2026-02-08: As Long As You're Alive
- Log: As Long As You're Alive
- Cast: Minato Arisato, Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Gekkoukan High School - Rooftop
- OOC Date: February 08, 2026
- IC Date: September 22, 2012
- Summary: Minato brings Shinjiro to the roof after school to discuss his past with Strega. Shinjiro tells him everything - including his condition - and finds support, sympathy, and further resolve to tell Akihiko the hard truth.
(|===================== Gekkoukan High School - Rooftop ======================|) -======================================= Iwatodai City/Tatsumi Port Island ====- The stairs ultimately lead up to a fenced-off rooftop area, popular amongst students for those difficult heart-to-hearts. Windmills can be seen spinning through the bars, while stone slab flooring supports semi-circular stone benches decorated with pink flowers in stone flowerpots. There's plenty of open space to be had here, and not much supervision. <Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Shinjiro's loyalties came out, during Strega's attack on SEES, a little over a week ago. Since then, the Blue Leader has been... well, not different to how he usually is. He still accepts Shinjiro on missions; he still greets him cordially. He'll help around the kitchen when Shinjiro's in there. He doesn't seem mad, though, being fair, Minato rarely seems much of anything.
He hasn't brought it up, though.
Is he... letting the others work their feelings out, first?
... except Minato ambles up to the floor above him, at school, where the third-years hang out. Shinjiro's going to school, now, so... since the last bell's just rung, he's surely still here. (He wouldn't press him for an audience during classtime! Minato is a certified good boy, he would never skip class.)
"Aragaki-senpai. Will you join me on the roof?" He asks, mildly, hands shoved in his pockets. He's the world's least threatening young man.
(That's one reason why he has so many fans...)
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
School is a weird experience for Shinjiro. He attended in his first year, sure, but he didn't complete it as normal, and so he's having to relearn the ropes. The one thing that is working out for him is that he's diligent, and his teachers have been relatively surprised that the truant is actually paying attention in class (and doing his homework!) instead of goofing off or sleeping.
He's grabbed his bag, dressed in a modified winter uniform (not the summer uniform, but strangely, the teachers haven't done anything), when Minato shows up.
Shinjiro's eyes scan over him. He can't read Minato well... but he's one of the few people he hasn't talked to about what's going on, so it's possible that it's time.
Or Minato might want to talk about video games. He can't really know.
"Sure," he says, and then proceeds to silently walk with him. He has no words yet - he'll give Minato time to formulate what he wants to say, and say it.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
A winter uniform... Shinjiro's often cold, Minato thinks. Did Mitsuru pull some strings to let him wear an out-of-season uniform...? Well, it's no stranger than a transfer student wearing their old colours, he supposes.
Step, step, step. Minato's are measured and calm; he ambles, untouched by the buzz of conversations around him, even though he's pulled out one of his earbuds to ask Shinjiro up.
When they get to the roof, he takes a seat on one of the benches; he takes his earphones out properly.
"How are you finding it?" He asks, and lets that question hang, for a moment, before he realises he hasn't made his topic marker clear: "Coming back to Gekkoukan."
H--hey, that's not option A or option B!!
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro's anxiety is slowly rising, but it's not *clear* on his face. He told himself after talking to Mitsuru that if even one person wanted him to leave, he probably should - even if he hadn't voiced that with her. It was another fault of his self-loathing, to consider that he was the weak link, always.
Would Minato cut him loose? He was the leader - if he couldn't trust Shinjiro, it was reasonable. Before, he wouldn't have cared... but he's been finding a place.
Which is in his thoughts when Minato finally asks that question. Shinjiro pauses, trying not to let surprise show.
"...it's hard. Lots of work, lots of time taken up. I don't know anyone anymore, and anyone I did know doesn't really remember me. The teachers seem on edge around me, as do some of the students. My truancy makes me look like a delinquent or something."
A pause, as he realizes how that sounds. He technically *is* a delinquent.
"But I made a promise to be here, so I'm going to see that through."
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"I see... so it really is hard work. Well, that's how it looked to me... but you've still walked to school each morning." Was that praise?? It was in such a round-about way, though...!
Minato rests his hands on his knees, one index finger tapping, thoughtfully. "I heard you spent a long time out of school," he goes on. "I don't believe you had a stable address, either. It seems to me like you didn't have much support during that time... or you weren't able to reach for it, anyway. Right?"
Oh, wait, maybe it is option A... Minato's just being indirect. Would it be impolite to address it too head-on? He is his senior...
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro will take a roundabout compliment from Minato. But he's not dwelling on it for more than a fraction of a second, because Minato continues.
"...two years, yeah. I was living on the street, in that alley we met in a few times," Shinjiro says. "...I guess you could say I was trying to avoid the world."
Though, Shinjiro's never been an indirect guy. As he realizes that Minato might be trying to get somewhere... he swallows his fear and speaks after a long silence. "If this is about what happened at the dorms, I'm willing to talk about it."
If he's wrong, he's wrong. But they probably should talk either way.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"When we visited you," Minato says, "you didn't complain. I think there'd a lot you would have coped with stoically, in that environment."
His gaze, to Shinjiro, is measured.
"... but I do mean to ask about that, yes. Strega's leader linked you to them," Minato goes on, calm as ever, "but the way he did it, I think he really wanted me to think you'd betrayed us. Well, it would be very convenient for him if we couldn't trust each other... on the other hand, they did seem to have information on us. That's why my initial assessment was that there's a grain of truth being distorted for their own ends... that's the position I'm coming to you from."
He lifts a hand, gesturing, palm-open. "So... can I ask you what happened, Aragaki-senpai?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Never considered myself much of a stoic," Shinjiro says more with a sigh than humor.
But Minato shares what Strega told them. Takaya Sakaki. Of course he probably told them he helped planned the attack...
"...I met Strega two years ago, after I left SEES. I was looking for... something. A medicine for a condition I have, that I felt I couldn't get elsewhere until recently." It's a half-truth - to share that it was a drug that caused his condition would simply make the whole thing more convoluted, and he saw it as a medicine anyway, something to heal him from his lack of control.
"At first, Strega asked for money in exchange for the pills. Then, they asked for intel. Nothing big, supernatural going ons and things I heard on the street."
A sigh, as he moves to pace a bit, not having taken a seat.
"Yamagishi went missing, and I decided I couldn't sit around. But I wasn't... ready to return to SEES. I thought I never would. So I told them I'd trade them a favor for an Evoker. After she was rescued, I kept going about my life... but they cashed the favor. They wanted information on Persona Users. Names, abilities, I even told them how I felt about cohesion. I tried to be vague, but I gave it to them anyway."
Shinjiro stops, turning to Minato. "The next day, I got arrested in Sumaru. Kirijo bailed me out, and I told her about my condition, about what I was doing. I hadn't yet told her that I gave information until recently. She asked me to come back at that time, and I asked for time to consider. The rest is history. I hadn't spoken to the leaders of Strega again until the attack, though I am friends with one Niko Kirisaki. We don't talk about 'work'."
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"I was surprised when they told me I was, too," Minato offers Shinjiro. "Given I'm very emotional."
His voice has remained in the same soft and mild register this whole time, and his expression hasn't shifted more than two degrees from dispassionate.
(Just so we're clear: that's a joke. That's supposed to relieve the tension.)
He listens, quietly, as Shinjiro explains. So, Shinjiro has a condition... Minato wonders if that's why he always feels so cold. (Or... does he feel cold? He remembers hearing, once, that some girls will wear a lot of layers just because they don't want boys to look at them...)
Minato hums, indicating that listening ear of his, as Shinjiro goes on to explain how Strega dug his hole deeper. Money... and then intelligence.
"I see... so it's like that," he says, thoughtfully. "That was a possibility in my mind. I'd also wondered if you were being blackmailed, or if they'd compromised your accounts... but it makes sense you wouldn't have anyone to turn to in that sort of situation."
He averts his gaze, politely, to the fence surrounding the roof. "I'm guessing you didn't tell her because you were afraid," he says, with a light dusting of apology to his tone as he points it out. "Getting caught up with loan sharks is unfortunate. It wouldn't be something you'd like to speak about, especially if you thought you'd never come back here. Right?" That is to say: it was too shameful to bring up.
"Well, I'm not going to fault you for making friends with one of them. I'm sure I'll speak to 'that man' again myself, after all." Does... he mean Takaya...?
"It's very unusual not to wear a shirt." Oh God, he really does mean Takaya.
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro listens to Minato's response as he catches his breath. He considers what Minato has to say...
"...yeah. I... carry a lot of shame for the things I've done. I'm not the same person I was two years ago, and I regret that everyday, this fear I feel," he says.
And then Minato mentions Takaya. The shirt mention isn't touched on, It'd be hypocritical of the guy who wears too many shirts.
"...be careful around him. He's always given me the creeps. He will kill if he feels like it."
But even as the conversation might be coming to a natural close, Shinjiro feels he can't leave it there. He told others what his condition entails... while Minato's not prying, to keep one of his leaders in a blindspot is unfair to him.
"...about my condition. Don't... talk to Aki about this, he doesn't know. I'm telling him soon with Kirijo's help, and she's been doing her best, but..."
A breath.
"I don't have much time. A year, maybe. If we can destroy the Dark Hour in that time... I'll be satisfied."
If Minato looks closely, he might realize Shinjiro's a little gaunt, a little pale, even for his size. His temperature is something obvious, but there's other signs that only become more obvious when put into perspective.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Must be heavy," Minato reflects. He doesn't offer him absolution: it's meaningless without context. Neither does he offer to carry it for him: there are some burdens which can't be shared so easily.
But he sees the weight, and perhaps that, itself, is its own solace.
Shinjiro mentions Takaya's generosity with death, though, and Minato nods. "I know." And with just enough of a pause that it needs a new text box: "That's why it has to be me."
Perhaps Shinjiro and Minato aren't so different, after all.
Minato, though, does not pry; he is still too distant to put his friends in the uncomfortable position of disclosure. It is fortunate, then, that Shinjiro will show his bravery today... to a boy who has evidently engineered for him the benefit of the doubt.
(He is not so distant that he cannot try to make their positions more comfortable.)
For the first time, his eyes widen, a little; it's an expression veiled by the hair over his eyes, veiled by the muffling-cloak over his existence, but he is struck by the idea Shinjiro will die. "I... see," he says, glancing aside, for a moment, before he looks back to Shinjiro again.
"Is that why you left SEES, before?" He asks, and it's subtle, the way his own feelings (he does have them, he wasn't lying about being emotional, at least not to the extent of having them) press his speech into something more direct. "Because you didn't want our senpai to know you were dying?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
"Yeah," Shinjiro agrees.
"...then good luck. If you'll have me, I'll continue to lend you my support," Shinjiro says, hope dim but present.
But about his condition, he pauses at the followup question. The answer is 'no', but he can't tell anyone about Amada. That is a secret that would hurt Mitsuru and Akihiko for everyone else to know, a secret that might corrode trust in them. Even then, he's not thinking of himself and what others would think of him.
"...it's complicated. I left because... I felt like I couldn't trust myself. I wasn't safe or reliable. It... cascaded towards my condition, and then... I planned to die someday in that alley, never telling him. I didn't want to hurt him, or maybe I didn't want to feel the pain of hurting him."
A pause. "But... I feel like I'm starting to find a home again. A place I can belong. And he needs to know... he's pretty much my brother, you know? I've hurt him too badly to let this go on any longer like this."
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"I didn't consider that to be in question," Minato says, when Shinjiro offers his support. "No one's come to me with any concerns, and your situation was more complicated than betrayal. Well, we're still working alongside Kirijo, even though they have that kind of history... it wouldn't be fair if we chased out our members for having difficult pasts. I'd like to be consistent."
Still... Shinjiro felt like he couldn't trust himself, didn't think highly of himself at all. Was it... self-injury? It's a little confronting to think about; Minato's not immune to the society he lives in. Even so, Minato thinks... if he was having such a hard time he did permanent damage to himself... he can at least do him the decency of looking straight at it instead of looking away.
(Minato doesn't know the half of it.)
"In the end, your plans did change," he settles on, after a moment of discomfort. "So long as you're alive, you can change the course of your own life."
Not wanting to hurt him, not wanting to feel the pain of hurting him...
"What matters is your own choice," Minato counsels Shinjiro, then. "So I won't tell you what to do, one way or another... but I will help you fulfill the decision you make, if you need it." It's not that he doesn't realise how much this would hurt Akihiko -- or even hurt Mitsuru, knowing and not being able to tell her other dear friend...
It's just...
People should be able to decide what matters to them, Minato thinks. And they should be able to cross those thresholds on their own two feet. If Minato pushes Shinjiro to tell Akihiko, won't he always wonder whether he really knew it was right?
"Because as far as I'm concerned, you have a home here. I'd like you to be able to rely on us, too, Aragaki-senpai. I understand some things are complicated for you... but you're part of the team. That means we want to support you."
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Minato is uncomfortable, and Shinjiro feels guilt, but his words help. Not only is he not chasing him out... but he wants him to be able to rely on them, and he wants to help him make *whatever decision he chooses to make*.
"...I appreciate that. Sorry for being a downer. I'll... I'll tell him. He deserves to know, deserves to..." What was it Mitsuru said?
"He deserves to try and fight for me, too. To struggle with me. I know that's what he'd want... so I can't leave him out of it. He's stronger than I think he is."
Placing both hands in his pocket, he sighs. "Thanks, Arisato. I know you came looking for answers, but this helped me clear my head a bit. What I'll ask is... after I tell Aki, if you feel up to it, support him in whatever way you feel you can. That's what would help me the most."
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Good," Minato nods. "Sounds like you've made a considered decision. That's something you can be proud of as a man... doing something difficult because you know it's the right thing to do."
Is it strange to talk about Shinjiro being able to have pride in a position like his...? Not according to Minato. If he can't be proud of his actions, how can he hold his head up when they're done? Even if that pride needs to be rebuilt...
(He might sound a little like Akihiko himself, saying something like that; and it's certainly true that Minato takes influence from all their seniors. Even his sense of humour has been enhanced under Shizuka's counsel--! ... what? You didn't notice he had one?)
"No problem," he says, as he places a hand to the rooftop bench and pushes himself up; he's not ready to lie down, just yet. "I'll keep an eye on senpai... I may be your junior, but I'm still a field leader, so I want to be able to support him too."
He pauses, hands slipping into his own pockets. "By the way," he adds, "I've been looking forward to trying your katsudon." It's quite casual, little more than an aside...
... but it would be difficult to do if Shinjiro left.
Is that Minato's way of trying to say that he's invested in him staying, too...?
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
Shinjiro nods once, as Minato reinforces him, as he says he'll be able to support Akihiko. But that isn't what causes a small smile to escape Shinjiro's lips.
No, it's because of the next thing he says, as Shinjiro suppresses a laugh.
"I'll make it for you sometime, then. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two if you help me prep."
For now, though, it seems the talk went well, that their bond has grown in some way. Even for someone with no future... he has things to look forward to.