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Akihiko first kissed Shinjiro in September 2009.
It’s about a week after his talk with Ken, Shinjiro’s just rejoined SEES, and Akihiko… he isn’t sure what he’s feeling, exactly. He knows he’s relieved to have his best friend back in the dorms and safe. He knows Ken is wary of Shinjiro and that makes Akihiko uneasy, but he doesn’t show it. He knows that they’re getting closer and closer to clearing Tartarus every day.
So it’s a quiet afternoon when, while out walking Koromaru, Akihiko grabs Shinjiro by the shoulders and kisses him hard on the mouth.
He pulls away just as quickly. They are in public, after all, even if the street is completely deserted. He’s not even sure what he was hoping to gain from doing this. Shinjiro stares at him like he’s grown a second head before laughing. It’s harsh and angry and beautiful. “Fuckin’ hell, Aki,” he says. Akihiko opens his mouth to apologize, but then Shinjiro’s hands are cupping his cheeks and he’s kissing him again and wow, this feels good. “It’s about goddamn time.” Akihiko doesn’t so much hear the words as feel them reverberate against his mouth. It’s even more of a rush than a good match.
“You know I’m no good at this kind of stuff, Shinji,” he whispers into the shared space between their lips. Shinjiro steps away and already Akihiko misses his presence. “It’s never been my strong point.”
“Then you’ll just need to exercise those just as much as you do your muscles, idiot,” Shinjiro teases. It’s the typical kind of insult he throws, but it’s delivered with such fondness that Akihiko nearly laughs. Instead, he just smiles. Neither of them says what they are, why they’ve avoided this, and neither feels the need to.
They’re still Aki and Shinji, after all.
. . .
They spend September doing what most would consider the exact opposite of usual couple stuff. Fighting in Tartarus, arguing, making out in the command room when nobody else is around. It’s really no different than how they usually are. Akihiko trains with Ken and Junpei, Shinjiro hangs out with Fuuka and Kotone. Some nights they fall asleep in each other’s rooms.
It all feels natural like they were always building up to this. Akihiko is grateful that running with his impulses leads to something good for once.
And then October arrives.
. . .
Polydeuces evolves over Shinjiro’s hospital bed, and Akihiko wonders if their bond is forever broken now. He had read about the legend of Castor and Polydeuces when they both first awoke their Personas- he remembers being terrified by how Polydeuces lived while Castor was doomed to die.
Did the Personas know? Was this fate? Did this mean that Akihiko was going to leave Shinjiro behind, that Shinji was going to-
No. Akihiko wouldn’t let that happen. He can’t leave Shinji behind. He refuses. He’ll protect him, and Ken, and everybody else he cares about.
. . .
There’s a knock on his door and he’s unsurprised to see it’s Ken. He did kind of leave the kid hanging when he found him earlier, even if it did spur Ken to come back to the dorms. “Can I come in?” he asks quietly.
Akihiko nods, shutting the textbook he wasn’t actually reading from. Ken sits on the floor, Koromaru following him and laying his head in the younger boy’s lap. Nobody speaks for a moment before Ken abruptly asks “do you hate me?”
Akihiko’s taken aback. That was just about the last thing he was expecting to hear. “No, why would I?” he asks back. “It’s not like you killed Shinji.”
Ken’s fingers curl in Koromaru’s fur. The dog whimpers. His eyes are downcast when he answers with “I wanted to.”
Akihiko opens his mouth before shutting it again. Then- Ken knew, they figured that out already, but- “Ken, what happened before we arrived?” he says slowly.
Another bout of silence. “I asked him to meet me there, where my mom died. I-I told him that I knew he killed my mom,” he begins, refusing to look up. Koromaru nuzzles further into Ken’s lap. “And that I promised her I’d avenge her. He… he was going to let me. He didn’t want me to, but not for his sake. For mine.” He laughs ruefully. “I was about to kill him, and he told me not to so I wouldn’t be like him. Isn’t that just crap?”
Akihiko finds himself lowering himself from his desk chair, sitting on the floor across from Ken. “Then-then this guy, a Strega bastard, he interrupts and he says- he says Shinjiro-san’s going to die anyway.” Akihiko feels his eyes widen, even though he knew already. Those stupid drugs. “Shinjiro-san has been taking suppressors that are killing him, so it doesn’t matter what happens… and then the man from Strega pulls a gun on us.” Koromaru whimpers and Ken pauses to pet his head. “He shoots Shinjiro-san- he ran in front of me so I wouldn’t get shot. Even though I was about to-and I panicked.
“The man with the gun demands to know who is like Chidori-san, who acts as our navigator. And I said it was me.” Ken finally looks Akihiko in the eyes, smiling sadly, eyes brimming with tears. For one heart-stopping moment, all Akihiko can see is Miki. “I said I was the navigator to keep him from shooting Shinjiro-san again, even though I was about to kill him. But when the gun was trained on me… Shinjiro-san blocked another bullet. He saved my life, again. Just like…” Ken tilts his head back to look at the ceiling. “Just like he did the night mom died. S-so I’m asking you… do you hate me?”
It’s… a lot to take in, and Akihiko isn’t sure he’s registered all of it. He’s angry, he’s hurt, he’s frustrated, but he also knows that Ken is just as much a victim here as Shinjiro is. If Shinji had died, maybe Akihiko wouldn’t be so forgiving. But he is alive, barely, but he is. So he responds with “no. I don’t. I promised Shinji I’d take care of you. And I’m going to keep that promise.”
At first, he thinks it’s the wrong thing to say because Ken starts crying harder now. Big, fat tears land on Koromaru’s head before the dog tries to lick them off Ken’s face. Akihiko moves closer and keeps his arms open, in case Ken decides he wants to be hugged. Aki knows better than to corner a wounded animal.
The tears eventually slow, and Ken shifts his position so he’s leaning against Akihiko’s side. Akihiko wraps an arm around him loosely. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Sanada-san.”
“I’m not the one you should apologize to,” he tells him, letting Koromaru join their little huddle. Ken sniffles. “When he wakes up, you tell him. Alright?”
He feels Ken nod against his shoulder. There’s silence aside from Ken’s quiet sniffs. “My Persona changed,” he whispers after calming some more. “After you left earlier. Kala-Nemi… I want to do more research, but it’s a man.”
Akihiko smiles despite the atmosphere. “I told you there wasn’t anything to worry about. You’re a man, through and through. And… mine changed, too. When I visited Shinji yesterday.”
“I wonder if anybody else in SEES will have their Personas change,” Ken wonders aloud. “But then again… if they only change because of something like this, I’d rather they didn’t.”
. . .
The next morning, Kotone grabs his shoulder as he’s getting breakfast. “Hey. Let’s get beef bowls together tonight.”
Akihiko blinks. He doesn’t have any boxing training, and they’ve all silently agreed to take a break from Tartarus for the rest of the week. “Like… a date?” Were Kotone and Shinji… no. Shinji wouldn’t do that to Aki. But did Kotone have feelings for him? Either of them?
She giggles and shakes her head. “No, just thought you could use some time to clear your head. Besides, I don’t get to spend much time with you. I mostly hang out with Mitsuru-senpai or Aigis-san. I mean, if you’re busy-”
“No, I’m not. Yeah, I’m fine. Meet you at the restaurant at 6:30?” he answers, smiling for the first time in three days. It’s weak, but Kotone grins back. He takes that as a yes. “Cool. See you later, then.”
Sure enough, Akihiko finds Kotone standing outside the beef bowl shop later that evening. She’s still in her school uniform. “I wanted to change, but kendo practice ran long,” she explained. “I assume the same for you?”
He looks down at his sweater vest and shrugs. “I mean, we all wear our school uniforms into battle, anyway.” Kotone laughs. Akihiko thinks about her brother. He doesn’t think he’s heard him laugh once. He wonders what it would take to elicit such a reaction.
They get a seat at the booth and order before settling into a discussion about school. It’s completely mindless, but that’s exactly what Akihiko needs. Maybe Kotone realizes that. He needs to be distracted from the beeping life support and shallow breaths. But it’s Aki, he’s never going to be able to avoid talking about Shinjiro for long. “You two have been spending a lot of time together. Getting kind of worried you’re stealing my best friend from me,” he comments lightly.
Her lips purse but she shakes her head. “Shinjiro-senpai is very kind, but I don’t feel… I don’t feel that way about him,” she confesses. “There’s someone else I like.”
He snorts. “I’m the last person you should be asking for romantic advice.”
“I wasn’t,” she counters. It feels good to laugh again. “He talks about you a lot, you know. Almost constantly.” And the laughter is gone. “It’s so obvious how much he cares about you.” The arrival of their food stops the conversation just long enough for Akihiko to gather his thoughts.
He looks up from his meat long enough to catch Kotone staring. Not in a creepy way, but like she’s trying to piece him together from the inside out. Maybe it is a little creepy. Mostly because he’s never known her to be this quiet before. “What… what does Shinji say about me?” he asks awkwardly.
Kotone shrugs. “He doesn’t really say anything positive or negative. Well, I guess it could be negative. Stuff like ‘that idiot’s going to lose his head if he doesn’t watch it’ or ‘he’s going to die of scurvy unless he stops it with the protein.’ But it’s the way he says it that makes me think… I don’t want to presume, though.”
Akihiko inhales through his nose. “Presume what you want,” he says cryptically. “You’re… probably right,” he adds quietly, and it’s a relief when she smiles. Someone else knows and is okay with it.
“I’m happy for you, Senpai,” she replies earnestly, gripping his shoulder. “It’s… it’s nice that there’s someone else in our group like that.” Her lips turn up in a shy smile. Akihiko’s chest feels ten times lighter, like when he pulls off his binder at the end of the night.
Aki’s heart beats louder with every sip of beef broth.
. . .
Akihiko enjoys his morning runs, but jogging at night has its perks, too. He holds two fingers to his neck to check his pulse as he returns to the dorm. He still has homework to do, but he isn’t worried about time. There’s no plans to head to Tartarus tonight. He opens the door and walks into the lounge. Minato and Ken are crouched around the coffee table, hovering over a book. “Hey, what are you two reading?”
The pair look up and Ken smiles. “Minato-san has been teaching me sign language. I knew some already, since sometimes it’s hard to talk, but I’m nowhere near as fluent as he is.” Minato’s fingers shift in a way that Akihiko registers as signing, but has no idea of the meaning. It makes Ken scratch his cheek bashfully, however. “Ah, he says that I’m doing a really good job.”
“Sign language, huh,” Akihiko muses, sitting down next to Minato. He read that coma patients often lose some of their abilities after waking up. Being unable to talk is the most common. He has no idea if Shinji can sign- probably not, but it can’t hurt to learn? “Do you mind if I join you, then?”
Minato’s eyebrows knit together. “You want to learn too, Sanada-san?” Ken asks.
Akihiko shrugs. “What kind of senpai would I be if I didn’t communicate with my kohai? If it’s important to you two, then it’s important to me.”
Ken grins and stands, saying he has a more basic primer in his room. Once he leaves, Minato signs something that Akihiko doesn’t need translating. Thank you.
It’s nice to use his hands for something other than punching for once.
. . .
Things find a sense of rhythm and normality after that. Or, they try to, at any rate. It’s almost as if October 4th was a tipping point, launching everything down a cliff and into the abyss. There are more Full Moons, more floors of Tartarus. November arrives and a new transfer student shows up, Ryoji Mochizuki. Junpei and Minato hit it off with the guy, and Akihiko has to admit he’s pretty nice. A bit of a flirt, but he has no clue why that’s annoying Aigis so much.
But besides that- besides defeating all the Greater Shadows- things are almost normal again. Almost. They never quite reach that point again. Akihiko isn’t sure if they can, anymore. Or maybe there was no such thing as “normal” to begin with.
And it’s really starting to affect him. He’s slipping in battle as December approaches. He’s not failing his classes, but he’s not getting the same high grades he’s used to. Maybe this year is finally taking a toll on him. Or… or maybe it’s Shinji. All his thoughts are about Shinji, lately. How much better beef bowls would taste if he could join him and Kotone. How much fun they could have beating up Shadows together again. Walking Koromaru. Taking Ken to the movies. Kissing him, holding his hand, telling him how much he lo-
Oh. Oh shit.
“I love Shinji,” he says, out loud, and thankfully Kotone is the only one around. Doesn’t stop him from immediately burying his face in his hands.
Kotone doesn’t even look up from her nail polish. “Yep,” she says, deciding to go with coral instead of peach.
Akihiko shakes his head. “No, no I mean I’m in love with him,” he clarifies.
“Yep,” she repeats. “Wait, did you- did you just realize?”
“I swear to God, if you start laughing-”
That gets her to set down the bottle and look at him directly. “Akihiko-senpai, I am fairly certain I’m in love with a girl who only has eyes for my brother. Unfortunately, my brother is solely interested in the very boy that the girl I love absolutely hates, ” she explains, not blinking once. “If I laughed at you, I would be the biggest hypocrite on the planet.”
The words settle on his skin and soak in like moisturizer. “The girl- then you like Aigis, and Minato-kun likes Mochizuki.” She nods. “Damn. That sucks, Kotone.”
“Don’t I know it.”
. . .
It’s the end of the world, and SEES is going down with it.
Nyx is strong. Even with their combined efforts, even with Ryoji’s warning, it’s still too much and they’re being worn down one by one. Mitsuru’s stamina is depleted, Ken is too bruised to continue, everybody is struggling to stand.
“The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed,” Nyx repeats for what feels like the twentieth time. Akihiko growls, tries pointing his Evoker to his head, but he can’t. Caesar is too worn down, and Akihiko alongside him.
The world is going to end, and Shinji will never know that Aki loves him.
But he sees something out of the corner of his eye. Kotone, gasping, looking at her Evoker and then to her brother. Akihiko follows her gaze and watches as Minato nods. He staggers to her feet, and she follows suit. “What…”
Kotone slowly walks over to where Aigis is recovering from Orgia mode. She’s smiling, but it’s one that begs for forgiveness and mercy. Aigis looks up at her as Kotone kisses her forehead. Akihiko can’t hear what she says, but he can read her lips. Thank you. Take care of them for me.
She turns, returning to face Nyx alongside Minato. Minato’s voice, rusty and painful, calls out Ryoji’s name. Nyx falters for just a second, and in that instant, Akihiko swears he sees Ryoji reappear.
“What are they doing?” Yukari whispers from behind him. Koromaru whimpers.
All of SEES gasps as they drop their Evokers in tandem, instead pointing their own fingers at their head. Everything is silent except for the wind, and then-
“MESSIAH!”
Their voices ring out in unison, and Thanatos and Orpheus emerge from Minato and Kotone respectively. The Personas look at each other before a flash blinds everyone, even managing to startle Nyx. In that flash, Akihiko swears he sees an angel, rows of coffins dragging behind them, dressed in pure white. And when his eyes finally readjust- the twins are gone.
Everyone yells for them, begs for them to return, to keep fighting, whatever they’re doing is working because Nyx is growing more and more sluggish. Voices Akihiko doesn’t recognize echo in with theirs, and he knows he heard Shinjiro urging them as well. Please, please, please -
And-
And Nyx-
Nyx is gone, and the Arisatos are laying on the top of Tartarus, completely still.
Junpei is the first one to reach them, checking their pulse. “They’re breathing! But it’s really faint-”
“Is it over? Is- did we do it?”
“Is everyone alright? I have medicine-”
“Bark!”
“Kotone-san… Minato-san…”
Mitsuru, naturally, reestablishes order. “Akihiko. Iori. Help me move these two. They need urgent medical care. Yamagishi, alert the hospital that we have special patients en route. Aigis, scan the perimeter and ensure there are no remaining Shadows. Everyone else, stay on alert. If I need you, I’ll contact you immediately.” There’s no room for debate, not that anybody wants to. They can’t know for certain- they won’t until tomorrow, see if the Dark Hour returns or if everything dies, but…
It feels like a victory.
. . .
And amazingly, it is a victory. Minato and Kotone are both in comas, just like Shinji. Everybody is exhausted. But the Dark Hour didn’t come back. And their memories remain, despite Ryoji’s warnings.
Just like that, SEES is unneeded.
Akihiko tries to go back to school and act like everything's the same. He really does. But with boxing season over, there’s nothing left for him to take his energy out on. He spars with Junpei and Ken and Mitsuru, which helps, but it doesn’t feel the same.
Yukari tells him she feels the same way. “Like there’s this gaping hole, like something really important is missing. Maybe it’s just cuz our field leaders are gone. Wait- you don’t think we really did lose our memories?”
Akihiko shakes his head. “I mean, we all remember the Dark Hour, we still have our Personas, and we know that we’re friends and teammates. If it was going to mess with our heads, it should’ve done a better job than that.”
Yukari sighs and crosses her legs. Akihiko flops onto the couch beside her. “I just wish they would wake up. So we could find out what exactly happened with Nyx. And… no offense, Akihiko-senpai, but I think having Shinjiro-senpai back would help as well.”
He can’t help it. He laughs at that, hard enough to bruise his already aching ribs. “No offense taken, trust me.”
. . .
Akihiko broke into a sprint the second he got the text from Mitsuru. He pushes open the door and pants, staring at the nurse and Mitsuru and him.
He’s not wearing his hat or his coat, and that alone is unnerving, but there’s color in his cheeks that had been gone for a long time. His hair needs a trim. And he’s smiling. Shinjiro Aragaki is alive and awake and smiling and Akihiko is gone.
This shouldn’t be a happy moment. Shinjiro is still hooked up to too many machines, two of his best friends are in a coma of their own, graduation is hurtling towards him and Akihiko still has no clue what to do. But he doesn’t care. Shinji smiles at him and it’s all Aki can do to not pull him into a kiss.
“You look like hell,” he says instead, voice cracking.
“Way to welcome me back, asshole,” Shinjiro replies, leaning back against his pillow. “Glad to know you haven’t changed.”
Mitsuru nods to them both before stepping away, saying something about alerting the rest of the team. The nurse follows. Akihiko doesn’t hear either of them. It’s just Shinji, Shinji, Shinji.
As soon as they’re alone, he grabs Shinjiro’s hand and holds it by his mouth. “I love you,” he breaths out, and the rest comes pouring out like a leaky faucet. “I think I’ve always been in love with you but I’m such a dumbass that I didn’t realize it. A-and then I thought you were going to die, or the world was going to end, and I wouldn’t be able to tell you-”
“Aki. Shut up, you fucking idiot.” There’s no malice behind the words. Shinji leans over and rests his forehead on Akihiko’s shoulder. “I love you too, moron.” Akihiko laughs, wet and elated, and kisses Shinji’s hand. It’s them. “Wait, did you say the world was going to end?”
Akihiko laughs some more, burying his face in Shinjiro’s hair. “I’ll explain it to you later. We have time.”
He feels Shinji smile into his skin. “Yeah. We do.”
Akihiko comes back the next day, Ken close behind. He’s holding onto Akihiko’s sweater vest like his life depends on it. Shinji’s still not supposed to have too many visitors, but they’re going to have to make an exception.
Akihiko opens the door.
Shinji looks mostly the same as yesterday, maybe a little less pale and a bit more alert. His eyes narrow on Ken. Ken’s grip starts shaking.
“Right… do you want me to leave?” Akihiko asks awkwardly, looking between the other two. Ken shakes his head. “Alright. Whenever you’re ready.”
Both high schoolers fall silent and wait for Ken. Nothing happens for a solid minute. Then, Ken releases his grip and drops to the floor, performing the best dogeza he could. Shinjiro squawks in surprise. “I’m sorry!” Ken yells, and Aki has to tell a passing nurse everything’s fine, just a really emotional reunion.
He’s not lying.
“I’m so sorry, Shinjiro-san,” Ken weeps, still on the floor. “I- I’m the one who did this, and I-I-“ he devolves into hiccups.
“Whoa, okay, shit, kid, get up,” Shinjiro stammers, flushing. Akihiko pulls Ken up. He’s still sobbing. “You… tsch. I’m not angry.”
Ken swallows, face wet. “But I-“
“I had made my peace with dying a long time ago,” Shinjiro continues, looking out the window. “Long before you ever joined SEES. And I wasn’t expecting to ever wake up. But I did. And from what the doctors and Mitsuru said, most of the drugs have managed to flush themselves from my system. I’m not dying anymore.”
Akihiko lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He still has time with Shinji. Thank god. Ken’s still shaking, but he’s not actively crying anymore. Shinjiro waves for both of them to come closer. “Listen. Before… this,” he says, gesturing to himself, “I was just surviving. And I don’t want to be like that anymore. I don’t want to live every day like I’m dying. I want to live.”
As soon as the words leave his mouth, Shinjiro clutches his chest. Akihiko is at his side in an instant, holding the shaky hand pressed against his heart. He vaguely sees Ken back away from the hospital bed, arms wrapped around himself protectively. But Castor never comes. Instead, there’s a light, a whisper, and some triumphant sound from Caesar that leaves Aki reeling.
Shinjiro lowers his hand and laughs softly, in a way Aki’s not sure he’s ever heard. “Kid, it’s alright. Castor’s… gone.”
“Gone?” Akihiko asks, concern mounting.
“Not like that. He… changed. Says his name is Khepri now,” Shinjiro explains.
Slowly, Ken refocuses on the real world. “Your… Persona evolved. Just like mine and Sanada-san’s did,” he says quietly. “I’m… I’m really happy for you, Shinjiro-san.” He smiles and it does reach his eyes, and there’s another surge in Akihiko’s chest.
Shinji. Ken. Mitsuru, Kotone, Koromaru, Minato- this is his family.
He lost his family once before, against his will. He’s not going to lose them again because of his own stupidity.
. . .
He explains his plan to Mitsuru the next day. They quietly change his enrollment in college to online classes. This does mean he won’t be able to join the boxing team, but his scholarship is mostly intact, so it’s not a problem. Besides, Akihiko knows that the sports center by the mall wants to start teaching self-defense classes.
The apartment is a lot easier. Shinji needs to be kept near the hospital and the Kirijo Group in case his Persona goes rogue again. It’s unlikely but possible. They don’t even bring up the possibility of Ken and Koromaru living elsewhere. They find a comfortable two-bedroom deal with a decent kitchen, not too far from the station. It’s well within budget, although Akihiko knows Mitsuru would drop a lot of money to keep them off the streets.
“You seem much more excited about your future now, Akihiko,” Mitsuru observes.
“Well, yeah,” he replies. “I finally have a future I want to fight for, even if I don’t have to.” He’s probably phrasing it wrong, but Mitsuru nods and smiles. Of course, she’d understand. “When Shinji’s ready-“
“I’ll put in a good word for him. You’ve both done so much for me and the rest of SEES.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. It’s only because of your purse we can pull any of this off,” he says. “Speaking of… Ken told me. About himself. Well, more like he found out I was trans and told me he was, too.”
Mitsuru nods again. “If you’re asking me to help with his medical expenses-”
“No, that’s not it. The opposite, actually. I want to pay for him when the time comes. If he wants it, anyway. I can almost guarantee Shinji feels the same way.” Then again, Akihiko has no idea if Shinjiro even knows if Ken is like him. But he knows Shinji regardless, and how much he does care for the kid, albeit in his own way. “You can chip in, if you want, but by then we should both have jobs and- I dunno. It feels like something I should do.”
Mitsuru doesn’t respond for a moment, but eventually, she pats his shoulder. “The offer is open if you change your mind. I’m happy for you, Akihiko.”
“Oh, come here,” he groans, pulling her into a hug. She makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a squeak before hugging him back. Maybe this is too intimate for people like them, but they’ve also seen each other at their lowest. It feels right. “I’m gonna- I’m gonna miss fighting with everybody,” he says lamely.
She rubs his back. They don’t say anything for a while. There’s nothing to say, anyway.
. . .
It’s March 5th. Mitsuru is giving her commencement address when she freezes. Akihiko does too. He’s not sure how he knows, how she knows, but they do.
Minato and Kotone are awake.
He makes a break for the door, Fuuka and Junpei and the rest behind him. There are protests and audible confusion from the rest of the student body, but nobody seems to care. It’s a mad dash to the hospital- Aigis is already there, keeping watch over them. Akihiko sees Ken and Shinjiro smuggle Koromaru in through the lobby.
As one, SEES opens the door to the room where the Arisatos were sleeping. Now, they sit upright, smiling. “I told you they would come,” Kotone says with a laugh. Minato just shrugs.
“How did you- what exactly happened? With Nyx?” Mitsuru pants. No preamble, no “welcome back-” straight to business, like always. It’s oddly comforting.
Minato looks at his sister, then his hands, before whispering “the Arcana are the means by which all are revealed.” It’s probably the third, maybe fourth time Akihiko has heard him speak outside of battle.
“What Minato means is… well, being a Wild Card, you can strengthen your bonds with people and our Personas will react. It’s as if you represented one of the major Arcana. And we realized that our bonds… they were strong, and there were so many. Enough to prove that the world didn’t truly want death,” Kotone explains. She rubs her forehead. “Ugh, that probably made no sense.”
“No, I believe I understand. You used ‘the power of friendship’ to save the day, just like in the shows Amada-san watches,” Aigis says, prompting a quick denial from Ken.
“That, and… something had to seal Nyx away. Something stronger. So our Personas are…” Kotone replies, gripping the blanket around her.
“We gave up our Persona for the Great Seal,” Minato says simply. “We can’t use them anymore. Any of them.”
That naturally causes a chain reaction between the rest, crying foul and hoping it’s some cosmic joke. “It’s okay, though!” Kotone quickly adds, trying to appease everyone. “Believe us, it’s… it’s better this way. Not for our Personas, but… well… the Seal took part of us, not just our Personas. It took part of our… our life forces, you could call it. It’s only because there were two of us that it worked. If-if it had just been Minato alone, or me alone, then…” She takes in a shaky breath and looks at Aigis sadly. Minato’s hand curls in his blanket.
She doesn’t elaborate, but they all understand. If not for the both of them, they would have died.
“I… I’m just glad you two are back with us,” Fuuka says, breaking the silence. Her voice is a bit timid, but she smiles as she approaches their beds. “And it’s alright you can’t use your Personas anymore. You’re still our leaders.”
Junpei cheers in agreement, Koromaru starts barking, and soon everyone is laughing and crying and relishing in the Arisatos return. Akihiko uses the distraction to grab Shinjiro’s hand. “Hey. Step outside with me for a minute. Please.”
“Not like you to say ‘please,’ must be important,” Shinji jokes, but he follows. The door snaps shut quietly behind them. “Alright, what’s up?”
He’s still the same disheveled boy Akihiko knew from the orphanage. The one who solved problems by running away, rather than Aki’s methodology of hitting it until it fixed itself. The closest thing to a soulmate Akihiko could ever imagine having. And yet, so much has changed, and Shinjiro is a far cry from the child locked in Akihiko’s memory. If Akihiko is the stars in the night sky, then Shinjiro is the moon, keeping them in orbit and in line.
He promised he’d tell Shinji after graduation, and technically…
Akihiko pulls the apartment key out of his pocket. “Just… thinking about the future, I guess.”
Shinjiro kisses Akihiko on March 5th, 2010.