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“Seriously?” Yukari complained, raising an eyebrow at Junpei as he grinned smugly, holding up the Black Frost doll high in the air and shaking it tauntingly. “You’re the only one who wants the stupid thing anyway, Junpei.”
“Nuh-uh, Ken’ll totally want this!” Junpei argued back, lowering his arm. “Bet you a hundred yen.”
“You’re on.”
“He’ll deny it, don’t worry,” Minako laughed, as she walked alongside her friends. The three had, with the news that no-one particularly felt up to the task of tackling Tartarus that night, decided to spend their afternoon at the arcade. Yukari had been the only one of the three not to get enough tickets for a prize, with Minako clutching her arms around a large stuffed turtle, almost as big as their 10-year-old ally.
Junpei nodded, bumping his shoulder into Minako’s side. “He totally would. ‘Geez, why would I want some kids doll?’” he imitated Ken, raising his voice, before dropping into a snicker. “Then we’d find him late at night curled up against it on the couch, like with Koromaru.”
Yukari shoved Junpei, causing him to stumble into Minako, and huffed. “Don’t make fun of him, asshole,” she muttered, though she couldn’t hide her own amusement at the idea. Minako grunted as she shoved Junpei back with her shoulder, sending him stumbling right back into Yukari, who yelped. “Hey, watch it!”
“Why am I always in the middle?” Junpei muttered as he straightened himself, glaring at both of the girls.
“Because neither of us are stupid enough?” Minako helpfully pointed out, grinning shamelessly.
“Thanks,” he said, flipping Minako off, who gave a mock-scandalised gasp in response, clamping his hands over her plushie’s eyes.
“Don’t act like that in front of my child!” she scolded, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Kame-san is too young for such incivility!”
“Incivility, really?” Yukari asked, raising an eyebrow, earning her a raised middle finger from Minako right back. She crossed her arms. “Wait, now who’s the one who’s being uncivil?”
There was a quiet pause, before the three broke out into laughter, rounding the last corner to their dorm. Hopping up the steps, Junpei pushed open the door, holding it as he bowed and gestured. “After you, Mina,” he said, before shrugging. “And Yuka-tan too, I guess.”
Yukari completed the trifecta of middle fingers as she passed Junpei, only to frown at the presence of a large cardboard crate in the middle of the hall. Minako stepped over to the sign-in sheet, scribbling down their names as she looked over. “Who ordered something?” she asked, as Junpei grinned.
“That’s mine! Hold on, lemme just…” He pushed past Yukari, checking the label before nodding, dropping his doll and hauling it up with him. He carried it into the lounge, glancing at Fuuka as she tapped away on her laptop, leaning over. “Hey, did anyone open this, Fuuka?”
She glanced up, before shaking her head. “No, although Mitsuru-senpai had to stop Akihiko-senpai from opening it up.”
“Of course she did,” Yukari muttered, glancing over at the slumbering Shinjiro before picking up the doll and tossing it at the nearby Ken. “Hey, Ken, Junpei got you this at the arcade.”
“Wha-” Ken blinked, catching the doll and glancing at it, before tossing it to the side and scoffing. “Geez, why would I want some kids doll?” he complained, turning back to his homework, only to look up as Junpei and Minako broke out into quiet laughter. “...What’s so funny?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Yukari sighed, stepping through to the dining room. She took a seat next to Mitsuru, glancing at the cover of the book the older girl was reading, before turning to Akihiko and Aigis. “So…”
“Who’s up for cards?” Minako said, grinning as she grabbed the deck from the nearby drawers, giving it a shake as she sat her turtle up on a nearby chair. Aigis stared at it, almost as if she was trying to determine the reason for its presence, as Minako sat down next to her. “I’ve got cash weighing in my pocket from last night’s Tartarus trip, and I wanna see if I can’t double it.”
“No can do, Mina,” Junpei said, nodding down the the box. “I gotta set this up. Hey, Ai-chan, can you give me a hand?”
Aigis blinked, turning away from her staring match with the turtle, and nodding. “Of course, Iori,” she said, standing. Minako grabbed the plush and moved it into Aigis’ seat, patting its shell.
“Don’t worry, Ai, Kame-san will keep your seat warm!” she called out.
“...Thank you, Kame-san,” Aigis replied, before the two disappeared upstairs. Ken wandered in from the living room, as Minako grinned widely.
“So, who’s up for a friendly game of cards again?”
“Okay, that’s bullshit!” Yukari cried out, slamming her hands onto the table and pointing an accusing finger at Minako, who looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. “How are you doing that?”
“Doing what?” came the reply, as Minako smugly gathered up her winnings, tugging her chair in to let Akihiko pass to get drinks from the kitchen. “All I’m seeing is me cleaning house while you two need to get better at poker.”
“You have to be cheating, you have to be!” Yukari accused. Minako put a hand to her chest and gasped.
“I am shocked, shocked , and appalled that you would accuse me of doing such a thing.” She picked up the cards, shuffled them, and shook her head. “The nerve, I am simply here having a good time, and to impugn my honor is simply-”
She went to deal, before Mitsuru held out her hand. “Give me the cards.”
Minako blinked, before handing them over, raising an eyebrow. “And you too, senpai? Does no-one trust little old Minako?”
“No,” Mitsuru said simply, as she slid four cards away, before dealing out one face up, the King of Spades. She repeated the process four more times to show what Minako’s hand would have been - the Ace, Queen, Jack, and Ten of Spades soon followed. She simply looked at Minako and raised an eyebrow.
Minako grinned shamelessly. “It’s a coincidence, I assure you.”
"I would be more inclined to believe you," Mitsuru said, as she gathered up the cards to shuffle them, "if that hadn't happened the last three times you shuffled in a row."
Minako shrugged. "Hey, the rest of my life is cursed, maybe I just have all my luck in card games."
A clinking sound came from behind her, making her shoulders drop as she groaned. She reached into the pile of money in front of her, pulling out a hundred yen coin and dropping it into the "Self-Hating" jar Akihiko held out as he emerged from the kitchen. "That jar is so stupid," she muttered.
"I agree," Shinjiro called out from the couch, lazily holding up a hand.
"That's because you two are the only idiots who have to use it, now shut up and play," Yukari said, picking up her cards and frowning. "Are you sure you shuffled them, Mitsuru-senpai?"
“I’m afraid you’re just that unlucky, Takeba,” Mitsuru said, looking at her own cards coolly. Akihiko slid into his chair, passing around the cans of drink he’d grabbed and picking up his cards, smirking slightly.
Ken moved to start the round, only to be interrupted footsteps coming from upstairs. He blinked, staring at the staircase, as Aigis and Junpei descended, the former looking somewhat apologetic as she held Junpei’s hand, and the latter shaking his head. “It’s fine, Ai-chan, my own stupid fault anyway.”
“It was not, I should not have dropped it so quickly,” Aigis said, inspecting Junpei’s hand before letting it go. “Nothing appears to be broken, you will be fine.”
“About time, jeez!” Yukari said, turning to face the pair. “Junpei, come help us beat Minako, she’s cheating again.”
“I am not!” Minako whined, holding up her hands. “I’m being falsely accused, and Mitsuru’s using her sensory powers anyway!”
“She’s what?!” Ken and Akihiko immediately turned to Mitsuru, who simply shrugged unapologetically.
“I can’t help it if my Persona gives me answers,” she said, a small smirk on her face. Yukari groaned, slamming her head down onto the table.
“Why do I play cards with any of you?”
“Because we’re all gambling addicts, now deal me in,” Junpei reassured her, patting her shoulder as he took his seat and tapped the table. Mitsuru nodded, grabbing the deck and dealing out the cards.
"What did you need Aigis for anyway?" Minako asked, as she grabbed her can and took a sip-
"To break into your room."
-only to spit it back out onto the table as Aigis helpfully replied, causing Junpei to facepalm. Fuuka’s eyes widened as she gasped, hands over her mouth as she looked in from the couches.
“Junpei, did you…?” she asked slowly. Junpei shook his head, waving his hands frantically.
“It’s not like that, I didn’t do anything weird!” he defended himself. “I just was leaving something there!”
“I swear, if you left stink bombs in my room again- ” Minako growled, standing up.
“No! Look- I’ll show you, okay? I wanted it to be a surprise, but I guess that’s ruined.” He shot an annoyed glance at Aigis, who frowned.
“I am sorry, Iori.”
He sighed, before shaking his head. “Nah, it’s fine, Ai-chan, you’re cool.” He got up from his chair, as the others followed him up the stairs, to the third floor, and right to the end of the hall where Minako’s room was. Minako grabbed her keys, unlocking the door and pushing it open, as they funnelled in.
Everything seemed normal to Minako at first, the room just as messy as it usually was. She quickly kicked some stray clothes under her bed before Mitsuru or Yukari could see and comment on them, frowning. However, it wasn’t long before she saw the addition to her room.
On her desk rested what looked like a record player, a large metal horn coming up from the wooden base. A small collection of records rested beside her table, held up in a stand. She frowned for a moment, walking over, as Yukari spoke up.
“Seriously? She’s got her MP3 player, what’s she need an old record player for?”
Junpei pressed his lips together, staying quiet as Minako looked it over. It was good quality, clearly Junpei had paid a lot of money for it, but Yukari was right. Minako couldn’t think of a reason she’d need a record player, since any song she wanted she could listen to on her player. Then she noticed a key detail - there weren’t any cables or battery ports on the casing, just a single hand crank.
“It’s mechanical…” she muttered, glancing back at Junpei who nodded. Her eyes widened slightly, as he just smiled at her. He’d remembered, she realised, from months ago, how she had mentioned hating the quiet of the Dark Hour. One of the first conversations they’d had as fellow members of SEES, an off-handed comment that didn’t even get into the depths of her hatred and fear of the oppressive, suffocating silence.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she rushed forwards, clamping her arms around him in a tight hug. He let out a grunt as he steadied himself, before hugging her as well, patting her back gently and nodding.
“Th-thanks…” she sobbed out, hiding her face as she shook. He chuckled, pulling back and ruffling her hair slightly.
“It’s not a problem, Mina. We gotta watch out for each other, after all.” Fuuka let out a small gasp as she realised the significance of that fact, smiling up at Junpei. The other members of SEES looked varyingly confused, bored, or in Koromaru’s case, hungry.
Minako wiped her eyes with her wrist, chuckling lightly. “Right… anyway, we got a game of cards to finish, don’t we?”
“Hell yeah!” Junpei cheered, punching her shoulder, lightly. “I’m gonna kick your ass, Mina, don’t you worry!”
“I’ll shuffle!” Minako called, herding everyone out of her room.
“Like hell!” Yukari immediately shot back.
As she shut the door, Minako gave one last glance back at the mechanical player on her desk, smiling fondly. Ten years of oppressive silence, sleepless nights, and lonely days… She’d thought she was so alone, until she’d returned to Tatsumi Port Island. But the player, sitting among pictures, toys, used movie tickets, and half-remembered notes from study sessions that never seemed to help, was just another reminder that Minako had a place here, as well as something she’d seemed to lack those ten long years. Something which had healed the wounds those years of loneliness and fear had left her with.
A family.