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Hello?

Sorry if I'm bothering anybody. My name is Hasegawa Saori, and I just arrived in Hinoto-Ri.

They told me what happened, and what we're meant to do, but I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I tried contacting my dormmates, and even my family, but they haven't answered. I've even talked to some of the locals, but they just confirmed my worst fears. [There's a long pause before she can even write again. How could this have happened?]

Anyway, I decided I needed to get as many contacts as possible. How many of you are from before the Crisis? Apparently the latest recorded year before it is 2012, and I'm from 2010 for reference.

Again, sorry if I'm bothering anybody. I just needed to talk to someone...about all this. If you read through my post, thank you for listening.

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[Saori doesn't waste much time getting straightened up. She's down in the foyer as soon as Minako arrives. Saori really did miss her friend, so she has to resist giving in and rushing straight to Minako's side like a kid.

Her eyes may be shiny with tears though.]

[It's okay, Saori, you're getting hugged as soon as she gets to you.]

Saori-chan! I'm so glad to see you...

Ehe. Same here.

[She can't recall the last time she's been hugged like this, not even as a young child. Yet it feels natural to hug Minako back, with no feelings of discomfort or awkwardness. A few tears slip past her barrier, but she's not sad anymore.]

How are you doing? I got your letter, but I didn't get to finish my reply before I left...

[It and the letter for Bebe were sitting on the desk, half-finished, when Aigis came in the last day. She wonders if someone will notice and send them for her.

...She hopes someone will. But unless that's happened for Saori already, she isn't going to mention it.]

Edited 2012-10-09 00:44 (UTC)

Did you? I'm...glad.

[Said with just some hesitation. There was so much in the letter she felt uncomfortable writing. Writing it brought up old memories she had stored away, never to be touched.

But she had to do it. That part of her past, was also a part of herself. If she couldn't confront it, then her new courage would only prove to be a lie.]

I almost didn't send it, but I thought if anyone should know, it should be you.

I'm just happy you thought I was worth telling. ...It sounded difficult.

[She finally pulls back, now looking ahead instead of at Saori.] What kind of food are you in the mood for?

[A bright smile lights up her face as they break the hug. She'd almost forgot she was starving. Happiness really does affect appetite it seems.]

Any place is fine. I think I could eat anything now, even dirt.

[...she laughs.] Well, I can't let you do that. There's a nice ramen place, let's go there.

[Finding decent replacements for Iwatodai's restaurants had been her first priority.]

Alright.

[Luckily she's visited a ramen place before with her dormmates, though she only ordered the dumplings. She didn't want her uniform to get stained.]

[Saori don't be Mitsuru...

Minako orders them two specials after they go in, but takes a booth instead of the bar because they need to talk.]

We can wait until after we eat if you'd like but... There's some things I need to share with you, too.

[For some reason she looks slightly apologetic.]

[Relax, she's not going to ask the chef about bouillon cubes.

But she will eat it because Minako ordered it. Her expression though...]

Minako-chan?

Hm? [you're throwing her off, Saori...]

Oh, nothing. Please go ahead and talk.

[Lord knows she's already put up with Saori's endless yakking of her life already. Saori doesn't mind listening to whatever Minako has to say. She was just not expecting Minako to look so...guilty?]

You heard about Personas when you got here, right? The truth is, I already knew about them. ...I've been a Persona-user since before we met.

[0-0]

Edited 2012-10-09 04:25 (UTC)

[......She'd expected to hear a hundred things from Minako. How her day went, her brother, even a love confession. But not that.]

I never realized.

[She gives a wry smile.]

You weren't supposed to. We had to keep it secret from everyone. It's something most people would never believe, right? If it became a rumor, it'd be a problem.

Edited 2012-10-09 04:37 (UTC)

I...["I'd believe it," she almost says. Except she really didn't believe it when those guys told her. And there was evidence all around her. Who's to say she would believe even her friend? And what she says at the end...yeah. Saori's experienced first-hand how cruel mere gossip can be. If Minako's Persona became known...

Saori now realizes there's a lot more to Minako than she had thought possible...as well as her home.]

How many of them were there?

Well... everyone who lived at my dorm. It's the real reason why we had a special dorm in the first place.

[> You give Saori a brief overview of how you awoke to your Persona...

> You also tell her about SEES' mission, although you leave out Nyx and just how close the world came to ending...]

[>Saori listens to your story, about your Persona awakening and SEES.

>The more Saori listens, the more her brows raise from worry.

To think the Dark Hour existed back home, not just here. While she hasn't experienced it personally yet, what she hears is enough to send chills down her spine. It sounds like something from a horror film, and as much as she enjoys those she personally wouldn't want to experience one. Yet Minako and her friends alone fought to erase it.]

You've always been so responsible.

[You're going to embarrass her like that.]

We all just did what we had to do. And... I wouldn't have gotten anywhere alone. You too, Saori-chan... There's no way I could have fought so hard if I didn't have good friends to protect.

[She's not trying to! It's the truth.]

Ahah. I think you're the one who deserves the thanks. All I did was get you involved in my issues, while you went out and saved the world.

[She says it in a teasing way, but mostly to mask her own self-disappointment and the new insecurity that came with knowing the world being in mortal danger while she didn't realize.]

Well, it looks like both of us are involved with something even bigger now -- [whoops the ramen is here so that though gets cut off]

Yes. It seems that way. [Oh there's that ramen.]

But now I have the same power. So, I want to do all I can to help. [What she's meant to do to help out, Saori doesn't know. But she can figure that out.]

Great! [She can't exactly tell Saori she can't fight after everything, can she? Everyone in SEES had been an ordinary student before getting a Persona, after all.] I'll introduce you to everyone who's here... I'm sure they'll be glad to have your help too.

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