Disclaimer: Persona Series is owned by Atlus games and Honkai Impact 3rd by miHoYo

Chapter two is here!!!

Update will be weekly because I have kind of written 4 5 chapters in advance. But the plot will be kinda slow , I didn't jump straight into action and took my leisure time showing Minato new life here.

To:Phantom Thief of Heart

Yeah I know about others like the old bookshop couple , Keisuke , Maya but the reason I don't include them was because I actually don't know how to write then or what Minato might think about them. Honestly I am not a big fan of the messiah,

You can't expect a person to go from is death that scary for you to sacrifice himself for whole humanity in couple of months.

1. Well I kind of plan to give him new Persona.

2. He is from the original, and hasn't played Reload yet.

3. Sorry, I never played those, I have played original Persona on PPSSPP emulator on my android phone and most of my knowledge comes from the anime movies.

To:theforceiswithme000

Thanks, I will try to live up to your expectations.

To:SwordAstrea

Thanks man

I woke up to the shrill cry of the alarm clock. For a moment, I thought it was someone calling out to me—Junpei's loud voice yelling for me to get up, or Yukari's exasperated sigh as she knocked on my door. But no. There was no familiar banter, no knock, no shared frustration at another early morning dragging us into another day of fighting Shadows.

It was just me.

The quiet was deafening.

I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, the plain, colorless walls of this new room closing in around me. The faint tick of the clock on the wall seemed unnaturally loud, a reminder that time was still moving forward, even if I wasn't.

When I sat up, the emptiness hit harder. No Akihiko humming as he prepared for his morning run. No Koromaru bounding over with that wagging tail, brightening everyone's mood before we even got started. No Mitsuru calmly orchestrating the day's plans.

My room felt like a stranger's—functional but lifeless, sterile in a way that made me miss the clutter of SEES' dorm. It wasn't perfect, but it was home. This? This was just a place to sleep.

I sighed and swung my legs over the side of the bed, my feet brushing against the cold floor. The uniform hung on the chair like a silent command to keep going, to pretend this was just another ordinary day.

Ordinary.

I ran a hand through my hair, my gaze flickering to the mirror on the wall. My reflection stared back, hollow-eyed and distant. No Dark Hour, no mission, no SEES to return to. Just Minato Arisato, the boy who once carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, now trying to figure out what to do.

It was an hour before school started. Good. That was plenty of time. The apartment—Igor's unexpected gift—was conveniently close to Chiba Academy, so at least I didn't have to deal with long commutes. In another life, that kind of convenience might've seemed too perfect, but I was used to worlds that didn't quite fit into neat little boxes.

With a quiet sigh, I dragged myself out of bed. My body still felt heavy, like I hadn't fully shaken off the weight of the journey here. But it would pass, I knew that much. Routine had a way of smoothing out even the strangest of mornings.

I shuffled through the motions: brushing my teeth, hopping into a quick bath to rinse off the remnants of sleep, the water warm against my skin. The simplicity of it all was almost jarring after the madness of everything before. Back in the world I knew, mornings like this had been rare, overshadowed by battles, choices, the weight of things far bigger than any of us could control.

When I emerged from the bathroom, I moved into the kitchen. Cooking. I'd never been much of a chef, but I could manage the basics—nothing fancy, just enough to get through the day. Something healthy, at least.

I cracked an egg into a pan and started sizzling. The smell of cooking food filled the small space, faintly nostalgic, reminding me of... I wasn't sure. Maybe it was just the normalcy of it. But as I stirred, I heard their voices. Junpei's obnoxious enthusiasm rang in my ears.

"Come on, man, a burger's just what you need! You've gotta treat yourself once in a while!"

And Mitsuru, ever the voice of reason, cutting through the noise like a blade.

"Junpei, you're gonna die young if you keep eating that junk. At least try to have some vegetables once in a while."

I smiled slightly to myself, flipping the egg in the pan. Yeah. that was the life I remembered—arguing over food, over choices, over everything that seemed so small but somehow mattered more than anything else in those moments.

I stood before the mirror, adjusting the collar of the Chiba Academy uniform, the fabric crisp and unfamiliar, yet oddly... fitting. It wasn't Gekkoukan High, but I had to admit the clean, structured look had a certain appeal. In a way, it felt like a costume—one I had to wear to blend in, to play the role in this unfamiliar reality. I didn't know what I was walking into today, but it wasn't like I could just not go.

I caught my reflection in the mirror for a moment longer. There was a quiet, unfamiliar weight to the person I saw there. It wasn't just the uniform. It was the fact that the world around me had changed. I have changed. I wasn't the same person I had been when I first came to the Velvet Room.

But there was no time for hesitation. There never was.

I picked up my bag, a simple, plain thing. The kind of bag a student would carry. A good fit. It was what was inside that mattered. As I opened the flap, my fingers brushed over the cold, reassuring shape of my evoker, tucked away safely in one of the inner pockets. I didn't need to look at it to know it was there, its presence a constant reminder of who I was—and who I was willing to become again, if it came to that.

The evoker was more than just a tool. It was a link to something I couldn't shake, no matter how hard I tried to leave it behind. The Dark Hour, the battles, the decisions that no one should ever have to make. The weight of it all settled in my chest like a quiet storm. I wasn't here to live a normal life.

I zipped up the bag and slung it over my shoulder, taking one last look in the mirror before stepping out the door. The apartment felt strange now—too empty, too quiet. But I couldn't afford to linger. Not today.

I had a school to go to. And a world to keep from falling apart.

--

The classroom was a blur of whispers and idle chatter as I stood at the front. I could feel every eye on me, some curious, others indifferent, but all of them waiting. I hated it—being the center of attention, that is—but here I was, forced into the spotlight once again. The teacher's words echoed in my head like the crackling of an old radio.

"Good morning! Today, we have a new student. Please introduce yourself. Tell us about yourself, your likes and dislikes."

Likes and dislikes?

"I'm... Minato Arisato," I said, my voice sounding far too loud in the otherwise quiet room. "I'm, uh, new here. I like... peace, I guess and music. I don't really like when things get too chaotic."

The words came out like they were half-finished, as if I was trying to construct a lie that was still in progress. There was no real answer I could give. A small part of me wondered why I even bothered with this charade. Why couldn't I just be the silent student in the back of the class? But then the reality of my situation sunk in. I wasn't here to be normal. I wasn't here to fit in. I had a role to play, whether I liked it or not.

As I finished my introduction, I gave a small bow, unsure of whether I'd even made any impression. The teacher seemed satisfied, nodding at me with a polite smile.

"Thank you, Minato-kun. Take your seat."

I walked to the empty desk in the back row. There were no surprises, no unusual stares—just the dull hum of a normal school day. The kind of normal that felt like a lie.

--

I sat down at the desk, the chair creaking slightly beneath me as I settled in. The hum of the classroom returned, a quiet rhythm of pens scratching against paper and the soft murmur of whispers. The girl beside me was the first to break the silence.

She turned towards me with a polite smile, her eyes a cool, almost distant shade, and her voice was calm and measured. "Hello. I am Raiden Mei"

Something about her presence felt... different. Regal, even. It was subtle, the way she carried herself. Her posture was straight, elegant—like she belonged to a world I couldn't quite place. There was something about her that reminded me of Mitsuru. The same air of nobility, of someone who had been raised to lead, to be more than just ordinary. Her every movement screamed composure, just like Mitsuru's.

Or maybe it was just that I was good at noticing things like that. The nuances in the way people held themselves. How the right word, the right glance, could say more than a thousand speeches.

She tilted her head slightly, noticing my gaze linger for just a second too long. I quickly turned my focus back to the desk in front of me, realizing I hadn't even responded.

"Same to you," I said, my voice soft but steady. It wasn't much of an answer, but it was the truth. There was something about her that... I didn't know, made me want to figure her out.

Raiden Mei didn't seem bothered by my bluntness. In fact, she seemed to be in suprise.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. I stood, stretching slightly, the usual clamor of students packing up their things filling the air. It was all just noise, like static in the background. I was focused on gathering my things when Mei turned toward me again, holding out a few neatly organized sheets of paper.

"These are the notes from last week," she said."I thought you might need them."

I looked at the notes, considering for a moment. I didn't need them, not really. I'd been in this situation too many times to count—showing up to classes I didn't care about, pretending to be a student in worlds that weren't mine. But I couldn't exactly just refuse them. Not without looking like I didn't care.

"Thank you," I said, taking the notes. My voice was quiet, and I tried to make the words sound genuine, even if I wasn't sure how I felt about the gesture.

As I took the papers, I could feel eyes on me, or maybe it was just the vague sense of a shift in the room's atmosphere. The noise from the other students started to grow. Whispers. Giggles. Some sort of frenzy bubbling in the background.

"Oh my god, how lucky he is! Mei-sama is actually talking to him!"

"I wish it was me…"

The voices rose, erratic and exaggerated, as if the class had collectively decided that my mere exchange with Mei was some sort of monumental event.

Simps, a part of my mind whispered, almost amused.

--

It had been a long day for Mei. The weight of her responsibilities pressed down on her shoulders with each passing hour—study sessions, kendo practice, the ever-growing list of expectations she had to meet. But despite the fatigue that tugged at her body, there was a sense of satisfaction in the routine. She had learned to handle it, even if it meant pushing herself harder than most people would understand.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Mei returned to the quiet sanctuary of her room. She sat at her desk, setting down her bag, letting out a small breath of relief as she stretched. The day was over.

She was about to settle into her routine when the door opened, and a familiar figure entered the room. Her father.

A smile spread across Mei's face as she turned to greet him. "Welcome home, Otou-san."

He returned the greeting, but his smile was faint—distant, as always. The way his tired eyes looked at her, as if he were always preoccupied, always somewhere else. She could see the strain in his posture, the tension that seemed to settle around him like a permanent shadow. He loved her, she knew that much. But the weight of running the ME Corporation, the immense responsibility of it all, drained him more than anything she could have imagined.

"How was your day Mei?" he asked, his voice carrying the usual weariness, though his gaze softened when he looked at her.

Mei's smile grew a little wider as she recounted her day. She told him about everything—her training, the meetings with her fellow students, the lessons in class. Her voice carried the brightness of the younger Mei, before the world had become so heavy. But the one thing that seemed to linger in her mind, the thing she couldn't quite shake, was the new student. Minato.

"There's something different about him," she said, her tone thoughtful, the words weighed down by curiosity. "He's... different from everyone else. I don't know how to explain it. Most people are thrilled when they meet me—overjoyed, even. But he… barely showed anything."

She paused, trying to put into words the feeling that had been gnawing at her all day. "It was like he was... detached. Not rude, just… distant. I can't quite place my finger on it. But there's something about him."

"H-Haaaa! It looks like my baby girl's got her heart on someone!" he said, his tone light, but with a hint of mischief that Mei was all too familiar with.

Mei's face flushed a deep crimson at the teasing remark. Her eyes widened in surprise as her father's playful voice rang through the air, and she quickly turned away, embarrassed.

The teasing made her stomach twist, and she quickly shook her head, her hands waving in frantic denial. "No! It's not like that!" she stammered, her voice flustered as her heart raced in a way that had nothing to do with her usual martial discipline.

Her father chuckled, a soft and warm sound, though it only made Mei's face burn even hotter. She never did handle jokes about herself well, especially when they touched on something as personal and confusing as... whatever it was that was happening inside her when it came to Minato.

"Sorry, sorry for teasing you," he said, his voice lighthearted as he waved off her discomfort. "But if you want to become his friend, I believe you should approach him yourself. You know, take the first step. You've always been the one to lead, Mei. So why not with this?"

She blinked, the words sinking in as she processed his suggestion. Approach him?

It sounded simple enough when he said it like that, but Mei wasn't so sure. She had always been in control of things—her training, her studies, her relationships with others—but Minato was different.

Still, her father's words lingered.

Take the first step.

"Alright... I'll think about it," she muttered, a bit more quietly than she intended, her gaze still a little distant.

Her father smiled knowingly, though he didn't press further. "Good. You're capable of more than you think, Mei. Don't let your doubts stop you."

Mei nodded quietly, though deep down, her heart raced a little faster. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the thought of Minato lingered, even after their brief exchange.

It wasn't about liking him, of course. Not at all. She just... needed to know him.

And Cut? I know I can't write third person pov well but I am trying.

Stay tuned!!!