Summary:

It is year 2010, and Hariyama Yuuki has been dead for a year. And Aragaki Shinjiro had been given a chance to go back to 2009 to change everything and to save the love of his life before she takes her final breath. Shinji/FemMC

So I've only just picked up the Persona 3 Portable game, and totally fell in love with the game! And my favourite pairing is Shinjiro and the female protagonist. Now, I know that her canon name is 'Arisato Minako', but I feel like I'm typing Minato from Naruto whenever I type Minako, and besides, the name that I've used for the protagonist in the game is 'Hariyama Yuuki'. This is my first time writing a Persona 3 fanfic, so do go easy on me.

Anyway, I've seen quite a few time travel stories in Persona 3, in which either Minato or Minako travels back in time to prevent all the bad stuff from happening. And I wonder, what if the one to time travel isn't the Wild Card, but one of the other members of SEES? Thus, Shinjiro will be the one time travelling in this story. Yuuki will still be the main character of this story, but I'll probably be alternating between views with every alternate chapter.

And if anyone is interested to know, I've started an anime/game review blog on Tumblr. The link is on my profile. Go and take a look at my blog if you're interested, and I'll also appreciate it if you can comment on some of the posts.

Warnings: Slight violence. Suicidal implications. Lemon scenes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3 Portable or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

Chapter One: Going Back

The graveyard of Iwatodai is silent, with the only sounds being the chirping of the birds currently perched within the tree branches of the trees in the cemetery, with the notes of a song falling from their throats.

It is currently early March, with the weather taking a turn for the worse – being colder than usual. But still, that didn't stop the six teenagers and one pre-teen, with one dog among them, from entering the cemetery, all bundled up in thick coats but one, all heading straight towards one particular gravestone that they always came to visit regularly.

Taking the lead was a pale brunette girl, currently dressed in a pink blouse, also with a dark pink coat on over her blouse, a sad look on her face, a bouquet of orange tulips with red tips to it nestled within her arms.

A pale-faced girl with short dark hair, dressed in the Gekkoukan High School uniform, a grey coat worn over it, fell in step beside the brunette girl. Right behind the two girls was a tanned boy with a goatee and a blue cap, a sullen look on his face as he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his coat.

Behind the tanned boy was a girl with light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, a sad look on her face that looks as if she is about to cry at any moment, dressed in the winter school uniform of Gekkoukan High. A silver Shiba-Inu with crimson red eyes was walking by her side, giving out light whines every now and then, nudging her leg with his nose. The youngest among their group – the pre-teen, kept looking back over his shoulder every now and then, as if hoping to see someone or something.

Taking the rear of their group was the two oldest whom seemed to be college students or something. One was a handsome silver-haired young man with defined muscles, obvious even beneath the coat that he is wearing. Falling in step beside him was a redhead woman with a mature and defined air to her, carrying herself elegantly.

The six teenagers, with one pre-teen and a dog amongst them headed silently to the gravestone that they always visited on those three special dates every single year without fail – their beloved friend's death anniversary, her birthday, and on the last day of January.

The gravestone was an elaborate looking one, made out of the finest marble that the Kirijo Group could find, courtesy of their current President – Kirijo Mitsuru. It even had twin angels engraved at the top of the gravestone, with cursive and elegant writing engraved on the marble itself:

Here lies Hariyama Yuuki
Friend to all and sister to some
May she find in Death what she could not find in Life
31 July 1992 to 3 March 2010

Takeba Yukari was the first to reach the gravestone, and trembling as she did every single time whenever she came here, she knelt down to the ground before placing the bouquet of flowers down before the gravestone, running her fingertips across the engraved words on the marble, trying to hold back her tears.

Yamagishi Fuuka who was cleaning the gravestone solemnly flinched as she heard the silent sobs and turned towards her friend. "Y-Yukari-chan…" she whispered.

Iori Junpei sighed, scratching his head beneath his cap. "Yuka-tan, you should try to stop crying whenever we came here. Yuuki-tan wouldn't like to see you like this as well." He said solemnly.

Koromaru, the silver Shiba-Inu whined and nudged Yukari in the side with his nose. Yukari sniffed and patted Koromaru on the head as she looked up at her friends. "I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I know that Yuuki wouldn't like to see me like this, but I just couldn't help it… Why must she die? It's not fair!"

"I wonder if being human means feeling like this…" Aigis, the blonde haired robot who had been their beloved leader and friend's self-appointed bodyguard whispered to herself, placing one hand over her chest where her heart would have been if she had one. "What is this strange feeling? I wasn't able to protect her… I… Yuuki-san…"

Amada Ken looked over his shoulder towards the entrance of the graveyard hopefully, but no scowling brunette young man with his eternal beanie and burgundy pea coat came traipsing through the gates of the graveyard. The pre-teen and soon to be middle schooler looked up at Sanada Akihiko and Kirijo Mitsuru with sadness visible in his eyes.

"Aragaki-sempai isn't coming, is he?" Ken asked quietly.

Silence fell among the entire group at the sound of his name. Akihiko finally broke the silence and scratched the back of his head. "Probably not," he finally stated. "I'll go and find him later."

"You can't blame him," said Fuuka timidly. "He and Yuuki-chan are… You know?" She flailed her hands about helplessly, trying to get her point across. "He all but broke down on the day when Yuuki-chan…" She trailed off, and everyone knew which day that she is talking about.

It was Graduation Day nearly a year ago from this day, when all of them have gotten their memories back simultaneously, and have rushed straight to the rooftop of the Gekkoukan High School as they've promised. But they were just a step too late, as Aragaki Shinjiro had been the last one to see their beloved leader alive, apart from Aigis, before she took her final breath in his arms.

"Is he still drinking, Akihiko?" Mitsuru turned towards the silver haired boxer who nodded sullenly. After his graduation from high school a year ago, Akihiko had moved into a modest looking apartment not too far away from Iwatodai, and had dragged his best friend to move in with him so that he could keep an eye on the distraught brunette.

The redhead then sighed. "When will he ever stop torturing himself?" she asked no one.

"Same as us, sempai," said Junpei sadly, taking off his cap and twisting it in his hands. "Never."

Akihiko sighed before turning on his heel and walking back towards the entrance of the graveyard. "You pay your respects to Hariyama," he told them, turning over his shoulder to look at his friends. "I'll go to where Shinji is. I know where he is."

XXXXXX

Back Alley
Tatsumi Port Island

The back alley of Tatsumi Port Island had always been a regular hangout for punks of all kinds, and any person with a sane mind would do well to keep away from there. But on that day, there is only one lone person that could be found in the back alley, a number of empty beer cans littered all around him.

The dark bags under his eyes and his pale and sunken cheeks told a story of several sleepless nights for this young man, and with barely anything to eat for several days. And for all his young tender age of nineteen, he looks older than that.

Light footsteps echoed in the silence, and Aragaki Shinjiro looked up with slightly unfocused eyes, a half empty can of beer currently clutched in his right hand. Sanada Akihiko soon came into view, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat, a sad look on his face as he laid eyes on his best friend who is slowly getting wasted away.

Shinjiro immediately averted his eyes away from his childhood friend. He doesn't need the pitying looks now.

"I knew that you'd be here." Akihiko stated. "You do know what day it is today, don't you? Why didn't you come?"

"I don't deserve to see her. Leave me alone, Aki." Shinjiro slurred.

Akihiko was silent for a very long time before he spoke again, his tone dangerous. "Do you think that Hariyama would have wanted to see you like this?" he questioned dangerously, and Shinjiro turned furious eyes towards his old friend only to stop when he noticed the look in Akihiko's eyes. "Do you think that she wanted to see you wasting your life away like that?"

"Shut up!" Shinjiro roared, lunging a punch at Akihiko. But he is currently so weak and so devoid of strength that Akihiko managed to catch his fist with no effort whatsoever. "I couldn't save her!" He yelled, as he nearly collapsed to the ground had Akihiko not caught him before he could do that. "I couldn't save her! I am a sinful person, and she… She just refused to leave me alone, and I fell for her even without knowing it! Then…" Shinjiro coughed harshly. "Why Yuuki? Why her? Why must she die? Why am I still alive when she isn't? Is this my punishment for all my sins? If so, then punish me, not her!"

"Shinji, Hariyama chose this of her own free will in order to save us—" Akihiko begun, but was cut off by Shinjiro.

"I loved her!" Shinjiro yelled, not caring if all of Tatsumi Port Island could hear him, dropping the can in his hand, the contents spilling onto the ground. His legs swayed, and he grabbed onto Akihiko's arms to steady himself. "I love her, damn it! I tried to forget, but I couldn't! I can't do it! I love her! What else am I supposed to do, huh? Tell me!"

Akihiko froze in his tracks as he heard that one word coming out of his best friend's mouth – the one word that he didn't think Shinjiro would ever say in his life. "S-Shinji…"

Shinjiro collapsed to the ground, punching at the ground with his fist again and again until it bled, tears spilling from his cheeks, shocking Akihiko, as he had never seen his best friend cried before. "I couldn't save her…! Why Yuuki? Why her? If only I'd died that day as well… If so, then at least I might be able to see her now!"

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Shinji!" Akihiko tried to help Shinjiro up, but his hand was slapped away. "Hariyama didn't give her life for you to kill yourself like this!"

"Don't speak for her. No one can speak for the dead. You should know this!" Shinjiro barked at Akihiko who stepped back as if he was slapped. "Leave me. Go join the others, Aki. I'm just a dead man, a ghost. Yuuki is the only good thing that had happened to me, and I couldn't save her. Leave me alone, Aki."

Seeing Shinjiro getting more agitated, Akihiko decided it best if he leave his best friend alone for now. "If you're not home by midnight, I'm going to drag you back, whether you like it or not," he told Shinjiro. "And stop torturing yourself. Hariyama wouldn't like it. Though I suppose I'm not really one to speak." He muttered as the silver haired boxer left the back alley.

XXXXXX

09:00pm
Iwatodai Graveyard

It was late at night, but that didn't stop Aragaki Shinjiro from entering the graveyard, having tried to sober himself up as much as he could, also trying to make himself look presentable. The shadows of the trees in the graveyard would cause those with over imaginative minds to frighten themselves out of their wits, but probably, not even a real ghost itself will frighten Shinjiro now.

The brunette almost stumbled over his own feet as he approached Yuuki's gravestone, falling to his knees as he rubbed his thumb over her name, thinking back to many a time when he had caressed her cheek, with her smiling up at him gently and shyly.

"It's been a year, Yuuki." Shinjiro stated. "I miss you. If just once more… Just once more is all right… I want to see you again." The prickle of tears pricked at his eyes. "I love you, Yuuki." He whispered.

The cracking of twigs behind him caught Shinjiro's attention just then, and he turned only to see a fellow dressed in a very strange getup approaching him. He had extremely light blonde hair and equally pale blue eyes. He wore black slacks with a bright blue jacket and tie, with a blue cap that kind of looked like a bellboy's on his head.

"Who are you?" Shinjiro demanded, wiping the tears with the back of his hand quickly.

This guy doesn't look like one of Yuuki's many friends. He should know, considering he had all but camped in the graveyard during the first month of her death, and every single one of Yuuki's friends had came by at least once to pay their respects. Even that French fellow, Bebe or something, had flown in straight from France to visit her gravestone the moment that he had heard that she had passed away. The poor boy was practically bawling his eyes out. The prim and proper Hidetoshi from the Student Council had nearly broken down in front of her gravestone as well.

"You must be Aragaki Shinjiro." The strange man bowed to him slightly. "I am pleased to meet you. Yuuki-sama has spoken well of you, and that you are the one whom she longs for most of all." The strange man smiled at Shinjiro. "I am Theodore."

Shinjiro stared at Theodore for a very long time without saying anything at all. Just who the hell is this guy? And why did he address Yuuki with the '-sama' suffix? He knew of almost all of Yuuki's friends, as she had practically rattled off a list of them during their time spent together during that one month before his coma. And if it is something that Shinjiro had prided himself on (sans for his cooking skills), it is his marvellous memory. And the brunette young man definitely didn't recall Yuuki mentioning a 'Theodore' before.

"Do you know Yuuki?" Shinjiro asked at last.

"Yes," said Theodore with a smile. "She is a very precious guest of ours – me and my master. I am here to offer you a choice, Aragaki Shinjiro. Would you like to see Yuuki-sama again?"

It was like those seven words were the magic words to Shinjiro, as his mind felt clearer than anything else during the past year as he stared at Theodore with wide eyes. "C-Can you do that?" he almost stuttered, despite his brain telling him that the dead do not come back to life. "Can I see Yuuki again?"

"Yes," said Theodore with a sad smile. "I do not wish to see Yuuki-sama sad, and to see her last wish go unfulfilled. Yuuki-sama's last thoughts are of you, Aragaki Shinjiro. She is a precious guest of mine, and dare I say it, a precious friend. As such, I would like to fulfil her last wish."

"How?" Shinjiro asked desperately. Even if he had to sell his soul to Satan, he would do it in a heartbeat if he could just see Yuuki again. The woman whom he had fallen so much in love with.

"I will use my power to bring you back in time." Theodore stated solemnly. "To a time when the Dark Hour still exists, and when SEES, along with Yuuki-sama, are putting their lives on the line to fight the Shadows. And if you play your cards right, you might be able to save Yuuki-sama. I will guide you."

Shinjiro gulped. Back in time? Is such a thing even possible? But more importantly, if what he is saying is true, and Shinjiro had a funny feeling that this guy can really do it, what if he loses control of his Persona once he sees Yuuki again and ends up killing her by mistake?

"And don't worry about your Persona," said Theodore, almost as if he had just read Shinjiro's mind. He touched Shinjiro's forehead with two fingers. "If you are the one that Yuuki-sama believes in and loves more than even her own life, then I believe that you won't hurt her. Love is a powerful thing, Aragaki Shinjiro. If Yuuki-sama believes in you, then I believe in you as well. You won't lose control of your Persona. Not now, and not ever."

"I…" Shinjiro stared at his hand that was trembling slightly. Yuuki's words from so long ago then echoed in his ears – on the night when she had confessed to him, and they have both made love to each other.

I believe in you, Shinjiro-sempai.

If Yuuki-sama believes in you, then I believe in you as well. You won't lose control of your Persona. Not now, and not ever.

Live on for me, Shinjiro-sempai. Look after the others. I believe in you.

Shinjiro closed his eyes and clenched his right hand into a fist. 'I understand, Yuuki,' he thought, opening his eyes again. 'If you say so, then I can't help but to also believe in you. You said that you believe in me. That I won't lose control of my Persona. I'll prove to you that your trust in me isn't wrong. I want to see you just once more.'

The brunette then turned towards Theodore. "When can I see her?" he asked breathlessly.

Theodore smiled. "Now," he said. "Listen to me, Aragaki Shinjiro. Time travel is a very tricky thing. You have to be very careful. Whatever events that you change might also alter the fate of the universe, causing things to not play out as they ought to. I will guide you. Now go, Aragaki Shinjiro." Theodore's fingers glowed blue as he touched Shinjiro's head before a bright flash of light illuminated the brunette's body, and he disappeared from sight. "It will be as you wish it."

Theodore then turned towards Yuuki's gravestone and smiled sadly. His most precious guest…and friend. "Yuuki-sama, forgive me for my selfishness. Even for the last time, I wished to see you," he whispered. "It will be as you wish it – your sincerest wish to save everyone precious to you. Only this time, I will not allow you to die. I will always protect you…" He bowed to the gravestone. "…my precious guest."

A/N: I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter and story, and please read and review!