PERSONA 3 RED and BLUE ( COMPLETED )

Minako Arisato - part 4

" Minako ? "

" ahh !! " Minako was startled by Ken calling her , and she quickly wiped her eyes , she turned and saw Ken at the stairs , staring at her with a shocked expression " Ken ?! What're you doing here ?! Why are you still awake ?! "

" I couldn't sleep ... " Ken murmured " is it true ... about your Persona ... ? "

" I ... that's ... " Minako realized she couldn't lie her way out of that " yes ... it's true . Everything was perfectly fine , then all of sudden no Persona appears at all for me "

" I see ... " Ken was too depressed by that truth to even look at Minako .

" no " she decisively blurted " his death has nothing to do with my Personas , okay ? And I'm not saying that to make you feel better , my assistant in the velvet room said so " she then quickly changed the subject " anyway , the stove doesn't need electricity to work , so what do you say I fix us something to eat ? "

" no , I'm fine ... I'll just go to bed "

Just then , the lights were back on . The Dark Hour was over , and now the others would be here at any second . Ken hastened his pace to his room , as if he was trying to escape them . Before Minako could call out to him , the door of the lounge was opened , and in came the other members of SEES .

" oh ! Welcome back , everyone ! " she exclaimed

" Minako ... " everyone could see from her red eyes that she was crying " what did your assistant say ? "

" well , he said my problem is that something had changed within me causing my Personas to be locked off . Oh , before you ask , he confirmed that it wasn't Shin-chan , so I was right after all . Now can we all stop—? "

" and did he tell you how to solve this problem ? " Minato was having none of it

" we're still ... trying to figure that out ... " As tears began filling Minako's eyes again , she hastily tried to wipe them away

" can you stop pretending like it's no big deal ? You'll just drive yourself crazy ! " Minato yelled at her " you clearly can't do this on your own , so be upfront with us so we could help you "

" what Minato is saying is true , you don't have to pressure yourself like that " Akihiko nodded " it's okay to cry , it's not like we're expecting you to walk from such a shock unaffected "

" you've been a great source of strength for the team , Minako " Yukari nodded " but it's okay to for us to lend you strength , too , don't you think ? "

" I ... that's ... well ... " Minako stuttered , then she felt Koromaru at her feet , and saw him staring at her

" even a dog could tell you're having some serious inner conflict ! " Minato said firmly " be honest with ... "

However , before Minato could finish his sentence , Minako hugged him and started crying on his shoulder . Her appearance was saddening as she continued to try to keep her face hidden as she cried emotionally . Minato hugged her back , and the team comforted her , until her crying pace slowed before stopping . She pulled herself away from her brother's embrace and wiped her eyes timidly , before smiling back to everyone .

" nothing like a good cry to let out the pressured steam ! I can't believe how much I needed that " Minako laughed at herself " thanks everyone "

" we're still weeks away from the last full moon battle , so let's take it slowly " Minato decided " first , we're gonna give you a week of break from Tartarus , so you'd try to think of what caused the change in you that made you lose your Persona , then we'll go back in Tartarus and have you try again , okay ? In the meantime , we'll try to help you live your life as normal as possible , by spending more time with you and make your days as colorful with activities as possible . Surely when you get moving in your life , you'll realize the difference , as opposed to just sitting in one place and thinking it over "