Minako walked the streets of Iwatodai , streets that she had walked for months , and yet today they seemed unfamiliar to her . Sirens could he heard in the distance , people dazing and spacing out before regaining their consciousness at random . She could even see some people going insane and attacking bystanders . Despite hers and her friends' efforts , the world is slowly succumbing to panic and chaos by the presence of the Dark Hour . It was almost too much for her to see , and she hastened her pace away from the crowd .
Her feet led her to the stairs leading to shrine , even though she wasn't thinking about it . It was like deep down , she wanted a miracle to happen . She wanted to believe that everything she had lived through was a nightmare because she ate too many sushi in that party after they defeated the last full moon shadow , but sadly she was living through reality and she knew it . She shook her head , and wanted to leave , but then she noticed a certain blue-haired boy at the top of the stairs .
" Minato ! " she ascended the stairs toward him .
" oh ... hey , sister ... " Minato looked at her , he seemed very tired and conflicted
" What're ... what are you ... doing here ? " she struggled to find something to talk about
" well , a lot has been unraveled on us in one night . Our past came crashing down on us , and we were robbed off of our future " Minato clenched his fists in anger " in video games , this is called exposition dump ! I never liked it in games , and it's certainly no better here ! "
" Minato ... listen ... about ... about Ryoji ... ! " Minako started , but words seemed to fail her
" please , the last thing I want to talk about right now is wether we should kill or spare him ! " Minato impatiently interrupted her
" wh—what ... ? "
" I came here to clear my mind of the conflict , I don't want to be reminded of it , okay ? "
" then ... then ... oh ... " Minako mumbled to herself for a second , before nodding " right , sorry , I guess I'm not ready for that , either "
Their strained conversation stopped , and they just stood in front of the shrine . The horizon before them was covered by thick layers upon layers of rainy clouds . The two of them thought they should return to the dorm before it started raining , but before they could leave , they heard the sound of weak crying in the playground by the shrine . In front of a tree , stood a little girl that was sobbing sadly . The twins thought she had scrapped her knee , so they gently approached her .
" what's wrong , little girl ? " Minako gently sat in front of her " did you hurt yourself ? "
" my ... my ball ... " the girl sobbed , as she pointed at the top of the tree " Genta-kun kicked it very high ... and it got stuck in the tree ... and ... and ... I can't get it back ! "
" aww ... don't be sad ... " Minako gently wiped her tears " my brother here will buy you a new ball "
" I'm sorry , what ? " Minato glared at his sister
" that's ... that's not ... just any ball ... " the girl sobbed " stripped shirt gave it to me ! "
" stripped ... shirt ? " Minato imagined a floating sentient shirt buying her a ball " what ... ? "
" okay , I'll get it back for you ! " Minako said confidently
" you ... you will ? "
Minako took a few steps back , before rushing toward the tree and jumping at it . However , she couldn't force herself to climb it any further , and she fell back to the ground without getting the ball back . When she stood back up , she was met by her brother's frustrated glare .
" you do realize you're wearing a school uniform , which includes a skirt , right ? "
" oh ... right ... " Minako blushed " good thing we're alone here ... "
" anyway , I can probably climb it myself , if that's what we need to do ... "
" no , it was raining recently , so it's a little difficult to climb it ... " Minako had a bright idea " I know ! I'll boost you up , so you can get it ! What do you say ? "
It took a few tries , but in the end , they managed to get the ball . Minako happily gave the ball to the little girl , who silently accepted it . The little girl stared at the twins for a few seconds , as if she was contemplating something . Before they could ask her , she opened her mouth and spoke instead .
" mama told me that I shouldn't talk to strangers , but you're not strangers , right ? " the girl said , her tone becoming more and more cheerful as she seemed to realize what she was talking about " you're Cosmos and Null ! The heroes from my dream ! I'm Maiko , I'm so happy to meet you in person ! "
" what ... ? " the twins looked at each other in confusion
" do you remember ? That nightmare in which I was kidnapped by monsters , and I they kept me in a dark tower , and you came to rescue me , right ? I was so scared , but you came and fought the monsters back with your friends using all those powerful attacks and everything ! You were amazing ! "
" dark tower ... monsters ... powerful attacks ... " the twins both came to the realization that this was the girl they had rescued from Tartarus the last time they explored it
" so are you two out on a date ? "
" a date ?! " the twins gasped , thankfully Minako realized what the little girl meant " actually , Maiko , we're not Cosmos and Null . We're siblings , see ? "
" siblings ? "
" yes , a brother and sister " Minato nodded " we're actually twins "
" I ... I see ... " the girl seemed to think deeply about what she heard from the twins " but I definitely remember you in my dreams , was it you or was it Cosmos and Null in my dream ? "
" hmm ... I dunno ... " Minako pretended to think about it , before saying " but we do love those two , and we used to idolize them and even role-play as them sometimes , so I guess that's the reason ... "
" what are you talking about , that's back when we were kids " Minato interrupted his sister , before shrugging " it probably was just a dream , one shouldn't eat too much before going to sleep "
" I'm not sure ... " Maiko seemed conflicted " I definitely remember you from my dreams ... you're good people , right ? "
" oh , definitely ! " Minako nodded " right , bro bro ? "
" hm ... well , yes ... " Minato couldn't just say no to the hopeful look in Maiko's eyes , not that he had any reason to .
" okay ! Then let's be friends ! "
" great ! " Minako happily replied " so are we going to play with your ball ? "
" actually , I don't think I'm going to play with it here anymore " Maiko preciously clutched her ball " if Genta-kun sees it with me again , he's probably going to kick it into the tree again "
" so Genta-kun is a bully ? " Minato crouched in front of little Maiko and said firmly and confidently " next time he messes with you , tell me , amd I'll kick all of his balls into the tree of the shrine , how does that sound ? "
" you ... you will ? " Maiko eagerly asked
" yes , by the time I'm through with that kid , he'll have no balls whatsoever ! "
" Minato ... I know you mean well , but mind your phrasing ! " Minako nervously remarked , before she hastily changed the subject " so ... uh ... what should we play ? "
" give me that ball , I'll show you something cool "
Minato started swiftly juggling the ball with his feet and knees , and sometimes with his head . He was so skilled at it , that Maiko was at awe as she watched him , her gaze fixated on the ball as if she was being hypnotized . Minako was so happy to see her brother entertaining Maiko , but she also wanted to join in on the fun .
" alright , it's my turn ! " Minako demanded
" you don't know how to play soccer , let alone doing tricks with the ball like that " Minato said while his eyes were fixated on the ball
" you underestimate me ! " Minako challengingly replied , before turning to Maiko " what do you say , Maiko-chan ? You do want to see Cosmos playing with the ball , right ? "
" oh , yes ! " Maiko nodded
" fine , knock yourself out " Minato gently passed the ball to Minako
" okay , here goes nothing ! " Minako tried to juggle the ball like her brother , but she ended up kicking so hard into her brother's face " oh no ! I'm sorry !"
" see what I mean ?! " Minato clutched his face both from pain and frustration " let's play something we can all enjoy "
However , the three of them began feeling cold water droplets falling on them , and they realized it was going to rain soon . Eventually , it was pouring outside , and the three of them took shelter in the bookstore . The old owners of the bookstore thankfully had a spare umbrella for them , so they lent it to Minako and she managed to walk Maiko to her house along with her brother , before the two of them decided to go back to the dorm .
With the rain pouring outside , the tension in the streets seemed to dissolve . The crowds were dispersing into buildings , and people suffering from the apathy syndrome were either apprehended or taken into houses and hospitals . The calm streets almost made them feel like nothing was wrong . However , this calm was preceding a horrifying storm , a storm they could never hope to survive . They could only delay the inevitable end , the end of the world , that which cannot be avoided . The time they spent playing with Maiko was so innocently fun , that it almost made them forget the impending end , but now that they were alone , all they could think of was Ryoji's words .
" sis ... " Minato mumbled " I need to be somewhere ... "
" what ? " Minako turned to her brother , just as he began running into the rain " w—wait ! You'll catch a cold if you go in there ! "
" you go back to the dorm , I'll be back in no time ... " Minato hastened his pace , but as his sister grasped him by the wrist , he nervously and angrily shook her away " I said I want to be alone !!! "
" Minato ? " Minako looked at her brother in shock and confusion , his eyes were red and the rain soaked his face and clothes completely " are ... are you ... ? "
" it's ... it's the rain ... " Minato said in a breaking voice , and as his voice began to break , he angrily averted his eyes from his sister , before storming away
Minako stood in the rain , her hand tightly clasping the umbrella . Her lips shivered , and she began crying . She wanted to go to the dorm , but she ended up going to the hospital . In that lone room , Shinjiro seemed almost peaceful in his sleep , as if he was having a sweet dream . Minako looked at him , and then at the world outside through the window . Against her will , she found herself crying again .
" Shin-chan ... I don't know what to do ... " she sobbed " the world around us is falling apart ... we just learned that the Dark Hour cannot be prevented , and some powerful thing is going to erase humanity or something ... can you believe that it's all mine and Minato's fault ?! Minato is breaking under the stress , Aigis was severely damaged and they're still trying to fix her , and I'm too scared to say or do anything ... I... I even have ... "
" M—ina—ko ... " Shinjiro mumbled in his comatose state
" Shin-chan ?! Shin-chan ! I'm here ! Can you hear me ?!! " Minako started , but then she stopped and sobbed " n—no ! I still haven't saved the world yet ! I don't want this world to be what you see when you wake up ! I ... I don't know what I want anymore !!! "
Shinjiro didn't seem to respond after that , and Minako could only crouch by his bed and cry . His nurse entered the room to monitor his condition , and she saw Minako in that state . She gently sat by her side and placed her hand on her shoulder .
" I don't think he wants to see you like this " she said
" Yuzuru-san ... " Minako sobbed " I ... I want him to wake up ... but not like this ! The apathy syndrome , the end , people going crazy , this isn't what I want him to see ! "
" don't say that " for the nurse , Minako was an example of determination and conviction , so she couldn't bear to see her the way she was" aren't you the one who's going to set things right ? Wasn't that your promise , the one I hear you repeat to him whenever his condition worsens ? "
" I can't ... I can't do it ... " Minako sobbed " I promised him , I know I did , but I can't fulfill my promise ! "
" the girl who visits this patient wouldn't say these things " the nurse said confidently " you're the one who taught me to keep fighting , to keep believing . He's rooting for you , so don't let him down yet ! "
" Yuzuru-san ... " Minako looked at Shinjiro with her teary eyes
" for now , let me register your friends' current condition , then I'll treat you to a quick snack in the cafeteria . Let's have you take your mind off of things for now "
" r—right ... thanks ... "
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Well , it's good to be back . I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long . First off , that ' to be continued ' thing ? I'll address it later , just give me some time , okay ?
Anyway , these upcoming parts are taking place near the end of the game , and I want them to convey a sense of despair . Persona 3 has what I think is the best end game events of all time , the idea that the final battle can't be won is such a powerful concept that , even though Nyx wasn't well foreshadowed before Ryoji , it still leaves a heavy impact on the story , more specifically if you self-insert yourself into it . I want these upcoming parts to convey that . That being said , the next part will hopefully be more lighthearted
Thank you for following this fanfiction , and I hope you stick with it until the end . You will not be disappointed ........... hopefully ......
Until we meet again , make sure to comment your thoughts about the unraveling events , and please consider voting for this part if you enjoyed it . Don't forget to give me your opinions regarding the changes I plan to make in Persona 4 , and I'll see you in the next part . Stay safe .