[fic] Persona 3 Portable - Days That Shook The World
Title: Days That Shook The World
Author: winged_requiem
Series: Persona 3 (Portable).
Pairing: Shinjiro/Minako, Akihiko/Mitsuru.
Characters: Various for each scenario. Yukari, Junpei, Minako, Mitsuru, Shinjiro, Ken, Akihiko, Aigis.
Rating: T.
Type: Drabbles; 'snapshots' of events.
Summary: At first, fighting the shadows was easy. But then, there were certain days within their memories: memories that changed the very foundations of their world.
Notes: Snapshots on certain days. Spoilers abound! Presumptious canon - eg. that Shinjiro and Minako reached rank 10 of their social link.
October 5th, 2009
Yukari, Junpei, Minako
The bell tolled, and the teacher eventually dismissed them. Students scrabbled from their seats, making beelines for friends or darting out the door to their respective club meetings, chattering away as they want. Normal, everyday; people full of laughter and heart. Those without a care in the world.
But some students weren’t so quick to go, and were silent, quiet, and still. Three of them in particular.
Yukari was the first to push herself out of her seat, biting the bullet. She’d been watching the other two, and it seemed to be a battle of wills as to who would move first... or maybe that was just her imagination. She knew why they didn’t move, why she too, didn’t want to move. But someone had to eventually. It was finally time for them to go home, where they didn’t have to suffer in the open.
Junpei was still sat, staring absentmindedly out the window, and Minako... had been doing what she'd been doing all day. Staring at one spot on the blackboard, straight ahead of her.
Minako hadn't moved as much as an inch all day, save lunch, where she ate, then came back, mechanically moving through the familiar routine. There wasn't as much as a peep.
"Hey, Junpei," Yukari whispered, walking next to his desk, hands clasped behind her back.
"Mmm?" he said, turning to face her, and just blinking once. "Oh. Yuka-tan. What is it?"
Yukari twitched her head, indicating the still frozen form a few seats back. He looked: they both did. Still no movement from their leader.
"I'm worried," Yukari said quietly, her mouth creasing into a frown. "Do you really think there was something between...?"
"Who knows," Junpei shrugged. But Yukari persisted.
"Oh, come on..." she started, about to fall into one of her rants, but her energy expired. She couldn't do this today; today of all days, the day after losing a comrade. It was true, that somehow, miraculously, he was in a coma... but that didn't stop the pain. There was an almost zero chance that he would ever wake up. They'd all lost a comrade then. But Minako... she'd had her suspicions. Well, not so much suspicions, but they'd gone out a lot, come back in together a lot, it was clear she liked to be with him (even if it was just as a friend), and...
He had told her not to cry.
"... I think we should walk her home," she added, voice barely more than a whisper.
She didn't get an answer immediately, as this was the moment Mitsuru chose to walk in, asking them to meet her later. Minako finally moved, to look at Mitsuru... and kept looking. Her eyes never focused, continuously glazed, empty, absent. Mitsuru, wrapped up in her own grief, didn't notice as she left the room the way she came. Or perhaps it was simply because she hadn't been there all day.
Junpei and Yukari exchanged a more worried glance than before, and Junpei finally took the opportunity to move, nodding to Yukari. His answer. Yukari nodded back.
"Hey, Minako," she said, and the same absent gaze fell upon her. It was shattering to watch. "Let's walk home together, okay?"
A nod.
She managed the standing up, even as her head hung low. She managed the walk to the school gates. She managed the methodical pacing of one foot in front of the other. Somehow, she managed her way back to the Dorms.
But that was probably only because Yukari held one hand tight, and Junpei had an arm over her other shoulder, steering her, leading their leader, their best friend in the entire world, back to their sanctuary away from prying eyes. Perhaps in the fear, or the knowledge, that if they let go, the world would slant, slide away from her, and she'd fall. She'd never make it back.
And as they went, she finally cried, silent tears swabbing her cheeks.
The three of them didn't say a word.
- - -
October 6th, 2009
Minako
If she hadn’t have looked - and she half cursed the fact she had - Minako wouldn’t have noticed that his door was ajar.
It wasn’t that far ajar. Only slightly, but it wasn’t shut enough to really come up with the reputation of a truly ‘shut door’. And, when she saw it, that was when she stopped, ignoring her friends downstairs, still at a loss even after two days since everything had gone from right to wrong.
She pushed, and the door didn’t hold up much resistance. Soon she was inside: stood in the room that had once belonged to Shinjiro. It still did, but...
It looked exactly the same as it had done the last time she was here, not that she wanted to think about that. The only difference was a box on the desk.
His things for fighting. His evoker. Some pills. A coat hanging on the back of a chair. She lifted one arm of the coat. It still smelled of him, the last thing that really did. No other reminders.
There wasn’t really anything else to expect from the room. But all the same, it seemed to hit her then, and she felt crippled, sinking to her knees.
"Shinjiro." The name was broken. She never got it all out.
- - -
October 9th, 2009
Minako, Ken
They passed in the hallway, and it was only the quiet plea that made Minako stop.
"Um, Minako-san..." Ken muttered, staring down at his shoes, biting his lip. "Could you... come someplace with me?"
She nodded. Part of her knew exactly where he wanted to go.
And they went. Went back on the train, to Tatsumi Port Island.
To the alley.
"I'm sorry," Ken muttered as they got there, wiping his eyes. "I'm so sorry."
Minako hadn't said much of a word; neither of them had. Not to each other. There hadn't been a need for words, just empty silence. But here, she finally did. And it was true. There had never been any hate in her heart. Grief and sadness took its toll, as it always would. She'd had her grieving; not so much moved on, but let go her sadness, banished it away, focusing on Shinjiro still breathing in the hospital. Her words would save Ken, at least, from falling into darkness.
"I forgive you."
- - -
November 4th, 2009
Mitsuru, Akihiko
Everything was insignificant. There was no need to move. She just wanted to stay... to stay here, pretend it hadn't happened, that it didn't exist.
And to scream his name at the never waking form before her. "Father!"
But there was never a reponse. Never would be another response.
Mitsuru had no will anymore.
Strong arms took her up, arms that she first battered away, only wanting to cry into her father's blood stained shirt. She didn't have words to scream to put her down, and eventually her arms fell to the gentle blocks they received, blocks that would normally have had nothing on her...
Her father disappeared from view, as he pulled her away, and another wave of anxiety and fear hit, her fist reaching up to pound against her rescuer's shoulder... but it never hit. It just... stopped there, and her head, her hair, her curls, slumped into his chest, and she sobbed.
Akihiko let her. She wasn't light, and neither was she heavy, but he never let her go, even as the shudders stopped and her body ceased to spasm, and she lapsed in and out of consciousness. He carried her, to the dorms, to the flight of stairs, to the time the girls eventually prised her away.
He didn't ler her go.
For those hours, he was the lifeline. The single attachment to the world that had shaken and fallen apart.
And even as true sleep came, he stayed by her side until her tears ceased and there were no more dreams. He didn't let her go.
- - -
December 4th, 2009
Aigis
She'd been so sure of everything up until then. Easy, simple. Fire a gun, defeat the bad guy, save the person she cared for most. But it hadn't gone that way at all.
Now there was darkness. Shadows creeping round her vision: and not the normal kind, the kind she defeated every day. True shadows, the dark, creeping in around her.
All of a sudden, it hit her. She was going to shut-not even that. She was going to die. Die. She didn't want that. Her mechanical heart ached, her body ached, her mind ached. And... something that was so alien, an emotion she'd never felt, but now she did. The feeling, the bitter, dreadful feeling that vexed her already broken systems was overwhelming.
There was only one thing she felt in the never ending emptiness.
"I'm scared..."
And then there was just black.
AFTERWORD
I'm not... entirely sure what all of this is. But it's been sitting on my hardrive since September, and, I don't think it's going to gain much progression other than short thoughts for each 'day' that I'm covering. And, to be honest, I like it like that. Snapshots into lives when the pain or the grief was the most. So, I think it's time to share what I've got. I may write more, eventually, over time, as I think of certain situations... but for now, it's this.
For the whole three things with Shinjiro, I always thought it was strange how you just... got over it, and how no one spotted a thing. This was mostly written just after I'd completed it just to settle the plot bunny's hopping around in my head.
For the scene with Ken, Ken does indeed ask you to go to the alley with him in game, on one of the evenings. It's actually pretty heartbreaking... sure, they only get there and he starts crying, but, yeah, personal interpreation.
I may write more snapshots in the future, but for now, I'm happy with it as it is, and, as I haven't touched it for a while, I think it's time for me to put it up.
Author: winged_requiem
Series: Persona 3 (Portable).
Pairing: Shinjiro/Minako, Akihiko/Mitsuru.
Characters: Various for each scenario. Yukari, Junpei, Minako, Mitsuru, Shinjiro, Ken, Akihiko, Aigis.
Rating: T.
Type: Drabbles; 'snapshots' of events.
Summary: At first, fighting the shadows was easy. But then, there were certain days within their memories: memories that changed the very foundations of their world.
Notes: Snapshots on certain days. Spoilers abound! Presumptious canon - eg. that Shinjiro and Minako reached rank 10 of their social link.
October 5th, 2009
Yukari, Junpei, Minako
The bell tolled, and the teacher eventually dismissed them. Students scrabbled from their seats, making beelines for friends or darting out the door to their respective club meetings, chattering away as they want. Normal, everyday; people full of laughter and heart. Those without a care in the world.
But some students weren’t so quick to go, and were silent, quiet, and still. Three of them in particular.
Yukari was the first to push herself out of her seat, biting the bullet. She’d been watching the other two, and it seemed to be a battle of wills as to who would move first... or maybe that was just her imagination. She knew why they didn’t move, why she too, didn’t want to move. But someone had to eventually. It was finally time for them to go home, where they didn’t have to suffer in the open.
Junpei was still sat, staring absentmindedly out the window, and Minako... had been doing what she'd been doing all day. Staring at one spot on the blackboard, straight ahead of her.
Minako hadn't moved as much as an inch all day, save lunch, where she ate, then came back, mechanically moving through the familiar routine. There wasn't as much as a peep.
"Hey, Junpei," Yukari whispered, walking next to his desk, hands clasped behind her back.
"Mmm?" he said, turning to face her, and just blinking once. "Oh. Yuka-tan. What is it?"
Yukari twitched her head, indicating the still frozen form a few seats back. He looked: they both did. Still no movement from their leader.
"I'm worried," Yukari said quietly, her mouth creasing into a frown. "Do you really think there was something between...?"
"Who knows," Junpei shrugged. But Yukari persisted.
"Oh, come on..." she started, about to fall into one of her rants, but her energy expired. She couldn't do this today; today of all days, the day after losing a comrade. It was true, that somehow, miraculously, he was in a coma... but that didn't stop the pain. There was an almost zero chance that he would ever wake up. They'd all lost a comrade then. But Minako... she'd had her suspicions. Well, not so much suspicions, but they'd gone out a lot, come back in together a lot, it was clear she liked to be with him (even if it was just as a friend), and...
He had told her not to cry.
"... I think we should walk her home," she added, voice barely more than a whisper.
She didn't get an answer immediately, as this was the moment Mitsuru chose to walk in, asking them to meet her later. Minako finally moved, to look at Mitsuru... and kept looking. Her eyes never focused, continuously glazed, empty, absent. Mitsuru, wrapped up in her own grief, didn't notice as she left the room the way she came. Or perhaps it was simply because she hadn't been there all day.
Junpei and Yukari exchanged a more worried glance than before, and Junpei finally took the opportunity to move, nodding to Yukari. His answer. Yukari nodded back.
"Hey, Minako," she said, and the same absent gaze fell upon her. It was shattering to watch. "Let's walk home together, okay?"
A nod.
She managed the standing up, even as her head hung low. She managed the walk to the school gates. She managed the methodical pacing of one foot in front of the other. Somehow, she managed her way back to the Dorms.
But that was probably only because Yukari held one hand tight, and Junpei had an arm over her other shoulder, steering her, leading their leader, their best friend in the entire world, back to their sanctuary away from prying eyes. Perhaps in the fear, or the knowledge, that if they let go, the world would slant, slide away from her, and she'd fall. She'd never make it back.
And as they went, she finally cried, silent tears swabbing her cheeks.
The three of them didn't say a word.
- - -
October 6th, 2009
Minako
If she hadn’t have looked - and she half cursed the fact she had - Minako wouldn’t have noticed that his door was ajar.
It wasn’t that far ajar. Only slightly, but it wasn’t shut enough to really come up with the reputation of a truly ‘shut door’. And, when she saw it, that was when she stopped, ignoring her friends downstairs, still at a loss even after two days since everything had gone from right to wrong.
She pushed, and the door didn’t hold up much resistance. Soon she was inside: stood in the room that had once belonged to Shinjiro. It still did, but...
It looked exactly the same as it had done the last time she was here, not that she wanted to think about that. The only difference was a box on the desk.
His things for fighting. His evoker. Some pills. A coat hanging on the back of a chair. She lifted one arm of the coat. It still smelled of him, the last thing that really did. No other reminders.
There wasn’t really anything else to expect from the room. But all the same, it seemed to hit her then, and she felt crippled, sinking to her knees.
"Shinjiro." The name was broken. She never got it all out.
- - -
October 9th, 2009
Minako, Ken
They passed in the hallway, and it was only the quiet plea that made Minako stop.
"Um, Minako-san..." Ken muttered, staring down at his shoes, biting his lip. "Could you... come someplace with me?"
She nodded. Part of her knew exactly where he wanted to go.
And they went. Went back on the train, to Tatsumi Port Island.
To the alley.
"I'm sorry," Ken muttered as they got there, wiping his eyes. "I'm so sorry."
Minako hadn't said much of a word; neither of them had. Not to each other. There hadn't been a need for words, just empty silence. But here, she finally did. And it was true. There had never been any hate in her heart. Grief and sadness took its toll, as it always would. She'd had her grieving; not so much moved on, but let go her sadness, banished it away, focusing on Shinjiro still breathing in the hospital. Her words would save Ken, at least, from falling into darkness.
"I forgive you."
- - -
November 4th, 2009
Mitsuru, Akihiko
Everything was insignificant. There was no need to move. She just wanted to stay... to stay here, pretend it hadn't happened, that it didn't exist.
And to scream his name at the never waking form before her. "Father!"
But there was never a reponse. Never would be another response.
Mitsuru had no will anymore.
Strong arms took her up, arms that she first battered away, only wanting to cry into her father's blood stained shirt. She didn't have words to scream to put her down, and eventually her arms fell to the gentle blocks they received, blocks that would normally have had nothing on her...
Her father disappeared from view, as he pulled her away, and another wave of anxiety and fear hit, her fist reaching up to pound against her rescuer's shoulder... but it never hit. It just... stopped there, and her head, her hair, her curls, slumped into his chest, and she sobbed.
Akihiko let her. She wasn't light, and neither was she heavy, but he never let her go, even as the shudders stopped and her body ceased to spasm, and she lapsed in and out of consciousness. He carried her, to the dorms, to the flight of stairs, to the time the girls eventually prised her away.
He didn't ler her go.
For those hours, he was the lifeline. The single attachment to the world that had shaken and fallen apart.
And even as true sleep came, he stayed by her side until her tears ceased and there were no more dreams. He didn't let her go.
- - -
December 4th, 2009
Aigis
She'd been so sure of everything up until then. Easy, simple. Fire a gun, defeat the bad guy, save the person she cared for most. But it hadn't gone that way at all.
Now there was darkness. Shadows creeping round her vision: and not the normal kind, the kind she defeated every day. True shadows, the dark, creeping in around her.
All of a sudden, it hit her. She was going to shut-not even that. She was going to die. Die. She didn't want that. Her mechanical heart ached, her body ached, her mind ached. And... something that was so alien, an emotion she'd never felt, but now she did. The feeling, the bitter, dreadful feeling that vexed her already broken systems was overwhelming.
There was only one thing she felt in the never ending emptiness.
"I'm scared..."
And then there was just black.
AFTERWORD
I'm not... entirely sure what all of this is. But it's been sitting on my hardrive since September, and, I don't think it's going to gain much progression other than short thoughts for each 'day' that I'm covering. And, to be honest, I like it like that. Snapshots into lives when the pain or the grief was the most. So, I think it's time to share what I've got. I may write more, eventually, over time, as I think of certain situations... but for now, it's this.
For the whole three things with Shinjiro, I always thought it was strange how you just... got over it, and how no one spotted a thing. This was mostly written just after I'd completed it just to settle the plot bunny's hopping around in my head.
For the scene with Ken, Ken does indeed ask you to go to the alley with him in game, on one of the evenings. It's actually pretty heartbreaking... sure, they only get there and he starts crying, but, yeah, personal interpreation.
I may write more snapshots in the future, but for now, I'm happy with it as it is, and, as I haven't touched it for a while, I think it's time for me to put it up.