The First Night
Date: Friday, September 18th.
Returning home from Gekkoukan High, Minato makes it back to the dorm, but not before he is completely drenched from the storm that is currently raging outside. His body can't help but shiver erratically.
"You weren't quick enough, huh" Questioned Junpei, sitting at the lounge along with the other SEES members. Minato walked over to join the others, standing next to Junpei with his hands in his pockets.
"According to the news, a typhoon just hit. Supposedly, it's the biggest one on record. It's moving slowly, too, so it'll be around for a while…" Fuuka started, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, thanks to that, the school festival got canceled. Well, setting all that stuff up is a pain, so I don't mind." Junpei went on "But, it sucks that we'll be stuck indoors… So, how are you gonna spend your break?" Junpei asked Minato.
"I have no idea…" Minato answered, seeming out of it.
"Hey, dude, are you feeling alright?" Junpei asked.
"I'll be fine. I'm just going back to my room." Responded Minato, slowly shuffling away until he stopped after five steps. He placed his right hand onto his head.
"Huh? What's the matter, Minato-kun?" Yukari asked, sounding concerned.
With that, Minato fell onto the ground with a thud. Everyone was quite alarmed at this and shot up from their seats, rushing over to him.
"Oh my Gosh, Minato!" Shrieked Fuuka. Yukari put her hand on Minato's forehead, which felt extremely hot to the touch.
"He's burning up with a fever!" Yukari informed the others.
"Let's get him back to his room. He needs to rest." Mitsuru ordered. "Akihiko, may you carry him? He's in no condition to move on his own." Akihiko nodded and proceeded to pick him up, bridal style, being sure to not hurt Minato. Minato gave out a small grunt. He looked up towards Akihiko through half-open eyes. His face turned redder due to the position he was in, but no one could tell because of his fever.
The group made their way to the second floor and to Minato's room that was located all the way down the right side of the hall. Minato grunted slightly as he shuffled a bit in Akihiko's very strong arms.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Akihiko asked him very concerned, thinking he might have done something wrong. Minato merely pulled out his room's key out of his right pocket since he always kept it locked, even if he was in it. Minato weakly raised his arm up to hand it to Akihiko.
"Uh, Takeba, can you unlock it? I don't want to put Arisato down just yet." Akihiko asked Yukari. She nodded and took it from Minato's hand and opened the door.
"Akihiko can take care of the rest from here. Let's go, and Akihiko, just tell us if he needs anything." Mitsuru said to the others as Akihiko took Minato into his room. The others left with Mitsuru, hoping that Minato gets better soon.
Akihiko shut the door placed Minato onto his bed gently, hoping that Minato wasn't in any pain. "Are you… uh, alright?" Akihiko was trying not to sound flustered, in which he failed completely. Akihiko just now noticed that his abdomen was soaked from carrying Minato. He had forgotten that Minato was still drenched.
"Oh, crap. I forgot, sorry. I should get you into some dry clothes." He proceeded in doing so, taking off Minato's shoes and socks first. "Oh, wait a minute. I should find you a change of clothes first." Akihiko said, turning around thinking where he should look.
Minato let out a slight breath of air. "They're… I keep shirts in the top left drawer and pants on the top right one." Minato informed Akihiko in a tone that was barely above a whisper. His voice was becoming raspy.
"Oh thanks, but just try to relax right now." Responded Akihiko. He opened the drawers that had what he was looking for and became slightly surprised seeing how neat and organized everything was. They were all arranged by color and type of clothing. He picked up an indigo colored sweater and black pajama bottoms.
Akihiko wasn't paying attention previously, but now noticed that Minato's room was very neat and orderly, even if he didn't have too many belongings. His own room was cluttered with exercise equipment and he didn't even need to see Junpei's room to know that it was a disheveled disaster. The only thing that wasn't in order in Minato's room was the mess of papers, pens and pencils on his desk. Akihiko figured that he was very busy with schoolwork, but was still a little curious. He walked over to Minato and set the clothes aside on the bed so he could unbutton Minato's shirt. Minato put his hands on Akihiko's wrists.
"I-I can do it myself, senpai…" Minato said to him.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it." He retorted to the blue haired boy. He proceeded to unbutton Minato's shirt and pulled it off of him. Minato was drenched under his clothes as well, but Akihiko was paying more attention to Minato's physique. Minato was slim, and even though he wasn't as built as Akihiko was, you could clearly see lines to muscles on him. It must've been to all the nightly adventures into Tartarus that helped Minato get into better shape. His skin was also a bit pale around his torso and probably the rest of his body. Akihiko couldn't help but blush a little, especially since he had to get Minato's pants off now.
"Um, I've got to…" Started Akihiko.
"I'll do it, senpai. Just… turn around so I can hold onto your shoulder." Minato interrupted Akihiko. Minato always felt self-conscious about exposing his body to others. You could imagine how he felt when changing in the locker room for Kendo practice. Akihiko just silently agreed and turned around after standing up. Minato unbuttoned his pants, keeping his right hand on Akihiko's left shoulder. He wanted to help Minato since he could hear Minato struggling slightly to put on his pajama bottoms. Minato had almost no strength to keep himself standing up.
"Just let me help you, Arisato, and then I can leave you alone." Akihiko suggested to Minato while staying in the same positon.
"…alright fine." Minato finally caved in to let Akihiko help him and he plopped down onto his bed before his legs gave out. Akihiko turned around and tried hiding the blush that was quickly rising on his face from seeing Minato in his current state. Sure, it was something he had seen all the time in the gym and such, but he felt… different with Minato. He thought Minato looked really cute right now in his blue boxer briefs. But he also knew he should hurry up and go before he did something he would not be proud of. He knelt down, grabbed the pajama bottoms that were around Minato's ankles and pulled them up quickly. Next, he grabbed the sweater and pulled it down Minato's torso.
"T-thanks, senpai." Minato uttered in a low tone, having his eyes look away from him. He was lucky his fever was still able to hide his blushing.
"Y-yeah, of course. You can always count on me to help you." Akihiko said back to him. Akihiko's face was just a foot away from Minato's. Akihiko quickly stood up so he really didn't do anything he'd regret. Minato just glanced at him then looked away. Minato felt completely exhausted with the illness raging inside him like the typhoon outside. He placed his head onto his pillow and ended up falling asleep as soon as he felt its heavenly comfort.
Akihiko was looking away, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand when he noticed that Minato fell asleep. He walked over to him and pulled the covers over Minato, making sure he was nice and warm for the night. Akihiko couldn't help but stare at Minato, thinking he looked so cute asleep, but also thought it wasn't fair that the team's leader had to get such a bad illness. Akihiko ran his left hand over Minato's forehead, moving the hairs out of his face. His hair was still a little wet, making him think he should've have gotten a towel to dry him off. Akihiko didn't care if Minato was sick at the moment, he decided to give Minato a small kiss on the forehead. Akihiko blush wildly from embarrassment, thinking Minato might have known, but to his relief, he heard Minato letting out light snores, indicating that Minato was fast asleep. Akihiko gave a slight sigh of relief and grinned to himself.
"Please. Get better soon… Minato." Akihiko said as he started to walk over to the door. He grabbed the doorknob, but then looked back at Minato. He wanted to stay for a while longer, but thought it'd be better for him to get all the rest he needed and left. When he got outside, he saw Yukari walking down the stairs from the third floor.
"Oh, senpai. Is Minato-kun alright?" The concerned Yukari asked.
"Yeah, I changed his clothes and he fell asleep."
"Well, as long as he's okay right now, that's what matters."
"That's right. We have to make sure our leader gets back to full strength."