It was late. Even for him.

But this wasn't what most people would consider late- that time had passed quite a few hours back. This was the kind of late that only a select few knew- this was the kind of late when all throughout the world, there was not a sound.

But there were some sounds. There was the sound of summer rain falling from the sky and hitting the ground and the roof of the dorm. There was also the sound of the keys of a keyboard tapping calm, soft and precise. There was also the sound of loud, heavy-sounding music.

Fortunately for the rest of the residents within the Iwatodai dorms, that last sound was contained within the stereo headphones of one Minato Arisato. His tested, yet clean pair of Audio Technica headphones were clipped onto his ears and currently served the purpose of containing the music played from an almost boundless library of music.

Minato sat at the desk, unfazed by the glow the computer screen gave off. He frowned at the monitor, a rare showing of emotion for him.

For, you see, the azure-haired teen that wore an almost eternal poker face, was angry. What was he angry at, you may ask?

Well, there were a few things. One of them was the fact that his new favourite game, Innocent Sin Online, was scheduled to close down in a few days. Despite getting the game from Junpei in April, he had found himself addicted to the world that game provided. He had invested far too much into his character for him to lose it now, but he could always remember the time spent with Maya, or whom he later figured out to be his homeroom composition teacher, Ms. Toriumi.

He sighed as he stared at the monitor.

"Well, you know what they say." He muttered to himself. "These kind of things must come to an end." He then looked at the corner of the computer monitor.

…3:15 AM? When in the hell did that happen? Last time he remembered, he was just getting on!

He sighed to himself. He guessed that could be another thing that made him angry- the time passed too quickly.

"…A little later than I expected." He sighed. Looking at the digital clock in the bottom corner of the monitor, he rubbed his eyes. He'd probably make the executive decision to pull an all-nighter and then just sleep in his classes.

This wasn't a problem to him, however. They had just been to Tartarus, so it's not like they would be going back anytime soon.

Speaking of Tartarus…

Minato could definitely add this night's Tartarus trip as to one of the reasons why he was so angry. He blamed it all on two things- the newest Guardian, and the Charm affiliation.

The newest guardian that Minato and his party had run into this night was the Natural Dancer, found on the newest floor of Tartarus that they had discovered. Minato hated the thing before it had even started attacking- with a giant heart for a head and a rapier that he learned to be quite sharp tonight, this guardian forced a tactical retreat on Minato and co.

…Yes, a tactical retreat. That's what he'd call it. And Mitsuru getting charmed by the Dancer and him getting a nasty stab wound from her sword while charmed did certainly NOT cause that retreat.

Minato growled to himself as he rubbed the shoulder that had been stabbed. Impromptu surgery in the main lobby of Tartarus, several Diaramas from Yukari and himself, once he had stabilized and a lot of willpower to make it out alive in his room tonight.

"Mental note." Minato thought quietly to himself. "By the end of this year, learn how to properly administer first aid on myself."

In hindsight, Minato could see the utility in the new armor Kurosawa started selling recently. He frowned as he skipped a few songs in his library.

As he absentmindedly settled on a new song to listen to, he heard the distinct sound of a thud hitting the floor. Minato raised an eyebrow, but frowned.

"Junpei probably fell off his bed rolling in his sleep again." Minato mumbled, turning his attention back to the monitor. The song he was listening to had changed to "A Way Of Life", performed by an enigmatic artist known only by a stage name of "Meguro."

Minato shrugged. He had been on a kick for Meguro ever since he discovered one of their CDs at Power Records one afternoon at Paulownia.

He heard the sound of the thud again, this time a little bit louder, most likely due to proximity.

"Strange." He mused aloud. "Normally Junpei only falls off his bed once in his sleep." He shrugged, however. It's not like it was his concern or anything.

Regardless, Minato continued on, staring at the computer screen as he shifted through browser tabs.

And then, he heard a knock on the door. If the thuds hadn't caught Minato off guard before, this knock certainly did. The clock on his computer displayed that the time was now half past 3 in the morning- whoever was knocking had either lost their sense of time like he did, or simply hated the concept of sleep.

He sighed as he unclipped his headphones from his ears and stretched out, feeling his muscles resist movement from being sitting so long. He walked over to the door and saw, to his own surprise, Mitsuru, standing before him.

Yes, Mitsuru. Heiress to the Kirijo Group, theoretical leader of S.E.E.S. and a very violent person when given a sword, stood before him. She was dressed in a white, sleeveless blouse and black pants, to offset his shirtless chest and pair of black shorts.

"Is something the matter, Mitsuru-sempai?" Minato asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. He could swear that he saw the faintest hint of a blush appear on Mitsuru's face as she shook her head and sighed.

"Arisato…" She began. "What are you doing still awake?" She asked him. He laughed to himself.

"It's been a long night." He told her, leaning up against his doorframe. "I've just been…" He paused for a moment, trying to find the right word for procrastinating the night away listening to music because he was too insomniac to actually go to bed. "Working away at something for Student Council." Mitsuru raised an eyebrow as he said that, but dutifully nodded.

"I see." Her expression suddenly turned sullen. "Are you feeling well? Your wound…" She paused to examine the rosy cut along his side, which earlier this night had been leaking crimson inelegantly.

"Is doing quite fine, thank you for your concern." Minato answered, a little too quickly for his own good and coming off a little bit bitter. Mitsuru flinched a little from the hostility he was showing, sighing softly.

"Well… Have a good night then. Try not to stay up much longer."

"It ain't that easy, eh Mitsuru?" He spoke, looking down at the floor. "Being charmed and attacking your allies?" She looked at him and saw the discomfort in his eyes. "You remember that one time I was charmed, right, that night at Shirakawa? Worst feeling ever once I came to my senses. I hated myself because I wasn't in control, and I know how that's one of the biggest concerns for you." Mitsuru looked at him, bright red eyes staring direct at him.

"Minato…" She began. "I'm sorry. I want you to know that. I lost control, and you were directly injured as a result." He smiled at her.

"I forgive you. It wasn't really your fault to begin with." Minato sighed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We all make mistakes."

"B-but your injury…"

"Will force us out of Tartarus for the next few days, but it's only a minor setback- I need the time to plot a strategy against that…thing anyways." Minato sighed. He had suffered worse in Tartarus- particularly when a nasty Ziodyne fired off from The Reaper nearly charred him to a burnt crisp.

Minato was caught off guard from reminiscing about his near-death experiences when he felt the form of Mitsuru wrap around him in a tight hug. Her arms had formed a slightly protective ring around his waist as her bright red eyes stared into his dull, blue ones.

"Minato Arisato." Mitsuru began, her voice nothing more than a whisper. "You may be the greatest gift that S.E.E.S will ever receive, short of the Dark Hour ending. The power that you have is priceless, and I never want you to forget it." The two of them stood, locked in each other's eyes.

And then, they both leaned in to one another and felt their lips met in a soft, pleasant crush. Their kiss was soft and warm, with Minato's arms wrapping protectively around Mitsuru's waist, also pulling her close to him.

Contrary to what he was expecting, Mitsuru didn't push him away or object to him doing this. Although to be fair, he did discredit all objections on her part when her elegant fingers found their way into his azure locks.

Their kiss seemed to slow down the flow of time around them. They were locked in a moment of passion that was foreign to both of them, but still felt so right.

It was only when they broke away from the loving contact did their thought processes resume, albeit at a reduced pace.

"Mitsuru-sempai…" Minato spoke breathlessly after a moment of silence. He didn't honestly expect that reaction. He thought well enough that he could get away with kissing her, he just didn't expect her to kiss back. And with such fervor too…

"Is something the matter, Arisato?" She asked, seemingly oblivious to what had just transpired. However, she flashed him a knowing, kind smile. "It's even later than it was before. You should go and get some rest- after all, we do have school tomorrow." Minato smirked internally at her comment- he'd probably just end up sleeping through his classes again.

"If you so insist it, Mitsuru-sempai." Arisato replied, feigning a yawn to help his cause. She smiled at him.

"I'm glad to hear. Sleep well, Minato." Concern flashed upon her expression, and Minato found delight in the rare sight of the almost literal ice queen known as Mitsuru Kirijo show something other than determination. It was rare to see her smile, so he enjoyed it.

Once she left his doorway, he went back to his spot at his computer desk, re-clipping the headphones back onto his ears.

Huh. Guess he left his music playing. And he was already at Danger Zone.

Minato cracked his fingers, and looked to see that it was around quarter to 4.

This'll be easy enough.

A/N: Ugh, this took me forever and I'm not entirely keen on this, but it's finished after receiving positive support from one of my friends who's into Persona.

For anyone who was expecting this to be something else entirely (like my OC story) instead of Minato/Mitsuru fluff, I apologize. That story is certainly in the works, and the first chapter should be up soon (relatively speaking, by the way).

For those curious, A Way of Life and Danger Zone are tracks exclusive to the FeMC story of P3P, replacing When The Moon's Reaching Out Stars and Master of Tartarus from the original storyline. Danger Zone kicks the ass of Master of Tartarus, but I'm not liking A Way of Life as much compared to Reaching Out Stars. Still, all 4 songs listed are absolutely amazing and can recommend all of them.