New Author's Note: Just a heads up folks, if'n you already read my last fic, feel free to just head on straight to chapter 2, since this is mostly the the same thing.

Authors Note: Alright people, here's a new story for y'all. My first official work for the Persona series, this story's actually a prequel for a sequel for a story I wrote about Persona 4, which I actually started working before this. Even though that means this is actually the last story in the series, I'm releasing it first because it serves as a good setup for the next story, which was the first I wrote, which acts as a setup for the one after that, which I actually wrote second. If you managed to keep up with that, good for you.

Hope y'all enjoy my new story...

- - - Early Morning - - -

"So..."

"Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth, yes...How did the two of you meet?"

Elizabeth bit thoughtfully into her eighth piece of toast.

"Hmm, that is an interesting question."

'God damn it, Junpei,' Minato sighed to himself.

It was supposed to be a simple plan: Get up early, get themselves cleaned up, burn the wooden spoon and get rid of the ashes, maybe get around to making them some coffee, but then definitely get Elizabeth the hell out of there before anyone else woke up.

To be fair, it had almost worked; but then Junpei had to pick that exact moment to get back to the dorm. But even that wasn't a problem; after a brief exchange of looks and a pair of silent nods, the two boys passed each other without a second glance. What neither of them had counted on was that Mitsuru would've heard the front door opening and would be waiting at the top of the stairs...

And so now Minato had most of S.E.E.S. giving him an early morning interrogation over breakfast about the strange girl he'd brought to their dorm. He threw another dirty glance over to Junpei, who just shrugged and gave him a weak smile.

Mitsuru gazed sternly at the two as she continued to question the pair. Next to her, Yukari shifted from staring suspiciously at Elizabeth to staring angrily at Minato. Fuuka kept rushing back and forth from the table to the kitchen as she continued to serve up food, occasionally sneaking blushing glances at the pair. While she still couldn't handle more complex dishes, simple things like fried eggs and bacon were easy enough to manage, which was good because Elizabeth seemed to be inhaling everything as soon as it was set on the table.

Shrinking under the combination of guilt, fear, and shame he felt from the three, he couldn't help but feel that this was what it was like to stare down the barrel of a gun that wouldn't let him summon awesome monsters from inside his brain. He wasn't sure how three girls in their pajamas (well, two girls in their pajamas and one in a hastily thrown on bathrobe; who knew Fuuka slept in a nightie like that?) could make him feel so afraid, however he was sure to thank whatever god was paying attention that Aigis was away for maintenance.

God knows what would have happened if she'd been here...

Meanwhile, Akihiko and Junpei were sitting quietly at the end of the table opposite of Minato and Elizabeth. It was obvious that the two boys were trapped in this situation just as much as he was, but that didn't seem to stop them from staring at Elizabeth a little more than he was comfortable with, although she seemed to remain oblivious to their attention.

"I suppose the correct answer is that we were introduced," Elizabeth continued, "but I believe it would be more accurate to say that it was simply the nature of our fate that we should have met." She turned and smiled warmly at Minato, who smiled back a little in spite of the situation he was in.

"Your fate?!" Yukari cried out, startling Minato. Aside from some brief (but still very shrill) screaming when she first saw Elizabeth and quickly shooing Ken and Koromaru out of the dorm, she hadn't spoken a word since the morning began. Yukari's mind was abuzz. 'Their fate?' What the hell did that mean?! Did Minato have some super romantic encounter with this girl that she didn't know about? I mean, it's not like she cared who he dated or anything, but he still should have told her if he was going out with someone or...

Oblivious to Yukari's little internal freak out about how she really didn't care if Minato had a girlfriend or not, Mitsuru continued, "You said someone introduced you. Can you tell me about this person?"

"Oh, well, that would be my Mghm-" Elizabeth started to answer, but Minato quickly clamped his hand over her mouth. Bad enough that he had to explain Elizabeth, there was no way in Hell he was spending the whole morning telling them about the Velvet Room.

"He's a friend. Elizabeth works for a friend of mine and he introduced us," Minato answered quickly.

Elizabeth took his hand off of her mouth and smiled at him."You consider him a friend? He'll be delighted to hear that."

"I see." Mitsuru raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed with their answers. She decided to try a different route. "How long have two you known each other?"

"We first crossed paths several months ago back in April, one night before the full moon."

"The full moon?!" Mitsuru blinked in surprise as she, Yukari, and Akihiko all thought back to that night.

"Oh yeah, it was just before then, wasn't it?" Minato said as he recalled that night as well.

"Quite fortuitous, wouldn't you agree?" Elizabeth smirked. "Although I do regret having been unable to see you for so long after having just met."

"Huh? Oh yeah. Uh, sorry," Minato mumbled hastily in apology.

Unable to obtain any satisfying answers from her previous inquiries, Mitsuru finally asked the question that had been on everybody's mind since they first laid eyes on the girl.

"So, what exactly is the nature of your relationship?" Mitsuru asked at last.

Minato's throat when dry and he swallowed hard. He'd known this was coming but that didn't mean he was any more prepared for it. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?

"Well now, how do I answer that?" Elizabeth put a hand to her cheek and smiled demurely, thoroughly infuriating Yukari. The brunette girl threw Minato a gaze that clearly said 'What the hell is with that look on her face?!'; Akihiko and Junpei did the same, although their faces were more impressed than pissed. Minato gulped again.

"When we first met, I was given the role of watching his growth and guiding him in the development of his abilities."

"Ah, I see. So you're his tutor then?" Mitsuru replied, pleased to finally get some concrete answers.

"Of a sort, but I haven't really taught him anything. Instead, I simply gave him certain objectives to fulfill, and asked only for proof once these goals had been met. ...In exchange for certain rewards, of course."

"R-rewards?" Yukari repeated.

"As time when by however, our relationship changed and our roles began to reverse, and I was able to learn much from him. Since then, we've shared several intimate encounters together."

"Intimate encounters?!" Yukari cried, aghast. She turned over to Minato who seemed to be staring down at the table intently, his face a brilliant scarlet. A clatter was heard from the kitchen and Junpei and Akihiko stared on in awe.

"Arisato, you...?" Akihiko asked, and the boy just blushed more deeply.

"He's taken me to many spots within the city, and he's shown me many of the delights that this world has to offer," Elizabeth continued, unknowingly burying herself and Minato that much deeper in the hole. "One of my particular favorites was our visit to Iwatodai Station. So many new tastes and flavors; such a delectable experience."

Minato stared at her. Thank God, she was talking about their dates. He sunk back into his chair and almost let out a laugh from sheer relief.

"Although I also enjoyed the trip we took to the arcade."

Minato smirked at the silver-haired girl, "Even though you suck at playing games."

"Are you implying that there is something wrong with the way I use my hands?" Elizabeth replied playfully. She leaned in closer and smiled deviously, "Or perhaps you are suggesting that I become more direct in what it is I desire-"

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Yukari demanded, a small blush dusting her cheeks.

The pair looked over to the irate brunette, and then exchanged a brief look of embarrassment before shifting back into their seats.

Elizabeth put her hand in front of her mouth and let out a small cough, "Yes, well, anyway, I believe that our next excursion is to the cinema, yes?" She turned towards Minato, who nodded.

With that, the silver-haired girl seemed pleased and gave a small nod in satisfaction. "Excellent."

"Well then, if you've no more questions, I believe that it be best that I take my leave now," Elizabeth wiped her mouth with a napkin before setting it back onto her plate, then moved to get out of her seat.

"You're, um, not staying for dessert?" Fuuka offered nervously.

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, no. I wouldn't want to trouble you any more than I already have. "

"In any event, I believe that you will find yourself to be out of chocolate and cream. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that we might have used it all last night."

Minato's blood froze and he sat stock till.

Mitsuru shook her head, "Raiding the fridge again, Arisato?"

"..." Minato tried to come up with some kind of an excuse, but found himself unable to speak.

Fuuka dropped her tray, which let out another loud clatter as it hit the floor.

"Yamagishi, is something the matter?" Mitsuru asked, oblivious to the intimations of Elizabeth's statement as the younger girl turned red and hastily tried to pick up the silver platter. Yukari gaped at the boy in front of her as the jaws of the two boys next to her fell to the floor.

"Dude...Seriously?" Junpei asked, but the blue haired boy could only stare silently in shock at the silver-haired girl next to him.

"I would also like to apologize for the wooden spoon that we destroyed. Disposing of it seemed to be the most hygienic solution." Elizabeth continued, as both Minato and Yukari paled at her words.

"..."

Unable to come up with any other response, Junpei slowly held up his hand, which Akihiko clapped wordlessly.

Figuring that there was no possible way for this situation to become anymore awkward, embarrassing, or just plain horrible, the blue haired young man decided to go for broke and resigned himself to simply accept whatever else was going to happen.

Minato turned to look up at the girl.

"I'll see you after school?"

Elizabeth smiled, then leaned down to peck him on the cheek.

"Until then, Master Minato." She spoke softly into his ear.

The boy closed his eyes and smiled. "That will be all, Elizabeth," he dismissed, feigining an authorative tone which caused the silver-haired girl to giggle.

"Hee, hee...Very well, Master," she answered back dutifully, then turned back towards the dumbstruck S.E.E.S. and gave a small bow. "It was very nice to meet you all," she added, before spinning around and making her way to the entrance.

Everyone watched the strange girl walk out the dorm, and as the door softly swung back into place, she seemed to leave as suddenly as she had appeared. They turned their attention back towards the smiling boy still staring at the door. Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Minato turned back around and his grin fell when he remembered where he was.

'Ah shit, that's right. This was still happening...'

Minutes of awkward silence, then Junpei finally couldn't help but ask, "...She calls you 'Master?'"

"Uh..." He started to reply, but was interrupted when Yukari slammed her hands on the table, causing the silverware to clatter. For a second, Minato was sure she was going to throttle him and mentally prepared himself for a beating.

Trembling slightly, Yukari opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She opened and closed her mouths a couple more times in frustration as she tried to say something, then with a final look at her blue haired teammate, simply got up from her seat and stalked up the stairs, still angrily trying to vocalize her thoughts.

Mitsuru's eyes narrowed and she glared at him coldly. "Well, 'Master' Arisato, this was... informative. I believe that we'll need to have a discussion later about bringing guests to the dorm," she stated calmly, before turning around and stepping up the stairs, too, leaving Fuuka alone by herself. The three boys stared at her, half-expecting a similar response to the other two.

"Um, uh," the poor girl withered underneath their gaze, then slammed the tray onto the table, causing them to jump in their seats before rushing up after the other two.

Finally, Akihiko let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion, then turned to his two juniors.

"You two better get out of here before they get done changing."

And with that, he got up and walked up the stairs as well.

"So...she calls you 'Master,' huh?" Junpei asked again once they were alone, this time with a knowing grin directed at his friend.

"Shut up," Minato simply replied, grabbing a surviving piece of toast before getting up and heading for the door.

"Hey man, it's cool," Junpei continued as he bounded after his friend, "I ain't judgin'; I just never pegged you as the kind of guy who was into that kinda stuff."

"Whatever," Minato sighed. "Could you just do me a favor and not tell Kenji about this. Or Kaz. Or Hidetoshi. Or Chihiro, or Yuko..." He trailed off as he realized how many of his friends, and maybe the whole school, were probably going to know about this by the end of the day.

"What makes you think I'd do that?" Junpei retorted, slightly hurt that his friend would think of him like that. He shook his head disappointedly, "Look, I only told Mitsuru-senpai because she caught me. You saw what she was like; I had to tell her something."

Minato raised an eyebrow, "So I guess you also told her about how you've been sneaking out and 'visiting' Chidori in the hospital?"

Junpei's face flashed a hot pink, "What? No, of course not!"

"Huh," the blue haired boy replied plainly as he reached the door, "I guess I'll have to mention it when she lectures me later."

"What?" Junpei responded again, "No! Dude, come on, those visits are really helping her feel better."

"I'll bet they are," Minato answered back, causing his friend to blush again.

"Hey, it's not lik-" Junpei stopped himself before giving a pleading look to Minato, who was already walking outside.

"Hey! Come on! Dude! Minato?! ...Dude?" He stood alone at the open doorway, watching helplessly as he walked down the street.

Junpei's shoulders slumped and he let out a low groan.

"Aw, man..."

F̶i̶n̶ Ha ha, nope. New chapter folks! Go and check out the shiny, new chapter 2!

Author's Endnote: Happy Valentine's, people. A little rushed, but I think it turned out okay. As always though, thanks for reading and keep a look out for my next post. See ya~!