru is still the heiress of the Kirijo group.
"W-what are you saying?" he said with a quivering voice.
"Senpai, and the others heard everything."
The voice came from behind the female.
It was the blue-haired boy.
He held up his phone on his hand, as if showing it to the man, "Everyone over at the tennis court listened to the conversation from the beginning... through Minako's phone."
"E-everyone?" the man gulped.
"Well, not really everyone... just some of the students who had nothing else to do... some of the faculty members... and Mitsuru-senpai, of course." he replied.
"B-but... Ah! E-evidence you don't-" he answered desperately.
"Enough." Mitsuru commanded firmly.
With that one word, the room quieted down.
"I've seen how Fushimi worked in the Student Council. She works diligently, and she never once complained. I'm sure she could never do what you are accusing her of..." the female trailed off, giving each person in the room a glance before finally setting her piercing eyes at the adult. "You on the other hand..."
Thus, Mitsuru began enumerating the repercussions of what the man had done. Definitely, no one would want to be in his place at the moment. A short while later, the other teachers arrived and took him away with them; during that time, Minato took the time to slip in beside his twin.
Her brother sighed while he scratched the back of his head.
"I'm glad it went well, I've been wanting to run over here... can we switch places next time?"
"You do realize that there won't be a next time... right?" The girl pouted, poking his forehead.
"... And I will make sure that you two have a good excuse for this, or so help me, I will execute both of you!"
Upon hearing those words, the twins slowly turned their heads and gulped. They felt chills behind their backs, hoping that they were only hearing things.
Sadly, they were not.
Right. She was still there wasn't she?
-Their President, Mitsuru Kirijo... and she definitely did not look pleased.
Her arms were crossed over her chest as she stood firmly in front of them. Not a single glint of smile can be seen on her face, instead she looked furious.
"I understand that your intentions were good, but you two could have gotten into trouble!" she said sternly, while the two cringed in fear.
"Uh... we didn't consider what Mitsuru-senpai would do to us..." Minako whispered to her twin.
He, on the other hand, couldn't even move a muscle.
"To think you'd do this... you should have just informed and I would have taken up this matter on my own hands!" the red-head said firmly. "I can't believe you coaxed your classmates, and even the faculty into this."
"President, wait!"
A voice came from afar. The three then turned to the owner of the voice who had just appeared in front of the classroom door. It was the discipline committee member.
"Hidetoshi?" Minako muttered.
The moment he had reached them, he paused to catch his breath. While he did, another one suddenly spoke up.
"Please don't punish them! It was me who started this!" she said in a surprisingly strong voice.
"Chihiro?" Minato blinked.
"N-no, just punish me instead. I was involved in this as well...!" the still huffing Hidetoshi added.
Mitsuru blinked.
The shy Chihiro and the law-abiding Hidetoshi were actually defending those two?
That was quite a surprise... Those twins... were they able to influence them in such a short time...? Come to think of it, she didn't expect the shy and quiet Chihiro to suddenly rush in over to Minako's place... and to top it off, speak in that way she did to the teacher...
The red-head gave a light chuckle. Somehow, her anger quelled.
"Hm. You have impressed me yet again..." The woman closed her eyes. She then turned to the other two with a gentle smile. "And don't worry, I never intended to give them harsh punishments. So you can relax on that matter."
The four smiled upon hearing her reply.
"... But I'm afraid I will have to withdraw the both of you from the Student Council. Think of it as your punishment" Misturu pointed out to the twins.
For a moment, they frowned. Sure, it was extra work for them, but hey, they can't say they didn't enjoy their stay. Though, they can't object to Mitsuru's decision as they were already at her mercy.
"We understand. Thank you, Senpai." Minato smiled.
"Yeah, thanks Misturu-senpai!" Minako added.
"Well, I'm glad you took it lightly. In any case, I now have a lot of work to do." she continued, turning her back on them. "... I'll make sure that he will receive the punishment he deserves. Oh, and of course, that other perpetrator as well..." the female added before walking away.
"Haaaa... I'm glad that's over..." the auburn-haired one cried as she slumped down on her desk. "I was really nervous during that last part..."
"Well, I'm just surprised you two managed to pull this off at such a short time..." Hidetoshi suddenly added, "Especially the capture of the photogr-"
"We never caught him."
Minato suddenly cut him off. All eyes were on him.
"Eeeh... We were bluffing about that part as well... all we actually figured out was that someone's been selling those pictures... who would've thought the story I made up turned out true? I just started making up things along the way... you know, like those courtroom dramas on TV" Minako awkwardly replied in her brother's place. Though of course, while she did bluff about catching the culprit, the story wasn't really made up since she knew of that information from her original timeline.
"Y-you mean to say... you were just going along the flow that whole time?" he sweat dropped. "H-how could you talk about that so casually?"
"Hey! We did plan this out... to some extent!" Minako pouted.
At that moment, Chihiro fell on her knees and at that instant, the twins and Hidetoshi immediately ran over to her side.
"A-are you alright...?" said the auburn-haired girl in a worried tone.
"Do you need to go to the nurse's office? I'll take you there if you want..." her twin added, also bearing a worried expression.
"You dolt. You should know that the school nurse is known for giving students dubious concoctions... she'll end up worse than she is now!" Hidetoshi scolded, which had Minato scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Oh." he replied awkwardly.
"Pfft-" the bespectacled girl chuckled. Soon, she lifted her head which revealed her rather reddish face. She was crying.
The others stared at her, unsure if they should be worried or relieved.
Chihiro smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about me... I guess I was just so relieved that I..." again, more tears fell down her eyes as she she smiled.
All the other three smiled in relief.
*click*
A sudden flash caught them off-guard.
-It was Minato.
"What did you-" Hidetoshi's eyes darted toward the blue-haired boy's... camera...?
"I don't like my pictures being taken! Destroy that film at once!" he hissed.
"Um... yeah, Onii-chan, what was that about?" Minako tilted her head.
"I just thought this would make a good picture, so I took it with my camera." he told them as a matter-of-factly. "I've been saving money for this for the past few months, because I wanted to save memories during my stay here at Gekkoukan." Minato paused and turned to Hidetoshi. "... this is the first picture I ever took, so I can't honour your request... unless you really want it destroyed."
All the of them blushed.
Hidetoshi sighed, crossing his arms. "I suppose I could make an exception this once..." the discipline officer retorted, with his face still burning red.
Minako chuckled. "I never knew you were into that kind of thing~" the auburn-haired girl said, giving him a nudge.
"U-um... but d-doesn't that mean Minato-senpai wasn't included in the picture?" the bespectacled girl suddenly added.
Everyone turned to the photographer with a sly smirk.
"Alright. Alright... You don't have to look at me like that..." he said, scratching the back of his head.
.
.
.
*click*
Extra:
Hidetoshi: Indeed, why didn't you just tell the President?
Minato: Didn't you see how scared he was out of his wits? That alone was precious.
Hidetoshi: ... (D-devil... he's a devil...)
Mitsuru: So, why didn't you just speak to me about this? You of all people should know that I would have taken your claims seriously.
Minato: *still frozen*
Minako: W-well... we figured that this way, 'everyone' would immediately know the truth... and the rumors would die down faster... (can't tell her that it's mostly because we wanted to see that deathly look on Sensei's face ourselves...)
Hidetoshi: Now that Minato and Minako are not in the Student Council anymore, it's up to us to straighten up this school!
Chihiro: Y-yes! I'll make sure to live up to their expectations!
Hidetoshi: *grabs her hands* I'm glad you understand my vision, Chihiro!
Chihiro: ... *blushes*
Minako: *whispers* ... They've gotten close behind our backs lately...
Minato: ... Why are we spying on them?
Minako: *smirks* Jealous...?
Minato: I-I'm telling you, I'm not jealous...
And this here ends the Student Council Arc! ^_^
... Yeah... this is SO SO SO SO SO LAAATE QAQ
Aaand I got more bad news... some of the 'finished' future chapters I made were deleted TAT
... Looks like I have to re-write them... welp... that's what I get for saving stuff here at FF TAT
And here I was hoping that the next updates would come in succession... but now that my files are gone, looks like updates will take longer than ever...
ANYWAY. Enough of that, no use over crying on spilled milk.
So uhhh yes, the 'thing' he mentioned the old couple at the first part of the arc was the camera (if you remember that). We'll be seeing that thing some other time :P (not that it has an important significance plot-wise.../shot)
Hopefully, this chapter was not confusing? Basically, the picture thing? That was a red herring so that he'd lower his guard and reveal everything while their phone transmits the conversation XP
In any case, did anyone miss the Dark Hour? We'll be having it for the next chap ;)
... which will be out after another 8 months... or a year... or- who knows when- (JK~ it can't possibly take that long XD ... Maybe longer? Or maybe next week? Who knows...? =A= They will come though... they will come... and if it makes anyone feel better, Lovers' Full Moon II was safe from the file deletion OwOb)
Coming up next:
~Chapter 20: Lovers' Full Moon I & Chapter 21: Lovers' Full Moon II~
"Y-you! You didn't peek d-did you?"
"Oh, look, I think I found your clothes."
"... and will you get off me?"
-I do not own Persona or any of its characters-
Gin Nanashi- Haha thanks. We'll, you'd better brace yourself, we'll be seeing more nameless girls (maybe not necessarily those two...) in the future XD
crymblade- Hmm... Interesting take OwO I like hearing people's predictions :P Anyway, I'll get back to your comment when the time comes... (if I remember =w=)
Yoshikunitsu- Thanks :) Glad you liked it XD Hopefully, this ending doesn't disappoint ^^"
FateOblivion- Weeeell I've mostly been busy and lazy... and at some point, forgot that I had a fic XD It was because of the P3 Movie and the Persona announcements that reminded me XP
Lemo- Thanks 8D Yeah, it's pretty hard to find long ones... most I've been following hasn't been updated in years... T-T
Arrow-chan3- Weeell they didn't beat him up... but he did get an off-screen execution from Mitsuru, that I assure you XP