"Who's there!?"
A girl's sharp voice shattered the thick silence of the night, piercing the air like a flying arrow. It held tension within it, a kind of fear as if expecting to encroach upon some sort of monster, however the owner of the voice, a teenage girl dressed in pink attire, seemed even more shocked by what actually stood at the dorm's entrance. Not a monster, but a seemingly ordinary girl, just as herself. However, she wouldn't allow such a fact to deter her, after all it was the dark hour and only shadows and persona users were granted the ability to experience it. Despite the other girl's plain looks, her carmine eyes wide with confusion, the pink clothed girl had no choice but to pull out her evoker, her slim fingers gripping the handle a little too tight. It was apparent that she was trying her best to put up a brave farce, however anyone could be astute enough to notice the hard grip on her evoker and the deep furrow of her brows and come to the conclusion that she was really just frightened. The stranger's mouth opened, as if about to make a remark, but another loud voice resulted in her clamming up, it said,
"Takeba, stop!"
Yukari Takeba, although she'd loath to admit, actually felt a wave of relief wash through her as her senpai, Mitsuru Kirijo, made her way onto the scene. Despite the situation Mitsuru seemed as calm as ever, her ruby eyes scanning over the intruder without a single hint of fear in them. Finally she nodded, satisfied, before responding.
"This girl is our guest."
As soon as her words were out the room flickered back to life as the dark hour ended. A sigh escaped Yukari once her surroundings were illuminated, it seemed that, fortunately, she wouldn't have to worry about overcoming her fear just yet. Though, she knew she would eventually, but it was best not to delve on that when other issues were currently being presented.
"Uh...hi?" The stranger awkwardly greeted, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "I'm uh, sorry if I scared you? This is just the dorm I've been assigned to."
"She's a new transfer student." Mitsuru further explained, brushing a strand of long red hair off her shoulder. "There had been some issues with selecting a dorm for her, so she's been chosen to stay here for the time being."
Yukari bristled a bit at being called 'scared', but decided to hold her tongue on the matter. The little encounter honestly drained a lot from her and she was feeling quite exhausted, still she managed a sentence.
"Sorry about that then...the name's Yukari Takeba...I uh...it's nice to meet you."
The new girl flashed a bright smile, one Yukari nor Mitsuru seemed to be expecting. It was as if all that had just happened didn't even phase her, and if that were the case Yukari wondered if there were anything that COULD.
"I'm Minako Arisato!" She chirped, that smile of hers refusing to falter. "I hope we get along!"
"In any case..." Mitsuru murmured, ignoring the sudden shift in mood. "Did you arrive here alright? You didn't run into any problems, did you?"
Minako furrowed her brows, thoughtful for a moment, before shaking her head, sending her brown ponytail flying to and fro. "Nah, I got here just fine, obviously!" She smiled once again.
Mitsuru seemed to accept this answer, giving a response with a nod of her head. "Very well, I suppose after all that's happened you would like to head to your room." She faced Yukari before anyone could give an answer. "Takeba, I'd like to ask if you would please escort her."
Yukari knew well enough that it was more of a command than being asked, still she didn't raise any objections as she didn't particularly mind. "Alright." She muttered, taking a few steps toward their new dorm mate. "If you'd just follow me I'll take you to your room, it's on the third floor."
"Of course, lead the way then!"
Minako's voice was light and cheery, her countenance consisting of a wide smile, matching up with that voice. It still came as a shock to Yukari that the girl could shake off the events that just happened, just like that. Seeing the dark hour and almost being mistakenly attacked, if it had been Yukari in that position she'd of panic. Truthfully, she was almost jealous of how much at ease she seemed, almost.
They walked in silence up the stairs to the 3rd floor of the dorm, when they reached the outside of Minako's room Yukari paused. "Well, here it is..." She managed an amicable smile. "Do you have any questions before you, well, settle in?"
"Yeah actually..." The carmine eyed girl glanced around before asking, in a more hushed tone. "Does that boy live here too?"
Yukari was startled by this question. "W-what boy?"
When Minako remained silent she sighed, giving her head a slow shake. "Geez...don't say weird things like that."
"Sorry sorry!" The girl apologized, quickly smiling as if that would chase away any negative emotions, which Yukari had to admit it almost did. That smile looked rather natural on Minako's face, pretty even.
"Hey, uh, you ok?"
Yukari was galvanized into blushing when she realized she got caught staring. Why the hell was she even staring in the first place? Maybe she was more tired than she initially thought.
"I'm fine...kind of tired."
Minako nodded. "Yeah, I can tell...I won't keep you any longer then."
A brief moment of hesitation passed before Yukari murmured. "Well, if you end up having any more questions don't be afraid to ask and umm...don't tell anyone about the stuff that happened today..."
"Roger that, Yukari-san!" The girl gave a mock salute.
"Right...well, I'll see you in the morning then." Yukari dismissed herself, turning around and heading towards her room, but she halted when she heard Minako call out after her.
"Thank you!" Was all that she said, but it was enough to make Yukari smile faintly with its simplicity.
"You're welcome, Minako-san." She murmured in reply before entering her room, immediately blacking out as soon as her body hit the bed.
AN: I love this pairing a lot but never see much of it. So, I'm changing that. It's up to me to spread the love.