A/N: Okay, this my Persona 3 fanfiction. Just a heads-up, this is Minato/Mitsuru and Minako/Akihiko story. There are also a good amount of spoilers since this takes place in January. Also, just some background on the social links: Empress is around 7, right before the scene with Mitsuru's fiance. Star (Akihiko) is maxed out on the lover route. All other social links you should just assume are maxed out. I'm also dedicating this fanfiction to LonelyDessert, since they wrote up the little prompt that inspired this. Thank you very much and I hope this lives up to your expectations! Now, without further ado, please enjoy.

A Dance to Remember

"Minato-kun!"

Minato stopped walking down the checkerboard hallway, and turned to face the teen that called out to him. He was wearing the Gekkoukan High uniform exactly as the school guidelines instructed, however, he had a yellow band on his left arm with the words "Student Council" printed on it.

Minato nodded and returned his friend's greeting, "Hello, Hidetoshi-kun. How's it going?"

"I'm doing fine, I just wanted to give you this," Hidetoshi handed Minato a sheet of paper.

Minato raised an eyebrow and examined the sheet. On closer inspection, it was a colorful flyer that read "Come to Gekkoukan High's First School Dance." Minato looked back to Hidetoshi quizzically.

"We convinced the principal to let us throw a dance after school this Saturday, to make up for the school festival being cancelled. We're handing out flyers to promote it," Hidetoshi explained, anticipating the teen's question.

"I see…"

"You should come," Hidetoshi continued, "It's the first dance we've ever had; a lot of people are looking forward to it."

Suddenly, a hand reached out and snatched the flyer out of Minato's hands as a long arm hooked itself around his neck.

"Junpei, what are you doing?" Minato asked.

Junpei ignored Minato's question as he exclaimed, "Whoa! A dance, huh?! Heh! Sounds like fun! You goin' Minato?"

Minato shrugged, "Probably not."

He almost laughed from the look of shock that exploded on Junpei's face, "What?! Why not!?"

"What would I want to do at a dance?"

"DUH! Pick up girls, of course!"

Minato let a smirk slip through his mask of indifference, "What about Chidori?"

Junpei's eye grew wide as he stammered, "I-I-I didn't mean me! You know I'm crazy 'bout her! I'm talkin' about you, man! Everyone knows you're popular with the ladies! You're like… the second coming of Akihiko-senpai!"

"And just like Akihiko-senpai, I don't particularly enjoy it," Minato countered flatly.

Junpei rolled his eyes, frustrated by his friend's reluctance to actually have some fun, "OH, COME ON! There must be someone you like!"

At that, Minato averted his gaze. Junpei was right about him being interested in a girl. Actually, he already had this conversation with him back at their beach trip to Yakushima, but to avoid the inevitable teasing and gossip spreading, he lied and told him he wasn't interested in anyone.

"Besides," Minato thought sadly, "It's not like I would have a chance with her anyway."

Minato was brought out of his thoughts with the snapping of Junpei's fingers in his face.

"Hellooooooo?! Earth to Minato!"

"Hmm…?"

Junpei sighed, "Quit zoning out and answer the question!"

Minato was saved from Junpei's interrogation as the warning bell rang, signaling that they only had three minutes to return to class.

"Time to go, Junpei. Class ."

"Ugh, fine, but at least think about askin' someone to the dance," Junpei said as they both entered Class 2-F to resume their school day.

Minato found himself in front of the Iwatodai dorm with a brown paper bag filled with books in hand. After school, he had decided to spend his afternoon at the secondhand bookstore. Between browsing the different books they had, and conversing with the old couple that owned it, it was already dark by the time he reached the dorm. He entered the building and signed his name into the check-in book off to the left.

"Welcome back, Arisato."

Minato turned to see his crimson- haired upperclassman sitting in a sofa, reading a book.

Minato nodded, "Evening, Mitsuru- senpai."

He quickly scanned the room and found that he and Mitsuru were the only ones present.

"Where are the others?"

Mitsuru looked up from her book, "Yukari and Yamagishi are upstairs, helping Aigis with her studies. Akihiko and Iori haven't returned yet, and Arisato and Amada are walking Koromaru."

Minato nodded to his friends' and sister's whereabouts, then took a seat in the other sofa so he could start reading one of the books he purchased today. He didn't know how much time had passed while he was engrossed in the story, but eventually he heard the front door open. He turned to see Koromaru run in, with his twin Minako and Ken following close behind. Minato reached down to pet Koromaru when the lovable pup bounded up to him happily.

"Hey Mitsuru-senpai, Minato-nii! We're back!" Minako exclaimed cheerfully.

"Welcome back, Arisato, Amada," Mitsuru replied.

Ken nodded back, "Hello Kirijo-san, Minato-san."

Minato stopped petting Koromaru and reached into the bag, shuffling the contents around, looking for something. He then picked up three colorful paperback books and handed them to Ken.

"I saw these today and thought you might like them," he said.

Ken looked over the books and then exclaimed with a huge smile on his face,

"WOW! These are the first three volumes of the manga for Phoenix Featherman R! Y'know, when he first discovers his powers and the evil Emperor, and—"

Ken stopped his excited chattering and cleared his throat before saying, "I mean… Thank you Minato-san for buying me this… I should be able to use some pages for my collage in art class…"

Minato let out an amused smirk, "No problem, Ken. Glad you like it."

Ken nodded before bolting up the stairs, no doubt going to read the superhero manga. Minato then heard a chuckle beside him as his fraternal twin sister bent down to pet Koromaru.

"It's so cute how Ken-kun tries to act like he's not interested in things like superheroes like other kids. Anyway, have you heard about the dance they're having at school, bro?"

Minato nodded, "Yeah. The flyer said it's supposed to be this Saturday night, probably because the following day will be the weekend."

Minako nodded, "That's what I thought, too. Hey, Mitsuru- senpai, why are we having this dance anyway?"

"Planning for a school festival uses a lot of time since there are so many events, so the Council decided that having one event, such as this, will be easier to achieve. The principal agreed, so this dance is to help compensate for the school festival being cancelled," explained Mitsuru.

Minako nodded, "Makes sense. So who are you going with, Senpai?"

At Minako's question, Minato immediately shifted his attention to the redhead, anxiously awaiting her answer. Mitsuru also seemed to be caught off guard as she looked directly into the curious eyes of Minako. However, she regained her composure after processing the question.

"As the president of the Council, I have decided to help oversee the event, instead of participate. "

Normally, Minako would have probably let the matter drop after hearing that answer. However, she had always suspected that her brother felt an attraction to their senpai, and the way he paid close attention to her answer only served to strengthen that theory. She also felt a similar vibe from Mitsuru during the talks they started having this winter. Minako knew that with both of their emotional barriers, they were going to need some help opening up to each other.

And this was the perfect opportunity.

Putting on the pout she spent years perfecting, she said, "But Senpai, that's no fun! It's Gekkoukan's first dance! You're supposed to dance, not supervise!"

Minato had a bad feeling about this; Minako knew he was interested in Mitsuru, as she had asked him about it numerous times throughout the year. With that fake pout she put on, he knew she was up to something that he definitely wouldn't approve of.

"Other than supervising, I don't see a reason to go."

Minako sighed, "The reason is to have some fun."

She then smirked mischievously.

"Uh-oh," Minato thought. "This can't be good…"

"If the problem is that you're having trouble finding a date, why not take Minato-nii?"

"Excuse me?!" Minato and Mitsuru both said in shocked unison.

The smirk grew to a grin, "Yeah! You both are in Student Council, so you could still superviseif you need to; you'll even have backup. But, if not, then you two could actually ENJOY yourselves for once. I mean really, Senpai, don't you think you push yourself AND Minato-nii a little too hard?"

"I suppose that's true…" Mitsuru trailed off, looking down.

"And you don't have anything better to do, right bro? At least that's what Junpei told me after he tried to convince you to go."

Minato said nothing. He only glared at his nosy sibling, silently telling her not to do this. However, he could tell by how the mirth in Minako's eyes grew, that his pleas were futile.

"Besides, if you ask me, you two would make a beautiful couple," Minako teased, clearly enjoying herself.

The "beautiful couple" blushed after hearing Minako's opinion.

"Arf! Arf!" Koromaru barked happily, seeming to agree.

"See! Even Koro-chan thinks so!" Minako laughed, while the heat in the other two teens' cheeks intensified.

"Thinks what?" a voice asked.

Everyone turned to see Gekkoukan's boxing champion standing at the door, looking at them quizzically.

"Aki!" exclaimed Minako as she went over to hug him. Akihiko and Minako had been dating for a couple weeks, but it seemed more like months by how close they've gotten. So things like this were a common occurrence, at least in the dorm.

"Hey," Akihiko replied as he returned the hug. "So what are you all talking about?"

"We were just talking about Minato-nii taking Mitsuru- senpai to the school dance this weekend."

"I don't remember agreeing to that," Minato said, annoyed.

"Come on Minato-nii! It'll be fun! Wouldn't it be nice to take Senpai on an actual DATE, instead of just going to eat at Hagakure or Wild Duck Burger?" asked Minako, the amusement never leaving her eyes.

"DATE?!" said Minato, stunned.

Akihiko smirked as he started to catch on to his girlfriend's plan. He knew for sure that Mitsuru was interested in Minato, most likely because of the junior's abilities, wit, and intelligence. He confronted her on this a few times when they were alone, but she always avoided the issue with the threat of a painful execution.

Although, judging by the wide eyes and faint blush on the heiress' cheeks, one last attempt may be in order.

"I think it's a good idea."

Everyone focused their attention on the silver-haired senior. Mitsuru, in particular, seemed to be focused on burning holes into the boxing champion with her eyes.

Akihiko grasped Minako's hand for support as he said, "C'mon Mitsuru. This is our last year of high school and the first school dance; we won't get another chance to go next year. If this year has taught us anything, it's that we should enjoy ourselves and make good memories, right?"

"Nicely put, Aki! Now, we'll leave you two alone to work out the details. Be sure to ask me for advice about your outfit, 'kay Senpai?" Minako said as she led Akihiko upstairs, Koromaru following close behind.

Once they had gone, an awkward silence fell over the two teens. Both of them were having trouble looking each other in the eye.

Minato was annoyed at his sister for placing him in this situation. However, he believed Akihiko had a point. They had already decided to fight against Nyx, but if the battle didn't go as they hoped, he would never get a chance like this again. He knew that if that happened, he would definitely regret it. Even if she said no, he could at least say that he tried.

This is why he took a deep breath to gather his courage before asking, "…Mitsuru- senpai, would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Mitsuru's head snapped up to look the cobalt-haired teen in the eye, "What…?"

This time, Minato found that the words came easier to him as he said, more surely, "Would you like to go with me to the dance?"

Mitsuru turned her head in order to hide her blush from the teen's offer. The redhead was rarely asked out on a date, and the last time she had was at a difficult time for her: her father's death. In any case, she was never really an approachable person (at least according to Akihiko), so she wasn't really experienced in things like romance. However, she would only be lying to herself if she said she didn't have a desire to go out with the cobalt- haired teen (although she wouldn't be admitting that to anyone anytime soon). She also didn't see any real reason not to go with him.

So after squashing her embarrassment, she answered, "I don't see why not… I'll give you the details later; I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Arisato."

Minato didn't even notice her leave as he was still processing her answer with disbelief. Then, a genuine smile appeared across his face as he realized that he would be going to the dance with the one person he thought about almost constantly. Then, his smiled faded to a look of worry as he remembered that he was completely inexperienced in this sort of thing. As he made the journey back to his room, he silently prayed to every deity he could think of that he wouldn't turn the evening into a catastrophe.

Meanwhile, in the second floor hallway, two figures appeared from the behind the vending machine, and dashed into one of the rooms. Inside, the lights were flicked on as a certain auburn- haired girl took her seat in a desk chair, looking thoroughly satisfied.

"Ha! I knew I would get those two together," exclaimed Minako, "Thanks for the backup Aki."

"No problem," Akihiko replied as leaned his back against the wall, "But honestly, I'm surprised that Mitsuru even went for it. Anyway, do you really think that a dance is the right way to go...? I mean, with those two, I'm not so sure…"

"Hmm, I see your point. Minato-nii's no Casanova… Well, at least not intentionally," Minako corrected herself, remembering her brother's many admirers, "And as far as I know Mitsuru- senpai has only been asked out by Ryoji, and since he was a shadow, I don't think that really counts. Anyway, I guess we'll just have to help those two out!"

"How?" Akihiko asked confused.

"Hmm… Let's just start with getting them ready for the dance. We'll even get Yukari and Junpei in on it, too. You and Junpei take Minato to get a suit, while me and Yukari help out Senpai."

Akihiko shrugged, "Sounds like a plan."

"Great!" Minako exclaimed before yawning, "Well, I'm heading to bed now. 'Night, Aki!"

As Minako exited his room, Akihiko suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked his girlfriend to accompany him to the dance.

"Well, Akihiko thought, "I'll just ask her the next time I get the chance."

As the bell rang, and Mitsuru gathered up her things, she wondered what she would do for the rest of the day. The Student Council wasn't meeting today, and—

"SENPAI!"

Mitsuru whipped around to see her ruby- eyed underclassman run up to her, completely oblivious to the strange stares she was receiving from the other seniors in the class.

"Minako! You can't just barge into the seniors' classroom!"

Yukari nervously walked into the seniors' class, throwing all of them apologetic glances for her friend's behavior. Once she had joined the other two, she saw Minako waving her hand dismissively.

"Hey, this is important. We don't have time to worry about manners."

Yukari just sighed, "You're taking this way too seriously."

"Says the girl who spent a whole week trying to investigate a ghost because she was scared!" Minako shot back mockingly.

Yukari was taken aback before angrily saying, "Hey! I'm not afraid of g-g-ghosts!"

Minako giggled, "Your stutter says otherwise."

Mitsuru cut off Yukari's reply by asking the question that she and her peers were wondering,

"What are you two doing here? Is there a problem?"

The two turned back to their senpai, remembering the goal of their little foray to the seniors' classroom.

"Oh yeah, that's right! C'mon Mitsuru-senpai!" Minako said grabbing the heiress's arm and dragging her out of the classroom. Mitsuru was surprised by the amount of power the young girl had, for she had a difficult time trying to break her kidnapper's hold.

"Arisato! What do you think you're doing?!"

Yukari, who was walking casually beside the pair, answered, "We're taking you out shopping."

"Shopping…?" Mitsuru queried.

Minako spoke up cheerfully, "Yep! We're gonna help you pick out a dress for the dance. We have to make sure you look nice!"

"Huh…? But…!"

Yukari interrupted Mitsuru's protest by saying, "C'mon, Senpai! It'll be fun!"

Minako agreed, "Yeah! Just trust us! We'll make you look so beautiful that Minato-nii won't be able to take his eyes off you!"

Mitsuru turned her head, trying desperately not to blush and gave the two girls her consent.

Meanwhile…

Minato was walking out of his classroom, when he heard Junpei call out to him. He was all the way down at the end of hall with two cans of what looked like grape soda.

Junpei jogged down the hallway while shouting, "Hey, pal! How about some nice, cool sodaaaa…!"

Junpei tripped and the grape soda flew right into Minato, staining his uniform bright violet.

"AAAHH! JUNPEI!" Minato yelled while shivering from being hit by the ice cold liquid.

Junpei chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry 'bout that…"

"Whoa! Minato! What happened to you?" a voice questioned.

Minato turned and saw his silver haired upperclassman looking at him, clearly wondering about the boy's ruined clothes.

Minato growled bitterly, "Junpei and grape soda happened to me."

Akihiko looked confused before he noticed Junpei gesturing wildly behind Minato. After a few seconds of deciphering the signals, he realized what Junpei was trying to do.

"Oh! Uh… Hey Minato…! Why don't we go to get you some new clothes?"

The blue-haired teen looked up from inspecting his mutilated clothes and said with a wave of his hand, "That's alright, Senpai. It wasn't your fault."

Junpei piped up, "Hey! It was an accident! Anyway, we'll all go to Paulownia Mall and I'll get you some new clothes to make up for it, some real nice ones!"

Minato looked at the disarming smile that Junpei flashed him with skepticism; he may be a lot of things, but Minato Arisato was not an idiot. While the soda debacle may have well been an accident, he was beginning to doubt it. Even though the hat-wearing teen was one of his closest friends, Junpei was never this generous. His suspicions were supported by the slight anxiety he noticed on Akihiko's face. While he was tempted to just confront them about whatever they were up to, his curiosity won out and he decided to just play along.

"Alright, then. Let me just change into my gym clothes and we'll head out."

"Alright, man," Junpei said as he watched Minato descend down the stairs. He then turned to Akihiko and exclaimed with a wide grin, "Ha! It worked! Man, I'm a genius!"

"Is that really something to be proud of? You just spilled soda on him!"

"All part of the plan, Senpai," Junpei said smugly, "Just trust me; Junpei the Wise has got it all figured out."

"Junpei the Wise? Yeah right…" Akihiko thought sarcastically before saying, "Whatever… Let's just go."

Junpei and Akihiko left to wait for Minato by the entrance.

"Hmm… Nope! … No… Ugh, no way…! …Ooh! Wait, no…"

Minako was scouring racks and racks of dresses, looking very frustrated. After exiting the school, the girls journeyed to Paulownia Mall in search of a dress for Mitsuru. They entered a boutique and dispersed to look upon its contents.

The interior of the store looked like someone had thrown up the color magenta everywhere – the walls, the carpet, even on the dressing rooms in the back. All of the dresses were on circular racks all around the center of the store. On the right-hand wall were shelves filled with shoes of all shapes and sizes, and on the left-hand wall were shelves filled with various accessories, such as purses, jewelry, etc. There were also bright lights shining on all the merchandise, which not only brought attention to the products but also to the unusual color of the store.

While Mitsuru seemed very uncomfortable and out of place in the boutique, Minako and Yukari seemed right at home and confident that finding something for their friend would be easy. However, they were proven wrong as they had been there for quite some time, and couldn't find anything satisfactory. Every outfit that the younger girls chose didn't seem to complement the look and style Mitsuru had. And Mitsuru was little help in that regard as the girl didn't even select her own clothes; she usually relied on her family's stylist in that area.

"Hey, did you find anything Minako?"

Minako turned around and saw Yukari and Mitsuru approach her from the dressing rooms. She noted with sadness that Yukari had a very disappointed look on her face.

"Dress Number 17 was a bust, too, huh?" Minako asked, already sure of the answer.

Yukari sighed exasperatedly and nodded, "Man, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I mean, none of these really fit Mitsuru- senpai at all."

The two heavily sighed as the subject of their discussion spoke up, "Perhaps we should just go. I don't think we're going to find anythi-"

"No way!" Minako exclaimed, "We're going to find the perfect dress for you, Senpai! There's gotta be something here that'll work…!"

"She's getting way too into this," Yukari thought, rolling her eyes.

"'Ello, can I help you?" a voice behind them called.

They all turned around and Minako gasped, "Bebe?!"

Bebe looked surprised before he beamed at her and exclaim, "Minako- sama! I can't believe it ez you!"

Minako ran up and gave Bebe a friendly hug. When they separated, Minako noticed the confused looks Mitsuru and Yukari gave her.

"Oh! This is Bebe, a good friend of mine and Minato's," she explained before turning to Bebe, "Bebe, these are my friends-"

"Oh! Mitsuru Kirijo and Yukari Takeba! It ez an honor to meet you both!" Bebe bowed to the two girls.

Yukari looked even more confused, "Um… How'd you know who we are?"

Bebe smiled and gestured to Minako, "Minako-sama and Minato-sama have both told me a lot about you. I'm glad that I got to meet some of their tomodachis- friends -while I got the chance."

"Oh, that's right! How are you still here, Bebe?" Minako questioned, "I thought you were supposed to go back to France."

"Hai! That ez true, but my transfer ez taking a little longer than expected, so I'm working 'ere for some extra money. But I'll be going back 'ome this Sunday," Bebe explained, "But what are you doing here Minako-sama?"

Minako sighed, "Well, Yukari and I were trying to help Senpai pick a dress for the dance this Saturday, but it's not going so well…"

"Oh! There's going to be a dance at Gekkoukan?!" Bebe asked excitedly.

Minako nodded, "Yeah, it's the first one, and Mitsuru- senpai's going with Minato-nii. We're helping her get ready, but…"

"…But we can't find anything in this store!" Yukari finished dejectedly.

Bebe looked between the two depressed girls before an idea came to him, "Why don't I make 'er a dress?"

All three looked up at the Frenchman in shock.

"…Make her a dress…?" Yukari asked confused.

Minako's face lit up and asked, "REALLY?! YOU'D DO THAT, BEBE?!"

Bebe nodded vigorously, "Of course! Anything for my good tomodachis, Minako and Minato!"

"YES! YOU'RE AMAZING, BEBE!" Minako exclaimed, hugging the blond again.

"Wait, Arisato! I'm not sure that he can…" Mitsuru trailed off, not knowing a tactful way to voice her disbelief in the teen's designing ability.

"Don't worry, Senpai! Bebe knows exactly what he's doing," Minako reassured, "He was in the sewing club with me and Minato, and he taught us how to make lots of things! He also made this AMAZING kimono all by himself!"

"Hai! Hai! It ez true! Relax, Kirijo- sama! I promise to make you ze best dress you've ever seen!" confidently declared Bebe.

Mitsuru looked toward Yukari for her opinion, and received a simple shrug in return.

The senior sighed, "Well, if you say so…"

"Yes!" Minako yelled and high-fived Bebe.

"Now, come with me so I can take your measurements," Bebe said, gesturing the girls to follow.

Minako started pulling her hesitating upperclassman toward the room, with Yukari following close behind.

"Well, Minato? How is it?"

"It's stupid, is what it is!" Minato said, annoyed.

Minato was currently dressed in a truly atrocious light blue suit and white, puffy undershirt that Junpei had selected for him. Similar to the girls, the three males went to a store in Paulownia Mall in search of a suit for Minato. However, everything Junpei picked out was embarrassing, ill-fitting, or some combination of the two. The baseball-capped teen's formal fashion sense was either really horrible, or he just liked to see his usually collected friend squirm.

Minato was starting to suspect the latter, what with the burst of laughter that his friend was struggling to contain.

"I'm taking this off!" Minato growled before storming back into the dressing room.

Akihiko sighed, "Would it kill you to take this a little more seriously? The girls will be pissed if we don't help Minato find some good clothes."

"Aww, c'mon Senpai! I'm just havin' a little fun!"

Junpei flinched from the glare Akihiko threw him, and raised his hands in a defensive position before saying, "Okay! Okay! I'll stop messin' around! Fancy clothes for Minato, I got it!"

Minato joined the two males outside the dressing room, "Can we leave now?"

Junpei jumped out of his seat and pumped his fist in the air, "NO WAY! WE SHALL NOT REST UNTIL YOU, MY FRIEND, HAVE THE MOST AWESOME SUIT EVER!"

The cobalt- haired teen shook his head, "Give it up, Junpei; we've been here for hours and we haven't found a thing."

"THAT'S JUST 'CUZ WE HAVEN'T LOOKED HARD ENOUGH YET!" Junpei exclaimed before imitating an elderly man, "YOU WHIPPER-SNAPPERS HAVE NO PATIENCE NOWADAYS! WHY, BACK IN MY DAY- OW!"

Junpei's impression was interrupted by a powerful punch to his jaw, courtesy of the boxing champion, Akihiko Sanada.

"Keep it down, will you?! We're not the only people in this store!"

"Hehehe… Sorry…" Junpei said sheepishly while stroking his jaw.

"Well! Well! Well! I never expected you to be in the center of a commotion like this, Minato!" someone said.

Minato looked on curiously, "President Tanaka? I didn't know you came here."

President Tanaka chuckled, "Why, of course! I always come here to buy my suits! I have to look presentable for company meetings, after all!"

Although Akihiko seemed to be completely clueless about whom the older man was, Junpei finally pieced it together, "Oh! You're the owner of that company that makes Tanaka's Amazing Commodities! Oh man, I watch that show every Sunday!"

Minato mentally groaned, "Tell me about it… It's the same thing every week… Tanaka shows off these "deals" on products that are, more often than not, pretty useless. And because you're you, Junpei, you fall for these rip-offs, and ask someone if you can borrow some money to purchase said rip-offs. Then, because everyone in the dorm has wised up to your game, they refuse to loan you the money, and you get beat out by other morons who fall for these rip-offs… Finally, you spend a good hour harassing everyone for the loss of your "once- in- a- lifetime" opportunity to get… well… ripped- off."

"You do, do you? Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," President Tanaka said smugly.

Minato let out a smirk, "I see your confidence is still going strong."

President Tanaka laughed, "Of course, my boy! What did you expect? Anyway, what are you doing here? I've never seen you in this store before…"

Recognizing the man to be a friend of the cobalt- haired teen, Akihiko entered the conversation, "Our school is having a dance this Saturday night; we're helping Minato get ready for it."

A smile grew on President Tanaka's face, "Ah! So you're here looking for some proper attire! Well, that is a something I can certainly help with!"

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that, President Tanaka…" Minato said.

"Nonsense! After everything you've done, a suit is the least I can do! I shall buy you the most stylish suit, made from the finest materials money can buy!"

"Uh… That's very generous, but I can't accept your offer-!"

"-without giving you his measurements…!" Junpei interrupted, obviously trying to avoid spending more of his limited funds.

"Ah, of course! Here, write them down and I'll get my stylists on it immediately!" President Tanaka handed Minato a pen and paper.

Minato sighed as he conceded, "Alright fine…"

Minato wrote down his measurements, gave them to Tanaka, and bid the company president farewell.

"So, was there anything else you two wanted to drag me to do?" Minato asked.

"Let's go get some ramen!" Junpei suggested happily.

Before Minato could answer, Akihiko turned to the capped- teen, "We can't, Junpei. We have that thing, remember?"

"Thing…? Oh, right! That thing! Sorry Minato, looks like we have to get ramen some other time. See ya later!"

The two then quickly bolted out the store, not even giving the cobalt- haired teen time to respond.

"Okay… that was… bizarre…" thought Minato as he raised an eyebrow.

He quickly dismissed the thoughts of his friends' odd behavior as he exited the store.

A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter one. I know that was horrible place to end the chapter, but in my defense, this was originally written to be a one shot. Of course, that was before this story became 3 TIMES as long as I had predicted. So, I'll probably divide it into three chapters. I already finished the story, but I'm going to just leave this up for a while, test the waters since this is my first fanfiction. Anyway, please leave a review telling me whether you liked it or not, or if you have any suggestions. Until then, this is Lady Sinistra signing off.