Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match!

by CityCutThat

This is what happens when Junpei plays matchmaker with Akihiko and Minako. And someone in a burgundy pea coat is a bit jealous.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match!

"There's gotta be someone here you like by now, Minako-chan! C'mon! You can tell 'ol Junpei! I won't say nothin'. Maybe I could even help ya out, if you want." Junpei said taking a bite out of his burger. He and Minako decided to hangout, neither had much to do. They'd finished summer classes and time was going by slowly. Tomorrow was the festival and she knew Junpei was going to try and set her up with someone. Was there someone she liked? She mused the question around in her mind before answering.

"Maybe. I dunno." Her face scrunched up in thought, "I guess, if anyone... hmmm..."

"Is it Akihiko-Senpai! Everyone loves him! I mean, the guy's even got his own fan club."

"Ha ha, Junpei, you're silly," Minako laughed, "But I dunno. Maybe. I'd have to spend more time with him to really know, ya know? He's a super nice guy, but he seems so distant. Plus. I think he likes Mitsuru-Senpai."

"Shenanigans! Akihiko-Senpai will be yours! Leave it to me!"

"Junpei! Shhhhh. I don't even know if I like him like that or not, he he."

"We'll find out soon enough, my dear!" He grinned wide.

"ummm I don't think I like it when you smile like that... It worries me..."

"Hey, it's fine. Just let me do what I'm gonna do. We'll see how compatible you are, alright?"

"...I'm going against my better judgment on this, but... fine."

"ALRIGHT! I'm gonna stop by the bookstore on the way home. You go on ahead. I'll get this."

"Right. See you at the dorm."

Minako giggled as she left 'Wuck' as they all called it. She had almost made it to the station when someone barged right past her almost knocking her over.

"What the hell's your problem, buddy?"

"Huh? You were the one in my way, you little brat," the tall slender figure said. His eyes were semi-hidden under his beanie and long,shaggy, brown hair. He was wearing a heavy pea coat. Very unusual for this heat. Minako was at a loss for words after seeing him.

"R-r-right. Okay." She kept walking.

"Heh. You don't seem the type to back down from a fight," Pea Coat said, following her towards the station.

"And you don't seem the type for small talk either."

They both reached the station, he let her go first, "To avoid anymore problems," he said.

"Thanks, I guess."

Pea Coat just laughed at her a bit. They got to the Iwatodai station near the dorm. As soon as Minako got to the train doors she felt a presence behind her.

"Seriously! Why are you following me! Creeper!"

"I'm not. You just seem to be going where I happen to be tonight. So cool it. It's not like you're that damn gorgeous. Sheeesh."

"Asshole."

"What? Just being honest."

"Charm is just oozing from you. I bet you have millions of friends," she said stepping out the door.

"Nah.. just one. And seeing as you go to Gekko, too, you're probably in his little fan club. Like everyone else."

"Fan club? You mean Akihiko-Senpai? Haha. Far from it. Tho if Junpei has his way..." She spoke the last part under her breath.

"So why're you still walking with me? I'm not really someone who you'd just meet and have a conversation with and follow all night."

"I'm heading to my dorm. Why are you following me?"
"I'm going to see Aki."

"Great..."

"What?"
"That's where I'm heading, too."

"Oh? Really? So am I ruining you're plans to try and seduce him then?"

"HAHA! No. I told you. I'm just going home. And he just so happens to live there, too. Nya~!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"What a kid."

They arrived at the dorm and Minako unlocked the door. As she opened it she called out to Akihiko, "Hey, Akihiko-Senpai. I ran into a friend of yours on the way home. I think you need to teach him to be a bit more friendly."

"What?" the silver-haired boy asked.

"Brat. I'm fine how I am," Pea Coat said just walking in, not bothering to remove his shoes.

"Shinji! What are you doing here? And why with Minako?"

"Heh. Ran into her on the way to the station."

"Yeah! Literally!" Minako shouted from the kitchen as she tried to find a drink in the fridge.

"Can it!"

"Shinji. Be nice. Minako, you, too." Akihiko scolded them both. "Well as long as you're here, let's discuss what we were going to discuss."

"Outside I hope."

"Yeah. Let's go." He turned to face Minako, "I'll be back later. Let Mitsuru know."

"Alright," she responded.

After they left she collapsed on the couch and started watching Who's Who on the news. Not to long after, Junpei came in a grin on his face.

"Hey! Guess what!" He asked.

"hmmm?"

"I grabbed a magazine that might help you out!"

"Wait... what? Did you get a girly-girl mag?"

"Yeah. One of the girls from school helped me figure out which one to get. told them I was helping a friend find a guy."

She grabbed the magazine from him and studied the cover. The title said it all. "Guys all abOUT. Junpei... you realize that this is a LBGT mag right?"
"Huh? What?" He opened it to the center and shouted, "OH MY GOD! MY EYES! Burn it! Burn it!"

"I don't think she believed you there, buddy," She said, taking the magazine and tossing it in the trash. She made sure it reached the bottom so no one knew of Junpei's mistake. "Don't worry," she said, "I got your back."

"Thanks. I don't know what I'd have done if anyone found out. Especially Yuka-tan."

"Yeah. I can only imagine the hell she'd put you though."

"Okay well... let's discuss our mission plan in the command room."
"Mission plan? And why the command room?"

"Cause I think it'd be cooler to talk about it there, he he."

They made their way to the command room. Junpei sat her down. He walked to where Mitsuru usually stood before missions. When he turned around he had a monocle on. He started to speak," Minako-chan, the very cute new transfer student. That's you! Needs help finding a nice guy. So I'm gonna help you find one. Our first target is Akihiko-Senpai. What's not to like about him? He charming, good looking, very fit and very kind."
"Wow. Should I go get you that mag back?"
His monocle fell off. "Hey! This is all what I've heard from his fan club, alright? Anyway. On top of all that, he's single and has never had a girlfriend. So this is your chance to make a move, milady!"

"Anything else I need to know?"

"Yeah. Two things. Wear your yukata tomorrow, and he's not usually busy after school on Mondays and Fridays. So make sure you talk to him, alright?"

"Yes, Boss." She started to stand, "Remind me why I'm doing this again? I don't even know if I like him."
"Cause even if you don't wanna date him, you can at least get to know him better. Plus, if you do hit it off, maybe I can start a dating service! Ha ha."

"Alright, fine. Just cause we're friends, tho, Junpei. And if this goes wrong. I'm telling Yukari about the magazine."

"What! That's not fair!"

The next morning Minako was woken up by a mail. "What the...?"

'SUBJ: HEY

Dont forget the yukata and say yes it was hard enough getting him to agree

-Junpei'

"What the hell!" Her cell rang, "WHAT THE HELL!" She answered it, "'ello?"

"H-hey. It's Akihiko... ummm. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Summer Festival together. You don't have to say yes just because I'm your Senpai. I-I'd understand."

'Way to guilt me into it. Junpei told you to say that, huh?' "It's fine, Senpai! I'll go. Give me a bit to get ready. Okay?"

"A-alright! See you downstairs"

They hung up. 'Great. Now I gotta put this thing on by myself. Should be fun. Well I guess I can ask Fuuka.' It took them a good 20 minutes to get her in her yukata. Junpei owes me big time for this. She thought and walked down stairs. She was very graceful in a yukata and in a kimono, but that didn't mean she enjoyed wearing them. Akihiko looked at her as she came to a stop next to him.

"uuhhh.. I uhh. I like it. It's nice. Suits you." Akihiko said sheepishly.

"Thanks," she said slightly embarrassed.

"Well. Let's go, shall we?" He opened the door to let her walk out first.

"Thank you, Senpai."

"Hey. Don't worry about money today. This is my treat," He said as they walked towards the shrine.

"Are you sure? I have plenty of..."
"Yes! I'm positive. It'd be wrong of me not to."

"Alright, Senpai."

They walked around the shrine. Everything was beautiful. There were food stands and games all over. And a few vendors were selling souvenirs.

"You wanna share some takoyaki with me, Minako-chan?" He asked her cheerfully.

"Sure thing! I love takoyaki!" She smiled and he stared a little. 'She's really pretty when she smiles.' He thought to himself.

"hmm? What's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh. Nothing. Can I get an order of takoyaki!" He asked the Octopia worker.

"Anything for you handsome. Oh! Is that your lady? She's quite beautiful. You both caught yourselves a catch!'

Akihiko and Minako blushed a deep red. He spoke up, "I-it's not like that... ummm..." He looked away.

"OH, give it time, deary. I'm sure it will," she smiled.

Akihiko just stuffed one of the takoyaki in his mouth and it burnt the roof of it. "OW! HOT!"

Minako giggled. She grabbed one herself and blew on it til it cooled a bit and nibbled at it.

"It's not funny," he said with a somewhat sad look on his face, blushing again.

"I'm sorry, Senpai," she frowned.

He started to speak again, but was cut off by the carnival games worker, "Step up and try your luck, little lady. See if you can get lucky. Your boyfriend there seems lucky. He's got a looker like you."

"Actually... He's not my boyfriend."

"Oh! Sorry about that, Miss. How bout a free try for my mistake. Everyone's a winner!"

"Okay." She rolled her hands around the box for a few seconds and pulled one out.

"What a lucky girl you are! Top prize," he said handing her a Jack Frost doll.

"Well done," Akihiko said, patting her shoulder awkwardly. She laughed nervously and he removed his hand and apologized in a low voice. They kept walking and when they neared the masks Akihiko was reminded of the past.

"Wow," he awed, "They're only 500 yen. I remember when I was younger and I couldn't afford these, ha ha. I have enough now to buy a bunch."

"Which one did you always want, Senpai?"

"Huh? Oh. The red sentai. Who didn't want one of the sentai masks as a kid?"

"My mom would never let me get one. It was always a dog, cat or something else that was more 'appropriate' for a young girl. But yeah, I wanted a sentai mask, too."

"Heh, this is starting to get a bit depressing now, huh? Why don't we head on home?"

"Ok, Senpai," she said turning around. But as she did so a child ran past her and knocked her off ballance. In her geta she didn't have the best ballance to start with and she twisted her ankle and fell over.

"Oh god. Are you okay, Minako-chan?" Akihiko said, stooping down to help her up. She tried to stand, but it just wasn't going to happen right now in her shoes. She removed them and tried again. It was far less painful, but it still hurt to stand.

"Can I...? Can you..?" she couldn't bring herself to say she needed help, but Akihiko didn't need her to ask. He put her arm over his shoulder and held her around the waist to help her keep her ballance.

"Thanks, Senpai. At least the dorm isn't too awful far from here."

"True. But I'm gonna carry you down the steps so we make sure you don't over do it. Okay?"

"I-I... ummm."

"Don't worry. I don't bite. And I'm not gonna whisk you away to Shirakawa Boulevard... oh..." He realized what he had said. Last July, during their mission on Shirakawa Boulevard, before fighting the Lovers Arcana Shadow, he and Minako ended up in an awkward situation that involved him nude in front of her. He hadn't spoken much to her since then. He was honestly scared that she might detest him because of it even though it wasn't his intention. It was all the shadow's fault things were so awkward now between them.

When they got to stairs he gently picked her up. Her arms securely around his neck and his arms securely clinging to her he carefully walked down the steps.

"Be careful, Senpai. We both don't need to fall. I don't think that everyone at home could carry us back."

"I know. I'm trying," he said with a hit of worry in his tone. When he got to the bottom he gently put her down, careful not to put too much weight on her ankle and leaving most of it on him.

Even with most of her weight on him it was still hard for her to walk. After having to stop a few times Akihiko decided it would be faster for him to just carry her home.

"Is that fine with you, Minako-san?"

"Yeah. We need to be home before school tomorrow."

He picked her back up and held her close. His warmth was nice. She kind of liked it.

"Ya know. I didn't expect you to wear a yukata. I thought you'd come down in your regular clothes. It was a nice surprise. Except... I... ummmm... I just didn't know where to look tonight," he blushed.

"O-oh?"

"Y-yeah... You looked a lot better than I had imagined... N-not that I've imagined it before this! Jeeze. What am I saying?" he asked, sighing. "I am a guy after all... and I think girls look nice in yukatas, and so... you do, too."

"Thanks, Senpai. That's kinda sweet," she smiled.

When they got to the dorm the lights were off and the doors locked.

"I don't have my keys," Minako sighed.

"I have mine. It's in... my... pants... pocket. Damn."

Minako could have sworn she felt several beads of sweat drip down her face. 'He's gonna ask me to grab it isn't he?,' she thought.

"Will you... Grab it? I don't wanna set you down til we get upstairs."

"Y-yeah... okay."

She reached down and fumbled for his pocket, careful not to reach too far to the center. When she found the top of the pocket she slowly slid her hand in, trying not to cause arousal of any kind. His grip tightened in nervousness and in doing so he grabbed her behind. This in turn caused her hand to delve deeper into his pocket than she intended. There was something touching her thumb and index finger from the other side of the cloth.

"That's not your leg... is it, Senpai?"

"Not at all."

"Well then. This can't get much more awkward now, can it?"

"Don't think so."
She grabbed the keys trying to ignore what had just transpired. She unlocked the door and opened it. He carried her up to her room in silence and set her down in front of the door.

"I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me? Not just for this, but for what happened in July."

"Yes. We'll just do what we did back then. Forget it ever happened. Okay?"

"Alright. Well... Good night."
"You too, Senpai."

Akihiko shut his door and locked it. He let out a loud sigh and walked to his bed and sat down.

"Forget about it, huh? This is going to be just as hard to forget as July. I have to keep fighting this. I only feel like this cause I've never had a girlfriend. I've never had that experience with someone. Right? Yeah that's it."

He sighed again, stripping down to get ready for slumber. He looked down, "Go away."

His lower regin didn't listen. But he wasn't going to do anything. It would be wrong of him to even consider it. "Just go! Please!" He sat there for a moment before making up his mind. "God, I feel so wrong," he sighed. "I'll just... think of something else, I guess."

Minako hobbled over to her bed and sat. Fuuka was asleep so there was no one other than Akihiko for her to have asked to help her out of her yukata. And that was NOT going to happen. She turned her obi around and undid it. The obi and obi-ita fell to the bed. She undid her datejime and threw them in the corner. She stood a little, using the bed post as a prop, and the yukata fell.

"Jeeze. It's so hot. I'm glad that's off. Now to take some meds for the pain and pass out."

She grabbed some pills and swallowed them down. Still being incredibly hot she didn't bother dressing. She climbed into bed and realizing it was too hot under her covers, laid on top of them instead.

"I just need to calm down. It was an accident. I'm sure he understands that. I just hope he can put it out of mind, too. Just like before."

In the morning she heard a knock on her door, "Hey! It's Junpei! How'd it go last night!"

"Go away. You're not on my list of people I want to see right now."
"Oh... that bad? Senpai seems to be rather chipper this morning. Why aren't you? What happened?"

"Chipper? Seriously? After all that you'd think he'd be a little less happy."

"Well come on out and tell me what happened!"

"Fine! Give me a few to get dressed."

"Alright!"

She quickly threw on her uniform and hobbled out the door.

"Dude. What happened?" Junpei asked.

"Oh? This? I just fell and twisted my ankle. Senpai had to carry me home last night. Oh. And he keeps his key in his right hand pocket... of his pants."

"ummmmm"

"Should I continue?"
"No. That's fine. I'm sorry. I thought it would be a good night. I guess there were things I didn't think about."

"Oh it was. Until I fell. It was great. We had fun. It's just... really awkward now. I can't begin to imagine the train ride to school."

"Yeah. Well, let's try and avoid him a bit then."

"Right."

Minako started to make her way down the hall when she fell over.

"Shit. Ouch! It hurts still."

"Let me get you back in your room. You don't need to be walking on that."

Junpei led her back into her room to her bed.

"Relax today. Alright? Just rest. I'll tell Mitsuru that you're not gonna make it."

"Thanks."

"No prob. It's the least I could do since this is my fault anyway."

Junpei left and she sprawled out on the bed. Her ankle didn't bother her much til she tried to walk. Standing was uncomfortable, but not painful. Just then she realized something.

"I gotta pee. No."

She hobbled to the door and opened it.

"I just gotta make it to the stairs and I can sit down and slide to the bottom. That'll be okay. I did it as a kid all the time at home."

She slowly but surely made it to the stairs and scooted down them on her bottom. She got to the landing and spotted a door open across the hall from Junpei's.

'NO! He wouldn't have. Would he?' her distressed thoughts were only confirmed when Akihiko came out of he room dressed in his weekend clothes.

"Oh. Minako. ummm. I stayed home in case you needed me. Junpei said he would, but I don't think his intentions were as kind as they seemed."

'You can't be serious.' Minako thought.

"You look like you need help. Here," he sad walking to her and stretching out his hand. She reluctantly took it. She needed downstairs as immediately as possible and she wasn't going to complain until after her business was taken care of. He walked her down to the first floor and she made her way to the bathroom. Akihiko went to the kitchen and started grabbing a few things to make breakfast for the two of them. As he started fixing a few eggs he heard her emerge from the bath.

"You need any help getting to the couch or anything?" He shouted from the back.

"Nah. I think I got it."

"Alright. Just checking. How do you like your eggs?"

"Omelet please. Cheese with a bit of pork and some peppers."

"'Kay. I'll have it ready in a bit."

This was awkward. For both of them. But Akihiko insisted that he was only doing this because he felt bad about last night. And because he knew how Junpei was. He knew that he'd try and take advantage over her injury and try and make a move. It was best that he saved her from that, right? Minako on the other hand was convinced that her Senpai was just trying to make everything harder on her. She didn't like him like that, but he wasn't making it that easy for her to forget.

"It's ready," Akihiko said from behind her. "You want some help to the table?"

"Yeah. It'd be nice. Thanks."

He helped her over and they sat down to their meal.

"Thank you for the food."
"No problem."

She took a bite and smiled, "This is the best omelet I've ever had!"

"Really? I don't think they're that great."

"No. Seriously! This is even better than my moms!"

"Well. I'm glad you like it."

They finished their meal and Akihiko gathered up the dishes. He washed them real quick and went back to help Minako back to her room. They'd only made it to the second floor landing when her ankle started throbbing so much she wasn't able to walk at all.

"Dammit. This sucks. I hate when I have to depend on everyone else so much."
"It's fine. Sometimes you need to ask people for help. And you know we're all willing to do so," he smiled at her, blushing a bit.

"Thanks. But I'd rater not have to. Can you just take me to my room? I'll just stay there for the day."

"Yeah. No problem."

He carried her to her room and she opened the door. He sat her on her bed and quietly walked out. "Just mail me if you need anything, alright?"

"Right."

He shut the door and she changed out of her clothes.

"uhggg. I hate myself right now."

She laid on the bed and passed back out.

Over the next few days her ankle healed up. She and Akihiko didn't talk much. Just a passing hi and bye here and there. She didn't work with him much in Tartarus either. She wanted to avoid him as much as possible. And she was doing a good job of it. One day while trying to avoid him she decided to go to the sweet shop. 'He hates sweets. He'd never be here! It's perfect!' she thought to herself. She went in a had a few slices of cake and then after determining she spent enough time there she figured she'd go home. On the way out someone ran into her. She looked. There was a burgundy pea coat in front of her.

"Ok," she said, "What's with you running into me all the time?"

"Heh. You act like I try to."

"I never said that," She said fixing her clothes.

"True. So then. Are we gonna be going the same way again?"
"Depends. You going to the dorm."
"Nope. I'm heading to Port Island Station."

"Why are you heading to such a dingy place like that. Well. It's not so dingy near the theater, but the rest of it is."
"Heh. I don't look like I belong there?"
"Now that you mention it..."
"Hey now. I wasn't being serious."
"Just sayin'"

"Well. It's dark out now. You should probably get back quickly. If I know anything about Aki it's that he worries easily."

"U-uummmm. Senpai and I aren't really talking right now..." She said turning her head away.

"What? Why not? Somethin' happen?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Well. I'm not the type to pry. If Aki didn't tell me, it must not be too awful important."

"Yeah. Right."

"Well. Ya want me to make sure you get back safe?"
Just then she got a mail.

SUBJ: ?

Where are you? It's late.

-Akihiko

"See. Told you. He's always been like that."

"I'll just mail him back. Tell him I'm on my way." 'He wouldn't worry if I told him I was with Shinjiro-Senpai. He's big and strong and he'd protect me if anything happened.' She made up her mind. She mailed him back:

SUBJ: RE: ?

I just left the sweet shop. I ran into Shinjiro-Senpai and he's walking me home. I'll be safe. Promise.

She hit send and looked at Shinjiro, "Okay! I accept your offer."

"Right. Let get on the train before we miss the last one."

When Akihiko got the message, he didn't like what it said. 'Shinji? Why Shinji? Don't get me wrong. I trust him, but that's me. I've known him longer. Why would she just let him take her home like that...? He better not be doing this just to try something. Nah... Shinji's not like that... at least I'd hope not.'

Akihiko got up from the couch. Everyone else was in bed already. He'd stayed up to wait for her. To talk to her and try and make things clear to her, but it didn't seem like it was going to happen tonight. Cause she was with him. He didn't even want to think more of it. He just locked the door and headed to bed.

When Shinjiro and Minako got to the dorm she reached into her pocket for her key. But it wasn't there. Instead, there was a hole. She reached for the doorknob and turned, but it didn't turn with her hand.

"Damn. Locked. And I lost my key." She reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone. Akihiko was the only one that was up. He seemed like he was waiting for her when he mailed her so maybe he'd unlock it for her.

Akihiko rolled over in his bed to look at his phone. Minako. He rolled back over and went back to sleep.

"Dammit! He didn't answer."

"That's not like him," Shinjiro said confused.

"I don't know where to go. I don't exactly have family around here. And everyone else is sleeping." She looked downward, distraught.

He didn't want to say it, but he couldn't just let her sleep outside or on the benches.

"I guess," she said with a hint of disgust, "I could always get a cheep hotel room. But the only cheep ones are on Shirakawa..." She trailed off. Partially because she remembered July and partially because she didn't want Shinjiro to think he was the reason she thought of it.

"You're not doing that. And if you did, you shouldn't be there alone. Errr... I mean. If you went there on your own they wouldn't leave you be. You're young and you're not bad looking. Someone would snatch you up in a heartbeat."

"Then what am I gonna do, Senpai?" She looked upset.

"I don't have a place of my own exactly. But... I guess... I guess I'll stay with you if you absolutely have to go to a hotel. Just to make sure you're safe. I'll sleep on the floor. But no Shirakawa Boulevard. You hear me? Even if I have to pay for it."

"A-are you sure? I mean... it's not really proper."
"Heh. You think I'm proper?"
"Well... Not exactly, I guess."

"Then let's get going, brat."

They tried and tried, but there was nowhere open. In the end they had to make their way to Shirakawa. Shinjiro wasn't happy. They tried to pick the least scummy one and it just happened to be the same one that the mission was in.

'Great.' she thought. 'I gotta spend the night here.'

Shinjiro sighed. It couldn't be helped. He just couldn't let her stay by herself.

'And all because Aki's being an ass, I get stuck here playing knight-in-shining-armor.'

He wasn't happy, or at least he made it seem that way. They made their way to their room and Shinjiro opened the door. It looked like someone had vomited pink and purple lace and hearts all over the room.

"Shit. This is gonna be a pain. Damn you, Aki." He grabbed a pillow from the bed and collapsed onto the floor. He looked up at Minako, "Well. 'Night."

She climbed into the bed.

"Well," she said to Shinjiro, "this can't get much more awkward."

"Only if it gets cold."

"What?"
"If it gets too cold I'm climbing in that bed. They seem to keep it freezing in here."

"I'm already frozen..." she trailed off.

"'sat mean you want me in there already?" He laughed.

"Uhhhhh" was her only response.

Shinjiro sat up and looked at her, "I don't bite. Promise."

"Fine. But if you do end up in here, you make sure you stay on your side!"

"Scouts honor."

Minako laid there, shivering. It was freezing. Maybe they kept the rooms this way to encourage people getting close. What was she thinking, of course they did. This was a love hotel after all. They were paying a lot of money to rent a room for the night. Even the hourly fee was pricy. It wasn't more than an hour til she couldn't stand the cold anymore.

"Okay. It's too cold. Will you...?"

"Will I what?" He asked from the floor.

"Will you... come keep me warm?"

"Heh. So many ways to take that." He smiled and laughed as he stood up and meandered over. "You sure?"
He threw the pillow back on the bed.

"It's not like I'm asking you to take my virginity... oh..."

"Well... That makes this just a bit more awkward than before, huh?"

"Just stay on your side! Okay!"

"Fine fine. You gonna put up an Iron Curtain as well?"

"No. I trust that you'll uphold what you said."

"Maybe," he said taking his coat off and climbing into the bed.

She was slightly warmer. At least on the side closest to him. She edged closer.

"Thought you said to stay on our own sides?" He asked opening an eye and looking at her.

"I said you had to."

"Oh. Now we got double standards."

"Look. I'm just cold, okay. Will you just... keep me warm?"

She looked at him with an innocent stare, pleading.

"Fine. C'mer," he told her opening up his arms, "You just better not be trying anything. I'm new at all this, ya know."

"Ha! I find that hard to believe!"

"Hey! I'm as pure as the newly driven snow."

"Riiiight."

She snuggled up close. There was a smell of tobacco coming from him. She wasn't fond of the smell, but at least she was warm now. As she laid her head on his chest she heard how fast his heart was beating. 'Maybe he wasn't lying.' she thought to herself. He awkwardly put his arm around her to keep her warm. The rest of the night and morning was spent in silence aside from a thank you when they returned to the dorm next day. Akihiko wasn't pleased.

After a few weeks passed Junpei was convinced that he wasn't gonna be successful in getting Minako and Akihiko together. His plan failed. No more Mr. Matchmaker for him now. Then as he was coming in the classroom after lunch he saw it. He was walking up behind Minako and saw the message on her phone.

SUBJ: Please

Will you please come with me after school? I have something important I need to take care of and I'd like you there. I'll meet you after school in the courtyard.

"YES!" I'm gonna make this work!" He shouted behind her.

"What the hell!" Minako shouted turning around.
"N-nothing! Nothing at all. I'm just excited about something," he grinned.

Minako walked down the stairs and to the lockers. She grabbed her shoes and changed them then walked outside. Akihiko was standing there surrounded by several girls. He spotted Minako.

"Minako!" he shouted and pushed through the crowd of girls. They did nothing but glare at her.

"Bitch!" one of them called out at her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Nothing for you to be sorry about. But just level with me here, k?"

"Ok, what?"

She wrapped her arm in his and snuggled up to him, then looked back at them. The girls looked like steam was going to come out their ears, noses and mouths.

"We're telling Junpei!" one shouted.

"Go ahead! I'm sure he'd really care!" She shouted back.

As they left the schoolyard he looked at her with a blushed face, "What is this all about?" 'You're just teasing me now, aren't you?'

"Just trying to help you get them off your back. And maybe the few guys stalking me will stop, too. Tho even with that rumor going around that I'm dating Junpei they're still following me around... hmmmm..." She put her finger to her chin and looked upwards.

"Well... I guess you don't need to do this anymore then if it was just all for show," he said removing his arm from her grip, a lump in his throat.

"Right!"

"Well. We're going to Hagakure. I've got something I need to do there, alright?"

"Sure. But... why do I need to be there while you eat ramen? Is this your way of asking me on a date, Senpai? Cause if so..."

"No! Of course not!"

"Okay okay calm down! I was joking. Promise."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Let's get going!"

When they got there Akihiko opened the door and as they walked in she saw a familiar coat and hat. She blushed a color almost as deep as the coat.

Akihiko looked at her, "What's that for?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry."

"Well, come on," he said grabbing her hand and leading her over to the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

"Shinji, this is yours," He said throwing a case at the ma. "We need you back. Right, Minako. We could use his help."
"Well... I don't know. I've never seen him fight."

Akihiko sighed, "Shinji, Amada's joined us."
"What? Did you make him or did he ask to join?"
"He joined on his own."
"Then count me in," He looked at Minako, "Just do your job and I'll do mine. Okay? Everything will be fine like that."

"Alright. Will do."

"Let's go."

As they walked to the station Akihiko tried to stay as close as possible to Minako.

"Heh, awful close there, Aki," Shinjiro said poking fun at him.

"Not as close as you two must have gotten a little bit ago."

"What? What're you talkin' about?"
Akihiko sighed, "Nothing."

When they got home the men went to their rooms. Minako had a feeling she knew why Akihiko was acting like he was on their way to the dorm. Junpei came don the stairs and waved, "Sup? Where were you and Senpai at today? Heard you guys had a date!"

"Not a date. He took me with him to get Shinjiro-Senpai... I don't know why. It's not like... oh. That must be why."

"What? What must be why?"
"Well... the other night I lost my key, you know that. Well Akihiko-Senpai sent me a mail asking me where I was. I told him Shinjiro-Senpai was going to walk me home since it was almost midnight. I called when I got there because the door was locked and I didn't have my key anymore. He had to have just ignored it because I ended up having to get a room somewhere else. On Shirakawa Boulevard. Because that was the only place that had anywhere for me to stay. And Shinjiro-Senpai stayed with me because he didn't want me there by myself. Nothing ever happened. The only reason that Akihiko-Senpai must have been upset is because.."
"BECAUSE SENPAI LIKES YOU!"

"..yeah..."

"Well. Don't you like him at all?"
"Yeah. Of course. I think he's nice. And I like spending time with him. I kinda feel bad. I didn't think Shinjiro-Senpai walking me home would bother him that much..."
"Heh. Maybe he felt threatened. Shinjiro-Senpai is the tall, dark, handsome, strong silent type. And girls tend to go for that thing."

Minako laughed at him, "Seriously. Do I need to get that mag for you, Junpei?"

"Yeah, yeah, keep laughing. Ha ha ha. Just go talk to him. It's not gonna do ya any good to ignore the issue. Might as well sort it all out and get things back to normal, eh?"

"Right. You're absolutely right!"

Minako knocked on Akihiko's door, "Senpai? Can I talk to you?"
The door opened and Akihiko stared, "Mi-Minako. What do you want to talk about?"

"Ummm. Let's talk about what's been going on, okay?"

"Alright. Ummm. Where do you wanna go?"

"I really don't wanna go out tonight..."
"psstt.." Junpei said from the stairwell. "Tell him you wanna go talk on the rooftop."

"What was that?" She whispered looking back at the stairs.

"Roooooffff taaawwwwwppp."

"Oh. Ummm. Can we go talk on the roof. It's a bit more private and we don't have to leave." Minako smiled.

"uhhhh... sure. Let's go."

As they got to the stairs Junpei passed on his way to his room and winked at Minako who was following behind Akihiko. When they got to the door, he unlocked it and they made their way to the set of benches. It looked a bit like the school roof, but less cozy. Not a place she'd want to take her lunch every day. They sat down on the benches and were silent for a few. Akihiko was the first to speak up.

"Minako," he said, "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to have asked you to reach in my pocket. And to just ignore your call, too. I guess... I guess when you said you were with Shinji... I just got jealous. And then the next day he brought you home... I... it... hurt a bit." His face was blushed, but sad. He looked back up at her with a serious face, "If you don't feel the same, I understand. Just please don't leave me out of your life. I like being able to spend time with you."
"Senpai..." She said sadly, "I kind of see why you were so upset now. I thought you would be happy knowing that Shinjiro-Senpai was bringing me home because he could beat up anyone who tried to hurt me... But I guess I was wrong. Though. I am a little upset that I had to share a room with him. He was very protective. He wasn't going to let me just stay some random place by myself. It reminded me a bit of you, to be honest. You guys seem like brothers with how similar you are," she giggled.

"I'm sorry, Minako. But I can see what you mean, ha ha. We've always been very similar. I guess that's why we've been friends for so long. I'm glad he took care of you when I was too jealous to do so. But. Minako. Please. Tell me how you feel. Do you... feel the same? Or because of my actions do you hate me? Because I don't want you to hate me. I don't know if I could handle that..." He said looking away.

"I forgive you, Senpai. But... I... My feelings aren't exactly the same... B-but!" She added seeing his saddened face, "I don't have feelings like that for anyone else either. If that makes it better. And well... That just means that there's a chance! Right? It could happen if given a shot."

"R-right. Thank you for hearing me out. I appreciate it very much."
"It's no big deal. Junpei said that I had over reacted by avoiding you. He told me that it was better to face it head on than to just avoid the issue," she smiled.

"Well. I'll have to thank him then," Akihiko said surprised that it was the least serious of the bunch giving out serious help.

Just then there was a click. It was the door. Someone had just locked it.

"JUNPEI!" Minako shouted. She knew it was him. No one else knew that the door would be unlocked.

"Do you have your mobile?" Akihiko asked.

"No. You?"
"No. It's charging." He sighed, "This is great."
"This is why he wanted us to come out here! Oooooo I'm so mad right now!"

Akihiko looked away from her.

"No! I don't mean I'm mad cause I'm stuck out here with you! I mean, it's immature of him to do this."
"Yeah. That's true. Well... What should we do?"
"No one's gonna hear us. And Junpei won't let us in... I don't know. I guess... We could always try and make it more comfortable up here and wait for someone?"

"I think that was his intention," Akihiko said holding up a very large duffle full of stuff.

They brought it to the benches and opened it. What was inside must have cost Junpei a pretty penny. A few blankets and pillows, some food and a bottle of sparkling cider and two fancy looking champagne flutes. There was also a small gas powered heater since it got so cold at night there, even in the summer.

"Wow. If he put this much effort into studding he'd have better test scores than the rest of us!" Minako laughed.

"Heh. Yeah." Akihiko blushed a bit, "Well. Wanna set up 'camp' and make use of what's here. No point letting food go to waste, right?"

"Alright. Who knows. Maybe it'll be fun, Senpai!"

"Yeah! That's the spirit! Make good out of bad."

They set up their camp and ate the food Junpei had bought and pretended they had this all planned out to start with. They talked about their pasts and about what their future aspirations were. And as it started to get colder they set up the heater. After they figured out how to use it, they noticed that there was no gas to power it inside the canaster.

"Really?" Minako asked. "He did that on purpose! There's no gas and those blankets are so thin! He wants us to cuddle!"

Akihiko let her rant. He didn't want to say anything, because he was a bit upset that she was so mad at the situation.

"I'm sorry, Senpai. I just think he's going to far now."
"Y-yeah... I guess."
"What's wrong? You didn't help him with this did you?"
"Well..." Akihiko seemed to be making a confession. "Not exactly. I just... told him that I liked you when he asked me on our vacation. He said he'd help me as much as he could. I didn't know that he was gonna do this, though."

"Senpai. Are your feelings really that strong?"
"I-I-I." He took a deep breath. "Yes. Minako, they are. I honestly really like you. I just never knew how to approach a girl at all. So I went to Junpei for help. I can't help how I feel. All I can do is hope that someday you'll feel the same way for me."
"Awwwww~! Senpai~! That's so sweet~!" She said hugging him and knocking him onto the pallet that they had made.

"M-Minako!" Akihiko blushed and sat them up.

"Senpai, you're a sweet sweet guy," she said, still on top of him, "Just give it time. Okay?"

"You stay like that there may not be much time." He looked away, face as red as his vest.

"Oh. Well then." She got off his lap and snuggled up close to him on their pallet. He put his arm around her.

"So... We're giving it time?"
"Yep. I may not feel the same now, but I have a feeling that if I did fall for anyone, it'd be you, Senpai." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "So let's spend our time together and see where things take us."

She wrapped one arm around Akihiko's torso and laid her head on his chest. She fell asleep there with a smile on her face, and as he held her close to him so did he.

In the morning the door was unlocked and as they made their way inside the dorm to the first floor someone spotted them.

"You two have fun up there all night?"
"S-Shinji!" Akihiko called out. "Uuuuhhh. Nothing happened if that's what you're implying."
"Heh. Nah. You're too big of a pansy to do anything. You're nothing like me. But maybe you should cool it before people get ideas."

"Why's that? Jealous?"
"O-of course not! Why would I be?" He asked looking away.

"No reason, Shinji."

They went to the first floor and made their breakfast. When they got to school they walked together until it was time to separate to go to their own buildings. The whole day Minako got looks and glares from all the other girls. After school as Minako was walking to meet up with Akihiko, one of his fangirls tripped her and started laughing. But as soon as Akihiko rushed to her aid Minako stuck her tongue out at the girl. They walked to the train station laughing the whole way and talking. A few blocks back they had someone watching them. He had a heavy burgundy pea coat.

The next week everyone could tell two things. Akihiko and Minako had officially started dating. And Shinjiro was as jealous as could be.