Yuzuki

Asa's suicide naturally had an intense effect on Yuzuki and her parents. While her parents were utterly distraught, Yuzuki was still young, barely even a person yet. She didn't even fully understand what was going on, but it became one of her earliest memories. Yuzuki's parents tried everything to explain it, but it was difficult to explain such things to a child. Maybe if Yuzuki hadn't walked in, the old "They've gone away on vacation, but they can't come back" would've done the trick, but she saw what happened. What could they do? They were half against therapy, Yuzuki was just a child, is that what a child should be going through? They didn't know. All they could do was support Yuzuki the best they could.

This incident caused a lot of issues for Yuzuki as she was growing up. For one, her fixation on plushies for comfort started here. She grew up with anxiety and severe depression. The desire to be taken care of, to have somebody there that won't leave her was the thing that sent her on a worse decline. Her desire to just be seen, be noticed and to just ultimately not be alone caused her to be quite loud as a child. Loudly talking but bursting into tears almost immediately was a daily occurrence. She was still young, her parents were so scared to send her to therapy, and really at the time they could barely afford it. Keeping up with Yuzuki's declining mental health and their own grieving was just... Exhausting. They didn't know what to do.

Despite trying her best, she felt like all she did was drive people away, because they couldn't understand her demeanour. They couldn't understand the grieving she was going through and how it affected everything she did. Even as a teenager she hadn't stopped. Gekkoukan middle school was a lonely place for Yuzuki.. Until she met Dai. Dai was a boy in the same year as Yuzuki, but in a different class. He took advantage of her quiet and shy nature, noticing how alone she was compared to other students. He would wait for her after class and strike up conversations with her, he'd follow her to the home economics rooms where she'd bake alone during break and talk to her, tasting her bakes and telling her how talented she is.. Yuzuki found... An odd comfort in Dai, and decided to talk to him, feeling protected around him.. Though things would change quickly. Dai then pressured Yuzuki into accepting his offer for a relationship, and after that he would brutally mistreat her. She was still young, not used to this kind of thing, she didn't know who to tell or how to handle this, she just had to try her best, and endure.

Aged 15, Yuzuki and Akihiko Sanada were assigned seats next to each other in class for the new school year. Yuzuki only really knew Akihiko as the kid that did boxing, but didn't pay much mind to him than that at first. As classes went by and months passed, the two would talk on and off during lessons until they became sort-of friends. Akihiko really got Yuzuki out of her shy little bubble at times. There were days she was... Off... Thinking this would scare him away, Yuzuki was almost prepared for him to stop talking to her.. but instead Akihiko would just try to cheer her up the best he could. (Which sometimes he kinda sucked at, but the thought was there!) One time Yuzuki rolled up her sleeve during class. She wanted to show Akihiko some of the notes she had taken to cheat on a test she wasn't overly confident in. Once he noticed a bruise on her arm though, he didn't stop asking about it. Yuzuki would attempt to explain it away as an accident but something felt off to Akihiko. The two went to the roof after school that day. Yuzuki looks out into the distance as she tells Akihiko a brief summary. She's not ready to tell anybody the full story. She owes Akihiko an explanation for why she acts so off with him at times. At this point, he's the only person who knows. Needless to say, Akihiko is enraged. Yuzuki was an innocent girl and she was getting attacked by an older guy like this? He wasn't gonna stand for it. Akihiko had a perfect opportunity to show his strength against a real opponent, not holding back. Akihiko's skills as a boxer really came in handy, he didn't beat up Dai like he hoped to, but gave him a pretty solid punch to the nose, breaking it. This caused Dai to go to hospital for a little while, giving Yuzuki the chance to escape from her situation. It took a while for Yuzuki to actually feel safe, or somewhat close to safe. She didn't want to tell her parents, she knows how protective they are. She's just not ready.

Yuzuki slowly but surely opened up after this with help from Akihiko. After Dai was sent to hospital, rumours about Yuzuki started to spread, it was mostly negative towards her. These rumours weirdly brought her and Akihiko closer together, everytime the rumours would get worse, he'd ask her to come to training to take the stress off of her. He taught her the basics of boxing, how to defend herself. Yuzuki would even officially join the boxing club from time to time. When Yuzuki and Akihiko would hang outside of class, there'd sometimes be another boy there that seemed friendly with Akihiko. He'd stand around and talk to Aki but when Yuzuki approached, he'd make an excuse to duck away into a classroom or out of the school. Yuzuki didn't really notice this, she was still a bit shy, trying to break out of her shell. She was mostly excited to talk to Akihiko about training that she didn't even notice this boy. The one time she does notice him sneaking off though.. She asks about him. This boy was Shinjiro Aragaki. Unknown to either of them, Shinjiro had a small crush on Yuzuki. They had never spoken, but he had seen her a few times talking to Akihiko. He also sat behind her in class, though she never noticed him before. He didn't really know her personality all that well, and he wasn't going to ask Akihiko and make his feelings obvious.. He mostly just found her attractive.

Throughout the training she was doing with Aki, Yuzuki slowly began to change, her personality switching from a quiet girl to a more outspoken one. Learning how to protect herself was an amazing healing experience for her and she had Akihiko to thank for it. This obviously didn't cure her mental health though, Yuzuki was prone to panic attacks, especially before falling asleep. While she was louder and had more of an attitude to her as time went on, she still had her moments of quiet where she'd remember. She was still suffering from a severe depression, sometimes acting a little impulsive when she'd feel her worst.

Akihiko joins the first group of S.E.E.S, which consisted of himself, Mitsuru, Shinjiro and their founder Ikutsuki. Yuzuki didn't know about S.E.E.S nor the Dark Hour, but once entering Gekkoukan High School, she noticed Akihiko hanging around a new face. This new face was Mitsuru. Mitsuru's first impression of Yuzuki was... loud.. but Mitsuru would talk to her from time to time. The past year shaped Yuzuki, strengthening her mentally and physically. She was a lot stronger physically though.. Despite her training with Akihiko, she actually turned to baking a lot more than she used to, it was something she could do at all hours, something she could really focus on. She stopped bringing small plushies to school and decided to make a reputation for herself by being a tough girl that takes no disrespect. She's quickly labelled a tease and a flirt, something she'd do only to get a reaction out of others and press their buttons. This was technically just a form of intimidation. She also had ways of getting people to leave her alone, mostly being confronting and aggressive around people that try her patience. She's definitely considered some sort of delinquent.

She was still very close to Akihiko. He moved into the Iwatodai dorm and Yuzuki would come to visit him and Mitsuru at times to drop off things she had baked for them. Shinjiro would act the way he would before, make a quick excuse and duck out of the room. Yuzuki didn't notice him that much though, she was just pretty psyched to be in the dorm! She was living at home with her parents while attending Gekkoukan, after telling them about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her ex boyfriend, they wanted to keep an eye on her in case her mental health plummeted any further. The whole reason she was able to tell them was because of how tough she had gotten! Or... maybe it was guilt from not telling them sooner. She doesn't really know. What she did know though, is the dorm is way cooler than her house! Due to her frequent visits, she got a lot closer to Mitsuru. While at first, Mitsuru would scold her for coming over so much.. She ended up becoming friendly with Yuzuki. Yuzuki was never allowed to stay the night, Mitsuru telling her their visitor curfew was 9pm, giving S.E.E.S enough time to train before entering the Dark Hour, not like they could tell Yuzuki that.. Yuzuki agrees to the curfew with no issue. Yuzuki thinks Ikutsuki's jokes are horrific. Sometimes cutting her visits there short if she spots him sitting in the dorm.

As time goes on, Yuzuki's reputation builds up. A lot of students seem afraid of her, she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty if someone starts a fight with her. By this point, Yuzuki had completely stopped seeing glimpses of Shinjiro around the school or at the dorm, Akihiko and Mitsuru also seemed a little off.. But with a promise to train with him, Akihiko could take his mind off of Shinjiro's departure from S.E.E.S. She wouldn't admit to it to anyone else, but she also had to get her mind off of things. She got word of Dai switching schools, which was a relief but also brought back a lot of repressed memories for her. That doubled with the fact she was still having panic attacks often, not only over her abuse, but over her deceased sister. Since Yuzuki never got counselling or any kind of mental help after Asa's death, it was always eating away at her in the background.. Some days were just easier to manage than others. This continued for the next 2 years.

As a senior, Yuzuki still keeps her reputation. Some students mention in the halls there's a senior that'll beat you up for looking at her the wrong way. This is entirely untrue though, Yuzuki only gets violent when she really needs to be. There's a lot of rumours about her. A few of these include: Using the boxes she brings in to bake with for smuggling drugs, her bakes being a front for drug dealing. That she comes from a long line of yakuza, how she's slept with at least 30 guys and how she uses a fake ID to get into Club Escapade. Only one of these rumours is true though, the fake ID one. Yuzuki frequents Club Escapade, while she can get in as an 18 year old, she brings the ID so she can buy alcohol. She also uses the ID to buy cigarettes. Yuzuki is aware that she doesn't have the most healthy habits, on top of these she also goes days without food. She's not entirely sure why she does so.

By this point, she's been bringing bakes to Iwatodai dorm for 2 years. She doesn't usually chat to new people, so when Yukari joins S.E.E.S the two don't hold a conversation, She's more than happy to sit and talk to Mitsuru and Akihiko though. Yuzuki isn't stupid, she knows that new people have most likely heard the many rumours about her and doesn't feel the need to prove them wrong.

Before Persona 3 begins, Yuzuki is on medication. Her parents really pushed to get her some sort of doctor consultation, hoping it would help their daughter's panic attacks. They don't actually stop her panic attacks, but they do help her depression slightly, when she's on her medication she doesn't make as many impulsive decisions.

"So this is the new guy in the dorm?"

"Hello?"
⮞ "Who are you?"

Akihiko has to encourage her subtly to introduce herself, considering Minato is a new student he probably hadn't heard a name to the rumours yet.

"I'm Yuzuki Sugiura, I bring stuff that I bake to the dorm sometimes. Try one,"

Obtained Chocolate Chip Cookie x1

"I'm sure there will be leftovers tomorrow, don't go complainin' about it, alright? That's my own recipe."

Yuzuki leaves boxes of various bakes in the dorm every few days, they're healing items. Whenever there's a box of bakes on the coffee table, Minato can grab some. After this interaction, Yuzuki leaves the dorm and Akihiko explains that while "Yuzu" isn't a member or even aware of S.E.E.S, she's a pretty close friend to him and Mitsuru. She's rough around the edges, but she's alright deep down.

Yuzuki doesn't talk to Minato much outside of this, when entering the dorm at night when Yuzuki is there, she'll mostly just greet him unless he goes to talk to her.

"Hey dude."
"You enjoying Gekkoukan?"

⮞ "Well..."
"I am."

"Hahaha. I hear ya."

She seems to warm up to Minato the more he appears. She even starts to warm up to Yukari. Sometimes when Yuzuki visits, Yukari will talk about her to Minato…

"What do you think of Yuzuki-san?"

⮞ "She seems fine."

"She freaks me out."

"Right? At first she was actually pretty cold to me, but now we talk a little bit. I can't really blame her for being cold. It must be hard dealing with the types of rumours she does..."

Yuzuki isn't the biggest fan of Junpei at first, meeting him during one of her visits. He immediately recognises her as the girl in all those rumours around school, which makes Yuzuki a little passive aggressive towards him. Giving him snide remarks if he sits with them during the evening. Junpei will gradually pick up Akihiko's nickname for Yuzuki and start calling her that. He also gives her the honorific -chan to make her seem... Less threatening to him. She hates it, but supposes that’s what she gets for being passive aggressive... On the evening that Junpei gives Minato the laptop and mentions the MMO, Yuzuki is visiting.

"Junpei, nobody plays that shit anymore, everyone's playing Eternal Punishment now."

"Woah. Yuzu-chan plays games? No way. Maybe sometime we could-"

"Uh, no."

After talking to Minato a fair bit, she'll occasionally ask him what kinda bake he's craving. He'll usually get a choice between cupcakes, cookies, cornet and melonpan. Whichever he chooses will be the next type of bake she brings to the dorm. Yuzuki's character stays pretty consistent. She continues to visit and banter a little more with Minato and the others from time to time. Not much else is hinted at with Yuzuki's character at this point. Just that she's a little rough and she'll occasionally mention a fight or two she got into. Which Mitsuru disapproves of. There are some nights Akihiko isn't available for Tartarus, the reason being Yuzuki showed up to the boxing club on that specific day, and the two often get carried away and box for way too long.

Yuzuki joins S.E.E.S near the end of May, after Akihiko is released from hospital and able to join the team again. Yuzuki is on a late night run to the dorms with a box of bakes when she unknowingly enters the Dark Hour. The coffins freaked her out so badly that she started getting angry.. She attempts to open some of the coffins before Akihiko finds her. He had gotten a text from Yuzuki about her late night run to the dorm.. Worried that she'd get caught up in the Dark Hour, Aki went looking for her. The next day she gets the explanation of S.E.E.S.. She doesn't seem to be mad that Aki and Mitsuru kept this a secret from her, if anything she's quite impressed they pulled the wool over her eyes for so long. She agrees to join, and moves into the dorm.

"Hey, roomie. Actually I guess it would be dormie?"

"Dormie?"
⮞"What do you mean?"

"Yuzuki's moving in, she's joining our team. You should've seen the look on her face when I found her during the Dark Hour."

"Ugh, go to hell, Aki. You guys really kept this shit under wraps though, huh?
I'll be all moved in tomorrow, so get excited, yeah?"

Once Yuzuki is moved into the Iwatodai dorm, her social link becomes available! The beginning of Yuzuki's social link talks about her and Minato's shared interests, that being music and games. She asks him about Innocent Sin, to which Minato asks if she's "Maya", Yuzuki denies this based on the fact she wouldn't be caught dead playing Innocent Sin now there are better MMOs out. The rumours about Yuzuki also get mentioned later after she takes him to Club Escapade. Yuzuki talks to Minato about elements of her past once she's able to trust him.
Throughout her social link it becomes clear how much Yuzuki grows to trust Minato.

Not long after Yuzuki joins, S.E.E.S investigate the "ghost stories”. Loving a good horror story, Yuzuki plays into the idea of asking around about the ghost.. Then when Minato, Yukari and Junpei want to go to the back alleys of Port Island Station... Yuzuki doesn't think it's a great idea letting the younger students look into this kinda thing alone. Having a bit of experience with Port Island's nightlife, she accompanies them. Junpei makes a jab about how the Club Escapade rumour must be true... Yuzuki elbows him in the ribs.

This is where Yuzuki meets... Shinjiro. Saving them by fighting off the guys that were bothering them... Shinjiro snaps at the group. As Yukari speaks to Shinjiro... Yuzuki feels like she recognises him... Shit... Where has she seen him before? The club? Maybe? Errr... Feels like she knows him from somewhere else though..

The two make eye contact a couple of times.. Shinjiro looks away quickly when they do... Seems like he recognises her at least.. and when Shinjiro asks her if Aki told them to go there... Something in her head clicks. She definitely knows this guy from somewhere.. Maybe she should ask Aki.. Maybe not... Would that put fuel on the fire? It's bothering her a little...

Yukari asks Yuzuki if she knew that guy.. but Yuzuki can't give her a good answer... Yukari drops the questioning when Yuzuki says..

"But damn, wasn't he kinda...?"

Yukari shakes her head, criticising Yuzuki's tastes in men. Yuzuki was joking, really! She says she doesn't care for relationships, but can appreciate a nice looking guy or girl.

When it's time to save Fuuka, Yuzuki doesn't stay behind at the entrance of Tartarus with Mitsuru and Yukari, instead she goes inside with Minato, Aki and Junpei. They eventually find Fuuka, but Fuuka recognises Yuzuki from the rumours, she's noticeably scared of her. Yuzuki dies a little inside but she has no time to think about that, she needs to help the guys save Yukari and Mitsuru!!

With Fuuka on the team, Mitsuru can join the party... Having Akihiko, Mitsuru and Yuzuki on the party at the same time gives them special dialogue.

"Three seniors on the team, huh? You'll miss seeing the three of us so close once we graduate, Minato!"

"Graduating usually means you need to study, Yuzu. When was the last time you got above 50 on a test?"

⋙ Mitsuru suddenly stares directly into Yuzuki's soul...

"....!"

⋙ Yuzuki looks away, whistling...

Yuzuki realises pretty quickly that Fuuka is... at least wary of her. Yuzuki seems to want to... Actually reach out a little. It's not great seeing a team member actively afraid of her.. Everyone else in S.E.E.S is accepting of her... So Fuuka would be too, right? Though she tries to talk herself into talking to Fuuka... She just isn't able to... Until...
After Koromaru is first met outside of the dorm, the same night a scene takes place. Yuzuki is downstairs in the kitchen late at night when Fuuka comes downstairs after smelling baking... Fuuka almost jumped out of her skin upon seeing her.../p><

"E-err.."

⋙ The two stare at each other for a moment...

⋙ ........

"D-do you bake, Yuzuki-senpai?"

Yuzuki explains to Fuuka that she actually loves baking and that she's trying a new type of recipe, a dog friendly cake for Koromaru. Since he likes to walk past their dorm from time to time, she wants to give him a treat now and again. Fuuka and Yuzuki end up being able to talk about Fuuka's desire to cook and how cute they both think Koromaru is! Fuuka may still be a tad bit wary of Yuzuki, but she seems more comfortable around her after this interaction. Yuzuki would open up to Fuuka enough to get lost in conversation about the cafe she wants to open when she's older, passionately describing everything she wants to do with it.. Fuuka listens intently, seeing a side to the delinquent she's never seen before.

From this point on until the Yakushima Vacation, Yuzuki's role is pretty small. She's pretty chilled out during the vacation, spending her time with the girls more than anything else. She thinks Aigis is really cool and laughs when she hears about Aki and Junpei’s awful attempts to flirt with women on the beach. When it comes to S.E.E.S meetings, Yuzuki is pretty on board with most things. They have to defeat a bunch of big shadows every full moon and avoid a bunch of freaks that worship the Dark Hour? Sounds good, count her in! A lot of Yuzuki's interactions at this point are her bickering with Junpei and Akihiko or talking to the girls. She seems a lot more comfortable now... and only gets more comfortable once Koromaru joins S.E.E.S. She's perfected her dog friendly cake recipe! Ken starts living in the dorms.. While some of S.E.E.S were kinda iffy about having a kid around... Yuzuki didn't really seem to mind, as long as he wasn't an annoying kid she didn't care.... Once Ken joins S.E.E.S, claiming his mother was killed by shadows.. Man... This kid is so young, he needs a friend. She really feels for him and his situation. Yuzuki catches Ken reading manga on one occasion, and she ends up talking to him. She seems way more comfortable being the first to initiate conversation with people at this point, which is something Akihiko mentions to Minato.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Movie, non canon

When facing off against the Justice and Chariot shadows in August... Shinjiro bursts in to help take down the combined shadow, after Strega threatens S.E.E.S. Yuzuki again recognises this guy, but where from? Aki called him Shinji... Shinji who? Yuzuki ends up chasing after Aki at the dorms afterwards, asking him about this mysterious guy. Akihiko kinda explains it. He tells Yuzuki that they were childhood friends and he's surprised she doesn't remember him from middle school. She finally learns his full name, Shinjiro Aragaki. Aragaki... that's a name she's heard around the club.

After this, Ken expresses that he wants to go to the summer festival with Shinjiro... Yuzuki, still curious, offers to go along with him to ask. Yuzuki tells Ken she'll meet up with the two of them at the festival, she can't lie, she has this weird urge to protect Ken, it's the same way she feels about Fuuka... Aki teases her and tells her that's just her inner senior student coming out. Shinjiro doesn't seem super thrilled that Yuzuki is coming along. What's his problem?! It's not like he's living in the dorms and sees her enough to get sick of her.

During the festival, Yuzuki spends most of her time around Ken and Shinjiro. Shinjiro actively avoids looking at Yuzuki when possible. The two do talk though. Something Ken picks up on is how red in the face Shinjiro got when he saw her. Seriously, what's his deal ?!
Shinjiro is pretty good at the festival games. He makes both Ken and Yuzuki pretty happy! Shinjiro wins Yuzuki a huge Jack Frost plushie. Woah... Couldn't he look at her when he's handing it to her?!? Why's he gotta look away like that..!

Yuzuki is seen holding Fuuka’s hand at times to comfort her during the festival, since it’s a big event, she doesn’t want Fuuka to feel unsafe. (This event is non canon to the game! So would only appear in the movie!)

— — — — — — — — — — — — — —

As August comes to a close.. She makes comments about her daily life in the dorms when prompted.

"Seriously, be careful with that dog!! Koro-chan can walk you for miles.." "What kinda bake are you craving? Let me know!" "If you hear noises downstairs in the early morning, it's probably me. Sorry if I wake you up."

Mitsuru mentions there's something off with Yuzuki lately, her energy has been down a little in Tartarus.. If prompted after this dialogue while Mitsuru is in the same room, they'll have a conversation.

"You've been lacking energy."
"Urrgh.. Not this again.."
"Are you eating enough?"
"I'm fine, Mitsuru. Seriously.."

Mitsuru does genuinely care for Yuzuki, and is worried about her. She knows Yuzuki's coping mechanisms aren't always the best.. Mitsuru already disapproves of Yuzuki's smoking and occasional drinking.. If she continues.. Her well being might suffer. She'll tell Minato this information when alone if he's rank 7 in Yuzuki's social link by the end of August.

During this time, Yuzuki has a few more moments with Fuuka. Yuzuki offers to help Fuuka learn how to bake a little more after seeing her take serious interest. Yuzuki isn't exactly soft in her teaching methods, but she tries to set a pace for Fuuka.. The two became closer friends after this. When Fuuka's worried, Yuzuki makes it a point to comfort her the best she can. Even holding her hand when she's scared.

September.. The night Shinjiro moves back into the dorms.. Yuzuki is still puzzled.

"That's the guy from the station... Shinjiro?
...This is bothering me so bad! I just can't place him... I know he's an old friend of Aki's... but...
...!"

Finally recognising Shinjiro as the guy that used to hang around Aki... Yuzuki attempts to talk to him.. But they don't seem to get along too well at first. Shinjiro is on edge around her, but she doesn't understand why..? Does he remember her or something? She doesn't think they even spoke.. Not that it bothered her though, another guy to bicker with in the dorms was no big deal.

Yuzuki doesn't actually find this out from Shinjiro himself.. but the reason he was so cold towards Yuzuki was so he wouldn't be tempted to get close to her. Shinjiro recognised Yuzuki immediately way back at the station as the girl he had a crush on 3 years ago but never spoke to.. Is he really hanging onto a crush he had when he was 15? That's what he scolds himself with. She was so different now, there's no point in feeling this way about her anymore...
Despite how much Shinjiro wanted to stay away from getting too close to her, the two lived in the same dorm building, fought in the same team, walked and fed the same dog.. they were gonna end up bumping into each other.

A lot of Shinjiro and Yuzuki's romance is inspired by Shinjiro's actual social link, but with a lot of extras added in. Shinjiro and Yuzuki's... "relationship" starts when the two are downstairs in the dorm a couple nights after Shinjiro arrives at the dorm. The two of them talk a little about life in the dorm.. Shinjiro acts a little cold towards Yuzuki until she... Faints. Shinjiro catches her before she hits the ground.
Yuzuki wakes up on the couch downstairs. Shinjiro's coat draped over her to keep her warm. When she looks around she spots Shinjiro sleeping on one of the armchairs. She notices he's slightly shivering even with a sweater and beanie on.. He was cold..?
She owes him an explanation for her fainting... but should she really wake him up? Maybe she should just leave and forget this happened for both their sakes... Erghh.. She's undecided. As she's stuck on this.. She kicks up enough of a fuss talking to herself that she wakes him up... Okay... Time to explain then.. Lately Yuzuki's diet has been... less than enough, which already makes her a little dizzy.. Pair that with going into Tartarus so often.. There are times when she'll pass out. She can't even explain why she's doing this to herself, it's something she used to do and she thought she was over it... but...

Shinjiro calls her a moron. Rude! But he's trying to tell her the truth about her habits. The more she keeps this up, the worse the effects are gonna be on her body. He actually seems angry.. but not in a way where he's trying to hurt her. He's trying to look out for her. He gets up after this, and cooks her something to eat. He sits there with her and forces her to eat all of it... Which is half uncomfortable.. Half appreciated. It's clear Shinji really does have a big heart..

The two have a few more scenes like this, one being where Shinjiro comes downstairs around 3AM.. He sees Yuzuki baking.. Trying to clear her head.

“...What are you doing?”

“The hell does it look like I’m doing?!”

The two talk.. They seem to genuinely get along even with their bickering. The two share a love for making food and especially making food for Koromaru.
The two of them take Koromaru out for walks late at night sometimes.. They go to the shrine more often than not. Yuzuki wanted to confront Shinjiro.. She can't fall in love again, she just doesn't believe in it! So why when Shinji's around... Does her heart basically burst out of her chest?! And Shinjiro... He knows that being in a relationship with Yuzuki is unfair to her. He knows he doesn't have much time left. He can't tell her that though. A part of him wants to cut this short, to stop them from seeing each other but.. Damn it feels good to be wanted. It feels good to be in love, doesn't it? And after Yuzuki tells him about her past relationship he doesn't want to treat her like an asshole about this. That's where they started this... Strange relationship. Shinjiro makes it clear to Yuzuki this is just casual, it's not serious, they're just trying this out. Yuzuki agrees. She tells him she's still freaked out about love, about trusting someone that intimately.. But she's willing to try. Even just a little. Shinjiro's hope is that they won't get too attached to each other before his time is up.. Or that's how it was supposed to be. Soon they really did start acting like a real couple, doing more together, cooking and baking for the dorm. Yuzuki was even skipping some of her classes so they could spend more time together.

"Dammit, this isn't how it's supposed to be."

Do they just accept they want to be together? Sort of. Yuzuki starts calling herself Shinjiro's girlfriend to his face, mostly just because it flustered him.. but she also genuinely believed it. As September draws to a close.. She really does feel like she's in love with him. Not only that, she feels like she can really trust him.. She eats his cooking, she talks to him about what bothers her.. She even willingly shows him her secret plush collection, to which Shinjiro takes her to an arcade to win a giant Jack Frost plushie for her. They fight together in Tartarus.. Shinjiro shields and scolds Yuzuki when she slips up.. but it was all out of genuine worry for her. The two bickered, made up, cooked and baked for the dorm.. They didn't keep it a secret for long. Some members of S.E.E.S commenting on their relationship when prompted.

“Hey, if two S.E.E.S members date… Won’t that be… y’know, complicated? What if they break up and hate each other?”

Shinjiro and Yuzuki end up working together.. Somehow.. and making a giant feast for the dorm one night. Fuuka sadly being in the middle of their bickering in the kitchen, but appreciates the pointers she got in both cooking and baking! Yuzuki would bring Shinjiro into her future plans, trying to convince him he should come work at the cafe she wants to open. Shinjiro usually just grunts when Yuzuki brings this up. He wants to hear about her cafe, hear how uncharacteristically passionate she sounds when she describes it but hearing how much she really wants him to be apart of it fills him with guilt. He can't really tell her that it's unlikely he'll be able to help her with her dreams.

When Shinjiro tells Minato "Women just complicate life, trust me" He wasn't lying about that part, not only was Yuzuki a real piece of work with her mischievousness, she had ultimately complicated his life and what he believed his fate was going to be. Though Shinjiro had done the exact same thing to her.

Though their relationship wasn't always perfect throughout the month.. The two of them are moody in their own ways sometimes, especially when Shinji thinks they're getting too serious. Shinji also felt guilty whenever the two of them were out having fun, as if he doesn't deserve this kind of happiness.

If Yuzuki hadn't been with Shinjiro throughout this month, maybe she would've called Junpei an idiot for how he was so lovesick over Chidori. She knew he had some sort of ammunition to shoot back at her though, so she mostly stayed quiet about it. In fact, secretly she thought it was kinda sweet that Junpei was spending a lot of time in the hospital, keeping Chidori company. Sure, he would talk about it in a way that made her cringe at the dorm, but the gesture was nice and she didn't really seem to dislike Chidori, despite how much she dislikes Strega in general. Shinjiro had his opinions about Junpei and Chidori... but Yuzuki just called him a heartless loser (affectionately). There were a few times the four seniors would hang out together, but this always ended in some kind of silly spat. It was nice though, a breath of fresh air from the stress of the Dark Hour, especially since they now know how to get rid of it... It all just seemed too good to be true.

On October 4th, everything changed. Yuzuki immediately felt a little off about Shinjiro's absence from the group that night, considering how passionate he is about defeating shadows... Yet when Mitsuru explains that Shinjiro had killed Ken's mother by accident... Things started to make sense to her. The weird tension when Shinjiro and Ken would talk, how Shinjiro would go a little quieter after she mentions Ken.. Despite the weird energy, Shinjiro seemed to really want to protect Ken, even if he didn't admit it. Yuzuki had no idea about this, Shinji had never told her. This was pretty damn bad, though. Aki was already out there looking for them, like hell was she gonna stand around!

But even with how determined she was, she was too late to help Shinjiro.

What else could she do but cry about it? Openly sobbing, grabbing his hand tight no matter how much blood she got on herself.. What the hell was she meant to do? She can't lose somebody else. That's not fair.

"Take care of him."

Though he was referring to Ken... Yuzuki couldn't help but think that he was also referring to Aki. She can't handle all this?! This is all way too sudden.. Or well, it was to her at least. She doesn't find out until she and Akihiko talk later in his room that Shinjiro had this in his head for... a long time. This is when Aki also tells her that Shinjiro had been on persona suppressants, meaning he would've died sooner than later anyway.

Yuzuki spent that night punching the ever loving shit out of Akihiko's punching bag, crying the whole time.

(In an AU, Yuzuki will find Shinjiro's pocket watch for him, which ultimately saves him. In the canon timeline though either way Shinjiro will take Yuzuki to the shrine and talk to her about Akihiko and how he wants Akihiko to have someone there for him.. He wants Yuzuki to continue looking out for Aki like she has been, keeping him in line and bantering with him. Yuzuki thinks this is a little weird because.. Why wouldn't she? Her and Shinji will always be there for Aki, right?)

Yuzuki's handling of Shinjiro's death was... Painful. Not only was she trying to beat the shit out of anybody who was talking during his funeral afterwards, but she was also not showing up to classes, instead just hanging out by his memorial for as long as it was up. She didn't run into Akihiko during his awakening. By all means, Akihiko was handling it way better than Yuzuki ever could.
Mitsuru was going to lock the door to Shinjiro's room.. but after seeing Yuzuki sleep in there.. She decides to leave it unlocked. Yuzuki won't always sleep in his bed, but on her tougher nights she will. The pillows don't even smell like him anymore.
Yuzuki also comes into possession of Shinjiro's coat and beanie. She is insanely protective of it, to the point where she'll get paranoid they'll go missing if she can't see them. When she's home she almost immediately puts on his jacket. She doesn't take either into Tartarus for the fear it'll get lost. There's bullet holes in his jacket. She stops taking her own medication but starts again after seeing Ken. Ken is just a kid and he thinks it's his fault that Shinjiro is dead. Ken can't even look Yuzuki in the eyes, he feels like he's taken something precious from her. When he wanted to kill Shinji, he didn't care about all of that.. but now he does. Through bagged eyes, Yuzuki sighs and decides to do what Shinjiro wanted.
Akihiko wasn't as slick as he thought he was. He seemed to be handling it well.. But a perk about sleeping in Shinjiro's room is if Yuzu heads to the bathroom.. She'll sometimes run into Aki on the boy's floor, bloodshot eyes from crying. More incentive to really get her own ass into gear in order to care for others.

Though she's never been great with kids, she at least tries to talk to Ken. Not about Shinjiro, but about the stuff he likes. His hobbies and his schoolwork. She's trying to approach him gently. Yuzuki knows a fair bit about manga and a little bit about what shows are popular, so she'll start with that.

"So which one of these is your favourite? What, surprised I know what Featherman R is? I'm not that old, y'know!"

With Akihiko, she tries to encourage him more. He's only getting stronger, but she wants to make sure he's at least being healthy about it. Though Yuzuki was always the first to call it quits for the day while boxing, she made an extra effort for him. The two really could relate, both losing sisters and now one of the closest people to them. It's no surprise they'd hang around each other more and more.

"C'mon Aki, one more! I know you've got more than that!"

With Fuuka, she knows she can't teach her about cooking, but baking is definitely something Yuzu can do. It's rough for Fuuka, sure her and Shinjiro weren't that close, but he was helping her and showing her kindness no matter how rough he came off. Yuzuki wanted to match that energy the best she could.

"You're doing good, but we ain't done yet- wait!"

When Yuzuki would walk Koromaru... It was still quite relaxing but felt a little empty without Shinjiro. She could tell that Koromaru felt the same way. She tries to talk to Koromaru about Shinjiro, hoping that he understands her. When they go to the shrine, she'll usually put in an offering and pray for a few different things. Sometimes she'd pray for everyone's health, sometimes she'd pray for the Dark Hour to end... and sometimes she'd pray solely to feel like she's talking to Shinji. She was never one for prayer before, and is a little embarrassed to mention it to others.

What kinda pisses her off is that nobody else is talking about Shinji enough... I mean.. She gets they have a job to do, but…

A recording shows Mitsuru up late in the downstairs lounge. She's waiting. It becomes clear what she's waiting for as Yuzuki stumbles in. She's tipsy, and has just come from Club Escapade. Mitsuru gives her an earful about how irresponsible she is, how the school would kick her out if they found out about her habits. and while Yuzuki is a bit hostile at first, she ends up collapsing into Mitsuru, crying her eyes out. The whole time she had been caring for others, she didn't feel like anybody was caring for her. Not like Shinjiro used to. Mitsuru, feeling a little awkward, just stands there and tries to calm her down, not doing the best job. Yuzuki tells her that she originally only went to Club Escapade to tell the club owner, who was also a friend of Shinjiro's, that he had died. The club owner then offered her free drinks for being a close friend of Shinji's and.. She just kinda went out of control. It was a miracle she even got home.

As for Yuzuki's parents, they knew she had a boyfriend but they had never met him. They were hoping to meet him nearer the New Year. To avoid them worrying about her.. She ended up telling her parents that they had just simply broken up. She doesn't tell them the truth until way later after The Answer.

Yuzuki's final rank becomes available after October 10th.

"Yo. Need something?"

⮞ "Are you okay?"

"How are you holding up?"

"U-urk..."

Not one to show her emotions outright if she can help it, Yuzuki holds back when she talks to Minato about her current mental state. She talks about how hard it's been, but then explains what she's trying to do for the others affected. She's putting everyone else first, the others' well being is what Shinjiro would've wanted.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?"
⮞ "He would've wanted you to take care of yourself, too."

"I know you're right. I'm just.. Not ready. I have a lot in my head and... We can rest after the Dark Hour is over. Then I'll try. I promise.
Thank you for checking up on me, you're a real good friend."

Any excuse to kick Strega's ass was good enough for her. Takaya falls off the bridge? Good riddance, asshole! That’s what he gets for doing what he did to Shinjiro. If Takaya comes back, she’s happy to deal with him. Yuzuki's gonna help put an end to the dark hour no matter what! The Hanged Man is defeated and the Dark Hour is finished!!! She sleeps in Shinji's room that night, talking to him about how happy she is that the Dark Hour is over.. That's what Shinjiro wanted.

..Except the Dark Hour isn't over. Her heart sinks the next night as they find out the truth.... Man, she always knew Ikutsuki was a total dick! So much shit is happening, Yuzuki hasn't even got time to think! Whatever... She'll do whatever Minato wants them to do. Anything to put this damn Dark Hour to rest.

She meets Ryoji and immediately isn't a fan of him. She crushes his foot when he tries to flirt with her, and he never tries it again.

She spends the Kyoto school trip around Akihiko, and shares a room with Mitsuru. Her and Akihiko talk a little about Shinji while there... It's kinda a lot for them. They talk and then spar next to the river. Yuzuki knows deep in her heart she's always gonna look out for Aki. He is everything to her, her best friend, her teammate, and her rock. She starts crying as they spar, thinking about their past together. Akihiko comforts her in the moment, even crying a little himself, but teases her about it later (affectionately).
Yeah, she was in the hot spring during the incident, sadly.

Yuzuki's story is uneventful until Ryoji drops the bomb on the group, that they have to kill him or fight Nyx. Dude, where did all these weirdos come from? First Ikutsuki, then Strega, now this guy? Yuzuki's pissed off! Now they're fighting a God or something? This blows!!

Honestly, she doesn’t think Ryoji is that bad of a guy, she doesn’t wanna kill him. She also doesn’t wanna fight a God, though. She's not happy outwardly at all, she puts on a brave face, but deep down she's scared. Really, really scared.

At this point, Yuzuki didn't believe she'd get a persona awakening like the others. It can be speculated the reason why is because in Greek mythology, Hilaeira was a princess that married Castor. The memory and love for Shinjiro perhaps stops her persona from physically evolving, causing her to constantly look backwards instead of forwards... but that changes one night. Yuzuki is sleeping in Shinjiro's room when she gets a vivid dream of him sitting next to her. After her initial shock, she tells him how scared she is about Nyx, about losing anybody else she cares about.

He's moody as usual, telling her that she needs to get her ass into gear. It's almost time to put an end to everything, right? She can't get all soft now. He tells her that this opponent might be stronger than anything she's ever faced, but she's not alone. Not by a long shot.

"It's not fair. You're not here.."

"I ain't there physically, but I'm always with you.."

*Sniff* "That was kinda corny.."

"Tch. I shouldn't have expected a serious conversation with you. You're a real piece of work."

Yuzuki's persona evolves that night, it combines Shinjiro's heart with her own. This persona became Anaxis. In Greek Mythology, Anaxis is the child of Castor and Hilaeria. In the design, it seems to be a combination of the personas Castor and Hilaeria instead of their offspring. Yuzuki looks forward and presses on with Shinjiro looking over her. She just needs to be strong for now, she knows that she can grieve later after their final enemy is dealt with.

There's not much to say about the battle against Nyx, as Yuzuki has the same role as everyone else. Encouraging Minato the best she can. Really, Yuzuki does see Minato as a true friend, maybe one of her first. She always found him fun to be around.. and now he's facing off against this big ass God?? Like hell she isn't gonna support him through it!

"You ain't dying here, give it your all!!"

...

...

...

"Haven't you heard about that girl? From the rumours... They're saying she had a boyfriend or something but he died last year. I feel bad for her."

"Doesn't she live in our dorm too? She'll be moving out soon... I never really spoke to her."

Yuzuki doesn't care about people talking about her, especially not the girl in the pink cardigan and that guy with the hat she's never even seen before. She's gotta get through the day and do her thing. She's got flowers to pick up for Shinjiro's grave after this annoying graduation speech is done with. She doesn't really remember how they met, but she knows how she feels about him even though he's gone.

She actually shows up to the graduation speech, Sitting next to her long-time classmate and good friend Akihiko. When Mitsuru stumbles during her speech and everybody remembers the events of the past year.. It’s a race to the rooftop to find Minato. When they get there, they’re too late.

Yuzuki losing another person so close to her? Give her a break. She mourns the hell out of Minato, that was one of her best friends! Though, she supposes, now that Nyx is dealt with.. She's got time to properly grieve over both Minato and Shinjiro. She just lets herself do that for a while.

By this point she's almost permanently moved into Shinjiro's room, she's even moved a few of her plushies there. She just finds comfort in it, even if she knows she has to leave at some point. Through it all though, she's got people relying on her. She's still taking care of Akihiko, Ken, Fuuka and Koromaru but everybody in S.E.E.S is taking care of her as well as each other... She just doesn't know it yet.

Throughout The Answer, Yuzuki wears Shinjiro's coat over her shoulders. When S.E.E.S gather to discuss leaving the dorm, she's very against the idea. Only because she's still grieving like hell, she doesn't want to leave Shinjiro's room all empty. She gets a little hostile at times during the topic, but Akihiko knows that she doesn't mean it. She's just hurt between Shinjiro and Minato's passing. It's not like he doesn't know how that feels.
When Fuuka tries to encourage Yuzuki about her baking, wanting to hear her talk about her cafe hoping that it'll cheer her up.. Yuzuki sounds uninterested. She's not really thinking about her future while she's in this depressive state. An emotional outburst makes her admit that she doesn't want the cafe anymore, she doesn't care enough.

Yuzuki's memories show her in middle school, just like how Akihiko's memories were. She's walking in the hallway of Gekkoukan when a boy approaches from far behind, but she doesn't notice him. The boy talks out loud about the rumours surrounding her.. About how apparently she sent a guy on her boyfriend for no reason, that she was just using guys as punching bags. Really stupid rumours with no substance. When he decides to go up behind her, he's hauled backwards by... A young Shinjiro Aragaki. The boy is knocked out almost instantly by Shinjiro.. It seems back then, his crush on Yuzuki was in full swing. He didn't want her to get hurt by assholes that had the wrong idea about her..

"....

Shit... I better bring this guy to the nurses office."

From this, the rumours of Yuzuki only increased, the guy thinking that Yuzuki was the one who knocked him out. This only heightened with how Yuzuki would slowly get stronger thanks to Akihiko. By kick starting some of these rumours, Shinjiro has unknowingly gotten Akihiko and Yuzuki closer as friends through their training.
When the memory ends, Yuzuki expects to cry, but she doesn't. She smiles softly.

"Jeez, that moron has been protecting me the whole time, huh?"

Akihiko tells her that he mentioned her situation to Shinjiro, but didn't expect him to be looking out for her, he didn't even think Shinji really... knew who Yuzuki was. He always seemed to disappear whenever she was around. A lightbulb clicks in Aki's head from this but he doesn't mention it to Yuzuki.
Really it's a bittersweet memory. Sure, Shinjiro was the reason some of her rumours started... but he protected her and she didn't even know it. He even got her and Akihiko closer which ultimately got her to join SEES later down the line..

Though by the end of The Answer, Yuzuki is content seeing her memories, seeing how far she's come. She doesn't have Shinjiro here physically but she has his memories, she also has a pretty solid group of friends right in front of her. She declines moving to a new dorm, she's going home to stay with her parents for a while. When she's ready, she'll come back to focus her attention on college and finally opening her cafe.

She's living at home, she has a small job making custom bakes for people in Port Island. She makes it a point to take flowers to Shinjiro's grave most days of the week if she can but apart from that her life is quiet. She misses Akihiko a lot as much as she doesn't want to admit it, she's got an image to keep up!

She'll be honest to herself though, she's a bit lonely. She hasn't seen a lot of the former members of S.E.E.S in a while. The ones she's regularly in contact with are Ken and Koromaru! Ken's doing really well for himself and you can bet Yuzuki is his biggest fan! Some people think she's his older sister, some even wondering if she's his foster mom. She's a little embarrassing when she's cheering for him at his big soccer games, but he at least appreciates the support.

"Are you eating well? How's the dorms? If any of those kids pick on you, be sure to tell me."

She's also in the process of scouting out places for sale to start her cafe. The money she gets from her bakes slowly adding up over time. She knows she's gonna make it someway, it’s the only thing that she really wants at this point.

Mitsuru isn't very impressed by Yuzuki's outfit, but she's happy to see her again nonetheless.

"What's bonkin' Aigis? I missed seein' you!"

Yuzuki swings an arm around Aigis, a cheeky smile on her face.

"While I do not know what you mean by 'bonkin', I also missed seeing you, Yuzuki-san."

"Ahh, don't worry 'bout it."

To say she was excited to see Akihiko was an understatement, but she kept it in, especially since there was some anger towards him slowly boiling up that even she wasn't truly aware of yet. Also why's he half naked? Whatever, her outfit isn't much better. A voice in the back of her head hopes that they'll talk about Shinjiro a little, but this idea seems to boil her anger at the same time. While she's been doing... steady-ish mental health wise, she really does want somebody to talk to about him after these years. Ken wasn't great to talk to about this, mostly because she didn't want him to feel guilty.

"You've been training! Look at that! You should've told me!"

Akihiko points to the bandage on Yuzuki's face

"Yeah, there's a reason I didn't.. You coulda called, you big jerk!"

When split from the group inside of the TV, she blames Akihiko automatically, only doing so because she's trying to pretend they can still banter like they used to.. :( ! Anyways, what's with this fighting show? There's no famous fighters! Yuzuki's role is just minimal canonly, trying to figure out what's going on and meeting up with the others.. In her own chapter, she fights Chie, Teddie and Aigis.

Chie reminds Yuzuki of herself and Akihiko combined. She likes her energy a lot.

Yuzuki weirdly finds Teddie pretty cute until he starts talking. She liked him better when she thought he was just a big, moving plushie.

Yuzuki doesn't wanna fight Aigis, for obvious reasons. Aigis before the fight uncharacteristically tells Yuzuki that her mask is slipping and her weakness will always be hiding behind it. What does she think visiting the graves of those who are gone will really do? It's pointless to mourn those that are gone, just move on. Yuzuki dies a little inside but fights her anyway.

At the end of the fight, Aigis tells Yuzuki that it wasn't very kind of her to tell her that machines can't form bonds, that she's going to stay a loveless machine until she eventually breaks down. Yuzuki is rightfully confused and tells Aigis that she’d never say that to her, that’s not how Yuzuki thinks of Aigis at all! She's a close friend of hers and would always be, machine or not. She figures nobody's said this to Aigis yet, but she tells Aigis that "he" would be proud of her. “He” refers to Minato. The way Aigis reacts proves to the both of them for certain that she's not just a loveless machine.

(Not a huge fan of the individual story modes in P4A, in any storyline Yuzuki helps retrieve Labrys and heads back with The Shadow Operatives. She is wayyyy too excited to see Fuuka again!! And is pretty eager to help Labrys adjust to a normal life. Mitsuru thinks Yuzuki is a pretty good pick to help Labrys. She's not too serious but also not too lax about stuff!)

“Take this to that table for me, would ya?”

“I got it!”

“Thanks, Ken.”

She hasn’t trained for a long time, she figures that if shadows show up again she can still swing her hammer! There hasn’t been any sign of the Dark Hour though… So that’s good! Yuzuki can just live comfortably.

Her cafe is named “Aragaki’s”. She was always stuck when it came to naming her dream cafe, but figures she can pay respect to Shinji in this way. There’s a few old, cheesy photobooth pictures hanging behind the counter of the cafe. Some are of Yuzuki and her friends, there’s one of her and Minato too (from her social link)! Though the pictures she always finds herself glancing at are the ones of her and Shinjiro.

While she was insisting at first that Ken doesn’t have to help out, he usually swings by after school or soccer practice to help out where he can. It always gets really busy around the time he comes by. His help is always appreciated :D

— — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“Looks like you missed rush hour. Lucky.”

The door chimes as Himari walks into the cafe. She didn’t expect the owner to greet her as soon as she walked in! With a little nervous flinch, Himari giggles and responds.

“Yeah! I just saw all those school kids head back, what’s the school around here called?”

Yuzuki has to laugh, is this girl visiting Iwatodai? She looks pretty well put together, she could’ve travelled anywhere!

“Gekkoukan. You’re not from here, then?”

“No, no! I’m from Shibuya!”

Yuzuki’s eyebrow raises considerably. She watches as Himari sits at the little counter table near the register.

“Shibuya? The hell are you doin’ here?!”

Himari’s pretty used to this response by now, so she just laughs.

“Just needed a change of scenery!”

Yuzuki smiles, shaking her head as she works on Himari’s order. Himari peeks around, the cafe’s known for their bakes, the place looks so cozy… She’s glad she stopped by before finally heading home.

“Oh! Was that you when you were younger?”

Himari points to a picture hanging in the cafe… it looks like one of those cheesy pictures you’d get in a photo booth. The cafe owner, noticeably younger with a guy in a red coat.. He looks a little intimidating.

“You sayin’ I look old?!”

“Whuh-?! No! Nono that’s not what I meant!!!”

Himari panics, but Yuzuki laughs, she’s just messing with her.

“Yeah, that was me when I was 18. 2009.”

She takes the photo off of the wall and places it on the counter, giving Himari a better look at it. Himari picks it up carefully, this photo must be important…

“That’s so cool… Who… Uhm… Who’s the guy?”

If Yuzuki was talking to some random person, she’d probably tell them it’s none of their business… But Himari seemed like she had pure intentions when asking.

“Someone that means a lot to me.”

…

“So, you’re headin’ home then?”

Himari and Yuzuki ended up speaking for a while. Himari is nursing a cup of tea as she responds.

“Yeah, I have some good friends back home, I’ve been gone for… A long time.”

“Well, don’t you take your life for granted. You’re young.
People come, people go. Sometimes they don’t ever come back.
As long as you have people in your corner you can get shit done. Y’know?
Dunno. I just think you should live your life. Don’t look back now.
You got experiences ahead of you, kid.”

Yuzuki shocks herself that she said all that, she isn’t exactly known for her great advice. That felt good, though. As the photo goes back on the wall, Yuzuki hopes Himari will at least be happy out there.