12Pisces
Chapter 2:Io and Penthesilea
Disclaimer: The author does not have ownership over Persona 3 Portable or any of its characters, locations and such; they belong to Atlus. This fanfiction, however, does belong to her. If she did own Persona 3 Portable, Shinjiro x Hamuko would be canon.
Warning: Violence, sexual themes and other things that would warrant a warning. Spoilers from the game are to be expected. There are also major differences from the actual storyline, such as the fact that both Minato and Hamuko exist here and Death is sealed inside them on March 1999 instead of May 1999.
Pairings: (Major) HamukoxShinjiro; (Minor) HamukoxRyoji, HamukoxKen, HamukoxMinato, AigisxMinato, ChidorixJunpei.
Author's Notes: Second chapter, yey! Took me long enough, huh? Sorry if I'm confused with the locations and the overall flow of events in the actual games. I tried to look for some kind of walkthrough with much of the story spoilers as possible just to get an idea what happens on which date. Maybe you could help me with that, huh? I don't really need a word for word of the conversation everyday in the game, just what happened because there are heavy changes seeing as both Minato and Hamuko are alive. I'd play the game again if I could just to help with writing but I accidentally upgraded my PSP to the official firmware 6.35… Yeah, I'm a sucker.
Oh, and I realize you may start thinking that the story is in Hamuko's point of view. It's not completely but, the fact that Minato is a silent character makes it hard for me to drag the focus off Hamuko who can easily steal the spotlight from her brother… Not to mention, the major pairing does have Hamuko in it. Also, I think that some of you may notice some animosity in my writing whenever Yukari comes up – I don't hate her but she makes it so hard not to.
[April 6, 2009 – 23:50 Monday
Anehazuru]
"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry. The next stop is Iwatodai… This is the final train bound for Tatsumi Port Island. Please take care to board before our departure."
There was a yawn as a blue haired teen rubbed at his eyes, straightening up in his seat and trying his best not to lean on the brunette beside him… Not that she had minded. "We'll have to get off the monorail in a few minutes, Minato-nii, don't fall asleep on me…" she smiled to him, squeezing his hand gently. To anyone who didn't know them, they must have looked like a romantic couple – they looked nothing like each other after all, despite being twins.
[April 6, 2009 – 23:59 Monday
Iwatodai Station]
It was very late, almost midnight in fact and there was the shuffle of feet as the monorail's doors opened to let passengers off to the station and to let others on – a pair of teenagers, around the age of seventeen, walked out before the doors closed behind them.
One of them was a boy, with navy blue hair, dark blue eyes, fair skin and a sleepy look on his face. He towered a few inches from his female companion who looked like his polar opposite. Her cheery disposition seemed to give her a warm aura about her; her crimson eyes and brown hair (held back by barrettes that formed the Roman numeral XXII) were vibrant and there was a small smile on her lips. Together, they held hands as they walked unto the paved floor, each sporting casual clothes; the boy sporting a simple white shirt and jeans, the girl wearing a white turtleneck, a red scarf around her neck and jeans. They also had their own NW-S20x neck-strap MP3 player and sported ATH-EM700 earphones in the colors blue and red, respectively. The MP3 players weren't being used though but there was a comfortable silence between the two as they walked along, following a map towards the dorm they were assigned to.
"Imouto," the boy suddenly said when they were at an intersection. The girl, hearing her brother call her, looked at him and tilted her head. "Do you mind if we can grab a snack before heading to the dorm?" he said, pointing to a takoyaki stand bearing the name Octopia. There was a pleading look in his eyes despite his calm facade and his sister giggled.
She looked at Minato and at the stall, seeing the shop owner preparing to close down very late and nodded. "It looks like it's closing time and it's very late as it is but I guess there's no harm in trying," she said, heading towards to try and coax the vendor in selling them some of the octopus balls. But they hadn't even taken one step when the air around them suddenly became heavy, everything turned an eerie grin and the smell of blood permeated through the air. The lights went out and where the vendor had stood was a coffin.
The two of them froze and the silence no longer comfortable. "Let's forget about the takoyaki then," Minato frowned, obviously annoyed and started pulling Hamuko in the direction they were originally headed.
This thing, what just happened, they both called it the Hidden Hour… it wasn't their first time experiencing it. It seemed to be an everyday occurrence for both of them although they could find no explanation for it and they couldn't even remember when they actually started experiencing this. This just became of their everyday life and as long as they were careful, they remained safe – although the two of them knew that this happening was something of importance; they just didn't know what was so important about it. Time would stop, everything would cease to function and only they were alive during this, as far as they knew; they didn't question it anymore after years of trying to figure it out. Both also knew that it was safer to be indoors when this happened so Hamuko didn't think twice about agreeing with his brother as they hastened their walking speed towards Iwatodai Dorm.
A few blocks ahead, a building came into view: the Gekkoukan High School, Iwatodai Dorm – or, at least, it should be since this was the address that was written down on their admission pamphlet. It was rather big and fancy for a student dorm but they just hurried in through the front doors, surprised that it wasn't locked.
[April 6, 2009 – Hidden Hour
Iwatodai Dorm: Lounge]
Everyone was probably asleep in their coffins and they both didn't expect anybody else to be alive… Which was why they were startled when a voice greeted them, "Welcome." Hamuko almost screamed bloody murder if Minato didn't place his hand over her mouth; the boy who had greeted them just smiled in amusement. "You're late. I've been waiting a long time," he continued, as if nothing had just happened between the three.
Hamuko nudged her brother in the rib to let go of her as she clutched her chest, trying to calm down. "Good lord; you startled us there. We didn't think someone else would be awake at this time," she laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head sheepishly and exchanging glances with Minato. This was the first time that they encountered someone who was alive during the Hidden Hour aside from the two of them.
Minato just gave her a raised eyebrow; 'Us?'
Just then, the boy was handing them a piece of paper. There was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, "If you want to proceed then please sign here. It's a contract," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "There's no need to be scared. It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions," he added, his smile growing wider as he did.
"Oh, it's a waiver?" Hamuko asked, looking at the paper. If it was a waiver, it was a pretty weird one as the only words written on it was "I chooseth this fate of mine own free will," and below it was a blank where they could sign their names. Yep, nothing to be scared off and Hamuko quickly took out a pen and signed her name.
Hamuko Arisato.
When it was Minato's turn to sign the contract, Hamuko took this time to look at the boy. He was wearing clothes that where of black and white stripes, something akin what they call prison uniform although it only made the child to look even more harmless. He had fair skin, bright blue eyes and dark hair. There was a familiarity about him but Hamuko and she couldn't help herself as she asked, "Have we met before?" and Minato looked up from the paper to give his sister an incredulous look.
The boy tilted his head at Hamuko for a second and seemed to think, before he shook his head almost hesitantly. "I don't think so…" he said, although when he said this, his speech seemed a bit off. It was like giving an actor a new line an hour before a performance after he just memorized a whole script.
Minato just shrugged it off and finished his signature; the boy probably did this every time there was a newcomer to the dorm and being thrown off course was something new.
Minato Arisato.
He handed it back and straightened up, giving the pen to his sister and waited to be directed to their room; they had asked to be in the same one and, hopefully, their request was understood. In fact, they were glad when the pamphlet said that this specific dorm was co-ed.
The boy's smile was a bit smaller when the contract was back with him – as if he regretted even giving it to them in the first place. "…Very well," he said in the same controlled voice as before. "Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away. And so it begins…" he said and Hamuko could have sworn there was a sigh.
In the blink of an eye, the boy disappeared.
Minato froze and had his hand in his pocket, ready to grab his Swiss army knife at a moment's notice when they realized what happened. They didn't even have a chance to breathe though when another voice cut into the uncomfortable silence.
"…Who's there!" a female voice called out as a teenager cautiously walked towards them, her brown eyes wide. She gave them a look as if they had both grown an extra head each, "How can you be… But it's…! Don't tell me…" she continued and there was a look of realization on her face, as if an answer presented itself to her albeit it being a very wrong answer. But what she was thinking of and what she thought she knew wasn't important to the Arisato twins. None of it mattered when they spotted the strange gun in her hands and Minato stepped protectively in front of his sister with the Swiss army knife in hand; Hamuko got into a fighting stance too and narrowed her eyes.
It seemed though that the Hidden Hour and the boy weren't the only oddity they would be experiencing tonight; as if some sort of god up there was mocking the two of them and was using them as a form of amusement. The unknown girl suddenly lifted the strange gun and, instead of pointing it at them, pointed it at herself and pressed it against her forehead. And they thought that they had seen everything already but it seemed that they were proven wrong.
Her hands were shaky as she made to pull the trigger but there was a shout. "Wait!"
[April 7, 2009 – 00:01 Tuesday
Iwatodai Dorm: Lounge]
Everything suddenly became alive around them as the Hidden Hour disappeared; the lights turned on, nightlife became apparent from the sounds outside and there was a dog barking into the night. Even the tension and the fear that had overwhelmed them were lifted and Minato's grip on his knife loosened and Hamuko's fighting stance slackened. The gun was dropped as the girl looked around in a panic. "The lights…"
The new arrival, a female with wine red hair chuckled and smiled. "I didn't think you two would arrive so late," she said as if the girl next to her hadn't just shown a sign of suicidal tendencies and that Minato could have stabbed her for it. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."
The other took a glance at the two and whispered, although the siblings could very well hear her, asking "Who are they?"
"They are transfer students. It was a last minute decision to assign them here. Both will be eventually moved to a room in the normal dorm," she answered, still with the same amusement twinkling in her eyes.
"…Is it okay for them to be here?"
"I guess we'll see…" came another reply as if the two weren't there and Hamuko coughed out loud on purpose to remind them that they were, indeed, here. There was a chuckle from the Kirijo girl, "Forgive us. This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you," she said, finally acknowledging their existence and saying it as if it'll help the situation at all. Maybe she forgot to mention the part where she asks them to look after her and make sure she doesn't shoot herself since they were in the same year level.
"Hi, I'm Yukari," she greeted with an awkward smile.
"Why do you have a gun?" Hamuko blurted out without thinking, her hands behind her back as she narrowed her eyes at the girl. She didn't look like someone who was with the emo crowd.
The girl was flustered at the question. "Huh? Um, well, it's sorta like a hobby… Well, not a hobby, but…" she struggled and Hamuko was able to resist the urge to have her make up her own mind.
Mitsuru was quick to jump in for a save and just smiled, "You know how it is these days… It's for self-defense. It's not a real gun, of course." Minato sighed and replied about his knife being real and about being his sister being a real butt kicker. She only laughed, "Well, it's getting late. The boy's stay on the second floor and girl's stay on the third floor; your things should already be there. I suggest you both tuck in for the night."
"…But we requested to be in the same room," Hamuko said with a small pout.
There was a small blush on Yukari's face. "Well, you can't expect that to happen. It's a co-ed dorm but that doesn't mean you get to sleep with the guys in the same room," she said, putting her hands on her hips as if she was explaining this to a pair of toddlers.
"What's wrong with being in the same room with my imouto?" Minato asked with indifference, Hamuko sending a small and grateful smile his way.
And Yukari became even more flustered. "Imou… to? O-oh! You two are siblings… But you two don't look like – I thought you were," she said, clearly struggling in embarrassment from assuming that the two were romantically involved. Then, she stopped speaking for a moment and took in a deep breath to compose herself. "Well, that still isn't a good enough reason for you two to be exempt to the rules; it's not like you two are glued to each other," she said with a tone of finality and there was a mumble from Hamuko that sounded like she had said "I wish we were". Defeated and downcast, the female Arisato just nodded and slumped forward. "Well… I'll show you the way. Follow me," she nodded, heading up the stairs as the two followed behind.
[April 7, 2009 – 01:29 Tuesday
Iwatodai Dorm: Third Floor Hallway]
After having seen where Minato's room was and letting him get some rest, the two female juniors went up to the third floor and Hamuko was shown her room which was… right above her brother's. A plan already started brewing in the girl's head and she weighed the pros and cons of cutting out a whole into her room's floorboards so that she could get into Minato's room undetected. But her scheming was cut off when Yukari spoke up again.
"This is it; pretty easy to remember, huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall," she beamed, the animosity Hamuko was trying to convey failing. "So, any questions?" And a lot of questions flooded into the girl's mind.
'Are you really suicidal?'
'Why do you have a collar around your neck?'
'Why are you trying to keep me away from my Minato-nii!'
And she wanted to ask all of these to Yukari but decided on choosing something that didn't make her sound nuts, paranoid, weird, rude or all of the above. "We signed a contract…" she said, remembering the boy from before but she was obviously asking the wrong person as there was a confused look on Yukari's face. "You know what? Never mind," she sighed.
But the look of confusion on Yukari's face turned to a look of concern. "Okay?" she muttered before something flashed in her eyes. "Um… Can I ask you something? On your way here from the station, was everything okay?"
She was probably asking about the Hidden Hour and Hamuko was about to reply but stopped herself. 'Remember what Minato-nii told you: Never talk to others about the Hidden Hour; they won't believe us. And even if they do, it'll only make things complicated…' So she just put on a small smile and tilted her head at the girl. "What do you mean?"
Yukari crossed her arms. "You know what I – You know what? Never mind that too. You and your brother are fine… So, I think I'd better get going," she said with a laugh as if she had just shared a joke before walking off towards the stairs. What the? She and Mitsuru got to stay up late while she and Minato where ushered to their rooms like a bunch of toddlers? Then, she stopped in her tracks and looked back at Hamuko, "Um… I'm sure you two still have other questions but let's save them for later, okay? Good night," she continued before taking one step up the stairs. "Oh, and one more thing; I don't think you should try to sneak into your brother's room… I heard Mitsuru-senpai can be pretty scary," she added and finally disappeared from view.
Hamuko glared at where the other junior was standing before redirecting her glare towards the door to her room as if she was trying to burn holes into it. 'If I'm going to make holes into anything, I should do it to the floors,' was her final thought before she quietly headed towards the stairs not even bothering to look inside her own room.
[April 7, 2009 – 02:50 Tuesday
Iwatodai Dorm: Minato's Room]
Hamuko managed to sneak into her brother's room with little effort seeing as Mitsuru, Yukari and anyone else who lived in this dorm wasn't lingering around the second floor and she closed the door silently behind her, only letting out a sigh of relief once she knew that she was in the clear.
Looking around, she surveyed the room and wondered if all the rooms in the dorm were like this. There were two shelves hanging on the wall on the right side when you entered, with a side table next to it and a bed in the corner. There was an alarm clock and a calendar at the head of the bed which had a blue checkered comforter – there was the form of a body underneath it and Hamuko pouted; it seemed that Minato was already asleep. On the left side, right next to the door was a mini-fridge, a sink, a mirror and a heater. There was also a study table and a televi – wait, what? A television? Did every room have that?
But she would have to rejoice and be in awe another time as she shuffled over to the bed and sat on the edge. She tried her hardest not to wake her brother but, apparently, there was no need of that when she heard the sound of chewing. Hamuko threw the covers off the bed and almost raged out loud when she found Minato lying on the bed while eating chocolate pocky. She felt betrayed in the most humorous sense possible.
Minato rolled over to face her and swallowed with a bored look on his face. "Took you long enough," he greeted as if a girl sneaking into a boy's room was the most normal thing in the entire world – which, in fact, it was… at least for them anyway. Hamuko just gaped and he gave her a raised brow. "What? I told you I was hungry," he said, before scooting nearer to the wall to make room for her on the bed.
The girl just laughed lightheartedly before moving to lie next to Minato, facing him as she did so that they could press their foreheads together… after he finished the last of the pocky, of course. "You didn't save me one," she smiled as her crimson eyes started into his azure ones.
"You don't like chocolate pocky," he said matter-of-factly.
She rolled her eyes, "Well, that's true. Anyway, good night… Minato-nii," she sighed, closing her eyes and placing her arm around his waist before drifting off to sleep. The last thing she took note of was the reflection in her brother's eyes and she could have sworn she saw a blue butterfly in them.
Minato nodded, resting his heavy eyes as well. The last thing he took note of was how red her sister's eyes were and how they reminded him of strawberries… Maybe he should buy strawberry pocky tomorrow; Hamuko liked those better than chocolate pocky.
[April 7, 2009 – 07:20 Tuesday
Iwatodai Dorm: Minato's Room]
Hamuko shot up from the bed, sweating and breathing raggedly as she clutched at her chest… it was the nightmares, again. The moment she realized where she was, she let out a sigh of relief and she looked at Minato, hoping she didn't wake him up. But he was there, wide awake and he was staring at her with a blank look on his face. "The nightmares again?" he asked, the girl nodding and his brows furrowed. "Didn't they stop?"
Another nod. "I guess going to the place where our parents died does that, huh?" she laughed, lying back down and placing a hand on his cheek, fighting the tears that threatened to come. The nightmares… or rather, memories of when their parents died – only she had them and they just assumed that Minato was a lot stronger than her so he didn't have them like she did. It was on the Moonlight Bridge during their birthday, ten years ago. One second, they were in the car safe and sound and in the blink of an eye – Minato and Hamuko were a couple of feet away from the burning heap that was their family car and four others. Nobody could explain how it happened but they just said that the two were probably thrown off during the blast, no matter how impossible it sounded. There was something wrong about that nightmare, as if it was a broken memory but she could never figure out what was wrong. "I'm sorry, Minato-nii… You can go back to sleep," she muttered, closing her eyes as well.
"Can't," was his only reply.
She groaned; "What do you mean you can't? Falling asleep is, like, your part of your top three specialties aside from eating like you're a bottomless hole and being oblivious to female affection," she said, snuggling closer as the cold wind got to her… Who opened the darn window?
There was a pause… "The alarm clock didn't work; we're going to be late for school."
And Hamuko's eyes shot open and she fell out of bed. "What? What time is it?" she asked, scrambling to her knees and looking at the clock. She groaned, "You could have told me so," she whined, throwing off her jeans and tossing it at Minato's face, snatching the school uniform in the bag she had brought with her. She managed to place her skirt on and she threw off her shirt as that was sent flying at her brother's face as well when the world froze.
It wasn't the Hidden Hour that made them freeze but the creaking of the door opened as Yukari ran in, screaming "Hamuko's not in her ro-" but she couldn't continue when she gaped seeing the setting before her. There was Minato in bed, face covered in a shirt and Hamuko struggling to fix the school blouse, her brassiere showing. Yukari's face grew red on cue… talk about awkward situation indeed.
More Author's Notes:
Well, I hope I didn't sound like I was bashing Yukari. Again, I don't hate her but it's so hard to like her especially early on in the game… and in the middle… it's easier to like her when the game is almost at the end.
Oh, and some people asked me if this was going to be a day-to-day run through as if you were playing the game. No, not really – if I did that, I'll never be done. I'm going to write out important parts of the main plots, maybe some of the Social Link events (although some would just have to be implied) and some important battles.
Shinjiro will be joining SEES a bit earlier than in the game in this story and as for fighting, if this was the game, Minato and Hamuko will be considered as one character in the party since they'll have to summon the Persona together. They summon the Persona together story wise but when it comes to fighting without the Persona, they team up most likely.
As for which Social Links I'll follow, this is the table. I tried to get an even number from both Minato and Hamuko but I tailor fitted the list to which I was most familiar with and which ones would fit the story. The Social Link characters who weren't chosen will still appear in the story though.
* Fool: Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad
* Magician: Junpei Iori (Kenji Tomochika – I finished his Social Link but SEES members take priority)
* Priestess: Fuuka Yamagishi
* Empress: Mitsuru Kirijo
* Emperor: Hidetoshi Odagiri
* Hierophant: Bunkichi and Mitsuko
* Lovers: Yukari Takeba
* Chariot: Kazushi Miyamoto & Rio Iwasaki (Well, they both have to be in a Sports Club, right?)
* Justice: Ken Amada (I adore Chihiro Fushimi; in fact, I dated her when I was playing with Minato – but, again, SEES members take priority. Chihiro would just have to appear during the Emperor Social Links, I guess)
* Hermit: Saori Hasegawa (Trying to fit both Minato and/or Hamuko into playing Innocent Sin Online didn't make sense in the context of Pisces – so Saori Hasegawa it is!)
* Fortune: Ryoji Mochizuki (Poor Keisuke Hiraga-san but Mr. Death is pivotal in this story… Oh well, you'll appear in Junpei's Social Link events anyway!)
* Strength: Koromaru (Again, SEES Member and awesome dog; but Yuko Nishigawa will appear in both Chariot Social Link events)
* Hanged Man: Maiko
* Death: Pharos
* Temperance: Andre Roland Jean Gérard (Also known as Bebe)
* Devil: Tanaka
* Tower: Mutatsu
* Star: Akihiko Sanada (I never finished Mamoru Hayase's Social Link so I don't know much about him except that he likes to have eating contests with Minato)
* Moon: Shinjiro Aragaki (This IS a Shinjiro x Hamuko fanfic; it's a no-brainer that the Moon Arcana has to be Aragaki-senpai. Nozomi Suemitsu would have to be in the sidelines along with Mamoru… maybe just have the two of them eat with Minato sometimes)
* Sun: Akinari Kamiki
* Judgement: Nyx Annihilation Team
* Aeon: Aigis