Chapter 7: Metal Heart

I stared out of the window of Mitsuru's car, staring blankly at the streetlights that lit up the darkness of the night. Regularly, I would look at the silent figure of the mature looking businesswoman sitting next to me, staring at her phone as if waiting to pick it up as soon as she could.

Elizabeth wasn't with us today, but Fuuka was busily tapping away at her laptop at the passenger seat. Every so often, she would stop typing and give me a smile, as if she were telling me, 'sorry this is taking so long, I hope you aren't too bored'.

It wasn't so bad, really. Despite the city lights that showed streets filled with passing strangers and dark corners, it only really added to the excitement I felt as I listened to some intense music from my MP3 player… big brother's MP3 player.

Right… these are Minato's friends, huh?

His name was a sore subject and I'm not going to lie—I wanted to forget about him so bad, but at the same time, I really wanted him back in my life and just… just be the little brother always leaning on his shoulder. This was my not-really-unconscious, but still sentimental reason for trying so hard to look like him.

I can make out my reflection from the window, and it almost felt like Minato was watching me from the other side.

"… call me royal flush, and I'm the ace…" The song ended. I took off my headphones and let them hang around my neck. I stretched my slightly numb arms and legs and let out a small yawn, the cold of the vehicle slowly getting to me.

Shortly after, I felt the car stop. Seeing the outside, it was a small park near a train station that I didn't recognize. Trees surrounded us like living fences (although they technically were in a twisted sort of way), there was a line of benches separated a few meters apart, and there was a fountain in the center that didn't seem to be working.

"Ryosuke, please come here for a bit." Fuuka called. Next to her were a blonde woman with unnaturally blue eyes, large earphones, and unnaturally white skin, and the other was a brunette lady wearing a hood over her head.

The two of them looked at me, startled.

"You… can I..?" The hooded woman asked. I just nodded, not really knowing what she was talking about until a bear hug caught me by surprise.

"God… you really DO look like him." She cried softly, nuzzling her face on my shoulder. At first, I was tempted to push her off, but I soon understood where she was coming from—she probably missed Minato as much as I do, and unlike me, she never got to give a proper farewell.

I was deciding between hugging her back or just standing like a pole, but by the time I thought of at least patting her back, she pulled away, her eyes slightly red from crying.

She wiped her eyes and gave me a small smile. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that. Get a hold of yourself, Yukari!" She murmured softly. From all this, I deduced that her name was Yukari, although a part of me was still rather puzzled as to how she could look so familiar.

Sure, I knew she was one of the people who attended Minato's funeral, but I had a feeling I've seen her somewhere else.

Then, the blonde girl approached me. I braced myself for another hug, but it never came, and she stood there, studying me from top to bottom.

"Hello, Ryosuke Arisato. My name is Aigis, and she is Yukari Takeba. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, and I look forward to working with you in the future."

I didn't mean to be rude, but I thought her voice sounded quite robotic.

Soon after, I cleared my throat and replied. "I'm glad to meet you all. If you don't mind, however, could you tell me why we're here? I kinda have classes tomorrow."

Again, I didn't mean to sound rude, but I was eager to cut to the chase.

"Oh, right," Mitsuru calmly answered, "as Aigis said, she will be assisting you in your endeavor. She will be given the room next to yours, and she will be enrolling into Shujin Academy. Any questions?"

I shook my head, taking in all the information and deciding to rationalize it later. It was already 10:00 at night, and I was already just barely understanding things as they came to me.

Fuuka put her hands together and gave me a smile. "It would be very nice if you would learn from another fellow wild card. Three wild cards, huh? Sounds really exciting."

Yukari pouted, however. "It's kinda sad that persona users who aren't wild cards are getting kind of obsolete now, huh? I almost feel sorry for myself."

Mitsuru snickered. "Yukari, it's not about the quantity, but the quality of what you can do."

Yukari sighed. "I know… ah, I need to go back to the studio soon. It was good to meet you, Ryosuke!"

After giving me another hug, she quickly turned around and left the scene.

"Studio?" I mumbled out loud.

Mitsuru smiled as we walked back towards the vehicle we came from. "Takeba's a rather popular actress, hence why she was wearing a hood to hide her identity. However, she really wanted to see you, did you know?"

I scratched my head, almost closing the car door before Aigis could get in.

Wait, Aigis was coming too?

Wait, Yukari Takeba?

How didn't I see it before—

"SHE'S FROM FEATHERMAN R!" I accidentally burst out with slightly too much enthusiasm.

…

The next day, I woke up to the sound of a frying pan being used on my barely existent stove.

I opened my eyes and saw Aigis cooking. "Good morning, Ryosuke."

I blinked once, twice, then a third time and realized that I wasn't dreaming. There was a girl in my room, and she was mechanical. This also meant that I was seeing her naked..?

"Aigis, uhm, what are you doing?"

She smiled at me. "I am making pancakes. Is that satisfactory?"

I nodded. "Heck yeah, I love pancakes… and all, but I was wondering… if you're a…"

I was having a hard time choosing my words carefully. But it was almost like everything that could come out of my mouth was capable of being interpreted wrongly.

Aigis turned off the stove and nodded. "If you are about to ask me if I were an android, then you are correct."

"Oh."

It was amazing how quickly that exchange ended, and how quickly I had come to accept it.

Was this seriously normalcy to me now? If someone told me six months ago that I would be lodging at a dormitory far from home and studying at some academy in Tokyo with a group of vigilantes and an android to fight the shadows of society, then I would have told that person to "go fuck yourself".

With a computer.

"Did you know Minato?" I asked Aigis, trying to break the ice.

"Yes," she answered quickly, "in fact, we were rather… intimate."

Oh my God Minato fucked a computer.

I scratched my head, listing down topics that were possible other subjects, but I was drawing a blank.

"Uh huh." I merely grumbled, rather incoherently.

Sensing my discomfort, Aigis shifted the topic. "I will be enrolling at Shujin as one of your seniors. What must I expect?"

I scratched my head. "There's a very attractive student council president, there's a garden on the rooftop, there's a library, there's… uh… the phantom thieves, and there was a suicide attempt not too long ago.

Now that I thought about it, the only things I could recall about Shujin, as of the moment, were those facts, making me feel slightly guilty that I had never been more outgoing or active in school activities.

Well, the main reason you're here is because of some mission. I thought to myself, but I still felt sad about it.

Aigis nodded. "Affirmative. You are in a relationship with your student council president, you handle a garden atop the building, you spend much time at the library, your companions are the phantom thieves I keep hearing about, and there have been incidents. Am I correct?"

I shook my head. "A-actually, it's a one-sided crush from me and the president, so please do try not to bring it up."

I was worried about her accidentally telling my friends about my crush on Makoto, but then I realized that, since I was bringing in a girl to school starting today, I suddenly started becoming very conscious of what the other phantom thieves and Haru would think of me.

Then I had a curious thought that I was eager to ask Aigis.

"I'm surprised you didn't just enroll in second year like me. Why?"

"It would not rouse suspicion if we were not of the same class. In other words, we will also go to school on separate times and from separate points of origin." She answered.

"Wait, so you won't be joining the phantom thieves?"

She shook her head. "As I said, I make it my intention not rouse suspicion from anyone, and although I trust in your companions, I fear that, as a former guest of the Velvet Room, I will be noticed."

I ruffled my hair. "Then how will you work with me?"

"I will investigate the Mementos you mentioned. Also, we will visit them together every once in a while to train you in using your Persona."

"Oh. But don't you need the application on your phone to do that?"

She nodded. "Yes. However, Fuuka has already programmed me to be able to enter the Mementos, so I would be able to do so by myself. In regard to how electronics malfunction when under its presence, I will have you know that this phenomenon is closely related to the Dark Hour years ago, so please do not worry."

The Dark Hour, huh?

Minato.

"I see," I answered, "in that case, let's get ready for school. You got any butter for these pancakes?"

…

"Ryosuke! There's this really pretty new student in my class, and her name is Aigis." Haru excitedly told me after dismissal time. We were atop the roof of Shujin academy, once again taking care of her potted plants in her cinderblock garden.

I nodded. "Yeah, I think I passed by her a few times. She kinda lives right next to me, actually."

As much as I would have liked to keep that information a secret, I found myself unable to lie to Haru, who was smiling at me.

"In case you and Makoto don't work out, I see that you'll have a rebound—"

"It's not like that!" I quickly interjected, the very thought being as foreign as Aigis's nationality in her student documents.

Haru continued laughing. "You're really cute when you're flustered." She said.

I sighed loudly as she continued to laugh at my expense.

"I hate being a nice person." I grumbled as I looked up at the night sky.

Haru walked towards me, smiling brightly. "Actually, I really admire the kind of person that you are, Ryosuke. For one, you're really fun to talk to. With that said, and how easy it is to fluster you, I enjoy spending my time with you all day."

The way she said those words so easily made me blush, and I found the thought of spending time with her in the future was… nice.

But I'm in love with Makoto. I reminded myself. Instantly, the thought of Makoto washed those feelings away, and I was suddenly grinning like mad.

"I think Makoto's more beautiful than Aigis, though." I said, earning a frown from Haru.

"Well, of course you were going to say that. You like her, but I still think Aigis takes the cake for me."

She playfully nudged me to the side, and I nudged her back. Soon, it escalated into a more intense game of pushing the other person harder than the other person could push me.

Being a guy, of course, I was physically stronger than her, and I ended up winning.

"I win!" I shouted in delight as she sighed back at me.

"Come on," I told her, "tell me I won."

She was about to speak when her phone began to vibrate.

"Wait, let me… hm… oh dear."

"What is it?" I asked her.

"The group called Medjed… they're waging war on the phantom thieves."

I blinked. "Who's Medjed? Is that like a medicine company or something?"

She shook her head. "They're hackers. They started off as some robin hoods, only taking down corrupt websites and all that… but then, they started doing criminal activities, and at this point, they're capable of anything.

I felt sweat rolling down from the side of my head.

"That's bad, right?"

A/N

For a while, I felt like the last chapter didn't quite do it for me.

At the same time, I felt rather sorry for Ryosuke, and thought that the last chapter didn't do him much justice.

Also, I figured, "Why not bring the rest of the cast of Persona 3 into the set?"

So, here's the updated Chapter 7. I hope you like it better than the last chapter.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think!

Thank you for your continued support, and hopefully we ride this road until the end of the story!